Press Family, Boys 3 Girls 0

BIG Brother

2009-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Zach had his 2.5 year check up at the doctor the other day. He did great and performed for the Dr. like a well trained monkey. Recited his ABC's, counted to ten backwards and forwards, sang some songs, and did a few algebraic equations. Ok, the last one might be a slight exaggeration.
His stats are:
Height: 37.5 inches (78th %tile)
Weight: 30lbs. (51st %tile)
Head: 19 inches (24th %tile)

All in all, it looks like he takes after my side of the family in the height department. Whew!

R.I.P. Storm 10/1994-11/2009

2009-11-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

This is Storm. We've all called her Stormy forever. She came to us in a very memorable way. I was 18. We had just lost our dog, Boomer not that long ago. My brother, Scott and his girlfriend at the time (now wife) went on a little camping trip. Nothing major, just a night or two. It was October, I think. They took their dog with them. On the way up to the mountains, along side the road, they see this little white fluffy puppy. My brother thinks, "Oh please don't let Renee see it...". Well, she did and demanded they stop to pick up the puppy. So they did.

They continue on the way to the camping spot. I think they parked the car and hiked in. They set up. They went to sleep. Unbeknownst to them, a major storm came through. Very unexpected. They were NOT prepared at all and only had windbreaker type clothing on. They woke up to snow everywhere! My brother and his wife are seasoned outdoors people, so you wouldn't think this would upset the apple cart, but it did. They were discombobulated and couldn't find their trail out. They were worried. They started dumping the contents of their packs to make their load lighter. They were worried about their own dog and now they had this no name puppy to think about!? Well, my brother tells us they couldn't worry about little no name, they were in a dire situation. Hopefully No Name would follow them out, because they couldn't carry her.

Would you believe that little No Name ball of fluff followed them out all the way to safety! She jumped from footprint to footprint, very "Fox and the Hound-esque". When they all got home, they took little No Name to the vet. Turned out she had worms. Scott and Renee had two other dogs so they needed a place to let No Name stay until her worms cleared up...they didn't want their other dogs to get infected. Of course, they brought her to our house. My mom wasn't thrilled. I think she was still upset about Boomer and said, "We're not getting another dog!" "It's only for a few days, Mom." my brother said.

Sure.

15 years later, my parents dog died. Her name was Storm, because she made it out of the storm safely.

She was a great dog and lived the most awesome life.
When I was 18, I'd walk her every day. She was great on a leash. I'd take her to Black Diamond Mines and we'd go hiking. Just us. Sometimes we'd go with a friend, Chris Jones. She'd scale those rocks like they were nothing, which was amazing given the fact her legs were so short! When I got my "new" car, a 1985 Chevy Cavalier, we'd go on day trips together. We'd often drive up to Stinson Beach, just her and I, wind in our hair, not a care in the world. Or, if I did have a care, she'd be there.

I moved away when I was 21. That's when she really became my parent's third kid. Especially my dad's. We joke that he loved that dog and treated that dog better than his own kids! When my parents retired, they moved up to a more rural area. Storm was in Heaven! She'd chase the quail, smell everything, sit in the sun...she loved it up there. Every morning, she'd go with my dad around the loop. Down the driveway, get the paper, up around the back of the property and home again. As the years ticked by, the loop took longer and longer. She was getting pretty slow. Her eyesight began to fail her, as did her hearing. She had glaucoma. She lost an eye about a year ago but did really well without it. A few weeks ago, she lost the sight in her other eye completely. She was also now completely deaf. My parents would have to lead her around to go potty or to find a spot to sit outside. She teeter off the edge of the deck or the walkways. They kept saying, "Well, she's not in pain...". Well, last week, she started chewing at herself. She was obviously distressed. Her balance started to get funny, too. They decided it was time, not an easy decision by any means. Apparently, the vet came out to the car to give her the "sleepy water". So much better than going inside the that awful, cold table. She hated the vet...what dog doesn't? She went to sleep in her car, on her dog bed, peacefully. Really....aside from her being immortal, what could be better?

She was a really great dog. And she will be missed.

My Favorite Place, Pismo!

2009-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

So, for our next adventure during Jeff's paternity leave, we headed to Pismo Beach. Our friends, Chris and Karen, generously offered to let us stay at their house. They are empty nesters, what with their kids of at college, so they had the extra rooms. We've stayed with them before, but that was with only one kid! I'm not sure if they knew what they were getting themselves into with 3! In all honesty, the kids all did great. I didn't sleep very well during this trip. I slept with Zach in Michael's bed. Usually sleeping with Zach isn't a big deal. He's a great cuddler, sleeps well...not this trip. He was up, wanting to chat, kicking me, hitting me in the face while asleep...ugh. Not good. The last night I slept with the twins, thinking it would be easier...not so much. That night with Jeff, Zach slept great...the twins were up and needing pacifiers and all that jazz. I think they were all ganging up on me.

Ok, so these pics are backwards. I'm too lazy and my small window of opportunity is closing, so just know that. ;o)

Trevor zonked out in the Baby Bjorn in Avila Beach

My little ham, loves to play in the "tunnel"
I've got Trevor

Yes, I've taught him to write. He's brilliant.

