Our growing 2 year old!

A few more pictures from Graham's firetruck birthday! He LOVES to blow out candles! He's been practicing for weeks...He got to blow out his birthday candle with ice cream. Grandma Rosie couldn't make it to the birthday party because of the winter storm, so just ice cream and cookies!

His firetruck birthday cake made by Great-Grandma Rosie. She is "famous" for making tasty, cute birthay cakes. Thanks for making Graham's cake! We loved it...so tasty!

Excited for another round of happy birthday and candle blowing!

Go Colts! We think the Colts won their game today because we were all decked out in our Colts gear! .

Are you impressed with my "large-ness"? TWO almost full grown babies in there!

Tomorrow I go to see Dr. Ramsey...again. I see her more often than I see most of my friends! We have an ultrasound appt and then "the talk" with Dr. Ramsey to see what she thinks about the timeline of this pregnancy. We are all thrilled with how everything has gone, and now we wait. How much longer??? We will see! Trying to be patient for God's timing on this one, but maybe He wants me to use the help of some meds to get things moving.

This weekend has been a funny weekend though. Productive Friday (thought process,"I can wait a few more days", SUPER GROUCHY SATURDAY (thought process,"For the LOVE get these children OUT", and a productive Sunday (thought process, "Well if I have to wait, I have to wait". No/little sleep equals a Sarah even I don't want to be around. Sorry to anyone who interacted with me on Saturday- ha! I got great sleep on Saturday night though and today has been good! Go figure. Makes me nervous for the next several months of no sleep again...sorry hubby, in advance.

I keep telling Adam that I'm the one that's supposed to be nesting, but I think it's his turn! He has been Mr. Organization. He cleaned our kitchen thoroughly today, reorganized our entire pantry/laundry area, got rid of expired spices and cleaned out the junk drawer. It's pretty cute; he keeps walking into the pantry area and saying, "Dang, that looks good!".

Graham has also been showing off his smarts to us! We were in the car on Friday night and Graham kept talking over and over. We finally listened to him and he kept saying, "Daddy, Adam. Mama, Sarah." He learned our names and wanted us to know it. =) We also wanted to note that Graham's first time to use the word "mean" came out tonight. Graham hit Adam when Adam told him no about something, and so we decided to instill timeout for the first time. It took several times of Adam putting him back in the same spot for him to get it. He was crying for me, but after about 45 seconds decided that it was worth it to say "sorry" to Daddy. Then he wanted a snack, so I put him in his high chair. He looked at Adam and as serious as can be said, "Mean. Daddy mean." Oh man! How does he know that word? Graham also knows how to use scissors already! Crazy! I've shown him how a few times with my craft scissors because he has been interested, and then tonight at my parents house I watched him make cuts in paper with the bubble scissors! So big, my two year old. He loves to learn. =) 75th percentile for both height and weight at his check up on Friday. Healthy as can be! We are proud of you buddy, even if we get called "mean" every now and then. =) I guess that means we are doing our job, huh?

36 weeks and ready.

Getting your cervix checked should be against the law. Definitely on my list of top 10 HATED things in my life.
According to my calculations, I am 36 weeks today! Last night, I truly thought that we were headed to the hospital. At 10:00ish I started having some painful contractions and I timed them for an hour or two. They were 7-8 min apart for about an hour and then were a little more sporadic. At 11:45, I told Adam we should just try and sleep and if they were real contractions, then I wouldn't be able to sleep. Well, I slept in spurts and figured it was a false alarm since they weren't getting any worse. JUST ANNOYING BRAXTON HICKS. I never really had those until the night before I went into labor with Graham. Not a fan of them. So, at the dr appt today we found out I'm 2 cm and 70% effaced, so at least the contractions are starting to do a little work. Baby girl's head COULD NOT get any lower. Dr. Ramsey thinks she should come out fairly easily since she is already as far down as she can be. Her head is like a cork on my cervix, so most likely no huge "water breaking" moment, possibly a trickle if that.
So, we wait. I waddle. I get stared at. I still get to shock people with the answer, "No, we are having a boy AND a girl." I like to tell people that and watch their face go from "dang, she's huge, to Ohhhh I get it!". I bought Graham a big brother shirt today at the hospital.
Now, we wait! Christmas babies are becoming a larger reality as each day passes!

Happy Birthday Graham

A blast to December 11, 2008. On our way to the hospital! Giddy to meet our baby boy! Not so giddy anymore, but in pain! Hello contractions...all worth it though, to get our prize. =)

Graham Heston Hubert! Born at 6:07 pm, 8 lbs 10 oz, 20 inch long. True love...

