♥ Visit from Aunt TT ♥

Auntie TT came for her "weekend" from the fire crew in Powell, ID and it seemed like a very quick trip, but we loved having her here!

She chopped my hair off:


and styled Ali's hair (cut a bit off her bangs, too) and buzzed Noel's hair! I even gave Trace a trim (under her direction, of course!) Very productive. She also took this super cute picture of them...don't you just LOVE Noel's outfit?

Yesterday, we did some shopping...grocery, fabric and clothes. Trace is going to make Ali a "quilted" duvet cover and bedskirt...the color theme will be purples and greens...hopefully something that she can use for a long time and not find "babyish" when she's a teenager! :o) We also trudged to Old Navy and TT used her birthday gift certificate and got lots of cool new clothes! Now she's on her way back up to Powell for the week. Thanks for coming TT, we love you! ♥

30 weeks ~ FINALLY!! :)

10 weeks left...let's COUNT IT DOWN! :o)

Here is the belly update:

and here are some 3D pictures of Twin Boy:

and Twin Girl at 29 weeks:

This bottom one reminds me of Ali already!! My mom says "Same recipe!" :) At the last dr. appt and ultrasound(last week) they were both 3 pounds 4 oz. Anything else I forgot to mention? Let me know and I can post about that, too!

Belly Update ~ 25 weeks

All right, here I am at 25 weeks. Yes. TWENTY-FIVE weeks.

Comparatively, here I am with Noel at THIRTY-NINE weeks. Yes. THIRTY-NINE.

Twins much? I think so.

Appointment

Yesterday was my first Doctor appointment since 2 weeks ago when we found out there are 2 little babies in the belly. I think it was the LONGEST two weeks ever...with little gratification, actually.

I asked about all the worries that come with twins: Bedrest, Inducing, C-Sections. She could only tell me that we have to wait and see how my body responds to it all. I am, of course, at higher risk for all the pregnancy problems: Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, etc. just because there are two.

I gained another 10 pounds this past month. I asked how much I would gain...she said 40lbs is pretty normal. I am at 28 so far. Eeeek.

She measured my belly and I asked what the difference was between Noel at the same time. She said I measured 24 inches at 24 weeks with Noel. I was 23 weeks yesterday...27 inches. Quite a difference, I'd say!

My due date is still October 12...the original due date....40 weeks gestation, but there is a higher risk of premature labor, too.

So. Keep waiting is my prescription.

The Big Rig

Back in...man, March? April? We decided to get a bigger vehicle and I have just now taken pictures for you! Our thinking back then was, "Well, eventually we plan to have 4 kids, so lets just take the plunge now since we will need the space." Little did we know we'd have 4 kids so soon!! :o) No wonder God made that decision so peaceful in the midst of a recession!

Our old car was a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. Sat only 5, well, 4 with two humungo car seats in it. I miss our sprite little car, wasn't quite as intimidating to me....I could park it VERY easily...this new one? Yeah, I park in the North 40.

This is a 2008 Ford Expedition XL (extra long). It seats 8 (3 rows of seats) and still has room for the dog and luggage in the waaaay back (that's what we used to call it growing up...the way back). We bought it used (only 1 year!) and it was HALF the price of buying it brand new! I'd say that was a deal!

A Backyard Full of Fun!

We've had the swingset up for a while now...long enough to think it was spring and for it to get about 4 inches of snow on it-twice! But since it snowed last Saturday a bit, I don't know that it means much...

Anyway...this years backyard is a far cry from last year when we had only the pool in the backyard. Now you can see (from left to right) the swingset, the baby slide that our neighbor gave us and the sandbox. All are SUPER fun!

Thoughts on Twins

Wow. Yeah. Wow.

Let's see if I can post the story without it becoming a NOVEL.
I had been hearing a lot this pregnancy from so many people..."maybe it's twins!" Mostly in a joking manner...you know the way... But this pregnancy was different in a couple ways from the 1st trimester, to of course, the revealing ultrasound yesterday. First was the brutal, unrelenting morning sickness that lasted a few weeks into my second trimester. I was sick with Ali and Noel, but when I transitioned into my second trimester, the sickness stopped. I was waiting for that with this one, but it lasted a good month over. Then the light bleeding for a couple days. I'd never bled with the others before. The best tell-tail sign was my expanding waistline. I went in for my April dr. appt and I was 153 lbs...May...I was 163. 10 pounds in one month. I'd never gained that much so fast. And both me and my friend June knew that I looked so big for only being 20 weeks along. This is how big I should be in like my 7th or 8th month, for me. Yeah. I'm in month 5. Will I even be able to WALK in 3 months!!?? :o)
So. We go into the sonographer and I hoist myself onto the chair/table thing and she squirts the warm goo all over and does a quick pass with the paddle and Trevor and I see immediately two distinct head shapes. Trevor said he knew immediately there were 2 in there...I was pretty sure that's what I saw, too. The sonographer asked, "Have you had any other ultrasounds this pregnancy?" (clue #2 for me). Me - "No". Her - "Yeah, there's two babies in there."
We were able to see the sex very easily. She rolled over "Twin A" and said..."Well, this is a girl" and then rolled over to "Twin B"..."and this is a boy!"
HOW PERFECT IS THAT? We had always said we wanted 4 kids...now I only have to do it in 3 pregnancies and we got the desires of our heart. PRAISE JESUS!
It's kind of a dumb-founding experience to first learn that there are 2 little ones growing in your belly, but then to start thinking about how you need to prepare for their arrival. Aren't we SO glad we got that Ford Expedition! But now we need another car seat, another crib, another high chair, another pak-n-play, maybe a changing table downstairs (June, we may need to set up something like you have now!), another, another, another.
I guess I'm not going to get out of having to change 3 sets of diapers. Ali is trained...but I'm not holding my breath that Noel will be...but it's all so temporary...I can't get overwhelmed by the task. I have God on my side. I can lean on Him for my strength, and He will provide.
The biggest prayer requests I have is that the babies be healthy, free of disease or deformation and that I will not worry about them and know that God is in control. These are His babies. He loves them and has a plan for them. He loves them more than we humanly can. He knows what's best. I need the comfort of knowing this and for Him to take away my worry. I'm such a worrier.
What else is there that I can add to my story? Oh, due date. I'm officially 40 weeks on October 12, but the sonographer said "they" usually don't like to see a twin pregnancy go further than 38 weeks...that would put me at Sept 28. I SO don't want to be induced OR have a C-section...so I am hoping things are all able to be done naturally. There is still a lot I'm sure I have to learn. I have my next dr. appt. on June 16 and will hopefully get a lot of unknowns answered at that time. I need to start my list of questions so I don't forget!
If this post seemed full of broken thoughts and all over the place, I guess you know how my brain is working at this point! Will keep ya'll updated! I will also post some sonogram photos, but all I have is the little girl for now...little boy wouldn't cooperate...I have one picture, of his foot. We're going to try to get a picture of him on the 16th. I'll post then. ♥