Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Sunday Message I Don't Want To Forget

This is specifically for me, myself and I!  No pictures.  But maybe some talk about babies!

We went to Church this morning in Oneonta and took up the whole pew.  I knew it was going to be a teary eyed service when someone walked up to my pap paw and asked to get a picture of her teenage daughter with him in front of the cross of lilies.  Then I opened the bulletin and there were the printed words of Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone.  Two times before the service had started and I had teared up. 

We took Bailey's sticker book and she played it with it for about 15 minutes after the service started and then she laid her head over on me. I picked her up in my lap and rocked her to sleep.  She snuggled the whole service as the two 7 ounce sisters she was squishing kicked at her.  I was a bit uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have dared put her down.

The preacher started to preach the same ole Easter sermon we hear every year.  But, then, he took it to a whole new level for me.  He talked of the Friday before, when Jesus was hung on the cross and died  for our sins.  He talked of the women coming to roll the stone away and finding the tomb empty.  He had risen!  But he also talked about how we, you and I, live our lives in between these days.  That we know Jesus died on the cross for us, and we know he rose from the dead.  But do we really, honestly, with our entire beings know that we know that we know that Jesus lives and he walks among us today on this sin-ridden earth.  That we have hope because of Him.  That we don't have to be scared and fearful in this life because He lives, HE is here.  He likened it to drug addicts and people living in jail.  He said there was always the question of how did those people get there, how did they become the people they are.  He said, you know, no one wakes up one morning and says "I think this is a great day to go ruin my life."  No one has plans to live a life of being addicted to drugs or doing things that will land them homeless, in jail, whatever.  But we, as humans, trade one moment for what think is bliss and joy, instead of knowing that our ever-lasting Father is the only thing that brings us eternal bliss and joy.  We do this because we are living in the moments between the death and the resurrection.

This spoke volumes to me.  Sid and I find ourselves at a time in our lives where we honestly do not know what we are going to do.  Decisions are being made and we are making them the best we know how.  To work or not to work?  To fork over money for 3 babies in daycare or put that money into staying home?  What if I stay home, how will ends meet?  Insurance?  Do we stay in this small house or do we try and get a bigger house?  Do we look for jobs in Alabama because we know Alabama is way more money than we will ever see here and we need that money now more than ever?  Just life changing decisions that we as mortal humans do not know how to make all of our on.  There is hope for us making all these choices and decisions and knowing that whatever we decide, we are taken care of because we have eternal hope and safety in the Risen God we so freely choose to serve.  We have the support of family and friends that we know God has placed in our lives for a reason.  Not just for this season of our lives, but for always, no matter what we decide. 

This spoke volumes to me.  No one wakes up one day and decides they will go ruin their life.  That they will trade one moment of what they deem joy for the eternal joy in Jesus.  But, thanks to the same Jesus who died and was buried, and on the third day rose again, we have LIFE.  And like I said last Easter, it is good!  I could never imagine that the Good Lord would save me from myself time and time again only to give me these three lives of my daughters to raise and shape and mold into wonderful human beings.  Oh, I'm not stupid, I know they will fail. I know they will make decisions living in between the days of the death and the resurrection.  I know these mistakes will come no matter how good of  Mom I am and how good of a Dad Sid is.  But to teach these precious souls about Jesus and that he is hope, he is safety, he can and WILL save us from ourselves.  It was more than my heart can soak in this morning.

So on this Easter night of 2011, Christ is risen!  Risen so that we have life!  And it is good!!!!

Much love, Barbie

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Easter Without Pictures (and baby names)

Well, I'm 0 for 2 this Easter Season.  Last weekend, we celebrated with Sid's Mom's side of the family at Mammie's house.  Most everyone was there, and I was especially remembered those members of the family that are walking and living with the real live Risen Christ this Easter Season.  However, I forgot my camera.  Well, actually, I forgot my camera card.  So I tried to use another card and didn't format it, so the pictures won't pull up on the computer.  I was so upset because I know I got some good ones.

Packing on Friday morning, I kept saying to myself over and over and over again - DO NOT FORGET THE CAMERA.  What did I forget?  The camera.   And I have surely missed out on lots of photo ops this weekend. 

