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So, I'm 36 1/2 weeks now, nearly full term for twins and I am DONE growing these babies.  I've been gaining the optimum 2 lbs a week for ages now, my belly measurement is 45 1/2 cm, seven cm more than the average singleton preggo belly at full term, the last ultrasound had each baby at or around six pounds... they are fine.  I'm all done with the ice cream spiked protein shakes and general protein loading I've been focusing on, done with the calorie feasting and water logging...  They are in great shape and I honestly do not want them to get any bigger.  I'm huge!  What's weird is that I'm actually getting more  comfortable lately and less achy.  I'm feeling more  mobile and less contractions during the day.  I wonder if they are just settling in for the long run.  They can't stay in there forever!  I'll have to waddle my way around a lake or something soon.  But then I'm also pretty nervous about labor and even more anxious about t...

On Sunday we had a gathering of friends and family over for brunch. To see folks, but also to stock up on a plethora of tasty frozen food dishes. Thanks to everyone who showed up (I didn't take a single photo which was dumb), and a big thanks to those who had time to cook us up a dish. It's just invaluable and really appreciated! There were going to be a number of kids coming so I decided to rent one of those big jumping blow up things. I immediately regretted it and felt a little embarrassed when I realized how MASSIVE it was. But I settled myself with the thing and it actually ended up being alot of fun for all the kids and a great way to keep them occupied while parents chatted.

Perhaps it's because our days as a threesome are numbered or maybe it's just because we're all in great moods, but Art, Lewis and I have been thoroughly enjoying our evenings together lately.  I hobble around while they play with trains, watch a show or otherwise occupy themselves.  They accept my limited mobility and energy level and I just do the best I can.  We eat dinner together and talk about the food and make little jokes or just say the same silly thing over and over and over (tonight's was "My feet stick out of bed all night!").  Bedtimes have been mostly easy going and joke filled as well.  Oh!  I'm not saying there aren't moments when I lose my cool!  Tonight Art decided that he "hated" the book we were reading and protested by hopping up and down in bed and yelling, "No, no no no!" until I lost it and pushed his hopping body down, a move that Ben does all the time in silly wrestling, but Art knew it was not silly and I k...

Art's hands after a super long bath.

Ben says he gets asked all the time how I am doing - how am I feeling, how am I managing, etc.  So here it is, if there really is a need-to-know public out there. I'm achy.  I ache a lot when I get up from any sitting or laying down longer than a few minutes.  Heavy babies settle into crevices of my body and swollen joints freeze up and squeak their way free as I rise.  Not fun.  And I'm short of breath most of the time, even just sitting down, because my lungs are squished.  I love not taking my iron supplements because my system flows more freely, if you know what I mean, but the trade off is really bad restless legs at night so I only take a few days off at a time.  It seems like I'm always getting ready for a nap.  I really have been taking two naps a day most of the last week or more.  My back hurts by the end of the day, my belly hurts from being so heavy and my hands hurt a lot when I wake up in the morning.  It's from the swelling.  I can barely open a jar wh...

This is a lovely little video Jeff, Si's papa, took of Art and Si all tied up the other night in the backyard. It's so funny. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2fpr9cgPro?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1&w=660&h=405]

Art's teacher Jen just posted this nice photo on the school blog . Apparently he was quite proud of this and wanted to show us.

My sister, Emily, is in the hospital while her in-utero baby continues to cook safely. I really like her attitude about being sentenced to indefinite hospital bedrest. She said, "Well, it's better than bedrest at home because I'd be all worried in between check-ups and it's better than having a baby right now." (She's 32 weeks.) Emily. Always so practical. Here we are comparing bellies and laughing about various aspects of pregnancy. So Ben and I brought her some Chipotle lunch and hung out a bit. Ben pushed me a wheelchair again just to save time, since I'm soooooooooooo slow walking, and a guy said, "You guys are going fast! Good luck!" as we wheeled by. It was really funny to think everyone must think we were going to go give birth. And apparently the nurses in Emily's wing were a little exasperated when I came in last night to visit because they thought I was and bypassing the correct assessment/registering area for labor. It...

