Super T

I included this photo of T when he was a baby, because I think he totally looks like Superman. He was about five months at the time and would regularly make this pose. Also, check out those awesome legs!

Anyway, I've decided that T has superhero hearing. My college roommates used to tease me that my hearing was ridiculously good, and it appears T has inherited this from me. Specifically, he hears really well when it's something to do with treats. If he's anywhere even close to me when I ever so quietly open a Starburst or a package of those mini M&Ms, he comes sprinting over and asks, "Can I have some?" He even came running one time from way up in the kitchen, all the way down to my office. His hearing is so tuned in that the other day, I ripped a paper out of a notebook and he came running in to ask, "What you got there?"

Unfortunately, T does something that I don't think any superhero has ever done--he sucks his fingers. Ever since he was about a month old, he's sucked the index and middle finger of his right hand. After repeatedly trying to get him not to (and already worrying about the state of his two front teeth) we decided to take more drastic measures. We've started taping up his fingers with athletic tape (and no, it doesn't hurt his fingers, so don't post comments about me abusing my child). It sometimes makes him super mad, but he usually gets over it pretty quickly. So much so, that he's discovered the fingers on his left hand taste just as good. So, I now tape up two fingers on both hands. Today, he had both hands taped up and was sitting on the couch. I look out from my office and he's sucking his thumb!! Am I going to have to tape up this kid's entire hand--both of them??

Finger-sucking may not be a superhero trait, but I will give him this--he's pretty ingenious for a two-year old. That's got to count for something. :)

Building a Log Cabin

H came home from preschool yesterday with this great log cabin replica, made out of pretzel sticks, of course. He asked me who made the real log cabin. Knowing they had talked about Presidents' Day in class, I said, "Abraham Lincoln, the guy who's on the penny." He said, "No, I think it was Lettuce."

I tried desperately to think of anything to do with Presidents' Day that would sound remotely like lettuce. Obviously coming up empty, I said, "I think it was Abraham Lincoln, bud." H said, "But we learned a song about it. 'Let us build a cabin...' "

:) :)

Night-time adventures

I know that title seems pretty exciting, but alas, this is not that kind of post. (And let's hope I never do that kind of post.)

I seem to be up in the middle of the night a lot lately. Sometimes it's to go to the bathroom, sometimes it's to cough (I seem to only really cough at night--go figure), and the other night it was because I was having some weird pinched nerve in my arm that freaked me out. The fun varies.

Ever since I had the sinus infection, I've been putting a bottle full of water on the window ledge behind me at night. When I wake up coughing, it's nice to have that water handy. Anyway, one night last week, I woke up and coughed a bit. Usually, I end up getting up to go to the bathroom anyway, but this time, I must have been too tired and out of it. I drank a bit of water, still lying down. I remember holding the water bottle in one hand and the cap in the other...

The next thing I knew, my poor husband was jumping up in bed, wondering why his side of the bed was completely soaked. Oops. I must have fallen asleep and slowly, ever so slowly, tipped the bottle over. I still even had the cap in my hand. My husband was forced to sleep on the couch downstairs for the rest of the night and I pulled up the sheets and put towels on the mattress. My side was completely dry, of course. Poor A, he was so confused about the whole thing. :)

Have I stopped putting water on the window ledge? Of course not. I just make sure to fully sit up in bed now when I drink it.

Tagged a 3rd time

I was tagged by my sister Angie. This one's a fun one. Here are the rules:

1) Answer the questions below.

2) Take each answer and enter it into photobucket.com

3) Take a picture from the first page of results and post it.

Here goes!

My age at my next birthday (32--how great is this picture!)A place I'd like to visit (Italy--I've been there once; who said I can't go back?)

One of my favorite places
Favorite object

Favorite food (baked goods--this pic makes my mouth water)Where I live (I looked for a more scenic pic, but really, this sums up this winter)
My middle name (I use my maiden name now, but growing up, I never had one. Kids never believed that I didn't have a middle name.)

My college major (English; I love looking for grammar and spelling mistakes on billboards. Weird hobby of mine...)
Bad habit of mine (being lazy)
Favorite color
Favorite animal
Name of pet (no pets here, just three kids)
Favorite holiday (Christmas)

Not my twins, but close!

