Big Sister

My sweet Natalee Grace is no longer my "baby." I can not describe to you in words how big she looked when I finally got to see her again. The first thing she told me, "Mommy!! Baby Brothers came out of your tummy!! You can hold me now!!" Between bed rest, lots of help from friends, weekend stay with my parents, and the hugeness that was my belly, I haven't been able to hold her (not at all while standing) and more limited while sitting. There was only so much room left on my lap!
She has been waiting for the moment to hold her brothers for what seems like forever! Even though she is only 2 1/2 years old, she has understood everything that has been going on. We've been talking to her about the jobs and tasks of a big sister. She has practiced with her baby dolls, always having two instead of one. She is seriously cute.
Since the boys are in NICU, siblings can only visit on Tuesdays from 4-6. Even though this makes me sad for her, I do understand that children bring in a whole new set of germs. The most important thing is to keep the boys (and all the other tiny babies) in NICU healthy. This will only be a short time, and then our family will be together all the time. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only a short period, but it's hard.
So, the boys were born on a Monday, so Natalee got to see them the very next day! We couldn't have planned that any better!
First, we gave Natalee her "big sister" gift and spent some time alone with her in the hospital room before walking down to see the boys. She loved all of her little gifts! She has a ladybug blanket that my mom bought her while she was still in the hospital. This IS the blanket that she loves. She sleeps with it only. She sucks her thumb with it. She takes it on trips. She needs it when she gets an owie. So, you get the point, she loves it. I found the exact blanket online and bought it. I was nervous she wouldn't "take to it," but I really needed a back up. She opened up her present and said, "There's my ladybug blanket! Open it!" She LOVES it! Yay for two blankets! I also gave her the boy baby doll that I had when I was a little girl. My papa brought it up to the hospital for me on the day my brother was born. His name is Timmy Lee and I have so many memories of playing with him. Natalee was excited that he was wearing PJ's. I think she will be even more excited when she realizes that her baby brothers have the same exact pair. The other items were two books on being a big sister, and a new set of big sister PJ's. I don't think it's set in yet that she is a big sister, but I know she is going to be great at it. 
The visiting hours are from 4-6 on Tuesdays, so my mom brought her up then. She got to wash her hands with "pink princess soap with sparkles." The sparkles disappeared when the germs were gone. So neat. We then got to bring her in to see her brothers. She was talking a hundred miles a minute, saying things like, "We need to put them in their car seats, I am going to change their diapers, they are just so cute and tiny, look at their tiny feet, I will give them their blankets, I got a new blanket just like baby brothers, baby brothers came out of your tummy." I swear she said all of those things, plus some I can't remember, in a time frame of 15 seconds!! She was excited. She would not put her robe on, so she couldn't help us hold them, but she had a great time just looking and kissing and touching. She's had some bad experiences with hospitals, and I think that is why she was afraid of the robe. Oh well, there will be plenty of time to hold her brothers when we go home. Such sweet memories made today.

About to go in to see her brothers! Aiden is on top, Barrett is on bottom!

First touches. Barrett is on top, Aiden is on bottom. :)

We love our sweet girl and our two handsome boys. Can't wait to see our family of five all together in one place in our home. Hopefully it won't be long.

Our first family photo! Natalee had more important
things to look at rather than the camera!


We are so excited for this new journey. One that will be filled with challenges, memories, trials and love.
Krystole

Doubly Blessed

We welcomed our twin boys, Aiden Arthur and Barrett Andrew on July 30, 2012 at 10:35 and 10:36 in the morning via c-section. We are totally in love! Aiden weighed 4 lbs 6 oz and was 18 inches and Barrett weighed 5 lbs 2 oz and was 18 1/4 inches.

They are currently in the NICU at North West Texas hospital. They were born at 35 weeks and are doing great. They don't expect them to be here another week, which makes this mommy very happy. I have been very blessed. Today is Saturday, and I am still a patient IN the hospital IN my cool and fancy post pardom suite, I have been here since Sunday late evening. I was supposed to be released (probably on Wednesday), but I wasn't doing well with the medications and the pain, so they kept me another day. Then, I spiked a fever on Thursday, so they were wondering if I had an infection with my c-section. I started antibiotics and was also tested for a UTI and blood work for a blood cell count, which all came back just fine. So, they decided to keep me another day to monitor the incision. Today, I have spiked another small fever and have just been waiting for the doctor to come by and see what she thinks.

