I made monthly birthday cupcakes for the last time yesterday. Something strange happened with the icing and it went runny: yesterday they looked like this:
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I haven't looked yet to see what happened after a night in the fridge.
I've been finding it hard to read other adoption blogs lately because it seems their babies are so much further ahead. One little girl from Ethiopia has several words at 9 months. A little boy started walking at this age. I know I'm being ridiculous but you know, you always worry that you're not doing enough, and I think it's more so with twins. I notice more and more the times when I would be cuddling and talking with one child - if only his brother didn't need me - and then he doesn't get cuddled either because the first one needs something, or, more likely, I'm tired. Not that they don't get cuddled a lot - but if you're a Mom you know what I mean. It doesn't help when people ask their age, then ask if they are walking and what their first word was, when they are nowhere near either.
Not that they don't have their own bragging rights! Vanh was an early clapper and first to crawl. Max was first to pull himself up and to roll a ball back and forth with someone. They are easy and fun to be with. And of course, they are absolutely adorable.
Here is our schedule:
7:00 up, bottle, diaper, play
8:30 breakfast
9:00 play
10:00 bottle, nap
12:00 diaper,play
12:30 lunch
1:00 play
3:00 bottle, nap
4:00 snack,diaper, play
5:30 supper
6:00 play
7:00 diaper, bottle, bed
The boys are very good at playing - I guess it's all that pratice. We rotate between the front room, family room and outside (if it's nice) and the toys get rotated as well, so things stay interesting. Favourite toys are always whatever's new (yesterday it was a margarine lid and the tear-out bit from a new box of tissues).
The two long naps are nice... And by nice I mean isolated periods of calm when I can do self-absorbed time-consuming tasks like shower and vacuum. Or lay in bed and read. Or even blog. Don't bother phoning, I'm not in.
We will have been a family for 4 months tomorrow. I have 15 months left at home and I intend to treasure every minute of every one.
By the end of that we will be about $50 000 behind where we were when we started. Much of that is in lost wages. For a teacher maternity/ parental benefits don't do much more than cover pension and benefits payments - but how lucky we are to have this option, I'm not complaining, just explaining. Some good news is that the issue of adoptive parents needing a year of leave is working it's way into law:
Private Member's Bill on EI and adoptionSo hopefully that will be sorted out by the time we go back for our next child. Ha ha just kidding. But you never know...
Have a wonderful 11-month birthday my darling, darling little boys!
cupcake photos