Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The count-down has started
Everything's set! We're scheduled to go in 3/16 and deliver the newest addition to our family. I had been planning a VBAC, but that doesn't go very well with my husband's very type A personality. He knows what to expect with a c-section and couldn't stand the uncertainty of letting things happen the old fashioned way. So, today I finally switched our plans with our doc to a scheduled c-section. I'm a little sad, but it will also work out better with everyone's schedule I guess so that's a plus (everyone just better be there to pitch in with the twins as I won't be able to pick them up for six weeks!!! That means no diaper changes, baths, etc.). There was a little concern this past week about the baby and we thought that might change our delivery date, but today we had a sonogram to double check on everything and she's doing just fine. She looks healthy (very tall - already 21") and is still on the big side (guessing she weighs 6 lbs 10 oz, that will put her just over 8 lbs if she packs on half a pound a week like they typically do this last month!). There's so much I want to get done before she comes, as I know I won't get anything done once she's here. We still haven't even gotten the nursery finished (we don't even have sheets on the crib matress yet!). The count-down has started...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Day at the Zoo
Last week I mentioned that I wanted to take the kids to the zoo one last time before the new baby arrived. The weather's been great and we have our membership so there's no excuse. Tuesday or Wednesday this week John called home during lunch and said he was taking off Friday so we could all go to the zoo together. Yeah! Normally the kids and I go alone during the week. John's never been with me and we were all excited.
So yesterday morning we woke up right on schedule, ate breakfast and loaded in the car. We were off! We got there about 10:30 and the place was a desert! It felt like we had the whole zoo to ourselves. We first stopped to see the monkeys. There was one noisy monkey in particular that you could hear across the zoo. Jake got a little annoyed and finally covered his eyes and wouldn't look at the monkeys anymore. Abby's really into the zoo now and knows just about all the animals. She also waves and says bye to each animal as we come and go.
We also got to do a few firsts at the zoo since I had some help with the kids. Abby loves birds and always chases them, wanting to hold them. Today, we let her. We went to the Bird Landing at the children's zoo and bought a seed stick for her to feed the birds with. They were a little unsure of all the friendly birds zooming around at first, but quickly warmed up to them. By the end of our time there, she was trying to shove that stick in every birds mouth! There was one little black bird that was fascinated with my diaper bag and kept trying to get everything out. Her name was Christine and pretty much followed me around the entire time!
We also stopped at the petting zoo and so the kids could pet some bunnies and ginny pigs. They loved that and ran between the two animals petting them both. They also got a close up view of some koi fish, sheep, chickens and pigs. Although Abby was a bit sad there were no cows.
After visiting most of the animals in the north side we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. I normally pack a lunch for me and the kids, but today was special so we ate at the zoo. However, after paying nearly $40 (with my discount!) for two burgers, a hot dog, corn dog, fries and drinks, I think we'll plan on a picnic next time.
It was now time to head over to John's favorite - the penguins! The kids love penguins too but not as much as John. He's crazy for this little bird and loves them to death. I think he'd get one as a pet if it were legal!
The west side of the zoo had a really neat Monorail that I've always wanted to try, but just haven't since I've been by myself. I was looking forward to doing that with John, but it was closed for the winter. We'll have to go back in the spring when it's open again. It takes you around to see some animals at the zoo that you can't walk to. Plus I think the kids would love riding the train!
On our way out, there's a carousel. Another thing I've never been able to do as you have to have one adult per kid at their age/height. So, we gave this a try. I probably started something I shouldn't have as they're very content to just watch the carousel go round and round, but this was a special day. We got our tokens and got on. Abby wanted to ride a zebra. Jake got a wolf. Abby was thrilled the whole time, but Jake was a little more cautious. I'm not sure if he was trying to figure out how it worked or what, but he had a very serious look on his face the entire time.
Thanks for coming to the zoo with us John! It was a great day!!!
Enjoy a few of the pics from our trip! Remember, if you're getting the email on this go to the blog to view the slideshow.
So yesterday morning we woke up right on schedule, ate breakfast and loaded in the car. We were off! We got there about 10:30 and the place was a desert! It felt like we had the whole zoo to ourselves. We first stopped to see the monkeys. There was one noisy monkey in particular that you could hear across the zoo. Jake got a little annoyed and finally covered his eyes and wouldn't look at the monkeys anymore. Abby's really into the zoo now and knows just about all the animals. She also waves and says bye to each animal as we come and go.
We also got to do a few firsts at the zoo since I had some help with the kids. Abby loves birds and always chases them, wanting to hold them. Today, we let her. We went to the Bird Landing at the children's zoo and bought a seed stick for her to feed the birds with. They were a little unsure of all the friendly birds zooming around at first, but quickly warmed up to them. By the end of our time there, she was trying to shove that stick in every birds mouth! There was one little black bird that was fascinated with my diaper bag and kept trying to get everything out. Her name was Christine and pretty much followed me around the entire time!
We also stopped at the petting zoo and so the kids could pet some bunnies and ginny pigs. They loved that and ran between the two animals petting them both. They also got a close up view of some koi fish, sheep, chickens and pigs. Although Abby was a bit sad there were no cows.
After visiting most of the animals in the north side we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. I normally pack a lunch for me and the kids, but today was special so we ate at the zoo. However, after paying nearly $40 (with my discount!) for two burgers, a hot dog, corn dog, fries and drinks, I think we'll plan on a picnic next time.
It was now time to head over to John's favorite - the penguins! The kids love penguins too but not as much as John. He's crazy for this little bird and loves them to death. I think he'd get one as a pet if it were legal!
