Introducing...

After considerable effort, and quite a bit of suffering, we would like to present to all faithful followers of our blog the newest (and possibly the cutest) members of our family. Please give a big round of applause for...

Ella Sophia...previously known as Baby A:

Born at 1:57 p.m. on December 28th

6 pounds 14 ounces and 19 inches long

Emery Grace...previously known as Baby B:

Born at 1:59 p.m. on December 28th

6 pounds 5 ounces and 18 inches long

Dear,

Dear Babies,
Please stop hurting me. I'm giving you a week warning...then you'll have officially overstayed your welcome.

Dear Pelvic Bone,
You are stronger than you think you are. Please do not break in two.

Dear Husband,
Thank you for everything you do for me. ALL.THE.TIME.

Dear Sushi,
I cannot wait to eat you. As soon as I feel up to it, we are spending lots of money on you.

Dear Sleeping Pill,
Ummm...did you miss the memo? I wanted more than an hour and a half of sleep before I woke up for the day.

Dear Cold,
Please go away. All the way away...as in no leftover symptoms for a month.

Dear Isabelle,
I love you, but please start listening to me. I hate when I tell you to not do something and you look at me and do it anyways because you know I can't get up and do anything about it.

Dear Swelling,
I was really hoping you wouldn't make an appearance. You are not welcome in the least bit. Go away.

Dear Nesting,
Ummm...when are you supposed to come? I still have a ton to do before these babies come, but I have no motivation.

Dear Christmas,
I'm sorry I have no motivation to love you this year. I promise I won't have such a Bah Humbug attitude next year.

Dear Medicaid,
I still haven't changed addresses with you and we moved four months ago. Can you just magically make that happen? I hate calling you...

Dear Future Baby Names,
Please make yourself known.

Dear Operating Room,
I'm scared of you. Even though I've done it before, you still scare me. Thank goodness I get to bring Curt in with me.

Dear Family,
Thank you for all you do to help me with Isabelle and keep me off my feet as much as possible.

Dear Nausea,
How dare you return!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Please let this almost be over. Please also let my babies be healthy and join our family with no complications or a NICU stay.

36 Weeks

I had another doctor's appointment today. I thought I would do a really quick update. I had a sonogram today. Both babies are breach and over six pounds. Baby A is an estimated 6 pounds 15 ounces and Baby B is an estimated 6 pounds 1 ounce. Baby A is completely vertical with her feet in my bladder and pelvic bone area. No wonder it hurts so much.... Baby B is horizontal with her feet towards my right rib. Everything else looks good... I didn't meet with my actual doctor as he is taking the whole week off for Christmas. However, the doctor I did meet with is under the impression that the babies would be alright being born tomorrow if I was ready. Even though he said that, he also said my doctor probably wouldn't schedule a c-section any sooner than 39 weeks. I told my mom and Curt that if my doctor isn't willing to schedule it before Heidi goes back to school on the 9th, I might go see him again... :) I really don't think I have any chance of going into labor myself...especially since absolutely nothing is happening and both babies are breach. As for how I'm feeling...currently I can't even put my legs together cause I have too many legs in my hips. It's too painful to move when they are like that. In the past few days I have started to consistently swell...and swell a lot. I hate swelling. It is so painful! It makes walking that much harder since all my muscles in my legs are extremely tight and stiff now. I've also been sick. I have a cold and a cough. All three of us have it too. Sneezing and coughing are a lot of pain, but nothing compared to how painful it would be if I were in the hospital with an incision on my belly. So, I'm trying really hard to get better before that. I am having major issues with not being able to sleep cause I can't breathe or get comfortable too. There have been quite a few nights that I've only gotten four hours of sleep in the past week. I've also been having a really hard time eating and keeping food down. With Isabelle's pregnancy I had this problem too. There are days when I have lots of rice and apple sauce and very small portions and still have a hard time keeping them down. Other than that...it is more of the same just getting more and more painful as they each get bigger and bigger.

Cuddling

I have to admit...cuddling with Isabelle is near impossible. She doesn't do it often at all and well I have a huge belly that's in her way that she gets irritated with. So last night when she actually wanted me over Curt and she wanted to cuddle, I took the resulting claustrophobia in stride and let her fall asleep on me.

 

Can you tell we are a bunch of sickos around here? Poor little girl and I both have colds...which is even more miserable when you're pregnant. I think it should be against the rules to get sick when you're pregnant...especially 9 months pregnant!

35 Weeks

So I had a doctor appointment on Monday. It was super uneventful. I guess I probably feel that way because although I have Braxton Hicks contractions all the time and have started having real contractions for about a week and a half now, I have absolutely no progress at all. No dilating...no effacing...nothing. Physically I'm so ready for this pregnancy to be over that I just want to cry. However in every other way...I'm okay with not progressing towards labor. I literally haven't done anything to prepare for these girls other than get outfits for the babies to come home in. All my newborn clothes are still in storage...I haven't washed any of the clothes we've been given...I haven't arranged to pick up the crib we've been given...we don't have the car seats here...we haven't decided on a second name (okay I guess I should say I haven't, because Curt is happy with the one we had picked out)...we don't have any disposable newborn diapers...I'm sure that there is more too that I can't think of either. Plus if I don't have these babies this weekend, I really don't want to have them till after Christmas. The nurse actually even told me that it looks like I'm going to go all the way to 40 weeks. Ugh. I don't even want to think about the pain associated with that... Speaking of pain...there isn't really much new to update other than the pain associated with my pelvic bone. Apparently the babies are sitting on my pelvic bone instead of in or whatever...which gives the feeling of my pelvic bone spliting in two. It's the worst when I'm walking, but it also hurts when I sit on it straight and sometimes when I'm laying down. It makes turning over in bed even more painful...and a lot of times impossible without Curt's help. It is definitely one of those things that before it happens you think, "This is bad...I don't know how it could get worse..." and then after it happens you're left saying, "Oh wow! I didn't know what bad was!" And on that note...here's to 35 more days...or whatever it will turn out to be. Cast a vote on my side bar to put your opinion in the shuffle of when I'll have these babies...

Smiling for the Camera

Since I haven't posted a picture in forever...

