Fun with Aunt Terri

Aidan spent the morning with Aunt Terri... I'm told they had a great time playing outside, including a walk to the nearby playground (Aidan's favorite!). I'm also told that Aidan made a new best friend -- Lightning, one of Aunt Terri's cats.

In the afternoon, Aunt Terri joined Mommy and Aidan (and some of the moms and kids from playgroup) at the Webster spray park. Aidan had fun, but was clearly exhausted (who wouldn't be after all that fun with Aunt Terri?) so we didn't stay long.

Update on our girls....

We had another routine ultrasound this morning to check on the girls.

Both babies look great, growing just like they should be. I am 21 weeks, 3 days pregnant today, and Baby A measured 21w5d, while Baby B measured 21w6d. We are so happy that the babies are growing like they should be (and even more so than "average"-sized twins!).

In the past few ultrasounds, Baby A has been our calm, relaxed baby and Baby B was the crazy little monkey. Today, it seemed like they decided to reverse roles. Baby A was kicking all over the place (and boy, did I feel it!). I don't think she liked the pressure being put on my abdomen (and her!) so she tried to kick it away. Her heart rate was a strong 148 beats per minute and she is still laying low in my uterus. She's currently in a vertex (head on one side of my belly, feet at the other) position, but that could change at any time. They're still small enough that they can pretty much do somersaults whenever they want to. Baby A weighed 15 ounces, which is just a half an ounce shy of what her big brother Michael weighed when he was born. Amazing.

Baby B is also doing very well, although today she decided she wanted to take a nap during the ultrasound. Silly girl. Her heart rate was a strong 143 beats per minute (very close to what her sister's was) and she was laying almost right on top of her sister - so a little lower in my uterus than she was last time. Her feet are up in my ribs (and, yes, she does love to kick me there). We got to see a pretty good shot of her profile on ultrasound, and (not that I'm biased), but she's pretty darned cute! Baby B also weighs 15 ounces. So as of today, I'm carrying just about two pounds of baby. Wow.

We also had a routine OB visit with the perinatologist, who I love. She was so excited to hear that we're having two girls - she even suggested names for us. She said Baby A should be Abigail and Baby B sould be Beth (see... first initial A and B). Sorry, Dr. Howitt, I can honestly say, those AREN'T the names we've chosen! =)

Things continue to look good for the pregnancy. I'm up to a 12 pound weight gain, which the doctor said is just fine. She warned me that we're in the "danger" part of a twin pregnancy - twenty to twenty-four weeks. She said this is when it's most common to go into premature labor so she advised me to call her if ANYTHING strange happens (whether it's just ONE contraction or my water breaks or if I just feel "funny.") Once we get to twenty-four weeks, we reach the point of viability outside the womb, so even though it would still be VERY scary for the girls to be born that early, they would have a good chance for survival. If you ask me, I intend to cook them for a LOT longer than 24 weeks. I'm thinking something closer to 36, 37, or 38 weeks sounds good to me!

We are scheduled for another ultrasound (and another appointment, this time with one of the midwives) for two weeks from today.

Gundrum/Burns/Ramos Family Picnic

"I miss my Aidan..."

Aidan spent the afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Ramos today, giving Mommy and Daddy some time to get housework and yardwork done. We even managed to start on Aidan's "big boy" room, which should be finished by the end of August. Noah spent the afternoon being sad and missing his baby brother...

Niagara Falls

We spent the afternoon in Niagara Falls, New York today with Grandma and Grandpa Ramos, as well as Great Aunt Peggy, Jason, Cara, Natalee, and Lucas. Aidan loved the mist coming off of the falls - he giggled every time he got wet!

Afternoon at the zoo

We spent the afternoon at the zoo with Grandma Ramos, and Great Aunt Peggy, Jason, Cara, Lucas, and Natalee, who are visiting from Wisconsin. Aidan had a great time looking at all of the animals (and making the appropriate noises) as well as running around (and laughing as his Mommy waddled around behind him). He also enjoyed riding with Grandma on her scooter.

Playgroup at Toni's...

We had a great time with friends from playgroup today. Toni's mother- and father-in-law graciously opened up their backyard (with a very nice inground pool as well as two baby pools) to us. We had a ball -- Aidan enjoyed swimming in both the baby pool and the "big boy" pool with Mommy. He also decided to get a little "frisky" with little Julia - he lifted her bikini top and peeked underneath! Julia's mommy says that Aidan needs to have a talk with his Daddy about that! *wink*

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

Playing soccer with Noah...

