Fall 2012

We had a really fun time this year at our church's Trunk or Treat. Bella loved getting candy and got the hang of what trick or treating is all about.she went as a Packers cheerleader and of course Rowdy wore his Packers jersey. It was so cute! Bella also went to he zoo a lot while I was at home resting and she even fed the giraffes, which she loved and still frequently talks about! :)

Catching Up (twin pregnancy,etc...)

Well clearly I am behind on blogging. So, so much has happened since I blogged last so I will try to catch up a bit in the details. Twin pregnancy with our sweet baby girls was interesting, exciting, challenging, tiring, and filled with doctors appointments, bed rest and ultrasounds. At about 28 weeks Everly showed signs that she had intrauterine growth restriction and was showing to be smaller than Annie. They kept a close eye on her and the weight difference gradually increased each week until they were showing to be about 1lb apart in size. Bed rest and multiple appointments as well as a few trips to the OB triage were exhausting but necessary to make sure everything was going ok. Ultimately, on Dec. 21st we saw our doctors and it was decided that we would deliver on Dec. 27th with a scheduled c-section but while at the doctor I had high blood pressure and they began to worry I was pre-eclamptic so they sent me to the hospital. I was admitted into antepartum for observation. On Dec. 22nd while watching Friends and waiting for he results from the lab work checking for preeclampsia I began to have a few contractions and then suddenly, bam, I was in labor and contracting every 2 minutes. They decided to take make back for a csection in about 30 minutes. Everyone rushed to the hospital and Rowdy barely made it before they took me back. Annie Elizabeth was born at 4:18 and weighed 4lbs 9oz and Everly Jane was born at 4:19 weighing 3 lbs 13 oz. Both so beautiful and perfect. We were able to see them and hold them for a few minutes before it was decided they both needed to be taken to the NICU for observation. More on their birth including pictures and NICU and beyond in coming posts. Here are some beautiful pictures our wonderful friend Jenny Spires of Jenny Spires Photography took for us when I was about 24 weeks pregnant. And also a couple of pictures of Bella in her Christmas jammies for an extra dose of cute :)

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

We have used Shutterfly for our holiday cards and birthday invitations for a few years and have LOVED every experience we have had working with them.  They have an awesome new selection of holiday cards this year and I can't wait to order our new  Christmas cards this year!  If you are looking for a special gift or just some fun gifts for yourself you should check out their special offers page.

I mean, how cute are these cards??!

 Thank you to Shutterfly for the opportunity to share you cards with my readers.  This has been a sponsored post courtesy of Shutterfly.

Such a Ham

Bella has become such a little ham in toddlerhood.  She really just cracks us up all day long.  Our camera is still broken so these are a lot of cell phone pictures but let's face facts, at the rate that Bella moves from one thing to the next I would never have time to pull out the camera for half of these photos, thank goodness for cell phone photos!  A note on all the "closed eye" pictures below: this is what Bella does when we tell her to smile, she smiles so big that she completely shuts her eyes. So funny and cute, but we will have to work on this before she has to start taking school pictures :). On another note she is pretty much totally potty trained aside from naps and night, still working on that and still working on her willingness to use the potty when we are out but she can seriously hold it for hours, its crazy! We are so proud of our big girl!

** not sure why the images are coming out with that grid effect....one day I will figure out technology...**

Twin Girls!

This picture is me at 18 weeks with the twins.  We were very excites to find out we will be adding two more girls to our family. Lots of bows, tea parties, dress up (and probably drama lol), but so fun!  Rowdy is very outnumbered but he is such a good dad to girls! Can't wait to meet Bella's new little sisters!

Twins!

It's about time we finally document on here that our family will be growing exponentially very soon! We are thrilled that we are expecting twins in January 2013! (the picture of my belly below is at about 12 weeks)