Meet the Rosenhans

Batter Up!

2012-02-13T11:31:00.001-08:00

Davis has been wearing his helmet for a week. It's true what they say. It's much harder on us than him. He's such a good boy. He doesn't even care. I, on the other hand, have to talk myself out of ripping it off his head every second of the day. Ugh. I just feel so bad for doing this to him. His flat spot is so slight, it's really up for debate whether or not he even needs it. You honestly can't even see it. But insurance would cover most of it and I couldn't live with myself if my perfect little boy ended up having a seriously deformed head. So my little trooper is being so tough and this morning at his appointment, we already saw some serious improvement!! The doctor is looking for 9mm of correction overall and he had 5mm in just the first week!! Hooray! The orthotist said that was record-breaking improvement. Hopefully, he'll only need it a couple more weeks!

My Boys

2012-02-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

Just love them.

Four months!

2012-02-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

All my life I have wanted a four-month old baby. There is something magical to me about four-month old babies. Smiley and round, I love them. My entire pregnancy I daydreamed about the twins at four-months old and I am happy to report that four months has come and it does not disappoint.

The boys at four months old is officially the happiest time of my entire life. I can't even believe they're like real babies now with distinct personalities! It's crazy to see them change so much from week to week. You really can see them learning and discovering new things all the time. They are so chunky and delicious and they're a WHOLE lot easier to manage now! The best part about this milestone is that the boys are officially aware of one another now and they REALLY like each other! Preston and I sit the boys on our knees and face each other and as soon as they make eye contact, it's all smiles and giggles. The first time they really paid attention to each other, we were having a fro-yo at Pinkberry and Preston and I were literally crying we were laughing so hard. The next day, we tried it again and as the boys were staring at each other Dexter burped and Davis totally belly laughed! We died. Then Davis burped and Dexter laughed. Pretty soon, they were both laughing and Davis thought it was so funny he was throwing his head back laughing! Preston and I said it was truly the best ten minutes of our lives. We were so, so happy!

I'm beginning to realize that Davis's personality hasn't changed much since the day Preston put him in my arms. He is still so content and easy-going. He's just a good, special boy. He's super easily pleased and he melts your heart when he smiles at you. I know he's just a baby but the kid can make you feel like a million bucks. Davis gets so excited when we talk to him, he kicks his legs like he's an olympic swimmer. I've never seen anything like it. He literally propels himself off the changing table. Speaking of the changing table, he loves the mobile I made that hangs above the table so much that he squeals at it and kicks his legs so fast Preston says he's galloping like a horse. You can't see it and not laugh! He still sticks his tongue out when we stick our tongues out at him and since it always gets a reaction, he's now learned to do it to everyone he sees. We caught him doing it to a lady across the aisle at Stake Conference last week! He does it to his doctor, the checker at Costco, and even the dog! Davis flirts with everyone. I swear he's figured out he's cute and totally panders. He tilts his head down and smiles up at you with his gigantic blue eyes. Completely effective. Davis loves him jumparoo, even though he can't touch the floor quite yet. He just loves to sit in it and work at grabbing all the toys on it. I think his favorite thing to do, though, is to sit on my knee and push off on the floor with his feet. Davis is a pretty big boy now. He's bigger than most of our friends babies who are older than him. He's not really chubby though, just broad and really solid. People always tell me he's built like a football player. (Music to Preston's ears.) He likes to try to eat the bubbles in his bath and he's so strong, I seriously have to wrestle his hands away from his mouth. He grabs everything and tries to put it in his mouth and he LOVES his blankie that Christi made him. It's satin on one side and minky on the other and he holds it next to his cheek in his car seat. Is that sweet or what? The nurse weighed Davis when we went in for shots the other day and he weighed 16.8 pounds. We'll find out his length at his official four month appointment next week.

Dexter has made so many changes in the last four months. There's no word to describe him other than fun. He is hilarious. I've never seen a baby as chatty as he is. He truly tries to communicate and I'm pretty sure he assumes we understand him. He talks and talks and talks. When he cries, he repeats "mama mama mama," or "moooooooom" over and over. I know what you're thinking. Obviously he is not really speaking real words (he's four months old!) and he clearly doesn't connect those sounds to their meanings but I am not exaggerating when I say it sounds exactly like it. We literally stop in our tracks sometimes when we hear him. It's pretty uncanny. He also imitates sounds we make and he does it pretty well! Preston always says the word "Hi" to him in a sing-songy voice, and Dex will repeat it back to him over and over. It's insane. I'm quite certain he's a genius. Dex thinks it's so funny when I coo to him from across the room and he'll wrinkle his nose and smile. I can't believe he was ever colicky. He's such a happy, easy baby these days. He loves people, just like his brother, and he smiles at strangers too. He still loves his daddy but he's got a pretty soft spot for his mama now. He is such a sweet boy. When I pick him up, he always puts his left arm around me and I melt every time. He splashes like a wild man in the bath tub and he grabs everything. If there is a burp cloth anywhere near him he'll find it and press it against his cheek. He loves to bury his head into my shoulder and when he naps on his tummy (supervised, of course,) he always tries to go face first. Dex also loves his blankie Christi made him and I always find him trying to put it over his head. Come to think of it, he's always trying to put something over his head! When Dex got weighed at his appointment for shots the other day, he weighed 15.8 pounds. I'm anxious to find out his length too!

Adios, Think Pink!

2012-02-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Do you like my new blog design? I am obsessed! Heather-Rita from Milkglass and Honey designed it and I have crowned her my new bff. Seriously, I love her. She's a mind reader (only her mind is a lot more creative than mine,) and the nicest ever. She was so fast and thorough and made sure it was just like I wanted it. Would it be too much to name our next child after her?

No mas!

2012-02-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Stop! Seriously, no more growing. No getting older. Let's freeze time and stay exactly like this forever.

I was changing the boys' diapers on the living room floor today (after they'd been stripped of their spit-up covered clothes- see pictures below,) and started to tear up as they babbled to each other and Davis cracked up at Dexter's funny noises. I mean, this is the life. We sleep till 8, laze around in our pj's, go on long walks, smile at mama, laugh at each other, play in the bath, eat our hands, and wait for Daddy to get home. I seriously panic when I realize how quickly time is passing. I need to take more pictures, take more video, and squeeze them every second of the day.

Naps

2012-02-02T21:08:00.001-08:00

I walked in the living room where Preston was hanging out with the boys the other morning and found this. Can you blame him? Boppies do make great pillows.

I love how they were totally awake and playing while Preston slept. They looked like they got caught partying while Dad snoozed!

I almost died when I saw they were holding hands.

My three amigos.

What we've been up to

2012-01-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Quick fact: I have taken over 1,200 pictures of the boys just on my Iphone. Honestly, I looked it up. Mainly because my phone only has 1 gig of memory left and it's acting like it's going to spontaneously combust at any moment because it's so full. I accomplished that in just 17 weeks, people. What is crazier than that, you ask? That number doesn't even touch the number of pics I have taken with my real camera in the last 17 weeks. Are you ready for this? 4,100. Obviously, I have some major blog catch-up to do. I'm thinking I should just scrap what I've missed and start fresh. So here are some pictures from the month of January.

Caught these two napping the afternoon away.

Poor Davis is still the victim of his mom's antics with the bubbles. And there he goes with the tongue again!

These two have a serious love affair.

See? Dexter is in love with Preston. And apparently, he also needed his diaper changed. Nice.

One morning, Preston watched the boys so I could get ready. (I think I only blow dry my hair on weekends now,) and this is how I found the boys. On the couch, watching the game. He's getting them started early. The funny thing? They were completely content.

Davis has started rubbing his eyes when he's tired. Be still my heart.

We got these football jerseys at Old Navy when I was pregnant. To be honest, we couldn't care less about these teams but they were cute and on sale for $2. Imagine our surprise that these ended up being the two teams playing in the Super Bowl next week! I should probably play the lottery. I'm obviously psychic.

We really tried for some self-portraits. Not so easy when you're home by yourself and using a gigantic camera! It doesn't get more awkward than these pictures of me but I'm trying to get over myself and my post-partum body-loathing and take some pictures before the boys think they were raised by a single father.

A tired Preston on double duty.

The boys tried out their jumparoo last week and they love it. They can't even touch the floor, but they love it. It's so cute to watch them concentrate and work so hard to reach certain toys. Yes, the jumpers are ginormous and beyond hideous but it's about survival around here, folks. Plus, they really do have so much fun in them. Again, I'm trying to get over myself.

January in California

2012-01-20T13:13:00.001-08:00

It was 80 degrees last week. In January. True story. We met Preston for lunch at Cafe Rio (feeling sorry for us yet?) and ate outside on the patio. In January. Did I already mention that? We love California.

Helmets

2012-01-13T17:44:00.001-08:00

Ay Ay Ay. It's always something else, isn't it? Little Davis is developing a funky shaped head which the doctors think is a result of his little corner of the womb. Apparently, Dex was taking his half out of the middle.

We took the boys to a cranial specialist today for evaluations and it was decided Davis has a mild case but could probably benefit from a helmet for about 6 weeks. Yay. But we know he could be plagued with something much worse than a flat spot on the back of his head and we're grateful that's our biggest problem. We're waiting to hear what insurance sad about coverage because the suckers are mega expensive. In the meantime, we're enjoying these sweet mugshots they took of the boys today. How strange am I that I think these pics taken to evaluate their head shapes are so cute? Seriously though. Un biased but really cute.

Photo Bomb!

2012-01-12T15:12:00.001-08:00

Dex tried to photobomb Davis's picture. Always trying to steal the spotlight ;)

Outtakes

2012-01-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

I have some extra pictures from the boys three-month "photo shoot" that are too cute not to post.

Three months

2012-01-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

This is definitely my favorite age yet! (Although, I think I said the same thing last month and the month before that.) The boys are so alert and getting to be really social. They think we're pretty funny now and smile ALL the time. They are both so funny and expressive but they seem to be developing their own little personalities. They're kinda biggins, considering their corrected age, tipping the scales (ok, not really,) at 14 pounds. Davis still outweighs Dex by about 1/2 a pound and they have very different body types. Dex is a lot more narrow than Davis and looks like he might be a little longer. Davis has broader shoulders and his head is a bit bigger than his brother's. The boys have finally started sleeping through the night and we usually get about 8 hours. It's awesome! I could kiss the ground they walk on (if they actually walked.) I am more attached to them than ever and I didn't even think it was possible. I seriously feel like I'm going to explode when I think about them. I have to fight the urge to kiss and squeeze them every second of the day. They are the yummiest, happiest babies. I am obsessed.

At three months, Davis is pretty infatuated with his mama and I couldn't be happier about it! For a while, I wasn't sure he knew I existed but now I can make him smile just by looking at him. I could eat this kid up, he's so sweet. He laughs at everything and it's totally contagious. He loves to play what we call "the num-num game," (created by my mom!) which basically consists of us sticking out our tongues and saying, "num, num, num," over and over again. Davis imitates us by sticking his tongue out and smiling. So hilarious! Now if we just say the words "num num," he sticks his tongue out. Davis is still the happiest, most content baby. I don't know where he gets his laid-back, easy-going attitude from because it certainly didn't come from me or Preston! He knows what he wants though and he isn't afraid to let you know when you're not quite getting the message. He has the craziest squeal. When we were in Arizona last month, both of my sisters-in-law told me they've never heard anything like it! It really is so funny. He sounds like a squealing little pig. A really LOUD squealing little pig! Davis has also found his hands in the last week and loves to suck on them. We could hear him smacking on his hands on the baby monitor the other night so loud it sounded like he was hammering something! He likes to tuck his little thumb in between his pointer and middle fingers and if you try to undo them he works to get them back asap. Davis's other major talent is tooting. This kid toots and belches like an adult. I would be worried but he never seems to be in any discomfort. He just rips them left and right! He was with Pres in Elder's Quorum on Sunday and he said he was tooting so loud it was interrupting the lesson! My junior high sense of humor thought that was pretty funny. I can't even handle how much I love this boy.

