The Prochaska Archives

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Party!

2010-10-18T16:17:00.001-07:00

The decor, read more about that on Food Lush

Welcome!

My boys

GG teasing

Grammie teaching

Paddy entertaining

Trophy husband working the room

Aunt Lara & Uncle Charlie

How old are you going to be? Twwwwooooo!

CHEESE!

Planning the attack

Mmmmm, cupcakes!

Dane hugging Kellen

Lara and Thing 1

Partied out

Perfect end to the perfect party? A jump on the trampoline!

And finally presents!

See all the pictures here.

Baby got back

2010-09-27T21:59:00.001-07:00

The boys got their first pair of Levi's today. I ran into Costo to pick up my glasses that were being repaired and made the mistake of looking around. We walked by the clothes section and the boys begged to look around. I asked if they wanted to look at the toys instead but they insisted! (I love how buying clothes for them does not come with the attached guilt like buying clothes for myself!)

After picking out the jeans and the world's largest package of AA batteries, I'm pretty sure we were set to make it out with our lowest Costco bill ever. That is until we were hit with the news it was time to renew our membership. I swear, a girl can never win!

Here are some photos of them modeling their new jeans.

Trying to get away from the paparazzi.
Shelby always in quick pursuit.
You can run but you can not hide!
And just how cute are these patooties?!?

First busted lip :(

2010-09-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last night Devin busted his lip on the tub. It was dramatic for like a whole minute and then...

He moved on to jumping on the bed. We barely got him to sit still long enough to take the first picture.

Boys!

Toddler beds

2010-09-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well we officially had to make the switch. They were climbing out and not able to get back in which was heck on nap time yesterday so today we're trying out the toddler beds for the first time. I am currently watching them play in their room on the monitor so cross your fingers that they go to sleep soon!

Sleep Over

2010-09-07T21:16:00.002-07:00

Ever since they figured out how to crib hop, I've been wondering when this was going to happen.

I left them that way so Darrell could see them when he gets home from class in a couple minutes. So cute!

Gig 'em Ags!

2010-09-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's almost been 2 years?

Happy 3 years to us!

2010-09-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well year #3 did not bring around kid #3 but it did whiz by in the blink of an eye!?!

Today we have officially been married for three years, (happily for the majority of it - I'm counting that as a blessing ;)

Together we're embracing life, making concerted efforts to be good partners, parents, employees and (in Darrell's case) a student. Life is never dull around here and although Darrell might tell you otherwise - I think that must be the way that we like it.

Day one of the rest of our lives:

792 days later:

And finally today, 1,888 days later:
Happy Anniversary Darrell, marrying you was the best decision I ever made!

Climbers

2010-09-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Oh no. We knew this day was coming very soon and this morning when we found both boys in Devin's crib we knew it had arrived. We have climbers! Not sure what the future holds. After these pictures were taken Devin climbed right out of his crib with the perfect dismount so maybe we'll be able to forgo the toddler beds for a while??? (knock on wood)

The two of them having free reign while we're trying to get them to go to bed and in the mornings when they have woken up but Darrell and I have not scares the heck outta me!

Ladykillers

2010-08-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

So hot we'll melt your popsicle.

My former co-worker, Allison George, took these at a BBQ the WCVA hosted on Saturday. We tried everything to get these boys to smile but no luck. Guess they were serious about their watermelon and exhausted. Did I mention exhausted? Saturday consisted of a Full House MOMS party that morning, Arianna's birthday next and then the WCVA BBQ. We headed home around 2pm and apparently missed the napping window. They jump around in their cribs for a couple hours and then were ready for dinner at 5:30??? Maniacs.

Laundry tips for moms.

2010-07-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Right, so I never thought I'd be sharing household tips here but last night was the first time I washed a disposable diaper and well, the results were blog worthy.

We leave for Boise today and last night I was doing the last load of laundry before our trip. I started the load quickly before I left for a Full House MOMs Love and Logic seminar. When I returned I started pulling the clothes from the washer to the dryer while having a conversation with our babysitter, Ms. Angela. I saw shreds and just thought I left something in a pocket. Then I noticed the GOO that was EVERYWHERE. Very confused I showed Ms. Angela. She was like, that's a diaper. What?!? How could a diaper get in there?

We've starting introducing the boys to the potty and have them in Pull Ups, trying to get them to understand the concept. Our laundry hamper is right outside of their bathroom. My guess is that one of them decided to "help" Mommy and dispose of the dirty pull up. Funny thing is, I remember Darrell helping me one morning before he left for work and only having one dirty pull up at the end. I was a little miffed, thinking that Darrell went all the way to the Diaper Genie and only took his baby's diaper. Sorry babe. :)

Bright side? At least it was a Pull Up and not a super absorbent regular diaper. Can you image?

I ended up separating the load into 4 separate loads to give the goo room to be washed away. So my last load of laundry before we left turned into five. Maybe this will spare another mom from doing the same!

The next big thing.

2010-07-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Like we really need a NEXT big thing, sometimes I wonder if I just like to shake things up whenever the dust begins to settle. (No mom, I'm not pregnant.)

A while back I posted about leaving my job and getting my Master's Certificate in Online Marketing. Throughout the courses, I have been applying what I've learned and building my portfolio. So yesterday I was able to launch my start-up web design and marketing company!

It is scary to put yourself out there and I probably would have waited until everything was perfect. Because that realistic, right?

Instead, I was inspired by my amazing friend, Jennie of ShelikesPurple.com, Stylelushblog.com and TheStir.com who I was so blessed to have visit me for a long weekend (6 days!) and give me the little nudge (great big push) I needed. Not only did she encourage me with her reaction to everything I had in my portfolio, she gave me more work to add to it and then put me out there to her little corner of internet (y'all she averages 2,500 readers a week!) I had 118 visitors to my site just yesterday. AND THEN this little post went up. Really!?! The Stir gets 6 million unique views a month.

You see sometimes I fail to remember that validation is overrated . I think we all do... so try not to be too hard on yourself. But not Jennie. Good lord, that girl is making things happen and it is so inspiring. In her post she said, she had no idea how far I had come in the last couple years. If I impressed her - then she made my head spin. It was just over two years ago that I remember talking with her about her ideas. She has worked hard to make them happen, not to mention starting a family and moving up the career ladder at her day job.

Mike are you listening? Load up the Uhaul and head to Portland. Jennie and I are taking over the world.

4th of July!

2010-07-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a slideshow from our fourth of July!

