The Schwind Family Blog

Iphone Pictures, Part 2

2012-01-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would close out 2011 by adding another post of pictures off my iphone. These pictures pick up where my last post left off, so there are some 'old' pictures as well (old, of course, in baby time means months!).

This was the first time June reached out to touch something...it looks like she is practicing her boxing moves!

Aunt Misti got this 'thing' for her...haha. It was a little too tight. Her face says it all.

Jude just laughs at the dogs for no reason.

Jude loves Sophie the Giraffe.

One of my favorite pictures of the chunk! (~5 months)

Oh Joy! (~5months)

Cool picture of a crop duster circling the house. Just threw it in for fun ;)

One of the many sleeping poses I've HAD to take a picture of.

A few weeks before June learned how to sit up on her own, she would sit there like this. LOL!

The dog bowls now have to be picked up any time they enter the kitchen.

Not only do they steal pacifiers from each other, but they also take them from their Cabbage Patch Dolls! Now that is a determined face on June!

Jude gansgsta rapping.

Yes, he is asleep like this.

Rudi barking at June asking her to play.

I can not look at this picture without laughing. The camera caught Jude with a funny face.

This is the look on June when she wants something... in this case, it's my phone...

...but she settled with a sock instead. HAHAHA!

My sweet babies (7 months old)

If it's not one, it's the other!

June being goofy. Other way around!

Jude being goofy. No, not that way!

June chillaxin'

They just LOVE their cousin Mackenzie. Everytime she comes around, they just stare.

Snotty-nosed youngin' spotted the phone again!

My sweet baby boy exhausted on Christmas morning.

Both are doing the 'I'm about to sit up' pose.

These next three pictures need to be seen in unison. Typical playtime now in the Schwind household.

Fastest way to the toy...

...may not be the safest ;)

Sometimes he acts like his crib is a jail cell :)

Hope you enjoyed. My phone is running out of space! Maybe I shouldn't have had so many cute children ;)

Cuteness overload!

2012-01-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

You were warned!

Happy 8-month birthday!!!

2012-01-03T06:42:00.000-08:00

It's official! They are 2/3rds of a year old! Wow! Happy 8-month birthday!

June and Jude Schwind (wonder which one is which? j/k)

June "Chubby Cheeks" Schwind

Estimated weight*: ~22lbs

Estimated length*: 27 inches

Jude "Stage 5 Clinger" Schwind

Estimated weight*: ~22lbs

Estimated length*: 29 inches

Let's see, milestones...they can both pull up. We discovered this as they like to crawl all over Pops to get his hat during his early morning visits. Just a few days ago, we discovered Jude can pat-a-cake all by himself. I have the most adorable video I will have to post later. June has learn the art of sitting up all by herself. In fact, I went in to her bedroom one day because I could tell she wasn't asleep yet and found her sitting up in her crib with a big smile on her face. She still does it sparingly, but it is happening a lot more now. The main thing is that they definitely want to hang all over me ALL the time. I'm sure it doesn't help that I am staying at home with them either. I'm sure this is a phase, but it feels like it may last well into the teenage years (hah!). And when they whine or cry, I just pick them up. And I mean "THEM" because it's usually both requiring my attention at the same time. Some people call me a "pushover," but it's hard to deny such cute faces. It's not all fun and games though, staying at home with these youngins 'ain't no joke' (excuse the grammar). They require 'round the clock tending to which cuts into my OCD habits around the house. On days where their naps are short, it gets a little tense in the Schwind household! Nonetheless, I am fortunate to work from home on most days, so I can be with them every step of the way :)

*We didn't go to the doctor this month, so Dad and I did the measurements ourselves. I would not put stock into any of these numbers as each time we did it, we got a different number. Either way though, they are growing!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

At Christmas last year, I was 20 weeks pregnant with June and Jude. At that time, I couldn't believe that by Christmas 2011, we would have two 7-month old munchkins crawling around. Well the time came and they were definitely into everything. As expected, they loved the wrapping paper/boxes/bags more often than the actual gifts. For this very reason, John and I really didn't get them too much for this Christmas. So many people were more than generous though, so June and Jude got plenty of cool, new toys to play with. The babies got their 2nd cold at Christmas as well which was/is a bummer (they're still not over it) since they had one at Thanksgiving too. We had Christmas with my dad's side of the family, my mom's side of the family, my immediate family, and then just us, so here are a few pictures of all the festivities. Unfortunately, I didn't get as many pictures of all the get-togethers as I would like, so if any of you have pictures, feel free to send them my way!

Grandparents holding babies back from the presents

Babies on the prowl. It's obvious June is starting to outgrow her 12-month old clothes!

John's chosen pose for a picture

Smith Family picture (babies were exhausted, so we'd already left :( )

Jude just got done opening his first piece of camo from Cousins Billy and Kayla!

June opening gifts from the King Family (Misti made these adorable embroidered plush blocks!)

Jude and his new GaTech hoodie from Pops

June's GaTech Elf hat from Pops. How cute is she?!?!

J&J waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve

Playing with their new toys from Nanny. These smart trikes are awesome!

Playing with a bead maze from Santa! Isn't this precious?

Their new toy box from Pops and car seat (about to need to next size up) from Nana and Papa Schwind!

John and his new jacket from Pops

Looking a little rough on Christmas morning, but we had to see what Santa brought!!

Yes, I wore that...Mom surpassed herself this year with the ugly pajamas :)

Beautiful cardinal outside on Christmas morning

Schwind Family at church on Christmas. I look weird because I am holding pacifiers I just yanked out of their mouth behind my back. lol.

Almost too much cuteness for one picture! Jude's hat was a big hit among the men folks at church.

Posing at their Great-Great-Grandma's house for Christmas lunch

J&J's 1st Christmas hats...Too small to go on their heads, so I took a picture of them on the mantle :)

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Schwind Family

2011-12-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

We've been busy at the Schwind household these last couple of weeks, decorating, cooking and celebrating the season! It's June and Jude's first Christmas and I can't be more excited to share in this time with them. Pretty soon after Thanksgiving, John and I brought out the few Christmas decorations we moved from California, but thankfully mom also had some we could borrow as well. One afternoon, Dad, John, the babies and I loaded up two vehicles to drive to a Christmas tree farm to pick out the tree. I'm usually pretty particular about the tree. Sometimes it takes me a while to pick one out, but nothing will make you find one fast like a couple of squirmy babies! Wouldn't it be great to own a Christmas tree farm? Or at least to plant your own trees? I've been trying to come up with ways to make a little money on the side at the farm and this was one of the ideas. That and maybe a pumpkin patch/corn maze :)

Pops chopping down the tree

Loading up the car

Babies' 1st Tree

We decided to put up the tree in the office/sitting room since there really was no other place to do it. In order to do so, we had to move out the couch and coffee table and place them in the guest room (which it now, because of this and the fact that we use it as our 'secret' wrapping room, looks like a disaster zone). This freed up a big area for the babies to play in the middle of the floor. I really didn't want our house to be overtaken by toys (who does?!?!), but it has (in only 7-months!). Regardless, it's been nice to have a designated 'play' area for the babies. I'm even tempted to leave the couch and coffee table packed away for this very reason after Christmas is over. The one downfall right now of having the 'play area' next to the tree is the babies opening the gifts. June is the worst of all. She will hone in on a gift and will not leave it alone for the rest of day until tomorrow when she finds another gift she's interested in destroying.

This year, we did most of our shopping online. While we've saved a lot of time (shopping with twins is not the most relaxing pasttime) and money (no tax! Thanks Amazon!), the UPS, fedex and mailman all hate us. In fact, on the same day, the UPS man said that he wished we lived closer to town if he's going to keep coming out here and the mailman said she's going to stop getting out to deliver packages because Rex is getting too rowdy for her. Oh well, 'tis the season while living out in the middle of nowhere! I finally finished sewing/embroidering June and Jude's stocking, so they could join the rest of the ones I made. A couple of long nights and one near meltdown later, they are now proudly hanging on the mantel! I have officially run out of matching fabric though and I can't find it anywhere, so that means no more dogs/kids for us! I mean I can't be expected to redo everyone's stocking again, right?

Our Christmas tree all decorated!

Jude's new play area

Running out of room!

Cheap find at Target.com! Only 17.50!

All of our wonderful Christmas cards :)

June unwrapping the presents

A friend told me about a cool Christmas tradition that she has (thanks Jenica!). She gives her children ornaments with a particular theme each year for Christmas, so that when they move out and get a tree, they have ornaments to fill it with as well! John and I loved the idea and thought that it would be a tradition we would also like to start with June and Jude. We looked at the Hallmark keepsake ornament collection and decided that we wanted to do 'snowmen' themes for the both of them (different snowmen between the both of them though). For their first ornaments, there were cute snowmen in mugs that read 'son' and 'daughter', so we bought them. I also bought a cute little snowmen family that had a mom, dad, son and daughter and a cute 1st in the series partridge in a pear tree ornament from the "12 Days of Christmas" series they came out with this year. I'm going to have to wait 12 years though before I collect them all! I can see how this ornament collecting can get out of hand ;)

June and Jude's 1st ornaments

Snowman Family Ornament

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Of course, no 1st Christmas would be complete without a visit to go see Santa! And I went all out for their first meeting...and by all out I mean I bought extremely cute outfits and EVEN put shoes on my babies (something I'm not known for)! I thought the meeting would be pretty uneventful since they were still so young. If anything, I thought it would be Jude who would be the one to cry because he's been ultra clingy lately. Boy, was I wrong. The babies were fine up until Santa started talking to them. June turned around to see where the voice was coming from, saw him and then melted down. Jude was just as cool as a cucumber. I took a look at the final pictures and they were horrible. HAHA! Since they were charging $30 for the professional photos (yes, highway robbery), they said we could try for a second time. So, we took them up on their offer, calmed her down by walking around the mall and then finally got a good shot. Once Santa started talking though, she melted down again. I can only imagine what next year is going to be like!

Looking up at Santa...

...and then the meltdown! Is it wrong that this picture makes me laugh everytime I look at it? LOL!

The final shot

June and Jude also met another one of Santa's 'helpers' at church after the annual Christmas play. This one wasn't quite as polished (haha!), but he still gave them something to look at :) I downloaded a new app on my iphone (Instagram) which allows me to play around with the pictures, so that's why these look a little different. I like the effect though...

Not so sure about this!

Hey mister, you look funny!

There are more pictures to come from Christmas, so stay tuned!

What we've been up to lately...

2011-12-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

June and Jude have been busy...

...growing like weeds.

...sleeping with daddy.

...playing in the jumperoo.

...making finger paints with Aunt Jo.

...and getting messy!

...bathing in a bigger bathtub!

...splashing with all the toys :)

...farming with Poppa.

...planting our winter garden.

... and watching it grow (it's so much bigger than this now!)

... having fun with family during Thanksgiving (Papa John, Nana and Uncle Anthony came all the way from NY!).

...and, of course, getting lots and lots of sugar from Mom and Dad!

Happy 7-month birthday!

2011-12-03T04:47:00.000-08:00

Happy 7-month birthday to my little elves!

June "Rockin' around the Christmas tree" Schwind

Jude "I want a red rider BB gun for Christmas" Schwind

This month they don't have to go to the doctor for a well baby check-up, so I'm not sure what their weights are. Using our bathroom scale they seem to both be a little over 20lbs! Huge babies! This past month also marked June and Jude's first cold :( The cold was bad for two main reasons, 1: it was hard for them to nurse with a stuffy nose and 2: it was hard for them to sleep with a stuffy nose. Therefore, the Schwind household had two sleep-deprived, hungry, snotty-nosed kids this past week and a half. We are slowly making our way through it though. On to other news, I can confidently say that they are both sitting unsupported. Every now then one might tip over and bump their head, but it hardly phases either one now. June has figured out how to army crawl like her brother, so I now have two extremely mobile babies! Gone are the days when I could put them in one spot and then find them there when I return. In fact, they both can crawl from the living room to the kitchen and then back to the office if there is enough motivation (i.e. a cool toy or they spotted Mom!). Speaking of Mom, they are definitely in the infant stages of separation anxiety. Right now, you can usually distract them when I put them down or hand them off and they forget that they miss me. However, I can see this getting more difficult as time goes by. Before I had kids, I always thought it was so precious to see a kid 'love' his/her mom so much that they didn't want to part from them. Now, with twins, it's a whole different ball game. Having two clingy kids is going to be quite the adventure! I can't believe they are already 7-months old. This age is really such a fun stage. We are sooooo looking forward to their first Christmas! In my spare time (what's that?), I've been trying to think of fun traditions to start with them. If you have any suggestions, let me know :)

Been here long? Why yes! 7-months!

