Giggle :)

We heard Carlie giggle for the first time tonight! She has been so close for the past few days, we've been on high alert trying to get her to let it out. We tried to video tape her doing it, but as usual with kids, as soon as the camera came out, she was quiet!  In all honesty, I'm surprised at how happy the girls have been lately.  Dale had to call in to work to take them to the doctor on Tuesday.  Both girls have fluid behind their right ears, they are starting to teeth, their not eating, nasty diapers and snotty noses.  It is amazing that they are smiling and I still have hair!

We have been busy little bees around here, especially Dale.  He has worked so hard making our yard kid and summer friendly.  He removed rock from around the deck to add to our limited grass space, replaced the mulch around the front of the house with rock and with Chad's help sanded and stained the deck. We received a swing set frame with two swings on it from someone Mom knows.  The yard looks great. We love it outside.  Connor really enjoys eating dinner outside and we have had to convince him that it is to cold to sit outside lately.

It sure was bright on Easter Sunday!

Shopping on the Block

I went shopping at the neighbors tonight.  She has triplet daughters and is getting ready so sell her stuff in the semi-annual twin sale.  She gave me first dibs and I think I bought just about everything.  There is a great bonus in other people loving to shop, you get to buy their "might as well be brand new" clothes for dirt cheap.  Needless to say, my girls will be in matching outfits, at half the cost!!  I need to remember to not buy clothes for them, unless their ridiculously cute! :)

So I'm a little frustrated because I can't get the text to match up to the pictures for some reason, so here's a few pics from the last month. I've been trying to fix this for the past few days and figure by the time I get it correct and posted the girls might be in highschool so here they are. Have a great day.

Connor's first snow angel! He loved playing in the snow, it was a shame to make him come inside, but his face was so red from the cold.

Connor, Cassie and Carlie hanging out a few weeks ago.  I love the skirts that Aunt Kelly found for the girls.  The grandpa shirts match perfectly. I so love dressing the girls super girly!!

The girls in the beloved Swaddle me Blankets. They sleep so well in them.  We are very blessed to have 10 week old twins who sleep 6 to 8 hours at a time during the night.  Trust me, I know how fortunate I am.  We thank God all the time for our good babies.

Cassie and Carlie meeting Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Steffen and Connor trying his first black jelly bean.

Connor loved going to the St. Patrick's Day parade with Addi and Erin and meeting the rest of his cousins there. I love that we all live in the same area and have opportunities to see each other at least a couple of times every year. Meeting Spiderman was the best part of the St. Patrick's Day parade. I wish you could see how much he froze up when Spiderman "hugged" him. He was so funny. Connor has continued to ask me why Spiderman was at the parade.  I guess he thinks he should be out doing something else.

Hello Again!!

Hello everyone! I know I've been away for quite sometime, but I finally have a good reason for not posting anything new!! The girls are doing great. They are sleeping alot and eating every three hours, except at night, when they will go 4-5 hours. We had to start formula before leaving the hospital so I think that is why they are sleeping more than what Connor did. I was hoping to nurse them longer than I was able, but my body just couldn't keep up. Connor is such a good big brother, he loves them so much. He has only gotten frustrated with them a couple of times, on e being when Carlie wouldn't keep the pacifier in her mouth that he was helping her with. He got a little upset when she spit it out after he had put it in her mouth for the third time. In other exciting news, Dale is now on day shift. It is a true miracle from God that I can not express the gratitude, relief and joy I have for him being home in the middle of the night. We have been together for over 13 years and never worked the same shift! We purchased a king-sized bed today since we are going to be sharing a bed again. Our bed was a little to soft and worn out for Dale's back and we are both use to sleeping by ourselves, therefore a new huge bed will be wonderful. I hope to be better at posting pictures, but no guarantees!! Take care all!!!!

The pictures are in reverse order, sorry.



Connor trying to give Cassie her paci back. He was suppose to be eating dinner, but his crying sissy was the perfect excuse to get down from the table. How could I scold him!

My attempt to get a sweet picture for the birth announcements. I still haven't accomplished that task!!

