Our Identical Twins

For the inquiring minds, I wanted to post the scientific details behind Karis & Kelsie's identical twinhood. ;)

It was concluded that our girls are, what is medically referred to as, Monochorionic-Diamniotic Twins. Identical (Monozygotic) twins occur when a single egg is fertilized to form one zygote which then divides into two genetically identical, yet separate embryos 4-8 days after fertilization. Monochorionic twins are monozygotic (identical) twins that share the same placenta and generally have two amniotic sacs (Diamniotic) which occur in 60%-70% of the pregnancies with monozygotic twins.

If you're anything like me, visual aids help a lot, so here's a graph.

http://staff.tuhsd.k12.az.us/gfoster/standard/twins.gif

The twins share the same DNA set, thus they may share many similar attributes. However, since physical appearance is influenced by environmental factors and not just genetics, identical twins can actually look very different. Identical twins are always same-sex sets.

We have a mover!

Karis crawled to her Dad this evening when he came home on break! She's been inchin' along for a week, but this is the farthest she's gone. We're so proud!

She also discovered how to clap her hands! It's been a big week for her.

Once she figured it out, she just kept on with the applause! ;)

Hello New Year!

(2004 picture)

Again, we have been blessed with the completion of another amazing year! 2010 will forever hold a special place in my heart. It held a lot of "firsts" for me. Now it's time to welcome 2011. Time to begin writing a new chapter and I pray we can all start this year with hearts of thankfulness & hope, in anticipation of what the future will bring.

In preparation for the new year, I have come up with a list of resolutions that I would love to put into practice. I am going to share them with you in hopes of convincing myself that I can count on more than just me for accountability. You ready? Here they are:

- Read through the Bible with Ian
- Workout twice a week (if I loose 10 more pounds...sweet!)
- Do laundry every other day (for me, it's the one chore that's never done...or fun. I usually wait until the pile is sky high before engaging in such warfare)
- "12 item purge" on the 12th of every month (in my never ending efforts to rid my house of unwanted, unneeded items & clutter, I figured that rather than spending an entire day trying to go through every nook & cranny in every room, why not just start small & tackle 12 things a month)
- Be more proactive in my relationships (sending special occasion cards out on time. Arg! I'm so bad at that!)

If you're anything like me, it will take many months before you're used to writing the correct year on checks & documents, but "2011, I am glad to see you & I look forward to what the Lord has planned during our time together!"

Brothers & Sisters, Be Blessed!!