busy week

We've had a busy week with my parents. They left this morning and John's parents arrive tonight. Monday we went to Bronte Creek. I got the girls this water float thing with a sun shade. They only had one left but it was fine because they both fit in it. They thought it was a lot of fun and it was very cute. The weather was really hot and it was the perfect day for the pool. The rest of the week was spent shopping and watching the progression of the grass! Yes, the front lawn finally arrived - 3 months to the day we moved in. Right after they laid it down it started to pour and we had our first days of rainy weather this summer. It was too wet to do the side and back yard but they did that today and Mattamy told me I could use our neighbour's (who haven't moved in yet) water to water it for free. It's my pity prize for being last to get grass! I had a very enjoyable week and boy it would be nice to have a live in Granny. I finally joined the local rec centre and I went to a class every morning after dropping John off at the Go station. I then came home and had a leisurely shower while my parents entertained/fed and dressed the girls. It was nice. Monday I had book club, Wednesday I went out with some girls from work and last night my Dad and I went to a Jays game. The game went 18 innings and we didn't get home until just before 1am. We kept on saying one more inning but then it was the most innings in Blue Jays history and we couldn't leave. Thank god they won. John didn't get out as much but he did go out and play poker one night. And the fun is not even over - we'll probably go to a movie tomorrow night while John's parents are here. I have to mention the new addition to our neighbourhood - the ice cream truck. Every afternoon around 4 it drives around. We never had an ice cream truck in Ottawa where I grew up. There was a truck that drove around ringing a bell but it was for knife sharpening??!!? The only other time I have ever seen them is in Ireland when I was a kid. I can only imagine the begging that is going to go on when the girls figure out the ice cream truck. I also want to mention that yesterday the girls had no formula. They got homogenized milk for their afternoon and bedtime bottles. I have heard some real horror stories about the transition from formula to milk but I can honestly say I don't think they care. Today I also decided that the afternoon bottle is going to go because they drink enough at meals and will drink water when they're thirsty. They went down for their afternoon nap no problem. Leah is still a bit grumpy but she's getting better. She'll let you know when she's not happy. She has decided she likes to have you hold her hands so she can walk around the house. This is huge progress for her and she can't get enough. As soon as we stop she gets very upset. She's developed quite the little temper and it's hard not to laugh (or in my case get frustrated). They have both started pretend talking on the phone.

Girls and Granny

Big smiles

Swim float for two

Emma's crab walk - she does this on anything that's not tile or carpet!

"Hey, let's be good. The big meany usually doesn't let us play on the bed"

"Emma, why are you dressed like an Easter egg?"

GRASS, GRASS, GLORIOUS GRASS!!!

Birthday week extravaganza

The girls are 1 year corrected today! They are getting so tall and starting to really look like toddlers (minus the toddling). As most of you know I have been pretty stressed about their eating habits. The last thing I want to raise are two underweight, picky eaters so I had a hard time dealing with their total disinterest in anything beyond cheese, bread, baby food, bananas and yogurt. I have been told countless times to be patient and keep on offering different things. I even read somewhere that it can take something like 13 times of "trying" something before a kid will eat it. So much wasted food and messy floors. So tonight I made pasta shells and chicken with tomato and cream cheese sauce. First I gave them the pasta shells. They ate them. Then some chicken. They ate it. Then I added sauce and gave it to them. They ate it. Then some blueberries. They ate them. For the first time since they started getting baby food they had none for dinner! I'm so excited. I don't know if I mentioned that they eat their own breakfast now - chopped up bananas and Cheerios. We are getting closer to complete self feeding! To celebrate their 1st birthday we gave them a bottle of only milk this afternoon. They gulped it down no problem so the transition has begun. Friday was my 29th birthday and I had a nice day. John says I am impossible to buy for so rather than a gift I got - "Birthday week (not weekend!) extravaganza". It all started last Saturday with dinner and a movie and for the entire week my wish was his command. All I had to say was "um, John, I'm pretty sure they both pooped..." and he'd be off changing two diapers without complaining. It sounds pretty silly but it really was a great gift. I'm pretty sad it's over. The girls have done another switch. Leah has been a real handful these past few days. She's very whiny during the day and does not want to go to bed without screaming her head off. Emma for the most part is going to bed without a fight and sleeping well. It's very frustrating but we are at least grateful that they have yet to be in a funk at the same time. My parents should be arriving any time now for the week. It will be nice to see them and have some help.

