Work in progress...

The girls' nursery is coming along nicely... We still have a bit of work to do (their names will be above their cribs and we have some other artwork to display on the walls)...

It is still strange for me to walk in their room and see purple (and pink!). I'd gotten so used to the room being Aidan's... and now to think we'll have two princesses in there soon!

Freakishly Large...

I am thirty weeks, one day pregnant today. The past couple of days I have been getting more and more comments about my (very) large belly. "You look like you're ready to pop!" or "Are you having twins?!?!" (Imagine their surprise when I say, "Actually, yes, I am!") or "My God, you're HUGE!" (Yes, I just love this one...)

Since I haven't been good about taking belly shots with this pregnancy, I decided to take some today... So, enjoy! And, yes, I am very frightened to see what will become of my belly in the next two months (provided the girls wait until the scheduled c-section to be born)...

"I'm cooked."

Today was the annual "fall sale" for the Weepeats consignment sale. I attended the Spring sale earlier this year and found some fantastic deals - in fact, I outfitted Aidan for pretty much the entire summer for $60! I was looking forward to some more great deals this time around -- mostly clothes for the girls, although Aidan needed a couple of things, too.

The sale started at 9am this morning... At the Spring Sale, I got there about five minutes after the sale began and I ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes just to get into the sale! So, today I was a bit smarter and I was in line (to get into the sale) at 8:45am. Thankfully, this time I didn't have to wait.

I found some great deals, including a Boppy Luxe with two extra slipcovers for $8, Stride Rite winter boots for Aidan for $5, two pairs of Robeez (geniune Robeez!) for the girls for $5, and a bunch of clothes, socks, tights, and burp cloths for the girls among other things. I also got Aidan a fun toy (which he was thrilled to get when I got home).

A few of my friends were there and I ended up waiting in line with one of them. Thank God she was there because we waited in line (to check out) for a little less than an hour. She's pregnant, too (due in the end of April), so she was more than happy to hold my things for me (twice!) so I could take a quick potty break. As we neared the front of the line, I just looked at her and said, "I'm cooked." My back hurt, I was having hot flashes, and the girls were just kicking me like crazy, as if to say, "Mom, we're hungry! We're thirsty!"

I had been thinking about shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) if the girls hadn't been born yet. I guess today just reaffirms the fact that I would be crazy (completely loopy!) if I did that... unless maybe I could borrow Grandma Ramos' scooter... =) Yes, I am crazy....

Update on the girls...

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

Both babies look great, although one might consider them heifers, given their weight gain in the past two weeks!

Mommy is doing well, too... I'm up to a 23 pound weight gain (which to me sounds like a lot, but to the midwife sounds "perfect" for where I'm at in this pregnancy). My blood pressure was a nice 110 over 68, which they were also happy with. And my fundal height (height of the uterus) measured 35 cm, which is equal to (a singleton's) 35 weeks pregnant. (Tomorrow will mark week 30 of this pregnancy).

Baby A is still very, very low in my uterus, although she has turned from breech to transverse (her head is on my left side and her feet are on my right side). Her heart rate was a strong 133 beats per minute and she weighed in at a (very) healthy 3 pounds, 8 ounces, which is up one pound and five ounces from two weeks ago! At this rate, if I go full term, she'll weigh more than 8 pounds at birth!

Baby B is also doing very well... she is also very, very low in my uterus (I'm told neither of them will get any higher so I should just get used to the constant pressure on my cervix). She, too, is transverse (her head is also on my left side and her feet are on my right side. Her heart rate was a strong 138 beats per minute and she weighed in at a (very) healthy 3 pounds, 7 ounces (up one pound, one ounce from two weeks ago).

Both girls are now in the 90th percentile for weight (they are measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule, which is very unusual for twins... but not a bad thing!). They don't show any signs of readiness to be born yet (which is also not a bad thing!). The midwife asked me if I was really, really wanting a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) and I said no, it didn't really matter to me. She said that she would highly recommend a repeat c-section seeing as how the girls are both transverse now (and she doesn't think they'll change position any time soon). She said that we could schedule a c-section for sometime around 39 weeks (!) if I haven't gone into labor on my own by that time.

It's hard to believe that these girls will just keep gaining (and gaining and gaining) more weight... As it is right now, I feel an (almost) constant pressure on my cervix. I have moments where it feels like they will just fall out of me -- and I can only imagine what it will feel like once they both hit 6 or 7 lbs each! I've also been having frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions ("practice contractions") but the midwife assures me they're nothing to worry about at this point.

We are scheduled for another ultrasound (and another prenatal appointment) for two weeks from today.

Big Boy Bed

For about the past week or so, Aidan has shown signs of trying to climb out of his crib. We thought it might be a good idea to convert his crib into a toddler bed and see how he did with it...


So far, so good. He loves the freedom it gives him (and he has yet to tear apart his room at bedtime, which is a VERY good thing!)...

My cutie pie (in overalls)...

Boating with Grandpa (and Daddy)...

Grandma's Birthday Surprise

Today is Grandma May's birthday... She and Grandpa are spending the weekend in Alexandria Bay, enjoying one of their last weekends of boating this year.

