Time flies - March 2013



Mya turns 5



Wow, so much has happened since we last wrote.   Where to start. 

We were in Manitoba in July.  We totalled 22 hours of driving, 6 hours the longest drive and the kids were amazing.  In Vancouver, we never really travel for more than 45 minutes at a time.  So I was a little worried, but they rocked.  Snacks helped us make it through.  We were mainly in Brandon, Rivers and Birtle.  We visited with Grandma, Uncles, Cousins and friends.  Mosquitos were not bad, not good but not bad either.  In 7 days, we slept in 4 different places.  It was great having Ward, Myles and Lori help out.  They always make our stays so much easier.  thank you thank you!!

Mya is now 5.5 years old.  She had her birthday in August.  Again she was spoiled by all. We had a picnic party at the Water Park at Granville Island, then a party at the house later. 

In September, she started Kindergarten, she was so excited.  I took the week off as it was gradual entry.  They should really call it snail entry.  Each day we'd go for 30 mins, 45 mins and by the end of the week she was there half a day.  She was placed in a split class (kindergarten and grade 1) and has two teachers.  The first week, the teachers would be accessing each child to determine the best balance for the 3 kindergarten classes.  So she's really been doing well with the split class.  She get's to learn more and has 1 special needs child in the class, Mya has been very helpful with her.  The school has special citations called 'stingers' where children who have done something special get a special note. So far, My has received 9 stingers for being helpful.  We're very proud of her. 

Boys looking a little green at Xmas dinner. 

Before Christmas, we all fell ill to the horrible stomach flu.  Mya came home from school on a Thrusday and we all had it within the week.  And when i say before Xmas I mean the Xmas eve Eli started throwing up at 11pm.  And Neil and I sat there thinking, should we have Eli lick Chase and get it over and done with?  But before you know it Chase was puking within 2 hours.  I slept in their room with the 'puker' at that time on the bed and a bowl while Neil slept on the couch. 

By Christmas morning I was done, waiving the white flag.  I woke up thinking 'that's it, I'm not doing Xmas dinner'.  But later realized when could we do it?  So after a very late morning, poor Mya waited hours to open her gifts as she wanted to wait for her brothers. 

Note to self: next time, just have everyone get it at once and get it over and done with. 

A few days after Xmas we headed off to Maui.  With my sister, Tosa, my mom and dad in tow. We all traveled together and made it to a very rainy Maui.  This was our last trip before the boys turn 2 and we have to pay for their airfares.  As some of you may know, we really like going to Maui.  It's beautiful, not crowded and safe.  This was Mya's 3rd time and the boys and Tosa's 2nd time.  We always have a great time.  Mom and Dad have been before but many many years ago.  We rented an amazing 3 bedroom suite.  It was at the Honua Kai, just north of the Westin we normally stay at.  It rained the first two days but the remaining days were great.  We had a huge kitchen and dining room table for all of us and usually ate at least 1 meal in each day.  The pools were amazing.  We all really enjoyed our time there. 

When we got back we celebrated the boy's second birthday.  They were, again, spoiled.  Both Chase and Eli had a great time.  They are so big now. 

Chase and Eli are very good eaters and adore Mya.  What she says goes.  She has better control over them than I do.  She often takes them up to her room to play and they do everything she says.  One day, I came home from work and went upstairs to change.  She had her door closed and I heard her say: "Ok boys, let's sit down and let's color.  Eli, Eli, Eli, you're not listening to me, look at me - we're coloring, please sit down.  Ok, thank you. "  I knocked on the door and she opened it a crack, she said they were all very busy.  I asked if I could kiss them as I haven't seen them all day.  She reluctantly opened the door a few more inches just enough for me to fit my face in and each one came over to kiss me.  She promptly closed the door and I could hear her say - "ok, now let's color".  She's a great big sister and I only wished I had two little brothers that loved me as much.  

