Identical vs. Fraternal.... Now we know!

I have always said from the beginning that my boys were fraternal. There are lots of reasons I felt this way including my Dr. I ovulated twice(2 eggs dropped), they had 2 sacs and 2 placentas, and they measured several days apart in our first ultrasound. 

 To me they are so different. In looks and personality. But, anytime we go out people ask or assume they are identical. To the point of people arguing with me when I say fraternal. Finally I decided to find out for sure. I wanted to be able to say without any reservation, Yes I am sure. 

I got some Christmas money and ordered a test online from a site a friend used with her twins.
You can get it here... www.proactivegenetics.com

 They send you some swabs. I collected 8 in total from each boy. They were not thrilled with the idea but I got it done. Then  I shipped them off to wait for 2 weeks.

Yesterday I got the results by email. So what do you think? Identical or Fraternal?

 

 

   

 

 

I started reading the results to Matt : We are pleased to report to you the results of the twin zygosity test that you requested. Analysis of the DNA indicates that Micah John Marteney and Mason Russell Marteney are... as my eyes read ahead of what my mouth was saying it literally fell open.

monozygotic, or more commonly referred to as IDENTICAL TWINS.

I could not believe what I was reading. I  know this sounds crazy like it shouldn't really matter, but I was shaken. Somehow everything I had thought was wrong. Of course nothing has really changed. They are still 2 very different (and very different looking to me) individuals. But now they are not just 2 siblings who happened to occupy my belly at the same time but TWINS! Yes I know they are twins either way. haha! But the same DNA. 1 egg split into 2 babies inside of me. Wow! So crazy. I started to wonder if somehow it would be different than I had thought when I look forward to what they might be like later in life. Will they start to look more alike? Will they have more of that "twin" connection somehow? Where they know how the other is feeling, or live together and work together, and have the same interests? Or will it be like I pictured with them looking less alike as they grow and having opposite interests but still having a connection because no matter what at some point they shared a space inside of me? No matter what that is pretty special.

Madison's response was kind of funny. She was in the room when I was reading it to Matt. She said, "No, I thought they were normal. They are different Mom! Micah has a circle face and Mason has an oval face. " haha! To her she never had any idea that they could be the same as twins like most people think. I had to explain that they are still different.

Overall it is just kind of surreal. I am going back through their newborn pictures looking at them kind of differently than before I guess. I can still tell them apart. Now I find myself looking more for the similarities than the differences though.

I am a mom to identical twin boys. I love them and cannot wait to see what God has in store for each of them.

Finally 8 months later... An update!

Holy cow! How has 8 months gone by without a post. I will tell you how...5M Creations. Yep it has kind of taken over my computer blogging time. I have of course taken thousands of photos of my kids since May but unfortunately I will never catch up here. So instead I will just start from now. Here are a few fun pics of my kids from the last couple of weeks.

Here is Goofy Mason. He is always making silly faces. He gives the best sweetest hugs and kisses. Although lately he uses them to get out of trouble. Stinker!
The boys are now 2yrs and 8 months. WOW! How did that happen. They are registered for preschool for next fall. EEK! I will have 3 in school. They are mostly potty trained. FINALLY!

They are obsessed with anything Toy Story. It is a really good thing there are 3 movies. They got a collection of figurines for Christmas and they almost always have Buzz and Woody in hand.  

I love that they are so verbal now. The talk to each other all the time. I love listening to their conversations. Seriously LOVE! They are so funny. That is the other fun thing about them right now. They are hysterical and they know it. They know how to make you laugh with faces or funny sayings. When did they get so big.

 This would be Micah doing his Buzz Lightyear to the RESCUE pose. He is so funny and he knows it. Madison will tell you he is the funny brother.

