Home at last

We're finally home! Unfortunately, even 2 days later, our luggage is not. Overall, the trip was okay. The kids amazed me with how well they traveled, and eating every meal at restaurants wasn't nearly the debacle that I had anticipated. Still, it was hard to take care of two babies in an unfamiliar setting by myself. My sister was a huge help, but in the end, everything fell to me, and I had no real respite during the trip. I feel like I need a vacation just to recover!

The kids loved swimming. They had a great time splashing and kicking in the pool, and I think we'll have a lot of fun at the beach this summer.


We got a ton of attention on the trip. I don't know if it's because they're twins, or they're just so darn adorable (just a slight bias!), or maybe it's because we don't "match", but we constantly get comments about how beautiful they are. It also helps that they're incredibly charming, and will "play" with people. I'm glad to say that all of the attention has been positive, and reaffirms the fact that people are much more open to multicultural families than ever before.

One thing that I definitely noticed was that while the twins will happily go to other people (i.e. my father and my sister), they definitely want to come back to me after a while. And when they're upset, I am the only one who can console them. In my naive opinion, this shows me that they are attached, and that they understand that I am their primary caregiver, but they feel secure enough to go to others as long as they know that I'm nearby. I couldn't be happier with this, because while I obviously want them to know that Jon and I are their parents, I also want them to feel secure enough to explore their surroundings.

In general, the twins are doing incredibly well. They still have impressive appetites (Isabel is like a bottomless pit) and will try just about anything. So far, they've eaten avocado, hummus, refried beans, mashed potatoes, pancakes, curry tofu, rice, pineapple, melon, banana, orange, bread, and salt and vinegar potato chips (i know... but they really liked them). Isabel also has a thing for lemons. They do not like egg yolk. at all. ( I cannot blame them for that.)

They've been eating about 3-4 9 ounce bottles of soy formula each day, along with rice cereal, mixed grain cereal, or oatmeal, and a fruit or vegetable 3 times per day. Now that I feel more confident feeding them actual foods, we'll probably expand their diet a little more. I'm hoping to go to the great local vegetable market this weekend to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies so that I can try my hand at making my own baby food.

Izzie and Elijah have also made some good developmental strides these past few weeks. Both kids are pulling themselves up to stand regularly, and they are standing much more steadily. Elijah can wave and say "bye bye" in the appropriate context. Isabel can blink her eyes if you ask her to. Both kids touch their heads when asked "where's your head?"


They're both extremely interactive, and have started playing games. Isabel's favourite thing lately is to push my face away from her until I pretend that I'm sleeping, and then pull it back toward her until I say "boo". She laughs and laughs.

Elijah loves to give big, wet, sloppy kisses. He also shakes his head, and loves it if you do it with him. He is learning what different objects are used for, and will attempt to use them in context. (i.e. he will put the phone to his ear, or try to brush his hair with a comb).

Izzie seems to be very musically oriented. She listens intently to sounds, and loves banging things together to see what kinds of noises they make. She also "sings" almost constantly.

Elijah "talks" quite a bit, and accompanies his speeches with grandiose hand gestures. He definitely has a flair for the dramatic, and I think that one day he will be a great orator!


I'm continually amazed by how they take everything in. Watching them learn and grow is an incredible gift!