Journey to the East: Day 2 - Ivy Leaguer

Joe's cousins live in Princeton, NJ - and they were generous enough to host us for the first couple of days of our trip. This was also the first time all 4 of us roomed together, so it was a good test to see how we'd handle Colin and Cara sleeping in the same room (my lofty goal of having them bunk together at an early age may need some practice runs). Aside from the time zone change, and waking up at 10:30am (great for them), I was up alternating between them, trying to coax them back to sleep with either a boob or a bottle. But, because it was a treat to already not have to worry about housework or meals, I tried to not let that get in the way of our visit.

We decided to get an early start to Colin's post-secondary planning, and took a trip to see the Princeton Campus. We thought 'cute' would be enough for the class of 2027 early admission into the Ivy League.

Well, as proud as we are, we're lazy too, so we only got as far as some steps in front of one of the buildings, and totally dismissed our ambitious Asian 'Tiger-mom' parental ways, and just took some photos.






Joe also took the opportunity to take some shots of his cousin and her family, as she's expecting #2!! We all know maternity photos for #2 are hard to come by... let alone family photos - so Joe made a conscious effort to try to do these for our gracious hosts :) They're a beautiful family!



Then we got to meet Joe's other cousin, who recently had twin girls - oh, they are so so small and so so adorable. I can't believe how tiny babies are!! Here's a small re-cap of they're truly amazing story... and difficult journey up ahead.



Before the twins were born, there were a lot of uncertainties regarding their health. There were suspicions that one may have a genetic disorder, while the other is missing her aorta (main artery to heart). Well, Sarah gave birth to them, DURING the earthquake - and after a couple days of testing any genetic disorders were ruled out. The second twin, although requiring future surgery, is stronger and healthier than they expected, so they were relieved that she survived to meet the family!! They were discharged DURING the hurricane (Irene), and are now just trying to give twin #1 the best chance of survival when she undergoes surgery (plumping her up, making her strong) in a couple of months.

I can't imagine having twins, but to go through all of the fears, and uncertainties that they have experienced takes tremendous strength and faith. We met the girls, and they are absolutely a gift from God. We are thinking of them and wishing them all the best for the upcoming surgery.


But, as sweet as they are, having twins is not easy. Joe captioned the photo below 'Birth Control' :)