Other summer highlights...

We had a very busy summer, which may have led to such sparse blog posting....or maybe that was laziness? Anyway, here are some highlights, in no particular order!


We spent a lovely weekend in Jamaica, VT (yeah, I did not know there was a Jamaica, VT either!) with Bill and his family. Michelle's family has an A-frame house there and Bill and Michelle try to vacation there once a year. Now we live in VT, so we joined them for a weekend. From left to right: Back row: Bill, Michelle and Chris. Front row: Will, Taylor, Kelly, and Jordan. I am so glad these kids will all get to grow up together!


We took a dip in Cindy and Brian's pool one hot day. Not a bad lookin' bunch, if I do say so myself.


Hey kids, I think that's a one-seater! Cousin Chase graciously shared his jeep with Taylor and Jordan. Only trouble was, they could not decide who was gonna use it first. Oh yeah, and the fact that you have to steer and push the gas pedal.


Nikki came to visit us this week, along with Hannah and Parker. We had a blast and spent the day together in Burlington. We went to the VT Teddy Bear Company, where Jordan had a blast in their huge pile of soft pillows. I did not get any pics of all the kids together, unfortunately. We also went to ECHO, a children's museum and aquarium. Nikki wants me to make sure to tell you that I got stuck in the door coming out of ECHO, thanks to the new-to-us side-by-side double jogging stroller that she gave us. Yeah, thanks for THAT hand-me-down, Nik! It was all she could do to help me get out of the door, without wetting her pants. Thanks for visiting us guys, and thanks for all the rockin' hand-me-downs you brought us (yes, even the stroller that causes one to be trapped in a building. G-d forbid there was a fire!)! We are so glad to be on the East Coast and closer to you guys now!

Taylor learned how to ride this lion this summer and just recently she learned how to push it forward with her feet, rather than going backwards. She is such a big girl!

Chris and Connie got married this summer and we were lucky enough to make it to the wedding. Well, they really had their Civil Union in January, when NH legalized it, but they had a ring exchange and a big ol' party a few weeks ago and we are so glad we got to go! We love you guys and it was so great to see you and have you meet the twinners!

One of the awesomest parts of going to this party was the LOBSTAH! Welcome back to New England, baby! It was awesome!

We were thrilled to get to spend some time with Kelly and Sylvia at the wedding, too. Oh how we miss our CA next-door neighbors! You guys are the best and we love you and miss you so much! Hard to have ya babysit when you are 3,000 damn miles away!

Penny's uncle came to visit a few weeks ago and we all met for lunch. It was nice for him to get to meet the kids and to spend some time with the family. Pictured above are also Cindy and Brian who are going to Walt Disney World with us in a few weeks.

We spent 4th of July with Jess and her family in CT. It was a mini Smith reunion, as Rajni (and Barry) and Aileen were also there. Above are Andy, Jordan, Will, Ben, and Taylor. Not pictured is Jess' newest: Jackson. Thanks for a lovely weekend, Jess. We had tons of fun!

Whew! Were we busy enough for ya? The kids are doing more and more everyday and it is all we can do to keep up with them. The biggies right now are talking and signing (baby sign language is AMAZING!) and running. We are such lucky mamas to have them in our lives, keeping us alive and on our toes!

A trip to Santa's Village in Jefferson, NH

We are headed to Disney World in Orlando, FL in three weeks for our first big family vacation. We are going to Disney more as a getaway and as an opportunity to spend time with family than we are for the kids to actually experience Disney World. We know they are much to young to really enjoy it, and we hope to have many more Disney trips in the future. Joining us in Orlando are Bill's family: Bill, Michelle, Kelly and Will and some of Penny's family: Cindy (Penny's sister) and her husband Brian, and their daughter, Heather and her boyfriend, PJ. Also, we will see my mom and her boyfriend Bob there, as well as my brother Tim. Tim lives with my mom now, but is moving to Boston the week we are in FL. It will be nice to Bill and Tim to be so (relatively) close by!

Anyway, we took a day trip to Santa's Village to see how the kids would do in a theme park environment. They did great and we had a lovely day!