Avila Beach

The next few pics are from the Farmer's Market in San Luis Obispo. Everyone was dressed up for Halloween, again didn't think to bring Zach's Buzz costume...darn it! This is the biggest farmer's market I've ever seen! Very crowded! I think the whole town was there. It was a little stressful because it was already dark, and keeping tabs on Zach in those environments always sends my stress levels up. It was also tricky to navigate my HUGE double stroller through the crowds...harder than Disney, even!

Zach has been throwing his head back when he says "cheese!"
Chris, me and the twinkies

Zach waiting patiently for his balloon from the balloon man. He got a sword that lasted about 5 minutes.

Different day, we were in Morro Bay. Here's Morro Rock
We ate at the Flying Dutchman. It was right on the little wharf there, and we had the usual fare of clam chowder in a bread bowl, popcorn shrimp and of course, beer.

We had the boys in the Bjorns and lay them down on the bench seats next to us...figured they were tired of "hanging around"
Trevor

Dylan
"I only want french fries!"

We went to this little aquarium that has been there for 50 years or something crazy like that. All of the tanks were really old so it felt like we were transported back in time. A very nice place, I highly recommend going. The highlight were the seal and sea lion that you could feed chopped up fish to. The one seal acted like a dog, when we'd walk away to feed the sea lion, he'd swim around in circles and flap his fins like he was begging! It was all I could do to NOT jump in with him...soooo cute!

Sea Lion

Feeding the seal/dog

Earlier that day (remember all my pics are out of order...grrr...) we went to Montana de Oro. It's a park (National, maybe?) and it's beautiful. The shore is made up of perfect skipping rocks

We went to dinner at Jocko's. This place has been around for 350 years. Not really, of course, but it's been around for a looooooong time. I think the patrons have been going for a loooooong time. They looked as chic and as well kept as the place itself. It looks like a VFW hall. Not kidding. The hype about it is that the portions make Claim Jumper look like rabbit food. My filet was 18 oz.!
These were Jeff's pork chops

One guess on what I'm trying to convey here. It was something along the lines of, "put the camera down, you're embarrassing me." There may have been an expletive thrown in there but I censored it for rated G. Only Jeff would take pics of the food.
Zach waiting for his Heineken
When we first arrived into town, we went directly to The Station Grill, Chris and Karen's restaurant in Grover Beach. After we ate our awesome meal, we headed to the beach right by their place. It's my favorite beach but unfortunately it was hella (homage to my Nor Cal friends) windy. We didn't stay long.

I'm a Kangaroo

2009-11-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with the twins, I remember wondering how I'd be able to carry them in a Baby Bjorn. I carried Zach around in his for practically 8 months and he loved it! He was hardly ever in his stroller because he enjoyed it and I didn't have to maneuver the stroller around in stores...I'm not a good driver.
My cousin, Marie (Hi Marie!) sent me an email with a product that looks like a Baby Bjorn built for two. I laughed, scoffed at it even...how in the world would I not topple over!?
Fast forward to today, when my friend, Amy called me up and said she saw a woman at Costco wearing her 4 month old twins in 2 separate Bjorns. Amy ran up to her, remembering me having questions about this in the past, and asked her how she does it?

Well....

Ta Da!!!

Up at Nana and Papa's

2009-11-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, we went up to see my mom and dad. We hadn't been there in quite a while and Zach was especially excited to go. Luckily for us, they were having a pumpkin/fall festival at the local elementary school while we were there. What perfect timing! I wish I'd have known because all the kids dressed up in their costumes. It would have been yet ANOTHER opportunity for Z to be Buzz Lightyear! Oh well, he had a great time, nonetheless.

Papa teaching Zach the finer points of shooting a paintball gun. He loved it! Not sure if I love that he loved it...as long as it's only targets and pop cans he shoots at, I guess it's ok.

They had an obstacle course set up for the littler ones. Zach really needs to work on his grip here
Papa and Zach
Zach "fishing" for a prize. It was so funny, he lost his prize as he pulled his pole out of the hole, and a "magic flying fish" came to the rescue and tossed the prize (a glider) out!
Ok, so no childish pony rides for this kid! He moves right up to full fledged horse. I wasn't sure how this would all go down but as you can see, he loved it! I'm thinking next Halloween he might want to be a cowboy!

They also had a petting zoo. Ok, really it was a sheep and a bunny, but you could pet them! Zach thought it was funny when the bunny would squirm around.Me, my mom and Trevor

I Dare You

2009-11-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Another fun Zach story to report. I don't have a picture of the actual episode, but I tried to capture his expression in another pic. It doesn't do it justice.

