Whirlwind Weekend Take 2

Week 27.5



My what another crazy week! This one was choc full of activities, namely because there were two events scheduled for the same weekend: PumpkinFEST 2010 and Mike & Gen’s Orlando Wedding Reception.

Thursday morning very early Mike and Gen arrived from California. I had worked the late shift Wednesday so I could go pick them up from the airport but their flight was delayed in Las Vegas, so it wasn’t until 1 AM that they landed. After baggage claim and driving home, it was around 2:30ish when I hit the sack, anticipating an 8:20 tee time with Adam who had flown down from Chattanooga with Annette to also attend the weekend festivities. It was a very busy start to an already busy weekend.

Thursday afternoon I accompanied the new couple to Ming Court Restaurant on I-Drive to go through the reception details with the events coordinator there. Everything from food to seating arrangements, sound system and visual elements were all covered. Afterwards we treated ourselves to roll your own sushi at home for dinner.



Friday I worked a half day and then it was back home to prep for PumpkinFEST. We had originally planned on having the maid service come and clean the entire house for the party but unfortunately something fell through and they were unable to make their appointment. Luckily for us, Mike and Gen had nothing to do that morning, so they happily took over and cleaned our house. How awesome! We moved the furniture around to accommodate 70+ guests and then I met Tangie at the doctor’s to pick up the kids. She had brought them there to see what was causing them to cough and be congested all the time, as well as to get a prescription for a nebulizer to help with their breathing, especially at night. We had a hot dog roast in the backyard for dinner when Lolo and Lala came for the weekend.

Sabbath brought us to church and we happily caught up with our friends, especially those anticipating the evening’s activities. Our 9th annual event, PumpkinFEST did not disappoint.

A ton of new recipes and desserts, we all had our fill and then some.

The games were also a lot of fun, as expected. Our favorite aside from TANK was one called GROUPS where you had to figure out which group you belonged to based on the topics. It was very loud with all the yelling and it reminded me of the NYSE trading floor.

TANK brought in new champions to an all male team with Karis Zbaruschuk and Richard Ottati running away with the trophies.

Tink and Lisa Kittrell won the food contest with their Saffron Pumpkin Risotto.

I’m still amazed that some babies slept through the entire thing. We had a nanny upstairs taking care of the toddlers and younger children, which was nice, since we didn’t have to worry so much about them.

Sunday morning Mike and I drove to the restaurant to set up and bring supplies and decorations. It was a mad rush, since we had to test the sound and video and put all the favors and such on the tables, along with picture frames with wedding photos for those who missed it to see. Gen’s mom and dad, and older sister Vereen with her son Dylan had arrived Saturday afternoon from California to take part in the reception and meet the other side of our family. They also joined us for PumpkinFEST and were amazed to see so many people at the house.

The wedding reception went off without a hitch, save the part when the mic and sound completely failed and I had to resort to yelling. Again I was the reception emcee, but this time I didn’t do any of the funny jokes/pranks that I had done in Cali, since I knew a lot of the Filipinos that were attending wouldn’t get them. And I was right. I redid the shoe game with different questions and that turned out to be a hit. Braelyn looked very cute again wearing her flower girl dress like the bride’s, and the twins enjoyed being passed from one family member to another. Afterwards, about 30 friends and family members went back to our house to have supper and watch Mike and Gen open their gifts. It was a very long day!

Monday was a catch up/recovery day for us. Tangie worked so after I had dropped the kids I ran errands and returned supplies borrowed for the weekend activities. We met the Koh’s for lunch at the Cracker Barrel near the airport and then later that evening Mike saw Gen leave for California. He is working on a project for his company here in Florida so he and his new wife will be separated again for the next 3 weeks. Guess the honeymoon is over! But since they dated long distance, it kinda feels normal, in a way. Anyway, Gen is already missed and Braelyn was very sad. She said to me after her bath tonight, “I miss Auntie Genevieve”. I’m sure Uncle Mike misses her most.

