The Wehkamps

Big Orange Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:14:00 +0000

This weekend we took the boys to their first ever pumpkin patch.

Lots of laughs and memories.

Chris and I high-fived twice in celebration for how well it went.

Apparently getting their early - shoes = happy pumpkin times.

Click below to see all the photos.

Big Orange Pumpkin Patch, Celina, TX

I Heart Friends of the Plano Public Library

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:02:00 +0000

A little side post from twins and family life...

It's no secret that I love books.

It might be a secret though that I love children's literature; even more than adult lit most of the time.

I wish that I could fill my boys room with books so high that they would have to crawl over them and under them just to get to their beds.

And I wish I could do the same in my room.

I really don't think Chris would mind.

I was thrilled to learn a few weeks ago about the Friends of the Plano Public Library Annual Book Sale.

The book sale is only once a year, no book/DVD/tape/what have you is more than $2, all the proceeds all go to the library, and there are over 100,000 books to choose from.

I tell you, it's Half Price Books on crack.

With coupons.

And a $100 gift card.

Okay, not really, but that's how I felt.

I'm not officially a "friend" of the library so I had to pay $5 to attend the Thursday night opening event.

A small price to pay.

I got more than 40 books, mostly all hardcover, all children's books, for $72.

Including this book from my childhood:

Did anyone else's parents read them this one?
Chris's did, and both he and I were blushing just thinking of reading it to our boys one day.

I also found this awesome book in Chinese about dental hygiene:

I also got the boys their Christmas books. (We are getting them each a Christmas book every year.)

While I only bought children's books, they have every category of book that your local bookstore or library would have.

It's nice to know such a great thing goes on in the world.

And to see the line snaking around the building 25 minutes before the opening night started would at least momentarily silence those that think the paper and ink book is going the way of the VCR.

Just come to my house -

You'll see books.

And VCR's.

A Photo...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:13:00 +0000

To get us all through till I have time to post more

A Visit With Nana

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:56:00 +0000

C: Dude, you were totally right. Going to visit Great Grandma "Nana" is the best thing ever. I don't even know who this friend of hers is but she thinks I'm so funny!

B: I told you man. You slept through the whole thing last time.

but this is the place to be. Nana is the bomb.

C: Right on. I've never eaten half this stuff before. It's like it's all made for people like us with little to no teeth.

Jell-O you say this one is called?

B: Yeah. Mom totally needs to make this stuff at home.

C: Dad. Dad. Daaaaad! If I smile a really cute smile, will you buy us some Jell-O for at home?

C: I don't know man. He seems a tougher sale than these nice ladies. Maybe we should just stay here!

B: They even have better strollers than we have.

B: I wonder if we could just move in next door.

C: You check and see if anyone lives there, I'll keep a look-out.

C: Danger! Danger! He's coming! He's coming....

C: Dude! You let him get you.

Wait, he's coming back, flee! Flee! Go legs go.

Oh no. He got me too.

Oh, hey bro.

B: Hey bro.

C: Maybe we could just live with Nana.

B: Done and done.

Tell Mom to forward our mail.

Meooooowww

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:51:00 +0000

I realize I'm slightly biased (being that he's my son), but this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

True

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:22:00 +0000

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

-Emilie Buchwald

In Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Emily babysat for us on Saturday and in one try caught this awesome video.

I think it pretty well captures the month of July in a microsetting.

(Please click through to blog homepage if the email doesn't include the video - I'm still working on that hitch.)

No, I didn't Hear Any of This

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:51:00 +0000

C: "Ah man...what happened?! She's only been gone like 14 seconds. And, she specifically put you in that car so you wouldn't do something like this."

B: "Whatever dude, you totally pulled this thing down on me. It's so obvious you tried to escape but just got yourself trapped."

C: "Right. Try explaining that. Last night when you tried to tell her about the dolphin you saw in our bathtub all she heard was 'goo goo ga ga'."

B: "I know - I'll just start eating this thing and maybe when she comes back it will all be gone and she won't even know anything happened."

One Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:54:00 +0000

That's all really.

Luck - by Christopher

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:39:00 +0000

Last Friday I was enjoying some drinks at happy hour with workmates when a bird pooped on my jeans.