It's now 2 weeks of Spring Break and we're headed to Vancouver Island.  The kids haven't been on a ferry so we thought we'd stay a few nights in Victoria.  We'll meet up with Laurie and Steve, Neil's cousins and catch up with them.  We're excited to explore Victoria as it's been many years since we've been here.  When Neil moved to BC many years ago, this is where he first lived. 

Well, that's enough for now.  Hope to be posting more often.  Tootles and Happy Easter to you and yours. 



Summer 2012

Mya finished daycare in June and was awarded the Principals Award. We are proud of her as all teachers agreed that she was the most helpful with Teachers and other students.  She excelled in all areas. 

In July we headed for a 10 day trip to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  We packed up and only had 6 pieces of luggage/carseats.  With 2 cabs, we headed to the Airport.  We always use a porter as it just makes life easier.  Kids were great on the plane as it's only a 2.5 hour flight.  But then back into the car and 3 hour drive to Rivers, Manitoba.  Thanks to Ward, our lifesaver, who met us with a cooler full of snacks, sandwiches, fruit and drinks.  We spent time in Birtle with Cathy (Neil's mom), Ward, Myles, Lori, Doug, Liz, Aunts and all of neices and nephews.  Neil and I even got out for a round of golf; thanks to Danica and Lori (thanks guys).  We experienced high 30's weather and a day or two of light rain.  Neil's buddy lives in Warman, Saskatchewan and went to visit for a few days.  That was our longest drive 5 hours.  Kids complained a little but I cannot blame them as I did a little too.  When traveling with our boys, snacks are the key.  We estimate that we did about 20 hours of driving.  We estimate that we did about 20 hours of driving.  We stayed in 4 different places so by the time we got back, we were all exhausted, SOOO glad to be home.  

Mya is 'off ' for the summer and spending time with Neil. She's our stellar helper with the boys.  She's so awesome.  When the boys are fighting over a toy, she'll bring one to offer one of them and it always works.  They love her and are always hugging and kissing her.  The boys have developed very distinct personalities.  I always say, Chase is the giver and Eli is ok with that.  Eli is the one who's more demanding and taker.  Whereas Chase is the one who likes to give things to Eli.  When Eli is crying because he fell, Chase will bring him something or try to comfort him.  But overall, the boys get along quite well.  One night about a month ago, it was late, around 10pm and they were in bed and laughing so loud.  I walked in and both were giggling, they had their hands out tickling each others palms.  I was upset that they weren't asleep yet but was so touched at how cute they are.  But I still laid down the law and told them to go to sleep. 

With Mya and the twins, I've kept a pretty tight ship.  Boys go down at 8pm, whether they go straight to sleep or not they go down.  Most times, they'll be asleep within 30 mins.  They sleep usually until 12-13 hours, they nap for 2-3 hours in the afternoon.  Our daily nap routine includes the whole family (except me during the week).  It's quiet time from approx 1-5pm each day.  Mya is slowly phasing out the nap as she'll be in full day kindergarten soon.  But might need a little nap after school, we'll see.  But boys do everything together, I want them to have a very strong bond.  So we've kept them on the same schedule from day one.  Both are good eaters but Eli can be picky.  Chase is a protein lover, where Eli - not as much.  The quantity of food they eat is a lot.  I'm happy that all of the kids are good eaters and better sleepers. 

So the summer is almost over and before you know it Halloween and Christmas will be here.  We are always so thankful everyone is healthy and happy. 

Mya's birthday post to follow soon. 

April 2012? No way, I guess I blinked.

As I write this blog, I cannot believe tomorrow is May.  I have neglected to post a few events... 

First my 40th birthday.  Turning 40 seemed so distant before, and now I feel that 40 has snuck up on me and given me slap in the face.  A day like all others, but great spending it the kids then with the rest of my family and my BFF's for dinner.  My BFF Veronica, aka Nica, and I went to Vegas for our birthdays and we shopped, ate, drank and shopped some more.  Dinner at Michael Mina's and seeing Mystiere and La Reve, were my highlights.  We were even pulled into the show at Mystiere.  Nica didn't like it but all good fun.  My first time away from the 3 kids was definitely odd.  Neil was great and Mya was awesome, helping Daddy with bathing the boys. 

