Well, we're waiting...

We have reached 36 weeks.  This is a triumph by all accounts and we consider ourselves very lucky to have had a such smooth sailing so far...

But we are ready.  We've run out of things to do to prepare for both the babies and for Christmas.  I'm not able to do much physically anymore so I spend most of my time sitting around hoping that the latest discomfort is the beginning of labor.   I watch a lot of TV.  I am beginning to lose my grip on my former busy and productive life...it seems like such a distant memory.  Did I really get up, shower and dress before 8am?  Did I work, take care of kids, go grocery shopping and go out for dinner at night?  Did we go away every other weekend?  This all seems crazy to me now.

Hank and Gus are eager for "Punch & Judy" to get here too.  Hank gave the twins their nicknames after reading Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys.  In the book, Curious George has 7 brothers and sisters and the twins are Punch and Judy. I swear the names are not related to the creepy puppets in Gone Girl.  I call the twins "Heartburn and Anxiety" - a nickname that I think may stick well into their teens.

When I asked the boys what the twins would look like they told me that they would have orange hair and indigo skin and would be very calm when they were born.  How creepy does that sound?!

Anyhoo - that's all I got for this week.  Hopefully my next post will include photos of two little girls who have pink skin, blue eyes, and respectable names :)

Gus' hair continues it's upward trajectory...

Kim Kardashian isn't the only one who can break the internet...

Let's Talk Numbers

The countdown is on people.  We have entered the zone in which labor is an imminent daily threat and this family is ready to spring into action.  Hospital bags are packed (have been for weeks actually).  Emergency childcare is in place.  The freezer is full of ready to heat meals. My body is screaming with discomfort from every pore, muscle, ligament and vein.  I am 200% pregnant and starting to want the babies out more than I want them in.

I think.

With that, I present the Kelly-twins last weeks in the womb by the numbers:

0 - number of days we waited after Thanksgiving to put the tree up.  It is Christmas time in the Kelly house. We would hate to be caught unprepared by the arrival of two newborns and miss the season!

1 - the number of times I leave the house on a given day, usually to pick up Hank from school.  I am unable to stand for more than 10 minutes at a time without fatigue setting in and I seem to disturb many people when I go out in public.  I have become familiar with what it feels like to get double takes in the grocery store, at the bank etc., and not the good kind.  I am also trying to avoid having this conversation any more than I need to:

Stranger:  "Whoa, looks like you are about to pop any day now!"

Me:  "Actually, I have about a month to go.  It's twins."

Stranger:  "Twins?  Wonderful!  Is this your first pregnancy?"

Me:  "No, my third."

Stranger:  "Oh."

To be fair, if the stranger is not American (meaning from the developing world), the reaction is usually very positive - especially when they learn that I will have 2 boys and 2 girls.  Then it's like I've won the lottery, which is how I'm trying to look at it too.

Or there was this bizarre encounter at the Air & Space Museum this weekend.  A Frenchman (wearing 3 cameras, no less) approached me, proceeded to touch my belly and ask me if there were two babies inside.  Lucky for him, I told him, yes, there are.  He then confirmed that the two wild boys running around me were mine as well?  Yes, they are.  Could he take my picture?  I was so taken aback that I said yes and then stood there being photographed like one of the large aircraft that surrounded us.  I'm probably on his FB page with a caption like "Typical American breeding female, likely a religious zealot, touring her nation's capital on Thanksgiving Day."

3 - pairs of pants that still fit me. I have no shirts that actually cover my entire belly, in spite of having bought a bunch in the size up a while back. Another good reason not to leave the house.

4 - car seats installed in the mini van. Matt has embraced "Max" the van and seems to genuinely like it. I am unsold on it's charms...Max has some work to do in order to win me over.

5 - the number of pillows I sleep with each night in order to get a comfortable enough to fall asleep.

6 - the number of airline seats we will need to purchase to ever travel anywhere again.

