Here we are at the end of our very first Thanksgiving. It would have been fun to make it back home and have all of the aunts, uncles and cousins doting, but that will have to wait until next year. As it was, we had a good time.
We started early. Some of us did anyway. Allan woke up about 5:30 and by the time he was settled, Griff decided it was his turn. So he and Mom were up until a little before 7. Dad woke everyone up at 8:30 to say wasn't it great that Griff had slept so long. Yes, yes, it would have been great, but he didn't actually make it through the night although we are both delighted to see that you apparently did. To his credit, Dad took Allan downstairs and left Griffith and me to sleep until nearly 10. We gave the boys baths and took some pictures and worked on making a traditional Thanksgiving feast. We ate about 2 (Griff had his first taste of mashed potatoes) and then took the boys on a long, long walk and took photos in Ashland Park. You can see the resulte -- if one was cooperative, then the other one wasn't. Still and all, we had a great time.
We hope you enjoy the photos. We want everyone to see how well the boys are doing and how happy they are. We try so hard to make sure that everyone knows what we are up to because so many people have been integral to getting us to where we are today. There is no way for us to thank every one who has helped us reach this point. There have been, quite literally, hundreds of people who have made it possible for us to enjoy a sunny afternoon out strolling with our boys. People have been so generous with their time and resources and we can not express how much it has meant to us. Thank you.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Griffith and Allan - Thanksgiving 2006
The boys in their Baby's First Thanksgiving bibs in Ashland park.
Thanksgiving 2006 (II)
Griffith pulling on Allan by his bib -- you would think their parents would do something about that, wouldn't you?
Thanksgiving 2006
Allan looking not at all grateful. For anything. Fair resemblance to his father, however.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Good night.
Our little family is settled in on the eve of Thanksgiving. We can't really say that it is our first Thanksgiving together as it was the Tuesday before last year when we found out that we were expecting twins. We can honestly say that none of us knew what we were in for. That's probably a good thing.
We are really excited at the prospect of our first holiday on our own. With Jay's family across the pond and mine ruled out for reasons of distance and quarantine (no large crowds, no sick people, no kids under 15), we are soloing. Allan and I are already ensconced in the master suite. He is sleeping, peaceful as a little lamb. Jay and Griffith are downstairs roasting a turkey breast and making some sort of British "side dish" that seems to be link sausages wrapped in bacon and cooked in the oven. I think he called it some sort of Napoleon something or other and I can only assume that it is meant to be derogatory to the French. Still, I am somewhat baffled by the thought of this as a side dish. Generally speaking side dishes here consist of vegetables or starchs of some sort. Don't get me wrong -- as a Southerner and a country girl, I have a great appreciation for the wonder of pork, but this is taking it to a whole other level. The yeast dough is made for the rolls and I will be mashing potatoes and fixing green beans tomorrow. I think we will be all right. Allan's sweetheart, Jennifer, dropped off a chocolate pie tonight so I may postpone making that pumpkin roll for another day.
The weather held for another day so the boys and I went off on another long walk this afternoon (Flora still disapproving, but resigned). Markus accompanied us for part of the way. We walked for well over an hour and there wasn't a peep from either boy. They both dozed for part of the trip, but spent the majority of the time taking it all in very peacefully.
Allan went to the ophthamologist this morning and she is pleased with how his eye looks. He still isn't tracking well with it, but things are probably still pretty hazy to him out of that eye. We go next week to have him fitted for a contact. He has become an expert at slamming his eye shut and wriggling away when you try to put drops in so I can only imagine that wrestling him to put a teeny, tiny contact in will be at least a two person operation.
Allan's opthalmologist had her five month old daughter at the office and we think she was trying to set the two of them up. Little hussy.
They took the stitches out today and his belly looks good. He still owns the World's Most Perfect Belly Button. The peg doesn't seem to be bothering him at all and it is fairly easy to use (it is kind of like the stopper that goes in one of those plastic beach balls). He seems much happier without the NG tube in his nose and throat. His saturation levels have been excellent since we got home and he has not been retching or spitting up. So far the peg seems like a good idea.
Griffith is just a ball of fun all the time. He cracks himself up. Flora swears that he said "hi" today and I may take that as his first word. Unless he says Mama. We just can't have Dada be the first word. I just won't be able to stand that.
Time for lights out up here. Here's hoping that we have a nice, peaceful start to the long holiday weekend.
