Wonderful Weekend Away

We are back from an amazing trip to Niagara Falls with our friends Elaine and Steve and their twin boys, Kyle and Lee (who just turned 3). We got to Niagara Saturday at noon and headed straight to the indoor water park. The kids had a blast! They went from the water slides to the splash pad to the wave pool. Our girls wanted to spend most of the time in the wave pool. The problem was, they thought they could swim and kept wanting to walk on their own. It got to the point that Madison was being so stubborn about it that I let her walk out on her own (I followed right behind, her, but walking on her own meant not holding my hand), thinking that once she swallowed water she would be deterred by that and hold my hand again. Even after getting her head dunked under water by the waves and deeper water this girl didn't want to hold my hand! So we had a few tantrums from her, but she soon learned she had to hold my hand or else we would leave the water park. She didn't understand that she had to be with us because it isn't safe for her to be in the deep water by herself. Anyway, other than that it was a great time. The kids didn't nap that day but they were all fine. Emma and Maddie slept in a bed for the first time and it went over well. Emma went right in and didn't bat an eye. Maddie cried for about 5 minutes but she was so tired that she went to sleep. We slept in another bed but in the same room and the girls were so cute in the morning when they woke up. I heard them talking to each other and I popped my head up and waved at them and Maddie said "mummy, you in here! Mummy, you seep with us!" And she laughed and laughed. She thought it was very funny!

Day 2 we got up, had breakfast and went to Marineland. The girls were so excited about all the things to do. We saw two shows; killer whales and dolphins. They went on rides, they fed fish and we had a picnic lunch. Madison loved the shows the best. She giggled each time the animals would flip or do a trick. She would scream (a good one) first and then laugh and say "dolhpin upside down. Dolphin funny!" The people sitting around us couldn't help but look at her and a few people commented on how they found her just as entertaining as the show. One older lady said "your daughter is delighful." Emma enjoyed the show but she was much more serious. You could see by her face that she was really concentrating on what they were doing. She didn't take her eyes away for a second. They loved the rides even though I was worried that they would get on them and then start crying! We were able to go on with them, but they were in their separate seats. They went on boats that went around and up and down, they went on rocket ships that went up in the air and spun around, and we went on a ferris wheel. Emma was really funny because everytime I took her on a ride she would be calling out to everyone and telling them what she was doing and where she was. When we were on the ferris wheel (Maddie rode with Elaine and Kyle) John was staying with the strollers, and each time we would pass him Emma would squeal "Dad, I over here, I on ferris wheel!" It was a great day with very few meltdowns considering all the activity.

We got back yesterday after visiting the Falls in the morning and Emma can't stop talking about the dolphins and whales. I asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner and she said "I want go back to see dolphins and whales." It was a great trip and we will definately be going back there!

Providing Comfort

There is not much worse than being woken in the middle night by your child who is letting out a blood-curdling wail of "mummy, mummy!" This was Emma last night at 1;00 a.m. I lept out of bed to run to her room. It was tricky because I didn't want to risk waking Maddie, in case Maddie thought it was a big party. Their room is very dark, to ensure they don't wake up with the sunlight at the crack of dawn. So I opened their door very quietly, got down on all foors and crawled across to Emma's crib. I grabbed her out of it, fumbled around for her blanket and soother (never found the soother) and made a mad dash for the door! I brought her the loveseat in our upstairs nook and soothed her. She was sound asleep within minutes and I relished in our cuddle times. I rocked her a bit and transfered her back into her crib, where she slept soundly until 8 a.m. the next morning. I loved the fact that I was able to comfort her and I hope that as my baby girls get older, my smell, the sound of my voice or my arms wrapped around them in a hug will always provide them some comfort.

