12 wk ultrasound

New pics of the twins! We had a ultrasound a couple of weeks ago. Apparently this will become routine, about every 4 wks now and maybe closer together by the 3rd trimester. It was at a special Fetal Diagnostic Center where they only do ultrasounds. It lasted about an hour while they determined all sorts of things about the babies. They are certain they are fraternal and each has its own placenta. That's very good news. If they share a placenta it could cause problems with growth in one of the babies. They even measured exactly the same and a few days larger than they should which is a good thing. After all the measurements, they switched the ultrasound to 3D. The picture above is a 3D image of both of them together. We probably won't get too many more pics of them together as they grow. The other cool thing they did was make us a cd of all the pics, including some video of each baby. After such a long time of being pushed around, they both got very agitated and were everywhere. Baby A kept turning away and hiding its face from us. It was such fun to see them moving around, but yet still not be able to feel them. The kids are so excited. H keeps saying she just can't wait until they are born. Speaking of due dates, I didn't mention it before, but they are due April 26th. However, being twins, my doctor says we'll aim for 37 wks, which makes it around the beginning of April. I'm just hoping to make it past H's bday the end of March without being on bedrest! We hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll try to do a better job keeping up with our blog! (the first video should say Twin B left, not right)

S turns 2!

Our little girl turned 2! It's hard to believe two years have already passed. Thankfully Daddy was home this year to celebrate. We just had a small party at home with our friends J, M and little R. Of course no party is complete without balloons, crepe paper, presents and cupcakes. During our move, S became very fond of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (we watched a lot of the Disney channel during our stays in hotels!), so Minnie Mouse was our theme. I think one of her favorite things was the giant #2 balloon! She still plays with it (her bday was a month ago)! It was fun to watch her actually blow out her candles and tear into her presents this year. She liked her cards, especially the ones with checks! It was funny, how does a 2 yr old know what a check is?! She had a great time, especially being the center of attention. And what a cutie, just check out that smile!

Beaches of Kaua'i

Of course a trip to an island of Hawai'i isn't complete without beach pics. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful beaches. The kids didn't get to play in the water as much as they would have liked. The waves were huge, and came crashing right onto the beach!

This last picture is of Spouting Horn. It's a blowhole in the rocks. When the waves come in, it blows water out the hole. The kids thought it was awesome. We watched it for quite awhile. Next pics to come - Sarah's 2nd bday!

Trip to Kaua'i

A few weeks ago we took a short flight over to the island of Kaua'i. We went to attend the North American Mission Board Chaplain's Conference. It was only a few days, but it was jammed packed. Besides the conference we took full advantage of our free time and drove the entire island, one side to the other. We saw waterfalls, caves (these were so cool! caves in lava, wow!), a coffee plantation, and even a mini Grand Canyon. The second waterfall pictured above is the waterfall from the opening scene in Fantasy Island.

Checking out the inside of a cave (this was two days before we found out that I'm carrying twins)

The canyon - way more impressive in person than pictures. I loved the cool temps up so high. It doesn't get cool here.

The trip was so much fun. It's a much more relaxing island than Oahu, not very touristy (is that even a word?). More pics to come in another post.

God has a sense of humor!

He must. I'm sure right now he's just smiling and having a great time listening to us make phone calls. Most of you have probably seen a picture similar to this one, but if you are like us, you've never seen one with two. Yesterday we had our first ultrasound and within seconds learned why I've been so sick and already started to put on a few pounds. Twins. Yes, I'll say it again as much for you as for myself. Twins. The ultrasound tech asked us if we had any kids already. "Three," we answered in unison between our giggles. We were so shocked we didn't know what else to do but laugh.
So, God is laughing too. You see, D and I wanted 3 or 4 kids. Once we hit three, we decided to let God make the decision for us. Actually last March we found out we were pregnant, only to suffer a miscarriage a couple of weeks later. It was devastating, however we decided we really did want another baby. After months of stress from moving and trying to settle, we had a heart to heart and decided that our 3 kids plus 1 in Heaven were satisfying. We felt complete. A week later we found out I was pregnant. It seems that sometimes God waits for us to be content before He blesses with more. So 4 it is we thought. But that wasn't God's plan either. 5 never entered our equation, but it was in God's plan all along. So, He's laughing and enjoying watching His kids as we figure out His plan, a piece at a time. And where we are going to put 5 kids!

Rain

So today it rained in Hawaii. I don't mean the short sprinkles that give us those beautiful rainbows, but it really rained. The phrase "cats and dogs" comes to mind. It's actually been raining for about 4 hrs. I would say it's Ike but I don't think it will really reach us out here in the middle of the Pacific.
So little S who hasn't seen much rain in her short life (living in San Diego and now Hawaii), must have thought it was rather interesting. She couldn't seem to settle for her nap, so I went in to check on her. What I found was a silhouette of a little girl in the window. Yes, she was standing on the window sill behind the blinds watching the rain. She is just about the exact height of her window. Her room is on the front of the house, so I'm sure anyone who drove by couldn't believe what they saw. The other day I found her playing under her bed when she should have been taking a nap. So far the adjustment from crib to bed isn't going well for us. Maybe for her, but not for us.
Speaking of S, she has become our clown. Every family has one right? She loves to tell knock knock jokes. Hers of course are pretty basic and almost always the same. They typically go something like this:
S: "Knock Knock"
The rest of us: "Who's there?"
S: "turtle"
The rest of us: "turtle who?"
S: "UNDERWEAR!"
Laugh and repeat. I probably should explain this one. Have you ever read the Veggie Tales ABC book? It's pretty cute. S loves it. Letter U says, "U is for underwear. On a potato?" There's a picture of a potato wearing underwear. S always laughs and so started the knock knock jokes. Then one day not too long ago she mixed it up on us. She changed some words around and now we never know what she's going to say. The jokes are always funny, even though they never make sense. It's just crazy to hear it coming out of the mouth of someone not even 2 yet!

My baby is getting big!

So yesterday my oldest (but always my baby) lost her first tooth. H was so excited! She's been wiggling this thing for probably two months. She couldn't wait to put her tooth in her special tooth fairy pillow that Grandma made for her. She was excited by what she received from the Tooth Fairy for about 2 minutes. Then she went on to tell me that her friends at school last year got more money! It really starts this early?!

After our big day yesterday, I decided I needed something to help me remember the good things about every day. And to help keep up with my friends and family around the world. I hope we all get some laughs from this, and I'm sure we will. Our house is a funny farm!