Happy Halloween!

Yep, over a week late.

The boys were "two peas in a pod". It was awesome and fun, and extremely cold out, so we had people over to our place instead for a frothy glass of cider and some scantily clad molasses cookies.




Our nephew Braden was the devil and he put on his best devil face. Scares me every time.


Can you say Jack Nicholson in Psycho?

More Big News!!!

They did it.

Jess Boehm and Nick Lambrecht are engaged!

Whoohoo!

They told me they intend to combine their last names when they get married. Possible candidates include:

1. Bambrecht
2. Loehm (prounced Lame)

I vote for #2. :)


Here's a pic of Jess and Nick circa 2003 shortly after they started dating:


Ah! So young, fun, and slim. Nice glasses Poindexter!

And here they are after a crazy night in de city o Los Vegas!


Ah! So old, fun, and plump! (Then again, who am I to talk.)

Congrats!

Baby Cronk!

It is done.

Way to go!

Blog? You still have a blog? Balogna!

Blog? You still have a blog?

Gosh, has it been a week since I last updated this thing? Yeah, I know I said I was going to try to update this thing on a weekly basis, but that hasn’t exactly worked out for many reasons.

So what’s happened in the past 5 weeks?

1. The boys are five weeks older and while things sometimes seem the same, everything has really changed. A lot. In the past two weeks, the boys have generally been going to sleep around 10ish and sleeping through to 6:30 or later if we are lucky. Finally, the return of more than 3 hours of straight sleep! But with more sleep at night comes more awake time during the day. After eating around 6:30, they usually go back to sleep for a couple more hours and then proceed to stay up usually until 4:00 or so, and then they are usually awake until they go bed. This is usually a very good schedule, but I am consistently amazed at how the boys are just so stimulated by everything they see and never want to sleep. So, often the 4pm nap is skipped, and then they become overly tired. In the past few days, the amount of food they eat has really kicked up a notch. What does mean? Well, we usually start feeding them around 8pm for bed, and end up feeding them straight for 2-3 hours until they fall asleep. Needless to say, that eats into the blogging hour, so there is excuse number 1. The boys have also started eating solid foods for the first time. Another big deal. Like I tell Thomas and Joseph, “Are you guys ready for bowl of rice mush? Mmmmmm, yummy rice mush! So bland and yummy.” The boys also are each over 14 pounds now, with Thomas consistently weighing a couple ounces more than Joseph. In the past few days they have really started to try the whole rolling over thing. From their backs they roll completely over, except they don’t pull out the arm that gets stuck underneath. Give it a couple days. It’ll happen. The best part, however, is that the boys are really smiling and laughing a lot. Most often at their parents, but also randomly on their own. It’s a great feeling in the morning when they first wake up and are talking to each other, and then you go look at them and they greet you with the biggest grin you’ve ever seen. Good stuff. I’ll tack on a bunch of pictures at the end of the blog.

2. My cousin Molly was married on September 30th, and the boys attended. But Katie and I were very quick to note at the reception that small infants do not belong at an open bar reception, so Katie’s parents came to pick them up. It was a grand party.

3. ND Alumni Band weekend. Katie and I went our own ways this weekend. I went to ND and she stayed home to attend a college friends’ wedding. Alumni weekend was even more fun than I could have imagined. I flew into Chicago and drove into ND with Nick Lambrecht and we did what all compulsive ND fans do: obsess about 16 and 17 year old high school athletes who will hopefully play for the Irish in a year or two. After the Gyro plate at King Gyros, and a very important visit to Jordan Hall, I attended the music rehearsal which was a ton of fun, but I think everyone lost their chops after five minutes of playing. Alumni weekend was awesome because it presented an excellent opportunity to see and talk to a bunch of people with whom I usually don’t get a chance to see when coming down for a game. It was a blast talking to these people as some knew about my boys and other did not and watching their reactions was outstanding. Generally, most everyone has put on some weight since graduation, however, I must present an award to Tambre Paster who bucked the trend and looked fine. F.I.N.E. Keep up the good work! Friday began with dinner at Cjs where slender Mark Luzcak dominated a double patty Golden Domer sandwich. You are my hero. And then he went to Dairy Queen for dessert. You are my idol. Angelo, Ben, Antonio, and I proceeded on to Fiddler’s for some good Irish beer and crappy scotch. Antonio brought cigars. I didn’t smoke one, and was glad when he said they cost $1.25 each. You know that had to taste like crap. From Fiddler’s we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for some beer and wings, and then decided to visit a house party on Washington street. We were apprehensive of attending, but it ended up being a great decision. $5 cups. We played pong, cups, and kings, danced to all of old songs. It was glorious! In a very bizarre occurrence that I still do not understand, Dave Rigato insisted on making the thumbs up pose in ever picture that night. I guess that’s what they do down in Miami, ain’t that right Dave? We hit up Taco bell and then crashed at the Days Inn. I think sleeping on my garage floor would be cleaner than that hotel, but hey what are you supposed to expect to for $60, I mean, $200 a night. Saturday was awesome. Great weather, fun rehearsal, tailgating at Mothballs, showing everybody my bling bling. Watching the game from the field was awesome. I forgot how fast the game is played, and how big the players really are (Sam Young is a beast). After the game, I was dead thirsty and had two beers to drink which helped rekindle my pregame status, and I proceeded to go one a 25 minute rank about why Ty Willingham sucks. Actually, everyone joined in. It too was glorious. All in all, the weekend was awesome and I would definitely play again. The amount of time it required was minimal, getting to play on the field was awesome and to sit on the field to watch the game with all of your college friends around you was well worth the commitment. Those of you who came down but didn’t march missed out.

4. Katie and I have also been very heavily involved in planning a super-secret surprise birthday party for my dad who turns the big 70 this year. Lots of super-secret planning went on behind the scenes and the party was yesterday and was super-secret success. To commemorate the event, I wrote lyrics to the song “Be Our Guest” from the Beauty and the Beast to roast my Dad and then played the song on piano to roast him right at the start of the party. It turned out awesome and was a ton of fun!



Here's my Dad, in high style at his surprise party. He could pass as a 45 year old stud.



Here's the entertainer singing away a roast of his father.

Now that we’ve gotten a few of these things out of the way, hopefully I can post more than once in 5 weeks.



Where's Waldos?



Mmm, the first taste of rice mush!



Could this guy be a Ralph Lauren Cologne model or what?



Two tootin's smiling away!




Here's our first family picture at the Penn State game. Go Irish!




Here's our nephew. We were both upset. Very upset.



Here's me and my bro with the boyz.



Smurf time! Huh!




What book could make two babies so happy? A hand autographed "I Play for Notre Dame!" book. What else?

What a weekend!

We've finally returned from our sojourn to ND. While we almost didn't make the trip, it ended up a resounding success. Bullet points below detail the weekend:

~ Katie and I were both not feeling well last week and when it was time to leave on Thursday, Katie had a fever and did not feel like going. We planned to leave at 9am and it was already noon. Fortunately, I was able to convince to down a couple bottles of tylenol which clouded her judgement, so we hit the road the jack. The boys handled the trip well, sleeping for 3 hours, taking an hour break to eat and stretch, and then 3 more hours on the road.

~ Many kudos to Rick, Renee, and all the Sandstrom for outstanding accommodations! Not to mention some schweet Giordino's 'za. Good stuff, but Katie was really sick at night with a really high fever. So the next day we discovered she had Mastitis, so her doctor faxed a prescription to local Walgreens. We headed off to ND on Friday, delayed slightly due the sickness.

