9th-12th August - If 3's company then 4's a crowd - More reflections from our introductions

There is more than a subtle difference between going to the park and avoiding the park. It's simple, but now we go the park, we play on the swings, ride down the slide, and generally run about. Another place that is off limits without kids are soft play areas, again they are now destinations not reasons for a detour. What fun the soft play area was, little tikes from wall to wall, no place to plop down with our stuff, myriads of noises from toys and kids alike. After a bit we caught our collective breaths and found a couple of spots at a table. Whether it was the ball pool, crawling gym, toddler toys, riding toys it was all a blast.

When it was time to pause for a drink the girls were just a bit shattered, they and we had played hard for over an hour, it was time for a break. It's weird to think that these places like the park and soft play area are ones that we'll seek out from now on, after many years of actively not finding out where they were.

Today it was another kid friendly space the farm. There were all sorts there; pigs, cows, rabbits and a huge play area. We enjoyed it all while dodging rain drops and attempting to navigate two push chairs, some of the time carrying one but you get the idea. To give a bit of perspective to our time of introductions they have been building slowly. From just a morning together for example up to today when we were there all day including the bed time routine. As you can imagine there is much to learn and a quick learning curve, but all is well, we are figuring out how to be four. 

Life is fun with 4, getting into two car seats, two buggies for a walk, two meals for them and food for us, it's all just a bit complicated. Yesterday we were in and out of the car repeatedly here and there then to and from appointments. It wasn't a day full of 'fun' stuff, but it was a day full of life. One memory that will stick in our minds was when we got in the car and our oldest one exclaimed 'follow that Spongebob daddy' that meant to follow the car ahead which had Spongebob sun shades on the back windows. Now whenever we get in the car that's what we do!

If you've followed along our journey at all you'll know that we have eagerly awaited these days, those first opportunities to build family and memories. That's what this week is all about, building trust, understanding, and memories with each other.