Baby Shower ~ April 19, 2009

We had our second baby shower today. I can't express enough how lucky Matt and I are to have such great family and friends. We continue to be blessed by all of them.

Matt started the day off right. He bought me a HUGE bouquet of flowers for the big day. What a wonderful husband. My girls are so lucky to have such an amazing Dad. He is so thoughtful, sweet and loving. He is extremely excited to be having a house full of women!!!

Aunt Shannon and Jennie put together a wonderful shower. They thought of every detail. As you can see by the pictures, it was absolutely adorable, and "PINK" was the theme! We played a game where I had to pick which features I wanted our girls to have from me and those I wanted them to have from Matt. It was a fun little game. I look forward to see if my wishes come true. HA!

We received so many great and amazing gifts. We got our double stroller, a pak-n-play, bath toys, a swing, baby monitor and so much more. One of the most unique gifts that we received was a pre-paid professional photo session for Sophia and Claire. We received two of these wonderful gifts and I can't wait to use them. As you all know I love photos and find they are the best way to capture all of your memories.

Matt was a wonderful Dad this evening. He helped me put together our Pak-n-Play. I have to say it is adorable!! I am amazed at all of the little compartments. I know it will be well used.

These showers and all the gifts are definitely making everything very real. I just can't wait to see our little angels. God has definitely blessed us and prepared us for this day. We ask for your continued prayers as we get closer to Sophia and Claire's arrival!!!

THANK YOU Jennie and Shannon for putting together an amazing shower. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. I know many of you drove a long way to be here. WE LOVE YOU!

~My First Baby Shower~

I had my first baby shower on April 11th, the day before my 30th birthday. My sisters and my Mom hosted the gathering. They know me so well. Everything was perfect! They thought of every last detail to make the day so special for me and the girls.

As you can see by the pictures below it was all beautiful. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful and amazing family and friends. They are all so generous. We got amazing gifts from a car seat and swing to handmade birp cloths and clothes.

Matt enjoyed getting to see all the gifts after the festivities ended. He put together our swing today, learned how to install the car seat yesterday and will work on the bouncy seat tomorrow. Seeing all of these baby essentials around the house has made everything much more real. I am just so ready and excited to meet our little girls.

Matt can hardly contain himself. He is so ready for the girls to arrive. He thinks about them constantly. I can't wait to see his face when he meets Claire and Sophia. Our lives will change forever.

We have our first non-stress test tomorrow at the doctor. Basically they hook me up to monitors and watch the girls heart rates. We are praying that everything comes back normal and that the girls decide to stay in my belly for a few more weeks. They have some more growing to do!

Enjoy the pictures below from the shower!

7.5 months Pregnant

We are now at the 30 week mark. The pregnancy is really flying by. At times that makes me nervous but at the same time very anxious and excited! Matt and I have so much to look forward to. We have two beautiful and amazing little girls on the way!!!
We had an ultrasound on April 2nd. Like always, we were so excited to see how Sophia and Claire have changed. Unfortunately Claire did not participate in the excitement. She had her back to us the entire ultrasound. She must have been one tired little girl.
Sophia on the other hand was very happy to pose. As you can see in the 3D picture, she has her hand laying across the top of her head. She loves to lay like that. I am anxious to see if that continues after her arrival. I believe that Sophia looks like Matt in this picture. I think it is her nose. I guess time will tell.
The other two pictures show evidence of hair on the girls heads. I can't believe that an ultrasound can pick up that much detail. I have been praying for babies with full heads of dark hair. We may just get our wish.

Sophia is now 3lbs 7 oz and Claire is 3 lbs 6oz. This puts them in the 69th and 68th percentile of all babies. Normally twins on average are in the 30th percentile. I guess our girls are over-achievers already. Matt says it is because they are going to be tall athletes. I think that sounds good!
I continue to enjoy watching all the amazing movements coming from my belly. I think I could sit and watch all day long. Last night Matt and I got to feel the babies hiccups for the first time. I have never been so excited about hiccups. We could not stop smiling and laughing about it.

My Mom, sister Abby, niece Stella and my nephew Drake visited us on Friday. They helped me with some items I needed to finish up before the babies arrival. We purchased outfits for the girls to come home in from the hospital. So adorable! Thank you to the family for visiting and helping me out.

Now that I got through all the wonderful things I guess I should touch on the not so exciting piece. I swear I see evidence of stretch marks appearing. This was my first official nauseous moment in my entire pregnancy. I know, I know...did I really think that I would get by without any stretch marks while carrying not one but two babies? Well I was hoping that I was going to be one of those lucky 10% who don't get them. Matt says he doesn't see them. I think he may just be playing it safe and telling me what I want to hear. Such a good husband; he has learned well!
After my initial nausea and a return to reality I realized that it doesn't really matter. Cover me in stretch marks, extra pounds and whatever comes with pregnancy....I wouldn't trade it for anything. God is blessing us with two baby girls in two months and nothing could be better than that.