7 - sorry, we'll need 7 seats.  We will have to bring someone to help us with the kids for the next 5 years.

35 - weeks that is.  3 weeks left until our scheduled c-section.

150ish - christmas cards I have addressed, stamped and sent out in a mad rush this week.

212 - episodes of Property Brothers and Love It or List It I have watched from the couch in a sick addictive binge. Why don't I get tired of the Scott brothers? Why?!

There are 6 days until my next doctors appointment which includes an ultrasound - that should give us a better idea of whether the girls look like they will come early.  In the meantime, I'll be watching HGTV.  A few pics from the last week below...

Thanksgiving morning with two turkeys on the Mall

A lazy afternoon by the Christmas tree

Two bros and their gingerbread house

Virtue O' The Month - Thankfulness

Hank's school is Episcopalian and every month they celebrate a different virtue.  Last month was compassion, and November, naturally, is thankfulness.  The virtue is discussed in the classroom as well as in Chapel and Hank has really been absorbing all this virtue talk like a sponge. We've noticed that he says thank you much more often these days and tells us about the things he is thankful for frequently (the latest include God, "who makes everything happy and sad", his friend Sevak - a former playground enemy, Gus and Hank himself).

It's been a while since I wrote a post describing Hank and Gus' latest sayings, behaviors and all around cuteness and I thought that this would be a good time to share how thankful I am for them.  Watching their relationship as brothers develop and grow has been absolutely amazing.  Yes, they fight.  Quite often actually.  But they always make up and just as often I find myself marveling at nicely they play together.  Hank likes to show Gus how things work and Gus likes to learn from Hank.  As Hank approaches his 5th birthday we've noticed that he is maturing, helping out more and really coming into this own as a curious, intelligent and hilarious little boy.  For his part, Gus is doing the terrible two's in his own Gussy way.  He's still a sweet boy who generally does what he's asked but there is definitely some spunk coming through.  He doesn't take any guff from anyone, let alone his brother and he stands up for himself big time.  I am so happy to have them as my little guys - I can't remember what life was like without them.

R2D2 and Yoda on Halloween

Here are their latest antics...

HANK

Hank and his friend Maeve from school

Hank has become much more conversational, peppering his language with phrases like: "Yes, no or maybe?",  "good thinking!", "great idea!", "I agree!", "that's preposterous!".

Sometimes he speaks as though he is from the Dickensian era...we often hear him say "Oh drat!" when something goes wrong (from the Frog and Toad stories), or "I'm weary" when he's tired.

On the flip side, potty humor is still king around here.  A crowd favorite involves running around naked screaming "penis and butt, penis and butt!"

Mr. Snoopy Pants is a term of endearment for everyone and everything...not sure where that came from.

Hank is borderline reading.  Sometimes he will read a sign or a line in a book and we are like, did you just read that!?  At the very least, he can sound out most words with some help.

He is very observant of street signs and curious to know what each one means.  This is usually a simple and straightforward discussion - one way, no left turn etc.  But the other day he noticed a neighborhood watch sign and asked about it.  I told him that it meant there were no bad guys allowed in this neighborhood.  He interpreted this to mean that no bad guys could sneak into our backyard and dig up all of our dirt, because, you know, those are the worst bad guys of all.

Hank insists that the Statue of Liberty is really the Statue of Liverty.

He won 3rd place in the Tour de France race at school, where he was going "55 speed" on his red tricycle.  Wearing a beret no less!

GUS

Chef Gus

Gus has hair now.  And not just any hair.  It is a unique breed of fuzzy, soft, downy blonde hair that makes him look like a little chickadee.  We're not sure how long it will last but we are enjoying it while it's here - it seems the perfect topping for our little Goose.

He loves music and singing.  He often runs around the house singing songs like Twinkle Little Star, Baby Beluga and the Clean Up song.  He has also made up his own song called Today's the Day!

His favorite instrument is an Irish drum that his Aunt Alice bought for Hank a few years ago. He does not put it down.  It comes to the dinner table with him and to bed with him.  It accompanies all of his songs.

