And the results are in.....

I was wrong...the zygosity test has returned...Colbie and Addison are IDENTICAL!!!

Official letter:
Dear Mrs. goines:

Our laboratory has successfully completed your zygosity test and your test results have been mailed. Thank you for your interest in our zygosity testing services. As requested when you placed your order, we have included a copy of your test results in this email.
Regards,
Robert Jackson, Business Manager
---- COPY OF TEST RESULTS #16716-120515 ----
We are pleased to report to you the results of the twin zygosity test that you requested. Analysis of the DNA indicates that Addison Rose Goines and Colbie Eileen Goines are monozygotic, or more commonly referred to as identical twins.
We first isolated DNA from cheek cells from the swab kits that were returned to our lab. We amplified the DNA using a technique called PCR. Next, we analyzed 15 standard DNA markers used in human identity (D3S1358, TH01, D21S11, D18S51, Penta-E, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO, Penta-D, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX and FGA) and determined that the highly variable DNA markers were the same for both twins. Thus, there is greater than a 99.9% probability that the twins are monozygotic.

Our Drummer

With our current system, Josh takes the first nighttime shift with the girls and I try to calm Jakey down and get him to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour (this hasn't been working for weeks and the kid is up until 10 pm!),  Last night I came downstairs after helping Josh get the girls situated, to find Jake lining up all of his sippy cups on the ground.  When asked what he was doing his response of course was "making some music!!!"

1 Month Stats for Colbie and Addison

We had the girls 1 month check up earlier this week.  They were troopers through the shots, and Dr. Laura was very pleased with how big they were and how strong their necks and backs were getting.  Here are their 1 month old stats:

Colbie:
weight:  8lb, 6oz ( 25% percentile)
length: 21 inches (45% percentile)
head: 35.5cm

Addison:
weight:  9lb, 1oz (45% percentile)
length: 21.5 inches (60% percentile)
head: 36 cm

How we roll these days

We finally got the three kid stroller all put together. Thank goodness Jake LOVES his special standing board on the back for the moment. We're quite a spectacle us Goines'!

Zygosity Test is sent!

In 10 days we should know if the girls are identical or fraternal twins!  I sent away for the DNA test, and received it over the weekend.  I literally had to take 8 cotton swabs of each baby's inside cheek, and then send it back.  The reason that we're doing this is because 25-30% of the time when twins are carried the way that I carried them, they are actually identical vs the assumed fraternal....and of course, they look an awful lot alike, so we're always going to be asked the question!! 

In case you're curious about this stuff, here is the info from the company that is running our zygosity test:

Twin zygosity is the genetic relationship between two twins (or higher order multiples such as triplets and quadruplets, etc.). With respect to genetic similarities or dissimilarities, twins are classified as identical or fraternal. More correct terminology should refer to identical twins as monozygotic (or MZ) while fraternal twins should be referred to as dizygotic (or DZ).
What is a zygosity test?

A zygosity test is a comparison of the DNA between two twins. At Proactive Genetics, we analyze regions of DNA which are called microsatellites. These are stretches of DNA that repeat over and over again, like AACT AACT AACT AACT. All humans have repeating stretches of DNA, and the repeats vary from one individual to another. If several of these repeat regions are the same between two twins, then it is highly probable (i.e., greater than a 99% chance) that they are identical twins in that the test fails to prove they are fraternal. If the twins are different at one or more repeat markers, they are considered to be fraternal twins. Interestingly, these are almost the exact same techniques used in forensics and in paternity tests. The genes analyzed are not related to any specific physical trait such as hair color, height or personality.

Hometown Days

We had the best family fun weekend this weekend, thanks to our new town!   San Carlos puts on a "Hometown Days" festival once a year, RIGHT around the block from us.   Friday night we went to hear the music... which turned out to be the middle school orchestra and dance troop.   Saturday started with a huge parade (it felt like every kid in all of SC was actually IN the parade), then we headed to the festival where Jake went in all the jumpy houses and rides and made a bunch of new friends.   Sunday was much of the same.  We never had to get in a car once all weekend (thank goodness as our neighborhood was packed!), and it was gorgeous weather.   We met a ton of new people (everyone is SO friendly) and had great family time!!

 

Thank You!