Dexter has the most hilarious expressions! When he smiles, he raises one side of his mouth and crinkles his eyes. You can't see him do it and not laugh. He LOVES his daddy and he looks more like Preston every day. It's kind of eery. They really are little twinkies. It seems so crazy to think Dex was ever colicky because he's such a happy baby now. When he does get fussy, he sometimes just wants his mommy to love on him. I love that! He will even stretch his arm out to reach for me from across the room. It's pretty much my favorite thing ever. Dex is always trying to watch tv if it's on in the same room. A couple weeks ago, he would literally crane his neck to watch a Suns game. Every direction we faced him turned him into a little contortionist to see the game. Preston was so proud! Both of the boys still love fans and will find them in any room they're in. Dex has just started sticking his bottom lip out when he's sad and it is melts your heart. His lips are so big and juicy and it's the saddest/cutest thing you've ever seen when he pouts! Very effective. He gets his mama to do whatever he wants :) Dex is also super sensitive. A few times he's heard Davis crying and he immediately starts to cry. I think he thinks he's the big brother. He loves to have his chin tickled and will smile for you every single time. Both of the boys coo like crazy and Dex tries his best to have full-blown conversations with you. He has been holding his head up since he was about 4 weeks old (no exaggeration) and we finally got the boys Bumbos last week, which he loves. I sit him in the Bumbo on the kitchen counter while I make lunch and he watches me like a hawk. So funny. It looks so funny to see this tiny baby sitting up. I laugh every time I look at him! The poor baby is still spitting up like a mad man, usually at their 5 a.m. feeding. A couple times he has gotten Preston so bad he had to change his clothes and we had to change the sheets! I'm talking five ounces of projectile vomit. Poor guy. But he keeps smiling and doesn't even get upset. He's a champ! I am completely in love with my little boy.

A blessing and a name

2012-01-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

The babies were blessed in Arizona on December 28th at Preston's mom's house. Since all of our family lives elsewhere, we decided to take the boys to Gilbert where most of our family and friends already were! It was so nice to have the blessing at home, surrounded by family and close friends. It really was one of my favorite experiences of all time. No exaggeration, it was second only to our sealing. I didn't expect to be so emotional but I cried through both of the blessings. Surprise, surprise. I can't even explain how surreal it was to see your own babies being blessed! And it was so cool to hear Preston talk about their futures and realize they won't always be these little babies on my shoulder, one day they'll go on missions, get married in the temple, and hold church callings. I can't even think about it. My mom and Preston's mom took notes through both of the blessings and just reading the notes makes me cry again!

Something that stuck out to me about Davis's blessing was that he has a kind heart. I think that was my favorite part. He really does. Even as a three-month old baby, I can tell how good his heart is. I just love that. I'm so happy to know that is something he'll carry through his whole life. That's just who he is. Dexter's blessing talked about his tough entrance into the world and that his strength is why he was there that night. That really overwhelmed me. I think I take for granted how rough he had it sometimes and because he's such a tough little guy, he made it through. He must have known his mama would need him. Both of the blessings talked about future siblings, which for people like us who had trouble having a family in the first place, seems crazy to imagine but I was so excited at the thought. (It took me all of about three days after the boys were born to daydream about being pregnant again!)

Just so the boys know, here's who was in your blessing circle: Preston (dad,) Larry Blankenship (grandpa,) Damon Rosenhan (uncle,) Branden Rosenhan (uncle,) Allyn Langford (uncle,) Steve Dahl (great uncle,) Glade Hakes (great uncle,) John Niemela (family friend and mom's favorite bishopric member of her old singles ward,) Joe Vega (family friend and husband of one of mom's best friends, Melissa,) and Bishop Call from Grandma Rosenhan's ward.

We were so overwhelmed with how many people came to show their love for our sweet boys. Preston's good friend, Nick, who lives in Chicago came with his mom, Uncle Steve and Aunt Paula delayed their Utah trip by a day, my parents drove to Arizona from California for the day, and Brother and Sister Niemela, my favorite members of my old singles ward bishopric even came! And we were so lucky Branden and Tiffany and the girls were in town too! We missed some people because of the timing of the holidays but we know they were with us in heart :)

Even three months later, I am still so in awe of these boys and I can't believe they're ours. I know children are special to every parent, but I think waiting, working, and praying as hard as we did to have them makes them that much more special to me. They are a literal, in the flesh, answer to so many prayers. There were definitely times I wondered if this day would come and then there were times I felt the Spirit so strong and I knew this day would come! We are just so blessed to have our little family. I feel almost embarrassed sometimes at how much we've been blessed when I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to deserve it. (If you could see me in traffic you'd know I don't deserve this.) I really loved the night of their blessing so much. I asked Preston the next day if we could do it again. I am obsessed with my little boys and I am so grateful for my good, sweet husband.

What a difference a year makes

2011-12-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

I looked at my two sleeping babes tonight and was overwhelmed at how much life has changed since last Christmas Eve. My heart is literally bursting with gratitude.

I kept a separate private blog to document our ivf experience and I'd almost forgotten all about it until I skimmed through it tonight. This is what I wrote on Christmas Eve last year when we were 17 days away from starting our ivf cycle:

I just know this is going to work and we're going to have our own family soon. I can't wait. I hope at this time next year, we'll have our own babies to buy Santa presents for and to cuddle with on Christmas Eve.

I really did just know. How funny that I even used the word babies rather than baby. I knew my boys were on their way. Ya know what else is funny? It's even better than I imagined. I have so much to be grateful for.

(Christmas Eve 2010. Skinnier, well-rested, and spit-up free.)

Our favorite time of day

2011-12-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

Bath time is one of my favorite times of the day. The boys are so sweet and calm as soon as they hit the water. Oh my, it is beyond cute. They LOVE their baths. What's not to love? Who wouldn't appreciate a nice warm sponge bath and your towel warmed in the dryer when you get out?

Clearly, we are easily amused. Every night we fill the babies' tub with as many bubbles as it will handle and go to town making hair styles for these poor unsuspecting boys. It is so funny. Like, doubled over funny. My iphoto is filled to the brim with bubble hair pictures yet I take more and more every night.

Standard Issue

2011-12-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

Preston loves camo the way I love leopard. Apparently everyone knows this about him because I can't even count how many camo gifts the boys got. Truly, every time I turned around, someone was giving us something camo because they knew he loved it. The man even tried to convince me to decorate the nursery in camo!

This is basically what Preston would wear every day if he could and, really, is there anything cuter than boys dressed like their daddy?

Game Day!

2011-12-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

The boys sent Preston off to the ASU game today in their first (of many) Sun Devil shirts. This picture pretty much represents Preston's life-long dream fulfilled.

I gave these onesies to Preston on Father's Day when I was pregnant so it was so fun to see them actually wear them.

Just like Dad

2011-12-21T08:34:00.001-08:00

L-O-V-E

2011-12-19T22:37:00.000-08:00

I just want to kiss their little cheeks off.

Cheapskate

2011-12-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

I saw some wooden name banners on Etsy that I loved but since I am the world's biggest cheapskate, I was nowhere near willing to shell out $72 a piece for them. (A piece!!) I figured I could DIY them on the cheap. Enter some basal wood, acrylic paint, twine, cardstock, and a Silhouette and voila!

Mine aren't nearly as cute as the Etsy versions but I think my total came to $12 for both banners. Can't beat that. They're hanging above the boys' cribs in the nursery.

My new job...

2011-12-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Not a bad way to spend your days.

Two months

2011-12-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

Time, please stop! This is already going way too fast. These boys are growing up right before my eyes and I still can not believe it. How did this happen that they weigh 11 chunky pounds and their chubby little thighs have gotten cellulite on them? When we brought them home from the hospital they were truly swimming in preemie outfits and now they (well, ok, Davis) are busting out of 3 month clothes. What happened to my little babies that fit between my wrist and my elbow?

Davis seems so grown up this month. He is such a content, happy baby. Mellow yellow. He has the funniest cry that sounds more like talking (or yelling) than crying. I think he's probably going to be a great communicator because his cries really seem like they have a purpose. When he cries, he is seriously trying to tell you something and he's pretty patient when his bumbling mother can't figure out what it is. I always say, "Thank goodness for Davis." He is patient and sweet which really comes in handy when you're dealing with two infants. Sometimes I worry that he's getting the short end of the stick because his brother is a little more high maintenance (we'll get to that later,) and Davis is always willing to cut me some slack while he waits to eat or waits to cuddle. I love this boy. He loves to play in his play gym and he'll yell and swat at his toys. It's so funny to watch. He even kicks his legs to the beat of the music. So funny. He gave me my first smile of the two boys last month and I cried. What is it about your baby smiling that sends you over the edge? He thinks his dad is hilarious and he'll smile when he just hears his voice in the room. Davis is super chunky now. He is in the 66th percentile for weight and that's NOT adjusted for being 5 weeks premature. I'm so proud. He also has a pretty big noggin (97th percentile, baby) which Preston likes to tell people absorbed the third baby that was supposed to be in my uterus. Nice. He's laying on the floor next to me right now playing with his toys and it takes all I have not to kiss him every minute of the day. He is a special, special boy.

Dex started out the month a little on the grumpy side (colic sort of reared its ugly head around here,) but it has finally left the building and now he is the sweetest, delicious little guy. Dex loves to cuddle. His happy place is laying on our chests and that's where you can find him most mornings between 6 and 7 when he decides he's done with that whole sleeping in a crib thing and much prefers sleeping on mom or dad. He's half a pound smaller than Davis but it looks like a lot more. He can completely hold his head up on his own and it looks so crazy on such a little baby! He always wants to be where the action is and will fuss until we hold him upright so he can see what's going on. He really is the life of the party! When he was so colicky, I thought he would never smile but when he did smile for the first time it was HUGE and well worth the wait. We died laughing. In fact, last night, he gave my mom great big, open mouth smiles that had me and Preston peeing in our pants which only egged him on. Turkey boy. Speaking of Preston, Dex is totally infatuated with him. He follows Preston around the room with his eyes and he will completely turn his head to watch him walk out the door when he leaves for work. A couple times I have thought Dex was smiling at me until I realize he heard Preston start talking and he was reacting to that! I'm going to have to do some major spoiling (which I am prepared to do!) to become his favorite. I love my sweet boy.

Date night!

2011-12-12T14:47:00.001-08:00

Finally got out for a hot night on the town. Cafe Rio, Temple, and Cherry on Top. Does it get any better?

And we thought we only had twins

2011-12-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-11T16:09:00.001-08:00

Davis and Dex met Santa last night. My heart did pitter patters seeing my two little boys on Santa's lap. How surreal is that to take your kids to meet Santa? Granted, they were more interested in the lights on the tree but still. It's the beginning of a tradition! Isn't he a great Santa too?

Dad and his boys waiting in line to see Santa.

Can you see how cute their little outfits are? Such little men. The funny part is that both the shirts they are wearing were gifted to them by two different people whose boys had outgrown them. They totally match. Same brand, same size. Meant to be.

NorCal Rosenhans visit!

2011-12-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

We were SO happy to see Cam and Shan and the boys this weekend! Davis and Dex have been dying to meet their cousins. Of course, with three babies and a toddler, chaos was the theme of the day but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Brothers and their boys

(I wish I could accurately depict the pandemonium when this picture was taken! Shannon and I about peed our pants. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. At one point, three out of the four kids were screaming and Pres and Cam kept asking why we were laughing. Classic!)

Aunt Shannon and Cousin Holdie with Davis

We wanted so badly to have a picture of the four kids together. This is poor Weston trying to wrangle the twins. He kept saying, "Too big! Too heavy!"

We love you, NorCal Rosenhans!

Dad

2011-11-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Feeling thankful for this guy today.

What a good dad he is. If I'm, being honest, the first week the boys were home, I was afraid he was a better mom than me. He probably was. He loves his boys so much. He is the best swaddler this side of the Mississippi and he's the only one who can soothe our poor, colicky little Dex. Taking care of twins is a big job (make that mammoth,) and the first thing he does when he walks in the door after work every day is try to relieve me. He has even come home for lunch to fix me a sandwich when he knows I haven't come close to finding time to eat.

I hear of all these dads who don't think its their job to help with babies and I'm so thankful for Preston. I literally count the hours till he gets home every day. He does everything I do (minus the womanly things he's not physically capable of!) when he's not at work. It really takes a team to take care of two helpless infants and I'm so glad he's my teammate.

The boys still wake up every 2-3 hours to eat (no joke,) which means we're up at 11, 2. and 5 feeding and changing. I'd like to say I'm a little ray of sunshine at those feedings but I think I suffer from sleep-deprivation rage. Seriously. at two o'clock in the morning I am MEAN. You so much as look at me wrong and I'm coming after you! The first step is being aware, right? I'm working on it. There's a place in Heaven for Preston for putting up with me. I really feel so guilty for directing my late-night fury at him. He does not deserve to lay his head next to

I always knew Preston would be a good dad but I had no idea how good! The boys already prefer him to me. Davis just heard his voice this morning and smiled. He has good taste.

I'm just thankful for my little family, and especially my husband.

Sleep deprived dad meets Black Friday

2011-11-26T22:42:00.001-08:00

Poor Preston. So tired and still such a good sport. I love my buddy.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

I think you can guess what I'm grateful for this year.

