Concert

We had a busy, but really uninteresting week this week. The best part was when Paul came home yesterday from Tuscon. We missed him a lot while he was gone. Jack was very excited to see his dadda again. After dinner last night we went to the choir concert at church. We thought Jack might enjoy all the music and singing. It started at 7 so we didn't get to stay the whole time since Jack got pretty tired, but he did seem to have a fun time even though on the way home he said he did not. He loved the camera on the big boom that moved around. He stared at it quite a bit and called it a tractor with eyes. He lost his pacifier and spent a good amount of time crawling on the floor searching for it, with no luck. He played and scared off the shy little girl in front of us. Every time he would get real close to her she would run off to her mom, even though she seemed very interested in playing. And as expected Jack did a lot of  "singing", dancing and bouncing. I'd say it was a good time even if Jack would tell you otherwise.

Since You've Been Gone

Hi Dadda,
Mommy said there wasn't much to blog about today but I thought we should anyway, just so you can keep up with us while you're gone. I miss you a lot, but Mommy kept us so busy today I barely noticed you weren't home. I think I'll figure it out tomorrow morning when a sleepy Mommy gets me out of bed instead of you. I like it when you get me. This morning we played with Darby and Elena for a little bit. I preferred to sit on the stairs and talk to Lexi through the railings. I think we should get a dog. After that we took a long drive to Huntley for some shopping. We met my friend Coralyn which helped make shopping a bit more bearable. Mommy let me walk some too which I really like and I was a really good obeyer. We shopped for a looong time. I was so tired by the time we left but Mommy was acting silly and I got busy laughing with her and forgot to fall asleep in the car. By the time we got home I was so ready to lay down and take a nap, I think Mommy was too. I fell right asleep and before you knew it Mommy was waking me up and putting me in the car again. This time we went to the gym and ate some dinner then I went to play with the kids while Mommy went wherever Mommy's go at the gym. I was glad when she came to pick me up, but then she said it was bedtime already. That's ok, I was still pretty tired from so much shopping. I think I'll dream about you in your plane-uh. I heard a lot of plane-uhs today. 
I love you Dadda,
Jack

Bravery In The Face of Needles

Jack had a doctors appointment on Friday morning. It was time to have his blood tests rechecked. We did this back in January and some of the numbers came up a little goofy, so as a precaution we are redoing. He got really upset when it was time to weigh him and I had to take his tennis shoes off. That was a near meltdown. And they went right back on as soon as possible, it was a very impressive look. Diaper, tall socks and tennis shoes. The great news was he had gained almost a pound in about 6 or 7 weeks. He went from 18.4 to 19.2 pounds. So that was very exciting and made the doctor and I quite happy. Then he had to be a super brave little boy while they drew his blood. The nurse came in and looked at his arms to pick a good vein. He just stared at her while she inspected his arms over and over again. Apparently he doesn't have great veins, wonder where he gets that from, one of the few things not from his dad. So after much debating the nurse picked an arm and we laid him down on the table. The second nurse came in to help out, mainly with holding him down. He was so brave, but I couldn't look. So I just held his other arm and talked to him a lot. He cried but he didn't kick or try and fight it which was good. And before they had finished he actually stopped crying for a moment. So he did a superb job and got a cool band-aid and sticker for his bravery. The other good news is that we got his results today and everything looked good. All his goofy numbers were more in line with what they should be. So yay! As we all figured, he's just a small kid.

The Results Are In (Partially)

This is my third attempt at writing this post. Must have a bad case of writers block. I know I've been keeping some of you hanging since you know we had an ultrasound this past Wednesday. And I've really wanted to share the results with you but I wanted to do so with the right attitude, which probably sounds a little goofy. But here's what we know. First of all, and most importantly, both babies are healthy with strong heartbeats and good measurements. They both measured 6 ounces. The both looked great, though Baby B was a a little uncooperative and wouldn't pose for many pictures. It is still such a joy and miracle to see those two little babies up on the screen. 

Baby A

Baby B (we think)

This ultrasound was done right at 17 weeks, so a little early to tell gender, but still possible. That being said Baby A was pretty easy. Boy. Not really a question on that one. So then we all held our breath waiting to see what Baby B would be. But Baby B was much more difficult to tell. The ultrasound tech said she wasn't sure but she thought boy. Paul and I couldn't really tell at all. So it looks like two more boys for us, but perhaps a small chance of one boy and one girl. We'll probably know after our next ultrasound which has yet to be scheduled. So now in reference to my attitude. I sorta always thought we would have a family of boys, but once we found out about the twins I thought perhaps our chances of having a girl would be increased. While of course we consider ourselves blessed regardless, we both were sorta hoping for one of each with the twins. So it was a little sad to hear we probably won't be having a girl. And seeing as we currently don't plan on more children, that means no girls for us ever. So I guess I just needed some time to adjust to the idea and I didn't want my post to come across as though I was completely ungrateful, unexcited and so on. It's a good thing I have at least one niece, perhaps more in the future. I look forward to getting to use the little girliness I have in me on them!

