A few Holiday snapshots

Top: Robert on Christmas Eve
Look what Santa brought! A new bike and Tickle Me Elmo! Both were a big hit!

Looking good...

Today was our 28 week visit at the perinatal unit. The doctor said everything is looking really good. Both babies are weighing 2 lbs 10 oz, and measuring perfectly. They are back to their original presentations - laying one on top of the other, with both of their heads on my right. They still have plenty of time to move and get into a 'head down' position for delivery. The doctor also said I still have lots of room inside for them to grow - yikes! I feel like I am bigger than ever and all stretched out! In the evenings, my back is so sore, and my belly hurts from the skin stretching. Its not fun at all.
Tomorrow, I see my regular OB for a routine visit and then I have to have some bloodwork done (1 hour glucose test, to test for gestational diabetes) and I think they will start seeing me every 2 weeks from now on.

We had a very nice Christmas. We had Chirstmas Eve dinner at our house with Bobby's mom, sister and uncle, and opened a few gifts. Robert was up at about 7:30am, and was so excited to see what Santa brought. He didn't really 'get it' yet this year, but once we got the wrapping paper started on the gifts, he knew there was fun to be had, and oh boy did he get spoiled!
We visited with my parents in the afternoon - the first time in 27 years that I wasn't 'home' on Christmas morning.
Bobby is off this week, and the goal is to make some headway on the nursery. I got some paint samples, and once the paint is up, it will all come together, I'm sure.
New belly shot to come... maybe tomorrow.

...Another week...Another "belly-shot"

More belly shots

Top: LAST week... 24 wks +2 days Bottom: THIS week 25 wks +2 day
I republished last week's pic for comparison. Notice how I wore the same outfit? Thats because black is slimming. (hey, I need all the help I can get!)
Holy cow... I AM a cow! :)

Feeling sad for Robert

Lately, I have had this overwhelming feeling of sadness. Robert is becoming such a big boy, but he is still my baby - my first son, and the love of my life. The sun rises and sets on him. I love him to death and would do anything for him.

Why, then, do I feel guilty by blessing him with siblings? I have been trying to be positive... reminding myself that he is so young that he'll never remember these days of being an only child, and the spolied-ness that comes with it. And that he is going to have a a brother AND a sister, and that 2 years from now they are going to all be best friends (I can't wait for that part). I constantly ask myself, "Is it normal for me to feel this way?"

Maybe I am just sad to be saying good-bye to this current life, and starting a new one. I am so afraid that I will somehow neglect Robert once the twins arrive. And I know I won't, but I'm still afriad I will! It will be hard to balance all three of them. I can't even imagine how I am going to be able to share my love for each one of them individually.

I hope and pray for the day that Robert thanks me for giving him siblings. But for right now, I am just enjoying every special moment of "Robert time" I can get.

Update

So much is going on...
I have given my notice at work. I was hoping to make it to the end of the year, but my body is telling me otherwise. I will be finished on December 15th, and i am only working 2 days/week for 3 hour shifts until then.I am HUGE - I've gained 30 lbs! But its all (mostly) in my belly, and thats a good thing! This extra weight is a real drag, and it's making it more difficult to handle Robert. Getting out of the house is a real challenge. Getting Robert in and out of the car is becoming harder, so certain errands just can't be done. Bobby has been awesome about helping out. He does errands when I need him to, and sometimes he even takes Robert with him - Bonus for mom! Some nights after Bobby gets home from work, I am able to run out for a bit, but by that time of day my back is so sore and I am so tired that its not even worth it! Kudos to my wonderful husband!

As of Wednesday, the babies were each weighing in at 1.5 lbs. HIS heartbeat was 141 and HERS was 147. Everything looks great. The babies are very active and my cervix is still nice and long. We have been going to the hospital every other week for ultrasounds and cervix checks. The docs in the perinatal unit are sooo great. I feel like I am being taken great care of. We are still looking at a delivery date of Feb 28th-March 2. The docs say they won't let me go past 37 weeks, which is Feb 28th. But that can change at anytime. Right now I am just glad I still have no restrictions (besides the ones I put on myself-lol). I try to rest when Robert naps, and just take it easy in general. Most days I feel as if I have been riding horseback all day. My legs hurt, my back is sore and I am not sleeping well - life is great!

