Mama of Three Little Men

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T14:49:00.001-07:00

We went to the farm for Christmas this year, and were brave enough to go Christmas Eve and stay overnight. My Grandma stayed the night as well, so we stayed up late chatting and watching "It's a Wonderful Life". It was really nice.

Christmas morning the boys woke up and opened stockings and gifts. Nate and Gage thought that all of the gifts should be for them. They were spoiled with toys, but had a great time!

These are the "Stop taking pictures and make with the gifts!" faces of Christmas morning.

Nate and Gage were totally into opening gifts. Jude was waiting for breakfast. He opened a few gifts, but was happier checking out what everyone else got.

Then we opened this, and he was the happiest kid in the world.

In total he got two guitars, one set of drums, a karaoke machine (to share with his brothers) and a set of bongos. I've never seen him so excited or interested in his whole life.

This is the other guitar.

Santa brought everyone a race track to share. And cars for everyone, including the adults. It is a lot of fun, and the best part is that there are no batteries!

In the afternoon, my sister and her three boys came out. Along with them for the day were her in-laws. I wish I would have taken a picture of my parent's house with all of us around the table. There were nine adults, one teenager and five boys under the age of 7.

Gage and his cousin Connor checking out Connor's new Nintendo DS. I'm Gage didn't know what they were doing, but they were having a blast!

Sean showing his Nintendo DS to his Nate and Jude.

Gage's Birthday

2008-12-31T14:11:00.001-07:00

Gage turned four on December 23. According to him, this means he can make his own chicken nuggets (using the microwave), he's one year closer to being a monster truck or a tyrannosaurus rex and he's almost big enough to go to school.

Happy birthday Monster Man!

What happens when you tell a four year old to wait and let Mama take a picture before you blow out the candle.

Halloween (and everything up until December!)

2008-12-31T14:04:00.001-07:00

I know, I let it go again. Like everyone else, we have been super busy here. With fall came the yard preparations (oh boy, did we have apples everywhere! And we don't even have an apple tree!) and the realization that in one year Gage will be going to school and we will be dealing with school supplies. I'm thinking I should stock up on them now. I wonder... do pencils go bad?

We had Halloween out at the farm this year. The boys were so excited, but by the time we got there, they were hungry, over tired and grouchy. We made it to my Grandma's, her neighbour's and then back to the farm before we called it a night. They still had a good time, and they definitely don't need any more candy than that!

We almost had the most adorable trio of boys in costume this year. Jude wanted to be Eeyore.

Nate wanted to be Tigger.

And Gage wanted to be Pooh. However, we were unable to fine a Pooh costume that fit him. But, he did see this costume, and decided that's exactly what he wanted to be.

That's right, he was a cow. It was awesome!

We have spent a lot of time in the yard again this fall. We still love the yard and the boys enjoy being outside so much. Today it is too cold to go outside (it has been for a week or so now) and it's so sad. The boys ask all the time to go outside, Nate and Jude will even get their boots and put them on, thinking that if they are already dressed, I will have to let them out. Hopefully it will warm up again soon.

Nate likes to get right into the dirt to play.

When it's too cold to go outside, we go into the basement. Yet another word we've had to use a substitute for when talking about it in front of the boys. As soon as we mention basement, they all want to go down there, use the bathroom downstairs or do the laundry. There's a lot more room down there and different toys to play with.

Jude has taken to finding pennies everywhere! I have cleaned the basement numerous times, but he still finds change all over. I am very glad that he doesn't put things in his mouth anymore.

Nate likes to be safe when riding his "motor bicycle". He did this all himself.

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

2008-10-15T10:14:00.001-06:00

Nate, get that bagel out of your pants!

Dad

2008-10-04T23:34:00.003-06:00

Things we like to do with Dad:

1) Vacuum. Because if Dad does it, it has to be fun. (Jude calls it a HMM. Really.)

2) Read stories. Because Dad makes great voices for all of the characters.

A boy and his (Mama's) bear

2008-10-04T23:31:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe that Gage found this thing. I remember it from when I was little. It has to be thirty years old and the music box still works. I worked a couple of weeks of the late shift a while back and wasn't around to tuck him in. He decided that this bear had to go to bed with him. And this is how he'd be sleeping when I got home.

Fall 2008

2008-10-04T23:06:00.006-06:00

It is tradition that every fall, around mid September, hundreds of people in our city go out to the north end of town and take pictures under the maple trees. Apparently these trees were planted years ago by the armed forces that came from the east coast. They line the street for 20 blocks or so, on the far east side of what once was the army barracks. The land has been bought by a developer, the old army houses are being torn down or moved and new houses are springing up in their place. Thankfully the trees remain. If you come to the city from the north, it's the first thing you see, red and orange and gold all the way down the street.

We missed going last year, selling the condo and moving took over. The year before that, the twins couldn't even sit up on their own and it was a quick session. This year we could have stayed all day. Our friends came with us and the kids all played in the leaves and the grass. I took over 80 pictures in the hour we were out there and I can't decide on just a few, so I'm putting up a lot.

Nate had a very bad start to the day.

I am not going to have fun, you can't make me!

Jude and his puppy. He wouldn't leave the van without it.
Gage telling Arianna about his transport truck.

We were trying to get everyone around the wagon, but the boys insisted on pulling the girls.

Sofia is a natural! She didn't need any coaching at all.

Once he started climbing trees, his attitude improved.

I told the boys to go stand beside Sofia...
... and a giant game of chase broke out! The ran around in a circle, running over other people, but thankfully not into traffic.

Emilia is so sweet. The first year we came out here, it was Sofia that was kissing Gage and he looked all unsure.

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part Three)

2008-08-09T22:31:00.003-06:00

Our sandbox (which has no sand). Thank you to Miss J for this excellent idea. It makes a great pool! Nate liked the sprinkler the best, Gage liked everything and Jude didn't mind it once he got wet. He didn't like the sprinkler spraying in his face, but all three of them thought it was fun to run through it and jump in the pool

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

2008-08-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

Jude, get those pretzels out of your ears!

The month of July

2008-08-09T21:51:00.006-06:00

We have been super busy here. In July I took two weeks off work, and James took a little over one week. Someone tried to steal our van right out of our driveway the first day, but after that it was fantastic! We played, went up to see James' parents and out to the farm to see my parents. This is kind of a mish-mash of pictures.

Jude has made some major changes since May. Everyone who knows him says he's a completely different person. He still has his bad days, but now they are about the same as every other two year old. He no longer melts down for no reason and he has gained a lot of weight. He no longer has six pack abs, you can no longer count his ribs and he has gotten taller as well. And all we did was take away all of his dairy except the occaisional piece of cheese. And we can tell right away if he's had too much of that. His attitude changes and he smells horrible! All in all, we are feeling much better about our little man's health.

Jude, in a self-imposed time out. What he does when he's feeling really grumpy.

Wearing Dad's shoes and Gage's backpack, going to school.

Nate is growing very well, and really talking now. He's such a small boy compared to Gage and Jude, but his personality makes up for it! People ask why there are always so many pictures of Nate. It's because he's loves the camera, and it loves him.

Talking to Aunty on her old cell phone she gave them to play with.

Gage is potty trained! He hardly ever has an accident, and has only wet the bed once, when he had too much to drink the night before and didn't get to the bathroom in time when he got up. He really likes Nate and Jude now, and tries to help them and show them things. He's such a good big brother.

How to use a bed.

Gage: Get under the covers and stay there. Don't wake up unless Elmo falls out of bed.
Jude: Put head on the pillow and lay flat on your back. Stay in the bed until you think it's time to get up.
Nate: Find the most uncomfortable position you can. Stay there until you can't feel some part of your body. Wake up and accuse Jude of having a stinky bum so someone will come reposition you and cover you up.
Museum trips without a stroller are interesting, to say the least. Everyone knows to hold a hand, but in the dinosaur room, it's pretty safe to let them explore on their own.
Dinosaur kisses.

Our friend Ed. He's such a sport, he let Gage tell him all about dinosaurs.
Look! They are all in the same spot!

Sort of.

The clouds Mom and I watched roll away one night at the farm.
And the sunset from the other side of the house.

Now you see it...

2008-06-15T21:59:00.004-06:00

...and now you don't!
What is left of our birch that was in the back yard.

Gage was a big help with limb demolition. We had a huge pile of limbs left from the removal service, so we had to break them all down and bag them. Gage was quite happy to wear his worker gloves and help out.

Nate tried helping too, but his little hands are not very good for breaking twigs. So he opted to look cute.
Jude wanted nothing to do with work. He managed to avoid all of it by playing at the other end of the yard.

Yet Another Zoo Trip

2008-06-14T22:08:00.003-06:00

Next year we are going to get the annual family pass. I think if we had it, we'd be at the zoo all of the time.