~ Friday was a rough day, between not feeling well, the boys also didn't like all of the tylenol and advil in their milk, so they were throwing up left and right. I told them to save it for tailgating.

~ Band practice was a great place to meet up with friends. Shout outs to everyone who was there. So, how did this years annual encounter with Dr. Dye go? Well, you see, every year he comes up to me and has something so completely random to say it usually leaves me speechless. So at some point I knew Dr. Dye would see the kids. After the practice he comes over and sees the boys, looks at me, while all my friends are around, and says, "I heard you were shootin' blanks!" Excuse me brace face? "Oh there's two? I guess you've got good swimmers like me!" (At this point, my implodes).

Are you kidding me? Shootin' blanks? Excuse me Mr. "I had twins when I was in my 40s". Good swimmers? This from the man who is all about good public image? This year left me the most speechless I can remember. How does one diagnose this situation? Socially inept? I still don't know. The only thing I know is that Dye wins again.

~ Friday night included a nice dinner with Jess, Ben, and Amy at Chili's. The highlight of dinner conversation? Ben explaining how the Air Force base he is working at has high security chambers he has to pass through called the Man Trap. How did Amy interpret this? She told Ben that Mothball probably wants Ben to pass through Man Trap. Way to go Amy!

~ We spent the night in Stevensville, MI which worked out really well. 30 minutes north of ND, $65 a night. Yeyeah!

~ Saturday morning we arrived at the one and only Mothball tailgate at 8:30am and we were the first young adults there. THE FIRST ONES! Are you kidding me? The family with two newborns that stayed in a hotel 30 minutes away beat all the single drunks to the tailgate? Unacceptable. Ben blames Amy, but I don't completely believe him. Jess, you've got an excuse, Nick looked like he needed some assistance most of the morning. Everyone enjoyed some sweet Italian snausage courtesy of the stallion himself, Mr. Gabbianelli, and a new tent purchase by the Goehler's was an outstanding addition. Always good times.

~ After some great revelry, which involved seeing a number of awesome peeps, we were off to Hogan/Spoonhower tailgate. My highlight of the Mothball tailgate, the following conversation, which was awesome because there was no pre-existing conversation, everyone just chirped in - the timing was classic:

Me: There he is, Nick Lambrecht, you text messagin machine!
Somebody: Mr. Nimble Fingers
Mothball: Jess, you lucky girl.
Jess: Shut up!

~ The HS tailgate was in the radio tower lot, which by definition, is much more crazy drunk than the other lots. Almost immediately we were greeted with surprise as Marie says to me, "Look what I drinking Vnak. Water." Whoa doctor! The dominos have begun to fall! More ND babies (or baby) on the way! Congrats to the Spoonhowers! How awesomely exciting this is! I have chuckled quite a bit since we found this out and the fact that Jeff has to get 8 hours of sleep a night. Oh, this is gonna be good.

~Anyway, the highlights of this tailgate? Mr. Hogan and Mr. Hogan. First, he kept saying, "Vnak, go get another beer!" I know I attended your daughter's wedding and I may or may not have had an extended inebriated conversation with you, but are we really on Vnak terms or should you have said, "Brian, help yourself to another!" Who am I kidding? I loved it! And so did he. The real highlight was when the Faltos decided to do a shotgun and Mr. Hogan joined in. He pierced the hole correct, however, proceeded to hold the can upside down so we he opened it up, it all came pouring out. But don't think not drinking the beer didn't stop him from severely enjoying himself, he threw the can down with authority and gave it a hell of a stomp! Mr. Hogan, I love you.

~On Friday night at dinner, Ben Merello filled us in on what happened during the pep rally. At Marie's tailgate he proceeded to tell me about the tailgate all over again, except this time a few beers deep. Needless to say, the f'inheimer was dropped just about every other word. According to Ben, Charie Weis said, "I'm starting a new tradition where the f'in team captains are going to sing the f'in alma mater in front of the f'in student section at the end of the f'in game." Nice.

~ Katie, the boys, and myself left the tailgate and meandered to the bookstore and then decided to go see the band at inspection. After Dr. Dye's ridiculous comments the day before, I really didn't have much desire to go see concert on the steps, but we had some time so we decided to see inspection. Now, up to this point, the trip had been kind of stressful for Katie and I. We both didn't feel well, she officially was sick, the boys were throwing up on Friday left and right, and this was our first trip.

So you almost start to wonder - why was I so persistent about bringing the boys to ND at their tender age? Well, their we were: On the campus where I spent 4 important years of my life and formed so many memories and friendships, in the shade of the trees on God Quad, under the Golden Dome, in sight of the Basilica where Katie and I were married. The drums started playing, the hair raised on my arms. And as the band started to play the Victory March, it was too much. I started crying like a little girl. Right then and there I realized the purpose of this trip: to baptize Thomas and Joseph with the ND spirit. Mission accomplished.

I can't express the deep level of satisfaction both Katie and I felt at this moment. For all of you out there who don't have kids, the best thing I can liken it to was the satisfaction felt when Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) finally arrived at Wally World in National Lampoons Vacation.

LIke the title says, what a weekend. Here we are at another. Go Irish, Beat Michigan!

For those of you who haven't seen this, check out this link to the video clip of current Michigan QB Chad Henne's HS coach when Henne was at Wilson high school. Good for many laughs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow2TwwzSXHg&eurl=

It's September? Say what?

Yoyo!

Today's post begins the traditional apology for lack of posting. But to be honest, I doesn't bother me. You see, we have had an uncharacteristically awesome weather to close out August and start September. Usually, it's hot and humid and there is not much desire to be outside, other than my daily ritual of nude bathing in our front yard. Instead, we've had very pleasant, cool, arid weather. The kind of weather that says, "Git yoself away from your computer and enjoy!" So that's what we've done.

Ok, that's all a lie. The real reason? ND Football. Plain and simple. Thank the good man upstairs for helping und.com update their coverage, which now includes endless amounts of video of practices, press conferences and such. Why blog when you can have a direct injection of ND football daily? Seriously, I did't even know how to mentally prepare for the first game. ND rate #2? I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off running around.

Anyway, we won. It wasn't pretty. But you can see the potential this team has. Also, Weis didn't call any of his bread and butter plays from last year. He's holdling his cards. If I'm PSU or UM, I'm scared. Terrified really. My prediction for this weekend 28-17, ND

Oh yeah, the boys. :) They are doing outstanding. About three weeks ago, they started to discover their fingers and, man, are they delicious. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten. They cram as many is as they can, until they gag themselves. It's a hilarious process. About a week ago, they started to discover their vocal chords. So now, we can get them to smile and coo back. Deathly cute. It hurts it's so cute. When we were watching the GTech vs. ND game, Thomas talked to TV the whole second quarter. I don't blame him. We all had words during the second quarter.

So, tomorrow we embark on our first long trip the boys. Thursday we drive to Chicago and stay with Katie's aunt and uncle, which should be a great time. Then Friday we head to ND for Legends, band practice, and dinner. Then we are off to Stevensville, MI for the night, only to return early in the AM for some sweet tailgating. We are leaving after concert on the steps to Chicago to watch the game with Jess and Nick and his new baby, a beheamoth 60 screen. Then on Sunday we leave Chicago to MPLS. Should be an awesome time, although Thomas and Joseph need to finish their packing.

Plenty of review with pics to come when return.

PS: Here is Weis' secret weapon for victory.

Look out PSU, these mean mofos are suited up and ready to go. Just imagine trying to tackle these guys.

55 and alive!

We live.

Sorry for the lack of posts.

