Twenty Four Weeks

I'm 24 weeks now and getting bigger and bigger every day! I had my last doctor appointment a few days ago and the babes are both growing perfectly! They both weigh about a pound and a half and are measuring a few days big. Baby A is measuring 4 days big and Baby B is measuring 2 days big! My blood pressure looked perfect and so far I've gained 14 pounds…although that was before Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas dinner so I'm sure I've gained 5 lbs in the last 2 days! I'm mostly in maternity clothes although I find things that fit me here and there that are pre-pregnancy :)

During my ultrasound it was amazing to see how much the babies are moving around. Baby A is still head down and while Baby B is completely rotated and is now breach…so she is the one that has been kicking my bladder :)

Overall I'm still feeling pretty well. I've had some heavy pressure on my hips and pelvic bone the past week (mostly at night) so the doc said I need to take it super easy in the afternoon and evenings and rest as much as possible…and by rest, he meant rest horizontally. He didn't "officially" put me on bed rest in the afternoons, but he did stress how important it is to keep pressure off my hips and pelvic bone in the afternoon as much as possible. He also said to keep going for walks in the morning for exercise but nothing too strenuous. 

Also, I found out that starting at 30 weeks I'll be going to the doctor 2x a week! The doc needs to monitor me for contractions a few weeks into my 3rd trimester…it's hard to believe I'll be in my 3rd trimester in 2 short weeks!

This pregnancy is so much different than my first…but I'm in good hands and know that these babes are going to come out happy and healthy :) I can't believe the girls will be here before we know it! <3

How far along: 24 weeks!

Total weight gain: 14 lbs total

Stretch marks: None

Sleep: I'm getting pretty uncomfortable and still getting up every night to go to the bathroom 

Best moment of this week: Spending Christmas with family & friends!! Watching Jayden open her presents <3

Miss anything: Champagne (mostly because people were drinking it all week during the holiday!)

Movement: ALL OF THE TIME! You can see the movement from outside my belly now :)

Food cravings: No new cravings…and I'm really not craving chili anymore.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Belly button in or out: The top half of my belly button is out, bottom half is now starting to finally creep on out- I find it so amusing!

Wedding rings on or off: On :)

Happy or moody: So happy!! 

Looking forward to: Clearing out the upstairs office to move Jayden into the middle bedroom! It's going to be a huge project and Jonathan said he wanted to start this weekend :)

Merry Christmas

What an amazing Christmas we had this year! We had such an amazing holiday with family and friends…it's hard to believe it will be another 365 days until next Christmas!! Luckily we still have a few holiday parties coming up in the next week so we get to continue the celebration :)

Our Christmas festivities started early on Sunday since Parker was headed to Europe for 3 weeks (I'm still jealous!) and was leaving Christmas day and Mark was leaving Monday to spend Christmas in Iowa. So we had brunch at our house so we could spend time with them before their trips! My favorite part of the day was playing Heads Up! Good times for sure!!! :) Oh and we had a selfie standoff … I think the girls pic was the best since the little babes were in it! 

The best part was the boys were outside in the backyard while we were inside watching Frozen! LOL

Christmas Eve we were at the Ericksons ~ it had been a while since Jayden had opened any gifts, so she didn't really get it at first…but once she opened the first present, she loved tearing the paper off the gifts and wanted to unwrap all of the gifts under the tree! Needless to say she was a pro by the end!

That night we had an amazing Mexican Feast at the Herrell's house ~ enchiladas, tamales, a taco bake, rice, beans…the works! It was AMAZING and of course my favorite was Scott's enchiladas!! Mmmmmm soooo good! And Jayden had a blast running around with the other kids at the party! She was in HEAVEN! :)

When we made it home, Jonathan and I stayed up wrapping the final big gifts and putting together her big toys! We wanted to give Jayden her big toys last so she would actually open the other presents under the tree…so Jonathan "hid" it in the other room. I just about died laughing when I saw how he hid it! LOL

Christmas morning Jayden was up bright and early at 7:45. I ran downstairs to turn on the Christmas lights before Jonathan brought her down so she would be so excited! 

