Freeze Dance

Caught Neil and Tristan playing Freeze Dance. We are having so much fun this week! Tristan is babbling all the time now and trying to talk more and more. Wish I could bottle the laughter in this house this week... I have a feeling we might need it in the near future!

What nice boys

These boys are making me laugh already. We went to see the specialist today and found out they are sharing one placenta, but they seem to be sharing quite nicely. Baby A has a little more room and is using every inch of it. Every time we see baby A, he is sprawled out stretching his arms and legs. Today he even flipped over a few times while we were there just to show off how much room he has. His brother, however, has a little less room. He always looks so cramped with his legs tucked up and his hands up to his face. We will see how this affects them when they come out into the world. Will baby B always want to be swaddled and baby A want to stretch out? With the membrane that separates them being so thin, we were told today that they can and will continue to feel each other kicking and punching. They will have to learn to work it out in there because I can't help them and break it up. I'm thinking they will have to be swaddled right next to each other when they are born.
At the end of the section, they measured my cervix to see how long it was. They were looking for 2 inches as a healthy number to start with at this point in pregnancy. I measured 4 1/2 inches and was pretty excited about that. Just as I was feeling good, I looked to the side of the screen and saw Baby A giving a clear thumbs up. We all burst out laughing! It's as if he was excited about the news, too. The tech moved the ultrasound a bit to see if Baby B was near by and there he was waving like crazy as if to say, "Hey hey, I'm here, too!!" I'm so glad we got pictures of these (above) because I just look at them and giggle. It's nice to look and see that they are encouraging me, too. These boys are already making us so happy. I have a feeling my house is going to be filled with three funny little boys!

Let's break out the paints!

Neannie got Tristan some really cool paints for Christmas that I was a little nervous to use at first. After a morning full of melt downs, it was time for something new on the menu. I brought out the paper and paints and let him go. These paint brushes are WONDERFUL! Hardly any mess to clean up and they are so much brighter and easier to use than even the big crayons. After a while, we brought out the crayons to add a little something to the pictures and the house was void of tears for a full hour!!! As we were drawing I started to draw some shapes and my boy that says hardly any words actually said circle! What is even better was he was drawing a circle while saying it!! I'm so proud. Looks like we will be getting these out more often. Why we are not drawing and painting in this house everyday is beyond me!

Twins 15 weeks

We are learning new vocabulary everyday around here. At our specialist visit last Thursday we were surprised to find out that the twins we were sure were fraternal, turned out to be monochorionic monozygotic, or identical twins that share a placenta. Even though they were only 14 weeks along, the specialist was clearly able to tell that one twin was a boy and since she knew they were identical because of the make up of the womb, she knew the other baby had to be a boy, too. A house full of boys! That's just fine with me. I have always said that I would love to be a mom of all boys, so this doesn't scare me a bit. I know the messes will be bigger, there will be more holes in my walls, and I will have to grocery shop every other day at some point in the future, but I'm looking forward to all of that! Well, maybe not the holes in the walls.
The ultra sounds have been amazing to see and I am grateful that we get to view them so often. Seeing their little spines, hands, feet, and strong heart beats are truly amazing. I wonder who these little boys will be when they enter the world and I feel so lucky that God choose them to be a part of our family.
The pictures are a little hard to make out, as all ultrasound pictures are, but the first two are of Twin A and the last is of both babies. We were sent to the specialist in the first place because my doctor could not see a division between the twins that would indicate they had their own amniotic sacs. The specialist was able to tell there is a division, but thinks they are sharing a placenta. Today my doctor thought she saw two placentas, so we will explore this with the specialist when we see them in one week. If they are sharing, the doctors will monitor we closely to make sure each twin is getting enough nutrients. We are hoping to see two placentas on Tuesday because that would mean we are in the clear for what they call "twin to twin transfusion syndrome." For now, we continue to pray for the health of these little ones and for a nice long pregnancy!

