Special Access

9.17.13

  This has been a very busy end to summer for us.  We made the trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my dad's retirement in the beginning of August.  After returning home 'busy season' started at work for me.  I was working 60+ hours a week for most of August until yesterday.  For tax accountants this is known has the the fall busy season.  Most corporations file extensions for their tax returns due in March (not April like individuals) and have to complete the tax return by 9/15 or the first business day to follow.

  While I was working my kids were growing and enjoying time with their mom.  We only have one car so that means Jacqueline spent a lot of time hanging out at the apartment with the dog and kids.  I didn't like working that much, but I know I had the easier gig.  Jacqueline did spent Labor Day week in Louisville with family.  It was a nice change of scenery for everyone.  I did miss the hour each morning I got to see the kids when they were here, but Jacqueline had a little bit more freedom to get around during the day and a few extra hands to help during the evenings.

  Last weekend, despite it being crunch time, we headed for Chicago.  We had two very important things to attend.  First, my dad's retirement party.  Family, friends, and lot of firefighters gathered to celebrate my dad's service to the DeKalb community.  There was a picnic on Saturday at my parents house where over 100 people gathered to say thanks.  Lots of fire equipment was there and they even closed down the street in front of my parent's house.

  The second thing we had to attend was the kid's first Cubs game! Jacqueline's wedding present to me were tickets to see the Cubs play the Red's.  That game was in late September six years ago and we got to celebrate the Cubs winning the central division.  When she bought the tickets she also added her name to the season ticket waiting list.  She was somewhere north of 40,000 at the time.  Well, over six years later, she is now 954.  There is a strong possibility that her number will get called this off-season so the Cubs invited us to a game, on them, with a picture to be taken on the field after the game.  No division championship to celebrate this year (save the Cubs jokes), but the kids loved being at the ball park.  Emily loved the wind in her face and french fries.  Evan loved interacting with anyone that would look at him.  I don't think either one knew there was a baseball going on, but it didn't matter.  It was a great day and we have a great family picture to go with a great day at the ball park.

Go Cubs Go!!!

The dude man hamming it up

ON.WRIGLEY.FIELD...on the field

Even knowing we would be in the car until after midnight didn't cut down my smile

As we walked off the field I asked the guy cleaning the bullpen if there was ball around....he found two!

Has anyone seen my pants?

I grab her feet and say "can you stand for daddy?" She laughs the whole time

I made it home in time yesterday to play with the kids before they went to bed.  First non-weekend in almost a month so the kids did 'hand stands.'

Evan doesn't get left out. You can tell by my stance that he weighs a little more than his sister.

Future Fire Fighter

Driving the truck like papa

Head west young man

8.16.13

  On July 31st my dad retired from the DeKalb fire department. He spent 24 years serving the people of DeKalb.  After 24 years of fires, car accidents, slips, falls, and much more how do you celebrate? You take the whole family to Las Vegas to celebrate and send time with my uncle's family and celebrate my grandmother's birthday.  So that is what my dad did.  He rented a very nice house and brought all of us to Vegas.  My parents, brother, sister and Hurricane Wells all went west for a week in the desert.

  Jacqueline, the babies, and I (Maggie didn't want to join us in the 110 degree heat) boarded a plane on Aug 2nd (my special bday gift for J - flying with toddlers).  It was the first time the kids had been on a plane and the first time Jacqueline and I had flown with little ones.  We checked three of the largest bags (four on the way home - thanks mom and dad) they allow, stuffed as much as we could into the carry-ons and headed for the security line.  We passed with little trouble.  There was a slight delay while they made sure the kids bottles were just milk.  The first two hours of the flight were enough to make us wish we didn't have kids, or at least that we had spent the money to purchase seats for the them.

  A note to those of you that may fly with children under 2....the airline will allow them as 'lap' kids until 2, but if they can crawl or walk they need their own seat.  Emily wanted down the whole time and our kids don't sleep in our arms.  This resulted in a tag team wrestling match between a 20 pound tired and cranky toddler and her parents.  The result, a lot of screaming and crying.  After the flight attendants informed me that my crying was causing a scene we were left with, only, the screams of a child that wanted down or to go to sleep.  Eventually Emily gave into being held as long as she could eat.  Jacqueline had packed plenty of snacks so we were good for the rest of the flight.  The flight home went much better and overall it was a good first experience with flying.