We left Philly about 11 on Friday morning and went straight to The Shops of Grand River, a new outlet mall just outside of Birmingham.  Let me just say, it is FAB and if you in Philly you have must make the 3 hours drive there and check it out.  If you are in Oneonta and haven't been, shame on you!  Unfortunately, we only made it to 2 stores. We did get our 2nd and 3rd soon to be born daughters their first matching Polo outfits, which is one of their daddy's weaknesses, but after 2 stores our beloved 1st born ended the trip for us with her ever strong will.  We have no idea where she gets it from, but we are hoping these next 2 ease up on us a bit.  The problem is, we never ever made Bay ride in the stroller.  I bet she has ridden in that thing a total of 10 times in her whole life.  These next 2 babies don't/won't have a choice.  They have to be content in the stroller if we are ever going anywhere again. 

So, after we had to leave the shops without even really seeing what all was there, we made our way to Mom and Dad's house.  We ended up spending some time with Erin, Andrew, Chris, Erica, Maggie and Bo.  Mom and Dad had to go somewhere.  I checked out early because I was having a very bad allergy episode and Dad gave me some Benydryl.  The good news is, it helped.  The bad news is, it made me very drowsy.

We got up this morning and ate breakfast, got ready, and went to watch Erin play baseball.  It was a great morning for being out and after it was over, the Whitehead Easter Bunny had to finish up his Easter shopping.  Next weekend, the very first love of my life, Erin, will turn 7 years old.  Gosh I am getting old and I know her Mama must feel that way, too!  haha!  So, we had a (small) get together at Mom's house to celebrate her birthday.  Present was:  Mom, Dad, me, Sid, Bailey, Will, Chris, Erica, Erin, Andrew, Maggie, Bo, Pappaw, and Granny Wilson.  Mom got Erin the cutest Lemonade Stand, so we had Lemonade and the kids also bobbed for apples (only my mother would think up this stuff).  However, instead of bobbing, my child went swimming, with shoes and everything on.  We got cleaned up from that later and had hamburgers and hot dogs and ice cream cake.  Then the kids dyed Easter Eggs and had an Easter Egg hunt.  After that, they played and played and played until they just couldn't get along anymore.  No one had naps and by about 5, they were done with each other.  I don't know about Erin and Andrew, but those at this house have either been asleep for awhile or are headed there shortly.

Tomorrow, we will go to the Easter service with the fam and have lunch at Limestone Springs.  Then, we'll make our way back to Mississippi and prepare for the remainder of the school year.  Come on summer!  We have a great weekend and it was nice to spend time with loved ones I haven't seen since Spring Break.  But I am so sad that I do not have and pictures from any Easter celebration this year.  Next year, I'll  probably have my hands so full I won't even want to take pictures. 

I did look back at last year's pictures and could not believe how much my Bailey girl had grown up from her Easter party at school or from Easter Day last year.  Take a look back, you won't believe it either.

We hope everyone has a blessed Easter Sunday tomorrow with family, friends, those you consider to be important in your life.  May we also remember that living He loved us, dying He SAVED us, rising He carried our sins far away.  Far enough away that we are able to live on this earth and enjoy such things as family, and our babies getting older, and new babies on the way, and 7th birthday parties of little girls we remembered just yesterday being born, and grandparents spoiling their grandchild, and great grandparents all around these sweet babies.   Without the love of our Heavenly Father, none of us would even have the desire to be here on this earth.  Oh, how I miss my grandmother and how I wish that she was here for me to talk to during this twin pregnancy.  But you know what, she served a risen Lord and now walks the streets of Heaven right by that same God, and she has it so much better than the rest of us who suffer in this sinful world.  May we remember tomorrow, and always, that Christ the Lord is risen.  He is risen indeed!!!!

Happy Easter from the Whiteheads:  Sid, Barbie, Bailey, Baby A and Baby B.

