tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41247583844361925362024-02-06T21:34:54.304-06:00The Busy BoothsA look into the life of our family of seven.Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-21282605786677183382015-04-25T15:01:00.000-05:002015-04-25T15:01:27.572-05:00One Year LaterIt's been one year since our two beautiful little blessings joined our family. It's gone by so very fast! That saying, "The days are long but the years are short," - I can't even describe how true that is. The first several months were a blur of feedings and rocking and diapers. I'm so thankful that I take a gazillion pictures and for Facebook (and this blog) where so many sweet memories are recorded for me to look back on when I forget how tiny my girls once were.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">36w1d pregnant - the day I went to the hospital to have the girls</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet sweet 3 day old princesses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They were SO TINY. These are preemie clothes, y'all.</td></tr>
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And now they have more than quadrupled their weight. I'm not sure exactly what they weigh right now but at their last sick visit they were both around 21-22 lbs. They started out at 4.11 and 5 lbs! Crazy! They are wearing 12-18 month clothes. They are precious little girls and we honestly can't imagine our family without them.<br />
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Rylan at a year old:</div>
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This girl is so beautiful. Honestly, she has the sweetest smile. I just love how she shows me all her little teethies (she has EIGHT!) every times she smiles up at me. She has really long hair for a one year old - it is getting to the point where I have to put it up or it hangs down into her eyes. She's got a teensy bit of curl right on the ends in the back but it's mostly straight. She says "Dada" all the time and has said "yay" a couple of times when she claps (she LOVES to clap!) and yesterday, I'm not even joking, she said "gentle" several times. I have a feeling we're in trouble with this little chatterbox! She has said "Mama" just once and it was precious but I know I'll be hearing it from her all the time soon enough! She loves to blow raspberries - and for others to blow them on her tummy. She also tries to put things on her head - hats, headbands, tries to brush her hair. It's so cute. She has also learned to drink out of a straw, she thinks that's pretty awesome. Rylan is a giggle-box. She is always laughing at Sadie and at her big brothers and sister, too. She crawls everywhere and can stand up and walk some while holding onto things. I adore this girl, she is such a little love!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace</td></tr>
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Sadie at a year old:</div>
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My mischievous little Sadie-bug. Sadie is adorable. She has the funniest little laugh that makes me smile every time I hear it. She crinkles up her nose when she smiles and I love love love it. Sadie has started playing peekaboo just this past week and it's so funny. I love how she actually covers up her eyes, soooo cute. Sadie has 6 teeth - she had caught up with Rylan but then Rylan pulled ahead again. I absolutely 100% adore Sadie's curly hair. It is awesome! Sadie says "Mama" all the time and sometimes says "Dada". She gets very easily excited and is still always "on the move". She is our most active baby, honestly. Kyler started walking really early but I still just don't remember him ever being quite as busy as this little miss! Sadie walks a lot while holding onto furniture and a few times has let go for a brief second before falling or grabbing on again - yesterday I counted 5 seconds that she was standing on her own! She'll be running around here before we know it! This girl is so special to me, I am so glad to have her!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane</td></tr>
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They are both great sleepers still, napping 3-4 hours total during the day and typically sleeping from 7:30 pm to 7 am. (If only mommy could discipline herself to get in bed at a decent hour we'd be doing great....) We do have the occasional night when one or both wakes us up....like last night...when Rylan was awake from 2-5 am and Sadie was awake off and on all night. They were just so excited about their birthday, haha! But mommy is exhausted today! They are also great eaters - they will eat pretty much anything I give them but their favorites are strawberries, blueberries and sweet potatoes. If there are strawberries on the plate they don't want to eat anything else until ALL the strawberries are gone. The two of them stick pretty close together, which I love. I can almost always find them playing together in the same area. A couple of times recently I'll find that they've both crawled off to play in their room together and if the bathroom door is open they will discover that quickly and try to get in there before mommy notices, giggling all the way down the hallway. They love taking baths so I think that's why they try to get in there, although I have caught Sadie trying to stick her hand in the toilet a few times! They laugh and chatter at each other all the time, it is one of my favorite things to watch. I love seeing them play together! </div>
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As for family life....well....we're tired. Shocking, right? It's busy with 5 kids, and it will only get busier once these babies figure out walking (and running, yikes!) but we really wouldn't change it! I love having these kids, all of them, and I think they all love having each other. They are all pretty good at playing together and it's such a blessing to watch them together. I truly feel so thankful to have them. When people say "better you than me" you can believe I am agreeing with them. So much better that it's ME and that these kiddos are MINE!</div>
Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-47201125346197692902015-04-16T21:42:00.005-05:002015-04-16T21:44:40.514-05:00Melissa at 8 years old8 years ago tonight I was spending time with my two best friends and they painted my toenails for me - cause I was humongous! - in preparation for Melissa coming soon (they figured my pretty toes would make a great focal point during labor!). Little did we know that she would be in my arms less than 24 hours later! I was already having contractions that night, more frequently than before, but not much more intense than the braxton hicks I'd already been having so I didn't think much of it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda, me and Chara</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toes!</td></tr>
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The next day was one of the best of my life, truly. I woke around 5 am having serious contractions and called my midwife later that morning. She came over late morning and at 1:09 Melissa was born in my bathtub at home. So peaceful to get into bed, my very own bed, all calm and quiet with my newborn baby girl and to spend that whole first night snuggling with my baby and my husband, awakened only by her need to eat, no nurses coming in and out flipping on lights and checking vitals. I adore my kids, I treasure the memories of each of their births but Melissa's will always and forever be my favorite birth experience.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa Dawn</td></tr>
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Now my baby girl is turning 8 years old. She is tall and getting that gangly girl look, no more chubby rolls and waddling running. <br />
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- She's in second grade and always gets wonderful reports from her teacher. She is so proud that she hasn't had a single color change during all of second grade so far!</div>
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- She reads SO well. Brian has been reading the oldest two the Harry Potter series. Every time he finishes one she checks a copy out from the school library and reads it all over again by herself. She's probably read the first few at least 3 times already.</div>
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- She wants to learn to play the ukulele and can't wait for me to sign her up for basketball - musical athlete, maybe? :)</div>
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- She is an amazing big sister - perhaps a bit bossy, though, too sometimes....</div>
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- She is the best of friends with her big brother. </div>
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She is amazing. I love this girl. So so proud and blessed that she is my daughter.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite of her 8 year pictures</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzo6-7p-0borsH0wl8niIjJ26nt2qElnljnzKCjL2DIP-Qj2VIP-UXznlCvevzAgc0yMoA4UkDnH54HpdDTmlKaxYDj4AqIhm-O9tFa1xY6I3oe3T2yj5NGc6UG-nGFnZN1tMzIuyAQJWT/s1600/8+year+pictures+-+Melissa+(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzo6-7p-0borsH0wl8niIjJ26nt2qElnljnzKCjL2DIP-Qj2VIP-UXznlCvevzAgc0yMoA4UkDnH54HpdDTmlKaxYDj4AqIhm-O9tFa1xY6I3oe3T2yj5NGc6UG-nGFnZN1tMzIuyAQJWT/s1600/8+year+pictures+-+Melissa+(11).JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa's favorite :)</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-40389774237217512622014-11-23T12:41:00.002-06:002014-11-23T12:41:56.174-06:00Potty trainingFriday morning I put Caedon in underwear because I'm just so over buying him diapers. And he's over 3 and it's just time. I knew we were taking the van in to get some work done so we'd be stuck at home all weekend anyway so we took the plunge.<br />
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Day one: 4 pairs of underwear, including one that got pooped in. 2 packages of fruit snacks (his reward for going pee in the potty).<br />
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Day two: 5 pairs of underwear, 4 of them in the first hour or so after waking up. Kept the same pair on all afternoon! 5 packages of fruit snacks.<br />
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Day three, almost naptime: NO accidents, 5 packages of fruit snacks already (gonna have to find a new reward cause that's too much sugar, lol!) He's doing so great. He says he needs to go, he goes in and actually goes. He even thinks he's big enough to go in there and do it all without mommy's help. Love this precious boy!<br />
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And I'm loving these sweet little toddler legs running around in just underwear. So cute.Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-31040628829652400662014-10-25T09:31:00.000-05:002014-10-25T09:31:50.693-05:00It's a happy HALF birthday!It is completely unbelievable to me that our girls have been with us for 6 months already...but it's true! They are halfway to one year old!<br />
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The girls at 6 months:<br />
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They are growing like little weeds! We don't go to the doctor til Monday so I'm not sure of weights/lengths yet but my little preemies have definitely caught up to full-term babies, they are about average for 6 month olds. We're still wearing some 3-6 month clothes and moving into some of our 6-9 month stuff as well. <br />
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They are working on sitting up, getting closer to being able to do it on their own but right now they still need support. They love to sit in their Bumbo seats on the table so they can be with the rest of us while we eat dinner.<br />
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It seems that they won't be using pacifiers. It's weird to me to have babies that don't like pacis...all my other kids have been totally attached to them. But neither Rylan or Sadie seem to like them at all. They also don't suck on their hands, though. They chew on their hands during the day but don't suck their thumbs/fingers to fall asleep. I'm kinda thrilled that the taking-away-of-the-paci will be one less hurdle for me to jump with twins!<br />
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They are both such happy girls! They love each other and the rest of us. Smiles always come easily whenever they see their brothers or sister and Mommy or Daddy. And watching them play together and laugh/talk to each other is still my favorite thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmgzQOZan_aWAdJ3axaWHeh8bwtiMw85kkxqfQEpN6_DeOybnEaU0DyMWY0WiXH4HnU7rhuyU5uMIPc-kbcfw6dJgz8YAaFyan3wgbytDQM0E4gGSl9RToxGhXeTu3yimQciBZQXIDItg/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmgzQOZan_aWAdJ3axaWHeh8bwtiMw85kkxqfQEpN6_DeOybnEaU0DyMWY0WiXH4HnU7rhuyU5uMIPc-kbcfw6dJgz8YAaFyan3wgbytDQM0E4gGSl9RToxGhXeTu3yimQciBZQXIDItg/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together+(2).jpg" height="320" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the way they always put their hands on each other. <br />The love to hold hands and touch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbf7t8J-yMqOPuB2wsE2lZK9PwPWnnJvVIHp6CliVrqrZC-duh51_pUscf5Lh8R29Hcg2JBXCwtF8P_EN_3zIUaKP7fgGboTcbSVv0Vx4dNMarCyUFYdCBreyVK2UZhq4hbjehr3UQ3UWm/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbf7t8J-yMqOPuB2wsE2lZK9PwPWnnJvVIHp6CliVrqrZC-duh51_pUscf5Lh8R29Hcg2JBXCwtF8P_EN_3zIUaKP7fgGboTcbSVv0Vx4dNMarCyUFYdCBreyVK2UZhq4hbjehr3UQ3UWm/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together+(3).jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love you, sister!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kwWr-jheMlW8xConlanqDLRgrrSyNfrxY3JIgEzKY57WIOZQthXo4ZSZGtyHsh78Lwr8U63paWTUKFtEQLp5i7lU1SdFuOowEBF7UdYK-UC_60n65lcR-sQ5qrWcYmxdepAH4XCOZ4D9/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kwWr-jheMlW8xConlanqDLRgrrSyNfrxY3JIgEzKY57WIOZQthXo4ZSZGtyHsh78Lwr8U63paWTUKFtEQLp5i7lU1SdFuOowEBF7UdYK-UC_60n65lcR-sQ5qrWcYmxdepAH4XCOZ4D9/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+together.jpg" height="400" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love these sweet baby girls! <br />(Love Sadie's cute little foot sticking out of the box in this picture!)</td></tr>
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Rylan at 6 months old:<br />
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She has the sweetest little voice, I love to hear her laugh and babble. It's not nearly as cute at 5:30 am when she wakes up wanting to play and wakes me up with her happy screeches (but I do enjoy those happy screeches when it's daylight!). Thankfully her sister sleeps through it!<br />
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Rylan is not at all interested in trying to crawl or anything. She lays on the blanket and will play briefly with toys within reach but is more of a people watcher. She grins every time Sadie looks at her and will just stare at her other siblings when they're down on the floor with her. She also enjoys watching Caedon's TV shows with him. <br />
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She has got a very calm personality and I'm loving every minute of watching it develop!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiIJi4pgO9X4FrKQ47Ajoz_1ZUpyhyxFRsXpbJwgO-XqcEI1OpcdsSHOoNLsrJ3P_vyEEVJx95VM3M2jfjo7fmfLmyr4OeJmVOh8Teic_MrSSdImyo9NF-PiPxoIgwE7A0qqzqch2EJcj/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+Rylan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiIJi4pgO9X4FrKQ47Ajoz_1ZUpyhyxFRsXpbJwgO-XqcEI1OpcdsSHOoNLsrJ3P_vyEEVJx95VM3M2jfjo7fmfLmyr4OeJmVOh8Teic_MrSSdImyo9NF-PiPxoIgwE7A0qqzqch2EJcj/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+Rylan.jpg" height="400" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace</td></tr>
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Sadie at 6 months old:<br />
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She has got this amazingly huge smile that takes up half her face. Rylan's smiles come more easily and frequently but when Sadie smiles it just lights everything up! <br />
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Sadie wants to GO GO GO. She has absolutely no interest in just laying in the floor playing calmly. She is getting up on her knees, rocking and pushing herself forward. She just in the last day figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy. Mostly anyway. She still needs a little help remembering that if she just gets to her side she can finish the roll!<br />
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She seems like she's going to be our little spit-fire baby, she's easily excitable and has developed a bit of a temper! It's funny because she was more calm as a newborn and Rylan was more needy and they have definitely switched that up on us at this point.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFI5wF3WqkWIlkPGws7qbwhApgD27OOI5rjvMDhO4GGHloAgMPGzsxrv6f3jQ9TCYFzJJVQWvx4OKZhKIuPzCG73odwq-_HI_o8BfHwm-Y-2OXuMVqpU0AWDNwjZzZlQFXWwvKKCUXS4y/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+Sadie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFI5wF3WqkWIlkPGws7qbwhApgD27OOI5rjvMDhO4GGHloAgMPGzsxrv6f3jQ9TCYFzJJVQWvx4OKZhKIuPzCG73odwq-_HI_o8BfHwm-Y-2OXuMVqpU0AWDNwjZzZlQFXWwvKKCUXS4y/s1600/6+month+pictures+-+Sadie.jpg" height="400" width="321" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane</td></tr>
