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!

Hiding our Eyes

Yesterday Jayden was in the BEST mood! She was definitely back to herself after a rough week. Since she was sick, she was all over the place and super moody! Last Wednesday she had a tantrum for about 5 hours (no joke!)…and I was beginning to think we were starting our terrible 2's!! But luckily today Jayden was back to her normal, happy, loving self…and boy were we relieved!! 

Last night we were chasing her around the house and having so much fun! When daddy was chasing after her she ran to me and tried to hide…and it reminded me of when I was little and I would try to "hide my eyes" from my parents! So, naturally we did the same!! 

First I hid our eyes…

then showed her how to hide our eyes...

and before I knew it she was doing it by herself!!

Awwww how I love that little peanut! We have so much fun together :) :)

Even though we have some tough days, they are all worth it...for the good always outweighs the bad!! <3

Jayden's Dedication

Yesterday we (finally) dedicated Jayden at church. I know it took us a while, but all good things are worth waiting for right? :)

The day was absolutely perfect! Before the ceremony Jayden was playing in the kids play area with all the other kiddos! She loved going down the slide and playing in the playhouse so much, she didn't want to leave!

How adorable does Jayden look in her new dress her Grandma Dee got her all the way from Paris?! Even though it is a tiny bit big, she wore it well! :)

Waiting for the ceremony to start!

Jayden wanted to wave to everyone…she even gave the pastor a high five!

It was such an awesome morning and meant so much to us to have our family there celebrating with us. We are so grateful to have the most amazing, loving and supportive family! And Jayden is so lucky to have such an awesome family that loves her unconditionally! <3

17 Weeks

I can't believe I'm already 17 weeks pregnant! Time seems to be flying by and these babes are going to be here before we know it!

Jonathan and I decided we're going to move Jayden into the middle bedroom upstairs and put the twins in the front room since it's bigger. So last weekend we picked out furniture for Jayden's new room! We got her a cute toddler trundle bed, which will be PERFECT for when her cousins have a sleep over, and an adorable armoire and dresser. I'm SO excited about the furniture we picked out! It's super cute and super girlie :)

The last few days I've been feeling so much better! I've only gotten sick a few times and I've actually enjoyed a few meals! I'm almost back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, so my doctor is very happy about that! Our next doctor appointment is today ~ so I'm anxious to see the babies! It seems like it's been forever since I've seen them! Now that I can feel them move, and my belly is getting bigger and bigger each day, this pregnancy is definitely feeling more "real" … if that makes sense.

I also started having a few more cravings…chili with tortilla chips and skittles! Weird combo, I know! But I've probably had about 4 cans of chili this week alone and my mama is making a bunch of her and Mark's amazing homemade chili!! I can't wait!! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water :)

Some of the things I love about being pregnant:
1. I love how my hair is growing SUPER fast and I get a million compliments on how "full" it looks :)
2. I love not feeling guilty about eating whatever I want whenever I want (even though half the time I don't enjoy it)
3. I love feeling the babies move!
4. I love using it as an excuse as to why I need Jonathan to do more chores around the house…don't tell him I said that :) haha
5. I love knowing that our little family will be growing by 4 more baby feet <3