Nice

Man, this swing is n..i...c....e..... zzzzz.....

Holiday Pics

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Just a few pics.....

I kid you not, it's snowing!

The kids' first fire

What the hell is this stuff?
We're not in Kansas anymore....

Mom has to work the pedals...

Say what?

Starting to move

It won't be long......

Beer Making

Well, not only do I do most of the cooking..... but I also have had some time to do some brewing.  I started about 3 years ago, but haven't really done too much since we were expecting.  With the economic status in the country it just makes sense to brew a little more and save some coin.  Hopefully some of you will get a taste soon.  Below are a few pics of the project.

Destructive Child.....

Some Musings on the kids....

I'm starting to think that maybe the twins know their names, or at least they know we're addressing them, as they now turn to look if we say their names in a high-pitched sing-songy voice. Catherine will go through "yelling" fits if she gets frustrated about things; last week she was lying on the playmat and was grabbing one of the toys hanging on the bars above her head. She really, really wanted to put it in her mouth, and would occasionally succeed, but of course, as the toy is affixed to the bar, she's not able to gain full control of it. So she was kind of crying/yelling at it. Neil said she was doing the same thing in her swing just a couple of days ago.

Last night was trying for us. We took a family trip to Southwest Schwinn, so Neil could pick up his new mountain bike. The twins got off their eating schedule a little bit, so by the time we got home at about 8:00, Catherine had already consumed most of her bottle (Neil fed her in the restaurant) but Bennett hadn't started his. I tried to get her to take the last final bit but she wouldn't and Bennett didn't finish his bottle either. Neither baby was content for very long once we swaddled and put them in the crib, so Neil prepped two small bottles to top them off--that was about 9:45. Neil crashed in the nursery at about 10:30, and he said they were up at 12, 4, and 6. Not a good night for sleep for any of them!

Tonight Neil and I are going to bring the babies over to the Tucker's home for a few hours so we may have a quiet dinner somewhere out. Roberta and Terry just love babies, apparently, so they're thrilled to do it. Neil's picking the restaurant and it's such a nice thing that we won't have to pay a sitter $15/hour plus travel time--minimum 4 hours--plus the travel time, that's 5 hours! Just to get out of the house for an event would generally cost us $75!!!

Mean Bennett

Hurricane Reporting

So we are getting into the middle of this little gully washer called "Ike". For the most part we have just had a bunch of wind and a little bit of rain here and there. Hannah went out for the last time about an hour ago and I told her that this might be the last time to poop for a while.

If anyone remembers how our house is layed out, we have the kids sleeping in a very inner part of the house on the second floor. Not because we expect flooding, but because we that is were we sleep. They are in our closet in the bedroom which is far away from any exterior walls and windows. I think that we are gonna be pretty ok for the most part. Wendy and I are sleeping in our room for now, but might move away since there are some windows nearby.

Wendy has had enough of the TV coverage, but since I have a weather fetish, I have had the TV on most all of the day. The intersting thing for us is that the worst part of this storm might be that we lose power for a couple of days. That would be a pisser since it is Houston and it is the middle of September. If that happens we will probably give the cats a bunch of food and then head out to Austin or San Antonio and get a hotel that will take the cow, aka Hannah the lab. Dave is at a hurricne party right now in the building that he lives in. I guess we could have gone, but then parking might have been a problem.

It is 10:15 pm and the lights just flickered (AARRGGHHHH!!!) so I am going to post this and hopefully post again in the next couple of days.

wncb

Special Weather Bulletin

So you mean I made these for nothing....

Guzzle, Guzzle, Guzzle....

Just some face pics....

Our first "REAL" portrait

Damn these kids are cute!

Observation Paper for School

This is a short observation paper that I turned in for one of my classes, kinda like a journal....

"Assignment 1

In reviewing this first assignment, I couldn’t imagine a better place to make these observations than in my own home and with my own children. I am so engrossed in how the two of them are progressing that I am grateful to have had this assignment to be able to put it into words what I tell family and friends daily. My wife keeps a daily (really weekly) blog of the kids at familyhershey.blogspot.com, but this hopefully will prove to be a little more in depth for the purpose of this assignment.

With regards to which one I review, I have chosen to speak about Bennett. He is the larger one of the two by about one and a half pounds, which makes him just a little more developed for this observation. He has also from what I have seen, advanced a little more with regards to the cognitive and physical developmental attributes. Catherine is still in the somewhat in her “premie/infancy” stage, so hopefully she will catch up nicely soon enough.