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Our family, 6 months in:<br />
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Things are going great for us! We have all adjusted pretty well to being a family of 7 and we are just loving having these girls with us. Kyler, Melissa and Caedon are great helpers to us and love to play with and talk to their sisters. Kyler is probably the most helpful and will often jump in and take care of things for us without us asking him to. He loves to make the girls laugh and take pictures and videos of them. Caedon still gets a little jealous sometimes and will bite or hit one of the babies. It makes me sad but I know it's normal. I just make sure to include him in everything, as much as possible, and give him special attention on his own as well.<br />
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I get easily overwhelmed, some days, by all that needs to be done. I still don't really like to take all 5 of them out with me by myself but it really is never as bad as I think it will be. They are good kiddos and I'm so blessed to have them! I'm also blessed to have a husband who is a great daddy and helps out around the house so often. I'm just thankful for my sweet family!Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-43912423802426881552014-10-04T14:24:00.001-05:002014-10-04T14:24:56.711-05:00Out and about with twins (plus 3 more!)I've heard many moms with several children (whether they have multiples or not) say that they have a hard time getting out on their own with the kids - or that they are just scared to try. I totally get that. It can be particularly stressful when you think about all the "what if"s....dirty diapers, potty accidents, kids running off, tired and/or hungry crying babies. No fun for mama! But I decided even while pregnant with the twins that I just could not stay home all the time. I am pretty independent and Brian works late hours AND Saturdays. Even still, when I start thinking about going out, I often waver on my decision. The time involved in getting everyone ready to go and in the car sometimes make me wonder if it's even worth it. But you know what? It usually is. And it usually goes way better than I expect.<br />
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Many of our "activities" are just getting out and getting groceries. This summer I took all five kids to the grocery store by myself. It's an adventure! I would have Melissa push the twins in their stroller and Kyler push Caedon in the cart. We take up alot of room in the aisles but it was fine. And I was thankful to have the two oldest with me to help! Since they've gone back to school I've taken just the three littles several times. When it's the four of us, I put Caedon in the basket and pull it while I push the stroller. It actually works out really well, but I'm sure I look like a silly train, lol!<br />
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We also go out and do other things. Playgroups, lunches with friends, etc. This morning one of my fellow MoMs posted in our group that there was a free open house at one of the local fire stations. Lunch, face painting, bounce houses, fire trucks. I knew the kids would have a blast and if we stayed home we'd end up watching TV all day so....we got ready and headed out, just me and my five little rascals. <br />
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I love that Kyler and Melissa are older and at an event like this one I can give them boundaries and they will stay within them and I don't have to watch them every second. They would tell me when they were headed to a different bounce house so I knew where they were and then would come right back.<br />
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Caedon WANTS to be that big. But he's three. So no. He is getting used to the fact that he has to stay with mommy or he will end up on his "yellow rope" (i.e. toddler leash). He doesn't like it so he stays with me pretty well with only a couple of warnings here and there. We also have a backpack one, I think I'm going to try it out at the fair when I take them on Monday b/c it doesn't go on his wrist and he might like it better. I know some people are totally against using these things...but chances are good that they don't have several kids! My thought has always been that we use leashes for dogs for a reason - to keep them safe and from running off. How much more do I want to keep my child close by and safe in a crowded/busy area or street/parking lot??? And let's face it. Toddlers are basically dogs that walk on two legs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKqT6Apq895psf-bkhpSEwIw_57E28vrvalvje_QF-kkVuhjAvwfMS26m8DjVF1BVv5qOmD1tPqllYzYimD84X8S9qPS_Tk31uC9gcBpi97WWYqyqbJEUlSiCTsoHJBh_8pzoKv8KGAay/s1600/20140901_085302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKqT6Apq895psf-bkhpSEwIw_57E28vrvalvje_QF-kkVuhjAvwfMS26m8DjVF1BVv5qOmD1tPqllYzYimD84X8S9qPS_Tk31uC9gcBpi97WWYqyqbJEUlSiCTsoHJBh_8pzoKv8KGAay/s1600/20140901_085302.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a picture of Caedon at the Labor Day Parade last month, wearing his leash. He kept running out into <br />the street (before the parade started) so after a couple warnings, he had to wear his "rope"</td></tr>
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Another problem I have is that my girls do NOT nap well out of their beds. And many of our activities are during morning naptime. They will fall asleep in the van but as soon as I get the carriers out to hook into the stroller, they're awake and won't go back to sleep until we get back in the van. They're mostly good, though, even when tired. Rylan got fussy for a bit so I got her out of the stroller and wore her in my Baby K'Tan. I love that thing. I really need to practice wearing both of them - I think I can put one in the Ergo on my back and wear the other in the Baby K'Tan, I just haven't tried it yet. (Bonus: they take an AWESOME afternoon nap after missing the morning one!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn_mavysKXhsexrTZKSdQVqDdIm5ysdu2seKcbK5_qIdLlhx0b3wSvr5o5LQQWnrMGlT0mGITuslgKd1NhsKPe-ulTJ7ihw6mt0wJ79qDyRNq1sHMPLnUalmXv267kHE0tYOaxC48M1ie/s1600/20141004_103044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn_mavysKXhsexrTZKSdQVqDdIm5ysdu2seKcbK5_qIdLlhx0b3wSvr5o5LQQWnrMGlT0mGITuslgKd1NhsKPe-ulTJ7ihw6mt0wJ79qDyRNq1sHMPLnUalmXv267kHE0tYOaxC48M1ie/s1600/20141004_103044.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan in the Baby K'Tan, Sadie in the stroller</td></tr>
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One thing I almost always hear when we're out is, "Wow, you've got your hands full!" Truth. I do. But I love it! This morning it was so nice because a lady volunteering at the event commented several times about my kids or the babies and then when I walked by later holding Rylan in the K'Tan she said, "You've really got this down! You should give lessons." I just smiled and she said, "Really, you could have a couple more!" When I said I thought we were good with five she said, "I'm just so impressed, everyone is so calm." It was really nice to hear positive words about my big family rather than comments about how many I have and asking if we're done (sometimes telling us we should be done...as if that's a stranger's business...).<br />
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Anyway, I guess this post is really just to encourage those who are anxious about getting out with their little ones. It can be done. It IS sometimes stressful but you know what? The good outweighs the bad and you can have so much fun getting out and trying things! And our days go by much faster when we're not just sitting at home, which is definitely a positive for me.<br />
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A few pictures of the big kids from our morning at the fire station:<br />
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-74129774821629430672014-09-10T16:39:00.004-05:002014-09-10T16:39:56.960-05:00Caedon's birthday party!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I've been meaning to post pictures of Caedon's birthday party for over a week now but I....haven't. LOL! Here they are now, though, so no worries :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFay70Rs5VMiy1lNBYejc-L03yLxncoqQojht9sF_CTNGvf16Z_KxNfpK4XYR9uqa4PR2xAil8Xo1rz_6SmBdTrqwFSaSOkvoDdwv0TEvDETwnc0h58IewAV1Oe9nFR17DuxTfgNbtt8da/s1600/2014-08-28+21.14.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFay70Rs5VMiy1lNBYejc-L03yLxncoqQojht9sF_CTNGvf16Z_KxNfpK4XYR9uqa4PR2xAil8Xo1rz_6SmBdTrqwFSaSOkvoDdwv0TEvDETwnc0h58IewAV1Oe9nFR17DuxTfgNbtt8da/s1600/2014-08-28+21.14.12.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon's Happy Birthday message on our chalkboard :)</td></tr>
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I have been so tired this summer and really didn't put much effort into planning this party. My thought for a while was just to go to the store, let Caedon pick out his favorite plates/decor and be done with it. But then I was chatting with Amanda and we started talking about what he likes these days and I settled on a colors party. He's really into these little Baby First TV shows on Netflix and there are quite a few that are all about colors and he LOVES them. And I knew it would be SO FUN to decorate with all the colors so I said let's do it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfeRCFuCAcXNV8MnN2aEfac2j9dEeeAqIxUbUG1hPqkgQTjig5LWz8BwHLGQMvf0L6rmsNAEF6fObHz9a4p1zU49epkMsZqhacuT-GjwUx0-AAvtE5lp_DX4nCkJ_3XP81Ol29NlFl2BC/s1600/20140831_133621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfeRCFuCAcXNV8MnN2aEfac2j9dEeeAqIxUbUG1hPqkgQTjig5LWz8BwHLGQMvf0L6rmsNAEF6fObHz9a4p1zU49epkMsZqhacuT-GjwUx0-AAvtE5lp_DX4nCkJ_3XP81Ol29NlFl2BC/s1600/20140831_133621.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I knew right away that I wanted to make one of these. I'd seen them on pinterest and thought they were fun! I hot-glued crayons to the canvas in the order I wanted and then I just used my heat gun (embossing gun, but you can also use a hair dryer) to melt the wax down the canvas. It's so cute and I love it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3HENFows9oUTiWuUQQFvzvUYWMMYfNW_-S2cDLjW5kFp_8o4oOYPGLIkPEgXNozxjK9KlOlLbBeb_DDAAVbNDdm3ELrIcLHyoUxGXJ_hYNxcMAoVWibQbRcCB6-f9tJfligUC3GDmTa5/s1600/20140831_133710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3HENFows9oUTiWuUQQFvzvUYWMMYfNW_-S2cDLjW5kFp_8o4oOYPGLIkPEgXNozxjK9KlOlLbBeb_DDAAVbNDdm3ELrIcLHyoUxGXJ_hYNxcMAoVWibQbRcCB6-f9tJfligUC3GDmTa5/s1600/20140831_133710.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also bought a set of 8 Chinese lanterns on Amazon and we (ahem...Brian) hung them around the living room/kitchen area to decorate. They may or may not still be hanging up.....with no plans to take them down....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn_-QYWU_NmETzV3W0hs32pzJBtO_VGPkbFxJuVUnhFbzTMxlhD0uTybnocQnr2XO9ME46dAa4q2z_WojrRfhtznI835W4H2wN19ZQ6I-zcRswT3z8LXj4lEOw19OpdDNo394MqJB8tz8/s1600/20140831_133525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcn_-QYWU_NmETzV3W0hs32pzJBtO_VGPkbFxJuVUnhFbzTMxlhD0uTybnocQnr2XO9ME46dAa4q2z_WojrRfhtznI835W4H2wN19ZQ6I-zcRswT3z8LXj4lEOw19OpdDNo394MqJB8tz8/s1600/20140831_133525.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best lighting but it shows our decorations - lots of colorful streamers, balloons, the lanterns, etc.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wqcHUZw_d3o5QWc4oF960yVL3SSJFASRev3dWETqUzLu6tX1PX1LmFbn8g0Lt64wae89tgPolYmyNllY-l-QJhM2-Bp1mggOQWb7uCwWKHYtc5CPJq7o2p1yIjgQ2yOtmly0aTG-JBqo/s1600/20140831_152345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wqcHUZw_d3o5QWc4oF960yVL3SSJFASRev3dWETqUzLu6tX1PX1LmFbn8g0Lt64wae89tgPolYmyNllY-l-QJhM2-Bp1mggOQWb7uCwWKHYtc5CPJq7o2p1yIjgQ2yOtmly0aTG-JBqo/s1600/20140831_152345.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the birthday banner. I re-used the number 3 I cut out for his birthday pictures. The swirly things on either end of the streamers are also from Amazon. The are cute and fun, too :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfmRCKAAqYCGvacCoqp9sBeWDHHhOcZeFx0ddHspPnBd7yNJlZ1vmk8EiohZOs5-tXZ9itwa1J9J3bj4GEvG56R_q88GBrDQ8eJBmQHN8X6IVRakmm4wDt5D-5Ht-YmZOvSyJT2UFo7vH/s1600/20140831_141312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfmRCKAAqYCGvacCoqp9sBeWDHHhOcZeFx0ddHspPnBd7yNJlZ1vmk8EiohZOs5-tXZ9itwa1J9J3bj4GEvG56R_q88GBrDQ8eJBmQHN8X6IVRakmm4wDt5D-5Ht-YmZOvSyJT2UFo7vH/s1600/20140831_141312.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The table. More streamers and more swirly plastic decorations!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKQxCi3V7mje4xU2l0_POrzPM_VpN5ogeAWOQp3xrIbujdLoSgc2ZPvwWkGs1lw7oXZ1sP4eeXLlYteztM1MAwJ655NeEyTm7snXi9CTBzXSfRhCxMTWP-DSmfZFBuUaJIpvvFGxe__Sv/s1600/20140831_133241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKQxCi3V7mje4xU2l0_POrzPM_VpN5ogeAWOQp3xrIbujdLoSgc2ZPvwWkGs1lw7oXZ1sP4eeXLlYteztM1MAwJ655NeEyTm7snXi9CTBzXSfRhCxMTWP-DSmfZFBuUaJIpvvFGxe__Sv/s1600/20140831_133241.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cake! Made by Amanda, of course, my very favorite cake decorator!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWHfTDeP7O9-LZPOrgN2n3uBw5JlFI5MDz9A4lYtUgS1fReEOoSYWwuMbr9nOQmLTMcLlNpf-G4ZfeoFdvlpAq574P7rv82fkr6hiDztWih7GHgUiwQb0NWTdkiW-DPtK_okUpzhwyufZ/s1600/20140831_133317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWHfTDeP7O9-LZPOrgN2n3uBw5JlFI5MDz9A4lYtUgS1fReEOoSYWwuMbr9nOQmLTMcLlNpf-G4ZfeoFdvlpAq574P7rv82fkr6hiDztWih7GHgUiwQb0NWTdkiW-DPtK_okUpzhwyufZ/s1600/20140831_133317.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv50Zy_37eJG8cQNRZHb4eOs5hqcDLtcAXbVj12gESZObwc7q8e6xv6nocfB4rK86SIinjXjl3dQgvUvxJpbGcdLdl6YrM0I4wtJIbXe6VOxnbHOLRMXZkeQ_0n473l7Pg3g594IFZkCL/s1600/20140831_161421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv50Zy_37eJG8cQNRZHb4eOs5hqcDLtcAXbVj12gESZObwc7q8e6xv6nocfB4rK86SIinjXjl3dQgvUvxJpbGcdLdl6YrM0I4wtJIbXe6VOxnbHOLRMXZkeQ_0n473l7Pg3g594IFZkCL/s1600/20140831_161421.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He gets so excited when we sing Happy Birthday, I looooove it!<br />(Also, notice the fun fruit tray - lots of colors!)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzJdtithbIiQrg4SEe6A7Clyurdc9ceBIANvNWcTVjQcLk0QnPv0h9vBN015TQit2lGg_RnIPz08SkSMlZp3V_AGKJnrwLUQzgFVPg5IWKdkkHhPWo4PWfD0dJWnl8Fe2Ffn9hyZF-5eG/s1600/20140831_161426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzJdtithbIiQrg4SEe6A7Clyurdc9ceBIANvNWcTVjQcLk0QnPv0h9vBN015TQit2lGg_RnIPz08SkSMlZp3V_AGKJnrwLUQzgFVPg5IWKdkkHhPWo4PWfD0dJWnl8Fe2Ffn9hyZF-5eG/s1600/20140831_161426.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was so excited he had to turn and hug me. The sweetest thing EVER!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZAVNY4BJzOqFip6WEgY5DBcvHDnkdhzaOEwQA9vUVG9PVDpDXypwRV5XiKt0Cmlbgo7vzSpkTgloYb_PJVL7HnD9zv2Ahg5MKmkYisbwhSYnQ63ifvWs8X2fIcZpWZpsLQPOP5k4thVx/s1600/20140831_161432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZAVNY4BJzOqFip6WEgY5DBcvHDnkdhzaOEwQA9vUVG9PVDpDXypwRV5XiKt0Cmlbgo7vzSpkTgloYb_PJVL7HnD9zv2Ahg5MKmkYisbwhSYnQ63ifvWs8X2fIcZpWZpsLQPOP5k4thVx/s1600/20140831_161432.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to blow out candles!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_-CRo7II824-NtMLn5NY9K5hT5iqmwE8QlPdorX4Prs0f8CByuMenZl-CiNXdVLZ8KgT5f68dm1Vd1v7quNSkL_fuqfc9wt3LlddBMdjyx4IHnqnd3s2ieESZgOSnrJO4M_vk3WMtznv/s1600/20140831_161709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_-CRo7II824-NtMLn5NY9K5hT5iqmwE8QlPdorX4Prs0f8CByuMenZl-CiNXdVLZ8KgT5f68dm1Vd1v7quNSkL_fuqfc9wt3LlddBMdjyx4IHnqnd3s2ieESZgOSnrJO4M_vk3WMtznv/s1600/20140831_161709.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coolest cake! It's adorable!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrkgsm0BhnC6q7MSsGojYImTNIDbub7v0WJe33YyLMvaBxLwT6FMtTplmbrQ82L-FfwF5aKFi9u4hMgTzqPL8eXdzi31oycqnlw-f5F1miOggnQ7wYUp7bL3E4zPIBkrt6UeKKtrEA_-v/s1600/20140831_155522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrkgsm0BhnC6q7MSsGojYImTNIDbub7v0WJe33YyLMvaBxLwT6FMtTplmbrQ82L-FfwF5aKFi9u4hMgTzqPL8eXdzi31oycqnlw-f5F1miOggnQ7wYUp7bL3E4zPIBkrt6UeKKtrEA_-v/s1600/20140831_155522.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This cute little table was given to us by a neighbor down the street, it was the perfect place for coloring...and eating!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nlYSdiM8sW2vk0o2Kab_blsjWrSxjfFgbnqsImXkWOkXC6tILozuTm_GQUV9sWRY2imjKAWz2CVpFgIQGHPN3OiBJ9GOn-epAKlP9afNrJUjwnm_8hCSZq_-iX0swUrIqk-Og9GpxJDY/s1600/20140831_144118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nlYSdiM8sW2vk0o2Kab_blsjWrSxjfFgbnqsImXkWOkXC6tILozuTm_GQUV9sWRY2imjKAWz2CVpFgIQGHPN3OiBJ9GOn-epAKlP9afNrJUjwnm_8hCSZq_-iX0swUrIqk-Og9GpxJDY/s1600/20140831_144118.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy, Amanda and the birthday boy!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasw9mzlhG_IUxgSEw3z72vg6BMKg-pUJFJZvBSds7D9CfFmUO8j9kLsv6u6bKvnMa8GQhkDXr3pawdguLnR9rpoAWIqz-YAtZpm55mEQu8nf6Cm-xsY7RXdvpi5EJnQuHg1wtQ8T3c1Uy/s1600/20140831_144206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasw9mzlhG_IUxgSEw3z72vg6BMKg-pUJFJZvBSds7D9CfFmUO8j9kLsv6u6bKvnMa8GQhkDXr3pawdguLnR9rpoAWIqz-YAtZpm55mEQu8nf6Cm-xsY7RXdvpi5EJnQuHg1wtQ8T3c1Uy/s1600/20140831_144206.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this boy!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0KDCBZ9Ry2RlGfgmD9iwouptlVMwCJBMGx8b_fM8UGN6bwdbidRU_IW9MHt4H4mOF1AQf4NGiCHAR3IXu4akCIOYpdWS73oy0xcnqe1u-q2SCy-zDL0PNmd0COYugJtB2_40ARQYCRnB/s1600/20140831_144304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0KDCBZ9Ry2RlGfgmD9iwouptlVMwCJBMGx8b_fM8UGN6bwdbidRU_IW9MHt4H4mOF1AQf4NGiCHAR3IXu4akCIOYpdWS73oy0xcnqe1u-q2SCy-zDL0PNmd0COYugJtB2_40ARQYCRnB/s1600/20140831_144304.