Thankful!

We made a Thanksgiving Tree and wrote everything we were thankful for.

We had my parents and Kevin's mom and our siblings over for Thanksgiving this year. Here are a few pictures...

But of course none of my decorations were near as good as Alexis' ones from preschool..

And every year I have the girls make turkey hands. The years I have Thanksgiving dinner at my house they are our place cards. Oh my, how their hands are getting big!!

At Preschool Alexis' teacher asked her what she was thankful for. Since it was the beginning of November she wasn't exactly sure what that meant. So, the teacher said "What makes you happy in your heart?" Alexis replied "Hmm.. What makes me happy in my heart and drives me crazy? My mom!!" 

I later find out that she meant Mom (our great grandmother who we call Mom). So of course I couldn't wait to tell her the story! Her teacher gave us the hand at the end of the month so of course we gave it to Mom to remind her that Alexis was thankful for her... Even if she drives her a little crazy! ;)

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know we did. So much to be thankful for!

16 Weeks

16 Weeks

Weight Gain- Down 1 lb

Belly Button- In

Feeling- Pretty good! Trying to get some Christmas shopping done while I feel up to it.

Big Moments- Thanksgiving dinner this week at our house! Babies have been craving Thanksgiving dinner. 

Babies are the size of- Avacados

Next Appointment- Next OB appt Dec 2.

*I feel like I need to say that this is NOT the same outfit as last week. But my belly definitely got bigger this week.

15 Weeks

15 Weeks

Weight Gain- Down 2 lbs (I think my scale must be broken haha)

Belly Button- In

Feeling- Still headaches most days. Hoping they are letting up though. I have a little more energy as well. This week I think it emotional set in that this is the last time I'll be pregnant. All of these 'firsts' like them moving, it will be my last time feeling that for the first time. I just want to hold onto every moment! 

Big Moments- Definitely feeling some movement! They even made my belly move a little!

Babies are the size of- Navel Oranges

Next Appointment- Next OB appt Dec 2.

Words of Encouragement

I wanted to say how thankful I am to everyone who has supported us so far. Twins were something I had only ever dreamed about and truly wished for. After having two little girls, I imagined my chances of twins were just not in the cards. And of course with two young children the idea of twins was something that I imagine only Super Woman herself could handle. Now of course they are not here yet (my true test is still ahead of me) but already I have recieved some encouragement from friends and family....

Someone who thinks I can somehow morph into Super Mom (Thanks Ash for believing in me...  I sure hope so!).

And from someone who is a twin herself and is a little more realistic! 😉

I imagine our girls nights out will help to keep this Mommy at least a little sane!

And then from my Great Grandmother who, including the twins, had five children of her own who have given her combined 18 grandchildren/great grandchildren/great great grandchildren.

She sat me down today and said "You know we talked about you after you left yesterday." Uh oh! She went on to say "We just were talking about what a great mother you are. You really are!"

I couldn't think of a more qualified person to give me such an amazing compliment. I strive everyday to be a good mother to my two girls. My girls know each and everyday how much I love them and how special they are to me. And I can't wait to be the best mother I can be to our twins. What an amazing opportunity! I hope you all still believe in me when the real emotional roller coaster kicks in and all the real fun begins. 😉❤️ But seriously... Thank you all for the support! 

14 Weeks

14 Weeks

Weight Gain- Down 3 lbs

Belly Button- In

Feeling- Sick again this week... it's more like afternoon/evening sickness rather than morning sickness. Acne is also getting the better of me!!! Ahhh! I feel like I'm 15 again, although when I was 15 I didn't have acne! 

Big Moments- Our babies have names & Hello Second Trimester!! 

Babies are the size of- Lemons

Next Appointment- Next OB appt Dec 2.

Name Reveal

It really is amazing how you can love two little things that are only about 3 inches in size. We are truly amazed at the opportunity to be able to carry twins. And are unbelievably happy that they both got good reports from the doctor.

You guys prolly skipped that first part and scrolled down already. But in case you hadn't... 