Bennett just turned 11 weeks old this past Tuesday the 15th (my birthday) of July. He has shown since the inception of this class the following attributes physically. He has lost a little of his brown hair, but has been able to keep a decent cover over his little noggin. He right now has blue eyes, but we understand that this can change a little later. He is a fairly proportionate baby with regards to his height and weight, but his head falls pretty high in the growth chart at the 51st percentile. He is now able to hold up his head somewhat when we hold him with are hands under his arms. He tends to mostly turn his head to his right which is something that the pediatrician wants us to keep an eye on. He is now starting to come out of what we believe to be a growth spurt, so he has stopped eating as much as he was about a week ago (100 cc then vs. 120 cc now). Within the past week or so he also has started to kick his legs when he is lying on his back which sometimes is in concert, but most of the time not, with his arms. Most of these things also blend in to the cognitive aspect of my observations. When Bennett is in a good (stable) mode, I notice the following actions fairly routinely displayed:

1. He is starting to track things around the room. We have a woman who stays with us at night for 5 days a week to let us get some sleep. When she came into the nursery the other night, he noticed her and followed with both his head and his eyes her walking across the room
2. He seems to have started reaching our making motions for an object called the “Diaper Monkey”. This little monkey hangs above the changing area and rattles. We try to draw their attention to it when changing their diapers so that they won’t be moving so much. He, and she to some extent, have started to notice DM when we rattle it.

We regards to the social effects, I am not seeing any real observed occurrences in this domain. I don’t think that he really notices when his sister is right there, much less wants to do anything about it. He does notice however when she is screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night.

Emotionally I have noticed an affective notion of being soothed when we pick him up after a lengthy crying bout. Sometimes I have to make a choice when one of them is crying and I am feeding the other one. Do I stop feeding and attend to said sad baby, or do I finish the feed and then attend to the “concerned” party. The answer usually is dependent upon the type of cry I am getting. When Bennett is taking 2 to 3 second breathes to ramp up for a scream, you plug her up with a pacifier and attend to him. I have noticed that after one of these meltdowns he really senses that he is in dad’s arms and that everything is going to be ok. He may take a few seconds to get his wits about him, but he does seem to have reached a point where calming down is ok at this point.

I know that I could ramble on for a while about this, but there are length guidelines, and yes, I believe one of them is crying again…….

-nh"

A couple of videos for your enjoyment....

Bennett showing his talents

We are such mean parents (it was mom's idea!)

Cate and Ben: 8 weeks old on 6/24/08!

Today is Saturday, June 28, 2008. Last weekend was a ton of fun for all of us! Dad, Barb, and Marty all came to see the babies for the first time! It was Dad’s 65th birthday on Saturday--the 21st, and Neil and I had been hoping they’d come down so we could all celebrate together. Their flights arrived within an hour of each other’s Friday morning; they rented a car and were here by about 12:30 p.m. Within a few minutes of entering the house, both Barb and Marty had babes in arms. It was precious to see their reactions to the babies!! Marty is, of course, an old pro at the baby thing, and Barb is just such a natural at snuggling.

We were without Ms. Vernita, our night nanny, for the weekend, so it was really tough on Neil. Dad and Barb slept up in the “Grandparent Suite” on the third floor; Marty slept on the twin bed in the nursery, and Neil kept the babies down in the living room. For some reason, Cate and Ben were terribly high maintenance for the weekend. Probably from too much stimulation??

We watched Old School Friday afternoon (very funny movie!) and hit Souper Salad for dinner. The twins were a big hit with some of the patrons and servers, although they were very high maintenance for some reason. One of the gals thought that Dad was the father of the babies!

Saturday morning's treat was breakfast with Uncle Dave at the Buffalo Grill. We all crammed into two small tables—the babies’ car seats took up most of the real estate—and chatted all b’fast about the work ethic of today’s young Americans (cf. with that of our parents) and what higher-priced gas means to the average worker (Shorter workweeks? A movement away from the burbs toward the city centers, and the corresponding improvement of city schools?. We love their toasted cinnamon coffee, and the gals opted for sweet (French toast and banana-strawberry pancakes) and the guys all ate savory--Tex-Mex eggs and meat.