The hair and the drum 

This summer, whenever a bee or a mosquito would fly around us, Gus and I would say "Go away buggy!" This has morphed into Gus' ultimate rebuff, used mainly against Hank with great frequency and passion.  "GO AWAY HANK!!!!" is heard a hundred times a day around here and boy does he mean it.  We've all gotten the go away from Gus at one point or another - it's his very unsubtle way of telling us to leave him alone already.

Which brings me to my saddest Gus update - he seems to be breaking up with me before I can break up with him.  I think he senses that the babies are coming soon and is distancing himself from me a bit before they arrive.  Gone are the days when he demanded I carry him with me everywhere or he freely gave me kisses whenever I asked :(  Is it wrong that I secretly hope that the arrival of the twins makes him a wee bit jealous and drives him back into my arms?!

Anyway, lots to be thankful for as you can see.  Never a dull moment around here thanks to these two monkeys.  And lest I forget the original boy, Matt has really stepped it up around the house in the last few weeks since I am becoming increasingly handicapped with this pregnancy.  He is doing more to take care of the kids than ever and executing my endless honey do lists with grace and patience (most of the time) as I sit on the couch eating and reading the newspaper. I am always and forever thankful for Matt as my partner and for being such a good Dad to these kids.  And last but not least, did you know that he is one of the 100 Most Powerful Business People in DC?  He may not feel like it when he's emptying the Diaper Genie but it's true: Click for Power List.

Hank and Dad on a lunch date 

Daddy helps Gus climb a wall 

Fearless Hank 

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by the people you are thankful for next week - xoxo

Ha ha ha. Very funny.

Apparently there is a niche market for greeting cards geared towards parents of twins and/or many many children.  Of course my friends and family have not missed an opportunity to share the humor - here are the best cards I've received so far.  Keep them coming! 

Whitney's Wedding!

It's hard to believe that our little Whitney is all growns up and married, but it's true!  We just returned from 5 days in Arizona filled with wedding activities.  It was a great trip and we got to catch up with Nana & Papa, Auntie Chanel, Uncle Grant, Hayes, and Greyson in addition to the bride and groom.  Not to mention all of our relatives from Canada who made the trip down for the big day.

Hank and Gus played a special role at the wedding as ring bearers along with their cousins and did a wonderful job.  I admit I did a terrible job at taking pics over the weekend but luckily Matt and our couldn't-live-without-her babysitter Emily managed to snag a few.  I'll be sure to send out the professional shots once they are ready.

Rehearsal dinner with an amazing sunset back drop.

Emily with Hank & Gus at the rehearsal dinner

The Mailloux Girls

Uncle Grant giving Hayes and Hank a pre-ceremony pep talk

Waiting for their cue...

The big moment (for the boys anyway...) - Gus and Greyson were hanging on for dear life! 

They almost ran right through the ceremony and into the reception! 

The ceremony 

Good Riddance to September!

Wow did September fly by!  This year, the usual back-to-school chaos was compounded by my super sized nesting instincts kicking in, an unexpected hurricane rescue operation, our first round of family wide illness brought on by the kids, and, on a positive note,  a lovely mini babymoon to Charleston.  Allow me to explain!

Week 1:  Back to school for Hank!
Hank has settled right back into his school routine this year at Washington Episcopal as a pre-K student.  Everyone from his nursery class is there plus a few new friends and he seems to be enjoying being back.

Hank's First Day of School, PreK

Week 2:  Back to school for Gus + Nest Fest
Gus is back at his playgroup Little Graces this year but has graduated to the big kids program where he spends 30-45 mins a day in a classroom like setting without a caregiver.  He's had a bit of trouble adjusting to being on his own but overall has done very well.  4 weeks into it now he's doing fine and really having fun.

