Baby Time!

Last week Brian and I spent a few days in Amelia Island, FL near Jacksonville. It was a super relaxing vacation even though Brian was working some of the time. Amelia Island is beautiful. Here are a few pictures of our time there. We hope to bring our kids there when they are old enough to appreciate the beauty and fun of the beach.







After our days at Amelia Island we drove our rented minivan to Panama City to spend a few days with family and friends. Our baby shower was on Sunday at the Boatyard. Brian was all set for the big reveal of the genders. My aunts, Carol and Donna, came to share the fun. Here they are with my mom. It was so nice to have them there!



At the shower my friend Lindsey had a few surprises for us. She bought a shower memory book where all my family and friends could guess the genders, weight, and birthday of the twins. Only five people picked the correct gender. My mom and mother-in-law, Charlotte, are hoping the twins will be born on their birthdays (Oct. 24 or Oct. 28). That would be about four weeks early so it’s a possibility that it could happen.

Here is Brian gearing up for the cake surprise. He asked the bakery to make the cake pink and blue on the outside, and to make the filling the color of the genders by using food coloring. He did not feel confident that the baker understood this order so he called back twice to make sure.

And the cake is....Yellow!

As you can see they did not understand as the cake was your standard yellow! Brian yelled out, “And they are gender neutral!” Since he is pretty creative and able to think on his feet he just used the knife to dab some pink icing on one piece and said, “Baby A is a girl!” on the next piece he dabbed the pink icing again and said, “Baby B is a girl too!” He tried to fake people out by going for blue icing. As we served the cake we asked our family and friends to give us input on the names.

Here is the name list we selected. Most people picked Caroline Grace as a first choice. We also had several votes for Emma, Lauren, and Margaret (as a middle name). Elizabeth was also a top choice. We are still deciding on names. (Katie and Beau: if you read this we want your vote too.)

Hatcher Twin Girl Baby Names
Please rank the names in order of preference. 1= favorite, 8 = least favorite
• Caroline (Brian and Robin’s favorite pick so far)
• Grace (after my grandmother and Mary Grace)
• Margaret (after Brian’s mom)
• Elizabeth
• Hailey
• Lauren
• Emma
• Addison

Form Two Names with a first and middle name combination:
___________________ __________________ Hatcher
___________________ __________________ Hatcher

Add any girl names you would like us to add to the list.

Some of my dearest friends could not make it to the shower since they live out of town (please send us your vote for names too). We missed you lots and thank you for all your well wishes and gifts. We especially missed Katie and Beau who were in California with my new niece, Anna Cross.

Here are a few more pictures to enjoy! We had such a great time. We want to thank everyone that was able to come share the memories with us. Thank you also for the generous gifts!

Me and Lindsey

My sweet niece Layla

The Shores Family

Mary Grace, Mikey, Grady, and Jeff (Thank you for making the drive over!)

Tony, Charlotte, Emily, and Jeff (Thanks for making the drive over!)

Me at 21 weeks

Me, my mom, and Layla

That's all for now folks. This will probably be my last long post for a little while. I go back to work next week. How will I concentrate with two babies occupying all my thoughts!?

Productive Weekend

This weekend Tony and Charlotte (my mother and father-in-law) came to visit. Thankfully, they were able to help us with some home improvements. Brian has taken on the job of remodeling our downstairs bathroom. Since this is the first time he has ever attempted this type of task we really needed Tony’s help (not to mention his tools). The other big project was painting the nursery. Charlotte, Tony, and Brian all worked on that while I sanded the walls in the bathroom. We thought that would be safer than me breathing paint fumes for several hours. The bathroom is still a work in progress, but we got a lot accomplished.




Another big accomplishment this weekend was purchasing the babies’ furniture. We took Charlotte and Tony to two stores to help us make the final decision. We settled on two cribs that convert to toddler beds and full size beds, one dresser, one combo dresser/changing table, and a glider. The furniture will be here in 8-10 weeks and the glider will be here in 6-8 weeks.

Tomorrow we are headed to Jacksonville. Brian has to go to a meeting for work and I am tagging along for fun. Sat. we’ll head over to my parents’ house in Panama City, and our baby shower will be on Sun. afternoon. We are looking forward to seeing all our family and friends. Brian ordered the cake for the shower to help with revealing the genders of our twins. Charlotte tried really hard to get us to tell her this weekend. It’s been hard to keep this a secret so I am looking forward to telling everyone this weekend.

Here's my belly pics. for week 20. Comments I have received this week from strangers include: "How far along are you? You look like you are ready to go soon!" and "How far along are you? Oh, you are having twins....I thought you looked big for 20 weeks!" and the worst comment so far..."You're having twins!? I would slit my wrist if I found out I was having twins!" Yes, someone actually said that to me. It was my hair stylist. I don't think I will be going back to her for a haircut!



