Our first flower girl experience!

What a BUSY fun-filled weekend!

I still have Easter Egg hunt photos to post and an 18 month post to write, but, while last night is still fresh in my head, I decided to skip the other two posts and go straight to the wedding/flower girl post!

Our good friends Matt and Jess tied the knot last night. It was a beautiful ceremony; well planned, beautifully decorated, tons of attention to detail... beautiful. I was one of five bridesmaids, and the girlies were the flower girls. She had twin little two year old boys as the ring bearers as well, and she even incorporated her pugs into the wedding ceremony! It was SO stinking cute!

I could be a bit biased, but I think the girls did an amazing job. They did so much better than I expected. We all decided that it would be best for Si to walk the girls up the aisle, as opposed to the girls being expected to walk up on their own, simply due to their young age. It couldn't have worked out better! The girls each held one of their daddy's hands and proudly walked up the aisle, like they'd done it a thousand times before (they hadn't - they practiced twice at rehearsal the night before is all). As I was a bridesmaid I was already on the elevated stage and got a perfect view of the whole performance. SO cute. SO CUTE. =)

The photographer for the wedding is the photographer that took all of the girls pictures their first year of life, so I am positive that she got some great shots of the girls that I can show you all later on. She even took one of us as a family (AWESOME), so I am hoping to have a new blog header pic in the next couple of weeks too! Sweet!

Anyhow, in the meantime, here are a couple of pictures that I snapped (or Si snapped) before the wedding got started (it was very expressly stated in the program that there were to be no photos taken during the ceremony - so for the time being, this is what I've got!). Enjoy!!

Mommy and her girls =)

Daddy and Livvy =)

Mommy and Miss Olivia =)

Aunt Denise and Miss Bri (she insisted that Aunt Denise hold her nearly the entire time before the wedding started! I bet her arms were tired!!!)

Okay, and how stinking adorable is this?! This is Olivia and one of the ring bearers (Maddux I believe)...LOVE IT!

A picture of my bouquet (can't just have cute kid pics on this blog - need flowers too! HA!)

Another pic of the girls, running laps in the hallway (with their blankets) before the ceremony got started =)

CONGRATULATIONS Matt and Jess!!!! We love you guys and are SO happy for you!!! Jess, you looked absolutely breathtaking in your gown, and Matt looked amazing all dressed up in his tux. We were so honored to be part of your special day! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Have a great rest of your weekend ladies!

Until next time -
Megan

A successful transition!

Our girls are so different. SO different. And they've been this way from the beginning!

When we brought them home from the hospital at a mere 8 days old we quickly learned that we couldn't put both girls in the same Pack N Play or crib to sleep. Nope. Livvy was a talker. She would wake up not only Bri with her "talking", but Mommy and Daddy too. And we needed sleep. NEEDED sleep. We couldn't have a "talker" messing with the sleep schedule in our household! No sir!!

Si's mom (who was staying with us at the time) made it her mission to work with Livvy and very quickly got her situated and used to sleeping in her crib. This could either be the crib in her room (while we were sleeping downstairs on the couch for the first 7 weeks of the girls life), or in the crib upstairs in our room (once I could actually lay flat to sleep in my own bed).

Bri was a reflux baby and had to sleep at an angle. Most nights for the first 6 months of her life she slept in her little lamb cuddle swing. We had two of these swings. We LOVED them.

One of the swings usually traveled up and down the stairs each day with Bri. At night, the swing was in our bedroom, running, at the bottom of our bed. In the morning the swing was carried back downstairs and the girls would nap in their swings.

Please don't judge me! =). We did what we had to do to get some peace, and the girls to sleep. They loved napping in their swings, so that's what we let them do. They turned out just fine!

Once we transitioned Brianna out of her swing at around 6 months, she went into the bassinet portion of the Pack N Play beside our bed. I was still nursing the girls, so if/when they would wake up first thing in the morning (sometimes around 5-6 AM) I would nurse them, and put them back down, and they would sleep until 7-7:30.

At about 8 months Livvy moved downstairs into her room (the nursery) to sleep at night. YAY!

