Merry Christmas!

As many people seem to say at this time of year, “How quickly time has passed!” This post brings with it love and hope that you can spend some time this holiday season reminiscing about the joys and blessings of 2008. Here is a caption of “the year that was” for the McGraw family:

In December, Katie and I were blessed to hear the news that “there’s another one in there” at one of her early routine sonograms. We spent last Christmas filled with joy – and anxiety – about our sudden family of four! Saunter on over to our "Blog Archive" to relive the madness!

In the spring, I began a thorough pursuit of my Master’s in Art Education degree at my alma mater, Illinois State University. As it stands today (December 2008), I am only 17 credit hours away from my Master’s degree!

Katie finished up a Teacher’s Assistant job at Northpoint Elementary school in May – and even though she was pregnant with twins – she was still able to keep up with the little kids! Katie has taken this school year off to be with the boys and tutor mathematics to high school students during the week nights.

I am still at Chiddix Junior High School teaching 7th and 8th grade visual art. In August, I was offered the visual art building chair position at CJHS, which means I oversee the art department and work with the district on curriculum and building issues. I am blessed to be able to say that I truly love my job. I also spent last spring coaching the CJHS Track and Field team. I will be entering my third year of coaching the team this March.

Of course, the biggest news of the year came in June when Joseph David and Jameson Michael McGraw were born into the world. Joseph’s name is in honor of my late father – as it was his middle name – along with honoring St. Joseph, to whom I have a great devotion. Joseph’s middle name, David, is in honor of Katie’s father. Jameson’s name is an Irish variation of James, who is my patron saint. His middle name, Michael, is in honor to St. Michael the Archangel. Having children truly does enrich one’s life – especially if you have two for the price of one! Too bad hospitals and insurance don't honor that "two-for-one deal!" As of this writing, they are smiling, babbling, sometimes rolling onto their backs, giggling, and have totally mastered drooling. They are also beginning to learn the wonderful use of a spoon (as documented earlier).

This year has brought many changes to the McGraw household, but through it all, the constant in our lives has been the love we share. We extend that love to you along with best wishes and prayers for a blessed year! May the joy God brings this season stay with you all year long!

Peace and Blessings,
The McGraws

The Power of the Spoon!

Today spoons, tomorrow SPORKS! Click on the link below to see the McGraw boys' first steps into culinary magnificence!

Joseph and Jameson's Big Bites!

What's 5 Months? Like 150+ Days!

(Chris:) "Dropping some 5 month knowledge on all y'all!"

(Katie:) "On Thanksgiving, the boys turned five months old. They started rolling over and eating solids. They're laughing and babbling and having new sounds everyday!"

(Chris:) "Hit 'em with some pics!"

5 Month Photo Gallery

4 Months Wiser

Three Month Update (Finally!)

11 Weeks!

As the weather begins to change from hot summer days to cooler fall-like temperatures, the boys have begun partaking on some of their own changes.

Joseph and Jameson have started tracking objects with their eyes, cooing (in small amounts), and smiling (yes!). They seem much more aware of their surroundings and more interested in the world around them.

A new-found fascination and exploration of their mouths has led to a lot of tongue-sticking out moments and putting hands (theirs and their brothers) into their mouths.

Could the big change be right around the corner? Last night, both boys slept for five hours straight! Combine that with another three hours after feeding, and we are talking about some serious sleep in the McGraw house! Could the days of two-hour sleep shifts be leaving us?

All in all, life is wonderful (despite the leaky roof and sniffles) for the four of us. On second thought...life is wonderful because we have the four of us.

Have a blessed day and we send our love,
Chris, Katie, Joseph and Jameson

Good Times Coming Around The Bend

Our roof in the living room has started leaking and I am down and out from a head cold, but at least there are moments like these...

I Am So Hungry I Could...

The idea of going to the town of Normal's Sweet Corn Fest is too much for Joseph to handle...



To see the McGraw family's visit to the Corn Fest (you wish your town had a Corn Fest), follow the link to the photo album:

McGraws vs. The Corn Fest

God bless, everyone!