Robert was at the pediatrician a few weeks ago. He would not sit still long enough to be weighed and measured. He was having some insecurity issues, which Dr. Novak assured us was very normal for the 18 month visit. He promised that we will see a change between now and his 2 year visit. We weighed and measured Robert on our own at home. He is weighing just over 30 lbs and is about 34 inches tall. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics his weight is in the 97th percentile and his height is in the 90th. We have a big boy on our hands!Robert is talking more, too. He says hello, hi, bye, football, dada, uh oh, and car among other things. He fully understands everything we say to him, and he is beginning to understand that there are babies inside mommy's belly. He will lift my shirt, and pat my belly and sometimes give it a kiss.It is very important to us that Robert is very much included when it comes to welcoming the twins. I am so worried that he will feel neglected or slighted and want to make sure that he is showered with attention once they arrive.
We're busy getting the nursey ready. We found and purchased two used cribs on craigslist.com that were previously used by twins and we've selected a very neutral pattern and will be painting after the holidays. Pictures will soon follow.The name choices have been narrowed down to Ava and Alex. We are pretty much set on Ava, but if Alex looks more like a Nicholas we may change our minds.

Life as a Trif couldn't be better. We are so blessed, and I am so grateful.

Family portrait 2006

Robert looking handsome, as usual

(left) 23 weeks +1 day
Thanksgiving Day 11.24.06


(top) 24 weeks + 2 days
12.1.06

Baby B...It's a Girl!!

Baby A...It's a Boy!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2005

touchdown!
Haloween 2006

What a difference a year makes!

Bye Bye Binky

I wanted Robert to give up his binky by the time he was 18 months old. I was really scared and nervous about it since he suddenly seemed so attached to it. I was beginning to realize that it was an 'out of sight, out of mind' situation. He was only getting it to take naps and go to bed at night anyway, and usually I would try to remove it from his crib before he woke up so it just wasn't 'there' for him. Occasionally, he would see it on the counter or on his dresser and he would cry for it. I never gave in, and always redirected him so he would forget about it.
One night last week, I just decided not to give it to him at bed time. I wanted to see how he would react. I was surprised and relieved to know that he was FINE! So, the binky has disappeared, and Robert is becoming more mature each and every day!
Next big step... the potty. But I'm afriad that's gonna be awhile!

We went pumpkin picking last week. Robert had a blast! He is so excited for Halloween. He is going to be a PSU football player. Whenever he hears us say touchdown, he throws his arms up in the air and cheers! Stay tuned for Halloween pics!


ps the BIG ultrasound is November 1st. We will be finding out the sexes of the two Tiny Trifs. So far, I had dreams it was a boy/girl and girl/girl - in that order.

Robert is 18 months old!

Last Thursday, Robert turned 18 months - officially 1 and a half! I regret not making a sign like in months past, but I did manage to snap a few pics, nonetheless....

"The Twins..."

Remember when I posted about NOT calling the babies "The Twins?" Well, we have had some suggestions about what to call them. But I think my favorite is one that I came up with myself. So far everyone seems to like it -

The Triflettes

Let us know what you think!

A Done Deal!

