Twin Pilgrims

Happy Thanksgiving!

Will


John

An apple a day...

...is supposed to keep the doctor away, right?

Apparently the boys need to eat more apples, because the doctor has definitely become our best friend over the past few months.

What we thought were high fevers associated with ear infections turned out to not be the case. The week the boys had their tubes put in, John came down with a 103+ fever 4 days after surgery. A few days later, Will contracted a high fever too. They both had a full blood work-up, only to reveal not a whole lot of information other than they were fighting viruses.

This past weekend, the boys started to have a nasty cough, so we took them to the doctor on Monday. What I thought was croup actually turned out to be pneumonia for both of them. Thankfully, we were able to treat it at home with Augmentin, and they were fever-free and almost back to normal within a couple of days.

After much deliberation and conversation with the pediatrician, we are taking the boys to see a Pediatric Infectious Diseases doctor. We all want to know why the boys get so sick, so frequently, so quickly. We are hoping and praying that we will get answers quickly, because we will have decisions to make regarding childcare if we determine that the boys' immune systems are too weak to be around other children and therefore in daycare. Ryan is student teaching in the spring, so we may need to find an in-home childcare option...one that's flexible and CHEAP.

Please pray for medical answers and for clarity of thought as we try to make future plans.

We'll keep everyone posted!

Tubes Day

Today started bright and early - 4:20AM for me, 5:00 for Ryan, 5:15 for the boys. We were at the hospital by 6AM, and then went through the normal pre-op paperwork, etc. The boys had fun playing in the children's waiting room.

Everything went well. Dr. Brown said that Will's left ear was full of gunk that was under a lot of pressure, so he cleaned that out before putting the tubes in. John's weren't as bad, interestingly (since he's had more ear infections than Will).


Will and Mommy post-op...about 20 minutes into recovery. Just about normal...



John and Daddy post-op...about 5 minutes into recovery. Not yet normal. John chugged two full sippies of diluted apple juice. Check out his awesome hospital-issue, no-slip toddler socks and hospital gown. You can't see it in this picture, but each boy had a big piece of tape across the front of his gown that had his name and either #1 (Will) or #2 (John) written on it. Pretty funny.

We were home by 8:30, complete with a fun Chick-Fil-A breakfast. They were back to their normal precocious selves by lunchtime. Naps today were a lot better than expected, especially with recovery on top of new big boy beds. So far tonight, not too many struggles!

Here's hoping and praying that our struggles with illnesses are ancient history!

BIG changes afoot

This weekend has been ROUGH, to say the very least. John has had a difficult time sleeping for the past week or so, but this weekend has been the worst.

Last night we put the boys to bed as usual, expecting to be up a few times to help calm John. Eventually, nothing we did calmed him down, so we decided to let him cry it out. Our little Spidey figured out how to climb out of his crib...THREE times. After the third time, the 4 of us took a trip to Babies R Us to try and find a solution. None was found, so we decided to go home, put their mattresses on the floor and hope for the best.

To make a long story short (trust me, the full story is much longer...), we wound up having a camp-out/adventure/slumber party in the boys' room. Mommy and Daddy slept on the floor, while we tried to keep the boys on their mattresses and asleep. It was a LOOOOOONG night.

We took a trip to Wal-Mart bright and early this morning, and here's the end result:



BIG BOY BEDS!!!

Naptime didn't happen AT ALL today, and bedtime so far has been ok. I wish I could say the transition is going smoothly, but it's not. Hopefully we won't have too many disruptions tonight - we're all tired!

Tomorrow, we have more big things happening - the boys are both getting tubes! I never thought I'd be excited about putting my kids through a surgical procedure, but I'm tired of ear infections, sinus infections, and general illness. We really need this to be the solution. Hopefully things will go well!

Happy Reformation Day!

We in the Stone family celebrate Reformation Day in lieu of Halloween - Reformation Day is when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, thus starting the Protestant Reformation. But, the boys' daycare had spirit week all week, which culminated with the kids wearing costumes. Here was our compromise:



Will is Thing 1, and John is Thing 2.

Happy Reformation Day, everyone!

Apples!!!

Last year, we went apple picking with the Smiths, and we decided that we needed to make it a tradition. We love to go to Sky Top Orchard up in NC, and they are getting busier and busier each year. Yesterday, we got there in the morning around 10, and we spent a good hour or so gathering apples, drinking yummy juice, and eating amazing apple cider donuts. Here are some highlights:

Pretty Fuji apples




"We're ready for some apples...we think!"




"Hmmm...wonder if these are any good?"




Will seems to be enjoying his apple




John's not so sure....he wound up liking it, though!




Eating apples is serious business




"Mom, we didn't know Auntie Em was a monkey! Where's your helmet, Auntie Em??"




Yummy - apple cider donuts!




Will was a sleepy boy - picking apples is hard work!



John's sound asleep too




The boys did very well eating apples on their own - they even seemed to like them, too! We really love our fall traditions. More pix of recent events to come...

ear infections and Clemson football

We spent the day inside today, due to rain, glorious rain. This caused all kinds of occasions for mischief, as evidenced by Will's somewhere in the range of 10-15 timeouts. John still doesn't feel well from his ear infection, and chose to spend most of his playtime either sitting in mommy and daddy's laps or chilling on the couch watching Clemson beat BC (see below).



Sorry for the grainy image. It was taken on a camera-phone.

Silly Saturday

Yesterday the boys spent most of the day in PJs. Hurray for PJ day!! Here are a few pix of our fun day:



Now THAT'S the look of a hungry, sleepy boy. No wonder - he took a 3-hour nap! Nice hair, Will!




John's ready for some serious fun!




John's channeling his inner Stevie Wonder. Ryan and I can't stop laughing at this one!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

We're still here.

It's been a busy summer, thus the recent absence from the blogging world. Ryan is taking 4 classes this summer, along with working at the 'bux. The boys are in daycare 3 days a week, which is a decision we made to help ease their transition to full-time daycare in August when Becky goes back to school. Becky is taking an online technology class along with a week-long seminar through Converse. We can't believe the summer is almost gone!

Here are some pix of our latest adventures:

The boys have decided they really like spaghetti...or is it the mess that they like???

Will's spaghetti face - if you look closely, you can see his handprint in the middle of his face!


John was going for the Two-Face look. But he's no villain!


We went garage saling yesterday, and we got some amazing finds! The church down the street had a TON of kids stuff, and we got a Lego table with Legos, two wooden kid chairs, a wooden kid rocker, and an old school toy - the cube that you drop the different-shaped blocks into. Grand total? $6.50!!!! We almost felt guilty for spending such a small amount of money.

The boys and the Lego table:


Will is REALLY excited!


John's pretty pumped too...it's just hard to get him to sit still long enough for a picture!

More firsts

Last night the boys had spaghetti for the (kinda) first time. John liked it better than Will, but that's not saying much:


John's all smiles...for now.


Will is NOT happy with trying new things.


Today, we tried coloring with crayons! Mommy helped us, but we were more interested in eating them. Thankfully, Crayola crayons are non-toxic!





John's perfecting his "look."



Will - a blooming Michelangelo? Don't let the picture deceive you...most of the markings are from Mommy!

First swim!

The weather was nice this past weekend at the lake, so we decided to put the boys in the water. They didn't like the lake too much:

Will



John




But they liked the nice, safe kiddie pool on Masie and Grampy's porch instead!

Will



John

at long last! and only 3 months late!

pictures from the boys' birthday!

Dinner time and ravioli head

Here are a couple of pictures from tonight's dinner time. The boys know how to say "oh no!" and they put both of their hands on their head. Hence, at dinner time, ravioli head! And Will's sad because we went to get more food and there wasn't anything on his tray.

Swinging!

Here's a couple of pictures of the boys in their swing from Kev and Em and John for the first time!

SNOW DAY!

Yesterday we got to play in the snow for the first time. We didn't like it too much, but we LOVED spending the day with Mommy and Daddy!

Walking!

Both boys are walking! John more so, but Will's trying to catch up! They've been doing so for a while now. We just haven't had a chance to post a video. So here's one of John walking from daddy to mommy (with Will getting in on the action at the end, or at least trying to).

Happy Birthday!

We're one year old! Yay! Here's a few pictures of our fun day with mommy and daddy. We got to have a fun morning bath, breakfast, Chick-Fil-A with mom and dad, a trip to Lowe's, playtime at Furman, playtime at home with our baseball (and daddy's hat!), and watching cars drive past the house! Man... we're pooped! Growing up's hard work! (P.S. You can see what we looked like this time last year here.)

