Gage turns 3!

Really? I can't believe that my youngest child is now 3 years old.

This year our kids get only family birthdays. No inviting a bunch of kids over. We rotate every other year and I'd have to say I sure am glad that this year was a family year. Next year I'm sure I'll be up to having kids over and going all out.

On Saturday all of the Grandparents came over for a BBQ and little party for Gage. We sang happy birthday to him twice and he begged for us to do it again and again. He loves singing that song.

Grandma Miller hit a home run with the boots that she bought for him. Both of my boys love boots. The whole rest of the day the boy wouldn't take them off. He sure looked stylin' with shorts and boots on.

Grandma Duncan also hit a home run with the glow in the dark stars she got him. We put them on the ceiling in the boys room that night and they love them.

Yesterday was really Gage's birthday so before Jerry headed into work we had him open the gifts from us.

Here is Kaysen telling Gage that, "You can share that Buzz Lightyear phone with me, huh Gage???"

Gage also got a marble race track and the boys haven't stopped playing with it since yesterday morning. It has been rebuilt at least 20 times and different ways. It has been a good little investment...they've played TOGETHER with it so far.

After we played for a bit I made some Mickey Mouse pancakes for the birthday boy. That was his birthday breakfast request...and man did he eat them up.

Gage has been telling people for a couple months now that, "Tomorrow is going to be my birthday!" He got the line from Tangled. He even grabs your shoulder and tells you like Rapunzel does in the movie. Whenever we'd ask him what kind of birthday cake he wanted he'd say a Rapunzel cake. Well, we drew the line on that one. I really thought about making it a Flynn Ryder and Max cake but couldn't find the stuff I wanted. So gradually we were able to talk the kid out of a Rapunzel cake by telling him that was for girls only and he was a boy.

So he settled for Scooby Doo....and loved it.

Since we didn't have a big party bash with kids at home, I made some cupcakes to take to preschool. I found little Scooby Doo Rings that I used as the toppers on the cupcakes. They were a big hit.

For dinner we let Gage choose what he wanted. He chose "Old McDonalds." So I broke my bed rest rule and we headed to Old McDonalds to get the boy a happy meal.

After dinner we came home and sang Happy Birthday to him as he blew out all 3 of his candles.

He was pretty excited that he got all of them out by himself in one big "bad wolf" blow.

One thing about this boy is that he cannot stand to have his hands dirty. He'll play in the dirt but as soon as he's done, his hands are washed. If he gets mud on them...it immediately comes off. So when it came to eating his cupcakes yesterday....

he opted for no hands and just dug in with his face.

This little boy has a mind of his own and can drive me up a wall most days but I don't know what I'd do without him. He has taught me to just chill and let some things go. He thinks that everything is a joke...which can get on my nerves but teaches me to smile about little things. He is constantly giving me hugs and kisses, something I hope he doesn't outgrow too soon. We sure love this little guy and are so glad that he was sent to our home. Happy Birthday Gagers!!!

Close Call...

On Tuesday morning I dropped Kaysen off at preschool then headed into Holbrook. They have reading time at the library every Tuesday at 9:30 and I thought it would be a good distraction for Gage. We were early so I took him over to the park for a bit of fun before hand. Well, I lost track of time and realized too late that it was already 9:45 so we just left the park and headed to the store for a few items.

Like always, this little guy had to go to the bathroom at the store. So I took him and realized I needed to also. I need to be thankful that he needed to go because I realized I was spotting. We paid for our 1 item and left the store immediately. I headed home, laid down and tried to think of what to do. I didn't want to over react and have it be nothing. I didn't want to do nothing and put my babies life and mine in danger.

Finally I called my Dr. and she told me to go the Labor and Delivery at the hospital. So I called Jerry and he left work, checked Kaysen out of school and we headed to Show Low. On the drive he kept asking if I was having contractions. I didn't know. I felt my belly getting tight but with Kaysen and Gage I had such bad lower back pain and minimal stomach pain that I was looking for that instead.

