Mim Spitney

Fighting Over Mommy

2011-08-30T12:37:00.001-07:00

Harrison loves his mommy. Even though he tells me at least twice a day that he doesn't, he tells me he does about 20. He has recently become very jealous of Adam kissing and hugging me. He screams at him and says "She's mine! Noooo!". I was talking to him the other day about his jealousy and he told me "Daddy might hit you and bite you..and...(he was pausing to think up more terrible things) he isn't even a good cooker". If you know Adam, you know this is a lie! That cutie pie was trying to make me not like his daddy so he would have me all to himself. I have to relish this because I know these days of adoration are numbered!!!

Harrison has always loved reading but he is now actually learning to read. I haven't pushed this on him at all. He has taken an interest all by himself. The Leapfrog DVD "The Letter Factory" really got him interested. He also has the Melissa and Doug spelling puzzles. He even "read" one of his books to Charlie yesterday. I accidentally wound up at the library storytime today. I was just trying to go to the library to check out some books for Harrison (yes, with all 3 kiddos!) but it was storytime. And that library was wayyyy too small to try to avoid it. It was going ok, but Harrison wasn't into all the singing. He had this look on his face like he was an annoyed teenager. Then he started reading his own books to himself. Then he announced that he would prefer his mommy to read because mommy is a better reader than the librarian. Luckily only the people around us heard this comment. The babies were getting fussy so I decided to ease the little ones out while Harrison finished with storytime so I could at least check out my books (19 books and 3 DVD's to be exact). Unfortunately getting my double stroller through the crowd involved just about everyone having to relocate. Oh well. Not my fault! I got trapped in storytime!!!

Harrison sleeps in his big boy bed at night but he still has his crib. Its a really deep crib and we would still put him in there for his nap because he would always jump down from his bed and not sleep during naptime in his big bed. But he would never try to jump out of his crib. And he naps for 3 - 4 hours so I know the kid needs his nap! He is a delirious crazy person by dinner time if he skips nap (most parents can relate to this!) Well the other day I put a singing light projection toy in his room before naptime because I thought he might enjoy it. Awhile later I hear him over the monitor whining about the toy. I go to his room and he is in the crib with toy in hand informing me he did NOT want this toy in his room. But I had put the toy across the room!!! The little stinker knows how to jump in and out of his crib now. GREAT! I can't force naptime now. Luckily today after a few times jumping in and out he gave in and slept like a good boy.

Charlie is trying to toddle. Little steps here and there. He dances too. Charlie and Henry both love music. Charlie does this shoulder shimmy thing and Henry rocks back and forth.

The injuries don't stop. I caught Charlie punching Henry in the shoulder over and over. I had to go rescue him. Henry is so sensitive. He usually cries instead of fighting back. Sometimes little Charlie just has no mercy on him! And of course Harrison is in the mix occasionally biting and hitting. Sometimes he just wants to kiss and hug Charlie all day and poor Charlie is red all over from all the loving. When I was changing Henry's diaper today, Charlie kept poking his privates and laughing. They wrestle and roll around the ground and sometimes I am afraid that one of them will step on one of their internal organs and squish it. The sad thing is there is nothing I can do to stop them from hurting each other. I think this is why people say having boys is hard. They are just so rough and relentless with each other! They will end up having to be tough and resilient, that's for sure!

I am truly truly exhausted. I have been feeling terrible lately and I think a lot of it has to do with my diet. I had a stomach virus a month ago and have just been in a funk ever since. I have been eating too much junk and that makes me feel terrible! Not to mention I haven't been exercising. Its gotten too hot for morning walks (i think we are going on almost 80 days over 100 degrees....). I can use my treadmill and stairmill but don't do it as often as I should (thats an understatement). Anyway, I really need to focus on diet especially because this can make a tremendous difference! I wore a pedometer the other day and walked 8 miles - just doing my usual thing here at home! So when I skip out on working out, I can at least have comfort in that!

Just me & the boys

2011-08-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

This week has been full of new challenges! I not only took all 3 boys for haircuts (the twins FIRST haircuts), but I took the boys to the grocery store, seamstress, and monogram shop ALL BY MYSELF! And honestly it wasn't that bad. Getting them in and out of the car is definitely time consuming, but the boys all behaved like little angels. They were probably excited to be getting out of the house so much! Today Harrison told me "Mommy, you're my best friend". I haven't heard that one in awhile so that feels good! He told Charlie that he was his best friend yesterday, but thats ok :)

The boys had their 1 year Dr's appointment this week. Charlie is 19 lbs, 15 oz (in the 10%) and 29.75 inches (45%) and his head is 46 cm (36%). Henry is 23 lbs, 12 oz (57%), 30" (54%) and his head is a whopping 48.5 cm (94%). The Dr. thinks Henry will be built like Adam and Charlie like me (well sort of). We shall see! They are as healthy as can be though. Nothing else new to report this week. Looking forward to next week's new challenges!!!

Big Changes!

2011-08-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I know I don't post much but I think most people understand! I remember starting this blog when Harrison was around the Henry and Charlie's age. Something about the first birthday just makes you want to preserve every memory by writing it down and what better way than a blog because you can share with the other people that love them?

Their birthday party was very special. The 3 great-grandmothers were there, all the grandparents, some of our closest friends, and even my relatives from New Jersey who happened to be visiting in Texas at the time. I didn't lose control like I did with Harrison's party (no photographer, ponies, or strange small animals to pet!). But it was just as great of a party. I think I will throw these less crazy parties from now on so that people can just spend more quality time with the boys! Although I know before too long they will take charge of what these parties will be! Especially Harrison, my mini me! :)

A couple of weeks ago, I started having the nagging feeling that it was time to take these boys on by myself (i.e, no part time nanny). I think part of the reason is that the boys are so mobile now and can all play together. This is so exciting for me - to see them play and have fun together. But it also gives me a break! They can play and I can actually sit down in a chair sometimes! I really gave it some thought to make sure I could manage all the everyday situations on my own and came to the conclusion that I could. Its kind of exciting to take on this big challenge and everything has been going well. I even ordered this stroller (see picture) so that I can take them shopping, etc. Although I love my other stroller and its been so great for our morning walks, this stroller can actually fit in my car without disassembling it!!! This stroller is going to give me freedom to leave the house without help. I also attached pictures of their party and a family picture from our recent trip to Jamaica.

The boys are moving along in their development. This is when all the fun begins! I think the second year really is the most fun. They are doing so many new things and the tantrums haven't started yet! :) Charlie will climb anything! He can even climb up Harrison's bed slide- this is a big slide!!! He takes after his daddy with the climbing. His mom tells me horror stories of Adam yelling at her from the kitchen, she would walk in and he would leap off the refrigerator. (thank goodness my fridge is built into the wall!) He is such a determined little thing. He doesn't stop until he gets what he wants. He catches on very quickly. We gave the boys an electric ride-on car for their birthday and he instantly figured it out and was just cruising around the house! He can stand and clap his hands. He is saying a few words - mama, dadda, duck, yay, wow, yeah, and hello. Henry is so sweet and sensitive. So very cuddly and he gets his feelings hurt very easily. He is adventurous with foods and is readily trying new solids. He is superman strong like he has been since the day he was born. Shockingly strong. Although he crawled first, he isn't showing as much interest as Charlie with the walking. But he loves to cruise and crawls all over the place. Although I initially thought Henry would be my firecracker and Charlie would be the chill one, I have since changed my mind. We shall see!!!

Return of Mim Spitney!

2011-01-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well maybe not the return of Mim Spitney. I really can't promise when there will be another blog entry. I must prioritize and make sure mama gets a shower and some food and there just isn't a lot of time left over. So busy. No sleep. But we are enjoying our little boys so much. They will be 6 months in a couple of weeks. Henry is approaching 18 lbs and Charlie is almost 15. They have the cutest little personalities. They smile constantly. They fight over toys. Charlie is the worst. I call him the toy hoarder. I will give them several toys when they are laying down together and the next time I look, Charlie has moved them all to his side. He just smiles and Henry pouts. They are finally big enough for their jumperoos and bounce like there is no tomorrow. Charlie is rolling tummy to back and Henry rolls both ways. Henry still has superman strength, but Charlie is no weakling either! Who knows who will crawl first? Henry got his helmet (cranial band) removed a few weeks ago and has a super round head now! They are waking up 3 times per night. Yikes. Adam and I have resorted to each taking a baby and sleeping on different floors. This way we are woken up 3 times per night instead of 6! I will discuss the issue with the pediatrician at the next appointment but I don't really expect any good advice. They don't even nap that well. Harrison however still takes his 3 hour nap, woo-hoo! Which is a big help. They are eating solids 3 times per day. Charlie of course eats the food slowly and delicately and gets distracted easily. Henry inhales his food, shoving his hand and bib in his mouth to get every extra morsel in between bites. He eats loudly saying "yummm, yummm, nom nom nom". It really is the cutest thing. They will hold hands while they eat. Henry is loud. His cry is deafening. His happy yells are deafening. And you can just barely hear Charlie's polite little whimpers. They are as different as can be but still equally sweet and cuddly. They are truly the most beautiful 3 boys I could imagine.

I am so thankful for our nanny Mary Anne. She is here 5 hours per day and during that time, Harrison and I can get a little mommy/son time. I take him with me grocery shopping, which he loves (carosel, balloon, stickers, toys- whats not to love?) We spend a lot of time just the 5 of us hanging out too. Although I could take care of these 3 angels alone, they are just better taken care of with an extra set of hands and I am so glad we could make that happen!

Harrison has a playground in the back yard now. He can't get enough of it. I enrolled him in his Tumbles class again and there is a soccer class included this time. Can't wait to see how that goes! He was so excited today at tumbles. He was running around screaming "THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!" He wouldn't do anything he was supposed to. When everyone gathered around the circle, he sat in the middle. He is so funny. He has a great sense of humor and loves to be the center of attention. He tells us he loves us a lot and says the cutest things that will melt your heart. But of course he is in the middle of the terrible twos and displaying all that behavior too! He is showing a big interest in firemen and fire trucks these days and says he wants to be one. He is moving to his big boy room upstairs soon. We ordered him a castle bed with a slide and I am decorating with a construction theme. He is so pumped, he can barely stand it! He has been memorizing all his books (impressive since we have over 300!). He counts to 13 (then it goes to "eleventeen") and is learning his capitals. He talks constantly and is quite the conversationalist.

Adam became a partner at the law firm as of January 1. His hours have been pretty good. He tries to be home by the time Harrison wakes up from his nap at 5. He also tries to work from home once every week or 2.

My life is the boys right now, so not much else to report! I am still having carpal tunnel issues in both hands and arms but its improving. I considered joining a gym but I just don't want to spend that time away from my cutie pies. I figure in 10 years, I will look back and be glad i spent the time with them and not at the gym! I am down to what I was before Harrison. I would need to lose another 5 to get to pre-twins, but I am feeling ok now about it. Oh the changes your body goes through post partum! But I am happy (will probably not feel this way come swimsuit season!) Harrison and I get out a couple times a week to have a date or run errands. I try to get out alone to have lunch with a friend once a month. And OF COURSE I must allow myself a monthly mani pedi and my hair done every 2 months. But other than that I am just a homebody and loving it! Adam and I also sneak in a date here and there. Adam is actively planning our next Disney trip for next November (yes, you gotta plan that far ahead!) I already have plans developing for the twins first bday and Harrison's 3rd bday (cowboy theme). We had a wonderful Christmas (6 celebrations total) and Harrison was super excited about Santa visiting. I am sure I am forgetting some important details of the past several months but thats my quick update! Hope to have time to write again soon....

Taga Time!

2010-10-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

There is a new addition to the family and its the Taga Bike! Its a stroller bike that just came to the USA about 6 months ago from Amsterdam. Its a bike with a stroller attached to the front. I am so excited because it will give me a chance to get some exercise, fresh air, and also spend some quality time with Harrison! We took it out today and it was definitely a work out. I am so weak after this pregnancy. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things!

Henry goes back to the dr on Wednesday to get his helmet. He will have it for 4 - 8 weeks and wear it about 23 hours per day. We went last Wednesday and had him fitted for it. It was a crazy experience. These 4 ladies put a stocking cap over his face and set him on a stool in the middle of this room surrounded by cameras and weird lights. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Of course he hated it because he had to sit up straight with his neck upright. He doesn't quite have the strength for that yet so I know it didn't feel good. As much as we hate all of this, we know it must be done and at this age it will be the easiest it will ever be to correct!

The boys are doing great! Charlie is 10 lbs, 12 oz. Henry was 13 lbs, 6 oz at his last weigh-in but that was over a week ago. So I am guessing they are at least 3 lbs apart at this point! Totally different body types. Both as cute as they could be. They are smiling so much and interacting with us more. They usually sleep at least 6 hours at a time, which is great for this age! We have taken them to eat at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse and Hill Country Pasta House and they were angels.

Harrison has been saying some really sweet things lately. The most recent: "Princess mommy protects me from monsters", "I miss your face", and "Mommy looks like that angel". However there are days when he tells me he wants to poop on my face, so I guess I will just focus on the sweet things! Adam and I took him to Dave and Buster's the other day at lunch and he had so much fun. He is really lucky too! Amy and Parker came over for a playdate the other day and Parker spotted a tarantula on our deck and just picked it up! I think Amy and I were more scared than the kids were!

Adam and I had our 4 year anniversary last week. Our plan was to have a drink at the Tapas Bar where we had our first date. However, when we arrived we realized it had a new name. Then after ordering our first drink, we were quite sure it was now a gay bar! Oh well. It was still fun. We had a wonderful dinner at the Driskill Grille afterwards and Adam had a 7 course dinner!

We finally found a home for Oscar. A nice family of cat lovers took him in. I can't believe someone wanted him since he has epilepsy. I miss him, but he needs to be in a home where he will have attention. Also, I can't worry about him biting our little ones!

Poop-tastrophe

2010-10-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

My little ones are already 2 months and 5 days old! At their 2 month appt, Henry weighed 11 lbs, 10 oz (in the 52%) and Charlie was 9 lbs, 6 oz (in the 6%). They were both 21 inches long (2%). The doctor says they are both perfectly healthy and growing exactly as they should. We have an appointment about the helmet on Tuesday. Henry is our big guy. We nicknamed him "Hank the Tank" because he is so solid! They are still adjusting to the transition to formula. The first week was rough and I felt just terrible for them, but they seem to be ok now. We had an outing to Oasis for dinner with MeeMee and PopPop and an outing today to Luby's to celebrate Mim's birthday. We also had our first trip to the park this weekend. But other than that, we keep these babies at home! Nana came to help out last weekend too. They are both starting to smile and coo and are just so cute!

I was hoping I wouldn't have to hire help for the babies. I tried it on my own for awhile! And the realization was that although I could do it on my own, I couldn't do it well enough. One person just isn't quite enough for 2 infants and a 2 year old. There was always someone crying, someone neglected...And poor Harrison would have to occupy himself while I fed the babies which was all the time! I was terribly stressed out with my blood pressure way high. We now have a nanny named Mary Anne who comes 25 hours per week to help me. She is exactly what we needed! I am able to spend quality alone time with Harrison. When I am spending time with the babies, Mary Anne plays with Harrison. So everyone is now getting all the attention they need. Because of it, Harrison is so much happier. He's nicer to his brothers and so sweet to us. He tells us how much he loves us regularly. He told me the other day "Mommy, I love you. Please don't ever go away. I will come find you!" I overheard him tell Mary Anne "I like you. You're my friend. I want to do things that make you happy". He also has told me "I am going to be nice to Mommy. I am going to bake you a cake, water your garden, put on my construction hat and build you a house. And then build you another house". He is just such a sweety! Harrison and I spent so much time together before the babies came. And then I went on bed rest and then hospital stays and then taking care of the newborns and I hated that for us! But now I feel like things are perfect again with us. We still have our share of tantrums! But they are just because he is 2 and we will just have to survive those.

Ahhh and I can't write this blog without mentioning a couple good poop stories. It had been several days since Henry had done his business and I was starting to freak out about it. One morning I had him in the Bjorn while I washed bottles when I saw that he was doing his thing. I let him finish because there was no way I was going to screw this up for him! When I took him out of the Bjorn I saw that he had poop all the way up his back to his hair! Thank goodness Adam was still home. We just had to bathe that poor kid. But he had a smile on his face after that! I will be telling this next story for a long time. I put Harrison down for a nap the other day, which is becoming more difficult everyday. I got the babies to sleep too and then called the insurance company to sort out this stack of medical bills. I turned down the volume on Harrison's monitor for a few minutes while I was on the phone. When I finished, Henry and Charlie were starting to wake up (thanks for the 15 minute nap guys!). I grabbed Henry and went to peek at Harrison before I started feeding the babies. Little did I know the poop-tastrophe I was going to walk into. I first see the poop balls in the middle of the floor. I look up to see Harrison without pants or a diaper on. There is poop smeared ALL OVER his sheets. He apparently used his foot to smear the poop in every inch of the sheet. There is a puddle of pee in the middle. Poop all over his hands, feet, hair. And a big grin on his face. Around that time Henry starts screaming at the top of his lungs (Henry doesn't mess around when he's hungry). I laid Henry down and started to approach the crime scene with wet wipes when I realized how pointless that would be! So I just had to plop him in the tub. It was madness for awhile. I would have NEVER expected this from Harrison! He doesn't like "yucky" stuff! But he is a little boy and I have 2 more to expect these shennanigans from I guess!

Well I must go now because there are a million things to do before we can go to bed. Things in our house are so much better now that I am not spending 4 -5 hours pumping everyday and I have help! Things are exactly as they should be! (and bonus - my blood pressure is back to normal!) I will try to update again soon!

Bye, Bye Milk

2010-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well I never thought I would say it this early, but I am weaning the babies! I have to pump milk for Charlie and that is about 4 hours total per day and night. That extra time just doesn't exist for me! It takes away from holding the babies and playing with Harrison! Not to mention that when I am attached to the machine I can't make sure Harrison is safe, I can't pop a pacifier in a baby's mouth, I could go on and on. I made it almost 2 months so I am going to pat myself on the back. I didn't finalize my decision until I went to my doctor for my 6 week check up. My blood pressure has been really high since having the babies. We assumed it was hormonal but she said it should have gone back to normal and attributed it to stress. She told me that stopping breast feeding would help as well as more sleep (good luck with that one!) The weaning process has been painful. I am on Day 3 now and using cabbage leaves and taking lots of Ibuprofen. I was making so much milk that this is going to take awhile. :( I hate it, but it will all be over soon! The babies seem to be doing fine with the formula and the doctor assured me that the first month was the most important!

My pediatrician's daughter has been coming twice a week from 9 - 2 to help me out. She plays with Harrison and helps me with feedings. Its been a big help! Although I feel like even if I had 2 full time nannies, I would still be busy! I have had lots of wonderful friends and family come visit. They don't realize what a big help this is to me!

Henry is getting soooooo big. Our scales weigh him at over 11 pounds! Charlie is growing well too, over 9 lbs now.

Diapers.com has been wonderful for us. Diapers are priced well and they deliver free in 2 days. They also sell anything and everything you could want for your babies. Now they have a sister site called soap.com. They sell anything you could ever need except food! They have detergent, makeup, toiletries, you name it. Free 2 day shipping. I am so excited. Now if I could just get groceries delivered.......

This weekend I am going to the spa to get my hair done, woo-hoo!!! We are having a movie night with the Leandras. Harrison can't wait to see "Little Hay" (Hayley Leandra). He is going to totally try to kiss her during the movie. Hopefully her daddy doesn't see! :)

Starting to feel more normal....

2010-09-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

We are starting to regain some bit of normalcy in our lives! I devised a brilliant plan to get more sleep! Adam and I have both been getting up at the two middle of the night feedings and we each feed a baby. As a result we usually don't get more than a 2 hour stretch (3 if we are lucky). So now, for example, I will start out sleeping upstairs (where its nice and quiet). Adam will take the first feeding and feed both babies. So I can sleep from like 11 til 4. Then I take the 4:00 feeding and we switch beds. That way Adam gets to sleep from about 1 til morning and only has to get up to switch beds. I usually have to wake up at some point in my long stretch to pump a little. I am still breastfeeding. Totally hating the pumping but I am going to hang in there as long as I can! A babysitter/nanny fell into our lap and she starts Tuesday. She will come 2 days a week for a half day and play with Harrison, help me with feedings, diapers, etc. It will be a huge help! Harrison is excited too. Tonight Adam and I are going to get out for a few hours and go to dinner. Hayley, Kim, and Gary are coming over to babysit. The babies are adorable, not too much to report. Henry is getting so big! He is a thick little boy! They seem to have completely different body types. We finally received the sectional for the deck via UPS. It came in like 18 boxes. Poor Adam! The weather last night and this morning was amazing so we have been hanging out there a lot. I am really looking forward to the nice weather, lots of time spent on the deck, playing outside, and walks to the park with my 3 boys!

