Hard at Work

Okay, well I'm sure you've all heard by now. Nishka and I are parents! And for some odd reason they trusted us to bring them home :) We've had lots and lots of help from family and friends, thank goodness... but this coming week? We're on our own  :-O I'll try to post at the end of the week so you know we're all still alive. 

But I'll let the video below speak for how the whole having babies thing has been so far. Between this and changing diapers, Nishka has been kept busy. Enjoy!

35 Hours and Counting...

Apologies for the long time since my last update. Time just seems to be flying away! For those of you who don't know yet, we have a set date for an induction: September 8th! So if the boys don't decide to make their own appearance within the next 35 hours, then the docs have decided it's time anyway :) Tomorrow will make 38 weeks! Looking back, I don't think we thought we'd make it this far, since everyone told us we'd probably not make it past 34-36 weeks. So we're happy. 

Lots has happened since the last update of course. First, we had another baby shower! Yay! We had some friends from law school and work join us as a last celebration. My two amazing friends went all out to make it a Mother Goose theme... who knew Mother Goose was so out of vogue? Well never fear, I'm sure after this party, everyone will be wanting a Mother Goose themed baby shower :)

A cake made from scratch! Very impressive!

Look how cute Humpty is! He's ready to party!

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We got so much nice stuff!

And the boys will definitely be well dressed!

And of course the boys wanted to make a grand entrance by a parade of natural disasters in the weeks before their arrival. First, the earthquake.... Ok, so it wasn't the biggest deal, but still pretty cool in hindsight. And then the "hurricane." I'm pretty sure that if our lights had gone out the boys would have found this the perfect entrance... but luckily it was mild. I'm also sure that if Nish was writing this blog, he'd make some joke about his mother-in-law arriving on a broomstick during the hurricane winds. So let's just be glad that he's not the one writing it. My mom did decide to come up a few days early just to make sure the storm didn't delay her. So for the week before our delivery we've spent lots of time making curtains, plumbing, shopping, re-decorating, cleaning out closets and cooking. Lots of nesting activities :) I'm willing to rent her out by the hour if anyone's interested in some redecorating... but I'm warning you that she's not cheap!

Nishka has been doing some nesting himself. His NRC friends will be glad to know that he cleaned out his car! Yay! At least now we'll be able to find the boys if they ride in his car. He's also been exercising his creative side. He finished up one of the characters for the nursery. So without further ado, let me present to you...

Humpty Dumpty!

Alright- so the next update will be on the purpose of this blog... the boys! Wish us luck!

Baby Daddy Partay!

Let's please give a round of applause to Nishka's co-workers, who not only surprised him with an awesome baby shower, but also scared the crap out of him while doing it! High five guys!!

So yesterday I was invited into the secret world of the NRC, and got to meet all the awesome people who keep Nishka in line during the day. I was called a saint several times, and I'm almost sure I saw some people weeping in the corner over my plight.

There was cake (and awesome cherry slump -- I didn't know what that was either until yesterday!) and great food!

There were presents!



There was even a special quiz to help us name the babies, decide how soon after the babies come Nishka will play golf, and the exact percentages of diapers that Nishka will be changing.

The offical tally being calculated. I believe that Nishka will be golfing "Never again,"
and will be changing approximately less that 40% of the diapers.

But most importantly... there was golf! Because what Baby Daddy Partay is complete without golf???

Nishka, in the spirit of helping him learn how to juggle multiple "things" at once was given a special task during his round of golf.

He was supposed to golf while holding two special little packages. Let's just say that as in everything else, Nishka was creative in his solution to the problem.



All in all, Papa and the little ones had quite a day! Thanks, all you NRCers!

Progress!

Progress has been made! A nursery has been born from the bare white walls of a third floor bedroom!

At our birthing class, we met a couple also expecting their first child. After a little conversation, we found out that they too needed help getting their nursery ready. So a labor swap was arranged (it was a bit like arranging a play date, with the wives sending schedules, and approving plans :) On Saturday, Nish went to help them move furniture, and then on Sunday, the husband came over to help Nish paint the nursery-- well really sand and prime the walls. Apparently these walls don't like paint on them so much :( But after a few hours of talking, and maybe 30 minutes of working, the guys were ready for lunch! (just teasing, they worked hard!) Here's some evidence.

