Awesome E.tsy

I heard about Et.sy quite a while ago but never purchased anything until recently. For those of you who don't know or don't care to click on the link, here's the short of it…E.tsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade works of art (photography, art, jewelry, clothing, baby products, toys etc).

If you're looking for something a little bit different and unique and would like to support a very small business, Et.sy is your one-stop shop. I purchased items from three different Et.sy sellers and had very positive experiences. The products

We ended up purchasing a few unique pieces of art for the twins' bedroom. The first two pieces were from the krankykrab. The link will actually take you to the exact piece that we got for Teagan. We got framed pieces with their names on them. Quinn's is blue with a queen bee on it.

We also got 3 pieces of art from this store called rkdsign88. We got them the giraffe (in the link), the elephant and the lion. The seller lives in Indonesia. Despite something on the site saying that it could take 3-4 weeks to receive the pieces, we got them in about 2 weeks.

My last E.tsy purchase occured recently. Our friend, Hannah, who was visiting a few weeks ago found me a nursing cover. Whenever we were out in public and I needed to breastfeed, I was having to awkwardly drape a thin blanket over myself and the baby. I purchased this cover from Toronto-based JoshandTeo.

Moral of the story...check out Et.sy for unique, well-made gifts for others or yourself :)

Morning Smiles

All of the challenges of the last almost 8 weeks are worth it in moments like this! Teagan was all smiles this morning. I think that I almost heard a giggle too!

Tummy Time and Play Mat Time

So, babies are supposed to spend around 30 (supervised) minutes per day on their stomachs, according to the most recent research. When we take the girls to the midwife, lactation consultants etc., everyone always  mentions the importance of "tummy time." We have definitely not been doing 30 minutes per day. One or both of them is usually crying within 5ish minutes of being on their stomachs. After the girls ate, I decided to pull out their awesome ocean playmat. They had some time on their backs looking at the whale, octopus and other fun things hanging from the bars. I then flipped them onto their stomachs for as long as they would take it (Teagan = 8ish minutes; Quinn = 10 minutes). They flailed their arms and legs like little beached whales and grunted like little farm animals!

The High-Class Bean and the Green Bean are mesmerized
by the whale

Quinn

Teagan

Protective Finn

Quinn's hand needs to be cleaned, according to Finn

Finn supervises tummy time

When Two Sets of Twins Get Together

Today the girls had their first "play date" with another set of twins, J & K. They are the 4-month old boy/girl twins of a couple who we met in our prenatal class at the 519 Community Centre. I blogged about it a while back. J & K are really interactive, smiling and giggling. It's pretty great to see what's in store for us in two months.

Anyways, the play date was a success. All four babies were happy for the most part. Riley was in all of his glory with four babies to try and kiss. Finn had his nose in every car seat, bouncy seat and bag he could find.

This is a glimpse into some of the gear needed when two sets of twins get together:

Before they left today, I just had to get a picture of the four of them:

All in all, a successful first play date :)

It's A Tough Life

...being a baby!

Graduation Day

Teagan and Quinn officially graduated from the midwives care today (and so did I!). As I've said in previous posts, our midwives (and midwives in general) are amazing. I am so grateful that the clinic took us on despite the twin factor. They made my pregnancy and the twins' birth a very positive and memorable experience for Jenn and me. A first pregnancy is always somewhat nerve-wracking. Our midwives, Sarah and Christie, had this amazing way of putting me at ease by simplifying my worries, so that they were worries no longer. If you're pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, I would strongly suggest going with a midwife. If you're in Toronto, go with The Midwives Clinic!

The girls have made great progress over the last (almost) seven weeks. Teagan weighed in at 10lbs 9oz...4+ pounds over her birth weight. Quinn weighed in at 8lbs 7oz...3+ pounds over her birth weight. They are gaining weight faster than the average baby, but this is a good thing! They're not overeating. Breastfed babies can't eat too much.

Here's a picture of our midwife Christie and I with the babies:

Day 1

Today is day one of our new normal. The girls are 6 weeks old which means that Jenn has returned to work. Yes, I'm feeling sad about it because it has been great spending those weeks together, but I also feel very fortunate that she was able to have those weeks off. I'm not totally on my own yet (thankfully!). We are lucky enough to have our friend, Hannah, visiting from Boston. She's helping me transition into life with the two dogs and two babies. I am also incredibly lucky to have so much support from family and friends. My brother, Michael, came over this morning to take the boys for their daily run in the park. He's going to hang out for a few hours and help out as well.

The four "kids" and I sat on the bed together this morning after Jenn left. Riley wanted to lie right next to his sisters and tried to give them kisses at any chance he could get. Finn, the protective big brother, lay at the bottom of the bed growling because he thought he heard something downstairs.

As usual these days, I never finish a blog entry in one shot. I started it at 7:30am and am now hopefully going to finish it at 12:40pm.

Here's a great picture that I took of Riley and Teagan from this morning:

Baby's First...

So, the babies have obviously had many firsts already, but this first can be followed up with pictures! The girls got to experience magnificent Muskoka for the first time. Muskoka is cottage country, about two hours north of Toronto. It is sort of the equivalent of Cape Cod to Boston, minus the ocean, add a big lake.

I have been going to our family cottage in Muskoka from the time I was the twins' age. My brothers and I were lucky enough to spend a good part of each summer up there. Our summers consisted of playing tennis and golf, swimming (lessons were non-negotiable), boating all over the lake. While on the girls' first (see pictures below!) boat ride, my Mom and I were reminiscing of days spent on the dock swimming and playing until we realized that we hadn't eaten in hours. We'd come upstairs and see that it was already 7pm. The days would fly by. We'd often coax my Mom into taking us on after dinner boat rides to see the sun set.

Our few days in Muskoka were much different from those in the past, as we introduced the next generation to the cottage. Here are a few pictures, mainly of the twins' first boat ride!

My Dad and Teagan

Jenn, Teagan, my Mom and Riley

Classic Riley...leaping off the dock after a stick

Teagan in her new life jacket. Thank you Grandpa!

Captain Riles and his first mate