Helmets and Hydrocodone

2010-08-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the days of weekly blogging are sooooo over. The boys are a month old now and I am still in survival mode! I expect this to last awhile, like maybe 3 years....or 18. :)

They had a doctor's checkup today. By the way, at our first appointment it was a rude awakening when we paid two copays and filled out 2 giant books of paperwork! There is going to be 2 of everything from now on! Anyway,they are perfectly healthy except my sweet Henry has a slightly misshapen head. Might have something to do with him dropping so low so early in my pregnancy! We are going to see how things are looking at the 2 month appointment and if they haven't improved, then he will have to be fitted for a helmet. Yes, (gasp!!) a helmet. My baby will have to be one of those kids that everyone feels sorry for. But I don't want him to have a wacky head and not be able to wear hats. The doctor said its not cheap - like 2 or 3 grand and usually not covered by insurance. They are usually worn 6 - 8 weeks. So that was unpleasant news. But there is much worse news to hear at the doctor's office and I thank God every day for my healthy babies! When Charlie and Henry are 15 years old and fighting over the same girl, Charlie can bust out the helmet pictures and have an advantage and we can all have a laugh. Well, everyone but Henry I suppose.

Henry weighed in at 8 lbs, 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches. Charlie weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz and is 19 3/4 inches. They are growing beautifully. In fact, I must say Henry is actually looking a little chubby these days. He is kind of built like a little football player and he grunts a lot. Don't let appearances fool you though because is so super cuddly and sweet. Charlie is much smaller, very wide eyed and alert and more calm than his big brother. Also, incredibly cuddly. I can already tell he looks up to Henry. He snuggles up to him when they are sleeping and follows his lead on when to cry. They are just so cute I can't stand it!!!

I am still breastfeeding but its wearing me out! It was a breeze with Harrison. This time around is so much harder though. I was unable to get Charlie to successfully latch (long story) so I pump for him. I breastfeed or give a pumped bottle to Henry while also giving a pumped bottle to Charlie (one in each hand propped up on nursing pillows - very tricky) OR feed them one after another or go back and forth. THEN pump. And this is every 3 hours, round the clock. Its about 8 - 10 hours per day just dedicated to feeding/pumping. Of course when Adam is here, he feeds one baby. Its especially hard during the day when I am also entertaining and trying to keep Harrison alive and happy. As I am feeding both babies, I usually have a book or giant wooden puzzle plopped in my lap. When I have to turn down his request, sometimes it can turn into an all out tantrum. Its what my nightmares are made of. A few weeks ago when I was still dealing with the hormonal changes (baby blues) and major pain from the c-section coupled with the daze I was in from percoset (oh yeah and sleep deprivation), Harrison went on a rampage. Emptying trash cans, slamming doors, trying to walk out of the house, hitting....I just lost it and sobbed. But that kind of behavior has been few and far between, thank goodness. And my body is adjusting to the lack of sleep, I am weaning myself from the drugs (although unfortunately the pain is still there) and the hormones are pretty much back to normal. Harrison is adjusting to the boys and I think sometimes he really actually likes them. All of our neighbors got together and bring us dinner every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It seems like they all have little girls and come along when they deliver dinner. Harrison has been in heaven because of this!

I do realize that I can't do all of this all by myself. There just isn't enough of me to go around. When I am pumping, I am wishing I am holding the babies. Sometimes I barely have time to hold them all day! When I am feeding the babies, I am missing being with Harrison. So first of all, we have the housekeeper coming 3 times per week now instead of 1. He helps with laundry, dishes, you name it. I am also talking to our pediatricians daughter about coming over twice a week for a half day to help. She will play with Harrison, help feed the babies, diapers, etc. And finally I think I am going to have to let go of this dream of breastfeeding the twins for a year and supplement. I don't have a plan yet, but I have to free up some time. Its more important for them to have more time with their mama than 100% breastmilk. Its a tough call to make but I know its best for everyone. I have to look at this new adventure as a marathon. Its going to be work, work, work and I am constantly going to be looking for solutions but I know its going to get better and I will figure things out.

As horrible and grueling as some of this may sound, I am completely in love with these boys and can't imagine life without them! Only the love for your children can get a mama through this kind of madness! And I know it will all pass so fast and I will look back on these days and miss them :)

Henry and Charlie, Here at Last

2010-08-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

To say its been an eventful week would be the understatement of the century! I don't even know where to begin...

Last Monday I went to see my doctor for an exam. I was 4 - 5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Most women have gone into labor at this point, but I was still hanging in there with no real contractions. My doctor told me if I had progressed any on Wednesday that she wanted me to check into the hospital, and even if I hadn't progressed, she still wanted me to check in. She was worried I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time when the babies decided to come and I was too!!!

So Wednesday comes and I am 5 - 6 cm dilated so into the hospital I go. Adam got me settled and went home to take care of Harrison. I was basically just on bedrest there. At this point, staying in the hospital was no big deal to me. I knew the whole drill, even knew some of the nurses. So I watched some TV, took an Ambien, and went to sleep. The next day was a lot of the same. I didn't feel contractions and was baffled that I hadn't gone into labor yet. I was 36 weeks and 3 days along so I knew that every day was another day that the babies could gain weight. At this point, I was expecting them to weigh 5 lbs, 12 oz and 6 lbs, 4 oz.

That evening, I was waiting on Adam and Harrison to come to the hospital to hang out. The nurse and doctor came to check on me and did an exam. 5 - 6 cm dilated, 95% effaced, no contractions. They did a test to see if I had broken my water yet or leaked amniotic fluid. The doctor told the nurse to call her with the results and left. The nurse glanced at the test and said it was negative and walked out. A few minutes pass and she pops her head back in and said excitedly "Your test just turned positive! Your water broke!" She waited for a reaction and I just sat there stunned. She said "Did you know your water broke? When did it break?" Ok NO! I didn't know it broke. I think I would have mentioned that to someone! Apparently it was just trickling out little by little. I knew Adam and Harrison were about to leave our house. I asked her what exactly this meant?! She said that I could be going to labor and delivery OR the doctor might want to wait it out and let the contractions start and it could be 12 - 18 hours. So I told Adam what happened and calmly told them to still come, but to put Kim and Gary on high alert that we might need them to come get Harrison if things started happening. So they loaded up in the car to come.

Next thing I know, 4 nurses appear at the door with 2 wheelchairs. They start throwing all my stuff into my bags and loaded it onto one chair and getting me up to go to the other one. I was confused. Where am I going? They said Labor and Delivery! I asked if they talked to my doctor and they said she hadn't returned the page yet. So now I am being rushed to labor and delivery. I call Adam. He is also very confused. I told him to go ahead and come and bring Harrison. I just had to see my little boy before all of this happened!

It was 6:30 pm when all of that happened. Still no contractions. Where are the contractions? On the wheelchair ride over, I start barking out orders. My number one goal in life at this point is to make sure I get that epidural in time. I am frantically asking "Is the anesthesioloigst coming? Is my bloodwork done? Do you have the IV fluids ready?" It sounded like they were on top of things. They let me know that I had the "good" anesthesiologist. I kept asking them who the "bad" one was because he scared me to death. They quickly got the IV in and the anesthesiologist was there by the time Adam and Harrison walk in. I quickly said hi and kicked them out because there was no way Harrison needed to see this! The epidural was no big deal. It was like a shot that was a little extra painful. Everything started to go numb. At that point, Adam called Kim and Gary to get Harrison, I got to spend just a few minutes with him and we said goodnight. I think it was around 8:30 when they left. The doctor came to break my water the rest of the way. Everything moved really fast after that. Although I was numb I started to REALLY feel the contractions. When you have an epidural and you have a big contraction, your whole body shakes and you just feel pressure. I said several times to the nurse how intense the pressure was. She asked if I need to push. I told her yes and if I push, the baby is going to come out. She paged the doctor to come immediately. She came in, checked me out, and said "10 cm, I can feel the baby's head, get the OR ready! Jennifer, don't even cough because if you do, the baby will come out. He could crawl out at this point". Oh great! As they race me to the OR I am telling them to please not hit any bumps! They threw Adam scrubs and I was on the table in no time. When you have twins, you deliver in the OR even when its a regular delivery. If there are any problems with Baby B, they might have to do a C-section so they have to be ready. They got everything in place in just a few minutes and told me I could push. When you push, its a 10 second count. I pushed. I pushed again and the head came out. I pushed a third time and we had baby Henry. They took him over to make sure he was ok. Adam went over to look at him and assured me he was perfect. I was just gazing over there trying to get a glimpse of him. Next thing I know, there is panic happening in front of me. Charlie was up really high, nowhere near coming out. There wasn't much chance of guiding him downwards. All of a sudden they lost his heartbeat. I think it turned out that he had curled up in a little ball, because thats how they pulled him out. But when you don't hear a heartbeat of a baby, you leap into action. I heard my doctor call it. C-Section!!! Adam swears he heard the term "slash 'n' go" somewhere in there. There are at least a dozen people in the room and they all start moving so fast and the curtain goes up in front of my face. They send Adam out. The oxygen mask was stuck on my face. I was so confused. I knew what was happening could be very bad. The anesthesiologist is putting more drugs in me. I was trying to stay calm and not hyperventilate. I couldn't say anything and I finally get the words out to the anesthesioloigst "Is Charlie ok?" He asked me to repeat myself. It took all my strength to say those words again because just saying them freaked me out more than anything in the whole world. "Is my baby ok?" He couldn't tell me yes and he dodged the question and gave me a polite answer. I don't even recall now what it was, but it was obvious he was saying it just to keep me calm. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, which turned out to be just 9 minutes, they pull Charlie out via emergency C-section. They tell me he is ok. They are sewing me up and throughout the madness I say to no one in particular, "Please go get my husband". I knew he was probably a mess outside. He is by my side in a second and looks at Charlie and assures me he is ok. They got an 8 and a 9 on the APGAR scale. If you have had a baby, you know thats good. Especially for preemies. Charlie has 4 lbs, 11 oz and Henry was 6 lbs, 1 oz, much smaller than I thought they would be. I thought they would be a half pound apart, they were a pound and a half apart. I briefly got to hold Henry and Charlie. Unfortunately I didn't get to hold Henry again for about 5 hours and Charlie for 10. Henry was born at 9:16 pm and Charlie was born at 9:25 pm. It was less than 3 hours from the time that we got the positive test result. Thank goodness I was in the hospital. Since I had no idea my water had broken, who knows if I would have made it to the hospital in time or what might have happened to Charlie? As I was laying there afterward, I notice blood splatter on the curtain. As I look up at my doctor, I see blood splatter on the shield she was wearing over her face. I look over at a trash can and there is bloody stuff thrown in and draped over the side. An emergency c-section is NO JOKE! I had to lay there on the OR table for a little while because you have to get an x-ray done immediately after. Normally before a surgery, they count all their tools and with an emergency one, they don't have time. They have to do an x-ray to make sure no tools were left inside you! Also, they don't have time for the full disinfecting process, etc. They literally just throw the iodine on your stomach (I think thats what it was). The whole thing reminds me of a horror movie but thank goodness they got my baby out safely. Thats all I cared about.

After the surgery, Adam went to the nursery with the babies while they did all their normal tests, baths etc. I went to recovery. It was a big dark room and I was in my little curtained area, laying there numb. There was one nurse going back and forth from a computer in my little area to a desk about 20 feet away. I started to feel pain. This was no normal pain. It came stronger and stronger. They had given me a tremendous amount of drugs, including morphine, but as the epidural wore off, I felt no morphine. I tell the nurse and they pump more morphine into me. I wait for it to set in and it doesn't. She asks how it feels and I tell her that it feels like I have been in a knife fight and someone has ripped open my stomach. They pump more drugs in. A nurse comes and pushes down on my stomach, which they have to do after a c-section. It makes me scream out in pain. Its worse than labor. She would go back to her desk and I was all alone and I kept making her come back. Finally the anesthesiologist comes in and they figure out that he had given me something that counteracted the effects of the morphine. In other words, I was feeling everything and not feeling any of the drugs. Thank God we figured that little issue out and they fixed it!!!

Now that ordeal was over. I went back to the regular room and the wait for my babies started. Henry was brought back to the room with us and it was wonderful. It was the middle of the night. We find out that because Charlie's blood sugar was low, he was put in the NICU so he could be on IV fluids to raise it. I didn't sleep for 48 hours. It was horrible. He is so wide eyed and alert. I hated having to walk away from him and leave him all alone like that with his little eyes wide open. We would drop Henry off at the nursery and go to the NICU to see Charlie. Luckily we could hold him and I could nurse him. They kept checking and rechecking his blood sugar and it wasn't until our third night in the hospital that they brought him to our room. It was midnight. We were so happy to lay the twins down together. The next day they were starting the preparations to discharge us. They have to do something called a car seat test for preemies. You bring your car seat in, they strap the babies in, and monitor them for an hour. Henry passed. Because Charlie was 4 lbs, 11 oz and our car seat was for 5 lbs and up, he failed. Adam went to buy a new car seat. He is retested and he failed because his heart rate dropped. They tested him again in 3 hours and he failed again. They said they would retest in 24 hours because they wanted to observe him in the NICU. Henry and I were scheduled to be discharged that afternoon. The nurses said that we could stay an extra night in the room as a courtesy. I was all set to do so and planned for Harrison to come stay in the room with us. All day long I was upset because I couldn't stand being away from Harrison anymore. All we wanted was for all of us to be under one roof together. Harrison came and we ate dinner and we made the decision together to just go home. The doctor had told me it could be tomorrow when Charlie came home or 3 to 5 days. I knew we weren't helping him by being in the hospital and I was ready to give the rest of the family a normal life again. So we packed up in the middle of the night and went home. I cried so much. When I was waiting for Adam and Harrison to get to the hospital earlier, I went out in the hallway to walk Henry around. I saw some of the nurses that helped deliver them. They asked about Charlie and when I explained to them that he had to go back to the NICU and we had to go home without him, I just lost it. I sobbed and sobbed and couldn't stop. Leaving Charlie was the the most painful thing I have ever done.

The next day, Adam went to spend the morning with Charlie while I stayed home with Henry. Harrison went to play at MeeMee's. That afternoon, one of my friends came to take me to the NICU so I could see him. I can't drive yet and am on painkillers so getting back and forth to the hospital was going to involve a lot of planning. I knew there was a chance that we could take him home that day but didn't allow myself to even think about it. Within 3 minutes of getting there, they let me know we could take him home. I was ecstatic! Adam raced over there so we could get to him before they closed to visitors at 6:30. As we walked out that day, I realized it was one of the happiest days of my life. But I hurt so badly for all the babies and families we were passing by as we walked out. We probably had the healthiest baby in the NICU and there were babies there that had been there for months. I can't imagine what they go through everyday. We took our babies home and Harrison got to meet Charlie for the first time.

Everything has been crazy for the past few days but I love it. I don't even mind getting up in the middle of the night. I will breastfeed one and Adam will feed the other one from a bottle with breastmilk. Its nice. The babies are sleeping and nursing well. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and she said they are both perfectly healthy. They are tiny and beautiful and I couldn't ask for a better family. This will definitely go down as my happiest birthday ever :)

(And if you are wondering how in the world I found time to write this, it took several days and the usage of a hands free pumping bra! Hey - don't knock it til you try it!!!)

Harrison, my model/doctor

2010-07-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Harrison was being such a little model in these pictures. He likes to pose and then immediately look at the picture on the digital camera. Biggest update on Harrison: He totally knows his ABC's! Probably has for some time now! We have always read ABC books and done puzzles and occasionally I will sing the ABC song to him. He points out most of the letters and knows them so I assumed he had a good grasp of the alphabet and he even told me the other day that he wanted to learn ALL the letters. But he has NEVER sang the ABC song. He doesn't sing really at all. He likes us to do the singing. So at dinner the other night when he just busted out and sang the entire ABC song flawlessy out of the blue, we were floored! Right after he finished he covered up his face like he was super embarassed. He didn't even screw up the "LMNOP" part. He sings it whenever we ask now. I can't describe how exciting this is for a mommy and daddy! We think he can count to 20 too, but the 11 - 20 often gets a little jumbled up. He also tells us entire stories. I think they are supposed to be able to say 2 and 3 word sentences at this point and Harrison does these big run on sentences. Its so fun. He always keeps us laughing.

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning but I was paranoid that I was leaking fluid and I am all of a sudden having the menstrual like cramps so I thought it was smart to go in early. All I can do to protect the babies at this point is be super cautious and call the doctor for every little thing. We are at 36 weeks today and the babies should weigh in the neighborhood of 5 lbs, 9 oz and 6 lbs, 1 oz. I took my last Procardia at 10:30 last night. That alone is going to increase my contractions. And of course we have a full moon tonight so who knows how that will affect me! The doctor checked me out and I am still at 4 cm, 90% effaced. My contractions were every 6 minutes. She was nervous to send me home, but set up on appointment for Wednesday at 4pm. She told me to make sure my bags are packed. She said if there is any change, she will admit me to the hospital and she might admit me even if there isn't a change. Once you are at 4cm and you move past that, things can move very fast, especially with twins. Her biggest concern and definitely mine too, is that things will happen so fast that I won't get to the hospital in time. And I not only want to get to the hospital in time, I WANT THE EPIDURAL!!! So if I was admitted on Wednesday, they still wouldn't induce me until Monday. But I would be at the hospital if anything were to happen before then. The thought of spending a week plus in the hospital is miserable, but its certainly better than the alternative of endangering all of us and not getting there in time. I will spend the next few days taking it easy and enduring these contractions. Unless something happens, I will update after my next appointment!

Smoke-it and Rooster

2010-07-23T09:41:00.001-07:00

With all this pregnancy talk, I haven't updated on Harrison lately! And he is still keeping us as busy and entertained as ever. Last Friday night (a week ago), around 8 in the evening, we decided to take a little "vacation". Harrison LOVES hotels and room service. We realized it could be awhile until we can do one of these last minute getaways again. We did a search on priceline.com and ended up at the Renaissance Hotel right down the road within an hour with our bags! The whole way there, Harrison yelled, arms flailing "Going to the Hotel!". They had an amazing aquarium in the middle of the lobby that could have entertained Harrison for hours. He asked Adam what it was and Adam told him it was a fish tank. Harrison said "No Daddy, thats an aquarium". Then later he asked what some vases and odds and ends were that were on a table. Adam said "Those are pretty things that we look at and don't touch". Harrison responded with "No Daddy, those are decorations". Harrison didn't actually roll his eyes, but that's definitely the attitude he had. He cracks us up! We are constantly being quizzed. 3 blonde sisters came up to the fish tank and Harrison was just hugging them all, he was a weakness for blondes. He calls them princesses. He loved the glass elevators and of course the giant bed. The next morning he was so excited to eat breakfast in bed: mini pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Can't beat that!

His obsession with Christmas continues. He ran into our room around 5:30 am this morning and immediately started talking about what he wanted for Christmas. He also told me he was on Santa's bad list. I am officially using "Santa" as blackmail to get him to behave. Are there parents who don't do this??? Because they all should. I ordered him a chore list that hangs on the wall. Yes, I realize the kid is only 2 and that might make me seem like a slave driver. But Harrison has a lot of people who love him and love to spoil him and he probably has a thousand toys at this point. Literally over a thousand. I need to at least start teaching him responsibility! If he learns about chores now, it will always be a way of life for him. Of course at this age the chores will be watering plants, sweeping the deck, helping put up groceries, etc. These are things he already loves to do and it makes him feel so good to help. But slowly I will work in some "not so fun" ones. I think it will be great for his self esteem. Not that he really needs the help! He seems to be a pretty confident little guy!

No matter how precious your little 2 year old angel is, there will be tantrums. Daily tantrums. Whats funny to me is the reasons for the tantrums. He doesn't have them because we ask him to eat his veggies, or its naptime, or he has to go to a timeout for a bad behavior. Let me give you some examples of recent tantrums.

1) He is playing with a sticker book and decides he needs a cucumber sticker. Well, there is no cucumber sticker. And....TANTRUM! Spinning around on the ground. I am wondering if we should call an exorcist. Adam and I just look at each other and try not to laugh at what's happening in front of us.

2) He sees a commercial for the Little Einstein's show on TV. He wants to see it NOW. Typically I can grant requests for certain cartoons because of this magical thing called DVR (can you believe when I was little I only got to watch cartoons on Saturday morning?!). But this particular show is not on DVR. And....whining commences and then out of nowhere he turns into a little wild animal and bites me on my armpit skin. Yeah, that hurts! And then of course TANTRUM.

3) One of his favorite all time cartoons is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I love this cartoon because its totally G rated and its about problem solving. It always teaches him something. On each episode they are given 3 or 4 tools (Mouseketools) to help solve their problem. On this one particular show, an elephant was one of the "tools". Harrison FREAKED out at the thought of an elephant being used as a tool. He wasn't having it and TANTRUM!

