I Think He's Got It

– I's modelling. 'Dis me practicing my serious yet casual pose.



- How I doin'?

Mommy note: Due to our laundry circumstances and today's weather (cold), I've had to resort to pulling 12 month size clothes out of our reserves so the boys can wear something with sleeves – and once again, they fit pretty well actually. At least these super cute rugby style jerseys do, so they're going in the regular closet right away. Nate was unavailable for photos today due to teething sadnesses, but I'll try to take pics of them again in the near future in these shirts (which are coordinating, not matching btw) because they really are super cute.

- L.

Today We're 2 x 2 Months + 2 x 2 Weeks Old

2 x 2 months + 2 x 2 weeks = 1 special occasion. I can't believe I almost missed it!

Of course, there's no better way to celebrate all this twosie-ness than with my 2 favorite photos ever of my 2 best guys.



Talk about a proud mama! I look like the cat who ate the canary.



Same cat here, but a lipstick kiss is also a nice touch as it turns out.

My mom (who takes art direction very well apparently) was the photographer behind these great shots, btw.

- L.

Wet.

We're now on the 12th day of teething and so far no sign of white, but today there were plenty of tears from wee Nate. Infant Tylenol did not cut it, Baby Oragel had no effect, and the chilled teether did doodlysquat.

I tried everything I could think of to soothe those sore gums, but in the end all I could do was try to soothe my baby as he cried. And cried. And cried.

I took this shortly after the rain stopped.



As you can see, those are some very wet lashes on my poor little guy. : (

In the end, despite the rocking and the gentle "shhh-ing" and reassurances that, "it will be OK", I think he just plain wore himself out.



How I wish those teeth would get here already.

- L.

This Is Not A Blog About Laundry

This is not a blog about laundry.
This is not a blog about laundry.
This is not a blog about laundry.
This is not a blog about laundry.
This is not a blog about laundry.

It's a baby blog – honest! With video. So... enjoy!



This one's of Nate, making his incredibly cute gurgling sound. He makes this sound a lot. Seth does not make this sound. I can't make this sound and M. can't really manage it either. It's definitely a Nate thing. It reminds me vaguely of something I heard in a movie once, but I can't think of which one.

Oh, and also he has the hiccups. Super-cute.



This one's of Seth getting an impromptu head and face massage. With feet. He doesn't seem overly perturbed and Nate finds it all quite funny.

- L.

Laundry Watch 2010 | Status Remains At Red Alert

I think I can. I think I can.

– The Little Engine That Could

The end result of Ol' Lonely's visit this morning is that the drain pump on the washer needs replacing – although it's still getting the job done for now, it makes a terrible noise and really could stop functioning at any time. The heating element on the dryer is also broken. He felt the smoky smell probably came from the element and since it's broken there's no longer any danger in running the machine – but of course there's no heat, so that's not going to do us much good.

I've been picking up coils of metal like this off the floor around the machines all morning and being thankful Nate and Seth aren't mobile toddlers yet:



Yeah, it's pretty broken.

It looks like it will be a few days to get in parts if our landlords decide to go with a repair vs. new machines (although I imagine new machines will also take a few days to coordinate), so in the meantime I'm washing what I can and hoping we can sneak downstairs to do some furtive late-night drying tonight before the new tenants move in. So far, the little bums remain covered in cloth and I've got my fingers crossed for sunny skies over the next few days so I can line dry as much as possible because I think I can make this work if the weather will cooperate.

I'm definitely feeling a kinship with that little red engine of late.

- L.

Brother, Can You Lend A Hand?

OK, enough of this laundry business. How about some cute babies instead?



– So I had this idea Nate.
– Hmmm... not sure I like the sound of that actually.



– First I take my hand outta my mouth and I put it over here near your hand.
– I see.



– Then I grab your hand and I drag it over here.
– I'm with you so far.



– Then I move it in a little closer...
– I have a feeling I know where this is going.



– ... and I try to shove your hand and my hand into my mouth at the same time!
– I have to say this was rather anticlimactic Seth.



– How was it for you?
– Not nearly as tasty as I'd hoped Nate. Not nearly as tasty as I'd hoped.

- L.

Laundry Watch 2010 | Current Status: Red Alert

We're officially upgrading our status from Yellow to Red since our landlords are painting and such in the suite downstairs so that means we are officially without functioning laundry facilities until tomorrow morning when the lonely Maytag Man (AKA Ol' Lonely) is supposed to be making an appearance. I did manage to get a load of diapers washed last night in our coffee-grinder wash machine and am desperately trying to line dry this afternoon despite the thundershower warning. I'm really missing those rockin' machines downstairs in the meantime. I had forgotten what a full size set is capable of and honestly am considering some kind of medal for myself for persevering with cloth diapering twins using our little 24" machines for as long as I have.

