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Catching up The boys turn 1!!!

2012-02-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

So it has been forever since I posted last so I am going to just throw up a bunch of pictures from January to catch up a bit. As an update on the boys, they are both walking great! Jace took his first steps on his birthday and Jefferson took his first steps about a week and a half later at a family party. They are all over the place now and it is so much fun!

In these first pics I had put Jaces' Infant carrier cover around his neck and it looked like a cape. He thought it was really fun and ran around with it all morning.

For their birthday we had baseball cupcakes and ice cream and invited both sets of grandparents and my friend Kara and her two cute little boys over. It was a lot of fun!

These are the closest things to friends the boys have. What cute boys.

My parents gave the boys these cute BYU hats and they love them! They wear them all the time. I actually took Jace's hat off to eat his cupcake and he put his head down and sobbed because I had taken it away. It was pretty cute. As soon as he tasted the chocolate cake he forgot about the hat though.

Abe's parents gave them 2 really fun noise maker toys that they had a ball with. They especially love this dog that barks, plays music and dances around when you push a button.

I have video of them eating cake but I didn't get any pics with our camera... I will have to get copies from the grandparents so I have the messy face pics. They really LOVE chocolate!!

Funny Jefferson

2011-12-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

The other day I went in to get the boys up from a nap and found Jefferson like this. He must be Houdini because his jammies were still zipped to the top and buttoned and still he managed to pull his whole arm out. He seemed pretty proud of himself too. haha

Yes, that is a strainer he is playing with. The boys were getting fussy one day while I was trying to make dinner so I gave them a small strainer to play with and they think it is the most amazing toy ever! The seriously love it and play with it all the time. Sometimes the best toys aren't really toys at all but as long as it is safe and keeps them happy, I will give them whatever they want.

Thought this last pic was funny. Every time I held it up to his face he would try to suck on it and ended up looking like this. We were laughing pretty hard. What a funny kid!

Meg's 30th Birthday Weekend!

2011-12-05T11:19:00.001-08:00

I have already tried posting this once and for some reason it didn't post and I lost everything! So annoying...

So I had the most amazing 30th birthday weekend! Yes, that's right, I got an entire weekend of celebrating instead of just a day. My birthday happened to land on Thanksgiving this year, which it does every 7 years. As a child I always felt bad because I thought my birthday was overshadowed by Thanksgiving. So this year for my big 30 my family decided to have my birthday overshadow Thanksgiving.

We were the last to arrive not realizing that it had been planned that way and I was totally shocked that instead of Thanksgiving it was a birthday surprise party for me with all of my favorite foods! I am still thinking about the yorksire pudding and pink cake (cherry chip cake with cherry frosting) yummmy!

After dinner all my cute nieces and nephews gave me birthday cards they had made for me before I got there. I also got a gift card for Out back steak house from my sweet sister Lissa and I can't wait to go there! My parents gave me a bag of york peppermint patties (my favorite candy) a box of Lord of the Rings Pez dispensers haha and four 8X10 pictures of my Abe and I and the boys that my mom took for us and I wanted to frame. Later that night my brother Rob and his wife Monica and their kids called to wish me a happy birthday and told me to check my email. There was a gift card to Amazon.com in there. Yeah! I love gift cards! It was a really great birthday. Thank you Price family!

To make it the perfect day. My friend Brooke and her family drove all the way from Las Vegas for my birthday and got to our house around midnight. They are the best most thoughtful friends ever!

I wish I had pictures of it but I didn't take any of the following Saturday. Brooke planned an entire day for me which started out by getting pedicures followed by a 1 hour massage, shopping were she bought me the cutest bracelet and lunch at one of my favorite places, Peir 49 Pizza.

Then that evening they surprised me twice. The first was when my parents showed up to babysit all of our kids so we could go out to eat as couples. The next was when we got to the restaurant and 2 other couples were there. One of the girls that was there is a friend that I haven't seen since 6th grade! Our good friends Nate and Cass Hansen were also there but left before I thought to take out my camera for some pictures. It was so much fun and I am so grateful to everyone who came and spent time planning this awesome day for me, Especially Brooke!

I was also surprised to find out that Brooke and Cody and their kids were staying till Tuesday instead of Sunday and that Abe also got work off the entire time they were here! On Monday we all went to the Hogle Zoo compliments of Goldman Sachs. It was chilly but so much fun. The animals were much more active and it wasn't crowded at all. I definitely recommend going this time of year.

This is Brook and her husband Cody and their kids, Ava and Noah. They have a 1 year old baby Luke that is not in the picture because he went home early with Cody's family.

Abe with the boys.

Now as spectacular as the birthday weekend was... this was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. We were by the tigers cage and this tiger started playing with me. No joke, it was playing with me! I would run along the fence and he would chase me. Then when I got to the end of his cage I would turn around and he would wait for me to take off and then he would turn and chase me back the other way. He wouldn't do it with anyone else and we ran back and fourth probably at least 10 time before the rest of my group wanted to move on. I could have stayed there all day. Seriously who gets to play with a full grown tiger???

Turning 30 was the best! I think I will turn 30 every year from now on!! Thank you mom and dad and my brothers and sisters, Abe, Brooke, Cody, Cass, Nate, Jenn and DJ for an awesome birthday weekend!!!

Catching up with the boys 11 months old!

2011-12-05T10:36:00.001-08:00

I have been so bad at updating the blog lately! I can't believe I totally forgot to do the boys updates even. So we have skipped a few months but I don't think we missed any major mile stones being reported. They are now about 11 months old. I can't believe it's almost been a year already!

The boys are doing great except for the fact that we have all pretty much been sick since the first week of November. The boys and I got a cold that has never fully gone away and they both had flu symptoms after getting their flu booster shot last week. That was not fun.

Both the boys have learned to clap and sometimes they will wave bye-bye. We are working on learning a sign for food but that hasn't caught on yet. However, they really love clapping and clap for themselves all day long. If I ever say "yeah!" Jace will stop what he is doing and clap. It is so cute!

Jefferson is as cute as can be. He is usually super smiley but for some reason every time I pull out the camera he goes totally stone faced. He is getting really heavy. He is about as solid a baby as I have ever felt. People are always shocked when they pick him up. I can't complain though because I love the chuck and the chubby cheeks!

Jefferson loves music, stealing bottles and teddy bears through the bars of the crib from brother at bed and nap time and playing with mommy and daddy. His favorite food is yogurt, any flavor. He doesn't like it when daddy leaves in the morning or when mommy cleans his hands and face. Jefferson is our giggler. We hear him giggle all day long and it is the sweetest sound!

Jace is usually a little harder to get to smile or laugh but for some reason when I get out the camera I can always get a few good smile shots.

Jace is a crack up. He makes his brother laugh all day long. He is really fast and is constantly moving. He doesn't quite have the chunk of his brother but he is still pretty solid.

Jace's favorite things to do are push his walking toys across the room because even though he isn't quite walking on his own yet, he is almost there and can push them all by himself. He also loves to climb. I have put up barriers to contain the boys in the living room and he will do everything he can to climb over them. Which I hate because it usually means a head dive down on the other side... I don't know how to keep him contained because a gate won't work between the wall and the couch. Any suggestions?

Jace's favorite food it Gerber baby Cheetos puffs cheddar flavor. He has also learned to take off his own pants and he thinks it is really funny when I find him sitting in his diaper.

They are both super silly and into everything these days. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with them and for the first time since they were first born I have begun taking naps when they go down for their morning naps. haha

We can't wait for the boys first Christmas!

Catching up on October

2011-11-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy this month and totally skipped my boys 9 month blog post. In fact I haven't posted anything at all. So I thought I would do a quick re-cap of the month.

This week we opened my in-home salon that we put in our basement. I am completely booked for opening week already getting booked up for next week as well. We are very excited about it. My salon is equip with a hydraulic styling chair and shampoo sink and everything!

We put these dorky hats on the boys and had a ball with them the other night. They thought they looked pretty funny and so did we.

We had 6 Halloween parties this month to go to. This is a picture at Abe's desk at his work party.

This is a picture from the party our tennis club through. Jefferson was busy playing with my wig...

I didn't know this guy but his costume was so great I had to take a picture!

Earlier this month we went for a drive in the mountains and it was so beautiful!

The first party of the month was an adult only party our friends through. These are our friends the Hansen's in their funny costumes.

Obviously Abe and I had no theme for this party.

And lastly, at the very beginning of the month Jace had his first haircut. He was a little trickier then Jefferson but he was super cute about it.

Love those big baby blues.

St. George Marathon 2011

2011-10-06T12:39:00.001-07:00

Yes, we did it again! Abe and I along with his two brothers Adam and Andrew ran the St. George Marathon this last weekend. It was not as cold as it was last time so we didn't freeze our buns off at the starting line but on the other hand it did get pretty hot at the end. It feels surreal running through the desert with your mouth so dry it feels like cotton for 5 hours, something you would read about in a book. What is even funnier is how many people do it! I think that 7500 runners registered. I don't know how many actually ran it but there were a lot of runners. I guess marathon runners are all a little crazy in the head to begin with... I saw a women being taken away on a stretcher at mile 21 and Abe said he saw at least 3 people along the way getting oxygen from the paramedics. I am so glad that none of us had any real problems along the way.

Abe was the first to finish with a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes and he waited at the finish line for the rest of us. Andrew came in second at about 5 hours and 9 minutes. Adam finished third at a time of 5 hours 35 minutes and I finished last at 5 hours 40 minutes. Neither Abe or I were totally happy with our times but we were still happy that we finished and still felt pretty good at the end.

Abe trained with his brothers and I at our speeds so he hadn't really trained to run as fast as he usually runs a marathon which is why he wasn't as happy with his time. My goal, other then finishing was to beat my previous time of 5 hours and 30 minutes and was on pace to kill it by 30 minutes until I got to about mile 18 and from then on it was a walk/jog/walk again, to the end. Maybe next time I will be able to get closer to 5 hours.

Anyway, we were all pretty tired after waking up at 4:15 am and running for 5+ hours. We ate some post race goodies and went back to the house my parents own down in St. George to clean up. We spent the rest of the day eating, relaxing, stretching out and getting rub downs from Adams oldest daughter Shariah. I was so happy that I didn't get sick like I did last time and was able to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

We were all pretty sore and walking funny the next day, especially after the 4 hour drive home. Sitting in a car for that long without stretching your legs is not the best thing to do after a marathon, but it was good to be home. (The boys did not do well in the car.)

My parents were nice enough to drive all the way down so they could watch the boys for us Saturday while we were running and see us finish. Also our good friends Brook and Cody came from Vegas to see us finish as well and stayed till Sunday to hang out. They also helped a lot with the boys which was super nice considering they had two of their kids with them as well. But it is always fun to see them even if it is just for a day.

My family and friends were cheering us on from the bleachers so my dad was the only one at the finish line to snap a few quick pics. So we don't have nearly as many pictures this time. There was a tunnel with water spraying down on you just after you cross the finish line to cool the runners off. So I promise we are dripping wet from standing under the water not from sweat. haha.

(Our wet smooch)

Here is Abe just after he finished. He had gone through the spray tunnel and it made it so the salt from his forehead dripped down into his eyes which is why he is squinting...

This race is by far the most well done race that any of us have ever run. They are prepared with everything and they have the best volunteers and fans. It was such a fun experience and I am sure we will do it again someday but for now I am ready to take a break from the long runs and enjoy the holidays!

Hair Cuts and Bath Time Fun

2011-09-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today Jefferson got his first haircut. He was great and was very interested in the clippers. I think he thought they tickled as I ran them over his head because he kept giggling. It was so cute!

After the haircut, both boys had a bath. The way I handle bathing both of them is by putting one in the bumbo seat to watch while I bathe the other. Then they switch. Here are the boys enjoying each others bath time. Love that smile!

Had to take one with the hood one but all Jace wanted to do was eat it... haha

Jefferson's turn to sit in the bumbo in his ducky robe.

Neither of them like the hood very much as you can see but they both really enjoy bath time. Too bad mommy doesn't do it as often as she should. They love it but it is a lot of work for me.

But it's worth it because when I am done I love snuggling my babies dry and breathing in their new clean scent!

8 Months Old

2011-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, the boys are 8 months old now and doing fabulous! As you can see, Jefferson is learning to sit up on his own. He is not quite there yet but he can usually sit there for a while if he is distracted with a toy before he topples over.

He also had his first 2 teeth break through this month without any fuss. What a happy baby!

Just in the last couple of days he has begun getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and fourth. I think he has been watching Jace crawl around at the speed of lightening and he is getting jealous of his mobility.

He still has an awesome laugh that is totally contagious and he smiles even in his sleep. However, out of the two boys he is suddenly a very picky eater (go figure since he is the chunk out of the two). He loves Yo Baby yogurt and oat meal with bananas but other then that it is a challenge to get him to eat almost everything else.

Jace is still a go getter. As I mentioned already he is now crawling like a champ! He loves to crawl under things and over obstacles(including his brother which Jefferson doesn't appreciate) which makes him difficult to contain sometimes.

He now has 5 teeth and loves to feed himself little baby snacks that he can chew with his new teeth. He has also discovered how to grind his teeth together, a wonderful habit passed down from father to son that drives me crazy. There is nothing more irritating then listen to teeth grinding all day and not being able to stop it. I hope he gets past this one soon.

Now that Jace can crawl I have had to set up blockades so he can't get out of the living room which inspired his next new skill, pulling up on things. He falls over a lot doing this so it is not my favorite game but I guess that's how they learn... in fact he fell over and bonked his head immediately after I snapped this picture. Poor little head.

