Doctor Visit

Today I had an appointment with my doctor, Dr. Garnier. Since I am 24 weeks, they wanted to go ahead and take my blood and do the gestational diabetes test. For those who don't know how they test it, you have to drink this yummy orange drink. Then after an hour or so, they take your blood. We should get the results back by the end of the week. If I don't hear from them - no news is good news. But, if the results come back high, then I will have to take another test - but this one would be a three hour test. So please pray for some good results! :)

While at the appointment we also got to listen to some sweet heartbeats. They were 136 and 140. We are scheduled to come back in two weeks for an ultrasound to check on their growth. And get some more pictures!! We also learned that the baby A (Madilyn) is head down, and Baby B (Carter) is transverse - or sideways. Of course, that can change as the days and weeks go by, but it's funny to think that when I feel a kick, I have a better idea of knowing WHO exactly it was!

After the appointment, we also went to finish registering at the hospital. I pre-registered us online but there were some forms you had fill out in person. If things had not felt real for us, I would say that going to the hospital made it feel like Madilyn and Carter would be here soon!

Quick side note -- I mentioned before that Rob has been able to feel the babies move which has been really exciting. Last night, we were watching tv, and I felt some pretty serious kicks. So, I pulled my shirt up to look at my belly, and as I did, Rob looked from where he was standing. He wasn't too far away, but not close either. As soon as he looked up and at my belly, we both saw my belly move because the kick was so hard! I must say, it was a pretty cool feeling! I'm just waiting until I can see a foot or elbow - which isn't too terribly far away!

Nursery!

Well, our wonderful nursery is not quite complete, but it is looking REALLY great!! I can't say enough about how wonderful my in-laws are. I told them my vision, and were able to create it and make it even better than I could have imagined! So a BIG thank you to Sam, Peggy, Randy, and Ruth! This project could NOT have been done without you! :)

Anyways -- here are some pictures of the process as well as what the nursery looks like so far! Enjoy! (I know I am LOVING it!!)

Rob and his dad Sam taping the walls to make lines 

(after painting the base coat that morning..) 

Cute letters we found at Hobby Lobby

Nan (aka Ruth) cutting circles so we could get a better 

idea of what it would look like on the walls 

Hand painting the circles - we had 4 different colors! 

Uncle Randy painting in between the lines! :) 

This is the changing table put together --

although we'll  still need some things put on it! 

 And -- here is Ms. Madilyn's side of the room!

And here is Mr. Carter's side of the room! 

Carter's crib with his cute bedding! 

Madilyn's crib and her bedding!

More pictures to come, of course, as we add more details to the nursery. It's such a great feeling though to have the bigger things taken care of! Now onto the rest of the details.. :)

The Nursery -- Before

Nothing much too exciting, but I wanted to give you all a look at what the guest room looked like before we started painting it and changing it into a nursery! As of right now, the first coat of paint is going up (thanks to the guys!) and the girls are planning out some of the details of the room. But anyways, here is the room before. Hopefully there will be a picture or two tomorrow that shows a very different room! :)

SO thankful for these three wonderful guys! (Rob, his Dad - Sam, and his Uncle - Randy)

Appointment with the Specialist

Today, Rob and I went to see my specialist. We had to make a second appointment because last time little Carter was right under my belly button, and they couldn't check all of his anatomy. So we were really hoping both babies cooperated today - and they did! The ultrasound tech went ahead and got updated measurements of both babies, and he said they were right on track growth wise. We listened to their heart beats, and once again he said they were right where they needed to be. One of my favorite things about getting ultrasounds (besides seeing the babies move around!) is that we get to go home with some great pictures from the day. Today, we got quite a few pictures - and most of them were in 3D - so you can actually make out faces and arms and what not. But, these little boogers were in no mood to have their pictures taken and kept putting their hands over their faces. Madilyn cracks me up in some of these pictures - she looks upset! And Carter's umbilical cord was right near his face so it looks like he has a mustache like his Daddy. Anyways -- at the end of the ultrasound, the tech did tell us that the babies weigh 1lb 5oz and 1lb 6oz. Usually about this time, they're only supposed to weigh about 1lb - but the doctor said that it's great they're measuring a little bigger since they are twins. AND, it's even better that they are only an ounce apart - and there's not one baby that is getting all of the nutrients.

Here are a few of the pictures from today! Enjoy! :)

Here we have Ms. Madilyn being shy and not wanting her picture taken..

Here's Madilyn again - looking like she's mad at someone! :) Love it!! I also love how you can see her little nose and face so clearly! That's our baby girl!!

 This is Carter - although it's a little more difficult to make out his face compared to Madilyn. This is in part because his umbilical cord was right around his face. But, if you look closely, you can see his arm up on the left, and make out his nose and mouth..

Here's another one of Carter - this is the 2D. As the ultrasound tech said - it kind of looks like he's blowing bubbles - but that's just how the umbilical cord looks. (While the tech was getting pictures/measurements, he said that Carter yawned too! So cute!!)

Photos Galore!

