Joseph Playing and Babies Moving!

Joseph spent 5 hours yesterday playing at the beach in Lake Zurich, IL yesterday with family. He is loving the water this summer, and apparently can't get enough of it because last week he woke up saying "I want swim". We've got his "big boy room" just about done, and plan to move him into it sometime in July so that we can get him used to a twin bed before the babies arrive, and get a second crib and a few "girly" items into the baby room. When the high risk doctor mentioned 36 weeks as a delivery time to me last week (of course we still have no idea of exactly when), I realized for the first time that we only have like three months left to get everything ready. (to a normal person this wouldn't be a big deal, but to someone who plans everything this means I should have ordered our crib yesterday). The girls are about a pound each, and have maneuvered themselves into the head down position! Pretty early for them to stay that way, but it seems they still have room to flip. There's a lot more kicking and punching going on in there, and quite a bit of belly out here!

Happy Father's Day!

DISCLAIMER: Photo not taken this weekend. Dressing a child in long sleeves and jeans when temperatures are approaching 90 is borderline abusive. More so than spanking. :)

20 Weeks - Halfway There!

Summer Fun Has Finally Begun

Seems the warmer weather is finally here to stay (nice considering it's June and all). After the Penguins won the cup on Friday night, we spent the rest of the weekend outside enjoying the sun. Brewers vs. White Sox at Miller Park on Saturday, and the Milwaukee Zoo and Conway Sprinkler on Sunday. In preparation for all the weekend activity Jay cut the grass during the week, and as usual, Joseph was right there beside him doing his part.

Anatomy Scan....Check!

Today we had our "marathon ultrasound", aka full anatomy scan on both babies. While we're not sure how many toes each baby has or who's feet belong to who, we do know that all limbs, organs, chambers, spines, and heads are accounted for (see two heads pictured above). The girls (yes, they are definitely girls) are facing each other and both feet down so all that could be seen from the 2D ultrasound was a big foot party going on at the bottom of my belly. They each weigh in at 11oz and are measuring on track at 19weeks. The doctor said not to loose any sleep over the feet, and I assured him that is not what keeps us up at night (barking dogs, street sweepers, and the sounds of birds chirping way too early in the morning have that covered). He also said that I need to come back to meet with a different dietitian on Friday to start the finger pricking, and then back in two weeks to meet with both him and the dietitian on the blood sugar levels and next set of growth measurements on the babies. I asked if they had a frequent flier program I could join for free beverages or food in the cafeteria, but apparently no such program exists.

Our First Prom...Together

Now if it were photos from our proms back in high school, Jay would have been sportin a mullet and I would have been wearing a very stylish banana clip back in the early 90s (I still think the banana clip dos look good, but can't say the same for the mullets). For this prom we were out in our neighbors back yard, slow dancing and bustin a groove to popular 80s hits and more recent hip hop (bend over to the front and touch your toes). Hmmm, wonder why there wasn't any country music....

It's funny that you don't realize how big you are until you see yourself captured on film. This time around my belly is super high and super huge compared to when I was pregnant with Joseph (yes, I do realize there are two babies in there but c'mon...that's 14 oz of baby instead of 7). But according to the dietitian, I am "right where I need to be" in weight gain and need to continue gaining a pound a week. I was confused as to how exactly I would do this while on a low carb diet, but to my surprise and utter happiness I am being allowed 30-45 carbs per meal this time and 2000 calories a day. Now it would be nice if those 2000 calories could include a smoothie or huge bowl of pasta, but I'll be ok with apples dipped in peanut butter and a cup of pasta with two meatballs instead. :)

Go Penguins Go!

Penguins start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight....Jay and Joseph are very excited. :) And yes, our girls will also be dressed in Pittsburgh attire (with the occasional Bears outfit of course).

Joseph in the Sprinkler

We turned on the sprinkler to water the grass out front when we got home from work last week (the never ending battle of us vs. the lawn), and the minute Joseph saw it he got super excited and started playing in the water. Hopefully he'll be just as excited about going in pools this summer! (Last summer he didn't particularly enjoy being in water if his feet couldn't touch the bottom) We spent lots of time playing outside this weekend, and visited a few parks (afterall, Joseph "needs park" almost every day) We also got the little pool out and gave Rosco a bath. Joseph was waaaaay more excited about this than Rosco, and kept saying "I want bubble bath". But it was a bit chilly so instead Jay gave him a cup to help rinse Rosco off. Of course most of the water ended up on him and not the dog anyway, and somehow I ended up getting squirted by the hose and dumped on by the cup.

Girls, Girls, Girls!

