Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with food, family and of course lots of presents for the kids. The holidays are a lot of work but worth every second when you see the look of excitement on your child's face. Today was wonderful.

Hoping everyone had a blessed holiday!

The difference a year makes

Last Thanksgiving I was about 6 weeks pregnant and so miserable with morning sickness, I could barely eat. We had an ultrasound scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving and I remember my brother joking that it was going to be twins. I never would have dreamed in a million years that I was actually pregnant with twins! It's amazing to look around and see how much our life has changed in the last year. It has been a trying year, but worth every second.

Last Thanksgiving we were a family of three, this Thanksgiving we are a family of 5. Wow.

I have so much to be Thankful for this year.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband, who has proven over and over again how amazing he really is. He took such wonderful care of Isabel when I was sick, then on bed rest and then in hospital. He was there for me encouraging me every time I said I couldn't stand being pregnant anymore. He has been an awesome Daddy to the twins, helping so much more than I could ever expect. Countless times, he has gotten up with the babies to do night time feedings because I needed the rest, even though he had to work in the morning. He is simple an amazing man and I am lucky to have him.

I am thankful for the amazing big sister that Max and Lily have. Isabel has been an awesome big sister. She loves to help out, she loves giving them kisses, and she just loves being around them. I love that she genuinely loves them. She has adapted to the role of big sister amazingly well.

I am thankful for two healthy and happy babies. I cannot begin to say how thankful I am that my wonderful Lily and Max were born full term and healthy, especially after the PTL scares we had. When I was 32 weeks and 4cm dilated I thought there was no way I would ever make it to 38 weeks. I am thankful for every extra day my babies were able to stay cooking.

I am also thankful for my amazing family and friends, I cannot imagine where we would be without our families.

These are the most important things I am thankful for not only today, but everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

4 Months Old!

Max and Lily had their 4 month check up yesterday. It went well, everyone is healthy and growing. Shots were given, tears flowed but all is well. Lilian is up to 14lbs 15oz and Maxwell is 15lbs even. How about some pictures?!

First, big sister Isabel!

Baby A. Lilian Annalise.
Baby B. Maxwell Henderson.
I may be a bit biased but I think they are the cutest kids ever.

I'm back!! With babies and a craft!!

I'm back! So I've been kind of a slacker on the blogging front, but I have an excuse. I had twins! Max and Lily were born on July 3 at 38 weeks! After everything we went through I made it to 38 weeks, I couldn't believe it but I am so thankful they were healthy! Some day I will post an actual birth story but for today I have a craft!

This year I will be hosting Thanksgiving for the first time, I am pretty confident that I won't burn the turkey but my mom will be on stand-by with any questions I'm sure I will have. My biggest worry about hosting thanksgiving is keeping the kids entertained. My nephews are what we will call "energetic" and I have a brand new house, so activities to keep everyone calm and busy are a must.

First, I decided I was going to print out cute placemats for the kids table. Then, I realized they needed crayons to color this placemat with, so the idea of the Crayon Turkey was born. I think it came out really cute.

What you need:

• Crayons
• Styrofoam balls (I think mine were 4 inch balls, they came in packs of 2)
• Egg shaped styrofoam (for the turkey head)
• Foam paper
• Construction Paper
• Foam paint brush
• Brown acrylic paint
• Hot glue gun

First, paint all the styrofoam pieces brown. After I started painting the balls, I realized I needed to cut a slice off of the bottom so they wouldn't roll away. Learn from my mistake and cut the bottoms off first.

While you are waiting for the paint to dry, take the time to make up all the other pieces. On your construction paper draw a feather shape. I gave each turkey 4 feathers, 2 orange and 2 red. So for one turkey with 4 feathers cut out 8 feathers. I don't have pictures of the next step so I will explain it as well as I can. It is easy.

On one of your feathers, draw the veins. Next put some elmer's glue on one of the plain feathers, put a toothpick in the middle and then place the feather with the veins drawn on it on top. I put a staple in the bottom as well to help hold the toothpick in. Make sense?
Using your foam paper cut out the following pieces:

The beak.
The eyes. I used white paper and then put a dot in the center with a sharpy.
The gizard. (My husband said it isn't called a gizard, but that's what I call it)
After the paint is dry glue the head on the body using your hot glue gun. Make sure the head is centered and not too low or the turkey will tip over, trust me. Then, glue the eyes, beak and gizard on.

I glued each turkey onto a piece of foam paper, this helps it stand a little better. I also cut a piece of foam out for each turkey and wrote the kids names on it.

Stick the feathers in the turkey. Next, using the tip of a pen, poke a hole in the styrofoam directly in front of each feather, this will be for your crayon. Stick the sharp tip of the crayon in each hole.

