comparisons!

18 weeks with twins                                     19 weeks with Alex

He did it!!!

After 5 weeks at swim lessons, Alex finally got into the pool!!!!  I can't tell you how excited I was-His teacher, too!  The first week he cried, the second he sat at the edge of the pool and wouldn't budge, the third he stood at the side watching, last week he cried and we didn't even get there.  This week he stood at the side of the pool the entire lesson.  Finally, he asked for his Spider-man goggles and sat at the edge of the
pool.  The instructor told the kids they were to have one more jump.  Alex was the last one and he jumped right into her arms!  He was smiling so big.  She let him kick around for a minute before putting him back on the side.  He was having so much fun he didn't want the class to be over.  Hopefully he will remember this next Saturday when we go back for the next to last lesson!

Proud momma!

Belly 18 weeks

Levi's profile

Lisa's profile 18 weeks

Names

For those of you who have not yet heard, we are having a boy and a girl!  We are very excited.  Although I thought I had the names figured out, neither one stuck.  We texted names back and forth while I was in the grocery store.  Eventually we decided on Lisa Jane for our daughter.  I wanted Jane and we could both agree on Lisa.  For the boy, we were kinda at an impasse.  Patrick wasn't quite convinced on Henry William.  We had discussed Levi Charles before and after much thought, I decided that Levi and Lisa sounded better than Henry and Lisa.  So, Levi Charles is our son.  Levi and Lisa.  I am so glad to not have to call them "the babies" anymore and can actually use names.  We had names picked out before we knew Emily and Alex's genders, so this was stressful for me not already having them chosen earlier.

two new things for today

1.  I had to pull out the maternity clothes today.  The elastic waists in all my clothes were getting uncomfortable. Who would think that at 15 weeks I'd be this big already?  The maternity pants all still fit which is amazing to me since I thought I had gained weight in the past 4 years.  They are comfortable, but I had forgotten about how without a true waist, they continually fall and I have to pick them up.

2.  We had four inches of snow in the last few days.   So today we made a trip to Goodwill and bought a sled.  We went to a park with a hill and took turns sledding down the snow.  I wish we could have taken some pictures, but we were having so much fun, the phones never came out.  The snow is already melting away, but with two more months of snow to be expected, we will definitely be going sledding again!

Bike

We caved and got Alex a new bike.  He was determined to have a bike with pedals.  We went to quite a few stores that didn't have his size before someone suggested Toys R Us.  He loves his new bike and rode it all the way to the park which is 0.8 miles from our house.  So proud of him!!  Thanks Grandma Franklin!

15 week belly shot

This past week, my belly really decided to pop out. Alex is getting a kick out of watching it grow. He keeps telling me how huge I am.

Babies

They are 11 weeks in this picture. I get my cerclage at 14 weeks then check back in at the dr. Two weeks later. By then, I should know if they are boys or girls!! I can't wait!!!

I am already fighting the urge to completely do the kids' room just so it is complete. I don't like having things undone. The room is now mostly storage and I really want to see how they will all fit with their millions of things. I have purged down the toys so much already. I guess maybe shelves on the walls will be my only option if there isn't enough floor space. 

Snow

After a week in the upper fifties, we got snow yesterday! It is so thick, Alex got to make snow angels, a snowman, and shovel the sidewalk. He loved it. We were outside for around two hours. Apparently alex and I got a little sunburned. There isn't much snow left on our area without foot tracks from the little guy! He keeps asking if it is Christmas and if we are going to put lights in the house. (We are still working on the difference between winter and Christmas.) oh happy days.

Tractors in the snow

Nothing could be more fun!

Water science

When it's just too cold to play outside.

Ice skating!!

There is an outdoor rink just a few miles north of us Patrick stumbled upon. Alex was soooo excited to skate. We had him in his snow bib and gloves because, even though it wasn't too cold that day, this rink is completely in the shade. In Denver, no sun means no warmth at all. He was able to walk upright I the skates. Most of the younger ones I noticed had their ankles turned out so I was pretty impressed with Alex. He was pretty brave. I only dumped him once, and he smiled the entire time.

Alex is excited to have his bed again!

Before

Tons of stuff with no place yet to put them. Disorganization drives me crazy!! 

Not only that, but when we moved in w,e noticed a huge number of things that needed fixing. 

