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Happy Halloween!



Rylee and Reagan helping Dad carve the pumpkin on the kitchen floor.















Admiring the handy work.














Peter Pan was a sissy. He's got nothin on Tinkerbell.

























Snow White. The costume was a little big for her and we had a few "wardrobe malfunctions."



















I guess Dad got a little too excited. We were the first ones out there. Isn't it fun to relive your childhood through your children?






















Dividing up the booty.
















There is nothing like a sugar high before bed.

Do we have a plan B?

When dealing with several little kids at once it is essential to have a plan. I do most of the time, but your plans also have to be flexible. The other night I fed Rylee and I thought that I would distract her with some playdough while I was feeding Reagan. Everything was going according to plan until I left Reagan's highchair close enough for Rylee to transfer her playdough to the empty tray.(See the picture below) When I turned around with Reagan in one arm and her dinner in the the other I saw that Rylee had taken possetion of both highchairs and had no intention of giving either of them up. When I tried to move her playdough back to her tray there was screaming fit.

You have to pick your battles too. So I fed Reagan standing up with her in my arms.





Don't touch my dough!

















Rylee being a good big sister with Madison.





















Papa on the day of his arrival, bonding with his granddaughter, Jordan.




















Kari getting things done.













Papa with Rylee and Jordan.















Papa finding out that you are put to work as soon as you show up.
















This is the night that the twins would not sleep...So we took pictures.























Same photo shoot as above. That is Jordan on the left and Madison on the right.

It has been an interesting morning.

I fear that I may be becoming redundant in what I am reporting, but when you sleep most of the day and rarely leave the house I guess that will happen.

Our girls have been known to take their diapers off in the middle of the night. It happens often enough that it is not really a surprise. It is, however, unusual for both of them to take off their diapers on the same night. I think it may have happened once in the past. That and the fact that Rylee's diaper is still M.I.A., is why I am sure that aliens came down last night and stole them.

At 4:57 a.m. Madison came out of a fitful slumber and was in the mood to be fed. Five is the normal shift change, so even though I was feeling pretty good, I went upstairs to wake Grandmom. If I don't get some sleep about then I will be out for the rest of the day.

I am always amazed how my Mother can just jump out of bed and be ready for action. I get up, stumble around like a drunk, stub my toe at least once (This wakes you up almost as much as coffee), splash some water on my face, and remain in a semi-conscious state for twenty minutes to an hour or more. So Grandmom came down and I helped heat the formula and get her settled with Madison. I then went upstairs and climbed into bed with Kari, who had possession of all the good pillows and was reluctant to give up covers. I finally got situated and tried in vain to go to sleep. This was around 5:20.

Just as I was starting to dose off I heard Reagan crying. Her voice is really starting to develop. I shut my eyes tighter, thinking Grandmom will get her. That is a little selfish I guess, but that is what I did. Well, we had turned down the baby monitor down stairs so Grandmom didn't hear her and after about 10 minutes I had to get up to check on her. I had not gotten to sleep yet anyway. I glanced at my watch, 7:03.

Reagan must have frightened the aliens off before they could complete their work, because her diaper was only half off. Just enough for her to pee on the bed. She must have been standing at the railing when she did because most of it was on the floor and I didn't notice it with the lights off. I just felt the mattress and incorrectly determined that it was dry and figured that I had dodged another bullet. I took Rea down stairs and changed her and put her back in what I thought was a dry crib. I waited for a few minutes out side Reagan's door to see if she was going to go down. It sounded like she would so I returned to bed.