This time we went with our friends and their boy, who is a little older than Nate & Jude. However, it was Gage who was glued to him. They held hands and ran all over the place, stomping in the puddles and running up and down the hills.

Thanx to Elizabeth for the pictures. She got some really great shots.

My absolute favorite! Notice how there's no stroller here? It was our first big outing without one. We brought the wagon instead and it went really well.

Cuteness

2008-06-14T22:05:00.001-06:00

Could be BE any cuter?

More Pix

2008-06-14T22:01:00.003-06:00

Spiderman Gage
Engineer Nate
Ham Jude

In This Corner...

2008-06-14T21:45:00.002-06:00

I was not at home when they were wrestling this time. Not that they don't wrestle like this when I'm at home. I just never think to take pictures. So, thank you Dad.

Mama at the Movies

2008-06-14T21:39:00.003-06:00

For the first time in four years I went to a movie theatre. The last movie that I saw in a theatre was The Incredibles in December 2004, five days before Gage was born. So it was a BIG deal to go to see Sex & The City: The Movie on the big screen. I bought a new dress, I bought new pink shoes, gathered a friend (and some of her friends) and we went out. Two cosmopolitans (yes, I had to try it) later and I staggered over to the theatre. I laughed, I cried and I got to be a girl. It was a fantastic night!

Two Fabulous People

2008-05-31T05:22:00.004-06:00

Normally this is all about the kids, but I had to acknowledge two fabulous people in my life right now. And what better way than with a fabulous photo?

My fabulous husband with my fabulous friend! (A friend who kicks my ass every week and makes me run.)
Thanks for being there for me and thanks for being friends.

Happy 2nd Birthday Nate & Jude

2008-05-24T04:52:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe that Nate and Jude are two now. Nate has become bossy, likes to say no and gets very frustrated if we don't understand what he is saying. He enjoys kicking and throwing balls, playing with Gage and cars, especially Monster Trucks. Jude says less than Nate, but is very clear when he speaks. He enjoys singing, playing (bashing) the piano or playing the drum and coloring. He really enjoys being outside and is happiest when he's in the dirt or the mud. Both of them like to wrestle with Dad and Gage and cuddle with Mama.

We had a big birthday BBQ, partly for them and partly to celebrate our back yard. We had almost 30 people here and you could hardly tell. There was lots of space and the kids had a great time playing football, soccer and running around.

A big thank you to Aaron for taking pictures. I had my camera out and managed to take three. He took 100. So I have lots of pictures to share.

Jude refused to sit on a chair. He was much more comfortable on top of the toy box. Which provided the perfect photo op for everyone.

I made the boys their cake. Dinosaurs and crayons, Cool Whip icing. They loved it.

The boys were interested in opening gifts for at least two minutes this year. I think once they got to the motorcycles, they just wanted to play with those!

Gage giving Nate his Lightning McQueen back before I noticed that he was crying. Good idea.

He kept the book though.

Uncle Dale brought his collapsible kennel for his dog Zoe. It was the perfect size for the boys to play in. Nate enjoyed pretending he was a puppy.

The day before the BBQ was their actual birthday so we decided to have a little cake for just the five of us. Right before bed. We will NEVER do that again! Nobody slept well because of all the sugar. It was fun and messy though.

There's a good chance that I've gone insane...

2008-05-13T21:34:00.001-06:00

I've volunteered for not one, but two positions with my local Twin and Triplet Club. They commence in the fall. I'm doing PR (because it's a nice introductory role) and Hostess (because we need coffee at the monthly meetings and I figured, hey, it's pretty obvious that I'm good at food!) There are at least two other positions that caught my eye, but I will leave those for next year, as they will take a lot more time than I have right now. I'm trying to keep the control freak in me at bay right now.

The twins are turning two on Saturday. We're having a barbecue for Nate and Jude's birthday on Sunday, which is also our fifth wedding anniversary. I swear it wasn't that long ago that I was meeting James for the first time, and now look at us! 8 years, 5 of them married, 2 apartments, 1 condo, 1 house, 5 vehicles and 3 boys. I guess we've been busy.

So if I appear to have lost my mind, I probably have. I'm just warning you.

Super Cities Walk for MS

2008-04-27T20:47:00.003-06:00

This year I walked to raise money to fight MS. I have a few friends who have the disease and I decided to do something about it. Thanks to the help of co-workers, family and friends, I managed to raise $815! So thank you to everyone who pledged me.

We were all supposed to go today, but Jude and Gage had a bad fever so they stayed at home with Dad. I took Nate with me and we did the 5 km walk. Nate walked about 4 km of it, riding in the stroller only for juice and grapes. He was totally into the high fives and would run back to high five people behind us on the path.

Mama? This shirt is a little big.

Much better.

One of my fellow walkers gave Nate a chocolate peanut butter square. Nate bounced off the walls all afternoon. I have to babysit Scott's son when he's old enough to eat sugar cubes.

I let Nate run through the finish line so he could high five the volunteers that were cheering the walkers in. He made the local news! I was very proud of him. If you watch this clip, he's the little guy in the very first few seconds.

Family Photo 2008

2008-04-15T21:58:00.001-06:00

Bathing with Bubbles

2008-04-12T22:50:00.002-06:00

A favorite thing to do in the tub is blow bubbles. (This way we can blow bubbles all year round and blow bubbles in the house without Mama getting upset about sticky floors and such!) Thanx to Auntie Amber and Dad for these great shots (which I missed because I was working the crappy late shift!).

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part 2)

2008-04-12T22:47:00.001-06:00

One word: MUD!

As you can see, Jude enjoys mud the most. He has absolutely no problem getting disgustingly dirty. Just before I took these pictures, he was making mud angels. Nate and Gage were shoveling what was left of the snow. Gage does his best not to get too dirty, and Nate actually fell into the mud. Nate doesn't mind getting too dirty if it's his idea. He just doesn't like falling all that much.

They'd spend all day outside playing in the dirt and the mud if I let them.

Growing Up sigh

2008-04-05T23:51:00.001-06:00

It was finally time to change the twins' cribs into toddler beds. They were trying to climb out after nap and were getting caught in the bars during the night. Funny how doing that has made their once small room seem so much bigger.

None of my boys will sleep with their heads against a wall, and I have no idea why. All three of them have moved their pillows so that they are further from the wall and closer to the door. Inner fung shui maybe? All I know is that Nate did this even before lying down on the bed.

Jude was really upset by the change, he kept crying and screaming "That's not my bed! That's not my bed!" over and over. For some reason he and Nate switched beds and now he's happier.

They have gotten used to staying in their beds and since we got the rails, they don't fall out. The first night Jude hit the floor twice and Nate fell once, but the rails have made a huge difference.

Aren't we CUTE?

2008-04-05T23:35:00.001-06:00

Nate pretending to be a cat. He rotates from cat to dog. The dog is really good, he woofs and carries a ball around in his mouth. He'll even fetch. I'm thinking he wants to be a puppy when he grows up! (This is the last bit of the black eye that he got when he fell into a gate. I think sometimes that babyproofing and safety are not his friends.)

Jude blowing kisses. This is him reminding us what a wonderful, loving and cute boy he is. He hopes that we will remember this when he has his next meltdown.
Gage playing Thomas in his room. This way his brothers don't bother him and he can play with all of his playsets at the same time.

Deceptively Delicious

2008-04-05T23:23:00.001-06:00

For Christmas, I got Deceptively Delicious, an awesome cookbook about adding vegetables to your food. I've made all sorts of stuff from this book, most of which the kids just love.

Preparation is easy, if you prepare ahead of time. Hard to believe I can get Gage to eat carrots, but when they look like this and you hide them in things, he has no idea what they are.

Nate is a notoriously neat eater. He doesn't use his hands very often, preferring a fork or a spoon (I've seen him eat toast and chicken nuggets with a fork). So, when he eats something like this, you know that it's good.
(Chocolate pudding with avacado)

Nate's Finger

2008-04-05T23:07:00.001-06:00

In January, we were playing in our yard with trucks. Nate didn't have any mittens on because it was nice and warm. He scraped his hand up against our garage (stucco) and got a bit of a cut. James cleaned it out and we kept on eye on it. It didn't seem to be getting any better so I cleaned it out really well and put a whole bunch of polysporin on it. The boys went to the farm for the weekend and my mom kept it clean and put polysporin on it a lot. By the time we picked him up Sunday night, it was really infected and swollen. So James took him to the medicentre where they cleaned it all out and dressed it. He was on strong antibiotics for almost two weeks and we had to go have the dressing changed each day (or twice a day when he and Jude would pull it off). It took him forever to heal, the nurses and doctors kept saying "It should be getting better by now...".
Finally, about a week later, a lot of the infection came out of it and it healed up really fast after that. Two days later it was fine. He had a big purple mark all the way around his finger for a while, but it's hardly noticeable now. This is the third bacterial infection we've had to take him in for. The first was a stubbed toe that got infected and the second was a nasty ear infection. He can fight off a virus really well, but has a really hard time with bacteria. I guess he needs more yogurt!