Seattle Trip / Prochaska's Visit

2010-06-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

On the Thursday before Father's day/ Darrell's birthday weekend Daniel, Darrell's brother, got assigned to work in Eugene, OR. He decided to drive out with Grandma RJ and the kids and make a weekend out of it. We were planning a weekend trip to Seattle so we took the whole gang along, which worked out perfectly because on Saturday we were able to escape on an adult night out while Grandma RJ took the kids swimming in the hotel pool.

Here's a slideshow of our visit:

Dad's Day

2010-06-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

Seattle that morning.

From Dad's Day

Back home in Portland that night.

From Dad's Day

See all the pics:

Dad's Day

Driving Range

2010-06-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Friday night we took the boys out to the driving range. Darrell needed to practice for tournament that he had on Saturday and I thought it would be fun to take the babes. It turned out to be a little more stressful than fun so we made our way to the deserted put-put golf area to minimize the chance of run-ins with any club heads!

From Driving Range

Drive for show, put for dough. Dane practicing taking Paddy's money!

From Driving Range

Devin teeing it up.

From Driving Range

He did it!

From Driving Range

Devin practicing with Darrell.

From Driving Range

Dane very curious.

From Driving Range

Very grateful for the sketchy put-put course.

From Driving Range

On the ‘Swilcan’ Bridge.

From Driving Range

This face, oh this TODDLER face. Where the heck did the baby go?

From Driving Range

Love this smile.

From Driving Range

Bless their hearts, trying to properly use the handrails.

From Driving Range

Off to the links!

From Driving Range

Hole in one?

There's more:

Driving Range

This would have never happened if Dad was home!

2010-06-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight after I unloaded the dryer, I went to put the towels on the couch and returned to this:

Of course I grabbed my phone are started taking some shots.

Realizing that this was too hilarious to have low quality documentation, I went to get the real camera.

Of course this would have never happened if Dad was home because he would have been too worried about the dryer door breaking. Me on the other hand, figured if they broke the dryer I might get a break from laundry!

Don't worry the dryer is fine. And so are the babes.

Chopsticks

2010-03-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

In honor of Darrell's trip to Asia we decided to go out for Sushi. There is a great place here in Hillsboro, Syun Izakaya, seems a little bit of a contradiction (good food in Hillsboro), I know. Anyway, it turns out that the chopsticks served as fine entertainment for the boys.

Here is a video:

Tisk, Tisk...

2010-03-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

That's me wagging my finger at ME! If we're not friends on facebook then you have been out of the loop haven't you? Things have been BUSY around here but you deserve to at least see some recent pics don't you? Excuse my obvious laziness, I'm only posting facebook picture links.
Darrell left for China a week and a half ago for a three week trip! Here are pics of the boys saying goodbye as well as one of the Skype calls they had.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156061&id=693529685&l=0c8ca57f03

And here are some pics of us wine tasting with the boys wearing their "backpacks" (leashes)!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155085&id=693529685&l=a71191d38f

Here is one of my favorites, Dane giving Darrell a kiss through Skype!

Dance Party 2010!

2010-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

My Monkeys

2010-01-11T21:08:00.001-08:00

My Twlight Boys

2010-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Creepy, huh? Don't worry it was just berries and graham crackers!

Serious this time...

2010-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

The truck has got to go, it doesn't fit the two car seats!

Forward to anyone you think would be interested. Please :)
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/1540648957.html

Boozing it up on NYE

2010-01-03T19:57:00.001-08:00

Let's get this party started!

Throw your hands in the air,

Waive 'em like you just don't care!

Double fistin'

Self portrait, always a sign of a gooood night

How you doin'?

I might have pounded a few too many...
Drink 'til she's cute!

What a difference a year makes!
Happy 2010 everyone!

Um, excuse me, who said you could do that?

2010-01-03T19:38:00.001-08:00

Dear Devin, babies are not supposed to be able to scale toy chests. Please don't tell me your not a baby anymore!

Did I mention?

2010-01-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

I found my first gray hair! You can't see it in this picture but I had to document the moment. Ekkk. Kids do it to you, it's true.

Trip to Boise

2010-01-03T17:06:00.001-08:00

Grandma with Grand-kids
Devin out to eat
Dane getting tickled by Papa

Pics with Santa

2010-01-03T16:41:00.001-08:00

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Family & Friends,

What a year it has been! In case you haven't heard we had twin boys at the end of last year and well, they have kinda been our life ever since. So in the spirit of streamlining, which I have become very good at by the way, I've decided to write our Christmas Card bulleted list style! Easier for you to read and the real reason, easier for me to write. I'll make it up to you when I post our 2009 video. I decided to get ambitious this year and make a year end video because we have so much footage that I know we'll never watch in bits and pieces. This ended up to be more time consuming that I thought so it's still under construction. I'll post it everywhere when it's done, so check back here or friend me on facebook.

January

Celebrated the New Year with Darrell's parents and his mom was gracious enough to stay and take care of the boys while I went back to work.
Darrell's classes started back up at Portland State. Graduation is December 2010 which is when he will receive his Master Degree in International Management.

February

Darrell traveled to Dallas and earned his Project Management Professional Certification. He is now a PMP!
We had our first trama, surely not our last with these two bruisers. Dane's hemangioma birthmark had to be removed which was major surgery but he made it through with flying colors. Darrell and I were a little worse for wear.

March

Darrell's mom returned to Boise and my parents came to relieve her.
We ALL ran/walked Portland's Shamrock run in the rain!
Celebrated Paddy's (my dad) birthday on St. Patrick's day!

April

Ran/walked Portland's Race for the Roses.
Got pictures taken with the bunny!
D&D took swim lessons for the first time.

May

Babies started daycare.
Evan and Lauren came to visit us and finalize their wedding plans.
Both boys started teething!
Darrell attended the Wind Energy Conference in Chicago.

June

Devin and Dane went to Texas for the first time.
Darrell turned 31!
The boys spent 2 weeks in Boise with their Grandma and Papa Prochaksa

July

I celebrated Lara's bachelorette par-tay in Austin.
Evan and Lauren got married in Portland and we got to have Jennie and Mike as house guests!

August

Lara and Charlie tied the knot!
I celebrated my 27th birthday and awesome Julia threw me a surprise party that I knew nothing about.

September

Darrell and I celebrate 2 years of marriage in Tokeland, WA!
We started a business manufacturing gold prospecting equipment, Summit Mining & Equipment Inc. with Darrell's family.
Ran Pints to Pasta 10K in Portland.

October

The boys turned one?!!?
Celebrated Grammie's birthday a couple of days before.
The boys, my mom and I finished a corn maze for the first time. Darrell and Julia were experienced pros.

