Double Venti Latte

Disneyland Day #3 and #4

2011-10-19T22:17:00.001-07:00

Pics from days 3 and 4 below. These are just iPhone pics. More pics from the DSLR to follow when we return home.

Disneyland Day #2

2011-10-18T20:31:00.001-07:00

Pics from the day below.

Disneyland Day #1

2011-10-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

Made it to Anaheim from Salem in 15 hours bearing the 3.5 year old twins, 15 month old Clara, iPods, iPhones, iPad, books and an amazing mommy who entertained the troops.

We met up with the Compton fam for tons of fun. Pics from day 1 below:

Christmas Tree!

2010-11-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was a beautiful morning so we loaded up quickly to headed out to a sweet spot Kari had heard about from a friend. We loved the experience and trees from Santiam Canyon Christmas Trees (just East of Stayton).

Here are some photos from our outing:

Halloween with the Venti family!

2010-11-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some overdue pictures from the kiddos on Halloween. We stayed close to home and went to a fun little neighborhood party. Nolan and Mila recycled their costumes from last year and Clara sported the new lady bug costume.

First Nap At Home!

2010-06-26T15:48:00.001-07:00

> We arrived home this morning at 11:30. The kiddos (Mila and Nolan) were thrilled to meet their baby! After settling in and the introduction everybody crashed.

Baby Clara rockin' mama's handmade hat:

2010-06-24T09:24:00.001-07:00

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I really should be sleeping but can't resist setting up this... Thanks to @ecmptn for bringing it to Portland today!

2010-06-23T22:18:00.001-07:00

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Clara Lane Venti

2010-06-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today, June 23, 2010 Kari and I had the amazing privilege to meet our beautiful daughter Clara Lane Venti. We thank the Lord for his provision for our family. As many of you may know Kari and I have been researching and studying about the VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarian) for just about our entire pregnancy with Clara. Okay, it was mainly Kari doing the researching and studying, but I did my fair share of preparing to be her support and coach during labor with some Kari-directed literature. Those of you who have been a support for our labor know all the time, effort and planning she (and Audrey and I) had put into making arrangements to deliver at St. Vincent's (the referred hospital for VBACs in Oregon) and we thank you for your encouragement, prayers and love.

Kari started having noticeably strong contractions around 1am on Tuesday morning (June 22nd). Significant enough to keep her awake all night. I woke up around 5am and began to help Kari time the contractions. We decided around 7am that the contractions were strong and consistent enough for us to begin moving towards packing the car t0 head to Portland or to the Salem Clinic for a quick check with Dr. Peterson (Kari's main OB). Audrey (Kari's mom) came over and we loaded the car and were ready to roll out around 8:15. On our way out we called the clinic to see if Dr. Peterson was in and was told she wouldn't be there until 9am. With fairly consistent contractions we decided just to push on to Portland to be safe and be close to St. Vincent's.

We arrived in Portland and knew that we didn't want the majority of Kari's labor hours to be spent in the hospital so we drove around a bit to scope out the few hotels on our list. By this time the change in environment (an hour long awkward car ride) seemed to have slowed the contractions. We landed at a Tannesborne shopping center and did some good walking (and maybe a little shopping, but honestly it was mostly walking). We walked through a few stores and around the outdoor mall which helped build the intensity of the contractions again. It was close to noon by this point so we decided to head the Spaghetti Factory to pick up Kari's favorite to-go dish while in Portland. With lunch in hand we decided to get ourselves over to the hotel. We checked into the Fairfield Inn just just before noon and chowed lunch between contractions. We labored in the hotel for a few hours, went for a walk and then labored for a little while longer. Around 6:15pm we decided we should get some dinner so I ran to Trader Joe's to pick up some necessities and after being gone for literally 6 minutes Kari called me to tell me her water broke. I checked out, rushed back, loaded our stuff and we were off to St. Vincent's.

We "officially" checked into St. Vincent's at 7:27pm and met with a triage nurse. We spent a couple of hours in check-in (all while Kari's contractions seemed to be building in intensity). Kari was dilated to 3cm to 4cm at 8:20, which seemed like good progress since the exam with Dr. Peterson on Monday showed her at 1cm. Her contractions were tracking 2 minutes apart by 9pm. Finally at 9:30 we were walked to room 320. We were introduced to our extremely helpful/friendly nurse Jeannie just before heading back. We were blessed with experience and flexibility of our nurse and she was a great support to our team during labor.

By 10pm Kari was hitting contractions even more strength and had been working extremely hard for a couple of hours already. Words cannot explain the amazing work God does with us in labor. Kari is a strong, strong woman and I am so proud of the work she put into this amazing opportunity. After working through a few hours (11:30pm) she was dilated to 6cm/7cm and Clara had made some decent progress dropping. At 12:45am she made a comment to me saying, "I got this" (which I had been whispering to her for hours). It was a great feeling to have her reach that point of focus considering her contractions were strong and right on top of each other for over 6 hours. She was working harder in labor than I have ever worked, doing anything, in my life.

At 1am the slight need to push started to come over Kari with each contraction. By 2:30 she was 8cm and -1. Still contractions were strong, lasting at least a minute, every two minutes. At 3:30 she still measured 8cm and our extremely natural birth supporting nurse had explained to us that the dilation had slowed and being at the 26th hour of significant contractions that we were going to need to make a decision to try and help her VBAC progress or we may be subject to a repeat cesarean. After discussion and prayer we decided to go with the epidural with the goal relaxation so she could fully dilate and then have energy for the "push". This was a difficult decision as Kari had labored naturally for hours and we felt like we were almost to the final stage. The epidural went in around 4:30am at which point my dear wife had been laboring for 27.5 hours. It actually took 2 attempts as the 1st hit a blood vessel (which the anesthesiologist then explained would have a 75% chance of Kari having a severe headache in the coming day or two that could potentially last up to two weeks and could only be cured by another epidural blood patch).

