Maternity Pics

I've been asked by quite a few people to post my progressively growing belly...so here ya go. I'll try to post monthly coinciding with our appointments.

34 weeks, measuring 42 and dropping fast...YIKES!

32 weeks and measuring full term

30 weeks - torpedo tummy in the making and frontal of the bump.

28 weeks - getting bigger by the day.

24 weeks & a frontal of the lil bump!

20 weeks - noticeable! (and no longer confused with a beer belly) =)

16 weeks - sporting sexy maternity pants...woohoo!

12 weeks - the last time I was able to squeeze into my normal jeans.

8 weeks - at this point my belly was pooching from what I was used to forcing me into my "fat" pants.

Catching Up

Now that the holidays are over, I feel its time for a much needed update from the past few months in the George Household.

First of all, our 16 week appointment went wonderfully (only a 2 pound weight gain) and we found out what we're having. Now I have to preface this by saying that the ultrasound tech "guessed" at our 12 week appointment that we were having two girls. While she did tell me not to paint the nursery, everyone in the office was very confident in her guessing abilities, which gave my mind the green light for full blown nursery planning. Anywho, long story short, she was wrong! After a full month of me be super excited for twin girls (and the corresponding cute cloths, barbies, tea parties) and my stellar nursery theme, Baby A had grown a turtle. Yup, a boy! Not that I was upset, just a little shocked that the girl guess didn't hold true. Now onto Baby B. She took a while to finally tell us (I think because she felt bad about being wrong), but low and behold, no turtle! Baby B was a girl! One of each - absolutely perfect!!

No turtle...our little girl.



Turtle...our little boy.

My head was swimming with all sorts of things after the appointment. Soccer league for the lil guy and ballet lessons for the girl. But wait...what the hell am I going to do about the nursery now?? This whole time I had only fathomed 2 boys or 2 girls, not one of each. A neutral themed nursery. CRAP!!!!

Following our big news on the gender prediction, it was time to kick my creativeness into high gear in preparation for Christmas. My 12 recipes of Christmas for 12 of my favorite family members, Christmas cards, jewelry making and pottery painting. Not to mention another insane round of traveling for work all in one month. It was definitely hectic, and I didn't have much of a chance to really bake or enjoy any of my Christmas decorations, but I did manage to get everything done just in the nick of time.

Another high point to December was our 20 week appointment, which meant an uber long ultrasound. A hour and a half of seeing my little ones! A small slice of heaven!! This appointment was amazing; a flashback to anatomy class in college. In the end, aside from being very active (especially the boy) both babes checked out with a perfect bill of health and are actually exceeding their growth/weight milestones at this point (maybe I'm eating too much).

Baby A...lil man's face and his first 3D picture.

Baby B...lil princess's first 3D pic and adorable profile.

So to end the year, the best thing that happened this month (outside of being blessed with wonderful family and friends) was the addition of a walk-thru baby gate for the basement. No more hiking over the old gate with a tub of laundry. How did I ever manage these past 3 years???

Pounds

So, we had our 12 week appointment last week. Everything went fabulously and the doctor said things looked normal (thank goodness). In the midst of my interrogations, I felt the need to mention my voracious appetite. For over a month now, I've found myself eating at least every 2 hours. I fully understand that I'm now eating for 3; but they aren't that big, they can't need THAT much food. So, when I stepped on the scale for my routine weigh-in, what do my pretty brown eyes see??? A friggin 5 pound gain in a month!!! Not all too surprising considering how much I've been eating, but still hard to swallow. SERIOUSLY?!?! I'm right on track to put on the 45 to 50 pounds by delivery. I understand it's all part of the process, but do I really have to end up weighing as much as my brother???

That's my rant for the day. Now, off to the pantry for a snack and hot cocoa! hehe

Big News!

So its a good thing my girls night out happend in mid July, because only a short month later I found out I was pregnant!