November

My Oregonian best friend, Julia, moved to Denver. She is off to bigger and better things, but we sure so miss her!!! A lot.
I left my job at the WCVA to pursue my Master Certificate in Interactive Marketing. Paddy and I are starting a consulting company and will begin taking orders very soon!
We traveled to Texas for a mighty good Aggie game against t.u.

December

We'll here we are. The year is coming to an end and what a good year it was. We will be spending the Christmas holiday with the Prochaskas in Boise and hope that everyone enjoys the Holidays. We feel so blessed for all your friendships, blessings, thoughts and prayers.

Merry Christmas All!

Love,
The Prochaskas
XOXO

Santa, we've been reeeallly good this year!

2009-12-13T14:35:00.001-08:00

Messy-licious

2009-12-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I quit my day job. And as a mater-of-fact today was my first day of online classes; I am pursuing a Master Certificate in Interactive Marketing through the University of San Francisco. Plan after that? Making the world my oyster.

This set-up works out perfectly on days like today, when D&D had to get their flu shots this am and could not return to daycare. They napped liked all-stars and I was able to get about half my classes knocked out for the week. We even got to take a short break for some lunch time fun.

On the menu: a hamburger helper concoction that I made Sunday night. It was Italian Supreme (or something like that) I added a box of mac and cheese and some frozen meat balls because I wanted a larger supply for leftovers, ect. The two different sets of noodles didn't cook even so Darrell and I thought it wasn't too good. Luckily Devin, Dane and Shelby thought otherwise!

How was everyone's T-givings? We spent 10 days in Tejas - got to hang with the fam, ate way too much (got my fill of queso, thank you very much: Taco Cabana, Escalantes, and Ruby Tequilas!), watched movies and some damn good football! Can I get a whoop? Maybe I can get some pics from the trip posted this week, since I'm a lady of leisure and all. Ohhhhh, I forgot to mention that we took the boys to the zoo for the first time, so posting pictures is now a must. I know you're dying to see! ;)

Pink Glove Dance

2009-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is our hospital! Where D&D were born, spent their first 5 weeks in the NICU and where we have taken a few trips to the ER. I already thought pretty fondly of the place, mainly because they helped get D&D home and keep them healthy, but this put a huge smile on my face.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/pink-glove-dance-youtube-video-spreads-breast-cancer/story?id=9210224

Halloween Saturday Edition

2009-11-07T16:32:00.001-08:00

Can you guess who they are?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Alright, I'll give you a clue...

Ours are cuter right?!?

We figured we'd say they were either dressing up as the e*trade babies or Paddy (grandpa clint) in retirement ready to play a round of golf!

Halloween Friday Edition

2009-11-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Long over due update in pictures!

2009-10-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

About a month ago Darrell and I went to Washington's Cranberry Coast to celebrate our anniversary:

Anniversary trip to Tokeland, Washington

I had to include this album to show how much of a perfectionist Darrell is. We had friends over for dinner and Darrell was helping me get ready. I was cleaning and wondering what the heck is taking him so long in the kitchen. I came in and found these - perfectly cleaned, tied, and ready to grill.

My name is Cherie and my husband is a perfectionist.

Then came THE Birthday weekend. Friday the 16th was my mom and Lauren's birthdays. Only my mom was here to celebrate though.

Grammie's Birthday!

Then the babies celebrated their first birthday on Saturday!

Birthday #1!

Here they are playing with Grammie and Paddy the next morning:

Playing with Grammie and Paddy

We went to the pumpkin patch and corn maze on Sauvie Island:

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

Spiked the boy's hair and made them play with their balloons on their birthday eve:

Birthday Eve

Had to take some pictures with mom and dad on their real birthday morning:

Actual birthDAY

Pictures with G.G. (Great Grandma Sue):

G.G.

And finally had some professional pictures taken!

Family Pictures

Playing outside

2009-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of us playing outside yesterday:

Playing outside

Little Lumberjacks

2009-10-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Our Oregon Ax MenWhen these two start walking we are in TROUBLE!

Devin: "Seriously mom, we're trying to work here"
Trying-to-look-innocent faces

Our Sears portrait shot

Going to be a heartbreaker

2009-10-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Michevious Monkeys

2009-10-06T15:35:00.000-07:00

Post bath fun:

California trip

2009-09-16T13:34:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of Darrell's trip to California for training. He was there for 2 weeks so he got to do a lot of site seeing around the bay area.

Darrell's trip to California

And here are the souvenirs he brought back for the boys:

Rejected from Alcatraz

Their shirts say "Property of Alcatraz, rejected, too cute!". We thought the behind bars shot was all too fitting.

Camping Pics

2009-09-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my storybook post on our Labor Day Weekend camping trip at Cove Palisades State Park on Lake Billy Chinook.

Labor Day Camping Trip

The Leikams

2009-09-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Remember that teaser I left you with about a month ago?

Well, Lara and Charlie celebrated their one month anniversary (or as they say 'one month of bliss') a couple of days ago. I can't believe it's been that long since the gorgeous celebration and pictures are finally online!

Enjoy - http://charlieandlaraleikam.shutterfly.com/

Day 1 of year 3

2009-09-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Darrell's and my 2 year wedding anniversary!

I was thinking about it yesterday that maybe 2 should be our lucky number. There are 2 of us, we have 2 kids...what else - help me out here... no?

Last night I picked up the little Prochaskas from daycare or the nursery as my Dad likes to call it. Funny ol' man. We headed to Hillsboro, where Darrell works, and home to the only On the Border in the whole state of Oregon. Crying shame. The boys were amazingly well behaved while we celebrated with a bowl of queso and 2 (!) margaritas.

After dinner we met up with 2 (!) different Craig's List sellers to purchase 2 (!) Kelty kid carriers for the boys first camping trip this weekend. We were so impressed with ourselves for getting 2 (!) carriers for less than one new carrier.

Can you see why I have 2 on the brain? I guess I better switch gears seeing as today we officially enter into our 3rd year of marriage - hopefully year 3 doesn't bring along kid 3. That loud thud you just heard was Darrell fainting.

Tomorrow we're headed out to camp on Lake Billy Chinook. Wish me luck, outdoorsy is not usually my thing, but I'm looking forward to it. Have a great holiday weekend friends!

For a good cause

2009-09-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

HipMonkey.com is where we (actually my mom's gracious friends pooled their money and) bought our car seats. Darrell did the research and they had the best pricing and selection and also support a great cause. I was oblivious to all this until I read Meghan's blog post on car seats. After clicking on the link not only did I phone Darrell immediately to let him that we were not going to be turning the boy's car seats around until they were at least 16 years old and driving themselves. But I also realized that - hey! - hip monkey is where we bought our car seats! I'm pretty sure Darrell rolled his eyes and muttered something about never giving him any credit for knowing what he was doing all along... Well here's your credit sweet heart - way to do your research! I'm impressed.