That's what you get when you count me plus the two little ladies in my belly! Jay has already said that because he is going to be outnumbered, he gets vito power on all decisions (sounds like reality hasn't set in for him yet). The girls are 6oz each, and looking good. I weigh much more than that, and am doing pretty good too. I'm enjoying my last week of a carb filled diet, the official news came this morning that I failed the initial glucose test. And so I graduate to the three hour blood test on Friday, which I also anticipate failing. And so I am eating all the fruit and pasta that I can, and will be indulging in desserts and potato salads this weekend before I meet with the dietitian. (after all, 5mos with hardly any carbs means I'm proceeding as usual until the finger pricking begins) And now back to the girls, we go back in three weeks for a full anatomy scan, and then every two weeks following for growth measurements. They are both positioned with legs down and heads kind of facing each other now, but that is likely to change. They literally look right on top of each other (somehow I thought separate sacs meant separate sides of the belly...not the case). They appear to resemble Joseph's ultrasound pics, they are ok with pink but it's not their favorite color, and they would prefer not to wear identical outfits (though they aren't opposed to coordinating). That's all we know for now. :)

16 Weeks and Growing!

Well apparently it's true, two babies do take up more space than one. If you had to take a guess and didn't know me you'd probably put me at the end of my second trimester instead of towards the beginning. I seriously don't even think I'm eating that much, but I am trying to get some carbs in now while I can because I get tested "early" for gestational diabetes this week. Oh well, the upside is that this time I have the clear drink instead of the nasty orange and cola flavors that I've had before. And of course the more obvious upside of not being able to gain much weight on a diet of vegetables, nuts, cheese, meat, and fish. Oh yeah, and eggs. Yummmm. (is the sarcasm coming across?) But until then, bagels and fruit for breakfast it is! I'm also making pasta sauce. Wishful thinking that I'll make it through the entire batch before having to prick my finger after each meal.

Chatterbug

An appropriate nickname for Joseph these days. Over the past week or two he's turned into quite the talker! We went out to dinner on Saturday night and he jibber jabbered the entire time (and not using an inside voice...something I was told to do quite often when I was younger) I think Jay noticed the difference right away after being gone for a week....hard not to because it's amazing how much Joseph understands now. At breakfast this morning Joseph said "momma fork please". And after I gave him his gummy bear vitamins and told him to chew them he finished and said "I chewed it". The best was last week when I told him if he ate his macaroni then he could have a treat, and he looked at me, rolled his eyes and said "no-ooo, I eat chicken" (like duh mom, I don't want the macaroni I want more flippin chicken). A not so cool recent development is that he screams like crazy during his bath, like it's some form of ancient water torture. Seriously, our neighbors must wonder what the heck is going on inside our house. :)

Turn my back for one minute...

And Joseph climbs his way up to sitting on the kitchen stool and tries to make a phone call. I literally only turned my back long enough to wash one sippy cup! Maybe he wanted takeout (thai please!).

Actually I've been pretty weird about food lately...I get hungry but I don't feel like eating (and let me say that is a very new feeling for me!) Nothing is very appealing though I do become fixated on certain things that I have to have right away. Yesterday all I could think about was an asiago cheese bagel with veggie cream cheese, so that's what I got this morning. (I'm thinking of getting it tomorrow morning too.) The other night it was pasta, so Jay was very accommodating and made dinner while I sat on my ass (something I am always in the mood to do these days). I have to get my carbs in while I can, since I'm being tested for gestational diabetes in a few weeks (oh joy of joys). I've already been told that I will fail the test it's just a matter of when. Lovely.

Joseph is clapping his hands to sesame street right now (ladybugs twelve, at the ladybug picnic). We also worked on his letters and sounds using starfall.com (awesome site!) The banana and cookies for dinner didn't exactly score me high parenting points though (at least there was milk). And now Rosco is licking the crumbs off the couch. Nice.

Twins!

That's right...I'm pregnant....with twins! It all started with this ultrasound picture on Friday, March 13th. They had just wrapped up taking pictures of "the" fetus when they started taking shots of my ovaries. As they moved across my belly to get to the other ovary another heartbeat flickered on the screen. Jay actually recognized what he was seeing, and the technician and doctor confirmed...there's two in there!

Another ultrasound with the perinatologist last week confirmed that the twins are identical, two sacs but one placenta (mono-di). That means that through some twist of fate the egg split into two sacs, but the babies share the same food source and blood. So there's a higher chance of complications....yadda yadda...we'll be having lots of ultrasounds.....blah blah blah....had to switch doctors and will be seeing specialists....likelihood for bed rest and c-section....I could continue with all the details but then your eyes would glaze over and you'd be less likely to come back to the blog for updates and I'd have to talk to people on the phone more and that sure isn't going to happen.

While it may not have been fate that split the egg, it wasn't genetics either. While fraternal twins can be hereditary, there is no answer for what causes identical twins. Tall moms, obese moms, moms that eat lots of yams and dairy....all are linked to higher chances of twins...but since I didn't start eatting ice cream by the gallon until after I was pregnant it seems we were just lucky!

