A few other pics...

Keeping Busy

The boys got some new PJs this week. Dad says "no more gowns"! They were getting too small anyway. The second picture is what our house looks like after a day with the boys. Honestly, it was clean that morning!!

On Friday morning I had my first experience with projectile vomiting. I was feeding Carter and he started coughing and the next thing I knew was he and I were both covered!! I'm not really sure what was wrong with him b/c he was as happy as could be. Fortunately, I hadn't put my work clothes on yet! Hopefully that doesn't happen again!

Date Night!

This weekend Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam came up to visit and help out with the boys. They were busy with the boys the moment they walked through the door and until they left. On Saturday night they sent us out to have a date night. It had been so long since we had even thought about going out without the boys, we weren't even sure what to do. We finally decided to try a Mexican restaurant in Burnsville and then found ourselves at Menards and Babies R Us....pretty romantic, huh! We figured Sarah and Adam would be mad if we showed up at 7:30, so we stopped at our neighbors and played some Guitar Hero. They were also so kind to let us sleep in today... I slept until 9:30, which was AWESOME!!

Hello Camera...Goodbye Smiles

Carter & Dylan


I swear the boys smile lots!! It seems like every time the boys see the camera, their smiles instantly turn into confusing little frowns and grumpy stares.

Hello $20 co-pay....

In twelve weeks we have had a total of 11 doctor visits. Initially I was thinking we would probably need to go at least once a month...ha...I sure underestimated that. They are now getting all kinds of good germs from daycare. On the fourth day of daycare Carter came home with a runny nose. Poor guy, I wish he could blow his nose. After three months of fearing it, I am finally starting to get pretty good with the bulb syringe. He also got his first ear infection and thrush... AGAIN! So far Dylan has only gotten the thrush, I'm sure the rest will come soon.

OH...and I won't even get into how much I dislike the Walgreens pharmacy on France, lets just say, I'm NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!!!

Have fun in Florida Dad!

This week was BUSY!! Keith was well overdue for a trip to Clearwater, Florida for work, so he left us early Tuesday morning and came back late Thursday night. Of course, as soon as Keith left is when Carter got his cold. Fortunately for me, grandma Bormann came to help out!! She helped us out a lot by making us all kinds of yummy dinners, doing lots of laundry and cleaning up the house. Sadly, it doesn't look like the house has been cleaned in months - I think we need to just get used to the house always looking a mess with baby toys everywhere.

On Wednesday night we were truly in need for a "man" in the house as our 3 week old mouse made himself known by making some extra loud scratching in the walls. It turns out that Susie is terrified of mice.... and I am too. I didn't sleep a wink that night b/c I could hear him scratching all night! The exterminator came for the second time on Friday, and put out some more "treats" out for the mouse, so hopefully he eats them soon!!

As for Keith, the trip to Florida didn't go quite so well. The weather was highs in the 30s (still a heat wave compared to this ice box) and his laptop will no longer turn on. All three of us are hoping that he doesn't have to go on anymore business trips for a long time!

3 Months Old

Dylan & Carter

The boys are officially 3 months old now!! WOW, they are growing up fast. They smile a ton now and giggle and will somewhat talk back to you or at least try to mimic you. Seeing their big grins and smiles are a lot of fun! Dylan is really into watching TV, it seems he always finds a way to turn his head towards the TV. We have been working on them grabbing toys and they are starting to do much better with that. Dylan is starting to perfect his "fake cry". It is really funny to watch, Carter will be crying for one reason and you can see the lip start to pucker out and then a "BAH"..."BAH". It should be interesting to see what kind of trouble they get into this month.

Surviving Daycare

The boys seem to be adjusting to daycare and are starting to sleep better there. I still miss them during the day, but am enjoying being back at work. They are still really crabby in the evening when they come home,which isn't a lot of fun for me! The evenings are pretty busy, we get the boys home by about sixish and then we have to wash all their bottles, make six new bottles and label them for the next day, feed them twice, play with them (hopefully- lately, it seems like they scream and cry when we get home)bathe them, find something for us to eat, make lunches and get everyone to bed!

