Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Tuesday, May 31

Our First Family Trip to the Zoo!

Yesterday we met our favorite friends who happen to have twins, the Lettenbergers, at the zoo. We were so excited but also hoped the heat wouldn't get us down. We started early in the day and finished by noon-ish - just before it got busy. Then we headed over to the Lettenbergers for a Memorial Day gathering - beating the late afternoon heat with some cold beers! Now hopefully the weather will stay nice so I don't have to wish for it in order to get the babies out of the house.



Craig took the babies to the country club pool he manages (so I could have an hour to myself). These are their future baby-sitters! -whenever you are ready ladies:)

Saturday, May 28

Ok,Ok

So I decided to post a couple pics because the babies are still sleeping peacefully (I'll kick myself later for jinxing my quiet afternoon). These are from late morning, after the photographer left (yep, that's right - she came to us. we didn't have to pack up or worry about hungry babies!). They are still wearing their plain onesies and I was too tired to go get "real" clothes, so I just wrapped them in their cozy blankets and put slippers on their feet! Too precious.




Gosh, No Pics Again!

On Thursday we met with the babies' sitter. She only takes care of her own grandchildren, has a great backyard, and is fluent in "baby" - although her youngest grandchild is 2.5 years old. She was very eager to hold the babies and seemed okay with the 'twins' thing. We weren't worried that we wouldn't get along with her but that taking on 2 at one time would be overwhelming to the sitter. But it sounds like it's all going to work out! She is located a little out of our way but Craig and I are willing to work it out, knowing we have a reliable, trustworthy sitter.

This morning we had pictures taken. I considered them 'newborn' pics, even tho they are 2 months old. But it seems that just because they are newborn size, they don't act like one. They were much more awake and that whole laying still because babies are too tired to much else did not apply to our kids. Oh well, I am absolutely positive that photos will be perfect and can't wait to share them! We even jumped outside for a couple - the foliage was so green but the weather was craptastic:)

We will most likely spend Memorial weekend indoors; it doesn't look like the weather will cooperate until Monday. And then it's supposed to be HOT and HUMID! Yuck - guess we can't get warmth in this area without that gosh darn humidity:) Hope everyone else enjoys a bit of the weekend!

Wednesday, May 25

Two Months Old

Happy day to our babies! I've been *telling* Craig and my mom that there is still a pretty big difference in weight between Kelsey and Drew and today proved right. Craig says he doesn't notice a difference and my mom thinks Drew is "catching up". Well, chubby Kelsey is 7lbs 12.5oz and squirty Drew is 7lbs 5oz. For their adjusted age Kelsey is doing good according to the growth charts, besides Drew's large head size he is falling fairly low on the charts. But no worries; the doc says they look good and have both gained over 2.5lbs in a month.

Last night Kelsey rolled over from tummy to back 4 times. She's such a strong little girl! Drew seems to be ticklish - Craig's been trying to get them to exhibit voluntary responses to us. It was also shot day - 3 (!!) of them and a drinkable one. They screamed and got really red right after the first one but quickly calmed down when we dressed and held them. Drew has an umbilical hernia, which will likely heal itself by one year and Kelsey has 2 hemangiomas, which may eventually go away. Otherwise I'm trying to decide if I want to get them eating at the same times during the day, each day to be in a routine before I go back to work  - so that I know I will/can feed them every morning before I leave for work.

Another craptastic day - hope you all get to take a rainy nap!

Monday, May 23

Good Times

Well something happened yesterday that hasn't happened since the babies were in the NICU...I took a nap! It was actually an all-family nap after we got home from Craig's softball game. We had been outside for 3 hours and the night before we were all up late because Craig played softball until almost midnight and the twins weren't sleeping yet. So needless to say "mom and dad" were pretty tired and I had to bring Drew on to the couch with me to sleep because he was so restless in his bouncy chair. But Kelsey had just finished eating so she crashed as soon as I put her down, just like her dad:)

We have a *busy* week - 2month appt, going to meet the baby-sitter, and "newborn" pictures. And next weekend the whole fam is doing a crohns/colitis walk (if you look down the right side of the blog there is a link) in honor of "Uncle" Derek's best friend, who passed away a week before the babies were born. We feel grateful to be a part of this cause. It's a guarantee that Uncle Derek's friend Kyle would have been one of the kids' favorite! We will all be in matching "Team Kylage" shirts - the pictures will be adorable:)

Hope everyone enjoyed the super weather yesterday - I may have enjoyed it too much, as evidenced by my red arms, neck, and chest. Oh yeah, real cute. I'll have to make sure it's less obvious by Saturday for pictures.

Saturday, May 21

Apocalypse

Today is Judgement Day - hope everyone is doing something special on this day of rapture. Apparently, God is going to *take* those who are worthy and leave the rest of us to endure hell on earth. What a bummer. So if this is it....it's been a good run! I think judgement day really started yesterday - when I heard that "Macho Man" Randy Savage had died in a car accident. Now that is a true WWF tragedy. I broke my brother's arm 23 years ago when we were wrestling WWF-style, pretending to be our favorite wrestlers.

