Half Way There and we are Expecting???

~Oh how I hate this picture...and any pictures of my pregger self...but this was me at 20 weeks exactly (I'm even bigger now...just a week later). And yes I am super tired, between working all day long...(12 hours or more a day) and these two...keeping me up all night....as soon as mom lays down it's a party in her tummy!

~I've been eating 5 meals a day and I was so happy to learn that I have gained 15 pounds! Yay! I was suppose to hit 20 by now...but hey for all the weight I lost in the first few VERY sick months...I'm pretty proud of myself! My goal is two healthy babies!

~Our Ultrasound showed there are still two very healthy...and active babies! Which is a huge relief for mom and dad....I always get nervous for prenatal check ups...but with twins...it is twice as bad...as there is so much that can go wrong...so it is such a blessing to be healthy this far!

~And now the moment we've all been waiting for....genders! Kaylie has insisted even before the pregnancy that I would have a baby boy and girl at the same time...and our 16 week Ultrasound showed that Baby A might be a boy but we couldn't tell with Baby B due to the cord being in the way... so I was sure that Kaylie was right.

Baby A is??? ........... A GIRL!!!!

This little stinker had her fist down between her legs, so for the first part of the appointment I still thought it was a boy... then she moved her hand to prove she fooled us the first time!

Baby B is??? ......... A GIRL!!!!

~Kaylie was wrong! But she was super excited to hear she gets TWO baby sisters... and I guess that is what happens when you've got a 3 yr old praying day and night for a baby sister....you get two...whether mom and dad are trying to have a baby or not! This one took forever to get a shot of her profile (she was moving all over the place)...and here she is pushing her face up to the lining between the two sacs...I guess she's trying to get a look at her sister.

~I was a little sad that it wasn't a boy and a girl...as I had my heart set on it, but we were excited to hear that there is a small possibility that these two could be identical... depending on if they were originally one egg and split super early in the developing process....so I guess we will see!

Bear World

Life has been super busy (especially this last week with the People Magazine promotion....it's been CRAZY!!!) But with family up for the weekend we decided to spend the afternoon at Bear World....it's literally a 10 minute drive from us, and we've never been there, but it was well worth the afternoon off, to spend time with family and our kids. Here we are in front of what I nicknamed the "Oprah Bear" no offense to Oprah...it just really looks her.

Kaylie striking a pose for the camera with a Bear Mask on! She's such a ham!

These are Triplet Baby Bears....(I'm fasinated with multiples right now).

Cute Story Here in this picture above:

This lil guy came up the the electric fence (as you see in the picture) and started to bite it...and it shocked him. You could hear the shock and see a spark, and this picture was right after he got shocked. He sat back on his bum, put his head down and literally sobbed! We sat and watched his shrugs and cries for a few minutes...I wanted to pick him up and give the poor lil guy a hug!

I think he felt my sympathy for him...I was about to cry for him. These triplets were so cute...I wanted to take one home even though they are a little bigger than Aaron.

This Picture only took about 20 tries...just to get Aaron to look through the hole.

Aaron, being true to his hunky self was taking time to hit on a cute lil girl about his age...

Taking his shades off to get a better look at this cutie... he is such a ladies man!

Cute lil fawn....we called him Bambi! He was so tiny!

Yes, they have rides....and this one being a car ride was a hit for Aaron.... he waited forever to ride it and of course we had to ride it at least 3 times. I can't tell you how much this lil boy loves cars, and this ride made his day!

Kaylie is such a dare devil, her cousin Brynnlee (to the left of Kaylie)was amazed at how gutsy she was.

We got to drive through the park twice, and the second time was much better. The first time was lame...as all the bears and animals were asleep. But the second time was great because the park was about to close all the bears were out waiting to be fed. This Black Bear was taking an afternoon swim and it was super fun to watch him play with and try to float on this log.

And there were tons of them....we counted at least 30 bears!

Here are a few wolves...such pretty animals!

And yes...for all those of you who have always wondered...Bear World does kind of have a "Jurassic Park" feel to it, with all the gates and electric fences. Well worth the stop especially if you miss any animals in Yellowstone!

My Pillow is in PEOPLE Magazine!!!!

Uh-huh!!! Sorry... I'm entitled to Bragging Rights! Yeah...that's right! My Big Grey Bow Pillow was featured in People Magazine...and hit shelves today! It was recommended by Lauren Conrad!

