Pink Will Be Our Color This Spring...

A couple of weeks ago,  I went to the doctor for my 20 week ultra-sound.   As anyone who's had a baby knows, this is the BIG ultrasound, during which you find out the gender of the baby (or in our case, babies.)

Everyone in our house was anxious to find out what we were having.  There were bets and conversations about whether it would be two boys, a girl and a boy, or two girls.  Everyone had an opinion and a secret wish about what they thought we were having.   Only Lucy was confident in her choice.  Since the day we found out we were having twins, Lucy has insisted without wavering, that we are having two girls.  Trying to have a conversation about it with Lucy proved pointless, because she knew that inside my tummy were two baby girls.

On the morning of the ultra-sound Andrew came with me.  I was a little nervous going into it.  Nervous about the genders, nervous about any abnormalities they might find, nervous about how our kids would react to the news.  There was a lot on my mind as we went into the appointment.  All those fears went away, however, as the lights dimmed and the images of our two babies flashed across the screen.  Two little hearts beat, arms waved wildly, legs kicked and I marveled that all that activity was going on inside my body.

The tech measured and examined and viewed everything from all angles.  Andrew and I were just caught up in watching these two babies inside me.  When it came time to discover the genders, these two babies decided to be modest and made the tech really work to discover what we were having.

After all her efforts, it turns out that all we really needed to do was listen to Lucy.  She was right all along.  Sometime in February or March we will be welcoming two baby girls to our family.  It's so funny to think that it wasn't too long ago that I wondered if Abby would ever get another sister.  I was so delighted and relieved when we learned that Lucy would be a girl and that at long last Abby would have a sister.  Now, I can hardly believe that the girls will outnumber the boys and that I will be lucky enough to have four girls.  How crazy is that!?

Thanks to Laura for making these cupcakes when I didn't have the energy!

The night of the ultrasound we announced the exciting news to our families and everyone was so excited.  Abby was so nervous before we told her that she was nearly in tears.  I've never seen a girl so happy as Abby was when she found out we were having two girls.

We are all so excited and feel so blessed to have these two sweet babies coming to our family soon - now we just need to come up with some names!

Make That a Double...

One reason I waited to tell the kids about my pregnancy was that I wanted to see my doctor and make sure everything was okay before I let them know about it.

On August 20th, when I was about 10 weeks along, I went to the doctor.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Terrible," I admitted.  "I cannot believe I brought this on myself."

My doctor laughed.  He probably hears the same sob story 30 times a day.  "You should be over it within the next few weeks, " he said as he pulled out the doppler and ran it across my tummy.

Every time I see the doctor for the first time, I hold my breath a little until he finds the heartbeat.  And, sure enough, this time after just a second of searching, there was that awesome sound of a tiny heartbeat fluttering strongly.  In all my pregnancies, it has been in this moment that a baby has become real to me.  It never ceases to amaze me, that at just ten weeks, when my baby is about the size of an olive, a strong and steady heartbeat can be heard.  Completely miraculous, I tell you.

This time was no different; my own heart grew a few sizes as I listened to that tiny heartbeat.  Even after this many pregnancies and babies, I still felt humbled and amazed to know I was growing a baby inside me.

Due to my "advanced maternal age" my doctor suggested I go the following week to get a first trimester screening.  It would involve a simple blood test and an ultrasound.  No big deal.

So, the next week, on Thursday, August 30th, I went in for my screening. It was a pretty routine thing, so I left Andrew at home with the kids.  The tech had me come into a room where she took some blood from my finger as she asked me a few medical history questions and chatted with me about my kids.

Then it was time for me to "hop" up onto the table for my ultrasound.  The lights in the room dimmed and on the screen in front of me, I saw the familiar blurry ultrasound images of life inside me.  I lay there for a second, waiting for the tech to explain to me what I was seeing, but I was not prepared for what she said.

"Oh," she said. "Did you know you are having twins?"

Let me type that again.

"OH, DID YOU KNOW YOU ARE HAVING TWINS?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked.

"No," she said.  "There are definitely two babies in here."

And then I said the only thing that popped into my head.  "My husband is going to kill me."  (After all, I knew I was pushing my luck when I got him to agree to one more baby - but still what a silly thing to say.)

The rest of the ultrasound was a blur.

I know I kept repeating, "I cannot believe this.  I am freaking out.  I cannot believe this.  I am freaking out.  I cannot believe this.  I am freaking out."  And I really was.  All I could think of was what kind of car we could possibly get - because frankly - I've never dreamed of driving a Ford Econoline van.

From the ultrasound it looks like they are fraternal twins and luckily everything looked perfect and healthy on both of them, but let me repeat: WE ARE HAVING TWINS!  That means we will have  SEVEN children.  It's just so crazy.

I left the ultrasound in a state of shock but was so excited to tell Andrew the news.