I could go on and on but you get what I am saying. These things just come out of nowhere! He also can be very dramatic in a sweet way. He met Minnie Mouse at Disneyworld when he was 18 months old and it was one of the best moments of his life. He tore across the park and leapt into her arms. He told me the other day with so much sadness in his voice "I want to hug Minnie. I miss her so so so so much". He even gave a fake sniffle.

We had an ultrasound at the perinatologist today and brought Harrison along. He told us he wanted to see Charlie first. We asked him this morning what the babies' names were and he replied "Smoke-it and Rooster". Just out of nowhere, thats what he came up with! So silly. He has mixed feelings about what is about to happen but overall seems happy. I can't wait to be able to pick him up and throw him around and have him climb all over me again. Its hard to have a little boy and be so physically limited when I am with him.

There are no new updates with the babies except I feel like Henry has dropped even more! Every night I make sure that I have showered and everything is ready to go. I still worry that Henry is going to come so fast I won't have time to get the epidural. But what can I do? Next big apppointment with the dr is Tuesday if I make it that far! My estimate on weights at this point is 5 lbs, 6 oz and 5 lbs, 14 oz.

The house projects are ALMOST finished. The deck guys have really disappointed us. It was going so well but then they took a 6 week siesta. The deck itself is beautiful and everything we could have hoped for. The timeline has just gotten out of hand as we are now approaching 3 months. They are telling us it will be done by July 27 but we are expecting at least a week after that. We are still waiting on the new doors for Adam's office and then we are all done!

Adam isn't working today, except for a little bit downstairs in the office. I am glad to have him here. It gets lonely during the day. I also am glad to have a driver in case the worst happens and a baby tries to pop out! Although I am on bed rest I still drove a few times but officially cut that out. I have contractions non stop when I drive!

I posted a pic above of Harrison on his new motorcycle rocker. Our sweet neighbors are moving to California and couldn't take it with them. Its handmade solid wood and one of the most beautiful toys I have ever seen. We are so thankful to them! I also attached pics of me at 10 weeks and me at 35 weeks. Its amazing how big a belly can expand when you are having twins!!!

Hanging in There

2010-07-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Still pregnant! Yay! It would be wonderful to make it to 36 weeks (Monday). Its a full moon that night and also the day they will take me off the medicine. So if it doesn't happen before then, I say Monday or Tuesday is a good bet!

We are still sticking with our No Visitors Policy at the hospital (except Kim and Gary will be coming with Harrison). As a good mama, I have to set my priorities and teaching the babies to breastfeed is number 1! And as anyone who has been there can tell you, that task is all consuming. If there is any time leftover that will be spent sleeping or spending some time with the new Big Brother! And of course we are not out of the woods yet with a possible NICU stay but I get more optimistic every day! We can't wait to introduce our babies to everyone but it will have to be after we are settled at home and they have the breastfeeding down. Its just not something I want to do with an audience!

I forgot to mention yesterday that my fundal height was 44! Which basically means my belly is the size of someone 44 weeks pregnant! (Or a month overdue). Yikes! I hope that means big healthy babies!

Tick Tock!

2010-07-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am going to get to hold my babies any day now! At my doctor's appointment, she told me that I am 3 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. To put that into perspective, when my water broke with Harrison and my contractions were 2 - 3 minutes apart, I was only 3 centimeters by the time we got to the hospital. 90% effaced means that my cervix has thinned to the point there is only 10% left keeping the babies in! However, many women can go several more weeks at 3cm and 90%! So it doesn't necessarily mean we will be rushing to the hospital tomorrow. Because Henry is SO incredibly low, I do worry about not getting to the hospital in time to get the epidural. And my doctor said that was a genuine concern. But there isn't much I can do but hope for the best scenario! I am going to really take my bedrest seriously this week. Next Monday if I haven't delivered yet (I will be 36 weeks), they will ask me to stop taking my Procardia. After that I think they will come quickly! They scheduled me to be induced with Pitocin on Aug. 2 at 7am, but she doesn't seem to think I will make it til then!

New goal is 36 weeks!

2010-07-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

I had another uneventful doctor's appointment today. Adam is in Marble Falls for work for the day so this was my first solo appointment. The doctor and nurses were so glad that I have made it to 34 weeks and 1 day! I estimate their weights to be about 4 lbs, 12 oz and 5 lbs, 4 oz. The doctor put the heart and contraction monitors on me for about 45 minutes and said everything sounded fine! At this point, if I were to go into labor, they wouldn't stop it with any drugs. They will take me off of the Procardia at 36 weeks. The Procardia calms my uterus so the contractions would probably increase when I stop taking it. She asked if I would like to try to deliver naturally (vs. C-section) and I said yes. Since they are both head down, she said there is no reason not to try, although most women opt for the C-section. The only real risk of this is once Henry comes out, Charlie could change positions because of all the room he will suddenly have. If he moves to a breech or transverse position, they will have to do a c-section. Then I will have to recover from both natural AND a c-section, which would be no fun. She said the chances of this happening are about 1/3. So I think its worth the risk. It would be much better to let things happen as nature intended them to happen! The last thing I want to do is recover from major surgery with 3 little ones to take care of! Either way, I will delivery in a surgical room. If I am able to try natural (which I should), they will be set up for natural and a c-section.

I am up to 158 pounds now, which means I have gained 37 total. Most books and sites I have seen recommend gaining 37 - 54 lbs, so I feel good about being on that low end so far! I am thinking I should lose at least 20 - 25 lbs right off the bat just from baby and all that other stuff that comes out during delivery! Breastfeeding twins burns about 1000 calories per day so I am optimistic I will be back in my skinny jeans within 6 months without working out or dieting. Lord knows that 3 boys will be a workout in itself!

Harrison has been using his adjectives and adverbs very well. "That's cool...That's awesome.....This is going to be fun" He is such a little boy. He spends a lot of time flying his planes around the house and zipping his trucks around. He has been coloring a lot more too. He bosses us around a lot and makes us drive backhoes, cranes, and dump trucks until we just can't take it anymore. He watches us very carefully and guides us in how to draw them. He is going to be such a good brother to the boys, a bossy one, but a good one!

No News is Good News!

2010-07-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Twins Update: Well there isn't much to say which is wonderful! Both of my doctors are out of town this week so I have been nervous about this time period. I thought with my luck, this would be the week the twins came! My doctor wanted me to see one of her associates on Tuesday (there are 6 doctors in the practice - if my doctor is not working the day the babies are born, then one of these doctors would deliver the twins). It was kind of a waste of an appointment because all she did was measure my fundal height, which is basically measuring my belly with a tape measurer. The scale showed I had gained 3 lbs. I was happy about that because the two weeks before I had lost weight. I only eat from about 8am - 2pm and am forced to fast the remaining 18 hours of the day because of my reflux. But I have been trying to eat all I can in that 6 hours. Lots of protein bars and shakes! The good news is that this "fasting" results in me being able to sleep quite decently every night. And that is priceless! We went in for an ultrasound at the perinatologist office today. I was expecting to get the usual weight estimation, but not today. I was disappointed but I have a good idea of what they are. At this point, Henry should be up to 5 lbs and Charlie should be around 4 lbs, 8 oz. They each gain at least an ounce per day. That means I gain around a pound of baby every week! I have a note of what the babies' weights should be everyday in my phone. It helps me get through the day to be thankful of every ounce gained! Once they are past 5.5 lbs, they won't even be considered low birth weight (and 60% of twins are considered LBW). We are right around the corner from Henry hitting that mark and around a week and a half to 2 weeks for Charlie. So I would say we are doing very well! On Monday I will be 34 weeks. The chance of a NICU stay are much much lower when you reach 35 or 36 weeks.

Harrison: Harrison's love for planes continues to grow. He asks to watch Top Gun (AKA the plane show) every single day. He told Adam that Top Gun was so so so so perfect. He makes us fast forward to the good plane parts only. He has been having fun playing at MeeMee's house while I rest at home. He is now eating in a booster seat and using plates so its time for the high chair to be put in the basement until we need it for the twins! He is doing really well with it as well as the toddler bed. In fact, we have discussed removing the mesh rail. I don't know if I have mentioned it, but his favorite color is pink. We have bath capsules that turn his water different colors and his usual request is pink. When I presented him with his green booster seat, he wanted to know why it wasn't pink. I love this and would totally be okay if he didn't grow out of it! :) I noticed that he got out a 9 piece puzzle the other day that he doesn't play with often. He put it together instantly. So I guess its time for bigger puzzles! After my online Christmas shopping spree, packages have been arriving daily. One of those packages was a set of 4 balls for Blaine. Harrison saw them and I explained they were for Blaine. And he wanted them so badly, he talked me into giving them to HIM instead. (Sorry Blaine, Aunt Jen will buy you some more!) He was walking around with all 4 of them saying "These are not Blaine's...) Ahhhh, the jealousy continues.

Adam: Poor Adam. I just don't update on him enough. He is loving his new home office. Its going to be a life saver in the first few weeks or months when the babies are here. I haven't taken a picture of it yet and I need to. Its really beautiful. He has been doing a wonderful job of taking over on laundry/dishes/AND Harrison duty in the evenings. Work is going really well and he is in a really good place now where he has more flexibility, has a lot of help at work, and can do a lot of work from his Blackberry. He very rarely misses one of my countless doctor's appointments and usually makes it home from work before or not long after Harrison wakes up from his afternoon nap.

Me: I haven't lost my mind yet from being on bed rest. I get emotional sometimes because I can't be around Harrison as much but thats to be expected. It would be weird if that didn't affect me! I know at this point in the pregnancy that this is the way it has to be. I know Harrison understands and I know he is happy and well taken care of. So I have to do whats best for all my boys! I have an amazingly cozy bed, an awesome TV with hundreds of channels and DVR, and a laptop. So it could be a heck of a lot worse! :) I thank God everyday I am not in the hospital on bed rest. I don't know how those people do it. My three days and nights were just miserable. I took a chance yesterday and left my cave to get my hair done. I was in dire need of highlights and a haircut and I know that it could be a few more months until I could break away from the babies for such a long appointment. And 4 months without highlights?!? Well thats just unacceptable. Everything was fine though. Not the most comfortable experience sitting in a chair for that long, but it was no big deal. I started asking her about this fabulous "Brazilian Blowout" that has recently been brought to my attention. For hair like mine, it makes it super smooth and shiny for up to 4 months. There is a stronger formula if you have super frizzy hair and an even stronger one for really curly hair. Even though it added another hour and a half to my stay at the salon, I told her I had to go for it. Low maintenance hair sounds good to me! I won't see the true results until tomorrow after I wash my hair, but seems great so far! And I chopped my hair off to above my shoulders so its going to be healthier overall. We are STILL waiting on our deck to be finished. They won't come out and put in the staircase until there is zero chance of rain which probably won't happen until next week. I have a new obsession and its the Taga Stroller Bike. They have just arrived in the states from the Netherlands. I am convinced we need two, one with two seats for the twins and one with a seat for Harrison. Of course, something this cool is a FORTUNE, so for now its a dream. But I have been busy trying to convince Adam what a good investment it would be and the years of fun it would provide!

That's the update for now! Hopefully I will be giving you another uneventful update on Tuesday after my doctor's appointment!

Friday Appointment Update

2010-07-02T10:55:00.001-07:00

Quick Update! The ultrasound estimates the babies to be 4 lbs, 9 oz and 4 lbs, 1 oz, give or take 3 or 4 oz. The babies should gain at least 1 oz per day each at this point. He expects me to make it another 3 weeks! I hope so because that could mean no NICU time for Henry and Charlie and thats the ultimate goal!

A blog thats not pregnancy related! (well not really....)

2010-07-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

This morning Adam made Harrison breakfast and we set him up at the table in a big chair so that I could sit with him and not have to worry about getting him in and out of the high chair. I was enjoying our morning conversation so much that there was no way I could let him out of my sight today. I knew that I had to take care of him today and get in some good one-on-one time and there was no talking me out of it! He has been so sweet to me - "Mommy is beautiful", "Mommy is a princess", "Mommy is OK" (he says that one with relief). He has been giving me tons of hugs and kisses and picking flowers for me. Little boys are so sweet to thier mamas, which is great since I will have 3 soon!

This morning he dragged his pillow and blanket off his bed and laid it on the ground, shut his bedroom door, turned on his air purifier, ordered me to lay down and then he laid down beside me and said "Camping in the forest". Ok, thats a fun game because I can't wait to take him camping! I know, I know, I am on bedrest. How can I take care of Harrison?!? But it was really no big deal. We laid on the couch and watched a movie, read books, played with trucks on the floor, and I laid on the bed upstairs while he played with his train (what used to be my "hobby room" has now become the "Train room" afer his birthday! He threw a little fit at lunch when he didn't want to eat but after that he chilled out and I got him down for a nap after singing The Christmas Song only 9 times.

While he was asleep, I made it my mission to finally settle on some furniture for the deck. I have been shopping forever. Patio furniture is the worst thing to shop for. I hate it! Its either junky looking or the price is astronomical. We have not had much luck with finding anything in between. I got some catalogs in the mail with great July 4 sales on outdoor stuff. I knew it would take awhile to ship so I figured that if we ordered now, we would have it beautiful and ready for company by the time the intense heat was gone. I am so looking forward to sunset dinners outside, setting the babies up in their swings, and having a nice glass of wine out there (you have NO idea how much I am looking forward to that last one!!!!) We have a love seat and two chairs on our balcony right now that we are going to move to the bottom deck. I ordered a double chaise for the bottom deck too. I picked out a red sectional and a wooden dining table for the upstairs deck. They are both made from Eucalyptus which is supposed to weather beautifully. We'll see!

We have been teaching Harrison lessons about whining lately. He is learning very well. After coming back from Kim's house the other day and hanging out with Blaine, he let me know that Blaine was whining. It was kinda cute that he was "tattling". He loves his cousin Blaine, but because he has to share his MeeMee and PopPop with him, he is a little apprehensive about him. When we were teaching a whining lesson the other day, Harrison pointed out that although Daddy didn't like whining, he DOES like WINE. Just more proof of his brilliance! :)

We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. We get a sonogram and find out the weights. Yay! I am looking forward to good news! Also today marked 10 days since my first positive fetal fibronectin test. Which officially makes it a FALSE POSITIVE! Let's hope my second test will prove to be a false positive as well!

I have attached pix of the new deck furniture and of my BELLY! Might as well show the world! My belly is most definitely bigger than a basketball, bigger than a beach ball. Not sure if there is a ball out there as big as my belly right now!

Today's Appointment

2010-06-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

I saw my doctor today. There hasn't been any cervical change. Still 1 cm dilated and I am going between 50 and 75% effaced. They strapped the heart and contraction monitors to me for about 20 minutes and the heartrates and movement of the babies were fine and there were no contractions. She did another fetal fibronectin test and unfortunately it came back positive again. We assumed it probably would but it would have been nice if it didn't! There is only a 60 percent chance that it means I will go into labor in the next 10 days. (40% chance of false positive). The doctor told me strict bed rest! I have been feeling hot and nauseous throughout the past few days and she thinks its low blood sugar. She wants me to try to get more food in me! I lost a pound this week and a pound last week, but nothing to worry about. I tend to not gain for several weeks and then gain a bunch all at once. On the way home, Adam and I swung by HEB. He went and pulled up a scooter to the car so I could shop. (Not his idea, mine - he was slightly mortified). I had a blast with it, but wished it went a little faster! We stocked up on Ensure shakes, protein bars, hard candy, and Tums. I felt like I was about 50 years older than I am! It was funny though. :) I now have appointments every Tuesday and Friday so I will update then!

Life on Bed Rest

2010-06-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

This is definitely an adjustment! I usually barely sit down during the day and here I am forced to lay around. I am just doing all I can to keep my mind occupied. I have finished all my Christmas shopping online for our extended family. I figure there won't be time for that after the babies get here! I am planning out Harrison's future room upstairs. I have had all kinds of projects going to keep sane!

Harrison and I enjoy time in the morning together cuddling, watching cartoons, and reading. Then he plays with Mee Mee til naptime, and Adam is usually home around the time he wakes up and I get more cuddle time in with Harrison. We took the front off of his convertible crib and put up a mesh rail so he is officially in a toddler bed! This way he can get in and out of his bed. He needs a little assistance from me, but I don't have to really lift him. He seems to be doing great with it. I ordered a booster seat so we can ship the high chair to the basement for awhile. He is such a big boy! The first few mornings that I was back home, he woke up and said "Mommy home, mommy not in the hospital, mommy better". It feels so good to be back home!

I will not lie though, I am quite uncomfortable! Henry is so low, about 2 inches from coming out! So I definitely am struggling with the feeling of pressure. I go to the bathroom all day long, all night long. The reflux and heartburn is still nasty. And it just hurts. Laying down and turning from my left to my right side hurts. Getting up hurts. But I continue to hope that I can keep this up for another 3 or 4 weeks at least so they can continue to grow. I have a dr's appointment tomorrow with my regular doctor. She will do an exam and tell me if my dilation and effacement has changed and also a sonogram. Unless its changed drastically, I don't think she would admit me to the hospital again unless I started having crazy contractions. Friday is my appointment with my other doctor (perinatologist is the appropriate name for him I now know!). His ultrasound will tell me their weights which is always good to hear! I am hoping to be 4 lbs plus for both babies. They were 3 lbs, 7 oz, and 3 lbs, 13 oz a week ago. I will do my best to post tomorrow after my appointment!

Quick update

2010-06-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, my doctor did an exam and saw no change in dilation, so she let me go home after three nights in the hospital! They monitored my contractions the night before and they were 1 every 10 minutes and this morning the same, but they are just Braxton-Hicks so she wasn't that worried. I was only even feeling 2 or 3 an hour which I have been feeling for months now. So I think my uterus is just continuing to get ready for labor. I could stay like this for many more weeks and that is my hope. Getting the babies to 35 weeks is the goal. If its less than that, they will most definitely spend time in the NICU. I say "goal", but obvioulsy I have no control! I am on modified bed rest now. Everyone wants to know what I am doing with Harrison. Our plan right now is for Adam to bring Harrison to me in bed in the mornings and we will read books and watch cartoons (which we usually do in the morning anyway) and he will bring him his cereal in his little snack cup. Around 10 I expect him to be ready to play and run around. Then Kim will come over and take over until naptime around 2. Then Adam will try to be home everyday by the time he wakes up. We ordered a mesh crib rail for Harrison's crib in hopes to make the transition to a toddler bed. It seems like an abrupt early thing to do, but I think he can handle it and won't mind. I trust that he isn't going to get up in the middle of the night and wander around. We would hear him with the monitor. With him being in a toddler bed, I don't have to lift him in and out of bed, which at this point would be impossible. About a week before the hospital I started to really slow down. Up until then, I was feeling really good! But now that I am back home, I can say I am definitely experiencing some pain and discomfort. Finding a comfortable way to lay in bed is a big challenge. But I am sooooo glad to be home and be back where I belong with Adam and Harrison! Being in the hospital is truly a miserable experience. But its good to know that I could survive it on my own, that Adam could hold the fort down without me, and that Harrison was able to understand what was going on. He was great throughout all of this! My next appointment is Tuesday and I look foward to another good doctor's report!

In the hospital....BOOOOOO!

2010-06-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Monday morning, I woke up with a little extra pressure and a new pain I hadn't felt before. I decided to try to get in to see my doctor a day early. She was out of town so I grabbed an appt with her nurse practitioner. That was probably a very good move. I tested positive on my fetal fibronectin test which says I have a 60 percent chance of going into labor in the next 10 days. However, my cervix was closed (a very good thing) but softening. I was admitted to the hospital around 6pm for observation. After another exam, they decided to move forward with a steroid shot. This is done to finish developing the babies' lungs over the course of two days. Then they put me on magnesium sulfate to hold off labor for at least long enough to give the steroids time to work. Dr. Berry, my perinatololigst or high-risk doc, came to check out the babies on the ultrasound. They are doing fantastic. Charlie is 3 lbs, 7 oz and Henry is 3 lbs, 13 oz. They are somewhere between 31 and 32 weeks along.

Harrison was at his Mee Mee and Pop Pop's and Adam was with me around 8:00 pm the first night when they gave me the mag. It made me have hot flashes, weak, a little dizzy, so we thought it was best for Adam to stay with me that night. I had 6 things hooked up to me. An IV, finger cuff, blood pressure monitor, contraction monitor, and heart monitors for the babies. So getting up to the bathroom required help and that was many times throughout the night! Also the heart monitors were constantly shifting so someone was coming in to mess with the things strapped to my belly every half hour or so! So not much sleep for either of us that night.

We were woken up very early that morning by a woman giving birth next door without an epidural. I got the scoop later that she had woken up in active labor and by the time she got to the hospital she was 5 or 6 cm dilated - which means too later for the epidrual!!! My worst nighmare I think. The screams were just horrific but didn't last long. Not the most pleasant alarm clock!!!!