I didn’t notice it until after the same bird, perched on a branch fifteen feet up, pooped a second time directly on the back of my head.

That one I noticed.

I loudly expressed disgust and embarrassment, and my workmates enjoyed it thoroughly, and both poops cleaned off easily enough in the bathroom a few minutes later. Upon my return I shifted my chair slightly away from its original position (I couldn’t move far as I was crowded around a table packed with people).

That should be the end of the story, right?

Except that 30 minutes later the same bird pooped on my jeans again. It actually shifted its position to a different perch to poop on me again.

Or it was just a remarkably odd coincidence. And of course, my workmates got to have another laugh as I made my second trip to the bathroom to clean off bird poop.

What has been most interesting to me is the handful of times I’ve told this story I have heard a similar response from listeners: “Bird poop is good luck,” they’ve said.

I have never heard this myth before. But it has made me feel better about being pooped on 3 times. This, I suppose, is why it was invented.

Luck is a harebrained concept on paper, yet it’s something the human mind seems especially geared toward believing in. Just ask anybody to tell a story from their life where they have been especially lucky (or unlucky) and literally everyone has a story.

And, of course, anywhere you find harebrained concepts there are people more than willing to spend their money on them.

Case in point, www.goodlucksecrets.com. For the low price of $12.95 author Steve Gillman is more than willing to teach YOU how to “have good luck” by sending you a copy of his self-published book Secrets of Lucky People.

He boldly claims that his book is, “More than just a book, this is a true course in how to have good luck,” because “after every chapter/lesson there are the exercises. These are designed to get you thinking like a lucky person. Do this easy ‘luck work’ and you’ll start seeing results in days.”

How many days? He doesn’t specify. Maybe in 2 days, or maybe in 10,000 days.

Steve even includes gripping testimonials to the power of his book, like this one from ‘Ana B.’: “The research gathered here is fascinating.”

But by far my favorite section of this snake-oil salesman’s website is near the bottom, where Steve makes his final push to convince stupid people to buy his stupid book.

Can you spot the section where Steve’s mind wandered to lunch?

For someone with such incredibly good luck, accidentally writing Catfish? as a headline in the middle of your webpage and never noticing it for years seems pretty unlucky.

Peas

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:39:00 +0000

Started with rice cereal.

Moved on to green beans.

And now we've added peas.

As you can tell, we had some mixed reactions to the latest delicacy.

Benjamin

Colin

Benjamin

Colin

We're going to give the green stuff another week and then I think move on.

That's all I got time for for now.

As I speak two jumpin' beans are hopping around on the patio.

5 Month Update - by Christopher

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:35:00 +0000

Our good friend Shea requested a blog update with some new pics of the boys, and I am happy to oblige. It's been too long since we've updated this.

Sarah and I just put the boys down for their morning nap and we were both noticing how big they are becoming. They turned 5 months old last Tuesday.

At 5 months old, Colin loves rolling over to his right and kicking his left foot like he is furiously trying to cold start a motorcycle and Benjamin loves to grab both feet and jam them in his mouth.

They are just about as great as can be.

Mr. Colin

Mr. Benjamin

90% of the time we are able to tell them apart at a glance, but there are still those 10% moments when we look at each other and one of us says, "I think Colin is on the left."

Sarah started the boys on Johnny Jump-ups recently and they never hesitated. Colin is an especially determined hopper.

I caught myself gushing about how proud I was that he was jumping with such gusto, and then I felt a pang of guilt that I hadn't equally praised Benjamin, who was happily waggling around in it like a drunken hula dancer.

So I invented some praise for Benjamin's happy waggling, but realized at that moment how difficult a balancing act fathering is going to be (especially once they can actually understand what I'm saying).

Finally, our 5:30pm walks have become something of a daily ritual. Tensions at this hour have typically risen beyond the level of pleasantries and it's a good change of scenery to take a jaunt around the neighborhood.

Benjamin decided to play some charades with us on a recent excursion to pass the time. I guessed Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen and Sarah guessed 'BAM,' Emeril kicking it up a notch but we were both wrong.

Colin got it on his first try:

Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits.

Should have known.