So, the other morning, I see Zach playing in his new playroom area. I think I smell poop so I ask him, "Do you have poo-poo, bud?" He responds by sticking his tongue out slightly, making his neck disappear and turns his face red. Okaaaay. Guess that's a yes. So I say, "When you're all done, tell Mama and I'll change your diaper."
I wait a few minutes and ask him, "Are you all done going poo-poo?"
He says, "No Mama, not done". I'm like, "Really? It's been a while, are you sure you're not all done?"
He responds by again, turning red, sticking his tongue out and making his neck disappear.
Okaaaaaay. I get it, it's gonna be a doozy.
So, I give him a GOOD 10 minutes to do his business. I ask if he's all done and he says, "yes."
I go get a dipe and he lays down on the carpet. I can really smell it now. I don't know what this kid eats but it's NOT pleasant.
I open the little tabs as he's watching me intently. I pull his dipe down a little and can see that this is going to be a very FULL, very MESSY diaper change. It's clear up to his balls. Ugh. I quickly put the diaper back up over his peen and look at him.
In his most mobster like tone he looks at me with a half smile on his face and says...
"Open it".
Like he was daring me to! I shook my head and said, "I don't wanna!"
He says it again..."Open it, Mama". Very calm like, very Kevin Spacey talking in the movie "Seven".
So, doing as I was told by my 2 year old, I opened the awful present he left me and as I'm reaching for the wipes (it was a 20 wipe poop, by the way) he says...wait for it...
"Clean my butt."
Very simply stated, very deliberate, very...authoritative.
And very weird!
If I start seeing this kid using my cell phone or wearing fedoras, I'm going to start getting suspicious.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!

2009-11-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We went to Disneyland. Ok, now I don't want to offend any of you "Mouse lovers", but Jeff and I aren't part of your group. I would never go to Disneyland without kids. The only reason we went is because we have kids. I've only been twice, once when I was 8. I recently found out my mom took me on this trip because we had just moved to Northern California and I was miserable. So, she tried to buy my love with The Mouse. And Knott's Berry Farm. And Universal Studios. Can I just say how amazed I am that my mom did this? (Hi, Mom!) You see, my mom is not the type to drop everything and take her kid to 3 different amusement parks because said kid moped around for 2 months. When I broke my leg when I was about a year old, my dad called my mom to tell her and she said something along the lines of, "Handle it. I'm in the middle of my bowling game."

Another time, when I was 8, the Tigers were playing in the World Series. I sprained my ankle pretty bad...it really hurt a lot...my mom said she'd take me to the Dr. after the game. This is not to say my mom's not great. She is, but looking back, I'm rather shocked she took me on that trip.

I digress. So, I went when I was 8 and I went for grad night when I was 18. Hardly remember that night at all. We drove 8 hours on a bus, changed our clothes on the bus, went into Disneyland for several hours and returned home. I know we went to Toon Town because I have a picture of it and I vaguely remember Space Mountain. That's it. Jeff hadn't been in 22 years for his grad night. However, we wanted to go because the twins are so little right now and it's easier to this now while there immobile. Also, Jeff had a hook up through Karl Strauss (beer co.) and we were able to get in free. We went with our friends Joe and Julie and their kids, Luke (age 4) and Riley (age2.5).

All in all, it was a fantastic trip! Zach was fairly well behaved. For the first time, he skipped his nap. He's the type of kid who really needs his nap. We weren't sure how it would go, but he did great until about 6pm, where he had a mini meltdown and then promptly zonked out in the stroller. Speaking of stroller, ours looked ridiculous. I wish we'd gotten a picture of it. We had the double stroller, which is a behemoth anyway. We had the bottom filled to the brim with snacks, clothes, diaper bag, baby bjorns x2, sling, camera, video camera and the kitchen sink. We also had an umbrella stroller bungee-d to the side of the double stroller. OMG. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies, kids style!

The difficult parts of the trip revolved around the twins. Feedings took 30 minutes so that took time. Diaper changes, etc. Also, I had to pump, so I'd have to get my pump out of the locker, go to the Baby Care station and pump, return the pump back to the locker and meet up with the group at the back of the park. I will say the Baby Care area was awesome! It's decorated like something out of Little House on the Prairie and the women there look like old time midwives. The have changing tables, pumping areas, nursing areas, high chairs, a microwave and a sink with soap to clean equipment. It's cool and quiet. Really great, I only wish they had more of these centers.

The other hard part was we couldn't take the twins in the Bjorns on some of the rides. Luckily, Joe and Julie took all the kids on the Nemo Submarine ride, but I wish I could've seen his face on it.

Other than that, the trip was great! We only managed to see probably half the park. I'd like to go again in the near future and just take Zach. That way we could really see a lot more and just concentrate on him.

Okay, now for the pictures!

Upon arrival, it's imperative to get the picture by Mickey.

The castle. The crowds weren't too bad, thank goodness. This is Main Street.

Me, Julie, Riley and Zach. Yes, my back and I regretted carrying Zach like this.

Zach trying his hardest to get the swine flu

This is classic "Family with 3 kids under 2.5" picture. Notice the only two people smiling at the camera appropriately are me and Jeff. Jeff has Dylan in the Bjorn with him blinded in the direct sun. I have Trevor, who is so far tipped forward, his hat is over his eyes and I'm surprised he didn't lose his lunch. Then there's Zach, who can't get over the size of Goofy's feet.

Trevor and I in Toon Town

Zach trying to call a cab to take him through the park faster

A better family picture

Julie and Riley on Autotopia. This is the only ride I remember from the trip in 1984.