Isabelle is still quite a little Mommy. She really loves her dolls and stuffed animals. Often times we will even catch her reading to her dolls and stuffed animals and even turning the book so they can see the pictures. Sometimes if the doll is small enough, she'll shove it into the book right up to the page so they can see the picture. Pretty funny really. She's growing up so fast! Kind of breaks my heart a little... We love her big personality so much...you know when she isn't screaming at you. :)

20 Month Update

So, here we are...Isabelle is 20 months old. I thought I'd do a little update since I can't sleep...

• She still loves her animals. She is so good at saying their names and telling you what they "say." Some of the newest names she says are: elephant, octopus, rabbit, froggy, seal, and fishy (it's been a shoe for months and she still will revert back to it...). Some of her newest sounds are for a: seal, alligator (it says, "Snap!"), kangaroo (it says, "Boing!) and frog. She's also gotten really passionate about growling and her froggy ribbits. 
• Sometimes she plays so well and gets so in-character that she actually can't pull herself out of it. Case and point: The other day she was passionately growling for her little toy bear that she was holding. It was super cute... After about two minutes of this, she actually became angry herself and started growling more and throwing things. 
• She fake cries for her dolls. Super cute!
• She loves her toys. Often times she goes to bed with one of her doll house dolls in her hand. It is also often that when she wakes up in the morning for her to call for Curt to come open her door and as soon as it's open for her to push past him and say, "Toys!" and go play. 
• She's doing better about the tantrums. She'll still gets angry and screams and hits...mostly herself or whatever is closest and she'll also start throwing things. Most of the time it doesn't blow up into a tantrum though.
• Often times she'll randomly say words that we have no clue that she even knows. Today in Sacrament meeting, while looking at a book, she pointed to a rainbow and said, "Rainbow," as clear as can be. 
• She talks and laughs in her sleep. Maybe we just notice this now cause I don't sleep much and we finally have a baby monitor...
• She no longer takes naps. Grr.... While this is hard from about 4:30-7:30, it's great that she goes to bed anywhere from 7:00-8:15 or so. I do love that. On night school nights for Curt, it isn't so great cause he doesn't get to see her, but we only have FOUR MORE nights of that, people!!! No night school next semester! :) (I didn't think I could handle it with two newborns...)
• She automatically love Santa. We have no clue why she's taken such a liking to him, but we introduced him to her via a book just over a week ago and told her that Santa say, "Ho, Ho," and she's been hooked. She was more excited about Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade than Buzz or Dora. We had to rewind and watch Santa about 20 times. 
• Other than Heidi's doll house toys, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, books and YouTube videos of Grover and Elmo (especially the ones that involve songs) and going outside are her current favorites.
• She loves the game chase.
• She is starting to sing songs. She sings: "Once There Was a Snow Man," "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Clean Up, Clean Up."
• She went to nursery today and didn't cry at all until Curt picked her up. Apparently she'd forgotten about us until then...
• She does super cute random things all the time. Seriously, I love her little, or big, personality and that she cracks us up every day. I can't even tell you how many times I text Curt to tell him Isabelle's latest cute thing or turn to someone and whisper, "Look at Isabelle," because whatever she is doing is so random or cute. 

32 Weeks

A week ago today (at 31 weeks) I had maternity pictures done. Last night we were super surprised to learn that our picture gallery is already up and ready for viewing. For anyone who wants to see all the pictures...click here. The password is Whitworth. Tell me which ones you would order. I get a free 8X10, but there are definitely more than one that we love so we'll have to order more. :) Put your two cents in though cause I'm going to have a hard time narrowing it down. Seeing these pictures made me super excited to have the newborn pictures done by the same photographer. Can't wait for that...for way more than one reason. Speaking of those reasons...I guess I should do a pregnancy update. Here's what my pregnancy life is like lately...in addition to all the symptoms I've mentioned in the past (and it ain't pretty, people!):

• Every single time I put any weight on my right leg, I get a sharp pain in my right hip. Sometimes it is just my hip and the more I walk the more bearable it gets. That's the better side of it. On the more painful side, I'll get shooting pains up my back and down my leg. Sometimes it gets so bad I can't walk without assistance from Curt.
• On Sunday I was having such bad back spasms in my upper back that they radiated into my chest. I've had this happen on two other occasions...both of which I was not pregnant at the time. Seriously, the pain is worse than any of the contractions I felt with Isabelle. Especially when it's so bad that it makes the babies go crazy in you too. It's was so bad that I couldn't help by writhe around in pain because it is impossible to hold still. I couldn't breathe so I ended up hyperventilating and just trying not to do that was a challenge... I was actually throwing up from the pain. Ugh...to say it was agony is an understatement. I went to the chiropractor yesterday for my hip and my back and while it made the latter better, I think it made the first worse. 
• The babies like to push on me. I wish I knew what they were doing exactly, but it is very very painful. They push up on my belly, into my right rib and/or on my bladder and my belly gets really hard. You can see the baby trying to push out of me. That in and of itself hurts, but I can literally feel my blood pressure rise when they do it. Having your head feel like it is swelling is not fun either!
• I feel the babies move plenty...but it is different now. When they kick me in the belly, I don't generally feel it, even the huge kicks that make Curt say, "Whoa...they're beating you up!" I don't know if it is that I'm used to it or it is just overshadowed by the pain, but sometimes I'm surprised to learn they are kicking me. I do feel hiccups a lot and kicks to my butt and them turning and just moving in general though. 
• Heartburn. Ugh. It doesn't matter what I eat...it is almost a constant reminder that I am in fact pregnant. Not that I could forget.
• I'm having to take nausea medicine again. Not every day, but I've taken several pills in the last week. It is never fun to throw up, but when you are this huge...it's very painful!
• I am officially swelling. I've had days here and there were if I pushed it too much I might swell a little bit, but for the past couple of nights, I'm always swollen by bed time. I remembered that it hurt to swell, but oh...it hurts! I hate swelling. Plus it makes me look so horrible! 
• My belly hurts! I remember hating the stretched to the extreme feeling with Isabelle, but this is different too. I have that feeling, but I also have sharp pains from the stretching too. I had some stretch marks from Isabelle's pregnancy, but no matter what I do to prevent them this time around they are multiplying by the day it seems. I think a lot of the sharp pains are actually from the stretch marks themselves.
• I don't stand up straight anymore. This goes back to the belly being so stretched out. I can't walk normal and have to bend my knees to walk. I can't stand up straight unless I'm really trying and dedicated to do so cause it hurts too much. This, of course, probably adds to the back pain cause it puts more strain on my back cause I'm hunched over all the time. 
• With only one exception in almost three weeks now, I don't drive. I can't sit that long in the same position. I can't hold my hands up. I don't have the attention span to pay attention. Sometimes after backing up, I wonder if I even checked to see if anyone was there. Not good. So...unless I have to, I'm probably done driving this pregnancy. I may make an exception if it weren't far, but it makes me nervous...
• My cravings are almost all vegetable, ice or nut related. When it comes to the nuts or the ice...it isn't the taste I crave...it's the texture and the way they feel on my teeth.
• Lately I've had the attitude of if I have to do something, I have to do it as soon as possible. Every week is worse than the last and no matter how much I've tried to avoid the tears, they've started coming from the pain. As much as it terrifies me to have surgery or to have two newborns, I can't wait for this pregnancy to be over. By saying that, I don't mean I want them out of me now and in the NICU...I'm just saying, I want the time to come for them to come safely and be out of me. Realistically, that time isn't even that far away. I'm 32 weeks. I could have healthy babies in 3-4 weeks! When I don't think about the pain, that seems really soon. Yikes! :)