The contractions became less noticeable and the strength seemed to fade a bit. Another check showed her still at 8cm around 7:30am (32.5 hrs of labor). By this time we were at a shift-change for both the nurse and doctor. To our surprise the doctor we had seen in Portland to prepare for a VBAC (who was completely unsupportive of Kari having a successful VBAC at her appt on her due date 6/17) was scheduled at 7:30. The new staff came in prepped on our progress and was fully supportive of our VBAC at this time. Before the shift change we discussed the "next" step to help Kari and baby get through the last 2cm. The nurse and doctors supported the use of a VERY small amount of Pitocin to help the final stage of labor get moving. After deciding it was either Pitocin or another cesarean (due the extreme amount of time Kari had already been contracting and the slow of progression) we decided to try our best effort to have a successful VBAC. At 7:30am they began with a small amount of Pitocin, but close to that same time we noticed a deceleration in Clara's heart rate with each contraction. After watching it closely for several contractions the team decided Clara wouldn't be happy going through the last stage of labor.

At this point the cesarean was introduced and RAPIDLY switched gears from our focused laboring room to me throwing on scrubs and us going back into the operating room. Minutes later (8:42am) we were introduced to our beautiful daughter Clara Lane Venti who weighed in at 9lbs and 11oz and 21 inches long. My precious Kari, all 5' 3/4" (I've tried to get her to round up to 5'1" for 10 years now), carried a near 10lb baby! Immediately it was obvious why she had been at 8cm for nearly 4 hours!

We know God had His hand in the labor this entire time and was protecting Kari and baby and I'm extremely happy to have two healthy ladies with me in the hospital room today. However, it was an extremely hard transition when the repeat cesarean became our only option, especially after Kari and I worked so hard for 32.5 hours. I was 100% in line with Kari and her contractions and was so ready to see her through the last stage. I couldn't have been more proud. The labor experience was honestly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. God is truly amazing. Although we didn't get to finish that final stage due to Clara's size I am thankful we had the opportunity to work together in labor. My love, respect and desire to serve Kari has grown exponentially in the past 48 hours.

Yes, Jesus Loves Me! (Nolan - 2yr 4mo)

2010-06-21T19:52:00.001-07:00

Nolan's new favorite song.

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_1152.MOV (1572 KB)

Conrad Venti
www.conradventi.com

Sent from Conrad's iPhone

Posted via email from Conrad Venti: Out & About

Clean strawberries...Yum!

2010-06-19T14:20:00.001-07:00

Conrad Venti
www.conradventi.com

Sent from Conrad's iPhone

Posted via email from Conrad Venti: Out & About

Fresh organic strawberries. Me-picked from Willamette Valley Produce on Wallace Rd. Great people run the farm:

2010-06-19T13:25:00.001-07:00

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Posted via web from Conrad Venti: Out & About

Our Little Garden

2010-06-19T08:07:00.001-07:00

For years I've wanted some form of a garden. We've lived on Elliot St for a little over three years now and I never did any research about raised beds. This year our good friend Eric Compton (@ecmptn) was an encouraging factor after he got his raised bed built and filled. Our backyard is pretty small so we for this year at least we managed to get a 6x4 raised bed and a small patch on the side for strawberries started.

We've made the Salem Saturday Market a weekly tradition in 2010. Nolan and Mila load up into the jogging stroller and I take the 4.75 mile jog to the market. Prego mama meets us down there and we get our weekly veggie/fruit needs. We've have a good time meeting up with friends (mainly the Comptons) on occasion and usually grabbing lunch at Uncle Dino's place downtown.

We were able to score some nice veggie starts from the Minto Island Grower's stand at the market. So far we have tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, basil, summer squash, zucchini and strawberries (from LifeSource) - all organic starts. Nolan calls it our "salsa garden" :-).

40 Weeks!

2010-06-18T22:19:00.001-07:00

Some fun with Mila and Nolan the day before Kari's due date. Check out some pics of our blessed little family!

Friday night snack.

2010-06-18T21:08:00.001-07:00

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Posted via web from Conrad Venti: Out & About

Mila (2) sending text messages to friends from mama's iPhone:

2010-06-18T21:03:00.001-07:00

Download now or watch on posterous

movie.mov (2880 KB)

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Posted via web from Conrad Venti: Out & About

It's A...

2010-01-14T22:01:00.000-08:00

Kari and I had our second ultrasound yesterday. We had an early ultrasound to rule out another multiple pregnancy a while ago. Kari is 18 weeks now. Her and our beautiful little GIRL are doing great. It was amazing to see the beautiful gift God is creating! We were both amazed at her movement during the ultrasound. She flipped all around and showed off all of her favorite positions. It was quite different from watching Mila and Nolan duke it out during their ultrasounds last time.

We are excited to meet our newest addition in June and look forward to Mila and Nolan having another best bud. We are blessed to have such great support from our family and friends and we wanted to share this news as soon as possible.

Happy 26th Birthday Mrs. Kari Venti!!