Joe and Luke

Joe and Julie

We happened to be right in the area where the dance parade travels through so we stayed and watched. It was time for a feeding anyway, so I welcomed the chance to sit, even if it was on the ground. Zach loves to dance and so does Luke, so they had a great time watching. Here they are getting warmed up for the festivities. How odd that my kid loves being in front of an audience

Zach nonchalantly looking up the dancers' dress. 'Atta boy.

We're doing the conga line. All we had to do was hold the rope and walk. It was all going so well until...

He would periodically decide to play gymnast and hang off the rope. He thought it would be more fun if we all carried him

In the New Orleans Square area

Zach in the car ready for the ride home. This is the response we got when we asked him if he had a fun time

"Awww, Mom...no more pictures, please!"

Zach's favorite ride was BY FAR the Buzz Lightyear ride. You'd sit in a car and it had a gun, where you would shoot at targets and get points. Zach loves Buzz, so when we were in line and we came to a life size Buzz Lightyear, oh my gosh, his mouth hit the ground! He couldn't believe Buzz was there telling him to fight the Evil Emperor Zurg! It was great to see his face! We took him on the Pirates of the Caribbean and he liked it, but he was just scared enough to want to sit as close as possible to Jeff and hold both his hands. I'm glad he didn't get too upset. There were also a couple of drops the boat went down and none of us were expecting that!

Forgot to mention Zach woke up for the fireworks show, which was great because he really enjoys them. The show was pretty amazing and we were there with about 1.5 million people. Not really, but there were A LOT of folks there. Walking out with the herd was pretty organized, too. I will say, Disneyland is kept so nicely and the employees are so nice and helpful. Not sure if those things justifies a $72 ticket...PER PERSON, but I thought I should mention it.

Long Time No Blog

2009-11-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well it has been forever since I've written a new post. Not that there hasn't been a TON to write about, on the contrary. What has been difficult is finding some stolen moments to get on this darn computer and give an update on our exciting travels and excursions.

Jeff took his paternity leave starting on October 22. Since that day, we haven't stopped. Most people, given the gift of some time off, would stay home, try to relax as much as possible with 3 kids, maybe get a nap in. Not us. The first day of leave, we went to Disneyland with the 3 kids and our friends Joe and Julie and their 2 kids. Post on that to follow shortly. The next day, Friday, we went up to see my parents. They live near Sequoia Nat'l Park. We were there until Sunday (again, post to follow later) and then came home, kept the car running and dropped the dog off and went to our friend Amy and Donald's for a crab boil and football. Monday we were home, I think for the sole reason of doing laundry. Oh, I also went out to dinner with some girlfriends. We all have kids so this had been on the books for a while, it's so difficult to get the three of us together. Next day was Tuesday and we loaded up the car once more to head to Pismo Beach. We have friends that live in Arroyo Grande and they generously offered to let us stay at their house. Again, post to follow. We got home on Friday. Saturday was another laundry day and I had a hair appointment (finally!) to cover all the gray hair I know have. Thanks, kids! That night was Halloween, which was a BLAST. Can't wait to tell you about that! The next day, bright and early at 8:30am, we were on our way to Oxnard to a rented beach house for 3 days. Yes, it was amazing and even more awesome because it was on Sam Adam's and Chili's dime, not ours. We got home Tuesday morning and Jeff went back to work on Wednesday.

Whew! I'm exhausted just writing this.
Was it relaxing?
Uh, no.
Did I get some well deserved extra sleep?
I got a nap one day.
Am I glad we ran around like crazed monkeys high on monkey methamphetamine?
Definitely.

We had such great times at all these places and if you can believe it, we had no major disasters, no bleeding, no injuries, no forgotten anything...
we're getting pretty good at this 3 kid thing.

So, I'll be posting separate entries about each thing we did, so keep your eyes open!

Slideshow of the boys

2009-10-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

My Favorite 2.5 Year Old

2009-10-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pics of my favorite toddler. He was all ready for preschool on a very rainy day. He's really a good kid, but MAN does he like to test. If I say don't touch, he gives me the most evil grin and touches it again, slowly, deliberately. He was in major time out in his room yesterday three (THREE) times in a matter of 3 hours. First, he poured an entire bottle of baby shampoo into the baby bathtub. I thought he was in the yard, playing while I was drying and dressing Trevor. Second, he would NOT lower his voice while the babies were sleeping and proceeded to wake them up. He seems to only have one volume and that's earth shattering LOUD. At that same moment we had a "no touching" incident that I already explained so off he went. Third, he put his feet on the table three (THREE) times at dinner. This was after I calmly (and when I say calmly, I mean very quiet, very direct, very "calm before the storm" calm) told him to get his feet off the table. My little tester. I'll have to ask my mom if I was like this...

Ta Da!

Say cheese!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2009-10-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, October 3rd to be exact, Jeff took Zach to see the re release of Toy Story. I had already gotten him the Buzz Lightyear costume (it was a toss up between Buzz and Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba). His obsession with Toy Story began this past summer when we went camping and brought with us the portable DVD player. It came in very handy, especially at meal times and when he would wake up at 5:30 am every morning. Little did we know he would want to watch Toy Story every single time. Nothing else, not Ice Age, not Baby Einstein, not Thomas the Train...it was always "Buzz and Woody!"