Much Love, Barbie

PS:  Speaking of Baby A and Baby B, we'll take suggestions on names.  If we are going to use family names, which I would like to, here is what we have to work with:  Marie, Anne, Jane, Elizabeth, Ren (which would be short for Irene), and Dessa (which is short for Odessa).  Those are all either first or middle names from these babies grand mothers/great grand mothers.  Too bad they can't have 3 names each.  Marie - my mom's middle name, Anne - my middle name, my Granny Wilson's middle name, Elizabeth Irene -Sid's grandmother's (on his mom's side) name, and Odessa -Sid's grandmother (on his dad's side) name.  Sid's mom only has one name and I don't think we can shorten it to make anything. Sorry Nene!  Nene's maiden name is Williamson and we did talk about using the name William if it was a boy.  But, no boys to found in this household.  I also would like to keep B names as first names, and I really like Bliar and Blaine.  I've mentioned them to Sid, way back, and he didn't care for them.  But I might still try to work on that.  We wanted to name a boy something with Ben in it, like Bennett or Benton, after Sid's grandfather and our all time boy fav name is John Thomas, after Sid's grandfather (on his mother's side), my dad and my grandfather.  But again, no boys to be found.  I might still try to come up with a "Ben" girl name.  Sid said he thinks Bennett could be for a girl.  I just don't know.  Oh wait, mabye it was Bentley I like with 'ben' in it and he said it could be for a girl.   We almost didn't come up with Bailey's name, but after a suggestion from Dad, we finally did.  So, suggest on ya'll!!

Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Can You Find The Baby Parts?

For some reason, even thought the video plays straight through in one piece, it always uploads in small 1 minute or so videos.  If you want to see the whole thing, I can post all of them.  But it's time consuming to watch them in that way.  So, even though it took close to 2 hours, I have just the parts that show the gender reveal.  It's sort of neat, but it's so hard to tell what's what if you don't know what you are looking at since there is more than one baby in there.  They are so close together too!  Anyway, here are the last 4 of the 9 parts.

And Mom, don't you dare try to tell me you see something different.  Do not stress me out!  You might be right, but I just can't think about it right now!

















Be sure to read the post below this one if you didn't read it.  It tells you what you are actually looking at.  GENDER REVEAL!!! (in words)

Sisters Brothers

**Caution - Long post, scroll all the way down if the suspicion is killing you!!!

Wow!  What a day is all I can say!  Every time I think I have this whole thing figured out, I am reminded that I am not the one in control.  So, I've been saying that I would really like a boy and a girl, but we most surely had to have a girl because, after all, the princess we already have takes up half the house.  She has to have someone to share her girl stuff with. 

I have said over and over and over again that I would be totally surprised if these babies were the same sex.  We know that they are in their own sacs and have their own placentas, and this made them more likely than not to be fraternal, or not identical.  I even told people all day long I was almost certain that is had to be a boy and a girl.

With Bailey, I just had gut instincts, or so I thought, that were always right. I knew her exact due date, I knew something was going to go wrong with her, I knew she was going to be a girl.  All that stuff. So when I would think about these babies, I'd think boy and girl and never even questioned that instinct.

Then, about 11:00 today, it hit me!  Nothing has been as expected with this pregnancy.  Heck, we didn't even expect this pregnancy, much less twins.  And so I told myself, "Self, you are going to be very surprised I bet today at what you find out."  And then I'd shake it off, remind myself they were likely fraternal and move on. 

Well, at 2:00 today was our sono appointment.  We took Bailey with us because we thought she'd enjoy seeing the babies on the big screen.  Turns out, we were even wrong about that.  She was scared when we first walked into that dark little room with all that equipment.  But she quickly warmed up and wanted to explore.  At one point, I asked her to be still because we had to see the babies and see the doctor.  She started singing "mama called the doctor and the doctor said..."  I laughed and then she got up by the table and wanted to hold my hand.  Next thing I knew, she was biting my finger. I reached up with the other fingers and pinched her nose so she'd let go.  She then says, "Mama you pinched my nose. Let me pinch your nose mama."  I about died.  At some point, something made her mad and she pulled the whole, "I mad" thing.  When I asked Sid what made her mad, she said "I not mad."  I just couldn't control myself.  But needless to say, we will not be taking her back.  That was not her thing and she was not a bit interested in knowing about these babies. 

I'd say it was probably around 2:20, the tech got down to business looking for the genders.  The babies did not want to cooperate at all and you can tell that by the jiggling in the video.  (once again, you tube is uploading it into 9 different parts.  I have no idea why that is so.)  She said she might not be able to get them this time and I almost cried.  I think I even told her I'd have a break down on her table if she didn't find out for me. 

