20 weeks.

We have officially hit the halfway mark. Or, if we're lucky, that is.

Really, our halfway was most likely several weeks ago, but we're halfway to the full gestational period of 40 weeks. And this is all exciting because it means we're really over halfway before these babies make their much-anticipated entrance! 

(Unless I freakishly carry them to 40-42 weeks, in which case I'll be doing my own, natural induction methods. . .)


We know this second half is going to fly by faster than the first did, and not because it always does. But with all we have happening this summer we'll surely be welcoming these little ones sooner than we think. And I am glad about that. :)

Here's BabyCenter's approximate take on what the little ones look like this week. So sweet, huh?

No, my belly's not that big, but it has grown noticeably.
And last we checked, they were both head down, but they're small enough and
 have been doing so much flipping that they're bound
to have repositioned themselves.

Speaking of belly: I got my very first "Oh, you're having twins. I was gonna say, you look big to be almost twenty weeks" last week (really??), and several "Aww, when are you due?" ladies. I guess I am looking a little pregnant.

See for yourself.

Finally looking pregnant with a nicely hard and round belly, feeling great, and loving every minute of this!

-A.H.

Baby genders!

It's. . . a boy and a girl!

More pictures to come soon!

Baby A's profile. Our sweet son.

Baby B's profile. Our precious daughter.

Baby B waving.
See her tiny fingers?

How far along? 19 1/2 weeks.

Total weight gain/loss: +4 from last appointment, but I haven't weighed myself in a while. . .could be more.

Maternity clothes? some

Stretch marks? nope.

Sleep: not terrible. but I love pillows.

Best moment this week: ANATOMY ULTRASOUND!

Movement: yes, yes!

Cravings: well, last night I wanted grilled cheese so bad I thought I was going to throw up. TMI? Sorry. 

ACTUAL Genders: one sweet, sweet little boy and a precious baby girl.

Labor Signs: no.

Belly Button in or out? still out-ish.

What I miss: nothing that I can think of, but yesterday I was trying to remember what I looked like pre-pregnancy, though it's not something I miss today.

What I am looking forward to: holding my baby boy and sweet girl in my arms in just a few months.

Weekly Wisdom: nothing this week.

Milestones: almost 20 weeks, and over half-way to full term.

_______________________________________________

Today I was humbled once again. I spent quite a few days last week fretting over not seeing the obstetrician I wanted to see, wondering if he'd really give us an accurate departure date, or if he'd have a sweet bedside manner and be someone I would even want to talk to.

When the nurse called to reschedule my appointment and told me his name, I started playing through this awful 20 week ultrasound in my head: he's not going to shake my hand, or even introduce himself. He won't close the door or ask if we have any questions. He'll stand in the doorway like the other doctor did and say everything looks fine, then walk out. And his ultrasound tech will be just the same, not even excited that there's two babies, not point out the different parts of their bodies, and boringly announce what they are. Great.

When I called Peter crying about this appointment I'd dreamed up he told me I needed to chill and trust that we were seeing that very doctor for a reason. And so I tried. . .but I still kept wondering if it would be just an awful experience.

So, after the ultrasound, with a tech who was friendly and did actually point out each and every limb, bone, heart chamber and section of the brain, in walked this adorable, middle-aged Middle Eastern man. He first gave us a huge smile, shook both our hands and enthusiastically said, "Well, congratulations!" He talked about the different things we had seen, and how their brains, spines and hearts all looked fantastic. Then he assured us that the chances of either baby having Downs Syndrome, based on my age and the babies' measurements and appearances, was 1 in 1,000.

We were able to tell him our plans and ask his opinion on a departure date for St. Andrews, to which he replied, "Well that's just great! You'll have such a great time. You'll have a great time. How great!" He went on to rant and rave of the UK's medical system and told us one of his sons was born in England, and they more than took care of his wife and new son. Turns out he's visited Scotland himself and loves the place. Does anyone not?

And so, I felt completely awful that I envisioned such a terrible experience. He was the greatest. And when Peter said he was getting started late on undergrad, he said, "Now, it's never too late!" We all laughed at how we were starting our family early and education late, but he thought it was great-- "Well, why not?!"

And so, we had a great OB, and an even greater ultrasound. The Lord answered our prayers once again that there be only good news at this appointment. We have been blessed with one strong, healthy son and one strong, healthy daughter (though I hope her brother is always a bit stronger ;)).