Isabelle's First Prayer

Being the amazing parent's that Curt and I are...ahem....anyways, we have been TRYING to get Isabelle excited about praying. We've been trying to get her to fold her arms or even just be quiet during prayer time. It hasn't really worked well at all and it isn't very often Isabelle will even acknowledge we are praying. There are times when she will fold her arms for a few seconds, but nothing consistent. This past week though during family prayer she sat with her arms folded and following the prayer she said, "Amen....more...." So, I told her how to say her own prayer. It went something (really short) like this:

Father,

Love you.

Jesus

Amen.

When she asked for more again, we expanded it a little more to be like this:

Heavenly Father,

Love you.

Sleep well tonight.

Name of Jesus

Amen.

Yep...melted my heart!

She Loves Bugs

Isabelle loves her bugs. It's probably been about two months now that she has discovered them and love them. Every single time we walk out the front door she asks to see the bugs. Here are the bugs she knows: butterfly, spider, ant, bee and cricket. Basically every bug she sees or think she sees fits into those categories. I took this video about two weeks ago...

Too Big to Fight It...

Okay...so Isabelle hasn't taken a nap in two days now. She sleeps in a twin bed in a room that has lots of her toys in it so it really isn't an option for me to just put her in bed and leave the room. Usually I can lay beside her, read her a book and then put on Primary music and she'll fall asleep, but lately we have to fight her to go to sleep. I truly believe it is because she LOVES her toys and books so much right now that she just can't let go to take a nap. Seriously, you should see the child play with her toys. Her current obsessions are of course books and the doll house toys, but also Mr. Potato Head. She's also on a huge stuffed animal kick again...specifically bears. I love that she's so passionate about her toys and playing...especially since she had gotten in the habit of watching movies with this pregnancy. She rarely will sit and watch movies or Dora or Blue anymore. We used to watch Lion King at least twice a day...now she's barely interested in it for 30 minutes. So, I'm happy about that, but oh, I need nap time and I am definitely not willing to give it up. Especially since she gets grouchy and wants to nap around 5 o'clock. I do like the early bed times though... Ugh. I need advice. I'm too big to fight her at all. Today when I tried to rock her she kneed me in the belly button...not on purpose but she started throwing a tantrum. I can't even tell you what pain that is anymore. It's painful to even lightly touch my belly! So, I promptly gave up. I just feel like I'm too big to even try and fight her...

BTW...I know I need a new blog topper... I'm just having a serious lack of motivation to do it.

Playing Doll House

Back in the day...when my 18 year old sister, Heidi was a wee little one, my mom bought tons of doll house toys for her. We still have these toys. When we lived with my parents the first time, Isabelle kind of "played" with the doll house stuff. (Remember this post?) After we moved though, I don't think she played with it even once. So, I pulled the box and house out again and oh my stars. Apparently Isabelle things these doll house toys are the most magnificent things she's ever seen or ever will see in her life. She loves them. The first thing she does in the morning is go to the game room and plays with her toys. There is even a potty and she loves it. Often times we will be downstairs and she starts asking for the potty...meaning her doll house toys. She also just asks for her toys and finds someone to come with her to play. She's really pretty good about playing on her own though too. Today she played long enough by herself that I was able to download pictures off my camera for probably 20 minutes AND do an entire scrapbook page. Which is easily over an hour of work. She totally loves each and every doll and even says, "Police Officer" and "Daughter." I love when she feeds the people though:

Another video: (Isn't it just too cute how she says, "Peek-a-boo?")

Last of Our Halloween

The only thing we did on Halloween day that had to do with Halloween was carve a pumpkin. By "we" I mean Curt, Heather and Andrew. By Curt, Heather and Andrew, I really mean Andrew. Curt drew the Eeyore on the pumpkin and Heather helped gut the pumpkin, but Andrew really is the only carver. We were quite excited about how it turned out though. Isabelle loves the Eeyore pumpkin and often asks to light it.

Pumpkin Patch #2

I guess I should blog about the Pumpkin Patches in the order we went to them, but these pictures are so much more cute. This past Saturday, Curt, Isabelle and I got up and went to the Pumpkin Patch for the second time. The first time we left with almost no good pictures at all because we went at 3:00 and the light was so harsh. Anyway, this time around Isabelle loved it so much more anyways. We're really glad we decided to go again and have a fun time as a family.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We celebrated Halloween yesterday with Heather's family and my parent's by going to Trunk or Treat. My mom made Levi's and Isabelle's costumes: Little Bo Peep and her sheep. They were just too cute. Isabelle even surprised us by wearing her hat the whole time. We were amazed.