It's so crazy to think of this time last year. Prayers are answered and Heavenly Father is real. I'm so thankful for my little family. I waited so long to have it and I couldn't be more grateful. I look at my husband with my boys and wonder what I did to deserve this. I'm just so lucky! Happy Thanksgiving!

Double Trouble

2011-11-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

These preemie boys have made some rapid progress in the last 7 weeks! It's funny to think they should really only be 2 weeks old!

They're up to 10 pounds now and finally starting to chunk up. They're definitely not your typical sleepy newborns. They're awake most of the day and able to follow things with their eyes. Davis gave me his first real smile yesterday! A for real wide-eyed smile as I talked to him! I cried immediately and I cried when I texted Preston at work to tell him about it. Best day ever. Now on to convincing Dex that I'm not that bad...

The boys are in a phase where they're not happy unless they're being held and you can imagine how easy that is when there's one of me and two of them. I usually have Dex across my chest and Davis on my lap and that's how we spend most of our days. I've gotten a little braver venturing out with the two of them by myself but it takes so dang long to get out the door, I really have to decide whether or not it's worth it before I go somewhere! I wanted to go to a warehouse sale with some friends the other day and I truly had to get up at 5:3o to get myself and the boys there by 11:30. We were still late. It legitimately took me 3 hours and 17 minutes to get me, Dex, and Davis clean, dressed, fed, and out the door. That is no exaggeration. I was so stressed about the outing I had to mentally prepare and practice all week. Twins are no joke!

I have never been as busy or exhausted in my entire life (I'm not sure I knew human beings could function on so little sleep!) but I am more in love with all three of my boys than ever. I love my little family.

Nursery Progress

2011-11-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Stupid bed rest seriously derailed all of my nursery decorating (as did moving three weeks after the boys were born!) so it's very (VERY) slowly coming together now. I've quickly realized it's near impossible to get anything done, much less leave the house, with two newborns. But it will get done eventually!

In the meantime, their crib bedding is complete! We obviously have two cribs but one is in our room with us because I am way too paranoid to let the boys sleep in their own room. We'll revisit the issue when they're eighteen.

And thanks to Pinterest, I can pretend I'm creative. I actually saw this mobile in Parents magazine and had to make one. The girl who made it was even nice enough to answer all of my dumb questions through email.

And this is the dresser Preston repainted for me while I was on bed rest. This is the only yucky instagram picture I have if it but it's way cute.

I still have so much to do but I have a feeling by the time I finish they'll be in first grade!

What's in a name?

2011-11-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

My dad's best friend from childhood and his wife sent us these sweet shirts for the boys. They looked so cute in them today (for the hour before they both spit up on them!) And this incredible lady Preston works with made each of the boys one of these sweet baby blankets. How nice is that?

Lots of people have asked about the boys' names. I think we always knew we were going to have twin boys and we had their names picked out before they were even a little speck in my tummy. Really! Those were just always their names. I can't even explain it. I've heard some people say they felt like their babies named themselves and that's how I feel about Dexter and Davis. They let us know what their names were!

Dexter is named after the small town in Georgia my dad grew up in and his middle name, Phillip, is after Preston's dad who passed away when Preston was eight. Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to name a boy Dexter and I love the name Phillip. I think it's special that he carries his name. Dexter usually goes by Dex...and occasionally Sexy Dexy, DP, or Sal (he truly resembles a salamander when he eats.)

Davis has always been Preston's favorite name. I remember Preston watching golf one Saturday when we lived in our little apartment by the beach and pointing out a golfer named Davis Love and telling me he really liked his name. I loved it too when I heard it. Davis's middle name, Morgan, is my dad's middle name and was going to be my name had I been a boy. Davis also goes by Daveycakes and Sherman (Think the Klump family. This kid whiffers like nobody's business,) but NO ONE better call him Dave. That is my one stipulation. I know. I'm crazy.

I just love their names and I think they fit them perfectly. When I was pregnant, we knew exactly which one was which too. Baby A was Davis and Baby B was Dex. Throughout my entire pregnancy, we talked about them and prayed about them by name. I love that we always knew their names. I felt like we already knew them.

First Halloween

2011-11-01T23:46:00.000-07:00

Aunt Eva sent the boys these super cute skeleton pj's. Pretty dang cute, if you ask me. Thanks, Aunt Eva!

One month

2011-11-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

One month. I can't believe it. I can't even remember what life was like before my little babies entered the picture. Words can not express how much we love them. I feel like a different person. I didn't even know I was capable of loving these little people so much. I tell Preston all the time that I can't even look at them sometimes, I just want to take a bite out of them. They are the perfect addition to our family and so worth the wait.

Davis is my smushy, chubby-cheeked babe. His pediatrician calls him robust. I call him my little lamb because he baaa's like a lamb all the time. It is so cute, you would die. Davis is such a sweet, laid-back little guy. He is the epitome of easy-going. He really is such a peaceful baby. Davis is so alert and always watching everything going on with his big blue eyes. He would rather look around than sleep any day and he loves to be held. When he fusses, it's usually just because he wants some lovin. The other day he made me carry him around the house while I cleaned for three hours. Picture the cutest babe you've ever seen in one hand and Windex in the other. It would be frustrating if it wasn't so sweet. He is such a good boy and makes life so easy for me. He is so calm (most of the time!) but when he screams, he hits a note you would not believe human beings can reach. He also likes to pull his legs up to his chest when we change him so he looks like a Thanksgiving turkey. Both of the boys look like Preston, but Davis looks the most like me of the two of them. He has the Blankenship chin and he definitely has my round cheeks. His hair looked pretty blonde in the hospital, in fact, all of the nurses commented on how light his hair was, but it seems to be darkening a little. He might end up looking like his mama after all. I love this little guy so much. I can't even walk by him without stopping to smooch his cheeks off.

Dexter's first month was pretty rough for him. With an eight-day stay in the NICU and an ugly case of acid reflux that sent his little butt back to the hospital, his entrance into the world was hard on him. I kept asking Preston why everything bad happens to Dex and he says it's because he's the strongest of the four of us. Leaving him in the hospital was the hardest thing we've ever had to do. Heartbreaking doesn't even begin to describe seeing his tiny body attached to iv's and monitors and having to leave him there all alone. Remembering those days makes me cry right now. But he's such a trooper and the light of our lives (along with his brother!) He is so funny and there is something about him that is so innocent and sweet. You just feel like you have to protect him. He loves to pull my hair and he's a ferocious eater! He gets so excited to eat, he literally snorts! It is the funniest thing you'll ever see. He cranes his neck like a little salamander and roots around for some grub. Preston's impression of him is priceless. We have laughed during middle of the night feedings till we cry. This kid just brightens your day, I tell you. He is still a skinny little thing with giant, yummy lips I love to kiss. Seriously, people have stopped me in stores to tell me how juicy his lips are. Lucky boy. Dex is just such a sweetheart.

I love my boys.

Got my hands full

2011-10-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

Whoah. I told Preston that it is definitely possible for one person to take care of two babies. But it's not possible to do it well. I really have my hands full. So if I haven't called you back, owe you a thank you card, or taken a shower before 6 p.m., just know I'm working on it!

In the meantime, let me share a couple picture of the little men in my life who have stolen all my time, not to mention my heart. I love them so much I can't even look at them sometimes. They're my best little friends.

Teaching'em young

2011-10-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today, while Davis took a nap, Dex decided he wanted some mommy time instead. (Dex was Baby B when he was still in my tummy...ya know, the one who played and played non-stop?)

So we downloaded the Miami, ASU, and BYU fight songs and learned the lyrics and even the hand movements. He's an overachiever, what can I say? If we're being honest, he was a bit partial to the Miami fight song. Hey! I did nothing to influence him! I told him he has to go to BYU like Mommy though because a) Miami is way too expensive and B) I'd really rather him not become a thug. Miami can he his favorite football team, just like mine. But, I bet his heart will belong to ASU just like his daddy.

We attempted a photobooth photo shoot to document our time together but I wouldn't exactly call it a success. It's a little rough balancing a floppy-necked newborn and an iPhone.

We decided he's much cuter on his own, anyway.

Ya know who else is much cuter on his own? Davis. After he woke up, I took this picture of him. (Again, floppy-necked newborn + iPhone.)

He's even nice enough to let mommy in on some of the fun.

BFF's

2011-10-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

We put the boys in the pack and play in our living room together last night while we ate dinner. There was at least a foot between them. Five minutes later? We find these baby BFF's just like this. They do this all. the. time. Usually they mirror each other too. Holy cute.

Preston has such a special bond with his brothers. I hope our boys are the same. Something tells me they will be.

One of these days when I get five seconds (I am currently feeding Dex and balancing a bottle with my chin,) I'll blog about their special birth day and all the fun we've had since. Suffice it to say, we are obsessed with our little dream team, can't imagine life without them, and I've never loved my husband more.

Reunited and it feels so good!

2011-10-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

After an eight day stay in the NICU, Dex finally made his way home to us. I'm pretty sure the boys did not enjoy the separation. After all, they'd been sharing a room for the last 35 weeks and 2 days. They were pretty happy to see each other when Dex came home. And we were pretty happy to see them back together again. This was the first time they had been together since birth. I love to put them together and just look at them in awe!

They're here!

2011-10-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

October 1st, 2011

Newport Beach, California

In. Love.

35 weeks!

2011-09-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Ya know how most girls post maternity pictures of themselves with perfectly styled hair and cute outfits, sitting in a field, with their hands placed ever so lovingly on their stomachs? I wish. Here's what you get when you've been on bed rest for 10 weeks. A Dunder Mifflin t-shirt meant for one (not three,) hair that hasn't seen a blow dryer in weeks, and a hospital room as the scenic background. Isn't pregnancy glamorous? We keep it real over here.

I'm so excited to have made it this far! My doctor checked me before letting me leave the hospital (hooray!) and I was almost 100% effaced. Twins do a number on you, baby. She said she is sure if I hadn't taken the bed rest seriously, these babes would have come weeks ago. My little Baby A is in position and ready to go. In fact, he is so low she could feel his head. Preston thinks he's ready to roll because he's missing football season. I think he's ready to roll because he's missing the X-Factor. Come to think of it, I probably better hope Preston's theory is right.

The doctor gave me two weeks tops before I start to go into labor on my own and that was a week ago today. I don't know. I think these boys are all talk. They've still got a while to cook. I have been having contractions but usually only at night. How weird. But not much else! Although, I must say, if there is a strange symptom of pregnancy, it has probably happened to me in the last week. This is what happens when you brag too much about how easy a twin pregnancy is. Lesson learned. It really feels like the day I hit 33 weeks, it all hit the fan. For example, one night last week I woke up with a butt cheek ON. FIRE! No joke. It soon spread down the length of my leg and decided to stay that way. My nurse said it was sciatica? What else? My fingers on both hands all of a sudden feel like they've been crushed by a semi. My nurse said it's caused by hormone shifts? I literally go the bathroom 8-9 times a night (and I can usually only sleep between 12-5.) If I lay on my left side, I start getting a splitting headache that goes away when I turn on to my right side. What? I didn't really have morning sickness in the first trimester but it's hitting me now every afternoon. Oh, yes, and the contractions. They only come once an hour but they make me seriously consider sawing my bottom half on. Did I tell you everything hit the fan or what? According to my last ultrasound, I'm carrying about 11 pounds of baby so it probably goes with the territory.

I am so, so, so excited to meet my little boys! Although, I would prefer to delay that meeting for another couple weeks so they have a little more time to cook. I would die of happiness if they could avoid the NICU. Cook, babies, cook! Plus, I start to have an anxiety attack sometimes when I think about being a mom. There is so much I don't know! The things I panic about are so random. Like, giving them baths, or attempting to breastfeed both babies when there is no one around to hand them to me. Seriously, how do I pick up two little babies at one time? Think about the logistics of that one!

We got these pictures at an ultrasound about a month ago. I love them. For some reason, they have gotten some strange reactions. This is the first picture we've ever seen of Baby A from the front. He's always the shy guy. I melt when I look at this. I actually have it hanging on the mini-fridge that sits beside our bed. Preston thinks he looks like his cheeks are eating his face off. I just think he looks well fed.

Baby B was being a bashful boy, which is very unusual for him. Can you see that his little eye is open? Look at his sweet little bald head!

So excited!

Still laughing

2011-09-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Since I've been on bed rest for almost 9 weeks, Preston has had to do all the grocery shopping and errand running. Yesterday, he made a Target run and being thoughtful, he ventured into the beauty department thinking I may need shampoo. So nice of him, right? He texted me and asked me what kind of shampoo I wanted and I replied, "Just grab Pantene, anything that says moisturizing."