So I'd been anticipating the movie coming back to theatres, knowing my little man would LOVE it. That morning we wanted see what the costume would look like. Zach wanted nothing to do with it so we wrangled him to the ground, hog-tied him and got it on him. Well, of course once he saw himself dressed as Buzz, he would NOT take it off! We had to wrangle and hog tie once again at nap time to get it off him! Go figure.

I told Jeff, "You should take him to the movies with him wearing his Buzz costume!" Jeff thought that idea was "lame". His exact words. "No, that's totally lame". I told him, "I'm not asking YOU to wear a Buzz costume...he's 2!" Well, when Zach woke up from his nap and the first thing out of his mouth was "Wear Buzz!" Jeff relented.

For the record, apparently everyone thought he was adorable and kept saying, "Wow, he must really like Buzz!" Haha...

I asked Jeff how many other kids were dressed up and Jeff told me just Zach. Haha again.

Getting ready to go

How could you NOT let him wear it? Look how happy he is!

Jeff "flying" Zach around while he yelled "to infinity and beyond!"

Oh, and the first thing he said when he had his costume on and realized he liked it was, "I wanna FLY!" Uh oh...I had visions of him climbing up my entertainment center and launching himself.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Boys

2009-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

These were taken a few weeks ago...I'd completely forgotten Jeff had taken them.

This is how we often feed the twins. Jeff showed me this technique one day when he was bragging how he did his middle of the night feeding in about an hour. I was like, WHAAAAAT?? It takes me about 2.5 hours, but that includes pumping. So he showed me the prop-the-bottle-squared technique. Zach was helping out for this feeding. He has to earn his keep somehow.

Oh, and this proves that he is related to his Nana. Picture with his eyes closed. I think there are 4 pictures in existence of my mom with her eyes open.

Cuddle time on a Sunday morning

Not everyone enjoys cuddle time

And they like to trade off who enjoys cuddle time and who doesn't

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-12T19:13:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went out to Pierce college in the valley, where they have a great pumpkin patch. We'd never been there before, but it's definitely worth the trip. They had a bunch of rides and activities for the kids, fair food and of course, pumpkins.

My little pumpkin, Dylan. My, what big eyes he has!

Zach had a great time, even though he's still getting over yet another cold. His little voice is raspy...that's never happened before...it's pretty darn cute.

These pics are all out of order...I'm too tired to care...lol. The fact is I've had this post in the works for 4 days now and at 5:30 am can finally find the time to write the text to it.

Bumper boats. He did not fall in but we were watching him like a hawk far any "To Infinity and Beyond!" moves.

Almost the whole family. Zach wasn't in the mood to say cheese.

I don't know who's showing more teeth...me or the horse.

Getting friendly with the goats.

Ice cream!
Pretending to be a farmer on his little John Deere
Choo choo train!

Waving to all his fans...such a ham!

I was telling him to smile and he mimicked what I was doing

After the patch, we met Jeff's parents at Maggiano's for some dinner. It was a Saturday night, already crowded and I thought, "oh, this is NOT a good idea." We eat at places these days where we can leave at a moment's notice. It all ended up being fine...Trevor had a little meltdown but I walked with him a bit by the banquet rooms and he settled. Zach surprised me by NOT wanting the kid's spaghetti I got him (not the surprising part) but wanting the "BIG noodles" that we were all eating. Just when you think you know your kid...

Before we got our table, I took Zach outside to burn off some steam. We ended up in Barnes and Noble, where of course I bought him a few books. While in line (forever!), he was entertaining everyone. He was looking at an M&M puzzle, asking me, "Where's M&M's?" I would tell him it's not candy, it's a puzzle and he would sing, "puzzle, puzzle, puzzle...". Too cute. He was Mr. Chatty Cathy that night and I could hear the people in line tittering as he would talk about the M&M's or grandma or books or Buzz and Woody or anything else under the sun. As I was paying and collecting my receipt, he says, quite loudly and VERY clearly, "Momma! I have my hand in my butt!" Sure enough, there's my blue eyed blondie, with his hand down his pants....beaming with his little diastema showing. Well, the crowd went wild and were out and out laughing...no more tittering. I laughed all the way out of the store.

Pirating Picture People

2009-10-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

At preschool, Picture People came and took school pictures. Can you believe we've never had professional pictures taken of Zachary?
I don't know why...I can't wait to do it again!
They were there on 2 days. The first day, being the astute, on-top-of-it-mom that I am, I forgot it was picture day. No pictues that day because his outfit was not chosen well, and his hair was probably not brushed. The next day, Zach was not going to preschool, but we threw an outfit on him, quickly ran a comb through his hair and Jeff ran him down for his picture. I will be much better prepared next time!
I think they turned out so cute! I guess he listened to what the lady said and did all the poses. He always says "CHEESE" when he has his picture taken, so that's the deal with his tongue out!

They gave us the package, and we're to keep the sheets we want and give back the ones we don't want with a check. Now, of course I'm buying 3 sheets, BUT Jeff did scan them into our computer so we can make more...hee hee.