She did really well Trunk or Treating too. She wanted to have people give her the candy directly...not put it in the bag. She liked to put it in the bag. She sometimes would like to exchange whatever was in her hand for the new candy too and often times did. She was really good at saying, "Please" and "Thank you" and "More". She was super slow, but she seemed to enjoy it.

When she was done, she just wanted to cuddle with her daddy...

The smiles didn't last long though...she didn't have patience for a family picture. Ugh...

Overall, she did amazing though. Way better than we even hoped for. Levi and her were super cute and super well behaved...and they both kept their costumes on! Yay!!

28 Weeks Doctor Appointment

This morning I had another doctor appointment. I had to take a glucose test and have a sonogram so it was quite eventful as far as doctor appointments go. Since I went in fasting for the past 11 hours, I already wasn't doing well. I totally meant to grab a snack or two to take and eat after my blood was drawn, but I totally forgot in the whole hustle and bustle of getting all three out of the house this morning. That turned out to be a big mistake. When I had my last sonogram at 19 weeks, I didn't do well and got really faint and nauseous. This time was even worse. The sonographer actually had to open up her lunch bag and get me her granola bar and water. I was so embarrassed, but TOTALLY thankful. I had the cold sweats and everything. I did a lot better for the second half of the sono, but I was VERY grateful to have it over with! Everything looked well...really well actually. Baby A is measuring 3 pounds 1 ounce and Baby B is measuring 2 pounds 15 ounces. Yes people, I already have exactly six pounds of baby in me. Don't get me wrong...I'm super happy they are measuring big, but let's face it: some people have their full term baby and it is smaller than my two 28 week babies combined. I just read a blog where the baby was born at 5 pounds 11 ounces. By their weight alone, they are not measuring 28.5 weeks like I am, but actually 30.5 weeks. Once again...I'm totally happy and excited they are measuring big, but ugh...I feel it!
As for the actual doctor appointment, it went a little less exciting, but more depressing. I've gained 14 pounds (am I really admitting this to everyone who reads my blog?!?) since my last appointment just under five weeks ago. Of course my doctor is concerned about this much weight gain. I had to admit that I'd been eating a lot of nuts and Slurpees over the past five weeks...but even then he said there is no way I'd gain that much weight in that amount of time unless is was water weight...which is why he's concerned. So then I also had to admit that I've begun to see the swelling within the past week/week and a half. Then I got lectured about not laying down enough and pushing myself too hard. He even threatened to put me on bed rest. Yikes! Okay...okay. I'll lay down more... So here I am...not laying down, sitting at the computer blogging, doing just what I said I would avoid. However, if my doctor had as bad of heartburn, joint pain and itching as I've got right now, he wouldn't be laying down either!

Seventh Move (and counting...)

We just completed our 7th move in 2.5 years of marriage. Our stuff is starting to complain and break a part. Not good. Especially since one of the things is our crib...

One Week Down

So here we are...one week from taking Isabelle's pacifiers away. I have to admit, it went better than I thought it would...but at the same time it's been worse than I thought too. Let me explain. After we cut the pacifier last Saturday, we discovered the worst part of it all was putting her to sleep and after she she woke up. Tantrums ensued...tears were shed on both Isabelle's and my account...and wanting to give up and give in to her was definitely considered. I think the longest tantrum she threw was about an hour and a half. However by Thursday, the tantrums were only five minutes and for the most part, we don't have all out tantrums anymore when it is bed time and time to get up. So, it that respect, here we are a week later totally weaned and it wasn't tooooo bad...considering. Now for the other side of things. While Isabelle could definitely throw a tantrum before, we'd never seen anything like we have in the past week. Ultimately I believe this is because when she threw tantrums before, we would give her the pacifier and she would calm down. Now, she doesn't have that, so she is having to learn how to sooth herself without the pacifier. I definitely did NOT see this coming...and this is definitely the hardest part. Now instead of a hitting problem, we have a hitting and a kicking and a tantrum throwing problem. Instead of five minute tantrums, we have all out 45 minute tantrums that the only way she can pull herself out of it is by either going to sleep or me somehow distracting her with a song or going outside. One reason this is also really hard is for the same reason getting rid of the pacifier was hard. I'm just as addicted to putting it in her mouth as she is...and I just want to give into her when she throws a tantrum to make it stop. We are definitely all a work in progress, because Curt has his issues too like wanting to yell, but that doesn't work either... Ugh, we are definitely all struggling trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Overall, I can honestly say my child no longer gets a pacifier and that she is completely weaned. We just have a whole host of other problems to deal with now...

Need advice? I put together my own FAQs. :)
Things I wish I'd known/done before taking the pacifier away:

• I wish I'd taken the pacifier away before the crib. Then she could've cried it out in her crib instead of in the bed next to me kicking my belly. Can I say ouch enough times? Trust me. It hurts and tests EVERY bit of patience I have!
• Originally without the pacifier she attached herself to her favorite blanket. A day or two in I thought this was a good thing. Then after a 45 minute temper tantrum about her "manket," of which she had the whole time, I changed my mind. I'm pretty sure she wanted to use the blanket to sooth herself, however the blanket obviously didn't sooth her in the way the pacifier did, so she got really really frustrated with it. Now we are to the point that the blanket does more harm than good. 
• For us, one of the automatic pacifier times was in the car. We had gotten to the point that during the day, the car rides were the most addicted to the pacifier times. To wean her off these times, we sing to her fun songs. I wish I had acquired a CD of some sort with fun kid songs on it before going cold turkey. 
• I'm not totally convinced going cold turkey is the way to go. Of course there are benefits of doing it...however, I would think emotionally for both Isabelle and me it would have been better to go with our first idea and take it away during the day...then the car seat...then naps...then bedtime and then be done. Of course this would take a lot longer and it would be much easier to cheat. However, I think this has been a really rough week for Isabelle when it comes to learning and being pushed pretty far really fast. 
• I think 18 months is a rough age to do this at. I know it would be rough at any age, but I wish I'd done it during the 9 to 12 month window. I think if I had done it then we would have had to wean ourselves more than her. Except that's when her sleeping was having the biggest issues and when I stopped breast feeding too, so I don't now how that would have worked either. Doing it older sucks too, but I think that mentally they can process why more. I got advice to do the "You don't need a pacifier, you're a big girl..." approach, however Isabelle has no comprehension of what that means. I was scared that she wouldn't understand the broken pacifiers, but she learned what that meant pretty fast. If I use the pacifier again for our other children, I would probably wean them at a year and definitely no later than 14 or 15 months. 

