New Toy!!

Sorry for the lack of updates this week -- it has been a busy, hectic, crazy one that has included the continuation of our kitchen renovation (couter-tops tomorrow, yeah!), a trip to the ER (me . . . long story and I'm fine), the news that Tim will be heading to Amsterdam next week for work (nothing like a last-minute, week-long trip oversees sprung on ya!) and a road trip to visit all Grandparents up North for the long weekend. Thankfully we survived it all.

Our new toy -- the camera! -- arrived earlier this week and Tim snapped a few new pictures over the weekend. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!

Today marks the end of one of Tim's favorite weeks of the year. You know that song "Its the most wonderful time of the year . . ." -- it is normally a Xmas song (and sometimes used during one of our other favorite weeks -- Football Bowl game week!). But I think of Tim singing that song this week -- for this one week of the year I am two years older than him. Yep, that's right -- from May 12th through today I have been 33 and he was 31. Big friggin deal! :-) But he LOVES to point out that he married an older woman and often makes comments about things from "my generation" or back in the day when I was in school (mind you, one year ahead of him!). It is cute, though, and I'm always excited to get the week over with. Welcome to being 32, my love!!

Seriously, though, a HUGE happy birthday to Big Poppa -- I love you!!!



Note: We have ordered a new camera . .. this pic was taken with our video camera . . . not the greatest.

It's a lot of work . . .

We like to refer to ourselves as "freak show" when we go out in public. You'd be very surprised by some of the comments, gawks and general questions we receive from perfect strangers when we go out in public with Bennett & Kendyll. I guess growing up with a mother who is a twin and having other family members with multiples I never really thought twice about it being rare or an oddity (and I can only imagine what it would be like if we had more than two!). Some of my favorite questions are:

"Do you have twins?" (no, we just like to bring two baby carriers everywhere)
"Are they identical?" (this is AFTER we tell them they are a boy & a girl)
"Did you have them at the same time?" (this is a new one, just asked of us yesterday)
"I couldn't imagine having two at one time" (really, I couldn't imagine only having one)
"Is it hard to tell them apart?" (again, this is AFTER we have told them they are a boy & girl)

Usually we are very polite with our answers and my standard response these days is "it is very hard and a lot of work, but we are very blessed".

So in the spirit of things being a little more challenging with multiples, I thought I'd document our feeding process. Tim asked why I would want to do this and the reason is two-fold: a) so everyone can see what our lives are like and 2) so some day MANY years from now when he or I get a little nuts and think we may just want to go through this again we'll remember what it was like (because we both know with my genetics and age we'd end up with quads next time!!).

As many of you know, I am a very organized person. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm anal -- because I know people more organized that I am -- but I do like to be neat & process oriented. I didn't realize how bad I was until I was training our nanny on how to make & clean the bottles. In all honestly, as long as the formula is mixed correctly and the bottles end up clean it doesn't really matter how it happens, but of course I got into a routine and I expect her to follow the same routine. She is now the one to make & clean the bottles during the week, but I get to slip back into my neurosis on the weekends. :-)

Since B & K were originally on a special recipe for formula we were forced to mix up a day's worth of bottles at one time. Although this can be a little time consuming, we have found that it is actually nice to have the bottles mixed & ready to go, so now that we are mixing the formula according to the can we have kept up this practice. But it is nice to know that we could mix "on the fly" (i.e. if we are out & about) or use the "liquid gold" pre-made stuff if we had to.

B & K eat every 3 hours during the day and "on demand" once they go down after their 8:00p bottles. This basically equates to 7 bottles each a day. So we start out with clean bottles:

We then mix our Neosure formula (powered gold -- it only comes in these small cans and cost about $15 a can . . . we go through about 5 - 6 a week. Thankfully we received two cases from our pedi at the last visit, which meant we actually had a break for about two weeks. Whoo-hoo!):

First, I line up all of the bottles -- according to size of course. We use Dr. Brown's bottles, which are a WONDERFUL product . . . especially with very gassy babies. It is a little more work because there are more parts to clean (and they aren't very cheap either), but it is totally worth it if it keeps us from having a colicky or gassy / fussy baby.

We mix up 30 scoops of formula in 60 oz of water. Ten bottles (5 per baby) are filled with 4 oz of formula and we fill the other 4 with 5 oz -- these are the "nighttime bottles". We've started giving B & K a little more at night to "tank up" in the hopes that they will sleep better at night. It hasn't really started to work yet, but we're not ready to give up! The smaller bottles on the end are for their daily vitamins -- given with the 10:00a bottle.

Six bottles go up to the nursery -- with a two story house, the smartest thing we have done so far is put in a special outlet and keep a mini-fridge in the babies' room. I couldn't imagine having to go up & down the stairs at 3am.