That's all! Then look how adorable they turned out!!
I also made each one of the kids a coloring book. I just googled thanksgiving coloring pages. Printed them, poked holes in the sides and tied them together using grosgrain ribbon that I had lying around. Make sure to heat seal the ends of the ribbon or they will fray.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving! Anyone else have any craft ideas to keep the kiddos busy over the holidays?

32 weeks and a helicopter ride

A few weeks ago I said to my husband, "I have a feeling the babies are going to come when I'm either 32 or 34 weeks." I am 32 weeks now. Tuesday night I started having contractions pretty regularly, they weren't strong at all, so I whined around awhile before I finally sucked it up and called the doctor. Honestly, I was considering just going to bed and ignoring them because they didn't feel like much at all. But, to put my and my husbands mind at ease I figured I would call. Of course, they sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored.

Prior to this latest episode of preterm labor I was 1cm and 80% effaced, when I arrived at the hospital the nurse checked me and I was a "loose 1cm." They hooked me up to an iv and said they would check me again in an hour, an hour later I was 2cm, so the doctor was called. When he arrived he checked me and I was a "loose 2cm," so my cervix was definitely making changes. At this time, the contractions still didn't hurt that much but some were pretty uncomfortable.

Since our hospital is fairly small and there is no NICU, my dr. made the decision to send me to a hospital about and hour and a half away. The nurse told me I would be taking an ambulance down and that one of them would have to travel with me, which I was fine with. Then, the dr. comes in and tells me that no, I will not be traveling my ambulance, I will be traveling by helicopter. This is when I started to freak out. I have no desire to ride in a helicopter, ever. They freak me out. Within about 20 minutes the helicopter arrived and I was strapped to a stretcher and loaded on, scared to death. Since the helicopters are so small, my husband was not allowed to travel with us and had to drive down. The ride took about 25-30 minutes so it wasn't too bad, but I had a death grip on my cell phone the whole time. I'm not sure why my cell phone is my comfort item of choice, I guess I'm addicted to it.

When I arrived at the hospital I was 4cm dilated. After spending way too long in the smallest room, with the most uncomfortable bed ever, they decided to move me to labor and delivery. I spent most of Wednesday in labor and delivery being monitored. The twins were both doing great, but I was still having contractions. I was given several doses of procardia, but the contractions continued. Luckily, I hadn't made any more changes, I was still 4cm and 80% effaced, baby a was about -2 station. So they moved me to an antepartum unit. So I got to lose the IV, the monitors, and the bed here is way more comfortable. I was checked again this morning and I am holding steady at 4cm, they contractions have stopped for now. But, they decided to keep me until I am at least 34 weeks. When and if I make it to 34 weeks they will reevaluate. They said they will talk to my Dr. at home and see if they week comfortable taking 34 week babies, if they do, then I should be able to go home.

So now I'm at the hospital, which is great, I want the twins to have the best care possible if they do come early. But, I miss Isabel terribly, since I'm over an hour away from home it isn't easy to get her here. Luckily, my dad is bringing her down this afternoon, I can't wait to see her. I bawl every time I think about being away from her for the next week or two. Jarrad is going to get a hotel room here for the weekend so Isabel and him can be right here and then I can see her more.

So far I have had 6 needle sticks, and 7 different peoples hand's in my vagina, I'm a dirty girl.

How about a belly pic? This is about a week old, but you get the idea.

29 weeks and bed rest

I woke up on Friday, not feeling all that great. We had an appointment set up to get Isabel's pictures taken, so I sucked it up got ready and took her to get her pictures. She did wonderfully and I am so excited to see them, she looked adorable!

On the way home from the photographers I started to notice I was getting some contractions. They weren't unbearable, but more painful than my normal Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn't mention them to Jarrad because I didn't want to worry him. When we got home I laid down and drank two bottles of water in hopes that the contractions would subside. Unfortunately they didn't. Jarrad finally talked me into calling the doctor and they told me to head straight to L&D. I did not want to go, I was afraid of going out there, being hooked up to the monitors and being told I was crazy and I wasn't actually having contractions.

When we got to the hospital and I got hooked up to the monitors it was obvious right away that I was indeed having contractions, and I was having a lot of them. They gave me fluids in hopes that maybe I was dehydrated and that would stop the contractions, unfortunately it did not. When the doctor arrived he checked me, I was 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. This is when I started to get nervous. I was given a dose of Procardia to stop the contractions, the first dose didn't really do much, so twenty minutes later I was given another dose, once again no real change, twenty minutes later I was given my third dose. At this time the contractions had slowed down a little bit, but I was still having them. The doctor checked my cervix about an hour after my first dose of procardia and luckily I had made no more changes. There was talks of sending me to a hospital about an hour and a half away because our hospital does not have a NICU. I did not want to go to another hospital, having these babies at 29 weeks was not an option for us! I was given an ambien to sleep, which made everyone on tv have two heads and the curtains start moving towards me. Jarrad, of course found this hilarious as I was batting the curtains away from my face.