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon loves Mommy and Daddy</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoskFW2TAvIaCF76GIGWQlxsrpY3QMXOSiQCOVjuRyJzO3y7wBTDz1fWolHOtWzfn9nW9aImld3OBjGWKEu6deGzTOLMVihligyiCfE-oTk9nUjpaDrT2XhXghPahDxzNV-okcAvGGUAGh/s1600/20140831_163604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoskFW2TAvIaCF76GIGWQlxsrpY3QMXOSiQCOVjuRyJzO3y7wBTDz1fWolHOtWzfn9nW9aImld3OBjGWKEu6deGzTOLMVihligyiCfE-oTk9nUjpaDrT2XhXghPahDxzNV-okcAvGGUAGh/s1600/20140831_163604.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presents! This guitar was his favorite gift, I think. Definitely the one he's played with most!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiQgNAyt_J_fVXIGFQURXcqBVNCGKFIAC0m2s9D-ywnod7iX0bbHyxHW1fPRPH7Zv9aGusVX9BMsCs5QCcJ363FRrpxtN4YSs9zQNMsoUo40d7mpdT-1gJtPdv5q7CPTriovuTukHDw6l/s1600/20140831_163435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiQgNAyt_J_fVXIGFQURXcqBVNCGKFIAC0m2s9D-ywnod7iX0bbHyxHW1fPRPH7Zv9aGusVX9BMsCs5QCcJ363FRrpxtN4YSs9zQNMsoUo40d7mpdT-1gJtPdv5q7CPTriovuTukHDw6l/s1600/20140831_163435.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Tonka truck </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlKKcnc9MJpq27gJUT9q3P-OG_lEGVvENCRHI4IdgIscJ0Fu8Cb-w13oAfd7dc4ZdAtqIm5efjeFJ24z8k38t1pxoQ9bUFH3G_oeguSma6Gr2NmUXB9X8YE03lmlew-a04vB9HIzv4tTl/s1600/20140831_163913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlKKcnc9MJpq27gJUT9q3P-OG_lEGVvENCRHI4IdgIscJ0Fu8Cb-w13oAfd7dc4ZdAtqIm5efjeFJ24z8k38t1pxoQ9bUFH3G_oeguSma6Gr2NmUXB9X8YE03lmlew-a04vB9HIzv4tTl/s1600/20140831_163913.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reading his Lightning McQueen card</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvma5YDbVOSPkvXNaipbevCHRDsVhQkoQJcvxpfc90q0XqZTRKn-1s_jQqgbLJ4d87ANTC7sDiADRZVdbTbeBo6pL1SBKJBkpruKzQqjHIZzKev2n3UkZuTtWQkWPsAwx3VKNCaCNPK5K/s1600/20140831_163754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvma5YDbVOSPkvXNaipbevCHRDsVhQkoQJcvxpfc90q0XqZTRKn-1s_jQqgbLJ4d87ANTC7sDiADRZVdbTbeBo6pL1SBKJBkpruKzQqjHIZzKev2n3UkZuTtWQkWPsAwx3VKNCaCNPK5K/s1600/20140831_163754.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon and Waylon</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtPLwsndb1VtvsmSO5Jipf99WU4Pu6cN7IyBH9lKrEOhKbuDAv2X7RoRDbR-6yRMcrWS8U3Ffc50tYZPa-GZ9lu226gVwMX_VWMKKKslaino-YwpbgDGuPhGjQheo6dfpLqWQAvTOBB-0/s1600/20140831_162816(0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtPLwsndb1VtvsmSO5Jipf99WU4Pu6cN7IyBH9lKrEOhKbuDAv2X7RoRDbR-6yRMcrWS8U3Ffc50tYZPa-GZ9lu226gVwMX_VWMKKKslaino-YwpbgDGuPhGjQheo6dfpLqWQAvTOBB-0/s1600/20140831_162816(0).jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetest kids ever!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My not-so-little family :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course I have to include a picture of the three babies hanging out together! <br />Mr. Benjamin is one month older than the twins</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-12863948950538942972014-08-29T13:27:00.001-05:002014-08-29T13:27:07.606-05:00Caedon at THREE years old!Today is Caedon's birthday! I can't believe he's three already! Three years ago today I was at the hospital, watching my baby's heart rate drop every time I had a contraction. It was scary and I'm so thankful that he was born safe and sound, even though I so did not want the c-section I ended up with! That sweet baby was the happiest little guy I've ever known and has grown up to be such a sweet, handsome, smart little toddler! <br />
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Caedon is such a little chatterbox. He's always asking questions, telling us silly jokes and talking about whatever he can think up. His favorite things to eat are...well, pretty much everything. He loves pizza and hamburgers the most, though. And ice cream. Cake. Strawberries. Watermelon. Yeah, he likes to eat for sure! He likes playing with puzzles, "reading" his books, playing with the twins' blocks and watching Dora. Lots and lots of Dora the Explorer. <br />
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He is funny, adventurous, rambunctious, sweet and helpful. He loves to play outside, sliding and jumping on the trampoline. He DOES NOT like swings. He loves his baby sisters and is always kissing their hands. He adores his older siblings and gets so upset when they leave him out of things.<br />
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He weighs about 35 lbs and about 3'2". He's growing up much too fast for this mama's liking!<br />
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-52454343625927254262014-08-25T14:14:00.001-05:002014-08-25T14:14:42.956-05:00It's a busy busy Monday!Today is the first day of school AND Rylan and Sadie's 4 month birthday :)<br />
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This morning Kyler started 4th grade (his last year in elementary! What?!) and Melissa started 2nd grade. They were both a bit nervous. Kyler doesn't like change and Melissa was a bit upset that she (1) didn't get the teacher she wanted and (2) doesn't get to be in class with her best friend. But they were also ready to get back - Melissa said she was "nervoucited" :) I'm sure they will both have an awesome day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyler and Melissa's first day of school!</td></tr>
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Yesterday we took the girls' 4 month pictures and this morning they had their 4 month doctor visit. I've probably said it before but can I just say again that I looooove my pediatrician's office. The nurse practitioner I most often see is awesome and loves my kiddos, it's wonderful!<br />
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Anyway, Rylan at 4 months - she weighs 13 lb, 15 oz and is 24 1/4 inches long. She can roll front to back. I know she can because I saw her do it three times in a row. But she hasn't done it again since then. Guess she just wanted to prove she could and then decided to take a break from that. :) She is very social, loves to smile and chat and loves watching Sadie. She also has quite a temper and can go from happy and smiling to screaming bloody murder very quickly. Both girls go down at night around 7:30 or 8 and sleep until 7 or 7:30 the next morning. (Amaaaaazing, yes!)<br />
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Sadie at 4 months - she weighs 13 lb, 14 oz and is 24 1/4 inches (yes, they are the exact same length and within 1 ounce of each other!) Sadie can also roll from front to back. She is a very active little girl and already tries to scoot herself forward when she's laying on her tummy. She loves to hold onto things - toys, her ears, her clothes, etc. She is a pretty happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flow kiddo and loves to chatter to people or stuffed animals.<br />
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Their adorable dresses that they wore for their photos this month are from Guatemala! Their Pawpaw brought them home with him last time he was there. So precious! I'm so thankful that God blessed us with both of these sweet girls!<br />
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-1928323172363185212014-07-29T20:11:00.003-05:002014-07-29T20:11:30.233-05:00"'Cause getting your dreams, it's strange, but it seems a little - well - complicated..."Most people who know me know that I've always said I wanted twins. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted twins. I remember once my Gran showed me a newspaper article about a woman who had 2 sets - AT THE SAME TIME. Otherwise known as quadruplets, of course, but they were 2 sets of identical twins. She told me "be careful what you wish for!" <br />
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She was right. Naturally. Aren't grandmothers always right? I would not in a million years trade my twins for anything in the world because you know what? I still wanted them. I never imagined that after my three singletons God would decide to give me those twins I always desired but He did. And not even just twins. I always always always wanted twin girls. He blessed me with these two precious little girls and I adore having them. <br />
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But, man. Twins after three singletons? 5 kids? It's hard.<br />
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Tonight I carried both girls to their room, sat down in the rocking chair and enjoyed being in their bright and cheery sunshine room and snuggling my two sweet babies. I sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "You Are My Sunshine". And they looked at me and smiled. My heart was full. Every hard moment was worth it.<br />
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And then they both started crying. And I said, "Bedtime!"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bedtime? What do you mean bedtime? Look how adorable we are. You do NOT want to put us in those beds. <br />Hey, where are you going? We said no bedtime! NO bedtime!"</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-73598785679271565272014-07-25T09:55:00.001-05:002014-07-25T09:55:34.673-05:003 months!We've survived three months with twins - and 5 kids! I think this is some sort of major accomplishment and I deserve a celebration. Who's bringing the cake? Make it chocolate. And I'm gonna need some Dr Pepper. Seriously, though, that has become my saving grace. Every night when the kids are all in bed and the house is quiet, I get some chocolate and a Dr Pepper and I sit down to watch General Hospital. It may cause issues with losing these last 15 pounds but...it's my sanity right now and I'm not giving it up yet!<br />
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The evenings get really really hard at this point. The girls are in that phase of life where they don't like to be awake for more than 2 hours at a time but they also don't want to take a nap in the evening anymore so they pretty much scream from 5:30ish-7 unless I'm holding them (and sometimes even then). And there are two of them. And I have to make dinner. And I have to bathe Caedon. You know, other things besides sit and hold two adorable but fussy babies. And Brian's schedule keeps him at work until 9:30 Mon-Thurs so he's not here to help. But I remind myself that this will pass. It helps to post in my Mothers of Multiples group and get support and encouragement from others who have been there, done that - or are currently in the same stage. We can commiserate together about the joys and trials of having two!<br />
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One major problem caused by the situation is that I have been staying up way too late. It's SO hard for me to go get in bed when (1) Brian's not home and (2) the house is so calm and peaceful. I have no demands on my time, no requests, no one asking to be held, watch a movie, have a snack, read a book, etc. I've got to get some discipline going and get myself in bed by 10 at the latest but it's so hard!<br />
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The big kids are pretty helpful - they feed the babies for us sometimes and it's really great when both girls want to eat at the same time and it's just me. I can get Kyler or Melissa to feed one for me. They also sit and talk to the girls or give them their pacis and Caedon loves to bring them toys. That said....I'm ready for school to start. SO ready to get into a normal day-to-day routine that keeps us all busy. The big kids are bored this summer and I'm letting them watch way too much TV!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa feeding Sadie</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the day Kyler got home from camp. I think he missed his sisters :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon brought a blanket and toys into the living room for the fussy twins. Sweet big brother!</td></tr>
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OKAY - the girls at three months! They are amazing, precious little people! Even when I'm completely overwhelmed, I'm so thankful they are part of our family.</div>
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Sadie - weighs about 12 1/2 pounds now. She gives the biggest best smiles. I adore them! She is still the more calm baby girl but don't let that fool you. She can scream with the best of them.</div>
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Rylan - weighs about 12 pounds. She started sleeping through the night! So now they BOTH sleep all night every night. WOOHOO! She also rolled over. Three times in one day and hasn't done it again since. :)</div>
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Did you notice that Sadie passed Rylan up in weight again? When she was sleeping all night and Rylan was still getting that extra bottle, Rylan got bigger again but as soon as they both went to the same amount of formula again, Sadie passed her back up. It's so strange because Sadie just always looks smaller. I guess it's just the way their bodies are built.</div>
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Nooooow, for my favorite part of all blogs. PICTURES! Here are their three month pictures. They did so good. I usually take my kiddos in to the studio at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months but their 1 month session showed me that two is much harder than one and I also know that the girls happiest time of day is first thing in the morning, after their first bottle. Obviously the studio isn't open that early so I decided I'd do the pictures again and we'll wait until they're happier people before we go back to the studio for pictures. The onesies I bought for decorations for my baby shower and my sister made the tutus and the big bows. So cute!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace, my sweet little Thing 1</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWpy2gH5MC9MCW2icTbuPYooSg2POcqcmVwKpLe4d4Xak9kKd07hxRqCJNw4zoCZADlN-j2bBnX9kv09QOqJ6SOyRanxaIjNTlvr-JWrfyBWaZYS9O6repQlbuJUiIKBNDUIPEkjgAoGP/s1600/3+month+-+Rylan+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWpy2gH5MC9MCW2icTbuPYooSg2POcqcmVwKpLe4d4Xak9kKd07hxRqCJNw4zoCZADlN-j2bBnX9kv09QOqJ6SOyRanxaIjNTlvr-JWrfyBWaZYS9O6repQlbuJUiIKBNDUIPEkjgAoGP/s1600/3+month+-+Rylan+(7).JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love her sweet little face!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPCbbx5e3aOWO4VMUIK0xI9uf14vb6NkFbzLtpUE3jXXdhAtrutfEyO1U3JMjhgB04_wE4AhqkbODDlcrMqupn5SpFWJ6a7dSgLsMzaAOkUgoDwMXJ5tvrIvr3nFC0DFvZ0KfBLaKzR5e/s1600/3+month+-+Sadie+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPCbbx5e3aOWO4VMUIK0xI9uf14vb6NkFbzLtpUE3jXXdhAtrutfEyO1U3JMjhgB04_wE4AhqkbODDlcrMqupn5SpFWJ6a7dSgLsMzaAOkUgoDwMXJ5tvrIvr3nFC0DFvZ0KfBLaKzR5e/s1600/3+month+-+Sadie+(3).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane, the cutest Thing 2 you've ever seen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FChE8AGDN0XvnhyphenhyphenQDxCaiCUPZJilDeDQWowprhQ0gjuMoNrVtko89u4x2e71ghtFNvPI8_XdVJov4YCYn3XrPhnpjev7DTz7p4sO2qQOhBpfehU5a-NVtverCuaYEtaxFIS6KGVJ1a7T/s1600/3+month+-+Sadie+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FChE8AGDN0XvnhyphenhyphenQDxCaiCUPZJilDeDQWowprhQ0gjuMoNrVtko89u4x2e71ghtFNvPI8_XdVJov4YCYn3XrPhnpjev7DTz7p4sO2qQOhBpfehU5a-NVtverCuaYEtaxFIS6KGVJ1a7T/s1600/3+month+-+Sadie+(8).JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that precious smile! Love it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaitAIiijFDxtoswCNBOOMRSQBcs414COCqOp_bZHsyrqZeJOsAYCIZlpb5fz_dpw393nMhAq794AQL1RqYHUZEYOjMAeP4DshjlHPcpEb3ZssGeaKj7MdqHM1UIXY1UvA-iE7O-7F3-s/s1600/3+month+-+Together+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaitAIiijFDxtoswCNBOOMRSQBcs414COCqOp_bZHsyrqZeJOsAYCIZlpb5fz_dpw393nMhAq794AQL1RqYHUZEYOjMAeP4DshjlHPcpEb3ZssGeaKj7MdqHM1UIXY1UvA-iE7O-7F3-s/s1600/3+month+-+Together+(2).JPG" height="285" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes...sometimes I still can't believe I had two. Craziness.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSS3m2e3y9aGtyuwF-jUQBCwNIjsT3Jjq8CowM6CG0L0a8K1SlKtC79ub46aNkaSYXlnv_4NomRuk0jNLyBcgWChtjbyPxJuVyZxSWbEJID5PYqf2yJDZSTaBmxSmphN-Wl572R09mZgQD/s1600/3+month+-+Together.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSS3m2e3y9aGtyuwF-jUQBCwNIjsT3Jjq8CowM6CG0L0a8K1SlKtC79ub46aNkaSYXlnv_4NomRuk0jNLyBcgWChtjbyPxJuVyZxSWbEJID5PYqf2yJDZSTaBmxSmphN-Wl572R09mZgQD/s1600/3+month+-+Together.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How cute are these babies? Seriously. Just adorable.</td></tr>
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The last time I posted the girls were just a month old and school was still in session. I'll say that life has gotten much crazier since school got out! Having the five of them home all day has definitely been an adjustment but we are getting used to it. It helps that the girls are getting on a great schedule and settling into "life on the outside" so well. Sometimes things get really overwhelming, particularly in the evenings when I'm alone with the 5 of them and I'm needing to feed/change the girls, get dinner for the big three, handle baths/showers, bedtime, etc. But we make it through one day at a time and some days are really great. I just focus on that!<br />