How to Make Pear Preserves/Pear Puree

2011-11-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

Step 1: Get a basket full of yummy pears from your Grandma's tree

Step 2: Skin the pears until your hands turn bright red and hurt

Step 3: Chop them up and pile them high (and ask your Dad for some help!)

Step 4: Pile on a bunch of sugar (~half of a 5lb bag)

Step 5: Stir and cook on low-to-medium heat

Step 6: Cook until desired color/consistency (I don't like mine too dark)

Step 7: Sterilize bottles, fill and admire your awesomeness

Step 8: Make baby food using food processor with leftover pears (slightly cooked, no sugar added!) and freeze in cute containers you bought off of Amazon!

Step 9: Defrost and feed to unsuspecting babies!

Step 10: Laugh at the funny faces of enjoyment :)

Our New House (and dog)

2011-11-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

A few people has asked to see what our new house on the farm looks like, so here it is! It's a beautiful farmhouse that some people estimate was built in the early 1900's. A great family friend used to live here and I have fond memories of visiting him here often. When he passed away, his daughter remodeled the house and rented it to us. It's been such a blessing for our family. The dogs love the wide-open space and John and I finally have our first garden! We live in a rural area and are pretty secluded. The house is the only one on the dirt road, so we get minimal traffic. It sits on a pretty big farm with ponds, pasture and cotton fields. In other words, it's great!

Front view of the house

Side view with one of the barns

Clothesline full of cloth diapers!

Not only did we get an awesome house, we also got an awesome dog too! We like to joke that he came with the house, but we really are lucky to have him. I can only imagine how sad dogs are when their owners pass away :( We've done our best to make him part of the family though. Rudi and him play a lot and he's even got a nice, cozy bed to sleep on outside. He is big and scary-looking, but he really is a sweetheart!

Our new dog, Rex

Sometimes when the babies and I get bored, I put them in the stroller and we go for walks around the property. The bumbleride stroller is great even on these sandy dirt roads. The only bad part about it are the gnats!

View to the right

View to the left

Pond 1

Pond 2

Even though we love this house, we still plan on building our own house in the near future. It's been great living in a house (as opposed to an apartment), so that we can tell what we like and don't like when in comes to our future house. Thankfully, we are pretty much settled in from our September move. Now John and I are both looking to find permanent jobs in the area, so that we can start to move forward with the construction. Hopefully if John can find a good one, I can stay at home with the babies and be the general contractor :)

J and J's Adventure with Solid Foods

2011-11-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

Since they are now 6-months old, it's time to start them on solids. I wasn't really in a rush to do so for two reasons: 1) Since we cloth diaper, the diapers won't be as 'fun' to change anymore 2) It means my babies are growing up! Either way, we started solid foods this past Saturday. We started out slow with just a few spoonfuls of rice cereal blended with breastmilk. On Saturday, Jude took to it better than his sister. Miss June just wanted to play with the spoon. On Sunday, she gobbled up the cereal while Jude pitched a fit. Guess that's just the unpredictable part of having twins. We also gave them a sippy cup to play with and surprisingly they knew exactly what it was for! I think the hardest part will be learning how to tip it up to get something out. In a couple of days, we'll move on to some more yummy foods like pears and carrots! Here are some pictures from Saturday:

Getting ready for our first food!

June's Sippy Cup Try-out

Jude took to it like a champ!

Miss June and her rice cereal

She wanted to feed herself!

Jude and his cereal

Not so sure about this!

Happy half-year birthday!!!

2011-11-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's already been a half year since they joined us! It sounds so cliche to talk about how fast they grow, but they really do! By the time her 6-month birthday rolled around, June had 2 teeth and was rolling from one corner of the room to the next. Exactly on his 6-month birthday, Jude got his first tooth! As far as movement goes, he can army crawl with any GI Joe out there. We've been in the throes of twin teething in the Schwind household, but hopefully that is behind us (for now!) and we can continue to enjoy each others' company. They are really starting to get at that fun age where they are learning and experiencing new things every single day. Tomorrow we are going to try solids for the first time! Will be sure to post pictures of that grand adventure... now on to the stats from the doctor's visit today:

Big 6-month old babies!

June "Roly Poly" Schwind

Height: 26 inches Percentile: 61

Weight: 19lbs 13oz Percentile: 98

Jude "Buddy Boy" Schwind

Height: 27.5 inches Percentile: 83

Weight: 18lbs 14oz Percentile: 74

On a second note, I've also made it 6 months exclusively breastfeeding these monsters!!! It's easily THE.HARDEST.THING.IVE.EVER.DONE. But I am glad to have made it through (and still going)... hopefully this winter will be a bug-free one as my reward!

June and Jude's 1st Halloween

2011-11-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

At the church's Halloween party.

It's a bird? It's a plane? No, it's a Jude Jacket!!!

June Bugs are takin' over!

Mrs. Suzanne was so sweet to make June and Jude a treat bag since they couldn't eat candy
(John and I still took some though ;) )

Sisters, June and Daisy

Brothers, Jude and Rudi (see...we torture dogs and humans alike!)

The drool is where his deadly venom lies!!!

That's not a smile. She will crunch you with her jowls!!!

J and J's art piece entitled "Bugs on a Windshield" Value: Priceless

This swarm is deadly!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

This year's Georgia Tech game

2011-10-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

This October we went to our annual Georgia Tech game at Bobby Dodd stadium when they played Maryland. We had a great time even though I thought Tech was going to blow it in the second half. Here are a few pictures from the day. Unfortunately I didn't take that many.

Two graduates (who happen to be sisters) from Georgia Tech...

...And the dad who helped fund the endeavor (as he reaches for his wallet) :)

The whole group

The Campanile

Georgia Tech Marching Band

John's 1st Tech game!

The Ramblin' Wreck!

Misti reminding us what the good word is!

A special thank you to my Mom, Meema, Aunt Joanne, Suzanne and Mrs. Helen for helping watch the babies while we ran up to Atlanta to see the game!

Our "Camping" Weekend in North Georgia

2011-10-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

Every year since I was little my extended and immediate family would pick a weekend to go camping as a group in North Georgia. Usually it was the bye-week of our high school football team, but since we are all out of school now it's just usually scheduled some time during the fall. I haven't been able to make it for quite a few years since I lived in New York and California, so I was thrilled to finally make it on this year's trip. Something interesting happened over the years though...in the old days we would pack up our tents and sleeping bags and camp out complete with a bonfire and all. A few years later, people started buying campers you could hitch to the back of a truck and camped out in them...Once I left, my family then moved on to cabins in the state park saying they 'just couldn't do without a bathroom anymore.' Now, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, this year our 'camping weekend' include renting out a humongous house complete with a million-dollar view, hot tub, game room and big screen TV. So much for our annual 'camping' trip! We had a blast though. Truthfully, it was great to have all the modern amenities around with two babies.

Family Shot

Game Room (where we spent most of the time and a lot of trash talking went down)

Jude and Poppa. Isn't this precious?

Jude trying to tell Poppa that something is behind him, but he just doesn't know how to say it!

Photo-Op!

Excellent panoramic shot from the house patio, Courtesy of Monica

Me, Misti and Miss June hanging out

On Saturday, we went to the Cornelia Big Red Apple Festival. We walked around and saw all the local artists and their crafts. Afterwards, we ate at Zaxby's. For those of you who don't know, it's a yummy fast food place they don't have out west!

Cornelia Apple Festival

John, Mackenzie and the babies

Mackenzie modeling in front of the GaTech colored car (it was Game Day!)

Jude loves being in the carrier.

One of the best parts about the weekend was all the free hands available to hold June and Jude (they are getting heavy!). John and I took advantage of this time to go on a mini-geocaching adventure in the area. We also took Dad along, so he could experience the thrill of the hunt :) At one of the waypoints, we dropped off Ferb, the geocache we found in Arizona. Thanks to cousin Monica for watching the babies for awhile :)

Dad's first Geocache

I was the GPS navigator!

Later Saturday night, the Edge family (who were also staying at a nearby cabin) came over for a large dinner. It was great to see Will and Holly again. We hadn't seen them since their wedding back in June. Also, the babies were able to play with Cousin Sophie! Family get-togethers are sure to be exciting once these three guys start walking!

Cousin Sophie playing with June and Jude.

Awesome group shot of everyone.

The house where we stayed was not too far from Cleveland, Georgia. Home of the Cabbage Patch Kids. Perhaps you remember them? They were pretty popular baby dolls in the 1980's. I LOVED the Cabbage Patch Kids. I had one that I would carry around with me all the time. Her name was Tilly. I loved this doll! She even showed up in a few professional family portraits over the years :) I might have to scan it in one day and show it to the online world! Anyway, I just HAD to get June and Jude a Cabbage Patch doll to grow up with as well, so we went Sunday on our way back home. It was also my first time seeing the new Babyland General Hospital. It's definitely a major improvement over the older one!

Babyland General Hospital

The New Place

Ready for the adoptions!

My little Cabbage Patch Kids fit right in.

Jude and Jack

June and Jill

Posing with Poppa and Nanny

Poppa bought the babies their very own doll each and I can't wait to see all the adventures they take them on! The trip to North Georgia was great, but in the coming years we will have to take June and Jude on a real camping trip...complete with a tent and all :)

Welcome Home Surprise Party and Church Pantry Party

2011-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

John and I were so happy to finally get settled in and visit with all of our new neighbors :) The Thursday after we got back, the women at church threw us a pantry party! I had never heard of anything like it, but mom said that the women usually throw one for people who are just moving to the community. Basically, everybody brings in stuff to stock the pantry with (and the kitchen, laundry room, etc.) to give to the guest of honor. We received so much awesome stuff and it really saved us a lot of money! When you think about how many things you need to buy when you are starting in a new house, the costs can be astronomical! We received non-perishable foods, household cleaners, laundry baskets, preserves and frozen foods put up from people's summer garden, and much more! Everyone was so generous.

Yummy Icecream Cake!

Ladies at the Church

This next picture, I just have to share because its one of the highlights of us being home. I have a Great Uncle Jute (he really is GREAT!) who, when I cam home to GA with 6-week old babies, refused to hold one of them because they were too small. I mean, he really refused. I even threatened to just throw a baby on his lap, but the sheer look of terror in his face told me that probably wasn't a good idea. Well fast forward to now, come to find out, he is now more than willing to hold a baby (and even two). He decided that they were now big enough that he wouldn't break them, so we promptly handed the both of them to him and quickly snapped this picture before the babies knocked heads. Doesn't that look like the biggest smile ever?!?!

Uncle Jute holding both babies!

The Saturday following the week we got back, the Schwind family was thrown a surprise party by the Kings and my parents! John and I wanted to go to Atlanta that weekend to see the Mets play the Braves (yes, a house divided), but for some reason we could not find ANYONE to go with us. In fact, it seemed that anytime we mentioned about wanting to go, you would have thought that it was the most ridiculous idea. So we ended up not going and thank goodness we didn't. Turns out we had an awesome party to attend. Misti and Geoffrey threw us a great 'country-themed' party complete with southern sayings decor, songs with 'Georgia' playing in the background, and yummy homemade ice cream, cupcakes and cake pops. Misti also made the cutest outfits for Mackenzie, June and Jude to wear. Mackenzie created this awesome banner with a family portrait as well as a card for everyone to sign. Then Mom and Dad grilled some great food making it one of the coolest parties we've been to. Most of my family who lives in the area (and even a few who don't) came to celebrate our homecoming. It was wonderful to see everyone. It felt great knowing that we didn't have to fly back to California after it was over... we were here to stay! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture of everyone, but here are some pictures of the shindig with a few of the attendees.

Welcome Home Banner created by Mackenzie

Close-up of our family portrait.

John and I sans babies.

The yummy food (ice cream bar)and associated decor.

Geoffrey and Misti serving icecream.

Aunt Jo and June (playing patty-cake)

Aunt Tink and Jude

Mackenzie, June and Jude in their special outfits.