I'm feeling fine other than being tired and hungry all of the time....hoping that goes away soon...if not I'll be one large mama my the time the babies arrive! Due date is November 1, 2009...12 weeks down, 28 more to go!

Joseph's 2 Year Stats

Height: 36 inches (100%)

Weight: 30 lbs 4 oz (80%)

Head: 48 3/4 cm (50%)

No surprise that Joseph is still on the tall side...but the nurse was a bit generous with his height because she measured him at 37. (which he is definitely not). He started screaming the minute she walked into the room and told her "bye bye" several times before coming to terms with the fact that we were in a doctor's office. He calmed down in time to get checked out by the doctor though, and even said "Ahhh" so that we could see his 2 year molars. Only needed one shot and one blood test this time around, and that's it for the needles until public school time! He wasn't very pleased with the shot in his thigh but he got over that as soon as he realized there were robots on his band aid. But seriously....what happened to the suckers? No cutesy band aid or sticker could ever be as good as a lollipop.....unless they start coating band aids and stickers with sugar.

Two, Ha, Ha, Ha!

"Two, Ha, Ha Ha" is Joseph's consistent response to the question "How old are you?" And after weeks of preparation the answer finally fits....Joseph is 2! We made cupcakes to take to school and share with everyone, but did some pre-celebrating this weekend with family and will have post celebrating next weekend with more family. Hopefully next weekend he'll be a bit happier at cake time. While his mood did make for some cute pics I decided not to post the ones of his screaming. After all, it is his birthday.

Negotiate or Dictate?

This morning when I walked into Joseph's room he made a noise that was part whine part scream. (and not because I woke him up, he was already awake with the light on) When I asked him if he wanted me to leave, he said yes, I left, and the noise stopped. Easy peasy.

Some things are not as easy to resolve. Like not wanting to go inside after playing outside. Or wanting to watch Nemo everyday. And so the question is, which method is better.....reasoning or forcing? I tend to lean towards negotiating tactics when confronted with a tantrum. "If you put on your coat, then you can have a vitamin" (side note: whoever came up with the idea of gummy bear vitamins was a genius).

Joseph picks up new words every day so it is getting easier to communicate. His favorite phrases of the moment are:
"Apple Juice" (he gets very happy while drinking it, and lets you know by wistfully repeating the phrase after each sip)
"Rosco no Rosco stop" (clearly he learned this from me)
"Mommy sit" (usually accompanied by Joseph pointing to the exact spot he wants you to sit on)
"Daddy up" (translation: Daddy pick me up)

The Irish Soccer Player

The kid is part Irish so we had to put him in green today in honor of St Patrick's Day(I had previously dressed him in red, black, and white and when we were changing him into his more festive attire he kept crying "no....black.....no.....black" Translation: No, I want to wear black). He's looked like a little boy for a while now, but his haircut, height, and use of words all makes him seem so old. This morning while having his diaper changed, he happily sang "Patty Cake", rolling and kneading included. Patty Cake is much easier to understand than Joseph's version of the ABCs and Farmer in the Dell. He was actually singing the real words and not just the occasional C and Q or repeating of the word "dell" to a familiar toon. :)

A View of the After....

Sometime between 1938 and 1986 someone thought it would be a good idea to incorporate Cerulean Blue (a not so subtle turquoise) into our bathroom (since our house was built in the 30s I'm wondering if it was actually the original color). In 2009 we decided to rid our lovely home of the nasty color, and thanks to "Uncle Pat-ric-cak" I think we now have a color that will stand the test of time. (White has been popular since 1883) You can't help but no so much about toilet colors when living not too far from the toilet capital (Kohler) of the country. In addition to the spa and golf courses they also have a very nice toilet museum. Maybe we should have donated ours....

If you don't recall what our bathroom previously looked like, you can catch a glimpse of it here: http://conwayupdates.blogspot.com/2008/06/turn-my-back-for-minute.html

And yes, Joseph is wearing a pair of my slippers. Or as he like's to call them "momma boots". :)

Joseph and Rosco Finding Nemo

Joseph Playin Around

Well as you very well know, Joseph has a favorite movie, and that is Finding Nemo (we watched him get found again this morning. That Marlin sure is getting unbearable). But what you may not know is that he also has a favorite song (of the moment). Surfin from Ralph's Under the Sea CD. That's the song he is dancing to in this video. He's done much more elaborate performances but of course not while the camera was out. He surf's, wipe's out, and sings along to some parts. No dancing yet today, but we've bowled, shot some hoops, played "go go trucks" (a game invented by jay where he races his big yellow trucks across the dining room), and at swim lessons he jumped into the water without holding on to me (yes, I was there to catch him). Head still stays above the water but he seems to be getting more comfortable. He even blows bubbles (I told him that's what nemo does).