The McGraw Boys Meet The SuperCity!

Sorry for the delay in a new post, but the start of the school year (along with a Fall graduate class) has kept me pretty busy! For those of you who still check the blog - thank you! New posts should be uploaded throughout the week.

Here is a photo album from the McGraw family's first vacation to the land of Whitey's Ice Cream and over-priced Happy Joe's pizza - the Quad Cities:

Joseph and Jameson's First Road Trip

We hope and pray all is well with everyone! Please keep us in your prayers as you are in ours! God bless!

Babies, Baptism, and Blog

You look familiar...
First news, we found out whether the twins are fraternal or identical a couple of days ago. Despite what many people think, and the results of our poll, Joseph and Jameson McGraw are identical twins! This, of course, means that there will be lots of "tom-foolery" by the boys in years to come (i.e. switching clothes to fool us, tricking girls into dating the other brother, etc.). Katie and I were very excited to hear the news!

They made the cut...
Joseph and Jameson McGraw are now members of the Catholic family! Despite worries about the entrance exam, both boys made the team and are happy to be holy. Both boys look different now with those halos above their heads. To see photos, please click the link below:

Joseph and Jameson's Baptism

Freedom of speech...
I have heard from various people about having trouble leaving comments on the blog. Here is a quick tutorial that should help:
1. Type in a message in the box, and be sure to type your name after the message.
2. Type in the letter verification in the following box.
3. This is the step that makes everything a little tricky. The next area asks for you to pick an "identity." The best thing to do here is to click the "Anonymous" button.
4. Click on the publish button. It sometimes takes a little time to post the comment, so a good rule of thumb is to check back later in the day to see if it is posted. If not, you can always email us your comment - we love hearing from people!

Boys Being Boys

This video is from a few weeks ago when we went into the boys' bedroom and saw a demonstration of what brotherly love is all about. We were so proud. Note: Audio has been muted.

The McGraw Boyz

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One Month Wiser

Sorry for the delay in posts. Who knew two babies were so time-consuming!? As opposed to posting a few pictures in the blog, we have provided a link to an online photo album which contains various photos from the McGraw boys' first month of living and breathing under the sun (and moon). Enjoy!

Joseph and Jameson's One Month Photo Album.

We hope and pray all is well with everyone!

God bless,
The McGraws

First Bath!

The McGraw boys come clean...
click on an image to see a larger version

Jameson gets first crack at the sink.













Jameson hopes this shampoo leaves his hair full of body and shine.












Jameson gets dried off after the bath.


















All done!













____________________________________________________________


Joseph approaches his bath cool, calm, and collected.












Joseph is SO L.A. with his "faux-hawk." He also might be flashing a gang sign.

















Joseph's "grumpy/annoyed" face makes Katie and I laugh.
It's like he has already realized that his father is a goof-ball.

















...but like father, like son.

One Week Ago...

...at this time, we were blessed with two of the sweetest, cutest, manliest, awesomest, most adorable babies! We thank God for calling us to this vocation, good health (for mom and babies), positive development of the boys, and amazing friends and family who continue to humble us with their love, generosity and care. We hope to see you all soon!

Thank you again for all you have done!
Love,
The McGraws
Chris, Katie, Joseph, and Jameson

"Blessed is the Lord our God, Ruler of the universe for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this happy day.

O God, for the gifts of these children we give thanks, praying that we will be worthy of the blessings and responsibilities of parenthood."
- Traditional Jewish blessing and thanksgiving for a new child

Home Sweet Home

Joseph and Jameson are now officially home! Upon arrival, they were surprised with gifts left behind from the grandparents. There was a fridge full of food and two cute signs posted in our lawn announcing the boys' arrival. As you can see, the boys were overcome with emotion.

Our first night home as a family was a special one. Somewhere during the night - and by night, I mean late, late night - we got the boys off of their feeding schedule (we usually feed them at the same time) and found ourselves feeding a baby almost every half-hour...for eight straight hours. We call it "bonding time." Fortunately, we quickly learned the error of our ways and have had some pretty successful nights since then.