On Friday night, my sister Brooke had her twin boys. They were born by c-section at 36.5 weeks (one was breech--he had been head-down and then turned back the wrong way). Austin was about 7 lbs 4 oz and Isaac was 5 lbs. 11 oz. I went up to the hospital yesterday with my mom and took these pictures. They are so incredibly precious. It was kind of surreal, holding one and then the other and thinking that I've got two of my own coming. Also very interesting to talk to my sister about the difference in recovery from a c-section since I've done all mine the old-fashioned way. Hooray for Brooke and Shawn and their boys!

Isaac and AustinIsaac

Austin

First Trimester Lowpoints and Highpoints

Because no one knew I was preggers (except for my poor husband) during most of the first trimester I only had him to complain to. While he was almost always very patient and let me blather on, I think there's only so much puke talk that one man can take, you know? So, I decided to post it and get it out of my system. :)

Warning: These aren't for the faint of heart...

"That was the best thing I've ever eaten." What I said to A after eating one of those cheap frozen burritos heated up in the microwave. I still stand by that. It tasted dang good. And I've had quite a few more in the days since.

Jumping up and down in my in-laws' bathroom, a mere fifteen feet away from A's entire family, (where they were calmly eating dinner) willing myself not to throw up. It did happen to work that time. (And no, I'm not certain why I jumped up and down, but hey, it seemed to work.)

Almost yakking on the way to my in-laws to open presents on Christmas morning. Lovely.

Having a sinus infection (for a month) on top of my nausea. Every cough and sneeze sent me running to the bathroom. Also, ever puked with a sinus headache? I wouldn't recommend it.

And a few highpoints with the T-man:

"Mom, the door's wocked (locked)." "I know; I'll be out in just a minute." "You ok, Mom?" T then sat outside the door and waited for me to come out. Interestingly enough, he was the one who paid the most attention when I would run to the bathroom and lock the door. He would always make sure I was ok afterwards, even though he had no idea what had happened.

We didn't tell the older kids until just barely, but I discussed it with T about every single day. (He's 2--who was he going to tell?) Before we found out about the twins, I just asked him if he wanted a baby brother or sister. He gave me different answers, depending on the day. When I started asking him about two babies, his answers got really interesting.

Me: Are we going to have two babies?
T: No sisters. Only blue babies. (Boys, I'm assuming.)

Me: Are you going to be a good big brother?
T: (pause) Not sure.

Me: Are we going to have two babies?
T: No.
Me: Why not?
T: They're gone.
Me: Where did they go?
T: In my belly.

:)

A Whale of a Tale...

and this one's true.

Some of you know this already, but for those of you who don't, I'm pregnant. About 13 weeks along, due in the beginning of August. But that's not the big news. The big news is that there's two little buggers swimming around in there. Yep, you read that right. Two.

About three weeks ago, I had a touch of spotting. Because of a miscarriage about three months ago, I got a little bit panicked. (Perhaps incredibly panicked, coupled with bouts of sobbing) It happened on a Saturday (of course) so I waited until Monday and went into the office to get checked out. They did an ultrasound to see what was going on. When the picture came up on the screen, the first thing I thought was, "That looks like two different sacs... silly Tennille, you're not a professional. Stop trying to figure this stuff out." Then two seconds later, the tech says to me, "Look at that sweet baby... and look at that sweet baby." She said I should be grateful it isn't triplets. I even asked her if she was looking at pictures of the same baby, like it was some weird game that ultrasound techs play on unsuspecting pregnant women. It was a ridiculous question, especially when she was clearly moving her wand thing-y back and forth, back and forth. But I had to ask. After I got done with the ultrasound, I called my husband with "an interesting development." He was worried I would call and say I had lost the baby. Neither of us were prepared for this.

So, that was almost three weeks ago. I'd like to say that we've recovered from the shock, but that's not really the truth. When you sort of had to talk your husband into trying for a 4th baby (and even talk myself into it a little, even though I knew it was the right thing) finding out there's a tag along takes some getting used to. Plus, because I'm a slightly controlling person, I had everything planned down to the minute: S would go to 2nd grade right after the new baby was born, H would start Kindergarten at half-days, and T would start preschool one day a week. I could still work full-time with two kids home in the morning and three in the afternoon, right? Well, that's what I get for planning, I guess.

Our biggest priority right now (and newest worry) is making sure these babies stay in there, healthy and safe until I'm 37 weeks. With two separate sacs and two separate placentas, it's the safest scenario for twins, but as every parent knows, that doesn't lessen the worry. So, if you have them to spare, we could use a few extra prayers every now and then. I'm sure we'll need them, both now and in the summer when we realize we have five kids. Yikes!