Perhaps I should have been more specific. (Thank goodness he's so thorough.) He texted me this picture and asked if either of these were ok. I did a double take when I looked at the bottles on the right and saw they were called, "Relaxed and Natural." And then I died laughing when I read, "For women of color."

I replied to him that last time I checked I was not a woman of color (unless you consider pasty white a color," and he said he thought it meant for colored hair! I seriously love him. I love that he's such a guy. And I especially love that we're finally even after the Aqua Velva debacle of our first month of marriage.

In case you were wondering...

2011-09-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is what being 33 weeks pregnant with twins looks like. At least this is what it looks like on me. Hot. This is also what hospital bed rest looks like. Please note that I am wearing my husband's shirt, I had to wash my hair with hospital baby wash (NOT shampoo and conditioner,) and I was without deodorant. The epitome of sexy right here.

And in case you were also wondering if I'm passing the time at the hospital with delicious meals, the answer to that one is a big, fat N-O. Silly me made the mistake of mentioning that I had been diagnosed as borderline gestational diabetic (although it turns out I am definitely not,) and the caring hospital staff has decided to torture me with gestational diabetic diet from hell. This cute little sign accompanies every one of my meals. Funny. Very funny. Of course I totally ignore that and enlist people to smuggle me in a Coke Zero every day. Oh yes, remember the girl who wouldn't dream of having caffeine while pregnant? She died the day I got admitted to the hospital. Coke Zero is the only treat I get! Plus, my sister-in-law encouraged me to drink it and said the boys' brains are already developed. That's all the justification I need.

Seriously, this is an example of one of my snacks. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a slice and a half of turkey. Why even bother?? I have the same thing for dinner every night-a chicken breast the size of half your palm, green beans, and a small baked potato. Yum. I feel like I'm at fat camp.

So all that complaining aside (that was a lot of complaining, wasn't it?) I am so lucky to have good friends who have come to see me every day! It's really so fun. Although, I'm a little embarrassed because I feel perfectly fine. But I've had Cafe Rio snuck in (Thanks, Jenny!) and I certainly would never refuse that :) Preston threw his back out so he hasn't been able to come see me for the past couple days and it sure does make a difference to have friends come by and take good care of me. Lucky girl.

And in even better news, my doctor said I can go home on Wednesday as long as I'm not dilated and wait to go into labor at home. Yes! Although, it's not too bad in here. The nurses are so nice and it's kind of amazing being waited on hand and foot. I could get used to this. I just feel so unproductive. I have crafts I need to get done for the babies' room. Sheesh!

Found another time waster

2011-08-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

visited 36 states (72%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Like this? try: Triposo Travelhacks

Gotta say, outside of Hawaii, not sure if I care about visiting any of the blank states. Wouldn't it be cool to say you've been to every state though? This may be my new life goal.

Current Obsessions

2011-08-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

My current lady of leisure routine is getting pretty old. In good news, I have passed the five week mark of bed rest! Amen! In better news, my perinatologist told me if I can make it 4 more weeks without any significant changes, he'll release me from house arrest for the last couple weeks of pregnancy. Oh, the things I could accomplish leaving my bed!

In the meantime, I've found a couple (completely unproductive) things to pass my time.

1. Oh, Pinterest. I am so obsessed with you. Seriously, I think I might love it more than Facebook. Coming from me, that's a lot of love. It is becoming the love of my life. The app for the iPhone is even better. So, I think you should add me on Pinterest. Not because you will be remotely interested in anything I pin, but so I can follow you! It's sad how excited I get to see new pins.

While we're on the topic of Pinterest, my good friend, Alisa, started a really cool blog called The Pinmakers the where she and her sister try recipes and DIY's from Pinterest and give their honest critiques. I also get excited when they post.

2. Words with Friends. Holy moly, I am so bad at this dumb game. Why do I love it? I still don't know. How did I avoid it for so long anyway? Preston and I started playing each other one day in the hospital and the rest is history. My friends LOVE playing me because they spank me every time. I truly don't think I have ever won a game. Although, one time I was ahead of Preston for about three minutes. Here's proof.

3. Big Brother. This is nothing new. I look forward to summer just because Big Brother is on. And it's one of the few shows that Preston and I both like. We love Jeff and Jordan. We seriously discuss Big Brother like we're in the pentagon. Kinda sad, but we love it. I have taken it a step farther though. Let's just say, I might watch three hours of Big Brother After Dark every day. Would you like to know what it consists of? Basically people sleeping. And eating. And occasionally yelling at each other. Good stuff. In my defense, I usually just have it on in the background as I fanatically watch stroller reviews on YouTube.

4. Baby Gizmo. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have watched every single stroller review. More than once. I am the most indecisive person of all time. One day it's the City Select and the next day it's the Bob Revolution. Maybe I'll never decide and just carry the boys around with me for the rest of my life. It's looking that way. I'm sure I'll still watch the videos though. That Hollie Schultz is my hero. Have you ever seen anyone manhandle a stroller the way she does? Impressive.

If anyone has any suggestions of things that might occupy my time, send them my way. Just remember, they must be totally unproductive and brain mushing. That's the only criteria.

No fair.

2011-08-26T16:53:00.001-07:00

Who looks like this 2 weeks after giving birth? Heck, who looks like this period? Is she even human?

In summary...

2011-08-11T20:38:00.001-07:00

This photo accurately depicts my feelings on my lame-o "condition." (And my un-blown dry hair and the fact that I have resorted to wearing my husband's t-shirts.)

Went to the doctor again today and the sucker shrunk again. He sent me to the hospital. Again. I was given steroids to develop the coconuts' lungs in case I go into labor and they monitored me for contractions. Bad news: I was contracting. Good news: Not often enough for them to keep me overnight. So I get to go back tomorrow for another round of steroids and another test for some hormone to see if I am in danger of delivering in the next two weeks.

I don't think these doctors realize that I will not let these babies out till October. No way, no how. I have already planned years of Fall themed birthday parties and there's no stopping me.

The doctor told me they are really just buying me some time at home and sooner rather than later I will be taking up residence at Hoag till these little boys are born. It will probably be next week sometime (not that they're born...just when I'll be admitted for the long haul!) I'm really ok with that. Then I know they will always be safe. My only complaint is the lack of HGTV on their televisions. My life revolves around House Hunters. What's a girl to do?

Only in Chandler

2011-08-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

I would just like to say this is the very Fry's I grocery shopped at weekly for the eight years I lived in Chandler. It is literally around the corner from my old house.

Jaimi and I affectionately referred to it as "Crazy Fry's" because there was no shortage of crazy to be found there. For instance, a very sweet young man who happened to be mentally handicapped insisted I was his girlfriend for almost a year and would truly sexy hug me from behind every time he saw me in the store. FROM BEHIND. No lie. And then there was crazy cart boy who later transferred to the Walmart down the street where he continued his legacy as the nazi of grocery carts.

So long story short, it was no surprise when my dad emailed this video to me. Of course a guy with a pink pistol shot himself in the hoo-hoo in the Crazy Fry's parking lot.

Marjory the Trash Heap

2011-08-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Marjory the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock? I bear a strong resemblance to her these days. Back on strict bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. Dumb cervix shrunk back.

We have mirrored closet doors and every time I sit up in bed and turn to my left, I catch a glimpse of Marjory in the mirror. The resemblance between my current body shape and hers is truly uncanny. Pair that with the empty water bottles, peanut butter jars, and dirty plates that surround me till Preston gets home and you've got yourself another set of twins.

I sound like a real bummer, huh? Can't promise I'll be any more positive tomorrow. Debbie Downer might be here to stay.

Miracles

2011-08-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Happy day. The last 24 hours have been FILLED with miracles! Seriously. Would you like to hear about them?

I went to the perinatologist again yesterday. It was literally what I had been looking forward to for five days- a chance to leave the house AND a chance to see the babies? Sign me up. As excited as I was, I was super nervous I would be heading to the hospital right after. Remember, they told me if my cervix had shortened even one more millimeter, it was curtains for me. I was so worried that I truly had my friend come over and do my roots (priorities, peeps!) and I made sure to shave and paint my nails the night before. (You can never be too prepared.) I had visions of being a hairy monster with ghetto roots for months on end in the hospital. Not to mention, I had visions of delivering at 28 weeks and all sorts of scary scenarios.

Now, listen up. Here comes the miracle of all miracles! As soon as the ultrasound began, the tech measured my cervix and that bad boy went from a 2.3 to a 3.6!!!!!!!!! Come again? That is nearly unheard of!! The doctors had warned me that, best case, we would be able to get it to stabilize on bed rest, but there was virtually no chance of it lengthening. They just don't do that. Well, mine did! I have never been so happy in all my life. I wanted to kiss the ultrasound tech. Really though, how crazy is that?? I would like to say that this miracle was a result of my unwavering faith but if we're being honest, I think my faith had been exhausted at this point. I told Preston, "I don't think I have any faith left but I keep praying anyway." I was so worried and I really think I was becoming depressed. I just didn't feel like myself and I was becoming so overwhelmed. I don't handle crisis well! Thanks goodness for prayer and blessings. And probably the faith of everyone BUT me! Heavenly Father is the best!

The ultrasound continued and the babies looked great! We got the cutest pics of them and they were measuring great! Even Baby A who has the marginal cord insertion was growing perfectly and measuring two weeks ahead. He's a big boy. We met with the doctor after and I loved him. So much. Maybe I just love anyone who delivers good news. He lifted my strict bed rest and allowed me to move to modified bed rest! Do you know what this means? I'm allowed to sit up! I'm allowed to make my own food! (No more eating hard-boiled eggs out of a cooler!) No more solitary confinement in our room! He even told me I'm allowed to run to the grocery store if I need to as long as I don't stand for more than 30 minutes. I really wanted to kiss this man!

Remember how I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes? Well, it turns out I don't really have it! Ok, well only a little bit. To be officially diagnosed, you have to have at least 2 high readings at the 2-hour glucose test and I only had 1. And the one I had was only slightly high. So I still have to follow a GD diet (which sucks in the most major way,) and prick my finger four times a day to check my blood sugar but my numbers are always low so the babies are safe and sound. That's what's important.

Want to see our sweet babies? I can't stop looking at them. I'm biased, I know, but I think they are the cutest things that have ever lived.

Baby A (Check out those lashes!)

Baby B. (This kid looks so much like Preston it blows my mind. Even the tech looked at it and said, "Whoah! That looks like Dad!"

I kinda think both these boys look like Preston. Do they have any of my DNA? Sheesh! I guess that's for the best. Life will probably be easier for them if they don't look like a girl. Fine, I accept.

And one last miracle that must be documented. Look what I found.

A Thrifty ice cream scoop?! This would be life-changing for Preston. He is so obsessed with Thrifty. I must be honest. There have been times our freezer contains at least five cartons. It's just not the same in a bowl though. There's something about the cylinder scoop. Must order one now.

Free at last!

2011-07-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Guess who got to leave the house today?? This girl! Granted it was for a trip to the doc but I can't even tell you how happy I was to see the outside world. I drove down PCH with the sunroof open seriously basking in the sun. Dramatic much? Yes. But I don't care.

Look closely. That is a dog wearing sunglasses. Only in Newport. And just to give you an indication of my giddiness/delirium at being let outside of my bedroom, I laughed like a mad woman at him. Not that funny now that I'm posting it....

My joy was short-lived though. Once I got to the office, I learned that my pesky little cervix just doesn't want to cooperate and it shrunk. Again. Can't a girl get a break? So the doctor was on the fence about whether to send me right to the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy and after talking to my perinatologist, settled on sending me there for some testing right away.

See? I really went! It was kind of exciting. Except for the part where they debated admitting me for reals. After a few hours of testing though, they determined the babies are rock stars and I wasn't contracting so they sent me on my merry way. At least for the night. I have to go back tomorrow to check for some hormone that indicates whether or not I am in danger of delivering within the next two weeks. Again, can't a girl get a break? If it tests positive, I will be held hostage. If not, I get to come home for a couple more days. It's pretty inevitable at this point that I will be spending the rest of the summer in the hospital but they're trying to let me stay out as long as possible. My cervix is at a 2.3 and they said anything under a 2 will get me grounded at Hoag. Good news is the food looked good. And it is across the street from Cafe Rio. And let's face it, I'll probably have more of a social life there. New nurses = new friends! How's that for silver lining?

And again, big hugs to this guy who RACED to Newport from his office in L.A. to hold my hand while I had my daily nervous breakdown. This is him studying the fetal monitors. This is also right about when he realized one of them had fallen off while I was laughing. Details, details.

Two years ago today...

2011-07-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to the best thing that has ever happened to me! I still can't believe we're actually married. I wonder when that's supposed to sink in? Love, love, love Preston. I would be lost without him.

