Too Small 4 Car Seat

Spence gets ready to go home.

Spencer here again

Derek is sleepy and I'm ready to go home.

We're almost checked out of here.

Do you like our neat new outfts?

Going Home Clothes

Hi -

It's Spencer.

Check out my new outfit.

Going Home Clothes

Hi -

It's Spencer.

Check out my new outfit.

Coming Home

Derek and Spencer have been discharged.

Jen is next.

We should be home as a family of 4 by 1 p.m.

Thanks for reading and CNN steals our idea - not really

Just as I posted to the blog from the hospital, CNN is communicating with people leaving the gulf coast via Twitter, and other social and mobile media options. Pretty cool, eh?

This mobile media allowed us to reach out to everyone with D&S delivery news too. I thought about using my Twitter page, but the mobile blog worked even better.

Yes, we'd love to speak to everyone personally and we will.

As we sign off for Saturday, thanks to everyone who called, emailed, texted, and read. We appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, and wishes.

D&S come home on Sunday.

Updates then.

Random Thoughts from Piedmont

It's hard to post from the hospital when I have to type with my thumbs, yet you notice some things:

- The hospital is a real melting pot of people. And there are probably 1 million stories in here. Just saw an older guy in the waiting room and he was watching the Braves. I walked by and said "the Braves are terrible." He nodded and rolled his eyes. Then, I walked past again and he says "Chipper just hit a home run. But, still losing."

Who knows why he's here. Sick family member? Birth of a grandchild? Yet, we still found 5 seconds for a diversion.

- College football kicked off today.

Predictions for '08:

Wisconsin: 8-4 ... Loses to Ohio State, Penn State, and two other games - probably Fresno State. Wisconsin should have kept Va. Tech on the schedule.

Georgia: 10-2 ... Can't go undefeated with their schedule and injuries. Will probably lose to UF and either Auburn or Alabama.

Big 12: Oklahoma wins it. Texas Tech wins a bunch but loses 2 games it shouldn't. Mike Leach says something really bizarre.

Big 10: Ohio State wins it. Michigan struggles. Iowa surprises.

SEC: Alabama vs. Florida for the title at the Dome in December.

- I'm tired of typing with my thumbs.

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Maternal Grandma and Grandpa

Spencer watches the Hurricane

Spencer is busy keeping track of Hurricane Gustav.

He says that he agrees with Al Roker and people should be ready to leave the coast.

Mom, Derek, and Spencer

Full Belly

No Badgers on TV at Piedmont. Silly Big 10 Network.

Might as well eat, then sleep on daddy's lap.

Jen and the boys

Family

A little dark ... Still pretty.

AFLAC trivia question

This is what weekends will be this fall: feedings and football on TV.

From tonight's Rice vs. SMU game on ESPN: name the 4 on-campus stadiums to host the Super Bowl.

My guess is: Rice Stadium at Rice in Houston (yes Troy Watros - the Vikings still lost); Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto; Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe; and Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

We'll find out if I'm right later.

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The cutest picture ever

Here's Spencer waiting to eat.

The boys will have patience - at least one will.

together

Spencer on left ... That means Derek on right.

Off to dinner at Uncle Julio's with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Jack.

Spencer and a pacificer

Spencer

Waiting to eat. I'm not used to that. I was priority one in the intermediate nursery.

Derek and Paternal Grandpa

Spencer and Maternal Grandma

Together

Video

I have no clue if this will work. Here we go!

Derek has no hat.

Spencer is with Jen.

2 Boys

Spencer is on the left.

Derek is on the right.

Together for 1st Time

Derek and Daddy

Everyone Has Twins

It's funny ... It seems as if everyone now has a set of multiples. One of yesterday's anestesthiologists had twin boys. Our OB had twins. Random people in the halls here have twins, trips, or quads.

It's like being in a secret society.

Spencer eats

Spencer and Jen

Jen held Spencer for the first time.

Thursday Morning

Here's a picture of Jen with Derek. I just saw Spencer and he is little, but doing OK.

Yes!

I should have mentioned that all but the last entry were done via Blackberry.