January 17 - the boys first birthday, yes, you heard me their birthday.  We had the boys sample some oversized cupcakes.  As they didn't know what to do when a big cupcake was placed infront of them, it took a while for them to dig in.  By the end with all of the cameras flashing away and odd tasting food, Eli was not amused.  But Chase was quite enjoying his new experience.  Thanks all for your generous gifts.  They were spoiled. 

Maui vacation

After our first getaway to Manitoba in August, we felt pretty good. Though we had a lot of help from Ward (Neil's brother), we thought 10 days in Maui would be great. So we enlisted Tosa, my sister, to come along. Actually, she wanted to come. But she's also the one that comes over every other night for bath night.

So on November 26, we flew direct to Maui, while Tosa met us there. It would have been nice to have another set of hands as we passed our our boys to 4 other willing travelers a few times. People are more willing when they are stranded and have nothing else better to do. Mya was great and the boys were pretty good. Eli cried for 5 minutes but otherwise was good.

We stayed at a Westin vacation ownership resort so it had all the amenities including full kitchen. It was great, most days we swam in the pools, or were at the kid's pirate ship or on the beach. Boys didn't like the beach as they didn't enjoy the sand. We kept them on the same routine and each day the kids napped well. The first day that the boys were in the pool, they took a 3.5 hour nap. We visited the Plantation, took a ride on the Sugar Cane Steam Train and visited the Banyan tree, Front Street and Whaler's Village. It was relaxing and fun.

It seemed that most people we met had a twin relation or were just really excited about twins. Most everywhere we went we were in conversation with someone about the boys. We usually try to get Mya in the conversation if she hadn't come up. I was speaking to a honeymooning couple from Edmonton and we were talking about the boys and how she was missing her son. Then Mya came over to ask me something, and the woman said in surprise "how many kids do you have?" I said just the 3. It was funny to me as I usually see larger families in the states.

Upon return it was a late flight, so we hoped that the kids would sleep the whole time. They didn't quite sleep the whole flight but they did well. The passenger behind us even said that he thought the boys did well. Thankfully we had 6 seats for the 5 of us. Lucky!

Life as we know it has been great. When people see me with the boys, they always say something like 'double trouble' or 'wow you have your hands full'. I always comment that we're lucky as the boys are great; they eat and sleep well. They sleep 12 hours through the night and take a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. They eat so well, that Neil might have to get another job, preferably for a supermarket or food distributor. This pic is what the boys ate POST-breakfast; eggs, pancakes, papaya and melons. They'd eat this right after protein baby food and a serving of fruit and yogurt.

We generally don't refer to them as the twins, we just call them the boys or the babies. Sometimes, we forget we have 3 great kids and I have to pinch myself. Mya has been so wonderful, she's a great help. Singing to her brothers when they are fussing in the car or getting them toys. We always say she's great 99% of the time, the 1% is when she doesn't want to share her toys or mommy/daddy. But that happens when you have another baby but she got 2, so we have to cut her some slack.

The boys are crawling and cruising (walking with the help of furniture). Eli is the dare devil and Chase is mellow and laid back. Chase is talking more and can wave and clap his hands upon request (in Chinese and English). Eli can clap as well. Both are very happy and are always laughing. The other day I went to get them in the morning and they were laughing in their cribs.

Mya is taking swimming and soccer lessons. In soccer, she's the only girl in a class of 7. She's very funny and has some good one liners going (thanks to her dad). She's definitely a thinker, she always has suggestions for example: I said that I almost fell, she'll say: 'you should be more careful'.

With the help of our families and friends, we've had it good. We have date night about once a month. Neil went away for his 40th birthday for a golfing trip in May and I'm headed to Vegas with my dear friend Veronica in Feb. So we certainly cannot complain, life is great. We have been blessed.