We had such a relaxing morning hanging out and opening our gifts to each other! About halfway through Jayden started getting hungry so we took a break to eat breakfast (I'm sure that will probably never happen once she and the twins are older). 

Then we were back to opening gifts!!

Giving daddy Christmas kisses <3

She was in such an amazing mood all morning! She was so happy and we still had one big surprise left :)

After all the other gifts were opened, Jonathan brought out Jayden's big surprise and she was SO EXCITED! We bought Jayden her first CAR! Cozy car that is! LOL

She played with her new car for about an hour! Just getting in and out of the car and trying to honk the horn! This was the best gift ever :)

That afternoon we were off to Bre & Al's to celebrate Christmas with my fam. All the presents under the tree reminded me of when we were little!

Jayden & Ella are so spoiled :)

Can these two seriously be any cuter :)

I love watching them play together! 

BFFs <3

Even though the girls got the exact same stuff ~ Jayden always wanted to open Ella's gifts! LOL

Such an amazing day ~ I'm SO thankful for the most amazing family in the world <3 

Merry Christmas!!

23 down...14 to go

I'm now 23 weeks pregnant and in my 6th month! I'm feeling as big as an elephant and I've been sore and super uncomfortable the last few days! With 14 weeks left, I'm dreading how enormous I'm going to get! If I'm uncomfortable now, it's not going to be fun when I'm 37 weeks!

So far I've gained 13 lbs. and have an "outtie" belly button. I know I'm officially bigger than I was when I delivered Jayden because I never had an outtie belly button when I was pregnant with her. It's true what they say, each pregnancy is different! I also don't have a "linea negra" like I did when I was preggers with Jayden…but it could show up anytime! With two babies in my belly I feel like I'm running out of "womb" already! I can already tell my lungs are getting compressed because it's tougher to breathe and sometimes just doing simple tasks I easily lose my breath. The babies are also moving around all of the time! Mostly they are either kicking my ribs or bouncing on my bladder! Neither of which are fun! It's also getting more uncomfortable when they rotate or do summersaults. Now that they are also getting bigger and rotating more often I'm starting to notice when my belly is lopsided! 

At 23 weeks, the babes are both over a pound (probably close to 1 lbs. 2 oz.) and almost a foot long! I also read that in the next few weeks they will double in weight! They can also hear noises outside my belly…so they can hear me talking all day and lately they can hear me singing along to the Frozen soundtrack (poor babies!). Jayden's new favorite movie is Frozen, so we've been watching it every day! Most of the time it's only on in the background, but I find myself singing along to all the songs! :) 

Since I'm not supposed to be carrying Jayden around she's been getting better about walking most places on her own. I'm also been working on her climbing up into the car…since she's still so tiny it's difficult, but she'll get there :) While she's definitely still a daddy's girl, I think she misses me carrying her <3

Holiday Fun

This week has been jammed pack full of holiday festivities! Between looking at lights & passing out toys at church to visiting Santa and finishing Christmas shopping…it's been a busy week!

Monday and Wednesday I worked the toy drive at the Peace Center at church. I am so glad I decided to volunteer ~ with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, sometimes people forget what Christmas is all about! It was so awesome being able to give toys to these families that wouldn't have been able to provide presents for their kids without the Peace Center. We also took them through the food pantry so we were able to stock their kitchens! I can't wait to work the toy drive again next year!

The other night Jonathan and I took Jayden to look at Christmas lights through a street in Tustin with Jonathan's parents. Jayden absolutely LOVED it! We were a little nervous because we forgot the stroller, but she ended up walking the entire time! It was fun hearing her go crazy at almost every house…especially the houses where she saw Mickey and another house where she saw an inflatable Olaf!

Giving kisses to Mickey & Minnie <3

Yesterday Bre and I took the girls to visit Santa at the mall…I thought the line was going to be super long because the traffic to get in and out of the mall was crazy! But lucky I got a perfect parking spot and there was only 1 family in front of us to see Santa. Once it was our turn, Santa decided to go on a 5 minute break so we had time to get the girls used to the sofa where Santa was sitting. We took a few practice pictures before Santa returned!

The girls love each other so much! I love their cute little smiles!!