My mom met us at the hospital and took Kaysen and Gage with her. We got to Labor and Delivery and they hooked me up to the monitors. Turns out I was having some pretty good contractions every 8 minutes. Then they got even more strong. Eventually I was having contractions every 2 1/2 minutes...and that was after one dose of Trabutaline (sp?) So they gave me another shot of Trabutaline and a dose of Procardia to help stop the contractions. Plus I got a steroid shot to help develop the babies lungs incase they really were coming. Did I mention that those steroid shots hurt. I felt like I got kicked in the rear end by a horse.

Eventually my contractions slowed down but they wanted to keep me overnight. Luckily my contractions weren't causing me to dialate but my cervix is getting "soft" so they wanted me there for a bit more observation. Finally at 4:00 pm yesterday they gave me another dose of the steroid shot and sent me home.

I am now on modified bedrest. Meaning I have bathroom priveleges and minor kitchen ones. I can take my boys to school and that's about it. I have to stay down for at least 70% of the day. That's pretty hard with 2 kids to take care of.

Today has been long and boring. My amazing mother-in-law showed up at 7:30 this morning and took the boys. She kept them until after 12, just in time to drop them off so they could take a nap. So, thanks to her I haven't been up much at all...I've just been bored out of my mind. My Dr. says to hang in there as long as I can. 3 weeks would be pretty good. But she told my pediatrician that she'd be surprised if I made it another 2 weeks. I am determined to do all I can to last at LEAST 3 more. Each week I can put it off is that much healthier they will be.

But boy this is hard for me. I want so badly to do all that I can to keep these babies healthy yet I feel like my other two are going on the back burner. Luckily I have an amazing family that is willing to do so much for me. My sister in laws are offering to take my boys to school and pick them up and I am so grateful. But that makes me feel horrible too. Each day that I pick up Gage he runs out the door and says, "Mom, you came back!" and hugs my legs so tight. I love that reaction and I don't want him feeling like I'm neglecting him. Plus his birthday is next week (what????) and I had stuff planned for it, now I don't know how much of that will be getting done and I don't want my little guy disapointed. Kaysen keeps telling me that he's going to be my big helper and boy is he ever. He feeds the dog, waters the garden, gets drinks and treats for Gage, gets the laundry out of the dryer and much more. Man I owe that boy a lot. He's been amazing. However, it makes me feel incompetent. Jerry is already so busy with work, school and our addtion. Now he's being Mr.Mom. He's doing a spectacular job but as I lay on the couch watching him work it just makes me feel that much worse. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. I just hate not being able to do anything. Oh well. Just a few more weeks and I'll be able to help out again.


So I have to have Non-Stress Test done twice weekly, a BioPhysical Profile done weekly and take Procardia every 6 hours to hold off contractions. Plus I get to wear some pretty sexy compression socks. Since I am down so much they don't want blood clots forming. I have to wear them for at least 23 hours a day if possible. Man I'm stylin....

All in all it was a pretty hectic couple days, but during that time I never felt scared. I was comfroted the whole time and I know that everything will turn out well if I just listen to my body and my doctor. The next 3 weeks are going to be rough but I just hope that I can last that long so our babies have a better chance of surviving and being healthy. Thank goodness for prayer. I know that is what is keeping these babies alive and well so far.

Showered...

On Saturday my wonderful friend Cayla and my Mom threw a baby shower for me and the twins. It was held in my Mother-in-Law's back yard and was wonderful. Unfortunately my mother-in-law took some pictures of the party but I haven't gotten them from her yet....they will hopefully be posted soon.

The shower turned out great. The food was delicious and so many wonderful friends and family came and I couldn't believe all of the wonderful things they got for us. It was a huge blessing and boy am I grateful to all of them.

After looking at the large pile of diapers my friend LuAnne said, "Well, you have enough to last you 2 months maybe." And boy is she right I bet. Diapers are going to be coming in and out of our home like crazy soon.

