Twinkies and Us

Friday, March 26, 2010

Twinkie Train Baby Shower

The baby shower for the boys was last weekend and it was truly wonderful. Monica, Lyndsay and Peggy did all the planning and with some help from friends put together a wonderful shower for the boys. Monica's mother-in-law, Laurie made a beautiful train cake, and people brought delicious food, and overall it was a great time! I only have a few pictures of the day, with more to come, but I thought I would share some highlights!

Keri, Me and Mom before the shower

The food and amazing Train Cake :)

Up Close Cake Pic

Cookie Bouquet that my good Cousin, April suprised me with

Twinkie Favors - so creative!

Grandma's both got to hold up the cute outfits (from Grandma Peggy!)

Opening lots of Gifts!

Thanks to everyone who couldn't be there, but still sent some wonderful gifts! I'm overwhelmed trying to inventory everything and put it away. The boys will be here before we know it, and I'm feeling more prepared each day!

I have reached 30 weeks pregnant now which is a big milestone. Each day it becomes more real that they are really coming and will need us to love them and take care of them. We had a nursing class this week, and I learned a lot about that process which was kinda scary, but also exciting at the same time. Eric is thankful that we're done with classes for now. I'm hoping to get our carseats installed in the next couple weeks which will really make it all seem too soon!

We are excited to go down to Annapolis this weekend to visit Denee and Ryan who just had a baby at the beginning of March. Everrett is doing great with everything, and I know he's gonna be a good friend to the boys someday! Hopefully they will sleep as well as him!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

29 Week Ultrasound and Girls Day Out

My mom and sister-in-law, Keri arrived yesterday and we started the visit off right! We woke up this morning and headed to the ultrasound to see the twinkies. This time we went to Leigh Valley hospital, and it was a much better experience as they had TVs on the wall so I could see all the action. The boys were looking good and it was awesome to have the girls with me. Baby A is head down and Baby B is still breech (head is near my rib cage). Baby A weights 2 lbs 12 oz and Baby B is weighing in at 2 lbs 11 oz. They were wiggling around the entire time and enjoying being the center of attention. We got some pics of the boys, and they continue to remind me of Eric :)

I had my regular check-up this week, and everything is still going very well. I have gained about 29 lbs and I'm measuring 34 weeks (at the time I was still only 28 weeks). Heartbeats are still strong, and they continue to be very active. I get check-ups every 2 weeks now, and they are keeping a close eye to make sure nothing starts to progress.

After the ultrasound, we decided to go to target and shop for the boys, and then we headed to get manicures and pedicures. It was great to get pampered and get ready for the shower. After we got home, we had lots of fun playing with the stroller and car seats. Mom and Keri were very good at getting everything together and pushing it all over the house. Then Eric grilled out since it's so beautiful out (notice the nicely painted garage in the background - it only took him 3 days :)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sympathy Belly!!

At our 3rd birthing class last night, Eric was fortunate enough to try on the sympathy belly. He has been a great sport about coming to the classes and learning how to be my coach through labor. I'm really hoping to have a natural birth with no drugs, but I do know that twins are higher risk and I might end up with a C-section. Either way, I want to be prepared and so far I've learned a lot about the process and had some fun learning all the breathing techniques!

I'm 28 weeks now and in my third trimester and it's all becoming more real. I can't imagine what life will be like once the boys arrive, but I do know that I'm excited about the adventures to come! We found out last night on our way home from class, that Eric's brother, Adam and our sister-in-law Lyndsay had an offer accepted on a house that is in our neighborhood and less than 2 blocks away! We feel so blessed to have them moving so close and we're excited to someday be raising our families together. It reminds me of how my cousins got to grow up living just down the street from each other (and from Grandma and Grandpa Nettleton), and I know that it will be amazing to have such a close family!

I'm counting down the days until next week because my mom and my sister-in-law Keri are coming to town for my shower. I'm excited to have them around for a couple days, show them the house, the nursery, and just have a fun girls weekend! They are coming to an ultrasound with me next week, and I can't wait for them to see the boys!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Nursery Reveal!!

The Twinkies room is almost done!! After waiting just over a week, I got to see the Twinkies' room for the first time this morning! It isn't completely finished yet because we still need a couple things, but it's well on it's way.

