Big Girl In The Big Easy

This past weekend, Kyle and I ventured on down to the Big Easy. I haven't been to New Orleans since college and was quickly reminded why after this weekend. I am just not cut out for all the late night fun, especially while being six months pregnant! My cousin Rachel and Michael were married on Saturday. And if you know or have read anything about my family, you know that we know how to have a good time and get loud. Well, we just stay loud....

We arrived in New Orleans super late Thursday night and crashed. Friday morning, we woke up early and headed to breakfast with my dad and Kim. We ate breakfast at Oceana and then wandered throughout the French Quarter, strolling and browsing.

One thing I was amazed by were all the used book stores. This one particularly caught our eye so we had to check it out...

{love the huge old doors}

{there were so many stacks and towers of old books i could barely fit my growing belly through the shop}

We made our way into Jackson Square...

{james and mattie rose getting a little culture before they take their first breaths}

{St. Louis Cathedral}

Later that day we met up with my aunt, uncle, three cousins, and Gigi and Poppy and hopped on the street car for a stroll through the Garden District. If I had gobs of money and lived in Nola, this is where I would live. I am not sure who wouldn't want to. It was gorgeous!!!

We made our way to the cemetery and learned a little history along the way...

{as morbid as it may appear, it was rather beautiful}

Saturday morning, Kyle and I headed to the lower Ninth Ward to check out the new developments since Hurricane Katrina. We were able to see and learn much about Brad Pitt's project down there called Make It Right. Different modern architects have joined with other suppliers who are donating goods and services to build new eco-friendly, highly-efficient homes for many who lost theirs during the hurricane. Check out the link...It's pretty neat!

All the sight-seeing and walking around worked up an appetite. Since it was a little rainy and chilly, nothing sounded better than beignets and cafe au lait! Where else is there to go in Nola other than Cafe du Monde. D-E-L-I-S-H!

{i should have brought some back with me}

Back to Friday night...

After the rehearsal, everyone who was invited to the wedding got together at Tipitina's for dinner, drinks, and dancing.

{the bride and me}

{me and my cousin nikki}

{parents-to-be}

{this picture doesn't show it, but i managed to wear wedges ALL night. i was rather proud of myself}

{my cousin ashley and me}

{ashley, me, and my aunt mindy}

After a gorgeous ceremony on Saturday night, we got the party started!

{the nachum crew minus alex}

{the belly was rubbed all weekend}

{dad and me}

{family}

{first dance}

{toast from the father of the bride- my dad's twin cliff}

{taking it all in}

{father-daughter dance}

{me and my groom}

{gigi and poppy - almost 60 years of marriage}

{mom, me, and brother}

{cousins}

{creepster}

{the sisters i never had, my dear cousins}

{grandkids}

{after a long night of dancing - i was so nervous about going into pre-term labor from all the dancing}

{silliness - mattie rose and james LOVED the music. they were kicking up at storm all night. though they may have just been confused why mom was up so late instead of being asleep by 9:00 like normal}

The time change messed everyone up Sunday morning, so we all met a little later for breakfast.

{last few minutes before saying goodbye}

Kyle and I headed home not too long after brunch and I kept feeling as if I forgot something. And today I realized what it was. When Kyle came home from work tonight, he made the comment, "I miss everyone already." I couldn't have agreed more. Though my soul is filled after spending such sweet time with family, my heart breaks just a little each time we have to say goodbye. Each family has its own dysfunction and craziness, but at the end of the day I am not sure if I have ever met a family as a whole who loves harder or is more passionate than mine! And though no outsider may ever understand the dynamics of our family, it works for us....

Congratulations again Michael and Rachel! I love you both and cannot wait to watch your family grow over the years!

Happy Birthday Declan!

On Monday, my sweet and oh-so-cute godson, Declan, celebrated his 1st birthday! It is so hard to believe that it has been a year since he made his debut! On one hand, it feels like just yesterday. On the other hand, so much has happened in the past year that it feels as if he has been here longer. Like what was life like before he arrived? I imagine I'll be saying that more often once our kiddos get here. But for now, it's all about Decs!

{happy birthday declan}

Kyle and I visited Patrick and Alicia Monday after work, and of course brought a sugary surprise with us!

{he wasn't so sure about the icing}

{still somewhat concerned}

{nothing like a baby in a diaper covered in chocolate}

{he loves his uncle kyle}

{and refused to sit still long enough to take a picture with his aunt court}

{the weather was so nice monday night, we played outside just long enough to check out the stars - why declan is totally not looking at the camera}

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DECLAN!!!! Your Aunt Court loves you to the moon and back and then some!