It is all so worth it to be holding these two tiny blessings in my arms today. I am feeling pretty well, I will say that a c-section is SO much harder (for me) than a natural birth. I felt nauseous the entire day and was dry-heaving most of it. If you have ever dry-heaved while having a huge slice in your gut, you know how fun that was. The cord was wrapped around Barrett's neck (which we didn't know until delivery), and if I would have tried for natural birth, he would have been in very bad condition. Aiden was head down, ready to go...but Barrett was transverse. I was very upset at the thought of a c-section, but praise God for guiding the doctors to make the right choice. I will recover, but have not felt the greatest.

We had so many visitors. Jeremy was running the "baby shuttle service." Since they are in the NICU, one parent must be present with all visitors. The doors are security locked, and open only from the inside. We can bring 4 people back at a time to see the boys. There are touch times, and during those times, we can get them out and hold them. You have to do a surgical scrub on your hands and arms (washing for 3 minutes). We hope to get to hold them a lot more soon, but as for now, they need to sleep, eat and grow.
Thank you for all of the prayers.

Krystole

Boy Crafts

So, here are a few things that I have been able make while on bed rest! I have missed my embroidery machine SO much! I can't wait until I can be back at it again.

In LOVE with these shirts!

Modge-Podge picture frames...missing the pictures and a "T" on the end of Barrett's name!

Found these iron-ons at Hobby Lobby and couldn't resist!

Big sister Natalee....Pirate door wreath!

Another view of their hospital door wreath!

Really love their names on the swords!

So, these are a few of the projects, I feel like there are only about a thousand left. Oh well, it will get done...or it won't! Either way, our sweet boys and completed family will be here before we know it!
Krystole

32 Weeks

32 weeks was VERY eventful for us. We had a labor scare, and were admitted into the hospital. I was having contractions every 2-5 minutes. They were reaching the top of the monitor screen every time. It was pretty painful! It started around 7 pm...and we arrived at the hospital around 8:30 pm or so. At 32 weeks, the boys chance of survival is great, but definitely a lot of NICU time. You develop the skill to suck and swallow at 33 weeks and the lungs aren't fully developed until around 36 weeks. We were very nervous. They ended up putting me on blood pressure medicine, called procardia. It's actually for high blood pressure, which I don't have, but it also has been found to stop contractions and slow labor. Well, it worked for me! We stayed in the hospital two nights for monitoring. By the time we left the hospital, I was back to having 2-3 contractions an hour. I am now dilated to a two. I am so glad that God chose to keep our babies in the womb for a little while longer! The ultimate goal is 36+ weeks. Sometimes it feels like I can make it SO easily...the next day, I am wondering if they will be here by the end of it! Although I am excited to meet Aiden and Barrett, I do hope and pray that they will stay put a few more weeks. Bed rest is same ol' same ol'. I've been on bed rest since June 7th! It has been a LONG time! I have the best husband around, who hasn't complained once, and has done SO much for me. We have the greatest friends and family anyone could ask for. Babysitters, meals cooked, cleaning done, shopping done...seriously, great friends and family. The end of this is near...and the beginning to a whole other chapter is upon us. Can't wait.
Krystole

Maternity Pictures

No catchy title here! We had our maternity pictures taken and I love the way they turned out. Enjoy!