Gus' First Day of School, Year 2 Little Graces

This week coincided with two major home-related projects that I like to refer to as Nest Fest.  I have experienced nesting with both of my previous pregnancies but the craziest it ever got was the overwhelming need to wash and iron every sheet set in my house.  This time we were on a whole new scale.  Project #1 involved sorting through everything that has been sitting in the home we purchased in Chevy Chase last year (oh yeah, remember that?  Yes, we still have that house.  We've been working on architectural plans for it for a year plus...construction should begin shortly after the babies arrive).  Anyway, there was a fair amount of furniture and artwork that conveyed with the house and whole lot of junk that needed to be donated/thrown out.  Of course, did I deal with this when physically able and it would have been easy/convenient?  Non! So it needed to be done before I am completely useless.  I hired an organizer to help me with the sorting and ridding of stuff.  It took her team of about 6 people 3 days to clean out the house and put the good stuff in storage.

Then on the Project #2 - the great reshuffle of our current home! In order to stay in this house with 4 kids 4 and under we needed to make some adjustments.  On the ground floor: Bye bye rarely used dining room (gone to storage). Hello new family room and play room for the kids.  On the second floor:  our office/den would need to converted into the nursery, two cribs and all.  On the 3rd floor:  The guest room would have to double duty as an office as well.  This project took 2.5 days and was very disruptive to the household but was a must have.  I'm still working on making the nursery functional but hope to have that done in a week or two.

Week 3:  Time to get caught up on all that work I didn't do last week!  At least that's what I thought.  A bit of background - I had excused myself from attending Whitney's bachelorette in Cabo, Mexico due to my condition, which was taking place this weekend.  I assumed that everyone down there (including my mom and Chanel) had had a grand old time in the sun and was back home safely in the States when I started hearing reports of Hurricane Odile having hit the resort town directly.  I texted them all to confirm that they were home only to learn from Chanel that Whitney and Mom had not gotten out on Sunday (Chanel had) and had spent that evening huddled in the bathroom of their rental home along with 3 other party attendees riding out the storm.  The house was heavily damaged and they needed to find a new place to stay (which they luckily did) but they were stuck there for the foreseeable future with no way out (airport destroyed), no power and a limited supply of food and water.  Chanel, Dad and I kicked into rescue mode and spent 3 days doing everything we could think of to help them get out.  Private planes, helicopters, calls to the State Department for updates - we weren't getting anywhere. We lost contact with them for 24 hours and were starting to get really worried when we learned that they were among the lucky ones to get out on an early evacuation flight to Mexico City.  They came back to the States the following day and spent the next week recovering at home.  Not the best way to celebrate the end of one's single days or to rest up before the big wedding...

It was relief to know that they were back home safe and it all came together just in the nick of time for Matt and I to go on a worry-free babymoon to Charleston.  We spent Thursday - Sunday there touring the historic city, eating nice meals and frankly doing a lot of catching up on sleep.  It was so nice to just be able to sit and read and drowse off in bed for 3 days. It's amazing what having young kids will do to your expectations of a luxury!

Week 4:  Okay - let's catch up on that work now! Or, let's all get really sick instead.  Gus came down with a mild fever while we were out of town and that was just the beginning.  Hank had a high fever Monday night and spent 3 days home from school.  I had mild symptoms midweek (while Matt was out of town for 3 days) and then it hit me hard Friday.  Nothing worse than being sick when you are pregnant and can't take anything. I'm slowly recovering, enough to take care of the kids so Matt can now recover from his turn with the disease.

So that was September - I was happy to see it go.  Things are settling back to normal now and I am enjoying the luxurious reality of having my twin power level of childcare kick in (our new nanny started mid-September) before actually having the twins.  And it wasn't all bad - here are some pics of our more fun September moments:

Gussy Wonder

Auntie Alice visited us in Bryce and we got to see the Oak Ridge Boys at an outdoor concert

Taking a boat for a cruise

Matt and I on the carriage tour of Charleston - yeesh we look old! 

Gus' first time in the bow of the canoe! 

