Well, I had so many questions asked, I’m going to have to break this up into two or three posts. So, I thought I’d get the big ones out of the way first. So, I hope this sheds light on the subject.

Adventure Dad asked: When did you find out you were having twins? And what was your reaction?
I learned we were having twins on November 17, 2004. I know that because my Y*M*C*A hosts a golf tournament each year. The 2004 tourney was supposed to be held on October 28th but it rained that day. I had to scramble to get a make-up date and the only day the course had available was November 17th. The only problem was Andrea was scheduled to have her first Doctor’s appointment that day. I asked her to reschedule but she assured me that I didn’t need to be there since it was going to be a preliminary exam and there wouldn’t be much to it. And I believed her.

When I arrived home late that evening, I scrambled up the stairs to find a smiling Andrea. She sat me down as I asked how the appointment went. She then showed me the ultrasound photos that were taken that day. There four or five of them and she showed them to me one at a time. She pointed out the fuzzy blob on each photo. First one, then the next. When she got to the third photo she asked me what I saw. “Oh, is that the baby?” I asked, pointing to a blob. “Yes.” She replied. “What else do you see?” “I dunno,” I said. She then proceeded to go back to the previous photos, pointing out each sack and each fuzzy blob. When we got back to the third photo, she pointed to one blob and repeated “That’s a sack…”

And then it hit me. I clearly saw two blobs in the photo. My mind began to grind to a halt as it struggled to comprehend the enormity of the situation. I looked at my wife and I asked, “Are you serious?” She nodded and smiled. I then yelped this nervous laugh as we embraced and tears welled up in both of our eyes. “Wow” was all I could manage. For about a week I kept walking around in a daze mutturing the phrase, “Two babies. We’re gonna have two babies.”

Honestly, my first reaction was shock followed closely by fear. We had just bought a new home and we had only budgeted for one baby. It wasn’t until we sat down soon after and redid our budget that I actually felt like we could handle this. A year and a half later and I’m not sure we’re handling it but the babies are doing well, so we must be doing something right.

Deanna asked: If I remember correctly, you met Andrea over the internet, right? How did that all come about? And Maria asked: How did you (or your wife) propose?
In the days before blogs people used to have simple web pages. Mine was a one page bio sheet that I thought was pretty cool. It listed my interests and my family history and little more. After I constructed this page using my limited html knowledge, I registered at a now-defunct site (called 411.com or 411info.com, something like that) that you could list your name, interests, schools, etc. so people could find you. I listed where I lived (northern California) and that I was interested in Track & Field.

At that time, I was pursuing my Master’s degree in Sport Psychology and living completely on my own for the first time (no roommates!). So, I clearly remember receiving an email from a woman named Andrea. She told me that she had seen my webpage by searching people who lived in California and were interested in Track & Field. She thought we had a lot in common. She informed me she lived in Denver and was planning a trip out to my neck of the woods to search for a clinical site (as she was pursuing her Master’s degree in Physical Therapy) and she wanted to know if I could recommend some places to visit when she arrived. She also told me about her interest in Track & Field and inquired about my coaching experience.

Stunned that someone had actually seen my webpage, I wrote back and we started to correspond regularly. When it came time for her trip, I offered to show her around (a very awkward proposition as I really didn’t want to freak her out). Luckily she agreed to meet me in a public place. When I first laid eyes on her, I was hooked. She was absolutely gorgeous and we hit it off immediately. That first night we went to dinner, went over to a friend’s house for a brief visit before I took her to Santa Cruz, my hometown, and we rode the rides at the Beach Boardwalk. By the end of the evening we were holding hands while walking along the beach. We spent the rest of the week exploring northern California and falling in love. Well, I fell in love with her. I had to be pretty persistent over the following months as we did the long-distance relationship thing for a year and a half before she finished her degree and moved out to California. You could say I wore her down. I hope she’d say it was worth it.

As for the proposal, I’d rather plead the fifth. But, it’s worth tellling the story, so here it goes. We began talking about marriage in the Summer of 1998. The only problem was that I was broke. I couldn’t afford to buy a ring and I really wanted to have a nice ring when I asked Andrea to marry me. My saving grace, however, was that prior to meeting Andrea, I was coaching a high school track team and one of the parents of a kid on the team approached me and thanked me for the work I had done with her son. She told me she was a gemologist and that if I ever wanted an engagement ring, to give her a call and that she’d help me pick out a nice diamond and get it at wholesale cost. So, I had this connection but I still couldn’t afford the ring. In the fall of 1998 I decided to coach the Cross Country team at the same high school. At the end of the season (November) I received a stipend for coaching the team. I used that stipend to purchase the ring. Now, all I had to do was figure out how to propose.

Fast-forward to late December. Andrea was graduating and I flew out to Colorado to be there for her big day. It was going to be a busy weekend as she would be graduating one day and we would be going to her best friend’s wedding the next. As I departed the plane, the ring was burning a hole in my pocket. I didn’t really know how I was going to propose but I knew I didn’t want to forget what I wanted to tell her, so I wrote it all down on a greeting card. The card detailed my love for her and the idea was I would give it to her, let her read how much I loved her and then get down on one knee and propose. The only problem was that I was on foreign turf. I had no idea where I was going to propose but it had better be soon because I was going to burst from anticipation. I also wanted to do it before all of the festivities so Andrea could show off her ring.

So, where to ask her? I thought, well the ride from Denver to her house is quite scenic. Maybe I can get her to pull over at a rest stop with the awesome view of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. That was the plan. It was a good plan. I was going to ask her at a rest stop with a romantic view of the Rocky Mountains. Yeah, great idea.

Then, we pulled into a parking lot to eat lunch before continuing our trip. And then, the inexplicable happened. I asked her to marry me in the car while we sat in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant.

