Winter Wonderland

It's still snowing!

Here we are starting the work week before Christmas and there is at least 8 inches of snow on the ground. It is starting to get really wet and is no longer the beautiful dry powder of last week. It would be nice to get out and finish my Christmas shopping. I think everyone will be getting gift cards this holiday.... Safeway here I come! :-)

Spencer got his first set of skis on Friday and we tested them out soon after the box arrived. He isn't so sure about skis, but loves the snowboard he was testing out. I will get straight sticks on the boy if it kills me! ;-)

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

WOW! What a way to start a Winter Vacation! The kids have been eagerly watching the weather reports waiting for the "big storm" to dump snow on our lil' piece of paradise (Bainbridge that is) and today they finally got their wish. The kids played out in the snow most the day giving Dave and I a chance to start our holiday shopping. This was the day to shop that is for sure! The mall was empty and we never had a line anywhere we went. There were only two cashiers open at Target with minimal lines. Amazing!

Spencer (and his parents) spent the night before the snow awake.... nearly the entire night. He was screaming and not sleeping. I even had to crawl into his toddler bed with him in order to try and get a little shut eye for myself. It is a funny sight to see an adult squished into a crib sized bed. We are thinking he is teething with his 2nd year molars and that is what is causing the really strange behavior. The twins are great and getting big. Elsie is a fun one with lots of laughs and smiles. Georgia is starting with the communication and getting some big grins in.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the snow!

Spencer turns two!

The terrible twos are well under way with our amazing little Spencer. His birthday party was changed from Chuck E. Cheese to our house due to the storm and snow. Not a bad option and Spencer finally got the fact that it was his day. After being sung to many times, Spencer began begging for "Day, Day" to be sung again. He went in today for his check up and is now 23 pounds. His weight is on the growth scale but his height is still below the scale. He is proportioned well so we won't worry about his pint size stature. (He will make a good wrestler!)

Trimming the tree

Well, the day after Thanksgiving the whole family ventured off to Kingston to go and get our christmas tree. We had grand ideas of being able to decorate the house inside and out in one weekend and be all holidayin' it early. Two weeks later our tree still stood in it's stand on out porch. Finally we have a tree with lights and decorations! I can't say for sure how many decorations will remain on the tree without our dear sweet son pulling them off to play "ball" with them... So far we have had six off the tree and one glass ball shattered when Spencer decided to take a wire whisk and hit a home run with the ball. Glass every where. Spencer enjoyed having the tree in the house so much that he decided to dance around the tree naked. I couldn't keep his clothes on. Funny little guy.

"Two" cute for words (corny I know) - November 2008

Getting our pumpkins - October 2008

Two hours shy of December.....

I am finally sitting in my living room listening to the still of the night sipping hot chocolate. It should really be something more dramatic like a hot buttered rum or even a whiskey shot, but hey I take what I can get. All joking aside, where on earth did the last three months go? I thought I would be able to manage all five kids and keep up a blog but as you can see I haven't been doing that at all.

The girls are now twelve weeks old. Wholey crow time flies! At their two month check up they weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds a piece (that's a 4 lb increase) and the stamp of health. Georgia has been struggling with a stuffy nose and a raspy voice which the doctor thinks is related to colic. She tends to be quite fussy and her raspy cry is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Elsie is doing well and is enjoying frustrating her parents by being on a hunger strike. She likes to check everything else out around her except for the yummy milk being offered. Elsie is smiling up a storm and is now cooing at you in response. She also likes to check herself out in the mirror attached to her swing. She gives herself the eye and then talks to the mirror. Really cute. Georgia is starting to smile at you and makes noise every once in a while. I am beginning to wonder if her chunky cheeks are keeping her from smiling!

Our world has definitely changed since the arrival of the twins. Katia is working extremely hard at school and really likes middle school. She completed another season of select soccer and is anxious to play indoor. Alex is taking 3rd grade by storm. He has a wonderful teacher who is tough but can work well with Alex. He is working hard at his math and spelling not to mention his reading level has increased to grade level! That is superb! He really enjoyed soccer this fall and was one of the best players on the field. He is very good at placing the ball down the field and calling out to team mates to set up plays.

Dave and I are getting more sleep and are enjoying the bliss of 4-5 hours in a row. We used to feed every three hours and that was killing us! Now we let them wake when they are hungry. Whew! Besides sleep deprivation, we are busy keeping up with the lives of five wonderful kids.

Heather in Action with the Twins

Check out Heather's work at Heatherquintans.com. We love Heather's photos!

Photo Divas

Today the girls had their first photo shoot with Heather Quintans. Heather has done other photo shoots for my family including our wedding. She is an amazing photographer and she wanted to "practice" on the twins. Dave and I went to her studio and spent some time getting down and dirty with our naked babies. Dave was the one who ended up doing the dirty work and got peed on multiple times along with one poop. Poor guy, he was a mess when we left. I am looking forward to seeing the photos and getting some for our wall. The girls were surprisingly awake and not interested in assisting Heather in getting the right shot. Finally they fell asleep and we had fun getting the two really close and cozy. They did really well!

Feedin' Time?

Big brother Spencer is always eager to help with the twins. I think this may take the cake in how helpful one little boy can be!

