3BT: Dada, Hintonburger, Ticklish

1: Colin's babbles have taken shape, and he now unleashes torrents of dadas, gagas and babas. As far as we can tell, he uses all his words interchangeably, but gets an obvious kick out of our encouragement and the earnest conversations he has with us, his beloved fabric Earth Book* and his siblings;

2: The Armstrong burger at the Hintonburger. With fries!!

3: Spent a lot of time entertaining the babies today with tons o tickles. A lot of shrieking and hysteria ensued. In my humble opinion, there is little better in the world than babies laughing until they have to catch their breath!

* the Earth Book reference:

Hello... My Name Is Monkey

This morning, when daddy was changing me, I decided to create my first artistic work entitled "Penaten In Hair". I worked quickly, finding the tin he had hidden on the second shelf and while he was distracted by my dirty diaper, I set my inner Picasso free. Daddy made all kinds of leaps and shouts of joy at my prodigy - or so I thought. He then took me and went running into the bedroom to show Mummy who had just returned to bed. She moved a lot faster than I had ever seen her move, and they laughed very hard... and then I realized they were laughing AT me, not with me. They took lots of pictures. And laughed until they cried. I got a bath, from which I tried to escape. I am planning my revenge. It will be prolific and very, very smelly.

3BT: A Long Nap, Getting Things Done, Extra Help

Notwithstanding the babies' 8 month anniversary, of course:

1: The babies were fussy all day. Colin's left cheek was a red blaze from teething, Evelyn scolded us repeatedly and Keith was just plain shrieky. To our surprise and relief, they slept for an hour and a half this afternoon. They usually catnap for 20-45 minutes twice a day.

2: Whilst the babies were napping, and with help from Sally during the day, I managed to knock a lot of items off my enormous to-do list. With a month long trip to pack for followed up by our move, there are lawyers, utilities, painters, insurance and mortgage brokers to call, newspapers to cancel, bills to redirect, appointments to reschedule ... Overwhelming at the best of times, but made much easier with sleeping babes.

3: Having Edward's cousin, Ryan, drop in this evening. He is awesome with the babies, and the way Evelyn interacts with him is priceless. She's had a soft spot for him for months; she loves to catch his eye, laugh and bury her face in my neck while peeping out at him coyly. Our very saucy Miss E!

Happy 8 Months, Babies!!

Taken two days ago: Keith, Colin and Evelyn all squeeeezed onto Edward's lap
The babies, taken October 7th when they were 13 days old: Keith, Evelyn and Colin

We love you!

3BT: Perfect Corner, Peaceful Dinner, Lilacs in Bloom

1: On our walk this afternoon, we passed one of my favourite homes in the neighbourhood. We are surrounded by lots of old houses in various states of (dis)repair, but this one was a shambles. It's not grand by any means, but it sits on its original double lot with its original storm door, windows and clapboard and a pea-gravel drive. Someone with an obvious green thumb has bought and restored it. The garden is neatly weeded but wild - the quintessential cottage garden. The windows are crammed with coloured glass and baubles, and framed with vintage handkerchief curtains. Lovely.

2: The babies sat quietly in their feeding chairs, playing with their toys and watching my mother, father, Edward and I enjoy our Sunday meal. I love that we can have dinner as a family - all seven of us squeezed around our kitchen table.

3: The beautiful purple lilacs my father gave me. They fill the house with their fragrance and look wonderful sitting on our kitchen counter.

Video!

We spliced together a few videos taken yesterday - about 5 and a half minutes worth if you have the patience. Highlights include a LOT of shrieking and Edward checking his watch. Sprocket does a spin or two, there are a few belly laughs and, well, a lot of shrieking.

3BT: Soul Friend, Gratitude, Vindication

1: Spending a few hours today with Tania, one of my oldest friends. She comes by every Saturday to help us out and to keep me sane. There are few things better for the soul than a really good chin wag with an old friend.

2: Trying to settle an overtired, overheated Keith tonight at bedtime. The babies had been fussy all day and barely slept. I figured his screaming was the result of a long day, but I decided to try feeding him the rest of his bottle. We sat together in the rocking chair, him gazing into my eyes, as he hungrily and noisily drained the remainder of his dinner. He smiled and drifted off to sleep with a sigh.

3: Proving to Edward that the song "Bananaphone" exists, and is not a product of my sleep deprived brain.

3BT: Worm Love, Look What I Can Do, Sunny Greetings

1: Stole a few sunny minutes in the garden this afternoon. I pulled several weeds and noticed big, fat worms tangled up in the roots. Our diligent composing and soil amendments have paid off! When I bought the house five years ago, the backyard was a wasteland complete with an above-ground pool, under which was layers of compacted sand and gravel (aka concrete) that had to be dug out by hand (yay Lorne and Arthur!). I love my garden refuge, and will miss it terribly...

