2 Babies Seems Normal............after a while

(Ava on the left and Zoe on the right)

Hello all, just wanted to give a quick post to say hello to everyone. The twins are doing well. The doctor tells us that is is 'very likely' they are identical but we would have to get a DNA test for 100% certainty. They look pretty different to me. Ava is smaller and a little darker (plus she likes TV and her bath time). Zoe is bigger and paler (plus she is awake more and likes music). Sleep is hard to come by but Charmaine is doing amazingly well. I need more sleep then she does I guess!

I am back at work and now working downtown (crappy). I was spoiled by working out by the airport and being 5 minutes from home. Oh well, I will get used to it. Maddy is doing well and getting pretty active.

It is strange but we already feel like having 2 babies at the same time starts to seem normal and no big deal. Last Friday, Grandma & Grandpa Gamble took Maddy to the Rodeo and had a sleep over. She loved it and talks about how the cows were always 'poopin'. Charmaine and I thought we would be adventurous and take the twins to a movie. We went to the new Bond movie (Casino Royale) and they were perfect. They didn't cry and Char was even able to feed them. Everyone that sat down near us, did a double take and decided to sit somewhere else. After the movie, a few people even said, "I can't believe how quiet they were" or "I can't believe you took 3 week old twins to a movie". It was pretty cool to go to a movie again.

Anyway, Cooper is doing better and we hope to have him home soon. It will likely be a while, possibly even after Christmas. We will have to see how things progress. We sure miss him (his parents too!). Take care all and more to come soon...........

Shout-out to Cooper

Just wanted to say hello again to Cooper duper from Uncle Brian, Auntie Charmaine, Maddy and Katie! We love you and miss you very much. We can't wait to see you again soon and you can come over and play with your new cousins Zoe and Ava.

Katie really misses you and is very excited to see you soon. She knows how strong and tough you are.

We are love you tons Cooper so get better soon and before you know it, you will home with all of us..............Maddy and Katie

Singing with my sisters...

Maddy has been amazing with her new baby sisters. I am sure that the fights over phones, the car, boys (yeah right!) will come in time. For now, they are pretty happy with each other. Maddy was pretty happy to have her sisters in her room for a bit, while her parents got a few things done. She is very careful with them so far and loves to hug and kiss them (probably because we love it). Anyway, had a moment to work while all my 4 girls are sleeping and I thought I would try out this new video server, instead of my usual "YouTube". Enjoy and keep those comments (for us and for Cooper) coming............

Sleep, eat, poop...............repeat

Ava and Zoe do a lot of sleeping and eating, with not a lot more. I forgot how much newborns don't do. Sleeping for mom and dad is a bit of a challenge but Charmaine is doing great and keeping up. I am back to work soon so mom will be running the show without me for most of the day.

We had some good news about Cooper which is a big relief for everyone. You can read more about it on the Anderson's website listed beside this in the 'links' section.

I have also failed to identify which baby is which, as our friend Chrissy pointed out. SORRY.
In the pictures above, Zoe is on the left and Ava on the right.

Thanks for the great comments from everyone and I hope to add more pics and video soon.

The 'other' twins

Saying hello to Mom and Dad (Anderson) from Katie and Maddy.

Katie and Maddy were born on the same day (33 minutes apart) and are 'twins' in a different way. They play really well together and can spend hours just chasing each other around. In this video, they are busy with Dora.

We are very happy to say that Cooper is off the pacemaker and his strong heart is beating on its own, with a regular 'P-wave'. We are all thrilled to hear such good news and we hope that Cooper will soon beat all of his other challenges and come home soon.

Ava and Zoe can't wait to meet their Aunt and Uncle and their big cousin Cooper!

Take care Leanne and Daren...............The Stouse's

Home with everyone (family of 5)

I am very happy to say that I was able to bring my girls home on Wednesday of this week. That seemed a bit strange as they were not even 48 hours old. We left the hospital with a clean bill on Wednesday around lunch time and brought the girls home. It was a nice feeling to have everyone home safe and sound.