Asleep

The girls went to bed at 8:15pm. They laughed and talked for a bit and then they both went to sleep. No crying! They know better than to make me miss Big Brother ;)

The joy of teething times two...

John's mom came for a visit this past weekend. It was great to have an extra set of hands and eyes around and it gave John and I a chance to do some things around the house without the monkeys slowing us down. On Saturday night we took advantage of having a babysitter and John took me out for my birthday dinner and a movie. We went to Mexicali Rosa's which was my favourite restaurant in high school. I didn't think they had any locations in the Toronto area but there's one in Oakville (complete with Oakville pricing!). It was really good. Afterwards we went to see Wedding Crashers. It was pretty funny but don't go if you don't like vulgar humour! The girls have been a bit of a handful the last few days. Leah has been VERY whiny which is unlike her (thank god because I would have gone nuts by now). Her tenth tooth is coming in and it's one of the side ones on the bottom so we think it's causing her some pain. She was also really constipated but that's worked itself out thanks to lots of water and some prunes. Emma has been in a pretty good mood during the day but she's hard to get down at night and she also appears to be teething. Last night bedtime was a complete fiasco. They went to bed just after 8, Emma started whining at 8:30. We went in at 9 to get Emma because she was obviously not going to settle. Leah started crying because Emma got out. They both got settled. We tried to put them both back to bed. Crying. Both up again. Crying. We didn't get them to sleep until 10:30. There was talk of them getting their own rooms again last night. We'll see how they do tonight. The one positive is that once they get to sleep they don't get up in the night. I had a whole bunch of plans for them this week. I was going to start them on whole milk on their corrected 1st birthday (Sunday), cut out their afternoon bottle and maybe try to cut out their morning nap. I think we will wait until they settle down a bit. Here are some pictures. Nana took a ton so I'm sure I'll have more.

It rained all weekend - here's the view from the back of the house...jealous??! Want to come over and sit in the dirt?

Emma sitting in the hippo (that's her sweet "I didn't do anything" look)

Leah pushing Emma in the hippo.

1 year corrected NICU appt

Yesterday we had their appointment. We had to fill out a big long checklist for each of the girls so we had a pretty good idea of where they were at going into the appoinment - so not too much stress! They've added a speech therapist to the usual pediatrician, nurse and occupational therapist. They just observe, play with them and ask us a ton of questions - it can get pretty intense. Emma is right on track in terms of her gross motor (sitting,crawling, standing, walking stuff). They are pleased with how she moves and what she is capable of doing. It's funny because it's just not a matter of can they do something - it's more can they do it properly in terms of their weight shifting, agility, coordination etc. As we all know Leah is behind in gross motor. As I mentioned before, John and I are not overly concerned because she is making very good progress. I was very happy to hear they had the same opinion and there was no freaking out - not even a little! They are very pleased with the way she moves and how agile she is! Again, this is exactly what I think! They both got perfect scores for all the cognitive stuff (communication, social skills etc). They are a bit behind on verbal - but this might be my fault. They asked how many words they have...I think I have issue with what a word is. Emma makes a noise everytime she wants something - to me that is not a word but to them it is. So I think I might have scored them a bit low on verbal because we said they only had 4 or 5 words that I know are words. Either way they are not concerned because boy can they "talk" - they were very chatty throughout the whole appointment. Just to ensure proper care and minimal wait time should anything happen in the next few months they have registered them with our regional preschool speech therapy program. So that was that. They gave us lots of reading material for what they are expecting at the 18 month appointment. I was telling John that although I am grateful that the girls are monitored and we informed as to what is age appropriate (I seem to preface every NICU appointment with that sentence!), I find it's a bit of a fun sucker having all these checklists and things they must accomplish by their next appointment or be deemed delayed. It would be nice to be completely oblivious and enjoy watching them grow and learn without ever having to doubt that they weren't perfect in every way! On the other hand I am learning so much about child development with minimal effort which is nice. After our appointment we headed to Oshawa to visit with John's Grandpa. He has no air conditioning and it was hot. We spent most of our time under the trees in his front yard trying to convince the girls that they didn't want to eat grass, dead leaves and dirt. Having learned from the Guelph bedtime fiasco the other week, we waited until 8 and gave them their bedtime bottles before we left. They were both awake and chatting to each other by the time we got home just after 9 but we put them in their cribs and they went to sleep. Success!