As my husband said, we're so grateful-- we got everything we wanted.




With thankful hearts,
Angela & Peter

Ultrasound moved. . .again.

Sadly, the OB scheduled to do my ultrasound this morning got scheduled for surgery, and so it's been moved again.

Tomorrow morning, folks. Tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

How I got this ring.

Two years ago today (except I wrote this yesterday morning because I was hanging in airports all afternoon/evening. It's really "yesterday") Peter McCallum asked me to be his wife. It was the day after my high school graduation party, Memorial Day, and he'd apparently been scheming for quite some time.

Months earlier he had taken my parents to dinner and asked for their blessing to marry me. I knew about this dinner date but had no idea whether they had gotten back to him or what they even said. Peter's lips were sealed, and of course my parents' were too. As far as I knew, it was graduation day and Peter still hadn't heard back from my dad. What was taking so long? I remember Peter telling me, "Just be patient. He will call me when he has time." How in the universe could he be so calm? "Has time"?! Wasn't it killing him too? 

Yes, I'm thick, but back to Memorial Day.

At my party he made it clear to me several times he had to work the next day. It was a holiday, but I wasn't going to complain about it, though I did tell him it was weird. That night, after most of the guests had left, he and I went inside to read cards and open presents. When every envelope and box had been opened I remember sitting back and saying, "You know what would make this entire day perfect? If you proposed right now." Then he smiled and gave me another one of those, "just trust and be patient, it will happen exactly when it's supposed to" talks.

Fast forward a few hours, I said goodbye to the few lingering friends and Peter tucked me in and prayed for me (something we still do nightly to this day). I was out like a light.

I woke up to an obnoxious combination of scratching and tapping. At first I thought it was my brothers on the deck below my bedroom window, so I ignored it. Then it continued -- tap. . .tap. . .tap.  You know how infuriating is it to be woken up, especially not by the gentle sound of birds chirping or someone combing their fingers through your hair.

I was groggy-eyed, but frustrated enough to sit up in bed and pull up a section of the blinds.  There was Peter, standing on the porch below my window with the cutest grin filling his face.

He proceeded to climb a ladder he and my dad had carefully set up on the porch below, after they took out my window's screen and hid it under my bed, sometime while I was entertaining guests. I quickly pushed open the window and tried to pull him into my room but he resisted me. "No, no, stop. There's something important I have to ask you." My mind honestly hadn't even gone to oh my, he's about to propose yet. I was still quite a few steps behind mentally.

How did you get off work? Why are you here so early? Is everyone okay? (because he might throw pebbles at my window and climb a ladder to tell me something terrible happened. . .). Then I finally thought, maybe he is going to propose. . . but he would never do that without my dad's blessing! Has he heard from my dad? What is going on?


"There is something I need to ask you. Something I've been wanting to ask you for a really long time. Since the first time I saw you, really. Angela, I love you. Will you marry me?" Then he pulled out this beautiful, giant, multi-diamond, family-heirloom ring.

Of course I said "yes", hugged him tight, and then he came through the window.

We sat on my bed and he told me all about how he had been thinking of how to ask me for such a long time, then got the idea when I told him repeatedly how I wanted him to throw rocks at my window like Rolf and Liesel. (I had no idea it would be incorporated into a proposal, or that it would even happen!). He told me how he'd talked to my dad and heard back from him quite some time ago, but there were two stipulations that he had:

1) he had to wait to propose until after my graduation party (the following day? check)

 2) I had to be 18 before we could get married (my birthday is 12/27, we got married on 12/31. check)

Then he told me all about the ring-- his mother gave it to him, her mother before her, and her's before her and her's before her. . . It's a family heirloom that somehow I  incredibly ended up with. He knew I wanted something big, but not bling-y, and I really got just that. It's 9 diamonds in an antique setting with yellow gold surrounding the center diamond and a white gold band. I am very much into having things that very few people have, and I honestly haven't seen anyone with this ring or anything even slightly similar. And yes, I still look at my left hand and smile, I still twist it around and play with it as if I had gotten engaged yesterday.

And so, that's a long story shortened. I'm not much for anniversaries, I don't generally grill steaks with asparagus for a 6 month anniversary, or Italian for the anniversary of our two-weeks-after-the-first-time-we-saw-each-other-4-years-ago. You get the idea. But to me, getting engaged two years ago is a bigger thing. Like being married for two years, or twenty-two.

