We're Having TWINS!!!

Okay, so I can hardly believe it myself, but indeed we are having TWINS! Ben and I went to the doctor today and went through the normal routine. We were almost out the door and the doctor asked us if we had any last minute questions. I told her about my questioning the due date. She requested an ultrasound right then. The technician came in to do the ultrasound and Ben and I were simply excited to see "the" baby. "The" baby was measuring small, so I jokingly asked "There's only one, right?" and the technician replied "yes, but I think I saw a cyst on your ovary". The technician proceeded to find this "cyst" and then just stared at the screen. Ben and I both repeatedly said "What?" with no reply, until she said "I'm sorry I just told you that there was one, because there is actually another one". We were beyond words at this point...oh my goodness!!!! Three kids under the age of 2!!!! This is a lot to take in! Well, needless to say, our due date was pushed to April 26th, but keeping in mind that we will deliver at least 2 weeks before that date. Crazy I know! The ultrasound picture shows the two babies. The top pic actually shows the two sacs, too. The doctor said that they both look great with good, strong heartbeats!! All is well.

A "Chill" boy, a "Yelling" boy, and a "Cranky" boy...

Chillin' on the couch at home.


His new hang out...he crawls in there and then yells for attention.


We went to the MSU tailgate today...it was an early one for us.


This past week was a long one for me. It started with a long Monday because after work I had to take Barrett to the doctor's for his 12 month well baby. Anytime you go to this doctor you can plan on being there at least an hour and a half on a good day. It sucks! Then the other days this week just seemed long because of the excessive exhaustion that this pregnancy is causing. Last night we just stayed in a laid low. Ben had been gone to Canada for a few days this week, so he we all wanted family time. Today we headed in to the MSU tailgate. Our friend Gregor had built a corn hole game, so we played several games of that and ate a lot of food. It was a successful tailgate. Then everyone, but Barrett, Andrea, Destinee, Brent, and I, went off to the game. The rest of us stayed and listened to the game on the radio. State pulled out a close win. After the game people returned to tailgate some more and Andrea and I watched the first half of the U of M game on the t.v. Michigan was pulling out a nice lead. Yea...finally. :) Tomorrow we are heading over to Aunt Amanda and Uncle Pat's for cousin Louie's 1st b-day party. That will make for a long day, too. Maybe we should rest up tonight!

Barrett's 1st Birthday and Announcement!

Barrett's first birthday is officially today, but his party was last night. It went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially Barrett. He handled all the attention great and even stayed up until 10 pm! Even that late he wasn't too cranky with anyone, which was nice. Everyone kept saying "is he always this good?". I tried to remain modest, but yes, he is always that good. I am very lucky.

Barrett got a lot of neat toys, cool looking clothes, and loved the cake! At first he kind of just poked at it, but quickly he learned that he could put his hands right in it. We knew he was finished when he started smashing the cake and cake started flying everywhere! It was funny. Thank you to every one who was able to spend the day with us to celebrate Barrett's birthday.

Barrett's stats @ 12 months:
:::Not sure how much he weighs (dr. appt. Monday), but somewhere around 25-30 lbs.
:::Blonde hair, blue eyes
:::Sucks his right thumb
:::Sleeps through the night (~9pm-7am)
:::Takes two naps a day (one in the morning from 10:30-noon and then another one in the afternoon from 3-5pm)
:::Eats people food throughout the day
:::Transitioning to cow's milk (formula with some cow's milk)
:::Drooling all the time and bad diaper rashes (molars are coming in)
:::Eight teeth
:::Crawling, cruising, and a little bit of walking
:::Beginning to wave
:::Says many sounds, but no distinguishing words, yet
:::Loves to climb everything!!!
:::Getting cuter every day!



Also at the party we announced to most people that we are expecting another baby. Barrett wore the shirt shown in the picture (I ironed on the letters) and most people were shocked, but excited. Yup, two kids under the age of 2 is going to be busy! :)

Finding out I was pregnant again was interesting, because I had taken two pregnancy tests and they both came out negative. My instincts kept telling me something was up, though. My pants felt tight, I wasn't feeling good almost every day, etc. So I waited another week and then took another test and this time it was positive. I came into the other room where Ben was and said "you're going to be a daddy again!". He just hugged me and then got super giddy. He is so excited, as am I.