7:39 Creeeeek. I saw the silhouette of a two year old at the door. I invited her to come snuggle with us. You can sometimes get another ten minutes of sleep before you get kicked in the crotch or a finger in the nose. However, she didn't move toward the bed, she pulled up her night gown and pointed. "Oh, I see. Would you like some new panties?" That is what we are trying to call them now, "panties." To help the transition to using the potty. It is going slowly, probably because we don't have the time to really work with her on that. So I rolled back out of bed, scooped her up and headed to the upstairs changing table. She started to fuss, pointing down and saying "downstairs" (sounds like ounsayers but means downstairs.) So I set her down and started to walk down stairs. She did not follow. I went to pick her up. That was the wrong move because she launched into a tantrum. I finally got headed downstairs and she settled down till we got to the downstairs changing table and I pulled out a new pull-up diaper. That was not the one that she wanted to wear and she had a fit. It can be very VERY difficult to diaper a two and a half year old who does not want to be diapered. So she got a time out. By this time we had woken up Grandmom who was semi-sleeping down with the twins.

So I am standing there with my back to a half naked, screaming, toddler and my mother is looking at me like "aren't you being a little harsh?" I could see that Grandmom wanted to go hug her, but to her credit she did not interfere and offered to help. There was not much she could do at that point so she went back to check on the twins. After our three minute cooling off period I finally got a new diaper on Rylee, although that was clearly not what she wanted. I put her down on the floor and she went to the living room where she insisted that we install a new diaper that she had placed on the couch. I am not sure if this was the one that she was wearing last night, since I never could find that one, but it was dry so I gave up, strapped that one on her, and she was happy again. I still don't know why that diaper was better than the other, but it made a difference to Rylee.

By this time Reagan was awake again, so I put Rylee in the highchair, popped some waffles in the toaster, and went to get Reagan. That is when I saw that I had not dodged a bullet and had only given it time to soak into the carpet.

I left the big girls munching on waffles, gave Grandmom a hug and went to sop up the urine soaked carpet.

At eight something I got back to bed to stare at the ceiling some more. Somewhere around 9:30 I drifted off and at 11:00 Kari came in to ask if I wanted to be up for the 12:00 interview. I just couldn't do it, so I didn't get to meet her. Kari and Grandmom seemed to like her though. I finally got back up just after 4:00 and found that it had been a rough day for Kari and my Mom also. Both big girls were not themselves and we hope that they are not coming down with something.

Kari is still feeling rotten and we did not get her to bed as soon as we had hoped. At about 9:45 I realized that I had given the twins the wrong medication at 8:00 p.m. and we spent about 45 minutes calling the doctor and poison control to see how bad that might be. Turns out that we are still under the max dose for the medications that they are taking, but it was a little scary and I really felt like an idiot. I have resolved to be much more careful in the future.

Both twins are being very good so far this evening, I hope that it continues.

Off she went in a huff!

I had to share this.

This morning Kari, who was up anyway with a stuffy nose, took the 5 a.m. shift. At about 6:00 Rylee came down and crawled into bed with her, took Kari's arm and draped it over herself like she was pull over the covers and snuggled in for a nap. A few minutes later the twins started to fuss and not long after that Rylee sat up and gave a huff, as if to say "Those Girls!" Then she marched into the living room and curled up on the couch. After Kari got the twins settled down she found Rylee asleep on the couch. Since it is nice to have a two year old actually sleep with you, as opposed to squirm, she scooped her up and brought her back to bed. A few minutes later, sure enough, the twins started to cry. Again Rylee sat up, looked at the offending infant, gave a huff, and stormed back to the couch. I wish that I had been there to see it. But maybe its better in my mind.

We interviewed two prospects today. Both maybes. One a young college student (Kari has asked me three times if I thought she was pretty.) and a black woman about our age or a bit older, with four kids of her own from 20 months to 18 years. Kari didn't seem "sold" on either, but maybe.

After the interviews Kari and I took the big girls out for a change. We went to the mall for new shoes. Rylee has been growing like a weed and the sneakers that we just bought no longer fit. Pretty sad when a major event is now a trip to the mall, huh? I think that was my first time out of the house in about a week. At least showering, which used to be a major event, is now fairly common.