The Belly

Yesterday marked twenty weeks into this pregnancy. So far, I feel great (if you don't the constant exhaustion). I was talking to a friend who is due (with a singleton, also a girl) just two days before me and I asked her how she was feeling. She said she felt great, now that she was into her second trimester. She said she's not looking forward to that point in pregnancy when she's "so big you can't move." It's funny that she said that because I feel like I'm slowly inching my way towards that point. And, we're hoping for me to be pregnant for at least seventeen more weeks!

I was comparing my latest 'belly shot' against the ones we took when I was pregnant with Aidan. Alex said I look like I did when I was full term with Aidan... I didn't believe him until I looked at the pictures. And now I kind of agree. I certainly feel like I'm lugging around a 20lb bowling ball (even though I've only gained six pounds to date). To be completely honest... I'm a little nervous to see what my belly looks like (and carry it around!) in the next couple of months!

Aidan is Nineteen Months Old

Aidan turned nineteen months old today.

People keep commenting to me that he is suddenly a kid instead of a baby, and it does seems that way most of the time. He communicates really well and has so many likes and dislikes and ways of doing things that are all his own. Although, I have to admit, he still sometimes seems little and babyish to me, especially when I cuddle with him before bed or gently wake him from a sleep in the car. He loves to do animal noises and we often play "name the animal noise" in the car when he gets fussy.

He says "Thank You" all the time in his sweet little voice - it sounds a lot like "Gank Gu". He gives the best hugs and kisses and there is always plenty to go around. He associates certain people with each other (such as Grandma with Grandpa, Uncle Corey with Hannah, and Mommy with Daddy). For instance, whenever he sees a picture of Hannah, he'll say "Hannah" and immediately follow it up with "Corey!" It's really quite adorable.

His favorite things to do are eat (raisins, string cheese, and goldfish are his current favorites), play in the backyard or at the playground, read books (by himself or with us), watch TV (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite show), and dance to music.

I think he's excited to become a big brother, although I know he'll be in for a shock. He still loves to kiss my belly and say the babies' names (still a secret! And... we're pretty sure Aidan's not sharing!). He loves to watch the young babies in our playgroup and always becomes concerned when one of them starts crying. He also loves to help me with his diaper changes by bringing me a wipe or a diaper when I ask him for one. I'm sure he'll be a big help when the girls arrive.

Happy birthday to my sweet baby boy. I love you.

Fun at Gymboree

Aidan and I joined twelve other mommies and thirteen babies from our playgroup today at Gymboree. Our playgroup "rented" out the Gymboree "gym" and we just let the kids have at it!

Aidan had a blast and it was great for me, too, because everything is safely padded. Aidan especially enjoyed all of the climbing he was able to do.

Now, if only I could talk Alex into building a "Gymboree Room" in our house... hmmm.... =)

TWO Girls!!!

We had another routine ultrasound this morning to check on the twins. We were looking forward to finding out the sex of Baby B, seeing as how he/she refused to share "the goods" with us last time.

Both babies look great, growing just like they should be. I am 19 weeks, 4 days pregnant today, and Baby A measured 19w6d, while Baby B measured 20w0d. This is fantastic, seeing as how twins tend to measure on the small side. Not my kids! =)

Baby A - who is STILL a girl (yes, we checked!) weighs 10 oz and is our calm, relaxed, mellow baby. Her heart rate was a nice 146 beats per minute and she seems to kind of "go with the flow." She is laying low in my uterus (closer to the cervix, hence the reason for the name "Baby A".)

Baby B - who was more than happy to share her GIRL parts with us today - weighs 11 oz and is our crazy, active, Aidan-like baby. Her heart rate was a strong 168 beats per minute (because of her rapid and crazy movements). She is higher in my uterus, a little bit above my belly button. She also seems to like beating up her sister - we witnessed it this morning. She kicked and punched her sister while Baby A covered her face with her hands!

We are now on an every two week ultrasound schedule, so we're looking forward to seeing the girls again soon!

Wilderness Fun

We just got back from a week long camping trip in the Adirondacks. We had a great time and enjoyed the company of Grandma and Grandpa May, Uncle Corey and Hannah for the second half of our trip.

One of Aidan's favorite parts of the trip was coming across a black bear, about thirty feet from us. After we saw it, he kept shouting (and looking for) "Brown Bear, Brown Bear!" (This is the title of his very favorite book, written by Eric Carle. Grandma even took him on a "bear hunt," which he enjoyed tremendously.

Aidan also enjoyed the freedom that we allowed him to have while we camped. He would walk from our campsite to Grandma and Grandpa's and then to Uncle Corey's and Hannah's. He loved to "hike" through the woods on his own and even became pretty proficient at hiking over rocks and tree roots.

We're looking forward to our camping trip next summer, when we'll have two more babies with us!