They have arrived!

So my Dr. told me that I should be the poster child for twin pregnancies.  I don't know if he was serious or just trying to make me feel better about myself.  This will be the picture for the poster.  I felt pretty decent this day!  I was around 31 weeks pregnant.

 Notice the smile in this picture?  Not quite as sincere as the first one.  I was ready to be done!  In this picture I was 37 weeks along.  Full term for twins is 38 weeks.  I had Taylor & Rylee around 36weeks - so I was REALLY wondering why the new twins hadn't arrived yet!  I still can't believe that my body endured being stretched to the max - TWICE.

Dr. Dibble was pretty adamant about inducing me.  I was hesitant but gave in.  I'm a firm believer that babies will just come when they are ready.  Induction was scheduled for 6:00 AM on Wednesday, October 2.

Oh the drama!  It took forever for the nurses to find little Luke's heartbeat & they won't start you on Pitocin until they have monitored the heartbeats of both babies for at least 20 minutes.  By 8:30, Dr Dibble came in & had to do an ultra sound to find his heartbeat.  Finally - the ball could start rolling.  I HATE getting the epidural!  It is stressful to me & quite painful.  BUT - the after effects are amazing.  Numb as could be.  Fabulous!  My legs were like gigantic trees stumps.  There was no way I could move them. 

I was almost fully dilated (I think around an 8) when the Dr came in to make sure both babies were head down & ready for action.  Well - Luke was ready.  Little Alexa was breech.  Not good.  I was told then to prepare myself for a possible cesarean section for the 2nd baby.  Dr Dibble said he would try everything he could to get her turned around after Luke was born, but if he couldn't there would be no discussion, he'd just cut me open.  I was not happy.  I was mad that I had been induced - I was mad because they had stopped my numbing drip so I was in more pain - but more than mad I was scared & tired & hungry.  Seriously.  I hadn't eaten anything for 20+ hours.

The operating room....I don't enjoy it.  (I wonder if anyone does??)  Luke was born with no problem whatsoever!  Seriously...the Dr said push, so I did half a push, he told me to stop & then Luke was crying.  Amazing!!

Luke Raymond Freeze

6:10 pm

6 lbs 1.6 oz

18 3/4 inches long

 I think he looks like an adorable, cranky old man.  :)

Now for the stress!  Dr Dibble was trying to get her turned from the inside (I'll pause so you can process that in you brain & vomit.............) his wife was pushing with all of her weight from the outside.  I kept saying ouch - so I got a lot more numbness from the anesthesiologist.  Thank you!  Finally - she turned!!!  BUT - she had her hands up above her head, like she was going to dive out.  Well - that wasn't going to work either.  By some miracle Alexa & the Dr came to some sort of understanding & she put her arms down, my 2nd water broke and she arrived.  Hallelujah! 

Alexa Freeze

6:36 pm

6 lbs 14 oz

20 inches long



 We are going to call this big eyed beauty Lexi.

Casey got to leave with the babies while I had my tubes tied.  I don't think one should chance twins a 3rd time.  The Dr also found a hernia that he fixed.  He did however forget to do a tummy tuck.  What a forgetful guy.

 

I can't believe that I had 2 babies....at the same time again!

My mom & dad took Caleb, Taylor & Rylee for a couple of days while I was in the hospital.  I am so grateful for their help.  To this day my mom is still coming & helping me a couple of times a week.  Seriously - I'd be dead....or a child may be dead...or my house would be infested with rodents from filth without the help.  I don't think I can ever repay her for her kindness!!

 

Here is my mom holding Lexi for Taylor & Rylee to see.  Taylor thought she was cute & Rylee had a mental breakdown.  It was heartbreaking.  It took her a couple of weeks to even come near Lexi or Luke.  She's adjusted now though.

 Caleb was so excited to have a brother.  He couldn't hold him when he visited though because Luke had to stay under the lamps for a couple of days.  Grandpa helped him check him out though.

 Lexi had to be under the lights for just a day.  Look at her adorable hands!

 Finally!  Some brother bonding time.  Caleb loves these babies.  He is always saying how cute they are...always asking if they are awake...always putting on his "Hamatizer" (hand sanitizer) so that he can hold or touch them.

I am so grateful for these healthy babies.  I'm happy that my body was able to hold up to this challenge TWICE  in a row.  Let's hope that my sanity can also handle it.  I am so grateful for Dr Dibble & his care for his patients.  I am grateful for the kindness of his staff & the Labor & Delivery staff at the hospital.  I am grateful for all of the help & meals that my family has received.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends & family.  I just hope that we continue to be invited to family functions & play dates.  We are officially "THAT" family with all of the crazy kids.  Wish us luck!