And, the world is a different place at 1 a.m. It's been a while since I was up this late. Better get used to it.

Whew!

It's been a wild day.

I did a presentation this morning at 8:30 and was working on stuff around the office when Jen called at 10:30.

Baby B wasn't growing. Time for them to enter the world.

We went to the hospital around 3 p.m. and it picked up from there.

Both Derek and Spencer are healthy. Spencer is in the "intermediate" area. He's 3 ounces under 5 pounds so that keeps him on the watch list. We should be able to bring him home on Sunday.

Jen is also doing okay. She's tired and sore as the operation will do that to you.

Me, well Dad is okay too. People that know me well worried that I'd have trouble in the operating room. I was fine. It's too important to be a wuss in that environment. We've got some pictures to post from the procedure that are great.

I have plenty of thoughts, ideas, and love to share. It's amazing how those little persons change your outlook on life and the world.

It's incredible to think that when Derek and Spencer entered this world on August 27, 2008, a major American political party nominated an African-American to be President of the United States. When I came into this world in 1972, that was a dream. Today it's a reality. Wow - Talk about a changing world! And, the world is these boys oyster.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. We'll keep a thought and a thank you for reading.

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Derek in mike's arm

Spencer

Here's Spencer. He needs about 3 more ounces and then he leaves the intermediate nursery.

His blood sugar is a litte off but not bad.

Derek Met His Mother

He just arrived at Mom. He's on a grocery hunt right now.

Spencer is OK. Just a little small.

Derek

This is Derek John Paterson. The nurses love him. Spencer is in the intermediate nursery being checked.

2 crying boys

Derek ... 5 lbs ... 13 ounces
Spencer ... 4 lbs ... 13 ounces

Out of OR

In nursery ... 2 babies ...

In OR ...

Taking me away

My turn to enter the OR ... I'm going to send updates if possible.

Jen's in ...

Jen went to the OR ... I'm in my Dr. Hawkeye Pierce gear ...

'anytime'

Could be any minute when they come for Jen ...

The Blue H Sign

Random Thought: I'd never followed one until today for a medical reason ...

#3 anesthiesiologst

As time goes by, they keep rotating thru anestethiologists. This gentleman went to LSU Med School.

30-45 minutes ...

.... Then the fun begins ...

The Waiting is the hardest part

IV bag #1 ... Dripping ... Anestethiologist has arrived ...

Trouble w/IV ...

Couldn't find vein on left arm ... Got it in the right one ... Blood is now flowing ...

Cord blood time

Drawing blood ... I'll turn my head ...

No tennis Thursday

And, no dinner on Friday ... Diligent Jen cancelled the reservations.

Waiting

Now we wait ... Medical history - check ... Meds- check ... Waiting for OR and OB ...

Heartbeats

Baby A is 149 ... Baby B is 165

Baby monitor

Baby monitor is hooked up ... Nurses keep doing more preliminary thing behind a curtain.

Pre-op Questions

Questions about last time ate, bowel movements, etc.

IV soon.

Camera

Since we're a little early, our camera is a little low on batteries. Photos will be used efficiently.

At Labor & Delivery

Jen is changing and I just tied her gown.

At Check-in

Checking into the hospital ad doing the last minute paperwork.

Watch for more updates!

On the way to Piedmont

In trffic

Today is the day!

It looks like today is the day … Photos and an update as we go!

We’re a little earlier than I thought.

It’ll be 8/27 … not 9/8 …

Shadow on Jen's Belly

Here's Shadow hanging out on Jennifer's belly. There's no depth perception to frame the little cat on the big belly, yet you'll get the picture.

The female cat is feeling the maternal instinct and spending time around the developing boys.

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New Pictures

Well, we're less than 15 days from having 2 more people in the house - not just in the womb. We don't have any updated pictures of the boys as Jen doesn't visit the specialist until Wednesday.

As TS Fay has floated around the state of Florida for the past week, we got some wind and clouds. Sometimes a couple drops of rain. If you've watched The Weather Channel, you've heard about the "extreme drought" in the Carolinas and North Georgia. We need rain and a lot of it.

