Bike-A-Thon 2013

Every year Tommy's school has a bike-a-thon and the money goes toward charity.  Normally the money goes to Riley Children's Hospital.  This year the school wanted the money to go toward a very special personal cause.  A little boy in the class ahead of Tommy's has leukemia so this year all the money went toward paying his hospital bills.  

So let the Bike-A-Thon BEGIN!

At the starting line and.... they're off!

I assume what followed was mass chaos... on bikes!

This is a picture of the guest of honor, Camryn.  I believe he's in between chemo treatments at this time.

Tommy's class needs a water break! It was hot and humid that day.

Tommy looks thrilled to be taking part in the bike-a-thon.

Time for a time-out from biking.  Just chillin' on the curb.

I believe when the final totals were in, the school raised $2500 for Camryn.  So glad it always goes toward such a good cause.

22 Weeks: Tommy Tags Along

We thought it might be a good idea to take Tommy to an appointment for Baby T2.  We didn't think he would understand exactly what was going on but I thought it might be good for him to see someone else go to the doctor.  

 Tommy was the star of the waiting room.  He doesn't have an inside voice so everyone heard every comment.  We didn't realize how bad it was until the receptionist piped up, "Does he need more water to drink? I can get him some!"

In the picture above, he was trying to catch a fly on the window.  After about 20 minutes, Andrew and Tommy were getting a little restless.  The receptionist pipes up again, "Um, Dr. W is running 40 minutes behind. "  Oh dear.

 It wasn't 5 minutes later we were called back into the exam room.  Phew! We had just enough snacks and a sucker to keep him occupied for the rest of the time.  He did fill his diaper though so that diaper bag would have been super handy! Good thing it was a short appointment!

 I snapped a quick family pic before the doctor came in.  We are all smiles!

Tommy kept asking where his pediatrician was. "Where's Doctoh Fay-wer?" (He can't say his L's or R's.) We had to remind him a few times that mama was going to the doctor, not Tommy.

When Dr. W came in, Tommy let on that he knew about his baby sister.  The doctor used the machine thingy to listen to the heartbeat.  Her heartbeat is still the same, in the 150s.  Tommy heard it but he doesn't really understand what a heartbeat is quite yet.

The appointment was a success for both me and Tommy too.  He learned that other people go to the doctor and it's okay.  The fact that he will have a little sister is a little more cemented for him now, I think.  He has been saying nightly this week, "I want my baby sister!!!!"  It might have been a little early to introduce the idea to him!!

We also asked him what he would like to name his baby sister.
He thought about it awhile and replied matter-of-factly, "Santa Claus."

So Baby Santa Claus, Tommy is super excited to meet you!  22 Weeks down, 18 more to go!

Little Get Together

Over the weekend, we went down to Westfield and hung out with some friends.  It was 4 husbands, 4 preggo wives and 5 kids.  What a party! 

 The kids had an awesome time being kids.  Eating food, getting into trouble, all that jazz.

 Those beers on the table are NOT for the kids.  I promise.  Also, I'm pretty sure it's non-alkie anyway.

 Tommy was both completely terrified and absolutely enamored with Austin, the black lab.  It was so funny.

I made a yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting to celebrate the birthdays of Ashley and Nora.  It turned out really well.  Yay for the internet helping me bake. (Did you know that you're supposed to refrigerate the cake before icing? Great tip!) 

A good time was had by all. I wish I would have taken more pictures.  The kids were sooo cute together, it was ridiculous. 

Someone brought up, "Can you imagine getting together a year from now with FOUR MORE KIDS?"
No, I cannot picture it quite yet.  It will be crazy... and hopefully awesome. :-) 

ICE CREAM????

 Andrew found some soy ice cream bars at Target.  We figure it was high time for Tommy to try some ice cream.

The fact that Drew and Brittany Brees are spokespeople for the company doesn't hurt either.  

I tell ya, the faces he made while eating ice cream for the first time were definitely worth the mess!

Turns out, eating ice cream is a pretty surreal experience!

Tramampoline Part 2!

Tommy hasn't been on a trampoline in over a year.  The last time was Lilli's b-day party.  If you go to that link, you can see Tommy with MUCH less hair!


This year we went to Jack and Cec's birthday party and he was much better at jumping! I love when he does the high knees as he runs around.  Too funny.

20 Weeks: T2 is Halfway There!

Oh T2, how you grow so fast! You're already at 20 weeks. You're half way done growing in utero.

Whattoexpect.com: The fetus measures about 5.6 to 6.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 9 ounces. Your baby can hear sounds by now -- your voice, heart and your stomach growling, as well as sounds outside your body. It will cover its ears with its hands if a loud sound is made near you, and it may even become startled and "jump." The baby is moving often, too -- twisting, turning, wiggling, punching and kicking.