Mommy Likey

2011-07-24T11:26:00.001-07:00

Are you allowed to register at Nordstrom? I think these things would make me a better mom. Just saying.

Scenes from bed rest

2011-07-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

(Me and my buddha belly watching Friday Night Lights. Thank goodness for NetFlix!)

When it rains it pours. My booty is on strict bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. Good times. By strict bed rest, I mean only allowed to get up to go to the restroom. And I'm only allowed to sit up in bed for 30 minutes at a time, no more than 5 times a day. Other than that, I have to be completely reclined. Grrr. Just fyi, that's at least 11 weeks of becoming one with my bed.

At the risk of divulging tmi, the length of my cervix decreased dramatically in the last couple weeks because of the weight of the twins causing pressure on it. If it decreases even a tenth of another centimeter, I have to complete my bed rest at the hospital. With a bed pan. No joke. I have a follow up appointment this coming Tuesday to see if the bed rest is helping it stabilize. If it has stabilized then I get to stay here in my bed with the comfort of my dvr. If not, I'm headed to the hospital on Tuesday. Scary stuff. It's way too early to be delivering any babies, that's for sure.

On top of this crazy issue, these little rascals have caused me to develop gestational diabetes in the last couple weeks. I was so devastated to find out this week. I felt like such a failure and like I did something to hurt my little guys. Let's just say, there were a lot of tears involved. The doctor assured me it's a side effect of multiples and not to blame myself. There's some hormone released called Human Placental something or other that caused the body to retain sugar in the blood, which is all well and good, unless you have two placentas in your belly releasing double the hormone. My body just doesn't know what to do with it all!

So I'm stuck in bed for at least the next 11 weeks (I hope I last that long anyway!) and I can't even eat anything yummy. Boo.

Preston has been such a gem. Poor guy has the weight of the world on his shoulders (did I mention we have done NOTHING to get the babies' room ready? Or strollers or car seats or cribs? Procrastination rears its ugly head.) He's stuck waiting on me hand and foot and running all the errands I need him to. He is being so sweet. Before he left for work yesterday, he set me up with all my meals for the day in a big cooler by our bed and even wrapped my silverware in a napkin! I sure hope I would be this good to him if the situation was reversed!

Today he grilled me a steak and made me a yummy salad for lunch. How cute is that? Then I sent him to the grocery store with a list a mile long. There is a place for him in Heaven, that's for sure.

So at the risk of sounding like a whiney baby, this bed rest thing (all whopping three days of it, so far!) is for the birds. My back kills from laying down for so long and I'm feeling a lot like Gilbert Grape's mom. If bed sores come, you may never hear from me again. Today, Preston turned on Castaway for me because he thought I could relate to Tom Hanks. Very funny. But all that being said, my dad asked me last night, knowing what I know now, would I still have transferred two embryos at the risk of having twins and my answer was, "Without a doubt." Anything is worth it for my coconuts. What a small price to pay to get two perfect little boys. My doctor told me she has never had a patient as determined as I am to keep these boogers safe (I think she probably meant obsessive) so she is sure they will be fine. I, on the other hand, am sick to death with worry!

Maybe all this extra time means I'll catch up on blogging...

An Update on the Rosentwins

2011-07-02T00:20:00.001-07:00

I'm in my 23rd week! I seriously can't believe it! A couple weeks ago, after an ultrasound, the doctor noticed that Baby A has what is called Marginal Cord Insertion. Basically, it means that instead of his umbilical cord going straight into the middle of his placenta, it is a little off to the side. It could mean, as he gets bigger, that it may obstruct the nutrients from making it to his growing little body. Since the doctor was a little worried about it, she sent me to a perinatologist to take a look at it. I was really anxious because she thought I would need to go to the hospital for fetal diagnostics twice a week for the rest of my pregnancy to monitor his growth and if his levels started to drop off they may have to deliver the babies early. Cue Hilarry having a major freak out. Of course I started googling all kinds of stories of babies being delivered extremely premature...when will I learn?! I need to stay the heck off of google!

We had to wait two weeks to go to the perinatologist and in the mean time, our sweet families fasted and prayed for us. Wouldn't you know, I went to my appointment this week and after a two-hour ultrasound (really!) the conclusion was that Baby A definitely has a marginal cord insertion but it's not very bad. It doesn't seem to be affecting his growth at all so far and he is still measuring about a week ahead! So no fetal diagnostics for me yet but I still have to go to the perinatologist every two weeks. Small price to pay! I am so relieved. My little coconut is happy and healthy! See, prayer works! The doctor said I should be able to carry them to 38 weeks :)

The ultrasound was very entertaining for a couple of reasons. The first being, Preston is out of town for the week on a work trip and since my bff, Jaimi, came to keep me company for the week, she came with me to my appointment. Let me preface this by saying, there all kinds of strange cases at the high risk OB, so I felt the need to clarify to every single person that we came into contact with that I was not Jaimi's surrogate, we are not dating, and yes, these babies came from my eggs. Truly, I greeted everyone by saying, "My husband is out of town on a work trip so my best friend came with me." Still, it was awkward/hilarious.

It was also entertaining because I think these babes are getting pretty used to ultrasound after ultrasound and I swear, they are becoming little performers. I know I am a broken record, but let the record show that yet another ultrasound tech who has never seen our babies before called Baby B "the most active baby she has ever seen." What is with this kid?! He's such a show off ;)

Not to be outdone, Baby A was pretty active himself. In fact, as you can see in the picture below, reminded me that he was the reason for the ultrasound by saying, "I'm number one!"

Baby B is gearing up for his beach baby lifestyle. Hang Ten, baby!

I feel the babies all the time now and sometimes those little boys really get me! I had my laptop resting on my belly last night and they were moving it out of their way with ninja kicks. They're so fun. I can't even believe how obsessed with them I am.

Baby gift

2011-06-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

This might be my favorite baby gift so far. So hilarious. Thanks, Mom!

I pledge allegiance to Costco...

2011-06-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

I love Costco. They never let me down.

I had a slightly crappy day which included all of the following:

1. Being hit with a frisbee by an evil 6-year old boy who then proceeded to run away from me TWICE (cue picture in your mind of giant pregnant girl chasing said brat across the school,) only to be told when I finally caught the little booger that "I suck."

2. Falling down in the parking lot.

3. Discovering my giant comfy ASU sweatshirt is now a tad snug

But then a little Costco miracle happened. I met Preston after work at Cafe Rio (day was looking up already,) and he had a surprise for me. My parents sent me a little birthday check last month so I could get the Nikon D3100 that I have coveted for the last year. When my birthday came though, the price at Costco shot up $200 so we resigned ourselves to waiting for a better deal. All of a sudden this past weekend, the price went down again and a $150 instant rebate was offered! Preston went to 8 zillion Costcos today looking for the camera but apparently everyone else caught wind of this deal and they were sold out everywhere. He finally found a Costco in Cypress that had two left and booked it over there to get one. When he met me at Cafe Rio, he had it waiting in the backseat and I almost peed my pants I was so excited!

We got home, ceremoniously unpacked everything to find waiting inside the box was not the 3100 but the new 5100!! We were dying and Preston resisted my evil insistence that it was their mistake and we should just consider it a gift (I'm not proud of myself,) and called Costco. Ya know what those little angels said? "Keep it!" WHAT?! And they even ammended our receipt to show the 5100. I would just like to say that is a difference of about 300 dollars. Hallelujah!

Here's my new baby. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch the instructional video and try to figure out how the heck to work this thing.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the greatest dad in the world who instilled in me a love for Miami Football, Rush Limbaugh, and real southern bbq.

And Happy Father's Day to the greatest "about to be a dad" in the universe who makes sure I take my vitamins, does my laundry, and fixes me a bowl of ice cream when "the babies" need it.

I'm so lucky to have two men in my life who always take care of me. And I'm so lucky our boys will have them around to teach them the finer things in life like how to grill the perfect steak, how to play basketball, and where to find the best chicken wings in town. Heaven knows if it was left to me, all the boys would know is Reality tv, cupcakes, and Forever 21. Thank goodness for daddies!

Latest and Greatest

2011-06-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had our 20-week anatomy scan and all is well with the boys! Could anything be more fun than an hour long ultrasound? I think not. I couldn't believe how thorough and detailed the exam was! They did everything from check for cleft palates to counting all their fingers and toes. Everything checked out a-ok. They were even measuring about a week ahead, and that's on the scale for single babies!

They were so cute and really active. The ultrasound tech even remarked about baby B (again,) "Wow, he is a pistol!" This is about the third time we've heard this about him from different docs. Did I tell you we're in for it or what? The babies' positioning is really interesting. Baby A is way down low, just above my cervix, and Baby B is way up high above my belly button. So I guess I am carrying long-ways? I kept telling Preston that I've been feeling like my organs are being smashed and they are! She said before long my liver will be just under my you know whats. True story. No exaggeration.

Ugh. I just love them. I'm sure my blog could not be more boring right now with all the baby stuff but I can't help it. I'm so obsessed with them!

Too soon?

2011-06-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Is it too soon to plan Halloween costumes? I truly have never seen anything funnier in my life.

HALF-WAY!

2011-06-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Whoah. I really haven't blogged in a while. Here's a way too lengthy update for the two people who still read my blog.

Today marks my 20th week of pregnancy! I'm half-way there. Well, more than half-way if you consider the fact that we're having twins. My doctor said, and I QUOTE, "I'll be happy if I can get you to 36 weeks." Come again? She is obviously overlooking my child-bearing hips. These hips were born to birth! Preston decided they can't come until 11/11/11 because he thinks that would be a cool birthday to have. I explained that would make me 42 weeks pregnant with twins and that wouldn't be good for any of us...especially him!

This pregnancy has been super easy so far. People are always asking me how I'm feeling and the answer is always the same, "Good!" My belly is stating to run into my lap when I am sitting down and bend over to pick something up though, which is funny/horrifying all at the same time. My OB is the bomb. She's my fertility doctor's bff and I think they might be the same person. I love her too. She is teeny tiny, blond, super bubbly and reeeeally hard to get into so my Dr. Moayeri texted her for me (cause they're bff's like that!) and her office called me the next day to set up an appointment. We have been so, so, so blessed with the best doctors I've ever experienced.

Preston surprised me with a birthday trip to San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend and it was such a blast. Isn't he thoughtful? We took our time driving up the coast, which was beautiful, and ate dinner in San Luis Obispo, which I decided is where we must live some day. In San Fran, we stayed at the J.W. Marriott in Union Square and we thought we were big time. It was awesome! My favorite part was the big fluffy white robes hanging in the closet. That's luxury! We did all the touristy stuff like Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, and the Painted Ladies. I loved it. I even hung off the side of a cable car pregant! I'm sure i was a sight to see.

The most exciting thing to happen in San Francisco was laying on the bed our first night there and feeling the babies move for the first time! Holy weird!! Preston was in the bathroom at the time (TMI?) so I started texting him from the bedroom, "I felt the babies!!!" I thought I was going to pass out! I am so in love with them. Now I feel them all. the. time. I'm pretty sure they're breakdancing in there...or they're already wrestling each other They are some active boys! I know you're not supposed to be able to feel them from the outside for several more weeks but the other morning one of them was especially active and it felt closer to the surface than usual so I put my hand on my belly and felt a thump! I like to think it was a high-five :)

After a couple days in the city, we went to Shan and Cam's and spent a couple days with them, Weston, and new baby Holden. I know I say this all the time but Preston and I are truly strategizing to get their butts to Southern California. We love them so much. It was good for us to hang with Holden, like a mini-baby boot camp! I was missing holding him all week after we got home! Weston was such a good boy too. He has such a cute little personality. See why we need them to move here? We kept laughing about how funny it will be when we get together with our four boys. Complete chaos will ensue!

I had another ultrasound when we got home from Northern California (it was my first in 5 weeks!!) and the babies were happy as ever. I get to have an ultrasound every 2 weeks now. What a relief for this overly paranoid, slightly psychotic mama to be. We have our big anatomy scan on Tuesday which I am so excited for even though we already found out what we're having. An hour with my little guys? I'll take it!

(These are from our 17 week ultrasound that I never posted.)

Can I tell you about the ultimate prank I played on Preston? I'm so proud of myself. On the day of my last ultrasound, Preston was going through a crazy week-long tactical training in the desert so I was on my own. This was just a quick 5-minute ultrasound to check the length of my cervix so I didn't think anything of it. The tech let me take a quick peek at the babies and she verified again, without any shadow of a doubt, that they're both boys. There was no mistaking that one! As she left the room and I got dressed, I spotted the jars full of pink or blue bracelets. I thought how funny it would have been if they would have made a mistake and realized one of the babies was actually a girl that day. And then a light bulb went off! I quickly grabbed two bracelets and laughed all the way to the car. I must have looked insane laughing to myself. Here's where it gets a little mean...I knew Preston was probably hanging off the side of a building or something at the time and wouldn't be able to return my text, so I took this picture with a captions that said, "I hope you still like ___________ and ___________ as girl names!" (I can't tell you the names yet!) I seriously laughed every time I thought about him reading that text.