2009-11-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today is Kari's 26th birthday! Happy Birthday Kari! I am so blessed to have such an amazing wife and mom for our children. 26 makes me think of 16 which is how old we were when we started dating. The past 9 years (we didn't start dating until 9/11/2000) have been an amazing adventure. We have enjoyed so many great moments in our life together: High School, College and now parenthood; just to name a few.

I should post some pictures of our fun memories together...I'm at the office now, so stay tuned for those pics.

Kari and Mila on a quick shopping trip a couple of months ago.

Nolan loves to party...He's ready for mama's bday (pic was from his friend Eliza's party in August)

Kari's chocolate cake for tonight.

New blog!

2009-07-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago I started a new "mama blog." (Which is why this blog has been pretty dry). I have been thinking about starting a new blog for quite awhile and it has been pretty fun. It covers things like couponing, freebies, organization, twin and kid topics, food, natural parenting, creative play, sewing and crafts and who knows what else. So far it is largely about coupons, freebies, and learning how to save money. There are also some updates about the kiddos with pictures here and there.

Thus far I have included less specific personal information (like the kiddos names etc) until I decide exactly how much I want to put out there. At some point we might even go private on this site . After doing a Google search of my name and having a picture of my 9 mo. prego with twins body popping up, I wondered if I was comfortable with that. We will see what happens and I will keep y'all posted.

Please pop over and visit TwinMamaLoves.com. More features will be added soon and the option to "Follow" or something similar will be available. If you are feeling extra generous you could even add my new blog link to your "Blogroll" of friends on the side of your blog.

Monkey or Gymnast?

2009-07-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nolan has found a new strength. It came about when we went for a walk on Saturday. He thinks it's fun to "sit" when I am holding both of his hands. He then figured out that he can pull the same move on the cube climber.

Test vid

2009-07-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Towel Twins

2009-06-25T10:36:00.001-07:00

Apparently Mila and Nolan stole one of mommy's white towels while she was in the play room folding laundry...check out this clip of them being plain silly.

I also caught a quick clip of Mila and Nolan dancing to Paul and the gang at the Lee wedding last week.

Oh man, I'm lovin' the video on the iPhone 3G(s)!

Chicken Mac and Cheese

2009-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

When it's mid-June, cloudy, and in the low 60's I can't help but think about things to bake. So since it feels like a fall day I decided to make some comfort food.

The recipe is pretty simple:

Ingredients:
1lb farfalle pasta (bowtie) cooked al dente
1lb shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (not necessary)
2, 12.5 oz cans of chicken breast (we use kirkland
because it's like 1/5th the cost of anything else)
1/2 - 3/4 cup sour cream
1 - 1 1/2 cups milk (depending on your moisture preference)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Black pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Drain cooked pasta and return to pot
Mix in sour cream and shredded cheeses (reserve about
1/4 cup cheese for topping)
Add chicken and black pepper, mix well
Add milk and mix well
Spray/butter dish to prevent a mess later
Pour pasta mixture into pan and top with remaining cheese
and then bread crumbs
Cover with tin foil or glass lid and bake for 35 minutes,
remove cover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy,
Conrad

Disneyland

2009-06-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

We realized that we never posted pictures from our road trip to Disneyland and So Cal. Here is big slideshow with some of our pictures. This does not even include our pics taken by the photographers in the park. We will try and post those fun pics soon also. Feel free to skip out early if you get bored (I think it is a couple minutes long).

Free This Week

2009-03-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

In addition to couponing (see post below) I have been trying to keep my eyes open for free samples that I could sign up for, and coupons and events where we could get things for free. Here is a picture of the things I have received this past week. 3 Giant Zip Lock bags I got in the mail, Orville R. Natural popcorn and coupon book, Cream of Wheat and coupon, 4 ct. Kotex sample, a Little People DVD from the Little People anniversary party at Toys R Us last weekend, a wooden Thomas the Train brand train ($12 value) that we also picked up in the same visit Toys R Us with a coupon, and two magazine subscriptions that I also got for free.

My Two Most Recent Target Trips

2009-03-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

I have been really into couponing lately and it has been so fun to see how much money we can save. Target has been one of the stores I have been focusing on lately and I have found some pretty good deals. The first 3 pictures are from a trip a couple weeks ago and the last is from my trip this week.

Here is everything I got on my first trip and my total was $19 something.

Just to give you an idea of how it broke down the items in the pic above totaled $12.69. The babies love the puffs and they are a great diaper bag snack and they were on sale for 3 for $5. The sippies are the ones that we are using with them and we only had one for each of them. I was excited to find them 2 for $5. The spoons are also a favorite and were $2.69.

So, I was able to get everything else (the items that I used the coupons on) in the pic above for $7 something. So fun! The wipes alone were originally $15. The Cheetos were a treat for Conrad who was at home watching the babies and came to about 30 cents each.....not our normal Trader Joe's fare.

This is the pic of my great deals from my trip last wed. This stuff came to $1.22. The soaps were free with a $3 of 3 J&J coupon. The Aveeno was on clearance (only 15% off) for $2.54. I had 2 $2 off coupons so I got them both for $1.08. I had 2 target internet printable coupons for $1 off Motts and also had 2 manufacturer coupons for 55 cents. I think apple sauces came to about 7 cents each.

Lately

2009-03-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

-Conrad was changing Mila's diaper in their play area and she was crying because she had a bad diaper rash. Nolan noticed how sad she was and took the binky out of his mouth (that he had recently stolen from her) and put it in her mouth and then held her hand to try and make her feel better.

