The Kid Is 4, Doctor Visits, 20 And 24 Weeks And Other Random Welly Stuff...

So, I must confess I've not been the best at updating everyone on our lives lately. We've been busy! We've been preparing for the arrival of 2 babies by tearing our entire house apart, celebrating a very important 4th birthday, waiting at various doctors' offices, babysitting a nephew for a few days and all sorts of other fun things.

Brendan turned 4 on May 3rd. We celebrated with a family party as usual and he chose a Lightning McQueen theme (of course). It was a really fun day and we had great weather so the kids were able to play outside. That was wonderful because early May in Ohio is always an unknown. We realized afterwards that we didn't get many good photos of the party because we were too busy hosting the party. The one above is one of my favorites. It shows my nephew Carter, Brendan (making goofy face) and my cousin Michael's little boy Trent in their cool shades. After the party we took Brendan out for Mexican at his request and he got to wear the cool sombrero that 300 other people have had on their heads. In typical 4 year old fashion, that was the highlight of his day! After the party my mom left to help my sister move and I invited her to leave my nephew for a few days. It was so fun to have him here. I took both boys to the zoo. That was an adventure (a zoo, if you will) but it was great practice for twins!

It seems like we've been spending lots of time in various doctors' offices lately too. My family doctor sent me for an cardio consult/echo because my heart rate was a little faster than he'd like. Everything was normal so now they think it's a side effect of a med I take. Up to 10% of patients on this med have that side effect. The doctor's main concern was that I was pregnant with twins and he wanted to make sure everything was ok. The next appointment was the pediatric dentist, which Brendan did wonderfully at. The dentist complimented the good job he's been doing on his teeth. Appointment #3 was the pediatrician. Brendan at 4 years old: 43.5 inches tall and 37.5 lbs. He's almost off the charts for height!

Pregnancy-wise things are awesome. This pregnancy has flown by and everything is as uncomplicated as it can possibly be. The weight gain has been a little slow and they've been a little on my case about it at the doctor, but the babies are right where they should be. At my 24 week checkup today they were 1 lb. 6 ozs. and 1 lb. 7 ozs., which she said is great for twins. We want to see them stay the same size to make sure one twin isn't getting more nutrition than the other. The 24 week photos are the top ultrasound pics. Unfortunately they were not very cooperative and the technician basically got one shot of each baby's face. Right now Nolan is head down and Seth is sideways (with his head and feet wedged oh-so-conveniently up under my ribs). So, there is still a possibility they could both do what they're supposed to before they're born and we may avoid a C-section. We're learning that Nolan (AKA Lefty) is constantly active and rarely sits still, while Seth (AKA Righty) is pretty comfy where he's at and doesn't really move if he doesn't have to. In other words, Nolan is like Eric and Seth is more like Sarah! It will be interesting to see how they actually are when they're born.

I did forget to update my blog after last month's visit (although pics are posted above on the very bottom). We got some interesting news last time. At my 20 week ultrasound they told us that they think the babies might be identical twins. They are seeing several indicators (including their almost identical sizes) that are telling them that is the case. Today at my 24 week ultrasound the technician said that she is pretty sure they are identical. Unfortunately, there is no way to know until they are born and a pathologist looks things over. I'm dying to know now, but I guess I'll have to wait.

Now I start going to the doctor every two weeks and at 32 weeks I will have to start going weekly. Should be an interesting ride. It's hard to believe that I'm already 6 months pregnant. I did post a pregnant pic of me because several people asked about one. It's almost a month old now, so I will need to get an updated one soon.

We're tearing our house apart in preparation for these babies. Moving rooms around, purging junk, starting a garage sale pile and just generally cursing the fact that we have way too much stuff. It's amazing that this house seemed immense when it was just the two of us, but growing into a family of 5 makes me imagine this house literally bursting at the seams.

We hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable summer. Oh, and GO WINGS! :)