At about 10 months miss Bri followed suit and was moved downstairs.
BUT, not into her crib. Oh no. Not Brianna. She wanted NOTHING to do with her crib. She wanted to sleep in her Pack N Play. And NOT in the same room as her sister. Oh no, she wanted her own space.
So we gave in.
She got to sleep in her Pack N Play in the spare bedroom.
She'd been there ever since.

Fast forward to the beginning of March. I started talking to Bri about sharing a room with Livvy. She was very excited at the prospect of getting to sleep in her "real" crib in the same room as her sister. We talked about it several times a week for several weeks.

Last weekend we decided it was time to take the plunge.

The first night was ROUGH.
After bath time, we put the girls into their cribs (real cribs) in the same room.
Lots of tears.
Bri FREAKED out.
She didn't know where she was in the dark.
This wasn't her Pack N Play.
Oh but wait....I hear my sister...she's crying too!
Wait...my sister is here with me?
Sister?????
Que talking and whining for about 20 minutes.
Finally it was quiet. We were guessing they went to sleep.

They got up an hour early the next day. Oye.
Nap time was even worse.
Tears, followed by standing up in their cribs, chatting, giggling, and jumping on their mattresses.
After 30 minutes they finally laid down and slept for an hour.
AN HOUR.
These girls normally sleep for 2.5-3.5 hours in the afternoons.
They had gotten up an hour earlier than usual AND had only taken a fraction of the nap that they normally take.
They were fussy.
We were frazzled.

When we put them down for bed that night they cried for about 30 seconds, talked for 5 minutes, then went to right to sleep.
Since then they have had NO issues.
Sure, occassionally they would chat for a couple minutes before going to sleep, but then they would SLEEP. And sleep well!

Now they love sharing a room!
They love seeing each other first thing when they wake up.
They love knowing that their sister, their best friend, is right there in the same room with them.

Our transition is complete. We survived! And it was a success! I'm so glad!!!

Now to tackle the potty training....
T-9 weeks and counting....

Until next time -
Megan

A potty training update....

We haven't really been working hard core on potty training...

We bought two potty chairs.
We bought lots of pull up diapers.
We should have bought stock purchased about 12 pairs of Baby Legs to use when potty training while it was still cold outside (note that it is no longer cold outside).

So what's the hold up???

The girls didn't seem interested.
Okay, and well, potty training seemed like a HUGE undertaking to me. HUGE. The girls were (and still are!) young. We both work during the week, and we are busy every single weekend for the next 6, then we only have 3 weekends until little man arrives, so I just figured we wouldn't have the free time necessary to potty train two little ladies right now.

To make myself feel like I was still helping the girls get ready to potty train (and not hinder them any more than I possibly already have - LOL) I bought a Potty Time video off of Babysteals.com two weeks ago. I was interested in seeing if the girls would even watch it.

The girls don't watch TV. They don't have any interest. I was giving them small doses of Sesame Street, and they could make it maybe 5-10 minutes, then they were done. It's probably a good thing really, but I figured that something must be wrong. Who doesn't like Sesame Street after all?! So...I thought I'd go ahead and give the Potty Time video a try. I didn't have anything but my $13.99 + tax to lose.

And?

THEY LOVE IT.

They sit there, mesmorized, staring at the TV and dancing to the music.

They've probably watched the DVD 15-20 times in the past 10 days or so. Note, that is more than once a day. They actually ask to watch it. Bri will bring me the DVD case and sign "please" and Livvy will point at the DVD player and grunt (and sign please) until you turn it on.

And you know what?

I think they might "get it".

Really.

Bri came up to me last night and "told" me that she needed to use the potty. Okay...so I take off her diaper and place her on the potty chair. She sits there contently for about 10 seconds, then gets up and RUNS into her room where she proceeds to pee on the rug.

Oye.

But progress!
I thought she would be the much more difficult of the two to train.

As for Miss Livvy, she told me twice last week that she had to use the potty right before bath time. Both times we took off her diaper and she sat there on the potty chair, probably for a good 30 seconds. Nothing happened. The second I stuck her in the tub, the water gates opened and she peed in the tub. AHHH!!!

We've got a long way to go obviously. But hey, at least they both knew that they had to go. And that's half the battle. Now getting them to go in the right place, and actually relax enough to let it happen...well, that's the other half of the battle I think!

