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Saturday, June 21, 2008
Intro by Greg
I am too weary to write anything tonight. However my sister Lauren (the one with toe fungus) has offered to share a guest's perspective on today. Please forgive her numerous spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, as the good Lord only blessed her with a four year degree from the University of Virginia (UVA). Guest Blog by Lauren My wonderful trip to Austin began with a pickup from the airport by Greg and Christy and a quick visit to see the twins at the hospital. Visitng hours technically ended 5 minutes before Christy and I arrived, but we ran through the hospital and the nurses saw the desparation in our eyes and let us in. I must say, as an unbiased aunt, they are the most beautiful babies! They are so tiny and precious and have gorgeous features. I loved feeling their little chests rise and fall as they breath. Claire had the tube thingy removed from her nose today, so I was fortunate to get to see her face completely and kiss her nose. Side note: It's taken me a long time to write this first blurb and Greg is currently going through my blackberry sending messages to my boyfriend, so apparently it's in my best interest to type as fast as I can. As you read on the blog from yesterday, the remainder of my first night in Austin was consumed with diagnosis and treatment of my toe ailment (aka spider bite). Fortunately I am regaining feeling in my big toe and am on the road to recovery thanks to Nurse Karen and Nurse Christy. I had the pleasure of sleeping with Nicholas last night! Greg had warned that he may wake up and be startled to see Auntie Lauren, so I should be careful not to wake him. Nicholas was neatly tucked in on one side of the bed at the beginning of the night; by 3 AM he was completely diagonal across the bed and left me not even 10". I wouldn't call it the best night of sleep ever, but when Nicholas woke up, recognized me, and snuggled with me for two hours, it was well worth it. The other alternative of sleeping with Nurse Karen would have left me sleepless as well (due to the snoring/grunting, see previous blogs). Today our adventures began at the Zilker Park. Nicholas and I frolicked in the park chasing the pigeons and then got some food to feed them; it was more fun chasing the birds then having them try and nibble at the fungus on my toe while we were feeding them. Then the four of us went a ride on the Zilker Zucker train that rides around the park. The most entertaining bit of the ride was watching the little girl in the train car in front of us share an ice cream cone with her dog, literally, lick for lick. According to Christy dogs have clean tounges. Perhaps she has convinced herself of that since Nicholas is frequently sharing meals with Argus, Bowser and Elle. After the park, Nicholas and Greg went to the treehouse for a nap and Christy, Karen and I went to go play with the pidders at the hospital. On the way to the hospital Christy was explaining to me my Mom's fascination with Bay 7. In the NICU, Bays are essentially large rooms with numerous babies in incubator type things. Apparently Bay 7 has been empty since they've been in Austin. When my Mom was visitng, she would routinely peak her head in the window of Bay 7 everytime she passed it, trying to see through the blinds what was going on in the mysterious Bay 7. Now if you know my Mom and her extreme curiousity, you probably have a visual image of her routinely plastering her face to the window trying to see through, perhaps even on her tip toes. So when James and Claire were moved to Bay 7, we finally got to see what happens in Bay 7. From what I hear, it's similar to the other Bays but half the size. By the way, James and Claire are not in incubator type things, but sleep next to one another in a crib swaddled up so tight that they look like gloworms (the old stuffed animal things that lit up when you squeezed them). James was alert for most of the visit and we got to see what we think are beautiful brown eyes, like his Mommy! The twins are gaining weight and starting to look more like babies. Hopefully they will start to eat from bottles shortly. The next activity for the day was a trip to the pool. Nicholas put on his completely unflattering bathing suit and flirted with every hotel guest on the way down. Mamaw, Nicholas and I swam around the 3' deep pool and had a blast water fighting and treading water. Nicholas is an excellent swimmer and will likely be a waterbug like his Mommy. After the pool we showered up and headed to dinner. Chouys had an hour wait so we went to Pappasitos. From reading the blogs, in my mind Pappasitos was some authentic Tex-Mex restaurant; in reality, it's a glorified chain comprable to Chili's. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Chili's, but I had higher expectations for Pappasitos. We had a delicious meal and Nicholas was very well behaved. The last activity for the day was a final trip to the hospital. There is something calming and soothing about holding these tiny little creatures. It's been an amazing experience getting to share in the excitement and see my newest neice and nephew! Speaking of new neices...apparently Leslie felt some "weird" pains today. Christy's premenition is that Leslie will give birth by the end of the week. We can't wait!! I'm in the process of switching my careers to professional Auntie; I'm still negotiating salary and benefits, but am hoping to sign a contract soon. Speaking of professional Auntie, did I mention the nice present Nicholas gave me after breakfast? It's been awhile since he was a baby and I was in VA and helped change his dirty diapers frequently. Nicholas is amazingly fun right now and quite the sponge. He loves to talk, and especially to repeat what other people say. I am proud to announce that I did not slip any of those fine words that I so frequently hear (but don't use) in NYC (sort of like I never threw parties in high school). In closing, it's been a fantastic weekend. Thank you to Greg, Christy, Karen, and Nicholas for letting me share in the festivities of joy and life and family. Now I'm off to get some shut eye and fight for at least 15" from Nicholas. |
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