Babies Update - 25 Weeks

I had a doctor appointment yesterday and was so excited to see our babies again after another long 4-week span. They looked great and were kicking me as they got measured!

Here are their stats:

Baby A-1lb 11oz, 153bpm

Baby B-1lb 14oz, 148bpm

The crazy thing about their size is that my weekly BabyCenter email says a singleton should be about 1.5lbs at 25 weeks and these not-so-little twins are both bigger?! Yikes! 

The good thing was they were both head down. Of course there is plenty of time for them to move again (the ultrasound tech also said plenty of fluid for each baby too so lots of space), but it makes me hopeful they know this is the way out for later :) Baby A was head down, spine along my left side and Baby B was head down, spine along my right side. They are head to head facing each other conspiring about how much punching my cervix can take. Buggers. 

Here is a crappy selfie I took the other night a few days after Jay took a belly pic for me that I posted on Facebook and quickly realized doesn't do any justice for my giganticness. I wore this ensemble for two days in a row and even slept in it. Didn't leave the house but still - I'm at THAT stage. Stretch pants and tank tops are my uniform. 

My next appointment is three weeks from yesterday on February 28th - the same day we close on our house (post on that coming soon!)

Off the grid

Until yesterday we were nearly all the way off the grid, only hanging on by a big toe or two. I'm excited to announce we now have "internet". I use the term loosely because it's DSL and it's SLOW. Better than nothing though and it's all we were able to get out here in the country. 

We still don't have television which as of now we are not missing. It's nice because living with my sister and Jacques there is always someone around to talk to and we get plenty of time to read by the fire. Once we are in our new place and Jay leaves for several weeks or months, I might change my mind. For now though, a Netflix every now and then is nice. 

Edward is keeping entertained by his dog cousins. Here he is teaching Flint about how to use an iPhone:

He also has plenty of toys to play with here. This is his new favorite thanks to my mom. It is a great outlet for him to get some energy out while we are inside avoiding below zero temps!

I need to do a pregnancy update soon. I can't believe how bad I've been this time around about taking belly pics and recording everything. The move has surely put a wrench in my normal routine but hopefully we will be establishing a new routine very soon as we get more settled! Stay tuned - lots of excitement on the horizon!!

So Far

Car rides are a bit different now:

New breakfast buddy Jacques:

Welcome home tourtiere from Aunt Valerie - tasted as good as it looks!

My favorite place to be:

Edwards too:

Still wants to be worn...

...and now he is learning to wear his favorite buddy MiMi (aka: chameleon):

Big brother prep in full effect:

Making new friends (all over again). Finley and Edward share the same birthday just two years apart!

More big brother prep with Finley's little brother Owen:

Learning what the iPod is all about (he loves it):

Getting over his fear of vacuums, learning how to help around the house and even some snacking while doing it!

Feeling babies kick! 

Getting Home

The trip to our new home was quite an adventure! Thursday, the night before our 7am flight to Chicago (for Edward and I, Jay would be driving to Vermont) Jay got an email that our flight was cancelled. He spent over an hour on the phone with the airline trying to figure out our options. The soonest they could get us to Vermont was Monday. We ended up rebooking our flight out of Chicago instead. So we got up early Friday morning to drive to Chicago. 

I felt horrible that morning and couldn't even stomach a bagel for breakfast so though I was glad to not be at the airport, stuck in a car wasn't my second choice! Just over an hour into the drive, I puked!! Sorry for the graphic, but oh my, I am glad I had time to grab a couple empty grocery bags from Edwards backpack usually reserved for his potty accident clothes. Volume wise, it was impressive. Jay pulled off the interstate and I was able to buy a toothbrush & toothpaste, Tums, and some Gatorade. Needless to say, it was a long 10-hour drive!! We made it to Chicago and checked into our hotel for the night. 

Another early wake-up and we were at the airport! Jay got us checked in and then got on the road, headed to Vermont. Edward insisted on "helping" for most of the morning:

We made it on the flight to Philly! On the walk down the aisle, Edward walks in front of me while I carry his car seat. This time he decided to sit in someone else's seat, buckle up, and say "bye mama". Since my hands were full, with a line of people trying to get on after me, I was stuck!! A nice gentleman helped me with the car seat so I could grab Edward. The lollipop was my bargaining tool. Whatever it takes when traveling!!

He loved his blue tongue:

Once we got to Philly, we ate lunch and then got to our gate to find out our flight to Burlington was cancelled. So frustrating!! The line for customer service was sooo long, so while I waited, I called and got us rebooked. They couldn't get us to BTV until Monday, so I chose Manchester, NH and prayed for the best. The flight was already delayed, but it was our best chance. I called my mom to let her know she had to get started on a nearly 3 hour road trip to pick us up and that we may or may not be there at the other end!! Luckily Edward got tired and took a 1.5 hour nap. I just leaned him back and enjoyed some "quiet" time as I finally felt the babies kicking like crazy for the first time!