I was near Lake Lanier for a little bit yesterday. I took these photos along one of the channels (or fingers) that flow into the main body of the lake. As the lake level has dropped, hidden treasures and trash have appeared after being submerged for years.

A Mello Yello can circa 1990. Probably hasn't seen the light of day since Bush 41 was in office. This is how low the lake level has dropped.

This dock would be floating during a normal year.

No wake? How about no boats?

A rusted axel mostly underwater for the last few decades.

A Mountain Dew can in the old packaging design and a car battery.

Stumps. When the lake was created, some entire towns were relocated.

The water is so low the dock won't even float.

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An Error!

Sometimes even the Worldwide Leader in Sports screws one up. Jen was "bed-resting" and caught the error below on the part of the CG operators in Bristol, Conn. Quick thinking on her part captured it forever.

While I'd like to blame the mistake on Northwestern grad Mike Greenberg (pictured) simply because he went to school in Evanston, he had nothing to do with the computer graphic.

And, after Aaron's performance last night, the folks at Lambeau may want the below trade to take place.
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Nursery Photos

Jen said we need to put photos of the nursery online. We also need to thank her mom and dad for their help as we transformed the office into the twins room.
Here are the photos!






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More pictures

Jen wanted a picture of her belly on the website since everyone is asking about it. After church, she put on her little black dress and we took a picture in the backyard.
22 Days to go!

New pictures!

Jen and I have been pretty busy lately.

I went to Wisconsin for Grandma's 90th birthday party and then we had guests for the weekend.

Yes, my 61-year-old father jumped off the rock into the river behind our house. There are no pictures to prove it though as he asked for no cameras. Insert your punchline here.

Now for some pictures:

The top 2 are of "Baby B"

These two are of Baby A

Both babies are healthy and growing. Jen is counting the days (23) until Derek and Spencer enter this world.

From the newswire ...

+ Deena Kastor just dropped out of the Olympic Marathon with a foot issue. I ran against Deena in the '05 Chicago Marathon and the '06 New York City Marathon. Well, against might be the wrong preposition here. We were in the same field for those races. I was behind Kastor for those races. And, yes, if Jen weren't pregnant, we'd probably be watching the marathon on a Saturday night.

+ Our friend Jason Wilde received a nice compliment on SI.com for his work covering the NFL. Jason is mentioned in the Sam Farmer paragraph.

More pictures coming soon from the nursery.

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Another Night at Turner Field

Jen and I like baseball. We've gone to games since we first met.

We met in September 1997 and watched the World Series together (Florida v. Cleveland if you care - Florida won in seven).

She knew the game and I was attracted to that.

So, we sneak off to the games when we can.

The Brewers were in the ATL tonight. She and I had tickets. I also knew she was pregnant (really?) when she asked if we'd get into the suite for the air conditioning.

Jen's been with me long enough to know that serious baseball watching does not happen in the suite. After all, the Brewers were in town - she wanted to watch Princess, Ryan, and many others.

The Brewers smoked the triple A club for the Braves organization tonight. It was a shutout.

Really, the East Cobb Little League could have been more engaged than the Braves. It's the first time since the summer after I graduated from high school (1990) that the Braves are not in the race on August 1. And I'm old.

Now for some pictures ...

Mark Texiera merchandise anyone? Maybe for the Anahiem Angels of Los Angeles Santa Monica Pasadena Riverside Venice Beach Burbank formerly owned by Mickey Mouse ...

Some Turner Field views as the grounds crew works in the shadow of the Delta sign and the Chic-Fil-A cow:

Question: Does the Chic-Fil-A cow attend games on Sunday?


The Capitol of Georgia to the left of the scoreboard.

And now, a photo of the Princess who needs to work on his diet:

Less Saz's, more Subway Jared.

Here are Jen, Mike, Derek, and Spencer ... One day, it might be Spencer and Derek ...


That's all for now ... It's late in Atlanta, yet Jen and I are watching Vin Scully call the Dodgers game on the west coast ... Always a treat for baseball fans ... Not a treat - the Dodgers paying the GDP of a sub-African country for Andruw Jones in free agency last season. He's hitting below the Mendoza Line right now.

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