The best presents under our tree

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving. Dave started the day in the emergency room because he dislocated his thumb playing football in the neighborhood Turkey Bowl. Dave was home for about an hour before we had to rush to the hospital again. Stupidly I hung Andy's stocking within arm's reach from his activity saucer. He grabbed it and the star shaped metal stocking weight fell and hit him in the eye. Luckily he didn't have to have stitches and his eye is just fine. I'm sure tomorrow his eye will be pretty purple.

Here are my injured boys.


Apparently Ben thinks he's a bull rider.

We're Six Months Old

Are the happy? Or are they concerned? Boy it's hard to get two babies to smile at that same time for a picture.

Nap Time

It's funny how different the boys view nap time.

Here's Ben... He loves nap time. If he has a binky and his blankets he's in heaven. He can be fussy and all I have to do is walk into the nursery and he seems relieved.


Now here's Andy... You just have to come within a few feet of his crib and he screams and yells. As soon as you lay him down he nudges his way to the very top and smashes his head against the bumpers, sucks his thumb like it's a fish hook and grabs the nearest toy to put over his face.

Tigers and Monkeys

As you can see from this picture, the boys weren't too thrilled with their Halloween costumes. I didn't see even the slightest grin when the costumes were anywhere near them. Hopefully next Halloween will be a little more exciting for the babes.

And the winner is...

Andy keeps rolling over and kicking Ben in the face. But don't worry, Ben can take care of himself. A little toe biting seems to be the answer.

Isn't the crab blanket they are rolling around on adorable? Thanks Sarah for making TWO of these for the boys.

Meeting the Band

My favorite band, Better than Ezra, came to Park City last night. Dave was great to watch the boys so I could go to the concert and have birthday cake with the lead singer, Kevin.

Update: Sorry for not being very descriptive. I'm a little exhausted from the late night at the concert and lack of sleep due to the babelets. My friend Andrea new BTE was my favorite band so she entered a drawing for "Meet and Greet" tickets through a radio station. And luckily she won! It just happened to be Kevin's birthday which made it even more of an event.

I've seen BTE in concert 4 times and this is my second time meeting them. They first time was at Club DV8 about 10 years ago. I bought this tiny baby doll t-shirt that the band signed for me after I sheepishly asked for hugs (I know, stupid 19 year fan). I found the shirt the other night and really wanted to wear to the concert. Unfortunately I couldn't fit it over my big arms. I guess that's what 10 years and twin boys will do to you.

My conversation this time was a slightly cooler than asking for hugs. Kevin showed Andrea and I pictures of his adorable 9 month old twin boys. I guess we have a little more in common a decade later.

I think we've started teething

I've been trying hard to get Andy to pose for a picture but all he seems interested in doing is chewing his arm, hand, Katie's tail, Ben's foot or whatever is close.

Who Am I?

Only one of the boys was interested in taking pictures yesterday. Can you guess which one I am?

Vet Cake

I made this cake a couple of weeks again for a veterinarian. A couple of cats and dog just chillin' on the couch is a typical day in the office.

4 Months

The boys are going to be 4 months old this week. I can't believe how big they are getting. We are getting closer to everyone sleeping through the night. That has been my #1 goal since day one. We are averaging about 8 hours now which has been quite delightful.

Here is Andy (left) and Ben in their fancy ties. I dressed them up to go to church but then they both decided to take naps.

This picture sums up what the boys are up to the majority of the day. They love to roll and scoot all over the living room.

Two Month Pictures

I finally got a new camera and decided to practice using it on the boys. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Ben on the left and Andy on the right. It's a little deceiving. Ben looks bigger than Andy which isn't the case. Ben is still over a pound smaller.

This is Ben looking at me with those huge loving eyes.


Andy is always really smiley. In the mornings I have a hard time feeding him because he won't stop smiling to eat.


Ben yawning. I think he was getting board of the photo shoot.


Here's Andy before he broke out of the swaddle.