Nate, eating with his glove on. Here he's pointing to his owie while trying to stare Dad down so he wouldn't take him to the doctor.

Jude, pointing to where his owie would be if he had one. Poor little guy felt so left out.

Getting ready to go for a dressing change. Note the mark on his forehead where he whacked it on something. People should not be surprised when we say we are taking him to emergency!

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part 1)

2008-04-05T22:48:00.001-06:00

You can shovel until your heart's content.

Jude prefers a small shovel. He's all about the little details.
Put that camera away Dad, before I head-butt you right in the junk.

When you are all done shovelling, you can always play trucks on the covered patio.

Barb's Wedding

2008-04-05T22:38:00.002-06:00

On January 6, James' sister Barb got married. It was the twins' first wedding and Gage's second. They behaved very well I thought, we spent all of our time playing with the toys in the nursery. They looked really smart, too. (If you ignore the winter boots.)

Don't you just love that his socks match his tie?
James and I looked pretty good too, but it's hard to get pictures of us when the kids are running around.

The happy couple, Barb and Jeramie.

Maid of honour was Barb's twin sister Amber and best man was Jeramie's brother.

Christmas (a little over three months late)

2008-04-05T22:21:00.001-06:00

I really wish I had a good excuse as to why I have not updated this thing in over three months. But, sadly, I don't. I blame facebook, laziness and a renewed love for things not kept in the basement (like the backyard). Slowly but surely, I will get caught up. So here's Christmas, 2007.

The twins were the first to see the tree. We set it up Christmas Eve after the boys had gone to bed. They were enthralled with it, and were even more amazed when James plugged in the lights.

Seriously, we thought that a lot of these gifts would go home with people. We've now learned that when you have kids, a lot of those gifts stay with you.

Opening stockings at the table.

Gage wouldn't open any presents unless he was sitting in his Thomas the Train couch/engine that Auntie Amber gave him for his birthday.
Nate was really into opening presents. His, Judes, Gage's, ours...
Jude wasn't that into the presents this year. He liked carrying the presents around and then wanted someone else to open them. Then he'd play with the toys and the paper.
I even cooked Christmas dinner for James' family this year! I'm not brave enough to do turkey yet (and I don't really like turkey anyway), so I did a ham. It turned out really well.
You can't see Nate, but he was there. Stuck in between James and his Dad, his chair is the blue spot. Christmas was so much fun with the boys this year, and being in our new house made it very nice. I'm looking forward to next year, when I can decorate a bit more and the boys will understand more about Santa, making Christmas cookies and giving gifts.

Happy 3rd Birthday Gage!

2007-12-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's a few days late, but I had to include pictures, didn't I?

Three years ago today I was sitting in the children's hospital, watching footage of the tsunami, wondering what day it was and when I'd get to take my little guy home. Now, he's a 40 pound, 38 inch 3 year old who won't eat anything that doesn't look like chicken nuggets without someone convincing him that it tastes good. Funny how time flies, I'm still amazed at how much they grow in such a short period of time. This week I get to change his car seat to a booster seat, which he is really looking forward to.

On to the pictures...

We went to the farm for Gage's birthday to see my parents and my Grandma G. Gage was a little apprehensive about blowing out the candles, he just really wanted to play with the trucks. The reason we don't get a cake is because he doesn't really like cake. He didn't have any ice cream or strawberries this year, and after half a muffin said "I'm all done now, can I go play?" Poppy and Dad had to help blow out the candles. Poppy noticed that Jude was helping from across the table too.

What Nate does when you tell him to smile.

What Jude does when you tell him to smile.

Birthday presents galore... a tractor with removable wheels...

... a Talking Diego Doodle Pro...

... and Elmo Dominoes and a pylon. Yes, we bought him a pylon. Trust me, he loves them and is always asking if he can take one home when we see them on the road. He was tickled.

Grandma and Poppy didn't want Nate and Jude to feel left out, so they bought presents for them as well.
What the hell is in this thing?

Grandma G and Nate check out the truck.

After muffins we went outside to run around for a while. Poppy brought out the sled, which is almost as good as the cart in the boys' eyes. He pulled them all over the yard in it. After we saw the horses, Gage pulled Nate around the yard and tried to pull both Nate and Jude around.

Brothers

2007-12-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

We are still unpacking, but at least we are in the new house. The boys love it, as do we! It's so nice to have space and not be tripping all over each other.

Group shots first this time.

What do you mean "he makes a list"?

Playtime in the living room.

Blowing kisses.
Nate and Jude sharing. I know, I was surprised too. I even heard a thank you.
Gage

Sometimes it takes a lot of work...
... to get a comfy spot with your friend.

Nate
After spilling milk all over himself.
Hiding in his favourite cupboard in the house.

Jude

Who can look so incredibly cute sometimes...

.. and then make you wonder what he's been up to.

Halloween... Mac Room Style!

2007-10-31T23:43:00.000-06:00

We went all out at work for Halloween this year. Our theme was Heaven and Hell. How many cheap plastic table cloths from the dollar store does it take to make one half of a Mac Room white? Thirty, and it was totally worth it! It looked awesome and it was so much fun!

Heaven's Pearly Gates

Welcome to Hell.

My department.
And finally me.
Oh yeah, we got the keys to our new house today! We move on Friday, I can't wait!

Cutie Pies

2007-10-26T21:50:00.001-06:00

It was free admission day at the zoo in September. It was a great day, so we took the boys with Auntie Tammy and Uncle Derek.

Gage, Dad and Auntie with the sidewalk chalk. In the end it was Mama who drew the picture of the cat that Gage was asking for.

Stroller number seven for us since Gage was born. Next spring, I'm buying a wagon and that will be the end of strollers.

The boys at snack time. Some of the last pictures we'll be taking in their first house and our first house as a family.

Jude being super adorable.

Dad took these one morning when Jude discovered his sleeper had feet!

They always seem to be eating, don't they?

Nate is going to be a salesman. He's already practicing.

Gage is getting his last two molars, so his face is really red again. He's taking it like a trooper, and has even started potty training. We're very proud of him, he seems to be growing up so fast, it's hard to believe that he's almost three!

Fall

2007-10-26T21:35:00.000-06:00

It's official... it's fall. The boys and I went to my friend's place to play in her yard and I got some great pictures of them on her bridge. Of course, no good picture of mine is without a story, and this is no exception. Shortly after I had gotten all of the pictures, Nate walked right into her fish pond and got soaked up to the neck in cold, smelly water. In his defense, the pond was covered in leaves, so he couldn't see the water. And in my defense, I had warned them all many, many times that there was water there, and not to fall in.

Another Month Come and Gone...

2007-09-27T22:52:00.001-06:00

... and still no packing done! James and I have said we are going to start come October. I'm super organized about the whole thing, I've printed labels for the boxes and have different coloured Sharpies to label them. I just haven't actually packed yet. Oh well, it has to be done by November 2. Until then, more photos of the boys being oh so incredibly cute.

Gage and his bookends. We got a lot of attention at the grocery store this day. Now I know why...

Gage in his dorky glasses. Seriously, that's what they are called.

This is my lunchbox from when I was five! They just don't last like this anymore.

Gage sleeping at the farm. He started out the other way, but must have gotten hot and flipped around. By the morning, he was the right way again, all snuggled up with his horse.

Gage is really into puzzles. He can do just about any puzzle we give him.

Nate and his ball. He would be nowhere without a ball.

Jude playing with his blocks.

As for news, Nate now has more teeth than Jude. He's getting two molars right now so he doesn't sleep very well. Jude is saying almost anything we say to him and he's always asking "What's that?". Gage has peed on the potty three times now at the day home, but has yet to do it for us. We're hoping that the weekend will bring some success at home, but we are very proud at him for being such a big guy!

A-Maze-Ing

2007-09-27T22:21:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Corn Maze with Grandma, Poppy, Grandma G and Aunty Kerry. The boys had a really good time, and Aunty Kerry, Grandma G and I learned all sorts of history of the area.

Of course, Poppy brought the cart for the boys to ride in. Gage wanted to walk with me after a bit, but Jude decided it was a great place to have a nap.

Note the super-duper cool baby harnesses the boys are wearing. I bought them on e-bay and they are so cool! The boys are getting used to walking in them, but we still use the stroller quite a bit.

