16 week belly shot

This is my belly four months pregnant with twins. I really can't "hide" it anymore, unless I wear a really loose top. But I embrace my belly bump, and am reassured that the twins are doing well if the belly is growing. I pretty much am wearing only maternity pants, but can still wear some of my shirts, as long as they're not too short. Thanks to friends who have stock-piled me with lots of cute maternity clothes, I have a complete wardrobe, at least for the summer!

New Set of Wheels

No I didn't get a new car, BUT I did get a stoller! Maybe not as exciting to most people, but now that we're entering parenthood, it's pretty great. Thanks to Mimi, we got a Peg Perego (supposed to be a very nice brand in baby world) side-by-side double stroller in excellent condition for only $80. A new one runs somewhere around $330, so we got a steal - YAHOO!!! Plus it's lightweight and easy to fold up. If you live in the area, check out Kid to Kid in Cool Springs, it's a great consignment store. We go there like once a week sometimes! :o) ha ha.
So here's the twins new ride and mama behind the wheel!

Our first visit with Dr. Yu

Joel & I went to our first OB visit yesterday with Dr. Yu. She is wonderful! We hadn't even met her before, but one of my good friends recommended her, so I just went with it! I'd been praying that we would be a good match and that she'd be nice and easy to talk to. Well, she certainly was all that, plus she's super friendly and personable, and is also a twin, so that's fun! I think she will really take care of us. We didn't get an ultrasound, but we did get to hear the babies heartbeats for the first time, which was very cool! We also scheduled our "anatomy ultrasound" to find out the sex of the babies - I positively cannot wait til then!!! It's going to be August 26th, so about four more weeks of waiting. So, that's our latest news here. I did find some pictures online of what the babies look like at 15 weeks, so you can kind of get an idea. I think they're quite cute!
Here's what is happening at 15 weeks:
You may begin to feel some fluttering movements as baby kicks, flails, twists and turns (but don't panic if you don't yet). She can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck her thumb!
Your baby's legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head.
And you'll be happy to note that he is moving those arms and legs often!
His skin is very thin -- so thin blood vessel are visible. It's covered by a fine, soft layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo comes from a Latin word meaning "down." This hair is thought to help insulate your little boy.
The three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden. The auditory centers in your baby's brain haven't developed yet, so she might not really understand what you say but her hearing capacity is in the process of developing.
Fingernails and toenails are growing.
Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair his head is sprouting. It will probably change color and texture after birth.
All this and your little one is an amazing 3.98 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.47 ounces (70gm).

I haven't really felt the babies moving yet, but I am looking forward to that first flutter! :o)

Almost a week late with this...

Sorry this is almost a week overdue, but here are my 14 week belly shots. It's really starting to look full and round. I like it!
Joel & I said thank you and good-bye to Dr. Vasquez and his fantastic staff this week, as we "graduated" from the fertility clinic to our regular OB. We baked banana bread and cookies to give to everyone, just a small way to say how grateful we are for all their help and for their kindness. The babies are looking good, the pictures didn't come out real clear, but I will try to find a few to post. We saw hands, feet, but couldn't tell if they had boy or girl "parts" yet. Guess we'll have to wait just a few more weeks! :o)

Our "new addition" to the family

No, we did NOT get a new puppy (having two dogs is enough!) but we did get a JEEP! Joel had a jeep before we met and had to sell it to buy a work truck. Ever since, he's dreamed about owning one again. He's never actually pursued buying one, and about two months ago, this opportunity just fell into our laps. A teacher that I work with at my school told me her mom was looking to sell their 1984 Jeep CJ-7. We inquired a little more, saw the pictures, and sat on it for a while. It needs a lot of work, but we got it for a steal! The engine runs great and the breaks work well, and it's got a lot of "character." We drove up and back to Terre Haute, Indiana in one day, and came back with this jeep! It was a 12 hour road trip, but Joel & I actually had a lot of fun, and are so excited about our new purchase! It will be something that Joel eventually fixes up, bit by bit. But for now, we have really enjoyed riding around in it with the doors and top off!!! And Joel is so happy with it, that it makes ME happy for him! It also made us clean out our garage so we could park it inside, and that has made me very happy as well, as our garage really looks so neat and organized now. It's amazing what a few hooks and rubbermaids can do! I can even park my Camry in there too, which will be great once the babies come along! So that's our news. Here's some pics of the jeep:

Our Twelve Week Ultrasound

We had our fourth ultrasound today, and it was awesome! The lady doing the ultrasound spent a lot of time looking at each baby's little parts and showing us each feature. I was so happy that I wanted to laugh! We saw a lot of cool things, including their cute little feet, one of them stretching their leg out, their spine, beating heart, stomach, profile, etc. We were thrilled! So here's a pic of each of the babies. Baby A's face is on the left and is positioned on the lower left part of my uterus, and Baby B's face is on the right, and they got a great profile shot of him/her! Baby B is above Baby A.
Joel and I kept smiling and are so happy that each one is doing well. Thanks for all your prayers for us and these little miracles. Please keep lifting us up in prayer!!!

12 Week Belly Shot & Good-bye to an Old Friend

Well, don't get concerned about saying good-bye to a friend just yet, but if you notice in my 12 week belly shot, something is missing. Yes, the belly ring (a.k.a. old friend) is gone. I know a piece of jewelry is not really a "friend" in the sense of the word, but it has been with me a good ten years. I got my belly button pierced about a week after starting my freshman year of college, not as a rebellious thing, but my roommate had one, I thought it was cool, and on a whim, myself and another girl on our hall decided to get our belly buttons pierced. My dad joked that if I was going to do that, then it better be a cross that said "Jesus Saves." Ha ha ha. That is so my dad! Anyway, I've never taken it out, except for brief moments when I got a new ring. But since my belly is going to stretch, I figured it was time to take it out. Joel had to use a pair of pliers - I'm not kidding. The little ball was on too tight, and we couldn't get it off on our own. Don't worry, it didn't hurt me. So now my belly button is "naked." I haven't seen it like this in quite a long time. But I like it. And I will miss the belly ring. Okay, well here's the 12 week shot. We have another ultrasound on Monday, we're so excited to see the babies again!!!