Arrivederci Emma Blog!

And so it comes to an end. Final preparations are being made to get Lill and Emma to the airport and begin a journey for Lill which has been years in the making. I can only imagine the kind of experience this will be for her, and I'm both happy and proud that she is finally doing this long awaited pilgrimmage.

This blog started out as a promise to myself to chronicle Emma's first few months of her life. I had wanted to do the same with the twins, but at the time, it was either take care of the twins or write a journal! But this time I was more experienced and had more time (one baby instead of two) so the writing began...and to my amazement and joy, I also found that I was also adding stories and events about the twin's birth and growth, too. And then Lill joined the writing team and she added her breadth and depth to the whole thing....

For us, this blog has grown beyond anything I could've imagined. Those of you who have read these words I thank you for sharing this with us, and for your kind comments about the blog. Knowing that there's also been a select audience to our journal has made it more special, because sharing our thoughts and stories with those around us has made the whole experience more memorable.

And so I say, with some sadness, I will miss Emma Blog. It has been like a friend to me, it has been a fantastic growing experience, and most of all, it has been a pleasure!!!

Goodbye, old friend!

ODD SPOT: Did you know that the first month of Odd Spots came from the plastic backing of Libra Regular Ultra Thin pads!!!

P.S: And so the final secret has been revealed!!!

Fly By!

Last night in the bathroom, a fly so big that you could put a saddle on, came in and whizzed about, taunting us with its wings buzzing so loudly, I thought there was a Cessina prop plane in the room with us!!! And by us, I mean the whole family! Yep, the family that bathrooms together, stays together!!! Anyway, Jessica was sitting on the toilet when this buzzing monster started to hover above her. Well, you should've heard her scream and shout! Lill quickly got the fly spray...and handed it to me! I'd just finished shaving, and I didn't have my glasses handy, so I used The Force and guestimated where the fly was, by its buzzing and this large blur whizzing by my peripheral vision! Lill and the girls said I actually got it, which I was chuffed about, and then we exited the bathroom for the night to let that giant thingie go through its death throes in relative peace and quiet.

So this morning, while I'm at work, Lill tells me that both girls got up and needed to use the bathroom together. So Sarah wanted to use the toilet first, and so she suggested to Jessica to use the potty. Well, just as Jessica is about to use it, guess what's sitting at the bottom of that potty with its hairy legs pointing in the air!!?? Yep, Mr. Giant Dead Fly! And again, you should've heard Jessica scream and shout! Even in death, this thing taunts her!! And Sarah, like the little mum she is, says camly and soothingly, "That's alright, Jessica. You use my toilet now."

And to think, the next three weeks these two will be my constant companions!!! Pity the blog ends tomorrow. Ah well, there's always the next blog I'm setting up [sounds of my wife screaming in Maltese Falcon style, "WHAT!!??"]

ODD SPOT: "Cemetery" comes from a Greek word meaning, "Sleeping Place"

P.S: This smacks of being shades of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"...

Final Score

No Jessica last night, as she decided to spend the night at my in-laws. She really loves her Nannu (English: grandpa!)! Things are a lot quieter when the twins are seperated. And it gave me some time with Sarah and Emma, too. Especially because Emma will be away for 3 weeks! I wonder how much she'll change? Just yesterday, Emma went to the health nurse and these are her stats to date:

Weight: 5.735kg
Height: 63cm
Head Circumference: 39cm

Apparently, she's still on the small side, almost a kilo less than the twins were at this age, but the twins were bottlefed and supplemented with formula, which is a lot heavier than breast milk. There's nothing to worry about, and Emma's early foray into solids should help change things for the heavier in the next few weeks.

Sarah's very much a homebody, like me! It takes a bit of effort and cajoling to get her to stay with my in-laws. However, she loves my parents, especially my mother. I have a feeling I may find myself travelling between two sets of parents a lot just so each girl can spend the night with their favourite grandparent! And so the taxi service begins... You know, I can see myself actually looking forward to them getting their driver's license!!! But not quite yet! Let's not have them grow up quite so fast...!!!

ODD SPOT: German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.

P.S: Imagine the poor schmuck who initiated the fatal flush...!!!

Girls On Film

Last night I finally transferred video from our camcorder to the computer, and created a DVD out of it. Lill and I had a bit of a watch, and it was just the funniest and most amazing thing! The video footage goes back as far as May this year, and the twins have grown up so much since then! They've lost quite a bit of their baby fat and their voices are now not so high pitched, but it was soooo cute to watch their little personalities in play and listening to them talk and interact. And Emma's growth has been phenomenal, too! She's gone from this tiny precious thing to this lovely, happy, smiley, noisy thing! Just too much! Apart from the fact we now have good memories stored digitally, we've also now had the opportunity to look back and see them growing from a different perspective!

ODD SPOT: Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."

P.S: And what about his cousin, "Finocchio"...!!??

Luverly Lunch!

Lovely Sunday afternoon! Lill and I had lunch at The Conservatory at the Crown. The buffet was nice, and even the music was palatable - the Michael Buble wannabe band was actually doing okay, as long as they stuck to Michael Buble covers, but when they ventured out to do Rod Stewart's, "Tonight's The Night", well...let's just say I'm glad I wasn't eating seafood!!! The twins were at my in-laws, and we only had Emma. Of course, she was an instant hit with the crowd. She looked like a little princess in the white gown and the white headband. And of course, that winning toothless smile...the Buble wannabe band was a poor second when it came to entertaining the masses!!

Only five more days before Lill and Emma go overseas. And five more days before the blog ends. Mmmm...

ODD SPOT: The saying "it's so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from when they had old cannons like ones used in the Civil War. The cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid formation, called a brass monkey. When it got extremely cold outside, they would crack and break off... Thus the saying.

P.S: Always wanted to know that...!!!

Fast Food

Had a chance to feed Emma some solids tonight! I fed her some Apple and Strawberry puree stuff and you should see her face, it was like that guy who won the competition in the Uncle Toby's Fruit Rollups commercial!!! But eat it she did...

Put a deposit down for a hire costume for the Christmas work party. The theme is...superheroes and villians! The costume I chose...Spiderman! Okay, the only reason why I mention this is because when they're old enough to read this I want the kids to see that dad isn't just this quaint old fuddy duddy, but an interesting dude with a checkered past and therefore worthy of their admiration and respect...okay, a guy can dream, can't he!!??

The twins are at their grandparents tonight, which means Lill and I may actually sleep in tomorrow! Sleeping in...what a strange concept!

ODD SPOT: The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means, "the king is dead".

P.S: I'm sure I could work an Elvis joke into this...

Love Hurts!

Emma drew first blood!!! Her fingernails grow so fast, we can't keep up with trimming them. Last night, I was playing with those bubble cheeks of hers, when in a squeal of delight (her, not me) she grabbed my chin and raked me with her talons! I didn't even realise I was bleeding until I saw some of it on her jumpsuit! Cheeky thing! My girls are so rough! As per usual, they get these violent tendencies from their mother!!! I hope it doesn't leave a scar...

ODD SPOT: The word philatelist (stamp collector) stems for the Latin phase "Happy to avoid paying taxes".

P.S: I've always wanted to be a philatelist...!!!