Oh What a Beautiful Morning

I saw on my weather app this morning that the temperature was in the 60’s, so I quickly got myself and the kiddos ready so I could enjoy a bit of that on the front porch!  We don’t actually have any furniture on the front porch so I had Matt drag out a rocking chair for me.  The way our house is situated, the front is shaded in the mornings, while it’s super sunny and gross out back.  Maybe this will be the year we actually find a little table and chairs for the front.  :)  It’s the best spot to enjoy the cool mornings!

Joanna took this picture of me:

Then I sat in my chair, drank my coffee, and took pictures of the littles running around.

Then as soon as everyone was ready, Matt took my weekly preggo pic (to be posted tomorrow), and we headed to church.

My shower hostesses and I attempted to get everyone reconvened for a make-up picture, but we were missing two.  We didn’t find Amanda and Jennifer.  Maybe they were playing hooky?  :)

It was so incredibly wonderful to not sweat buckets at church.  What a delight it was not to come home drenched in sweat, simply from attending Sunday school and worship – ha!

I know this was a fall weather tease, and it will be grody again soon, but it was a beautiful way to start the season!

A Baby Shower for the Babies/Twins/Boys

I had kind of thought I wouldn’t have a baby shower this pregnancy, BUT a sweet group of friends arm-twisted me into it.  :)  Who am I to argue?  It was wonderful!

Of course the first thing I did when I got there was take pictures of all the gorgeous decorations and food!

The yummy spread of food:

Do you see the fruit babies?!

Gumball peas in a pod!

And cake ball peas in a pod!  Such clever ladies!!

Peas in the pod – balloons in tissue paper.  The little tree (that I got to bring home with me!) has little ultrasound pics of the boys at the top and a little message in the frames in the bottom.  The message told me a gift that the hostesses and a few wonderful out of town friends gave – EIGHT visits from a housekeeper.  WAHOO!  They know me so well.  :)

More décor!

Dried peas in the vases – oh so clever!

The invitation:

Cucumber water and limeade.  So yummy and pretty!

There were games.  One was you had to work in teams to diaper two babies, each person with one hand behind their back.  Clearly we have photographic evidence that Kendra blatantly disregarded the rules of the game.  :)

We’re not totally sure, but it appears that the baby dolls were easier to diaper than the animals.  :)

Such determination!

They look so much more cozy, don’t they?

The next game was like “hot potato” but with Baby A and Baby B (the bouncy balls).

I won.  I wonder, does this mean I’m going to be an excellent twin mother or a terrible one?  :)

I received so many lovely gifts, including newborn cloth diapers (WAHOO!!) and several gift cards!  Yay for being able to get some things we need once we figure out we need them.  Ha!

I’d been taking a few candid pictures here and there, but I keep catching people with their eyes closed or their faces blurred from motion.  So I made everyone look at the camera as I went around the room.

Amanda, Jennifer, Whitney, and Kendra

{As you can plainly see, Amanda was in the lead with the clothespin game.  Everyone had a clothespin, and you weren’t supposed to say babies, twins, boys, or they’re singular counterparts.  If you caught someone saying one, you could steal their clothespin and vice versa.  Eventually Jan caught Amanda and was able to steal her stash and become the ultimate winner.  :)}

Grandma, Shaun, and Laura

Kimberly, Theresa, Kristina, and Lisa

Jan and my momma.

I’m just about positive I got a picture of everyone, but if I missed someone, let’s blame it on pregnancy brain.  I think this may be the first shower I’ve helped host or been to with this group of girlfriends that WE FORGOT TO TAKE A HOSTESS PICTURE!!  I can’t believe it!  I’m in shock!

But now I’m over it.  :)

It was a very lovely afternoon with a lot of great food and so much wonderful conversation.  Thank you friends for making me have a shower and coming to celebrate the boys with me!

Taking Pictures

Sometimes when I see interesting light, I pull out my camera and look for a willing model.  :)  I really would love to venture outside to find interesting places and lighting to photograph around, but I’m just too huge, and it’s just too hot!

So my living room is my studio these days.

Natalie was close by on this day.  These bright streaks of sunlight were coming in the window, and I turned off all the lamps inside to get this one.  I actually got on the floor to take it – that was rough!  I converted it to black and white.

The others wanted in on the action, but the light wasn’t being as predictable as before.

But aren’t they the cutest patooties?!

This morning I was sitting in the rocking chair, and everybody started coming over to feel the boys.  My camera was right there so I started snapping!

Sweet James’ hands on the belly.

Natalie came over and laid her head down on the belly.  I don’t have a lens wide enough to get a shot this close so I was holding the camera behind/above me and attempting to point it in the right direction.  I was also guessing a bit on my settings since I couldn’t look through the viewfinder and meter.

I got lucky on this one – I love it!!  I converted it to black and white, but I like the color version too.  The B/W just seems more moody or something.

The settings are way off on this one, but I love the look on her face.  She had put her hands on my belly and was suddenly feeling big movements from the boys.

