Mommy gets brownies and cookies and pie and...

We finally got Derek a kitchen. After all he has been playing with every toy kitchen he sees for the past 6 months. He has made the tv cabinet, coffee table, and dump truck into an oven lately. He of course loves his kitchen set. He has been busy cooking us cookies, pie, and brownies... but mainly tookies as he calls them. He even took our hot pads to add to his collection. He was a bit frustrated that real water did not work in his sink but was very happy after I made funny water noises. The kid loves to cook... watch out Emeril here comes D.

The littles are doing great. They are each pushing 8 pounds. They are awesome and are not acting like your typical preemies. This pic is of Nate. They each got taken off their iron supplement this week which is wonderful. Their doctor is very pleased with their 1 plus oz daily weight gain. Yeah for Will and Nate!

On a ride with his girlfriend

Imaya brought us a yummy dinner on Thursday. Our play group has lovingly been bringing us dinners. They are amazingly good and it is so nice to see everyone. L came over too with her mom. Derek and L spent the time playing so well together. D pushed L around on tigger. They had a blast throwing things down the stairs. They had a ball! The funny thing is that D ignored L at the beginning instead preferring to call her on his phone to talking with her directly (such a boy). D calls L on his phone all day. Hello goodbye.

Derek and his babies

Derek has his own babies to take care of. I guess we are rubbing off on him. Derek took Elmo and bear and put them on the changing table to change their diapers. Then he put them on their tummies and asked us to get something for their bellies. We put Will and Nate on their tummies each morning with a warm pad to help their hurting tummies. Derek decided his babies needed the same thing. Later Derek had Elmo in the sling. He took him out, fed him from his water bottle, and then burped him. Derek is just so nurturing and we are very proud of him.

Look at me holding up my head!

Here is Nate. He is doing a great job with neck control. He loves to hold his head up and look around. Nate also has a bad case of baby acne. It is weird but Will has no baby acne at all. WIll is also doing pretty well holding up his head.

Fun in the sun

Derek spent "nap time" in his crib singing... for 45 minutes. It seems like every few days he doesn't sleep but sings. We are very thankful he is happy during "quiet time." Today I found him in his crib without his sleep sack.. he took it off and threw it out of his bed. SIlly kid. We took advantage of of the 60 degrees to walk to Starbucks. All 3 kiddos in the stroller and away we go with Alex the dog in the lead. We came home and played outside in the yard. Derek loved his wheelbarrow and trucks. I put the the twins and the carrier to play too (enjoy the bags under my eyes). The only sad part was flushing Derek's eye to get out the dirt that was in there.. it was a two man job.

Outside

Yesterday we took advantage of the 60 degree weather to play outside. Gorgeous gorgeous weather. The frogs are croaking, the daffodils are blooming and it is nice. Derek swept the rocks, played on his slide, and told Mommy what the ladder is used for. Silly kid. We are enjoying his explosion of words and his sweet spirit. The babies slept peacefully inside as did Daddy. MIke, Derek, and I are finally on the mend after being sick for a week. We are so thankful the babies didn't get sick. Speaking of Will and Nate... Nate weighed 7lb 6oz today and Will is right behind at 7lb 4 oz. They are sleeping 5 hours at a time some nights too. Go Will and Nate!

First family outing

We all headed to the park today to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. 1 toddler, 2 babies, and the dog in the Odyssey. Have I mentioned lately how much I love the minivan- it really is wonderful! The babies slept the whole time. Derek loved the slides and running. He also loves to push the stroller. Derek is a great big brother and a nice helper.

Teaser

We got back a few teasers from our photo shoot of the babies this week. Our dear friend Kati is an amazing photographer who took our pictures. We can't wait to see more.

www.beanandsproutphotography.com

Valentine's Day brownies

We had a very low-key Valentine's Day around here. With Mike, Derek, and I still sick.. we stayed home. Derek and I made special brownies that we cut into hearts. Derek mixed them up and was a great helper. Yup we just mix them up sitting on the floor. He had lots of fun and watched them bake in the oven.

Mike snuggled both babies. They sleep much better if they are being held. Derek comes by and gives lots of kisses and snuggles to the boys.

For dinner we had the ultra-romantic Mac and cheese with hot dogs. We were going to do take-out but feeling icky, we decided to just make it easy. It may not be steak and wine- but it was yummy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Derek made these sweet projects at school. Derek loves school. We are proud of him for being nice to his teachers and the other kids. Derek is such a sweetie and is being a wonderful big brother.

The determined squirrel

We love the squirrels in our yard. They provide lots of entertainment. They keep getting more bold. Now they are climbing the bird feeder to get directly at the seed. So much for the claims of being squirrel-proof!

7 pounds of fun (times 2)

Yes we have another basket picture.. we had fun. I took the boys to their nutrition appointment yesterday at the hospital. They did great. Nate weighs 7 pounds! Will is right behind him at 6 lb 14 oz. Look at our little chubbers! We are so proud of them.

A basket full of babies

We had a mini photo shoot today. We thought Will and Nate looked adorable in their basket. Will is on the left. This afternoon we had a formal photo shoot taken by our dear friend Kati. We will use the pics for their birth announcements. We are very excited to see the pictures, but we are enjoying these for now!

Spa day

Nate's tummy has not been feeling so good the last few days. We decided a little soak was what he needed (the baby version of smooth move tea). Nate did not enjoy his little soak very much.. he cried for most of it. The good news was that the tub time worked and Nate is feeling much better. He looked adorable in the tiny tub though!

Spring is coming

Spring is coming. We have sprouts of flowers everywhere: crocuses are up and others are coming. We celebrated the warm day by playing outside. Derek wanted to help Daddy. He kept yelling lawn mower every time Mike went past. Then Derek helped Daddy rake the dead grass away. It was nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

It still works

Like Derek did, the babies have tummies that hurt a lot. The same tactics work. Wow these boys look a ton alike- all three of them! Do you know which one is Will and which one is Derek? We will be kind and not make you choose between Will and Nate!

Uses for the boppy

Uses we have found for the boppy/ twin pillow so far:

-the original feeding pillow (makes gives 2 babies bottles easier or nursing 2 babies at the same time)
-feeding a baby and holding a toddler
-wearing on your head?

Mike finally used the pillows and exclaimed- wow this makes it so much easier to feed them! Now I have competition for the pillows- good thing we have 2.

Sharing slippers

Derek decided to share his slippers with Will. They are a bit big.

Daddy and his little boys

Daddy is a horsey

Derek is a riot. Last night, he rode Daddy like a horsey and loved it. (If you look closely you can see Nate having tummy time on the table behind Derek. We are doing tummy time on the table so Alex will stop licking the boys)! He (Derek not Alex) also has been helping us cook. Today he was walking around the house with a pot holder waiting to help Daddy. He is really doing very well adjusting to the boys. He is just so sweet with them- he gives them lots of kisses and hugs.

Lastly- I finally took a pic of Will and Nate in the stroller. They have been great on walks the last few days.