Katie and Jameson prepare for their all-nighter.

Everything has been going great as we all get adjusted in the house together. We have more pictures to post, so please check back here frequently. Just as a reminder, you can always click on a picture to see a larger version of it.

Please keep us in your prayers! We appreciate all of the kind gestures and thoughts.

God bless!

Day 3

Mommy, Daddy, my bother and I are going home today! Thank you SO much for praying for us! The doctors are very pleased with our growth (and dashing good-looks) and we know that it is because of everyone's thoughts and prayers that we are able to go home so soon! Please keep checking the blog as Daddy is going to post more pictures here in the next couple of days. He is always shoving a camera in our faces (see picture below).

Please keep praying for us and especially for Mommy who is recovering from surgery. We can't wait to meet everyone!

Love,
Joseph
The older, wiser brother.

Day 2

Joseph and Jameson were born at 12:45 and 12:46pm, respectively. Katie is recovering nicely, and both boys are doing very well. Neither little guy needed extra oxygen, which is great, and they continue to get positive results from the nursery. Katie and I are going through a million emotions. We truly want to thank everyone for the prayers, kind words, and good thoughts as we headed into today. We promise to post more in the days to come.

Thank you again and please keep praying for our new family!

Babies Update (36 Weeks)

As crazy as it seems, the delivery date has been set! On Friday, June 27th, at noon o' clock, Katie will have a cesarean section at St. Joseph's hospital in Bloomington! We are very excited to finally see our boys! Katie suggested that one might look just like me and one might look exactly like her. If that is the case, then one of them will be very lucky (I will let you guess which one)!

PLEASE keep Katie and the boys in your thoughts and prayers on Friday, and we promise to update everyone as soon as possible following D-Day (Delivery Day).

Thank you again for all of your support during this amazing journey! We love you all!

God bless,
The McGraws

Babies Update (35 weeks)

The babies' space is getting pretty limited. This meant that we could not get good sonogram photos of the boys, but I have provided everyone with a drawing of what I confidently think they look like.

Both babies have been gaining weight (which is always good news), they now weigh-in at 4 pounds 3 ounces, for "A" and 5 pounds 1 ounce for "B." Katie also put on a little weight - I thought she looked heavier - gaining two whole pounds.

SOOOOOOO...where do we go from here? The biggest factor right now is the weight difference between the two babies. Since they are both still gaining weight - which is good - we are going to see the doctor next Tuesday to measure and weigh them again. As of right now, the plan is to go to the hospital next Friday (June 27th) for a c-section! Of course, this could change if "A" and "B" decide to see the world earlier.

We will post next Tuesday when everything is finalized, but until then, please keep Momma and the boys in your thoughts and prayers! Can you believe this journey's end might be in sight!?

God bless!

Belly Watch 5

I know there might be only a little change with these "Belly Watch" pictures, but here's a view of the nursery. This spring Chris and I painted the room green. He painted a giraffe and a turtle picture for above the crib, and he plans to make another painting using their names. There is a panda and a bunny in the boxes on the side wall. These are both from our childhood. The nursery is almost complete, but it is ready for its pint-sized occupants!

Today was another doctor visit. I went over our birth plan with the doc, and she said it looked good and they could accommodate what we had listed (except for Chris getting to walk around in a doctor's coat and talk to people like the doctor in "House"). She also said I was almost a centimeter dialated, which is slightly more that last week. The majority of the appointment was spent on the baby monitors. With two of them, it takes twice as long. Their little hearts were monitored and were going strong. They also monitor for contractions, and they said I had one in the hour I was monitored. I didn't feel it though- wouldn't that be nice if that were the case for all the ones to come!

Be Prepared (x2)!

