Top 10

Top 10 Reasons These Babies Need to Come NOW!!!

1. My stretch marks have stretch marks. I feel like my skin can't stretch anymore and is going to rip open any minute!

2. When I look down, my boobs actually look small because my belly is so big. For once in my life, I feel like a small chested woman and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

3. My toes look like little smokies and my fingers look like hot dogs. Swelling is awesome!

4. My belly is measuring 43 weeks. Enough said.

5. No one looks at my face anymore. For some reason, my big pregnant belly is more interesting to stare at.

6. My belly is like an anchor. When laying on my side, it keeps me on my side unless I physically help my belly move to another position. These babies are getting heavy!

7. When I sit down, my boobs rest on my belly and my belly rests on my lap. Sigh...I feel like a snowman!

8. My kids are pointing out the obvious...I waddle. Yes, I have the big pregnant lady waddle. As a matter of fact, every time I start walking the only thing I think in my head is "Waddle, Waddle, Waddle"!

9. I can't wait to touch my toes again. It's such a simple thing, but I can't wait!

10. I also can't wait to hold my babies and see their little faces. I'm scared about having two babies at once, but like someone told me before, it's twice the blessings. These babies are Heavenly Father's children too and He wouldn't send them if He knew I couldn't handle it.

This is going to be such a challenge, but I'm really excited. I never in my lifetime thought I would be having twins and throughout my pregnancy I have learned so many things and have grown as a person. I am forever grateful for everyone who has helped me so far and is willing to help even more once the babies are born!

July

July is over! I can't believe it's August already. Unfortunately our summer hasn't been packed full of adventures, but we have made it fun! Of course I had to save all of my energy for the 4th of July because it's not summer without the 4th!


We went to the I.F. parade and scored with the candy. It felt like Halloween! The kids loved the all of the military floats and of course, the horses.


Natalie loved the parade too!


Then we went to Teton Village and rode the Tram up to the top of the mountain. On the way up when we went over the tower supports, the Tram tipped and my kids panicked! I could feel Hallie's heart about to beat out of her chest! It was actually pretty funny.


Once we got up there it was much better. Asher and Hallie took turns with the viewfinder and were completely amazed at the mountains.


The view was amazing. On one side you could see the entire Jackson valley and it was gorgeous! If you look the other way you could see the entire mountain range. It was one of those places where you feel so small!


Me and my kids. I love how Asher is using my pregnant belly as a pillow!


Then it was time to go so we could get back for the fireworks! And they were amazing.


And of course it's not summer unless you play in the water! This year has been a lot of fun watching Natalie figure things out and interacting with Asher and Hallie outside.


Natalie could splash all of the water out of the pool if I let her! She is definitely a water baby!


They grow up so fast!

Summer is Here!

The other day Asher and Hallie were playing outside and they left the screen door open. I heard Natalie slip outside so I went to get her. This is what I found:

She ran through the sprinkler! She thought it was the funnest thing ever!


Then Natalie started chasing Asher and Hallie through the sprinkler.


Pretty soon all of them were soaking wet, but having such a good time!

West Yelllowstone

We went on our first weekend vacation this year to Yellowstone! It was kinda cold, but at least there wasn't a million people. It was nice to be able to find close parking spots.

Natalie was amazed by everything! It was so cute to watch her point and stare and things.

We had to stop to see the upper and lower falls on the overlooks. There was no hiking this time, but it was still fun. There is just no way me and my pregnant belly could make it!

Standing at the top of the canyon makes me feel so small! My kids were amazed by it.

And as always, Natalie was being a Daddy's girl!

Hallie's Birthday

Hallie is now 6!! That's kinda crazy to me. We had a fun day with her on her birthday. We took her to Leo's for dinner and she loved it. Later that night we did the usual cake and ice cream and gifts. I just can't believe how fast this past year flew by!

On Saturday we had a jungle party for Hallie with our family. It was so much fun!

Hallie got to open a ton of fun gifts, most of them outdoor toys that she can enjoy all summer long!

And Natalie made a new best friend! Happy Birthday to Hallie. She has filled our lives with so much happiness and love.

Can't Wait!

My life has been pretty boring lately. It's just the same old stuff everyday and I can't wait for school to get out so we can get out of our everyday routine and be more spontaneous!
And I can't wait for our summer vacations. All of them will be the first few weeks of June because I'm not sure how I will feel later on, so the rest of our summer will be hanging out, playing in our back yard. I'm so happy that we got a nice swing set last year instead of waiting for this year! Now I need to invest in some water toys to keep my kids busy.
I also can't wait for these babies to be born. I'm 25 weeks today (6 months) and I feel like I'm full term. I'm not sure how my belly can keep growing, but I know it will! I'm assuming that they will be born in about 10-12 weeks, which will put me at 35-37 weeks. Time is flying by!

Silly Notes

Hallie wrote a note to Asher and taped it on her door. It was the cutest thing!

TRANSLATION:

I have a brother named Asher. He is a good brother. I like him. He is nice and I like him to be my brother because he is my brother.

Kids are so sweet!