Jace is a smiley baby too but nothing gets him laughing like daddy play time! These guys go nuts when Abe gets home.

They are eating 3 solid meals a day now and are down to taking 2 naps and occasionally a third if our day gets messed up. They love going for runs with me in the morning in their jogging stroller. We went for a 2 hour run last Saturday morning and they didn't make a peep the entire way.

They are a lot of fun. My 2 favorite things in the world are to sneak into their room at night with Abe and watch them sleep. There is nothing sweeter then a sleeping baby! And my second favorite thing is to watch them play with Abe when they are all three laughing hysterically, seriously warms my heart.

7 Months

2011-08-18T17:00:00.001-07:00

7 months already, holy cow! These boys are growing so fast. I am sure that is how all mothers feel though.

We are doing great. We adjusting to life without Nana and Papa to help daily. We have good days and not so good days but so far no major problems.

Jace is as active as ever. He is not yet crawling but he can scoot around like an inch worm pretty fast. He has his two bottom teeth and for the last week or two has been getting his top two teeth as well. He is currently in the 65% for weight at 17.5 lbs and in the 75% for length.

We went to a restaurant the other night and the manager came to our table to see the boys and he was making Jace laugh really hard. He asked if he could hold him and we said yes and before we knew it there were about 6 waitresses and waiters all gathered around him. He was definitely the center of attention and he loved every minute of it!

Jefferson is also doing great. He made leaps and strides this month, as mentioned in the previous post. He is now rolling both ways and is able to get around pretty well. Now that he is on the move more he has begun to thin out just a bit. He is still super chunky but his is now in the 90% for weight instead of the 95% and he is the exact same length as Jace so they are both in the 75% for length.

Jefferson cracks us up all the time with his ability to smile and laugh all day long. Just today I put him down for a nap and then went back downstairs to grab Jace. By the time I got Jace upstairs to put him down Jefferson was already a sleep. As I was laying Jace down, Jefferson rolled onto his side and started laughing in his sleep. It was the cutest thing. I wonder what he was dreaming about that was so funny... probably his brother Jace. Jace makes Jefferson laugh all day long and he knows it too and is realizing that it is fun to be funny.

These cute outfits were given to us by our good friends the Safford's. They are totally adorable. I wish the boys would leave the hats on but unfortunately they are too distracting and only stay on for a few minutes before the boys are grabbing and pulling them off.

I thought these were kind of funny pictures. These cute outfits along with a ton of others were given to us by a super sweet mother of identical twin boys that had grown out of them. I didn't even know her she is a women that went to high school with my sister (they don't even know each other that well) and she offered to give us all of these cute clothes for free! Seriously Catherine if you ever look at our blog, thank you for being so generous we love the clothes and are already getting a ton of use out of them!

Love those big blue eyes!

What silly boys.

Hooray for Jefferson!

2011-08-04T16:25:00.001-07:00

This has been a very big week for Jefferson. First, on Monday he learned to hold his own bottle! This is something I have been waiting for, yeah, both my boys can finally feed themselves!

Then today he finally rolled over for the first time ever. The funny part is that he didn't struggle at all to do it he just rolled over like he could do it all along but just didn't want to. Now that he knows he can do it though he won't stay on his stomach for more then a minute before he pops over onto his back. Hopefully he keeps making big strides like these. I was beginning to get worried that Jace would be walking before Jefferson learned to roll over. haha

Way to go Jefferson!

Cutest House I've Ever Seen!

2011-08-03T14:37:00.001-07:00

Does this mailbox look familiar to you? It should to anyone who has seen the movie "UP!". My mom called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to go see this cute house in the parade of homes. They had re-created the house from the movie "UP!" and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. This house was so accurate, down to every detail they could manage. I wish I had taken a picture of every room.

It truly looks exactly like the house in the movie even down to the shingles on the roof!

These people were dressed up like the characters and they were so cute. If the boy was chubbier it would have been perfect.

My mom and I both absolutely loved the kitchen with its retro appliances. These are all actually brand new, nice appliances. They are just retro fitted to make them look like they are from the time period of the movie.

I may have to have a kitchen like this one day, it's just so adorable.

I love that they found the exact furniture too.

What a cute nursery. If Abe would let me I might be tempted to paint something like that on the boys wall in their new room.

They even made it look like all of his neck ties were hanging in his room and they had his and hers glasses on the night tables.

There were framed pictures of them all over the house.

One of the builders was there showing people the house and he had the "Ellie pin" on his shirt so I had to take a picture of it.

What a happy looking house.

Even places where the movie never showed you were decked out as if it were the actual house lived in by Carl and Ellie.

The rooms I didn't take pictures of were down stairs. There were 2 more bedrooms and a media room. One of the bedrooms was designed to look identical to Andy's room from "Toy Story" and the other was a Disney princess room. They were both super cute. The media room was the most modern room in the house and had a projection screen on the wall with the movie "UP!" playing continuously.

It was seriously the cutest house ever and can you believe that someone will eventually buy this house and get to live in it! If you have the money to buy it you would have to just buy the furniture that they have staged in it as well. It just wouldn't be the same without the staged furniture. Anyway, it was totally worth the drive to Herriman and lugging the boys around to see this house.

Still Super Sore

2011-08-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't take any pictures so I have none to post but Abe and I ran the Timpanogos Half Marathon this last Saturday with Abe's brother's Adam and Andrew. It was a ton of fun and I am excited to say that it was my best half marathon time yet!

My super sweet sister Lissa slept over at our house Friday night so she could watch the boys the next morning because we had to leave at 4:30am for the race. Thanks again Liss you are the best!

Instead of getting shuttled up by the buses with everyone else we picked up Abe's brothers and drove up American Fork Canyon to the starting line and Tibble Fork Reservoir. I decided to tell Abe to either run with his brothers or on his own because he needed to train for the pace he is going to run the St. George marathon and not my pace. So this was my first race to run by myself at my own pace. I had never listened to music during a race either and it was really nice to pump myself up with a good song when I needed it.

My plan was to run the whole thing by myself but at about mile 2 I noticed that I just happened to be running next to the 2 hour 5 minute pace runner for a long time. It was a really nice girl and because we happened to be running at the same pace we struck up a conversation and that was the end of me trying to run alone. We became running buddies and she motivated me to stick with her at her pace. As we approached the mouth of the canyon(about mile 8) I was feeling great and the race thus far had flown by. Suddenly I saw Abe and his brother Andrew standing at the aid station. They were waiting for Adam who was taking a potty break. I have never been competitive when it comes to running because I am just so slow but I have to say that running past my husband and his brothers was just about the most exciting moment of the whole race for me. To be able to beet any one of them would give me bragging rights. So I decided that even though I was beginning to struggle going into the next mile that I was going to stick with my running buddy and try to get enough of a lead on them that they wouldn't be able to catch up to me.

Sadly, between mile 9 and 10 there were a few up hills and I just didn't have it in me to continue at the pace I was going. My new running friend had to leave me behind and I was again running alone. Even though the course flattened out between miles 10 and 11 I was really starting to drag and started taking short walk breaks. Up to this point, the only walk breaks I had taken were at the aid stations and those were really short. During one of these short walk breaks about half way to mile 11 Abe caught up to me. He had left his brothers behind to catch me and it is a good thing he did because I needed someone there to encourage me and kick me in the butt when I was dragging.

My best time in a half marathon up to this point was 2 hours and 20 minutes and I ended up beating that by 2 minutes. haha The best part was I did end up beating my brother in law's by about 3 minutes. Of course neither of them have really been training but I can still say I beat them. ;)

It was a really fun race and even though it made me sick and super sore I am glad we did it. It definitely showed me that I am no where near ready for the St. George full marathon yet and need to really get in gear over the next 2 months if I want to finish it. So the 5 of you who still read my blog... wish me luck!

Getting Crafty

2011-07-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of months before moving out of my parents house I got the urge to get really crafty. I had already been croshaying a blanket for a friend of mine that instead of being the small throw blanket I had intended became the size of a king size bed before I finished it.

Then I thought I would make use of my moms sewing machine and make some pillows for our new couches. I had never used a sewing machine before and I had never done patch work before which is obvious if you look closely at the pillows that have patch work on them(none of my lines match up correctly). But for a beginner I was pleased with how they turned out. I was inspired by my friend Laura and her super cute pillows and even stole the idea for the first one here from one of hers.

My mom and I had started making these car seat covers last July before the boys were even born but we had never finished them so I finally did it and I wish I had done it sooner. It helps the boys to sleep at church and when we are out and about not having the light in their faces.

Lastly I made bumper pads for their cribs because Jace kept getting his arms and legs stuck through the bars. My pediatrician said not to use bumpers or put anything in the cribs with them that they could suffocate on so that is why they are attached to the outside and it works great for just keeping limbs instead the crib. Jace has also discovered that if he wakes up and is bored he can pull on the strings for fun and a few of them are already needing repairs. What a stinker.

The fabric goes with the super cute baby quilts my moms friend made for them. She works in a fabric store so I went to the same store and found the fabric for the pads there. They look so cute together!

Now that we are in our house I think I will take a short break from crafts so I can get the hang of doing things by myself all day everyday. However, it felt great to be doing something creative again. I felt more like myself then I had since before the boys were born.

Tour Our New House

2011-07-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of pictures here so I am going to be brief with the comments.

Pictures start upstairs. Here is the boys room.

Multi-purpose room (office/painting/storage).

Master Bath

Master Bedroom.

The views out our master bedroom window. This is one of our favorite features!

Loft over looking the main floor living room.

Back yard. Another big plus is the HOA maintains our yard so no yard work!

We love the big windows and again they have a great view of the mountains.

Basement (work out/living room).

I love being able to watch a movie while I run and have it up as loud as I want even though the boys are napping because they are two floors away and can't hear a thing.

Full bath and storage closets.

We are really happy with our new house and look forward to all the memories we will share here.

6 Months, late again...

2011-07-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

Someday I will be on top of posting again. This month I hadn't even gotten around to taking 6 month pictures of the boys so I asked Abe to snap some good pics for me and these were the best of all the ones he took. I guess that is what happens when you leave it up to dad.

Jefferson is still fat and happy. He is now sleeping in a crib instead of his car seat and he really likes it. I think both the boys like that they can see each other through the bars of their cribs.

He still hasn't been able to get his chunky body to roll over yet but he has slimmed down just a bit because his favorite thing to do is jump in his jumper. If I put him in that and turn on a baby einstein movie he would be content all day long.

He is still always laughing and smiling (except I guess when we are taking pictures... haha). He is also a total dady's boy. He just stares and Abe when he is around waiting for him to do something funny and then all Abe has to do it look at him and he will start laughing sometimes.

Jace is definitely on the go. He makes his way around the room in no time by rolling all over. He has also started getting up on his hands and knees and will probably be crawling any day now. He has 2 of his bottom teeth coming in and he has been a champ about it. I wouldn't have known he was teething if I hadn't seen them myself.

He is getting more and more animated and loves being held and watching the Disney Land electrical parade video.

This last week has been a crazy one. We had our great friends the Weidhaurs and their kids visit us from Las Vegas and ended up moving into our new house the same weekend. Thanks for being so patient and helping us Brooke and Cody! Then on Monday Abe went back to work and that same morning both the boys got the flu and were throwing up everything! So I had a fun time the next 2 days with them both being sick. Then on Wednesday afternoon when both boys were finally no longer throwing up Abe and I started feeling sick. Let's just say for the next 2 days we had to joy of experiencing first hand how bad the boys had felt and it was not good.

So we are finally all feeling better and moved into our house so when I have time I will take some pics of the house and post those soon.

We are all doing great and we love our new home and boys love having their own beds in their own room. Thanks to everyone that helped us get moved in!

We Moved!

2011-07-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

I know I am way behind in blogging but we moved this last week and we don't have internet or cable in our new house until Aug 3rd! So hang in there and I promise to post the boys 7 months, our new house and all the other exciting things we have been up to lately soon.

5 Months

2011-07-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

I know they are almost 6 months, I am still a month behind, although these pics were taken the week they turned 5 months. Apparently I am much better at taking pictures then I am with posting them on time.

Jace is doing great although he did have his first bout with sickness a couple of weeks ago. He had to be put on anti-biotics which helped him feel better but gave him the runs that still haven't totally gone away. Yeah, fun for me... poor guy could barely breath and was waking up 4 and 5 times a night because he just didn't feel good. I am so glad that is over and really glad that we were able to keep Jefferson from getting it.

Jace now weighs around 17 pounds and is still our super active, inquisitive baby. He is constantly on a race to get to the next mile stone. Just this week he learned to hold his bottle himself which is great because now if they are both hungry at the same time he can feed himself while I feed Jefferson. Perfect timing too considering we are going to be moving in the next couple of weeks and I won't have my parents for help all the time.

He loves to roll around and if I take my eyes off him for a minute he will roll his way to something he shouldn't. He talks all the time and anything he can grab goes in his mouth. They are both finally sleeping clear through the night from about 7pm to 7am which makes me very happy. Jace is a sweet little boy and loves to snuggle after naps.

My brother and his family came to visit from Texas and brought the boys these cute monkeys and Jace absolutely loves them! They make monkey noises when you squeeze them and it makes him smile every time. He takes it everywhere and snuggles it.

Jefferson is still our smiley happy baby that loves to laugh! He weighs about 20 pounds now and is just solid. We were so proud of him this month for learning to jump(as seen in the previous post). Now it is his favorite thing to do. If you put him in his jumparoo and sit that in front of a baby einstein movie he would be in heaven. He is so easy and content. The only time he ever gets really fussy is when he is tired. He is my sunshine and just brightens up the day.