Lastly, the remaining bottles go in our fridge in the kitchen for day-time feeds. Right next to the beer -- nice! So far we haven't had any mix-ups . . .

Sometimes I have a "helper" -- today it was Bennett:

So that's our lives right now . . . bottles, formula & diapers (which we still go through about 14 - 18+ a day). Lots of work, but lots of fun, too.

Note: the remodeling in our kitchen has begun. Notice the drywall in the background . . .our tile was removed last week (not a fun process) and new dry-wall put up where our old backsplash used to be. Hopefully the new counter tops will be in sometime in the next two weeks and we'll be able to get back to normal!

Weekend with Nana & Papa

Bennett & Kendyll spent last weekend with Nana & Papa while we were in Chicago. They had a really fun time and I uncovered these pictures from the weekend festivities. The first is B & K being fascinated by storytime with Papa. The second was my first Mother's Day gift -- it was framed & waiting for me on our counter with some beautiful hydrangeas. Hopefully we get some nice weather around here so I can plant them before they wilt away.

On another note, our camera has finally died (thank GOD!). We thought it died two years ago when it was dropped in the sand, but somehow it came back to life. And while it has done an OK job over the years, now that we have two new lives to document every moment of, it really hasn't been the greatest. So the search is on for a new one . . . I'm mentioning it because it may be a while until you get new pictures of B & K (I've tried to snap a few with our video camera -- apparently it has still capabilities, too -- but I haven't had a chance to see how they have come out). We'll take any camera recommendations, if you have them.

Three Months Old!!!

Bennett & Kendyll are three months old today!! My how they have grown in the past month! I ended up staying home yesterday on my birthday and used the opportunity to take them in for a weight check. Drum roll please . . .

Bennett (aka: B-Man, BMW, B-Real Cute, Benji (this one thanks to his dr office!), Boonini)
10 lbs, 3.25 oz

Kendyll (aka: Chunky Monkey Girrrrrl, Banana, Kendy, Little Debbie (because she looks like Nana Debbie))
10 lbs 5 oz

Yep, that's right . . . Bennett gained almost 3 lbs in a month and Kendyll has packed on 9 oz in less than a week. We have made the executive decision to start feeding them their preemie formula "straight up" -- we used to mix it special for higher calories. Hopefully by the next time we take them to the pedi's office for their 4 month check-up & shots they will be able to come off the special formula (wishful thinking).

They are both starting to smile more and coo -- especially when you read or talk directly to them. They are still only sleeping 4 - 5 hours a night at a time, but they have been less fussy and will go right back to sleep when we put them down. Our pedi said that most babies start sleeping longer when they hit 12lbs and at this rate we will be there in no time.

Here are a few pictures I snapped yesterday & today.

My kind of town . . .

Ah, Chicago. We took a trip back in time to our old lives this past weekend. Two weeks ago Tim & I decided we needed something to look forward to (as well as some sleep), so we decided in honor of my birthday (5/12), his birthday (5/19), mother's day & early father's day that we would treat ourselves to a trip back to Chi-town, sans babies (sorry to our friends in IL -- we promise to bring B & K for a visit some day!). Now I know it probably seems a little crazy for two new parents to leave their almost 3 month olds and spend a weekend away. But as I've said a million times -- we are not your average parents. Actually, as one of our good friends recently said "I'd have kids if I could get away as much as you guys have!". As I've also said a million times, we are VERY fortunate to have such great family support!! We almost didn't make it back to B & K today, though . . . of course, our luck had us on one of two Chicago to Columbus flights to be cancelled this morning and ALL of the other flights -- on our airline & all others -- to Columbus were booked up through tomorrow. Luckily, we were able to get on a flight to Dayton and rented a car to drive back home. We can never travel without some kind of drama! :-)

Bennett & Kendyll spent some quality time with Nana & Papa Williams this weekend and had a blast, too, we've heard. I'll post some new pictures of them in honor of their 3rd month b-day later this week. We'll also be heading back to the doctor for a weight check, so we'll have updates on that, too.

A very Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms out there!! I hope you all spent the day doing something fun or something you enjoy!

Sorry no new pictures of B & K tonight. I do want to include this one, though, and dedicate it to Jodi . . . she mentioned to me last weekend that Tim used to tell her all the time that gas would never go above $4 a gallon (back in his BP days) . . . well this is where we filled up in downtown Chicago this morning on our way back to the airport. Yikes!!

Quick Update

Just a quick note on Kendyll . . .she appears to be doing a bit better -- actually she just finished up a full bottle and has yet to spit it up. I ended up taking her to the pediatrician yesterday just to be safe and she said Miss K looks fine, not dehydrated, very alert, etc. Probably just a stomach bug and hopefully things will be back to normal in 3 - 7 days. We are scheduled to take B & K in next week just for a weight check, but we got a small preview yesterday. Kendyll (aka Chunky Monkey Girrrrl) is now at 9 lbs 12 oz!! And this is after SEVERAL days of not eating very well. I'm pretty confident she'll tip at 10 lbs next week.

