ahhhh...Holidays :)

So we're into week 2 of Paul's holidays (which means, of course, I am on holidays too.)

MAN, could I get used to this!

We have a list of a pile of things we intended to get done, but for some reason, not much is being knocked off!

Loads and loads of QT with the kids is at the top of the list, and of course, that's happening!

Paul & I took Peyton & Tristan (along with our good friends and neighbours - Laurie, Jenna & Mitchell) to La Ronde in Montreal on Friday - what a HOOT! Peyton loved the rides and I think she'll easily become her daddy's ride partner (when she gets a little taller, anyway.) In the meantime, Oh-My-Gosh, did Tristan & Jenna keep up! And even Mitchell did his first adult roller coaster ride (with his mom TURNING her back as she couldn't watch - "They did not sit *MY* BABY on the end, oh no they didn't" said Laurie!) Tristan is JUST at that height requirement to be allowed on all the adult rides, and she didn't say no to ANYTHING!

Here's a blurry pic of them coming in from one roller coaster...
All in all, it was a fantastic day - the kids beamed with excitement, and little Miss THANG was great. The twins stayed home with Paul's parents and my mom splitting shifts - and honestly, we barely paid them a thought. Is that bad?? NAH! They were in great hands!! :)


Paul's been doing a few "around the house" stuff - painting the girl's bathroom, repainting ours (I like the color now, sweetie!!) We plan to go to Papanack Zoo tomorrow - and take the twins along, so we'll see how that goes.

Sunday was a way busy day for us - we had Paul's highschool buddies + spouses and kids over for a playdate & lunch in the afternoon, then we hosted a dinner for some visiting relatives of mine.
In town was my cousin Karen from Thunder Bay, along with husband Joe and OH-MY-GOSH 23 year old Alana (where the hell does time go!?!) Alana's recently started her nursing career at the QC hospital, and her parents came down to check out her new digs. It was so great to see Karen again - I have such wonderful & fond memories of spending many Christmases at my aunt Glenna's house in North Bay - sigh. My mom made a feast of a meal, and Deb's family was out to enjoy the company too. A quick game of Poker, and I believe it was Joe & Mom who came out first & second (though I don't know which order.) Fun, fun times. And no, we DON'T play poker ALL the time!!

Oh! In other news, I'm thrilled to report that Christi & Matthew had a baby GIRL on Saturday!! Welcome to her second born, Valerie!!! Remember Christi? From my wedding??
Here she is....

We're so happy for you Christi - only wish you were closer :(
Matt & Christi moved to Northern BC almost 3 years ago, shortly after Vivian was born. Pics of the latest arrival, Valerie (or V2!) can be found on Christi's blog...
http://woodyaya4.spaces.live.com/ - wow, she's a big, healthy babe!


Well, Leah & Paige are doing very well, growing by the day. We're getting lots of belly laughs and flirting - you know, all the great things! They just turned 5 months old, and MY GOD! What a WONDERFUL AGE! I can seriously say that I barely recall those first few weeks of, well, mayhem! Almost ready to do it again! Not!

OK - signing off with a video recorded just a few minutes ago -
disclaimer - no baby/child was disturbed during the recording of this video
(now why would I want to do that??)

I LOVE BEDTIME!

Edit video online at onetruemedia.com

Have a(nother) great LONG WEEKEND, everyone! Time to put away those white shoes!

Rugrat Update

Hi everyone!
Well, needless to say, the girlies have been keeping us busy - I honestly don't know where time flies, but I can see that it's been a few weeks since my last update, so thought I'd pop in tonight to write a bit.

The girls, of course, are great. 4.5 months now, and growing so quickly!

Leah is showing signs of becoming a somewhat sensitive baby - she's "making strange" to a few people and taking comfort in the arms of people she's familiar with. We're NOT used to that at all, because Peyton was so easy going. I never thought this would surface with the twins, since they've been handled by about a billion people since birth. But not the case. Her evenings have been a little rough this week too....we think she's just getting overtired and overstimulated, and the only way to tell us that she's Had Enough is to scream at the top of her lungs for about an hour. So we oblige :) But it's been a great week, weather wise, to have our windows opened...so I can't help but wonder if our neighbours think we're killing her!