Swings for Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:21:00 +0000

We currently have 2 infant swings for sale on Craigslist.

I got so excited last night because someone wrote inquiring if we still had them available.

(you have to click on the photos to make them bigger. Sorry...blogging struggles)

"Yeah", I thought, "there's some pretty obvious grammar missteps, but who (whom?) among us doesn't make a grammatical error or too every know and again?"

Could be a second language learner, someone that didn't finish high school, a young kid trying to buy some swings for his baby brothers, who knows?

So, I replied as quickly as possible:

I was thrilled to see a response only a few minutes later:

We all know what "send me your address for the certified check" thing means. There was no explaining that away.

Total disappointment.

Or was it?

I gave my computer to Chris.

Joy of Love: Days 4 & 5

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 22:30:00 +0000

What They Wear & What You Love to Hate About Them

(I think these are both pretty self explanatory)

I decided to combine days 4 and 5 (and really day 3 also), to produce the following pictures.

I think it shows what they wear pretty clearly. It also shows then and now. And finally, what I love to hate about them - I love that they're growing up so big and strong, but I hate that they're not going to be babies for much longer.

I tried to use some symbolism in the number of outfits. They are 14 weeks and a bit, so on the last one I put them between a 3 month outfit and what will probably be a 4 month outfit.

Colin

Benjamin

Colin above, Benjamin below

Joy of Love: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:19:00 +0000

Then and Now

(capturing change in photos)

This was easy to think of ideas for.

I could have taken photos all day if the boys didn't require naps.

Or age appropriate activities like cooing and drooling.

To accomplish my then and now's I first wanted to look back and dig up some "then" photos to recreate.

Most of the photos from the early days were either taken by our wonderful photographer Janelle, or with an iPhone. (I had wayyyyy to much to worry about and too many pains to mention - taking photos with the SLR was not the furthest thing from my mind, but it was the most improbable.)

So...

Boys then (Colin on the right)

And now

Benjamin Then

(Whom by the way we called "Benjamin Defiant for a loooong time. You have to admit you see the resemblance.)

And Benjamin now

Colin then

Colin now

Boys then (Colin on the left)

Boys now

(Don't worry, they still have parents!)

These shots really put things in perspective.

What fun watching them grow and change.

More to come!

The Joy of Love: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:45:00 +0000

How They Look
(trying to catch your loved ones at their best, or at their worst)

Let's be honest - you've seen plenty of photos of the boys at their "best."

So let's try to find something unpleasant.

Impossible you say?! Nah.

Our boys are going through a very drooly phase right now.

Seriously.

It's everywhere.

Benjamin

And it really would be fine if the temperature wasn't in the teens every day.

I am constantly changing clothes cause they get so cold, and I can't wash the dirty clothes because the pipes are frozen.

Soooooo...cute? Maybe. But not best.

And then there's the crying. Oh the crying.

Colin

And finally in "how they look": I-DEN-TI-CAL

I think I might be getting better at telling them apart, but not really.

Stay tuned for Day 3!

The Joy of Love: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:45:00 +0000

This month I am following a course by one of my favorite photographers.

The course is called "The Joy of Love" and it challenges you to follow a prompt every day and capture the people/pets/whatever you love.

I've been needing some inspiration to take photos of my own children. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but when you're the mom and not the photographer, it's hard to remember to take photos sometimes.

(Especially when you're documenting times two.)

But I digress.

Day One: What They Do (find what they do and document it)

This proved to be super easy. Day one was a snow day so I had the whole family available to stalk around the house.

Here's what some of the people I love do.

Daddy works.

And plays the guitar.

And video games.
(No, we don't watch soap operas. But we do enjoy Jeopardy which I believe was on earlier.)

Colin blows bubbles.

Likes to play upside down.

And likes to grab his toys.

Benjamin does tummy time.

He grabs his elephant and

he also stares at his elephant and listens to its ears crinkle.

And the two together?

Well, they just be delightful.

Stay tuned for Day 2!

3 Months In

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:39:00 +0000

We survived the first 3 months.

And then some.

The delirium of waking in the middle of the night finally came to a close.

The babies fed every 3 hours for the first 11 weeks of their life.

