Weekend in H-town

Kai and Finn enjoyed a visit to Houston this weekend. Their Aunt Leigh was given a wedding shower on Saturday evening and this was the first time Future-Uncle Tyler got to meet them. Aunt Leigh and Tyler flew in from Seattle for the fiesta-themed shower! The shower ended with a casual dinner where husbands, boyfriends, and infants could come over. Kai and Finn made an appearance, meeting some of Aunt Leigh's Houston friends like JoAnna, Katie and Jaime, Carol Nelson, and Janice Elkins. Kai and Finn also enjoyed quality time with their grandparents this weekend while their mother and father enjoyed an evening out with Leigh and Tyler.

Other weekend activities included: a stroll with Ty and Dad in Boulevard Oaks, shopping for a baby tub and car seat swing, visiting with their Great-Grandmother (Gaga), rafting at the Elkins' pool, and lots of outdoor time on the deck with the grandparents.

Tyler, Leigh and Kai poolside

Finn with Mom and Dad

The boys go rafting in the mighty waters of Janice and Doug's pool!

Nacogdoches shower

Marty and Sarah

Saturday Kai, Finn, Sarah and I were given a shower by a number of friends: Marty Prince, Chay Runnels, Linda Mock, Lauren McAdams, and Michelle Rozic! It was a wonderful evening. Marty decorated her front yard with paper lanterns, set up a party tent in her driveway, and decorated her house with vintage toys and flowers for all to enjoy!

Kai and Finn doing what they do best at social gatherings

Kai and Finn slept through most of the shower, missing the hurried retreat into the house when the skies darkened overhead and threatened to shower on the shower. Fortunately, the front only delivered cool air and we all grabbed another beer and headed back out into the yard and driveway to enjoy the evening.

tl: Lauren and Finn, tr: Scott and Reese eat'n meatballs!, bl: Kira, her mother, and Kai, br: The proud parents with their arms full!

Not every day is easy with twins

The boys must be growing and it must hurt, because they are a real handful lately. Both are sleeping pretty well after 11 p.m. and staying down for 3 to 4 hours at a time. It is the time before 11 p.m. that is the real challenge. All day they seem to be only napping lightly and Sarah is unable to complete projects that she'd like to tackle. This is not to say that we aren't loving parenthood. It's just an adjustment to get used to. I had planned to take three weeks to one month off from work after Kai and Finn were born, but work is too demanding to do so. The university's graduation is Saturday, signaling an end to most of the chaos around my job. I should be able take off more time in the coming weeks. If not, I'll keep taking one boy to the gallery with me every other day.

Evenings have been extremely rough as of late. Dinners after 9 or 10 p.m. Car rides at 9:30 p.m. to calm unstoppable screams. I think we have had two bouts of colic in the last two weeks. Intestinal gas pain sucks!

When all else fails to calm the child...

... put on a Moby D wrap and start vacuuming. It works.

Nearly two hours of an upset baby drives a man to try anything!

Mother's Day

Kai and Finn got some more quality time with their Houston grandparents this weekend. Sarah and I got to sleep a little bit longer on Saturday and Sunday mornings and even went to Lowe's and the grocery store while the boys were with their grandparents. What a treat!!

Grandmother on the patio with Finn

Granddad Cutler and Kai cathing some R&R together on the sofa

A date is set

It's official... we're about to lose our property virginity! The inspection was extremely thorough and revealed no major issues with the house. She does need some minor fixes, but nothing a 50-year-old lady would be surprised by: a few surface cracks, a little leak on her underside, and an update or two. We're scheduled to close on June 15th. This will give us two weeks before our lease is up and just enough time to tear out the carpet and install wood floors! Hooray! Kai and Finn have a home in Nac!

Losing our "property virginity"

Sarah and I have fooled around quite a bit with buying a house. We've made it past third base many times in the property game. Now, if we can get past the inspection stage, we'll be home owners. Tomorrow, a home inspector and I are going to go through a house on Raguet St. with a fine-toothed comb.

Inspection pending

Raguet St. is the widest street and the main thoroughfare of the Henry Millard and Pecan Grove neighborhood where a number of the older homes in Nacogdoches were built. The home was owned by an older couple and is approximately 2100 square feet. It was built in the 1960s and has three bedrooms and two baths with a formal living room, formal dining room, large kitchen and large master bedroom. It, unlike a number of older homes in Nac., was not ruined by previous updates and renovations. We're excited to be finding a place that we can update and make our own. We're buying it for the boys as well as ourselves! We'll be sure to kiss and tell... keeping you updated on our progress of losing our virginity.

Raguet house

Sip and See weekend

Oh my goodness! Thank you Kodak for developing/inventing the digital sensor and digital cameras; otherwise weekends like this past one would require a ton of film!

Relaxing in Houston

On Thursday, Kai and Finn took their first road trip! We all went to Houston to hang out with the Cutler grandparents, meet the boys' Aunt Leigh and Great-Grandmother Cutler( "GaGa"), and to attend a "Sip and See." Kai and Finn got to meet Bartlett Street neighbors of my parents, family friends, and friends of mine from my high school days.

Paula, John, Sarah, Gaga, Kai, Finn, Christian, and Great-Great-Uncle Sonny

Sally Lehr with Finn

Emily Dietrcih Wells with Finn

Gaga with the boys

Cutler grandparents with Kai

Other weekend events:

Bath time with grandmother

Quality time with Great-Uncle Bill "Bud" Murdy

Feeding time with Aunt Leigh and Daddy-O

Kai gives Aunt Leigh a few tips on napping

Finn and his duck from Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill

BREAKING NEWS!