-Nolan and Mila have figured out how to get out of their fenced in play area.They have multiple different strategies they can use depending on how I set it up. I need to figure out a new strategy to keep them in so I can get stuff done while they play.........without coming back to find them playing in Wyatt's water.

-We are currently in the process of transitioning from formula to organic whole milk. Cheaper, but not as much cheaper as you might think. (At the time of actual post they are fully on milk.)

-We will also be transitioning from bottles to just sippy cups. This transition will likely take longer than the switch to regular milk.

-Nolan still wakes up wanting a bottle about 3 or 4 some mornings and we have decided to put a stop to that. Because he is much more stubborn than Mila with his eating habbits, we have justified this by saying he likely is hungry at night. Lately, we have not made him a bottle if he wakes. We just bring up a sippy of water and rock him for a minute if he is really out of sorts and put him back to bed. It takes a little longer, but seems to be working for the most part (except the first night when we were up for 1 hour and 45 minutes).

-I am still trying to figure out my health issues I have struggled with since the babies were born.

-We are trying to decorate and organize our house bit by bit. It is starting to look more like we want it to. This is more important to me now that I spend so much time at home.

-Mila has been using walking as her main mode of transportation for almost a week. She still definitely has the new walker wobble, but is so cute. Nolan can take about 6 steps in a row, but prefers to crawl most of the time. (At the time of post Nolan is walking a lot more and he is doing great.....video to come).

-We found a small plastic climber with a slide on Craigslist for a good deal and the babies love it. It was 45 minutes past bedtime when they first got to play with it, but Nolan was determined to crawl up the slide. He was exhausted but tried over and over to get up it even with slippery shoes and only his sweaty hands as traction. Today I found him standing up on the top platform quite proud of himself. I need to figure out how to get the huge thing in and out of their area by myself so that they can have fun with it during the day and I can also take it out when I need to work on something.

Mila and Nolan's Birthday Party

2009-02-21T23:06:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Mila and Nolan's birthday party last weekend. Below is a video from some of the action and a slideshow of pictures.

Mila and Nolan's 1st Birthday from Conrad V on Vimeo.

Birthday Slideshow from Conrad V on Vimeo.

One Year Old!

2009-02-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

Mila and Nolan turned 1 year old on February 4th. Kari and I have been so blessed in the last year. Because Kari is tough and God is good they only came 11 days early and were very healthy. Our family has grown exponentially and so has our faith. We've learned and are learning so much as parents each day.

On Mila and Nolan's birthday Kari and Grandma Audrey went to story time at the library. After the babies had their nap I came home early from work and we went downtown to some of our favorite locations: Greenbaum's, Gymboree, Picture People, and Venti's Cafe.

Kari had some coupon making a quick photo shoot at Picture People worth the effort and then the babies enjoyed rice and black beans for dinner at Uncle Dino's restaurant. After our adventure downtown we came home and the babies got to "open" their presents.

It was a fun day full of family time.

Story time and birthday shirts!

Nolan loves to give kisses.

Grandma Audrey helped with story time.Getting geared up for the downtown journey.Nolan's presents.Mila's presents.

First Birthday!

2009-02-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

Saturday we're going to have a little get together to celebrate Mila and Nolan's birthday. Open invitation for anyone who wants to come. Leave us a comment or email if you might come by.

Click for a larger image:

Thinking Back: Baby Birthday Eve

2009-02-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a year?! All day I've thought about the past year. As we sat down to relax this evening I starting thinking about one year ago today: the eve of Mila and Nolan's debut. With so much running through my head it was definitely hard to sleep. We had no idea what an amazing experience we just ahead of us. We thought we did, but there's no preparation that can explain what it actually feels like to see and hold your own children. God is so faithful! I'm thankful fo have such an amazing wife, son and daughter!

Kari just before we met Mila and Nolan!

Our last picture together as a family of 2!

Playin' Around With M&N

2009-01-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since we've posted any video of the babies. Here is a fun clip of them playing around in the play area. Mila is particularly interested in the video camera. Mila and Nolan think it's pretty fun to flip all the toys onto the back side. We'll straighten them up daily and they'll flip'em over daily.

Playin' around with M&N... from Conrad V on Vimeo.

Boing! Boing!

2008-12-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

Kari and I had so much fun with the babies this Christmas morning. We had a wonderful day with our families! It was awesome to share this time with the babies. We are blessed to have a Lord who loves us in such an indescribable way.

We'll have more pics of our Christmas posted soon, but we wanted to share this video of Nolan and Mila (mostly Nolan). We've had this little horse toy that hooks up to the TV with a video game for toddlers. We thought for sure the babies were too small for the toy. The horse can function without being hooked up to the TV so we put Nolan on it this morning and he went at it like he's been training for the Kentucky Derby for months! His little feet wouldn't touch the ground, but he some how found a way to "boing". Enjoy!

Zoo Lights

2008-12-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we made a regular journey to Portland. Our normal trip consists of a stop at Trader Joes, a visit to Bridgeport/REI/or Washington Square, and occasionally a visit with the Greens. This trip had a special purpose - a visit to the Zoo to meet up with the Compton family for Zoo Lights.

We arrived at the Zoo early (around 4pm) to beat the crowd because we heard the crowd can get pretty busy. We pulled in and had plenty of parking choices. The lights started around 5pm so we walked around the Zoo for a bit. As 5 grew closer, the crowd grew larger. By the time we were off the train ride the Zoo was a zoo. We weren't too surprised by the flow of people considering it was a crisp clear December Saturday. When we left the parking lot was jam packed. Someone waited for our mediocre parking spot while we changed two dirty diapers and loaded up our overly packed stroller!

