Cousins

This past weekend we had a family dinner at our house. I used to have them all of the time but once Calum came along found it harder to cook for 10 (the size of Mark's family not including the 2 babies, Calum and Rhys). Anyway, last weekend I had family dinner again on Sunday and it was perfect-forgot how much I enjoy preparing a big meal-planning the menu, cooking and the sitting down together and eating. The weather was gorgeous and it was a nice day, even if I was exhausted afterwards! Even treated myself to my first glass of post pregnancy wine. Yum.

Anyway, lately when we've had the two "babies" together, I've noticed how much more they are interacting. Rhy is Mark's sister Tracey's son, he will be 1 on April 23rd, the day before Calum turns 2 so there is exactly 1 year and 1 day between them. Calum loves "baby Rhys" and I think Rhys is starting to reciprocate-he seems to appreciate the noise and mayhem that comes along with C these days.

Thought these pics Mark took were pretty cute. As Mark says, Rhys actually looks more like his son then Calum does! Made me think maybe the twins might be the same-maybe they will be lucky and get the "brown" gene or have brown hair or brown eyes like Mark. Or maybe they will be blonde and blue eyed like Calum...

Our News

Me at 12 weeks(!)

Finally, 2 months to the day after finding out I was pregnant and almost 6 weeks after our first scan, I was able to tell the world (okay, Facebook) that Mark and I (and Calum!) are expecting twins!

We decided (okay, I convinced Mark) that we would start trying for #2 after Christmas and just like with Calum, I got pregnant in the 1st month. We got the result the day we went and did Calum's professional pictures and have a nice family shot that kind of captures the day. Of course I was excited but a little shocked that it happened so fast and then the feelings of OMG, can I really cope with 2 under 3 settled in. Along with the guilt of how will I love another baby as much as I love Calum and etc.

A few weeks later I had an early scan done, thinking I had an ectopic pregnancy (convinced, actually). Imagine our SHOCK and Mark's (initial) HORROR when the scanner told us there wasn't just one but two babies in there. As long as Mark and I have been talking about kids he has said that he doesn't want twins so the look on his face (that stayed there for weeks after) said it all.

Two scans later (including a nuchal scan which gave our babies a 1 in 12000 chance of having Downs or and 1 in 22000 of any other abnormal chromosome related disease) and we were able to share our news.

Let's just say, we're still shocked. Me less then Mark because I'm the one carrying these babies and it's easier to bond/get used to the idea when you are reminded constantly of their existence. Mark says all I do/talk about/think about is babies which could be true. I've not been sick at all and am rarely too tired, have been going to the gym still to avoid what happened last time (anyone who saw pictures of me from 6 mos onwards knows what I'm talking about here) and of course, being a Mom to a kind of crazy right now toddler.

The babies due date is October 4th although full term for twins is 37 weeks so since I'm having an elective c-section this time around you could say their due date is more like Sept. 13th. 50% of twins are born in the 35th week which brings us up to August 30th which seems scarily not so far away.

The babies are non identical and have their own placentas and sacs (maybe TMI, sorry!) which is the safest way to carry them as they don't compete as much for food. There is a 50% chance we are having a boy/girl, 25% girl/girl and 25% boy/boy. Let's not think about option 3 right now because that's more then I can really handle but knowing us, will probably be the outcome :).

Either way, we are blessed. That's all I can say and that's just how I feel. Having been an only child I always kind of dreamed about having a big family but never really saw myself as a Mom of 3, now that it's a reality I love thinking about how our house will never be quiet, how fun our holidays will be as they get older and how special it is that they will all have each other.

Anyway, thought I would share a few pics along with our news:

Both babies at 9 wks 4 days (2nd scan, March 10)
Twin 2, 12 wks 6 days
Twin 1, 12 wks 6 days

Fight club

Just so you know, there won't be any pics for this post. That's because whilst I believe in documenting Calum's growing up years, I think it's probably best to act like this little "phase" in his life never happened, with hopes that it will soon be over and we can act like that's actually the case.

Since Calum was a little baby we always kind of knew he had a temper. Not a big surprise I suppose, he is 1/4 Irish after all and both Mark and I have been known to occasionally lose it (*occasionally*!). Well, in the last month or so this temper has reared it's ugly head to include temper tantrums. These tantrums go beyond him being angry for a second and have progressed into full on kicking, screaming and even hitting matches-the Verghese household has turned into a fight club.

Oh, and it doesn't end there. Last Wednesday when I picked C up from nursery I was asked to sign a form recognising that C had hit another child over the head with a rolling pin in the "home corner". Never mind why they had a rolling pin in there in the first place, I couldn't believe my sweet angel had actually injured another child!

Friday was no better, Mark came home with C to report that he had pushed a few kids and even BITTEN someone! My worst nightmare. I still remember being bitten by some freak at preschool and now my kid is that freak. The bite couldn't have been that bad as we didn't have to sign a form this time but still, biting?!

So we enter the terrible 2s, a full month before C even turns 2. I've been reading all the books/online info I can get my hands on to try and fix this but unfortunately at this age when verbal skills are still limited, it's tough. The "naughty step" which worked brilliantly at first has turned into a joke, Calum no longer even cries when he is sent there and he now thinks it's a game. Am I tempted to get out the wooden spoon as a threat like I had when I was a child? Yes, but there again I'm really not sure what that will solve at this age so I'm feeling stuck. Literally stuck because he's also become a nightmare to bring out in public.

Any suggestions from you Moms out there? I could really use them as I'm at my wits end.

