Ultrasound Scrapbook Page

Ultra Sound photos of the girls from 6 days old until 24 weeks.

Ultra sound pictures of the girls at 24 weeks

Baby A at 24 weeks. Both of her hands are next to her face.

Baby A at 24 weeks looking straight at the camera. Her chin is on the left side of the picture.

Baby B at 24 weeks. The tech can only get profile shots of her because she is still rolled in that tight little ball.

July 23, 2009

I had another ultra sound taken of the girls today. The girls are both very healthy and tall. The ultra sound tech made a comment about how long the arms are already. They are taking after their daddy. Most twins end up being smaller then normal, but not these girls, they are big for twins (weight wise). The tech said not to buy too many preemie outfits, because unless these girls come early, they are going to be average size. Which means my belly is getting bigger and bigger. Joe and I went out for dinner the other night to celebrate my birthday. Near the end of the night I was rubbing my belly trying to make room for more food when the waitress came over and asked me if I was getting ready to go into labor. I guess she was worried I would make a mess in her section having a baby. I just had to laugh and say, I sure hope not since I still have 3 months left. She had a surprised look at that. I do have the constant feeling that I am going to pop.

Baby A was as active as usual. I still can only feel them when they actually move the surface of my belly which is a little unusual but probably a good thing because Baby A is all over the place. During the ultra sound she kicked Baby B many times. She was looking right at the camera again, I posted a face shot of her. We got to watch her opening and closing her mouth. She also had the hiccups.

Baby B was rolled in that tight little ball again. It is probably in self preservation what with Baby A kicking her all the time. It is hard to get any good photos besides profiles since she never seems to unravel from that tight ball. One would think she would want to stretch out more since she has the longer legs and is slightly bigger.

They are both very close in weight. The tech cannot measure the size anymore. Baby A is 1 lb 10 oz. Baby B is 1 lb 13 oz.

Married for 5 years

We were married June 4th 2004. I know I am a little late in posting the picture for our anniversary. We have done much and seen much in 5 years, always growing closer together.

Growth and Personalities of the Twins

Baby B at 20 weeks rolled up in a tight ball.

Baby A at 20 weeks looking right at the camera.

By now most of you have already heard our great news. We felt one of the babies kick for the first time this week!! I felt her on Thursday (June 25th) , and Joe felt her when he got home from school on Friday(June 26th). We are both very excited. We only felt the one that is closer to the surface (Baby B), the one farther back I think I feel every once in a while, but it could be gas :) I now feel her kick all the time. It might be a good thing that I can't really feel Baby A yet since she is the one that usually is bouncing all over the place when the ultra sound tech is trying to take pictures. She is our little tigger. We had the ultra sound on Thursday when I was 20 weeks and 5 days. The ultra sound showed they held up great for our long 3 week road trip. They even doubled in weight. The tech said they are too big at this point to tell me how long they are, but she can tell me their weight. One is 15 ounces and the other is 16, so they are very close in weight. She also said they are big for twins which means they are getting plenty of nutrients from me which might be why I am so tired all of the time. Now, even though they are big for twins, I am small for twins. I think that has something to do with the surgery I had when they went in to clean up the endometreosis, she rearranged my insides so that I would carry well, so I think the babies sit farther back in me then most women. I think they were both worn out from the trip since neither one of them moved much. I expected that from Baby B since she is the one that usually does not cooperate for the ultra sound tech, but Baby A is usually all over the place. Which is strange since it is Baby B that I feel kicking all the time now. For the pictures, Baby B for the most part was rolled up in a tight ball and she would not budge, the tech could not get much info out of her this time. I see the tech every 4 weeks, so she was not concerned about getting everything this time. She was able to see fingers, toes, hands, feet, and get the heartbeat though. Baby A was looking directly up at us for the most part. I have one picture of her looking at us, but we really wished the tech took a picture of the face shot we saw. The whole screen was the babies face and you could really make out the eyes, nose, mouth and chin. We were trying hard to see if she had Joe's chin :) On Tuesday I will be 5 months along which means I only have 3-3 1/2 months left since they won't let me go past 38 weeks and twins usually come around 36. We still have so much to do to get ready for them.

