Couples Baby Shower and Nursery Pictures!

A friend of ours threw us a Couples Baby Shower at our house today!  Here are a few highlights! =)

One of my friends made us a super special gift! Quilts! They are so beautiful

Quilt with the green back

Quilt with the pink back! They are very similar, but not exactly the same.

Cute and super yummy cake!

Today was also our 6th anniversary and Brian bought me some beautiful flowers!

The whole nursery- Yes, its a pretty small room!

The Crib- Brian's dad raised it up so that he could get all the way underneath it.  It also has a cool door on the front so that Brian can get the babies out!  (The swings and bouncy seats are just under there for now- we had no where else to put them!)

Instead of getting a dresser, we decided to get a cabinet so that we could put things other than clothes in there!  I washed all of the clothes and put them in size order in the bins so that maybe I will be able to find what I'm looking for!

Instead of a traditional changing table, we bought a counter top and mounted it to the wall with some heavy duty brackets.  This allows Brian to pull all the way under the table.

There are still a few things that we need to do with the nursery (like hang the pictures that are sitting on the changing table) but for the most part, we are ready to go! 

Happy Anniversary Brian!!

Today marks SIX years since Brian and I have been married! I can't believe it has been that long.  We dated for just over five years before we got married so we have been together for 11 years!!  Eleven happens to be my lucky number and it is also 2011 so it just had to be a good year for us, right?

Its crazy to think about what a difference one year makes.  Last year around this time we had just gone through our first pregnancy loss (chemical pregnancy) and were trying to figure out what to do next. This year we are 28weeks and 3 days preggo with our first two baby girls! 

It really is amazing to think back at all that we have been through together since we started dating in 2000..... Brian's car accident, graduating college (bachelors and masters programs) moving to Colorado, and starting a family! If I said it has been easy I would be lying, but I do think that all of these things have made me the person that I am today and that I have learned to deal with just about anything that comes my way.  I hope that we have been through enough and that maybe the universe will be nice to our kids and they won't have to deal with the crap that we have had to. 

Usually we go out to dinner or do something traditional for our anniversary, but today a friend of ours is hosting a couples baby shower at our house!  It has been a ton of work to get everything ready (especially since we just finished remodeling the basement) but it will be really nice to share this day with our friends here in Colorado! 

Oh, and the crib mattress arrived from Fed Ex today! Yahoo!

Check it off the list!

In the last week or so, I have been able to check many things off of the extremely long "to do before babies come" list.

Last Fri and Sat my friend and I had a very successful garage sale!! I was able to get rid of lots of junk and make a few bucks!  I must admit though, just getting ready for the sale was a TON of work! That's okay though, it was worth it!

We FINALLY got our basement about 95% finished including new carpet!  The carpet was a fiasco in itself..... When I ordered it, they pretty much guaranteed it would be in last Friday.  But, when they called to schedule the install they were like Ummmm yeah, we can't do it until Monday! After calling about 6 different people and complaining they made the installation happen on Saturday.  And who says bitching doesn't get you anywhere?

The in-laws came for a visit and helped us get a lot of little things done..... modify the crib, put in new lights, fix the gate, re-do the deck/ramp off of the kitchen, etc. 

Also, the best part of the week has been getting the nursery ready!!  I don't really like to organize and do laundry, but somehow it seems way more fun when you get to decorate with pink frilly things and wash teeny tiny cute baby clothes that are almost too small to fold.  I did however, run into one huge problem that was thankfully easily solved.  I bought a mattress to put into our crib (a Babee Tenda crib) and it was way too small!  And by way, I mean by about 4-5 inches.  A standard crib is 52 inches long and this crib is 57 inches long!  I spent about an hour talking to my mom trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do!  She found a mattress to the tune of about $400 and that was obviously not really a possibility.  To make a long story short, I ended up calling the company today and they sell the correct size mattress for a very reasonable price.  But, of course I have to order sheets now from them too because they are the only ones that make sheets to fit this odd sized crib! 

Unfortunately, I already took all the new crib sheets we got out of the packages and threw the packages away, so my handy mom is going to somehow make them fit and then sew any additional sheets that we need. 

The nursery is getting very close to being done, but its not quite done yet!  We are having a  Couples Baby Shower at our house on Saturday so I just wanted it to be mostly done so that people could check it out when they are here.  I don't have any pictures yet, but I promise I will post some when its closer to completion!

Oh, and I am officially in the 3rd trimester as of yesterday! Yippee! Only 6-10 more weeks until we get to meet these babies! I can't wait!

38cm

Yesterday just for fun, Brian and I measured the fundal height of my belly.  It was 15 inches- about 38cm if we measured correctly!  Usually with singleton pregnancies each cm of belly height equals 1 week of pregnancy so in my case I look like I am about full term if I would be only having one baby!!! Yikes!  No wonder its hard to get out of bed! LOL.

