That Trip We Took

We've been home from Detroit for a while now and I still haven't made time to post about it. It's not that I've been any busier than before, it's just that while we were in Detroit and since we've been home, the babies have become so much more interesting. They smile. Riley sometimes laughs. They make baby noise. When they are awake, they look around and focus on things. They react to things GH and I do. It used to be that when they were awake they were either eating or fussing or thinking about fussing, but that has all changed, and it's a nice change. It does mean, though, that I spend more time with them just enjoying their emerging personalities and less time doing nonessential computer stuff.

So to all of my blog friends out there: Hello! I am woefully behind on my blog reading and commenting. Apologies.

I did have the pleasure of meeting Leggy last week. It was my second blogger meetup and every bit as enjoyable as the first. I love that I can now picture her and her son as I read her posts (ahem, when I get around to reading her posts . . .) It just makes the whole thing more real for me. She and her son are as awesome as I would have imagined.

So, yeah, that trip to Detroit. I covered the big stuff in the short version update. The main thing that I took away from the trip (other than confidence about traveling with the babies) is that it was a revelation to see my inlaws happy. We barely talked about cancer. They were clearly over the moon to spend so much time with their grandchildren and to focus on such joy. We enjoyed each others' company so much more because we were all so much happier and because I am in a situation now where I need their help more and I have an easier time asking for and accepting their aid. I feel like the trip healed some wounds and made us all feel closer and more at ease with each other and I'm glad for that. I'm even eagerly anticipating a 10-day visit from my mother-in-law in early September to help me out when GH goes back to work.

It helped that GH is doing well right now. He looks good, he feels good, and his energy level was better than it usually is when we visit his parents. They were calmed by that, as am I.

Speaking of GH, he had treatment today. His platelets have been cooperating and he has been able to keep up with this three week on/one week off chemo schedule for this round, and with relatively few side effects (knock on wood). His liver function tests and tumor marker numbers are up and down, but overall are steady to improving. We can always hope for more, but the situation is pretty good. He'll be getting a CT scan in September to look at tumor size. Those are always scary; even after all we've been through, I'm still not good at waiting for test results.

Tomorrow we leave for Florida. I'm nervous about the flight, but excited to introduce the twins to their great-grandparents. My uncle is a studio photographer and we'll be getting family portraits done on Saturday, which will be wonderful, too. The only bad thing is that Riley has a thrush infection in his mouth right now which got treated today with Gentian Violet. What this means is that the entire inside of his mouth is stained bright purple. It's really alarming. He looks like a goth baby; perhaps we'll dress him all in black tomorrow. I'm not sure how long the staining will last but I'm hoping that it fades by Saturday. If not, there's always the magic of Photoshop.

Other than the thrush (which is not painful or particularly problematic for Riley, but he could pass it on to my breasts and I would find it quite painful), the babies are doing great. They had their two-month checkup on Tuesday and passed with flying colors. Riley is just over twelve pounds and Madeleine is just under; they have pretty much outgrown their 0-3 month clothes and we've made the transition into 3-6 month stuff. They were as well behaved for their vaccinations as could be expected, too, and seem to be fully recovered today. And as I mentioned above, watching them grow up and change so much so fast is just amazing. Tonight when GH got home from treatment, I'd just positioned Maddie on my pillow to nurse her. GH came over to say hi to her and to me, and she broke out into a huge smile when she saw him. Then she just kept staring at him--she wouldn't latch on because she was too distracted by looking at her daddy. He finally had to go into the other room so that she could concentrate on the task at hand, but even then she watched him walk away and looked longingly into the other room for a good few minutes before the resigned herself to having some dinner. It was adorable.

I must go to bed and prepare for a long day tomorrow. Our flight's at 4:00, we get to Florida at 7:00, and then we have to pick up a rental car and drive to our hotel before we can put the babies to bed. Oy. Think good thoughts for us on the plane tomorrow. The worst they can do is cry for three hours straight, right? That's not so bad, right?

I'll update upon my return. Be well, everyone.

Smiles and Pizza

I'm still looking for time to post something real about the road trip, but for now, here are some smiling baby pics. Riley's smiles are easier to catch on camera--he loves to offer up huge, toothless grins:


Maddie's smiles are daintier, but no less cute. Here she is smiling at GH as he smiles in return:


And just for fun, my favorite of our roadtrip pictures, Riley and his pizza:

Road Trip: The Short Version

1. I can breastfeed anywhere. Truck stops, rest stops, restaurants, golf clubs, etc. Of course, really at all of these places, I'm breastfeeding in the car, but it can be done and it actually works pretty well.
2. Six-week-old babies (at least ours) seem to feel like a hotel room or their grandparents' house and home are pretty much the same thing. My fears that they would feel unsettled in a strange place were unfounded.
3. Koreans love to give cash to people who get married and people who have babies.
4. Crossing into Canada is a cinch. Getting back into the US is a giant pain in the ass. We didn't have any problems, but we did sit in traffic for one hour on our way to Detroit and one and a half hours on the way back.
5. The Fisher-Price Baby Papasan Cradle Swing is the best invention since sliced bread. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Kim.
6. Maddie started smiling on this trip, big smiles that are clearly in response to people and things. The first time she really, truly smiled at me I totally cried. Riley is starting to smile, too.
7. There's nothing like visiting family to make you simultaneously wish that you lived closer and grateful that you live far away.

We're off!

We've got the documentation we need for Canada, so we're out the door this morning. We may be back tonight. Who knows? If all goes as planned we're spending tonight in Buffalo. We shall see . . .