Sorry it isn't the greatest picture...but hey it's kinda the focal point of the page! I still can't believe something I designed made it in such a huge publication!
See it for yourself in the June 6, 2011 Issue, or the "Kim's Engaged!" Issue!

~So there is a story behind this pillow....

Two weeks ago an editor from people magazine contacted us and asked if we would overnight one of these pillows to her, as a celebrity she just interviewed recommended my pillow...no problem, right! So first thing the next morning we expressed it and it was guaranteed to get to NY by noon the next day, Friday....and it didn't!!!! We were so mad! The next day was Saturday and so the Post Office tried to deliver it and no one was there to receive it. The editor was great about the whole thing...but the darn Post Office was in no rush to get it there despite our calls....it was the last thing they delivered on Monday....we were so ticked...but at least it made it, late of course. And sure enough there it is in people on page 90! And yes....you better believe we got our money back!

We are now anticipating our feature in Pregnancy and Newborn in July's Issue!

My Lil' Stinker

~Aaron has had this phobia of our stairs for a little over a year now.... he's been able to go up and down stairs no problem for a while but not our stairs. Reason being that we used to use chairs to block the stairs. Several months ago, he was trying to get past the chairs and pushed one down the stairs....it made such a loud sound that it scared him to death...and he avoided our stairs forever, so we no longer need to use the chairs...it was quite nice...he wouldn't even get close to them.

~Well like all good things, that fear of our stairs died the minute I was headed to the store without him....he instantly overcame his fear and it's been horrible ever since. We tried chairs again...why? Because we move so much that a gate is just one more thing to move. Well the chairs didn't work...of course. And he's also learned how to open doors (Kaylie didn't learn until she was almost 3)...one day he let himself outside twice...which is scary considering he loves cars...both stationary and moving ones. And even though I'm only in my 2nd trimester... I'm twice as exhausted, and twice as out of breath going up and down the stairs alone, so going down and then carrying Aaron up two flights of stairs gets old real fast. So we invested in a gate (a cheap one of course....as Wal-mart doesn't really offer quality.)

Day One with the Gate....

Kaylie tried to take it off to help herself down the stairs....Aaron being her shadow, was right there to help.... and within 30 seconds....Aaron rode the gate down the stairs...he thought it was a blast (yeah...a not so safe blast).

Day Two with the Gate....

Aaron loves to go downstairs because that is where daddy works, and daddy has all kinds of goodies down there that are off-limits. So during a very short bathroom break, my genius of a 21 month old... did this (pictured above) to the cheap gate.

We just can't win....turns out he threw one of his toys over the gate so he had an excuse.... my kids think they are so smart.
~At least he came back up by himself... he would have been in a lot more trouble if I had to go down and get him.

~Also yesterday afternoon, I went in to get him out of his crib from his nap and just as I got into the doorway I watched him tumble head first to the floor from his crib... I tried to run and catch him... but was too slow. It about made my heart stop...but of course he shook it off after a good cry.

~Needless to say, I'm starting to get a little worried about keeping him in check with this pregnancy and then even worse with twins. Oh how fun!

Much Needed Make Over!

Just taking a moment to brag about my wonderful new blog makeover! It's been long overdue!

Don't 'cha love it???

~I just got extremely tired of surfing the free blogger background sites for backgrounds that millions of other people have...and then having the try twenty-five times to get the codes in just right so it will actually show up, and then having to change my font colors and everything else every time too...too much work if you ask me, so I contacted my friend Kassie, who redid my BedBuggs Boutique Blog and my Etsy Shop... and she came up with something fabulous yet again!

~Check out her site for prices and tons of samples of all her beautiful work...she does so much more than blogs! Designs By Kassie

HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER!!!

Thanks Again Kassie! ;)

"I'm glad it's you...not me."

THIS IS WORTH READING...DON'T LET THE LENGTH SCARE YOU!!!

Being pregnant is just one of those times that you expect people to comment, say congrats or even give advice. But there is definitely something different about being pregger with twins...people just feel the urge to say something....some are super excited well wishers, some have loads of questions, others express shock, and some are just brutally honest. It's only been a few weeks since we've started telling people we were expecting twins and already some of the 'honest' comments are starting to rub me the wrong way. Truth be told...sometimes honesty is not always the best policy. I understand that the truly honest may be pure in their intentions...but let's think about it for just a minute before we start speaking.

