This Journey Called Life

Updating the blog

2012-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Here is the thing. I am going to annoy you. I have many many maaaannnnnnyyyyy drafts saved here in the 'ol blog. I will be slowly updating them, adding pictures, and publishing. So I am sorry if old posts show up in your reader and you are confused. I am *trying* to use this blog as a memory keeper for my family. So please excuse the interruptions in your regularly scheduled blog reading. I'll catch up someday. Maybe when the twins are 18.

Belly Laugh

2012-01-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Jillian & Lyla 18 months

2012-01-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby girls are getting big. The twins had their 18 month check up this morning. Thank goodness Grace was there, she was really a big help with mama doing it all on her own. I joked I facebook that I deserve a medal doing it on my own. Doctors appointments with twins are brutal. Its a lot with 2 crazy toddlers by yourself. It goes something like this: one baby is up on the table screaming like the doctor is trying to kill her. As I am trying to comfort her, the other child is crawling around the floor getting who knows what diseases and eating the board book she found God knows where while the doctor asks me questions about each of their development that I can barely hear because everyone is crying. I must look like a daff crazy woman as I stare blankly at him trying to remember which twin is doing what when. Good times. I am going to start wearing a tank top into that place because I come outta there a sweaty mess. I also would like to bathe my children in hand sanitizer but I digress.

Back to my original point. 18 month check up. My healthy girls are in the 35-40th % for weight and the 70th for height. Good growing for my baby beans that started off so tiny. No surprise with the way they eat. Holy moly these babies can eat. I swear I don't know where they put it but they can put it away. They eat more than their four yar old sister by far. One of my questions to the doctor was actually if I should cut them off at some point. Aunt Nicki jokes that they are like dogs and if given the chance would eat themselves to death. Dr. Tim assured me children at their age eat out of hunger not for any of the other silly reasons us adults do. So we will just keep feeding the crazies and hope we don't run out food.

My other question/concern is about their speech. They really aren't saying many actual words. They can say four words: hi, mama, dada, uh-oh. I know its not a matter of hearing or lack of comprehension because they respond appropriately and can follow directions. They know exactly what we are saying, now if we could only figure out their "twin speak". In talking to my friend Kristin who went through the same thing with her twins there isn't a whole lot we can do. Jillian knows exactly what Lyla's grunt means and responds in turn with her own grunt which just reinforces this language. Dr. Tim said if they don't add any more words in the next 3 months to let him know. He doesn't get real concerned until 2 or 2.5 and then we could look into speech therapy.

Its funny how different each child is. Grace was speaking in full sentences at 18 months. The twins sound like little cave men in comparison. Its so hard not to compare but I am also ot really worried. Grace's strengths were fine motor and language while the twins are big muscle and coordination. Give them a chair, stool, kitchen drawers and no mountain is too high. They are so curious and and so very active.

Everyday is an adventure. They amaze and astound me on a daily basis. This is Jillian and Lyla at 18 months.

1st Day of {Pre}School

2011-09-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Another first in the life of a child. First day of preschool!! Orientation was last Thursday and Grace was less than thrilled with us leaving her alone in the classroom while we went to the gym. This is a child whom I have been blessed enough to never have left with a stranger in her 4 years here on earth. Was it time? Yep. Was I still anxious and close to tears the last couple of days? Absolutely. Is she so ready and I know she will do great? For sure :)

Let me digress for some bragging. Grace has been reading for about a month or so now. Not War and Peace or anything but just shy of her fourth birthday she not only recognized every letter but knew what sound they made and could sound out 3-4 letter words. I don't attribute this to anything I did, I credit it to Nana and Leap Frog. Hahaha. No, but really she was just really interested and wanted to read. So my concern for her is not academically but social. She is my shy guy and thats okay. The fact that the shirt she chose to wear on her first day says "social butterfly" makes me chuckle a little bit. The interaction and social aspect of preschool will be so good for her. When I initially told her she was going to go to school she said, "I GONNA BE SHY!!". I said thats okay your daddy was shy until he was 14 and he turned out okay :)

Speaking of my biggest shy guy, this is the note he left for Grace. Cue round 1 of tears for mommy.

Grace woke up happy and ready to go. We got her dressed and brushed her hair and teeth first thing which is different than a Nana day. I told her she was wearing Ally's hand-me-down t-shirt and that it made her brave at her new school and would make her brave too. Big 'ol smile. We talked about what her day would be like while she was on the potty. She was looking forward to doing the weather board, playing with the kitchen, and finding out what circle time was all about. She was exited and calm and ready to go.

We got in the car and she was fine until we puled into the line for drop-off. When the tears started falling I asked her if she was going to be a big girl and she nodded yes. I told her I was proud of her, I loved her, and that Nana would pick her up after circle time. Mrs. Tippens opened the door and ended up having to carry her in crying. She remembered Grace from orientation "having a hard time" so I am sure she took extra special care of her. I pulled away with tears in my eyes too but I knew she was in good hands.

Mommy: How was your day?

Grace: good

M: What did you do?

G: Circle time and played on the playground.

M: Do you want to go back?

G: Yeah but I might have tears because I am shy.

M: Did you make any new friends?

G: No. {pause} I was happy when I played with Noah on the playground.

M: What is your teachers name again, I forget?

G: Mrs. Tippens mommy

M: Did you learn anything?

G: How to go out on the playground.

Road Trip

2011-08-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

On our way to to Twinsburg OH for the annual twin festival. Stopped at McDonalds on the way and everyone stared at us. I said to Adam that since there will be approximately 1500 other sets of twins there we won't be stared at. We will blend right in...with all the other crazies :)

YaYa Sucking her fingers in the car. Seriously. Cutest. Ever.

Bean Beans holding her Shara Tiara doll. So. sweet.

And my big girl. Konks out before the crazy twins.

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Blogging

2011-08-05T18:25:00.001-07:00

Well hello, dear blog. How I cherish you. Really I do, despite my lack of bloggy love. I had twins and forgot all about you. The 2 babies at the same time while working full time and you just fell by the wayside. I am going to try and do better. Promise, k? :)

Going to try this mobile blogging stuff. I think I can handle that, right? I so miss blogging because it gave my pictures and everyday life a "voice". FB is nice to remember little anecdotal things but there is no way to document it forever. At least not yet (someone get on that, will ya?)

I am going to make an effort because I know I am going to want to look back at it someday. I am not promising anything long or lengthy and the pictures are going to be straight from the iPhone but it is something.

So here it goes...

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Great Wolf Lodge

2011-02-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

We went to Great Wolf Lodge in January with the Huffs and had a blast. Grace loved the water park and keeps asking when we are going back. 6 kids under 5 was a little crazy but fun. We joke with the Huffs that we need to find some friends with no kids! Lol. It is nice to hang with people who "get it" if ya know what I mean.

Donnie and Grace bonded over story time, cartoons, and pizza. Nolan declared Lyla "his baby". It was uncanny how he immediately took to her and could tell them apart no problem. Isn't this the sweetest?

That leaves Big A and Jilli Bean a match made in heaven, at least according to Jillian's future MIL Katie :)

Adrian and Katie also celebrated a birthday while we were there, 1 and 30!! Two big milestones and we were thrilled to be a part of it.

It was pretty magical that during story time at the lodge is snowed in the lobby. Seeing the look on Grace's face was just priceless.

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Allan

2011-02-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

On Jan 31 my father in law Allan passed away suddenly at home. Words fail at a time like this but I was able to write him a letter to express what he meaned to me. He was so much more to me that just my father in law. He was my biggest fan, my partner in crime, my children's Papa, my husbands best friend, my... family.

Life is short. Tell those you love how much you love them. Don't waste time on things that don't matter or waste energy on feelings that are hurtful. Our time is too precious to spend it doing anything but trying to be happy.

Dear Allan,

I miss you so much. I have only known you for 13 short years but you have made such an impression on my heart that there will forever be a piece of it missing now that you are gone. I owe you so much, you have been such a big part of my happiness. You created and molded the love of my life. I know you know how special Adam is because he is so much like you. How many times over the years have I shaken my head at something you did or said and marvel at how much you two are alike. You would say something to Ann or have a certain mannerism and I would say, “Oh my God Adam does the same thing”. He is a little lost without you…we all are. You were his best friend and he loved just being with you. You filled up a room with your presence and that is going to be greatly missed. My only peace is that you live on in him, your other boys, and our little girls.

You immediately welcomed me into your family with open arms. You even said to Adam early on in our relationship, “Don’t screw this one up”. That makes me laugh. You always made me feel like I was “your girl” and the daughter you never had. After 3 boys you treated me like a princess and I loved every minute of it. You always greeted me with that infectious smile and a big bear hug. I was special in your eyes and you even let me sit in your favorite chair. You loved me like you loved everyone, with your whole heart. Here was this big tough man on the outside but you were such a gentle, kind soul. You never missed one of my gymnastics meets in college. There you were having no clue about this gymnastics stuff but having enough appreciation for athletics in general to be my biggest fan. I loved when you would try to coach me afterwards even though you had no idea what the moves were called. You were so curious about everything. You made people feel like you really cared about them, and you truly did.

We would sit on the porch of Duck Lake together a lot. Everyone else would be inside or out on the dock but you and I had some good talks out there in those rocking chairs. I would be hugely pregnant, or sunburned, or just trying to escape the craziness and there you would be right beside me. I’m going to miss that so much.

What breaks my heart the most is that our little girls won’t get to grow up knowing their incredible Papa.You would have loved to see them do anything when they were older, whether it was gymnastics or under water basket weaving. You would have been there in the stands cheering the loudest. When we asked Grace what she loved most about her papa, she said he plays with me, tells me stories, and says, “where can I get me one of those mushbeards?!”. You always made her laugh. You got such a kick out of her and her spunky personality. Your voice will forever resonate in my head telling her that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world. The look on your face holding those babies when they were born will also be imprinted in my memory forever. You could not have loved those girls any more, they were your pride and joy and you let them and everyone else know it.

Thank you for loving us like nobody else can. I am not sure what we are going to do without you. What I do know that we now have the ultimate guardian angel watching over us.

I love you,

Jane

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Jillian & Lyla: 6 Months

2010-12-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

I had no idea what to expect 6 months ago. Twins. Two babies. I was scared and I knew that my life was going to change and it was going to be really hard.

What I didn't expect was that it was going to be so....wonderful. Now I am not trying to say that it isn't difficult at times but having twins has been amazing. Two babies is quite literally double the joy. These two have absolutely and completely stolen my heart. They are so different. They are so alike. They have this incredible bond with each other but still love their mama.

I have been blessed with angel babies. They are a force of nature that I feel lucky to be a part of. Below, I have written a letter to each of them for memory's sake.

Dear Jillian Kate,

Also known as Jilli, Jilli Bean, Beaners, Beanie, Beanie Baby, and Chunky Monkey. You are my sweet girl. It is hard to believe you came into our world only 6 months ago because now I can’t imagine my world without you in it. Daddy and I cried tears of joy when we saw you for the first time and you have continued to be an absolute joy ever since. You are the happiest baby. You fill our house with happiness and I can’t help but smile when I see your sweet face. Smiling for you is a whole body experience. You are charming and social and people instantly fall in love with you. You remind me a lot of your big sister Grace when she was a baby. I feel like I get to relive some of her babyhood with you. Speaking of that big sister, you love her so much. You love when she talks to you and to watch her play. You are very sensitive in in-tune to Lyla too. When she cries it startles you and makes you upset. You love to be close to her and to hold her hand. You will forever be baby A, #1 of the matched set and you play that role very well. While you are extremely good natured, you are a bit impatient and don’t like to be kept waiting. When you are tired you just can’t cope. So far you have hit your milestones a little earlier than your little sister by 7 minutes, always just a few steps ahead. You like your paci at night when you are falling asleep. It took us a while to figure it out but you like to sleep on your belly and you love to have your head rubbed, it soothes you and makes you happy. You laughed for the first time this past week and it was one of the best sounds I have ever heard. You had daddy and I in tears laughing at you and your guttural belly laugh. You also like to blow raspberries and talk to people. You have always loved to be talked to and to look at faces. You reach your little hand out to touch faces like you are studying every feature. You love music and to be sung too. Even when you were just a newborn you would react to singing and dancing on TV. Maybe you will have a future in Broadway and be the only one in our family with musical ability? You are such a blessing Jilli Bean. You make my heart full and make our lives feel complete. I love you and Happy ½ Birthday.

Love,

Mama

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Lyla Claire,

Also know as Lyla Bean, Ya-Ya, Ya-Ya Bean, Peanut, Scooter, and Slobber Monkey. You are my amazing little peanut. You came quite literally shooting into our lives 6 months ago and have been full of surprises ever since. It is hard to believe you have only been here for 6 months because now I can’t imagine life with you. You march to the beat of your own drummer and I love that about you. Your first 7-8 weeks you must have had some awful gas pain because you cried a lot and just seemed uncomfortable. And compared to your twin, Miss Happy Pants Jilli, it would have made anyone look bad! But you are like the little engine that could. We have learned not to underestimate you little one. Now you are the most content baby I have ever encountered. We may have to work a little bit harder for a reaction out of you but when we get one it makes it that much more special because you are so animated. You are kinda goofy. You make us laugh with your antics already. You have this look in your eye like you are up to something and you never stop moving! I have a feeling you are going to be our stinker, giving us all a run for our money. But all you have to do is flash that crooked smile and mama melts. That is the same crooked smile your daddy has and I love that he passed it down to you for me to fall in love with all over again. You love to watch your sisters but they spend most of their time trying to get your attention not the other way around. You will forever be baby B, #2 in the matched set. You are so good about waiting your turn and being patient. You don’t get worked up about much and I love that about you. You are just my laid back, happy little love. You have slept through the night on your belly since about 8 weeks despite Jilli crying right next to you. I think you are probably going to be our comedian, entertaining us at the dinner table and making us laugh. You are also perpetual motion: you are always moving and exploring. You have 2 speeds: full tilt or out cold. You are such a good sleeper, we just lay you down and you put your 2 fingers in your mouth and your little butt up in the air and are good to go. You are such a blessing Lyla Bean. You make my heart full and make our lives feel complete. I love you and Happy ½ Birthday.

Love,

Mama

***UPDATE***
At their 6 month check up on 1/3/11 here are the stats:
Jilli: 15lbs (22nd%) and 26.25" (58th%)
Lyla: 14lbs 3oz (12%) and 26" (48th%)

The Most Wonderful Time....

