welcome isabel!

last night our sister-in-law jen (jordan's brother's wife) went into labor. today we welcome their baby girl isabel sophia into this world! she weighs 6lb 3oz and is 19 inches long. mom, dad and baby are doing wonderful. we can't wait to meet this precious silverman soul and are sending all our joy and love. boys, you now have a cousin!

third trimester stretch

we had our 27 week ultrasound and perinatal appt. on tuesday and i'm pleased to report that me and the boys are doing great! the boys are both head down and growing like weeks, weighing in at 2lb 3oz (baby a) and 2lb 6oz (baby b). they are measuring right where a singleton baby would be! all of their legs and feet are concentrated in the upper part of my belly, which explains all the crazy movement i feel above my belly button. i can imagine them playing footsie with one another - how cute! my belly is measuring at 33 weeks and i've now gained a total of 37 pounds, thanks in part to our recent vacation in chicago. the doctors are thrilled with my weight gain, as it's common to actually lose weight in the last trimester, so you need a good reserve. from here on out, the boys will each gain between 6-8 oz each week. i can't believe that we are already in the final stretch. most doctors won't let a twin pregnancy go past 37-38 weeks, and most mom's deliver twins in the 36 week range. that means we're just about 2 months from meeting our babes!

sweet home chicago

even though j and i call austin home now, we will always hold a very special place in our hearts for chicago. we couldn't have asked for a more perfect trip, being that this is the last one we will take before we become parents. the weather was gorgeous - sunny and 55 every day. we spent quality time with our parents, mark and laura, the mohrlein-anderberg clan, aunt moe, al, and my best friend brandy (and ed, of course!). j and i also took a mini vacation to the city and stayed two nights at the belden-statford, the hotel we stayed at the night of our wedding. we hit all our favorite restaurants, including the fabulous hemmas (the best indian), went to the field museum and aquarium, and walked to cafe brauer in lincoln park (where we were married). it felt magical and j and i got very nostalgic being in our old stomping grounds. chicago is an amazing town and we can't wait to introduce the boys to this place.

me at 26 weeks:


cafe brauer, where we got married!



mark and j:


the althans clan:


the wonder moms:


aunt moe scarfing more of dana's cake from the shower:

showered bliss

j and i had an amazing trip home to chicago for thanksgiving. both moms, dana and aunt joanie threw us a beautiful babies shower the day after our arrival. we feel so blessed to have spent the morning with our wonderful family and friends, including aunt diane who came in from california, aunt moe who came in from cincinnati, and mark and laura who drove in from minneapolis. of course i got all weepy at the end of the event, but it truly overwhelms me how much love and support surrounds us and the arrival of our lil' guys! thank you to everyone who attended and for all of the incredible gifts and love showered on our boys.

i wish i could post all of the pictures, but here are just a few to give you a taste.

mama nancy, angela, me, judith, mama alina and jeri:


here is dana's wonderful cake creation (the boys' room has a snoopy theme!). for those of you who don't know, dana is our dear friend who also happens to be one of the most talented pastry chefs in the chicagoland area:



and of course, dana didn't forget jordan and his fixation with her chocolate mousse. how appropriate!



cousin paula, aunt diane, cousin brenda and me:

ode to matlida

this is my new favorite picture of our girl, matilda. we often wonder how things will be different for her with the arrival of the boys, if she'll love them or growl at them, protect them and lick their feet and toes. she's had issues in the past with little munchkins, i think more out of fear of not knowing what they are (aliens, perhaps?). we got a clue into her amazing, gentle demeanor when jake stayed with us. mati was so good with him, so curious but respectful. and when he left i think she really missed him. i think mati will be an amazing dog for our boys, as they're babies but especially when they are old enough to really interact with her. i see her always being by their side, watching out for them, making sure they are safe. wanting to play and lick their hands after they eat. sleeping in front of their crib. but no matter how she is with the boys, one thing is for sure...she'll always be our girl.