-I never expected to get pregnant (not for another year or so, at least) and I definitely never expected to be pregnant with twins.... but it happened. At first I was really anxious about it, and then as the idea settled in I started to get excited about the whole idea. And considering all that my little family has been through....it was nice to have a pleasant surprise for once. However, when the 'honest' comment: "I'm glad that it's you...not me." comes up a few dozen times...it gets a little old. Umm....what am I suppose to say to that??? Are you implying that you aren't excited or happy for me? Are you making the blunt suggestion that you like the idea that I have to suffer and not you? Are you saying that expecting twins is some sort of misfortune that you are happy to avoid? If that is the case...why didn't you say that to me when you found out about Jacob's eye diagnosis, or our job loss? ....I'm sure that many people thought that with all our misfortunes.

(Not trying to be rude here....just making a point so stick with me.)

-I will be the first to admit that unfortunately the thought "I'm glad it's not me" has crossed my mind when I think about people having twins, or those who are experiencing some sort of trial....but I would never in my right mind say it....just because of what it implies. Twins are not a burden....they are a blessing! Sure the morning sickness is twice as bad, the weight gain, back pain, swelling and risks are doubled. Trust me...I know that there will be plenty of super busy days, sleepless nights, stress and tears once they get here.... but such are all of life's blessings...and mine just happen to be doubled!

-Even though this comment gets under my skin, it has lead me to do a lot of reflection....again I understand that the people saying this are just being honest....but humor me while I be honest. -

-When we found out about Jacob's eyesight I never once said or thought...."I'm glad it's you...not me." As a matter of fact I wished it was me....WHY??? For starters it breaks my heart to watch someone I love so much go through this and there is nothing I can do for him...but on the flip side....if we switched places and I was the one going blind it would be just as heart breaking for him to watch me go through. Which is worse the worrying or the suffering? Truth be told.... both are bad, but the best part is that we have each other to help each other get through it, and we all know that that which does not kill us only makes us stronger. So Jacob and I will only be blessed through our trials....so why not look at it as a blessing to begin with? Trials are heart wrenching... and there are many that trials I honestly hope I will never have to endure.... but I hope I never catch myself saying or even thinking...."I'm glad it's you... not me." No one wishes trials on anyone...and if you do...you have some serious things to think about.

-Just like trials, babies are some of Heaven's greatest gifts...and sometimes they come in bulk.

... So to the next 'honest' person who says.... "I'm glad it's you... not me." I'm so glad it's me too.... it is such a huge compliment that Heavenly Father would entrust me with two blessings at the same time!"

TWINS!!!!

So...yeah....nothing can prepare you to see this on an ultrasound...seriously! This ultrasound was taken over a month ago and we have been in shock ever since. I thought the Doctor was pulling some sort of April Fool's Joke...but nope....no joke, this is for real....TWINS!!!!

We were surprised by the pregnancy alone...but blessings come when you least expect them. Just a couple days after finding out I was expecting I started getting sick...really sick. I couldn't believe that I was just a few weeks along and throwing up all the time. I told Jacob that my pregnancies must get worse with each one. A few weeks later I was beyond tired, and could barely pull myself out of bed. Because it was a surprise pregnancy it took a couple months to get insurance figured out...and man am I glad we did!

At 12 weeks we finally got into the Doctor and he decided to do an ultrasound and low and behold two heads! Jacob and I were shocked and speechless...but Aaron looked up at the screen and let out a low "ROAR"...it was hilarious!

We are pretty sure they are fraternal twins, so that means they can be boy/boy, girl/girl or boy/ girl.
I like to keep my pregnancies a secret until about 20 weeks...but about 2 weeks ago my tummy popped out and there ain't no hiding it anymore! So we had to break the news. Even though I am 17 weeks in this picture...I feel more like I am about 6 months pregnant...I'm already having a hard time breathing and sleeping...I feel like this is going to be one long pregnancy!

Funny story: Kaylie has been asking me for a baby sister for about a year, and then a few months before I got pregnant she told me that I was going to have two babies at the same time a boy and a girl....so I guess we will see how accurate this little four year old is. As you can see in the photo....she is ecstatic about mommy having two babies! She keeps asking me every morning about the babies.

My grandma (dad's mom) had twins and so naturally she was one of the first people I contacted and she told me that on her side alone there are 13 sets of twins! There are also twins on my mom's side...so I guess we had it coming!

Even though I hate posting pictures of myself this is definitely one pregnancy that I will keep track of photo wise. I haven't gotten very big in the past...so I guess we will see just how big I get...I am suppose to gain 50lbs...and so I am eating around the clock.