11 Months!

Wow. I can't believe that we will be celebrating the boys' 1st birthday in a month. While on the one hand it seems like yesterday that Ryan and I were driving to the hospital to have the boys, on the other hand, it seems like FOREVER ago. As each day goes by, I enjoy the boys more and more. And I also get more and more terrified of the fact that we're in charge of two little people. And I STILL have those "Wow. These are MY kids" moments. Wonder if those will ever go away?

Some of my twin friends have blogs, and every month they list the different things their kids are doing at that moment. I wish I had started that earlier, but here's what the boys are up to:

Will
- has 6 teeth! His middle two front teeth just broke through the surface within the past 2 days
- is a champion crawler
- can stand and pull up and cruise the furniture
- can say "mama," "bwah" (whatever that is), "ga," "dada"
- loves to screech at the top of his lungs
- is looking more like his Daddy

John
- has 5 teeth, though I know there are more coming soon, judging by the way he's drooling and chewing on everything
- crawls like he has a motor attached to his rear
- likes to stand on his own
- is walking!!!! He can take 4-5 steps at a time, though Daddy has yet to see it
- can say "mama," "dada," "puh," and other things that I can't remember right now
- loves to blow raspberries
- is looking more like his Mommy


I'm sure I'll remember other things, but these are the things that come to mind right now. We have such fun, fun little boys.

Fun with Em!

Em took this picture last Friday while taking care of the boys.

First Christmas!

Well, we've had our first Christmas with the boys. As you can see, they got new dinosaurs. As you can also see, they're not daunted by the t-rex. They'll eat him too!

Stone Wars Episode V: Houdini Strikes Back

Some of you loyal readers (Hello grandparents!) may remember that we often referred to John in the early days as our little Houdini because he was constantly getting out of his swaddle, no matter what.

This morning, I was woken up around 5:30 to a crying child. Nothing too big, no "I'm in pain" cries....just the normal fussiness of "I'm bored. I'm lonely. I'm hungry. Mommy, where are you?" In our home, we have a pretty strict schedule where the boys don't get up until it's time (be it in the mornings or nap time). So, I let him cry until it was 6:00 - wake-up time. Judging from where the cries were coming from, I determined that the crying child was John. When I went in to get him, I found him almost exactly as he came into this world - NAKED (except for his diaper, thankfully)!!!! Little booger had somehow wriggled out of his PJs, and who knows how long he had been naked. Oh, but it gets better...

I thought maybe somehow he figured out how to unzip his PJs (currently a fleece, long-sleeved sleep sack) and wasn't exactly sure what the zipper did. And I thought that maybe he was just overly curious - just like the Curious George he sleeps with (and with which his Daddy before him slept too). When I grabbed John's PJs out of the crib to dress him again, I discovered that they were perfectly zipped and snapped. This led me first to offer up numerous exclamatory statements and second, to scratch my head in incredulity as to how exactly my youngest, though larger, son managed to do this.

Here are some of my conclusions:
A) he somehow got a shoulder out, then an arm, and then in a fit of anger, the other arm and finally his entire little body (all 28.3" of it) and couldn't figure out then why he was so cold and mad
B) I slept walk and undressed him (highly unlikely)
C) he figured out how to unzip his sleep sack, got out, then cleverly zipped it back up and piled it in a heap in his crib...just to keep us all guessing.
D) none of the above...and he's secretly gloating that no one (except for him and maybe his big bro, who slept soundly through it all) knows the truth.

Sign me up for the Bad Mommy of the Month award for making my kid cry for 30 minutes, NAKED, in his crib.

Oh well...at least it was a nice balmy 60 degrees out this morning, as opposed to the normal 30 degree December mornings. Somehow that made me feel just a little bit better.

I think John has forgiven me. He was quite mad this morning, even when I was re-clothing him in order to make him more comfortable. I rocked him and shushed him and asked for his forgiveness and told him that I loved him. When he looked at me with wet eyes and his silly grin, I knew all was right with the world again.

First Christmas Tree!

We took the boys out tonight to buy their first ever Christmas tree! Now let's just hope that they don't get into trouble around said tree!

P.S. Anyone want to guess who's who in the picture?

9 month pictures!

100th post!! And a new tooth!

We officially have a vampire on our hands! I found this morning that John's other top eye tooth has broken the surface. Yesterday I had a feeling that he would pop another tooth soon, but I didn't think it'd be this soon.

Hopefully all two of our blog readers aren't bored with posts about teeth. :)

The boys had a fun day today playing with their Uncle John (our friend John) and their Auntie Em (proud god-mama), since Ms. Melinda was sick. While they hated to not get to play with Melinda, rumor has it that they had an amazingly fun day with John and Em. Apparently John spent lots of time talking to them and telling them how adorable they are. And Em somehow found the time to make dinner for us and some friends of ours who welcomed their baby boy, Benji, back in October, as well as fold my laundry. What amazing friends!! Fun times had by all!

Tooth count: Will - 2; John - 3.

Squared up...kinda

Mommy found another tooth in John's mouth yesterday!!

I was very surprised, especially because it's NOT where I thought his next tooth would come in. Most babies get their front bottom teeth followed by their front top teeth. John, apparently, has to be different than most babies because.... he has one of his top eye teeth (aka canine teeth). While he won't let me see it yet, I can definitely feel it.

Tooth count: Will - 2; John - 2

9 months!

It's hard to believe that the boys are 9 months old today. It's crazy to think that they've been here with us longer than I was pregnant. This time last year, we had recently found out that we were expecting boys, and I was actually looking pregnant. Now we have two little boogers to keep us amused.

Will's and John's personalities are getting stronger and stronger. Will is still laid-back, though he's starting to get into mischief. He and John love to crawl all over the place, and they especially love to try and pull Mommy's cookbooks off the shelf. John has turned into Mommy's little boy. He loves to cuddle and be held, but he also loves to go, go, go. They really are so much fun.

Nine-month pix to come!!

More apple pickin' pics

Check out these pictures from Kev and Em from apple pickin'. Particularly take note of the b&w photo of John. That's a daddy expression if we've ever seen one.

Alas for the Clemson sleepers. Every time the boys have worn them, the Tigers have lost. Haven't worn them since.

Leveling the playing field

Almost as soon as I posted last time, Will showed me that he could, indeed, crawl. It seems that he's still army-crawling because it gets him places faster. Can you blame him?? He enjoys switching back and forth and keeping us guessing.

And....John's 1st tooth is in! I checked his mouth yesterday morning, and lo and behold, there it was! It has just barely broken the surface, but it's definitely there!

Tooth count: Will - 2; John - 1

Crawling...

Somehow in the busy-ness of life, we missed being able to pinpoint the day that John started crawling (not army crawling, but crawling-crawling). He's scooting around like a champ! We're thinking he started sometime within the last few days....

Still no teeth for John, and Will is *this close* to crawling-crawling, too.

And I'm sure we'll miss many more "firsts". Such is life with twinfants!

2-0

Tooth count: Will - 2. John - 0.

That's right, folks. Will's 2nd tooth has just barely broken the surface, but it's there! I found it this morning when the boys got up.

Never hurts to encourage a little friendly competition, right? Ryan always reminds me that the boys are going to be competitive regardless of what I try to do. Not that "tooth growing" is necessarily controllable... :)

8 months old!

And as you can tell from the pictures, personalities are becoming stronger and stronger...

How incredibly naive we can be...

We've been looking back at previous posts and I read the following:

2nd day at home.... And we're still getting adjusted.

We've been home with the boys for 8 months now and we're STILL getting adjusted. And when we've had the boys at home for 8 years, we'll STILL be adjusting.


Signed,
Ryan, the poster of pictures and not much else.

Welcome, Lucy!

Will and John asked us to help announce the birth of their newest cousin, Elisabeth Lucille Rank. Lucy was born this morning at 7:17AM. Mom and Baby are both doing great!

8 Months Old!!!

Happy 8-month birthday, Will and John!!!

Latest Milestones

This morning, the boys got their first taste of Daddy's pancakes - YUMMY! Happily, they LOVED them! The boys wanted some syrup, but Mommy said no. Mean ol' Mommy!

Will is now consistently sitting up on his own - as in he will go from his tummy to sitting up all by himself! And that tooth is still sharp! :) Will loves to eat pieces of banana that Mommy and Daddy give him.

John is scooting all over the place. His latest fun thing to do is to pull up on the chair so that he's standing! Such a big, big boy. We think he's going to skip "real" crawling and go straight to walking. We'll see if he's like his Daddy in that respect. And John LOVES yogurt!