2010-11-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

....of the year. Christmas shopping. Yup, I am thinking about it already. I even have done some of it. I am trying to spread out the expense this year by starting early and doing a little at a time. I pretty much have a million things I want to get Grace and can't think of a single thing for the twins. Grace keeps insisting that Santa is bringing them each a teddy bear so I guess that will be one thing on their list. Katie and I joked about wrapping up some old stuff we have in our playrooms and giving it to the youngest members of our family, lol. Like they would know the difference? :)

I usually try to do this from Santa:

Something you WANT:
Something you NEED:
Something to PLAY with:
Something to READ:

In addition I get one present from mommy and daddy and Christmas PJs that they wear on Christmas morning.

So for Grace-
WANT: Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty DVDs
NEED: Clothes
PLAY: (I think) Dora Digital camera
READ: Leapfrog Tag Jr Reading System

Other ideas for Miss G: Tag Jr. Books, Aqua Doodle, Zhu Zhu Pets and Accessories, DVDs (Toy Story 1-2-3, Cars, Beauty and the Beast), Squinkies, In My Pocket Friends, Princess or Tinkerbell anything: small Disney Fairy collection, small Disney Princess Collection, Pixie Treasure Dolls. See? The list goes on and on. She is at such a fun age to buy for and I walk the aisles of the Target toy department and want to get her everything. Speaking of Target, I am doing all my shopping there or through Amazon. I am boycotting Toys R Us, I have had one too many bad customer service experiences there and I refuse to give them any more of my money.

Okay, I know that Jillian and Lyla are seperate people and I should treat them that way but I mean really, they are only 4.5 months old. I am sure if I get them the same thing for their first Christmas they won't mind :)

For the Twins-
WANT: ??
NEED: Clothes
PLAY: Teddy Bears (as requested by big Sis)
READ: ?? I will most likely pick up a few board books to add to their collection.

Any other ideas would be appreciated, hahahaha. Can they want diapers? They definitely need them.

And I am thinking about getting this wagon for all 3 girls. Because we are not enough of a spectacle in public, we want our own little Dawson train :)

Oops...I did it Again

2010-11-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Remember this picture?

Well, I did it again. I couldn't help it, the torture is tradition now :)

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

Couple of funny things trick or treating this year. One is the little pumpkin Noah falling down and not being able to get up and the other is Miss G just standing at the second house with her bag until the people were like, "Uh okay guess we will give her more". They did great trick or treating, were real troopers despite the fact that it was cold and a lot of walking. Or as Grace puts it, her legs were busy, lol.

Grace was a beautiful butterfly and the twins caterpillars. GG Wilson helped make their costumes and they were just the cutest.

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Updates Coming

2010-09-25T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hello dear blog followers.....thank you for being patient with me. The last 3 months have been a bit hectic to say the least :) While I have not been updating my blog in a timely fashion I have been using it as a place to journal and save as a draft. That is why the dates on some posts are old but it is showing up as new! I just haven't had the time to upload pictures but I have been taking them. So, I will catch up someday....and thanks for reading.

The birth in pictures

2010-09-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Miss G- 3 Year Check up

2010-09-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Going the doctor with Grace has always been an experience. She has always been terrified of Dr. Tim and pretty much cries through her whole appointment no matter how much I try to prepare her. This time she was a little timid but kept it together the whole appointment. Dr. Tim asked her if she has been to the zoo this summer and what her favorite animal was, she said the rhinoceros'. Plain as day...bahahahahaha. She was really good while he checked her over and passed all the tests :)

At the end of the appointment she got 2 shots and she DIDN'T SHED A TEAR!! The nurse and the NP said that one of them really stings and 90% of kids cry. My tough little munchkin!!!!

Jillian & Lyla: 2 months

2010-09-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

Jillian and Lyla are 2 months old. They have grown so much. We are getting smiles and coos and they are starting to sleep a little better. The smiles make it all worth it. Jillian smiled in response to me about 2 weeks before Lyla. Jilli is very social, she loves to look at faces and to be held. Lyla is still struggling with some gas and she likes to be held upright but she also likes to study people faces. They like to hold hands while nursing in tandem and it is pretty funny when they actually focus on each other. I still put them down in the pack n play for naps together. I start them apart but they slowly move towards each other so they are touching. Twins are a force of nature so fun to watch.

The stats on Jilli Bean at 2 month check up (9/7):
10.11 lbs (34th percentile)
22.3 inches long (34th percentile)

The stats on Lyla Bean at 2 months check up (9/7):
10.1 lbs (19th percentile)
22 inches long (23rd percentile)

The beans are getting big!! Especially considering that they have gained 4 lbs, 2 inches, and come from the 2nd/3rd percentile in 2 months.

Fisher(woman)

2010-08-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Looks like Grace is following in the steps of papa and is going to be an expert fisherwoman. Adam bought this Barbie fishing pole for her at Target and she caught her first fish. Daddy was sooooo proud and so was she. Who needs boys anyways?? :) Pink and purple fishing poles rock!!!

Its so good to see her smile and to get her out of the house and doing something fun. While she has been handling having 2 new babies in her house very well she has kind of been going bonkers being stuck in the house with us day in day out. Duck Lake is such a blessing to our family. It allows us to "get away" without going very far. We have been able to spend pretty much every weekend there since the babies were born because there is always family around to help.

The Fair

2010-08-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Going to the Jackson County Fair is a family tradition. So we are only getting 3 hours of sleep at night but life goes on, right? The newborn barn was a hit, G got to pet the baby goat that was just born that day. There were also some piglets that were brand new. It made me think it could be worse, I could have ten babies nursing at the same time instead of two. If only I could just lay on my side and let them go to town like this, lol.

We got an idea of what it is like to go out with twins. Everybody wants to take a look and ask questions. They did great, sleeping most of the time. We ate fair food and let Grace ride some of the rides. We ended up spending $10 on tickets and the only thing she would ride was the carousel horses. Oh well, another parenting lesson learn. Make sure your kid will actually get on the ride before spending money on it.

Fairy Princess Birthday v.3.0

2010-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I go a little over the top with the theme for birthday parties. I cant help it, it is just so much fun planning. This year was a little different with 2 newborns at home to care for it didn't give me a whole lot of time. Thank God for my mom: she may think I am crazy but she slaved away with me on cakes, cupcakes, tissue paper flowers, and a million other things. Adam informed me no more crazy big theme birthday parties, 3 is the limit :)

The invitation:

The Details:

The fun:

G's Birthday in the Park

2010-08-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Grace's actual birthday fell on a Wednesday this year. That just happens to be daddy's softball game day too so we decided to combine the two. We met at Ella Sharp Park Pavilion for some pizza and cake. It was such a nice little getogether I wonder every year why I go to all the trouble of putting on a big fancy party too. Miss G had a ball, played in the park with her cousins and ate pizza.

Grace has been asking for a firetruck for about 2 months now. We told her we would get it for her for her birthday if she went to bed like a good girl with no crying. Since the babies were born this has become kind of an issue. We put a sticker chart up in her room and it worked like a charm. She was so excited to get her firetruck just like the one in the commercials! (damn Dora)

Speaking of those babies, there were lots of people to hold and love them in the oppressive August heat that they just seem to love.

After the party we watched Adam's CHAMPIONSHIP softball game. In case you didn't know, kind of a big deal, lol. The boys played a great game and ended up winning their division.

And to top off the perfect birthday for Miss G, grandma gave her her very own big girl bike. It is a pink Barbie one and even has a place for Barbie to ride too. Pretty awesome and she is thrilled. I can't believe my baby is 3. Happy birthday my sweet girl!!

Summer Fun

2010-07-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

Despite having newborn twins we have managed to do some fun things this summer. I have to document them here because I am sure I won't remember due to the lack of sleep. The babies had their first trip to Cascades for Family Fun night. The Barczaks joined us for ice cream before and the kiddos had fun climbing the hills next to the falls and watching the water change colors.

We also had the 2nd annual "Mother of All Playdates" at Nicole's. It has been fun playing stay at home mom this summer with all my teacher, part-time, and stay-at-home friends :)

The Nursery

2010-07-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago I promised pictures of the twins nursery. My wonderful friend LeeAnn took on the project of making the baby bedding for me. The beautiful quilt is hanging on the wall and she also did quilted bumpers for each crib with coordinating crib skirts. My mom made the vallances for me. I also have each of the girls names above their cribs but for some reason didn't take a picture of those.

I just love the way the room turned out. It is so different from Grace's room, I was a little over pink :) It is so cheerful and bright.

Day at the Pool

2010-07-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

We ventured out to Nixon all us girls to meet up with Nicole, LeeAnn, and their boys. People pretty much just look at me like I am nuts when I go anywhere but I gotta get out of the house!!

Puttin on the chubs

2010-07-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

The girls are 2 weeks old today and puttin on the chubs!! Lyla is 6.2 and Jilli is 6.7!!

Mere comes to visit

2010-07-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mere and her mom came to visit us. She brought us Jimmy Johns for lunch and a yummy mexican casserole for another night. It was so good seeing her. We had fun taking pictures of my little handfuls :)

Mere's little bug Maelyn sleeping in the Pack n Play. These babies are going to have so much fun playing together someday.

My Girl G

2010-07-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

I cried and cried the day before I was induced with the twins. Yes, I was slightly hormonal but I was also soooo worried that Grace was going to hate her sisters and hate us for bringing them into her world. All that worry for nothing because she just loves them to pieces. Sure, she does little things to get our attention but for the most part our happy, blissful child has just taken it all in stride. She is such a blessing.

Lyla Bean:

and Jilli Bean:

It is so funny how they sleep in the same position. We had a major milestone in that they are nursing in tandem!! LeeAnn was over watching the Bachelorette (she still likes to see the babes every week even tho they aren't in my belly, lol) and we managed to get them both latched on at the same time!! This saves me so much time!!! What a relief :)

People have been so kind and generous bringing us dinner. We haven't had to cook hardly at all it it is such a big help. Nicki set this up and I can't thank her enough and for all that volunteered. We have had such yummy meals :) You grow 2 humans and people cook dinner for you...what a deal!!!

4th of July '10

2010-07-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

We managed to get to the lake this year for 4th of July. There was the annual rib fest which was awesome as usual. Lots of family to hold and snuggle the babies. They loved it out there, nice and hot and always someone to hold them. There were happy and content as could be. Everyone marveled at how tiny they are. My response to that is yes, they may may look small but imagine both inside of you :) Miss G got some much needed time out of the house and got to play with her cousins and have some time away from her sisters.

Happy Fourth!!

1st Days at Home

2010-07-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

We have been hanging in there her at the Dawson household. Still can't quite believe we went from a family of 3 to a family of 5 in an instant. I look at these 2 baby beans and can't believe that they were inside of my body just a few days ago.

They are really good babies. Very sleepy right now so we don't see eyeballs very often. They definitely have their days and nights confused but they will figure it out. Breastfeeding has been a challenge. We are continuing to syringe feed both babies after attempting to nurse them. Our little peanut, Miss Lyla, is doing much better than Jilli, Jillian is still not latching on at all. We have been visiting the lactation consultant which has been a huge help and relief. Julia has been so supportive and really has given me the confidence that I can breastfeed twins. It has not been easy, however, the whole process of trying to nurse each baby, syringe feed, burp, change, and pump takes 1.5-2 hours. Then an hour later we start the whole process over again. 24 hours a day. Luckily my mom is staying with us and thank the good Lord for her :)

They are just the sweetest, so fun to cuddle and snuggle. I love to just stare at their perfect little faces.They like to be in the boppy together. I swear I did not position them like this, they just kind of migrated towards each other so they were touching foreheads. We have found that they are happiest when together so we have been putting them in the same crib.

Big sister Grace is doing great. She loves to kiss and snuggle them too. She really enjoys holding them in the boppy like a big girl and gets mad when someone comes to visit and she doesn't get a turn holding one of them.

I had my first outing with them by myself when we went to the pediatrician when they were 5 days old. I did pretty good, getting them there on time, carrying both car seats, and juggling 2 babies while talking to the pediatrician. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I came outside and saw I left the back hatch of the mini van up the whole time I was in the office, lol.

We also had our first outing as a family to Scott & Nicki's for a BBQ. People think I am pretty much insane for taking out 5 day old twins. BUT, it was family and it was good to get out of the house for a while.

Home Sweet Home

2010-07-03T23:55:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have quite a few visitors before we left the hospital. In addition to all of our immediate family: Great grandparents Dawson and Great grandparents Wilson, Aunt Valerie, the Tylutkis, Mandrelles, McDonalds, Collins, Kristen, Monica, Katie, Nicole, and LeeAnn.

Our first picture as a family of 5 :) Do I look tired or what? We were so blessed to have such healthy babies that got to go home after only 2 days! Pretty rare for twins. We were so glad to get home, that hospital room was just not big enough for the 4 of us. Grace was thrilled to be taking her sisters home and to get back to some sort of normalcy. Well, as normal as our lives are going to be with 3 kiddos under 3, lol! She has done so well with all of this. She adores her sisters and loves to hold them and kiss them.

You put hats on these babies and you can't tell them apart. We will be relying on the fact that Jilli has more hair for a while. They are so teeny in those car seats. When we left the hospital Jillian weighed 5.8 lbs and Lyla was 5.5 lbs.

Hospital Daze

2010-07-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

Our days in the hospital were pretty much a blur. The girls were very fussy the night they were born and I am not sure why. The nurses did take them at one point during the night but I could hear them crying down the hall and it kept me from getting any decent sleep. I also feels as if my organs are still kind of settling into my body again after being all squished so I am still physically a little uncomfortable (but waaaayyyyy better than when they were inside of me, lol).

Both babies nursed well right out of the the gate and then Jillian decided she forgot how to latch on. Lyla promptly followed the next day. I ended up trying to nurse them every couple hours and then when they wouldn't latch on syringe feeding them colostrum I pumped. This was a very tedious process and Adam and I were pretty much delirious with exhaustion. I think that we got maybe 6 hours of sleep the whole time we were in the hospital?

Given all of that I still can't believe my baby girls are finally here. They are so tiny and perfect. I just can't stop snuggling them and staring at them in amazement.

Birth Story

2010-07-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

On the morning of June 28th I was instructed to call labor and delivery between 5 and 5:30 am. I didn't think I would sleep much the night before but I did manage to sleep a little bit. I think I did most of my freaking out on Sunday so I was pretty exhausted. Labor and delivery told me to come about 6:30. So I decided to eat some breakfast and tidy up the house. I walked outside to take the trash out and looked up at the sun setting on the horizon and thanked God for this day that I was going to bring 2 babies into the world and said a silent prayer for a safe delivery and healthy babies.

