I Would Never...

A List of Things I Said I Would Never Do As a Parent

1. Drive a minivan

2. Listen to children's music

3. Give my children sugar before their first birthday

4. Attempt the cry it out method

5. Use formula

6. Be THOSE people in a restaurant

7. Be THOSE people on an airplane

8. Talk about my children's bathroom habits to anyone who will listen

9. Stop caring about my appearance

10. Become a human snot rag

Things I Have Done as a Parent:
1. Drive a  minivan

2. Not only LISTEN to children's music, but listen to it BY MYSELF. (I can't help it - I really like some of that Sandra Boynton stuff)

3. To be fair, I think Nick was actually the first one to break this rule on his own birthday and it's not like we're giving the twins sugar EVERY DAY...but occasionally, they MAY get a bit of cookie. Or...today, when we take our Christmas card pics, they may be bribed with graham crackers.

4. Attempted the cry-it-out method. We resisted it as long as we could with Jack, but somewhere around 7 months, we realized that he was TOTALLY PLAYING US in the middle of the night. We would still come into the nursery and rub his back or check on him, but yeah - that happened. And as a result - he started sleeping better, being less grumpy during the day, which meant that we were sleeping better and less grumpy. Although, he's almost 11 months old and still wakes up at least twice a night, so it's not like it was entirely successful.

5. I've come to realize that while breastfeeding is awesome if you can do it, it's not worth your own mental sanity. BFing one baby is hard enough - but, two? Wow - crazy town. I think there were periods early on where I didn't sleep for multiple days because it was an endless cycle of breastfeeding and pumping. It was actually my lactation consultant who told me to throw in the towel. At first, I was upset - but I quickly realized that it didn't matter how we fed our babies - just that we fed them. And a happy, marginally rested mama is much better than a crazy, hasn't slept in days mom.

6. In all fairness, we really haven't had that many problems with the babies in public, however we have had a couple of screaming babies throwing food incidents. My twenty-five year old self would totally judge.

7. This was not entirely our fault, but Jack and Ellie got sick with hand, foot and mouth disease while we were visiting their Tio Dan and Tia Ninil in Rochester, NY. Jack pretty much screamed/cried the entire day we were traveling. By the grace of God, Nick's mom was traveling with us so we had a much-appreciated and useful set of hands and people were far more understanding than I expected. Example: on one leg of our flight, a deaf woman suggested to us that we have Jack sit next to her because she couldn't hear him anyway. How nice is that? Ah...faith in people - restored.

8. At what point will I cease to obsess over how/when my children are pooping? I'm not entirely sure.

9. Perhaps "stop caring about my appearance" is an over-statement, but I certainly never imagined that I would routinely go to work without makeup (I always take my makeup bag with the intent of putting it on before I see anyone and inevitably, I forget and then people look at me worriedly and say things like 'hey, Sarah - babies keep you up late last night?' D'oh!)

10. I've just given up. Got a runny nose and no kleenex handy? Here's my sleeve. Gross, but true.

So, the moral of the story is - under no circumstances should you EVER say NEVER because it pretty much guarantees you'll go against your original thinking.

In case you're wondering, I did not ENTIRELY abandon this blog. As it turns out, parenting two babies is kinda time-consuming. Who knew? I have approximately a dozen half-finished, half-edited posts and I'm going to sloooowly start trying to update them. But since the babies are approaching one year old (SOB SOB SOB), I figured I'd better start updating their 'baby book'. As an apology for my absence...adorable baby pictures.