Small things

I think that it is the small things in life that give us the greatest joy and also the most annoyance. Last night (or this morning) as I was trying to get to sleep I couldn't help but smile as I thought about the day. Specifically I was thinking of Rylee's grin, her excitement, the obvious anticipation that she felt as she was waiting for me to start chasing her. We had been playing the "I'm gonna git ya" game, where she runs, I chase her, and when she is caught she gets a good tickling. I was also thinking of Reagan's smile and those mesmerizing blue eyes. And last night was the first time that I got a real smile from Jordan. Not just a random gas smile, but a reaction to my voice. I think I almost melted. It is the small moments that I treasure. Like when my wife came up behind the couch while I was feeding one of the twins and put her arms around me and her cheek on mine.

It is also the small things that drive me nuts. Toys everywhere, when you trip twice on toys just getting from the bedroom to the kitchen. When you pull off a soiled diaper and reach for a wet wipe only to find that the box is empty. When the dog puts his paws up on the highchair and eats the remains of you kid's dinner even though he knows you are watching. When the kids don't understand that you are trying to accomplish a small task and will be done "in just a minute" so they cling to your legs and scream. When you get all situated with a twin and bottle, ready to feed her and you realize that you forgot the burp cloth across the room, again. I can't tell you how many times I have done that. If you don't have the burp cloth the milk runs down her chin and collects around the neck. I am not sure what chemical reactions occurs under those chubby, double chins, but it doesn't smell nice and it leaves their skin very raw.

Things are much better since Grandmom got here, but we are still a little stressed out. Kari and I have both had back problems for a long time and with the little exercise that we get neither of our backs have improved. So we are both constantly in some degree of pain. From "just a little achy" to "Oooh, I seem to be unable to walk at the moment." We are also still adjusting to the change in our day to day lives that the arrival of the twins has created. We both are constantly feeling guilty. About everything: Not spending enough time with the big girls. Are we pulling our weight in this team effort? Are we asking too much of our family? (But thanks for being here Mom) Also for me (not sure if Kari is experiencing this too) no matter how much sleep I get I still feel tired. I slept for 11 hours today and I still woke up kind of grumpy. I guess that I have a tough time adjusting from total darkness and sleep to the chaos that is our lives at the moment. As soon as I set foot at the bottom of the stairs and the big girls see me there is no rest till they have retired for the evening. Reagan wants "up" and Rylee wants me to chase her. All is well as long as I comply and chase Rylee while holding Reagan, but if I pause to drink coffee or go to the bathroom there is a scream fest. I love that my girls want my attention and I feel guilty that I sometimes would rather just relax for a few minutes.

Kari and I got into a little spat this evening because of this. Well, I don't even know if you could call it a spat. But, Kari was just telling me that she felt like she has been walking on egg shells when I get up, just trying not to do or say anything to upset me. I think I maybe took it the wrong way and got a little bent out of shape. Even when she tried to makeup I didn't do much to help the situation. So now I feel guilty about that too. So I guess that I am using this forum to say "Sorry, Kari. I love you very much and I will try to be a little more agreeable when I get up." I guess the truth is that our lives have been completely disrupted and will never be the same. We have not figured out what normal is going to be yet and all of us have been careful not to step on each others toes. I know that we have put my mother in some uncomfortable situations too and it must be difficult for her. Just imagine coming to someone's home and being expected to jump in and help care for the kids when the parents are on the edge of sanity. (Sorry, Mom if we tried to rope you into our disagreements or made you feel uncomfortable.)

My Mom has really gone to great lengths to ease the stress and make sure that Kari and I get enough rest. I just hope that she is not wearing herself out in the process. I think that once we get a nanny here things might smooth out a little bit. And it looks like we are getting close. Kari has been very thorough in her search. One applicant told her that she had never seen a more detailed job description, "You really know what you want." Since I have been sleeping during the day I have not had much to do with the nanny search and I am glad that my beautiful wife is on top of it. We have several interviews lined up for the next couple of days. This should give me some good material for the blog.