They are interacting more and more together, and it's so much fun. We have such happy boys!

Will's trump card

John has pretty much been the first to do everything (besides being born, of course) - roll, sit up, crawl, etc. But today, Will just said "Take that, Lil' Bro!" Because....


He has a tooth! :) Masie was the lucky one to find that his little tooth had finally poked through the surface. Yay Masie! Yay Will!

Apple pickin' with Kev and Em

Hey! Who are you?

Dapper little gents!

Feeling curious

Baptism

Here's our latest family picture, taken 8/17/08 after the boys were baptized. Mommy is holding John, and Daddy is holding Will. Happy boys!!

6 month pictures - FINALLY!

Sorry for the delay!!!!

Bye-Bye Chunky Butt and Small Fry

The boys had their 6-month appointment on Friday (can we really believe it's been 6 months????). Everything went really well. Doc is still pleased with how the boys are doing. They both should have teeth within the next couple of weeks. Doc seems to think that all 4 of John's teeth will come in around the same time. That might explain some of his recent fussiness!

AND, the boys are the same weight AGAIN! They haven't been the same weight since birth, so we were pretty amazed. We knew John had caught up with Will, but we weren't sure how much. They're both 15lbs9oz. Will is 26" long, and John is 26.25" long.

The boys were baptized last Sunday at church, and both sets of grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins were there. It was really special to have our families with us to celebrate the occasion. Auntie Em and Uncle Kev were with us too...as were all of our other friends from church. :)

We have 6-month pix...soon to be uploaded.

John's still kickin'...

Veggies!

Here's our first attempt at veggies with the boys. Not the most successful thing we've done, but I think they got some vegetables in their stomachs!

Cereal!

Tricksy parents

We recently played a bit of a trick on our families. We sent them the following 4 pictures and played "Let's guess who!"

What we didn't tell them is that the 3rd picture is actually Ryan's niece! Hehe.

Yum!

All kinds of new things this week! Rolling! Feet! Cereal!

p.s. Will's in green and John's in blue.
p.p.s Happy 5-month birthday, boys!!!

This week in review

Things have been hoppin' around here! We have some SERIOUS rollers on our hands. Now we just have to learn how to roll BACK to our backs from our tummies and not get so mad. :)

John has found his feet! He loves to grab them and hold them...no sucking of toes yet, though I'm sure it's coming soon.

We broke down and put the boys in separate cribs last night. Ryan found Will literally ON TOP of John during a nap yesterday, and that was that. It was so sad for me to get them up this morning and not see them cuddling. Oh well...guess it had to happen sometime.

As for us, we spent a lovely long weekend with Masie and Grampy at the lake (well, what's left of it). Ryan, Grampy, and I ran the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th...and I mean ran! I had no intention of running very much, seeing as how we'd only run a handful of times since the boys were born. We wound up running the 1st 3 miles, walking miles 4 and 5, and then running the last 1.2. Oh my goodness - I looked like a little old lady hobbling around for about 4 days afterwards. I was so sore! I think today is the first day I don't feel any soreness or pain whatsoever. We were so blessed to have Uncle Kev and Auntie Em come down this weekend too. I know they enjoyed their vacation as well!

Pix are coming...we have them, but we just need to download them from the camera.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

No, we're NOT going to start singing "Rawhide"...

The boys have started rolling!! John is a champ, and Will is determined to keep up with lil' bro. Today during one of their naps, John fell asleep like this:




Excuse the poor quality...I took it with my camera phone because the memory card on the digital camera is full - we've been having too much fun with the video function!

Oh, and John got his first ear infection, poor baby. He's doing much better with antibiotics.

This is how I found Will this morning...

Camera time with John

John having a little fun! The background noise is Olympic gymnastics qualifying...

Check up!

We had the boys' 4 month check-up this afternoon, and everything was great. The pediatrician is very pleased with the boys' progress. They even flirted with her a bunch too!

Will is up to 13lbs7oz (18th percentile, but 60th adjusted...meaning compared with other full-term babies born when he was) and John is not far behind at 12lbs13oz (10th percentile, 40th adjusted). Will is 24.3" long (21st percentile, 50th adjusted) and John is 24" even (14th percentile, 50th adjusted). Yay for happy, healthy, strong boys!

Will likes to sleep like his mommy does...with one leg out:

4 months old!!

Wow. We can't believe that the boys are 4 months old already. In some ways, it seems longer, but in many ways it seems so much shorter. And to think - we still have a lifetime to go!

Ryan had a good first Father's Day. We went to the lake to celebrate, along with celebrating Madeleine's 2nd and Chris's 36th birthdays. All in all, we had a great trip.

For your viewing pleasure:



Will is on the right, and John is on the left.

Milestones

This past week has been a big one! After my last post about the boys not sleeping through the night, they've done it every night since! :) We actually had to WAKE THEM UP at 6AM on Sunday morning. It was - and continues to be - amazing. John still manages to get himself unswaddled and turned around in the crib. It's quite humorous to find your baby in a completely different place from when you put him to bed!

As of Friday, I'm now officially a SUMMERTIME STAY-AT-HOME MOMMY! It's FABULOUS!

On Saturday, we took the boys, along with Uncle Kev and Auntie Em, to the Greenville Scottish Games and Highland Festival. One of my students gave us free tickets, so we couldn't pass it up. It was really neat, albeit HOT! It was a bit too hot for the boys, so we didn't stay long. But we're still glad we went.

We went back to Community Group on Sunday evening for the 1st time in probably 6 months. We were there for just a little while, and everything was just fine. Good to see everyone again.

We made our first outing yesterday - just Mommy and the boys. We went to Babies R Us and Target, and all with minimal fussing. The boys did well too! My proudest moment was when I was trying to fold up the stroller to put back in the car after Babies R Us. And I couldn't remember how to do it! I'm sure I looked really cool.

The boys got their first taste of Baby Einstein yesterday when I popped in Baby Bach for Will while I was feeding John at 3. He LOVED it! And John got to watch it, too, while I was feeding Will. Three thumbs up for Baby Bach...and that's just because John is likely gnawing on one of his thumbs that he's recently discovered.

They've also decided that naptime is no fun. They used to sleep all the time - waking for a bit before and just after feeding time - but now they've decided it's too fun to stare at the popcorn ceiling in the living room. This afternoon, after John had been awake for about 2 hours, I pulled out the Miracle Blanket (yes, Renee, I actually have 2 of them! :) ), and he calmed down a bit. I just worry that he's a bit too hot. We'll see how it goes. So far, so good.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming up tomorrow night so we can celebrate Father's Day with Grandpa. Then we're headed to GA for the weekend for many celebrations - Father's Day, Madeleine's 2nd birthday, and Uncle Chris's birthday too.

Summertime will be over before we know it! :(

Here's our latest family pic from Mother's Day (was it really over a month ago???):

3AM...

came waaaaaay too early this morning when John started fussing. So much for sleeping through the night! He came unswaddled and had rotated almost 180 degrees again. I think he woke up because he was cold.

Back to the drawing board...

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

They did it! They did it! The boys slept through the night!!!!!!!!!! (can you tell I'm a bit excited?)

They've been sleeping more and more at night, so I knew it wasn't too far away. Ryan said he heard them peep at 4:40, but I didn't hear them at all. They didn't start fussing until 5:30! Will and John slept from 8:30-5:30! Way to go, boys! I'm sure it had something to do with the fun day they had with Masie and Aunt Ka-Ka on Monday. When I went to get the boys this morning, John had managed to not only come unswaddled (surprise, surprise), but he had rotated himself almost 180 degrees. His little head was up against the front bumper, and his feet were just about in his big bro's face. We may have to start separating them soon... :(

I can't believe they are 10 days away from being 4 months old. The other day when someone asked me how old they are, I answered, "2 months." Then I stopped and realized that I was wrong! At their 3-month check-up, Will was just shy of 12 lbs, and John wasn't too far behind at 11lbs1oz. They've outgrown most of their 0-3 month clothes. Thankfully, we don't have to buy any clothes for them! We've received LOADS of hand-me-downs from lots of people. The boys have more clothes than me and Ryan combined - and that's A LOT of clothes.

John has found his thumb. I caught him numerous times last night sucking away on that thumb, much to our dismay. I tried to persuade him to suck on his paci instead, but apparently his thumb tastes better. Hopefully we can break this habit fast. As Ryan pointed out, you can cut a paci away, but you can't cut a finger away. So true, so true.

