and the reason for all the waddling...

so here are chuck, ned, and big mama at 18 weeks and 1 day!!  i should know the answer to this question, but how big is this for a singleton pregnancy?  i'm just trying to get a good estimate as to how huge i'm going to be...  i know, it won't be pretty :).  

we're all doing very well, they are both moving in there (bryan can't stand that he can't feel it yet, even though every single night, we lie very still with his hand on my belly for 5 to 10 minutes before he realizes this won't be the night :().  i actually think i felt chuck (baby A) move first right when i was 16 weeks- a very deliberate sort of punch very low- and every time i sit and don't have good posture, she (no, i don't know if it's a she) lets me know- hello up there- you're kind of scrunching an already scrunched up kiddo down here :)... the next morning, right after i woke up, i felt ned kind of maybe roll over- a very light flutter.  it's like they seriously have already established their personalities- still definitely going along w/the ones we saw early on- chuck being her mother's daughter- moving a lot, not staying still for the ultrasound tech, being upside-down, high energy, and ned- his father's son, relaxed, actually looked like he was lying in a hammock, and movements that indicate only his rolling over in the middle of his nap. :) it'll be interesting to see if this carries out once they're no longer in utero.  we went to see les miserables last night at an outdoor theater in one of kc's parks (perfect weather, awesome production) and they moved more in that 3 hours than i've felt ever, i think... hopefully, they love music as much as their parents!

one more thing, we've booked our tickets out to cali!!! we're flying into reno on sunday the 12th (and don't get me started on how friggin' expensive flying anywhere was), then i'm renting a car and driving down to fresno on monday and staying until wednesday night or early thursday morning.  YEA!!! so like i said, i hope to see all of you- i can't wait!!!  i'll be full on penguin by then! :) waddle, waddle, quack, quack...

is it too soon to waddle?

so as i've finally adjusted to actual size of my growing belly and stopped subconsciously sucking it in, i've noticed that i look like a penguin when i walk.  we went to dinner last night (i'm so thrilled to be able to say we went out to eat and i didn't have any issues!!!!!) in part of kansas city called westport.  we've been looking for sushi (for bryan, filet teriyaki and tempura for me :)) and haven't been so lucky.  1 point for fresno!!  apparently, it's not so easy to get fresh fish in the middle of the country.  but it is easy to avoid things like earthquakes and hurricanes... i'm sorry, i digress.  so a couple months ago, my sister and her husband sean were here visiting and went to get sushi with one of kate's nursing school friends at a place in westport.  kate and sean definitely know good sushi, so we went there last night.  sorry, i'm really rambling... anyway, westport has a lot of shops, restaurants, bars, etc., all w/big glass windows in the front.  as we're walking back from eating (yummy sushi- yea!!), i look over at my reflection... seriously?!?!??! that's what i look like? why didn't anyone tell me? i know i have twins and i'm growing twice as fast as one normally would, so it's all kind of been an adjustment.  i guess in every sense of the word.  i guess i don't waddle all the time, but if i've been sitting for an extended period of time (eating, charting, etc.), when i get up, i have to adjust everything to make it comfortable to walk, which translates into waddling.  it was probably worse last night, because we had just eaten.  i am definitely appreciating that it's making everything (except my boobs- holy cow!) look smaller. :) my wonderful mother said the other day, it's the only time you'll enjoy the size of your rear end... :) again, thanks mom.  but i have realized i can't deny my blossoming (ha ha!) shape any longer...

coming to visit!!

we are coming to have a last hoorah!!! who knew i'd be doing it in fresno of all places? :)  my doc says i have to stop airplane traveling (since i do so much of that now...) when i'm 26 weeks, which puts me into november, i think- 8 weeks from today, actually, so we're going to come out october 12-19. i won't be there that whole time- we're going to be splitting our time between vegas, truckee, and fresno... a boards review course is in vegas for bryan, sarah d, christian, sammy, and ben are in truckee, and all the rest of my favorite people are in fresno! i'm pretty sure i'll be there the beginning of that week- the 13-16th... so i will count on seeing ALL of you- i can't wait!!! neither can chuck and ned... they were conceived there, after all... so sad :) i guess it could have been in bakersfield. :) 

i love barack obama.

