Keeping Up With The Darlings

Monday, May 26, 2008

24 week Belly Photo and A Conversation with the Pups

This is the 24 week belly shot...Baby Mamma Meghan has now lost sight of her toes....

The dogs have started to take notice of the belly, too, and are sucking up to Mom all they can! Here is what they may be saying in this picture....

Dixie: Hey, Duchess, did you feel that? I think there is something in there!
Duchess: Yeah, I know. It feels like we're about to get bumped from our place as top dogs!
Dixie: Yeah, we better suck up to Mom now before it is too late!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

22 week Ultrasound Pictures

Here are the latest ultrasound photos....it's hard to see much (kind of like looking at a cloud and making up an image) since they are just head shots (probably not good enough to use for modeling interviews yet).

The picture below is of the little boy....he weighs 1 lb, 2 ounces. The top of his head is on the right side of the photo and he is looking up, and you can see his hands above his little nose. You can also see his eye.

The photos below are of the little girl...she weighs 15 ounces. The top of her head is on the left side of the photos and she is looking up. You can kind of see her nose and her lips.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Meghan's belly at 21 weeks....yesterday, we took this picture...and we also felt the first kicks and punches on the outside of the belly! The little Darlings are quite active in there, fighting with each other and hitting Meghan's belly! It felt pretty cool feeling the baby's for the first time.

Red Sox Games

We went to two Red Sox games last week, both of which were played in the Arctic Circle (not Fenway Park, because why would it be 40 degrees with a bitter wind in Boston in May!) On April 29, using the "my good friend is really pregnant and her feet hurt" line scored 4 of us an upgrade from standing room tickets to a table in the the Right Field Roof deck. On May 3, Chele, Rich and Christina came up from DC and joined us for the view from the 3rd Base Pavilion Standing Room...luckily the cold weather scared people away and we scored seats halfway through the game. When is it going to get warm in Boston????

Saturday, April 26, 2008

The "Baby Moon"

Since Meghan is not allowed to fly after 20 weeks (with twins they cut off airplane travel much earlier), we went on our last trip together, alone, as a couple, before the arrival of the babies. We decided to get away from the cold and the looooong Boston winter (which tends to last until May) and go to Miami and the Florida Keys for 5 days. We spent 2 days in Miami and 3 days on Marathon Key, lazing away most of the time sitting on the beach or next to the pool at the hotel. It was a nice, warm, relaxing vacation! Here are some photos.

Self-portrait!

Sunset on the keys....

Sunset on the keys...Meghan almost doesn't look preggers!

Here lizard, lizard, lizard...

Welcome to South Beach, Miami...

The seven mile bridge in the keys....you can see our shadows in the water!

The incredible expanding belly...

Here are some photos of the incredible expanding belly!

February 17, 2008 (~ 10 weeks) - The "before" photo...

March 16, 2008 (~ 14 weeks) - Relatively small growth at the beginning....

April 1, 2008 (~ 17 weeks) - And then....bang! The belly makes itself known...

April 8, 2008 (~ 18 weeks) - ...and grows with a vengeance!

April 24, 2008 (~ 19.5 weeks) - The most recent photo...

Perfect Family Planning!

This is a photo of the "Right Baby", who we now know is a little boy.

This is a photo of the "Left Baby", who we now know is a little girl.

So one of each...perfect family planning!!

"They Said It..."

Cameron: "Dad, it's raining so hard since the clouds really needed to go pee!" (Cameron staring at the pouring rain and explaining the science of rain, May 2013)

Isabel: "Daddy, get my book." Jason reply "Isabel, what is the magic word?" Isabel response "Bippity-boppity-boo!" (Isabel responding to Jason's request for the magic word, looking for Please, April 2013)

Isabel: "Daddy, did Lucas get the bath sanitizer on his head?" (Isabel asking about the baptism, April 2013)

Cameron: "Did you turn the pacifier on?" (referring to the humidifier, Feb 2013)

Cameron: "Dad, did you put air conditioner in Isabel's hair?" (asking about conditioner in the bath, Feb 2013)

Isabel: "Look at all of the wedding fishes!" (looking at the white fish as Pet Smart, Feb 2013)

Cameron: "I gave Duchess a treat because she is swell" (swell? Feb 2013)

Cameron: "Dad, what's that chomping thing that chomps things out of here?" (Cameron asking for me to get the needle nosed pliers to get a toy out of one of his trucks, December 2012)

Cameron: "When I was a baby, I had to go to the dentist to get new teeth!" (not quite understanding what the dentist does, Nov 2012) followed up with "If I put my chipped tooth under the pillow, the tooth fairy will come!" (also not understanding the job of a tooth fairy, after he fell on his face and chipped his tooth, Nov 2012).