Meema, Dad and Mom

Aunt Jo, Dad and Aunt Connie

Great Aunt Quida, Cousin Billy and Kayla

Geoffrey's Mom, Suzanne, and the rest of the Kings

Uncle Tony, Aunt Jo and Uncle Jute

Happy 5-month Birthday!!!

2011-10-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Happy 5-month birthday!

June "Chubby Bunny" Schwind

Jude "Momma's Big Man" Schwind

I don't have any stats for you since they didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but I can tell you they are getting big! Some of the things they started doing this month: June is blowing raspberries like crazy and Jude is reaching for me when he wants to be held by his mom! It really is amazing how time flies and how little babies grow like weeds. To watch another human being (or two) learn how to do such monumental things (grab for objects, laugh, follow you across a room, etc) at such a young age is just awe-inspiring. It really makes you thankful for each day you get to spend with them.

Outfits courtesy of Aunt Misti :)

Schwind Family Roadtrip from California to Georgia

2011-09-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

Well here it is! I finally got around to posting the roadtrip post. I thought that I might do an entire new blog and post at each stop like we did with mine and Orit's roadtrip blog out to California, but I quickly realized that a roadtrip with two dogs, two kids and a husband would not afford me that luxury. So here is our roadtrip in a nutshell. We were both so exhausted by the time it was over that I barely remember some of it. Sorry in advance for the long post!

We left for Georgia on August 31st right after our apartment was inspected and we were done cramming stuff into the car. The night before we slept on an air mattress with a hole in it since all of our furniture and things had been packed up on the moving van the day before. Like all of my past moves, we were packing at the last minute and ended up throwing/giving away a lot of nice things that we just couldn't bring. Before we could leave town though, we took the kids to their 4-month doctor's appointment. I knew the 4-month shots wasn't going to be a pleasant start to our road trip, but I wanted to get them with their current doctor, as well as build up their immunity as much as possible before we hit the road. Thankfully, their 4-month shots went a lot better than their 2-month shots. They still are pretty bad to witness as parents though. You know you are doing what's best for them, but it doesn't make that blood-curdling scream any better!

So after the shots, we hit the road! The arrangement of our things in the car was quite interesting. With 6 bodies and all of the associated stuff (dogs and babies require A LOT of stuff), we quickly ran out of room in the Equinox. In order to have room to pack a small carry-on bag for mine and John's clothes, we had to put the two pack-n-plays in the dogs crate in the back. Thankfully the crate was big enough to accommodate this and the dogs liked it because they could see out the back window!

Jude's boo-boo :(

Even June's big thighs had to take it!

Jude sleeping most of the way...

...as well as Miss June.

This is what we saw in the rear view mirror...two lurking dogs.

On the first night, we stopped in Barstow, California. Our first and final stop in California. We had not plan on going that far, but quickly realized that if we didn't get to the Grand Canyon in two days, we would be there on Labor Day weekend. Something we wanted to avoid at all costs. Since this was a bonafide roadtrip, it was only fitting that we get on the "Mother Road" Route 66 as soon as possible. We would spend the next couple of days on this road or on the interstate running along side it.

Saw a lot of wind turbines along the way.

Route 66 was clearly labeled.

One of the diners we stopped at a long the way.

Mr. Jude and I

Miss June and her daddy

By day two, we arrived at the KOA we were going to stay at for the next two days. We had decided to spend two nights at the Grand Canyon so we wouldn't rush around too much. Our plan was also to stay at the KOA Kabins in order to save money, but we quickly learned it probably wasn't the best idea. The climate in the region was pretty hot during the day and pretty cool at night. This would have been fine for us, but not for the babies. They are use to consistent temperatures from the air conditioner! Anyway, they were pretty fussy the nights that we were there, so we changed our plans to only include hotels from there on out.

Naked in the KOA Kabin to keep cool.

They both called top bunk!

Hanging out one morning on our porch swing

On day three, we were finally able to visit the Grand Canyon. It was such a hot day that we couldn't really get out and explore like we wanted to.The babies get hot so easily in the carseat (which then goes into a stroller) that we didn't want to keep them out for too long. We would just carry them, but we also had the dogs to hold on to. The Grand Canyon was HUGE! It was something I've always wanted to see, so I am glad that we did. If only the babies could remember it! At least we have pictures :) I can only imagine what it was like for people when they first 'discovered' it. We drove the car around to see the canyon at various points. At some point, I wouldn't mind taking a week or so adventure down the Colorado River. Who's with me?

Amazing shot!

John and I

Miss June and I

Jude and John

Later that night, we went back in town to go on our first geocaching adventure and to eat supper. For those of you who don't know about geocaching, you should really check it out (www.geocaching.com). Basically, it's like a scavenger hunt. You are given GPS coordinates to a 'cache' and you have to use your GPS device to find the hidden object. Some are hidden really well and they are pretty hard to find. I can't wait until the babies can join in on the fun :) We tried to find a few in Williams, but failed. We went to dinner at a really cool cafe instead!

One of the oldest diners on Route 66 in Williams, AZ

Elvis photobombed the picture!

That night we stayed again at the KOA cabin and in the morning took off for the Arizona/New Mexico border. When I found out that we would be passing by a town called Winslow, Arizona, I just knew I had to stop! For the few of you who don't know, the town is mentioned in an Eagles song "Takin' it Easy." The town most certainly capitalized on the name drop as well as the fact it was located on route 66.

Capitalizing on the Route 66 fame.

Such a fine site to see!

When we told people that we would be taking a cross-country roadtrip with two babies and two dogs, the responses were varied, but tended to be along the lines of "you're crazy" or "better you than me, etc". The biggest thing was that we kept to a schedule which was quickly developed once we got on the road. We really didn't like to drive longer than 4 hours in a day (which really took us about 6-7 hours due to stops for bathroom breaks, feedings, etc.) for the babies' sake. This is why it took us longer to get from Point A to Point B than it had to.

After Winslow, our next stop was Holbrook. Holbrook was a classic Route 66 town which once the interstate system was born, died down a lot. However, this was the town that the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" was based on, so there was still life left in it. Here we finally found our first geocache and ate at a really good diner as well. In fact, at this diner, we ran into a group of people who flew from Denmark just to drive on Route 66 (from Chicago to LA) on Harley motorcycles. According to them, there is a group who organizes this trip every year. Who knew?!?!

Our first Geocache!!!

Took Ferb, the travel bug, with us.

Wigwams in Holbrook. Look familiar?

Highly recommended cafe in Holbrook

Great food!

Even inspired 'Cars' the movie!

Later that day, we were able to visit the Petrified National Forest and the Painted Desert. The sites were amazing to see. It was even better because we could see most of the park via automobile. This allowed the babies to sleep while we admired the scenery :)

The Petrified Forest.

Ancient drawings!

The Painted Desert.

We stayed that night in Gallup, New Mexico. It's not really known for anything. It's just a small town that was close to the interstate and convenient for us. The following day, we head for Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, a region known for its hot springs. Before we got there, we took a little side trip to a small one building outpost called Villa de Cubero. No trip of mine would be complete if I didn't incorporate Hemingway into it somehow. Rumor had it that he visited this small motel when he was writing Old Man and the Sea. Scholars argue about whether or not its actually true (because many ppl says he was in Cuba at this point), but I had to stop and visit just in case he visited.

In front of the trading post at Villa de Cubero.

Article on the wall about Hemingway.

The hotel where he 'may' have stayed.

Later that day we arrived in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. This town actually renamed itself after an old quiz show in the 1950's! We stayed in a really cool place that was built on natural hot springs (which are purported to have healing properties). Our rooms were actually old Sears-Roebuck cabins that were used to house workers in a dam building project in the 1920's!

Our hotel in Truth or Consequences, NM.

The Hot Springs cabins

Our nice Sears-Roebuck cabins with the babies' beds.

Playing with the babies.

The Hot Springs... see the steam?!?!

On Roadtrip day 6, the first stop was the White Sands National Monument. White Sands was a beautiful place to visit. A major thing to do in the park was buying sleds in the visitor center and sledding through the dunes. We couldn't take part in the sledding, but we did get to drive through the dunes and catch some nice views :) After the park we drove on down to El Paso, Texas.

The Missile Range as well as the site of the first nuclear detonation.

John and the babies in front of the sign.

One of the few family portraits we were able to take.

June wanted to drive, but we wouldn't let her.

John on top of one of the dunes.

Once we got into El Paso, we decided to take a much needed break and just hang out in the hotel room. We all vegged out and caught up in some R&R. We didn't even venture out to eat. We ordered out some lunner (meal between lunch and dinner) and ate it in the room.

First stop in the true South? Krispy Kreme, of course!

Brother and sister playing with one another!

Texas is such a huge state that we had to take a few days to just drive through it. After El-Paso, our next stop was Fort Stockton. There wasn't much to see in the town so we just went to out dinner and decided to try another geocache. John got poked by a few cactus needles as souvenirs, but we were able to find it!

Now Jude is wanting to drive!

Disclaimer: The car wasn't moving or even on. These were just taken at one of our 'breaks'!

Miss June is all smiles :)

Best.toy.invention.ever...

...except.for.the.annoying.frog!

Another highly recommended hole in the wall.

Our 2nd geocache was in the middle of a cactus!

I had really wanted our next stop to be Austin since I had heard great things about it, but the area was covered in wildfires. Therefore, we decided to take the even more southerly route through San Antonio. We were in walking distance to the downtown riverwalk area, so we all went out to check it out and grab some dinner. Walking around town with the twins is always quite the attraction. San Antonio was no different. People were stopping, smiling, and telling us about the twins they know, etc. We ended up going to a German deli for dinner and it was delicious. We decided to work off some of our dinner and went scavenging for another geocache. It was well hidden, but we were successful again. We went back to the hotel afterwards to prepare for our next destination, Galveston.

Yummy deli where we ate dinner.

The babies and I on the riverwalk.

John vying to be 'the most interesting man in the world.'

Our third Geocache!

The next morning we headed down to Galveston Island. John was excited because it was going to be his (and the babies) first time seeing the Gulf. We got there in the early afternoon, so we had time to put on our bathing suits and head to the beach. The beach was conveniently right across the street from our hotel. Later that night we checked out the downtown area. It looked really nice, but everything was closed by the time we got there. Apparently, Galveston is mainly a tourist town and the tourist season ends on Labor Day. It seemed like a cool place to visit, so we may have to travel there again during the busy season.

Too cute not to share. Look at that belly!

Me and the babies!

John introducing June to the Gulf waters.

Downtown Galveston

Oil rig off the coast

The next morning we left Galveston headed for New Orleans. We decided to take an alternate route and catch a ferry across the waters. It was one of the longest stretches through the road trip, but we made it to New Orleans in the late afternoon. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, since we could get all the perks of being an Ambassador. They upgraded our room to a very nice two-room suite and had water and fresh fruit waiting for us in the room. Once we settled in, we took the babies down to Bourbon street. It was really interesting to see the French Quarter. We were not there at night, but we hear that it gets to be pretty crazy. In total, we stayed in New Orleans for two nights. The next day we walked around town, visited a seafood festival and ate a lot of really good food. New Orleans is another place that we hope to visit again one day soon.

Loading onto the ferry.

The babies first ferry ride!

Perks at the hotel.

John and the babies at the music festival.

Had to get some Beignets!

Yummy!

Jude telling June "Hey, take this one last picture and we'll be done!"

Once we left New Orleans, John was starting to not feel so good. We decided to drive to Montgomery, Alabama and then on to Glenwood. I had wanted to make a couple of stops in Montgomery, but by the time we got to the hotel, John was in bed with medicine before I could turn around. Therefore, I have no pictures of the last few legs of our trip :( The next morning we got up and drove to South Georgia via Columbus. Once we arrived to our new home, our first stop was Stinson's BBQ; the local hangout where we met Dad for a welcome home lunch.

We stayed a couple of nights at my parents before the movers brought our stuff over to the new house. I'll post about our new place and all the exciting things that have happened to us since we've settled in. Looking back, I can't believe John and I actually survived the trip. It was an amazing adventure, but our 'adventures' will probably be more memorable once the babies are older and can go more places. Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Sorry it took so long to get them up.

Farewell Davis!

