30 WEEKS!!!

We made it to 30 weeks. I’m so excited that things are going so well. We’re not in the clear yet but from what the doctor says, 30 weeks is a milestone. Even if the babies were born today, they would have an excellent chance of being just fine. Not that we want them to come now, it’s just such a great feeling to know things are going so well.

We went to the doctor last Thursday and she confirmed that everything is going well. Both Mackenzie and Nathaniel are moving around all the time and look great. We also had another measurement ultrasound on Friday morning and found out that Mackenzie is now 3 lbs 9 oz and Nathaniel is 4 lbs 1 oz. This is great. Maybe our kids will be Sumo wrestlers or hotdog eating champions. I can almost smell the retirement income. When you add up their weights, Kristi is carrying around 7 lbs 10 oz of baby on Week 30. Wow, that’s a lot of baby.

We got some good pictures of Mackenzie. Here is one from the side.

Here is a picture of her straight on.

We didn’t get a good picture of Nathaniel but that’s okay. Since he’s on top, we’ve been getting a number of good pictures of him so it’s about time we get a good one of his sister. We did get to see however that Nathaniel has a lot of hair. You can actually see it showing up in the ultrasound. So, it appears he’ll be a Sumo wrestler with big, sexy hair. I definitely see a Pert shampoo commercial in his future.

Kristi is doing great. She hasn’t had any complications—her blood pressure is good, her weight is good and her blood sugar is good. In addition to that, she hasn’t even had any Braxton-Hicks contractions, those mini contractions to help women get ready for the real thing. If we go until the end, Kristi may get some kind of local record for the largest twins. I wonder if you measure each kid individually for a record or if it’s like a bass tournament where you weigh all the fish together. I guess we’ll find out. 

We went up to Ft. Worth this weekend for a shower thrown by Kristi’s family (Aunt Mary, Katy, and Nicole). Like the others, it was wonderful. Much of my family and Kristi’s family were able to come to this one which made it very special. I don’t normally want to go to showers, I guess it’s just a guy thing, but I was really bummed that I had to leave this one. Here are a few pictures from the shower.

This is Kristi with her cousin Katy.

This is Kristi with Nicole, Aunt Mary and Katy.

Kristi got her toes done before the shower. What do you think?

Aunt Mary made cookies for the shower. I started to eat one but had to stop. I felt like I was eating Mackenzie's arm off.

That's about it for this week. Thanks for keeping up with us. I’m amazed when I talk to someone and they tell me that they keep up with the blog. It means a lot to us to have so many people caring about us right now. I hope you have a good week. Talk to you next week.

Dr. Daddy.

Week 29

Hello All. Welcome to Week 29! In just another short 8 weeks or so we will all get to meet Mackenzie and Nathaniel in person. Right now you just know them through this blog or through conversations with me and Kristi. I know them through watching and feeling them move and Kristi knows them because the little farts make her have to pee ALL the time. We can’t wait to meet them in person and see what they really look like. I think they may look like this.

Or this.

Or maybe this.

Whatever they look like, I have no doubt they will be loved by many people. People have thrown three different showers for Kristi up to this point—choir, friends and school. Mackenzie and Nathaniel have received diapers, bathtubs, rubber ducks, clothes, blankets, toys, bouncers, strollers, music, books, etc. all before they are even born. We’re amazed by the love people have shown us and our kids. I sometimes get a little teary eyed looking at all the wonderful things and thinking about our kids wearing them or playing with them and then thinking of the wonderful people who gave it to them. We can’t tell you enough how much we appreciate everyone and how much we love you all.

I know everyone always wants to know how Kristi is doing. Well, she’s doing great. Of course she can’t sleep, her feet swell and her back hurts, but other than that, things are good. Here is the latest picture of K. This is her "Victoria Secret" pose.

The babies are moving and kicking a lot these days. With some of the grandparents in town this weekend, everyone wants to cop a feel. Don't try this without the boss-lady's okay.

With grandparents in town and graduation in Houston, we took the opportunity to go by Carter’s to look at/purchase some baby gear. Wow, I never thought I would say this about a baby clothing store but they have some really great stuff. Check a few of the things some of the grandparents bought for them.