Check us out on the monorail sleigh ride. Fun stuff!




This is a picture of Taylor and Jordan's very first ride they ever went on. They are a bit too young to drive and their legs do not touch the pedals, so Mama P drove and the rest of us were just along for the ride!




Jordan was such a little daredevil on the playground at Santa's Village. He seemed fearless and even went down a bigger slide than this one, on his stomach, coming down face first! Fearless I tell you!









Mama P and Taylor feed the reindeer. There were REAL LIVE reindeer here and they were quite gentle. You could hold your hand out and feed them these little crackers they sold there. Jordan even fed them out of his own hand. Again, the daredevil!







Penny and the kids pose on a freakishly large rabbit. Do you think he lives at the North Pole with Santa and Mrs. Claus and the elves?

Our last ride of the day was the carousel. The kids did great, even though the moms thought the ride went unusually fast for a carousel!

Overall, it was a successful day. We left a bit early as Taylor did not seem to be feeling that well. She was kind of sluggish and felt very warm. After a little Children's Motrin and a nap in the car, she seemed fine once we got home. As an aside, both kids slept all the way there and all the way home, even though it was a 2 hour ride each way! ZOINKS!! Guess they were tired!

We are super excited for WDW in three weeks and Mimi can't wait to see her grandkiddos. Given how the kids did at SV, we hope they will do at Disney, too. We plan on relatively short days at the park, with plenty of trips back to the condo for naps, lunch, and swimming. Hopefully there are no hurricanes or tropical storms happening while we are there!

"A weekend you'll never forget, at Farnsworth..."

We spent a weekend at Camp Farnsworth in Thetford, VT a few weeks ago. I went to this camp as a camper and Penny spent 10 years working at this camp, so when the camp turned 100 years old and we had a chance to go back for a weekend, we jumped at the chance. The weekend was exhausting, as we spent a good chunk of it chasing after our rambunctious toddlers, but we had a blast never the less! Here are a few memorable shots from the weekend.


Here's Jordan and Taylor taking a stroll with their new pal Darci. Luckily for us, she and her partner Elisha live in Burlington. Score on some new VT pals!!


Chris and Elisha pose for a pic with a sleeping Jordan. Camp just wore him right out. HUGE thanks to Darci and Elisha for loving spending time with our kids and giving us a break from chasing them around the dining hall, especially during the hail storm when we were all cooped up. These chicks are so awesome, they even offered to babysit!! WHOA!!

It was chilly in the mornings, so we were all decked out in our sweat suits.
Taylor discovered a love of sweeping during the weekend. We start training them young in our family.


Jordan and Taylor dined in style. Their little seats clip right on to the table and then kind of hang there, suspended. Pretty cool! We take them everywhere with us, so we always have a place for the kids to sit and eat. We hope Taylor attends Camp Farnsworth in the future and that we will have many picture of Taylor through the years in this very dining hall. We will have to find an equally awesome camp for Jordan to attend!

Can I get an award?

Now you are wondering what kind of award I should get. I think we might be the worst bloggers EVAH!! Is there an award for that? The time between blog posts is appalling and I am ashamed of us. What? Are we busy or something?

So, the summer is almost over and I am pissed! It has rained as much this summer as any winter in Northern Cali and now the leaves are changing (already??) and that means winter is coming. I feel like we barely took the snow tires off and now we have to put them back on. Now, what kind of racket is that? Pay to take them off and pay to put them back on? Total BS! Remind me why we moved to VT again??

The kids are keeping us super busy and we are tired moms, who basically endure 24/7 of chasing our toddlers and trying to figure out what the hell they want as they point and make versions of this sound" eh, eh" just about every hour they are awake! This is what made our summer and the fun weekend trips we made turn out to not be as relaxing as we remembered. We attended a civil union party (Congrats Chris and Connie!), a Girl Scout Camp 100th birthday weekend (Yay for Camp Farnsworth!), spent the 4th of July weekend in CT with my college friends and their spouses/families, and spent the weekend at a cute A-frame cabin in VT (did you know there is a Jamaica, VT? Neither did I!)with my brother and his family. These weekends away were great and seeing everyone definitely helped us to remember just why we moved back here. But they were also exhausting with the kids, and the amount of stuff you have to take for a weekend away with two kids is absolutely freakin' ridiculous! We have also spent tons of time with Penny's family, which has been great. We are exicited for the kids to grow up seeing the Penny's side of the family as much as possible.