What I miss...

I miss my husband and I miss my bed. I've got great sheets. They are from Bed Bath & Beyond Pure Beech sheets! Better than any 600 to 1000 count sheets. I have put them on just about any bed I may sleep in for pure comfort. I want to sleep good but I have an everlasting dream of free falling with no end. It is annoying as hell! My husband gets up from the night shift and all I want to do is complain, It sucks! I love him dearly and I just want compassion. But I feel like all I want to do is give him compassion. I feel it is a no win situation.. Our marriage suffers for the benefit of our children. I'm not too worried since we made it through the three year itch and the seven year itch together. But I do worry that he will think What the hell have I done? I love my family, but I feel I need more down time with the man I married without snips, arguments, or child discussions. This just sucks!

Yesterday, in a stolen moment, I was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. I needed to get up to check on a twin and left the coffee sitting there. A big no no with Reagan up and about.

When I came back, I found her stirring my coffee with the blue nasal syringe that had recently been used to suction someone's nose. Mark said it was likely Reagan stuck it up her nose prior to stirring. I am glad I caught her doing it before I sat down to have another sip!

This is my first post since my arrival in Texas. There is rarely a free minute when all is quiet. Reagan is napping upstairs, Kari is working on her Nanny interview list, Mark is sleeping and the twins are lying on Mark and Kari's bed with their arms thrown back in deep sleep. Rylee is watching cartoons and here is my chance to let everyone know that things are much less chaotic.

It is so exciting to see Madison and Jordan looking so good. They look like real, healthy babies. Such a dramatic difference from NICU. We are now feeding them when they are hungry instead of every three hours. Their faces are round, pink and healthy. They hold their heads up, push with their feet and track with their eyes. Truly miraculous.

We have all had a really good scare and are still vigilant about making sure all is well. Kari has two charts that we keep to record what is going on. It is hard to remember which twin ate last and how much. They also are on three different medications that have to be administered on a regular schedule.

We have split up the duties. Mark is still on the night shift and wakes me at 5 a.m. to take over until Kari gets up.

The wildest time of day is between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. when the twins need to be fed, Rylee and Reagen need to be changed and fed, Bunker and Bogey are hungry and need to be let out and the cat needs food and water. The second wildest is between dinner and bedtime. The girls seem to need lots of attention at these times.

Off the subject of babies. Bunker and Bogie had a little outing yesterday. I let them out not realizing that the gate had been left open by the yard people. They had quite a romp before they were finally rounded up about an hour later. They showed no remorse that I could tell.

Thanks to Mac who is glad I am able to be here to help. Luckily he is extremely busy but it can be lonely holding down the fort alone. He was a huge help when here. Wish he could have stayed longer.

I am hopeful that the painting project will be complete before Halloween. With the blinds up at night and the lights on inside the room it looks like Halloween. They are painting the walls a rich cayenne color. The Sherwin Williams paint has been lousy, however. It has taken 5 gallons and we are still not done.

Well, it is almost lunch time. More later.

Baby's Breath

Last night Mark was painting the dining room with what I believe was the fourth coat of paint. Note to others, use a primer even if you are painting a deep orange over another bright orange. Especially if you are painting flat on top of semi-gloss. I believe the dining room will be done by Thanksgiving. I was hoping it would be done by Halloween, but I like longer goals, so I will be pleasantly surprised when they are accomplished sooner.

Speaking of Halloween, I have not been as prepared as I normally am. I usually have the costumes in hand by the end of August. I went out last week and the pickings were slim. Rylee is going to be Snow White and Reagan is going to be an angel. The twins are going to be miracles (no dressing up required). I did manage to get some candy (of course, the kind that I will eat after Halloween) before the shelves were emptied. Next year I'll put more thought into it and coordinate the four girls, decorate the house, and hopefully have a truly spooky fun filled time.