Nolan and Mila were both troopers and enjoyed the outing. We're definitely blessed to have such patient babies. Nolan was particularly interested in the lights and pretty much starred at them as we cruised around the Zoo. Mila on the other hand, interested in everything, looking from side to side the entire ride.

Below are some pics of our adventure.

Winter Runs

2008-12-23T22:59:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep up the use of our multifunctional Bob double jogger stroller we picked up a rain cover a few weeks ago. I (Conrad) was very excited to keep running with the twins throughout the rainy season. I know that if I wait to run with them again in the spring they'll be twice as big and I'll be sorry. Shortly after we purchased the cover it wasn't raining, but it was a clear chilly day, a perfect opportunity to use the cover to shield the brisk air. Below are some pics of the three of us gearing up for the run.

The babies love when we run...I've yet to hear a peep from either one of them.

Silly Faces...10 Months Old!!

2008-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today Nolan and Mila are 10 months old. Both of them have been so much fun lately (despite the recent cold that has been passed around the Venti household). It is amazing to see the differences in each of them. I'm sure Kari will have a list of their characteristics soon.

For some while now Mila has been making the cutest smiley face with her nose all scrunched up. After watching his sister make this cute face, Nolan decided he'd start making a similar smile. So when they are excited and happy these are the faces we see multiple times a day!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was an extra joy this year with Mila and Nolan around. One of Kari's favorite childhood Thanksgiving traditions was watching the Macy's Parade with the family. Since we've been married we haven't made a special effort to turn on the parade. So with the babies around, she said, "we've got to start the tradition". Nolan and Mila do not watch much tv so they really enjoyed being just feet away from the screen and were, for the most part, interested in what was going on. Nolan was especially interested in the Rockettes :-).

After breakfast and the parade I took Wyatt for a walk in the neighborhood. Upon return, I was not so thankful to see that someone had broken into our car!

Kari's dad, Grandpa Jay, came over (her parents live around the corner) and helped me clean up the mess. Fortunately the thieves were not interested in baby gear and nothing was stolen. While we were cleaning up Jay said, "hey, do you have one of those corrugated plastic signs from church...", so below is a picture of our remedy. After all, we are supposed to "give praise in all circumstances", right?

We finshed cleaning up just in time for lunch around the corner. Kari's family all went to her parents' house for lunch. It is always a great time. The babies had fun with the family and I'm sure the family had fun with the babies.

Nolan in his cute Thanksgiving outfit

Nolan and cousin Carson
Aunt Nancy and Nolan lovin' her necklace
Uncle Jim and Mila Marci and the babies
Grandma Audrey and the twins

Just For Fun

2008-11-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today I was playing with Mr. Lopez' Flip video camera. Audrey (grandma) also has one that she frequently uses to catch baby laughs. I couldn't resist catchin' the munchkins before bed. Here is a short clip of their lovely smiles...please note that they are not really doing anything particularly funny...in fact, Kari said it is the most boring minute of their lives...anyway, enjoy!

Kari is 25!

2008-11-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

We actually celebrated on Kari's birthday, November 5th, but I have been procrastinating posting the pictures. We had a nice dinner and finished the evening with my first homemade cake. I think Kari enjoyed it!

This is an adorable picture of Kari and Mila at the Nordstrom baby fashion show. Mila has become a nearly automatic "smiler" when we point the camera. It is so much fun!

A walk in the park

2008-10-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

The fall weather today was at its finest. Knowing that the rain will soon be here, the crisp blue sky is something we don't take for granted this time of year.

Kari loaded the stroller, babies, and all the baby gear downtown. She also brought me a change of clothes. Nolan and Mila were suited up in their walking clothes - warm coats, boots and pants. We started at Venti's and strolled through downtown up Cottage Street, through a few fun paths in the Pringle Park area and then made it to Bush park.

We made the loop and passed Leslie (my aunt) running with Drake (her Siberian running partner) twice. The colors this time of year are absolutely breath taking. After making the loop we took the stroll back downtown and ended with a delightful dinner at Venti's.

I will have to admit that this was probably the best fall days of my life. There have been a lot of good fall football days, but walking with the family on a beautiful day can't be beat!

First Apology

2008-10-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting at my sewing machine I heard muffled Nolan screams. I walked a few steps over to their play area and found Mila on top of him and trying to crawl over him to get to a toy. I immediately hopped over the fence and pulled her off of him and sat them both on my lap. I put them facing each other and told Mila to say sorry (which she can't obviously do, but we are practicing). I kissed him to show her what to do. Neither party was interested. I tried to have them give each other hugs. Again, not interested. Then Nolan summed up his feelings by angerly doing one of his rumbly lip zerbert things (which are usually one of his happy sounds).

They are normally very loving towards each other. They can play together for about an hour if fed and happy. I often see them migrate to the same spots within their play area. After they have been apart for awhile they are so excited to see each other. They will wiggle and squirm to get to the other one and open their mouths and just kiss on each others faces. They even sometimes hug. When they are sleepy or are lying next to each other they often hold hands. They are so precious together. Nolan is especially loving towards Mila, although lately Mila has been giving some intense kisses and loves.

They are so precious and I love caring for them everyday.

Brown Rice Cereal!!!