Life with twins...so far - March 2011

Neil's mom and brother, Ward, came out when the boys were 5 weeks old. It was nice to have someone to pass the boys to and take a nap. By this time, we've established a routine. Since coming home from the hospital, they sleep for 4 hours at night. So it's not so bad. Eli is definitely my squeeky wheel. He gets mad quicker and Chase is more easy going. We still occassionally have a tough time telling them apart if they are apart. Chase has a small little 'mosquito bite' on his right ear. One late night when they were only a few weeks old, I walked into the room and asked Neil who he had, he replied "does it really matter?".

The boys are now 10 weeks old and I cannot believe it, time has blazed by. Chase is 11lbs 14ozs and Eli is 10lbs 11ozs. They are huge. As Mya is only 28 lbs, they'll be passing her soon.

Mya is still in daycare until 1pm, when Neil get's off work, he picks her up and we have a very important family nap.

Everyone naps, including mom and dad. Neil starts work very early (5am) so he's ready for a nap by 2, 3pm. I've been able to get out and do errands to get some alone time. My family has been very helpful. Tosa is over almost

everyday, she's definitely here for baths. And my mom & dad take Mya to daycare Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

A few weeks ago, Neil and I took Mya to see Cirque du Soleil's Qudaam. My mom and sister, Cheryl took the boys for a few hours. It was nice to spend some alone time with Mya. She liked most of it but was ready to go by the end.

We've had a lot of visitors and welcome everyone to come meet the boys and to see Mya. Hopefully, you'll take us up on it. See you all soon.

The Twins Chapter

x On that beautiful day in May 2010, we were headed to an ultrasound to find out when to expect our second baby. We had Lori Kiesman (sister in law), and her two daughters; Danica and Janel. We thought we'd go to dinner after so we had everyone waiting. I went in and the technician, immediately commented - "Hmmm". A little worried as I didn't know what "hmm" meant, I asked her if everything was ok. She said yes, but I "think" you're having twins. I said "are you sure?" and in my mind I was thinking "how can you say think? You should know when you say things like that" I asked her to check to be sure. She showed me her screen and pointed out two little blinking lights on her screen, two heart beats. We had just found out I was pregnant and now to find out that it was twins. Luckily I was laying down already. For the next 20 minutes, Neil and Mya sat in the waiting room, watching as others came and went. Finally, she called them in and I said to Neil "we're having twins", he innocently said "what?" He knew that something was up as he had been waiting so long but had no idea it would be this. I must admit I was freaking out a little as I didn't know what to do with two babies. Whereas, Neil was a little more enthusiastic. Neil brought in Lori and the girls, he showed them the pic from the Ultrasound and they all screamed with excitement. It was a blurr, I don't know what happened that night, I remember where we went for dinner but don't know what and if I ate anything. A few weeks later, we found out the sex, but Neil wanted to keep it a secret. As they were identical it would only be two boys or two girls. But on November 26 in an outlet store in the US, I was busted. My sister, Cheryl, caught me in the line-up at a clothing store holding baby boys clothes. My pregnancy was very smooth but they had a very close eye on me as the twins shared the same amniotic sac and often one baby will end up smaller than the other. I developed gestational diabetes at week 34 and had it under control by week 36 with diet. Full term for twins is considered 34 weeks. So I was doing everything I could to make sure I packed on their weight before they came. By the end I was at the Women's hospital twice a week for non-stress tests and ultrasounds. I knew everyone by first name. I had only gained 22.5lbs and felt good. Though it was getting hard to get comfortable in bed at night. I stopped working at 36 weeks which was the end of the year. So for a few weeks I enjoyed my time off and did special things with Mya. As twin B the bigger one and top one was a lot bigger, I couldn't deliver vaginally. They were concerned I would deliver the bottom one and the second one be too big and have to go to c-section. And I was for sure not going to do both deliveries. I wanted a vaginal delivery but wasn't stupid. So we scheduled the c-section on Monday, January 17. I was a little worried as I had never had major surgery before but I had a wonderful doctor. At 8:30 am and 8:31 am our boys arrived. Elias Arthur Wotton weighed 6lbs 14ozs and Chase Kenneth Wotton was 7lbs 9ozs. (Eli is Neil's Great Grandfather Wotton and Arthur was his Grandpa Wotton and Kenneth is Neil's dad's name, who passed on two years ago) They were very large for twins. My doctor was so surprised by Chase's weight he held him up for me to see, though I specifically asked not to see any blood. Minutes after wheeling me into recovery they had me tandem breast feeding. Everything happened so quickly, I didn't really know what I was doing. Both boys, looked a lot alike, but luckily the size difference was our saving grace. We stayed in the hospital until Thursday night, Neil was releaved we could go home and I was worried. Now what? I can't push a call button at home and have someone come to help me. But I had to face the reality that I eventually had to go home. I was so sore from the c-section that I had to try 4 times to get into our SUV. Mya was at my mom's the whole time, each day she'd come visit me a few times. She was such a trooper. I was glad to be home, our poor dog was giddy to have us home too. Now on to real life.

