Finally...The Twins Blog Post

On May 17th 2010 we welcomed two new members into our family, Patterson David and Melody Kathryn Brink. Both were 20 inches long with Patterson weighing in at 7.10 oz. and Melody at 7.13 oz. That's huge for twins. fortunately they were both born healthy, happy, and with the appropriate number of fingers and toes. And they're cute too. Here, have a look:

And a few close ups:

Melody

Patterson

Unfortunately I don't have a decent pic of the babies with big sister Tessa yet. Part of the reason behind this is because she came down with bronchitis a few days before they came home. Major bummer. On top of that, I've been sick since Saturday. 'Nother bummer. Hence the delay in getting this all posted-today is the first day I've been able to look at the screen for more than three minutes without my head wanting to explode.

Tessa is doing very well with the twins. She tells them she loves them, hugs and kisses them and gives them their binkies. She also randomly takes the binkies away...but that's probably just good practice for big sisterhood later on.

As for the twins themselves, they're very good babies. They're not quite on a schedule yet (not a predictable one anyway), and they tend to wake each other up a lot. Patterson sleeps like a rock. Melody seldom sleeps. But they're both adorable and getting more active daily. It's quite hectic here at the Brink household, but it's all positive and will be well worth it in the end (y'know, when the kids are taking care of us in the old folks home).

It's amazing how much love you can have in your heart to open it up to two brand new people without hesitation. Our trio has turned into a full five piece band and we couldn't be happier. Thanks to everyone who gave us prayers and well wishes along the way. Back soon with more stuff.

Twin Names

As y'all know my lovely wife Valerie and I are having boy/girl twins. Any day now. We have chosen to keep the names a secret...but I can let you know something. With that in mind I present to you this list of the top rejected twin names.

Believe it or not, these names were all suggested to us. Some were more serious than others, but somebody thunk 'em all up. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and suggestions, and some of these are mine too, but for one reason or another these names didn't make the cut. Apologies if anyone feels as though they're being picked on, but some of you made a lot more suggestions than others. I've been trying to write all the suggestions down when they come up, and there have been some we've liked. This is not a complete list (nor does it include names from the early stages before we knew they were fraternal) but they are the most interesting.

So without any further ado, and in no particular order, here is:

THE TOP 25 REJECTED BRINK TWIN BABY NAMES

1. Jack and Jill (the most suggested one)

2. Emma and Ethan

3.Zack and Zoe

4.Daisy and Uncle Jesse (sorry Derek)

5. Binky and Bubbles (sorry Tessa)

6.Freddie and Flossie

7. Billy and Barbara

8. Hannah and Otto (briefly considered for the palindrome)

9. Jack and Diane

10. Jacob and Isabelle

11. Paul and Paula

12. Wilhelm and Wilhelmina (sorry Lori)

13. Bobby and Cindy

14. Bert and Nan

15. Boris and Natasha (sorry..well, just... sorry)

16. Theo and Vanessa

17. Anna and Andrew

18. Clarence and Claire

19. Fiona and Quinn

20. Charlie and Danielle

21. Butterfly and Bumblebee (I get it Elizabeth, but it's weird)

22. Luke and Laura

23. Connor and Chloe

24. Greg and Marsha

25. Aiden and Jayden (or anything else that is yuppie or rhymes)

So there you have it. For those of you who are still inclined to guess, you can officially cross these off your list. Now there are only about 5000 more names to choose from. Hope this helps. Good luck!

So Far This Week

So far this week I've...

1. Tried to keep Tessa from being run over in a parking lot. Successful. Very scary though. Almost sent Valerie into labor. Prefer not to write about it right now.

2. Dealt with customers who were going out of their way to piss me off. Also successful. Even got a high five today from a co-worker after a customer left for "not setting her on fire".

3. Mowed the lawn. Semi-successful. Sneezy.

4. Been on a roller coaster with doctors as far as baby and wife health. Still no babies so...success? Maybe? Dunno. Valerie went for a NST test today and the twins are fine, but her blood pressure was way too high. So they kept her for hours then sent her home. Meeting with her doctor tomorrow.

5. Gone to the Pearl Jam concert on Tuesday. Awesome. Well rounded set list, energetic performance from the band and got a limited edition special St. Louis only t-shirt. Will buy official bootleg soon.

6. Probably eaten too many pistachio nuts. Successful, but gassy.

7. Just shared a little too much. Sorry.

8. Posted the most succinct blog I've ever done. Too tired for details. More later.