Need Some Help

We're trying to narrow down names. I really want to get this done!!! We've definitely got Kaitlyn. It's hanging over one of the cribs, so that's a done deal. Mike really, really likes the name Nichole. I'm OK with it if that's what we end up picking, but just want to make sure we've considered all other options. Another name we both like is Ashlyn. However, I was curious if that's too rhyme-ish with Kaitlyn. They are twins after all, but we've read books etc that stress the importance of naming them individually so that they feel like their own person instead of 1/2 of a whole.

So, I'm asking you all...what do you think? And if you prefer Nichole, do you like the spelling with or without the "h?"

How do you comment...at the end of each post, there's something in the lower right corner that says "X comments." If you move your cursor over that, you can click on it. Then it gives you a pop up window where you can leave your comment. Thanks in advance for your help!

On another note, the bumpers are now in the cribs. I'll have to post pictures later. I haven't even seen them yet, but Mike says they're cute.

Regular Doctor Update

He said as long as the ultrasound doctors were still happy with both the babies weight gains and with no signs of preterm labor for me, that we'll continue to chug along as usual. Yeah.

They gave me the dreaded sugar water to drink before my next doctor appt in 2 weeks for the glucose screen.

I asked about C sections versus natural birth and what circumstances (besides a baby being breech) would warrant a C section. He said there are all kinds of things. Oddly, I think I have a preference toward a C section, and he said that would be one of the reasons. I think it's the planner/organizer in me that wants a C section. With Mike's parents being so far away, if I had a planned C section, it would be easier to coordinate so that they could be there. Who knows though. Be careful what you wish for...isn't that what they always say. I guess my true wish is just that they make it to at least 35 or 36 weeks to increase their odds of coming home and being healthy.

Baby Kicks

Everyone has been asking me for weeks if I feel them move, and I've always responded that I definitely feel something but I've been waiting for something more definitive. Well, if I had tried this sooner, I might have figured it out sooner, but....this weekend, I actually started putting my hands on my belly to see if I could feel anything externally as well as internally. Sure can. So, Mike got to feel them move around this weekend. Some movements are stronger than others. It's really neat. Can't tell which movements are Baby A and which are Baby B though. I kind of figure if there's something really strong on one side of my stomach and not the other that I can assume which baby it is, but a lot of the movements seem to feel like they're in the middle.

Speaking of Baby A and Baby B, at least one of them has a definite first name. We bought letters this weekend, painted them and hung them above one crib. If you've been reading and paying attention, I'm sure you know the name, but I'll wait until we get both names to post it up. And when I do, I'll put a picture so you can see their names above their cribs.

Ultrasound Update

Had an appt yesterday afternoon. Still two girls. I've heard of SO many stories lately where a woman has given birth to a baby of an unexpected sex, so one advantage of having twins is that I get multiple ultrasound appointments. It's nice to know that they're both still girls. I'm quite sure that as many times as they've looked at my babies that there's no mistake. :-)

Also, Baby B is no longer breech. Both babies have their heads down and their feet up by my belly button. The doctor said that Baby B kind of has Baby A pinned into a position, so it's doubtful that Baby A will flip during the remainder of the term, but he said that Baby B could continue to flip for a while until they become bigger and run out of room. Hey, maybe Baby B flipped this past appointment so that they could "look" at each other. Their eyes are still shut, but the doctor said that within the next three days he would expect their eyes to open, so that's kind of cool that they're in positions where they can look and smile at each other.

What else did I learn? Oh, they're both 1lb 6oz. That's almost 3lbs of baby in me!!! These websites I follow lead me to believe that they'd be barely over one pound at this time, but they've exceeded that. Am I eating too much? Who knows? The nurse said that women give birth to 6, 7, 8 and 9 pound babies and these websites have to pick some average weight (say 7lbs) to base their estimates off of which is why they can quite often be wrong...to a degree.

Last update...no signs of preterm labor. My body is still doing well.

Nailed It

Well, bail was $700 and the girl says that they don't have enough money to buy the car now. They said they'll keep us in mind though, as she'd still really like the car. Oh well...fat chance. Maybe these things happen for a reason. I just think it's the Barbree's though. Anyone remember the townhouse??? Deja vu. We just can't sell anything on the first try. I have to say though, I'm getting really tired of getting my hopes up and counting on something only to have it fall through.

What are the odds?

As you know, we've been trying to sell the Prelude. We had a call the other day from a couple who live in Winder (that's almost to Athens). They are new to Georgia and had no idea how far they lived from Mableton. Anyway, Mike agreed to meet them around 8pm last night in Gwinett to show them the car. When he left, he said that they were going to think about it on the way home and call us. About 10pm the phone rang...they want the car! Woo Hoo, right? They wanted to meet this morning back in Gwinett and exchange money for the car. Woo Hoo again, right?