We'll call this one Sassy Duck Face Preggo

T2 is the size of a cantaloupe supposedly.  Looks more like a bowling ball to me.  I'm feeling lots of movements which is fantastic.  Still surprises me every time.  My belly button never popped in my last pregnancy but this time is different.  This time, unless I'm wearing extra layers, you can see something sticking out in the belly button area.  It's hasn't "popped" yet but it's sticking out for some reason.  It's weird.  But last time I had the White Belly Button Mystery so really who knows what's going on in there?? 
(By the way, I must point out that I had 10 other people google this, find my blog and comment that they had it too.  Crazy right?? See for yourself!)

Here's my belly last time. 

It's amazing how much can change in 3 years. Dare I say I look more mature even in my newest picture?? Is that weird to say about oneself? I definitely look older... for a good reason at least. :-) Jeez, what a difference.  Tiny little bump back then.  

Another thing that is wayyyyy different about this pregnancy is that we were just finding out the sex at 20 weeks last time.  We've known the sex of Baby Girl T2 for 6 weeks now! Crazy.  

So what has been going on with me lately?? 

Well I have fallen down the stairs twice.  IDIOT.  But they are dangerous!  My mom has fallen down our stairs.  Andrew fell down them with Tommy (as coffee flew up in the air and all over the place).  Seriously, you have to be careful.  The former owners chose the cheapest possible carpet and I think it was made with teflon somehow.   The first time I fell was on Easter morning.  I was in a hurry and I just slid down the bottom few stairs on my butt.  No marks, not that big of a deal.  It just scared me.  The second time was a big one.  That's what the picture above is from.  I fell from the top of the stairs down to the landing.  My feet came out from under me somehow and I came down on my arm.  It HURT.  That picture is my bruise from the day after.  That was nothing. The bruise grew over my arm in every direction.  It was purple, black, brown, green even, I think? I still haven't gotten rid of the whole bruise.  It's nasty.  I went to the doctor just to be sure everything was okay.  They checked me over and said everything was fine. Phew.  It definitely scared me into following these instructions like a real weirdo.  (Yes I just linked you to an article on how NOT to fall down the stairs. Literally everything is on the internet.)

Why am I falling down the stairs? Well for one, I can't see my feet.  But two, I'm ridiculously clumsy.  I'm normally pretty klutzeriffic but when pregnant, watch the heck out.  At work one day, I dropped my water bottle 3 times in a row in a manner of 30 seconds. I'm sure it looked like I was performing some sort of slap stick comedy routine from the 3 Stooges while water was spraying all over the place.  Whoop-whoop-whoop, nyuck, nyuck nyuck! Wise preggo, eh?

So 20 weeks have come and gone.  Only 20 more to go! Way to grow, Baby T2!

Boatloads of Action

It's nearly impossible to get a picture of Tommy these days due to the fact that he's constantly in motion. 

 Except for when he's asleep.  He's still in awkward positions but it's much easier to take pictures.

He loves to try new things, like putting on Mom's boots.  They fit well! 

Even when he pouts in a corner by himself, he's still busy doing something. 

 And now it's time for a bag over his head! Busy day is complete!

School Fun Week

 Last week was a celebration week for daycare.  They had a different dress up theme everyday and a party on Friday. I didn't get pictures of Book Character Day or Pajama Day but I did get a picture from his teacher on Crazy Hat Day.

 Some kids took it serious!  Tommy just wore his favorite hat.

Friday was Party Day/Hollywood Day.  They invited the parents to come have a picnic lunch with their kids.  I was one of two parents that showed up that day.  That only slightly surprised me. Two year olds don't respond well to parents coming and then leaving again.

The theme for Friday was Hollywood Day.  They said to "dress fancy".  I put him in his Tuxedo shirt (he added the hat from Hat Day the day before, he just can't get enough of that hat).  I was worried I made the wrong choice because I saw lots of super fancy tutus and mega frilly dresses on girls.  But most of the boys were in sweatpants and jeans still so that made me feel better. 

Personally I thought Tommy's outfit was perfect for the occasion.  Some parents took it super serious as you can tell. 

Right before lunch, all the kids walk the "red carpet" for Hollywood Day.  Miss Kristin took this picture of Tommy walking across the stage (with his hat on backward because that is how he prefers to wear it).  When he got to the middle, he stopped and clasped his hands together and did a little roll with his arms. What the what?? This kid seriously just chooses when he wants to be shy.  Who knew he had such sweet dance moves??

Funny Pics of the Month

Tommy and I were driving in the car this weekend when he says, "Look Mama, I got my sunglasses on!" 

 I turn around to see this.  Yes you do, honey, and you are rocking those shades.

Did I mention our diaper pail grew legs??

Tommy's new favorite activity is hiding.  When he first started, he would giggle in an odd Beavis and Butthead style until we found him.  Now he doesn't make a peep.  He's quite good at it these days.  Except for the whole legs sticking out thing. :-)

18 Weeks: A Bad Monday

This week was our appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine.  This post is going to be long so prepare yourselves.  I'll try to leave out the unimportant parts.