Babies and Their Swag

I am (again!) much belated in writing the five month post, which hopefully I will finish soon, although there might be a five month/six month 'twofer'.   In the meantime, I forgot that I had written about some of our favorite items for surviving live with a newborn, or two newborns.  It's by no means a complete list, but it's the items I believe helped us manage life during those very, very crazy hazy days.  We were so fortunate to be blessed by family and friends with many wonderful gifts for the babies.  I also wanted to document this, because both sets of grandparents are always saying to us "we never had ANY of this stuff!" so it will be interesting some day to look back on what we used vs. the teleporting machines our grandchildren will mostly likely be using. :)

Newborn – Three Month Favorites

Swing – I spent a lot of time thinking about what items we should get two of… and where we could get by with just one.  I (naively) thought that one swing would be just fine.  Wrong!  I am fairly certain we wouldn’t have survived the first six weeks without dual swing action.  There were several weeks where both babies, Jack in particular, slept best in a swing; they both still nap in them occasionally.  There are a lot of options out there; here are the ones we used.

• Fisher Price Snugabunny – My friend Ashley was kind enough to let us borrow this…1) it’s adorable, 2) the shape of the swing itself seemed to soothe both babies and 3) it’s adorable. J  The only downside was that it was battery-operated.

• Fisher Price Rainforest – This was the swing that Nick ordered off of Amazon when we (quickly) realized one swing would not cut it.  It plugged into the wall, which was nice, although I still preferred the shape of the Snugabunny.

Aden and Anais muslin swaddle blankets - I have to admit, when I saw the pricetag for these, my first reaction was "are they made of gold? will they be wiping my child's butt?" because dang, they are pricey for blankets.  However, they are The Perfect Weight for swaddling and we use them still today.  You can layer them for extra warmth or use just one.  I always felt like both of our babies ran hot and so even in the winter, we frequently used just one muslin blanket.  Neither Jack or Ellie has 'loveys' but they love their blankets and it's become a soothing mechanism.  We swaddled Jack until he started rolling over at around 4.5 months;  we only recently stopped swaddling Ellie.  It definitely helped them sleep longer during naps and at night.

Joovy Twin Roo - this only applies to expecting twin mamas, but this was one of my favorite items.  We had planned to use a double snap and go stroller for the first six-nine months (basically, you just 'snap' the infant car seat in the stroller and I guess 'go'?)...the original one we looked at had promised it was compatible with our car seats but that was a huge lie.  There were no other snap and gos on the market at the time the babies were born, so I found myself frantically searching the Internet.  I kept finding Internet threads where women were talking about the elusive Joovy Twin Roo, which was a new double snap and go stroller that people seemed excited about, but its release date had been pushed back multiple times.  I ended up calling the manufacturer to find out the target date and as it happened, it was mid-January.  So, I decided we could survive without a stroller for the first month and we did!  Luckily, our babies were tiny (at the time) and not too difficult to carry around on our rare outings out (basically to the doctor).  This stroller is awesome because it is easy to use, incredibly easy to manuever and I love that I can see both babies faces while using it.  It is very inexpensive, but the quality of its construction was impressive.  I have been happy with all of the Joovy products we've used (we just ordered Joovy highchairs!).

Wubanub pacifier –  I know not everyone wants to use pacifiers since they have been branded Evil for breastfeeding mamas, but 90% of the moms I know used pacifiers and had no problems with breastfeeding, so I'm chalking up pacifier hate to "Lies 'They' Tell Parents To Scare Them."  Pacifiers are like socks – constantly getting lost.  Somewhere in our house, Ernie the Multi-Toed Wonder Cat has squirreled away many a pacifier.  The Wubanubs have small stuffed animals attached to the pacifier which is completely genius because they are nearly impossible to lose.  I’m not sure what age these are intended to be used for, but we started using them early on because I was tired of hunting down lost pacifiers.   Incidentally, I was doing a lot of research on weaning our babies off of the pacis (planned to do it around one year old based on a conversation with our pediatrician) when the babies pretty much just weaned themselves off at around 4.5 months.   They use them occasionally now, but it's pretty infrequent.  File THAT under "Things I Worried Needlessly About AKA Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life".

Diaper Genie – People either love or hate the Diaper Genie.  A lot of people told me we wouldn’t need it, but they are liars.  Just kidding – I think the reason it worked so well for us was 1) the number of diapers twin produce and 2) the way our house is laid out.  If we had to take a poopy diaper out to the garage trash every time, we probably would have lost our minds.  Because we spend so much time in our family room, we actually have the Diaper Genie in there.   It keeps the smells at bay…mostly.