When I walked in the door, Andrew was on the phone and needed to send someone an email, but I REALLY wanted him to come look at ultrasound pictures with me.  We sat down on the couch together and he started going through the pictures.  "Look at that one," I said casually.  "Doesn't that profile just look like one of our babies?"  He mumbled some half-hearted agreement.  Finally he came to the last picture (the one above) and just looked at it.

"Are you kidding?" he asked.  And then we both started laughing and kind-of crying all at the same time.  It was awesome.  We were both in shock but laughing as though the biggest practical joke of all time had just been played on us.

It has been so fun telling people since then.  People have been pretty shocked to hear about the pregnancy in the first place, but to then tell them about twins has been hilarious.

I have been on a roller coaster of emotion.  On the one hand, I am so excited and grateful and thrilled beyond words - but I have also felt totally overwhelmed by every aspect of our life.  Our car is too small.  Our house is too small (seriously, we currently have five kids sharing two rooms, I think we'll really be pushing our luck with seven.)  I can't figure out how I will take care of two newborns all night long and then take care of five other kids during the day.  It's all a bit much for me to comprehend right now.

But even through all the overwhelming emotions, there is faith and comfort in knowing that these things are small details that will work themselves out and in the end, we will be blessed with two new babies in our family.  And those two babies will grow into toddlers and into children and teenagers and adults and our life will be forever blessed because of them.

I'm a lucky mama - a lucky, overwhelmed, fairly unorganized, slightly frazzled, but happy mama.

Now, if I can just get through the pregnancy.

Back to School Surprise!

The Saturday before school started, we had a big "cabin breakfast" to celebrate the end of summer and kick-off the new school year.  We had pancakes with whipped cream and syrup, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, cantaloupe and watermelon.  A completely decadent breakfast - and called "cabin breakfast" because the only time we ever eat it, is when we're at the cabin. However, this was an important morning and worthy of an indulgent meal.

This is as fancy as it gets at our house - especially on a Saturday morning.

And just because no one is dressed in this picture, don't assume this was an early morning thing. 

We sat down to breakfast and reviewed all the highlights of the summer (things I have yet to blog about.)  We talked about all the tennis lessons, swimming lessons, dance classes, theater camp, our trip to Lake Powell, to the beach house and to San Diego. We talked about hours spent at the swim club and sleepovers at the cabin, and camp-outs up the canyon.  We had a great time reviewing and reminiscing about the Fabulous Summer of 2012.

We talked about the upcoming school year - what the kids were excited for and what they were nervous about.  We talked about goals for the school year and things we can do to be more kind at home and at school.  It was a great breakfast with lots of good conversation and at the end of it, I told the kids I had a surprise for them.  

I gave each of the kids a ball a crepe paper and told them that they had to unroll it to find the surprise inside.  They had a great time unwrapping yards and yards of crepe paper trying to find what was hidden inside.  When they finally got them all unrolled, inside they found this: a little doll with a very special message attached.

Over the past several months, Abby has told us dozens of times that we really need another baby in our family.  One afternoon during the summer, I found Abby sitting in front of the computer watching videos of Lucy learning to walk.  Abby looked at me with big tears in her eyes and said, "We just can't be done with babies in our family."

I'm not saying that's why we decided to have another baby, but on that Saturday morning before school started, when Abby found the baby and the message wrapped inside the crepe paper ball, she came running over to me, threw her arms around me and we both bawled.  It will always be one of my sweetest memories.   As the other kids figured out what was going on, they all came over and hugged me and got a little emotional.  It was an amazing feeling to have all those arms wrapped around my neck and to know that there would be one more joining our family.  It made me so excited to welcome this baby into our home and made all the nausea and exhaustion and yuckiness seem worth it.

It was such a fun morning.  I was so excited to let the kids in on the secret I'd been keeping for nearly eight weeks.  I was so happy I could finally explain to them why I'd been such a blob for the past few weeks.  But mostly, I loved seeing their reactions and their joy and excitement at the idea of welcoming another baby into our family.  What a perfect way to end an amazing summer.

An Announcement

It's about this time of year, every two years, that I make the announcement: a new baby is on its way.  It's been like clockwork really, so no one is really surprised when they hear it.  But this year, things are different and no such announcement will be made.

Our announcement this time around is of a different sort - or at least a different sort of baby.

Announcing the newest member of our family:

Minnie Rose

born: May 21, 2010

current weight: about 2 pounds

Now this isn't our first foray into puppydom.  

Back in the summer of 2004, I figured it was a great time for a puppy.  My thinking was that Abby and Isaac were the perfect age to get a dog, and I knew there wouldn't be another baby for awhile.  So, I did my homework, and chose a "schnoodle" (half schnauzer, half poodle.)  We got him at the end of August and Abby named him George (pronounced Gorge.)  He was so cute and such a good dog.  We were thrilled.

However, it didn't take me long to realize a couple of things.  

1.) I was pregnant.