2011-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

A variety of events occurred in the past couple of months that made us decide it was time to leave Davis and move to Georgia. John and I knew that we would always end up in Georgia, but we were not quite sure when it was going to happen. We are both hoping to wrap up our Ph.D. degrees soon, so that fact coupled with not getting paid enough at my job to put two kids through daycare full-time, made the choice to come home to family a lot easier. There are a lot of things about Davis that we will miss, namely the weather and all the different restaurants. We also made a lot of great friends along the way...now if we can only convince them that Georgia is where they should be ;)

One of the many things I'll miss when we move to Georgia will be my Wednesday playdates with Molly and Sarah and their babies. In honor of the last Wednesday, we had a quick portrait session with the babies in their bumbo seats. The pictures came out great thanks to Molly who really should have a second career as a photographer. Here are some of the shots:

The twins L to R: Emma, Aubrey, Jude, June, Isaac and Dominique (Click on the pic to get a better view).

My favorite shot with an artsy twist... should be a bumbo product advertisement, right?

A behind the scenes look at the madness... Sarah and I were jumping around trying to get their attention.

Miss June and one of her many faces :)

On one of the last weekends we were in Davis, Jasmine and Paula (friends from my graduate group) threw us a farewell party. It was great to see a lot of people from my graduate group since the last time I saw them was probably at my baby shower. It was good that they all got to see June and Jude too before we left. John and I soaked up the food, cake and all the hands-free time we had since people were holding the babies.

June with Janie

Jude with Paula

Jasmine, Paula and Jared

Ethan, Molly, Me and John sans babies (hopefully they will be moving to GA soon too!)

Epidemiology Girls with John photobombing it in the back

Yummy Cake!

We started packing relatively early, but no matter how early you start it's still a mad dash at the end. We decided to sell most of our stuff on craigslist and then have a yard sale to get rid of the rest. We ended up making a good chunk of change and it will probably go towards the massive moving costs for all the other odds-n-ends we decided to bring with us. Before we left, there were a lot of people we had to say goodbye to. We were able to have dinner with Bronwyn, Jarrod and Noah. We also hung out with Julie and Dave briefly after Julie passed her qualifying exam (yay!). And thankfully Tara stopped by one day to say goodbye. She is also leaving Davis to start her Ph.D. in Portland! John and I will both be back to California quite a few times before its all over with, so we were not really saying 'goodbye' to everyone.

Tara came to say goodbye.

Jude helping us pack by being cute :)

There were approximately 3 weeks between my maternity leave ending and our move to Georgia where I had to go to work. There was no way we could afford (or even find) a good daycare for the babies during that short time. Luckily a fellow mother of multiple said her sister-n-law, who had twin babysitting experience, was available. She turned out to be the best babysitter ever! You could tell that the babies really enjoyed hanging out with her. I had to take a picture of them together since they will only ever have their very first babysitter once :) We wish she could move to Georgia too!

Jenna, June and Jude (no, a J-name was not a prerequisite for the job!)

So our life as the Schwind family in Davis is coming to a close :( John and I were first in California as an engaged couple and now we leave as proud parents of 2 fur babies and 2 human babies. WOW! Now we embark on a 2-week roadtrip from CA to GA with 2 adults, 2 babies and 2 dogs! More to come...

Oh, and a few random pictures I had on my camera:

Hanging out with Daddy.

Jude discovering his other sister, Daisy.

June saying "Whaaaaat's Up!"

Happy 4-month Birthday: Georgia Tech Style!

2011-09-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that it has been 4 months since June and Jude graced us with their presence?!?! In honor of their 4-month birthday falling on the first Georgia Tech game of the season, it was only appropriate that they show off their white and gold spirit!

Happy 4-month birthday munchkins!

This is the funniest sequence of events (watch Jude as you scroll through...):

June, Buzz and Jude make a great offensive line... they even have their game day face on!

Whoa! Who is this?!?!

Nah, just joking... you're cool!

Now for some 4 month stats. They got their 4 month shots/weigh-in a few days early and here are the amazing results:

June 'Seek and Destroy' Schwind

Height: 24"(50th Percentile)

Weight: 16lbs 4ozs (95th Percentile)

Jude 'Crazy Legs' Schwind

Height: 26" (90th Percentile)

Weight: 15lbs 13ozs (75th Percentile)

And Georgia Tech, in honor of June and Jude's birthday, decided to win today against Western Carolina (63-21). Thank goodness :)

Tummy Time in the Schwind household

2011-08-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Beware! These pictures are too cute :) Tummy time is NOT a fun time in this household, but we make it through with flying colors!

Jude saying "I can't believe you are making me do this!"

A little side shot showing off his awesomeness :)

June saying "Get that camera out of my face!"

Another side-shot action.

Brother and Sister :)

Get out of the picture, Dad!

I know, it's almost too much to bare.

Just when these babies couldn't get any cuter...

2011-08-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

...they have to go and discover one another!

Hey!

I love you brother!

Be still, my heart :)

Our Trip to New York

2011-08-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

John and I took the kiddos to New York in early August so they could meet the Schwind side of the family. The only person that they had met was John's mom back when she came to visit after they were born. Once again we paid the extra money for a non-stop flight to New York since we were bringing Jude and June on as lap babies. Let me tell you...flying with 3-month olds was definitely not as 'delightful' as flying with 6-week olds. June was mainly the one who caused us to be 'those people'. You know, the people with the crying babies that everyone rolls their eyes at and questions why God sat them next to us for a 5+ hour flight. Yes, those people. She did NOT like sitting in an airplane where she couldn't move around or hang out with me as freely as she is used to. The problems were really only right before take-off. Generally once we got up in the air, they both went to sleep and only waked for feedings. But until then, June had the most shrilling cry and once she hits 'THAT' point, nothing will really quiet her down. Looking back, John says 'it's really not as bad as you were making it out to be.' But the look on his face when it was all going down would suggest otherwise. On top of that, we were sitting by people who both declined our pleas to switch seats, so our family could sit together... if karma does exist, I hope they are both at the top of the list.

Once we landed at JFK, we got our rental car and headed for the Jersey shore. John's Uncle has a great place right on the beach, so we thought we would be able to relax a bit by the ocean. It was great that the twins finally got to meet John's dad 'Papa John' and John's brother, Anthony. I hope that they will get to see them more often since we will be moving to the east coast soon.

Hanging with Papa John

June is definitely a Daddy's Girl!

Hanging out with Uncle Anthony!

He's so handsome :)

When I found out we were going to the beach, I had visions of me relaxing in the sand, perhaps reading a book or two and maybe going for a couple of quick dips in the ocean. Totally didn't happen. I guess those days are over for awhile. John and I were really only able to hang out by the ocean for a couple of hours during which June and Jude had complete meltdowns because they really needed to take a nap. Immediately after that, they needed to be fed. In addition to making sure they didn't get fistfuls of sand (which would promptly end up in either mouth or eyes), my beach time was limited and relaxation time was non-existant. Regardless, we got some really awesome pictures of them seeing the ocean for the first time!

Catching some rays with the g-parents.

June and Daddy

Jude and Momma

June getting her beauty sleep.

Jude finally taking a nap.

Even though we only spent a couple of nights at the shore, we were able to get out and see lovely Seaside Heights. We ate at a restaurant called Hemingway's and walked around the boardwalk for a bit. The jersey shore is really a hard place to describe. In some ways, its just as outrageous as the show makes it out to be. There are a lot of 'special' people in 'special' outfits walking around in a scary, fair-like atmosphere. On the other hand, it's a really fun beach place to go when you are looking to get away from the city for awhile.

Eating dinner at a Key West-inspired restaurant.

Jude thought it was funny!

Looking for my favorite Jersey shore personalities :)

Despite the flight, keeping the babies happy was pretty easy. They are really starting to get more active and interactive. It's got to where you can just look at Jude and he will start smiling. This week he really started laughing and it is THE cutest thing you've ever seen. June can get bored easy, so she likes to move around a lot. Their feeding schedule is getting more predictable as well as their nap schedule. We have them on a 3 hour eat-play-sleep cycle and it's working out pretty well. We were able to keep to this schedule more or less while in NY and that really helped us plan out our activities.

Laughing in the mirror at Daddy.

June is getting too big!

On the way back from the shore, we HAD to stop by Aunt Mary's and Cousin Paula's restaurant in Croton as no trip to New York would be complete without it. The pizza was great as always! I even saved room for some italian ice (ah the perks of breastfeeding!). Jude and June got to meet Mary, Paula, Tommy and John's grandmother for the first time while John and I stuffed our faces with all different kinds of pizza: cheese, sicilian, grandma, etc :) June absolutely loved Aunt Mary. She had her smiling so much which is not always the case for the serious Miss June. When we stopped by the restaurant, Paula and Eric were thisclose to having their baby. Turns out she was born on the following Monday :)

Hanging out with Aunt Mary and Nanna.

Miss June laughing while her chubby little legs are getting eaten ;)

Eric, Paula and Baby Leah

On Sunday, John's parents threw the babies a fabulous meet and greet party so all of our family and friends could meet them in New York. There were so many people who came (John's mom's family, John's dad's family, John's friends, my friends, etc). The babies are definitely loved! Initially it looked like it was going to be a disaster for the babies because they were getting overstimulated by all the people, but once we got them back on the eat-play-sleep cycle, they were pretty good. The only bad thing was that they were napping a lot and on different schedules (never good for twins). When one was up, the other was napping. Thankfully though, we were able to straighten the schedule out before the night came. It was just unfortunate because we didn't get many pictures of both of them together. Other than that, the food was FANTASTIC and it was great seeing everyone.

The cake at the Meet and Greet Party

1/2 of the Schwind Family (the babies were napping)

Perfect Grandma (John's Dad's Mom) and Jude

Nonny (John's Mom's Mom) and June

Sleeping through their party

Cousin Daniella was such a big help!

Another great thing that happened on Sunday was we were able to meet Baby Lucas for the first time! Henry and Sarah had Lucas about a month before the twins were born. He is so big now (literally, off the charts) and we can't wait until they can start playing with one another ;)

Babies galore!(L: June, Lucas and Jude)

Henry, get to work!

On our last day in New York (Monday), we were able to meet Kelly, Kara, Sarah and Lucas at one of our favorite Mongolian BBQ places for lunch. Afterwards, we went back to Sarah's house for some photo ops :) John and I worked with Kelly (and her husband, John) and Henry at Nice-Pak back in the day. We all hate the place now, but it's great to see all the associated babies :)

Hanging out with Kelly and Kara.

Nice-Pak babies

After we got some good (or as good as it gets with 4 children) pictures, we began our trek back to JFK. Luckily we were able to stop by J &amp;amp; G's deli, a store near my old stomping grounds, that serves the best Italian wedges. Breaded eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and roasted red peppers, yum!!! New York was great :) And yes, I noticed I've spent a lot of time talking about food in this post... it's become a hobby :)

Happy 3-month Birthday!!!

2011-08-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Peace, Love and Rock 'n' Roll at Three Months!

Jude 'Soul Man' Schwind rockin' it at three months.

June 'The Heartbreaker' Schwind rockin' it at three months.

J & J's New Toy

2011-08-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

I decided to get June and Jude little seats, so they can start working on sitting up. They look so cute in them :) (as evidenced below!). Their head control is getting much better, but they still hate tummy time. June is definitely stronger than Jude right now, but I am sure brother will catch up. June likes to spend time ALL of her 'extra' time sleeping, while Jude likes hanging out with me and staring at the ceiling fan. They are both drooling a lot now. Jude has discovered his hands and loves gnawing on them. As far as sleeping goes, they've been sleeping from about 9:30pm to 5:00am. After a 5:00am feeding, they will sleep again until 8:00-8:30am. It feels nice to get some sleep. I just can't believe how big they are! They are both slowly starting to notice one another. One will smile at the other, but they have yet to 'interact'. However, they do like to blindly whack the other in the face when I lay them down beside one another. Does that count as interaction?

Now for some pics:

Brother and Sister!

