Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

Happy Halloween!

We’ve had a very busy weekend - and here I thought things would settle down now that we were home. Yesterday we got the girls ready and went to Guelph to visit Drew and see his new house. His house is beautiful (see pics below) and he is doing very well with the decorating. After our visit we headed over to Coby and Carrie’s for dinner. Carrie’s belly is starting to show which is very exciting. Both her and Alicia are due in April which is the same month we move into our house. To me, their bellies are like a timer that is going to go off when it’s time for us to move in!

This morning the girls did very well with the time change and slept until 7am new time. After their feed, they both went back down so we had a family sleep in. Today the girls had cereal for the first time. They both were pretty hungry so they weren’t very patient but they had a few spoonfuls each before they REALLY wanted their bottles. They seem to have the swallow reflex so it looks like they are ready to start having cereal every day. We just need to figure out the best way to give it to them. It’s such a mess but their feeding chairs sit on the floor so it doesn’t get very far.

Once everyone was fed we took the girls out for a walk. There were trick or treaters everywhere which was nice. We didn’t get the girls costumes but John’s mom got them little cat hats which were very cute…oh and then I put them in pumpkin diapers…

I went a bit picture crazy…

We had a very busy day and I am very tired but Leah rolled over tonight while we were at Coby and Carrie’s and I am very excited for her. She went tummy to back and only I saw it. We promptly put her back on her belly and we all watched in anticipation but no go. At least mom saw it! I’ll post more tomorrow.

The girls and I arrived back in Mississauga this afternoon. After 3 trips to the truck I finally got all their stuff unloaded and it was time to say goodbye to Nana. We’ve been on the road for the past month and I am a bit relieved to announce that the Leah and Emma Fall 2004 Tour is now over!

We had a very nice visit. Last Saturday we had the Windsor open house. Nana and Papa got a chance to introduce the girls to all their friends. I think just about everybody got a chance to hold the girls and they were very good.

Sunday we all relaxed and John left in the afternoon. I don’t like to leave him but I knew how much John’s parents would enjoy a few extra days with the babies. We had a nice visit. We shopped in Windsor and Detroit, went for walks and had a few little photoshoots with the girls and their pumpkins (I’ll post these pics on Halloween!).

The grls are doing well. All the sniffles are gone. Let’s hope all their colds are this easy. Leah has been a bit soother needy lately. When she’s in her soother mood she gets very upset when it falls out. I’m hoping for her sake that it is just a phase because I refuse to become a slave to the soother and she just might push me to throw them all out! Both girls are starting to reach for toys. Once they get a good hold of things they bring them straight to their mouth. I should never have taken Biology in undergrad because I am such a germ freak. I’m thinking having twins just might be the thing to cure me.

Here are some of the 190 pictures I took this past week…

Today John’s mom and I took the girls to the states. I wasn’t sure if we would get in seeing as the girls have yet to receive their birth certificates (apparently there is an 8 month wait time in Ontario) but we had no problem at all. They didn’t even ask for any of their documentation which I found surprising. We had a fun day touring baby stores. I finally got to go to my favourite baby store - Carter’s. They don’t have them in Canada but both our moms have got tons of stuff for the girls there and it is all so cute.

John’s mom is at Bridge Club tonight so his dad and I are looking after the girls. I can hear them starting to fuss so I better go get their bedtime bottle ready.

They both have the sniffles now. I don’t know how you fight it when you have two babies and live in a 2 bedroom condo. They just have a runny nose. They don’t have a fever and it doesn’t seem to be affecting them in any way other than them being little snot machines!

Last night we picked the brick for the house. This is something that we were a bit concerned about because we had some ideas of which bricks we liked. Mattamy is very strict on the overall look of their neighbourhoods so they have these rules about how often a brick colour can appear. You can’t have the same brick as the person on either side or the three houses directly across the street. Thankfully there were only 4 bricks we couldn’t have - my favourite and John’s favourite were among them so we found one we both liked. It’s called HarringtonII. It comes with a black roof and front door, taupe garage and white trim around the windows.

We are off to Windsor for the weekend. We’ll leave when John gets home from work. I am supposed to have everything packed up and ready. Have I mentioned how much I hate packing…

The weather is just terrible these days. It’s cold and rainy and I don’t want to take the girls outside. I think I might have to start getting up and taking John to the GO station so we can have the car for the day. I almost wish we could just get right to the snow - snow is so much better than rain (I reserve the right to change that opinion once I have to commute in the winter again!).

Emma woke up this morning with a runny nose and I’m really hoping it’s not a cold. I am trying to keep their stuff separate - no sharing of anything for a bit. The last thing I need is two sick babies on my hands. Their room has been a bit cold so last night John reopened the vent. I’m hoping there was some dust or something that gave her the sniffles.