Pretending to be a Photographer

2009-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Again, I attempted to do a photo shoot with the boys and use my fun camera without really knowing anything about it. The twins are doing really well. Trevor is well over 9 lbs, probably creeping towards the 9.5 mark. Dylan is probably over 8lbs. I should weigh them today. Maybe after their baths.
We think Dylan may be alittle colicky (Not sure how to spell that...). He's always been the more feisty one, but I would say at least one feeding out of 6, he screams, claws at his face, flails his little limbs around. He's literally like an angry little vulture. Hungry, but mad as hell. Jeff was really concerned. I can somewhat understand because he gets home and gets to witness the witching hour. He doesn't know that all day he's been a sweet little bug-a-boo. So, I called the Dr and described what's happening. I told the Dr. that he wakes up and he's p-i-s-s-e-d. It's the best way to describe it. The doc said that it sounds like classic colic. He recommended some Gripe Water. It's an herbal thing with fennel and something else that is supposed to calm babies bellies. Dylan has only been on it for a few days and it's either purely coincidental or the stuff actually works, because he's been quite a bit better. We are so not used to this crying baby thing. Zach was such an easy baby...a fact I certainly didn't appreciate then because I didn't know any different.
Other than that, the breastfeeding/nursing/pumping thing is not going as well as I'd hoped. Dylan is a lazy eater so I've stopped nursing Dylan. In a 30 minute nursing session, he'll take in an ounce. He drinks his bottles slow, too. So he's on bottles only. Trevor nurses great. However, it can be tricky to nurse him and prop a bottle for Dylan...if he chokes or needs attention, my boob pops out of Trevor's mouth and that's frustrating for him. Also, when Zach is home and added to the mix, it's quite close to impossible to bottle one, boob the other and pay attention to Zach so he doesn't climb on my head...literally. Also, I've got this schedule thing looming over me. For example, breastfed babies will often eat, and then maybe an hour or two later, will want a snack. That throws my feeding schedule off and I can't have that. This happened a few weeks ago and thank goodness I got them back on schedule...I can't be feeding all day at different times...it's all I'd be doing! The pumping is also starting to get difficult. Finding the time to pump is difficult most days. Either one of the boys is awake/fussy and if they are both sleeping, I have a small window of opportunity to do the 300 things I need to do. By the time I sit down to pump, someone wakes up and then I'm screwed. Again, adding Zach to the mix only makes it more difficult. My supply has decreased substantially, but I will keep it going as long as I can without losing my sanity. They are 10 weeks, so if I make it to the three month mark I'll have to be happy with that. I'm just so glad I got to have such a wonderful nursing experience with Zach because I really loved it and so looked forward to it this time 'round. Ah well...

Lots of boobie talk today, sorry to any men reading this. Or your welcome...whichever you prefer.

Some pics:

Trevor really wants to see that new movie "Zombieland". Yes, he told me. He tried to nurse his brother's head for a good 5 minutes. Dylan was a good sport until finally he was d-o-n-e. He was like, "GET HIM OFF ME!"

Ok, so this turned out stupid-amazing. I don't know how I did it, what setting the camera was on, how my lighting was...nothing. I do know I fully lucked out.
(Trevor, by the way)

Trevor on the left, Dylan on the right. Dylan wasn't loving the photo shoot today. He was crying his head off, which is why he looks constipated...fast button action in between wails.

We resorted to using the pacifer in between shots, but you could tell we'd pull it out and snap a picture...his tongue was still in curled paci mode. Trevor is thoroughly enjoying his close up. Or he's enjoying giving me the bird...not sure which.
As you can see, we are still taking Dylan to the tanning booth. His skin tone does not look so radically different than Trevor's in person, but the camera really makes it show up.

The Walker's House

2009-10-01T03:52:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, our friends Joe and Julie invited us over to their house for a pasta dinner. Of course, we accepted! A meal I didn't have to cook and great company...it was a no-brainer! They have two kids, Luke who is 4 and Riley who is 2.5. She is 3 weeks older than Zach, as a matter of fact. We all go camping together and have been friends for 10 years.

The kids "eating" their pasta. It was more playing than eating.

Julie and I and who knows who was in the sling. I DO know it was the fussy one.

Miss Riley and her ice cream cake face.

Zach and his ice cream cake face. I would normally bet that more got on his face than in his tummy, but we're talking ice cream here. I know he got a TON in his tummy!

Paradise Cove is...well...Paradise!

2009-09-27T21:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend it was going to be over 100 degrees again so we thought let's go to the beach! Yes, all of us. We packed up the car which took us well over 1.5 hours, packed the kids, packed ourselves and off we went. When we got in the car it was still up in the air on which beach to go to. Often times, the beaches here are wonderful, but you have to walk a decent distance to get to the water's edge. The last time Jeff took Zach, he had to carry him along with all the beach accoutrement (boogie board, sand toys, snacks, towels, etc.) because the little pooper got pooped. We didn't want to be trudging along the sand with two carseats or dragging a double stroller for days...not fun. Jeff remembered a place called Paradise Cove in Malibu! He hadn't been there in years and I'd only seen it from the car once, years ago. A bigger bonus, Jeff knows a manager that works there as she used to work for Chili's. Off we went.