WeeklyUpdate: Week 23

Week 23 came and went. Just like that. Time is really starting to fly, and I cannot even imagine how quickly it will continue to go.

We spent last weekend (the weekend we hit 23 weeks), down in the delta. The months of March and April are going to be crazy for us, and I have decided it would be best for me not to travel during May and June...just in case. So this past weekend was really the only weekend left for us to take a trip down south to visit with Kyle's family.

We stayed with Kyle's mamaw and had a wonderful brunch with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. While Kyle took Jake out to run at the levee, I went with his cousins Jessica and Laura and Aunt Carol to do some shopping in downtown Cleveland. I must proudly let you know that I did not purchase ONE. SINGLE. THING.

Below are a few pictures of Jake being Jake. We didn't do such a hot job of taking pictures of the family.

{pointing those birds}

{taking a little dip}

{wet dog}

And here is your weekly belly pic. We just keep growing. :)

Thursday morning we had another doctor's visit. I must say, I LOVE going to the doctor. I don't like waiting. I don't like paying my ultrasound copay. I don't like stepping on the scale. But I do love that we get ultrasounds EVERY time we go. The beauty of having twins!

These two were cutting up this time. Typically, they cooperate well and pose for their pictures giving us a good look at their sweet faces. However, this time they were kids just being kids. They were either playing with each other or they were fighting. Please look at these pictures below and feel free to laugh because we were cracking up when we saw this:

{this is our sweet baby james' face. and just to his left is his sisters bottom!!! yes, she was sticking her butt in his face. if you look in the bottom left you can see her leg and foot - she is sitting frog-legged}

{and just as soon as we tried to get a picture of mattie rose's face, james decided to shove his foot in her face - you can see her ear and beside it, his big ole foot}

{while our 4D attempts to get a good look at their faces failed, they sure did give a good profile pic in 2D - james is on the left and mattie rose on the right}

Updates from the MD:

-Mattie Rose weighs 1 lb 8 oz. James weighs 1 lb 7 oz. They have basically doubled in size since the last visit.

-Their hearts are still looking good as well as their brains and abdomens.

-According to the tape measure, I am measuring the same as a 30-week single pregnancy. That's right, a 7 week difference.

-I have gained 20 pounds so far. I guess this is right on track for two. They haven't said anything about, so I take no news as good news.

-My blood pressure is the best I think it has ever been in my life. Ha. Kind of ironic. But that is great news, because the thought of preeclampsia scares me to death.

-Mattie Rose is positioned head down. James is a little more transverse.

Next visit will be our 28 week visit. That means the dreaded gestational diabetes test. I have watched several women guzzle that drink down, cringing as they do so. Hopefully, I can get it down quick, keep it down, and pass that test!

This weekend calls for a little pampering followed by some hard work. I am in huge need of some hair-apy. The rest of the weekend will be spent working on the nursery. We have curtain rods to hang, cribs to assemble, and clothes to put away. I will post some nursery pictures after we get a little more work done in there.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and stays safe with all this crazy weather!

Love to you all!

Weekly Update - One Week Late

This weekend we hit 23 weeks, which makes it 4 weeks since I have last updated. Time is flying, and I am not quite sure where to.

So let's go back to week 22. Not sure where we were at for 20 and 21. Busy I suppose.

Okay, week 22!

Leading up to that week, we got to celebrate Valentine's Day. I used to HATE Valentine's Day. I didn't understand it. I thought it was ridiculous to have one day out of the year where you are supposed to let the ones you love know it. It seemed as if single people got left out and was just a punch-in-the-stomach reminder of being single. Yada, yada, yada....

But the past few years, I see that the opportunities to express love extend beyond just a significant other or a parent or friends. We have the opportunity to show others, whether it be acquaintances, co-workers, or complete strangers something they may not ever get from anyone or anywhere else.

And yes, even though my husband does a great job of keeping me informed just how much he loves me on a regular basis, it does give me butterflies to be remembered on a "Hallmark holiday."

I woke up to a huge box of chocolates (perfection for this pregnant lady) and sweet cards with a tear-jerking hand-written note inside. Off to work I went...

Around mid-morning these beauties arrived at work for me:

{a dozen red roses}

{not from kyle, but from my sweet children - let's not talk about how many kleenex i went through after seeing this}

{sweet pink and blue bows and rattles}

The following Saturday marked 22 weeks!

Kayla and I headed out for a day of shopping, trying to find some steals for Asher and James and Mattie Rose. Oh yeah, William "yet to have a middle name" McShan finally has one. It's James, and that's what we will call him! After finding some great deals, we headed back to the Sisco's for some chili and time with friends and babies.