Physically, Leah's just getting so big! She's actually in a size 9 month sleeper right now, which is WILD! She's VERY long...we call her Leah Long Legs. Suspect she'll be quite tall. She's still quite bald, but a fuzz of dark hair is coming in. Still blue eyed, but her eyes are quite dark, and I figure she'll have my brown eyes when all is said and done. She's got dainty, soft features, with the eyes of an "old soul."

Paige on the other hand is just plain pudgy! Well, in the face, anyways. As Leah gets longer, Paige gets rounder :) She lost most of her hair after birth, but it's growing in quite fast now - she's got quite a bit. Her eyes are still blue too, and I think they'll stay that way - or maybe go green, as Peyton's have. Her eyeballs are huge, to the point where you barely see the lid above and below them.

Paige is very easy going, doesn't complain much - but also Does.Not.Nap! I don't understand this kid - she can be awake at 7:00 AM, grab about 30-45 mins of shuteye around 10:30, then be wide awake until, like 2PM when she grabs another catnap. I don't get it?! How can she possibly be awake that long?? It absolutely baffles me. Overnight, she will sleep - but very lightly. She'll sleep well until about 3AM - then she "stirs" at least once an hour through 7AM(ish) when we get up. So Paul and I respond and just plug her with the soother....which buys us that extra few hours. Still, the interruption to sleep isn't fun. But I guess I can't complain - three kids who pretty much sleep through the night makes us...well...incredibly lucky. Not to mention, they're all typically down by 9-9:30, which leaves plenty of time for Paul & I to do something NON-baby before going to bed.

So my days are spent entertaining and playing, for the most part. Wake around 7 with Paige - Peyton usually comes down around 7:30-8:00 and Leah I'll typically get up after taking care of Paige's feeding. At times, all three will awake together and let me tell ya, that's a challenge! Peyton is pretty much toilet trained, but I've got to get to her pretty quick when she wakes up dry, or else she wont stay that way - and then with two hungry infants...well, you get the picture! Paul is usually around for that first feeding, but he's had a very busy three weeks at work, so he's been leaving before everyone stirs in the morning. So once the babes are fed, I make breakfast for Peyton & I. My mom still stops by - she'll come somewhere between 8:30 & 9:00, and then I'll take 20-30 minutes to myself (to shower and dress.) She will usually bathe the twins during this time - she LOVES doing that - then once I am done, and weather permitting, we'll often take a stroll. Or she'll take Peyton out for a while - something, to break the day. She leaves usually right around Peyton's lunch, then Peyton has her 2-3 hour nap, and I can SOMETIMES get a bit of time to myself. The babes will snooze in their bouncy chairs or on the floor...I keep DESPERATELY trying to get them to sleep in their cribs during the day, but I'm not all too successful - often, like 1/2 the time, I can get ONE to sleep soundlessly away in her crib, but NEVER both. So if they snooze in the family room, I'll find something to do somewhere else in the house, or I'll pick my weeds, or something. When they are awake, I just play with and stimulate them - either in the family room, or sometimes in the playroom. They're becoming a lot more responsive to their toys - grabbing, sucking, biting and cooing at them. And I continue to read a lot to Peyton (she loves the Little Critter books, right now) and the babes will listen intently as I read - and sometimes it seems they take an interest in looking at the pics along with us too.

So I've noticed them looking at each other a lot lately - I guess they're sort of figuring themselves out. Not sure there's a tight bond or anything yet - I haven't seen evidence of that. But I can tell you this - when one poops, you can be sure the other will in the next few minutes. They're digestive systems seem to be in-synch! They're both still quite "pukey" - I wonder when we'll see a day without a spit up. They are still getting a couple of outfit changes a day, unfortunately.