And then came the crib...

(He looks like he's taking a nap :)

Of course he had to try it out!

So after about 12 hours of labor (with intermittent ice cream/TV breaks), some hand holding, lots of practiced breathing, and some pushing-- the nursery was mostly completed!

We still lack a few finishing touches (like a mattress), but I'll be sure to post pictures of the complete nursery soon!

(Note: No husbands were harmed (at least not seriously) in the making of this nursery)

We Are Now Edjukated...

Okay, that's it. We just finished our last in a series of classes on how to labor, deliver, breastfeed, wash, clothe, diaper, rock and medicate two screaming, but adorable babies. We were diligent in our note-taking, participation, and gathering of documents passed around. We noted the color, amount, and consistency of what baby poop is supposed to look like. We were lectured on when to call the doctor, and when to just keep our cool.

So we're ready to be parents right? (good thing all the answers are in those papers and notes, waiting to be referred to at the necessary moment)

And here's one of our beautiful babies... (drum roll please).

We're so proud!  

Yesterday marked 32 weeks... Here's another picture, but this time take a moment to prepare yourselves before you look.

Ack! I'm thinking we should suspend the whole weekly picture thing... this part might be best not remembered. (RELAX! I'm just kidding. Don't send me hate posts and e-mails threatening me if I don't take the weekly picture... I was just saying.)

We're keeping our fingers crossed that little Abingaleforth Hayes Westinghouse Sitting-Bull Devaser (affectionately referred to as "A") will stop being so stubborn like his father and turn his little head down to get ready for his hopefully uneventful trip into the world. And that little Baldemar Hoppinggale Flying-Feather Devaser (affectionately referred to as "B") will continue to cooperate and then faithfully follow his brother (maybe he could help by giving him a little push?) out to see all those anxiously awaiting them.

Will post again once we have more exciting photos news.

Hope all is well with all of you!

A Little Brotherly ... Love

Okay, so we've made it to Week 30! Time is flying by, and with only 8 weeks left, we really have our work cut out for us to make sure we're ready in time!

Last week we had our bi-weekly doctor's appointment, and yesterday we had our monthly sonogram. Between the two, every thing's looking great. The babies are weighing in at 3 lbs 9 ozs and 3 lbs 3 ozs. And here's what they look like...

Well... it's what they look like from the outside :)

And here? Here's what they look like for real.

This is Baby A (aka. Abner/Abooboo/Apples... sorry if I left any names out). You can see his head is sideways (and mostly poking out of my belly... but you can't see that part), and one of his eyes is at the top of the screen. But notice how you can't see the rest of his face? Well, that's because his brother has decided to position his little bum right in his brother's face. Notice though that A has his hand up in a position that looks suspiciously like about to to pinch something. So let the games begin!

And here is Baby B (aka. Boo, BooBoo, Banana... again, sorry if I missed any names). This is his profile. We got to see a lot more of his activities, because even though he's smaller, he's taking up more room... go figure. We even got to see him "Practice Breathing" and yawning!

And Papa? What's he been up to you ask? Well beside trying to set a world record for the amount of golf played in 9 months, and attending breastfeeding classes (relax, I've accompanied him to almost all of them)... he's been assigned to painting the nursery! Unfortunately I don't have any pics of these events... but I do have video. So anyone that's interested, just let me know, and we can have a movie night with popcorn and everything. I promise you won't be disappointed :)

So, I guess that's that. We're just cruising down the road to double our family size. Hopefully the boys will cooperate for the next 8 weeks!

Diapers and Onesies and Bibs... Oh My!

Well folks, we have officially entered the third trimester! And a busy past few weeks it has been! Hopefully we'll get a little respite before "D-Day," but I won't hold my breath :)

At the beginning of June, we traveled to Tennessee for a real down-home shindig to celebrate the soon-to-be little ones.

