Two Weeks of Crazy!!!

Left to Right: Lydia and Alyssa Two weeks old exactly!

~Okay so it has been a little more than two weeks... sorry I have a lot going on lately! Let me just start by saying I wish everyone could have twins! I'm serious, these sweeties are sooo much fun, and they have brought a lot of happiness to our home. I was really worried (along with Jacob) that I would really struggle with two babies, but I've definitely changed (thanks to all the trials we've had lately) and I've been completely calm rather than over the top anxious even when we are up all night. As I have learned the hard way that there are far worse things than a crying baby or two, and this will all be over very quickly, so I am just enjoying every single minute of these two!

Because I have been calm these two have been very good babies. They already have a semi-sort-of schedule going on which has been a huge blessing, fingers crossed that they stay this way!
My Brain is on vacation....seriously.... it is beginning to be a huge problem. This happened the other day... I was hurrying to get Aaron dressed and so I quickly pulled his pants up and left the room only to see him plop down to the floor in frustration, thought it was another two year old temper tantrum.... nope mom just somehow got both this guy's feet in one pant leg.

~The same day I stood in front of the fridge for 20 minutes looking for the lunch meat only to realize I was holding it. Then I mixed up dates and completely missed our kids photo shoot. But thank goodness the photographer was more than understanding. And the list goes on and on.

The craziness hasn't been the twins, but my two older kids. Both have been just awful. So needless to day there have been about 20 or more time outs a day. Here is Aaron mimicking Kaylie and all the hours she has spent with her nose in the corner.

And here's Kaylie spending time in her corner. She has started teasing Aaron to no end, and the screaming is horrible, not to mention she always has something to do with Aaron waking the babies. I know this is just their way of getting my attention, but good grief enough all ready.

Lydia Top, Alyssa bottom. Can you see the differences? I think that Lydia looks a lot like my brother and sister Steven and Chantell. She has lighter hair (the main difference) and Alyssa looks just like Kaylie when she was a baby. The guess is that they will both have blue eyes... but as far as whether or not they will look alike is yet to be seen.
Left Alyssa is screaming because she is getting eaten my Lydia.... too funny. These two will always make their way towards each other in the crib or on the floor and usually starting sucking on each other.
Left Lydia, and right Alyssa. I just can't get enough of these two! They have already gained about 1 lb a piece! They are getting so big so fast!

~Report on me: I am feeling great! As anyone would after getting just over 10 lbs of baby taken out of them. I am recovering very quickly and everything is looking perfect! I found out on Friday that I have lost 30 lbs! That is 30 lbs in 2 weeks, no exercise and eating like a horse! It is crazy!!! I gained 48 lbs with this pregnancy (I was determined to have healthy twins and so I made myself gain that much) so I still have 18 lbs to go, but after talking to other twin moms, I'm really not worried about it, seems like I will be back to myself in no time, because I am nursing and they consume at least 1,000 calories everyday.

The Twins are Here!!!

Before the C-Section, September 28th 5:00 am at 37 weeks and 4 days. This is officially as big as I got! I was so tired and so miserable, and nervous, didn't sleep the whole night, don't know who could the night before your scheduled C-Section.

We had to be at the Hospital at 5:30 am to be prepped for the C-Section. Which wasn't bad at all by the way. After the few complications, with them not gaining enough weight, and them both being breech. And after some of the awful contractions I realized that Lydia (Baby B) was getting the worst of it, as her poor head was up in my rib-cage and taking the brunt of the contractions, so after knowing for a week about the procedure I started to like the idea much more.

Surgery was so fast! I had a Spinal-Tap which was much better than the Epidural, as it took on much faster and wore off a lot faster too. The whole thing was over in about 30-45 minutes. Jacob watched the whole thing, and found it fascinating. It was just as (if not more due to two) awesome and spiritual as any delivery! And of course the surgery wasn't completed without the topic turning to cars... story of my life.
I mixed the pics up, and would fix it but I have two babies crying at me right now.... this is Baby B (born at 7:59 am) or Lydia Jo, she was 4 lb 13 oz. And she screamed (in a very high pitch might I add) from the minute they pulled her out and all while I was getting sewn up.
Here is the Baby A (first Baby) Alyssa Jo, (born at 7:57 am) she weighed 5 lbs 5 oz. She didn't cry she was just gurgling, because she swallowed some amniotic fluid. They held her up over curtain she had both fists under her cheeks and was just looking at me contently with her eyes wide open. Alyssa had to spend a few hours in the NICU with oxygen on and she had a few x-rays of her chest to make sure she was okay. Thankfully she was alright!
Kaylie and Lydia Jo. Kaylie was in Heaven! Her face says it all! So we gave them both the middle name Jo because they were born on my mom's Birthday. (My mom's name is Jodi). And "Jo" means sweetheart. So we found it fitting. We debated for a few days because we didn't want it to be weird that we gave them same middle names. Kaylie's middle name is Jane because she was born on Jacob's mom's Birthday and her middle name is Jane. (P.S. Aaron was born on my sister's Birthday too.)
From Left to Right: Alyssa, Aaron, Kaylie and Lydia, I just love how Aaron was so fascinated with how tiny the babies are.