The timing was just great for their visit here, as the boat show was in town at Reliant Center. We loaded the kids up, preparing my pump and bottles for 3 feedings, and headed over. Although we tried to keep them happy in their limousine stroller for the day, they were very restless and pretty much needed to be held for most of the outing. We fell in love with one particular Crownline boat which incidentally had been owned by Roger Clemens. He’d only had possession of it for a week before the steroid scandal hit, and he returned it to the dealership, saying that it just wasn’t the time to be making large purchases. We enjoyed seeing the demo of Twiggy, the water-skiing squirrel, although it ended up being more of a promo for Progressive Insurance than a real show.

For the birthday festivities Saturday night, Hazel came over and Neil poached salmon—Dad’s request! (Elmer wasn't able to join us, as he's on a biz trip to Scotland. ) I had ordered a cake from Whole Foods with the customary Happy Birthday “Terry” on top. We had bought Dad a digital photo frame, and Neil had loaded it up with about 50 pics.

Sunday morning, D&B picked up groceries, and we had a brunch with Sara Lee coffee cake, bacon, and fruit. One thing about having house guests in addition to two newborns: non-stop dishwashing! Fortunately, Dad, Barb, and Marty just took charge and washed what needed to be washed!

A great weekend!!!

Cate and Ben had their 8-week appointment with Dr. Zuniga this past Wednesday. Cate’s umbilical hernia has gotten bigger and Dr. Z said she’d never seen one that shape, so she referred us to a pediatric surgeon. She wasn’t overly worried, but Neil and I do wonder what the surgeon will say when we take Catherine in this next week. Ms. Maria, our new day nanny, came with us to the appointment and it was good to have the extra set of hands.

Bennett is really moving up on the growth charts. His head is at the 50th percentile; Dr. Z said that means his brain is getting bigger and bigger! He’s at 20-25th percentile weight-wise, which is wonderful, and that’s comparing him to a full-term baby. Height-wise he’s at 10th percentile; their height is the last to catch up, Dr. Z. said. Catherine is still at less than 3rd percentile across the board. I shared with Dr. Z. the concern that she was so far behind Bennett developmentally. She just doesn’t hold focus and doesn’t seem to be aware of most things like Ben. Dr. Z said not to worry, that one twin is almost always a lot further behind. Who knows?, Dr. Z. said, Catherine could be talking and walking before Bennett; we just don’t know how to predict how they’ll develop. Dr. Z. said they both are just the cutest babies! She said their head shapes are really good and can tell that we usually put Bennett on his right side. When she lay him on the exam table, it’s apparent that he’s more inclined to turn his head to the right. To help with proper muscle development, we’ve been instructed to lay him on his left side more often.

This was to have been a 6-vaccine appointment, well actually 5, since they had their Hep-B shots while they were still in the hospital. Neil and I haven’t read much about the autism/vaccination connection issue, but we thought we’d feel better if we could space out the shots. Dr. Z. said that she’d given her own children the shots all at once, but that we wouldn’t hurt her feelings if we decided to do something different. We decided to space them out and give them over a 2-appointment timeframe. One vaccine was oral and must have tasted okay, cuz both babies were licking the plastic applicator as the nurses were squirting it into their mouths. Then came the terrible shock of the first needle. I was holding Catherine on the exam table as the nurse administered the two shots to her thighs. It was just horrible. One minute, Catherine was being her happy-go-lucky no-muscle-control self, then the next she was crying like mad. I kept focus on Catherine’s face and tried to soothe her as best I could— I definitely was NOT going to look at the needles. Wow was it painful as a parent to endure this. I nearly started crying! Catherine, being Catherine, was pretty forebearing in the end and stopped crying within a couple of minutes. Bennett, on the other hand, was a little more of a wimp throughout the experience. His was almost an angry cry—Neil was holding him, and although I wasn’t watching, I knew Ben’s pattern: an initial outburst, followed by a pause as he ramped up and caught his breath, followed by blood-curdling screams and cries. Neil said one of the needles was really long—ugh! Bennett cried for much longer than his sister. Ah, and we get to do it all again in another week or two! Fortunately, neither one had any negative reactions to the shots; we gave them both a hit of Tylenol, more as a pre-emptive measure, then they were fine.

Getting Grandma Online

My EDIT 5380 Project for Dr. Maushak.

The Boss has finally spoken

I guess we know what Sam thinks..........