Today, I received an email from Hip Monkey asking me to vote for their charity. Anyway, I think it's a great cause and I feel like I have already benefited from their education efforts. Not to mention, their efforts to provide car seats to families who can not afford them.

See below:

Dear Valued Hip Monkey Customer,

Thank you so much for choosing to shop with Hip Monkey and support the Kyle David Miller Foundation with your purchase. Would you please now lend a moment of your time to vote for the Kyle David Miller Foundation? We are currently in 29th place. If we win, the prize $25,000! That would help a LOT of children get safe car seats! You can vote once per email address here: http://www.ilovechristiecookies.com/contest/form.asp

Select the Kyle David Miller Foundation from the drop down list.

Thank you so much!

Christine Miller
CEO, Hip Monkey, Inc
http://www.HipMonkey.com
President, Kyle David Miller Foundation
http://wwwkyledavidmiller.org

Birthday Recap

2009-09-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

I think I have finally recovered enough from all the festivities to give you a little recap!

If you haven't figured it out by now, Darrell was in training for two weeks in San Jose and returned on Friday, the night of my actual birthday. While he was away my parents came in to help with the babies and ended up making a significant dent in our ever growing to-do list. We (when I say "we" I mean mostly "they"!) organized the garage, priced garage sell things, made baby food, baby proofed, replenished our Costco back stock of diapers, paper towels, formula (you know all the fun stuff..?!?) I also got to go birthday shopping with my mom (the best!) and got these fun Jessica Simpson boots for fall. I'm thinking about asking for a two week visit from my parents every birthday.

Which will go perfect with the trench coat that Darrell got me from the Coach outlet store in Carmel! These are exactly the sort of gifts that a girl needs to get excited about winter in Oregon! Keep 'em comin' people - I know you would hate for me to start feeling any S.A.D. effects right??

Friday night my mom made Mexican, I picked up Darrell from the airport and then I blew out my candles on my cupcakes from Beaverton Bakery, the marble cake is my favorite but everyone pretended that my dad messed up the order and got cupcakes instead because they were saving the marble cake for the next night!

Saturday morning my Dad and I went out to the Safeway Classic - he got to watch a little golf and I worked the WCVA information booth. Then we met up with Darrell, my mom, Julia and the babies for wine tasting at Elk Cove, Kramer and Patton Valley. Dinner stop at the Grand Lodge's Yardhouse and then Concert at Sake One - where my surprise party was being held and Keith Schreiner played me Happy Birthday on a didgeridoo! I was TRULY surprised! Thanks everyone for not blowing it ;) Julia has some mighty fine stealth planning skills and some serious patience as I changed plans a million times on her. The night was really fun, thanks everyone who came out & Glori for posting a picture that I could borrow off facebook!

Sunday morning was a bit of a lazy day. Darrell and my Dad mounted our TV to finish the baby proofing of the back room and then we left the babies with sitters to enjoy ourselves at Portland City Grill.

So far year #27 is shaping up pretty nicely! Thanks everyone for making my birthday weekend amazing.

Happy Birthday Cherie!!!

2009-08-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

That's right, my love and best friend is another year older today.

It has been one eventful and crazy year for her, and I am sure she has felt like it flew by. Last year at this time she was pregnant, and about to be put on bed rest for almost 2 months with our twin boys Devin and Dane.

Being on mandatory bed rest, along with being in and out of the hospital was probably one of the hardest things that my social butterfly has endured, but she pushed through the tough time with perseverance and with high spirits.

Once the boys decided to make their entrance into the world 2 months premature, Cherie spent almost every day at the hospital making sure our baby boys were growing, eating, and making sure they were surrounded by love for a long 5 weeks till they were released. Since then she has continued to be the best mother and wife to me and our boys.

I can't describe in words how much Cherie means to me and how much support she has given me in all my endeavors’ with work, school, and any other aspects of my interests. She is a selfless person, which is more than happy to help anyone in a time of need. She is without a doubt the strongest, most caring and loving person I have encountered, and I am very lucky to call her my wife!! I love you sweetheart, and I can not wait to be back at home with you!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Famous or Infamous, not quite sure

2009-08-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Darrell was in the paper! On Saturday we attended the Forest Grove Uncorked event in downtown FG. Darrell and his friend from grad school Michael made the Hillsboro Argus yesterday - so cool! I'm a nerd I know, but doesn't he look handsome and sophisticated? hehe.

Here are our pictures from the weekend:

The babies went to their first stadium and dug the AstroTurf. Darrell babysat while I worked our information booth (the yellow setup behind the babies) at the Hulaman triathlon.

We then went to the Forest Grove Uncorked event where their local "Grandma" Teri watched them for us while we had adult time! Gotta love it.

Cheap thrills

2009-08-16T11:25:00.001-07:00

The boys have discovered laundry baskets. Dane loves it - can't you tell?

Devin trying to help him break out.

And now, Devin in and Dane out.
Nothing to see here.
Both boys unloading the basket
Dane behind bars

Finally a butt first landing!

More of the misfits

2009-08-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned lately that they are into EVERYTHING?

Um...and can someone come over and clean the ear wax out of my child's ear? That's disgusting Darrell, I can't believe you let it get like that! Whaaaat...don't look at me like that, who else am I supposed to blame?

Curiosity killed the cat or something like that

2009-08-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Dane just being curious.

Pulling up.
Look ma.
Back to work
Uh-oh, baby down.
We're okay, bibs to the distracting rescue!

Mine!

2009-08-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

And so it begins. Here is a picture of Devin and Dane at daycare. Devin is the one telling Dane what's up.

Do over please

2009-08-07T12:28:00.001-07:00

This is the first but I'm sure it won't be the last time I request a do-over.

Yesterday I discovered the Little Laughlin's blog via a link off the Gulbas' blog. Crazy thing this www, huh? I know Kristen through Morgan - we were bridesmaids in Morgan's wedding together and Morgan gives me updates every now and then. Point being, I'm not a complete stalker.

Their story is a bit like ours, twins, NICU, ect... and in the midst of it all they managed to get these ADORABLE professional portraits done.

I never thought that babies in general were that cute before they could open their eyes and had a personality so I choose to wait to do the professional pics, but oh my goodness these pictures make me eat my words!

I think we might have to arrange a met up with Jamie Rogers when we are in Texas.