Arthur and Lewis played so well together today. Sometimes they get in many little arguments and spats. And sometimes they can be each other's complete best friend. Like today. Always near each other, chatting, talking, scheming, laughing. Art even asked Lewis to come upstairs with him while he made a poop. That's friendship! These twins will be entering the world soon and the dynamic in our house will be forever changed. As will our relationship with each of our kids. But Art and Lewis will always have each other. And that does provide me a little comfort. I love them and want them to be happy and inevitably worry about what's coming. I'm so happy they have each other. Lewis leading a blindfolded Arthur.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - we have been blessed and humbled by the generosity of our friends and family while we get ready for these babies. The other day Jen, Art's preschool teacher and our friend, started the long-overdue project of painting our bedroom. Today my Aunt Deb and cousin Cait continued the work. This is so wonderful because as soon as I found out we were having not just one but TWO babies I knew it would be a very long time before our room would get any attention, but I really wanted it to feel like a beautiful and peaceful sanctuary, so even if it was messy we still felt like it was OUR place to rest. And now it's almost there. So nice. Look at these women work!

I made Ben take a picture of me grating this thing.  So far I've made fritters and two small meatloaves.  Tomorrow maybe I'll use some more of it for a zucchini bread.

I resisted at first. I can totally walk around, but Ben really wanted me to ride in a wheelchair or scooter thing, if they had one. "I'm not an invalid!" I argued, but in the end it was a really good decision. I am terrible slow walking around. Our simple IKEA trip for a comfortor and curtain would have taken two hours! And it is true that I get achier with every step, and more contractiony. So the wheelchair was fun. Ben was an excellent driver as well.

This is probably the last ultrasound I'll have before labor. LABOR! I'm scared about going into labor and possibly having a non-surgical birth for the first time, but also pumped about trying to do it and definitely excited to meet the two girls. Anyhoo, this time I got to have Ben and Lewis around while I did my weekly baby monitoring test and the last ultrasound. Here I am being monitored. Look how flat my belly button is! Here Lewis is eating ice chips with a spoon.  He ate a whole bunch at first and said, "Too cold, Papa!" then Ben showed him he could take a tiny bite.  Which he did again and again. This is a 3D pic of Baby A, who is head down on my right side.  I think she's pretty well squished.  She's not as jumpy as her sister/wombmate. This is B's ear.  She was moving around far too much to get a decent profile or anything, but the tech tried and got this very well defined ear pic. The tech was saying the ultrasound gets a pretty accurate mea...

Ahhhhhh, nature day! I finally got back out in the swing of it! This time I brought Art's friend Si and Si's brother, Anthony and mom, Laurel (who is also my friend). We went to Woodlake Nature Center and spent time in the interpretive building looking at the live salamanders and snakes and the dead otter and birds, then we went outside and looked out on the floating bridge. "A snake!" cried Art. "I saw a REAL snake! I'm not being silly!" A few minutes later we saw THREE (!) snakes wrestling (mating) on a log. Then they slithered onto the bridge. What fun!

Cait, Jessica's cousin, was married last weekend to Zach. I took some photos that day, including this photo of Jessica and her likewise pregnant sister Emily. Below is a gallery of a bunch of wedding photos. http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Here's Jessica email form the other night: --------------- From: "Jessica Parker" To: "Ben Garvin" Boys are playing on what I think is my best train track ever! And just walking around each and pushing their individual mish-mosh trains around. Both kids have one piece of bullet train, one piece of recycling train and lots of other hodge podge pieces. Art's singing the Train Song from music class while he goes around and around. You are on a horse. Hey! You really are a stud! You're on a horse just like the Old Spice guy! I really got a winner. ------------- And it's true, I WAS on a horse. Shooting photos for a story on fun things to do with your kids. At one point my horse started galloping (I had tapped it with my heals in hopes of a trot) and I couldn't stop it cause I was holding two heavy cameras in each hand. Funny and scary. Here's the funny ad Jessica was referencing: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE?fs=1&...

This is from Cait and Zach's wedding.

and another nice photo from the egret's nest (a pretty drainage ditch near our home).

Jessica at 34 weeks. A month to go!

When Jessica and I first moved to town we lived in an apartment in Uptown and had this poster on our wall. One night as we both labored over what I could call a new photo column I planned to pitch at the paper, we were given the idea from this poster. I post this now since I just threw the thing away (cleaning house, throwing sh#t away!), and wanted it to be forever archived here on the blog. And while I'm at it, I'll be having a final Ant Farm book signing at Common Good books in St. Paul on Friday November 12th at 7pm. And upstairs in Nina's coffee shop they'll be hanging a bunch of prints from the book. Hope you can come!

I'm clearing off my phone and found these photos! Si and Art on the rolly polly slide at Powderhorn. Lewis looking up while going up in an elevator. Double sip.