Augusto has been bizzay. Lots of people visiting, and we all have enjoyed being sexy socialites. List form will have to surmise the more exciting moments of the past three weeks:

1. Smiles, getting more and more each day. The boys in particular like to smile a lot in the morning and during the middle of the night when we change their diapers. I don't know why they do it during the diaper change, but maybe it's like using a baday in the middle of the night, and who doesn't smile that happens?

2. Fingers in da mouth. At first it was closed fists, but they are so completely preoccupied with their fingers right now they don't know what to do. If they could fit all 10 in their mouths, they would. They do try, and it is hilarious!

3. Our nephew, Braden, was baptized and Katie and I were the godmother and godfoder. Good times.

4. Laughing in their sleep and starting to babble. Very cute, and the ability to converse is very entertaining.

5. I went with my brother in law who's a cop to a shooting range to fire off some 40 caliber pistols. I've never fired a gun before so it was unbelievably exhilarating and humbling. I spent a whole week practicing obsenities to scream while I was shooting, but I was so overwhelmed it didn't matter. All I know is, guns suck and may no one ever have to use one against another human. Props to Keith, it was a hell of an experience. Next time, we are going to shoot rifles. Look out!

6. The boys also had many first visits: shopping at the mall with mom, driving to River Falls, WI, seeing their first musical, "Music Man". They also both slept 6 hours one night, which was simutaneously glorious and sad. Why? Glorious because we haven't slept that long in almost 3 months, but sad becuase it was a one time affair. We are on our usual schedule of sleeping 3 hours, waking up to feed, and then back to sleep for 2. The good thing that's changed, however, is that the average middle of the night feeding time has decreased from an 1-1.5 hours to .5-.75 hours so thats been awesome.

7. Many of you know how I very frequently shorten and occasionally lengthen words to create my own vocabulary. Example 1: Are you going to the growsch? Growsch is short for grocery store. Example 2: Are you going to Pa-dump-a-dump? Which really means, "Are you going to pump?" Example 3: Look out, it's a speedy-B! Speed bump. Not the best examples, but you get the drift. Well, Katie had the mother of new terms this week. What was the word she replaced? Blueberries. What with? Bloobs. In context: "Brian, do you want some bloobs for dessert?" Absolutely.

8. Steve and Lisa Cronk visited us last night. We had a blast. Lisa is definitely pregnant, their blog speaks the truth! Exciting times for them. The best part of the night? Cronk holding Thomas. Generally, Thomas is very frugal with who he dishes out smiles to. I haven't quite mastered the art of extracting a smile from him. Senior Account Steven Cronk, however, has some magical touch as Thomas looked at him and kept smiling and laughing. Then again, maybe it isn't magic. Cronk is funny looking enough to make just about any baby laugh. ;)

So that's a quick summary of what's happened. I'll get some new pics up in the next couple of days.

Oh yeah, all four of us are gearing up for PSU vs. ND. We're coming down to hang out and see people, but won't go to the game. Our tentative game plan is to come in on Friday, probably go to band practice, go to dinner with peeps, and then go to hotel for the evening. Then the next morning we will arrive early ass for the the tailgate stay through the game and take off before the end of the game to beat traffic to Chicago. We look forward to seeing a bunch of you!

Peace & B Wild!

Rumor has it.......

That some party poopers attended Bonnie Leigh Cockerill’s wedding! For sake of privacy I won’t names, but the accused are Colson and DiPasquale, and there were probably others.

Offense #1:
Apparently, the above mentioned arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico and were too tired to go out the night before the wedding. Instead they elected to get some sleep.

Offense #2:
The above mentioned did not find it necessary to go out after the reception ended at 11:00pm.

So, instead of hanging out since they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, they elected to sleep.

Mark my words, this is the last wedding that Katie and I will not attend. We would have been those annoying little wenches pounding on your door insisting you go out. And if you didn’t answer, ala Tom McGee at the 2003 Gator Bowl, we would returned pounding at 3am.

If you were in New Orleans, an Indian man selling cheap fishnet hats would have come up to you and given you a ticket for being a party pooper. This in and of itself is not so funny, but try saying Party Pooper with an Indian accent and, bam, you have instant hilarity.

Kudos to Angelo for being the resident officer at the scene of the crime. To the guilty party’s involved, I have high expectations for October 13-15.

No More Pokey Pokey!

The boys had their two month checkup on Tuesday and things went well.

First, Joe no longer has to have his twice a day shots for a blood thinner medicine which is a big relief for everyone. Not only that, but the doctors find no need to monitor the situation any longer, so, see ya later hematologistgator!

Second, weight update. 6 weeks ago they each 6.5 lbs, as of Tuesday they weigh a hair over 9.5 lbs, which is outstanding! The doctors would like to see a half a pound a week, so they are right on schedule.

Third, the boys received their first round of shots. These shots differed from the shots Joe recieved and these were into the muscle, vs. just being below the surface of the skin. What a difference. Katie and I were holding them and talking with the doctor and everything was so peaceful. Then the nurse arrived to give the shots, which a spectacle in its own right. She managed to give three shots, two in one leg, one in the other, in less than 7 seconds.

I can just imagine what was running through Thomas' mind from the being held comfortably to the shots......"Oh Dad, you're the greatest, smartest, most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I love you so much. (Bam, Bam, Bam, three shots given) What the $#*& was that? You bastard!"

How real Stewie Griffin's character in Family Guy really is!

George Costanza, eat your heart out!

As of late, both of the boys are styling a wicked horseshoe hairdo as they lose their baby hair in preparation of something better. George Costanza would be made proud.



Actually, the more I think about it, if the boys are fortunate enough to maintain this style for the rest of their lives and learn some musical skills, they could have a promising career following in the footsteps of someone else with a similar do:

Mistaken Identity!

The suprise guest has decided to write her first ever blog posting after this last entry by her absent minded....no, idiot of a husband. So, I don't know how many of you caught the mistaken identity in any of the pictues, but as soon as I heard he posted the new blog I went to check it out. Oh yes the pictures are soooo cute, but Vnak has the boys mixed up. The first picture of the boys...Joseph is on the left and Thomas on the right. The picture with the g-raff is Joseph and the last picture Joseph on left and Thomas on the right.

You must know this fun fact as well. Brian came up to me before writing and posting this blog entry and even asked me to help him out with who was who and he still biffed it up!! Vnak!! He claims he can tell them apart, but folks it is just a front. In the middle of the night he will say, "good job Joseph...you are doing such a good job eating....daddy likes that." Then I say, "it's Thomas!" Oh yes, this happens quite often. Since the boys have grown a bit older and wiser they are looking alot alike but, I still give him crap.

When I noticed this fine mistake, I notified the publisher and his response was no one is going to know the difference. UNBELIEVEABLE! That is when I knew it was time to intervene on our sons' behalf and write my own entry.

Okay, enough with Vnak.

This last Wednesday my grandma came to visit and see the boys for the first time. It was also the first time she had ever been to our house. We were so happy she could come and see us. Below is a generation picture. My dad on the left with Thomas then my Grandma with Joseph and then of course me.



Today was so much fun! We packed up the boys and headed to River Falls, WI to visit my sister her husband and their new baby boy Braden whom you saw in the last entry. He is adorable! Below is a picture of the three stoogies. Joseph is wearing a "my mom rocks" onesie and Thomas is wearing "my dad rocks" onesie. Braden is in the middle cute as ever trying not to get hit by is older cousins.



Boys with their doorags





It was a momentous day because Joseph decided it was fun to SMILE on purpose!