I don’t know what it is about baby clothes, but when I walked into Carters and looked at the little girl stuff, I started to tear up again. Man, am I becoming a wuss or what? I’m going to be a mess when the kids actually arrive.

We go back to the doctor on Thursday of this week and then have another measurement ultrasound on Friday morning. We’re looking forward to both because things have been so good each time we go in. Both kids should be over three pounds by Friday and, if they are growing like they have been, Nathaniel may be over four pounds. I will be sure to let you know. Until then, thank you for all the love you have and continue to show us. We feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. Talk at you soon.

Dr. Daddy

Week 28

Well, we’ve reached week 28. It sure doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since we found out. Likely we only have 7 weeks or so left. Full term is generally 40 weeks but twins often come early with the average being 36 weeks. Our doctor feels the kids will be great if we make it to 35 weeks but also thinks things would be fine if they came earlier. I’m hoping they stay in as long as possible. Kristi on the other hand would like for them to come today. Well, not really but those babies are starting to get big so Kristi wouldn’t mind them to at least stop standing on her bladder.

Here’s a picture of Kristi this week.

 Note the slight look of pissed-offness. Don't worry. That's for me, not for you. Here’s a picture of The Belly from her perspective.

Okay, so that wasn’t really her belly. Her is the real picture from Kristi’s perspective. Notice the toes sticking out from behind.

Speaking of big, we had another measurement ultrasound done a couple of weeks ago and things are great. Both babies are growing nicely. Mackenzie was 2 lbs 3 oz which puts her in the 50^th percentile of babies at 26 weeks. Nathaniel was 2 lbs 13 oz which puts him in the 80^th percentile of babies at 26 weeks. I’m really excited about Nathaniel being so big. I’m going to need some help moving these diapers. When he reaches 6 lbs, he’s going to be moving his own diaper boxes.

It’s no wonder Kristi is feeling heavy these days; she has 5 lbs of baby in her right now and she still has two months or so left. With Kristi carrying 5 lbs of baby, I guess she looks like she could pop any day. At church last Sunday, Kristi was sitting down after playing hand bells, looking generally beat. Some really nice lady came up to encourage Kristi and said, “Oh don’t worry dear. Just a couple more weeks. You can do it!” To which Kristi turned, glared and said, “Try another two months.” The nice lady said, “Two months! My gosh you’re big!” I’m surprised that lady was able to walk to her car. I think the only thing that saved her was that we were at church.

We go back to the doctor in two weeks for both a regular visit and another measurement ultrasound. I have read that babies put on about ½ pound a week for the rest of the pregnancy. If this holds true then Mackenzie should be 3 lbs 11 oz and Nathaniel should be 4 lbs 5 oz. That means both babies should be over 5 lbs in a month. I guess it was all that ice cream we fed Kristi early on…and the pizza…and the mac and cheese…and the hamburgers…and the fried chicken…

That’s about it for this week. I will be commencing next weekend but I’ll try to get a post in on Sunday or Monday. Until then, I hope everyone has a great week. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. It’s special for us to know that so many people care and are taking a positive interest in Mackenzie and Nathaniel. I hope everyone has a great week.

Dr. Daddy

Week 26 In Review

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I have missed for the last few weeks. I know my pups helped me out last week by taking up the slack. They’re good dogs. You'll be happy to know that both got an extra treat for that help.

Since last week, we have had two showers. One was given by the Christ UMC Choir. It was really great. I can’t believe how wonderful everyone in the choir is and how much they care for us. Our choir is filled with special people and Kristi and I both feel very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful group.

The other shower was given by friends locally and it too was wonderful. Our friends brought many things for the kids, had a delicious cake there and made a cake out of diapers. Here are a few pictures from that shower.

 Also, Kristi’s cousins Katy and Nicole and her mom came in for this shower. It was a wonderful surprise for Nicole to be here and really nice that both she and Katy made the trip down from Ft. Worth for the day. Here is a picture of Kristi and her mom at the shower.

The babies’ room has also come together. I have the room painted, all the furniture built and we have even started moving stuff into the bookshelf. I think the dogs showed you pictures of the room already but here are a few from better angles.