Baby A would not cooperate.  Baby B would, but she couldn't get a clear picture.  After much pushing and tossing and jiggling, Baby B finally came into view.  I could even tell and I asked her to let me guess.  I guessed a


GIRL


and I was right.  Baby B IS A GIRL!!!!  I was shocked! 

The tech quickly moved to Baby A again and it wasn't 5 seconds later, our whole lives changed....again.  I never saw it coming.  I must have still been thinking about Girl Baby B, when she said, "and Dad" - I held my breath.  I just knew she was going to congratulate him on a boy. 

Then I hear "Baby A is a



GIRL, TOO!"  That's right!  BABY A IS A GIRL!!!

I started crying and could not control myself. Of course I am thrilled, but I was shocked beyond belief and nothing could have prepared me for the moment that I realized I was going to be a mama to not one, not two, but THREE girls.  All I could think of was Bailey and how much she adores her daddy and now he was gonna have two more to adore him, too.  I told him later that maybe just one of these girls would adore me! 

Ya'll just do not know how much I never wanted girls when I was old enough to think about babies.  Then, Erin was born (don't think I wasn't disappointed when I found out she was a girl, because I was.  They will tell you I was.)  But she was born and she was the light of my life and my heart and soul.  Six months after she was born, I couldn't even fathom a boy.  So when I got pregnant with Bailey, all I wanted was sweet little girl like my Erin.  And I got it!

But I never ever dreamed in a million years that I'd have 3 girls.  I never really ever dreamed I'd be a mama 3 babies period.  But sometimes, the good Lord exceeds our wildest dreams.  And He gives us things we never ever think about. 

At supper, I asked Sid what he thought about it and he said as long as we didn't have to stay in that NICU again, he didn't care.  I told him surely he thought he'd get a boy out of this deal, but he really acts ok with it.  I know we both just want healthy babies, but he acts like it's really no big deal to him that this household will be nothing but raging females for the rest of his life. haha!  Kidding Sid.  Maybe!  I do know that he intends on making all of his girls hunters just like him.  He already has Bailey well on her way.  He informed me last night that there was room in his shoot house for all 3 of them, girls or not.  I commented that I guess I'd just have to go too, but I was quickly told it was only big enough for 4 people, NOT 5!!!! So see, he really doesn't care. 

He wants to know what I'm going to name them.  I want to know what he's going to name them.  We almost didn't come up with Bailey's name, but thanks to Poppy T who made the suggestion, we finally did. 

In other baby news, they are about 7 ounces each.  So almost one pound of baby.  I still haven't gained any weight.  Since I'm about half way through, and they would expect 40 pounds with this pregnancy, the doctor said today that he only wanted me to gain about 20.  He said I didn't need to gain all 40 pounds in the last half, so to count half those pounds out.  With Bailey, I blew up like a balloon.  They are measuring the same, right at 17 weeks 3 days.  The tech couldn't get all the features of the growth scan, but what she did get looked good.  We go back on May 20th and will do the rest of the growth scan, which will be between 21 and 22 weeks.  We will look at the heart, and two other major things that weren't clear enough today.  It's not a bad thing that they weren't clear.  Just hard to see and balled up. 

Soooo, there's our news.  TWO GIRLS!!!!.  And I know we'll love every minute of it!

Much love, Barbie

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Car Seat Saftey-It's Not Just For The Birds

I have gone round and round in my head with this exact issue and today, it was confirmed to me in an email The Baby Center.  The article is entitled "Car Seat Safety:  The Biggest Mistakes Parents Make and How to Avoid Them."  I'm going to cut and paste.  Then I'm going to make sure that my THREE babies are safe in every vehicle they get in.

Using an old or secondhand seat


That safety seat you scored at a garage sale for a fraction of its original price may seem like a bargain, but it could cost your child his life. The same goes for that older-model seat your sister gave you after her child outgrew it.
Not only are used seats unlikely to come with the manufacturer's instructions (vital for correct installation), but they could be missing important parts, have been involved in an accident (even unseen damage can affect the seat's functioning), fall short of current safety standards, or have been recalled due to faulty design. Moreover, plastic gets brittle as it gets older, so a seat that's too old could break in a crash.