Here's to more sleeping through the night! Hopefully this is the beginning of a great habit and NOT a fluke.

John, the kicker

Here's a picture of John in his bassinet. It might have outlived its usefulness at this point...

Take me out to the ball game...

With Grandpa and Grandma!

Sneaky little Will

We need a caption...

...and we want you to supply it! Have fun!

Things have been a bit busy

I realized today that it's been far too long since we've posted. I'll attempt to update in the next 10 minutes before it's time to feed the boys.

Our new schedule is working!!! The boys consistently go 4-5 hours at a stretch at night, and last night we got 5 1/2! WOW! It was great! Here's hoping last night wasn't just a fluke.

The Zantac seems to be working alright, but I guess it's just simply hard to tell. It'd be really nice if the boys could just tell us what's wrong, but I guess that's not part of the deal right now.

They had their 2 month check-up a week and a half ago, and the doctor is quite pleased (of course!). Will weighed a whopping 9lbs14oz and was 20.5" long, while John was up to 9lbs even and was 21" long. I told Ryan that Will is built like me and John is built like him! :) By this point, I'm guessing Will is close to 10 1/5 lbs and John is nearing the 10lb mark. It's funny - John still feels so much lighter to me!

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my 2nd week back to work. While last week was so incredibly hard, I know that it's a) for a short time and b) for the boys. Monday wasn't too bad because Mom was here, so I didn't have to worry about packing everyone up and heading out. I'm happy to say that Tuesday-Friday, I was at school around 8:00 every day! I made it to our sitters' houses at 7:30 pretty much on the button every day. Let's just hope that continues. I'm not enjoying having to wake up at 4:50am to get everything done, but I guess I'll get used to it in time...and by that time it'll be summer vacation! It felt good to be back at work and back in the swing of things, but of course I missed the boys dreadfully. I actually felt like a human, all dressed up and with make-up on. Though I can't complain about 8 weeks of lounging in my PJs until noon! And Ryan is doing an incredible job helping around the house and feeding the boys when he gets home from work and I'm still at school.

We hope to post some more pix soon. We forgot to take some last week on their 2-month-iversary, so we'll have to fudge it a bit. They'll never know, right?

Chunky Butt and Small Fry

Will and John have new nicknames - Chunky Butt and Small Fry. We knew that Will was heavier, and that was confirmed today when we went to the pediatrician. John is up to 8lbs3oz and Will is up to 9lbs!

Both boys are now on Zantac for suspected reflux. They've been very fussy lately, so we're hoping that this will help calm them down a bit.

We're also going to try out a new nighttime schedule so we can get (hopefully) some more sleep. Here's hoping it'll work!

First Easter!

Here are the boys and us on their first Easter. Grampy and Masie came up for the weekend to take care of us (all of us!).

I've been remiss...

...in informing you that our boys have pets. Indeed! Kermit and Frog! Though I only have a picture of Kermit...

One month picture

Thanks Grampy!



John's on the left, and Will is on the right.

One month check-up

We went to see Dr. Schultz this morning for the boys' one month check-up. They did great! Will weighs 7lbs9oz and John is up to 7lbs1oz. Both boys are 20 1/4", and their head circumferences are the same still - 14" (I think). Their reflexes are great, and the doc was amazed at their ability to hold their heads up. She said they're doing things that are normal for 2 month olds! They're still the wonder twins... :)

Mommy and Daddy did very well too when the boys got their HepB shots!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Will and John's one month birthday. My how time flies! On one hand it seems like yesterday when they were born. On the other hand, it seems like forever ago.

We have some new pix to upload. Hopefully it'll get done soon!

Reason #4,365,982 why I love my husband's job

Of course, the obvious reason is the free coffee. Then there's the great people he works with - one of his co-workers bought me a 6-pack of one of my fave beers after the boys were born. Then there's the benefits (stock options, 401K, health insurance...).

BUT, reason #4,365,982 is this... the regulars. Since the boys have born we've received gifts from 2 of Ryan's regular customers. One customer, affectionately known as "hot mommy" to the Starbucks crew, gave me a book called "Love You Forever." If you're a mommy of boys and feeling exceptionally emotional, DON'T read it. I cried for 10 minutes. Another customer today gave Ryan a card. No biggie, right? "Congrats on your 2 new bouncing bundles of joy," right? Yes, but also $100 in Babies R Us giftcards. I mean, WOW! I've met this customer before - we had a nice conversation through the drive-thru window (and yes, I've actually had a face-to-face, too) - but I wouldn't call her up and make a lunch date.

I'm humbled by the generosity of these two women...two women I don't even know!

It's 4 AM...

...and my son just projectile pooped. It hit the door, the wall, the floor...an impressive feat. 4, 5 feet maybe?

Just wanted to share.

That's all.

tummy time and first bath

Here's some pictures from the boys getting some tummy time (doc said it helps premies not have misshapen heads?) and their first bath!

Two weeks??

Two weeks old already? Next thing we know, they'll be walking...then starting school...then asking to borrow the car...then...oh my!

It's been a busy week 'round here. The week started out with the boys getting their very first bath - a sponge bath since they both still had their cords at the time. Then, John lost his umbilical cord on Monday. He trumped his big bro, yet again. We went to see the pediatrician on Tuesday, where we found out that we've got a pair of porkers on our hands! Both boys gained a bunch of weight - Will is up to 5lbs14oz, and John is up to 5lbs12oz...both up from 5lbs3oz in just one week. WOW! We also went to see Dr. H (my OB) on Tuesday for my 2 week check-up. Both Doc and Amanda were sorely disappointed that we didn't bring the boys, but with the flu epidemic, we didn't want to risk it. I'm healing quite nicely, thank you. AND, while we were at the OB, Masie was babysitting....and Will lost his umbilical cord! Now we can give the boys are real bath!!

Grampy is here with us as of today. He and Masie will head back to GA on Sunday, unfortunately for us. It's been so nice to have help 'round the clock. I know we need to get in the swing of things ourselves, but we've been so spoiled! It's nice to know that both sets of grandparents are so close and so willing to come help at a moment's notice. Now we just have to get Grandma and Grandpa over this nasty flu!

Oh yeah, and we still can't tell them apart. The spot that Grampy found on John's cheek disappeared...

Random Photos

The filenames of the pictures should tell you what's going on specifically. And I'm not placing them in chronological order, so just sit back and enjoy!

Soooooo big....

The boys are 8 days old! Ryan is going to post a "birthday" pic from yesterday hopefully tonight.

The past 8 days have been a blur. It feels like forever ago that we were in the hospital. And we've been home for 6 days. WHAT?? :)

Both boys are doing well. They're eating like pigs and growing. The pediatrician is pleased that they've already gained weight. And our wonder twins are STILL measuring exactly the same - though Will is .1" longer. Grampy thinks he found a spot on John's cheek to differentiate between them, but we'll see if that's a freckle or a scab of some kind. For now, we're keeping their hospital bands around their ankles.

Last night we slept well. I got up every 3 hours to feed, and Ryan and Masie traded off who would help. Neither boy was fussy during the night (knock on wood), so I got a good 2 hours of sleep at a time. My body has started to adjust - the 2 hours I get are some of the hardest and best 2 hours of sleep. I've even started waking up a bit before my alarm, which is good so I can get a head start on feeding before they get hungry.

Grandma came today so she and Masie fed the boys so I could rest and get some work done around the house. I still feel like I'll never catch up, but after all, the boys ARE only 8 days old.

Grampy and Masie...

...made it up to the house today. They're currently feeding the boys (giving Beck and me a break). The boys are eating almost 2 full ounces at this point, and sleeping very well.

Will and John have been going to sleep listening to Beethoven and we're playing Mozart for them right now during feeding time. From U2 to bluegrass to classical. We're broadening their currently non-existent horizons.

Here's a picture from yesterday with Kate and Maddie.

2nd day at home

And we're still getting adjusted. Got pics from their first photo-op with Uncle Chris to post soon.

More later.

In case you were wondering...

Beck hasn't disappeared from eWorld. She's just being a mom. She has more important duties than I do (not to mention that I can't do some of them, like lactate).

So I'm blogging these days. She'll be back soon.

Car seats and long days

John's off right now, getting tested in the car seat. Something about preemies having problems with car seats and breathing. (Will already passed).

Both boys are being bottle-fed now. Life's a whole lot easier. What had been taking 45 minutes or so now takes about 5 minutes per boy. Oh the bliss! They're taking almost a whole ounce at feedings now.

