I finally finished this post!

This picture is of my tummy full of tiny girls. Everyone is always so surprised that it isn't bigger.

I have a towel around my neck because it was 90 degrees outside. I look like a pregnant boxer.

I have to say that I was a little nervous about going to our baby shower. I am not fond of being the center of attention. To this, I can hear Jeff laughing. Ok, I am not fond of being the center of attention in that kind of setting, with that many people for a "normal" event, like a baby shower or a birthday or a wedding or something.

We had the shower outside at Allen Pond in Bowie where my parents live and there were about 50 people there. All family and friends. I got to see lots of people who I hardly ever see, which was rad. But then there was also some guilt about that because Jeff and I sorta live in this little pod here in the city. No matter. Everyone we know is excited about the fact that we are having twins, not to mention twin girls! And it showed in the volume of tiny pink clothes that we got.

No really, people were just so very generous. It was crazy. Here is a picture of Jeff and I dwarfed by presents. Some people went overboard, we would open a bag and literally pull out 5 or 6 sets of two outfits. Most of the time, they were "the same, but different" which made me happy. A few times they were identical, which Jeff and I have been pretty against. But seeing those little matching outfits, you can see how people would have a hard time avoiding doing it. We figured that a few matching outfits won't hurt the girls for the 0-3 months sizes. But after that, we will have a strict policy of individualizing them. I am sure they will want to dress alike at some point. Not sure how I will handle that, but we will see.

Besides clothes, we got all kinds of other things, including, a changing table, Snugli Front and Back Carriers, sleep sacks, bath towels and products, breast pump, monitors, diaper genie, toys, bouncy seats, gift cards, homemade blankets... the list goes on and on. :) Oh! and diapers! Diapers and wipes. I think we got at least 400 diapers, which by my count will last about a month with two babies. :)

This is a picture of Jeff and I opening the present from our friends, Lisa and Jonah. The people in the background are my brother and sister! I don't think we have had a picture of all of us together since I was 12 or something. Lisa and Jonah's card and presents were the only ones to make me cry all day! And I am pregnant, you'd think that I would have been crying all day long. I have known Lisa since like 8th grade and I am so happy that I still know her. She also brought a card from her mom and dad, which was also emotional for me. I spent so much time running around their house in high school. Thinking back, it is funny to think that that loud teenager is about to become a mother to two tiny girls. Not that I don't still act like a loud teenager most times, at least I did before I got pregnant. Being pregnant has calmed me a bit.

A lot of my extended family that came to the shower hadn't seen me since I lost 70 pounds and got pregnant and gained 50 back. That is a long time! So, many people were very surprised when they saw me. My cousin, Machelle, said the best thing... "You must have lost A LOT of weight." That made me happy.

Sorry this post is so jumbled. The whole day was a little overwhelming. I think we got a taste of what birthday parties or other events held in Rachel and Anya's honor will be like. And I am not sure if I want the girls to get that many gifts and or attention when they are little. I don't want to raise spoiled children. But then again, people love twins, so I think it will be a delicate balance.

The whole day happened because my parents set it up and worked really hard in the heat to make it nice for us. Here is a picture of them and Jeff and I at the end of the day, all very over-heated.

All of the presents barely fit in our car. I wish I had a picture of that. All the men started walking the presents to the car and looked like a line of ants marching with breadcrumbs. I say the whole day was overwhelming. But it was also a little surreal. Jeff and I are not baby shower people. We are not family gathering people. We are, let's go to the movies on Xmas people. And to be the center of something like that was strange for us. And to see how generous people were was just, well, overwhelming. I think it taught us that we need to spend more time being family gathering people, while still being art gallery/video game/going to the movies on Xmas people. I think with the tiny girls, it will be a delicate balance.