Lily's First Bike

For Lily's birthday we got her her first bike. It's a cute little red radio flyer tricycle. Today we finally put it together and let her take it for a spin in the drive way. She was so in love! As soon as she spotted it assembled and waiting for her, her face lit up as she exclaimed "MOMMY! It's a BIKE!" She was so edger to get it out side to give it a try! She practically dragged us outside!


She hopped right on her bike, and tried to peddle. She of course didn't get it right away, but not for a lack of trying. The bike we got comes with an attachable parent handle bar, so Sean was able to push her around the driveway, while she got a hang of the peddle motion. A few times Sean let got, and Lily actually peddled herself a bit!


She had lots of fun taking her little jack-be-little pumpkin from our garden for a ride! She had to make sure it was sitting on the back of her tricycle every time she got on! She also at one point insisted on wearing her (my) gardening gloves!


I know she's going to be getting a lot of good use out of her bike right up until it gets to cold to go out! I can already see that she will be asking to go outside to ride her bike every day! I'm so glad she enjoys it so much!

2 Year Doctors Appointment

Lily had her 2 year doctors appointment yesterday. She is 27lbs (50%) and 34 1/8 inches (50%). Funny thing is she was 34.5 inches at her last appointment, so at first glance it would appear that Lily has shrunk almost half an inch! However this time she was measured standing up, which is always a little shorter than lying down! Our doctor said she'd probably be about 35 inches lying down. She was very good at the appointment, and let the doctor check everything without complaining. Everything is perfect with her! When it came time to get her shot (hib vaccine...a comparable vaccine was FINALLY available...she should have gotten this shot last year, but the supply ran out country wide!) Lily was so good. She didn't cry at all! We were very proud of how well she took it! And we're even happier knowing that she wont be needing another shot for a few more years! It's never easy seeing your child get hurt like that!

So everything is perfect with our Lily...though we already knew that!

(Picture is from lunch in Salem her birthday weekend)

23 Weeks

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Today I'm 23 weeks and 2 days pregnant, and I'm really starting to feel it! I'm starting to feel pretty uncomfortable, and have very little energy left. I'm almost constantly exhausted now. It's not uncommon in the past couple weeks to find me in bed by 7:30 most nights. Some days I'll have spurts of energy (thankful that today is one of those days!) but most often I'm just so tired! I was actually worried a week or so ago that maybe I was starting to get anemic, when day after day that week I felt like a complete zombie. I think I just had a small summer cold though, or maybe the babies were going through a growth spurt, because while I'm still often tired, it's not nearly as bad as last week!

Aches and pains have become a regular part of my day lately. I'm still getting tons of braxton hicks contractions every day, and I often have round ligament pain. Hip pain is also a nightly occurrence! I've taken to sleeping with 2 regular pillows and a body pillow between my knees to help alleviate the pain. Some nights it works...some nights not so much! New to this week is pressure in my pelvis whenever I stand. I think baby A must have turned head down sometime Sunday night when this pain started. If I've been sitting or lying down for a while, it can be down right painful!

The heat wave we've been having these last couple of weeks have added to my discomfort, as I'm starting to swell a little bit. It also makes it extremely difficult for me to do anything outside for to long. Luckily I think that things are starting to cool down today. I'm crossing my fingers that some of the swelling goes away with the heat!

Things aren't all painful and horrible though! The babies are so strong now. I feel them kicking and hiccuping all the time! Literally ALL THE TIME! I think one sleeps while the other kicks away, because they never seem to rest! I even feel them all night long! Sometimes they wake me up! It's nice to have such a reassurance all day long that they are growing strong. They like when I eat something sweet too. They both seem to go crazy anytime I eat chocolate or something like that!

Today we had another ultra sound to check on growth, and a regular OB visit. Both babies looked great on the u/s. Baby A is head down (which is probably why I've been feeling pressure) with the head slightly on the right side, spine going up the middle of my belly, and feet on the left side. Baby B is still transverse, with the head slightly lower than the butt. The head is on the far right, with the feet up on the left. So both babies feet are right about under my left rib cage...which would explain why I get kicked in the ribs so often over there...two sets of feet kicking me in the same spot! Baby A's heart beat is 150 bpm, and baby B 's is 138bpm. The old wives tale is that over 140 = a girl, and under 140 = a boy. It'll be interesting to see if that holds true with these guys. (Though Lily had a lower beat rate, and she is obviously a girl! :) ) Baby A is now weighing in at 1 lb 6 oz, and Baby B at 1 lb 4 oz...so they are much closer in weight this time! That's reassuring! So I've got over 2.5 lbs of baby in me right now! I have a couple not so great pictures from the u/s, but we haven't gotten a chance to scan them yet. I'll be sure to post them as soon as they scanned though! But honestly, while the tech doing the u/s was very night, she was not very good at getting good pictures of the babies!