Connor loving on his sissy while watching afternoon cartoons. He is head over heels for them both and loves to cuddle. He is such a great big brother, I love it!!

Dale finally holding his girls!!!

Connor meeting and holding his sisters for the first time.

I feel so much better!!! Look at my beautiful little girls, totally worth the wait!!

Our first "Family of Five" picture. So many people were taking pictures, we didn't know who to look at all at the same time.

7 Days and Counting

After seeing my OB Dr. twice this week,with the hopes that membrane stripping might start contractions, it has been decided that I will be induced on Jan 7th if I don't deliver on my own before then. It is nice to know that there is a definite end in sight, I'm getting very worn out. I would have never believed 6+ weeks ago, I would still be pregnant. I think my doctor is pretty surprised to. I just pray the next few days go rather quickly!

37 Week OB Update

I had my thirty seven week OB check up today. I'm now dilated to four, but the first baby is still pretty high up in my pelvis. I would love to disagree with the doctor considering I feel so different. The Dr did membrane stripping on Sunday morning and so far no luck with that jump starting contractions. We are going back on Wednesday afternoon to have that done again, hopefully it will work.

I'm hoping that the babies with be born either during the day on the 30th or sometime on the 31st, that's when my doctor is on call. The other doctor that will be taking care of me any other time this week, is one to jump to c-sections pretty quickly from my understanding. With both the babies being head down, I really want to try to have them naturally, and my doctor agrees strongly.

I've been feeling kind of bad this evening so maybe something is in the works or I'm just paying for being to active today by cleaning the kitchen and "trying" to find a spot for the millions of Christmas presents Connor received. It's good to be a kid with four sets of grandparents!! I don't think he has time to even enjoy one particular toy to long, he has so many to play with, it's very distracting!!

Maybe my next post will be one with new baby pictures!?! :)

When????

When are these babies going to come? For weeks I prayed they wouldn't be born and now for weeks I've prayed for them to come!! I had to go to the hospital yesterday to be check out because I was having a lot of pelvic pressure. I found out I was dilated 2-3, but nothing happened. The babies still look really good on the monitor and don't seem to be to anxious to meet anyone.

The Dr can't officially induce me til next week, which will make me 38 weeks. I never thought I would be pregnant this long at all. I was hoping to make it to 35 weeks with 5 lb babies. The babies should be pretty close to 6 1/2 lbs now.

I have an appointment this afternoon, but I'm hoping I'll start having contractions before that.

I hope everyone has a great week!

35 Weeks

I had my 35 week update yesterday and found out that the babies are doing great! We had a biophysical profile ultrasound done to make sure that there is enough amniotic fluid around the babies and that they are active. I didn't need an ultrasound to know that they were plenty active. The Dr did say that she's never seen a set of twins grow and develop at the same rate as our twins are. They have been spot on with each other the entire time, I hope they share this well the rest of their lives!!

I'm dilated one and she said that I'm not really showing to many signs that I'll be going into labor in the near future. It wouldn't break my heart if that changed:).

We moved Connor's seat to the back seat and installed the girls car seats yesterday so that it doesn't happen after the girls get here. Dale and I were both a little concerned he might throw a fit, but just the opposite. I think he feels like such a big boy and super cool getting to sit all the way in the back. I'm pretty sure he is getting anxious for the babies to get here as well. He kept talking about putting the babies in the car seats and at 6:30 this morning he was in the babies room looking for them. I hope he wants them around just as much when they really are here.

34 Week Appt and Connor Update

After seeing the Dr for my 34th week check up she informed me that I should stay pregnant as long as possible. The longer I'm pregnant the better the chance that the babies will get to come home with us right away. I'm measuring like I'm 42 weeks along. The belly truly does get bigger each and every day. I'll have another appointment with an ultrasound on Monday. It will be interesting to see how big they are by then.

I've been feeling pretty good other than at night. I feel like I'm in a constant contraction while lying in bed. That makes for a very long night, but thankfully I'm able to nap during the day. I think God is just preparing me for only getting two hours of sleep at a time. Let's just pray that I at least get that much.