December 11, 2009 Happy 1st birthday baby!

My baby is 2!!! Ready for a day of fun! (This is a pic from my phone, but we have LOTS of other pictures to post from the birthday weekend. Adam just bought a nice new Nikon camera but we have not figured out how to get the pics off the camera and onto the computer...Soon though!)

Graham's 2nd birthday fun began on Dec. 8th when Gigi and Gpa took Graham to Barney's Birthday Bash Live at the Centre. My parents said he was in a "Barney trance" of awe the whole time. Then Friday he opened birthday presents from my parents and we went out to dinner. Saturday morning (Graham's actual birthday) we opened up presents, headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, went to Tri-State to visit with Santa and eat some more, home for a family nap, back out to attend Christmas at Crossroads concert, then Gatti Town with the grandparents! PHEW! Can you tell I'm not on bedrest anymore? Then Sunday we spent the day getting our house ready for Graham's birthday party that night! It was a crazy day of weather and snow!!! Most of our party guests braved the weather and came out to celebrate. Graham was in heaven! We had a firetruck theme (which he picked) and he loved all the attention. I drove Adam crazy all day, but the party was a success! Needless to say...today I felt like I could have slept the day away. Luckily, my good two year old was happy to have a jammie day at home with all of his new toys. I think we have had at least 10 "concerts" today with his new drum, courtesy of Mimi and Pop. =)

Could I love Graham Hubert anymore than I do? Not possible! Does his Daddy think he is the greatest thing to ever walk the planet? YES! He really brings out a whole new level of love I didn't know existed! Being his Mom is something I will always treasure. He will always be my baby. Always. As I think about how our lives are going to change in a few days or weeks with the birth of twins, I sometimes get really sad. Sad, just thinking that this special one-on-one time with Graham will be over most days. BUT-SO excited to meet these 2 new people that will change my heart and life again! You just can't imagine how much you will love your children until you meet then. Then it's all over... =)

Graham- you truly hold Mommy's heart! I love you, I love you, I love you! You are my favorite 2 year old in the world! I can't wait to watch you transform into the most amazing big brother. I can already tell you love baby brother and baby sister. Today, while eating lunch, you told me that if baby brother and sister were crying you would give them a "sassy". Your favorite thing in the world! You are sweet already big brother.

35 weeks

35 weeks and growing! Man! My stomach is so unbelievably big. Just had to say that...

I had my last dr appt on Wednesday and we headed to ultrasound first. Adam didn't have a patient during that hour so he got to come with me since it will most likely be the last ultrasound at the office. I was anxious to see if baby boy would still be head down or not. Well, he is still head down and so is his sister. Their heads were so low that the ultrasound tech eventually just had to guesstimate their head size. They both had their heads shoved way down in my left hip. It's always amazing to see where they have moved to. I'm always guessing who is kicking me and with what body part. The tech was amazed at how big they were and how much baby I actually had inside. Both babies still had hair floating around! They checked out beautifully though- plenty of fluid, good breathing motions, swallowing, heart, kidneys...everything was great! We just have never been able to get good quality pics of their faces. They are always hiding. I guess they both want to be a surprise! Since she had to sort of guess at their measurements, we are thinking they are both in the 5-5 1/2 pd range. Dr. Ramsey would love for them to both reach 6 pds. We talked a lot at my appt this time about logistics of the labor process with twins. She really wants me to try and deliver vaginally since both are head down (and I agree!). I'm very happy about this and pray that I'll be able to. I did it before and was SO proud of myself! I want the "high" feeling of "I did it" x2! I will labor in my normal hospital room, but when it's time to push they will move me to an operating room just in case of an emergency c section for one or both. She called it a dual set-up- ready for both scenarios. I asked if I should wait until contractions are 3-5 min apart and she said, "NO!". Come in as soon as I think I am in labor since I'm considered "high risk". So, no calm baths at home and movie watching- it'll all be done at the hospital. I remember going into labor with Graham like it was yesterday- we'll see how this compares. I was GIDDY with excitement when I went into labor the first time. It's strange that 2 years ago, I was VERY pregnant and waiting to go into labor and then that night, I did! I don't expect to go into labor tonight, but it would be quite ironic, wouldn't it? I'm having so many uncomfortable Braxton Hicks that I never know if it's a real one or not. Obviously, they aren't real ones yet. It was so clear to me when I went into labor with Graham- I hope it's clear again this time! I've been very uncomfortable, to say the least. Two sets of feet are literally IN MY RIGHT RIB. I can push them out, but then they just go right back. Can't wait to kiss those feet...