He is still not rolling over but we are cutting him a little slack because he has quite a bit of weight to pull over. He has slimmed down a bit since he started jumping though because he used to get stuck in the bumbo and now he comes right out of it so at least he is getting some exerciser. One of his favorite games to play is to sing "Jessus wants me for a sunbeam" and we have him jump up every time we get to the word beam. He laughs and laughs, it is so fun.

I just thought this picture was funny.

The boys love Champ. If he is in the room all eyes are on him. The are buddies.

This last week we went to the zoo with my mom and my aunt Joan. The boys were good for about an hour but after that they were both too hot and tired.

They had fun life like moving dinosaurs that made noise and some spit water.

Jefferson Learned to Jump!

2011-06-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Picture of us in the Zion shuttle ride

2011-06-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ford Family Reunion in Zion Nation Park

2011-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went with the entire Ford clan to Zion National Park and stayed at Zion Ponderosa. It was a lot of work getting everything we need for the boys packed up and the car ride there was an eventful one that seriously made me question why I was attempting to take my 5 month old twins camping for the weekend, but we made it and we ended up having a great time!

Fortunately I had insisted that we stay in a small cabin instead of camping outside with most of the fam. It paid off in the first 10 minutes of being there. In the last 30 minutes of the car ride Jefferson got car sick and through up all over himself and his car seat. On top of that he had a major blow out. Poor little guy had to be so uncomfortable sitting in all that for the last part of the drive... Anyway, it was really nice to be able to strip him down right away when we got there and give him a bath in the tub.

After we got that settled we unpacked and put the boys to bed. We shared a cabin with Abe's parents and his sister Amy and nephew Dakota. We were out on the hide-a-bed and the boys both slept on the floor next to us in their car seats. I will admit that the first night was probably the worst night I have had with the boys since we fist brought them home. It was mainly to do with the fact that Jace is not used to sleeping at night in his car seat and the bed Abe and I were in was horribly uncomfortable and it squeaked loudly every time we moved and it woke him up every 30 minutes to an hour all night. Not to mention the fact that I was super nervous he was going to wake everyone up so I was already not sleeping well because I had anxiety and every time he made a peep I was rushing to put the bottle in his mouth to quiet him. Then on top of everything our nephew Dakota woke up in the middle of the night and through up in his bed so we had Abe's parents up with the lights on trying to help him and clean it up for about an hour. Somehow Abe slept through almost all of this, I on the other hand had less then 2 hours sleep total all night and had a major head ache in the morning. I was fully ready to pack the boys up and drive home with or without Abe when we got up that day. Fortunately Abe compromised with and said if I could stick it out another night we could leave together Saturday evening instead of staying till Sunday morning and I am glad we stayed.

Now onto the fun parts of the trip...

The whole family went into the park that day and we did a couple of little easy hikes. This picture is at Weeping rock. The water actually drips right out of the over hanging cliff like it is crying. Jefferson was pretty fussy until we got to the top and then we was able to fall a sleep with Abe holding his head up.

They both did really well though for their first big adventure. Jefferson had a harder time because he had a difficulty falling a sleep in strange places, but Jace seems to be able to fall a sleep wherever and cat naps enough to stay happy.

This is Abe supporting Jefferson's head while he slept at Weeping Rock.

After Weeping Rock we went on another short hike to the Virgin River and the kids played in the water for a little bit. By this time I was exhausted from lack of sleep and I decided to go back to the shuttle pick up and sit in the shade while everyone else went up and did more of a hike.

This was beautiful right above the river.

After hiking we went back and had a late lunch and let the boys nap. Abe and I did some laundry and then everyone ate dinner together. We BBQ'd and hung out for a while. Abe and I thought it would be fun to take the boys swimming so we put on their new flotation swim suits and headed to the pool. I was super disappointed though because the water in the pool was too chilly for them and they both cried when we put their feet in. So we tried the hot tub but that was too warm for them... so we went back to the cabin and put them to bed. That night Abe slept out in the car with Jace and I stayed in the cabin with Jefferson. It worked out great because Jefferson only woke up once about 5 am and then he slept again till 8am. Abe and Jace did pretty well out in the car too. He got up with him several times but Abe said it wasn't too bad.

On Saturday we all ate a yummy pancake breakfast supplied by Abe's sister Allison. Thanks Allison! Then we took a family picture in front of the cabin which I will have to get a copy of and post later. Then all the men left with most of the older kids and did a really strenuous and scary hike called Angels Landing.

Abe took some videos of the hike. I did this hike once as a child and my fear of heights was born. I was glad to stay at the cabin with the boys that day...

I packed up a lot of our stuff while Abe was hiking and when he got back we loaded the car and took off. The trip home was so much better then the trip there. We stopped in Ceder City for some yummy Cafe Rio and then headed home. It was after the boys bed time so they pretty much slept most of the ride. We pulled in at about 11pm last night and got the boys to bed easily and left most of the unloading for today since it was so late. Last night I was extremely grateful to be sleeping in my own comfortable bed with the boys far away in their room in their own beds.

It turned out to be a lot of fun and it was good to spend time with the Ford family and be out side for a change. The weather couldn't have been better and we were reminded of how extremely beautiful Utah really is. We made it through our first vacation with the boys and in the end I was glad we went. I will post more pictures once I get them from family members.

4 Months

2011-05-25T15:23:00.001-07:00

This post is really late. They are closer to being 5 months now but I swear I did take the pictures at 4 months, I just haven't had time to down load them and blog.

Anyway, the boys are doing great! My parents are out of town this whole week which gave us the perfect opportunity to let the boys cry through the night. We have been sleeping upstairs so we can't hear them and it is working great. I think Jace had a hard time the first couple of nights but he seems to be catching on and sleeping better. They are now going to bed at 8pm instead of 10pm like they were before and they are sleeping till 7 and 8 am! Yeah! This is the first time in over a year that I have had a full 8 hours of straight interrupted sleep. No getting up to go to the bathroom 4 times a night like when I was pregnant, no getting up to feed the boys or pump, just sleep. It has been wonderful!

The outfits they are wearing are size 9 to 12 months and were supposed to be worn this Fall so that is why they are in Fall colors, sweater and pants.

Jace now weighs about 15 lbs. He is in the 75th percentile for both weight and length. He is smiley and happy as long as he is getting attention or being held. His favorite thing to do is rough house with his daddy and play in the jumparoo. He is is getting really close to being able to roll from his back to his front. He is also getting better at eating rice cereal with a spoon. We have been working on it for the last couple of weeks and he is now to the point where he can eat a bowl and more of it ends up in his tummy then on his face, hands and chest.

He loves looking at himself in the mirror. He could make goofy faces at himself all day long. What a vain child we have.

Jefferson now weighs an insane 18 lbs and is in the 75th percentile for length and the 95th percentile for weight!

He is just a ball of sunshine. He smiles and laughs all day long. He can finally hold his body weight for short periods of time with his legs and he is pretty thrilled with himself because of it. He also loves to play with his daddy and is pretty much content with doing almost any activity. He has not yet caught on to eating with a spoon. I put a bite in his mouth and he just starts laughing and lets it all spill out. If I try to demonstrate how to eat he laughs and thinks I am being funny. I think I am just going to have to wait a little longer before he is eating solids which is fine because he definitely doesn't need any extra weight.

This was the only picture where they were both smiling but unfortunately they are looking at my mom and not at the camera.

What cute boys. They both look so different to me so it makes me laugh when people ask if they are identical while they are looking at them.

This picture makes me laugh. This is how Jefferson plays in the exersaucer. He sinks down into the whole with his hands and just stares at everything. He doesn't really try to touch things and he won't use his legs to stand at all...

Jace is the total opposite. He bangs the toys around and tries to put everything in his mouth. He also loves that he can stand up all by himself in it.

Having twins is getting funner everyday!

Death Trap

2011-05-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Jace has never been able to sleep very well without being swaddled really tight. He just can't relax until his arms are strapped down and secured. We have this sleep sac that can double as a swaddler with an attachable part. It is made by Halo and we really liked it at first because we figured once he didn't need the swaddle strap anymore he could just use it as a regular sleep sac.

Little did I know I had bought a death trap for my little baby! The last few weeks he has been able to wiggle his arms out of it so several times a night I was getting up just to re-swaddle him. One of those times He got his arms out through the bottom which then pushed the straps up around his neck. It scared me to find it like that but it was loose enough that it wouldn't choke him so from then on I double strapped it at the bottom so it wouldn't ride up like that again, or so I thought...

Yesterday morning we were woken up at about 6:30am by a strange cry. It wasn't a normal cry, it sounded more like a struggled scream. I flew out of bed and ran in to find Jace with his entire face covered by the swaddle strap! Plus it attaches on his back with velcro so it was not just over his face but pressed down on his face by the velcro! I hurried and took it off and he just laid their breathing heavily, not even crying. I was terrified! He would have suffocated for sure if he hadn't been able to get out that one scream. I just held him in my arms and it took him like 5 minutes to be able to relax and breath normally again. He fell back to sleep so I took him in bed with me. I couldn't sleep after that so I just held him and listened to him breathing and thought about how extremely lucky I am. I love these boys so much, I can't imagine life without either of them. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father was watching out for Jace just then. I am surprised he was able to yell loud enough for us to hear him without being muffled. It was truly a blessing.

So I please don't buy the Halo Sleep sac with attachable swaddle. If you want a swaddle just buy one that is all one piece and has no attachable parts. It is just not worth it! Here is a picture of the death trap...

Too Busy to Blog

2011-05-10T08:58:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Life has been really crazy lately. The boys keep me busy all the time because I am trying to use my parents less and less because we will be moving out sometime soon and I don't want it to be a total shock when I am suddenly doing on my own.

We are also looking into buying a town house which has occupied almost every free minute of my time the last few weeks. We are really excited about it and hope things work out they way we want.

Lastly, we found out yesterday that we were picked in the lottery to run the St. George marathon! We are really excited but this is one more thing that is going to take up a tremendous amount of my time. At least it will help me get back into shape. I ran a 5K last Saturday with two of my sisters and realized just how out of shape I am right now. haha Let's just say I better start training right away...

Here is a cute video of the boys hanging out in their bumbo's together. They both just had baths and I hadn't gotten them into their jammies yet because I didn't want them to spit up on them and make them yet before bed. So they are chillin' in their diapers. The other video is of Abe playing with the boys. He can get Jefferson laughing pretty hard. For some reason if they see the video camera they get so mesmerized that they usually won't laugh anymore but we finally got some laughing footage.

3 Months

2011-04-12T09:06:00.001-07:00

They made it. Everyone told me that around 3 months old things should start getting easier and they were so right!

Jefferson now weighs a whopping 15 lbs! He still has acid reflux but he is obviously holding enough down to gain weight like a champ. He smiles all the time and now laughs out loud and it is the sweetest thing. He loves everyone and is just so happy whenever he gets attention.

Jace is keeping up with his weight at a healthy 13 lbs. He is smiling more often and just the other day I got him to laugh for the first time and it was so cute! Of course he refused to smile for the camera. He is very inquisitive and is always looking around with his big blue eyes.

They are beginning to notice each other more and are interested in one another. At 11 weeks we decided it was time for them to sleep in their own room and learn to fall a sleep on their own. It was a tough first night. We put Jace to sleep in the crib for the first time and we have kept Jefferson in his car seat still because he spits up so much and it helps if he is more veridical.

That first night Jace cried so much he was horse the next day. It was hard to listen to him cry but it was so worth it because ever since he only cries sometimes when we put them to bed and if he does it's never more then 30 minutes. Jefferson has never cried for more then 10 minutes, even the first night. He has always been a great sleeper. Another amazing break through happened about 3 nights after we starting letting them fall a sleep on their own. Jace had still been waking up every 3 to 4 hours but suddenly he began sleeping for 6 to 7 hours for the first half of the night! It has been like that ever since. I have been in heaven getting 8 hrs a night!

Jefferson loves watching Baby Einstein videos. He will sit and watch it from start to finish and sometimes he will even watch it twice in a row before he gets board with it. I love finding things that keep their attention and keeps my hands free.

They still love their activity mat. It is the best purchase we have made so far. It has a little mirror and Jace is just fascinated with himself and stares at it for really long periods of time and makes goofy smiles and noises at himself. It is hilarious!

They are getting big so fast. They are going to be too big for their 6 month old clothes pretty soon. We just love watching these boys learn everyday. The next big hurdle will be getting Jace to nap somewhere other than on me so I can get more done during the day.

5 Years

2011-04-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

This is very late considering our anniversary was on March 23rd. But better late then never.

I can't believe it has been 5 years! Time seriously flies. I still feel just as lucky as I did the day we got married. Abe is the best husband I could have ever asked for. In the last few months watching him be a father to our boys has only increased my love for him.

This year for our anniversary we left the boys with my parents and went out to dinner at Outback Steak house (yummy). It is so wonderful to have built in babysitters. We are definitely going to miss that a lot when we move into our own place again. Thanks mom and dad for watching the boys so we can have date nights.

I am looking forward to many more happy years to come. Happy Anniversary babe!

Blessing Day

2011-04-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we blessed the boys at my parents house. It was a beautiful day and the boys were so sweet the whole evening.

My Aunt Janet made their blessing outfits and they were darling. We were a little nervous that they wouldn't fit considering they are now wearing their 6 month old clothes but fortunately they fit perfectly and the boys looked so cute!

Jace loves sitting in his bumbo seat.

Jefferson slept a lot of the evening.

Jace is my wide eyed little guy.