Well, Mike just called me. The girl called him while he was on his way to make the exchange. Her boyfriend/fiance (whoever) just got pulled over on the way down from Winder and is on his way to jail. Apparently he had other driving infractions that hadn't been taken care of, so that's why he's going to jail. WHAT ARE THE ODDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'm SO frustrated. The girl says she now wants to meet up tonight to buy the car instead, so Mike turned around. However, I'm afraid that part of the car money is about to be spent on bail and now they'll be short what they owe us and the whole thing just fell apart. And I say that because they told us last night while negotiating the price that they had to borrow the last $800 from parents to even buy the car as it was. So, it's not like these folks have a few extra hundred dollars that they can scrape up for bail money. They're going to have to use the car money and we already caved a tiny bit more than we really wanted to on price to make this deal work. We can't cave any further. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, the Prelude may live to see another day.

A Lot to be Thankful For

I have some great friends and family. I had a baby lunch and a baby shower this weekend, and the generosity was overwhelming. I looked at everything after I was done opening gifts and just began to wonder where all of this stuff would fit in my house!!! Everyone was too kind, and Mike and I couldn't appreciate it more.

The twins got plenty of cute clothes (some matching and some not which was great). They have lots of rattles and other toys to play with now too. They got a few books for mommy and daddy to read, and they have bottles and nipples so they can eat. Who could ask for anything else? Honestly, if they came home tomorrow (much, much too soon...dont' wish for that), I think we'd be ready. They have a car seat to get home (and at least one car that those car seats will fit in which is extremely important), a crib to sleep in, diapers to do whatever in, wipes to clean them up, and bottles to feed with. .

I'm certainly going to write thank you notes to everyone, but in the meantime, just know that we're extremely thankful for everything.

More Pictures

I learend how to add pictures (thanks Elizabeth) just in time!!! As I mentioned in the last post, we got our curtains and dust ruffles last night. Still no bumpers or shower curtain to show you all, but this is a darn good start. And everything is SO cute!!! Here goes...

Thank you Mary and Ceylese for such wonderful curtains! Aren't they great? And thank you Mike for the bead board, the chair rail and the crown molding...all of which weren't there about three months ago.

Here's a close up of the window treatments. You can't get a good look at them in the other pictures. Not so much in this picture either, but I guess it's a little better.

Are you ready for it??? Make sure you're ready before scrolling to the next picture. Here it is....TWO CRIBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And I told you a few posts back that I had been shopping. Well, I wasn't kidding. Here's the girls' closet thus far. Now, keep in mind that I'm having two, so divide the clothes in half before judging. It's really not that much when you do that. And a LOT of this stuff is 6 months plus, so it will just sit there for a while (I've bought things as I've found good deals). There really isn't a ton of preemie, newborn and 0-3 stuff in there.

Picture Experiment

I'm going to try to add a picture to the blog. Never done this before, so we'll see. It's not an exciting picture of the nursery or anything. I'll have to take those and download them to my computer before I can get those on the blog. Right now, I have to work with the few pictures that I have on my work hard drive. The only cute one I have is of the day my niece, Mackenzie, was born. So, here's me, my husband Mike and Mackenzie at Northside Hospital on July 13th, 2005!

On another note, my brother's mother-in-law came and installed our nursery curtains last night and also brought the dust ruffles. They look SO cute. We won't have the bumpers done before the shower on Sunday to show off, but it's good enough with just the curtains and dust ruffles that people can get the idea. It's really turning out great. We're so happy with it. And Mike is finishing the painting in the upstairs hall bath which will have to serve as both the babies bath and the guest bath. We've got a shower curtain on the way too, but it also won't be here by Sunday. Nonetheless, the color is MUCH better than the dumb plum/purple color we tried before.

Random Thoughts / Update

I had another doctor appt today. It went well. They still just want to keep seeing me 2x per month. I have the ultrasound doctor next week. Let's hope he still says that once per month is OK. I just know at some point that I'm going to end up with 4 or 5 appts per month between these two doctors, but let's hope not yet. And still no restrictions for work, etc. They tell me that those are coming, but again, I'm glad that it's not yet.

On another note, I have two baby related events this weekend. I'm so excited!!! First, I'm getting together for lunch with old co-workers who I only get to see about once per month now. They say it's a lunch for the twins, but I'm just glad to see all of them again. So, it should be fun getting together with them. Then, on Sunday, my sister-in-law and Maid of Honor are throwing me a shower. Both should be exciting. And my mother-in-law is coming into town for the Sunday shower (as is my mom, but she lives a lot closer...only 2 hours). Should be a great weekend. And if the weather holds up, it will be just perfect. It's absolutely fantastic outside today. 80 degrees!!! WOO HOO!!!

