The Beranek Girls

My sister-in-law Paula is our guest blogger for today (even though she doesn't know it). I thought this was so funny that I had to share it. The following is an email written by Paula and forwarded from my brother Tim. He forwarded it saying "just in case there was any doubt whether my kids were Beraneks."

Quotes From the Weekend:

This weekend we went to Boulder for the CU Spring Football game. There was supposed to be a kids expo on the field with tons of stuff to do but is was rainy and cold so they canceled it and we spent 2 hours in the field house with not much to do.

When we finally got in the stadium, we got some lunch and here were the quotes of the weekend:

Allie: "Mom, I want some milk"
Me: "I will have dad get you some--if they have it."
Allie: "They don't have milk, they don't have water, they don't have juice, all they have here is Beer!"

About 10 minutes later when we are sitting and eating lunch...

Tim: "BERNADETTE, why are you acting so crazy at the table?"
Bernie: "Because I am in your family daddy."

And there you have it....
P

THANK YOU UNCLE TOM (with hair)

Today is my first official day back at work. (As you can tell by the fact that I am blogging at 12:45, I'm not too busy or focused on any actual work yet - why rush into it, right?). Yesterday, Davin left to go up to northern Minnesota to be a celebrity guest/fishing guide for a taping of Kent Hrbek Outdoors. (Pretty cool, huh? This isn't even Davin's first time being a celebrity guide. Last year he filmed an episode of Cook What You Catch with former local news anchor, turned MSNBC anchor, turned TV outdoorsman, Randy Meier - ok, I'm done name-dropping). We found out at the last minute that the timing would work out so that Davin would be gone last night (the night before my first day back to work). Uncle Tom (with hair) GENEROUSLY donated most of his night/early morning to taking care of the twins so that I could get a chunk of sleep. At 11:00 pm last night when John was yelling that he didn't want to sleep; Luke was wide awake; and Leo was crying, I was really relieved that Tom was there so I didn't lose my mind. Thanks to Tom, I am reasonably coherent today. (I'm not so sure that Tom is feeling as well as I am today. He left our house in the wee hours of the morning without his socks. Lack of sleep takes a toll!) In addition to giving me some sleep, Tom and Karen sent me some beautiful flowers to the office today. What a day brightener! Thanks for helping make my transition back to work a little bit easier!

Chillin'

Today the twins got a little taste of mom's other life. The three of us went to my office for a visit. Luke decided to push out a huge poop while we were there. It brought a whole new meaning to "taking care of crap at the office." I thought it would be pretty funny to leave the diaper in some one's garbage can under their desk. (I couldn't make up my mind about who deserved it the most, so in the end I just disposed of it in the bathroom.) The boys enjoyed lunch with my friend Caryn (ok, I enjoyed lunch with my friend Caryn because the boys actually slept through it). Then we came home and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. Luke gave me the Sarah treatment (see post below), so we both had to change our clothes. This evening, we all had some dinner and then settled in to catch American Idol. As you can see, the boys were captivated by Disco Night. Just another exciting day in the life of the Brandts.

What a mess!

Tonight was a messy one for Sarah and Luke. To back up a bit, Sarah came to town with Aunt Barb and the boys for a hockey weekend. Things just worked out for Sarah to spend the day with her cousins rather than with her mom and those smelly hockey brothers.

After a day of fun, playing in the yard and a matinee movie, we all settled in for an exciting Saturday night of me working, John sleeping and Angela and Sarah feeding and burping babies.

This is where it gets exciting. After 8oz of formula, a personal all time record for Luke and a "hey Davin, can you put another 1.oz in Luke's bottle." Well 4 minutes later, after another pull on the bottle good 'ole Luke let Sarah have it! And boy did she get it. It was a formula overload to say the least and probably the fastest Sarah has ever got into her pajamas.

This shot taken at 9:30 was just after the two of them got cleaned up. So much for avoiding smelly boys this weekend.

Shout Out to the Grandparents

(Left to Right: Grandpa Leo with Leo, Grandma Mary, John, Grandma Terrie, and Grandpa John with Luke).

Adjusting to the New Normal

No, I didn't buy new car seats at Target today. I actually took Luke and Leo shopping. Luke was mad - maybe because he was the one riding inside the cart, as opposed to up top. He screamed most of the way through the store. It didn't bother me, but it was interesting to see that the Target employees and other customers responded in one of two ways: they either looked away and pretended that they didn't notice, or they looked at me with a sympathetic "oh, you poor woman" face. What they didn't realize is that I was ecstatic about my new-found freedom. I won't take the twins shopping with me all the time, but it felt good to know that I can do it, if necessary. Given the choice, I think Davin would prefer that I take them every time. With the cart full of babies, there was not a lot of room for other items. I managed to get out of Target spending about a third of what I drop there on a typical trip. Not to worry, though. With the 20+ diapers and 60+ ounces of formula that we go through each day, we are doing our part to stimulate the economy.