Adam went to pick up Harrison around 7am. They had breakfast and watched a little Finding Nemo and then come to see me. Harrison didn't know what to think at first. I imagine it was scary seeing me all hooked up. But we have done as much as we can to prepare him for what he was going to see. He told us "Hospital make mommy feel better" and "Mommy Ok". I did my best to let him see me smiling and laughing and I think he is dealing with everything well. It was hard for us because I couldn't even really hold him or give him a good hug because of all the equipment. They went home for awhile and I caught up on my celebrity gossip and actually read 2 whole magazines! They decided to take me off the magnesium and I immediately took advantage of my freedom (no cords!) and took a shower and changed into my own nightie. I threw up quite a bit today. I think it was mostly related to the reflux and not being able to move around which helps digest the food. But the magnesium could have had an effect on that too. So it felt good to get cleaned up and fresh again! Adam and Harrison spent a few hours with me. We read books and watched cartoons and I could actually snuggle with him on the bed. They have made a few trips to the nursery while they are here and he seems to really like seeing the babies. They gave me my second Steroid shot to complete the lung development. The doctor strongly suggested I take an Ambien to get a good night's sleep. So we said our goodbyes and I popped my first Ambien. She was right, it was probably a good idea and I slept well. I missed my boys though of course!

The hope was that this morning my doctor would examine my cervix, find it closed, and let me go home. Unfortunately it was no longer closed, it was dilated 1 cm. She thought I was 75% effaced, but came back later and said 50%. They decided no more mag (thank goodness!) but gave me a drug called Pro Chardia? (Sp?) that is meant to calm my uterus. When she checked me out, I had been having contractions every 5 minutes for 2 hours. They were mild or just the Braxton-Hicks (tightening, no pain), so I didn't really notice! For that reason, she wants to keep me at least another night. She is doing another exam around 5 to see if there has been any progress or if everything has stayed the same. If its the same and the same tomorrow, I think she will send me home. If its progressed and keeps progressing, then they might put me on the mag to delay it some more and those babies could just

Mo' Money

2010-06-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was "lucky" enough to get into the dentist a week early for my root planing and scaling. Wow. I now feel I am MORE than prepared for the pain of childbirth with twins. The hygenist said it looked like it went well and since I am young I don't need to worry about losing any of my teeth! I have to go back in 3 weeks for a checkup and then every few months after that. So there will be lots of maintenance but not a big deal. I will just be going back for checkups and cleanings, no more of the painful stuff most likely!!!

Adam's credenza, hutch, and office chair came today and they look beautiful. The shutters will be installed on Monday. As far as the office goes, all we really need are a couple of chairs and a table for clients, but we aren't rushing on that. Oh and of course his computer and all of that equipment will be here in a few weeks. Once he has that, he will be ready to roll!

Mee Mee came with us to Tumbles class this morning. Harrison ran around like crazy showing her everything. I took him to the 2 - 3 year old class today instead of the 1 - 2 year old class. I think either class is fine, but its probably good for him to have interaction with the older kids and be challenged a bit more.

We met with a financial planner about his college fund and all that good stuff. Mee Mee was going to take care of Harrison while we were at the appointment so I was explaining to him why he was going to Mee Mee's house. I told him we were meeting a man about the money we had saved for him for college. He quickly said "Don't let that man take Harrison's money". I am still cracking up about that. The boy loves his money. I recently got him one of those big ceramic piggy banks from Target (he had been begging me for one) and I think he thought we were taking his piggy bank to the financial planner! He and Adam were putting coins in it the other day and he told Adam that he wanted to fill it up and then get another one! Maybe he will be a saver like I was when I was little.

Eventually (probably by Christmas), Harrison will need to move upstairs to one of those bedrooms. At that point, the babies will need to move out of our room into the nursery where Harrison is. Since they most likely will still be getting night feedings, it doesn't make sense to put the babies upstairs. I have been feeling all kinds of guilt about it because I feel like I am kicking him out and that he will feel alone and scared all the way up there! So Adam and I think he deserves a really awesome room. We would like to give it to him as his Christmas gift. If its the coolest room ever, then maybe he won't feel alone and scared? I attached a picture of the girl version of the bed we want. The boy version has clouds instead of flowers. We are so in love with it that I think there is no turning back now!

2010-06-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Harrison has had a lot of fun the past few days. On Thursday he got to play with Blaine at our house for a little bit and see Hayley and Mee Mee. Friday morning, we had a playdate with Parker at our house. I think they played in every corner of the house! We watched the first part of Finding Nemo in the media room. It was going great (see pictures) but then Harrison started to try to make out with her. Parker let him know that she was NOT that kind of girl and had to hide behind her mommy. Harrison gave up and started running laps around the room. That didn't get Parker's attention so he threw one of his stuffed animals at her face. Thats when we decided it was time to play upstairs! I might have to teach him some etiquette about movie dates! It was fun though. Harrison loves being around Parker. Unfortunately he also loves Mia and calls Parker Mia and Mia Parker! So I will also have to teach him some etiquette about calling girls the right names too! :)

Friday night, we went to Mee Mee and Pop Pop's house. Friday was Blaine's birthday so they played with Blaine's toys and then went to the pizza place. On Saturday morning we grabbed our Starbucks, filled up on breakfast at Rudy's, went to Caleb's birthday party at Extreme Fun (an indoor bouncy house place), and then had swimming lessons. Then this morning, we did breakfast at Starbucks, spent a few hours at the pool, and then lunch at the pizza place. Not a boring moment for Harrison!

I have definitely started to lose more energy. My body is sore. Super congested. But I still think overall I am doing well. I really enjoyed going to the pool this morning! It wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. I got in with Harrison. Its so easy to carry him in the water. And I laid out and soaked in the sun. I think we need to try to make a trip there every weekend until the babies come. Harrison loves it and never gets tried of the water either!

2 worry free weeks!

2010-06-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well not completely worry free, but a lot less stressful! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. The babies are still both head down (thank goodness - no surgery please!!!) and she said that Henry's head (he is my Twin A, the first one that will come into the world) is super low. Which explains all the pressure I am feeling! I've gained 32 lbs. My belly is measuring the size of someone 38 weeks pregnant with one baby. I have been having the Braxton Hicks still quite regularly. This is normal, especially with twins, but it prompted her to want to give me a fetal fibronectin test. I have never heard of this, so was pleasantly surprised! This awesome test tells you if you are likely to go into labor in the next 2 weeks by detecting a protein that is produced when your body is preparing for labor. Here is the thing though. If you get a negative result like I did, there is a 96 percent chance you won't be going into labor for the next few weeks. Yay for me! However, if you get a positive result, there is only a 60 percent chance of going into labor. And this is where the tough decisions come in. If you get a positive result, your doctor recommends that you go to the hospital on bedrest for a few days and get steroid shots and then bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy. These shots speed up the development of the lungs. So on one hand, you know that if the babies do come early, their lungs will be developed. On the other hand, you don't want to do these shots unless you really really have to! But hopefully my test in 2 weeks will give me another negative result and I won't have to worry about it. They don't do the test after 34 weeks.

I went to the dentist yesterday because of bleeding gums. The other night I woke up and had to throw up acid. So very gross! Afterwards I was brushing my teeth and noticed that some of the gum between my lower teeth was seperating from the teeth and bleeding. It kinda freaked me out so I looked online the next morning and found out that during pregnancy because of increased blood flow and hormones, over half of all pregnant women get ginigivitis. And this gingivitis can lead to periodontal disease. THIS is serious because it can cause preterm labor not to mention tooth loss! So I made an appointment that day. Also, I hadn't been to the dentist in 4 years! Adam and I are both so lucky to have generally healthy teeth and no history of cavities, so the dentist has never been much of a priority! Sure enough they discover yesterday that I do have periodontal disease. I am so bummed about it. First of all, I don't need anything else increasing my chances of babies coming too soon! AND its a fortune. AND I have to go back and have "scaling and root planing" done. I just hope we can get the majority of the treatment out of the way before the babies get here. My energy level is shockingly high considering the size of my belly. My biggest challenge continues to be the reflux. My current strategy is to not eat after 2 pm and it seems to be working so far. I make sure that I eat a big enough lunch to hold me over til the next day.

Harrison had his 2nd year dr's checkup today. He hated every second of it. The stethoscope, scales, everything freaks him out. But he is healthy, 26 lbs, and 35 inches tall! She still thinks he will be about 5'10" which is Adam's height and he is growing perfectly!

He has had a better attitide about the babies lately. He likes their cribs in his room. He dug in my belly button with his sharp fingernail and told me he was trying to get the babies out. We still have a big challenge ahead, but I am glad he isn't telling me he wants the doctor to keep the babies inside anymore. Our pediatrician told us it would signal a problem if Harrison DIDN'T care when Mommy brought home the babies. She said he probably wouldn't hurt the babies or take it out on them, but that I would get the brunt of it. Harrison has a very sweet and gentle personality so I don't think it will be that bad. She told us to hold off potty training til age 2.5 and we totally agree. He needs to get used to this major change before we start that.

The media room is finished except for maybe a few decorations. We watched Top Gun last night and I think it was one of the best moments of Adam's life. Harrison loves it and calls it the "plane show". He really only likes the parts when they are flying in the planes of course! Office furniture will be delivered next week. After that we are just waiting on Adam's shutters and the railing work to be done on the deck!

Jackpot!

2010-06-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

Not too much to report on this blog post except house news! The nursery is now officially complete. All thats left on the deck is the pergola has to be stained, stucco painted, and railing and staircase built. I think I finally found deck furniture at Ballard Designs that I like that doesn't cost a small fortune, but I will have to wait a couple months to buy it! Which probably works out well since I will have small babies and it will be a million degrees outside! The media equipment will be installed Tuesday and Wednesday (I told you on the last post, it wouldn't take Adam long!), and our couch and chaise will be here on Wednesday as well. The study needs new doors, the rest of Adam's furniture, and shutters. The shutters will be the longest wait, probably another month. Our little fountain is finished, except they shipped it without a pump (just our luck). So we might get done before the babies get here, maybe not! I have my hospital bag packed and the babie's car seats are in the back of my car. Still lots of little things to do.

Harrison finished his first "swim-mester" at swim school and starts a new one next week. He got a little blue ribbon and a T-shirt. The girls at swim school love him. Adam had him sitting on the counter while he signed up for the next session and he picked up their phone and said "Hello, Swim School. Bye-bye"...The other day he kept asking for cheese from Adam's taco and he gave him a little bit and he kept asking for more. So I came over with a huge handful and dumped it on his tray and he smiled really big and said "Jackpot!". So funny because we have never heard such a thing! He says his "new" nursery is amazing and perfect. I bought him some little doctor pajamas and he fixed mommy's stubbed toe and has doctored my tummy. He calls himself Dr. Harrison :)

6 pounds of babies!

2010-06-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

Henry and Charlie Update: We had an appointment with the specialist today. They are both still head down (yay!). Charlie is kinda squishing Henry at the moment. Henry is 2 lbs, 15 oz and Charlie is 2 lbs, 13 oz. That's give or take 4 oz. I am very happy they remain close in size. I don't want one intimidating the other one!!! I am 29 weeks along. When the babies reach a combined 8 lbs is usually when (as my doctor puts it) the uterus starts to get cranky and preterm labor can start. This should hit at 32 weeks or around June 19. So that's when I really have to start paying attention to how my body is feeling! I am having the Braxton Hicks contractions all the time. These just feel like a tightening, not painful, just slightly uncomfortable. If its preterm labor, I will feel pain and have several in an hour. If I do start showing signs of preterm labor, I will have to go to the hospital. If they decide that it is preterm labor, they will inject me with magnesium sulfate to stop the labor, give the babies steroids to speed up the growth of their organs (most importantly the lungs) and I will probably be stuck in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. Its possible the magnesium sulfate would only delay the onset of labor for a few days. OR I could go home and be pregnant for another month.

People keep asking me "Are you ready? Have you done everything?" I wish! I am probably more prepared than most though, but still not to my satisfaction. I need to finish packing my hospital bag tonight. We have the crib and changing table set up in our room. And this week we should be able to set up their other two cribs and finish decorating the nursery. I am going to put the two cribs in Harrison's room for now because it doesn't hurt to have an extra place for naptime. When the babies hit 4 or 5 months, we will decide if we are ready to move Harrison upstairs to his own room. We bought a little fridge to put by my glider so I can grab a juice or snack while I am feeding the babies. Seems like I will need a third arm to do so, but I am sure I will figure it out! We have been filling the deep freeze up with frozen casseroles, meat, and pizzas to keep us easily fed in the first few months. I bought an air mattress for Adam for the hospital (the last experience with the "couch" was terrible). Kim and Gary moved into their new house this week only 2 miles away so we know we will be able to count on them to help with Harrison in emergencies!I loaded Kim and Gary up with Harrison supplies so he will be taken care of while he stays there. So I am pretty much left with little details at this point, which is good because my energy level is not as high as it was!

House update: Its been a nightmare of an experience overall. What was supposed to be a simple 2 day project has turned into close to a month. As far as Harrison's room, the media room, and study, it looks like the painting should be done today. If so that just leaves us with the carpet installation on Friday, couch delivery on Tuesday and office furniture mid-June. And at some point Adam will schedule the media room equipment to be installed (sooner than later because he is like a little kid on Christmas, he is just dying to get this put in). Harrison's room/the baby's nursery is going to be so cute! I have outdone myself this time I must say :). We put in the picture frame wainscoting in white plus crown molding and painted the walls cloud blue to match his bedding. He already has two paintings of animals riding in hot air balloons (its very vintage looking) and I found some metal hot air balloons to hang on the wall too. I saw them online and told Adam immediately that I would die if we couldn't buy them (little did he know I already bought them). He was very impressed when they came so I made the right call. They will make the room. The composite decking material came in this weekend and they started laying it today. I imagine they will be done this week and all that will be left is the iron work for the railings and staircase, which will take a few weeks.

Harrison is his usual sweet self with an occasional tantrum. Hayley and Logan gave him a sand and water table so we have been playing with that outside in the evenings. He has been having a blast with Henry and Charlie's Curious George monkies. They ride his train, sit in his recliner, and have been dragged all over this house. He is obsessed with a cartoon called Caillou on the Sprout channel. I swear we have seen every Caillou episode 800 times at this point. I hope Kim and Gary have the Sprout channel or there will be problems! He continues to demand foot rubs throughout the day along with wanting me to sing "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas". But he also usually follows it up with pleassssssse so I comply. I am not looking forward to days and nights away from him at the hospital, even though I know I will have visits. We are always together and I know I will miss him terribly! But at least I know he will be happy and in good hands with Mee Mee and Pop Pop.

This pic is of Harrison with the Georges. He sat them on the stairs and then sat himself in between them so they could hang out together.

Thank you for my birthday party.....

2010-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

When Harrison woke up Tuesday morning, the first thing he said to Adam was "Thank you for my birthday party. I had fun at my birthday party". He then said "The guy with the balloon made me a sword and I said thank you". He must have just been sitting in his bed reminiscing about his party. He is just the sweetest thing in the world! He also has told us "I wuv you" a few times now.

Another big accomplishment - he pooped in the potty a few days ago! We have not started the intensive potty training yet because we want to wait until the babies are here and Harrison is used to them. We have been warned about trying to do potty training when major changes are happening. When the babies come, it could cause him to regress. But I also don't think he is quite ready yet, because poop in his pants really doesn't seem to bother him! However, we do suggest it on a daily basis and this one day, he decided to go for it!

He has discovered a love for foot rubs. At night, he insists that I rub one foot and Adam rub the other one. Makes him seem very spoiled, but it sure does get him to sleep fast!

I had a sonogram on Monday. The babies are still both head down and looking good! I have gained 29 lbs and my belly is now about 41 inches around! The crazy thing is my belly is going to get a lot bigger. These babies could triple in size! My doctor said my belly is the size of a woman at 36 weeks carrying one baby (I am at 28 weeks). So I feel like I am feeling good considering I am the size of a regular pregnant woman in her last month! The babies heads are only about a millimeter apart. I am sure they are developing their twin language right about now! Apparently, twins develop their own language. I can't wait to hear what that sounds like. They can plot against me!

Not much has happened on our house projects this week unfortunately. We are waiting on the rest of the decking material to come in, which should be anytime now. Our sheetrock, paint, and trim on our rooms in the basement has been a disaster from start to finish. All we have left is the paint now so I just pray they knock that out in a few days so I never have to deal with these people again! Our couch is ready to ship, our carpet is ready to install, media equipment ready to go in, so everything should come together soon. We also had a deep freezer delivered today. We are going to freeze meals and stock up the freezer to help us out in the first few months the babies are here. And I figure with three boys, the deep freezer will come in handy for many years!!!

Mee Mee and Pop Pop closed on their house yesterday so they will be fully moved in within a day or two! We are so happy to have them closer and I know Harrison is going to LOVE it!

Harrison is 2!

2010-05-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our baby is already 2! We spent the weekend celebrating. Friday night, our friends Gyna and Max and their daughter Mia came to stay with us. They are only 7 weeks apart and had a blast playing together. Friday was Harrison's actual birthday. We gave him a train table, grill, lego table, and several books. He loves them all and could play with his train all day long!

For his first birthday party, I had a brunch for all the family and our closest friends. I wasn't quite sure how to make it really fun for him since he wasn't even walking yet! So I just wanted to surround him with the people who loved him and celebrate his first year.

But this year, I wanted to just make it the most fun experience possible for him. I invited all the kids in the family (that live in Austin), our closest friends, and some other kids that he regularly plays with and of course all their moms and dads! His Mee Mee and Pop Pop, Mim, Bama, Great Aunt Jenny, and Great Aunt Lynn were there as well.

We held the party in Bama's backyard because her yard is absolutely perfect! Flat and well shaded with beautiful trees! I rented a huge 15 foot inflatable bear that had balls swirling around inside. Kind of a weird concept, but I needed something that was safe and fun for even the littlest guests. A balloon twister came and the kids kept him busy! I had a coloring table, a sandbox table, and a ton of toys! It was a construction theme since that is his favorite thing. I bought a bubble machine that kept a solid stream of huge bubbles flowing throughout the party. Lynn did face painting and even the adults were painted! All in all, it was a blast and I know Harrison had the best time. Adam and I were so happy to do something so special for him. He is the sweetest boy and deserved a wonderful birthday party!

Taylor's Wedding

2010-05-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, "MeeMee and PopPop" were nice enough to come over for several hours to play with Harrison while Adam and I knocked some things off of our to do list. Harrison's birthday is this Friday, so we had to put some big toys together. I organized the closet in the hobby room, the playroom shelves, and my little office. Also did about 3 loads of laundry!

Saturday morning we left for Houston. It was rainy and gross but luckily we made it there safely. We met my friend Heather for lunch. Harrison loved her and made sure that she gave him a tour of the restaurant. We relaxed at the hotel (most comfortable bed ever!) while Harrison napped. Then we went to my cousin Taylor's wedding. We saw lots of family that we rarely see! Taylor was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen and in the middle of the ceremony, Harrison shouted "That's a princess!". Harrison of course had a blast at the wedding. There were only a few other kids there and he found them immediately and danced all night with them. I am so glad we were able to make it! I think my traveling days are offically over at this point. Third trimester begins on Monday!!!

Mascara disaster

2010-05-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

This week has flown by! I have been doing so many "baby projects", plus we have had people working on the house everyday, so it hasn't been our typical week.

We had a dr's appointment on Tuesday with my regular doctor. Everything still looks great. They are even currently both head down. Sure hope they settle in that way! The next appointment is a week from next Monday. I am still feeling really good and taking advantage of my energy. Sometimes I start to get the Braxton Hicks contractions so I try to take it easy when those start coming. Too many of those can be trouble.

Harrison ran into our bedroom when I was sterilizing baby bottles yesterday. When I saw that he wasn't coming back, I went to go check on him and he was drawing on our light colored carpet with my black mascara! I don't know how he even got that much mascara out of there but it was almost a solid 12x12 block of black. I think I got most of it out, but we might have to seek professional help! I guess I learned my lesson. Better the carpet than the couch. I think its time to invest in some of those horrible plastic doorknob covers because very soon I won't be able to chase him from room to room all the time!

There has been amazing progress with the deck. They built the frame for the bottom and top deck, plus the pergola. Today they are building the stucco columns. After that we have to wait on the composite decking to come in. Its brand new and coming from another state so hopefully that won't take too long. Its been much slower progress with the other projects, but luckily we have some time. Part of Adam's office furniture was damaged so we have about a month wait on the credenza and hutch. The couch and chaise for the media room was an 8 - 10 week wait so we still have at least a month left for that. I am trying to be patient for now! At least it should all be done by the time the babies get here and thats the most important thing!