We had just arrived at the ice cream shop after a long bike ride (the kids rode in the trailer). Art and Lew each ordered chocolate chip ice cream, I had chocolate. Art was sitting at a picnic table eating and Lew was trying to wiggle his way up onto the seat while holding his cone. Just as he had managed to set on the bench he started to tip back. And back. Until he fell and landed with a thud, using his ice cream cone hand to support his fall. And it broke into pieces and the scoop rolled a few feet away. Poor Lewis was a little hurt but especially devastated to see his cone break into pieces. I told him to suck it up, take it like man! Actually, that's not true. We had a super long hug, he squeezed out some tears and was reloaded with a new cone. Which he seemed extra careful with.

There is no secret in this house that Ben is Lewis' preferred parent.  Why, just today Lewis thought Ben  was going to take him on errands but when he realized it was really going to be me he was sulky.  And when I neared the car he looked at me with his pouty face and then angrily turned away.  Yesterday, when Lewis woke up from his nap, he came to the top of the stairs and called for Papa.  I answered back that Papa had gone to work.  "No gone to work, Mama!"  I started walking to the stairs and asked if there was anything I could do for him.  He bolted to his room saying, "I close the door!" and SLAMMED the door behind him!  He came out several minutes later and this time said, "Make a marble toy uh-me, Mama."  Peace was made.  But not before he'd made that firm statement of protest about Papa being gone.  I am NOT the preferred parent and he wanted to make sure I knew it!

Just had another  check up today.  I've gained another four pounds since my last appointment two weeks ago - right on track!  My fundus measurement, basically the length of my uterus, is 41cm, three more than last appointment.  What does that mean?  Well, if I was having a single baby I would probably be measuring one centimeter per week so I would be about 33cm.  So basically all the fundus measurement says about my twin-filled belly is that it is BIG!  My midwife said 38cm is usually about as far a singleton mom usually gets before delivering.  Twins.  It's different. Anyway, Twin A is still head down on the right side and Twin B is still on top and super active.  B has been consistantly jumpy and busy for weeks.  I wonder how that will play out when they're born.  Will A be a quieter, sit-and-watch kind of kid and B a busy body?  Time will tell. That's the check-up!  

Art's dear friend Evva, whom he's known since they were both one year old, is fascinated with me having two babies in my belly. She has told everyone she knows, according to her mom, and talks about it quite often. Why, just the last time I was over at their house she had received a gift from a relative - two baby dolls! Just like me! A few weeks ago she made me a gift bag complete with stickers, craft materials like pom-poms and popsicle sticks, and this lovely card.  (I like how a card for someone else still bears her own name on the front.) Here she has written me a "note" and drawn a picture of the two of us.  (Evva is on the left.  I'm the one with the two babies in my belly.  Look!  They're smiling!)

Here I am, sorting the in- and out-bound clothes for four children. Swimming in stuff that is too small, too big, just right, needs to be stored, needs to stay on hand... You get the idea. Dizzying. Thank you, Ben, for making many trips to the basement and back while I sat and made sense of all this s#*;.

Lewis is able to intensely focus on something for a long time. Today I took him to Choo Choo Bob's to let him fully immerse himself with trains. When he's focusing on something he often leaves his mouth ajar which I find sort of endearing. Anyway, sometimes if he's busy with something he forgets to pee (rather, he remembers to pee but not in the potty). So during our two hour stay I took him to the bathroom THREE times. Each time he'd take a couple trains and play with them. I was unsure how I was going to get him home since every time I mentioned that we were leaving soon he'd quickly say 'no, Papa.' So when the moment came I had to pick him up and take him towards the car he started crying. And the poor fellow didn't stop till with got home. Sort of an on and off crying, whimpering and intensely devastated wailing. He wouldn't accept hugs or any consolation. He was just really sad we had to leave those trains and that was that. He fell asleep as so...

Arthur and I went to the fair on Monday, its last day. I probably should've taken Lewis, too, and sorta feel bad about it. Sorry Lewis! There's great value in having some one on one time with a kid I think. For the parent and the kid. But Lewis knew he was missing something fun and cried as we left. Art went the day the fair opened with our neighbors Cathy and Linda and was really excited about going on the rides again. And showing them to me. As soon as we got there he wanted to go on some really big roller coaster. I asked him lots if he was sure or if he'd be scared. Told him once we were on we couldn't get off. He said he was feeling brave and wanted to go. And he WAS brave. Then, in a highly anticipated move, we stopped for a snow cone. Art just loves them. We sat at a table for a long time as he ate the entire thing in tiny bites. Even tipped back the wet paper cone and drank the syrupy water. "It's SO good, Papa." And then we saw some horses and, l...