It is so crazy to think that in just a few short weeks we are going to be adding two new ones to this household. I used to think my life was busy...boy was I wrong. Nowadays I spend most of my time just getting extra stuff done, playing with my boys, reading books and taking it easy. Kaysen and Gage both still take naps most days so that is at least 2 hours each day that I have to myself. That isn't going to last long. I'm sure those two hours will be filled with nursing two little ones.

Most of the time I CANNOT wait for these two to arrive. I just want them here. I want them healthy. But then I think I'm crazy, I should be wanting them in my belly as long as possible because once they are here, my life is never going to be this laid back.

Jerry just wants them here. He doesn't like it when I'm pregnant. He worries too much (although I didn't know he worried that much until our miscarriage. Then he let his worries be known a bit better. He holds it all inside) He wants to know that his babies and I are healthy so he's ready for this pregnancy to be over.

My nesting has hit full force now and I am trying to organize everything as best as I can. It is much harder this time around. We have twice the stuff coming in, and he have half the room to put it in. Kaysen and Gage's closet is jam packed with diapers, clothes, blankets, burp rags, etc. Someday soon it will be their closet again and full of just toys and clothes for them. Jerry just laughs at me because each day I'm asking him to take one more item off the shelf in the garage so that I can clean it and get it ready for the babies. Most of the time it drives him nuts, but then he admits that he's glad I am doing it. He knows it is keeping me sane to feel like I have something to do.

So I am 31 weeks now and am just trying to keep these little ones in there for AT LEAST 4 more weeks. I had an ultrasound last Wednesday and we saw that the girl was now 3lbs and was in the 50%. Her ultrasound 2 weeks ago measured her at 2lbs 3oz so she gained 13oz in 2 weeks! That was great news. Our boy was measuring 2lbs 14oz and was in the 45% so he gained 9oz in 2 weeks! Yay. They are both growing well and we just hope they keep it up. Baby A, our girl is still breech and Baby B our boy is laying transverse. Unless they both get head down in the next week or so, they will be delivered by C-Section. Supposedly most twins run out of room to switch positions around 32 weeks.So we'll see how these little ones decided to grace us with their presence...only a few more weeks and they will be here and our life will get just a bit more crazy!!!

First Day...

Yesterday these two BIG boys started preschool.


This big boy goes first.


He is in the 4 year old preschool class that goes from 8:20-11:20am. He isn't too happy about being in the 4 year old class because, "I am turning 5 on October 6th Mom so I'll be 5 and be in the 4 year old class. I should be in Kindergarten like Peter (his cousin) who is 5 too."

However, he loves his teachers Mrs. Holmes and Ms.Tressa and had so much fun at school yesterday. He rode the bus home like last year, but this year he rides the short bus that has seat belts. He informed me that he isn't going to ride the big ones anymore because they aren't safe. As soon as he was in the car he was pulling every paper from his bag and showing me all the cool things that they did on the first day of school.

Last year he only went for 2 hours, now he's gone for 3. That one more hour really makes a difference. Gage was lost. It was much quieter in our home. Gage and I even ran to the store to pick up a few items, stopped by the library, and had Aunt Tia and Uncle Merrick stop by for a visit all while Kaysen was gone. It really seems like he was gone for a long time. Kaysen however wished that he could have stayed longer. He actually wants to skip Kindergarten and go to first grade so that he can go ALL day long like Klydie. (his cousin)

This big boy started 3 year old preschool that goes from 1:15-3:15pm.

He was NOT too happy about Kaysen being able to go in the morning while he had to go back home. I told him that it was Kaysen's turn now but after lunch it was going to be his turn to go. He replied, "Then I'm not eating lunch Mom!" He figured if he didn't eat lunch that would mean he could stay in Kaysen's class. Boy was he ready to go after lunch though.