Musings at the four-week mark

Today is Monday, May 26, 2008. The twins will be four weeks old tomorrow, although gestationally they will just be full-term – 40 weeks. Although she’s still tiny (like a little China doll, said one admirer over this past weekend), Catherine has grown. Her face has filled out! We still can’t tell who looks like whom; Hazel (“Mimi” to the kids hopefully!) says that Bennett definitely is a dead ringer for Neil when he was a baby. I hope we’ll see some resemblance to me at some point!!!

We’re still dealing with Catherine’s acid reflux; she just can’t seem to get very comfortable. Neil had taken them to the pediatrician last Monday. This was a very unexpected appointment. Bennett’s umbilical cord site was bleeding and we were very concerned about Catherine’s reflux. The doctor prescribed a compounded baby-strength Prevacid. I had never purchased a compounded drug before, and I had to go to two pharmacies before finding one that would compound Prevacid. This is a very expensive venture; I think the total cost was $80, (Oh, but they delivered to the house!) Not sure how much of it insurance will pick up…The pharmacist masked the taste of the medication in a chocolate base, which Neil thought Catherine would like, but she HATES. Neil gives her a dropperful twice a day and it seems to be helping. She has to be held at as close to a 90 degree angle during her feeding and for the 30 minutes following a feeding. Anything closer to supine and she really spits up. Poor thing!

Bennett loves the swing, and is blissfully swaying in it at this moment. He’s at 90 mls per feeding right now which seems to be just the right amount. He loves to check out the mobile above and might even be noticing the mirror’s reflection. He continues to struggle with bad gas, despite the Gripe Water we dutifully drop into his bottle prior to feeding. His little face gets all red and he grunts as he’s trying to pass it through his system. Oh, but he hit the milestone yesterday of his umbilical cord falling off—or was it Saturday? Well, he can’t tell the difference, of course! He’s got an “innie,” and Cate’s got an “outie!”

Although Neil and I continue to be fascinated with these two, they don’t have much affect and are basically “little slices of meatloaf.” I believe they’re more interactive at three months? The books say that any semblance of a smile is purely coincidental at this time, but we like to think that they have something happy going on inside their heads.

Neil has realized that Bennett loves to hear the piano. The way he cocks his head and becomes more alert tells us that we’ll have a pianist in no time. (Not to mention, that both Cate and Ben have very long fingers!) When Neil was practicing his trumpet for his final concert last week—for the performance of the Bugler’s Holiday—the twins were NOT taking to the trumpet sound unfortunately, but we have brought them piano-side for a few little concerts. Catherine doesn’t seem to be as enamored of the keyboard but there’s hope yet.

Speaking of Neil’s concert…Shar and I undertook the Herculean task of bringing the babies to Neil’s final band concert last week. All along we hadn’t planned to attend the concert, but since this was Neil’s last concert, we thought it would be special to get them there. Bennett had a blowout diaper just as Shar and I needed to leave, so our departure was inevitably delayed. His diaper was so bad it necessitated a change of clothes. It took us nearly a full hour to reach Pearland (how do folks make that commute day in and day out?) and we were still needing food, so we stopped by Mickey D’s. By the time we reached the school, it was 6:15. Neil and Evie whisked us into a practice room, where I immediately found an outlet for my pump. Shar fed Cate and Mimi was on Ben duty. In record time, we had the kids fed and diapered (Ms. Cate had to take her turn with a blowout diaper of course just at that moment). We slipped into the back of the auditorium just as the honors band was beginning to warm up. After the first song, Neil announced that “for the first time ever, I’d like to welcome my newborn children, Cate and Ben, to tonight’s concert.” It choked him up a little to say that, and the light person brought the houselights up, and it felt like the audience turned at the same time to look our way. I waved, and Neil mentioned Sharlene as well. The kids were really good throughout the concert, although Ben was having gas problems (I had to hold him the whole time). We had the “limousine” Snap-N-Go stroller parked aside the seats, just in case we needed to make a hasty exit. The concert was splendid, and American River Songs sounded perfect; the tribute to the branches of the military was touching as members of the armed services stood and were applauded as their respective military song was played. Neil, Brandon Linder, and student Chad jammed on Bugler’s Holiday. Neil played the high part and was quite nervous about goofing his part up (which he didn’t do!).

