Boys vs. Girls

We had an ultrasound last week. The verdict is in. H realized that we are going to have an odd number of people in our family and one gender will outnumber the other. Life's been good as far as she could see it, since for the last 2 yrs the girls have outnumbered the boys. But, H was disappointed with our answer when we came home that day. The boys are now ahead. Both babies are boys.
D thinks these 3D images are somewhat creepy, they are a little strange I must admit, but no more than the 2D ones of the baby's skeleton! We did learn something about the imaging rounds off the view of things, or could completely cut parts out of the picture. This is freaky when you look at the baby and it appears there's only one arm, or his head is shaped really funny. It's just the 3D thing, the babies are both looking perfect! Anyways, this is baby A to the left. He looks cramped but seems to be happy curled up. So far in all the ultrasounds he's had his hands by his head. Baby A is head down and in a vertical position with his feet close to my ribs. Baby B is in the next picture. He seems to be a little more stretched out. He's actually lying horizontally across my stomach with his head on my left side and feet on my right. The two got into a kicking match during the ultrasound. We've already had Jacob and Esau mentioned to us as names, but we have no intention of using those names. :) The boys were both measuring a week ahead in size, and only a couple of grams different from one another. The last picture is Baby B's feet. I just love baby feet. I can't imagine a fully formed foot probably only half an inch in size!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Twas the night before Thanksgiving when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..." Oh wait, wrong story. :) Although it is quiet here tonight. The kids are asleep (at least I think), the cats are napping with full tummys, D isn't home from Wed night church yet, and I'm sitting comfortably in my recliner with my laptop. Tonight at church dinner we all talked about things we are thankful for this year. As I reflected on the year, I realized that it has been a very full year. We did so much, have been so many places, seen so many people, and have been given so many things. It truly is a year with much to be thankful for. Of course there were many not so wonderful things this year, some little in the grand scheme of things, and some huge. I was trying to narrow it down tonight before it was my turn to talk. I finally said "God's blessings." God has blessed us with more immeasurably more than we could have asked for or imagined. But why should we be surprised, it says it right in His Word (Ephesians 3:20). Right away, the twins come to mind. We would have never guessed we would have twins, or 5 kids for that matter. Our house is great, the chapel family is wonderful, we even have more babysitters than we have days we need to go out! We are all healthy and becoming even closer as a family (homeschooling and shore duty has helped that!).
Speaking of homeschooling, H is doing great (although she's not really into math) and loving the time she gets to spend with her brother and sister. H and S have become really close this year, which wasn't the case last year. C misses preschool but also likes to have time one on one with me. The one on one time is H's favorite part! Yesterday C was doing an educational program on the computer while H and I worked. He got up and came over to us. He asked what we were doing. I told him math and explained that we were learning about numbers and how to add them together. He then asked if he could do school too. When H finished up her math and she got to take a turn on the computer, C sat down with me and we worked on numbers for at least 20 minutes. I learned that he doesn't have to point and count. He can look at a group of pictures and tell you how many there are (up to 5) without counting outloud. He also likes to tell me how fast I'm driving on base with the "Your speed is..." signs. I certainly haven't taught him how to read 27, but he always gets his numbers right. Not bad for a kid not yet 4. So it looks like C is taking after me with a natural gift of numbers, and H is taking after D with reading. It's days like this that make me confident in our decision to homeschool.
So enough rambling, we hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and has much to thankful for as well.

Today is the day...

...that my tummy is big enough for strangers to ask. I didn't think it would happen this soon. I'm not quite 4 mths. We took the kids to the beach this morning, and granted it is much more obvious in a swimsuit, another mom ask when I am due. Then I stopped by the commissary this afternoon (not in a swimsuit for that matter) and my cashier asked how far along I am. I always add on that I'm expecting twins. It just seems to, well, at least make me feel better. I can't even imagine what I'll look like at 8 mths!

Pumpkin Patch - I forgot these pics!

We went to a local pumpkin patch a couple of weeks before Halloween. Yes, they actually grow pumpkins in Hawaii (although I think it is the only pumpkin patch in the islands!). The kids had a great time trampling through the mud and picking out their own pumpkins. We went with our friends, M, J and R. We also went on a hayride pulled by a tractor. Even though it wasn't a John Deere tractor, C still had fun! (Left to Right) Our friend M (R's dad), H, C and D.

H trying to find that perfect pumpkin. She finally picked out one still on the vine.

S and our friend R looking for pumpkins (they're only a couple of months apart).

C riding the little merry go round at the pumpkin patch.

And an added bonus, a pic of me taken at the end of my first trimester. I think I was about that size at 5 mths pregnant with H!

Fall Festival

We held our Fall Festival at the Chapel on Wednesday night this year. Many of the schools and other groups were having Friday night events, so we felt we'd have a better turn out on Wednesday. And we did - we had a lot of people, all having a great time. The kids have been looking forward to this for almost a year. Really. We made a trip to the Disney Outlet last year in early November and got some great deals. :)
So the kids ate hot dogs, chips, rice krispy treats, popcorn, shaved ice, caramel apples, and lots of candy! They jumped in the bounce house, played all sorts of games, made crafts, and had a great time. Once it got dark, it was harder to keep up with the kids. D was helping run things, of course, but he was able to keep Sarah entertained at the ball game for awhile when it was his turn to run that game. She loves balls! C's costume was great for after dark. His Buzz Lightyear wings had flashing lights at the end so I could always spot C quickly! :) H felt beautiful in her Ariel costume, complete with red hair. We had a wig for the costume, but it was too heavy and constantly falling out of her hair in her playtime the previous year. So we went with red hair spray instead. She thought it was so awesome to have red hair! S didn't want to dress up at first, but after she saw the other two, she couldn't wait to put on her Minnie Mouse costume. The closest I came to wearing a costume this year was a shirt that said "I have 2 peas in my pod." :)We had thought about going to a friend's church on Friday night, or maybe even trick or treating at just a few friends' houses. But after Wednesday night, we were exhausted. So Friday we watched a family movie on Netflix, hiding out in our bedroom with all the lights out. We did say that if we watch more family movies in our bed, we need a king size bed! Enjoy the pictures!

C having fun with a new toy.

S in action, "flying" around the courtyard.

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!