The House Hunting Saga Continues

My dear friends and countrymen, we have made another offer! Which was countered. Not to be outdone, we countered back. Ha!

And the seller accepted! A contract was drawn up. Yet we didn't get overly excited, for we are aware of many instances in which progress such as this is made and then the deal somehow falls through. Plus, we needed to have the house inspected. This was particularly important as this is a remodeled older home.

Come inspection time, one lovely lady looked over every inch of the house and yard, then procured an extensive report. One that was very overwhelming to behold, at first perusal. Things such as "plumbing leak, flooding water into yard" and "wall of electrical outlets not functioning" jumped to our attention. But after a second look, we realized there were only a few potentially major problems (ahem, those I just mentioned) with a smattering of minor issues (rusted boot jack around sky light? Not so worrisome). Plus, we can put all these things in an addendum to the contract and have the seller deal with it!

But we had to wait to see how the seller would react. After too many days holding our breath, he finally got back to us, very willing to fix the things we had delineated! There were just a few issues he didn't want to deal with and we were more than happy to aquiesce as long as those major problems were resolved.

Now, friends, I have caught up to present. We meet with the realtor again to find out the next step. Because I have no idea what comes next, as we've never gotten this far.

But things are looking up! Repairs are to begin immediately. I'm still not letting myself get uber excited until we finally close, but I'm itching to let loose. It would be a real shame to have to start all over again. I've really liked not having to spend all my free evenings looking at homes. For a few weeks, all we ever did was sleep, go to school/work, and look at homes.

So what I'm saying is, this better work out or Katie aint gonna be happy! But if it does pan out, ah, bliss.

Note: Pogo is much cuter and Sean more studly in real life. Also, belly is much bigger. Finally the house looks nothing like this. End note.

Golden Gestational Week

I'm 25 years old and I'm 25 weeks pregnant, which must mean that this is my Golden Gestational Week! Okay, I made that up. But I'm celebrating anyway. By eating lots of food and taking lots of naps. And applying lots of cocoa butter lotion. It's a par-tay!

The doctor measured my belly length, I'm 33 cm. Typically, the length matches the number of weeks you are +/- 2cm.

So, I look like I'm 33 weeks pregnant, 31 at best. And this aint slowing down, no ma'am. Because these boys are going to keep getting bigger and bigger:

Wooie, look at that kid's body profile. They're getting so long! I swear I feel one baby simultaneously punch me on one side and kick me clear on the opposite side of my bulge. I guess it could be the two working in conjuction... but it's so coordinated, it has to be one!

They were being so cute for these pictures. Here's A taking a little rest on his arm.

The tech would push the wand deeper and shallower so we could sort of get an idea of what the face really looked like. It also revealed that A's feet were right in front of his own face. Stretch out, little dude! There's room!... for now...

And look, B's in the same position! Like twins!

Oh, right.

The only difference is that while A can rest peacefully on his cushion of tissue and fluid, B's being sat on by his brother. We even saw A wriggle his lil' bum right in B's face. Boys will be boys.

We also got some, ahem, "boy" pictures, which I will refrain from posting here. Out of consideration for you? Or them? Or me? These are the kind of existential questions we must ponder...

Everything's still healthy and strong, for which I am indescribably thankful. Though A's a bit bigger than average (his head is a week and a half bigger than normal! That'll be fun for me...) and B's a bit on the lower end of the age percentile. But nothing to worry about now, we just keep monitoring. And monitoring. And monitoring. And monitoring.

The Many Faces of Pogo

What with all these posts about babies, home buying, and other whatnot, I think there's a certain someone who feels neglected. Someone who feels a little under-loved. Someone who needs a little more attention.

My husband.

Ha, it's not my husband- it's someone much more important, Pogo! (oooh, Seany, I'm just teasing)

Because Pogo pays rapt attention to this blog and has become quite disquieted by her lack of representation.

So thus I present to you, The Many Faces of Pogo.

Alert! Curious. Ready to act.

Slightly bored? Or slightly distressed?

Caught unawares. Oh! I forgot, this is about Pogo. Okay, I'm on it.

Woah. Transfiguring into a rat? Actually, Pogo loves to have her head rubbed, including stretching her skin back like this. Honestly.

Then we squish it all back into place.

See how content she is now?