We were planning on a late breakfast as well, and this place was just the best ever! It's privately owned, and there is a restaurant, as well as a bar, a snack station, bathrooms. Also, there are adirondack chairs all over the place to hang out in, and there's service provided. On top of that, they have these cabanas you can rent, with huge couches that line the walls and that of course has service, too. We opted to rent a bed for $25 for the day and as you can see by the pictures it's a raised bed with a nice mattress. It also has service and a cooler that slides out from underneath for your bucket of beer. We didn't know this then, but because it's privately owned, you can also BYOB and food! These are Malibu beach prices, so you'll pay $26 for 3 Bud Lights. (I overheard the guys next to us talk about it). It also costs $25 flat rate to park. Well, we lucked out because of that manager, and she validated us for the day, so free parking! Can't beat that!

Well, needless to say, we had the BEST day! All the boys (including Jeff) took a snooze on the bed. Zach slept for over 2 hours and the twins slept a lot, too. We ate breakfast, and even though it was a tick pricey, the portions are huge. Zach had a blast in the water and I had to keep the twins from jumping on the surfboard. We didn't bring our camera (GASP, I know!) so no pictures that day. However, we had such a great time, we went back during the week and brought the camera that time!

Relaxing on our bed, Dylan (Fussy Fussbucket) is probably in the sling

Zach not looking like he was having fun, but I promise you he was all smiles the rest of the time. He was probably not happy about the girl swim diaper I made him wear (hand me downs from a friend with a girl). I didn't count on him not wanting to wear his bathing suit OR his wet suit, so I felt like I had to explain to everyone we passed why he was wearing a pink swim diaper. Nice scrape on his side from falling off a rock.

The twins, all packed up and ready to say goodbye to the beach!

Jeff feeding...someone. I can't tell from this distance.

%&**@^#!!

2009-09-17T08:59:00.001-07:00

I love Zach's age right now. The positives FAR outweigh the negatives.
Things I love:

When you take his clothes off he grabs his junk, yells, "I NAKED!" Then says, "Uh oh...no pee pee on da carpet...pee pee! Pee Pee!" Then he runs to the toilet and goes. Then asks Mommy to go, too. This morning we talked about how mommy has to sit down because mommy doesn't have a penis...
He's able to communicate almost 100% with me. Sometimes it takes a bit to translate "ahfdkhkaenn hdkahdehn" into "I played with blocks at preschool", but I can figure it out almost always.
He asks when he needs help.
He helps me all the time, cooking, picking up stuff, sticking paci's in babies mouths, etc.
He LOVES on his brothers.
We have a hug-kiss-high five-fist bump routine in the morning when he leaves for preschool.

There are some challenging times, of course. The usual no-listening moments. The usual climbing moments. The usual cursing like a sailor moments...him, not me.

The other day, he's playing in the other room and I think I hear him say, "Stupid!" I say to Jeff, "Did he just say stupid?" No, I'm told. He says it again a few seconds later and I ask him if he just said "stupid". He looks at me proudly and says, "Yes!!"

Greeeaaat. He must have learned it at preschool. So, I sit down with him and explain that it's a bad word, we don't use that word in our house, that word hurts people's feelings, etc. Of course, I'm thinking I'm being too verbose about the whole thing with him and should I have ignored it and what do all those stupid parenting magazines say to do...second guessing is FUN!

So, Jeff comes back from the park with him a while later and says, "Your son has learned another word at preschool." Zach, as if on cue, yells (very articulately, I might add) "G*d Dammit!" Uh-oh. Stupid is one thing, G-D is a whole other playing field. So, of course I quickly and firmly say, "NO! We don't say that word! That's a bad word, I don't want to hear that word come out of your mouth again!" Again, probably all the wrong things. I'm probably not supposed to make a big deal of it and I'm probably NOT supposed to do exactly what I just did. For the record, Zach tells me he learned the word from James at preschool. That brought back to mind that wonderful scene in "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie drops the F-bomb and his mothers asks where he heard it. When he tells her it was from a friend up the street, she calls the friends mom and tells her and then listens as the mother beats her son bloody...haha...I love that scene.

Well, to add to the story, the other day Jeff was trying to get me to go somewhere and after the 47th time of him asking if I'd go, I said, "What the hell??" ABout 20 seconds later Zach says, "What the hell, mom?" Clear as day. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccceeeeeee.

I did have to turn my head because I was about to lose it...to see your adorable 2.5 year old stand there and look at you with those cute curls and big blue eyes and say, "What the hell, Mom?" It was too much.

And yes, I collected my Mom-of-the-Year award at the end of the day.

My Three Sons

2009-09-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Double Trouble

2009-09-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few new pics of the boys, since my Mom said, "You know, you haven't updated the blog in a week!" Ok, Mom. Here you go. They are really growing and getting so big! I took them in for a weight check last week and the results were:
Trevor: 7lbs 9oz.
Dylan: 6lbs 6oz.

Trevor is getting to be a real chunk-o-love. He's got rolls everywhere! Dylan is still on the lean side, just like Zach was. Zach didn't get any rolls until he was at least 5 months!

Heather sent some clothes that her son, Nikos wore. He was a preemie, too. You can find her blog in my blog list...she cracks me up and the craziest things happen to her. Someone should follow her around with a video camera, it would make great TV! Anyway, she sent some clothes and I had the same outfit from when Zach was little, so it worked out perfectly!