Peyton, well, she just LOVES her sisters. Seriously. Just very recently, she's been asking to hold them, or she wants to hold their bottle while they're being fed. But I'm noticing a bit of mothering in her too - just today, I was feeing Paige while Leah was wailing away on her playmat on the floor. Peyton was absent-mindedly watching Dora, but she got off the sofa and went and sat beside Leah on the floor and started dangling a toy over her head - all the while never taking her eyes offf the TV, of course! Leah stopped crying, she was happy to have the little bit of attention, and Peyton just seemed to somehow know that. Weird.

Peyton's going through a big imagination stage right now. She'll come over and hand something to you, and you'll have no idea what it is (because your hands are EMPTY) but then she'll ask you if you like your cookie. Aha! I get it now!! I brought her to a clinic earlier this week (NASTY YUCKY reaction to mosquito bites on her face) and I brought a bunch of books with us for the waiting room - she was "pulling "things from the stories and using them in real life. For example, in the book "the Dark" the daddy wears glasses. She thought I could use them, so she (pretended to) pull them out of the book, and put them on my face. Crazy imagination! It's so wonderful to see the little mind develop!
I think I've finally convinced her that her name is Peyton, and not Taten, as she's been calling herself, like FOREVER.
We started doing some crafty things this week (painting rocks) and with Michaels JUST opening up down the road, I imagine there will be a lot more of this in our future. She loves being creative. Or just making a mess. Who cares, the output is something to cherish, for sure :)

Anyway - that's the update for now - as always, everything is going great. They (all three) keep us busy & hopping, but the rewards of having three little girls are unbelievable...

Onto the pictures!


Peyton with Leah

Peyton feeding Paige

Leah's on the left.

Leah enjoying a bath

Paige in the exersaucer. Yup, that's pink-eye you see :(

Small update

OK - I wish I had more time to write, but I really don't right now :(

Everything is going really well - we had a Dr. appt yesterday.

Paige = 12lb, 15oz
Leah = 13lb, 3oz

Both are BANG ON average for their age groups - nothing small about them at all, which is great considering they're twins!!

Both are very interactive with lots of cooing and smiling - Paige loves to "suck face." Leah, as always, just likes to be spoken too.

We separated them into their own cribs for the first time last night - very weird!! Even Peyton reacted this morning when she came into their room today and saw them in 2 different cribs.

They love their exersaucer, but hate tummy time - Paige lasts a bit longer than Leah, but neither of them are fond.

Now that they're a bit older, I can sit them up in the stroller, which means going out for a stroll has been a bit easier, as they're happier. I love getting them outside, particularly in this beautiful weather! Paul's setting up a gazebo in the back yard tomorrow, so hopefully we'll be spending even more time out. I hate being cooped up in the A/C home.

OK - a couple of pictures to hold you over to the next post...

Have a great weekend everyone~!


Leah & Paige

Missy P.

Paige

Leah

Video & Photo Montage, again

OK - so I've been told by some people that they cannot view the Video Montage on my last posting. I think you're supposed to have Flash - so if you click on the below link, it'll prompt you to download the (free & safe) application.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=b4f66035140bbf6b8ca34&skin_id=0&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Baptismal Photo Montage

ENJOY!

Create your own video at One True Media

Our Darlings were Baptised yesterday.

What a beautiful day it was. We had great weather - not that it mattered, as we didn't really step foot outside the house :)

We chose my brother Dan and his wife Mona to be Leah's Godparents, and my sister Deb and her husband Gary to be Paige's Godparents. Father Soucy, who married us in Cancun and baptised Peyton two years ago in our home baptised Leah & Paige, again in our home. In addition to my sister & brother's families, in attendance were Paul's sister & husband (Erin & Peter,) Aunt & Uncle (Betty Anne & Ken), cousin Vicki with her husband Gord, of course the loving Grandparents and friends (ha, pretty much family!) Tanya, (uncle) Rich and D. We had a full house! Everyone arrived around 1PM - Mona & Deb dressed the girls in their gowns at about 1:15 and the ceremony was performed around 1:45. The girls were great! Minimal fussing (of course, Leah's soother was a great help! Although Paige had hers for a short time too!) The ceremony was beautiful and intimate and meaningful. Father Soucy is the best...

