Our First Night Away

Showing off their new hats

6/23/13

It’s been a little less than a week since our first trip home, so naturally Grandma and Grandpa Esker were missing their grandchildren.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so excited about something.  Grandma even made some new hats fro Brenden and Jackson.  Mom and Dad decided to take advantage of their trip with a little trip of our own.  We decided to celebrate our 5-year anniversary a week early, since we will be busy with the twins’ baptism next week.  We planned a romantic night in the city free of dirty diapers and filled with sleep! (Doesn’t take much to excite us these days) 

Bling Bling

Enjoying our room

Taxi

Grandma and Grandpa arrived around 4:15 and we left shortly after.  I wasn’t sure if we were going to find our way out to the car with all the tears in our eyes but we managed.  Grandpa Esker dropped us off at the Metra station and we were off.  We got out at Union Station and went for a short walk.  These babies must have brought out the sappy side of Dad too, because I wrote some poetry for Mom and surprised her with some new earrings.  Our hotel was only about a half mile from the train station so we walked.  We stayed at the W Hotel.  It was very modern and had a cool look about it.  We took the water taxi to dinner at Lawry’s Prime Rib.  The place was pretty swanky, but we did our best to fit in.  I had the prime rib and Mom had the catch of the day.  Mom was especially excited about dessert.  She had something they call a chocolate bag, a bag made out of chocolate stuffed with sugary goodness and berries.  After we had stuffed ourselves to the point that we could hardly walk, we decided to waddle out of restaurant and take it to the streets.  The timing worked out perfectly for us to watch the fireworks at Navy Pier and then we took a taxi back to the hotel for a night of uninterrupted sleep. 

The Chocolate Bag

Now thats a meal

6/24/12

 

The next morning, we woke up slow and spent the majority of it at the hotel.  To finish our trip, we hit a diner on the way to the train station called Lou Mitchell’s.  The food was really good.  Toni had bacon waffles.  We hopped the train early that afternoon and anxiously waited to be reunited with a little two little nuggets.  When we returned home, we spent some time with the babies and exchanged stories with Grandma and Grandpa.  That evening, we took the boys to church for the first time.  It was really cool to be able to take part in mass as a family.  We got quite a few looks on our way to and from communion.  After church we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and headed home for an early night of sleep.

Grandpa falling asleep on the job

Our first trip to church

Picnic in the Park

6/21/12

The boys and I accompanied Mom to her voice lesson in Evanston today.  We decided to get an early start and pack a lunch to enjoy next to the lake.  It rained almost the entire way there but the weather managed to hold off during our time at the park.  The cool breeze off the lake made for ideal conditions during our picnic.  After the park, we headed up to campus.  Toni had her lesson while I spent some quality time with Brenden and Jackson.  We walked around downtown for a bit and then laid down a blanket by the lake.  Once our time was up we met Mom and her voice teacher, Sunny.  Sunny also had twins of her own several years back.  She had nothing but good things to say, both about the twins and Mom’s voice!

Toni was able to feed, talk on the phone and eat lunch all at the same time... the ultimate multitask.

This evening we did baths and, man, did Jackson make a mess.  He wasn't very happy to begin with so he let dad know about it.  Thank god I was standing off to the side for a bit, because the next thing I knew a golden arch was on display, and it ended on the kitchen floor.  He wasn't finished!  When I laid him down in the sink he was ready for round two.  Except this time, It was more like a fire hose that nobody was holding.  It went about everywhere in the kitchen that is humanly possible.  I finally handed him off to Mom for a peaceful feeding session, while I tended to the remanence of the chaos that preceded.

A Round of Shots

6/20/12

Brenden and Jackson are officially 2 months old today!  We had our 2 month checkup this morning and you know what that means… SHOTS!  I don’t know what was worse, watching the boys get their shots or watching mom watch the boys get their shots.  I honestly think they both did better than Mom.  There were a few tears initially but they were really tough and got over it pretty quickly.  All other news was great.  Brenden weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz and Jackson at 7 lbs 12 oz.  Two healthy boys!!!

Headed Home

6/18/12

Fathers Day was packed full of more adventures.  We headed to the Beaver Dam to meet the extended Beaver family.  Once again, everyone was thrilled to be able to see Brenden and Jackson.  Aunt Kaleigh was a big help this weekend.  She watched the boys while Mom and Dad joined the rest of the family in the pool.  Beavers love the water!  They also make some pretty fantastic food.  Great Grandma Beavers even made one of dad’s favorites for fathers day, RHUBARB PIE!  YUM!  I always remember Great Grandma Fearday made the best.  This recipe was right there with it.

