Busy bees

We have had a few exciting days around here!
Last Saturday, we may have had a minor panic attack and falsely thought one of the kids ate my engagement ring. After a trip to the walk-in clinic and four x-rays, it was determined that neither child ate the ring.  Pete thought this meant the ring was lost forever.  We looked everywhere.  Unturned every toy.  Double checked the pages of our million board books.  In the trash.  Under the crib mattresses. It was lost for ever.
Then that night, we were getting the babies into their PJs on the floor of the bedroom.  I noticed that one of the bins on their bookshelf had an appliquéd owl on the front, creating a small pocket where the two fabrics overlapped. On a whim I looked into the tiny crevasse. Sure enough, there was the ring, resting comfortably.  Glory glory we were thrilled to say the least.
Then in Sunday, we celebrated Pete's 30th birthday. The weather was lovely so we spent the afternoon on the patio. Pete watched the Cub's win and had a few beers. We ate dinner at Applebee's and finished at home with ice cream cake. Pete said it was a great birthday.
On Monday, the kids and I ventured to Bismarck for their 1st dental checkup. Everyone in the office was very sweet and friendly with the babies. They both had great reports!  Each left with a new toothbrush and their very own balloon.  I'm glad I survived the journey.
Recently, we have transitioned the babies from two naps a day to one nap a day. Zoey is doing pretty well with the new schedule but I think it will take another week for Peter to adjust. He's a sleepy guy. I am hoping they will start sleeping in past 6am!
Gotta go catch some ZzZzZs myself...

Here We Go Again

I've decided to take up the blog again.  Rather than filling in the tremendous gap I've left over the past year+, I'll just start from here.

Peter cut his 4th tooth today!  He finally got one of his top front teeth.  He is still behind Zoey. She has 8 teeth, 5 on top and 3 on the bottom.  I am sure they will both have more in the coming days.

The kids are growing faster than I could have anticipated.  I swear Zoey girl grows another inch every night.  Her hair is finally starting to get longer.  She's getting more comfortable with walking as a primary mode of transportation.  She's becoming more attentive, especially with books.  She only likes to watch sports on TV. Zoey loves to clap and sing songs (Patty Cake and The Wheels on the Bus specifically).  Dancing is a fun new hobby.  She's starting to become attached to bunny, and still stuffs loveys in her mouth during sleep.  She's become more affectionate the past couple of weeks, enjoying hugs, kisses and sitting in laps.  She gets especially excited when dad comes home from work.

Me. Peter just loves books.  As soon as he wakes up he heads to the bookshelf.  I'm trying to teach him the sign for book so he will stop shoving books into faces/laps, and instead politely request a book (wishful thinking).  He tries, bless his heart, to do multiple signs but they all look the same: arms out, palms down, right hand slaps top of left hand repeatedly. Every time.  This is also how he "claps." Peter loves to play with the shape sorter, mostly just to put the shapes in his mouth.  His newest obsession is the car keys.  Must. Eat. Keys.  He still sleeps with WubbaNubs and has added Señor Verde, a green jellycat dino.  He's a mama's boy and I'm okay with that. :)

We are looking forward to closing on our first house at the end of the month. It will be a challenge getting the house ready and then moving with twins.  Can't say I am looking forward to that part!  We can't believe it's almost been a year since we moved to North Dakota.  Time sure does fly.

I am looking forward to my second Mother's Day (and second Mother's Day calendar!).  Although we don't have any grand plans, Pete is making me breakfast AND dinner!  What a treat.  I love getting to spend the day with my little family.  My heart also aches for those who have lost children, and those who long for children they cannot have.  I hope the day passes quickly without sorrow.  You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Austin Baby Shower

December 27, 2012

The Romohrs, Stutzmans and my mom hosted an amazing baby shower for us!  The theme was two peas in a pod - check out that diaper cake!  It was incredible. 

I am so glad we were able to have the shower close to Christmas since some of my favorite people were in town for Christmas.  It wouldn't have been the same without them!

Little Peter & Zoey are already such lucky babies to have some many amazing ladies in their lives.  

Thanks for an amazing shower ladies!

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain/loss?  +9 lbs

Maternity clothes?  We made our first trip to Gap Maternity at the Galleria.  I was able to pick up a few long sleeved tops.  I also quickly discovered my love for their pure body shirts.  so.soft. 

Sleep?  I now sleep with 4 standard sized pillows and a body pillow.  I'm getting up about 5 times a night to pee.  Not so awesome.  

Miss anything?  Being able to eat whatever I want without wondering if it's pregnancy-friendly.  

