Home Sweet Home

Today we left the hospital and arrived home around 1pm. Our stay in the hospital was uneventful and it was nice to receive such great help from all of Karen's friends and co-workers. We've only been home for a short time, but Ryan has adjusted so well. He loves to hold his "baby tisters". We are so lucky to have Karen's mom to help us, and she has been there ever every step of the way to help us so much. I think that is why Karen and I have had such little anxiety over coming back home.

We also found out today that Renee and Kaylee are fraternal twins, not identical. This is really good to know, since if they were identical they would reach milestones such as crawling and turning over, around the same time. If there was a long delay then that would implicate a possible problem. Since we now know they are fraternal, they will reach milestones at their own time and will not be a concern. It will be interesting to see how much they do look like each other since fraternal twins can still look alike quite a bit. Here are a few more photos to keep you going for awhile. We will post more as time....and sleep allow. Thank you all again for your prayers and thoughts.

Ryan is such a great big brother!

"I'm dreaming of the day I can wear my Cubs cheerleader outfit!"

"Go Bears! Go Bears! Go Be......zzzzzzzzz"

Kaylee on her ride home.

Renee on her ride home.

Mommy cuddling her new lovebugs.

They're Here!!

Well the wait is finally over. It is my pleasure to welcome into this world, Kaylee Joy and Renee Kathleen. Unfortunately, Karen woke up at 5 A.M. and couldn't go back to sleep. I think the excitement...inability to get comfortable...contractions...and a little bit of fear kept her up. Karen and I then went into the doctor's office at 8 A.M. and after examination, she was dilated to 5 1/2 cm. Since they weren't terribly busy (and because Karen is a VIP there for being an employee), the doctor said "Do you want to have your babies today?" and Karen said quickly "YES!!" Karen and I then walked next door to the hospital where she was greeted with open arms. We were given a great room and a great nurse. Karen even had a friend from work that came in to help her with everything from adjusting pillows to videotaping the delivery for us. We had so much support from friends and family, we couldn't have done it without them. Karen had her epidural around 10 A.M and then the doctor came and broke her water at 10:30. She progressed a little slow then, but around 12:30 she was given Pitocin since the contractions weren't quite strong enough. Within an hour, we were in the O.R. ready for delivery. Karen was unbelievable and did a total of about 6-8 pushes to get both babies out. Kaylee came first and in the process of moving down, made Renee flip to the breech position again. Thanks to our wonderful doctor, Renee was born breech without a C-Section needed and no complications. Since she was breech, this put a lot of pressure on Karen, but she pulled through like a star. Through blood, sweat, and a lot of tears..we got to hold our new baby girls for the first time. It is a moment that will be with us forever. Kaylee weighed 5 lbs 14oz and Renee weighed 6 lbs 1oz. I can't remember their exact lengths, but I will let you all know soon. Here are some pictures that I took today. We can't tell them apart quite yet unless we look at their arm bracelets so I'm not sure who is who in the pictures. I will be sure to post some new pictures very soon! It is past midnight now, so daddy is quite tired. Enjoy these for now and we would love to hear from all of you whether or not you can notice any differences. These pictures aren't the greatest, but they do really look similar when face to face. The tests should come back tomorrow officially letting us know if they are identical or fraternal. We will keep you all updated once we hear the results. We love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kaylee minutes after birth.

Kaylee still looking exhausted...it was a long day for her.

The twins are happy to be next to mommy again. You are looking at Renee....I think.

Renee enjoying the new scenery. Her mommy is so pretty..even after labor.

Renee still in awe that her daddy is balding so bad.

Kaylee waves to her new fans.

While you are waiting...

We are expecting the twins to come anytime now, but we are still waiting as of now. Karen saw the Doctor yesterday and he said that she was 4cm, and that it will probably happen this weekend for sure. The way we do things, it will probably be on the holiday again like Ryan was! So we are getting ready, but still nervous and scared, so keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

So while you are waiting to see real pictures of the twins :) you can watch a few cute videos that we posted of Ryan on his page! Enjoy!

