9 month old twins - Our Adventures Continue

You Hey Everyone! 

Wow where has time gone! I feel like I have blinked and two months has gone by. I now really see what people were talking about when they say "enjoy every minute because it goes so fast"! 

Where should I start? 

Let's start with what you all come here to read about and that is Jordyn and Sawyer! 

It's been incredibly fascinating watching these two grow side by side and learning together. What it has really showed us is how different it is to have a little boy and little girl. Their development is very different and they each have their strengths. Let's just say Sawyer has now rightfully earned the nickname "Sawyer the Destroyer" and Jordyn our "little sweetpea thinker". 

Sawyer has entered little boy mode where everything needs to be "smashed" with a ever so serious look on his face and if said "object" does not do what he thinks it should down will come the tears...Sawyer also has that million dollar smile that literally is a day changer for many... Having a bad day, take a look at this kids full face smile and it will lighten your day up a bit, I know it does for me! He also has his not so smiley moments where the world is coming to a complete end because he can't figure out how he can "eat his toy dinosaur" or "why his toy dinosaur can't eat him".. Kids... Lol... Sawyer has also discovered furniture walking over the last month (8 months old) and you can't get that kid down and speaking of trying to eat everything... Brett mentioned to to me that yesterday if Sawyer could create his menu for the day it would include the following .... The TV remote, Brett's Cell Phone, The Couch and the Dog (she is a "chocolate" lab, fair enough Sawyer)... 

Now to Jordyn.. What a special little girl! Not taking anything away from the equally special Sawyer but she is so special in many different ways. I have told many friends it's amazing to see two kids the same age but one boy and one girl and see how different they are.. We call Jordyn our little thinker... She's incredibly observant and I am convinced she's 15 steps ahead of everyone else in the room. She just soaks everything in. She was the first to say "dada" and is much more verbal with "words" than Sawyer. Jordyn is the type of little lady that will sit on your lap and as you stare into her big blue eyes she will stare right back with the same admiration. These special moments are priceless and nothing else matters at the time. Jordyn has also become quite mobile but not quite as strong as her brother yet.. But not far behind... 

Overall these two little ones have been a continued blessing to Brett, I and our family and friends. At the age of nine months the impact they make on people's daily lives simply amazes me... They enrich all our lives and it's such a beautiful thing. 

As many of you know Brett and I just got back from New York, which was a trip we won through an incredible Gay Family resource website and Facebook group "Gays with Kids" https://gayswithkids.com . Let's talk for a moment about this group, they offer a tremendous amount of information and resources for Gay Dads and aspiring Gay Dads in several different formats from video, editorial and blog postings from Dads just like me! What a gift to our community to have such a great network within Gays with Kids! They partnered with Orbitz Gay Travel and dealing with Jeff their director of marketing was exceptional and I would highly recommend booking with them! 

I would also like to take a moment and thank you all for taking the time and voting for us to win this much needed trip. Their were thousands of you that took the time to vote and share and we are so thankful for that. We would also like to thank Brian and his team @ Gays With Kids and Jeff at Orbitz Gay Travel for putting on this rewarding contest that really highlighted Gay Dads everywhere! 

Now to our trip! Wow, what a city New York is.. It was so much more then I could ever imagine. The sheer size was mind blowing and how alive the city was enthralling! 

We had the chance to see so many of the "must see's" the city had to offer including the "top of the Rock", Central Park, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, The 9/11 Memorial, Kinky Boots and we even caught a Vancouver Canucks game at Madison Square Gardens to name a few! 

Being away from Jordyn and Sawyer for the first time was extremely hard.. I had to remind myself several times that we deserved this time and the kids are going to be ok.. How could they not be ok! They spent 6 days with Grandma Bannister and Aunty Lynda and from the pictures they had an absolutely amazing time.. I was so happy that Sharon (grandma) was able to look after them with Aunty Lynda (Sharon's Sister) for so many reasons.. Sharon lives out of town and does not get a chance to see the kids as much as she would like due to our distance apart and her sister lives all the way in Ontario.  Lynda planned her trip around spending these six days with Sharon and our little twins which meant so much to Brett and I.. Sharon and Lynda have a very admirable relationship for any siblings.. It was so cute to see them "co parent" Jordyn and Sawyer while we were gone.. They did such an amazing job I don't even know if Sawyer and a Jordyn noticed we were gone lol! 