Aidan, Alex, and I decided to surprise Grandma by driving up to see them this weekend! We will spend a night in a nearby hotel so we can spend all day today and tomorrow with the birthday girl (and Grandpa, of course!).

Today we enjoyed some time at a nearby park - walking on the beach and playing on the playground. Alex, Aidan, and Grandpa also enjoyed a short boat ride.

"Read to me, please..."

Aidan is Twenty One Months Old!

Aidan turned twenty one months old today. It's hard to believe in just three short months, he will no longer be a one-year old!

He continues to grow each and every day (both physically and emotionally/mentally). I love how vocal he's becoming. One of his favorite things to do these days is talk... and unless you are Mommy, Daddy, and (sometimes) Grandma or Grandpa, you'll probably have a hard time understanding him. He LOVES to make up his own vocabulary for things... Here's a few examples:

Airplane = Pa Bop

Noah (our dog) = Baba

Patches and Casper (our cats) = Meow Meow

Chex Mix = Galla Galla

Yogurt = Ogurr

Pacifier (Nuk) = Guk

Baby Einstein = Ine Nine

Daddy = Gaga

Sisters = Shistas

I love you = Wub You

Of course, there are a ton more, but those are some of my favorites (and Aidan's, too).

Aidan continues to enjoy animals (one of his favorite places to visit is the Zoo), food (although he's been very picky lately), and cuddling with Mommy and Daddy. He also likes to kiss his "shistas." But, after kissing them, he immediately covers my belly and says "Bye Bye!" So, I'm not quite sure how he'll handle the two newest additions to our family when they decide to arrive.

He does have a baby doll that he's been "practicing" being a big brother with. Just the other day, he went into one of the kitchen cupboards (without prompting from either Daddy or myself), grabbed a baby bottle and brought it to his "baby" and then proceeded to "feed" the baby a bottle! He also kisses the baby on the forehead and carries it around. I'm confident he'll be a fantastic big brother (and a big help to me!) when his sisters arrive.

Aidan is still a bundle of energy and it sometimes is difficult for me, being so far along with twins!, to keep up with his pace. I often feel guilty, like I'm taking away from quality time with him because I have to put my feet up or take a break once in a while. I know he understands (somewhat) but I do look forward to spending some quality one-on-one time with my precious boy once the girls arrive and I get some energy back (yeah, like that will ever happen!).

Aidan - I wish you a very happy 21 month birthday. I love you so much and I am so proud of the little person you are becoming. Don't ever change - you're perfect just the way you are. I love you, sweetheart. Love, Mommy

A party in my tummy!

Aidan and I recently came across the television show called "Yo Gabba Gabba". It's basically a bunch of life-size "puppets" that sing and dance. This particular episode (the premise is to get kids to eat their vegetables) made me laugh out loud. I think it's hilarious! And, I DARE you to not get the song stuck in your head after watching the video... it's addictive! =)

Gymboree with Playgroup (and Daddy!)

Daddy decided to join us today at Gymboree... Aidan had a blast showing off his "moves" for Daddy (and Mommy got a short break from chasing Aidan around, which was very nice...)

"Hmmmm.... what should I wear today?"

African Lion Safari

We stopped at the African Lion Safari on our way home today. We had our choice to either drive through the safari (at our own risk, of course) or take a bus through the safari. After hearing about monkeys climbing on cars (and ripping off windshield wipers!), we decided to play it safe and take the bus through the safari. We saw a lot of interesting animals, including lions, zebra, giraffe, and rhinos. Aidan especially enjoyed the fact that he could roam from Mom's lap to Dad's lap and back to Mom's while in a moving vehicle! It's fun to ride without a car seat! =)After our bus tour, we brought Aidan over to the water/spray park area. He had a fit when we had to wait about fifteen minutes for the "pools" to be cleaned because someone had an "accident." (No, it wasn't Aidan - he was wearing his swim diaper!) But, once he was finally able to get in the water, he had a blast.
When Aidan was done playing in the water, we packed up the Blazer and got ready to head for home. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, Alex asked Aidan if he wanted to go and see the animals one more time. Aidan, of course, got excited and said "YES!" so we decided to "risk it" and drive through the safari. We met some very interesting creatures, including this crazy bird (I think it's an ostrich) which scared the you know what out of me when it kept pecking at my window!

We also got some great shots of the lions (and some sort of cow, I think)...

Aidan "made friends" with a very friendly zebra. The zebra was right outside Aidan's window and it kept chewing on the rubber of the window - he/she wanted to come home with us! Thankfully, no damage was done to the truck... and we had a great time.

Toronto Zoo

We had a great time at the Toronto Zoo today. Aidan had fun watching all of the animals, some of which he's never seen before. The Toronto Zoo is MUCH, MUCH bigger than our little local zoo!

Aidan also enjoyed playing in the spray park area, which was MUCH bigger than we thought it would be! The weather was perfect for water play, though, it was a bit hot and humid.

One of Aidan's favorite parts of the day was when he got to "pet" a Boa Constrictor! Good thing Daddy was there, because there was no way Mommy was going near that snake!