Sweet girl!

32 Weeks

32 weeks

How Your Baby’s Growing (from Babycenter.com):

By now, your baby weighs 3 3/4 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

How far along: 32 weeks

Pregnancy symptoms: heartburn, tiredness, aches and pains everywhere,carpal tunnel, trouble thinking of words  :)

Food Cravings: snow cones, poached or fried eggs, chocolate

Food Aversions: Lately I haven’t been into leftovers.  I’m happy to eat something once, but I don’t want to eat it later.  That’s unusual for me.

Sleep: Pretty good.  I wake up very sore, but the sleep itself is good.  I am so tired and would seriously benefit from a nap during the day, but that’s just not going to happen.  :)

Measurement: 223.8lbs

Movement: Plenty!  I’m pretty sure I feel A more than B, but I do feel them both.

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks contractions, some of which are doozies.

What I miss: being able to cool off anywhere outside my house, laying on my belly, drinking copious amounts of Dr. Pepper and hot tea, snuggling my kiddos close to me.

What I’m looking forward to: cooler weather, a baby shower for the boys, meeting my babes (but not for several weeks!)

Milestone: I’m 32 weeks!  That seems like a big milestone to me.  I’ve talked with several twin moms who had their babies at 32 weeks.  That’s not something I’d like to do, but their viability just seems so good right now.

Thoughts from the children: James is always coming up to me and wanting to feel “Baby B.”  That boy is so cute.

Doctor’s visit: I had one this morning, including an ultrasound (which means pictures are to come!)  I didn’t write down everything, but here’s the info I came home with:

• Both babies are HEAD DOWN!!!!
• Baby A (on my right) is measuring 4lbs 5oz and 34 weeks 1 day
• Baby B (on my left) is measuring a little bit bigger (5lbs something) and 34 weeks 3 days.  His heart rate was faster than A’s at 164 bpm.
• Baby A was easy to look at and very active.  B was harder to get a view of his face, and the tech described him as lazy.  :)
• Both babies are practicing breathing – yay!
• My cervix looks good and is measuring about 2.2cm long.
• The tech went on and on about what great twins they were and how great my uterus was and how well I was carrying them.  WAHOO!!!
• My weight is 223.8lbs and my BP is 120/70, which is a bit better than it’s been recently.
• I had a chance this week to think through my ideal “birth plan” and come up with questions for Dr. Torres.  If these babies stay head down, it seems like the experience will be very similar to the other births.  I just need to go to the hospital when I’m in labor; there’s no need to let anyone know first.  I will labor in a labor room and only be moved to the OR when it’s actually time for them to be born and just as a precaution.  I felt so much better after that conversation!  Dr. Torres said she would keep my c-section date on the books to “ward off any evil spirits” – ha!  It would be quite a feat for them to flip again, but they could still do it.  I hope they don’t!
• I now have weekly appointments, and I will have a non stress test each week to check on the boys!

Now you have earned some ultrasound pictures!  They look pretty smooshed in there, but that makes sense!

This is Baby A’s profile.

Then the tech (whom I LOVE) switched over to the 3D/4D option (which I’ve never ever had before!), and we got to see some amazing precious shots of Mr. A.  I teared up a little!

I mean, look at those LIPS!!

Mr. B was very hard to get a face view of, so here’s the best we got!

The top of his head is to the right.  You can kind of see his right eye socket, nose and mouth.

Other thoughts: I am feeling so good right now!  Sure, my body aches everywhere, but I’m feeling very positive about the boys’ growth and the labor/birth possibilities.  We got the house pretty picked up and reasonably cleanish this weekend, and that just lifts my spirits immensely.  Matt took today off, and we got to go to the appointment by ourselves while Mamma watched the kids.  It was a win-win!  We’ve still got to get to the grocery store and do Monday’s school work, but I’m feeling great about having a bit of lazy going on.

Baby-related projects:

• I’m putting this on the list kind of after the fact: Work on potty training James.  Hallelujah that boy is doing so so well!
• Clean up/organize the girls’ room to make space for eventual James.
• Go to IKEA.  Look at and possibly purchase the Kura low loft bed and shallow mattress for the girls.  **I’ve been putting this off since it is logistically hard, but we are ready to get this done!
• Move the majority of the toys into the main living area to make space for sleeping and clothes in the bedrooms. I still need to sort through and organize the books, which are in a giant pile on the floor.
• Do some research on the best sleeping arrangements for newborn twins.  *I’m currently planning to use a standard sized pack and play with the newborn “shelf” in it for our bedroom when they’re bitty.  If we discover they don’t sleep well with each other, we can always switch to two pack and plays or just use the cribs.
• Figure out number of diapers that would be ideal for the babies.  **I think at this point we’ll just get a few more newborn sized diapers and then wait and see what works when they come.
• Pick out infant car seats.
• Organize James’ closet.  (This is where the not-in-use clothes live as well as a lot of baby things, and it’s a super-pit.)
• Shop for a king sized bed.  We really really really really want one.  :)  But the logistics and expense may mean this isn’t the best time.
• Tinker with a baby registry.  We don’t need much, but I have started putting some things on an Amazon registry when I think about them
• Pull the baby boy clothes from the attic and take inventory.
• Possibly get some maternity/family pictures made.
• Wash, dry, fold, put away the 0-3 months clothes.
• Pull the new infant car seats out of the boxes and make sure they are what we think they are and work as they should. **Done! And I’ve started stalking Joanna’s new car seat, waiting for a great price.  **We got Joanna’s new seat last week!  “We” have yet to put it in the car and make sure it’s going to work, but it’s here!
• Preregister at the hospital.
• Work on a birth plan (mainly just for us but also to bring up any questions I want to ask my doctor about this different kind of birth coming up!)
• Hospital bag lists – one for labor/delivery/right away, another of things I’d like to have if I stay a few days.
• Work on “decorating” the nursery.  Basically this involves pulling out anything that isn’t baby boy related and putting up things that are!  **I started this last week and am feeling good about at least some progress.

