The Results Are In!

Today the letter from Affiliated Genetics arrived! And I quote:

"The twins are concordant for fourteen out of fourteen STR DNA markers. The twins are monozygotic (i.e. "identical twins") with a greater than 99% probability."

Very exciting news!

Warning: Not for the Faint-Hearted (read post before watching video)

So one of the questions we get frequently since the twins were born is: "how is Sofia handling it?" To be honest, when I was pregnant I had great concerns about how she would handle losing her place as the baby of the family. I really thought she would be terribly jealous. In actuality, though, she has proven us all wrong. She LOVES the twins. She still craves attention (like any 2 year old) but she never acts resentful of the twins. She never tells me to put them down. As a matter of fact, she often commands us to pick one up!

I do think our experience as parents has helped create a non-jealous environment. From the beginning, Steve and I were really conscientious of making sure we were paying attention to Sofia and continuing to give her tons of kisses & hugs. It also helps to have Stevie and Gabi paying attention to her. Another key point is that we have made her feel part of the twins as much as possible. When she asks to hold one, we accommodate her. If she wants to put a te-te in one of their mouths (even after wiping her snotty face with her hand), we have let her. As she has poked their heads and eyes and foreheads, we have withheld yelling out, "SOFI - STOP!!!" and instead gently said, "Remember, Sofia, touch softly."

The truth is newborns are "tougher" than they look and they probably will not remember all the pokes, jabs, coughs into their faces, rough handling, etc from their big sister Sofia. I DO think, however, that an older child will remember parents who were always saying, "Don't touch the baby." "You can't do that." "You're not big enough to hold her." So we have really avoided that.

So this video is a demonstration of Sofia's love for the twins. It is an early lessons for Jessica (and Nicole) that sometimes... love hurts.

An Early Father's Day Present

Nicole "Smiling"
Jessica "Smiling"
Late last night, Steve & I were sitting on the couch watching The Notebook (talk about a tear jerker!) Anyway, after the movie finished Steve was holding Jessica and talking to her when all of a sudden... HUGE SMILE right at Papa... TWICE! It was the perfect Father's Day gift.

So Grandma (Marie) was right! It was Jessica who smiled first. We didn't catch it on camera but the pics above show some involuntary smiles from both our cuties.

We're still waiting for the 2nd smile from Jessica and for the 1st from Nicole. Nicole has "found her voice" though and it starting to make cute little noises & coos.

Sofi's Story

This was one of Sofia's funniest works. It is as amusing as my mom's biggest pet peeve.

Sofia had found a red rubber ball. She was putting it too close to the babies' face so my
dad took it away.
Sofia- "GIMME MY BALL!!"

Dad- "Sofi, say it nicely."

Sofia- (in a softer voice) "gimme my ball."

Then dad gave her a look.

Sofia- "Can you gimme my ball?"

Eventually she got her ball. It is not easy to teach a 2 year old manners.

Now..

now the twins can smile! we will tell you who smiles 1st if you read this please comment of who you think will smile 1st we need at least 5 comments to reveal the answer.
love gabi!

umm.. i can not think of a title!

hello! Did u hear my (gabi's) latest achievements? well i got a spanish award 4 my good grades a music award 4 being in choir and the principal's award!
I was surprised. When i got principal's award i saw both of my parents but no twins (it is a mystery! :/

Bye!!
Gabi

is she gone? oh hi, i'm this guy :) my name is smiley i always put stuff when gabi is not around. you will see my face *e. g. :)* when i am posting something.
BYE!!

Love,

:) Smiley

Identical or Fraternal?

This has been the question on everyone's minds since we found out we were having twins. Unfortunately, when I went to the doctor last week, the "analysis" of the placentas that was done at the hospital told us absolutely nothing. It only confirmed that the twins were diamniotic, dichorionic (which means they had their own sacs & own placentas.)

Now... many people believe that if twins are in separate sacs, that automatically means they are fraternal. Not so... google it!

So when we got home from the doctor, Grandma went straight to the PC and ordered a DNA test. (Here's the website: http://www.affiliatedgenetics.com/twinzygosity.cfm)I got it in the mail a few days ago, took the samples (saliva) from the babies yesterday, and Steve put it in the mail today. So in 7-10 business days, we should have a definitive answer to the question.

What's my opinion? Well, I wouldn't be surprised either way. Sometimes, they look really different and it's pretty obvious who's who. But other times, especially when they both have their eyes open, they look A LOT alike.

We'll keep you posted!

Pet Peeve

I know this is going to be funny to me some day, but right now, it's my biggest pet peeve. I'm sure you will find this amusing.

When I'm holding 1 or both babies, this is my Sofia's favorite conversation:

Sofia: (pointing to twin A) "What's his name?" (You know how toddlers always mix up gender)
Me: "This is Nicole."
Sofia: (pointing to twin B) "And what's his name?"
Me: "That's Jessica."
Sofia: (pointing to twin A) "Annnnnddddd.... what's HIS name?"
Me: "Nicole."
Sofia: (pointing to twin B) "Annnnnnddddd.... what's HIS name?"
Me: "Jessica."

This goes on and on and on - ALL DAY - Sometimes I just ignore her and she just keeps asking the same question OVER and OVER again. Sometimes she will answer her own question and I SWEAR she knows she is answering wrong so that I will jump in and correct her. (e.g. Sofia - pointing to twin A "What's his name? Jessica??? Mama, is this Jessica??" Me - "NO! That's NICOLE! ARGHHH!!!")