Movement?  Our babies are both very active.  At my 22 week OB appointment you could hear the movement on the doppler.  Today at my ultrasound the babies were all over the place.      

Food cravings?  Lucky charms.  Yum!

Nausea?  Brushing my teeth makes me gag, still.  

Other symptoms?  Backaches, heartburn.  

Labor signs? Negatory. 

Belly button?  Still in.  Can't see this changing for a while. Although the belly is growing.  


Wedding rings on?  Yep! 


Mood?  Relatively happy.  


Looking forward to:

• Christmas!  

• A full week off from work.  

• Seeing Pete's parents I feel like we haven't seen them in too long. 

• Austin/baby shower #1/seeing all of my lovely friends!

• Staying with the Keeles for two nights!

Other news:

Today we had our follow up anatomy ultrasound.  The focus of this ultrasound was Baby A's (Zoey's) spine and heart, as well as Baby B's (Peter's) spine, heart, and cord insertion.  Everything looked normal except Peter's cord insertion which we expected.  Although last time they were worried it was "velementous" today they labeled it "marginal" which is basically the same thing, but they didn't show concern.  This can cause vasa previa, although they aren't really that worried about it since the placenta is not near the cervix.  The biggest worry is growth restriction.  I will have regular ultrasounds to measure the babies' growth.  Today both babies measured ABOVE the 90th percentile!  They're big, weighing in at 1 pound 6 ounces (Zoey) and 1 pound 5 ounces (Peter).  The maternal fetal medicine doctor even thought their due date was off based on their large measurements (it's not).  My next ultrasound is in 4 weeks, just before my second glucose test/26 week appointment.  

Also, our glider is already ready for pick up!  Say what?  We only ordered it 3 weeks ago, and it was expected to take 6-8 weeks.  Looks like we need to start making room in our tiny apartment!  

Here are the new pictures from today.  I can't decide if I think the 3D/4D pictures are creepy or cool.  I think mostly creepy.  But here they are anyway:

Zoey - profile

Zoey - 3D face

Peter - face

Peter- 3D face

20 Weeks

The past 2 weeks have been awesome.  Anatomy ultrasound, gender reveal party, Thanksgiving, outlet mall shopping, lunch with Pete's grandpa.  We are blessed.  It was especially amazing to see Pete's grandpa's face when we told him we're naming our boy Peter.  He seemed so happy.

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss?  +3 lbs

Maternity clothes? When it was warm this week I attempted to wear an entire pre-pregnancy outfit.  I quickly discovered all my shirts are too short, and some of my maternity shirts are too short as well!  I really need to invest in some long tanks. Layering will be necessary.  I still really need to get some more leggings.  I could live in the,, but with one pair that's not really an option.  

Sleep?  Ugh. I have been sleeping horribly lately.  I wake up every two hours and it takes me about 45 minutes to fall back to sleep.  Getting comfortable is difficult.  Anyone out there use a pregnancy pillow? I think I need one. 

Miss anything?  Wine.  Sushi.  Sandwiches.  Fried eggs.  Sleep. A full wardrobe.  

Movement?  I can officially say I've felt baby!  Baby A moves more than baby B but I bet I'll be able to feel both more in the coming weeks.         

Food cravings?  Breakfast foods are a recent addition.  Still eating Nutella once a day on an eggo or an apple.  My appetite is back- not looking forward to seeing that on the scale. 

Nausea?  Still in the gag phase but I haven't thrown up in about 11 days!

Other symptoms?  Fatigue, sleeplessness, nasal congestion, headaches. 

Labor signs? No way jose.

Belly button?  Still in.  Can't see this changing for a while. Although the belly is growing.  

Wedding rings on?  Yep! 

Mood?  Mostly tired/sleepy/hungry. 

Looking forward to:

• Registering for boy & girl things!
• Feeling the babies move more frequently. And Pete being able to feel them, too.
• A full week off at Christmas
• Seeing Pete's parents at Christmas- I feel like we haven't seen them in too long. 
• Our glider to arrive in 5-7 weeks!
• The weekend. I need it!

It's A...

Girl AND a boy!  We are having twins!

It was so hard to keep this secret from all of you, and I'm so glad it's finally out in the open.  Pete & I are so thrilled and we feel completely blessed.  A boy and a girl, how perfect!

Thank you to everyone who came to our gender reveal party in Austin.  The look on everyone's face was amazing.  I'll never forget it!  Special thanks to Becca for decorating our boxes. 

Anatomy Ultrasound Scheduled!

I am so excited to announce that our anatomy ultrasound has been scheduled!  We should know gender on November 20th!

I am planning a "reveal" for the following day in Austin - please let me know if you'll be in Austin for the Thanksgiving holiday!!