Would I use the pacifier again?

• I honestly don't know. Isabelle had a really really rough beginning. Of course during the rough beginning she didn't really take the pacifier either... I pretty much forced it on her and she didn't really like it until about four months. However, I would totally do it again for Isabelle. She had issues with her suck to...she thrusted her tongue out when she sucked...which KILLED me as a nursing mother. Once she finally figured out the pacifier and learned to suck different so she could keep it in, everything nursing-wise took care of itself. If it hadn't worked out this way, I don't know what I would have done. I was so determined to nurse and not give up, but the pain was intolerable at times. So, for that reason alone I'm grateful for the pacifier. 
• Another reason I'm pro-pacifier is it kept Isabelle's hands out of her mouth. Now that she doesn't have it, the hands are in her mouth. She doesn't suck on them, but she chews and actually bites them. Plus it is really gross to me. Curt and I were both thumb suckers and we want to avoid this with our kids as much as we possibly can. 
• I definitely see the value to not having the pacifier, however for us, the pacifier had more pros than cons and still does. However for the next babies in our lives, we'll take it on an individual by individual approach. So, we'll see. 

Stats Update

I finally got around to taking Isabelle in to the doctor for her 18 month well-child exam. Considering I skipped the 15 month one because I was so sick, I figure I'm not too late since she is still 18 months old. I made Curt go with us because when I took her to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, she cried anytime anyone came near her...even to just see how tall she is. Plus they told me she would have to have six immunizations...and I did not want to deal with that tantrum by myself. So, away we went. True to form, as soon as we walked in the door to leave the waiting room, her lip curled and she started crying. It's so sad when she cries like that. We did manage to get her weighed and measured though. She is 32 inches tall (50th-75th percentile) and 24.6 pounds (50th percentile). Once we got to the room she was fine with just us in there. Curt played with her and we let her color on the paper that covers the table. She liked that. Her exam went okay. She cried a little, but Curt held her the whole time and while she didn't like being touched, she tolerated it by the end. Then came the shots. She actually only had to have four and Curt was able to hold her during them. It went over a lot better than I thought it would and she didn't cry for more than a minute afterwards. We are done with shots though until she's four. Yay for that. Overall, it went way better than I thought. Especially since we are still having no pacifier issues. However, she didn't even ask for it at all after the shots. Surprising...but at the same time, it isn't the day time we are having issues with anymore. She maybe asks for it once or twice during the day and when we tell her it's broken, she doesn't even dwell on it, she just moves on. It's nap time and bed time that we are having issues with. It's so bad that we've been keeping her up late so she's extra exhausted for bed time and she doesn't have the energy to fight us. So, we may get rid of the pacifier, but her sleeping patterns are all sorts of screwed up right now. I figure that's easier to fix in the end though, right? :)

27 Weeks

I guess I should do an update since it's been six weeks since my last pregnancy update. Here is the most beautiful picture ever taken of me:

Seriously...I feel huge. I'm really regretting not taking belly pictures during Isabelle's pregnancy to compare my pictures to this time. Seeing a picture though was actually a little surprising. I don't know why, but it just makes it so much more real that I am as big as I feel.

Here are some things going on in my pregnancy life right now:

• I'm having problems with my right hip. Sometimes when I put my weight on my right leg, sharp pains go through my leg and back. It gets so bad that I can't walk sometimes. 
• I currently feel like the inside of my pelvis bone and right rib is all bruised from the kicking. 
• My belly feels so stretched out that I'm in almost constant pain. I remember feeling this way at the end of my last pregnancy...and I hated it then too. 
• All you have to do is rub my belly to get the babies to move. There is one benefit to this...when they are hurting me, I rub my belly so they find another position. That's the better option...Isabelle's tantrums also make them go crazy. Double whammy...I have to listen to the tantrum and get kicked tons from the inside. Makes my day... 
• Baby B (the right one) is almost always up in my right rib. Baby A is all over the place...high and low.
• I experienced my first day of swelling on Saturday. It wasn't bad, but I could tell.
• Laying down is getting harder and harder. Often times while trying to go to sleep Curt will have to sit me up to catch my breath or take a break from the pressure I feel throughout my whole body while I'm laying down. It doesn't matter the position...it's rough. My head gets tons of pressure in it and I always describe it as it feels like my blood pressure is rising. It also feels like my heart is starting to race like it did the last eight weeks or so of Isabelle's pregnancy.
• Two nights ago while the babies were moving all over the place (which is often...) you could literally feel an arm and a fist. So crazy and cool and the same time...and a little freaky. 
• My cravings mostly have to do with texture. For example, I cannot get enough ice, Slurpees and nuts. It isn't the taste I crave at all. It's the way they feel on my teeth. I definitely prefer Slurpees to anything right now because I get the sensation of chewing ice without the horribleness that ice is for your teeth. 
• I think I forgot to mention this in my last update...I'm losing my hair. Bad. In college I lost about half of my hair over the course of the years that I was there from stress, but even that isn't bad compared to how much hair I lose right now. I can't comb it, run my hands through it, touch it without handfuls coming out. Heather cut about four to five inches off about five weeks ago in attempt to help it not fall out so much. (I hadn't had my hair cut in 15 months...it needed it BAD.) It worked for about two weeks, now it is just as bad again. I'm seriously contemplating cutting it off and getting a short short hair do after maternity pictures. I don't know if I can do it though...
• The itching isn't quite as bad as it was six weeks ago, but I still itch a lot. Maybe because I always have hair all over me.
• I get completely worn out extremely easily. I took my mom to Sam's yesterday for a quick trip and I was completely wiped out afterwards. Isabelle wasn't even a factor cause she was good and rode in the cart the whole time. It makes long days when Curt has night school especially hard. 
• The charley horses have started...
• Consistently, the hardest thing for me to do is get up and down. It always sends the babies into a frenzy to get comfortable again and they often push really hard on me to show that they don't approve. It's very painful. 
• Most of what I'm experiencing right now really just has to do with being in pain from how big I am. I try not to think about it...but I still have a long time to go. What am I going to do in another month, two months and three months? No matter what though, I'd rather have them in me than in the NICU, so I try to remind myself of that when I get scared and discouraged. 

