34 Week Update

I am currently 34 weeks, 5 days pregnant. Yay!! It probably sounds a little funny to others to hear how far along I am in weeks and days, but every day pregnant means one less day in the NICU for our babies, so I am always happy to mark another day off the calendar. The babies, Bruce and I had our 34 week appointment yesterday and the doctor said there is no change, the babies are breech and aren't showing any signs of making their appearance anytime soon. They will schedule our c-section within the next couple of weeks if things continue this way. Of course, everything could change in a minute so we're taking it day by day and I'm still taking it easy. I am so thankful to have made it this far and there are no words to describe how excited we are to meet our sweet babies before too long. Aside from feeling super large and not sleeping very well at night (or sometimes not at all), I don't have any major complaints and we are all healthy.

I've posted a few new pictures. Two weeks ago our friends Gabe and Mary threw us a wonderful baby shower. They planned the BEST southern menu and needless to say it was a hit with Bruce, me and the babies. Bruce and I had Thanksgiving lunch at Cracker Barrel since cooking a big dinner wasn't really an option for us this year. It was different to eat out on Thanksgiving Day but so much fun and we'll never forget it. It was quiet and relaxing and something tells me next year will be a little different. That's all for now, but we'll keep everyone posted.


Our hosts Mary and Gabe


What a cute diaper cake!


An afternoon with friends

Mom and I pose for a quick picture before she heads home - thanks for flying up for the shower Mom!

Thanksgiving 2008

Twins 32 Week Update

Sorry it's been so long since our last update, but Bruce and I are happy to report that we will start the 33rd week on Sunday and Mom, Dad and babies are doing extremely well. We had a routine doctors appointment yesterday and a growth scan (or ultrasound) today. Any guesses on weight? Drum roll please...our little girl weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces and our little boy weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces. (Average weight for a singleton baby at this gestational age is 4 - 4 1/2 pounds). We are praying their awesome weight gain continues! The waiting game begins as it could be as little as two weeks or as many as five until our bundles of joy make their appearance. One thing we have learned is that everyday of this pregnancy is different and all we can do is take it one day at a time and wait.

I had to include the belly pictures below for my Mom. When she was here two weeks ago she really wanted to paint my stomach as a pumpkin (for obvious reasons) and the "Roll Tide" thing was just for fun as we were watching Alabama beat LSU that night. So enjoy the pictures. Sorry the ultrasound pictures aren't as dark as the others - the ultrasound machine was almost out of ink. It's back to resting on the sofa for me now. We'll keep you all posted as things progress, but for now, no news is good news.


Aunt Brooke and Sarah out to lunch. Brooke came to see us this past weekend and we were so happy to see her. We could only give her the riding tour of DC and hit the sights visibile from the road. Brooke we promise your next trip up will be more exciting! It was fun to get out of the house for a little while though and try a new restaurant together.

Here I am at the ultrasound today - it might be my last one so I had Bruce capture the moment

A pregnant belly makes an excellent canvas for painting a pumpkin

And showing school spirit!

This is me at the Lost Dog Cafe in Arlington two weeks ago. Here I am sitting at the table and as you can see there was only an inch or so between my stomach and the table. I almost didn't fit - my Mom and friend Laura thought this was hysterical and rightfully so!

Ok, so this is a picture of our sweet little girl. It's really crowded in there, but you are looking down at her and you can see her forehead, nose and eyes. Her umbilical cord is in front of her face and both arms were up on the side of her head.

Here's our little boy - he gave us a beautiful profile shot here. He had his hand up in front of his face, but you can see his cheeks, lips, nose and eyes pretty easily.

In the pictures above and below, each baby is looking into the "camera." Baby a is our boy and baby b is our girl.


A happy mommy and daddy-to-be

We're Moving to Biloxi!

As if there hasn't been enough activity and excitement around our house lately, we found out yesterday that we are moving to Biloxi! Bruce will be an instructor at Keesler AFB and we will be there by the end of April. We are so excited and couldn't be happier with this assignment. There are many things about the South that we've missed these last few years and we've missed being close to our friends and family even more so. Needless to say there is a lot about this move that we are looking forward to. We don't have many details yet, but will keep everyone updated as we know more. Just had to share the awesome news with everyone!

Here are a couple of pictures we took in Biloxi two years ago...who knew we'd move there one day!

The Last Trimester is Here

It's official...the last trimester is here! And with the excitement of the last trimester comes a new game plan as I am now on modified bed rest. Last Friday night Bruce and I found ourselves in labor and delivery because of all the contractions I was having and then after about an hour the doctor decided to keep me in the hospital to monitor me and the babies. I was given medicine to stop the contractions and two rounds of steroid shots to help develop the babies' lungs a little faster in case they do come early. After keeping a close eye on me all weekend, the doctors decided to send me home on modified bed rest which is fine by me if it means I can prolong the pregnancy. I can still get up and move around for a few minutes every couple of hours or so, but that's about it. Not to worry though, Mom, Dad and babies are doing great even after all that happened and given how serious it could have been, things turned out as well as they possible could have. Bruce is doing a beyond-terrific job of taking care of the three of us and making sure we get the rest we need. He's keeping my spirits up and I couldn't do this without him.

On a lighter note, we had our 28 week ultrasound yesterday and our babies look precious and put on a good show for us as usual! Little Girl weighs 2.11 and Little Boy weighs 2.9 - so each baby gained more than one pound since our last visit four weeks ago. Every nurse, doctor or ultrasound technician who tried to monitor the babies this weekend all had the same thing to say "They are feisty!" or "They really like to move!" This is not a new trend we're spotting so I think it's safe to say that we are going to have our hands full with two very busy babies before too long!