Baby B 16 weeks. Its a Girl.

Baby A 16 weeks, it's a girl. I am sure they will love to know one day that I posted these very private pictures of them for all the world to see.

Baby A 16 weeks. Facial shot. We were trying to determine if we can tell if she has Joe's chin.

Baby B Profile at 16 weeks

Baby A Profile at 16 weeks

As you can see they are both getting bigger and bigger. They are now 16 weeks and 5 days. The tech said they are both girls, I even posted the pictures to prove it :) It was so cute, baby A had the hiccups. We got to see her body jerk each time she hiccuped. Again, Baby A was more active then Baby B. Baby B just wanted to be left alone while Baby A wanted to make her presence known. They don't look too much like alien babies anymore, they are starting to take shape and look human. I posted a close up of the profile of Baby A's head. The facial features are really starting to take shape. They are both about 7-8 inches long and weigh about 7.5 - 8 ounces each. I still can't feel them. Most women can feel them between 14 to 20 weeks. I am really starting to show now. I have only gained about 13 pounds though, so it is all baby.

Here they are at 14 weeks and 3 days. As you can see they are slowly getting bigger and getting more shape to them. The top picture is of baby A facing the camera and the bottom is Baby B's profile.

Baby B at 12 weeks.

Baby A at 12 weeks.

April 30th, 2009. We had another ultra sound again today. Joe was able to make this one. They would not let us video record it unfortunately. This ultra sound took about an hour. She was looking for specific things. She was measuring the back of the neck (to determine if there is a chance for downs), the heart rate, how long the babies are, and if they had all their fingers and toes. It took so long because neither baby wanted to cooperate. The baby on the right was kicking its body like it was jumping up and down, and it kept arching its back (as you can see in one of the photos I sent, the bottom picture) It is hard to measure a bouncing tigger ;) I don't know if she was ever able to count the fingers since it had its fingers clasped together some of the time and the rest it was moving its arm back and forth waving (taunting) then closing its hand to make a fist at the last second. The baby on the left was still sleepy. (The top picture) It wanted to curl in and present its back side. She had me lift my hips and do a little belly dance to get the baby to wake up. I don't think it liked to be woken up. It already has Joe's cheerful disposition upon waking up. It turned on its side so the tech could get one photo, then turned back to its original position. I had to do the shakes again. All the while the other baby was bouncing around. You could see its head bob up and down on the side of the screen.We got to hear their hearts beat for the first time, they sounded normal. She said that it looks like all the tests are normal they are just waiting for blood work (my blood work- I would not have done an invasive test) to come back to check hormone levels and such, but she said everything looks great by what she saw. We have another ultra sound set for the end of May which will be able to tell us more. A little about the pictures.She was only able to get one angle with both the babies in the same picture, it happened to be of the top of their heads. So that is the picture with the two circles in it.The other two pictures are the individual shots, the baby on the rt with the arched back, and the one on the left wanting to be left alone. They are being labled as Baby A and B. Baby A is on the right and in the back, while Baby B is on the left and in the front. They are both about the same size. About 2 1/2 inches.

April 16th 2009 I was given the opportunity to see our babies again today. We were not expecting to see them today so Joe did not come, but he will be there for the next one. They are only a little over an inch long, but look like little babies already. Their legs and arms were pumping like mad. It was the cutest thing! I hope that does not mean that in a few months they will be kicking and punching each other. That might hurt my insides :) They are right next to each other, only a thin membrane is between the two of them. Baby A (the top picture) is looking right at you. In the ultra sound itself I could see everything a lot more clearly. I couldn't believe he/she has so many facial features. Joe said they both look like little aliens. Baby B is a little harder to see. He/She has a side view with the arm sticking straight up. Our babies are finally starting to take shape. They no longer look like little blobs.

Here they are now about 1.6 cm, so still not quite an inch big. They are growing at a normal rate and have a strong heart beat. We still have not been able to hear the heart beat, it was just shown to us on the monitor.

The babies at 6 weeks. This was when we first learned that both of the embryos attached and that we were having twins. We were both so excited! We told everyone in our family by sending a link to the double mint commercial and letting them guess what the lyrics were saying. Although we know we are not having identical twins, we are still going to have double the pleasure.

