sNOw bunnies

We got a lot of ice and snow this week. It was the first time this winter that the ground was truly covered in snow. After much apprehension, I finally decided a "good mother" would take her children out in the snow to play even though she didn't want to hassle with all the snow gear, get cold and wet herself, and risk falling on her pregnant bottom! I'm glad I did it because it turned out to be more successful than I thought. The girls by no means loved the snow - but they were definitely curious. They would say "mess, mess" when the snow would get on their shoes and pants, but thought it was HILARIOUS when I made snowballs and threw them at them! They'd chant "more, more, more" until I'd make another ball and throw it their way.


Today it warmed up to just over 50 degrees - even though it didn't melt the snow it did make playing outside much more fun! Plus - it was the first time in a while that we've had nice weather on the weekend so Alex could join us. The girls got all kinds of special Daddy treatment - shoulder rides, throws into the air, and lots of swinging!


When I was cooking earlier this week, the girls were begging for the lemon I was squeezing into a recipe....and so they got it! They didn't want it long and said, "Trash?" and promptly threw the lemons away.


And lastly, here's a picture from tonight as Alex cooked with the girls. They LOVED being his helpers and handing him spices!

Snow Day Chores

Okay...so it looks like they are washing the dishes...but really they are just playing in sink of soapy warm water while I make dinner! I hadn't tried this form of entertainment before, but my mom said that Andrew and I would spend hours at an extra sink in the kitchen playing in water... and as it turns out the girls were equally mesmerized - lucky me! Today is another day full of snow with just about everything canceled. So who knows what creative entertainment we may have to invent...

Entertainment for Two

We enjoyed the one nice day this week with lots of outside time! The girls rediscovered sidewalk chalk which we haven't seen since the fall. They went to town on the back patio and were SO EXCITED...and didn't even try to eat the chalk this time. : )


And then there are less organized forms of play! We bought these plastic storage containers to help organize the girls mound of clothes for the next baby. The containers have provided hours of entertainment today. I couldn't resist taking a picture when the inevitable happened - Mina fell out of the container but rebounded with a smile and climbed right back in!

The House of Estrogen

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....also known as "The House of Pain" to Alex as he thinks about all the simultaneous menstruation, dating, weddings, clothes shopping, bathroom monopolizing, etc.! As you may have guessed our next baby is going to be another girl. I'm thrilled to have a house of little women (although I'm sure I'll have days where even the estro-madness gets to me). Now I can start all the nesting, organizing, etc. to get ready for baby #3!

How to Traumatize Your Children

Step 1: Throw milk up in the air so it neatly splatters over child(ren) and the table.
Step 2: Sit back and wait for their reaction.

So the klutziness of pregnancy has arrived. I was giving the girls a quick drink of milk before I changed their clothes. I was about to hand Addie her cup when (who knows what happened) and it went out of my hands, up into the air, and landed everywhere! The girls stared screaming and I was laughing hysterically! I'm not sure if they thought they were going to get in trouble or what. At the end of it all, they just looked bewildered!


Here's a picture of our girls looking cute and grown up - just before we head out the door for a play date yesterday morning.


Here's is a more successful eating event than posted above. The girls have been sans highchairs for about a week now and loving it. They take some reminding to stay seated at their little table, but it is so much nicer to have their bulky chairs gone! (Of course, there will be a highchair returning soon for the next little one...but we won't think about that yet...). I was trying to get a picture of Addie feeding Jasmine in the bottom right picture, but by the time I got the camera Mina had had enough! Addie was dunking her banana in applesauce and giving her sister bites.

More Cookies Please

I did my first baking with the girls yesterday morning. They LOVED it - especially dumping in the eggs!

Scary Baby Part 3

I had a routine OB appointment today and Alex was able to go since my Dad could watch the girls. I wanted him to be able to hear the heartbeat since he hadn't heard it yet. My doctor comes in, gels up my stomach, and hears nothing.....we wait....still no heartbeat.... My doctor looks concerned and goes to see if the ultrasound tech is available. She comes back and starts telling us about our options if this is a miscarriage. We are in disbelief - thought at 14 weeks we'd be clear of miscarriage concerns. Finally the US tech is free. We go in - and there's a heartbeat! Yeah! Apparently the placenta is anterior which means it is between the baby and my belly which makes it hard to hear the baby's heartbeat until it gets bigger. Whew...yet again!

Scary Part #1 - little spotting at 8 weeks - ultrasound confirms all is well
Scary Part #2 - significant spotting at 12 weeks - hear baby's heartbeat with the doppler
Scary Part #3 - can't hear heartbeat at 14 weeks (today) - ultrasound confirms all is well

The good part is we got a hint at what the baby's gender may be...but we're not telling! : ) That is until we know for sure on the 21st of this month.