Pack and Play with Changing Station - Again, I think some of this is dependent on how your house is laid out, but because we basically lived in our family room for six weeks, it was helpful to have a pack and play in that room for babies snoozes and diaper changes.  We still use it for napping and diaper changes, or just as a 'baby jail' while we are trying to get out the door.

Nose Frida AKA The Snotsucker - The concept of this (Swedish, I think?) contraption is pretty gross...basically, you are using a siphon and your own lung power to literally suck the snot out of your little one's nose.  However, there is a filter that protects your mouth from the grossness and frankly, when your baby can't breathe, you'll do anything to help them feel better.  This worked so much better than the suction bulbs the hospital sends you home with.

Kick ‘N Play Piano - Somewhere around 6-8 weeks, I realized that we needed something to entertain one baby with while we attended to the other.  Enter the Kick 'N Play Piano.  At first the babies would just barely bat at the toys, but as their motor skills and coordination grew, they loved kicking their feet to 'play' the piano and grabbing the toys.  I like this because it converts to a toy that they can play with as they get older because the piano is removable.  In general, I am a big fan of toys that 'grow' with the baby.

Children’s Place zippered sleepers - Approximately 1800 people recommended these to me and they were all right.  They are the perfect weight for pretty much any time of year, easy to get on, can stand up to multiple washings and they look cute.  We had very few newborn 'outfits' and pretty much just rotated sleepers for the first two-three months.

Tummy Calm - Jack had a lot of gastrointestinal (read: gas) issues his first few months and I swear we tried all manner of remedies.  The only thing that ever worked consistently was Tummy Calm, a homeopathic remedy.  It's pricey (about $20/bottle) but gas drops, griper water, etc never worked for us.

Chicco KeyFit infant car seats - Although these were not the lightest car seats we looked at (an important consideration when carrying two!), they were definitely the easiest to install and to get in and out of the car.  They are also approved for babies 5lbs and up, which was important to us since we knew Jack and Ellie might be on the smaller side.  Their safety ratings are high and they've help up nicely over the first six months.

Okay, that's it!  It probably goes without saying that in reality, we could have survived without some of these...it's just that they helped so much, I think it's worth sharing what worked for us.  In reality, babies need very little...these products are (mainly) to make the parents' life easier.  Which is worth a lot, in my opinion. :)

[caption id="attachment_905" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Chicco KeyFit[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_906" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Chicco KeyFit[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Swaddle love[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Kick and Play Piano[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Children's Place sleepers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_911" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Swaddle blankets and pack and play[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_910" align="aligncenter" width="300"] More boppy nap[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_909" align="aligncenter" width="300"] More wubanub love[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_913" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Still loving our boppy![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Jack taking a swing nap[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_919" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Doub(le) Wub[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_921" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Wubanub (pretty much got us through Jack's PICU stay)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_922" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Boppy sharing - not a good idea[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_923" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Snugabunny swing nap[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_924" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Children's Place sleepers[/caption]

Day in the Life of Jack and Ellie Rose - May 6, 2013

I thought it might be nice to capture a 'typical' day in the life of Jack and Ellie...for posterity.  And also to show them someday just how hard it is to take care of twins, so they best be buying us darn good Mother's and Father's Day gifts! :)  Apologies in advance for the phone pics...even as phone pics go, they aren't that great.  It's hard to capture a day in the life and you know, actually live life.  :)

Monday, May 6, 2013

3:00 am - Jack is crying.  I stumble out of bed and pick him up.  (Nick does the last feeding of the night and I take care of overnights).  They are still sleeping in our room in a co-sleeper (basically just a crib that attaches to the bed - it's getting a little, uh, snug in there, though so we are probably days from moving them to their nursery.  :::stifles sobs:::) so I see him wallop Ellie in the face but she is unfazed.  We go to the nursery across the hall and I locate the source of Jack's angst - dirty diaper.  I change it as quickly as I can (with some pauses for kisses to the cheeks and nose) and just have him zipped back into his sleep blanket, when I see him make "the" face.  The pooping face.  Sigh....  I wait for him to finish and repeat the whole process (including the kisses).  The kisses come back to bite me, though, as he is now wide awake and it's clear I can't just put him back down to go to sleep.  Curses.