I'm determined to succeed at breastfeeding both twins, but I know that not all babies are eating champs like Graham was, so we will just see. I start to laugh whenever I think about the logistics of nursing 2 babies at the same time. Pretty sure it's going to be a 2 person job for quite some time. I think we are ready??? But who knows...I'm sure I'm naive about how it's really going to be with twins...but that's ok! I couldn't be in a better situation with support and help. If you know me and you live in Evansville...be prepared for the "HELP ME" phone call that might come your way soon!

Yesterday I had random energy and wanted to clean...? Nesting? Oh, and I think we finally decided on a girl name last night. We'll see if it sticks! We both were liking the same name for a few days and so Adam decided to "call" it. I still reserve the right to switch at the last minute if she really looks like the other name, but I think we are set. =) Their names are pretty darn cute...can't wait to share them!!!

Sorry for the long post...just wanted to jot down my thoughts for myself while I have the time! =)

The "fun" in my life!

For being on semi-bedrest, we have been able to do some very fun things in the past week and a half for my "outings"! 34 1/2 weeks currently and holding strong! For a month, I've been worried about going into labor too early. Now, I'm worried I'll be pregnant forever!!! =) Actually, so grateful to still be pregnant. People ask me what week I'd like to make it to and I guess my answer is past 36 weeks, since that is "full term" for twins, even though the longer they are in there, the better! Graham turns 2 on December 11, so how about sometime at the end of that next week? My older sister claims December 18...we'll see! The Hadi Shrine circus- a Thanksgiving classic for our family! Graham loved it!

34 weeks pregnant and ready for the Carrie Underwood concert! Dr. Ramsey cleared me to go as long as I stayed hydrated and off my feet the rest of the day. =) Worth it!

Me and my HEAVY babies!

Go Carrie! She had a cool set with lots of tricks. =)

Right before we left the concert...made it most of the way!

At Kristyn's surprise 30th birthday party! Thanks to her parents for a fun night!

Anyone with a Christmas Eve birthday deserves a few special parties to make up for getting jipped the rest of the birthdays! (Might be the twins...)

How are we growing?

Preggo update week #33

Today I headed in to see good 'ol Dr Ramsey again. =) I am so glad I like my ob! She is so caring and always on the cautious side when it comes to protecting me and these babies. I headed to ultrasound first. I was a little nervous b/c last week I was told she saw a few calcified spots on the boy's placenta, so we were checking growth measurements a week early to see if he was getting proper nutrition. He sure is!!! Both he and his sister weigh 4 lbs 8 oz each! Man...that equals 9 lbs of babies. I thought I felt bigger than when I had Graham and now we know my belly has stretched to new levels. Graham was 8 lbs 10 oz when born. And to think I have the potential of 5 more weeks...Wowza!
When she checked my cervix, it had shortened from 2.9cm to 2.6 and from 2.5cm to 2.3 when I bear down. Dr. Ramsey's line of concern has always been 2.5. She asked if I would be okay to get a steriod shot to help the babies' lungs develop a little faster just in case my water decided to break this week. She said she is pretty darn confident that I'll make it to at least 36 weeks, but wanted an "insurance policy". We'll see! That would be a little over a week before Christmas. =) What a gift they will be.
So I scheduled my appt for next week and headed down to triage for my lovely steriod shot in the booty. If you haven't had a shot in your booty before, it makes you feel like you really worked out your butt. Odd. I go back 24 hours later for the 2nd shot and then we watch me grow.
I know the uncomfortableness of this time in my life will fade away, kind of like the memories of sleep deprivation will fade. You can't truly remember it until you experience it! But just to help me remember...tonight I decided to lay down in our bed on my left side and hug a body pillow to get some back relief. It felt pretty good so I laid their for an hour or so. THEN I had to pee. I called Adam to help me up. In a weird way, I wish we had it on video of how crippled I was! It took a few minutes for me to slowly let myself get pulled up and swing my legs to the floor. My hips are as loose and sore as they have ever been. Makes me not look forward to walking in my 90s. =) Adam had to be my "walker" all the way to the bathroom until my hips remembered how to work. Pretty humorous. After that Adam forbid me to lay down in our bed again until after the twins are here! hahaha I am recliner bound according to my husband (and my body). I think I need one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" buttons if I am going to lay in my bed again these next few weeks. Maybe a forklift would help???
Seriously though, we are praising God for how these babies are growing! Dr. Ramsey is in awe that they are growing just like a single baby would be growing. She came into my appt today just bubbling happy about that fact. I am very relieved and ready to become a Mama whale in the next few weeks. People are telling me that I don't look pregnant with twins, but I always say being 5'10'' can hide a lot, along with a few good wardrobe choices. I have the outfits that make me look pregnant with twins...don't you worry. =) Please continue to pray with us that these babies will come in their timing, fully able to sustain life once out of the womb.
My next decision is whether I will try a vaginal delivery or opt for a c section. Baby girl has always been head down and Baby boy has always been sitting on her head! (so like a brother!) and is head up. She said she will let me decide if I want to attempt to deliver or have surgery. I would love to deliver them myself, but I'd rather not mess up my whole lower half with a vaginal delivery and a c section. Just praying for clear direction on the right thing to do for us. Oh yes, and it looks like both babies have a little hair on their heads! Bring on the bows for baby girl. =)

