The Turkettes Take On Rocky Harbour

Our first stop on our trip was to the beautiful Gros Morne National Park! This picture is a tradition my best friend Jen Frendo and I started back in 2004 when we first started traveling out East to visit National Parks of Canada.

We stayed at the Gros Morne Cabins in the small town, Rock Harbour, located inside Gros Morne National Park! It was a great set up as we were right on the water and had a living room, full kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. They also have laundry facilities and a grocery store so it was very convenient for us to do the girls laundry (wow, two kids make a lot of mess!) and grab and food items we might need to snack on.

The cabin had beautiful quilts that were great for the girls to play on when they had some much needed tummy time! The poor girls went from car seat, to stroller, to baby carrier!!

Hi Sister!

Abigail Hanging out on the quilt

Loving our time in Rocky Harbour

On our second day in Gros Morne we took the girls on the Western Brook Pond Boat Tour. This required us to hike 3km into the boat launch area before going on a two hour boat ride. The view was amazing and the girls lasted about half the boat ride before falling asleep!

The Gang on the Boat Tour

Enjoying the great view of Western Brook Pond

Sleeping on the boat

The Whole Family!

Even though we asked a lot of the girls and carted them all over Gros Morne National Park, the Turkettes were fantastic and had a great time! Smiles all around!

To The Rock We Go!

Our past road trips with the girls seem to pale in comparison to the adventure we have ahead of us, flying to Newfoundland for a week long vacation with the girls and my parents! The hardest part about packing for this trip is that EVERYTHING you need to pack must fit into your suitcases for the plane. There is no room for error and no thought of "I'll just leave this in the car, just in case". Predicting what two babies will need for an eight day excursion with unpredictable weather can be tricky. When traveling to Newfoundland you always have to remember that there is no humidity and always a chance of rain....a perfect place to travel to with 7 month old twins! Some how once we had packed up the car with the girls and our luggage we came to the realization that we had more room in our car than any previous road trip. Huh?

After a well planned stay over night in TO at the Comfort Inn Toronto Airport, we were able to pack up, have a hot breakfast, feed the girls and make it to the airport looking calm and refreshed (okay I may be slightly exaggerating).

The first part of our adventure begins with the girls first flight! Not wanting to be "those parents with the crying baby" on a two hour plus flight, we picked a morning flight when the girls were likely to be napping! This worked out well in our favour as both girls slept through take off.

Here are some things we learned from flying with the Turkettes.

1. Baby formula or breast milk are the only liquids you are allowed to bring on the flight in excess of 100mL. The flight attendants will warm your bottles for you any time during the flight!

2. Babies are allowed two baby items (e.g. car seat, play yard, stroller) but no carry on or luggage.

3. While you are allowed to keep and use your stroller right up until you board the plane, we found it a lot easier to use our Baby Bjorn baby carrier and just wear the girls. This allowed us to have both of our hands free especially helpful while boarding the plane and putting our carry on luggage away.

4. There is only one infant allowed per row due to there only being 4 oxygen masks per row, so Shawn and I had to sit in consecutive rows with our own baby.

5. (Thank you Mom for this) Having a soother clip was a big bonus because we a) always knew where their soother was and b) didn't have to worry about it falling on the floor or losing it. Soothers or drinking during take off or landing is recommended for babies since they don't know how to pop their ears on their own and this can be really painful. Both the girls took their soothers for take off and landing and had no discomforts.

6. Dressing the girls in a sleeper was great for the plane as we didn't have to worry about them getting cold, socks falling off and it was much easier when trying to change a diaper in the small little airplane bathroom. (that is a skill all on it's own!) Only the washroom in the back of the plane has a change table so it was easier to be seated closer to the back of the plane. Having small children allows you to board the plane earlier if you wish, but we just let everyone go first and tried to board the plane near the end so we had less time sitting on the plane.

7. Our Westjet flight attendants were awesome! They met with us to give us specific instructions regarding flying with infants and even gave the girls "First Flight" stickers! Our Little Westjetters did a great job flying! Looks like a trip out to Calgary to visit Auntie Michelle might be possible!!!

How Goes the Feeding Frenzy??

Ever since we've introduced the world of solids to the Turkettes, meal time isn't the only thing that has gotten more interesting! The diaper genie continues to work it's magic even though it's on overdrive! 

Since the girls' first introduction to Flavour Town we've slowly been introducing more foods with mixed reviews from the Turkettes. Avocado was a huge hit the first day, then Abigail started making the worst gagging noises and funniest faces every time she ate it! She virtually refused to swallow if avocado was in her mouth! Even attempting to have her drink water (in hopes of sneaking down some avocado) was met with some resistance! To say Molly LOVES avocado would be a huge understatement. Other than rice cereal and formula, avocado is easily one of Molly's favourite foods!

Recent additions to meal times in the highchair include:
Prunes (both liked)
Strawberries (both liked)
Oatmeal (both liked)
Carrots again (neither really liked them)
Strawberries/Banana (both liked)
Chicken with Broth: in the jar (no luck, they still don't like chicken!!)

There have been a few times we have had to do a little tom foolery when it comes to feeding the Turkettes. Today for example, Abigail was able to each almost 2 tablespoons of avocado if I mixed it in with her rice cereal!! Surprise!! Putting a bit of avocado in front of carrots fools Molly almost every time!! 

Peas have been the latest addition to the repertoire and both girls seem to really like them! Success! 