The Xmas Card

Wow, another year has passed and a lot has happened since a year ago.

In May we found out that we were expecting twins. There is history of fraternal twins on both Wotton and Wong sides but we are having identical twins. When we found out, Lori Kiesman and Danica Wotton happened to be in Vancouver with us. I was headed to my first ultrasound appointment and then we would go for dinner. At my ultrasound, the lab tech first told me that she ‘thought’ I ‘might’ be having twins. And I told her not to think and to be sure. And sure enough she showed me two little beating hearts on the monitor. For the next 20 minutes, I was excited, scared and everything in between. I had to think from one child to twins; aka double trouble. When they finally let Neil and Mya in, Neil had suspected something as he had to wait a long time but didn’t expect what I was about to tell him; twins, identical twins. I was 8 weeks along and am due at the end of January. I had had a great pregnancy, as my doc would say, not major issues. I have gestational diabetes but it’s minor and managed by diet. There are 4 classifications of twin pregnancy based on risk and my pregnancy is considered a 2nd highest risk. But we’re doing really well. And the doc expects me to carry to 38 weeks without any major issues. I’ve been feeling good and plan on working until the end of the year.

Mya is very excited to welcome ‘her babies’ soon. She says that she wants to help; she’ll check the diapers and if they smell, she’ll give them to me to change and she’ll the other ones. She wants to feed and bathe them as well. Last week, when we went to see Santa all she asked for was a bathtub for her baby and she told Santa to get something for the twins. We think that she’ll be a great big sister.

This summer, we went to Uncle Pete and Marie’s 50th wedding anniversary in Stoney Plain, Alberta, just outside of Edmonton. We were able to visit with everyone and Mya quite enjoyed her time with Rob Robertson’s kids; Jessica, Nicole and Zack. Mya was also able to visit with Grandma Cathy; she was very excited as she misses her Grandma. It was great to see Pete and Marie with all of the family and friends; Congratulations again for the first 50 years Pete (or as Mya calls him ‘ Trouble’) and Marie.

In July we went to Seattle for a mini vacation; Mya went to her first Seattle Mariners game and was able to run the bases after the game. We also went to Pike Place Market, the Zoo and the Space Needle.

Our little girl turned 3 in August, she’s really grown so quickly. The other day she said to us, that she’d like the twins to be little girls, but if they were boys she’d be okay with that. A few days ago, while Neil and Mya were decorating the Christmas Tree, she said she saw her Grandpa Ken. And that he was watching her, it happened to be Ken’s birthday. She said she misses him and so do we.

From our family to yours, we wish you a healthy and happy 2011.

With love always,

Neil, Kerensa, Mya and Mac (our 4 legged first born)

Check out our family blog at www.wottonfamily.blogspot.com