Hank taking up the stern 

Brothers on a hike 

We leave for Arizona on Thursday for Whitney and Ryan's wedding extravaganza and it's last big trip before I really try to put my feet up and "relax" before the storm.  We are almost all ready for the babies to arrive - the last thing we need to do is trade in our SUV for a minivan...I mean: A Swagger Wagon.

Happy Birthday Matt!

A quick post to wish my wonderful husband a happy happy birthday!  You are the best Dad and partner a family could hope for and we all love you very much (and you are pretty good at your job too - check out this article: Matt in WBJ!)  Looking forward to our next adventure together...Mwah!

Where you do nothing and do it all day...

Cape Cod seems like a distant memory now - it's hard to believe that only two weeks ago we were living seaside in one of the world's most picturesque summer getaways.  Doing nothing and doing it all day...

The view from our patio...c'mon! 

This year we really blew it out and rented a house for an entire month in Dennis.  The house was beautiful, located a 2 minute walk to the beach with views of the ocean from almost every room. And to really spoil us, we had a pool in the back!  The kids logged some major pool time and Hank surprised us all by swimming like a fish, sans floaties, from day 1!  I guess those swim lessons paid off.  He discovered goggles early on and fell in love with putting his head underwater and seeing what he could see.  Gus went from hanging out on the stairs and playing with his trucks to swimming in the deep end with Daddy.

Hank showing Benson how to swim with goggles.

Pool time with Daddy...

Lobstah prep Kelly style.  It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. 

Handsome boys! 

Happy boys at the beach

Sunset beach walk

Gus turned two!  Look at him eyeing that cupcake...

Besides sitting by the pool, we had plenty of days to explore the beach and check out local towns and activities.  Being on the Cape for an extended period really allowed us to get to know it in a way that we've been unable to do in the past.  Matt and I checked out local restaurants and shops, Hank went to an awesome camp for a couple of weeks that he really enjoyed (well, truth be told, he was quite reluctant for the first 12 days of camp but then loved it on days 13 & 14 - only to learn it was over). The kids checked out a county fair, a local puppet show, the CC Museum of Natural History, and the CC Potato Chip factory.

Hilarious craft project from camp - the art teacher told me Hank refused to smile for the photo to go inside his frame. 

We were also able to host a whole slew of friends over the course of the month which gave us some much needed time to catch up with folks we don't get to see too often.  From Boston we had a nice visit from Andrew and Karen Lackner.  From New York we had Jenn & John Lancefield with their two little boys Benson and Henry and my oldest friend Ali with her brand spanking new fiance Hugh (engaged the day before!!!).  Fran and Elliott Slocombe came up from Toronto with their little girl Georgia.  Last but not least, Dode and Barbara Gladders visited from New Hampshire.

Jenn, Benson, Hugh, Matt, Gus, Me, Hank, Ali, Henry and John

It was kind of weird to be away from home for so long but it did force us to try to relax and enjoy the summer instead of spending it in a panic over preparing for the babies.  The pregnancy has been going very smoothly so far but you never know with twins so we were lucky to get away while we could.  School starts next week and with that comes nesting with a vengeance!

For all of our Cape Code photos, visit our Shutterfly site here: La Famille Shutterfly

IT'S A.....AND A....

Drumroll puhlease!

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, get your dollhouses and tutus ready because this family is about to add two little ladies to the mix!!

Baby B and Baby A as they are affectionately known at the OBGYN. 

That's right - not one, but two girly girls are joining the crew in December!  Matt and I had a doctor's appointment this morning that confirmed we have a whole lot of woman going on in the womb. We are excited and a little bit scared at the thought of suddenly having so much girl power in the house.  I have, of course, not so secretly been hoping for a girl since my first pregnancy so I guess this is a case of "be careful what you wish for"...

At the very least, the promise of their arrival will help me get through the next 4 months of fart jokes, penis talk and spitting contests, the top three favorite activities of Hank and Gus (and Matt) right about now. Finally someone to talk dresses, ballet and Barbies with!