Chips off the ol' block

2009-08-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

I found this picture as I was uploading the camera tonight and I had to post it. It's Dane wearing Darrell's hat and the shirt that he brought home from the Wind Energy Conference. Which is in Dallas next year, can we say stowaway?

And well, since there's two of 'em, I had to post my all-time favorite pic of Darrell with Devin. This was earlier this year, Springtime I think. Yep Springtime in Portland calls for a jacket. bah humbug.

Record timing

2009-08-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was a woman on a mission tonight. Our night looked a little like this:

Dane showed off his standing skills by pulling up on the chair. I managed to catch this picture right before he fell backwards. Our little bruiser barely even cried.

Look at Devin's new scrunchy face. It's freakin' hilarious. Although on second thought I might have caught his mischievous I'm-about-to-pull-the-blanket-out-from-under-Dane-look? Just kidding, this momma would never let those sort of shenanigans happen around here!
Next it was time for dinner. I rang the cow bell and they hopped in their bumbos.
They got to try mum mum rice cakes for dessert. Devin chowed.
Dane was a little more sceptical.
Devin ran out and wanted Dane's leftovers.
Then after baths, I turned around and Dane was in the diapers.
Devin on the other hand was perfectly happy watching tv. Not sure who turned it to Reba?!?
I swear this picture was not staged, gets the tunnel vision from his father. I probably couldn't have gotten him to look at the camera if I wanted.
All this before 8pm! Babies were out by 8:15pm and now I'm watching 30 rock re-runs and getting to update you lovelies! And tomorrow is Friday! Very happy about that.

Truck for sale

2009-08-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/1307560408.html

So not ready for this

2009-08-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

Phew, what. a. night...

The boys are finally in bed and I am pooped. It's like someone flipped a switch sometime between yesterday and today and turned the babies into disobedient little animals. They were into EVERYTHING tonight. Oh to just be a fly on the wall, that would be nice.

Dane is now standing up in his crib and then proceeds to wail because he doesn't know how to get back down. It just cracks me up to see this little baby STANDING up behind bars; he looks like he's trying to jail break.

Then to top it all off Shelby, the dog, crapped in the house today. On a night when Darrell has class I might add - so guess who got to clean it up after the babies when to bed. Not a happy camper folks. Not a happy camper.

Anyone got advice on keeping tabs on the babies, other than leashes? You better weigh in quick before I have to be alone with them again on Thursday night. Oh did I say leashes? I mean those kiddie harness thingies. No need to call child protective services.....yet.

On another note, I did manage to tag one million and one photos of the three Ds and me from Lara & Charlie's wedding this past weekend on facebook - you should go and check them out.

Teaser

2009-08-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

...of how gorgeous lil' Lara was last night! More pictures of the celebration to come!

Lauren & Evan's Wedding

2009-08-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Girls before the lingerie shower

Lauren reading her "naughty" marriage advice

Which was hilarious

The beautiful bride

The bride and her matrons! (hate that word, btw)

Evan and his new brother-in-law who was there in spirit (and cardbord) because he had been deployed the day before the wedding

The bride and her father

The Prochaskas

The Canzoneris

The Powell's and their wedding party

Evan taking his ladies into the vineyard for pictures. Feeling a bit like a "sister-wife" at this point! ha.

The ceremony was gorgeous, the reception was a blast, and it was so fun to have everyone in our backyard!

Sweepyheads

2009-08-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

Back to Texas...

2009-07-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

We are heading out tonight, on a red-eye to Texas. (say your prayers that the babies will repeat their last red-eye performance) The occasion, you ask? Lara's wedding! I'm super stoked. The rehearsal is at the Swinging Door & ceremony and reception are being held at Briscoe Manor.

If there is one things the Smiths know how to do, it's throw a party. Oh and being well dressed at that party takes a close second. The boys have cowboy hats and overalls for the rehearsal and tuxes for the wedding, all compliments of Grammie and Paddy.

What are your plans for the weekend? A little bittersweet since it's only Wednesday, huh? Oh and to add insult to injury is the fact that the only thing acceptable to do in this 105 degree heat is being poolside with margarita in hand!?! Totally weirding me out that we are escaping to Houston to beat the heat, it's only 91 degrees there.

Sitting up sequence

2009-07-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

We caught Dane's sitting up moves the other night. Please ignore the writing in the middle of the video, I had to download some program to clip the video and since it was a free trial they put their branding on it. Trust me it's worth looking at that compared to subjecting you to the whole 5 minute video! Does anyone have a free video editing program that they use/like?

Dane sitting up from Cherie Prochaska on Vimeo.

Julia and Laura's babysitting adventure.

2009-07-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

My co-workers/friends(!) Julia and Laura watched our two boys plus Jennie and Mike's Kyle on Saturday while we attended Lauren & Evan's wedding. (Which was amazing btw). Picture to come soon. In the meantime here are the most recent pics of Devin and Dane that Julia snapped on Saturday night.

Reading List

2009-07-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

So I have heard some good things about this book and I was thinking about reading... Has anyone read it? Recommend it?

http://www.loveandlogic.com/ecom/p-134-parenting-with-love-and-logic-updated-book.aspx

Happy (belated) 4th of July!

2009-07-06T14:43:00.001-07:00

On Friday morning we headed to Boise to get our babies back! They looked so much bigger and are almost crawling.... ekkk. Good thing Darrell and I babied proofed the house while they were gone. Here are some pics of them showing off for us when we first got there:

Then on Saturday we headed out to the lake with Darrell's family. There was tubing, jet skiing, BBQing and beer... it was great! The tube was a three seater and I went out with Darrell and his brother, on our last ride both boys got thrown and I hung on for dear life and stayed on, I was pretty impressed with myself. Grandma and Papa even continued babysitting to allow us to have all this irresponsible fun on the lake.

Sunday we headed back to Portland and settled back into our routine. Monday is here and life goes on like the babies were never gone!

Mowing the lawn with Papa!

2009-06-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Texas trip cont.

2009-06-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

After returning from Dallas we spent a week in Houston with family & boys tried their first solids!

Spent a day at Aunt Lara & Uncle Charlie's Pool:

We took a day and went to Galveston:

Then traveled to Austin; where we saw Kevin & Jamie, my Great Aunt & Uncle and their standard poodle Gigi (the boys had a blast playing with her). Daniel, Darrell's borther was in town working so he got to spend some time with the babies and fell in love. We played at the hotel pool and my God-mother Rita came to see the babies. And finally, went to Rachel & Justin's wedding (which was gorgeous btw) where we got to hang out with Mandy, Jake, Alison & Dustin! We also asked Mandy and Jake to be the babies' God Parents with Lauren and Evan- since there are two babies that's an awfully big undertaking for just one couple! Trust us, we know! :)

Getting Spoiled at Grandma's....