Madison's Final NICU appointment

Today was Maddie's fourth and final appointment through the NICU. I took her while John stayed home with Emma and we had a great morning. She did everything she was expected to do and more. It is quite intimidating for her with a team of 5 doctor's evaluating her and expecting her to perform. She threw the ball, kicked the ball, jumped, stacked blocks, put pegs in their slots, opened a twist cap, drew a horizontal and vertical line, identified objects etc. etc. The only time she balked was when they tried to measure her height. She didn't want to stand against the growth chart by the wall, even with me there next to her. It was quite strange and she threw a bit of a tantrum, but nothing crazy and it ended quickly. She got a certificate for "graduating" from the NICU follow-up appointments. Her speech is leaps and bounds ahead of where she needs to be, and I got some good tips to continue to help her with plurals and 3-syllable words. So this was all great news, but the best part of it was on the way home. She kept saying" see Emma now?" and I said "yes, we are going home to see Emma now." We got home and she ran in and Emma and John were not there. Madison then ran to every room in the house calling "Emma, where Emma?" looking quite worried. I went to the car to get my phone to find out where they were (they were at the park) and I heard John and Emma through the garage door. I came in through the mud room just in time to hear John's keys jiggle in the lock. Maddie heard them too and she ran to the door squealing "Emma, Emma, Emma!" When Emma came in the house she squealed "Maddie, Maddie" and they must have hugged and kissed each other over ten times throughout the next few minutes. It was the cutest thing ever. I asked Emma if she missed Maddie and she said "yes, lot's." Separating them is really good for them, and it's recommended that John and I spend one-on-one time with each kid. So this weekend I will spend time with Emma and John will be with Maddie. It's nice to be with them on an individual basis and Maddie talks a lot more! Now the girls are napping and we are heading to the splash pad when they wake up. It is very hot out so it's a great way to cool off!

Woken with a start

I woke up this morning at 9 and almost had a heart attack because I was sure the girls had been kidnapped, or I had slept so deeply that I hadn't heard them wake up and they were wailing in their cribs. How else would you explain them sleeping 14 hours? Unheard of. I lept out of bed and pressed my ear to their door. I heard nothing. I was about to go in (sure I would find empty cribs and have to call 911) when I heard Miss Emma's cute little voice say "Maddie, I wake up." I then heard rustling and Maddie said "where your Princess?" Phew. They were awake and ok and already wondering where their latest favourite toy (these tiny Princess dolls) went. Sure enough when I went in Emma was clutching her Ariel doll and Madison was saying "oh no, cinde-lella on floor!"

We had a nice chat to grandma and grandpa over Skype today. Maddie kept repeating that she has a "basket" (Snow White's basket). I love how she repeats new things over and over. I also love how she talks in the third person. She will say "Madison fall down" or "where Madison doll?" Whereas Emma will say "where mine" or "I fall down." It will be interesting to see when Maddie makes the transition. She is speaking a lot more and a lot more clearly. She now calls herself Madison instead of Addison.

The girls are now napping and when they wake up we will play in the yard with sprinklers and water toys. They love their new Dora watering cans and want to "help" water my flower pots every second of the day! I say "help" because I don't think any water actually gets into the pots when they do it, but my front porch gets a good soak!

First Day Without the Girls

So I dropped the girls off at their summer daycare today. John was with me and it went very smoothly. I am sending them there 2 days a week. Val, their caregiver, is a natural. She has 5 kids there total, and her son, Griffen is quite smitten with the girls. She e-mailed me an update on how the day was going (including pictures) and said that Griffen as been sharing his most coveted toys with them. Val has two cats, so the girls are elated about that. After dropping them off I went to the mall, did some errands, went for a run, showered, cleaned up a bit, had lunch all before 1:00 pm. It was funny because when I was upstairs, I was creeping around and when loud trucks would go by I would frown but then I remembered that the girls weren't in their rooms napping! I didn't need to rush around as I had all day to get things done! Now I hope when the girls read this they won't take it the wrong way, but this has been the longest time I have had to myself since the day before they were born and it has been quite nice. An hour after I dropped them off I started to miss them though and all day I have been wondering how they are and what they are doing, but it was nice to go to the mall without having to strap two kids into their carseats, then take two kids out, then put them in their strollers etc etc. So I am appreciating the little things. Those who know me know that I have a ton of energy (perhaps even adult ADD since I am constantly doing a gazillion different things - I can't even sit still to watch an hour-long show. Ask John, I drive him nuts)! Anyway, I have a ton of energy and now I am sitting on the couch wondering what to do with myself on the days they are in daycare! Don't worry, I will figure it out and I might even nap once before the summer is over. But I do miss running around and playing with my little ones. I am off to pick them up. Can't wait to see them!