Adventures in Potty Training

We had quite the eventful weekend as we ventured into the world of potty training. And now after a measly two days we are most likely turning around and heading back to diaper world. I know there are people who will think we were crazy for trying and people who will think we are crazy for quiting, but I have learned a little bit about being a mom in the past two years and one thing I've learned is you have to do what works for you and your family regardless of what others think. And for now dropping the issue of using the potty is best for both me and Jack. I do feel a little bit like a failure, though Paul says there's no reason to feel that way. We knew there was a good chance he wouldn't be ready for this. But still, doesn't every mom secretly hope that her child will be a superstar and that she herself will have all the answers and know exactly how to handle every situation. Well this mom had no idea how to get her son to actually pee or poop on the potty, though he is aware of both bodily functions now. Jack could sit on a potty for 20 minutes, do nothing then get up and minutes later do his business. This happened time and again. By this afternoon he would get upset every time I mentioned trying to sit on the potty. These things along with his lack of understanding and the importance of my sanity have led me to think that perhaps we will not push the issue right now. We'll continue to talk about it and work on his level of understanding and perhaps one day the light will come on for one or both of us. I will give Jack this...he is incredibly cute running around in underwear.

If only this meant he were going to use the potty and needed his privacy!

Watch Natalie Grow-Week 16

Hard to believe, or maybe it's not, but it's been 4 weeks since I posted my last belly picture. We took this most recent picture on Friday evening. I'll admit seeing this difference makes me a little nervous about how big I'll get overall. Below week 16 are my previous pictures. You can also view them all in my picasa web album.

Week 16

(perhaps I should have been sucking in as much as possible, oh well)

     

sNOw Fun

Yesterday I tried really hard to be a fun mom and take Jack outside to play in the snow. As is often the case the effort it takes to get ready to play in the snow is not always worth the end result. Jack is always asking if he can walk in the snow so I sorta thought he might enjoy this. However, as I was  putting on his snow pants he kept saying "all done, all done". I managed to get him dressed and I even managed to get him to put his mittens on. So we went outside and I got out his sled since they hadn't finished plowing our streets yet. I sat him in it, while he was saying "all done, all done". I pulled him around on the snowy street, which in the past he has really enjoyed but all the while he kept repeating "all done, all done". So we quite that and tried to find a more enjoyable activity. He did enjoy shoveling for a while but only if I would take his mittens off. I can't say I blame him, he can't hold on to his shovel with mittens on. I actually think the mittens are one of the main problems with having fun in the snow, but how do you fix that? Snow is cold, you need mittens. While he shoveled and did a great job of recovering the freshly shoveled sidewalk, I tried to make him a snow slide in our yard since we have some big piles. But this snow is super fluffy, not great for packing at all. I did my best and am hoping perhaps in the coming days it'll firm up a bit and be fun to play on. While I was working on the stairs to the sled Jack lost his balance and fell...well without mittens on his hands got very cold and he got very upset so we officially called it quits and headed back inside. I think in Jack's ideal world he would wear his boots, jeans, winter coat, and hat to go run around in the snow. Mittens not required. Snow not cold to the touch. Wouldn't it be nice?


I think I've forgotten to mention something on here that's pretty cool. Probably for the last week and a half I've been feeling the little babies fluttering around. It's not real frequent yet and it's not real strong yet, but I'm pretty sure that every once in a while I feel the faint flutter of life within me. It's pretty exciting.


Lastly, an update on my grandma. Tuesday she had surgery and the doctors ended up taking out the new hip that had just put in weeks ago and putting in a spacer. My cousin said something about there being a lot of dead tissue. So anyway, due to other health concerns she will have no more surgeries which means that she will be in a wheelchair, though there might be some hope of being able to use a walker at some point. So she has a lot on her plate right now. She still has to beat this infection, and she has to adjust to this news about the wheelchair. 

Not A Whole Lot New

But I'm sure I'll think of stuff as I'm writing. Just a general life update. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday to check on my every rising blood pressure. Thankfully that checked out low enough to keep the doctor happy and keep me off medication. While we were there the doctor also did a quick listen of the heartbeats. This attempt went much better than the last one. Even my untrained ear could hear the two distinct and very clear heartbeats. Very cool. 