We want to sincerely thank all of the family and friends who have helped us this past month.  We couldn't have kept this house as sane as it has been without you.  Special thanks to the grandmas of course, who were a BIG help with Jakey, cooking, cleaning and holding babies.  Also special thanks to those of you who brought us food...we thank you so much for your time and generosity:  Nana, Leelee, Sara O, Valerie T, Katherine E, Jen B, Carolina B, Brie R and our wonderful neighbor Cindy.  Lastly, special thanks to Granddaddy,Uncle Mike and Susan P for helping with all of the house stuff that has popped up over the last month.  We appreciate the time, gifts and warm thoughts from you all reading this.  We send big hugs of thanks!

1 Month Old!

Yep, time has flown by...Addison and Colbie are already 1 month old.  We'll get all of their stats next week at their 1 month check-up, but I had to take the official 1 month photos.  They wouldn't quite cooperate (It's much harder to catch TWO babies looking at the camera!!), so I may try for some other pics later.  But, here is what I got.  This was also the first time the girls ever tried on hair accessories (thanks to Nana!).   Colbie is in the pink and Addison is in the purple.

Sleepyheads

Silly Jakey

Jake is now very interested in playing baby with his stuffed animals, as well as acting like one himself.  He will put diapers on his teddy bear, feed a bottle to stuffed pig, and stuff himself into the baby's carseat as below.  We were warned about this, so we're not making a big deal about it...plus it is cute watching him mimic us with his stuffed animals.

MPMOM

MPMOM= mid peninsula mothers of multiples. This is the group that all twin moms insisted that I join. I finally made is to the new parents of multiples meeting yesterday and it was fascinating. There were 8 moms with twins who showed up, and thAt alone was amazing to see. Everyone went around and talked about their struggles or questions. I had the youngest babies there by far (most were 6-7 months old), and the general feedback I received was; why/how was I out of the house with 3 week olds, why was I doing so much of the night feedings/I apparently look really tired, and that things will only get easier in a few weeks when the babies start sleeping for longer stretches at night. I definitely felt like the rushee at a new sorority being surrounded by the older classmates with more experience, but in a good way. I will definitely be meeting up with them more often going forward.
While at the meeting I finally weighed the girls as well- WOW have they gained weight in three weeks! The scale showed Addie at 8 lb, 8 oz and Colbie at 8 lbs, 1 oz! Those big cheeks are starting to pop out...soon enough I'm going to have two chubby babies, yeah!!!

Playtime with Tessa

Jakey was incredibly excited to have his old friend Tessa over this past weekend, as he hadn't seen her for awhile.  In true girl fashion though, Tessa was VERY interested in the babies.  It was so sweet watching a two year old hold the girls so gently and with excitement.  Jake was very confused as to why his friend wanted to play with his sisters, but soon enough they were both outside playing with bubbles and picking oranges.  Just look how adorable Tessa was! Jake begged Dan and Katherine to take him home with them...he didn't want to see them go!

Being a Mom x 3

Well, Mother's Day has even more meaning this year, considering I'm now a mom of three. I had a special moment today- laying on our living room floor, Colbie curled up on my tummy, Addison curled into my armpit, and Jakey lying on my other side, arms wrapped around me- three beautiful little people who are now very much dependent on me to just survive, let alone to teach and guide them through life. It's most definitely an overwhelming thought, but at the same time an amazing blessing and challenge. While there are moments of frustration every day now that there are three, we are slowly getting into our groove and the extra special moments far exceed the overwhelming ones.
So I wish a very big Happy Mother's Day to all of the family and friends reading this who are moms. It's an amazing job that we all have!
Here are my kiddos now:

Nanas Make Good Pirates

Yesterday I helped Jakey build a pirate ship in our backyard out of a diapers.com box.  It didn't take long for Nana to get right inside the pirate ship and play along:

It's a whole new world...