2008-10-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Nolan and Mila experienced their first brown rice cereal meal a couple of weeks ago and we realized we didn't post the pictures. Nolan loved it pretty much from the first bite. He would get so into it that when you feed him a bite he slurps it in and ends up spattering it everywhere. Mila liked it too but was more interested in smiling for the pictures. We would feed her a bite and she knew what to do with it but then after a bit she would spit half of it out and let it run down her face. She would let us put the spoon in her mouth and would keep it in there and look at Conrad with the camera like she was making sure that he was capturing the moment. She is such a ham!

First meal ready to go.

Mila making sure we were capturing the moment.

Still watching the camera...

Loving it.

Thinking this is much easier.

Bush Park Pictures

2008-09-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures from a recent photo session with Uncle Jeff. He hasn't re-touched them yet, but we wanted to get them posted before they are out of date. After you check these pictures out be sure to look below at the other new post from tonight. We've gotten a little behind on our blogging and we're trying to catch up so check back soon for some exciting new "firsts".

Trying to kiss sister

Nolan's silly Zoolander pose

Nolan found his tongue for the first time during the session

Check out that drool...

Its our Blogiversary!

2008-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Its been about one year since we started this blog. Our first major post was when we took Conrad's sisters to the fair last year. I was a couple months pregnant with the babies and it was so fun to take Elizabeth and Sarina and imagine how it would be to take our kids. I remember blogging soon after and how sore I was after walking around all day and then sitting at the computer on a hard chair. It was probably one of my last major outings of my pregnancy and soon after this I was spending most of my time on the couch. This was because of wanting to avoid pre-term labor and later simply because I could not hardly move. Oh how pregnancy and having babies takes a toll on your body (I will save that happy subject for a later date when I can look back with some perspective.)Well, as you can see we did take Mila and Nolan to their first trip to the fair. We went with our friends Katie and Jose and their son Owen on Fri. night. The people watching at the fair is always amazing...that's all I am going to say about that. Soon after we met up the Lizama fam, Jose and Conrad went on the search for some fries and came back with a pile of fries called "Mt. Hood" with chili and fake cheese all over. They also tried the ice cream, a corndog, and helped Katie with her elephant ear. We looked at the exhibits, saw how many twins we could find (about 5), and just wandered. We also did some feedings on the fly and even changed all of their diapers while they were sitting in their strollers by the foot jiggily machines (because you know we would never put our babies on any of the available surfaces at the fair). We had a great time even during some screaming by Mila when it was getting close to bed time. I hunched over and held her hand as I walked next to the stroller until she fell asleep.
On Saturday we drove over to the beach and spent two nights with my parents in their camper. Conrad stayed the first night with us and met up with some guys for our friends Dru's bachelor party (the main purpose for our trip out there). We visited our friends Paul and Toni and their cute kiddos, went to the outlet mall, and found our favorite beach spot on 16th St. in Lincoln City. When Conrad was at the bachelor party my mom and I took the babies on a long walk to the fabric store and to check out the place we are using for the women's retreat we are planning. We also had a chance to drive down to the beach, put the babies in the carriers, walk around, load up, and head out when we were done.

Baby Trading Cards

2008-07-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Mila

Age: 6mo 1wk

Weight: 17lb 1oz

Hair: dark brown and sticks straight up

Likes: Grinning, Hot pink (since she was tiny anything that color catches her attention and makes her smile), mirrors, books, catching strangers attention, drinking water from a cup, binkies, grabbing and looking at her clothes before she gets dressed, sucking on her hands, making funny sounds, her brother, her feet and sucking on her toes, rolling, being swaddled

Dislikes: Falling asleep, being strapped into stroller...wants to see, be held, and wiggle

Traits: Fights sleep but wakes up happy, sometimes cries when she realizes she does not recognize who is holding or looking at her, prefers mom to cuddle her when she is really upset, wines and fake cries when she wants attention and makes a complete recovery when someone pays attention to her, hangs her mouth open when she is trying to figure something out.

Wishes she could: Touch everything!

Nolan

Age: 6mo 1wk

Weight: 16lb 9oz

Hair: Light brown/blond, a little fuzzy with lots of calics

Likes: Jumping up and down in his bouncer, watching TV (we fight him on that one though), his little monkey blanket, binkies, looking at and talking to his hands, standing, thinks its silly when you get him dressed, likes to drink water from cup also, being tickled, watching daddy cook, to laugh and giggle, spitting and blowing bubbles, loves kisses from momma on his cheek, his sister.

Dislikes: Having his nails clipped.

Traits: Ticklish, strong, knows what he wants, silly, pouts with his lip out when gearing up to be sad, cries hard when hungry, usually does not fight sleep but wakes up a little grumpy sometimes, thinks his daddy is the funniest person ever, he is a people watcher.

Wishes he could: Crawl

July 4th and Venti's new location!

2008-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

July 4th was Mila and Nolan's 5 month birthday. The two little bambinos are really loving each other these days. We spent July 4th at Uncle Mario Venti's house in Beaver. After the Venti party we watched the Salem Riverfront from the Edgewater Park in West Salem.
Today Venti's Cafe moved to the new location and we had dinner with the Compton fam (we all fit now!). Uncle Dino and Leslie have been working their tails off to get the transition complete. The location is amazing and definitely has the space Venti's Cafe deserves! Please check it out if you can!

Mila kissin' on brother

4th of July cuties

Mila has become quite familiar with the camera

Nolan and his new aviator cap
Elizabeth and Sarina love the babies

Uncle Dino and the Compton family at the new Venti's

Nolan and Mila Video

2008-06-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Kari and I have finally downloaded our video from our camera onto the computer. There may be more coming soon, but here is a little look into the fun we have on a daily basis.

