Thursday, December 15, 2011

Home Sweet Home

There is too much to update on and too little time. My kids are talking machines. Santa, Ho Ho Ho, I love you, Baby.......the list goes on and on and on.
I love that each day, a new word is spoken from those two little mouths. Keeps us laughing constantly at how adorable they are.
And Ruby.......she's the happiest, chubbiest, smiliest (is that a word) baby. Ever! I love this little chunker so much....she is so pretty, and alert and happy. She's such a joy.....we love her more and more every day. Not just Blake and I, but big brother and sister too!

Ok, on to the update. Our home is done. It's got a few tiny little things here and there to do like knobs, outlet covers, etc........and of course decorating. But the project is 98% done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Without further adieu.......some pictures!!!!!











Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Picture Post!

Smurf Family on Halloween 2011

Baby Smurfette

Playing SO nice together.....for the second anyway!


Extreme Daddy Close- Up


Little Yogi's....practicing Downward Dog


Harper accessorizing


Proud BIG brother


The twins in their Columbia shirts, gifts from Ivonne


The 3 deer in headlights look.....Ha!


Happy Baby!


Giddy Up Kingston


Bathing Beauty


Oreo Smiles


We learned these two are the perfect pair....Hudson loves the cookie and Harper loves the creme!


Scary flash! Us on Thanksgiving!


Holding hands on the way home from Grandma's.....I love this!


Friday, November 11, 2011

Coming Up For Air....

Whew......has it been THAT long since I posted last?

Oh boy...life is busy. Scratch that....nuts....but we're having fun!

House is coming together beautifully! We are LOVING having an extra (almost) 2000 square feet of living space. I can't remember what life was like when we lived in the current house only. Wow!

The basement is open for business....it's TOY CITY down there. Toys, swing set, music.....about 800 square feet of open space for the two little one's to run, jump, dance and burn off some of their energy.

So much to update on the kiddo's.....where to start?

Ruby is doing amazing. This little peanut was topping the scales at over 12lbs when she was only 1 month! GULP!

She is eating a ton (4-6 oz per bottle) and just started sleeping for longer stretches which makes me a very happy mommy. Last night she slept from 9:30pm-4:30am!!!

She is smiling now, I believe it's not involuntary but on purpose. She gets very excited and kicks her little legs when you talk to her.

She loves the bath!

She is really, really strong. She was 6 weeks when she started sitting up in the Bumbo chair! She likes it too...it allows her to look around.

We go in next week for an ultrasound on her hips....she has metatarsus adductus which basically means she was positioned in utero where her feet were quite squished. Therefore, she has a pretty severe "turn in" with her feet and so we have to do exercises with her feet every diaper change. The Dr then thought we should check out her hips because with the metatarsus adductus.....hip dspylasia is also common. Ugh!

I'll post more on Miss Ruby's toes too.....but we have an update on that front as well.

All in all......this baby girl is a true gift and answer to our prayers. She is so beautiful, cuddly, lovey, and brings SO much joy to us. She just needs to stop growing so fast!!!!!


The Twins

They are loving their little sister.....Hudson especially. He can't be left alone with her....EVER! He just can't contain himself and wants to smother her with kisses!

They are really starting to talk.....Harper's vocabulary expands daily. It's unreal. From all I've read, girls do speak a bit earlier than boys and that's been true in this case. Not worried about Hudson, he's catching on daily. His sister is giving him a run for his money.....she is really a talker!!!

Their top words are mommy and daddy....

Hudson says: mommy, daddy, dog, bee, hot, banana (nana), Hi, Bye Bye, Baa (sheep)

Harper says: water, agua, mommy, daddy, me, Hudson, Sister, Dog, Hot, More, Milk, Up, No, Please, banana, apple, Uvas (grape in spanish), Hi, Bye Bye

I'm sure I missed a ton....because basically every word you tell her to say, she says.

Other than talking a ton.....we've entered into a tantrum phase. UGH! Hudson gets VERY frustrated lately and is physical. He hits the object or hits anything in his path....but it's usually contained to that physical act. Harper on the other hand, she throws a tantrum that lasts FOR.EV.ER!!!