Boy's First Shiner

2007-08-30T22:11:00.001-06:00

Well, not really a shiner, but I thought he was going to get a good black eye out of this. He was horsing around and jumping off the couch right after James told him not to. He slipped and went face first into the edge of the couch. Just the day after this I was reminding him of why we don't jump around the house when Jude fell face first into him and got the other eye. Poor guy was red on both sides. But, it didnt' bruise, which is good.

Housing Update

2007-08-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

We have sold our house and bought a new (to us) house. It's a great little bungalow, 1000 sq. ft, built in 1958. The back yard is fantastic with a covered patio and lots of room for the boys to play. It needs a little updating, but we plan to do a little at a time and watch for sales and make it ours as we go on. Right now, it's ready to move in. It felt like our home the first time we walked in the front door and the back yard sold us right away. We move at the beginning of November, so next spring we will be able to put down some grass seed (yes, I am getting rid of the garden!) and than let the boys have a good time. We are really looking forward to BBQs and sitting on the patio playing cards with our family and friends.

Of course, I took pictures, but I didn't take any of the yard or the kitchen. I don't know what I was thinking. So here goes.

Living Room. Try to picture it with less lace and more toys.

Dining room.

Gage's new room. We are thinking of monster truck and construction pictures for the walls. Cheap and easily changed.

Nate and Judes' room. No more nursery for them, not that they really had one anyway. We are going with trucks and construction equipment for their room as well.

Our room. Yes, it is mighty pink. It's pretty much the only room I want to paint right away. Everything else will be painted when I find a mistint that suits my fancy.

Basement living room, where will be putting most of the toys. I'm thinking of painting over the picture on the wall with chalkboard paint so the boys will have somewhere to draw.

There's a lot more to the house, like a kitchen, 2 more bedrooms in the basement and 2 bathrooms, plus tons of storage closets. It reminds me of the house I grew up in. It's going to be so nice to have some space and some privacy, I can't wait!

Trip to the Farm

2007-08-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we were sitting around on a Sunday morning wondering what to do with our day. We decided to go to the farm and visit Grandma, Poppy and Grandma G for the day. Now that Nate and Jude are big enough to go down to see the horses, cows and kittens, it's really a lot of fun.

Grandma and Poppy bought this slide at a garage sale for $5. It took a lot of convincing to get the boys off of it so we could go see the kittens.

Riding in style... this is the type of wagon we want to get, it folds down and would fit right in the van.

Jude sitting in the dirt and grass, taking a break from chasing the kittens.

My cat Alley was there, he disappeared just a few days after we saw him. I'm so glad that we got to see him and the boys got to meet him, but I am very sad that he is gone. He would have been 10 this Halloween.

"I wonder what that tastes like..."

Gage was helping Poppy feed the cow... by telling him where to put the hay. What can I say? He's definitely my kid!

Nate and Poppy had to have a serious talk about the cantankerous old cow.

Soon Gage decided to join them. But we could not get Jude to go over there at all. He was too busy eating straw.

Where has all the time gone?

2007-08-14T21:38:00.000-06:00

Ah! Summer is almost over and we are still on the market, house wise. Things are starting to come together, though it's slowed right down. After a really good start, it's a kick in the pants, but we are working things out and hopefully we will be in a new house before the snow falls. And around here, that really could be any time. I have seen snow in August, and a lot of it, too!

My new job is going really well, I fit in nicely with the other people and I even signed up for a Bocce Ball tournament. It's as close as I'll come to a sport I suppose, but I really enjoy it. I like sports that don't take a lot of skill. Throw ball, aim other balls at said ball. I can do that.

I had 6 whole days with the boys at the beginning of the month and actually took a few pictures of them.

Why Mama likes Sesame Street. I can get some stuff done (like clean) and the boys are all good. Jude was sitting on the couch with Nate and Gage, but he moved as soon as he saw the camera.

Gage and his dump truck.

Jude playing after his snack.

Nate, before he figured out how the cup works.

Nate thinks that Gage's naughty chair is an awesome place to sit and read.

For my birthday we took the boys to the zoo. We all had a really good time, we even had lunch there and spent about three hours walking around and looking at all of the animals. Gage really liked this train, even though it didn't move.

I'm not blogging as much lately, mostly because we are spending so much time outside. We are so looking forward to having a back yard, so we can go out in the morning and not come in until supper. And maybe not even then if we decide to cook and eat outside. Once everything settles down here a bit I'm sure I'll be back at this more.

Playing Around

2007-07-21T20:28:00.000-06:00

Gage is still really into his trucks. He's kind of possessive of some of them, and he's the only one who can play with McQueen. That's ok, a boy really should have some stuff of his own.

Jude is trying to jump. His feet don't leave the floor, but he's very proud of himself.

Nate likes trucks too. He usually watches Gage and then tries to copy what he is doing. This is one of Gage's favourite trucks, and therefore, one of Nate's as well.

And both of the twins are walking now. Nate is still quite cautious and likes to keep an eye on everyone so he doesn't get knocked over. Jude just runs everywhere and hopes he doesn't fall down. Says a lot about their personalities I think.

A picture of James and I, dying in the heat. I've started my new job and it's going well. We may have an offer on the house, we'll find out this weekend I'm sure. We've looked at ten houses so far, and there's four we would like to see again, plus one we've yet to see. I'll be glad when we are moved and back to as normal as we can get.

Filthy Faces... Among Other Things

2007-07-21T20:23:00.000-06:00

The boys are into eating fruit, and with this extremely hot weather, we let them eat as much as they want. It's pretty much the only thing we can guarantee that they'll eat. Gage really likes grapes, Nate will eat anything and Jude kind of picks at it all. The other day it was cherries. Jude mashed them all in his hands and then wiped his hands all over his face.

We have gotten them to eat chili, one of our favourite things to take pictures of around here. Chili faces are always so funny.

Gage

Jude

Nate

All Apologies

2007-07-08T22:24:00.001-06:00

I have to say sorry for taking so long to post! We are super busy here. We are in the process of preparing to sell our townhouse so that we can buy a house. We are looking for a detached house with a back yard the boys can play in. So for the last two weeks we have been painting, packing, cleaning and staging. Hopefully I will have pictures of the changes in the next couple of days.

I'm also changing jobs, beginning next Monday. After eight years I've made a very hard decision to go to another company. I need the change I think.

I've been remiss about taking pictures of the boys during all of the commotion, so I snuck upstairs tonight and took pictures while they were sleeping.

Gage had his first "graduation" from his first year of preschool. He's now two and a half, and can carry on a conversation, so long as it's about something he's interested in. He never stops moving and has to run everywhere. He's really into knock knock jokes and Thomas the Train.

Nate started walking yesterday for our friend Elizabeth. He likes to repeat words and can ask for a cracker now. He points at things and waits for us to name them for him and then does his best to repeat the name. He loves Grover, his stuffed dog, Woof, trucks and especially balls.

Jude is walking all over the place now, and even trying to run. He can say a lot of words now, and really likes puppies and kitties. He's big into getting and giving kisses, and really likes to make people laugh. He likes anything that he can push across the floor, books and music. The other day he was trying to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star along with the Sesame Street CD that was in the van.

So if I'm a little slow with the posting in the next little bit, please forgive me. I'll keep everyone updated on the real estate situation.

Zoo Outing

2007-07-08T21:57:00.000-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, we went to the zoo with the Twin & Triplet Club. We had a really good time, got to pet an armadillo and a duck and were separated from a Siberian Tiger named Boris by one chain link fence. True to form, our boys liked the prairie dogs the best, followed closely by the harbour seals and the monkeys.

Look at all the double strollers!

Melissa, our tour guide, and Peter the duck. Peter is a girl duck, which they didn't know until she had ducklings!

James, Gage and Peter.

Snow leopards having a nap.

Everyone was very tired after the zoo trip. Gage went to bed and James had a nap on the floor while Jude and Nate had some quiet time with their bottles.

Nate and Covers the Hippo. We also have a Ping the Panda and Woof the Dog.

Rainy Days and Sundays

2007-06-20T20:54:00.000-06:00

Since we have moved the furniture in the living room, the boys can look out the window. They really enjoyed watching the thunderstorm the other day.

Yes, I did buy them all matching shorts.

I decided that if the boys were going to insist on being noisy the other day, it was going to be happy noise! This is the first time that I have let them play with the pots and pans. Gage broke every wooden spoon I had. I guess I needed new ones anyway. They really enjoyed it and it kept them from fighting all afternoon.

Dad and his guys.

Mama and her guys.

Family Reunion

2007-06-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

We went to my family reunion this past weekend. We just went for the day, but we had a really good time. The boys were really well behaved, even after spending 2.5 hours in the van each way. Gage fell in love with his my cousin Ava (she's four, a big girl, don't you know!) and hasn't really stopped talking about her since we left. Nate was happy that there were balls to chase and Jude just loved motoring all over the hall as fast as he could go. I didn't get too many pictures, the kids kept us busy all day, but I did get a few.

