More Pictures, Courtesy of D.Ann's Camera

I am not feeling great today, so here are some pictures that made me happy. Maybe they'll make you happy too.

The first time I saw this picture, I couldn't figure out what the blue ball in the corner was... until I realized it was me.

We got hot at the park, so we came home and played in the hose.

Here I am, modeling the latest in maternity swimwear fashion. Or maybe I just put on clothes that were headed for the wash anyway. Atticus thought it was hilarious to wave the hose in my face.

Below is a quick series of pictures that I like because it shows Atticus's concentrated look. He has such a good attention span when he's trying to figure something out... just like a certain man that I know named Trevor.

The cat declined his offer for a bath.

Once again trying to figure out where the water is coming from.

Atticus and The Wading Pool

I still don't have a camera, but D.Ann does! It's finally been getting warm enough to play in Atticus's wading pool, so here are some lovely pictures stolen from D.Ann for you.

Yesterday we started off by playing with Blake...

... or at least trying to. Atticus was trying to throw the ball, but somehow ended up sitting on it.

He's just cute in this picture. By the way, Uncle Austin made Atticus that cool turtle onesie that he's wearing in these pictures. Isn't he crafty?

He doesn't like to spend a whole lot of time IN the pool, he mostly likes to splash from the outside.

Stirring the pot.

He has his lower lip tucked in like that because he's teething in some bottom teeth.

I think he thought that the hose would turn on if he stuck it in the pool. He was disappointed when it didn't.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little babies

Hi guys! I just got back from an ultrasound, and I got a pretty cute picture of Baby B:

I love those profile pictures. Her nose looks bigger than it actually is because her face was squished up against the side of my uterus. But look, she totally has Atticus's chin! Which means Baby A does too, because they're identical! Cute, huh?

The babies are still keeping that same small difference in growth, so that's good news! They're also still pretty huge for twins, measuring a little bit above 50% on the chart. They've slowed down a little, which is fine by me and the doctors, since I have no desire to give birth to two 8 pounders. Right now Baby A weighs 2 pounds 4 ounces, and Baby B weighs 2 pounds 7 ounces. So, nearly 5 pounds of BABY.

As for our 3rd little baby, he's doing alright. He has a cold that Daddy brought home to us, and I think he's working on bringing the total tooth count to 12. But he's still happy to play, and had no problem eating some ice cream cake for Father's Day yesterday :) So, we'll talk to you all on the flip side!

Quick Update

Hi guys! I just thought I would let you in on some Butchart family updates. First of all, our camera heaved out it's last picture. We're looking for a new one, but in the meantime, I have no cute Atticus pictures to offer. I understand if you don't come back until that situation has changed.

Second, I've been given a few restriction recommendations, in terms of physical activity. My pelvis has started to come apart earlier than it's supposed to. It makes certain movements pretty painful, like putting on pants, or turning over in bed, or going up stairs. At first walking was hard too, but I'm getting better at balancing, which helps. But you always knew I was unbalanced, didn't you? Anyway, because of this, my doctor is a little more concerned about preterm labor. I'm not supposed to lift Atticus anymore, and I'm supposed to just take my day a little slower. So, it's not quite even partial bedrest, but hopefully this will help me avoid issues in the future.

However... have you ever tried to get through the day without lifting your 13 month old? I submit that it is not possible. So, the lovely and talented Mandy has come to stay with us for a little bit! We are so lucky to have her!

So that's what is going on here. Entertaining posts will resume when we have a camera again. See you later!

I'm making 2 little MMA fighters.

That's right. Monica suggested it, and I think she must be right: I'm building two little mixed martial arts fighters. So what makes me think that I'm building MMA fighters? In the past two weeks, they have completely switched sides, from right to left and left to right. This is no small feat with such limited space. Not to mention they are always kicking and shoving each other during my scans. Here are some pictures from today's ultrasound:

In case you can't read the caption, that's Baby B waving "HI!" She also kicked way up at the top of my belly during the ultrasound, and surprised me into saying "OH!" which scared the ultrasound tech because she thought she had hurt me. She's a real sweetie :)

This is Baby A rubbing her eye. She must have been tired from all of the barrel rolls she's been doing.

In other uterus news, the babies still have a very small growth discordance, just 6%. The placenta hasn't started to calcify yet, and the babies still have enough fluid to do water aerobics. It would be pretty unexpected for either of those thing to have problems this early, but I guess if I'm going to be scanned every other week, they might as well start checking early. Also, I had my gestational diabetes screening today, and my body is pretty stellar at processing glucose, even when it's simultaneously making two babies. Woo-hoo! We celebrated with cupcakes.

I'm Real Good at Making People

That's a whole lot of BABY. Right? Each little girl is about 13-14 inches long right now, with a weight of (probably) just over a pound and a half. So, total, I'm holding 27 inches and lets say 3 pounds and 4 ounces of extra human. In a normal pregnancy, you don't ever carry 27 inches of baby, and you don't get to 3 pounds 4 ounces of baby until 31 weeks. I'm 24 weeks. I'm just sayin'. It's pretty incredible that I haven't exploded yet.

What are the girls up to this week? Well, first off, they're VIABLE. Meaning that if I were to go into labor, they would have a 60-70% chance of survival at this point, which is pretty good. If I had gone into labor last week, they would have had about a 30% chance at living. Not that I'm expecting to go into labor anytime soon, it's just nice to know that if something dramatic were to happen, we would at least be able to try to save them.

The babies are working on their lungs, taste buds and big bad brains. They're also getting fatter. So am I. But my feelings on my looks right now are an entirely different post.

As for the three of us on the outside, we're trying to deal with the transition to toddlerhood with a certain little boy named after a lawyer, and we're trying to have everything ready for the girls by the time I'm 28 weeks pregnant just. in. case. It's going pretty good so far: I have the room painted, and we bought the chair rail last weekend, so that should be going in this weekend. I still don't have a second crib, but I have the sleeper they'll be sleeping in for the first 3 months. We're also still low on clothing, but I have my eye on Craigslist.

So, that's what's going on with us. How are you guys doing?