The Belly Chronicles; edition 5

So this is the 5th installment of "The Belly Chronicles". So sorry there aren't any pictures to post. Our desktop computer is acting up, and won't connect to the Internet. Unfortunately, most of my pictures and the scanner are hooked up to it, so that means no pictures for this posting. I am sure we can make up for it later. We got a really cute profile picture of the boys this last ultrasound visit, so I will post it as soon as I can.

This past week we had a couple of doctor appointments with good and not so good results. The babies are doing great, but it seems my body is starting to protest the "two babies" thing. First off we saw the specialist in Apple Valley. They were great and we were finally able to determine for sure that the babies are in separate sacs. We even got a picture of the separating membrane. Very good news! That drops the risk level down considerably. We also learned that the babies are still boys, and they are both growing at the same rate. Good news also. They are 1 pound 7 ounces, and 1 pound 6 ounces.
A few days later we saw my regular doctor and found out that I am not doing the greatest. My blood pressure just keeps creeping up. Unfortunately, we are not even close to a point where it is safe to deliver the babies...so it is a watch, monitor and see kind of situation. I feel OK, except for the constant headaches, and have put myself on semi-bed rest. We don't have and direct orders from the doctor yet, but they did do a bunch of tests for pre-eclampsia last week. I am sure we will here more at my next appointment next week. For now I am just resting and praying that I make it another 9 1/2 weeks, which seems impossibly far away right now. So your prayers in our behalf will be much welcome :)

I am now in my third trimester coming up on 27 weeks this week, and am now realizing that the last trimester with twins (or multiples) is packed with doctor appointments. I will be visiting a specialist (the same one I went to last week) every two weeks, and on the alternating weeks I will be visiting my regular doctor. On top of that I will be going to the hospital twice a week for fetal non-stress tests. So it looks like I will be a busy women who is supposed to be taking it easy? Still the boys seem to be doing great. They are moving around a lot, and it is pure joy to feel them. I am excited to meet them, cuddle them and love on them...but I can wait a while yet. They still need some more time in the oven!

The 4th of July

This year for the 4th of July we decided to take a "mini" vacation. Since it will most likely be the last big trip we take before the babies come, Matt took a week off work and we took advantage.

Weds. we drove down to Las Vegas and spent the night there. We went and saw a Cirque de Soliel show called "Mystere". It was really amazing and the girls loved it. After that we walked the strip (always interesting with kids at night), and stopped in M&M World. The kids are addicted to M&Ms and loved this store that was all about M&M's. They got to fill their own bag M&M's of all choices. I think this was a highlight for them. They have always wanted to stay in the "castle" hotel, so that night we stayed in the Excalibur. It was a fun night. The next day, Thursday, we continued on to Utah, stopping along the way to do some outlet shopping. Friday we spent hanging out with family and friends. Matt and I were able to do a session in the MT. Timp. Temple, while Aunt Trudy took the girls to the movie "UP". Saturday, July 4th, dawned bright and early as we all gathered for the parade.

Here are the girls waiting for the parade to start.

Dad, Hannah, and Anya watching the parade.

Aunt Trudy with Cora and Cari. We blame Aunt Trudy for Cora's addiction to Doritos. She would eat the whole bag if we let her...she just loves them!

After the parade we assembled at the Family compound (since Matt and I's parents live next door to each other) and started some rip, roaring BBQ's. Matt , I and the girls hopped back and forth between the two, but mostly spent time at the Jeppson side. Afterall that is where all the cousins are. It was great to see everyone and enjoy some good food and fun fireworks.

We left Tuesday morning, but what trip isn't a trip home without spending some fun times with cousins. All the cousins got together on Monday for a pool part at Grandma Jeppson's, and they loved it. Matt was able to get a round of golf in with his brother and nephews, and I was able to have a family dinner with ALL of my siblings. There are only four of us, but it seems like it is hard to get us all together in the same state. Especially since two of us live out of state. This was a really special dinner too, since both of my brothers are deploying soon. So we won't be together at least for another year. It was great seeing them, if only briefly, and the girls eat up the attention their Aunt and uncles give them.

