The Twins Have Arrived!

We are proud to announce that our twin boys have arrived safe and sound. Patrick Kenneth and Luke Matthew were born last night (10/24) at 8:00pm and 8:02pm and, after some initial trouble breathing on there own, are now doing great! Suzanne is recovering well and hopes to be able to hold the boys this afternoon.



Patrick was born at 8:00pm and was 5lbs, 5ozs. He is 18 inches long and is doing very well. Daddy got to hold him this morning (he even opened his eyes to look up at Daddy!)

Luke was born at 8:02pm and was 5lbs, 15ozs. He is also 18 inches long. He had some trouble breathing on his own at first, but has progressed nicely in the last 15 hours.

Joseph is going to go to the hospital today to visit his mom and meet his new brothers. He is in good spirts, but is pretty suspicous that "strange things are afoot".

It looks like Suzanne and the twins will be in the hospital until atleast Friday. Depending on how the twins progress, they could be here until early next week. Thank you to everyone who has said prayers on their behalf; Suzanne and I are very grateful. Please continue to pray and I will be updating this blog frequently and passing along new pictures!

The devil is in the details

Okay, I missed a minor detail in yesterday’s blog. I was waiting for all of the family to find out. Not only did super-grandpa come up here to help us, but he did it the day after he found out that he has prostate cancer. His father had it, and his doctor had been monitoring him for a few years now but only recently decided to perform a biopsy. We are grateful that it appears to be a small area, and his doctor doesn’t seem concerned that it is a very aggressive form of the cancer. In fact, he doesn’t go back for two weeks for his initial treatment consultation. Please say a little prayer for him.

Yesterday, when we were outside and grandpa was tilling the garden, Joe was enjoying playing in the dirt and around the play structure in the neighbor’s yard. He somehow got his foot stuck under the side of it. By the time we came to help him out, he had already twisted his way out and was wailing. The rest of the day, he wouldn’t put any weight on his leg. We really knew something was wrong when he didn’t run to daddy when Scott got home from work (his favorite part of the day.) We took our tough little boy to the doctor this morning, even though I felt a little paranoid and silly – after all, he didn’t have any swelling, an it was probably just a twisted or bruised ankle, right? He was the most irritable I’ve ever seen him today – he screamed through the x-ray and wailed anytime we shifted him while holding him. But he has a cold, he is still cutting his big molar, he didn’t get much sleep last night, he might be getting suspicious with grandpa here, it could have been a lot of things. After being at the doctor 3 hours, we learned that he has a twisting hairline fracture on his leg! Poor little guy! We decided against a cast for now in favor of an ace bandage and a Tylenol regimen. He seems to be doing a little better.

Here’s a pic of the leg all wrapped up. He can’t quite figure out how to get around yet, but he seems to have figured out not to put any weight on it.

“Hey, does this thing come off?”

The offending play structure. Boo, play structure.

Finally, we also had our last ultrasound today. We are happy to report that the boys are 6 lbs 6 oz and 6 lbs 5 oz. Okay, Suzanne’s not so happy to report that. That’s a LOT of baby in there! We are also happy to report that one of the four kidneys has returned to normal size. The other three are still large, but everyone is hopeful that they will follow suit.

Super-grandpa!

Just some quick info from our front:

Grandpa has arrived! We are excited to have my dad here for the glory-less job of helping with daily tasks and taking care of Joe. As these babies get bigger, I’m less able to carry and lift Joe, let alone scrub the bathtub and pick up toys off the floor. We’re so happy he could come. So far, he and Joe are having a great time together tilling up the garden and playing in the dirt.

We also just purchased a Honda Odyssey! Yes, we own a minivan (no comments about being old, please). Sad as it is, it’s the nicest car we’ve ever owned – even has a CD player! Ha! We will try to get some pictures up tomorrow along with the results of my (hopefully) last ultrasound before the babies arrive.

Sad little domer

Yes, Joseph, they lost. We’re sad about it too.

We had a very busy day today, starting with the discovery that Joe’s fourth molar has made its way to the surface finally. We took a field trip to the local apple orchard and pumpkin farm.

Joe probably enjoyed the two farm dogs the most (they both looked very much like his buddy Jake) but the basket of ball-shaped gourds would have to be second. We were glad no one noticed when he chucked a few before we could rescue them.

