Japan

So whose idea was it to take the girls to Japan and why! Perhaps we liked the idea of exposing 350 people to the little bundles of joy for 10 hours on the flight, or a macabre interest in what jet lag does to 8 month old little ones, or perhaps how easy it is (or isn't) to travel for 48 hours across the world and cultures with 25lbs of baby strapped to your chest. In fact all of these turned out to be surprisingly non events. They had fun on the flight although did not sleep, and we lucked out on an getting an extra seat. No problems on the travel front either with everyone including the girls happy for most of our travel time including a one night stay in Tokyo. They then switched immediately to Japan time and slept 12 hours a night except for brief periods of snuffling due to colds picked up on the way.

Some brief highlights of our trip included taking the girls to a swank cafe in a high end department store in Tokyo where the entire staff fell in love with them and on our return trip just about stopped service as a result of our brief second visit. Several lunches in very Japanese restaurants where sitting on the floor at traditional low tables made taking care of the girls a joy. Walking in the CW Nicol Afan woodlan trust in crisp autumn weather, spotting a wild monkey in a tree by the pig field opposite our accommodation in Kurohime, and listening to Zanti's attempts at pig ranching! Eating some of the best apples I have ever tasted, which the girls enjoyed also. Miwako had fun with the girls at their first Japanese hot bath, and we all enjoyed eating excellent Japanese Italian food afterwards. We alos enjoyed a concert piano rendition for Aila and Zanti followed by the girls playing piano for the first time. Last but certainly no least we enjoyed hanging out in this lovely rural area of Japan with Nic, Miwako's dad. Spoilt we most certainly were and did we pay for it when we got back .......... oh yes!



Now I know what jet lag and 8 month olds have in common.. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Solids!

Hi all

So we have moved on to solid food and so now it is feeding time at the zoo, twice daily. So far so good in that both Aila and Zanti will eat just about anything we throw at them, or rather, they throw at themselves! So far so good, when do they start to get fussy I wonder? As you can see from the pics, the both like to hold their spoons and this results in food being spread around a bit (in Zanti's case, or allot in Aila's) on the table, faces, hands, floor, even us if we get too close.

Aila now has her first tooth which came in a week ago and it feels like Zanti will have one soon, so I guess they will be weened in the next month or so to save mum some considerable discomfort. So we also introduced sippy cups, which actually acts as a pre bath time shower but they love trying to sue them and do actually get some fluids where they are meant to go.

Both girls have stopped packing on the pounds and at 7 month now weigh about 20lbs which while big for twins is not so far from allot of singletons. They are chatty chappies always giggling and talking to each other which seems to be more interesting than taking naps, which we now have to fight to get them to take. But, the naps are worth pushing as they then don't become overtired and as a result generally sleep through the night from 7pm to 5 or 6am. This just about saves us from going crazy as while adorable, they are full on and the most exhausting challenge I think we have ever taken on.

Old Nics Visit

Hi all

This months update is largely to do with our time spend in Port Hardy with Nic, Miwako's dad or "grumpy" to the girls. Nic came over from Japan to spend some time with our little ones and we all went up to our house on North Vancouver Island to hang out where the wild things are. This involved trips to watch whales from the beach, coffee at the local espresso place and the odd beer at the local oceanfront pub, which to those of you have been will likely remember. The girls were on best behavior for the ten days and only slightly cranky on the 8 hour car and ferry trip!

The girls now weighing over 18lbs, play together and eat and even sleep at the same time thus making things a lot easier for mum and dad. Having said that they are still a handful when you have them on your own for long periods of time. This is what happened when Nic and I got the chance to visit one of my fish counter sites, a day trip by boat from the next town. We had a great time enjoying some grizzly bear watching while doing my work. The photo is three bears fighting over one pink salmon which is passing over our fish counter.

Meanwhile mum was looking after the girls, who had at that time not yet started solid food, but were showing an interest if misdirected as yet. All in all it was a great time, a rest for Mum most of the days as Nic helped with cooking and the endless washing of feeding bottles and I hope a break for Nic from his busy life in Japan.

Next update is feeding time ............ at the zoo (at least that is what it feels like!)

Don and Miwako

Hi again

As my sister asked for some pics that she took of whales, I have added one to the blog along with a picture of a two grizzly bears and one cub that I took while at work three weeks ago. The girls are going to grow up in a part of the world that is still very wild when they are old enough to figure it out!

Hi all

It's been a couple of weeks since my last confession (oops blog) and things have been a changing. The girls took well to sleeping through the night, well at least from 9pm to 5am and then just as we were getting used to that....what blessed relief, they started teething. I know what your saying, teething at four months, surely not! Be assured they are and so our sleep is once more disrupted as they have a tendency to tag team us with one feeling good and one unhappy.

Luckily for my older sister Carolyn, she arrived about the same time (see pic) and had the joy of sharing their nightly wailings, although Gin and Tonic at sundown and wine with diner seemed pretty good as a sleep aid! I think despite the general chaos she had a good time as summer was with us for the first week and after that she and I escaped to our house on Vancouver Island for a couple of days where she had an opportunity to go whale watching. Killer whales were the target and success made the trip worthwhile. Even saw a pod of about 200 dolphins from the ferry on the way back to Vancouver.

Now we are back on our own and everyone is taking an afternoon nap on our equivalent of a bank holiday.



For those of you interested the girls now weigh in at 18lbs and are 25 inches in length, which puts them the size of an average 6 month old singleton. Must be something in the water! The picture shows how similar they are, especially if as rarely happens they get dressed the same! Guess who is who (answer at end).

Our most recent development is that the girls now sleep apart in separate cribs in the nursery. This helps us to get some sleep and stops one waking the other as they perform night time body slams when woken by their sore teeth. This was hard for Miwako as they were sleeping in our room, but as they are just yards away , we don't miss much and our room suddenly seems so much larger!

Overall though as Carolyn would likely say they are happy kids and a joy to be around as the following pics indicate.





















A. In the shot of both Zanti is on the right, Aila on the left!
So what is the above??????

The girls

Hi all

This is an attempt to provide everyone who is asking for photos and updates on the twins some information in the limited amount of time that we have left at the end of our somewhat chaotic day. Aila and Zanti are now nearly 4 months old, having grown from there impressive birth weight of 6lb 8 and 6lb 13 to a hefty 15lbs! As a result dads back is shot and mum is not in need of any weight training. Growing like weeds would be a good expression!

While identical in genes, they are different enough that we can tell them apart, most of the time and at least when we see them together and now that they generally sleep through the night mistaken identity at 4am is less of an issue!

For now Aila is the observer, and also the one who cries most when she is unhappy, while Zanti has a little world of her own and is often happy to sit in her bouncy chair and giggle at who knows what? But........ I am sure this will all change next week.

Well, as mum has just returned home (yes dad spent the morning on his own with the girls!) and the little monsters are now asleep, I am going to spend some adult time with Miwako.

So for now, I will leave you all with the Zanti position, what grandads are all about!