Pictures!

(These pictures are in reverse order! The first ones are the newest!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Ethan and Carsten

Ethan

Carsten

Carsten

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ethan

Watching cartoons

Ethan

Carsten

Ethan Carsten

We had Professional pictures taken today at Sears. They are Christmas/3 month pics! They are gorgeous! Check 'em out!

beautiful!

Love this one!

Carsten and Ethan

Our little family

We are all awake!

Well I figure once a month in updating this is pretty good! haha Ethan and Carsten are doing great. At their last pediatrician appointment on Oct 26, Ethan was 12 lbs 6 oz and Carsten was 9lbs 14 oz. They are growing great. Ethan has started to smile more and coo occasionally and Carsten is just now starting to get the smile thing down though he has had a few coos as well. They are growing like little weeds. Ethan is just about out of 0-3 months clothes and Carsten is filling them out nicely! :)
I will leave you all with a few more pictures of Halloween etc. I have a hard time getting them in the order I want so they may not be all jumbled, just look at the date on the pic (if you can!)!

Loving their play mat!

Tummy Time!

Ethan and Carsten before church
Carsten
Ethan
Ethan is the cow, Daddy in the middle and Carsten is a pea pod
Unhappy Cow and Sleepy Pea

I have an excuse now why I don't update this as much (as I type, there is a baby stirring!).
The boys are doing very well despite recent constipation issues due to a formula change. On Sept 30, they had their one month pediatrician visit. At that time, Ethan weighed 9lbs 14 oz and I think he was like 21 inches long or so and Carsten was 7lbs 14 oz and 20 inches or so. Carsten is on the lower end of the percentiles but the doctor thinks he is just fine. He is loking chubbier and chubbier every day! Ethan is dong great. They are both starting to focus on our faces and each has smiled only a few times but they are pretty much right on track though Carsten is a few days behind. (He was smaller and seems to do everything just behind his brother though still normal).
They are 7 weeks and are starting to sleep longer and longer through the night, waking up only once to feed. That is awesome news for mommy and daddy!
mmmm what else... they have grown out of newborn clothes and are now in 3 months though still a little big on Carsten. Their eyes seem to be staying a bright blue so I think they are going to remain blue. They also are starting to get hair on the top of their heads; its just fuzz, but its there!! I think that is all for now. I will leave you with a few pictures!
Ethan

Carsten

Ethan and Carsten at the pediatrician

Carsten and Ethan

Daddy and the boys (Ethan in daddys arms)

August 24, 2009: Ethan Connor and Carsten Daniel arrive!

35 weeks and Happy 4th Anniversary

33 weeks

Car Seat Installation

Me instructing Ryan on how to put the car seats in. (32 weeks)

All Done!

Long Awaited Pictures!

Baby Shower July 19, 2009

I still need to post pictures, but I thought I little update would be ok! We had an ultrasound on Wednesday to see how big these boys are getting and WOW! they are big!!
Baby A weighed 5lb 14oz and Baby B weighed 6lb 2oz! (Thats right, 12 pounds of baby!!) The specialist said that they are each the size of one baby at this point and that twins' growth usually slows down...but not my boys!! ha ha He thinks that even if they came today, they would not need to go to the NICU since they are a really good size! We also do not see the specialist again so that is good!! We are getting close!
On Monday, we had an apointment with the regular doctor. We went ahead and scheduled a c-section since Baby A is still feet first! The date we chose was Sept 9 (9/9/09)! The doctor and mommy doesn't think that I will make it that long since they are getting big. I have also been having contractions daily so progress is occuring!! That's all for now. Someday I will walk downstairs to the other computer to post pictures but I reinjured my back from last fall (work related) and it hurts like crazy (and the extra weight that I have gained doesn't help!)