The west side of the zoo had a really neat Monorail that I've always wanted to try, but just haven't since I've been by myself. I was looking forward to doing that with John, but it was closed for the winter. We'll have to go back in the spring when it's open again. It takes you around to see some animals at the zoo that you can't walk to. Plus I think the kids would love riding the train!
On our way out, there's a carousel. Another thing I've never been able to do as you have to have one adult per kid at their age/height. So, we gave this a try. I probably started something I shouldn't have as they're very content to just watch the carousel go round and round, but this was a special day. We got our tokens and got on. Abby wanted to ride a zebra. Jake got a wolf. Abby was thrilled the whole time, but Jake was a little more cautious. I'm not sure if he was trying to figure out how it worked or what, but he had a very serious look on his face the entire time.
Thanks for coming to the zoo with us John! It was a great day!!!
Enjoy a few of the pics from our trip! Remember, if you're getting the email on this go to the blog to view the slideshow.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day
It's getting harder and harder to get good pics of the kids in my "make-shift" studio at home. It's really just a black blanket over the baby gate in the hall that I have the kids sit on. They know they are supposed to sit on it for pics now and will even say sit when they see me pull it out. However, they don't always follow their own advise (or at least for very long!). I usually do this by myself during the day so it's getting harder and harder to direct the kids, keep them on the blanket and snap good pics. Originally we started out with a pretty bow in Abby's hair and just the big bear, but that wasn't working so we tried pics again after naps. This time I brought out the balloons as well. That worked a bit better but Abby was done with the bow by that point. Oh well, I guess the "out-take" pics can be just as cute sometimes.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day tomorrow and even if you don't get out to do something special, at least have a moment or two to yourself! We are blessed with such wonderful people all around us and we couldn't ask for better family or friends. We love you all!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day tomorrow and even if you don't get out to do something special, at least have a moment or two to yourself! We are blessed with such wonderful people all around us and we couldn't ask for better family or friends. We love you all!
Grammie Knows Best
At Christmas Grammie got the kids a kitchen set. We didn't know where we'd put it with all their other toys so she took it back and got the outside roller coaster for us instead. The kids love their roller coaster, but since then I've noticed how Abby loves to play with toy kitchens. She loves to play with the one at our church and instantly "claims" it when playing and when she had her surgery last month she played very happily and contently with their toy kitchen until we had to go back for the surgery. I suddenly wanted to get her a kitchen set.
My big plan was to give it to her and Jake for their birthday/gift from the new baby when she made her big arrival (a cool new toy, plus something new to entertain them when I knew I wasn't going to have much time to play with them). I've been looking on Craigslist for some and found a great deal on one. Even though it's a bit early you have to snatch things quickly on Craigslist as they tend to go fast (especially baby stuff) so I went and picked it up last week. I loaded it into the garage and planned on keeping it there until their birthday. However, every time we went to the car, Abby wanted to play with it. John thought it was cruel to have it there for her to see and so on Sunday he started cleaning it up and brought it inside.
They were instantly thrilled and have played with it almost continuously since Sunday. Abby's more into it than Jake, but he likes to play with the phone and annoy his sister. He's also already figured out how to climb up and shake the whole thing. They're so cute playing with it, but now I have no idea what I'm going to do when the new baby comes!
My big plan was to give it to her and Jake for their birthday/gift from the new baby when she made her big arrival (a cool new toy, plus something new to entertain them when I knew I wasn't going to have much time to play with them). I've been looking on Craigslist for some and found a great deal on one. Even though it's a bit early you have to snatch things quickly on Craigslist as they tend to go fast (especially baby stuff) so I went and picked it up last week. I loaded it into the garage and planned on keeping it there until their birthday. However, every time we went to the car, Abby wanted to play with it. John thought it was cruel to have it there for her to see and so on Sunday he started cleaning it up and brought it inside.
They were instantly thrilled and have played with it almost continuously since Sunday. Abby's more into it than Jake, but he likes to play with the phone and annoy his sister. He's also already figured out how to climb up and shake the whole thing. They're so cute playing with it, but now I have no idea what I'm going to do when the new baby comes!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pretend Play
Ah, the all important pretend play! It's such an important milestone for toddlers and Abby has really been into it lately. It's been really cute. She has two dalmatian puppies that she'll carry around and talk to. Yesterday she had one and was pointing out things to it ("there's a star", "that's a pig", etc) as she watched her nightly Baby Einstein movie. The other day she was carrying the puppy and her sippy around. She was talking away to it and then she'd offer it some water from her sippy, she'd drink, then offer the puppy water again. She was sitting in the corner just babbling away. It was close to lunch so she of course wanted to eat with it too. It's a little puppy so I let her have it on the table. She'd take a bite, then offer the spoon to the puppy and say "Want some?". Luckily she always did this after she took a bite of food so there was nothing on the spoon to get all over the puppy!
Going to the Moon
The moon has been out and bright even during the day lately. Earlier this week when we were outside playing, the kids spotted it. Abby was really into the moon that day and then went over to the side of the house and spread out against it (facing the house). I asked her what she was doing and she said "Climbing to the moon". So cute! She kept trying to climb the side of the house to reach the moon, but luckily she hasn't developed the skills to do that yet (although I already know I'll have the kids that will sneak out of the house and climb over fences/roofs to get where they want; fun!). I quickly called John to let him know his daughter was going to the moon this afternoon. He laughed and said he wanted a picture. I grabbed my camera, got a great shot of the moon, then turned to get a pic of Abby. All of the sudden my camera turned off and closed up. What the battery is dead!?! Oh well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of other times to capture her adventures.
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