Baby girls update!

I promise not to be too obnoxious with updates of our baby girls!  But I just can't help myself! :)  (And it's my blog, so I can do what I want!!! :))

Actually, nothing really new to report.  After our appointment last week, we had more good news that the babies are growing as they should.  Let's hope they continue to do so until 36 weeks! :)

I did fail my diabetes test (wah, wah, wahhh), BUT, have had no trouble keeping my numbers under control.  I think I must be borderline at this point (with the worst yet to come, I'm sure).  So it's nice to have a little bit more time to play with (and eat sweets!) before it's time for a strict veggie diet!

On a happy note, I think we found a super part-time, flexible nanny!  Our neighbor right next door does some before and after school care for some of our other neighbors.  She's a mom to two kids- a college sophomore and high school junior.  And she was over-the-moon when I asked if she would be available (and flexible) to help out after (and maybe before!) the babies are born.  We have yet to work out any details, but what a relief! :)

The latest pics are 3D ultrasound photos- SO COOL! :)

 Face of baby A- love how sweet and cuddly she looks

 Face of baby A with baby B's feet and legs bent toward A's head

This is my favorite- baby B's head to right of picture, with baby A's tushy and feet on the left side- nothing like having a butt right next to your face!!  It's going to get squishy in there!

 



Sleep overs!

We love having sleepovers with our cousins! :)  Cara's daycare was closed last Friday so she stayed with us Thursday night.  Henry gets so darn excited to have his cousins stay!

 As with any change in the routine, Henry became a bit of a puddle (up too late, up too early, no nap) and I got a call from preschool about 45-minutes after I dropped him off saying he was a mess!  Surprisingly, he was just fine once back home with his beloved cousin!  Stinker!

 It was a wet, sloshy morning (Tom took Cara and Charlie out for a bit while I was dealing with Henry & preschool) so we spent most of the morning playing indoors.

 Henry is one serious play dough player!!

After Henry and Cara rolled some balls, Charlie immediately needed to "shoot da balls!" So we made a little "hoop" and made Charlie's day!! :)

 

And not to be outdone by her little sister, Brynnie got to stay over night on Friday night!  So as Cara was picked up, Brynn got dropped off!

 We woke up to yet another snowy day! 

 Brynn spent much of Saturday morning doing "crafts."  She is seriously the easiest kid! 

And Henry was in pure heaven with his two favorite ladies around for a couple of days! :) 



At the car wash!

Thanks to my cousin Kristen for this brillant, snowy day idea (and there have been A LOT of snowy days lately!)!

 We set up a toy car car wash! 

 Henry LOVED it and played for a good 30 minutes . . .

. . . Charlie managed to empty his dish in about .2 seconds and then had enough.  At least 50% of the kids were occupied for a time!



Big boy!

We got Charlie a matching car seat to Henry AND turned him forward!  He sure thinks he's big stuff! :)

(I know you're technically not supposed to face kids forward until they turn two, but let's face it, Charlie's met the height and weight requirement since about 16-months.  I'm certain he's safe!!  And it's "Tommy approved" so we know it's safe!!)

 We surprised him when we headed up to St. Paul a couple Saturdays ago meet the "bug guy" at the Red Balloon book store.  He was quite tickled to go for a little jaunt! :)



Chores

I'm taking a book discussion ECFE class this spring based on the book Love and Logic.  One of the things it talks about is chores and how they help kids develop responsibility and a sense of ownership.  So . . . Henry is now in charge of vacuuming up crumbs after meals.  And he loves it, of course! :)

Farm babies!

 We've already made a couple of trips to the zoo to visit the farm babies! 

 Despite the chilly weather, the boys LOVE the sweet little animals!

 I usually call Henry a turkey . . . but this day he was a chicken! :)

This seriously made me lactate just a bit . . . and hurt!!!  But how sweet are those piglets?!?!

More planting!

 We are so stinkin' excited for planting season!  (Or maybe just spring weather?!)  The boys added more pots of beans and peas! :)

Too big for his britches!!!

Charlie-man insisted on sitting at the bar with Henry for breakfast AND eating his banana whole, with the peel!  Henry was thrilled to have his little brother so close . . .

It was fun for a morning, but it'll be awhile before we do that again! :)

"I'll write a book about it!"

