Twins 22 months apart?

Tyson - 1 week old

Cole - 2 weeks old

Fill 'er up!

This worked so well when Momma did it...the hose must be clogged...

Thank you Craigslist! Our "Most Excellent Buggy"

Momma found this ingenius Phil & Ted's double stroller on Craigslist for $75 (which is a steal when you consider they cost $600 new) and it has been worth every penny so far!

It converts from one child to a toddler/newborn (shown here with my 2 precious boys) to 2 toddlers (you'll have to wait a few months to see how :))

And Tyson sleeps happily while Cole stays always vigilant looking for dogs on our walks. Taking a walk and looking for dogs is what Momma calls our "sanity walks".

What little brothers are good for

When you have a new baby in the house, mommas get a little desperate for older-brother activities, so this is a little bit of what I do these days.

Look, he's even smiling! He likes to have his feet tickled!

I've heard Momma say "God bless the makers of Play-Dough" several times recently.

Play-Dough accessorized with an assortment of items from our junk drawer is how we salvage the last hour before lunch.

And a few days ago someone came over to work on cutting a limb down out of our tree and I got to stand on the ladder and watch. Note: Momma never let me stand on the ladder pre-Tyson. I think I'm going to like having him around...

Tyson Luke Dent

Please welcome my new baby brother, Tyson Luke Dent!!

August 16, 2010

6:19 AM

7 lb 12 oz, 22 inches long

Momma will post Tyson's birth story separately, but unlike me where she was in labor for 17 hours start to finish, she was only in timeable labor with Tyson for 3 1/2. See that look of relief on her face? She's thinking about how much easier having Tyson was than having me :).

Proud Daddy!!!

Tyson was due on August 31 but came 2 weeks early, healthy and strong. I came 8 days early so I think Momma must have a really good "oven" and we just get "done" a little sooner than expected.

When I was born they carted me off to the nursery for 4 hours afterwards for "transition", but with Tyson they were able to have a private transition so Momma and Daddy got to be with him the whole time and see him get his first bath and everything. Tyson's nursery nurse was Savanna and we liked her a lot. We still remember my nursery nurse, Kelly, who we also loved. The fact that we remember their names is a testament to the wonderful nurses we had (I'm plugging St. Dominic's here if you can't tell - we LOVE it there).

Momma was worried how I would react to seeing her in the hospital and seeing Tyson, but I handled it like an old pro. I smiled politely at Tyson like a good big brother is supposed to do, and then I found the real prize of the visit...

the 8-inch windowsill in the hospital room! It was wide enough to walk back and forth on, sit on, play behind the curtains, endless possibilities. Whoever designed those rooms definitely had big brothers in mind.

And here's my sweet baby brother. Momma says Tyson is happy almost all the time, just like I was. He only cries when he's hungry or having his diaper changed (and who wouldn't cry at that when there's 10 steps to changing a newborn diaper and you have to do it like every 30 minutes!)

And here's my Momma with her new little son. She had Tyson with no medication just like me, and she said it was much easier this go-round because the labor was so short. They got to the hospital at 5:20 and Tyson was born at 6:20. They almost went back home after dropping me off at Mimi's house in the middle of the night b/c Momma figured that even though her contractions were 3-4 minutes apart, she still had 5 hours of labor with me at that point. Not so with the little Tyson-meister! As soon as they got in their room at the hospital and the nurse checked Momma, she was 7-8 cm and the nurse called Dr. Wolfe to come and for the room to be prepped for delivery. DELIVERY! Momma was in shock but she didn't have much time to be shocked because Tyson was ready to be born and 40 minutes later out he came! Dr. Wolfe didn't make it in time so the nurses delivered Tyson! (did Momma mention how wonderful the nurses at St. Dominic are?)

Babies are very small, but they make lots of loud and sickening noises, not all of which come out of their mouth. If I hear one of them I giggle. Even 22-month-old boys find such things to be funny - it's ingrained in us from the womb :)

Here's Tyson, ready to go home from the hospital. Momma forgot to bring socks and a blanket, but the hospital let them take a blanket home. That's what happens with 2nd children. I had a blanket and socks and everything, but Tyson's lucky he has clothes on his back.