Our boys should be here soon! I can't wait to meet them!
Krystole

July 4th

Well, this was not our traditional fourth of July celebration. We usually go to Canyon to watch the parade and see all of Jeremy's friends from high school and his home town. After the parade, we go to "Fair on the Square." It is a really fun event, full of booths and fair food (the real reason we go)! We usually partake in a cheese on a stick, a turkey leg and if we are feeling really crazy, a funnel cake. I know, we live on the edge. It's always a fun time.
Bed rest kind of puts a kink in your usual, but we still made a great day of it. We woke up and took Natalee to the movie theater to see Puss in Boots. Our theater has a fun summer program, where on Tuesday's and Wednesday's at ten, they play a G or PG rated movie for only a dollar. Natalee is still free, so this is literally an activity to do for cheap! The nice thing about it, is we can go, and if she is having a hard time...we can leave! I don't mind waisting a dollar if it's not going to work out! Anyway, we went to see Puss and Boots. We also bought a coke and popcorn. Natalee loved the popcorn and I am pretty sure she ate most of it.

After the movie, we went and ate at McAlister's. We really love this little deli place. It's pretty new in Amarillo, but is loved by most everyone! After consuming our delicious sandwiches, and macaroni and cheese for Natalee, we headed home for naps.

This is her, "I-can't-wait-for-my-mac-and-cheese" face!

Nap time was great and needed greatly by Natalee and I! We spent the next few hours lounging at our house, just enjoying each other. Jeremy then started up the grill and went to town! It was grilling heaven! Everything I saw, I ate. Although, I couldn't eat very much! He grilled: steak, baked potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, stuffed mushrooms and stuffed jalapenos! It doesn't get much better than that!! It was SO good!

Instead of hassling with the loads of people at the park for the fireworks display, my good friend Deborah invited us over to her house. She lives pretty close to the park, and you can still see them fairly well. We decided this would be a better option since I am on bed rest and all. We made a very important stop at DQ to pick up some ice cream, it was only fair since we didn't get any fair food! We met over at her house, and waited for the show to start. Natalee loved it. The entire week, Natalee has been saying, "I will see the fireworks, just like Ariel!" For those of you who don't know, there is a scene with Prince Eric on the boat where they are shooting fireworks off. She sure loves her mermaids.

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! Do you have any traditions?
Krystole

30 Weeks

So, THIRTY weeks! There is finally a three in front of the weeks. I cannot thank God enough for keeping our boys safe. Most twin pregnancies last between 34-36 weeks, so I really am on the home stretch now! Speaking of stretching, I am now measuring 38 weeks! We aren't even going to talk about stretch marks either. It is still all worth it to have our boys here, and our family complete. Yes, you read that right. We are done having babies after this. Three is a great number. Our sweet girl and our two handsome boys, seems too perfect to add more to.
So we have had yet another sonogram (July 5th)  and I am happy to announce that Aiden weighs 3 lbs 12 oz and Barrett weighs 4 lbs 4 oz! Grow boys grow!! I now have 8 lbs of baby in my belly! Natalee weighed 6 lbs 15 oz, so we have already surpassed that number! No wonder my belly feels so heavy! I wonder how much they will weigh together before the end of it all...then again, maybe I shouldn't think about it! I am very excited to see how much they have grown. We won't see them again for another two weeks, and I am not sure that they will weigh them then or not. They looked amazing. The doctor was really excited about it all. My cervix had actually lengthened just a little bit more, so that was awesome too. Both boys were head down, Aiden for sure and Barrett for the most part. I am praying that they will stay that way. I would love to not have a c-section, but know that God has it all planned out, and whatever happens, happens.

In other news, Natalee yelled..."Mommy, come and see me, I am being the baby right now!" I walked around the corner to find her "sleeping" in one of the bouncers that we have! She is a hoot! I guess it's ok if she borrows the bouncer for now. I can't believe she is going to be the "big" sister! She is still my baby! I hope I can handle her being the big sister...excuse me while I go cry...totally blaming the pregnancy hormones, and the fact that I am her mommy!

She is growing up so fast. I think she is going to be a great big sister. She constantly kisses her brothers, and loves going into their room. She loves to do "favors" for me and help daddy empty the trash cans. She really is just such a joy to be around. Anytime she sees something that is pirate, she will say, "that is just like baby brothers' room!" Her tiny little voice makes it all so much better too. I love that little girl.
We have a lot to be thankful for these days. I love all of these blessings. God is so good.
Krystole