Today I decided that it was time that Colbie, Addison and I head out of the house and get some of the many things on my endless check list done.  So, for the first time, on my own, I packed and loaded up Big Bessy with the girls (preparing diaper bag, hoisting two carseats, adjusting and calming babies down took a good hour to get out the door by the way!).  We headed to Target, thinking that much of the list could be taken care of in one place.  Well...it was certainly an adventure.  Here are the things that I have now learned:
1. From now on, I need to park at the end of a parking lane (i.e.- I need one side of the van to have no car next to it).  Trying to fit a shopping cart between Big Bessy and some other car without scratching either one is a feat in itself, but then balancing on one foot to hold the darn shopping cart in place while hoisting two carseats out of the back of the van is just pure humor for anyone who was watching.  Those carts REALLY need a brake button of some sort!  Once I put one carseat in, the cart was off balance and kept wanting to roll right into the oncoming parking lot traffic...ahhh!!!!  
2. Don't expect to ever "stock up" at any sort of store again, when I bring the babies along.  Just fitting the two carseats into the shopping cart was rough, but then trying to pile things around them without letting anything fall on top of them was impossible. As you can see from the picture below, I didn't really end up getting all that much, as I was just couldn't fit what I wanted into the cart (yes, this is probably a plus in Josh's book).
3. Seeing two newborn carseats jammed into a shopping cart, actually is quite a spectacle for many Target shoppers.  MANY people stopped me wanting to see the babies and congratulate me.  It was very sweet, but per my previous posts, my yearning to feel "normal" and blend in just isn't going to happen.  This is my new normal. 
4. Stay calm, cool and collected even when you have two screaming babies in your shopping cart.  At one point, some silly employee pushed a very loud machine by my cart, startling both of the girls, causing them to cry.  All of the questions came racing through my head...What do I do? Who do I pick up?  Do I pick them up at all now that I have Target germs all over my hands?  Should I just leave the cart and haul the girls outside (I laughed at that one, as there was no way that I was easily going to hoist these two carseats out of the cart without toilet paper, cheese squares and cheerios raining down all around me causing a scene).    Ultimately, I just kind of started speed walking down the aisles, and the faster movement calmed them down, while I tried to hide my beet red face of course.
5. Don't push the feeding time limit on your first trip out of the house.  This I did, of course.  I thought about making up their bottles before I headed home, but I haven't quite mastered how to feed them both while they are the van yet (they are in the back row, and I would literally have to stand in the trunk and lean over the back seat to feed them best...and that just seems ridiculous looking for all in the rest of the parking lot.  But trust me, I'm SURE that I'll be doing that soon enough!).
Anyways....we survived our first store outing, but I'm definitely fearful of going to Safeway or any other store that has smaller shopping carts than Target.  The twin books recommend pushing your double stroller and then pulling a shopping cart behind you when you expect to be loading up on groceries....but hello...that just sounds like a complete disaster waiting to happen!! 
This is certainly going to be a summer full of adventures as I learn how best to manage daily life with twins!

Best Buddies

Our great friends the Bolgers drove all the way up from Monterey yesterday to meet Addison and Colbie.  Jake was SOOO excited to have some playtime with Benny Bolger.  Even though they don't get to see each other all that often, both just adore each other.  This play date was the most adorable yet, as the boys literally were totally entertaining each other, just talking back and forth, running after each other, playing pretend.   No parents were needed to break up a sharing issue at all or to encourage playtime...they were just so happy to have each other to play with.  As we walked to lunch, the boys insisted on holding hands with each other too...how cute is that!!  We can't wait to meet Baby Bolger #2 coming in mid July!!  We're sure that Addie and Colbie will just adore him, just as Jake adores Benny.

Sometimes it's worth it

Sometimes its worth getting into an uncomfortable position just so that you can feed both girls at once...doesn't quite cut the 50 minute feedings in half, but it does cut it down quite a bit.  In the middle of the night, those extra 20 min of sleep feel like an eternity.  I caught this one of Josh last night at the 9pm feeding:

Endless...

Just take a look at my dish washer...this is not even all of the bottles that they go through in one day (currently they go through about 20 a day)!  Thank goodness for quick rinse cycles on the dish washer, as I have to run it every single morning just to get these bottles ready for the day.  It's really incredible when I look at this picture!  Between washing bottles, doing laundry (can we say that I'm living in spit-up city right now??) and changing diapers, my days are zooming by already. I did venture to the grocery store for the first time yesterday, and it was the strangest feeling to NOT have everyone starring at me.  Even though I was slightly hobbling, I felt quite normal for the first time in a lonnnggg time!

Having fun taking pics- twins 11 days old

Just having some fun taking pictures of my girls on my first day all alone with them...