He has the same teachers as Kaysen. Mrs.Holmes calls Kasyen Mr.Mom because he's always making sure everyone is okay. When the kids arrive to school they have to find their name and place it in the girl or boy column. So Kaysen says, "Okay Gage. Where is your name?" Gage happened to pick the wrong one so Kaysen showed him which one was the right one and asked him if he was a boy or girl. "Boy" was Gage's reply so Kaysen told him to put it in the boy column. Then Kaysen proceeded to tell Gage what he needed to do. "Okay Gage, now you put your backpack right here. Now you have to go wash your hands." After the hand washing was complete he said, "Hey Buddy. Mom and I are going to go home now but we'll be back to pick you up when school is over okay. Have a good day." And gave him a tight squeeze.

I just stood back and watched. It looked to me like Gage didn't need any help from me or the teacher. Kaysen took care of it all.

However, I knelt down next to him and said, "Hey bud. I'm going to go home now and will be back get you when school is over." Gage replied, "Bye Mom!" I wanted him to understand that if he turned around and I wasn't there, then I would be back once school was over. So I told him that again. "See ya later, Mom" he said. Okay. So he was ready to be on his own.

He's been a little bit more attached to me lately so I really wondered how he'd do. Turns out he did good. He told me that he said, "I want my mom. Teacher said, "She'll be here in just a minute. So I said, okay and I dug in the dirt."

The time seemed to drag on a bit slower for Kaysen while Gage was gone. We didn't go to any stores and no one stopped by to visit so we didn't really have any distractions. Kaysen wanted to paint so we pulled out the water colors and away he went.

After painting for a little while he was bored. So he asked if I'd play a game with him. I told him to go get it and I'd play with him as soon as I was done on the phone. (dang insurance...) I walked into the living room to find the Wahoo board set up on the stool and Kaysen sitting in his spiderman chair right up next to it.

He said, "I made it up high so that you could lay on the couch and not have to sit and smash your belly while we played."

It was a grand idea and it made playing Wahoo much easier.

Finally the appointed time to get Gage arrived so we headed out the door. When we got to the school Mrs. Holmes told Kasyen that Gage was outside playing and that he could go get him and bring him to me. Away Kaysen ran. I hear him yell, "Hey Gage! How was your first day bud? See Mom and I are already back to get you! Come on, let's go find her."

To say my boys like school would be an understatement. They LOVE school and were already talking about how they got to go back on Tuesday and Wednsesday too.

How about a Penny???

Today Jerry finished up our sewer line. I wish that I would have taken pictures of our boys digging in the dirt and "helping" their Dad. However, I move a bit slow these days and by the time I got around to getting the camera, they had moved onto bigger things.

Towards the end of the project, Kaysen was helping Jerry and Grandpa pour the dirt back in the trench. Jerry and Grandpa both had shovels and the tractor. Kaysen had hit little garden shovel and thought he was putting more dirt in the trench than they were because he was digging faster and boy were his arms moving fast trying to get that dirt in there.

Jerry looked at him and said, "Wow! You are a hard worker. We should pay you a quarter for all your help, huh?"

Kaysen quickly replied, "How about a penny!"

Jerry and I laughed and said, "Sure. If you really want a penny instead of a quarter."

Kaysen nodded his head up and down quickly and let us know that a penny was definitely what he wanted.

Who knew that such good help would cost so little??


In other news Jerry has been working 5, 8 hour days for the past two weeks. I am in heaven. He has been somewhat bored with the new job because he has had to do all the boring orientation stuff that he's gone through a hundred times but the past couple days he has been able to go out in the field and work. That made his days go by much faster. I told him (somewhat nicely) that I didn't have much sympathy for his boring days because I LOVE his 8 hour days. They go by so much faster than those 12 hour ones. We've had so much more time together each day and it has been awesome. I just know I'm going to love it as time goes on.

Some not so happy news....for me. Not a big deal but not GREAT news anyways. Today I found my first stretch marks on my belly. Okay, so I had two small ones already there. One from each previous pregnancy, but that is it. Just this morinng I was checking my belly out to see and NOTHING new was sighted. Then this afternoon I commented to Jerry that I felt like my belly/skin was stretching...but put the idea aside. (denial) Now just a mere 10 minutes ago, I was laying on the couch watching my belly dance (from the babies moving around). My shirt was pulled up above my belly and Jerry commented that he saw new stretch marks.