So some of you now may be wondering how I've been feeling these past two months. I have been very tired and very sick. It is a daily struggle to get through the morning without rushing to the bathroom. The sick feeling also comes back to get me at bedtime. I can't wait for the 2nd trimester! Also, with going back to work, I have been even more tired than normal (plus I have a 1 yr. old who doesn't let me sleep much in the afternoon also). It should be an exhausting winter, but at least I can bundle up in comfy clothes and not worry about being enormously pregnant in the summer like I was last time. :)

Awe...what fun!

Ben and Barrett love to roll around and have fun! I think every child needs to ride on their dad's back at some point, right?!?

We have a wedding this weekend, so I'll post more pictures after that. School starts in a little less than 2 weeks, but teachers have to go back for a few days next week. Today I had a conference, already, too! Back to work....summer is coming to a close. :(

What Happened to My Baby???

He's getting so big!!!

Weekend at the Lake

Ben and I headed up to his Grandma's Saturday. Randy and Kristen met us there and the boys went golfing and such (annual DLRB). Kristen and I just laid out and swam all day. It was fun and relaxing. Late that night Randy and Kristen headed for home and then Sunday Ben, Barrett, and I hung out at the lake. Again, it was peaceful and relaxing. Barrett loves the water and digging in the sand. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! :)

11 Months Old

Barrett is 11 months old today! I know I say this every month, but time really does fly. His first birthday is right around the corner. Amazing! Ben and I were talking last night about those first few months. It's hard to put it into words, but it is crazy to think about how things have changed so much in the past year. Ben summed it up the best by saying "Barrett's just awesome". Of course, I agree. :)

Here are Barrett's stats at 11 months:
::Drinks formula from a sippy cup about 4-5 times a day
::Eats three solid meals a day
::Sucks his right thumb when sleepy
::Makes lots of noises, loves to squeel when tickled
::Took his first step two days ago and continues to take a few here and there
::Takes two naps a day (one around 10 am and another around 3 pm)
::Sleeps through the night (9 pm to 8 am)
::Gets into everything; crawls into stools and boxes; climbs the plant stand like it is stairs
::Loves taking toys and banging them together (he loves to change toys up to make different sounds)
::Dances to music all the time
::Loves to lay on his belly in the bathtub and kick and hit the water (splashes all over). He also goes over the the slanted part of the tub and uses it as a slide.
::Loves to listen to stories being read to him
::Loves pushing buttons on remotes, toys, cell phones, telephones, computers, etc.
::Loves animals (although I don't think they love him, yet)
::Hasn't said any distiguishing words yet, although he seems to say more of the "mamamama" around me and the "dadadadada" around Ben. One time he did clap his hands towards Ben and said "daeee". It was really close.
::Crawls everywhere and cruises all the time.
::He weighs somewhere around 25 lbs.


Well, my college grad classes wrapped up on Monday, so now I have a few weeks before schools starts back up. I'm loving all this time I have with my son and will really miss it when I have to go back to the grind. :(

First Step!!!

Barrett took his first step today! I went to pick him up from Papa and Grandma Rainey (they watched him while I had class) and while talking to them he walked from me to Katrina! It was a wobbly 2 steps, but he made it and we cheered and cheered! He loved it and then kept trying to walk more and more (I think he felt brave). Ben hasn't seen it yet, but hopefully Barrett will walk for daddy tonight sometime. :)

Swimming on a Hot Day!!

Barrett, Ben, and I enjoyed our swimming pool (yea, you're jealous of the size...I know) today since it was so HOT outside. It's wasn't much, but it was a nice relief.

****Barrett's got some nice hair going on and some adorable expressions!****

Can't Get Enough of Him!

Barrett wearing Justin's hat.


Enjoying some spagetti...and giggling as he fed most of it to Koda.


Barrett climbed into this box all by himself, pulled all the packaging out, and then climbed out of the box to throw all the packaging into the other room. :) He's a very busy boy!