We are very excited to be heading to Disney World in three weeks. It is our first big family vacation and we are psyched! We know that the kids will not remember it, but we are mostly just going to get away and be with family. My mom and her boyfriend Bob live down there, and my brother Tim is down there now, as well. (Tim is moving to Boston the same week we are in FL, and I am exicted to have him so much closer to us. I feel some big family holidays coming on!) My brother Bill and his family (wife: Michelle and kids: Kelly and Will) are also going on this vacaton, as well as Penny's sister (Cindy) and her husband (Brian) and their daughter (Heather) and her boyfriend (PJ). It is going to be great. We have adjusted our Disney expectations and plan on short days in the park, combined with trips back to the condo for napping, lunch, and swimming.

We had a great visit with my friend, Nikki and her kids Hannah and Parker, over the past few days. It was so great of them to come from NH to see us and hang out with us on Thursday, which is my day at home with the kids. We went to Burlington to the VT Teddy Bear Company, had lunch at the Olive Garden, and then went to ECHO, a children's museum and aquarium. It was a blast. Jordan and Taylor did not cry whent the giant bear came out to walk around with the kids at the Teddy Bear Factory. Jordan even high-fived the bear and hugged him! I think this bodes well for Disney!

This weekend we are headed to Santa's Village to further expose the kids to a theme park and check out how they might do and what kind of stamina they might have for a park day.

I can't believe it is Labor Day Weekend already! WOW! Where has the summer gone?

I hope to write a post soon about some things I have been struggling with, in terms of being a mom and feeling like I have lost myself as a person. I also want to talk about our housing situation and Penny's new job. Stay tuned! Hopefully I will get another post up this weekend, with the above topics and maybe even some new pictures!

Just to catch you up.

Well a lot has happened in twin land. We have had our first molars to start coming in. The kids have graduated up to tooth brushes from the little things you put on your finger. Taylor is becoming attached to her Froggy and Jordan is starting to become attached to his elephant. The kids have had pink eye. Heck we all had pink eye. But the winner of the worst pink eye in the family goes to Chris. I have never seen pink eye so bad. The illness of the week is now Hand, foot and mouth disease. Love the crazy illnesses.

This past week we went to CT to spend the 4th with Chris' friend Jess and her family. It was fun but the weather did not cooperate. We did get to swim in their pool and it was nice seeing everyone. Rajni and Barry and Eileen came too. Unfortunately, our kids might have passed on their little bug to Jess' kids. We hope not but if we did we are sorry.

Also over the Fourth my niece Jessie moved back to VT from Utah and we are pleased about this. Jess has a son who is a few years older than our kids but it will be good to have some young ones for our kids to grow up with. This weekend there is a welcome home BBQ for her and all of my siblings (Penny) and their families will be there.

Just an up date on the Relay for Life. We had fun and as it stands now we plan on doing it again next year. During the 3 am lap was a costume competition. We were supposed to dress up like a super hero. I wore my Wonder Woman adult underoo type garment and was very cold. On the bright side I also won the contest. Chris and I raised over $400 and the team won for raising the most money. Thank you all for your help and support.

Back to the kids. Jordan says a few words like Baby and he tries to say Bear (Our dog). The new word is No. He started saying, "No", Monday and it makes us laugh (now) because it sounds like he is saying it with and English accent. Taylor points to things that she wants and clearly says, "Dat" when she wants to be picked up she says, "Dup" They are walking very well and are very quick. They also love to crawl up the stairs.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. We will add more pictures soon.