Or a trip to the asylum.

Let's just say I'm glad I didn't know any better when I started out on this venture and I'm going to do my best to forget what I've learned in the past couple of days.

On the upside, it looks like we'll have new neighbors soon. I wonder if they have any idea that they're moving in beneath a family with twins or if they'll just be finding out the hard way – like at 7 AM on a Saturday morning, perhaps.

- L.

Laundry Watch 2010 | Current Status: Yellow Alert

So we've run into a bit of a rough patch with our machines (yes, both of them) in the past week. At first the washer started making a terrible noise during each cycle. It sounds a lot like our coffee grinder, so you know that can't be good. We ran a service check on the machine and as far as we could tell it seems to be the drain pump making the noise although it's still draining and otherwise working OK. We hadn't yet alerted our landlords to the problem when yesterday the dryer acted up in a major way too – and it's 100% not usable at this point until it's been serviced since the barrel smelled like smoke when I opened it and so did all it's contents.

And since the contents just happened to be the new cloth diapers I'm prepping for Nate and Seth I was extra unhappy because if you know me at all then you know I love my cloth. Actually, I love doing laundry in general (just ask M.) so the very thought of having the dryer not working for even a small period of time gave me anxiety in a bad way – and I'm not entirely kidding (I get this from my mother).

We got in touch with our landlords and they actually replied the same day which must be some kind of record, but we are still waiting to find out when the machines can be fixed. I guess Maytag was having some kind of a problem with their customer service line yesterday which didn't help any.

On the upside (and this is the only reason we are not at Red Alert today), our neighbors downstairs moved out last week so their apartment is vacant – and so are the washer and dryer that come with the place AND we just happen to have a key. I mean, if this had to happen it at least happened at a most fortuitous time since I know I can't wash diapers at our local laundromats – which honestly was what I was the most worried about. I remember how glad I was when the boys finally fit into their cloth diapers and we were able to put the disposables away for good. I don't want to have to go back to buying them. I am fierce about my cloth!

I asked our landlords if it would be OK if we used the machines downstairs in the meantime and since they didn't address my query one way or the other when they wrote back, I'm taking it as a YES.

Those machines downstairs ROCK by the way. I had forgotten how fast a dryer is supposed to work when you're using one that's full size, and I know there's a lot of hype regarding front-loaders (which we have), but I'd trade mine any day for a good old top loader like the one our neighbors have. If I was buying my own machines that's exactly what I would want. Oh, I could go on and on, but at the risk of sounding like a complete lunatic when it comes to laundry, I'll stop.

Hopefully by the time new tenants move in, our machines will be fixed and life will return to normal. In the meantime, all is fair in love and laundry – and although we miss our neighbors ya'll couldn't have picked a better time to leave. : )

I took some pics of Nate and Seth yesterday covered in an avalanche of clean dipes. This was the last load our dryer managed to do before it broke, so our bums are covered for today at least. The babies were having a great time playing in their crib while I was in the middle of things, and since that's usually where I stack the diapers before I put them away I thought, why not? – and dumped all that fresh fluffy goodness on the lot of them. They loved it!







- L.

The Oddest Prime: Now With Video

Well, I'm trying out video for the first time at The Oddest Prime since Nate and Seth were both in a chatty mood tonight. Please ignore the food stains and general dishevelment and enjoy.





- L.

Guess Who?

– *giggle*
– *giggle*
– I wonder if they'll be able to guess who is who Nate.
– Oh, I don't know... maybe they'll spot a little clue!



– Did you all guess right?
– 'Course they did Seth. My chubby wrist gave it away, silly.
– I'm sure that was it. *sigh*

– Hey Nate – I have a question for you.
– OK, shoot!



– If I'm the little brother, how come I'm so much better at sitting up than you?
– Oh, I dunno. Maybe I can answer your question with a question...



– Who's sittin' up now, Seth?
– Oh, dat good question. Touché Nate. Touché.

And just for fun, more random cuteness from today:





I couldn't resist these little coordinating onesies after they were marked down to $3.99. I'm a little surprised though how well they're fitting into the 6-9 month sizes already, even though I shouldn't be because baby clothing sizes often don't jive with the actual age of the baby. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. But still...

If my little peanuts are fitting into clothing this far ahead of schedule, what are the babies in the 50th and upward percentiles wearing?

- L.

Rewind: Our Great Auntie E.

– Dis nice lady Seth. She bought us these cute onesies.
– Yup. She spoiled us silly. Very nice lady.



– So why are we crying our heads off again?
– Oh, dis so she won't be too sad to leave us.