early years

The days seem to be passing by quickly. We are doing the most to enjoy summer - and what a summer it's been so far. The temperature today was 35C and it's not supposed to let up anytime soon. Here's the weekend recap. Saturday John got together with all his university guy friends for a day of golf followed by a night of poker. He had a really good time which was nice since days like that are few and far between. Alicia, Amelia, Carrie and Ronan came over to keep me company in the afternoon. After they left I took the girls for a walk, got them to bed, had a bath, read my book and then went to bed. The whole house to myself and that's the best I could do - pretty pathetic eh! Sunday we cleaned and washed the car - you're probably wondering what's the point of washing your car when you live in dirt city - it was more about owning a hose and being able to wash a car after 4 years of apartment living. After that we put some shelves up in the girls room, and some pictures, and the letters that spell their name. Their room now feels like a baby room minus paint but we're supposed to wait to paint. Today I decided to finally check out the Early Years Centre in Oakville. It's a free drop in centre and I wasn't too sure what to expect. It was actually pretty fun. It was two big rooms full of toys that encouraged learning for kids of all ages. The room was completely baby proof and the girls just crawled around and explored for 2 hours. Two other families showed up which was nice because it gave the girls an opportunity to interact with other kids. I will definitely be going back and I will probably register for some of their programs in the fall. Tomorrow we have the 1 year corrected NICU appointment. For once I'm not worried about the appointment although I am curious to see what they have to say. After the appointment we're going to Oshawa to visit John's grandpa. Thursday we're going swimming at John and Denise's - I'm so excited!

Amelia and Ronan relaxing on the playmat

Emma being silly

still so very blue..