Memorial Day Camping Trip 2008

Finally as promised here are some pictures and an up date on our family's first camping trip. Chris mentioned that we went camping in Island Pond, VT which is about 40 minutes from the Canadian boarder. The weekend was cold, cloudy and it did rain a bit too. Although the weather was not always with us. We had fun spent time with family and the kids were able to experience their first nights in a tent, campfire, homemade ice cream, rocky mountain pies, nap in a camper and special time with cousin Heather and PJ.

This is our new tent. It can be divided into two rooms and with the right adaptor it can have electricity (We do not have the adaptor.)!

Cousin Heather is playing with Jordan while he is in his stroller and PJ is snuggling with Taylor. They love hanging with Cousin Heather and PJ and well I think the feeling is mutual. Because they could not come up for the Kids birthday. Heather and PJ got the kids Red Sox T shirts.
You can tell by the way the kids are dressed that it is a chilly evening by the fire. Cousin Heather and I hold our kids while we try to stay warm.

Say cheese! PJ is cheesing it up with Taylor.

On Sunday. Which was the Sunny day, we loaded up the van and the car and drove to Newport VT. We thought about zipping in to Canada for a bit, but we decided that we would wait for our next trip up North for that. For lunch we stopped at Wendy's where Heather and PJ volunteered to eat lunch with the kids.

Two handsome men in Wendy's. That's PJ and Jordan. You gotta love a guy who likes to hang out with babies.

Here is Auntie Cindy cheesing it up with Taylor. Taylor loved wearing Auntie Cindy's sunglasses.

After our trip to Newport we did a little shopping in Island Pond where we bought the kids some tevas. We then returned to the campsite and made two types of ice cream in an ice cream ball that we bought from LL Bean. We ate the ice cream Monday on our way home.

Although the weather could have been warmer we did have fun. Heather and I (Penny) also got a chance to plan our Orland trip. We can not wait.

Behind in blogging!

There is so much going on and I am not doing a great job of keeping up with the blogging. Here are some highlights, with a promise of more news and pics soon.

We took Jordan and Taylor camping (in a TENT!) over Memorial Day Weekend. We went to Island Pond in northern VT, near the Canadian border. It was COLD at night. The kids slept in their fleece hats and gloves! We were mocked by co-workers, who said, "You do know you're not in California anymore, right?" We went with Cindy and Brian (Penny's sister and brother-in-law) and Heather (our niece) and her boyfriend, PJ. They were all so helpful with the kids and it was so great to be with family. Another thing that was so great is that Cindy and Brian have a camper, so when it was cold, we could have the babies go in there to get warm. They took naps in the camper and it was so helpful. Thanks, guys! I will post some camping pics, soon. Overall, it was a lot more work than camping was pre-kids, but we had a lot of fun, too!

Both kids are walking now and that is a lot of fun. They are still doing what we call "the drunken robot" walk, taking unsteady steps with their arms outstretched. Very cute. Sleep is going well for the most part. We read to the kids a lot at night. Penny is reading them the Harry Potter books right now. She is about 1/2 way through Book 1.

The kids are transitioning to the toddler room at daycare. When did they get so big?

Jordan and Taylor are pros at drinking from sippy cups now. They eat well and enjoy tons of different foods. It is so great to be able to go to any restaurant, have them sit so well in high chairs, and be able to order them pretty much anything from the menu. It makes life so much easier to have to pack less in the diaper bag when you go out. They are also learning to drink from straws! Exciting!

We are really looking forward to a bunch of weekend trips over the summer. And the big vacation of the year will be a trip to Disney World in Florida in September. We are going for a week with my brother, Bill and his family, as well as Cindy, Brian, Heather and PJ. They are even gonna babysit for us at least one night so Penny and I can get out for date night. Yay! Penny has a countdown going, and she tells me we have less than 100 days left to go. We are in the double digits. Yeah baby!

That's it for now. Pics to come soon. Maybe this evening if I get a chance. Penny and I have been talking about the blog lately. We love to keep folks updated, but sometimes we worry about safety concerns with having our faces and names out there for all to see/read. Do other people worry about that?

In closing, we had a pretty quiet weekend. It was Father's Day and I know I missed my dad. I am sure Penny missed her dad, too. I spent some time thinking about our donor, as well. If I could, I would say a million thanks to TSBC donor #1376. He helped us to create a beautiful family that we feel so lucky to have every single day.

