Happy Birthday Esme!!!

Yikes, I thought it was only 2 weeks from my last post but I guess the month got away from me!  Sorry guys!  We celebrated Esme's 5th birthday in the middle of the month and she requested a rainbow shave ice party with only her cousins present, not her friends.  I was surprised (and slightly glad since it saved me a lot of work) since we had just went to a big, over-the-top birthday party for her classmate a few weeks early and I thought she would have wanted something more like that.  Anyways, we had good weather so they got to do a slip n slide in the back yard and just play.  Since we recently moved into the old guest room she requested things to decorate her room for her birthday and she's loving all the new additions.  We still need to get pictures on the wall though, hopefully before the twins come.

Mommy's rainbow jello masterpiece!

Esme requested carrot cake decorated with rainbows.

She even chose her own birthday outfit to go with her crown from Nana.

We finally got her bedroom set up and are still working on decorating...

Chan also started a new daycare this month.  We said goodbye to Aunty Monica and transitioned him to Aunty Veva's house.  Aunty Veva used to be a teacher at Esme's school and she's also set up to watch the twins when the time comes.  Chan is loving the new space and his new friends.  He's even learning some Spanish from Aunty Veva and picking up on her accent.  It cracks us up!  Chan is working on sleeping in the trundle bed in his room and we're hoping to transition him completely before the twins arrive.

Chan waiting for his dentist appointment.  He looks like a little version of his older self here.

The kids enjoying the new van and their "beela's" aka blankets.

Valentine's Tea Party at Esme's school.

Aunty Bree visited us in Hilo! 

The kids love to paint!

Esme is always trying to mix all the colors regardless of the end result always being the same...brown!

The twins are continuing to grow, grow, grow!  At my last OB appointment I measured as big around as a full term person with only one baby.  So basically that's as big as I've ever gotten before so it'll be interesting to see where it all goes from here.  My weight gain is still slow but the reassuring part is that the babies continue to grow.  Babies were head down still with one on the left side and one on the right.  Their movements seem to get smaller and smaller as they get more and more cramped.  And just when I think it's impossible to get any more tired, the degree of tiredness changes.  This whole pregnancy can be categorized by the variations of tiredness.  Ha ha!  But honestly that's really as bad as it's been so far so I can't complain too much.  I continue with weekly non-stress tests at the hospital, next OB appointment is next week, and the next ultrasound is in 2 weeks.

Baby shower at work.

My basketball belly

Just waiting for 2 more goodballs to add to the group...

Just Keeping Up

Hmmm...what have we been up to lately?  Hard to say since daily life seems to keep us busy most of the time.  And then the rest of the time it's been getting the house settled (still a little behind from when we moved in and I was so nauseous that I couldn't do anything) and ready for the twins.  Esme and Chan were sharing a room but we've since moved Esme to her own room.  Slowly but surely that's coming along.  We still need to move a dresser in there and get it decorated to her liking.  First her choice was "princess world" and then today it was "rainbow dash" themed from My Little Pony.  Regardless it's girly of some sort which is so Esme.

Chan is back in his crib again and sleeping so much better than before.  I guess he just likes those boundaries.  At some point we'll move him to the twin trundle bed that's also in his room but for now we'll leave it as is.  He still calls us all by our ninja names and has started naming other family members too.  Aunty Amy is silver, Nana is orange, etc.  He's so funny that way.

Our little blue ninja as he calls himself.

Chan looking a lot like his daddy in this pic.

The twins have been causing all sorts of commotion in our lives lately.  At my OB visit last week we found out that both twins are head down.  Woohoo!  But then I also found out I failed my one hour glucose screen (boo!) and had to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test this past weekend.  Not so fun but at least I passed!  Woohoo!  Then on Monday I had to start my weekly non-stress tests at the hospital.  They strap a monitor to my belly to measure any contractions and then two other monitors to check the baby's heart beats.  I have to lie there for at least 30 minutes while this all gets recorded.  Apparently I was having some significant contractions that I couldn't feel so they had to consult with my OB.  It all turned out fine and I was able to go home without being treated for preterm labor but that was sort of scary.  Esme was with me and we were just enjoying lying in the hospital bed and reading books together so that changed the mood.  Esme still wants to go back with me every Monday afternoon when I have to get this done.  Then this morning I had an US with the specialist who had good news - babies are still growing right on target!  Baby A is 2#8oz and baby B is 2#14oz.  These are normal sizes for just one baby so it's no wonder that I feel/look about as big as when I delivered Esme and Chan.  Ha ha!  Overall though I'm still feeling good but just a lot more tired than normal.  I can't do everything like I used to and I'm having to take it easy a lot which can sometimes be hard mentally but physically my body just can't keep up.

The kids are always excited to talk about the twins and feel them move.  Esme thinks it's the most magical thing and her face lights up every time she feels them.  Chan usually isn't patient enough to wait long enough and usually just makes it up that he feels them move.  He also wants to call one Baby Z instead of A and B.  Other than that Esme's suggestions for names have been Peanut and Jelly, and Rapunzel and Pascal (from the Disney movie).  We've also had suggestions of Elsa and Anna, and Bree and Carrie (mom's best friends from when she was growing up).  Regardless we're still working on the names.  It's twice as hard this time!

Esme using mommy's belly as an arm rest after nap one afternoon.

Baby A at 28 weeks

Baby B at 28 weeks