Lights off!

So, just a funny story from James. Lately James starts every conversation by establishing whether each light in the room on or off. And if they're on, then they must be hot, so he tries to blow on them to cool them down.

Today while we were out shopping James fell asleep in Justin's arms. When we got to the car the sunlight must have shined in James eyes because in his sweetest, sleepy two-year-old voice he commanded the sun--"light off." My heart just melted. :)

Preggie update

Well, I'm a little over 29 weeks but I'm measuring 37 centimeters (FYI for those who don't know--37 cm equals about 37 weeks which is considered full term for singleton pregnancies). Soooo, what does that mean? It means I now get "Wow, you look like you're gonna pop!" comments when I go out shopping. Sometimes I choose to relieve the spectator's anxiety by telling them I'm expecting twins. Othertimes, I just like to tinker with their curiosity by telling them I still have two months to go (and don't tell them about the twins). I just like to see their reactions. hee-hee-hee

Both girls are doing great. Baby A is 2 lbs 15 oz. and Baby B is 2 lbs 13 oz. No names yet. I just had my big monthly ultrasound, but regular tech wasn't there so I didn't get any picts.

As for the delights of pregnancy I thought I'd write a little ode to Prilosec here, but it stopped working so well this week. So, if all goes well, I may have an ode to Nexium next week. I had thought about putting a picture of my black and blue varicose veined leg on the blog just so people can look at it when they're feeling down and say to themselves, well at least I look better than that! But I think you'll all agree with me that somethings are better left unshared. :)

Well, that's all for now. It's past midnight (which explains the terrible picture) and time for bed! Take care everyone! Jessica

Big Brother Class

A big thank you to Uncle William and Aunt Carrie and cousins for sending all their baby equipment and clothing to us!

James has thoroughly inspected and tested all the baby equipment for his little sisters. For example, he can now tell you that trying to sit on the edge of a baby bath while it's on the coffee table will likely get you dumped out onto the ground, crib mattresses are really fun to jump on, and Lion likes to go for rides in the swing.

Helping Dad

Justin has been working on repainting the basement for the past little while. Normally we try to keep James out of the work zone by painting when he's asleep or barricading him in the family room. On this particular day James had been banished to watch "Nemo" so dad could work. Well, James wasn't about to be left out of the fun. He went and found his own paint brush and came to help dad! He did pretty good until he tried to take over Dad's Big paint brush. I'm still trying to get the paint out of his jeans--but it was fun while it lasted!

Nature in our backyard

As much as I complain about the weather up here (it has been averaging 60 degrees and either rainy or overcast since we have been here) I love the scenery that we have from Jessica's parents backyard. There are two or three Bald Eagles that nest along the Salmon Creek greenbelt behind their house and this one just happened to perch itself about 200 feet from where we were sitting and I just happened to have the camera.

Cannon Beach

Another picture. Same place.

Weekend Getaway

Well, since this is our family blog I suppose it is about time that I (Justin) make a post or two. Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel to the Oregon coast for a little getaway. Despite being at the beach, we were in sweaters and jackets most of the time. You just got to love the beautiful Northwest weather. This is a picture of James and I at Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. We had a great time exploring the tide pools and seeing fish, starfish, and sand; which is James' favorite. I would have posted a family picture but Jessica wouldn't let us take any pictures of her.

Cuddle Time

Here is our baby girl B. I love this picture of her snoozing. The 3-D pictures are really fun. We get to see the most adorable faces. Just after this picture was taken, she made a really cute pucker face, like someone had given her a taste of lemon. Hopefully we'll be able to get the 3-D pictures every time. It just depends on which ultrasound machine my doctor uses. The girls are growing and kicking more everyday.

Playing hard to get!

Here is our little baby girl A. She kept hiding behind something (arm, leg, sister's leg . . .) during the ultrasound, so the tech couldn't get a very good picture. Don't worry, she doesn't have the measles. :)

What tummies are for

So, just a funny story.
The other day James and I are sitting on the couch. He's eating a cookie when he decides that he doesn't want to hold it any more and he doesn't want to throw it away. He looks around for a suitable storage place. Waa-La! Mom's belly! He promptly places his cookie on my very convenient "shelf". What else are bellies for?

Yum, these fingers taste yummy!

