TERRIBLE TWO'S? NOT US!

THE fabulous foursome - Aidan, Anya, Connor and Rory Koohpaima - celebrated their second birthday in Bahrain at the weekend and GulfWeekly was invited to join in the fun.

The cheerful quadruplets enjoyed party games and cakes at their home in Janabiyah with family and friends.

Find out how the family is coping and how the children have changed in the past 12 months since we last visited them.<

Chubby cheeks, cute smiles, lovely curls and dressed in their elegant best - these weapons of charm struck deep and delighted friends and family as they gathered to celebrate the second birthday of the Koohpaima family's 'fab four'.

The terrible two's were welcomed by the awesome foursome - Aidan, Anya, Connor and Rory, with their favourite cartoon character - Elmo, the little red monster from Sesame Street, who graced a tasty sponge cake with fruit and custard filling topped with fresh cream icing at their home in Janabiyah on Saturday.

The premature quadruplets were born to Zall and Cynthia Koohpaima on February 1, 2009 and were the first to have been born in the kingdom for more than 15 years at the International Hospital of Bahrain.

To the loving parents, who celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in December, and doting sister, Arianna, 16, they were the reward for patience and faith after years of suffering the heartache of miscarriage.

Whilst the eldest sibling, now in Grade 11 at the AMA School, is planning for life in university in a little more than a year, the tiny ones are preparing to start school.

But that's for the future. This weekend the family concentrated on enjoying the quad's second birthday bash.

Bahraini Zall and his American wife Cynthia's life has changed dramatically with the arrival of the new additions. They have converted their living room into a playroom and quickly learned to stretch and juggle their finances to cope with the extra expense.

Cynthia, 39, who works as an administrative support manager in a local bank, said the children were happy and meeting all their developmental milestones as expected. "They're progressing at a normal rate just like any single-born, full-term baby would instead of the multiple-preemies that they are, and we are really very thankful to God for that," she said.

"Whenever I get a chance I love to just sit quietly and watch them interact, explore and 'talk' to each other. They are like any other set of siblings, who love each other and also have an occasional fight, usually over a toy and we make them hug or kiss and make up, particularly if they get into the rolling, biting, pulling hair kind of 'disagreement'!

"What really is sweet is that if, for example, Rory and Anya go out separately, for even five minutes, when they are 'reunited' they jump into each other's arms and hug each other tightly as if they had been apart for a year. Seeing them together makes me really happy."

The children like to be heard and have picked up bits of English, Farsi and Arabic. The proud parents say that they understand everything that is happening around them and are picking up a new word at a rate of one per day.

She said: "They still chatter away in their own little language that makes no sense to any of us, but they seem to know what the other is saying, and that's what counts!

"They say each other's names, and call Arianna 'Sissy' or 'NaaNaa' except Anya who calls her 'Ai-NaaNaa'.

"When Arianna's school bus comes in the morning, Connor calls out "SISSY! SISSY! SCHOOL!"

"It's funny that they all learned how to say Connor's name first. But Aidan was saying his own name long before that. Just the last couple of weeks they've mastered Anya's name, so they say ANYA instead of 'Yaya'."

The children are no longer sitting quietly in their baby seats and have mastered everything possible on two tiny feet including cycling their tricycles. Mum estimates running speeds at 'warp speed five' and compares her flock's antics to Tarzan.

She said: "They run, climb and jump like Tarzan! Connor is the most cautious of the four, Anya is the fearless daredevil and Aidan and Rory are somewhere in between the two.

"She climbs to the top of the TV cabinet or sofa and walks like she's on a catwalk ... or tightrope! We have just recently broken Anya's habit of climbing over the security gate on the stairs.

"Before Rory could walk he was climbing the chairs and sofas and diving, or trying to, off the backs and sides and then laughing his head off. Unfortunately for us and the nannies, the other three have caught on to this rather quickly."

Anya, the tiniest of the four, is described by the doting parents as the little 'mama' or 'boss' mediating when the boys get into a fight and checking on them when someone gets hurt or upset. She never fails to tittle-tattle and tells on her naughty brothers.

Cynthia explained: "She is very much a girly-girl, but definitely more than holds her own with the three boys. She is very clever ... show her something once or twice and she remembers. She's also quite mechanically inclined from my observations.

"She loves to dance and play with toys and is the best (and fastest) driver of the four on their little cars. She also likes to pick her clothes, if she doesn't want to wear a certain outfit that day, she'll shake her head and say 'La-la'!"

Always ready with a smile is blonde Aidan who Cynthia says is her comedian - always ready with a laugh and a dance. She said: "He's a real Cassanova and will grab your hand and kiss it, almost absent-mindedly. He's very content to sit as close to you as possible and watch a TV programme with you, happily content.

"He likes to watch Iron Chef - the host of the show cracks him up and sends him into peals of laughter. He and Rory are a tag-team for mischief though and both try the smile and charm method when caught.

"I can't tell you how many times we've caught them in the kitchen emptying out the cooled water dispenser onto the floor, standing in the middle of a puddle of water both of them having a good time and laughing their heads off.

"Connor gives the BEST hugs and doesn't let go for the longest time. He is a very big and strong little boy, bless him, and knows very well how to use his size to get his way and dominate, physically. If one of the others doesn't do as he likes, he just sits or lays on them. End of story!

"That being said, he is also, thankfully, the most obedient. He is also the most sensitive, still very much a deep thinker and prefers undivided attention. He loves to build with giant Lego and look at children's picture books."

Rory is the charmer, who loves the camera and can melt anyone with a look from his big, beautiful blue-green eyes and a big smile. He has been nicknamed 'WoWo' by the other three who are ever ready to point at him and call him the naughtiest.

Their besotted mother added: "The closest description I can make of it is 'the look' Puss in boots gives in the Shrek films when he's caught!

"Zall and probably everyone else would say that Rory is a 'Mama's Boy', and he is very attached to me, and has been since birth. I've treated him no differently than the others. I love all my children equally, but he's stuck to me like glue and hey, I'm loving it to be honest!"

The family is now looking forward to an exciting year with a new job for Zall with Bahrain Air and the couple hopes to buy a house and, if possible, go on a long-awaited holiday.

They are disappointed however about some unkind rumours, which have been brought to their attention. Zall explained: "It is disappointing when we hear that some people assume that we have received all sorts of financial assistance or gifts from the government and various companies or from our employers.

"The truth is that we have received none of that and the only money we get from our employers is what we work for and earn each month.

"I guess the hardest for both of us is to leave for work in the morning as the kids get really upset. They understand that they won't be seeing us for a while and either try to block the front door or hang on to our legs.

"It's the hardest part of our day, but the best part is when we come home and get to spend time with them and the weekends. It doesn't matter how rotten a day you had, it's all forgotten when you see the happiness on their faces when they see we're finally home, and the stress rolls away under the onslaught of kisses and hugs we get from the kids."/p>