This is a picture of the Twins at 6 days old before they implanted them back into me.

National Lampoon's Hinson Vacation

When we found out we would be living in the Midwest for this assignment, Joe took a look at a map and saw how close we were to Chicago. While we've both been to Chicago's airport many times, the city was still an unconquered attraction. In thinking about a trip there, we couldn't help but notice that it got us close (by JOE's definition) to Wisconsin and North Dakota, the two states in the lower 48 that he had not yet been to. So he dreamed up this grand trip of going from Ohio through Michigan to Grand Forks to Chigago to home. We wanted to do it in June, and later have a trip to Colorado Springs in September.

Enter Laurie's pregnancy. Not wanting to let go of either trip, we concatenated them. We then rented a car, tossed in a map (and a GPS that never worked - thanks Derek :-) , said a prayer, and were off.

So here we go in true Clark Griswold style.

This picture is one of the reasons for the trip.

Before describing all the details, may we interest you in a video highlight (explanation below).

(Mom - you just need to click the triangle to play it - Love you :-)

The Pictures in order:

1. Laurie lounging on Mackinac Island 2. Joe and Laurie with Tulips in bloom on the island 3. Natural Bridge on Island 4. Sunset on the Island 5. Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan 6-8. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 9. Joe entering state #48 (He only has Hawaii and Alaska to go 10. Visit with Jason and Summer Evans and Family in North Dakota 11. Joe wearing a fur coat (think Chevy Chase from "Spies Like Us") 12. Mitchell Corn Palace Museum in South Dakota 13. Badlands 14. Wall Drug in South Dakota- Laurie on a jackalope 15. Mount Rushmore 16-17. Custer State Park Wildlife Loop 18. Kissing prairie dogs near Devils Tower 19. Crazy Horse 20-21. Foggy day at Devils Tower Wyoming 22. Ben and Rose looking cool 23. Winter Quarters Omaha Nebraska 24. Buckingham Fountain in Chicago (Remember the opening to "Married with Children"?) 25. Chicago city view 26-27. The Bean in Chicago (reflective sculpture in the middle of the city) 28. Strange sculpture that changed colors near the bean. 29. Hilton Palmer House 30. Joe and Laurie posing as the Blues Brothers in front of the Joliet Illinois Correctional Facility (where Joliet Jake Blues was released at the beginning of the film)

About our Trip:

On Monday June 1st we started our 3 week road trip after Joe finished classes. That night was the only night that we had bad driving weather. We drove to Detroit which was only about 3 hours away. The rain was a little scary - we spent over an hour unable to see anything but the single set of tail lights in front of us. The hotel people gave another person our room number and key by accident at 2am. They meant to give him the room next door to ours. Thank goodness Joe put on the chain because the person opened our door at 2AM. At least it was not foul play.

The next morning, when we rolled out of bed, we went to the Henry Ford Museum. That was more fun then I thought it would be. It was more then just old cars. They had all different models of gigantic trains, horse and buggy exhibits, planes, sports cars, even the limos that Presidents Kennedy and Regan were shot in (and near). We had a great time there.

We then drove up to the ferry to take us to Mackinac Island. This island was pricey, but worth it. We had to take a ferry and there are no automobiles allowed on the island. There was only walking and biking. The island is only about 8 miles around. We decided to rent a couple of bikes and rode three or four of those wonderful miles (pregnant Laurie did great!). It was absolutely beautiful. The dinner we had there was divine. We had king crab cakes and also a lobster and crab bisque pasta. It was wow good. We stayed at a B&B and not the grand hotel for that would have cost us $275 per person. So we were content with looking in the windows.

The next day we made a short stop in Canada just to say we have been there. We looked at the locks and had lunch there. We then drove to Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan. The mosquitoes there tried to carry us back to their nest and eat us alive, but the falls were beautiful. The water cascading down them were different colors of brown, not from pollution, but from the tannic acid from the cedar trees. That was interesting to see.That same day we went to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. There where the land meets Lake Superior, it is a long stretch of cliffs that just drop off into the water.