The closing went extremely well.... only took about an hour. We now own 2230 Evening Sun Road! (AND 415 Hickory Drive - oh joy!) Our walk through was extremely easy. We didn't find anything except a few things that needed to be touched up with paint. That was to be expected. The painter will come on Monday to take care of that. Today is moving day! Robert spent the night with Grandmom and she will bring him to the new house tonight. I can't wait to show him his new room and his new playroom!
Ready for my favorite part of yesterday... NOT the King Crab Legs I celebrated with at dinner, and NOT the 5 complete minutes I spent envisioning how my clothes will hang in my new walk in closet... my favorite part was when we got down to the final numbers at the closing... (Bobby and I did ALOT of number crunching before we considered building/purchasing a new home. We needed to make sure that we weren't biting off more than we can chew and that it was an investment we really could afford. We came up with different scenarios- i.e. if the mortgage is X dollars and the the taxes are Y dollars, and we sell our current home for Z dollars, this is how much our mortgage will be. We came up with an ideal number. It was higher than I had liked but certainly not unreasonable - A very comfortable number. The ACTUAL number would remain a mystery until the closing, when everything was in print.) We expected our monthly payments to be higher than our estimation. It was. But only by $4.01! I was so happy about that! AH, its the little things...

Time for me to go... there are so many little things that need to get thrown into boxes before the crew gets here to start the move! Lucky me, I get to go sit at the new house and wait for the refrigerator to be delivered!

Public Service announcement: if ANYONE reading this is ever considering building in the Lehigh Valley, we STRONGLY reccommend TUSKES HOMES. They were honest, thorough, fair and FAST! We are so impressed with the quality and construction of our new house. Hope you can make it by for a visit! :)

elaboration on the last post...

So, as you can plainly see, we're having TWINS! (why is it that whenever I type that word, it has to be in all caps???) We are both shocked and delighted. I have always wanted three children. Bobby has always said he wanted 2, but he was warming up to the idea of three. I got my way... again - And there is nothing Bobby can do about it! Life is good!

On to the questions everyone has been asking... "Do twins run on either side of your families?" Well, the answer is yes. I have twin cousins. However, they are identical. Identical twins are NOT genetic. Our twins, it appears are fraternal (two eggs meet two sperm becoming two sacs with two placentas. Identical twins share a sac and a placenta and are formed from just one egg that splits in two) On the Trif side, we just found out that Bobby's great great aunt had fraternal twins. It's unlikely that Bobby's genetics plays any part in the fact that we have twins, since it appears that it was ME who released two eggs when we conceived -this is called hypo-ovulating.
I, on the other hand, have my own theory... As many of you know, this pregnancy was a surprise. I stopped taking the pill in June. I thought maybe we could start trying for another little Trif in the Fall, and I wanted to give my body time to get back into it's natural cycle. Well, we got pregnant 2 weeks after I stopped the pill. My personal theory is that my body was playing 'catch up' and that is why 2 eggs were dropped.
Regardless, we are overwhelmed, surprised, anxious, and excited all at the same time.
We need to pick 4 names, 4 godparents, get another crib, another carseat, a double stroller, and probably a new car. (Ugh, the thoughts of driving a mini-van...) And as for the new house, well we managed to fill up all 4 bedrooms, and we haven't even moved in yet! Thank god the house thing was taken care of of I'd be freaking out even more!
We are almost positive we will be finding out the sexes of the two tiny Trifs. We've been surprised enough this time around! We will find out in November.

And help me out on this one if you will ... Please do NOT call them "The Twins!" We have to think of something better than that!

..and then THEY found 2!!

Yep...

Our (my) Kitchen

Minus some cabinet doors and appliances... The kitchen is coming along. Under the cardboard on the floor is hardood, and and island will be installed in the middle.
The house is completely painted inside, and flooring has been laid in the bathrooms as well. The banister on the main staircase has been installed and stained to match the hardwood. We're waiting on appliances, carpets, and bathroom fixtures... and we're just about finished!



(master bath-yay!)

Robert at the park.... sooo much fun!

Robert

Haven't had one of these for awhile...

Sided and Stoned

We were at the house today... siding and stone work are complete. Inside is taped and spackled, and ready to be painted this week. The banisters, cabinets, and fixtures will be installed soon, as well. Sidewalk is poured and the walkway (leading from front door to garage) will be poured too. Everything is coming together very quickly... it won't be long before we're in!

interior: view to Family Room, take from kitchen

Changes are everywhere!