Connor and Keagan were playing with an air dart game, and taught Gage how to play. I was really impressed at how the big kids were with the little kids, playing with them and helping them out. Gage is in the turquoise shirt, so he's not really visible, but he's there.

Auntie Kerry made hot dogs for us for lunch. The boys thought she was fabulous, especially Gage, who got to have Kool-Aid.

My cousin's girl, Skye, is 18 months. The boys outweigh her by 4 pounds each. She was more than happy to feed them and give them kisses. After all, they are babies!

Auntie Audrey made pinatas for the kids, too. There was one for the little kids and one for the big kids. Gage, Nate and Jude all got to take a whack at it, and everyone got lots of toys. We were so proud of our boys!

Breakfast

2007-06-05T22:58:00.000-06:00

We have new seating arrangements at the table now. The boys are strapped into booster seats and sit right up at the table. It's great, no more whining and yelling (and that's just James) and everyone, including Gage, eats better.

Summer Hair

2007-06-05T22:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry Grandma, I had to do it. Trust me, it wasn't something I wanted to do. I was just about in tears over it. But, it had to be done.

The boys have had their hair cut. Short. Really short. I was ready for Nate and Gage to have their hair cut, it was getting so long. When they would get up in the morning it would be all over the place, sticking out and looking like we never combed their hair. I just didn't want to cut Jude's hair. He doesn't have thick hair like Nate and Gage, and it's super curly. He was sitting on my lap last night, and I was playing with his hair and it was in big curls. It had to be done though, he was starting to look like a girl, especially with his big eyes and long eyelashes.

So I bit the bullet today and made an appointment. We got a great girl to do it and she was fantastic with the boys. Gage was really well behaved. He and Nate got the clippers taken to them, but Jude's hair doesn't suit that very well, so she just trimmed it up a bit.

James says they look like soccer hooligans. Gage with his scrape on his forehead and Nate with his two teeth. I'm not sure what Jude looks like, maybe a lesser hooligan.

Anyway, they do look better and they were so much happier because they weren't so hot.

Nate

Gage

Jude

More Park Pictures

2007-05-31T21:35:00.000-06:00

Just more pictures from our trip to the park with Lee, Elizabeth and Max. Thanks to Elizabeth for the pictures, I didn't bring my camera.

Gage and Max chasing bubbles.

Nate and Jude on the swing. What am I going to do when they don't fit in one anymore?

Dog Pile!

2007-05-31T21:29:00.000-06:00

The boys are already ganging up on James. All he has to do is lie on the floor and one of them climbs up on him. Soon, the other two are there as well, happily tickling Dad and trying to sit on him.

A silly picture of Gage.

Ah, the sounds of silence.

2007-05-26T11:14:00.001-06:00

As of noon yesterday I am officially off for the weekend. Off does not mean what it used to. Last night I did go for a drink with the girls, and tonight I'm going to Bingo (I haven't been in three years... do you know they have digital bingo?!) My tub has brand new caulking around it and my storage/laundry room is clean now. So is James' bathroom and there's a new filter in the furnace. It's really nice to be uninterrupted while cleaning, but it's so incredibly quiet around here. I've got some music going for background noise, but it's just not the same.

I know that James thinks I am crazy, but I plan on cleaning the rest of the house, doing the laundry and maybe planting some flowers before they come home tomorrow afternoon. James has Monday off, so maybe I'll convince him to go to the bottle depot and Goodwill. It's amazing all of the stuff you find when you clean. We have more room in the basement than I imagined.

I miss my boys.

Trip to the Museum

2007-05-20T14:41:00.000-06:00

We took the boys to the museum this morning. It was a great day to go, it wasn't really busy, and between 9 and 11 am you get in for half price! So we all got to go for only $10, talk about a cheap day. Even though Gage and Jude are quite sick with a cold, they all had a good time.

Of course, the dinosaurs were the big hit!

Gage decided to tickle the bison skull.

"Where's that water going?"

Nate and Jude in their touring limo.

Mama grrrrring in the van when it's time to go.

The van ride home. When we got home Gage had a fever of 101.4 F. Some Motrin, some orange juice and some Thomas and Friends and he felt good enough to have a nap.

Happy Birthday Nate & Jude!

2007-05-17T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today the twins turned one. It's been a really big year for us, and we all managed to survive.

In the order in which they appeared...

Nate (who is an insane camera hog!)

Jude (who has a really bad jealous streak when it comes to me!)

Gage showing off the bubble blowers that Christie bought the boys. These are so cool! You hold them like a cup and push the button on the handle and they blow bubbles out of their mouths. I can't wait to use them. You know, for the boys.

Their birthday fruit flan. Which will be the first of a few birthday cakes, I'm guessing.

Jude loved this, Nate thought it was ok, and Gage wouldn't touch it. He won't eat anything with icing.

The twin aunts with their twin nephews. You just have to have pictures like this!

The Big Guys!

2007-05-15T14:50:00.000-06:00

Sean, Gage and Connor eating ice cream cones at the farm on Mother's Day.

And all of my guys!

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T21:31:00.000-06:00

Sunday morning, the boys in their PJs.

Saturday in the Park

2007-05-14T21:29:00.000-06:00

We took the boys to the park Saturday morning. I couldn't get any photos of Gage because he was too busy going "up and down the slide!" Nate and Jude were quite happy to share a swing and be pushed for about an hour or so. Eventually Jude fell asleep.

Peanut, peanut butter

2007-05-12T14:14:00.000-06:00

We gave the boys peanut butter on toast the other morning for breakfast. Gage is in love with peanut butter, Jude thought it was good, but not overly exciting. Nate loves it. Every picture I took had Nate eating.

More Piano Time!

2007-05-12T14:13:00.000-06:00

Just a couple of cute poses of the boys.

More of Gage's Cars

2007-05-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

Why we find this so neat, I'll never know. But, Gage has a new system for playing with his cars. Gone is the "Parking Lot", now it's Car Line!

The Great Outdoors

2007-05-12T13:57:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went to Deb's house because she had some new turkeys that I thought Gage might like to see. He wasn't too interested in the turkeys, but she does have a dog, a hill and a ton of grass to run around on! All three boys had a really great time, and slept so well that night after being out in the fresh air for a couple of hours.

Suzy had a great time running after the kids. Nate was quite content to just sit with her for a while. Gage wanted to feed her all the crackers we had, and Jude kept trying to kiss her.

Jude eating... something. He put everything he found on the ground in his mouth. He was so dirty when he was done.

Apparently if Nate gets too much sun, he gets a little rosy.

Oh yes, and the turkeys.

Piano Time!

2007-05-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

The boys were playing piano the other morning (I think our neighbours LOVE us). It's really too bad that my camera died just as I got all three boys to sit on the bench and play together. I did get these pictures though.

Miscellaneous

2007-05-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

Nate showing why you don't play peek a boo while eating cereal. Yes, that's cereal all over his face.

This should really show more of Nate's karate outfit, he looked like such a tourist with his cowboy hat on.

Jude having lunch.

We have found a new way to keep Gage busy while we are giving the twins their baths. Arianna bought him these slippers for his birthday and he really wanted to wear them. I didn't want him running around upstairs with them on so I told them they were sitting slippers. He didn't even want a bath so he could wear them longer. He's really into the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star book that Auntie Barb and Uncle Jeramie got him.

Sweep! Sweep!

2007-05-03T21:42:00.000-06:00

Oh, what a bad curling reference.

James stepped on a goldfish cracker the other morning and Gage decided the floor needed to be swept.

Peek A Boo, I See You!

2007-05-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

The boys are all into playing peek a boo now.

Gage

Nate

Jude

Yes, this is how Jude played peek a boo. Over the last couple of days he's figured out how to cover his eyes, but sometimes he still gets excited and covers his ears. Nate has taken to doing this as well, I think he thinks it's funny.

Gage's Photos

2007-05-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

Gage was having lunch the other day and started asking me to take pictures of things that he had around him. Normally I wouldn't put these up here, but I am really impressed with how well my little camera did for such close up shots.

Gage's Bowl

Gage's Cup

Gage's Lunch

Gage's Orange (personally I like this shot because of his hands, but that's just me)

Nature's Diamonds

2007-05-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

My bleeding heart by the back door was up about 3 inches or so by April 20, just before it snowed all over it. Hardy little thing, it survived and is doing well, I think it has something to do with heat from the house.

Mother Nature decided to flash her own diamonds that day.

What a weekend!