My dad came over to stay with Grace who was still sleeping so luckily we didn't have to say goodbye. We got to the hospital about 6:30 and I was in a room with an IV started by about 7:30. Dr. P checked me and said I was "favorable" and about 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated so he was going to start me on some Pitocin and then break my water. In the meantime, he had to deliver another set of twins by a planned C-section and another mommy of twins came in because her water broke so she required a C-section as well. Three sets of twins were going to be born that day! A hospital record!!

So, I was kind of put on the back burner. They started the Pitocin about 9:30/10am and I slowwwwwly progressed. He broke my water about 11 am and I was still only dilated 1 cm. By 2 pm the pit was up to 7 and I was dilated about 2/3 cm. By 6 pm I was 6 cm and recieved and epidural. It felt really weird right away. I felt tingling down my right leg but not my left. It ended up only working on one side so while I felt pressure on the right I felt full on contractions on the left. This in where things really started to move. Within a half hour to 45 minutes I felt really painful contractions and the urge to push. My wonderful labor and delivery nurse Janine who was with me the whole day was going off her shift so she turned me over to Beth who checked me and said I was complete. I had to deliver in the OR just in case an emergency C-section was needed. Unfortunately, only Adam was allowed in the OR with me so my mom and Nicole (who was taking pictures) had to wait outside. I was terrified and excited all at the same time as the wheeled me into the operating room. My hope this whole pregnancy was to avoid a C-section and deliver these babies naturally and here was the moment of truth.

Delivering in the OR was a debacle. Dr. P was pissed!! Nothing was setup the way he asked. The stirrups were not set up on the table and they couldn't figure out how they went. Meanwhile I am having major contractions and ready to push as they all were fiddling around with the stupid things. Dr. P ended up just throwing them on the ground and a nurse held each leg (including Janine who stayed after her shift to see these twins born). There were 2 anesthesiologists, Dr. P, 3 labor and delivery nurses, 2 pediatricians, 2 pediatric nurses, and Adam and I. Talk about a welcoming committee!! I started pushing a little after 7 pm and after about 5 pushes Jillian Claire was born at 7:09 pm weighing 6 lbs and 19.5 inches long. They put her on my chest and we cried as we finally got to see her sweet face. They took her away to be cleaned up and checked out and I braced myself for #2. Dr. P asked for the ultrasound to check to make sure baby B was head down. It wasn't on even though he had asked at least 4 times for it to be on and ready. He was not happy but ended up just reaching up and feeling and said that she was definitely head down and kind of pulled her down into my pelvis. He asked for a hook to break the 2nd bag of water and they didn't have that either so he used forceps to break it. I remember looking at Adam and gripping his shirt in my hand like holy crap, I have to do it AGAIN, push out ANOTHER baby. He said I went back down to 8 cm and asked if I felt the urge to push and I didn't so he said to hang tight while and he was going to go deliver another baby that was crowning and literally ran out of the room and down the hall.

The next contraction I felt the urge to push. They told me to just hang on. The next contraction the baby was crowning. A nurse (Janine) noticed and said. "Uh, she is delivering!!" so the other nurse (Beth) moved to the end of the bed and 2 pushes later ended up delivering Lyla Claire at 7:16 pm weighing 5 lbs 5 oz and 18.25 inches long. Not to be outdone my her sister entering the world before her she was going to make her entrance just as exciting!!

As the nurses and doctors were attending to each baby Adam looked over at them and said, "Oh my God, there is 2 of them." The nurses just kind of laughed and patted him on the back and said, "Its going to be okay dad."

So my every wish and hope this pregnancy came true. I had a safe delivery and two beautiful, healthy baby girls. We had a waiting room full of people that were SO excited for these little ones arrival and we couldn't have been a happier family of 5.

Introducing...

2010-07-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Jillian Kate (formally Baby A) born June 28th at 7:09 am weighing 6 lbs and 19.5 inches long:

and Lyla Claire (formally Baby B) born at 7:16 pm weighing 5 lbs 5 oz and 18.25 inches long.

From the moment we looked in their eyes it was endless love at first sight. They are beautiful beyond words and we are so blessed they chose us to watch them grow over the years.

Emotion

2010-06-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would see this day. Well, I had a feeling that these girls were not going to be scary early, but I wasn't so sure I was going to live to see 37 weeks. 37 LONG WEEKS. After all that worry and wonder and trying to keep these baby girls healthy and inside of me we made it. I will be induced tomorrow and we will finally get to meet these little miracles inside of me that have lived underneath my heart for nine months.

This week has been a roller coaster of emotion. I am elated to have made it this far but in a great deal of physical discomfort. While part of me is happy that these girls are probably big and healthy the other part just wants them OUT!! I am so excited to meet these little ones but mourning the fact that Grace will no longer be my only baby. I know every mommy goes through this but my biggest worry is for her. She is just the happiest, most blissful child and I don't want the change. She is the kind of kid that makes you want to do cartwheels and stand on your head and do anything for her because she just gives so much love in return. Adam and I just love being with her. I don't want that to change, I don't want her to change, but I know change is inevitable. She is going to be a wonderful big sister, and these twins are just going to multiply our love not take away from it, but it is still very emotional.

It is such a strange feeling being on the eve of a day that you know is going to completely change your life. So my prayer is for a safe and fast delivery. For two healthy babies, and for our family of three to welcome into its hearts two more members.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support over the last nine months. It has really meant a lot to me. I can't wait to introduce you to the two newest members of our family.

Pregnancy: 37 Weeks

2010-06-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Whew, we made it. WE MADE IT!!! 37 weeks and full term babies. Saw Dr. P for the big appointment on Wednesday. This was D-day so to speak. If my cervix had changed since last week he was going to induce me Friday. Measuring 47 weeks pregnant again this week. Had slight cervical change so he decided to go ahead and induce me Monday. Friday would put me at 36 weeks, 6 days which is one day short of full term. One day!!!

So we are going to have babies for sure on Monday! YAY!! Not what I originally had hoped for but there is an end in sight. Passed my non-stress test with flying colors on Wednesday. He set me up for another one on Friday just to make sure since we are getting to the end here and the placenta can be getting a bit, eh....tired of feeding two babies. Baby A's heart rate was a bit high and I had a fall the day before so they kept me for a few hours to monitor them. They ended up letting me go a little early because the babies looked fine and I was really upset about missing taking Grace to the pool. The nurses felt sorry for me because I was losing it over having promised my 2.5 year old that I would take her to the pool and was sitting there crying like an idiot.

After finally making it to the pool at 5 o'clock I met Katie and Nicki for sushi or my "last supper" as they put it. It was just what I needed. So now the countdown begins for babies!! 2 more days!!!

The babies are as lofty as a stalk of Swiss chard and most likely weigh around 6 1/3 pounds. (Length: a bit over 19 inches, head to heel.). That would be 12lbs 10oz plus of baby inside of me!

Here is an idea of what they look like in there (except my girls are in the same sac bc they are identical):

Father's Day

2010-06-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, we have been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time at the lake so far this summer. We spent both Saturday and Father's Day out there. I got up and made Adam breakfast and let him sleep in a little on Sunday. And let me tell you, it my current state, that takes quite a bit of effort :) Grace colored him a card and gave him a t-shirt that says, "Real Men Make Twins". Adam has been my rock this entire pregnancy. I could not have done it without him. He basically was a single dad when I was so sick with the hyperemesis. He has made countless trips to the ER and hospital in the middle of the night with me. He takes Grace to the park, or the store, or the lake, so I can rest. The result of all this is that it has not only has it strengthened the bond between daddy and daughter but Grace just worships her daddy. If anyone deserves the award of Super Dad this year, it's him. I am so blessed to have him as my partner and father of my children on this crazy journey we call life.

Speaking of Miss G, she is not afraid of the water at all!! I guess I shouldn't be surprised being that she has grown up around it but it still impresses me. She gets in and out all by herself and doesn't want any help when "swimming" in the water. At the pool on Friday she was swimming around like a little fish with her water wings on.

Some pics from our weekend. (and Duh- should have got one of Grace and daddy. The babies are sucking my brain cells)

Pregnancy: Week 36

2010-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Still pregnant. UGH. I know I should be glad these little ones are going to be good and cooked but good God I am miserable. Saw the doc Thursday morning. Measuring 47 weeks pregnant (that is full term plus 7 weeks for a singleton!!). He said he would check me if I wanted him to just to see what was going on. I was long, thick and dilated 1 cm. Same as a month ago. Double UGH. He said he would induce me next Friday IF when he checked me at my appointment on Wednesday my body was showing signs of being ready for labor. So, fingers crossed for Friday (if not before)!!! I understand his reasoning: if he induces me before my body is ready it increases my chances of ending up with a C-section. That doesn't make it any easier.

Thursday night we made a little practice run to labor and delivery. I was having contractions about 2-4 minutes apart for about 3 hours. They ended up holding me there for a few hours with no change in my cervix so they sent me home. I forgot what real contractions feel like! Yikes!! I felt them in my back too which makes me worry that I am going to have back labor this time. They stopped about 10 am the next day.

Friday night we spent some time at Crowley's pool. This was just what I needed. After a miserable night and day I felt renewed and refreshed. We lost power that night. Good times when your nine months pregnant so we packed up and headed to my (air conditioned) parents house.

Saturday night I visited LeeAnn for what I hope was my last ultrasound. She estimated that each baby weighs about 5.5 lbs (give or take a pound). We discovered that Baby A is face up which could make pushing her out a bit more difficult. But, their fluid levels, cords, placenta, and practice breathing all looked great. Helps me breathe a little easier until my non-stress test next Wednesday.

The babies at 36 weeks are almost 6 pounds on average and still packing on the pounds at a rate of about an ounce a day, comparable to a Crenshaw Melon in size. (Length: more than 18 1/2 inches, head to heel.)

And a picture of the belly. Notice that it is hanging out the bottom of my shirt. Sexy :)

Big Girl Room

2010-06-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

This has been a work in progress to say the least. We transitioned G to a big girl bed in January. Adam built the bed himself and she absolutely loves it (I think because daddy built it). We wanted to make sure we were putting her in a big girl room well before the babies were born so she didn't feel displaced. I decided I was going to make her a quilt in January as well. Good idea when you are being fed intravenously and in and out of the hospital. Yeah, not so much. I managed to get the top done but it has been sitting unfinished for 5 months!! Well, it was now or never because it sure as heck wasn't going to get done after these babies come. My mom (who also has zero quilting experience) spent hours and hours finishing it and I love how it turned out. Thank you Nana!! Adam also built her a bookshelf so she can see the covers of all her books and I covered the letters that were above her crib with coordinating fabric from the quilt.

Project "Big Girl Room" finally complete. :)

Next up....pics of the twin's nursery. It is almost done.

Nothing says summer....

2010-06-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

...like a romp through the sprinkler :)

Lake Day

2010-06-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

Invited the girls and kiddos to the lake on Friday. Not my brightest idea at 35 weeks pregnant but everyone made sure I didn't do too much. We had such a good day and I was once again reminded of what a great group of friends I have found right here in good 'ol Jackson. Nicole has a great recap HERE.

Pregnancy: Week 35

2010-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

This week in preggo news: measuring 45 weeks pregnant. Both babies passed their non-stress test with flying colors this week. I kind of freaked myself out last week about when these babies should be delivered since they are sharing a placenta. The internet is bad, so bad. I addressed my fears with Dr. P and he made me feel better. He said we are keeping a very close eye on these little buggers and he will deliver them if there is any sign of distress. Had an ultrasound on Friday and the estimated weights were 4.9 and 4.7. So who the heck knows how big these babies are going to be, it is all an estimate!! Baby A's head is waaaaaaaay down there, hopefully doing something to move things along. The rest of her curves around my right side by my hip. Baby B's head is on my lower left side and she is at a 45 degree angle across my belly. Her butt is actually near my belly button. She better not flip when her sister makes her way out!!

The babies are now as hefty as honeydew melon at 5 1/4 pounds (Length: more than 18 inches, head to heel.)

Baby Poll GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-06-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

The time is getting near. Do you have your guess in for when the Dawson twins are going to be born? Click on the "Expect Net.com" link on the right side of my blog to place your guess.

The person who guesses the twins birthday correctly gets a $20 TARGET GIFT CARD!!

Ties will be broken by who has the closest guess in weight.

Pregnancy: Week 34

2010-06-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Measuring 43 weeks pregnant this week. Spent 5 hours in labor and delivery on Wednesday for my non-stress test. The girls were a little hyped up. They were tachycardic with heartbeats running in the 180-190 range when they are usually about 150-160. They started an IV thinking I was dehydrated. Baby A's heart rate came down a bit but B's stayed up. So off to ultrasound I went for a biophysical profile of each baby. After an hour long ultrasound, both babies passed. Back up to labor and delivery I went where my contractions were about 10 minutes apart. They decided to do a preterm labor test and check my cervix and both were negative. So, FINALLY, I got to go home.

Here is a few pics of the babes:

Baby A was measuring 5lbs 3oz and Baby B 4lbs 5oz. There is about a 17% size difference right now, anything over 20% is a concern.

The babies have bulked up like the average cantaloupe -- average weight about 4 3/4 pounds. (Length: almost 18 inches, head to heel.)

And, the belly...

Pregnancy: Week 33

2010-05-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

My first week of modified bed rest. 2 days in and I was already feeling not like myself. I am going to have to keep myself occupied and busy. I have caught up on my expense reports, finished reading 2 books, visited with friends, and washed baby clothes and bedding. Mere and Maelyn came to visit Wed-Fri.

Saw a Nurse-Midwife this week instead of the doctor. Why? Oh because I forgot when my appt was for like the 5th time this pregnancy. These babies are sucking the life from me!! Everything looked great, I was measuring 42 weeks. She checked my cervix and there were no changes. Baby A has not "engaged" into my pelvic bone yet. She thought it would be at least another 2 weeks. That was good to hear.

The babies are proportioned like pineapple when it comes to weight -- a little over 4 pounds. (Length: more than 17 inches, head to heel.)

Visit From Mere

2010-05-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Mere came to visit since I am off of work and we didn't get to celebrate our birthdays together. It was so good to see her and Maelyn. We had a great couple of day but were quite the pair. I couldn't really take care of Grace so she was trying to help me but had her own newborn to take of. But, we managed!! Mostly we just hung out but did go to Duck Lake on Thursday for some fun in the sun.

I even managed to fit in a little mini photo shoot with Miss Maelyn...

