ZZZZzzzzzz

Here's a picture of my brother John taking a well-deserved rest with one of the boys. John came for a visit and was a HUGE help. He entertained our son John, cleaned, did laundry, made dinner, and took over most of the night shifts. A day or so into his stay, he made the same comment we have heard a number of times from those who have recently spent an extended amount of time with us and the boys: "wow - I knew twins would be alot of work, but I didn't know they would be this much work!" We are so thankful for John and everyone else who has rallied around us with helping hands, food, gifts, and contributions to the night nanny fund. All of your support is needed and very much appreciated.

Hooray, Hooray!

What does my sister-in-law Robin have in common with me, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Lopez? She's having TWINS! Congratulations to Tom and Robin. We could not be more excited for you.

Speaking of twins, as I was logging on today, I came across an article about celebrities that have twins siblings. You can check it out here.

Double Duty

The twins and I traveled to Miller a couple weeks ago to visit Grandma Mary and Grandpa Leo. We all enjoyed the change of scenery. I especially enjoyed the extra help that my parents provided. As the mother of seven children and nine grandchildren and counting (see above post), you would expect my mom to be a pro with the babies. More surprisingly, my dad handled the babies very well. He fed, burped and soothed them. He didn't change any diapers, but why would he start now?

A close shave

My how they grow so fast, why it seemed like just last year I was changing his diaper.

Today's bath time we learned how to shave our entire face! His new spiderman super-shaver really puts the old Norelco to shame. This baby has 3 water jets that provide an instant stream of cooling freshness with just a squeeze of the handle..pure genius I tell you!

Music appreciation 101

If you haven't caught on by now, music is a big part of the Brandt household. We pretty much have it all except for mainstream rap, it has no place for kids, but we do have a few Christian raps songs that we had fun with today.

Below is a video of a tune we all know. This is one unique performance by Andre Rieu and friends. If this performance does not give you goose bumps you can sign up for the John Brandt music appreciation 101 class.

Erin Go Bragh

Tuesday afternoon

Today John and I made a special stop on our way home from Grandma T's. I had a few things that needed to be returned to our good friend Billy McLaughlin so I thought I would wait until John was with me to make the visit. You see, Billy is one of John's musical idols. Most of you have probably seen some of John's videos performing Billy songs, if not click here and wait for the video to load.

Anyway, we stopped off at Billy's house and were surprised to find Billy working on the tour bus. To John's excitement, Billy gave him a grand tour of the Band Bus. This baby is the real deal with fun seats, TV and "lots of cool stuff". John, though quite, was high in a cloud. He told me on the way home; "I was shy and didn't say lots to Billy".

For those new to our friend Billy, he is a long time friend of mine from my college days. He is a professional musician with 5 Minnesota music awards and had fingerdance ranked #7 on Billboard Magazines New age chart... my boy John has a good ear for music.

You can find all you need to know about Billy by clicking this link. Watch Preview

DB

Last weekend Rounds

This past weekend we enthusiastically welcomed Barb, Austin and Sarah Rounds. Barb is Angela's older sister.

What helpers the Rounds' were! They all took turns feeding, burping, feeding, burping, and feeding ,and burping Luke and Leo. Oh, I forgot to mention changing diapers.

To give you an idea, we go through approximately 20 diapers a day, 10 each. Formula? Leo is on 24 calorie or as grandpa Leo calls it - High Mileage. Luke is on standard 20 calorie. Combined they are putting back about 46oz a day. With all the diapers and all the feeding it was simply wonderful to have Barb and crew staying with us for a couple days lending 6 helping hands.

Thanks Barb for remembering "no meat Friday" and getting us Pizza. Thanks for the Chinese food Saturday, and personal thanks for helping me at 2:30 in the morning with two fussy lads. Oh, and above all, thanks for being there for your lil' sis.

DB

My sis Molly

Friday my sister Molly had the day off from work and paid us a visit. Personally, I think she called in sick just so she could see the babies. I think it is because should couldn't take her girls excitement from the day before. Can't blame her, she has an uncontrollable addition to baby smell.

That's right, baby smell. It is highly addictive and will hit you like a cloud of fluffy pillows under a rainbow sky. Unlike some drugs, baby smell has no downer effects to ingesting, you simply inhale and enjoy.