But we are getting there! Go progress!!!!

Where are you guys at in your potty adventures? Have you had any successes yet? Lots of failures? Still waiting to give it a try?

As always I am open to advice and suggestions if you have any! So far what has worked for us is the low-pressure approach...let the girls come to us instead of us asking them 47x a day if they need to go. Not that we won't get there....but for now, this is working, and I like it!

Until next time -
Megan

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday =)

Like Mother, Like Daughters (They really do repeat what they see! These girls LOVE water!)

AND

A perfect Saturday morning with Daddy =)

Happy Hump Day! Have a great rest of your week!

Until next time -
Megan

28 Weeks =)

I feel kind of like I am neglecting posting about "Baby C" (aka - "Baby Boy H" or "Little Man"). I posted SO much about the girls when I was pregnant, but everything is so different with a twin pregnancy; more doctor's appointments, additional monitoring and ultrasounds, more possible issues...and with one baby, well, it's easier.

Okay, so I think "easier" is open to discussion. I don't know that this has really been any easier than it was with the girls honestly!

I think another big part of my neglecting posting about Baby C is that we have two crazy toddlers running around, being adorable, and keeping us crazy busy. I don't have the time to analyze every little thing going on with this pregnancy, and since I'm only being monitored once a month, if we don't get good ultrasound pictures (we NEVER seem to get good ultrasound pictures), I have little to nothing to post about.

We don't have another OB appointment until next week, but since it's been 4-5 weeks since I've posted anything about baby C, AND 28 weeks is a milestone time point for pregnancy, I figured it's about time I just wrote some items down!

So...

We are 28 weeks this week. Wow! Only 11 weeks to go if we go the C-section route, and about 12 weeks to go if we go the VBAC route. We are on the home stretch for sure! I should probably start buying clothes for this little peanut....too bad baby boy clothes aren't nearly as cute as baby girl clothes! I'd have his little closet filled already! Well that, and I don't really know what size to buy...with the girls I knew they'd come early and likely would be in newborn clothes for a while. But with this little man being full term, he will likely be 8 lbs (or more!) at birth, so I don't know that newborn is the size that I should be shopping for! Any insight mommas?

So what else? This little man is very very active! Brianna was a very active baby too, but I think that this little man may have her beat. He really squirms all over the place and takes full advantage of all the space he has in there. Full, BIG movements are common now. I can watch my entire belly move like a wave. Very cool! The girls continue to be obsessed with my growing belly and belly button. I keep telling them that there is a baby in there, but they still don't really get it. Livvy has started giving my belly kisses though, which is absolutely adorable, so I think she maybe has some tiny bit of understanding that there could be a baby in there.

A couple of things that have been different with this pregnancy (and the reason that I note that this pregnancy may not be any "easier" really than the first pregnancy) is the amount of soreness I have been experiencing. My hips and pelvis are SO sore. So sore! All the time. My OB says that since the two pregnancies are so close together that my ligaments pretty much just stayed loose, therefore not supporting my frame and structure (and are getting more loose by the minute it feels like)! While I may not be carrying as much baby weight around, the whole act of moving around, standing, sitting, etc. is more difficult this time. I have definitely been surprised. I was looking forward to an easy, pain free pregnancy! HA!

The other thing I have been watching for with this pregnancy is Pre-Eclampsia. Since I developed pre-e with the girls I now know what to watch for. It makes the symptoms easier to spot, but I also get concerned a bit easier too when I see a new symptom pop up. My blood pressure has been elevated for about the last 6 weeks, but it's not too high yet to where it's overly concerning. They did a 24 hour urine on me about 4 weeks ago, and my protein was already at 260 (300 is clinical indication for pre-e), so that is being watched as well. I just had my week 28 blood work and Rhogam shot, and they went ahead and added on a CMP (Complete Metabolic Panel) to check my liver function and make sure that all is still well there. I feel like I'm being appropriately monitored, I just wish there was something I could do to prevent the pre-eclampsia from occurring all together! My OB told me that my chances of developing pre-eclampsia in a second pregnancy are lower, only about 15%, but with my numbers already being elevated on several of the clinical markers it makes me think that probably I will end up fitting right into that 15% the longer I progress into my pregnancy. I'm hopeful that won't happen, but I'm not counting on it.