I knew they would break for lunch at 12 and sure enough at 11:55 my phone starts ringing. When I answered, he only said, "THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING." The sad thing is, he was in the desert where reception was really crappy so the call kept dropping before I could tell him I was kidding! In retrospect, this probably was really, really mean to do to him. If you only knew how much he has always wanted sons.....he was so sad! Afterwards, he said he felt like he needed to repent for his reaction! He said he would have loved a daughter but the thought kept entering his head, "We need to triple what we're putting in savings right now!"

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

I happen to have the best mom there's ever been.

Being an only child, I've always been really close to my mom. She's my bff, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a shopping buddy, and a partner in crime. (Seriously, she's always down for a little mischief.)

I daydream about the day I get to live close to my mom. I'm so jealous of people who get to have their moms close by! What would that be like? I love that she'll get to be a grandma soon. I can't even imagine how much she's going to love these little boys.

I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Oh boy.

2011-05-02T21:05:00.001-07:00

If I'm being honest, there have been a few minutes here and there over the last week where I've felt a little sadness about not having a girl. One of them happened at Baby Gap on Friday night when I poured over cute baby girl clothes and fantasized about dressing these little boys in eyelet. Would that really be so traumatizing? And then there was the moment that I realized I won't have little girls to take tp'ing, do drive-bys of their cruhes' houses, or give me an excuse to go to boy band concerts. But then I saw this.....

And suddenly I am a-ok with not having a girl. Pretty sure I could not handle this. And Preston assured me that I can take little boys tp'ing too. I hope I have some serious mama's boys.

Current Obsessions

2011-04-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Is this incredible or what? A Minx pedicure in SoCal is upwards of $50. In Arizona, it will run you $20. Why did I not get one last weekend in Phoenix? Ugh.

I love these shoes and I really need something to make feel better about myself since the loss of my waist and the addition of my fat face. I think these would do the trick.

No joke, I eat one every day. I mean every. single. day. It tastes like something you'd get in a restaurant. I truly look forward to lunch all morning.

Have you seen the Voice yet? It is so, so, so good. I have a crush on Blake Shelton and Christina is SO cool. (Minus the whole divorce her husband and run around town drunk thing.) I love that these judges have actual credibility. It's so refreshing after such a sucky season of Idol.

I truly can't get enough. A couple Sundays ago, I ran out and since it was Sunday, I was out of luck. I almost cried. Real tears. I tried everything to satisfy myself...crystal light, vitamin water, you name it. Didn't work. My doctor just told me to lay off the diet caffeine free soda and drink more water and it was basically a death sentence. Blah.

Told ya so

2011-04-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

We had our first OB visit today and wouldn't ya know, those babies sure weren't feeling bashful. We have two yummy baby boys on the way!

I have to say, I knew it all along! I am beginning to think I might have supernatural powers. We are SO excited! Preston especially. I actually think he willed this to happen. He wouldn't hear of any other possibility than two little boys. He's getting his starting line up ready. I'm so glad we're having two boys. I hope they're best buddies. I'm just so happy they'll always have each other and I love, love, love little boys. Plus, I was a little stressed about having to make bows and headbands. I'm enough maintenance as it is, without adding a little girl to the mix!

So since we've had an ultrasound every week for the last 8 weeks, I've definitely seen some personalities emerging. And I'm not the only one! Week after week, I watch Baby B and laugh at what a nut he is. This kid is all over the place. Last week, he was jumping off the wall of my uterus like a little trampoline and today he looked like he was either boxing or practicing to become a ninja. The ultrasound tech even described him as a "wild" baby! Uh oh. This baby is going to work me over when I can start to feel them moving. Baby A is usually so much more mellow. He curls up in a little ball and tucks his hands under his chin with his knees pulled up to his tummy. That's exactly how I sleep! I always sleep with my hands tucked under my chin! Our tech switched to a real time 4-d ultrasound mid-way through and it was completely fascinating. I couldn't believe we could see their little faces. Again, Baby B was going berserk and while we were looking at Baby A in real time, Baby B was literally kicking him in the head through the wall of the placenta. I've never laughed so hard! It was so fun to hear their heartbeats and get to spend 45 minutes watching them. I am in love.

UGH! Blogger is being so lame. These pics are formatting all kinds of weird. Boo. I'll try to fix them later.

Last baby post (for now)

2011-04-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Our doctor gives us dvd's of our ultrasounds but, for the life of me, I can not get the dumb things to upload. Argh. I've finally figured out that I need some dvd ripping software. Let's be honest. That won't happen. So we played yesterday's video on our tv and Preston recorded it with the Flip. We are so ghetto.

(And I'm sorry if the baby posts are getting annoying. This is mostly so our parents can see the ultrasound :)

Rosenbabies

2011-04-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Baby A was waving his little arms around today and Baby B did a flip while we were looking at him. Mommy's little show off!

My favorite story

2011-04-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a favorite story, right? Here is mine.

Preston and I got married almost two years ago. Can you believe it? I, for one, can not. After six months of marriage and lots of prayers, we decided to start trying for a baby. We were so excited. At first, we tried to keep it a secret, but we were so excited, we couldn't wait to tell all of our family and friends. Patience and privacy have never been our strong suits.

After six months, we still weren't pregnant and I had a sneaking suspicion something was wrong. Everyone and their mom told me that it takes a while and of course, and of course, everyone has a story about their friend who got pregnant after a year but I just knew that wasn't going to be us. I asked my doctor to start fertility testing on me and she refused, saying it was too soon. She said, at my age, I needed to try for at least 12 months before she would do any testing. That was not working for me. I wanted answers now! Not in another six months! One night, right before our first anniversary, Preston's uncle, who is a retired OB, was in town and after a day of hanging out at the beach with all of his family, Uncle Steve decided to walk us to our car. As we walked, Preston mentioned to him that we had been trying for 6 months and my doctor wouldn't do anything for us and he agreed with us that this would be an appropriate time to at least start doing some preliminary blood tests and suggested I find another doctor.

The next day, I called a fertility specialist in Newport Beach. I made an appointment for a consultation the day after our first anniversary. I loved the doctor, Dr. Moayeri. She is beautiful and warm and exactly the kind of person I needed. Seriously, she looks like Eva Mendes. After several months of some icky and sometime painful testing, we finally found the cause of our problem. One day in September, Dr. Moayeri called me to give me the results of our very last test. We had less than a 1% chance of ever conceiving naturally. I will never forget pulling over on the side of the road to call Preston and give him the news. In retrospect, I probably should have waited till we got home from work, but there was no way I could get through the day, keeping that information all to myself. It was a very sad period of time for us but we have awesome families and friends that were tremendously supportive. I have never been so thankful for anyone, other than Preston, as I was my sisters in law and especially my parents. Oh my gosh, my parents are amazing.

As sad as we were that we would not be able to conceive naturally, we were blessed with the really wonderful news that our problem was as fixable as infertility gets and with in vitro, we had about an 80% chance of getting pregnant. I'm not going to pretend that we still weren't pretty devastated at the thought of having to go through ivf (from the astronomical cost to the emotional and physical stress,) but there was definitely a ray of hope in this situation! It took a couple months, but we eventually came to terms with our situation and actually became really hopeful and excited.

We had some hiccups here and there as we prepared to start fertility treatments but we prayed and fasted with our families and friends, and they always seemed to disappear. We were finally ready to start our first round of IVF in December, but with the holidays the lab was closed for a couple days and we didn't want to chance it so we opted to wait until January. You can only imagine how many fertility blogs I read in the interim and how much I freaked myself out. The internet is not always our friend! I read story after story about failed IVF attempts and I made myself completely crazy. Word to the wise: STAY OFF THE BLOGS.

On January 14th, we started our first round of IVF. Preston earned an honorary medical degree by giving me shots night after night. It was so overwhelming, mixing solutions and using multiples needles every night. I was so grateful to him for being such a champ. He really is a rock. I was so wrapped up in how all these shots and medications were affecting me (oh, and believe me, they were.) but being the one in charge of giving all of the meds was really stressful. I didn’t even attempt to understand it.

We had a couple more hiccups throughout the cycle and at one point, were afraid it might have to be cancelled mid-cycle, but after a family fast and a blessing, we made it to the egg retrieval on February 10th!

I have never been so nervous in my entire life! I woke up early that morning so completely sick that I thought I had food poisoning. This would have been the worst possible thing to happen since once your retrieval is scheduled it MUST happen at that exact time because of medication you've taken leading up to it. If surgery was even delayed by an hour, the whole cycle would be a bust and they couldn't go through with it. Every time I got back in bed that night, I would make Preston say a prayer with me. I was terrified but determined to have the surgery if it meant I was puking while anesthetized. By the time we were ready to leave for the hospital, I didn't feel great, but I felt good enough!

The surgery ended up being a complete breeze and I felt so good afterwards that we went to Mimi's for lunch on our way home. Only we would still go to lunch when I'm hopped up on anesthesia and an hour out of surgery! Hey, we were hungry. I was truly stumbling through the restaurant like a drunkard. The doctor called later that day to tell us she was able to get 17 good and mature eggs! And the next day, she called with the fertility report and said 15 of those fertilized normally. We had 15 embryos! If you're not familiar with IVF, these are stellar numbers. The kind of numbers you only get when you pray like crazy people.

The doctor said the embryos looked so good, that she wanted to wait and do a 5-day transfer, instead of a 3-day. This can be a little risky because you lose embryos along the way, being outside the body for so long, but the theory is the strongest will make it to 5-day blastocysts and that tells the embryologist which ones have the best chance of becoming cute little babies.

My mom flew in on Valentine's night, the night before our transfer. I had to be on complete bed rest for 7 days (so sad ;) and she came to take care of me so Preston could still go to work. She was a complete angel.

On February 15th, Dr. Moayeri called a couple hours before the transfer to tell us we had 9 really good looking blastocysts, and two that were darn near perfect to be transferred that day. My mouth was on the floor. I couldn't even believe it. Again, those are amazing numbers. I was SO nervous (again) so she prescribed me some Valium before the procedure. I was a lot of fun to be around that morning! Seriously, it was a good time. When we got to the office, the embryologist and Dr. Moayeri met with me, Preston, and my mom and showed us the two perfect little blastocysts they had chosen to transfer that day. (Turned out we had five more that were perfect, too, and we were able to freeze them for future use. What a miracle.) They gave us a picture of our little embryos and my mom became a blubbering mess! It was so special to have her there with us that day. The embryos truly looked like Café Rio tortillas (no surprise there) so I affectionately named them Café and Rio. Preston and my dad have since renamed them Sparky and Sebastian for the ASU and Miami mascots. Ha!

Seriously, don't they look like tortillas? Free meal!

The doctor and the embryologist explained that our chance of success with this transfer (meaning that one of the embryos would implant) was 60% and the chance that both embryos would implant was 20%. A slim chance, but we had to sign some papers to say we were ok with possibly having two babies. Are you kidding? Ok with it? That's what we were hoping for!

A few minutes later, they took Preston and I into a comfy, dimly lit procedure room and the whole thing was done in five minutes. Didn't feel a thing. Dr. Moayeri was so pleased with where the embryos ended up being deposited inside my uterus. She said our two perfect little embryos had landed in the absolutely perfect place. Such little over achievers!

After she left, we were instructed to lie still on the table for about 30 minutes and then we were free to go. As soon as she left the room, Preston gave me a blessing. That was the most special time of our entire marriage to me. The Spirit was so strong and I just felt this overwhelming love for Preston and gratitude to my Heavenly Father. It was such a neat experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

We went home and I became one with the DVR for the next 7 days. It was actually super fun. I loved having my mom to lay in bed with me and watch American Idol and Grey's. We had such a good time talking, playing Rummikub, and crafting. She even brought me trays of snacks, complete with a new US magazine. I just love her. She's the best. By the end, I was desperate to get out of the house and just being able to move to couch from our bed, was a treat. I also spent the better part of the week staring at the pictures of those little embryos and begging them to set up shop for the next nine months. I might have even played them some Coldplay and Killers to entice them.

