Life With Evan & James

We’re Back!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:10:10 -0400

Due to some problems with my computer, I’ve been away from this blog for several weeks now. But I’m back and I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do. A month in is a long time in the life of a pair of one-year-olds. Evan and James turned one at the beginning of March and we had a brunch to celebrate the occasion. Some friends and family came over to spoil the boys and watch the cupcake show. Evan and James smeared cake into their hair and faces on cue, just like good little birthday boys

Evan Can Walk Too!

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:11:09 -0500

Monday was a new holiday here in Ontario: Family Day. Evan marked the occasion by walking across the room on his own for the first time! In true Evan fashion, he did it without making any fuss. His face was calm, as if he had done it a hundred times before. Is it possible that Evan secretly practices his walking skills as the rest of us snore away at night? So, as the boys’ first birthday approaches, we officially have two walkers. It’s incredibly exciting. And scary. This business of learning

Still in the Lucky Group

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:16:06 -0500

When Mike and I first began our adventure into the sometimes scary world of infertility treatment I became a little obsessed with statistics and probability. I asked every specialist we saw about our “chances” of conceiving, wrote down all of their answers, and we used this information to make choices about which medical approach to take. Mike had surgery to increase our chances, I had a full range of tests, pokes and prods, and we finally settled on IVF as our best option, with a few additions

Prince Evan

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:27:05 -0500

At first glance, Evan seems like a mild-mannered, unassuming little guy. In a lot of ways that’s true. So long as a few simple conditions are met (food, sleep, and affection, for example), Evan is a happy baby. But meeting Prince Evan’s conditions is not always easy. For example, did you know that Evan has had the master bedroom at our house for over two months? That’s right. James sleeps in the nursery, Mike and I sleep on the pull-out sofa in the office, and little, innocent Evan has the entir

The New 9 to 5

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:52:12 -0500

Evan and James have been such a pleasure lately. I swear it’s getting easier to take care of them all the time. I don’t know if I’m totally jinxing myself by saying that. I wish there had been some kind of way for me to see into the future when the babies were newborns. Those early days/weeks/months were SO crazy, and I honestly never believed that one day I’d be smiling and laughing from morning until night with my 11-month-olds. Okay, maybe I’m not smiling and laughing the whole day long, but

Best Friends, Finally

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:55:53 -0500

After months of waiting and wondering, it has finally happened. Evan and James have discovered each other and become best friends. When the boys were little newborns I remember asking other parents of twins when their babies became aware of their counterparts. Answers ranged from four to seven months, and I heard heart-warming stories of babies holding hands, sleeping arm in arm, cooing and smiling into each other’s faces. I couldn’t wait to see Evan and James bonding in these ways. Even though

It’s a Miracle! He Can Walk!

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:35:52 -0500

It’s official. James can walk. Despite my best efforts to dissuade him over the last few weeks, James was on a mission to learn this life-changing skill and there really was no stopping him. So in my mind, James is basically a teenager now. I think he plans to go for his driver’s license next week. I have no idea what happened to that little six-pound baby I brought home from the hospital in March. Other than his chubby cheeks, I can see no trance of that tiny little guy in James. At 26 lbs each

How to Take Your Twins to a Restaurant

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:11:16 -0500

Last Saturday Mike and I decided to take the babies to a restaurant for the first time. Truthfully, this is something we’ve been putting off for a long time. I’ve heard of these mythical babies who eat in restaurants but I could just never imagine a way to make it work with two babies. It just seemed so complicated and potentially stressful, and possibly not worth the trouble. How were we going to keep two babies happy during dinner? How would we prevent them from performing their usual table tr

Happy New Year, Babies

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:54:12 -0500

Well, I took down the tree today so I guess Evan and James’ first Christmas is officially winding down. Except that there are still six or seven toys in the basement they haven’t even played with yet. The babies were so wonderfully spoiled by their adult relatives that we’ve decided to hold back a few toys and bring them out one at a time over the coming weeks so they can enjoy them individually. Christmas will just keep on coming until their first birthday in March, I guess. I’m happy to repor

Countdown to the Babies’ First Christmas

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:48:47 -0500

Mike and I can barely contain our excitement these days. We’re full of anticipation about Evan and James’ first Christmas. Will they like their presents (little, pretend phones)? Will they enjoy Christmas dinner? Will they even realize that there is anything significant about the day at all?! This time last year Mike and I felt like the luckiest people in the world, with two babies on the way. We named our boys very early on, around 12 weeks into my pregnancy, so by the time Christmas rolled ar

Evan & James Meet Santa (a suspicious stranger with a white beard)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:48:36 -0500

This morning Mike and I took the boys to meet Santa Claus. We were SOO excited and at the same time we were nervous, having heard many horror stories of hysterical children leaping from Santa’s lap. Evan was cool as a cucumber - he didn’t even notice he was sitting on a stranger’s knee until the last photo. James was suspicious of Santa from the beginning but he managed to keep it together, with a bit of encouragement. We had to keep him from pulling Santa’s beard by giving him a candy cane, wh

Up, Up, and Away

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:55:35 -0500

Historically, James is our trail blazer when it comes to developmental milestones. Evan likes to bide his time, observe his brother, practice tricks when nobody is looking, and then surprise us when we least expect it. This week he surprised us by pulling himself up to standing. You can really see the difference between our boys in this video. When I caught James on tape pulling himself up in his crib a month ago he gave the camera a huge, proud smile. Evan, on the other hand, is too modest to

James Can Crawl

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:14:32 -0500

I almost forgot to report James’ latest trick! As of a couple of weeks ago, he’s crawling, climbing, and doing all kinds of dangerous things. I wake up in a cold sweat some nights, worrying that sky diving is next on his list. This video will show you why we’ve bumped “baby proofing” to the top of our to-list.