2009-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Day 1 at Grandma RJ's house:

I hope they don't get used to all this attention or we're going to have to convince Darrell's brother Daniel to move to Oregon and bring his girls!

Precious!

2009-06-22T10:34:00.001-07:00

Darrell don't read this...but after seeing pictures of Morgan and Jeff's new baby girl...I kinda want one. :) Ekkkk.

She is gorgeous. Well, we all knew she would be and now she is here! Pictures here. Yea. Congrats guys, I can't wait to meet her.... Start showing her pics of the boys, she has 18 years to decide which one she is going to marry!

Happy Birthday Darrell!

2009-06-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Darrell is 31 years young today! We're heading to Boise after work today to spend the weekend with his family. Tomorrow we'll have dinner at On the Boarder and then Sunday we'll head back home for two entire adult only weeks!!! What more could a man ask for?

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! The world is a better place having had you in it for one more year.

Let me know what the other side of thirty feels like... I gotta ways until I get there. Geeez I married an old man ;) Young at heart though, that's what counts right?

Adios Texas :( - Hola Oregon :)

2009-06-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

We're glad to be home but sad to be gone... We had an awesome time in Texas. The two weeks FLEW by.
We started the trip with a red eye outta Portland and landed in Houston at 5:30am

Then that Sunday we got the babies baptised and my parents hosted an open house so everyone could meet the lil' guys

Next was a trip to Dallas to see The Gulbas Family, The Canzos, The Kemps, The Sensenbrenners, Tristen, & Alison... that was a whirlwind and we only have a couple pictures that Alison posted on Facebook!

And that was just week one...more updates to come...but I must run... Darrell is picking the babies up from daycare so I can run by Target. We're leaving tomorrow to drop the kiddos off with The Prochaskas in Boise for 2 weeks! Daycare is closing for a week to give the gals vacation time and unfortunatly Darrell and I haven't won the lottery yet so we still have to work. Luckily Darrell's parents are excited to get some quality time with D&D!

Video: Dane trying to crawl & the boys sitting like monkeys

2009-06-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

So we're behind in updates...what's new?

Check out this video of Dane's first attempts at crawling and then both babies sitting up. If baby crying bothers you then you might want to fast forward to the 2 min mark.

The boys sitting up from Cherie Prochaska on Vimeo.

Happiness

2009-05-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Jeffery Gitomer On choosing happiness. What’s your choice?

After is a self-defeating word. It robs you of the present, and resigns you to wait without taking any action.....

You convince yourself that life will be better after an event: After you get married, after you have a baby, after you get a new house, after you take a vacation, after you come back from vacation, after summer is over, or some other action-procrastinating “after.” .....

Your life will always be filled with challenges, barriers, and disappointments. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Alfred Souza said, “For a long, long time it had seemed to me that I was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”....

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until after you quit smoking, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get your new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until the first or the fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you win the lottery, or until the cows come home to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

The whole article by Jeffery Gitomer can be found at:

http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3PV22zhvm7Pog%3D%3D

Jeffery Gitomer is one of the most inspirational people ever and his email this week really hit home so I thought I would share... Anyone else ever feel like they are waiting to be happy? I know Darrell and I have this conversation alot... when school is over or when work slows down, or yada yada yada we'll really be able to enjoy __________.

Well the weather is unbelievably gorgeous here, we're leaving for Texas on Friday for six. teen. days., the babies are the cutest things that I have ever laid my eyes on, we got to spent the whole long weekend together.... what are we waiting for? The time to be happy is now, right? I'm done waiting, who's with me?

MIA

2009-05-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for going MIA on ya for a little while! If this blog could just automatically update anytime I thought something was blog worthy we would be in business.

Ready for updates are ya? Well, pull up a chair and lets chat.

#1.) Devin has teeth now too!
His came through about 3 days after Dane's and I managed to get a better shot of his without any injuries. Also my elbow is finally feeling better in case you were wondering but I'm still a little gun shy when it comes to sitting in that office chair.

#2.) The coolest thing I never expected! The boys "made" me artwork at daycare...it totally made my day.

#3.) Did I mention the boys are in daycare now? It's a lovely place - we were so lucky that they had two openings when we were ready. They are LOVED there and I think it's probably because they nap like it's their jobs. I am sure they get worn out playing with all the other kids, yada yada, yada... but holy goodness sometimes they take two 3 hours naps! I can assure you this has NEVER happened at home.

Front

Main play room

Back play room

Dining room with the high chairs where the boys will be eating when they start solids in...oh...15 days!

Where they take their marathon naps. Sheesh.

#4.) Our friends, Lauren and Evan, (who are officially the boy's God Parents now!) came to Portland for wedding planning and got to see the babies. It was a fun trip we went wine & champagne (yum!) tasting and had dinner at Rogue Brewery downtown.

Evan putting his "man purse" on Dane.

Group photo minus Devin.

Dane taking a break from eating Lauren's hair to show off his man purse.

Dane flirting.

Trying to eating the purse.

Dane and Lauren.

Dane and Lauren again, but this time the photographer was aiming.

Evan hoping that Dane doesn't spit up on his purse.

And finally some camera love for Devin.

Dane has teeth!

2009-05-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we discovered that baby boy is cutting some teeth! His bottom two front teeth are coming in, how cool is that!?! Devin is definitly acting like he is teething as well (drooling, chewing on his hands, and very irritable) but nothing coming through the gums yet.

I tried to get a picture of Dane's teeth and ended up busting my butt! I was sitting in our office chair which has wheels and I had Dane in my lap. I leaned back to get a better angle and the chair flipped! It was scary and I'm pretty sure I broke my elbow. I have no teeth pictures to show for it either so this one will have to do...

Love Bugs

2009-04-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Happy first half-birthday baby boys!

2009-04-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

Only six months ago these two buggers changed our lives, and if you think they looked like trouble back then....

Just look at them now!

Their most favorite big boy toy - the Elmo walker (or their "cars" as Grammie calls them)!!!

Happy birthday my sweets, I love you both more than I ever thought possible. Muah. XOXO

Pictures with the Bunny!

2009-04-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Booties courtesy of Grammie Lin

Dane clearly wanting some Easter candy!
Dane coping a lil' tude
Devin, our little professor, trying to figure out what all the eggs are for
Owned!