Miss Madison is such the big kid now. She turned 5 in December and this girl cannot get enough schoolwork. She loves school, workbooks, and most of all her friends. It has been fun having a girly girl to do activities with. She loves to shop with me.  This weekend we went with her 2 friends Sydney and Ella to see Beauty & the Beast in the theaters. They were giggling and chatting away. For a moment they were 16. I love this girl and cannot wait to see what God has planned for her.

My kiddos all got sick at once last week. One with a fever, one with a stomach flu, and one with a cold/cough. Poor things. They LOVE each other so much. They all snuggle up together all the time. Aren't they cute.

They randomly just stop running for a hug!  I hope it lasts forever.

This picture cracks me up. (Sorry its fuzzy-from my phone) Madison was not happy that the boys got to ride in the cart. Sometimes being a big sister is not so fun!

Micah

Mason

Madison

And the latest news in our house... we got a new puppy. The kids are having lots of fun with Lily. She is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and such a cutie. We have downsized a bit in the dog department. We have a black lab(actually we have her til Saturday). A family member is super exited to take her. And we feel so blessed that they are giving her a great home. She is just to big for the kids. So Lily is here. She should only be 15-25lbs at most. So little.

Well there is my update. Maybe I will get back here sooner than 8 more months. If you want to see more regular updates you can find us on facebook. :) Thanks for coming by.

Happy 2nd Birthday Boys!

Yes it is true. Micah and Mason are 2! I have two 2 yr olds. WOW! This year has flown by. I look back at pictures of my still crawling 1 yr olds and wonder how they could have been so little not that long ago. They are now full on runners and most of the time in the opposite direction of each other when loose. They are so full of joy and keep me on my toes every day.

Micah is the funny one in the family. He loves to make us laugh by making faces, or yelling no,no, no, no just because til someone reacts. We constantly laugh at him.

He loves....

• his sissy. If he is in trouble he goes straight to her for a hug! He gives great hugs!!! 
• to snuggle and sit on my lap. 
• his binkies. He is what we call the binky connoisseur. If I take one away he will find a new one and if he finds even yet another one he will always trade it out.
• Fresh Beat Band. Every day all day long he asks for Beat Band Go-Go(his favorite song on Fresh Beat). It is the one time he is sitting and quiet. 
• to color. I was giving him crayons at the table but they were migrating to furniture and walls. We have switched to a magnadoodle since he wants to sit on the couch and color. Any time he finds a crayon or pencil though he is all about finding paper. 
• to bounce, bounce bounce. He will pick he feet up and just drop.
• Chips and fruit snacks.
• Outside!

Micah is talking more and more every day. He still does not have as many words as Mason but I can understand what he wants most of the time. His favorite saying is Where go? with the cutest inflection. Then very excitedly "There is" or "Tada". He also makes adorable "ooh ooh ahh ahh" monkey sounds while scratching under his arms.
My biggest challenge with Micah are climbing up to the counters to find anything and everything he is not supposed to have. Also taking things from Mason and running laughing saying hahahaha! Little stinker.

Mason is also a little comic but mostly he is the curious leader of the two.

He loves..

• climbing anything he can including in and out of his crib or into his brothers. Micah only tried once Mason did. 
• Dinosaurs and saying roar, trucks/cars, and choo choo trains. They actually both love trains since they got a train table last month from Nana and Poppi.
• his binky. Although he is not quite as attached as Micah. 
• anything that has a function. Buckles, zippers, keys. locks, opening doors, etc. 
• fitting inside of anything he can. He tries to fit in Barbie cars, drawers, boxes. 
• Fresh Beat band, Mickey Mouse(foofy-Goofy), and Blue's Clues.
• putting anything over his head but mostly Madison's clothes.
• shoes. He wants shoes on all day long. He can get Madison's on by himself so you will see him wearing hers most days. 
• doing things himself. He does not want carried but to walk with a hand. 
• asking for hugs. 
• outside!