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Rylan at 2 months - she weighs 10 lbs, 12 oz now so she has more than doubled her birth weight. She is 21 1/4 inches long. She loves to eat! The girls are both taking 5 oz bottles now but Rylan still wakes up in the middle of the night for a bottle so she's eating more than Sadie is these days. Maybe that's why the child has sooo many dirty diapers. LOL, the doctor said she must have a very healthy GI tract. She gets really mad when she doesn't get what she wants right when she wants it. She wakes up ready to be held or fed or changed and she wants it done RIGHT THIS MINUTE. After her needs are met, she is a happy sweet little person and she smiles so sweetly. Little drama queen. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmopoTp29Vxgf0XR_PEN9TT9yXgOjrpyyT3Xrt4PNrt25W6d03JLcDIndgkbG3gIwlPZ-E3QTadQEqCuYvBrN6aUOfsspeYhNll7A3Ulgm7732cNog-aCyjTDXPcb-Jj0Wk8BiQ1-YFFP/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Rylan+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmopoTp29Vxgf0XR_PEN9TT9yXgOjrpyyT3Xrt4PNrt25W6d03JLcDIndgkbG3gIwlPZ-E3QTadQEqCuYvBrN6aUOfsspeYhNll7A3Ulgm7732cNog-aCyjTDXPcb-Jj0Wk8BiQ1-YFFP/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Rylan+(4).JPG" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UGV7wB_fTw-xwBD2T4MAh1yLaggq0O5Ohgz7qJUWTXBHQTkDHFgmYDEQAfrZ7FWOlcVVrruYwpFffq3VfqvSSIbWh624OC7MyRF343mBgsMkOujLOn82vGPchB8PlzsAN0JUo7jRonc_/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Rylan+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UGV7wB_fTw-xwBD2T4MAh1yLaggq0O5Ohgz7qJUWTXBHQTkDHFgmYDEQAfrZ7FWOlcVVrruYwpFffq3VfqvSSIbWh624OC7MyRF343mBgsMkOujLOn82vGPchB8PlzsAN0JUo7jRonc_/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Rylan+(7).JPG" height="400" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan is ready to celebrate the 4th of July!</td></tr>
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Sadie at 2 months old - she weighs 10 lbs, 7 oz and is 21 inches long so she's still the "little" sister but not by much! They are actually back at the same difference in weight that they were at birth - 5 oz. Miss Sadie LOVES her Mommy and Daddy and started sleeping through the night about a week and a half ago! (Okay, maybe she just loves sleep. Whatever gets her sleeping all night works for me!) Since the girls were born Rylan has always been the one to wake up first at night and we would wake Sadie as well to feed them both so we wouldn't have to get up and feed Sadie an hour later. When they were 8 weeks old I decided to see how long Sadie would sleep if I just left her so when Rylan woke up at 2:30 that morning, I didn't wake up Sadie. She woke us up at 6 the next morning! Brian asked, "What time did she wake up to eat?" and I said, "NOW!" YAY, Sadie! Sadie is a pretty calm baby girl and goes with the flow much better than her sister does. She loves to be held but when she's ready to sleep she wants to be put in her bed! OH! And her blood work came back NORMAL so no thyroid issue for our sweet girl!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1grBvcza6v2OJY5qMww08a0H3jNBzzjWqN-33gQ-ulPDhNx8qK294cTHp3PQT6Gf2rGIiqWFBOPT2LqyefmbGrOXnafCKcl7ZQWljMcfirUyENTqmGp3cW4Kt1ez2uRl5X0i004m4Vp2/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Sadie+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1grBvcza6v2OJY5qMww08a0H3jNBzzjWqN-33gQ-ulPDhNx8qK294cTHp3PQT6Gf2rGIiqWFBOPT2LqyefmbGrOXnafCKcl7ZQWljMcfirUyENTqmGp3cW4Kt1ez2uRl5X0i004m4Vp2/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Sadie+%25283%2529.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane - I adore her sweet smiles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEz7m424kFfp0-S65laX8fdf2rlEbBsvIuZ3wGpO1pxjUVLQG2_Cp3iyv7hXFO5DaMHA_cdelV9MgQxFkjs7IO7p-a7QRQdsy-O1VWyfjAGxTiTJ9k-VjvG2TbST1K39JpeJWVQKaho_mK/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Sadie+%25288%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEz7m424kFfp0-S65laX8fdf2rlEbBsvIuZ3wGpO1pxjUVLQG2_Cp3iyv7hXFO5DaMHA_cdelV9MgQxFkjs7IO7p-a7QRQdsy-O1VWyfjAGxTiTJ9k-VjvG2TbST1K39JpeJWVQKaho_mK/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+Sadie+%25288%2529.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bored with all this picture taking stuff!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8e1DTAYfIesfQ0exFj42kak6vTVA_jXGqLLtejdWhZiyUE_4spz24KrOpBulrT1mHNtE2k533uhhmAsgUi91PvgEU6vcVDML2Ga5ZoDzN22-R4wogpdINdxiBfIpPHjEpUT4SGxmPJI02/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+together.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8e1DTAYfIesfQ0exFj42kak6vTVA_jXGqLLtejdWhZiyUE_4spz24KrOpBulrT1mHNtE2k533uhhmAsgUi91PvgEU6vcVDML2Ga5ZoDzN22-R4wogpdINdxiBfIpPHjEpUT4SGxmPJI02/s1600/2+month+pictures+-+together.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They are tons of work but I love having both of them as part of our family!</td></tr>
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-5626484505683904202014-05-27T13:12:00.000-05:002014-05-27T13:12:23.382-05:00Nursery Decor and Being CraftyFirst off, let me start by saying - we took the girls for their one month check-up today. They are growing so fast! Rylan weighs 7 lb, 14 oz and is 21 inches long. Sadie is 7 lb, 15.5 oz (yep, she passed up big sister!) and is 20 3/4 inches long. They are both doing great :) We are taking Sadie tomorrow to get her blood work done to test for the thyroid issue that came back abnormal in her newborn screen. The doctor told me today that she sees that particular issue come back abnormal often and has never had a baby actually have a thyroid problem upon further testing. She said, "If you're going to get a false positive on one part of the newborn screen, it's usually that one." So that made me feel a bit better. Hopefully Miss Sadie will not be her first one to actually have the problem!<br />
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Now, onto the craftiness mentioned in my title. When I found out I was pregnant, I said right away that if the baby was a girl that I wanted to do a "You are My Sunshine" theme for the nursery. And then we ended up with two girls! Yay! :)<br />
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I found bedding that I LOVED - gray and white chevron and yellow - but it was way expensive. I would have to buy the whole set and I needed two of them and they were each almost $200. Um. No. So I asked my sweet best friend, Amanda, if she would help me out with bedding. I bought plain yellow and gray sheets and plain white crib skirts (yeah, not a necessity but I tend to use the under-the-crib area as storage and the crib skirts hide that nicely) and Amanda is making blankets for the girls and she is re-purposing two crib bumpers. I'm very blessed to have a wonderful friend who can sew for me because I definitely can't....<br />
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Next I started thinking about the walls. They already happened to be painted yellow since the twins were moving into Melissa's room and we had just painted her room yellow last year (score! No painting!). I searched pinterest and etsy for ideas for my theme and found lots of fun ideas but there was no way on earth I was going to spend $30 on a print to hang in their room. That's insane. So I started up my digital scrapbooking program and used the ideas I found as inspiration and made these to print out and hang in the nursery:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagQQSmvuw4CiTbuuj69LaRe6qPGlWQo6OUn_qgNqYMKwDN-efcD8T2fGeU4Ap7hgNlC_ReJaezO7zaXtQeX4jxehbhWWGTeL-POrQFHkTZLT0zOuWQVTys5_d8JV_R5TaiBwyjGbcrVns/s1600/Nursery+prints+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagQQSmvuw4CiTbuuj69LaRe6qPGlWQo6OUn_qgNqYMKwDN-efcD8T2fGeU4Ap7hgNlC_ReJaezO7zaXtQeX4jxehbhWWGTeL-POrQFHkTZLT0zOuWQVTys5_d8JV_R5TaiBwyjGbcrVns/s1600/Nursery+prints+(2).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My crafting also included making the twins' names to hang on the wall (using the directions from this blog - http://joroad.blogspot.com/2011/01/diy-nursery-letters.html). They were super easy to make - and since I bought white letters from Hobby Lobby (on sale, of course, as most things I buy at Hobby Lobby are), I didn't have to paint them! <br />
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Another decorative touch is the poems that Brian wrote for the girls. He has written a poem for each of our kiddos and they all have them hanging in their rooms. It's such a sweet addition to the room.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xZo1QjhtqyApbUI56B4-erW0TWjwlojCGrvHrJt50FJhyf5rJoOWHgH8GpIXwQgZb4ujkKTKI6niLGryA4wXH8lM1PtR2vPSMTS2xtRSGhjXkIzIhT_zOoBntxsVmD2vKTidbsnstUlk/s1600/20140526_181623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xZo1QjhtqyApbUI56B4-erW0TWjwlojCGrvHrJt50FJhyf5rJoOWHgH8GpIXwQgZb4ujkKTKI6niLGryA4wXH8lM1PtR2vPSMTS2xtRSGhjXkIzIhT_zOoBntxsVmD2vKTidbsnstUlk/s1600/20140526_181623.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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And today I decided to get crafty again and make one last addition to their room. We have lots of bows and I needed something to hold all of them that would make it easier to find the bow I wanted (previously they were all just thrown in one of those pink baskets in the picture above. A pain to search through to find the bows I needed.) Yesterday I got online and searched for bow holders and decided this option was going to be easiest, cheapest and also work out well for their room - http://fusionartdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/09/hair-bow-holder-diy.html . So this morning I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a plain canvas (16x20 size) and 2 rolls of ribbon (gray chevron and yellow chevron). Since white goes with our theme, I just left the canvas white instead of painting it (did you know....I hate painting.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9BMKbPzVLcnw8vSN9ZvpT4-7Z6hklDPuZMuF-puujHueakAnj6bxLvOlNOj7dJXyEVJynSiguqX0dx0PvEh0eN8fdDnJyxgBcETR530mioJ6lwYT7gz7HAnMMsO4QMC9jt9_Kdh_iu6j/s1600/20140527_112025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9BMKbPzVLcnw8vSN9ZvpT4-7Z6hklDPuZMuF-puujHueakAnj6bxLvOlNOj7dJXyEVJynSiguqX0dx0PvEh0eN8fdDnJyxgBcETR530mioJ6lwYT7gz7HAnMMsO4QMC9jt9_Kdh_iu6j/s1600/20140527_112025.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I laid all the ribbon out in the pattern and distance I wanted (I used 8 strips of ribbon) and stapled it on. I don't have a staple gun so I just used a regular stapler and then hot glued the strips down as well for added security.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dGadH6R3q1iOJhzfqL9p4s5NxQOs3Fpv9LnkJaT-XvjMxklDJuHTeiftH2YB4VZSVs1o97IiXTy1_lAlUh4t01MjsOIGKORq9Pjzr02Odq97r8vL8psglpUjV5pVXDv3PTi05KAImvUh/s1600/20140527_112017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dGadH6R3q1iOJhzfqL9p4s5NxQOs3Fpv9LnkJaT-XvjMxklDJuHTeiftH2YB4VZSVs1o97IiXTy1_lAlUh4t01MjsOIGKORq9Pjzr02Odq97r8vL8psglpUjV5pVXDv3PTi05KAImvUh/s1600/20140527_112017.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for bows!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUeV20CstXgIwwwPlTM9vhDjsc5NGBiAGZ0ij46gqqrMXSDL4lq_OjrBrLe3J3bxGMIOogFH-ARQPuWumcxgGe1sDihcBWBjfDDLB1_d_ifRONy1W6bkWwHJ2NXHzn35GorXnnf9k3JBo/s1600/20140527_112453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUeV20CstXgIwwwPlTM9vhDjsc5NGBiAGZ0ij46gqqrMXSDL4lq_OjrBrLe3J3bxGMIOogFH-ARQPuWumcxgGe1sDihcBWBjfDDLB1_d_ifRONy1W6bkWwHJ2NXHzn35GorXnnf9k3JBo/s1600/20140527_112453.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just clip them right on!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6o1vnjpK22RNI56etxgskjYZ-MsYugBRifMwgLPwIU8K7hIN-oHFahT-Nouey3Dk-ixQRFAkxoksFIgNgY-mFprrmNFCsSOLKjUvTCtq-SIdKsWHG4_PGaeFs6Lq6WR0yHZ2BiE_B6kD/s1600/20140527_114413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm6o1vnjpK22RNI56etxgskjYZ-MsYugBRifMwgLPwIU8K7hIN-oHFahT-Nouey3Dk-ixQRFAkxoksFIgNgY-mFprrmNFCsSOLKjUvTCtq-SIdKsWHG4_PGaeFs6Lq6WR0yHZ2BiE_B6kD/s1600/20140527_114413.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product! I think it's super cute. However...I may have recently ordered a ton more bows from a fun and very addictive website and I'm afraid they're not all going to fit on here....oops. :)</td></tr>
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Anyway, that's the girls' room and the fun little touches I've added to it - without spending a ton of money that I don't have! I love their room, the yellow is so cheerful! It makes me happy whenever I walk in there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSh564qPRlwUbdkhdspZDEfBbpGe3CLh2MbgScka847LKcNgMl3kHTaHBTrcz7qToWhDRMK1FhKHjTE0soLmv47aqESO23Vek6y5RmvXex9S1XM1T_gFyDE_QA06Ea1MsV4ltuOlq5jf9D/s1600/20140524_070330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSh564qPRlwUbdkhdspZDEfBbpGe3CLh2MbgScka847LKcNgMl3kHTaHBTrcz7qToWhDRMK1FhKHjTE0soLmv47aqESO23Vek6y5RmvXex9S1XM1T_gFyDE_QA06Ea1MsV4ltuOlq5jf9D/s1600/20140524_070330.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll leave you with this sweet picture of the girls because...what blog post about their room <br />would be complete without a picture of them??? I love this picture, it looks like they're saying to each other, <br />"Does this woman ever stop taking pictures?" </td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-73189676673237869402014-05-22T17:25:00.001-05:002014-05-22T17:26:33.040-05:00A big week!Today is May 22nd - this was my "due date" when I first found out I was pregnant. I can't even imagine still having those two sweet little girls inside! Instead, they came on their own time, as you know, and are now almost one month old! Sunday will be one month and today we went and had their first professional pictures taken! Yay! Or not yay. They were not pleased with the general state of their lives during the session. But we did get some cute pictures and their unhappiness this morning led to a great nap for both of them AND for Mommy this afternoon. Double yay!<br />
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Tuesday we will be taking the girls for their one month check-up at the doctor. I got a call today that Sadie's newborn screen came back abnormal for TSH (thyroid) so she's going to have to get blood drawn for further testing. Pray with us that it's nothing and the tests come back normal!<br />
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Speaking of doctor appointments, I have told Brian that all appointments will be made when he can go with me. Luckily for me, his schedule is such that he is home most mornings and CAN go with us to our doctor appts, photo appts, etc. It is quite an event to wrangle both girls plus Caedon. I have not been brave enough to attempt it on my own yet. We were blessed today that a sweet friend and co-worker came and picked Caedon up and took him to PDO with her. I can only imagine how hard the photo session would have been with two screaming newborns and a busy toddler!<br />
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Things are going well here. Busy but good. The girls are growing so fast already. They eat great - 4 oz bottles every 4 hours or so! They are good sleepers for the most part and have been waking up only one time a night for the past several days. Our house is very chaotic sometimes, especially around the times that I have to feed the babies. It seems, for some reason, that's when the big kids always need me! Caedon is acting out some lately - for attention, of course. I'm trying to spend as much one-on-one time with him as I can when the big kids are at school and the babies are napping. I know things are going to be much harder this summer when I have all five with me all day every day. The two oldest especially are going to get bored really fast and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet...<br />
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Also exciting this week - Saturday Brian and I will be celebrating our anniversary! 11 years and 5 kids later...wow. My sweet hubby made plans for two sets of baby-sitters for the kiddos so that we can go out (on our first date since we went to see Catching Fire in November...I can't wait). We're going to our favorite place - The Melting Pot! Yum!<br />