More vegetables is our next conquest in the high chair! Zucchini and some sweet potatoes! More fun times and great faces ahead!!

Swim Baby Swim!

Yesterday we had a great visit from the Hill Family! What started as "just getting the girls' feet wet" as Tank and Tankini swam in the pool, turned into a full family swim a few minutes later! A sun hat, some sunscreen and a swim diaper was all it took for the Turkettes to explore the new world of the backyard pool!

 

Daddy + Abby, Hiller, Tank + Tankini, Mommy + Molly

Did you know that swim diapers are designed to be removed by ripping the seam on both sides? Thank you Amy for teaching me this trick as wrestling a baby out of a wet swim diaper is not in my current parenting skill set.

Today the girls went for their second dip in the pool on a very hot day! Looking forward to many more swims!

Bananas and Carrots and Chicken, OH MY!

For approximately two weeks the girls have been hanging out in what Guy Fieri likes to call Flavour Town. After successfully mastering rice cereal we have tried with various success to introduce chicken, carrots and bananas to the girls' repertoire! Here is how our attempts have panned out.

FOOD                ABIGAIL                MOLLY

rice cereal              good                       good   

chicken                   bad                         bad       

carrots                   so-so                      bad     

bananas                  good                       so-so     

We are currently on a steady diet of bottle for breakfast, rice cereal for early lunch, new food trial for late lunch, bottle for late dinner. Food next up for trial in Flavour Town include peas, chicken with broth (since ours didn't pass the taste test, we're hoping another kind will!) and avocados!

 Molly contemplates bananas!

 Abigail shares her views on bananas!

Who Are You? Who Who, Who Who!

"How can you tell them apart?" A popular question we get asked about the Turkettes. Early on, the girls were easily distinguished by the full pound and full head of hair Abigail had over Molly. In recent weeks however, Molly's hair has grown, she is now the same length as her sister and only one ounce lighter. At their six month check up the girls weighed in just over 15 pounds! Although identical, the girls have their own smile, personality, food preferences and favourite songs.

Perhaps this is the teacher in me coming out, but while the girls will always have a strong bond as twins, I want them to be able to be an individual as well. This becomes a challenge when no one knows who you are!! "Who am I holding?" "Which one have I go?" "Hi, Baby!" "Hi Molly and Abigail!" Are just a few of the generic phrases the girls get when people can't tell them apart. I've done a few tricks to help others determine who is who such as always putting Molly in pink and putting Abigail in purple or whatever colour the other matching outfit came in! I try to put them in the stroller or their bouncy seats on the same side or always give Abigail the purple soother. We received two different gifts with the girls' names on them (an awesome picture of their name in cartoon characters and a Baptismal present) that we hung above their cribs so everyone knows who sleeps where. But at the end of the day, these little strategies only work in context and aren't helpful on a day to day basis.

We decided to go for a more consistent visual for friends, family and the girls' future teachers! A quick trip to Caryl Baker Visage at the Pen Centre and the girls are looking stunning with their new pierced ears. 

I make it sound so easy don't I! LOL Thanks to our friends Dave and Natalie who gave us the Baptismal present for the girls of their first earrings. We decided to give Molly pink earrings and Abigail purple earrings. The reasons we choose Caryl Baker Visage is because of their great reputation and the fact that they pierce both ears at the same time. One pinch, one cry and then it's over. I'll admit there was a few times that I thought the idea was a little ridiculous. Actually not that long ago when my own earrings were bothering me one day, I recall thinking to myself what a stupid idea getting your ears pierced was. Who actually thought of the idea of stabbing your flesh so you could wear a piece of metal through it would be fashionable. The few perks that made it easier for us to get the girls' ears pierced included the fact they'll never remember it happening and that they will be too young to play with their earrings or pull them out. Alas, here we are and now all three of the girls in our household have different coloured studs.

I'm pretty sure we were more traumatized than Molly and Abigail. Daddy was a trooper as he was the one who had to hold the girls with their arms down while one lady held their head and the other two ladies simultaneously pierced their ears. The girls reacted similar to their needles and then were smiling up a storm oblivious of their new bling!

Now a little daily cleaning with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip for both ears, a turn of the earrings and we're all set for taking care of our piercings! Determining which Turkette you're holding has never been so easy! Check out how cute the girls look!

 Molly looking cute in pink!

Abigail showing off her purple earrings!

Feeding Time Just Got Messy!

The 6 Month milestone was a big one for the Turkettes! Current talents include grabbing their toes, rolling over with ease, manipulating their soother in and out of their mouths and intensely playing in their exersaucers. Awake time has never been so fun!!

After attending an Ontario Early Years Centre session on Infant Feeding, and our 6 month doctor's appointment and vaccination, the girls were ready to begin life beyond just formula! We decided to start with rice cereal that you add formula or breast milk to. My logic was that it would at least taste similar to what they were familiar with and hopefully be an easy transition for them. After reading countless labels at the grocery store, I settle on the PC Organics Brand of Rice Cereal because it had the least amount of ingredients! 

Armoured with bibs and strapped in their new high chairs (thank you Auntie Michelle) the girls were ready to go for their first step into the world of solids! I'm not sure who enjoyed the experience more, us or the girls. It was amazing to see how quickly their learning curve was. Soon we had little mouths opening wide for coloured spoons and making the cutest faces of confusion once the spoon had left their mouth leaving the cereal behind!

Molly and Abigail enjoying their first feeding of rice cereal!