Brookie and Caroline Smile

My college friend Wendy says that babies finally smile when you are at your wit's end of taking care of them....you know, for encouragement. Brooke and Caroline started smiling last week, but really kicked it into high gear just in the last few days. Brookie is the one really laughing, Caroline is slightly more subdued at this point. Jack is taking his job as a big brother quite seriously recently....in this photo he's telling Brooke that he has a "Yellow AND green dinosaur."

I am so tired I nearly fell asleep waiting for these pictures to upload, but in brief.....J's trial is over and while it was hard fought, he lost. Not without great presentation though. I sat in on his closing argument and, dear reader, he's really VERY good. A pleasure to watch....it was particularly interesting to watch the jury, they were entralled. I am still negotiating my part time/consulting situation. I am also contemplating taking the rest of this year to raise the babies and then get back into things next legislative session, or January 2010. Our nanny hunt has stalled and we're struggling with that issue altogether. However, the tribe is thriving and well, and that's really all that matters.

Fat Tuesday

Greetings from our sleepy Midwestern town, home to the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country. Laissez le bonne temps roulez! Aunt Emmy visited us this weekend and had a chance to go to the parade and party in Soulard. We attended a neighbor's Mardi Gras party and had one too many Hurricanes....demon rum hits again. (Note that in our current lifestyle, two was considered too many....)

Apologies for the lack of blog updates, I had no idea friends were actually reading this! Thank you for checking in with us. I have been working on a part time work proposal and also a consulting firm concept, which has taken up most of my meager free time. I am hoping to have some sort of resolution soon, I have about another month before I am scheduled to head back to the office in some capacity. However, I did get a some what positive response initially from the head of our department, so I am hopeful that we'll work something else out. Now I just have to find another fabulous nanny to help us out.

J is at trial this week, retrying a case that ended in a mistrial over two years ago. He picked the jury yesterday and is probably giving his opening statement as I write this. It is a murder trial, high pressure, etc., but I do think that he enjoys putting on his case and will see this week as exciting once it's over! He's one of the best I've ever seen, I hope to see his closing statement later this week.

The twins had their 2 month doctor's visit this weekend. Caroline is 10 lbs., 11 oz., Brooke is 10 lbs., 12 oz., they are nearly the same size exactly! They are in the 50th percentile for full term infants, which puts them above 50th percentile for preemies, so their progress is fantastic. They are doing really well, though still sleeping in their baby papasans. Oh, well.

Jackson is doing really well and starting to enjoy being a big brother. We have been taking him to a "Monkey Joes," which is basically a warehouse filled with bouncers and inflatable slides. For the $5 admission price, a better time cannot be had! I am working on scheduling swimming lessons and other activities for the summer.

In the pictures, the twins sleep together, Aunt Emmy comforts two crankies, the twins post-bath and Jack reads me a bedtime story.

Winter Wonderland

Last week landed us with a 7 inch snowfall....nice to look at, not fun to remove. Jack went on his first sledding experience above, please ignore my husband's plumber's crack. J sleeps with the baby angels. Jack is talking to 'his' babies and teaching them the colors of their butterfly mobile. This picture is the first one where I have all three of them in the frame, I think it's just priceless.

The early days with the twins have not been easy and Jack has had some issues adjusting. But I received an email from an old college friend this weekend.....he and his wife are having fertility problems, which is so hard. I remember back to those bad old days for me and it is truly hard to believe that I've come from a terrible relationship without any hope for a family to having three kids and a wonderful husband within a six year time span. I had a lot of arguments in those days about whether or not having a family is worth the sacrifice, etc., etc., what is the right life choice? I made a risky one to go it alone and chose the family and it worked. And I was right, it is the most rewarding experience I've ever had. So, my fingers are crossed for my friends. Family life is a long journey, but it's a rich one.