Stuff

The kids were enjoying playing with math manipulatives this week.  I have a bin of things I got when I was in college, I think.  I was a math specialist, can you believe that?  Coming in handy now though.

These days I am pretty seriously mobility impaired.  It’s extremely difficult to do much of anything.  On the one hand, I’m happy to lay/sit still and let those babies grow.  On the other hand, the messy house (clutter mostly, not so much dust and dirt) make me a little crazy.  :)  I am simply not able to bend over and pick up toys or to carry items back to their homes or to make beds or to vacuum or sweep or reach anything on the kitchen counter!  It’s temporary, I know.  I’m just struggling a bit.  Also, I’m still feeling the nesting urge, and that’s crazy!  How can I nest when I can barely walk?!

So that brings us to the picture coming up.  :)  I had several walls in the living room that needed updating since furniture had been moved around.  Picture collages were not centered or too high or low, and as I sat here on my couch, it ate away at my soul.  I am by no means at all even a little bit a “clean freak,” but excess clutter and stuff on the floor and things not being centered clearly bother me a little.  :)

The children’s bedroom walls also seriously needed some updating (they also most seriously need some paint, but I’m trying to pretend that is not the case).  And the nursery walls needed to be cleared of the big kids’ stuff to prepare for the boys’ things! 

So on Sunday I began running waddling around the house, removing things from rooms they didn’t belong and putting them where I thought they should go.  I also actually have a pile of things to get rid of that don’t really hold any sentimental value.  Yay!  Anyway, I moved things around in the kids’ room and I’m loving it now, except for the lack of paint on the wall.  (Baby steps!)  And I began laying out a collage to spread across this wall that you see below.  There used to be a cross display in the entry part and a “small” collage of frames above where the cubbies are.  The main problem was that I keep moving furniture around and back and forth on this wall, so nothing was staying centered.  It was maddening to my crazy brain.  So I decided to take everything down and spread it across the wall, thus eliminating the need to center furniture or anything.

It may not be the style for everyone, but I’m IN LOVE with it!  It makes me happy to look at.  :)  I did pull things from a couple of other walls and the mantle in the living room, so I have some thinking to do there, but I’m excited!

I edited this picture of the littles from their first day of school so it doesn’t look so foggy.  They’re so stinkin’ cute.

I caught James in this amazing outfit the other day: Thomas the Train flip flops, pajama bottoms, Natalie’s bloomers that he found on the floor, sweatshirt hoodie because I keep the house pretty frigid, and a strand of beads.  He’s awesome.  :)

I’ve had this painting for forever.  I don’t actually know where it came from, but it may have even been in my house when I was a child.  It’s been hanging in my bedroom since I stole it my mother let me have it a few years ago.  A few months ago I looked over at it and saw it in a new way.  The title is “Young Kingbirds,” and it now totally makes me think of the boys.  I decided to move it into their bedroom this week.  For now it’s hanging on a nail that was already there, so it’s not quite in the right spot.  When we get the other crib in there and figure out the exact spacing of things, I’ll get it hung up (and properly centered!).  It makes me smile when I’m in there.

The wife of a patient of Matt’s crocheted these little bear hats for the boys – aren’t they ADORABLE?!!

Yesterday morning during our morning snuggle and chat time, James and I were talking about his siblings.  We agreed he had the best sisters, and I asked him about his brothers.  He told me they were in the belly, and I asked him something along the lines of “what are you going to do when they come out?”  He left and returned with the hats.  He told me “I’m going to put these on them!”  Melt my heart!

I’ve been rewatching episodes of Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix lately, and the kids often catch parts here and there.  They love it.  :)  Anyway, Natalie was working on a card for Anna’s birthday today and drew this:

Does anybody see it?  It’s Voyager!  She called it the starship.  I think she’s amazing.  :)

Also Natalie related, she has told me a couple of times when she catches sight of my belly that she thinks my stretch marks are beautiful.  I mean, who could argue with her reasoning – they’re like pretty pink ribbons!