24.5 weeks

the girls are doing great! I had a fun ultrasound today because our sonographer decided to grab the 3D ultrasound wand to get some images of our girls (she said they were in perfect position for it). I have never had a 3D u/s before and it was fun to see. the pictures are not perfect, but it is exciting to get an idea of what they might look like.  when the girls were smaller they would flip around and it was hard for me to figure out what baby or parts were kicking me where. currently, they are more settled in positions and today I was really able to figure out which baby is where (with the tech’s help). both of their heads are on my right side next to each other (how sweet!) with both of their feet by my belly button, which explains why my right ribs hurt when I sit in the car or chair because baby b sticks her butt into them and why I suddenly have to go to the bathroom because baby a is pushing her back into my bladder. in the evening when they are really active my belly will start dancing with their movements and kicks!

they are both growing perfectly and exactly the same. they weigh about 1.5 pounds each. what a miracle!

baby a’s profile:

baby b’s profile:

here are the 3D images. the sonographer didn’t mark who was baby a or b…good thing they are identical.

this was one of the girls yawning. kind of weird looking, but fun to see expressions that little newborns make.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning, bill, charlie and I got up early and opened our gifts together.

we started with stockings…

bill loving his new coaches bibs.

bill gave me a lululemon hoodie that I love. sadly, I will probably only fit in it for another few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

charlie was into his strider bike, but only wanted to sit on it not unwrap it.  we have been preparing him to get this bike by having him watch kids riding their strider bikes on youtube. he knew exactly what to do.

then came the gift we were not really planning on giving him. we are going to denver to ski in january and we were trying to figure out how we were going to find/rent/borrow 67 cm skis (charlie’s size, which are the smallest size skis they make). bill found a super good deal online for boots, bindings, skis, helmet and goggles. they arrived before christmas so they went under the tree (I have now realized that parents give their kids (young kids that is) gifts for christmas that they were going to buy anyway).

again, he knew what to do. bill has also been having him watch kids skiing on youtube too.

all ready to go!

go charlie go!

then it was on to breakfast! mmmm…my mom’s berry good french toast.

to burn off some energy we all went out sledding (well, bill went to the hospital to do his rounds).

I love this shot of tom and charlie. charlie is wearing tom’s crocheted hat. it was so funny when charlie was coming down the hill with it on.

in the afternoon, bill’s family came down to celebrate and eat dinner with us.

enjoying some apps.

laughing it up.

watching the video of charlie trying on the skis and “skiing” in the house.

when charlie got up from his nap he was delighted to hear his pappy’s voice. he came running out and snuggled right up to him.

uncle pete gave charlie a remote control jeep. good thing pete knew what he was doing. he had it charged and ready to go. apparently he made sure it was running perfectly. charlie couldn’t get his hands on the jeep fast enough.

tom and laura gave charlie and the future grandchildren patagonia jackets for next winter. we got the most adorable pink and purple jackets for the girls, and pete and margit who are expecting their first in july got a blue down jacket (not sure if they will welcome a boy or girl yet!). notice how charlie will not let go of the jeep.

enjoying a delicious dinner. it was so fun having both of our families together again.

riding his bike with his ski helmet. he just cruises around the house.

Christmas Eve

what a wonderful Christmas we had this year! we were in rochester this year because bill was on call. thankfully, our families were willing to travel to rochester to help us celebrate Christ's birth. my parents and siblings came for the weekend and bill's family joined us on christmas day.

after bill was done rounding on christmas eve we opened gifts with my family. when we first brought out all of the gifts charlie was convinced they were for him. after a few minutes of reminding him that he could not open all of these gifts he was so good. he actually enjoyed handing people the gifts more than opening them.

during the day my siblings (dan, tom and suzanne) just rotated playing games on the ipad. it drove me insane, but they enjoyed it. my mom and I prepped food for the various meals. my dad graciously completed all of my tasks I had planned for him…thanks dad!

charlie and suz enjoying a post nap snack.

fam hang out time. suz and dan thinking they are cool as “the core” while my dad was being an electron.

before we opened gifts, we read parts of the Christmas story from Luke 1 & 2 and reenacted out the story for charlie with his little people nativity set. we have done this a few times this christmas season and he loves it. the only problem is when we sing “away in the manger” afterwards I think he thinks he is the reason for the season because everyone is looking at him and singing. hopefully we can change that thought in the coming years.

ornament time….some how danny ended up with 3 doctors ornaments because my mom couldn’t decide.

I got a willow tree mother and child ornament that is precious. we gave charlie a tractor ornament and we couldn’t even get a picture of him with it because he was already driving it on the ground and broke a few of the pieces off. (note to self: if you give a toddler an ornament that looks like a toy without a swap out toy ready be prepared for it to break or for a tantrum to be thrown).

lily dressed up with a bow.

bill and tommy together.

the ladies together. me, my mom and suzanne.

my dad with his new tool.

then the fun really started. tommy gave charlie a new hoodie to mob in (tom and charlie have a special relationship that is really sweet. they play together and charlie will yell out “tommm” really loud when he is around so they can play trains or hang). charlie was so proud of his new hoodie and was parading around. he then started getting up on this box and jumping off (whatever a toddler can do – so basically walking off the box). he loved the attention and we were all dying laughing. he also started doing this weird slow motion clap at the end that bill described as a stevie wonder move. too funny.

mid jump.

here is a video to show the fun he had.

before we went to bed, bill and I realized we were now the parents who had to put out gifts and get things ready for Christmas morning.

bill wrapped charlie’s big gift perfectly. I was exhausted and was asleep on the couch.

the tree ready for the morning….

break time

charlie and I took a short trip to green bay to see some family before spending Christmas in rochester. it was great being able to relax at home.

nana was determined to get out and sled with charlie. except the safest area to sled was basically flat so it didn’t last too long.

while outside charlie found pop’s skid steer. he wanted to play on it so badly. luckily it snowed during the week so he was able to ride on it with pops.

rolling out his play dough.

this kid is a pro at drinking hot chocolate.

charlie still needs some work helping to decorate the cookies instead of just eating the sprinkles.

charlie opened an early christmas gift from nana and pops.

we mainly opened the gift so charlie and uncle tom could play together.

charlie loved watching pops light the fire in the morning with the torch.

here are charlie and pops clearing the driveway in the skid steer. he loved it and when my dad tried to stop he kept pulling the bar down and saying “more”.

my mom had to work one morning so my dad and I took charlie to visit “the plant” (bay towel – a family business my dad used to help run). we both thought he would love the machines and noises and boy were we right. he was so stunned by all the action and noises he barely made any facial expressions. he just soaked it all in.

watching the machines iron the table linens.

his first smile.

I took a nap every day on the couch in front of the fire every afternoon. charlie was so sweet and would come and give me a “hug” (he always says hug when he gives hugs).

then he said something that cracked me up.

giving me an “eye” (he also says eye every time he wants an eye kiss) kiss.

one evening charlie found the ear protection that he wore when he was on the skid steer and had a blast playing with it. my mom and I were dying laughing watching him experiment with them.

he couldn’t quite figure out how he couldn’t hear himself or us very well.