The Three Stooges

In my last post I alluded to more big news was on the way and it was officially confirmed this past weekend. Katie's pregnant again! And there's not just one. And there's not just two. Triplets!! Ok, I'm lying. Katie is not pregnant, but her sister Molly was and she gave birth to Braden Patrick on Sunday. I have decided to call him Brady as I suggested to the parents that they named after Mr. Stud himself, Brady Quinn. He was born at 7 lb 14 oz (which is probably the size of each of our boys right now) with a frock of blond hair. Check out Mr. Sexy himself right here.



This picture is about 8 hours after birth. So, the creation of the three Stooges is complete. Thomas, Joseph, & Brady. Lookout!

In other exciting news, the boys are having their two month checkup next Tuesday so we will be able to get an weight update and an official confirmation of studliness from the doc. The boys will get their first round of shots, which will be a piece of cake for Joseph since he currently gets shots twice a day, but boy is Thomas in for a world of hurt. Joseph is also going to the hemitologist who will hopefully tell us that he won't have to have the shots anymore which will be outstanding for everyone. Hopefully we will have good news to share next week.


I think I'm going to try to make a portion of each week's post dedicated to a reflection on parenthood. Specifically, I'll shed light on things that are true that you wish weren't true and things that are true that you wish were false. Today's topic? The movie Old School. So we all loved laughing at Will Ferrell as pseudo attempts at maturity in this classic movie, but is real married life and parenthood the same? Well, sometimes yes and sometimes no. For example, can going to Home Depot on a Saturday afternoon be a fun focal point of the week? Absolutely. But I've found it's even better to go to Ace Hardware. It really is the only place I know that I can go where I'm guaranteed to smell booze on the breath of every male employee in the store at 9am. Is the hardware store that butts up to Ace at fault? Probably, but it sure makes for a fun morning when I ask to be directed to the aisle where I can find some screws, and the employee sends me to Aisle 1: Paint Supplies.

Ok, so that pretty much had nothing to do with parenthood. I think we can all say Week 1 of Parenthood reflections was a resounding success!

So, I also reviewed last weeks post and realized that the pictures I posted were below par. Therefore, these should bring balance to the force.

In case you can't tell, it's starting to get MUCH harder to tell who is who. That said, I think Tom is on the left and Joe on the right.




Here's Tom hanging out with his G-raff.




And no, Thomas doesn't have Angelina Jolie lips, he's sticking out his tongue.

The Art of The 3am Feeding

Hakuna Matata!

Things have been busy over the past couple of weeks. Everybody is doing great, but is exhausting on Mom and Dad to say the least. Going forward we will try to update the blog once a week and to that extent, we will be having guest posts from Katie. What does that mean? Probable payback for all the stuff I posted about her during the pregnancy. I hope you will enjoy.

So, let’s jump back before the 4th of July. Katie and the boys had a shower on July 2nd, which in conjunction with another shower has proceeded to fill an empty closet in the nursery. On July 3rd, the boys were baptized in a nice, but hot, ceremony. Thanks to all who attended.

The 4th was as fantastic as it always is. We head up to Katie’s Aunt’s house on the lake for the day. Lots of good food. Boat parade on the lake where all the guys dressed up as ViQueens. I was able to bust out my French Horn to play the Viking horn call. So take that all of you who never thought I would have a professional gig to play the French Horn after college. Snuck in a quick nap and then set off a wonderful collection of mortars and rockets to end the day. Good times.

I took the week of the 4th off which was great for some quality time with Katie and boys. This allowed all of us to get more sleep which was fantastic. But since having returned to work on Monday, I’ve never wanted to sleep so bad.

The real highlight for Katie and I over the past few weeks have been the middle of the night feedings which typically occur anytime between two to four in the morn. It’s hard to describe the insanity that occurs during this time, but I will my best. Neither of us have ever been so delusional in our entire lives. There is this constant battle between trying to stay drowsy enough to quickly fall back asleep when Tom and Joe are finished eating versus being awake enough to properly tend to their needs. If the feeding only last 15-30 minutes, staying drowsy would be no problem, but to stay in that near catatonic state for 60-90 minutes is hard. Real hard. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try. Therefore, the most random of bumblings, the most evil of stares, and the most short of tempers are present. What does this add up to for Katie and I? Pure hilarity.

For example (you probably won’t find these funny, but we do):

This conversation occurred while Katie was feeding Tom and I woke up to Joe crying, who was indicating his need to eat.

Brian: “I’m confused. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do. I thought they woke up because they were concerned about their life insurance policies.

Katie: No Brian. They woke up because they are hungry. We are going to do what we always do - feed them and change their diapers.

Brian: “Oh.”


In a serious, but half awake, half asleep evil tone to Katie:

“You probably want ME to feed Joe. I know how it is. You are always trying to take advantage of me. Well, I'm not going to put up with this anymore. You can feed Joe.” Katie would tell that this statement is really quite the opposite of reality. 


Usually, the boys need to eat about 120-150 mills (4-5 oz) to sleep 3 to 4 hours. Anything less, and they will sleep less. So, here is a wonderful conversation between Joe and I.

“Joe, how much did you eat? Oh, 60-65 mills, that makes daddy clammy behind the knees”


So, as you can tell, these annecdotes are probably only funny to Katie and I during the middle of the night in the formerly described delirious state.

Picture time:

This is from baptism day.



Here is Joe celebrating freedom on the 4th! Take that Osama!




Here is the aforementioned Viking boat, replete with studly, barbaric Vikings!




Finally, Katie and I received an assist from Curious George to keep he pacifiers in the babies mouths. Shout out to Curious George!



More exciting news to follow.....

My Expanding Vnakcular!

Ok, so I started writing this post about a week and a half ago, and then it's just been soupa busy since. I'm just posting what I had written with new pictures. I will have a good update as of 7/4/06 in the next couple of days and a most excellent poll coming. Hope everybody is having a great 4th, we are!


So we are almost three weeks into this whole parenting thing and it's going pretty good. The babies generally sleep in 3-4 hour increments, so we usually get up only once during the night. Each feeding lasts about an hour with both Katie and I tagteaming the deal. The boys are doing really well and had a great check up on Friday. Joseph now weights 6 lb 5 oz and Thomas is catching up weighing 6 lb 3 oz. Since they are closer in weight, they do look a lot a like, but at least Katie and I can tell the difference (although Katie would argue I don't do a very good job).

Eat. Diapers. Sleep. That's life.

So, here are some of my favorite quotes and observations from the past three weeks.

1. "Ok Thomas, I'm going to liftsie your headsie upsie so I can pullsie your onesie over your headsie."

2. Holy poopy pants Batman!

3. Sweet Jehovah that's a messy diaper!

4. Someone passes gas. Katie and I both look at each other asking, "Was that you?" And the we both realize that it was one of the boys.

5. These boys.....they're barracudas!


The Boys dressed their NYC finest for Auntie Meredith from NYC.


Mr. and Mrs. Cool with the stars!


Dad, do we have to listen to ANOTHER Prince CD?


Nice dance moves. Is it Thursday night? Heartland?

Priceless

A 9 month complications filled pregnancy and labor? ~$45,000

Birth into the world and a 9 night stay in the NICU for two? ~$90,000

Having health insurance that requires to only pay a few thousand dollars for all of the above? Priceless.

Conspiracy Theory!

Time to speculate.

I believe in about 18-24 years we (the U.S.) are going to go to war. A real big one.

Why does such a terrible thought cross my mind?

You see, everyone we know who is having or recently had babies are having boys.

Katie and I had two boys. Katie's younger sister Molly who is due in July is having a boy. Steve and Lisa Cronk are having a boy.

Now that's not enough to make me think something is up.