We are really excited at the prospect of our first holiday on our own. With Jay's family across the pond and mine ruled out for reasons of distance and quarantine (no large crowds, no sick people, no kids under 15), we are soloing. Allan and I are already ensconced in the master suite. He is sleeping, peaceful as a little lamb. Jay and Griffith are downstairs roasting a turkey breast and making some sort of British "side dish" that seems to be link sausages wrapped in bacon and cooked in the oven. I think he called it some sort of Napoleon something or other and I can only assume that it is meant to be derogatory to the French. Still, I am somewhat baffled by the thought of this as a side dish. Generally speaking side dishes here consist of vegetables or starchs of some sort. Don't get me wrong -- as a Southerner and a country girl, I have a great appreciation for the wonder of pork, but this is taking it to a whole other level. The yeast dough is made for the rolls and I will be mashing potatoes and fixing green beans tomorrow. I think we will be all right. Allan's sweetheart, Jennifer, dropped off a chocolate pie tonight so I may postpone making that pumpkin roll for another day.
The weather held for another day so the boys and I went off on another long walk this afternoon (Flora still disapproving, but resigned). Markus accompanied us for part of the way. We walked for well over an hour and there wasn't a peep from either boy. They both dozed for part of the trip, but spent the majority of the time taking it all in very peacefully.
Allan went to the ophthamologist this morning and she is pleased with how his eye looks. He still isn't tracking well with it, but things are probably still pretty hazy to him out of that eye. We go next week to have him fitted for a contact. He has become an expert at slamming his eye shut and wriggling away when you try to put drops in so I can only imagine that wrestling him to put a teeny, tiny contact in will be at least a two person operation.
Allan's opthalmologist had her five month old daughter at the office and we think she was trying to set the two of them up. Little hussy.
They took the stitches out today and his belly looks good. He still owns the World's Most Perfect Belly Button. The peg doesn't seem to be bothering him at all and it is fairly easy to use (it is kind of like the stopper that goes in one of those plastic beach balls). He seems much happier without the NG tube in his nose and throat. His saturation levels have been excellent since we got home and he has not been retching or spitting up. So far the peg seems like a good idea.
Griffith is just a ball of fun all the time. He cracks himself up. Flora swears that he said "hi" today and I may take that as his first word. Unless he says Mama. We just can't have Dada be the first word. I just won't be able to stand that.
Time for lights out up here. Here's hoping that we have a nice, peaceful start to the long holiday weekend.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
As you can see from the pictures posted last night, the boys are doing well and getting along most of the time.
Despite Flora's disapproval, we all took a big walk yesterday afternoon (she thought it was too cold) since it was bright and sunny. You would have thought we were going on an Artic expedition with all the fleece, hats, and blankets. Still, they both seemed to enjoy the great outdoors. Or what they could see of it through the small slit that Flora allowed for their eyes. It is another pretty day so we will probably take another stroll this afternoon if Flora hasn't let the air out of the stroller tires. If she had her way, we would all be indoors from now until May.
Despite Flora's disapproval, we all took a big walk yesterday afternoon (she thought it was too cold) since it was bright and sunny. You would have thought we were going on an Artic expedition with all the fleece, hats, and blankets. Still, they both seemed to enjoy the great outdoors. Or what they could see of it through the small slit that Flora allowed for their eyes. It is another pretty day so we will probably take another stroll this afternoon if Flora hasn't let the air out of the stroller tires. If she had her way, we would all be indoors from now until May.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Home again, home again -- part 3
We have had a very busy weekend. Allan made it home (again) Saturday morning and he has done very well. He hasn't really tried to mess with his eye too much at all. The lids are a little red and a little swollen, but not anything too bad. (Easy for me to say -- it isn't my eye.) The eye drops we are putting in are pretty much the same as before. The only difference is that we put a patch over his eye when we put him to bed at night. His belly is a little tender but Tylenol seems to help that and we hope that clears up soon. He's actually been a little fussy which is a real change of pace for him. His lungs must be much improved because he can really get some decent volume when crossed. He's getting to be pretty demanding, too. A lot like his brother Griffith. In fact, they seem to have developed the uncanny ability to sense when the other is getting ready to have a meltdown which enables them to get tuned up simultaneously. (It sounds a lot cuter than it is.)
The apple juice never did work for Griffith. On Saturday afternoon, I made good my threat to use a glycerin suppository. I dosed him up and headed out to do some shopping and, about 45 minutes later, got a call from Dad letting me know "it worked. Well." Who knew that the response would be so prompt?
The apple juice never did work for Griffith. On Saturday afternoon, I made good my threat to use a glycerin suppository. I dosed him up and headed out to do some shopping and, about 45 minutes later, got a call from Dad letting me know "it worked. Well." Who knew that the response would be so prompt?
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