Week 31/32

Hello all who read this,

Happy Memorial day to everyone!  Hope everyone had a great weekend with the nice weather we had.  Also, a specail Thank you to our service men and women and our veterans who have served.  We are truly blessed for everything you have done for us. 

I am giving Amber the week off so I am taking over the blog this time.  Its crazy to think that it's already almost week 32, each week we are amazed at how the pregnancy has gone.  Our house is at a point where its full off baby stuff but its slowly getting organized.  Amber has been getting the clothes together and getting stuff put in their right spots in the nursary.  I don't throw the cute word out there a lot but I must say, some of the outfits are pretty cute and I can't wait to see the girls in them.  We have finally pulled out our double stroller and have it put together along with our two carseats.  The debate now is when to have them in the car ready to go.  We have some final touches to put in the nursary along with items to get but overall we feel better eachday with what we have gotten ready.

Here's where our twins are at:

Your twins' arms, legs and bodies continue to fill out and are finally in proportion to their heads. By 32 weeks, each twin weighs about 3.7lb and looks very like a newborn. They measure about 16.5in (42 cm for our Canadain readers) each from crown to toe.

You may notice that your twins aren't moving around as much this month. Don't worry, they're just running out of space in your womb. As long as you can feel them squirming, you'll know they're fine. Believe it or not, they still have some growing to do. You can expect them to gain at least 1.5lb more before they're born.

Your twins' organs are continuing to mature and they are passing large amounts of water through their bladders, which is good practice for weeing once they're born. Your babies have periods of dream sleep by this stage, and will continue to do so once they're born.

Some babies have a full head of hair, others have only a few wisps. Thick hair at birth doesn't necessarily mean thick hair later on.

Your twins should already be getting ready for birth by turning upside-down, with their heads pointing downwards. Your doctor will be paying careful attention to your twins' position in the coming weeks. Some babies do turn back round again.

Your twins' skulls are still quite pliable and not completely joined, in part so they can ease out of the relatively narrow birth canal. But the bones in the rest of their bodies are hardening. Their skin is also gradually becoming less red and wrinkled.

Not only are we excited for the development of the girls but we love that we have familyy close by as well.  We have been blessed with Heather and Elliot moving near us and we are always excited to hang out with them and most importantly we get to hang out with our nephew Mason.  We told you guys last week that we found a daycare but whats more exciting is that our girls and Mason will be going to the same daycare.  I find that really cool that even though we are FAR away from family, our girls and Mason can hangout together all day!!  We are also excited for this fall as we have talked with family and there is interest in them coming out to visit us out here.  My sister Kristen and Dan had a girl, Sydney about a month ago and we are excited to see and hold her someday!  Also, my brother Anthony and Maria had a boy, Shea,  in January so its been tough not being able to hold and bond with him. Although it has been enjoyable to talk with their other two boys, Jesse and Owen on the phone.  Its so fun to see them develop into the boys they are.  Finally we got to see my other brother, Shawn and Bobbi and their daughter Taylor.  We got to see her on Skype and it was a blast so see how much she has grown since we saw her last summer.  We are truly blessed with all our nephews and neices, and I'm still blown away that my parents will have 6 grandchildren within one year!!! When we head home next year our family get together will be so different but its a time we are excited for.  Along with my family, Ambers family is also excited for these girls.  Its been so funny to watch her brother Reid feel the girls kick, his reaction is pricelss eachtime.  These are the first grandchildren on this side so there is a lot of excitedment from Amber's mom and dad as well as her Aunt, who has ensured that we are ready with Nebraska gear for game days!!!

                                                   Amber with her pineapples!!!

Ambers sideview....I know what your thinking, yep, she's still got it!!!!!

Finally, I have to tell you about the TOUGH MUDDER competition I did last weekend.  If you are able to I would encourage you to do this event.  There are events all over the US and Canada.  It was a 12 mile course with about 28 obstacles on it that you try and complete with your team.  You are not timed but its more of a teamwork and comraderee event.  I did the event with 7 other guys I went to college with and the whole course took us 3 hours and 26 minutes. Truly one of the most exciting events that I've done and we are planning on doing it next year, July 20, 2013!!

Anyways, hope all is well with everyone and have a great week!!!

Week 30!

Happy Weekend! Not a lot is new this week other than that we found a day care!!! It has been a bit of a challenge to find an in home daycare that has two infant openings. Becuase of the guidelines, one provider can only have 2 children under the age of one, which is a good thing and a bad thing :) Its good because then you know they will be getting the attention they deserve but a bad thing because we are needing both of those spots. Anyway, after many phone calls, emails, and interviews, we found one! Yaay! It feels so good to have that taken care of--definately an answer to prayer.

This weekend Kevin is having a guys weekend in Minneapolis. He and some of his college buddies signed up for Tough Mudder. He has been training really hard and I am very proud of him, but I am not going to lie...I was pretty nervous for them. I did talk to him this afternoon and am happy to say they made it and are "of course' going to do it again next year. Silly question to even ask. I am sure they will not stop talking about it for the next several months and probably years. I'll try to post some pics sometime (there were some mohawks involved) if anyone managed to take any.

Our cribs came in this week and Kevin got them all setup. They look so cute! I promise I will post some pictures but I want to wait until the room is all setup. Everything is coming together. As far as the girls go, they are still really active and I am still growing. I am excited for my next ultrasound to find out how much they weigh. I can also tell that they are getting longer because the area where all 4 of their feet are, is extending into my ribs.

