Dr. Appt--Week 21

This afternoon I headed to the doctor for a 21 week check. Both babies are still girls and both are head down. They switched their roles as Baby A (148 bpm) and Baby B (140 bmp) a few times during the sonogram. We mostly could see long legs and long arms moving happily and freely around. They also were caught punching each other! I hope this means they are going to be best of friends. I head back in four more weeks for a measurement sonogram before starting a two week rotation. Both of the girls look alike in their profile pictures up to this point. They have the Colonius chin and what looks to be big eyes. I guess we will find out in 16 weeks or so.

On another note, I have been searching for bedding for the babies and just haven't found what I like or when I do find something, I don't want to spend the amount of money on two. Of course that would happen, I have expensive taste.  My mom and I found some material just the other day, so soon, she will start a sewing project with Nanny. They will make curtains, blankets, and a few other items for the babies. I think it will end up being really cute and a pretty neat concept of having them create something for another set of twins!

I hope to post the only picture I got today later tonight!

21 weeks and making progress!

We are over half way done with this pregnancy and I am really starting to feel it and them too!! Today was one of the growing moments. I left the house in my normal clothes and by the end of the day I was regretting my decision. It is almost time for full time belly bands and cute dresses. Only 16 more weeks to go if we can hang on that long! Babycenter.com sent me an e-mail today to let me know that the babies are 10.5" long. So, I have 21 inches of baby in my belly. The same length Jayden was when he was born. No wonder why I can no longer bend over without having major pains. Look for their newest picture in the next few days.

Tomorrow, I head to the doctor to get a check-up on these girls. Besides me making progress with a growing belly, our house is too, thanks to Aaron and our wonderful helpers.

Above is the toy room/second living room. Aaron has one more coat of mud to put on tomorrow night and then the sanding begins. He thinks he will be ready to prime all the rooms on Thursday night.

This is the toy room from other side. I hope to put a bench by the back door on the right. This leads to the garage. I figured it would be the perfect place for backpacks, diaper bags, coats, shoes,  and all that comes with three kids (and a husband).

These two pictures are the two bedrooms downstairs. One for Jayden with a view of the backyard and the other for the girls.

My next challenge is picking out paint colors for all of these rooms. The carpet installer will be here tomorrow evening to measure for the carpet we ordered this past weekend. We will put it in the bedrooms and part of the play area. This transformation is going a lot faster than I thought!!

In other news, we also made progress with Jayden. We switched to a new peditrician and we really like him. Jayden ended up getting a fever and white spots in his throat, so we made it for a visit. Imagine that. I think this may be #8 or 9 since tubes. Our new doctor send us to a new ENT and Dr. Haung scheduled Jayden for surgery on October 20 at St. John's Children's Hospital. He is going to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, which is a big deal for a little guy. This is a surgery that they generally wait to do until a child is 3 years old but Jayden has enlarged tonsils and we feel this is the best option for him right now. I am not too excited for him to be going through another surgery at a young age, but he cannot continue to be on medicine for the next year. He is going to have a rough 10 days of recovery and a nights stay in he hospital, but hopefully this will help him be healthier and actually want to eat more. I am not sure if we will even make it to Trick or Treat this year, it just depends how little man feels.

My Exciting Saturday

My Saturday proved to be pretty exciting and relaxing at the same time. Just what I needed after a long week of work. This morning I headed to the Twin Sale in Springfield. I have been saving up some extra money just for this day and I am pretty sure I got enough clothes to last them the first three months. I ended up with 60 outfits (sleepers, gowns, dresses, outfits and some with tags), 10 pairs of socks, 4 bows, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 bath towels, 8 bibs, along with a few other things. Next sale is set for March 10th and I don't plan on buying ANYTHING for them until then.

 I also took some pictures of Madeline. I love the natural beauty our backyard has to offer and it is perfect for pictures.

We ended the day with a trip to Indian Knoll Pumpkin Patch which is about 15 mins away from our house. Jayden was a pumpkin picking pro. He added several pumpkins to the collection. I think I only ended up with three of his picks, but he had fun! 

While I was busy with all of this, Aaron stayed home and got all of the drywall hung in the basement and a coat of mud on most of it. We are going to head to Lowe's tonight for a quick look at flooring.

Country Living

Living out in the country means no Internet until later this week. So here is what we have been up to the last week at the new house. We finally got settled into the house somewhat. We have painted in the living room (Mom, Aunt Lori & Marcy) and hallway. It made me feel a lot better to have my colors in the house.

 Aaron ripped out all of the paneling from the basement and his mom helped take out ceiling tiles and rip wallpaper from the downstairs bathroom. He started the drywalling process and should have it all hung by the weekend. It looks so nice.

 Jayden likes to help too.

 This entire area will be a huge play room for the kids...all three of them! We are going to look at carpet later this week. This process is going a lot faster than I thought. Good thing. We have 17 weeks or less until the girls arrive.

This is the view we see when we eat dinner at night. The little house in the back is full of Aaron's "stuff" and the woods behind is ours too. The front bush area is the pond in which Aaron will be filling next spring.

 Jayden and I go look at the horses almost every night. He is still afraid of them, but so am I, so that is fine.

It is a long walk back to the house, but it is so peaceful. We are starting to feel like we are home when we pull into the driveway. I can't wait for it to be finished. But I will.