3:15 am - Put Jack in his crib (this mollifies him temporarily since he's unused to the scenery) and wander downstairs to the kitchen, hoping that maybe I'm wrong and maybe he'll fall asleep.   Make a quick sweep of the family room and pick up errant baby gear and clothes.  Hear Jack crying again, so I take him to our room and he has a 'snack' and falls asleep within a few minutes.  Put him back in co-sleeper.  Have to re-arrange his sister who is fond of sleeping like her father AKA Starfish-Style.

3:25am - Hmph.  I'm awake now.   Pick up my phone and check Facebook.  Read a few blogs.  Pick up my Nook and read a bit.

3:45am - Decide to go back to sleep.

4:30am - Alarm goes off on my phone.  Remember that I am taking the kids to the sitter (usually Nick's job since I start work at 7am) so I can sleep in a bit.  Re-set alarm for 5am.

5:00am - Alarm.  Again.  Rub my eyes and contemplate sleeping some more, but I know I can't.  Go to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee in the Keurig (which I have pre-loaded the night before)...drink my coffee and try to wake up.  Read Better Homes and Gardens.  See lots of home projects/recipes/crafts I would like to attempt but know I don't have the time.

5:15am - Take a shower - the babies usually wake up some time between 5:30 and 6:00 am so I need to get my shower in now.

5:30 am - Check on the babies in the co-sleeper.  No signs of movement.  I'm safe to continue getting ready.

5:35 am - Comb hair out, EYE CREAM!, make-up, etc.

5:50 am - Hear Nick's alarm go off and see him head downstairs for breakfast.

5:55am - Normally I would go blend up my breakfast shake (kale, spinach, berries, banana, yogurt, chia, stevia and oatmeal) but I forgot to pre-make it last night and I don't think I'll have time to put it together.  Instead, go and pick out my outfit, which I also usually have pre-picked out, but I was feeling sick last night, so another casualty.

6:05am - Turn on lights in bedroom and go to co-sleeper.  Jack had been awoken by the lights and Ellie is in the process of doing so.

6:10am - Change Ellie and get her dressed.  Jack snuggles with Nick.  She's apparently not a fan of her outfit (I can practically hear her saying God, Mom - chervron?  So not flattering and also SO 2011!) and is hungry.  Hand her over to Nick to start feeding her while I change Jack.

6:15am - Change Jack's diaper which is, sadly, another scary one.  He's teething like mad and has the accompanying diarrhea.  (He will probably love that I've documented this for posterity).  Start to get him dressed but he's too wiggly.

6:20am - Take Ellie back from Nick so he can get in the shower.   Feed both babies.

6:35am - Babies are done eating - dress Jack and stick him in a boppy next to his sister.  Boppy-sitting days are numbered as Jack is becoming increasingly squirmy, but since I'm just getting dressed and can keep an eye out, I feel okay about it.  Mom of the year!

6:45am - Put on my jewelry and grab Jack to take him downstairs.  Put him in his carseat.  Hear Ellie upstairs making noise.

6:50am - Repeat with Ellie.  She throws her wubanub pacifier (basically just a pacifier with a stuffed animal attached) on the ground.  Pause to ask myself whether or not I should clean it off.  Decide no - a few extra germs/dirt will only build up her immunity.  Grab a couple of pieces of fruit and string cheese for breakfast, my purse, and my bag.  Decide to chance it without a jacket.

6:55am - Load car up and head to the sitter.