As Nishka said, "Golly ya'll... thanks for the swell stuff!" (or something like that...). Thanks to all our great friends and family, we have made great strides in collecting the mountains of stuff that we are told will become invaluable to us in just a few weeks. But what about the cake, you ask? (because what's a baby shower without a cake!) Well never fear, we were well covered in the cake department! Check this out!

Isn't that adorable? The theme was Noah's Ark: Two by Two (get it?), and so we had a cake made to look like Noah's Ark, and then some delicious Cuffcakes (http://www.cuffcakes.com/ - check it out when you get a chance) that had the little animals on them. So, I guess I don't need to tell you where Nish hung out the whole time ;)

And this picture? I just had to include it, because isn't he just so darn cute folks? This is Nishka helping write the thank you notes after we got home.

And then Nishka bravely faced Babies R Us for me. I wanted to make a trip to look at rocking chairs, cribs and the like, and so Nishka decided to try out some gear of his own.

Then yesterday, the kind peeps at my work decided to surprise me with a baby shower! We really got a lot of nice stuff from them (hint, hint all you NRCers that are kindly following my blog...you have competition now! Just kidding of course!) But check out this adorable cake!

And so it has been a few weeks filled with parties, cake, and shopping! Once the nursery is a little less bare, I'll be sure to post some pictures. And I promise I'll try to do better with the blogging!

Hope all is well with everyone! And Happy Summering!

Happy Memorial Day!

I am profoundly sorry for neglecting my blogging duties! Between the end of school, finishing up the new diggs, and my increased love for sleep and day-dreaming, I have somehow managed not to post in almost a month! I know you were all waiting with baited breath. Well wait no more :)

In the baby department, we are pleased to announce that the boys are growing nicely, weight in at 1.3 lbs and 1.2 lbs. They are also becoming much more active. If anyone is interested in hiring a twin acrobatic group for birthday parties, anniversaries, community get-togethers or what have you, they'll be available in approximately 3.5 months! And we'll give you a good deal if you mention this blog with your order!

The first of two trees in honor of the boys was dutifully planted in South Carolina this weekend (this one was for Baby "B," and if you are sitting around bored one day, and have about 2.5 hours for an explanation of why this was Baby "B's" tree, then give Nish a call). Babaji (Rabinder) was on hand to help with the digging, watering, and mulching. And Mogi (Ann) was close by for any fetching that was requested. Lulu helped with the planting, while I was the dutiful picture taker, and assistant fetcher, and Nish stood by and did his happy dance (see pic below).



The Ground Breaking



Nish's Happy Dance



The Proud Parents

 At any rate, we had a blast visiting Nish's family in South Carolina! And yes, we did more than just plant trees... but as they say, what happens in SC, stays in SC.

Alright, it's time for me to crawl back into my nicely air-conditioned hole again.... Will someone come get me when the temperature is below 75 again?

Boys will be boys...

"What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails,

That's what little boys are made of."

Well Nish and I are about to find out just exactly what little boys are made of... what two little boys in particular are made of. The big day for the doctor's appointment arrived yesterday.

Turns out that our fears that the babies wouldn't cooperate enough for us to learn their genders couldn't have been more unfounded. They couldn't have made their father more proud, by showing off their man-hoods :) The sonographist had hardly begun the sonogram when she said "Well I can go ahead and tell you what Baby A is." But she didn't have to, it was proudly displayed for all in the room to see :)

The sonogram took about two hours, but the doctor came in afterwards and proudly exclaimed that "these were the best babies she had ever seen." Apparently twins rarely cooperate so well as to allow the doctor to see exactly everything they want to see on the first sonogram. Everything is developing perfectly as far as they can tell. Baby Boy A is 11 ounces, and Baby Boy B is 9 ounces... and right on track.

Let's just hope their performance yesterday is a sign for future good behavior... with just a little room for "Frogs and snails And puppy-dogs' tails."

Heavy Wears the Crown

There's a little royal humor for all you Royal Wedding fanatics out there. Hope you have your TiVos in good working order, because they're gonna get a workout this coming week.

