A Birthday Trip to the Zoo

On Saturday we took a trip to the zoo. It was a little hot but I think we went at just the right time before it gets into the 100 degree mark. Unfortunately the pictures are way out of order but I will try to narrate accordingly.
Jake was a great sport and despite not really liking zoos too much (going on a real safari is much better) he dressed the part and made it a great day for Elijah. Thumbs up to Daddy zookeeper!!!

After going to as many exhibits as we could before Mommy died of exhaustion and Elijah got too cranky without a nap, we spent a little time at the splash area so he could let out any leftover energy he had. Needless to say he was out like a light as soon as he was in the car.

Of course Jake got LOTS of WAY cool pictures of the animals but I figured I could only post a few. Is this not a cool pic of a monkey? They actually have a monkey exhibit that you walk around in and they can get pretty close to you.

Taking a break for lunch. I was glad I brought some snacks and water...not enough but at least it saved us a little. I was a little surprised because when my Mom and I took Elijah to the Detroit Zoo the food was relatively inexpensive. Not so here! We will remember this and pack accordingly next time! Seven dollars for a mini pizza or a hot dog combo! Seriously?

Jake had the great forsight to bring some binoculars for Elijah to use. He LOVED them. Every time we saw a new animal he had to look through them. We got a kick out of it...others did too. Way cute little buddy!

Of course another great animal shot. We were fortunate that the tiger woke up right when we got to his habitat. The lion was sleeping (boo) but we got to see him. He even gave us a nice big toothy yawn.

Here Daddy is with a tired and hot baby. At this point we are almost done with our zoo excursion. We had lots of fun and will definitely go back. We didn't get to see everything and ended up buying a pass. We figured it will give us something to do, even if it's just for half a day to get out of the house. I am looking forward to getting to go to zoolights now! I know it won't be the easiest thing when we have the twins but I'm sure we'll get through it. Hey, we can't stay cooped up in the house forever. Then I really WILL go crazy!

Big News at Our House

Well, I have not been pushing this in any way, shape, or form however, Elijah has decided that he likes the potty training thing. A few months ago we bought a potty because he showed interest. Then he lost interest. Lately he has shown interest again so I started putting "big boy undies" on him after getting him up in the morning. Usually he either pees through them and doesn't say anything or he doesn't pee until I put a diaper on him after lunch before nap. Well, on Thursday I heard him start to tinkle on the floor and said "no, no, go to the bathroom." He ran to his potty and slammed the door behind him. Five minutes went by and I checked up on him...only to have him slam the door and say "go away". Five minutes again, same thing. Finally five minutes later a beaming Elijah comes out "I poop in the potty!" Well, he didn't poop, he peed but it was exciting just the same. He got to call Daddy and tell him and get a candy "prize" . Well, since then he has gone pee 4 times and poop once. I can't believe it. He is very candy motivated. Jake just ordered a gumball machine online. We won't use gumballs but some other round candy will do I'm sure.

Here is him dumping into the toilet. The best part is he got to flush. Way cool since we don't let him do it for us. We tell him you have to pee in the potty to flush the toilet. Well, he finally got to flush...and we clapped. Here's him getting his goods. I know, why did I get a picture? I was excited okay.

Now we have to wash our hands and then we get to pick out our candy prize. Smarties, licorice, jelly beans, gummy worms...so many choices!

Anyways, I have a lot more things to post. This weekend was a busy one with Elijah's birthday. Hopefully I will get to it all!

I have a wonderful hubby!

I have a wonderful husband. He has been very supportive of me all through this pregnancy. He insists I rest, is helping out a lot more around the house and has been emotionally supportive as well. I have needed this emotional support a lot more lately because I feel like I am going crazy. I have had a few breakdowns that I would like to say I can contribute to hormones but I've been pretty level headed until about 2 weeks ago. I think this is due to a few things.

1. I am getting a lot bigger. I personally don't feel huge...I felt huge with Elijah and I feel like, hey, I've got 2 babies in there, what do you expect. I don't, however, appreciate how people feel the urge to TELL me how big I am. Comments like "Wow, you get bigger and bigger every time I see you" or "How many weeks are you?", "Are you sure?" or "WOW!" don't make me feel better about myself. Just because I have twins and know that I have twins does not mean it's okay to say that I am getting big. Just tell me I'm beautiful, okay?

2. I am uncomfortable. I frequently get heartburn, swollen and or restless legs, sciatic nerve pain, and contractions. I am tired often and have to rest meaning I don't get a lot of things done and feel like a lazy bum that has a lot to do.