The girls have been settling in to their new home and Maddy thinks they are pretty neat. Not sure how long that will last! Nights have been tough as they have been up every hour to two. We are keeping Maddy at home until next week and trying to have some time as a family. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and prayers over the past week. Our nephew Cooper is still recovering from heart surgery in Edmonton and he is in our thoughts a lot these days. Thank you to everyone who has been praying and thinking about him. Ava and Zoe can't wait to meet their cousins Cooper and Katie. We hope to see them soon.

I have been having a nap each afteroon with one of the girls laying on me. If you haven't had a chance to have this opporunity, their is no feeling like it. It is a beautiful feeling to have a little sleeping 'peanut' on your chest as you sleep.

In case you are wondering, yes I can tell them apart (sorta). We believe they are identical but won't know for a few weeks. They have a slight size and colouring difference between them.

Life has been busy so I don't know how many updates I will get to do. Thanks again to everyone and we are a very lucky family to have such healthy and beautiful children. Thanks and please keep our Armed Forces in your thoughts this Rememberance Day..........God bless Canada........................Brian

New Babies........New Site

Hello again all,

I have decided that my blog needed a bit of an update now that my girls have been born. This site will be dedicated to updates, pictures and video of my whole (new) family. I hope you like the changes and the new look & feel. Nothing too major.

Not sure if I mentioned yet how in love with all my girls I am. That included my amazing wife! There is nothing we can't accomplish together.

Thanks for keeping in touch and please let me a comment with your thoughts and information. Take care..............Brian

(p.s. - I couldn't resist adding a bit of video of my angels too)

The first pictures of the new Stouse's

Meet Zoe and Ava

This will be the short version with the details you probably want.

At 11:36 pm on Nov. 6th, we brought Zoe Maya into the world. She weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces.

At 11:47 pm on Nov. 6th, we brought Ava Molly into the world. She weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces.

Both babies and their mother are doing excellent. We may even come home on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. We were finally induced and the doctor broke Charmaine's water to get things going. An hour and a half later we were delivering twins. Char was amazing as always. No c-section and no time spent in the NICU. We are very lucky and blessed people. I am deeply in love with all my girls...................

We Have Babies!!!!!

Didn't get a chance to do an update till now. We have 2 healthy and beautiful girls. Charmaine and the girls are great. They arrive before midnight on Nov.6 and names and weights will follow when I have some time. Thank god we are done.

Inducing.................Finally!

After a bad night of waiting, they finally bring us back to Labour & Birth. After a check by the Doctor they say they will induce. At 12:30 they begin the drugs for inducing. This could be hours or even tomorrow.

At last, we are getting to progress and we can't get bumped out again.

Stay tuned and hopefully I will get a chance to update more.....B

Still Waiting

We are in the hospital waiting to be induced. They may not even be able to get us in. Busy here. I am doing this update from my cell. Just have to wait now. Could be many hours even if they do induce......B

Still no babies....

Hello all, as of Sunday Nov. 5th (9am) the hospital has no capacity for inducing anyone else. At this rate, we may have to wait for regular labour to begin. Char was 38 weeks yesterday and that is basically full term for twins. Not sure if I should go back to work now or what. I would rather use the time after the babies, instead of waiting for them. We will try to update more when we can but this could be hours or days at this point. Please keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming for our nephew Cooper........................B & C (Maddy too)

Halloween, Snow and No babies

Maddy had some fun when the first snow fall came. She thought it was pretty cool to catch snow on your tongue. Char was pretty creative with her "Dora" pumpkin. I like the old school kind, which is what we did with a second pumpkin. Maddy and Daddy went out to about 6 or 7 houses on Halloween and she really enjoyed it, minue the cold. She would knock on the door, then yell (or whisper) 'trick or treat!' and then add a growl as she was a tiger.

As of today (Nov.1st - noon) we don't have any new Stouse's. According to our doctor, everything looks great and he wants to enduce on Friday, if possible. So, we may have the twins on Nov. 3rd! Stay tuned as I will try to do updates when I can.

We are all thinking about Cooper in Edmonton and it sounds like he is through the worst of it. Our thoughts are with everyone as they go through this surgery. Take care everyone and stay tuned..........................