dusk on the deck

are these guys cute?

... or do they look like they belong in a nursing home?

sleeping angels

top ten best things about Mammaw

1. she tells incredible stories as far as that goes
2. she never forgets your birthday
3. she has an opinion on everything, and is not afraid to tell you
4. she can hold her own at bridge with just about anyone
5. she can hold her vodka tonic with just about anyone
6. she finds cards for any occasion: your albino twin midgets having a bris? -no problem
7. she can tell the dirtiest joke in any company and get away with it (a quality I wish my Dad had inherited)
8. at 92, she is the best dressed person at any party
9. her eyes and smile light up a room and always make me feel so happy
10. she is a strong, independent  woman and an amazing role model for my daughter

Yaaay Rocko!

Rocko does this every time he wakes up. As we unwrap him, he stretches his little arms up as if to say: "Yaaay for Rocko!"

Goodbye, Mammaw

We miss you.

Mammaw!

Mammaw has come to see her eleventeenth great grand children. She is 91 years old and always tells at least one great story I have never heard and three that I have heard many times. I am so happy that Stormy and Rocko will get to know their Great grandmother. Nana and Grandpa came along for the ride since it has three months since they were here and Stormy and Rocko are all grown up now. Mammaw still lives in Hamilton, Montana, near the cabin on the West Fork of the Bitterroot River that Pampaw built in 1970 or so. As kids, we summered there almost every year and had at least one EPIC Christmas there with all the cousins in three and a half feet of snow and temperatures getting down to -50 degrees. (yes, I said minus fifty) Mammaw was absolutely radiant around the babies. It was wonderful to see her with them and Mom and Dad as well. They all spoiled them as much as three month olds can be spoiled, and marveled at Liz' and my parenting skills. (with the possible exception of the swaddling, which they all thought was a form of barbaric torture) It has been so nice to have so much family around to help and bond with the babies it has made me wish we had at least some family that lived less than 1,500 miles away. 

we are so tired

I've been back to work for two months now, and am going back to working full weeks next week. We no longer have a night nurse, so we have been splitting up the night. I stay upstairs on the couch from 10-2; and Liz takes the 2-6 shift. I usually have to give them one bottle of pumped milk and rock them back to sleep during my shift, but sometimes it is really hard to get Stormy back to sleep. She needs constant motion; not just gentle rocking, but serious G-force swings seem to calm her the most. Sometimes, I resort to putting her in the bouncy chair by the couch and rocking her with one hand while the rest of my body tries to sleep. It is only marginally effective for both of us. Liz has a different way of dealing with early morning feedings:

Rocko boxes; Stormy sleeps.

This is a role reversal...

These guys love each other

All four of them...

Liz and Rocko

The babies are starting to sleep better at night now and wake up happy to see us. Claudia, our night nurse was with us for the first couple of months almost full time and really helped us get them on the beginning of a schedule. We would have never made it without her.

my wife...

...is the best thing that ever happened to me. I have no idea what my life would be like today if she hadn't said yes when I proposed.