These pictures were taken in the newly painted babies' room! In case some of you are wondering why I have my glasses on in most of my pictures it is because my eyes have been too dry to wear my contacts for extended periods of time. The doctor says that will go away after I have the twins.

Two Peas in a Pod

Today Brian and I were scheduled for our level 2 ultrasound. Our appointment was scheduled for 1:45, but the tech had to leave so they asked us to come in early. We went in for our appointment at 9:15 (no complaints about that). The ultrasound began with the technician taking a look at the general position of the babies. Baby A is closest to the cervix, head down, and on the left side of my abdomen. Baby B is feet down and higher on the right side of my abdomen. Positions of both babies could change by the time of delivery.




Measurements of baby A’s stomach, femur, spine, kidneys, and heart were taken. Everything looked great! The tech kept saying things like, “That is a perfect heart.” It was so sweet. We were able to see the gender on Baby A pretty easily. But, when it came time to take the skull measurement Baby A shook it’s head no. We had to move on to B after several times of trying for Baby A’s skull measurement.
Baby B was in a less cooperative position, but the gender was determined successfully after we took a few of the other anatomical measurements. Both babies are perfectly formed! It is amazing how they grow. Our tech allowed us to view both babies in 3-D. Baby B likes to suck it’s thumb! It was pretty cute. Baby A decided to show us only it’s backside during the 3-D part!

It is so hard to not spill the beans on the genders! Brian had to monitor me while I called my mom. I nearly slipped up now that I can refer to them as him or her. It truly is a blessing that the babies appear healthy, and that they are progressing at the same rate. Baby A weighs 9 ounces (265 grams) and Baby B weighs 8 ounces (225 grams). The doctor said this was normal progress with twins. Our next appointment is August 3. We are scheduled for another ultrasound at that time to check for equal growth among the twins. It was confirmed today that they do share a placenta so they are at risk for developing a condition that stunts the growth of one twin. We will continue to pray for the babies’ health and safety as they approach their due date.
We are looking forward to the shower with family and friends on July 19! In the meantime, all questions about gender must be forwarded to Brian. He is capable of keeping a secret unlike me!

4th of July Celebration

Last week on Thursday Brian and I traveled to Knoxville to hang out with our friends Chad and Mary Beth. Chad is one of our oldest friends and we enjoy spending time with him and his fiancé when we can. Mary Beth and Chad are getting married Nov. 7, 2009! The boys went mountain biking on Sat. and Mary Beth took me to see her wedding gown, which is gorgeous! We also went to the venue where they plan to have the ceremony and reception. She will be a beautiful bride. We had lots of fun celebrating the 4th too. Brian and Chad put on a firework show for us at Chad’s house. Brian got me a delicious ice cream cake from Maggie Moo’s for my birthday along with a new camera and the sweetest card he has ever written.




Chad and Mary Beth have a new puppy that Chief and Bailey loved playing with (Beulah Bell is her name). Here are a few pictures of our fun weekend. The dogs are quite entertaining.



Brian took two pictures of my belly this week. My next doctor’s appointment is tomorrow! I can’t wait to find out the genders of our twins.




Brian and I also want to congratulate Katie and Beau on the arrival of their daughter Anna Cross! She is beautiful, and blessed to have such wonderful parents.

The Beginning Part 2

Okay, this is the second try with this blogging stuff. I tried to post my first blog a couple of nights ago, imported a picture, messed the text up, and got frustrated. I deleted it before anyone got a chance to read it. I'm starting this blog primarily to let family and friends have access to updates on our twins that will be arriving in November. Nov. 28 is the exact due date, but twins typically come around 36 weeks so they could be here as early as the end of October. I am praying to have them after 36 weeks is complete to lessen the likelihood of an extended hospital stay and low birth weight. Right now I am about 18 weeks and will be 19 weeks on Sat. Our next appointment is on July 8. We will hopefully be able to tell the genders at the ultrasound.



Here are some answers to common questions I get while pregnant with twins:
Do twins run in my family? Yes, on my dad's side.

Were we using fertility treatments? No, but we tried for a year to get pregnant. We were about to explore treatment options and God answered all of our prayers. Thanks to family and friends that also prayed.

Do I plan to breastfeed? Yes.

Am I going to quit work? I am going back to teaching the last week of July. I will work as long as I can, then take the rest of the year off, and go back the following school year.

Are they fraternal or identical? We do not know yet. The twins have their own sacks, but share a placenta. If they are the same gender we will not know until they are born. If they are a girl and a boy they are obviously fraternal.

My sister-in-laws had lots of influence on me starting this blog. I love reading their posts! Please be patient with me if I take a long time to update this blog. I should be pretty consistent while I am off for the rest of July. Belly pics. will follow! If you are coming to our shower on July 19 we will share the genders with you then. Brian (my husband) is really excited to surprise everyone.