PUMPKIN Carving time

Sunday, I took the kids to a pumpkin patch. It was opening day so they were giving away free pumpkins to carve, train rides, animal petting etc... the kids had SO much fun and I had fun watching them. Saylor was especially fascinated with the pigs, llama, and goats. Keller loved watching the older boys climb a giant pumpkin and I watched him try a dozen times to climb up too. He thought he was too small, but I convinced him that his muscles were twice as big as the other boys even though they were taller and on his 13th try he climbed to the top. To see the proud face he displayed, just made my day. I've been reading through a book called "That's my son" and it's given me so much insight to "boys". The chapter I read recently was on boys doing crazy things. It challenges mother's to encourage their son's to take those risks, because they will learn to take risks later in life and not depend on "mommy" for security. It basically teaches them to be a leader and not be fearful of making mistakes. Anyway, Keller almost fell twice (which would've been a big fall) but I kept telling him to keep going, not to give up. Once he got to the top, he stood there for a few minutes in all his glory, then lost balance, slid down and rolled down hill. He got up with the biggest grin because he accomplished a difficult task!! I know it seems so trivial, but to his little self absorbed world, it was HUGE....

New Car Seats

I've been looking for new car seats for the arriving boys.... and I FINALLY found some I really liked. I also liked that they came with the snap and go stroller (I hear it is a must with twins). Hard to believe I'll be pushing their little lives around in them soon. I go to the Dr. again tomorrow (seems I am there all the time).

Saylor in the bumbo

We just bought the bumbo baby sitter and Saylor thought it was a chair for her... she kept saying "Mommy, I think it's too little for me".... she is loving all the baby stuff again. She is a helper in the making... and I WILL NEED IT!

16 Week Belly Bump

Well it's been another week and all is well here. I'm still waiting to feel the boys bouncing all over my organs, but for now they are behaving (thankfully). I'll have another update after I see the Dr. on Tuesday.

Sorry there is nothing more exciting to report... but some say NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS....

15 Week BELLY Bump Picture

Here I am getting stabbed in the stomach by Saylor! Someone asked me the other day why I crop my face out of all the belly shots and there are a few reasons. (1) I have 4 inches of dark roots that need to be colored soon, (2) I usually take pictures in the morning before I get too big and bloated (and am not picture pretty early in the am), and (3) I am on a few multiple boards where you post belly pics, without a face shot.

The boys are about 4.5 inches now and are moving around like crazy. I don't feel it much, but seeing how active they are on the ultrasound made me a little nervous of the "movements" and "kicks" that are about to come soon. I've heard stories of twins/multiples causing internal and external bruising..... yikes! Twin B had a heartbeat of 150 at the last appointement and Twin A had a heartbeat of 135. I guess part of being "high risk" and seeing a Peri also means I see a genetic specialist. Not sure the reasons why, but with Keller's eye mutation, we'll happily accept it as part of this pregnancy. We've already declined the AFP and amnio tests with the specialist simply because even if our boys had a defect or disease, we wouldn't choose to abort them. The Dr. also noticed a possibility of the boys sharing a placenta. He wasn't sure, but well know soon enough with our visit to the Peri in a few weeks. Please pray with us that they are in separate placenta's, because sharing just one opens it up to a whole mess of problems ranging from cords being tangled to TTTS. There are quite a few websites that lead you to believe that a shared placenta indicates identical twins, but we won't truly know until they are born or even after!

Kingsley and I have attempted a few conversations regarding the names, but by his suggestions (Hans and Frans, or Remis and Romeulus) he appeared WAY TOO TIRED for those conversations.

On a side note, I got their crib set up today and it was so fun to see BLUE again. I feel like I just put all my pink stuff away and it was fun to see all the boyish blue stuff again! Saylor thinks I set the bed up for her and wants to sleep in the crib tonight... should be interesting!

GENDER RESULTS...