32 weeks

We are getting out some new baby supplies and old stuff too! Graham helped me put together our new bouncy seat, or should I say infant to toddler rocker (thank you Elly & Ryan!!!). He immediately ran to get his monkey and rock him. Graham will tell you who these new items are for when asked. We'll see if he lets the babies really have them once they are here. =)

Graham's baby...Monkey!

Me...comfy in my sweats...sporting a 32 week preggo belly!!!

Ay caramba! And to think we have the potential for another 6 weeks of growth!

Today was a BLESSED DAY! 5 of my friends from high school showed up at 9:00am with cleaning supplies and equipment ready to tackle our dirty home. I can't tell you how humbling it was to sit on the couch and watch my busy friends take their family time on a Saturday morning and spend it deep cleaning my dirt. Adam and I are soooo grateful. Adam and I have different ideas of a "clean house" so it was wonderful to get some amazing worker bees in here and tackle it together. I mean we are talking, all baby clothes=clean, baby equipment=brought out from garage and attic and cleaned, floors were swept, mopped, vacuumed, AND steam cleaned, new sheets on all beds, baseboards, windows, fridge, ceiling fans, pictures in nursery hung...you name it- it got cleaned!
I will forever be grateful for such a kind act!!! Don't I have amazing friends? Not to mention all of the meals that have been brought by friends, friends of our parents, and other amazing, kind people! We are being well taken care of. Operation "keep the twins in as long as possible" is in full swing and has been supported by my great husband and our friends and family. LOVE YOU!!!!

In other news...the baby nursery is almost ready and Graham's big boy room is complete! We decided that tonight would be the night to let Graham sleep in his big boy room. We've been talking all week about how this weekend Graham would get to sleep in his big boy bed. Most of the time he would shake his head no and say, "No, sleep baby room". Well last night and today he was so proud to show off his big boy room to our friends that I think he liked the idea. He is in there rolling around in is new bed as we speak. He didn't fuss at all, so after his bedtime routine we laid him down in the twin bed and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I love the video monitor! So far, so good. I'll let you know how it goes!!!

My baby is a big boy now...

Sesame Street Live!

Well it was Daddy's birthday weekend and Adam's wish came true! He got to see Sesame Street Live. =) OK, so maybe it wasn't Adam's b-day wish (since I caught him looking at his i-phone during the show!!!) but we had a great time. Graham loved it! It was fun to take him to the show together as a family of 3. The show was in Owensboro, so we had about an hour drive there. I'm supposed to be resting, so I laid down in the back of our van in the 3rd row with a million pillows and got dropped off at the front of the theater. haha! The things I'm willing to do in order to get out of the house for a bit!

Graham enjoying a sucker pre-show!

We got some good snuggle time since Graham could see better sitting on our laps.

WOW! It's starting! He was yeling out the names of all the characters as they came on stage!

We had pretty good seats too. It's funny attending a show mainly for toddlers. SO much talking and screaming! Pretty fun.

Hi Oscar! He is really into Oscar the Grouch this week. It changes weekly who the favorite is.

He's a pretty big Ernie and Bert fan too...

Second half of the show...getting a little sleepy...

It was a very well done show! I recommend it to anyone who has a child that likes Sesame Street.

Graham loved the "stars" and the "moon" on the ceiling during a nighttime song. He kept asking where the moon went after that song.

Sweet boy!

Um...