Anyway, Beck and I are enjoying the quiet of only one boy right now and indoctrinating him with Coldplay.

Eyes-open snuggling

Parenting is hard

And I've only been a dad for 30 hours.

Earlier, the boys were both crying their heads off because they were cold after feeding. Beck started hurting and I had to help her out. Combined with a lack of sleep and nervousness at the novelty of being a parent... it was hard.

But it's so worth it. Beck's feeling better now. The boys are swaddled and content. And they're absolutely amazing.

Here's a picture of Dr. Heidtman (the OBGYN) with the boys right after we got back in the room.

Almost a day old

Well. It's Valentine's Day, and we've got one heck of a Valentine's gift.

The boys are doing well. Sleeping most of the time. They had some trouble eating today. Mandy (from Lactation) said that was mostly due to the fact that they're still only 35 1/2 weeks. We tried finger-feeding them for a while, with some success. John's eating better than Will (he's trying to outdo "older" brother).

And just a warning to any who read this who might one day be in our shoes... Nurses come visit, and it's great, because they're checking to make sure mom and babies are healthy. Docs come, and it's great because they're doing the same thing. Lactation comes for the same reason. Friends and family come to visit and love and support and encourage.

But there are about 50 million people who do misc. jobs at the hospital as volunteers, etc. and they always seem to visit while we're trying to feed! So... it's easy to get frustrated, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that they mean well, they just have bad timing.

Music they're being introduced to: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

p.s. John just threw up. It was pretty disgusting, but not in that repulsive way. Welcome to daddy-hood, Daddy.

Couple more pictures for ya (in order: 23 hours old, daddy feeding them for the first time, mommy with the boys, Don and Jayne with the boys, Martin and Pam with the boys).

They're here! They're here!

William Ryan was born at noon today, weighing 5 lbs. 7 oz. and 18" long.
John Colton was born two minutes later, weighing the same and measuring the same!

Here's a pic, more to follow.

Delivery Day Belly-shot!

Here's Beck about 3 hours before the boys' arrival.

"Babies" Day!!!

Today's the day we get to meet our boys! :) :) :)

After our trip to L&D on Monday night, we went to see the OB yesterday at 2. He checked everything and decided that he didn't like the fact that my blood pressure has been creeping up (lower number in the 90s). He wasn't concerned about my contractions...it was my BP that concerned him, so he decided to go ahead and take the boys today!!!!

We're headed out momentarily for the hospital, and the surgery is scheduled for 10:00. Before we leave, I'm going to get Ryan to take one last belly shot. Hopefully it won't take us forever to post it....and to post pix of our boys!

WOOHOO!!!

Our SECOND trip to L&D...

...and we're back home. I would say "'nuff said," but I know too many of you want details.

Last night I was contracting, so I took a pill to see if they were real or another false alarm (this is per my OB). 2 hours later, I was still contracting - albeit irregularly. I called the on-call nurse, and she told me to head to the hospital.

The boys and I were hooked up to monitors, and the triage nurse was amazed at how constant my contractions were - she said the print-out looked like lots of hills. She called the doc on-call at my practice (unfortunately not my OB), and he told her to give me a shot, see if it worked, and then send me home. Lo and behold, the shot worked...and here we are.

I called my nurse this morning to tell her that Ryan and I were frustrated with the conflicting opinions we keep getting - take the pills, don't take the pills, if you're in labor they'll let you go, etc. The best explanation she could give me was that I'm in pre-term labor but not dilating yet, which is why we're at home and not holding our little boys. She's going to talk to my OB and call me back.

Needless to say (why do people say that and then continue with their thought regardless?), we're just a TAD bit frustrated by all of this...

Edited to add: We have an appointment today at 2. Pray hard!!

While you wait

...and we're still waiting.

Here are some pictures from today's appointment for your viewing pleasure. In the 1st one, you can see one of his eyes open! In the 2nd one, he looks a bit like Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker." Maybe he'll be the philosopher of the family.

...and waiting...

Went to see Dr. Greig today, and everything still looks good. The boys are a healthy 4lbs12oz and 4lbs7oz and wriggling like crazy. Baby A still enjoys kicking his brother in the face. I'm sure he's glad his brother decided to turn back head up after a week of being cheek to cheek.

I had to take 3 or 4 of my "stop the contractions" pills this week. They presumably worked, since we didn't go back to the hospital. Dr. Greig told me that if I feel like I need to take one again to just go ahead and go to the hospital - that they wouldn't stop labor at this point. So, it could be any day now!! While there's still a good chance that they'd have to spend time in NICU, the likelihood of it being a shorter stay grows more and more each day. The very selfish part of me wants them OUT so I can breathe again, but I also know that I don't want to leave them in the hospital when we come home.

This week or next week? Or 3 more weeks? Anyone wanna start a pool? :)

Waiting...

Tuesday's appointment was great. Both boys passed their BPPs, though it took a while for them to "perform" and show us that they are indeed practicing breathing. Doc still wants me to go at least another week, and I think at this point I'm measuring about 44 weeks pregnant. We'll know on Monday (appointment with the peri) how much they weigh, but I'm guessing somewhere around 4 lbs each by now. Doc lifted some of my restrictions, though I'm still on pretty strict bedrest. I can sit at the table to eat (WOO!), and he encouraged me to get up and stretch my legs every now and then. No marathon shopping trips or even short trips to the grocery store, but it's nice to know I can get up at times other than when I have to go to the bathroom.

The carseats are in Ryan's car, as is our bag....now we just have to have babies and we're all set! Ryan did a great job installing the seats!

Today marks 33 weeks, 5 days. The nurse in L&D reminded us that white boys have the hardest time as preemies - apparently they're referred to as "wimpy white boys" in the LDRP (Labor, Delivery, Recovery, Postpartum) ward. We just pray that their lungs are developed enough that they won't have to stay in the NICU long...or at all!

I've been blessed to have some company this week. Our friend Melissa brought her 6 month old daughter Carissa over for a couple of hours yesterday, and today our friend Jill brought 3-month old Sarah over. It was nice to have a bit of company, and Henley and Dabney both loved it! It was fun to see them interact with little ones. I think they're going to do really well.

In the meantime, we're just waiting...

the long awaited picture

Sorry it took so long to post this. My wife's been asking me to do it for about a week now.

So here it is! The 32-weeks picture!

Our 1st trip to L&D

Greetings from our borrowed recliner (thanks, Chris and Melissa)!

R and I took our 1st trip to Labor and Delivery (L&D) last night, as I spent the better part of yesterday feeling under the weather and getting some contractions. I spoke to 2 different nurses at our OB practice, and both wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored. I'll give you the short version...

We spent a total of about 2.5 hours, most of the time with me and the boys being hooked up to monitors. Both boys are doing wonderfully - the nurse said they were "jumping rope" because they were so active. I, however, had about 5 pretty decent contractions within less than an hour, so I got a shot to make them stop. They didn't completely stop, so I got another shot about an hour later, and we headed home about 10-15 minutes after that. I now have instructions to be on strict bedrest until our next OB appointment, which is Tuesday afternoon.

I've spent most of the day in the recliner, watching Mom do things around the house and listening to Dad and Ryan make huge amounts of noise upstairs with the construction. I'm rather bored and stir-crazy, but it's not too bad. I've had more contractions today, but not to the extent that I feel we need to go back to L&D. We'll see how the rest of the evening progresses...

Babymooning and a general update

R and I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago that we were able to get away and take a "Babymoon." For those of you not "in the know," babymoons are an up-and-coming thing amongst pregnant couples. Sort of a "last hurrah" before baby arrives. We knew that we couldn't go far, so we opted to spend the night in Greenville, at the B&B where we spent our wedding night. We didn't stay in the same room, but we had a great time! We went to Smoke on the Water for dinner - a great, kinda chi-chi Southern BBQ restaurant. Hard to explain, but really good. We wandered/waddled a bit around downtown that night, and we spent Saturday hanging out too. We drove out to our old house to make sure it was still standing, and we went to the used bookstore (The Silver Chair) that R's former manager at 'bucks now owns. And we went to see "National Treasure" because we're nerds like that. All in all, we had a wonderful time!

We had our now-weekly appointment on Tuesday, and everything still looks good. Both babies are now head-down, which would explain the huge amount of movement and wriggling that I felt over the weekend. I'm physically pretty exhausted and miserable, and the doctor told me to "hang in there" for another few weeks. Today is 32 weeks and 5 days, meaning they want me to go another 2 weeks and 2 days minimum. My patience/stamina/long-suffering is wearing thin! We go back on Tuesday for another check-up and then also for non-stress tests and bio-physical profiles. Basically they'll make sure both babies aren't under duress, and they'll also monitor breathing, movement, etc.