But this is.....

When we were in our birthing class which was exclusively couples having twins, 8 out of 10 couples in the class knew the gender of their twins. The result? 15 of 16 were boys.

Something in the Water Does Not Compute.

Ok. I've ripped off my Mel Gibson face mask and am back.

The boys are at home and doing great. Thomas is up from his birth weight of 4 lb 15 oz to 5 lb 8oz and Joseph is up from 5 lb 13 oz to 5 lb 15 oz. His gain is a little behind because he lost a little weight after birth.

The past two nights the boys have slept for approximately 2.5 hr chunks, which has been great. Each feeding and diaper change is down to about an hour now, so we are getting more sleep, which is much needed.

It's really cute. We put them in bed about 8 inches apart and within an hour, we usually get:



They were head to head in utero and still enjoy each others comfort.

One more pic (Joseph on left, Thomas on right):

They R 4 Real!

Ok, I'm home for like 5 minutes, so here are two quick pics. Both boys are coming home tomorrow!!!!!!



Thomas on the bottom, Joseph on the top. Nice Vnak size head Joseph!



Joseph on the left, Thomas on the right. Thomas' brain was growing too large, too fast, as evidenced by his desire to watch Telemundo, so they put these special restrictive pads on as I explained we weren't ready to fund a ND education in 3 years.

More pics to come....

One Long Day!

Well, here we are, Sunday and the boys are almost one week old. While 7 dayz have passed, it just seems like one long, long day. Here's a few interesting points of observation over the past week.

1. On Wednesday we changed over 30 diapers. 1 Box of newborn size diapers contains 20 units and costs $10. That means we went through $15 of diapers in one day, times 7 is $105 a week, times 52 weeks is over $5200 for diapers. Hopefully this will change.

2. Both babies were a little jaundice on Friday and had to sunbath under UV lights for 24 hours. For the kids, they were very comfortable and have a wicked jump on a summer tan. For the parents, it sucked. Our room was as bright as sleeping outside in Vegas, except there are no free cocktails at the hospital.

3. Thomas is doing a great job feeding. Actually, he's barracuda and takes it to the house. Everytime. Joseph is still working on developing his fedding skills. If we had just Thomas, we would probably be going home tomorrow, but we are waiting for Joseph to kick it up a notch. Hopefully we will get to go home either by Wednesday or Thursday this week.

4. Changing extremely messy diapers at 4 in the morn is trying on a person, no matter your personality. It truly can bring out the worst in you. For example, Thomas was fussy at 2 in the morn, so I went to change with the lights out. While I was positioning the new diaper, he proceeded to wet the new diaper, his onesie, and his blanket. Little Vnak 1, Big Vnak 0. Apparently, he was disappointed by this performance, because at 4am he left a gift of the solid variety, except, somehow none of it in his diaper. So I had to change his poo filled onesie, without getting it on him, and making a giant mess in his bassinet. Oh the horror! Little Vnak 2, Big Vnak 0.

5. At first we thought Thomas and Joseph looked very much alike, but now that we study them constantly we have started to notice some discrepancies. Thomas has Katie's head shape whereas Joseph probably has my head shape. That's about it. You'll have to make your on conclusions once I finally post some pics. Both have Dad's long piano fingers and both have nice dark brown hair.

6. I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures from the hospital yet, but I will hopefully get a chance in the next couple of days.

It's been one hell of ride the past week, but a ton of fun. As trying as the late night diaper changings/feedings can be, they are so damn cute, that you can't help forgive them.

Thanks to everyone for all of their thoughts and prayers over the pregnancy. We were a bit scared of our situation early on, but all seems well. God bless!

2 for 1 Special

It is done and just begun!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would officially and very proudly like to introduce you to:

Thomas James Vnak - Born on 5/29/06 at 9:57am at 4 pounds 15 ounces.

Joseph John Vnak - Born on 5/29/06 at 10:17am at 5 pounds 13 ounces.

I don't have any pictures to post yet since I'm at the hospital and forgot the cord to connect the camera to the computer, but they will come in the next couple of days.

I want to focus on telling the story leading up to the birth and how they are doing right now, but it is just way to much to process. How can I briefly sum it up? Divine! Amazing! Miraculous! Two thumbs up! The biggest rollercoaster of the summer! Riducustupidfantasam!

First the babies. Each are extremely adorable, both Katie and I confer. I know everyone says their babies are cute and adorable, but as Katie can attest from working in a hospital, all babies are not cute. Ours are and we are forever grateful.

They were born at exactly 36 weeks which was fantastic considering where we came from, but still premature. Consequently, both had to be put on a CPAP machine which ensures their lungs stay completely open while they breathe. They were both on these machines for a couple of hours, and were taken off which is great.

Joseph has had a bout with his right arm. When he got back from the operating room, his right arm from elbow to hand was white. Over the next bit of time it turned a pinkish blue. Pink is good, blue is not. The docs ordered an ultrasound and he had a blood clot in his wrist. The doctors did some other tests and put him on some medicine to decoagulate it which has had a great impact. His arm is now fine in appearance and he can move it just fine. That said, this situation is something you would not expect to see in an infant, but an older adult. So, it is a unique case and the doctors are conducting a number of other tests to insure it is hopefully just an isolated situation. More to come when we know it on this topic.

All in all, the babies are great: cute, adorable, suave, just like their father.

As for the stay in the hospital, we don't know how long they will be here yet, but hopefully we will have a roadmap in the next few days.

Now, let's look into the past of the whole labor ordeal. It is absolutely mind blowing. I still haven't registered the whole experience and might not ever completely, at least in words. It is truly an experience, something that you must experience live for a loved one to truly understand. Here's the time line:

Sunday 11:30pm - Go to Bed
Monday 2:10am - Katie wakes up and tells me she doesn't quite feel right. She goes to the bathroom and notices a small spot of wetness. Both of us want to go back to bed and try rationalize every way to justify doing so. "I just wish there was some definitive sign this was really it!"

2:30am - Definitive Sign Received

3:30am - Arrive at hospital with bags packed.

3:45am - Contractions start

4:30am - 5cm dilated

4:30-7:30am - Dilation to 8cm. The contractions during this time period are far more fierce and intense than the practice Braxton-Hicks contractions. Watch out all you expectant parents.

7:30am - Katie gets an epidural which is pure narcotic bliss. As expected, the anethestist was a cocky "I play with some serious drugs and it's legal" bastard. But he did a great job, so drug away! Everyone should get an epidural. There is no need with today's modern medicine to suffer. The contractions are enough.

8:18am - Doctor tests dilation and only has to reach in 1 inch to feel Baby A's head. The nurse asks, "Dad, would you like to touch your sons head?" Gasp, pause, "Um, sure." Crazilishisly awesome! I met my first son.

8:30am - Dilation to 10cm.

9:10am - Katie starts pushing. The rest is just freaking unbelievable. I've never witnessed anything so great. It was so amazing and exhausting.

9:57am - Thomas James Vnak is born, with his eyes wide open. Truly divine!

10:10am - The doctors are working with Katie to get Baby B to move down. Unfortunately, he is larger than Baby A, so the tunnel needs to get bigger. Ideally, Baby A is bigger than Baby B, but that was not the case.

10:12am - This part was the funniest part of the whole labor. Baby B's water had not yet "broke." So, the doctor starts jabbing this plastic needle to burst it with no success. Suddenly Katie starts contracting and pushing down while the doctor jabs and.....BOOOM! A giant water explosion shoots all over the doctors. Where the hell is a video camera when you need one? In my mind, I’m laughing my ass off in disbelief asking, "Did that honestly just happen?" Good lawd!!!!