Abe's parents

My parents

Adorable outfits

2011-04-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Laura gave us these outfits and they are so cute we had to take pictures!

Jace

Jefferson

My dad(who is basically the second mother to my children) with his buddy Jefferson and trusted watch dog Champ.

I love this picture, I wish it wasn't so blurry...

2 Months

2011-03-13T14:06:00.001-07:00

Jefferson is getting chunkier by the day. He is now 12 lbs 13 oz and 22" long. He's in the 95% for weight and 25% for length.

He is great at tracking things with his eyes and he is a smiley happy baby. He is also sleeping like a champ, 5 to 6 hours straight at night! Papa is loving it because he sleeps with him most nights.

Jace is getting long and staying lean. He is 11 lbs 9 oz and 23" long. He's in the 75% for both weight and length. He used to be an inch shorter than Jefferson and he's now an inch longer!

He has turned a corner with his fussiness. We figured out that a lot of foods I have been eating were upsetting his tummy. So now that I have been off those foods, which is practically everything good, he has turned into a much happier baby.

He has been rolling from his tummy to his back really consistently and has been sleeping by himself instead of with me almost all the time at night now.

The boys are also more content when out together instead of crying at the sight of one another. I love these cute shirts and I had to get a pick of them in them before they grew out of them.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have twins? Here is what our night was like last night...

2011-03-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

8:30 pm: Begin to get things ready for bed, Meg and Abe both take turns brushing and flossing their teeth and getting into pj's, Meg gathers bottles and take them down stairs for the night shift (6 bottles total plus all of my pump equipment washed and ready). Abe fills the humidifier and entertains the babies.

9:00 pm: Get babies ready for bed. Both of them fed, changed, swaddled and put to sleep (this takes anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on how sleepy they are to start with. Lately it has been pretty consistent that they are both down in 1.5 hours. It requires a lot of patients, a lot of pacing and sometimes a lot of tears.

10:30 pm: Abe goes to bed and Meg goes to pump for the last time before bed and get bottles ready for the next feeding. Pumping takes about 10 minutes then I get the bottle prepared and wash my pump stuff and get it ready for the next time.

11:00 pm: Meg goes to bed.

11:15 pm: Jace wakes up so Meg picks him up and brings him to bed with her.

1:30 am: Jace wakes up. Meg takes Jace out of the room, feeds him, Jace smiles at her in his sleep and it melts her heart. She changes him and puts him back to sleep, this takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2:15 am: Meg pumps, get's bottles ready and cleans pump stuff for next time.

2:45 am: Meg goes back to bed.

3:30 am: Jefferson wakes up. Meg takes him out of the room, feed's him changes him, then he spits up everything he ate all over the both of us. This scares Jefferson and makes him cry and make Meg feel bad for him. So Meg changes his clothes and her clothes.

4:30 am: Jace wakes up again while Meg is still dealing with Jefferson. Abe brings Jace out and feed's him, changes him and puts him back to bed. Meanwhile Meg re-feed's Jefferson and paces around with him because he is now so awake that he will not go back down.

5:00 am: Meg is still pacing with Jefferson. Jefferson is wide awake, Meg is now crying and doesn't feel as bad for him as she did before. We are out of breast milk so Meg puts Jefferson down and lets him cry while she pumps, gets bottles ready and cleans pump stuff for the next time. Meanwhile, Abe is sleeping and Jace wakes up again. Abe get's up and takes Jace to bed with him.

5:30 am: Meg gives up and puts Jefferson in his car seat(which is what they have been sleeping in) and starts walking up stairs with him to pawn him off on my dad who is sleeping soundly for the first night in a while. Meg get's to the top of the stairs and realizes that the motion has put Jefferson to sleep. Meg decides to let her dad sleep and takes him back to her room.

5:45 am: Meg takes Jace, who is now totally a sleep on Abe's chest and puts him in his car seat. Meg gets in bed and thinks she might finally get some sleep.

5:55 am: Jace wakes up! He is crying so Meg takes him out of the room. Jace's diaper is wet so Meg changes his diaper and decides if he won't sleep in his seat she will just bring him in bed with her and maybe she will get some sleep.

6:30 am: Abe's alarm clock goes off and Jefferson begins to stir. He isn't totally awake but Meg has had it and just can't handle it any more. Jace is sleeping on her and is so wiggly that she can't sleep.

7:00 am: Meg and Abe take both babies up to her parents and let them take over. Abe goes to work and Meg goes down stairs and pumps again, gets bottles ready, brings them back up for her parents, decides she is too tired to clean the pump stuff.

7:30 am: Meg is finally in bed sleeping with no distractions. Meg sleeps till 10:30 am and then has to get up, clean the pump stuff, pump and begin another day with twins.

Wahoo!

2011-03-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

Those of you who saw me right before I had the boys can attest to the fact that I was huge! I new I had gained weight and I was fine with it because it was all for a good cause. However towards the end when the scale tipped past the 200 mark (yes, it's true) I began to get seriously worried that I would never be the same again.

Well I went to the doctor today and when they weighed me I wanted to jump for joy. Since having the twins I have lost a total of 58 pounds! Thank goodness that it must have mostly been water weight! I still have some weight to lose but it is a much more reasonable amount and I can breath a sigh of relief that I lost the biggest portion of weight without even trying, wahoo!

With that being said, I am now to the point I have been dreading since the start of my pregnancy, diet and exercise time, dun dun dun...

Oh P.S. I got a new car and I love it! It's a 2011 KIA Sorento and it has a third row of seating that you can put up if needed. Which is great because we will need it for sure with our next baby. This the color we got.

New Born Photo Shoot

2011-02-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the super cute pics my amazing sister took of the boys when they were 2 weeks old.

Cute close up of Jefferson.

I love this one because this is totally what happens when you put them together!

Sweet little Jace.

Thanks Melinda!

Then and Now

2011-02-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

The new mom then

The new mom now...

The new dad then

The new dad now...

Tiny baby Jace then

3 pounds later baby Jace now!

Tiny baby Jefferson then

3.5 pounds later baby Jefferson now!

How time flies when you are deliriously sleep deprived and happy.

Happy/Sad, Sad/Happy

2011-02-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it has been a month? They are getting big so fast. We went to the doctor this week because Jefferson has a really horrible diaper rash that makes me so sad every time I change him and Jace has acid reflux. To make it worse, it is all my fault! We ate meals with tomato sauce in them 5 days in a row and on a few days I ate left overs for lunch so I ate it multiple times in one day, not thinking about the acidity level in tomato sauce. I gave them both diaper rash because of the acidity level in their milk. I feel so bad. Jace's has pretty much cleared up but we are going on 8 days since it started and poor Jefferson's is looking as bad as ever. If you have any recommendations for clearing up diaper rash please tell me, I am desperate!

Anyway, onto happier news. Despite their acid reflux, both babies are growing really well. In 2 weeks Jace went from being in the 15th percentile to the 50th percentile and Jefferson went from the 25th to the 75th!

It's a real trick to get a picture of both babies at the same time where they are both looking happy. Out of probably 15 pictures I took of this set up, here is the only one that worked out where both babies were happy together. (Jace is on the left and Jefferson is on the right.)

This is my favorite picture of Jefferson because it is totally a representation of how he is, fat and happy.

This is unfortunately a pretty good representation of how Jace is too, super strong and fussy. Although when he is happy he is the cutest wide eyed curious little baby you've ever seen.

These are the sweet blessing outfits my Aunt Janet made for the boys. We wanted to get a good picture of them in them to send to her. We again had a hard time getting a picture of them both looking happy. It seemed like just as you get one happy the other gets sad...

Victory!

I am just so in love with these two boys!

So Cute!

2011-02-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait till I got all of the pictures from my sister before I posted them but she emailed these two to me today and I can't resist sharing them. She is so talented!

More to come!

Pillow Baby

2011-01-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

Our boys are so sweet but they both love to be held day and night. They do not like to be put down, even in their sleep. So in order for Abe and I to get any sleep at all we ended up co-sleeping with the boys. At first Abe slept with one and I slept with the other. The more nights that past the more I began distrusting Abe to sleep with a baby.

He is usually a very heavy sleeper and he likes to sleep surrounded by several pillows and blankets. When we first brought the boys home, he was abnormally alert during the night so I trusted him completely. As the nights went on he began slipping into his heavy sleep patterns again and I began sleeping with both babies, one cradled in each arm. It isn't optimal for me but I am more concerned about the babies not getting smothered in the night by their sleeping father. Abe insists that he is totally aware of the babies and is capable of sleeping with them but he doesn't argue too much because he gets better sleep now that I won't let him sleep with one anyway.

The prove that I am right, here is a funny thing that happened the other night. I was sleeping with both babies and had to get up to feed one. When I get up with one I usually just have Abe hold the other for the short period of time that I am gone. I woke Abe up to take one of the babies. I shook him and said "Abe you have to take a baby". He stirred a little and went back to sleep so I did it again. This time he rolled over just a bit and with annoyance in his voice he said "I already have a baby." I was totally confused at this and shook him again and told him he needed to take a baby. He sat up a little and said very clearly, that he already had a baby and gestured to his arm. I looked down and he was cradling a pillow in his arm.

I laughed and said "that's not a baby, it's a pillow." He looked down at the pillow in his arm and finally reached out and took the baby I was handing to him.

The next day he had absolutely no recollection of any of this. I would say I have proven my point. If your husband can't tell the difference between a pillow and a newborn baby he should not be allowed to sleep with the baby.

Going back to our sleeping arrangement... we have now figured out a way so I don't have to sleep with both babies and I am in heaven because for the last 5 nights I have gotten at least 5 hours or more of sleep per night. My parents offered to take one baby at night so they have been taking Jefferson at night and I take Jace. Jefferson will sleep in a bouncer pretty well but Jace is a total momma's boy and will not sleep unless he is with me so it works out perfect! Thank goodness for my parents, I don't know what I would do without them right now.

And I have to say that for all those who complain about sleepless nights with one baby... you have no idea how good you have it. Two babies is hard, one baby is a breeze!

Preview of the Twins First Photo Shoot

2011-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Compliments of my talented sister Melinda Bryant Photography. I will post the rest when I get them, this is just a preview of our sweet little babies.

(Jefferson is in the front and Jace is in the back.)

Labor Story

2011-01-26T14:08:00.000-08:00

So I finally have a minute and thought since I haven't down loaded any new pics yet, I would tell you my labor experience.

We got to the hospital at 8 am on Jan 10th to be induced. Within 30 minutes they had broken my water and started me on pitocin. Going into the hospital I was already 4 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. At about noon my contractions were starting to finally get a little stronger and I asked for the epidural. It was kind of strange because until noon I almost couldn't feel the contractions at all. The only way I could tell I was having one is because during each contraction I became short of breath and felt like it was difficult to breath but it didn't hurt. They checked me at that time and I hadn't progressed at all.

After getting the epidural it was easy sailing till about 6 pm. That is when the contractions really picked up. I couldn't feel them still but I got really sick and started throwing up. Also, even with the epidural I still felt like I couldn't breath right during each contraction and that started getting worse too. After an hour of throwing up over and over again the nurse gave me something for it and it went away. Thank you for medicine that works!

They checked me at 7pm and I was suddenly dilated to a 6 and 100% effaced, yahoo! We were finally getting closer. It was around this point that my epidural started having problems and kept wearing off on one side and then the other over and over again. The anesthesiologist had to keep coming in to give me extra injections.

They checked me each hour and I continued to progress pretty rapidly. By 8:30 pm I was 10 centimeters dilated and the doctor suggested waiting one more hour to see if my body would do some of the work for me so I wouldn't have to do so much pushing. So we waited and when they checked me again I was a 10 + and they were ready for me to start pushing. I pushed from 9:30 pm to 11:45 pm and made absolutely no progress in getting Jace closer to coming out.

At that point the doctor just said that I was doing everything right but the baby was probably coming out on a bad angle and was stuck. He said I could push as long as I wanted but he felt it was going to do little more than make me more tired and frustrated. So we decided to do the C-section.

I was really emotional about this decision because I was exhausted from 15 hours of labor and it just wasn't the happy ending I was hoping for but it was what we had to do. The anesthesiologist came in and gave me something because my epidural was wearing off again and whatever he gave me, made me a little out of it because I remember going in and being prepped for the C-section but everything is a little fuzzy.

Once I was in there and ready I remember the doctors testing to make sure I was numb. They rolled a prickly thing across my tummy in different areas asking me if I could feel it or not. The higher he went on my tummy I realized that I could feel it. I couldn't feel it perfectly but I definitely felt a sensation. I told them and they said that they wouldn't be cutting me that high anyway so it didn't matter. So they got started. I remember feeling a lot of pressure as they pulled each baby out. Jace was first because he was baby A and he was born at 12:24 am, Jefferson followed after at 12:26 am on 1-11-11'.

I missed seeing Jace when they showed him to me right after they pulled him out but I did get a glimpse of Jefferson before they took him back to be checked. From that point on things went down hill really fast.

The doctors were still working on me pulling stuff out and cleaning me out and I realized that I was beginning to feel what they were doing. Apparently the stopper that the anesthesiologist had given me wasn't working right and was wearing off too soon. I remember moaning and saying I can feel it, I can feel it. The anesthesiologist ran out of the room to get more medicine for me and I freaked because I didn't know why he was leaving. From that point on I have no recollection of anything that happened because I went into shock. According to Abe I did a lot of moaning and I said some rude things to the doctors and nurses. I guess I told the nurses they were all liers and I apparently said some really rude things to the anesthesiologist when he came back but Abe didn't tell me exactly what it was I said. He just told me I needed to apologize to everyone. Apparently while I was unconscious my breathing became very irregular and the doctors decided they couldn't give me any more pain meds for fear that I would stop breathing. So instead, they just let me go into shock and pass out.

