Babies' Shower in Forsyth, GA

Here are some pictures from our shower in Forsyth, Georgia last Saturday. It was a great visit - we enjoyed seeing all of our family and friends and of course, got some great loot for the girls!



My Aunt Dorothy had the idea to host the shower and we really appreciate all of her work. Her daughter Sheila and my Aunts Janis and Marilyn (my mom's sisters) co-hosted the shower. We had a great brunch and had a great time opening all the gifts for our girls.

I don't know if any of you have a Mema and Papa but they are good to have - as usual they outdid themselves and amazed us all w/ their generous gifts. We are not actually related but consider ourselves family. I think they already have 10 great-grandchildren, so I guess ours will be the unofficial # 11 and 12. One of them, Lydia, came along to the shower - shown in the pictures.

There were 2 babies there - unfortunately I don't have a picture of my cousin Brent's baby Kadie. (Maybe someone else took one and can forward to us?) But I wish I could put pictures of both her and Lydia along w/ their dads b/c the resemblance is eerie. They say babies look more like their dads at first. Maybe since we will have 2 one of them will look more like me! I have to admit Peter and I were both cute babies, so I am not too worried. :) Maybe we will post some pictures for comparison once the girls arrive.

It was great to be in Georgia! Hopefully the girls will travel well and we will be back soon.

Babies' First Shower

My friend Gwen hosted a shower for our girls this weekend at West Main Restaurant in C'ville. Just a small group of friends and co-workers but it was really nice - and the brunch there is delicious. I highly recommend the blueberry pancakes.

The girls got a lot of great gifts too! So that was fun, and Peter and I had a good time playing with the toys after I got back home. Our server took this shot of us. Going clockwise, these folks are Donna Shaunessey, Ann Whitham, Billie Campbell, Stacy Cooper, me, Gwen Miller and Rochelle Garwood. Most are co-workers except Donna, who is kind of a co-worker or maybe I should say "colleague," our friend Stacy, and Gwen (who used to be a co-worker too).

And I know I'm supposed to keep up w/ this for a baby book, so here's all the prizes I got for the girls:

Lots of onesies from 6-12 mos. - Donna
Burp cloths - Ann (she is also knitting a gift that will be here soon!)
Baby monitor - Billie
Bouncy seat - Stacy
Big box of baby supplies (or the "motherload" - lots of great stuff!) - Gwen
Baby Einstein sea turtle crib toy - Rochelle

Gwen really outdid herself w/ the shower and the great gifts. She's also busy these days b/c she just got married (soon to be Mrs. Goulder if she has not changed her name already), bought a house and started a new job. She's now an aide for special ed middle school kids and today's the first day of school. So we really appreciate her thinking of us. Wonder how she's doing today...

A book was in our big box of baby supplies - I think it's called "Worst Case Scenario" baby book or something. Gwen got it especially for Peter. I think he liked the book (well maybe not as much as the toys) but he said that it assumes he's a big idiot. I wonder where she got that idea?? I think we'll be OK, though. Now that we have the book, we know not to use a shoe as a pacifier or wash the babies in the toilet, for example. Really, we'll be fine.

28 weeks 3 days

It was hot today - I rarely say that here in Virginia. It's actually just 88 deg. but the heat index is 99. A great day to sit outside at an elementary school. Well that's what I was doing today, signing up parents to carpool. It wasn't that bad though since we were under a tent and I had my big water bottle. I brought the camera along and had one of the secretaries take my picture at the end of the event, since someone reminded me it's been a while since I've posted a picture of myself. :) Maybe next time I'll have a pic w/ Peter or a friend. I feel silly just posing for a picture w/ just me and my big belly. It's just whenever I think about it there's only one person around to take the picture.

She took a picture from both sides so she could get each twin in the picture. (It kind of looks like I have a twin - a big pregnant one...) But she's about right - they've each settled in on their own side now, although sometimes they kind of move over to one side and make me lopsided.



