It Takes the Village, People

Back in October I spoke with a colleague that found herself in the same family situation several years ago. Similar to me and Ryan, she had a toddler-age daughter and was expecting twin boys. When she found out I was expecting twins her face dropped and she said, "You're going to need a lot of help." Judging by the tone of her voice, this was no joke.

My friend Kristy is a twin. I spoke with her mom, who said she raised her twins pretty much by herself in northwest Canada in the winter. I said, "Wow, that must have been hard." And she responded, "Yeah, and I got divorced two years later."

So Ryan and I called in the infantry: Grandma Fox, Grandpa Mike & Grandma Renee, Grandpa Joe & Grandma Barbara sprinkled with a lot of friends and our helper Mheng. Ryan and I know our limits and we knew that three kids under the age of three was enough to make our heads spin. When someone asked if we needed help, we set our pride aside and said an emphatic YES!

We are so thankful to everyone that has lent a hand, whether at the 2am feedings or a few hours on a Sunday afternoon or during The Witching Hours of 6pm - 9pm (also aptly named by Grandma Renee as "Whackamole Hour"). We don't have pictures of everyone, but here's a little sample of all the help we've received.

And now, more cute pics of our kids.

"I got this!" says Owen as he holds his own bottle.

Next milestone: potty training in week 8!

Who's putting who to sleep?

True to her top model career at Fairchild Academy, Madeline landed the
first picture in the email advertisement for their Spring program.

This hair is no joke. I only washed it, didn't brush or
style it. The faux hawk happened all on its own!

Bliss! One afternoon everyone got a nap in. I took this photo
and promptly fell asleep myself.