6/19/12

The next day we woke up and got an early start on the road.  Pa packed us some veggies from the garden and I even got the rest of the rhubarb pie.  Brenden and Jackson did another great job in the car.  We stopped once to feed.  There was a subway that had some shade trees that we took advantage of.  We let Baxter run a little and the babies ate very efficiently. We were back on the road in only 40 minutes.  It felt pretty good to pull into the driveway, home sweet home.  There’s no rest for the wicked.  Mom had to work that afternoon so dad got to spend some quality time with the boys.  We ate a quick dinner and made the drive to Lombard to meet one of Toni’s high school friends, Allison.  She was in town for work.  We made it a quick trip since the babies were pretty worn out.  Off to sleep in our own bed!

Within the crazy whirlwind this weekend, I almost forgot to note two very important accomplishments.  Brenden rolled over on Saturday, June 16.  He was throwing an absolute fit and got those little legs going and the next thing we know he was on his back.  Not wanting to be outdone by his older brother Jackson rolled over on Sunday, June 17.  He was in the bed and climbed his feet up and tumbled over.  We kinda think both were a bit of a fluke, but nonetheless, an important milestone.

Fathers Day

6/17/12

The twinsanity was at an all time high yesterday.  Everyone headed out to Lake Sara for Fathers Day.  Brenden and Jackson finally got to meet the extended Esker family.  They were all thrilled to be able to see the twins.  It was also nice to see everyone and catch up on things… seeing that we haven’t been home since Christmas.  The babies were the stars of the show.  All of the great aunts and cousins couldn’t wait to hold them.  Grandma said it reminded her of Dad as a baby.  Awwwww.  It didn’t take Brenden long to have another bonding moment.  Again, he decided to exceed the limits of his diapers during a holding session.  He is quite the stinker when it comes to bowel movements.

We stopped by Mom and Dad’s friend Jake’s house on the way back to Grandma and Grandpa’s.  They also have a son named Jackson.  Their house was awesome and they seem to be acclimating to T-town life very well.  We finished up the night with some homemade pizza at Café de Esker and tried to get an early start to bed so we could get up and do it again tomorrow.

6/18/12

 Mom surprised me this morning with an awesome Fathers Day gift.  She had designed a picture calendar for my desk at work… not just any picture calendar… a calendar of my time with the Brenden and Jackson over the past two months.  It was a real tearjerker.  Grandma and Grandpa babysat while Mom and Dad went to church.  It meant so much to be able to stand up with all the other dads for the final blessing.  I can remember watching Grandpa Esker stand up in years past and now I get to join him.  What an honor!  Happy Fathers Day to all… especially my dad. 

Dad – Thanks for everything you’ve shown me over the past 30 years.  Most of all, thanks for showing me how to be a father!  I can’t wait to pass on all of your knowledge and kindness to the next generation of Eskers.  Happy Fathers Day!

6/16/12 - Whoa Babies

We arrived at the Beaver Dam yesterday around 5:00 pm.  The food just keeps on coming!  We were greeted to another fabulous home cooked meal on the grill.  Local beef and fresh vegetables from the garden hit the spot.  Nana, Pa, and Aunt Kaleigh were so excited to see the twins!  After Brenden and Jackson spent some time with the family it was apparent that they were a little worn out.  A few melt downs later; it was finally time for bed.  Mom, dad, and babies slept really well.

This morning Great Grandma Beavers and Great Grandma Lewis stopped by the house.  It’s a good thing we had plenty of cheeks to be pinched because they were ready for baby time!  Mom and Dad were actually on a run when the great grandma’s arrived.  When we walked in, the babies were resting peacefully in their arms.  It looked like they may have held babies a time or two because they still had the touch.  Dad took advantage of the extra arms with a dip in the pool and got all rested up for the evening ahead.  We were going to need it!!!

The clock struck 7:00 and the madness began.  Mom had a few of her high school friends over to “ooo” and “ahh” over the babies.  It was really an awesome night but I’m not sure I was mentally prepared for the crowd.  Mark, Tiffany, Madison, and Grant; Lindsay, Jason, Ali, and Brooks; Kelly, Brooks and Layla, and Sarah all packed in the basement for some quality time.  It was a packed house!  It’s a good thing Nana and Pa saved all of the Toni, Lynn, and Kaleigh’s toys because they definitely got some more miles that night.  Later, we moved the party outside to release some energy.  Once the news was broke that the busses were departing, simultaneous meltdowns were set into motion.  A train horn had nothing on that sound.  Haha! They all pulled out the same way they arrived, with a bang. It was really nice to see a lot of old friends and with all of their new additions.  The little ones are growing up so fast.  It won’t be long before Brenden and Jackson are running around with them.