We made it through the first year!

On May 10th, our babies turned 1. We had a lovely party with friends and family, who came to celebrate Jordan and Taylor and us all making it through the first year as a family.


I ordered these cool personalized bibs from etsy.com and they came out great! We loved them and have now added them to the drawer of keepsakes that we are saving for the babies when they are older.

Uncle Brian tames wild Thing 1 before the party begins. Doesn't she look wild? Thanks to Uncle Brian (or Buncle, as we like to call him after I switched the B and the U when referring to him. Get it?) for color coordinating with Taylor and Jordan on their big day!

Auntie Lisa helps with Jordan, the wildest of the beasts. We ordered the shirts online, too. Don't ya love 'em? It was so great to spend the weekend with Lisa and Robyn, who came up from Boston to spend some time with us. They had not seen the babies since they were 3 months old and we moved from CA. Lisa is the lucky lady who flew with me and the kids from CA to Boston. And she lived to tell the tale. We talked about the flying experience and how we both kept telling ourselves: "We will never see these people again" and "Every second that goes by is one second closer to the end of this journey." There were some "interesting" moments during the flights, as you might imagine!


Thanks to Auntie Cindy for making these awesome birthday cakes for the kids. This one is a turltle. Check out the licorice toenails! Such detail! And very yummy, too! Thanks, Cindy!

This giraffe cake was pretty awesome, too. The colors are dyed coconut. Isn't the neat? Anyone want to place an order with Cindy for their next party? She did an amazing job!

Here are the cupcakes that Mama Chris made, simply because she felt like a slouch if Aunt cindy was the only one to bake for the twins' first birthday! The kids each had one of these to dig into. You will see more of these in a bit, but they will not look this good!

Thanks to Auntie Robyn for being the grill master during the party! She made some pretty awesome burgers and dogs for the masses to gnosh on. Thanks so much, Robyn!

Enjoying the sunshine and a few brewskis.

Hail, hail the gang's all here! Even Jordan and Taylor's great-grandmother made it to the party! And she seemed to have a damn fine time!

Taylor and Jordan check out the cupcakes. At first, they were not sure what to make of them. They were hesitant. They were cautious....

And then the sugar started to hit and they were psyched! Look at that face!

Jordan got messy and enjoyed his cupcake thoroughly.

I have never seen someone suck a cupcake until it was gone, but that is exactly what Taylor did. Once she tasted that sugary icing, she was not putting that thing down for anything in the world and she wanted to make sure no one tried to take it from her. Enjoyment would be an understatement, I think!

Check out those frosting hands!

A family picture to commemorate the big day! We made it through the first year! Hip Hip Horray!
Thanks for this huge bag of mess-makers, I mean blocks, Uncle Ray and Aunt Jenn. (And they gave us TWO bags of them!) You know what they say about pay-back, right? I can't wait to shop for your kids for Christmas!

I love this picture of Jordan playing with a ribbon from one of the presents. He just looks SO happy!

They love their new riding zebra that we got them for their birthday. Our first mistake was only getting one and thinking they MIGHT be able to take turns and share. Mom, we're one. We ain't gonna do no stinkin' sharing!

Jordan tries out the walker/riding Lion from Auntie Lisa and Auntie Robin. The kids LOVED this! And it is so perfect to help out with developing their walking skills.

The shirts the kids wore for the party. They got dirty, but not anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be after such merry-making!

The post-birthday party bath. Taylor is tired and Jordan is ready to go another round. The mamas just want to pass out in bed!

G'night everone. Thanks for an awesome birthday. We had a blast and are so, so tired!

Relay For Life

On June 20th and 21st, Chris and I will be walking in the Relay for Life. This event is a fundraiser for The American Cancer Society. Although many of you were asked a few years ago to help us raise money when we did the Avon 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk (3 days, 60 miles and one of the most moving experiences of our life.), I am reaching out my hand and asking friends, family and strangers to sponsor either Chris or myself (or even both) once again.

