Colds, croup, ear infections, oh my!

I think the title sums up most of what's been going on for the past two weeks. Day care works like this: You give them all of your money so that you can go to work and make money. In return, they give you germs so that everyone in the house is sick and you can't go to work. I question the sanity of the society that came up with this system, and individuals like myself who voluntarily participate in it. But, I digress. You all want baby news.

Tristan was the sickest of us, and gave me a couple of scares last week. Dane escaped with only a sore throat. Duncan and I were somewhere in between, but more toward Dane's end of things than Tristan's. Fortunately, we're on the upswing again and everyone's doing well and happy. Surprisingly, in the mist of all the germs both boys have developed loud laughs. They cackle all the time now. On Tuesday, I took Tristan to his third doctor's appointment in a week. In the waiting room babies all around us were crying, but Tristan was laughing loud enough to be heard over them all. (Tristan does everything loud enough to be heard over everyone else.) Not to be outdone, Duncan laughs so loudly in the bath that you can hear him in the kitchen.

Those little guys have been so generous with their mirth that they've developed an instant fan club everywhere we've gone lately. (Except during one trip to the pharmacy, where they both HOWLED. We weren't too popular there.) For the most part, we can hardly get in and out of the daycare and the doctors' office because we're thronged with admiring grown-ups and toddlers poking the babies to make them laugh. And everywhere there is a hail of comments and compliments. "Twins? Boys? You are so blessed." It's good that it works this way, because it can be difficult to keep the right kind of perspective when I haven't slept for three nights, I can't breath through my nose, and I'm very, very behind at work.

The best compliment of the week came from a pretty Asian lady, about 5-months pregnant, who bent over the stroller and said, "Ooooo. Twin boys. They're so identical!! Like perfect little dolls." And then literally skipped off, smiling to herself.

Happy Memorial Day, everybody!