Mila and Nolan's First Swim!!!

2008-06-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks for keeping up on our blog. It has been a little over a month since we last posted so we have updated with four new posts. Please look at them all.

We took Mila and Nolan to the pool for the first time last month.

Nolan is a people watcher. He's in lifegaurd training...

When Mila is done...SHE'S DONE!

Twins Picture Catch Up!

2008-06-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Mila and Nolan from last month.

Grandpa Jay is a great helper!

Mila Picture Catch Up!

2008-06-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Mila from last month.

Mila loves to get her cuddle on with Great Grandma Edna.

Mila has been working on her modeling for mommy. She became interested in fashion instantly when mommy put her new boots on her.

We caught her sleeping and holding her bink in with one finger!

Nolan Picture Catch Up!

2008-06-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Nolan from last month.

Nolan read the new high chair instructions to daddy...The reading was a little more difficult than the usual.

Nolan and Grandma Audrey take a look at Kari's mother's day present. Nolan was very interested.

Nolan has been enjoying his new teether.

Spring Babies

2008-04-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jeff took some photos on Sunday. The babies are 12 weeks today! We are still amazed that we have to babies. They make us laugh everytime we look at them. God has definitely blessed our lives with two cute munchkins.

Day at the park

2008-04-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a baby excursion. We picked up Mila's prescription at Quisenberry's Pharmacy downtown and took it to Venti's to put in the cooler until we called it a day. We had packed up for a trip to the park so we walked to the riverfront and spent a few hours laying in the sun. Nolan and Mila slept in their car seats in the shade most of the time. After their nap we fed the babies and watched the flood of people enjoy the 75 degree day. We tried not to get too close, but we noticed that there was a mid-evil fair going on across the field from us. Our friends Laura Maddox and Megan McCann came to visit for a little while until they rememberd about their timed parking spot. After feeding the babies in the sun for a short while we decided that we needed to find some "sun hats" for the coming spring and summer days. So we packed up camp and moved on. We migrated to Red Robin for dinner. After dinner we cruised over to target and found the "sun hats" we longed for. Now they babies are prepared to play in the sun. As you can see in the pictures below we tried to create shade with the diaper bag. On our way home we we both agreed that God has blessed up with two very (cute yes) good babies. Looking back they didn't make a peep all day long. It may have been that they were out of their element, but either way we were thankful to have a successful day in the sun. Below are some pictures to recap the day:

Mila Picture Catch Up!

2008-04-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures we didn't get to blog, but still wanted to share.

Mom puts socks on my hands because I can't be trusted...

Lovin' the cuddle time with great grandma Buhler!
Do I hear brother crying?
Um...mom, I see a spider...
Post bath.

Nolan Picture Catch Up!

2008-04-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos we never got around to blogging, but still wanted to share.

Not quite big enough for his jumper, but still pretty cute.

Hiked up pants.
Trying out his Bumbo.
Church outfit.
Lovin' mommy.

Auntie Elizabeth

2008-04-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

My (Conrad) little sister Elizabeth has been learning some very cute songs at school. My mom sent me this video tonight and I couldn't help but share it.

Play Time

2008-03-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Mila and Nolan have a weekly or twice weekly play time with friend Owen. Kari and Katie caught some pretty cute moments this week...

Nolan and his binky bandit friend...(see next two photos)

Gettin' Big!!!

2008-03-03T20:59:00.001-08:00

Here are some new pictures of Mila and Nolan. We are sorry that it has been nearly two weeks since we've posted last, but as you can imagine we have our hands full. Below are some pictures to prove that our babies have been growing...not that any of you have been doubting.

Last time we weighed this week Mila weighed in at 8lbs 13oz and Nolan weighed in at 8lbs 10oz. Nolan is disparately trying to close the gap between him and his big sis, but she keeps growing at the same pace! We praise God daily for healthy babies and pray daily for energy!

The pictures go from oldest to newest - top to bottom.

New Babies = A Lot of "Firsts"

2008-02-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

With new babies the Venti family is experiencing many "firsts". Below are some pictures of our "first" week at home.

Some "firsts" worth noting (but no pictures):

First time eating Jelly Bellies (because no other food was available) at 3am
First time Kari has watch the sun rise multiple days in a row

Babies "first" bath at home.

"First" Venti family shopping trip.

"First" Sunday of worship.

"First" Halo game with daddy.

And just a cute picture of Nolan trying to figure out what's going on...

Twins come home!

2008-02-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Venti twins ventured home on Thursday. After four days in the hospital Kari, Mila, and Nolan were all cleared to come home. It took us about 5 hours to actually get out of the hospital, but we finally made it home around 7pm. We have spent the past few days adjusting to a completely new schedule and are amazed by the energy God has given us to make the transition.

Kari and I are praise the Lord that we have two healthy babies! Every time we look at each of them we are amazed by the overwhelming feeling of love we have for these little munchkins.

Below are a few (of hundreds) pictures from our journey home.

Mila (left) and Nolan (right) enjoy their sunggles. I think they are in awe looking at each other outside of the womb.

Kari and Mila getting ready for the ride home.

Nolan and Mila all buckled up.

Kari and I on our way out...

Saturday afternoon nap in mom and dad's bed. Caught them holding hands!
Stay tuned for more pictures...

Babies are here!