The best part of the ultra sound today was seeing them move around. Both we're being naughty and kept wiggling away from the tech. She had a hard time getting pictures of both of their hearts because they wouldn't stay still long enough for her to get good pictures of the 4 chambers! They were definitely both moving a bunch the whole time...I kept feeling them move too! The sweetest part was when we saw that baby A had the hiccups! Lily use to get them all the time while I was pregnant with her, but we never saw her get them during an u/s before, so it was really neat to be able to feel and see the hiccups at the same time!

Everything at my doctors appointment was good too, so we are right on track! I had a cervix check, (I'm going to be getting them every other appointment with her) and it was still long, closed and firm, which is all good news! I'm relieved to see that the braxton hick contractions haven't been doing anything!

So another 4 more weeks till my next u/s and doctors appointment, then I think things start picking up and I see my doctor every 2 weeks. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by! I'm starting to get really nervous about not having the nursery started yet!

Happy Birthday Lily!!!

Dear Lily,

Happy Birthday!!! It's so hard for me to believe that another year has flown by already! This day two years ago was very long and tough on Mommy, but I wouldn't trade a single minute of it, because it all lead to you entering our lives! At 11:38pm on August 22nd 2007, you change our lives forever!

You've gone from this tiny little 8 lb 1.9 oz Infant


To this adorable 1 year old


To this smart, funny and beautiful 2 year old toddler

It's been amazing watching you grow from that tiny thing who couldn't even hold your head up, to the wonderfully smart, fast, and strong toddler that you are now! All the previous months I've posted have highlighted how you've grown and changed in your past 23 months. now it's time to see where you've grown in this past month.



You've become a real goof ball lately. You love to make us laugh by doing silly things. If you do something that makes us laugh, you will keep doing it to keep us laughing! For example last night you were running round the bedroom in a circle, then would stop, throw your hands out and say "freeze!". When this made us laugh, you decided you would keep us laughing by repeating this for the next 15 minutes or so! The funniest part was you started laughing at yourself too, and you have this new thing when you think you are being so funny, where you put your head in your hands and do this really dramatic laugh! Of course that always gets Mommy and Daddy laughing harder!



Unfortunately we've seen one side of you this month that we are not thrilled with. You've learned the dreaded word "mine". All kids go through this stage where they assert their Independence by claiming everything is theirs, and taking things from other kids, but it's not easy to watch! We have the biggest trouble with this at little gym when the balls come out. Over the last month you have started taking balls from your friends saying "mine!". I knew it was a stage you'd go through, but it's still embarrassing! I really hope this is a stage you pass through quite quickly!


Like last month, singing has been a big part of our lives. Now you try to sing along with a lot of songs you hear. I found a new kids musician this month that we both love, Charlie Hope, and you love to sing along to her songs, especially the naps time song! "Shhh, shhh, sh, sh, shh, shh, shh, It's nap time!"


Also like last month, art has been a big part of our daily lives. You love coloring! We got you a couple big pads of paper for the floor, and you spend every morning laying on your tummy coloring! You are so funny about it too, because you always line your crayons up neatly next to you, and move from the front of the line to the back, trying out each different color. You started to expand on how you draw now. Now in addition to lines, you like to draw circles! I asked you to draw Micky Mouse once, and you pulled out he black and drew 2 circles and the colored some red on top of it! That was the first time I noticed you drawing circles. I as very impressed! You know almost all your colors now too. You can identify blue, green, purple, black, yellow, orange, and pink. The only color that gives you trouble is red, which you always call pink. Orange, green, and pink still seem to be you favorite colors right now. It'll be interesting to see what your first favorite color will be!

You've gotten really strong in Little Gym lately. You love to swing yourself on the bars now, and make your basket. You've also been working so hard at jumping and doing a forward roll on your own. In class you can roll by yourself if you are on an inclined mat. At home you try all the time to roll and do your donkey kicks! I'm really seeing progress! Next week is our last class of this session, so I'll be sure to get some new video of all the cools tricks you've learned over the summer!


We're all excited to see how you will handle your new roll as big sister. You love to give the babies hugs and kisses already! We're not sure how much you understand about it at this point though. You like to give my belly raspberry kisses while talking about the babies...but then you'll do the same to Daddy and point to his belly and say "Daddy babies" then point to my belly and say "Mommy babies" and then point to them both at the same time and say "two babies!". It'll be interesting to see how you react when you realize the two little babies we bring home are there to stay!


Some random facts about you:

You love thunder storms! When you hear thunder you say " WHOA! Thunder!".

The Elmo obsession has been replaced by "Charlie and Lola", and "Mickey Mouse".



You favorite book at the moment is a "Charlie and Lola" book, "I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato". You request this book be read to you at least 3 times a day! Sometimes we get to the end of the book, and you want to read it all over again!