Pregnancy: Week 32

2010-05-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

8 months preggo today!! The doc measured me on Friday and reported I am measuring 41 weeks pregnant. I replied, "no wonder I am so miserable". He asked me like he does every week if I was still working and I told him I was. We talked about all the contractions and pressure I have been feeling. He checked my cervix and while it was long and thick it was dilated 1 cm. He said, "Well, I think making it 32 weeks is pretty darn good and I am going to take you off work and place you on modified bed rest for preterm labor".

I was hoping to make it as long as possible working but my minimum goal was 32 weeks. I can barely walk and carry my work bag and driving long distances in pretty tough. I think it is time. Time to make sure these babies cook a little longer and that I make sure I am taking care of myself. No bonus check is worth having babies in the NICU and not able to come home with me because they are premature.

We also talked about delivery options. If the babies stay head down, I will give birth naturally in the operating room just in case a c-section needs to be performed. He discussed the possibility of baby B flipping after the delivery of baby A and the decision I would need to make at that point on a breech delivery or c-section. Breech deliveries are only possible with twins because baby A's head has already made its way through the birth canal. He said he was comfortable doing this but there are higher risks to both baby and me. He wanted to make sure I know what I want beforehand so I am not making a decision in the heat of the moment. Hopefully they will both stay head down and I won't have to make that decision. He reviewed my last ultrasound and thought the babies were growing appropriately (baby A was 3lbs 9oz, baby B was 3lbs 7oz). Then he dropped the bomb on me that he would induce me at 38 weeks. WHAT!! 38 weeks!!!! He has told me all along that 37 weeks is considered "full term" for twins and if I made it until then he would induce me. I freaked out and he tried to calm me and said "research shows... 38 weeks....bla bla bla". I didn't really hear all of it because I was thinking about how incredibly miserable I would be at that point. He said we will wait and see how the babies are doing and how big they are and make a decision when the time comes. He told me about 6 times during the appointment how great a job he thought I was doing. Damn that Dr. P :)

Each baby weighs as much as a large jicama -- about 3 3/4 pounds. (Length: about 16 3/4 inches, head to heel.)

Pregnancy: Week 31

2010-05-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Getting closer and closer. Had my second non-stress test this week. This is to check the babies heart rates to make sure that they are healthy and getting enough oxygen. I had three contractions during the 40 minute test. The nurse midwife asked me if I was still working and I said yes. She asked me what I did and when I told her she told me I better go home and rest. The doctor explained that while I am only 31 weeks pregnant my uterus thinks there is only one in there and is stretched to full term so it starts to "practice" going into labor.

The babies now weigh as much as four navel oranges (so that would be 8 navel oranges in my belly). (Length: over 16 inches, head to heel.).

The BIG 3-0

2010-05-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yup, turned the big 3-0 on May 11th. I am not one of those people that usually gets all worked up about birthdays but I was dreading this one for some reason. Not because I feel old but because I can't believe that 30 years of my life are gone, just like that. I couldn't have asked for much more in my 30 years: I have met and married the love of my life, we have an amazing little girl, a successful career, and I am pregnant with identical TWINS. I am extremely blessed and happy and just wish that life would go a little bit slower. I know the next few years are going to be even more a blur with 3 children and just hope that I can remember to take time to smell the roses :)

So I choose not to count my age not in years but in blessings. Speaking of blessings, being a mommy is definitely one of them. I did manage to get one pic of me and this little sunshine on the Monday between Mother's Day and my birthday:

I worked on my bday but managed to treat myself to a pedicure at lunch and Adam took me out to dinner for crab legs. He and Grace also gave me a beautiful diamond "journey necklace". We had some friends over for burgers and a bonfire on Saturday. 7.5 months pregnant with twins was not exactly how I thought I would celebrate my 30th but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!

Pregnancy: Week 30

2010-05-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

The babies are growing at an astounding rate. This week I started weeekly non-stress tests as well as ultrasounds every 2 weeks to estimate fetal size and weight to make sure the babies are thriving and growing properly. It feels good that they are keeping such a good eye on these babes. I continue to have Braxton Hicks contractions pretty frequently but nothing that is closer than 15 minutes apart. So lets take a look:

The twins are the size of a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds. (Length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel.) LeeAnn estimated their weights at 3lbs 1oz each on Thursday. Right on target and both head down!

And the belly, oh the belly. It just gets bigger and bigger....

Showered With Love

2010-05-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Beckie and Nicki threw me a baby shower. Both of these ladies are so excited about the twins arrival and wanted to do something to celebrate. It was at Duck Lake and it was absolutely beautiful. I felt very loved and blessed to be surrounded by all the people I love best.

I got a ton of diapers (which we are going to need a mountain for 2 babies!), lots of cute twin clothes, and most of the stuff off of the registry. Thanks to everyone's generosity, we are all set for these babies!!

After the shower we had our monthly supper club at the lake since all the girls were there anyway. It was a great time as usual and we even got a group picture :)

Toledo Zoo

2010-05-02T06:53:00.001-07:00

Adam has been off of work for the last couple of days (waiting for tile guys to finish or something) so he has been a stay-at-home dad. Which I think is pretty much the cutest thing in the world. On Thursday he took Grace to the park with some other mommies and on Friday he and Beckie took G and Noah to the Toledo Zoo. From the looks of the pictures they had a great day. Such a special relationship between Adam and Beckie and it is awesome that that relationship continued on in the next generation with Noah and Grace.

Pregnancy: Week 29

2010-05-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

Had a doctors appointment on Tuesday this past week. I am still having contractions just about every day so Dr. P decided to check my cervix and do a stat fetal fibronectin test. The test came back negetive which means that there is a 99% chance that I won't go into labor in the next 2 weeks. I am measuring 37 weeks (for a singleton). While checking my cervix he commented on the swelling "down there" and actually suggested that I ice it. You have got to be kidding me. Well, if it helps I will try anything at this point!! lol

The twins are as big as a butternut squash, weightwise -- about 2 1/2 pounds. (Length: a tad over 15 inches, head to heel.)

Pregnancy: Week 28

2010-04-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

Had another official ultrasound this week in addition to the one LeeAnn did on Friday. They confirmed that BOTH babies are head down and measuring about the same in size. Very good news!! I feel so blessed that they are doing so well in there and that I might be able to push these babies out naturally. It appears that Baby A is still Baby A as her head is closest to the opening of my cervix. They are both sitting waaaaay down low which explains why I can barely walk sometimes. They are each measuring about 2.5 lbs. That is 5 pounds of baby in me already!

Baby A taking a big gulp of amniotic fluid....

Baby B refusing to show us her face as usual but flashing us an upside down peace sign....

The twins are equal in weight to a Chinese cabbage -- about 2 1/4 pounds. (Length: almost 15 inches, from head to heel.)

Pregnancy: Week 27

2010-04-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Had my doctors appointment on Monday last week. Before which I locked my keys in my car and was late for my appointment. They had a good time teasing me about that in the office. I am measuring a whopping 34 weeks. He checked my cervix again just to be extra sure since I am having contractions pretty regularly. Everything was good there. He asked me if I was still working which I thought was odd. I asked him when he thought I should go off and he said it depends on how I am feeling but in about a month I am going to be what would be full term pregnant size and pretty dang uncomfortable. He commented on the fact that I was still smiling at this point, hahaha. He is scheduling me for another "official" ultrasound at 28 weeks to check fetal size and weight. I will have another one at 32 weeks. I get to do my *yummy* glucose check before my 28 week appointment too. Bleh.

I got a handicap parking pass this week. I am feeling so much pressure and pain "down there" I need all the help I can get, lol :) I feel so dumb parking in handicap for pregnancy but I got twins on board here!!!

The babies are as hefty as a head of cauliflower, weighing in at almost 2 pounds. (Length: about 14 1/2 inches.)

Pregnancy: Week 26

2010-04-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

The babies are doing very well, it feels as if they grow every day. LeeAnn was able to get a measurement of baby B but A was not cooperating. Baby B was measuring a little small, 25 weeks, 1 day. She estimates her size at 1 lb 13 oz. Almost 2 pounds!! I ordered a belly bra today because pelvic floor pain and pressure continue to be an issue. I have to sit down like every 5 minutes and my walking pace is about that of a snail. It is a little bit frustrating being forced to take it easy so early but healthy babies are the goal!

Both babies are head down (woo hoo!). Baby B is on my left side but her toes are in my right rib. Baby A is on my right side and she has a foot directly under my belly button all the time. The skin is really thin there so I can pretty much feel her whole foot (see picture #4). Baby A's head is way down in my pelvis which explains some of the pressure I have been feeling. There is just a crazy jumble of limbs in there which you can see in picture # 3. The coolest thing we saw was that baby A has hair!! (last picture).

The babies are the length of an English Hothouse Cucumber (very specific- heehee) this week. About 14 inches long and weighing a pound and 2/3.

Here is the belly pic. Adam says it is getting out of control :)

Easter Pics

2010-04-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

We started our Easter morning very early despite G going to bed very late the night before. That combined with the sugar rush of eating jelly beans for breakfast made the morning and church very interesting. We went to Schulers for brunch with Scott, Nicki, the kids, my mom and dad. We then headed to G & G Wilson's house to see Adam's side of the family.

We went with a Princess theme for the Easter basket this year. Princess vitamins, bandaids, DVD, pjs, and a t-shirt. She was thrilled of course. She got a beautiful Cinderella Barbie from Great Grandma Wilson along with lots of other goodies from her Grandma and Papa and Nana and Papa. She also loved her "Princess dress" because she could twirl in it.

Pregnancy: 25 Weeks

2010-04-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

I kinda feel like I am starting over with this pregnancy. I have no idea what to expect and what is normal because there are 2. It will be the same when these two little ones are here, pretty much a whole new ballgame. Being the Type A personality that I am this really gives me some anxiety sometimes. I have joked the whole time that this was God's little joke on me. You think you can control and plan everything? NOT . SO . MUCH. , lol :)

But my excitement is finally starting to override the fear. I know it is going to be hard but I am just so looking forward to meeting these 2 little ones. To see two carbon copies of each other, to see if they are blond or dark, blue eyes or brown, to see a relationship with each other like no other, to see how different and alike their personalities are.

We are still struggling with names. We have it narrowed down to 4! HA!! We just love them all so it is really hard to choose. I guess we can't go wrong that way. We have told a few people to get opinions but for the most part are going to keep them a secret until the girls are born. Something has to be a surprise!!

Beckie and Nicki are throwing me a baby shower. I feel guilty and a little weird about this being that these aren't my first babies but they are insisting with twins I need to have another one. It is going to be May 2nd at Duck Lake. I sent an email out to a few of my twin mommy friends to ask what I really need and really need 2 of with twins. I have registered for a few big things like another crib, double stroller, and video monitor. I also need all new bottles being that mine were hand me downs the first time around and aren't BPA free. I found a swing just like the one G loved on Craig's list for $50 so now I have 2. I am borrowing a high chair, infant car seat, and bouncer from Leslie, another bouncer from LeeAnn, a BebePOD Seat from Nicki, a double car seat stroller from Lina, and a crib mattress from Beckie or Nicki. LeeAnn and Nicole are sewing the baby bedding for me. What wonderful and generous friends I have!!

Now we just need to find a car to fit all these children and the crap that goes with them, lol. We have moved Adam's closet and our office to the basement. All the totes full of decorations and baby clothes that were in the basement are now in the attic (again, thanks to the help from friends). Bought paint on Saturday and we are ready to paint the nursery!

The babies are the size of a rutabago (what in the heck is that? haha). 1.5 lbs each and measuring 13.5 inches in height from head to heel.

Pregnancy: 24 Weeks

2010-03-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

The news this week was some lovely contractions on Thursday night. I woke up about 1 am with them and they were pretty uncomfortable (enough to keep me awake) and radiating down my legs. The radiating down my legs was what scared me, along with them being 5 minutes apart for an hour. I got up and sat in the lazy boy for a while and they got less intense and then less consistent. I thought for sure I was going to end up getting checked out in L&D.

I went to see Dr. P the next morning just to make sure everything was okay. He ended up seeing me for a full appointment so I didn't have to go back the following Tuesday. He physically checked me and I was not dilated and no signs of preterm labor. HUGE sigh of relief. It really put my mind at ease. I am not sure how many pounds I gained but I think it was 2 or 3. I am measuring 32 weeks! Dr. P told me I have to keep in mind that everything I am feeling is what I would feel as a woman 32 weeks pregnant. I do forget that sometimes. That means at about 30-32 weeks I will be essentially carrying around a full term pregnancy. Yikes.

24 weeks is the first big milestone for twins. If they were born right now they most likely would be okay. They would have some serious NICU time and possibly long term developmental issues but they would probably be okay. Obviously we pray to God that they stay in as long as possible but I can breathe a teeny tiny sigh of relief I have taken care of them inside of there so far.

Baby A is still head down but Miss B is now head up. It will be interesting to see how much they switch. So far A has stayed pretty consistently head down. Keep it up baby!! LeeAnn did some measurements and she estimates that they each weigh 1lb 7oz right now.

They are the size of an ear of corn, almost a foot long from head to heel and have gained almost a 1/4 pound since last week.

Maelyn Erin McDonald

2010-03-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends Meredith gave birth to a sweet baby girl last Thursday. Adam and I drove 2.5 hours after work to see her and got home at 3 in the morning but I am so glad I was there.

There is just just something about births. Each and every one is an absolute miracle and I am so glad I got to be a little part of this one. On my way home from work I was talking to Nicole about going to see Meredith that night. She told me to bring my camera and try to get some pictures. I am no Nicole Barczak but I gave it my best shot.

I have always loved telling a story. That is why I love to take pictures, scrapbook, and blog. I love to tell the story with pictures. Photojournalism was my thing before I even knew it was a thing. I absolutely treasure the pictures that were taken on the day Grace was born. They may not be perfect and they aren't that many but they capture such an amazing moment in life. People talk about the death bed, what about the birthing bed? Relationships are solidified, things are said that will never be forgotten, and lives are changed forever.

To my surprise we were met at the door by Mike who said Mere was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Even more surprising Mere wanted us to come in for a minute. She had received an epidural but it was wearing off and she was feeling some pretty major pain and pressure. We were sent to the hall while she pushed but got to come back in as soon as Miss Maelyn Erin entered the world.

Here is a few of my favorites and a link to a slideshow at my phanfare sight. Click on "Start Slideshow" to view a full screen slide show of her birth.

"What happens at the cottage...

2010-03-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

....stays at the cottage".