Paul and I have been working very hard on what I call Operation Make Room for the Twins. Our Goodwill pile is steadily growing and the stuff we are keeping is getting organized nicely. Our desk is all moved and the broken computer is now fixed thanks to my diligent husband. Last night Paul went and picked up a dresser off craigslist for Jack's new room. Nicole actually found it for us after I mentioned how most dressers on craigslist are ugly or really expensive. It was an excellent find for a beautiful price. I'm very excited about how much money we saved verse had we bought a brand new dresser. 


Today Tanya, Chanda and I (plus 5 kids) went to Denny's to take them up on their free Grand Slam meal. Despite a long wait, it was yummy and fun to eat for free. I think tomorrow Jack and I will have to go play outside in all this new snow, unless it's too cold. 


There's not much new to report in Jack's world. He's coping with the mess in the house, which really hinders his play space. His vocabulary is expanding rapidly and with it so is his gibberish.


In other news, I found out today that my grandma who recently had a hip replaced now has a MERSA infection and is back in the hospital. If you think of it, please pray for her right now. Her health is very much in jeopardy as the required surgery is very risky due to other health issues, not to mention the very dangerous infection.

Our Enjoyable Weekend

What a fun weekend we had this weekend. Kevin, Nicole and Kyle came up for a visit and we had a great time hanging out with them. All the boys went to Monkey Joe's Saturday morning, which apparently wasn't what Kyle really wanted to do. But the little play date wasn't a complete bust...I mean he did get to eat some red chalk! Yummy. While all the boys were doing that, Nicole and I did a little shopping at Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. I had her take a look at the stroller we're considering to get her opinion. She votes yes for getting the stroller, now I just need to talk Paul into it :) After shopping we did some cleaning/organizing/purging at my house. It's very helpful to me to have someone who's not a pack rat tell me what's worth keeping and not. I have such a hard time throwing things away. So with her help we got a bag of garbage and a few boxes for Goodwill, plus we found news homes for many items that were homeless due to the new furniture arrangement in the dining room. And she cleaned the top of my fridge! How sweet is that. While the little boys napped the big boys got to go to the shooting range and play with their guns and then we all went out for some pizza. It was a very fun, but tiring day as my customary nap got skipped (for good reason). I ended up falling asleep on the couch during our evening movie. 

Kyle and Jack had a lot of fun playing together at the house. Here Kyle decided to sit on Jack's lap so they could both enjoy a car ride. Jack thought it was funny at first, then he realized how much bigger Kyle is!

This afternoon Paul decided to keep up with the purging theme from yesterday and hauled a bunch of boxes down from the attic to go through. So far we've made it through about 6 with very good results, lots of throwing away of old papers and donating of old clothes. Go us! Then we went to a super fun Super Bowl party. Jack had a great time playing with all the kids that were there and we had fun watching the Saints win and hanging out with friends. 

So Tired

I think I'm having the life sucked out of me.

Bowling

We went bowling with playgroup today and it was so much fun and also a little tiring. For most of the kids this was their first time bowling and they did really well. The place we went is called Pinstripes. They have a very nice setup in the mornings for little kids. There's a coffee bar for mom's, a fruit bar for kids, bumpers, and the best part-ramps. So the kids would each get to pick out their ball, have help carrying it to the ramp and then push it down whenever they were ready. Jack would quite frequently say "bye bye ball" as it rolled down the alley. He also really liked watching the ball return and general merriment with his friends like beating on the ramps because they made a cool sound, running around and lots of jumping. Surprisingly, Jack got his first strike and first spare. The strike however, was when he was bowling for his friend Coralyn. I didn't help him with the ball, but I did try and help him get the ramp lined up right to compensate for the curve it was generating.

Baby Pictures

We had a surprise ultrasound today to double check the babies heartbeats. The doctor first tried listening with the fetal Doppler thing, but it was very difficult to tell if we heard to distinct heartbeats or just the same one a few times. I had wondered going into this appointment how that would work exactly and apparently if their heartbeats are too similar it is quite difficult. so to be on the safe side we jumped into the ultrasound room for a quick check. It was fun to get to see the babies again, especially since they are looking much more babylike than the last time we saw them. Their heartbeats were both good, somewhere around 150 for each of them. It really is amazing the view that technology gives us inside the womb. I love the reassurance a glimpse of our growing babies gives me that they are doing well. And what a miracle to see not just one but two babies sharing one womb. Even though I see it, it seems to unbelievable to me. Here are their latest pictures. You'll probably notice that one baby is more clear than the other, that is just due to their positions. The second one is sorta sitting behind the first which makes it hard to get a good angle with the ultrasound.

This is a picture of both babies. You can see the profile of the one on the left, head to mid-torso and more or less looking down over the one on the right. 

This is Baby A...the one from the left in the first picture.

This is Baby B...the one from the right in the first picture. This is the one that is typically harder to see.