Thank God she said yes. And, no, she hasn’t let me forget that I asked her to marry me in a parking lot.

Stay tuned for more Q&A

Bri,

What is up with you lately? You used to sit quietly on the floor, never moving outside a one-foot radius of where I left you. This was good. This meant I could leave you playing on the floor and be pretty darn sure you’d be there when I returned.

Then you started to combat crawl and we had to re-think our strategy. I had just become used to this when you started to actually crawl. Yes, this weekend, you started to crawl. You now go pretty much wherever you please. But that’s not all.

You have also begun to pull yourself up. Your mother came into your room and found you pulling yourself up to your knees in your crib. This made me have to lower the mattress in your crib – again. First it was when you sat up and I was recruited by your mother to lower the mattress. Now, I have to do it once again. It has been documented how much I hate changing the sheets on your crib. Now, while I have become quite adept at wielding my trusty hex wrench, I lowered the crib as low as it will go so I will never have to do this again. If you start climbing out of the crib, your mother can come up with a solution.

My point? QUIT GROWING UP! You’re almost 11 months old and I can’t handle all of the changes that are happening at a blistering pace. New teeth, crawling, solving quadratic equations (okay, not that last one, but you get my point) are all happening too fast.

Why can’t you be like your brother and just lounge around? He seems to be in no hurry to get teeth, crawl or solve quadratic equations. He will watch Sportscenter with me though, so he’s perfect in my book.

TheMonk and Swee’Pea are getting more and more mobile each day. Swee’Pea teases us by rocking up on all fours and even crawling backwards on hands and knees, but so far no real forward crawling. They do, however, combat crawl like little soldiers staying low out of enemy fire. They’ve gotten quite good at it. So good that Nutmeg the cat is seriously having to pay attention when they’re nearby. In fact, she will no longer take a treat when one of them is close by because that would mean she’d have to take her eyes off the little scooters long enough to eat the treat. It’s only a matter of time when a tail gets pulled.

Lately, when I’ve been playing with them on the floor, it’s getting harder and harder to keep them nearby. And when they head off somewhere, it’s never to a nice corner to play. No, one will start crawling towards the electrical socket while another crawls towards the stairs, causing Daddy to have a small heart attack and add to my growing collection of gray hairs. In an attempt to keep up, I’ve become adept at using my legs to coral one while reaching out to grab the other with my hands. Many times they think it’s a game and we play “save the babies from killing themselves” while the babies laugh hysterically and daddy sobs uncontrollably.

Fun times.

We have set up a prison play pen downstairs in our formal living room but we haven’t used it much since our upstairs loft is so comfortable. But it looks like we might need to start utilizing it – especially when Daddy has to get ready in the morning since Nutmeg has already made it clear that I’m on my own.

Oops. I gotta go. “Bri, get your hands out of the kitty litter!”

TheMonk and Swee’Pea test Daddy’s speed and agility

Lately, I’ve seen a few bloggers answering questions from their readers. I thought this might be a fun way to let my children know more about me through the eyes of someone else. So, if you have a burning question that I can answer in a future post, I’ll be glad to give them a shot. One caveat: My wife will have final editorial approval before I post my answers. If she’d rather I not reveal my most embarrassing moments to blogland, then I’ll just have to respond privately via email.

Ask away!

A while back I was asked by author Jennifer Margulis to take a look at her new book Why Babies Do That and to participate in her Baby Blog Book Tour by reviewing her book here at Childsplayx2. She was adamant that I was to be honest in my review which I appreciate. So, here is my first ever book review (which is different than all of those book reports I did as a kid – different because in this case I’ve actually read the book).

First, the book is square, measuring 8″x8″. The cover has a picture of a cute kid hugging a stuffed animal and below the photo it explains “Baffling Baby Behavior Explained.” Well, all right then! I’ve always wanted to know what the hell my baby is doing – this is my type of book. Upon opening the book, I glance at the table of contents where it lists 40 different “Why” questions. I glance at questions and scan the list looking for nuggets of wisdom. For example, I search for “Why do babies poop right before you’re ready to go out the door.”

Nope. Not there.

Other questions are answered, however. For example, the book explains why babies like to play with their own poop. (Geez, I’m not sure I really want to know why – as long as they don’t do it more than once.) It also explains why babies cry. Surprisingly, “Because they were born into a world that cares about Tom Cruise and Katie (or is it now Kate?) Holmes and the spawn they created” isn’t one of the reasons. You’ll just have to read the book to find out why.

Overall, the book is charming and written in an easygoing manner that seems to explain mysterious baby behavior with a smile. While it won’t win a Pulitzer and there really isn’t any groundbreaking info revealed that you can’t find on the Internet, it’s a cute book that would be an ideal supplement to any baby shower gift. My wife’s independent review included much praise for the photos that accompany each chapter. Our twins enjoy looking at the photos of smiling babies and the book has become a favorite of Andrea’s as she shows them the pictures of babies just like them (only not as cute).

Sarah and Kemp have asked me to join their newest blog project, Draft Day Suit. It’s a sports blog for the everyday fan. I’m honored to be a part of it. I’m not sure how many posts I’ll be able to squeeze in, but you can find me over there from time to time. Besides, somebody’s got to write about the exciting world of Track & Field, right?

On another blog note, Kara at Cape Buffalo has invited a bunch of us to participate in a tribute to Mom’s everywhere. A bunch of us will be posting mom-inspired entries as we approach Mother’s Day (which is May 14, btw, so make your brunch reservations now). I’m secretly preparing the post to end all mother’s day posts because my wife is a pretty awesome mommy – even if she does have just under one year of experience. So, stay tuned. And go read everyone else’s mommy-inspired posts. The lineup is posted here.