Love to all!!!

7 Months Pregnant

It is hard to believe but we have reached the 7 month mark. It has gone by so quickly. I am still feeling really great. I have had a few recent nights of difficult sleep but that is it. The girls are getting so big and moving around constantly. Our last doctor appointment went very well. I took the glucose test and thankfully the results came back fine. I got to listen to the girls heartbeats. Claire happened to be the most active which is unusual.

I have been doing a lot of baby laundry. As many of you know I LOVE shopping! In the past 7 months I have purchased blankets, onesies, dresses, etc. I have washed everything and it is ready to be worn.

We have started work on the nursery. I so badly want to make sure it is ready for Sophia and Claire's arrival. It only took me 4 pink paint samples to pick the wall color. Matt is painting the room this evening. I am sure he will be "pinked out" by the time it is complete. I am so thankful that he is taking care of this task.

The new cribs arrived this morning. I can't wait to put them together. Thank you to Nanna and Papaw for gifting the girls with a beautiful bed to sleep in. Grandpa Benny and his friend completed our custom wall/shelving unit. It is absolutely beautiful. Matt and I plan to paint it within the next week and put it into the nursery.

We go back to the doctor on April 2nd for another ultrasound. I can't wait to post pictures. I am sure the girls will have changed a lot in a month.

Speaking of "change", I have posted pictures of my expanding belly. It is hard to imagine it getting any bigger but I know it will. Matt says I look beautiful. Thank goodness for his compliments; when you get this big you need to hear those things!!!

Super Dad!

I thought it was time to brag on someone very special to the girls and I..."THE DADDY TO BE". In the midst of this wonderful process most of the focus is on our growing girls and their Mommy who is not lacking in the growth department either. I don't think the girls and I could do all of this without him.

Carrying twins and being 6.5 months pregnant doesn't make it easy to do the normal things around the house. Fortunately I have a husband who not only does all the cleaning but he does it very very well. He scrubs the bathrooms, dusts, mops, sweeps...you name it he has been doing it for the past couple of months.

On top of that he has managed to take care of our move to Indiana. With limited help from me he pulled it all together. The move went so smoothly and our house has come together quickly.

Matt loves to think about the girls and imagines all of the wonderful things to come. He envisions them running up to him when he gets off work, dreams of them playing every sport imaginable and of course being Daddy's Little Girls! It is neat to see how emotional he becomes when thinking about them. As their mother it makes me melt.

Sophia and Claire have the most caring, loving and hardworking Daddy. They are blessed to have him!

25 Week Ultrasound

We went to the doctor on Thursday. We had another long ultrasound where they took every measurement possible of the girls. They are doing wonderful. I am bias but I think they are beautiful! Matt says the girls profiles are exactly like mine.

Sophia is 1 pound 12 ounces and Claire is 1 pound 11 ounces. On the growth chart twins normally fall below the 50th percentile with the majority being around the 20-30th percentile. Sophia and Claire are in the 49th and 48th percentile respectiviely. They are two healthy little girls.

The girls were consistent again. Sophia was all over the place and I definitely feel every movement she makes. Thank goodness she does sleep when I sleep. Claire was more laid back like always although she did get a kick or two in on her sister.

I have my glucose test in two weeks. Hopefully it goes well. Say many prayers for that!

The ultrasound pictures show a profile picture of each of the girls along with a picture of their tiny little feet. So cute!!

Baby Registry

I was able to do my registry at Babies R Us on Sunday. Aunt Cara and Aunt Abby joined me for the fun day. I knew I needed people to go with me who had extensive knowledge of everything two little girls would need. Babies R Us can be an overwhelming experience for a new Mom. I was amazed with all the choices for baby bottles alone.

We ended up spending 3.5 hours in the store. I know that is hard to believe but their was so much stuff to go through. Luckily I had my sisters tell me which things were gimmicks and which were necessities. That is not to say we didn't register for some frivilous items. We are girls for goodness sakes!!

Unfortuantely Babies R Us doesn't offer a lot of options for twin stroller sets so Matt and I had to register for all of our big items like the stroller, car seats, pak-n-play and high chairs online at albeebaby.com. I am sure most of you have not heard of the website but you should check it out. I loved the pattern I found. Baby stuff can be stylish you know!!! For those of you who watch Tori and Dean's show, you will recognize the fabric pattern. So cute!

I have started my registry at Pottery Barn Kids. Finally, after years of staring at the Pottery Barn magazine I get in the mail each month and dreaming of the nursery I would put together, those dreams can finally become a reality. I am definitely having fun with all of this!!

The girls and I are doing great. I noticed a big change in my belly this morning when I woke up. I guess the girls had a little growth spirt overnight. Thankfully I am sleeping much better now. Thank you for all the prayers. I have slept really great for the past 4 nights. What a blessing!

We have another ultrasound scheduled for Thursday. We will post pictures and let you know how the girls are doing at that time.