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I'll leave you with a few of the pictures from the girls' photo session this morning:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjJ1Q8bwFMzQ7oMXASlgg8aMXodVlT7yZ3RMBKKffsRWAxuQgzerKPzJcooA1cdoRBJ1zVHYKt0CAcpWgz9OUhXzoyBtIDXmQbF-EB-0QY-tfmk-nF7MXeO6O2fKCbO5vpVbCBRbPc15E/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+naked+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjJ1Q8bwFMzQ7oMXASlgg8aMXodVlT7yZ3RMBKKffsRWAxuQgzerKPzJcooA1cdoRBJ1zVHYKt0CAcpWgz9OUhXzoyBtIDXmQbF-EB-0QY-tfmk-nF7MXeO6O2fKCbO5vpVbCBRbPc15E/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+naked+(2).jpg" height="320" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSe0-i210H-T-halC3g_kYKfwbNgqjmS9PLGiaikZ7QLNVixxO4cSN-LC65x5wUckCzTTr97gEaGskNZFnJSCpew7VbwNOMV2RCmC71HDi1ukNxhQc7lfvAhT_zhtcobQx5ANkoG2A-Ta-/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+naked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSe0-i210H-T-halC3g_kYKfwbNgqjmS9PLGiaikZ7QLNVixxO4cSN-LC65x5wUckCzTTr97gEaGskNZFnJSCpew7VbwNOMV2RCmC71HDi1ukNxhQc7lfvAhT_zhtcobQx5ANkoG2A-Ta-/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+naked.jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhxX2PPIcvoLO0bZ17VxsvYtZLednhxen1hsQPF-1-Ki9_i_WTMBkjoqwhorMpCHxIdj0CvdNpA79yAIvzQhUSDJKIqJuza9W37OTOEGchQmu2nUixuZbsyAM-FKgFZzd_e2Mm2jnlZsW/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+swaddled+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhxX2PPIcvoLO0bZ17VxsvYtZLednhxen1hsQPF-1-Ki9_i_WTMBkjoqwhorMpCHxIdj0CvdNpA79yAIvzQhUSDJKIqJuza9W37OTOEGchQmu2nUixuZbsyAM-FKgFZzd_e2Mm2jnlZsW/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+swaddled+(2).jpg" height="400" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZHxxcikbQRi_csUBd0OKwFYHui5LAqPClrMxjsk7CF75LYH3PAbCNCzPlyA-VIepIvNXfvKtEE4cK5D96pp-Cr-REoiU8S5Zfoe8UQVA89AnHycSbN663mc2-tj2FBXwZ56M3hsJgjUW/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+swaddled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZHxxcikbQRi_csUBd0OKwFYHui5LAqPClrMxjsk7CF75LYH3PAbCNCzPlyA-VIepIvNXfvKtEE4cK5D96pp-Cr-REoiU8S5Zfoe8UQVA89AnHycSbN663mc2-tj2FBXwZ56M3hsJgjUW/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+swaddled.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOzSl_4SucC2fBuQqaQKPRoT-_k5df1NGz5N0pf_ZTkL1Edjmt9M2lYQHv7wPl8Xv4B85MXZ4kMhHB5sjw40EIc4ZvBFhKTOQ2tLH1CwNpccOYZU19ji5Nt9kscoL3Oza5rKH62GkWFgK/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+rompers+(8).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOzSl_4SucC2fBuQqaQKPRoT-_k5df1NGz5N0pf_ZTkL1Edjmt9M2lYQHv7wPl8Xv4B85MXZ4kMhHB5sjw40EIc4ZvBFhKTOQ2tLH1CwNpccOYZU19ji5Nt9kscoL3Oza5rKH62GkWFgK/s1600/1+month+pictures+-+rompers+(8).jpg" height="400" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty girls!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6dYW_TOsuNDBA6UCjPMOysxtQwUNY8SfrgQGiL8XCEq5vdMF14vJyR623usumNnOBu9mQ6vruKRFsvRpDX9Aw4jrUW0zI-4vIaqUvsgjC8voFr-FLveG9INCX8pYnyFFpL_sY9poyqwz/s1600/My+Album+6-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6dYW_TOsuNDBA6UCjPMOysxtQwUNY8SfrgQGiL8XCEq5vdMF14vJyR623usumNnOBu9mQ6vruKRFsvRpDX9Aw4jrUW0zI-4vIaqUvsgjC8voFr-FLveG9INCX8pYnyFFpL_sY9poyqwz/s1600/My+Album+6-001.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A collage I made with a few of the pictures from our session</td></tr>
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-14166118902265304302014-05-14T18:33:00.000-05:002014-05-14T18:33:12.993-05:00Double the joy, double the work!Our sweet girls are almost three weeks old already. I can't believe it! What's even crazier is that we haven't even passed their official "due date" yet - tomorrow would have been 39 weeks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rk8Vb0mqnseE_oRYKjMg2kLv919so9XAlp9Byzte3rZ-Vn4mlOQjAduwxiX2UxiNi0TWpBjKRkAaMnOEUjzFCRwLXMMAmZITTdO1sFLDdtJoqUhUzSzkUwoeIKtSGJ9WZz9j_K2_1o9C/s1600/5-9+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rk8Vb0mqnseE_oRYKjMg2kLv919so9XAlp9Byzte3rZ-Vn4mlOQjAduwxiX2UxiNi0TWpBjKRkAaMnOEUjzFCRwLXMMAmZITTdO1sFLDdtJoqUhUzSzkUwoeIKtSGJ9WZz9j_K2_1o9C/s1600/5-9+.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie and Rylan at 2 weeks old</td></tr>
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We had their 2 week check-up at the doctor yesterday. They are doing great and already growing so fast! Stats - Rylan was 6lb, 6oz and 19.5 in; Sadie was 6lb, 5.5oz and 20 in. The doctor says they both look perfect. They will both have hip ultrasounds done at 6 weeks just as a precaution to check for hip dysplasia. The pediatrician at the hospital said they recommend it for all breech females and our doctor agreed although she said their hips seem to be fine.<br />
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Life at home with twins is...interesting, to say the least. I was really naive, honestly, about how hard twins would be. I figured I've done the newborn thing x3, how hard could two at a time be??? Ha! The hardest times are the nights when they tag team us - one will sleep great for the first half of the night while her sister fusses and then they'll switch on us for the second half of the night. So exhausting! But then there are good nights like we had the past two nights when they both sleep wonderfully and just wake for a bottle or two. It helps that we've discovered that Rylan sleeps better in her crib - I told Brian that I don't blame her since the crib mattress is much snugglier than the pack n play mattress. Feeding them on my own can be hard, too, especially if they are both ready to eat at the same time. Holding two bottles at the same time is fine but when I have to stop feeding both to burp one...the other one is not pleased. Sometimes one stays asleep when the other wakes up (often Rylan wakes first and then we have to wake Sadie up to feed her after Rylan is done) and in those cases I feed the one that is awake and get her changed and re-swaddled and then I think, "Whew, done. Now let's do it all over again..." as I go to wake up the other little miss. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MjoXtd43dk_lvLBFQFmjNqj3vMCW_-navbBZ3ADuxB3zmve7K8Y5wcKemVUNg57uDcjfm7m3wPkBst8q-5Gd9nzg1jbL7hb8T8m6Whzar2FXgdT5Z9WtZNgczoyIwbVccjZoCsdyyXV6/s1600/20140513_062600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MjoXtd43dk_lvLBFQFmjNqj3vMCW_-navbBZ3ADuxB3zmve7K8Y5wcKemVUNg57uDcjfm7m3wPkBst8q-5Gd9nzg1jbL7hb8T8m6Whzar2FXgdT5Z9WtZNgczoyIwbVccjZoCsdyyXV6/s1600/20140513_062600.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan Grace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8u4Y47kFs0KSZFnlzu8MioQSOdJcWnabD5IB2quMb8efT8yyL8WRwbqX2p_vqrEFFBr8F1D3CffUAeuhZz5crD-R2B0tH_Y2m5t9xtLDU3MYd2Ys5wQ0HxPLm3Ov9P8ZNbXt3Al85bvg/s1600/20140513_062849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8u4Y47kFs0KSZFnlzu8MioQSOdJcWnabD5IB2quMb8efT8yyL8WRwbqX2p_vqrEFFBr8F1D3CffUAeuhZz5crD-R2B0tH_Y2m5t9xtLDU3MYd2Ys5wQ0HxPLm3Ov9P8ZNbXt3Al85bvg/s1600/20140513_062849.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie Jane</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEYw8SlO3XhX0qP8pFZsDIxUEQVwORrGSkRb8ZaKtkggR_Q0LqS4n6MeUWl2KSGO9dqDEx8mce0LezZpqNhOnbJptjaLZXpjIMNGzoixFeZamGKRQrZ76GprAvPjKhZCed9PRJXjcxfzk/s1600/5-11+Sadie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEYw8SlO3XhX0qP8pFZsDIxUEQVwORrGSkRb8ZaKtkggR_Q0LqS4n6MeUWl2KSGO9dqDEx8mce0LezZpqNhOnbJptjaLZXpjIMNGzoixFeZamGKRQrZ76GprAvPjKhZCed9PRJXjcxfzk/s1600/5-11+Sadie.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Sadie is our generally more relaxed baby. She's pretty go-with-the-flow like Caedon was and is usually content to lay in her bouncer or pack n play and look around. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6HsTOzvrai5GfqSzv7TZVgf5u6-aDGajsItf2OuPIZ-4D8SyuicgShkecd0RBbqJytwjXJ8gVqmrFyD90DxB-CYxCZ1uNtNKlS4UhlcVAY6ps1sxph_fjIROjLdeC-9_H8bmeZhbXQ2K/s1600/5-11+Rylan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6HsTOzvrai5GfqSzv7TZVgf5u6-aDGajsItf2OuPIZ-4D8SyuicgShkecd0RBbqJytwjXJ8gVqmrFyD90DxB-CYxCZ1uNtNKlS4UhlcVAY6ps1sxph_fjIROjLdeC-9_H8bmeZhbXQ2K/s1600/5-11+Rylan.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Rylan is more snuggly (probably why she prefers that crib...) and loves to be held. She also has quite a temper and can get really mad really fast!</span></td></tr>
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They are both great eaters (as evidenced by their more-than-a-pound weight gain...) and are eating 3 oz bottles at each feeding. My day is full of bottles (washing them, making them, feeding them...) and diapers (x3! Caedon is showing signs of being ready to potty-train but....who has time for that??? Aaaah!). Plus all the other mommy stuff I was doing before two precious little girls entered our lives. Homework, baths, playing games, reading books, singing songs. I feel like I'm constantly running from one thing to the next! (I have been working on this blog post for 2 hours off and on....and it's not very long)<br />
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The kids are so sweet with the twins. The oldest two are great about helping when we need something. Caedon LOVES his baby sisters and is always patting them and trying to give them high-fives. He loves to hold them and kiss them and every time one of them sneezes he says "Bless you!" Earlier Rylan was crying in her bouncer and he said, "Oh! Oh, no cwying!" and ran over to try to soothe her. It was the sweetest thing.<br />
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I am so thankful for those who have brought us meals and/or come by to help out with either the babies or the big kids (one day my parents came and picked up all three big kids and took them to their house for the whole afternoon. That was lovely!). We are blessed to have wonderful family and friends. And I am so blessed to have a husband who is so great about helping out and letting me get as much sleep as possible! I just love that guy :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68FqY11D9-WCxRY9hwLU51G4eXOrNqeIrXQMG2st2xGgDZfZFP0FnckiUiL3ar_bebzwKPXkwhDUTunTM8OJ8EuAoEADeX9V5kyjTQLh45ZixFkaEaO2WlqSwjCB0XyiE-1msuaIB_mzL/s1600/Postpartum+4-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68FqY11D9-WCxRY9hwLU51G4eXOrNqeIrXQMG2st2xGgDZfZFP0FnckiUiL3ar_bebzwKPXkwhDUTunTM8OJ8EuAoEADeX9V5kyjTQLh45ZixFkaEaO2WlqSwjCB0XyiE-1msuaIB_mzL/s1600/Postpartum+4-27.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my love while we were still in the hospital. We look exhausted. We were (and are!).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU1e2_VdTuL-ssH2gf67x6uTjwOwXiLyHFp4SQbCjIiBjOxfaJawDPcvTEQaGxZ_PzSpQX8PurJ-4Kcsy7tiqg_5tAC5npdD6QKCtSP7NJbbHRlZoVRu2LG8NhKwG2LsTS5EO9grRDSbg/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU1e2_VdTuL-ssH2gf67x6uTjwOwXiLyHFp4SQbCjIiBjOxfaJawDPcvTEQaGxZ_PzSpQX8PurJ-4Kcsy7tiqg_5tAC5npdD6QKCtSP7NJbbHRlZoVRu2LG8NhKwG2LsTS5EO9grRDSbg/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics+(5).JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother's Day family picture! I just love my not-so-little-anymore family!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTP3OsESVmH5F5q3jSydyxjJ7WZpElI2RqjaNOuJj0-3HpdRFghCWcOvYKqhwl9ssNlKKCIhpgzITHVTiq3tHGoOdwkUzWBT5H068YEl__xGcih4P5iu2BQw-T73vUJnTpjsRCGud1BI6v/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTP3OsESVmH5F5q3jSydyxjJ7WZpElI2RqjaNOuJj0-3HpdRFghCWcOvYKqhwl9ssNlKKCIhpgzITHVTiq3tHGoOdwkUzWBT5H068YEl__xGcih4P5iu2BQw-T73vUJnTpjsRCGud1BI6v/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics+(7).JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, these kids. I adore each and every one of them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolIgZYw8647T9-IcPhWBHyftjf3fiA-n6LENSjY1D8XPOqkK5lcatUMECWk47Gppnwxf11SZhyphenhyphenw-k18dZzMDNFpuYzKwp9v9-HPry5P7gitgshIiKR0Tb2xtDIUZza60mBb5kTkAuDbrR/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolIgZYw8647T9-IcPhWBHyftjf3fiA-n6LENSjY1D8XPOqkK5lcatUMECWk47Gppnwxf11SZhyphenhyphenw-k18dZzMDNFpuYzKwp9v9-HPry5P7gitgshIiKR0Tb2xtDIUZza60mBb5kTkAuDbrR/s1600/5-11+Mother's+Day+family+pics.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this not the sweetest thing you've ever seen? Precious precious little people.</td></tr>
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-90268109567570734892014-04-29T23:13:00.000-05:002014-04-30T12:20:32.707-05:00A Babies StoryOur sweet princesses made an early debut this past week. Here is their birth story.<br />
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On Thursday, April 24th, I was 36 weeks pregnant. I woke up that morning and all was normal. My feet and ankles had been swollen and painful for about a week but I was feeling good besides that. I got up, got kiddos off to school and Caedon and I headed to our school for what was supposed to be my next-to-last work day. I got my room all set up and ready to go and then went to the bathroom before my kiddos started showing up for the day. I noticed that I was bleeding slightly and I thought, "Well, THAT's not normal..." I texted my midwife and asked what she wanted me to do or not do and she called me and asked about the bleeding and if I was at home. I said I was at work and she said, "Go home. Now. And get in bed. I will be by to check you in a little while." I went in and told my boss (well, my boss's boss, actually. My boss was out that day with a sick kiddo!) and she said, "Yes, go home!" So I picked up my very confused toddler (but we just got here, mom....) and headed home. <br />
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Brian was going in to work that day, but he didn't have to leave until around noon so he was home when I got there and I headed to bed and he took care of Caedon while we waited for Tina and to find out what was going on. Tina came late morning and checked me (not dilated yet, but definitely having early labor signs) and gave me an herbal concoction to try to stop the bleeding and the irregular contractions I'd been having. She put me on complete bed rest and told me not to get up at all except to go to the bathroom. Because I was only 36 weeks, she was trying to get my body to keep the girls in for one more week so that she would be able to deliver them at the birth center like we were hoping to do. We started working on a plan for people to come in and be with the kids while still trying to preserve Brian's days off for when the twins actually came. Thursday afternoon, my sister came over to stay with the kids and Brian headed to work so he didn't have to use one of his days off. Throughout the day I continued bleeding and having contractions off and on, despite taking the herbal meds.<br />
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Around 3:30 am Friday morning I woke up and started timing my contractions. They were growing more intense and closer together so I called Tina around 6:30 or so and told her that I was pretty sure this was labor and it wasn't going to stop. My mom had been planning to come over Friday to help with the kids while Brian worked so Tina said to head to the birthing center when Mone got here and she would check me again and get a report ready to send over to Baylor and we would head over there and find out what was going on with our girls and my labor. At the birth center, I was dilated to a 3 so in those 24 hours, my body had definitely been in early labor.<br />
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When we got to the hospital, they got me checked in and we did a sonogram - both girls were still breech. In fact, Baby A was footling breech, which means her feet would be born first. Baby B was sitting on her bottom, Indian-style. They made it very clear that if I WAS in labor, there would be no attempting a vaginal delivery. Breech twins = c-section, no question. (Yes, if we had gone to 37 weeks Tina would have had no problem attempting a vaginal delivery of breech twins.)<br />
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They put me under observation on an IV to see if hydration would slow or stop my labor. Nothing doing. I continued contracting, the contractions only got more intense and I continued to dilate. Not much, but enough for them to say that yes, I was definitely having these babies and to decide to start getting things prepared for surgery. (I said it wasn't fair that I had to go through labor AND surgery!) About 2:30 pm, I met the anesthesiologist, Brian and Tina got dressed in scrubs and we started letting people know that our girls were coming very soon!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWvIDImZwBw8HhQ4MSaBOX1SJTpkSM3ZY8eKQe_5P-f7rJK-IGWoW7L6BWfPtrXbcTCxl3dHYPIZBjNdFBpZKDNabQgULtxlHqEkw3LwRamYG4j4dKsbQFqEsG0GIDG95o9dI_PRoERUl/s1600/IMG_3076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWvIDImZwBw8HhQ4MSaBOX1SJTpkSM3ZY8eKQe_5P-f7rJK-IGWoW7L6BWfPtrXbcTCxl3dHYPIZBjNdFBpZKDNabQgULtxlHqEkw3LwRamYG4j4dKsbQFqEsG0GIDG95o9dI_PRoERUl/s1600/IMG_3076.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During my observation and labor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECXm2pnrQ_hD9tvZ7ERyBu2B2vF90YdC0JVlu2cZvUvcpG53GNNkMmuzkGb2Y3Xjnbz8hlHwNdhb2aY-ZW8qQCOG2rQ0cxGkQbknmjfNVU9CnAPUr-YmA5W0x9LXHrXQMFlhQjHYPsZy4/s1600/IMG_3077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECXm2pnrQ_hD9tvZ7ERyBu2B2vF90YdC0JVlu2cZvUvcpG53GNNkMmuzkGb2Y3Xjnbz8hlHwNdhb2aY-ZW8qQCOG2rQ0cxGkQbknmjfNVU9CnAPUr-YmA5W0x9LXHrXQMFlhQjHYPsZy4/s1600/IMG_3077.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting to get my epidural, in the OR</td></tr>
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Our baby girls were born at 3:56 pm - Rylan Grace - and 3:59 pm - Sadie Jane. They are beautiful and perfect and so very tiny (Rylan was 5 lbs and Sadie was 4 lbs, 11 oz)! It was obvious very quickly that they are definitely fraternal twins, they each have their own very distinctive facial features.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugRXXI5jw6-s5qolpT5MH8Ju72huRH9LuK1fdHE1PEJr0iaPwRQ5odhrPZLkuvvzhk1qEx_IWLCmmqPsH7p2oDoK1etOFQ5pHLPW9_kBmfLno48ItYDbF1XnXwrdyAgdTlns0eSix3n-k/s1600/IMG_3099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugRXXI5jw6-s5qolpT5MH8Ju72huRH9LuK1fdHE1PEJr0iaPwRQ5odhrPZLkuvvzhk1qEx_IWLCmmqPsH7p2oDoK1etOFQ5pHLPW9_kBmfLno48ItYDbF1XnXwrdyAgdTlns0eSix3n-k/s1600/IMG_3099.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seeing my girls for the first time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMV2i6ZYFN8ggo63igMitmWXH3OtYwCPaPYR3CTNoOfI0LUeeiTyYVj8OtC8qoI_AYFmbYGJOpIqSIY9XtJpd-Uih7gFa1ltVsQpnm_GlYq1VVOgo1yn72C_-yaldhFeJyoyzy2vlp0Oqi/s1600/1538843_837071849656257_1388477235741511783_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMV2i6ZYFN8ggo63igMitmWXH3OtYwCPaPYR3CTNoOfI0LUeeiTyYVj8OtC8qoI_AYFmbYGJOpIqSIY9XtJpd-Uih7gFa1ltVsQpnm_GlYq1VVOgo1yn72C_-yaldhFeJyoyzy2vlp0Oqi/s1600/1538843_837071849656257_1388477235741511783_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tina holding the twins in the OR</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEircwt3En61DTytsprIK9iNMMfEmLmUa9Ut7gssCyoj-dLgYdFW_kJ9ttdvWtiLa3PxjTt1ndN1rD0kT_GKaYevLCJNdEkVaMuaEdVKf6qqXKJeRwj6HH65bHLZYCGrfIQKjZ-5urzTKOP6/s1600/IMG_3153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEircwt3En61DTytsprIK9iNMMfEmLmUa9Ut7gssCyoj-dLgYdFW_kJ9ttdvWtiLa3PxjTt1ndN1rD0kT_GKaYevLCJNdEkVaMuaEdVKf6qqXKJeRwj6HH65bHLZYCGrfIQKjZ-5urzTKOP6/s1600/IMG_3153.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the first time I really got to hold and see both of them up close at the same time <br />