Here's just a little update on what a burden it is to be such a superstar :

1. On Friday, we had our first appointment at the new doctor's office. We really like it, though we didn't get to meet any of the doctors, because you are required to meet with a midwife on the first visit... of course, we really, really liked her. They say all looks great. The belly's already measuring 23 weeks in singleton terms... and we're only at 17 weeks... so they're a growin'! And Friday was the first time we got to hear the heartbeats! Baby B was not so cooperative, so we only go to hear Baby B's heartbeats sporadically, but we could hear him/her moving around a lot... which I didn't need the microphone to tell me :) Baby A is more like me... knows where and when to be some place. So Baby A was right in position for us to hear.

Only 1.5 weeks until the sonogram. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that the babies are feeling cooperative that day!

2. Friday also began the big moving day. We started boxing things up on Friday night, and thanks to some amazing friends who weathered pouring rains, howling winds and downed trees, we got most of our furniture moved on Saturday. Sunday was spent taking some more things, and unpacking at the new place. We only lack some car loads of kitchen goods, clothes, and odds and ends and then we'll officially be moved! Mia has warmed to her new home nicely, and already loves running up and down the steps like her tail's on fire.

Our new address is: 11897 New Country Ln, Columbia, MD 21044... so stop on by and say hello! Pics to come as soon as my camera is rescued from the sea of boxes in the basement.

3. Sunday began the big '2-7' birthday festivities. Some close friends made my favorite dinner... stewed potatoes, kraut and weenies, and veggies! Yum! It was really nice to spend some down time with great friends and good food. I plan to continue to celebrate my birthday for the next 5.789 weeks or so, so feel free to celebrate with me :)

Alrighty, well I guess that's it for now.

God save the Queen :)

Love ya!

Times... They are a Changin'

Behold... our new abode. Well our new abode as of April 16th, 2011. 

11897 New Country Road

As I think most of you know, Nish and I have been searching for a new place, and a little more space :) We've been having a hard time finding places to even view, and I was getting a little nervous, as our move out date for the apartment we're in now is April 30th. Yikes! But we went to view this Townhouse tonight and really like it... so in our normal impulsive fashion, we signed a lease tonight!

Let me give you an overview. 

It's three stories... so let's start with the first level (even though you actually walk in on the second level).

This is the family room on the bottom floor. And right out the sliding glass door, there's a nice patio, where we can have a grill... and it backs up to a nature reserve... so it's really nice! There's also a bedroom, full bath, laundry room, and storage room on this level.

Then we move to the second floor.

This is the living room on the main floor. As you can see, there's a fireplace, and a balcony on this level. There's also a nice kitchen/eat-in dining room, 1/2 bath, and several closets.

And the third floor?

Well I don't have any photos of the inside upper floor, but you can see from this picture, that it also has a balcony off the master-bedroom. The master bedroom has a full bath, and a walk-in closet. Down the hall there's another full-bathroom, and two more bedrooms! 

So needless to say we found a place with lots of space! If we can't fit ourselves, our stuff, and our twins in this space, we can't fit it all anywhere. 

These photos were the stock photos from online... once April 16th rolls around, I'll take some more photos and post them. 

As for the baby update, we're at 15 1/2 weeks! And we're starting to show, as well as feel movement every once in a while. 

Well I guess that's it for now... hope all is well with each and every one of you!

Let's Start at the Beginning...

Helen Holmes with Robert and Ronald Holmes

I visited home this last weekend. There, I had the pleasure to see my wonderful family including, my grandmother, Helen. She shared some pictures of the family with me, and I was, of course, especially taken by the one above. 

It's this woman we have to thank for the impending excitement. So I thought I might tell the story she shared with me, about the first known set of twins in our family.  Here's hoping that this set of twins enters the world in a less... exciting way :)

My grandmother was unaware that she had two, not one, little bundle of joy arriving. She went to the old hospital in Springfield to deliver, but she was having a hard time. Her doctor decided that they needed to give her an x-ray to see what was going on, but there wasn't one available in the hospital (what?!?), so they would need to transport her to a doctor's office down the street. The hospital also had no elevator... so who did they get to help her down the stairs? Who else but some people from the jail next door?! They transported her by ambulance (which doubled as the hearse) to the doctor's office, where they found that there were twins and one was breach. They took her back to the hospital and got her back into her bed, before her doctor decided that she needed to be transported to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, in order to be able to save the second twin. 