Alright, a lot has happened since my last post so I will update quickly. 2 weeks ago, I had an appointment at the doctors and they hooked me up to a monitor to see the babies heart rates and how they moved and if I was having contractions. Everything was fine except baby A was being ornery as usual and they could not keep him on the monitor because he moved so much. It was late in the day and the doctor wanted an ultrasound just to confirm evrything was fine (very common so we weren't alarmed or anything) but their ultrasound dept was closed so we had to go to the hospital..fine whatever, we would be done shortly and all would be good.
We headed to labor and delivery and I changed and we waited for the ultrasound people come get me. After they were done, I came back to L&D and waited some more. The nurse calls the doctor on call and thats where it gets exciting. Turns out I was contracting pretty frequently and my cervix was changing!! (I had no idea that I was having contractions; I thought it was the boys moving and stretching...talk about feeling dumb)So I got admitted! I was scared out of my mind and crying. I was only 32 weeks! too early!
I got the excitement of an IV and wonderful medications that make you feel like royal poop! Started with a pill to stop the contractions but that wasn't working fast enough so I got a shot which made me feel shaky and yucky. I also had to be monitored every 4 hours so that meant no sleep. Mind you, I had never ever stayed in the hospital alone (last time was when I was a year old and do not remember a thing!)
I also got another shot of steriods for the babies lungs just in case they came soon.
Anyway to make a long story short, the contractions stopped, my cervix did not change anymore and the boys were great. I got to go home Wednesday after 2 sleepless nights!! I was placed on bedrest and given medications to keep contractions at bay. That meant no work and sitting on the couch aaaallllll day! Let's just say I was stir crazy after 2 days!!!
As of today I am 34 weeks and 1 day. they wanted me to make it until at least 34 weeks for the sake of the boys. I am done with medication, but still taking it easy of course. I am having contractions (about 2-4 per hour) which are uncomfortable but not painful. I thought for sure I would go into labor after I stopped the meds but they are still in there all cozy and warm which is good for them. Mommy is soooo ready to be done though! :) But they boys will be just fine from here on out if born now. Lungs are ready and the only issue maybe eating so NICU might be a possibility just so they can learn to eat. Like I said, I imagine they will stay in me for at least a week or 2 though so by then NICU may not even have to be part of their lives!
We also had an ultrasound a week and a half ago to measure the babies (I was 32 weeks and 5days at the time) and Baby A weighted 4lbs 9 oz and B weighted 4lbs 12 oz!! Big boys! I imagine they are both 5+ lbs each by now! I have over 10lbs of baby in me and I can tell! Breathing is a priviledge at this point!! lol I promise to post belly pics soon. I am on the wrong computer currently to do that!!

Ok I keep getting yelled at that I do not keep my blog up enough so I will update on what I can. I have no new pictures so you will actually have to read it! LOL
Anyway, my shower was last Sunday and it was wonderful! Everything came together perfectly (even after all the drama) and it went smoothly. We had to cut out some games just so I could get through all the presents we got!! We are truly blessed with wonderful family and friends. I know our boys will be truly loved and cared for! They have enough stuff to get us through the first year anyway!! My house looks like a mini day care with all the equipment and baby stufff laying around!
I can at least say that my house is ready...not so sure Ryan and I are totally ready. The nervousness and scaredness is coming back into play as my due date nears. Don't get me wrong, I am so ready to be done being pregnant, but to actually bring TWO babies home is overwhelming!!! :)
My work also threw me a shower on Wednesday and it was also wonderful! For only working there 7 months and throwing a twin pregnancy at them after working there 6 weeks, they are the best place I have ever worked for. So wonderful!
This weekend and next weekend, we are so busy! Weddings and parties and visiting with family is going to keep us busy busy, but hopefully August will be about resting and preparing for the boys. I am starting to get exhausted after just a few hours and I need to rest. I also experienced another joy of pregnancy....swollen ankles! I thought after last night I had came down with a case of elephantitis, but thank goodness the swelling is gone after sleeping!
Alright, that is all for now. I will try to post shower pictures this week sometime. We also have an ultrasound on Thursday, so if the boys cooperate, I will post the ultrasound pictures.

Some pictures!!

28 weeks

28 weeks and I can't believe I posted this picture.....

Full body at 28 weeks

Saying above the cribs in the nursery