Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing you a great day! Below are some recent photos: Transportation Day at Tyson's school (we got to watch a Black Hawk helicopter land in the school parking lot!) and Tyson "patiently" waiting for his puppy take a bath in the washer (he loves his stuffed-animal puppy and real puppies).

Future fire fighter?

Future pilot?

Or a future veterinarian?

24 Weeks...

and growing! I had another ultrasound this week and we got to watch our twins in action. Our OB-GYN sent us to a more specialized ultrasound office which meant we also got to meet with a perinatologist. It was a long appointment... definitely more than twice as long as Tyson's ultrasounds, but we learned a lot of helpful information. At 24 weeks: 0ur twins are still boy/girl, baby boy weighs 1 pound 13 ounces (average weight) and is on my right side, baby girl weighs 1 pound 9 ounces (average weight) and is on my left side, baby boy is currently breech, baby girl is in the "head down" position, and overall they both appear to be doing well. The ultrasound photos turned out okay, we weren't able to get any photos of their faces because both were facing me (in) during the appointment. Hopefully they will cooperate a little more for the next ultrasound so we can get a better look at their beautiful faces.

Baby boy feet

Baby girl feet

Girls' Weekend

I am so glad that my doctor approved a (final) trip out-of-state to the Bay Area. I am now 24 weeks along and January has been a very hectic month, so this trip was exactly what I needed. The Bay Area is my home away from home...not only is it green and beautiful with mild temperatures, some of my closest buds live there. :-) It was a low-key weekend and I really enjoyed my time there from hanging out with Jena and her 3 kiddos in Mountain View, to exploring Menlo Park and all of its cute cafe's with Lindsay, and then getting a glimpse of Stefanie's life in Oakland. Plus, nothing beats a drive at dusk along the Bay Bridge with views of downtown San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Big Mama!

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers with our twins news! The twins are more active than ever in my belly and Adam and I are starting to plan out our new "to do list" that comes with any set of twins. Overall, we are beyond excited, but no doubt there are times we are overwhelmed with the big changes coming to our little family and the reality that a pregnancy/labor/delivery with multiples has a greater risk of complications at severe levels. What we do know brings us great comfort: that the twins are under God's protection and we are confident in our OB-GYN and the hospital that we're delivering at. Plus, we have received great advice from family and friends with twins.

Top 5 twins questions that we have gotten:
1. Do twins run in Ilalia's family? Nope.
2. Do twins run in Adam's family? Yes, actually on both sides of his family, but it's carried through the maternal side.
3. Are your boy-girl twins identical? Ah, nope on that one... different plumbing!
4. Were you planning on having twins? Not exactly...but we couldn't be more thrilled to add double the fun.

5. Are you bigger this pregnancy than last? YES, much bigger. See photos below.

22 weeks with Tyson

22 weeks with the twins

Seeing Pink AND Blue!

We have some very exciting news to share! On December 27, I had my first ultrasound and learned... we are expecting TWINS! At 19 weeks pregnant, we got our first glimpse of the newest members of our family. It has been a difficult pregnancy for me compared to Tyson's, so the news that I am carrying twins explains a lot. Right away the ultrasound tech determined that twin "A" is a girl and several minutes later (which felt like an eternity) we learned that twin "B" is a boy. Both babies appear healthy thus far and my May 19th due date has not changed although its very likely I'll deliver earlier than that.

We had the great joy of telling both of our parents over dinner, along with Kevin and Lindsay (our other siblings were out of town for the holidays). We had everyone jot down their guess of the baby's gender. We went down the line and every single person guessed that the baby was a girl until the final person, Adam's dad, who guessed we were having twins and went so far as to draw a picture of a girl and a boy! We were laughing that John not only guessed the news correctly but he stole Adam's punchline that everyone was "half right". You can see John's artistic abilities below.



Tyson seems to be doing well with the news, but we're still not sure if he understands fully that he's going to be a brother to two babies, not just one. Adam and I are waiting in anticipation for the twins' arrival and we greatly appreciate your prayers for a healthy remainder of the pregnancy.

November Highlights

I'm always amazed that the moment Thanksgiving is over the Christmas season is in full swing! Below are some November photos that I am finally posting. We have so much to be thankful for!

We got to be Superhero's at the Vanderwall birthday party!

Free Sprinkles cupcakes on the day ASU played U of A = yum!

Tyson and McKenna hanging out before bedtime

A busy Thanksgiving holiday playing outside Tyson's first flag football match = "Ready! Break!"

Tricycle

Tyson loves riding his tricycle... in the driveway, in the backyard, in the rocks, in the patio... anywhere!