Stay tuned for another post on how similar my little bro and I look at this age. Isnt' he a handsome fellow? I love him!

The only thing you can do when it's 103 degrees outside

It has been brutally hot the last few days here, and because I don't like to get all wet at one time, Momma gives me buckets and cups and the hose to play with to keep cool.

What a perfect water fountain!

Well, maybe not perfect. It comes out a little fast for a small mouth.

Let's try this. I know, you're thinking "Gross!" That's the same thing that Momma says, but I'm so quick that she can't keep me from sneaking a cool sip every now and then...

It's particularly easy when she's taking pictures. I know she doesn't want to get that camera wet, so drink up!

Stay thirsty my friends...

You're never too young to be indoctrinated

Like Father Like Son

Couponing - is it worth it?

Momma's new hobby is couponing which is a high-tech, highly organized industry these days, and after 3 months of figuring it out and building up her coupon portfolio, she has managed to knock about $100/month off the grocery/everything-you-can-get-at-Walmart budget (she could knock off more if she would feed us more trashy food, but she still has her standards).

No, this isn't going to become a couponing blog - my little life is much too important to be edged out - but Momma thought she would just send a little encouragement to those who are feeling like it's just not worth the effort. The items above were purchased at Target yesterday for a grand total of $6.30.

Raisin Bran Crunch x 4

FiberPlus Antioxidants x 4

Olay Body Wash x 3

Ivory Body Wash x 1

Ivory Bar Soap (10-pack) x 2

Degree Travel Size Deodorant x 2

Vaseline Travel Size Lotion x 1

4-pack of plastic Apothecary bottles x 1

Momma talking: This was, admittedly, one of the best deal scenarios I've run across in my short couponing life, but it goes to show that just using coupons you can change your total from $48.00 to $6.00 if you're diligent. Where do I find these coupons? I get 2 copies of the Sunday paper and a 3rd copy from Thomas's grandmother, and I follow 2 blogs: http://www.southernsavers.com/ (mostly use this one for the weekly Kroger deals list) and http://www.hip2save.com/ (she finds every coupon, freebie, sample, and deal under the sun). A third blog that I have recently become a big fan of for its great emphasis on a lifestyle of saving money as a means of blessing our families and having more to give away (not just to grasp every last penny we can with clenched fists) is http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ - happy couponing!

Iowa - my Dutch homeland

Daddy likes to downplay that I'm half-Dutch, but I'm proud of my heritage - and Mommy is too, so she took me to Iowa, the closest I'll probably get to my Dutch homeland.

Here I am checking out the phone booth in the airport. There were several booths in a row which I then referred to as a "Choo Choo" which sounds like "Too Too" in my baby voice.

First we went to Grandma and Smitty's house in Orange City. I got to go to the park, a garage sale, and the best outing to Pizza Ranch where I drank a whole kids' cup of pink lemonade.

Then we went to Grandpa and Grandma's farm in Sheldon and ate tavern (that's what they call sloppy joe's) and dried beef sandwiches (why the South hasn't figured out how delicious dried beef is I'm not sure).

And the last night that we were in The Homeland we got to go to a real live Iowa auction. When people move into a retirement home or pass away they usually have an auction of their household items and you can come and bid on anything you want as the auctioneer talks 300 miles a minute. Grandpa bought a weed eater but we just enjoyed the experience. One of Mommy's favorite things to do on their Iowa vacation every summer when she was a little girl was to go to auctions and look for old jewelry, scarves, pretty cards, and any other treasures.

I'll wait over here in the shade. Even though Iowa is in the North, it was still in the 90's while we were there, but we had a great time! Mommy would like to take a moment to thank the people we sat by on the 6 different flights we took to get to Iowa and back. I only cried like I was being tortured for 15 minutes on one flight before falling asleep. I was a pretty good boy otherwise but I'm still a little wiggly. Thankfully everyone from a South African high school grad to a pharmaceutical sales manager were very understanding and kind. I think it was becuase I'm so cute :)

The Maestro Duo

Freeman and I tickling the old ivories man-style.

Back to practice, boys!