All of that said, the last 2 days with Calum have been brilliant. It's like he knew I was about to lose it and has shown what a great child he can be. Sweet, funny and lots of fun to be with. Don't get me wrong, he's still had a few moments, but I've had to step back and realise that for a few days there I really lost sight of what it was all about. Let's hope he's entered a new phase....

Why don't mine turn out like this?

We had another round of professional pics of Calum done on Jan. 17th (he was just a week shy of 21 months). For those of you who have had professional pictures done you probably know they cost a small fortune. The reason we keep going back for more is because as you've probably noticed from my posts over the last 6 months or so, I just can't seem to get a good picture of Calum. They are either blurry, make Calum look massive, contain 1/3 of his body (as he's constantly moving and just the reminants of an arm or leg show up in our "action shots") or feature him making one of his many faces (which mostly involve looking angry instead of smiling, we're going through the terrible 2s a little early here at the Verghese household).

When we got to the shoot I told the young girl (obv not a Mom) that there was probably no chance we would be able to get him to sit still for any pictures. What we didn't expect (Mark came along for moral support) was that Calum would be so camera shy, hence the box of raisins we conned him with about 10 minutes in. Even though we only had about 20 quality minutes of taking photos, I'm pleased with the results. Can't believe how much he's changed from the previous two sessions (below).

21 months

8 months

2 months

It's a good thing I keep the floors clean...

It's a good thing I keep the floors clean...

Because Calum seems to think it's perfectly okay to eat off the floor. In fact, I think he prefers to judging by the fact that he choses to throw at least 1/2 of every meal he eats on the floor and loves nothing more then taking a bag of (insert whatever your little heart desires here: Cheerios, chips, cookies, etc.) and emptying it on the floor. Oh, and he doesn't discriminate-he gets just as much enjoyment from throwing stuff on the carpet as he does the tile, and Mom gets to have even more fun trying to get ground up bits of (Cheerios, chips, cookies, etc.) off of our berber carpet.

Calum's New Room

Hard to believe we've lived in our "new" house for 9 months now. When I look around there are still a million little things I want to do but it just seems like all of that energy we had when we moved in to make it how we wanted it has faded and things seem to happen slowly but surely now. My "honey to do list" is more imaginary then real as our weekends seem to go by in the blink of an eye and the enthusiasm Mark showed for his tool box has also waned.

Anyway, I digress.


Calum's room had been a little neglected so a few weeks ago we finally got around to updating it. He's at a hard age where he's not quite ready for "big boy" stuff but then he's not really a baby anymore, either. We found this retro German print from the 70s and liked the way it kind of funked up his room without being too cutesy/predictable (read: airplanes, cars, sports, etc.). I think the pattern kind of freaked him out for awhile because the first few nights he didn't sleep so great but now every morning when I go in to his room he is so excited to point out to me the colours he knows (blue and yellow at the moment) and the pictures he recognises (ducks, trains, cars, etc.).


Yeah, the nursing chair is still in there. We still use it every once in awhile (not for nursing obv!) but are going to take it out in April when we move his beloved teepee from his downstairs playroom into his room to be replaced with the table and chairs we got him for his birthday.

US

Yeah, we've been a little MIA lately. Under the radar. Seems like every time I sit down to write a post, I feel as if I've not got anything very exciting to write about. Oh, and it doesn't help that since we got back in January I've taken all total of about 10 pictures of Calum. Hoping he doesn't notice this neglect when he gets older and looks back at his old photo books. Oh, that's right-I stopped updating those about a year ago. Ooops.

Calum has settled into nursery really well-today he ran up to the front door with a big smile on his face so I think it's safe to say he likes it. I still look forward to the end of my working days when I get to go pick him up, the smile I get is the best reward a Mom could ask for.

Calum being at nursery has also been better for me work wise. This month I've billed as much as I did for the whole of last year! I'm really pleased that my hard work has paid off and the "target" Mark has set for me to pay off our new Audi Q5 which will be ready in June/July has been achieved so at least I've kept "the boss" (AKA MARK) happy (for now!).

Bye bye, Range-so excited!

We've decided we're definitely coming back in May for my cousin's WSU graduation and might take a side trip this time to San Francisco which is a place both Mark and I have yet to see-let's just hope it's manageable with a toddler!

My Mom has booked a trip to visit in April, I'm counting the days and can't wait for her to come. She's even extended her trip so she can stay for the royal wedding so that should be fun. She will also be here for Calum's 2nd birthday on April 24th (Easter!), this year I've decided to throw him a proper party so will be looking for ideas from you Moms out there soon. On April 23rd I'm going to be confirmed and christened into the Catholic church, going to finally make it official so will be a really nice visit and I can't wait to have her here.

Yesterday we had one of those rare sunny, winter days and I met my friend Zoe and her son Sean for a walk around a local nature trail and lunch. Calum loved every second of being free to roam in the woods which I realised was his first real experience in the woods. The look on his face when he bit it in the dirt was priceless-definitely Mommy's boy (not pleased at all with the dirt on his hands!). In fact, 'mess' is one of his favourite words. Ha!

Calum and Sean (and a bunch of smelly piglets!)
My little piglet

Also thought I would include a few pics from when my Mom's Xmas presents arrived last month. My Mom went nuts like she always does and bought us far too much for Xmas. Since we were limited on luggage space when coming back home she decided she would mail most of it back. In total there were 5 boxes and she spent something like $500 in postage!!! Calum has come to know that good things come in brown cardboard boxes and loved "helping" me open them as they arrived-particularly the one with his new lawnmower which happens to be the loudest/most annoying toy ever.

Getting into Mommy's treats!

In action
Doing a bit of maintenance

Have a great week, more updates soon x