Later in the day, Joe took a trip to the grocery store with daddy and returned to help him make dinner – homemade mac and cheese. The dinner was good, but the recipe was lost. I’m not saying that Scott set the food on fire, just the recipe card. Now our house smells like a camp fire.

Another big event today was Joe finding his nostrils. Here is a shot of daddy showing Joe his technique.

Big shoes to fill

Joe decided to try on daddy’s shoes today. He actually walked a few steps. He was so proud of himself.

Thanks for the chair, Grammy. Actually, thanks to Aunt Katie, too, for not tossing it in Cedar Rapids! Joe loves to sit in it and “read.” It's just the right size. He also loves to turn it over and drag it around the living room and the kitchen. Whatever works!

The Doctor’s report: We had an appointment this morning. The belly measures 42 weeks (I’m 34 weeks along tomorrow), and I’m dilated 1 cm. Big deal. No signs of pre-eclampsia, either, which is nice. Other than that, the c-section is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 11am. Maybe (hopefully) they won’t make it that long, but I think that’s the wish of every very pregnant mom at this point. If they were born now, they would probably be around 6 lbs and would do pretty well.

Three years ago today...

Scott proposed! What a lovely memory. We were in Dublin, Ireland with my parents. We ducked into a little church off of Grafton Street, and that’s where the big event occurred. Who would have ever thought that just three short years later, we would have a little toddler and two more on the way, not to mention owning two different homes in two different cities, neither of which is KC! Things sure don’t turn out as we plan, but God has better plans than we can even imagine :)

Now, that beautiful ring that I was so excited to receive can barely fit over my first knuckle! Other ways I know that I’m huge:

• Only two pairs of shoes fit – blue tennis shoes (beautiful in church) and black sandals (brrrr!)
• Needing a three-point turn to roll over in bed. Often it is easier to just stand up and start over
• Can hold Joe on top of my tummy without using my arms. Possible causing the twins brain damage
• Had four Sloppy Joes for lunch yesterday
• 40 lbs and counting…

In other news, the Packers finally won a game. We taught Joe how to signal “touchdown,” but he would never do it when we said “Touchdown, Packers!” Somehow he knew we were lying. Now that they actually did score some touchdowns, he figured it out.

The quest

Going in with much determination.

Sliding out.

Success!!!

BTW - that box of rice next to the graham crackers is currently under my bed. Interesting where things end up after being carried around by an active little boy :)

Joe's favorite things to do

Almost every day, Joe can be found enjoying all of the following activities:

• Hanging out with daddy
• Reading on the couch with mommy
• Throwing the metal mixing bowl on the kitchen floor over and over – not annoying in the least
• Playing in the fridge
• Going outside to play in the neighbors’ garage
• Greeting fellow customers at the grocery store with a cute little “HI!”
• Cleaning out the Tupperware cupboard
• Playing the “Stinky Feet” game with daddy
• Eating! (he is his mother’s son, after all)
• Throwing any kind of ball

The growing belly

Scott and I went to a wedding this weekend. Here is a picture after the night was over (at 8 pm, no less!) You can see the lovely and dainty shoes that were the only ones I could find that would fit my sausagy fat feet!

A word about the twins: At our last ultrasound on Monday, they were estimated to weigh 4 lbs 12 oz and 5 lbs 6 oz. Both are above average for singletons. Also, their kidneys are still "prominent" so we visited with a pediatric urologist. Everyone is pretty confident that the problem will correct itself when they are born. Right now, it just means a few more doctor visits and an ultrasound or two once they are a few months old.

Joe's new hat, thanks to Aunt Shannon. It's identical to cousin Kolbe's favorite hat. Anyone besides Scott think he looks like his Grandpa on mom's side?

Not that I'm a fan of Joe's break-downs, but this face was so darn cute.

This is Joseph's first time playing on a play structure at the zoo on daddy's birthday. He was smiling the whole time!

Welcome family

I have no pretences that anyone other than family will be interested enough to read this, but we hope to be able to keep everyone more updated on the goings-on here in Wisconsin.

Joe is growing so fast and the twins will be here soon - maybe we won't have any time to actually post, but we can try.

Thanks for your patience as we figure this out. :)