The Girls

We found out today that we are expecting twin girls, maybe fraternal. I was thinking it might be a girl and a boy but am excited that they are both appearing healthy. I hope they are identical, since that is considered rare compared to fraternal - I think Peter feels differently - he just wants to be able to tell them apart. They look identical right now but I guess that does not account for much. One of the docs said the only way to tell might be with genetic testing after they are born, because so many fraternal twins look alike.

They both weigh 12 oz. today and have normal heartbeats and all the organs functioning properly and in place. We were even able to see some of the facial features, and their lips and noses are formed correctly. They'll look more closely at the hearts during the next visit and we're supposed to have an ultrasound once a month until they are born - just to make sure that they are both developing at the same rate. We did not see all of their fingers and toes - maybe next time.

More on Peter's family

Peter has asked me to post some explanation on the picture of his family. He's also included a copy of the family tree - you should be able to click on the images to actually read the words, but I had to make the files pretty large for them to be legible.

Caveat: when a woman is married in Hungary her name becomes the man's name w/ "ne" on the end of his first name, which is actually listed in reverse order as we do here - so my name would be Dr. Horanyi Peterne.

The people I know in this picture are: Horanyi Kati (bottom left), aka Littomerczky Ferencne. Kati's daughter's family the Tyukasz family are there. Horanyi Judit aka Dr. Radvany Laszlone and her husband Dr. Radvany Laszlo are in top right. Others I can identify in the picture are Dr. Szonyi Viktor and Alexa and their family. Viktor is Judit's son in law. Racz Laci and Kata and their family, Szonyi Laszi and Gabi and their family both sitting. They are both Horanyi Andrea's family. Andrea I cannot see in this picture, but she must have been there since Lotz Tamas, her husband is in the very back. Marta Horanyi and her husband Snee Peter and their family are not in this picture. We were of course missing. I am attaching the family tree, just in case you want to add it. - Peter

Hofhauser-Horányi Család (Peter's family in Hungary)

Here's a big family for you - this is from the Horanyi family reunion this month in Hungary (Budapest, I think). This is Peter's dad's side of the family, and I can pick out a couple of aunts and a few cousins in this picture but don't think I've seen pics of all these people (maybe Peter hasn't either). He recently met most of his family in March, and they seem like really nice people. Circumstances were unfortunate though - he had to fly over due to the passing of his father, who he hadn't seen in many years. They were phoning and emailing each other that year, so they were in touch, but it would have been nice if they got to see each other again. I guess most people usually see more family when someone dies... or sometimes at weddings, or family reunions. They wanted us to come to this one but tickets to Hungary ain't cheap and we just couldn't swing it this time. Maybe one day we'll go there together. Just thought this is a good looking family and figured I'd post it. I particularly like the guy in the blue shirt near the front - Peter, I don't remember seeing a picture of him before! This further builds my confidence that our twins will be extra cute and will make us millions. :) Like the Olsen twins without the bulimia.

I won an award today!

Well, though I have never been a scientist, I still remain active in the world of crystallography. I just found out today that I won first place for the 2007 Art in Crystallography competition of the American Crystallography Association. So I will have this art and a picture of me on display at the ACA meeting in Salt Lake City next month. This should do well for more name recognition for Peter. (People ask him, "Where have I heard your name before? Oh that's your wife!" But they find out he's actually the scientist so not a bad thing...) He is actually chairing some sessions and is a speaker at this meeting. Hopefully he'll be able to go - still nailing down those plans - and accept the prize for me. (Oh and do the work he's supposed to do in the first place - I guess that's also important.)
This was a design for the last Christmas card we sent out from Dr. Wang's lab at UGA. He told me to enter it in this contest, and I was like, "but it's just our Christmas card..." Well, now I've won so I guess he had the right idea. Although there are several other entries that I think are more along the lines of "art" - see http://aca.hwi.buffalo.edu/HotNews/ArtEntries2007.htm. So I will get free registration (though I'm not attending) and a "small monetary award" of an amount unspecified. I thought it would be tacky to ask if it is large enough to pay for a ticket to Salt Lake City - probably not.

Doctor's visit today

Today was a fun day - we finally got to meet with some of the ob/gyn team that will be handling the delivery of our babies. I'd been a bit concerned about not feeling any movement yet, but figured it was normal. Maybe Peter was more concerned. Anyway, it was normal, and we saw them on an ultrasound today, one kicking and one waving. Also listened to the heartbeats again. No pics since this was not a high-res ultrasound but it was kind of like an X-ray - we could see all their bones - looked like they're all in the right places to me. We won't be working with one doctor, which some people may balk at, but it's fine w/ me. We'll rather be working w/ a team of doctors all specializing in high-risk pregnancies. The Department Head met with us for a little while today and explained how everything works. We don't really care so much about building a "relationship" with our doctor - we just want to make sure that we have the best. So there to everyone that tells me I should go to Martha Jefferson Hospital instead of UVa. Oh well, we are just 17 weeks in so much more unsolicited advice is yet to come. Not that I don't appreciate it - folks mean well - I just listen selectively. :) I was also happy to find out that I have NOT gained too much weight. Peter did not take a belly picture this weekend - maybe we'll have one for next post.

In addition to the successful doctor's visit, I had a free bagel at work this morning and chocolate cake this afternoon. Thank goodness for Bill Wanner's birthday. I've always been excited about free food, but now my co-workers are encouraging me to eat... and eat more! Although once I got into that second piece of cake I had to stop halfway from the sugar rush - thought I was going to have a Beavis episode in the office.

another test post

Hello! Is my subscribe link working? This is not quite ready for primetime... Guess content would be nice too, but we'll work on that.

New post to test blog some more

Nothing new except today is Friday and looking forward to the weekend and doing a little secondhand shopping for baby items. Today Peter and I are buying a crib, then tomorrow we are getting our double snap-n-go stroller. It is a little early, yes, but it was an offer I could not refuse. The stroller is actually a frame that holds 2 car seats. We are getting the black frame so we can use red and black car seats. This will match my car and the whole GA Dawg theme. Fitting since they will be born during football season. :)