[caption id="attachment_883" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Time to wake up![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_884" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Some of us wake up happy![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_885" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Others do not.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_886" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Getting there.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_887" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Welp, I just died from cuteness.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_888" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Still trying to wake up.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_889" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Harumph.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_890" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wiggle Worm.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_891" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I just...can't even...with you right now.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_899" align="aligncenter" width="300"] What shall we do now, Mom?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_892" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Wash and wear hair.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_893" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The first of many times I will look in the backseat to make sure both babies are there.[/caption]

7:05am - Drop off at the sitter - chat for a few minutes.  Jack gets excited to see her and practically propels himself out of the carseat.  I'm glad he likes the sitter, but GEEZ, does he have to like her so much? :)

7:10am - In the car on the way to work.

7:20am - GET PULLED OVER, $#%*!!!  (As soon as I see the lights flashing, I know it's for me and I know why.  No, I wasn't speeding - just hadn't put my tags on yet.  That I got in December.  I was a little busy in December IF YOU'LL RECALL, OOPS.)    See the officer glance back into the backseat of the car and try to look (more) sad, tired and pathetic-like.  Works.  I am able to produce the tags from my purse and the officer lets me off the hook.  I apologize for wasting his time and tell him to 'keep up the good work'.  Officer side eyes me.  Quickly make my getaway.

7:35 am - Caught in traffic.  There is NO route to work for me that does not involve construction.

7:45 am - Finally arrive at work.

Work until 4 pm - which looks something like this - email, email, project, someone needs my help, someone needs my help, email, phone call, break to look at picture of babies (awww!), email, project, LUNCH, impromptu meeting, someone needs my help, project, phone call, email, stop random people walking by my office to look at pictures of babies (awww!!!), meeting, email, email, email.  Oh, and the assistant for my department is leaving next week (sniff, sniff) so also - orientation for new assistant.  Break to read a few articles, one of which is a research article that says that the children of parents who don't routinely clean their pacifiers actually have less incidence of eczema, allergies, etc.  I AM MOM OF THE YEAR!!!  :::pat self on back for my forward-thinkingness:::

3:45pm - Start to get antsy about leaving to pick up Jack and Ellie.  I saw an interview recently with Drew Barrymore where she compared getting home to see her baby girl to being in a new relationship - "does she like me?" "is she going to call?", etc.  Totally get that.  As much as I love my job, it's almost a physical relief to have the babies back with us in the evening.

4:00pm - Off to pick up the babies!  But first...traffic.  Rawr.  I also listen to a lot of talk radio in the car these days because I am old and that is what old people do.

4:30 pm - At the sitter...both babies are smiley...obviously because they are delighted to see me.  Chat for a few minutes and then load the babies back up into the car.  Make inane conversation with them while we drive home.  "Oh, look - it's a cow!  Do you see the cow? The cow goes moooooooo! "  Feel ridiculous.  Carry on anyway.

4:45pm - Arrive home, bring the babies in and situate them in their bumbo chairs while I put my stuff away and change clothes.

5:00pm - Daddy's home!

5:05 pm - Crankiness is setting in.  I put Ellie in her exersaucer and hang out with Jack.

5:15pm - Nothing is making Jack happy.  I show Nick some new pajamas that came in the mail for Jack and Ellie (they busted out of their 3-6 month stuff OVERNIGHT).  Nick insists we put their new PJs on them now.  Ok!  Change Jack's diaper and into the new PJs.  This has not helped his mood.

5:20pm - Ellie gets her diaper changed and also PJs put on...put her down on a blanket to play, but she starts doing this thing where she whips her head back and forth, which is her 'tell' for a nap.  I put her in the swing and let her go down for a catnap.

5:30pm - Return my attention to Jack who is still unhappy.  Daddy and I try and cheer him up through various manuevers...he cracks a smile.  Victory!  Fist pump!

5:40pm - He's cranky again.

5:45pm - Still cranky.

5:50pm - Cranky.

5:55pm - I feed him, which is a brief respite from the crankiness.  Ellie continues to doze.