The next morning I was still having some contractions, they seemed to not be as strong but they were just as regular. Once again the doctor checked my cervix, still no changes! Thank the Lord! I was kept several more hours so they could monitor my contractions and the babies. Around 1:00 the doctor came back in and decided to give me a steroid shot incase the contractions continue and the babies come out sooner rather than later. I was also given a prescription for Procardia to take every 6 hours around the clock, and I was sent home on modified bed rest.

So far bed rest hasn't been too bad, but it's been the weekend and I've had lots of family around. Monday will be my first day on bed rest home alone. The hardest part is not being able to interact with Isabel the way I'm used to doing. I have a follow up appointment with my Dr. tomorrow and am hoping that everything is still going well. I will do whatever they tell me to do in order to keep these babies cooking awhile longer.

I learned a very important lesson this weekend, always listen to your body. Don't be afraid of looking stupid. It is better to be safe than sorry, I'm so glad that I went to the hospital when I did and I don't even want to think about the "what ifs."

23 weeks

I don't really have any updates for this week so I thought I would just do a survey.

How far along: 23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I believe I'm up to 12 pounds gained
Maternity clothes: Yes
Stretch marks: None yet *Knock on Wood*

Sleep: I wish I was getting some, I'm really uncomfortable at night. I miss being able to sleep on my back.

Best moment last week: Went shopping for Isabel and the babies. I think I found the babies coming home outfits.
Movement: They are definitely moving around in there. I can't really tell who is moving though.
Food cravings: Anything sweet and fruity! I'm loving apple dumplings, and of course chocolate.
Gender: Boy and a Girl

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: Cute clothes and wine.
What am I looking forward to: Getting our new house finished and moving in.

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

I came across this video on another blog. I love it. It reminds me how fast

this time in our life is going to go, and to cherish every moment I have

with my children.

22 week belly!

22 weeks 2 days.

I feel huge.

22 weeks

This pregnancy is moving right along. Some days it seems like it is flying by and other days I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever. I had another appointment today, everything is still looking good. I lost my urine cup this week, so I did get in a little bit of trouble for not bring my first morning urine with me. Oops.

The doctor decided that it was a good idea for me to cut my hours down at work. I usually work about 8-9 hours a day, two days a week and 5 hours every Saturday doing hair, so I'm on my feet the entire time I'm at work. Lately, I've been noticing that on my long days, when I get home I'm really crampy and uncomfortable, so I'm going to cut those hours down to 5-6 hours for now. Hopefully I will be able to work awhile longer.

Last Thursday we noticed that Isabel was running a fever but didn't really have any other symptoms, so we put a call into her Pediatrician. They told us to wait three days and if her fever didn't break or went up to 104 degrees to bring her in. Saturday was the third day, so off to the hospital we went. Turns out she has an ear infection, poor baby. We got her antibiotics and she seems to be doing a little better. Hopefully she gets over the cold/ear infection really soon. I hate seeing my baby sick.

I should be adding a belly pic this week, maybe tonight if I get the energy to do it. But I will do it this week, I'm trying to be better at keeping up with them.

21 weeks

Last Monday we had our 20 week anatomy scan, both babies were doing great! It was also confirmed that we are having a boy and a girl. I was so nervous about our ultrasound. When we had Isabel's 20 week anatomy scan they found a choroid plexus cyst and a bright spot on her heart. We were sent for a level II ultrasound and everything turned out fine, but it was still the scariest thing I ever went through. After the doctor said both babies looked great, we both felt a huge sense of relief!

My last doctors appointment was pretty routine, everything is still looking good. My blood pressure is good, no protein or sugars in my urine, and I've gained a total of 6lbs so far. I have another check up on March 15th.

We are so excited about our little babies, I never thought the initial shock of finding out we were having twins would turn into excitement.

18 week belly picture

I forgot to add my 18 week belly picture on my last post.

18 weeks

I'm about two weeks late on this update, but we've been super busy these last two weeks. At 16 weeks I had a growth ultrasound to check the sizes of the babies. Luckily, they both look healthy so far and they were adorable. It is so wonderful to see them, it really makes the whole thing feel more real. The ultrasound tech took a guess at their genders, and while she wouldn't guarantee it I'm pretty convinced she is right. She guessed that baby A is a girl, and baby B is a boy. Which is exactly what I have been predicting this whole time! We are so excited!

I had my 18 week appointment today, it was a pretty routine appointment. Pee in a cup, weight, blood pressure, questions. Nothing too exciting. I'm back up to my pre-pregnancy weight though, which is good news. I've only gained 1 pound in the last two weeks, which surprises me because I feel like I've been constantly stuffing my face. I think I need to eat smaller meals more often, as I have been getting full really fast. I have my "big" ultrasound scheduled for two weeks from today, I'm excited to see the babies again and confirm their genders.