Our little Oregon babies are not used to all the sun!
Grammie Lin trying to help the little guys out
The fam-damly in our Easter bests about to head to the mall to see the bunny...
stay tuned for those pics!

To be fair...

2009-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

...here is the other one.

Which one is which? Any guesses???

Oh my heart.

2009-04-08T22:38:00.001-07:00

First time at daycare!

2009-04-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago the boys went to daycare for the first time and can you believe we forgot a camera?!?!?

Our church has what it calls "Kidtropolis"...it's insane! When you drop your kids off they get a sticker with their name and a number and then you get a sticker with the same number. The number is different everytime you drop them off for "security reasons!" Then to either side of the pulpit there are little message boards and if they need you they scroll your kids name and their number. It's the perfect way to ease them (I mean us!) into daycare. They could care less that we are right down the hall, but it gives the adults peace of mind.

They have now attended twice and seem to dig it. They are always returned to us sleeping, I love it!

Here are some cell phone photos of the first time they went to daycare ...

Devin couldn't be more relaxed...

Milestone #186: Bumbos and Big Boy Jeans!

2009-03-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Dane

Devin

Happy Spring!

Bumbo Video: At 2:35 Dane defines cute and at 3:35 Darrell's parenting skills will make you chuckle!

The way my Starbucks' cup sees it

2009-03-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

I am loving this quote:
"Mother-love is not inevitable. The good mother is a great artist ever creating beauty out of chaos."

--Alice Randall

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

2009-03-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Click here for more St. Paddy's day pics!

Snowshoeing!

2009-03-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here are our pics! (Finally.)

09.02.20 Snowshowing

Hi Dad!

2009-03-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Darrell is in Dallas for training and it's my first time flying solo over night with the boys. Here are some photos to document our good times last night.

"Where's my Daadddddddddyyyyyyyy, I want my Daaaaaaaaddddddddyyyyyy!"

"Listen, Dad you need to get home quick because Mom is mistreating us!"

(Yeah, he really looks like mom had been starving him all night, huh? Little fatty, and to think he's our small one!)

I guess we've ALL had enough of Devin's crying!

2009-03-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

3:44 is where is gets funny so fast forward if you want!

If you are wondering what's up with Dane's arm we have a lot of catching up to do. I have been MIA from the blog because little Dane has been putting us through heck but I think we're finally on the other side of the drama. There will certainly be more because it just seems to find the little guy. Dane had his birthmark removed last Monday night and everything is healing great. But lord, it was an ordeal. I will post more on that right after I get the snow pics posted!

I heart three day weekends - Part 4

2009-02-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

Monday, Monday...
Darrell and I got up early, once again that dang built in alarm clock! I helped Darrell write a paper for school, yes I know - I'm an angel. o:) Then we headed out for a massage at Massage Envy (Thanks Mom and Dad!). Afterward we loaded up the babies and headed to the mall with Grandma. After spending what felt like forever in the Macy’s men's department getting advised on dress shirt and tie combinations we ventured out into the mall, I must say it had been way-too-long. I didn't find anything for myself because I'm kinda waiting until I get back to pre-pregnancy size to get anything. But we did find these hilarious snow suits for the boys for $10 a piece!?!? (marked down from $50). We're headed to the mountain this Saturday where they will debut them, check back for pics. After the shopping was complete, we headed over to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, delicious! It was the perfect way to put a pretty little bow on our President's Day weekend.

I heart three day weekends - Part 3

2009-02-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

Sunday started early, and when I say early it just means we were at church by 11am. We are not morning people. Julia met us at home afterwards, we packed up the kidos and headed to pick up our other friend Ming.

First stop, Plum Hill Winery's grand opening. We sampled five of their wines and ate all sorts of great food...wine cheese ball, blue cheesecake bites, & jalapeno and cheese buffalo summer sausage to name a few.

Next up was Montinore we also sampled 5 of their wines, only crackers to eat, but Julia is a member so we got all four tastings complimentary.

Last planned stop was Sake One who was having a chocolate pairing event, which was pretty much amazing. The tasting ended with a nutella saketini. Heavenly.

Sampling all this Sake made me hungry for sushi so we headed over to Syun one of the few good things about Hillsboro. I tried geoduck for the first time, not something I'll ever need to do again, AND I'm really glad I hadn't seen these pictures before trying it!

All and all it was a great Sunday partly because Monday was a Holiday, details on Monday's activities to come! :)

Here is another pic of the boys in the Valentine's outfits, everyone at the winery was asking if they were girls, I guess because of all the hearts? It was the first time we had experienced that and Darrell was not pleased!

I heart three day weekends - part 2

2009-02-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday our built in alarm clocks got us up at 7am and I brought Darrell coffee with his first clue in a scavenger hunt to find his gift. Eight clues later he found this Soloman running jacket. Darrell gave me my three Valentine's Day cards, one of which was adorable with two little monkeys on the front (from Dane and Devin).
Then Darrell left for a group meeting and I went shopping at Costco, can I just say I am love! Even though it was a mad house I still managed to get in and out within an hour and bring home enough food to last us at least a month.
Darrell and I arrived back home about the same time and got ready for our evening downtown. First stop was Tiffany & Co to spend some of our wedding gift cards on my Valentine's Day gift. I ended up getting a toggle charm bracelet with this charm. After shopping a bit we headed over to the Rialto for drinks before dinner at Mamma Mia's.
We made it home just in time to relieve Grandma. It was all so fun and I must go now because the babies are screaming their little heads off. They had their 4 month shots today and want to be babied tonight. The nerve.

I heart three day weekends!

2009-02-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

I have so much to share from this loooooong weekend that I think I'll take this next week to tell you all about it! Have no fear mom, I will go ahead and include the boys Valentine's day pics in this post.

So lets start with Friday night shall we?
A couple of weeks ago I signed us up for Marriage Mentors at church thinking it was a bible study, well turns out it's one on one mentoring. Friday night our mentors came over for pizza. I was a little apprehensive since Darrell and I just started to get back into church and I really wanted this to be natural. Lucky for us they were not bible beaters and we got along just swimmingly! They also have two kids; 3 yr and 15 month old girls. They've been married for six years and gave us some great advice on how to fight fairly. Not sure how or why they decided to advise on that subject?!? ;)

Want to know what their tips were? I think I'll share...
So here's how it goes, Partner #1 is upset so they ask partner #2 if they have any withholds. If anything has been bothering #2 then they get an opportunity to bring it up. #2 would say what's wrong and how it makes them feel (because feelings can't be wrong!). Then #1 has to say thank you for telling me and then you break for thirty minutes to process. When thirty minutes is up you get back together to talk about #2's issue and then #1 gets a chance to bring up their issue and follow the same process. Most of the time just saying thank you for telling me and taking a 30 min break is all it takes, if not and it's a big issue then you use a talking stick, giving the person with the stick the floor meaning the other cannot interrupt.