When Santa returned - the girls were a little nervous around him. Jayden was waving and blowing kisses when Ella was taking her solo pic…

…and then she freaked out when she was on his lap!

Luckily she calmed down enough to take a decent solo picture!

It was hilarious looking through all the picture! Bre and I were cracking up and laughing so loud it was echoing through the mall! I'm sure people thought we were crazy!

I still can't believe Christmas is only a few days away! I can't wait to celebrate Jesus' birthday! <3

Christmas Time!

I'm so so so excited that it's Christmas time! I think Jayden is excited also…seeing that she LOVES looking at the Christmas lights and decorations everyday! She even has a new word -- snowman (which sounds like nomen). Our neighbor across the street has an adorable snowman in his yard and Jayden will point to it every single day! I think that's her new favorite friend on the street!

She is also obsessed with our Christmas tree and my village! Everyday she says "WHHOOAAA" when we turn the lights on! The smallest things amuse kids…I'm still wondering why we have so many toys when she's happy with the most random things! And when the lights are off on the tree and the village, she points and keeps saying "Oh No!" until we acknowledge the fact the lights are off…it's adorable! :) Even though she already broke one of my little santa elves in my village, I was able to perform surgery and repair him so you can't tell he had a broken arm and two broken legs! Jayden now knows she's not allowed to touch the village and it's "eyes only".

Random pic I know…but it was too cute not to include :) 

Seriously the love of my life…her smile melts my heart!! <3

It's going to be so much fun taking her out one night to see all the Christmas lights and decorations this year! I know she will absolutely love it <3

21 Weeks

It's hard to believe I only have 16 weeks left before these sweet babies arrive! Time seems to be flying by so quickly…it seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant!

Recently I've been feeling pretty good - I've been able to eat almost anything and keep everything down! So that's definitely a plus! Unfortunately the other day I pulled a muscle in this big 'ol belly and the doc says I can't carry Jayden anymore! :( I had a sharp pain in my side for about 45 minutes and now I'm just a little sore in that area, feeling as if I worked out (which, BTW, I have done next to none of this pregnancy). Poor Jayden has to walk almost everywhere now when she's with me and it's getting really hard for me to put her to bed. When I rock her in the glider it's super uncomfortable when she's laying on my belly and my belly gets in the way when I put her in the crib. Luckily she LOVES having daddy put her to bed, which she makes perfectly clear since she cries for daddy when I'm trying to sing songs and calm her down before bedtime.

The babies are now about the size of a banana…each about 7.5 inches long and weighing in about 11-12 oz! Crazy to think combined they are almost 2 pounds!! I'll find out more accurately how big they are at my next appointment on Wednesday! I can't wait to see them -- I'm so spoiled getting an ultrasound every few weeks!

Lately I haven't had any new cravings, except for maybe just El Pollo Loco :) Jonathan and I stopped there for dinner a few days ago and I had the Chicken Avocado Salad and it was delicious! I've had to pick it up for lunch a few times since then! I'm also still crazy for my chili with tortilla chips! I've been munching on that almost every single day!

The past week I've been feeling the babies moving around a TON! Baby B way more than Baby A…Baby B is a kicker and Baby A mostly rolls around. I love randomly feeling them move - I can tell they are going to be active babies like Jayden! There definitely won't be a dull moment in the Erickson house, that's for sure! :)

Jayden's Growing Vocabulary

I love hearing all the new words Jayden is saying everyday! She is like a sponge right now and repeats so much of what we say. Sometimes she only says things once and other times she keeps saying the same word…like her new favorite word, "no". Definitely not my favorite thing to hear, but it's so cute how she says it. I'll ask her if she wants to eat something or do something and she will shake her head and say "no"…and when I get to something she does want, she stops and just stares.