Isabel while jumping on the bed: Jason asked "Are you guys listening to anything I am saying?" Isabel replies "Nope!" (at least she is honest, Oct 2012)

Cameron: "Mommy, I need to give my cough back to the kids at school." Meghan reply "No, we don't want to give it back to the kids, we just need to get rid of it." Cameron response "Yeah, we need to throw it in the trash!" (Oct 2012)

Isabel: "Cameron, I stunk it up in the bathroom! Do you want to come in?" (Isabel sharing the news, Oct 2012)

Isabel: "Daddy, are you on a plane?" Jason reply "No, I'm in Minnesota." Isabel response "Are you drinkin' soda?" (conversation while Jason was on a business trip to Minnesota, August 2012)

Cameron : "Come on Isabel, let's get the telescope." (referring to the play stethescope in their pet hospital, June 2012).

Cameron: In response to Jason asking if he needed to go poop "No, I am just scratching my butt because it itches." (Obviously. July 4, 2012)

Isabel: "Daddy, I can see better when my eyes are open." (Isabel explaining some newly learned wisdom, April 17, 2012)

Cameron: "Mommy, it looks like a pancake." (Cameron looking in the toilet and commenting on the appearance of his poop...April 15, 2012)

Cameron: "Mommy, when we have the baby, I am going to teach him how to spit!" Mommy: "Really? What do you mean?" Cameron, "I am going to teach him how to spit when he brushes his teeth!" (April 14, 2012)

Isabel and Cameron: In response to my request for Isabel to try a black olive "I don't like olives." After which Cameron adds "I don't like olives either. It looks like a tire." (eating dinner at Cici's...March 2012)

Isabel: When Meghan told her that she has a baby boy in her belly, Isabel replied "And Daddy has a baby girl in his belly!" (at dinner, March 2012)

Isabel: In response to Isabel's preschool teacher asking her if mommy had a baby in her belly, Isabel replied "And Daddy has a baby in his belly too. It's getting bigger." (At preschool...March 2012)

Cameron: "Mommy, I am going to peel the girl off you and put on a boy." (explaining how he did not want his mommy to be a girl anymore...March 2012)

Cameron: "Dad can you open the window? I need to throw my booger out." (while on a car ride...Feb 2012)

Cameron: "Dad, how about we go outside and play a little bit of ball." (while holding his little baseball bat, making his Dad proud of his future Red Sox player....Dec 2011).

Cameron: "Mommy, you're a goofball...and grandpa is a hockey puck!" (Repeating some name calling, terms of affection among Meghan's family! Dec 2011)

Isabel: "Mommy, I want to help blow your candles off!" (commenting on Meghan's birthday cake...Dec 8 2011).

Cameron: "(laughing) Mommy, did you hear that? That was my bum laughing at you!" (Cameron while sitting on the toilet, after passing some gas....Sept 22 2011)

Isabel: "I need Wheat Thins cause it will make my stuffy nose better. (explaining what we should give her Wheat Thins for lunch instead of fruit, etc...Sept 21 2011)

Isabel: "I don't need to poop. It's not ready yet." (no explanation needed, Sept 20 2011)

Isabel: "Chicken nuggets!" (Isabel's response when asked to name the animal, looking at a group of small chickens, Sept 17 2011)

Isabel: "I don't want to see yours back, or yours ears, or yours arms." (Isabel while sitting on the potty, telling Mommy that she wants her privacy).

Cameron: "Are we there yet?" (Aug 26 2011 on the way to the NC mountains)

Isabel: "Daddy, backpack ride!" (asking for her version of a piggy-back ride)

Cameron: "Blow on it!" (in response to us telling Cameron that the fireplace is hot and not to touch it)

Cameron (April 3 2011): "I pulled my boo-boo off." (Cameron telling us that he pulled his scab off...)

Cameron (April 3, 2011): "I eat mine booger!" (Cameron proudly exclaiming his new skill)

Cameron (July 13, 2011): "Daddy, put my juice in the elevator...to keep it cold!" (or maybe the refrigerator?)

Cameron (July 26, 2011): "I almost broke myself!" (after falling off the chair onto the floor)

By the Numbers

Last Update: September 19, 2011

Born on Date (babies' birthday, not what is written on the side of a Budweiser bottle): August 5, 2008

Cameron James Darling: Born 2:29 pm, 5 lbs 3 oz, 18.7 inches

Isabel Clare Darling: Born 2:31 pm, 4 lbs 12 oz, 17.3 inches

Cameron's discharge date from the NICU: August 30, 2008 Number of days in the NICU for Cameron: 25

Isabel's discharge date from the NICU: August 31, 2008

Number of days in the NICU for Isabel: 26

Cameron's latest weight: 32 lbs 8 oz (Aug 30 2011)

Isabel's latest weight: 25 lbs 2 oz (Aug 30 2011)