I have had several people ask me to post pictures of some of the things Rob and I have for the babies and the nursery already. The items we have purchased so far have been made thanks to Rob's Grandpa as well as my Great Aunt Jo -- so thank you to you two!! Also, my wonderful in-laws (mother, father, aunt, and uncle) are coming in this upcoming weekend to help us get the nursery painted and hopefully put together a few of the big items! I will take pictures this week of what it looked like before we painted (which will be pretty boring!) but then I'm sure it will look phenomenal once it's painted! :) Also, I've had a request or two to see my "bump" - and I am including it with a before picture so you can actually see the progress. I know it's only going to keep growing - especially with two babies in there! Anyways, enough rambling! Here are some pictures!

Madilyn & Carter's Bedding - The browns in it match perfectly! We're going to be doing a theme of shapes, numbers, and ABC's.. Maybe some nursery rhymes..

Close up of Madilyn's Bedding

Close up of Carter's Bedding

Carter's car seat

Madilyn's car seat

Something for Mommy :) A glider with ottoman which I'm sure will come in handy!

This is what our double stroller looks like - and it can use the car seats so it's pretty functional!

These are some of the colors we are going to be using to paint the nursery. The main color on the walls is going to be the creamy color on the left. We'll be using the dark brown to add some lines to the room. And the other colors will be highlighted throughout the room. I have a picture of what I'd like the room to end up looking like, but this will have to do for now because I don't want to ruin the surprise! :)

And finally -- what some of you have been waiting for.. The Bump! The picture on the left was taken at 8 weeks - once we had the confirmation from the doctor that we were expecting - and expecting TWINS! And, the picture on the right is me at 22 weeks - which puts me right around 5 months. Crazy to think how quickly time will fly before Carter and Madilyn are here!!

And finally, to end with one more "bump" picture - with my other baby, Wooter! :)

Baby Bump!

Baby bump. Yes, I am happy to say that I do have a baby bump which in my opinion is pretty obvious and out there.. :) And I know, it's only going to get even more obvious, and more out there!! But, I wanted to share a little more quick and exciting news!!

On Wednesday evening as Rob and I were in bed reading, I kept feeling the babies moving around a lot. And, it seemed like they weren't just moving - but someone had to have been kicking. So, I told Rob to roll over, and give me his hand because I felt almost certain he would be able to feel these little bumps I have been feeling because they felt much stronger than they have in the past. So, he waited with his hand on my belly for about a minute or so, and then all of the sudden he said, "OH!! I felt that!!" Rob felt them again last night as well - and even more that just one bump - they were pretty active!

What a wondering feeling to be able to finally share with him! I have been able to feel the babies move for a few weeks, and it was a wonderful feeling to let him feel his babies moving around too! :) Maybe soon -- if Rob convinces me -- we'll put up a pic of two of what I'm looking like these days... So keep your eyes open!

In other quick news, next weekend, we are going to have some wonderful helpers (aka my wonderful Mother, Father, Aunt, and Uncle-in laws) come in to help us paint the nursery!! We have a pretty good idea of what we want color/design wise, and have some of the cute furniture and bedding things. Later this weekend/week, I will get some pictures on here showing some of the things that will be going in the nursery as well as the before pictures of what it looks like.

Have a great weekend!!

Hello Blog Readers!

Rob and I are happy to announce the names of our sweet little baby boy and girl!! It took a little while to get them just right, but after much consideration - as well as talking about spelling - we have made our final decisions!!

*****Drum roll, please!!*****

Our little boy will be named: Carter William Biddle

and our little girl will be: Madilyn Annette Biddle

Of course, there is a little bit of WHY we picked the names we did - and here's why:

For Carter, we just like the name from the beginning. William is Rob's middle name, his dad's first name.. It goes back very far in his family. Also, it is the name of my uncle whom I am close with, so it works well for both sides of our family really well.

As for Madilyn, it was also a name we liked from the beginning. I believe Rob suggested it first, and as it turns out, it was also my mom's confirmation name for church as well my great grandmother's name. The Annette part works for both of our families as well. Rob's mom, aunt, and several others have the middle name of Ann. On my side, I Anne is also a name that has been used before. And, we added the "ette" part because of my Aunt Colette - whom I am also really close to.

So -- those are names! As well as the meanings! :) Rob and I are so happy to have our names picked, and are so excited to meet them in a few months!!

Updates

Hello friends and family!

Well, I feel like it's been forever since my last post, and a lot has happened. Rob and I celebrated Christmas in Lubbock this year with my family. Getting there was almost impossible - but we did make it. We enjoyed our visit and getting to see so much family. We came back to celebrate more with Rob's family and then with a few more of my relatives. Busy, busy. Our New Year's celebration was very much low key - I think Rob and I were in bed by around 10!

We did get a few gifts for the babies for the holidays. We got some really cute clothes for both of them as well as some monetary gifts. With the money from the holidays, we were able to get some of the big necessities taken care of. We already had the cribs which we bought on Black Friday, but we were able to buy car seats, bedding sets for the cribs, and a rocking chair. We are looking at buying a stroller sometime this week too. These babies are going to be so taken care of!! :)

This past Tuesday, we went in for a quick visit to my doctor. They just wanted to check on heartbeats, and check in on how things are going at 20 weeks. We are scheduled to go back to the specialist in two weeks to finish up our anatomy ultrasound, and hopefully the babies will cooperate so they are able to get what they need. After that appointment, I'll be going back to my regular doctor at the end of the month.

And finally -- Rob and I are pretty close to finalizing names for our sweet boy and girl. Once we are sure on them, we'll be sure to make it known to all those reading the blog! :) Thanks for reading!!