We do have a belly shot at 32 weeks to post, but I'll have to get R to do that when he gets home. Stay tuned!

Babies' 1st Snow!

The 5 of us (myself, the boys, Dabney the cat and Henley the dog) have been officially sequestered to the house by Daddy....because there's ice and snow all over the front steps (all 4 of them) and the front walk. I guess it's not really any different from other days, since I mostly stay at home anyway, but I have missed going to Starbucks to see Ryan and get my morning coffee - decaf of course.

Today marks 31 weeks and 5 days - I can't believe it's been this long! The boys are more active than ever, and sometimes it feels like they're trying to push their way out through my ribs and stomach. It's hard to believe that they'll be here sometime in the next few weeks. It's been a great journey, but I'm SOOOO ready to meet them!

We're now seeing the OB every week, and we'll start seeing the perinatologist twice a week (for non-stress tests and bio-physical profiles) in just a few weeks - if we make it that long!

Off to stay warm and enjoy the beautiful scenery!

baby's first sneeze (and other various items, like an ear or foot)

Here are a few pictures from our latest 3D ultrasound. The boys are weighing in at 3 lb. 1 oz. and 3 lb. 5 oz. Doc says they're "beautiful" and right on track. Beck's pretty miserable not teaching and sitting on her rear all day long, but she's making it. I took her out to WildWing tonight, so she can't complain about too much, right? Well, maybe not. Enjoy!

Being "celebrities," Nesting, and Ruth and Rhonda

R and I went to a breastfeeding class last night (isn't my hubby GREAT?), and at break, I asked the nurse-instructor about breastfeeding twins, etc. She got so excited and is looking forward to when we deliver. At the end of the class, she decided to introduce the "celebrities" in the class - us! It's strange to think that having twins makes us "celebrities," especially when 1 in 33 pregnancies these days is twins (as opposed to 1 in 100 a generation ago)...according to wikipedia, but we all know how accurate wikipedia is.

Apparently one of the signs that delivery is coming is a phenomenon called "nesting." This is when moms-to-be start having crazy cleaning and organizing urges, and many people say that nesting means that baby -or in our case, babies - will be coming within a few weeks or so. I'm not sure if I buy this or not, but I have found myself wanting to clean and organize and straighten and do laundry for the boys. Or maybe it's just because I'm bored since I'm not at work! :)

The past few nights I've had some really weird dreams, but last night's takes the cake. I dreamt that I gave birth to the twins, except for the fact that they were GIRLS! Not only were the girls, but they had long, shoulder-length blonde hair. AND, before we had a chance to name them, the nurses named them Ruth and Rhonda. In part of the dream, Ryan was trying to figure out how the docs and ultrasound techs got their prediction wrong, and he pulled out one of the ultrasound pictures that showed our very obviously boy babies. His only explanation was that what we saw was a finger instead of...well, you know. The only thing I can figure out about the names is that one of Ryan's fellow seminarians and his wife just welcomed twin girls Ruth and Rhiannon. Go figure. The dream DID get me thinking that maybe I shouldn't be doing laundry yet - especially with all the boy clothes! Oh, you gotta love crazy pregnant women!

Just hanging out

Today marks the first day back to school for my students and colleagues. And let me tell you, it was NICE to sleep in this morning until about 8:00! I think it's going to be really hard to get back in the swing of things once I do go back to school. But I guess at that point, it'll be a completely different "swing of things" with 2 little boys added to the mix!

I got word today that the water was going to be shut off at the high school from about 2:00PM on. Good thing I'm NOT at school today, or else they'd have one unhappy pregnant lady on their hands. No bathroom breaks!

It's been a productive day, though I'm sure I've spent more time on my feet than I should. I took down all of Christmas (except taking the tree out of the stand...that's Ryan's job, especially considering it's too heavy for me) and redecorated the house with non-holiday items. I've gone through some maternity clothes that people have loaned me - and I repacked the clothes that don't fit anymore. I need to start doing laundry to get ready for the boys, but I don't have anywhere to put their clothes because my maternity clothes are in their dresser! Silly Mommy!

Who can believe that we'll be the parents of twin boys anytime within the next 5-8 weeks? WOW!

28 Weeks!

And Mom's still getting bigger.

Merry Christmas!

Going out with a bang

Yesterday was my last day of school for quite some time. It's hard to believe I won't be back to school until March or April! I thought it would be an uneventful day - aside from the baby shower that 7th period APUSH had planned. Nothing much planned in any of the classes, especially since I knew the kids wouldn't want to do anything. Imagine my surprise and shock with I almost passed out during 1st period! I got really dizzy and hot and spent practically the rest of the day sitting. My blood pressure was fine, so who knows what was wrong! I guess I needed a sure sign that I was done teaching for a while!

The baby shower was great. The kids had asked what we wanted/needed, and I told them newborn-sized diapers. Boy did they deliver! We got a bunch of newborn diapers and some other cute things too. They're great kids!

I realized that I never posted about the faculty shower last week! Shame on me! Mary Beth and Bonnie did a great job planning everything, and almost the entire social studies department (all men except for me and Holly) showed up! Quite a few people dropped by, and it was a good time. Ryan was even able to come!

Update - 27 weeks

We went to see both docs yesterday, and everything went well. My hemoglobin is back up, so I don't have to double up on my iron pills anymore. WOO! The peri was VERY pleased with how things are going. The boys are growing right on track - even right on track if they were singletons and not twins! Baby A is 2 lbs, 2oz. and Baby B is 2 lbs even. Physically, my body is measuring a full 40 weeks.... and there's still LOTS of time to go! The peri is SHOCKED at how well I'm doing physically. He said most women of smaller stature pregnant for the first time with twins go on bedrest at 22 weeks. And here I am at 27 weeks, 3 days, still going strong! Ryan has decided to put me on bedrest after Christmas break, and the peri agrees with him. He told me that at 31-32 weeks, I will feel much like a women pregnant with one at 40 weeks. It's hard to think about not coming back to school in January, but I know I will appreciate the rest...and the boys will too!

Baby A is currently head down, and Baby B is currently head up. We got to watch Baby B kick his brother in the face numerous times. They love to cuddle and be close, but I guess Baby B needs his leg room. Maybe that means they'll be tall like their daddy! We can only hope!

It's strange to think that these boys can come at any time. I asked the OB how delivery will work since we're doing a C-section, but it's not like we can exactly schedule it. He said we'll most likely come in for a routine check-up, and he'll discover that I'm in labor (most likely because of dilation). Then it'll be go time!

This week's veggie--a head of cauliflower! Though only based on weight (2lbs) and not on length.

Stay tuned for a 28 weeks picture....to be posted this weekend.

Spoiling the Stones

We have amazing friends. And I have amazing students. Yesterday has unofficially been dubbed the "spoil the Stones" day. My 4th period AP class threw us a baby shower (no - it wasn't a surprise because they know I don't do surprises very well), and it was great! Ryan surprised them by changing his work schedule so he could come! They all gave very generously - diapers, wipes (one girl bought us a box of over 400 wipes, I'm guessing from Sam's or somewhere like that!), cute clothes, blankets, our bath center, our changing table pad, and...... OUR DOUBLE STROLLER!!!! We were shocked...and incredibly grateful. One of my students also hand-carved the boys a whistle and a rattle - amazing!

To top off the day, our friends Kevin and Emily (AKA kevandem) hosted a diaper shower for us last night. We had a great time fellowshipping with couples close to us, and of course we thoroughly enjoyed Em's culinary delights. We now have a carload of all sorts of sizes of diapers and more wipes! We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends.

This week's vegetable: an English hothouse cucumber! Very specific, don't you think?

For Emily...

Emily commented that she was surprised our son wasn't wearing a bow-tie in the 3D picture from our last ultrasound. Thanks to my oh-so-talented brother-in-law, well... take a look! :-)

Speechless

This is my (Ryan) first time posting in quite a while. All of you who regularly check this page out have my wife to thank for all of the updates. But here's my turn. We went back to Dr. Grieg today, and got our first 3-D ultrasound shots. And it absolutely stunned me. Here's a little sample of what we got to see. Alas, we only got to see one of our boys. The other was turned the other way, so we couldn't see his face.

Gives you a whole new sense of Psalm 139:

For you formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
My soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
In your book were written, every one of them,
The days that were formed for me,
When as yet there was none of them.

