Sweet Baby Jane

A couple of weeks ago my mom invited me to drive with her to Utah when Becca had her baby.  I was thrilled-super excited to be there when baby Jane was born and to be with Becca through the process. Becca had a planned C section for Monday the 29th and our plan was to drive out on Saturday the 27th so we'd be there a couple days prior for last minute prep and then I'd go home the 30th-just long enough to see baby Jane through her first night. After Katy offered to babysit we decided to surprise Becca and show up at her doorstep on Friday afternoon for a whole extra day of fun. 

So when Becca called on Wednesday morning feeling lots of painful "pressure", I told her to go to labor and delivery and to NOT have the baby. I took the babies to their doctor appointment and survived twin toddler immunizations.

 Afterwards I went to my moms and we both discussed the texts we were receiving from Bec. At about 11:30 Becca said she was being monitored and dialating and that she'd likely have the C section that day.

That was when things got crazy. First Mom and I had to decide if it was feasible to leave that very afternoon to get there. I called around trying to find babysitters for the three days I had not planned on being gone. I raced home and threw everything I could think of in a sack and then raced back. We packed the car with the TONs of things we'd been planning to take to Becca, including a partially painted dresser for her nursery.  After taking my kids home and saying a very hurried goodbye Mom and I were on our way by 2 PM!

 Had to stop at In N Out first or we'd have died of starvation.

 The drive went really fast. In Fillmore we stocked up on soda and candy to keep us going. My Mom drove the WHOLE way. I kept asking her if she was tired or wanted to switch and she said she was good. My mom likes to drive-no complaints here-by 10:30 PM I was exhausted and wouldn't have been safe-Moms a trooper. I did keep her entertained with chatter and kept her diet coke refilled so I had some value on the drive.

 At 1:30 when we arrive at the hospital.

 We drove straight to the hospital and saw baby Jane. She is the cutest baby in the world. Becca's wonderful friend Celia had been with her the whole time, we were so glad she was well looked after in our absence:)

 I'm no good that late so I went home to sleep and Mom stayed at the hospital to gaze adoringly at Jane. I arrived back at about 8 AM and got my turn.

 Becca was in the hosptial for three more days. Mom and I switched off spending the nights with her and spent days switching off too.  During the day Kyle and Ruby would come hang out and I would often sneak away for a Target run or Bajio trip.

 Ruby was a big help to me as we cleaned Jane's swing and put together her dresser.

Going home!

 I felt so lucky that Jane came early so we could spend so much time with her.  She is an amazingly good baby and I loved being there during her first days.

Playing babies has had a resurgence at our house since Jane and Anna have entered the world.  My girls love their new girl cousins and talk about them constantly. Love having all these babies around to enjoy:)

July haps

This post was originally titled Recent Haps-but then I got lazy and now this post seems really out of date. Still, Iwant to document some fun things we did this month.

We went to see Despicable Me @ with our Blodgett cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Leininger. The babies have now sen 2 movies in the theater and have been really good. I love movies so I have a great time taking them to the theater-it is such a thrill to Lucy still.

My picture wall is expanding! The girls love watching Super Why on my bed after naps.

During Katy's birthday week we went to Brentwood and picked peaches. I had expected it to be difficult somehow-they'd be high up or hard to find but it was easy! There were delicious peaches everywhere! Lucy loved picking them and the babies loved carrying buckets and gently placing peaches in them.

On our way home we indulged in some ice cream sandwiches-the babies first!

Mom and I went shopping at the outlets in Vacaville and afterward rewarded the kids with a carousel and train ride at the Nut Tree.

We had Camille and Elizabeth over several times to play. These three girls play so well together and they LOVE each other. Their family started to drive across country to their new home in Virginia only two days ago. We are really going to miss them.

One evening we picked up Danny from work and rode the local bus back from dinner. Who would have thought a short bus ride could be so exciting?

One Saturday Danny watched the kids all morning and let me go to garage sales with my mom and Katy.  We drove all the way to Blackhawk for a neighborhood sale. My expectations weren't particularly high but we ended up finding a TON of stuff. I got lots of great clothes and shoes for the girls and some wonderful dress ups and toys. It was like Christmas when I got home.

One Friday night we went to the Giants game with Luke, Emily, Steve and most of my nephews. I had never been to a Giants game and had a great time. Obviously the food was the best part. I still dream of those garlic fries...

Now I've finally caught up and can blog about my trip to UT!

The Diaper Incident

The babies have had a difficult time napping lately. The other day after the girls had been "napping" (read: throwing their dolls/pillows/blankets, laughing and chatting) Lydia started yelling in earnest. I went in and immediately noticed poop on her pillow. Gross. I did a quick scan to access the damage and it didn't seem too bad. Lydia had both legs in one hole of her pants so she had obviously removed her pants and diaper, than tried to cover her crime by putting her pants back on.  I took out everything from her crib and sorted what looked "soiled", did a cursory glance around for the diaper and then took Lydia to the tub.  After cleaning Lydia off I went back in to their room to grab all the soiled stuff and find the diaper. I moved the bed around, searched under and around it and couldn't find it. I finally glanced and Joyce and found Lydia's poopy diaper wrapped in her arms.

Glad my girls are getting so good at sharing.

My Favorite Holiday in July

Katy's Birthday!

We had a great time celebrating Katy's 26th birthday this year. We had planned on going to Santa Cruz and doing a little surfing but there were no waves that day so we headed in to the City to explore and have fun.  

We started the day at Bake Sale Betty's-a very popular place in Oakland for chicken sandwiches. SO GOOD.

After our delicious lunch (it was 10:45-is that lunch? Anytime is a good time for one of those sandwiches) we walked into this adorable baby store. We found a present for Lindsay (who is NOT pregnant but may be eventually and we found the perfect thing for her:) and something for baby Jane. Katy also ended up getting a present there as well-a Cozy Classic version of Jane Eyre:) The store had bunnies! The girls loved feeding and watching the bunnies while we looked around.

From Oakland we drove into San Francisco and to Tartine Bakery- someplace we've read and heard about but never been to. There was no parking so Mom and Dad drove the kids around while Danny, Katy and I waited in line and then bought a ton of bread and pastries. From there we drove over the golden gate to Marin and went to Black Sands Beach-one of our favorite hidden beaches. 

It was a serious workout carrying babies and pastries down the hill:)

Joyce LOVED the beach. She loves the water and had a riot running from the waves. She just kept yelling "More!" and "Big Waves".

Lydia accidentally fell into the water just as we arrived so she was less enamored with chasing it. She mostly played in the sand:)

After exhausting ourselves running in the waves we opened up our pastry boxes and had a mid afternoon snack. 

When we got home we had a Tiana party with delicious food (it was a great day for food:) and a gorgeous cake. Happy Birthday Katy!