Connor is battling another ear infection, but I won't complain to much about that since poor Drew has had it much worse lately! He has been waking up earlier and earlier every morning. This morning I woke up at 5:30 to him screaming for his Daddy, who was at work, behind a closed bedroom door. God only knows how long he'd been up.

I'm looking for advice on the whole potty training bit. Connor has been doing excellent at peeing on the potty, even started standing up at the toilet this week. We've only been successful 2-3 times at number 2. He seems to have his accidents at school mostly, I think because we are able to catch him since we can keep a better eye on him. I know he knows that he should use the potty, because he hides when he is doing it. He never hid while wearing a diaper, this is a new trait. At school today, he went pee on the potty and then proceeded to have an accident almost immediately, followed by another one later on. He knows he gets a special candy when he poops, but he just doesn't seem to care at all. We usually let him watch some cartoons after school and he didn't get to watch any tonight, due to the accidents. TV is a big deal to Connor so I'm hoping this will be the motivation he needs, but does anyone have any advice?

Have a great week!!

My Little American

I'm so proud of Connor, even if my little American is in his underwear! I had no idea that he really knew this until a few days ago. Tonight he recited it perfectly, and I can't believe that he did again so I could video him. I have no idea what volcano/football game he is talking about.

OB Update

I had my 33 week OB update yesterday. Everything went really well. We had an ultrasound to see how big the babies have grown. They are measuring 4lbs, 8oz each. I can't believe how close they have been in size the entire time. The ultrasound tech told us that the babies will gain about 6-7oz per week from here on out. I'm so surprised to know that I'm carrying around about 9lbs worth of baby! The Dr said I'm measuring (the size of my uterus) about 1 week over due.

After having such a good week, on bed rest, I had a terrible night. I had several contractions last night. I really thought that we were on the upside of having to be on bed rest, but last night was a reminder that I need to stay in bed. I really hope that I'm able to hold on for a couple of more weeks. The Dr says that I need to make it to 34 weeks, but I would much rather make it to 35 weeks. I know my babies will be small, but at least 5 lbs would be good. Connor was so small and he was 7lbs 9 oz, I can't even begin to picture what the girls would look like at 5lbs each.

I hope my week goes by fast and is very boring, I hope everyone has a great week!!

BED REST :(

Bed rest is driving me crazy. I'm feeling pretty good, only a few contractions each day as long as I stay in bed or in the recliner. I get reminded pretty quickly if I get up to fix myself lunch or to take a shower. The belly is getting bigger and heavier by the day and I can feel it.

Connor is having a hard time understanding why his life has no routine to it. He is amazingly sweet and frequently tells me to get better and that it will be o.k. This morning as he was leaving for daycare he told me to "have a good day with you babies twins". He wants me to play with him so bad, but does pretty well when I tell him that I can't. We've been cuddling watching to much TV, but it's my only time with him, other than books.

I'm looking very forward to Thanksgiving. The Dr has approved me to go to one dinner as long I stay on the couch wherever I go. It will be so nice to be out in "public". Staying home is great, until your forced to do it.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Hospital Stay

I started having contractions off and on on Monday and they got progressively worse by Wednesday, which led me to calling the Dr's office. They sent me to the hospital to be monitored and I am now spending my second night in the hospital. I received a shot to help stop contractions, which slowed them down and a shot of steroids to help the babies lungs develop in case we can't get the contractions to stop. I have had so much IV fluids in the last 24 hours, I've never been so hydrated!!

I'm now waiting for my second steroid shot and to see how well I do overnight. The Dr has said that if the contractions get better I can go home on bed rest. If the contractions get worse or more frequent she will be sending me to Carle Hospital in Campaign. DMH doesn't have a NICU that is prepared to take care of babies at 31 weeks.

I hope that this evening/night goes as well as today has. I'm feeling much better about the whole situation. The next 2 1/2 weeks are going to be very long. The Dr has said that it is imperative I try to make it to at least 34 weeks. I just pray that I can handle being on bed rest with a rambunctious 3 year old at home. I want to play with him so badly. Staying in the hospital as a mommy is much worse than a stay with no kids. I miss Connor terribly and I miss being able to take care of him.