I woke up back in my labor and delivery room in the most horrible pain I have ever felt. Throughout the day the doctors and nurses had been asking me on a regular basis "on a scale from 1 to 10 how would you rate your pain?" So all I remember is when I woke up I was yelling "it's a 10, it's a 10!" Everything had worn off completely and I could feel it all. Abe and a nurse were both there and I kind of remember them both trying to get me to focus on them and to take deep breaths because my breathing was becoming erratic again and they couldn't start giving me pain meds until I calmed down. I don't really remember calming down but I do remember the nurse telling me she was giving me morphine. Slowly after that things started focusing and feeling better. She gave me morphine, percicett and motrine and by the time they all kicked in I was feeling much better.

It was then that they brought the boys in so I could meet them for the first time. I can't tell you how happy I was to finally see their little faces and hold them. I was still too out of it to try feeding them or nursing them so I watched Abe and a nurse give them their first feeding. After that they took them back to the nursery and they took us to the second floor which was wear we would stay for the next 3.5 days.

It was a long 16 hours to get them hear but it was so worth every agonizing moment. They are perfect and we are so in love with each of them.

Welcome to our family Jace and Jefferson!

They are here!

2011-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Born 1-11-11 here are our sweet baby boys Jace and Jefferson!

It has been over a week and I haven't had a moment to blog. Things are more crazy then I had anticipated with these little guys. They have been keeping us very busy. These are not the best pics of them because you can't see them very well but it is all I had already downloaded into the computer. More pics will be coming.

The happy new fam of 4 leaving the hospital last Friday evening. I have never seen Abe so proud. He has been my rock and my biggest help through the adjustment of coming home. I don't know what we will do when he goes back to work next week. I just hope that between his working schedule and my sleep schedule we will be able to see each other every now and then.

First day in the hospital with the boys.

They are a lot of work but they are such a joy. We are just so in love with each them that every time I look at their sweet little faces I think I might burst with happiness and gratefulness. We have had a few bumps as we have been adjusting to being home but we are all still in tact and hopefully getting the hang of things. We are so lucky to be living with my parents right now because they have been so much help. Without them we would be a mess right now.

We just couldn't be happier! More to come when I can find a minute.

Monday January 10th is officially D-Day

2011-01-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

I am now only 2.5 days away from my scheduled induction date and because I am still not contracting I am fairly confident that I will not go into labor before then. So it looks like Monday is the day! I can't wait, only 2.5 days of feeling like I am being beat up from the inside and only 2.5 days till we get to meet our little guys!

It feels like we took these pics a long time ago but I haven't posted them yet, so get ready for a ton more pics of me and my big belly. These pics were taken by my two favorite photographers ever, my sister Melinda and my best friend Brooke. They turned out so great despite how freezing cold it was during the shoot.

The first four are my favs from my sister.

The rest are my favs from Brooke.

You guys are incredible. You must have worked some photographer magic or something because I have not felt like I have looked this good before or after the shoot. Thank you so much for braving the cold so I can have such beautiful pictures!

This will most likely be my last post before the babies are born so wish me luck. I also want to tell my husband how great he is and wish him an early happy birthday because I will be in the hospital and won't be able to post anything for his birthday next Wednesday. Happy Birthday babe, this year I will be giving you two baby boys for your birthday! I hope you enjoy your special gift!

36 Weeks, Full Term!

2010-12-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I made it this far! Still no babies though... I thought I would put together this slide show so you can see how I got to this huge.

Update on the momma:

I am really uncomfortable but hanging in there. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and I am hopeful that he will tell me that something is happening. I have had a lot of pains, cramps, Braxton Hicks and sleepless nights but no real contractions yet. Maybe they just really want to be the New Years babies for us.

Update on the daddy:

It was great to have Abe home for a long Christmas weekend. Plus they have lightened his load at work a bit this week and he has been able to get home at a normal time and we are loving it!

He says it has finally sunk in that we are actually going to have two babies here soon and he is starting to get more nervous but I know he will be great once they are here.

Update on the babies:

As of last week they were both weighing in somewhere around 6 pounds each which is great! They are still moving a ton and passing all of their stress tests with flying colors. Baby B has always been the one up in my ribs, making it difficult to breath, eat and wear anything snug and he has finally dropped down a little. I was very excited that I could finally wear a bra without being totally uncomfortable the whole time. Baby B has also begun getting the hiccups pretty much every time I eat. It is pretty entertaining to sit and watch my belly bounce over and over again.

Baby A is so low that I feel like one of these days he is going to just fall out. He likes to grind into my hip bones and dig at my cervix which is so much fun for me. I actually hope he is making some headway so they can finally come out. Keep digging baby A!

That's about all that's going on. We are making final preparations and trying to see family and friends while they are in town but mostly we are just waiting on pins and needles for the big day.

I have totally been slacking off on posting lately but I will try to keep it updated. Thanks for your prayers and love!

Catch up and Updates

2010-12-15T09:08:00.001-08:00

So I am feeling really bad because a few of my girlfriends took me out to lunch and had a mini shower for me weeks ago and I have not posted about it yet. We took one pic at the end that I would put on here but frankly I am just too fat and uncomfortable to get up and get my camera out to download it. It was a really fun lunch though and I really appreciated it so much.

They took me to California Pizza Kitchen where I ate my all time favorite salad, the BBQ chicken salad, yummm! It was fun to just sit and chit chat and catch up with friends that I hadn't seen in a while and who had all had a baby since the last time I had seen them. haha

I got some great advice and a perfect mix of gifts, some were cute and fun and some were just very practical and much needed. Thank you again, Cass, Liz, Kali, and Christine! You guys are awesome!

So here is the update on the babies and I. I went in to get my Flu shot on Monday and woke up at 2 am the next morning feeling horrible. I have decided that I got a combination of a small reaction from the shot itself because I felt achy all over and extremely fatigued and I must have had a small bug already in my system that the Flu shot helped bring to the surface because I had nasal drainage and a sore throat. Super fun combination with pregnancy, don't you think?

Anyway, I spent the day doing basically nothing but sleeping, eating and showering to get ready for my pre-scheduled OB check up. I thought my doctors apt was at 3pm but when I got there at 2:45pm they informed me that it wasn't actually till 3:30pm. So I had to wait in the waiting room for like 45 minutes, so fun... I had also not eaten anything since noon and was beginning to feel it. Lately when I am hungry or tired I get a little overly emotional which I am sure is normal for a pregnant women but not for a sane person.

The nurse finally called me back and asked me very politely how I was feeling and I replied "you don't want to know" while holding back the tears. I think she could tell and started telling me how great it was that I had made it to 34 weeks with twins and got down to business with my vitals.

Next I was told to go into the room and get ready for the doctor to check me. I felt like I was holding it together pretty well but was definitely teetering on the edge of a break down. I have like 6 different doctors at this clinic that I see and some I have seen and gotten to know more than others. I really like all of them, but Dr Bean just has the best bed side manner and he is super sympathetic. So of course the day that I am on the verge of a breakdown he is the doctor that walks in. I am sure the nurse had said something to him before he entered because he walked in, gave me the most sympathetic look and simply said "how bad is it?" I looked at him and burst into tears (how embarrassing).

He was really patient with me and comforting. Then he checked me and I was thrilled to hear that I am dilated to 1 centimeter! I know it isn't much but at least something is finally happening! He went on to tell me that from here on out if I go into labor they will just let me go and the it is very unlikely that there would be any long term effects for the babies being born premature. Plus if they do have to spend any time in the NICU it would most likely be a very short stay and they shouldn't have any serious problems to worry about.

Originally I said I wanted to go as long as possible but when you get statics like that and you feel as horribly uncomfortable as I do right now, that plan takes a nose dive right out the window. They can come today and I would be a happy mommy. So send good labor thoughts my way and lets get these babies out! Plus if all else fails Dr. Bean also set up a date for inducement if it doesn't happen on its own, January 10th is the official deadline and I am grateful that I no longer feel like I am going to be eternally pregnant.

Change of Plans

2010-12-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that we have been planning on moving into our town home as soon as our renters vacated the property. However, we have had a change of heart...

Our renters did leave as scheduled and the house looks good which is always a relief. While we have been waiting for this to happen we have been living with my parents and they have been urging us to stay till after the babies are born so they can help us with them. We have also gotten pretty comfortable here and it is nice for me to not be all alone while Abe is at work.

All along we have been thinking that we wanted to move so we would have all of our things and more space for when the babies get here but the closer it gets to delivery the more we have felt that the help would be more important than space. So we have made a decision and that is that we are staying with my parents until at least next July. We found new renters within 2 days of posting the house (which never happens) and everything is falling into place.

We are setting up some of the baby things and beginning our final preparations. We would still love visitors and help from any one that wants to or has previously offered after the babies are born. Both my parents have to work occasionally so they won't be here 24-7. Which means we still may need some extra baby holding hands every now and then.

With all of these final decisions and preparations we are feeling even more excited and scared for these little boys to be here. I am going in for an ultrasound, check up and stress test today so we will see if anything is starting to happen. I will update more when I know.

Utah Shower Continued

2010-11-30T09:25:00.001-08:00

Warning: There were just too many good pics to choose from so be prepared to see a lot of pictures in this post.

Before you are amazed at how super cute my shower was I want to thank the people that planned, cooked and decorated everything.

My mom, who hosted, planned and helped cook.

Abe's mom Carolyn who helped with food.

My sisters Melinda and Lissa, who also helped with the yummy food.

And my best friend Brooke who I don't even have a picture from the shower of because she was the one that took all of these amazing pictures and also brought all of the decorations.

Not that I am thanking myself but I have to brag about the stinking cute "Two Peas in a Pod" cake and cupcakes that I made with the help of my mom and Lissa. They are now pros at coloring fondant green and making tiny peas.

I have to say it was the yummiest cake I have ever made, Chocolate Fudge cake with 2 layers of raspberry filling and chocolate mousse. Then frosted with butter cream icing. I am making myself hungry just thinking about it.

Lissa's pasta salad that everyone raved over.

My mom's famous bread sticks.

And her ambrosia fruit salad.

And Melinda made the famous Mint Brownies I have been hearing about for over a year and hadn't tried till this. They lived up to the hype.

Brooke my creative friend brought all of these cute decorations and drove through the night from Las Vegas to be there.

Abe mostly hid downstairs with my dad and Brooke's husband Cody and their kids but we caught them sneaking up for some of the food.

Actually I forgot that my dad helped decorate with Brooke a little.

From left to right: Abe's mom Carolyn, my Aunt Joan, my Aunt Laura and Abe's sister Amy who is so excited about the babies that she can hardly contain herself whenever she gets around my belly.

(mom, cousin Sue and Aunt Laura)

Besides the yummy food, cute decorations and loving guests, I got some great gifts. Many I already mentioned int he last post, here are just a couple more.

After the guests had left Brooke's cute kids came up to enjoy the left over cupcakes. This is just such a classic picture of Ava holding a cupcake in each hand, her mouth full and looking so cool with her purse and her shades.

Thanks again for everyone that helped throw me a shower this year and thank you to all of my guests who have helped us prepare for our boys. I am now at 32 weeks and still going strong. We are so grateful for the love and support of all of our friends and family.

My belly thanks you!

Still to come: One more shower to post about and my maternity pictures.

Utah Shower

2010-11-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

I had a family baby shower this last Saturday hosted by my mom. It was so fun. My best friend Brook was nice enough to drive through the night from Vegas with her husband and 3 kids to be there for my shower Saturday morning and then they had to leave the very next day! That is serious friendship, thanks again Brooke. She brought the cutest decorations for my shower though so everything looked really nice.

She is also a professional photographer and was nice enough to take pictures of my shower and co-shot my maternity pictures with my sister. I will post those when I get them. If you want a preview, you can view a few of the pictures my sister took on her photography blog: http://www.melindabryantphotography.com/

Both of my showers have been awesome. I am so blessed to have so many loving people around me. Having two babies at once can be really expensive so we were really grateful for all of the gifts we have received. I wish I could post everything but I don't have pictures of them all. You will see a few of the smaller gifts when I get the pictures back from Brooke but until then here are a few of the big items we have gotten that we were so excited to get.

The ultimate double stroller. Seriously I don't know if any of you have tested double strollers before but this one kicks the junk out of all the others.

The two car seats that go with it.

And a super nice pack n play which will be where the boys will be sleeping for the first few months. Yeah, they finally have a place to sleep when they come home!

I have one more mini shower with some of my girl friends this Saturday and then I will be going on a major shopping spree to get everything that we still need. I will be honest, I am pretty excited to go shopping. My mom and I are going to do it on Black Friday and it will be my first time hitting the Black Friday sales so if you have any advice for the novice please let me know so I am fully prepared.

We're Here and it's Suddenly Winter!

2010-10-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

We left DC just as the weather was beginning to turn to Fall, my favorite season of the year. I have been here for one week now and it rained for the first half and lightly snowed here and there and then we woke up to this today...

I feel totally cheated out of my favorite season! That's Utah for you though...

Of course Abe was out side first thing this morning shoveling the walks and playing with my parents dog Champ in the snow. Then he decided to make the best of the snow before he starts his new job and created what he fondly refers to as "Cosmo." The sun has been out melting the snow pretty fast today but we have high hopes that Cosmo will survive until at least tomorrow or until the neighbor kids get home from school and add to it.