Tuesday we headed home, only after stopping in Vegas again for and extended lunch. We were able to meet up with one of Matt's good friends from Fort Hood, TX and Afghanistan. It was great getting caught up with the Penny's, and it was even greater only having a two hour drive to get home after lunch! Thanks to everyone who made our trip so special. We enjoyed visiting with all of you that we could! Happy 4th of July!

Ready for a Vacation!

I know I have been neglecting the blog for a little while. You will just have to bear with me. This past week has been a "week". It seemed long, I tired easy, and I have been getting pretty sore. On the up side, I have been feeling the babies move a lot more lately. That has been really comforting. I also had my first baby shower the other night. Matt's co-workers and wives of co-workers threw me a shower. I thought it was super nice, even though it was a bit early. The reason being is it is moving season in the military, so lots of them will be off on new adventures. They wanted to give me a shower before everyone left. It was a great last get together, and we had some great laughs. Thanks everyone for being so thoughtful!

We are getting ready for our "last" vacation before the babies come. Matt might try to squeeze in a couple more beach trips this summer, but this will be the last time he officially takes time off before the babies come this fall. We are going to go to Vegas for a night, and then off to Utah for the 4th of July. It will be short, again, only one week including the weekend, but it will be fun to see family one more time this summer. So I better stop the typing and start the packing! We leave tomorrow morning!

The Belly Chronicles; edition 4

We are moving right along in the belly growth and development department. I am now 22 weeks along, and well over half way. Things went relatively well at my last OB appointment. Dr. W thought everything looked good with the ultrasound results, and with my stats., so that was a big relief. One thing we still aren't completely sure about is the separate sac issue. There have been a lot of "we thinks", but no "for sures". Dr. W said he would like to find out for sure, because it would change my care some what as far as delivery goes and such. As a PRECAUTION they are sending me to Apple Valley (about an hour away) to a specialist who deals specifically with twins. Dr.W said he usually sends all his "twin" patients down for a consult with the specialist, so don't get worried it is just protocol. They deal with these kinds of pregnancies (as if I am so unusual!) all the time, they can spot problems, give recommendations, and if I go early they would be delivering me anyway...so it is good to be familiar with them. So far though everything looks great, and I feel good but large. I am at 22 weeks in my pregnancy (like I mentioned before), and with a typical, single baby, pregnancy, one would measure about 22 inches. Well, Dr.W measured me and I am 33 inches....measuring the size of a woman 33 weeks along in a normal pregnancy...which would be about 7 months along or 7 weeks from delivery. Yikes...I am huge, and feeling it. But, oh the joy when I feel these babies move, which they are doing a lot of now. It is one of the coolest things about being pregnant, and one of the greatest reassurances and joys. I have always loved that part of pregnancy! We still have no names officially picked out. A few names we are toying around with...but nothing definite. We did get tired of calling the babies "A" and "B", so we picked out some nick names. Baby A is called Axel, and Baby B is called Bronco. Everyone is worried that the nick names will stick...but I don't think they will. It is fun to call them something other then baby or a letter...so for now that is their names. We will keep you posted after the next OB appointment, but for now both babies looked great on our most recent ultrasound. They were moving, good heart rates, and measuring well...if not a bit small which is normal with twins. They may move my due date back to Oct. 29, but will wait until my consult with the specialist to make any decisions on that. For now we are just growing and moving along!

Summer Time Fun

Summer has begun, as well as all the fun activities that come with it. We have already had our "big" summer vacation when our cousins came earlier in the month. Since then we have been busy with some other activities.

The girls took swim lessons, and are progressing well. Hannah is still on level 1...only because she refuses to go under water, but she is getting very close! Hopefully the next session she will do it and move up to the next level.

After swim was done, we signed the girls up for golf camp. Cora was still too young to participate in this, but Hannah and Anya had a great week. They got to spend two hours every morning for a week at the pitch and putt course. Luckily it was nice and cool...so the heat was not bothersome. I think they had a great time, they met some new friends, Anya refreshed her skills, and Hannah learned some new golf skills.