This week was back to routine with work and daycare. As mentioned, with Mike staying with us, he has helped me with the midnight feedings, which is a welcome reprieve and nice to catch up together as brothers.

The twins are feeling better; no more fevers with just a little cough here and there. They are starting to sit up more confidently now with some balance. Pretty soon they’ll be scooting.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

We are 6 months old!!!!!

Kohlden - 16 lbs 1 oz weight; 25-7/8" height; 16-7/8" head circ

Madelyn - 14lbs 5 oz weight; 26-1/4" height; 16-3/4" head circ

We have officially made it through six months of life. What a whirlwind. It flew past since really don’t remember much of it yet. Only through the pictures mommy and daddy took of us. We are starting to support ourselves to be able to sit up…..for a little bit. Sometimes mommy and daddy forget we can’t quite do it yet and we topple over. We'll get it soon. Missy has started to put more weight on her front arms to think about scooting. Buddy is starting to like tummy time a little better. We are eating our vegetables once a day and getting one bottle of breast milk a day, even though our manufacturer went out of business. We guess there is leftover stock in the freezer for a few more weeks. Our big Sissy wants to play with us so much and can't keep her hands off of us. Eventually we'll be able to defend ourselves.

Friday night, we ended up going to bed and the rest of the family, Lolo and Lala included, got to have hotdogs and smores on the fire outside. It was a perfect weather evening. Big Sissy was excited to have a sleep over outside…if only for a few minutes. Maybe we'll be old enough soon to stay up later and hang out with them.

Sabbath Daddy wasn’t feeling well, so he slept most of the day while Mommy and Big Sissy went to Sabbath school. Lolo and Lala played with us. They seem to like to laugh at us a lot. The afternoon was perfect weather and we got to spend some time on the grass. It was a beautiful day.

Sunday Daddy had to work, so all of us hung out with Mommy after Lolo and Lala went home. We had to go shopping to find a white T-shirt for Sissy for their costume festival at school. Her class is going to dress up as 101 Dalmatians, so they are going to paint the shirts with spots or something. I hope they come by our classroom in the parade so we can see them! Don’t think we’ll do much dressing up. We change too many times a day as it is. Whenever we are out in the stroller, we always have people talking about us. Not sure why. They think we are funny looking or something? Maybe they are just surprised Mommy is out with us all by herself! We behaved pretty good for her I think. A little fussy towards the end though, we think we had enough people watching and were hungry.

We had our six month check up and round of shots this week. Doctor says we are progressing right on track. Buddy is about the 30% for boys for height, weight, head, while Missy is the tall one at 75% for girls, but since she refuses to eat a lot, only 25% for weight. We didn’t like the 4 shots they gave us. It made us really cranky and have a low grade fever. Yuck. We hope it does keep the bigger bugs away!

We have however both had a cough for several weeks that just won’t go away. We think the teachers at school are wondering why we keep showing up, but the Doctor says it may take a month to clear up…mommy and daddy can’t miss THAT much work. We don’t think we are contagious since we don’t really have a runny nose or anything. It’s just annoying. It keeps us up a little at night though. We think mommy is looking a little tired because of it. We try to sleep, but just can’t seem to do it for a long period of time yet. The last two days, we played in the bathroom full of steam while big Sissy took her bubble bath. Trying to get rid of that cough!!! Slight fevers too. ugh.

We are so excited, finally Buddy does not have to sleep in the bouncer any more ever since Missy kicked him out of the crib when he got sick over a month ago. Missy got a new crib and Buddy now get’s Sissy’s old one. Our room is really packed now, since we still have the trundle bed in there for Lolo and Lala to sleep in and help us during the weekends. Guess mommy forgot to take picture of it this week.

Daddy is feeling a little better. However, Wednesday night he was so excited that we don’t think he slept much. Uncle Mike and Auntie Genevieve came in to stay with us and then he dropped us off at school on Thursday and was off to play golf with Uncle Adam. We can tell he is sooo excited to have them both in town for the weekend’s festivities….more to come on that next week.

bye-bye.

~Buddy and Missy