Playing footsies :)

June takes everything so seriously :)

Mothers of Multiples & 10-week pictures

2011-07-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

When I found out I was pregnant with the twins, I knew immediately that I had to take advantage of mommy resources in the area. I found online that Sacramento had a Mothers of Multiples (MoM) group, so Molly and I decided to check it out. They have been such a great resource and many of us are constantly going on 'playdates'. Since are kiddos are really too young to actually be playing, it's more like 'mommy talks' dates. When we get together, it usually turns into a spectacle. When you are by yourself with twins people usually stop and stare and maybe ask you a couple of questions (Are those twins? yadda yadda), but when you are with other MoMs, it BLOWS peoples' minds. Sarah, Molly and I have gotten into the habit of getting together for brunch and hanging out at a local park in Davis. We mainly talk about the babies, of course, but more importantly, it forces me to get out of the house. It would be so easy to stay in the house for days at a time just because of all the hassle associated with leaving it with two newborns/infants (in addition to the risk of both having meltdowns at the exact.same.time.). 'Mind over Matter' was what I kept telling myself in the early days when I HAD to get out of the house even though it meant I would be on my own with the babies with the possibility that one or both could have breakdowns in public. But it never bothered me enough to stay locked up in the house because as Dr. Seuss said: those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind :) Of course though, I am very blessed to have two babies that only cry when they need something. They really are great. Anyway, here are some pics from a few of our MoM excursions:

From left: Sarah + Dom and Isaac, Molly + Aubrey and Emma, Me + June and Jude

Mom and Jude

Molly's friend, Mian, and June

A whole lot of baby and that's not even all of them!

Molly with Jude and Aubrey

Jude and Aubrey. They are going to be best friends :)

Sarah showing us how to quiet the babies...

... a seasoned pro!

June and Jude are 11 weeks today. We've have them taking an evening nap in their crib as well as spending the entire night in there. We started 'sleep training' last week. No joke, the first couple of days were hard, but we now have them on a pretty good schedule. On a good night, they sleep from 9pm until about 3:30am. I feed them and they are usually back to sleep by 4:30am until about 7:30am. If on an off night they wake up at any other time, we usually just give them 1oz to drink, change their diaper and they go right back to bed. Not too shabby! Here are some recent pictures of the babies (10.5 weeks):

Loving their crib.

Jude's 10-week mug shot.

June's 10-week mug shot.

Miss June owns tummy time. She is so strong!

And lift! (Gosh, she looks so cute in her cloth diapers).

A smilin' Jude outtake. The flash didn't go off, but if this doesn't make your heart smile, nothing will!

Pictures off the Phone

2011-07-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

Since I am home alone with the munchkins all day, I usually take pictures of cute things that I see as we go throughout the week. I typically don't have my actual camera within reach, but I do have my phone. I capture some of the cutest moments, but unfortunately I have the old iphone 3G, so the quality isn't that good. Nonetheless, here are some of my favorites from the phone!

Sometimes they like to hold hands while they eat.

This is June's hilarious 'milk drunk' face. This is where her nickname puddin' face came from ;)

June plotting to take over the world.

Jude modeling for the camera.

Blurry picture of one of June's first smiles.

Blurry picture of one of Jude's first smiles. So gummy...I love it!

Tummy time with Daddy.

Jude curled up sleeping in my breastfeeding pillow.

June likes to sleep like this when she's not swaddled. Such a chunkster ;)

Visited work with the babies and they had this welcome sign on my office door!

Officemate Nemesia with Jude in his muscle shirt.

Colleague Elena with June.

My ABSOLUTE favorite picture of Jude. Hey Jude!

The ABSOLUTE funniest picture of June. She has such a big, round head here.

Falling asleep after eating. So cute.

First time napping in the crib. Glorious!

So hard to take a good picture of both because they are squirmy, but here are my California babies :)

2-month doctor appointment

2011-07-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

I am writing this blog post just so I can remember that it is possible to get through even the most trying of days. Today, the babies had their two month doctor's appointment. We were warned at the last appointment that they would be getting shots the next time they came in. I knew that it wouldn't be fun, but definitely did not expect total meltdown. They each received three shots, two in one leg and one in the other. In anticipation of the crying, I made two bottles to give them during/after the shots... my children are very happy when they eat. June (aka the diva) was first. She was happily sucking on her bottle when all of a sudden she felt the pain. The look on her face was so sad. She started crying hysterically and eventually John was able to calm her down. Jude was more of a gradual breakdown. While he was eating, he realized he was in pain, but gladly took the bottle back immediately. After the doctor's appointment, we all went back home. They seemed to be fine, so John went to school. A few minutes later, I couldn't find my phone. I thought I left it at the doctors office (turns out it was in the diaper bag all along even though I turned it inside and out a couple of times), so we all went back out. I decided to push my luck and also go to the bank since they were asleep. The bank teller was taking FOREVER. Well June decided she would wake up and let out the loudest shrill over and over and over again. And at this particular bank it had large open spaces and tall ceilings, so everything that came out of her mouth echoed for days. The look on the tellers face was priceless. You would have thought I beat my kids. When she finally handed my receipt, I looked at her and said 'are we done now?' All she could muster was a grunt! A lady behind us said 'Well at the least the other one isn't making that noise...' I wanted to punch her in the face. It was our first official public meltdown (it had to happen eventually), but I decided I wasn't going to feel bad because a) the teller was taking way too long, so its her fault and b) I will never see these people again. The meltdown continued long after we got home by both June and Jude until all three of us were crying. I realized that was the worst part about having twins... it's really hard to comfort both of them at the same time. Eventually, they cried it out and we all fell asleep. Lesson learned, John will have to stay at home on 'shot' days.

Here are the unbelievable stats:

June:
Length: At birth... 19.0" 2-months...22.25 (43 percentile)
Weight: At birth... 6lbs 14ozs 2-months...12lbs 7 ozs (86 percentile) my little chunky monkey!

Jude:
Length: At birth... 20.5" 2-months... 23 (75 percentile)
Weight: At birth... 6lbs 15 ozs 2-months...11lbs 11ozs (75 percentile)

It really is amazing how much they have grown. As a breastfeeding mom of twins, I definitely take pride in every ounce that they put on. It's like taking the weight off of me and putting it on them! Only 2lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight at 2 months post partum... now that's amazing! After that, only about 30 more pounds to lose :)

And here is a picture, so this post has a purpose:

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

From June and Jude

*Outfits made by Misti and Geoffrey. It's their fault :)

Happy 2 month birthday!

2011-07-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Puddin' Face and Frogman are getting so big!

4th of July Pool Party

2011-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

The Sacramento Mother of Multiples group have an annual pool party every year for the fourth of July, so John and I thought we would take the kids (feels weird to say that!) into the pool for the first time. We bought cute baby swim gear and packed a picnic dinner. It's great hanging out with the families from the SMoM group. They are always willing to lend a hand and you know they know exactly what you are going through! Here's how the day went down:

We arrived. Sister was asleep, but brother was ready to go swimming!

Jude showing off his new hat. So handsome!

Getting sunscreen on (check out the cute cover for the cloth diapers... it's our first week and so far, so good!)

Ready to go in the pool!

Not sure about this...

Smilin' in the pool.

Hanging out with daddy :)

June's still sleeping... let's wake her up!

Now Jude is sleeping... must be the sun!

Why did you guys wake me up?

Ready for the pool now!

June is so cute with all of her rolls :) Soooooo cute!

She did not like to get her belly wet though.

She'd rather lounge and get some sun.

Dad with his hands full. Time to go home!

Our Trip to Georgia

2011-06-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

When I was pregnant, my cousin Will got engaged to Holly. They set their wedding date for mid-June and I knew the babies would probably be 4-6 weeks old by then. Even though they would be so young, I was bound and determined to make it to his wedding. It was partly because I couldn't imagine NOT being there and partly because people EXPECTED me not to be there because of the babies. I was a little bit nervous about them on the plane, but was glad that John came along because I definitely couldn't have handled them by myself. To save money, we just got two plane tickets and each one of us carried one in our arms. This technically wasn't their first plane ride as I went to Georgia, Tanzania, Tennessee and Texas all while I was pregnant with them. They did great on the plane, so I guess they are just seasoned pros by now.

Jude's 1st Plane Ride

June's 1st Plane Ride

It was great being home. We got to introduce June and Jude to everyone, eat some good food, hear awesome thunderstorms and plant some cotton! John and I also got mini breaks from holding the babies as there was no shortage of arms wanting to hold them!

Planting Cotton

Great Aunt Jo and June

Meema and Jude

The Montfords and The Schwinds

Will and Jude

Will and Holly's wedding was in Valdosta where they both went to school. We got to meet up with more family members and friends while we were down there. Mackenzie also got to meet her cousins for the first time. It was funny because she just kept patting them on the top of their heads :) The wedding itself was beautiful. Holly's dress was stunning and Will was handsome in his dress blues (he's in the Air Force). Overall, the babies handled all the excitement pretty well except at a few key points. Jude started crying about the time we sat down at the wedding, so I had to watch it from the back of the church :( And June was hungry when they went to go cut the cake, so I had to step out of the room and feed her :( But I guess that comes with the territory of being a mom. The reception was fun though. There was good food, great cake and even some dancing. June and Jude got to put on their Sunday's best and they looked sooooo cute!

The Happy Couple

June's wedding outfit

Jude's wedding outfit

Smith kids and grandkids!

Will and I

Meema, Dad, Claire and JoAnne

Mackenzie dancing!

Mackenzie and me

Mack and Suzanne holding the babies.

The getaway car.

Fish bait on the back of the car :)

Leaving the Wedding!

We went back to the farm on Sunday and had to fly back out early Monday morning. It was a short trip, but hopefully we get to stay longer next time ;)

We survived the first month!

2011-06-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

John, June, Jude, Rudi, Daisy and I all survived our first month as a family! Here is a look at some of the things we did that kept us busy.

First doctor's visit.

June is gaining back her birth weight...

and so is Jude!

Lounging in Mom's lap!

Showing off our pj's

Jude's 1st bath...

June's 1st bath...

Frogman is not pleased with the bath...

...and puddin' face is not happy either :)

Lounging in the swing like a cool dude...

...until his sister kicks him out.

Tummy time is not our favorite time!

They love hanging out with daddy...

and chillin' with mom...

and being held by Grandma.

The Schwind Family of Four :)

Our 1 month picture and we are about to explode...

...done.

Oh, and Rudi still likes to be carried....

...and Daisy often acts like a cat for some attention.

Here's to another month!

Professional Photos

2011-06-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

We were able to get a good deal, so we got professional photos of the babies when they were around two weeks old. Here are some of our favorites:

Photos from the Hospital

2011-06-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some newborn photos that were taken by the photographers at the hospital. I used some of them to make their baby announcements.

June and Jude's Birth Story

2011-06-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

As I stated before, I begged my doctor to schedule a c-section so that I had something to look forward to... a light at the end of the tunnel. Since both babies were head up and there was no room to move, I was given the option to schedule a c-section no sooner than 38 weeks. Therefore, I scheduled it at 38 weeks to be exact, May 3rd. It was a really weird feeling to determine my children's birthday, but I was so miserable by this point that I didn't care. The night before the c-section we dropped our two dog children off at Julie's house and then came back home to finish packing. The next day we left the house at 7:00am to drive to Roseville (~45 minutes away) for the c-section at 9am. We were warned that we could be bumped if there was an emergency in labor and delivery, since we were low priority. Once we arrived at the hospital, we completed the paperwork and were placed in a labor room to await instructions. Pretty soon the nurse came in, introduced herself, and said that it looked like we would be bumped because there was an emergency c-section. While we waited we completed more paperwork, answered numerous questions and met the team who would be working with us during the delivery. I also got my IV put in. It wasn't a fun experience as the nurse couldn't find a vein in one poke and with the other poke, she blew that vein. Finally she called another person in who luckily was able to start it. Also, the TV didn't work in the room, so John and I were pretty bored. Most of the time we just stared at the computer screen which showed my contractions and the babies heartbeats. When that got boring, we took walks around the ward.

At 11am, more nurses came in and said it should only be 30 more minutes. By 12 noon, nothing. At 1pm, they said anytime now, but still nothing. Turns out the woman who had an emergency c-section also had scar tissue build-up on her bowels from a previous c-section, so she had to have emergency surgery for that too. At 2pm, I had reached the end of my sanity and was about to start crying due to my extreme hunger (they said I couldn't eat anything after midnight the night before!) and thirstiness (they wouldn't even give me ice chips!). I sent John to go find the nurse to tell her that we were leaving to go eat and to go home and if they wanted me, we could be back tomorrow. About the time John walked out to deliver my message, they came walking in and said it was time! It all happened pretty fast, so I didn't have time to call anybody back home to let them know.

Ready to Go!

John all suited up!