After the ceremony, we brought out the feast - mini sandwiches, fruit, veggies, cheese, dips, salads...yum, yum. And of course, the special cake. The girls received many lovely keepsakes that they'll cherish for years to come - everyone is so good to them. And to Peyton too, of course!

Thanks everyone - not only for the gifts, but for helping with the food, or arriving earlier to free mommy & daddy's hands, or for entertaining the big sis when I thought a meltdown was imminent (try telling a 2 year old that the party's NOT for her!) And of course, thanks Deb, Gary, Dan & Mona. Erin & Peter are Peyton's Godparents - all three of our children are fortunate.

Our entire long weekend was terrific - starting with Thursday night, when we hosted an impromptu game of Poker. Yeah, until 2:00AM (and yes, almost everyone was working on Friday morning. Oops!) My 14 year old neice Amy is staying with us, and she too held out and played until then. And she wasn't the first one out!

Friday late afternoon and evening was fantastic for me! Chantal treated me to a Spa Pedicure at the new Spa recently opened on Trim Road - it was heavenly! We decided that a great follow up to the relaxing treatment would be a good Thai dinner - so a quick phonecall to Rich & D and well, we were enjoying our craving a couple of hours later. No cards on Friday night though, everyone was beat.

Saturday, Paul & I hosted a family bbq (my family.) It was supposed to be a late afternoon sort of get together, but Shane was in a hockey tournament, and advanced...which meant that they couldn't get out here until around 6:30. So Paul & I had a great, leisure afternoon of enjoying our front porch. The Snowbirds flew by about 3 times, much to Peyton's displeasure (she hates noise!!)
The barbeque was a great visit, with Deb & Dan's families, PLUS my cousin Eric with his wife Helen (and girls Elizabeth and Claire.) Eric & Helen moved to Ottawa just 18 months ago, and we unfortunately don't see them enough - funny how the distance between Kanata & Orleans seems VERY far. But it's not, and it's a shame we don't get together more often...anyway, we can always try!

Pics are coming up next!!

So many smiles :-)

Leah


Paige


Goofy Girls

So we had a three month appt yesterday - both girls are hovering a healthy 12 pounds! All is good - I can say with a lot of confidence and assurance now that our girls are SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! Now, if only I could start doing the same....

Will write more when time permits - the girls are being baptised on Sunday - I'll have lots of pics to post next week.

Happy Canada Day, everyone!

Our Living Dolls.

Aren't they sweet? (Leah's in Pink, Paige in the Flowers.)

These were taken on Sunday - what a great - albeit busy - weekend we had.

My vaccuum cleaner broke down last weekend, so a quick call to Electrolux, and a *cough* little bit of cash later, and I've got Central Vac!! Oh my gosh, I vaccuumed for almost 4 hours on Saturday! I love it! (Yeah, I know that love affair wont last long!!)

Saturday night we went to Dianne T's house - she was holding a little going-away party for Eric and Ann H - who are relocating to Edmonton this summer :(

Sunday, my I went SHOPPING! Like, to a mall! Like, for the first time in over three months!! My mom & I took the twins while Paul stayed home with missy P and I so thoroughly enjoyed it. As did the girls - well, Paige slept the entire time, while Leah was just a little curious monkey. Of course, everything I bought was for either the twins or Peyton - oh, I did get myself the Feist CD (which I LOVE, btw.) But it was all about the outing. Then I took the twins out to Chantal & Colin's place - for a birthday celebration - Chantal's (ahem) 29th. Paul chose to keep the busy two year old home, especially seeing as Chantal informed us earlier in the day that the other invitees w/toddlers had all cancelled that afternoon. Yeah, C&C have a nice home with lots of nice things...not the most 2 yr. old friendly joint, at this point. Well, they don't care, but being mom & dad of a bulldozer in a china ware store is a bit nerve wracking. So the twins and I were met by many capable and willing (and wanting) hands, and my arms were baby free for the SECOND evening in a row.
I returned home just in time to tuck the monster in bed. And oh-my-gosh, did she have me in tears! So we read to her. A lot. Like we're supposed to, I know - but we do indeed get a lot of joy out of it, and Peyton LOVES her books. And we know she listens and follows the story and all, and she's even read along with us, and while sitting on the can, she's even read simpler stories to herself, cover to cover. Like Brown Bear, what do you see? Or Polar Bear, what do you hear? Very simple, repetitive books. But on Sunday, when I was tucking her in, she asked me to read "Kiss Good night, Sam" to her. So I did. And then she asked if she could read it to me. Well, this book is a lot more wordy than the others she's read in the past, so I thought I'd let her give it a shot. And in her sweet little 2 year old toddler voice, she read page-by-page the entire book to me. With lots of expression and sound effects (wind blowing, rain splattering, kissing...etc.) And I did my best to stiffle my giggles and the result was tears, just streaming down my face. Peyton knew I was tearing up and she just smuggly grinned at me and continued on with the story. Ah, this is what parenting is ALL about, I tell ya. So proud of my girl. Now if I could only get her to do this to her daddy. Or sing "You are my sunshine" or any of her other 15 million songs to Paul's parents - she just "shies" up when you ask her to!