We were talking about the babies last night and Harrison informed me that he wanted the doctor to leave the babies in. I think he is tiring of all the talk about these babies. It makes me sad but all we can do for now is tell him how special he is to us and how much we love him! I think it will take him a little time to adjust but he will end up loving them so much he will be ok with it.

We went to Oasis today to check out the construction. I realized it had been awhile since I took Harrison there. It made his year! There were 2 giant cranes and probably a dozen other machines moving around. I thought he was going to hyperventilate, he was so excited. Here is a picture that I took of him.

2010-05-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend but super busy! My friend Teresa came from Dallas to stay the night with us Friday. Harrison immediately started asking her what everything is. He says "Girl, whats that, whats this?". This is how he makes friends. I had a hair appt the next morning and Teresa came with me to get a pedicure. It was a nice break to just hang out with a friend! My baby shower was later that afternoon. It was a nice turnout. Everyone was so nice to come! My mom was here and stayed with us Saturday so Harrison got to spend some quality time with Nana. We had brunch the next morning with Kim, Gary, Hunter, Chandler, Lynn, Khier, Hayley, Logan, Blaine, Bama, and Mim. 15 of us! We had some Mexican food and some gospel music and a beautiful view in Lakeway.

I realized I probably only have 2 months or so (or less!)until the babies get here. Yikes! Not to mention this awesome energy I have now will surely be gone soon! Saturday night, I stayed up til maybe 1am online buying the rest of the items that we have to have for the babies upon arrival. I saved a fortune going through Amazon instead of babies'r'us. Didn't realize the prices would be that different! And free shipping. YAY!!! The next day I went to Babies'r'us and blew my gift cards and cash right away on more things we needed. So I got a lot done. Now we should be having these packages arriving daily for awhile! Poor Adam will have his hands full with putting things together.

The deck guys started construction this morning and already built the frame for the botton deck. The insulation guys are here insulating the study. Its going to be a noisy week, or month I should say!!!

Not Your Job!

2010-05-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Harrison is always surprising me with what comes out of his mouth! We walked out on the patio yesterday to play with play-doh and he said "summer hot day". Later I turned the fan on outside, which didn't seem to make much of a difference with the heat. I asked him if he wanted to go inside since it was hot. And he said "fan help". I told him that mommy was still hot and he said "fan help mommy". Earlier that day, we were walking down the stairs. He was holding the railing with his left hand and his cup with the right hand. I offered to hold his cup for him and hold his hand to help him down the stairs and he said "Not your job". I said "Not my job?!" And he said "Harrison's job" and proceeded to walk down the stairs by himself without help from me! Today when I was cleaning up the kitchen, he started running back and forth between his little kitchen and the middle of our kitchen bringing with him fake food and his pots and pans each time. He was saying "Have Picnic". He organized a whole picnic in the middle of the floor and said "Mama and Harrison have picnic". He made me sit in a certain place and we pretended to eat. He said "Best Picnic Ever!". He even cleaned the picnic up. Adam took off Wednesday since he worked such a long day on Saturday. Kim took care of Harrison and Adam and I went to the spa to get a couples massage and then walked the grounds and hung out by the lake. Then we went to Siena for a wonderful lunch and then I talked him into manicures and pedicures! (Which he loves by the way!) It was a great way to spend the day!

Coming sooner than we thought!

2010-05-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Again, I am such a proud mommy. My little boy now says "please" and "thank you". He is always so helpful to the teachers at his tumbles class. He helps them put things away. They hang up these Harrison-sized punching bags for them to play with and he was helping carry them back to the closet. They were as big as he was and he could barely see around him! It was so cute.

House update: We met with the contractor on Saturday and should get our quote back today. Other than the sheetrock, paint, trim, and molding in the 2 basement rooms, they are going to take out the original tile in the basement bathroom and replace it with slate, put tile in a little "niche" that we have by our bedroom where we are going to put a fountain, and put waynescotting and crown molding in Harrison's room and paint the walls blue. He says it will take 2 days but I will believe it when I see it because thats a lot of work!!! The media room was wired yesterday and they will be back to install the equipment after its sheetrocked and painted. The office furniture is arriving tomorrow but the hutch and credenza were damaged so they are requesting another one. But the big news is our deck plans are already approved! So we should have a start date on construction very soon!

Baby update! We visited the specialist today. Harrison got to play with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and Aunt Kathy while we were gone. They wore him out like always! I now have my next 18 appointments set up. And thats only through July. Wow! We saw the babies on the ultrasound and everything is still great! They are still flipping around. Henry is head down where he should be but Charlie is transverse, which means he is in there horizontally, in fact I think he was even diagonal! This is no big deal. If Henry were to be transverse, they would have to do a C-section because there is no other way to do it. But if Henry is ok to be delivered the natural route, Charlie would probably change his position after Henry was delivered. But again its too early to start making predictions! Charlie is 1 lb, 10 ounces and Henry is 1 lb, 14 ounces. That is give or take 4 ounces. This is bigger than average. I have come to the same conclusion that I came to when I was pregnant with Harrison. He always measured a week bigger, like Charlie and Henry are (for those of you that haven't been pregnant, that means they are measuring like they are to be born a week sooner than predicted). Due dates are based on a woman's 28 day cycle, but I have always had a 21 day cycle, meaning my due date would be a week earlier than a 28 day cycle. I told my dr my theory on these babies and he completely agreed. That means I would be 25 weeks and 1 day as of today. It again doesn't mean much because twins come when they want to come, but its very likely that the babies will come sometime in July. He said the babies would definitely start "trying" to come around 32 weeks, which would be June 21.

Adam had a mediation on Satuday that lasted 17 hours!!! So he missed a lot of fun unforuntately, but he settled the case and this was a big case for him! Since I am not really able to do all the physical stuff involved in swimming lessons right now, MeeMee and Pop Pop came with us Saturday morning and Pop Pop got in the pool with him. Harrison did so well and stayed under longer than he ever has. Later that afternoon we went to Hailey's 4th birthday party at the Little Gym. Harrison LOVES that place! And he especially loved hanging out with the 4 year olds, particularly the girls of course. He did everything that they did and didn't need me at all! Its always good to see him having fun like that, because sometimes he can be shy and he will wrap himself around my leg. He doesn't like icing so I had to remove all the icing from the cake (I did so by eating it). I hope he gets over that soon, because de-icing a cake is a process! And I don't know what I will do about his birthday cake. Maybe give him his own little one without icing??? His Papa Hat was passing through town to buy a boat so we met him and Terry at Fuddruckers for an early dinner. Harrison made both of us spend all of our change on the claw machines with the stuffed animals. Adam usually gets it on the first try, so Harrison was a little annoyed that we came up empty handed! Adam and I had a movie date planned for Sunday but when he didn't come home until 2:30 am I knew that he would want to spend Sunday playing with Harrison. So we have a fun relaxing day planned tomorrow, just the two of us - couples massage, pedicures, and lunch. I can't wait! I am sure he is reluctant for the pedicure, but once those ladies start to rub his feet and calves, I know he will be addicted! So rare that we can make time to have a day like that so I can't wait.

I am feeling pretty good although the weight of my belly is hurting my hips and back more everyday. My pregnancy belt is supposed to arrive today and they are wonderful for back pain! I have been very excited about this :)

Harrison still talks about the "Doctor hurting Mommy" but this morning his concern was the "Doctor hurting Princess". He just melts me!

Mommy weighs 100 tons!

2010-04-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Already Friday! This week went by so fast! I have so many little things that I am trying to get done before the babies get here. Sanitizing the toys, getting out all the equipment and setting it up, organizing my life! I only get 2 or 3 hours a day to do these kinds of things while Harrison naps. But today I am blowing off the list and taking it easy! I am 24 weeks pregnant now. Only a few weeks away from my third trimester - hard to believe! I had a doctor's appointment this week. The babies and I had a huge growth spurt. I gained 4 lbs in one week alone! And my fundal height (size of my belly) went from 27 cm to 33 cm! I am so excited for next week's appointment at the specialist because they will measure how big the babies are. They must be getting so big! In just a week I could see that they were running out of room compared to the last sonogram. I am feeling less movement now too. She says I am nowhere near delivering and that everything is exactly as it should be. Henry is breech again though. At this point with as small of a space as they are working with, he really could stay that way. Which just means C-section. I would rather not have one, but it is what it is! I just want them out and healthy.

Bama bought us our awesome stroller. I took Harrison for a ride in it today and he seems to like it. It probably feels like he is flying! I was completely exhausted when we got home. Its actually really light for how big and sturdy it is, but I am just getting weaker by the day. You don't have to lock the infant carriers in when they are little, you can just put them in as newborns. This is really hard to find in a stroller! Its the Valco tri-mode twin stroller. I did a lot of research and this was the only one that I thought fit the bill for 2 newborns and a toddler!

Adam told Harrison a story the other day about how cranes will knock down old buildings with a wrecking ball and bulldoze the remnants and put them in a dump truck. Harrison keeps telling us this story over and over! Apparently Adam told him that wrecking balls weigh 100 tons. Bad timing on my part because I asked him the other day how much he thought I weighed now and he responds "100 Tons!". He thinks thats sooooooo funny to say. So now when he retells the story or hears Adam tell it, he inserts "Like Mommy" when he gets to the part about the 100 ton wrecking ball! Have I mentioned what a jokester he is??? Always wanting to make us laugh.

The house projects are moving along as fast as we can make them go! The deck plans are waiting for the HOA to approve. They meet every Thursday and I doubt they did it yesterday but most likely next Thursday. Then they can start building! It should take another month to a month and a half after that to finish. I will include a picture of what it should look like. We are meeting the contractor for our 2 rooms at 7 am in the morning (yes a Saturday morning) to make plans for the sheetrock, paint etc. We hope that will get started AND finished next week. Let's hope. Adam is ordering the carpet for the 2 rooms today. Media room is being wired on Monday. His office furniture is being delivered next week, so its all coming along well! We are very excited to get these big things done before the babies get here. We figure that we will be spending a ton of time at home, so might as well make it exactly as we want it!

2010-04-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

I went to swimming class with Adam and Harrison this past Saturday. I am so proud of Harrison! He is holding his breath for 4 seconds now underwater. He slides down the slide and goes under and comes up in Adam's arms. He isn't a big fan of floating but he is getting better with it. He jumps in from the side. He says swimming class is fun. We made a trip to the carpet store and I think that might be one of his favorite places! He just runs around crazy in that place! We went to the park Sunday, then had lunch at the pizza place in our neighborhood, and then met up with MeeMee and PopPop for dinner at Hill Country Pasta. We went to their new house which should be ready in a month. Harrison calls it a "yucky, yucky house" because there is still dust everywhere. It will be strange for him when its furnished, clean, and beautiful! We are so excited to have them moving so close, only 2 miles!

This morning we had Tumbles class and then a haircut. The haircuts used to be no problem but these last two have been a nightmare! He refused to sit in the firetruck so he had to sit on my lap. He screamed and cried the entire time and we were both covered in wet itchy hair. When we were done I let him play with the train while I paid. He was pouting in front of the other kids and moms saying "Mommy hurt Harrison". Too bad his hair grows so fast, he needs a haircut like every 3 weeks!

He has an imaginary friend now named Noah. So far this is what he know about Noah. He is red, wears a pink shirt, lives in his tent, and likes to eat eggs. Its pretty darn cute.

The other day in the sandbox, he dumped an entire bucket of sand on his face and in his mouth! Of course he didn't seem to mind it. Talk about a mess! It was straight to the bathtub!

We had a scare the other day when some workers at our house found a 2.5 ft rattlesnake in our yard! I am so glad that it was them that found it and now Harrison and me! We definitely live in snake country and its that time of year so we must be super careful. I didn't call Harrison's attention to the situation because I didn't want to scare him since I knew they were about to kill it.

I can't remember if I mentioned in another blog, but when we ask Harrison what Mommy has in her tummy, he says "Babies". If you ask him what Daddy has in his tummy, he says "Sandwich". He is so funny!

Doctor's appointment tomorrow. Yay!

2010-04-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

We have had a typical week so far! Lots of playing in the sandbox, playdoh on the patio, cartoon watching, and chasing Harrison around the house! We have had several visitors in and out of the house. The dishwasher guy, a/c guy, deck guy, and new housekeeper!!! I am finally giving up the cleaning to someone else starting this Saturday! He is highly recommended from neighbors so hopefully he will work out. We met with the deck guy yesterday (Harrison thinks he is THE Bob the Builder) and came to an agreement on design and price, so now we can move forward! We went with the composite material so Adam doesn't have to stain it every year. And it lasts soooo much longer! It's two levels with a spiral staircase. It should be done in 2 months before the babies get here! The a/c work on the two unfinished rooms should be done today too. Then we can move forward with sheetrock, painting, fixtures, carpet, trim and molding, and shutters. We already ordered our furniture because thats the fun part! I think the shutters will be the last thing to come in so Adam might have the sun in his face in his office for awhile. We are so glad he will be able to spend more time at home now! Harrison has gotten to hang out with our neighbors Alyson and Paige a couple times this week. They are older, maybe 6 and 8? He adores them. Alyson carries him around and he especially loves that. I had a scare with the babies and went to the doctor unexpectedly on Monday. I had some stomach pain and back pain and thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Turns out everything was fine. I got to see the babies on the sonogram and Henry is now in the correct position and Charlie is breech! But I have a feeling they are going to keep flipping around for awhile. They are kicking so much. I was just watching my tummy move around at the doctor's office. I am sooooo going to have my hands full in a few months!!!

Soooooo Fancy!

2010-04-18T15:42:00.001-07:00

On my last post, I think I forgot to mention Harrison's preference for me wearing makeup and pretty dresses. I have a summery long silky dress that he has been begging me to wear. He wanted me to wear it on our date with Parker and Amy but it really wasn't appropriate. Then he said Mama, soooooo fancy! So I tried it on and he said Mama so pretty. So that did it! I had no choice but to give in and it made him very happy.

This weekend was fairly laid back. Adam and Harrison went to swim class Saturday morning and Harrison dived in and stayed under for 4 seconds. He is also learning to kick. I went to get a much needed maternity massage (Adam got a much needed one too later that day). It was so strange feeling baby kicks while I was getting a relaxing massage! Then we went to pick Bama up and had lunch at Luby's, then went to Baby Earth in Round Rock to order my awesome Valco double stroller with toddler seat! Thanks Bama and Lynn!!!! Yes I will be pushing all babies around at once! Talk about a workout I will be getting! My stomach was hurting and I was having lower back pain for most of the day, which scared me a little. But it was fine today. I should probably start slowing down a little and stop picking Harrison up so much so maybe that was my sign that I should do so! I did hire a maid service to finally give up those duties for good. Thank goodness because this house is not easy to keep clean! Today we went to Rudy's and had breakfast tacos. Harrison can put away some eggs, sausage, and potatoes! He eats a grown man's portion! Then we went to Home Depot to pick out paint samples for the future media room and went grocery shopping. Like I said a fairly boring day! He has been napping 3 1/2 hours now! As soon as he gets up, I am going to take him to see the neighbor girls and the dog. He loves those girls and they love him too! He is undecided about the dog. He talks about Gus nonstop but when he comes over to lick Harrison's face, he politely tells him to "Go away".

Here is a pic of our stroller with the toddler seat in the middle. We ordered it in candy apple red. It might as well be pretty, right? Or as Harrison would say...fancy.

Two dates in one day!

2010-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Harrison is a busy man - two playdates in one day! We met up with my friend Megan and her almost 1 year old, Sam, and almost 2 year old, Stella. Stella and Harrison have known each other since they were in the womb and are only 11 days apart. I have started going to a new park in Steiner and its perfect for toddlers so they had a blast. Harrison would say "That is a little girl" and stroke Stella's arm. He scooped leaves with Sam with the sand toys and he thought Sam was pretty cool.

Last night we met up with my friend Amy and her two year old girl Parker. We ended up at a place a little nicer than we probably should have gone with toddlers! But it was ok. Harrison and Parker are partners in crime though! They were crawling under the tables and checking out everything. She makes Harrison grin ear to ear. Parker heard some music next door and started dancing so Harrison started dancing with her and then gave her the biggest hug! It was probably the cutest thing I had ever seen. They held hands on the way out and ran from ash tray to ash tray screaming YUCKY! When we got back to the car, he said "Parker Fun, Parker Happy!".

He woke up in the middle of the night with a bad dream. He was pointing to his door saying "Dragon Vacuum, suck suck sucking!". I was able to get him back to sleep, but this morning he was still talking about his dream. "Dragon Vacuum sucking, mama find it!" He spent the next hour dragon hunting. I tried to explain that it was a dream, but I think he is a little too young! So cool to know what he dreams though!

We have been having more talks about the hospital and what is going to happen when the babies come. He kissed my tummy like always and I said "Tell the babies I love you!" And he actually said "Love you!" Which he never says. I think he is excited.

Adam had to go to Phoenix for a few days for work and will be back anytime now. I know Harrison is looking forward to the weekend with daddy.

Catching up again!

2010-04-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am going to really try to update this several times a week! Harrison does so many cute and amazing thing daily and I don't want to forget any of them! He is healthy and happy and looking forward to the arrival of his brothers. He says "Hug Henry, Kiss Charlie (which are their names by the way!)". He loves anything construction, backhoes, bulldozers, tools, cement mixers! Its always exciting for him in the car because we see them everywhere. That is the theme of his birthday party next month. I know, hard to believe I am planning his SECOND birthday party! We still go to Tumbles on Mondays and its the highlight of his week. About a month ago, he made a move on Karly, his favorite girl, and kissed her right on the lips! Yesterday, they hugged hello and goodbye with faces smashed up against each other. Then she gave him a big smooch on the cheek. She walked off and he just looked at me with this big grin and pointed at the place where she kissed him! Yesterday I spent the day bummed because of the pregnancy weight gain and Harrison looked up at me and said "Mama Princess". Nothing could have made me happier! He is the sweetest. At the doctor's office yesterday, he kept getting sad and saying "Doctor hurt Mommy". He was so scared they were going to hurt me. He is already protecting his mama. He is very sweet and sensitive, but still a tough guy at the same time. He is a trooper when he falls down or is feeling bad! He takes swimming lessons once a week now. He is getting really good. Adam usually goes to these and said he can jump in and stay under for three seconds now! He really looks forward to his swimming class. I just say Harrison is fluent now because he says everything! He regularly talks in sentences and the sentences are getting longer. His newest word is "actually". I love it when he uses this. At Easter, we went to the park and they had a big hunt with a petting zoo, bounce houses, pony rides, and face painting. A goat with floppy ears walked up to him at the petting zoo and I said "Look Harrison, thats a goat!". He looked at it and said "No, actually that is a puppy". He also likes to say "Go away" now, which is not so great! The nurse brought him stickers at the doctor's office and he was apprehensive about everyone working there and he politely told her to "Go away". I think it hurt her feelings :( As far as the twins go, everything is going better than we could have ever expected! I am 21 weeks along and have gained 20 lbs. At 18 weeks, they were measuring 18 and 19 weeks, which means they are big for twins! They are probably about a pound each right now and 11 inches long. They kick me regularly and especially kick me during Harrison's storytime at night. Maybe they will love stories as much as he does! I have one more appointment in April, three in May, and then we start going all the time, as many as two times per week sometimes! The doctor told me to expect them in late July at best, but to be ready for anything in June. Their names are Henry Sterling and Charles Beckett (Henry and Charlie). There is a 90% chance they are fraternal. If they look identical at birth, we can get them tested to find out. I am busy doing all I can to get ready for them. We are about to start finishing out the rooms downstairs. One is an office for Adam so he can work from home more. We also will hopefully build a deck in the next two months. It will be nice to get that all out of the way before there are babies in the house! More updates soon!!!

Twins!

2010-01-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

As most of you already know, we have twins on the way! We knew we were pregnant but were keeping it under wraps until our first dr's appointment. I was obsessing over how this appointment was going to go, just hoping and praying that we would see a healthy baby on the sonogram! Adam and I joked about twins with the dr before the sonogram. (And we were totally joking because there are no twins in the family and we really didn't think it was a possibility!) She laughed and assured us that we didn't want twins. "One healthy baby at a time, twin pregnancies are complicated" she said. She started the sonogram and the screen was facing away from me. She got a look on her face that scared me to death. My heart sunk. She turned the screen to us and said "Well there are your twins!". I can honestly say that never in my life have I ever been so shocked. Disbelief is the best word. This isn't even a scenario that I had even imagined in my whole life! After telling her to shut up, I asked her how this could be possible with no twins in the family! She said that you don't need to have them in the family.

