Caroline is nearly 2 months old!

She is growing like a week and goes to the Ped this week. We'll see how many kg she has gained since birth. Everyone here says she looks as if she is about 3 months old!!!

She has a sweet face and bright eyes!

Posing!

Catherine got a new shirt at a local garment sale (garment factory surplus). We purchase each piece of clothing, whether it be shirt, pants, sweater or whatever for 100 taka (about $1.25). She decided to pair it with this hat that barely fits anymore.

Catherine asked me to take a photo of her, but just as i did she bowed her head, hence the second photo here.

Today's playgroup

Catherine has off school this week due to a Fall break at the French school. So, some of the parents of her classmates and I have organized some playdates this week to keep the little monkeys busy.

Today, we hosted 6 kids. I forgot to get the camera out while most of the kids were here as i was chatting with the moms and dads of the little ones. So, these photos were taken at the tail end of play group while they were enjoying some music.

All the kids loved dancing to the music!

PS you can see our bikes and bike trainer are part of our living room decor! Our tastes lean towards the modern day triathlete!

Caroline's rehearsal dinner

Is the next and last time you could possibly see this photo....ah, a face only a mother could love....she really is beautiful in person!

Sisters update

Here are the sisters...Catherine, Caroline...and even baby Allie! Caroline is now officially bigger than baby Allie!
Catherine loves her baby sister and loves cuddling and kissing her.

Catherine is adjusting well to her new school (Ecole Francaise Internationale de Dacca, aka the French school) and goes from 8:30-noon Sunday through Thursday. In the afternoons, she is busy with playgroups, going to the park, playing at the American Club and just enjoying her play room at home playing games, putting puzzles together and playing with play-doh with her ayah (nanny) Mina.

Caroline is growing fast. Although we don't have a specific weight for her-we'll go to the Pediatrician next week. She is sleeping longer 3-4 hours at a time and nursing like a champ. All is well here, though we miss our family! We'll be talking to you all soon on Skype, hopefully!

Pictures for Mimi!

Here are some pictures for Mimi, since Caroline was sleeping when she called on Skype today. This is Caroline's new mosquito net that covers her crib. She was asleep when I took the photos.

Baby Caroline at 6 weeks!

Sorry we have not been good about posting photos of Miss Caroline. Here she is sleeping on my lap as I write this blog! She is growing like a weed! The outfit she is wearing is for a 3-6 month old!!! Thanks to Barb and Heather for the great outfit.

She is doing well and eating and sleeping like a champ.

More photos to come!

Glitter Ball photos continued...

Miss Galaxy contest consisted of Miss UK, Miss Sweden, Miss Scotland, Miss France and Miss Canada! Miss Bangladesh (the ultimate winner), Miss Brazil and Miss Texas not pictured here. This was the winning skit this year.

More Glitter Ball photos

These folks were "Under the Sea" and FAR AND AWAY THE BEST COSTUMES OF THE NIGHT. Most of them were teachers (must be art teachers!) from the American School. They looked amazing and I didn;'t even get all of them here. There was a hammerhead shark, stingray (i think?) and others. How about that Tuna can and ship? They were all amazing!

Glitter Ball 2008!

Widely considered the ex-pat event of the year, Glitter Ball is Dhaka's hottest party. It is a costume ball hosted by the Aussies and Kiwis. Tickets sell out for the event in the summer in about 10 minutes.

Each table of 12 people dress with an ensemble theme. We were super lucky to have been invited to join 2 of the tables of mostly US Embassy staffers. The tickets were held for us in hopes we could make it back from Canada in time to attend. Lucky for us we JUST made it back in time! We purchased our costumes at a shop in Ann Arbor during our brief stint in Michigan.

Our theme (hopefully its fairly obvious) was Egyptian. There were also Under the Sea table (photos to follow of some of their group) school girls and boys, superheros, cannibals, rock stars, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts club band, Vampires, Cowboys and Cowgirls and much much more!

Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act

I am posting the following for a dear high school friend. Please read and take action!


Stillbirth Awareness & Research Act

I support H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act and you should too! Take a few extra minutes to read this post and then get in gear and take action.October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States. Each year that I have had my blog, I have recognized this special day, and for years prior to the blogs inception. More than 25,000 children are stillborn in the United States every year leaving mothers, entire families and communities devastated. Estimates of the rate of occurrence of stillbirth make it at least as common as autism.

Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce its incidence, but good research requires good data.H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. This proposed bill would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still. On October 15th, remember the thousands of unfinished children lost and the families who remain to grieve them. Honor them by taking action. Let's help pass H.R. 5979.

Action Steps:

Step 1. Use Your Blog to Enlist Others-Copy the contents of this entire post and publish it on your blog immediately. GOAL: Enlist 10 of your readers to spread the word

Step 2. Use Your E-mail to Enlist Others-E-mail 5 bloggers and ask them (nicely and in an unspammy way) to publish these action steps on their blog. Consider contacting celebrity bloggers, political bloggers, medical bloggers, or bloggers who are not part of your reading community. GOAL: Enlist 3 bloggers outside of your normal blog sphere to spread the word in other online communities.

Step 3. Help Pass the Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act-By October 15th, publish a post on your blog supporting H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act. For maximum impact, title your post: "Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act."

There is another cause that goes along with this that is also near and dear to my heart. My kids were born at 28 weeks (12 weeks early) due to the stillbirth of their brother, Calvin. Luckily, they had the chance at life, and survived. There are many families out there that are not so lucky. There isn't much worse in life than leaving the hospital without your child. Premature birth, especially with 'multiples' is too common. Despite bedrest and doctors best practice, there are too many babies born early who do not make it.More infants in the US die today because of prematurity, more than any other cause. The March of Dimes is urging the federal government to support prematurity related research. You can click HERE to support this research incentive. We hope you will take an extra few minutes to take a look - and better yet, put this on your blog or website and urge everyone you know to do the same.I thank you, and so does my family! I will remind you again on October 15th.

Crazy times in northern Ontario!

Here are some of the silly photos from this summer! The family photo near the hanging toilet seat was taken at a "COME IN POOR TASTE" party. Some of the outfits worn cannot be shown here. Some came in their pajamas while others decided that 'intimate apparel' need not be on the INSIDE of their clothes! Dave sported a wife-beater and gang shorts. Catherine had a mohawk hair-do and i walked around with a toddler, baby in sling and fully pregnant....barefoot no less!

Seed spitting contect and beer cans through the toilet seat basketball contest. Dave won a box of pop-tarts! Food was great...spam and pineapple kabobs, sardines and ho-hos for dessert! (Other wonderful food too!)

Fun party.

The two Catherines

Catherine Alena and Catherine Kegan enjoying a beautiful day on Lake Temagami. What a pair these two are!

Fall has arrived!

Sorry it has been so long (nearly a month!) since we have posted. With a new arrival on Labor Day, birth certificate and passport applications sumbitted, roadtrips to southern ontario and SE Michigan and travelling to Bangladesh with 2 kids in tow, the month has been quite busy!

The weather (not unexpectedly) turned cool in Temagami and the leaves already started to turn! Will post more photos soon of baby Caroline and misc. photos from our great summer!