I DO like dressing them the same. I never gave it much thought and people would always ask me if I was planning on dressing them alike. I had no idea at the time. But, it's so fun! I certainly don't do it all the time...they are usually wearing whatever doesn't have baby puke on it or whatever is convenient. But don't they look cute??

And here is some of the latest innovation here at the Press house. I call my new invention "God, give me something to hold this freakin' pacifier in his mouth!"

The House of Brotherly Love

2009-09-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

Just some random pictures of Zach loving on his brothers. He's been so good with them, always wanting to hold them and touch them. That's exactly what he says..."Hold the brother!" "Touch him!" He's pretty good at figuring out who's who, also. He likes to give them their "pa-poo" (pacifier)....it was so funnt the first time. He shoved it in Dylan's mouth, grunted like it was taking a lot of effort and said, "There!". Pretty funny. We have to remind him to be gentle, of course but he's really pretty good about that. We had a glimpse of the future, though. I put this little stuffed lamb that plays music in the pack-in-play. It's for babies and Zach hasn't seen it in over a year, at least. Well, he saw it this morning and hollered, "My lamb, my lamb!" Ran over and couldn't rip it off the side fast enough. At least he set it next to the babies who were doing tummy time on the floor...he didn't run and hide it...yet.

This is when they all had the sniffles. No, we don't usually let Zach run around with his paci, but he was sick so we relented.

Who is that BIG kid?!?! Jeff is holding Trevor. Poor Zach and his mismatched jammies...Nana bought him some new ones she felt so bad for him.

This is how he looks everytime he holds one. So Sweet! This is Dylan.

This is right after I yelled at Zach to, "SIT NEXT TO NANA AND SMILE!!"
That worked really well. Mom of the year award moment.

My little Picasso

2009-09-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

The other day we set Zach up with some finger paints and a roll of paper. As much of a boy as he is, he doesn't love getting his hands dirty. He doesn't like sand or food, like peanut butter on his hands and whines to me to "clean it off!" It took him a while to dip his hands into the paint, and when he did it didn't last long. He preferred the paint brush.

Not happy about his dirty hands. A little encouragement was needed.

This was WAY more fun than the paper. Luckily it was the washable kind of finger paint and I can attest to the fact it truly IS washable!

Playing photographer

2009-09-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

My mom and I decided to have a little photo shoot the other day. This required lots of towels and blankets and a big load of laundry later...there were several poop and pee episodes while shooting.
Just messing around with our awesome camera I don't know how to use.

Trevor

Dylan eating Trevor's head. Too many brain-sucking zombie movies around here, I guess.

Payback is a b*tch. Trevor turning the tables on Dylan and trying to suck out his eyeball.

The brothers.
It looks like Dylan is taking a self portrait of him and his brother.

They are packing on the pounds now. As of last Friday, Trevor is 6.8 and Dylan is 5.11. They've each gained 2 pounds since birth.
They are doing well. Their personalities are showing. Dylan is the feisty one. As soon as his eyes open, he's crying. He wants to eat and wants it NOW! Trevor, on the other hand, is chill. Wakes up, looks around, thinks about eating, grunts a little. Totally patient. Dylan OBVIOUSLY takes after me.

Some more pics

2009-08-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Couldn't you just EAT these feeties!!

Zach and JJ. That dog is so compromising. Between being sick and needing time to take care of the twins, Zach has been watching MORE than his fair share of TV. I'm not happy about it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Nana and her grandbabies

Daddy and his boys

Poop, Feeding and Crying, Oh My!

2009-08-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Getting time to update is few and far between, so I apologize. You may start to see some posts with only pictures. There's not all that much happening here except for the description in the title.
We are getting as much sleep as we can. I try to take a nap in the day if it's been a rough night because I don't want sleeplessness to affect my milk supply. I am so, so SO sick of pumping. It seems it's all I do. My dad said the other day that it looks like about to be electrocuted. Yes, I pump in front of my dad. I have shit to do, no time for modesty. Besides, these boobs are half his DNA, so there you have it.
A little bad news to report (nothing MAJOR)...Zach came down with a cold. Of course I'm a nervous Nelly about the germs. We've been hand washing/sanitizing freaks over here. Well, it's been all for nothing. The twins have the sniffles. Yes, I feel extremely guilty. They haven't been home a week and my household has already contaminated them. UGH! Gotta love having a 2 year old in preschool. Zach wants to hold them all the time and touch them...I've had to tell him when his boogers go away he can hold them. He's been pretty good. We had one day when I thought the whining and crying (Zachary's) would drive me to drink, but you can't blame the poor guy. He feels like crap, and his brothers have invaded his life.

We've had some great meals lately, thanks to our friends who have stopped by and dropped off food. Our friend, Berit brought stuffed shells that were amazing. Our friend, Julie brought an enchilada casserole....YUM! Today, Amy and Donald brought over pasta with homemade sauce and meatballs and sausage, so delicious! At this rate, I'm going to GAIN weight instead of drop it!

Here are some pics:

Brothers...

My Dad's hands. Fun with a basket.

Trevor sucking on Dylan's foot.

Channeling Anne Geddes. Poorly, I might add. But, cute subjects.