Katie and I made out our "Birth Plan" last night. This was ironic because we had just watched a rerun of "The Cosby Show" earlier this weekend which dealt with a similar item. This episode is where John Ritter and his wife are patients with Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. The over-confident couple have an elaborate, and somewhat ridiculous plan, which, in the comedic genius of John Ritter, falls apart at the time of birth. Although I am sure there will be some similarities between myself and bumbling husband John during the birthing process, Katie and I feel like we got a pretty good plan written out.

What is a "Birth Plan?" Basically, it is a list of all the preferences and choices Katie and I have made for her delivery that she will share with her doctor. It is somewhat like a map that the delivery team will use to follow her instructions, if applicable. Things like, "I don't want the lights dimmed in the delivery room," to whether or not to give pacifiers to the babies after birth, to who cuts the cords, etc. would be found on a birth plan.

The making of the birth plan is definitely making the arrival of those baby boys more and more real! The time is coming - can you believe it!?

We just ask that you please keep praying and thinking good thoughts for us! We appreciate every blessing received because of all of you! God bless!

Raining Babies (aka Baby Showers)!

There is nothing better than knowing that people truly care for you. Well, maybe getting presents is better...especially if they are branded with the Chicago Bears' orange and blue ("Bear down, Chicago Bears!")...none the less, you could feel the love over the past two weekends in the Quad Cities. Katie and I were blessed to have two wonderful baby showers held for the McGraw boys!

The Stimpson side of the family held an informal shower last weekend, which featured many thoughtful gifts (see aforementioned jackets) and some delicious pie! We can't thank everyone enough for their generosity, time, and heartfelt wishes that we received at the baby shower. The clothes have been put in drawers, the diapers have been stored, and the Bears jackets have been dry-cleaned and put in a place of honor. Thank you again to everyone who attended!


The McGraw side of the family held a baby shower for us two weekends ago. The theme was "twins" - so everyone had to dress similar to someone else (see picture below of Grandma and Grandpa Glaudel getting into the spirit). Thank you to everyone who attended and went through the effort in finding matching clothes! Also, thanks to my sister, Jenny, who demonstrated that, yes, twins can wear "similar-but-different" outfits! We had a very nice time and received wonderful gifts! Everyone's graciousness and generosity is very humbling, and we can't thank everybody enough for throwing us such a fantastic shower!


All in all, Katie and I realized throughout these past two weekends just how truly blessed we are, and what a wonderful group of people our children will have the pleasure of meeting.

Thank you, everyone, for the special memories!

God bless and see you soon!
Chris, Katie, and the boys

Babies Update (33 weeks)

"You are disgusting!" The doctor was smiling as she made that comment. Nobody can believe how great Katie looks. 33 weeks with twins, and only 20 pounds heavier, Katie is making this twin pregnancy thing look easy (knock on wood, of course).

The boys are doing fantastic, "A" is now weighing in at 3lbs 7oz while "B" is 4lbs 3oz. The disparity in weight is not a concern to the doctor, but is something that she will keep her eye on during the next couple of weeks. Basically, the placenta is giving the boys all it can, but one is just getting a little more than the other (a.k.a. being a "hog").

Maybe "B" is just trying to get back at "A" since "A" has been kicking him in the face for the past 8 months. While looking at the little guys on the screen, we watched as "A" continually put his feet in "B's" eyes, nose, and mouth. Nice. Don't worry, because at the end of the sonogram we watched "B" take his foot and place it suspiciously near "A's" face. "A" then proceeded to bring both hands up and complete a successful block. Editor's Note: Typing this previous incident made me realize how much effort goes into typing "A" and "B." I can't wait to call these guys by their first names. Would you like to know them? Keep waiting...

Another fun moment today came while recording the babies heartbeats. As Katie and I sat in the room listening to the tiny, muffled sounds of a heart beating, we suddenly started to hear this big "boom" every couple of seconds. We were soon told that what we were hearing were baby hiccups. Of course they were coming from "B", since he is after all our fat baby.

Katie (as stated earlier) is doing great! The doctor is hoping that we can at least make it to 34 1/2 weeks - which is not too long at all. Obviously it would be great if we could go the whole 37 weeks, but we are just taking each week at a time. The longer the buns stay in the oven, the better. Better to have well-done babies than medium-rare. Crispy bacon is better than...never mind, I am running out of good food analogies.