Soooooooooo...I didn't get too many more photos from yesterday. The visit to school was quick and we spend most of it "showing" the kids off to the other teachers AND keeping the students from *touching* the babies! We were able to go out to eat. It's so nice not having to worry about smoke in restaurants anymore.

It's perfectly crappy outside today. Good thing my new camera came today so I can spend the day learning how to use it:)

This is a *movie* of Drew doing his "chewing" thing while he sleeps. I think it's the cutest:)


Kelsey and Craig watching "Wheel of Fortune". A new evening tradition.


Friday, May 20

Shhhh....it's a SURPRISE!

Today is Craig's birthday. And for as long as we've been together, I have brought a birthday treat to his classroom - as long as his birthday fell on a school day. The first couple years I surprised him and showed up unannounced to his class. Then we would talk about it ahead of time because I would bring lunch in for him too. Last year I think I went on a field trip with his class and brought a treat during movie time.

Well, this year I made a last minute decision to bake 40 some cupcakes and bring the babies in to his school. Usually I plan things like this weeks in advance. I secretly bought his favorite funfetti cake Wednesday and ALL DAY yesterday I baked. I also bought the kids Brewers' onesies to wear, altho they are little big yet. So I thought I'd let you all know before we go to see Craig in an hour. He always calls on his lunch to see how we are doing and I hope I time it right that when he calls we will be parking at the school and he can meet us at the door! Here's the first pic of the twins all geared up waiting...


I'll be sure to get more pics of them with their daddy on his birthday and post more later! And it couldn't have been a nicer day to take the babies out:)

Monday, May 16

Finally

There's SUN today! After a couple days of gloomy, rainy weather it looks like spring again. Although it is ridiculously windy, so there is no chance of going out with the babes. Since Craig has been gone all weekend, I was dying to get out today just to do the grocery shopping - yep. That's what my life has come down to; getting excited for the grocery store. Since we haven't done much, I'm just enclosing some moments of our house-bound weekend, captured in pictures.


Drew crashed on my chest after a "poop meltdown"

She slept like this for about 20min - "Arms Wide Open", Anyone?

Saturday, May 14

Rainy Day

It's one of those days...where all you feel like doing is staying in bed and watching movies and ordering take-out. Well, me and the babes are doing just that - minus take-out (I'm trying to be good and really I'm not so good at ordering out; I can't say why). Believe it or not all you people reading this living in Wisconsin, Craig is at a softball tournament. I'm pretty sure the temperature today involves the words "wind chill" and makes no mention of the word "sun". He left sometime after 6 this morning and could possibly be there all night! So life is just easier for me to stay in the second floor of our house, babies chilling in their boppy pillows next to me in bed. I run downstairs to get some nourishment when I get a chance but being so far from the kitchen keeps me from grazing all day - and let's just say I've been eating my "feelings" lately:) Otherwise when I'm home by myself with the kids I have to move so many things down with me and I usually forget to do important things like brushing my teeth (I know, eww gross). And since the babies are eating more I've been trying to pump more often and it is just more comfortable to do that in my bed instead of the wide open living room.

Today gave me time to enter all my "pampers rewards" points, research cameras, pay bills, and shop online for some upcoming birthdays. Drew had what I call his "poop meltdowns". He fusses and cries until he passes gas or FINALLY poops. He started one of these meltdowns while I was pumping this afternoon so he had to suck it up for 10 min before I could really console him. Then I decided to try my baby sling on him so that I could clean bottles and get some food. Drew immediately quieted and I was hands-free! So even though we didn't technically get out of bed today, I felt fairly productive:)

Friday, May 13

weird..

So I put up a new post yesterday and now it's not here....

I'm going to find out what's going on and try to retrieve it. It didn't say anything important but there were some pictures. Everyone hold on.

UPDATE:
Googled "blogspot" and found out they were having server problems since the 11th. So yesterday they had to remove all posts since the 11th in order to remedy the problem and hope to be able to restore everyone's posts soon. Oh well, if they don't I still have the pics on my camera.

Thursday, May 12

What Up?

I don't have much to report about the babies other than they are super sweet and doing good! I know I'm not bound by contract to post something new every other day, but we have lots of "long-distance" family and the blog helps them feel  connected to us. Really the best part is the pictures, so maybe I'll just throw up some new pics of them!

(I could talk about the strange yo-yo weather we've had, but it's sooooooooo cliche to talk weather:))

These are our goofy kids: Kelsey with her bib thrown up over her face
and Drew sleeping all crazy in his bouncy seat!




Monday, May 9

Due Date

In all technicalities, my babies would be 1 day old today. I would have been 40wks yesterday so they are officially newborns! They are definitely bigger and chubbier, and I could possibly pass them off as newborns now:) Yesterday was only the second time they weren't wearing a sleeper, mostly because they finally fit into "real" clothes.