The Babies

I'm pregnant ...with twins! I still can't believe it. This last week has been a bit emotional for me. First of all, there's the shock factor of not one, but two babies! Then the shock wore off and all I wanted to do was cry.
This was a risky pregnancy to begin with and adding a second baby just added complications to an already complicated pregnancy. Dr. Belfort summed it up nicely by saying, "Not only do you come back pregnant, but you come back pregnant with twins? What are you trying to do to me?!". He was joking of course, but I could tell he was concerned. I'm worried about all the possibilities of what could go wrong and scared about getting a c-section. My deliveries are great and sooo easy, I just don't like the idea of being cut open!
I like to do things by myself, my way, my schedule. The realization that I'm going to need help (especially if I have a c-section) made me feel a bit defeated. Okay, a lot defeated! I finally got to where I wasn't going to cry if someone said "twins", so that was a good day!
When I was pregnant with Natalie, I knew our family wasn't complete. Even though there were quite a few scares, I knew she wasn't the last one, but I knew it was logical for only one more pregnancy. Yesterday I went to see Dr. Belfort again and saw those two precious babies on the ultrasound monitor. I felt so much love and excitement for them even though they are still so tiny and I don't even know them. I know they are suppose to be a part of our family and while I'm scared to death, I'm also so excited for them to be born!
This will be a very long pregnancy. I have to see Dr. Belfort weekly and my doctor has decided he wants to see me every 2 weeks. I'm only 19 weeks and expected to basically be on bed rest any time from 28-32 weeks and deliver anywhere from 34-37 weeks. And with twins, I can't go more than about one hour away from town the last 3 months of the pregnancy because the risk of preterm labor is so high.
That means I have about 10 more weeks to get everything ready for the babies, rearrange things so two babies will fit in our house, get my living room painted, go on all of our summer vacations, and get school clothes for next year for Asher and Hallie and anything else that comes up. I'm not overwhelmed at all...ha ha!

What We Have Been Up To

It has been awhile since I have updated, so here are the latest things in our lives:

Natalie has turned into our new Tornado. She is always into everything making messes where ever she goes. Thank goodness Hallie no longer qualifies as a Tornado or we would be in trouble!


Natalie turned one. I can't believe it! It seems like it was just yesterday when I was spending all that time waiting in doctor's offices hoping for a healthy baby! She is so much fun to have in our family.

We had a great Halloween. Asher was an awesome ninja, Natalie was a cute little frog, and Hallie was a beautiful Egyptian.


Asher and Hallie were so excited for the new snow! And that slide is so fast with snow on it. I'm glad we didn't have any broken bones!


Asher turned 7 and was totally spoiled by everyone. I can't believe he is old enough for Senior Primary. When I saw him with the big kids in primary I almost cried! He is such a blessing in our lives and I could not imagine my life without him.


We had a really great Christmas!


Natalie was so much fun this year.


The kids enjoyed every minute of Christmas.


Did I mention how much fun it was?

It was also a very long morning!


Asher and Hallie are both doing very well in school this year. Asher loves learning and reading. We bought him a work book for Christmas and I actually have to threaten to take it away at night because he won't go to sleep because his work book is too much fun. He's kind of a nerd! At least he's dedicated to education! He told me he wants to be a business man (like Mark) or a scientist when he gets older.


Natalie is now walking, causing even more trouble and more Tornado messes. She has recently started to run. Now we have speedy Tornadoes throughout the house!


Hallie did the Mini Cheer Camp with Skyline High School. They were able to perform at a Skyline Varstiy Basketball game. She was way cute.


And she LOVED her face paint!

Summer Is Over

Summer is long gone and school has begun. I'm starting to fall into a nice schedule (finally!) but I seem to find my days flying by. This summer was busy so I never posted, but now things have slowed down a little bit. One of the highlights of the summer was definitely Hallie and Asher's first time riding a horse. I stayed home with Natalie and Mark took them riding. Now Hallie wants to buy some property and adopt a mustang. Then she can be a true cowgirl! I took the training wheels off this summer too and made my kids suck it up and ride. I should have done that last year because bikes are so much funner without training wheels.

We also went to Seven Peaks again this year and it was awesome! Natalie loved splashing in the water and I wasn't preggo so I could go on the slides. I took Asher on the toilet bowl slide and he freaked out! He was in front and turned around and tried to climb back by me so we tipped and lost our tube. Looking back, it was actually pretty funny but at the time it was kinda embarrassing.

Asher is in first grade this year and he loves math and science. But he mostly talks about what he ate for lunch and who he played with at recess. Hallie is in kindergarten and she has made some fun friends. She only likes school for the social aspect. I am helping out in both of their classes this year so it will be good to get to see how they act in school and who their friends are. Last year everything was too unpredictable to be able to volunteer, so I'm happy to have the chance. Natalie is scooting around on her butt, however, she won't crawl! It is strange to me because Asher and Hallie were trying to walk at her age. She talks so much. She will always say hi to Mark, Asher, Hallie, Bo, Meg, but not me. Natalie will be a talker just like Mark. She already has about 5-6 words in her vocabulary, so I'm excited. And she will be turning one next month, so that exciting too!