So here's to that man, for totally surprising me beyond my wildest dreams, keeping me on my toes and crazily happy, and loving and cherishing me forever and always.


-A.H.

18 1/2 weeks.

there's really no hiding it now

didn't I say my belly button "popped"?

How far along? 18 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +4 from last appointment

Maternity clothes? thank the Lord for Bella Bands since no one seems to make maternity pants in my size.

Stretch marks? nope.

Sleep: not too hot.

Best moment this week: this week has held lots of exciting things-- feeling them both move at the same time, my belly button actually "popping", the week of our anatomy ultrasound. . .

Movement: yes, yes!

Cravings: not really.

Gender guesses: one of each.

Labor Signs: no.

Belly Button in or out? . . .out. What will it look like in 15 more weeks?

What I miss: nothing really right now cause I'm so in baby mode.

What I am looking forward to: absolutely the ultrasound that had to be rescheduled to next week.

Weekly Wisdom: make every calorie count. Okay, so those aren't my original words but they're the truth. This week I'm seeing the ramifications of the few fast food meals and desserts I squeezed in on vacation. Major bad decision.

Milestones: feeling movement from both of the babies at the same time was pretty exciting. And 18 weeks has always sounded "so far along" to me, especially since we're half-way to full-term now.

-A.H.

Ultrasound postponed. . .

While driving through Charlotte yesterday on our way home from Florida my wonderful husband decided I should spend some time with my sister and her husband. He's getting me a one-way ticket back to Cleveland in a few days and so I rescheduled my ultrasound so as not to have to hurry home.

Now we all have to wait a little while longer. . . Stay tuned for those awesome pictures!

Honeymoon Island

I don't have much time, but wanted to post the few pictures I got from our trip to the beach today. The weather was absolutely beautiful, though blustery,  but who doesn't like a windy beach? 

Oh, I love sand. It gets everywhere, but it seems like it should be that way. And I love how exfoliated, not to mention sun-kissed, my skin is when I leave.

he'll kill me for posting this, but I just think
he's so darn cute.

sandcastle competitions

then this awful storm rolled in. . .

then these clouds started forming gentle funnels. . . and we
ran as fast as we could to our cars.

-A.H.

A day at the zoo.

This past Friday my dear, long-time friend Ashley took me to the zoo. It was a sunny day, and I need a tan. Plus, I knew there'd be baby animals, and anyone that even just partially knows me knows that baby animals make me go wild (no, this is not pregnancy hormones). 

Of course there were baby animals! It's springtime and they're all over the place. So, in honor of Ashley and her ardor for albums containing only animals, I am going to post a mini album of just animals. 

[insert wicked laugh here].

camels store fat, not water in their humps.
We all learn something new every day.

sloths grow algae on their coats.
 Siick.

a baby wallaby chilling with its mother.
I was seriously surprised at how big it looks
in this picture-- it seemed so tiny in person.

and a baby koala that looks like Yoda.

one day Peter and I hope to have a pet tiger.
Seriously. Like Raja.

this little guy was the star of the zoo. Born just a few months ago, he was
flying around his exhibit like he had been climbing and swinging
for years.
Not to mention he is plain adorable.

this was some type of hanging grass in the
rainforest.
Also, a hard-to-see peek at an
almost-seventeen-weeks belly

my aim was a little off.
And our height difference makes it difficult to snap
pictures. . .especially while moving.
But, doesn't Ashley look cute?

success!

How we named our boys.

There is a story that goes with their names, or at least people inspiring them, method behind the madness, if you will.

We wanted Hugh and Leif to have special names, names that warranted a story, and a good one too. I've never told it, though I promised I would, so I am at least writing it out with the intentions of sharing it soon. 

Peter and I like odd names, strange names that are rarely heard. And if they are known, we like to give them a unique twist. And nearly always at least one part of our children's names can be linked back to some strong, inspirational person. 

Leif (as in Leif Nicholas) I simply loved, and Taylor (as in Hugh Taylor) is a family name on my dad's side (as well as his own middle name). Hugh has a story, and Nicholas is my oldest brother's name, but there's a story for that, too.

It took us nearly a week to decide names for the boys. Naming children is a daunting task-- especially when you can't see their faces. And then we resumed our reading on these two awe-inspiring men, and choosing names became not so dismaying.

