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| "You must tell me all about yourself, in every detail, but oh, so slowly, so very slowly, so that it takes a very, very long time." - Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet |
Friends and Family,
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| Yep, that's right - Bacon wrapped fried jalapeno poppers |
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You hopefully already know that Merilee and I are expecting twins in July. It's been amusing how some people reacted when we told them. I've gotten a few "... congratulations?" Usually those are people who don't know me so well. We would also get a lot of "oh I think I kind of knew"s even when people were so surprised when we spilled the beans.
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Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We had Friendsgiving with a couple different families. After a big lunch with the Mays, we went over to the school next door and played kickball. The group featured a wide range of ability, but full stomachs became the great equalizer and it was a pretty close and entertaining match. I don't know how we were able to eat more that day, but we then went over to our friends' the Clifts' place for dinner and Mario Kart.
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We found out about the pregnancy the week of Thanksgiving. A week or so later, an ultrasound revealed the twins. While we were over the moon excited about it, we kept it pretty much to ourselves for a while. The infertility clinic told us after we graduated at eight weeks (a week or so before Christmas) that we could make our news public, but we still held it in. This was partly because we think that seven months advance notice is a bit ridiculous, but also because Merilee wanted to prove her family wrong and show that she could keep a secret. #Merilies
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| 6 Weeks |
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| 12 Weeks |
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| 18 Weeks |
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| 24 Weeks |
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| maaa |
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So how's pregnancy? At first, it was pretty amusing. Pretty soon, however, it started to get harder. It's been exhausting, nauseating, and uncomfortable. It's been hard on Merilee too.
At first, she was eating like a horse, except she'd also get really aggressive during feeds (I almost lost a hand). If I dismissed the early warning signs of her hunger attacks or turned my back for two minutes, I'd find her hunched down on the ground ready to give up. All she needed was a good sandwich and she was fine.
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| "You sleep so angelically when you're pregnant" |
As things have progressed, she's had a lot of heartburn (did you know that pregnant women can only have 6 tums a day?). The critters also seem to lodge themselves in uncomfortable places and swim around as much as they like, causing Merilee some trouble. The kicks have been awesome for me to feel, though. The hardest part for me is finding things for Merilee to eat. I could eat the same thing every day if it was easy to make, tasted good, and was "healthy." With Merilee though, it's been more like:
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Soon after the winter quarter started, we got a lot of rain and our property had some water damage. The railroad next to our complex had a drain that clogged and was causing water to back up and cascade down through the apartments behind us and into our property. Long-story-short we had some tenants leave and it's just been a lot more work for me than it usually is trying to fill it.
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| The river Merilee had to ford to get to her car |
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| What it usually looks like (notice there's not a river) |
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A week or two before Christmas, Mer started throwing up two to four times a day and was a zombie for a while whenever she came home from work. I'm talking about "7:30PM bedtime" zombie. While Christian and Bonnie were visiting we managed to conceal our secret by claiming it was just the drugs she was on. Until around 10 weeks (that's when the placenta takes over hormone production), she was still taking estrogen and progesterone. Bonnie was blessed with the opportunity to witness an intramuscular injection in preparation for becoming a nurse
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| She fell asleep with a sandwich resting on her chest. The flash from the camera woke her up and she's smirking because she loves avocados and English muffins. |
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Since then, things have been pretty stressful between my two jobs and school. Senior design is picking up and we're at the stage where everyone is putting in a lot of hours and a lot is expected from each team member. Argggh, it's so frustrating that it's only a 3 unit class.
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So we eventually did tell people (around 13 weeks I think). Family first, of course. We broke the news over gchat to Mer's family. They were all impressed with how long she had been able to keep the secret. We would have waited longer, except a few people were starting to get suspicious and we figured we should tell family before we were found out. It's hard to conceal a pregnancy when you're so sick.
The next week, we were visiting my brother's family for my nephew's baptism. It was a prime opportunity to tell my side of the family since we could catch all but two in person. I didn't want to steal the kid's thunder on his special day, though. So, I pulled him aside to tell him the news first. I also told him that since it was his special day, he could decide when to break the news to everyone else. We were pretty impressed when he decided to wait until we were all gathered in a big group for dinner to announce it. Seeing everyone's faces as he told them was pretty fun.
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| Our nephew takes great photos |
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Right now I'm just trying to get all the turnovers taken care of for next year. I have 3 more to go, then hopefully this apartment managing job can go back to its previous pace. Then I can focus more on feeding Merilee and on school.
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As I write this, Merilee is now heading into her last week of her second trimester. Though it hasn't been without its own challenges, it has been a lot nicer than the first. She started getting even sicker when she began taking pre-natals around 13 weeks, but we finally got her on some anti-nausea meds and she's done a lot better. She only needs to be careful brushing her teeth and she's good. Both her and the babies are looking healthy so far and we are so grateful.
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| In case you haven't noticed by now, I can't help but snap a picture when Mer passes out. I guess she's sleeping for three (four if you count the sleep that I'm not getting). She looks so peaceful. |
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What else is new? Well, I'm now riding a bike to school and work. The PT Cruiser is almost out of commission and I need the exercise anyways (thanks Kim!). Also, I'll be leaving towards the end of July for an internship. It's a really great opportunity (or else I wouldn't be leaving my wife and two newborns) and should only be gone 7 weeks.
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| Mid-Sneeze |
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| Her Sneeze turned off the microwave |
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| Easter Sunday |
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| April Fool's Prank |
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| April Fool's Truth |
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| Today |
I laughed through this whole post. Love you guys! Great job #MeriLIES, you fooled me!
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