Parrot Head or Clown?

Proof that Joseph is doing just fine. ;) And I also threw in a shot of Jay and Rosco. We all had a great time at our alley party last weekend in the hood. The next day while Jay and our neighbors tried to polish off the keg, Joseph and his friend Ruthie had fun with some body paint. Joseph looked kind of like a clown, but Ruthie resembled Uncle Leo with the stenciled in "angry eyebrows" from Seinfeld. Quite amusing for the adults.

Joseph's First Real Ow-Wee

Yes, it's true. Joseph has had his first real "ow-wee" (as he calls them). He and I stopped at the park the other night on the way home from daycare and reached a point where he wasn't listening very well so I issued the "if you don't stop doing that, then we're going home" statement. And in typical 2 year old fashion (or at least typical 2yr old Joseph fashion) he looked me right in the eye, threw the wood chips, and smiled, so I grabbed his hand and we started walking away from the playground. When we were almost out of the park he tried to pull me back the other way and when that didn't work he dropped his weight like a sack of potatoes in the direction that he wanted to go (which was of course the opposite direction that I was going) and can you guess what happened next? One of the bones in his arm pulled away from his elbow, and there you have it, his first real owe-wee. I figured something was wrong because he wasn't pulling anymore. ;) And holding his arm and not being able to climb into his car seat was another clue. So Jay met us at home and even though Joseph tried to persuade us it was "all better" so that he could watch woody and buzz, we were not convinced. So off to children's hospital they went, I packed them a bag of snacks and drinks thinking it would be one of those epic emergency room adventures, but they were in and had the bone twisted back in place in minutes. And when he arrived back home he enjoyed a nice "big treat" (popsicle on a stick).

Pictures of Both Girls

For the first time in a long while we were able to get good shots of both girls....Twin A's profile and Twin B's face shot. Everything looked good in the last ultrasound and the growth discrepancy is no longer of any concern (it's being chalked up to a distorted image). Twin A weights 2lbs 11oz , Twin B weighs 2lbs 13oz and both seem to be enjoying their crowded quarters. Twin As head is waaaaay down at the bottom of my belly which explains all the pressure I feel and frequent jabs to the internal organs, and Twin B is in a breech position on the upper right side of my belly which accounts for all the visible dance like moves throughout the day. I'm in week 29, I measure at week 37, and I will be absolutely thrilled when I get to week 34 (to make it past Oct 1 has always been our goal). I'll be even happier when we come up with some names! (though we'd still refer to them as Twin A and Twin B, so don't get your hopes up) ;)

State Fair - Joseph and the Cow - Take 3

We went to the Wisconsin State Fair last weekend so that Joseph could see the animals and Jay and I could sample the chocolate covered bacon (a new item on a stick this year in addition to all the oldies but goodies....pb&j on a stick, smores on a stick, mac n cheese on a stick....just to name a few....and of course all are fried). We're that family that shows up as close to 8am as possible to avoid the crowds, and in this particular case, the heat and humidity. Though this year we discovered the downside to arriving early....not sure if something's changed or if last time we lingered longer among the cows...but they don't start serving a lot of the food until later. And even at 9, I wasn't able to get potato pancakes or french fries with cheese and bacon. (Are people seriously supposed to eat eggs and sausage for breakfast at state fair? Puh-lease....not when there are cream puffs and fried pickles to be had!) I bet I could have found a beer and some cheese curds though. ;) In addition to our traditional cream puff, we were able to score a new flavor of milk....banana (and when I say we I really mean Jay and Joseph. I don't do milk unless it's accompanied by cookies or cake). After a few hours of walking the fair grounds even my slow pace was starting to turn into more of a crawl, so we traded pigs and $3 bottles of water for lawn chairs and a kiddie pool at home.

A look back at Joseph's previous State Fairs:
http://conwayupdates.blogspot.com/2008/08/state-fair.html

http://conwayupdates.blogspot.com/2007/08/gotta-love-cows.html

Umbilical Cords...Check!

All went well at the follow up appt at the hospital to check the "flow" through each of the umbilical cords. So everything is good and it just so happens that they were growing at different rates over the past two weeks (or if when we go back for our next appt they are equal again, mayhaps the tech made a small error on one of the measurements) But no matter....it's nice to know that everything is ok, and we got a pretty good picture out of it...Twin B's profile with Twin A's arm. Next friday is when we will return for more measurements and we'll have updated weights on both girls. Now that Jay's back from his trip to London and India, we're both in planning mode. He called while tied up in some traffic on the way back from picking up the crib and started asking about sheets and diapers and formula and do we have enough birp clothes for two babies....some could describe it as momentary panic but I'm pretty sure it was just his preparation instinct kicking in. ;)

27 Weeks - End of the Second Trimester!

And to me it looks and feels more like the end of the third trimester, but I guess that's what happens when there are two babies instead of one. According to my growth measurement on Friday, twin A is 1lb 15oz (39%) and twin B is 2lbs 3oz (49%). (That's 4lbs of baby for those of you less skilled in the art of math...it actually took me a while to figure that out as it seems that hormones and pounds have replaced brain cells and memory.) A ten percent difference can be normal with mono-di twins, but since at my last measurement they were the same I will have weekly appts with the high risk doctor to see how things go over the next few weeks. Everything else checks out though, so no need for concern! They've both been moving around like crazy today. I can't always tell the difference, but tonight there was visible action on all sides of the belly. Aside from growth, there's no other changes, except that I started insulin over the weekend. I'm not the biggest fan of needles, but actually the shots are much better than the finger pricking! I only have to do it before bedtime so it's not that big of a deal. I have my regular every other week visit with the obgyn tomorrow, and then back to the hospital on Friday. They should consider offering spa services while you get your ultrasounds. A facial or a pedicure would be nice while having your belly probed by the transducer.