Catching up...

It's obviously been a busy time, as I haven't posted in over a month! With band contest season in full swing, and as we anxiously prepare for the twins to arrive, I haven't had much time to blog (nor have I had the energy)!

The nursery is finally "finished". I put it in quotes, because I still need to hang a shelf & find a cute little table to set next to the glider. BUT... if the twins came today, I think it's ready enough to make it work! I'll have to post pictures tomorrow, since I'm too lazy right now to get out of my comfy recliner.

I went for my checkup over a week ago, when Dr. McNabb told me I was 1cm dilated & 50% effaced. Of course, Mom was MORE than thrilled to hear about the progress, so she quickly went to the store and got me some slippers & some other "necessities" that she knows I'll need in the hospital. She swore that "it was time". This past week was spring break, so I got some much needed rest, and I soon realized that my body was no longer willing to allow me to do the things I wanted to do. I had a few weak spells where I got really clammy & had no energy, so I went in to see Dr. McNabb again on Friday. I'm now at 1 1/2 cm & 75% dilated, and of course, the babies are thriving! I had another weak spell today over lunch with my parents, where we all quickly decided that I didn't need to go into work anymore (I was originally going to do half days).

So here I sit... WAITING. I pray that these babies come at just the right moment, so Chris doesn't have to rush to make it in time or I don't have to sit in rush hour traffic trying to make it to the hospital.

On a very sad note... Chris found in January that his high school band director (yes, the person who we ALWAYS make a point to see every time we visit St. Louis, and also the person who flew down to Texas just for our wedding) had been diagnosed with Lymphoma. Of course, when Chris talked to him back then, Bob downplayed everything (this is the type of guy he was), so we were hopeful of a recovery. Chris found out this week that Bob had taken a turn for the worse and was on life support. Sadly, we found out that Bob passed just a few hours ago. He's in a better place, but it's hard to take it all in at once. Please pray for Bob's family, friends, former students, and that the twins come in a timely manner so Chris can go to the funeral AND see the birth of our sweet little angels.

I'm sooooo grateful...

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I have the best friends in the world. I just do, and that's all there is to it. We originally scheduled the baby shower for LAST Sunday, but God decided we needed a "spring" day instead of a snowy day to celebrate (yes, I do live in TEXAS!)

Yesterday, my friends threw me a wonderful baby shower, and I'm still overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. We received so many gifts family & friends that I can't even begin organizing! These babies are definitely loved, and I can't wait to meet them & introduce them to the world!

Here are a few pictures from my shower...

My wonderful cake!! Thank you, girls for such a special & yummy surprise!

Ashlee, Kelsey, Christina, preggo me, Leah, Delyn, and Julie
(the best friends a girl could ever ask for!)

Maternity Pics

We finally got around to taking some maternity pictures before Brayden & Kayelynn are born! Thanks to our wonderful photographer, Debbie Romeyn, for being so giving of her time. These are just 3 of the many pictures she took a few weeks ago (thank God she removed the wonderful stretch marks that go along with pregnancy).

My sister, Julie, got us these little shoes a while back... very cute!
Mommy & Daddy to be :)

Thank you, God, for allowing us to be parents of these two sweet little growing babies!

Nursery Painting!

I have the best friends ever... I'm soooooo looking forward to my baby shower they are throwing in a few weeks. By then, we'll have the nursery nearly complete with clean carpets, freshly painted walls, and furniture for my sweet babies! Thank you, Kelsey, for spending your time on such a cute project for your "niece" & "nephew" to-be! :) Just above where Kayelynn's crib will go

Just above where Brayden's bed will go

The "nook" where the glider & changing table will go

The spelling game...

Ok, I know I just posted about names, but now I'm having second thoughts on the spelling of our little boy! I've always just used "Bradyn", but my husband thinks it looks like Brad-in... Here are some considerations:
Bradyn
Braedyn
Brayden
Braydn
Tell me what YOU think!! :)

Update

We went to the specialist day for another check-up & were thankful enough to receive some POSITIVE news on our little girl! I guess overall, we never know anything for sure, but from what the doctor saw, her ventricles look "normal" right now. I think they'll be checking her every week, just to be sure everything is ok.

I promised myself I wouldn't research anything on what could happen if her ventricle continue to be larger than "normal", and I kept that promise all week. I ended up being a nervous wreck though, the closer we got to the appointment. Chris decided to ask the "what if" question, and the Dr. Payne said it could mean learning disabilities. He also mentioned that MOST children with this condition don't have learning disabilities. My thoughts?? If someone tells me there COULD be something wrong with my babies, I'm going to attempt to take it with a grain of salt.

NAMES!!! Sorry, Christina, I keep forgetting to answer your question! We've decided on... Kayelynn Faye & Bradyn Michael :) Kaye is my mother & sister in law's middle names & Lynn is my sister's middle name. Faye is myself, my mom's, and my grandma's middle name. I guess our little girl will have lots of women taking ownership of her name! Michael is my husband's middle, his dad's middle, and his grandfather's first name. Bradyn... well... We just LIKE it! Actually, a co-worker's spouse mentioned that name at a Christmas party, and frankly, it's the only name that's come up that NEITHER of us have objections in using!

I'm quite happy to now have names for our sweet little ones.... Even though I keep calling them our "little boy & little girl", I know it'll be just a few more months before I'm holding them tight in my arms! Yes, I'm anxious... I find myself wrapped up in work or just being tired all the time, and then I think about how life is going to completely change so soon. I can't even fathom what it will be like, and I can't imagine how much I'm going to love them at first sight.

What happened to December?!?

Well, I would apologize for not posting AT ALL in the month of December, but it's quite a busy month with all the band concerts, rehearsals, and other festivities going on!

For a while, pregnancy seemed pretty easy going... I'm not sure if I posted this in my last blog, but we did find out that our daughter definitely has a clubbed foot (not sure if it's both or just one). Chris & I are taking it pretty well, as many people have told us it's a doable thing. Luckily, I have a wonderful coworker whose husband can get us in at Shriner's hospital.

This week has unfortunately been a little more hectic than I would like... Our first week back at school, and I get yet ANOTHER sinus infection! I felt it coming on last Sunday, but nothing I took was going to get in the way. Before I started feeling the worst symptoms from that, I had a somewhat embarrassing night & ended up in Labor & Delivery. I would give more details, but I'll just say that I was in a lot of pain, had a little bleeding, we checked the babies, and they were doing very well. It's not blog-worthy, trust me... So, essentially, I was at the hospital on Wednesday, saw my specialist & OB on Thursday (for regularly scheduled appointments), and went to my family doctor on Friday.

My specialist appointment was a little bitter-sweet. I like going there, because those doctors are very thorough. He said everything is going well, but he was a little suspicious of a ventricle in the brain that may be "larger than normal". I didn't really like to hear that, but he said not to be concerned just yet--he wants to watch the size for the next several weeks and see if there are any changes. He said, "I'm not telling you this to alarm you. I'm telling you this because I'm supposed to tell you what I'm thinking." I pray that he doesn't find anything bad when he looks next week... It'll break my heart if something else is wrong with our baby girl.

On a positive note, I have some belly pictures!! Enjoy...