We've been ignoring them....but I"m not sure it's helping. I jumped on Amazon this week and ordered "Happiest Toddler On The Block" because I'm beside myself! It's pretty rediculous how upset she gets....over nothing!

So, the good and the bad. We're working through it. There have been a lot of changes in our home: home remodel, new baby and so I have to believe that they've suffered a little stress with the changes.


Lastly......our last BIG change is that we have a new family member! Ivonne is our new au pair and arrived to our home on Oct 21st from Bogata, Columbia. She is awesome! Ivonne is a kindergarten teacher in Columbia but wanted to better her English so she decided to become an au pair in America for a year. We matched with her in August and though we had to say a VERY sad goodbye to our wonderful auntie Katie who was with us every Wed and Fri and our amazing Steph who was with us Mon, Tue and Thurs. this arrangement has been great.

Ivonne lives in the basement bedroom and with the remodel, we were able to give her her own bathroom and living space. She is awesome with the kids and it's been SO fun having her teach us about her culture. The kids have started picking up spanish already. I feel very fortunate to have help with me all of the time! We're getting her accostumed to American living....we've hit up the Mall of America (which blew her away), Target several times and have introduced her to all kinds of new foods including peanut butter. Can you imagine a life without peanut butter??? She didn't know what she was missing!

We've had some good laughs. Last night when I asked her to grab Hudson another fork....she gave him more beans, a napkin and then finally a fork because we couldn't communicate the correct item. Ha!

Her english is really good....but every once in a while we get stuck in trying to communicate which ends up in a ton of laughter!



Lots of changes! A BIG picture post next time with Halloween pics of the adorable kids and pics of beautiful Ruby Anna!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Ruby's Birth Story:
Thursday, Sept 22nd (40w5d)
At around midnight, I started having some back labor. I had had my fair share of BH contrax throughout the pregnancy....but this was the first of what I'd describe as painful, aching contractions felt mainly in my lower back/legs.
Around 2:30am....we decided to go in. We went to L&D and I was dilated to an almost 3.....but this wasn't real labor. Because I have had a previous c-section....once admitted to the hospital for labor I am stuck in bed and tied to monitors so they can constantly check on how the baby is doing. This means no walking the halls to "move things along" so since I wasn't far along yet.....back home we go. I took something to relax me and we were sent home to sleep. Michelle had come to stay on the couch while we went in...back home for us and back home for Michelle. False alarm. :-(
Friday, Sept 23rd (40w6d)
Dr appt at 10:50am, grab a bfast sandwhich on the way and head in. She and I discuss setting an induction date (she'll break my water) on Monday the 26th. She says I'm definitely 3cm and I had a few contractions in her office that took my breath away. Dr said she'd be SHOCKED if I made it to Monday. I got home and around noon.....labor started up again with a vengence. Poor auntie Katie was in the living room with the twins and I stayed in the bedroom trying to pack my bag, get ready, tie up lose ends with emails and text my friends to check to see if this is INDEED it. We called in reinforcements to help out with the twins (Auntie Karn to the rescue) and my mom packed her bag and started the drive down.
We got to the hospital around 3pm (brutal drive.....so uncomfortable) and I was almost to a 4. They ordered an epi and soon I was laying in bed, relaxing and laughing about my 3 hours of "tough labor". Distant memory!!! Ha
Aunt Kimmy rolled in with treats, my mom and mother in law came a few hours later and things were going perfectly.
We talked, laughed, watched 1/2 the movie "Bridesmaids" and just had a great time. We took guesses on baby's gender, weight.....what he/she would look like. We laughed with all the nurses and each time I got checked....I was progressing beautifully!
By midnight, I was at a 9. That's when the progress stopped. 12am-3am I started having the VERY uncomfortable and painful urge to push but couldn't because I wasn't progressed enough. Baby was at a +1 so not quite low enough and so we just waited it out. It was awful. The nurse came in every 30 minutes to check me and I was in tears everytime she left because I hadn't made any progress. I was REALLY uncomfortable. And getting tired. At 2am, they inserted an intrauterine contraction monitor to measure the intensity of my contractions. They pickec up that they were strong.....but not strong enough yet to really get me to a 10 and move the baby down.
At 3am, the Dr came in and we went over our options:
a) stay like this. Keep waiting it out.....knowing that even when I did reach a 10..I'd have to wait to push until the baby was engaged enough because of my previous c-section. His guess....2-3+ more hours of this.
b) give me a teeny, tiny bit of pitocin to strengthen the contractions and then wait it out until the baby was engaged enough to push.
c) c-section b/c clearly something is slowing the progress (baby's size? positioning?)