Cancer has had a huge impact on my (Penny's) family. On November 20th, 1991 my mother lost her battle to breast cancer. When my father died, he had prostate cancer. I have also had many aunts on both sides of my family battle AND WIN the fight against beast cancer.

Currently, my second to the oldest brother has skin cancer which spread to his lymph nodes. His prognosis looks good! He had surgery last week, during which they removed the rest of his lymph glands and did not find any more cancer. The only areas of concern are some spots on his lungs and groin which were visible on a CT scan. In a few months, they will rescan and see if they can see cancer in those areas. My uncle on my mother's side is currently battling bladder cancer. This fight is not going as well. A few months ago they removed a tumor the size of a golf ball from his bladder. A month later they removed another one. Unfortunately this one was the size of his fist. At this point his doctors decided to remove his bladder. That surgery went fine. However the tube that brought the urine to the bag outside of his body needed to be fixed. He entered the hospital (fortunately) the night before his surgery. That night he began to have difficulty breathing. The cancer is now in his lungs. He has had a few set backs but we are all staying positive.

Needless to say cancer is big and bad in my family and I find the need to do what I can to help with research. If you feel you are able to do so, please sponsor me. If you can not afford to sponsor me , please consider participating in some way at a cancer fundraising event in your area.

Please feel free to donate in any amount. No amount is too small. I thank you. Chris thanks you, and my family thanks you! Please feel free to make donations using the following links:

My home page is http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeNewEnglandDivision?px=6234919&pg=personal&fr_id=7661

Chris' home page is
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeNewEnglandDivision?px=5052623&pg=personal&fr_id=7661


Thanks again! We will post details of the event here once it is over!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! We had a nice day here that involved lunch out at a Chinese buffet, a trip to the park, some more fun time with Aunties Lisa and Robin (who were visiting for the weekend), and some nice presents from the moms to each other. Thanks, Penny, for the facial gift certificate! I can't wait to make the appointment and get me some pampering!

One year ago today, we brought our babies home from the hospital, after a 4 day stay, post c-section. May 10th and Mother's Day were a few days apart last year, obviously! We were quite a spectacle, me being wheeled out on Mother's Day with two newborns. People were oohing and aaahing, and we got our first glimpse of the freak show we would become while in public. People love to ogle you, and sometimes make nice comments and sometimes act like total freakshows! We prefer the nice comments!

Anyway, while it was a lovely Mother's Day this year and last year, I am also painfully aware of Mother's Days in the past when I felt depressed and so sad, in wondering whether I would ever become a mother. Our journey to parenthood was a long and difficult one and, while going through it, we had no idea how or when it might end, and whether that ending would be a sad or happy one. I am also aware of all the women I know in real life and via message boards and blogs online, who are still struggling to become mothers through various avenues. I know the pain of cursing pregnant women, Hallmark cards, and Mother's Day commercials in your face every place you look. Ugh!!

I hope that all women who want to be mothers are able to celebrate Mother's Day at some point in the (near!) future and that the hurt of infertility does not always hurt so acutely.

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, to our lovely lovely babies! One year ago you came into our lives in a whirlwind and it has been go, go, go ever since.

We had a great birthday party today with friends and family. We took lots of pictures that I will try to post very soon. It was tons of fun, the kids got some great presents, and the weather was gorgeous for a BBQ on the deck. Thanks to all who came to help us celebrate and thanks to all the gift givers for their amazing generosity. The kids have already started having fun with some of the loot!

It has been a long day, so I will stop here. I just wanted to get a post in on May 10th to say Happy 1st Birthday to our gorgeous babies. Thank you for bringing such joy into our lives, the likes of which we never knew before!!

An anniversary

Dear dad,

It has been ten years today since that awful day when you died. Ten years? That seems so totally unfathomable to me. So much has happened to our family in ten years that if you popped in today, I fear you would hardly recognize us. I am so sad that you will never meet Taylor and Jordan. They are amazing little creatures, even when Jordan is shrieking and Taylor is awake so much at night. You would have loved them and you would have been such a great "Grampy." I truly feel my kids are missing out by not having you in their lives.