Ahhhhhh, girlfriends. I am just so blessed and lucky to have found this group of girls. They "fill my bucket" hahahah- that was for you Nic.

This past weekend we held our annual girls weekend at Duck Lake. This turned out to be the perfect location/retreat for everyone. I did take some teasing about "holding out on them" in terms of access to this big, beautiful lake house but I took it like a champ like I ALWAYS do :) We had a big, long table with a lake view to do all our scrapbooking, we cooked our own meals, talked, laughed (a lot), enjoyed some spirits (except big preggo here), went out to dinner in EL, and just enjoyed being together.

Best friends a girl could ask for. The kind of friends that:

*can take it as well as they dish it out
*love to laugh and have FUN
*self deprecating and don't take themselves too seriously
*are always there to lend a helping hand and will move heaven and earth to do so
*aware of eachother strengths and weaknesses and embrace each of them
*aren't jealous or catty but rejoice together in happiness and grieve together in saddness
*know sometimes it sucks being a mommy but ultimately it is the best thing that ever happened to us
*can be our true, authentic selves (underwear or not, who's with me?) hahaha

And most importantly they laugh at my jokes and think I am kind of funny. I guess that makes up for the fact that they use me for my free gas and lake house.......

KIDDING!!

This is really a rare thing and I hope each one of you know how much you mean to me. Now, if you would like to read more about the weekend head over to these blogs:

Katie's Bullet Point list

Nicole's Recap

Leslie's Top 10

LeeAnn's Ladies Night

Jessica's Girls Weekend

Pregnancy: Week 23

2010-03-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

No big updates here. Unfortunately, I don't have a belly pic or an ultrasound. I have not seen the little bugs since my 20 week survey!! That seems like an eternity to me :) My belly continues to grow at an astounding rate. Although, people do tell me I am "all belly". This make me feel good and I do appreciate the compliment. People usually do say really nice things to a pregnant woman. But, what I am thinking in my head is, I am only 6 months and I am going to be fat everywhere in no time. While I think my belly is kinda cute (albiet large) right now I think they are kind of crazy anyway because take a gander up north at the pornstar boobs. My butt may look smaller but it is just an optical illusion in comparison to the giant belly.

People also say, "You are small for carrying twins". This makes me wonder what people expect to see of a woman pregnant with twins. Do they have this crazy clown picture in their head of this belly that is as big as a house? Then I think well maybe they mean my actual physical stature being that I am only 5'2". Like, holy crap, you are small and you are in big trouble lady. News flash, right?

Speaking of things people say (wow this post is getting waaaayyyy off topic) I also always get asked if I concieved these twins naturally or through fertility. Like they are less special if they were concieved using medical intervention? That must really annoy people who have used fertility treatments. Isn't that kind of a personal question for some stranger to be asking of someone? I need to come up with a good retort to to this one, like "Nope, we did it the good ol fashioned way!". Not to mention I just got done telling you they were identical. Don't even get me started down THAT road :) I usually just say it was an act of God or something like that. That seems to satisfy them.

Well, the babes are the size of mangos. About 11 inches long and just over a pound.

Ohhhhhh, and take a guess at the twin birthday and size poll on the right side of my page. I only have 12 guesses (6 people). Only 14 weeks left!!

When You Wish Upon a Star

2010-03-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

Disney was AMAZING. We has a blast. I have to admit that it was kind of a dumb idea. Take your 2.5 year old who doesn't even like to visit Santa to Disney World of all places. Oh yeah and 5 months pregnant with twins to boot!

We were supposed to go in January but it just wasn't in the cards because I was soooo sick. Thank goodness we waited and went the end of February instead. Leslie put us in contact with her wonderfully sweet aunt Janette who got us into the parks for free because she works for the Disney cruise lines. Perfect strangers and she gave us the gift of being able to do everything we wanted to on our vacation. Kindness and generocity must run in Leslie's family :)

We got there on a Wednesday, leaving behind a awful snow storm that we drove through on the way to the airport. Orlando was raining and kind of cold so we decided to go to Downtown Disney instead of Sea World as originally planned. Good thing becasue that was the night that the killer whale killed his trainer. Which we had no clue of until people started texting us thinking we were there.

We decided to go to Sea World the next day anyway. Only the whale show was canceled and I had already purchased tickets online before we left. Grace loved the dolphins and penguins. We even got an up close and personal view of a dolphin feeding and a dolphin nursery. The Dolphin show was really cool, it gave me goosebumps there was so much going on.

The next day we went to Magic Kingdom. A little princesses paradise. (notice the Minnie Mouse dress that my dear friend Lori gave her, she wanted to wear it every day after this and since)

Grace loved Dumbo. While waiting in line for dumbo we were surrounded by 4 sets of twins, 3 of them being identical! Can't be that hard if they are bringing them to Disney, right? lol.

This was just a magical day from start to finish. Grace pretty much loved every minute except the dark scary rides like Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. We just happened to get caught in the center of the afternoon street parade and had a 360 degree view of the festivities. This is where the floats stop and the characters dance and sing and the audience is encouraged to participate. G danced in front of Minnie and Minnie came over and shook her hand. You should have seen her face, pure joy. I actually got teary eyed it was so special. Pregnancy hormones or not, it was a moment and I will never forget it.

From that moment on Minnie was pretty much her favorite. She really liked the princess show and anything having to do with the castle too. Adam is pretty much the best daddy to little girls ever. He totally embraced all the girly Disney things and got into it as much as G did. There is just something about seeing my very masculine, strong husband love his little princess. Absolutely melts my heart.

That night we ate dinner in the park and stayed for the fireworks. She was amazed by Tinkerbell flying out of the castle but was a little concerned as to where she went and if she was going to come back to the castle to sleep. We had to field Tinkerbell questions all the way back to our hotel.

The next day we went to Epcot. It was rainy and cold so it was a good day to do all the inside Epcot things. The first thing we did (and probably the highlight) was meet Daisy. You can just see in her face how thrilled she is. (and I thought she would be terrified- shows how much I know).

Grace liked most of the 3D shows too. Not sure if the actual show or the glasses were the best part for her.

On Sunday we went to Animal Kindom. This was Adam and I's favorite park from when we went in 2005. We ended up having a beautiful sunny day for it too. G really liked the dinosaur ride (just like dumbo). Daddy is riding in the back.

She also liked the play area with the dino bone dig. The safari rife is always fun. We saw all of the animals pretty up close and personal. Grace really liked the baby elephant. Daddy bought her some Sleeping Beauty shades to keep the sun out of her eyes. Finding Nemo the Musical was also really neat and new since we had been last. BUT a dark autotorium and no nap and G was out cold about half way through. Adam and I enjoyed it anyway.

The highlight for Grace was once again meeting Minnie. This is my favorite picture from the trip. She is the happiest little girl in the world.

We ended our day at AK with another really cool parade. G waved to all the characters. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever and they must have thought so too because a few (like Pluto) came over to give her some love too.

The next day we sadly departed for Michigan. We wished we had just a litlle more time in this fantasyland. Grace was just such a joy the whole week and it was so fun for us to see her enjoy it so much. It was a perfect last vacation as just the 3 of us :)

Poop, Pee, Potties, and Panties

2010-03-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Potty training oh potty training. I was pretty sure Grace was going to be the 5 year old at kindergarden wearing diapers. She has this stubborn streak and if she doesn't want to do something there is no changing her mind. Anytime we even mentioned the potty she said "No potty!" and "I NOT a big girl, I'm a baby".

Not that we tried that hard. I attempted to do the one day potty training method last summer and it was a disaster. She obviously wasn't ready. I decided to give it another 6 months.

There was always something, I said, "after the holidays" then "after Disney". I was just too sick in December and January and then just too tired to bother. BUT I knew if I waited any longer I was going to be too pregnant and too big and there was a chance she would regress when the twins were born. So I decided this was the weekend. We were going to go cold turkey. No more diapers, panties only. Knowing my daughter, she would be very upset to make a mess in her pants and on the floor and I hoped to God that would motivate her. I started prepping her on Monday, telling her that after her diapers were gone, there were no more. That all the teeny tiny babies needed diapers and she was a big girl who goes pee-pee and poo-poo on the potty and wears panties.

Well, all that prep must have worked because on Wednesday at Nana's house she decided she wanted to wear Cinderella panties. Papa told her if she was going to wear big girl pants she had to go on the potty. She was finally ready! My mom sat with her and coaxed her and cheered her on for hours. She finally did it and was so proud. We all continued to work with her and our biggest obstacle was that she could hold it and hold it for hours. On Saturday, she finally turned it on instead of waiting until it fell out of her. We even took her to the mall and she went on a big potty. HUGE success!! She still won't tell us when she has to go, we just see her kind of dancing around or we just set her on the potty and she goes if she has to. Poop is a whole other story but she has gone in the potty multiple times after a lot of crying and drama. BUT for all intensive purposes Miss G is potty trained! Woo-hoo!!!

She gets a Hershey Kiss and gets to put a sticker on her potty chart when she goes in the potty. She is so proud of herself!!

My big girl ...*sniff* *sniff*

I am trying not to think about the next time we go through this it will be x2.......

...or the fact that we get a whole 4 months diaper free? lol

Pregnancy: Week 22

2010-03-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

I knew I was going to screw myself. Put it out there in the the blogosphere and it will come back and bite you in the ass. I was feeling all honkey dory there for a few weeks and then I started growing at an astounding rate. Feeling uncomfortable, having trouble sleeping, feeling like I can't breathe, getting fatigued doing simple every day tasks. Ugh, guess the honeymoon is over.

We have been potty training Grace. She was upstairs and started yelling she needed to poop. In order to catch her in time I ran and then took the stairs 2 at a time to get to her. I thought I was going to have a stroke. 22 weeks people! Have I mentioned I am 5'2"?! Oh yeah, carrying 2 humans?

I went maternity shopping yesterday because yes, thats right, I am already growing out of my maternity clothes. In order to fit my big belly shirts are giant in the shoulders, arms, and everywhere else. I look like a ridiculous freaking tent. Meanwhile, I have Miss 18-Weeks-First-Time-Preggo next to me in the dressing room who barely has a freaking bump. She is all happy and excited and bubbling over with anticipation. I wanted to punch her in the face. Yup, cause I am a really good person like that.

Anywho, I am going to try and be a better person. I am blessed to be carrying 2 babies. I know that. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. But good GOD it's hard sometimes!! And scary...and gives me anxiety. Nothing a few bags of Hershey Kisses won't fix.

The babies are the size of spaghetti squash this week. They are 11 inches from head to heel and weigh about a pound each.

Grace's Front Rolls

2010-03-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

Our little tumbler in the making:

Pregnancy: Week 21

2010-03-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

I almost am afraid to write this. Afraid I will jinx myself. But I feel good. Really good in fact. My energy level is not too bad, I am contantly hungry, and I am not too uncomfotable yet. All I think about is food: what I am going to eat, when I am going to eat it. It is crazy to think a month ago I couldn't eat anything. I could eat my weight in sushi, mexican, and chocolate. Ahhhh, the sweet honeymoon period of pregnancy :)

This week was my "official" 20 week survey ultrasound. Usually people find out what they are having during this ultrasound but lucky me I have my girl LeeAnn who told me weeks ago we were expecting 2 more little girls :) They measured my cervix and checked my placenta, measured each of the babies to track their development. Everything looked good. The babies were measuring right on schedule and while baby B was a little smaller it wasn't by much. They worry about twin to twin transfusion syndrome with identical twins sharing the same placenta. It is diagnosed by more that a 20 percent difference in size/weight. My placenta also appeared to be somewhat close to the opening of my cervix but they determined it was nothing to worry about right now. It is pretty common for it to move farther up in the uterus as the uterus grows. The twins were both head down and they are still having trouble determining baby A and baby B. Baby A is labeled such because in theory she is closest to the opening of the cervix and will be the first one out. The issue is that they keep switching places! Sometimes A's head is farther down, sometimes B's head is farther down. For now we are sticking with A being on my right side and B being on my left side.

My doctors appointment went well. I gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks making my total weight gain thus far 14 pounds. WOW! Nothing like vacation to pack on the pounds. I was measuring about the same as 2 weeks ago which I found interesting. 27 cm which if I were having a singleton would put me at about 27 weeks or 7 weeks ahead. They measure your uterus from pelvic bone to fundus (the top of the uterus). For singleton pregnancies every cm coresponds to another week. So, in essence I should be carrying what will feel like a full term baby here in a month or so!! Dr. P told me that as long as baby A continues to be head down he will let me deliver them naturally. I would really like to avaid a c-section but we shall see what these little ones have in store for me. Lots of time and room to move still.

The babies are about the size of carrots. 10.5 onches from head to heel and weighing about 3/4 of a pound.

In other news, I took a little tumble down the basement stairs today. I was fine and so were the babies but I bought myself 4 hours in L&D to monitor the babies. I am still struggling with my sciatic nerve and sometimes my hip/leg just gives out so down I tumbled. I have a nice bruise on my butt but everyone is fine otherwise, thank God.

Pregnancy: Week 20

2010-02-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

I spent this week in Orlando at Disney with the fam. We were supposed to go in January but I was just too sick so we postponed it. The funny this is, I was pregnant with Grace the last time I went to Disney. So apparently I only go there knocked up!

I did pretty good for being 5 months pregnant with twins. Disney really is like a marathon and you have to have stamina. The biggest thing I am feeling right now is this pelvic pressure down low. I don't remember feeling that until MUCH later with Grace. I have talked with some other mom's though and they say that is pretty normal for the second pregnancy. I had to take little breaks and sit down because of the pressure every once in a while but I other than that I had no problems. I also couldn't really hold Grace for any period of time because the big belly just gets in the way and its uncomfortable. I hate that I can't hold her but daddy was always there to step in.

In line for Dumbo we were surrounded by 4 sets of twins!!! It was so crazy. 3 of them appeared to be identical. 2 of the families were together and I talked to the mom's breifly. They were impressed with me being at Disney of all places. As with all twin moms they told me it was going to be the hardest and most rewarding thing I will ever do.

On to the pics! Here is a 20 week belly shot in front of Cinderella's castle:

The babies are about as big as bananas. 6.5 inches from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel.

So I Don't Forget

2010-02-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

Really, my 2 year old is just the funniest girl. She cracks me up:

She spontaneously tells me she loves me now. Melt. My. Heart. She follows it up with I love daddy too....and Lukie, and nana, and papa...the list goes on and on.

Time is related in naps for her. When I try to explain something in the future she says, after I take a nap?

She can count to 14, always forgets the 4 though.