They really are sponges, literally absorbing and retaining every little thing that happens. Paul's dad has been taking her to playgroup for a couple of weeks, and home she comes singing a song that I didn't teach her - it's hilarious. But even MORE funny is when I catch her using *my* expressions, or mannerisms. I guess I tend to put people (or maybe just her) off quite a bit, because it seems that whenever I ask her to do something, she responds "OK, give me two seconds!" I hardly think she's grasped the concept of time yet (or maybe she has??) Or her everyday good-bye now includes "see you soon!" Yup, me again. Love it. I could eat her up some days. Which is great, because there are a lot of "trying" and challenging times with a two year old, so the good things make the not-so-good times a little easier to get through (this too shall pass.)

The twins have been great - not too many changes to write about. Leah's going through something really weird right now that we're working to resolve - she drinks about 2oz of her bottle, then refuses the rest. I'm not sure what the problem is - I've tried to solve the issue by changing the nipples - we've tried about 5 now. We make sure she's well burped (that's definitely not the issue.) We hold her in a variety of positions. We don't overfeed - I never wake them to feed, we wait for them to fuss before we offer the bottles. I'm at a loss...? She's always been the worst spitter-upper (of the two) but that's been since birth, and I really don't think I'm dealing with a reflux issue. I wonder if her teeth are starting to come, and maybe her mouth hurts. Peyton didn't get her first until 11 months, so that would be odd for us, but every kid's different, right? And I don't think 3 months is too early to teethe. Anyway, we are managing to get her feed into her, it just takes upwards of an hour sometimes. And unfortunately, I'm finding it's getting harder instead of easier with each feed. But she IS eating, so I've got no reason to see the doc yet. We're scheduled for a 3 month exam at the end of the month, so hopefully we can make it until then. Frustrating, though. Particularly at 4:00 AM.

We've had them down to the lake a couple times recently - they're happy to be out for a walk if they're in the carriers (the bums!) Fresh air does wonders for everyone - me too :) Peyton got out and fed the ducks THREE TIMES yesterday. Jenna & I took her out at 7:30 last night, and the ducks were like "ugh, we're SOOO full." I swear, the bread we threw was untouched! The ducks in this lake are being VERY well taken care of, I tell ya.

Anyway, signing off now - but not before I post a link to TRISTAN'S passion http://media.putfile.com/Tristan-and-Shadow
She was in a competition on Saturday and WON FIVE RIBBONS!! Congrats, sweetie - we're proud of you and we'll make it out to one of your competitions one day soon!!

Kari
(xoxoxox)

Blissful times.

The Zombies have LEFT the building!!!

Things are going great – really great. Finally, I might add!

I will admit, this hasn’t been easy. In fact, Paul & I will both say that the first 8ish weeks of the girl’s life have been by far the most difficult of our entire lives. From the severe sleep deprivation, to the constant state of chaos (and never ending list of things to do, that HAVE to be done) to the absolutely BRUTAL "evening fussiness" it’s been a challenge – we’ve been tested, that’s for sure. Despite all the help we’ve been getting (and there’s been a lot) there’ve been some times where we thought we just couldn’t take anymore.

