Odds and Ends

First of all - YEAH BABIES!!! My sister and dear neighbor gave birth to two babies on Friday, February 25. Please, welcome with me:
Charles (Charlie) James Kellogg - 5 lb and 3 oz
Kathryn (Kate) Alice Kellogg - 5 lbs

They are adorable and tiny and perfect in every way. Kristen is doing great and recovering in the hospital and making frequent trips to the nursery where Charlie and Kate are staying at the moment. They are pretty tiny (born at 34 weeks) and still learning how to do things so they may be staying in the hospital for a few weeks to get it all down. However, all the doctors are very impressed with how Kate and Charlie are doing and not worried at all. But please, say prayers for the tiny ones and for Kristen to ensure they will be coming home soon!

Now - with the news of the early delivery, our weekend was hectic but great! My parents were up and staying with us. We were doing rotating visits to the hospital to keep Kristen company and to hold the tiny ones (currently under 5#). We were also keeping the other 4 kids entertained while parents were gone. The kids got along great and made it outside today to play in the snow a bit.

Some random thoughts:
1) We moved Evan into a big boy bed last weekend at the cabin and took down his crib. He was totally excited at the moment and moving all his toys, blankets, and pillows to his bed. (yes, his bed is his home for his treasures. He has his precious B in there along with 2 pillows, his favorite stuffed friend Duck, his glowworm, and then numerous cars, his favorite book "the Very Cranky Bear", and other random paraphernalia that he tosses in before bed.) When it came time to go to bed, he wasn't so sure about it. He came out a couple of times, Emma complained that he kept talking a couple of times, he went to the pack-n-play once to sleep, then finally settled in. When I went in to check on them before I went into bed, he was lying perpendicular to the bed, so a bit wonky. However, he was sound asleep.
2) We went snowmobling last Monday in the snowstorm and went to a Rottawhat. Both kids fell sleep on the snowmobiles, so Tim and I were driving with heavy arms.
3) We had some good friends up at the cabin last weekend and all the kids enjoyed playing. It was fun to watch Evan playing with a little boy near his age! The boys had so much fun running around, chasing each other, crawling on furniture, jumping down, etc. All had a great time.
4) Evan has discovered how to open up the fridge.
step 1: remove socks
step 2: remove all magnets/various drawings & artwork from the fridge
step 3: hang onto the handles of the side-by-side fridge/freezer
step 4: jump up and land feet on the fridge/freezer
step 5: crawl like a spider up the fridge/freezer and place feet on freezer side and push out to open the fridge
step 6: remove whatever he wants from the fridge.
5) A conversation with Emma:
Emma: "Mama, I don't think you should give the little boy clothes to Kristen. I am going to be a Mama someday and I will need them."
Me: "Emma, you won't be a Mama for a very long time. I think Kristen can use them now and you and I can go shopping when you are ready to have a baby and buy new clothes."
Emma: "Well, that sounds okay, but I still don't think it is a good idea. Her babies will be fine."

Gee.. what else? I know I have more stories and more things I want to capture and remember. But, they are alluding me at the moment.

Some exciting things for this week? Swimming lessons... school... Princess on Ice for Emma and I. And of course - seeing Kate and Charlie. :-) It makes me want to have another baby... somewhat anyway. The good thing is they will be right next door and I can get my baby fix anytime! (without the late night feedings and sleep deprivation)