After he woke up we still had a couple more hours to wait so we passed the time playing Frogger:

We finally made it to Manchester around 7:30pm and Edward was so excited to see his Grammy!

We didn't get to Stacy's until 12:30am...and guess who didn't go to sleep till 1:30?! 

Six days later I finally got our bag and the crazy adventure came to a close. 

Now to start our Vermont adventure - we can't wait!

Omaha

The drive to Omaha looked like this:

The roads weren't too bad until we got into town. Jay doesn't have snow tires yet and the plows were few and far between. We went to Jay's friend Dave's house to watch the Nebraska football game and barely made it there! It was a nice visit and Edward enjoyed playing with their older daughter Ella (3). We had chili for lunch and were all happy to have our Cornhuskers win!!

Edward slept on the way to the hotel, so no naps for mommy and daddy. This is how the afternoon looked for us:

We are staying at the Embassy Suites which as a parent I just love! They have free breakfast, separate bedrooms, and a nice atrium. This location has a koi river throughout the first and second floors. The front desk gives Edward food to feed the fish (some are quite large!) and he just loves it!

Our hotel living has made Edward a pro at using the key cards:

We promised a swim in the pool but it was pretty cold so the steps of the spa it was! I stayed out to make sure the babies didn't get cooked. Edward loved being in the "little pool". 

We went to lunch at the Upstreet Brewery and Edward was so good! He waited patiently for his food and ate most of his lunch. To pass the time we worked on his faces. He has his "surprised", "mad", "sad", "silly" and "happy" faces down pretty good. Today he learned "scared" and this was what he came up with:

After lunch we actually all took a nap! Gotta love hotel curtains! Edward slept over 2 hours and when I went to wake him up he just turned over and went back to sleep. Who's child is this?!

By the way we LOVE our new travel bed for Edward! It's by The Shrunks and perfect for this kind of trip! It fits a crib sized sheet and deflates to a pretty small size. 

I caught my boys going down the elevator. Edward was so afraid of it a few days ago he had me hold him the while time. Now he runs inside, pushes the correct button, and runs to the window to watch:

One of my favorite Pinterest inspired ways to entertain Edward at a restaurant. Hide the penny under the sugar packet. He is really good at keeping his eye on the right one and loved playing with Jay, especially when he was able to successfully trick him! 

One more time feeding the fish before dinner:

Jay picked up take out for dinner tonight. An amazing corn chowder and salads and a brownie for dessert! The perfect distraction from the craziness of finding out our flight out of Omaha was cancelled and rescheduled to Monday! Jay spent over an hour on the phone with the airline trying to figure out a plan and as of now we will be driving to Chicago with him and then flying out on Saturday instead. If all goes well. I feel bad for Edward who is no longer impressed with the "excitement" of a road trip... 

To be continued...

Last Day in Kansas

Sunday was our last full day in KC, and it was a cold one! We started the morning with a little video game (kinect?) where the boys danced along with Dora - Edward's favorite! He has never played any video games before but did great following the dance moves and had so much fun doing it!

Next we headed downtown to the old train station and visited Science City. It was a fun children's museum filled with activities for all ages. Edward was not a fan of the helicopter. It was vibrating as if it were about to take off and he kept saying "no up sky mama". He didn't stay in there long, even with daddy nearby. 

Since it was the old train station they had a huge train exhibit which he loved! All different sizes, some moving model trains and some big ones you could walk in!

Liam and Edward learning about levers:

Any opportunity to climb...

Edward sleeps with a stuffed chameleon every night so this live look-alike was a hit!

The boys bundled up ready to head home:

On the way out Edward saw a few people eating ice cream and since he was so good we obliged (Todd and Grandma headed home with the twins). It was his first cone as we usually get him a cup...our experience? Almost as fun as watching paint dry. Lick by lick, it took FOREVER for him to eat it even with Jay's help! Lesson learned :)

Comfy in the car after ice cream ready to go home and then 2 minutes later - first nap in days!!

Snuggles with grandpa. After give weeks together, it was our last night with them until spring/summer when they come to see the babies!

He loved this Santa hat and the opportunity to snuggle with grandma before we said goodbye:

Love my little man!

More Family Fun

Since it was going to be another unseasonably warm day we decided on going to the park to get the boys out of the house. First though, lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings (Liam and Xander are easily entertained by playing the trivia game there). 

Edward was entertained by dipping his French fries in mustard (his favorite), eating his entire cheeseburger, watching "ice skating" (hockey) on TV, And periodically checking in on an episode of Dora:

The park we went to was fantastic! All three boys had a great time. 

Jay and Xander:

Liam!:

Jay and his Mama:

Love our pre-bedtime stories. Edward has enjoyed some new books we borrowed from the library - Potato Joe and Pete the Cat.