Sorry folks... no new pics of the house. We went by on Sunday. The interior was completely drywalled and the siding on the exterior was completely up. We'll take some pics next time we go by. We are really starting to count down... it's getting so close!

Meanwhile, we haven't had any bites on our current home. We had an open house on Sunday. We are really trying to get it rented through the winter. That will, at least, defer some of expenses. We are not looking forward to having 2 mortgages. ugh.

I have started a new job. Same company, new location. I LOVE it. So much so that I may consider going back to full time through the winter. I am working with an old co-worker (whom I adore) which makes it fun. I will talk to my supervisor about full time opportunities once we get settled in the new house. I'd like to help out financially as much as possible as long as we have 2 mortgages. ugh again.

In other news.... Robert is going to be a BIG BROTHER! We found out in July that Tiny Trif will be arriving in March - actually the same date that Robert was due.... March 21st. I have been feeling okay. I have a day here or there that I feel absolutely awful, but 80% of the time I am feeling good. Everyone says "New House, New Baby"

So, thats all from us this week. I'll post pics of the house as soon as I can. We are scheduled to close on September 15th! yikes!

Time Lapse...17 Days!!

July 16, 2006













July 20, 2006















July 21, 2006















July 21, 2006















August 2, 2006

Framing Walk-thru

This morning we had our "Framing Walk-thru." We needed to confirm that all electrical outlets and such were properly placed before the drywall goes up. We expect that soon we will be seeing some exterior changes (stone and siding).

We've been framed!

Front of house
View of back of house
Side entry garage! Taken from end of driveway. To the right is the family room and above that is the master bdrm.

These pics were taken on Friday 7-21. I did a drive by on Monday and was pleased to see the roof being built. Hopefully I will make a trip there again this weekend to see what kind of progress has been made. Enjoy!

Basement and Wood Drop

This past week, the foundation and basement were poured and our wood has been delivered (in the building world it is referred to as the 'wood drop') It appears that we are next in line for framing. Based on the looks of the other houses going up, framing takes about a week.

here is a link to some more (better) pics that I didn't even know that Bobby took!
I hope it works!
New House

some progress... finally!

One of the moms from my class at the daycare lives right up the road from our new development. (in fact she is the one who told us about the development in the first place) She has been asking me for weeks which lot is ours and telling me she was going to go check it out. She was there last week when it was just a hole, and today she told me that she drove by yesterday and the foundation is ready to be poured!
I will probably head down there this weekend to take some pictures.

I have been working a ton this week and have hardly had a chance to sit still. Now, all i want to do is sleep, and I just can't! Insomnia. blah!

We have a hole!

Ground was broken on our new house this week! It was pouring rain when we went to see the lot today. We were excited to see the bulldozer and then... A HOLE! Footers and foundation will likely be poured this week. Progress will be made quickly.
Pictures will most likely follow weekly from this point on... yay!
(top pics: taken from street - facing front of house. bottom pics: taken from back rt corner of 'house' - small raised section will be the garage)

Just a few pics of Robert playing outside - Friday, June 9th, 2006.

Robert likes to take things out of where they belong. Plates and bowls from his drawer or in this case all the wipes from the wipe case! 

Future Penn Stater

We returned to PSU this weekend for Robert's Aunt Stefanie's graduation. We were anxious for two things... Robert's first picture with the Nittany Lion and his first taste of Creamery ice cream. He already has Lion Pride... can't you tell?
Assuming Robert finishes college on a 4-year plan, he will be PSU class of 2027.
(Robert may go to any college of his choice, but we will strongly encourage him to chose PSU!)

2230 Evening Sun Road

This is lot 23... at Eagle's Landing. The lot where we will be building our future home. We have made a settlement date of August 31st. The front of our house will face the road with the yellow lines (its not really a main road - but a main thoroughfare through the development) And our driveway will actually be on Evening Sun Road, just across from the white truck seen in the second picture.

The top picture is a model home... the same style we are building, except we will have a wrap around porch on the left and a stone front instead of brick. We will post more pictures as the project develops. We hope to break land by next week!