*Item number one: the washer and dryer. They were not there. When they came the next day, we found out there was no vent for the dryer so a portable vent had to be purchased and the washer wouldn't work because the drain was plugged. We moved in on Thursday but didn't get to use the washer until Monday night. Ugh! (What fun Alex and I had doing all the laundry though!! He loved watching the washer fill up and agitate.) 

*Item number two: the dining room light didn't work. We got a new one put in Monday.

*Item number three:  replace two wall plugs.

*Item number four: no fridge light. Apparently it was a little finicky. Got it working quickly enough.

*Item number five: no mailbox keys. Got them to punch out the old lock and rekey it yesterday.

There are more that I could list, but its a little boring already.

Anyway. We are happy here now with all this stuff fixed and the majority of our things put away. The kitchen is a bit smaller than the last, so it is a challenge- mainly having the pantry in the nook by the coat closet. (You can see it in the top of the picture. We are using bookshelves. So far it works.)

Denver

Yup. We are here. It's cold. Not really much snow on the ground, but sure we'll get some soon. Alex is missing home and the grandparents, but a few good snow toys (tractor with trailer and a digger) and he's a happy boy. It will take some time to adjust to the climate, city, and new lifestyle, but I think we will be happy here. If anyone wants to visit, please come!

Positively wonderful

I got my pregnancy test blood work done and it was positive!! The babies are growing strong. I am scheduled for an ultrasound on December 31st to see if it is truly twins. This will be a busy day as we will be moving out of our apartment that morning and going to Denver the next day. I need to set up an appointment with a doctor up there ASAP and one of the dr's here knows of a good one he went to school with for high risk pregnancy (which I am now in three ways.) Hopefully he will be near our new area.

How am I feeling? Well, where do I start. . .

Exhausted. I am so tired. I try so hard to make it to Alex's 1:00 nap time. Sometimes I even get him to bed a little early.

Cranky. Hormones, exhaustion and an energetic little boy don't make it easy to be pleasant.

Hungry. I have to eat every few hours. This is strange to me because it has only been a few weeks since the babies were implanted so I feel like I am just eating too much.

Terribly thirsty all of the time. I can't drink enough. As soon as I pee, I have to get another glass of water. What a cycle that is.

Sore. My tush hurts from getting a shot every evening, though Patrick is an amazingly wonderful shot-giver.  I started them the day after thanksgiving and will continue for about another month. Ugh.

Blessed and joyous. The Lord has blessed us greatly and we are truly thankful. What perfect timing too. One day shy of the three week mark where they normally do the ultrasound is our moving day.

We now have signed a lease for a condo in Denver. The grocery store, library, bank and park are all within a mile of our new place. It also comes with a dishwasher AND washer and dryer!! So excited to be able to wash at home. Lugging the laundry and Alex all the way to the laundry room would be pretty bad in the Denver cold and while pregnant. We signed a two year lease to lock in the price so it doesn't increase on us next year when we would renew anyway. (Tiffany- it is at the corner of Hampden and Sheridan in Bear Valley.)

What blessings God has blessed us with. May we be wise stewards of them now and in the years to come.

A tale of two

So, this past Wednesday I had my big doctor appointment. Two little baby embryos were implanted into my uterus. The nurse commented with much enthusiasm about how well it went. The strange part is that I thought I would be more excited by now. The reality is that I have read too many stories about the losses and missed chances when it comes to IVF. I don't want to be overly optimistic, nor do I want to be pessimistic. So here I am just kinda floating in between pretending nothing is different and having faith that God will let everything work out to His benefit, not mine. I want to be elated, but not yet. We shall see after the official blood work pregnancy test on December 11th.

One cool side thought: if the babies are growing normally, an ultrasound would be able to pick up the heartbeats on Christmas Day. (Smile)

Changes in 2013

Change #1:
It is now official. Patrick accepted the position in Denver. We will move the beginning of January. I am actually happy about it because it is an exciting leap for our adult lives. What a change for 2013!

Change #2:
I am going to have two of my frozen embryos implanted on around November 27th. The chance for twins is highly probable.  I am praying for a healthy pregnancy and a good doctor in Colorado.

Change #3:
Well, I don't really have another. The two listed are big enough for us.


Deep breath. Breathe. We will get through this with God's help. He will take care of us and I believe is leading us through this for an unforseable reason. I am trusting in God to give us the wisdom to use these changes to bring glory to Him. Please remember us in your prayers.