Halloween Themed Baby Shower

2010-10-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last night my cute friends through me a Halloween themed baby shower. I totally forgot to bust out my camera until everyone was gone and we were cleaning up so you only get to see the girls that actually planned the shower... no one else ended up dressing up so we'll just say that the girls that were cool enough to get into the Halloween theme actually made the blog. haha

In case you can't tell, I dressed like "a knocked up, white trash girl". Kim is the cat in the middle and Bonnie is the totally awesome hill-billy chick on the end. (Loved the teeth Bon Bon!)

The other cat of the night was my cute friend Kristy who was nice enough to host the shower at her house.

It was a lot of fun. We had a chocolate fountain with lots of yummy things to dip, we played a fun Halloween memory game where everyone won candy and then everyone went around the room and told a scary story about being a mom. I got great gifts and super cute clothes that I can't wait to put our little guys in when they arrive! Thank you everyone that came, dropped off a gift for me or planned my shower. I truly have some amazing friends and I am going to miss you all more than you know.

Baby Update

2010-10-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

I had an ultrasound on Friday but I don't have any pictures to post. They only gave me pics of baby "A" because baby "B" had his back to us the whole time and I don't want to post pics of just one of them.

However, I can tell you that they are still looking great and growing so fast! Baby "A" had a heart rate of 148 and weighs in at 1.10 lbs. Baby "B" had a heart rate of 146 and weighed in at 1.9 lbs. I think it is amazing that it took nearly the first 5 months of pregnancy to reach 1 lb. and now just in the last 4 weeks they have doubled in weight. I am also amazed to find out that once they were past 1.5 lbs they went from a 40% chance of life to a 70% chance of life if they were to be born right now. Of course I want them to stay in as long as possible but this news was at least a little comforting.

Baby "A" was wiggly but much more corporative this time. He gave us some cute profile shots which is why I came home with 4 pics of him. Baby "B" like I said he was being kind of shy and wouldn't turn around the whole time so we didn't get any pics of him this time. Oh well maybe next time.

Ragnar Relay 2010

2010-10-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is that time of year again... Ragnar and of course again, Abe got sick right before the race. He had a horrible head cold the day before and somehow still made it through 48 hours of basically no sleep and ran a total of 22.2 miles! Fortunately he said he didn't feel too bad for the race and thought he was on the mend. Unfortunately, it came back with vengeance by the next morning.

Apparently they ate breakfast in the middle of no where at the animal head on the wall kingdom.

I went to see them at the finish line with my friend Brooklin and her kids. That is her little girl behind us, she is super cute. Anyway, it was insanely hot and humid and the pregnant woman was melting. I am embarrassed to even post this picture because I look so sweaty and swollen.

The finish line was at the National Harbor. We had never been there before and it is actually a really cool spot with lots of shops and restaurants.

Good job team!

Nothing Else to Blog About

2010-09-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

So I don't want to bore you with too many belly pics but I thought it was time to blog and this was all I had...

This is the belly last week at 22 weeks.

They are really moving a lot now. Abe finally got to see them bouncing around for the first time this weekend. I think he was secretly a little disturbed by the sight of something squirming around under my skin but he just pleasantly smiled and said "yeah, I saw it." He is always careful not to hurt my feelings by saying what I am sure he is really thinking, "that is totally freaky!" What a great hubby. =)

My next ultrasound is this Friday, so new baby pics to come!

So Long DC, Hello Utah

2010-09-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. We are officially moving back to Utah! Abe received a job offer from Goldman Sachs and he has accepted it. I am so proud of him because this will be a great opportunity for his career.

This move brings on a mixture of emotions for us. Moving to Utah will bring us closer to family, which will be a great support when we have the twins. Also, we will be happy to see old friends and have all of the recreation that living near the mountains offers again.

On the other hand, we absolutely love DC, especially Reston VA. We will sorely miss the great friends we have made here and our ward family that we have fallen in love with. Abe and I have been married for 4.5 years and we have lived out here for 3 of those years. This has truly become our home and we are very sad to leave it behind for now.

Plans are still a little up in the air as far as the time line goes but Abe will most likely start work on November 1st. Which means that we will be moving out sometime mid to late October.

We are excited, nervous, sad and happy all at the same time but all we can do is trust in God that this is what is right for our family right now and jump in head first.

20 Week Ultrasound pics

2010-09-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I went in for my 20 week ultrasound. The appointment took 2 hours! The technician said she had to take 80 pictures of measurements for the doctor. Two of every measurement per baby so that was 40 pictures per baby. I usually love ultrasounds and I still did enjoy seeing the boys but this was ultimately uncomfortable to lay there so long and have her pushing around on my already tender abdomen. I have had a lot of acid reflux lately which is why my abdomen was tender. Other than that, I have been feeling pretty good.

After all of these measurements and pictures it was determined that both babies are doing great and that everything tested normal, yeah!

I went to my regular OBGYN today and he did tests to make sure I am doing well and he assures me that I am and that all the discomfort is completely normal, great... He also measured my uterus and says that I am the size of someone that should be around 35 weeks pregnant in a normal pregnancy. ha ha

Both babies were very active, as usual. Especially baby "A", as usual. =)

It is always entertaining to me because every technician I have had has mentioned how active they are and how difficult it is to get the measurements they need because the babies wiggle so much. It just makes me smile.

They are definitely both boys as well. They were already fighting each other. The technician laughed because we could see that baby A was kicking baby B in the head and baby B looked like he was putting his hands up to block the kicks. Then a moment later baby B stuck his foot into baby A's tummy. It was great to watch them interact with each other.

Here are the best profile shots of each of them. For some reason I couldn't get the pictures to open up into my editing software so they aren't quite as clear as the others I have posted but you can see them pretty well still.

Baby "A" weighs about 11 oz. and his heart rate was at 169. I think it looks kind of like he is giving a thumbs up.

Baby "B" weighs about 12 oz and his heart rate was 148. I thought this profile pic was especially cute.

The next ultrasound will be October 1st and October 6th.

20 Week Belly Pics

2010-09-05T15:31:00.000-07:00

Abe thought it would be artistic to do the picture on an angle.

(Sorry you have to tilt your head to view it.)

You are such an artistic photographer babe!

The babies wanted to me to relay a message from them as well... (message is on the belly)

They really enjoyed their first BYU football game last night and were jumping for joy at the win, literally.

Meg's Recent Favorites

2010-08-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

Favorite Book:

My sister first read this book and raved about it. She then loaned it to my mom who also couldn't stop talking about it. When she was done she passed it along to my other sister. All of this took over a year so it was finally my turn to read this book that everyone raved about.

All I can say is it went right into my favorite books of all time list! If you haven't read this book, you have to read it! I will warn you that as you read the first 80 pages or so you will think to yourself, "Why am I reading this?" but you will soon after get hooked and will not be able to put it down. I just finished it and could be happy picking it up immediately and reading it again. You will be happy you read it, I promise!

Favorite Movie:

We went to see "Inception" on opening weekend. We don't go to movies all that often but we read the reviews on this one and it intrigued us.

I have to say that it was one of the best movies either of us have seen in a long time! It was really well made and had great acting and special effects. It is ridiculously confusing but that just adds to the mystery of the movie. We are going to see it for a second time in the theater this afternoon. If that doesn't tell you it is worth seeing, you don't know Abe very well. haha

Favorite Funny Story:

This week I asked Fiona (the two year old I nanny for) what I should name our babies and she said, "Ummm... Hoggie and Hobby!"

I have no idea where she got those names but she was very proud of herself to have come up with them.

Favorite Thing Abe did for me:

This last Saturday I had a huge wedding. Luckily my good friend Kim was nice enough to come with me to help since I am getting far enough along that I just can't handle doing 10 people by myself anymore.

We left at about 9:45am and didn't get home till about 6pm that evening. It was a long, long day and when I am working like that I try to eat periodically but I don't have time to eat much more than a few granola bars and some water. So by the time I got home I was sore and tired and hungry. I knew I needed to eat something but literally didn't have the energy to make anything so the whole way home I was trying to think of what I could eat right away that wouldn't take too long to make.

Well, I pulled up to our place and before I could even try to lug my suitcase that carries all of my tools out of the back seat of my car, Abe was there grabbing it for me. He must have been watching for me out the window because I didn't call him to tell him I was home. He helped me inside and the first thing I noticed was everything was clean and vacuumed. It is always such a nice feeling to walk into a clean home. Then I smelled food and he tells me that dinner is almost ready. He had made lasagna with a side of mixed veggies for us. I could have cried right there. What a thoughtful guy! I am so lucky to have him and I love how he takes care of me especially during this pregnancy. He has done a lot of sweet things for me but this was by far my favorite!

Favorite Food:

While we were in Utah we went to Kneaders for their yummy French toast at least 2 or 3 times. I have been craving it ever since we got home so this morning I thought I would surprise Abe with a homemade version of it. We don't have a Kneaders here so I used Great Harvest Cinnamon Swirl bread instead of their crunchy cinnamon bread but I swear it tasted just like the original!

Ingredients:

I cut the recipe for the batter in half because I have had the homemade version made by someone else before and it always seems to turn out a little soggy. With less batter it was exactly perfect! The measurements bellow are what I used not the original recipe...

Kneader’s Over-Night French Toast:

1 loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut in 8 slices (We don't have a Kneaders so I used Great Harvest Bread's Cinnamon Swirl bread instead and loved it!)

4 eggs

1.5 c. milk

1/2 T. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 T. vanilla

2 T. butter

Preparation:

Butter a glass baking dish generously (9" x 13"). Place the bread flat in the baking dish. Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into pieces and dot over the top. Refrigerate over night or at least 1 hour. Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 8

Kneader's Carmel Syrup

1 c. Brown sugar

1 c. Creme

1 c. Light Karo Syrup

Blend together and heat on stovetop until sugar is smooth. Serve warm.

What you are about to witness may be disturbing...

2010-08-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Culprit goes by the name: "The General" and many can only describe it as, extremely unattractive facial hair. It may be too upsetting to look at, so viewer discretion is advised.

There have been many sightings of this allusive figure and it is up to all of us to ensure that the culprit is brought to justice once and for all. We only ask that if you see this repeat offender please call his wife immediately. Do not, I repeat, do not try to take matters into your own hands.

"The General" 3-12-09 Manassas VA sighting.

"The General" 5-23-09 Reston VA sighting.

"The General" 8-6-10 Reston VA sighting.

Do not be fooled by his shinning smile or his sparkling personality. When "The General" is out... beware!

"The General" 8-9-10 Reston VA sighting

(Last known sighting...)

Drum Roll Please

2010-08-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Answer is...

Baby "A"... a boy and baby "B"... also a boy!

Boy or Girl... Who wants to know???

2010-08-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

We Know the Genders!

Today we went in for another ultrasound. I am 15 weeks and 4 days along and everything is looking great with both babies! Even though it was early we were able find out the gender of both babies! It was confirmed by first the ultrasound technician and then again later by the fetal specialist. Before we spill the beans we want you all to weigh in on what your predictions are. We will post the actual findings Sunday morning. Until then, let the voting begin!

Cracks Me Up and Melts My Heart

2010-08-06T08:01:00.001-07:00

The little girl that I nanny for is so adorable and often says things that crack me up and melt my heart. Recently she did a little of both. (She is two.)

Cracks me up,

Fiona: "I have a boo boo" (as she points to a bug bite on her leg.)

Me: "That's a bug bite. When a bug bites you it leaves behind a small red bump that itches."

Fiona: "Oh Meg, you have bug bites all over your face!"

Me: "lol, those aren't bug bites, they're called zits."

Melts my heart,

Fiona: "I love you Meg. Hug, kiss."

Me: "I love you too Fiona. Hug, kiss."

Fiona: "I love you too babies." (as she puts her hand on my belly.)

Me: bursting into tears because she was so cute and because I am extremely emotional.

I am going to really miss being with this little girl all the time! However, I can't wait to have two of my own that will crack me up and melt my heart!

I JOY!

2010-07-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Lately this pregnancy has been reeking havac on my back. I have seen a chiropractor 3 times in the last 2 weeks and it hasn't made much of a difference. Abe tries to be sweet and give me back massages but since I can't lay on my stomach it is almost impossible for him to get my mid and lower back which is where I hurt the most. So Abe did the most amazing thing this week, he bought me an iJoy chair!

This is the most amazing massage chair ever!! My mom has one and we always use it when we are staying at their house. It is pure heaven. Our chair arrived this afternoon and I have probably been sitting in it for about an hour straight. This has to be one of the best purchases we have ever made.

This is exactly what it looks like...

It reclines, you can remove the whole back pillow panel for an even deeper massage, there is an extra pillow for lumbar support and a built in remote to control the movements which include: kneading, percussion and compression.

It really lives up to its name, when I sit in it all I think is

"joy, joy and more joy!"

Babies at 13 Weeks

2010-07-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being pregnant with twins is you get to have TONS of ultrasounds! I get to see our babies grow every 3 to 4 weeks! These pics were done last Friday so technically I was still a few days shy of 13 weeks but I decided to round up. We saw a specialist this time and they did a lot of measurements and testing and I am happy to say that everything is looking great with both babies. Another exciting things has occurred, I can definitely feel fetal movement. It is really early to be feeling anything but apparently with twins you tend to feel them early because there is less space for them to wiggle. The doctor also said that if I am feeling them now that means they are strong and doing a lot of moving which is great!

Here is baby " A" the most wiggly of the two. Every time the doctor got to where he was about to take a measurement baby "A" would do a flip and throw it off. It was pretty entertaining. Baby "A's" heart beat was at 161 and I got to hear the sound of it for the first time.