and study their similarities and differences. They are beautiful little girls!</td></tr>
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We are so blessed to have these precious little girls. We already love them so very much! They are very good babies. One of our nurses commented that many late pre-term babies like ours are more fussy than full-term babies but that we had very calm babies. They sleep wonderfully and they eat great. We are trying to keep them on the same schedule and that's working out pretty well so far. The big kids are great with them and are very good about helping us when we need help. Caedon is....well, he's very sweet and loves them so much. But he's also quite terrifying with his love. He wants to kiss them and hug them and hold them and squeeze them and it scares me to death!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjNzJ8TqQvinF-zXiaVwwr4A3CiGCiPMl0NVdPKguWrsCdanQm2VEZbkBCBf4YBRHSWdcsFQ8CGwuYe0MguSJ1mJ1nbMKmhuYLbgeLEOSKicpEo2rJM7cMZ8hWGla9Lhb670AEyqplcrO/s1600/IMG_3176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjNzJ8TqQvinF-zXiaVwwr4A3CiGCiPMl0NVdPKguWrsCdanQm2VEZbkBCBf4YBRHSWdcsFQ8CGwuYe0MguSJ1mJ1nbMKmhuYLbgeLEOSKicpEo2rJM7cMZ8hWGla9Lhb670AEyqplcrO/s1600/IMG_3176.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon "holding" his sisters at the hospital on Sunday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP27bJmJdkFNyrTmIi7_1wfq0qlTK4H9SPHpPfrZ1D-n7Yh5_p82PF73PrWeqvzLtQ_dxuGehyphenhyphenjWI4CDd6Y7uv_Yqv5MNeDeQj3qOQ1rS_MJa2wlv7pg4x3wJzsLV4tPLDfN-YZWLYRo_8/s1600/IMG_3183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP27bJmJdkFNyrTmIi7_1wfq0qlTK4H9SPHpPfrZ1D-n7Yh5_p82PF73PrWeqvzLtQ_dxuGehyphenhyphenjWI4CDd6Y7uv_Yqv5MNeDeQj3qOQ1rS_MJa2wlv7pg4x3wJzsLV4tPLDfN-YZWLYRo_8/s1600/IMG_3183.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this picture of Kyler and Melissa with Rylan. SO cute!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbYLh-Fw9jqeZgFXqnitQ-bdE7fba-mXT7MOL7UJHFV41_k0f5-kEu9mAC7PCQBaB2vOX5cOALfqBSjtGJjCKXKEfw78Xe_ZxlkZs-MUgD5jIf43L2WRpEkLhveM1Zk5_OqsS2lESoCiI/s1600/IMG_3189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbYLh-Fw9jqeZgFXqnitQ-bdE7fba-mXT7MOL7UJHFV41_k0f5-kEu9mAC7PCQBaB2vOX5cOALfqBSjtGJjCKXKEfw78Xe_ZxlkZs-MUgD5jIf43L2WRpEkLhveM1Zk5_OqsS2lESoCiI/s1600/IMG_3189.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a proud big sister!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUn6dQbgIsPKeGnPFi-nrL0yFjNBqWYd8YQBrDZowV177sD8sFAYtlk94p4fga9P-V7X5WvOU9drapkuAGIUuqXYf0xdWEtqmml_VISPYz33mZvNtjoBfb0EgeM1VVrY2Xd0AyRCqvh-l/s1600/20140428_094733.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rylan ready to go home from the hospital!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbIETcoAA3MbSRBLn2zFvsBNzh2Xiqkht6xGL1hzGxLulQNv7Jd-59JFkp9Ipz82n1VwhErNDSbceYY54cgNycZZ4-ZKPyFj7GQDByePgN7cPj4BhYwIaGrKgIhBpzUclUuzbSU-AKbvR/s1600/20140428_095409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbIETcoAA3MbSRBLn2zFvsBNzh2Xiqkht6xGL1hzGxLulQNv7Jd-59JFkp9Ipz82n1VwhErNDSbceYY54cgNycZZ4-ZKPyFj7GQDByePgN7cPj4BhYwIaGrKgIhBpzUclUuzbSU-AKbvR/s1600/20140428_095409.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And little Miss Sadie is ready to go, too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture is so sweet. All the girls' clothes are too big for them so Daddy <br />
went to the store and picked out some sweet little preemie outfits for them!</td></tr>
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<br />
This morning we had their 48 hour (after hospital discharge) check-up at the pediatrician and they are absolutely perfect! When they were discharged from the hospital, they both weighed 4 lbs, 15 oz (Rylan had lost an ounce, Sadie had gained 4!) and today they were both 5 lbs, 0.5 oz. Already growing up so fast!<br />
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I honestly look around at my little crew and wonder how in the world I ended up with five kiddos. It's craziness, I'm telling you! But I adore each and every one of them and being their mama brightens up my life! Stay tuned for updates and pictures as we adjust to being a family of SEVEN. Wow!</div>
Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-28422017245750968852014-04-16T12:36:00.001-05:002014-04-16T12:39:07.107-05:00The Turning Point....or what I like to call week 34. This week has been miserable, honestly.<br />
<br />
I think every pregnancy has that point. When it becomes less fun and exciting to be pregnant and more miserable and uncomfortable and "GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!" That was this week for me. Although, obviously it was get these babies out of me.<br />
<br />
I'm just gonna complain for a moment<br />
<br />
Last Thursday night I was slightly nauseous, Friday I just wasn't hungry most of the day and I felt awful all weekend. My appetite is way down this week (I'm sure there's just not as much room for food in there now that these babies are getting so big!). I've been having super annoying Braxton Hicks contractions, lots of them. I'm starting to swell alot in my feet/ankles which is SO uncomfortable. Laying hurts, sitting hurts, standing hurts. You get the picture. I hurt. I actually got a plastic lawn chair last Friday to put in the shower so I could shower sitting down. Laugh if you want, but it's awesome. There's just one downside - I never want to get out of the shower now. It's warm and relaxing and I'm alone and the water feels so good....<br />
<br />
I'm very emotional. I'm getting anxious about delivery. Since I'm seeing a midwife, there are just certain limitations. She can't deliver the babies before 37 weeks and obviously she can't do surgery if I need a c-section. I'm okay with ending up with a hospital delivery if that's what happens but I'm also just wishing I could KNOW what is coming. <br />
<br />
I'm feeling bad, too, about how little I can do with my other kids right now. I feel like the big kids come home from school and I just lay around all evening, asking them to do things for me. Kyler and Melissa are so sweet to help me and take care of me and the babies but I wish that things were different right now. And my house is a disaster area. Sigh<br />
<br />
I went to my perinatologist's office today. I didn't get any pictures this visit because the girls are just getting too crowded for good pics now. Baby A is weighing around 4 lbs, 14 oz and Baby B is a bit bigger, around 5 lbs, 3 oz. So essentially, I'm carrying about 10 pounds of baby! That's alot of baby! Baby A is breech, Baby B is transverse. Because Baby A is lower, it's possible that she could be born vaginally first and then Baby B would turn either head down or breech and also be born vaginally. But there are so many "ifs" and "possibilities" in the whole scenario. It makes me anxious. The doctor today said it's looking less likely that they would be able to both be born vaginally - but that there is still time for them to change positions. I'm trying so hard to just trust and go with the flow. I KNOW my babies will be born and I KNOW my midwife will do and recommend what is best for me and for them. My head knows all of that, my emotions just make me want to lay down and cry all afternoon.<br />
<br />
I guess this hasn't been a very upbeat post...sorry about all of the complaining. Maybe by the next time I post a baby update, I'll have gotten all of my packages delivered that I ordered this weekend and you can see baby nursery pictures. That's more fun than listening to this mama whine, I'm sure. :)Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-59823737498774570222014-04-02T14:27:00.003-05:002014-04-02T14:27:51.763-05:00Baby Update 33 weeksI'll be 33 weeks tomorrow! I can't believe it's only about 4 more weeks until these babies will be full-term! We are so excited to meet our girls. I'm feeling pretty good, still completely exhausted and I can get rather grouchy in the evenings (my poor children). Some days I'm really emotional, just all these hormones running crazy through my body. It's quite difficult keeping up with Caedon. He's much too fast on those cute little legs of his... :)<br />
<br />
I had an appt with the perinatologist today. The girls continue to do great. Their blood flow and fluid levels are both good and they are growing well. I'm SO glad that they haven't had any problems due to the antibody issue. We are truly blessed!<br />
<br />
They are both breech again. No surprise with Baby A, she just loves her little spot, but I was hoping that when Baby B moved out of the transverse position, she would go head down rather than back head up. Oh well, what can you do? :) I am seeing a chiropractor to try to give them a bit more room to maneuver into position but....maybe I'll be delivering breech twins??? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsa75mDdAPo6H_SNpAcCI5Ms3PnTd8CrPuNT73D2XrkALcXJvoYuUwPhXenIm6UF_FQS7hMxcov19QSa1nOx74foMwuTHOaP3eRGaGnY9Clz1rzQURMLUDMAcGa4a_TbkgEidHw-6ZEih/s1600/IMG_20140402_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsa75mDdAPo6H_SNpAcCI5Ms3PnTd8CrPuNT73D2XrkALcXJvoYuUwPhXenIm6UF_FQS7hMxcov19QSa1nOx74foMwuTHOaP3eRGaGnY9Clz1rzQURMLUDMAcGa4a_TbkgEidHw-6ZEih/s1600/IMG_20140402_0001.jpg" height="306" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are the tops of their cute little heads up close to Mommy's heart. Baby A has her face turned inward so it's really hard to get any good pictures of her. The doctor says she has her face up against her placenta. Maybe it's a comfy pillow? :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKABFxCeVWSVxPlZqDlLsCugQsbG6O0EqOQMiIeq0dkKmdyJcSuHxMqdUOCtHuPUCYWY2DvyD-gMQ07y9-cFhyAuG3jVNYrYdIxYPdQ3A4cLGDB2PrmkqPTBqT30jys9JMn61Ld5Z3jWx/s1600/IMG_20140402_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKABFxCeVWSVxPlZqDlLsCugQsbG6O0EqOQMiIeq0dkKmdyJcSuHxMqdUOCtHuPUCYWY2DvyD-gMQ07y9-cFhyAuG3jVNYrYdIxYPdQ3A4cLGDB2PrmkqPTBqT30jys9JMn61Ld5Z3jWx/s1600/IMG_20140402_0002.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby B's face. NOT as good as last time. Brian said she looks kinda like a clown, lol!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidC-Yt8f4EDgCRw24BNb8SGazbiWJijn1j8eV5XxEdoYUfngiwyUpiv8PVj1BSL5HCvSmpbjD1Pq7KmpyPvxALiyRI6K_TlDMznex6p_2TnpbxtkCxIw1J1fu1Eiv_XNJ3QMVtKPQ1i_JB/s1600/IMG_20140402_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidC-Yt8f4EDgCRw24BNb8SGazbiWJijn1j8eV5XxEdoYUfngiwyUpiv8PVj1BSL5HCvSmpbjD1Pq7KmpyPvxALiyRI6K_TlDMznex6p_2TnpbxtkCxIw1J1fu1Eiv_XNJ3QMVtKPQ1i_JB/s1600/IMG_20140402_0003.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the doctor came in he was playing around with the 4D sono, trying to get us pictures of their faces. This is Baby B's profile. It's kinda squished b/c she actually had her hands and her umbilical cord up right in front of her face, but he kinda "photoshopped" that stuff out.</td></tr>
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<br />
People often ask me how being pregnant with twins is different than one baby. Besides the obvious getting-bigger-and-uncomfortable-earlier part, it's really not been different. I feel tons of movement, but I did with all of my single babies as well. But the other night I got up to go to the bathroom and when I laid back down in bed, I realized that I was feeling both babies have hiccups at the same time. They both have hiccups often but that was the first time they'd ever had them at the same time and it was the coolest thing! <br />
<br />
I'm so anxious to meet them - especially after meeting my sweet new nephew Ben last week - but I know I'll miss this special time when it's just me and them. I'm treasuring every second (except maybe the seconds when I sit down on the floor and realize I can't get back up!) of this last pregnancy!Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-20233127327391893402014-03-14T19:01:00.000-05:002014-03-14T19:01:34.869-05:00Spring Break and 30 WeeksWe've been on spring break this week! Despite how tired I've been, I wanted to be able to do some fun things with the kids rather than having them be bored at home and end up watching TV all week.<br />
<br />
Monday we went to Shenaniganz! The kids earned a $25 game card for their chocolate sales last month so we went and played lots of games! Kyler was SO excited when he won the 1000 ticket bonus on one of the games and then they were BOTH super excited to discover that they had My Little Pony toys that they could "buy" with their tickets. It was a fun time and when I asked today what their favorite thing was this week, they still say Shenaniganz was the best day :) Oh! We also went to Culver's on Monday for their $1 Irish Mint Sundaes. Yum!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINAtR4yzvCkrd56hgmxkfcr463L4NpKJHCMO-HFLcxt_QsJaCr08Q4a7I4BwS8j9zxaM3mZRrBm-1T67xBtREwMOFMAkruNLVPKxrnA__sPujSL1f3Ppq1h7mxJCf469c-EG8BAb8ite9/s1600/20140310_153952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINAtR4yzvCkrd56hgmxkfcr463L4NpKJHCMO-HFLcxt_QsJaCr08Q4a7I4BwS8j9zxaM3mZRrBm-1T67xBtREwMOFMAkruNLVPKxrnA__sPujSL1f3Ppq1h7mxJCf469c-EG8BAb8ite9/s1600/20140310_153952.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon enjoying his Culver's sundae!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsCKnJ9w9OOsQp5ysgocDb1VonNKn5OiI8aXiFHQFJj0Gk-2DW-iwsWefR0Me_6wrNMiSOR8QfVLxw1KyGhFwZpFm4eNgUMBW1WX2lddrtrJe_GJrFAOVYymNJHrloYGiwXfnJsGohJtC/s1600/20140310_153818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsCKnJ9w9OOsQp5ysgocDb1VonNKn5OiI8aXiFHQFJj0Gk-2DW-iwsWefR0Me_6wrNMiSOR8QfVLxw1KyGhFwZpFm4eNgUMBW1WX2lddrtrJe_GJrFAOVYymNJHrloYGiwXfnJsGohJtC/s1600/20140310_153818.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH6yKFYxJao8VXlFwbFcLbGMrU9ogw32Qrd8kJ7TWoOtDKqwR3w74NRXpzfGBp5VlAk_Jwliv11cKQGbQFFM9TPdCjM5-U2J1iJbjGTnMaQESZRoCZ6831tXffcNFfPMpqDmhHKOjWbY-/s1600/20140310_153747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEH6yKFYxJao8VXlFwbFcLbGMrU9ogw32Qrd8kJ7TWoOtDKqwR3w74NRXpzfGBp5VlAk_Jwliv11cKQGbQFFM9TPdCjM5-U2J1iJbjGTnMaQESZRoCZ6831tXffcNFfPMpqDmhHKOjWbY-/s1600/20140310_153747.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyler and Melissa enjoying their sundaes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPCQY7aloBD7yClJT8Yc2_iZkJyhhC2x0W4f11uB5AWA5CdESJArMmHOEN5ZR2Dc6xng8YF28oRRHllEg3DKNA6m3MYZT5pfYM0fgu2_nCbb0KRB7cd2HGwZ_-flm6VySOXcy8_xU07hM/s1600/20140310_161212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPCQY7aloBD7yClJT8Yc2_iZkJyhhC2x0W4f11uB5AWA5CdESJArMmHOEN5ZR2Dc6xng8YF28oRRHllEg3DKNA6m3MYZT5pfYM0fgu2_nCbb0KRB7cd2HGwZ_-flm6VySOXcy8_xU07hM/s1600/20140310_161212.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You might think he was enjoying hismself but really every time his horse came around <br />to me he yelled "Up!" He didn't like the carousel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqmqvQInkLuGFzycUfKTKlqZlQ5OhZznMObiHPZiTMpRgDlGVKciAy8DNw__PjiURWDRdcNULMudRiNw8IT3JjUsVpPs0OuRN-2bMS2VHRxFNSUvUPAleg66d8alTbfUDGoF8xKHVoHOA/s1600/20140310_162528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqmqvQInkLuGFzycUfKTKlqZlQ5OhZznMObiHPZiTMpRgDlGVKciAy8DNw__PjiURWDRdcNULMudRiNw8IT3JjUsVpPs0OuRN-2bMS2VHRxFNSUvUPAleg66d8alTbfUDGoF8xKHVoHOA/s1600/20140310_162528.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon trying to play one of the games at Shenaniganz</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpVTVFFBuwG-_Z2mjRQ19aWMkdiqr4anDNikgC8rjnerUNTdjA2Q2-j0B3XswpWE3xt1H87uVcTjXFCB07mSc_yp_UxOD1rVkQba69w7cz2_3MxfjgkjU-D_vLaxEiADW6QPj8Krk9rDE/s1600/20140310_164705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpVTVFFBuwG-_Z2mjRQ19aWMkdiqr4anDNikgC8rjnerUNTdjA2Q2-j0B3XswpWE3xt1H87uVcTjXFCB07mSc_yp_UxOD1rVkQba69w7cz2_3MxfjgkjU-D_vLaxEiADW6QPj8Krk9rDE/s1600/20140310_164705.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1000 tickets is ALOT!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyler standing next to the game where he got his 1000 ticket win!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa liked playing air hockey :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids with their My Little Pony toys!</td></tr>
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Tuesday we had a playdate with some friends at the park and had a picnic! <br />
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Wednesday Grandma came to visit! We had lunch at McDonald's, went shopping for baby stuff and had a great visit with her.<br />
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On Thursday I dropped Caedon and Melissa off at my parents' house, where they had fun playing outside and digging in the dirt and Kyler and I went to see The LEGO Movie! He had been wanting to see it since the first time he saw the preview so I was glad we could have a date to go see it! He made himself nearly sick on popcorn and candy and thoroughly enjoyed it :) Melissa and Caedon had fun with Grammy and Pawpaw, too. Melissa loves helping Grammy with gardening!<br />