Baptism Cake

I finally made another cake. It's been far too long. This cake was for my friend Shyler's baptism. Her mom wanted something elegant. I'm not sure if this cake is elegant or not but it the colors reminded me of Shyler.

I haven't made a cake for so long I feel like I forgot how to use fondant. I had some trouble covering the larger tier. I guess that means I need to start practicing again.

How to stop the crying???

The last week has been a little tough for the boys. They both have stuffy noses and are sure to tell us how they feel about it. We figured out a few places that always seem to calm the boys down. They love to be outside. Now that the rain has stopped, we spend a lot of time laying on blankets in the shade.
They both really love bath time too. After their baths, they love to hang out on the counter top and look around.


Here is Ben during his first bath.

Hedgehogs and Hermits

I tried to get some pictures of the boys today. But it ended up being a lot harder than anticipated. I couldn't get either of them to look at me. Or if I had a decent shot of one the other one would cry, yawn or spit up.

So here is the only opened eyed, non fussy picture I was able to get of either of them.


Here is Ben posing with his hedge hog bean bag. Poor kid has been on oxygen for the last couple of weeks and the adhesive to hold on his cannula has been really harsh on his little baby cheeks.


Ben again in his bouncer.


Here's Andy in his matching bouncer. Don't worry Ben, you are not the only one with complexion problems. Andy hit puberty at age 3 weeks and has full blown acne.

Andy with the hedge hog. I know, I know what a silly prop. I have never claimed to be a photographer and my ancient camera doesn't help either.


It's been great to finally have the boys home and healthy. Ben got the approval to take his oxygen off during the day. Being tied to an oxygen tank and a monitor has been exhausting. It's been great for all of us to be able to leave the first floor of our house. I feel like we can finally have a normal life now that we aren't complete hermits.

The Whole Family is Together

Ben made is home on Sunday afternoon from the NICU. Here's our first picture together as a family.

Andy's sleeping on the left with Ben wide eyed on the right.

Ben's first day home was pretty exciting. While in the NICU Ben had problems taking deep breaths while he was sleeping. He hadn't had any problems for a few days so his doctors sent him home with a monitor to measure his oxygen levels and emergency oxygen just in case. Unfortunately he started having problems again so back Ben went to the hospital.

Ben is now home but he is on a small flow of oxygen. He's doing really well but we can't wait until he's not hooked up to tubes and wires.

Andy's Home Coming

Andy came home Wednesday afternoon. We were hoping Ben would follow the next day. Unfortunately he had a few problems with his oxygen levels so he has to stay for a few more days. It was really hard to bring Andy home while leaving Ben in the NICU. One of these days the whole family will be home trying to figure out how we are going to make everything work out.

Here is Andy on his first day home sitting in the bouncer Aunt Kimber bought for him.


Andy's first excursion to the pediatrician and then to Target to buy him a pillow to hold his head straight in his too big car seat.

Dave and Nick changing Andy's diaper.


I can't wait to post pictures of Ben's coming home day. Keep your fingers crossed for this Sunday.

First Photo Together

Both Andrew (left) and Benjamin (right) are off oxygen and IVs. Every day they are getting closer to coming home. Little Ben has a hard time finishing his meals so they have him on a feeding tube. But he eats more and more on his own every day. Today was the first time I was able to hold them together. You can definitely tell they are brothers.

More Pictures of the boys

Here is a better picture of Andrew. As you can see he is now off supplemental oxygen.

Here's the proud Dad with Andrew.

Ben hanging out under the warming lights. He will hopefully be off the oxygen soon too.

Ben and Andy

Andrew Blaine and Benjamin Alan officially joined our family early on Saturday morning. Andrew was came at 4:07 weighing 6 lbs. Benjamin followed 6 minutes later weighing 4 lbs 10 oz.

Their little lungs weren't quite ready to work without assistance so they were rushed to St. Mark's NICU. It was a challenge to find a NICU in the valley with two openings. They originally wanted to split them up, but thanks to the wonderful pediatricians at St. Marks they made room to keep them together.

