Hey, Brother

We really aren't playing favorites, but just happen to have caught Bowen on camera lately doing sweet things.  Luke's a little harder to catch on camera, but he'll have his day!  He's starting to find his voice, too.  He really likes to make this little growl, for lack of a better description.  Maybe I'll get it on video soon. . . . Our latest: for the first time Bowen seems genuinely aware of Luke.  Chris was quick enough to catch a few of the smiles and squeals he offers his brother.  Meanwhile, Luke is too preoccupied trying to stand on my lap (and being burped) to reciprocate.  The distinct personalities already shining through!



Oh yeah, and being back to work has been good.  I still love my job and am enjoying getting back into the groove.  It will be even better when the boys are a little more consistent with sleeping to 6 am.  We still get the occasional 4:30/5 am wakeup cry, but at least it's not every night!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

So this past week was my Mom's 50th.  Our family and some of her dear friends put together a little celebration.  Her BFF from Michigan (aka our Aunt Peggy) flew down to the July LA heat (God bless her!) to join the festivities. 

This photo shows Mom with her fun cake we made; I made copies of old pictures through the years and put them on painted wooden skewers to surround the "50" candle:

My sister, Beth, and I had a blast putting together this huge photo collage that included pictures of Mom's childhood, old pets, special events throughout our lives, and of course, some grandsons!

Aunt Peggy on the left, Mom (aka Wendy), and her dear friend Ginger.  While I'm here - Aunt Peg has provided the boys with their very first Detroit Tigers T's.  Ginger was so kind to provide us with 4 big casseroles right after the boys were born (such a blessing!)

The whole fam damily (he, he):  Of course you can pick out Chris, me & the boys.  Also in are my sister Beth & her hubby Shane and their two boys Brayden & Abel.  Also our Mom & Dad (aka Nana & Papa, or Wendy & Billy).

 

Bowen's Vowels

For the last 2 weeks or so, Bowen has taken to making my new most favorite sound - these throaty wide-mouth "O"'s.  It has been my mission to get it on video, and I finally succeeded today!  (Once the camera's on him, he is usually distracted by this strange shiny object.)  Anywho, here it is for you guys to see.  Of course, you could've heard a whole "conversation" if I had not gotten the camera so close to him so quickly (which distracted him, as you'll see at the end). Enjoy!

Oh, and PS - the boys have slept now 2 nights in a row from 10p to 6a. . . maybe, just maybe . . .

Will it last? . . . And the nursery (finally)

So last night the boys ate at 10 pm, and did not wake up until - oh my goodness! - 6 am!  Will that happen again?  Could they be sleeping through the night before I return to work next week (Fri, July 25th)?  That would be so wonderful. . . Which, on that subject - yes, I am looking forward to returning to work, and not to get away from my little men (whom I LOVE being with all day).  But I just really love my job and am looking forward to being with my patients & program again.  I'm starting back on a Friday because my personal leave of absence started on a Friday, and I figured it would give me the weekend to recover from that first day back.  After that, I'll work Mon-Tues-Thurs (just 3 days!).  My sister, Beth, will be our personal day-care.  I think our boys will be lucky to get to grow up being so close to their cousins.  

For my friend Kerry who has been asking for pics of the nursery - we have a virtual tour broken into 3 videos (for the sake of uploading).  Now that we've figured out this video thing, I'll be putting up lots of photos & videos for our friends & family afar.  Here it is!  (Finally, like 2 months later.)

Long Time, No Post

Not much going on here, so we'll just give you some photos (that's what you really want anyway:) . . . I finally figured out how to embed youtube videos onto the blog (yah me!).  So We'll start with some videos, and end with photos. . . 

 

Our first video, the boys on June 25th in their bouncy seats while I fold clothes in their room:

This video shows off their 4th of July gear.

On to photos . . . 

If you remember this photo from our last days on the caring bridge site, and how the crib seemed to swallow our two tiny babies (Luke left, Bowen right):

Compared with a similar photo taken just a few days ago - you can tell they've doubled in size!

(Bowen left, Luke right.)

Here in our 4th of July gear - note the baseball tennis shoes, which were a big hit at the family gatherings:

And we're becoming more and more social, with big sweet smiles, laughs, coos & squeals.  (Bowen top, Luke bottom.)