New Year's Eve

It's hard to believe it is the last day of 2008. It's also hard to believe our girls are two weeks old today! We had to visit Dr. Leeper today, and both girls are doing SO great! Joel & I are very proud parents. Since our visit last week, they have each gained 8 oz and now weigh 4lbs 14oz, almost five pounds! Their color looks good, and they are right where they should be developmentally and everything else. Thank you, Lord!
Nighttime is going a little better, thankfully the girls are starting to be more awake during the day, and not waking up as much during the night. Overall, both Natalie & Kennedy are really happy babies, and rarely fuss unless it's time to eat. It's fun having them be more awake and to just watch them. We are loving parenthood and know we need to enjoy every moment, so we are!!! We thank God every day for creating these two little ones and entrusting Joel & I to raise them. It's truly a joy.
Well, I know you probably come here mostly to see pictures, and of course we take lots of them every day!!! Here are a few...

Kennedy in her car seat, ready to go to the doctorMama holding Kennedy

Mama holding Natalie

Me & Natalie by the Christmas tree

Natalie sleeping

One of Kennedy's expressions

Kennedy hanging out in her boppy

Natalie holding onto Daddy's thumb

(another favorite of mine!!!)

Cousins Jake, Katie, and Maggie with our girls

They love their second cousin!

My godsister Christy and godmother Cary with both girls

They have known me my entire life!

Hopefully my other godsister Elisabeth will get to hold Natalie & Kennedy soon,

when her family comes back to TN from Germany!

Just Hangin' Around

Good thing we like being home, because for the next few weeks we'll be spending a lot of time around here. We don't mind though, and are just enjoying each moment and learning about our girls. Things are going good, becoming parents is certainly a transition, but one we are so excited about doing and being. Natalie & Kennedy are getting lots of love and kisses from us and our families and do pretty well most of the time. Like many babies, they have their days and nights confused, and while they sleep a lot during the day, they are awake more of the night, trying to see just how delirious they can make mommy & daddy! :o) We are definitely sleepy and really try to rest when the girls are snoozing. So here's a few photos from hanging around the house...

Mims & Grandad with the girls

Kennedy uncovered in her newborn outfit that is waaay to big, but so cute

to see her curled up in it anyway

Kennedy sleeping happily in her boppy pillow

Natalie wide awake, showing us her blue eyes

A tired, yet happy Mommy holding both girls

Papa (my dad) rocking the girls in their nursery

He really loves holding them & dancing with them

Natalie looking at her sister sleeping

I just think it's so cute how they are so close

Video Joel took of the girls when they both had their arms up in the air

We titled this one "Stick 'Em Up!"

What Day Is It???

That is how we feel around here lately... not sure what time it is or what day of the week we are on. Today we got to take a short nap and when we woke up, we thought it was 4 in the morning, but it was 4 in the afternoon! We both needed sleep so desperately, that we woke up confused about what time of day it was! But guess that's life with newborn twins and we wouldn't have it any other way. Natalie and Kennedy have brought such joy into our lives and we are loving every second of being their parents!! We got to come home on Saturday as a family of four, not having to stay any extra time in the hospital. We were happy about that and glad to be in our home and especially in our own bed!

The first few days have been a whirl wind, but thankfully we've got family close by to help out, feed us, do laundry, and any thing else we may need help with. But what a special time this is, just a few days before Christmas, as we celebrate our Savior's birth, we also rejoice in the birth of our girls! They are so precious to us and we are already so in love and praise God for giving them to us. It is an overwhelming feeling to look at them and be filled with so many emotions and remember our story and how they came to be in our arms. It is all because God loved us so much that He allowed us to be mommy and daddy to these girls. So no matter what hard things come up, we realize it all is a gift and God will give us all we need to make it through!

Thanks to each of you for your comments and for praying for all of us the entire way.

Here are some pictures of the girls since we have been home... everything they do is just so cute!Right now they are sleeping together in the changing table of the pack and play, because they are so small and like being right next to each other. It makes us smile each time we go check on them.

Daddy snoozing with his girls

Natalie & Kennedy sleeping together in their isolette

Kennedy likes to wiggle her hands out of the swaddle

Natalie - we think she will be the laid back one :o)


Joel is such a natural with the girls

Kennedy ready to go home

Natalie ready to go home

Kennedy (on L) & Natalie (on R) love sleeping snuggled up close to each other


Don't they look cozy???

Mims with Kennedy (in L arm) and Natalie (in R arm)

Natalie & Kennedy together in the bouncy seat

This is my favorite picture so far!

Sleeping together in the changing table of the pack & play

Introducing... Natalie Joy and Kennedy Faith

We welcomed our daughters on December 17th and we are soooo thrilled they are here!!! Natalie came first at 9:24 PM weighing 4 lbs 10 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long. Kennedy was one minute behind her sister at 9:25 PM weighiing 4 lbs 12 oz and was 17 inches long. We are glad to report that both girls went straight to the well baby nursery! I am recovering well from the c-section and thankful that everything went so well. Joel was the first one to hold them and introduce them to our families. Even though they are fraternal, it's still hard to tell them apart, but they do have different noses. Mommy and Daddy are on cloud 9 and are blessed to be holding our tiny miracles. Here are some pictures from the big day!

Daddy & Mama getting ready to meet our girls

Natalie Joy

Natalie weighing in

Me being introduced to Natalie

Daddy, Natalie, Kennedy, and Mommy

Proud Papa holding his two girls

Can't you tell he's got the biggest grin on his face?!?!