I was able to be discharged from Alta View early so I could go see my little boys on Sunday. They are beautiful and doing so well. They are breathing much better and now they are focusing on learning to eat on their own.

Here is a picture of Ben at the NICU.


Here's me holding Andrew. I don't have any close shots of Andy on this computer. I'll take more pictures when I go visit them this morning.

The Nursery is Done

I think I can finally say that I'm done with the nursery. My favorite part is the little knitted animals on the white shelves. I blogged about a pattern that I saw on Etsy and my mom asked a women that she works with to make them. They turned out so cute.

The collage of pictures on the wall is a collection of artwork from Etsy, vintage children's books and a couple of illustrations by me. My friend Kristin gave me the rocking chair which I think couldn't be more perfect. On the wall above the dresser I hung alphabet memory cards designed by Charley Harper. The mobile above the cribs is a collection of scrap booking chipboard animals found at Michaels.

I had so much fun searching for different woodland creatures for the boys. I was thrilled when I found cribs sheets to go with the theme. And the silly hedgehog beanbag from Ikea makes me giggle a little.

The only things it's missing are Baby A and Baby B. Katie is going to be heartbroken to find out the nursery wasn't designed for her. She loves to go in there and look around and lay on the soft rug. Luckily I haven't found her in the cribs yet. But she does think that the red changing pad is hers. No harm there I guess.

White Cake | Black Flowers

Last Wednesday I made a couple of birthday cakes. One for my sister-in-law Debbie and one for a good friend at work. I haven't had much energy lately, so they both got the same cake. I hope that they didn't mind. I really wanted to add a huge flower or a red ribbon to the top of the cakes but "the boys" told me that I was done.

I had another ultrasound today and everything is looking great. Both boys are head down and growing really well. Baby A is 4 lbs 4 oz and Baby B is 3 lbs 12 oz. That's a lot of baby!

Finally a new cake post

I feel like I haven't made a cake for ever. So when my friend Jessica asked if I was feeling up to making a cake for her mother-in-law's 50th birthday, I jumped at the chance. This cake was a lot of fun to make and surprisingly pretty quick. I baked the cake and made all of the stars and numbers the night before to give them a chance to harder. So when it came time to decorate the cake I think it only took about an hour.

Poor Katie

Katie hasn't been feeling so hot this week. She hasn't eaten anything since Sunday and she just mopes around the house. The moping is an improvement from Tuesday when I don't think she moved all day.

Last night I took her to the vet to see what's up. Poor thing was dehydrated and was running a fever. And her stomach was sore to the touch. They did blood work and it came back normal. So we still don't know what is wrong and she's still not eating. The vet injected her with fluids and pain medication. If she's not eating by tomorrow, I'll take her in for more tests.

Katie did so well at the vet. Everyone was amazed that she would just sit next to me on the bench in the waiting room. She didn't even seem to mind when someone brought a dog in. When it was time to leave I thought I was okay just carrying her out to the car. But as soon as we went outside she started howling. As we got closer to my car she started getting really squirmy. It was dark outside and I was the only in the parking lot. I really needed help but wasn't sure what to do. I tried to unlock the car door with one hand and hold Katie with the other hand. She took that as her opportunity to bolt. I was so scared that she would take off and I'd never see her again.

So sickly Katie was running down the street from one parked car to the next. And I, hugely pregnant, was running after her as fast as I could. I finally caught up to her by a truck half way down the block. As soon as I bent down to pick her up she tried to run again. I was able to grab one hind leg and pull her out from under the truck. We both winced in pain.

When I got back to the car fear struck again. I was in the same situation as before. I still hadn't unlocked the car. This time I managed to open the door before she took off again. Luckily I was able to catch her in the parking lot this time. I put her in the back seat and hurried to shut the door. After collecting my purse and paperwork I was able to sneak into the front.

So we made it home. Katie isn't very happy with me and she's still not eating or drinking. I'm so worried about her. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon and we can all laugh about how silly the two of us looked running through some strange neighborhood in the dark of night.