Pregnant weight lifting

No need for weights - these will do just fine. Elizabeth thinks they are heavy now...without the girls! We are heading back to the doctor on Friday and I finally get to go again. I am predicting about a pound each. I will post new pictures once we get them.

"Time Out"

Here are the ultrasound pictures from Friday. Baby A is 14 ounces and Baby B is 12 ounces. Everything is progressing nicely. The doctor wants to try to get Elizabeth to December first. It seems like the girls will be here before we know it.

And it won't be long before they will be learning about "time out" and "Stafford Boot Camp". Thanks to Taylor and Keith for the frog that teaches the concept of time. I couldn't resist.

Innie turned outie

"Popper stoppers"? What? Yes that is right, Miss Oops came up with a solution for when your innie becomes an outie and apparently it is a commonly used product. Not a big deal to me, but who I am I to judge. Anyway - here is Elizabeth at 20 weeks. Pearce is getting very excited about his new sisters. Can't you see it on his face?

Now the report on the cribs. We picked them up yesterday. Elizabeth and the woman in the store got a good laugh at my expense picturing me trying to put both of them together myself. In fact, my trusting wife already had a back up plan - a handy man's number in her wallet just in case. She let me attempt the assembly first so as not to bruise my ego. I am happy to report that the first crib took ~ 40 minutes and the second.....about 15! That's right, 15 minutes. I did feel the need to brag a little. Elizabeth was a great assistant. We make a good team and that's a good thing because it is going to take some teamwork! Here are some pics of the cribs & Elizabeth preparing the closet for the girls.

Back to the doctor tomorrow so more ultrasounds pics to follow.

Long time, no post

I know, I know….I can’t start a blog then just stop posting, but things have been a little crazy the last 2 weeks. We had a great vacation in Bald Head (minus Elizabeth losing her bag in the ferry shuffle), then it was like stepping into a lion’s den for me coming back to work. That said I have some good material to work with over the next few days so keep checking back!

Elizabeth successfully avoided the camera lens at the beach so I regretfully report we have NO photographic evidence that she was ever there. Just ask about her sunglasses tan and her response should confirm it for you though. I do however have some pictures from the wedding this past weekend and I (along with everyone else) thought Elizabeth looked great. Check them out (http://picasaweb.google.com/julianwhiteiii/KatherineSWedding).

Today is a special day; it’s our 3rd wedding anniversary! We are celebrating by enjoying a little Taqueria del Sol (cooked at home since we are not in Atlanta) and hanging out together. It seems the celebrations tone down before the babies even get here! Actually a night like tonight is just what we need right now. I barely dodged the bullet of having to put together the cribs tonight – looks like I may have to do that tomorrow. I have heard some horror stories about dads trying to assemble one crib and I have to do it twice in one night! I will let you know how it goes.

This is the card that I am giving Elizabeth tonight. I actually bought this when we moved to NC, because I thought it was a perfect pictorial description of what Elizabeth was going through at the time - living in Atlanta by herself, taking care of Pearce, leaving work midday to clean up the house while it was on the market, and mowing the yard when the grass was a foot tall (resulting in a great story by the way). This card represented that to me. Elizabeth was like this little Chihuahua with all this “stuff” hanging over her head yet she held it all together and before you know it we were back together in our new home in NC. As luck would have it I never got credit for the card as I lost it during the move. I found it a few weeks ago and I think it is even more appropriate now. Elizabeth is working, decorating a nursery, helping with Jacquelyn’s wedding, running a business, tending to the house, taking care of me and Pearce, AND pregnant with twins! That is why I married this woman, soon to be mother, and why we have many more of these special days in our future.

8 ounces

Elizabeth went back for another ultrasound today. Jacquelyn filled in for me since I could not get off of work. The highlight of my day was definitely the text from Elizabeth - "they are looking great. 8 oz each. Baby A is sucking her thumb. Will call you when I leave. XOXO"

Check out the pictures below. Apparently Baby B was not in the mood to pose for pictures - she was bouncing around throughout the scan. Baby A on the otherhand was quite the opposite - acting like a little angel. It is amazing the difference a few weeks can make in their development. If what the doctors predict is true about the girls coming early, at 18 weeks and one day, we are half way there.


Pictures from the beach to follow even though I have been warned they will be edited!

"The Man Behind the Belly"

An expectant father must "be prepared" - like a Boy Scout. Thanks to my good friend, Jeff in Raleigh, I am now ready for the adventures, or in my case, misadventures in diaper duty. I, unlike Jeff, did not make it to elite Eagle Scout status. In fact I hung up the merit badge sash after barely making it to First Class. That effectively put me ahead of the "Tenderfoot" and "Second Class" scouts. I feel about as prepared now as I did then, but I am up to the challenge. I can always lean on Larry for a little advice...or maybe not since we have changed about the same number of diapers. At least I have the gear to be the cool diaper dude (see below*). You can guess who suggested posing with the Humpty Dumpty pillow dolls (thanks Laura and Sue by the way)....little payback from my lovely bride I suppose.

Elizabeth is heading back for another ultrasound tomorrow. I can't get off work in the morning so Jacquelyn may fill in. Hopefully she fares better then I did in the doctor's office. I know the nurses will be disappointed. I will post some new pictures tomorrow then we are off to the beach for a few days - one man, three ladies, and a chihuahua + my family. Wish us luck!

*Gray and orange bag is the official diaper dude bag made especially for extra cool dads.