I dont have a picture with any fruit or veggie this week, but here are some pictures of our last couple of weeks:...

Here is a picture from my friends shower with a "Welcome Twins" cookie cake:

Raise your hand if you are pregnant....I think half of the people there had their hand up:

Fun onesies for a decoration and gift, plus all my friends:

The groom and me on rehearsal day:

Mom, Lauren, and me at rehearsal:

At rehearsal dinner, such a cool room!

The family at rehearsal dinner:

The bride and goom...don't they look happy!

The parents of the groom:

Kevin and me:

They have so many cute pictures like this:

The whole family:

 Dancing with the groom:

Happy Mother's Day!!

The babies are the weight of some different kinds of squash this week. I actually didn't realize there were so many kinds of squash but one email said an Acorn squash and one said a Butternut squash. We decided to get one of each for the picture this week because though these girls will both be Vanderwals, we know their personalities, looks, etc., will most likely be quite different. Here is a little bit more about what is going on with them this 29th week (according to the email):

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

At our ultrasound last week the girls were already over 2 1/2 pounds so I am guessing they are closer to 3 pounds each this week. I can definately tell they are getting bigger because their movements are so much stronger...and they move ALL THE TIME! It's so crazy to watch little rolls moving around on my belly. Sometimes it really looks lopsided too so I am not sure what they are doing in there.

I had my Centering group Friday morning and got to hear their heartbeats. Baby A was in the upper 140's and Baby B was in the lower 140's. Baby B of course was moving all over the place. I also am measuring at 34 weeks (for that of singletons) which is supposedly right on track for twins, so I am consistently measuring 5 weeks ahead.

Last week Saturday I had a baby shower hosted by my friends which was a lot of fun. They welcomed the girls with lots of fun gifts that I am excited to put to use. Yesterday I had another baby shower hosted by the girls' Aunt Lauren (my new sister!) and my Aunt Lori. We played some fun shower games that I had never played before and the girls were of course spoiled some more. Thanks to everyone who came and those who thought of me even if you weren't able to attend.

Kevin and I are still in shock some days that we are going to be parents of twin girls. You never know what the Lord has in store for your life. I was reminiscing with a friend earlier this week about how different things can be 3 months, 6 months, etc., down the road. Last fall we were saying to eachother how we wish we could see a snapshot of what our future held. Never would I have guessed that my snapshot would include 2 little girls and celebrating my first Mother's Day (it counts even though they aren't here yet right?).
Kev and I say to eachother quite often how blessed we are to not only have two amazing Mom's that love us and we have learned so much from, but also two wonderful families. So Happy Mother's Day to our Mom's! I also want to recognize that there are many other women in all of our lives that should be thanked. So Happy Mother's Day to the Aunts, Grandmas, Sisters, and Friends in our lives.

The other aspect I want to recognize is for those that have lost their Mom's and cannot wish them a Happy Mother's Day today and also for those who want to be a Mom and are waiting for that to happen. I am thinking about you today.

Have a great week everyone!!

Week 27 & 28

Hi again! It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I will start with last week Tuesday. I had an appointment to take the diabetes test, get my Rhogam shot, and see my doctor for my monthly checkup. The appointment started in the lab where I had to drink the orange sugar drink. It actually didn't taste as bad as I thought it would. It was like really sugary pop or melted popsicle. Then I went down a floor to my doctor's office. We listened to the girls heart rates and she took my pulse, which was much better. She also said that when I went back to the lab they would retest my thyroid levels to see how that is going. So, I went back to the lab and had to wait until it had been exactly an hour after I drank the orange stuff. They took my blood and then I went back down to my doctor's office for the Rhogam shot. They had to wait until after the blood was drawn to give the shot so that they wouldnt interfere with eachother. After that my appointment was finally over. My doctor's nurse called me back later that day to tell me that my thyroid levels were normal and that I passed the diabetes test. Good News!!

Thursday night after Kevin's volleyball practice and after my conference for work, we headed to Watertown for Wedding Weekend! Friday morning we got up and went to the Opera House to setup for the rehearsal dinner that night. Rehearsal went well and the dinner was great! After the rehearsal we headed to the reception site to get setup. It looked gorgeous!!

Saturday morning Mom and I headed to our hair appointments and then off to the church. Crazy but so fun to see my brother get married and Lauren looked beautiful!! As far as my bridesmaid dress goes--I am really glad that the wedding was last weekend. Not sure I could have fit into it for too many more weeks. I did end up doing a shoe change after pictures were finished. The ones I really wanted to wear were not practical at all, but were so cute! At least I stuck them out for a little while :) Thanks to my parents and to the Olson's for a GREAT weekend! Congratulations to Reid and Lauren!! Hope you are having a wonderful time relaxing in Mexico!
PS....Unfortunately all of the pictures I took were on my mom's camera so I have no pictures to post of the wedding.

Today we had an appointment for an ultrasound so we got to see the girls! Everything looks great and the girls are continuing to grow. Baby A is 2.9 pounds and Baby B is 2.8 pounds. The doctor said we didnt have to come back for another 4 weeks. The ultrasound tech said that is pretty great for having twins as some people have to come in every week just to make sure everything is going ok and that the babies are growing.

We also want to say Congratulations to Kristen and Dan on the new addition to their family. They were blessed with a little baby girl-Sydney Bernice. So excited to meet her!

Since I didnt post last week and I actually didnt even get a picture taken, I thought I would take a picture this week with last week's and this week's veggies--cauliflower and lettuce. These veggies are not near as cute as the little fruits we started with but that is ok :)