Thank you for being such a great parent to me and for teaching me how to be a parent. If I can manage to be half the parent you were to me, Jordan and Taylor will be lucky little devils.

I miss you every day and I still cry when I think of you and all the things you have not and will not get to be a part of in this world. Some days I am mad at you for never quitting smoking. You were so healthy in other areas of your life. How could you keep smoking and killing yourself slowly, so that you left us when you were only 49 years old? I forgive you and I know you were addicted to the smoking, but it just sucks so much. And it hurts that you are gone.

We have a cardinal that visits us daily and I started calling him "Bill." Is it you or maybe your spirit? The bird seems so intent on getting our attention by flying into the windows and sitting right outside on the branches. The bird is always around and seems to be watching over us. Oh, and the bird is a cardinal and you were a red head. Dad, is it you? I really want it to be you, watching over us.

It has been a long ten years in some ways. I can't believe I have not seen you in ten years. I miss your funny sayings (Ba-ding, Ba-dang, That's not even a little bit funny, Six of one, Half dozen of another) and I miss your jokes and I miss talking about Seinfeld with you.

I love you, dad. And I miss you like we just lost you yesterday. Peek in on us on Saturday, if you are not too busy. It's the twins' birthday party that day and I would love for you to be there.

Love always,
Chris

News in the world of baby bottles

Here is an FYI for any parents reading this blog:

Babies R Us is issuing store credit for all baby bottles containing Bisphenol-A (BPA) - that includes Dr. Brown's, Avent, Playtex, Soothie, Breastflow, you name it - so that parents can buy new BPA-free bottles.

Many thanks to Jude for giving me a heads up on this hot button issue. I called our local Babies R Us and the first woman I spoke to said they were only taking the bottles back with receipts. Well, after a year of use, we hardly still have the receipts. I said I know other stores are taking the bottles back without receipts. So, the first woman gave me to another woman, to whom I had to ask the same questions. Woman #2 said they will take all the bottles back, for full store credit, without a receipt, as long as you have the nipples, rings, lids, etc.

Awesome news!! I am BRU bound on Friday when I am in Burlington for a training. We have a lot of bottles, so this is very good news for us!

Too long since my last post!

Crap, where has the time gone? It has been several weeks since my last post.....sounds like I am going to confession. "Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been three weeks since my last confession. Here are my sins!" Thank you, Catholic school!

So, we have been busy and sick. Story of our lives.

We all came down with some pukey ickiness. Jordan had it the worst. Following that worst night ever with Taylor screaming all night long, we had Jordan's worst night ever a few weeks later, with much puking whenever he laid down. We went through an uncountable amount of crib sheets, pajamas, and changing table covers. Our poor boy. We ended up taking turns sleeping with him on the couch, so we were all propped up. The next day he was mostly fine, although Penny stayed home with him as he could clearly not yet go to daycare. That was a Sunday/Monday.

By Wednesday night, we thought the rest of us had escaped it. Wednesday night, Taylor started puking, although she did not have it as bad as Jordan did by any means. I was sick on Thursday and was home with both kids. Miserable, miserable day. There should be some rule that if the mom is sick, she should be relieved of all duties. And perhaps a Nanny 911 type should be whisked in to help! Penny also felt likle crap on Thursday. By Friday we were all on the mend, more or less. For now, the puking is over and we are grateful. Did I mention how much it sucked to live in a house with a washer, but no dryer, when your kids are puking their guts out? Um, yeah...it does!

Over the weekend, Penny and I went to a scrapbooking event called "Scrap for the Cure," which was a fundraiser for Relay for Life. The kids stayed home with a babysitter from their daycare center. We had tons of fun and we are so glad we were able to get out. However, having to pay for both an event/outing and a babysitter makes for a very expensive day out. It was worth it, and I hope we can get out more in the future. Although maybe long whole days out are a bit much for the budget.

