Shaz by the Sea

I was tired of not being able to provide a real answer to people when they asked if Conor and Caden were fraternal or identical. I mean, they look A LOT a like. Not exactly the same, because there is a two-pound weight difference, but they look the same (especially when dressed the same, hehe). I know it shouldn't matter whether that are identical or fraternal and that I should just be happy that I have two healthy, happy, curious toddlers. But to everyone who asked, I replied with "I think they're fraternal, because I had a di/di pregnancy and I can tell them apart -- but I have no idea". What kind of response is that??? So for those who don't know, a di/di or "dichorionic diamniotic" (DCDA) pregnancy is a type of twin pregnancy where each twin has its own chorionic and amnionic sacs. This type occurs most commonly with dizygotic (aka fraternal) twins, but may also occur with monozygotic (aka identical) twin pregnancies. This type of twin pregna

The boys, Jim, and I are celebrating our second Memorial Day weekend. Last year the boys were just a few weeks old and Auntie Chrissy visited us in Virginia. This year, we are one year old and we are celebrating in Cape Cod.  We lucked out having such nice weather. It is still a little cool in the Cape, but we have some beautiful clear skies. Here we were crossing the Sagamore bridge over to the Cape on Friday. On Saturday morning, the boys and I went for a walk - and planned on walking straight to the beach like we usually do. However, plans changed when we walked right into this road race about a quarter mile from our house. The road was pretty much blocked off, so instead of walking to the beach, we cheered on the runners! Caden and Conor loved seeing all the people. Late Saturday afternoon when the roads opened up, we finally took the boys to Keyes Beach. Last summer they were too young to touch the sand or even know what was going on. This year it was much more fun

Mama went to work in Boston yesterday on the commuter rail. It was fun and different - and I liked it more than I thought I would.  And on the way home, I chose the front of the train and it's called the "quiet car".  Let me tell you how enjoyable a "quiet car" is when you have two one year olds at home. :) Grammy watched the boys since Wednesdays are her day off. It was so nice of her to watch them both this week and last week. I have been able to test out my commute, set up my desk, and meet people in the office. Conor and Caden's newest favorite activities right now are opening every single cabinet they can find - and also walking with the help of my hands or Grammy's hands...see below.  We also went out for Auntie Cookie's birthday on Saturday and it was SO fun! We went to a wine tasting at various restaurants around Boston and then finished off at 6B to celebrate Jordan's 30th birthday. Fun weekend! We started our week off

We spent a few days in Cape Cod last week - and Great Grammy Phelan took the boys for a walk around the neighborhood while we did some yard work. Look how great she looks! Her birthday was 5/14, my Grammy Hancock's birthday was 5/15, Auntie Chrissy was 5/13 and C-Squared were 5/6. So many May birthdays! I was so surprised to see all my daffodils at the Cape. We aren't usually there in May, so I loved seeing the different flowers...Caden, too! There were tons. We came back to Woburn and the boys have been loving my parents backyard. There is so much to look at, so many toys, and they of course love the doggies. Playing with their new toys from their birthday! Mother's Day weekend was so so so warm, almost 90 degrees! We used the pool that Auntie Theresa got us for our birthday. We loved it! We went in the pool in our birthday suits, hehe. ;) We love watching TV on Saturday mornings with Daddy. Daniel Tiger was on! Our favorite.

This is gonna be a long one.... Conor and Caden turn ONE on Wednesday, which means I made it through their first year!! Yay! I am shocked at how quickly it went by, even though every...single....person...told me how fast it flies by. Many people still say "the days sure go by slowly, but the years fly by". I think I mentioned that in a previous post, but boy is it true! Fastest year of my life, for sure. We celebrated the boys on Sunday at a BBQ at my parent's house. We did a similar event last summer at their meet and greet, so it's surreal that we celebrated their one year in the same place - after what felt like a whirlwind of a year. Here are some pics of me and the boys arriving in MA and setting up for the party. A huge thank you to my parents who were the biggest help - and Chrissy and Linds, too! I hung some CC pictures on the clothesline for people to see moments from their first year.... We were using this old wagon from when my sister and I gr