We've Got A Climber!!!

Mommy had to move all the plants, because I love to get into them! This now looks like a great thing to climb.


One leg up...I'm ready to go!


No feet on the ground anymore! I think I can go all the way to the top!


Uh-oh!!! Well, maybe next time....

Barrett is 10 Months Old!!

He loves playing with the blinds!

What a happy guy

Look at those blue eyes!!

He's definitely all boy


Barrett is growing so fast and soon he'll be one year old!! I have realized that I need to start planning for a birthday party. :) Maybe that will be a good time for people to all get together and hang out too, since most of this summer we are all pretty busy. Every year I promise myself that I'll get to the cabin more, but as always I don't think I can get up there that much this summer. :( Anyway, I hope everyone understands about the whole privacy of the blog thing. As I blog I realize how many random people could be reading my blog and feel like they "know" us. I'm not sure I like that. It's also for safety reasons for Barrett. I know it all seems far-fetched, but you never know. Okay, here are Barrett's stats:

**Weighs 23 lbs. (didn't gain any weight in 3 months...I guess it's all his moving around)
**75th percentile for length
**Sucks his right thumb
**Cruises around objects
**Army crawls and crawls on hands and knees
**Has practiced standing without holding anything, but falls soon after
**Nursing was officially done two days ago
**Drinks formula just fine now
**Eats all solid foods (no more blending foods in the blender)
**Likes to eat any and all fruit, pasta, zucchini, lunch meat, hamburger, well why do I even bother listing things...he eats anything. (Ben even gave him a little sauerkraut and he didn't even make a face)
**Loves swimming and will even paddle and kick when you hold him in the water
**Says lots of sounds, but no first word yet.
**Gets compliments on his blue eyes all the time. I was told today that Barrett's got something special and she wasn't kidding! :)

A Weekend Getaway

We enjoyed a long weekend with family. We first headed up to Rose Lake to visit with Ben's aunt and uncle and family. We enjoyed the sun and the boat rides and the campfires. After that we headed over to East Twin Lake and spent the days and evening with my family. Rex and Monica were there and brought 80's Trivial Pursuit and Wii. We had fun playing, although I must say that the 80's game is very difficult. The sun was shining, but the temps stayed cool. There wasn't any laying out for me. All I did was go in the hot tub a lot and enjoy the company. We did take one boat ride which was very nice, too. won't be able to go back up until a stort trip for my cousin's bachelorette party and then not again until August. Wow, the summer does book up quite fast.

We got a busy one on our hands....

Barrett is becoming quite the busy boy these days. He crawls everywhere (alternates between army crawling and "regular" crawling) and then pulls himself to standing. Once he is standing he cruises around objects, such as the couch, and walks to closer other objects. Meaning he moves from the couch to the coffee table to me and back again. He just loves to move. This whole walking thing is getting so easy for him (he still cannot walk without holding something, though). He has learned that falling doesn't have to be so bad (he is often very careful about his placement just so he will fall nicely and softly on his tush). He will lay down and sit back up again and sometimes even sits on his knees (although my friend just told me that I should have him sit a different way because sitting on his knees can cause his feet to become pigeon toed). When Barrett gets crawling, he can really book it, too. He tries to get through doorways he knows he's not supposed to, for example. He smiles the whole time, too! :)

On another note, Barrett has developed the "stranger" complex. Even Ben got it this morning. Ben brought Barrett in to me this morning, but Ben wanted some time with him before work. Ben took Barrett from me and Barrett was not happy. Barrett kept trying to get back to me and cried and cried. I felt bad for Ben. So I hid beside the bed until Ben got Barrett calmed down and I climbed back into bed, but Ben had to prevent Barrett from seeing me. Ugh! I guess it's just momma age right now.

Below is a slideshow of recent pictures. We've been hanging outside a lot and enjoying these recent beautiful days! :)

Finally, I want to wish my cousin a Happy 30th Birthday today. Happy day, Kyle!

Fun Pics!

Barrett & Gwen hanging out before heading to Muskegon


Grabbing a bite to eat


Barrett loves to pull himself to standing!! :)


A boy and his ride