Here I am at 28 weeks

Getting bigger by the day

And because it's been a while since I posted a picture of the boys, here they are snuggling and looking handsome after a long afternoon of grooming at Petsmart

26 Weeks and Counting!

So nothing really new to report, just a few pictures and an update for our friends and family out there. I had my 26 week doctors appointment today - I start the 27th week on Sunday - and everything is going very well. We didn't do an ultrasound today, but will do another 3D ultrasound in a week at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The babies were active and we picked up their heartbeats right away; 145 and 148 beats per minute. I'm measuring 38 weeks pregnant and definitely feeling that way! My weight is right on track and the nurse today told me I was the first patient she'd seen get excited about gaining weight which I thought was funny. I'm just relieved to know I'm doing the eating thing right - I want these babies to be as big as possible on their birthdays! We talked a little more about preterm labor, what to watch for and what I need to be doing at this stage in the game; I'll start going to the doctor every two weeks from here on out. Mom and babies are still doing well and for that we are extremely grateful. Thank you everyone for all of the thoughts and prayers. We still have a little ways to go, but these babies will be here before we know it! Another post and more pictures to come in a week or so.

Now for a few pictures...
Here we are at 26 weeks!



Here's Bruce putting together their crib - what a good Daddy-to-be

The babies' crib is ready and waiting - they'll share one at first and when they're ready, Little Girl will have her own crib with matching bedding that's pink and green

The stroller and car seats Mommy put together herself!

Finally...after six long months (yes six!) our new sofa and chair have arrived

This chair is almost a sofa itself!

Our Babymoon in New York

Knowing that in just a few short months our babies will be here and that in just a few short weeks it'll be extremely hard for me to get around, Bruce and I decided to be spontaneous and drive up to New York this weekend. Although we had to take our time, make a lot of stops, pack liters of water and eat every couple of hours, we had a blast on our "babymoon" and in 48 hours we got to see and do everything we wanted to do including going to the last game the Yankees would ever play in "the house that Ruth built." Not only were we lucky enough to be there the weekend the game was played, but we found tickets the day before the game and our seats were amazing! We can't wait to tell the babies one day that they were there.

We took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty, watched the sun set from the top of the Empire State Building, walked through Central Park and Times Square, visited Ground Zero, took a romantic rickshaw ride through the city at night (which was only a little scary at times when taxis were swerving all around us) and tried to squeeze in with about a hundred other tourists to take our picture with the Charging Bull on Wall Street. We found Bad Boy Entertainment, the home of the Late Show with David Letterman and the Hello Deli.

There was no shortage of food sampled this weekend - we tried the pizza from the famous restaurant "John's," had dinner in a very authentic chinese restaurant in China Town, tried fried Oreos in Little Italy and sampled New York style bagels and coffee for breakfast. It was all part of the experience and it was all fabulous! The New Yorkers couldn't have been more friendly and were just as likely to strike up a conversation with a stranger as we were - although completely different from home, there was a definite community kind of feel that we noticed on more than one occasion. Bruce was sporting an Alabama hat the first day and we actually got a couple of Roll Tide's from people we passed on the street and met another couple from Huntsville on the subway! Talk about a small world. Enjoy the pictures!

Sarah in Times Square

Bruce on the ferry heading out to the Statue of Liberty

Bruce took this one!

Here we are...all four of us!

I bet you can guess where we took this one

Ground Zero

The Yankees' new stadium

The view from our seats

A family pic from the game

A very cool statistic - the total attendance in the stadium's 85 year history

Here we are on top of the Empire State Building

Bruce in Times Square

A pretty shot of the city

We couldn't not take a picture here

...Or here

Six Month Ultrasound

This past Friday Bruce and I went to our ultrasound appointment to make sure our babies are doing well and everyone is growing at the same rate. Little Boy and Little Girl (their names are going to be kept a secret until they are born)are beautiful and healthy to boot. They were very active which seems to be a trend we're picking up on and the ultrasound tech gave us several more 3D pictures to take home with us which I've posted here. It's not hard to see that our little boy looks like his daddy and our little girl looks like her mommy.

They are measuring 5 days ahead of their actual dates which the doctor said they like to see because as some point they will run out of room and it will be harder for them to put on weight. Little Girl weighed in at 1 pound, 9 ounces and Little Boy weighed in at 1 pound, 7 ounces. By the end of this month their weight should double, so I expect them and my belly to be a lot larger at the next appointment. I started my 24th week yesterday and I am measuring 33 weeks pregnant to give you an idea as to how quickly the three of us are growing. I am feeling well, still working and doing most things the way I normally would - just a little slower and a lot more carefully. I'm tired a lot but that's to be expected and let's not even talk about how hungry I am! Bruce has learned that every couple of hours it's time to eat and he makes every effort to make sure we stick to that schedule even when we're out - what a sweet husband!!

It was awesome to have Bruce by my side for this appointment and he'll get to make the next one too before he heads off to training for a few weeks. The nursery is slowly coming together and our babies' Grandmother Wilhite and Great-Grandmother Eddy just sent a huge box of the most beautiful baby clothes. These babies will be well dressed to say the least! Thanks for thinking of us Grandmother and Great-Grandmother!

Our Little Girl

Our Little Boy