November +...

November was pretty busy for us. We started the month off with blessing the twins. Most of Ryan's family were able to come down for it and visit.


We also braved it and took the 3 kids in a long car drive to spend Thanksgiving with Ryan's family. It was much better than I had expected it to be. We didn't have to stop that much and the kids were only fussy the last 30 minutes there and back. Dinner was wonderful and of course so was the company.



Ryan started his new job the week after Thanksgiving and really likes it. He gets to come home at a normal time and won't have the rediculous busy season! I love it too!

The twins have grown so much. I keep looking back at pictures just a month ago and they've changed a ton. Still not sleeping very well but they're progressing some. I doubt I will get my Christmas wish of them sleeping through the night.


Brad is warming up to the twins a little better by trying to help feed them and give them binkys. However, one day Ryan came home from work and the first thing I did when he walked in the door was hand him a baby and boy did that make Brad upset. He threw himself on the floor and started crying because the baby got dad's attention first. Poor guy. Other than that, he is talking a lot more (others can't understand though) and picks up on things so quick. It's fun to see him do "grown up" things. He's not my little baby anymore. Good thing I have two more!



I wish my eyes had a built in camera because I don't get to capture all the good smiles and precious moments on camera.

Hope you all have a good Christmas!

October

This month, we had a visit from Cat & Todd where they got to meet the twins for the first time. Don't they look so excited to have babies one day??? :)

Brad got to see all sorts of creepy-crawlers and touch a giant iguana at the reptile show that my brother-in-law put on.

The twins grew a ton. At their 2 month check up, they were 10lbs 8&9oz. They are just so stinkin cute- lots of work- but cute. They are smiling so much now.

My sister made these shirts for them!

We went to a pumpkin patch to take some pictures. We had to recruit Grandma & Aunt Marilyn since we had so many kiddos.


As for Ryan and I, we are still sleep deprived and are just waiting for the night that we get a good stretch of uninterrupted sleep! And our time spent together is while we change dirty diapers side by side :) I am loving it though. Our 3 little guys are just so much fun.

Brothers

These are their first "matching" outfits besides their birthday suits. And I finally got a picture of Brad smiling with them! When I've tried in the past, he just runs away as fast as he can. :) I think he's starting to like being an older brother- he lasted a whole 5 minutes before he tried pushing his brother off his lap!

Pictures Done!

We got some pictures taken of the boys! We were there for over 4 hours and the photographer was so patient. I was ready to give up half way through but she just kept going. She did a great job. I don't think I'd be able to tell who's who if I didn't remember which child went first (sad- I'm the mom)! To see more click on: Valerie Christensen Photography



(Evan is on bottom, Jared on top)

Catch up on Brad

Can I just say what a cute kid Brad is? It is so fun watching him grow and try out new things. He just wants to be a grown up and do everything we do. Here's some things he's been up to:

Swimming: he's a natural and loves it!

Basketball: he goes around the house finding things to shoot a basketball in like our dresser drawers, hampers, etc. So we finally got him a real hoop for him to use. He even holds the ball and "shoots" instead of just throwing it.

Taking the trash out:

Helping dad finish work so he can play:

Feeding himself and making a mess (he loves to "do his own hair"):

Just being silly:

And having fun:

Family of 5!!!!

Our cute little twins are here and we just love them!
Evan Chad was born at 6:32pm 8/20, 6lb 7oz, 18 1/4 inches (left)
Jared Scott was born at 6:33pm 8/20, 6lb 15oz, 18 1/4 inches (right)

(it won't turn sideways for me??)

Here is my twin belly the day they were born (38 weeks):


We got to the hospital at 11:30am on Friday and was induced at 12:45pm. They gave me the epidural and broke my water around 2:30. The epidural was incredibly painful- which I don't remember it hurting much with Brad. A couple hours later, my heart rate dropped a ton and I started to go into shock. I didn't know how to explain how I felt to the nurse besides the fact that I felt like the top half of my body was going numb and I was really claustrophobic. They tried moving me around and giving me oxygen which helped. Finally around 5:45pm, I was dilated to a 9 and they wheeled me off to the OR to deliver. I was able to have a natural delivery and everything went smooth. Evan came out head first within 3 pushes and Jared followed feet first a minute later. We stayed in the hospital for 24 hours and they let us go. It was so nice to be able to go home fast and sleep in our own bed without nurses coming in every hour. I did like the fact that we had a scheduled time to go to the hospital to deliver but other than that I do not want to be induced again. My experience was much better with Brad than it was with this delivery.

We love having these two new boys in our family. Brad isn't sure what to think of it though. Sometimes he is really cute with them by giving them his blanket or their binky, and other times he just walks up to them and hits them. He seems to be warming up to them though.


Above: Evan(left), Jared (right)



If you want to see some pictures they took at the hospital go to:
http://www.bellababyphotography.com/login
Password: 0820evanjared

38 weeks

Today has been a long, long day. First, it started out while I was out at breakfast with my sisters and hubby. We met a couple that had two year old twins on top of a 4 year old girl, so pretty much the same situation as we will be in. The lady just looked at me with a look of "oh I'm so sorry". The first thing she asked is if I had help and then she continued to say "I'm not going to lie to you, it's not easy". Then, she and her husband couldn't agree on how to tell me what it's like having 3 kids so close. On their way out, she asked if I drank and then continued to say, "you might want to start".