On February 25th, I went in for my pregnancy test. If we're being honest, I had already taken a pregnancy test at home two days before and had seen the faintest (and I mean faintest) of lines. I thought I was going to pass out. In all the pregnancy tests I've taken, and there have been MANY, I've never seen anything close to a second line. When we went in for the test, the nurse said an HCG number of 5-10 would indicate I was pregnant. Dr. Moayeri was on vacation that week so we waited all dang day for a phone call from the nurse with the results. Around 2 p.m., Dr. Moayeri, herself, called from vacation and said, "Congratulations!!" I was able to keep it together while I was on the phone with her but as soon as I hung up, I looked at Preston and said, "We're pregnant and she thinks it may be twins," and we both started crying. This was such an answer to the fasting, blessings, and zillions of prayers offered by us and our friends and family. Remember how I said they were looking for an HCG number between 5-10? Well, mine was 519. And can we talk about how cool Dr. Moayeri is for calling us on her vacation? Who does that? This is why I love her.

We had to continue to go back for testing every other day to make sure my number was doubling and it was. I had my first ultrasound at 5 weeks and just like I already knew, it revealed TWO perfect embryos had made a little home in my belly! It was really interesting, because I knew she would find two gestational sacs that day. I just knew my little guys were a package deal. I couldn't imagine one of them and not the other. I knew they would stay together. We saw the heartbeats for the first time at 6 weeks.

So here we are, with a due date in mid-October. I still can't believe it. I finally started to wrap my head around it at my 9-week ultrasound when we saw the little guys wiggling. Be still my heart. It finally registered to me that I'm pregnant. One of them was even bopping his little head all around!

These are from our most recent ultrasound.

Baby A

Baby B

Words can not express how grateful we are for this INCREDIBLE blessing. Not just for twin babies, but this whole process has been the most uplifting and testimony building experience of my entire life. I thought I had faith before this experience and I thought I had a good relationship with the Lord, but it pales in comparison to now. I have learned so much about prayer, fasting, faith, the temple, and marriage. Preston and I have such a strong relationship and I know it is a direct result of this trial. I lean on him and trust him more than anyone in the world. I am so thankful I married such a worthy Priesthood holder. He has such an incredible understanding of the Gospel and he is so, so good. He has given me countless blessings throughout this experience and he has been my comfort when no one else could understand what I was feeling. If you know Preston, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. He’s amazing. Let’s be honest, when we got married, I was not envisioning poor Preston putting a giant needle in my butt every night…talk about bonding! I am not going to pretend this has not been an excruciating process, because it has, but at the same time it was so easy and exciting! As difficult as this has been, it is definitely one of my favorite times of my life. We went through some seriously dark days but I know that will make us so much more appreciative of our little family.

If anyone ever needs help in the baby department, I (obviously) highly recommend my doctor! It is truly a miracle that we got pregnant on our first ivf attempt and both of our little embryos implanted. There are four other couples in our ward who have used this same practice, Southern California Center for Reproductive Medicine, and everyone could be a walking advertisement. We all kiss the ground they walk on. They are the best doctors I have ever experienced. Proactive doesn’t even begin to describe this practice. Everything is personalized and NOTHING is left to chance. I could never say enough good things about them. They were truly the answer to our prayers. It is so much more than just a job to them. Dr. Moayeri gives me a hug after every ultrasound and she is so genuinely happy for us! She also has to be a little stern with me every week when I tell her I think the babies are going to fall out and make her check again to be sure their hearts are still beating. I’m a worrier. Can you blame me?

I got to make my appointment today to go back to my regular OB and I feel like I am graduating and becoming a real, live pregnant person! I’m even finally off my shots! Happy day. No more human pin cushion. I’m so excited to be just like everyone else now but I will seriously miss Dr. Moayeri. I begged her to keep me and be my OB too, but alas, it’s almost time to move on. I am also highly addicted to weekly ultrasounds so I am going to go through some major withdrawals.

We are so, so, so, so excited for October. I can’t wait till our kids are older and we can tell them this story. It’s definitely unconventional, but I think it’s so cool to think about how much they were wanted and how many friends and family members prayed and fasted and sacrificed for them. Isn’t that neat to think about? They were so loved before they even came to be and everyone was rooting for them. My favorite part of this whole story is our 13-year old niece who fasted for us, all on her own, on a school day. Can you believe that? Trust me, I work with 13-years olds and they aren’t skipping a meal for anything. That Sydney is a gem. I am really hoping for one boy and one girl but I think we’ve got two little boys in there. I had a dream one was a boy and then I found the highly scientific Chinese Gender Predictor website and it also said boy. Can’t argue with the internet, right? I kind of like the idea of two yummy, little boys though to be best pals. Plus, we really only agree on boy names so that would probably make life a lot easier for us!

It’s still early and it took so much to get our little babies here so we’re still praying like crazy. If you get a chance, will you pray for them too? Café and Rio will love you for it!

Lessons from Marcel the Shell

2011-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this? I know I'm always the last to know but I love this. My favorite part? "I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities, as well." Listen to the shell, Hilarry!

2011-03-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

I love this picture from our reception. (Wouldn't you just kill to be there right now?) Some days I'm so happy to be in California and some days I miss Arizona so much I can't even stand it! Today is one of those days.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

Home is wherever I'm with you

2011-02-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

Guess who's having a birthday today...

THIS GUY!

How thankful am I that Preston was born 32 (whopping!) ago? Aside from being the only person in the world who could put up with me, he's the best friend I've ever had! I am so, so lucky to have him.

Have you heard this song? (I'm always the last to know.) This daddy daughter version is the best but I downloaded the real version and I can't stop listening to it. My sentiments exactly!

Man, oh man, you're my best friend
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain't nothing that I need

Home, Let me come Home
Home is Whenever Im with you
Home, yes I am Home
Home is wherever Im with you

Life Changers

2011-01-30T15:37:00.000-08:00

Have I told you about these little bars of magic yet?

Ay, ay, ay. They are chocolate butterscotch oatmeal bars and they will change your life. I have never been so obsessed with a dessert. I posted the recipe on our recipe blog. You are so welcome.

You might be a creeper if...

2011-01-28T23:45:00.001-08:00

I'm a little afraid I might be that creeper that tries to cuddle everyone else's kid.

But this is Lily and she's impossible not to cuddle. She's Nikki and Darren's and she and I had a heck of a good time last Saturday night! This chick can party. I've only ever wanted to have boys until Lily and now I just want a crazy little girlfriend to bounce around with.

And lest ye forget, this is Westin, my one true love. I was telling Preston how much I loved little Lily and her twin brother, Hank, and Preston got this very concerned look on his face and said, "But what about Westin?!"

See? We think he's ours. Cree-pers.

This is what today looked like...

2011-01-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is January and, yes, it is 76 degrees. Happy day.

We spent the day riding our bikes from Huntington to Newport and after all was said and done, we accidentally rode 22 miles. On beach cruisers. Not road bikes, people, beach cruisers. Yowza.

I would like to say that I received several comments today on my hot pink bike ranging from, "What a beautiful bike!," to "Look at that girl's pretty bike!" Apparently my target demographic is seven and under. I'm a big hit with the elementary set.

Can we please talk about this?

2011-01-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with this hair color. Life really would be so much easier but I truly have a recurring nightmare that I dyed my hair brown and I wake up in a cold sweat. No joke, I grab my hair and check to make sure it's still blond. I'm so lame.

I keep showing Preston this picture and asking him what he thinks of her hair. Not sure he could possibly care any less.

It's really sad that this is stressing me out. I know.

Lost and Found

2011-01-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

So maybe my parents gave us a Flip last year for Christmas and after five short months, I lost it. So sad. Actually, I remembered putting it in a safe place as we were moving last summer. I just couldn't remember where. Preston says I hide things from myself. Anyway, the stupid lost Flip became a running joke and then one fateful day, Preston noticed my Betsy Johnson clutch hanging in the closet and thought it was suspiciously sized and shaped like a Flip. Lo and behold, the Flip has been found! (I said I put it in a safe place, didn't I?)

Imagine my delight when I turned it on today and found this one, lone video still on it. I laughed out loud as I watched it by myself. This probably won't be funny to anyone but me, but I think it's hysterical. You've got to hang around till about 1:20. It makes me laugh every time I watch.

Watch it soon because I'm sure as soon as Preston sees this he will have my head on a stick!

NYE 2010

2011-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

This is what NYE 2010 looked like. Jealous?

Poor Preston has has the flu for five days so New Year's Eve wasn't exactly a rockin night. I went with my mom and dad to Cafe Rio and then we came home and played Rummikub and ate ice cream. I wasn't exactly wearing heels and sequins, like in years passed, but it was still really fun.

We hit the Martinelli's hard...

And got into some HEATED games of Rummikub. (Have you played? Shannon and Cameron introduced me to it last week and now I'm hooked!)

Don't let this little flu-stricken face fool you. He cheats!! (Ok, I must be honest. I stole a tile from him when he got up to turn on the tv. That was after he cheated though. That makes it ok.)

I have to say, we may have partied like senior citizens, but it was so nice to be with all the people I love most in the world! That being said, next year, come "you know what" or highwater, I'll be wearing heels!

Sistas

2011-01-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

My super sweet sister-in-law, Sabrina, sent me this picture that she took of me and the Shannons after Sabrina gifted us with the cutest, hand-made aprons anyone's ever seen. We talked for days about how thoughtful Sabrina always is to us. My New Year's resolution (among many, many others,) is to be more thoughtful like her. And If I had showered yet today, I would take a picture of myself in my new apron but trust me, no one wants to see me in my current state.

I love having sisters!

True. Love.

2010-12-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Reunited and it felt so good.
Nothing says "Phoenix to Huntington Beach" like a diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla at the Dysart exit.

Merry Kissmas!

2010-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in Arizona this year and oh, what fun it was! It would have been my first Christmas away from my parents (gasp!) but my parents made the trek to Gilbert to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with the us and the Rosenhans.

We were total losers this year and didn't bother putting a tree up so we stole Damon and Shannon's tree for a photo op.

(Don't ask what my camera did to this picture. I almost asked Santa for an slr this Christmas, but decided we had more important fish to fry. Maybe I'll ask the birthday fairy...)

Clearly, there was a lot of kissing going on this Christmas. There was also a lot of eating. A LOT. I promised myself I wouldn't wreck my diet but alas, the pull of homemade caramel corn and Oregano's pizookie was too strong for me.

Speaking of Oregano's, I was so happy to hang out with my favorite girlfriends. Can you believe it had been six whole months since we'd been home? If I gave you a recap of our dinner conversation, I just might die of embarrassment but suffice it to say, we have fun when we get together.

It was so nice to spend a week in Arizona and have plenty of time to see everyone. Cameron and Shannon stayed with us at Margaret's house and it seriously was like a week-long slumber party. We played Rummi-Kub, watched Christmas movies, shopped, wrapped presents, and ate yummy treats all day long. We also loved hanging with Damon and Shannon, Sabrina and Allyn, and all the nieces and nephews. It was the perfect week. I am so lucky to have such good in-laws and it was doubly fun to have my parents with us too. The Rosenhans were so welcoming to them and we had so much fun playing Trivial Pursuit (the old people, my mom, dad, and Margaret tried to cheat but Sabrina and Al took them down;) and of course, eating.

I am so lame and hardly took any pictures. Boo on me. See? I do need an slr! In the meantime, I'm hoping one of the sil's will post some pics and I can lift them :)

Husband of the year

2010-12-18T15:35:00.001-08:00

My bomb husband made chalkboard speech bubbles for me for my school's winter dance yesterday. Isn't he the nicest? They came out SO cute! And much cheaper than the $30 people want for them on Etsy!

They were the hit of the winter dance and I want so badly to post pictures of the kids using the speech bubbles but I'd rather not lose my job.

My work bff, Kristine, and I snagged some speech bubbles from the kids and took a few pictures. Unfortunately, twelve year old photographers cut most of the speech bubbles off in the picture (and those suckers had been put through the ringer by this point.) And you should know, this was attempt #12 and attempt #15. You get what you pay for.

Also, you should know that Kristine is a pixie of a person who literally weighs less than 100 pounds and stands 8 inches shorter than me. (I am squatting in these pictures.) Obviously, I feel very ogre-like next to her. And let's be honest, the roots, middle part, and Rudolph nose sure aren't doing me any favors. Go easy on me.

I have abandoned my roots

2010-12-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

This is precisely why I will never live in Miami again. But can we talk about how funny this is?

One of these things in NOT like the other.

2010-12-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

Maybe someone stayed up way too late last night watching YouTube tutorials on how to have Kim Kardashian hair. (Seriously, you would not believe how much time some people have on their hands. I meant the people making the videos, of course. Not me!)

I think I was expecting a ghetto booty and long, flowing Armenian locks to appear with a twirl of the curling iron this morning. Sadly, all I got was a fat face and roots. Not the hair style for me.