Babies' first doctor's visit

The girls went to their first doctor's visit on Monday, September 15th. They both got great reoprts and the girls weighed in at 4lb 14.5oz - Elsie went up .5 oz from her birth weight and Georgia went up 1.5oz. Their next visit will be at 2 weeks.

Welcome Elsie and Georgia!

Where do I start? Our family welcomed Elsie and Georgia into the world on Sept. 10th just before 1pm. Both girls managed to be born vaginally, Georgia being a bit of a gymnast with one arm above her head and one leg by her belly creating the splits. Both are doing well and are in the hospital room with us. they weighed in at 4lb 14oz and 4lb 13oz (a tad off the guesstimate from the ultrasound).

Here is how our delivery went.... As you read in Tuesday's entry, I came home from my doctor's appointment with a 50/50 chance of going into labor within 48 hours because of having my membranes stripped. I was dilated to 4cm and effaced. At home I began cramping quite a bit and was having to bend forward a bit to try and relieve the feeling. I joked around with my husband about the 50/50 chance and we decided to get ready to head into Seattle that night. My cramping began to move into patterned contractions about 10 minutes apart. I laid on my side and the contractions went to 4 minutes apart. When we checked the ferry schedule we realized that there was a 9:45pm and an 11:35pm boat (this revelation occurring at 9:30pm). In listening to the words of my doctor we decided to hop onto the 9:45pm so we wouldn't be rushed to get to the hospital in hard labor. Once at the hospital I was checked and my cervix measured 5cm so they decided to move me to a labor room.

Labor.... My contractions changed to minor blips and we started pitocin to get things moving. Well, things didn't get moving. I spent about 12 hours on pitocin and went from 5cm to 7cm. The contractions were constant and close together but didn't hurt. My friends Melinda and Mimi started rubbing my feet and instantly I went into hard labor. This was at about 11ish. It was nice to finally have contractions that meant something, especially after waiting and waiting for "real" contractions. The active labor hit fast and we got started on the epidural. The epidural took forever to put in and I was sitting on the side of the bed trying to curl myself around my belly to create an open space in my back AND have very strong contractions. The contractions were pretty much constant and it was hard to go through this with a needle in your back. By the time I was done getting the epidural I was trying really hard to not push! The epidural was complete at 12:16pm and they checked me and I was 8-9cm dilated. They broke my bag of waters and instantly I was totally dilated and the first baby's head was coming - QUICKLY. They rushed me out of my room and told me to not push or the baby would come in the hallway. I got into the OR and everyone was rushing around getting ready for baby #1. It was amazing to watch all the people (our guess is 15 people in there) and thankfully with the epidural I wasn't feeling any pain. Two pushes and little Elizabeth Marie popped out. They then grabbed the ultrasound and searched for baby #2. She wasn't really head down and not really sideways. The doctor had to go up inside and grab for her legs. Thankfully at that time she dropped head down and we were able to deliver her within a push or two.

Both girls were born healthy. Georgia spent one day in the NICU with some breathing issues but was doing well hours after birth. Elsie was able to stay with us for a good portion of the time but did visit the nursery so that she could be monitored for temperature control. We have been very blessed with two beautiful (and very different looking) girls AND and super experience with delivering them. UW Rocks!

Elsie and Georgia arrived on Wednesday!

Elsie and Georgia were born at 12:40 and 12:54 p.m. yesterday!

Elsie (Elizabeth) Marie Nelson, 4 lbs, 14 ounces
Georgia Anne Nelson, 4 lbs. 13 ounces

Mom and babies are doing well at UW Medical Center. They will probably be home on Friday...maybe, Saturday.

We will post more details and pictures shortly...

Dave

Will we soon meet our girls?

Today I went in for the ultrasound and doctor's appointment. The ultrasound ended up being a bit of a challenge because "Baby A" (the one closest to the cervix) has her head SOOO low that they couldn't get a good image of it or measure it's size. She is head down, way down, into the pelvis. "Baby B" is still head up and actually has her head in between the legs of her sister and then curves into a ball with her legs on her sister's head. So both babies are kicking the other in the head. Kinda funny. The results of the ultrasound guesstimate that "Baby A" is 5.7 pounds and "Baby B" is 6 pounds. There is a much greater inaccuracy rate when the babies are at 36 weeks because it is harder to find the parts they need to measure... so who knows how big they really are.

I am dilated to 4cm now and my doctor stripped my membranes to try and get things going. As a back up we have an induction date of September 24th. It is nice to know that sometime soon this will end.

As of this evening I am cramping a lot and I believe passed my plug. (This could be way too much information for you....) We will see if the girls come tonight. Until then....

Not so patiently waiting....

Well here we are nearing the end of 35 weeks gestation with our twin girls and we are all getting a little anxious to meet the two bundles of chaotic joy. So far I am dilated to 3cm and about 90% effaced - meaning I am that much closer to "active labor" when I finally go into labor. It didn't take a whole lot with Spencer so there is fun talk about whether or not I will make it across the water to UW. I am planning on hitting the ferry as soon as I know for sure I am in labor. My doctor is also teasing me about going full-term with the girls - wouldn't surprise me a bit. If this is the case she will induce me about 39 weeks (as long as everything remains great and healthy).

I go in on Tuesday for a growth ultra sound and a doctor's appointment so will know more then. Until then..... we not so patiently wait.