If you must use a secondhand seat, make sure it has the original instructions (or contact the manufacturer for a replacement copy), has all its parts (check the manual), has never been involved in a serious accident, and hasn't been recalled. (Check your seat's recall status here.)

In addition, to avoid the dangers of aging plastic, SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. recommends sticking with car seats that are ideally less than five years old and definitely less than ten years old. You can usually find an expiration date stamped somewhere on the seat.

***NOTE TO SELF:  All old car seats are a gonner.  I think there might be only 1 of the 4 that Bailey rides in that fits into this category and none of the 2 that we have for the new babies.  One infant seat that we used with Bailey we bought from a dentist's wife here in town and know them.  The one that I have a problem with is just expired.  I wouldn't give my daughter expired milk so I'm certainly not going to promote an expired car seat.

Turning your child to face forward too soon


Children have large heads and comparatively weak necks, so in a head-on collision (the most common type of crash) a child's head can jerk forward suddenly and violently, resulting in spinal injuries. For this reason, keep your child rear-facing position as long as possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat until the age of 2, or until he reaches the seat's maximum rear-facing height and weight limits.

**This is the one that I struggle with.  Bailey stayed rear facing until she was 1, but she was a terrible rider and did much better when she could see out.  I didn't feel like a bad mom for turing her.  Shortly after we turned her, the new recommendations came out.  I have read comments online for parents that do not promote prolonged rear-facing and they always say something about comfort (just like I did).  I get it that it's safer and that they are more likely to be injured, I certainly don't want my babies injured.  And maybe I'll be a little more strict with these next two, especially since there is a new recommendation, but sometimes I feel that as a parent, you just have to make the best decision that you know how based on your child and what works. 

Moving your child out of his car seat or booster too soon


Though safety-seat laws vary from state to state, all require that children under age 3 ride in a safety seat. Experts are unequivocal in their recommendations for safe riding beyond that age:

Your child should ride in a safety seat with a five-point harness until he weighs at least 40 pounds, or until his shoulders no longer fit under the harness straps. You can use a convertible rear- and forward-facing car seat until your child hits 40 pounds, or the harness system of a car-and-booster-seat combo from as little as 20 pounds up to 40 pounds.

Your child should ride in a booster seat from the time he weighs 40 pounds and is at least 3 years old until he's 4 feet 9 inches tall and at least 8 years old.
 
**I do personally feel like children should stay in their car seat until they are 3 or older. I do not think that some 3 year olds are ready for booster seats.  I don't feel like Bailey will be ready for a booster seat by December.  I do think that children should ride in a high back booster until the seat belt fits in the right spot.  But 8???  I just don't see 2nd and 3rd graders getting dropped off and picked up from school riding in their booster seats.  I might feel different when I actually have an 8 year old, but not right now.
 
Not installing a safety seat correctly
 
**I'm not even going to cut and paste what it says about this one.  Bottom line, my thought is that if you do not know how or think you know how to correctly install the car seat, take it to someone who does.  BOTTOM LINE!!
 

Not securing your child in the seat


To make sure the car seat harness straps are snug enough to hold your child firmly in the event of an accident:

Buckle your child in, making sure the harness straps aren't twisted, and then use the mechanism on the front of the car seat to pull the harness tight. You shouldn't be able to pinch any harness fabric between your fingers.

Slide the plastic retainer clip that holds the two straps together up to armpit level before securing it. If the clip is too low, your child could be ejected from his seat in a crash.


**My mom always says we don't have Bailey's straps right, so this one was for you Mom!


Not Buckling a Car Seat Into the Car
**Not going to waste and cut and paste on this one either.  All I'm going to say is REALLY?  You'd go to the trouble of car seat and buckling a baby in the seat, but not attaching the seat to the car??  REALLY??

The rest of the article talks about letting your child ride in the front seat and not buckling them at all.  Do we do what we have to do as parents?? Absolutely.  I can remember long rides home from Alabama with just my screaming princess and me.  I remember crying myself, thinking, dear Lord, we have a long way to go and I'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.  We'd make the exit off of the interstate for the even longer back road to the house, and that infant seat would get strapped as tight as it could next to me up front. I couldn't help it.  We certainly weren't going to make it safely with all that screaming.  Now we just take the train.  Haha!  Kidding.  Sort of!  It is tons easier, but more costly.  And not an option for going everywhere.  But I just put these here so we'd be reminded to protect our precious cargo as best we could. 