i don't want to stray from the point of this blog, but i also feel like this is the best way to express my opinion and not offend people.  well, i might offend some people, but i guess i feel like they don't have to read it if they don't want to.  not like a million people read this, but i do think that maybe all of them don't agree with me.  :) that's fine, just wanted to share my opinions on all this political mumbo-jumbo that's happening.  as most of you probably know (hayley a little more than others :)), i've never really supported our current administration for any of their 8 years...  which means that, obviously, i'm not going to support voting for 4 more of the same.  and i, like a lot of people, i think, have gotten more into this election than any other- for whatever reason.  i'm trying to find a good way to write that i'm trying to see both sides, but let's face it, i support Barack Obama and do not support McCain.  i feel like a lot of people, on both sides, listen to what their own candidate has to say, take it as it is, and don't question it.  i feel like i'm about to go off on a tangent and not stick to the point, but after this week, listening to the speeches at the republican national convention, i'm depressed.  i know that politics is a lot about painting the other side negatively, but they stooped pretty damn low this week.  i don't want to start ranting and raving, but they were just mean.  the first night was ok, but rudy giuliani and sarah palin (don't get me started) took the stage and didn't say a damn thing about why we should vote for john mccain, just made fun of obama.  my dad (who i happen to think is one of the smartest people i know) says it's because they're obviously afraid of not being elected.  i think he's right.  i also think they shot themselves in the foot (feet).  after the RNC was over, the john mccain campaign raised 1 million dollars.  and obama, 10.  i think that sums it up.  sorry this wasn't about babies... :) and to leave you on a lighter note, i love jon stewart!!!  please, if you've taken the time to read this, watch this clip.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

pictures, pictures!!

chuck

ned

so i had a little fun with photoshop (i'm learning!) so i could label what you were seeing... i know, most of us can tell, but just in case :).  i had my 16 week appointment yesterday and everything went really well.  mama's doing well, and more importantly, the babies look really good.  she said the more extensive look at their anatomy would come at the 20 week scan, but she could see quite a bit on both of them and there are no apparent problems- their brains look complete, couldn't quite visualize all 4 chambers in their hearts, their stomachs were full, so no fistulas, she saw cord insertion on both, so their insides are on the inside, and all their measurements are right along with 16 weeks!!  chuck is measuring 164 grams, while ned is right behind at 163 grams. which both come out to 5 ounches, they're little avocado-sized buddies.  mmm, i miss california produce.  speaking of, i'm hoping that i've reached the point where i'm finally getting my appetite back- i had a good day yesterday, so i'm crossing my fingers.  and it's funny, the following picture is a week after the other one, but besides my chest not looking as smashed down, i don't think it looks that much bigger.  but it is, i promise.  observe:

at least my bum doesn't stick out so much :).  well, i think that's it for now... it's cold and rainy today (59 degrees!!), so i think i'm going to stay in my pj's for a little while longer... miss you all so much!!

chuck and ned

so there's this show called pushing daisies that i got hooked on last year.  it's about this guy (ned) who can bring dead things back to life by touching them- all dead things: flowers, fruit, people, dogs, etc.  the catch is that once he's brought a dead thing back to life, he can't touch it again or it will be dead for good.  i know, it sounds weird.  so he brings the love of his life (charlotte, who goes by chuck) back to life (?) after she was accidentally killed, except now they can't touch at all or she'll be a goner.  so sad... in his car, he has a clear plastic partition that allows them to see each other and pretend like they're holding hands, but to not actually touch.  so bryan and i were talking about the babies the other night and he said, hey, they're like chuck and ned- they're really close, but they're separated by their membranes and can't actually touch!!  so the whole point of this pointless story is that we've moved on from calling them baby A and baby B to calling baby A chuck and baby B ned.  we think chuck's the girl anyway, so it kinda works out.  i just hope ned turns out to be a boy, or a girl who's been called ned might have issues.  i hope you all found this as amusing as i did- i understand if you don't... :) pictures of them very soon!