2: The look on Colin's face when I finally cajoled him into sitting in his crib. His philosophy: why sit when you can stand?! However, he humoured me - and then the widest smile crept across his face. His eyes crinkled in happiness and it was clear he was thrilled with his accomplishment. His little hands feverishly worked to unhitch himself from my steadying grasp, although he's still too wiggly to sit on his own.

3: A respite from the doom and gloom weather we've had all week. The sun broke through the clouds, leaving traces of blue sky. While Edward took Puppy home to start dinner, the babies and I continued our walk through a recently refurbished park. A small girl in a school uniform said to her even smaller brother: "Oh look, there's Ben!", and in her best gown-up voice called out: "Ben, how ARE you? So NICE to see you!"

3BT: A Private Joke, A Nice Visit, A Splurge

1: Both Keith and Evelyn were in their jammies, ready for bed. Evelyn was lying on her tummy in her crib and Keith was in my arms in the rocking chair. Evelyn loves bedtime, and could not contain her laughter. Keith joined in. One would chortle, and the other would reply, legs and arms flailing as they shared their private joke;

2: Edward took a cranky Colin across our narrow, little street to visit Jane. Jane came every week to feed the babies, but recently suffered some significant mobility issues. Colin is a highly sociable little guy, and loves to share his mischievious grin - Nana calls it his secret smile. Everyone came home in a much better mood;

3: A birthday massage and pizza from Tennessee Willems: fire-roasted tomato sauce, fiore di latte mozzarella, cremini mushrooms, artichokes, kalamata olives and capicola ham. We picked it up during our walk, after being caught in the rain - again!

Three Beautiful Things...

Life around here moves at a frantic pace, and sometimes I feel like we gloss over the little moments that make life beautiful, and well, livable. So, I'm instituting my own list of Three Beautiful Things. I'll try to post them daily.

1) Evelyn, on the change table at bath time. Blissfully naked, rolling from side to side, stretching her arms and legs, gurgling with joy. Singing her song, Robin in the Rain, in the bath, watching her chubby little hands try to catch the water as it drips from the washcloth;

2) Coming home from our pre-dinner amble, Sally, babies, Puppy and I, and opening the front door into the heady aroma of curry. Edward had made one of his signature dishes. Earlier on in the day, he walked to the Parkdale market to buy some sprigs of cilantro: "I had to buy the whole potted plant", he said, a little sheepishly.

2a) Setting the table for a guest for the fifth day in a row;

3) Being left alone with still restless babies while Edward was out this evening. Feeling calm, confident and capable in settling them with a pat and a kiss... a moment almost eight months in the making.

Saying Goodbye

This past weekend, my mother's family lost its reigning matriarch, my great aunt Hilda. Hilda was one of my grandfather's sisters. Feisty, intelligent, and the definition of ageless youth and vitality, Hilda lived on her own in Toronto until she was hospitalized last week with heart problems. I would hazard to say that at almost 97 years old, she was the oldest reader of this blog - and certainly the most impatient! We would often get e-mails from her requesting updates if we hadn't posted in a while. Hilda always impressed me with her contemporary thoughts and opinions. She had a enviably sharp wit and a robust sense of humour.

She passed away peacefully, with her children present. Our deepest condolences to John, Kathleen, Elizabeth and their families. She will be greatly missed.

A Brief Respite

Mandatory baby picture :)
Near Appenzell, Switzerland
A view of Stein am Rhein... my father's hometown of Eschenz is in the upper left corner
The Rheinfall - the largest plain water waterfall in Europe

While Edward's mother, aunt and myself were holding the fort last week (thank you, Piney and Ann!!), Edward escaped to Switzerland to meet and visit my family. He received such a warm welcome, and was treated like royalty by my family during his 6 day stay in the north-east edge of the country. He enjoyed his stay tremendously, and I was so thrilled that he got a chance to sightsee and clomp around the beautiful hills and dales in true Swiss fashion - all while enjoying perfect weather. We figured that it would be several years before we could go as a family with the bambinos and Edward is off work until July, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to satisfy a little Wanderlust.

In early June, Edward and I and babies are heading to New Brunswick for a month, and then in early July we're moving. The babies will stay in New Brunswick (*sniff*) while we set up shop and get everything in order with the new house before we bring the babies home. Our new house is much larger with a real backyard (our current one is fully landscaped with not a blade of grass... great for maintenance, not so great for kids). I'll be posting a few pictures along the way as we undertake a few cosmetic changes to make the new house our own!