Ok, so really this should have been the last picture I added, but I keep forgetting that the posts show up in reverse order. I just wanted to add this picture of baby girl B because it was so cute. If you look closely at her profile, her mouth is open and her hand is right in front of her mouth. She kept sucking on her fingers during the ultrasound. She just kept opening and closing her mouth and sucking on her fingers. So, cute!

Baby girl A--aka: rib kicker

Here is Baby Girl A Jochim at 25 weeks. She weighs in at 1 lb. 12 oz.--a little bigger than her sister. The ultra sound tech said they will probably keep flip-flopping on weight because they are so close in size. She did her fair share of gymnasts this time around, but not quite as much as her sister. See my notes on twin B. She is currently head down--thus making her the guilty party who is kicking me in the ribs!! My doctor will deliver me at 38 weeks unless I go into labor sooner. They don't stop labor after 34 weeks--so that gives me a potential due date of June 13th-July 11th. Nice and exact, huh?! The girls are growing nicely and getting more active every day.

Blowing bubbles

Here is baby girl Jochim B. She's our little gymnast. During the ultra sound she just couldn't keep still and really made the ultrasound tech earn her wages! She weighs in at 1 lb. 10 oz. this week. Which is right on for 25 weeks. She kept putting her little bum in her sister's face (thank goodness for that placenta membrane, as Grandma Sarah said!) Her sister had no problems trying to push that bum out of the way. The "bubble" is actually an umbilical cord--whose I don't know. She was romping around during the last ultrasound (I've had 6) as well. I guess we better start tumbling class asap with this little chickadee!

25 Weeks and counting!

Here I am at 25 weeks! We have made the big move up to Washington and are finally getting settled in. For those of you who hadn't heard we decided to move up here about 3 weeks ago. Sacramento didn't work out for us and we wanted to move before I got toooo far along. We'll be living with my parents until the girls arrive and then find a place of our own. I'm very excited to have help with James, especially since I'm growing bigger every day--as Justin likes to remind me by speaking to me in "whale" like Dory (sp?) from Nemo. I'm only actually measuring around 4 weeks bigger than a single pregnancy. My parents have been very good to let us commandeer the basement and James is beside himself at finally having a backyard complete with a Nemo pond!

Half way there!

Well, I'm officially half way through this pregnancy, but the doctor says I will probably deliver between 35-36 weeks. The girls are kicking and moving all around. Every so often they'll flip positions and my whole stomach does a wave. I reached my goal of gaining 24 lbs. by week 20, so I guess now I can stop stuffing myself silly. Although, with the diminishing size of my stomach, it doesn't take much. :) Take care everyone--Thanks for visiting our blog! Jessica

Day at the Zoo!

We finally made it to the Sacramento Zoo! It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I think the sunshine did all of us some good--cough and cold's aside. James really liked the monkeys and flamingos--mostly because they moved around alot! I'm sure he would have preferred the lion if it had ever come out of it's den. :)

Conversation with James

Hello everyone!

I had an interesting conversation with James a moment ago. I thought it probably summed up pretty well how he'll feel for the next 18 years.

James: (Pointing at my belly) Baby!
Mom: Yes, that's my belly. There are babies in there.
James: (Pointing at my belly again) Baby!
Mom: Yes, Babies. Your baby sisters are in there.
James: Uh-oh.

Thought that would give you a giggle. :) Take care everyone!

Jessica

Mind if I put my feet in your ribs?

Well, we had the first big ultra sound today. The little tykes cooperated nicely and made lots of pretty faces for the camera. Hum, pretty faces? Yep, two girls! We're so delighted and thrilled. It will definitely make name choosing easier since

they have 16 male cousins and only 6 female cousins. I think the Athay clan has most of the bible covered . . . James, Matthew, Jacob, Joshua, Benjamin, Nathan, . . . I might have missed a few. That being said, I'm sure the girls will understand (only after several years of therapy of course) why they were dressed as boys as infants. Can't let all those hand-me-downs go to waste! J/K Our next big ultra sound is in 6 weeks. We'll keep you posted. Oh, I love the comments--it's so fun to hear from everyone! Love, Jessica & Justin & James

Send over the frills and lace--two girls are on the way!

Here we are!