Field of Daisies

Oepkes Family Page

Introduction

This website has been created so that we can share pictures and updates of Moyra and Conor to all our family and friends. We hope that you enjoy your time here and find the site easy to navigate. If there is anything you would like to see here, feel free to ask. We hope to be able to keep this site as up to date as possible. However, if you do not see any new information here, be patient with us, the twins keep us very busy, as you can well imagine.

01-03-02

The Kids are Coming

Moyra and Conor were born on Monday August 6th, 2001. It just happened to be the Civic Holiday (here in Canada) and also Melanie's parents 35th wedding anniversary. Melanie's water broke at about 5am, but because it wasn't a "gush" as people always talk about, she went back to bed and slept until about 9am. When John learned what happened he had her call the hospital and ask what to do. Melanie and John both went to the Woodstock General Hospital and Melanie was checked and was already 4cm dialated. Dr. Dufour sent Melanie to London via ambulance, and the rest of the day went very quickly. George and Becky DeBruyn arrived at St. Joseph's Health Centre at approx. 2pm. They were happy to be there for the delivery. Melanie received an epidural and sometime around 4 pm she was 10 cm dialated. John accompanied Melanie into the delivery room and after pushing twice Conor Tjebbe was born at 4:24pm weighing 4 pounds 3 ounces (1905 grams). Moyra Eja had to be manually pulled out, and after 10 minutes she was born at 4:34pm weighing 4 pounds 14 ounces (2225 grams). Both the twins were born healthy, although they came 6 weeks early. The proud parents were very relieved to see the twins and how strong they both were.

06-08-01

The first weeks

The twins stayed at St. Joe's for about 3 weeks. They were in their incubator's for only the first day and were soon lying together in a crib. They wore external monitors and had to be tube fed. It took them the 3 weeks to learn how to eat properly, and this is the only reason they had to stay in the hospital. As soon as the twins were taking some of their food from the bottle, Melanie and John were invited to the hospital to take part in their program called "Care by Parent". This is where the parents come to stay at the hospital and have a private room where they take care of their children with the help of the nurses. We stayed there for 6 days, and found the program to be very beneficial. By the time we left, both John and Melanie felt comfortable enough to take care of the newborns on their own.

10-09-01

1/2 year already?

6 months has come and gone and a lot has happened in that time. We have watched Moyra and Conor roll over, try and sit on their own, smile and giggle, reach for toys, start solid foods and discover the world around them. Each day brings with it a new adventure and discovery. Both are healthy and doing fine.

01-03-02

Spring 2002

As the warmer weather approaches we are preparing ourselves for the year ahead. We have been outside to play in the yard a few times, but it is still too cool and wet to be out there all the time. Moyra is now standing and longing to walk. Conor is becoming mobile by dragging himself along the floor. We think Moyra is his motivation, as he follows her around the room.

In about a month's time we will all be flying to The Netherlands to visit with family over there. It will be a long and tiring journey but I am sure it will all be worth it.

09-05-02

A look back at our first year!

It's hard to believe this year has gone by so fast. We have done so much these past months, the time has flown by. We have had so much to celebrate. The kids first birthday was a total success and we had all those we loved here for the day. Then Aunt Anne was married The kids were the stars of the show (after the bride and groom of course!) The wedding was beautiful and everyone had a great time. Developmentally the kids are doing great. Conor is just now taking his first, unaided steps. Moyra is strong and adventurous.

Soon it will be time to start thinking about the holidays. Oma and Opa will be staying with us for christmas, we can hardly wait!

28-10-02

18 months and growing!

I haven't had the time to update this site in ages. The kids are doing so well these days. Conor is walking like he has always known how. Both kiddos climb whatever they can find. The past few months have been very busy. Opa and Oma came to spend Christmas with us. It was so nice to see them. The store where Mama worked closed down in January, so now she has to look for another job. Moyra gave us all a good scare and ended up in emerge with a Febrile Seizure. It was very scary. She seems to be doing much better and hopefully it will all soon be a bad memory. This winter has been very long and cold. We are all anxious for the snow to melt and the ground to dry up a little so we can go outside and play. In the meantime, we will work on getting our main bathroom fixed up with a new tub and new tile. It will really clean it up. We will also be thinking about the trip we are taking to Nashville, TN in late May. So many things to worry about. Keeps us out of trouble!

19-02-03

2 1/2 years? Wow!

Hard to believe it has been nearly a year since the last update, so much has happened in that time. We never went to Nashville, but rather drove out to the East Coast of Canada, and really had a nice time exploring our own country. The kids did very well for having to spend so much time in the car. Now we are already planning this years vacation, we're going to visit Opa and Oma in the Netherlands!

This winter has been very cold, but the kids love to spend time playing in the snow when they are able. Language is quickly becoming a useful tool for them, and they copy everything we say, so we have to be careful.

27-01-04

pictures

Oepkes family

Oepkes Family Tree

useful links