Eric and my good friend Monica decided to suprise me with the theme, and I couldn't have been more excited! There are still some finishing touches, but the puppy theme will be perfect for the boys! They will grow up to love our little Maltese, Aspen, and I'm sure if Eric gets his way, there will be more dogs in the future (maybe once the boys are old enough to take care of them).

Monica loves to paint stripes and boxes, so I should've known the accent wall was going to be amazing! She also does some photography on the side, and you can see that Aspen was the center of her latest artistic inspiration! I couldn't be happier with the room! Thanks guys!!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Visit to the ER

I know that title might be scary, but luckily the visit to the ER was not the human ER. Aspen was playing hard with his toys last night and in his excitement to bring daddy his froggy, he dropped it out of his mouth, and tripped over it! He wouldn't put any weight on his front paw that he slid on, and we got very worried. We examined him for about 5 minutes before we decided we weren't sure if his shoulder was out of place. He cried a little at first, but then just got very quiet and lethargic. Since our vet is about 25 minutes away, we decided to call an animal hospital closer to our new home. They took our information over the phone and asked us to head there immediately.

We wrapped Aspen in his favorite blanket, and he got to go for a ride. As soon as we got to the vet hospital, they triaged him immediately, and they said he wasn't in distress.

We waited about 20 minutes, then the doctor came in to examine him. He was very good during the examine, and luckily his shoulder was not out of socket. He would not put much weight at all on the leg, but when she did all the tests, he didn't react to any of the tests on his leg. She said she didn't think an x-ray was necessary unless it gets worse. She gave him a shot for the pain, and lots of pain pills for the next couple weeks. He is now the one on bedrest for 2 weeks, no stairs, no jumping and no running... that should be fun!

Luckily our little guy seems OK as he slept well last night, and we'll be taking extra good care of him this weekend. We think this might be his last ditch effort to get some extra love before the twinkies invade the family!

This weekend will be full of painting and working on the house. Eric has invited some of the guys over tonight to tackle the high ceilings in the entryway and the family room. I am getting out of the house so I don't have to worry about the high ladders and paint on my furniture :) I'll be excited to come home after and see the progress that is made.

Eric is still getting used to the new night shift schedule. He sleeps during the day and some days he sleeps well and others are quite a challenge. He is staying positive and enjoying the new position, though, so that makes me very happy.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Belly Pics

I have gotten several requests to see the torpedo belly, so here it is... Eric just took these real quick, he was in a hurry to eat some lunch, so the quality isn't the best, but it's all I can do... enjoy!

Successful Move...

We had an amazing weekend moving and had a great time! We had more help than we knew what to do with, and we greatly appreciate each person who moved our stuff and helped unpack everything! The Schmidt family (Peg, Bill, Adam, Lyndsay) were here from the beginning to the end and did everything from building steps in the back for Aspen, to cleaning out each and every cabinet (thanks Lynds), to carrying super heavy furniture (who knew Adam had muscles??), to organizing our closets, to carrying all our clothes out of the condo, then back into the house, to unpacking the entire kitchen and finding the perfect home for each item, and bringing food for the whole crew (not to mention toilet paper and other essentials!!

Also a huge shout out goes out the Mangins who supplied the moving truck which made multiple trips from all over the area where our things were stored, and spent countless hours moving and unpacking. Eric is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen (and I'm not referring to the one I married... :)) Monica also proved that she doesn't slow down and organizing is one of her strengths as well. We really appreciate all the support, and couldn't have asked for better friends!

Because of the contractions, I wasn't allowed to do much at all, and my wonderful mother-in-law did a fantastic job of taking care of me and even brought a blanket for me and kept filling up my water bottle :) She is going to be a wonderful Grandma.. I can't wait to see her with the Twinkies!!

Eric has been super hard at work these past couple days as well. Not only did he pack everything perfectly, but he has done an excellent job getting everything set in the new house, organizing the troops, and has spent many hours at the condo cleaning, painting and getting it ready for our new tenants! He has not gotten much sleep since he's still working the night shift, and I'm so proud of him and his dedication to making sure everything is done (and making sure I don't have to worry about anything!)

So, now that I went on and on.. I should probably share some pics. We have a lot unpacked and done, but you'll see, there is still some work to do! Eric is busy thinking of colors to paint and other jobs he would like to do. Let me know if you have any color ideas or decorating tips!!