We decided on option C. I couldn't go on like this for another 2-3 PLUS more hours and we weren't in favor of using pitocin since it can increase chances of uterine rupture with c-section scar. So we decided we'd given this a good effort and perhaps this just wasn't meant to be. They said they could have the O.R. booked, prepped and have us in there in 30 minutes so away we went. They upped my epi, Blake changed into scrubs and we were wheeled into an O.R. around 3:35am. Then at 4:05am......we met her. Our beautiful baby girl....our BIG baby girl with a 14cm head circumferance, 9.8lbs of squishy perfection. And we were SO happy we opted for a c-section because this big babykins was MUCH bigger than we anticpated.

Cute story about her gender....when they saw the head full of dark hair and commented on how BIG the baby was....we both knew it was a boy. On video, you can hear us talking about it being a boy. So when they pulled the rest of the body out and said "Dad, you want to call it" he looked at the baby sort of perplexed at the absence of the "male parts" because it was a boy. Or so we thought. We were both beyond shocked to find out this big baby was a baby girl!!!

Monday, October 3, 2011

September 24th, 2011

At 4:05am, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.
I mean, beautiful.
And big.....9lbs8oz of goodness to be exact.
Miss Ruby Anna Elliott was born via c-section after 15 hours of labor. Turns out the little peanut was a big bigger than we anticipated and just wasn't going to fit. So....after a very long night with our mom's and my sister cheering us on....we decided it was time to meet our baby.
Ruby is the missing piece to our family we didn't know was missing. She's perfect, a great eater, a great sleeper and very tolerant of her big brother and sister's ever curious little hands and touches. Because the experience was so cherished, I'll write a lengthy post on the delivery but for now.....some pictures of our newest little Elliott.








Tuesday, September 20, 2011

40w3d

We're all looking for signs that this baby is going to come soon.


A perfect caption for this picture would say something about Hudson and Harper both looking out the window for the stork to bring their brother or sister. Because seriously....we're getting a little impatient.


So...........Stork, where are you? We didn't move....we're in the same house! Please, pay us a visit soon! We want to meet this little babykins!!!!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Day shy of 40 weeks.....

Our due date is tomorrow! CRAZY!

Baby is 40 weeks "cooked" and can come out and play ANYTIME! You hear that baby? ANYTIME!!!

Dr appt today confirmed what I feared, it's nice and cozy in there and not looking like it's ready to come out and meet us yet. Sad!

We've scheduled a c-section for Sept 27th and are praying to go into labor before. We can't be induced.....so it's wait on the baby or deliver via c-section. I would like to baby to come when it's ready, so we're praying we don't make it to Sept 27th.

Your prayers are appreciated!


In house news....unfortunately our contractor had an out of town wedding so it's been very quiet here yesterday and today. But.....the house has been wrapped, roof is ready for shingles and it was another solid week of work! Looking great, huh? It looks like a HOUSE now!


Monday, September 12, 2011

Update...

Well.....things are truck truck truckin' along here! No baby and no finished house...but progress on both fronts!
The House

Lookey here......we have a house!!
Crew has been busy! Walls up, roof almost complete and plumbing and electrical are way over 1/2 done. This week.....windows and doors get installed!!!
We've been picking out fixtures, paint colors and all that fun stuff! It's been busier here than ever, but that means progress so bring it on!

The Baby I'm 39 weeks pregnant and just now feeling like I'm prepared for the whirlwind of change that awaits us. Blake and I laughed last night about needing to brush up on the 5 s's (Shhh, Swaddle, Side, Suck and CRAP what is the 5th S????)
Sleep for me has gotten dicey, I sleep hard until 2-5am and then I'm up and trying desperately to fall back asleep before Hudson and Harper (my alarm clocks) wake me up around 7:15.
My hospital bag is packed, I have snacks for daddy, magazines for him to read and a list of last minute things to throw into the bag.
I'm SCARED I'll stay pregnant forever......and YES I know that is impossible. But the further into week 39 I get, the more scared I feel that this due date is going to come and pass. I really want to let this baby decide his/her due date and yet I feel like I'm ready to hold this little mystery human NOW!