Please keep the boys and mama in your prayers! We can not thank everyone enough for all of the blessings you have bestowed on us already through your kind words and thoughts! As we hit the final road to this initial journey, we can use all the help we can get!

We hope this finds all of you doing well. We love and miss you all!

God bless!

Babies Update (29 weeks)

Babies growing...room shrinking. This update is very past due, but better late than never! Baby A and B are growing strong, 2lbs 5oz and 2lbs 10oz respectively. Katie is also doing well. She is resting more and more, but hardly looking like a mother of twins! Please keep everyone in your prayers! God bless!

The Belly Watch 4

Babies Update (25 weeks)

"There's not much space in there..." No kidding. What once was a vast amount of black space with tiny white blobs has now turned into hands upon feet upon faces upon tummies. Have fun, guys! Twenty-five weeks have now passed and the McGraw boys are now tipping the scales at 1 pound 7 ounces and 1 pound 9.5 ounces respectively. Both hearts are beating fine, and both brains look to be developing well. There wasn't as much "goofing for the camera" the past two visits (probably due to the minimizing space), but we did catch thumbs in mouths, more shots of the boys' privates (great stories for when they have dates over) and a tongue (see above picture - daddy doesn't believe). We did manage to get a picture of "Baby A" putting on a "gun show" for everybody. Check out those muscles (see picture to the right)!

The babies DO move a lot more. I am able to feel plenty of movement in Katie's belly as she tries to sleep at night, and the babies (or at least one of them) kicked me in my face when I put my head down to Katie's stomach...which she encouraged and applauded the babies for doing.

We have our new crib put together in the nursery, along with a changing table and dresser. We bought some cute stuffed animals from World Market the other day, and I matted and framed two little paintings for the boys' room. We also started registries at Target and Babies R' Us.

Please keep everyone in your prayers. Katie is doing great, but sleep has been a little bit of an issue lately. All in all, we count our blessings and get more and more excited (and a little anxious) as weeks go by - we are almost down to 10 weeks left! YIKES (in a good way)!

We send our love,
The McGraws

The Belly Watch 3

They're on the move! The McGraw boys have been kickin' and twitchin' up a storm. I've been enjoying the new activity and wonder what these next three months have in store for us. I've been feeling good since the last post, but sleeping through the night has been my new challenge. Chris and I have been on spring break from teaching this past week and had the chance to paint the nursery. It's a cute green color and pictures of the finished product will be coming. Two more weeks til the next doctor visit! Keep the four of us in your thoughts and prayers!
_____________________________________________

And The Winner Is...

...the McGraw BOYS! After months of speculation, the wait is over! Baby A and B can now have specific pronouns! The NEW million-dollar question - are they identical? We will have to wait until they are seven years-old and one day notice they look exactly alike to answer that question!

The Belly Watch 2

It's been about 20 weeks, so we are over the half way mark! The babies are getting bigger (6-7 inches) and I'm starting to feel flutters! We are excited for our doctor appointment next week. Hopefully, we will find out the genders! We will be sure to post again after the visit. Keep us in your prayers!

Babies Update (16 Weeks)

(click on image for a larger view)

"They're just not cooperating." "Well, that means that they are our kids." Silly babies. We were hoping to find out the sexes of the babies at this appointment, but they had other things in mind. Both "A" and "B" sat there, in perfect profiles, with legs covering all the tell-tale parts. Not to say that there weren't other things to look at during this appointment. First, my how they have grown! We saw bones! Lots of bones! Thigh bones, feet bones, toe and finger bones, spines (including vertebrae), ribs, etc. They looked so grown up (well, as grown up as 6 ounce McGraws can look). We also saw the developing brains and beating hearts, too. Oh, what little people! We also saw some action. "B" kicked "A" square in the gut! Nice! Baby "A" also was caught leaping around. Katie compared it to John the baptist leaping in Elizabeth's womb. So...I am assuming either A) the other one is the second coming of the messiah, or B) since my birthday is Christmas, I might be the second messiah - and it was leaping in my presence. Either assumption probably means I need to go to church and apologize to God - for my ridiculous wife. The best, most lasting memory from our visit had to be when we had both babies on the screen. They were facing each other, sucking their thumbs! Then, "A" took its hand from its mouth, reached across, and touched "B"'s hand. It was such an amazing moment!

