Here are the many views of the twins. There was a lot of this....jiggling to keep them happy and/or asleep.
My daughter called this "playtime." We'd put them on a blanket and let them stretch around. One was usually a little happier, while the other one would fuss more. They took turns at this.
There were times there was this....both little guys grouchy at the same time. This was most often in the evening, when we were trying to keep them up a little longer in hopes they'd sleep a little longer. That was the theory anyway, but it wasn't a foolproof method.
They departed with their mama on Thursday for a little time with their daddy. They'll be back next week for a few days right around Easter/General Conference.
Here's some little lamb cries, but quite honestly? There's a sound they make that sounds like a little dinosaur sound from Jurassic Park. I'm sure of it, but I can't find the specific sound on the internet.
While they were here, we took them in to Marc's office to get them weighed, since Leo was still an ounce down from birth weight at his 2 week check. They had both gained several ounces, so we were pretty happy about that. Jack is still 9 ounces heavier than his brother, but I imagine over time that will even out.
I've gotten pictures in the past of the deer that live in the area. We've never had them this close to the house. These pictures were taken right outside the living room window, across a narrow paver walkway and there they are, in the flower bed.
Now, my first instinct was, "Wow! Aren't they cute?" Then I remember the group of brand-new bulbs I planted around there last year. I voiced my concern and my husband was very quick to say that they were eating that viney stuff, and definitely NOT the emerging tulips and daffodils. I got a little more insistent, because I've heard horror stories from my friends who have had deer decimate their flowers and gardens. I really didn't want them getting used to my flower beds as a food source, so he knocked on the window and they took off. That's Part 1 of the story.
Part 2 takes place when we went outside the next morning to look at the flower beds. Turns out, my husband was half-right. They didn't touch the daffodils, but they chewed the tops off the tulips with reckless abandon. We've lived here for almost 30 years and have never had a problem with deer up in the yard proper. The pasture, yes, but not the yard and certainly not the flower beds. This is not acceptable to me! I've willingly cut them a lot of slack because they've left us alone. I've always attributed it to the fact that we have dogs, but my husband says the herd has lived among the houses totally content now for many years and they are multiplying. I've been keeping watch.
That is, until this happened. I started chilling and shivering Tuesday night, and Wednesday the only place I felt warm was in my bed. I was banned from the babies which was the hardest thing, but my husband stepped up and helped with all the night feedings for 2 nights and then drove everyone home. He's a good guy.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids, it's been Spring Break week in this neck of the woods. Evan's family went to Arizona. That's the Grand Canyon behind Evan & Quincy.
And this is the Grand Canyon just a day or so later. What? You mean you can't see it? Nope, the clouds were all settled in.
They did find an orange grove to pick from. Those look pretty amazing.
And there was some fun had by all.
Meanwhile, Eric's family wasn't traveling, but Eric had the week off. These specific pictures are from the week before, when we had some weather move through. Gwen tried to fly a kite. She said it didn't work terribly well.
Emmett and Ephraim had better luck with their umbrellas and rain boots.
What did happen last week was a camp out at the ponds. My husband had a some church youth boys there for an overnighter and left the tent up so Eric's family could have a turn. They caught a few fish and at night time, Eric heard mice running under the tarp that was set up as the floor of the tent. Ephraim saw a mouse in the tent as they were getting sleeping bags set up. Fun times.
Marc's family opted for warm and went to St. George, Utah.
It was plenty warm for their trips to parks and dinosaur museums,
....playing in this water....
and of course, finding a dead things museum. Marc said they walked around this huge warehouse full of stuffed animals (literally), and kept finding new things. Cool? I'm sure the boys thought so.
Everyone made it home safe and sound and Jude's mama sent this video of how Jude was occupied during part of the road trip home.
He wasn't even gone, so I guess we have to call these "just for the heck of it" flowers. They arrived on St. Patrick's Day, so there was a lot of green in them, which I enjoyed.
Because I have family in residence, traditions must be observed. St. Patrick's Day means green pears and green pancakes for breakfast. That's the thing about traditions, I think. They connect families through things done repeatedly year after year, and bring those memories back when they happen again as adults.