  The trip itself was great.  A lot of family time and just hanging out at the house.  The place my dad rented had everything - a TV in almost every room, outdoor kitchen (w/ TV), pool with swim up bar and a TV, fire pit, outdoor game area complete with water balloon sling shot and target, and was a home away from home.  We enjoyed a ton of time at the house with family and got out to see the sites a few days.  We took the babies to the shark reef at Mandalay Bay and had lunch afterwards.  We also did a night at a casino buffet.  Daddy showed the kids how you get some of your money back from the casino - just keep eating and they took the lesson well.

Here are some of the pictures from the trip.....

Emily had to push the stroller...she pushed it all the way to the car

Uncle Bubba!

Hanging with HA

You told us it was cooler in the mornings...it's 91

Kisses for Grammie

Go on, I'm good here

Family - the reason we went. This is grandma and all the (great)grandkids

They loved watching the fish at the shark reef

Can I go swimming?

Plenty of time to hang out in the pool

Leaving Las Vegas

Is it still called a vacation when you have kids?

6.30.13

  Jacqueline and I got to spend a week at Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky/Tennessee border.  We packed up the kids, dog, and enough gear to survive a nuclear winter or to climb on a houseboat with two toddlers and a 150 lb dog for a week and headed for the lake.  We met Jacqueline's family down there.  After a 20 minute run through on how to operate the boat, we were off.  So this is the point I need to explain that I was 'captaining' the boat.  By the time we were out of the no wake zone I had doubled my time at the helm of a boat....any boat.  This was a 40 foot houseboat.  Once I was out of the no wake zone the goal was to find a piece of shore to run the front of the boat up on and then tie the back to some trees.  Sure, what could go wrong with this plan.

Fading daylight and the other boat breaking down, the one J's family was staying for the week, were only minor issues.  We found a some beach for the night and planned to go back to the marina to meet up with the rest of the family in the morning.  The next morning the other boat was ready to go and we set off, again.  We found a nice spot for the two boats and had a great week.  We spent time swimming and kayaking.  The babies LOVED the water.  Evan 'swam.'  This means Jacqueline blew in his face and pushed him to me.  He came up out of the water and wasn't sure what to think.  Jacqueline was able to calm me down fast enough.  Why did I need calming? I was sure my son was drowning....he wasn't and as soon as I smiled at him he laughed and tried to put his face back to the water.  Emily wasn't so sure about putting her face in the water so we didn't push her farther than she wanted to go.

The videos below are when J took the babies tubing behind her uncle's boat.  Yep...tubing.  Again I need calming down and the kids loved it.

 Emily in the Tube...battery was low so videos of them are short.

Evan in the Tube and waving

 

The kids loved their floating rafts...our boat is in the background

Just two quick videos

 

This is how we wash trays and the floor at our house...also a pre-soak on the clothes doesn't hurt.

 

Heading in the right direction

2.28.13

Happy Valentine's day/New Year/Thanksgiving/Merry Christmas....okay it has been too long since the last update - we have twins.

There is so much that has happened over the past 3+ months.  Both kids have their bottom two front teeth. Evan should have a top one any day now. Emily is crawling, Evan loves to give high fives, and both kids are SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! Sorry, don't know what happened to my keyboard.  The thought of filling in the details of all the events of the past few months is too exhausting to think about so I will let video and pictures sum it up.

I will jump straight to today's events.  Last Friday was their 9 month check up.  Em is 17lb 3oz and 27" while Ev tips the scales at 21lb 9oz and 28" long.  All good numbers until we got to head size.  Emily was given the all clear after a remeasure (they were worried it was too small).  Evan's head had him off the charts. In fact, his head is so big that if it does not grow until after his 18 month check up, he will still be in the 90th percentile.  One of the the things that can cause a baby's head to get so big is something called hydrocephalus.  Word to the wise, do not google ANYTHING that your doctor mentions could be the problem.  We (more me than Jacqueline) were left to worry for a week until a CT scan could be done.