Back To Work!!

My grandpa's funeral was on Monday and after five days in Iowa, we returned to the twin cities on Tuesday. We were lucky to make it back in between snow storms. It seems like there has been a blizzard about every other day!!

I returned to work on Wednesday after a five month hiatus. Five months is a REALLY long time to be away from work and I am finding it hard to get back into the swing of things and out of the loop after being gone for so long. We took the boys to Kindercare for the day and by Wednesday evening all three of us were EXHAUSTED!!! I think they did OK at the daycare, but they didn't sleep much. Normally they sleep 3-5 hours during the day and the first day they only slept about 45 minutes. Needless to say, they have been quite crabby!! As you can see to the pictures to the left, they were so tired they could barely finish their bottles. I was quite exhausted as well. I can't help but wonder how on earth Keith managed to go back to work those first weeks when the boys were born. They are sleeping through the night and I am tired - at that time, we had to feed them about every three hours during the night. Keith is a true rockstar in my eyes- being able to work, go to school and take care of the boys with minimal hours (I should probably say minutes) of sleep.

As for me, it is quite an adjustment to get used to only seeing the boys for a few hours at night. I really miss them during the day. I was fine dropping them off, but then called to check up on them at lunch and realized how much I missed them. They are having a hard time telling them apart at the daycare:) When I called, they said one was sleeping well, but the other one wasn't and I asked which one and they said the one in the "yellow". I think they are doing better now. I will need to be extra efficient at work now, since it isn't quite as easy to go in early, stay late or bring work home. By the time we get them home, feed them, wash bottles, make bottles for daycare, bathe them and get everything ready for the next day it is time for bed!! Keith has to go to Florida for a few days this week, so I am a little nervous about getting everything done. Grandma Susie is going to come up and help out, so that will be really nice since they have been extra cranky at night.

OK, I have rambled on long enough and would like to watch Desperate Housewives before I go to bed.

Pictures of the boys

Goodbye for now until we meet again!

I have to say I have been so lucky to have the best grandpa. For some people their grandparents are people they see on special occasions and holidays, for me, my grandparents played a huge roll in my life. Growing up, my sister and I stayed the night at their house almost every Friday night and we spent most of our summers at their house. Whatever grandpa was working on or doing, I was right by his side. Grandpa was a jack of all trades and was capable of doing about anything. I helped him reside grandma Smyth’s house, rebuild the engine in his old Ford truck and maintain the garden. We spent a lot of our time going fishing, but the best part for me is when we would drive to the lake he would always let me steer the truck.

Him passing away has been a strange death for me, he didn’t have cancer, he didn’t have heart disease, he didn’t have a stroke. Outside, of the arthritis from his old bones, one couldn’t ask for better health at 89. Half his spirit died five years ago when grandma died and since then he has wanted nothing more than to reunite with her. It is funny because she struggled and fought so hard to stay with us and he fought to go. He told me he lived a long good life, it went so fast, but he was ready to go and be with Lilly.

Even if he didn’t have the chance to get to know the boys, it was really important to me that he meet the boys and I am so happy that he was finally able to see them and hold them at Christmas time. I went and saw him one last time on Friday. It was a good visit, we got to talk for a long time and he was in good spirits laughing and even cracking some jokes. He was such a great storyteller and loved to share stories about his time in Ireland during WWII. He was always quick with the jokes as well.

Mom called on Wednesday morning with the news of him taking the turn and transitioning to the other side. He passed away around 8:30, unfortunately, Keith and I didn’t get back until 10ish. I really though he would have made it through the night. I’m OK with our final goodbye, but wish I could have been with him during his last day with us. But I will always have thousands of great memories with him and can find peace knowing he has finally reunited with grandma.

Some more pics

Dylan & Carter