This is baby " B" who was also a little acrobatic but a little more cooperative when it came to taking measurements. The ultrasound technician got so wrapped up talking to me and taking cute pictures of baby "B" that she forgot to take any measurements and listen to the heart beat. She left the room to get the doctor and about 2 minutes later came back in laughing because she hadn't done any of the stuff that mattered. We ended up with 4 pictures of just baby "B" and only 2 of baby " A". I guess baby "B" is going to be our little model. Baby "B's" heartbeat was at 158 which I did get to hear after the tech remembered.

Here they are together. Again baby " B" was prime for the photo and baby "A" did a flip and ended up backwards for the pic. =)

Our next ultrasound will be at 16 weeks and there is a small possibility that they will be able to determine the gender! If they can't tell at that point we will have to wait till our 20 week ultrasound. So cross your fingers that both babies give us a good look so we can find out early!!!

12 Weeks!

2010-07-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

12 weeks along and looking very preggo. I have been looking forward to this week because I am hoping that the sickness will begin to dissipate from here on out. First trimester see ya later!

Stadium of Fire 2010

2010-07-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

There is one more thing that we did in Utah that I have to post about. Abe took my parents and I to the Stadium of Fire. My mom has always wanted to go and had never been and they had helped us so much while we were looking for renters for our house so we took them as a thank you. Abe knew I would want to go because Carrie Underwood was the main attraction and he knows that she is one of my favorite artists. It was so much fun!

I was seriously impressed by Carrie Underwood. She literally belted out every song and her voice never sounded tired. I don't know how you do that. She looked amazing as always and gave a great concert. The crowd pleaser was when she sang a medley of "Jesus Take the Wheel," and meshed it with her rendition of, "How Great Thou Art." She got a standing ovation for that one. I loved all of her songs but I have to say that one of the songs that impressed me most was when she sang the Nation Anthem.

The rest of the show was as amazing as it always is. There was a small mishap where a firework shot right down into the crowd on the field. The show continued like nothing happened but I found out later that some people had to be treated for burns.

It was a great show and a lot of fun to be there with my parents to enjoy it.

Home Sick

2010-07-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun in Utah and we were so sad to leave. I think Abe and I are both a little more homesick coming back this time. Especially because the weather was so perfect there and we came home to a heat wave and 70% humidity and still no A/C.

For the first part of our trip Abe went to Southern Utah with his brother and 4 of his nephews. Unfortunately he didn't take our camera so I don't have any pictures of that but they had a blast. I stayed with my cute sister Lissa for the first night and had a little girl time in her new house and then I was at my parents house for the rest of the time. We decided to be crafty and bought some fabric to make me a hooter hider and two car seat tent covers while I was staying there. My other cute sister Melinda came by one day to help with our projects.

Abe came home about 4 days after I arrived and we got to spend a little time with his family. His parents were kind enough to take us and most of his siblings and grandchildren out to lunch at the Olive Garden. It is always fun to see how much the kids have grown. Some of the younger ones don't even remember us, I have to admit, it makes me a little sad.

After lunch with the Ford's we got to go to the hospital to visit Abe's cute little sister Aliese and her sweet 1 day old baby Ethan. They were both doing great and Ethan reminded me how tiny newborns are. After that we visited Abe's Grandma in the very same hospital. The Ford family had a big party before I got to Utah and unfortunately Grandma Ford slipped and fell down a step and fractured her hip. We were so sad that she was in the hospital but she definitely seemed to be in good spirits and they even had her up and walking on her leg already a little. So hopefully she won't have to be there too long.

We were happy to have my best friend Brooke and her cute family visiting from Las Vegas at the same time. Brooke's birthday was July 1st and they had a party for her up at her uncles house that we went to. It was a lot of fun to see all of her family. I practically lived at their house when we were little.

Brooke is also pregnant right now so it was extra fun to be together while we are both big in the belly. She is due in September with her second boy.

This is her cute little girl Ava who will soon be out numbered by her brothers. Luckily she is pretty tuff and can definitely hold her ground.

Abe helped the men grill and we had fun mingling and eating.

I have no idea what we were talking about in this picture but it must have been something I thought was funny and something Abe didn't approve of... =)

Brooke and I with our pregnant bellies. She has the cutest maternity clothes. I felt frumpy pretty much everyday that I was around her because she always looked so cute. This was the day that we went with both of our mom's and one of my sisters to see the new twilight movie. I have to admit I can finally say that I liked this one. I absolutely hated the first two movies but this one was pretty good and I actually just saw it again with my friend Bonnie last night.

One night we went to see our friends and had dinner with them. It just so happens that all 3 of us are pregnant at the same time as well. Liz in the center has already had her baby since this picture and she had another cute little girl. Cass is due in a matter of a few weeks with her second cute boy. I on the other hand have a long way to go yet.

We did a lot of other fun things while we were in Utah that I don't have pictures for like going to some of our favorite places to eat and visiting our other sweet new nephew Tallon Abraham Ford. Yes, they named him after Abe and we were so honored. He was born 6 weeks early and got to come home from the hospital just before we left. So the last day we were there we went over and spent a little time with him and the proud parents. Remember how I said that baby Ethan reminded me how tiny new borns are? Well baby Tallon let me know how small our babies are probably going to be at first. He is so little and sweet!

We also went on a very memorable drive up the Alpine loop with my parents one evening. We saw more wildlife on this drive than I have ever seen in Utah. I felt like we were driving though Yellow Stone. We saw 2 full sized deer right off the bat then up the canyon a little further the tiniest baby deer jump out and ran a little ways right in front of our car. He was small enough to still have his spots. It was so cute! We drove a little further and saw a huge Bull Moose off the side of the road. We stopped the car and watched him jump a fence and run up the side of the mountain. Just as we started the car up again and turned the corner we ran into the rest of the moose family. There was a baby moose and a momma moose right in the middle of the road. We stopped and watched them run away. I am glad we ran into that couple while we were in the car and not on foot. You don't ever mess with a wild animal mother and her babies! Shortly after that there was a small flood flowing over the road that luckily my mom's 4 wheel drive made it through. We eventually made it to the purpose of our excursion, Cascade Springs. It is a beautiful place with tons of small waterfalls and flowers. Since my mom and I can't really hike this was the perfect mountain retreat because it is all paved walkways and it is so pretty. While we were walking around I nearly stepped right on a snake that slithered away from my foot. It really creeped me out. Yuck! After that we drove down the other side and ended up at Sundance were we enjoyed some smoothies and walked around for a bit before we drove home. Abe and I really have a love for the mountains so it was refreshing to be there in the cool fresh air.

It was a great trip and I am super excited to be back there in only 3 short months for another visit! To all our family and friends in Utah, we miss you already and loved spending time with you! Thanks for a great trip!

Hot Hot Hot!

2010-07-06T18:07:00.001-07:00

We just got home from our fun trip to Utah late last night. The weather in Utah was perfect! It was even on the cool side but it felt great. Luckily we arrived back in DC just in time for a heat wave.

About two weeks before we left our A/C broke again so we spent two weeks in a hot humid apartment waiting for them to order a part. I hoped to have it fixed before we left but it didn't happen. Apparently while we were gone it cooled off and the weather wasn't so bad but as of today it was back up to 100 degrees with insane humidity. In fact there is a heat advisory for this whole week!

Oh home sweat home.

I am will post more about our trip when our apartment isn't quite so stifling...

CATS

2010-06-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Abe took me to the Wolf Trap theater to see CATS the musical. He went all out and got us seats right down on the main floor, pretty close to center stage! Since it is a partially out door theater and we went to the matinée, it was pretty warm but there happened to be a nice steady breeze blowing through that kept us from getting too hot and made it possible to enjoy the show.

The Wolf Trap is actually a really cool theater and going to their shows is one of our favorite things to do out here in the summer. Here is a good pic of what the theater looks like. Half the people sit on the grass outside the theater and the back and side of it are open so you can see right down to the stage(this is where we usually sit because it is cheaper). The rest of the people sit under the roof in actual seats to watch the show which is always nice because if it rains the people outside have to waste their money and leave or watch the show from under and umbrella. That happened to us once last year but luckily the inside seats weren't sold out and we just paid the difference and got seats under the roof.

Neither of us had ever seen CATS before. It was good, we both liked it. The dancing was amazing and there were about 4 songs that were pretty classic but we both decided that even thought we enjoyed it we wouldn't care to see it again. There are just other shows we like better. But it was worth seeing once and it was even better because Abe was so sweet to take me in the first place!

8 Weeks Along and Getting Huge Already!

2010-06-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

If I am this big already, I am a little freaked out about what is to come...

Ultrasound at 7 Weeks

2010-06-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't give much info on my last post I thought I would fill you in on the details...

I am currently 7 weeks and 3 days along and all three of us are doing well. So far I have been feeling sick pretty much everyday since I was 4 weeks and I even started showing at 4 weeks as well. I now look the size I was at 14 weeks last time. The babies are growing perfectly and have excellent heart beats.

I love this picture because you can see them both so clearly. Maybe I am crazy but it looks like baby "B" is facing forward and you can see little nubs where the hands and feet are going to be. I could stare at this picture all day!

Great Things Come in Two's

2010-06-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Did you figure out the theme yet?

If not, maybe this will help.

We are...

WITH TWINS!!!!!!

Nothing to Blog About

2010-06-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

I have really been slacking off on blogging lately but seriously Abe has been studying for his CFA test so much lately that this is pretty much what happens at our house everyday. Abe studying hard at the kitchen table and me painting, watching TV or reading a book.

Poor guy has also been sick for the last week too with a head cold and sore throat. Notice the roll of toilet paper next to him and the miserable look on his face. I am so proud of him for studying so hard even though I am sure all he wanted to do was sleep and rest. Luckily today he is beginning to feel a lot better and will hopefully be 100% by test day.

Abe will take his test this Saturday and I will be glad to have my husband back! We would appreciate your prayers and good thoughts for his test, he is feeling pretty nervous about it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

This picture is actually from last Fall but I love it so much I had to post it again for Cinco de Mayo. Thanks Bonnie and Chris for looking so awesome in sombreros!

Our good friends the Bell's hosted another successful Cinco de Mayo party this week. There was tons of yummy food and even non alcoholic margarita's in real margarita glasses brimmed with sugar and a lime wedge (very authentic). I thought it would be funny to take a picture of Abe wearing a sombrero and me holding my fake margarita. Well, we can just say that Abe didn't think it would be funny. He felt that even though my drink was totally non alcoholic it would give the impression that I was drinking and that was not okay with him. haha. I made him take the picture anyway and when I looked at it later that night I had to laugh. For his sake I have cropped out me and my devil drink but I had to show you his face!

I am pretty sure he wasn't happy with his heathen wife who thought this was hilarious.

Feeling Blessed

2010-04-04T15:46:00.001-07:00

Today has been a great Easter. We had a really yummy lunch over at our friends home and watched the afternoon session of Conference with them. Then after playing a game of Settler's of Cattan (my favorite game), we came home and watched the last session of Conference.

This Easter has been very different from last year. Last year I had my miscarriage on Easter Sunday and felt true loss like I had never felt before. This year I was able to reflect not only on that but on the blessings I have received since that time. I feel blessed to have the gospel in my life. It brings peace to my sadness because I know that families are forever. I also know the healing power of our Heavenly Father through prayer and priesthood blessings. I am so thankful for my amazing husband who has been there for me through all of the ups and downs this year. He is definitely the rock I stand on. I am grateful for his unwaivering testimony and strength. I am thankful that he can make me smile even through tears. I don't know what I did to be so lucky.

I am also thankful for our family. We have so many people that love us and support us. I can never feel too lonely with that amount of love around me. We also have many life long friends that love and even though most of you are back in UT or other places we miss you all the time and are so grateful that our friendships are strong enough to have lasted so long. We have made many new friends this last year that have helped us through some pretty tough times and I know that they too will be life long friends.

I feel truly happy today. I have so many things to be thankful for and I am just happy to be in a place in my life where I can acknowledge that.

Cherry Blossom Festival 2010

2010-04-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

We went into DC for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival this last Friday. It was beautiful as always, so we took a ton of pics.

These aren't cherry blossoms but we thought they were really pretty anyway.

This is the Tidal Basin. Cherry Blossom trees like these line the entire basin. It is a really pretty walk to go around the whole basin.

This is Haines Point where we parked. The street was lined on both sides with these trees. There was a cherry blossom 10 K and 5 K going on which is why there are so many runners in this picture.

Our friend Chris took this pic with his really nice camera and it turned out so well I had to post it. That is the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin behind the blossoms.

It was a beautiful day and we are thankful to be having some really great weather lately!

Four Year Anniversary

2010-04-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

Before you see the rest of this post let me explain something... We had just gone out to my favorite restaurant a few days before and since it is kind of pricey we decided to go cheap for our actual anniversary. This is Abe driving me to a very special place to celebrate our love.

Taco Bell!

I know it seems lame but for anyone that knows Abe, knows that this is not the kind of food we ever eat. He is usually Mr. Health freak so fast food is a rarity for us. Which is what made it fun and special. We gorged ourselves on taco's and nacho's for only $10 and it was great! Yeah for Taco Bell and there really cheap food!

20 Things You Should Know That Your Stylist May Not Tell You

2010-03-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

I read this article from the Reader's Digest and I loved it! I only posted my favorites. I thought all my hairstylist friends would get a kick out of this and all of my friends that go to a hairstylist will maybe learn something about what we do. Enjoy!

1. Some people are just too large or their cheeks too round for the style they want. They should look at themselves in the mirror sometime.