I have been enjoying Isabel so much lately, I'm just really concerned on how she will react once the babies arrive. She LOVES babies, but she is also very jealous when some other baby has her Mom and Dads attention. We talk about the babies and about her being a big sister, but how can I really prepare her for this huge change? Not only is she getting one sibling but she is getting two. My biggest fear is that she will feel pushed aside, and I don't ever want that to happen. I'm sure these are concerns that all second time parents go through and it will work itself out, but I can't help worrying about her and how all these changes will affect her.

15 weeks and Moving!

I am 15 weeks! I can't believe that i've made it this far already, it seems like we just found out that we were having twins! I have an u/s one week from today and I'm really hoping that we can find out the genders. I am still predicting that it is a boy and a girl, but we will see.

In other news, we are moving! Finally! We have had our house listed for just over a year and we finally got an offer. We accepted the offer on Thursday and we have to be out of our house next Sunday! So we are definitely busy, busy, and kinda homeless. We will be putting most of our stuff into storage and moving into my Mom's house until we figure out what we are going to do. Well I've got lots of packing to do, I'll update more once we get moved into my Moms.

14 weeks!

I am 14 weeks and happily into the 2nd trimester of this pregnancy. I am still feeling sick, but it is definitely getting better. I have hope that my all day sickness will disappear soon. It has gone from all day, everyday, horrible sickness, to usually only at night, still sucks, but getting better sickness. At my last appointment I was down a total of 6 pounds from where I started. Hopefully, I will have gained a few pounds at my next doctors appointment. I'm starting to get a little worried about my lack of weight gain, but am hoping since I'm able to eat a little more lately that I will be able to gain something soon.

I have an ultrasound scheduled for two weeks from Monday to check on how the babies are growing. I will be 16 weeks and am really hoping to find out the genders of these babies. I can't wait to see them again, the last time we saw them I was 7weeks 4days (I think) and I was in such shock at the time that I didn't get to look at them like I wish I would have. So, I'm really excited to see them again, now that I'm a little calmer about the whole situation.

One of the reasons we kind of freaked out when we found out we are having twins is that our house is SMALL. Like really small, we only have two bedrooms, both of which are already occupied. Every closet, every nook and cranny in this house is packed full of stuff, add Christmas gifts to this already stuffed house and it just gets ridiculous. Anyways, we have had our house on the market for just over a year now. Apparently, no one really wants a two bedroom house. We had someone look at our house on Friday, who loved it! Yay! She is coming back for a 2nd showing on Monday. We pray that she buys it! That would be a huge weight off of my shoulders, then we could concentrate on finding a new house that will accommodate our rapidly growing family. Wish us luck!

14 weeks.

9 weeks!

I had my second doctors appointment yesterday. First appointment since we found out that we are having twins. It was a very good appointment, we got most of our questions answered. I got a refill for my zofran prescription. So far I have lost 4 pounds from the constant all day sickness.

The best part of the appointment was when we got to hear one of the babies heartbeats. I'm not really worried that we only heard one, as I'm still pretty early and the doctor warned us we may not be able to hear either. The other baby is still probably too low to hear. It's such an amazing sound to hear your babies heartbeat. The more the shock is wearing off the more excited we are becoming. Now we have lots of planning to do, time to start making lists!

Double the Shock

Twins...Oh my gosh. Twins. This is what has been going through my mind since the ultrasound tech looked at the screen and said “and there’s two”. Twins. Wow. I never saw myself having twins. I was always the person that said, “twins are adorable, but not for me.” So here we are, pregnant with twins.

I knew this pregnancy felt different than my last but they always say no two pregnancies are alike. Although, I had a feeling it would be twins. I don’t know how I knew but every once in awhile the thought would creep into my mind, where I would immediately dismiss it. Twins happen to people on fertility treatments and celebrities, not normal twenty somethings.

Am I excited? Honestly? No, not yet. I’m sure I will get there, but right now I’m scared. I go back to the doctor in two weeks, hopefully that will help calm some of my fears. But for now I am shocked and scared.

Scared of what? Scared about upsetting my beautiful two year old Daughter. How will she adapt to not one but two new babies? Will we have enough time and energy for our energetic toddler and demanding newborn twins? Will I have enough love for three children? Scared of the unknown. How long will I carry these twins? Will have have to have a c-section? Will they be healthy? Just scared.

I know we have the support and help of our family, which takes away some of the fear. Once the some of the shock subsides I’m sure we will be beyond thrilled. But for now, I feel guilty for not feeling the level of excitement I feel like I’m supposed to feel.

Today I’m still processing the news. I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes.