I thought that Jessica's silence was a pregnant one. The eggs hatched. The loaves came out of the oven. The two little girls are here.

I'm so happy for this new family.

Thanks guys, and thanks Shannon for sharing the news! It is a little funny because it was only a few hours after I last posted here that the doctors decided it was time to induce labor (since my liver enzymes were elevating). I still can't quite believe how fast everything happened. Between when they started the induction and when I delivered was only about three hours! (To be fair, it turns out that before they even started the induction I was pretty much done with early labor.) In any case, I was feeling pretty good still when they came in to place the epidural but by the time the anesthesiologist was done they had to take me straight into the OR for delivery (twins and preemies always get delivered in the OR).

Both girls were born vaginally with no problems, and I'm recovering very well from the process. I told DH right after they took me back to my room for recovery, "I almost feel like a human again." I only got to take a peek at them before they were whisked off to the NICU, but we've gotten to go down and visit them several times a day in between when I'm too sleepy to do anything. I'm going home tonight, but we'll probably be spending most of our days at the hospital for a while since the babies will be here for several weeks, up to a couple months (i.e. until their original due date).

DH has been a champ and a trooper through this whole process. I don't know what I would do without him. :love:

Jessica , congratulations to you and DH. I love the names you have chosen and that you gave them individual names and not something rhyming because they are twins.
Proud of you, girl !

Congratulations Jessica! They are gorgeous. :)

Congratulations Jessica! What amazing miracles. The NICU is an amazing place. You'll get to know the other families well. There will probably be other multiples there. My dd was in the NICU for a week and we felt so guilty because she was 7 pounds and was surrounded by all of the preemies. I can't see photos at work (they're blocked) so I'll eagerly take a peek at them when I get home. Glad to hear they are doing well!

Wonderful news, Jessica. Congratulations to you and DH!

Welcome, Allison Leah! Welcome, Cecilia Rachel!

A major congrats!! That is actually really good weights for how early they are!!

And as a Simon and Garfunkle fan, I started singing when I saw the names!!!

Welcome to Allison and Cecilia - as celebrated by Simon and Garfunkel.

Jessica, DH, and Carter :congrat: :cp: :bravo:

:welcome: to the world Allison and Cecelia

Dagmar :D

Allison also has a song (if you don't mind the spelling mistake): Alison

Dishwasher Update
 

It's fixed! The diagnosis took over an hour, ordered the part, it took a week for delivery and he arrived at 10:15 (first appointment of the day? Really?) and it took about 15 minutes to install and test.

But the important thing here is my DS. The first day that I had to all the horrible messy dishes from the night before, he was with his friends studying for one of many AP tests. The next two nights, DH dried the dishes after I washed them. And then, out of nowhere, my DS suddenly steps in before DH has a chance to, and he dries the dishes for me! No one asked him. He just did it.

Kids are wonderful!!!

And so cute. Today is officially the day that seniors have to have made up their mind where they will attend college. Of course, most have done this weeks ago (as my DS did). Today all the seniors are proudly wearing new t-shirts from their chosen school! I told DS to be sure and take pictures of him and all his friends (I'll find out if he did or not tonight). He looked so cute and proud this morning in his UCI t-shirt!

If you are tuning in late , Jessica had her twin girls ! See previous page. Their names are Allison Leah and Cecilia Rachel. Comments have already been made by posters regarding songs with Allison or Cecilia in the title. And of course their middle names Leah and Rachel , two very famous women in the Bible. Don't know if Jessica and DH had that in mind or if they just liked the names.

Congrats to Jessica and the whole family! I hope the girls get to go home soon and meet their uncle Carter.

I got lucky with jury duty and didn't have to serve this week. I'm hoping to take Friday off for a mental health day - no work, no visit to dad, just a day for me to fool around in the garden. I spread all the mulch so now I have to get all the pots and wind chimes and various decor items out of the basement and into the yard. Lots of trips up and down the stairs.

I'm also trying to befriend a black cat that seems to be a stray. I'm not sure I want to bring in another cat but he (?) reminds me of Grommet, so we'll see.

AWW. Welcome to the world, Allison and Cecilia! And congratulations Jessica. I know you wish you could take them home right now, but enjoy your rest -the middle-of-the-night feedings can wait awhile :>)

Congratulations to Jessica, DH, and Carter on the new additions to the family! How very exciting. They are beautiful girls Jessica.

I've been immersed in field work for the past 2 weeks with several grad students, a post doc, and professor who are studying migratory songbirds on barrier islands of the gulf coast as they return from southern climates. I've learned how to untangle the birds from mist nets, band them, and am working on IDing my species and analyzing fat and muscle tone. I'm also having a fun time making friends with some really nice, cool people. This morning I held a beautiful male scarlet tanager in my hand. I'll have to post some photos when I download them.