So once again, the jail men were called over to help her down the stairs, and she was loaded into the ambulance. But, of course, the hi-jinks weren't over yet... the ambulance got a flat tire! My great-grandmother said that she had never seen two men change a tire faster. The man driving the ambulance, always called my dad and uncle, Pete and Re-pete. And as history shows, they finally made it to the hospital, where my grandmother successfully delivered... 15 lbs of babies!

On our home front, I'm starting to get a little belly :) And also, I've felt them move! The sonogram will be on April 27th... which isn't too far away at all. 

Love at Second Sight Two...

So today was our first visit with an OB/GYN. Our initial plan was to go with a mid-wife, but because we're having twins, we had to switch to a doctor.

This was just a normal visit, just to meet with the doctor, and have her answer any questions we might have. The doctor decided though, that since we were so close to 13 weeks that she would try to listen for the heartbeats. But after some wrestling with the monitor for a few minutes, she decided that they were just too little... but we like to think they were hiding.

Though we were disappointed about not getting to hear the heartbeats, we got an excellent conciliation prize. The doctor decided to bring in a portable ultrasound machine to look at the wee ones and see their heartbeats. This was exciting, because we weren't supposed to see them again until the 20 week sonogram. All looks well! Two little heads, four little arms, four little legs, and two fast little heartbeats.

Our next step is to schedule the 20 week sonogram, which is a bit of a misnomer, because the doctor said they may want to schedule it as early as 16 weeks since we're doing the whole two-at-once thing. We'll keep you posted on that date, because that's the date we find out the answer million dollar questions.

Think that's all for now!
Nightie night!

Nostalgia...

I'm feeling a little nostalgic today... maybe it's all the rain, what dreary day. But whatever the reason, I thought I'd take a quick trip down memory lane to see all my original babies :)

1. Morgan

She was like my very own live cabbage patch doll! (Although thankfully without the awkward, overly-large forehead, and yarn hair). I definitely got the best of both worlds with Morgan-- she wasn't my sister, so we didn't have to fight (though we did some :), but we were close enough to relate. Hard to believe that this little cutie will be graduating from college in... what was last count? 72 days?

2. Mac

Mac would have been the perfect antagonist for this story, but he was just too darn sweet-- though he did ruin a few perfectly good outdoor pretend weddings with his red motorized jeep... beep! beep! Heard he got a pretty sweet hit at his recent college baseball game. Congrats! Miss you buddy!

3. Andrew

Andrew was the source of my spending money for quite a few summers. By the time he came along, I was apparently old enough to be trusted with a baby. He probably doesn't remember this, but our favorite spot was the hammock on the barn's screened porch. He just got his learner's permit... oh my! Look out ladies!


4. Keaton

Keaton was my own little man for a whole summer! And what a summer it was. We took a lot of walks and sang along with a lot of old school Whitney Houston... and boy could he dance! He turned one year old that summer, and never looked back. He's come a long way from "Mommy! Handball! Mommy!" Now he's almost in high school... sigh....




5. Kole

Kolie! What a sweet little boy :) And those dimples! He could rule the world with just those dimples! Kole loved (and still loves) to read... if it had words, he wanted you to read it to him. I especially enjoyed this because I love children's books... and there's nothing better than a baby, with their baby smell sitting in your lap letting you read to them:)  I hear Kole has become quite the saxophonist! So move over Kenny G. -- it's time for some new blood!

6. Wilson

Until recently, Wilson was the baby of the family. But I think he was okay relinquishing that job to Levi... and Levi-- I'm sure Wil has lots of valuable tips! He's the only one of these babies I remember liking to do laundry. We'd go to each room, and make a big pile... and then he'd jump in it! I hear Wil is now making his way into adolescence and is really making a special place for himself... not that any of us doubted that he would. Wilson's birth was the only one at which I was present... and I have to say that I hope my future childbearing is as easy as my sister Lori made it look!

Here's a few oldies... but goodies (I just couldn't resist!)

And on a side note, I think Mia knows about the you know whos. She's been trying to soak up as much attention as possible recently... sorry Mia!