I got a couple of St. Paddy's Day pictures from Eric's family showing off their wearin' of the green.
Eric was looking very dapper for his work day.
I have mentioned that my daughter and the babies are here for a bit so her husband can get some schoolwork and other work done. We had a rib-fest dinner when the in-town family could meet Jack & Leo. My boys are very hands-on when it comes to littles.
So is Great-Grandma, who spent a couple of evenings jiggling Leo.
Then there were the cousins, who were promised a couple of minutes if they washed their hands appropriately. From Edward,
Down through Frederick,
Roger,
Quincy,
Isaac,
Levi,
And even Jude, everyone took a turn. Regrettably, Eric's kiddos had colds and weren't able to attend, but their turn will come.
From back east, there was a camp-out that happened with James and David.
And also a big milestone.
James was pretty excited about losing his first tooth.
You know how you come home after being with your new grandbabies for quite a while, and your husband's been left alone to fend for himself for most of that time and you discover he doesn't know where any of the grocery stores are in town because there's no food in the house, and nothing in the fridge but a couple of Thai take-out containers from two different orders he placed, but somehow you still need to cook dinner? No? That was kind of my situation this past week. I didn't have my ducks quite lined up, but we still needed to eat, and my husband was hoping for some home cooking. Hmmmmm. What we did have was eggs from Eric & Elisa's happy hens. I'd torn this recipe out of a magazine and I had some of the stuff and decided I could finesse the rest, which I'll note in the recipe. Have you ever made a frittata? It's actually a really good clean-the-fridge-out recipe, which is exactly what I did when there wasn't much to make a meal from. I opened a bottle of peaches I canned from our tree to have with it and called it good. You might notice that I did cook this egg dish in a cast iron pan and didn't have too much trouble with sticking. I had a little sticking in a couple of spots, but well-seasoned cast iron is pretty. much a non-stick pan. Pretty much.
Potato, Ham & Cheese Frittata
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper until foamy. Melt butter in a 10" cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the onion and potatoes and cook thoroughly until potatoes are fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Pull the edges away from the sides of the pan with a spatula so the eggs flow to the bottom of the pan. When the frittata is half set, add the ham.
Transfer the pan to the heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes until puffed and golden. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve garnished with sour cream and chives. I was skeptical about the sour cream, but it was really good. Makes a 10 inch pan, so serves maybe 4-6, depending on appetites.
Despite the fact that I was out of town and time is really supposed to hold still until I can catch up,
there are signs of the coming spring in my yard. Always a mixed feeling time of year for me as I love see the colors start to come and the new growth, but that also means yard maintenance and hot weather is just around the corner and we ALL know I'm not a fan of baking my brain.
I'm trying to work every day on the baby quilts. I'm making a little progress, but then I realized I needed a few more blocks than I originally thought and that put a damper on the mood.
In the evenings I've been trying to get a little stitching done.
It's also the time of year for The Great Changing of the Plates. I do love to mark the passing of the year by changing things around a bit. I may or may not have bought my own Christmas present this year, and it may or may not have been a set of dishes for summer. Don't judge.
Some of the youth girls from our ward shamrocked our door with cute little phrases.
My husband is in the bishopric and I think these were mostly for him. There was also a plate of pancakes made into cute faces, including one that had him all dressed up in his suit. Totally wish I'd remembered to get a picture of that, darn it! I set out a few spring/Easter things that are NOT stored in the big bins up in the loft. Hoping my boys will help get the bin down and the January one put away when they are here this weekend. We totally bypassed Valentines and St. Patricks Day because bin changing didn't happen and Easter is so early this year.
This is a new addition to my Easter things. This was made by my daughter-in-law, Alison, and I love it. I love bunnies and spring, but this fills my heart.
