Nursery

When we first started thinking about how to set up the nursery, we weren't sure how to proceed. We thought about keeping the boys in separate rooms to minimize the chances of them waking each other up throughout the nights.

We did some research, however, and found that pretty much everybody with an informed opinion agreed that it is best to keep them in the same room, at least for the first year. After spending all the time in the womb right next to each other (and frequently grappling for position, as the constant movement in Erin's belly would indicate), they grow accustomed to each other's presence, and wind up having a calming influence on one another. We decided to set up one nursery, and reevaluate later on if they insist on keeping different sleep schedules.

This is the room that we started out with. As you can see, selecting paint colors wasn't exactly the easiest process. Sorry boys, your college fund went to paint samples:





The first step was installing a ceiling fan. Unfortunately, this room is in the back of the house, and gets the afternoon sun. The house is pretty energy efficient, but it is still warmer on that side in the summertime, when these boys come along. The fan should help. Miraculously, I managed to install it without electrocuting myself.




Next, I put up chair rail molding around the entire room. This was a serious undertaking for someone with no handyman skills whatsoever. My left thumb paid a serious price. I then painted different colors on the top and bottom, which would ideally match the boys' bedding. For some reason, I didn't take any more pictures throughout the creation process, so instead you just get the final product.
























Obviously, we have a few more steps to take. The walls are still devoid of any decoration, for example. But, this is pretty much what the room will look like when we bring home the boys!

Easter in Chucktown

With the impending arrival of the babies, Erin and I decided that we wanted to take a fun weekend trip. I suggested to her that it would be our last chance to have fun for the next twenty or so years. She didn't quite agree with my phrasing, but she did think that a trip was a good idea. Our original plan was to head somewhere in May, over our anniversary weekend...make it a two-for-one getaway.

Once we found out that we were having twins, however, that idea quickly got squelched. I don't think she's going to be entirely mobile by then. Instead, we decided to head south to Charleston over Easter weekend. Erin is an Easter nut anyway, plus I had proposed to her on Easter Sunday in 2006.

We left early on Saturday morning, and made the 200 mile drive in relatively good time. Granted, we had to stop about once an hour to accommodate potty breaks, but it was still an easy drive.

We headed directly to the piers to take a two hour harbor cruise.






From the water, we could see these church steeples, which have been up since before the Revolutionary War.






This is Fort Sumter, which was home to the first battle of the Civil War (or, as the announcer called it, "The States War"). The flags you see include the SC state flag, and the first and second flags of the Confederacy.










I was highly amused by the birds (pelicans and seagulls). I am a simple man.








We came upon Patriot's Point, and got to see the USS Yorktown, and it's assortment of WWII and Korean War era aircraft.












I like this picture.




After the cruise ended, we checked into our hotel and wandered about Charleston a little bit. We checked out some of the historic areas, and settled in for a fine dinner: ribs, macaroni, cheese biscuits, and a few other sides that I can't remember.

The next morning (Easter Sunday), we drove back through some more of the historic areas, just checking out the architecture. We took a stroll along one of the rivers, and generally enjoyed the absolutely perfect weather.












In all, it was a great trip. I look forward to my next bit of fun in 203o.

Twin Blessings for 2009

It was stunning enough to see that we were having a baby. After six frustrating months, it had finally happened. I came home from work and found that Erin had left a pregnancy test on top of the toilet tank. No need to analyze plusses and minuses or multiple lines; this was the digital variety, simply reading "Pregnant."

I walked out of the bathroom, trying to make sense of this in my mind. I found Erin sitting on the bed, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Any doubts or questions I had in my mind were immediately dispelled: we were having a baby!

In the following weeks, the pregnancy was confirmed by a series of home tests leading up to our first doctor's visit. Due to a very early miscarriage several months earlier, the doctor decided to do an ultrasound that day. We saw the image to the right...a healthy baby. We could even see the little heart flickering away. Excitement!

Several weeks later, we made a return visit for a more complete medical history and enough bloodwork to key Dracula satiated for the better part of a year. During the visit, a different doctor (our practice has seven doctors, and we cycle through them during each visit) found the heartbeat, and let us listen to it over the speakers. The fast "whooshing" of the heartbeat brought smiles to our faces, and made the whole experience even a little more real.

Two weeks later, we returned yet again; this time for an ultrasound to go along with some of the bloodwork to test for a number of potential genetic issues (sidenote: all clear!). This time, we met with an ultrasound technician, using the large machine instead of the portable unit that we had at the first visit. As the image was being displayed on the large flat panel monitor on the wall, the technician asked if we had gone through an ultrasound yet.

"Yes, we had one at about seven and half weeks," Erin replied.

Without skipping a beat or revealing much, the tech then asked, "Did you see anything interesting?"

If either of us gave the question any thought, it was that she was asking if there had been any problems. Probably just a routine question.

"No," Erin said. "Everything was fine."

Around this time, I began to get confused by the images I was seeing. The image seemed to be repeating itself as it moved back and forth. My neurons began firing, though clearly at a substandard level. The ultrasound tech asked again, "Nothing interesting at all?"

"Uh...are there two of them?" was all I could get out. I looked from the monitor to Erin, whose eyes widened at the realization of what was happening.

We both turned to the ultrasound technician, and saw she was smiling. "You're having twins!"

My jaw hit the floor. I leaned forward, covering my mouth with my hand and breathing heavily. Erin was stunned; smiling and tearing up at the same time. She put her hand on my head, and I began to laugh. "Oh my God!"

After a moment, the tech left the room on the pretense of looking up some piece of information. I think she just wanted to give us a minute to get our thoughts together before continuing the ultrasound.

Unable to think of anything else to say, I told Erin that I loved her. I then declared, "We are not giving them rhyming names."

House Details and Other Fun Stuff

We went to the house on Sunday, and saw lots of progress. About all that is left to complete is a new front door, the appliances, and repainting. And cleaning...a whole lot of cleaning.

By this point, we've shown the layout enough here, we figured we'd take some pictures of the detail work in the house to give a better idea of how things will look. Plus, I figure that if we had to spend hours and hours picking this stuff out at the home studio, we should get at least one opportunity to point it all out.

Here goes:

This is the chandelier that will be hanging over empty space in the dining room for quite some time. I'm sure the carpet will be beautifully lit.



This light fixture is in a handful of places throughout the house. I think they look cool.



This is what the cabinets and countertops look like in the kitchen.



Instead of the standard six panel interior doors, we went with four panel doors instead.



There are ceiling fans scattered throughout the house...they all look like this.



I took this picture to show the spotlights at the top. They point to area above the fireplace. Now we just need some piece of art to actually show off. Until then, the tan-ish wall will be well illuminated.



In the master bathroom, these are the lights above the mirror, the faucets, and the tub & shower.







These are the exterior lights on the garage.



Everybody gets the same mailbox. This is ours.



And it looks like someone knew I was coming, and left me a present. That's the type of welcome to the neighborhood that I like!




The other piece of fun news is about our soon-to-be dog. The breeder was planning two litters, and both were born two weeks ago on April 8th. One of these 18 bundles of joy will be our puppy in a few weeks. We'll be selecting our pup in 2 weeks, and we should get to bring him home about 4 weeks after that.






Excitement abounds...we'll keep you all posted.