2007-04-23T21:36:00.000-06:00

We have had a pretty busy weekend, but no pictures to show for it. Saturday morning we loaded up the boys and took them to Grandma and Poppy's farm. Grandma G came to visit (Gage calls her Auntie G, it's so cute), and they stayed the night. We came back to the city and went to a wedding reception for our friends Lee & Kelly. Then we went home and slept, though we both said the house was far too quiet. We went back to get them early the next morning so that Grandma and Poppy could go to an auction. The boys were very well behaved and had a great time. Grandma and Poppy had a great time too, as did Grandma G.

My dad figured out that Jude plays peek a boo now with his hands. If we say "Peek a boo Jude" he will cover his ears with his hands and smile. Then he claps his hands, he thinks it's a great game. Nate started today, when we say "Peek a boo Nate" he balls up his fists and covers his mouth. Gage covers his eyes with his hands, it's like they are See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Say No Evil.

Yesterday afternoon I turned the boys' car seats around so everyone is forward facing in the van. We went for a drive to test out the new situation and Nate and Jude stared out the windows and oohed and aahed over everything. It certainly makes it easier to see who's sleeping and who's grumpy because they've lost their toys. And we have so much more room now, James doesn't have to kiss the dash anymore.

Jude's top two teeth are almost through now. He dug at them a bit on Friday at the day home, and now they don't seem to bug him as much. I'll be happy when they are all the way through, they have been bugging him for over a month now.

Gage watched the weather with Poppy on the weekend, and Poppy has taught him to say meteorologist. He knows that that's a weather word. Who knows? Maybe he'll be one someday. Or he could be a ditch digger, it doesn't matter.

I really should have the boys weighed and measured soon. I haven't had it done for a while, I haven't been worried about them much. They both lost some weight when we were all sick in March, Jude lost about a half pound, Nate only lost a few ounces. I'm guessing that they are close to 22 pounds each now. It's a far cry from Gage, who was 25 pounds at one year old, but he was chubbier than the boys are.

I still can't believe that they are almost a year old. In the last two weeks they have turned into such people, they do things deliberately, they eat table food (with a bowl of cereal to start, but then they eat whatever we are having), they drink from training cups (like a sippy cup without the valve) and they get mad when you tell them no. They even sleep through the night now. I thought I would be sad that they are growing up, but it's so neat to watch them do new things that I'm not sad at all. I just enjoy watching them discover new things and look forward to each new step they make.

Eleven months (already!)

2007-04-18T21:07:00.000-06:00

Less than one month until the boys turn one. Jude took his first steps the other day. They were very wobbly, but he did really well, and we were so proud! Nate has no interest in walking, we stood him up and he just smiled at us and sat down. No use rushing him, he'll do it sooner or later.

Yet more pictures of the boys.

This is the best picture I've ever taken of Gage. No food in his mouth, no goofy smile, no toys, just him. I think he's a pretty good looking little boy, dont' you?

Nate being his stoic self.

Jude showing off the hand clapping maneuver.

James and the boys hanging out.

Nate discovered how to stick out his tongue.

I just have to get a picture of Jude sucking in his lips. It's so funny, he looks like we gave him a grapefruit to chew on. For now, this picture will have to do.

My anniversary present

2007-04-18T21:05:00.000-06:00

James and I have been married for almost four years (next month, the day after the twins turn one). He bought me the best anniversary present, a wedding and engagement ring set. He's always wanted me to have one, so we went on ebay and found one in silver to match my other rings.

I'm so lucky!

I really should...

2007-04-12T20:32:00.000-06:00

...well, there are a lot of things I really should do, but the most important one is get a clip for my camera and attach it to me. Then I could have gotten a picture of Gage helping bathe Nate and Jude last night. In order to get him to settle down and wait his turn for a bath I asked him to help get cloths for the boys. He got one for Nate, threw it in the tub (at Nate, of course) and said "There you go, Mama. I helped!". Then he got another one and did the same thing. I told him that was enough, and we gave Nate a bath and washed his hair. As I was getting Nate in his pyjamas and James was undressing Jude for his bath, Gage was busy helping in the bathroom. All we heard was "There you go Mama. I helped!" and some splashing. Fearing that all of our reading material was now in the tub, we went racing in there to find ALL of the wash cloths I keep in the bathroom in a heap in the tub (which was still filled with water). He was standing there so proud of himself, I couldn't get mad at him at all. Maybe what I really need to do is attach Gage to me.

No new pictures, I'll have to take some this weekend. Nate is clapping his hands really well now. Every time we say Hooray, he claps his hands and smiles at us. Jude just started clapping his hands tonight while I was putting him to bed. He's been waving at us for about a week or so. They are feeling much better than they did earlier this week, all three had runny noses and coughs. Jude was the worst, but his top two front teeth are breaking through (any day now, as I keep telling him), and that makes a runny nose so much worse.

As for me, I had my follow up with my surgeon today, and all is well. I'm healing nicely and my goiter (ewwwwwww) was multi-nodular, meaning a whole bunch of little lumps made up the really big one. It was benign, like we were told before, but the fact that it was multi-nodular means that there's a pretty good chance of getting one on the other side of my thyroid. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, right now I don't need medication and that makes me happy.

James is still super busy at work and looking forward to the weekend when he doesn't have to fight traffic. Finally, I can commiserate.

Scenery

2007-04-08T21:46:00.000-06:00

We saw some of the neatest things on our trip. It's nice with the boys being so good in the van, we can stop and take pictures of things. I like never being in a hurry to get somewhere, so we can always stop and take the time to notice things.

This was just too cool to see. I guess the snow melted really fast and just left the ice clinging to the trees. It looked like tables of ice. I'm so glad that we stopped on Friday to take the pictures, most of the ice had fallen by Sunday.

Not too much further down the road, we saw all of these trees. There were tons of them!

We must look like such tourists, getting out of our van and running through the ditch to take pictures. I think that the truckers think we are nuts!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T20:20:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend at LLB with James' family. The boys were extra, extra good and slept really well, even though Nate and Jude had runny noses and Jude's teeth are still coming in. They had all sorts of fun with Uncle Dale, Auntie Barbara, Auntie Amber, Grandma, Grandpa and the dogs, Wiggles and Stash. And presents galore from all of the "Easter Bunnies".

They've been stocking up on toys, so we don't have to bring any when we come now. Jude and Nate liked the riding toys and Gage was into James' blocks from when he was small.

We brought our traveling booster chairs for the boys to use. They did really well, though the white one doesn't have a strap, so they slid out of the bottom a bit.

We had dinner Friday night, and Gage helped Grandpa with the ham. He was so excited to be helping with supper.

Gage was very adamant that he didn't need a nap on Saturday. He kept telling James "No nap. No nap for Gage." But, after five minutes in the bed, this is what we found. He was pooped!

We even had a good drive home this afternoon. The boys stayed awake for the end of it, and everyone just chatted and played. James and I didn't have to calm a crying baby, it was so nice!

Back to Work

2007-04-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

Weekends mean something to me again - more time with the kids and James. I went back to work this past Monday after 13 months of being at home. I had taken 10 weeks off before the boys were born because I was at high risk for preterm labour, and because I couldn't sit for longer than 10 minutes or reach my keyboard any longer. I can't believe how much has happened in the last year or how fast it has gone. Going back to work was wonderful, they really missed me and made me feel right at home again. My eight year anniversary there is the boys' first birthday.

A few new things have happened around the house, too. Jude and Nate sleep through the night most of the time now, but Jude is getting a new tooth, so he's a little grumpy and wakes up a bit. Nate wakes up and if he has kicked his water bottle out of the crib, he makes a fuss, but other than that, we actually get some sleep. Nate started standing up last Saturday, I went to get him up in the morning and he was standing in his crib smiling at me. Now he pulls himself up on everything! He started clapping his hands on Monday, and Jude is really trying to clap his, too. Jude will try to clap his hands, and then just start to wave at us.

Gage has really enjoyed going to the day home every day now. He is very happy his brothers are there too. He's beginning to recognize a lot of his numbers, shapes and letters, and is remembering some colours as well. I'm amazed at how fast he picks everything up.

Well, I jinxed myself. Now someone is awake, I think it is Nate.

Chili Night

2007-04-05T22:08:00.000-06:00

We were so excited to feed Nate and Jude chili as finger food for the first time the other night, and we were not disappointed by the results! Gage used to have so much fun eating chili when he was just small and James and I had fun watching him. It's well worth the mess!

They started out really clean...

Both Nate and Jude had to test the beans first.

Once they got into it, they just went nuts!

Chili faces.

Gage enjoyed supper as well.

After supper they played for a bit with Auntie Amber and Dad while I got the tire on the van fixed (nail, go figure!). But, they still needed a bath before bed, chili seems to get everywhere.

Hair Cuts

2007-04-03T22:07:00.000-06:00

I finally broke down and asked Arianna to come over and cut the boys' hair. I kept waiting because Gage was almost a year before he had his first hair cut, and I thought I could hold out until closer to the same age for the boys. If it were just Jude, then he would have been ok. His hair is so curly, it doesn't look very long. Nate has his dad's hair, and it's poker straight. He was starting to look shaggy, so it was time.