I was escorted back to the OR alone while John waited to be called in. Once in the OR, I was introduced to a room full of people. The room was packed because it was a multiple birth. There were two doctors, three nurses (one for each baby and me), two anesthesiologists and two more people there from the nursery in case backup was needed. I wasn't very nervous, especially since things were happening so fast. I sat down on the bed and the anesthesiologists administered my spinal. The nurse held my hand while they started it. It really was the anticipation that killed me because it didn't hurt at all. It just felt like a bee sting. Once they got that started, they laid me down and put up the blue cover at my face. I hated that thing! Not only did it make me extremely claustrophobic, but I couldn't see what was going on! I had told the doctor that I was interested in the process and wanted her to narrate everything to me since I couldn't see it. She thought it was weird that I was so interested, but she did her best to keep me involved. Once they had everything in place and they were literally about to make the incision, they finally called John in. Unlike me, John had absolutely no interested in seeing the process nor cutting the umbilical cords. He thinks its all gross, so he loved having the blue cover to hide behind. They don't allow photography or video equipment in the OR, so we don't have any pictures of them being born :(

They finally arrived at 2:48pm and 2:49pm. Almost 6 hours past our original 9am appointment. I remember June's arrival (Baby A), hearing her cry and hearing everyone talk about how great she looked, but I couldn't see her because of that pesky blue cover. It felt like eternity before they brought her over to see me, while in reality it was probably only 5 seconds. She was so cute and squishy and looked nothing like what I expected. Then they delivered Jude. He was higher up in my ribs, so they did a lot of tugging, pushing and pulling to get him out. It felt like a lot of pressure and almost like they had to be breaking something because of how hard they were pressing. They finally brought him around and I remember my first thought immediately was how different they looked! He had a completely different face and was super long compared to his sister. June's one minute APGAR score was 9 and five minute was also a 9. Not too shabby! Jude's was a 9 and 10 respectively. The doctor said they rarely give out 10s, let alone at a twin birth :) That's my boy! Everyone was so impressed about how active and healthy they were. On top of that, we all were completely shocked at how big they were. June weighed 6lbs 14 ozs and Jude weighed 6lbs 15 ozs. I was almost carrying 14 pounds of baby! June's weight was most surprising especially since she always weighed almost a 1lb less than Jude at every ultrasound and was thought to have severe growth restriction only a few days earlier! She hid her weight well. Once they were swaddled, they were brought over to me while I was being stitched up. I had one baby by each ear and it was the most amazing feeling ever. They were absolutely beautiful and I couldn't stop smiling! In the end, I did have a minor reaction to the anesthesia. My face was super itchy and it was all I could do not to scratch. Thankfully I was distracted by the babies :)

We didn't tell anyone of their names because we weren't sure of them ourselves. We wanted to meet them and make sure their names matched their personalities. We pretty much knew Jude was going to be Jude. John wanted to name him Judah, but I definitely didn't like that at all. The name did come from the Beatles song and it was a name I had always liked. I love the song, so hopefully it won't annoy him every time I (or someone else) says (or sings) 'Hey Jude.' When we finally met him, there was no doubt it was Jude all the way. The arrival to June's name was a little more difficult. I really liked the name Josephine (also from a song, but from the Wallflowers instead) and we could call her JoJo or Josie. John preferred June because he likes the flow with Jude and he just overall likes the name better. I was worried about how similar sounding they were and if that would cause problems when I was yelling at them from across the yard, but then I figured they would be called each other's name regardless of what it was or how different they sounded. I was called Misti (sister) or Mickey (dog) numerous times over the course of my lifetime and neither are remotely close to Jessica! So, we met June and saw she was a June, so the rest was history. Definitely tough stuff naming a baby though... it's a lot of pressure!

Once we were finished in the OR, we were wheeled into the recovery room. The recovery room didn't have any cell phone signal, but we were allowed to take pictures. Here the babies received their first baths and we got to bond. We were able to go skin-to-skin and started breastfeeding right then. They both did wonderfully and all the nurses couldn't stop talking about how great they were doing. One cool thing about Kaiser is that every time a baby is born, they play a lullaby over the loud speaker. On our way up to our permanent room, we got to hear it twice :) Once we got out of the recovery room, we were finally able to call our parents who I'm sure were waiting on pins and needles to hear from us.

In the Recovery Room.

Meet June :) Baby A.

Meet Jude:) Baby B.

Swaddled up.

June and her cute hat.

Jude in his hat.

Jude trying to bite his sister.

Recovery was not as bad as I thought it would be. The first night with the babies was 'easy.' They slept for 5 hours straight even with the nurses coming in and out. I, of course, didn't sleep at all because I was too busy staring at them. They both slept right up under each one of my arms :) It's true that the sooner you start walking around after a c-section, the better. After the first two days, I was definitely healing fast from the incision. The thing that liked to kill me was my rib cage. While I was pregnant, the babies were getting so big that they dislocated at least one of my ribs and expanded them a lot. Once I had them, the muscles in my rib cage were so stretched, sore and sprained that it was even painful to breathe. The pain medicine helped a little bit, but not enough to fully mask it. Little did I know that it was going to be almost 6 long weeks to fully heal. Over the course of the following days, we had a few visitors in the hospital. My parents thankfully flew in from Georgia to help us out during the first week. It was great to see everybody and to show off the babies. Here are some pictures:

First family photo.

Man, I look exhausted already!

Alex (fellow SMoM) holding June.

Ethan, Molly and someone who needs a hairbrush!

Stephanie and June.

Nanny and June.

Poppa and Jude.

Despite my very best efforts, the babies were losing a lot of weight in the beginning. The first night they both lost ~7% of their body weight. By the second night, it was up to ~11%. We were told 10% was the threshold before they start to worry, so we had to start supplementing them with formula. I was so upset because I really wanted to breastfeed and was told that formula supplementation could cause things like 'nipple confusion' and 'breast rejection'. While I was in the hospital, I met with various lactation consultants and doctors who all had different opinions on feeding. It was so frustrating and I hate how much emotion is involved with feeding your baby. Everybody thinks their way is the right way and the other way is DEFINITELY wrong. In the end, everything turned out ok (though breastfeeding two babies is BY FAR the hardest thing I've ever done). Since everything except the weight gain was progressing nicely, we were given the option of going home on Friday. However, they wanted us to bring June and Jude back to the doctors on Saturday so they could make sure they were gaining weight with the formula supplement.We were fine with that, so we packed our bags and headed home!

June in her 'coming home' outfit.

Jude in his 'coming home' outfit.

Being wheeled out to the car.

First car ride home!

We have no idea what's to come!

Before...

...After!

Welcome home babies :)

The next couple of weeks home were a blur. We were definitely lucky to have my parents there to help. With the pain from my rib cage and the challenges of breastfeeding, I wouldn't want to go back to those first 3 weeks, for sure. Anyway, that's the story of June and Jude's birth!

Time Progression Movie of my Pregnancy

2011-05-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

My Journey through a Twin Pregnancy in One Post...

2011-05-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

For various reasons, John and I didn't ever formally 'announce' our pregnancy. Other than a few family members, we never really told anyone about the pregnancy until my belly told everyone for us (and since it was twins, it happened way early). I thought that it would be nice to do a post chronicling the journey of my twin pregnancy (minus a lot of details though), so that people could see all the lovely ultrasound pictures and hear a little bit about what it was like to carry two babies at the same time. John and I were trying to get pregnant, so the pregnancy was not a surprise on that end. Back in August, I knew the first day that I could reliably test to see if I was pregnant that month, so I took a test on that day and at first glance (in the morning, barely awake) it was negative. It was really depressing for the both of us, but I decided to test again the next day just in case it was still a little too early. The next day, I woke up and went through the same routine. This time I thought I saw a second line (positive) but it was really faint. I called John into the bathroom and asked if he saw what I saw or if I was just making myself see things that were not really there. Sure enough, he saw a faint line and I guess the rest is history...

The second line is so faint, you can barely see it!

My first trimester was officially (depending on how you calculate it) from conception until November 8th, 2010. Because my pregnancy was considered high-risk due to my past history, we saw a doctor almost immediately and, throughout the pregnancy, would have to see them more often than normal. While it did mean a lot of trips to the doctor, it was great because we got to see our babies on the ultrasound screen A LOT. Our first pregnancy visit was with a NP to get a confirmatory ultrasound. The minute the screen pulled up the picture (first one below), the NP and I started laughing. John had no idea what we were looking at nor why we were laughing. I told him there were two sacs seen on the screen and he was just as thrilled as I was to learn that we were expecting twins (so there were no freak out moments...that's a popular question). Since it was still super early in the process, we couldn't see their heartbeats so we requested to come back in a week. The following week both babies had grown a week in size and both heartbeats could be seen on the screen. The following week we went back again and all signs were pointing to a healthy pregnancy.

The babies' first ultrasound picture.(~6 weeks)

Second look. A week later.(~7 weeks)

Third look. Another week later. (~8 weeks)

My first trimester was not horrible, but it wasn't perfect either. Most twin moms who have had previous singleton pregnancy always said the morning sickness was worse with two (probably because more hormones are in the body). Since I didn't really have a past singleton pregnancy to compare it to, I can't really say if it was worse than normal. While I did get nauseous a lot (especially on an empty stomach), I never had bad morning sickness. Truthfully, the only time I really gagged was when I was brushing my teeth, weird right? It's really interesting though that each trimester of a pregnancy is completely unique and characterized by different feelings. I was mainly praying that everything would turn out ok in the first trimester since the probability of miscarriage or 'vanishing twin syndrome' is high during this time. Also, traveling to Tanzania during the first trimester for me was hard, but I knew it was something I needed (and wanted) to do. Thankfully I had a team with me who were thoughtful (and willing to go to Tanzanian stores in search for chips!).

My second trimester was officially from November 9th, 2010 until February 7th, 2011. One of the screenings we had due to the high risk was a test called a Nuchal Translucency ultrasound. Basically it is a screening to tell you of your 'odds' of the baby having a chromosomal defect. While this in and of itself is very daunting, it also gave us an extra opportunity to look at our little babies in high definition. We ended up getting the ultrasound at around 13 weeks. It was amazing how much we could already see at that time, how they looked like little human beings and how much of their personality was coming out. While it was super early to find out the gender (usually done at ~20 weeks), the ultrasound tech was pretty confident at her ability to determine the sexes early. At the screening, Baby A was thought to be a girl and she was not cooperating with the testing. She kept moving around, so we couldn't get good pictures of her. Baby B was thought to be a boy and he was showing out during the testing. He was almost posing for the pictures. Turns out she was right both on the sex and the personality. June turned out to be a diva and Jude a perfect (and very active) gentleman :)

Baby A (girl) close up at 13 weeks.

Baby B (boy) closeup at 13 weeks.

The normal gender ultrasound and primary anatomy scan usually comes around 20 weeks. For us, this came right around Christmas. What a perfect Christmas present to find out that both babies were healthy and thriving. Here are the ultrasounds confirming what we found out at 13 weeks:

Baby A at 20 weeks

It's a Girl!

Baby B at 20 weeks

It's a Boy!

The second trimester was pretty much smooth sailing though it felt shorter than most. Singleton pregnancies call the second trimester the honeymoon period because the first trimester has morning sickness and the third trimester you start to get big and not sleep well. In the second trimester, you usually feel great and actually start too look pregnant, but not feel too big. There were a few weeks in my second trimester where I felt great, but because there were two babies in there I started getting big really fast. This basically meant that I felt (and looked) like I was 'ready to pop' well before I actually was. It was around this time that I started measuring ~8 weeks ahead of where I actually was (relative to a singleton pregnancy). I started to feel flutters (or what I thought were flutters) around 13 weeks, but I was around 19 weeks and sitting in Peet's Coffee when I knew that I had officially felt one of them kick. It was amazing and there was no question as to what it was. One of the questions* that I got a lot from people when I was pregnant was how does it feel to have two babies in there? Both babies were very active. I could tell when they were interacting with one another and it was especially interesting to feel both of them have the hiccups at the same time. The boy loved hanging out in my ribs, so I often had to push him out of the way when I needed to sit down (turns out he ended up dislocating one of the said ribs). The girl loved moving and kicking my bladder. I often wondered would I know if I had two babies by their movement if I didn't know by ultrasound... I would like to think so, even if my belly didn't give it away.

