More!

Oliver may not be crawling like his sister but the boy has mastered his signing for more! 

We have been doing sign language with them for things like "more", "water", and "all done" for about two months. Being consistent is hard bouncing back and forth between feeding both of them but I guess it has paid off. While technically you tap your fingers in front of you for more, Oliver has started doing what a lot of babies do......tapping a fist into the palm of his other hand. 

Stella seems to be catching on but chooses to do more of an arm wave......or sometimes just breathes heavily instead! 

Do twins run in your family?

The title of this post is the most common question we receive as parents of twins.

The truth: Yes. Chop has identical twin sisters.

The answer to what many people are getting at by asking the question – No. It is convenient and easy to just say “Yes, they do run in the family”. Until someone who really knows how it works says “Well isn’t it the female’s side of the family that twins have to run in in order for it to be hereditary?”. This is followed by an awkward silence since that is very true.

We have debated letting this be known to all for awhile. And it is the perfect time because it is National Infertility Awareness Week. Oliver and Stella were not naturally conceived twins. It isn’t something that we were afraid of people knowing because we did tell many close friends and family. It is just easier to give the short answer that they run in our family. And that's the answer that they expect to hear. The truth is something that makes some people uncomfortable. They don't know how to respond. But as time has gone on, we (or probably just me) feel the need to let it be known. Why? Because I think we can help others. The sad reality is that I already know WAY too many friends/acquaintances who have experienced infertility struggles. I did a quick count in my head and it totaled 21. Yes, 21 in my small little world. And I’m sure there are more that I am not thinking to count.

We were lucky. Blessed. And are so grateful for the two beautiful babies we have. We credit amazing doctors. We were also lucky to have a fairly easy “problem” to fix. It didn’t require IVF, but rather less invasive medications and procedures. But it doesn’t mean that we didn’t struggle and battle throughout our journey. Ours was months, for some it is years....waiting, hoping, praying for a little miracle. And we got two! Wow. It's hard not to feel guilty sometimes that we didn't go through nearly as much as some.

Each time that I do actually open my mouth and give the real answer to the question of whether twins run in the family, I seem to have someone reach out to me with their struggle. Which then allows me to offer them support, lend an ear, give acceptance and a hug. Or they tell me about the struggle of someone close to them. And it is no surprise……it is estimated that 1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility. 7.3 million people in the US. Too many. I had a very good friend going through the same thing to talk to and lean on during that time and it wouldn’t have been the same without that. I only hope I can support others in the same way she supported me.

Running was a big part of my life before O & S. Something I did everyday for fun. Nope, running was not a task or something I just did for exercise. I love it. The funny part is that I remember saying that I would give up running if I could just have a baby. Well, I sometimes wonder if that is the way it worked since my fractured ankle has kept, and is still keeping me from running since they were born. I dream of the day that I can run, pushing the stroller with them in it. 


Amazing that what started as this: 

Has now become this:

Hug your babies and kids every chance you get. They are truly miracles.

Official Stats

The stats are in from our official 9 month checkup. Stella keeps drawing closer and closer to Oliver but just can't quite catch him. 

Oliver

20 pounds 8.5 ounces

28 3/4"

Stella

20 pounds 7 ounces

28 7/8"(95th percentile!)

Return to Hoosierland

Chop going to grad school at IU seems like a distant memory. And in the two years we spent there, we made a lot of memories. Mainly because we met some great friends to share the experience with.

With the exception of the Kaisers, we haven't seen any of them in almost exactly two years. We are sprinkled across the midwest.......Ohio, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Minneapolis. 

So last year we (and by we I mean the girls since we all knew the boys weren't going to do the planning) put a date on the calendar and stuck to it. While Indianapolis isn't your typical destination, it was selected as a good midway point and our friends the LaRue's graciously opened their house to the chaos of the weekend and were wonderful hosts.

Just to give you a little background on the group. This was us then.

And now.

My friend Jessica said it perfectly in her recap, we have all been busy. Busy having babies. The group has grown from just one in the belly at graduation to five babies and more on the way.

The babies took some time getting to know each other. And by getting to know each other, I mean chewing each others arms and stealing pacifiers.

Ryan, Oliver, Tyler, Stella, Caroline

Ryan Larue was the big kid of the group and was a great little host.

As was Coco LaRue.

The boys kept themselves entertained with the ever popular living room ring toss.

Hours of basketball in the mud room.

And the standby, beer drinking. Where Oliver demonstrated he isn't wasting any time in following in dad's footsteps.

Meanwhile the girls did a lot of this.

The babies were all on their best behavior so the adults could enjoy catching up.

Stella only got upset when Patrick said he wouldn't ever move to Minneapolis.

Jessica was nice enough to get some great family photos while we were there.

Oh, how I miss these girls.

The marrieds as they were affectionately known by classmates.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and after just two days, we had to pack up and head home. Fortunately, Oliver and Stella were great travelers and well behaved on their first flying experience (warning: bad iPhone photos follow).

Chop put it best when he said "Good friends are the ones that you see after years, and it seems like only days". Already looking forward to next year!

Giggly Girl

I think this video could make even the biggest grouch smile. Not really sure what caused the uncontrollable giggles - Oliver is a comedian and he doesn't even know it!

Easter

Family, egg hunt, food, and beautiful weather - the perfect first Easter for Oliver & Stella! It started off by skyping with the Krueger's in WI......

Then the Christensen cousins came over to join in the fun......

O & S could watch them all day long.....

Grandma put together one great Easter egg hunt and it didn't take long for that to get started.......

And there were lots of hands to hold and spoil......

A blessed Easter with our two little munchkins! 

Nine!

To say that Oliver & Stella have changed the most over the last month would be an understatement. Everyday it seems that we notice things that are different about them or first time developments. We hit the nine month mark today and it is definitely our favorite "age" to date. 

As shown in a previous post, Stella is on the move. In the last few days she has really taken to standing and, as you can see, is pretty darn proud of herself.

She continues to show a zest for life and always keeps us laughing.

There is something about the rug liner that she loves these days. Mesmerizing.

And yup, still has the cheeks. But no teeth.

Owl-ey Oliver, as we like to call him (the boy never stops trying to look in the opposite direction that he is facing), still charms us with his smile (toothless as well).

He loves looking at books.

And because of his good nature, I can push him two blocks in the stroller with his hat like this and he doesn't do any complaining.

We know a lot of people with older twins and they would always say, we can't imagine just having one. I think it would be safe to say that up until now we would always think "We can definitely imagine having one.....it would be SO easy!". We're finally (whew) reaching a point where we are able to sit back, enjoy the craziness of two, and say the same thing. And honestly, I'm pretty sure that they think it is pretty special to have a twin as well......what would life be like if there wasn't a twin around to steal a hat from, laugh when they cry, share bath and dinner time with, or use as a jungle gym. These pictures say it all!