Hole-y Corn"dawgs", Batman!

Pregnancy silliness coming out with the title of today's blog, can you tell??

Today we'll travel to see Dr. Greig, the specialist. Hopefully we'll get a good report and I won't be put on bedrest yet. But after the first day back to school from Thanksgiving, I'm almost ready for it! I'm beat!

Lots going on in the Stone household, like:



There's an enormous hole in our ceiling! We're finishing the attic for Ryan's office, and there's a big ol' hole in our ceiling as of yesterday.

AND:

The babies are now the size of ears of corn (hence the reference in the title).

AND:



I'm ENORMOUS! This is my big ol' belly at 24 weeks. I can't believe we still have 3 months to go! Please take special note of my outfit - red and black in honor of the Bulldogs for beating those pesky Yellow Jackets. You know I had to wear red and black and gloat to my 3 die-hard GT fans in 7th period. I'm so nice.


More to report this evening or tomorrow, I'm sure.

Updates and frustrations

In the past 2 weeks, we've gone from carrots to spaghetti squash to large mangoes! The boys are getting BIG!!!!

We had a bit of a fright last week because I was experiencing some pain that just turned out to be inflamed ribs. Good news is that it's nothing bad. Bad news is that I just have to grin and bear it. It can be quite painful, though recently it's been OK. No news of bedrest yet!

We had a nice weekend with the Ranks celebrating Jayne's bday. That's our last trip for a while, as everyone's coming to us for Thanksgiving (except the Cranks) and we'll see everyone at separate points when they come up for Christmas.

We were supposed to have a perinatologist appointment on Wednesday on my day off before Thanksgiving, but he just called to reschedule (for the 2nd time!). Next appointments are: Nov. 27 (Thursday) for the peri and Dec. 3 (Monday) for the regular OB. Guess we're learning patience!

And the veggie of the week is....

THE CARROT! Typical 21-weekers are 10.5 inches long and 3/4 of a pound. So, apparently I have two carrots growing inside of me! :)

Two babies, two doctors

These days we feel like we do a lot of doctor-hopping. We had an appointment with the perinatologist last Tuesday, and then one with the regular OB yesterday.

Last Tuesday's appointment was pretty long. They did an in-depth, long ultrasound to check each of the babies thoroughly. It was really neat to watch the tech measure each boys' head, their stomachs, their kidneys, etc. Granted, I didn't know what was what so I had to ask 4,000,000 questions (as usual). And of course, we received the great news that we're going to have two boys! Both boys are developing well, and everyone is healthy.

Yesterday's appointment was on the shorter side. We asked doc some questions, and he checked the HRs (154 and 146, I think) to make sure everything was ok. He had some humorous reading in my chart, as I had to call the emergency nurse on Friday morning because I fell out of bed (long story). Everything and everyone is fine! Doc told us that we need to do any traveling we may want to do now, and both docs agreed that I need to start preparing myself for probable bedrest at 28 weeks (Dec. 23, for those keeping score at home). It's difficult to think about being on bedrest and not going to work (and hence not getting paid) for so many weeks, but I'm much more OK with the idea now than I was last week.

While this post is rather boring (sorry), it's been an exciting couple of weeks!

20 weeks

Here's the much-anticipated 20 weeks belly shot. Updates from our appointments forthcoming...

The results are IN!

We had a very successful doctor's appointment this afternoon. We love the perinatologist, and it was a really nice visit. We're having BOYS! WOO! Well on our way to a football team!

We have conclusive evidence of this fact. Should you so desire, you could ask for it.

Vegetables, Registering, and... Snoogles?

One of our favorite things to do is checking babycenter.com at every week benchmark (i.e.--19 weeks pregnant, etc.) to see what new fruit/vegetable/food analogy they've come up with to help us know how big the babies are. Ryan's personal favorite was "jumbo shrimp," which I think was somewhere around the 8-week mark. Last week they were large sweet potatoes, and the week before that they were large onions. Currently, the babies are the size of small zucchinis, something that is a foreign concept in the Stone household. We grow zucchini in the summertime, but we usually don't remember to pick it until it's 18" or so long (no joke). And I don't usually think of small zucchini as being larger than a large sweet potato, but who am I? I don't even like sweet potatoes, much to my husband's chagrin.

We went to Babies 'R' Us (henceforth referred to as "BRU") on Tuesday night to begin the registry process. The process was excruiating...much worse than registering for anything for our wedding. Our "registry hostess" was awful! She kept repeating herself and speaking so slowly that I felt like I was 5 years old again. Later, Ryan and I both confessed to each other that at one point or another during her schpeel we each almost asked her if we could just have the scanner and get on with it. We were so tired by the time she finished her deal that we only scanned a few items. Granted, some of that is also due to the fact that we don't know genders yet, but that's beside the point. We were able to go back to BRU on Saturday evening and add a few more things. I think we may do our Target registry completely online...and avoid another "registry hostess" like the one at BRU.

One of the things they say about pregnant women is that we're really only supposed to sleep on our left side. This poses a bit of difficulty for me, as I'm usually a tummy sleeper. It doesn't quite feel like I'm sleeping on a watermelon yet (maybe small zucchinis?), but I don't want to squish the little guys any more than they already are. I'm not supposed to sleep on my right side because of the pressure the womb puts on the gallbladder, liver, kidney, inferior vena cava, etc. And I'm not supposed to sleep on my back because of the pressure the womb puts on my spine and aorta. This leaves the left side (who cares about the 2nd kidney, right?). Ryan woke me up 4 times on Friday night because I wound up on my back. He's been very good about making sure I'm sleeping on my left side, but I can't get comfortable!! And when I wake up on my back, I'm in pain and have a booger of a charleyhorse in my right calf. The point is this - on Saturday night when we went to BRU, Ryan let me splurge and buy the most glorious pillow I've ever had. It's called a Snoogle (yes, a Snoogle), and it's a C-shaped pillow designed for other preggers like me. Here we are thinking this would solve my sleeping problem, because the pillow wraps around my back, presumably keeping me from flipping over. Alas... my dear husband woke up a few times last night to the mother of his twin children sleeping....ON HER BACK. *sigh* I'm personally chalking it up to getting used to the Snoogle. We'll see how tonight pans out...

18 weeks

Guess it's been a while since we updated....I guess it's because there's not too much to report at this point. I had to go have an ultrasound done on my gallbladder and liver for some pain I was having. The tech said everything looked fine, but of course, doc has the final say.

Some friends of ours hosted the annual Oktoberfest soiree yester-evening. It was a great time, though I certainly missed my Spaten Oktoberfest this year. It's worth it!

Babies are now the size of large sweet potatoes (that's just for you, Em!). We get quite a kick (HA!) out of the size analogies that babycenter.com comes up with.

Headed to Babies 'R' Us most likely on Monday night to start registering for stuff. I think I've finally decided on a stroller, though of course I want R's input too.

T-minus 10 days and counting until the BIG ULTRASOUND!!!!

And the stubbornness begins!

We had our 16-week appointment on Monday morning, and both of us enjoyed the morning off from our respective jobs! I had blood taken (3 vials...eek!) to do some routine tests, and then we got to see the doc - and the kiddies! Both babies were active, and everyone looks great. They're growing well, measuring well, and their heartrates are strong (150 and 154, FYI).

We were hoping to find out the genders of our little guys, but they were already exhibiting some of their more endearing character traits - stubbornness! BOTH of them decided to keep their legs firmly crossed and together, leaving the 3 of us (Ryan, doc, and me) in suspense. Guess we'll just have to wait another 3 weeks until we go see the specialist. It's probably better, though, because the specialist has a much better, much cooler machine.

Ryan and I finished our morning together by enjoying a nice, not-very-healthy breakfast. We had Chick-Fil-A (I had the chicken minis, and Ryan had a sausage biscuit), Starbucks (decaf coffee for him, Peppermint Mocha for me), and a Maple-Glazed donut from Dunkin Donuts for dessert! YUMMY!! I was certainly spoiled my breakfast, my morning with my husband, and only a half-day of work. If only every day could be like that!

By the way, according to babycenter.com, our babies are roughly the size of avocados. :)

16 Weeks

Here's mom at 16 weeks.

Pictures from 13 Weeks

And it's about time, too. I know, I know. Sorry.



Our kid's head looks like an alien!



Sorry this isn't so clear. The head's at the bottom left... we think.

2nd verse...same as the 1st?