*I got a lot of questions as a mother of twins (so many so that if I didn't know you I probably said I was just having one baby and was due next week!).. some were good questions, others absolutely ridiculous. Here is a funny video about all the questions made by another mother of multiples.

My third trimester was from February 8th, 2011 until these babies decided to make an appearance. By this time I was having doctor's appointments every two weeks and high definition ultrasounds every 4 weeks. It got to a point that the babies were getting so big that it was not only impossible to get a good ultrasound picture of them, but it was hard to even tell what you were looking at. I spent most of my third trimester hoping to make it one more week or even one more day as multiples are notorious for coming early. I also tried to get as much done with work and school as possible. With school I decided to only complete winter quarter and take leave during the spring quarter. Since I passed my qualifying exam in the fall I mainly focused on my Tanzania project. I finished my last class (Spatial Epidemiology) and TA obligations in mid-March which allowed me time to wrap up work in Vallejo. For work, I wanted to complete my obligations to Touro through the Spring semester. I taught a 90-person Epidemiology class and surprisingly made it through. I won't lie though... towards the end I was huge and barely making it through the 3 hour lectures! I wrapped everything up by around 36 weeks of pregnancy which was amazing. Many women pregnant with multiples go on strict bed rest pretty early (~28 weeks). Even though the midwife told me to prepare for it, I was happy to have made it that far.

This was one of the only good third trimester ultrasounds. It's two heads together!

Because I knew that there was a large possibility that the babies would come early and/or that I would be so big that it would be hard to move around, John and I started preparing for the babies' arrival pretty early. Since we live in a two bedroom apartment, we don't have much room for baby furniture, let alone furniture for two babies! Because the babies are really small in the beginning and like to be near each other, we decided to only get one crib. Therefore, our second bedroom turned into a sewing/nursery/guest bedroom. John and I went to Babies R Us and picked out the 'decor'. The only gender neutral pattern that we could agree on was the Classic Winnie the Pooh motif. I have always been a big fan of Eeyore, so I had a few decorations already. I even sewed a few things (curtain ties, sewing machine cover, etc) with some fabric I found online. My mom and sister also bought/made a lot of Pooh things to go in the room. All the furniture came from IKEA.

Nursery Before.

Nursery After 1

Nursery After 2

The doggies are exhausted from getting ready for the babies!

Preparing for the nursery was not the only thing we did to get ready. We also signed up to take numerous Kaiser health education classes. We took a multiples class where we were able to tour the hospital's labor and delivery and the NICU. We also took a Newborn Care Class, a CPR class and a breastfeeding class. I personally did not find the classes very helpful, but John did since he hasn't had many interactions with babies in the past.

John learning how to diaper at the Newborn Care class :)

John and I were so lucky to have our friends and coworkers throw us showers out here in California. Julie (friend and classmate of John's) and Stephanie (friend and classmate of mine) threw us a shower here in Davis for all of our friends and classmates. It was at Julie's house and we had such a great time making homemade pizzas, opening gifts, playing games and catching up with everyone. You can see pictures from her blog post here.

John and I at the shower thrown by Julie and Stephanie.

Friends from the Graduate Group in Epidemiology.

Friends from the Graduate Group in Environmental and Agricultural Chemistry.

Yummy Cake!

One of the blessings of this pregnancy were all the new friends I made along the way. While I was TA'ing an epidemiology class at UC Davis during the winter quarter and growing bigger by the week, one of my students (Ethan) came up to me and said he overheard that I was expecting twins in May. It just so happened that him and his wife were too! Their due date was only 10 days after ours. I ended up meeting his wife, Molly, and we became fast friends. We were able to discuss all the woes of a twin pregnancy, attend Kaiser classes together and join the Sacramento Mothers of Multiples club together. It was great having someone around who you knew understood EXACTLY what you were going through. To top it all off, they are hoping to move to Georgia soon too! Here is a picture of us at the shower:

Molly (~26.5 weeks) and Me (~28 weeks!).

We were thrown another shower by my coworkers at Touro University almost 3 years to the day that they threw us a wedding shower! It was held/hosted by my coworker, Lucy, at her beautiful house in Vallejo. It was fun to sit around and talk to my colleagues outside of work (even though most of our talk still centered around work!). We received awesome gifts. Everything we ever needed/wanted! Lucy handmade us two absolutely beautiful blankets for the boy and girl. On top of that, we also received a baby swing, Mets and Braves outfits, swaddle blankets, toys and a jumper. We were running out of room in our apartment fast!

John and I at the shower (~32 weeks).

My colleagues.

Beautiful baby boy blanket.

Baby girl blanket.

To celebrate our 3 year anniversary and to get away on a 'babymoon' (another honeymoon you go on before the baby comes), we decided to get out of town and head to Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast. It was not to far from Davis and we were able to get a pretty good deal on the hotel. That night we had a really nice dinner and the following day, I had a prenatal massage. Heaven!!

View from our room.

Yummy Taffy!

The lodge.

John at the front desk.

At a Pacific Ocean overlook. Yes, I look like a beached whale.

Bodega Bay.

In the end, I ended up begging my doctor to schedule a c-section at 38 weeks (of which she completely agreed). Both babies were breached (head up) and made no signs of turning. They were definitely running out of room and the longer you leave multiples in, the more dangerous it can be (mainly due to placental degradation). It would have been great to have a natural birth, but I definitely did not want to be in the position of giving birth to one baby naturally and then having the other via c-section because some emergency came up. That just sounded like torture, so I was happy that the babies' position made the decision for me. At 36 weeks during on of our high definition ultrasounds, we had a scare with Baby A due to an ultrasound tech's error. Baby A (the girl) consistently measured much smaller than her brother (generally by about a pound), but at this ultrasound it appeared she had stopped growing. It was so scary to see all of this on screen, so the doctor had us rush to Labor and Delivery to be monitored. It turned out I was having contractions every 5 minutes, but both babies were fine and I was not in active labor. We were sent home, but had to go for a repeat ultrasound and fetal monitoring twice a week until delivery. At the repeat ultrasound, everything looked great and the doctor could only chalk up the discrepancies to human error (by this time Kaiser was definitely on my *list*). Even though it appeared everything was normal, I still went in for monitoring until my c-section date came.

Having contractions every 5 minutes (as seen by the mountains on the bottom of the screen)!

Hooked up to a bunch of sensors.

Thankfully the babies were born without incident at 2:48pm and 2:49pm on May 3rd. Jude and June's birth story to come!

Welcome June Elizabeth and Jude Bryant!

2011-05-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

We had two announcements made:

San Antonio trip with my parents

2011-02-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

In February, I met my parents in San Antonio. My mom had to go to a conference there and Dad thought he would tag along. Since she would be in the conference all day, he wanted some company, so I came and joined them. I had never been to Texas before (since the inside of airports don't count), so I was excited to see all the sites. The trip was really short (it was only a weekend). Dad and I had a lot of things to see though! Our first stop was the Alamo. We walked around the Alamo with the audio tour and it was great to hear about the battle and the history of the site. There was also a reenactment of Twiggs' surrender during the Civil War that weekend, so we were able to see everyone dressed up for that. It was pretty funny to see people who were dressed up in 'authentic' gear on their cell phones. In addition, I found it really funny to see that the surrender would happen at a certain time/location and if you missed it, it would happen again at another time :) Not sure it exactly went down that way. We also walked around Riverwalk and took a boat tour of the city. Once mom got out of her conference, we ate some good food and enjoyed our time with one another.

Dad in front of the Alamo.

Monument recognizing the brave.

Something doesn't look right here.

Beautiful tree on the Alamo grounds.

Getting ready for the reenactment.

Getting ready for the reenactment (2).

Didn't know this was something you planned.

In a tour boat seeing San Antonio.

San Fernando Cathedral

Coffin with the remains of various heros.

Mom and Dad standing in front of Saint Anthony.

Mom, Dad, Me and two babies.

Christmas in California 2010

2010-12-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

We were in California when Christmas actually came around this year. If you recall, our apartment got broken into last year during Christmas and a lot of stuff was stolen (including wrapped Christmas presents). We thought it would be better to just stay in town this year with our fur babies, especially since we just got back from Nashville. Since we knew we would be here, we bought our first ever live Christmas tree! On Christmas day, we woke the doggies up, open gifts and went over to our friend's, Julie, house for a wonderful Christmas dinner with her family.

Our first live Christmas Tree!

All of our stockings.

Rudi with his new gifts.

Santa Paws brought Daisy a new outfit!

John got an Oakland Raiders jersey for the upcoming game.

Around 20 weeks pregnant with twins!

Christmas in Nashville 2010

2010-12-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

In mid-December, my cousin Monica got married to a wonderful man, Jimmy, in Tennessee. There was no way we could miss this wedding, so we decided to go to Nashville for Christmas to celebrate with everyone. The place where the wedding was held was also a resort. It was so nice! You could rent out cabins to spend the night in and their was a main lodge where everyone ate dinner. The wedding turned out beautiful (though it was a little cold)! We even got to see a little bit of snow while we were there.

Inn at Evins Mill.

Monica and Jimmy during their first dance.

The Smith Family

Waterfall at the Inn at Evins Mill

The original four :)

John and Me.

Will and Me.

Knowing that we wouldn't have the money to fly back to the East coast this year for Christmas, John's family decided to meet us in Nashville as well. We all stayed a couple of days after the wedding in order to hang out with one another and open our Christmas gifts. We ended up staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and it was fabulous! Everything you ever wanted to do was contained in the entire resort, so you didn't have to go outside at all. The resort was absolutely HUGE and you could easily get lost in it.

Inside the hotel.

This place was insane!

The Schwind Family

Christmas!

Dad playing Santa.

John showing off his new favorite hoodie.

Mackenzie showing off the GaTech shoes I made for her.

Me showing off my belly and two pairs of GaTech booties for the babies!

Giant Christmas Tree at the resort.

Smith/Schwind Christmas Portrait.

Not only did we celebrate Christmas with both of our families there, we were also able to check out a few attractions along the way. One was called ICE! Basically, it was an ice sculpture show that you could walk around and view. In order to keep it for the entire holiday season, it had to be placed in a freezing cold building. We had to bundle up tightly to make it through the exhibit! One day, we left the resort to see greater Nashville. There we visited the Belle Meade Plantation to tour an old colonial house and met up with Monica and Jimmy at the Wildhorse Saloon where we played games and ate good food (especially the fried pickles). On our final day there, John and I had to leave early in the morning because we had been rebooked due to an incoming storm. Luckily, we got out in enough time and made it home safely.

The ICE exhibit.

It was freezing!

Mackenzie going down the slide.

Playing with snowballs.

Belle Meade Plantation

Mom at the Wildhorse Saloon.

Dad and I playing air hockey (I'm sure I was winning).

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

Post by John

With Thanksgiving break so short and flights so expensive, Jessica and I thought Thanksgiving would be a great time to visit Disneyland! We packed up the car and the dogs and headed down south. We thought this would also be a great time thinking that there would not be any long lines since everyone is usually with family during the holiday weekend. On our first day, we checked into a nice hotel about 30 minutes away from Disneyland, but not too far from my cousin Andres in Venice. We headed to Disneyland and spent the whole day at the Disneyland Park. Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season and Disney set the whole park in the Christmas theme, and they even had a parade with Santa. As soon as the parade was finished, it was time for some rides! Jessica was pregnant, so she wasn't able to go on any of the bumpier rides, but I still went on a few. I was amazed by the complexity of the rides. They weren't just thrill rides, but they immersed you into a small story and it was more of a fun adventure. I ended going on the Indian Jones Adventure and Space Mountain rides, and since I was riding by myself I was able to skip to the front of the line. Jess and I were able to go through the Haunted Mansion, which was set in the Nightmare Before Christmas theme, and "It's a Small World" which was set in the Christmas theme. We also went on the Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean rides. Later on that night, we watched another parade which then concluded in a spectacular firework display. After the fireworks, we left the park to get some rest so we could come back the next day. We started off that day with watching Muppet Vision 3D and then I rode the Tower of Terror and the roller coaster 'California Screamin'' by myself. We finished the day with the ride 'Soaring Over California' and some souvenir shopping.

Everything was decorated for Christmas.

In line at It's A Small World.

The day parade.

It's Santa! I know him!

At Disneyland.

Winnie the Pooh during the nighttime parade.

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Fireworks over Disneyland.