Farewell to Poplar Street

After a short while on the market and three showings, our home of three years is officially sold. This is bittersweet as we pack up and prepare for our move. We have put so much time, effort, and money into this house to make it into our home that it makes me a little sad to leave, but I know I will love my next home too (eventually). I loved so many different things about this house, but at the same time, there was a lot I didn't like either. Each house teaches you what you want for your next house. I know I will never have another house like this one, it just isn't possible.

One thing I learned growing up, is you never get attached to a house.

So, here is a final farewell to Poplar Street House.

The outside of our house has changed so much over the past three years. With a color change, grass planted in the yard, and actual landscaping, our house started to transform and actually have some curb appeal! My blogging actually started with a post of the outside of our house. I am really going to miss our peach tree and my very first Mother's Day tree in the back.

I loved our foyer because it was full of furniture that was given to us by different members of our family. It was amazing how they all just fit together to make the room complete. The walls were full of pictures of Jayden, who will remain the ruler of the house of all time.

 

 I loved our kitchen too and I am going to miss the size of it. Some would say it is just too big, but really, it is nice. I loved the space we had especially when we would have a large group of people over. My next kitchen, which is tiny compared to this, needs some work to say the least! I am having a very hard time adjusting to the small space and amount of cabinets. It actually stresses me out to be in there and look at it. Hopefully, we can make some changes to it soon.

 I loved our awesome fireplace. Aaron spent a lot of time on this project to make it just perfect. We spent a lot of time watching the fire last winter. It was awesome. I am looking forward to what our new fireplace is going to look like. It is just going to take a year for that to happen!

 We hardly ever used our dining room, but I still loved it. I always wanted to have a nice dinner party at our house and use our good dishes, but I never got to it. The age of the room goes back hundreds of years. We finished the floors, but left the trim and door. The beautiful piece we added from Grandpa Nieves made the room and fit the era perfectly. The buyer really want to buy this from us, but I told him it was priceless and a piece of the family.

 The best part of our bedroom was the closet followed by the fact all of our bedroom furniture fit without being jammed packed. I can't wait to get an even bigger bedroom and closet once the remodel is done. That place is going to be my "quiet place".  Right now, our space is very small and doesn't feel like home. I know not much time is spent in a bedroom, but a girl like me needs a closet that is at least as big as what I had. Most of my clothes are spending some time at Nanny's house until a change is made.

 Our poor guest room got the least attention out of all the rooms in the house. Only family ever stayed the night, but this room was great to have. We are going to miss having a guest room at our new house, but having a room full of pink will be a new adventure!

 I loved the little shape of Jayden's room, especially for a baby. This room was made to be a nursery! The art teacher at school hand painted the little trucks on his wall to match his bedding. I can't wait to let Jayden have a big boy room of his own. I am going to miss the fact this is where I rocked him to sleep so many nights, but I know he is going to love having a huge yard to play in and even have room to have a tree house once he is allowed to be outside. Right now his swing set is in pieces.

The play room had to be one of the best parts of the downstairs when it came to having a child. Every child needs a playroom! However, his new play room is going to be three times as big and in the basement. That means no toys upstairs!! I can't wait for that room to be finished. It is going to be a great space for all of the kids to play.

Farewell to our house, which became our home. The first place our little man Jayden lived, slept through the night, learned to crawl, walk, and talk. The place he learned to count, spell his name, and completely destroy in a few short minutes. All great memories for us to keep with us and add to at our next house, which eventually will become our home. I am looking forward to our new adventure with our new house and all the adventures that come along with it!  

18 weeks and packing!

We have been packing and hauling stuff to the new house over the weekend and throughout the week. After five large truck and trailer loads, Aaron and I (mostly Aaron but I helped all I could) filled up the storage shed we currently have in Springfield. We only have this weekend and a few days next week to move out of the house. Hopefully, we can accomplish the task and make it out on time. There is still a lot to do, with very little time, especially for two people! I think I have gathered up a few family members to help on Saturday, so that should put a good dent in most of the downstairs items. The last time we were in this position to move we were moving things out of the house at the last minute in the wee hours of the night with only a two minute drive and no child. Now we have a 20 minute drive and a crazy two year old!

 The little man has kept busy too amidst the chaos, playing with what toys he has left. He turned a pop tart box into a hat the other night after he discovered his "house" was gone. "House, house, house" is all he would say when he walked into his room. He is going to be pretty excited in a few months when it comes out of storage.

 With all of the packing and moving, I feel like the babies decided to stretch out and claim their home this week. The more I work, the more they decide to push out. Babycenter.com tells me that they are 5.5 inches long this week and moving around like crazy. I also got some cute little presents from my friends Sarah and Kristy this past week. These were the first presents for the babies so it was pretty exciting to open cute little baby stuff. It slightly put me into a shopping mode for pink. I picked up a few outfits for each baby for under $3 each at Kohl's with the cheapest being $1.20 for a Carter's outfit. Aaron just shook his head and said, "You love this because I can't say no because they have to have clothes and all they make for girls is pink." Yep, Aaron. You are correct. I do love shopping and I do love pink. It really just works out to my advantage. I hope to make it to the twin sale in a few weekends because buying for two is expensive!!  

 While packing, I did discover this old picture. I couldn't tell you the year, but I do remember that dress. Aaron called this picture, "Jayden with bangs". When you see it in person and cover up my awesome bangs, it is totally Jayden. It is funny how he can look like both of us so much depending on the situation. I think the girls will be the same way. It is kind of easy to look like both your mom and dad especially when they both have brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin.

Our Internet and TV service is ending this week, so I am not sure when I will be back on to blog, but I have started to write a farewell to our "old house" just so I could remember exactly what I love about this house.