Looking for Jackson

13 month update

They were 13 months yesterday. They've changed a lot this month. Teeth: First of all I'd like to say that I would seriously advise against sticking your fingers in the girls mouth. They think it's funny when you scream in pain as they clamp down on your finger. For this reason, we hadn't checked for new teeth in awhile. I was surprised last night to find they both have another tooth. They are on different sides (I can't remember which one has which and I'm not going back in there or sending John!) and are about halfway back. There was no crying for their 9th tooth. That's good news. I should add that we do brush their teeth and mouth every night so we have not been neglecting their new tooth - you just can't feel it with the finger toothbrush. Hair: Maybe a bit more...maybe. Sleep: I would rather not comment on this but seeing as this is their journal I will. I better not get jinxed. Emma was bad, then got good but couldn't sleep through Leah's badness. Leah all of a sudden got very bad for a few days, made us all very tired, then went back to being our little sleeper. Since then we are proud to call them our little sleepers. We are all very well rested these days. The girls have even started sleeping in until 8 everyday. Somedays 9! They still take 2 naps but it's getting harder to get them to take them when they are not in their cribs. The days of falling asleep in the stroller appear to be over. Getting around: Emma can walk behind the push toy. She can walk if you only hold one of her hands but she's no risk taker and will usually try and crawl. She loves to climb and has very good balance. I can see her loving rock climbing when she's older. She studies her target to figure out the best way to get up. Today she was trying to climb up the outside of the stairs on the 1 inch carpet that hangs over edge. Leah continues to get stronger but she's has little interest in standing (a topic I'm sure you'll be hearing more about after our NICU appt next week). We are not concerned since she is progressing. She has much better balance and is getting stronger in her mid section and her legs. She will stand if you hold her hands - but she doesn't like it for long. She has caught up to Emma in crawling and is very quick. Food: They are finally starting to eat a bit better. There is no more crying at meal times. I've been giving them lots of things to try. The majority of it gets thrown on the floor in disgust but they are getting better. Slowly. We still start every meal with baby food veggies because otherwise they don't eat enough. They just don't like food all that much and I'm trying my best not to get really frustrated. They are still on 2 bottles of formula a day. We're supposed to switch it to milk when they're a year corrected (July 24). They are drinking from the straw cups like pros now. It's very cute. Talking: They "talk" all day long now. They wake up and talk to each other in their cribs and every night they fall asleep after at least 30 minutes of talking and laughing. We have no idea what they're saying but they sure have fun! They are starting to mimic 2 syllable words like baby. Leah can now say Emma and eeeah as well as cat. They also say mama and the occasional dada in context. They also learned the sign for milk this month. Just what they babble is different - like we'll hear Leah say "oby giby oh oh" to which Emma will reply "ba ba ba CAH!!". I sure hope it's not twinspeak. I have been reading that sometimes twins are delayed on verbal because they make up their own way of communicating with each other. Cute stuff: This is the stuff that makes me realize that our days of calling them babies are numbered... -if they manage to beat me to the cat's bowl they will eat catfood (none ingested...yet...catfood is in our ensuite now). Hmmm maybe I should add catfood to their menu...I can't even count how many things get thrown to the floor without even being tasted. -Emma was splashing the toilet water the other morning. Bathroom doors remain closed now. -they lick the floor and eat the carpet fuzz -Emma turns the tv off and presses all the buttons and shakes her head, smiles and does it again when you tell her to stop. -they know how to get the cd out of the portable stereo -Emma will get your glass if you leave it on the coffee table -Emma can pull papers off the edge of the kitchen table -they broke the safety latch (I use that term loosely) on the stove -the love doors -they LOVE taking the grate off the vent. Emma suffered her first injury when Leah pulled the grate off the one by the front door. Emma was standing looking out the window and fell in the grate cutting her foot. I was watching the whole thing unfold but was not quick enough. -Emma likes pulling Leah's hair -Leah likes lifting up her shirt and slapping her belly -they both have a fake laugh, a fake cough and can growl -they both stick their arms up in the air when they want up That's all I can think of right now but I know there's much much more. Personalities: Emma continues to be timid in new situations. She's very clingy if she's not comfortable and will scream her head off if you try and put her down. If she's in her comfort zone (like her stroller) she is very happy and LOVES attention. She'll smile at anyone and squeal in delight. She's still very rough and very stubborn. If she wants something she will keep on trying to get it. She's started to cry when you take stuff away from her (even if Leah takes her toy) which we don't like. We just let her cry although she's so stubborn I don't think she cares. When she's in the mood Emma loves to be held. She wraps her arms so tight around your neck - it's very sweet. Leah is very easy going. She adapts well to new situations and is usually very happy. She's not so quick to give out the smiles to strangers these days but she warms up quickly. Leah is not a cuddler. When she wants to be picked up she'll follow us around like a dog and try to climb up our legs. It's also very cute. Leah rarely screams her head off, when she cries it's because she's scared or her feelings have been hurt. She has perfected the pouty lip and the big teary eyes. The girls are never far apart from each other. They will race around the house after each other and play with the same toy. One thing that I find surprising is that they could still care less if the other one is crying - it's just business as usual with a bit more noise. They are always talking to each other in their cribs, carseats and stroller. When we're in the car we usually turn the radio down and listen to them. It's very entertaining. I know I have said this before but it's like all of a sudden they became little people this month. They are so much more interactive and will mimic whatever you show them. It's definitely a lot more work keeping them happy and out of trouble but it's a lot more fun than the days of feeding them and watching them sleep.

nothing much...

The girls just went down for a nap and I thought I'd update this with a few of the things they are doing this week.

Emma napping with her butt in the air

Back view (look at her cute little feet)

Leah napping with her precious. She still gets the soother for naps.

