An Epicurean Excursion... or: Foooood!

We tried them on their first solid food this afternoon. Pictures tell a thousand words, and I think it's plain to see how they felt about their first mouthfuls of real texture and flavour. We started "practicing" with rice pablum last week, until we got the official go-ahead from their pediatrician at yesterday's six month check-up. So the sweet potato wasn't their very first attempt at eating, but they generally reacted much better to it than the rice - rice cereal tastes like cardboard, so there's no surprise there.

Note Colin's clean bib. Our Family Visitor, Gina (in the background of Evelyn's picture), bore witness to our attempt, and commented that Colin may be off to a bit of a slow start. He actually grimaced and shuddered when we tried the pablum, so the sweet potato went over a little better. Unimpressed is still better than outright refusal!

I had to give Keith a little more, as he enjoyed it so much. We after an "after" picture of him with a sweet potato fu manchu, but we're saving that one for the wedding!

Evelyn wasn't too sure of the taste, but our practice sessions nudged her along, so she was really good at opening her mouth for the spoon. Swallowing was a bit of a different story, but we're getting there!

We'll be on sweet potato for another few days, and then we'll move on to something else :)

Happy Six Months, Colin!

Name: Colin, Mister C, The Con Man, Monkey, Monkey-Doodle

Hair Colour: Light Brown

Eye Colour: blue

Party Trick: Houdini-ing out of swaddles, standing and walking, playing the piano, being shockingly "regular"... in his bath

Favourite Saying: ahboo, ahdee, ahdah

Colin is our mercurial little monkey. At times quiet and contemplative, and at other times extremely vocal is his likes and dislikes, Colin is only unambivalent on one thing: being held. He will use every trick in his arsenal to ensure a constant and uninterrupted snuggle. His beguiling smile and mischievous little grin reel us in every time, and when he rewards his minions with a chuckle, you are sunk. Surprisingly, Colin can sleep through pretty much anything, and when he decides to nap, he is a champion napper and can sleep for hours on end. He similarly applies himself to his Exersaucer, studiously observing how the toys work. Maestro Colin particularly likes playing his three key piano and loves to make lots of noise. Colin can be quite combative when being fed, and is very physical; from his constant desire to stand, to his first faltering steps - with help of course: Colin loves to be on the move!

We can hardly wait to see what the next six months hold! We love you, Colin!

Happy Six Months, Keith!

Name: Keith, aka Pumpkin, Lumpy, Lumperoo, Life of the Party

Hair Colour: Blonde

Eye Colour: blue

Party Trick: Rolling over verrryyy sloooowwwlly, being shockingly, um, "regular", doing the raspberry for hours, dancing a jig, his ham-hock thighs

Favourite Saying: ahgoo, giggles, snores

Keith is a good natured, glass-half-full, "let's party" little guy, often at 5am, to our chagrin. Keith foregoes any thought of consequence, and it doesn't surprise us that he has learned to roll with reckless, albeit slowly-paced, abandon; there is a certain amount of Keith to displace, after all! Keith has never met a bottle he doesn't like, and shrieks if you deign to take it away before he was good and done. Not much of a fan of such physically demanding tasks (ie. standing up), he likes to contemplate life with a gnawed fist in his mouth whilst lounging on a pillow. Very quick to smile, Keith loves an audience and chatters away to his various admirers and yes, even still to his goat, who has migrated to the change table. Keith cranes his neck for kisses, loves hugs and having his flowing locks brushed out of his eyes. He will act bashful, with a twinkle in his eye, and will laugh for as long as you're willing to play along... or until he spits up, which ever comes first.

We can hardly wait to see what the next six months hold! We love you, Keith!

Happy Six Months, Evelyn!