What an amazing and terrifying moment all at once. Surprisingly enough, it was everything we had hoped for. Our plan was to get preggo in August (for a spring baby) but because we have the worst luck, we figured it would take some time for things to finally click. Well apparently the gods were on our side because in only 2 months, I was feeling queasy and thinking it was time for a test. Now the cooky thing was that I was feeling rather sick at only 3 - 4 weeks. In reading websites, magazines, books, and even talking to my office's nurse, that was highly unusual...but I must be ultra sensitive or have super powers. Regardless, I was car sick 24/7. I thought people said pregnancy was supposed to be the most wonderful time of your life? No one ever tells you about all the not so wonderful things about it. But regardless, we were thrilled to know we're pregnant! HOORAY!

So, our 8 week appointment was in September. My first question...why on earth do they make you wait that long?!?!? Its excruciating! Either way, I was super excited and very nervous. Would I hear the heart beat? Could we see it? Well after a lengthy informational download with the nurse, it was time for the ultrasound...YIPPEE! Now, I've seen plenty of ultrasound pictures in my time, but on the screen and in the moment of all the emotions, my vision must have been blurred because I was seeing 2 little objects instead of one. I rubbed my eyes and looked again...still there. So I asked the ultrasound tech what the scoop was. Was I seeing things clearly???

Well as it turns out, it was indeed two little ones. We're having TWINS!!!

Summer Shenanigans

Since its now the beginning of fall, I think its safe to say that summer has officially ended for the season. With this transition comes the posting of the George's summer antics (a novelesque approach to blogging).

This year proved not to disappoint in the realm of home improvements. While we assumed that the workload this year would be light (no obvious backyard undertakings) as it seems, the homeowner gods decided to throw us a curve ball. As part of good homeowner maintenance we learned that it was time to reseal the patio. This "half a day project" turned into a full month of hell, resulting in us having to pay a ridiculous amount of money to the professionals to fix the debacqle. In the process, we acquired a shiny new power washer. I learned that one should never powerwash exposed skin unless you want stitches. And most importantly, some things are truly best left to the professionals.

We also decided to take advantage of the wonderfully low interest rates as the perfect time to refinance our house. Low and behold, we didn't think about the outstanding fixer upper's that we still had on our list from when we moved in 3 years ago. Since those could very well impact the appraisal value we undertook each and every one of those items in record time (less than a week!). My one gripe was the installation of our new master bedroom ceiling fan. We bought a Hunter "5 minute fan" - because installation was only supposed to take 5 minutes. Being the skeptic that I am, I figured an hour tops! 4.5 hours later and at my last nerve I finally got the stupid thing installed. It was a sight to behold I can assure you! Just envision standing on a step ladder, supported by a piece of plywood, on top of a very unstable mattress.

D & I played on a co-ed indoor soccer league. Its pretty intense, and being that I've never played a minute of soccer I really didn't take it too seriously (just wanted a good form of exercise). Needless to say, my crappiness really showed and I proved to be as awful as my worst nightmare. I did however eventually get my first goal...after seriously months of basically being a dog and chasing the ball around the field. It was a great experience, and perfect because D gave me the assist. Talk about a family unit!

We also decided that this was the year that I needed to learn how to golf. I signed up for lessons and got on a league with work. By the end of the season, I really wasn't too shabby; although all I can say is atleast you can play when you're old because that's how long its going to take me to get it down. D & I played a few times with friends and family which was wonderful. There's something to be said for being able to relax and enjoy yourself out on the greens. Very tranquil (until you shank a ball into a house or innocent by-stander).

This was also the summer of camping! We ended up making it out 4 times this year, which is a George family record. All were wonderful and quite relaxing (and happily not met with any unfriendly or hungry wildlife). Personal record this year....making the biggest campfire I've ever seen and perfecting the art of the smore.

We had every intention of hiking more 14er's this summer, but the weather never really worked in our favor. The weekends that we wanted to go up resulted in snow at the peaks making for very treacherous conditions. On each of those accounts, we chose to keep our tushes home safe & sound.

Lastly, this summer was my summer of last hoorahs! As we had been planning to kickoff the baby making process at the end of the summer, my friends decided it was necessary to escort me around town for one last night of sinful delight. We did things no pregnant woman can even think about. Sushi, martinis, dancing & champagne. It was a wonderful evening and the perfect way to start me down the road of no drinking and being a responsible adult (sort of).