It was when I was pregnant that Peter first introduced me to two of the three Oxford Martyrs, Hugh Latimer and his valiant comrade, Nicholas Ridley.

Ridley was a Bishop of London, hated for his Reformed teaching and support of Lady Jane Grey. In 1547 he became Bishop of Rochester and quickly after coming to office demanded that the altars in the churches be torn down and replaced by tables to celebrate the Lord's Supper. When Edward IV became sick, it was Ridley who fought for Jane Grey to succeed. But support from the council declined for Jane to take the throne, and upon Mary's succession, she quickly had Ridley imprisoned.

Hugh Latimer was a courageous Reformer that continued William Tyndale's fight to have the Bible translated into English. He publicly preached the need for not only the New Testament, but the entire Scriptures, to be translated, but in 1555, Bloody Mary had her way with him also and ordered Latimer, as well as Nicholas Ridley to be burnt at the stake.

While the fires consumed them, Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, that I trust shall never be put out." 

And so these men's stories filled us with awe. I was ashamed to had never heard of them before. But we took names we liked, that we had been planning to use for those children, and knitted these faithful men into our story. 

This is one that should be told, and why I haven't before, I don't exactly know.

"It may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children's days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air, and so shall come down with Him again." -Hugh Latimer

-A.H.

16 weeks

A little over 16 weeks now, and my uterus is measuring 21 weeks. That explains the pain I'm in.


These munchkins are going to double their size in the next couple of weeks, and their little hearts are currently pumping 25 quarts of blood daily!

Our midwife is anticipating and hoping for close to 5 pounders that will go home with us right away, and that's been our prayer as well. 5 pounds sounds just right (imagine carrying 10 pounds of pure baby, plus other. . . stuff!).

I had been thinking they were the size of avocados (Peter thinks it's creepy that I compare them to fruit. . .), thanks to The Bump, but was happy to learn at our appointment today that they are even bigger than that!

Speaking of appointment, I'm going to get all picture crazy on you now. I'll do my best at explaining these few, for those of you that, like me, can't read an ultrasound picture to save your life (unless it's explained), but it was hard to get and really good looking shots because they wouldn't stop moving.

Again, sorry for the distortion. They looked bad when I transferred them to the computer, and on here they look even worse.

meet Baby B.
Head on right.

and meet Baby B's teeny feet (far left).
In the middle on an angle you can see the membrane, now fairly thin looking,
separating the two.

My favorite picture today, here's Baby A.
This one seems to be the bully of the two and kept
jumping to head-butt its sibling. . . first borns.

Here's a little glimpse of what they look like now:

And lastly, a 16 week picture (forget my ridiculous face, please):

We find out what they are in 2 weeks. Yes, TWO WEEKS. But, who's counting? That will also mark the almost-half-way point for us (if we make it all the way. . .highly unlikely). We have pretty confident gender guesses, but only time will tell. As a reminder (what is this, middle school?), stay tuned for the gender announcement shots by the one and only Ashley Kate.

And now, you knew it was coming. I haven't done this in a month or so, so I'll add it now.

How far along? 16 weeks (plus a couple days).

Total weight gain/loss: +3 from last appointment. 

Maternity clothes? not entirely. I'm still most comfortable in my regular shirts, though my maternity pants are a must.

Stretch marks? no.

Sleep: it has gotten much better, praise God. I've been waking up occasionally with aches and cramps, but what else can I expect with a body changing so quickly?

Best moment this week: probably seeing them again, bouncing around and kicking, punching and head-butting each other, and being reassured that everything looks more than great.

Movement: more and more pronounced, but still no kicking or punching. I was told by my midwife to expect those really soon.

Cravings: nothing really, and I am grateful for that, or at least that it's not something horribly unhealthy. 

Gender guesses: both of us: one girl, one boy (in that order).

Labor Signs: no.

Belly Button in or out? innie, but oh my goodness it seriously looks like it's about to pop completely! Peter even noticed one day without me ever saying anything to him. . .

What I miss: nothing really right now, probably because I'm not craving wine or a long island iced tea. :)

What I am looking forward to: uh, 2 weeks, for sure.

Weekly Wisdom: ?

Milestones: making it this far into the second trimester, scheduling the anatomy ultrasound, finally looking pregnant. . .

Other:  heartbeats today- 155 and 132. Hmm. . .

Off to read Anna Karenina and take a nap . . .

Peace & love,

-A.H.