After the concert we had lots of well-wishers. Neil hadn’t been to school since the twins were born, so that day of his concert was the first time the kids had seen him. That morning, Neil reported, 30 kids mobbed his office wanting to hear about the kids, hoping to see pics. Neil was able to get on Picasa (oooh, not allowed on the school computer, tisk tisk) to pull up the pictures. He kept the planned appearance of the twins a complete surprise from the kids. What a day and night!

An excerpt from Wendy's collection of "Musings on the Twins"

When it rains, it pours, of course! I already reviewed the story of the cramped Lexus and the necessity to purchase a new vehicle. The Sunday after the twins came home, the washing machine stopped working. Neil immediately put in a service request on the Sears website that day; they were to send someone the following Monday. Monday was also the day of the twins’ first pediatrician appointment, and we were hoping that Mom would accompany us. As it turned out, since the Sears person hadn’t yet come when we left for the appt, Mom stayed at home to wait for him/her. When N and I returned from the doc visit after 5:00, the Sears person had yet to come. Neil was quite angry (although kept his cool) and phoned multiple customer service people; no one was available to come the next day, so Wednesday was to be the date. Alas, no one came on Wednesday either. This was no fun, as Neil had to run early mornings down to the Laundromat to wash the baby clothes! Such a bad deal, b/c even though Neil called another repair service and they sent someone out on Thursday, the guy said he didn’t have the knowledge or parts to repair a Sears washer. Finally, the Sears person showed up—we have a whole rusted-out side to the machine and it has a remaining life of probably only one year— Apparently there was a recall and a class action suit about it, which might have reimbursed us for the whole machine—bummer!

Then, I can’t remember what night it was—the upstairs AC unit basically stopped working. Linda (our FANTASTIC night nurse), the twins and I endured a very, very hot and humid night. Neil phoned our usual AC folks, and the repair was done, but..... the serviceman recommended replacing the entire unit before it just stops working in the dead of summer (really bad in Houston by the way) - wow more moola out the door! On the plus side, they said that the unit we had was of somewhat poor quality and efficiency, and that the newer, better units were much quieter, and much more efficient.

Sharlene comes in today, and we’re going to make it our “family field trip” to go to the airport to pick her up. The twins have enjoyed the few rides that we have taken to the doctor. I told her that we really need her help, but that although it’s quite chaotic around here, it’s kinda fun, and definitely not depressing! It’s been hotter than blue blazes in Houston, so I told her to bring the appropriate clothing!

Oh my, what a journey!

WNCB

The First Extensive Picture Collection

Click Here for some of the darn cutest pics that you have ever seen. The grandparents are really proud, and the parents are hanging in there as best as they can. Please make sure that you post a comment or two so that we know there are actually people checking out what we got going on here. Everyone take care, and get your diaper changing skills ready.

Love,
WNCB (When you say it fast, it sounds like a radio station)

Going Home!

Looks like we are going home today. I am going to sort a bunch of thoughts out to make sure that I have included everything in these past 4 days experience. OMG, WE ARE PARENTS!!!!!

PICTURES!!!!!

CLICK HERE for some of the "First Round" of pics from Tuesday. And in true Hershey form, there will be many more to come...............

First Video of the kids...

This would be Catherine about 8 hours after she was born.

And this would be Bennett give or take a few minutes......

More in a few, as I am composing our thoughts.......

Wendy, Neil, Catherine and Bennett

Weekend with Dad....

So dad and I went to New Orleans last weekend. We left Sunday and got to Lafayette about 5:30 and started playing some poker (hold 'em). Life was ok at about 7:30 and I was even as we went to eat at our favorite Steak House Mr. Lester's. Then after that we went back to play some more. Dad and I decided that around 1:00 am it was time to drive to NO and off we went. Dad went to a work conference the next morning about 10:30 and I headed for Harrah's. I must have played for about 9:00 hours when dad showed up to take a little of the money. We had a great dinner at The Redfish Grill with a wonderful bottle of wine, Cakebread, and then called it a night. I flew back the next day to see my wonderfully pregnant wife. As always she looked great and I was glad to be home. Thanks dad for a great time!

Leaving Comments

I have changed the settings so that anyone can leave comments now. Enjoy!

Are you kidding me!

Isn't she just the cutest!?! Hannah is definitely daddy's little girl.....

The Showers

Click here to check out the Baby shower(s) photos!!!!!

Wendy & Neil

One of the favorites of us from our Christmas break trip to Deer Valley, UT in 2007/8.

Hannah Cooperating....

This is one of the few times that Hannah has decided to "sit" still for a picture!