Since it took me awhile to be able to tandem breastfeed without assistance, this meant that Chris or a family member was up with me every night, every 3 hours, for 11 weeks straight.

In between those hours, either Chris or I (usually me) would wake up completely convinced we had fallen asleep while feeding a baby and had squashed it.

We came up with a system whereby the panicked parent would ask the sleeping parent if there were any babies in the bed.

The sleeping parent (without even checking) would groggily reassure the other that all babies were in their cribs.

I don't know how to describe to you how terrifying it is to wake and not be able to figure out whether you're holding a pillow or a limp baby.
It's terrifying.

So...feeding, going mad that you're smushing a baby, the night sweats, recovering from surgery, awake all day...I think I was getting an average of 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

We were told when they were 8 lbs. they would sleep longer.
Nope.

Told at 7 weeks or so they'd sleep longer.
Nope.

Told at 10 weeks they'd at least drop one feeding.
Nope.

Going on an average of 5-6 hours of sleep a night for over two months made us both ready to sell the babies to gypsies.

Or just put them in the mailbox.

But they were already too big for the mailbox and we don't know any gypsies.

So we trudged on, and lo and behold, after almost 3 months of crying, waking, feeding, changing (lather, rinse, repeat) we finally broke new ground.

Both Master Benjamin and Master Colin can now make 12 hours without eating. They have to be resettled at about 4 am, but they don't have to eat.

But at the same time the boys starting sleeping through the night, they also decided that naps are for babies and gave them up cold turkey.

For a week straight anytime you would put them down for a nap they would sleep 30 minutes, then wake screaming and continue said screaming for as long as you'd let them.

This resulted in one very frazzled parental unit.

This last week they seem to have figured out that naps are not only necessary, but fun.

Most of the time when I go in to get them they are smiling and cooing and enjoying their crib.

There are many people to thank for getting us to this point:

1. Fisher Price for the swings.
2. My Plano Area Moms of Multiples mentor Colleen for the advice and support.
3. Our family and friends that have babysat, cooked meals, accompanied me to the doctor, gone grocery shopping, cleaned the house, done laundry, took our car in, bought preemie clothes, cheered me on and mowed the lawn.

4. Our church and Sunday School class for the food and love.

5. Our amazing photographer Janelle.

6. Our wonderful pediatrician Dr. McElroy and all his staff.

7. My caring perinatologist Dr. Weiss.

8. My wonderful OB Dr. Napier - who always made me feel like I was doing great even when I didn't feel great.

9. My incredible husband for being our rock

(I feel like I'm accepting an award or something. They give those out for new parents right?)

As we march on to month four, I still feel like I have more questions than answers:

Are they happy?

Do we have to bathe them every day?

Do we have to bathe them every other day?

Alright, do we have to bathe them more than twice a week?!

Is it okay that we think cereal is an acceptable adult dinner?

How do I get my friends to believe that a minivan is the best car I've ever owned?

And most importantly, how did we get chosen to be so blessed with these amazing little boys?

11 Weeks Old

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Having twins has made me want to blog more, but left me with barely enough time to brush my teeth and remember to eat lunch.

Worth it though.

And to answer your question, yes, the only way we can still tell them apart is a Sharpie mark on Benjamin's toe nail.

I-den-ti-cal.

I'll write more posts, I promise.

We're Still Here

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:05:00 +0000

So sorry for the delay in posting.

We're still in survival mode.

If these videos don't play in your feeder or email, visit www.thewehkamps.com.

I'm still trying to figure out some things.

(Geez, that's an understatement!)

Happy Birthday Little Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:40:00 +0000

Benjamin Scott Wehkamp and Colin William Wehkamp arrived on October 26, 2010 at 8:18 am.

They each weighed about 5 lb. 8 oz. and were 17 1/2 inches long.

They are feeding and sleeping and living the life! Not a single thing wrong with them.

Mom and Dad are well and enjoying each minute they get to spend with their boys.

Mom was a little slow to get back on her feet but is getting 100% better each day.

A tiny sneak peek at the new loves of our life:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The birth story and more details to come as time allows!

Breaking News

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:24:00 +0000

Well, we still don't have the lab work back, but the doctors have decided to end my itching misery.