I go to the doctor again on the 29th and I get to have another sonogram, so stay tuned for that...

Going Bald

I think I might...and Curt too. This no paci thing has been going for 28 hours (we got a late start...it's been a busy weekend) and we are ready to toss in the towel. Really the only reason we don't is because we'd have to start over again. Plus next time when we say, "The paci is broken," she'll know not to believe us. Grr...she's too smart. Anyway, so if you see us and we have no hair, it's because she's driven us to pull our hair out. It's better than driving us to drink right? Although she's done that to us too...we started with the Dr. Pepper at 8:15 this morning!

Paci....PLEASE!

So I mentioned in some post some where that we had cut the paci out of Isabelle's life except at bedtimes. However, then we moved and we all got sick or had bad allergies, so while we made it 6 or 7 days, it came to an end. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER!!! That was three or four weeks ago. Since that time, she has become even more obsessed with the thing. All I hear when she doesn't have it in her mouth is, "PLEASE, paci! Paci! Paci! Please... please.... please..." Ugh! I want to cut my ears off. Plus she has taken to wanting to hold a second pacifier in her hand and yesterday even walked around with two in her mouth. Half the time she has the pacifier she isn't even sucking on it, but rather has her lower lip flipped out under the bottom part of the outside plastic anyways. It's ugly and it drives me crazy. Plus I really didn't want to pass the 18 month threshold with the pacifier anyways. So, that brings us to tonight when Curt gets home from work, the pacifier is getting cut. It is going to be one horrible weekend. Hopefully not week too. Ugh...I'm not looking forward to this. I'm really kind of scared because I really like that when she's whining and annoying me I can put the plug in. I admit it, I'm addicted too. However, it's time. So...wish us luck!

The Science Museum

Last week we had the opportunity to go to the Science Museum with some of my in-laws and all the grandchildren. Of course since it is just like a big play room with all sorts of new toys, Isabelle loved it. She behaved so well too...which was a big relief. I'm getting to the point where I'm afraid to take her places (and almost don't go anywhere with her alone anymore) because it is getting so hard to move and almost impossible to carry her around. However she did wonderfully and loved it so much. Here are some pictures from the day: 

...Playing peek-a-boo in the alligator entrance...

...Checking out the bubbles...

...Loving on the babies that were in the "hospital"...

...Stocking up at the grocery store (of course she would dig for the fish!)...

...Pushing her shopping cart. Doesn't she look so big?!? So sad...

...She loved going down this ramp outside...

...The Dino Dig...

We finished the day at the Dino Dig. It was Isabelle's first experience with sand. I personally hate sand and think it is such a mess so I've never let her play in it before. Not that we go around sand boxes or beaches often and I've never actually had to keep her out of them... Anyways, she loved it. The sand was more gravel like so it was easy to brush it off of her, which I liked. She especially loved when we took her shoes off and she could put her toes in the sand. The whole experience fascinated her and she loved digging with the tools they gave her. 

What Do You Say?

Curt and I have been working a lot with Isabelle to get her to either ask for what she wants or say, "Please." She's been doing really good at this and generally does say please even when we don't ask...especially when it concerns something she really wants and that we haven't gotten her after her first request. Anyway, randomly though, when you say, "What do you say, Isabelle?" she always replies with the same word: "Monkeys!" Huh?!?

Piggy Tails

I finally got some pictures of Isabelle sporting her piggy tails. We think they are just too cute. Surprisingly she really doesn't mind having her hair done. The other day I even told her, "Let's go do your hair" and she went to the bathroom and waited for me to lift her up on the counter. Now hopefully I didn't jinx myself...

Anyway, I took these pictures...and more...of Isabelle outside today playing. We were waiting for Curt to get  home. Our neighbor's dog was out which made her extremely happy. This dog is amazing. He lets her pet him and put her stuffed animals on him to go "yee-haw" and even lets her make her stuffed animals give him kisses.

Daddy's home! Yes, this is the look on her face when she saw Curt...

And of course she had to run to him...

Two by Two

So quite often Isabelle's personality and where she got different traits from is discussed among our families... When it comes to her looks, there is no argument: she's all Curt. However when it comes to her personality, there is a little more deliberation. Well, kind of. See Curt and I are so much a like that it really is kind of ironic sometimes that we even have these discussions. For example, we often talk about how Isabelle knows what she wants and she wants things perfect, precise, organized, etc. I can say she got that from me, but so can Curt...cause we are both OCD about things like that. One evening...probably over a month ago now...I looked down at Isabelle playing with her Noah's Ark Little People and found her pairing up all the animals. Of course this included the two Noahs we randomly have. By the time I found the camera she was working on putting them in the boat (or butt as she still calls it...) so I think a couple are missing from these pictures, but you get the idea. 

First Day of Nursery

Well, I'm a little behind...like always. On September 5, Isabelle went to nursery for the first time. In our ward, we can start nursery at 17 months if a parent goes with them. We weren't planning on starting nursery early because we weren't and aren't really sure if it's the best way to get Isabelle used to it...you know with us being there. She did pretty well. I was actually surprised how she handled the kids taking her toys away. She didn't scream at them. Once she said, "No!" but at least it was only one no and not a whole barrage of nos... Overall the biggest thing I can say is she was overwhelmed. There are a lot of kids in her nursery. She really doesn't handle being around lots of people well. Both the first (the 5th) and second (the 12th) Sunday there she was really subdued and quiet. Curt stayed with her on the 12th and he said she barely ate her snacks and she was the slowest at doing so...which is very un-Isabelle-like. On the 19th, the nursery leaders kicked us out and said she'd be fine. I was a little worried that she wouldn't handle it well, but she made it through. Her teachers said she would cry a little bit and ask for Daddy, but then she would be okay, then it would repeat itself. Apparently she got gently knocked over and she did her sad, pouty lip, "I'm offended" cry that breaks everyone's heart. Poor little baby. Overall though she was good and while she still isn't sure of the whole thing, hopefully it will just get better from here on out. She didn't go on the 26th because of allergies and not wanting to get anyone sick incase they weren't allergies. So, next week will be her first time in two weeks. Wish us luck!

