20.5 Weeks

In three short weeks (see belly photo from 17.5 weeks) I feel as though I have gotten huge. I know that I am carrying twins, but for some reason I didn't expect to pop out so quickly. I mean, my belly button is almost gone already!

Too Sweet!

Phil and the crew are testing one of the cars this week and will be working late, so they didn't have to be at the shop until after lunch.

When I walked in the door after work, this is what I saw:

I have such a sweet and loving husband! God, thank you for blessing my life with him...even though I don't deserve it!

Consignment Sale!

When we found out we were having twins, I went online to see if there were any groups for moms of multiples in our area. I found two different groups and both were having consignment sales in the near future! The first was this past Saturday.

Before I mention the deals we got, I have to mention my first pregnancy emotional breakdown. I have had this consignment sale on my calendar since June and I was really looking forward to it! Not only to the actual sale, but also to spending the day with Phil...I even looked on Yelp for some good places to eat lunch. On Friday, around 2:00, he texted me to say that his boss had told him they needed to work on Saturday. WHAT? I was completely bummed and pretty frustrated with his boss. When I got in the car to go home from work, I called my mom to vent. I knew I was disappointed, but I didn't think I was that upset. Needless to say, as soon as she picked up the phone, I burst into tears! I could not control myself and cried to her about the situation for about 20 minutes. She was so sweet and encouraging! I decided that even if Phil couldn't go, I should still go in case there were some great deals! After I got off the phone with my mom, I called my sister Melissa and the same thing happened...as soon as she picked up the phone I burst into tears! What was happening to me?? I am not a crier! Anyways, she too was so sweet about how I was feeling and was even willing to adjust her plans on Saturday to go with me!

Fast-forward about 5 hours.....Phil didn't get home from work until about 9:00 on Friday night. He told me earlier that he would probably be home late, but this was later than usual. In my mind, I was saying to myself, "Seriously? His boss is making him work this late tonight and then he has to work Saturday too....what a punk!" When Phil got home, he told me that he had talked to his boss and told him that I was really looking forward to this consignment sale and requested that he stay extra late on Friday night to avoid having to work on Saturday....and his boss agreed! What a sweet man to do that for me (I hadn't even cried to him about how bummed I was)!

The next morning we went to the sale hoping to find two matching cribs. We didn't find any cribs, but we did find these goodies:

Two infant car seats (red to match our stroller)

A brand new Bumbo seat with a tray

Matching Cup Cake bibs...too cute to pass up!

After the sale, we went to Buy Buy Baby to look around. If you have never been to this store, you are missing out! It is owned by Bed Bath and Beyond and has the same setup, but with baby gear. There is TONS of stuff! I really wish we could have registered there, but it is too far away to expect everyone to drive there to get a gift.

After Buy Buy Baby, we headed to Babies R' Us to register. I let Phil use the scanner and he seemed to actually enjoy the event! I was even the one who had to convince him that we didn't want everything to be pink! I had a list (of course), so it didn't take us too long to get through the store.

Next, we headed to REI (we had a return to make) and couldn't resist these booties! The girls will be born in the winter, so warm socks are a must!

After REI, we headed to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (our favorite)!!!

On our way home, Phil even let me stop at Hobby Lobby to pick up the wooden letters for the girls' names and some pink ribbon.

The day was just as I hoped it would be! We had such a great time together and got some great deals. Phil was such a CHAMP!!!! He didn't complain once and was genuinely excited about everything we did that day!

Identical GIRLS!!!

Well, Lord help us when they become teenagers...but we are soooooooooo excited! We went to the high-risk OB today and had a wonderful appointment. The sonographer and the doctor were both very informative and we got some great pictures and video! They confirmed that the girls are identical and that things look perfect at this point. Since they are identical and there is still the possibility of TTTS, I will have to go see him every two weeks for the duration of my pregnancy (that is A LOT of visits!). I think our heads are still swimming with the news of all of this! Here are some pictures, starting with the between-the-legs shots of each one confirming they are girls. We will let you know names when we make a decision (of course we had our boy names ready to go!).

Yep, definitely a girl!

They girls seemed to be hugging and kissing one another during most of the ultrasound!

A profile shot of each one...Phil thinks they both have my nose:)

I have a video of part of the ultrasound, but can't seem to upload it at this point. Hopefully my blog-savvy sister can help me!

First Week of School - 17 weeks

This was my first week back to school after summer break. Why does it always seem that the summer gets shorter and shorter every year? I had a good one, but it was pretty busy. I forgot how busy summer grad school classes keep you...NOT FUN! Anyways, classes start again on Tuesday, so I have enjoyed this week of just being a teacher and not a student and a teacher.

Here is a recent belly picture (I am actually 17.5 weeks here)...I know I haven't posted many, but to be honest, it is hard to get one where you feel as though you look decent and not just plain fat!

Peace of Mind

I have a confession to make...I am a worrier. I have definitely enjoyed my pregnancy so far (minus the nausea and having to pee several times per night!), but as soon as I heard about Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, I began to worry about our babies. Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) is a disease of the placenta (or afterbirth) that affects approximately 15% of identical twin pregnancies. Although we are not positive that our twins are identical, it is quite likely since there is only one placenta. After talking with 2 people that have had identical twins, I began to worry that I wasn't being monitored often enough to make sure that TTTS doesn't affect our babies. Although I know that the Lord is in control of all things, I unfortunately still worry:( I wish I could say that this knowledge alone led me to not worry at all, but I can't. I called my doctor yesterday and expressed my concerns to him. He told me to come in today and that he would check everything out to ensure that everything was progressing normally. He did another ultrasound and measured both babies....PRAISE THE LORD that once again, everything was perfect and both babies are measuring just as they should be! Their heartbeats were 143 and 156. This definitely gave me some peace of mind and maybe I will actually be able to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time for awhile. However, I must remember that the Lord is still in control and that regardless of my circumstances and their outcomes (good or bad), He has us and our babies in the palm of His hand and He will work all things for good in our lives. I pray that I trust in Him fully each and every day knowing that He is in CONTROL.

The doctor took some more pictures, but I told him I didn't want to know the sex since Phil wasn't there (I was quite proud of my self control!). We will know a week from today!

Two Cute!

Have I mentioned that baby things seem even cuter when you are getting two of everything?? Katie sent these adorable bibs for the twins....can't wait to use them!