And then, it all turned. Almost overnight. They sleep much better overnight – just one feed, so we’re seeing 5 consecutive hours of sleep, then often another 2-3 hours. They nap better during the day, so we’re able to accomplish more of the other things that need to get done (including QT with the big sis) and best of all, the "evening fussiness" just. magically. stopped.

So our well-rested, better relaxed selves are coping with this new life of ours much better, and we’re even beginning to enjoy it again! That’s definitely not to say that things are easy, by any standard, but we’re managing much better and really, really enjoying our little girlies. All three of them.

You know, Peyton really didn’t prepare us for what REAL parenthood truly was all about. She was SUCH an easy baby, and integrated so seamlessly into our lives, we didn’t miss a beat. So now, when an invite gets thrown our way, it’s really odd to know that there’s so much more planning that needs to be done – we can’t simply pack up THREE little ones and just go anywhere. Strange, and humbling. But I’m REALLY not complaining at all – I like this life we’ve got now, I really do – it’s just very VERY different from the life we had pre-twins.

Well enough about us – about the twins…they had their TWO MONTH appointment last week, and here are the stats: Leah weighed in at 10lbs, 6oz; Paige continues to be about ½ pound smaller, at 9lbs, 15oz. Our girls are growing at an amazing pace! And they’re entering such a great stage. They’re both so interactive, with lots of cooing, smiling and eye contact – the two just melt your heart. Strange, but they don’t like outings. I know they hate their carseats, so trips to the grocery store or wherever are typically spent trying to soothe at least one of them. But I’ve recently also discovered that they’re not too fond of the stroller too. I can’t say that I’ve EVER heard of babies like this – I thought the general rule of thumb was that if you had a fussy baby, you take them for a car ride, or a walk and the change of scenery and pace will calm them. Well, not our babies. They’re happiest just hanging out at home – and THAT I find difficult, because of course in my attempt to regain something close to the body I had pre-twins, I would love to get out walking more. Unfortunately, a walk is a very stressful event, because at least one twin will inevitably be screaming at any given time. Not nice. They do, however, love the snugglies, so Paul & I try to get out on the nice evenings and wear them around. Tonight we went out to the lake and visited with all the new little ducklings. There’ve got to be a few dozen duck families out there – it’s crazy! And Peyton loves to visit them.

Well, that’s the update for now. It’s all good, and I’m told in another month, it’ll be even better.

As always, we love visitors and company – we can always use the extra hands in the household so call us up and drop on by anytime!

I’ll try to update again very soon.
Kari
(xoxoxo)

more pics.

Rain, rain. Go away.

Ugh - this weather is so depressing! We've had small windows of "nice enough" to get outside, but the constant grey and gloominess is sure tiring! And it's going to be like this as far as the forecast can see. Yuck.

So not much has changed in the last couple of weeks - we're still working on that overnight routine, which seems to be improving ... the fussiness is still very much with us - last evening, both babes cried from about 5:30 until 8:30 (but then settled down for the night - tradeoff, I guess.) I do know that one day that'll just stop. At least, I think I remember that it did with Peyton.

Last Friday, my mom & I took the twins to the Superstore for some professional shots - they turned out FANTASTIC. I will at some point scan in the photos, but in the meantime, here's a picture of Leah before we left.
OK, I know I SWORE that I'd never dress these girls alike (when I was pregnant) but so many people have been generous enough to give the girls clothing, and a lot is matching and identical, and you know they're SO DARN CUTE when they're dressed the same....so uh, ya. I didn't keep that promise! And in their first professional shots, they're wearing the same dress. So shoot me (ha.)