Here is a picture of Isabelle playing outside as we walked to the car to go to Grammie and Papa's after church. She's getting so big...and so hard to take good pictures of!

18 Months

I haven't done an update on Isabelle in a few months and since she recently turned 18 months, I thought I would take the opportunity. She really is growing up quite a bit and Curt and I often comment about how big she is and how sad we are that she really isn't a baby anymore. We've been having to get her some new clothes with both the weather changes and the lack of clothes she has anymore that fit. Each time I buy her a 2T top it surprises me that I'm already at this point. Imagine how much more surprised I was when we put the top on her and it barely fit too. Last week we had a doctor appointment and she weighed 24 pounds even and her height was 23 inches even. No wonder I have such a hard hard time carrying her anymore. Here are some other things about her right now:

• "No" means both yes and no. It's frustrating to say the least for Curt and I. 
• She adores animals. Can't get enough of them. If there are any books, movies, toys, pictures etc of an animal, you can bet she is going to find it and want it.  
• She has discovered movies. We moved a little over two weeks ago and still have no internet, plus we had no car for a while so we were both bored out of our minds. Therefore we resorted to movies. I introduced her to The Lion King and Jungle Book. She adores The Lion King and likes Jungle Book. She also kind of likes Monster's Inc and will watch some of it but she doesn't really care for The Incredibles. She often wakes up in the morning and the first thing she asks for is "raaa" or The Lion King. Curt usually puts it on for her before he leaves so I can sleep in a little longer as she sits beside me watching "raaa."  
• Since we moved and in preparation for the babies coming, we decided to do away with the crib. We however don't have a bed for her either, so she's been sleeping on her crib mattress on the ground. The first couple of nights were hard because she would roll off completely or end up with her head off and her body half on. She's doing a lot better now and Curt hasn't had to move her back on to the mattress much.  
• Officially Isabelle has allergies. While we've suspected this for a year now, we've finally got it diagnosed and on allergy medicine. She's still suffering, much like her father, and especially at our new place, but she's tons better than she was a week ago. I honestly think that every time she's had a cold or an upper respiratory infection has been the results of allergies gone haywire and her sinuses getting infected from the allergy symptoms. Hopefully we will have a smoother fall and early winter than we did last year when she was sick every few weeks.  
• Isabelle has a hitting problem. Any suggestions on how to break this would be much appreciated. We are starting to think Isabelle is unpunishable. She's hit Levi on the head twice now. Grrr...  
• She started nursery. More on this later... (I've had a blog post started for weeks now...) 
• She loves bugs. She gets so excited at the site of an ant! It is so silly. She loves grasshoppers too. A butterfly landed on her a few days ago and she didn't love it but she didn't really mind either. I think she was more distraught about the thoughts of having to share her peanut butter sandwich with it than she was anything else.  
• Which brings me to...she doesn't like to share much. Really at all. Unless it's that she randomly she wants to share some food with you or something.
• We've really been working on making her ask for something she wants...either by the name or by saying please. She's gotten really good at it and now knows she can get things by saying please. Now it is hard for us because sometimes she starts begging and saying please over and over even though she can't have it. It's really hard on us not to give in...
• Her language is constantly expanding. Her words are getting bigger and bigger too...for example dinosaur. It is a little weird though because at the same time as her vocabulary is expanding overall, she goes through days were she is talking less. Usually though she's fine and talks a lot when we are out of the house. Another strange thing is that some of her words are backwards. Such as she says BaGa for Gobble (It took us FOREVER to figure out what that word was!). There aren't too many that she does this to, but in some cases it takes an ordinary word like kid and turns it into a questionable word when she switches the consonants.  
• She still loves to be outside. Often times she throws a tantrum if we bring her in before she is ready.  
• Her hair is long enough to put in two pig tails. It is so super cute. I've been making her lots of smaller matching bows. It is just sooo cute! 
• She LOVES to be read to. Especially if there is an animal in the book.  
• Her daddy is still her favorite person.  
• She is still obsessed with stuffed animals and dolls. She loves to put her doll in its stroller and push her around.  
• She's back to not really liking the car seat and often times tells us she's "stuck."

Heart Breaker

Isabelle LOVES her dad. Oh my stars does she love him. She loves him so much that she gives me evil looks when I try to get his attention when he's around. I'm not even joking. She yells, "No" at me and gives me her evil looks. Really sometimes I think she hates me... I know that is an exaggeration and that it is just because she is so tired of me and she doesn't get to see her Daddy very much.

That being said...the hardest part of our days is when Curt leaves. This morning was especially hard. Maybe it is because Curt took Isabelle with him to work yesterday because I had the stomach flu. Either way it was heartbreaking. Before this video, Isabelle kept asking to "go" and "bye bye" and sat in Curt's lap and gave him huge hugs. After this video, Curt left and Isabelle cried for 30 minutes. Eventually she started begging me to go "nigh nigh." I suspect that was because she woke up way too early this morning and that we are on day seven of only getting the pacifier at nap and bed time. Either way she just woke up from a two hour nap and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Dada?" 



Who knew Curt was such a heart breaker?! :)

Why Aren't You Here?! Take 2

Oh my poor baby. I feel so bad for her. This morning when she woke up, I went in her room to get her and she was standing in a crib that had vomit all over. At some point in the early night she had thrown up and continued to sleep right in it. Her whole left side of her head was matted and covered in dried puke. To make matters worse she had pooped when she first woke up and had diarrhea and that got on her and her blanket a little bit. It totally broke my heart. Then I was grossed out cause I had to clean it up. It doesn't make matters any better that I can BARELY reach into the crib and touch the mattress anymore. The babies are SOOO high and the railing, even though I lowered it, cuts into my belly and hurts so badly. It definitely left me thinking, "Curt! Why aren't you here!!" :) While I was cleaning up her bedding and crib, she watched Blue's Clues:

She has had two baths today to get rid of the smell. Who knew that Johnson and Johnson's baby soap isn't strong enough to cut through the puke smell? Even the second bath left a faint smell. Yuck!
However, she doesn't show any signs of being sick...random...