Name: Evelyn, aka Squeak/Squeakie/Miss E/ Sweet Pea/ Evalert

Hair Colour: Ginger

Eye Colour: ?? grey-blue...ish

Party Trick: Channeling Kim Jong Il (it's the hair), rolling tongue in half, a deafening wail, rolling onto her side, a wicked pincer grip

Favourite Saying: squeaks of all kinds, rooooo, wahboobooboo

Evelyn may look like a delicate flower, but don't be fooled! She can emit an ear-shattering series of noises that defy the limits of human physiology. But she is as prone to breaking out in wails as she is into a wide, gummy grin... happily for us, our sanity, and our neighbours. Evelyn loves her sleep, and when she is hungry and gets into "The Zone", she can drain her bottle with Teutonic efficiency. Evelyn also loves to kick her legs and is a dynamo on the change table and in the bath. She is our wiggly worm, especially on your lap - she wants to go, go GO! But at this moment, she can't get too far... however, she is plotting to take over the world; that much is clear. Quietly observant, our little "Evalert" sees all, hears all and files it away under that hair for future use, quite possibly against us. Nothing escapes her steady gaze and her busy little hands.

We can hardly wait to see what the next six months hold! We love you, Evelyn!

Keith Laughs Until...

Taken this afternoon!

Linus

I'm keeping this sweet little guy in my thoughts and prayers... he's had an extremely tough go over the past five and half months, as he has a serious heart defect. The amount of pain and suffering he's had to endure is unfathomable. I know his Mama from my on-line triplet community. You can click on the picture to read her blog and to get to know this little fighter and his story.

The Cakes!

Here are the scrumptious mousse cakes I mentioned in my previous post that were made by Edward's cousin, Sally.

Baptism Photos - Part 3: Ceremony

Evelyn, right after she was baptized
Keith
Colin

No one shed a tear during the actual ceremony, which amazed me somewhat. I actually went in with no expectations in this regard, but was so pleasantly surprised!

The babies' outfits turned out really well, too. In case it's not too clear in the photos, the boys were in rompers with mock vests and bow ties, and Evelyn was in a dress with colours that matched. I chose the fabrics and had the outfits custom made by a lady in Wisconsin... we should have taken a few more close-ups of the babies to highlight how dapper they looked, but as you can imagine, getting out the door that Sunday was no small feat! This was complicated by the babies' feed schedule - they all had to eat minutes before the service began. Thanks to our dedicated "cast of thousands", everything went off without a hitch. Afterwards, we had enjoyed a delicious brunch courtesy of Edward's parents, and consumed the better part of three amazing mousse cakes (each baby had their own) made by Edward's cousin Sally. A truly wonderful day!

Thanks to everyone who took part, and a special thank you to Gil, her husband and Petite who were able to join our celebration!

Baptism Photos - Part 2: Family & Friends

Jeannie and Keith, et al

Godparents, Aunts, Grandparents, Great Grandmother, Parents.... and babies :)
Jeannie and Evelyn

Baptism Photos - Part 1: Godparents and Babies

My sister (Deborah), Evelyn and Phil
Graham, Colin and Jane
Ryan, Keith and Gillian

Colin Gets His Own Post

Aunt Jane came to the rescue! Here is a picture of Colin and his Aunt Gillian taken two weeks ago :) As you can see, they are deep in conversation. Colin is one with a lot to say!!

In the Interim... Some Fuzzy Pictures

Evelyn admires herself and Yellow Duckie in the change-table mirror.

Evelyn in the Bumbo. I bought it today at the MBFA's Twins and More Consignment sale for $30. So far, no one is too enamoured with it, but perhaps that will change!

Keith post bath, wearing his teddy towel with hood :)

I'm waiting to have a few pictures from the baptism before I write about it, but in short, it was wonderful and the babies were spectacular. A little fussiness here and there during the hour and a half long service, but not one tear. Ditto at the restaurant we went to afterwards... Keith slept a little in his carseat, and Colin and Evelyn thoroughly enjoyed being passed around and held. How fortunate that we have such sociable babies!

I just noticed that I didn't take any photos of Colin in the past two days. I'll have to remedy that, or hope that his Auntie Gillian took some. Colin has pretty bad cradle cap, and takes his baby claws to his scalp regularly. This morning, we noticed he had quite a significant gash on his head. It must be soooo itchy! We apply cream and brush the flakes out, but it seems to be getting worse. I can only hope that with the warmer weather it might improve a little. Poor love :S