If you have never experienced baby smells we encourage you all to give it a try, though you may want to get to know the parents first.

DB

Grandma T's visit

I am a bit behind on blogging... short on sleep. Anyway, I have a bit of free time this week and should be able to get good and caught up.

Late Thursday we had a visit from Grandma T ( my mom, Terrie Brandt) and Grace & Bailey Collmann, My sister Molly's Children. If you could see the looks on their faces... sorry no camera at the time. These little girls looked like they had just found that missing Christmas gift, their eyes as big as ever!

Both Grace & Bailey have both been waiting so patiently for the past month but finally not only got to see the twins, but were able to hold them. The below post are pictures from this day. The picture here is Luke kickin' it with Grandma T. Luke has wonderfully big curious eyes.

DB

Today's visitors

Today's visitors: Grace holding Leo, Bailey holding Leo & Grandma Terrie with Luke.

My day with John

Last week John and I had an opportunity to visit the Children's Museum in St. Paul. The current featured exhibit is Clifford the Big Red Dog, your kids can find him daily on PBS TV here in Minnesota.

Anyway, the museum was a big hit. John had a blast, once the crowds dispersed a bit. He especially liked dancing at the Clifford big screen stage exhibit, and climbing in the Beaver Lodge while wearing the beaver suit. Though the treat of the day was the impromptu visit to Grandpa John's office high in the sky. Below are some pictures from our day together.

Tastebud Tart

This is our friend Molly Herrmann. Molly is a nutritionist, entertainer, and hostess extraordinaire. Now she is also a caterer, personal chef, and owner of Tastebud Tart.

Molly was kind enough to venture out in the slushy March weather on Tuesday and bring us some of her wonderful food. We had a fresh goat cheese salad, spring risotto with shrimp, quiche Lorraine, and chocolate ginger banana bread. Oh my, was it all delicious. Thanks, Molly!

You should all check out her website for the mouthwatering menu she is cooking up for next week.

Sunday Night Rewind

Can you guess who this is? If you said John, you are right. This picture was taken almost three years ago. I am looking at it to remind myself how quickly time passes. The twins' schedule is getting a little grueling, so we have to keep things in perspective and remember that this stage will just be a memory soon.

The little guys are still doing really well. Last night they had a four hour stretch between feedings ... oh wait, that was because we had to "spring forward." You can almost set your clock to their sleep/wake schedule. Right at the three hour mark, one will start to stir and shortly thereafter, the other does the same. We are grateful that they are on the same schedule; we just look forward to some longer stretches in between feedings.

The feeding schedule definitely seems to be working for the boys. They had weight checks on Friday. Leo is up to 6 pounds! Luke weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

I think Davin and I may have gained some weight over the weekend as well thanks to the fabulous lasagna that my friends Jessica and Joep brought over on Saturday.

If any of you would like to come over and help with a feeding, we'll use the free time to post some more pictures of the boys. :)

Auntie Kiki is in the house

Kiki is just a nickname, not sure on it's origin, I just know John has called her that from day one. Everyone meet Karen, my brother Tom's wife.

Karen and Tom came over Tuesday to visit, watch a little AM Idol and help us devour the Thanksgiving like meal Leo & Mary prepared for us... really, it was that big. We had two roasts, dang near a dozen potatoes with carrots, fresh bread, mash potatoes and gravy, wine.... am I missing anything? I know what some of you are thinking, the answer is no, this was not a military Battalion send off meal, it was food for the 6 of us and John, and boy was it goooood!

Anyway, welcome Karen, once again, to South Dakota hospitality. Really, this is how good I get to eat EVERY TIME I trek to So Dak. It can be the 4th of July, one of the many hunting weekends, a holiday trip, or just an impromptu visit. It doesn't matter, the food is always big and always phenomenal when Mary & Leo are in the house. It is so good that My buddy Murph and brother Tom swear they gain weight when they visit each year during pheasant hunting season, even after walking several miles afield.

Thanks Karen & Tom for joining us for dinner & visiting. Thanks also to Mary & Leo for coming to town. You always have a place in our home and kitchen too. Oh, and extra special thanks to Mary for the "custom made" blueberry pie! That's right, she had a local pie hero bake me my favorite pie...how cool is that! I can't wait to me my new friend; "the pie lady of Miller." Be sure to let her know her baking was well received and a hug is on it's way!