Leah is back to her old self which is nice. It’s the middle of the afternoon and we have had a cry free day. I think this is a record. I am learning to anticipate when they need naps and for the most part all I have to do is lay them on their tummies, stick the soother in their mouth and pat their back a few times and they go down. I have to put Leah in the crib because she can’t be distracted but Emma will sleep anywhere.

Jeff and Alicia are coming over for dinner tonight. When John and I first got jobs in Mississauga we rented in the same building as Alicia and we all used to get together and watch tv a couple nights a week. Now that we’re no longer an elevator ride away, we still try to get together for tv every once and awhile. For a few seasons we would all become perfect for an hour and do a running commentary on the Bachelor but the guy this season is just a bit too creepy. I think tonight we are going to try out that new show Lost and then Alicia is going to have to suck it up and watch baseball!

We had a very busy weekend. Saturday morning I got up early and went to the drug store with my dad to get some Ovol and the next nipple size for the bottles. Leah has been a very fussy baby lately and she is arching her back and not wanting to finish her bottles. We thought the Ovol might help her gas and the bigger nipple size would get more food into her before she started to fuss. While she is not quite back to her happy self, she is doing a lot better.

We left Mississauga around lunch time on Saturday and got to Kingston without traffic. It was a miserable rainy day which was too bad because John had never been before and our hotel was right on lake Ontario. Terence and Erin’s wedding was really nice and we had a fun evening with our university friends. I am finally allowed to say that Coby and Carrie are expecting a baby in April. We are both so happy for them and it’s nice to see them so excited. Needless to say we spent a fair bit of time talking about babies which I guess kept me occupied because I didn’t call home once!

Yesterday we slept in until 11 and we were on our way home by noon. We spent the rest of the day with my parents watching baseball, football and the Leah and Emma show.

My parents left for Ottawa this morning and I was back to just me and the girls. Whenever we have visitors and they leave I start to think I am going to get bored because I am solely in charge of entertainment. It’s amazing how fast the day goes by. Today I took the girls over to the mall to get some stuff for dinner. I think as long as I have something to do each day it is ok. I forgot to mention on Friday that Dr. Govan has asked us to start feeding the girls cereal at the end of October. Depending on how they do we’re supposed to move it to twice daily in mid November then introduce veggies one by one come December. I have a feeling solids are going to keep me very busy. We have mixed emotions about starting solids. We just don’t think they are quite ready yet but we’ll give it a shot.

The battery on the camera is dead so no pictures today. I’m off to see if Boston can find a way to beat the Yankees again.

We’re back…I can see from the hit counter that some of you missed us!

John and I have alot to be thankful for this year so it was no surprise that we had a very nice Thanksgiving. The girls had a very busy week - they met lots of new people and visited some new places.

Our drive to Ottawa was uneventful. I hit some bad traffic on my way to Oshawa but the girls and Jackson behaved. After Oshawa the road was nice and clear and we arrived under the cover of darkness. Saturday my parents invited some of their friends to meet the babies. These are people that knew me when I was a baby. The girls were full of smiles and they both behaved themselves. Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving and my Aunt Margaret, Uncle Thomas, cousin Kiera and cousin Kathleen and her boyfriend Mark came over for dinner. It was the first time they had met the girls and they were pretty excited.

John came home Monday and the rest of our week was spent visiting with my parents, old friends, and the neighbours (apparently my ability to reproduce is the talk of the street!).

It was a bit strange taking my babies to Ottawa - it made me realize just how much my life has changed. On Wednesday night I got together with my longtime friend Gillian and two girls I used to be good friends with in elementary and high school but hadn’t seen or spoken to since we graduated (1995!). All three of them are teachers and two of them actually teach at our old high school - I just couldn’t imagine. We had a nice dinner reminiscing about old times and catching up. Although we have all grown up and settled down into our adult lives I don’t really think we are all that different than we were 10 years ago! On a side note you should have seen all three of their jaws drop when I told them that most non teachers/government employees don’t get any top up on maternity leave…or pension…if anyone is reading this and can get me a government job let me know!

So yesterday we loaded up my parent’s minivan (we need a minivan) and headed back to Mississauga. We stopped in to see my dad’s cousin Harold and his wife Joan on the way and then we headed home.

Today John went to work and my mom, dad and I took the girls to their 4 month pediatrician appointment. He is very impressed with their progress and was quite surprised at how strong both girls are getting. Like we all suspected Emma is now bigger than her sister! She weighs 11lbs 5ozs and is 23.5 inches long. Leah is 11lbs 2ozs and 24 inches long. They are now within the normal range for 4 month olds - very good for being 7 weeks premature. They were both very good - all smiles for Dr. Govan - until he gave them their shots. They both calmed down quickly but like the last appointment, I did wonder how we are going to do shots when they are old enough to realize what is happening. I somehow think I’m going to have a hard time convincing whoever goes second that it is worth a lollipop!

