The Real Star Of The Show

Holding one close to her heart and one in her hands


Kaia's strength is something to behold. The journey from finding out we were expecting twins to actually holding them has been a challenging one, but Kaia has traveled it with great grace. Zevon and Guthrie may only be two days old, but they've had months to learn from their awesome mom.

Zevon in a close up


Our ultrasound doc dropped by yesterday and again asserted that he things our boys are identical. Take a look at the pictures here and let us know what you think. Zevon definitely has a baby rash and Guthrie's complexion is smoother, but I flip flop on whether I think they look identical or not. At the moment I think not.

Guthrie takes a turn

Evie Lu Meets Her Brothers

Okay, I give up, how do you tell them apart?


Zevon and Guthrie have a growing fan club, but there is no doubt as to who the president of that club is right now. Their big sister is crazy for her brothers. As Grandma Bev stays with her and Kaia and I are at the hospital, Evie spends her time wondering what her brothers are doing. Evangeline told Bev after Vacation Bible School was done, "Grandma, I'm going to see MY babies at the hospital."
All of her time playing with baby dolls has paid off as my little girl is very gentle as she holds her tiny brothers. As I write this I realize I've committed a very big dad sin, I'm not totally sure which brother Evangeline is with in these pictures! I'll check with the all knowing Grandma Bev, but I think it is Guthrie. Man, am I in for years of trouble with my boys!

Nope, I'm still the cutest.

The Gentlemen Arrive!

Happiness


Although we were thinking July 21, The Gentlemen made their appearance today. Kaia and Grandma Bev were at an ultrasound appointment while Evie and I were at Vacation Bible School and Kaia's blood pressure was higher than our doc was comfortable seeing.


Side by Side



Zevon Thomas and Guthrie Clayton were born at 1:41pm and 1:43pm. Zevon was 6lbs 8oz and 18 and 3/4 inches long. Guthrie was 6lbs 5oz and 18.5 inches long.

Zevon Thomas


Kaia was amazing. She is doing very well and I am blessed to be married to such an wonderful woman. The Gentlemen have already changed our lives. Oh the places we will go!


Guthrie Clayton (aka "Gus")

Megan Wants More Evie!

Dad, are you sure Jimmy Buffett is the only music for hammock time?


Evie's Aunt Megan demanded more and so here is another just Evangeline post. A few days ago I picked up a $20 hammock at one of my favorite stores. I checked google to see how to tie a hammock knot and voila we have a new chill out spot on the deck. I'm not sure if it is the low price or the fact I put it up, but Evie and I are the only ones who will use it.
Evie loves the hammock and I love to see my not so little girl hanging out with me.

Yeah, I might be here all day.

Summer Finally Came!

I don't like to eat them, I just like the fire


Evie has been having an amazing time with her Grandma Bev and last week warm weather finally came. Nearly every day featured kiddie pool time and outdoor eating. Evie was initiated into the marshmallow roasting club too. For some reason she still likes the plain ones better.

Zero Concerns

Kaia sees a Torgerson nose here


"I have zero concerns about the health of your baby boys." Those were the words of our doctor today near the end of our ultrasound appointment. We had been a little worried about Baby B after a non stress test yesterday, but all those worries were wiped away, by the two little words, zero concerns.

These are definitely giant noggins


Another special treat was seeing Baby A in 3D. He has been hiding for the last 6 weeks and it was so good to get to see him. Of course his brother decided to hide and that is why you only see one good profile in the picture above.

Kaia is a real trooper and now that she is into her 36th week she is really uncomfortable. There is no such thing as a restful position anymore. If the boys hold to July 21 our doc thinks twin 7lb boys are a strong likelihood! Whew!

The side by side comparison of waistlines shows B has really caught up

Every One Is Growing!

From May 30, 2010


It has been a wild week! Last Thursday Grandma Bev rolled in from Minnesota to help with Evie care and Gentlemen prep. Very quickly the phrase, "Grandma can you . . ." became constant.
Kaia hit 35 weeks yesterday and we are ecstatic. Even better we had a growth scan today and here are the latest numbers. Baby A is targeted at 5lbs 10oz and Baby B is estimated at 5lbs 9oz. Baby A is growing well and Baby B has closed the gap! Our ultrasound doc is feeling pretty strongly the boys are identical. We are just thrilled that the Gentlemen are growing strong.

From July 1, 2010


After church last week a member asked if we needed to build scaffolding to help keep Kaia upright. So far, she's doing great!

A Quick Update On The Gents

It has been a month since our last growth scan and today we had another. Our Doc told us that Baby A who had been in the 60th percentile has slowed a bit in his growth to the 40th percentile and is now at 4lbs 11oz. (He said this slowing was normal and nothing to worry about.) Baby B on the other hand has closed the gap and is now in the 30th percentile at 4lbs 8oz. Brain and heart development continue to look great. Baby A is breach (feet down) and Baby B is transverse (laying horizontally and on top of his brother).
All signs point to the Gentlemen staying put for a while longer which is very good.
Evie came with us and got to see a 3-D picture of Baby B. She was very excited.

A Little Something for Wednesday

A Graduate!

A distinguished group


Friday June 11th was a major day for our family. Kaia attended her hooding for her master's degree in teaching. Evie and I were very proud to be able to be with her and see the culmination of a lot of hard work. Way to go Kaia!

Evie is eyeing what degree she wants

A Little Rain Can't Stop Evie . . .

. . . especially when it comes to sandbox time.

There is room for you!