DB

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

As you can see from the picture, Luke is not a huge fan of bath time. His brother Leo is not real partial to the process, either. For us, enduring the few minutes of screaming is a small price to pay for the reward of being able to snuggle and smell two freshly bathed babies. If we could post a whiff for you all, we would. Blogger is not that advanced, so you will either have to just imagine the baby scent, or come visit and sniff for yourself!

Sunday Visitors

My parents came back on Sunday for another visit. It took Grandma Mary all of about five minutes before she had both babies in her arms at the same time. She did give one up for a few minutes during a short visit from their Aunt Paula. Paula (my brother Tim's wife) flew in from Denver for a girl's weekend up north with her sister. She stopped by for a quick visit on her way back through the cities. What a wonderful treat to see Paula!

My parents left this morning. We are all going to miss them. While my mom has not had a baby of her own for a few decades, she certainly is not out of practice. She was a HUGE help with the babies. Grandpa Leo is not much for babies, but he entertained John; went out for groceries and diapers; and planned and executed great meals while they were here. Davin and I were even able to go our for dinner and a movie on Monday night while my parents watched all three boys with the help of Aunt Jean who came up to see my mom and dad.

Thanks so much to my parents for making the long drive up here from South Dakota again and for all your help while you were here!

Love, Angela

One for you; one for me

My friend Leondra came over to lend us a couple of helping hands for a few hours on Friday. Leondra is a skilled mother of three. I never knew how she did it when she had her third child before her oldest turned five. (I guess I am starting to figure it out!) She was also ahead of me in creating a blog. Hers is funny, entertaining and thoughtful. You can check it out here.

Leondra's youngest is about to turn four. John and I are going to his birthday party today at Pump It Up (a place with a bunch of inflatable jumpy toys). A couple hours of nonstop jumping should help John burn off some of his pent up energy.

Thank you, Leondra, for bringing food, music, and your calm, caring spirit. We look forward to another visit.

" I like Dr. Mike"

Thursday was another new adventure day for John; he visited the Dentist!

This was John's first visit to the dentist and we were not quite sure what to expect. At the least, I was hoping he would sit still long enough to have a general looksy, but I was amazed at is calmness. John not only let both the hygienist, Linda, and Dr. Mike take a peek at his little chompers, but he also let each of them count his teeth , poke them, scrape them and brush them. He even let Linda squirt the cold water rinse and let him hold that spitty tube thing. He was such a big boy, acting very grown up and polite. I was really proud of him. John especially liked the free "big boy" tooth brush and the free toy he was able to dig out of the treasure box.

John now tells about his two Doctors, Dr. London and Dr. Mike. The latter of the two is one of my high school buddies, Dr. Mike Doroschak. He has his own private dental practice in Minneapolis - Doroschak Dental. If any of you are looking for a great place to take your kids, or even yourself, I can't recommend him enough . His office staff and hygienists are absolutely wonderful and make what can often be an unpleasant experience very comforting.

I now wish I still had my scanner here at home, I would love to scan and post that old picture I found this past summer. It was Mike and I, and our prom dates from our Senior year. We sure thought we were cool looking in our Military uniforms back then. You are safe for now Dr. Mike, just hope I don't get a scanner for my birthday.

Oh Brother

Here is a picture of all my little (and not so little) guys together. John is proudly displaying his "World's Greatest Big Brother" t-shirt. He was given this shirt by my big brother John. (I am quite certain that my brother John would also argue his case for the World's Greatest Big Brother title, but I can't call him that here since I have three other "big brothers" who are probably also reading this blog. As is the case with my sons, my brothers are all the greatest in their own ways - even my baby brother Joe. My sister Barb has no competition for the role of my favorite sister; even so, I can't imagine having a better one.)

As for my son John, he is warming up to the idea of having little brothers. His rhetoric has changed from "let's give the babies back to the doctors" to "hey, I think I like that guy." To John, I say: I am living proof that a person can survive having brothers. It may alter your sense of reality and force you to develop thick skin and quick wit, but that's not so bad. (Some may even think those are a couple of my better qualities).