Randoms

I have been meaning to post these pictures for quite a while.

I hate that this picture is fuzzy - but I took it with my phone. This is a picture of Rylee & Caleb wrestling when we were staying in Price for Shelby's wedding. I bet the people sleeping below us HATED us. Tee hee.

Taylor LOVES Shadow. Neither one of the girls want to leave him down. They are always picking him up. Quite frankly - I am shocked that the cat has stuck around!! What a good kitty.

Caleb also loves the cat - when he isn't running away from him. This cat loves to jump at the kids and it even will get on the trampoline with them once in a while.

How many people does it take to wash a tire??

The girls love going FAST with their popper toys that they got from Great Gma & Gpa Hunsaker for their birthday.

Rylee 'helping' with the dishes one day.

Sharing the snickers & apple salad. Adorable!!

Someone started Kindergarten!

CALEB'S KINDERGARTEN FAVORITES

TV Show: Wild Kratts & Scooby Doo

Movie: Tarzan & Hercules

Song: Little Deuce Coop - The Beach Boys

Color: Black

Food: Mac & Cheese, Pizza or Ramen noodles

Drink: Chocolate Milk

Candy: Nem-ee-nems (M&M's) & Nerds

Activity: Jumping on the trampoline with Dad, Taylor & Rylee

He had to have a picture of just his back pack. He loves it!

July Happenings

Another year - another fabulous birthday breakfast outing with Sandra! It is the only time that I go to Village Inn & I must say - it doesn't suck! I don't think that I have ever been disappointed with my breakfast. After we stuffed our faces we went to IKEA. I needed to shop for dressers for Taylor & Rylee & we had success! I love that. I got to ride in a wheelchair....nice & not nice at the same time. I can't believe I had to ride in one before Sandra! We then headed back to Sandra's house & played a couple games of Sorry & Last Word. We managed to eat some more fabulous food too. It was a nice day!

My mother is OUT OF CONTROL! She has decided that every year for my dad's birthday we are going to have a Luau. It was fun! She made watermelon salsa, grilled pineapple & zucchini, salmon, yummy BBQ pork with chipotle mayo, and dirty drinks - with little umbrellas of course. All of the kids seem to enjoy being at Grammy's & Papa Don's for the evening. Except for Caleb. Shortly after dinner he got stung 7 times by wasps. It was so sad!! He said he was NEVER going outside again. But after 40 minutes or so, he came back out & wrestled with Griffen.

My mom had a hula hoop contest planned - the show down was between Ashley & Griffen & Griffen won! I've never been able to hula - I don't think my belly helped much. I'm going to start practicing for next year ASAP. Everyone also did the limbo. It was a fun night! Happy Birthday Dad!

A Platypus

Caleb has taken 4 weeks worth of swimming lessons this summer. He did AWESOME! He talked the teacher's ear off. He always had something to say. I hope that is a quality he never loses - that he is always able to say what is on his mind.

He loved to play on the stairs. He said he was pretending to be a platypus.

Casey & I took turns taking him to class & we both enjoyed watching him get braver each time!

The biggest problem that he had to conquer was relaxing while one his back & allowing his ears to go into the water. It really bothered him to have water in his ears, but he conquered that & passed his Level 1 swimming!

Since he has had ocean & water animals on the brain pretty much all summer he requested that we make jelly fish. Wish granted.

Weekend in Price

Casey's brother got married this weekend.  He married a very nice girl named Malissa from Price. They had a small ceremony with just family & a couple of really close friends.

We pulled up to the wedding site & Caleb said, "Is this the wedding?" I said, "Yes." In a very serious, angry voice he replied, "This isn't a wedding! This is the African Savannah!!" And boy....it was hot enough to be! Casey was Shelby's best man and walked with Malissa's sister. Caleb was quite concerned and turned to me & said, "IS DAD GETTING MARRIED TOO???"

After the wedding we had a luncheon. Tamara was so nice & made sure that Shelby & Malissa had a wedding cake. It was delicious!!! I even caught Taylor sticking her cute little fingers in it before it was cut. What a smart girl.

After the luncheon Casey & I had decided to stay an extra night in Price just for the heck of it. Casey & Caleb had a couple hours worth of swimming time while the girls & I took a nap. Caleb LOVED the pool. Casey is such a good sport & a fun dad. I was going to take the girls down - but I put them in the bathtub instead.

We went to dinner on Saturday night & then to a really neat park. The kids had a blast.

I want one of these awesome red swings in my size!! Caleb LOVED it. Casey kept pretending like Caleb was kicking him in the face & Caleb thought it was HILARIOUS. I don't know if I have ever heard the boy laugh so freaking hard.