3. My toddler is driving me crazy. I love him but sometimes he is just so naughty. Take Saturday for example. This is the way my day went. I had previously bought some new shampoo from CVS b/c they had it for 2.99 plus 2 back in reward bucks (so 99cents) PLUS I had a $1 coupon = free nice smelling shampoo (that might make me feel better, right). Well, when I was purchasing it I had someone opening up all of the shampoo bottles trying to smell them while I was picking out what I wanted. SO, I got the wrong size and didn't notice it until I got home and looked at the receipt to see it cost 7.99. WHAT? Of course at the time of checkout he was trying to open all of the candy bars that they conveniently have at the register. So Saturday I went to exchange the bottle while they still had it on sale, go to Savers to see if I could get some more maternity dresses and Walmart to pick up a few misc. items. WELL. CVS did not go over well. Elijah didn't like being told that no he could not play with the display of Arizona souveniers (including glass shot glasses) so he promptly threw himself on the floor kicking and crying. We had to discuss this in the car. I told him he better be good at the next store. He was to my surprise very good so I told him I would get him a piece of candy when we went to the next store. We got some M&M's from Walmart before I started to shop and by the second aisle I went down he had SPIT the M&M's at me. Yes, spit. So now I have chocolate candy all down my arm and in my hand. I had to go all the way in the back of the store to the restroom, try to maneuver him out of the cart with just one hand and take him in the bathroom which was of course filled with people. I washed him and I off and told him that was very naughty and I would be calling Daddy. I then had a lovely (ha!) woman come up to me, go to Elijah's level and say "he's not naughty, he's too sweet" and pat him on the head. I glared at her and said "he just spit candy at me. She shrugged and said that was okay. WHAT? Since when does someone have the right to intervene and say I shouldn't call what MY son just did naughty. I was only scolding him! What would she have said if I spanked him? Seriously. That tipped me over the edge. By the time I finished going back and forth in the store (b/c I NEVER shop there AND they just remodeled everything and NOTHING makes sense where it is) I was in tears. I went home and was very upset. I had a breakdown over everything. Jake was very sweet and ended up soaking my feet, scrubbing them till they were smooth and massaging lotion on them. It made me feel better.

In any event while it sounds like I am just complaining I really do enjoy being pregnant. Some things just aren't as easy to tolerate when you don't feel so good. I love feeling the babies move and know I will miss that feeling when they are born.

Almost 21 week Ultrasound

We had our 20 week complete ultrasound today. I actually will be 21 weeks tomorrow (Saturday). Of course the tech didn't say everything AOK but I couldn't visually see anything like gastroschesis or myelomeningocele (for all you NICU nurses) but when it comes to knowing if the heart and brain are ok I have no idea. Anywho. I didn't realize how much harder it is to get 2 babies to cooperate to get all the pictures. She really had to work to get some of it done.

Here are 4 little feet and legs that like to kick me every once in awhile.

Here's the best picture of Baby B we got.

And Baby A...not quite as good. He was fiesty. He looks like he was snickering at us...ha ha!

Baby B profile.

Baby A profile.

Both were head down. I don't care if they move around a bit but really hope they go back to that position come time to deliver. I feel them all the time now. Even Jake can feel them now. The other day one (I think B) had the hiccups and a minute after he was done the other started.

After our ultrasound we were able to go out to eat together. Crab legs at Red Lobster...YUMMY. It's our anniversary on Sunday. Seven years! Then we went to BuyBuy Baby to look at baby stuff and register for a few things. A few things on my list turned into many things...especially when it came to toys. Of course who can resist cute baby stuff. At any event it was nice to just enjoy some time together just Jake and I.

I guess that's all for now!

Not Again

Poor Elijah. We took him to urgent care yesterday because his fever that I had been fighting all day spiked to 104.5. He started having a dry cough so I was worried it might be strep throat. NOPE. It was yet another case of of hand foot and mouth disease. You have got to be kidding! It threw me off because yet again he does not have the classic blisters on his hands and feet. They are only on the back of his throat which of course he refused to let me look at, even with his Cars flashlight. I was just worried with such a high fever that he would have a seizure or something and I would be at work and poor Jake wouldn't know what to do. The doc just gave him some stronger pain medicine than the tylenol/ibuprofen I had been giving him because his throat was obviously hurting still. Of course I had to work yesterday and today so Jake was the one responsible to nurse him back to health. He didn't get a lick of sleep last night as Elijah wouldn't go to bed until after 12 and then woke up every hour. Jake is definitely a trooper and a great Daddy. I'm so glad Elijah has him.
Well, better get back to work.