Saturday, May 22nd

Testing out their monkey vibrating chairs:

Aiden- not sure about this:

Reid- no big deal:

Sacked out:

Out for a walk with Mommy:

Hanging out with Daddy and Mommy:
(Aiden, Reid, Aiden, Aiden, Reid, Reid)






(I think Dad's Awesome too.)

Video Camera Experiment + Eric's First Attempt at Posting

I bought Keri a video camera for Mother's Day, and this was one of the first recordings we made from a few days ago. Just installed the software that came with the camera on the computer tonight, but I haven't had time to read through the manuals and learn all the bells and whistles. So here are Aiden and Reid in their video debut!

Red Rocks

Before Jennifer flew back home on Saturday, we journeyed up to the Red Rocks Amphitheater.




The tests at The Children's Hospital on Friday went well. The doctors didn't find anything wrong with their hearts or lungs. However, the boys' pulse-ox readings were still low enough that the polmonologist thought it would be for the best for them to stay on oxygen for another month. Chalk it up to the altitude.

Aunt Jennifer Visits

Play time with Daddy:

Reid:

Aiden:

Snuggling with Daddy after baths:
Aiden:

Reid:

We're enjoying a visit with Eric's sister, Jennifer. The boys have already discovered that they love to snuggle with her:
Jennifer and Aiden:

Eric, Aiden, Jennifer, and Reid:

You may notice the oxygen hoses in these pictures. Their pediatrician thought they were looking a little 'dusky' at their check-up on Monday, so they are now on oxygen. Their coloring is greatly improved already. We go in for some follow-up testing tomorrow. Hoping there is nothing to be found and it's just determined that the boys need a little oxygen to help their developing lungs.

Counting My Blessings

Mommy and Reid:

Daddy and Aiden:

_____
Good suggetion, Janina. Here are some pictures of the boys which may offer more of a close-up view.

Reid (left) Aiden (right):

Aiden (left) Reid (right):

_____
I'm planning on entering Eric in a strong-man contest this fall.

Strolling

I have a bazillion pictures from the last 10 days. I'll try to sort through them as soon as possible, but I also thought it would be easier to take baby steps (ha, ha) and post some pictures from today. Eric and I took the boys out for our first stroller adventure. The weather was perfect and it was really nice to get some fresh air. It seemed to give me and Eric the rejuvenating boost we needed; hopefully enough to make it through our first night without my Ma in town to help us.

Getting ready to roll:


The boys snoozed through the entire ride:


Stopping to check out Grandpa and Grandma's house.



_____

Colette posted some great questions on my last blog post. Here are some answers:
How is it going?
Uff-da! Luckily, every day is getting better as we get closer to figuring out a schedule that has them eating and sleeping at the same time, while giving us a chance to get a little rest. Good thing we love them so much.
Are you getting any sleep?
A little bit more each day. Everyone says sleep when the babies sleep, and we're working on that. But it's not the easiest idea to follow through on.
We both only got about an hour of sleep on Tuesday, which was our first night home from the hospital. I think we went through 20* outfits, 5* loads of laundry, and 200* diapers that night. (* Estimates may be inflated due to fatigue.) We tried having the boys sleep in a Pack n Play in our bedroom, but were running around all over the house most of the night trying to remember where we put things when we came home from the hospital. We would change a diaper; the baby would soil the new diaper within minutes. Just when we would lay our head down, one of the babies would start crying. I imagine all babies know its their duty to put their parents through this first night initiation. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.) Eric and I somehow managed to survive.
Since that first night, we have staged the boys in our family room. They sleep in a Pack n Play so Eric and/or I are with them throughout the day. At night, we have them under surveillance with a video monitor and either sleep in our bedroom or on the couch. We'll see what we figure out now that my mom went back up to Casper for a few days.
Do they look alike or is it easy to tell them apart?
To me the babies look really different. Even their noses are different. I'm curious to see how much they'll end up looking like brothers. Aiden is blond with fair skin. His facial features remind me of Eric. Reid has dark brown hair with a ruddy complexion. My mom found a picture of me from elementary school which closely resembles his coloring. (Not my current coloring, which could be described as vampire-esque. Today's bit of sun exposure was greatly welcomed.)
Just because they don't look exactly alike, it hasn't kept us from calling them by the wrong name.
How did you pick your names... I mean, did you just like them or do they have another special reason (besides the middle names)?
Once we found out we were having two boys, we quickly decided to use our dads' names for the middle names. Eric came up with the first names. He just made a list of a few names he liked and we immediately gravitated toward these two.
How long does Eric get to be home?
Luckily, Eric is home for a few more weeks. He's probably looking forward to flying again, just so he can sleep through the night.

A Little Busy...

and extremely happy!

Picture #1: Mommy and Reid Marlowe
Picture #2: Daddy and Aiden James
Picture #3: Our Family

In the mean time, I would like to recommend my dad's blog. Especially his April 29th post on the boys' names.