Fun day at the water park

I must have been feeling brave today because I took the girls to the splash park by myself. Yes, by myself. For those of you who don't know what a splash park is, it is a regular park with climbing equipment, slides, swings etc and then in another section of the park are water spouts that spray out in the summer for kids (and parents) to cool off in. John and I took the girls yesterday and had a blast, and since I was home with them today, I figured it'd be fun to do again. Let me just say it was a LOT of work! I drove to the park and then I took Emma out of her carseat and changed her into her Little Swimmers diapers (more on those in a minute) and into her swimsuit. I then slathered sunscreen on her as she proceeded to play with every button and gadget in the front seat of the car (more on that later). I stuck her by my foot (she has to hold onto my leg so I know she is there) and did the same with Maddie. Changed her out of her clothes, into her diapers, into her swimsuit, sunscreen etc. We walked over and neither one wanted anything to do with the water part of it. Ok fine, so of course Emma wanted to swing and Maddie wanted to climb and slide. I pushed Emma (not as high as John does it, she told me daddy does it higher - argh) and then I would run over in between pushes to check on Maddie. Maddie was about to go down the slide when she said "uh oh mummy, pee pee." Sure enough I saw the pee trickle down her leg and down the slide. I'm thinking "what the heck is the point of these diapers?" when I found out later from John, that the Little Swimmers are made to catch poo only, not pee. Makes sense since if they caught liquid, the diapers would balloon when the kids got in the water. Lesson learned. I run over to Emma for her push and she says "why I wet?" Yep, the twins were peeing at the same time, so Emma had pee running down her leg and on the swing. I said "let's go in the splash park girls" and off we went to "wash" off the pee pee. Madison spent most of the time beside a 4-month-old cocker spaniel, petting it and giggling and Emma was quite brave running through the water. She would even stand over the hole and then it would spray right up at her at different intervals and she would run squealing and laughing towards me. After the water part they went back to the climbing part and Emma made friends with a couple of 7-year-olds. They had set up a fake ice cream shop and said that no one else was allowed except the babies (meaning Emma and Madison) because they don't understand anything they are saying. I chuckled to myself but left it to watch and see what would happen. So the older girls would say "what do you want, chocolate chip, vanilla or maple ice cream" and the look on her face was priceless when Emma said "I want chocolate chip!" It was actually really fun to watch the girls play pretend with these older kids. They were really into it and they knew it was pretend. When it was time to leave Maddie decided she didn't want to and she ran to the climber, climbed right to the top and smartly positioned herself in a spot where she knew I couldn't get to her. Now at this point Emma is crashing, so I am carrying her, a backpack full of stuff, wet towels, juice and two sets of sandals (not sure how I managed to carry all of this) and I said to Maddie "we are leaving now, if you don't come we will not go to the park again." She gave me the death stare that she has been giving me lately and then she started to gather spit in her mouth, another thing she does when starting a tantrum. Finally she blinks her eyes over and over really quickly, almost like she is hoping if she does this I will be gone when she opens her eyes. I ended up having to grab her off and over my shoulder, but by the time we got to the car she was over it. I turned the car on to the blast of the radio (I told you Emma was playing in the front) and the wipers going. Sigh. We finally made it home and they napped for over 2 hours!

When they got up from their nap we played some games and Emma decided that she would be a kitty cat. She crawled around on all fours meowing, and asking Maddie and I to pet her. She even wanted a bowl to drink her kitty cat "milk" out of. Hilarious. Maddie just laughed at her and then she decided she would be a dog. So I had a meowing Emma and a barking Maddie, as if my house wasn't loud enough! Good times!