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Friday we went out to Firewheel Mall and went to Build-A-Bear for the first time! Kyler didn't want to get an animal but Caedon and Melissa had fun picking out their doggy and bear, respectively, and stuffing and fluffing and naming them! Then we played at the mall playground for a bit before getting Auntie Anne's pretzels and then heading to Bahama Bucks for sno cones! Auntie Anne's and Bahama Bucks for lunch makes me the best mom ever, you know.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting their animals' hearts all warm and full of love. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon putting his doggy's heart in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching Caedon's dog get stuffed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguQisJRvncYRyMZ81MdoNzKJ8kUava53Tk4LoF7FEl49mwOrxlpv4CJQqhdrA6Fj0HfiGbziyFEid8DXY1AfbIc1NzZNLopdXDF6vtkjoiOq5ZR1i203q7MKP9rtA5h43y2NfDbVIS77e/s1600/20140314_112043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguQisJRvncYRyMZ81MdoNzKJ8kUava53Tk4LoF7FEl49mwOrxlpv4CJQqhdrA6Fj0HfiGbziyFEid8DXY1AfbIc1NzZNLopdXDF6vtkjoiOq5ZR1i203q7MKP9rtA5h43y2NfDbVIS77e/s1600/20140314_112043.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon giving his doggy "Woofster" hugs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpmtYrYLCz_97wozDHHthiU9Xc0wtYs5CO9sTgQDB24cx94j7DYAUzp1FmaZljJtn2rvHMSx4ad4zYl6wrci7sbn0iL_0miyBjhJ25VAnAxc_HaECITa6QVIWm8qJAGcCdGnkQQgHm_vr/s1600/20140314_112100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpmtYrYLCz_97wozDHHthiU9Xc0wtYs5CO9sTgQDB24cx94j7DYAUzp1FmaZljJtn2rvHMSx4ad4zYl6wrci7sbn0iL_0miyBjhJ25VAnAxc_HaECITa6QVIWm8qJAGcCdGnkQQgHm_vr/s1600/20140314_112100.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa stuffing her bear</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD7ZIENTIjVFme7E2S_T_Uoi_svczLK_-F0kiQIMbe1BMczVbaDudX8HgSh5Kx8fj5uUEHywTUkEATrLICgxLDGWOGAXOlclOrPsu7eCY8svP9kMy9L9dK6oDIHrMoYxuytnOn3bSUQSe/s1600/20140314_112357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD7ZIENTIjVFme7E2S_T_Uoi_svczLK_-F0kiQIMbe1BMczVbaDudX8HgSh5Kx8fj5uUEHywTUkEATrLICgxLDGWOGAXOlclOrPsu7eCY8svP9kMy9L9dK6oDIHrMoYxuytnOn3bSUQSe/s1600/20140314_112357.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to fluff and "wash" the animals</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_jxucfRhrTnMC_bP69wjyDqD-WkOnMqDEcD33dRgWiLWJQIvG-u53hCRiST6Gdkl4-Lt0OMUnvo5gGA0DRwUFq6c8qT4P0ITZCUloit1V4Ibhjk7IdblsawfvkshSfo1_E0rJKeOoL93/s1600/20140314_113555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_jxucfRhrTnMC_bP69wjyDqD-WkOnMqDEcD33dRgWiLWJQIvG-u53hCRiST6Gdkl4-Lt0OMUnvo5gGA0DRwUFq6c8qT4P0ITZCUloit1V4Ibhjk7IdblsawfvkshSfo1_E0rJKeOoL93/s1600/20140314_113555.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa loves her "Love Bear"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WkSl74XNgqkbadwdyNEFbuZzK2xaMc4mMHG04_H-0OV8msRa-z4Ef9lldzJ1CXvNN-wQd6pHtWqUmK21o6dLJ_kwm-E2hA4BC_ER1vZ8JVAryklbN97ADVs4vFAqr5j3ORnn4MSWIJgu/s1600/20140314_114303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WkSl74XNgqkbadwdyNEFbuZzK2xaMc4mMHG04_H-0OV8msRa-z4Ef9lldzJ1CXvNN-wQd6pHtWqUmK21o6dLJ_kwm-E2hA4BC_ER1vZ8JVAryklbN97ADVs4vFAqr5j3ORnn4MSWIJgu/s1600/20140314_114303.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing at the playground</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNp_dP04_tS3I_6gmp3o1FwY-DHz9l_D7I2yNVJ7pnymB0XKZrWY9iRO0LdEL6gO_25MFmenQA8EdtDTzXmEbDCj5J-HKpZ2_MIKJhT9Xkg9mZ0ZwEKzwCpmDqOyx6igacyoeFJMEzGghu/s1600/20140314_114317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNp_dP04_tS3I_6gmp3o1FwY-DHz9l_D7I2yNVJ7pnymB0XKZrWY9iRO0LdEL6gO_25MFmenQA8EdtDTzXmEbDCj5J-HKpZ2_MIKJhT9Xkg9mZ0ZwEKzwCpmDqOyx6igacyoeFJMEzGghu/s1600/20140314_114317.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My kids are silly.</td></tr>
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We've had such a fun week and NOW my wonderful friend Amanda is coming to visit for the weekend! Tomorrow I get to hang out with her and my other fabulous friend, Chara, without the rascals. Can't. Wait. Seriously excited!<br />
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Thursday was 30 weeks for my two other little sweeties. I can't believe we have only about 7-8 weeks left before we meet these girls. I am still sometimes shocked and amazed by the fact that I'm really having TWO BABIES!<br />
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At 30 weeks:<br />
- I am still super tired. No surprise.<br />
- I still love being pregnant....feeling and watching these babies wiggle and dance is so amazing. It doesn't matter that this is my 4th pregnancy. It's just as wonderful this time around as it was the first!<br />
- I do not love that, with this pregnancy, I get to deal with the awful-last-few-weeks for an extended amount of time. I'm already measuring like I'm in my last month so I'm waking up 3-4 times every night to use the bathroom and having trouble getting comfortable when I lay down, hips and legs hurting when I wake up, clothes not fitting right no matter what and, also, heartburn. All of that is no fun.<br />
- I'm getting so anxious to get everything I need for the twins and get their room ready! I regularly have to resist the urge to get online and order everything from my registries. <br />
- I absolutely cannot WAIT to meet my girls! I don't want to rush it because obviously I want them to be as healthy as possible when they are born and I also know this is my LAST pregnancy and I want to enjoy every moment that I have them all to myself - but I am so excited to see what these babies look like! :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcNvGCzhoMpr65rlN9upfkm6ADsb1Gs04EPsdKWNyKVybVqU_tGgCLD83OtVu__tPmVYKl9LgWHf767EzAJV-CH1ATGegCdjTiTaQd3XPjyuYi9ZZngH6btK1wANEitlYDff9W8IwgeWX/s1600/20140311_130747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcNvGCzhoMpr65rlN9upfkm6ADsb1Gs04EPsdKWNyKVybVqU_tGgCLD83OtVu__tPmVYKl9LgWHf767EzAJV-CH1ATGegCdjTiTaQd3XPjyuYi9ZZngH6btK1wANEitlYDff9W8IwgeWX/s1600/20140311_130747.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the hats and infant gowns that I'm planning for the girls to wear home. Aren't they precious???</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKU0BLmtqOWqdwU9UK5wNtPWvE6ollgGLNwu8UdD_wLenqjo7k29sYw1_6cBdEMzJWaJe0k3pbduy4gKZ0Hg757vTrcVT_dw9EKuEdnEYjWkuddMUfCTadgbDWjGxLpLcl7a65bK6b9Zf/s1600/imagejpeg_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKU0BLmtqOWqdwU9UK5wNtPWvE6ollgGLNwu8UdD_wLenqjo7k29sYw1_6cBdEMzJWaJe0k3pbduy4gKZ0Hg757vTrcVT_dw9EKuEdnEYjWkuddMUfCTadgbDWjGxLpLcl7a65bK6b9Zf/s1600/imagejpeg_0.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was taken at my baby shower - me and my sister-in-law, Sarah. Her sweet little boy, <br />Benjamin, is due in 5 days! Can't wait to meet my new little nephew!</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-56221131473687140112014-02-16T15:21:00.000-06:002014-02-16T15:21:04.167-06:00Let Them Be LittleLast night we moved my sweet two-year-old out of the bedroom that he's had since he was born and into Kyler's room. I honestly almost cried. I kept thinking of how hard I worked to clear that room out (it used to be our office) and get it ready for that sweet baby I couldn't wait to meet. And now he's 2 1/2 years old, sleeping in a toddler bed, getting ready to be a big brother. It was almost too much for this mama's heart to take.<br />
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This song has been in my head ever since:<br />
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They do grow up oh-so-fast.</div>
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We also moved Melissa out of her room that she's had since she was born. It wasn't quite as hard on me because her room has gone through many transitions in the almost-7 years that she's been with us! She was super excited to get a new room!</div>
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And now....her old room is getting ready to be filled by cribs and onesies and a changing table and rocking chair again! We are so excited to get a room ready for the twins!</div>
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Speaking of the twins, we had another check-up on Valentine's Day. (How lovely that I got to see my two newest little loves on heart day!) They are both doing wonderful! They are weighing in around 1 lb, 14 oz each. They are quite the little wiggle worms and I absolutely love watching and feeling them moving every day.</div>
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I think, though, that I've discovered the hardest part about a twin pregnancy. Y'all, I'm not even in my third trimester yet and I HURT! It's difficult to bend down to put on pants/socks/shoes. My back hurts after walking through the store for a little bit. Rolling over in bed is getting harder. Third trimester starts around 27 weeks. But at my last visit with my midwife, when I was not quite 23 weeks, I was already measuring 30 weeks. I'm estimating now that I'm probably measuring around 34 weeks. So....I officially have about 3 months left to go yet I'm carrying like I'm due in 6 weeks. I can't even imagine how much bigger I'm going to get. Yikes!</div>
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Okay, no more complaints from me...for today. Here's a picture of those sweet babies to remind me why I hurt and that it will ALL be worth it!</div>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-54528744489326092962014-01-20T13:22:00.001-06:002014-01-20T13:22:48.080-06:00This is getting real, y'allSay it with me: "Yes, you're really going to have FIVE kids."<br />
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We've moved Caedon to the toddler bed (still working on the transition but he's such a great go-with-the-flow kid. Love it!), we've cleaned out and reorganized Kyler's room to make room for Caedon and his stuff. Next up is actually relocating Caedon. Then it will be time to clean out and reorganize Melissa's stuff so that we can move her to her new room! Melissa is excited about moving (we've told her that she still gets bunk beds even though she'll have her own room and that was all that really mattered to her!) and keeps asking WHEN she gets her new room. I can't wait to have her current room all cleared out so I can start putting the twins' stuff in it! <br />
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The idea of welcoming two infants into our home at the same time is scary and overwhelming. Some days it totally freaks me out. I also feel so very blessed. Many many people know that I always wanted twins. Always always always. I would have been perfectly content with one baby this time around, of course, because while I always wanted twins, I never expected to actually have them! I would have been content with the twins being two boys and we actually all hoped for one of each. However, when I used to imagine having twins, it was always two girls. I am thrilled that God chose to give me something that has been one of the deepest desires of my heart for so many years.<br />
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I'm 22w4d today and at my visit with my midwife this morning I was measuring 30 weeks! These girls are growing, for sure! I'm absolutely loving the kicks and wiggles from both of them! This pregnancy is hard for me because I know after these two are born, I'm done. I love being pregnant but Brian and I both agree that 5 kids is plenty for us and we won't be planning to have any more. It makes me sad to know that I'll never get to hold another little one so close to my heart and feel his or her first sweet movements. However....I also CANNOT WAIT until it's time for me to hold these two little girls in my arms! My feelings go in two different directions quite frequently!Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-46016839727783841392014-01-13T13:26:00.000-06:002014-01-13T13:26:03.581-06:00My kids just keep growing up!Last Wednesday, I brought the toddler bed in from the garage and cleaned it off and set it up in Caedon's room. The crib is still in there at the moment, too, they are sitting side-by-side. He is doing such a great job sleeping in his big boy bed at night. A couple of nights he's woken up in the middle of the night but he's doing good. Nap time on the other hand is not so fun. I always hate that transition at nap time. He's ended up back in the crib for a few naps because he just won't go to sleep otherwise. With Melissa, for a long time we used to lay in there next to her bed until she fell asleep. We may resort to that with Caedon, too (he's always been very similar to Meli in all his sleeping habits...) However, I'm getting bigger with this pregnancy all the time and then the twins will come and neither of those are really conducive to spending an hour or so laying on the floor in a toddler's room every afternoon. This too shall pass. I just remind myself of that. By the third kiddo, I know that all the frustrations that go with different phases and transitions are just temporary. He will adjust, we will adjust and it'll be fine. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying out his big boy bed right after I set it up</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping sweetly :)</td></tr>
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We have some other big news this week, too! For quite a while both Kyler and Melissa have been interested in baptism and we talk often about what it means and why we do it. They always come away from the conversation still wanting to get baptized but deciding they're not quite ready to make the decision to ask Jesus to be the boss of their life (that's how we talk about it most of the time. It's true, we have to be ready and willing to give up control and let Jesus be in charge).<br />
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Yesterday morning, Brian and I were still in bed and Melissa came in and cuddled up with us and said, "I want to get babatized." So we started discussing it again, what it means to get baptized, what we do before we get baptized, what we believe about God and Jesus, etc. She decided she was ready to take the first step and pray, telling God exactly what she believes about Jesus and asking that Jesus would come be the boss of her life and help her live the right way. I'm so proud of my sweet girl! She has such a tender heart and I pray that she will grow in her relationship with Him throughout the years.<br />
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Now she wants to know...WHEN can I get bapatized? :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this precious girl. So thankful that I can call her my daughter.</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-39393889579936287732014-01-01T19:28:00.000-06:002014-01-01T19:28:15.474-06:00Baby update and FAQsFirst of all, just in case you've been living under a rock...or don't follow my Facebook page at all....the babies are....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqbss-GOL2jVKSb1KJ-Wiv82eFnjhmSk5Uw_0loSqEsM066SVGs6x1Ute1bSqiNj9quymmOx8dxP8dubs6cD90Pf7MP78kV0VITzz-q2bv39fDuo4EDvqhqFLYyQxCz9v8T_HLeNGLS4B/s1600/20131229_171842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqbss-GOL2jVKSb1KJ-Wiv82eFnjhmSk5Uw_0loSqEsM066SVGs6x1Ute1bSqiNj9quymmOx8dxP8dubs6cD90Pf7MP78kV0VITzz-q2bv39fDuo4EDvqhqFLYyQxCz9v8T_HLeNGLS4B/s400/20131229_171842.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TWO LITTLE GIRLS!</td></tr>
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Two girls was the outcome we LEAST expected. I was thinking it was going to be 2 boys but we were all wanting one boy/one girl, so we were totally surprised by the PINK cake! I'm thrilled that I get to buy so much pink and frilly stuff, though! Kyler is excited again but he was disappointed at first. He kept telling me, "You're going to have another baby and it's going to be a boy." Sorry, buddy, Mommy's DONE after these two!<br />
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(2 girls was SO surprising to me that I'm still having trouble calling them both "her" and "sister". I keep wanting to call one a boy....)<br />
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FAQs:<br />
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1. What if they're not really girls? At my appointment yesterday both
the sono tech AND the doctor checked them and they both said, "yep,
definitely still girls!" so we're going with that!<br />
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2. What are their names???? We are naming our girls Rylan Grace and Sadie Jane. Melissa wants me to pick RIGHT now which baby will have which name but I want to wait and see what they look like first!<br />
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3. Are they identical? Probably not, although it is possible. The doctor said there's a 70%+ chance that they are fraternal. Each baby has its own placenta and amniotic sac and the membrane separating them is thick. He said this only happens with identical twins if the egg splits within the first three days. So....there's really no way to know if they are identical for sure before they are born. I'm hoping that when they're born it will be quite obvious that they are fraternal. I'd love to have one little dark headed girl and another blondie like Melissa!<br />
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4. Where are you going to put all those kids in your tiny house? Hehehe, no one has actually asked this question word for word...but we get the gist. Caedon is moving in with Kyler in the next couple of months and Melissa will be moving into Caedon's current room, since she'll be the only one to have her own room and it's the smallest. The babies will live in the room that is currently Melissa's. Melissa is okay with it, as long as she gets bunk beds. We said okay!<br />