Jude

Nate

I love how they don't look impressed at all about having their hair cut. Sofia and Gage kept them somewhat occupied, and Arianna did a great job.

Why is it...

2007-04-03T22:05:00.000-06:00

... that whenever I take a picture of Nate, he seems to be in this pose?

Silly birds!

2007-03-30T10:57:00.000-06:00

As we were walking to the van the other morning, Gage saw some birds flying overhead. He looked at them and started to yell, "Hey, birds! Where are you going? Come back! Silly birds!" He asked me where they went, and I told him they were probably going to go make a nest. His reply was "Those birds shouldn't make a mess, Mama!"

He comes up with the greatest things.

Supper time

2007-03-30T10:51:00.000-06:00

We had mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese for supper the other night. Gage doesn't like potatoes too much, but Jude thought they were fantastic! I just put a whole pile on his tray and he wolfed them all down. Nate wasn't too interested, but he did eat some.

Gage

Jude

Nate

Our original setup for supper time was like this, with all three of them in a row.

The boys have decided however, that they enjoy being up close and personal with everyone during meal time, which is fine with us. So now, James sits on one side of the table, I sit on the other and Gage sits at the end. We put a high chair beside each of us, and everyone eats. We've found that Gage eats really well this way, and the boys are enjoying table food a lot too. The other night we made chicken and stuffing, and everyone cleaned their plates.

Dog Pile!!!

2007-03-30T10:37:00.000-06:00

After supper we all go into the living room and play. Usually it's trucks, or building with blocks for Gage and Nate and Jude chase a ball or play peek a boo with a blanket. It's nice family time every night. I was cleaning up the kitchen the other day and heard a commotion in the living room. This is what I saw:

James was kind of stuck. I've been in this position before, most of the time you just have to let them finish attacking you and then you can make your escape.

Where did the time go?

2007-03-28T20:33:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it... in less than a week (5 days to be exact), I will be going back to work. It has been a very long year, but it feels like it hasn't taken much time at all. At least the boys have been at the day home (off and on, of course) for about a month now, so I'm used to them not being with me all of the time.

Last week was so much better than the week before. Everyone seemed to be over the flu. Then, Jude's bum started to run again, and Nate got an infected toenail. I called the pediatrician Thursday afternoon and the nurse told me to give Jude nothing but clear fluids (read: Pedialyte) for 24 hours, then the beloved BRAT diet for 48 hours. I took Nate to the Medicentre Thursday evening and they put him on Keflex for his foot, 4 times a day for 7 days. So, I had the twins with me on Friday. James and I anticipated a really rotten Thursday night, but Jude slept right through it. We gave Nate a bottle of water when he woke up and left it with him (I know, I know, bad Mama!) and he slept, too. They did really well on Friday, and Jude didn't seem to mind the unflavoured Pedialyte at all. After the BRAT diet (which Jude LOVES), he seems much better, though our thought about trying soy formula to help wasn't really a good one. It didn't seem to bother him too much, but he spit up all the time and it smells really gross. So he's back on the regular formula again. And, he's been sleeping through the night since Thursday. Nate will only wake up at 10:30 for a bottle and then sleeps until 6:00 am or so. That means that James and I are finally, finally, finally getting some sleep! Now, if we could just get ourselves to bed earlier...

So, everyone is back at the day home this week. Which is good, I'm almost done getting ready for the Club sale on Saturday, and Gage's new curtains are just about done. So much for a month of rest. I'll have to cram it all in on Friday. James bought me a whole bunch of Friends episodes on DVD, so Friday I'm screening my calls and laying on the couch. I'll probably put the first one in and fall right asleep, knowing me. I'll have to remember to set my alarm so I get the boys on time.

I should have some new pictures tomorrow or Friday.

Ten Months

2007-03-19T21:04:00.000-06:00

Nate and Jude are ten months old (last Saturday). They are feeling much better after an awful bug got the best of all of us last week. Jude is the only boy left who's still suffering, but as with everything tummy related, he tends to take a long time to recover. He feels great, he's not sick in the least, but he's always had a hard time with tummy bugs. He's just too acidic. James wonders if they make baby antacids. At least his diaper rash is starting to clear up. Last Friday his little bum looked like hamburger, but after a few days on the super duper prescription strength diaper cream he looks much better. James had it pretty bad on the weekend, whereas I was sick with the boys last week. Today we are both feeling much better, we actually wanted to play with the boys. At one point on Saturday we both laid on the floor and just let the kids crawl all over us, because we didn't have the energy to do much else. We'd always wondered what we would do if we both got sick at the same time, I guess now we know. We watched a lot of A Celebration of Me, Grover and Elmo's Potty Time.

More pictures, like I don't have enough of the boys already.

Gage playing hide and seek under the piano. He goes under there and then says "Mama? Where did Gage go?" Now Nate and Jude will go look for him, which really pleases him.

Nate was all smiles on Sunday.

So was Jude.

Nate and Jude were playing in the kitchen.

The Scar

2007-03-16T21:34:00.000-06:00

I finally have a photo of my incision from the surgery. They only removed the left half of my thyroid (along with the lump), but the standard incision is all the way across my neck. It's still swollen and I look like crap because all of us have been sick with the flu since I got home and I'm really, really tired. But, other than that, I'm doing great. I can lift the boys up all I want and I today I can tip a glass and swallow with my head back. No more straws!!!

I DID want this!

2007-03-15T22:05:00.000-06:00

I was reading my post from a couple of weeks ago, about how sad I was that my babies were all going to be at the day home during the day and I would be all alone. Fat chance! I've had at least one sick boy with me during the day all week. At least I don't miss them. And, they are sleeping really well for nap time, which gives me a break. I guess it's true... be careful what you wish for...

But then again, I'd always wished for twins...

Hmmm...

2007-03-15T12:57:00.000-06:00

Ok, normally I wouldn't post anybody else's stuff on my blog (it being my blog and all), but this has been posted on other multiple blogs and I wanted to share it. James and I can really relate to this video, albeit on a much, much smaller scale. You can laugh at the people who ask the dumb questions and be amazed by the people who stare and comment, but the one overwhelming feeling that I got was pure fear. James and I get stopped by all sorts of people when we go out with the boys and everybody wants to touch the babies. Some people stand right in front of the stroller to stop you. Most people are just being curious, and many, many people just want to comment, or share a story about twins that they have/know. Most of the time, we don't mind the attention, but if I hear the comment "Wow, you have your hands full" one more time, I'm gonna lose it. James wants to make shirts that say "Buck a gander!" so we could a little cash on the side from all of the people that stare at us.

This all being said, we have encountered a great number of people who go out of their way to make room for us, or hold open a door, or even try to make room in an elevator. (That's a big one, I drive a double wide stroller.) When we were mall walking, there was always a nice senior citizen who would talk to Gage while I got the twins in their snowsuits. To everyone who has made room for us, let us go by, opened a door, or in some way made me not feel like such a side show, THANK YOU.

I'm guilty of it too. When I see twins (especially newborns), I always nudge James and say "Look! They have twins, too!" And I'm a sucker for a baby. But I never, ever touch them. We don't need to share any germs.

Sorry for the rant, it was long overdue.

Where's the camera?

2007-03-14T13:54:00.000-06:00

Nate was being a lump on the floor yesterday afternoon. Until I took out the camera, that is. Everytime it would flash, he would look up and smile. Maybe I take too many pictures?

Wrestling Match

2007-03-14T13:50:00.000-06:00

Before I start, let me just say that it's funny to dress your twins alike when they look as different as mine do.

Nate noticed the tag on the back of Jude's pants the other day. Jude just wanted to chase the ball, Nate just wanted to chase Jude.

Pancakes

2007-03-14T13:40:00.000-06:00

Before things got really ugly in the house, Gage helped Dad make supper Monday night. We had pancakes, Gage's favorite part was cracking the eggs. Heaven forbid he learns how to open the fridge door, I'm sure I'll find all of my eggs cracked in a bowl for me.

Bottle Techniques

2007-03-14T13:36:00.000-06:00

Apparently there are two really good ways to hold your bottle in our house.

Nate: Hold at the bottom with your fingers, so you can free up the other hand and use it to play with toys or hit your brothers.

Jude: Hold your bottle with both hands as tightly as possible so that Nate can't come over and swipe it. (He has reason for this fear. The other day Jude was on the floor with his bottle and Nate dove, laughing, and swiped it from him.)