We've driven John to the GO train everyday so far this week. Monday I took them to Costco and for groceries. I somehow managed to forget the diaper bag again so that was it. Yesterday we met Carrie and Ronan at the Ikea in Burlington. There is something about Ikea that the girls just don't like and they whined the whole way through. After that we went to Costco - I had managed to forget formula on Monday and Carrie wanted to go with me. The girls were relatively well behaved in Costco. They love sitting side by side in the shopping cart and basking in all the attention. And I love the cart because it is so much easier than the stroller and I can get whatever I need no matter how big or heavy. I'm not overly impressed with the stores that only fit one kid up front - Walmart, Canadian Tire, Petcetera, Ikea - I'm sure I'll be adding to that list. Today we went to visit baby Brennan. He is a a very peaceful little boy. I got to feed him the end of his bottle - I remember when Sarah was born I was so scared I was going to break her. I'm such a pro now! Yesterday the girls napped late so I decided to wait until we got back from picking John up to feed them. Of course it was the day that the train was delayed an hour because there was a fatal collision on the Lakeshore line. At the time I didn't know it was going to be an hour so I sat there waiting for the bored/hungry crying to start. They did surprisingly well and by the time they started fussing I had remembered that I had a Costco size box of Arrowroots in the trunk! So they had cookies for dinner. We didn't get home until 7 and not wanting to put them off their bottle (they need the fluid) we just gave them some cheese and a yogurt. We're lucky that for the most part they're pretty flexible. This morning I was cleaning up the kitchen and since the girls were still awake I just spot cleaned the floor. Of course they saw me doing it and raced over to see what was up. I turned around to put the sponge on the counter so I could move them (unfortunately "please go away" doesn't work) and they were both licking the floor. Gross. I moved them into the living room but they kept on racing to the kitchen to lick the floor. They thought they were pretty funny. I had to go sit in on the floor with thier favourite book to get them to stop it.

John reading them their favourite book. They climb up in your lap to read now.

They are starting to actually play together a bit more. We have these balls that rattle and one of them will pick one up and throw it. Then they both race for it and whoever gets it throws it again. Leah is doing surprisingly well at getting it before Emma. This went on for at least 30 minutes yesterday afternoon. On the not so cute side of noticing each other Emma has started pulling Leah's hair. It really hurts Leah's feelings (and head I'm guessing) and she does the saddest cry which starts up again if Emma looks at her. I guess we should be happy that she doesn't try and pull Emma's hair back (not that there is much to pull).

Leah

Leah kissing Jackson

Canada Day Pictures

Alicia sent me some pictures of the girls at their place on Canada day...

Swimming chez Reitsma

Check out the Canada Day shirts

"You go that way and I'll go this way..."

Canada Day Long Weekend

We made the most of our long weekend. The weather was perfect. Hot, sunny and not as much humidity. Canada Day we went over to Jeff's parents to go swimming and relax. The water was much warmer this time and the girls really enjoyed themselves. They were both sticking their faces in the water (yes - even Emma!). Yesterday we went out to Guelph to visit Coby, Carrie and Ronan. We had a nice BBQ meal and then we loaded the cars up and got ice cream at this great place that makes their own waffle cones. Mmmmm. I think it might be better than Baskin Robbins! Today was the much anticipated trip to the Bronte Creek pool. It was insanely busy but it is so big it just felt like a busy day at the beach and there was no problem finding shade. The pool itself is a big irregular splat shape. It is just like a concrete beach in that it gets deep gradually - the deepest part would be at least 6ft from the markers I could see. The shallow part was perfect for the girls. John put Leah down and she started crawling around in the water right away. I had miss clingon and when I put her down she turned around and grabbed my neck doing her best to get back into my arms. Five minutes later she was crawling around too. After awhile we took them out to the deeper water and they were laughing and squealing away. I have no pictures of the girls in their Canada Day shirts or of them swimming. We are finding that they are a lot of work lately and that we really never have a free hand unless they are locked up in their stroller or in the feeding chairs (and we have enough pictures of that!). We got burned yesterday because we didn't bring the stroller to Guelph. When we went for ice cream we both had to hold one and it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat an ice cream with a VERY interested baby on your lap. They also missed their nap and ended up napping on our way home at 7pm. Needless to say with the sugar and their catnap the 8pm bedtime didn't happen. At 9pm I put them both in the same crib so they could keep each other company. I had visions of them all curled up together sleeping like little angels. At 10pm the crying started and they got another bottle after which they went to sleep. This time last year we were on Toronto Island at Jeff and Alicia's wedding (Happy Aniversary!). The girls had been home from the NICU for 4 days and they were with my parents. One positive thing about the NICU experience is that we've never been nervous about leaving them. Ever. I am grateful for that. When we get out we go without worry and we enjoy ourselves.