Our First Road Trip

WOW!!! What a monumental feat!! I did not realize everything we would have to pack that we use on a daily basis. Unbelievable. It's a great thing I'm a self-proclaimed "master packer." We had ourselves, the two boys, Dante, and all the trimmings stuffed into our Grand Caravan. Somehow we got it all in there. Not long after we got on the road, I realized that I had not been on an interstate highway since February. This coming from a guy that drove through 46 states and 6 countries before I was 26 years old. It was an odd feeling. I had forgotten the etiquette of high velocity travel.

We had to stop twice to feed the boys, once at a gas station--getting hot water for the formula from the coffee maker-- and stopping the second time in Auburn, Alabama only 45 minutes from our final destination, but we just COULD NOT go any further. We were actually able to stop at the house of one of Randi's high school friends. The trip otherwise was not very eventful. There were a few hiccups from the boys but no major inconsolable fits. We were also able to rig up the white noise machine in the car to give Parks and Wyatt a familiar sound. Randi and I, on the other hand, had to speak a little louder to get a conversation in over the constant "swooooooosh." We finally made it to Randi's parents house two hours later than it normally takes.

One of the main reasons for the maiden voyage of the "Goodship Lollipop" was for the season opener of Auburn "Allbarn" Tigers football. It will feel good to regain some minute semblance of normalcy. The other reason for the trip is to celebrate my mom's birthday. We have the whole "compound" descending from the hills of north Georgia to Randi's parents house on Sunday, plus most of Randi's extended family will also be in attendance. It will go on record as being the second largest gathering of our two families next to our blessed union of husband and wife, although my spidey-sense is tingling that Randi and I will not be at the center of attention. It will be interesting to see (A.) how much we can screw up Wyatt and Parks routine we have worked so hard to establish and (B.) how quickly they can bounce back and recover. We might live to regret making the trip and never leave our house again until the boys are ten years old...or maybe later.

On My Own

Today marked the first full day that I had both boys all by myself. We have been blessed to have had help since Wyatt came home from the hospital. I had my mother in law here for over a week, my mom here for a week, two of my best friends came for a few days at a time, my grandmother was here for three weeks and my aunt rounded up some of her wonderful friends to fill in the gaps. What a wonderful time I have had catching up with old friends, spending time with family and getting to know new friends. Thanks everyone!!

I most especially enjoyed my time with my grandmother. I am the oldest grandchild and my younger cousins began having children over 12 years ago. She has joked over the years that she hoped I had children before she died. I am so glad she's here to witness it and thankful for the time we had together. She fell in love with both boys, most especially Wyatt. That was largely due to the fact that she's 82 and it's a lot easier for her to handle an 8 pound baby than a 12 pound baby. Four pounds may not sound like much, but it makes a huge difference. So, Wyatt was largely her responsibility. While I missed out on some one-on-one time with Wyatt, I am so thankful she was able to be a part of this special time.

As for today, it actually wasn't that bad. I kind of enjoyed it. Just me and the boys. Me learning how to juggle two babies that needed changing, feeding and burping all at the same time and them learning that life with one mommy and two babies involves sitting in bouncy seats rather than being held. There was plenty of crying, but all in all I think we did pretty well. We'll see how tomorrow goes...

Thing 1 And Thing 2

Only in reference the Dr. Seuess would I refer to the boys as "things," but it seems to fit at times quite well. Here are some shots we recently took of Parks and Wyatt.

A great caption for a baby announcement: "Our family has grown by four feet."

Dante, still keeping his distance.

Parks all wrapped up after his nightly spa treatment.

Notice the difference in attitudes: Parks- calm and inquisitive

Wyatt- wide open

Parks and Wyatt (below) with Mickey Mouse ears that my family brought back from their recent trip to Disney World with my parents, my sister, her extended family, and three grandchildren.

Happy 100th Post!!

Actually 101st, but we wanted to extend a hand of gratitude to everyone out there that has been in prayer for us throughout this journey. It has been a whirlwind as I look back over the past eight months since we started this blog. We thank everyone out there that has stopped by for a visit and for all the returning guests into our home and lives. Again, we thank you all who have given us such encouragement with your comments. You have lifted us up and made us smile.

Old Rolls Of Film

So, Randi and I were setting up a mock studio in our living room to take pictures of the boys in some frilly lace outfits for their baby announcement, and I only had five pictures left on the roll of film that was still in my camera. Yes, call me a Luddite, I still love pictures on film. I also love finding old rolls and going, "huh, I wonder was it on here." Well, since I got the roll back I felt obliged to include some of them here.

Parks during our photo "session" with black cloth drapped over the sofa and red hot halogen job site lights.

One of the best pictures we had...so sad Parks is still wearing his bib.

Randi in the throws of pregnancy...and how did those two boys ever fit in there.

A face painter's palette at the New Orleans Jazz Fest that Randi and I attended in 2006.

"Vegas" sign on our trip to Sin City for Randi's work at Christmas 2005.

The famous Binion's in the old downtown Las Vegas.

Post Script-- it makes me sad that I haven't changed a roll of film since Christmas 2005.

Sleep, Sleep Tonight

It has been a while since we wrote last. I wanted to post a quick update while I had a minute. It seems like all I have now are quick updates. The boys are doing great. They will be 12 weeks tomorrow, 6 weeks adjusted. We have started a new bedtime routine in an attempt to cut down on the number of feeds in the middle of the night and get them sleeping longer. It's from a couple of women in Atlanta who have a service called, Moms on Call. With their help we are proud to announce that Parks has been able to sleep from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the last seven days. Wyatt has also been doing a lot better. He is able to sleep from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., take a feed, and them return to sleep until the 6 a.m. feed. So, we went from feeding two babies at midnight and 3 a.m. to feeding one baby once a night. This has really been a help for us. We do not know how much longer we could have kept up with the schedule we had in place.

Wyatt is now only on one medicine 4 times a day for his hypoglycemia. We tried to wean him down to three times a day but got some low blood sugars that caused us to return to the previous regiment. We will try again in a few days. He is awake, alert, and, most importantly, calm. He is still a sensitive baby and, we feel that this is just going to be his nature with all he had to go through. Parks is smiling consistently and trying to find his voice. We've even gotten a couple of smiles out of Wyatt. We can tell that they are both really starting to learn a lot about the world around them. They absorb everything. We have even started having some success with a Bumbo seat with Parks. Their will be more to come and tomorrow I might post something that is entertaining, although somewhat unrelated to the boys. Thanks for being patient with us.