We also went to the doctor last week and Kristi and the kids are doing great. The doctor said she was very pleased with the way everything looks so we couldn’t be happier. We go tomorrow to get another measurement ultrasound. Hopefully everything will continue to be perfect. Last time both babies were above average in weight and length with the boy being a lot bigger. I’ll let you know where they are this time.

At home, the babies are moving often and Kristi and I have no problems feeling and even seeing them move. The boy is easier to feel since he’s on top but I finally got to feel the girl this weekend. Apparently they love music because they really start kicking anytime Kristi sings, she’s at a concert or when I play music for them. It’s a good thing they like music because look at what Kristi’s cousin Katy bought the children.

It’s obvious Katy loves the children very much already and wants them to be happy.

That’s about it for this week. I’ll let you know what the ultrasound shows next time and probably put up some new ultrasound pictures. Until then, I hope you have a great week.

Dr. Daddy

From a Poodle’s Perspective

Hello Everyone,

I’m Mojo.

And I’m Ozzy.

Our Dad, Dr. Daddy, has been really busy lately painting rooms, building furniture, cleaning the house, etc. in preparation for our new brother and sister. Unfortunately this means he hasn’t done the blog for awhile. I know many of you have been wondering what his problem is so we thought we would help out and write one for him.

We know that you always want to see what Mom looks like these days so we’ll go ahead and show you.

Isn’t she pretty!  There is no doubt that she has our brother and sister in there. She went to get her nails done the other day and while there the man doing her toes asked when she was due. She told him July and he just stared in disbelief. When Mom told him that she was carrying twins he said, “Oh, that’s why you’re so big.”  We don’t know what happened to that guy but we would have been spanked and sent to the back yard for a crack like that.

Our grandmother, Nonni, is here this weekend also. You can see where our mom gets her good looks.

As we said, Dad’s been hard at work in our brother and sister’s room. Here is what it looks like after the paint and building furniture. This is the new bookshelf. Notice all the books. These are Mom's (or Kristi as most of you know her) books from when she was a little girl. Isn't that cool.

Here's the chair that Boyd and Nicole gave us. We tried jumping on it but the darn thing glides back and forth and Ozzy fell on his butt. It was funny.

 Here's one of the cribs.

Here's the other one. Notice all the diapers in this crib.

Mom and Dad’s church choir had a shower for them last Wednesday and boy were people nice to them. Mom and Dad couldn’t believe that people in their choir cared that much for them. Our parents' were very appreciative of all the nice things the choir brought for our brother and sister, especially the diapers. Check out this stack.

Boy, we can't wait to get into those and tear them to shreds. Dad loves it when we play "tear things up." I'm sure he'll really love it when they're full of poop and we get into one. FUN!!!!

In addition to last Wednesday’s shower, friends threw another shower for Mom today. We’re sure Dad will show you those pictures on the next post.

That’s about it right now. Tuesday, Mom and Dad go back to the doctor so we’re sure Dad will post a lot more after that.

We hope you have a good week.

Mojo and Ozzy

Big Stuff This Week

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to another week of posts by yours truly. It has been a very busy week so let’s get to it. Most important, Kristi and I went to the doctor yesterday to do a second ultrasound where they measure the babies to make sure things are going well. Indeed, things are going very well. Both kids look great and are a good weight and length. The girl is now 1 pound 2 ounces which is exactly where she is supposed to be for her gestational age. The boy, who was smaller at the last ultrasound, is now the bigger of the two, coming in at a whopping 1 pound 10 ounces. This puts him above the 70^th percentile of babies his gestational age. It looks like the little chunk is going to have to go to the gym with me when he arrives. The best news is that both babies are at a perfect size for their age and things are looking great. The boy didn't have a good profile picture from last time so here is his most recent picture.

Here is another picture of his face with him looking at you. I like to call this “Skeletor” baby. The doctor says he has on his Halloween face.

No matter how cute you want to think it is, it’s just a little creepy.

Here is the latest of the girl.

And I know Kristi doesn’t think feet are cute, but I do. I think this little girl’s foot is very cute.

