Kevin here....

Wow. The countdown has officially begun (unless Brooke has an accelerated schedule). Two weeks from today.... I tell you, the "Cervix of Steel" is just amazing. The perinatologist just thought everything was doing great. Brooke is hanging in there, looks great, and as usual remains incredibly upbeat and energetic. How she can carry around two incredibly active aliens in her belly, I do not know (and they are very active).

We went through the U/S and the monitoring on Friday. Awkward positions for the twins, one of them was hiding below the other (or, one of them was blocking out the other), so made things a bit difficult (also appears one is punching the other in the head again -- signs of future problems???). Dr. Christmas (no, really, that is his name) is amazing. Even more amazing is the RN, Jennifer, who does the monitoring and engages us in conversation through the whole process. It would be great if either/both of them could be part of the birthing process, but the odds (and work schedule) are unfortunately against it. Still, I am very appreciative of their efforts and how comfortable they make us feel and how well they answer our questions.

During the monitoring (20-40 minutes of baby heartbeat tracking, depending on the cooperation of said twins) we have had many a conversation about names, and I have learned some truly amazing/terrible names for twins. Needless to say, I am quite sure that whatever names we come up with will not enter future conversations with the nurses and doctors.

These two little guys seem to be moving all the time. I can't imagine (although will soon know) that each operates on his own schedule and decides to kick, roll over, and even suck a thumb whenever he wants (Brooke's FB posting, that was an amazing 3-D U/S shot of one of the little rascals actually sucking his thumb).

Ugh... We are still trying to finish painting Gavin's room, yard work, house work, and, of course, baby work. I am very thankful that Brooke is the world's best surrogate and is letting these little guys "bake" as long as they need. We need all the time we can gather. Hang in there, in two weeks we may be ready....

Actually, we have been ready in our hearts for quite a long time. This is truly an amazing moment coming our way. There may be house preparation still to be done, gates to be put up, baby-proofing to take place for when they are mobile, but we are very, very excited and eagerly awaiting the "date". The number of hours that Ellen has put in for preparation is amazing.

I am very lucky in that I will be able to take two weeks of vacation time when they are born, work for a few weeks from home, then take a four week paternity leave. My co-workers have joked with me that after a week I will be looking forward to getting back to work. While I know that tiring times are ahead, I really can't believe that a good day at work would ever trump a bad day with having my little guys with me.

Thank you Brooke and Danny.

- Kevin