Great Grandma with the newest grandbaby

This is probably

the nicest look Ruby has ever given Aiden. It may be the only nice look Ruby has ever given Aiden. Amazing that it occurred when he sat on her lap.

"Lots of Grandmas!"

Great grandmas:
The great grandmas, and the grandparents with all the grandkids:

Two happy girls

Ruby was sick,

Cora was frozen, I guess. Whatever it was, they weren't my normal children. They laid there and watched multiple movies. That's not remotely normal behavior for my children.

Hats of any sort

are popular at this house.

Boy or Girl?

We didn't find out if we're having a boy or girl, much to Ray's chagrin. So when I came across a random article about Old Wives Tales for how to tell the baby's gender, I decided to see how it came out.

I'm carrying high, so it must be a girl.
But, the extra weight is out front, so it must be a boy.
The ring test says it's a girl (or a boy, depending on which interpretation you find),
But the heart rate would indicate a boy (just barely).
I don't really have a lot of cravings, but I definitely prefer sweet over sour, so it's a girl.
My mom has gray hair, so OBVIOUSLY it must be a boy (really, where do people come up with some of these?). But if she dyes her hair tomorrow, it will turn into a girl.
But I had morning sickness, it's a girl.
My hands are dry, it must be a boy (never mind that it is winter).
My feet aren't extra cold, it's a girl.
But I've had a lot of headaches, so it is a boy.
I don't think my nose is spreading, or that my leg hair is growing faster than usual, and I haven't noticed any extra weight gain on Ray, so those would indicate a girl.
But I have been looking AMAZING during pregnancy, so it must be a boy. (There may be some sarcasm in that statement.)
I don't eat the heel of a loaf of bread, it's a girl. (I never eat the heel of the bread, so I guess I will always have girls.)
As for the direction my pillow faces, what does that mean? and how does it have anything to do with the gender of my baby? Also, I think it would be considered west, not north or south.
I have definitely been moodier than usual, but of course this has nothing to do with not getting enough sleep and certainly means I'm having a girl.
But my hair is shinier, so it's a boy.
The key test would indicate a girl.
I don't like to put on make-up or get dressed up, it's a boy (this would indicate that I should always have boys).
I'm not going to try the Drain-O test. Or the garlic test.
The Chinese say it's going to be a girl.
But the Mayans say it's a boy.

That's all I'm going to comment on, although there are plenty more out there. I'd say we have about a 50% chance it's a boy and a 50% chance it's a girl. Funny.

I'm sure Ray would say the heart rate and the headaches mean more than where it's carried or what I crave. I'm also guessing he'll think the Mayans are much smarter than the Chinese. But in that case, what does it matter? The world is going to end in 2012 anyway. :)

The girls have advanced

to fixing their own hair:and reading books about the potty, which doesn't seem to help, in case you were wondering.

Better late than never?

We did celebrate Christmas here, way back in December. Here are a few pics:
Ray's parents and brother came up. I didn't get very many pictures of them.

I am one of those mean parents who make their children eat breakfast and get dressed before diving into presents. Here the girls were finally getting to their stockings:
They got a tent from Grandpa and Grandma. They love it. They even slept in it one night (in their bedroom):

Most of their loot:

In case you didn't know...

I'm pregnant.

Since I had a c-section with the girls, I have to have one again. While discussing with the doctor when to schedule said c-section I opted for 38+ weeks rather than the 39+ weeks he was suggesting. As I tried to explain to him, my family history would indicate that labor may be early for me. I don't think he listened to anything I said, he was too busy trying to tell me that there is absolutely no good reason to schedule a c-section that early. Then he said, "Discomfort is not a good reason." I was confused. I had said nothing about discomfort. I responded with, "I don't really want to go through labor if you're going to cut me open anyway."

Later I was thinking about this and realized why discomfort had never even crossed my mind. Let me try to illustrate this:












The picture on the left is Meg at ~35 weeks pregnant with twins. The picture on the right is Meg at ~35 weeks pregnant with one. (I very intentionally wore the same outfit, as I think it shows the difference so well.) For some reason I don't feel like I am all that close to delivery, although I am. In fact, if this baby came as early as the girls, it would show up in less than a week. But I can still bend my legs, I don't have a double chin, I can walk up and down the stairs without pain, I can still tie my shoes, I can still see my shoes when they are on my feet, I haven't had to expand the waist on my maternity overalls, I can still wear my wedding band, etc. Discomfort? I don't love being pregnant by any means, but discomfort had not crossed my mind.

Cora's Haircut

She didn't choose to cut it close enough to the front to make bangs. At least with her hair all down it's not really noticeable:

Is it just me?

Am I really bad at potty training? Or is it my children? Are they just too obstinate to do things my way and on my time schedule? (I don't know where they could have gotten a trait like that.) Or is it everyone else? Do other people expect their "fully potty-trained" children to have accidents regularly for the next year after becoming "fully potty-trained"? Have I somewhere missed that this is the true definition? Just wondering.

And...

Cora had her first haircut today. Thanks to herself. No pictures yet. I think it's hide-able, so I'm probably not going to do much about it.