Just one sweet, cuddly, happy dog. She's like a human with all her personality. Makes me think of that Dick Van Dyke Show segment where Richie brings home a duck and it gets sick so they take it to the vet- the dialogue I'm talking about is from minute 4:35-5:00 (just, ahem, switch where the lady talks about cats and dogs).

Quick detraction- if you've never seen the Dick Van Dyke Show, watch an episode. I promise it'll have you cracking up in no time. I now want to own all the seasons on DVD after surfing through various youtube clips.

Don't worry, there'll be more installments of this series down the road, Pogo has many more faces to offer to the world. For now, adieu.

bulbous

Boom. That's 24 weeks. Big. Gigantic. Whale-like. Along with this large belly comes:

• A virtually non-existant belly button, except when standing and it bulges out just a bit
• The beginnings of lovely, light purple stretch marks. Ugh.
• An occassional surprise as I catch myself in the mirror, forgetting that I'm supposed to look like this
• A cute little waddle that slows down my walk. I used to be a fast-walker. Now people pass me. That makes me a little sad.
• The need for Sean to push me up whenever I'm in a comfy sitting position. One of these days, I'm going to become helplessly stuck and have to wait hours for someone to rescue me.
• Oh so many mid-sleep wake-ups, typically for a bathroom break. Training for when babies are here? I think so.

But despite those things, I actually quite enjoy gestating. I can cheer myself on as I gain weight. I drink whole milk. I'm never expected to do any sort of heavy lifting. My mom buys me clothes.

And more importantly, I have this inside me:

It really is incredible to feel them kick and punch. And fun to pick out names. Sean and I have an even tighter bond. I'm getting those motherly instincts. It's all such a beautiful process.

And isn't that little boy cute? We were only given pictures of A this time (last time it was just B's face)- I think because the doctor forgot what he'd already done. But, they're identical, doesn't really matter, right? I like how he's striking different poses with his hands- he'll make a perfect photo subject, he's a natural. And at least in these photos, you can get a better sense of the face. They're putting on the weight now so the face isn't so skeletal.

I think he's quite the looker.

Follow-up?

Some of you may be wondering about that house I mentioned in the last post. Sadly, it was not to be. The sellers got back to us saying that they realized they couldn't pay off their own mortgage if they sold it for the list price. They then proceded to hike up the price $16,000. I'm not sure if they're just very financially irresponsible or if it was some devious ploy to attract people at the lower price, get them emotionally inveseted, then ask for more. But either way, it's a no-go. It was disappointing, yes, but we're back on the trail, trying to find the best house for us.

On a happier note, how great was Lost? I haven't had nearly enough time to read all the analyses out there (who, me? A nerd? nah...). I'm a bit too inundated with real life decisions and situations. Ah, grownuphood.

Onward, ever onward!

Good Things

Ah, I'm in such a great mood. Good things are happening. What are these happenings?

A) We put an offer on a house! After we bid on a HUD house (a government owned house process where everyone bids on the house on one day) and came in second place, we were pretty bummed. But then we found this new house, which, honestly, I think we like better. Plus, it's not a HUD house or a foreclosure- bonus!

ooooh, man, are we anxious to hear back from the seller!

B) We bought baby things! We had some coupons at Toys R Us that were going to expire. Thanks to your excellent advice, we decided upon a stroller and infant car seat, plus we bought a pack n' play.

Look at those big boxes- sure filled up our car!

And all put together. Good thing we're trying to get a bigger place, eh? We still need to buy another car seat, they only one in stock. Don't these stores know we need two of everything?

We decided to get a Graco DuoGlider, which fits two infant car seats but can be used without them. We didn't get a lightweight frame like some of you mentioned, simply because I don't want to have to buy another stroller later. Thanks for all the advice, everyone, I truly appreciate you taking a few moments to give me your thoughts.

C) Lost Season 6 starts tomorrow! This I cannot even fathom, its been 8 months since the last new episode and here we are, about to start the last 16! We've just finished watching the last season in preperation. In fact, I'm watching the bonus features as we speak. Eek!

D) Sean took his Immunology midterms today, which means I get my husband back from the Land of the Study Warts!

E) I have a most wonderful husband, an adorably cute 10-year old puppy, and two perfect growing boys. I couldn't ask for anything more.