She likes to sing "Ring Around the Rosie, pocket full of posies, ASSES ASSES, we all fall down." hahahaha

When I swear in the car she always says, "What you say mama?" When I tell her I said a bad word and mommy shouldn't say that she says, "Mama say a bad word". So far my bad habit has not been immitated.

The child is in love with her daddy. Whenever he isn't around she asks where he went and depending on the answer heartbroken tears can follow. When I ask her what we do all day she says we go to work. When I ask her what daddy does she says that he builds things. When I ask her what she does while we work she says play in the snow and play "Play-doh". Hmmm, must be nice.

She is my shopping buddy. She loves to go to any store for any reason. She doesn't like to sit in the cart anymore but is usually pretty good about staying close to me.

I had to go to the bathroom at Target the other day and I brought her in the stall with me. She says out loud in her toddler voice, "You go pee pee mama?" I answered yes. She looks in the toilet and says, "You go pee pee and poo poo mama". Thank you for announcing that. She then says, "You wipe your butt mama?" At this point the lady in the stall next to me couldn't hold it in anymore and started giggling. Good Lord.

Everything can be made better with a bandaid and a kiss. I love this. I hope it still works when she is 16.

Spartans Forever

2010-02-21T16:47:00.000-08:00

This was are annual MSU Gymnastic alumni weekend. I look forward to this every year because while we don't see each other often these girls are like sisters to me. Adam was out of town snowboarding so G and I went up on a Friday and went to dinner with some of the girls. We stayed the night together in a big hotel room suite and stayed up late talking and catching up. G fit right in the "the girls".

Grace loves watching "nastics" as she calls it. She was so exhausted from her late night with the girls though that she fell asleep in my lap during the meet. I can't remember the last time she did that!

Our coach always makes us all go out on the floor after the meet and introduce ourselves, what years we were on the team, and what we are up to now. Such different paths but so cool to meet families and hear all the successes.

Saturday night after the meet was another dinner followed by a party at the assistant coaches house. I sent an exhausted little one home with my dad. She was such a trooper and a good girl for me all weekend.

It is becoming somewhat of a tradition to have a baby shower during this weekend of parties too. Lori and I threw Mere a shower on Sunday. It was awesome that all of us girls that are so far away from each other could come together and celebrate Mere's first little one. Mere is due in March and she is just beautiful. 36 weeks pregnant and all belly!! I can't wait to meet her little lady and share in the wonder of motherhood with her. We even got a belly pic together. A long way from our our crazy days on campus, huh Mere? Knocked up and the only thing we were going on a binge for on Grand River was ice cream :)

Pregnancy: Week 19

2010-02-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

Things the doctor said to me this week:

"You need to eat more" and "You are measuring 27 weeks"

OH. MY. GOD.

Seriously dude? He was all like this was normal....27 freaking weeks, that would put my uterus at 8.5 weeks bigger than with a singleton. Then he follws it up with I need to eat more because I didn't gain any weight again this week. How is it possible I didn't gain any weight and isn't that a good thing considering my size and the size I am going to be??

I have also been feeling a lot of cramping and pressure. I barely got that information out before he was telling me that was normal for twins. How does he know its normal. How am I supposed to know if it is normal? I have come to realize there is no normal with twins :)

The babies are the size of heirloom tomatoes. 6 inches from head to bottom and weighing in at 18.5 ounces.

Pregnancy: Week 18

2010-02-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Oh those babies are a growing. I got to see them in #D this week. An OB at an office I call on in Ohio asked me if I had seen them in 3D yet and whn I said no he offered to do it right then. It was a quick peek but it was so cool to see. Their eyes aren't open yet but I was surprised that they have some fat on them. I was also surprised at how squished they are in there. They are litterally on top of each other!

I also saw them on Friday for a regular ultrasound. LeeAnn did some measurments for me. Baby A was measuring 17-weeks 6 days and Baby B 17-weeks 5 days. So right on target and very close in size!! All very good news. We coud see the four chambers of their hearts which was so cool. You can also see their stomach which is the other black circle.

They are the size of bell peppers this week. 5.5 inches from head to bottom and weighing 7 ounces.

And how about the belly this week...

Snow Storm

2010-02-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

We got dumped on today. Miss G just loves being out in the snow and helping daddy with the shoveling. She is the cutest snow bunny I ever did see but is very serious about this shoveling business. She was actually quite annoyed mommy was taking pictures and interupting her "work".

They had to take a break from all that hard work to make snow angels.

I {heart} You

2010-02-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Grace always gets Valentines in the mail from her great grandparents so this year I decided it would be fun for her to make some to send to them as well. I got some note cards and acrylic paint and let her go to town. We ended up having enough for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins too.

Pregnancy: Week 17

2010-02-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Lots of big happenings this week. Went to the doctor on Tuesday and He is stopping the TPN!! No more being fed through a tube!!! He wants to keep the PICC line in for another week just in case and continue with the Zophran pump. I didn't gain any weight this week but feel so much better than even last week. I was able to sit down with Adam and Grace and actually eat a meal. Tacos of course. I loved Mexican food when pregnant with Grace as well.

I asked him when I could go back to work and he said see how I do on Wednesday and then I am cleared to go back. I decided to give it a go on Thursday. I was very tired both Thursday and Friday but it was so good to be back working. Funny how when your working you want to be home and when your home you want to be working.

I felt movement for the first time on Wednesday. I was laying in bed on my back. One of the joys of pregnancy. I can't believe what a long road it has been already and that little flutter puts it all in perspective.

The babes are the size of turnips this week, hahah. They are 5 inches long from head to bottom and weigh 5 ounces.

Pregnancy: Week 16

2010-01-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank. The. Good. Lord. This week has been pretty darn good. I was up another 3 pounds at my doctors appontment. I tried to convince him that I didn't need the PICC linre and TPN anymore but he doesn't think I am eating enough yet. He is probably right and I am feeling so much better that I really think the TPN is helping. I asked how much weight I had to gain and he said its not about weight gain but caloric intake. Apparently an apple does not count as a meal.

The babies look great. They are the size of an avocado this week. They are 4.5 inches from head to bottom and weigh about 3.5 ounces.

Here is a sneak peak of them in utero... it is getting hard to fit them both on the ultrasound screen.

Baby A is head up and on my right side. Baby B is head down and on my left side. Baby A is the mover and shaker and gives Dr. P a heck of a time when he is trying to locate both heatbeats on the doppler. Baby B's heart is always easy to locate and she waits patiently while we wrestle with her sister. A glimse at their personalities perhaps??

Pregnancy: Week 15

2010-01-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

BOYS OR GIRLS??

It has been a good week. I am finally starting to feel a little better. At my doctors appointment on Tuesday I was up 4 pounds!! In a week!!! Dr. P would like to keep the PICC line with TPN for at least another week. I was like, dude, I have gained 4 pounds in a week what else do you want. I am still not eating enough though and according to him "I have some catching up to do". Maybe next week I will get rid of this stupid thing.

I am measuring almost 20 weeks. 20 weeks!!! My uterus is almost up to my belly button. Dr. P told me a week ago it is normal to measure about 4 weeks ahead for twins. This would be almost 6 weeks ahead. I commented on this and he said that it was normal. I am in such trouble, 5 months to go and only so far up for that uterus to go....

The big question this week was boys or girls. I thought they were girls up until about 10 weeks and then I decided they were boys from then on. I figured I had this weird feeling that they were twins so I was probably right about their gender too. I was totally stressing over boys names.

My gender poll was split pretty much 50-50 between blog readers.

We went in on Friday night with Grace for LeeAnn to take a look at those baby private parts. We told Grace she was going to see the babies on a TV screen. She wasn't really impressed. I think she thought we were going to see actual babies.

So the results are in and the twins are.........

2 more girls!! Mama is wrong again, lol. We are thrilled with two more girls and just feel so incredibly blessed. I believe this is Baby B showing us her parts. She is laying down head away from us, that is her butt on the bottom with her legs up in the air.

The babies are the size of apples this week and have grown a whole ounce and now weigh 2.5 ounces! They are about 4 inches long from head to bottom.

Gender Poll

2010-01-22T06:13:00.002-08:00

LeeAnn should be able to tell what these little bugs in my belly are soon. So, place your vote here! Some things to keep in mind:

*Identical girls are more common than boys
*I think they are boys (but I thought Grace was a boy too, lol)

Please leave a comment so I know your guess.

There is also an ExpectNet poll on the top right of my page that will be there until the babies are born. Click here to guess not only gender, but birthdate and size. There will be a prize for the closest guess!!

Pregnancy: Week 14

2010-01-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

ADMITTED AGAIN

A new development with this pregnancy. My mom came over to take to me an accupuncture appointment (hey I will try anything at this point) and I had an episode where I couldn't breathe. All of a sudden I had this terrible burning in my chest and then I literally couldn't breathe and was gasping for air. I ended up on the floor throwing up. Thank God my mom was there becasue she took me in to Dr. P's office who sent me directly to the ER. It only lasted about 30 minutes but was very scary. There is nothing worse than feeling like you can't breathe.

They decided to do a VQ scan in the ER becasue I am allergic to Iodine and they didn't want to do a CT scan. They explained the procedure and I was in the room when I decided the risk of radiation to the babies was too high and refused to do the test. After waiting for 2.5 hours for the dang test. I just had this overwhelming mommy moment where I felt like I had fight for these babies because really who else was going to? They had to rule out a blood clot in my lung so they decided to do a CT scan and treat me with steroids before the test because of my allergy. The CT scan came back clear for the blood clot but showed Atelectasis. Atelectasis is when the tiny air pockets in your lungs kind of fold in on themselves. They think it is from throwing up so much and it changing the pressure in my chest cavity. You can read more here.

The next day (Thursday) it happened again. I called Dr. P's office and told them and they really didn't know what to tell me. Really people?? I can't breathe and we don't see this as a problem?!? I decided to make an appointment with my family doctor Rosenberg on Friday.

As usual Dr. Rosenberg made shit happen. He saw me and decided that this was unacceptable and he was going to admit to the hospital. He wasn't convinced that it was the Atelectasis causing the acute breathing episodes. So once again I spent my weekend at lovely Allegiance Health. I got every test under the sun: EKG, arterial blood sample, ECHO, and a chest x-ray. The pulmonary doctor decided that it was probably acid reflux. My esophagus was so irritated from all the throwing up that the acid was coming up and my esophagus was clamping down so I couldn't breathe. They put me on protonics hoping that would solve the problem and so far so good.

So I am now out of the hospital and laying low. I am actually starting to feel a little better in terms of the hyperemesis and I am hoping to God that I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lets take a look at how big the babies are this week:

They are the size of lemons, about 3.5 inches long from head to bottom and weighing about an ounce in a half.

How about how big I am this week :)

Funny Girl

2010-01-10T15:21:00.001-08:00

2 is such a fun, amazing, crazy, frustrating, insane age. Miss G makes us laugh everyday. The way I have been feeling lately, some days she is the only thing that makes me laugh.

Exhibit A: She has a baby Stella doll and Lori asked her what her baby's name was and she came right back with, "Baby Jesus"

Exhibit B: She has decided on names for the twins. Hannah and Hannah. I said well we can name one Hannah but what about the other one? She says, "Hannah too". Alrighty then :)

This week she decided they were boys apparently. We asked her what we should name the twins and she said, "Moses and Baby Jesus". BWAHAHAHAHAH. Big names to live up to :)

Exhibit C: She went to Beckie's house this week for a couple of days and finger painted with her cousin Noah. She would use one finger, dip the tip in the paint, put in on the paper and then wipe it off with a wipe. Are you kidding me? What kid finger paints like that?!

And this video of her "doing gymnastics". She did all of this with almost an entire chicken nugget in her mouth. I swear we have not taught her any of this. She hasn't even been to a meet in a year. Must be in-born :)

Pregnancy: Week 13

2010-01-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

LISTEN TO ME!

It has been a rough week for me. My PICC line was really hurting my arm. Went to my doctors appointment on Tuesday and Dr. P doesn'r seem to really be grasping how much it hurt. I knew something is just not right. I am so tired of people not listening to me. He is so concerned about getting the TPN in me that I don't think he really cares about anything else.

Spent another night in the ER Monday night. My home nurse came to my house to start the TPN and as soon as she started it I has this awful pain in my upper right chest. SO, off to the ER we go AGAIN. They really didn't do anything, told me my potassium was low and gave me some pottassium. Didn't want to do another chest xray to verify the placement of the PICC because there just did it a couple of days ago. Told me to follow up with Dr. P the next day.

I feel like I am going to die. I am so sick of feeling sick. I just feel nauseous and exhausted all the time. In addition, I am in pain with this stupid PICC. I can't sleep because it hurts so bad. On Friday I called my mom to come over because I felt like I was going to pass out. I called P's office again and talked to the nurse midwife who once again just wasn't getting it. She wanted my home health nurse to come out to the house to look at it. When the home health people called I finally said, "I am not going to do this anymore. There is something wrong with this PICC and if they want to continue with the TPN they are going to pull it and put a new one in my left arm." Apparently this message was finally heard and the nurse midwife sent me to the hospital to get it pulled. Standard procedure is doing an ultrasound to check for blood clots before pulling it. After waiting for what seemed like forever laying down on the waiting room couch, results came back that I indeed had a blood clot in that arm. What do ya know!? Seriously people?? Apparently I am not dramatic enough. They decided to admit to treat the blood clot and try and get the hyperemesis under control since I had lost even more weight and was severely dehydrated from not having the TPN running for 24 hours.

So I got to spend my weekend in the post partum wing of the hospital. I saw a hematologist, hospitalist, and OB in my short stay. It was actually the best thing that could probably happen to me because I got fluids/vitamins and was forced to stay in bed except to go to the bathroom. My right arm feels better but it still pretty sore. My left arm feels great, how the PICC is supposed to feel!

My new PICC line in my left arm

Funny thing that happens everytime I am in the hospital. I come across a nurse or other medical professional taking care of me that has twins. It is so crazy! I have recieved a lot of advice and words of comfort that I will indeed survive :)

The babies are the size of medium shrimp, hahah. About 3 inches long and weighing about an ounce each.