Nephi Builds a Butt?!

So for Family Home Evening around our house, it usually consists of lots of songs, attempts at prayer and either looking at pictures of Jesus, Curt telling Bible stories or reading from our Book of Mormon reader. A few weeks ago Curt read the story of Nephi building a boat. Ever since then, Isabelle will find that specific story in the reader and bring it to us. She points to the pictures and we tell her what she is pointing at...for example Nephi, Lehi, boat... She loves it. Tonight she went and pulled out the read and brought it to us right before bedtime. She found Nephi and the boat and instead of having us tell her what she is pointing at, she wanted to say it. Who knew Nephi built a butt? :)

In true Curt fashion, he couldn't help but quote Finding Nemo...

Baby #2 & #3 Update...

I went to the doctor on the 27th, so almost a week and a half ago...and I'm just getting around to blogging about it. Ugh. Oh well, better late than never, right? :)

So, I went to the doctor...it was my first appointment since finding out I was having twins. I was late to my appointment because I got in the car to go and the clutch totally gave out...and proved to be completely undrivable. (Another story for another time...if I can talk about it without crying...) Therefore Curt had to come and get me and take me, which made me about ten minutes late...and therefore there for two hours. We started off with my 20 week sonogram. Everything looks good. They are both definitely girls. One was 10 oz and the other was 11 oz. The tech said they are both really active...ha! She didn't need to tell me that! Isabelle was too though. The sonogram was actually torture for me. With Isabelle, she was sooo high that I really had no problem lying on my back up until my delivery. However this time around, I am already having problems with that. I couldn't lay down the entire sonogram. I was so light headed and nauseous and in pain from lying there that the sonographer had to do it while I was sitting up because I got so sick. That was pretty bad. Especially since it took me forever to tell her because I didn't want to be an inconvenience... After the sonogram I met with the doctor...eventually. :) My doctor informed me he would let me go as long as my body lets me...so unless I go into labor then they will come on or around Jan. 17. The doctor is concerned though that I'm already starting to retain water. Which is discouraging. I was really hoping this time around it wouldn't be so bad...but at the same time everything has been way worse so I don't even know why I was hoping. Regardless though, the doctor already wants me lying down as much as possible without propping myself up at all. My belly was already measuring at 26 weeks. Of course this would be off with twins...but they already can kick my ribs when I'm not sitting straight up. Just as I was lazy about blogging, I've been lazy about taking pictures. However, here is my first belly picture...taken tonight. I look huge... :) I say that though and I was actually more struck by how skinny the rest of my body is. Although I think I've just about gained back all the 10-12 pounds I lost because of "morning" sickness (that's sarcasm people...), I haven't gained it in the parts of my body that I lost it. I also noticed my man hands...okay, I've definitely noticed them before this picture. I hate that pregnancy makes my veins soooo big and manly. Yuck!

Some other tidbits about my pregnancy right now:

• The cravings have started! I crave the same two things I did with Isabelle: ice and radishes. This time around though, I cannot get enough of what I call Cheesy Beefy Rice. Seriously, my husband and Isabelle are amazing for being willing to eat it so much. I, or Curt, make this at least twice a week for dinner. Plus Curt has finally figured out that he better not touch the leftovers! :)
• I'm doing sooo much better than I was six weeks ago...or even four weeks ago. I haven't thrown up in two weeks now and I couldn't be happier about that than I am. Plus the awful migraines and headaches I was having from about weeks 13 to 17 or 18 have seemed to subside. I haven't really noticed them other than a few days here and there just having normal headaches. 
• I have a really hard time making it through the day without the belly band supporting my belly. If I walk any significant distance I have to have it on or I end up carrying my belly with my hands/arms. It is very painful. 
• I started feeling Baby A around 16 weeks and Baby B around 17 weeks. Curt is just now starting to be able to feel them both really good...that is if he doesn't calm them down when he touches my belly. This happened with Isabelle too.
• We are not set on first or middle names yet. I only have about three that we like. I'm having a really hard time coming up with anything that I like enough. I don't want to do the rhyming thing though. I do know that. 
• Baby B (the baby on my right) is more active...or at least I feel her more. She's also already up in my right rib. Which is exactly where Isabelle made her home. It's like deja vu and I'm NOT happy about that!
• I itch all over a lot of the time. Especially when I'm trying to fall asleep.
• Speaking of itching...I seem to have developed an allergy to my wedding ring! This is quite devastating really...I can't wear it on my left ring finger for any long period of time (think six hours) without itching really bad. Plus the skin looks all flaky and dragon-ish. It's horrible...and painful...and I really hate not wearing it or wearing it on my right hand. I just love it so much. Still. 
• My upper back hurts really bad most of the time. The hard part is that when my back hurts this bad it radiates into my chest and ribs. It feels almost like a really extremely painful case of heartburn. Not fun. At times it starts to be excruciatingly painful. 
• Speaking of heartburn...this past week hasn't been too bad. Really I just think it has been a good week all together when it comes to how I physically feel.
• Speaking of how I physically feel...emotionally I'm a total wreck. I cry at everything...even Isabelle's cute smiles and her kisses. I wasn't really emotional with Isabelle at all and this time around I'm horribly emotional. It makes actual problems even more emotional and way harder to deal with. Ugh. 
• I am SOOOOO claustrophobic. Bad. Bad bad. Really bad. 
• I'm scared. Really scared. I know how miserable and uncomfortable and swollen and huge I got with Isabelle. I remember those last few weeks well. However this time around I have knowledge of what is to come, but this time there are two babies in me. I can't even begin to tell you how scared I am of carrying these little girls in me...how miserable and uncomfortable and swollen and huge I will get. Plus add the claustrophobic side to it...I'm really really not looking forward to the last 6 weeks...or what I call the unbearable part. 
• Of course there are other things...there is nothing pretty about pregnancy people! There's the lack of energy, the forgetfulness, the stupid-ness, the not being able to breathe, the pulling of my muscles in my belly all the time cause they're already so stretched out, etc. However, this is pretty long and I doubt anyone is reading by this point anyways, so I'll stop. Besides, I want some ice... :)