All in all, everyone is in great health! Please keep Mama and the babies in your prayers, and we will be back at the doctor March 12th for our 20 week visit. Talk to you then!

Peace and blessings,

Say What!?

Hello everyone! I just wanted to clarify the "comment situation" here on the blog. Some people have been asking me how it works, and others pointed out that it didn't seem to work for them. I went through and checked our settings for the blog, and I have changed a few things which should allow everyone a chance to leave us a message (we love hearing from you)! Underneath each post you will notice a posted date and - off to the right - a link labeled "comments." By clicking here, you should be taken to a page where you can write your comment in the box on the right side of the screen. Once you are done, you are given a few options - called "identities." I would suggest clicking the "Nickname" one. You will notice two spots open up, just type your name in the top slot - labeled "Nickname" - and ignore the "URL" one. Finally, hit "Publish Your Comment" and BAM! your voice is heard!

Just to update everyone - Katie and I are headed to our next doctor's appointment tomorrow. We will try to post new information tomorrow night!

Prayers and blessings,

The Belly Watch

15 weeks have flown by! I have been feeling good so far, aside from fatigue. I feel like I'm now at that stage that people look at me and think...."hmmmm is that a beer gut or is Katie pregnant?" It's been a fun time tracking the babies' growth and their development. Can you believe they already have all their organs and are even growing finger nails and a hairline! (Sources say they are even urinating, but that kind of weirds me out.) They are still very tiny- just 3-4 inches! We can't wait to see pics of them again next week. We will let you know how that goes. Please keep the four of us in your prayers!

Babies Update (12 Weeks)

"Did you see the hand touch its face?" "It was sucking its thumb!" "Maybe it was picking its nose." We have two healthy beating hearts (almost the exact same speed - followers!). The babies didn't do too many acrobatics this time in the womb, but they still acted like McGraws. By that, I mean that when we first saw Baby B - he/she was lying sideways toward us with its feet in the air. When we checked back, Baby B had turned on its side giving proud Papa a good look at his/her behind. Baby A squirmed a little - presumably dancing for the camera. Baby A is a little tough to make out, but we caught Baby B (before the "mooning incident") in an ADORABLE position of lifting its hand towards its head. You can even see the little bones in his/her arm!

We won't visit the doctor again until the 13th of February. Please keep Mama and the babies in your prayers as they are the greatest gifts Katie and I could ask for from you!

Babies Update (10 Weeks)

"They look like little teddy bears!" This nurse must think I am an idiot. I just can't help it. The images that Katie and I were seeing on the screen was too unbelievable. Little arms...well, more like little nubs, waving around. Fat bellies wiggling back and forth. This was too much! My heart was bursting with love for these two teddy bears...our two teddy bears. Baby A and Baby B.

Babies Update (8 Weeks)

"There is the baby, and there is the other one..." Jaw meet floor. Our first sonogram just got A LOT more interesting. "Oh, didn't you know?" asked the nurse. Looking back, what a silly question. How would we have found out before our first doctor's visit? Maybe she was just trying to break the absolute silence that had taken over the room since her earlier proclamation. Suddenly there were two. Two little blobs on the screen. Two little blinking lights inside those beautiful blobs, indicating the beating of their little hearts. I looked at Katie, wanting to see her reaction to the news. A smile broke over her face, "I always wanted twins!" I laughed. Excitement quickly took over my body. Now, I can't imagine planning and anticipating only one! However, in that surreal moment in the darkened room, I sheepishly asked the nurse, "Could you check if there are any more in there?"