Some of her favorite words:

Love you - Roh rou
Here ya go - Here go
Birdie - Burye
Doggie - Dawye
Please - Plea plea
Thank you - tank tou
Shoes - Chews
Socks - Socks
Juice - Jusch
Blueberries - Bewries
Bowl - Bow
Bye Bye - Bah Bye
Daisy - Day-zee
Car - Kaw
Poo poo - Poo poo
Book - Bowh
Boo Boo - Boo boo
Potty - Paw-yee
Hot Dog - Ga Ga
Ball - Bah
Moon - Moo
Baby - Bay-bee
Apple - Papple
Cold - Cole
Outside - Ouwsyee

Trying to phenetically spell the way she says it is not the easiest task…but I did my best :)

I love hearing all the new words she comes up with…and sometimes Jonathan and I look at each other and ask where she learned that! We definitely have to be careful to watch what we say since we have a little learner on our hands! :)

Girls Weekend at Bacara

Last weekend was one of the most relaxing and restful weekends I've had in a very long time! My mom took me, Bre, Nicole & Tara up to Santa Barbara for a long girls weekend and it was amazing! We stayed at the beautiful Bacara resort, which was phenomenal! 

Friday night we ate at the Bistro, which was the main restaurant at the hotel. It was DELICIOUS! After the long drive, we ended up going to bed a little early after the other girls drank a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (I was awfully jealous!) and I drank some of my yummy Martinellis! 

The next morning we slept in and headed out for some pool time around 10. It was PERFECT weather! It was about 74 with next to no wind…I ate lunch out poolside while the girls drank Bloody Marys poolside :) We had such a relaxing morning!

How amazing is this view!? 

Our room was amazing also…since my mom, Bre and I were sharing, we upgraded to a suite :)

We had a living room...

and an awesome master bedroom!

Our patio was huge with a very partial ocean view :)

After hanging by the pool, we headed to State street in downtown Santa Barbara! We walked up and down almost the entire street and window shopped all afternoon. 

After a long day, we ate at the most amazing Italian restaurant called Toma. Everything we ordered was delicious! 

Mark even gave us a bottle of 2008 Silveroak from his wine cellar! I had a small taste :) but I know the girls reallllllllly enjoyed it!!!!! 

Toasting to Mark for such an awesome weekend!

While they enjoyed their fancy wine, I enjoyed my Martinellis! LOL

Such an amazing dinner and fun night with some amazing mamas! 

The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the Spa Cafe right next to the spa…right after we headed over for our relaxing spa treatments! It was awesome! I had the prenatal massage and the collection facial. While I prefer deep tissue massage pressure, the masseuse was pretty good, but my facial was by far the best facial I've ever had! After my treatment, everyone commented how I was glowing :)

We were at the spa for about 4 hours and enjoyed every second of it!

Monday morning we woke up and went for a walk around nature reserve next to the hotel. 

It was such a beautiful morning…we were sad our weekend was coming to an end! 

Bye Bye Bacara…til next time!

Special thanks to Mark for such an awesome girls trip! <3

Halfway There

Yep that's right! I'm officially halfway to the finish line! I'm 18 1/2 weeks and since my doctor is delivering me in my 37th week…I'm at my halfway mark and I'm feeling AH-MAZ-ING! I'm getting bigger and bigger each week and since I don't want to be gigantic when I deliver these two precious girls, I've been trying to eat somewhat healthy. Last night I even found a recipe on pinterest for a low-fat shrimp alfredo pasta bake and it was SO good! I even made the alfredo sauce from scratch!!! That's right, let me say it again…I made it from scratch! I'm not going to lie, I did buy a jar of light alfredo sauce in case mine didn't turn out, but it did and I was so proud of myself!

My cravings are still all over the place. I'm still eating chili at least once a day and every now and then I have a craving for a pack of skittles. My new craving is Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, random I know, but I've been eating a bowl every morning :) I even had to buy the 2 pack at Costco because I go through it pretty quickly.

The babies are now about the size of a sweet potato and even though The Bump app says they should weigh about 6.5 oz, at my last doc appointment a week and a half ago both babies weighed that or more! Baby A was 6.5 oz. and Baby B was 7 oz.! So now I'm sure combined they are close to a pound (makes me feel better when I get on the scale knowing there are 2 babies growing inside me!). Even though I'm way behind on my weight gain, I have now officially passed my pre-pregnancy weight! The doctor told me he wants me to gain 40 pounds…yes FORTY! As in 4.0.! YIKES! That's a lot! I'm not looking forward to stepping on the scale if I hit that number, but if it means my babies are healthy…I'll do what I gotta do!