We are 99% positive you are a lefty. We've thought this from a very early time when we noticed something about the swirl of your hair (I don't remember the science behind it, but there is a theory out there about the direction of the swirl hinting at hand preference) Ever since then we've watched how you eat closely, and you almost always choose to hold the spoon in your left hand. Once you started coloring, we noticed you always color with your left hand too.



Favorite foods are still hot dogs, fruit and cheerios. You also now love hummus (tummas as you call it) and cucumbers. You've also always been fond of Asian food...you love pad thai, fried rice and almost anything Indian. We love how diverse and worldly your tastes are! Of course like any 2 year old you love sweets of all kinds...especially chocolate!



You still haven't picked a favorite stuffed animal or doll, but you do love to switch between a few of them. Your new thing is picking a pony to come to bed with you!

You are starting the whole stalling at bedtime routine. You'll do anything to distract us. You ask to brush your teeth again, for milk, for one more story, or for a pony, all in the hopes of staying up a little later!


Daddy and I are so proud of you each and every day! We are so grateful you came into our lives! You fill every day with laughter and cuddles. We are so looking forward to your new adventure as big sister. We know you'll be great at it! I can't wait to see all the new things you learn over the course of your 3rd year! Happy second birthday monkey! We love you so much!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

20 Weeks

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

20 weeks today!!

I've got a couple more pictures to share. My best friend Becky is pregnant too, she's due at the beginning of February, so we've taken a couple pictures together!

Here's one from when I was 16w, 5d again, and Becky was 9 weeks:



And then this one is from last week. I was 18w, 4d and Becky was about 11 weeks:



I think the babies definitely grew in those 2 weeks! We're going to try to take a picture together at least once a month!

In other baby news, Sean felt baby B kick last night for the first time! Baby A was stubborn though, and would stop kicking every time he put his hand in the right spot! Lily was like that too for a while...always hiding from Sean!

19 Weeks

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Today I'm 19 weeks and 6 days. Over half way there!! Where has this time flown?!

I'm starting to have to slow down a bit already. I find that if we spend a day out and about, I need a whole day+ to recover. Just this past week I've started having pains on my sides when I move around. I'm assuming it's just round ligament pains, but man are they painful and annoying! I've also been having a whole bunch of braxton hicks contractions (in fact, having one right now!) drinking water doesn't seem to help them anymore. Just another annoying part of pregnancy that I have to deal with I guess! I'm not to worried about them right now, but I am worried that in 10+ weeks they will turn into the real thing! Lets hope that doesn't happen for another 15 weeks at least!

So those are the painful annoying things going on in the pregnancy right now. The good things going on are baby bump growth and baby movement! I feel like this past week or so my belly has grown quite a bit. I feel like I'm as big as I was at 7 months with Lily already. But then again, I carried pretty small with Lily for the longest time, and didn't really start looking pregnant until 7 months! It's bound to start showing sooner with twins!

Here's a picture from of the bump from 16 weeks 5 days, not much going on yet:



I'll see if I can get a picture taken this week so we can see how much the babies have grown since then!

The other great thing, as I said before, is the babies are kicking a whole bunch now! For a couple weeks now I've feeling distinct kicks more, and less of the fluttering movement. I felt baby B kick from the outside for the first time on the 24th. Over that past couple weeks their kicks have gotten stronger, and now I feel the kicks on the outside all the time now! It's so much fun! We're still waiting for Sean or Lily to feel them. We just need to have their hands on the right spot of my belly at the right time! I'm sure Sean will feel them sometime this week! I'm looking forward to it!

Not much else going on in pregnancy land. My next appointment and ultra sound aren't until the end of August, so we've just got a lot of waiting to do until we can see the babies again! Welcome to what they call the "boring" trimester!

Painting & Gardening

Just wanted to share a quick picture from Lily painting outside again today. That girl really does like to get messy!!

Here's some video of her "washing up":



And finally, one last picture from our garden:

That's our one good squash plant...acorn squash! Sean is working hard with the garden this summer, planting and mulching it. It's starting to really look good! I wish I could help more, but my baby belly is starting to get in the way from all the bending over that is required to garden. Unfortunately we've been having a problem with cucumber beetles, that are eating all of our squash plants. This is the one plant that has even gotten this far with flower blossoms and growing vines, and unfortunately the beetles have started swarming it. We got some organic insecticide soap today, that we hope will help. But if that doesn't work, it looks like our only actual crop this year will be tomatoes (that's if the rain doesn't kill them first! ), and maybe peppers. Oh well...it's our first year of having a real garden. All we can do is learn from it, and hope that next year we have better weather, and less harmful bugs! Plus we wont be so distracted with other big things...you know, like being pregnant with twins! :)