2. If you cancel at the very last minute, that's lost money to me because I can't fill that appointment with little or no notice.

3. When a client says she's in a rush, I tell her she needs to schedule her time better. My work takes time.

4. For stylists, tips should be 15 to 20 percent of the total cost of your bill. They are a significant portion of my pay. If you stiff me, I'll remember. And yes, salon owners who style hair do appreciate tips and want them.

5. Sure, you can bring your child or your dog in, as long as you control them. One of my clients used to bring her Great Dane in to all her appointments. He would curl up in the corner and sleep the entire time, so I didn't mind. But if your baby or your dog starts bothering me or the other people in the salon, I won't be so easygoing.

6. I need to charge you for my time, no matter what you're having done. I am a trained professional.

7. When you leave my chair and walk out of here, you represent me. So it's in my best interest for you to look good.

8. We see women at their worst. Their hair is wet, they have foils on their hair, they have no makeup on. There's nothing for them to hide behind. So they tell us everything. The truth is, I really don't care what they do sexually. I'm only interested in their hair.

9. Standing all day and using scissors and a blow-dryer takes its toll—I have arthritis in my fingers, calcium deposits in my wrist, and 10 percent less hearing than I used to. I am a physical wreck.

10. Why do you think a child's haircut should cost less than yours? Kids don't sit still. Kids kick. It's an intense experience.

11. Some clients will say, "Cut my hair just like you did last time." That always baffles me. The average time between appointments is six to eight weeks. I have hundreds of clients. How am I supposed to rememberexactly how I did your hair the last time? If you want a carbon copy of a cut and style you loved, take a picture and show me.

12. If you want to buy a bottle of color and do your own hair to save a buck, you can live with the consequences.

13. I'm not in this business to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. I just want to make a decent, comfortable living, and at the end of the day, go home.

14. A trim is not "just" a trim. It requires my expertise, skill, knowledge, and time. Would you say to your dentist, "It's just a tooth," or to your doctor, "It's just a leg"?

15. Bodies and hair change as hormones change. If your hair is dry, listless, or brittle, or if it's not holding your color or style the way it used to, see a doctor. If your hair isn't overprocessed, you could be pregnant (surprise!) or menopausal (yes, I can tell).

16. Some women think that if they keep their hair all one length the way it was in high school, everyone will think they're still in high school. Guess what? You're not. As you get older, you need to soften the linesaround your face. Layers are the magic remedy.

17. Hairdresser school does not teach about counter transference, projection, negative reinforcement, or personality disorders. If you're looking for a therapist, all I have is a tail comb and an opinion.

18. Don't ask me to "squeeze" you in when I'm already booked. I'd be taking time and effort away from other clients. You wouldn't like being treated that way.

19. Come at least five minutes early. If you're running late, please call ahead. Show me some basic respect. This is a business, not fun and games.

20. I'm a beautician, not a magician. I can give you Gisele Bündchen's haircut, but I can't give you her face.

Link: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/13-things-your-hairstylist-wont-tell-you-1125547/

National Half Marathon

2010-03-21T09:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning we had a very early start to the day. We got up at 5 am and drove into DC so Abe and his brother AJ could run the National half marathon. It was a seriously beautiful day and the weather couldn't have been better. I hung out in our car for about 1.5 hours and then headed to the finish line to catch them as they came in. They ran it in 1 hour and 59 minutes!

It is always fun to have AJ visit us and this has become a tradition for the boys to do this race each year.

After they cooled down and stretched out for a bit we decided to go over to the Capital because AJ had not been through the new visitor center. We didn't realize that it was a very happening day in DC. Apparently yesterday was the 7 year anniversary of the war and they were also working on the Health care bill in Congress. There were protesters for both causes all over DC. These people were protesting the Health care bill and down on the mall next to the George Washington Monument and directly in sight of the White House there were protesters of the war. They had put up thousands of tiny white flags, one for each civilian casualty caused by the war. It had a very strong visual effect.

We live in a really cool place where there is always neat stuff to see and do. We are loving it here in DC and are trying to take advantage of all it has to offer.

Later last night we went out to eat with a large group of our friends to my favorite restaurant in the whole world!!!! Maggiono's Little Italy! It is so super delicious and I have never tasted anything there that wasn't fabulous.

After gorging ourselves with tons of yummy food we dropped AJ off in China town to catch his bus and headed to another one of our friends house to watch the BYU game. Unfortunately they lost but the other team hit so many 3 pointers that there aren't too many teams in the country that could have beaten them, the way they were playing. BYU hung in there and kept the game pretty close the entire time so we even though we were sad that they lost we were happy with the way they played.

By the time we got home and got in bed it was about mid night and we were both totally exhausted! What a long exciting day!

Ward Spaghetti Dinner

2010-03-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the fourth annual Reston Ward Spaghetti dinner. It is put on by the youth in our ward and people bring thing like homemade items and baked goods to auction off to raise money for the years youth camps and activities. This year I made a Spaghetti dinner cake to auction off.

I love my miniature items! I think everything is cuter in miniature.

I hand painted most of the fondant with food coloring and I under estimated how long it would take to dry. So it was still very wet when we went tonight... oh well, it was cute and someone took it home for $47!

I love making and decorating these cakes but the funny thing is, I have only actually had a piece of one of them ever. It is probably for the best though. I would be eating cake far too often.

Happy Pi Day!

2010-03-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is that time of year again people. Pi Day was back in full festivity again this year. Our good friends the Redd's invited us over to their house to celebrate Pi day this year. I think they heard how totally awesome our Pi Day party was last year and wanted in on it.

For those of you that are wondering what Pi Day is, it is the celebration of the mathematical number Pi but it's pretty much just a good excuse to have a party and eat a lot of pie. You celebrate it on March 14th (3.14).

We had so many pies this year. The pies I made looked pretty pathetic but I have to say they definitely tasted better than they looked. My favorite this year was the Boston Cream Pie I made. It was a total experiment since I had never made one before and it turned out pretty tasty. Definitely a do over.

We had a great turn out. There is no way we could have fit everyone that came into our little apartment. Luckily the Redd's have an amazing home that is perfect for fun and games. We ate tons of pie and played lots of games. Abe loved it because they have a ping pong table and he is a ping pong master.

Thanks for everyone that made Pi Day another successful celebration! See you all again next year, I will practice my pie making skills before then...

Wii Olympics and wicked ice

2010-03-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the kick off of the Opening Ceremonies for this years winter Olympics we decided to host a Wii Winter Olympics party. We have a Wii fit which has many of the winter Olympics games on it. We had some friends over and competed in: Slalom skiing, Ski jumping and snow boarding. The picture above is our good friend Jess. We all decided he had the best form in the ski jump.

This is Jess and his wife Danni. She was obviously very pregnant at the time and because of this we aloud her to have a little support so she didn't topple forward on the ski jump. I just thought it looked really funny!

In the end our friend Peter won Gold, I won Silver and our friend Jen won Bronze. Abe unfortunately, had to work late and didn't make it home in time to compete. He probably would have killed us all in competition if he had been there.

After our heated Wii Olympics we all watched the opening ceremonies together and cheered on the US with pride. It was a great excuse to get together. I think we have a new Olympic tradition in our house.

I know I have already posted about our snow a few times but here are just a couple more pics that I thought were pretty good. This is the side of our condo building. Notice the wicked icicle hanging at the top. Icicles like that hung all across the roof of our building. It is lucky none of them fell on anyone.

Finally, this pictures just shows you how well they plow the streets out here. This is right outside our complex a whole day after it snowed. The streets were packed down with snow and ice like this for weeks! No wonder everything shuts down here when it snows!

Will it Ever Stop Snowing?!?

2010-02-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

I am sure you all know about the huge storm that we had over this last weekend. We got about 28 inches in two days!

It took us about 2 hours to dig out both of our cars and that was with the help of a kind neighbor. We are fortunate enough to have such nice neighbors because at first we were digging out our cars with cookie sheets and a broom because we don't own a shovel. Two of our neighbors lent us theirs which helped a lot!!

We didn't bring out any of our snow clothes and the only gloves we have are the fabric kind so it was pretty cold and wet out.

What a guy!

This is the snow pile in front of our building. And it is supposed so snow again today and tomorrow giving us another 5 to 6 inches of new snow on top of what we already have! I seriously can't wait for winter to be over. The roads are terrible so we have for the most part been stuck inside for about 5 days now.

Baby Shower goodies

2010-02-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

So a few weeks ago I helped throw a baby shower for my cute friend Dannii and I have to show off some of the super cute goodies I made for it!

These tiny cookies are so yummy! They are very addictive so it is a good thing they are so small. They are called Melt away cookies and their name describes exactly what happens when you eat one, it literally melts away in your mouth. The lemon frosting is what gives it, it's sweet flavor!

We had a rubber ducky theme so I made these little chocolates as party favors. I have to say, I was pretty proud about how they turned out. The picture doesn't give them justice. They were darling in real life. They are white chocolate dyed yellow and the bottom is dark brown chocolate. I have never made chocolates before and they are surprisingly easy to do. I highly recommend these for your next shower.

Dannii has a specially affinity with Nutella so I made these super yummy sugar cookies shaped like duckies (Thanks to Brooke's mother in law, Char, for the recipe!), then I put Nutella in between them and made little sandwich cookies. They were pretty good, but I think these cookies are better with frosting. I couldn't get enough Nutella between the cookies without it spilling out...

Even though we had a snow storm the day of the shower it turned out great and we had a good time.

A Very Crafty January

2010-01-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

I decided that this year I would learn how to sew clothes. I have never sewn anything so I decided to start small and make a skirt. I figured how hard could it be? haha

Well when you don't have a pattern or a sewing machine it is pretty hard. It took a long time to sew it all by hand using only a skirt that I already own as a reference. It's not perfect but I think the flaws are small enough that only I would notice. In the end I had a pretty cute skirt that I was happy to wear out in public which was the goal all along. Hooray! And just for fun I used the same fabric as the skirt to make the headband I am wearing in the picture.

My other goal for this month was to finish the painting that I started at the beginning of last year. I am a really slow painter! But tonight I finally finished it! The picture doesn't do it justice because the colors look really different in real life. The leaves should not look quite so green... but you get the idea. I was inspired by the Robert Frost poem, "The Road not Taken" and titled it "Yellow Wood." My real New Years resolution is to paint more frequently this year so maybe it won't take me an entire year to do one painting.

Christmas and Recovery

2009-12-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was not only exciting and fun but productive at the same time. I found out that I needed to have a laperoscoptic surgery to remove some cysts and the best time to schedule it turned out to be 2 days before Christmas. Lucky me! I went in for surgery on December 23rd and it was successful. Poor Abe had to wait, by himself for me to be done, at the hospital all day from 7:30 am to 4 pm! I am sure it was a long day for him but he took good care of me when I got home. I spent the next day sleeping.
What Abe didn't know is that I had secretly been saving my money this year to buy him something special for Christmas that I knew he really wanted but would never buy for himself because he is way too practical. So Christmas Eve I got up at 3 am to set out the gifts. I still felt pretty sore and groggy from pain meds but I was so excited for Abe to wake up that morning and see that Santa had come for him. haha

This was how it looked when he came out. The stockings were not under the tree before and neither were any of the blue gifts....

He could not tell why I was so excited for him to get up that morning because we had decided that other than the piano he bought for me we were not doing gifts this year because our Florida trip was our Christmas present to ourselves.
The funniest part was that when he came out he didn't notice the presents at all! He thought they were empty boxes that I had wrapped as decoration because there were two boxes that I actually did that to.

In Abe's stocking he got a hat(the one he is wearing) for when he runs outside in the morning and a large thing of red peppers because he loves them and puts them on everything. In my stocking I got a special Christmas treat that I love.

Next was the big gift which he still had not noticed. I told him to open it and he was surprised by its weight because he expected an empty box. haha It was definitely not empty though...he got a Wii system! He was really excited and totally surprised.

He also got a Wii fit which will probably be more for me than him but he was still happy.

And lastly he got the Tiger Woods golf game from my parents to go with his new Wii and an extra remote. The golf game has turned out to be his favorite thing for sure!

It made me so happy to give him an exciting Christmas. It was also great because I was still recovering from surgery and I ended up sleeping the rest of the day and it gave him something to do.

Earlier in the month we got me this digital piano which I absolutely love! This was my big Christmas gift for the year. I also got Harry Potter 2, 3 and 6 so now we have them all which gave me something to watch while I was in bed recovering.

It is a tradition of ours to do puzzles during the holidays with this one I think we bit off a little more than we could chew. It is a 1500 piece Christmas puzzle and we are still not done with it. That afternoon Abe helped me make cinnamon buns for lunch which were super yummy, but that was not all Abe made that day...

That evening I woke up just in time to get the table ready and talk Abe through some cooking instructions so we could have Christmas dinner with our good friend's Bonnie and Chris. Abe made a turkey breast, candied yams, mashed potatoes and stuffing! What a great husband to do all of that by himself! Our friends brought over a yummy honey baked ham, green bean casserole, rolls and a delicious home made pumpkin pie. It was one of the first real meals I had eaten in days and it was so delicious I can't even tell you!

This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago when we first got my piano but since it was my favorite thing I wanted to show it off. I haven't had a piano in years but I love to play. It has been a lot of fun having music in the house again.

It was a great Christmas. After our yummy dinner the boys played Wii golf while Bonnie and I worked on the incredibly difficult puzzle. It was a great end to a great Christmas, we are very blessed.

I am now feeling much better and hope to be 100% in another week. I want to publicly thank my cute husband for taking care of me and doing so much cooking and cleaning.
You are the best, thanks babe!