Getting to the appointment was a big ordeal. The twins are spitter uppers, in a bad way - so as soon as I got the dresses on, the bibs followed suit. And both girls barfed on their first bib, of course. So pack them in the carseats (and they HATE their carseats, so screaming screaming, screaming) rush to the store, undress them...and then they were complete angels and posed so perfectly! My appointment was at noon, and by 12:17 we were back in the van. Like, undress them, pose them, shoot them, re-dress them, pick out my selection of photos, pay for them, pack the girls back in the carseats, then back home in less than 20 minutes!! The photographer was thrilled - said it was her easiest shoot with twins to date. And she would know, she did THREE SETS of twins the day earlier.

Friday night, I got a break from ALL three girlies. Kerry & Laurie arranged for us to get out to the local Barley Mow, while Heron (with Mitchie) stayed behind with Paul and the girls. Tanya joined us. It was great to be able to enjoy a couple drinks and a meal without any disruption. And to talk about something OTHER than babies! (although a lot of talk WAS indeed about them, I mean, what else do *I* have to talk about these days!!)

Mother's Day was very nice. Paul & Peyton permitted me to sleep until the blissfull hour on 9AM (yeah, I was up at 5:00 AM though!) Paul made us Belgian Waffles with chocolate chips, and we topped them with berries, whip cream and maple syrup - yum! We had my mom and sister's family over for Souvlaki - it was a nice day.

We've found a young lady who will be helping me out during the day from time to time - meet Jennifer! Here's a picture of her "hard at work!" Jenn's in her final year of highschool and although we haven't worked out the specifics yet, she'll be helping me out with all three girls a

couple of days/afternoons a week throughout the summer. She was here on Monday afternoon, and I've got to say I am pretty pleased with how great she was, both with the babies and with Missy Peyton. Ha, as a teenager, I barely liked, forget loved, babies (and kids) so it's weird for me to see someone who does.









On that note, I'll sign off for now and wish everyone a good LONG weekend.

More pictures

I love baby parts.

How sweet are they?
How lucky are we?

The TV.

I am ashamed to admit how much TV I watch. Suffice to say, I know it's too much.
The twins and I pretty much 100% live in our "great room" - the open kitchen/family room. And the TV is always on.
I realized it was too much today when I thought to myself - "I've seen far too much of Tom Cruise this week." Seriously, I've seen him on late TV, on early morning talk shows, I've seen him on all the entertainment shows - and this morning, I saw a preview for Ellen for next week saying he'd be on. I think I've seen every interview he's done.
I guess I don't always HAVE to have the tv on, but really, it's my sanity I guess these days. When I try to pick up a book, Peyton will bring me about 15 of her books to read. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE reading to her and in fact, she's been read to so much that I think she should start reading her books to me. If I turn off the TV and turn on the stereo to listen to something easy-listening (Enya, Norah Jones, Sarah) Peyton complains and asks (NEEDS) me to put on her Sharon, Lois and Bram. Again, I don't mind this, but I can only take so much of "Little Rabbit Foo Foo!" and the never ending "dance mommy! dance!!" But when the TV is on and programmed to something she has no interest in, she will play with her blocks or Little People, or somehow else occupy herself. So it's MY time, I guess.
But how is it that you can have 500 + channels, and still find nothing to watch?? Throughout the day, I am tuned into the talk shows, or news programs. My touch with the outside world, I guess. In the evening, when I would actually LIKE to watch TV, I can't because there's too much going on (and typically a baby is fussing.) And OVERNIGHT, well the early morning feeds are all right because of timeshifting - I can still get the west channels late night shows. But around 4AM? Golden Girls or Infomercials. Or.....well, I'll share a secret with you.
WHEN these little girlies start sleeping through the night, there will be an open invite to this house to everyone and anyone, and I am going to Kick Some Ass at POKER! Yup, bring lots of money, because I've watched enough champion poker games to know all the tricks and strategies. I swear, you can catch a game of poker on the game network at any time throughout the night. I'm so addicted, I'll sometimes stay up a little later than I need to, watching just one more hand (or two.) Yeah, watch out. I'm going to be great, and I need the cash - ha.
Anyway, I know I've said it before - thank GOD these girls were born in the spring, because the nice weather means we can spend a lot of time outside, away from the draw of the television.
And back on the topic of Tom Cruise - what is with this guy? Really now, are he and Kate the first to ever have a child? Not that going to a movie is an option for me right now, but if I could, you'd better believe I wouldn't be seeing his MI3. I just can't take him seriously as an actor anymore, because I can't stand his public persona. Like really, when did he turn into such a nutjob? I wont be watching that episode of Ellen next week. I could recite what he'd say about his new baby girl (and Katie) anyway - it seems so scripted at this point. Oh my, did you hear that he set up a seminar for all the women in his life (mom, sisters, daughter) about the birth and raising of a child? You know, so they could practise such things as changing diapers and what not. Ugh. (yes - too.much.tv.)