In addition to the doctor’s visit, we have also started to make the nursery somewhere both kids and parents will enjoy being. Right now, it’s just a place where I go to work in the evenings. Even still, it is quite fun to work on the room. Here is a picture of the worker bee busily preparing the nest.

And another of the room half finished. What do you think of the color?

Also, we received the stroller that Dad and Sandi lovingly purchased for the kids. Kristi and I are very thankful and look forward to taking the kids on lots of walks in it.  But…HOLY CRAP THIS THING IS HUGE! I measured it against my piano and it is almost as long as the piano is wide. When I put it in the back of the Pilot, there was no more room for…well…anything. I think we’re going to have to build a ramp to roll this thing up into the cargo hold of my car. Then I’ll just strap it down, kids and all, like they do with tanks on transport ships and airplanes. I can’t really think of a better idea. The other option is to have Kristi in the car with the kids and all the stuff they need and me follow in a chase vehicle with the stroller and the poodles. I guess I could just put it all on top of the car and look like the Clampett’s rolling down the highway but I’m not sure the poodles wouldn’t jump off. Looks like I’m going to have to teach them a new trick: “STAY” on top of a moving vehicle.

Anyway, here’s a picture of the BTV (Baby Transport Vehicle) with Sandi.

I guess that’s about it for this week. I hope to finish painting the room by next posting and hopefully have some, if not all, of the furniture built and in the room. I’ll certainly let you know when it’s completed.

I hope you have a good weekend.

Dr. Daddy

Week 21

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry I skipped a week. It was spring break in College Station therefore I spent some time with my brother while Kristi's mom came for a visit. I got home on Thursday and boy did we have an exciting few days before school started again. First, we went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and everything is great. Kristi is right on track with weight gain, the babies were moving about and everything looks just wonderful.

When I returned home, Kristi said, "I'm so happy you're home...here is the six page list of things we need to do." So we got started. First was take her picture for week 21. She's really looking good. There's no doubt there are two kids in there.

After this, I did just regular stuff around the house and while working, the cribs came. Here's what they look like right now.

I'm sure they'll look better soon. First we have to get the room together. We spent every bit of a day and a half working to clear out one bedroom, move everything in the guest bedroom to the new guest room and start getting ready to paint the new babies room. This is me rehanging the pictures in the new guest room.

As part of the room remodeling, we also started putting all the clothes we've received already from friends and family, most of them from Kristi's mom, into the babies' closet. "We're going to need a bigger boat"...I mean house.

We also went to Houston to do some shopping and register at Babies R Us in preparation of baby showers. While in Houston we picked out the stroller. The stroller reminds me of a song..."His baby's car crib is bigger than his!" The thing is big, heavy and perfect for two kids. I'm not so sure it's perfect for two parents but it is the best all things considered. It turns out all double strollers are heavy.

Best of all, Sunday afternoon, Kristi went to lay down after working very hard. While laying still, she said, "I think maybe they're moving." Of course I ran in to the bedroom because this is the first time she's felt them move, or at least the first time she knew is was them and not gas. I put my hand on her belly and sure enough, the boy kicked my hand. At least I think it was the boy because it was relatively high and the boy is on top. It was so cool. Shortly thereafter Kristi felt them having a party or that's what she likes to think. Being an only child she would think nice things like that. I, however, having siblings, know what was really going on...."Get on your side!"...."Stop touching me!"..."Don't make that face at me"..."I'm going to tell"...and so on, and so on, and so on.

It was a really great and busy two weeks. In addition to all the other stuff, Kristi, Kristi's mom and my brother all painted artwork that is going on the wall in the nursery. The plan is to have the family paint frames from the rug and hang them on the walls so they match the room and the kids are surrounded by artwork created by the people who love them. These are not completely done but it gives you an idea of what we're doing. Compare these with pictures of the rug from last week.

I guess that's enough for this week. I wanted to give you a bit more since I missed last week. As always, we enjoy your comments so feel free to post comments as they come to you. We also love all the well wishes and smart ass comments you send our way (Jim and Dan!). Keep them coming. Until next time, have a great week.

Dr. Daddy