WHAT!!!!

I quickly did a scan of the area and lo and behold there they are. I knew this pregnancy would be the one to REALLY make my body change and never go back to like it was but I'll admit I was in a bit of denial about it too.

Oh well, it's the price I gotta pay to get these two little ones here safely.

A Birthday and a Testimony....

Yesterday was my husbands 28th birthday.

We kicked it off by having waffles drenched in peaches and whip cream. Mmmm...it was so good. I asked him what he wanted to do for his big day and he said, "A whole lot of nothing. Unless it's something fun." He was a bit sick of work...I was fine with that.

We called my parents to see if thy could watch the boys while we went out. We had a great lunch at Native New Yorker which we have NEVER eaten at. We lived in Show Low for 4 years and never once at there. He got the Native burger and I got the chef salad. Boy did that salad taste wonderful. I could eat one of those everday. After lunch we headed to the movie and watched Transformers: Dark of the Moon. We both enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it much more if I would have been comfortable. The little boy in my belly still likes to keep his foot jammed in my ribs. Plus I had to go to the restroom 3 times and missed some good parts dang it!

It was a great date though and we loved being able to spend time together, since we know our dating days are going to be a bit more limited for quite some time.

After lunch the movie we headed back to my parent house where they had a great steak dinner in the works. Mmm....boy did I get spoiled with good food that day. I'm pretty sure my doctor would be proud of all the food I packed in this belly.

I hope that Jerry had as good of a day as I did. He sure deserves it. He's such a hard worker, he needs to just relax sometimes.

I must have been really tired from our exciting day because as soon as we got home we got the boys to bed. I had to finish up the ward announcements for church, and Jerry was waiting for me to get that done so he could surf the net for a bit. About 30 seconds after I handed the lap top over I was falling asleep as he was talking to me. I never do this...he is usually the one falling asleep as I talk his ear off each night.

Then his phone went off. It happened to be right next to my head and I had to hand it to him. It was someone texting him a happy birthday note. He handed the phone back to me and somehow I got it plugged back in. A few minutes later it went off again. So I handed it to him again, then I charged it in again...although I don't remember doing it. Once again, it went off a few minutes later. This time I gave it to him and told him to keep it. Of course because I had him keep it....it didn't go off again.

In other news....Kaysen stood up and said bore his testimony in church all by himself today. A few of his cousins went up there, like they do almost every fast Sunday, so we asked him if he was ready to go up there yet. Each Sunday he has told us no, but today he said he was going to do it. We were a bit shocked. He kept waiting and waiting then finally just stood up and walked up there. He had to sit on the stand for a bit because, "that guys just kept going" (according to him).

Jer and I were a bit nervous. We haven't prepped him on what to say because we want his testimony to be his own. However, we realized that he may say some things that do not pertain to testimony so much.

I don't know why we were nervous...the boy did great. He stood up there and said, "I like to bear my testimony. I know the church is true and I love my Mom and Dad and brothers and sister." I wondered at first if he just said that becasue that's what he heard other kids say. Especially since, he only has one brother born so far. However, he informed me that, "I love Kynlee and Teagen too even though they are still in your belly."

Now each night before bed he prays for Heavenly Father to help him bare his testimony on Sunday.

He loved it...and so did we.

Gage on the other had was pretty ticked off that we didn't allow him to go up there by himself too...maybe someday soon, but not yet. The boy would just run all over the place. I just know it.

28 week appointments...

On Wednesday I had my 28 week check up and ultrasound.

Baby A, our girl, is sitting breech (sp?) directily on my bladder. No wonder I'm dashing to the bathroom 50 times a day. I even have to get up at least 3 times during the night...I never had this problem with my other pregnancies. Good new though....she now weighs 2lbs 3oz. She has gained 1lb in 4 weeks. She is in the 28 percentile so she is on the small side, but she is growing and that is what matters.

