Nine

Nine years ago today, two kids got married. Whenever I look at this picture, I always marvel at how very young we looked back then.

In honor of our ninth wedding anniversary, I thought I'd share some lesser known facts about my husband, since he doesn't usually fall under my normal blogging categories of "funny/frustrating things my kids do" and "complaining about being pregnant."

1. People who don't know my husband are always super surprised when I tell them that he was voted "Class Clown" in high school, but it's true. Granted, he's pretty quiet if you don't know him well, but once you do, he quickly becomes one of the funniest people you'll ever meet. One of my favorite high school stories is that he decided it would be a super fun idea to tie dye a tux for prom. He bought a powder blue one from a thrift store and tried to dye it. Luckily for his date, the polyester blend didn't take the dye so well, and it just came out looking yucky. So he had to rent a real one.

2. He's color-blind and has crooked pinkies, both of which are genetic traits from his dad. It's a first son in the family thing. Poor A's pinkies have been through the ringer with sports injuries, but let me tell you, crooked pinkies on a little kid are pretty darn cute. When H was born, we immediately looked at his pinkies. Yep, he's all ours.

3. On the color blind issue, it is perhaps my most favorite way to tease my husband. I absolutely love when he asks me the color of something, especially after he's just bought an article of clothing. One Christmas, he bought me a really pretty plum-colored sweater. After I opened it, he leaned over and whispered, "It's purple, right?"

4. I love that he's so passionate about biking. For him, it's not just about fitness or beating previous times, although he does do it for that. He loves connecting with nature, discovering new trails, and being out in the middle of nowhere with just his bike and GPS to get him back to civilization.

5. I'm admitting--for the first time ever--that yes, my husband is a fairly decent writer. He always tells people that he's "the writer in the family," to which I usually add that until he starts getting paid to do it, I'll hold the title. But, I must admit, whether he's writing about biking in the deserts of Moab or waxing poetic about the presidential race, he does have a way with words. I'm still better, though.

6. I love how he plays with our kids, especially the boys. Nothing can get the boys out of a whiny tantrum quicker than wrestling with Dad. And he'll spend tons of time out in the backyard, playing baseball with the boys. He admits that he's not as well-equipped when it comes to dealing with S's tantrums, but she usually enjoys a little wrestling with the boys and Dad every now and then, too.

7. He's an extremely talented filmmaker. Last fall, we went to the premiere of his latest documentary (he served as editor--when people wonder what that means, I tell them he pretty much put the movie together). He had been frustrated with different setbacks to get the movie done and available for purchase. As I sat there and watched it, I started crying. As much as he gets frustrated with the industry and annoyed that he's "only qualified to do one thing," he's really, really good at that one thing. And it would be a big shame if he didn't share that talent.

8. He's very affectionate. There's nothing better after a long day (especially these days) than a hug from my husband. And he's very affectionate with the kids, which I think is wonderful. It sets a great example for my kids to always show your family how much you care.

9. He's a beverage connoisseur. Before I met A, I never realized the full range of tasty (non-alcoholic, of course) beverages that exist: ginger beer, apple beer, different kinds of creme soda, guarana, Izze, Fuze, and the list goes on and on. For Valentine's Day, A usually gets me an assorted collection of chocolate and I get him a lovely array of his favorite drinks. :)

Happy Anniversary, babe!

A baby shower!

Thanks to Gail for throwing me such a fun baby shower (and thanks to Cathy for hosting it). I got such cute things for the babies--it made everything more real to picture actual tiny people wearing them, though! And no, Gail didn't make this awesome cake, but if you ask her, I bet she'd give you the cake lady's contact info. And yes, the shoes are edible. :)

It's a baby shower! (Thanks to Cathy for letting us crowd into the coolest shower ever.)

See you in September...

... or late August, to be more exact. School's out for the summer, and right now, I couldn't be happier about that. I'm sure I'll take that back in a few weeks when the kids are restless and bored, but for now, not dragging S out of bed every morning, and not telling H once again to hurry up is a welcome relief.

Last week, we enjoyed H's preschool graduation. The kids performed songs and plays, including classics like, "A peanut sat on a railroad track" and "Mama's Soup Surprise." We had to do the graduation in his teacher's garage because it was rainy and cold that day, but no matter. Everything went great, except for the minor issue of T wanting to be a part of the whole thing and sneaking up to the stage every two seconds.

S had fun the last few weeks of school, with pajama days and field days, and a whole lot of candy for some reason. On Tuesday, she performed in the dance festival at school and then had her year-end clogging performance that night. Her team performed "Holla" and "Friend Like Me." She was the most excited to get her trophy, which was bigger than last year's.

And last, but not least, the T-man. He didn't go to school this year, but he did have a family birthday party on Sunday, where he received oodles of toys and clothes. And as always, he pretty much thinks he's a part of everything anyway, so he's spent the past few days walking around the house with a little backpack on and waving to me as he goes off to school. :)

The Winds of Change

Sometime between Saturday and Sunday, something changed in my body. Someone moved... and not the normal jabbing or kicking. This was a definite movement downwards, with a new heavier feeling in my lower pelvis to accompany it.

