Not an illusion, this is actual MAGIC!

Being pregnant is an awful lot like watching and performing the best magic show ever... for 8 months and counting.  The first "trick" I performed was finally, FINALLY making 2 lines appear on a pregnancy test. 



 

The picture is blurry and the 2nd line is very light, but seeing it appear before my eyes was one of the most exciting moments of my life.

Our first ultrasound was truly amazing.  I had some health issues so I had seen many ultrasounds of my empty uterus.  This time was different...  the tech got out the wand to take a peek and *POOF* there were not 1, but 2 little bubbles in there - TWINS!  Just like in the magic show when we're shown the empty cage from every angle and then a white tiger appears, where there once was nothing there now was something... 2 somethings.. no wait, 2 someONEs inside my belly.  Ben's reaction still cracks me up.  All he could say was "I don't want to drive a mini-van!" 

We went back the following week to check on the babies and were surprised to see how much things had changed in there.  Not only did the bubbles have "stuff" inside them, but part of that "stuff" was flickering.  That's right ladies and gentleman, there were 2 HEARTBEATS!

The next "trick" the babies performed for us was morphing from a blob into a cuter blob with a separate head and body.

After that they were really determined to impress us.  They soon developed "arm buds" and kind of looked like little babies.  At this point I started to become impatient waiting for the magic on my side to start happening.  When would I feel them move?  When would my belly start growing impossibly huge?  Boy would I regret wishing for that last thing.

At just over 13 weeks along I had to go for scary tests to see if the babies were at risk for any chromosonal issues (fortunately, chances are they are not).  I was so nervous to go in but it ended up being a wonderful doctor's visit where I got to see the kids for over half an hour.  I was in awe at how much they had changed.  They had arms, legs, and FACES!  They could move around and did quite a bit.  Baby "B" even got the hiccups! 

It was truly a miracle to see these little people evolve so quickly from nothing into actual babies who already seemed to have minds of their own, and I was only 3 months pregnant!

Our next visit with the babies was "THE" visit.  The one where they would reveal all their secrets...  would we have girls or boys?  My whole life I only pictured myself with daughters but from the second I saw that 2nd line on the pregnancy test I KNEW snakes and snails and puppy dog tails were in my future.  I guess I have ability to tell the future - does that count as magic?  :) 

Within a few seconds the tech confirmed that baby "B" was in fact male.  He was laying there, legs open, letting it all hang out.  Baby "A" was much more difficult.  He had his legs crossed with the cord between them, but for a

split second he flashed us and sure enough, I was right, 2 boys!!!  Ben was so revieved, I don't think he had a second to enjoy my pregnancy up until that point because he was so worried that (in his own words): "One day a little girl will grow up and a boy will try to take her on a date.  I just can't handle that!!"  Now he has 2 sons to scare some other poor father to death in 15 years.  As usual, the boys were not very coorperative with photos so here is a baby head and a baby foot.

Not long after this, Ben and I were walking Oscar when it FINALLY happened.  I doubled over, holding my stomach in disbelief.  Someone MOVED inside my belly... and I felt it, like fingers drumming lightly on the inside of my skin.  Around this time was also when I began my amazing transformation from a regular girl into a pregnant girl with a remarkably HUGE tummy.  I know you've all seen the pictures but I don't know if they really do it justice.  I've gotten so large that I've seriously considered cutting a hole in our bedsheet to pull my head through and wearing that for the next 2 weeks.  I guess that would "magically" turn me into a single mother though as I'm sure Ben would be horrified and disgusted.  :)

All of the pictures of the boys between the "big reveal" and now look pretty alien like because they were too big, cramped, and camera shy to give us any good poses, but at my very last ultrasound we got this cute picture of baby "B" sucking his thumb.  It is kind of difficult to make out but his face is to the right and he is looking straight at us.

Now the anticipation is building for the grand finale.  In 12 days we experience the greatest magic of all - when 2 Petersons enter a room and we exit as a family of 4.