We've officially been in the 2nd trimester for a week (as of today!), and I must say that it's been a pretty easy road considering my body is caring for 3 people at the same time. I've had some pretty harsh headaches, which are either associated with hormones (sorry...) or sinuses or a combination of the two. Headaches are NO FUN when you have to teach a bunch of hormonal teenagers all day long. And, headaches are NO FUN when you can't take the usual Aleve or Excedrin Migraine...only Tylenol. I've felt a bit icky this week, so I was starting to wonder if I was going to be sick during the 2nd trimester since the 1st was relatively easy (no morning sickness!). I think the ickiness may have been a few isolated days, but I'm starting to realize that I can't eat much of the same food I'm used to eating. Nothing huge, but I've been more cognizant lately of that.

Ryan and I worked in the nursery one evening this week. We put some clothes away that Mary Beth gave us from Lucas, and we put the maternity clothes we've bought or received on loan from friends away too. It's actually starting to look like a nursery! We even set up our really cute pack 'n' play. Now if we can just figure out where to put the elliptical machine so we can have room for the changing table and rocking chair/ottoman that we'll hopefully get from a generous friend/relative.

I guess it's time to start registering for things... I've been thinking about strollers/travel systems since that's going to be the biggest thing we'll need. We already have the cribs! :)

My perinatologist's office called this week to reschedule our Oct. 22 appointment. Apparently the doctor will be out of town. Fortunately, they made a special appointment for us late one afternoon so I don't have to miss school and Ryan doesn't have to miss work and/or school. Our appointment is now Oct. 23 - thankfully we don't have to wait too much longer past the original Oct. 22 appointment!!

13-week update

We went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon, and after waiting for a while (of course!), we spent a good hour or so with the doc. We got to see our little ones again, and they looked happy as can be! They were very active, and they've even started kicking each other. I looked at Ryan and said, "it starts already!" Both babies are measuring well (6.8 cm if anyone's interested), and the heartrates were 154 and 161, which is nice and strong.

Of course, I had 4,000,000 questions to ask. I can't help it if I'm curious! :)

Our next appointment is in 2.5 weeks (YAY!), and then 3 weeks after that we're going to a perinatologist, which is a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. There, we'll be able to determine the genders of our little ones. We'll also get a really long ultrasound to check for birth defects, etc. Apparently this doctor has one of the really high-tech 3-D ultrasound machines, so we're looking forward to seeing our babies a bit clearer!

We'll post pictures from our last visit soon.

"Reactions" addition

I failed to include one other reaction in the previous post. I decided to go to school the day of the ultrasound to see my good friend Mary Beth (principal's secretary extraordinaire). She had just started her Hot Pocket for lunch when I showed up with the pictures. She was so caught up in looking at the pictures that she didn't realize the microwave never stopped! It got stuck and kept heating and heating and heating. Before we knew it, my principal came in (we were in a conference room) and huge amounts of smoke came wafting into the room. Mary Beth tried to burn the school down!! To top it all off, the room where the microwave was STILL smells a bit burnt. :)

Starting to show a little bit...

Reactions...

Jayne (Beck's mom): *scream* *another scream* *the sound of a phone dropping* *another scream so loud that we could hear it even though the phone had been dropped* (We respectfully admit that Jayne claims to have not dropped the phone. We also respectfully don't believe her.)

Pam (Ryan's mom): "Ryan Kendall Stone, if you're kidding me...!"

Martin (Ryan's dad): *chuckle* "Are you serious?!?"

Chris (Beck's brother): "Holy crap, that's cool... Holy crap, that's cool! That sounds like a lot of work." (Thanks for the nod to TWINS in your response!)

Stan (Ryan's brother): "Are you kidding me?!?"

Aimee (Beck's sis-in-law): "What?!? That's awesome!"

Michelle (Ryan's sis-in-law): "Are you serious? Tell me you're not joking."

Kate (Beck's niece): "Two babies... There are two babies in Becky's tummy."

Josiah (4-year-old from Redeemer): "But Ms. Becky, won't they fight in there?"

If you're wondering where Don (Beck's dad) is, then wait no more. This was our favorite reaction, partly because of the way we told him (he was the first to find out, by the way). Beck's dad has always prayed for his not-yet-born grandchildren that they would have 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes, a sharp wit, a sound mind and a heart that longs for God. Here's our phone conversation.

--------------
Ryan: How's it going?

Don: Oh, it's going alright. Busy day. (brief side note, Don's dealing with massive plumbing problems in one of his rental properties at this point. He's been jackhammering a concrete floor, in someone's living room!)

Ryan: Well, we've got a request for you.

Don: Sure, anything.

Ryan: We need you to change your prayer a little bit...

Don: Ok (in a hesitant voice).

*pregnant (ha! punny!) pause*

Ryan: Well, we're going to need 20 perfect fingers and 20 perfect toes.

*silence again*

*more silence*

*slow, quiet chuckle*

Don: Really? Are you serious?

Ryan: Would we joke about this?

Don: Well. How 'bout that?

Pictures!

My silly wife (who has pregnancy brain) forgot to add the pictures to her last post.

We also forgot to post about the different reactions we got when we told people we're having twins. It should pop up in the near future.

Anyway, here are the pics!

Seeing Double...

We had our first ultrasound appointment at about 8 weeks, so you can imagine our excitement at the thought of getting to see our little one! The doc got me all set up and called Ryan in, turned the lights down low, and turned on the screen. Keep in mind that I'm flat on my back and Ryan's standing by my side...and it didn't help that the screen was turned so we couldn't see it! Silly doc...

Before we knew it, the doctor looked at Amanda, the nurse, and said, "you may want to get him (Ryan, obviously) a chair." Now, I'm not really sure what to think at this moment. Was it good news? Was it bad news? In the split seconds that followed, I did some quick "teacher-like" observation of both the doc's and Amanda's faces. Amanda's was priceless - she was completely silent with this enormous look of awe on her face. The doctor was smirking a bit, and he finally broke the incredibly-long-what-seemed-like-eternity-but-was-really-only-a-few-seconds silence by saying, "Well, Becky, it's a good thing you never went on Clomid, because you might be having 4." I started laughing, looked at Ryan, looked back at Doc and asked, "Twins?" At the doctor's confirmation, I promptly teared up and squeezed Ryan's hand a bit harder. Little did I know that at this point, most of his body weight was now supported by his one arm propped on the table! He smiled one of the biggest smiles I've seen and started chuckling a bit...I think out of shock!

Doc turned the screen so we could see BOTH of our children. There they were, two little beans, two little miraculous gifts from God. I asked the doctor if he knew if they were identical or fraternal, and he told me that it was still early to know for sure, but that if he had to guess, he thought they were identical. Amazing! They had two strong hearbeats, and they're just the right size for their age. The funny thing is that I knew we were having twins before we went to the doctor, but I didn't say anything to ANYONE...mainly because I didn't want people to think I was crazy. That, and I wasn't sure if it was mother's intuition (although I was pretty sure it was) or just a really, really, really big desire of my heart.

I can't describe how blessed I feel (not speaking for Ryan of course, but I know he feels the same way). God chose ME to carry two children, and He chose US to be the parents of TWINS. TWO BABIES! This is completely His work, and we are humbled by His choosing us for this adventure.

Thus began our amazing adventure...our adventure of raising TWINS!

Oops!

Beck reminded me that I forgot to tell what my late birthday gift was!

I got two bibs! One's blue, the other's pink. They both say "I Love Daddy."

Irony? I thought so.

Finding out...

So when Beck first told me that we were going to have a kid, I was completely surprised. I had just come home from work, and she told me that she had a late birthday gift for me. She hands me the gift bag, I pull out the card, and it says on the outside of the card: "Daddy." Now maybe you're thinking that it should have been obvious, but if you know us at all, you know that we're a little obsessive about our pets, and when we speak for the pets, Beck is "Mommy" and I'm "Daddy." So, I was thinking that the pets all of a sudden remembered my birthday and I was getting a present from them.

Begin tangential note:
Beck had been waiting to take the pregnancy test we had bought until the morning time (when it's supposed to be more accurate). I had called her from work to find out if she had taken it, and she lied to me, because she didn't want to tell me over the phone.
End tangential note.

This is what the card said:

------------------

Dear Daddy,

Mommy asked me to write you a note asking your forgiveness on her behalf. She didn't want to tell you about me on the phone earlier today. She's sorry and she hopes you'll understand.
I love you and I can't wait to meet you in about 9 months.

Love,
(insert baby name here) or Baby Boy =)

------------------

Sorry that I didn't insert the baby name there, but we're not telling.

So.... Praise God! And Praise God!