Soo......prayers are appreciated! Mama needs patience, Daddy needs more time in the day to get all the things done and Hudson and Harper....well they have NO idea what is about to come.

xo

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September Already???

It's baby month!!! In fact, it's T-minus 10 days until our due date and life is busier than ever.

A few things:

The house is plugging along. HVAC was here and installed a new furnace which will efficiently heat our entire house since we basically doubled the square footage of our existing home. It's not complete yet, meaning we can't turn on the heat so I pray the cold air stays far, far away! Supposed to be beautiful this week....but it feels like fall in the evenings. Burrrr!!!

Pic below is the hallway leading to the office and master bath




This pic is the new "family room" way back which will have large french doors that lead into a screened in porch.


Twins....busier than ever. Both are stringing together words (ie: sounds) that appear to be gibberish to us, but probably mean something profound to them. They understand SO MUCH of what we say...it's amazing. Asking them to do something, where something is, etc and they just get it. The other day Harper took my phone into our bedroom and dropped it when she got sidetracked by Blake's HUGE basketball shoes. She came out of the room carrying his shoe not my phone. When I asked her where my phone was and if she could go and grab it....she dropped the shoe and walked back into the bedroom to retrieve the phone. Sounds mundane....but it's so incredible to see that they understand!


Another cute story.....we met another twin-set at the Splash Pad last week for a playdate. These twins were only 2-3 months older and so we thought they'd have a blast together. Well....it was more independant play for all 4 kids until snack time which then I felt like I had 4 hungry birds standing around me as I fished out goldfish for them.


Anyway, back to playing. So it's kind of expected for little little kids that you go to the Splash Pad with a few buckets, cups, etc so they can play in the water. Though when you get there, the buckets you bring end up being used by some other kid while your kids play with theirs. Well Hudson saw a little guy and walked up to him, took his bucket and handed him his. A fair trade. His mom rushed over to me and asked "Is he your son?"....I said he was and that I could go get his bucket back if her son wanted his. She said "No No....did you see what they did? Your little guy traded with my son, Eli. He offered his bucket, and they traded".


I am left feeling a little confused, wanting to say "And............your point is........" but then it hit me that these are things that I take for granted because I have twins. My kids share. They understand they can't just snatch a toy out of eachother's hands. They comfort each other and give up the toy in their hands if one is having a meltdown and they want to cheer them up. These things happen daily....and because I have just had 2....I didnt' see why this was a big deal to this woman.

Anyway, just a fun observation.

Also on the twin front- we're in a transition period. Going from 1 nap to 2....eliminating that bedtime bottle and booking their first dentist appointment!

They had their 15 month appt....Hudson was 22lbs14oz but in 75/90th percentile for height! STRING BEAN! Harper was 21lbs6oz and in 25/50th for height and weight.


My sweet little nephew, Izaak had his first day of preschool today. Hard to imagine what it was like for my sister to send him off, with that big, huge backpack and smile. Life seriously moves at warp-speed when raising children. It feels like days turn to weeks, to months to years in a blink of an eye. I remember the ache I would feel in my heart and knot in my throat everytime I'd pack up a set of clothes (newborn size, 0-3 month) knowing that my babies would NEVER be that tiny again. The good thing is that they are growing and becoming more incredible by the day. Just makes us mama's a little emotional, nonetheless.

Well, that's it for now. Dr appt this afternoon so I'll update if there is anything worth updating. I'm 38.5 weeks and baby is getting chubbier, I believe, because it feels like the only strong movement I feel lately is his/her feet kicking in my right side since that is how it's positioned. I've gotten tons of guesses on baby's gender, birthday and weight. Overall....out of 14 friends and family.....10 think it's a girl, 4 think it's a boy and the most popular date for the birthday is September 19th (2 days past due date).

SOON WE WILL SEE!!!!!!!!!