Happy Birthday Mya and Macy!

Super quick update...my nieces are here!

Mya JoLynn was born at 4:35 pm EST today weighing at 5 pounds and 8 ounces and 20 inches long. Her sister Macy Ann was born at 4:36 pm EST today weighting at 5 pounds and 1 ounce and 18 inches long. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the cutest girls ever!

Jessi and Tyler could not be prouder, and Matt and I are excited to get on the road tomorrow to see them! Hopefully momma Jess can get some much deserved and needed rest this evening!

Way to go Jess - you carried these babies for over 36 weeks and hardly ever complained! You're going to be an awesome momma and Ty an awesome daddy!

I only have a few pictures on my phone but will post some as soon as I have them...they are so sweet! Ok, off to pack for our trip north!

22 weeks

It just keeps growing!

22 weeks

I definitely feel like I've grown faster in these past few weeks than my entire pregnancy so far. I have definitely seen numbers on the scale that I've never seen before! I realize that everyone gains weight at different rates and different times during their pregnancy, I just gained so little during the first trimester that I'm not used to seeing the numbers on the scale move at this pace!

At this point, baby is supposedly 11 inches long and weighs about 1 pound. Supposedly this little person is getting tooth buds beneath his/her gums this week and is working on developing all of the cute facial features we can't wait to see - lips, eyelids, eyebrows. Frank - the fruit of comparison this week is a spaghetti squash. I didn't know such a squash existed!

Sweet Nash is definitely making his/her prescence known this week...movement is much stronger and I'm feeling it at pretty much all times of the day if I sit still enough. Yesterday morning as I was cuddling with Roscoe before jumping in the shower, my arm happened to be resting on my belly in the perfect position so that when Nash decided that it was time to get up - I felt his/her little kick to my arm as if to say "Ok mom, time to get up and get moving!". Pretty sweet, that's for sure. I can't wait for them to be consistently strong so that Matt can start getting in on the fun!

In other news, our house is slowly being put back together after the paint job last week. Most things are back on the wall and finding a new home to make room for the influx of baby things that are sure to come our way. The nursery work has officially begun, as the first piece of furniture (rocker/glider) is in it's place! Now, I just need to convince Matt that we really should go pick up the crib and put it together this weekend!

Don't forget to keep baby sister Jessi in your thoughts and prayers in the next few weeks...she's getting close to her goal date of 37 weeks (October 4) with my sweet neices Mya JoLynn and Macy Ann. She's pretty exhausted, but I know she can keep them cooking for a few more weeks with everyone's well wishes. Matt and I are planning to head home to Indiana when the twins arrive - I can't wait to meet them, although I hope it's not for a few more weeks! If you want to keep tabs on Jessi, Tyler, and babies...feel free to visit her blog and leave her a note of encouragement!

New Paint Job - Sneak Peak!

Sneak peak for our family! Pictures were taken at night with all the lights on...the colors look even better in natural light. We're spending the night upstairs to let it keep drying...we'll be putting the house back together tomorrow night.

Bathroom

Nash's room

Kitchen...ignore all the stuff piled on the counter!

Living room.

Front bedroom

21 Weeks

I'm officially in the second half of my pregnancy...I feel like it was just yesterday we found out about our little one! Everyone assures me that the second half will go more slowly because of all the anticipation. At this point, I welcome that - I feel like there is still so much to do around here!

21 weeks

Matt will attest to the fact that I definitely feel like it's time to get moving on all the things we want to do around the house. The first big thing happening is a new paint job - not just for the baby's room, but for the entire downstairs. I'm pretty thrilled about having colors in the house - it will be a nice change from the lovely boring beige we've lived with for 3 years. Matt's mom helped us pick out colors...thank you Annie!

We'll be doing the main room (kitchen/living room/entry/stairwell) in a cool green color, Nash's room in a celery color, the bathroom in a bright blue, and the front bedroom in a warm blue/grey tone. The painters are coming on Tuesday, so the remainder of the weekend will be spent clearing off walls and shelves and moving all things away from the walls in preparation. We'll see how that plan fits into commercial breaks and halftime of all the good games on! Once the paint is in, we'll pick up the crib and dresser - I can't wait to see everything ready in the room. We're also in the process of shopping for a nice rocker/glider. And what's up with my urge to get a new oven/range and microwave after walking through Home Depot today. A bit over the top, I'm sure...