Henry turned his table into a spaceship the other day.  Then told me, "I'll write a book about it!"  Talk about melting this mama's heart!!!  I love that he's making the connection that real people write books . . . and that he can do it too!!!  Love, love, love! :)

 Driving the spaceship into outer space

 Floating upside down on the moon!

Fixing a satellite! :)

 

I sure have creative kids!!!

Thinking PINK . . . and PURPLE! :)

 Baby GIRL A

Baby GIRL B

 

Many have asked how I'm feeling about two girls . . . for those who have been around me the past few months know that I was hoping for a couple of ladies (Tom was indifferent, Henry wanted boys- so they could be like Henry, Charlie and daddy, and Charlie had no opinion!)!  We (I), of course, would have been a-okay with a family of four boys.  But, oh my goodness, am I ever-so-happy to even out our gender status in this house! :)

Here are a few more popular questions:

 

1.  Do twins run in your family?  Both Tom and I have twins down the line in our families.  From what I have been told and have read, the genetic side to twins comes from the woman's mom's side.  It just so happens that my mom has twin cousins.  However, none of this applies to us as we have "spontaneous" twins, or twins that have nothing to do with genetics!

2.  Will we get a bigger house?  Ha!  Nope, the boys will share a room and the girls will share a room.  (I can't even keep the house I have clean, let alone a bigger one!)

3.  Do I need to treat this pregnancy any different than my past pregnancies?  Nope!  I was extremely cautious once I learned we were having twins.  But I've gotten over that to an extent.  The doctors say to treat this like any other pregnancy.  The only real differences are:  extra folic acid and iron pills, I'm more tired than my past pregnancies, and things are happening earlier (tummy popped out, weight gain, hard to catch a breath, etc.).  Other than that, I'm feeling great and am enjoying carrying two little people instead of one! :)

4.  Will we get help once the babies are born?  We are lucky to live fairly close to several family members and many good friends who are more than willing to lend us a hand!  We will certainly take them up on their offers!  We have also thrown around the idea of a part-time nanny for the first year.  Here's my thoughts on a nanny:  I would feel more comfortable bossing around a nanny than friends/family.  I wouldn't feel guilty about having a nanny do some light housework where I would feel weird about friends/family doing that sort of thing.  I also like having time with just my little family so having a revolving door of friends/family makes me a little anxious (don't get me wrong . . . we are going to be ecstatic to show off our little ladies and to enjoy help from our support network . . . but I'd rather sit and visit with friends/family than have them do things for me or take a nap while you're here!).  For those who know me well, I have a hard time asking for help where my kids are concerned.  I love being a mom more than anything else and enjoy my time and effort I put towards my kids.  I'm anticipating a rather tough transition for myself once these babes are born as I like to do things myself.  But who knows, perhaps I'll be begging for some help once we're in need! :)

5.  Do we have names and will we be sharing?  No names yet . . . I was still not 100% certain we would find out gender on our way to the appointment.  The thought of coming up with 4 names was a bit too much.  We've just started throwing around girl names but will keep them to ourselves until they are born.

6.  How will you tell the identical girls apart?  The twin book I'm reading suggests color coding the babies for the first couple of months.  So, I'm taking that advice!  We'll be doing PINK and PURPLE (which seems logical, right?!).  I've already done a bit of online ordering to ensure we have several itty bitty outfits that will help identify the girls! :)

7.  And Henry's question he keeps bringing up:  Can we get a dog?  Oh buddy, maybe in 5 years or so . . . I don't think I'll be able to take care of my house plants let alone another living, breathing creature for the next several years! :)

Baby News!

We are delighted to report, that after our 18-week ultra sound with the high-risk doctor, we are having two healthy GIRLS!  I'm on cloud nine right now! :)

Beans!

I've officially run out of cold weather ideas . . . but had been meaning to fill up the boys' water table with beans all winter.  We finally did it earlier this week when the weather was still quite chilly. 

The boys LOVED it and played for at least an hour (without fighting- a small miracle these days!!)! 

(I told the boys to check out what's on my nose in order to get them to look at the camera- Charlie apparently took that request as picking his nose!)

Planting Season Has Begun!

We helped the boys get some seeds started for our garden!

 I love how interested Henry is in our garden (and in nature in general!). 

 He is delighted to plant and take care of his seedlings!

 I'm sure Charlie will eventually get past playing in the dirt and water to enjoy actually growing live plants! :)