Our Kennedy

Our Natalie

Starting Christmas Break Early

Well, I am thankful to have avoided it for this long, but friends, I have been put on bed rest... modified bed rest, which means I can get up to grab a drink, move from one room to the other, take a shower, etc. When I went to Dr. Yu on Wednesday, my blood pressure was higher than usual and I had some swelling. Being this close to full term for twins, she wanted to check things out a bit more, so she sent me next door to the Women's Hospital. Same place I visited when we were in the car accident, so Joel & I did have moments of deja vu. Fortunately, they just monitored my blood pressure for about an hour and a half, and it went back to a lower, normal BP. After consulting with the doctor, she suggested that I should go ahead and stop working and put me on bed rest. So here I am. Home sweet home. In a way, I am glad, because I was really getting tired at work and ready to be home. But now that I am home, I can't do anything! Oh well :o) I see this as a gift to the girls, as the longer they can stay inside, the better they will do outside the womb. They are looking great and still moving around. We went back to the doctor today, and my BP was back to normal, so guess the bed rest is working. Joel has been SO wonderful, doing most everything around the house. I am incredibly grateful for his servant heart. He is the best husband!!!
We go back to Dr. Yu on Wednesday, and she will go ahead and schedule our c-section. Pretty exciting, we've got maybe a week or two at the most... wow! Hopefully the babies will be close to 5 pounds by then, and might even bypass the NICU. That would be awesome! But God knows how it is all going to work out and we are trusting him. He's been so good to us.
So, that's our latest news. Just enjoying these moments of rest and being together, and looking forward to meeting our daughters... I will keep you all updated. We might get our Christmas gifts early... Love & Blessings!

34 week belly shot

Well, we have actually made it to a whopping 34 weeks! I cannot believe meeting our girls is right around the corner... We packed our hospital bag today, and I guess we're ready to go should things kick into high gear. I went to the doctor on Wednesday, and found out that the girls weigh 4 lbs each (yay!) and mommy is 50% effaced. Not that it means I'm going to have the girls next week, but the doctor did say there was a lot of pressure on my cervix (YES there is!) Everything looks great with the babies, the ultrasound tech said I was made to have twins! I am so, so thankful that we've made it this far. If they were born tomorrow, they'd be just fine. Of course, I'd rather them stay inside just a tad bit longer, put on a few more ounces, and have strong lungs. I still feel them move or kick from time to time, and Natalie has the hiccups a lot! The nursery is pretty much finished and Joel & I are anticipating meeting our daughters real soon. Both girls are still breech, so a c-section is in my future. I am definitely comfortable with that, it seems a little simpler and more predictable, especially for twins. Sooo, that's all for now, please say some prayers for the delivery day, the nurses, that the baby will be strong enough to go home with us after 3 days, and that mommy & daddy will have peace about our new role as parents. Thank you dearly...

Joel & I on our date last night to Macaroni Grill, one of my favorites!!!

Celebrating our "Golden Birthdays"

Joel & I had fun this weekend celebrating our "golden birthdays." I don't know if that is the right term, but I turned 29 on the 29th and Joel turned 30 on the 30th. Pretty cool, huh? And we both had them in the same year, one day apart! We went to dinner at Outback last night, and then over to Paul & Cathy's for a mini Thanksgiving meal. Both very yummy!
What a year it has been! Full of grace and blessings. We are so thankful. And we are about to welcome our daughters into the world any day now!!!
Here we are celebrating our birthdays ~

Does this shirt make me look pregnant!!!

Ha ha ha

Look at me from the side!

Joanna, 33 weeks pregnant & Laura, 22 weeks pregnant

Caroline had been patting my belly, saying hello to her little cousins

We tried to get a picture of it (it was too sweet!) but this is the best we got

32 weeks and counting!

Sorry, I've been a little behind on my belly shots and baby info. We went to the Doctor last week and now I will be going weekly. They will do an ultrasound to check the babies growth, and also check and see if I am progressing. As of last Wednesday, the girls weighed 3 lbs 3 oz and 3 lbs 4 oz. We had an ultrasound and got to see some great shots of their faces, but it is certainly crowded in there. Both girls are breach, and apparently, Kennedy is taking up a lot more room than Natalie. Lately, I've been feeling them both kicking each other :o) wink, wink. Also, I think it's sweet that they are head to head - I think they like looking at each other and telling secrets... If they don't flip, then I am certainly on my way to a c-section.

If I haven't delivered by 36 weeks (December 19) then my doctor will schedule a c-section for a day or two after Christmas. But more than 60% of twin mommies have them by 36 weeks. So, really, it could happen VERY soon! Their ideal weight would be at least 4 1/2 pounds, and that's what I am praying for, in addition to praying that they will not have to go to the Neonatal Unit.

Joel & I toured the NICU and hospital at Centennial. It honestly put my fears to rest, seeing the small babies and seeing them surviving. We even saw a baby that weighed what our girls weigh right now! That was pretty cool, and really helped us visualize what our girls might look like.
I am definitely getting bigger and finding that sleep is more restless each night. I probably wake up every 2 hours to go potty (sometimes more!) and even now sleeping on my side makes my back ache and finding a comfortable spot to sleep is getting difficult. But I know that just comes with pregnancy. I also have gotten carpal tunnel because of the pregnancy, and just typing this makes my fingertips are numb. I wear braces on both hands/wrists, and they do help. I am so behind on my thank-you notes, but writing even one makes my entire hand numb and tingly! The dr says it should go away once the babies are born.

Well, here are the pictures of my 32 week belly. I really think I grew over the weekend!

Me after church Sunday

My sweet sister Emily bought this dress for me!