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.