10:14am - All of sudden Baby B's umbilical cord comes out, which is opposite of what is supposed to happen and Baby B's heart rate starts to drop. The attending docter quickly stepped in and whipped out a vacuum extractor, which honest to God looks like a Nerf gun. It has a very primitive operation. Step one: Insert. Step two: Pump. Step three: Pull. Shebamm!

10:17am - Joseph John Vnak is born, and is quickly attended to.


Katie is doing great. I like to call people all-stars, but she truly is the MVP of my all-star team. The recovery is not cakewalk. But drugs and warm baths do help. She is trying to rest so that she can focus on nursing, as the babies become ready.

We will update more in the future as news is appropriate and get some pictures uploaded once I get home.

It has begun!

Comments Ahoy!

A while back a restricted viewers commentability since I was getting some spam posts. When I did this, it would not allow some of you to leave comments if you wished. The problem has been fixed, so feel free to leave comments. Thanks!

Oh my gawd!

Did anyone else watch the American Idol finale?

Taylor Hicks is announced the new American Idol.

And then the camera cuts to the crowd.

And it focuses on, none other, but....

A crying David Hasselhoff.

I've wet five pairs of pants laughing so hard.

Six.

PS: The surprise Prince performance was also sweet!

Ladies and Gentleman, let me introduce you to.........

Special Needs Katie! (Beep, beep!)



Well, Katie was officially taken off bedrest on Friday, which is nice in concept, but not much of a change in reality. So, how did we celebrate her day of liberation? A Saturday night shopping spree at Target of course. Oh how cool we are. As you can tell from her picture, the evening was success. The best part of the adventure was that the go cart wasn't full charged and moved about 1.5 mph, which was sooooo slow, it's like she was Extra Special Needs Katie.

In other funny Katie news, at her doctors appointment on Friday, a kind old black man with a walker held the door open for Katie and asked her if she was having a boy or a girl. "Two boys!" Katie responded. "Man, and I thought my life was bad!" barked the old guy. Pure unadulterated hilarity!

Things are still going the same although Katie wishes it would all be over. Only time will tell!

Psych!

Damn those little Vnaks. All the excitement and no hub-bub. Yep, no babies yet.

Katie and her ute decided that 3.5cm was all for the night and since she didn't change by the morn, so the doctors have sent us home.

But not for long.

Katie is still extremely uncomfortable and the contractions continue. She is going to doctor for a check up again tomorrow. This shindig could shindown anytime. Our doctor likened it to time bomb with no timer. So, it could be tonight, tomorrow, a couple days, and maybe even a week or more. But the likely bet is the next few days.

So whilst I was at the hospital last night, I made many passes by the nursery to see the new brews for the day. Damn, little babies are really cute. You can't help but get a big grin looking at these little plump all-stars. I always thought it was extremely gay when guys use the words cute, so now I find myself in quite a conundrum. Alas, I'm going to be a Dad. And they are going to be babies. And I pray to da lawd they are cute, so I guess I'm gonna have to use the word.

One Ball, two strikes. What's the next pitch?

The Final Countdown

Click here and load file while reading this post.

Yes, oh yes, the final countdown has begun! What a great high school pep band song and very appropriate since Katie and I festered our young lovers relationship serenading each other with this tune of immortal romance. The grand finale is on its way. Strike one has quickly turned into strike two with strike three ready to go shortly.

As previously stated, Katie's contractions started last Friday and became stronger over the past few days, so she decided to go in and get checked. Lo and behold, she is 3 cm dilated.

We are currently chilling at the hospital and Katie bears through this contractions. There is no specific time table with as the body and her ute do as they please. It could be tonight, tomorrow, a couple or days, a week. But the doctor seems to think in the next couple of days.

I'm kind of caught in the middle of whether I want the babies to hang out a few days longer or get it done. Extra days are good for the babies, but Katie is SO uncomfortable. Persistent squirming from cramps and contractions. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

So, I guess the big thing to sum up again, because reality is hard to comprehend:

This is happening. No more time to prepare. The deal is going down.

Steeeryke one!

So, Katie and I had an exciting then boring weekend.

Friday I get home from work and she is complaining about contractions. She had frequent, but irregular contractions from 5 until midnight. For a while we thought this was it. It's happening. Dear lawd, it's happening. But then we figured out, we will just have to sleep through the night and hope for the best. So, I laced her 11:00pm snack with some schweet narcotics and vwa-la (say phonetically), everything was fine in the morning. Phew!

Actually, we just figured she had a Bengal bout of practice contrations (Braxton-Hicks contractions) and came out victorious. Bengal bout round one: Katie: Ron Burgandy, Practice Contrations: Ron Mexico. Check this out. You can now call me Sammy Spain.

Anyway, today marks 34 weeks which is a fantastic milestone! If the babies are born at this point, the doctors are indifferent about the likelihood of complications. Any days from here on out area gift.

To celebrate the victory, we proceeded to watch three movies: Along Came a Spider, A Time to Kill, and The Chronic "What" cles of Narnia.

Anyway, we are less than one month away from our insanity. Katie is likely to be induced at/around June 14th if they are not born by then, so I'm kind of antsy. You know, that antsy feeling we used to get at the Animal House after a new keg was put in the kegerator and delicious cold beer was only seconds away. Here it comes. What? Foam? I want beer. (Foam then proceeds to continue for the next 15 minutes). And to think that at any time at least 2 engineers lived there!

Oh what a difference 226 days can make.........

Yowzers!

Katie circa 2005




Katie circa 226 days pregnant

This was inevitable.......

Who is more pregnant? Mothball circa 2003 Katie circa 2005    Free polls from Pollhost.com

Tailgating Dreams!

Now that Spring football has come and gone, we have officially entered the summer doldrums of college football - a land void of anything interesting that is football related. Actually, the doldrums have been quite exciting this year, we have had a two stud recruits committ to ND, and all of the USC scandals. Bluegraysky.blogspot.com has excellent summary of everything that has transpired during the Pete Carroll era and when you consider all of it, it really paints an interesting picture of what that program is like.

Now, let's take the time to brainstorm about ways to improve our tailgating experience in the fall. I have two propositions:

1. Buy this.

2. Buy this.

Simple genius. Nuff said!

Dar she is, me pregnant linebacker!!!!

Hey there folks! Sorry for the long delay in updating. In our world, no news is good news so there is nothing substantial to report. Tomorrow, Katie begins week 32 of this pregnancy shindig. Each week keeps getting better and better in terms of the health of da bebes. We had a full ultrasound on Wednesday of last week and both of the twins scored a perfect 8 of 8 on their biophyiscal profile exams (take that all your doctor folk speaking medical school apprentices!). Baby A was weighing in at 3 pounds and Baby B was pushing a brutfull 3.5 pounds. Both our very on schedule in terms weight and development. The ultrasound tech also double checked and doubly informed us that they are definitely boys. Thata boyz!!!

The Pray for May campaign is nearly complete, which is great. The next goal is for Katie to make it until 34 weeks. At that point, the doctors have little to no reservation about having the kids, so here's to the next two weeks!

Katie continues to be on bedrest and continue the life of "chilling". TV episodes? Nothing new. Reruns? Old news. Movies? Seen 'em all. What hasn't Katie conquered in her chiling time? Not much. She has currently won $48,430 on Jeopardy, $20,450 plus a trip to Bora Bora on Wheel of Fortune, and recently accepted a bid for $389,000 on Deal or No Deal. Yep, that's right, we're stinking rich! Boo-a-yeah-yeah!