The scan was today and he did great.  He had to hold still to get the picture, which meant a possibility of anesthesia.  Evan did great and held still. We were in and out of the scan in under a half hour. Even better the test came back normal! The only thing our little guy suffers from is George Costanza syndrome because he is going to be stretching out the neck holes of his clothes (okay no more Seinfeld references and buddy if you are reading this some day don't worry your head is normal and beautiful - the doctor told us that).

The biggest thing that came from today and this past week was a true sense of gratefulness to the Lord for his provisions of health.  While we were waiting for Evan and Emily to be called back (Em had x-rays to make sure her hips had no issues from being breech and she is all good) we saw a lot of kids dealing with things that nobody, especially someone that small, should be dealing with.  My heart broke for the parents and children, but at the same time leap for joy at the unearned gifts we have been given.  I saw a mom pulling her child around in a red wagon and I fought back tears.  The wagon ride was not a break from treatments.  Rather, it was necessary so her mother could get all the machines this young child was hooked up to around all at once.  But for the grace of God there go I.

We may face challenges like that in the future with our kids.  We pray every day for the health of our children, both, spiritually and physically.  Finally, if you are someone who faces/faced great health challenges with your child I thank the Lord for your strength and pray that if we face similar challenges that the Lord provides the same strength to us and high spirits to our children.

 

 

Nap time over

Look close...teeth!

They love each other.

She can decide where she wants to play

My toy...no really that is her toy

Ev...how do you do that? Em...Mom helped.

This is a little "scanner" they use to let toddlers get use to idea of being in one.

Resting his big beautiful head

Look how big we are!

What? Everyone sleeps like this.

Mr. Sandman

11.9.12

So we are closing in on six months.  'They are getting to an age where they should be letting you sleep longer.' That was the quote from our pediatrician a few weeks ago when we took Em to have her ears checked (no problems with her ears).  However, we didn't feel like they, especially Emily, were going as long as they should or with any regularity.  We were coming off one of the worst five day stretches we have had with Emily since we first brought them home.

With hindsight and some sleep we realized she had gone through an extended growth spurt.  The first clue was the 14 pound weight she had at the doctor and her moving up to six month clothes that week.  She still isn't the best sleeper but she will go 6-8 hours each night as long as she is in her rock'n play.  We are having trouble getting her to sleep well in her crib.  For the time being we have decided not to fight her, but rather to let her sleep in the rock'n play.  Our hope is that we can establish a pattern of solid sleep and then we will crib train.  As it is now we feel like we are trying to get her use to her crib and teach her she needs to be sleeping at night.  Her favorite time to nurse is still at night.  We have been working at rocking her back to sleep after she wakes.  That usually gets her to sleep for another hour or so, but there are nights when she is up every 2-3 hours to eat.  Last night was one of those nights.  Hoping for better tonight.

Evan on the other hand eats whenever he can get food during the day although he is beginning to show a preference for a bottle.  He has been consistent about going to bed at 8 and sleeping until at least 4 and sometimes later.  At that point he is up for a short meal and then back to sleep for another 2-3 hours.  He usually eats again and finishes off whatever time is left until 730 or 8 with a 'nap'.  He naps well during the day, which Emily does not.  Every chance I get I hold Emily over her sleeping brother and tell her to learn.  I actually don't do that, but we do have to remind ourselves that we shouldn't compare them and each one is unique. This a good lesson to start learning now because I am sure I will have a life time of reminding myself of that fact.

Here are a few pics Jacqueline took of their Halloween costumes.

If we look cute will you take us out of these sooner?

Cute enough?

Can we take them off yet?

Ok, we look cute and we know it

Two peas in a pod, actually two pods

you look funny, no you look funny

Like I said, he will try and eat anything.

LUNCH time!

Bananas were not a hit

If he knew how to spit it out he would

For GG and Earl

A video of Evan for GG and Earl to see. Everyone will enjoy though.