Is this all a dream?

We're still in a state of shock over having twins. I keep thinking about a story on the last Father's Day edition of This American Life about where a dad of 20-month-old twins broke it down like this:

Another blurry ultrasound pic of the girls

"We have twins. No, that word should be banned. You know what twins are? Two f*#$@ing babies at the same time.... So when someone says, 'Oh, you have twins!', tell them, 'No, that doesn't really cover it. I have two f*#$@ing babies at the same time, and you know what that is? It's pretty f*#$@ing crazy all the time.'"

I think back to when I first heard that show over the summer. Mike and I were listening to it on a podcast as we drove home from Oregon the long way through the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. We thought it was so hilarious; who knew we'd be face-to-face with that reality by Christmas? One of the first things I think I said to Mike after we left the ultrasound was, "Two f*#$@ing babies at the same time!" In so many ways, I have no clue how we're going to do this - how we will have enough energy, both physical and emotional, to take care of two newborns, then two infants, then two toddlers, then two pre-schoolers, etc., without becoming wasted husks of human beings. But our good friends Leah and Chris (who had their own set of twin girls last Spring) assure us it's possible, and even actually fun sometimes. And that we will eventually get to a point where we will feel so very lucky to have twins and maybe even a little sorry for all those parents who just got singletons.

Belly bump at 20 weeks

Already the waters are starting to calm and we're able to think about our girls without completely freaking out. Part of me still can't believe it's real - even though they're right there inside me, I can't tell yet that there are two of them - and another part of me has already gone into "research and plan" mode. For now, we're happy to report that they are healthy (and big - 12 oz. each!), I am healthy, Mike is healthy and my belly is growing at an alarming rate. We have each other, our senses of humor, and a wonderfully supportive bunch of family and friends, and that's enough for now.