GAME DAY

In the Spirit...

...of the holidays. Their shirts say "mom and dad say I'm Santa's Favorite."

She weighed in at 7lbs, 2oz this morning at their appointment.

He weighed in at 7lbs, 7oz. They have both gained more than 2 pounds since birth!

Visit with Santa

Daddy's work has a kids Christmas party every year, so we took the kids to see Santa. Buddy got to stay with dad and see a movie. Mommy and the twins headed back to Granny's.



The babies weren't scared of Santa at all! Hahaha! I bet next year will be a different story!

Together At Last

The twins are finally back together after their stay in the NICU! Little brother got to come home yesterday!

Buddy Meets Little Sister

Buddy was soooo excited to meet his little sister! Can you tell? Hopefully he will get to meet his brother tomorrow!

Here she is watching the KU game with her bling KU hat!

Sister Goes Home!

It's goodbye NICU for Little Sis! She got to go home today. Let's hope Brother is not too far behind!

Update

The babies continue to make progress. They are both doing pretty well with nursing and bottle feeding. It is only a matter of a few days before they get to come home, as long as they continue to cooperate. We are thinking maybe by Thursday or Friday.

Finally, here is a picture of sissy with her eyes open!

Here is little bro looking exactly like his big brother when he was a baby!!! We have compared pictures, and we are going to have trouble figuring out who is who in their baby pictures! I like the little wrinkles you can see in his forehead here!

Mr. C and Ms. K

Mr. C
November 17, 2011
11:39pm
5 lbs., 4 oz.
18" long

Ms. K
November 17, 2011
11:40pm
5 lbs.
19" long

Both babies are doing great. He is in a crib now with only monitors hooked up. There are no IV's, oxygen, etc. She still has a little oxygen and a little bit of fluids on an IV. They are done with the billi lights for jaundice. They have one more day of antibiotics. She should be off of oxygen tomorrow. We are getting ready for bottle/nipple feedings, which is our last hurdle! We are hoping to take them home sometime next week.

Baby Pictures

Baby Boy is doing great and does not require oxygen at all.

Baby Girl does have a CPAP for oxygen, but she will hopefully go off of that in the next few days.

They are here!

The babies arrived Thursday night, November 17. I was very dilated when I went to my appointment, so they decided to keep me and deliver the babies. They are both doing well, although they need some oxygen. Due to the volume of babies at our hospital, they did have to take them to a bigger hospital. I should be released Saturday morning, so I can go be with them.

34 Weeks

We made it to the big milestone of 34 weeks! There was no change at the last appointment, so we are just in "wait and see" mode. I could last 4 more weeks or I could have these babies tomorrow.

How We Roll

Thanks to Daddy's work friends, we got this great double car seat stroller! It is going to be so handy when they are little. Buddy really enjoyed pushing it around last night in the house. Also, they got us a jumperoo! We never had one for Buddy (we just had an exersaucer), so we can't wait until the babies get old enough to try it out!

Birthday & Update

I have reached the age that I will remain for the rest of my life... 29! From here on out, I will always turn 29 on my birthday!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Things still look pretty good. My blood pressure is a little higher than it has been, but it is not considered high. We just want to get to the 34 week mark next Saturday!! That will allow me to deliver at the hospital where my doctor works. They do not have a NICU, but they do have a level 2 nursery (which should be sufficient for twins born at 34 weeks or later). Daddy thinks we will spend this time worrying about going into labor early and end up delivering at 38 weeks. I have a feeling these babies will be here before Thanksgiving.

The good news is I can work for another week. My long term sub will be in to work with me 2 days next week, so I will feel better after getting her prepared to take over.

32 Weeks & Halloween Parade

32 weeks along... The shirt is getting pretty snug on my belly!

Here is our clown before the Halloween parade!

He did such a good job and earned himself 2nd place!! The judge ladies just laughed as soon as they saw him!

Paperwork x 2

Well, good news from the doctor. Things are still looking good. I had another test done today that shows I have a 99% chance of not going into labor in the next 2 weeks. That gets me to the next big milestone of 34 weeks!

Yesterday, I got to experience my first round of paperwork for these twins. I had my pre-admission appointment at the hospital, and I had to fill out 2 of everything! I guess I ought to get used to it! I will have to fill out 2 of everything for several years to come!

This Years Pumpkin

We decided to try one of the pumpkin kit carvings this year. Boy, this was an easy one and it took over an hour! It did turn out cute!

Congrats to the Lady Bears Volleyball team again this year. They won their sub-state and have advanced to the state tournament this coming Friday and Saturday (for the 3rd year in a row!). That means I get a day off without kids again (they give kids the day off so they can go support the girls)! I'm hoping to go to see them play on Friday, so I don't have to be stuck sitting at school having a work day!

30 Weeks

Still chugging along at 30 weeks...

Babies' First Photos

Here is the little boy with his chubby nose! His hand is under his chin.

Finally, the little girl cooperated for a photo. We have tons of pictures of her twin brother, but she is usually turned so we can't see her!! Her arm is in front of her face.

Bye Bye Gigi

Gigi passed away overnight last night after a very short struggle with lung cancer. We are blessed that she did not suffer and was resting peacefully in her own home, as she always wanted. It has been a tough few weeks for everyone, but she is now in a better place. We love you so much, and we will miss you, Gigi!

Tumbling

Buddy has taken another tumbling class. This time, we took a class a little closer to home. A former student of mine (and her mom) has opened up a dance/gymnastics studio. They do a great job with the kids!

Here is Buddy in the white t-shirt!

And, "ta-da!" They have to do ta-da after each somersault. Due to many doctor's appointments, Buddy won't be going back to tumbling class this fall. Things are just getting too hectic!