Saint Jean

We just want to say thanks for the countless hours/days Aunt Jean has spent helping Angela and I. She has given so much of herself to Luke, Leo and John. Her love for our family flows at every visit and we are grateful to have in our lives.

Blessings to you Aunt jean.

Friday with Father

Friday, April 10th, we had a visit from, as John puts it, Jesus' friend, Father Bob. We shared some great conversation over coffee and a couple bottles of 22 proof formula. Those boys are lovin' the bottle!

Bob, thanks for helping with the feeding!

Easter Sunday

Here is a shot of the Brandt family heading out for Easter Sunday Mass. Aunt Jean and Kelsy stopped by to help us get everyone ready, taking this picture just before we left. What awesome display of Easter spirit!

For those unaware, we are members of the Cathedral of St. Paul parish. We decided though, to stay away this Easter as mass is literally packed with thousands of people. Instead, we went to our friend, Father Bob's church, Transfiguration.

Mass was great, John was very well behaved and intrigued with the cute little girls behind him. Luke and Leo were awesome...not a peep... well except for the blue Easter Peeps in the Easter baskets.

Heard Around the House

For the most part, John is really well-behaved around the babies. He usually does not touch them. Even when he does, it is a gentle hug or a soft pat. Today when I was feeding Luke, John wanted my attention and wound up like he was going to smack Luke. He proceeded to bring his arm down in slow motion while making a grunting sound and lightly placed it on Luke's head. After I gave him my best I-don't-approve-of-that-behavior look, he said, with total seriousness: "I was just giving him a hand kiss."

Buddies

John really likes hanging out with his cousin Bernie. They both had fun with Uncle Tom (without hair). Bernie and her adorable sister Allie are the children of my brother Tim and his wife Paula.

Tim came up with the idea of the Night Nanny fund. We had a night nanny last night. She was here from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and Davin and I were able to get a full night of sleep! We always look forward to the nights the nanny will be here. Thanks to Tim for coming up with the idea and thanks to all who generously donated to our "sanity fund."

Aunts!

Aunt Barb and Twins / Aunt Paula and Leo / Aunt Robin and Luke

Here's all the boys' aunts from the Beranek side. Barb is my sister; Paula is Tim's wife and Robin is married to Tom. They were all here for the baptism.

Fr. Bob

We were blessed to have our dear friend Fr. Bob Hart baptise the twins recently. Fr. Bob has shared in all of the big moments in our lives in the last several years. He married us, baptised John, and now the twins. Thank you Fr. Bob for being a special part of our lives! (He looks pretty good holding both babies, huh?)

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny brought John a LarryBoy helmet. Do not call it a hat, or you will quickly be corrected by John. For those of you who are unfamiliar with LarryBoy, he is a Veggie Tales character and the subject of John's latest obsession. (Yes, those red things sticking out the side of the helmet are plungers). To learn more about LarryBoy, which I'm sure you all want to, you can go to his website by clicking here.

Growth Update

I'm too tired to write anything witty, so I'll just get to the facts.

The boys had a doctor's appointment last week. They are growing really well. Leo (on the left in the picture) is up to 8 lbs, 5 oz. The doctor said he is getting too heavy for his height (kind of like Grandpa Leo), so he cut him back to 22 calorie formula, instead of the 24 calorie he has been on since birth (regular formula is 20 calorie). Luke is now up to 10 lbs, 8 oz. They were not too happy about getting their first round of shots, but the rest of the appointment went well.

We are making slow progress towards getting them to sleep through the night; hopefully that will happen soon.

We are Getting There ...

Yes, I believe that is a light at the end of the tunnel. We reached a milestone last night. Technically, Luke slept through the night. He woke up awful early this morning, but we'll take it. Here's the blow by blow:

7:30 pm: Leo begins to eat

8:00 pm: Aunt Jean arrives and feeds Luke

8:30 pm: Bathtime

9:00 pm: Aunt Jean settles babies down

10:00 pm: Leo and Luke go to sleep

10:30 pm: Luke awake for awhile but falls back to sleep

11:00 pm: ZZZZzzzz

12:00 am: ZZZZzzzz

1:00 am: ZZZZzzzz

2:00 am: ZZZZzzzz

3:00 am: ZZZZzzzz

3:30 am: Leo awake and eats

4:30 am: ZZZZzzzz

5:00 am: Luke awake and eats

Cross your fingers for a repeat performance tonight!

Pull My Finger

We are so glad that Uncle Joe is teaching John all the important things he needs to know about being a brother.

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.