So, anyway, last night I sent grandmom to bed. She looked exhausted and ready to fall into a deep sleep. For some reason, I was awake with no desire to go to bed. Grandmom had been holding Jordan because she was being fussy. I took over and settled comfortably into the couch and flipped through the 49 DVR recordingings of shows I must see. Jordan was laying on my chest and went into a deep sleep. I started watching Grey's Anatomy, not sure which episode. I think I have three recorded.

I couldn't help but brush my lips on the top of Jordan's head and watch and feel her breathe on my chest. Baby's breath is so calming and has to be one of my favorite things. Her angelic pose brought out such deep emotion for me and I wanted to hold her all night long.

But Madison started fussing, so I laid Jordan down. I put Madison on my chest, the fussing stopped, the breathing became rhythmic and I sighed in ecstasy again. Oh my gosh, Cally is gonna beat the snot out of Izzy! I have to rewind.

I get through an episode of Grey's then Jordan started fussing again. I laid down Madison and got Jordan. She immediately stopped fussing and fell asleep on my chest once again, as I watched Zhan Hu of Survivor be completely clueless.

Mark cleaned up and got Madison, who was fussing again, and he changed and fed her. I of course, went to bed around 12:45am just as Madison unloaded the effects of prune juice earlier in the day into her now potent diaper.

To pee or not to pee

Papa went home yesterday. He was a really big help and we wish that he could have stayed longer, but we will take what we can get. We started a painting project that we were both sure would be done in a couple of hours. It is day three and it is still not done. We had to go buy more paint, and I ran out again before I finished this evening.

The twins are doing very well. Jordan is now getting Reglan and Zantac like her sister and it really seems to be helping. There has been less vomiting and she is eating quite a bit more. We have been keeping them off the monitors more often. Their skin was getting very irritated from the sticky stuff on the leads. Now we just hook them up when they are sleeping or when we "think" they will be sleeping.

The nights can still be a bit of a bear sometimes. Last night at around 1:00 they both decided to cry at the same time and were pretty fussy till about 5:00. I guess it is natural to want to fix it right now. Even though I know that they are ok and can wait a few minutes, it still stresses me out when they are both riled up at the same time.

I have a different diaper changing technique than Kari. She likes to live on the edge and will take the dirty one off before putting the new diaper in place. Thus leaving a naked infant on the unprotected bed for several seconds. I, on the other hand always slide the new diaper underneath the kid before removing the old one. This has saved me many times.

However, last night it did not. Since they were both crying, I was rushing to get a new diaper on Jordan. I got the new one in place and unfastened the wet one. As I was starting to remove the soiled garment Jordan got a hold of the leads to her monitor and was about to pull them off. So I paused long enough to untangle her, leaving the diaper in place. While I was trying to get the wires out of her vise like grip she dislodged the new diaper with her flailing legs. It was at this point that she peed and it ran off the old diaper onto the new one and off of that onto the bed. I lifted her legs to survey the damage. It wasn't too bad, new pajamas were in order, but there was only a small spot on the bed.

So I had two wet diapers, wet pajamas, a wet swaddling blanket and damp sheets. I thought, well, since she already "went" I didn't need the protective new diaper underneath. I balled them up and secured them with their little velcro straps and turned to get a new diaper from the pack. Then "No, No, NO, NOOO!" she really let loose. It was like watching a car crash. Time slowed down. I tensed, ready to spring into action, but it was too late.

Is it just girls that can start and stop and start again? Because, I can't do that. There is no stopping until the bladder is empty for the boys. Anyway, I pulled up the sheets to prevent it from soaking down to something that is not washable. Madison was still crying and Jordan was fairly calm so I put her in the swing and started feeding Madison. She got most of the way through the bottle before Jordan started crying again. So I stood up and patted Madison on the back. Pat, pat, pat, BOOM! "Oh great!" So I took my, vomit covered, shirt off got Madison clean and calm and got part way through feeding Jordan before Madison needed me again.