In closing I wanted to share with you my personal experience within the 9/11 memorial that will stick with me forever. The moment we stepped foot on the grounds these towers once stood I felt something.. My heart became heavy and my appreciation for the air I breath, my children, friends and family became intensified. Here I stood were many stood before just going about their daily lives and then absolute terror broke lose. as Brett and I entered the memorial my heart tightened more as I read and listen to first hand stories from survivors and from those that past. One section within the memorial museum was a large room that had a room within in...once you enter the main room the four walls are filled with thousands of pictures of those who lost their lives on Sept 11th, 2001.. Emotions went on over drive as I look at these pictures and I see people's moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, husbands, wives, children and friends..within this room they had a dark room within it with bench seats all around the edges. Brett and I entered this room and spent quite sometime there.. It was our way to pay our respects to those that were lost and those who lost loved ones. As we sat within this room a name, picture, biography and audio message from a family member would play on the wall.  The audio message was a favourite memorie of their lost loved one. With tears running down our face we see the full emotional impact this attack had on so many. With this feeling in my heart I can only imagine the feeling of loss many still feel. After three hours of walking through this incredibly special memorial we left with the love we get to share each and every day, an apreciation that we get to go to bed together each night and wake up to each other every single morning, we get to share laughter and tears and we get to create special moments and memories with those we love. 

Walking through this memorial really showed me how "rich" we are, not in material things but in the love we share each and every day with one another , our children and the special people in our lives. So after your done reading my blog today, go tell someone how much you love them and what makes them special to you.. One message I will leave you with is, never take for granted the special moments and time you have with those you love as life can change so quickly and those opportunities can be lost. 

Lots of love, blog again soon.. 

Justin

Our First Christmas 2014

Christmas morning will never be the same in the Mallard-Rancourt House…I found myself giddy like a little kid again. Although our kids are only 7 months old and will not remember their first Christmas, this was our chance to start our own family traditions and share these special moments together as a family for the first time. We started the morning with just Brett, Sawyer, Jordyn and I and we opened our stockings together. The kids, Brett and I were made these beautiful Christmas Stockings from our friend’s mom. It was such a touching gesture and she even customized them with the kids names on them and ours with “Dad” knitted into them. “Grandma Bosch” will forever have a special part of our Christmas mornings and we thank her dearly for that. Shortly after we finished opening stockings my Mom and Brother came up and we opened gifts as a family which was special. We hosted dinner at our place which lead to a quick transition to starting dinner and most know this takes hours to put together. All in all we had a great first Christmas and we can’t wait to celebrate more of these special days together as a family.

Brett and I also wanted to do something special for Raylene (Our Surrogate ) and Lisa ( Our Egg Donor ) this Christmas. Something that really shows how much our family appreciates them both for bringing our children into our lives and us into theirs. Sooooo Sawyer and Jordyn bought them beautiful “Heart Key” pendants with a white gold chain. We felt as a family that this symbolizes the key to all our hearts as these amazing woman have filled our hearts with nothing but the purest love we could ever feel. 

 

Which also brings me to our Christmas Eve, we spent that night with the Bussinger Family, with them  now becoming an extension of our own family. We had appys, drinks, laughs and even caught a Christmas movie before the end of the night. Perhaps this will become a little family tradition for our families which is just fine by me!

 

It’s very interesting how we all go through different phases through our lives when it comes to what Christmas means to us.  As a child our Christmas was about family first and presents secondary. There was always lots of gifts but the excitement of being together with all our family was always instilled in us from a very young age. Brett and I work so hard every day to fill our children’s lives in love, laughter and family. When I say family I don’t only mean those who are in our immediate family, this goes so much further than that. Our family is much bigger than most would know with our dearest closet friends deeply rooted into what makes us a family.  I truly believe with this as our ‘platform” our children will grow up with the same connection to these values as I did. 

 

It is very easy to allow Christmas to get away from you and be taken over my consumerism. Some kids have no connection to anything other then what they are getting for gifts which is a tragedy in itself. I recall back 4 years ago, the year after my Grandmother had passed away. It was a real struggle for our family as she was a true pillar to our family structure and dynamic. We decided that we would not exchange presents but rather write a card for each and every one at the table. Touching on why they are so special to each of us and why we love them. As we sit around the table as a family reading our cards, reflecting on so much joy and those who are no longer with us with tears of great memories and moments we have all shared together. We discussed this year about doing this again next year perhaps!

Now some exciting updates on the kidlets…..

 

Our kids have been doing great and have met so many exciting milestones. I had the chance to take a week off work over the Christmas Break and the timing could not have been better. With our kids on the cusp of their 7 month “Birthday” on January 2^ndthey are evolving and growing by the minute literally. Over Christmas break I shared in seeing Jordyn say “Dada” for the first time on Christmas Eve and now being her only word it is all she “Talks” about now lol. I was home to see Sawyer “Crawl” for the first time too, the two of us watched on encouraging every “Step” of the way like his truest biggest fans. On top of all this Jordyn has pushed through two of her lower teeth and Sawyer has pushed through one of his lower teeth. As exciting as this is many of you know what having one teething baby is like, times that by two! It’s been a struggle, but your heart does not allow anger or frustration because you know the wines and cries are not for fun, they are because of a pain they just don’t know how to deal with. So we have had many days of long snuggles and comforting and that’s just what the Dr has ordered.