I'm hoping and crossing all my fingers and toes that these kids (or rather, just one, because the other's still high as the sky in my ribs) haven't dropped yet. With my previous kids, they all dropped about 3 to 4 weeks early. But with me at only 30 weeks, 33 or 34 weeks is still a little earlier than I'd like to see these kids out and about.

I spent most of Sunday in a daze, alternating between crying and panicking and wondering if there was anything I could do. I kept hoping it was all a figment of my imagination but then I'd get a headbutt to the cervix and think, "Fine, you're down there. I get it." And in the next breath, his sister would kick my ribs. Such a nice combo. :)

I called my sister on Sunday night--I have four, but this is the one who had twins in February. I was vainly hoping that this sudden change was just a "twin thing" and completely normal. No-go on that, but she did talk it over with me and suggest stuff and even look up an experience on the web where some lady's twins dropped at 31 weeks and they went on to hang around for quite a while longer.

I finally called the on-call doctor on Monday morning. Not surprisingly, he didn't have too much advice to offer. I knew he wouldn't because I'm not contracting and there's nothing to say that I'm in immediate labor. I just know the way things have begun before and so I freaked because it's still much too early. He said I could definitely go for several more weeks like this--which in the pain department doesn't thrill me, but I'll do it if it means I can keep them safe for a while longer. He didn't put me on bedrest, but said some restricted activity might be in order.

Restricted activity--really no specific definition for that, but here's my take on it. No more exercising (not like I was loving it anyway), no more picking up T to change his diaper, no more cleaning tubs and toilets, and in general, a lot more lying down with my feet up. I'm all in favor of the relaxing but it's hard to envision it for the next six (or maybe even seven!) weeks.

I decided yesterday that this is just one more way that Heavenly Father is helping me and my little family to change and grow. I still believe that having twins is His way of saying, "Stop working full-time. Make it work another way. Work together better as a family." I'm still scared to death that we're having twins to begin with, but now, I'm more worried that they'll come before they're good and cooked. So, we adjust, we make changes, we do everything we can to help them stay in there for as long as possible, and we wait. :)

The T-man is three today

T is three today--hooray! In some ways, he still seems like a little baby to me (especially when he refuses to be potty trained) but in other ways, he seems so grown up. He wants to do everything that H does and loves all of his older brother's toys, books, and stuffed animals. He is also quite possibly the most contrary person I know. A typical conversation with T:

T: I want some grapes.
Me: Ok, here you go.
T: NO! I don't want them.
Me: Alright. (Wait for a minute.)
T: I do want grapes.

He can't wait to start preschool in the Fall. It's only one morning a week, though, so I wonder how he's going to handle being home the other four mornings with me and two newborn babies since H will be in kindergarten. Could be interesting. Although, he did inform me a few weeks ago that he loves babies. He does enjoy talking to the babies, patting my belly, running cars over my belly, and posing Power Ranger action figures on it.

Three favorite things about T:

1. I've trained all my kids to be affectionate but it's really worked well with T. He'll run up to me and give me a "big kiss," which involves grabbing my face and kissing my cheek really hard. Apparently, these things must be done with force. And he's awesome about telling me he loves me. Nothing like teaching boys to give their moms hugs. It's a must in my book.

2. This kid loves to run. S loves to dance, H loves baseball, and T may very well join the track team in high school. He loves sports in general, but he loves running the most. When he was younger, he would run all over the kitchen for long periods of time. He also likes to run outside by the fence where he can check out his shadow.

3. As crazy as he can sometimes be with his temper tantrums and wanting everything in the house to belong to him, he is very thoughtful. He always wants to include his siblings in everything. He says hi to everyone he sees. He gets concerned if I say I'm more tired than usual or in pain. He is a very sweet boy and we're so glad he's part of our family!

Happy birthday, T!

Swelling Ahead

Why can't it stay Spring forever? Or perhaps until around July 15?

We've been having some unseasonably cool weather around here lately. Like, 70 degrees one day and then 50 the next. There's even been snow in the higher elevations. My husband has complained quite a bit because he loves the hot weather for biking. Pretty much everyone I know wishes it would warm up more, but not me. I would rather it stay 65 for as long as possible. Not only am I lazy about turning on the A/C, but this year I have a special reason to want it to stay cool: swelling. Up until now, I've been able to wear cute skirts, sandals, and capris and feel pretty good about how my legs and feet looked. With 80+ degree days coming up this weekend, that will be a thing of the past. Gone will be the comments from family and friends that I look cute. Pretty soon, everyone will just give me sympathy sighs and say, "How much longer do you have?"

I know I'm being whiny, but hey, I'm pregnant and it's my blog, so I'll complain if I want to. :)

On a less-whiny note, the babies are doing well and getting fat in there. Both are measuring about a week and a half ahead of my due date (and have been since 10 wks) so they might move it up. I'm slightly anemic but I don't have gestational diabetes. I'll take the little iron pill over testing my blood any day.