graduation

j and i took a fantastic childbirth class with my old neighbor and friend, marcela. marcela is a doula, massage therapist, childbirth educator and overall wonderful person. we loved it! we learned about the technical aspects of labor and birth, creatively tapped into our strengths and fears, and generally had great conversation about the process of childbirth. needless to say, we learned a lot. there were several exercises where we were asked to draw our perceptions and reactions to different situations. j invariably drew pictures of me in labor with our babies coming out of me catapulted in the air towards him or the doctors. hmmm....

here is our graduating class, minus two couples (one couple is also having twins and is further along then us and couldn't make it; the other couple had their baby early, only after two classes). we loved sharing this experience with everyone and can't wait to see them again at our reunion with all our babies!

little things

i realize there are so many little things i want to capture about this experience and haven't. like how j talks to the boys. it's the funniest thing. he goes into this deep darth vadar form of speech and always starts out with, "hello boys...this is your father talking...can you hear me...i love you" (or whatever it is he wants to tell them). it never fails. i wonder if our boys will have some sort of revelation when they see star wars for the first time and think that darth vadar is really their father!

tumblers

feeling babies move in utero is truly one of the mircale experiences of being pregnant. and i feel blessed that the boys give me plenty of opportunities to feel them throughout every day. in fact, my hands are on my belly so much that j recently asked me if i thought i would habitually keep touching my belly after the boys are born!

baby a has pretty much stayed in the same position (head down), but he wiggles and thrusts his arms and legs about constantly. he does handstand pushups against my bladder and flutter kicks his legs like he's swimming which i feel higher up. i often wonder what it must be like for him to be upside down all the time and if he's going to miss this position when he's born!

baby b makes more wholesale movements and completely somersaults his body around. he's usually butt down, but last weekend during a movie i felt some major tumbling going on and suddenly realized he had flipped his position to be head down. the extra space in my upper belly was fantastic! a few days later he flipped back (bummer). i have a feeling that won't be the last of it.

both boys also have times during the day where they make really smooth movements with their arms and legs, like they're cat stretching or doing an arabesque. i'll feel a gentle push and when my hand reaches it, i feel a distinct body part, like a heel, knee or elbow, through my belly. we also play tag at least once a day where i tap on my belly and they tap back. we can usually go back and forth for about a minute!

they both have definite periods of activity throughout the day and always respond to food (about 30 minutes after i eat they start at it), sweets/sugar, and movies. going to the theater is quite an experience - i think it's just so loud and gets them all excited. i don't feel them so much at night, but that may be just me being such a sound sleeper (i know, take advantage of it now!). they start rustling in the morning about the time that jordan wakes up at 6am - i think they miss their dad sleeping next to them.

my left foot

no, we didn't just watch the daniel day lewis flick...it just perfectly sums up my tribulations of late. about a week ago i got this shooting pain in the middle of my heel, which i would learn is plantar faciatus (sp?). it's basically the ligament that runs under your foot and mine is a wee bit upset at me lately. sudden weight gain (i.e. pregnancy = me) can bring it on, as well as lots of activity (running, etc. = not me). i don't think the recent flats i bought with no heel or arch support helped. it's getting better with stretching, yoga and general rest, though.

the trials of my left foot don't stop there, however. a few days ago i opened up the fridge to find a beer flying off the side door and bursting into a thousand pieces in front of me. oh, the irony of not being able to indulge in a beer for the past 7 months and then having to smell the bock for the next 20 minutes while i clean it up! well, i must not have cleaned it up good enough because later than day i managed to step on an ever-so-tiny piece of glass. j couldn't find the glass in my foot, but i knew one had to be in there when i woke up the next morning and couldn't bear any weight. so with a sliver of glass wedged into the ball of my foot and my heel killing me, let's just say i was pretty ineffective! i got it out and all is better now. my left foot is either a short-term curse or it's god's way of distracting me from other things - she's a smart one, after all!