We are having Jordan and Taylor's first birthday party on Saturday and we are very excited. Some friends and family will be attending and it promises to be a blast. I hope the weather is good, so we can BBQ outside on the deck. I can hardly believe it has been a year since the little monsters were born. This time a year ago, I was 36 weeks pregnant and waiting around to see what was going to happen next. Those following along at home may remember that we ended up having a c-section scheduled because Ms. Taylor (AKA Baby A) was transverse and would not flip around!! Mr. Jordan (aka Baby B) was breech, but may have flipped around if Taylor would have cooperated. She did not cooperate, so a c-section it was.

We will have a picture post of the birthday party early next week sometime! And probably some comparison photos, too. A little "THEN" and "NOW" perhaps.

The worst of times and the best of times...

On Tuesday night, we had the worst night we have had since the babies were born. Taylor screamed bloody murder for LITERALLY the entire night. She screamed more when we tried to lay her down in her crib. Penny and I were going out of our minds, taking turns with her and switching every hour or so, while the other one tried to sleep. Taylor's screaming did not change whether we held her, rocked her, swaddled her, let her lay next to us, let her lay on us. She slept a few times during the night for about ten minutes. We tried feeding her. We tried changing her diaper. We took her pajamas off. We tried Tylenol. NOTHING worked. She has never been inconsolable like that for so long, so we knew something was wrong. Penny took her to the doctor yesterday. Diagnosis? DOUBLE EAR INFECTION! The doctor said the reason for the screaming was that her ear drums were swelling. OMG! Our poor baby! Now she is on antibiotics and is doing great. They seemed to start making a difference right away. Ah, the miracles of modern medicine!

Today being Thursday, I was home with the kids as I am every Thursday. The day started off well with the kids sleeping much better last night than the previous night from hell. And then the hits kept on coming by the kids taking a GLORIOUS THREE HOUR NAP! They both slept from 10:20 am to almost 1:30 pm! I got a ton of stuff done and had a really relazing time. Thank you, thank you, thank you! When the kids woke up, I fed them and they ate like they had been sleeping for 100 years. They both immensely enjoyed some plain bread. This was the first time they had plain bread. They also ate pears, chicken, goldfish, cheerios, and formula. Big lunch for 11 month olds, right?

It was a gorgeous day, so I loaded the kids into the mom mobile (yes, we drive a minivan now!) and took them into town. We took a lovely walk (oh how I love our double stroller! It makes taking the kids out alone SO EASY!), then went to the library where the kids played and crawled around. Mama Penny met us there, which was a nice afternoon surprise. Then we went to Ben and Jerry's for a little ice cream treat. We even let the kids have tiny tastes of the yummy creamy treat on such a hot day. Then Mama Penny had to head back to work for a bit, so the kids and I headed home.

This was the nicest Thursday I have spent with the kids thus far and I was so psyched to get out of the house and partake of a few activities. I look forward to more outings with them in the nice weather.

In other news of things that I am psyched about....I am headed out of town for the weekend tomorrow to have a girls weekend with my Smithies. I am so excited to see them and it promises to be a lovely weekend. Many thanks to Penny and Auntie Cindy for doing the kid thing together this weekend, so that I can get a little R&R.

Happy 11 Months, Jordan and Taylor!

Our babies are 11 months old today! Wow! In a month, it will be their 1st birthday. My babies have left the building and in their place are these amazing and crazy almost toddlers! Day care is talking about transitioning them from the infant room to the toddler room. Wah! The kids are on the verge of walking, teeth are popping up all over the place, and we are making the move from bottles to sippy cups. My god! Where has the time gone?

Thank you for changing our lives for the better, our lovely babies. We are so lucky that you found your way to us, after such a long journey. We are getting excited for your birthday party next month. Auntie Cindy is going to make you some fancy cakes!

A year ago today, I was 33 weeks pregnant and could not wait to meet you guys. We thought we knew what was in store for us. Of course, there was so much we were not ready for. But, we are all alive and thriving and, while exhausted, we are loving having you guys around and we are so glad you picked us to be your parents!

Love,
your moms

(Over the weekend, I will try to post pics of Jordan drinking from a big boy sippy cup and Taylor in her fancy Smith College t-shirt. I also want to write a post about the day care transition plan, and post pics/talk about our great family visit with my brother and his family and my mom last weekend.)