Baby A

Annnnd Baby B

Trying to Explain to a Two and Three Year Old... Not Easy!

The morning after the ultrasound The girls and I were getting ready to go to preschool. Alexis spotted the ultrasound pictures on the fridge. She didn't say much, but I thought it a good time to discuss. I had tried a few times to open up conversation about them, mainly to Alexis, with not much luck. I remembered that just a few days earlier she had found Payton's baby book and saw two things that she questioned, a picture of my big belly and an ultrasound picture of Payton. I then decided to use that in trying to explain. I said "Remember how I said Mommy's belly got really big and then Payton came to live with us?" She said she remembered.

 I said "This is a picture of two tiny babies and Mommy's belly is going to get big, then they will come to stay with us." 

She said "Look Mommy your belly is already big!" I continued to explain how it had to get much bigger and referenced the big belly picture again. (Keep in mind Payton is listening this whole time too.) Alexis said "Okay, in a couple weeks were gonna have two babies. Mommy's belly is going to get bigger." The most progress we have made than in our previous discussions, yay! I also told her the genders, a baby brother and a baby sister. She stopped on the brother and said "My very own Michael!!!! Thanks Mommy!!" (She calls my aunts baby 'Michael', his name is Micah.) But coincidentally our little boy's middle name is going to be Michael, so she is in fact getting her own Michael. That was about the end of the conversation and Payton looks at me "Mommy I need more milk" and that was it out of her. 

13 Week Ultrasound

Going into this ultrasound I did what any normal crazy person would do... Searched Google and YouTube for all the information on Levell II ultrasounds. What to expect. How big they would be. What they would look like. What the ultrasound tech looks for. And there is where all my worries started...

Even though I try (I really do) to stay away from anything but positive in my internet searches, I happened upon unstartling things. Of course I quickly hit that "x" in the corner of the browser window, it just isn't that easy in your brain to do the same. So of course what did I do, you ask? Worry! 

However I did come across some information that was very pleasent... At 13 weeks it is possible for the ultrasound tech to be 85% accurate in guessing the genders!! So of course, as much as I tried not to get my hopes up, or anyone else's, you just can't help it. So of course I began more Google searches to see if this is in fact a common thing this early. And from what I found it was kinda 50-50. Some ultrasound techs don't even feel comfortable making a guess. And some babies just aren't developed enough at the time to even make a guess. And of course other factors that affect being able to tell.

From then on I focused my attention on dreaming about the genders. What they would wear. What the nursery would look like. What their names would be. Etc. And focus less attention on my worry of all the potentially awful things they could find during the ultrasound.

Anyway enough of all that... Get down to the good stuff... The ultrasound.

Overall it went pretty well. They said as of  now everything looks "within normal range." The twins are fraternal. They are what they refer to as "dy-dy" twins, which basically means they each have their own  sac and each have their own placenta. The doctors had originally thought this. But this ultrasound was to confirm. It helps them to determine what level of care they would recommend for me from here on out. So with that news, for now, I get to see my regular OB doctor at regular intervals. Great news! 

The ultrasound tech was extremely nice she told us right away that she didn't mind telling us the genders if she could determine them. The ultrasound was quite long, maybe like 45 minutes. At the very end, after she had checked and measured everything, she began to check for gender. Baby B was quite calm and cooperated quite well. Baby A preferred to do head stands and flips, but eventually cooperated, for just long enough anyway.

Baby A 

Baby B

Even though the girls aren't quite sure what is going on, they love balloons!!! 

I will reveal the names and tell you more about trying to explain what's going on to the girls in a post soon. Sorry, the girls are in bed and this Mommy needs some sleep! :)

13 Weeks

13 Weeks

Weight Gain- Down 3 lbs

Belly Button- In

Feeling- Sick again this week... it's more like afternoon/evening sickness rather than morning sickness.

Big Moments- Felt a little "movement" in there. Found out their genders.

Babies are the size of- Peaches

Next Appointment- Next OB appt Dec 2.