We had a nice day yesterday even though we were a little more sleep deprived than usual because we had celebrated our dear friend Jason's 30th birthday the night before. We have no trouble being up at midnight but there is usually a couple of hours of sleep before that! And even though the babies had a lot of fresh air during the day, they were animals last night:(  Craig was busy preparing for his first day back to work and I was left with VERY fussy, inconsolable kids. It took over an hour to quiet them, tried breast feeding them to wear them out and then I dozed off on the couch around 9:30 while holding Drew on my chest and cradling Kelsey on my side. I was done! My only hope was that they would sleep for a couple hours before needing to eat again. So I didn't hear D until 1 and K followed - I fed both, not waking Craig up. He offered to get up with the kids even though he had to work, but I figured I was already awake and since Craig didn't even hear either baby cry...I sucked it up! And the last thing he needed his first day back to work is to be irritable and impatient with his class.

So it will always be a nice memory that the twins were due on my first mother's day, something I can remind them of when they get older!

Cue the awwwwwwws; the twins' outfits for my brother's wedding in September!






Saturday, May 7

Not My Babies

These can't possibly be our children....something short of a miracle happened last night. I woke up a little after 4 this morning and had a bit of a panic attack: did I feed a baby in my sleep and not remember? That would be awful. So I kinda yelled to Craig so he would wake up while I talked to him - is this real? Did they make it to 4 without waking up? Yep, he says and tries to ignore the fact that the babies are awake now. This means they went 5.5 almost 6 hours between feeds...and they were quiet...and I felt good when I woke up at 4, like I slept for once! This was absolutely welcomed after they were begging for food every 2.5hrs yesterday from 1p.m. on. I finally figured that maybe they were ready for more volume in their bottle; so that's what I did at 10p.m. and then they slept like teenagers! (Ok, that's really an exaggeration, but for them to go that long at this age/weight was a milestone in our minds.)

We've gotten out of the house quite a bit this week. Wednesday we went out for a walk. Thursday we went to the art museum to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit (and the 1st Thursday of the month is free -totally worth the minor crowds that "free" creates). Yesterday we went to the mall because the exterminator was spraying the inside of the house (our first maintenance treatment of the year), not that there were fumes but we had to let the liquid dry. And we are thinking of going to Craig's softball game this afternoon - it isn't supposed to rain, it doesn't look windy, and it should be warmer by then.

I'm going to post a picture of Drew in his guitar sleeper I bought him yesterday; you will probably think it's nothing special but I just love the way he looks in it!!

Wednesday, May 4

Oh, Sunny Day!

Today was another beautiful day - probably the best so far, as there was minimal wind. We took the kids out after lunch today for a walk and I realize I need it just as much as the babies! I haven't done anything active since January 4th and boy, can I feel it. Each walk we've taken this week has been noticed by my hips, legs, and butt. I've been a little sore each day after and a even a little more exhausted than usual about an hour after the walk (fresh air is serious business!).

Craig finally admitted that he noticed the weight difference between Kelsey and Drew - I've been saying it for almost 2wks. But then I never noticed how HEAVY our cat was until I picked him up after holding one of the babies! I mean if there were more hours in the day I would think about putting him on a diet, but I really don't need any projects right now;)

The babies are still doing well: eating, pooping, and sleeping regularly! And getting the recommended "tummy time" every day thanks to drill-sargent dad, who doesn't let us slack:) This is our last full week with Craig. He goes back to work Mondays and Fridays until school is finished in June and then I return to work once Craig is home.




                                                      Kelsey doing tummy-time on my lap.


                                                 But then we realized she just went to sleep!


Monday, May 2

Happy May & Hurry Up Summer

I'm still waiting for *nice* weather. I know some of probably thought it was pretty awesome outside this weekend but that wind was nasty yesterday. I really want to be able to take the babies out in the stroller even for short walks just to get them out of the house. Last night Drew was letting us know that no matter what we did he was gonna whine. So Craig had enough and said we are taking them out for a walk. Thankfully the wind had died down and sure enough both kids crashed on the short walk around the neighborhood. I have been praying for decent weather this weekend so that we can go watch Craig in his first softball tournament on Saturday. But now they are saying RAIN - BOO! We have plans to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum Thursday for the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit and because it's free!

Again we are looking at other babysitting options. We have arranged a loving, willing "grandmother" to watch the kids but up until I called for her address last week had NO IDEA how out of the way she is for us (oh and her price is right). So with gas prices skyrocketing, it's all about location, location, location! I'm trying to get an Alverno College nursing student to take all late afternoon/night classes so she can watch the twins. She wants to be a pediatric nurse anyway and what better practice! Or she could find a "friend" and schedule opposite classes and they could tag-team the babysitting duties:) See, I have it all figured out - now I need to actually find the people that will fit into my master plan.

We have been watching the babies plump up and grow and have decided we are not sure who they look like. We aren't going to make any permanent decisions until they are 6 month old little people! It's possible that they won't really look like either of us because they will have so many different features from both of us.

Babies in the swing together - Thanks to our friend Jill for making them snuggle:)