Words can hardly explain this HILARIOUS set of pictures, but I will try to explain. We are all for doing things early this Christmas season, since we have no idea when our babies will decide to make their big debut, so I suggested we put up our Christmas lights (but not turn them on yet). It was super warm this weekend, so on Friday we bought Christmas lights and the hooks to keep them on our roof. I sent Adam out during nap time and expected to see them all done when Graham and I woke up but alas, he didn't get too far. He decided he wanted to wait until he had some sponges to sit on (like he used when he did roofing work one summer job). So Saturday morning he borrowed some sponges and told me he was going to put the lights up before it started to rain. When Adam came out of the bedroom dressed in his "outfit", my reaction was as you would expect. =) I've loved this man a long time and somehow he still surprises me with the things he chooses to wear sometimes. THEN he told me he was going to wear his bike helmet in case he fell off the roof!!! hahahahahaha I told him Graham and I would most definitely be outside for that. We rushed to get our clothes on and the spectacle began. Adam did a great job and the lights are up and look great! Honestly, I'm glad Adam is cautious, but something tells me that if he were to fall off the roof, the bike helmet wasn't going to do too much. =)

Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy 29th birthday, Adam! What a crazy, beautiful day for a birthday. I think the high was 75! We enjoyed the day together as a family since it was Friday and Adam had the day off. Graham was so excited to go wake up his Daddy with a birthday balloon and card that he colored for him. The night before his birthday, when Adam came home from work, Graham went running to him and kept repeating, "Daddy! Birthday! PResents! Card! Upstairs! Come on Daddy!" We were "hiding" his birthday things upstairs and Graham was quite excited to celebrate right then. He was a little sad when I told him that we had to wait until the morning. I think it's becoming a birthday tradition to wake up the special birthday person with presents in bed! What a fun way to wake up!

First thing in the morning! The best present helper around!

Adam reading my cheesy card. =)

Adam and Graham in their pretty fall shirts by our one and only tree! =) What a beautiful day it was for a birthday!

Our house in the fall!

Dinner at Dave and Joyce's house. Graham was so excited to sing happy birthday to his Daddy! We practiced all day but when the big moment came, he was a little shy. =) That's okay- we got to hear it about 10 times during the day- SOooooooo cute! He loved that it was his Daddy's birthday!

The best part! Blowing out the candles- he thought the smoke was pretty funny...

Preggo Update

Last Tuesday, I had my regular ob appt and ultrasound to check the babies' growth and my cervix. The babies were growing beautifully! Baby girl was 3 pds 4 oz and baby boy was 3 pds 3 oz, 54th and 52nd percentile. She said they were growing just like 2 single babies would be growing in there. I wasn't too surprised at their size, since I had seen my own belly growing signficantly lately. It was amazing to think though, that at only 30 weeks of pregnancy I already had 6 1/2 pds of children inside of me...plus all of the extra stuff too! No wonder I'm the waddle queen already. =) So that was the good news!
The bad news was that my cervix had shortened to 3.1 cm and when I bear down it shortened to 2.5. I knew the magic number of 2.5 being what she had told me would require bedrest, so I nervously waited to see the dr. She wanted to see me the very next day to do a fetal fibronectin test. This is the "glue" that helps bond your baby inside your uterus and shouldn't be seen in your fluid until after 35 weeks. If the test was negative then that would mean I had a 95% chance of NOT going into labor in the next 2 weeks. If it was positive, she was going to stick me in the hospital overnight to monitor me and my contractions and possibly do some steriods to stop them. Thank you, Lord, that the test was negative! No hospital stay for me! So let the rest begin. I'm definitely resting as much as possible, but I do have this little person in my life named Graham that keeps 100% resting impossible. I feel guilty with the amount of TV this child is getting to watch, but I know it's just for a season.
Yesterday I had my cervix checked again and it had shortened a little bit more- 2.9 and 2.5 when I bear down. She told me these next 3 weeks are imperative that I rest as much as possible that I can for sure make it past 34 weeks. I'm very aware of the contractions that are happening if I am up too much. Adam has been super supportive of me resting and he has taken over pretty much every job around here. I do what I can, but that's not too much! I remember when moms of twins warned me about the last few months being difficult, and now I understand! What a huge physical job to undertake! I'm so worn out but, grateful for each day they are in my belly. I don't want to wish away my alone time with my sweet Graham, but I'm getting more and more ready to meet these TWO babies!!!

What is my son wearing, you may ask?!

Well, according to Graham, he is wearing a "helmet". (Please don't tell him its a red, satin headband of his mothers.) He loves to ride his "motorcycle" around the house and he MUST have on his helmet to be safe. =) Cracks me up...

You might also be wondering what happened to my baby's curls? Well, the lady who was supposed to do a little "trim" decided a big boy haircut was what he needed. I think he looks cute but there was a grandma that wasn't too happy about it! =) Good thing they will grow back! I love his curls.