Ok, so my apologies to go out to Animal. In my last post, I made a grand presumption that wedding bells were still in the air, but apparently I didn't TPS report that arrived via the pony express that stated that wasn't the case. My apologies. In order to show some love, I'm going to fully endorse Mal's blog. I check it fairly reguarly when I'm bored at work and if you have ever met Mal it is a must read. His literary witicisms will make you weep. Check out ndanimal.blogspot.com.

That said, congrats to everybody's fav couple who are going to make babies sometime in '06 - Mothball and Animal!!

What's happening in ND news? In case you haven't heard, the GREATEST QB to EVER come out of high school signed with ND. Did he consider USC? Of course he did, but he realized there is a much better place to win a national championship. Here's to the future of ND football!!

We continue to get the babies room ready and will hopefully post a picture by next weekend. We are the midst of fixing other house related issues, including getting a furnace, which SUCKS. I think I'm going to be able to save over 50% by buying the goods online and then paying someone to install it. If you ever run into this situation, contact me, I'll save you a fortune.

Who's Next?

Since Katie's been on bedrest, we have had the opportunity to discuss a variety of important issues. We thought it was appropriate to blog about a topic that many of us talk about when we see each other, but that is kind of taboo. So Katie and I are hopefully the first of many Domino's to fall.......

Who's the next ND couple to get bizzay?
	Julia & Jason - We all learned at their wedding how Jason follows in his bro's steps and it didn't take his bro long!
	Angelo & Beth: Hmm, MBA program may be a great contraceptive, but then he'll be making some big bling. Watchout!
	Animal and Mothball - Come on, Animal doesn't get married for a few months AND they DO LIVE TOGETHER! Coincidence? I think not.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Katie's got a doctor appointment tomorrow and ultrasound appoint on Thursday, so hopefully we will have more good news!

See ya later le opeetal!

Friday marked Katie's last day at the hospital! I said a Whoop there it is! Whoop there it is! The doctors concluded that the great coming of the twins was not upon us yet and that she could go home. But this time it is for full bedrest, not just the good 'ol "19th century wife never leave the house unless your husband gives permission" house arrest that Katie was on for the past two weeks.

So what does this mean? To sum up: Lay in bed and go to the bathroom. It almost seems like she might be in law school at the University of Chicago. To most everyone, the idea of having a day or two to lay around and do nothing may seem appetizing. But knowing that this could be your life for the next two months is a bit overwhelming, espeically when you've got two Stewie like brainiacs trying to fight their way out of the womb to conquer the world. Wouldn't that be something.

So, I've spent this weekend moving a TV upstairs and we just got this super sweet gliding chair which is also super sweet. To top off all the insanity of the past few weeks, we have a water leak in our upstairs bathroom that has devestated the bathroom ceiling below. So, I've been able to spend a fun weekend at the HD (Home Depot for all you folk who have fought off maturity far better than I).

The babies room is taking shape. We got this schweet jungle beddings for their room. Now, don't get me wrong, it's nothing like the love jungle that Katie and I sleep in, but it'll be a good foundation for the future. So, to keep you tantilzed as we approach finishing the paint job, here is before picture, taken just as we started to prime the old room. The old room was sultry red color whom many of your readers had the chance to enjoy. As we get closer to finishing I'll post more picures.



And now the moment you've all been waiting for, a picture detailing the graphic nature of Katie's pregnancy. Drum roll please. A little history first for all the weight concious honeys in the crowd. During the first 3 months of her pregnancy, Katie was super sick and actually loss 15 pounds. Not the ideal situation for the babies, but damn was she sexy! Since then she has gained approximately 32 pounds. Not too shabby. Now I know this isn't the type of record keeping that would keep Superhero and future legal actuary N. Lambrecht happy, but you get the point. (The honeys I mentioned above also have noted that I have not disclosed Katie's weight. Smooth Vnak, real smooth). So her she is: my super sweet, sexy, and cute as hell prego wifee:



How 'bout dem apples?

If any of you have any free time and aren't doing anything, feel free to give Katie a call, we both will greatly appreciate it.

I'll update more once we get past this weeks roundabout of doctors appointments. All of your prayers, thought, and concerns mean a lot!

Two Steps Forward, Another Backa!!!

Tuesday’s doctor appointmentpalooza was very eventful. A duel with the ultrasound machine kicked off the day. Katie and I were very nervous for this appointment as it at the previous week’s appointment that the doctor told us about Baby A’s low amniotic fluid. What were the results? Baby A’s amniotic fluid measurement increased from 1.8cm to 3.5cm!! What a relief!!! Why the change? Well, it can be difficult to get accurate measurements with the ultrasound, especially when there are two little chumps taken up all the space. Both Baby’s are developing nicely – they each weigh a little over 2 pounds which is right on schedule. Both babies, especially Baby A, have decided to take after their father and have ginormous heads. Thata boys!! Now, the big question is will they be able to dislocate their jaw when taking party pictures? Only time will tell.

Appointment numero doce was with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). There we met with an Indian doctor whose nickname was Ragu. Mmmmm, pasta. He talked with us regarding expectations and complications of a premature birth. It was helpful, but it was more helpful to see all the facilities and we even got to see some of the patients. A number of 2-3 pound babies were there which was tremendously real. To see what our babies look like size wise, but born was crazy. It made us all the more concerned about the need to keep the boys in the oven for as long as possible.

Both the ultrasound doctor and the neonatalogist encouraged Katie to see her doctor as the contractions she has been experiencing for the past two weeks have been increasing in frequency. So, off to the hospital we headed where we experienced a fine example of all that is right in health care. To sum up, we arrived at 4:00pm, were checked into a room and had a contraction monitor placed on da belly, but did not see a doctor until 9:00pm. Hip hip hooray for efficiency! Give me a break. 5 hours of waiting. Where art thou capitalism?

I’ve decided I’m going to start a hospital where the service costs twice as much as you currently pay, but you’ll be in and out in a third of time. Do you think it will be successful? I do.

Anyway, so Katie is now being housed in the hospital where she is being monitored. She may be here for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, the doctors are being very cautious, which is appreciated. I really hope she can come home shortly as I think she is able to more comfortably rest and feed herself, but the doctors will decide.

Since we will be at the hospital a bit more, it’s an excellent opportunity to blog away, so expect more updates in the near future.

The Pray for May Campaign

Katie's developed quite a bump. The last week has been intense for the two of us.

March 7 - ultrasound appointment. Things look good, but amniotic fluid on Baby A is at 2cm. 2cm is nearing the cutoff in terms of there being a concern, so the doctors decide to monitor them on a weekly basis instead of biweekly.

March 15 - Katie's stomach starts getting tense when she stands up and is having pressure on her pelvis (not me).

March 17 - Doctors determine she is having pre-term labor contractions. Not unnormal, but obviously needing a higher degree of monitoring. She is put on modified bedrest which basically means she can walk down the stairs to lay on the couch, but really shouldn't leave the house other than a little trip here and there.

March 18 - She gets her butt shot up with steriods to help accelerate the development of the babies lungs. Yup, that's right. Watch out Barry Bonds, my boys are on roids too! Katie misses out on going to New Orleans for the Serpas wedding because of the bedrest.

March 21 - Ultrasound appointment to checkup on amniotic fluid level. At this exam, the level is down 1.8cm. Basically the doctor told us if Katie was 30 weeks along that they probably would have on the table that afternoon and take the babies out. However, she's only 26 weeks at this point. 35-38 is usual term for twins. The ultrasound also confirms that Katie's cervix has opened slightly.

What does all this mean?