The next day was our 5th anniversary (June 4th) we spent that day driving to Marinette, WI (where Joe's mom used to live), we only drove by her house, we stopped at a few of the many cheese stores along the side of the road that Wisconsin has to offer. We got cheese curds, (which were not as good as the fried ones from A&W, they were just waxy chunks of cheese) smoked mozzarella cheese sticks (yum), some other assorted cheese, and Joe's favorite, the smoked sausage. He wishes he got more. They looked like the beef sticks you get at a gas station, but so much better. They even had little yellow beads of fat in them. I only ate one so he could have the rest (my anniversary gift to him :)) We stayed that night at a camp site, the only night that it didn't rain thank goodness. We were also the only campers there.

The next morning we drove to Minneapolis MN where we spent an hour walking the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail. It was 2.5 miles long and went past some historic places in downtown Minneapolis. We didn't go to the mall of America while there, since we had gone during a layover years before. That night we drove up to Grand Forks, North Dakota where Jason and his family live. We spent the weekend there just catching up and hanging out. We are proud to say that for the whole 3 weeks, we never once traveled or spent money on Sunday, we made sure to go to church wherever we were.

On Monday the 8th, we got back on the road and traveled to South Dakota where stopped at the Mitchell Corn Palace Museum. This building is known for being totally decorated with corn in a different theme each year. On Tuesday, we started our day visiting a historic site that depicted an Air Force nuclear missile silo. Joe took his time learning about it while Laurie used the opportunity for a potty break. We then drove to the badlands. This was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was like a rugged terrain and formations that resemble a science fiction landscape of another world. We then booked it to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy horse, and took a wildlife loop that had several donkeys that stuck their heads in our car. That was very entertaining. I can't wait to do that again with little ones in tow. We also saw Bison, Antelope, and a bunch of other wildlife.

It was raining just before we got to Mount Rushmore, so it looked like they all had runny noses from where the water ran off the mountain. On Wednesday we drove up to Wyoming to see Devils tower. This is the place that the aliens landed in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". It was very foggy that day so we only got a few pictures. The tower is a natural rock formation that looks like a big bear clawed his way around leaving long vertical gashes.

We then drove all the way to Laurie's parents house. Joe, Daniel and Ben launched rockets at the academy while the ladies had a baby shower for the twins. We loved holding Laurie's new cousin Lilyanne, whose baby blessing we were able to attend. Our last day, we all flew kites, including mom and dad.

On Wednesday we took off for Omaha Nebraska. We stopped in Winter Quarters to see where the pioneers of the church lived before pressing on to Utah.

Thursday we drove to Chicago where that night we went to Buckingham Fountain which is shown in the Married with Children opening song. That was neat to see. We asked a security guy how often they turn on the big fountain (the fountain is always going, but they only turn on the main part on the hour) he said, "every so often" That was a great help, not! Once it turned on, it stayed on for about 20 minutes which was great since Joe had plenty of time to get many pictures.

Since we waited until that day to book our hotel in Chicago, we went to a website the hotels use when they just want to fill the rooms. We ended up staying at the Palmer House Hilton that was right in the middle of downtown where everything we wanted to visit was for less then half the price. The parking was crazy though. It cost $36 per night to park. It was like that for the whole city. That is one reason why I would not want to live in a big city. Friday we toured all through Chicago, mostly going to sites where the Blues Brothers was filmed. Joe is a big fan. I just shook my head and went along with him. There was a lot to do there and a lot to see. Saturday we called the vacation over and headed home. It was nice to finally be back in our own bed.

I (We) Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore

So, here we are in 2009. There's all sorts of news to share. Laurie's pregnant with twin girls, we're past the 5 year anniversary, Joe's halfway done with his master's, and we've recently traveled more or less a quarter of the country... It's hard to share so much news and so many pictures (and with Joe on the shutter, many MANY pictures) with everyone.

But how can we make it easier to share? Well, I remember working in a web shop three years ago when my boss' boss' boss' boss' boss came in, looked around and said "y'know what we need? We need us a blaaaaahg. You know, to keep people up to date!"

So why not, we're gonna give our pictures, stories, and anecdotes to the robots and hamsters that keep this here interweb running, and let them do the job for us.

Hope you enjoy our blog.
Love,
Joe and Laurie