So, that's the story! Now on to belly pictures! Just as I did last time, I will post a comparison shot - one of me now, with a singleton, and one of me at the same point with twins. Definitely smaller this time around =).

Here I am today, at 28 weeks 1 day with "baby C"

Here I am at 28 weeks with the girls

HUGE difference right? LOL!
Okay, so that's all for now! I hope you all are having a great week, and if you have any input for me, clothes-wise, pre-e - wise, or otherwise, please feel free to share it! Thank you!!!

Until next time -
Megan

Been soaking up the beautiful weather!

Sorry for my delay in posting! It's been about 10 days since I've updated. I'm a major slacker I know. I am absolutely blaming in on the GORGEOUS weather we have been having in Nebraska for the last week. Seriously, it's been in the 70's and 80's...In NEBRASKA....in MARCH! Unheard of. We have broken so many records in the last week, and records that were set back in the 1800's....so, this just doesn't happen.

We've spent lots and lots of time playing outside, and momma has spent a bunch of time sorting clothes and buying some new spring clothes for the girls. The girls have just gone from size 18 month to size 24 month, and naturally, we didn't have much at all for spring (or summer) anyway since I didn't know for sure what size they would be, so I HAD to go shopping =). The girls got several little dress and skorts outfits, a couple of pairs of shorts, and some sleeveless shirts and short sleeved onsies. Whew!

In other news, Livvy now has enough hair to pull up into a little Pebbles pony tail. She is SO proud of her hair! Now she can be like her sister Bri! She is so excited!! Oh, and books! We LOVE books! We are reading all the time! I love it!!!

Oh, and what else have we been up to? Well, it was our mission to re-finish our basement (or at least part of it) before little man got here so we could have some extra space to accomodate our growing family. I am pleased to say that we have at least started the task now (less than 12 weeks pre delivery - ha!). Friday we got a dumpster, Gramz and Grandpa came down to help and watch the girls, and we started tearing things out of the basement and purging. We have a 1920's home that never had a finished basement, but the previous owners did a half attempt at kind of making it more livable down there with some wood paneling and crappy ceiling tiles, so we had to tear that out. So far, definite success. Yesterday we managed to fill our dumpster. It felt so great to purge!!! Probably a bit of nesting mixed in there too...lol =).

So that's what's going on with us! I promise I will post a picture of mommy and her growing baby bump very soon. I'd have stuck them at the end of this post, but I didn't have any on my camera. I will try to have Si snap a couple tonight or tomorrow.

Hope you all had a wonderfully safe and enjoyable St. Patricks Day, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! It's back to work for me! Talk to you later!!

Until next time -
Megan

Making Sugar Cookies!

On one of the cold rainy days last week we decided to break out the cookie cutters and let the girls make sugar cookies! This was their first experience with sugar cookies, and they did GREAT! Daddy helped so mommy could document our first cookie making experience, and the girls had so much fun!

How it started...

Brianna and Daddy cutting out cookies =)

Brianna very excited about cutting out her very first cookie with a cookie cutter!

Olivia and Daddy cutting out cookies =)

The girls both cutting out cookies with cookie cutters at the same time...Daddy's crazy talented!

Si's favorite picture of the day - Livvy giving Daddy knuckles after a job well done and Bri smiling happily for the camera! Super cute!

Brianna eagerly anticipating the minute she gets to eat one of these delectible sugar cookies!

This was a very fun activity! I have to say though, it was relatively messy with all the flour, and it took the entire evening! What a fun evening we had as a family though - I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Making the cookie dough, cutting out the cookies, and baking the cookies took nearly two hours on it's own, then the cookies had to cool enough to be frosted and sprinkled. The girls were entertained through the whole process though, and they loved being able to use the cookie cutters, essentially on their own. It makes me think that maybe they will be ready to use cookie cutters and play with play-doh sometime soon! They are growing up =). It's so fun to be sharing in all of these first new experiences with them!

Have you made cookies with your kiddos yet? If so, how'd it go? If not, what's holding you back? I would definitely encourage you to give it a try if you haven't already!

Until next time -
Megan