6:10pm - Finished eating...now entertain me, please, woman!  Fail miserably.  Can tell he's tired and needs to take a short nap, but repeated attempts to put him down are thwarted.

6:15pm - 6:30 pm - He's in the pack and play, not napping, but he also sounds content.

6:30pm - Ellie is up and demanding to be fed, so I acquiesce to her demands.  She downs her bottle in about five minutes flat.  Impressive.

6:35pm  -  Jack is mad again.  Nick saves the day by taking him down to the basement to watch the turtles swim.  This seems to appease the child for awhile.  Ellie and I join the boys...she is loving life and excited about all the activity in the basement.  Lots of squealing/cooing/general merriment from her.

6:45pm - Decide to put Jack in the swing...he fusses and cries and generally makes his feelings known but EVENTUALLY he falls asleep.  Ellie and I play in the exersaucer, read a book and play peek-a-boo.

7:00pm - Nick comes and takes over while I go get ready for the next day.   He offers to go set up the monitor so we can start using the nursery, but I'm too tired to contemplate it.  Tell him we will do it later this week.  I wash all the bottles, prep my coffee, prep my shake, pick out the twins clothes for the next day and iron my outfit.  Also start a load of laundry.  We are constantly doing laundry.  It's amazing how much two little people can produce in the way of laundry.

7:45 pm - Catch up a bit with Nick and then wander upstairs.  Nick is hanging out with the babies on the couch - Ellie in her bumbo and Jack on Daddy's lap.  Still not feeling that great (getting over a stomach bug, so I'm going to try and fall asleep early).  Work on this post.  Count my blessings that Nick is my partner - these early months with twins are TOUGH but we are doing it!  Fist pump!

8:00pm - Turn on an episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County; I find that my choices for TV-watching are limited pretty much to bad reality TV and The Voice.  Anything dramatic, violent, scary, etc...I can't handle.  Probably would have been better if I figured this out before I attempted to watch Zero Dark Thirty with Nick a few weeks ago.

8:30pm - Can't keep eyes open...turn TV off and fall asleep.   I find that I cannot keep up with Jack and Ellie unless I am getting at least 6-7 hours of sleep.  Less than that and things get Ugly.

9:50pm - Nick brings Ellie to me...most nights she gets uber-cranky right before bed (over-tired, I think...I'm hoping we can drop this last bottle soon and start putting her to bed earlier) and the only way to get her to calm down enough for bed is some Mommy snuggles.  Okay, twist my arm.  She is WIDE awake and starts to fuss, but I sleepily jiggle her in my arms next to me and she calms down and lays quietly awake next to me.

10:30pm - Nick brings Jack up to the co-sleeper; he's awake, but usually can fall asleep on his own.  He fusses just a bit and then falls asleep.  Nick mistakenly thinks that Ellie is asleep and picks her up from my arms to put her in the co-sleeper.  Wrong Move, Hot Shot!  Ellie lets her displeasure at this newest arrangement be known.  I pick her back up and bring her to bed with us.

1:00am - Realize that Ellie is no longer next to me.  Nick must have moved her.  Thank him silently and pat his back.  Fall asleep.

2:30am - Hear Jack making noises...pray that he falls back asleep because I am so tired.  Noises stop....yesssssss!   Back to sleep.  Will start the whole thing over again in a few hours.

[caption id="attachment_896" align="aligncenter" width="300"] New PJs![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_895" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Let's hold hands.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_894" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Home again![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_878" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Welp. That's happening. Guess we'll invest in braces.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_882" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Yup. I'm cute.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_881" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I'll just sit here and be cute, k?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_880" align="aligncenter" width="218"] This girl is literally squealing in delight.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_879" align="aligncenter" width="218"] Sad, sad, oh wait - he's smiling! Quick - take a picture![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_877" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Daddy Duty.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_876" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Oh hi.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_875" align="aligncenter" width="300"] So. Much. Awesome.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_874" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Turtle watching is the new whale watching.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_871" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Jack is sad[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_872" align="aligncenter" width="300"] So very sad[/caption]