The boys were accepted to Stephen F. Austin State University's Early Childhood Lab!

A little grey cloud has been lifted from above our heads with this excellent news. Sarah submitted the boys' "resumes" at the end of March, just days before the cut-off date for applications. Originally, the boys were predicted to be born in April. This meant that they would miss the application cut-off date of March 31st, and we would have to find daycare somewhere else in town for an entire year before applying to the SFA ECL. Generally speaking, Nacogdoches daycare leaves much to be desired, the exception being the ECL. In 2008, the Early Childhood Labs earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.

Hooray for Kai and Finn! I'm sure this will look great on their college applications!

Kai Hewett, 3 1/2 weeks

After dinner

Kai is our "Rowdy Little Rhino." He hates baths and diaper changes more than Finn, and he takes a bit longer to go to sleep. However, he loves to cuddle. Kai too is taking 4 oz. at meals and often ends his dining experience with the hiccups. We had to walk them off in the backyard this evening under the pine trees and stars. Kai's "Rowdy Little Rhino" nickname comes from a onesie. Aunt Elisabeth gave the boys onesies that have "Cute Little Croc," "Tiny Little Tiger," "Charming Little Chimp," and "Rowdy Little Rhino" on their fronts. Kai has claimed "Rowdy Little Rhino" as his.

Clamorous Rhinocerous

Finn Garrett, 3 1/2 weeks

Today we will hear a bit about Finn. Tomorrow, Kai will be featured.
Finn is the less rowdy of the twins. He went to work with his daddy this week and didn't mind hanging out in Daddy's office for an afternoon. He got to look out over historic downtown Nacogdoches and have his diaper changed on a conference table! Daddy's gallery guards and office assistant got to coo and whisper at him while he was sleeping on the coffee table. He is taking between 3 1/2 and 4 oz. at meal times, likes his pacifier at nap time, and is a pretty relaxed little dude.

Finn holding his own.

Bath time with Daddy.

Easter weekend pictures

Kai and Finn got to meet their Louisiana grandparents this past weekend. Sarah's folks drove up from Baton Rouge (a 5+ hour trip) to stay the weekend with us. We had brunch at Shelley's Cafe & Bakery on Saturday in celebration of Fred and Prue's 56th wedding anniversary. This was Kai and Finn's first official outing to a public place. (We won't count their visit to Mexico Lindo, a Mexican food joint in a Mobil gas station truck stop south of town, last Wednesday when their parents were desperate for some decent Mexican food at 4 o'clock in the afternoon!)
PawPaw and Nana Tuton hang'n out with Kai and Finn

Easter weekend also came with a surprise package from the Cutler grandparents. Grandmother Cutler made the boys chamois bunny rabbits like their dad had when he was little. Christian's original bunny was given to him by his Aunt Mary and created from a Winnie-The-Pooh "Kanga" pattern by McCall's.

Granddad Cutler and Christian nap with bunny on the living room floor

Sleeping with bunnies

Niche market

We are discovering the uniqueness of twins daily. It's fun, for the most part. Fielding the calls from Wrigley's has been interesting. Unfortunately we have to tell them that we're pretty sure the boys are not identical.

I love the cards we have recently received from friends and family. Greeting cards for twins must be a rare find. There is some very creative editing to the cards we've received!

Niche market

Updates and quilts

The boys are into their third week in the world and doing fine. They had a second doctor's visit on Wednesday and are progressing well. I didn't know that newborns lose weight in the first week(s) of life. Both boys lost nearly 7 ounces in the past two weeks and then gained it back. As of Wednesday, Kai, born 7 ounces smaller than Finn, surpassed his own birth weight by an ounce and a half. Hooray for Kai! Additionally, Finn lost his umbilical cord stump on Wednesday. Kai lost his last Sunday or Monday. We put them on ebay. Just kidding! I think I like the word "nub" or "bit" better than stump. Pirates have stumps. Trees can meet an unfortunate end and become a stump. An umbilical cord should become a nub.

The boys received a surprise visit from Chris Talbot, SFA professor of photography, while Sarah was in Lufkin, TX at Target. Yes, we have to drive to another city to go to a Target. Chris brought two of the most beautiful blankets to the boys. His wife Rebecca quilted them for Kai and Finn. They have a photography theme to them... they are positive and negative: blue on white and white on blue. They are the perfect size for the boys' cribs.

Thank you Chris and Rebecca.

Art shows and look-a-likes

Scenes from Texas National 2009

Texas National is our annual juried art competition and exhibition at the SFA art galleries. This is the 15th anniversary of the show, and my juror was Mel Chin. Thankfully, my folks were in town to help with the boys. This gave me the opportunity to attend the opening reception, dinners, breakfast, lecture, and film screening that I spent months planning, and it gave Sarah the opportunity to join me!

Since my parents were only here for the twins' birthday nearly two weeks ago, they loved spending quality time with the boys. Sarah's folks are coming this Easter weekend for 3-4 days. They haven't yet seen Kai and Finn nor have they seen Nacogdoches. It will be fun to have them here. Sarah's dad likes to be useful and active, so I may have some help with the yard as long as the weather cooperates!

Here's a picture my mother brought to us this past weekend. Finn looks a lot his old man doesn't he?
Spittin' image