Thanksgiving Recap

2010-12-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

Since I had a week off for Thanksgiving and Pres did not, I went to Seattle a few days before him. Remind me not to do that again. It was great being with my parents but I missed my hubby. We did a lot of facetiming. Bless you, Steve Jobs.

Seattle was FREEZING. Especially for this California girl. Leave it to us to visit on the coldest week in history, fraught with snow and ice storms! I haven't seen snow since I lived in Utah! This guy really enjoyed it though. Is he the cutest dog you've ever seen too?

Within 24 hours, my dad had me in these boots. (Remind me to buy some Wellies.) If you know my dad and his obsession with all things L.L. Bean then you will understand the humor in this picture. He bought me these boots my freshman year at BYU and this is the first time I have ever worn them. Ha! I was desperate.

When Preston got to Seattle, my parents took us to a fancy schmancy dinner at a fancy schmancy steak house called John Howie. I had chicken, of course, which made my whole family crazy. Anyway, John Howie is next to this establishment that causes angels to sing. That's my dad at the bottom. It was DELICIOUS. Thanks, mom and dad!

This is my kind of shopping center!

We went to Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's house and this was our contribution, a bread cornucopia! Ok, well I was more the brains of the operation and my mom was the brawn. I pride myself on being an idea person.

And this is how I made my through the snow to dinner. I do not do winter.

This was Preston post-turkey dinner. Tryptophan is real, people.

This was me post-turkey dinner. A girl's gotta entertain herself while everyone else watches football and naps. I passed the time downloading cool, new apps. Again, bless you, Steve Jobs.

And this is me and my mom passing the time post-turkey dinner. Hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

After all that eating, we still found time and room to go to Molly Moon's ice cream. Thanks to Shannon for the recommendation! Just when I thought I couldn't eat another thing, I persevered. It was basically amazing.

Rawley became obsessed with Preston. They watched lots of scary shows together. I am slowly being replaced.

It was another great trip to Seattle. I went to the magical Bellevue Goodwill four times. That's correct, FOUR TIMES. And spent no less than 8 hours there over the course of the week. It really is that amazing. J.Crew, Jonathan Adler, Banana and Anthro. Enough said. I'm so glad my parents moved there!

We had a blast with my parents and missed them by the time we touched down in Orange County. See you again in two weeks, mom and dad! I love the holidays.

Adventures in babysitting

2010-12-04T22:14:00.000-08:00

We babysat Westin last night and we're still talking about it today. We really and truly love him. I debated not letting Matt and Christ in last night when they got home! I'd say he is good practice for us but I'm afraid he's too good to be truly representative of having of our own kid. Pretty sure we laughed the entire time he was over. Especially when we fought over changing a poopy diaper. (I lost.)

Westin loved to watch basketball with Preston's hat on. Does it get any cuter than that? And can I just say that watching Preston wrestling with Westin completely melted my heart. Can not wait till we have our own.

Crafting-Challenged

2010-12-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

So this was my attempt at the pom-pom wreath. I really am crafting-challenged. It looks ugh, the colors are gross, and it's gargantuan compared to our door...but it took over 12 hours to make so it's hanging up anyway. I will not be beaten by the wreath. So there.

The only upside to the wreath is that the 12 hours spent on those blasted pom-poms (they truly got yarn in every crevice of the house, along with my nose) were 12 hours spent with my mama, enjoying Turkey Day leftovers and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Parenthood marathons. You really can't beat that!

P.S. Don't mind the random dark green pom-poms. After multiple trips to the craft store through the ice and snow (seriously,) we ran out of yarn AGAIN and I can't stand the thought of making another freaking pom-pom this year. So we made do. I wish it was red and white. I might love it then. But then again...I'm so over it.

My dad, a sensitive man

2010-11-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Last week, Preston and I went to see ASU play USC at the Coliseum in L.A. I thought I only had room in my heart for one team (Miami will be my one true love) but it turns out I was wrong. I have room in my heart for the Sundevils, too. It was a heartbreaker!

My Dad sent me these "sweet" texts throughout the game. He really is lucky I find him funny! My favorite part, "Me, me, me. Watch me twirl." Is it any wonder I turned out the way I did?

A visit from Shameron

2010-11-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

Preston and I were supposed to go to Arizona for Veteran's Day weekend but decided to stay here so we could extend our Christmas trip home. It worked out perfectly because Cam and Shan came down this weekend and I was reminded of my true and eternal love for Weston. I want to eat those cheeks off!

It was so fun having the NorCal Rosenhans here. Why didn't I take any pictures then? I'm a moron. It seriously was the best weekend ever. We dined at Cafe Rio, played at Disneyland, went to the movies, got some Pinkberry, grilled, and Shannon and I got pedicures while the boys played video games. Bliss. Preston was SO happy to be with his brother and I always have the best time with Shan. I think we might have been separated at birth. It has become my life's mission to get them down here. Preston and I have been mapping out our strategy on a little white board all afternoon.

When the cat's away...

2010-11-08T23:22:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been doing in our house tonight as Preston is traveling.

I just might have listened to this song on repeat for the last hour. I can't stop myself. My booty is shakin all over the place.

(No more videos. Promise!)

What are you thankful for?

2010-11-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

I just told Preston that I love Thanksgiving. Maybe more than any other holiday. This year, I'm thankful for my husband, my parents, my sisters-in-law, my calling, Preston's mom, prayer, the Priesthood, good doctors, our ward, nieces and nephews, the temple, good friends, my job, Preston's job, the beach, the Gospel, our house, and, of course, Cafe Rio.

We watched this video in YW today and it was such a good thing for me to hear. (Can I just say that YW is the best place in the ward to be. Pretty sure I am brought to tears every week by something the girls say.) Some of you know that we're going through a little trial right now and it's pretty easy for me to focus on the things we don't have, instead of the things we do. This was such a good reminder for me of all my blessings. Oh, and isn't Elder Oaks handsome? He is my General Authority crush. Is that inappropriate?

Crafting is pain.

2010-11-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

I made a wreath and suffered tenth degree burns in the process. I truly went to bed with a cold compress on the layers of skin now missing from my fingers. Glue guns are the work of the devil.

At least our front door is a little bit cuter now. I suffer for the cause.

Miss you already, October.

2010-10-31T23:47:00.000-07:00

I miss October (and candy corn) already. Is there a better month in the year? I think not.

(Me and Eva. Halloween in the M.I.A. I'm the one with the tell-tale cheeks.)

A visit from the Parkinsons

2010-10-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn is one of my bff's of all time. Fate brought us together at Windsor Park during our sophomore year at BYU and the rest is history.

I was so excited to get to see Joc, Tony, and Mara! We had so much fun reminiscing about learning the Romy and Michelle dance in our living room, tag team food poisoning on Easter Sunday, and laying on the couch with Joc's head by feet and vice versa during our post-church Lifetime movie marathons.

Mara likes sugar. She ate about 20 sugar packets at Red Robin. Girl after my own heart. She's so sweet. I want to eat her.

Have I told you about my new love affair with Irvine Spectrum? It's love. I tried to use its other-worldly powers to lure the Parkinsons to southern California permanently.

Would you like to hear an embarrassing story?

2010-10-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Joann's. Since it's almost Halloween, the skanky girls were out in droves trying to find the sheerest fabric possible for their costumes. I kid you not, there were packs of them. Loud, obnoxious packs of them.

This one, standing in front of me, was particularly skanky. Preston and I like to send pictures to each other of creepers out in public so I got my phone out to take a picture of her. I tried to be subtle but little did I know, the camera was set to flash and that little iPhone flask packs a powerful punch! I swear, that flash lit up like the fourth of July! So embarrassing. Everyone in line knew exactly what I was doing and started giggling. I wanted to die.

The end.

Soulmates

2010-10-29T17:52:00.001-07:00

This is my new iPhone case. Hot pink and turquoise. It's like we were separated at birth.

My BFF

2010-10-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

(Lifted from Christi's blog, my other bff.)

Labor Day in the OC

2010-10-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day with the Pobsts and Lainharts hiking at El Moro Canyon, lunching at Cafe Rio, beaching at Corona Del Mar, and having ourselves a barbeque back at the homestead. Good times had by all!

After hiking our booties off at the canyon, we "hiked" down to the beach. My hip flexors felt like they were going to fall off by the time we got to the beach!

Living here might not be so bad after all.

Of course, living in one of these houses right on the beach would be better.

This is the house I picked. It has restaurant-sized patios on every level. With heaters. Sold!

And of course no federal holiday is complete without an appearance from my favorite guy (ok, 2nd favorite guy.)

So proud.

2010-10-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

I made a header for our recipe blog and I've got to be honest. I'm feeling a little like Mark Zuckerman right now. I'm pretty much an IT genius. Put me to work, Apple!

Jillary takes the OC

2010-10-17T20:19:00.001-07:00

Jaimi came to visit us last week. We had big plans...Crystal Cove beach, Irvine Spectrum, Fiesta Grill, PCH bike rides, fashion shows with Tenley and Kiptyn, thrift stores, General Conference pumpkin pancakes and....

...me puking my guts out and begging Preston and Jaimi to put me out of my misery.
Poor Jaimi. I'm sure this is just how she wanted to spend her Sunday night. Laying on the floor with me, watching Undercover Boss in between sprinting to the bathroom to blow chunks. I'm blaming Corner Bakery. The only upside to my near-death experience is that I found a brand new pair of Sevens at the magical HB Goodwill for $17 on Saturday and they were a tad bit looser on Monday. Anything to lose a pound.

Paging, Dr. McDreamy

2010-10-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

My parents recently moved to Seattle (i.e. two weeks ago!) and I am so excited to have them living in such a cool city that's at least a little closer to us! My mom's 60th birthday was in September so we flew out to Seattle to help them celebrate last week.

Let me start by saying Seattle is one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. It's seriously incredible. I felt cooler and a little more hip just by visiting! My parents live in Bellevue, a mile from unbelievable shopping (can you say Louis Vuitton?) and restaurants. So cool! Their house is so nice and their backyard has truly been declared a natural preserve. Crazy!

On Friday, Preston, my dad, and I played tourist while my mom was at work. We went to the Pike Place Market (just like on the Real World Seattle,) the Space Needle, the Waterfront, and even some Grey's Anatomy filming locations. I still can't figure out how I got to my dad and Preston to humor me and drive me to Meredith Grey's house. In retrospect, they did want to kill me and of course they stayed in the car while I had my own photoshoot in front of the interns' house but still!

The Pike Place Market is incredible. They had rows and rows of gorgeous flowers and they were dirt cheap. I'm talking huge bouquets for $3-$5!

This where they throw the fish!

We went to the freakiest store ever on the waterfront. Think mummies, two-headed calves, Mexican jumping beans, and fudge and you have the Ye Ole Curiosity Shoppe.

(P.S. This is Sylvia the mummy and clearly she is not eating the fudge. I did, though. Pumpkin fudge to be exact because I love Fall and all things pumpkin. Sylvia is missing out.)

After walking around the waterfront, we stopped for some fish and chips at Ivar's on the water.

(Oops. They're standing in bird poop.)

Ugh. I hate seagulls. They harassed us the entire time we ate. And let me tell you, those suckers are LOUD. And rude. This is right before I pelted him with a fry.

We walked around Pioneer Square and looked in cool store windows like these.

And my dad considered buying a utili-kilt like this...

and posed with Chief Seattle.

We went to the Space Needle and the views from the top were surreal.

Oh and they gifted us with these sweet souvenirs before we left.

I asked the Space Needle tour guide about the Seattle Grace Hospital from Grey's and he pointed out that it was right next door. It's actually the ABC News building in Seattle.

The Space Needle is only a couple miles from Meredith's house on Grey's so I begged and pleaded and my dad and Preston humored me long enough to do a dive by. Only when we got there, I whined enough and they pulled over. Little did they know a 15 minute photo shoot would ensue. Ah, they live and learn. I was in my own little world. At one point, I looked around and they were nowhere to be found. I eventually found them. They had driven around the corner. Didn't even notice.

It's a miracle I haven't been chased off by angry homeowners as much as I do this.

This is the view of the Space Needle from Queen Ann where Meredith's house is.

On Saturday, two of my mom's sisters came over with their families for a little birthday bbq for my mom. It was rainy (surprise, surprise) but part of the backyard is covered so it worked out perfectly.

Later that night, Preston and my dad went to Husky Stadium to watch ASU play Washington. I was supposed to go but it was pouring and tickets were expensive so I went to the mother of all Goodwills instead. More on that later.

We are obsessed with Seattle (and that amazing Goodwill!) We're planning on going back next month for Thanksgiving but some medical appointments we have might conflict. The jury is still out. Hopefully, we'll see you again next month, Seattle!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome trip!