They each have their own sac so they are fraternal. She told us this was much less risky than identical, where they share a sac. Before I even had a chance to get excited about all of this, the conversation went very serious and she started explaining all the risks, all the vitamins, the bedrest, the early delivery. If the babies haven't come by 36 or 37 weeks, she will schedule a c-section. I will be seeing three doctors: my OB, a high risk OB, and a GI specialist for the reflux. Most people would think that the news of being pregnant with twins would be so exciting! And I am excited. But so very worried. I just hope and pray these babies will make it through this pregnancy and be delivered healthy and developed enough to where they won't be in the hospital for weeks or a month or longer! People keep asking me about all the logistics of taking care of 2 (actually 3) babies since Harrison will barely be 2. And honestly those things aren't on my mind. Just focused on this pregnancy. The rest will work itself out and if anyone can figure it out, its me and Adam!

I go to my doctor on Feb. 4 and she will do another sonogram. On Feb. 8 I go to the high risk OB and he will also do a sonogram and several tests. Mid to late March we should find out the sexes. Its common for women pregnant with twins to go on bedrest at 28 weeks. My doctor will go by how I am doing before making the call. That puts us near the end of May, so my goal is to have everything in order by then!

I have been feeling so down and out through this first trimester that I haven't been blogging, cleaning, shopping or doing much of anything! First trimester will be over next week and I am hopeful that the morning sickness will be completely over with too. I haven't even gained a pound yet because I can't eat all that much and its time to start gaining weight! I am not even a LITTLE worried about losing the baby weight because I am going to be taking care of three babies! Talk about a workout! Although I haven't gained weight, I do have a little bump. I am 11 weeks along and I look like I did at 18 weeks with Harrison! I am starting to see a tad more fat in the "love handle" region and my waist has expanded 2 inches. So I guess my weight is just shifting around right now.

Harrison has been a trooper through all of this. I have managed to keep him happy and still play with him as much as before. We just have a little more cartoon and book time and a little less outdoor playground time. He kisses my tummy and says hi to the babies.

I keep thinking his talking is going to level off at some point but he is still making amazing progess. We can get him to say just about any word and he regularly talks in sentences. He can say his name. We have a photo album with random relatives' pictures in it and he can point to and name 30 of them! He loves this game.

He loves girls in general, but he really likes the older blonde girls that live 2 doors down. We were visiting with them the other day and he took the older one's hand. I think she is 8? He led her all the way back to our house and around the yard, showing her everything. Everytime I got too close to him, he would shoo me away like I was embarassing him! He wouldn't even hold my hand with his other hand!

He had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought him a train that he can ride around the house, a mini trampoline, giant blocks, a cozy coupe, and lots of books and puzzles. On Christmas day, we took off to Hawaii. He did pretty good on the flight. We had a few rough moments, but overall it was better than expected. He loved the beaches. Such a beach bum! We would go to the beach mid-morning and he would play until he literally passed out. Then he would nap for like 4 hours! We were on a cruise ship and a toddler in a state room is very challenging. Because I had morning sickness + sea sickness, we spent more time in the room that we would have hoped.

Here are some pix from Christmas and Harrison's adventures in Hawaii. Enjoy!

Time to Brag!

2009-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy traveling, having company, and getting ready for Christmas that I haven't taken the time to blog! Cleaning my house unfortunately takes precendence over fun internet time. Booooooooo. Seems like I am always cleaning!

Our trip to Disneyworld was a big success. The flights were just ok. He had a little ear pain on the descents. And on one of the flights, he was dying to run around. He made a girlfriend on the last flight and they passed toys back and forth and he got a big hug before we left. He was grinning ear to ear! It prepared us for the next trip coming up, Hawaii! He will have his own seat this time instead of sitting on our laps, so that should make a big difference. And we are bringing Dramamine this time! As far as Disneyworld goes, he had SUCH a good time. He got to meet, kiss, and hug ALL of the characters, including Handy Manny. We went to shows, rode rides, and saw the amazing fireworks displays that they are known for. He is still talking about the fireworks! The Dumbo Ride was definitely the favorite. As soon as we would come down, he would say "RIDE AGAIN!!!" We stayed at the Animal Kingdom resort so we were able to see giraffes and zebras from our balcony! Giraffes are officially his favorite animal. I think we will try to go again maybe when he is 4.

Its now time for me to brag to the world about the sweetest, smartest little boy on earth. He is 19 months old today. He LOVES helping his mama. He helps me put away dishes, clean the table, vacuum, put away toys, throw away his diapers...you name it! He always says HELP MAMA, HELP MAMA! I hope he keeps this up, because I need the help! He is still cuddly as ever, always hugging, kissing, and patting us. 18 months is the height or the start of the terrible twos (depending on who you ask). We have definitely had some challenges lately. More with eating than anything else. He is hating some of the foods he used to love. He still refuses milk of any kind, juice, and fruit. I make it work though. As long as he still eats cheese and yogurt he is getting the calcium and vitamin D he needs. And he eats these things called fruit strips, that we tell him is candy. We are so sneaky. Whatever works! Every now and then he will have a tantrum over the smallest things. I was feeding him something the other day and a drop of it fell on his tray and that turned into the worst tantrum ever. And then the other night, he caught a glance at pudding in the fridge (another last resort of getting the calcium in) and threw a fit because he couldn't have pudding for dinner. But luckily the tantrums aren't often and don't last long. The timeouts still don't work. I think the books that say to wait until they are 2 are right! It usually cuts the tantrum short but in no way teaches him a lesson!

He continues to wow us with his ability to learn. Right now he is learning his shapes, numbers, and letters. I wouldn't have really pushed it this early, but he takes an interest in his puzzles and books that teach this, so we are definitely encouraging it! He knows and can name all the characters from the Mickey Mouse Playhouse (Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, Mickey, Donald, and Daisy) and also all the charactars from Handy Manny! (Manny, Stretch, Squeeze, Rusty, Dusty, Felipe, Turner, Pat, Mrs. Portillo (Portillo), Mr. Lopart (Part), and Kelly. That's pretty amazing because it took me forever to learn all the tools names! He loves his Handy Manny toolbox and is always "fixing" his toys. He will turn over a toy and take either Felipe or Turner (the screwdrivers) and then find the screws and "unscrew" them. He loves to hammer on anything and everything. Sometimes not a good thing.

He speaks in sentences and tells stories. Our favorite is "Daddy Bird (he actually says Burg which is so darn cute), Mommmy Bird, Baby Birds....Gone Home bye bye!" He asked where a bird went one day and I told him it went to be with the mommy and baby birds at home and now he tells us that story all the time. I can't keep track of his vocabulary at this point because he can learn and repeat and remember almost any word that I say. We are probably at 500 at this point. His favorite song is "Santa Claus is coming to town". I sing it so many times a day. As soon as I finish singing he says "Santa Again". It just never gets old to him! I can't wait for him to see what Santa is really all about on Christmas morning!

He still loves his class and we go every Monday, sometimes Wednesdays too. He is getting really good on the balance beam, which he used to avoid all together. He is getting better at climbing. He is a little clingy at the beginning of class now and that goes along with being an 18 month old, but he gets over it pretty fast.

He had a great 18 month checkup and still has a solid immune system. He managed to survive Disneyworld without getting sick and there were sick kids everywhere! I came down with a mean cold. Harrison did the usual and got a high temp one day, a little bit of a sniffly nose and then that was it! When he gets the high temp, its almost always him fighting something off. I am so grateful that this little boy has been so healthy because I can't bear it when he hurts!

He has spent more time with my parents and brother Matt over the holidays. He calls my dad "Papa Hat" because he is the grandpa that always wears the hat. And he calls my mom "Nana". She was going for "Granna", but as most grandparents know, they don't really call the shots. What was going to be Meemers and Poppers ended up being MeeMee and Pop-Pop. And I promise they are ok with that! We are looking forward to spending time with the Pugh Family in Hawaii and will get back to blogging after that!

Merry Christmas!!!!

In Love Again

2009-10-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Wow we have really been busy since the last post! My friend Gyna came to visit with her 16 month old Mia. They stayed for a few days and Harrison had soooo much fun hanging with Mia. He is totally in love. Usually he loves all the girls, but he is actually shy around Mia! So cute. She finally made the first move on him and kissed him right on the lips! We shopped together, went to the park, went for a wagon ride and played nonstop. He could barely sleep one night. He went to sleep saying baby baby hug......Then he woke up in the middle of the night wanting her again. I tried to explain to him that babies sleep at night! He still hasn't fully grasped that concept unfortunately!

He fell off the mats at his tumbles class when I was looking at another kid and hit his head on the window sill. Shame on mommy! I learned my lesson! It was his first real boo-boo I think. He cried for about a minute and demanded a hug and then he was better. It was a nice size cut and swelled up to a bump but was looking better in no time. He is such a tough guy.

He got to visit with his little cousin Blaine at our house on Saturday. He also got to see Pop Pop, MeeMee, Aunt Hayley, and Uncle Logan. He showed off his new trike. We are in the middle of doing some MAJOR baby proofing. What an ordeal. I guess Adam is having to do all the hard work, but just picking everything out was a pain! We now have 5 baby gates and about 30 more drawer locks to put in. Not to mention we have to bolt some bookcases to the wall! I know Adam is dreading it. We also bought a big slide/treehouse for his playroom and that needs to be put together. I will be there for emotional support and to put the "earmuffs" on Harrison when daddy starts cursing!

On Sunday, I went to his great-grandmother Bama's tea party. Harrison was loving the fancy hat and faux fur I was wearing! He was petting me and saying FURRRRRRRR......Some new words include wee-wee, teepee, tower, rocket, orange, pillow, please, penguin, kitten, giraffe, guitar, cupboard, brocolli, and many more! He has been using more little sentences too. He likes to bring books to me and shout "Read it!" and then I give him a look and tell him to say please and he says in the sweetest little voice "PEEEEEEESEE". In the bathtub, he throws these little balls over his head toward the basket and says "I MISSED!" He thinks its hilarious. Unfortunately he also was playing that game with his peas and his sippy cup at the table yesterday! He also told me he loved me. He repeated I Love You after I said it. Such a wonderful moment for a mommy! He is waking up from a nap now. Duty Calls!!!

Baby with Cow

2009-10-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Such a busy weekend we had! Friday night, we had a birthday party to go to at Hudson's on the Bend. I have never been even though its so close to our house! Its a nicer restaurant so I was a little (a lot) nervous about bringing Harrison. He is always so good at restaurants but I get nervous every time. The dinner was outside and it was beautiful weather. But Harrison wanted to run around most of the time so we took turns chasing him. He was being shy for most of the night but when Ryan (the birthday boy - well, man - he is 30!) asked him if he wanted to go look at leaves, he went right to him! Wasn't shy at all! So I ran back to the table and finished by steak and it was very very good! They came back and Harrison was proudly carrying a branch with leaves on it. We will have to go back there soon.

I left Saturday before lunch to go to Dallas. I am a bridesmaid in a friends wedding and the bachelorette party was Saturday. I have been nervous about this a long time! Not sure how I was going to do, not sure how he was going to do! Our strategy was to have Meemee and Pop Pop spend some time with him. He is always so happy with them and they also wear him out! Also, Adam explained to him that Mommy had to go somewhere but would be back tomorrow and he was totally cool with it! When I woke him up from his morning nap on Sunday when I got home, I was expected a big hug! But he just demanded his cup. Oh well! Its good to know he can survive without his mama every now and then.

It was such a perfect day on Sunday. We took him to the playground and he had a blast playing with a 4 year old. Then we took him to a pumpkin patch and he picked out his pumpkin. He is kind of obsessed with pumpkins right now. He can say "pumpkin" too which makes it all the more adorable. I stopped writing down his words for several days because I couldn't keep up. Now I am trying to catch up. We are close to 300. Whew! I am hearing more 3 and 4 word sentences and phrases. And he is really starting to put things together. He looked at his box of wet wipes yesterday and said "Wipe....Poop....Pee!". And he looked at his picture of him on the Longhorn and said "Baby with Cow". Already counting down the days to Disneyworld! Of course he isn't excited but mommy and daddy are!!!

Fall finally!

2009-10-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

Its actually cool today! I gotta get my baby some clothes!!!

He and Parker had a date at JW Tumbles on Wednesday. They are so darn cute together. They gave each other a few hugs and it would make anyone's heart melt! She didn't play hard to get like she usually does! :)

So many new words since Monday! Wow!
again
apple
broom
bog
blue
bed
bad
bee
bike
back
box
cheese
cap
chip
chair
dog
dark
drum
eye
green
hands
high chair
hole
jump
light
might
pants
please
pretty
pig
pen
pink
pie
purple
pull
paper
pudding
Pugh
red
roll
rock
swing
shut
soap
sit
shoes
silly
teeth
tongue
tree
truck

He also brought the calculator to me and said "cal-ca". Very impressive!

Chatty Harrison

2009-10-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend at Horseshoe Bay, even though it rained quite a bit! We ate some good food, played putt putt on one of the country's best courses, and Harrison saw so many fountains and waterfalls, he didn't know what to do with himself! When we were in the lobby, he met a cute little 3 year old girl. He started chasing her around and was having the best time. Then she came right up to him and gave him a big smooch on the lips! He was so in love and cried for the "baby" when she left. He hugged another 3 year old girl later. On Sunday, we went to Mim's (one of his 3 great-grandmothers) 86th birthday party. He had a blast seeing that whole side of the family. He especially loved his second cousin Mikenna. He gave her so many hugs!!! He has the sweetest personality. So loving. He learns it at home, because we cover him with hugs and kisses!

Harrison and I had our first real conversation the other day. I got him up from his nap and asked him if he wanted beans for lunch. (When I ask him what he wants for lunch, he usually says beans or ham). But this time he shook his head "no". So I said "well what do you want for lunch then?". He thought about it and said "I want......(long pause)...BABA! (His nickname for bread). I said "You want baba???". and he said "I do" and nodded. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate this. But its pretty mind blowing the first time you have a meaningful exchange with your baby!!!

This weekend, Adam and Harrison were in the hotel room while I was getting a massage. Adam went into the bathroom and Harrison was in the playpen and wanted Adam's attention. He said "Dada"....."Dada"....."ADAM!!!!". Haha, that definitely got his attention!!

This morning, we walked into the breakfast room and saw Oscar. I told Harrison to say good morning to the cat. He repeated me exactly "Good morning Cat". Just as casual as can be. Cracks me up!

He has been learning words so fast, I can barely keep up. But I have been keeping a list. This might be too boring for some. But some of his words are rather funny!

16 month old word list:
adam
and
broom
bucket
bunco
beep
bread
bonk
basket
box
butt
boob
bang
bam bam
bad
ball
baby
bama (his great grandmother)
baba (not a real word, but nickname for bread)
beans
bye
banana
boat
bear
bunny
bubble
balloon
boots
boom
bath
birdie
birthday
bug
blaine
belly
button
bite
bag
book
bathroom
baa (lamb noise)
bow wow
backpack
bamba (as in la bamba)
cat
cookie
car
cup
cuddle
cow
cracker
coffee
can
candy
cold
climb
clean
cheese
dada
do
duck
down
door
drive
dunk
eat
elmo
fountain
faucet
gobble
gunk
go
ham
hammer
ha-ha
hot
hat
hide
hello
hailey
hike
hey
hi
hang
hanger
hug
heart
help
i
it
is
ironing
in
jeep
jammies
kitty
kick
keys
kite
lion
lala
love
lap
mama
mee-mee (grandmother)
moon
Manny
my
mine
milk
me
meet
Matt
mat
night
nana (grandmother)
need
no
neigh
one
out
pop pop (grandpas)
pan
pat
put
parker
pot
poop
pool
purse
party
papa (his word for pasta)
pizza
plane
paint
potty
pumpkin
plant
pants
pea
rob
rub rub
right
rainy
read
spoon
smell
stack
there
tick tock
trash
toddle
tight
train
tape
talk
top
uh-oh
up
vaccuum
wagon
what
wow
walk
want
wa-wa (water)
yum
yuck
yes
you
yeah

two, three, and four word phrases:
right there
i do
there it is
trash bag
kick it
belly button
bite it
bite dada
i need my......
i can do it
la bamba

We get to meet the REAL Handy Manny!

2009-09-29T10:06:00.001-07:00

My friend Gyna told me about their wonderful trip to Disney World last week. Their daughter, Mia, is about 6 weeks younger than Harrison. I immediately thought we should go too, but decided with all we have going on right now, it wasn't the best idea. But then the idea crept back in my head Monday morning so I thought I would go online just to SEE what the pricing was like. The next thing I knew I was on the phone with Disney booking the vacation! It just seemed like a really good time to go. We are going after Thanksgiving. This is their "value season" (so no big lines!!) Also the temps are in the 50's through 70's which sounds perfect to me! I don't think this is a trip I would want to make pregnant and I don't think its a trip for an infant, so I figure we should take advantage of this little window and show Harrison the time of his life (mine too!). We are planning to spend one day at the Magic Kingdom, one at the Animal Kingdom, and one at Hollywood Studios. Harrison loves Handy Manny, the Mickey Mouse Playhouse characters, and Agent Oso, so I think he will flip when he gets to meet them all at Hollywood Studios! We are staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We have a view of the Savannah so we will get to wake up every morning and see the zebras, giraffes, etc. I haven't been this excited about anything in a long time! I think it will be our best trip yet!

I read that at 18 - 20 months, kids start to pick up about 10 new words per day. I think Harrison has already hit this stage. His "spoken" word list is now up to about 200 and growing very quickly. He said "Pumpkin" this morning. Thats a tough word! And he is saying little 2 and 3 word phrases. He is getting very good at answering our questions with a nod, a shake, or an "I do". He also says "right there".

We had the pleasure of attending a special little boy's 5th birthday party on Sunday at the Little Buckaroo Ranch. Harrison got to ride a pony and pet horses, ducks, a rooster, bunnies, goats, and more! He was especially thrilled about the ducks (or "gucks").

Sad news

2009-09-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

I must sadly begin today's blog by letting you know that I am no longer pregnant :(. I miscarried late last week. The past several days have been very difficult for me, but I am feeling better everyday. I have a beautiful baby boy and wonderful husband to be so thankful for!

As always, I enjoy every second with Harrison! I can't remember if I told you on the last post, but he now likes to HOP. Its the cutest thing. He also knows how to walk backwards and blows kisses like crazy. At the mall he approached a little girl, hi-fived her daddy, and then smooched the little girl right on the face! He also gobbles like a turkey. We had a great tumbles class the other day. I think I will have to sign up for another month, he loves it so much!

We have a busy three months ahead. In October, we are going to spend a weekend at Horseshoe Bay. The marriot there has a ton of fun things for the little ones, and it will be very relaxing for us! We are also going to attempt Harrison's first camping trip. And we are also having my friend Gyna come to visit with Mia! Mia and Harrison are the same age. And then of course Halloween is always a big event! We are expecting a visit from my dad too. And last but not least a trip to Dallas.

Then in November, we have another trip to Dallas for my friend Teresa's wedding. We are having some professional family pictures done at our house and then later that month we have "Uncle Logan's" 30th birthday followed by Thanksgiving plans! And then a December full of visits from family and then the big trip to Hawaii! Whew! Lots of much needed fun ahead!

BALLS AND BABIES!

2009-09-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have been scolded by a few now for not blogging enough. I am trying to do better! We just lead a very laid back happy little life and don't always have new things to blog about!

Harrison is not only walking well now, he is running!! We had to miss last week's tumbles class because it was Labor Day (they were closed). So when we went Monday, the other moms (and dad) were shocked at Harrison running around the class! He was still crawling for the most part 2 weeks ago. I can't tell you how much he loves this class and I love it too! We got there early so we waited in the car until it opened. Harrison was in his car seat, all limbs flailing, yelling BALLS BABIES BALLS BABIES!!!! His two favorite things! He is very quick to go up to other kids to hang out. Although at this age, they don't interact TOO much, they just kinda play in close proximity to each other. He climbed up the ladder to the slide by himself for the first time. He still needed a little guidance from me sliding down but he is getting there! He was putting EVERYTHING in his mouth and I finally gave up trying to keep him from it. I was hoping the other moms weren't glaring at me! :) One little girl threw a ball at my head. Her mom told her to come apologize to me and she came over and patted me on the head. So I thought that was a sweet alternative to an apology! One little girl threw tantrums throughout the whole class. She didn't want any other babies playing with any of the toys she liked and she would shove them. I hope Harrison keeps his little sweet demeanor because she was a handful! I am only doing this class month to month just to see how it goes. My pediatrician told me to hibernate during swine flu season! So I can't imagine going to the class is "hibernating" but I can't imagine taking this fun away from him. There were so many kids with snotty noses in class Monday but there is only so much I can do to protect him. He has got such a healthy immune system so I know it just has to be tested sometimes!

A random cute thing. I asked him what he wanted for his morning snack this morning and he sad HAM COO-CO. Translation - Ham and cookies. He got Turkey and crackers instead which was good enough for him. Its so amazing being able to communicate with him so well! We started reading the potty books to him and he is starting to really be interested in them. He likes to sit on his potty on pretend to go and then take the bowl and pretend empty it in the toilet. He continues to pee on us during diaper change because he thinks its funny so he can definitely control it! If I can get him off to a good start at potty training before the next baby comes, it will be great!

Speaking of, I am 6 weeks along today. Still so early! Such a long wait until the dr's appt. My symptoms are mild so far and I have lots of energy. I am taking full advantage of it too! Harrison and I have been enjoying the weather and taking wagon rides in the mornings. The walk around the block is about a mile so I think that will be a good goal to try to do everyday to stay in shape. Although just chasing Harrison is a good workout!

We are expecting a visit from Hayely and Blaine this weekend. He is 3 months now, so it will be fun to see them interact. Especially fun to see Harrison around a baby! I told him there was a baby in my tummy and he kissed it. He loves babies so much and he is so sweet! I think he will be the best big brother ever!

Big News!

2009-09-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Harrison is going to be a big brother! We are expecting a baby about a week before his 2nd birthday! I have been trying to knock out some big projects because I am in fear of the horrible morning (all day) sickness again! I couldn't get into the doctor until Oct. 2. Its like an eternity to wait! But we should be able to get a good sonogram by then.

We have been having dinner and lunch at the Oasis a lot lately. Harrison loves looking at the boats and all the fountains. He also is a huge fan of their rice! We went last night and we had his picture made on the longhorn (yep a real one!). He even waved at the camera!

He really has gotten good at walking and I am getting better at chasing! I swear he just travels from trying to crawl in the fireplace to messing with the stove knobs to crawling up the stairs! I have a feeling I won't be gaining 39lbs with this baby! I am a caloring burning machine!

We always ask him to find certain things in his books. Where is this, where is that. And he always points to the object and says "right there". And when we ask him a "do you" question, he answers with "i do". Its so cute to here the little 2 word sentences!

He is also really into saying bye and waving. When we walk out of the room, he waves to the room and says Bye. One of the cutest things ever. He says bye to the waitress after she takes our order, to the TV when we turn it off, to his books after storytime! It never gets old. That will always be cute!

Party Animal

2009-08-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

Harrison has been having a blast the past few days! On Friday night, we needed to get out of the house so we went to the Oasis. They had some great live music upstairs so we sat up there and had dinner. The sunset was gorgeous and Harrison loved jamming to the music while he ate! He also was a big fan of leaning over the deck and looking at all the boats! I think we will probably make this a regular thing because it was too much fun. There were lots of kids on the dance floor. It will be no time before he is dancing along with them!

On Saturday we went to Parker's 2nd birthday party. They had a pool, bouncy house, sandbox, and a ton of toys. Even though it was naptime and he was sleepy he played til he couldn't play anymore. Happy Birthday Parker!

We got out his bubble mower and he pushed it around the yard. I can't WAIT til the weather gets nice again! I am ready to spend all day long outside. We have been hiding from the heat for so long! You just can't put a baby out in this kind of heat unless you have good shade and we do not!

Last night we went to Main Event and let him bowl. He beat me - I am very embarassed to say. But TECHNICALLY he was cheating a little. Haha! I think Adam and I have been doing the Wii video game bowling so much, its made our real game suffer!

We had another successful class at JW Tumbles this morning. They had a baby roller coaster that he got to zoom around on. Still no tumbling yet. Guess that will come later!

The biggest news is that we closed on our house today! 5 months of patiently waiting and the house finally sold. We have beautiful memories of bringing our baby home to this house but we have years and years of new memories to make in our house now. Bittersweet!

I threw in an extra pic here from the museum last week.

15 months already!

2009-08-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

15 months already...he will in kindergarten before I know it! And I will be weeping outside of his classroom door!

He had a great checkup this morning. Adam went with me this time. The past few times without him have been rough. Harrison has had fairly mild stranger anxiety but when they strip him down and put him on the scale and touch him with strange cold objects, he is not ok with it! They were actually able to get an accurate weight this time even though he wimpered through it. He is 21 lbs, 6.5 oz. His height is 31.75 inches. He is in the 10th percentile in weight and between the 50th and 75th in height. So he is tall and skinny! This is great seeing as Adam has big dreams for him to be a kicker in the NFL! Right before becoming a doctor of course. Hee hee! No pressure kid! Developmentally he is doing great, no signs of illness, good ears...so we are very thankful!

We met Kim and Gary (aka MeeMee and Pop Pop) at Dave and Busters for dinner last night. Other than Adam being served raw Fish and Chips (gag!), it was a fun night! Harrison totally loved it - how could he not?? We let him play a bunch of games and he acted like he already knew how to play them. A lot of these games just involve smacking a button so a one year old can actually play. Although he hit the button at all the right times and he ended up with a ton of tickets! Adam also won him a big ball in the giant claw machine so he was thrilled about that.

It was POURING rain when we walked out and I was thrilled because we need it soooooo badly. Of course when we got home we realized that not a drop had fallen at our house. Every storm passes us over. So sad! We are cursed.

Well I am off to do my wii fit! That's what I do during his naptime now instead of clean. So much fun! A much better option!

Tumbling Toddler

2009-08-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been so hot here in Austin (actually the past 3 months!), so we have spent a lot of time indoors. Every now and then I will pull it together by 8am and get us out for a wagon ride and visit with the neighbors. Harrison wakes up at 7:15 most mornings and we watch a cartoon or two while I gulp my coffee down. His favorites are Handy Manny, the Mickey Mouse Playhouse and Agent Oso. He has an amazing attention span and really gets engaged with whats going on! He is still saying and understanding new words everyday. He nods and shakes his head "yes" and "no" in response to questions. He is learning more baby signs and making up some of his own. He still isn't walking full time. His comfort zone is his "gorilla crawl". For those of you who haven't seen it. Its a crawl/slide across the floor. Since we have the wood floors, its easier on his knees. Very cute.

His Aunt Hayley, Uncle Logan, and cousin Blaine came to visit last weekend. We went to Bama's to swim and Blaine even took a dip! It will be no time before they can really interact and have fun together. Also, his Granna came to visit this past weekend. They spent all day Saturday and part of Sunday playing. Harrison now calls her Nana.

We went to the Children's Museum last Monday with Parker and Amy (it was Parker's 2nd bday). There is an area just for toddlers. Harrison crawled around and toddled with the other kids and never looked around for his mama! He even sat through 3 stories at storytime. Although he was preoccupied with trying to pull Parker's pink crocs off her feet. I promised him I would buy him his own pink crocs.

I enrolled him in a class at JW Tumbles and his first class was this morning. The class is called Wobblers because its for 11 - 18 month olds who are just learning to walk. He had so much fun. He loves being around other kids. They swing, push toys, kick balls, walk on balance beams (ha not so much Harrison though!), tumble, sing, and mostly just play. He was the only one still doing a lot of crawling which freaked me out a little at first. But I always remind myself that kiddos develop at different rates. He has been so far ahead on the communication side and a lot of times that means walking comes later. Then once the walking starts, the talking tapers off a little. But I thought this would be a great class to encourage him to walk and just give him time with other kids. We go every Monday. I will make sure to take pictures next week. I wanted to check out the scene before I went crazy with my picture taking!

He is such a boy. There is just no way that little girls do the kinds of things he does. He puts his arms in the air and Adam will say "Super Harrison!" and he will leap through the air like Superman. When we tell him "You're so strong!" he puts his arms in the air and flexes his muscles and clenches his fist like he is the hulk! He likes to do the "teepee" thing where he is on all fours and looks through his legs. Adam rolls him over to make him do a somersault and he loves that.

We have his 15 month dr's appt on Thursday. I will update again then! Hopefully they can weigh him this time. He hates the scale so much, they haven't been able to get his weight since he was 9 months old!!!!

Bday Getaway

2009-08-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

I decided that for my 30th birthday, I wanted to get away to one of my favorite places - Dallas! I have been dying to take Harrison to the Dallas World Aquarium and he absolutely loved it. He saw monkeys, toucans, turtles, birds, flamingos, manatees, sharks, sloths, and penguins! He usually takes a mid morning nap and was having so much fun that he didn't pass out until almost 5! We ate at some nice restaurants and Harrison was a perfect little angel. He got to hang out at the pool a couple of mornings and totally fit in with the Dallas Uptown crowd. He lounged in the chair, sipped on his sippy cup, and bobbed his head to the music. We shared a giant king size bed and he laid in the middle at night and would roll back and forth cuddling me, then Adam. It will be hard to get him back into his routine! He was walking like crazy in the hotel room. Now I have to race to finish babyproofing our house! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

So behind!

2009-07-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

I have been falling behind on the blogging. We decided it was time to get our stuff out of the other house, so we made the big move! And luckily we accepted an offer on the house a few days ago! We have been busy putting the finishing touches on rooms, hanging pictures, all that fun stuff! I am so happy to get settled as we have been in this house since April 4!

We went to Jackson's bowling party at Main Event last week. Harrison was in HEAVEN here! First of all the music was loud and he loves that. Then he was surrounded by little kids which he also loves (especially the ladies - Hailey!), and well there were balls rolling around everywhere so you just can't beat it! He even got to bowl. Adam won him a stuffed animal on the first try on the little claw machine - you know the one...I need to invest in those, I bet the owners make a fortune! Anyway, thanks for the invite Leandras!

Lori and cousin Kevin came to visit last week too. Harrison fed Kevin Cheerios so that he wouldn't be hungry and gave Lori multiple smooches. Lori and Kevin are getting married in March. Welcome to the family Lori!

My Dad and Terry were also in town recently so Harrison got to spend some time with Grandpa! Harrison had Roseola (I thought he had it before but apparently that wasn't it - this time it was for sure Roseala because he had the rash). He was a trooper though and felt pretty good despite it all and loved hanging with Gramps!

He is teething like CRAZY! One of the molars (tooth #10) has popped through and the others aren't far behind. He is biting absolutely everything. Adam and I have marks all over our bodies where he lunges at us and chomps! He reminds me of a little racoon or some other little cute creature that bites. He still isn't fond of walking and will only do it if we really push him to. Still amazing us with his vocabulary - "there it is", an attempt at "potpourri", "trash bag"...And he shouts "Manny!" at the TV in the mornings because he wants to watch Handy Manny. We cuddle up in bed first thing in the morning and watch Mickey Mouse Club and Handy Manny while I drink my coffee. Its the best!

Family Fun

2009-07-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we spent some time swimming and hanging out at Bama's (Harrison's great-grandmother's). He got to play with Chandler and Luke! Harrison even gave Luke a sweet kiss.

Let's see new words this weekend...Bama, down, up, lion...He is getting better with the walking but still isn't too crazy about the idea! He took his first bubble bath on Saturday. Yesterday he picked up our home phone and I asked him if he was calling his girlfriend and he said PARKA! So I think Parker and Harrison are officially an item. He picked it up today and dialed and said Parka Parka again.

We went to our old house today to bring some more of our belongings over. We have almost all the little stuff but are planning to book the big move with the rest of our furniture this week. No buyer yet, but at least we will have our stuff all in one place and can finally get settled! I think all 3 of us need that.

Playmates

2009-07-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

So Harrison finally met his first and only cousin Blaine! Now that Hayley and Logan are settled in and adjusting to life as Mommy and Daddy, we decided to pay them a visit! He seemed more interested in Blaine's toys, but when he was hanging with Blaine, he would touch him really gently and try to give him kisses. I can't wait until they are ages 1 and 2 when they can actually play together! We stayed at the Omni downtown in Fort Worth. If you ever visit, try it out. Its a beautiful hotel! And I think Harrison really likes staying in hotels. He was laid out on the king size bed snacking and watching cartoons. And he loved the view! Car trips are never fun with a baby but he slept for most of it, so it wasn't too bad!

We had a baby pool playdate with Stella last week and I made the mistake of putting the swim diaper on BEFORE the trip over there. Ooops! They aren't made for that! The result was pulling a wet baby out of a wet carseat upon our arrival. They both ended up just in their diapers in the pool (see the 5th picture), but oh well! Thats what being a baby is all about, right? You can run around naked and no one thinks anything of it! :) We also had a playdate with Parker. Parker plays a little hard to get with Harrison. Its the cutest thing ever. I think Harrison likes a challenge!

I met another nanny at the playground this morning. I wish I would meet more moms than nannies! Its so weird to have a conversation with what you think is a mom and then you find out its not their kid after all! Anyway, her little boy was 18 months and they go every morning so I think we will go meet up with them more often. And I guess I will learn about life in the Ukraine where she is from!

Happy Fourth!

2009-07-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Harrison managed to stay awake for the fireworks last night! Although he wasn't very impressed with them.

Our friends, the Leandras, came over. We suspected we might be able to see fireworks from our balcony because they have been shooting them off recently. We ended up having an amazing show! We had almost a 180 degree view of a dozen fireworks displays! They were still shooting them off when we passed out at 11:30.

Harrison was so excited to have Jackson (5 - almost 6!) and Hailey (3) over for a visit. We were showing Harrison pictures of Hailey the night before and he said her name twice! This morning we told him that she was on the phone and he kissed the phone. And apparently Hailey likes him too because she told her parents on the way home that Harrison was very handsome.

We also went to Great-grandmother Bama's house for swimming and hamburgers and hot dogs! Harrison had a blast in the pool. Except for a little swim diaper explosion incident, it was a great day! :)

The playroom is complete!

2009-06-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

The playroom is complete! Well...almost. I would still like to get little plantation shutters for the 3 tiny windows but that isn't exactly a priority. The tent I have been waiting for from Restoration Hardware for 2 months finally came! Of course they completely forgot to monogram it "Harrison's Hideout". I am not surprised. I am done with them!!! What's important is that Harrison loves it. The playroom is like our little preschool!

He stuck his finger in my belly button and said "belly button" which was amazing. He says "Bite it" constantly and "Bite Daddy". He is starting to hit which apparently is common for 12 - 18 month olds. There isn't a lot you can do to stop the problem besides saying "No hit" and well...ducking. Time outs aren't effective until age 2. They can't start to make the connection until then. He usually does it when he is sleepy or frustrated. I showed him how to kick a ball and he says "kick it" and he will hand us a book and order us to "read it". So he definitely has some understanding of verbs at this point!

We have a rolling cooler (like the size of one of those carry-on pieces of luggage) that we have brought to some of the neighborhood parties. Harrison had decided he likes to go for rides in it. So I pull him around the house in the cooler! Whatever makes him happy. It relaxes him. Maybe I can start getting him down for naps that way! Adam says I can't take him for walks around the neighborhood in the cooler because someone might call CPS but I am tempted just to see the looks I get! :)

Day of Sickness

2009-06-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

On the last blog, I told you that Harrison's fever went back down before his nap. He woke up again with 101.5 so the doctor told me to come in. She said his ears looked fine, so no ear infection (thank goodnesss!) She said that several viruses were going around that involved high temps. Her assumption was that it was Roseola and told me to look out for a rash that would indicate the virus was over. When I got him home from the doctor, his virus spiked to 103.2! Luckily after giving him motrin it went back down to 101.5 and then down to below 100 before bedtime. Harrison never gets sick and Adam never leaves town, but it just so happened he got sick when Adam was far far away in Boston! I know it killed him to be so far away when we had a sick baby. That night Harrison slept with me. I wanted him close to me so I could make sure the fever didn't spike again. But but morning his temp was normal and he seemed as good as new! I think maybe he had a 24 hour virus instead of roseala because we have yet to see a rash. Either way, our baby is healthy again! I have forgotten his grocery cart cover the last few times we went shopping and sanitized it with wet wipes instead. So I suspect the filthy grocery cart might have been the culprit. I think that is what gave me the stomach virus that landed me in the hospital when I was pregnant, so I just don't trust them!

Beautiful Baby

2009-06-25T08:03:00.001-07:00

Jennifer Cota took yet some more beautiful pictures at Stella's birthday party! I will have to blow these up and frame!

The little one woke up at 5:15 am with a 101.5 fever. He was so hot. He has only had a fever like this once, so it kinda concerned me. He seems fine otherwise so I think either he has an ear infection coming on or he is fighting off a virus. I gave him motrin and got the fever down to 100. He is happily napping so hopefully the fever will still be down when he wakes up.

We had to miss our 9am playdate with little Stella. They had big plans for the baby pool! I had Harrison's beach bag packed and everything. But I don't want to get Stella or Sam (newborn!) sick and the hot sun certainly isn't good for a little boy with a fever. Hopefully we can reschedule soon because Harrison loves Stella. She was cracking him up at her party (see first picture)! I don't know what she was doing to make him laugh, but it was deep belly laughs. Nothing is better than that!

Toddle, Toddle

2009-06-24T09:26:00.001-07:00

Harrison started walking today, exactly a month after his first steps on May 24! His motivation was getting to the radio. He took 3 or 4 steps and then repeated that about 5 or 6 more times this morning. Its so exciting! Especially since I was in the other room when he took his first steps (it crushed me). He giggles when he walks. He thinks its great fun. I am so happy!!!

Speaking of the radio, I don't know if I have mentioned on earlier blogs, but Harrison LOVES music. He dances when we say dance. He dances to music from commericals on TV, dances in the car, he'll bob his head to any beat he hears. And he has AMAZING rhythm, which Adam insists must come from him and not me! He loves all his musical toys. When I put him in his car seat, he immediately starts smiling and bobbing his head, because he knows the music is about to come on. I can't wait to start piano lessons in a few years! I think he will love it. His great-grandfather was a beautiful piano player, playing by ear. And his great-grandmother played cello in a symphony. Maybe he will follow in their footsteps! They have passed on but I know they would have just ADORED Harrison. His Granna plays piano and I play a mean chopsticks - ha! Of course if Harrison hates piano, thats ok with me. But I want to expose him to lots of different things so he can discover what he loves!

Harrison's First Haircut

2009-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

Harrison is so lucky to have such a great daddy! We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend. Friday night we went to a party at the neighbor's house and Harrison met some more kids. Harrison had his first haircut on Saturday at Pigtails and Crewcuts. They put him in a cute little police car. He was good. He didn't LOVE it, but he stayed still and he still had both ears in tact when we left. I will post pix of that in the next blog. He is such a handsome little boy with his new haircut (not that he wasn't before). We showered Adam with some much deserved Father's Day presents Sunday morning and then later that day went with "Meemers and Poppers" to Flat Creek Estates. Its a winery near Marble Falls/Lago Vista. They had a band and the best burgers I've ever had. We walked out to the vineyard even though it was sweltering hot. Harrison loved every minute though and he even got to pick a grape off the vine!

Baby Love

2009-06-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

People keep saying Harrison looks like me! With the sunglasses on, I finally see the resemblance :)

We had a brief rain shower this morning and as sunny as it was, I knew there would be a rainbow outside and there was! So this was Harrison's first rainbow. And we saw a helicopter which he thought was awesome.

This week Harrison has been pulling his big toe toward his mouth and saying "bite it". Also saying "smell" a lot for candles, food, and his scratch and sniff book. I need more of those! We keep reading the Christmas one. He says "bug" when we see one land on the window. He said "manana" for banana at breakfast yesterday. And he says "Ka-Ka" for cracker. He just keeps amazing us with not only the words he says but how much he understands of what we say! We have a book called 100 first words and he is getting really good about pointing to the picture of a word when we say it. Now if I could just get him to understand "Don't throw your food" and "Don't bite!". Because the only response I get is laughter. He chunked his sippy cup the other day and unfortunately it hit Adam right under the eye, so everyone at Adam's work probably thinks he comes from an abusive home!

He had a playdate with Parker yesterday which was very exciting for him. I think he is in baby love. Before she came over, he kept saying "Parka", which might be the cutest thing I have ever heard in my life. Then he started saying "Parka Birthday". Could he even possibly remember her from his party? I don't know, but he was saying Parka Birthday as clear as can be. Parker's daddy told me at his party that he said Parker, but I didn't believe it til I heard it myself! They both have the same blonde hair (about the same length since Harrison needs a haircut) and big blue eyes. They just looked adorable together. Neither one of them shares too well, but I don't think they are supposed to at this age. At one point, Parker gave him a little "love push" away from a toy she was playing with and Harrison looked at me and his lip started to stick out in slow motion and quiver and he was fighting back the tears, but he got over it pretty quick because last night, he was saying "Parka" and then making kissy faces. Such a sweety!

I made the mistake of telling him it was possible that there were mountain lions living behind our house in the greenbelt. So now every morning at breakfast, he points out the window and roars. Adam got mad at me for telling him this but a) it IS possible and b) he doesn't know lions are scary and c) its just so darn cute!

He woke up last night around 2 needing his mama. Adam finally brought him to me and he snuggled up to me in bed for awhile. I have no problem giving the boy what he needs!

OH! His crib FINALLY came. Of course they assembled it wrong. Adam had to completely take it apart and put it back together. But I think the restoration hardware nightmare is finally over. I think it was 3 months of nonsense with them?! But hopefully since this is a convertible crib, he will have it for many years to come. It really is beautiful. Thanks Adam for putting it together!!! Harrison and I can't wait to spoil him on Father's Day this weekend! We are going to a winery outside of Lago Vista for a picnic with hamburgers, live music, fishing, and well hopefully wine!!!

Pool Time and Party Time!

2009-06-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Friday night we met Kim and Gary (Meemers and Poppers) at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse for dinner. We got to hear all about new cousin Blaine. Harrison did very well. I thought it was a more casual place than it was, so I was relieved when he was on his best behavior!

On Saturday we took him to one of the pools in the neighborhood. This was his first time in a big pool. We put him in the mommy and me float, but I think he liked it when Adam was holding him more. He kept trying to leap from his arms and swim off though! He loved seeing all the kids and was squealing with delight. That night Adam taught him how to blow bubbles underwater in the bathtub.

Sunday was Stella Rose's first birthday party! Stella's mom and I were pregnant at the same time and took CPR, breastfeeding, and childcare classes together beforehand. So they have been buds since being in their wombs! Lucky Stella became a big sis to Sam on May 19 so we got to meet him too!

Harrison had decided that walking is BORING since taking his first steps on Memorial Day and hasn't walked since. But hopefully he will take an interest again soon. Then I will be chasing him I am sure! He said "pikaboo" last night. And yesterday he handed me my lip gloss and ordered me to "open". He continues to be what I call "particular" about food. He makes the cutest, most terrible faces at some food. He gagged like I have never seen anyone gag before when I tried to give him soymilk. But he loves his veggies and grilled cheese sandwiches still make him shiver with delight so as we continue to introduce new foods, he will survive on those!

Welcome Cousin Blaine!

2009-06-11T09:49:00.001-07:00

Harrison's very first cousin arrived on the scene early this morning at 1:15 am. His name is Blaine Jennings Kimble and he was 8 lbs, 1 oz. Blaine and Hayley are doing well. And that is all the info I have as of now! We are going to wait until things settle down for Hayley, Logan, and Blaine before we go to Fort Worth for a visit. It will be a good excuse to visit the Fort Worth Zoo too! Harrison can't wait to give his cuz a hug and teach him all he knows!

One for the Road!

2009-06-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Harrison likes to chunk his sippy cup in whatever push toy he is pushing around. In these pictures he has thrown it into the trailer of his train. He will stop to take a swig and then put it back. He is so funny. And here is a pic of him in his cool lion shades. He loves them! He also loves to play with my cell phone. The other day he managed to put a video of himself as my wallpaper. Which is nice, since I had no clue how to do this myself. And then a couple days ago, he put something called "Mmam" into my calendar on August 7 at 5:30 in the afternoon. So I will have to watch out for whatever Mmam is!

I NEED MY MAMA!

2009-06-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

I spilt coffee on my laptop so I haven't exactly been able to update this until now. Adam fixed it (yay!) but I am on thin ice now, so I must be very careful. I don't think my laptop has 9 lives!

Life hasn't been too eventful. Harrison and I spend our early mornings bunny and bird watching from the balcony and then usually head out for a walk with the wagon. If we do this before 9am, we avoid the heat. He has been waking up around 6 or 6:30 so there is plenty of time for that!

He has been going to bed around 8 or 9pm, and its not uncommon for him to wake up around 10 or so with a bad dream. Now that he is sleeping through the night, Adam gets up with him since Mommy = Milk and we are trying to slowly get away from that. But he was screaming over the monitor "I need my mama!" Now Adam will probably try to say that he was just saying "my mama". But I know what I heard! So I rushed in there and as soon as he got his mama he went silent and went back to sleep. I feel so loved and needed! He continues to get cuddlier and sweeter and gives us hugs all day long. He cuddled up to Adam this weekend and watched cartoons with him which I know must have felt wonderful.

He continues to talk up a storm. Sometimes only saying a word once, and sometimes saying it constantly! New words are book (more sounds like boka but he says it when he wants a book!), fountain, bathroom (says this a lot), balloon, night-night (says it when he buries his face into a blanket or pillow like in the picture), coffee, purse....There's more but thats all that comes to mind now. He loves to wash his hands and get his teeth brushed. Hopefully it stays that way!

Yesterday he was trying on his yellow sunglasses with the lion stickers on them (gave them as favors at his party). After he put them on, he picked up his little mirror and was checking himself out in it! He kept taking them off, putting them back on (with help) and picking up the mirror again to admire himself. It was so funny. I wish I would have had the video camera!

Bad Goat

2009-06-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

Not much to report since the last posting. We took a road trip to Palestine to watch Harrison's Uncle Matt graduate from high school! Harrison got to hang out with his Grandpa's goats beforehand. He loved them even though one gave him a "love bite". Hopefully he won't have bad memories of goats like I have bad memories of geese from my childhood!!! :) Here is a pic that my mom sent.

Other than that, he can say "Baa" for a sheep, "Bow wow" for a dog, and "neigh" for a horse. He learned that from one of his new books called "Moo, Baa, La La La". When you say Moo, Baa, he will follow it up with La, La, La. Its one of the most adorable things ever. We have also discovered this week that he loves grilled cheese sandwiches. They make him shiver with delight!

Our Little Toddler

2009-05-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well I have a one year old now. A little toddler. He took his first steps on Memorial Day. We were at the old house and unfortunately I was in the other room cleaning the refrigerator when it happened. But hopefully I will see him take a few more steps soon! We have a video baby monitor and in the mornings we spy on him when he is just waking up and he practices standing up without falling. He is eating mostly table food now and is trying new foods every day. He is sleeping through the night for the most part. He usually wakes up once, but Adam is able to get him back to sleep. His one year old check up was yesterday. For the first time Harrison was fighting the nurse when she did the normal routine. He was stripped naked on the scale screaming his head off saying "Mama, Mama!" desperately stretching his arms out to me wondering why I wasn't saving him from the mean lady trying to weigh him. She finally gave up, he was so wiggly. So I guess we will never know how much Harrison weighed at 1! We are guessing he is still around 21 lbs (we just went for an ear infection 3 weeks ago). He is 29.5" tall. Thats in the 20% - 50%, where he has been all along. His eighth tooth just broke through and she said by the looks of his swollen gums, the first year molars were about to come in also. She said his vocabulary was that of an 18 - 24 month old. I have lost track of all of his words at this point. But "vaccuum", which his Meemers taught him, is his new favorite!

And of course since the last blog, he had multiple birthday celebrations! His Meemers and Poppers came over Thursday night (his actual birthday) and Harrison "opened" up his presents from us, them, and Hayley and Logan. Kim (aka Meemers) brought over a little cake for him, but he tried to chunk it directly on the floor. His big present from us was his wagon. He have taken several walks with it and he absolutely loves it. On Friday we celebrated with his Granna, Grandpa, and Uncle Matthew. More presents! And then Saturday was the big birthday celebration with all the friends and family. He still didn't take an interest in the cake unfortunately! He loved being around all the people and playing with the other kids. By cake and present time, he was exhausted and pretty much falling asleep with his eyes open. It was a great party and we were so glad to be able to celebrate it in a big way!

Last day with my 11 month old

2009-05-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Harrison is currently boycotting naptime. He didn't take one until 5:15 yesterday afternoon. I have a feeling that is his plan for today too. I am currently hiking him around the house in the backpack, stopping by the bar every few minutes to type this. He is grabbing my ponytail and cracking up laughing, not sleepy at all.

The biggest news of the day is that our couch came this morning. After a long 2 month wait! Harrison will miss all the space he had to whiz around in his walker. But now we can cuddle up on the couch and read books. Its super comfortable and Harrison has just been burying his head in the pillows. The shutters for his playroom are coming today too. Its starting to feel like a home and not a hotel!

This is my last blog entry before I have a one year old!!! Sniff, sniff....

Birthday Birthday!

2009-05-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Harrison said "birthday" all day long yesterday. I attached a video today from when I was trying to capture it because I knew no one would believe me! Other new words are: mine (everything is "mine"), bite (which he requests when we are holding a cookie), wow (which he says when he is excited) and Adam taught him faucet. I might be missing some. He really is talking up a storm! He is still sleeping through the night for the most part. He slept until 5:30 this morning and then snuggled back up to me after nursing and went back to sleep for another 2 1/2 hours. He had some of our tortilla soup last night and Adam keeps giving him little bites of cookie. (I tell him not to but he keeps doing it!) He still seems to hate milk but I looked up some ideas on the internet on how to ease them into the cow's milk. I was sitting on the floor today and he climbed up on me and let go and just stood there for at least 10 or 15 seconds. I got really excited and thought he was going to walk! Other than that, we are just continuing to get ready for the 3 days of birthday celebrations!

Beautfiul sleep....

2009-05-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

We reached a milestone this weekend. Harrison actually slept through the night! I think I figured out an end to the madness. We didn't do the traditional "cry it out" method because it didn't work for us when we tried several months ago. Harrison screamed bloody murder for hours and we decided that route was not for us. So this time I laid in bed the whole time and let him cry in my arms. It lasted 2 1/2 hours but it was crying, not out of control screaming. And when he woke up the next morning, he still loved us and was happy. So that gave me hope! We keep encouraging to try table food and last night he eagerly ate refried beans, bites of tortilla, and the chicken filling to our enchiladas. I think that extra bit of fat in his diet helped because he slept from 10 pm - 5am. Then Adam got him back to sleep til 7. Once he starts drinking cow's milk, I think that will be the ticket to solid sleeping. I tried giving him cow's milk earlier this week and he made a terrible face and through the cup across the room but I will keep trying.

We had a beautiful sunset last night so we ate dinner on the balcony. Harrison loves it out there! He has been taking baths in the big bathtub too. I thought this was an adorable picture

Time to Party!

2009-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy this week getting ready for Harrison's birthday party! With all my talking of the "party", Harrison started saying Party! He also learned the word Button when he was playing with my belly button the other day. It looks like he is going to be a climber like his daddy because he climbed right up on top of his table and chairs yesterday. I keep hearing horror stories of Adam climbing up on top of the fridge and jumping off when he was little! He also holds his sippy cup up to his puppet and makes a "gulp gulp gulp" noise. Its hilarious. Who knew a baby could have such a funny sense of humor?

Mother's Day weekend

2009-05-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Harrison had a busy Mother's Day weekend. We had his "Meemers and Poppers" over for dinner Saturday night. They gave him some early birthday presents. His big present was a table and chairs which he LOVES to push around the house. I think its going to teach him to walk! Sunday we had lunch with his great-grandmother Meme and that whole side of the family at EZ's and then spent some time at her house. We also played in the baby pool for the first time and played in the sandbox again (this time he didn't eat near as much sand!) Adam and Harrison surprised me with beautiful white roses and pink peonies, a big bouquet from the big guy and a little one from the little guy. This was definitely my most favorite Mother's Day yet!

Harrison is now standing very well on his own and even does it at our request. He also is doing a little better with feeding himself. He had some pasta for lunch and a few green beans the other night. He isn't showing as much interest as I would have hoped with table food, but I think its just taking him some time to warm up to the idea. In the meantime, I spend a lot of my time cleaning up the mess underneath the high chair since he loves to deposit the food I give him onto the floor!

Oh, also when we ask him what sound a dinosaur makes, he roars now (so cute)!

Yummy Sandbox

2009-05-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

We have 3 more words to add to the list! Pot, Pizza, and Door. He is a little parrot. When we read his book about dinosaurs, he always points to specific dinosaurs and says "mama" so I am not sure what to think about that.

We got him a sandbox that is on the basement patio. It was supposed to be a birthday present, but I don't know if we can count it as that since we gave it to him like 3 weeks early. He likes it ok so far. The first time we put him in it he removed the sand from the box tiny little handful by tiny little handful. The second time, he insisted upon trying to put handfuls of sand into his mouth. I would move his hand each time but he was able to get some in his mouth. And he kept saying yummmmm. So after a few minutes of this back and forth, I had to take him out. He had a ring of wet sand around his mouth. I guess we will try again this weekend! Maybe we will air up the baby pool (also a "birthday gift"). Its certainly hot enough for it! Blazing hot already outside.

I have been getting him to sleep for naptime lately by walking him around the house in the backpack. Its killing my back, but it works! Thats what ibuprofen is for I guess!

My first official Mother's Day is this Sunday! Harrison and Adam already gave me a gift certificate for a day at the spa. (I begged for them to give me my gift early of course!) It may be awhile until I can use it, but I can't wait! Thank you to my favorite guys! :)

My Little Heartbreaker

2009-05-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

We went to our neighbor's Cinco de Mayo party this evening. There are SO many little girls in our neighborhood and they all wanted to love on Harrison. Harrison hugged each and every one of them. I had to post these adorable pix immediately!

More words!

2009-05-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

He was barely saying words a few weeks ago and now his "official" vocabulary is up to 17 words! And I am only counting words that I know he actually knows the meanings of. Like he is looking at the thing as he is saying the word. Or signing it, or answering a question. They are:

Yuck
Milk
Mama
Dada
Kitty
Uh-oh
Yes (or yeah)
No
Bird (or birdie)
pop
bubble
I do
I can do it
Ball
Bear (he says it so cute!)

He also can understand so many more. When I mention eat in a sentence, he does the baby sign for it. When we read "Mr. Brown can Moo" and get to the "knock, knock" part, he knocks on the page as soon as we turn to it. He also roars and growls to the parts of books where a lion or bear or dinosaur is growling as soon as we turn to that page. I think all of this talking is going to make the 1st birthday a little easier for me because I see all the exciting things we have to look forward to!

I have been sneezing my head off this morning and can't breathe with a killer headache. I think its allergies. Harrison also just did a triple sneeze. Maybe we just have to adjust to all these trees we now live next to! Hopefully thats all it is and not a cold or sinus infection.

Mama armed with Lysol

2009-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I suspected that Harrison was developing an ear infection. Its so hard to tell the difference between teething and an ear infection so I was hoping it was teething. But after a few restless nights, a low grade fever, and ear tugging, I decided we better brave the dr's office of flu germs and get the visit over with. Whether its human, swine, or bird, I don't want my baby to have it!!! (I first tried to score the antibiotics over the phone but the dr wasn't really into the idea - worth a try!). So we took their first appointment Friday morning. I stashed a full size bottle of Lysol in the diaper bag (for emergencies only). Adam went in to check in for us and to Adam's annoyance, Harrison and I lingered outside in the fresh air and listened to La Bamba and Footloose, which for no explainable reason, was blasting from a radio next door. I just tried to play it off like we were enjoying the fresh air but I was really just being a total germophobe. Finally Adam came to the door, impatiently tapping his foot, so I took a deep breath and power walked as fast as I could through the waiting room into the exam room. He weighed in at 20 lbs, 7 oz and after checking him out, the dr decided that it was probably the beginning of an ear infection and prescribed amoxicillan (aka the bubble gum medicine) to be on the safe side. He has been on it for 2 days now, so I expect him to be 100% by tomorrow!

Adam and I had some errands to run yesterday (and we snuck in a delicious lunch at North) so instead of dragging Harrison along, we took him to his favorite place in the whole world, his Meemers and Poppers house. Other than that, we had a very low key weekend. Harrison is telling us new words everyday! "No", "Birdie" (he loves to bird watch), and "Ball". We sat outside yesterday morning and saw a little bunny rabbit hopping around. Harrison got a big kick out of that! Oh he also stood up today for several seconds. He is finally allowing us to put shoes on him (the rubber kind) so I think those will have him walking in no time!

I can do it!

2009-04-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Harrison and I have been hermits this week. I haven't left the house since Sunday (wow-thats scary!) Its just great stay home and cuddle weather I guess! Harrison is babbling to us like crazy! He will be a talker for sure. I have always talked to him all day long since he was a baby, so maybe that actually helped! He was cruising along the outside of the bathtub last night and trying to turn on the faucet (new favorite thing) and Adam went to direct him toward the cold water instead of the hot and he said clear as a bell (with a frustrated tone in his voice) "I can do it!". Ok we realize that it would be completely insane that he actually said this but we both heard it and it made sense with what he was doing! He also says "I do" when I ask him questions like "Do you love daddy" and "Do you want your sippy cup". He usually only says this after those questions so I am pretty convinced he knows what he is saying. He said bubble yesterday when we were blowing bubbles too. I need to start buying bubble soap by the gallon! We put the exersaucer out on the back patio last night and enjoyed the cool weather and our beautiful new view! And a beer. It was heavenly. I am going to attach a video. Haven't done this yet so hopefully it works. Adam taught Harrison how to put his arms up in the air when we ask him how big he is. And then we ask him how old he is and he puts out his finger for 1. He is such an easy study! Anyone who knows me and Adam knows that we will be teaching him all KINDS of entertaining things to do!!!

Christmas in Hawaii

2009-04-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

We got the news yesterday that we will be spending the week after Christmas in Hawaii! We will be going with Harrison's great-grandmother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am a little apprehensive about taking such a big trip with a toddler, but at least we have lots of time to prepare. I think if we leave a day early and stay the night in LA, it will break up the flight and it won't be so bad. We will start in Honolulu and take a 7 day cruise with stops in Hilo, Maui, Kona, and Kauai. We are very excited and can't wait to play with Harrison in the sand!

Harrison woke up around 5:30 this morning and we let him sleep with us for the rest of the morning. He is such a cuddly baby. He loves to hug and snuggle. When Adam kisses him, he pushes Adam's face into mine so that he will kiss me too. He seems to like to see mommy and daddy kiss.

He can say mama, dada, pop, kitty, and uh-oh (the cutest thing ever). He is trying to say other words but we can't quite understand them yet. He does the signs for more, eat, and milk. And we are starting to teach more signs now. He likes his brush and comb and will brush his hair and then brush ours. Always sharing!

It takes a village

2009-04-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

They say it takes a village to raise a child and Harrison is so lucky to be surrounded by family. I think we have at least 3 dozen family members here in Austin between all the Pughs and Bowns. This weekend we spent time with many of them. On Saturday, Harrison's "Poppers" came over to play and then that night we went to his great-grandmother Meme's house and saw Cousins Scott, Sheila, McKenna and McKayla (I hope I spelled their names right!), Meemers and Poppers, Aunt Hayley (preggers with new cousin Blaine!), Uncle Logan, Great Uncle Reggie and Great Aunt Jenny from Louisiana. Hayley's baby shower was the next day and we also got to see more family - Great Aunt Lynn, 2nd cousin Cooper and Alexandria, Melinda, great grandmother Bama, Great Aunt Terry, Great Aunt Kathy, second cousins Jennifer and Carrie and Casey. Harrison loves being around people so he was in his element and didn't mind being passed around at all! Hayley had a great shower and it looks like Blaine has everything he needs. Only 8 more weeks until Harrison gets to meet his one and only first cousin!

Other than that, Harrison's crib unfortunately was broken by the delivery people so we have to wait another week or so to get the new one. He also has learned how to press the Play button on the radio so he can hear Archuleta whenever he wants.

Love doesn't hurt

2009-04-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to get a quick visit from Gyna, Max, and Mia! Gyna and I have been good friends ever since we were outcasts together in an Honors Chemistry class in high school. We passed notes while everyone else learned, but we figured out if we just had lab partners that paid attention, we would probably make good grades. And we were right! Needless to say we were not eachother's partners. Who knew back then that 15 years later we would have babies only 6 weeks apart!

From the moment they got here, Harrison ooohed and ahhhed over Mia. His "happy dance" was in full effect. Unfortunately he also smacked her around a little bit but she later returned the favor. Love doesn't hurt girls! He showed off quite a bit - crawling as fast as he could and whizzing around in his walker, looking backwards to make sure we were watching. He crawled all the way to the top of the stairs and Mia received him with a big round of applause. I said she would make a good cheerleader one day but Gyna insists that she will instead make a good soccer player. He gave her a big hug goodbye. It was adorable. I am hoping they will be friends for many years to come.

Harrison's new crib, mattress, and dresser came today. Maybe tonight we will sleep through the night!!!

Its never too late...

2009-04-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been difficult. My baby turned 11 months and that means he will soon be 1, which means he won't be a baby anymore. He's almost walking, he is saying words, its freaking me out!! It goes by too fast. I don't ever want to forget the happy little details of our days together.

In particular, I don't ever want to forget Harrison's David Archuleta obsession. Obsession is not an exaggeration. Sometimes we have to listen to the entire CD 3 times in one day. He cries in between songs. I knew the Archuleta would be on American Idol last night so I had to sit him down in front of the TV for the performance. He was completely fascinated. Giant smile on his face, mouth hanging open in awe, eyes twinkling. It was pure joy watching Harrison. And then....the singing stopped. Harrison broke down and cried like it was the worst moment of his life. Like his heart had broken into a million pieces. I felt so bad for him, but I can't lie. I had to laugh at the insane cutesness of it all. Thank goodness for DVR. We had an encore performance of it this morning. And I feel one coming on later this afternoon.