Aaron and Lydia, I was surprised how happy he was to see his little sisters, he couldn't hold either one enough!
All FOUR of my kids.... so crazy, I'm not old enough to have four kids already!
Aaron couldn't help but kiss his sweet sisters, here he is kissing Alyssa.
When we first had these two we thought they looked completely different. But as the day went on they started to look more alike. We can tell very easily who is who, but several family members think they are, while Jacob is confident they are not and I am still unsure. Alyssa is on the left, Lydia on the right.
The first night was rough until the nurses finally let us put them in the same bed, and then they slept much better. Lydia is on top and Alyssa is on the bottom.... too sweet!

Grateful

Found this quote a few weeks ago while wasting my valuable time on Pinterest (aka the biggest waste of time, but aww... so fun.) But has been on my mind ever since, especially as life has gotten more crazy by the minute.

A few days ago a lady from my parent's ward stopped me while shopping to ask me what was going on in me and Jacob's life... when I had to go into detail about everything that we have been through over the last 3 years it was very humbling, as the hardest thing is to reflect on all the trials that have been dumped on us. I found myself being somewhat ashamed to explain everything from the blindness, to job loss, to unemployment, to struggling to building a business, and then expecting twins, and on and on. We've had to repeatedly reflect on this a lot lately as we have moved (for the 6th time in our 5 1/2 years of marriage) and the reflecting is seriously the hardest part. But then some people will ask "How do you feel about all this happening to you?" I hate answering that question, and a part of me wants to say...."how would you feel?" or "how should I feel?" But the honest answer is.... It's hard, harder than you can image at times. But we have learned to take it just one day at a time, and to search out all the blessings we still have, and give thanks for them every night. Like I have mentioned before, trials aren't given to us to break us, ironically they are given to us to make us stronger, so trials are blessings.

I just felt like I needed to share this quote before life gets even crazier. Because you never know who needs to hear it. I know Thanksgiving is a couple months away, but we should always be grateful. Even if you're life is one giant hot mess like mine, it could always be worse. And we need to just be grateful to have survived life's challenges.

Running Out of Womb....And Time!

I can't believe it, but I am already 36 weeks pregnant. 36 weeks has always been the time that I start having a few minor issues with my pregnancies. And this one isn't any different. My appointment last week revealed that both twins are breech (with their heads together right between my rib cage and directly under my sternum.) So whenever I have a contraction... they somehow get pushed up into my rib cage and..... ouch is all I have to say. They are so tight in there that there is most likely no way that they could turn.

The main problem is that both girls aren't gaining weight like they need to be and they're dropping pretty quick in percentages. About 1 month ago they were both 40% now they are in the 15% and 10%, which is pretty concerning and my Doctors are now saying that they will only let me go another week (at most) because these girls are literally running out of "womb" to move and grow. And of course I am still gaining weight. If it isn't too much to ask... please keep us in your prayers.

Come Thursday we should have a rough idea of when these two are coming....so ready or not here they come!

Jacob insisted that we take a shot from the front and back (which I refuse to post) just to show how narrow I still am. I went to Wal-mart last night and everyone kept staring at me, just kind of shocked with how much my stomach stuck out. The best was going to get ice cream because the girl at the counter literally gasped when I turned around and blurted out "when are you due?" And I said "any day with twins." and she said... "you don't even look pregnant from behind so I was quite shocked to see you turn around." I know that I must be pretty big because I am getting a lot of reactions like that lately... something that I am not use to at all.