Christmas 2009

How did I miss posting Christmas?! I have had these photos in "draft" for a few weeks now and looking back on them gives me good memories of the quiet and relaxing Christmas we had. It may have been our last quiet one for many years and I'm so glad that it was a perfect one. When Tristan came out of his room in the morning he came running to me and gave me a big hug like any good like son should. I loved that he thought of me first and the pile of presents second. Actually, he went from me to a toy he had for months and then on to the presents. We took a while and made our way through the paper and bags until Eddie came over for Christmas morning casserole. The babies let me even eat some and keep it down, what a nice present from them! After a relaxing morning we went to Jen and Jeff Benson's for lunch where Tristan was a hit. He walked into a house he had never been to and made himself right at home with all the people he has never met in his life. Being the only little kid, all the adults there loved playing with him and he was on his very best behavior. I love it when he makes me look good, but any mom knows it could have gone either way! For dinner we went to the Haas's and I was so sad that I didn't bring Tristan's Christmas pj's with me. He and Audry would have been SO cute together in their matching outfits. It was nice to sit and relax and I am so glad the holidays are over. The tree went out the day after and all the new toys have found homes.

Do you see what I see?

Two days before Christmas, Neil and I went to the doctor to see an ultra sound of our new baby. Boy were we surprised when there turned out to be TWO babies!! As the doctor was focused on the first baby, I saw to the bottom left two little feet dancing around. My heart stopped and then I started to laugh. I don't think I stopped laughing for about a day. Both babies are measuring perfectly and look great with nice strong heart beats. I wish someone had been taping Neil and I in that room watching the babies dance around like crazy. We were happy, shocked, excited, and to be honest a little scared. A few days have past now and we have gone through all the emotions. We have come back to reality and feel very blessed. I will be happy to see the first trimester end in another week and a half because I have been very sick and very tired. I think these little ones are going to sneak up on us faster than we can imagine. We are doing all we can to start to get ready. Time for the bigger car and a move from an apartment to a house. The search is on. We will do all the hard work on the out side, little ones, you just grow strong and healthy.

Zoo Lights

Tonight we went to zoo lights after seeing how excited Tristan was with the lights at the mall the other night. We had no idea we would all have such a great time. The lights were beautiful and the music was great. I have to admit I got a little choked up with all the holiday cheer tonight. Tristan was SO thrilled with all the light animals. He greeted each one with a wave and a hello, and was sure to wave and say good-bye to each one. A few he almost forgot, but a quick back track later just for a good-bye and nobody was left out. T and I took a train ride and made whistle noises the whole way which I'm sure the people behind us loved. We kept up with the little guy for the most part as he ran from one animal to the next stopping along the way when some good music hit him and he would dance in the middle of the path and get everyone laughing. We had some bad pizza and a wonderful pudding parfait that I might have to make at home this weekend. I wish we could go do it all over again. Maybe we will go again in January if we have another night that isn't too cold. Thankfully it warmed up for a few nights and there was no snow. We were warm and safe to run. These adventures are SO much better when we get to see them through Tristan's eyes. He would just stare at the lights and whisper "WOW," and that makes everything wonderful. As we were leaving and he was riding on Neil's shoulders, I looked up at the smile plastered on his face. It was as if he was so happy that he didn't know how to stop smiling the biggest smile even if he wanted to. T fell asleep on the way home, so I took him straight to his room to change him for bed. I was half way through changing him when he woke up, sat up, smiled at me, and then rolled onto his belly and fell asleep on the changing table with a HUGE smile on his little face. I wish I could make him that happy everyday!!

He knows it, but just won't say it...

Last night Tristan was not feeling well. I was at work all night, so by the time I got home both Neil and Tristan needed a break. T snuggled into a tight little ball on my chest and we watched a little tv. Out of no where, he untucked his little arm, pointed at my shoulder, and without even looking up said, "Mama." He's holding out on me by not calling me mom all the time, but man it made last night warm my heart in a way that wouldn't have if he called me mom all the time. He must have thought I deserved it for knowing how to cuddle him when he feels icky. It was a long night of cuddles and he was ever so nice to share his cold with me. I wonder if he will come in and cuddle me tonight when I feel icky?

The First Gift of Christmas

Tristan's first gift of Christmas arrived in the mail today for Neannie. Like any good grandma, she didn't make him wait for the 25th to start enjoying the present. He is having a great time with it and it seems like a good toy to keep him focused for a bit

My Little Star

The other day I was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Tristan because he likes it, and all of the sudden he started singing with me. I could not believe it! It was really cute and a HUGE surprise because the kid does not even call me mom. We are finding out in the last week or so that he understands SO MUCH more than we think. He may not be saying things to us, but he is taking it all in.