On top of that, the cashier at the grocery store found out I was having 3 under 17 months and she just said how sorry she was and how much work it is going to be while the lady in line behind me just sat their laughing. So I am getting lots and lots of confidence-building stories and reactions from all different sorts of people. I know it's going to be hard but there's nothing I can do about it now so bring it on!

I had my last doctor appointment today. So far this whole pregnancy has been great and there have been no complications with the twins... until today. For the past 3 months or longer the twins have both been vertex (head down) the whole time. Monday, they were still both head down which is ideal for a twin delivery. Then, 3 days later (today), I find out that baby B decided to flip and is now breach. Of course that has to happen the day before I'm supposed to deliver. And how did I not feel a 6+ lb baby completely flip inside my incredibly packed belly? Anyways, I am still going to try doing a natural delivery but there is a greater risk now of an emergency C-section. So wish me luck and I'll post pictures as soon as I can! YEAH!!! They're almost here :)

PS- Sorry if I do not return phone calls or respond much in the next little bit. I get side tracked very easy... I've been bad at it already the past few weeks and I don't think I'll get much better! It's not personal I promise :)

35 weeks

I'm 35 weeks (36 tomorrow) and things are still going great. I did have a little scare with some contractions in the middle of the night last week but haven't had any since. I told the twins they had to stay in until after the wedding and they're listening so far. Catherine (my little sis) gets married Saturday and then they are free to come any day after that. At my dr. appointment today, he came in and said he was surprised to see me still on his schedule thinking I would have had the babies already. The twins are measuring great and are now up to almost 6 pounds. One is measuring about 5 lb 11 oz and the other 5 lb 13 oz. I can't believe I have 2 weeks (or less) left. I still have plenty to do but things can wait until after they come too. I have pretty much been a single parent since January with the way Ryan's work schedule has been, so a lot has been put on hold.



Brad is still being as cute as ever. For his 15 month check up, he is measuring 95th percentile for his head, height, and weight (29lbs). He is one big boy. He is growing so fast and is picking up on so many things (good & bad). Baby proofing the house changes just as much as he does. One cute thing he has been doing lately: As soon as he hears the garage door open, he stops what he's doing and says "dadda" then runs to the door, opens it, and waits for his dad to come in. I love it. He's such a smart little stinker.



Sorry no pictures.... they're all on other people's camera. One day I'll get them and then will have plenty of pictures to post. :)

Brad is 15 months now. He is such a fun kid but he has his moments too. Here are some pictures of what he's been up to.

Playing at the Park

Finding his belly button

Being silly

Learning to share... but having a hard time. And learning to express himself (what a rollercoaster)

Being Mr. Fix it.
Hanging out with dad.
Trying on all of mom & dad's shoes on
I am now 32 weeks along and I'm doing great (as good as a prego lady can). My belly is measuring 37 weeks (for a sigle pregnancy) which is normal for twins. I have to be monitored twice a week now on top of my normal dr. appointments which is not fun. The twins are growing at the same rate and we haven't run into any complications. I'm not ready for them to come at all so I really need to get moving because 6 weeks will go by fast!

11 weeks left!!

So I just realized that I have a MAXIMUM of 11 weeks left before twins arrive. Wow. This pregnancy has just flown by! Hopefully they don't come too early because my sister is getting married the beginning of August and I'd like to go to her wedding :). Things are going good- the doctors say the twins are developing great. I pretty much have a doctor appointment every week now. I have been horrible at taking pictures this time around but here is my belly at 27 weeks. It doesn't seem like it can stretch two more months worth but we'll see!

And here is my belly at 27 weeks with Brad just to compare:


And here are just some random pictures of Brad.

Wet Wipes

Before it was tissues, now it's wet wipes. He was having so much fun pulling them all out, I couldn't stop him. Don't get me wrong, he still pulls out all the tissues as well. In fact, he has learned to pull a tissue out, walk over and open the pantry, and throw the tissue away. He is learning so fast and he loves to help out... I just wish he learned to throw away dirty tissues instead of clean ones :).

UT Baby Shower

This past weekend, my in-laws threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law and I. Our due dates are about a month apart. It was fun to see everyone since we don't get a chance to get up there to visit that often. The food was delicious and the games were fun (poopy diapers that smell like chocolate- i wish!). Everyone was so generous and I must say, these twins are going to be super cute in all the matching clothes they received.

While the girls were having fun, the boys were out with the kids. Brad loves playing with his cousins and I wish we lived closer so they could play more often. Devin took Brad on a little ride around the block and Brad couldn't have been more excited. His facial expression didn't change the whole time. :)

Brad also loves his Uncle Roger... he just cuddled with him all day- which isn't normally like Brad.

Thanks to all who came! We really appreciate it.