The next day we got to meet up with Andres. We met him at his house, which was in a great location right by the Venice Beach canals. After checking out the canals, we headed to Hollywood for some sightseeing. It was close to lunch time so we stopped at the famous Pick's Hot Dogs in Hollywood. It was a bit of a wait, but well worth it! After lunch we headed up to a nearby dog park so the dogs could get some exercise. Coincidentally it had a great view of the Hollywood sign. After some exercise, we headed to downtown Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame. We didn't feel like trying to find parking and getting out walking, so we did the drive by tour. Instead of taking a bunch of random pictures of different stars, we decided to randomly pull over and take a picture of the first one we saw. Turned out it was Angela Lansbury. Neither Andres nor I knew who she was until Jessica told us. Once we got back to Andres' place, we walked along the beach and ate at an Italian restaurant. We had a great dinner and were able to eat outside with the dogs. Amazingly, they were SO well behaved (probably because they were exhausted from the day). Rudi was even sitting on one of the restaurant chairs and never once tried to eat off of anyone's plate.! People walked by and commented on how well behaved they were, making us such proud doggy parents, but we (and everyone else who knows our dogs) knew this was a once in a lifetime thing!

Pink's Hotdogs.

Jessica and a veggie dog.

At the dog park.

Andres and me.

Rudi, the superstar.

Daisy, the diva.

Check out how tired they look!

Family photo near one of the canals.

Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Angela Lansbury!

A rare moment at dinner that night.

The hotel that we stayed at was the Intercontinental. Since we are ambassadors, we were able to get an awesome room upgrade where we had beautiful views of the city. The next day, we packed up the car and headed out early. We wanted to beat all of the holiday traffic. Thanksgiving was great this year and we were glad to have spent it with Andres, Mickey and Minnie :)

View from our hotel room.

Jessica's Trip to Tanzania, Doctoral Research and QE

2010-11-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

Post by Jessica

In October, I had my first trip to Africa (Tanzania, to be exact) in order to prepare our study sites for my upcoming doctoral research. My main research involves determining the seroprevalence (number of people who produce antibodies against...) avian influenza and Newcastle disease in high-risk groups in Tanzania. Since both of these diseases are of avian origin, the high-risk groups are mainly poultry owners, live bird market workers and people who are associated with them. This trip was meant as a preliminary visit in order to train the people who will be collecting the data and to solidify our connections with our local colleagues. I always knew that I wanted to do research in Africa, so it was funny how everything worked out for me to do this for my Ph.D. Who knew it would be with poultry diseases though?!? Many people asked me if I would be touring local sites, but I wasn't able to considering there was a lot of work to be done and a very short time for it to be done in. The one thing that I wanted to see was Mt. Kilimanjaro. For anyone who knows me, I am a huge fan of Hemingway and so I definitely wanted to see it in person. When I found out that I had connecting flights there to/from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania's capital), I was thrilled. However, both times it was pitch dark in the middle of the night and I didn't see a thing :( Anyway, a lot of these pictures have to do with my research and would not entertain most, but I still wanted to post them.

As far as our itinerary went, we had to visit the 8 sites where we will be conducting our study. Four of the sites were live bird markets. There were two markets each in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro. Two of our sites were rural villages/communities where poultry ownership was high. And the final two sites were suburban-like areas (We called them streets) outside Dar es Salaam where poultry ownership/interaction was also high. Here is a map I constructed showing the sites:

Map of Study Sites

We spent our first night in Dar es Salaam before heading out to Morogoro the following day. Even though on the map it looks like the places are fairly close, it took almost an entire day to go from one place to the next. The roads and traffic were horrible. There was a lot of waiting around and talking to people, so the days went fairly slow. It was great seeing the countryside though. It's my favorite part of seeing a new country. Once we arrived in Morogoro, we had a few meetings with our collaborators at Sokoine University and toured the markets and rural areas where we would be doing our research. The main idea was to build relationships with the local people in order to make sure the study runs smoothly and increase our study participation rates once we came back.

Houses in a rural area along the way.

Everyone was a fan of the Obamas in Africa. Amazing...

Market in Morogoro.

Morogoro has a pretty high rate of malaria, so I had to be sure to use a bednet at night.

Children in the street study area.

Sokoine University.

Church near the University.

LBM in Morogoro.

Cleaning the chickens with no PPE.

Chickens stacked one on top of the other at another market.

Slaughter area in the LBM.

After spending a couple of days in Morogoro and the surrounding communities, we headed back to Dar es Salaam in order to tour the live bird markets there and to start the mandatory NIH training. Live bird markets have been shown to play an important role in the transmission of diseases. The high turnover rate and dense concentration of live birds in these markets provide excellent conditions for virus reassortment and amplification (which is what makes AI of pandemic potential). Certain precautions need to be made and you can see why from a few of these pictures:

Slaughter Area 1 in Dar es Salaam.

Slaughter Area 2 in Dar es Salaam.

Myrna, Gaspar and Me.

We stuck the PI in the trunk.

Chicken delivery from a local farm.

Women waiting to pick up chickens.

The hotel that we stayed at in Dar es Salaam very much catered to the West. It was not at all authentic to the region. And honestly, I felt like it was a soft target for Al Qaeda. Other than that, the rest of our days were spent in training for the study and looking at sites around the city. The highlight of my time there was definitely being able to go to the local fabric market and get yards of fabric to bring back home!

Our completely western hotel, the Movenpick.

A Protestant church in Dar es Salaam.

The research team with all of our on-site interviewers and phlebotomists.

The main research team.

The plane ride was by far the worst part of the whole trip. It felt like it took ETERNITY to get there and back. I was 8 weeks pregnant with twins and nothing I could do would make me comfortable and nothing I could eat made me feel good. But, I am happy to say I made it through! By mid-November, I had my doctoral qualifying exam. It's the rite of passage that every doctoral student must go through. Basically, I had to stand up in front of 4 professors and answer questions about ANYTHING for approximately four hours. I love talking in front of people and I love talking about my research and reasons why I made certain decisions in conducting my research, so I tried to have as much fun with it as possible. However, as a student, you are raised from day one to fear this day. I knew it was all about mindset, so I tried to go in with the idea that if I fail 'there are worse things in this world.' Just my own personal coping mechanism. Thankfully, I didn't fail though... I passed. I am now officially a 'doctoral candidate.' And, my professors were so happy with my research that my actual exam really only lasted for about 2.5 hours! Usually some of my classmates and I go out for drinks afterwards, but I couldn't really do that...so we went out for frozen yogurt instead :)

Celebrating after the QE with Jen, Stephanie and Paula (from left).

Here is the abstract from my qualifying exam proposal in case you want to read it:

The Assessment of the Seroprevalence and Prevalence Factors Associated with Avian Influenza and Endemic Newcastle Disease Viruses among Poultry Market Workers and other High-Risk Groups in Tanzania

Jessica Schwind, MPH CPH

Doctoral Research Proposal

Graduate Group in Epidemiology

University of California, Davis

Abstract

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are an important class of infectious agents in both birds and humans alike. Because of this, there is a need to develop a greater understanding of the spread of AIV across high-risk populations and to create a cost-effective surveillance tool aimed at reducing the impact of AIV outbreaks. While the incidence of AIV in humans is low, detection of other more common avian diseases could potentially serve as a proxy tool for human avian influenza surveillance. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is one of the most serious infectious diseases found in poultry and is endemic to Tanzania. NDV and AIV have comparable geographic and demographic distributions in poultry and are similarly transmitted from infected birds to humans through direct contact. Recognizing the importance of these similarities, the objectives of the proposed study are to: 1) conduct a serological investigation of avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses among high-risk groups (live bird market workers and other poultry handlers) in both urban and rural areas of Tanzania, 2) determine prevalence factors associated with AIV and NDV seropositivity and 3) explore the spatial distribution of avian influenza and Newcastle disease seropositivity in live bird markets and rural villages in order to investigate the potential association between disease occurrence and spatial factors. In order to meet these objectives, serum samples will be obtained from the local population through a multi-stage sampling method and seroprevalence will be calculated. In addition, an interview will be conducted to describe the various activities and behaviors that are common among those who care and handle poultry, availability of education and resources that may mitigate risk of transmission of avian viruses to humans and which of these activities and behaviors are associated with evidence of past infection with avian influenza and Newcastle disease in humans. Successful completion of these projects may ultimately lead to a surveillance program in live bird markets and their feeder villages in East Africa in order to help prevent and control AIV/NDV infection in humans.

Bay Area Sports

2010-10-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

One thing that I really enjoy about living in different places is visiting the different sport teams in each city. When I lived in Philly, I attended the last match-up between the Phillies and the Braves in the old Veterans Stadium. While I lived in New York, half my time was spent in the old Shea stadium watching games from behind home plate. I also went to the last match-up between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee stadium before it was torn down (talk about high tension!). John and I have lived in California now for about 3.5 years and we never made it to one baseball game. One of my good friends at work, Alicia, knew that John was a Mets fan, so she offered us a few of her season tickets perks.

Seats with a View

Waiting to catch a homerun ball.

John and Me

Alicia and Justin

David Wright up to bat!

John and Justin ignoring us girls!

Also this Fall, John and I went to the UC Berkeley (Cal)/ UC Davis football game. We figured it would be good to go to at least one UC Davis football game being the good students that we are. On top of that, they were also playing a 'real' team. We went with our friends, Bronwyn and Jarrod. Despite the fact that we had to walk MILES (uphill both ways) to get to the stadium from BART and UC Davis lost miserably, it was a pretty fun time.

John and I on BART.

View from the Student Section.

Since we were on the roll with going to sports events, we knew we had to go see the Raiders. In fact, John's favorite professional football team is the Oakland Raiders. According to him, it has always been that way since he was a little boy (though his second favorite team would be the Jets, which makes more sense). Anyway, it would have been a travesty if we lived here and never saw one game. In order to get me to go, we compromised by going to the Raiders/Colts game the day after Christmas so I could see my favorite player...Peyton Manning (he's so cute and funny!). For those of you who don't know, Oakland can be a pretty scary place, especially at sporting events like this. Therefore, John was not going to let me wear any type of sports gear relating to the Colts :( so, I just brought my binoculars and stared at Manning the entire time :)

This is an intense sign.

John following directions!

John with his game face on!

A view from the cheap seats.

My man in action :) The zoom works great on the camera.

Action shot!

Action shot 2!

John and I with a bunch of recent parolees in the background.

Box Seats at a Georgia Tech Game

2010-09-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Post by Jessica

Every year the Georgia Tech Alumni Association holds an online auction of various items in order to raise money for the organization. My sister and I were talking about how great it would be to win box seats at a Georgia Tech game. My Dad is known for his mad bidding skills when it comes to online auctions. He has spent WAY too much time on ebay perfecting these skills. Needless to say, we were not that surprised when he won the package. Not only did we get box seats to the GaTech vs. NC State game, we also received VIP treatment at the alumni tailgate before the game and got a lot of cool GaTech memorabilia. Unfortunately we only received 4 tickets though, so that meant I had to fly to GA alone and me, Dad, Geoffrey and Misti went.

Tech Tower.

Since it had been a while since I had made it to a Tech game, there were a few people I had to meet up with. When I was a student at Georgia Tech, I was heavily involved with the College Republicans. It was where I met my best friends and spent most of my time tabling (passing out Republican materials) and campaigning for candidates. Nathan Deal was running for governor, so the new CRs were in full swing campaigning for him (and a few other candidates) at the game. Here I was able to meet up with Orit and Ruth, two of the coolest people I know! They were CRs at the same time as me and are still involved in the political scene around GA. It was great reliving the 'old days' and I even passed out a couple of campaign stickers to passer-bys :)

The Triumvirate!

Tabling with the College Republicans.

Passing out 'Jackets for Deal' Stickers.

Old School CR Picture!(circa 2004)

Group Shot.

As I stated earlier, the game was against NC State. It also happened to be the annual 'white out' game where basically everyone wears white to the game. After the alumni tailgate, we were escorted to our box at the stadium. The box itself came air-conditioned and stocked full of free food and beverages. Even though we ended up losing the game, the experience was AWESOME. We said we were going to have to try to win the auction again next year!

Go Yellow Jackets!

I'm a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech!

Buzz :) Our Mascot.

Atlanta Skyline from Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Daddy and me in the box.

Geoffrey and Misti.

Georgia Tech Band at Halftime.