Pregnancy: Week 12

2010-01-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

TO THE HOSPITAL WE GO

I have been off week now since the 21st. This week has been quite the adventure. They decided to start a PICC line on Tuesday after my 2nd IV was on its way out. I went to my normal IV Center appt and told them I felt worse yesterday even with the IV Zophran (for nausea). Not sure if one had to do with the other or I was just having a crappy day. This led to a them calling Dr. P who told them to send me down to see them. I saw the nurse midwife and she and Dr. P decided to put in the PICC. A PICC is a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. The advantages of a PICC over IV is that it can be in for an extended period of time and I can be given nutrition through this. While the fluids help the fact that I am not eating or drinking is not good for me or the babies. It is to the point where I am keeping nothing down. Dr. P said the IV fluids keep me from getting dehydrated and gives me a little bit of sugar but I need to be getting some sort of nutrition and vitamins. It is an outpatient procedure where they feed a catheter from vein in the bend of my elbow all the way up my arm and the tip sits an inch or two from your heart (or the superior vena cava). It was surprisingly painless besides the poke in the arm. Well, that is until i got home and it felt like my heart was fluttering. I thought, well maybe this is normal. I laid down for about and hour and when I woke up it was worse. Back to the hospital I went where they pulled back on the catheter about 2 inches which relieved the fluttering. I tell, can I catch a break?

They also set me up with a home health agency. I have a nurse that is going to come once a week. They set me up with my very own IV pole and Zophran pump. I stick this little catheter in my leg which is attached to a syringe in a pump that administers Zophran 24 hours a day. They are working on getting me TPN (Total Parental Nutrition) by Monday. TPN is what they give coma patients or post stomach or GI surgical patients that can't eat. It has all the nutrition you need.

I name for this lovely condition is "Hyperemesis Gravidarum". Basically is it uncontrollable throwing up during pregnancy. You can read more about here.

New Years Eve we decided to go to the Barzcak party despite how sick I have been and being attached to an IV pole 24 hours a day. I was the really cool one who had their very own IV pole at the party complete with a cocktail of fluids and Zophran. Do I know how to party or what? We had fun anyway and it was good to get out of the house. On the way home, however, I noticed that there was blood in my PICC line. I was also having pain in my upper right chest that was getting worse. When we got home I disconnected the line and called my home nurse. They told me to flush it which I tried but couldn't push it through. The blood had clotted already. So how did we spend the very earliest part of 2010? In the ER with all the drunks. It was actually pretty entertaining but a 5 hour trip to the ER in the middle of the night is never a good time. They couldn't find the source of the pain and said it was probably just irritation from he PICC. After a couple of tries they were able to clear the line of the clot and we got about about 6 am.

So, after more trips to the hospital than I have experienced in my whole life I am 12 weeks. Lets Take a look at that belly:

The babies are about the size of a lime, each about 3.5 inches long and weigh 1/2 an ounce.

Pregnancy: Week 11

2009-12-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

I SURRENDER

I have been fighting the fight for the last couple of weeks but this morning I just couldn't take it anymore. I went to my Monday morning meeting as usual this morning. I proceeded to barf several times in the Panera bathroom during the meeting. Last week when I talked to the nurse midwife at Dr. P's office she said to call on Monday if I was down 4 pounds. I was down 4 pounds on Friday. Did I call? No, like a dumb dumb I wait until Monday. I call the office at 8:30 and I am informed by the receptionist that there are no practitioners in today. Fantastic. "Would you like me to put you through to the voicemail?". Sure, what the hell. I leave a message that I can't stop throwing up and I have lost 4 pounds so I would like to start IV therapy or get new drugs or something. I am close to passing out at this point.

I need a new prescription of Zophran so I go to Target to fill my script. As I am walking through the store I am thinking "what if I pass out in Target?" At least they will take me to the ER to get some fluids. I sit on the bench near the pharmacy feeling like I am gonna die and because I don't know what else to do so I email my family doc Dr. Rosenberg. I tell him I can't stop throwing up and should I come into the office or go to the ER for fluids? His response, "Come in". Great, he must have fluids in the office.

Not so much, he just wanted to see me himself. I skip the waiting area and walk back to his personal office. He comes back and looks at me, asks a few questions, and tells me to get in a room immediately and he will check me out. Meanwhile, I am very close with this office and I have been calling on them for 4 years. It is pretty embarrassing to be puking in the office trash can. Rosenberg comes in, checks me out, and tells me he is going to admit me. WHAT? I just wanted some IV fluids. I beg him not to admit me. Just what I need, I will never get any rest in the hospital. He decides to try the Outpatient IV Center first. He won't let me drive so either someone from the office will take me or I call my mom to take me to the hospital. He literally orders the MA to babysit me so I don't drive myself. THANK GOD for this man. He intervened when nobody else was there for me and he made shit happen!

Off to the IV Center I go. They have no clue who I am, what is going on, who referred me. I hang out in the waiting room with all the old people for what feels like an eternity. Finally, they decide to treat me as a new patient and start an IV. The doctor says I probably need a PICC line (central line) but he isn't going to do it without clearance from my OB. The nurse is amazing and sends me home with my very own bag of fluids on a 24 hour pump. I just bought myself daily visits to the IV Center.

I continue at the IV Center for the rest of the week. It is this big open room where everyone sits in their own lazy boy with an IV pole and various meds and fluids being infused. The nurses at this place are amazing. Although they don't know quite what to do with me. Young and pregnant with twins is not their typical patient demographic. Hyperemesis is the official name for this: basically unrelenting nausea and vomiting. It is pretty depressing to be hanging out at the hospital on Christmas Eve. Luckily they gave me a 48 hour bag so I didn't have to come in on Christmas. The fluids make a difference. Not in the nausea but my fatigue and energy level. I don't feel like I am going to pass out anymore.

I am on my second IV site since the first vein blew out on Christmas day. They usually only last about 3 days which is why they would really like to do the PICC. Dr. P would like to continue with the IV because the PICC carried increased risk of infection and is more invasive. The IV Center doc just rolls his eyes. I don't care as long as they don't take my fluids away.

My little friends. This blue bag of fluids I have to carry around all day is the hottest accessory this holiday season. You know you want one :)

On Saturday, December 26, I am 11 weeks. Lets see how big those babies are.

The size of a fig. They are just over 1 1/2 inches from head to bottom.

This is why they make me laugh

2009-12-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

A facebook conversation on my wall that took place while I was sleeping. I had just sent out my Christmas cards and these girls were anticipating the reaction:

LeeAnn Kohler Howard 5 bucks says Jane's facebook wall blows up shortly ;)

Thu at 10:56pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard and i cant wait! LOL!

Thu at 10:57pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Now what in the world would it blow up about?!!?! ;-)

Thu at 10:58pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard hmmmmm... i wonder. LOL! ;)

Thu at 10:58pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard they are gonna have to shut her wall down. hahaah!

Thu at 10:58pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I heard she sent out some Wrigley's Doublemint Gum with her cards!!

Thu at 10:59pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard sounds about right (thats a good one!)

Thu at 11:00pm · Stephanie Johnson Jeez, you two alone will shut it down!

Thu at 11:00pm · Stephanie Johnson I heard she sent some twinkies!

Thu at 11:00pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak That's what we're here for. :)

Thu at 11:00pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I think she's tryin to bake some twinkies.

Thu at 11:01pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak a double pack, at that!

Thu at 11:01pm · Stephanie Johnson I like how 3 all of our profile pics are black and whites with our sons done by Nicole Barczak photography. We are so original!

Thu at 11:01pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard i was just realizing that too!! It was confusing me who was saying what!! LOL!

Thu at 11:02pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak HAHAHH. Mine's the truest.

Thu at 11:02pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard sure is! too cute!

Thu at 11:02pm · Stephanie Johnson Poseurs= LeeAnn and I

Thu at 11:03pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak That's how I feel everyday. My face is gonna freeze that way. I bet Jane will have a face like that after those Twinkies.

Thu at 11:03pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard i texted her at 9:30 and she hasnt answered.. must be to bed early tonight.

Thu at 11:03pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Huh? Poseurs?

Thu at 11:03pm · posers?

Thu at 11:04pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard we posed for ours... you are original. :)

Thu at 11:04pm · Stephanie Johnson It's hard work making a buy-one-get one

Thu at 11:04pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak OH hahah! Got it.

Thu at 11:04pm · Stephanie Johnson She needs to sleep twice as much!

Thu at 11:04pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Jane.. shopping a BOGO sale!!

Thu at 11:04pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard Jane and her sales...

Thu at 11:05pm · Stephanie Johnson Are my jokes too deep for you two? ;)

Thu at 11:06pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard hahahha.. uhm.... what?

Thu at 11:07pm · Stephanie Johnson Wait.

Thu at 11:08pm · Stephanie Johnson We should have that psychic do a reading for Jane. See if he's seeing double!

Thu at 11:08pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard lordy lordy

Thu at 11:08pm · LeeAnn, was that two lordies? One for each?

Thu at 11:10pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard yup yup

Thu at 11:11pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard maybe she will want some pizza pizza on friday. :)

Thu at 11:12pm · Stephanie Johnson hahaha! Or HA HA, I guess.

Thu at 11:12pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard she's gonna do a double flip when she reads this in the am!

Thu at 11:13pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Her cards were twice as nice as the rest I got today

Thu at 11:15pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak But I did hear she and Adam were in for double trouble pretty soon.

Thu at 11:16pm · i took a double look, since it was two-sided.

Thu at 11:16pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I think you were just seeing a mirror image of it LeeAnn

Thu at 11:18pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard could be, could be

Thu at 11:19pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak She sure was killing two birds wtih one stone this year...

Thu at 11:19pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard you can say that again!

Thu at 11:20pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Did you hear they were getting a couple wombmates... I mean, roommates?

Thu at 11:24pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I think they're leading a double life, to tell you the truth.

Thu at 11:28pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak although, it does take two to tango.

Thu at 11:28pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Do you think their house is zoned for double occupancy?

Thu at 11:30pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard they should rent that one old movie from the late 80's.. with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gosh... what IS the name of THAT movie?!?!?!

Thu at 11:31pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I think they'd rather play Double Jeopardy

Thu at 11:31pm · They may even play Double Trouble.

Thu at 11:35pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard Yeah she might be getting another ticket, did you hear? She double parked!!

Thu at 11:35pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak she'll have to work double time to pay for that!!

Thu at 11:36pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Did you hear about that awesome double whammy she saw at the Twins game last week?

Thu at 11:37pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard Oh thats when they had a double header, right?

Thu at 11:39pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak All the pictures she took were double exposed though

Thu at 11:40pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard She will have to retake them at the next double header. Better take two cameras next time, just TWO be safe.

Thu at 11:41pm · Denise Embley Gibb LOL! I'm totally laughing at this whole thread. ;)

Thu at 11:43pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard hahhaha. are you laughing twice as loud?

Thu at 11:43pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak she wasn't double fisting it at the game was she?

she prolly got mad and took of on her BIcycle.

Thu at 11:44pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I swear I saw someone the other day that was the spitting image of her...

Thu at 11:45pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard or maybe she took of in her dual-exhaust car.

Thu at 11:45pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard Maybe a clone?

Thu at 11:46pm · Denise Embley Gibb Oh my word you TWO! You should go into advertising.

Thu at 11:46pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak Think I could use a duplicate of this post on my resume, Denise?

Thu at 11:48pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak I think Stephanie owes us 5 bucks. She'll have to double it since there's two of us.

Thu at 11:50pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard better include my name, maybe we could get twice as much money!

Thu at 11:50pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard ditto to that nic!

Thu at 11:51pm · Nicole Bevier-Barczak alright alright... night night!

Thu at 11:59pm · LeeAnn Kohler Howard You might have to read this twice Jane, to make sure your two eyes didnt miss anything. :) Night-night girls!

Fri at 12:06am · Sadie Bradley I can't believe I actually read all those comments. Very creative, girls.

Fri at 7:13am · Nicole Macklin McIntosh You guys are hilarious!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Stephanie Johnson: Shoot, I am doubly disappointed that you TWO kept this going after I logged off. Dualy noted. ;)

Jane, where ARE you? Defend yourself and your two bed-womb apartment!

Fri at 8:27am · Jane McIntosh Dawson I was TWO tired for words so I went to bed :) I did have to read it twice because you girls are crazy crazy!!

Pregnancy: Weeks 4-10

2009-12-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

**While we didn't tell people we were expecting until about 10 weeks I did journal our adventure up until that time**

November 7, 2009 (Week 4)
FINDING OUT

I woke up on Saturday morning and still had not started my period. I was going to try and wait until Monday to take a pregnancy test just to keep from getting my hopes up yet again. I was pretty sure I wasn't pregnant because I was traveling for work this month during what I thought was a critical time. Grace was spending the night at grandma's, Adam was hunting. I enjoyed a quiet morning to myself and decided to make a Starbucks run. The funniest thing happened at Starbucks. I pulled up to pay for my Pumpkin Spice Latte and the barista infromed me the car in front of me "had taken care of it". How cool is that? I took this as a sign and stopped at CVS for a pregnancy test on the way home.

I peed on my little stick and sure enough a 2nd faint pink line showed up. I was afraid to believe it. I was even more afraid to be excited. Miscarriage robs you of that excitement and replaces it with fear. You can no longer enjoy the moment and are just afraid. You assume when nothing goes wrong that nothing is going to go wrong. When something does go wrong, you are on constant alert. I waited until Adam came home and told him the news. He too accepted it with some trepidation. I called my mom and dad and told them. I felt funny telling people because I wasn't excited or joyful. Such a different experience that the 1st or 2nd time around. We decided we were going to try and wait to tell people this time around. I will feel so much better when I see that little heartbeat.

We had supper club on Sunday. The girls knew immediately when I refused any alcohol. So much for keeping it a secret, lol!! At 4 weeks the baby is the size of a poppy seed.

November 20, 2009 (Week 6)
FIRST ULTRASOUND

I asked LeeAnn a week or so ago if I could come in to see a heartbeat. I think I will feel so much better when I see that little blinking heart. I am so lucky to have a friend who is a ultrasound tech so I can put my mind at ease. You can usually see a heartbeat at 5 weeks, 5 days. I am 5 weeks, 6 days today. My parents came over to watch Grace so Adam could go with me. I am nervous and trying not to get my hopes up we will see anything since it is so early.

No luck with the ultrasound. I am measuring a little smaller (?) so we couldn't see a heartbeat yet. Kind of a letdown but I am trying to stay positive and hope we can see it soon. According to LeeAnn's measurments I am 5 weeks, 4 days. So close!!

November 22, 2009 (Week 6)
HOLY CRAP!

LeeAnn offered to come in special for me on a Sunday so we could try to get a peak at that heartbeat again. I went by myself not wanting to go through getting a sitter again and not even knowing if we would see anything. Little did I know I was in for the biggest surprise of my life.