He is talking LOTS. He copies most things we say to him. He says "let go" and "Bubba give it", or "back!" when upset. He is great about saying Please and Thank you. Mason has lots of full sentences all day long. My favorite thing he says right now is "Okay" when I ask him to do something. Also, "I get it" or "I find it". If you ask where anyone is it is "upstairs". This last week he said "seriously". So funny.

They both are talking more words together like I got it, Love you Mom, etc. My cutest thing is when one of them coughs the other says You ok? And the answer yah! So sweet.

The boys love each other. They give hugs, play well, and share things as long as there are 2. If they find 2 binkies they take one to brother. They fight too of course. :) Most of all they keep my busy and constantly guessing. They have challenged most of my parenting tools I thought worked so well. haha! Little did I know how different these 2 boys would be from their sister.

They started climbing out of their cribs a few months ago. If I put Mason in a sleep sack he would not climb out and Micah wouldn't try if Mason didn't. Well that ended this week. They climb out sleep sacks and all even with Mason's crib backwards. I have a feeling we will be doing twin beds much sooner than I wanted.

We are starting to potty train on Tuesday and binky(mimi) weaning will follow a month of so after. They are turning into little boys and not babies anymore.
I love you Micah & Mason. You have been so much fun to have as a part of our family. How boring our lives were before you. haha! I cannot wait to have a summer full of fun with you.

Happy 30th Birthday to my Bestie!

   I have been blessed to have an amazing friend Dara for the past 17 years. When we first met Dara didn't really like me because I was younger and new. :) Little did we know that we would go through so many lifetime milestones, laughter, tears, fear, and joy. I have so many fun memories with Dara from Camp Crestview, late night sleep overs, a trip to Sunriver, to weddings, and now babies.
   I think our friendship has grown so much since our girls were born. Motherhood has a way of bringing people together. If someone had told us when we were 15 that we would have daughters who were best friends I think it would have fit perfectly into our little picture of what our lives would be. Preschool, ballet, dress up play dates, it could not be more perfect. Twins on the other hand, not so much. :) I think that may have freaked us out a bit. Dara has been such a huge blessing since I found out about the twins. She came all during my bed rest and through the first 6 months to fold my laundry, sweep my floors, hold babies, and pretty much anything I needed. She was a huge part of my survival during that time. She never hesitated to wear a baby while we were out running around attempting to get out of the house. She loves my kids so much and treats them as if they were her own. Crazy loud and all. Now we have 5 kids between us. haha! While it is not always easy to get in a phone conversation with 5 kids in the background somehow we manage to each day. We never run out of things to chat about.
   So all of that to say, I don't know what I would do without my bestie. Dara you are an amazing friend and I am so blessed to have you in  my life. I cannot wait to celebrate with you today as you turn 30. Dara's husband Chris, her mom, and I have been planning a surprise birthday for the past few months. I am really hoping she doesn't have a clue. We should be there right as this is posting. I got the privilege of making the invites and centerpieces. We used photos of Dara through her life in them and figured I what a perfect way to celebrate Dara. Here is a look at her 30 years. I don't know the stories behind all of them but she was sure cute. Dara, I hope your day is full of fun and I hope your 30's are  the best yet. Hugs from your LPNGP Masa!

Love you friend!

My Little Ballerina

Can you believe it? Finally a bog post. We have fought several weeks of colds (even pneumonia for madison). She missed 2 weeks of school and I have been working like crazy. January was my busiest month yet. So needless to say my personal blog got put on the back burner. To be honest I haven't even taken many pictures since Christmas.
We took November-January off from gymnastics due to schedules and the weather. Matt mentioned signing her back up for February and when I talked with Madison she was quite convinced that she wanted to take ballet with her bestie. We talked a lot about it and did a trial class last week. She LOVED it. We signed her up, bought her costume for the spring recital, and got her ballet and tap shoes. She has been tapping all around the house all day long. I grew up dancing so this has really taken me back to some fun memories of costumes, recitals, and leotards. Here are a few photos from class.