 

In my last post I had mentioned that I nominated Brett for a trip to Rest, Relax and Recharge with gay parent website and facebook group "Gays with Kids". After being home for a week and a bit with him I noticed even more how much he needs this. He's truly our families star. Being a stay at home Daddy has become second nature for him. He balances our kids day to day needs which includes making all of their food from scratch. I say this in almost every post but I truly mean it, I could not imagine anyone other than him by my side raising our children. LOVE THIS MAN OF MINE, well ours because I now share him with our beautiful kids! Ohhh and the results are IN! We WON! This couple from little old Chilliwack rose above every couple from right across North America and this includes all the mega cities like NYC, LA and Toronto. This was truly humbling experience that touched our hearts. We had people from all over placing votes which totaled over 4000 in about a week. Our local Radio Station StarFM even did a special shout out for this contest highlighting Brett and I’s commitment to our community. They also mentioned the valued volunteer role I have locally with the StarFM Kindness Crew which spreads “Kindness” Daily in our community. All in All I can’t thank you all enough for your special role in allowing this to happen for us. We have selected NYC and we cants wait!

 

In closing I want to touch on the special connections Brett and I have made through our blog. We have been connected with several same sex couple aspiring for the same goal and that is to have a family of their own. We have reached out to several of these couples and have had the chance to be the helping hand through the process and by their side to answer any questions as they arise. Such a gift to share our experience and help others along the way to creating their own family. So thank you for sharing your stories with us, your aspirations, and allowing us to be part of this with you. 

 

Blog again soon my friends, 

 

Justin 

 

 

 

These kids are a Moving and Growing!

 Hello Friends, 

Been a couple weeks since I last posted! 

So since then we have moved Jordyn and Sawyer into their own rooms and dealt with a very cranky Sawyer as he has made it very clear that his place to sleep is in daddies room not his own room. We have been trying to stay strong and not cracking by bringing them back to our room and that has been challenging. 

Jordyn has been such a champ through this transition but Sawyer has woken up every couple hours but will fall back asleep as soon as we come and gently caress his face or put his soother back in. His cries are to make sure we are still there since he can't hear or see us as he did when he was in the bassinet beside us. 

We have also been dealt with our first bad diaper rash with Jordyn.. This has been a hard one for us. We both have felt a guilt around this as if this is our fault. We know it's not, but you never want any sort of discomfort for your kids. Happy to report this is getting much better and have learnt different tricks from friends and family to manage this as they come and go. 

The last couple days have been very eventful for the kids, it's as if over night they became stronger and more mobile! They are been rolling from front to back and back to front non stop now. They are also eating rice cereal now, we started with it in their formula and now being fed with a spoon which is to cute to see this next stage. 

The kids have also started teething.. Eeeek it's just really begun and it's so challenging to deal with.. With them not being able to directly communicate with us we rely heavily on cues and signs as they come and go. As all with kids read this they can all understand how challenging this can be with one baby let alone two. We will make it through this as all do, they just need some extra love when times get "tough". 

I have also nominated my amazing partner for a three day trip away to rest, relax and recharge! This is a contest through a lgbtq family website "gays with kids". I have nominated Brett because he has been our rock since our little ones have come home. 

He left his role at work which was promising for advancements to raise our children and create a safe loving environment for them. In the early days changing upwards of 30 diapers a day, multiple clothing changes, multiple feedings and the dreadful late night and early morning "wake up calls" our little man has been offering lately. 

Being a full time working dad, waking up every morning I leave work feeling so good knowing that our little ones are in such loving care with their Daddy. I love racing home to Brett and the kids and hearing all the updates and exciting moments he shared with the kids throughout the day. I love him and our kids so so much, I am blessed with such a beautiful family. 

I ask that we all come together and share our support to my loving man by voting for this very special gift for him. 

3 days to be all about him. 3 days to be able to shower without screaming babies. 3 days to be able to sleep in and wake up refreshed. 3 days for me to show him just how much we love him and just how special he is. 

You can vote by clicking the link below. Share with your friends and family if you can and perhaps we can share this special trip together. 

Copy and paste below link to vote 😊

https://vacation.gayswithkids.com/Profile/-rcZUaGJ_Eqw5mrnO1vikQ

Lots of love, blog soon my friends!