Well it looks as if it's going to be 4-2 with the BOYS in the lead!!! Kingsley and I both saw clearly before the Dr. said anything that there were "parts" in between the legs on both boys! Saylor was a little sad, but keeps reassuring me that she and I are "best friends forever"...lol. Keller is excited to have brothers and hopes they love Ben 10 as much as he does! Now on to choosing names.....

POSITIVE update....

OK for those of you who don't know, our little Keller was born with coloboma's in his eyes. It is visual in his left eye (his pupil is not circular, but bleeds down into his iris, giving it the appearance of a "keyhole"). Basically his eyes started forming, stopped for a short period, then continued forming, leaving a "gap". We noticed it when he was about 4 weeks old and were told that when the eye forms, the heart and brain do as well. We really wouldn't know if the missing tissues and nerves from his eye to his brain would impact him developmentally. After he made all his milestones, we weren't worried about his brain being affected. We were blessed to find out at a young age that the "gap" missed his optic nerve by a hair and he has sight in both eyes!! All this to say, it's been an interesting journey into something we never thought we'd encounter. A few months ago our pediatric opthamologist mentioned his left eye and amblyopia (lazy eye). She noticed his sight weakened in that eye from 20/40 to 20/60 in a matter of months!! It doesn't seem major, but if the brain feels it's too hard to use that eye and just completely shuts off, the eye will basically be "dead". He won't use it, and you can't go back and "re-trigger" the brain. If the brain was just getting lazy, then there was a chance we could strengthen it to use that eye. So we began patching his good eye to force that brain to stop being so lazy with his left eye! He also wears glasses to improve the vision. We went back today and realized that he has 20/20 in his right eye and WITH glasses he has 20/25 in his left eye!!!!! Without glasses it's 20/50, still a blessing! The Dr. was so happy with his progress and said we don't have to patch for the next few months... we'll see how he does. I know this may seem minor to a lot of people who are facing more difficult trials, but when it's your own child who is struggling it seems huge. Keller is such a trooper. He once in awhile will say "I wish I had 2 black circles in my eyes"... or "so and so asked me what is wrong with my eye, mommy, is there something wrong with my eye"? We don't hide the truth from him and I explain how God made him so amazingly unique. I always tell him that his sight is a blessing, and to NOT wish for ANYTHING other than what God gave him. What an encouraging truth I need to preach to myself at times. I honestly can't imagine my life without his precious soul! He is truly a son that would make any mother proud. Anyway, to those who have been praying and asking ... thank you so much. He's doing great and we have so much to be thankful for! Tomorrow I go into see my twins again... always such an exciting moment.

MORE NEWS!!!

I had to take a minute to post something VERY exciting.... my little sister IS PREGNANT!!!!! I am so excited for her as this is her first child. She is due May 20th. That means that me, my older sister and younger sister were all pregnant together for about a week! If any of you know her, that child is in for ONE exciting adventure in life with her as a mommy....lol. She is already so maternal and I can't WAIT to see/hold my precious new niece/nephew! Please keep her in your prayers as the first trimester can be scary!

We love Aunt Didi and Uncle Josh

Here are a few pictures of our "Aunt Didi and Uncle Josh". We went down to Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach and toured some places where they filmed the "O.C.". We ate the at the diner that is often frequented by the cast members.... it was a lot of fun.

It is still hard for me to believe I am having twins. I get so excited to see them both via U/S every 2 weeks, but the time in between, it just doesn't seem real to me. I get "butterflies" in my stomach when I see pictures of newborn twins ... or any newborn for that matter. I really do count it a privilege to be called "mother" and to have the responsibility to raise these children. It's so hard to believe my little baby (Keller) is turning 5 today! I look at him and think of how blessed I am to have him in my life. My prayer is that he grows up to fear, love and serve Christ with every ounce of his little (well BIG) being.

I'm off to clean. Kingsley has been in Atlanta visiting a naturopathic clinic and returns home tomorrow... we will celebrate Keller's birthday then.