The other day I was walking to work and a lady pulled over and offered me a ride - I guess she thought I looked too big to be walking around. Nice gesture but a bit sad all the same. I'm ready for some pictures where I have a waist again!! They say breastfeeding burns 500 calories a day - maybe since I'll have 2 I'll get a jump start?? Oh well, I still have a couple of more months to grow and waddle around so not to get ahead of myself. I know... it will all be worth it!

The girls at 26 weeks 6 days

We're in the 3rd trimester now and starting out week 28 today. Yesterday we had another ultrasound and the girls weigh about 2 lbs each, which is right on track. I thought they would be bigger - not that they should be, just feels like they have been growing a lot lately.

You would think that you can see more detail on the ultrasounds as we go along, and you can, but they are more crowded so it is harder to get good pictures. Baby B was facing my back so we could not get a picture of her face. Peter said that Baby A's profile looks like him. Maybe he's right - what do you think?

Everything is going well and we are due for another ultrasound on Sept. 10.

The girls at 23 weeks 6 days

Had another ultrasound today and the girls are growing well. They are both around 1 1/2 pounds now. The ultrasound tech I had today said that based on the size of the membrane they are probably fraternal twins. The last tech said it was 50/50 - I guess we'll find out when they get here, although whatever they are they'll probably look alike at first. I heard you should paint one of their toenails to tell them apart.

There are a couple of good shots of the faces. Although their eyes are still closed, they are now able to make some facial expressions.

I have another ultrasound in 3 weeks. They are doing them pretty frequently so they can keep track of how they are growing compared to each other. They are within 2 oz. of each other right now, so they are doing fine.

Dogs and Birds

My mom pointed out to me that I have not put a picture of our boys on the blog yet. I have pictures of Simon and Bailey in random places but not any good ones I could locate, so I took one today to post. You can tell that Bailey is less enthusiastic in front of the camera. But he's good for close-up shots, of which we have several, but I took another one today.

Simon has a problem with his right eye - if you click on the picture, you might be able to tell that his third eyelid is covering part of his eye. But he'll be fine - it will get better in a month or so - of course, we found this out a few vet visits and few hundred dollars later. It was worth it though to know we are doing the right thing. At least our kids will have insurance.

We've had 2 bird families on our back porch this summer. This is the last family that was started there. The babies stay in the nest for about 2 weeks. These flew the coop last week. I don't know what kind of birds they are, maybe sparrows, but I think they are the same kind as our first bird family. The other day there were a lot of birds just hanging out there, scoping out the place. Maybe we'll have a new family move in soon.

Why yes, it's a girl... two actually

I am noticeably pregnant now, probably much more so than if I were carrying a "singleton." It's near the end of the 22nd week. I'd rather be noticeably pregnant than people just wondering if I'm just gaining weight.

I'm standing in front of our new baby chest - well, new to us. Found it at this secondhand/antique shop called Circa on Friday. My parents and brother were in town from the 4th through Friday, which was nice - first time Russ had been to C'ville. We did a little shopping while they were here to find a dresser for the babies' room without much luck. I found this one after they left, and it's pretty solid. They don't make things like they used to. I like the colors too.

I recently got the first comments from a stranger on the babies, and I'm sure there are more to come. It was odd - just a random guy I saw walking across the street while I was on my way to my gym, ACAC, after work. He stopped me before I could cross the street, pointed at my belly and said "You're having a girl!" I think this was a few days after we found out the sexes...

me: Actually it's two girls.
random guy: I can tell because you're carrying it up high. Two, huh... they gonna cut you open?
me: Well, that's not really the plan, but I guess if they have to.
random guy: These your first? You know, all you'll have is girls from now on. That's gonna be a lot of work though - but if you've got an old man at home that's a lotta work too.
me: Yeah, I guess it will be a lot of work. I've gotta go but that's pretty perceptive of you knowing I'm having a girl.

He seemed satisfied with himself, being perceptive and all. And I had a good story about the crazy man I saw on my walk over to ACAC. At least he didn't try to touch my belly - I hear that's coming next.