It has been more than two years since Evie started daycare and now it is done. This week marks the beginning of our not so little girl staying home with Kaia full time. (Kaia is counting the days until Evie's Grandma Bev gets into town.) What will a typical day look like? Well if Evangeline gets a vote it will have multiple sandbox sessions. Evie doesn't care if it is raining out, she really wants to play in the sand.

Just like lying on the beach. Right?

All My Friends Ride Lowriders

Drivers, start your engines!


Life is starting to change for Evangeline. She's got two brothers on the way and already attention has begun to shift away from her. (Most people at church ask her about the brothers instead of about what she's up to.) This week also marks her last at daycare. Evie Lu started over two years ago and it has been a great experience for her.
The big wheel was a $20 find on craigslist.com and it will be a part of "staying home with Kaia time." Evangeline has really loved the tricycles at daycare and now she has her own. I can't wait until she learns how to power slide through corners.

Looking Good!

A Quick Update On The Gentlemen

On Thursday May 20th we had another growth scan and ultrasound. Baby A and Baby B continue to grow at their own paces. Baby A is weighing in at 3 1/4 pounds and Baby B is at 2 pounds 12 ounces. This is good news! Kaia's new due date is July 21st, so as of today we are two months away from the arrival of our two bundles of joy. Keep us in your prayers.

Way to go, Grandma Rhonda!

Two weeks ago we traveled to Billings to see Grandma Rhonda graduate with her Masters in Accountancy. We are so proud of her and felt honored to be with her on the big day.

Jody and Will posing with the graduate

After the graduation ceremony, there was a big party to celebrate. Aunt Becky's awesome band provided music, with guest appearances from friends and family.

Sing it, Grandma Rhonda!

Will and Trevor join the band

Evie enjoyed catching up with her Montana friend, Olivia. They danced to the band in a frenzied 'ring around the rosy' dance. I wish I had a sound track to the following pictures. They were laughing and screaming so loud! So much fun!

Our time in Billings was way too short. But it did provide some quality time with family. It took a while for Evie to warm up to everyone, but she eventually did.

Playing with Uncle Jody

We realized on the way back home that this was the last road trip that our little family will take for some time. The idea that the next trip our family will take will involve 5 of us is overwhelming!

Our Church Baby-Baby Shower

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!


It doesn't surprise me that the people in our church love us, but I am regularly overwhelmed by how much they love us. Kaia's sister Kaitlin (also our Youth Director) along with our great friend Cam and Karen (our Children's Ed Director) organized an amazing shower for us.

Oh yes, there was a twin cake.


They thought of everything from great food to a fun game. One of the most touching thoughts they had was to ask some folks to bring little gifts for Evie so that she could have some gifts to open as well. Evangeline made out like a bandit and we'll be doling out gifts bit by bit after The Gentlemen arrive.

Oh, right, we need two blankets.


Thanks to the generosity of our community we are well on our way to being ready for The Gents to arrive. A gift that tickled Kaia were matching Minnesota Twins onesies. The card for that gift appropriately said, "To Will and Kaia (but mostly Kaia!)" All we need now is to know when you'll be coming to visit!

Blankets for swaddling!

Evangeline Is Taking Requests

Since Kaia has been on home rest I've been the go to bath giver. Evie has a lot of fun since sometimes I'll bring a guitar in to sing with her. What songs do I sing with Evie? She knows Werewolves of London and some other classics. At the end of bath time I pull the plug and let Evangeline play until all the water is gone. Last week she sang and played until all the water was gone and this is part of what we heard. I really wish I had caught this from the beginning.

Checking In With The Gentlemen

We don't have any new pictures to share, but we did have a growth scan today. Kaia and I had been hoping that Baby B would catch up to Baby A in the weight and size departments, but that was not the case. Our doctors are keeping an eye on the discrepancy, but told us that the difference was well within the normal range. The good news is that the difference between them has not increased and they are both gaining weight. Our doc said that this would be our story for the rest of the pregnancy. Odds are that Baby B will catch up to Baby A after they are born. Way to go Gents!

Sheriff Evie

Evie's daycare class had a short program for parents yesterday. They dressed up as cowboys and sang songs they had learned. One of them was called "I'm a little cowboy..." to the tune of "I'm a little teapot". It was pretty cute and I'm glad I didn't miss it. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I couldn't capture the cuteness of the whole class. Evie wanted to bring her costume home, giving me an opportunity to take pictures of her. She is pretty proud of herself!

Remember, horizontal lines are not slimming

I don't know why, but I've never been big on the pregnant belly pictures. But something tells me that this is going to be one for the record books, so I need some sort of starting point. Here is a picture of what a twin belly looks like at just 2 days shy of 24 weeks.

Happy Easter!

I wish I could say that the highlight of Evie's Easter was the awesome music at church, or playing with her friend Reece in the pew, or eating Easter brunch with Aunt Kaitlin. But the truth is, I think her favorite part was her dress. She got an Easter dress from Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne a week or so ago in the mail, and I actually had to hide it after trying it on her. Otherwise, she would have worn it all day every day. As it was, she spent most of Easter Sunday in it (long after all the adults had wisely changed into more comfortable clothes).



Lately, Evie has been classifying dresses as good or bad spinners. Does the dress spin? If yes, it is a good dress. This Easter dress is off the charts on spinnability. Take a look...





Evie enjoyed the little bit of morning sunshine we had here by trying out her new jar of bubbles as well.


Spinning dresses. Bubbles. Sunshine. All simple joys of childhood!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!