Back to baby news...this is the first week where I have definitely felt consistent movements courtesy of baby Nash. Only a few 'kicks', but lots of little flutters and flops. He/she definitely enjoyed my burrito from the Happy Mexican this afternoon! I'm anxious for Nash to start kicking hard enough for Matt to be able to feel it, although I'm sure that will still be a few weeks away.

Alright...off to start clearing off the walls and cleaning out closets. Or...watching football.

20 Week Ultrasound - Pics and Video

Little Nash was quite the entertainment last Friday when Matt and I went in for our 20 week ultrasound. We were the first appointment on Friday morning, so the tech got to spend a little extra time with us and gave us a sneak peak of baby Nash with the 4D ultrasound probe. She was really sweet and was sure to tell us everything she was looking at - except for the important parts that is! We were sure to tell her that we were NOT finding out the sex of the baby, and she was very good about not tempting us. I was so amazed watching Nash squirm around in my belly though, I really wasn't concentrating on girl or boy parts. Matt thinks she took a 'between the legs shot' but we obviously had no idea what the findings were!

It's really hard to describe the relief and thrill when the ultrasound tech tells you that all things look great with baby's development - 4 chambers in the heart, a full bladder and functioning kidneys, a full tummy, perfect looking lips and nose. I am so thankful that Nash is developing properly and that there are no concerns with his/her health at this point. Nash weighs about 9 ounces at this point, and his/her heartrate was 158. The tech was amazed that I'm not feeling consistent moving yet based on Nash's activity level. The looks on Matt's face as Nash was flopping around in my belly were pretty priceless...I'll sum it up for you in Matt's words: "Wow, wow, wow....wow, wow." :)

After the sonogram, we had a checkup with Dr. Crenshaw. He walked in the room with a big "Congratulations! It's a..." as he pointed to my chart. Of course he was kidding, as he knows we're not finding out the sex, but I'm glad they took my blood pressure BEFORE his little stunt. The office visits at this point are pretty routine - urine sample, weight check, BP check, see if we have any questions. I was sure to ask him about the swine flu vaccine which I will be getting as soon as they're in. He was sure to tell us that I also need the normal flu vaccine - and so does Matt. Our next appointment is in 4 weeks - October 2. That is close to Mya and Macy's "goal date" of 37 weeks in utero, so we may have to move that appointment - but it will be for good reason!

Ok, ok...on to the pictures and video. They are all posted here...Nash was so squirmy the tech didn't think she got very good pictures for us, but we're obviously biased and think they're sweet AND perfect. Enjoy!

Nash's profile

Umm...is this not the sweetest little foot you've ever seen?

Opening his mouth for us...saying hi.

Nash was so squirmy, this is the best shot we have of his/her little face.

Spine

Nash Video - part 1
Be patient...he/she is more active towards the end of this video.

Nash Video - part 2

All Things Philadelphia

This past weekend Matt and I flew to Philadelphia for our last wedding of the season (can I get a woo woo!?!). Our friends Bobby and Jaime, who both went to Temple Law with Matt, were getting married. We took the opportunity to stay with Matt's brother Mark for the weekend - thank you Mark! It was so good to get to see him, and the free lodging was quite nice as well. I definitely didn't last to the wee hours of the morning catching up with Matt and Mark, but the laughter (and the empty wine box on the counter the next morning) told me they had a good time.

Here is a pic of Bobby and Jamie walking down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Bobby serves in the Marines and was in full uniform for the occasion. What a great looking couple!

Matt and I at the wedding reception.

On Sunday after the wedding, we were able to attend a Phillies game at Citizens Bank ballpark. Bobby had graciously organized a massive amount of tickets and a tailgate for his friends who were in town for the wedding. The game was originally planned for the afternoon, and got moved to the night game...which meant instead of flying out at 8 pm on Sunday evening, we were up bright and early on Monday morning flying out at 6 am!

Bobby and Matt* tailgating.

*Matt had this shirt made to "inform" our friends that I was expecting a baby. The shirt is quite funny when we're standing next to each other - not quite the same effect with Bobby in the picture. Don't you just love his sense of humor!?!

Bobby, Matt, myself, and Jamie after the Phillies won.

I am starting to get extremely excited about hanging out with little Nash this upcoming Friday for our 20 week ultrasound. My appointment is at 8:30 am and then I'll see Dr. Crenshaw afterwards. I am really lucky that Matt is able to take the time to come with me, it really means a lot that he can be there. I'm looking forward to seeing how much he/she has grown! I'm pretty much strictly in maternity clothes now...I can still fit into some of my stretchy summer skirts - but that's pushing it! Below is a pic of the belly at 19 weeks...definitely growing!

19 weeks