BRAT

2007-03-14T13:29:00.000-06:00

No, this isn't what I think of the boys right now. It's the diet I have to follow to help the twins' little bums get all better. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast. We've had quite the week, and James and I can look back at Monday night now and think "It really wasn't that bad", but at the time it seemed really gross. Jude stayed home on Monday with me because he was still kind of gunky. Nate started throwing up at the day home, and kept at it until around 8:30 pm, Gage was the best little boy, helped Dad make supper and ate really well. At 10:30 pm it started coming up. James and I are such a great team, one of us would take Gage and wash him up and get him changed and the other would change the sheets, pillows and blankets on his bed and ferry them down to the wash. Gage was such a trooper, he just kept saying "Uh oh, I spit!" So Tuesday, everybody stayed home with me (who is supposed to be resting). Nate threw up, Jude pooped and Gage was his normal self. Today, Gage is at the day home and the twins are with me. I'm not sure when the twins will be able to go back, but the bottoms are getting better, and Nate hasn't thrown up all day.

Tonight I'm trying BRAT.

Max the Visitor

2007-03-12T13:47:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Gage's friend Max came over to visit while his Mommy was at work. We had Max for two days, and he was fabulous! Gage was happy to have someone other than his brothers to play with and Nate and Jude thought that Max was cool, because he crawled like they did. I liked Max because he slept better than the twins.

What do you do when you're in a new place and feelin' blue? You curl up with your friend, Doug the Moose, and look pathetic.

Seriously, he is soooo attached to Doug. When he had his lunch the first day, Doug sat on the table where Max could see him, or Max got really upset. Doug is to Max what Elmo is to Gage.

Max is just over a year and I was afraid he'd just take off if I didn't put the tray on the booster seat, but he sat and ate just like a big guy! (It's very hard to put 4 boys in a picture together, but Gage was having lunch, too.)

Gage showed Max the many uses of the abacus.

Gage and Max had their snack while the boys had their nap on the Friday morning.

Feeding time at the zoo.

For the most part, I didn't even notice the difference between 3 boys and 4. I was amazed at how well Max and my boys all just fit together. Kids are so adaptable.

Surgery Update

2007-03-12T13:10:00.000-06:00

I had my thyroid surgery last Tuesday, almost one week ago. My surgeon is amazing, and in the end I won't have a huge scar. The incision is about 3 inches across the base of my neck, but it's very thin and should just fade into the crease that's there, once the swelling goes down.

I'm feeling pretty good, really, really tired most of the time and I go back and forth from sweating hot to freezing cold. I'm still getting over the strep throat infection that I had before the surgery and now I have the boys' cold, so that isn't very helpful. My pain is minimal and I can still take care of my boys when they are not at the day home.

Thanx for all of the good wishes, I think they are making the recovery go well.

Didn't I want this?

2007-02-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here thinking about all of the things that I'm going to do with the boys at the day home tomorrow and it hit me: they are going to be at the day home tomorrow. Not here. So I've had my cry and I will probably have another one tomorrow morning after I drop them off... I've been looking forward to having time to myself so much that I've kind of overlooked the whole by myself part of it. I'll just keep busy, and the day should fly by. Think of how clean my house will be.

Ummmmmmm...

2007-02-27T14:18:00.001-07:00

So, as usual I take Gage (who's two years old) with me when I go to the bathroom. I do this mainly so he doesn't sit on his brothers or try to put a fork in the toaster while I'm gone. Our conversation:

Me - Mama's going potty.

Gage - Wanna come.

Me - Ok.

Gage - Mama sitting on the potty. Mama going pee in the potty.

Me - Yes, Mama's sitting on the potty, going pee in the potty like a big girl.

Gage - Where's Mama's penis?

Me - Ummmmmm

I managed to get by just telling him that I'm a girl and girls don't have penises. He's two, how does he figure these things out?

I am a duck. Quack, quack.

2007-02-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

This was Gage's answer when I asked him if he was a duck yesterday. He was quacking and running around so I asked him, "Are you a duck?" I never thought he would have such a clear answer. James and I just howled. It was just what we needed.

We have had a busy week or so. Saturday we went to a Twin and Triplet Club function at the leisure centre near our house. It was at the indoor playground and the boys had a blast. Gage went down the slide with some other boys about his age and then he and James played basketball with the identical triplet girls that were there. Nate and Jude crawled through some tunnels and chased a few balls and played with trucks. We had a really good time and are looking forward to the next function I've signed us up for in April.

Our roof has been leaking for oh, let's see now, about 3 or 4 months and James finally convinced the condo board president that we aren't just making it up. Someone was supposed to be here today to clear the roof and get a look at it, but surprise, surprise, there's no one here. GRRRRRRRRR. I'm not allowed to talk to the guy any more, James is afraid that I'll hit him. He's probably right.

The boys are all starting at the day home on Thursday. I can't believe that it's come so quickly. My surgery is on Tuesday and I have so much to do before then. I have to clean my house and get the laundry done and go through the mountains of clothes that are in the boys' rooms. I used to live in the basement of a couple that had boy/girl twins. When they were selling their house she cleaned out the closets and brought the laundry down to the basement to wash and go through. I helped her out by doing some of it when I got home. I remember thinking, "How could she possibly just leave all of these clothes for so long? Why didn't she just go through them and get rid of them?" Well, now I know. When the kids sleep, you want to as well. If you don't want to sleep, there are lots of other pressing things to get to first. So, to Lorie I apologize, I get it now.

Wow!!!!

2007-02-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

I was going through some photos on my computer the other day and came across these. Not a lot of people got to see me pregnant (especially people who don't live in the city) because I just didn't travel. I turned a lot of heads whenever I did go somewhere, and for the last bit, I wouldn't leave the house without James. I was just too self concious and really afraid I'd fall down and not be able to get up. Despite the extra weight, I was still able to carry Gage around and get him into his crib and the tub, but for the last bit he had to get up on a chair first. Keep in mind that my babies were HUGE (7 lbs 1 oz and 7 lbs 11 oz).

At 29 weeks, I was bigger than I was when I had Gage (who was the same weight as Jude, 7 lbs 11 oz.)

At 34.5 weeks

At 36 weeks.

At 38.5 weeks, 24 hours before the boys were born. The picture is a little fuzzy, I think Tammy was laughing when she took it, but you get the idea.

James convinced me to go shopping for some shorts and t-shirts at 34 weeks, because nothing I had fit me. I remember an older lady at the maternity shop (she was shopping with her daughter) telling me there was NO WAY I would go to term with the twins, it just didn't happen. Boy, would I like to run into her now.

Playing

2007-02-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Gage got these really cool blocks from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas (or his birthday, I forget which). He used to just build a straight tower with them, but today he came up with this. I was so proud!

I was playing around with the super close up feature on my camera today.

Laundry Day

2007-02-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Jude woke up from his nap early on laundry day last week. He decided to help. Helping is cute, but oh so messy!!!

Cowboys

2007-02-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and the first thing that Grandpa did was give Gage his hat. Gage said "Oh, thank you Grandpa!" and so we put everyone in it.

Peekaboo X 2

2007-02-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

The boys play peekaboo together now. It's too funny!

Mama of Three Little Men

Christmas 2008

Gage's Birthday

Halloween (and everything up until December!)

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

Dad

A boy and his (Mama's) bear

Fall 2008

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part Three)

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

The month of July

Now you see it...

Yet Another Zoo Trip

Cuteness

More Pix

In This Corner...

Mama at the Movies

Two Fabulous People

Happy 2nd Birthday Nate & Jude

There's a good chance that I've gone insane...

Super Cities Walk for MS

Family Photo 2008

Bathing with Bubbles

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part 2)

Growing Up *sigh*

Aren't we CUTE?

Deceptively Delicious

Nate's Finger

Why I Love Our Backyard (Part 1)

Barb's Wedding

Christmas (a little over three months late)

Happy 3rd Birthday Gage!

Brothers

Halloween... Mac Room Style!

Cutie Pies

Fall

Another Month Come and Gone...

A-Maze-Ing

Boy's First Shiner

Housing Update

Trip to the Farm

Where has all the time gone?

Playing Around

Filthy Faces... Among Other Things

All Apologies

Zoo Outing

Rainy Days and Sundays

Family Reunion

Breakfast

Summer Hair

More Park Pictures

Dog Pile!

Ah, the sounds of silence.

Trip to the Museum

Happy Birthday Nate & Jude!

The Big Guys!

Happy Mother's Day!

Saturday in the Park

Peanut, peanut butter

More Piano Time!

More of Gage's Cars

The Great Outdoors

Piano Time!

Miscellaneous

Sweep! Sweep!

Peek A Boo, I See You!

Gage's Photos

Nature's Diamonds

What a weekend!

Eleven months (already!)

My anniversary present

I really should...

Scenery

Happy Easter!

Back to Work

Chili Night

Hair Cuts

Why is it...

Silly birds!

Supper time

Growing Up sigh