The benefits of delivery at this point far outweigh any risks.

So...

Tomorrow, October 26th, 2010 at 7:30 am we are set to welcome our little boys into the world.

You'll note we timed it perfectly so as not to miss either Monday night football nor World Series Wednesday.

Baby A: Dude, I think I heard something about us going somewhere tomorrow.
Baby B: Yeah? Well we go everywhere they go so that's not surprising.
Baby A: No man, I really think something big is going down tomorrow. I think something is going to be different.
Baby B: Oh, don't worry. They're probably just going to take more pictures of us. They can't get enough of us.
Baby A: Dude, you are so useless. I'm going to keep listening and see if I can figure out what's going on.
Baby B: Alright. I'm going to meditate. Let me know if you figure anything out.

Itchy Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:46:00 +0000

Update:

Powder did nothing to relieve itchy symptoms.

Dr. prescribed oral steroids on Saturday, which also, have done nothing.

Or, if they have done anything it's just been to maintain the status quo.

Still no danger to me or the babies, the rash is spreading and it now looks like I have a bad case of the chicken pox.

And feels like it too.

I've tried oatmeal baths, aloe, Benadryl, 3 prescription meds, and nothing is working.

We are still waiting on lab results which should be in before close of business today.

If the labs come back normal, I might be admitting myself to the hospital for an iv to help squelch the itching.

If the labs come back abnormal, I'll be admitted for a c-section, possibly today.

Either way, we're hospital bound.

And again, please, no need to worry. I'm just very uncomfortable but the boys (trust me) are completely fine.
They dance around every night when I lie down to sleep. They are just happy to be doing whatever.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers.

37 Weeks (or) Term

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 01:58:00 +0000

After reading about and speaking with many moms of twins, I never thought I would see 37 weeks.
Especially not 37 weeks with no bed rest or complications.

But here we are at full-term, and finally our first complication.
(Only a complication in terms of comfort; both I and the babies are completely safe. )

No one is quite sure what is causing it, but the persistent itchy irritation I have (and 48 hours with about 2 hours of sleep) drove me to go see the Dr. again today.

The doctor prescribed a powder that is supposed to relieve symptoms, and she had me give some blood so they could run some labs.

The Dr. thinks my liver might have become overtaxed having to function for three, and that might be causing the rash.

The results of the blood test will be available Monday morning and will tell us whether my liver is working normally or not.

If the results say that my liver is normal, we'll keep on trucking to Nov 1. If the results are anything else but normal, the doctor will perform the c-section right away.

Thanks to all of you who have taken an interest or offered a kind word of support during this crazy process.

We're so close to having these precious babies in our arms!

36 1/2 Weeks (or) Gotta Itch

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:06:00 +0000

Today the boys and I went in for another check-up.

They had their check-up first and everything went wonderfully.

The sono techs and Dr.'s always ask me before we begin how I think the boys are doing, and I'm always quick to say they're doing great.
I know they are. They kick and squirm about quite frequently, and I've just always had the feeling that they are quite happy in there. (I think it helps to have a roommate!)

A is guesstimated to weigh about 5 lbs. 15 oz. and B at about 6 lbs. 1 oz. They are right on track.

After the boys were given their all-clear, it was my turn.

I told Chris last night that I was sure I have this thing called PUPPS. You can Google it if you want but it's basically a hive-like rash that can develop on the pregnant mom's belly and spread it's way around.
It's not dangerous to mom or babies so please don't worry about us; but it itches so bad you want to trade in your skin for a Snuggie.

Too much info?

Okay, here's a lack of info.

No one really knows what causes it or why some women get it. Only 1 in 200 is thought to get it so the odds are not in your favor.
We seem to be beating all kinds of odds in this pregnancy so why not this one as well?

PUPPS is thought to be more common in first time pregnant women (check), in the 3rd trimester (check) carrying twins or more (check) that are boys (check).

So...I have a steroid cream and lots of Benedryl.

I'm going to hold these boys in as long as I can but I'd be lying if I said I haven't relished the idea of them coming tomorrow!

For now I'm just going to continue the Benedryl and sleep when I can, and be thankful that things are still going as great as they are.

Last appointment is next week and then next Monday - babies!