2008-02-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." ~1 Samuel 1:27

Today has been the most amazing day of our lives. Kari and I ventured to the Salem Hospital this morning at 5:30am. Today was the 38 week 3 day mark of the pregnancy. We praise the Lord that our babies had adequate time to develop! I am also proud of Kari for her strength through the journey.

We checked in and were welcomed to a delivery room by 6am. We waited in the delivery room while the nurses prepared Kari for her cesarean section. Mila (Baby A) was breach which required the surgery. By about 7:35 Kari was taken to the operating room and I was to put on my gown and wash up. I waited anxiously until 8:00 until the nurse escorted me to the OR where my soon-to-be family awaited. I sat behind "the curtain" with Kari and waited for our babies.

By 8:09 February 4, 2008 we were blessed with our daughter Mila Grace Venti. She weighed in at 6lbs 13oz and 19inches long. She opened her arms to stretch as the nurse peeked her around the curtain.

Just one minute later at 8:10 we were blessed with our son Nolan Jeffrey Venti. He weighed in at 6lbs 3oz and 18.5 inches. He too opened his arms in freedom as the nurse peeked him around the curtain.

The picture to the right shows us in the OR with Mila on the left and Nolan on the right.

Mila on the left and Nolan on the right. This picture was taken just before their first bath this afternoon.

Mr. Nolan grabbing dad's finger (courtesy of Uncle Jeff).

Nolan during our quite time this afternoon.

Mila during our quite time this afternoon.

We are so thankful for these little munchkins. Please check back periodically throughout the weeks to come to see updates of our new family!

In Him,
The Venti Fam

2007-08-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

Eating some ice cream

Giving brother kisses in the pool

2007-08-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

Making cookies

Getting Hugs

Posing with the pigs

Sarina really getting into her ice cream

Is This The Fair?

2007-08-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Thought i would finally get started on the real blogging. Last weekend was a pretty eventful. Friday night we had a game night at the church for the high schoolers from 6-12. We went to a pool then came back for go carts in the parking lot, basketball, a volleyball tournament, Guitar Hero, and snacks. I was in charge of shopping for the snacks and getting them ready. I brought back a youth group classic called "Que Bueno" (a nacho cheese that comes in a huge can at Costco). I justified the purchase by telling myself that it could go over the tortilla strips, the mongo bag of pretzels (that i don't think any youth group has ever actually finished), and Conrad wisely pointed out that it could also go over the Nacho Cheese Doritos....why didn't i think of that? I think the students liked the Que Bueno, but I don't think they really got the hugeness of the whole situation.

Then on Saturday Conrad's little sisters Elizabeth and Sarina came over to have a day of fun and spend the night. We had planned on taking them to the Zoo but after i looked at the map online and was reminded how huge it was i thought we better stick to something closer (i also could not find any coupons for the Zoo and I did not want to pay full price). So I did some more research and came up with an obvious solution.....the Oregon State Fair! Did not get out of the house till 2:30....guess that is what happens when you have kids in tow. They needed some chill time, drinks, one fell asleep, then it was time for lunch, so i just tried to go with it. When we finally got in the car we had to go run a couple errands. As we pulled into the ATM drive through Elizabeth asked, "Is this the fair?". We said no and laughed about how we could have gone to the farmers market and they would have never known the difference. Then in the parking lot of the copy place Elizabeth said, "I am tired and and need a drink of cold water and that will help to keep me awake." The girl was right on. By the time Conrad came back to the car she was asleep. So we gave her a drink and she was good to go. After we snuck into a "full" parking lot we got into the fair and got going. As you can see the first stop was the giant pumpkins followed by holding the baby chicks. When Sarina saw them she was so excited she started giggling, screaming, and shaking. They loved the chicks and we quickly found some post chick hand sanitizer and we were rolling again. Made some cookies with a cute lady that just could not get our family figured out. She asked if they were twins......we said no....they are just close in age and are Conrad's sisters....but, that I am pregnant with twins. She soon proceeded to call Conrad "Dad" multiple times, but he got a cookie out of the deal so did not even fight it. We also visited the momma and baby pigs, made name tags out of slices of logs, got hugs (in their stroller) from Smokey The Bear, met a giant tree guy, and had ice cream from the Dairy Wives. Young kids get in for free, and Elizabeth won her own ice cream cone on some sort of spinning wheel so they were cheap dates. On our way towards the gate they were already asking when we could go back. I guess they had fun!

When we came back we took them for a evening swim after deciding it would be easier and more fun than actually giving them baths (which was followed by a semi legit shower). Got ready for bed and only had one melt down when Sarina noticed that her mom had only packed Elizabeth's Tinkerbell pajamas and not hers. So after some telling her that we did not have those pajamas and there was nothing we could do about and then quickly following it with some lip gloss bribery (she is obsessed with lip gloss) she was fairly cured.

The girls are so cute and have been great practice for us. They say so many funny things I just want to carry around a note pad to write them all down.
Most of my posts wont be this long....I guess once i got started i could not stop.

Posing with the giant pumpkins

Holding baby chicks

Loving chicks a little too hard

The girls with their new Frisbees
(I think Sarina must be saying hello to the Thorsons in China)

Joining the Blogging World

2007-07-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

The following is the ubiquitous post that all new bloggers must make:
After holding out for some time Conrad and I have decided to join the blogging world. I love reading other peoples blogs, but never felt that I had very blog worthy things to write about. But, with all of the new things in our life I think I could at least muster up some pictures and updates. So check back occasionally and we will do our best to give you little glimpses into the life of the Ventis.