"My Belly Hurts"

I was given a spontaneous Wednesday off due to Connor waking up last night saying his belly hurt. I assumed it was because he's potty training and not real sure how to take care of number 2. After sitting on the potty at 1:30, with no luck, I discovered why his belly truly hurt. Needless to say I was up the next 2 hours cleaning and reading way to much into every sound he made.

The good news is he hasn't been sick again, yet! I've been sitting on the couch lost in Facebook world while he has been taking an extra long nap. I hope this "bug" is gone soon and doesn't get passed off to me or Dale.

Today has been such a great day! Connor has been spending his evenings in big boy underwear, without success at making it to the potty. When I picked him up from daycare, one of his teachers told me that he went pee on the potty. Like any mother, I went crazy. I screamed, hugged, high-fived him and clapped. Being surrounded by several two year olds, I'm sure this was quite a sight.

I hope he has alot of success this weekend. We don't have many plans, so hopefully we will get a better grasp on this whole potty thing.

Dale and I are going to Micah's football game tonight. I'm so excited. It's going to be cold, but I can't wait to see a good high school football game!

As far as an update on the babies, everything is going great. I'm measuring 33 weeks as of last Thursday (I'll be 28 weeks on Sunday) and passed my glucose screening! Thank God! I felt pretty miserable on Sunday night (no sleep) and all day Monday. I did get a quick ultrasound and found out that both babies are head down. I'm pretty sure that's why I felt so bad.

I'm starting to get uncomfortable with the size of my belly. It is really starting to get in the way and I'm very nervous since I'm just now entering my third trimester. I hope the girls can pack on the pounds with out destroying my body to much!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

4D is amazing!!!!

I just thought I would share the most recent pics of our beautiful baby girls. The first 4D is of baby A (on my left) and the second is baby B (on my right). The tech had a hard time getting great pictures, because neither girl would cooperate. They both kept moving and turning there head to face my spine. I still think the pictures are amazing, I was never able to get a 4D ultrasound with Connor!! As nervous as I am for them to arrive, I can't wait to meet them and snuggle!! Seeing faces makes them so much more real!!

We had a great and wonderful weekend. Sorry for the long post, but we did so much!!!

On Friday, I had my 20 week OB check up appointment. We had an ultrasound and both babies look healthy and happy. The ultrasound tech did have a little bit of a hard time distinguishing them between Baby A and Baby B, because they were moving so much. Baby A is labeled as to which one is closest to the cervix and they had nearly switched spots by the time she was done measuring them. They each weigh approx. 10 oz. I'm measuring like I'm 24 weeks pregnant, so about 4 weeks larger than a singleton pregnancy. I thankfully didn't have to much to speak with the doctor about since I'm feeling so much better. Nexium, the purple pill, is a miracle drug. I wish I would have had it when I was pregnant with Connor. Dr. Byrkit said everything is going great and I just "need to keep growing". She said I'll probably only make it to about 35-37 weeks. I'm already past the half way point!! So much to do, so little time. I'll go back in 4 weeks and have another ultrasound to make sure they are growing at the same rate.


After getting to see our girls, Dale and I went to dinner at Pastabilities. Dad and Robyn had Connor for the evening! I ate like a pregnant women. I cleaned every plate they brought us. I'm glad we were hidden in our own little corner of the restaurant!

After dinner we went to Kohl's for a little shopping. I'm super excited because they had a pair of maternity jeans in petite sizes. I was so excited and I kept telling Dale!!! I'll be getting online to shop for some more! After finding a pair of jeans, we stopped by the baby clothes! Big mistake. I hit the 80% off rack in the girls section and went to town. Dale stood by patiently while I got lost in my shopping induced high. It is so fun to shop for girls, especially on the clearance rack!!
We were able to get quite a few matching outfits for next summer. Dad and Robyn brought a very hyper Connor home and it took us a while to get him settled for bed.


