Even more surprises

Our first appointment with our OB was set for 7.5 weeks. I was terrified. The last time I was in that office was when I found out about the miscarriage. I had so much anxiety about whether this pregnancy was viable. I had tons of pregnancy symptoms so that was comforting. I also felt so much better with this pregnancy than I did with the last one.

We arrived and were taken back for the sonogram. We were making small talk with the technician, Michelle. She was so nice and talkative. While she and Jeff were chatting, my eyes were focusing on the screen and trying to see a heartbeat. She was moving around quickly and I was not able to see anything definitive. She got very quiet. My shoulders were now above my ears from tension and anxiety. Jeff and I were holding hands so tightly and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. She said, "Let me tell you what we have going on here." And she paused. She removed the vaginal wand and put the jelly on my belly - all while not saying anything. It was the longest 7 seconds of my life! Then she said it...

You are having TWINS.

Wait....WHAT???

That is what my I said in my head. What came out was this weird scream/laugh/cry. Jeff and I both started crying and asking a ton of questions. Both had heartbeats. Both looked perfect! She could not tell if they were fraternal or identical because they each had their own amniotic sac. We would find that out later.

We went from not being able to conceive on our own to naturally conceiving twins. What an amazing miracle! God is so very good and we are so blessed.

TWINS!!!!

Soccer!

Jeff has been a bit anti-team-sports for Andrew. His feeling was that he is too young, can't really understand the point of the game and that we should not worry with spending every weekend and once during the week carting our kiddo around to practices and games. As much as that is true and I completely agree - I still wanted him to be able to join his friends and play organized sports. So, we agreed that when Andrew turned 4, we would go ahead and let him start playing one sport at a time. His first go at team sports is Soccer!

Luckily, he was able to get on the same team as his best buddies, Carter and Luke. I think that has made any sense of discomfort with something new or new people completely non-existent. Not to mention, the coach is Carter's dad. He feels very comfortable playing and has SO MUCH FUN running around the field and playing with his friends.

Mamaw, Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Brad came out to watch his first game. Lots of laughing on the sidelines as these kids attempted to learn how to play and what to do. Their opponents were much more skilled and even had a few ringers. Our kids were lucky to get through the game without touching the ball with their hands. The only goal scored was done so as a mistake by the other team. But, we will take it!

The second game was much better and the third game was fantastic - we actually won! And, Andrew scored his first goal! One minute left in the game, freezing and raining outside and he got the ball and scored. I was thrilled!

Jeff has not been able to attend a game yet due to his work schedule, but we give him a full recap of everything in the evenings. It's been a lot of fun and I'm really glad Andrew is involved in a team-sport. It gives us something fun to do on the weekends and Andrew loves it.

Our Wonderful Surprise

After two rounds of IVF, a ton of debt and a devastating miscarriage, Jeff and I were needing a bit of a break from all of the fertility issues. We decided that we would revisit the idea of using the remaining 2 frozen embryos in January. When the new year started, I could not imagine having to go through all of it again. The shots, the drugs, the headaches, the tears and the strong possibility of failure were a bit too much for me to take on. We talked about it and decided that we would wait until June. It would give me a little more time to heal from the miscarriage and prepare for the next round. This was a huge relief for me. While I knew that time was not on my side, I was not going to rush back in to another heart-wrenching outcome.

We decided to take a mini-vacay to Austin on the first weekend of February. A friend was getting married and we thought it would be fun to attend the wedding and spend a fun weekend at a hotel in downtown Austin. We had a wonderful time. It was a much-needed break for us.

While there we were given some advice on how to get pregnant - other than the "having sex" part. Receiving advice like this is actually fun for me. I enjoy getting other people's perspective and their tips - no matter how silly they may seem. The two pieces of advice were: 1)Go to Maui - hmmm, not sure I can afford Maui and IVF - so, this one will be have to be decided with a coin toss. 2) Have Jeff walk through a very cold, deep creek and then have sex. - I was not opposed to this at all. It was February, lots of cold water around, but he wanted no part of that. oh well.