We capped off the night with a few beers and a little after dinner snack, fresh croppy and bluegill.  Great Uncle Kevin surprised us by firing up the new frying pan.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  A full belly of grease really helps put a guy to sleep.  Three o’ clock came pretty early this morning, but it was nice to have the babies all to ourselves.  Brenden and Jackson are a little worn out... hence the tired eyes.

6/14/12 - Our First Big Trip

It’s 220 miles to Teutopolis.  We got a half a tank of gas, a full pack of diapers, it’s light and we’re wearing sunglasses.  Hit it!  The baby blues brothers made their first trip to the land that Mom and Dad call home.  Never underestimate the amount of time it takes to get two babies and a dog ready for a car ride.  We literally used every square inch of the SUV.  I even packed everything in advance and we still left an hour after we planned.  Once we survived the initial chaos of our departure, the trip was actually smooth sailing.  Aside from a few pacifier mishaps, the babies were great.  Even Baxter took a back seat to his new brothers.  His usual spot in the back seat was occupied, so he got bumped to the very back with the rest of the supplies.

The boys were greeted by the smiling faces and open arms of Aunt Michelle and Grandma Esker.  A call from Great Grandma and Grandpa quickly followed.  It was really awesome to finally see Brenden and Jackson meet their Great Grandparents and Grandma’s tears gave me a pretty good indication that the feeling was mutual.  A few minutes later, Dad came home from work and man was he excited.  It was pretty cool to have four generations of Eskers all under the same roof.  Photo op.

I finally got to try Grandma’s famous chicken pot pie that I have been hearing about.  Aunt Michelle pulled a quick one and used her charm to get Grandma to make it on Monday as her first home cooked meal in a week.  I thought this may ruin my plan but it didn’t take much convincing when Grandma heard the babies were coming.  After an excellent dinner, we retired to the family room where we watched the Cardinals pull off a barn burner against the south siders and split baby time the rest of the evening.  Aunt Michelle got a not so pleasant surprise during her baby time.  Brenden exploded out of his diaper and left a mess on her lap.  I had been joking the past few days that she wasn’t going to be able to hold the babies since she made mom cook chicken pot pie before we were home.  I think they call that “karma.”  HAHA!

6/10/12 - Uncle Brent

6/10/12

Uncle Brent and Kelly came to visit on Sunday afternoon.  We were on the move almost the entire time but still found a few minutes for them to get acquainted with their new nephews.  We kicked off the night with a trip to our favorite Elmhurst restaurant, 100 South.  We decided to walk and eat outside since it was such a beautiful night.  Brenden and Jackson were a little fussy, but did great during dinner.  Even though we had enough food to feed a family of four… wait, we managed to save room for ice cream.  It’s hard to resist when we walk right by a Cold Stone on the way home. 

We woke up this morning to have Brent and Kelly treat us to breakfast after a trip to bakery for some bagels and coffee.  We finished up with a walk to the shoe store for some new running shoes for mom.  She was definitely due and can’t wait for the many miles ahead.  We are looking forward to our first trip home this week.  Mom and I can’t wait to show off our new additions.  Brenden and Jackson are looking forward to meeting the rest of the family!!!

6/11/12

 

Wow!  This evening Toni and I watched one of the most powerful movies I’ve seen in a while, The Tree of Life!  I don’t know if I would have appreciated it as much if I didn’t just have two boys of my own, but it definitely helped.  The on screen visuals sparked so many memories of my childhood and inspired moments I hope to share with Brenden and Jackson in the days to come.  It also had a very spiritual undertone throughout.  I now understand why the sleeve was so vague in the movie’s explanation.  If someone asked me what the movie was about, I couldn’t really say.  I guess it just tells the story of life, existence, and faith.  Nonetheless, It is probably the best movie I’ve seen this year.

6/9/12 - Another Brick In The Wall

 

Dad took a night off last night to go watch Roger Waters perform The Wall at Wrigley Field.  I have never seen a concert so over the top with special effects.  It was an unbelievable production.  I got to admit, I couldn’t help but think about the twins a little while I was away.  It was a late night and felt good for my head to hit the pillow.  Super Mom had the babies in bed when I got home.  The 4 o’clock feeding came much earlier this morning.  It also didn’t help that Brenden and Jackson took turn spitting their pacifier out for about an hour.  I might need a nap to catch up on some sleep today.  It’s just so hard to sleep when these guys are staring at you… staring contest.