LeeAnn put the gel and wand on my belly and I of course can see nothing on the screen. I look at LeeAnn and she is staring very intently at the screen. I see her whole face kind of change and she says, "Uh....sorry but somethings got my heart racing here". My own heart sank as I thought, "Crap, she doesn't see a heartbeat and she doesn't know how to tell me". After a few moments she said those four little words that turned my world upside down ......."I think its twins".

WHAT?!!! Are you kidding me?!?

She then points to the screen and sure enough even I can see TWO blinking heartbeats.

OH. MY. GOD.

I covered my face with my hands and the first thing I said was, "Where are we going to put them? Our house is already too small." LeeAnn was just like, "I know" :) She then told me to hold on a sec while she went to get another tech just to make sure. The other tech came in to take a look and said, "Yup, definitely twins! Congratulations." I think I managed a weak thank you.

The crazy part is even though I was shocked and stunned I immediately went to mom mode and fell in love with those two little blips on the screen. Even though I had no idea how I was going to handle two babies all that really mattered was if they were okay. They were mine now and all that I wanted was for them to be healthy.

LeeAnn and I continued to stare at the screen in amazement and she took some pictures for me to take home. She said it looked like they were identical since they were in the same gestational sac. As I got up to leave she said, "How are you going to tell Adam?". I had no idea. As I stumbled out into the hall LeeAnn was like, "Are you okay to drive?" I was so dazed I wasn't sure. I told her I felt like I was going to throw up and she said, "Me too". LOL!

When I got home Adam had started a fire and was upstairs giving G a bath. Little did he know I was about to rock his world. I just walked into the bathroom and said, "It's twins". He just kind of looked at me and said, "Your kidding......Shut up......your kidding." I started laughing and crying and showed him the pictures and said, "Do I look like I am joking?" All the color drained from his face and he bent over like he was going to pass out. I think he said something along the lines of "HOLY F%#@"

I called my parents and Adam called his. I told my mom and she ended up laughing and crying on the floor and my dad had to take over the phone for her. The weird thing is I has this feeling. I had a feeling it was twins on the Friday before my first ultrasound and the only person I had said anything to was my mom. I told her on the phone earlier in the day that I just had this weird feeling it was twins. Intuition is a crazy thing.

My brother said in China they put their babies in drawers so what did I need a bigger house for? Nicki just laughed hyterically. They both said if anyone could handle it it would be us. I called my other brother Mark in Kansas City. He laughed too....and I think said better you than me.

We just kept looking at eachother the whole night like a deer in a the headlights. We couldn't quite wrap our heads around it and the more we thought about it the more the reality of two babies, at the same time, sunk in. We didn't get a wink of sleep that night and it consumed our every waking thought.

Introducing the Dawson twins...

They (OMG they! they!!) are the size of a lentil, about a 1/4 inch long.

November 28, 2009 (Week 7)
START SPREADING THE NEWS

The big news is still sinking in. LeeAnn and I came up with a clever way to tell the rest of the girls I am having twins. They all came over for pizza on Wednesday. LeeAnn gave me a baby gift. I pulled out one pair of pajamas, then another identical pair of pajamas. Nicole screamed, "OMG YOUR HAVING TWINS!" Lots of screaming and hugging. We told Katie the same way that night and her response has to be one of my favorites, "OMG I feel so bad for you" hahaha. She then felt bad she said that and said she didn't mean it that way. I laughed becasue I knew exactly what she meant. It not going to be all unicorns and rainbows and thats okay :)

We told extended family on Thanksgiving and the day after. Thanksgiving Day we told the Dawson extended family. The day after Thanksgiving my mom and I went shopping with the Dawson girls and told them at lunch at Anna's. We made quite the scene when Beckie started screaming and about jumped over the table when I told her the news. Someone in the restaurant sent two little choclates over to the table as a congratulations.

In other news, the sickness is really starting to set in. I am throwing up a lot. Most of my Thankgiving dinner came back up. Not sure if I can ever look at Turkey the same way. I started to get sick with Grace around 7 weeks too. Seems like it started in a little faster and harder but there are 2 of them!

Here is their 7 week photo:

They are the size of blueberries, about a 1/2 inch in length.

December 5, 2009 (Week 8)
YUCKO

I am still struggling with the sickness. I just feel nauseous all the time. I called Dr. P's office for a Zophran script this week. Luckily they called it in for me. I have a hard time even keeping the pill down though. I told my coworkers this week, they were pretty surprised and feel bad that I am so sick. I am puking through our meetings at Panera.

We decided we are going to tell everyone in our Christmas card. LeeAnn personalized our 9 week ultrasound picture and we are sending it out with our Christmas cards to surprise everyone.

Here is what the beans look like this week....

They are the size of kidney beans, just over a 1/2 inch in length

Even though these little beans are only a 1/2 inch in length they are already making their presence known. I am already getting a baby bump! It's crazy. Here is a comparison of me at 18 weeks pregnant with Grace vs my belly right now at 8 weeks. They look the same!! Dear God I am in trouble!!

December 12, 2009 (Week 9)
LET THE WORRYING BEGIN

I had my first doctors appointment this week. We discussed how sick I have been and the nurse midwife gave me some tips. Unisom and B12 3 times a day. Sweettarts of all things. At this point I will try anything. I am keeping very little down. Saw Dr. P as I was checking out and told him it was twins. He really enjoyed teasing me about this since he has twin boys of his own. I mentioned that it appears that the babies are in the same sac and we don't see a membrane seperating them. This concerned him and he ordered an ultrasound for next week. If they are in fact in the same amniotic sac then they would be callled Monochorionic, Monoamniotic twins or "Mo-Mo twins". They share the same plancenta and amniotic sac which can be very dangerous and high risk. I would probably have to be refered to a specialist. The reason it is so scary is becasue they have nothing seperating them the umbilical cords can get tangled and cut off oxygen and nutrients to one or both of the babies. This is especially true as they get bigger. MoMo's are usually delivered early, as early as 28 weeks, becasue the risk of being in the womb is greater than being outside. It is VERY scary stuff and I can't help but worry and obsess. The more I read on the internet the more freaked out I become. It is going to be an eternity until that ultrasound and I am hoping and praying these little ones each reside in their own little amniotic sac.

On a happier note, here are the little blobs.

LeeAnn thought she saw a membrane between the two of them. This hope will help me get through until my ultrasound next Tuesday.

They babies are the size of grapes this week, almost an inch long

December 15, 2009 (Week 9)
GOOD NEWS

It was confirmed today that the twins each reside in their own little fluid filled home. After getting mixed messages from just about everyone I finally heard from Dr. P's office that they are in their own amniotic sacs but share a placenta (which is typical of identical twins). This is beyond wonderful news and such a sigh of relief.

After this little experience I have determined that nobody really knows what the hell they are doing with identical twins. They just don't see them very often. This resulted in me crying in the ultrasound room and a lot of stressing this week. BUT alls well that ends well.

Got great pictures of the babies, they are really starting to look like something. Truly amazing.

December 19, 2009 (Week 10)
UGH

I am still unbelievably sick. I can barely make it through the work day. I end up throwing up in a plastic bag in the car. I have to pull over sometimes. My manager decided to ride with me this week which sucked. As if I wasn't miserable enough. I ended up throwing up in front of him multiple times. Seriously dude? Can you give me a break? I feel like I am barely surviving and I am not sure how much longer I can do this.

The wee ones are the size of kumquats this week, a little ove an inch long.

Christmas Tree

2009-12-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

I think Miss G has seen me behind the camera a little too much. She likes to take pictures like mommy. We went to get our Christmas tree on pretty much the coldest, nastiest day of December. It was last Wednesday when it was blowing snow sideways. We picked it out in about 2 minutes flat.

We decorated the next day. Grace was a big helper this year. She put all the ornaments on the same branch at her eye level. It was so cute. She understands Christmas a little more this year and it is fun to have her be a more active part of the festivities. Can't wait until "Kissmas morning when Ho-Ho comes". :)

Christmas Questions

2009-12-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I like to coordinate a couple of different ones. One for my side of the family, another for Adam's side, and one for the kids. Totally my OCD coming out.

Real tree or artificial? Real, of course. We go with the Douglas Fur. Nothing beats the smell of fresh pine. It just smells like Christmas. Hate the needles, love the look.

When do you put up the tree? Usually the first weekend of December. We are the only people in my family with a truck so we are usually trying to coordinate with my mom and dad and Scott and Nicki. We don't cut our own but go to the farm and pick one out that has been freshly cut. It is quite the process. This year we picked the coldest windiest day ever. After about 2 minutes out there I said, "I don't give a *bleep*, that one is FINE!!!!". Merry Freaking Christmas :)

Do you like eggnog? I do like eggnog. Never had spiked eggnog before though. Its one of those things you can't drink a lot of.

Favorite gift received as a child? The Christmas I was 5 or 6 I got my first Cabbage Patch Kid. It was the hot thing that Christmas and I hoped and prayed Santa would bring me one. Her name was Debra and she had red hair.

Hardest person to buy for? Parents, especially fathers. My dad asks for the same thing every year. Socks or a book. You can only buy so many socks and books over the years. I have no clue what to get my father in law so this is the one present Adam is in charge of. He usually is out on Christmas Eve buying for his dad (and wife!).

Easiest person to buy for? Do I count? I tend to subscribe to the whole one for you, one for me theory of Christmas shopping. Adam is probably the easiest. I love buying him things for some reason.

Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, and I absolutely love it. It is the Willow Tree set. My mother in law has purchased it for me over the years and now I have the complete set!

Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail for sure!! I love planning, sending, and recieving Christmas cards. I especially like when there are pictures or a letter.

Favorite Christmas movie? Oh National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, hands down!!! The scene where he is emptying the shitter: "That there's what you call an RV!!!" We used to watch it every year in high school at Chrystal's house.

When do you start shopping? I usually start the day after Thanksgiving. This year I started the weekend before Thanksgiving and haven't done anything since. I will probably finish not this weekend but the next.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I always think I might but then I don't keep it in my house long enough. Off to St Vincent's it goes!!

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's peanut brittle and swedish wafers. Oh so good and sinful.

Lights on the tree? The big colored lights

Favorite Christmas songs? O Holy Night by Celine Dion. Gives me goose bumps every time.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? We do the Dawson shuffle. Our families live so close we end up going everywhere to see everyone.

Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. Only reason I know that is that G likes to be read "The Night Before Christmas" every night before she goes to bed.

Angel on the tree top, or a star? Star

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? All on Christmas morning. You have to wait!!! It is part of the tourture of being a kid!

Favorite ornament theme or color? We don't have a theme. Just ornaments we have collected since the year we got engaged. That first year I had to put those little red bows on the tree because we didn't have enough ornaments! I love looking at them and seeing how our life has progressed. We try to pick one up on vacation and we have been given a lot by family and friends. We get one for Grace every year that has meaning and that we will give her when she has her own tree.

What do you want for Christmas this year? Happy and healthy family and friends. I know it sounds cheesey but I love the giving as much as the getting.

Looking for...

2009-12-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

a cute Advent Calender for Grace. Not a wooden one with doors but a soft one where you put something up each day leading up to Christmas. Like this but Christmas:

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

The beautiful "adult table"

The kids table

Those turkey plates are the cutest!!

Gray and Calvin

Gannon and Ally

The Gilbert's Chocolate covered Oreos were a hit with the kids

the BFFs, these two are so funny together

They ran, they licked mashed potato beaters, they talked to each other across the table, they played in the toliet. A relationship like no other.... :)

Gracie loves her Bookie. She wanted to "stay night at Bookie's house!!" instead of going home

We had Thanksgiving at Scott and Nicki's house this year with my mom and dad. My Uncle Jared and Aunt Collette and their 3 kids Gannon, Gray, and Calvin also joined us. Scott and Nicki did a beautiful job. The tables were beautiful, the food was great, and the company was even better.

I have so much to be thankful for:

My Sweet Girl and Incredible Husband: there is not enough love in the world to express how much these two mean to me
Our Parents: there whenever we need them no matter what. I really do not know what we would do without them
Our Family: we are so lucky to have family that is close and that we see a lot. It is so nice to have family that you would also consider friends
Our Friends: I feel especially blessed here too. I can't tell you how much my girlfriends mean to me. We live and die daily life together and it never fails that these girls put a smile on my face
The wondrous gift of life. If I have learned anything in the last six months it is to enjoy each day because life is a gift. I have learned that I am not in charge and God has really shown me just how precious and amazing life is. I feel his presence in my life stronger than ever

Daddy

2009-11-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

Grace says to me this mornig, "Dada go hunting today?"

I said, "Yup, daddy is hunting".

Grace, "I looooove him"

Awwww, melt my heart.

Flashback Friday

2009-11-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

This was our Christmas card picture in 2005. Before Dooley, and Grace. We were on our way to a MSU football game, back in the day when we had season tickets. I can't believe this was 4 years ago!!

The funny things she says

2009-11-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

This kid has been cracking me up lately. Some of the things she says:

Me: you have to wear a coat, its cold outside
G: Yeah, it's cold out like a Penguin

G: Mama, too dark, turn on lights
Me: At night its dark and the moon comes out
G: Like the book! Goodnight moon, goodnight mouse, goodnight bunny, goodnight kittens...

G: Where dada go?
Me: He is at work.
G: No...dada hunting

G: Look daddy, I have jam-jams on!!
Adam: Wow, which ones?
G: The monkey ones!!

Other G-isms:

MY DOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

MY PICK!

I tooted and its stinky

I watch Cailou

I run run nakie

Brush teef mama!

Laaaast one?? Last one, mama???

Thats nice!

washcloth is a "coff coff"

she was "Pebbles Pinpone" for Halloween

Ho-Ho come and give me presents

Teeny tiny babies

any R sound us a W sound, like "I'm a big Gurwl"

She says these funny things and it is just too cute. You can carry on a whole conversation with her now and she will tell you a story about her day. It amazes me what she picks up on and she remembers everything.

Not Me Monday

2009-11-02T14:34:00.001-08:00

I definitely did not fail on posting every day in November on the SECOND DAY. I would for sure last longer than that
I most certainly did not lose my gas card for the second time, call to get a new one, only to realize I had not put the new one in my car
I absolutely am not addicted to The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Radio. I would never listen to such sexist, trashy radio
I clearly don't go to Panera to get work done because if I go home my two year old has other ideas. I surely would never use a chain restaurant as my office
I without question don't freak out every time my manager rides with me. I have been doing this job for 4 years so I am definitely used to it by now

That's it for this week! :)