Saturday morning Mom, Connor and I hit a few garage sales. I came home with quite a bit of clothes, considering we only hit three sales. I definitely capitalized on another woman's shopping addiction. I always complained about not finding boys clothes at garage sales and I'm now convinced they really are harder on the clothes. We also went to see Grandma Wingard and Uncle Bobby at lunch time. Saturday night was just Connor and I hanging out at home while Dale went to an overtime job.

Sunday was just as busy! After church, we went to lunch with Dad, Robyn and Erica. Connor kept asking for ice cream with lunch, I hate printed coasters!! I told him we would get some ice cream later if he tried a bit of shrimp and crab. He refused to eat the crab after it hit his tongue and he choked the shrimp down, while I kept asking him if he wanted ice cream. Poor kid, but he needs to try new foods and maybe someday he'll eat like his mommy!

After lunch we went shopping for a mattress for Connor's new bedroom and ended up at DQ for an ice cream cone. I kept my promise!!

My most productive time of the entire weekend came on Sunday afternoon. We Dale woke up we emptied our walk in closet and put it back organized!!! I could probably sleep in there tonight, just because it makes me feel so good. It was becoming a dumping ground and now it is all organized and happy!! I do have to add that it is a little depressing looking at all the clothes I won't be wearing, since my belly is growing by the minute!!

So there's our weekend. I hope everyone had a great weekend and has an equally great week!!

Dale and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary today. We are just hanging at home after going to church this morning and coming home for naps. My mom is taking Connor to her house while we have dinner and relax. I love you Dale!!

My favorite part of the day was when Connor woke up from his nap and was still pretty sleepy and crawled on my lap and fell right back to sleep. He is always full of energy and can barely hold still long enough to give me a hug. I soaked up all 15 min of him sleeping with his head on my shoulder. I have a pretty good feeling that it won't happen again for a very long time, if ever. Holding a sleeping baby is one of the greatest thing in the world!!!

Pink & Pink

Dale and I found out last week that we should expect two baby girls in January. We are so excited. The doctor ordered an early ultrasound because she was unable to find the second heartbeat when we went in for our check up. She said they were probably right on top of each other and that was why she couldn't differentiate the heartbeats. She took a quick peek on the ultrasound, just to make sure. The ultrasound tech told us that we were going to have two girls. I'm still a little skeptical since I've felt like they were boys all along and the ultrasound was so early on. We will get confirmation at the end of August, even thought she said she was positive they were girls.

I'm so thankful for God answering my prayer. Now I will never need to be pregnant again!!!!

Busy Weekend & Happy Birthday

First we want to say Happy Birthday to a very special 2 year old little girl. We had a wonderful time at your birthday party. Thanks for letting us share your day! We love you Addie!!!

We had a very busy July 4th weekend. On Friday Connor and I were able to go swimming at Dad and Robyn's and spend some quality time together. Staying in pj's is one of Connor's favorite things. Friday night we enjoyed a cookout with fireworks. Well I enjoyed the fireworks and cuddling Connor. Connor thinks the're to loud and has to cover his ears the entire time.

Saturday morning we awoke to a very rainy day. So much for the neighborhood parade. We were able to go to a neighbor's house and participate in the cookies and ice cream that was on the agenda. Someone informed the local news that we would be doing a July 4th parade and they came out to tape. Connor has had a lot of publicity in his short 2 years, the newspaper and t.v.!!

Saturday afternoon was spent napping as the rain continued, followed up with a great spaghetti dinner at Mom and Bob's.

On Sunday morning, Dale and Bob participated in a triathlon and we went to cheer them on. Sunday afternoon was Addison's birthday party. The weekend ended with an early bed time, for all of us!!!

I hope everyone's holiday weekend was just as fun as ours.

Dale, Bob and Jim (Bob's friend) all competed in the Rodney Miller Lakeside Triathlon this weekend. I very proud of all of them. A few pics from the event!

This past Thursday I stepped outside to water some plants. I caught a quick glimpse of a rather large snake slithering into some bushes. I went and woke Dale up to try to catch it, but it was gone. Dale mowed today(Monday afternoon) and found this. I told him it was a HUGE snake. I bet he believes me now!!!!

Notice-- I'm not touching it !!!!!!!