Redondo Beach & Hermosa Beach

Just a few shots from our excursions....

14 Week Belly Bump

14 Weeks down already and I'm starting to LOOK pregnant. In fact 2 people yesterday asked me when I was due!!!! I head to the Dr.'s again on Tues and then will schedule an appt with a Peri this month. One of my best friends (who lives 90 miles south) is due with her 5th and we go to the same Dr. I am really looking forward to scheduling appt's together and spending more time with her!

We had a busy week with company in town. Aunt Didi (or as the kids call her "Aunt Leah") and Uncle Josh (or should I say "Uncle Yoda") were here visiting from Virginia. We had fun shooting, camping, hiking, talking, touring Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica, Redondo and Hermosa Beach! They returned home on Thursday and are missed already. Both Keller and Saylor keep asking where they went...we really hope to see them again soon.

Time for a nap....

PISMO BEACH

We just got back from our 1st camping experience with the kids. They had SO much fun riding dune buggy's and cooking food by the campfire (smores were an all time fave). Keller got to ride on the Rhino (with a 7 yr old driver) and the sand rail. Saylor had more fun playing with the other kids and going in the water. They both had no problem falling asleep... the ocean waves were quite soothing. We did however awake at 3am to the sound of Keller puking all over the tent. Guess he had TOO much fun with the hot dogs and smores. He recovered quickly, we switched out heads to the OTHER side of the tent and made it through the night (with some rather gross smells). Overall it was a fun experience for the kids. Here are some pictures of the trip.

13 Week Belly Bump

!3 weeks and growing!

1/2 way to survival!

Well as of last week I am 1/2 to infant survival. Once I hit 24 weeks these babies have a chance to survive on their own.

I'm now a little over 13 weeks. I pulled a ligament last week which is making it hard for me to walk.... I already have the pregnant "waddle". Headaches at night have replaced the morning sickness as well. Other than that things seem to be going great. We've had family in town this week, so it's been great to "feel better" enough to do some things with them. Last night we went shooting (well being pregnant, I can only watch:( We are getting ready to drive up to Pismo Beach to camp on the beach and ride dune buggy's (again, I will be watching!) It will be interesting to see how the kids will do as they have never been camping before. I'm pretty sure this is a primitive site (no bathrooms, etc...)!!

Other great news: My older sister just delivered her 2nd son a week or two early via C-section on Wednesday, the 4th. He is simply perfect in every sense of the word. He has got the "Ramsey" nose and had more hair than his older brother at that age. He came out crying and weighing 7.11. (which is HARD to believe if you saw how tiny my sister was the whole pregnancy). They officially named him, Christopher Chace Turner, and they will call him by his middle name, Chace. He is such a cute little boy and I know he will be showered by love from his older brother and his "Mimi" who awaits his arrival home. My sister is doing great and only had good things to say about her csection! She is so in love with this little guy..... he is a blessed little boy!

Today was an exciting day because it was the first time Kingsley got to see his little twins moving around. It was an uneventful visit (which are the best kind). Both the twins have a good strong heartrate of 160 and surprisingly BOTH are measuring exactly the same size (TO THE DAY, which is 12 weeks, 3 days). I guess it's more normal to have them a few days to week or two off. The Dr. tried to determine gender and both babies were at good angles, but he said it was too early to give a realistic prediction. He did give me a good guess, but I will keep that a secret for now:) Next month I will start seeing a Peri in Burbank. I guess they'll do more detailed sonograms and ultrasounds. The pictures I received from the appointment weren't very clear, in fact you'd probably not even tell it was a baby, so I won't post them. It was exciting to see how big they are getting... their little hands, feet, elbows and knees were just so cute. They are moving quite a bit now and I'm feeling it once in awhile....That is all the news for now. We are getting ready to have some relatives in town visiting, so we'll be busy visiting all the LA sites.... hope you are all doing well and enjoyed your Labor Day weekend.