Auntie E. was supposed to join us for a few days when my mom arrived, but had to postpone her trip at the last minute since she woke up sick with the plague the morning they had planned to leave Vancouver. Still, everything worked out nicely (other than said plague) since she was able to fly out towards the end of my mom's stay and meet her grand-nephews after all.

We all had a nice visit and Auntie E. brought Nate and Seth lots of presents (like the onesies they're wearing in these pics!) and these little piggy banks with their names engraved:



– and filled with their very first $1 of course! Very sweet.

Thanks so much for everything Auntie E!

- L.

Rewind: The Baseball Edition*

– Oh, I just love baseball Seth.
– Me too. Gamma sure scored a home run with these outfits. Mine says "Slugger".
– Mine too. See?



– Dat's pretty cool Nate.
– Yup. Pretty cool.



– Guess what I'm doing now Nate?
– Hmmm... practicing your slide?



– Yup. 3... 2... 1..
– Look out home plate. Here we come!



– It's a touchdown!
– *sigh* I think dat's football Seth.
– Doesn't matter. It was fun. I feel like we're forgetting something though.
– Only the best part!
– Oh, right. Maybe dis nice Gamma will help us demonstrate...



– It's our BASEBALL BUMS!!!
– I don't even know what that means Nate. Mommy and Gamma says we's adorable though. Is we?
– Oh, we is Seth. We is.

*Mommy Note: I'm still trying to get caught up on posting from our visit with Grandma Rita so there will be a few "Rewind" entries sprinkled in among the newer posts for the next little while.

- L.

The Terrible Tooths

– Dis is no fun, no fun AT ALL! Pardon me while I scream my head off in your general direction.
– I was just gonna complain about my dirty shirt, but I guess life could be worse. Hang in there brother.

Well, we all knew this was coming. It looks like the arrival of the babies' first teeth are imminent after all (and maybe explains some of Nate's sad faces around here lately).

I actually thought we were back to smiling again when I got the camera out, but I guess the Infant Tylenol hadn't quite done it's job yet. Poor little guy. We are all feeling so sorry for him and Seth is doing a very good job of looking concerned too.

I haven't seen actual teeth breaking through the gums yet, but for the past 4 days Nate has needed a dose or two of Tylenol to get him through the late morning and afternoon which seem worse for him for some reason. Thankfully nighttime seems to be OK for now. So far all is quiet for Seth, but I expect that will change soon. Last week they were both chewing furiously on whatever they could get their hands on – which was often their own hands as it turned out. Other popular favorites included my hands and the terry cloths we use for taking care of spit-ups (bonus points for used ones because they have a flavor, of course).

In the meantime I'm keeping an eye out for the first glimpse of white in otherwise red, swollen gums – and hoping the painful part passes quickly.

- L.

Father & Sons

The four of us had a great time celebrating M's first Father's Day at home yesterday, and I even managed to get my camera-shy husband to sit for photos with Nate and Seth. Look at what a proud daddy he is!

(I just love the way these turned out, btw.)

Daddy and Seth:





Daddy and Nate:





So sweet.

- L.

A Night Out Sans Babies

Last October, M. and I signed up for a Preparing For Multiples prenatal class series. It was an 8 week course that took us right through to December and was designed to focus on issues specific to parents-to-be of multiples. Of course, they could only prepare us for so much, but it was worth the price and the time spent because at the last class we exchanged email addresses with the other couples who made it out that night (despite the snowstorm) and have had a great time keeping in touch since. I've probably learned more – or at least been reassured more that a, b, and c are perfectly normal – from the other 4 women that I keep in touch with than I did in the classes we took. Somehow the advice is better from someone who's actually been in the trenches.

We'd all been hoping to arrange a get-together for awhile now, but that's no easy task trying to coordinate the schedules of 5 parents of multiples. Since my mom was here and practically shoving M. and me out the door it seemed like a perfect time to see if anyone else was up for an evening out, so we arranged to meet up for dinner downtown last Saturday night. We had a great time exchanging war stories and catching up.



Clockwise, that's M., Beatrice, Tai, Jason, Tanya and me enjoying a night out in Little Italy. I wish I'd used the flash in retrospect since the pic is pretty grainy, but you can still see we're all pretty happy to be out of the house and wearing clean clothes. Unfortunately 2 of the other couples couldn't make it. We missed you Kathy and Jeff, Nik and Doug – but we're all hoping to meet up again later in the summer for an afternoon at the park with our little ones in tow. Sounds like a lot of work, but I know it would be so much fun to see everyone's babies. Imagine all the heads we'll turn with 5 sets of twins. Pushing one set around the neighborhood on any given day practically makes us all celebrities so I'm picturing that times 5. I hope we can all make it happen. : )

- L.