Let's talk refrigerator art. Right now this is what mine looks like. I have Levi's "Rainbow Water" art piece there, as well as a lot of reminders to help me and my family focus on things that really matter throughout the year. I'm not an "everything must look sleek, clean and uncluttered" person. Sometimes I think I might want to be because I tend to get a little anxious in chaos, but then I realize it's part of what makes my home comfortable for others. No one usually needs to worry about breaking stuff, and as long as the grandkids pick up the toy mess that happens, I'm ok.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this one from Evan. There was a cabin day trip for my husband and some of the boys, where they discovered an exploded solar battery, which may explain some of the problem we've been having with the system holding a charge despite replacing the batteries last fall. This is Edward and he was deemed old enough to ride behind on the snowmobile, as was Frederick, who rode behind Marc.
Collin sent a couple, one of the boys and cookies were involved, which is always fun for them.
There was also a trip to the zoo where he took this picture.
Isaac had a Dr. Suess wacky dress/hair day at school. Yeah, and I'm all for it. I've used the Sneetches story in a church lesson on how to treat people. This picture just shows Isaac's personality.
And I'm a big fan of his biggest grins when his eyes almost disappear.
I also got this picture of Jude, who decided this was the preferred position for church last week.
And finally, a few pictures of the new babies. You can't tell, but the crib sheets have little bees on them. My son-in-law told me they were in my honor, lol.
My girl with her babies.
If only they'd sleep just a little better at night....
I know you've all be waiting with bated breath for me to reappear after spending time with my daughter and her newborn twin boys. I've been playing catch-up at home as well as preparing for their arrival this weekend. They'll be spending some time here while new dad gets some school work done and returns to work.
Speaking of new dad, here he is all decked out for the delivery. It was a bit of a surprise thing. My daughter's blood pressure was running a little higher than they wanted, and when she went in for her weekly appointment, she'd developed full-blown preeclampsia and it was time for those babies to be born.
You can see the red hair here. Both grandmas have (past tense in my case) red hair, along with my daughter. Her husband also has red in his beard, so we thought there might be a chance the boys might show up with some red.
They were a month early, but still a good weight for twins. Both of them were over 6 pounds and it's hard for me to believe she was carrying all that inside her.
A lot of the pictures make it seem like they're quite good sized, but in the car seats you can see how small they really are.
My daughter is taking a lot of pictures, of course. We wanted to get them in these hats, crocheted by Aunt Rachelle.
That's Jack on the left and Leo on the right. Jack is older by about 2 minutes.
Every little stretch is so cute.
There are only a few things that really fit them right now, but I imagine it won't be long before they're busting out of their clothes and ready to move on to the next size.
We kept the "A" and "B" hats on them initially, as well as their hospital bands so we could tell them apart, but it got easier the longer they were home. They are due to arrive this weekend with my daughter and will stay for a bit while my son-in-law starts back to work and gets some more school done. It will be interesting to see if I can still tell them apart.
They lost a chunk of weight in the hospital, so for the first few days we had to wake them up every 2 hours to feed them. My daughter is nursing them both right now and doing a fantastic job.
While I'm waxing rhapsodic about new babies, there's nothing quite like those tiny ones cuddled right in to you.
And the sweet sounds they make....AND the baby neck smells. Gaaaaaaahhhh.
Grandpa is very hands on.
And he's all in for the naps.
Bryce and Sarah were the first uncle and aunt from our side to hold them. We took the picture and then he sent a nanny-boo text to the rest of his brothers, who are anxiously waiting for their turn.
And finally, here's the little mama herself. She is sleep deprived, and still recovering from the C-section, and still she's doing an awesome job taking care of these boys. I'm so proud of her, and grateful that I got to enjoy those first few days with the boys. I'm looking forward to seeing them soon!
Not sure how this post will look since I’m trying to do it on my phone. While I’ve been busy, my daughter and her husband have been even busier. The twins have arrived! Jack Allan and Leo Gregory entered the world on 2/24, weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz., and 6 lbs. 2 oz., respectively. We are so blessed with their safe arrival and their mama’s continuing recovery. The icing on my particular cake is that they both have red hair. I'm here trying to help and getting in all the baby cuddling I can. There will be more pictures and videos when I get home early next week and can get to my photo editing stuff. In the meantime, here’s something to tide you over:
