Big Brother "Reading"

I so wish I had a picture to go along with this post. But when this happened I was feeding the baby and I didn't want to intrude on the moment by trying to capture it with a picture. Anyway ...

Saturday I was sitting in our family room feeding the baby when Ethan brought a book over for me to read. I told him I couldn't read right then but that I would once the baby was done.  But he couldn't understand this concept. I'm assuming that at this age there is no concept of time and everything must happen NOW because there is no such thing as later. So far, all evidence points to this conclusion.

After much frustration (on Ethan's part) and many tears, somehow Peter ended up agreeing to "read" the book to Ethan. Ethan was immediately happy again and I watched to see how this would go.

I saw Peter take the book into his lap and Ethan sat down on the floor next to him. With the two of them sitting right next to each other (which by itself is the cutest thing ever), Peter opens the book.

"Someone ripped this book." Peter says. The text block is tearing away from the cover on this book (can you tell I'm a librarian?), Ethan agrees, and I laughed to myself at this exchange.

I found a picture: the book.

Peter proceeds to flip to the first page and says, "One dog." Moving on to the next page he continued with almost the exact words of each page.

I was impressed when I heard him "read" on the page with the picture of a maze, "One dog going in, three dogs going out." And then he got to the first exchange between the two dogs about the hat and it was perfect:

"Hello. Hello. Do you like hat? No, don't like hat. Good-bye. Good-bye."

I was sitting across the room in tears from holding in my laughter. I was enjoying listening to Peter read with a little help from Ethan here and there as they went through this book page by page. And for three year olds, this is a pretty lengthy book.

The kicker for me is that this is a library book. It's been in the house for only about three weeks. But library books are so loved here that we read every single one, every single night. So I've started limiting how many we bring home. And unfortunately we don't get to the library as often as I'd like so we end up keeping them for the whole four week loan period.

I love that the boys love books so much. I also love seeing how well they can get along when they want to (it doesn't happen all the time, I can assure you). And I love that Peter tried to read the book and did a pretty good job at it too. I can't wait until the day when they really can read a book! Oh the worlds that will open up to them.

7 Quick Takes Friday, v. 54

~1~

Once again, I have gone many months without doing a 7 Quick Takes post here. I've done a few over at Catholic Sistas, but not on my little humble blog. So I thought I'd have a crack at it again while I have a little time. By the way, there is a 7 Quick Takes post at Catholic Sistas today, but not by me. I'm working at trying to share the fun of these posts with the other writers. So one of my fellow ink slingers took a crack at this month's post and she put together a list of 7 meatless meals that do not include seafood or pasta. Love that idea! I'm definitely one who gravitates to seafood or pasta on meatless days. Go on over there and check it out!

~2~

My boys are getting so big and they are constantly surprising us with what they say and what they know and what they do. I love hearing them talk. First of all it is just too darn cute whether you can understand them or not. Not too long ago we were sitting down to eat, the boys were in their seats with their food already in front of them. I was still in the working part of the kitchen when the following conversation happened:

Peter: Bunnies [pointing at the kitchen counter]

Me: Bunnies?

Peter: No, bunnies! [very emphatic pointing at nothing I could see]

Me: Where are bunnies?

Peter: No, bunny. Bunnies!

Ethan [now apparently catching on]: Bunnies!

I finally figured out that they meant vitamins. Don't ask me how I finally got "vitamins" out of "bunnies."

~3~

The boys also now have two favorite DVDs that they constantly want to watch. They would watch these two DVDs all day long if we let them (which we don't, just to clarify). I don't mind them watching since they are also educational. One is The Letter Factory and the other Numberland, both by Leap Frog. The boys ask for them as "ABCD" and "number." They are also learning some of their letters at day care. Between these DVDs, day care, and the little tiny bit of review we do with them, I'm amazed at how much they are retaining. They did the letter "H" at day care recently and will now tell us "Letter H, hu, hu." They'll point to an "S" and say "sssss" like a snake and they seem to have a special affinity for the letter "A." They aren't even three yet!

~4~

As for numbers, they can count to ten and usually stay in order. More often than not they skip the number 7, but everything else makes it in there.

~5~

Let me just add, we did not set out to have our kids learn their letters and numbers at such an early age. I bought the DVDs figuring they would enjoy them but not really pay a whole lot of attention quite yet. It really is amazing what little you can do for your kids to learn so much!

~6~

Baby Silas (or Baby Sassy, as the boys say) and I went for a walk today. My last weekday home alone with him and we finally manage to get out for a walk. There is still some ice in places and there are mounds of snow on the grass where it was shoveled into big piles, but it felt like spring. I think it was around 60 degrees when we were out. It felt so good!! 

~7~

So, yes, I go back to work on Monday. I'm really going to miss the time I had home with Silas. Especially now that the weather is finally warming up again. I already sent an email to my unit to cancel a meeting we have every Monday morning. I need time to get used to things again and not go right in for a meeting first thing. I've been out for long periods of time before, many longer than this one, but I think this one is going to be the hardest to come back from. Pray for me in this transition, please.

This 7 Quick Takes post is linked up at Conversion Diary in the 7 Quick Takes carnival. Check it out for more 7 Quick Takes from tons of other bloggers.

Christmas Program

The boys' Christmas program was Thursday evening. It was so cute. The whole day care participated, even the littlest ones. Here are a few pictures of the evening.

This was them coming into the church. It's a little blurry but that is Ethan in front with Peter just behind him. 

Getting set up for the show. As you can imagine it was a little chaotic. The boys had little reindeer antlers they were wearing but Ethan's ended up around his neck and Peter's were kind of in his eyes. 

Getting ready to sing. The boys' both looked so confused. They had been practicing every morning for a couple weeks, but to come in and see all these people looking at them was completely new to them. They rang their bells during "Jingle Bells" but I'm not sure they said "Hey" on cue. They were too big eyed looking out at all the parents taking pictures and videos. 

After the show with their reindeer antlers on. 

And a brother hug before we headed out for cookies and punch. 

Pregnancy Update: Week 35

How far along: 35 weeks, 1 day. Still taking the progesterone, have about 11 days left.

How big is baby: Approximately 5 and a quarter pounds (similar to a good size honeydew melon) and about 18 inches long.

Cravings/Aversions: Still doing good here.

Belly Button: So flat! It's going to disappear! LOL!!

Movement: Lots of rolling around going on in there.

Leg cramps: Yep. Plus the restlessness is constantly bothering me ... at home, at work, at night. It's very frustrating.

Sleep: Starting to have a harder time sleeping. I can't move much at all, so find that I have to completely sit up in order to change positions. That means pretty much waking up completely in order to do that. But I get up several times during the night to use the bathroom, so I try to remember to change sleeping positions then.

Weight gain: I think I hit the 20 pound mark. I had thought I still had at least a couple more weeks before that happened. I'm going to blame Halloween on this one.

Appointment: Had an appointment on Monday. This was the first of my weekly appointments from here on out. Blood pressure was good (the second time she took it) and baby's heartbeat was good. I was measuring about 2 weeks ahead, so we're doing a growth ultrasound in a couple weeks just to make sure the baby isn't too big. I'd be surprised if the baby was particularly big, but we'll see. Another opportunity to see baby. Otherwise, we talked about a lot of different things to do with birth, hospital procedures, and the other possible doctors who might be in charge of my delivery once Dr. M goes on leave herself. Next appointment is Nov. 11.

Ultrasound: Have a growth ultrasound scheduled now for my birthday (in addition to an NST and an appointment). Happy Birthday to me!

The Big Brothers: Last week I mentioned that the boys had been in their new beds for about four nights and no one had fallen out yet. Well, Peter then rolled out of bed that very night. I think it scared him more than anything, but luckily he readily went back to bed after a few hugs and kisses. This past Sunday night I was downstairs and heard some whining or small bit of crying. I wasn't even sure what it was at first. But I headed upstairs and just as I did I saw Hubby head down the hall to the boys room. I walked in and he had Ethan in his arms. Apparently, he was standing on the floor and laying his top half on the bed. He must have rolled out, not known what to do, and just laid his head down on the bed. We got him situated again and the rest of the night was uneventful.

One other thing about their new beds, whether they are really ready for it or not, I think naps are now gone for the days we are home. Thank goodness they get naps at daycare. But at home, it's just too easy for them to start wrestling on the floor together, playing, giggling, and so much more. This past Saturday was a big nap time fail. I did try the tactic of letting them each take a book to bed to look at and it was somewhat quiet for a little while after that, but it was obvious that no sleeping was going to happen. Our evenings are pretty rough when there is no nap time. They really do still need it, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'm open to suggestions.

And I have to mention the sudden explosion in speech. Oh my!!! Yes, there is more talking and more repeating of words we say. We try two word phrases with them and they'll repeat them back to us more and more. We got a big surprise on the way home from Mass on Sunday morning. We were driving along and Ethan sneezed. From behind me I heard Peter say, "Bless you, Dede." I was shocked. Hubby didn't hear it, but I repeated what I heard and he got excited as well. First of all, "dede" is what Peter calls Ethan. No idea where that came from, but at least we know what it means. Second, we had no idea that Peter even knew to say "Bless you" when someone sneezed. And third, we were shocked to hear a complete thought for the first time. It's so amazing to listen to their language usage grow!

Sunday afternoon we went to a birthday party at Gymboree. We had never been to a Gymboree before. The boys found some balls almost as soon as we got there and that's pretty much all they were interested in from that point forward. My children are such cautious little things. While my friends' 1 year olds were climbing on things and willing to try new things, my two year olds had no interest at all. They did find the slide and enjoyed that, but we couldn't really get them to try anything else. I think they did eventually warm up to the parachute after a while and overall they did have a good time.

Names: Hubby told me this week that he has no time to think about names. He wants to wait until we see the baby and if it's a boy maybe he'll get a feeling of what will suit the child. Whatever.

To do list: I guess it's been a while since I actually went over my list, so time to review:

In-Progress/Finished:

• Pediatrician: I've met with one, I need to call and meet with one other. Need to do that this week.
• Childbirth class through the hospital has been completed, although I need to go back into it (it was online) and print out a couple of helpful pages. The Labor Class we signed up for was cancelled and rescheduled for Nov. 19. I need to find a babysitter for that one.
• Boys room: pretty much done, though we still need a dresser so we can have all their clothes actually in their room.
• Postpartum class through CCL is coming up on Sunday. We have the book now too, but I haven't looked at it yet.
• Have the Godmother covered. Still haven't had a chance to ask our potential Godfather.
• Plans for the boys: Have some friends lined up who will be around during Thanksgiving weekend. Also have some friends in the neighborhood who are willing to take the boys any other time except Thanksgiving when they will be out of town. One thing I need to do is write up a basic list of important phone numbers, allergies, basic routine, and any other info that is important for someone to know who is watching the boys.
• I've read through one book on natural childbirth. Have a second one I'm just getting into and a third I haven't had a chance to start yet.
• Both breastfeeding classes are complete. I learned a lot!

Still to do:

• Stroller (may end up on my Christmas list)
• Baby carrier (same)
• Baptism arrangements: actually saw our priest at a pro-life fundraising event we went to on Saturday evening and told him I was going to be emailing him about this. So I should do that this week. Hoping for a Saturday in January.
• Disassemble one crib (Hubby's job actually) and rearrange baby room.
• Go through all the newborn and 3 month clothes we have and start getting things ready (most of that stuff is gender neutral)
• Move the boys' car seats to back bench of the van and install the infant base.
• And probably five thousand other things I haven't thought of yet.

Prayers: At Mass this past Sunday I offered up prayers especially for every mom who is going through a difficult pregnancy. In general, also continuing to pray for my prayer buddy, A, and many other friends. I ask also for prayers for me and baby, that all continues to go well, we get the birth we want, and we are able to get off to a successful breastfeeding relationship. Thank you!

Pregnancy Update: Week 34

How far along: 34 weeks, 0 days. That number is kind of surreal. Can we really be at 34 weeks already? Why yes we can, and we are!! Due date is 6 weeks from today. Amazing. Still taking progesterone to prevent pre-term labor. Probably have another week or more of that (I'm hoping for a little more just so I can finish the prescription).

How big is baby: Approximately 4 and 3/4 pounds (about the size of a cantaloupe) and 18 inches long. I believe the boys were roughly 19 inches long at birth, so this baby is already getting close to the same length as his or her older brothers.

Cravings/Aversions: no changes here. In other words: nothing.

Belly Button: Still flat. Guess baby isn't done baking yet.

Movement: the gymnastics continue.

Leg cramps: still continuing. It's a drag. Especially when you're having a doozy of a cramp, your two year old is in bed with you, it's 7 A.M. and your husband's phone goes off, so he leaves you in pain to go check the phone. Yep, that was a fun morning.

Sleep: Some nights are better than others. 'Nough said.

Weight gain: I think we're up around 17 pounds gained now. At 34 weeks, I'll take it! Especially considering I was up 44 pounds at this point when I was pregnant with the boys. 17 sounds great!!

Appointment: None this week. Actually this is my last week with no appointments at all!! Next Monday I start weekly visits. The week of my birthday I add in twice weekly NSTs. Ah the joy!

The Big Brothers: I could say so much here! But I'll try to keep it brief.

First, we're starting to say more than one word at a time. It's still very little, but small steps are good. We have "Bye-bye, Daddy" and "Bye-bye, Mommy" as well as "bye-bye, dada [truck]" and "bye-bye [insert any other type vehicle here they know how to say]." Substitute those same phrases with "Hello" as well. They have been saying "Police" when they see a police car, but I finally got them to say "police car" together. However, now Peter has changed how he says police and has dropped the "car." Whatever. We're still a work in progress.

The day care drop off is swinging back to being a somewhat pleasant experience about 80-90% of the time (it's truly like a pendulum). We went through a long period of crying and clinging to mom when I dropped them off in the morning. We seem to now be in a period of hugs and kisses and then off to play. It makes drop off so much easier.

Mattresses for the boys beds were delivered on Saturday and they were so excited. The boys and I weren't home at the time so they didn't know anything about them until we arrived home later that afternoon. They saw them, climbed right on, and didn't want to get off. I had to change diapers so I managed to coax them off, but as soon as they were changed they went back to playing on the beds. I went to wash my hands and came back to find that they had managed to get their blankets and one stuffed animal out of their cribs and had brought them to their new beds in their new room. We hadn't decided yet if we would put them to sleep on the beds right away or not. I wanted to get bed rails, but Hubby didn't see a need for them. So with the boys so eager we went ahead and made the beds and they slept in them Saturday night. We haven't had a single issue. None! No one has fallen out of bed (yet!), they don't get up during the night (yet), and they stay in their beds in the mornings until I come in to get them up (for now). I'm really surprised at how easy this transition was! Not only that, but the bedtime routine became a LOT shorter. I'm so glad the rocking chair is in the baby room and not in the boys' room. What a relief!

Saturday (while the mattresses were being delivered) we went to "Treat or Treat" at a local Catholic Church. There were a lot of craft vendors there and all had bowls of candy to hand out to the kids. The Shriner's train was there and as soon as we got off the shuttle bus the boys saw it. "Choo choo, choo choo!!" Guess what the first thing we did was? We also saw some goats and llamas, there was live music acts and a local Irish dance group did some performances, plenty of food to purchase, and kids games to round out the event. There were several inflatables as well, but my kids have no interest in inflatables, so we skipped those. It was a fun day, although pretty darn cold. I think they especially enjoyed riding the shuttle bus (we had to park at a nearby Baptist Church and there was a shuttle bus (from an Episcopal Church) taking people back and forth. [Very ecumenical event, apparently.]

Names: I have mine picked out. ;)

To Do List: I'm currently ignoring this. Probably can't do that much longer.

Breastfeeding class: Okay, so this was on my to-do list, but I took the class just last night. I'm so glad I did!! The instructor is actually a lactation consultant at my hospital and I was able to chat with her some after the class. But during the class, I listened, asked a ton of questions, mentioned my previous experience (or lack of, to be more accurate), and took a lot of notes. Lots of notes!! I wondered what the first time mothers in the room (which was everyone but me) thought about all the notes I was taking. I felt like I did nothing but take notes. Anyway, I feel like I can see all the reasons now why breastfeeding didn't work the last time. A whole host of factors. I'm really, really praying for a much better outcome this time. In chatting with the instructor afterwards she gave me some pointers for dealing with the hospital which was very helpful. I also elaborated with her a bit more on my previous experiences of pregnancy and she told me about the many changes that have taken place at the hospital since I last delivered there. All positive changes! She even gave me the name of a nurse to ask for (if I'm able) who is extremely supportive of natural birth. Overall, it was a good night! Part two of the class (pumping and returning to work) will be next week.

Prayers: Currently keeping several people in prayer. My prayer buddy A, of course. Several other friends who are dealing with tough pregnancies and pregnancy issues. For friend R's daughter R who will be facing yet another surgery soon, for friend J's daughter E who is having a bunch of tests done this week and next and is also dealing with asthma issues (she's only a year old), and for all moms who have children going through tough ordeals at such young ages. I also would like to ask for prayers for me as we approach the birth of this baby. If you can say a quick prayer for us for things to be successful, for the birth to go as natural as possible (as long as the baby is safe and there are no complications), and for supportive and encouraging people around me during labor and the birth itself. Oh, and also for a more successful breastfeeding experience. Thanks!

That's all for now. Looking at about 6 more weeks! Hard to believe!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 33

How far along? 33 weeks and 0 days.

How big is baby? A bit over 4 pounds now (roughly the size of a pineapple) and approximately 17 inches. Survival chances are still around 98%.

Cravings/Aversions: No changes here.

Belly Button: flat as can be!

Movement: Still big waves of movement and parts of baby pushing out in different areas at different times. Makes me laugh to watch the ever shifting shape of my belly.

Leg Cramps: Just when I thought they couldn't get any worse ... ::sigh:: I had a rough night on Friday, terrible leg cramp again. Not sure if I just didn't drink enough water that day or if my electrolytes were down. Whatever it was, it hit me again and kept me from getting a good nights sleep. The whole rest of the weekend I had mini leg cramps throughout the night every night. I was waking up every hour or two and having a hard time falling asleep for fear of waking up to the pain of another leg cramp. Not the best weekend, at all. Monday night/Tuesday morning I finally slept better. I remember waking up around 3:30 A.M. and thinking that was pretty good for the first wake up of the night, especially just to use the bathroom and not be dealing with a leg cramp. And now to drink some more water ...

Sleep: Well, just see above.

Weight gain: I forgot to weigh myself Monday, but did have a doctor appointment that day. But the scale there is not an accurate representation of how much I've gained. Weighed myself Tuesday morning and the scale was the same as the previous week. So I'm still going with a 16 pound gain at this point. Hubby and I were just musing that with the weight of the baby, the fluid, the placenta, and extra blood volume that maybe I've actually lost a little weight. I have no idea how that would be possible, but I'd be okay with it!

Big difference from 33 weeks with the boys! I was just looking to be under 40 pounds then. Here I am at under 20 still this time around. I'm continually amazed at the difference.

Appointment: Had an appointment on Monday. It was pretty short and uneventful. Because I work on a college campus and parking is a major pain, I decided to walk to this appointment. It was a gorgeous day and I was feeling good, so I thought "why not!" Plus, if I had driven, who knows where I would have had to park when I came back and the walk could have ended up being just as long. My blood pressure was surprisingly good for having just walked over, maybe a tad high, but I made sure to let the nurse know that I had walked over. I think it was around 130-something over 68. Baby's heart rate was 150 and I'm measuring right on schedule.

A resident was the one who did the heart rate and measuring and asked me a couple questions on how things were going (saw my doctor briefly after all of that). At one point, she asked if I was feeling pregnant yet. I think she was trying to be lighthearted, I mean, I am 33 weeks pregnant! But I did hesitate in answering her because honestly, I don't feel very pregnant. I assume she thought I would chuckle and tell her, "oh yes, very!" I ended up explaining to her that I really don't feel terribly big and therefore not all that pregnant (despite how far along I am) because my only point of reference at this time is a previous pregnancy with twins. But I did kind of laugh about it, so I think we avoided any awkwardness.

Following this appointment I also scheduled my first NSTs (non-stress tests). I don't need them until I'm 36 weeks, but they will still be twice a week, just like last time. So much fun being "advanced maternal age!" So my first two are scheduled for the week of Nov. 18. My next regular appointment will be Nov. 4.

The Big Brothers: We have definitely entered a period of "testing" with them. By which I mean, they are testing us. Big time!! I'm using time outs where I can and I'm becoming a bit more consistent (yes, I know, consistency is key. I'm working on it.). Overall they are very good, but they do try to test our limits quite often these days.

But there is plenty of cuteness factor to go around, too. Just one example, their pronunciation of "Amen" is cracks me up! When we do prayers they do a version of the sign of the cross, they keep their hands folded (most of the time) while we pray, and they say Amen. But it sounds something like "may-ma." It's incredibly cute!

Names: One night recently we found the site The Baby Name Wizard. We spent a lot of time putting in various boy names that we've talked about. I think I've definitely settled on one that I like. Hubby is still trying to decide, but I think this helped. He really liked the graphs and seeing how popular or not a name has been over the last 130 years. He seemed just slightly more agreeable to the name I have picked out. Right now it is our default unless he finds something different or the baby is a girl. We're set on a girl name, no debate there.

To-Do List:

For reference, click over to last week's post to see the list there. Not a lot has changed. Only change worth noting is that we did go through the online version of the hospital child birth class this weekend. So that's one thing done. We were supposed to go to a Labor class through an independent group last night, but they had to cancel the class. Everyone but us cancelled so they called me to see if we could reschedule for the November class. I agreed, but I am a little worried that it is going to be getting very close by that time.

Prayers: I got to go to an hour of Adoration and Benediction last week. I haven't had the opportunity to do something like that in forever and it was so nice. Peaceful, prayerful, reflective, quiet ... just wonderful. I tried to remember all those that I am praying for, particular my prayer buddy A and all the other mommies I know who are in high risk pregnancies or who are trying to conceive. I also tried to just absorb the silence. So little silence in this world, this is one of those places where the silence is pure and I didn't want to take it for granted. I had a very brief moment during that hour that is hard to describe. An overwhelming feeling of peace came over me and I immediately thought back to a previous time when I had felt that same thing, but yet it was a very different circumstance. Still the feeling in my heart was exactly the same, I have no doubt. I knew that it was a feeling of knowing that I was where I needed to be. Beyond, that I'm not sure I can describe it. I need to reflect on it more and maybe write sometime about these two instances in my life roughly 20 years apart, how completely different they were, and yet had the same feelings associated with them.

One last prayer request (and this is related to a topic I have written about in the past), please pray for all the pregnant women in places like China and India. Also pray for the unborn babies, especially the unborn girls who are at such a high risk for abortion just for being girls. I keep seeing stories about the horrors women face in these countries (and many others) and I want to do something. Not sure what, but we can at least start with prayer. Thank you.

That's all for this update!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 32!

How far along? 32 weeks, 0 days. I kind of miss the over the top feeling I had when I hit 32 weeks when I was pregnant with the boys. Reading my update from back then, I wasn't expected to even make it that far. This time it was kind of a given. I'm still excited, but the level of excitement isn't quite the same. Still ... not much time left!

How big is baby? According to that 32 week update two years ago, the baby should be about 3.75 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and 16.7 inches long. Survival chances are now up to 98% if the baby were to be born this week. Luckily that doesn't seem to be a possibility.

Cravings/Aversions: No specific cravings or aversions to speak of. However, I seem to want to eat a lot, it just doesn't seem to matter what it is.

Belly Button: Rather flat at this point. I think I can just barely see a tiny scar now too from the D & C procedure I had back in 2010.

Movement: So much!! It's fun to watch my belly shift into different shapes. The type of movement I am feeling seems so different than the last time.

Leg Cramps: No major ones, but I occasionally get woken up by the start of one. In those cases, I'm usually able to stop it before it's too noticeable. I don't like leg cramps at all, but if I have to have them, this is a much more preferable way to deal with them.

Sleep: Overall not too bad. Getting sleep, not too many interruptions, just getting tired of sleeping in the same position all night long. I try to move around, which is a bit of a feat in and of itself, but I always end up back in the same position. The worst part is the pain I wake up to in my ear. Okay, don't laugh at me (my husband thought this was hysterical), but seriously, my ear hurts!! It's smashed between my head and the pillow all night long (and my pillows are pretty soft, so that makes it even more weird) and so when I wake up it is throbbing. It hurts to even touch it. Hubby joked that he was going to invent an ear pillow in the shape of a doughnut for me. He really needs to learn a bit more about empathy.

Okay, I guess you can laugh at me if you want. :)

Weight gain: Based on my scale at home I think I am up about 16 pounds now overall. I'm kind of shocked that I'm still maintaining such a slow weight gain overall, especially with the crap I've been eating. Well, most of my meals and snacks are fairly healthy, but I do tend to munch in the evenings on unhealthy things and I've been stopping at the vending machines or walking over to the Express Stop at the student center a little too much for a late afternoon snack. Maybe the walking I have to do on campus is helping. I've been having a lot of meetings at the main library lately (it's promotion/tenure season and I'm on our P/T Committee), so I find myself walking there more than usual, plus some mornings start with meetings there, so I don't bring my lunch on those days and then have to make an extra trip out to walk to somewhere on campus to get lunch. It all evens out I guess.

[Wow, I was at +37 pounds at this point in my pregnancy with the boys!! What a difference!]

Appointment: My last appointment was last Monday (next one is 10/21). We chatted about a number of things, listened to the baby's heartbeat, and measured my belly. I forget now what the heartbeat was, but my belly was measuring right around 31 weeks. Perfect! I finally remembered to ask about her nurse who I hadn't seen since sometime in the summer. Apparently her husband found a new job several hours away so they moved this summer. I was so sad that I didn't get a chance to say good bye. I loved her, she was so sweet and always so helpful! Dr. M obviously misses her too. But she's getting to stay home with her two kids for now, which I bet she is loving, and eventually wants to go back to school. I wish her well!!

We also discussed future appointments and I made some more appointments through Dr. M's last day. So I have appointments scheduled with her through my birthday (starting weekly appointments in November) and then I'll have to switch to one of the MFMs for the remained of my pregnancy. I can't decide it I'd rather see Dr. H or Dr. O on a regular basis and have whoever I pick be the person who could be at my child's birth. I like them both and for different reasons. Decisions, decisions!

The Big Brothers: They are getting more and more curious about the room down the hall from their room that daddy keeps spending time in. He's painted it, put in a new ceiling fan, and has assembled the beds. Ethan wanted to climb in the bed tonight, but it has no mattress on it yet. We keep telling them that this is going to be their new room. We're hoping to get mattresses and bedding this weekend (and maybe some furniture?). Maybe we'll do the big switch from cribs to beds by next week.

We've also started noticing that Peter appears to be putting a few words together. Not too many yet and he still has some pauses in between words when he does do it, but I can see he's trying and working at it. I keep trying to encourage him when I can. It's so much fun to watch their language skills develop. Ethan hasn't yet tried, but he's usually not too far behind.

I've decided that yellow is Peter's favorite color. If you saw him on Monday and wondered why he was wearing shorts that did not quite match the yellow shirt he had on ... well ... now you know.

The boys' daycare has gone through some changes recently. One of those is that we now have to pack lunch for them each day. I've been using an insulated bag I had to pack all their stuff in each day. But Tuesday afternoon a box arrived on our doorstep with their new lunch boxes that I had ordered. I unpacked them and the boys carried them around the rest of the evening. I will need to take a picture of them one morning with their lunch boxes. It makes it seem like they are so old, going to school with their lunches all packed!!

Names: Hubby is on a timeline, but I think I'm willing to rule out one of my boy name choices. He thinks he can be okay with my other choice but he's still thinking about other possibilities. Maybe we'll have a girl and all of this worry over a boy name will be nothing but a distant memory!

To-Do List:
Finished or In-Progress:

• Pediatrician: Haven't made a final decision yet
• Signed up for the childbirth classes, reading some books, and just waiting for it all to begin
• Boys room: done: painting, beds assembled, and new fan put in; still to do: need to get mattresses, bedding, and a dresser
• We are signed up for the Post-Partum NFP class through CCL. Looking forward to that.
• We've asked a friend of ours to be the baby's Godmother. And she said yes!! So excited! Now just need to ask the potential Godfather.

Still waiting to be done:

• Stroller for snapping an infant seat in. I had forgotten about this one, guess I need to revisit this
• Baby carrier: I missed the Bluegrass Babywearers Group meeting this past Monday (had a meeting that ran long and I decided not to try and race over there). So I've been asking friends instead about their preferences. I plan on going to the group meeting next month instead.
• Baptism arrangements: haven't bothered contacting anyone yet, but will probably do that sometime soon. Need to make sure the Godparents take care of any requirements my church asks for. I'm thinking sometime in mid-January for the Baptism will be good.
• Plans for the boys: Starting to talk to friends about who can to help us out. Will need to start talking details with all of them soon and making a list of names and numbers that is easily accessible to both Hubby and I (especially Hubby).

Prayers: Yesterday was National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. So I am asking for prayers for all families who have lost a child through miscarriage, still birth, or early infant death. May God bring them all into Heaven to live for all eternity with Him, the Virgin Mary our Mother, and all the saints. Please join me in praying for God's mercy for these little souls.

Thank you for following along on this journey!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks, 0 days. We're in the 30s!!!!! It's funny now to look back at the 30 week update with the boys and see that we were predicting 4-6 more weeks (it ended up being about 6). This time, I'm thinking, "Wow, only 10 weeks to go!" It's amazing how different things are this time.

How big is baby? Supposedly, baby is "almost" 3 pounds (roughly the size of a cabbage) and about 16 inches long. Survival chances are still at 95% if baby came this week.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular. However, I have a new favorite beverage: the Vitamin Water Zero, lemonade flavor. It's not really a craving, but I do really like it, especially since it is chock full of important vitamins and electrolytes. Doesn't hurt that it's been on sale at our local grocery store for a really great deal. I'm going to stock up again this week before the sales change over on Sunday. This is week two it's been on sale, so I'm not expecting it to still be on sale next week.

Belly Button: What belly button? I think it is disappearing!! I can feel it pushing out, but it's funny how it doesn't look like much.

Movement: Definitely lots of movement. It occurred to me this week that the kind of movement I am feeling is completely different from what I felt with the boys. It's hard to describe, but this time around I know which baby I'm feeling because there is only one. So I really know that this baby is moving, instead of wondering if one or the other or both are shaking things up in there. I think I feel a lot more with this one than I did with the boys, too. They just had less room.

Leg cramps: None this week. I'm hoping the Vitamin Water Zero is part of the reason. I am still feeling a bit of restlessness in my legs. It happens sitting at my desk at work, sitting on the couch in the evenings. It's more an annoyance than anything else.

Sleep: Last week I didn't sleep well, but this past week I've been doing better. I still occasionally get up during the night, but it's not too bad. I'm limited in sleep positions, though. I finally gave up sleeping on my back. In addition, sleeping on my right side usually causes my right hand and wrist to fall asleep fairly quickly (no other tendinitis symptoms, that's the only one). So I end up on my left side pretty much the entire night.

Weight gain: I finally weighed myself on my scale, which is a bit more accurate since my starting weight was done on that scale. I get thrown off by the one at the doctor's office, it always shows me about 4 pounds more than mine. It might be more accurate in terms of actual weight, but relative to my starting weight, my scale shows me a more accurate look at overall weight gain. All that being said, I think my total weight gain is more like 14 pounds at this point. I might be able to keep things to under 20 after all!!

Ultrasound: No more planned as of now. I keep meaning to scan one of the 3D images I have. I keep forgetting! Sorry.

Appointment: Next one is Monday, just the standard appointment. Still taking the progesterone, no NSTs (non-stress tests) as of yet.

The Big Brothers: They are going to be getting a new bedroom soon. Hubby has been working on painting the room. He has the ceiling and the trim done. We have two colors picked out for the walls. So his next step is painting one wall one color and then painting the rest a different color once that first wall dries. We have beds, but still need mattresses, a dresser (or two?), and some sort of book shelf or on-the-wall shelving for their books and a few toys. Oh, and he's replacing the ceiling fan in that room as well.

Cutest thing the boys have started doing lately has to do with the crucifix I occasionally wear. I used to wear it more, but when we were moving I stopped bothering with it and then just didn't get around to fishing it out of my jewelry box (items got tangled up a bit during our move) until just recently. So I put it on and the boys started giving Jesus kisses. It's been several days now and they will often pick up the crucifix, kiss it, and then try to hug it. Peter has also added in a fist bump, something I'm sure Jesus appreciates. Thank goodness it is on a long cord necklace!

Names: Still waiting on Hubby. We're both convinced it'll be a boy because we can't agree on a boy name.

To-Do List: Time to update this a bit.

Finished or In-Progress:

• Still thinking on the pediatrician. Haven't made a decision and haven't really done anything further.
• We are signed up for two childbirth classes and two breastfeeding classes. Plus a friend is letting me borrow one of her breastfeeding books and I'm currently reading the CCL book on breastfeeding and a book on natural childbirth in a hospital (written by a doula), which has been really good and has given me a new perspective on my previous two birthing experiences (thinking of possibly writing a blog post about those).
• Sold: cloth diapers and one infant car seat. Still have an extra car seat base to sell (Graco brand, if anyone needs an extra, we don't need three).
• Boys room is in the process of being painted.
• Pond has been removed from the back yard as well as a portion of the fence (Yay!!!!)
• Decision on baby's room was made: not going to paint at this time

Still waiting to be done:

• Get a single stroller for the infant car seat to attach to
• Get a baby carrier and attend one of the babywearing support group meetings
• Ask potential Godparents to be Godparents
• Talk to priest and set a date for the baptism
• Work out plans for the boys for when labor hits (I have to think of the scenarios and figure out a Plan A and a Plan B for each one, just in case). I have ideas in my head, just need to start having conversations with the key people.
• Not baby related: but we're having issues with our kitchen sink. Plan A didn't work out and Plan B doesn't look like it is going to work out. So now we're looking at Plan C. More on this in a later post.

Prayers: October is Respect Life Month. Please remember to pray for all the unborn during this month. Also, prayers for all mothers and fathers facing difficult pregnancies, unplanned pregnancies, unexpected news about their babies, and much more. And don't forget prayers for all people struggling with disabilities, illness, old age, and more. Let's pray that we can cultivate a culture of life in our country.

This post was way longer than expected. Thanks for reading along!! I'm posting again on Friday over at Catholic Sistas and will probably be posting another update next week. Stay tuned!

Pregnancy Update: Week 29

It's interesting go back and read my updates from the same week of pregnancy from over two years ago. I was also pregnant with twins then, so there is quite a bit of difference. Check out week 29 from 2011 for an interesting comparison.

How far along? 29 weeks, 0 days. Still hard for me to believe! And survival chances are the same as last week, still 95%.

How big is baby? About 2 and a half pounds, similar to a butternut squash, and a bit over 15 inches long.

Cravings/Aversions: Still the same, nothing unusual.

Belly Button: Starting to actually pop out. This is when it just looks so weird.

Movement: Move, baby, move!! I think this kid will enjoy gymnastics classes one day.

Leg Cramps: And let me also add in Restless Leg (and other limbs) Syndrome. Leg cramps are definitely back, the restlessness has never really gone away. Was commenting on this on Facebook (after a particularly bad night) and got many suggestions from friends, many of which I had tried and some of which reminded me of things I had been doing but had let fall by the wayside. So I knew I needed to build up electrolytes again: potassium for the cramps and magnesium for the restlessness, plus other electrolytes are just added bonuses. I checked out the Vitamin Water at the grocery and (because it was on sale) decided to try it. I was surprised that it actually tastes good. I've only had two so far, but I feel better than I've been feeling lately. So, we'll see. Maybe this will help some, maybe not. I still think I'm just more prone to this during pregnancy, regardless of what I do.

Sleep: I've definitely crossed that bridge into laborious territory. It's not been easy the last week, getting up multiple times during the night, unable to get comfortable, leg cramps, you get the picture. One positive I've realized lately is that I haven't had any issues with tendinitis this time around.

Weight gain: approaching that 20 pound mark, but still not there yet. I'm wondering if I'll make it to the end of this pregnancy with only 25 pounds gained. That would nice. Not sure it'll happen.

Ultrasound: None since the last update and none planned for the foreseeable future.

Appointment: Had an appointment on Monday. I'm measuring a couple weeks ahead, but no reason for concern (probably due to having had a previous twin pregnancy, i.e., I'm already rather stretched out). We also chatted a lot just about how things are going, the Vitamin Water, work, and who was going to deliver first. For now, my doctor will continue my care, but if she delivers before I do the MFMs will handle my care since I already know them and have never met any of my doctor's partners. She's due before me, but was late her last pregnancy so is expecting the same to happen this time (that's what I gathered anyway). We'll see what happens. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if I went early, I've pretty much been expecting that since the beginning.

Following my appointment I had to do the third trimester part of a preterm labor study I'm participating in. So I was in the office/building for about another 30-45 minutes after my appointment was over. I was in the lab for a little while, had to give blood and I sat there while I filled up a tiny cup of spit (not the easiest thing to do). While I was in there, another patient came in for a blood draw. She didn't appear to handle it well and was sitting in the back afterwards. I left shortly after that and went to the bathroom before leaving the office. I came out of the restroom to find the girl from the lab passed out on the floor and a nurse standing over her. I had no idea if the nurse just happened upon her or if she was with her when she passed out. So I told her that I had seen her in the lab and she had just had a blood draw. The nurse asked me to stay with her while she went and got more help. So I stuck around for a while to help and make sure she was okay. They eventually got several nurses there, someone called her mom for her, and they were looking for my doctor who eventually got there as well. I don't know if she was pregnant or not, she was very thin so if she was it was pretty early in pregnancy. I stuck around for a while but by that time several nurses and the doctor were there, I didn't feel like I was really going to be much help. She was conscious, but definitely out of it. I did eventually leave, but I felt kind of bad about it. I knew I wasn't being of much help by that point and I didn't want to be in the way. I pray that she was okay after a while. I do plan on asking my doctor about her next time I see her. I just want to make sure she was okay.

The Big Brothers: They still enjoy giving my belly kisses and have started putting their hands on my belly the way they see their daddy do. I don't think they've felt anything yet, though.

We went to the library a couple of weeks ago and got a few books. They love these four books so much that they haven't really looked at their other books at all. The Nascar counting book is a huge favorite! We also got an "I Spy" book that is popular with both of them and a Sandra Boynton book about Little Pookie. Ethan calls the Little Pookie book the "no" book (which can get a little confusing when I don't realize that he's saying "no" in reference to the book and not something I just asked him). Little Pookie answers "no" to lots of his mother's questions. When reading it, I read the questions and wait for Ethan to answer. The funniest one is when Little Pookie says "No, thank you." The boys aren't putting multiple words together yet, so he always just says "thank you" in his cute little voice. And yes, I realize that is two words, but the boys say it like it is one. I don't feel right counting "thank you" as putting words together yet. The fourth book is a Sesame Street Babies book with a picture of Elmo ("Melmo") on the front. I expected this to be the most popular book of the group we checked out. I was wrong.

They got to go to a local bookstore with Hubby this past Saturday. They fed the ducks at the pond out back (which they LOVE doing) and then went inside for a Paddington Bear story time. They got to make little Paddington Bears out of toilet paper rolls (or actually, Hubby made them). When they got home I came out to help them get out of the car and found them both holding their little toilet paper roll bears and giving them kisses.

We also went to Oktoberfest at our parish on Saturday evening. We had brats, sauerkraut, potato salad (which was really good!), and strudel. The boys had hotdogs and chips, Peter wasn't crazy about the sauerkraut but Ethan ate it up. We checked out the various booths and kids rides (the boys aren't interested in the kids rides yet) and we played the Cake Wheel for a little while. Peter loved the Cake Wheel and got very upset when we left it. He kept trying to pull me back to it. We ended the evening with a funnel cake, which the boys loved, and headed home. It was a busy Saturday.

One of the boys' newest words is Geico. I don't totally remember how this came to be. I think they were fascinated by the gecko on TV and they somehow picked up the word Geico from the commercial. Amazingly, they say it very clearly, especially Peter. In addition, they found the Geico logo on a page of the Nascar counting book (on one of the driver's uniforms). I think part of the appeal of the Nascar book is finding the Geico guy under "10 Race Car Drivers." I also learned that there is a book at school with a picture of a gecko in it and the boys both say "Geico" when they see it. I ran into their teacher at the library and she told me this. I had to laugh!

Names: Nothing has changed. Still waiting on Hubby.

The To-Do List: Referring back to last week's update I haven't really accomplished much.

I have met with one pediatrician. Kind of on the fence, but I also have limited options due to my HMO university insurance.

We've made some decisions on the child birth classes we are going to take, now we just have to register for them.

And that's about it. our bigger to-do list includes things like filling in the pond in the backyard (happening this week), several painting projects, replacing the sink/faucet/disposal in the kitchen, and probably 50 gajillion other things.

Prayers: Continued prayers for several friends in difficult pregnancies. Also prayers for my Catholic mom prayer buddy, A. And, some prayers for Hubby and I and our growing family. Not pregnancy related, just in the process of discerning some things. Thanks!!

So 29 weeks! That means 11 weeks to go. Maybe less if I go early. That's just insane!

Pregnancy Update: Week 26

Wednesday morning was crazy. Read on to find out why.

How far along: 26 weeks, 1 day. I found my book The Preemie Primer and have started reading through it again. Chance of survival at this point is 85%, which is great news!!

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com, the baby is about 1 and 2/3 pounds and roughly 14 inches long, about the size of an English cucumber.

Cravings/Aversions: Still none. Doing well.

Belly Button: Sort of stating to pop out, but still rather flat. Hubby commented the other day that it isn't so much a belly button as a belly hole at this point. Thanks dear!

Movement: Lots and lots. This child is doing somersaults.

Leg cramps: None this week. I'm trying to stay hydrated, eat my bananas, and take my vitamins.

Sleep: Not too bad. I'm starting to wake up more during the night to use the bathroom. The progesterone may be making my sleep a little less comfortable, but it's not too bad yet.

Weight gain: I hate the scale at the doctor's office, it was about two pounds more than my one at home. I weighed myself on mine Wednesday morning and then got weighed again at my appointment a few hours later. According to my scale I'm up around 14 pounds. I'm going with that since my starting weight was also done on my scale at home. Not too bad.

Crazy Wednesday: Let's start with the fact that I had to do the glucose test that morning as well. I called last Friday to double check when the lab opens as well as the main office to make sure I could get the blood work done before my ultrasound appointment at 8:45. I was told that everything opened at 8. Great! Plenty of time. But then that evening I found the paper about the test and it said there that the lab didn't open until 9 AM. I debated on whether I should take the chance or not, decided I didn't want to waste the drink only to have to do it again because I couldn't get the blood draw an hour after drinking it and so on and so forth. So I changed my plans. Instead I drank the orange sweetness in the car on my way into town. Got to the office and went to check in with the main OB/GYN office so they could get the order in for my blood work. It was 8:45 AM at the time and I just needed to know that they were taking care of it so I could go down the hall for my ultrasound appointment. I was assured they were and I left to go to ultrasound. (More on that appointment below). I finally got called back for my appointment at 9:00, told them I had to have my blood drawn at 9:20. So we did the exams, chatted briefly, and I left. The lab is right there so I got there right at 9:20 to discover that the lab person was not there. She showed up 5 minutes later and couldn't find any order for me in the computer. By the time she finally put me in manually, it was 9:30, time for my next appointment. I knew I was probably cutting everything a little too close but I should have known not to worry. My doctor is always a few minutes behind, so it wasn't a big deal. But still, I was watching my clock like a hawk all morning!!

Ultrasound: But now the important part. If you remember from my Week 24 Update I had previously had cervical length measurements of around 4 cm or more. Since normal is between 3 and 4 or higher, this was great. At 23 weeks it was around 3.5 to 3.7. Shorter, but well within normal still. At 24 weeks however, I was closer to 3.0 cm. I've been taking progesterone ever since and this Wednesday's ultrasound was the first follow-up since then. All I can say is that prayer is really working!! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. Amazingly I had measurements this time of around 3.4 to 3.7. Yes, that means longer measurements than the previous time. The cervix isn't normally going to lengthen!! And actually the longest measurement she got was right around 4 cm. It may be the progesterone, but I like to think that prayer has a lot to do with it too!!

During the quick scan of the baby we also noted that the placenta has moved out of the way of the cervix. Yay!! And the baby is currently head down. Baby has plenty of time to still move a different direction and back again, most likely several times. LOL! The tech also asked if I wanted a 3D image! I said YES, of course! I've had ultrasounds in this same office for 4 or my 5 pregnancies and have never known that they could do 3D images. They were so cool!! Such a cute little baby. The face reminded me a lot of Peter and Ethan as newborns. Awww!

Appointment: After ultrasound was the glucose blood draw and then my appointment. Appointment went fine. These are the easy ones. Baby's heartbeat was around 140 bpm. We also talked about possible follow-up ultrasounds. I could have stopped at this point but I feel better getting one more in right around 28 weeks. 28 weeks seems to be one of those milestones in pregnancy, so it felt like a good point to do one more. After that I'm okay not checking any more (it's not like I look forward to those ultrasounds with the fun wand that goes ... hm, hm ... you know where). So I'll do one more at 28 weeks and that will be it for cervical checks. We discussed a little bit about labor and birth, classes to take or look into, and that was about it.

Glucose Results: I was able to obtain the results of my glucose screening on Wednesday evening. My doctor emailed me the results and her exact words were "Awesome, passed." The number was 122, but I don't know what the scale is. Either way, it's a passing score so that's all that matters to me. She also mentioned that Hemogram/blood count looks great as well. So I guess that's good news too.

The Big Brothers: Oh, those sweet boys! They love giving kisses now. Not just to my belly, but now they are kissing their toys and stuffed animals, pictures of animals and other characters in their books, and other random things as well. They loved seeing the printouts I had of the 3D pictures of the baby. They are both just so sweet!

Names: No progress on a boy name. I have now given my husband two options and I'm done. He's got to pick one or come up with something else that I also like. Eventually maybe we'll agree on something. Or he'll just have to learn to live with one of the names I have chosen. It could still be a girl too and this would all be a mute point.

To-Do List: I think it is the same as last week. I don't think I've crossed anything off. If anything, I've probably added to it. Not going to retype it here. If you really want to look at it, check our last week's update.

Prayers: I so appreciate the prayers from everyone! I think I appreciate them even more now than I may have in the past. Not that I didn't appreciate them, but you know, sometimes they just strike you more than they do at other times. Anyway, if you could add two other pregnancy related prayer requests to your prayers I'd really appreciate it. One is for my pregnancy prayer buddy in a Catholic moms group I am in. We pair pregnant ladies up with non-pregnant ladies to prayer for each other's intentions. My pregnancy prayer buddy is trying to get pregnant herself. If you could say a quick prayer for my friend A for this intention I'd love it. And I know she would too. Also, just found out that another mom in the group who is around 34 weeks pregnant is in the hospital due to placenta previa issues. They are trying to keep things stable so she can get to at least 35 weeks. Prayers for my friend M are also greatly appreciated!!

That's all for this update. Next week's will probably be a short one again or maybe I'll skip it. I need to blog about other things, not just this pregnancy! My mom has specifically requested more updates on the boys.

Trains, Trucks, Cars, and All Things Boy

My boys are all boy. No doubt. But what I love is seeing my identical twins grow into very different personalities. They are so much alike and yet so different at the same time.

Peter tends to be more obsessive compulsive. Case in point, this is his favorite activity:

Peter, proud of his work; Ethan just happy that he was allowed to help this time

Peter's favorite activity is to line up all the toys. Either in one long straight line or several lines that are lined up next to each other. Sometimes I'm not sure of his order, but he's very particular. And the concentration on his face is priceless. Unfortunately for Ethan, Peter doesn't like for any of the toys to go AWOL. Peter will throw a fit if Ethan tries to take any one of the toys for himself.

Another view of the train of toys

The nice thing is that Ethan is usually happy with just one toy. The problem is finding that one toy that he's happy with and that Peter doesn't want. It can turn into quite the battle at times. But then, after much crying and pleading from Peter, Ethan will turn around and give him the toy back.

Ethan's just too nice sometimes. Poor thing is always going to be bending to his brother's will.

One day the boys were pushing around some of the larger toys on wheels. Probably the school bus and the plane. They had gotten into a pattern of going around the furniture in the family room, into the hallway, around the kitchen, and back. I was sitting in the family room while Hubby was in the kitchen. At one point, Ethan decided to change his route. He turned his toy around and headed back to the kitchen. Peter noticed immediately! He stopped what he was doing and ran after Ethan, obviously upset.

Hubby didn't witness what had happened, all he saw was Peter trying to grab the toy out of Ethan's hands in the kitchen. He started trying to tell Peter to leave Ethan alone and not take toys away from him. I sat in the family room listening to the exchange and finally had to intervene. Peter didn't want Ethan's toy, he wanted Ethan to stay on the same track he was on. How dare Ethan diverge from the established route!

Peter likes everything a certain way. Everything. Every. Time.

The boys both love trucks. Big or small, doesn't matter. Really, anything big we see on the road: buses, trucks, vans of various sizes, firetrucks, and other emergency vehicles. When outside they recognize the sounds of airplanes or helicopters and start looking for them in the sky and often wave "bye-bye" to them as they fly over.

So we thought they would have a great time this past Sunday at an event in town called "Touch a Truck." And I think they did, but they wanted nothing to do with getting close to them and sitting inside any sort of truck was a definite no.

Watching the firefighter up on the ladder while having some ice cream

I think the boys would have preferred to just sit here and watch the trucks (particular the firefighter who was up on the end of a very long ladder). There was a Schwann's truck giving out free ice cream to children under 12, so we got two ice cream sandwiches. Turns out my kids weren't interested in the ice cream. Hubby managed to get Peter to take a couple small bites, but he wasn't really interested in eating much else. Ethan completely refused. As a result, Hubby and I enjoyed our free ice cream.

Firefighter up on the ladder

This was about as close as we could get the boys to an actual truck

Other kids enjoyed getting to sit in this trash truck and beep the horn. My kids wanted nothing to do with it.

Checking out a police helicopter

This truck was of interest to the boys, briefly.

The truck above held their attention briefly. We knew, by this time, that they wouldn't want to sit in it, but we thought maybe they would at least go up and touch it. But no!! You would have thought we were trying to put their hands into a burning fire.

Hot Air Balloon at Touch a Truck

This Hot Air Balloon was also on display. They had cold air being blown into it to keep it inflated and they allowed everyone to go inside to check it out. So we removed our shoes and carried two screaming boys inside. We didn't stay long.

Touch a Truck seemed a bit of a bust for our boys. But honestly, I think they did enjoy it, they just didn't want to get near anything. There was a city bus there that I took them into, with a bit of hesitation, of course. The event was held at Keeneland, the large local horse race track in town. Keeneland happens to be across the street from the airport and the runway points towards the Keene barn area where we were. So throughout our time there we also watched many small airplanes come in for a landing.

Airplane heading to the Lexington airport

Despite the boys not wanting to get near anything, we took a couple of pictures of things we found of interest.

Here's hubby inside slot 9 of the Keeneland start gate. This thing is HUGE!

Had to get a picture of the DeLorean. Back to the Future!

Me next to the tractor that pulls the Keeneland start gate. Yes, the wheel is taller than I am!

More on the boys:

They are still mostly just saying one word at a time. They have expanded their vocabulary quite a bit, but they stick to one word. I also now understand how a parent can understand what a child is saying when it sounds like complete nonsense to someone else. I get it now!! I can interpret a lot of their words that are missing syllables or certain sounds and I'm positive that most people (even Hubby) wouldn't know what they are saying. As an example: the word "red" sounds like "eh." Also, bread, bath, and several other "b" words all sound the same on the surface. There is a slight difference in inflection that I usually can catch. Plus context helps a lot.

We think one of the boys is left-handed and the other is right-handed. Makes me wonder if they might be mirror twins. But so far this is the only thing I've noticed that is a true opposite between them. And it's still too early to know if they are really left- or right-handed.

I think Ethan knows some of his primary colors. I knew they sort of knew the colors blue and yellow, but I hadn't seen them identify them consistently enough to be sure. The other day, Ethan was playing with the Mega Blocks (four total colors among all the blocks). I was sitting on a nearby chair but couldn't see the blocks on the floor. I asked him to show me a blue block and he reached down, pulled one out, and showed it to me. And it was blue! So I asked for a yellow one and got it. This was cool to see, but I knew he was more aware of those two colors. So I decided to test whether he knew the other two colors in the mix. So I asked for him to show me a red one and he did!! Finally a green one and again he pulled out the right one. I'm so impressed that he could do this. I tried it with Peter and he's not as consistent. But that's okay, they are only two.

One word they know is "pray." Peter especially likes to ask about praying when we sit down to eat and before bed and occasionally at other random times. Both boys are slowly getting the hang of the Sign of the Cross, which is cute to watch. They insist on using both hands. Two hands to their forehead, two to the chest, one each on their shoulders, and then hands together. Just this week Peter has been much more consistent in actually doing the Sign of the Cross and keeping his hands folded while Hubby and I pray. He also spends prayer time looking at Ethan and saying "pray" over and over again. Ethan completely ignores him which just frustrates Peter even more. I have to work hard to concentrate on praying and not laughing at the boys.

The boys love Elmo. I don't know how they learned about Elmo since we don't usually watch any TV with them except for Wheel of Fortune and occasional shows on Animal Planet on the weekend. At day care I've seen some Elmo stuffed animals, so I am guessing that's where they learned who Elmo is (no TV at daycare either). I think I need to get some DVDs of Elmo and a few books. I love the way they both say "Elmo" as well, kind of like "Me-mo." Very cute!

They also have two songs that they love. One is The Itsy Bitsy Spider. We figured this out about 4 or 5 months ago. They kept making the various hand signs that go with the song, but we didn't know what they were doing. One night at dinner it dawned on one of us and as soon as we started singing the song the boys got sooooooo excited.

More recently they started looking at us inquisitively and asking "ro, ro, ro?" This took us a little time to figure out as well, but not nearly as long as Itsy Bitsy Spider. We started singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and got an interesting reaction. At the end of the song they put the palms of their hands up to their cheeks and opened up their mouths real wide and then started clapping and saying "Hooray." I could figure out why they were making the funny face with the hands up to the cheeks. Finally one morning, I remembered to ask their teacher and she explained the different lyrics she was using:

Row, row, row your boat,

gently down the stream.

If you meet an alligator,

don't forget to scream!

It was the "scream" face they were making!! This version of the lyrics is much more enjoyable to the boys. I had never heard the song sung this way. But it's very cute. You can also make a big alligator motion with your arms during the third line of that stanza.

They are certainly growing fast and learning tons very quickly. I'm starting to see signs that they are ready to start putting some words together, but we're not there quite yet. Any day now. They are finally getting some teeth in to fill in the gaps that have been in their mouths forever (it seems). They are still little guys (at 27 months old they are still mostly in 18 or 18-24 month sizes). And they are just such sweet boys!! All their teachers love them.

Hope you enjoyed this somewhat lengthy update on them. I know it's been a while since I wrote about these two precious boys. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!

Pregnancy Update: Week 25

I don't feel like there is a whole lot to update on this week since I haven't had any appointments (unusual in itself, it seems!). But here's a brief update anyway and maybe a little extra update on the boys.

How far along: 25 weeks, 0 days. Survival chances are around 60% this week.

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com, baby is about 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds, the size of an average rutabaga.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing has changed here.

Belly Button: Flat and wide.

Movement: Lots of movement. I think a lot more than I ever had with the boys. This baby has a lot more room since his or her big brothers stretched everything out!!

Leg cramps: Ugh! Had another one this week. Doesn't matter what I do, I think I'm just more prone to them.

Sleep: I sleep okay, but I'm lacking a bit in sleep just because I'm a bit of a night owl. I'm not very good at making myself go to bed at a reasonable time. I'm also surprised that the progesterone isn't affecting my sleep. I seem to remember that it did last time, but I'm not noticing any difference this time around. Been on it a whole week now.

Weight gain: Not sure, but probably stable. Forgot to weigh myself on Monday.

Ultrasound: Next one is in a week. Hoping everything is stable!

Appointment: Also next week, same day as the ultrasound. Also have to do the glucose test that morning. What a fun day I have to look forward to. Oh, and then a dentist appointment that afternoon. So yeah ... I decided to take vacation time the hours of the day I wouldn't be sitting in doctors or dentists offices. Probably a good decision.

The To-Do List:

• Find a new pediatrician or family doctor
• Start looking at birthing classes and other possible classes of interest (breastfeeding, for one)
• Decide on a stroller (I did get to look at two the other day, which helped my decision making process)
• Sell my cloth diapers
• Investigate baby carriers/wraps (most likely a carrier, not sure I'm cut out for the wrap thing)
• Figure out how the boys will be handled whenever labor strikes! I have no idea how we are going to handle this, especially if the boys are at school at the time since my car is the only one with two car seats in it and I don't think we have any friends who could put two more car seats in their cars. This is going to be interesting!
• Ask potential Godparents if they want to be Godparents
• Eventually, schedule the baptism itself and make family all aware so they can make travel plans if necessary

Names: I'm holding out on my favorite boy name, but I am playing with some other possibilities. Hubby still hasn't given me any alternatives. I'm such a nice person that I am considering alternatives for him. Aren't I a good wife? 

The Boys: Before bed at night, they ask to give the baby a kiss. So sweet. It's been a while since I posted an updated picture of the boys. So here is one from about two months back or so:

Peter says cheese; Ethan's just confused. Ignore the half asleep woman in the background.

And another one of the boys hugging. Such sweet boys!

Brother's hugging, Peter has to keep his eye on the camera.

Peter especially loves the camera. He won't take his eyes off of it when we pull it out, which isn't even all that often. Haha!

I have more pictures of the boys from this past weekend. But I'm going to save them for another post. Yes, you heard me right, another post! Two in one week. Hope you didn't fall off your chair. 

Next week's update will likely be on Thursday since my appointments are all on Wednesday. Pray for good news!! Thanks!!