Tonight John and I went to the movies. For lack of anything better we decided to see Shark Tale - it’s not very often we have babysitting and it was nice to go out. Tomorrow we are heading to Kingston for a wedding. We will stay overnight and my parents will look after the girls. After the NICU we are pretty good about leaving the girls but we’ll see if we have any separation anxiety.

Emma and Leah were 4 months old yesterday (2.5 months adusted). They have changed alot over the past month…

Leah is a very happy baby. She loves attention but if everyone is busy she is content to talk to herself. I think it’s safe for me to say that she’s sleeping through the night - or maybe I should say going the night without a feed. She will wake up and talk but if she gets her soother she will fall back asleep. She loves to smile and when she’s really happy she’ll turn her head to one side and make this gurgly noise. It’s very cute. She loves to cuddle - especially when she’s tired. While she gets lots of tummy time she is more inclined to fall asleep than do anything exciting. She can definitely lift her head and do a baby pushup - she’s just not all that interested quite yet. Leah is not as interested in food as her sister - she will quite often not finish her bottle.

Emma started off the month a bit of a grump compared to her sister but she is coming around. By anticipating her hunger level I’ve got the “I’M HUNGRY NOW!!!” screaming under control. Emma loves to eat and she rarely leaves anything. She is really filling out. When she really gets screaming she’ll stop as soon as you put the bib on! She also loves to sleep (she gets that from her dad!) and has no trouble sleeping through the night. Just recently she has started to wake up in the morning and socialize for a bit before eating. She is all full of smiles in the morning, after a feed (usually after a burp - so ladylike!) and when she sees her mom and dad. When she’s really happy she lets out this high pitched squeal of delight. Emma prefers lying on her stomach. She is very strong and will lift herself up to see what’s going on around her. She can roll from front to back!

Both girls really enjoy their mobile and the Baby Einstein DVDs. They love going for walks in their carriers and in the stroller when it’s just mom. They like to look at themselves in the mirror and they will stare at each other every once and awhile (although I don’t think they are truly aware of each other yet). They are both very nosy and seem to enjoy meeting new people. They could care less who holds them and they will let anyone feed them.

Boy that was long…I did say they had changed alot!!

This afternoon we are going to Ottawa - it’s my first trip home in a year and a half! No, I am not a bad daughter - my parents are out of the country for half the year and they come visit us a fair bit. So last night we got the car packed up so we’re ready to go. In an effort to beat Toronto Thanksgiving rushhour traffic (aka standstill) John is going to leave work early and take the GO train to Oshawa. I am going to load up the girls and Jackson (who has no cage but has always travelled well), into the car and hopefully make it across the city before the traffic gets bad. It should be interesting.

John and Jackson will come back on Monday but Emma, Leah and I are going to stay in Ottawa til next Thursday. I might try and update the site while we’re in Ottawa - we’ll see if our busy social calendar leaves me some time!

The weather has finally started to warm up. For the past few days it has been freezing outside…and in our condo. There is a big production involved in switching the building over from air conditioning to heat so we froze. Luckily thanks to their grandparents the girls have lots of warm clothes.

The girls are doing well. They slept 9.5 hours last night (a new record!). As I mentioned before we have been having some issues with Leah waking up at 4ish and talking to herself (or maybe Emma who knows…) which inevitably wakes up Emma who then thinks “hey I could eat, might as well start screaming my head off!”. So yesterday Leah was under a strict schedule to ensure that she got her naps. She is inclined to not sleep if there is something interesting going on. Sure enough come 8pm she was wide awake (on the talking nights she seems so be down at 8 and we have to wake her for her last bottle) and they both fed at 9 and went to bed. Of course I woke up at 4, 5 and 6 wondering when it was going to start. Emma woke up at 6:30 and then Leah so I fed them both.

Last night John got the suitcase full of my winter clothes that I put away in disgust when I was pregnant. The last thing you need to see everyday when you’re big as a tank are your normal clothes. I have been mentally preparing for my reunion with my old clothes for a few weeks now. I am slowly losing the last 10 pounds but with no exercise slow is the key word. So this morning I opened up the case and tried to keep an open mind. Thankfully all of my tops fit and I was shocked to find that I could button up some of my pants (the pants are what I was mentally preparing myself for!). I didn’t even try on the jeans I was wearing right before the wedding - I’ll save that one for a couple more months!

I got a few funny pictures over the last couple of days. The sunglasses make me laugh. They actually seem to enjoy having them on - they watch Baby Einstein dvds with them on.