I got both kids fed, sheets changed, and myself sort of clean (splashed some water on myself, put on deodorant, and a squirt of cologne.) by shift change.

Here are a few more pictures. I have more, but just have not had the time to upload them yet. More soon.



Rylee is becoming quite a ham when you point the camera at her now.






















The girls are quite fond of Grandmom and Papa.























Note: Those white painting suits only stop splatters. If you wipe your hands on them you will get paint on your Dry Clean Only pants.




























Rylee likes riding on Papa's shoulders.



















Saint Grandmom and Dad with the twins.

Sunday afternoon races




The crowd gathers for the Sunday afternoon street race.
















Rylee, having just set a new record in the quarter block tricycle event, throws down a challenge to her younger sister. "There is no way that you can beat that time, Reagan."






















Never one to turn down a challenge replied "I can take you any day."





















Rylee points out the starting line.






















Reagan gets into position and revs the engine.






















One last minute check by race officials for any illegal modifications. "I don't think that bag is sanctioned."























Reagan surveys the track and mentally prepares herself.





















She finally puts on her racing face and hits the gas.























At the finish line the pit crew unstraps "Racin Reagan" from her machine. The judges compare the times and it is a tie.















Reagan gives the crowd one last smile before heading to the post race celebration.






















Heading to drivers party to tap a keg of apple juice.










I turned Rylee loose with the digital camera this evening. I was suprised how well she did. There where some pictures like this and several of the floor. But look at some of them. Not too bad.


















Be careful of what you are watching. Even prime time can be a little racy, especially when you see it through your child's eyes.

















The dogs proved to be interesting subjects and they weren't moving too fast.


















I thought that this was an interesting point of view. However, I guess this is what everyone looks like to a toddler.

















She got several shots of Bunker. She likes to get several and then pick the best one.



















Candid photos to round out the album.
















As always it is fun to record the goings on with the twins. This one is Madison getting buckled in for a nap.
















It is nice to see that she didn't forget her other sister Jordan. I am sure that Reagan would be in some if she were awake.




















This is me trying to teach her not to put her fingers over the flash.

Heavy Weights!

As of October 19th...

Madison is weighing in at 10# 3.48oz

vs.

Jordan is weighing in at 9# 1.28oz

Papa got in yesterday, as did Papa Wayne and June. It has been nice to have the house full of family. It reminds me of Christmas in Ouray when there were 6 or 7 families sometimes more. Kids running around, pleasant conversation, always someone around to lend a hand, it just feel festive.

The Grandparents took over last night and Kari and I were sent out to celebrate our anniversary. It was really great to get away for just a little bit with just my bride. It almost felt like we were back dating again and it was the most I have seen Kari smile in a long time. But, it wasn't long before we were missing the kids.

Grandmom and Papa Spencer took the graveyard shift and sent us to bed. I got about three hours of sleep before my body told me that I should be up. I fought my alertness for about an hour and a half then gave up and went down to relieve Grandmom at about 2:30. The twins were excellent last night. After about 3:00 they settled down and slept till 8:00, with the exception of a diaper change for Jordan. My Dad and I dosed on the bed while the twins slept. So while I didn't get a full night sleep, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. We may be getting close to having the two of them sleeping through the night.

Wayne and June's dog sitter bailed out at the last minute and so Sinatra Blue, their nine week old puppy, came to play. Rylee especialy liked the puppy.

The twins were pretty good last night. However, they took turns being awake. They didn't fuss too much but did more eating than I hoped they would do in the middle of the night.

Not sure what the problem is, but I tried to post this last night and it didn't go. Hope you enjoy the pictures.





Blue in a timeout for nipping.















Blue taking over the big dog's bowl.























Rylee and Blue playing the "I'm gonna git ya" game.






















Rylee being got.





















Reagan was not as thrilled with the puppy. He was pretty neat as long as he was not jumping up on her.
