As of these appointments, both babies had healthy weights, and heart rates, good umbilical cord pressure, but the lower level of amniotic fluid in Baby A is a concern. We are having to play out this whole thing appointment to appointment. The doctor alluded that the reason she is having pre-term labor is that her body might be telling her that it wants to get Baby A out. The likely cause, is the placenta surrounding Baby A is not performing as well as we would all like it to. We have a full evaluation ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday and also have an appointment to visit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a neonatalogist on Tuesday. This appointment will be big as it will show whether both babies are being adequately nourished. The key thing to watch for will be if they are equal weights.

The doctors will be watching this situation every week, possibly twice a week, and at somepoint the babies will be born, probably early. Ultimately, there will be a point where the babies are better cared for outside of the womb than inside. The unfortunate part, is that the baby who is "stressed" in the womb (Baby A) typically does better outside as it is used to being stressed. It's Baby B, who's just chilling and enjoying his time in the womb, who often has a harder time outside the womb.

So right now my whole mentality is "Pray for May". If Katie can make it until May, the babies would be 32 weeks along. At that point, the odds of complications are significantly decreased and the mortality rate is almost 100%. The time between weeks 26 and 30 are measured by large degrees of development, so the longer they can stay in the womb, the better. If they come before 30 weeks, the odds of complications increase and the mortality rate is lower.

Another thing to note is that babies who are born premature typically stay in the hospital until they are full term. So there is a reasonable likelihood that the boys will be in the hospital for months. That will be a tough time for Katie and I, but the care at the hospital will be the best.

Katie is doing fine. She feels great, except for having to be under house arrest. I've got a pretty positive outlook on how this will all turn out. That's how my gut feels, but it will be a big deal to see how this appointment turns out.

I'll try to update this more religiously as we get through appointments successfully.

Thanks for your prayers!

I've got some Tootin's on the way!

So sorry for the lack of updates.

In my last post I mentioned posting pictures of the last ultrasound, but my scanner has caught the winter flu, so it's out of commission until I fix it. Maybe I will post them, but then again, we've got another ultrasound next week, so I might just wait for those.

Since Katie has got two tootin's inside her, the doctors pay much closer attention to her via frequent checkups because her pregnancy is deemed "High Risk". It's not guaranteed risky, but the possibility is more likely. With all the checkups she has it sure makes you thankful for health insurance. I can't even imagine.

So yeah, the reason we haven't posted in a while is we have busy figuring out what furniture and stuff to buy, and cleaning the house, and doing a bunch of little projects that we've been putting off. What does this translate to? Katie hit it on the head today. We are nesting. Nesting? Yep, nesting. Unbelievable!

I thought the term nesting seemed so infinitely far from anything I've done in my life. Yes, Katie and I are overly annal in how clean why try to keep our house, but this type of nesting is different. I tried to think of the a time when I might have nested before in my life and the first memory that came to mind was this.

It was December of my senior year and many ND friends gathered at the local Senior Bar to create memories one last time before it closed. Ah yes, the night started out with $1.50 pitchers of beer, and then turned to $1.50 pitchers of rum and cokeee when the beer ran out. Eventually we all headed to Mothball's to hangout and I remember not feeling so well and visitng their bathroom. After my sickness left me, I remember becoming tired very quickly. "What should I use to rest thy head upon?" The only thing close enough was Animal's damp shower towel on floor. So, I wrapped it up and used it as a pillow. Nesting? Eh, probably not, but it was fun to remember.

So any way, what has consumated the past two weeks? Cribs, baby bedding, gliding chairs, deciding whether or not to head to New Orleans in 3 weeks, a Prince concert, and a bunch of other stuff.

What do these all share common? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Here is my proposition to however wants to win the presidency in '08. Establish a new law that requires everything that costs over $20 to only cost $20. For example, let's say you want to buy a vacuum. Cost? $20. Airplane ticket? $20. I know this concept is kind of foreign, but just follow me a little further. Want to buy vacation property in Hawaii? $20. Just think how sweet life would be and how unfrustrating it would be when you go to the ATM. When I go to the ATM I like to get a few Hamiltons to go with my Jacksons. With my ingenious idea, it'd be all about the Jacksons baby! Woooooho!

And yes B Puff, I did refer to our kids as little Tootins. Why? Because becoming a Dad makes your gaydar go crazy!

Two Three-Legged Monsters!

The verdict is in!

First and foremost, each of the babies is very healthy!! They are each approaching one pound in weight, which is right on and schedule and super awesome considering how sick Katie was at the beginning of the pregnancy.

They each have a healthy heart, well proportioned cranium, two arms, two eyes, and three legs.

Say what? How can a baby be healthy and have three legs?

They are healthy when that one leg is shorter than the other two........ but not too much shorter.

TWO BOYS!!!

Katie and I are thrilled to be having two gents!

This is super exciting for all the Vnak family as the family name would end if Katie and I did not have any male children. The pressure is double off and everybody is flying high.

I willl post pictures of the ultrasounds in the future once my Epson printer/scanner and I finish duking it out since he won't scan my pictures right.

The BIG News......

Is NO News. Apparently the same idyllic god who smote ND with Ty Willingham cursed the sonographer who was to perform our ultrasound into crashing her car on the way to work. The was result this treacherous occasion? A 5-7 season and delaying the ultrasound until Tuesday. So, the wait and eager nights continue.

For those of you who read this site and have not yet voted on your guess for the gender of our children, please do so before Tuesday. The winner will receive an autographed picture of the above mentioned villain. See you Tuesday.

Oh Internet, how awesome your collective power is!

Since the first greatest moment of 2006, this has to be the coolest thing to happen by far!!

Sex. How do you want it?

Hey, hey dudes!

So, Katie has been doing better over the past week and half. No more IV fluids and she is weening off her Nausea medicine which is great. She will go back to work the first week of February which is a pretty big deal since she hasn't worked since Halloween.

Katie's Buddha Belly is growing nicely. We bought a book this week called, "Everything you need to know about Twins, Triplets and More," and it is tremendously helpful but also kind of scary. Today's fun fact from the book: At the end of her second trimester, Katie will be the size that most women are at the end of their pregnancy. Now that is assinine and hot at the same time.

Katie is well on her way to achieving that Zen like state of I'm gonna gain 30 to 50 pounds in the next four months. At her appointment last week she gained 5 pounds, and in only 5 days since that appointment she gained 3 pounds.

So that leads to the next natural question. What will the gender of our two little chumps be? Cast your votes as we will find out on February 3rd! Booyeah!

What will the gender of our twins be?
	2 All-American ND Football Players
	1 All-American ND Football Player & a SMC Chick
	2 SMC Chicks
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Mr. Salami Man

Ugh! What do you get when you combine:


with



That's right! Mr. Salami Man!

We have all met him (and been him) at one time or another. So this week, I'm minding my own business on the bus heading home from work and all of a sudden this man who has an incomparable fetish for eating salami at lunch sits down next to me. He terrorized the entire bus with his dried, seasoned beef breath. Oh the horror!

Actually, now that I look at these exquisite pictures, this man could be Agent Mugo Hartinez in 2030.

Ultratastic!!

As promised, here are pictures from Katie's ultrasounds.

Here is the first picture we saw at the first ultrasound. Isn't that blob of nothingness cute?



So then this next pic came up and we thought, "Are those the eyes?" Nope. Numero uno y doce! Feliz Navidad!



Ok, so fast forward five weeks and we have updated shots of the beaus! In the first pic, you can see their most excellently proportioned cerebrums. In the second you actually see them both. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Baby A and Baby B.




So yeah! Isn't that the craziest thing eva?