2.) Three-year-olds are no good at taking care of a puppy.  One-year-olds are even worse.

3.) Morning/noon/night sickness doesn't really combine with trying to house-break a puppy.

4.) Getting a puppy while your husband is in residency and doing his neuro-surgery rotation is a really bad idea.

When I discussed the idea of getting a puppy, these two assured me 

they were ready and eager to help.  August 27, 2004

(For the record, those are the breeder's shoes.)

We made it until November with our puppy, and then in an act of desperation, I called my parents and begged, cried and pleaded until they decided that they really needed a puppy in their home.  And so, my parents adopted George and he has loved every minute of life ever since.  It worked out really well for us too.  Whenever someone asked our kids if they had a pet, they said "Yes, we have a dog.  But he lives with our Grandma and Grandpa." 

Over the past couple of years, George just hasn't been enough though.  Abby has been asking for a dog on a weekly basis for the past 18-months.  She even wrote a heart-felt letter to Santa when I was still pregnant with Lucy, begging for a puppy.  Santa was kind enough to let Abby know that it wasn't the right time, but gave her a puppy book so she could start figuring out what kind of dog she wanted.

Well two weeks ago, while perusing the classified ads on KSL looking for a good deal on a refrigerator, I came across a completely unrelated ad.  It was for a puppy, a darling miniature schnauzer, and I knew she had to be part of our family.  I showed the ad to the kids, and of course, they fell in love immediately.  And then I brought it up with Andrew - first as a joke, then as a hypothetical and then I applied the real pressure.  It didn't take long before he caved.

Yesterday we all piled into the car and drove to Nephi to pick up the newest member of our family.  When they first pulled her out of the crate we were shocked at how tiny she was.  Bitsy.  Itsy-bitsy.  But we were in love immediately.   How could we not be?  She is adorable!

Abby and our long-awaited puppy.

Minnie is the sweetest girl.  All the kids adore her.  And now, six years after our first attempt, Abby and Isaac really are the perfect age to get a puppy.  They are responsible and conscientious about her care and her schedule and most of all, they LOVE her.  (Frankly, it doesn't matter if they aren't "the perfect age."  This time around my parents have already asked me to remove their names from my speed dial, so it's gotta work.)

Best of all, any doubt Andrew had about getting a dog disappeared when he found out that he and the puppy share a birthday.  What a delightful coincidence!

We are all thrilled to welcome another girl to the family!

Lucy, our tiny daughter with Minnie, our much-tinier dog.

Henry and Minnie

Isaac getting kissed.

Peter being gentle.

P.S. We had a tough time deciding on her name.  Finally, we had it narrowed down to Minnie and Rosie and while twelve neighborhood kids were gathered here to meet the dog, Abby conducted a vote.  The result:  Minnie Rose.  We love it.

We joyfully announce our daughter

Lucy Ann

The name Lucy means "light" and she certainly has been 

a light and a joy to our family in the few short days she has been here.  

We are all in love with our Lucy.

"Truly the light is sweet..."

Ecclesiastes 11:7

Welcome to the World Baby Girl (part 2)

Sunday, May 10, Mothers Day.

Monday, May 11,  Mother's Day

FIVE.

I'm your sister.  (at last)

Resting Sweeties

7 pounds 7 ounces (tiny for us)

18.5 inches

May 11, 2009

naming in progress

It's a Christmas Miracle

Christmas came early to our house this year, though you would never know it looking around the place. We don't have a single present under the tree yet (with only one week to go) and the stockings still aren't hung by the chimney with care.


But, mark my words, Christmas came early.

It's a girl!

I can't believe it myself, but after checking and re-checking, it is definitely a baby girl! Not only that, but she looks healthy and perfect and currently weighs an estimated 10 ounces.


The kids are so excited and Andrew is over the moon. What more could we want for Christmas? Now, if we can just wait until May to meet her.

Survival

Over the past few weeks, we have been in survival mode at our house. Survival mode is not pretty. It's not fun. It's not easy.

For me, this is what a day includes when I am in survival mode:

-getting the kids to school
-feeding the kids three meals a day (not necessarily homemade, not even necessarily nutritious.)
-giving Peter and Henry naps.
-getting homework done.
-reading the scriptures
-getting four kids to bed.

The number of things that don't make this "survival list" is staggering. The list doesn't include:

-showering
-doing laundry
-picking up toys
-cleaning the house
-doing the dishes
-combing my hair
-getting Henry a vampire costume
-making dinner
-going to the grocery store
-bathing the children
-returning phone calls and emails
-posting on the blog

Honestly, the list could go on and on and on of things that don't get done when all I'm trying to do is survive the day.

And to what do we owe this lovely state of affairs.....?

Yes. Don't faint.... but number five is on the way and due to arrive in May. We are so happy and will be even more excited when I get over this "morning" sickness and get back to being a real mom.

Until then, we'll just keep on surviving the best we can.