Little dogs are fun too.

3:45 a.m. and the twins have not shut their eyes since about 10:30 p.m. They are both groaning pitifully at the moment and I am out of ideas to make them happy. Okay, now I am holding Madison, she broke into a full on cry and is acting like she might vomit. Speaking of that.

I have taken every precaution. I now burp the girls in the bathroom and I am very careful about not feeding them too much. Well tonight I have been ganged up on all evening. I usually try to feed one at a time but there has been no way to keep them both quiet without feeding them together. Even when they are fed, burped, and changed they are not happy. I have tried swaddled, unswaddled, in the swing, in the bed, on the belly, on the back, on the side, rocking, bouncing, singing and now they are both on the bed next to me. (Still not happy really, though they are not screaming at the moment)

Anyway, at 2:00 they were both screaming and I fed them together. Each propped up on a pillow on the bed. It is a little hard on the back that way, but they were both quiet while the bottles were in their mouths. I took turns burping them and was feeling pretty proud of myself for getting through with no vomit. Then Madison gagged. So I took her to the bathroom and patted her and got one big very wet burp. Then BOOM! But this time is wasn't on me. Jordan, who had been laying quietly on the bed, erupted like a volcano. I kind of wish it made that boom sound. It was really more like someone dumped a pitcher of water on the bed from about three feet above. Kind of a splatting sound.

It was a bad one, out the nose and she turned pretty red by the time I put Madison down and got over to her. She obviously couldn't breath and it took what seemed like a very long time to clear her airway. She is doing good now, but I think she might be hungry again and I am scared to feed her. With as much as she spits up I am amazed that she is still gaining weight. I think that Kari said Jordan is 9.5 lbs and Madison is now 10.5 lbs. Now the sheets are changed, again, and the girls are changed, again, and my shift is almost over.

In other news...

Kari awoke this morning to the screams of a disgruntled toddler. Still bleary eyed, she stumbled to the bathroom. As she glanced at the toilet she noticed something white protruding above the rim of that porcelain bowl. Her first thought was that I must have clogged the toilet and just left it for her to discover. I wouldn't do that. Upon closer inspection she found that the toilet bowl had been filled with tampons and maxipads that had been stored at low altitude. Apparently Reagan thought that Rylee has been getting too much press and had to get in on the action while Grandmom was busy with the twins.

Papa should be in this morning. We can't wait to see him.

Jordan was hungry. And they are both fussing again.

I had a few more pictures that I was going to put up tonight, but the twins got fussy.

We have been trying out a new technique. We are not waking them up to feed them. I am not sure how its working yet. Sometimes it is really nice and they will both sleep for a good while. However, sometimes they get on opposite schedules and one will always be awake, like tonight. So the jury is still out.

Mom and Kari think that I might be depressed. I may have hit a little low here, but I'm not doing too bad. I think that I was just hanging on before Grandmom got here and I didn't have time to break down. Now that we have a little help maybe some of that stress is coming out. I have been a little grouchy and there are times I have felt like "I quit." It does sometimes seem that there is no end to the screaming and crying. From the time I got up today till now there have not been many minutes where someone hasn't been crying or needing something. Rylee may have less time to control a tantrum before she gets a nap and I have had to turn the baby monitor off for a few minutes when both toddlers are crying, but overall I think I'm doing pretty good.

I thought it might be nice to see pictures of the twins from early on next to more recent photos.


Jordan shortly after arrival.




















Jordan as "just a wee little thing"






















Jordan as of just a couple of days ago. I think she looks..."better"























Madison early on.























Madison after eating her spinach.
























Grandmom and Rylee taking a break.
















The first photo of the whole family. We have started having dinner together. It is an adventure.























Rylee, Dad, and Jordan (I think). The big girls like to "help" us eat too.
















As you can see dinner time is not all about the food. It is for enjoying the company.
















Reagan, not a vegetarian.





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