No new pictures tonight, but I'll try to add more soon. . .

Cinco de Mayo (and pictures)

For those of you who need a B & K picture fix (and you know who you are), here are a few new ones, including them in their Cinco de Mayo bibs (thanks again to the Zelasko family for these!!).

Enjoy!!

Ugh!

WARNING -- this post may be a little gross for those with weak stomachs! :-)

We officially have our first "sick" baby. We think Kendyll caught some type of a virus. We think it may have started late last week; she has always been our good sleeper and Thursday night she woke at midnight and then again at another point in the night. Then on Friday she had a huge spit-up on our nanny, Becca, and in the middle of the night a HUGE messy blowout (lovely). Totally not like her (she usually has her blow-outs during the day right before I come home from work -- what a good girl!). Then Saturday she started a string of yellowish-greenish poo and over the course of the next 18 hours had 14 (yes, FOURTEEN) #2 diapers. Oh, and she continued to spit up, having one huge one after I fed her a whole bottle -- needless to say, it reminded me of my projectile vomiting days of morning sickness. Yuck!! So we called the pedi on Sunday and as we suspected he suggested it might be a stomach bug. We're trying to feed her less, more frequently to quell the spit-ups and hopefully the poo issue will solve itself. And HOPEFULLY Mr. Bennett doesn't get it, too (he also had a ton of messy diapers, but thankfully hasn't been spitting up -- he is actually eating like a champ these days!).

On a side note (and totally unexpected), they slept VERY well last night; Bennett went down at 8:00p with no fuss, slept until 11:00p, ate (we woke him up to do so), then back down until 4:00a, ate and then back down until 7:30a (again I woke him up). Kendyll was about the same . . . she was fussy between 8 - 11, but then slept solid until this morning (actually sleeping through the bottle at 7:30a -- I could not get her awake enough to eat it). With Kendyll being such a mess yesterday we were SURE she would be up all night, but surprisingly we got almost 6 hours of sleep. Woo-hoo!

That is the best I can do with an update these days -- sorry if it is TMI! Oh, and FYI for those who were waiting patiently for the "professional" pictures from our friend Sarah. Unfortunately we had to postpone to a later time (Sarah -- our thoughts are with you!), so please continue to keep posted for that. :-)

** I forgot to mention that my parents took the brunt of Kendyll's messes . . . they were down for the weekend and watched the babies Saturday night while we attended a Tres de Mayo party. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Z!!

Random # 2

I was on my way home from work the other day and for whatever reason I was thinking about a recent visit to Tim's new office (well actually I know how I stumbled upon this thought, but I'm not going to bore everyone with my demented mind these days!). Anyway, Tim was telling me that several people have commented on the picture of me on his desk (honestly, I think it is his LACK of a nice picture of me). He has a picture of B & K from St. Patrick's Day, a picture of Tabasco from our Xmas card a couple of years ago and this picture of us from our wedding day:

NICE & CLASSY!! :-) Seriously, this is actually one of my favorite pictures from that day. Those of you who know me well know that I HATE posed pictures and our photographer that day was all about cheesy poses (good note for those of you not yet married -- if photos are an important part of your big day, spend a little more time interviewing photographers!). Tim's dad snapped this one as we were heading into their house to watch ND football between the church & reception.

** Side Note & totally off topic: So you may notice that the guys are wearing deep red & gray. That was TOTALLY unintentional and NOT for Ohio State -- sorry buckeye fans! I've had people comment upon seeing the few wedding photos we have: "oh, you had a scarlet & gray wedding -- I thought you were Notre Dame fans". Um, well . . . our colors were actually deep red & sage/apple green and in hindsight Tim probably would have worn black instead of gray that day . . . we didn't mean for it to turn out so OSUish. :-)

Ok, enough about me . . . I guess this is Bennett & Kendyll's site now. I have another picture I've been meaning to share. A HUGE hello and THANK YOU to Tim's Aunt Sandy & Uncle Lou for this special gift before B & K were born. My friend Nicole recommended the "Mother's Heartbeat Bear" to add to our registry and it has actually been one of the lifesaving items to get us to a better night's sleep (as well as the swaddleme blankets, but that's another story). Being former NICU babies, B & K really don't like to sleep in the quiet, so the bears provide a nice, mellow "white noise" to fall asleep too. So thanks to the bears we owe most of our sleep time at night to Sandy & Lou -- we love you guys!!! :-) We hope the weather in CA is gorgeous and we wish we could be there with you!!!

Here is B & K with their bears: