Bryan Avenue

Welcome to week 16

Week 16 photo coming soon. I still need to take it. I don't think a couple of days will matter much...actually, I take that back.

According to babycenter.com, they are 4.5 inches long. The size of an avocado. Now I'm craving guacamole.

I had my 15 week appointment with my mid-wife on Tuesday. I was actually 15w4d to be exact. Heart rates were 150 and 155. I'm calling two boys if you go by heart rate, which some people swear by and others roll their eyes at. I swear I roll my eyes.

Here's the shocker. My midwife measured my uterus or fundal height or something like that, and happily announced "18!" I sat up abruptly and said, "What do you mean by 18?!?" with much surprise and mortification in my voice. Yes, I'm measuring 18 weeks. Cool. As I said, it was a shocker to me because I have people telling me all the time I'm not even showing (liars) and I don't feel that I'm THAT big. I mean, I look like someone who's had one too many Frosty's, or keggers, or Timbits, or all of the above. She reminded me several times that there are two babies in there. Something I have to be reminded of.

The good shock was I only gained 3 lbs since my last appointment AND that includes Christmas. I know the serious weight gain is fast approaching, and that's okay. I want big babies. Big, healthy babies. So if it means I need to eat the entire pint of Ben & Jerry's, I'll do it for them.

And on the eve of the 16th week, I felt Bobbi-Jo doing the two-step. It was a comforting feeling. And it means that B is going to be the over-achiever. Mark my words. A is the slacker, but only by a couple of days as I felt it move earlier today. Ah, I love that feeling. And I'm putting it in writing for a few weeks from now when I start complaining about how much they move.

Okay, I'm off to make guacamole if anyone wants to come over and join me.

Cohen turns 2!

Our little miracle turned two while we were in Canada for Christmas. Of course I knew that I wanted my sister H to do the cake...there is no other option. We started talking about it about a month in advance and I sent her some images of what I wanted. Since little c is still obsessed with elephants and I'm still obsessed with red and turquoise as a stunning combo, the following was created:
It was better than I had imagined. And it tasted AMAZING! She makes all of her cakes from scratch and did a lighter chocolate cake with a raspberry buttercream filling (with fresh raspberries). Fortunately it was large enough to feed the crowd that came to celebrate with us with a few pieces leftover.

Check out my sisters blog where she showcases all of her beautiful and delicious cakes.

Happy Birthday to Cohen! (who really enjoys singing the birthday song all.the.time.)

Big changes are afoot at Hancock Manor

I've enjoyed calling Christian, Cohen and myself the Hancock Three over the last two years.

But that's all going to change in a few months.

I'd love to say we're becoming the Hancock Four, but we're not.

Try the Hancock Five on for size.

Yes, we're expecting twins on July 8th.

After three attempts up at the fertility clinic, doing exactly the same thing we did when we conceived Cohen, we discovered we were pregnant at the end of October. On November 15 at 4:40 p.m. we saw not 1 but 2 embryos. I started laughing hysterically while Big C put his head in his hands, saying "Oh no, oh no, oh no."

Since then, we've had opportunity to see them on two separate occasions. They are measuring a day apart but that's not out of the norm, I think--I forgot to ask. The fertility doctor was pretty sure they were fraternal since I had two follicles that released eggs. And the sonographer confirmed it. Which means we could have a boy and a girl. Not out of the realm of possibility, but with my sister's and my luck, I'm thinking there are two boys in there. We'll just have to wait and see when they're born. That's right, we're leaving it a surprise for everyone, including ourselves. There's nothing like waiting the entire time and having your husband announce what it is you've been carrying all these months. My eyes are welling up just remembering him announcing that Cohen was a boy.

When you find out you're having a baby, at least for me, it was so very exciting. No other emotion entered into the equation. But let me tell you something, when you find out you're expecting twins, there are other emotions that come into play, like fear. BIG TIME! I especially know what it's going to be like as I experienced it first-hand with my sister when she had twins. And a good friend of mine also had them. I'm just glad I'm surrounded by so much experience and wisdom. And I'm not going into this alone. I've already met someone at little c's "school" who's expecting two boys a couple of months before Thing 1 & Thing 2 come along. And I've also been told there's someone at church expecting them too. Should be fun, right?!?

I'm excited to say that I've already got friends and family informing me they are flying in to come help. I think I'll have about 8 weeks of help lined up with people coming from Canada, Idaho, Montana, California, and hopefully my friend who had quadruplets in Kansas. I have a feeling twins would be really easy for her.

It's been a lot of fun sharing our news with people. It took my sister (the one with twins) 10 minutes to believe that I was carrying two. It took my other sister a little less time to believe me. I guess when you're the prankster in the family, it's hard to believe someone when they share such news. Most people's reactions have been great, but a couple of people have shown more concern than happiness. Oh well, I'm not letting it get to me. Like I said, I know it's going to be really hard, for a really long time. But I also know it's going to be twice as rewarding.

I always wanted three kids but when we found out we were pregnant, Big C said "We've got our two, so you'd better enjoy this because we're not doing this again." I was sad but I knew he was right. He only wanted two and I couldn't change his mind. Let's just say it's taking him a little bit more time to adjust to the idea of having three kids rather than his perfect two. And it does mean we need a bigger vehicle. Either the Jetta or the Outback have got to go (my vote is for the Outback since I heart my Jetta). C also thought we'd need to move to a bigger house, but looking for a house, worrying about financing, packing, moving, and unpacking while pregnant with twins just isn't my idea of fun. So for now, Bryan Avenue will remain home. But when they start to get mobile, we'll probably have to start the search for something bigger than our current 1600 square feet.

There's so much more I want to share, but I'll save it for later posts. Will I post belly shots like I did with Cohen? Absolutely. Stay tuned for the comedy that will be my belly. In the meantime, meet Alex and Bobby-Jo. (Until we come up with better non-gender specific names...I'll take any recommendations you might have) They were the size of a kumquat (according to babycenter.com) when the paparazzi showed up in Maternal Fetal Medicine at St. Marks.

Dear Cohen

Wow! You're two! Even though you think you're seven, for every time we ask you how old you are you say "I be 7! Noooooo, I be 2!" and you hold up 5 fingers.

You are still my most favourite thing in this entire world. I look forward to hearing you turn on your safari music thing in your crib every morning and seeing you with your ridiculous bed head, telling me that you dreamed about big, loud elephants and crocodiles that say SNAP. And I love spending evenings with you as you force me to sing every song ever written or read all of your books to you.

You are not short on words and you love to talk, talk, talk. In fact, you do not like it very much when Daddy & Mommy are having a conversation because you tell us to stop talking. We are teaching you to say "Excuse me Mommy & Daddy" but it's not working...yet. You are very clear in your communication and when we were home in Canada at Christmas, everyone said how well you spoke for a two year old. Even Nana said she'd never met a two year old that spoke so much or so clearly. That's our Cohey Bear.

Sleep is still your strong suit. You continue to get close to 12 hours at night, 2 hours during the day when you're at "school", and 3-3.5 hours at home on the weekends. You really take after your Mommy and that makes me so happy. You still will not sleep in your carseat, especially during a 1.5 hour drive home at 10:00 at night from Auntie Lou & Uncle Reid's house. But I think we can overlook that.

Your favourite friends are Lucy Goosey, Reesey Piecey, Milo & Alicia, Benton & Charlotte, and Bean (Charley from next door). You also love to see Emma at church and jump off the stairs to show off for her. And how you adore all of your cousins. I just wish we lived closer so you could see them more than twice a year.

You still think people are food and continue to bite them, but not as much. The number of incident reports at "school" have gone down significantly. For awhile I thought you were a vampire. Now I'm convinced you're a normal toddler trying out boundaries and getting a taste for human flesh.

You have a minor addiction for Caillou, the bald, Canadian 4 year old cartoon character. When you watch Caillou, the house could be burning down around you and you wouldn't notice. Daddy and I wonder what it is about Caillou that you love so much, cause we find him kind of annoying.

You can count to ten, even though you skip 4 and 5. You can say your ABCs to E. Colours are easy peasy for you. And you can even spell your name, although you sometimes forget the "E."

Your personality is very sweet and sometimes funny. You have Daddy and me laughing out loud many times a day. We especially like how you dance when we ask you to shake your booty. But I'd be remiss to not mention that you can scowl better than any 2 year old.

Food is still your best friend. You've started eating lettuce and you now like cucumber. I can't think of anything you won't eat. You especially love blue cheese, pickles, olives, and chevre and you try everything we offer you. We lucked out when it came to our little eater.

Your most favourite thing to do right now is to run naked. You ask every morning and every evening to run naked, so we take off all your clothes and you run around buck naked for a few minutes, until you pee on something. Will you be the child in the neighbourhood this summer who can't keep his clothes on?

We love spending time with you Cohen, whether it's at the zoo (your favourite), reading, playing outside, singing numerous songs, colouring, playing with Play Do, or building a pillow fort.

I will always be your biggest fan and I love you more and more each day. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Love, Mommy xo
Typical Cohen with cousin Sammy.