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5. Are you still planning to have a natural birth? Yes, for now that is the plan! If the babies start having any anemia issues and the doctors say they need to be born in the hospital, obviously we will transfer to OB care. If I go into labor before 37 weeks, my midwife can't deliver so we would go to the hospital for delivery, of course. If anything comes up towards the end, like with Caedon, and we need to birth in the hospital, either natural or c-section, I'm at peace with it. But for now we are staying with our midwife and waiting to see when and where these babies decide to be born!<br />
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Questions I didn't answer? Feel free to ask, I don't mind answering!<br />
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I had an appointment yesterday with the perinatologist and he said the babies are doing great right now! They are both very active and were kicking each other and wiggling around all through the sono. Their blood flow looks good and as he checked them over he said they have beautiful hearts, perfectly formed brains, great spines, etc. He said, "You make great babies!" Yes, yes, I do! <br />
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He told me yesterday that we have three options for continuing care with their office. I can go in every two weeks for a sono like I had yesterday to check on the babies, I can go in every three weeks or so for a blood draw to check my antibody levels or I can do an amnio of both babies to check and see if they have the little c antigen in their blood. The blood draw is fine, but it's not always the most accurate and the amnio carries more risks than I would want to take for the babies so we are sticking with the doctor's first choice - the sonos every 2 weeks.<br />
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Here are pictures from yesterday's sono:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqQLxUEU_ETgiwUe3UV2-d3v-vO8AspJAHXVDCdHN9HBCKqb0C1n9QHzG84prRPAp8V8EHcmHmPDuTYxPJsMny8CM3_9qm5hfe1cuAVNB9PTSW22U6qjGgeMrIMYYBQbM_V0I3wMh7-vR/s1600/Sono+12-31-13+(19+w5d)+Baby+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqQLxUEU_ETgiwUe3UV2-d3v-vO8AspJAHXVDCdHN9HBCKqb0C1n9QHzG84prRPAp8V8EHcmHmPDuTYxPJsMny8CM3_9qm5hfe1cuAVNB9PTSW22U6qjGgeMrIMYYBQbM_V0I3wMh7-vR/s400/Sono+12-31-13+(19+w5d)+Baby+A.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby A</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV36EeVbEj5tx6AptbHBxw8270Nn1YnbdCWrPZ2g3naZ_6grlRnWEJItiHRgiaQ93As7Plu3h6PqjcMwFFFKpYorEVyDg5xycHEMtvVeMPDa440aGt62IOfaocWq-ibf2fJixMjVTegiJI/s1600/Sono+12-31-13+(19w5d)+Baby+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV36EeVbEj5tx6AptbHBxw8270Nn1YnbdCWrPZ2g3naZ_6grlRnWEJItiHRgiaQ93As7Plu3h6PqjcMwFFFKpYorEVyDg5xycHEMtvVeMPDa440aGt62IOfaocWq-ibf2fJixMjVTegiJI/s400/Sono+12-31-13+(19w5d)+Baby+B.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby B. I love this picture and how she has her legs all the way up in front of her face!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQ-FRnYA_5NSkQY0mDRkfQJoLlTsGxk5B0oXiLkaVkmRe-h6L-K9PkKDY0g6KHS2gHWUDU1CBw-8XKG-NtYEouH3Lzfy-HFNfm3jZIY_0UlV-uFFJBJDrIWc_KIlgN-nyYNyTzH0_iuLK/s1600/Sono+12-31-13+(19w5d)+Faces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQ-FRnYA_5NSkQY0mDRkfQJoLlTsGxk5B0oXiLkaVkmRe-h6L-K9PkKDY0g6KHS2gHWUDU1CBw-8XKG-NtYEouH3Lzfy-HFNfm3jZIY_0UlV-uFFJBJDrIWc_KIlgN-nyYNyTzH0_iuLK/s400/Sono+12-31-13+(19w5d)+Faces.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both babies - faces looking straight on. I always think the face pictures look kinda creepy....</td></tr>
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<br />Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-49789711832982465722013-12-20T16:06:00.001-06:002013-12-20T16:37:40.438-06:00When God providesWhen I got pregnant this time around, I figured we were covered on all the baby stuff. Caedon will be almost three, done with all the baby stuff, hopefully figuring out potty training. All that fun stuff. THEN we found out it was twins and well.....that requires a bit more. For one thing, we'll need double the diapers so I'd better increase my efforts to stock up on those when they're on sale and I have coupons! Plus we'll need a double stroller, a second car seat, extra everything. Thankfully, we bought a new crib when Caedon was born and we still have Melissa's in the garage so we don't need to worry about that.<br />
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Several days ago, Brian's aunt sent him an e-mail and asked if we had gotten a double stroller yet. She saw one on sale that she wanted to get if we didn't have one. We e-mailed back and told her how much we appreciated it but would she mind giving us the link so I could look at it - I wanted it to be able to hold both infant car seats at the same time AND wanted it to be compatible with the infant seat we used with Caedon. Do you know that when she e-mailed back and told us which stroller she was looking at, it was the EXACT stroller I had already selected at Target! Not only that, but it was no longer available in stores or at target.com so I was sure I was going to have to find a different one that met our needs. But God took care of that for us, through the generous love of family. I love that.<br />
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God is also protecting our sweet babies and we thank you all for your prayers for our little ones. We know that there are more people praying for them than we can even imagine and we so love that you are all passing on our requests to others so that these babies can be bathed in prayer.<br />
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When we went to our perinatologist appointment this week, we got confirmation that Brian IS positive for the little c antigen so that scenario I posted about before - Brian passed little c on to Caedon and, at some point during my pregnancy/delivery with him, his blood mixed with mine and my body created the antibodies against little c - seems like it is exactly what happened. Even though we know for sure that Brian has little c, we still can't know for sure if he has passed that on to one or both of these babies. During our sono this week the babies looked great, no problems with anemia for either of them and they are growing right on track, wiggling and looking cute! We will now visit the peri every two weeks to check on the babies and make sure things are still going well.<br />
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ALSO at this visit, the sono tech was able to see the genders of both of the babies! I so wish I could tell you who these little people are but....I don't know yet! We had her write the genders on a little card I had made up and she put the card and the sono pics that showed gender in an envelope. It was mailed off to my wonderful friend, Chara, who will be throwing us a gender reveal party on December 29th. My kiddos woke up this morning saying, "5 days til Christmas!" and I woke up saying, "9 days til I can call my babies by their names!" We are so excited to find out their genders with our family and friends here with us. It will be so much fun....but I'm having such a hard time waiting!<br />
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Keep an eye on my Facebook page and this blog because the news will be posted in both places as soon as possible after we have our reveal party! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZsFgZOUt2x5at8Nzd2qDC8jDmW9yLRD6w5YLDGfezr0T-y_8HZcZacNFERrbTj6EuucWblbK0QJczgOkDJi48wFDTqG7O8bbOzggQvfhRCnuLBk7idKgrCko82ZYoFKMEKkw5fg-EE2W/s1600/Sono+12-18-13+(17w6d)+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKZsFgZOUt2x5at8Nzd2qDC8jDmW9yLRD6w5YLDGfezr0T-y_8HZcZacNFERrbTj6EuucWblbK0QJczgOkDJi48wFDTqG7O8bbOzggQvfhRCnuLBk7idKgrCko82ZYoFKMEKkw5fg-EE2W/s400/Sono+12-18-13+(17w6d)+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both babies, with their profiles set side-by-side :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5qBMVEd17Z0axjf5XDQCejsGGvTYZSzxaDnpf9igga2ml2Ji6v8LaBKH61K93IMggg6-RkTY42smbzjO53seZvZQp_lJmFf5vw3f3PLJuZ5wrdARIaVwnVaejWTLw52Y3UI0Fv0byMvW/s1600/Sono+12-18-13+Baby+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5qBMVEd17Z0axjf5XDQCejsGGvTYZSzxaDnpf9igga2ml2Ji6v8LaBKH61K93IMggg6-RkTY42smbzjO53seZvZQp_lJmFf5vw3f3PLJuZ5wrdARIaVwnVaejWTLw52Y3UI0Fv0byMvW/s400/Sono+12-18-13+Baby+A.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby A</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitb-Y70Sy5f0YGvktM8-FNF31L9pRcge0tUzIVRj7Fm6iJhOzRyGqCIMoJtBvrX2lhO5ZSgLNPR7qqw2UWQBTSATtPcG6Vexlyme1llA1xQuKst5e-vxCpLiVJXtm1Dou9mmMKSqasjz8o/s1600/Sono+12-18-13+Baby+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitb-Y70Sy5f0YGvktM8-FNF31L9pRcge0tUzIVRj7Fm6iJhOzRyGqCIMoJtBvrX2lhO5ZSgLNPR7qqw2UWQBTSATtPcG6Vexlyme1llA1xQuKst5e-vxCpLiVJXtm1Dou9mmMKSqasjz8o/s400/Sono+12-18-13+Baby+B.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby B</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-5479414325734160892013-12-04T12:10:00.003-06:002013-12-04T12:10:46.297-06:00Growing UpIt's always bittersweet watching my kids hit new milestones and make transitions. I love watching them learn and grow but I always miss that little bit of "baby" that they lose every time they learn something new. <br />
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Caedon has several transitions to make in the next 5 months before the twins come - getting rid of paci, moving to a toddler bed, moving into Kyler's room and (hopefully!) potty-training. Yesterday he decided to take care of one of those transitions on his own without any encouragement from Mommy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl6xfzso8qnd0KBMbr7iIUYjZQXFsUyB2KlTnzpbvsE_t-hwsJAjmGYBXLFEe4DCxALjLBxKpPnBW_eIJZdV_SsW_rPANfsQbsP8eVfOx-zBFguaYLVLBRgkBq1tdh5wLATTWW_02v6To/s1600/sweet+sleeping+boy+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHl6xfzso8qnd0KBMbr7iIUYjZQXFsUyB2KlTnzpbvsE_t-hwsJAjmGYBXLFEe4DCxALjLBxKpPnBW_eIJZdV_SsW_rPANfsQbsP8eVfOx-zBFguaYLVLBRgkBq1tdh5wLATTWW_02v6To/s400/sweet+sleeping+boy+(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caedon just a few weeks ago, sleeping sweetly with his paci</td></tr>
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Yesterday morning when I went to get Caedon from bed, he handed me his pacifier and said, <span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"Throw it away." <br /> I said, "You wanna throw your pacis away?"<br /> Him, "Yeah, put it in the trash."</span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">So he took the two pacifiers he had in his bed and put them right into the trash can. And then at naptime there were no tears. He didn't even ask for paci. He just sang and talked himself to sleep. At bedtime and again at naptime today he did ask where paci is but I reminded him that he put them in the trash and they're gone now and he didn't fuss about it. He's still in there right now talking and singing but I'm hoping he'll be asleep within the hour! </span><br />
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">I am just amazed at how easily he made the transition to no paci - and that he did it on his own without prompting! After the nightmare of a time we had getting Melissa off of her beloved paci, I was not looking forward to it with Caedon. Relieved mommy over here!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZmRadKVdNK5taSyVbOs3reld518ZDx58-FEOmH7OlpDcij64rnsP8VfP5mBGVmGgkkT96V0T9pxE2UJXvRrkRO4xTr-XAL7AdYzHWUWr_BwyxOjG5WgsgaW6zwsEDmfzmwMf5VcXECWn/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZmRadKVdNK5taSyVbOs3reld518ZDx58-FEOmH7OlpDcij64rnsP8VfP5mBGVmGgkkT96V0T9pxE2UJXvRrkRO4xTr-XAL7AdYzHWUWr_BwyxOjG5WgsgaW6zwsEDmfzmwMf5VcXECWn/s400/IMG_2707.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It seems that he turned into a big boy overnight! Where's my baby go?</td></tr>
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Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124758384436192536.post-55879803123791797132013-11-14T16:01:00.002-06:002013-11-14T16:01:33.728-06:00Perinatologist appointmentIn my last post, I had just had my blood re-drawn to send it for antibody screening. Obviously, I got the results of that test since then and it was the same, still positive for antibodies. My midwife referred me to a perinatologist so that we could find out exactly what the antibody issue was and how it could affect me and baby. Yesterday I had that first appt there. First of all, I have to say that I really liked the doctor. He was great at explaining what was going on and where we go from here and he was very helpful and kind. <br />
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Brian went with me to the appointment yesterday and when we got called back, the first thing we did was have an ultrasound. The tech <span class="null">put the wand on my belly and then pulled it off
really quick. </span><br />
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<span class="null">The following conversation went something like this:</span><br />
<span class="null">Tech: "Have you had an ultrasound yet for this pregnancy?"</span><br />
<span class="null">Me: "No, this is our first."</span><br />
<span class="null">Tech: "Was this a spontaneous pregnancy or did you have help?" [ie fertility treatments]</span><br />
<span class="null">Me: No, it was just us...</span><br />
<span class="null">Tech: "Well, the reason I'm asking is...[and she puts the wand back down]...there are two babies in
here." </span><br />
<span class="null">Me: "Are you JOKING???"</span><br />
<span class="null">Brian: [Sitting next to me spluttering] </span><br />
<span class="null"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXohSpZKf593FCJSIjDaxYELD7eChi-O1B6vzIN5_j9Cmcgt08IcRCPX6y_6pI72hTbyMOGGw1qm6fVgmK9EH_UCgjfITPd2jVjmPXwA3XdWBfHB1dT3CLjKIhgYO9I_fdcH0KN3n1m3F/s1600/%234+and+%235+sonogram+pics+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXohSpZKf593FCJSIjDaxYELD7eChi-O1B6vzIN5_j9Cmcgt08IcRCPX6y_6pI72hTbyMOGGw1qm6fVgmK9EH_UCgjfITPd2jVjmPXwA3XdWBfHB1dT3CLjKIhgYO9I_fdcH0KN3n1m3F/s400/%234+and+%235+sonogram+pics+(3).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="null"><br /></span>
<span class="null">So....yes, we're having TWINS. We will have FIVE kids! I'm pretty sure I'm still in complete shock but Kyler and Melissa are THRILLED.</span><br />
<span class="null"><br /></span>
<span class="null">After that, she continued to check over the babies and take measurements, listen to heartbeats (TWO of them! Oh my goodness!), etc. All that fun sonogram stuff. When she finished, she left and we waited for the doctor, talking about our surprise over the addition of two babies to our family instead of one. I know at one point I turned to Brian and said, "Nobody will ever want to baby-sit for us again." :)</span><br />
<span class="null"><br /></span>
<span class="null">When the doctor came in, he discussed with us the antibody issue. </span>There are tons of different antigens and antibodies and certain ones can cause issues in pregnancy. Basically,
my blood naturally does not have a certain antigen (called little c) but at some
point it was introduced into my blood and my body recognized it as a "foreign object" and
so my body created white blood cells to attack the little c antigen. So
the antibody issue is that my body is now "on guard" against that
particular antigen and IF one or both of the babies has the little c antigen and my body
recognizes it as something it's dealt with before, it could cause my
body to create mass amounts of white blood cells and send them across
the placenta to attack the baby's blood. It can cause serious anemia
issues (and even lead to death of the baby). <br />
<br />
The doctor had us do a blood draw on Brian as well. IF his blood work comes back completely negative for the c antigen, then our babies are in the clear. Since I don't carry little c and if Brian doesn't carry little c, then the babies would not possibly have little c in their blood, which means my body would have no reason to attack it. Make sense? This would obviously be the BEST case scenario.<br />
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However, my honest guess is that Brian DOES carry little c and he passed it on to Caedon. Sometime during Caedon's pregnancy or birth, some of his blood mixed with mine and introduced that little c to my body, causing my body to create antibodies against it. Just a guess, but it's an educated one and a very likely scenario<br />
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At this point, it's just a waiting game to see if the babies will be affected. I go back at 18 weeks (the earliest they would be able to intervene if the baby/babies have issues) and they will do another ultrasound. Each month (I THINK he said once a month, there was a lot of info to take in) they will do the ultrasound and keep an eye on the blood flow of the babies by checking the blood vessels in their heads. If the baby or babies start having any anemia problems, they can start doing transfusions to the baby/babies through the umbilical cord.<br />
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We would LOVE your prayers. Please pray for the babies throughout this pregnancy, that they will BOTH stay healthy and strong and are not affected at all by the antibodies. Please pray specifically for the next 5 weeks. Until they are 18 weeks, they are too small for the transfusions. If one or both of the babies start having trouble in the next 5 weeks, there is nothing to do for them. I had no idea before yesterday that there were two babies on the way to join our family, but
now that I DO know, I want to bring BOTH of those sweet little people
home to join us.Tashahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16948619225772410058noreply@blogger.com1