28 Weeks

Things are going great at 28 weeks. I have had to slow down a bit because my belly just gets in the way! I have been more tired, and I still have an annoying ache in my back. It doesn't hurt very much, and I don't feel it at all while standing or laying in bed. Luckily, I don't get much time to sit during the day anyway! The most annoying part is when I am driving in the car, but I can deal with it.

We had another sonogram this week (I bet we have had more than 10 so far), and the babies look awesome. They each weigh 2 and a half pounds and are doing all of the normal things in utero. From here on out, we will have a sonogram once a week to make sure the babies show no signs of stress. My body still does not show any signs of early labor or dilation. I am very lucky to still be able to work, and we are hoping my body cooperates so I can work for several more weeks. I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, although my blood sugar does not seem out of the ordinary to me. I will find out more when I meet with the nutritionist this week.

Legends + Costume Preview

Before the Legends of the Phog game, we had lunch at Granny's. The kids really loved their ice cream cones! Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Cleo for taking all of us to the game. It was neat to see all of the old players!

Can you guess what Buddy will be for Halloween?

I had a bit more pain than usual last Thursday and Friday. I went in Friday afternoon, but it turned out that everything is good. Unfortunately, it looks like I failed my glucose test and get to eat a low carb diet until these babies get here!

26 Weeks

26 weeks and chugging along... I have been having some back pain, but I am okay as long as I don't sit too long. Yes, standing makes my back feel better for some reason! Buddy attended a siblings class for kids expecting a new brother or sister over the weekend. It might have back-fired on us because by the end, he was saying, "I don't want a baby!" Well Buddy, guess what? You are getting 2!

Jayhawks & Golf

Buddy went with Drew, Daddy, and Grandpa to the Jayhawks game on Saturday. They pulled off a win, even if this crew didn't get to watch much of the game!! The boys were slightly squirmy!

We celebrated Drew's birthday with mini golf. The kids had a blast!

I loved the golf hats they all got to make!

Here is the big 5 year old blowing out the candle!

24 Weeks & The Zoo

Here we are at 24 weeks, which is also the 50/50 viability stage!! It sounds crazy, but half of babies born at this stage survive! When I get to 28 weeks, the percentage goes up to 80%. My true goal is 37 weeks. That is only 13 weeks away!

We had some wonderful weather this weekend, so we visited the Topeka Zoo (along with visiting gma and gpa out camping and going to 2 labor day weekend parties). We saw one of Gracie's cousins at the zoo! We hissed at him and he gave us a scary look!

I never thought I would let my kid get this close to a mama lion! She was just happy as could be laying by the glass in the shade. Notice the jeans and long-sleeve shirt. We went from 100+ degrees last week to 50 degrees this morning!! Only in Kansas... If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.

Hunting Buddy

Daddy took Buddy dove hunting yesterday. He had a blast as usual, even if he says he went "turkey hunting."

Some might be wondering how the pregnancy is going. Things are well. The doctors say I am doing great so far. Let's hope it stays that way. I am only really uncomfortable when I eat too much. I have learned to eat smaller amounts more often. It is difficult when we go to a restaurant because I always want to eat all of the food on my plate (isn't that why america is so obese?)!! I will have to get more to-go boxes!

Babies' Room

We have finished setting up the babies' room. We are lucky we have large bedrooms. Daddy mentioned how crowded it was. I thought we did pretty good. Most people don't have bedrooms big enough for two cribs, a changing table/dresser, and recliner!! I am patting myself on the back for decorating Buddy's room gender neutral 4 years ago!! We would have had a lot more work and more stuff to buy if we had decorated it for a boy!

We are thankful for all of the stuff people have given us for these babies. We really have not had to buy many big, new things besides diapers and girl clothes. People have given us a car seat, double stroller, bumbo, pack n play, and many other things. I have bought a crib, swing, double jogging stroller, and a few other things at garage sales for fairly cheap.

A Party & 22 Weeks

We celebrated Alli's birthday at Chuck E Cheese!

She LOVED her Buzz and Woody cake!

The babies are growing. Buddy asks people all the time (those that have the slightest pooch) if THEY have babies in their tummy. Sorry in advance to anyone he offends!!

In other news, Mommy went back to work, and Buddy started a new daycare. He really likes the new daycare, and they are always playing outside! Things are getting really busy again!!

Hay Bale Toss & 20 Weeks

We went to the Douglas County Fair, so Daddy could throw hay. They had a 7 and under category, so we signed Buddy up!

Look at that determination!

He got his first throw up there, but he missed on the second throw. Of course, he cried because he couldn't do it! The lady gave him a box of markers, and he was okay after that! Then, we made our way over to the demolition derby. Buddy really enjoyed it!

Here is the 20 weeks photo!

Twinkies

So, I said I wasn't going to buy very many boy things, since we have all of Buddy's stuff, but... They ARE twins, so they should match sometimes, right? I mean, when they are 12, how many matching outfits will I be able to find for boy/girl twins? So, while they are little, I am going to coordinate them a few times!

Colorado Part 2

We rented a bike to ride around Lake Estes. All 4 of us squeezed on this bike. Daddy and Uncle Matt had to pedal while Mommy rode in the middle. Lake Estes was great because you can rent paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, etc. In addition to this cart, we rented a paddle boat and went out on the water.

Two elk walked right next to our cabin. It was a weird experience because I was sitting in our cabin and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a huge elk walk by our window. I've never had that happen before. They came through, ate some flowers, and drank from hummingbird feeders!

The following morning, 4 mule deer walked through on about the same path as the elk! They were not quite as tame as the elk though. They kept a close eye on us.

Here is Buddy at Bear Lake. I love how the mountains reflect in the water. It was very pretty, and we did a short hike around the lake.

We went up to a moon and star talk in the park. On the way in, we saw several mule deer like this one. There were many more animals out in the park in the evening!!