10 - 11 Months: East Coast Water Babies

12 August 2014

Dear Babies
 
 On July 10th you guys survived your first airplane ride. Mommy and Daddy survived it too, as well as all the surrounding passengers that you guys charmed into tolerating babies on a plane. Then we were across Canada on the east coast to get to know your Auntie Dena, Uncle Dave, cousins Emily and Alex, Great Aunt Sue and Cousin Andrew, and of course, to visit Grammie!

It was a lovely trip and you guys adapted very well to all the changes and moving around, for we stayed in Dartmouth, then Ingonish, then Porters Lake, all within 10 days. We had lots of firsts! First road trip... 5 hours, two stops, good babies. First visit to the beach... Feet in the sand, got to eat some, toes in the cold ocean, Alice immediately in heaven, Evan took a little longer to be cool with the new gritty sensation. First swim... With Grammie at the lake, warm and not salty, Alice instantly in heaven, Evan even slower to be cool with the full body immersion. First visit with your Auntie, Uncle, and cousins... Emily and Evan are best friends, many happy spins, lots of cool stuffies, taking walks with the family, chilling with your cool oldest cousin Alex. It was a very lovely visit with family, but all too soon we had to come home. And that plane ride needed to end sooner! 5 + hours was too long for antsy babies.

 

Back in Calgary you guys spent the hot summer days having pool parties in the back yard in your new pool (thanks Grandpa!), sleeping in your portable playpens in the cool basement with Mommy and Daddy, and playing down there too for it was 28 degrees in the house! Sooo hot! There was also weekly zoo visits and lunches at the new restaurant there, and bbqing at Uncle Dave and Auntie Lindsay's. You guys also came down with your first true sickness - hand, foot, and mouth disease. Evan had it first, just a couple days after getting home. You were so sad and sleepy, very feverish, we even took a quick visit to the Childrens Hospital to make sure we were doing all we could, but it was just as I suspected that you would just have to ride it out, with tylenol to help your fever. Then two days later Alice was sick as well. Having two babies sick at the same time is the first time Mommy's felt the twin effect become really difficult. I wanted to snuggle and give both of you my undivided attention, but my attention needed to be divided. Anyway, it wasn't until a couple days later when I saw some blisters in Alice's mouth that I clued into what disease you guys had. So there was the 48 hour fever and then blisters on your fingers, toes, lips, and mouth, which took about a week to clear up. But we survived! Won't be the last time you guys are sick, that's for sure! 

 

THE FOOD SITUATION: Oy! So you guys didn't want to eat much on vacation because you were distracted a lot and not used to the set up for eating. Then we had a couple days of being home and eating normally and then the sickness really brought your appetites down as well. I thought for sure you'd have horrible weight gain and I was going to get in trouble at the Drs. But you guys really seemed to gain back your appetites and scarf down the regular stuff the week before the appointment and the weight story wasn't so bad at all. I think I may be over stressing about your weight percentiles and trying to stuff you so full. You are smart, good babies and will eat if you feel like it and are hungry. All Mommy can do is provide you the food. Banana goop or yam goop, mix in some applesauce or vanilla, hide some veggies in it... Yum! Steamed carrots, zucchini, apples, beans, mangos, peaches, plums, meat sticks, cheerios, graham crackers, and cheese... Yum also! We are starting to feed you basically what we are eating so you get some good flavors in there; like quesadillas and spaghetti, lots to try!

THE SLEEP SITUATION: Thank heaven for the portable playpens off kijiji and the wonderful cool basement we have! You guys transitioned down there without thought. Time wise... You continued to get up at 5am in Nova Scotia, and once home it was hard to get you to sleep past 4am! Slowly, so slowly, Mommy is waiting to go see you until later. 5am is becoming a little more common again so we will see if we can shift it some more. Doesn't even matter when you go to bed. Wish that was a factor, then I'd just keep you up late. There is a little less rocking these days. Since there's no chair in the basement Alice falls asleep in her playpen while Mommy gives Evan a quick cuddle lying on the bed as he falls asleep. You guys are good at going to sleep. Naps are the same story and Mommy has set a sleepy time alarm to tell us that 8am and 2:30pm are ideal mutual nap times. It works for all 3 of us.

THE HEAD SITUATION: No issues at all! The headband is going great and other than a sweaty head break it's on 23 hours a day. What a trooper you are being about it. The therapist was very impressed with your first check in. Looks like it's working well. Hoping for a finish date sometime in October. 

Alice... Oh little Alice! Our outgoing Chum Cheez! There's so much to learn and do. You are always looking to the next big thing. Crawling is mastered. Now pulling up on things and walking along them is all the rage. Yanking on Mommy's pants and wanting up ALL the time takes up a large part of your day. Climbing the stairs, actually any stairs, is your next most important activity. Unfortunately, you need close supervision so you don't tumble down them and crack your head open, so we can't do this as much as you would prefer. Otherwise you play well with your brother a lot of the time, really enjoy the swings at the park, any outing to anywhere, and books. Brown Bear Brown Bear is a favorite. Bath times are still awesome and you love lying on your back and kicking the water all over Mom and Dad. Your sound practicing has resulted in your first obvious word... Kitty cat... Or as you say in a whisper usually... Keekah! 

Evan... my Lovey! Our charming little man. You are really motoring around now. You love to play chase and travel through the couch tunnel. You also like to pull up onto things, trying to climb it if you can. You have also discovered stairs, and anything else you can get your knees on to, like the dishwasher. Not sure if all babies climb as obsessively as you guys. You still love to spin your happy spins when your excited and cast spells with your hands if the occasion calls for it. Foamie swords and feather sticks are your favorite toys, but you also like to push rolling things, like the animal train, as you crawl about. You have a lot to say in your matter of fact way and love laughing a lot. The funniest is when Alice is behind the see-through shower curtain... You think this is hilarious. Also, peekaboo, and monster chases means a lot of giggling. Pop up Farm is your favorite book, but you still are a little aggressive with the pages. Mommy had to preform a couple book surgeries thanks to you guys. Highly recommend duct tape and packing tape for all Moms! Saved a few things so far this way. That's Not My Monster and our Baby Peekaboo book are back in circulation thanks to some hefty taping. That's what you get with two Wreck-it-Ralphs in the house.

Next month is the big birthday!! Really? Already? Time seriously flies.

Weights: Evan 19.2lbs Alice 19.4lbs
Teeth Count: Evan 8, Alice 8