Here's another picture of my daughters, Lillie and Grace. My goal is to upload at least one picture a day for at least a week to celebrate their birth. My only limitation is that it must be a cute picture. So, I'm snapping pictures of them quite often. In just one week's time, I've taken 103 pictures of them!
Wow, I just realized that they have been here seven days now. It feels like they were being born just yesterday. I hope the next 18 years don't go by this fast.
By the way, today is my birthday. I don't know what the day holds, but I do know that I received the two best possible presents a week early. Thanks, Lori.
We took the twins out for their first trip to the doctor today. Everything went fine. They really enjoy riding in the car. Something else they really enjoy is getting their hair washed and brushed. What they hate is being uncovered; they like it much better to be wrapped up in a warm blanket.
Our family and friends have been great. Lori's sister made us dinner Friday night, and a friend of Lori's brought us dinner and diapers (and a few other things) earlier tonight. That's been a real help as we struggle to get our routine down. So far, Lori and I are taking turns staying up at night with the twins as they try to learn the difference between night and day.
**By the way, you can now click on the pictures to see a larger version of the photos.**
Here are the first pictures of the newest additions to my family. Lily was born first, at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, March 24th. Gracie was born at 12:21 p.m. Lily weighed 5 lbs. and was 17 1/2 inches long. Gracie weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long.
Both babies are fine. They have jaundice and have been spending most of their time under the Bili-light (the source of the blue light in the bottom left picture). Lori is doing well also, and all three will probably come home tomorrow (Thursday).
I'm so proud of my wife and my daughters. Stay tuned for more pictures as they become available.
Lori goes into the hospital tomorrow to have a C-section. I will become a father tomorrow. Tonight is my last night without children. How am I spending the evening? I've paid a few bills, watched a little television, did some laundry and finished getting things ready for the little ones; nothing overly special.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow with great anticipation. I'm a little scared for Lori, not knowing what she will go through. But, I'm anxious to meet my daughters. It's been a long 38 weeks, and I'm ready to start the next phase of my life. I just hope that I do a good job.
Mom went into the hospital yesterday for a week-long stay. See, Mom has been diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia and must undergo chemotherapy to battle it. Her attitude and approach to it are good so far. And her prognosis is very good. The doctors say that she may need just this one 7-day session of chemotherapy. After that, it should go into remission, hopefully for the rest of her life.
One web site states, "Hairy Cell Leukemia is a chronic (slow progressing) lymphocytic leukemia that was first reported at Ohio State University in 1958. It does not develop into acute (rapid progressing) leukemia. The name comes from the abnormally shaped lymphocytic white blood cells with hair-like projections. It can strike both males and females, usually between the ages of 40 to 70." Read more here.
Here are some other sites I gathered from Google:
Granny Barb and Art's Leukemia Links
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Med News
Immunotoxin Therapy
Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology
Right now, I'm a day away from moving the furniture out of my computer room, painting the walls and dubbing it "The Babies' Room!" It's almost completed. Today, I finish moving the few little items left scattered around the room, remove the computer equipment, go buy paint and order carpeting. I can't believe it's almost all done.
The babies are tentatively scheduled to arrive in a little over a week. We'll instantly be going from a couple to a family of four. Isn't that cool?
Yesterday, we went out and purchased a double stroller and two car seats. We were interested in the products by Graco, but worried about the recent recall of some of their infant car seats. We went to A Small World and were able to get a satisfactory compromise. We still ended up with all Graco pieces; we just had to go with car seats manufactured before the recall period. Everything doesn't match color-wise, but everything does interlock, so, we're happy.
It's interesting what I hear when President Bush speaks. It goes something like this:
Blah Iraq blah blah blah blah blah blah weapons of mass destruction blah blah blah blah Iraq blah blah blah blah weapons of mass destruction blah blah blah
I swear that he uses the term "weapons of mass destruction" when he can't think of anything else to say. What a moron.
Last weekend, I told my friends, all guys, that they should throw me a baby shower since they don't have wives to come to Lori's shower. I was just kidding. But, wouldn't you know that David would go out and get us something. Isn't that great?!
David has been a close friend of mine all the way back to first grade. Wow, that means we've been friends for 31 years! He has been there through the ups and downs... but he has always been there. I wish everyone could have a friend as good as him, for as long as we've been friends.
Now that I'm moving into the next phase of my life, I only hope David will still be there over the next 30 years. Oh, I'm sure he will. Even if I get too busy with the girls and don't see him for awhile, I know that if I call, he'll be available for me. That's what true friends do for each other. And that's what David and I are to each other. True friends.
I'm back working on the babies' room today. I took yesterday off from it because I was in a mood. But, I'm back today, and in a good mood. I've already hauled two bins of books into the basement. (You know, as long as I've been saying that I've been working on this room, you'd think it would be done by now.) When I do get it done, I'll post before and after pictures. My goal is to have it cleaned out (mostly) by the end of this coming weekend. A guy's got to have goals.
Here's a little food for thought on the Iraq situation. From what I've read about Saddam Hussein, I've always gone along with the idea that he needs to be removed from power. But lately, I've been leaning toward the idea that maybe there is a peaceful answer. Then, today I read Furo's thoughts on the subject. This makes me feel that we really need to get control of Iraq, and soon. Especially potent was his last comment on the subject:
"Incidentally, the man who spearheaded much of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs, General Nizar Attar, received training in these subjects at the very same Fort McClellan, Alabama facilities that I did."
And, I seriously hope that the U.S. is keeping a close eye on North Korea. They've got the potential to be an even bigger problem than Iraq.
Here's the prince on his throne. Ain't he cute? Einie loves to lay on a pillow, a blanket, your lap... he usually has to be propped up on something. He likes to be able to survey his territory, I guess. Once-in-a-while he'll just lay in the floor, but most of the time, he likes to be on or against something.
Or so they tell me. Anyone need/want any old Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 software? I'm cleaning out my computer room and finding some old software that I hate to just throw away. I guess I could put it up on ebay.
You know... that's not a bad idea. I think I'll gather it up, put it in a bin to store it away for now, and then, when I get my computer setup in its' new location, I'll put what I find up on ebay. Who knows. Maybe I'll make $5 or something.
There might even be a market for old software. I have a friend who's still running Windows 95, so who knows. Maybe there's someone out there who's still running Windows 3.1, too. We'll see.
March is my favorite month. It's the month my birthday lands in, barely. It's the month after that dark and dreary February. And, it will probably be the month in which my children are born. March is good.