{My Life in Pictures}

Decorating pumpkins for Connor's party.

Ironman eating his favorite birthday dinner (PBJ) and reading his new Tag books.

What fun things did our Bubba get??

Wheee Grandpa

The Great Pumpkin Patch
Arthur, IL
October 2010

What a wonderful Saturday!!

Cassie

Carlie

Kids N Fitness Halloween Parade 2010.



KNF Halloween Parade 2010. Connor and Reese were paired to walk together, Cowgirl and Indian, what a match.



My three little Indians.

I'm not so sure Emmy likes this Halloween stuff, but apparently her carseat tastes good.

The best trick-or-treating partners around.

Sorting the loot!!

Circus Fun

Today Connor and I went to the Shriner's Circus. We were invited by Erin, Chad and Addi and we joined up with Chad's sister Heather and her twins, Jackson and Riley. We had so much fun. Connor's favorite part was the tigers. I think Connor really enjoyed eating, he wanted me to buy everything: pretzels, pop, popcorn, candy, cotton candy. I'm really thankful for Heather bring "glow sticks" for all the kids, it saved me $15 and a whole lot of whining  :)  Thanks Uncle Mark for the tickets and thank you to all who shared the day with us!!





Crazy October

We have had such a crazy busy October. I'm not sure what has happened to the month, but it's almost over!!
Here just a quick list of a few things we have done. I will try to post a few pics tomorrow night:)

*Connor's 4th Birthday (and all that involves)
*Living room and Kitchen are finally painted (only took 2 1/2 years to commit to a color!!)
*Pumpkin Patch
*Welcoming Emmy Jane
*Carlie started crawling
*Cassie started standing
*The girls started eating real solid food
*Two Halloween costumes made
*Family Pictures (which means lots of shopping for the right outfits)

And so many more everyday life chores and smiles.

{September 2010}

We spent a beautiful early fall day visiting the Springfield Zoo and having a picnic lunch with Mom and Bob. WE had so much fun.

The very last weekend of September Dale, Connor and I spent the weekend with Dad, Robyn, Chad, AJ and Erica in Chicago. We celebrated Connor's birhtday on Friday night with a cake from Aunt Erica and frozen pizza's. We had to improvise a bit with the candle:)

After having a yummy breakfast on Saturday morning, Connor got to go to his first MLB game. We really enjoyed Wrigley Field even though our beloved Cardinal's didn't play so well.  We decided to leave after the 7th inning stretch and head to Willis Tower, aka Sears Tower. We had to wait in line a bit, but it was well worth it. I couldn't believe that Connor had no fears about being "so high on the mountain". He walked out on the sky deck with no problems, I'm not so sure he really understood that we were really seeing the ground so far below. It was very awesome to be able to see all around you, that high up. Dale and I left on Saturday after the Sears Tower to head home to relieve Mom and Bob from the girls. Dale watched the girls all day on Sunday so I could study for my MRI boards, which I thankfully passed!! Connor got to round out his fun filled weekend with a trip to the Curtis Apple Orchard. It sure took us a few days to recover from this weekend, but it was well worth it! 

6 months old~ Really?!?

Dale and I took the girls for their 6 month well baby visits on Friday.  Has six months already gone by? Where has the time gone? Where are my sweet newborns? Where is my proud NEW big brother? Cassie and Carlie are changing every day and it makes me have so many emotions.  The girls interact more and more each day, they play with toys in new ways everyday. Connor has continued to be such a wonderful big brother, today he so kindly wiped the spit up off of Cassie's face.  Not only did he clean her face but he made sure to wipe it off her shirt as well. I thought it was amazingly sweet and strong of a three year old to do! Lately, I have to remind him that he isn't quite big enough and the girls are still to small for him to carry them.  He is always wanting to get them to smile and laugh at him.  I'm still impressed at how well he has adjusted to having siblings.

Cassie weighs 13lbs, 4 oz and Carlie's weight is 14lbs, 11 oz. The girls are both doing good in height and head circumfrance.  Dr. Patel did mention that Cassie is only in the 8 percentile for her weight and we need to make sure she doesn't keep moving down that chart.  Eat up, little girl!! They are trying to sit up on their own and have tried several foods.  Carrots, green beans, squash, bananas,and applesauce are all on the menu. Apples, green beans, and squash seem to be the favorites of both girls.  A tooth or two shouldn't be to far off, Cassie and Carlie are chewing on everything possible. Cassie would love to crawl, it so funny to see how far she will get just with scooting and rolling.  She's been found off the blanket a number of times.  On friday night she made it from the middle of the living room nearly all the way to the kitchen while Dale and I were fixing tacos:)  We're in trouble when they start crawling!!

As happy as I am that the girls are doing so well and growing up, it makes my heart break just as much.  I wish I could stop time. To constantly live with a baby resting her head on my shoulder, the joys of seeing someone's first bite of bananas, ten seconds of sitting on their own, and the teeny tiny clothes. I will miss all these things and more. I know that as my children get older, new things will make my heart soar and make me want to help them become who they will be.  I know that these are the last, first moments for my children.  Dale is going to that "special" appointment on friday.  Poor guy!  I am happy that our family is complete and healthy, but incredibly sad that we are moving from having kids to raising kids.  I think I will always have room in my heart for "one" more, but we have to stop before we turn into the Dugger family:) 

Well, it's after ten on Saturday night and my bed is calling. Connor believes that waking up at 5:30 on the weekned is an appropriate time to get up.  I couldn't disagree with him more, but it's a little hard to ignore a three year old whose trapped in his room. Good night!

   

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!