After all, we only get one change at doing the right thing with them!

What are your thoughts??

Much Love, Barbie

Monday, April 18, 2011

I Want To Be Her Mom For As Long As I Can

That's not the name of this song.  It's actually "What It Means to be Loved".  I heard it on the way to school this morning, and I could not help but think back to the day my sweet Bailey entered this world and all that she endured the first 11 days of her life and then on through her surgeries.

Then, of course, my mind drifted off to these two miracles that are growing and moving around in my belly.  We find out what they are on Wednesday at 2:00.  But we also find out if there are any concerns that can/could be detected via ultrasound.  We declined all prenatal testing, such as CVS, amnio, and alpha fetoprotein.  The doctor talked at length about the amnio due to my age and the fact that it's twins, but he also kept telling me that since there was a slight risk and since we'd have to do it twice, he would only recommend me doing it IF the results (if they were negative) would change anything about the pregnancy.  To that, I replied, "We know that nothing you or some test could tell us would change me carrying, birthing, and parenting these babies."  And that's honestly how we feel.  I'm not even sure I could decide against carrying and birthing these babies even if the doctor suggested my life was at risk.  I mean, isn't that what being a mom and dad is all about?  Giving your life, if need to be, for your children! 

Anyway, I do think if there are problems and they could be detected via ultrasound, then we'd like to at least know in advance for planning purposes.  I believe that knowing, planning, and being prepared is over half the battle in a situation like that. 

Nothing has given us any reason to believe that these babies are anything but perfectly healthy.  With Bailey, I must admit, I worried myself to sick thinking something would turn out to be wrong.  I even made Sid worry and know things he shouldn't even know.  I mean, what man asks at an ultrasound appointment if their unborn child has ridges in their brain.  Thankfully she did, but that's not something he should have had to worry about.  With that being said, I haven't really thought much about it with these two.  I don't know if that's because I've learned I'm not in control or if it's because I know now that I worried and shouldn't have or if it's because I've been though this once before so nothing is really all that new. 

Whatever the reason, we are going into this ultrasound on Wednesday expecting nothing but healthy babies and to find out the sexes.  As long as they are healthy, we don't really care what they are.  Secretly, I want at least one more girl and I'd love to get a boy out of the deal, so I guess you could say if I had a choice, I'd pick boy/girl.  But really, all I'm picking is healthy. 

Nevertheless, I couldn't help but think of this song all day long after hearing it this morning.  And, so, I share!  Get a tissue.  May we all be blessed by the children in our lives!



Much Love, Barbie

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Super (Bull)Dog Weekend

Mom and Dad came to visit this weekend and it was such a nice visit.  Bailey was well behaved and Dad and Sid went to the Spring football game at Mississippi State.  I know they had a great time.  While they were gone, Mom, Bailey and I ate Mexican and took a trip around the now deserted Neshoba County Fair Grounds.  Mom never ceases to be amazed at that place.  It does look all deserted and grown up, like a ghost town, but it won't be that way in a few more weeks.  Then, this morning, after we were lazy, we got dressed and headed to the casino.   Someone in the family, who will remain nameless, had some "free" money that needed to be used by today or it was lost.  No need to lose "free money".  They were having a slot tournamet out in the lobby and it was western themed.  Baily LOVED the music and had fun running around in the wide open spaces and dancing.  I'm also sorry to report that Dad was the only one who came out a winner and he "just went in looking for mom."  haha!  Way to go Dad!!

This afternoon, after we go back, Macy needed to go out.  Bailey had the best time with her.  She'd run run run with Macy trailing behind and Bailey would just laugh this big ole belly laugh.  I grabbed the camera for the first time since last Sunday and this is what I ended up with:




I just think these are so sweet of Bailey walking Macy.  Macy was loving it!

Then they ventured off into the neighbor's yard and Macy wanted to do her own thing.  So did Bailey.  Poppy T had to intervene.  It almost looked as if he was going to lose the intervention.



But, alas, she gave it up!



And decided to run run run all the way across the neighbor's yard, across his driveway, across our driveway, and all the way to the other neighbor's house.





That tounge cracks me up.  She was nearing the driveway, which slopped down.