Asher and I had some serious bonding time that night, and I must say he looooves me! We just giggle and laughed together and then snoozed a little too.

{nothing cuter than a laughing baby in nothing but a diaper}

{and nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby}

{quick belly pic - the black is rather slimming compared to the blue shirt in the posts below}

And since we are still (and will most likely remain) on the topic of babies for a while, I am so happy to share some other news!!! My dear friend Kimberly, who was my roommate and sorority sister in college, finally announced that she is having a baby too!!!!! She is about 10 weeks behind me and due the beginning of September! It has been so nice and fun and exciting to be able to share such a sweet time with several of my dear friends who are getting to experience it too!

Will try to get week 23's update on here ASAP...

Hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Halfway There!

And still livin' on prayers! :)

This weekend we hit 20 weeks! Halfway? Really?

The whole awful sickness time period is almost a distant memory. I have gone back to work. And for the most part am doing great! This week's picture is a little late. We are a little closer to 20 weeks but it'll do.

We had our fetal survey ultrasound this morning, so we snapped a quick picture before we headed to the doctor.

My babycenter weekly emails say babies are the size of heirloom tomatoes. We'll go with it...

Jake had to show his little brother and sister some love.

And here are some pictures from today's visit. Sorry some of them are so dark. I was too lazy to get under more light.

{mattie rose and her pretty profile)

{4D shot of mattie rose-she kept her hands by her face the whole time}

{william "yet to have a middle name still" and his handsome sideshot}

{his 4D shot - he loves snuggling}

{comparison - he is on top and she is on bottom}

We found out lots of great and interesting things today while at the doctor:

-The babies' brains, brain stems, hearts, kidneys, bladders, stomachs, and lips look great!

-Mattie Rose takes up ALL the space and leaves just enough room for her brother to snuggle against some placenta. From the looks of it she is going to be a wild one and he is going to be the cuddler.

-The babies are measuring equal to each other, which is what they are supposed to be doing. Growing perfectly so far.

-They have all their fingers and toes.

-They both weigh approx 12 ounces each. Not quite a pound yet.

-I now weigh more than I ever have in my life. Which is totally okay, because I lost a too much weight early on from being so sick.

-I had my belly measured with the tape measure for the first time today. And was quickly informed that I am measuring equal to a woman with a single pregnancy who is 28 weeks along. Yes, that's right. I look two months further than I really am. I am going to be HUGE here shortly, I have a feeling.

I think that pretty much covers it...

We will see the doctor and our babies again in four weeks. I'm sure it will seem like a lifetime! Ultrasounds have been the best part of the pregnancy so far. Because there are two, we get to have an ultrasound at every visit! It is incredible to watch them grow and see their little personalities. It blows my mind to see and know how small they are, yet so well-developed.

I think that about covers it for the week. If I missed something, I blame it on the pregnancy brain. This weekend calls for relaxation and pampering. Getting what will hopefully be my first of several pre-natal massages and a pedicure on Saturday.

Love to you all!

Pregnancy Progress

So I suppose this is the pregnancy post to begin all future pregnancy posts. For the next 22 weeks at least.

Yes, that's right. We are 18 weeks along at this point. And with twins I guess you could say we are half-way! It's crazy to realize where the time has gone, yet looking back over the first trimester, it seemed as if the days just drug on and on and on.

Second trimester has brought so much relief to the horrible sickness I had been experiencing. I am finally off of the zofran pump and now only take it orally if I need it (which praise God has been very little).

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I go back to work. Due to how sick I was and how run down my body became, I had to take leave from work starting about mid-November. So tomorrow marks my return. For who knows how long....

Kyle and I had originally planned on taking weekly pictures to track my growing belly, but when your head is stuck in a toilet, pictures are the last thing on your mind.

So here is where we began:

And here is where we are now:

I can't remember who I have told or where I may have mentioned it, if it all, but we are having TWINS, one BOY and one GIRL!!!

Inside that growing tummy is Miss Mattie Rose McShan and William "yet to have a middle name" McShan. Mattie Rose is a family name. Mattie was one of Kyle's great-grandmothers and Rose was mine. If you've read past posts, you know how dear my great-grandma Rose was to me. William is Kyle's first name, which also runs in his family, and we are back and forth over what the middle name is going to be. More than likely we will be calling him by his middle name which is why we are having trouble finalizing a decision.

I will do my best to stay on top of the posts each week. This belly is bound to get big and get big quick!

Off to bed. 6 AM is going to come quite early I have a feeling...

Love to you all!