A few weeks after we got home, I realized I was "late"...sort of. After the miscarriage, my cycle went from 28 days to 26 days...so, technically I was at 28 days without my monthly visitor. I figured I was getting back to normal but that obsessive test-taker in me started nagging at me. I looked through my cabinet and had no pregnancy tests. I took that as a sign to let it go and save myself the let-down. I went on with my day. Later that day, I was in a different cabinet looking for some lotion and noticed in the back of that cabinet was a pregnancy test. Not sure when I put it there, but it was one of the "pricey" ones and not my dollar store go-to brand. So, I took that as another sign and quickly went to the bathroom.

I learned a long time ago not to watch the sticks do their thing. I walk off and come back several minutes later. When I came back, I fully expected my pricey pregnancy test to say "Not Pregnant" but it did not say that. I stared at it...blinked my eyes a few times, shook it up a little bit and stared at it more. "PREGNANT" was staring back at me.

I was pregnant.
HOLY COW
PREGNANT!!!!
Without drugs, shots, headaches, tears, debt, Maui, a cold creek....

What an amazing gift from God!

My next step was to show Jeff the test. He responded to it with:
 "How did you get it to do that?"

Thrilled does not even begin to explain this feeling! What a miracle.

Table Time Rules

Yes, I am an artist.

I recently hit a breaking point with dinners at our house. They were becoming more and more frustrating as we attempted to get Andrew to sit down, stop playing and actually eat. My super-smart friend Lauren told me about her "Table Time Rules" and how it improved their eating experience greatly. So, Andrew and I spent a Saturday morning coming up with our own rules. As he came up with a rule that we both agreed should be on the list - I would write it down - and draw a picture so that he could remember the rule without me reading it to him.  This lovely artwork now hangs in our home near our dinner table.

The beauty of it is that these rules are enforced anywhere we eat - not just at home. So, now, instead of fighting over how many bites he has to eat or how much time needs to be spent at the table - I simply say "Table Time Rules" and he begins to behave again. It's been great so far!

Love taking tidbits from other moms and seeing results.

I'm about to add a Number 5 for Jeff - No phones at the table - but, that's a different frustration. :-)

Overdue Haircut

Andrew got a haircut yesterday - a much needed and very overdue haircut. I prefer his hair very short because I like to look at his sweet face and beautiful eyes and not a mop of hair.  Although, yesterday's haircut made me realize how much of a "boy" he has become. Where did my baby go??

The "Before" mop

During the "transformation"

Trying to watch tv while she is working.

All done! Much better.

Peas in a pod

I had a "girls night out" a little over a week ago and left the boys at home to fend for themselves. Almost every time I go anywhere at night, I come home to find Andrew in our bed. It's their fun "slumber party" time. They watch a movie and then fall asleep. Before I moved him back to his bed, I had to take a picture of them sleeping. Their mannerisms are so similar...they even sleep the same.

Christmas 2013

This Christmas was very different than any of our other Christmas celebrations. This was the first year that I did not spend Christmas with my parents - ever. I was not sure how I felt about the change so I decided at the last minute to completely change our normal Christmas to something a bit different and new. We (Mamaw too) went to Stephanie and Marc's lake house on Christmas Eve (They are so awesome and allow us to make use of their amazing lake house on Lake Bonham).

We woke up on Christmas Morning by about 7:30am and Andrew got to see what Santa brought for him. The race track was huge and he enjoyed playing with it, but always seems to enjoy the little things even more - like the whoopee cushion, spinning tops, etc...

The weather was perfect during Christmas day and we were able to play outside for most of the morning. Jeff and Andrew went kayaking on the lake and fishing off the pier.

Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Mike joined us that afternoon and we opened more presents and had a great time laughing and playing with all our new goodies. When dinner time arrived, we ate a non-traditional Christmas meal of YUMMY Filets, Polenta, Mushrooms and Salad.

We moved outside to sit around the campfire and look at the stars. It was a bit cold though so we ended up back inside watching Kung Fu Panda. We were all asleep by 10pm.

The next morning we had a great breakfast casserole, packed up and were back in Plano by mid-afternoon.


Even though we missed having Granny and Pappy with us for Christmas, we still had a great time and loved trying something different.