For the past 3 days it had worked out brilliantly! ha. Seriously though, things have been good, real good. But I think that mostly has to do with the fact that Darrell did not pitch a fit when I told him that I signed us up and went along with it all pretty willingly. Knowing that we both care about the marriage and want to be as happy as possible made for a pretty nice Valentine's Day.

Our second assignment was to tell the other person 5 things that we wish they would do to show affection. Being that the following day was Valentine's Day I decided that that conversation could wait and we should share the 5 things that the other does that we love. We talked about the first three on Saturday night over dinner, which I will tell you about tomorrow, stay tuned!

Here are pics of the cutie patooties in their Valentine's Day outfit (Gifts from Aunt Lara and Grammie.)

09.02.13 Valentine's DAy

Twin Talk

2009-02-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here is some of last night's footage post bath:

Big boy outfits

2009-02-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

From Drop Box

We had a little photo shoot last night wearing their big boys outfits from "Aunt" Julia!

Stop the presses

2009-02-09T10:49:00.001-08:00

Today should be declared a national holiday; the babies officially slept through the night last night and I am truly giddy. Here is what happened step by step, I will attempt to recreate tonight...
1. 8:00 pm: Fed them 4 ounces
2. 9:30pm: Fed them another 4 ounces
3. Bathed them with J&J Bedtime bath. This is my offical endorsement.
4. 10:30pm: Put them in their crib in their room! Second night sleeping in their boy boy bed, and not the "arm's reach" sleeper in our bedroom. Oh how they are growing up.
5. 6:30am: Darrell woke to them rustling and turned to me to let me know that they were hungry. I looked at the clock in disbelief and had him verify that this was the first time that we were being woken up. I was sure that there was a middle of the night feeding in there somewhere that I was not remembering, but that was not the case! Wooo-hooo :)
6. 7:00am: Went downstairs got breakfast and coffee and leisurly read my book in bed until I had to get in the shower. Was the best morning ever!!!

Our little angels

Kyle is here!

2009-02-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

If we were still in Texas there is no doubt that Kyle would be the boy's BFF. But since we're not they will all have to settle for their moms being one of each others best friends.

Jennie gave birth last night and I found myself really wishing I was there and feeling like I was missing out. Which sorta shocked me because when Devin and Dane were born I didn't feel like I was missing anything or anyone. I had Darrell there and my mom there (my dad flew in the next day from Scotland) and it never crossed my mind that my sister, my grandma or my longtime friends couldn't come and see the boys. Maybe having them in the NICU made a difference because all I could think about was spending time with them myself. Orchestrating everyone else was difficult because you were limited to three people at their bedside at a time.

Isn't it funny how everything happens for a reason? It isn't always easy to be this logical but when you are able to - it makes finding the silver lining so much easier. My mom was scheduled to fly out the day my water broke, needless to say she ended up cancelling her flight and was able to be there for everything. What if my water broke a day later? I know my mom would have hopped back on a plane but she wouldn't have been there when I woke up scared at 3am.

And while I would never wish that the kids had to stay in the NICU, it did take my mind off having them here in Portland, away from friends and family. It also gave Darrell and I time to prepare for their arrival since there were some things left undone as I spent the six weeks leading up to their arrival on bed rest.

Life is full of checks and balances and I am thankful. Still wish I could be there to hold Kyle and help Jennie and Mike welcome him into this wild world!

Hillarious

2009-02-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

This was taken about a month ago and was one of the first times Dane noticed Dad. He'll hate this picture one day but I am so glad that we got it on camera!

Try telling us we're not adorable...

2009-01-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

...betcha can't do it! :)

Another Bath

Child abuse

2009-01-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

Did the title scare you? Sorry. But seriously look what Dad is making Dane do! I happen to know for a fact the he did not want to hook 'em.

He wanted to gig 'em. Look how much more naturally it comes :)

Sanity

2009-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

I was told by the nurses in the NICU that this is a no, no... but.... at 5am in the morning while I was taking on a night feeding by myself I could not resist. The boys were able to eat while I pumped and we were all back asleep in 30 minutes. I liked them a lot that next morning, even referred to them as little angels a time or two. They were just as impressive the next day as they let me clean the kitchen while they ate.

Before you go reporting me to CPS you should know that I never leave them alone while they are eating this way and every once in a while a little independence is good for all of us. :)

The best diapers in my opinion.

2009-01-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

Inspiration for this post:
Gross, huh? The culprit, you ask: Huggies Diapers

Our relationship with diapers is fairly new but in this short time frame we have learned a lot - the hard way. The boys started with Pampers in the hospital but thanks to my mom and her stocking us up on diapers with every coupon she clipped we had quite a wide variety of diapers to try once we brought them home. The first one we ripped into when we got home was the Huggies preemies. Things go well for a day and then we take them to their first doctor's appointment and when we pull Dane out of his car seat we find his onesie and car seat liner are soaked. Strike one. We discontinue use and plan to return the Huggies that we had stock piled for tried and true Pampers. We get them all returned but two packs that Target or Babies 'R Us did not carry.
These packs were sitting nearest to the edge of our back stock so when Rae Jean, my mother-in-law (who has been graciously watching the babies for a month now), needed new diapers she grabbed one of the packs. She mentioned one evening when I got home from work that Dane had had a blow out in his swing and she was washing the cover. I found that interesting since we had never had an exploding diaper, despite all the stories that we'd heard. Figured it was the Huggies. Wanted to throw them out, hated to waste the money. Rae Jean seemed to think it would have been a blow out no matter what diaper he was wearing so we kept them. Strike 2.
Then on my watch I noticed Dane (Why is it always Dane?) stinking up a little storm. I grabbed him to check for poo and oh my lord if it wasn't all over his back. (pictured above) Not impressed Huggies, not impressed. Strike 3.
I'm officially a Pampers girl. And for all you mothers out there, Babies 'R Us is having quite the deal until March 3, when you buy any three Proctor and Gamble products (Pampers diapers and wipes, bounty, dreft, charmin) you get a $15 gift card back.
Everyone seriously looked at me like I was nuts when I walked out Wednesday night with 4 boxes of 184 diapers and two jumbo boxes of wipes. And the even crazier part that's just about a month's supply! Ekkkk.

One of my favorite pictures

2009-01-21T20:50:00.001-08:00