derby day

Lincoln spent a grand pinewood derby day racing cars, eating Doritos, hanging with Dad and Grandpop, amazing his sister and brother and losing his 3rd tooth (or rather, Mama yanking it out, on request, right in the middle of the 69th heat). His cool design came in a pretty consistent 4th out of 5 each try and he enjoyed the thrill of it even so. A pretty successful first showing all around. 

overnight(s) at Z farm

All three of them. Plus cousins and aunts and grandparents and a dog and a cat and a few dozen chickens and and and...no parents. For the first time, ever. Lucky kids. And lucky us. Feeling thankful for my family today...very thankful.

down the aisle

We took our first trip without Orson and Zephyr in tow this weekend, thanks to the kindness of my parents and sister.  They took over the all-hours tending duties while John and I and Lincoln packed into the car and headed to the D.C. area for cousin Andrew and Emily's wedding. This was Linc's first time down the aisle, and first time away from the crying and endless attention deficits that define our daily rhythms these days...and he was excited about it.

He rehearsed on Friday, along with a gaggle of cousins and friends. Anna and Rose (below), Oscar, Julia and Bess all walked the aisle with him.

And he got all dressed up on Saturday evening.

And entertained a large audience in the church with glee.

He sat as still as he could during the ceremony and celebrated afterwards with his partner in crime.

But it was anything goes at the reception.

Which found him immediately unbuttoned, shoeless, covered in dirt and on the dance floor.

By the end of the night he was up on the stage with the band, jamming with his cousins and so delirious with glee that the vocalist had to keep pulling him back from an edge and staircase that clearly had his name on it. When I finally pulled him down myself he hugged me tight, looked madly about him with a wild smile, and then, in a fatigued voice,  requested that we go to bed now. 

The next morning he awoke and promptly donned his old tophat for breakfast goofiness with Gram and all the W brothers and cousins. 

After which we packed up all three of his traveling hats and headed back to our regular life, tired and happy.

23 Ws

Together today at Grandpop and Grandma Ewa's house. All twelve cousins from Wesley to Charlotte. Nine aunt sister uncle  brothers. Two grandparents. An unlimited supply of delicious brunch fare. And a teeny tiny amount of candy in baskets. I wore jeans. Lincoln insisted on wearing this:

And who are we to deny him such a simple pleasure when he clearly enjoyed it more than he enjoyed all the easter candy. A lot more. While the babies got passed around, all the older W cousins sat like quiet, demure sugar-free angels on the steps: 
And Orson got some snuggles from Anna.
And there was some healthy snacking had by babies.

And, thankfully, quite a bit of baby snoozing (l to r: Orson, Zephyr, Charlotte).
A wonderful family day.

GrandPop and Grama Ewa to the rescue

We are incredibly lucky to have willing help from our families. 

This week, GrandPop covered the early evening shifts with John, ran one end of numerous pirate ship battles Lincoln, wielded bottles and diaper cream and was completely unfazed by all the crying going on around here. By the time Grama Ewa got here on the weekend to shoulder some of the bottle duty, we were infinitely more rested and GrandPop surely (though he denied it) was exhausted.

super auntie

Visits and morphs in to a horsey, a gourmet chef, a puzzle master, a diaper changer, a sword fighter, a snack maker, a grocery shopper and a baby toter all in a few short days.

all the Z cousins!

On request, for my mother...

Martin's visit

 

first baths

Given by Grama. Zephyr was crying so hard, I didn't have the heart to snap a picture. But Orson didn't seem to mind so much. And, judging from the aroma of sour breastmilk,  spit-up and poop hanging about the place today, they were way overdue.

tired

When people ask how I'm doing--on the (lately) very  rare occasion that I actually speak with adult people--I say "O.K." And I AM doing ok. The babies are growing and healthy. I'm recovering well.   John and I have not yet been driven insane by the lack of sleep we are enduring ( thanks in part  to immense help from my mother).  And Lincoln hasn't mutinied yet. All in all, doing well,  doing the best we can, doing ok.

That said I wouldn't recommend this twin newborn thing to anyone. (See: my face, above.)

Grampa duty

Giving my mother a break for a few days, Grampa does a lot of baby holding.

And quite a bit of playing of that game of infinite patience:  'hide under the blanket'--with Lincoln.

Aunt Catherine visits

And gets cemented to the couch by a sleepy baby.

GrandPop's cradle...

...fits two.

costumes continue

...today, Grama stands in as the construction paper seamstress. She handled the all the ordering around very well,  I must say.

 (And yes, that IS James Mason as Captain Nemo on the table. Who else would Lincoln request to dress up as immediately after finishing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Kirk Douglas? I think not.)

W family visitors

Pat, Sarah, Julia and Bess came for a visit.

Pat snuggled Zeph.

And Sarah (plus one unknown cousin-on-the-way) got some stern looks from O.

 While Linc played with the big kids. And proudly introduced his new siblings to his cute cousins.

Grama and her newest grandkids

Grama

Grama is here for awhile. Hopefully a long while. (Because this is hard. And she is kind...and, obviously, a seasoned veteran.)

GrandPop & Grama Ewa visit

Z sisters meet O&Z

And they did  a lot of holding. And burping. And cuddling. And changing. And rocking.  And smiling.

Grampa holds two