Thank goodness the weekend is here. Paul is fantastic about getting up throughout the night to lend a hand when the twins both wake up at the same time, but MAN do I feel guilt about it. Like, I know they're his children too, and they're waking up hungry and definitely need to be tended to right away, but I respect the fact that Paul's got to work Monday to Friday so I will typically try my absolute best to keep him in bed as much as possible. Usually ONE feed, the twins will be off schedule by about 30 mins, so I can do that on my own, but that's about as good as it gets. On the weekends, however I feel no guilt. :) And he's up about as much as I am. So of course, we'll pass the feeding time by watching a movie (rogers on demand ROCKS) - the company and entertainment makes the midnight and early morning feeds not-so-bad.

Well, 5-4 for the good guys with 4 minutes left. Off I go to watch more tv... But not before posting a couple of shots. :)

Pics of Peyton's Playstructure

Quick update today, as everyone is sleeping (for now.)

So pictured at left is the new play structure - and Peyton just loves it! We thought we'd have to buy a little bucket seat for the swing, but after a couple of nasty spills, she's learned to hold on properly to the "big girl" seat and I think she'll manage with what we've got. Speaking of spills, there've been a couple to-date. I mean, pretty big ones where we hold our breath and wonder what damage we'll be dealing with - but she's so TOUGH! She gets up, brushes her knees, elbow, head, whatever - then goes right back at it. OK, sometimes she needs a kiss, but kisses somehow magically fix everything that hurts. But her LEGS, oh-my-God, they're so bruised! Laurie, our neighbour called them "Toddler Legs." Good thing there's an actual term for them - non-parental types might think we're mistreating her!!

The twins are thrilled with the playstructure too. Check out their reactions...















I think Leah's actually catching flies!!

So the twins have actually entered their "fussy period." Boy, is my memory short! I thought the hard evenings wrap up at around 6 weeks, but I guess they actually PEAK at six weeks. Our past three evenings have been spent walking the hallways with one, if not both twins. Paul & I had to eat in shifts last night, which is a first in the 5 weeks (no, I am NOT complaining.) Luckily, they settle down when we're ready (read: desperate) to go to sleep - like last night was about 10:30, but still - it's not a quiet household, particularly between about 7 and 10 PM. Thankfully, we see some humour in it - the constant "wah, WAH, wah, WAH" I'm almost thinking I should record or videotape it because I'm certain it's one of those things I'll forget about (again) soon enough.
Paul had Jeff over for a beer last night, and I think it's the first time I've EVER seen Jeff drink a warm beer - as in, his hands were so tied up holding a babe that his beer had time to warm up!
So needless to say, it takes quite long to accomplish anything in our evenings. From eating, to cleaning up the kitchen, to bathing Peyton and settling her for bed, to even getting the sprinkler on our on the lawn. It's go GO go until at least 10PM. But then, what a terrific night we had. The twins, last night, had their first big stretch between feeds - 5 hours! Could this be a sign of things to come? They fed at 8:30, then woke again at about 1:15 AM. Un-freaken' believable! Of course, they were back to the three hour sched after that, but I think they both SO exhausted themselves crying last night, that when they did wake to feed, they hungrily gobbled up then immediately settled back into a deep state of sleep. I can deal with the hectic evenings if the tradeoff is a good night - for sure.

When everyone wakes this afternoon, we're planning a walk around the lake. My mom spotted the ducks this morning, so I'll bring along the camera and some bread - hopefully we'll get some good shots!