And yes I feel just as miserable as I look in these photos, I have had horrible allergies, and my pelvis hurts so bad I can barely walk. And my stomach is so stretched out that it is literally numb to the touch. So I am physically more than ready to be done, but I'm not sure I'd ever be completely ready for these twins.

Aaron's Two!!!

So my little man turned two on Friday, and I can't believe it! I really don't know what happened to the last two years...(okay life happened). It's hard to believe that he wasn't even two months old when Jacob was laid off, and that's when life got tough... okay really tough. So to make a long, sob story short... I feel like I was robbed of the precious time to enjoy this little guy's infancy... and now all the sudden he is two... why do they grow so fast? And is it just me?... it just seems to get faster with the second child (which I'm sure it will with the others too.)

A little about my little bubby!

Aaron loves 5 things in life...

~First and foremost food... he is my little garbage disposal he will literally eat any and everything, and if he doesn't get enough he will resort to the garbage (gross I know, but hopefully we've got it under control.)

~Second... he is overly obsessed with cars, he is his daddy's little man. He has learned a few makes and models already. He loves car shows and going for rides in daddy and "Papa Flamm's" cars. And he loves Lightning McQueen beyond description. This kid carries cars everywhere and he literally sleeps in a parking lot (in his crib) he likes to position the cars like they are in a car show.

~Third... he LOVES football! This kid watched his first ENTIRE SUPERBOWL when he was only 5 months old, and he got mad when the commercials came on. He likes to run around the house with his football and yell "hut-hut" and he loves to pass and get tackled by daddy.

~Fourth... Aaron has a thing for cute blondes... no matter the age, blonde hair seems to fascinate him. He does everything he can to get their attention and he lays it on thick when it comes to flirting.

~Fifth (and my personal favorite) he is a momma's boy. A friend once told me that she loved having boys because they are like having a little boyfriend, and it is totally true. Only mom can make him feel better, he can never get enough kisses and hugs from mom, and it makes my heart melt every time.
His Car's Birthday Cake... I have to give credit to my mom and sister... I had no time to make a cake but they stepped in to save the day!
He was a little intimidated about everyone singing to him... even though he had been singing Happy Birthday to himself all week.
The day after his Birthday we got to go see Cars 2... which he loved. And everything he got from family with the exception of one present was Cars related. This little boy loved his Birthday so much that he keeps telling us that his Birthday is coming up... too funny!

31 Weeks and Feel'n It!

Yes... I know, it's been a while since I've posted... but we've had a ton going on, from a wedding, to moving, to work, to family visiting, to my grandparents coming home from their 5th mission. And all of the sudden, in the middle of it all I woke up yesterday to realize I'm already 31 weeks pregnant... what happened to the last 7 months?

I have to admit that I am starting to get very nervous and extremely uncomfortable, I've out grown all my maternity tops and had to get more. I've been going through baby girl clothes only to realize that I don't have anywhere near enough clothes. I worry about sizes... do I go with preemie, or newborn? Do I match or not match? There is still so much to do and I have only 7 weeks at least! (Remember twins are full-term at 38 weeks.) I still have to set up their room, get a car seat and double stroller, get a bigger car finish moving in and not to mention all the other million things I need to do.

How I'm feeling.... this is pretty much the only question I get asked anymore. I'm feeling about 10-11 months pregnant... that is how I'm feeling. My stomach hurts a lot just because of the weight (I have to wear a brace). My feet swell super easy, I'm beyond exhausted because the twins are moving constantly at night. Sometimes my stomach looks like a magic jumping bean... seriously. I can't hardly eat anymore because my stomach is in my esophagus, so if I get a glass of milk I'm doing good. And the heartburn is horrendous.

How are the twins?.... Great! Last ultra sound about 2 1/2 weeks ago they were both thriving, both are in the 40% (2 lb 11 oz and 2 lb 9 oz) and for my babies that is huge! Both have their own personalities, and are very flexible (one had the side of one of her feet up to her ear.) I got to see Baby A suck on her entire fist in an ultra sound... so cute! And both already have hair... of course, that explains the heartburn. Baby A... knock on wood... is still head down, which is a bonus.

Overall I don't think the reality of twins has really kicked in, and I don't think it really will until I have them. I just haven't had the luxury of thinking and planning twins... life has been way, way too busy. But that is probably a good thing... as the more I think about their arrival the more nervous I get! All I know is that it is in Heavenly Father's hands and I'm willing to go with that!