Lots of Updates! (And Pictures!!)

A week ago Friday (July 8th) I had a growth ultrasound and meeting with the doctor.  I couldn't be happier that the babies are doing fantastic!! Baby A was measuring 1lb 13oz with a HB of 158 and Baby B was measuring 1lb 15 oz with a HB of 143.  Last time Baby B was measuring smaller than Baby A, but they said that their weight estimates can be off by up to half of a pound. I also passed my glucose test! YAY! But, I am anemic so I have to take iron pills.

I go back in this Thursday for a simple cervix check (my cervix was still long at the last appt, but it was opening up slightly) and then I go back for another growth ultrasound on August 5th along with a NST (non stress test) where they measure the movement for each baby for about an hour. 

Saturday I got on a plane and flew back to Minnesota to see friends and family as well as attend two amazing baby showers hosted by my fabulous sister!!  Her house was not big enough to accommodate 30 people, so that's why she decided to have two.

 The first shower was Sunday afternoon and included many friends as well as family from my mom's side.  Two of my friends made a 5 hour drive (each way!) just to be there!!  It really meant a lot to me that they could make it..... especially since I haven't seen one of them in over three years!

I can't believe the generosity of everyone who came to the showers..... all of the gifts were great, and so thoughtful! We are so fortunate to have so many people who care about us and the babies!

This is my aunt Ginny and I at the shower

Monday I had some down time since my sister had to work so I spent most of the day with my brother and sister-in-law and their two boys.  It was really nice to just hang out and catch up!  I can't believe how big their boys are getting (they are 9 and 5.)  We went out and ate at a super yummy Chinese Buffet and then went to the older one's baseball playoff game that evening (which they won!)

He even got to pitch!

Tuesday my brother, sister and I went and visited my grandma at her new house.  Since I live in Colorado I haven't been able to see her house since she moved in a couple months ago.  We had to drive about an hour and a half to get there, but it was nice to spend time with my siblings..... My brother lives in Pennsylvania now so its rare that the three of us all get to spend time together.

Wednesday was the day for my second baby shower.  My sister and I spent most of the day getting ready for the shower... cooking, cleaning, running errands, etc.  I can't believe how much work it is to have people over!!!  The shower went off without a hitch.  This one had all of my dad's side of the family.  It was so nice to see everyone!!  Like I said earlier, Brian and I are so SO fortunate to have friends and family that care about our family!  I am the first grandchild on this side of the family to have kids, so maybe that makes people extra excited for us! =)

The guests at the shower

This is me opening gifts with my sister on the right

The gift I am holding is "Anti Monkey Butt Powder!" SO Awesome!

Thursday I spent hanging out with my brother and his friends.  My mom had to leave early in the morning to go study for her Anatomy and Physiology Final Exam she had that day (And that she got an A on! GO MOM!) so my brother came to my rescue and kept me company.  My mom and sister are vegetarians and I was craving some meat so my brother took me to Dairy Queen for a cheeseburger. Yummmmm. After a nice day hanging out my mom took me to the airport and I went back to Colorado!

I had a great visit!! The next time I am back in MN I will have babies.. how crazy is that!

I also have some baby bump pictures from today (26weeks 5 days)

I really don't feel as big as I look here! Maybe its an optical illusion =)

I am a MASTER!

I started a masters program in 2006 when I decided to get my teaching license and as of today I am officially DONE with the MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) degree!!  I'm not going to lie, it has been extremely difficult to stay motivated to work on a long paper this summer.  But, you only have 6 years to finish the degree once you start and Fall of 2012 is sure coming up soon!  I really just wanted to be done with it so that once the babies come I can concentrate on them! 

I am also very excited about my upcoming  trip to Minnesota.  My sister is so thoughtful and is throwing me not one, but two baby showers!  Her house cannot accommodate a ton of people, so she is throwing one shower for my mom's side and another for my dad's side.  I don't get a chance to see all of my extended family that often (usually only at Christmas) so it will be really nice to see everyone and catch up. 

When I get back from the trip, I am going to have to spend all of my time getting ready for the babies!!  Our basement is getting close to completion (thank goodness) and soon I will be able to get the nursery cleared out and get things put back in the basement where they belong.  I am also planning on having a garage sale to get rid of anything that is unnecessary.  Our house is cluttered with our stuff now and we really need to make room for all of the baby stuff!  I know that we will have a lot to get ready, but its nice to be able to shift my attention from getting my degree to getting ready for babies!!

24week and 4 day watermelon AKA bump

I thought it would be interesting to start wearing the same shirts in my baby bump pictures so I could compare the difference in the bump size!  Well, today I wore the same shirt as my 1st baby bump picture at 17 weeks and some odd days.  Its crazy to see the difference!  I guess its my own body so I don't notice the daily difference, but when I look at pictures I definitely do!