26 Weeks!!

We made it, 26 weeks! The final milestone before the baby is born. Of course, I would like him to stay put for another 11 or 12 weeks, but if he were to be born today he would have a very good chance at not only surviving, but living a normal healthy life. This is the week when I finally relax, finally take a deep breath and say, "WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!"

We haven't decided on a name for this little guy. We have several possibilities, but nothing seems to really fit. It was a bit of a stresser for me for a while, but I've come to realize that he won't go to school without having a name.

I am also finally ready to dig in and get his room ready. I have the valance and wall boarder, but it looks like I will have to buy a 2nd of each. I was thinking of only putting the boarder on two walls, but Craig thinks it will look better on all 4 of them. Also, I made the mistake of thinking the window in his room was the same size as the window in the family room, but it's not. It is almost twice the size, so the valance I bought is just a few inches too small. Unfortunately, the window is so large that 90% of valances are too small for it. Friends have given me some creative ideas, now I need to get some shopping done.

Today also marks the day that our sweet girls turn 23 months old! Just one more month until they are 2! I am not ready to admit I have 2 year olds, but they really haven't left me much choice. Not only are they sweet, loving and adorable, but they are also very mischievous. It never ceases to amaze us how fast they can go from being so happy to a full blown tantrum.

They have taken a serious interest in Mommy's growing tummy. Alli likes to climb up next to me on the couch and pull my shirt up so she can see the baby move. They both give him hugs and kisses all the time. They are going to be such great big sisters.

A little brother for our twins.

We had our big ultrasound last week. Everything looked great with the baby. We got to see all four chambers of the heart, both hemispheres of the brain, spine, ribs, arms, legs, feet and hands. Oh, and we also go to see that the baby is a BOY!!!!

Its crazy how things change with a second pregnancy. Not only have I been lacking on blogging, but pictures have taken a back seat, too. We've taken two, one at 8 weeks and one at 17 weeks. My goal is to get on this week, so we will be somewhat back on track.

I am finally passed the morning sickness that plagued me for the first 16 weeks. Now I am enjoying the second trimester headaches. I got to skip all of this with the girls. I know, every pregnancy is different, but what amazes me is just how opposite my pregnancies have been.

The girls are doing great! They are starting to understand that Mommy has their baby brother in her tummy. They will even put their hands on my tummy and say "baby."

We moved them to toddler beds about a month ago. Every week they are doing a little better. The most difficult part is that they have their very best friend to play with. Most nights I have to go in after a little while and sit in their room. They don't get out of their beds when I am in there, but it can take a while for them to stop fidgeting and go to sleep.

They are starting to turn into 2 year olds. I love that they are exploring new things and wanting to do more by themselves. However, I don't like the fighting, screaming and tantrums that come with it. Daddy has already taught them how to say they are 2. I keep trying to convince them they are still 1, but they don't believe me. Ha!

Crazy to think that in just 19 weeks we will have a baby boy and two two-year-old big sisters!

6-Weeks

Who needs protein? I want carbs! Ha ha. I am having huge carbohydrate cravings this week. Potatoes, pasta, oatmeal, cereal. I know I need to work in the protein because the baby needs it. I do have meat at dinner every night, I am just having a hard time adding in proteins for breakfast and lunch.

I only had afternoon morning sickness twice this week, and it passed relatively quickly. Here's hoping that I got it out of the way early on and won't have it bother me again. {A girl can wish, right?}

I am, however, still having quite a bit of heart burn. It has been very controllable with tums, so far. But it is happening when I'm not laying down now. I'm expecting this kid to have lots of hair!

I still have a bit of a belly, and my normal pants don't fit me anymore. But, I haven't gained any weight since the transfer. Which, trust me, I am not complaining about! I lost 10 pounds when I was first pregnant with the girls, which I would love to do this time, but I don't see it happening. As long as I'm not creeping up just yet, I'm happy.

Here we grow again!

We are ready for another baby. We haven't had any success trying on our own, and decided we were ready now. We had one of our "snow peas" thawed and transferred on March 24th. It has been 15 days since the transfer and Monday a blood test showed that I am indeed pregnant!!!! My hormone level came back at 137, which is nice and high for a single pregnancy (226 with the girls). I had a second test done on Wednesday (yesterday) and got the results back today, my hormone level went up to 332 (more than double, which is what we were looking for)! That means that I am 4 weeks, 5 days along, with a due date of December 10, 2011. Allison and Emmily are going to be big sisters!

It is crazy to me how fast things are happening this time around. I started having afternoon morning sickness over the weekend (right at 4 weeks) and I'm even starting to look like I have a bit of a prego belly. Well, to me it looks like that, to others it probably looks like I've gained weight around the middle. I've even started having heart burn at night when laying on my right side. I don't know what I was expecting, everyone says everything happens sooner with your second pregnancy. I just wasn't expecting it this fast. I thought I would have a good 4 weeks or so before I started feeling pregnant.

18-Months Old

Where does the time go? If my Dad has told me once, he's told me a thousand times that having kids makes you realize just how fast life goes. I swear time has sped up. My sweet tiny little babies are now 18-months old! They are still sweet and little, but very much so toddlers and not babies anymore. When did that happen? Allison is often called Alli and sometimes even Alli-Bear. She is so funny. She is always laughing and coming up with new ways to get us to chase her. Her newest thing is saying "NO" to everything. Not fun. Especially when it is followed by Emmily crying because Alli has come and taken a toy from her. Emmily is probably called Em or Emmily 90% of the time. We still call her Emmi, too, just not quite as often. She is the sweet girl. Its funny because the things she does are just cute, while Alli is down right funny. She loves to look at you from under her brow then start cracking up laughing. Of course, we think they are both adorable. The girls get very excited when the hear the garage door at night. They run to the door saying Dada! When he comes in the door Alli squeals and laughs and can't wait for him to pick her up. She is such a Daddy's girl. Em says hi then runs off, but as soon as he sits down she is standing in front of him asking to be picked up. They both talk up a storm. Most words you have to see the context to understand what they are saying, but they are trying. Em calls all drinks juice but Alli is starting to call them drinks. They can both say sister and know what their sisters' name is. However, if you ask Alli to say her sister's name, it sounds like she is saying Alli. Cracks us up. She really is trying to say Emmi, but it sounds like Alli. Em calls her sister both Alli and Allison, it is so sweet. The girls are the light of our lives. They bring us quite a bit of exhaustion, but so much more joy. I wouldn't trade having twins for anything.