Our Hiatus & The Aftermath

I apologize for the break in our regular posting, but it's been a busy two weeks with Grandma Rita visiting us. She left for home late this morning and we're still adjusting – some of us better than others.

This, for example, is the face of a very sad baby:



Now, it could be a case of the sads brought on by the imminent arrival of our first teeth, or maybe mommy was just late with lunch.

BUT!

I've never really seen quite this look on Nate's face before, at least not for a prolonged period of time. It's always pretty easy to get a smile out of Nate – but not today. He wasn't crying or making any noise really – just looking sad and a little watery around the eyes on and off (although mostly on) for a couple of hours in the early afternoon today. I think he was missing his Gamma. : (

Seth was more or less business as usual – perhaps a little more animated since he was making a grab for the camera here:



And although it's far from being a good photo I'm posting it simply because unlike a lot of the pictures on this blog, you can really see what beautiful blue eyes he has – and so I've added it just because.

I think that's all we can manage for today, but there is a folder on my laptop with about a truckload of pictures in it and as soon as I can type up the stories behind them all I'll be posting as fast as the babies will let me.

It was a lovely visit, but the hiatus is over. We're back.

Thank you for your patience.

- L.

Worth More Than 1,000 Words

Grandma Rita + Seth and Nate = awesome.











- L.

Last Saturday

I'm getting behind on posting with my mom visiting us, but I'm taking advantage of a quiet moment around here to add what I can.

Last Saturday M's brother got married and I was able to get a really nice picture of me, M's mom (AKA Grandma Leslie), Nate, Seth and the two great-grandmas, Bea and Edna. It was the first time Edna had met her great-grandsons and so it was a nice moment and a great photo to remember it all by.



M. and I took Nate and Seth to the ceremony so we could do a meet and greet with as many of the relatives as possible following and then M. took the babies home so my mom (AKA Grandma Rita) could have a nice evening alone with her grandsons babysitting and so we could enjoy the reception afterwards.

Unfortunately, the boys kept us pretty busy during the ceremony so we spent most of it in an adjoining room (soundproof I hope!) tending to the babies and doing some major clean-up. Note to self: never take the babies anywhere important on a full stomach and always, always, ALWAYS bring a change of clothes. Oh well – it was a learning experience!

The bride looked lovely, btw. Congratulations to Brent and Karen! Karen – you're officially Nate and Seth's auntie now and they couldn't be happier about it. : )

- L.

Baby Report: Our 4 Month Visit To The Pediatrician

Our original appointment was bumped from last week to today, which was a good thing as it turned out since there was a lot of fussing after the babies' shots this afternoon and had the appointment gone ahead as originally scheduled I think I would have had to cancel the Kidney Day festivities.

These are some sad babies we have at our house today. : (

They also went to bed a little earlier than usual which I don't like particularly, even though they're not crying at least. I don't like it because I hate the thought that they're tired from crying so much, or worse – that the shots themselves are the cause. Vaxing is something we decided to do because we felt that the risks associated with vaccinating are less risky than not vaccinating. I'm happy with the vax schedule we have in Ontario and it doesn't seem over the top or like there is really anything unnecessary as part of the recommended vaccines in our province. Still, it's hard not to worry because no one wants their child to be the statistic. I always keep a close eye on my boys and check in with them often after they have gone to bed, but I think tonight will warrant a few extra checks. I hate worrying but I know sometimes it just can't be helped.

On a brighter note, the boys had a great checkup otherwise and are getting bigger and bigger. Here are today's stats at 4 months + 1 week old:

Nate: 13.6 lbs. or 13 lbs. 9 oz. (6.16 kg) | 25 in. (64 cm)

Seth: 12.9 lbs. or 12 lbs. 15 oz. (5.86 kg) | 24.25 in. (61.5 cm)

So basically, still growing like weeds*. Nate is now in the 25th percentile for their age group and although Seth is still in the 10th percentile the pediatrician is very happy with the progress of both boys.

And just because a post is never as awesome without pics, here are some photos I took yesterday of the boys in some new togs their Grandma Rita brought for them.







Too cute, but don't be fooled by what the camera captured since they weren't very happy about the hats as it turned out. Yep, more sad babies. In these pics though, you'd never know it at least. ; )

- L.

*Again – really, really cute weeds of course.

We Got Kissed Silly

– Dis my getting kissed silly face.



– Dis mine. I's a silly now too.



– Dis what a happy Gamma looks like Seth.
– Yup. Dat's a happy Gamma alright. I don't think I can feel my cheeks anymore though. You?
– Nope. Totally numb.

- L.