I'm going to have to ask my friend Elizabeth how to put pictures into a post. Maybe I can figure out how to get a few pictures of the nursery on here. Or their closet...lots to see there!!!

Nursery and Other News

The nursery is in full swing and will probaby be done by next week...with the exception of a few finishing touches like things on the walls. We've got my sister-in-law and her mother making us our bumper, bed skirts, curtains, and a shower curtian for the bathroom. They're working hard to finish as much as they can by next Sunday since I have my first shower. It may not be 100% done, but people will get the idea. The shower location is just down the street from our house, so I plan to invite anyone willing back to our place after the shower to see the nursery if they want. Exciting!!! It's gonna be cute.

On another note, we're still trying to sell Mike's Honda Prelude. (Call us if you know anyone who's looking.) Those pesky two door cars just won't work with twins. :-) We're not desperate yet, so we've still just got it listed on ajccars.com and aren't prepared to cave too much on the price. It's a good car anyway. Now, if it's May and we're still sitting here with a two door car, we may cave on price or just go for the straight rip off and trade it in. AH!

We have already gone car shopping though so we have an idea of what we want if/when we sell the Prelude. We actually looked at SUVs and Mini Vans! Neither of us are crazy about a mini van, but Mike thinks we should at least be realistic and consider them. I'm a bit relieved that we found plenty of SUVs that will be just as practical. I think our top picks are the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander. All in all, it was a funny experience...we actually toted our double stroller and a car seat around CarMax to see which cars were best equipped to fit and carry all of this nonsense.

So, I Caved

Mike and I went through such efforts to fix our house up for about a year after we bought it that when we found out we were having a baby (or two) that I really didn't have the energy to repaint the nursery. It was a khaki color, and I figured I'd do a teddy bear theme or something. Well, our furniture came in last week and we were finally able to pick it up this weekend. It's a maple color, and it just looked washed out against the walls (even though from the chair rail down is white bead board). Then, the next thing was that I went fabric shopping with my mom and aunt this weekend and found several cute fabrics (for curtains, dust ruffle, bumper, etc.), but none of them looked good with khaki. So, I finally caved this weekend and agreed that we should paint the nursery. Others have been trying to convince me that we should paint for a while, so I'm sure they're thrilled.

We painted it a cross between a moss green and a lime green. It's going to be cute, and it already makes the furniture pop a bit more. Big improvement!!! And the fabrics will look good with that color. So, it's a win/win. It only took a few hours to paint too. (We're adding crown molding at the top and another 1 inch strip of chair rail, so we didn't have to trim anything but doors and windows.) Mike had to do a lot of it because the fumes got worse as we continued, but it's already done and looks good!

Oh, and now that I've found these cute fabrics, we're going to paint the upstairs hall bath so I can incorporate a shower curtain. We haven't liked the color since we painted it initially. It turned out way too purple, so this was the kick that we needed to finally change this room.

Two Posts In One Day!!!

Couldn't help myself...

I was just so excited that my husband is at Babies R Us right now picking up our new furniture that I had to share. We ordered a combo (I think that's a fancy word for a changing table with drawers), a 5 drawer dresser and ...wait for it...TWO cribs. Yeah. Can't wait to get home and see it all. Of course the cribs will have to be put together and we have to get the room emptied out, but we're on our way.

What's New?

Not much. Don't have a lot to say right now. The twins turn 21 weeks tomorrow. We're working on names. Lately, a lot of people have just said in passing, "Do you have names yet?" So, I guess it's about that time. I know a few people (who know who you are) that can't beleive we don't have names yet, but I don't think it's that bad. That being said though, it is time to start talking seriously about names. It's going to be so hard though to come up with two. I'll go ahead and let you all in on the few names we've discussed so far. We borrowed a baby name book and are only through the M's, so we've got more to read. But we've also gone through high school year books just to get a random sampling of names. Here's what we've come up with in no particular order. Some are more favorite than others, but I welcome anyone's opinions.

• Ashland (I think we're already "over" this name)
• Sarah
• Morgan
• Madison (there's already one of these in the non immediate family...don't know if there should be two, but it's a great name)
• Lauren
• Brianna (I love the name Bree, and that dream died when I married Mr. Barbree, but Mike thought of this spin on the name. I still think it's too much, but he won't back down yet.)
• Brooke
• Paige
• Kaitlyn

I'm sure I've forgotten a few since I don't have our list in front of me, but this is a start.