Here she comes back the othe way.  (I spared you the five pictures of her backside running the other way.  Your welcome!)


Notice the tounge still in place.






And then she finally realized that somebody was up to something.  Mom and Dad were loading Macy in the car and Bailey finally realized that they were going somewhere and she wasn't. 



And we ended with this...
Big ole tears.  We went inside and settled down, got some cold juice, and took a little nap.  When she woke up, she jumpped up and said, Poppy T, I hear Poppy T.  Except, she really didn't.  She forgot they were gone.  She was ok though, we didn't shed anymore tears.   She and Sid went to his mom's house and she played outside wtih them too.  It was such a great weekend and I'm surprised at myself for not crying, too.  But I think I felt so bad for Bailey, I couldn't.

In other news, we turned 16 weeks preg with twins on Friday.  WHAT???? Can you believe that?  Almost to the half way mark for twins.  I'm still hoping for a few extra weeks.  I feel pretty good still, still mostly in regular clothes, not a lot of nausea at all.  When I do have it, it's early in the morning and just goes away.  I do have a few afternoons of headaches and when I get home, I'm still so worn out that I do good to just make it home.  I know my body is storing up energy b/c that's all about to change.  We find out the sexes in two weeks and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!  What do ya'll think they are?   I'm thinking boy/girl but we'll see!  I have terrible allergies right now and even some Claritan isn't doing much good.  It's horrible, but I always have it this time of year.  It won't last long, but when I'm already worn out, having a stopped up head doesn't feel too good! 

Ya'll have a great week!  Much love, Barbie

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Pigtail Cuteness!

So, I haven't felt like getting the camera out lately, but have been telling myself that it's been awhile since I've snapped a few pictures of my sweet girl and I sure haven't put any on the blog.  Soooo, this morning after we got dressed, I was brushing her hair and she was going to go to her Mammaw and Pappaw's.  They almost always play outside on days like today, so I decided to pull her up in a pony tail, which I never do.  She was so paitent, I decided to try and get all that hair in pig tails.  I think I've only done that one other time.  She was so proud of them and then had to have her horsey in the pictures, too!



















Enjoy your week!!!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Where Did These Twins Come From?

I posted a few times back about the different types of twins you could have - sharing/not sharing placentas and/or sacs.  We learned about a week ago that we have separate sacs and placentas.  If they turn out to be boy/girl babies, then they are def. not identical.   If that turn out to be boy/boy or girl/girl twins, then more than likely they will be identical, but that could only be 100% determined by a DNA test. 

There has been much discussion about "where" these twins came from, other than clearly 2 eggs and 2 sperm.  Too much info??  Probably so, but it's life!  Sorry Dad!  Anyway, I finally found that piece of research that I read back in February.  Identical twins are NOT hereditary, because there was no hyper-ovulation.  The mother simply released one egg and it decided to split.  However, in fraternal twins, there could be a link.  When it is a case of fraternal twins running in the family, that can only come from the mother (when I say mother I mean the mother of the twins).  Why?  Because that means two eggs were released, or hyper-ovulation, and only the mother can release two eggs.  But here's the kicker - the gene to release two eggs , or hyper-ovulate, can be passed down from the father. 

So, my Mom's grandmother could have a gene for hyper ovulating and it was passed down to my Granny Wilson and then my mom, who in turned passed it on to me.  Or my Mammaw Self could have carried the gene and my dad inherited it and then passed it on to me. There is no way that these twins developed from Sid's side of the family. The father of twins cannot make two eggs be released, he can only supply the fertilization of two eggs that the mother releases. (Just like if either of my brothers were to father twins, even though their dad is a twin, they had nothing to do with determining how many eggs would be released for fertilization.)  However, if there is a gene on Sid's side of the family, he could pass it on to Bailey, who could, in turn, have twins. I say all of that because he does have a history of some twins on his side of the family, way back. And if you don't know my history, my Mom's dad is a twin and my dad is a twin.  So far, I'm the only one on either side of the family in this generation to have twins. It might be hereditary, it might not be!  That's something we will never know.  I'm also 34, nearing 35, and statistically, that could have some played some part.  I've read weight, along with age, can be a factor.  You just never know.  Does all that make sense?

 Of course, you know, it could be a God thing!  But whatever it is, it sure is confusing!