The appointment was at 1 o'clock in Carmel.  It started with a meeting with the genetic counselor.  I didn't know exactly what to expect with this.  I figure they would take our blood and do some testing or something.  I was wrong.  Instead we sat in a bare bones conference room with a genetic counselor while she went over her laminated binder of chromosomal disorders.  She talked about chromosomes, chromosomes and more chromosomes.  We looked at pictures like this.

We looked at every variation of genetic chromosomal disorders.  We learned about Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 21/18/13 etc, Turners Syndrome, Noonan's Syndrome and probably even more that I don't remember. She talked about life expectancy of each of the disorders and what kind of defects we might see.  She went into a little detail about what she knew about Twin B.  She said there was swelling around the head and spine and there was also a pocket of fluid around the stomach area.  She basically told us this was a sign of some very bad things.  We talked about amniocentesis and how that procedure works. She asked if we wanted one.  I said "I don't know yet."  How are we supposed to know at that point? We hadn't even had our ultrasound yet.  She talked about termination.  She said that with twins it's a specialized procedure and the doctors in their office may not be able to perform it and we might have to go out of state.  She also said we wouldn't have very long to decide if that's something that we wanted. She then asked if we had any questions.  We had some.  The appointment with the counselor took an HOUR.  We were both sick to our stomachs when we left that conference room.  We had no more answers, just a lot more information and a lot more fear.

Next came the in-depth ultrasound.  The ultrasound tech informed us that the doctor would be able to see the same screen in another room as she was working.  She started taking measurements of Twin A.  She narrated what she was measuring and told us what she was taking pictures of for each "snapshot".  Twin A looked very good but it still took a long time.  It's pretty early yet so they have to work a bit harder to get all the information they want.

Then she moved on to Twin B.

She took about 7 or 8 consecutive pictures without saying a word and then got up and left the room saying she was going to get the doctor.  Andrew knew right away.  I was still the hopeless optimist.  I was still holding on to the hope that my gut feeling was wrong.  I had been pulling for these twins the whole time.  I really wanted them to have each other.  I felt like I bonded with the babies in utero much more than I ever did with Tommy in utero (due to the fact that it's the second time around, I know what to expect, I understand what's in there and what's going on). I was in denial.

They were gone 15 minutes.  It felt like an eternity.

Finally the doctor came in and sat down next to the bed and put her hands on me.  She didn't even touch the computer.  She didn't even have to talk.  I knew what she was going to say,  "I'm so sorry to tell you that Twin B has passed."  She asked if we needed a few minutes which we did and they promptly left the room.

We grieved.  Truly we were experiencing a huge range of emotions all at once.  Shock, sadness, grief... but also relief, guilt, acceptance, closure.  It felt like it was too quick of a process for us (hence even more guilt).  The doctor and tech came back in the room and asked if it was okay for her to continue taking pictures of both babies.  She made sure to tell us over and over again that Twin A was completely healthy and beautiful.  She was growing slightly above average and she couldn't say enough that she was healthy.

We learned that Twin B passed when she was measuring at 14 weeks.  Since she was about a week behind to begin with, she probably passed away a week after the first ultrasound.  We learned that we could have an amnio done to see what might have been the issue for Twin B but that since it had been a few weeks, the fluid probably would not give us accurate information.  It also has risks for Twin A so we decided to forego the amnio.  We asked if there was a procedure at this point and she said no.  This might sound a little morbid but she said that the baby would be absorbed into the placenta. The only way we may be able to tell that they were twins by the end is that there are two placentas.

Sidenote: Remember my grandmother who gave birth to twins?? She also gave birth to three placentas so it's highly possible the same thing happened to her too.  But she didn't have to go through the roller coaster of emotions that comes with modern technology.  If this were 10-20 years ago, we never would have known this happened until birth.

They told us, for sure this time, that Baby A is a girl.  She has a big head, long legs and big ol' feet.  We couldn't be happier.  They asked if we wanted pictures of Twin B.  We declined since we have pictures of her from when she was still alive and punching and kicking her sister.

They sent us home with these great pictures of Baby T2.

I don't really know what this is a picture of.  I assume it's the girl parts? Can't really tell.

 This is kind of hard to tell what's going on as well.  But the baby is upside down.  If you look at the left side of the picture, you can see the spine running down to the head.  You can see the baby's profile in this one.  Beautiful profile, if I do say so myself. :-)

 Here's an obvious one... the right hand!

And another one! Her gigantor feet! She is definitely related to Tommy.  Tommy has always had ginormo feet.  They already have something they can bond over!

We truly feel blessed beyond words.  It's such a sad situation but we're just so happy that Baby T2 is so healthy and thriving.  We were so worried about trying to manage a family with a toddler and two newborns, one of which with any number of issues.  We were already feeling horrible for the effect it might have on Tommy and Twin A.  The stress of twins, from what I've read, is bad enough, especially with an older sibling, but to add chromosomal abnormalities... I just can't fathom.

Baby T2 is healthy and we have so many reasons to celebrate.  We know having a second child isn't going to be easy but after all this, it feels like it's going to be a piece of cake.

I'll get back to you on that one after the baby is born. ;-)

So we will see you, Baby T2, around September 18th, 2013!!