Baby B, our boy, is laying transverse across the top of his sister. His foot has found the perfect little nook inside of my right side rib cage. He too has gained 1lb in the last 4 weeks and now weighs 2lbs 5oz. He is in the 32 percentile so again...he is small.

But the news we got was great. We have been so worried that our little girl wasn't going to be growing as well but we now see that both of them are growing just fine. I was also told that my cervix actually thickened to 3.0cm, thanks to over a gallon of water a day and bedrest. This measurement is actually good for how far along I am and for the fact that I am expecting twins. These appointments just made my stress level go down a whole lot and I know that each week brings us one week closer. If these two little people decided to come early, I know that their chance of survival is actually really good. Yay!!

The only news my doctor didn't like was that I've gained 21lbs. I thought that I had gained 26lbs...but according to them it's only 21. She wants me to pack on a bit more if possible. On average, twin pregnancies should gain around 40-50lbs. I only have about 6-8 weeks before these little ones make their grand apperance and so it doesn't look like I'll be gaining that much. So I'm drinking Ensure and trying to fit more food into my already packed belly. I have noticed that I have a bit more energy now that I'm drinking the drinks, I guess these little ones just like to take all that I have, and in the end there isn't much left for me. So we'll see just how much I can fatten up in the next few weeks. Also, since Baby A is breech and Baby B is transverse the probablilty of a c-section are high. Unlsess they magically turn, which they'd have to do in the next 2 weeks or so before they run out of room.

I also met with a new pediatrician. She has been in the NICU for a hospital in New Jersey for 17 years and has just moved to Show Low. She is willing to be on site when my babies are born, even if she isn't the doctor on call. She is also willing to be there and watching over them if they are born at 35 weeks. Our hospital sends most babies born before 36 weeks to the valley. So, As long as I can make it to 35 weeks, which is September 18, I will be able to avoid being air vacced (sp?) to the valley, as long as the babies and myself are healthy. That is a major relief. I want to keep my babies here if at all possible. Unless there is a problem, then I want them at the best facility available. However, if my labor progresses too fast and they are born here and end up needing to be sent to the valley, I would have to stay here and they'd be sent with out me. That is something I DEFINITELY don't want. So I'm just praying they will come after 35 weeks and healty!!

I go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound and then I'll start having Non Stress Tests every week. It's so crazy how fast the time has flown. Our addition is NOT done but I'm honestly not even worried about it anymore. I just want these little ones here and healthy. As does Kaysen, he's getting pretty anxious for these little ones to arrive.

Stuck...

Every evening Jerry and I used to hop on the quads and take the boys and Ruger out for a ride on our property. Now, however, I can't really do it. The bumps absolutely kill me and although I have fun riding, getting off the quad and walking are much to hard. So nowadays Jerry just takes the boys out.

Tonight I sat at home while they rode when suddenly I got a phone call from Jerry.

"I'm stuck."

"You're kidding," I reply. This guy never gets stuck and he's quite a prankster so I thought he really was just teasing me.

"Nope. I'm in the wash. Bring the truck some muletape and my leatherman and get me out."

I laughed...and then complied.

Yesterday we had one heck of a rain storm. On our property is a little wash that used to have a dam that held the water in so that it was a little pond. Well one REALLY good rain storm a while back washed most of that dam out. Yesterday's rain storm finished the job. Kaysen asked Jerry if they could drive through where the dam used to be. So away they went. They made it most of the way. I guess, when suddenly the quad just sunk in the mud and no amount of coercion would get it out. The mud was definitely 3/4 of the way up the tires.

So I backed our truck up as close as possible. Jerry cut some muletape and tied it to the quad. One little tug later and it was free. The boys thought it was such an adventure. Jerry told me not to post it...sorry babe. It's a good memory that our boys love talking about.


Jerry spent the next hour cleaning all of the mud off and wasn't in that great of a mood as he cleaned.