Since Cora could not participate in golf camp, we signed her up for Tumbling camp. She loved this class, plus her good friend Ella was in the class too...so it was lots of fun for her. By the end of the week she was tumbling and twirling like a pro.!

After camps we have just been having some good old fashioned summer fun. Getting wet on the trampoline is always a big hit, plus we have been lounging at the pool and just having a great start to our summer!

June 14th, The Army's Birthday, Flag Day, and Last But Not Least...Matt's Birthday!

Sunday, June 14, has a lot of meanings attached to it. My favorite is that it is my honey's birthday. He likes it because his birthday is on Flag Day....and it was cool while he deployed to share a birthday with the Army as well. I don't know many other deployed soldiers that can boast of having cake and ice cream as well as a party on the birthday's...sponsored by the Army!
This year his birthday fell on a Sunday, so no fancy meals out, and he had meetings. Still, he was able to keep his meetings short, and we got to have him home by lunch. We had his favorite "cheesy chips" (nachos) for lunch, and after he partook of the luxury of taking a Sunday nap. Something he hasn't been able to do for some time now. While dad was taking his birthday nap, the girls and I made dad his birthday cake. Matt's favorite cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. He loves when I layer it, and cut each layer in half so there is extra frosting. This year I decided to not be lazy, and we made the cake from scratch. The girls had a blast as they helped mix the ingredients together. At the end Hannah exclaimed" Mom, it DOES look like batter". Too funny!

I even cooked Matt a meal he hasn't had in a long time (since he lived at home), mainly because I don't eat seafood. Matt requested shrimp quiche for dinner. I thought it turned out beautifully, but the taste was a little off...not really my fault. We had acquired the ingredient list on the fly in the grocery store from a phone call with his mom. So there was a misunderstanding about one of the ingredients...something I have promised to rectify this weekend when I make it again for him. This time using all the RIGHT ingredients!

After dinner, eating cake and ice cream (which was red, white and blue...a nice touch I thought), we opened presents. The kids were worried that Matt would be disappointed he was only getting three presents (one of which Hannah proudly wrapped all by herself), but I assured them that he wouldn't care or be disappointed. I was right. Matt loved his gifts...but most of all he loved being home to celebrate his birthday with his girls.

Disney, Beaches, and Anniversaries

This past week, I think we completed our most ambitious vacation experience yet. Matt's sister and her family came out for a visit, and we decided to go as two families to Disneyland and the beach. Come to find out, June in California is not ideal beach weather...but the kids didn't mind and we had some great beach moments; including some "great" beach burns. All the kids, big and small, enjoyed getting into the sand and surf. The beach (both days we went) was hardly busy at all, so it made keeping track of the kids a lot easier. It was a blast! Especially for those who had not been to the beach before.

We also spent three days in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park. Now that was an awesome experience. Everyone had a great time going on the rides, shopping and exploring all Disney has to offer. We stayed in a great hotel that was basically across the parking lot from Disney. They gave us three, two room suites for the price of a standard room. So we had beds for everyone! I think we hit all the major highlights of Disneyland. I didn't go on many rides myself, being prego., but that worked out well too. We had many children under age/height for some rides, and others that refused to go on certain rides. At one point I was sitting on a bench with 6 little kids, holding a baby, while being pregnant. I got some "double-take" shots for sure. I really didn't mind being with the kiddos, especially since my family had just been to Disney last December. The best moment was fitting our group of 17 in for our photo with Mickey. The staff did an amazing job, and Mickey was very patient...allotting time for hugs to everyone who wanted one. I think it was a truly magical experience for all.

While in Disney, Matt and I noticed that June 2 came. This is the one year anniversary date of Matt coming home from Afghanistan. I can't believe it has been a year already...yet it seems like so much longer. Who would have thought that a year from that point we would be settled in California, enjoying sights, and expecting twin boys. I am so glad to have him home with me and the girls. Even though we have opposite views and opinions (quite often), we still make it work and enjoy being with each other. He's my love, and I can't imagine being without him. I still can't believe I did it for 15 months. So he has been home a year...but he still hasn't been home as long as he was deployed. That is a mind bender!