FOOLED YOU! but stayed tuned...The real pictures are coming soon.

Hate to say it, but "made you look!" Well, the babies aren't here yet, but we are expecting them soon. We went to the doctor Tuesday and got these amazing 4D pictures and thought we would share them with you. They are not the best resolution, but it if you stare really long you might see a hidden picture....ok, stop staring..I was just kidding. The last picture is one foot from each twin playing "footsie". If you look at the white line to the right of the right foot, that is the thin, but very durable, lining that divides the two girls. No wonder they say twins have such a great connection as they grow up. They are only divided by a few millimeters till birth. Karen is doing well and we continue to hear how great the twins are doing. Twin A weighs 6lbs 4oz and Twin B weighs 6lbs 12oz...yes, that is 13lbs of baby Karen is carrying around. Needless to say she is ready for this to happen, but we are both a little apprehensive of what lies ahead of us. We will definitely be needing everyone's prayers. We will post the pictures as soon as possible when the big day comes. Keep checking in....and we promise not to fool you anymore.

Twin Update

Well our prayers have been answered and I have made it to 35 weeks successfully. I had a visit to the doctor and he has made a prediciton since I'm 1 cm dialated and 80% effaced that the twins arrival will be within the next 5-10 days!! ....GULP!!

We would love it if it were more towards the 10 day prediciton, so Joe can finish with finals without this added stressor. So keep the prayers coming our way!! Love you all.

The Transition

Well a lot has happened since we've last updated this. For starters we moved in with Karen's mom and despite making a BIG mistake in getting a moving truck that was too small, the transition went relatively smoothly. And Ryan has adjusted surprisingly well, which has made everything that much easier! It didn't take long for us to get unpacked and to set up the nursery, thanks to help from friends and mom. We are getting comfortable here in our new home.

News about our other home... we have finally been succuessful in finding a renter! We hope this is a good experience for us. They seem like a great couple, have no pets and are planning on staying awhile. Yeah! This is an answer to our prayers and helps us to feel that things are all falling into place.

Karen had made it to another milestone by making it to 34 weeks. The girls are both doing well, and measured 4 lbs 10 oz and 4 lbs 11 oz, 2 weeks ago. We are hoping to have them continue to grow inside for a bit longer. We are very glad that we were able to make it past Thanksgiving and Ryan's birthday, since we didn't want all 3 of our children's birthday on the same day!

Ryan just turned 2, check out his page for the details on his big day.

Toy Story 3??

Happy Halloween!! Our costumes this year revolved around Ryan's desire to be Buzz Lightyear. Fortunately my mom had previously made a Little Bo Peep and a Woody costume a few years back so it was very easy for us. So we were a complete set.... of Happy meal toys that is!! We had a lot of fun and were quite a hit. The little Bo Peep costume was a riot and perfect for a "big bellied" person to wear! I made it very bufont! Just like little Bo Peep! Joe made a great Woody and Ryan had a Blast being Buzz! He got the hang of trick or treating real fast and thought it was amazing that people were just giving him candy right and left! And mom and dad enjoyed helping he eat all the candy he worked so hard to get!!

Inquiring minds want to know....

Those of you that are far away have wondered and asked how big I'm getting and wanted to see a picture. So here it is, I'm 27 weeks and almost as big as I was full term with Ryan. I still fit into, but barely fit into my maternity clothes!! I'm just as curious as you all are to see how big I am going to get! I'll update you again later.

Pull Over!....No, It's Actually a Cardigan!

Getting ready for church today, we were totally in love with Ryan's pullover today. He just looks like such a little handsome boy. Ryan has been sick lately with the runny nose and cough. I've heard it's going around and could have done with it not hitting our home, but no such luck. For the most part, Ryan is doing well with it. His sleep has not been too altered and he has not been too cranky to deal with...at least not yet.

Karen is doing well with the twins. They are kicking like pro soccer players which tends to give a good yelp here and there, but they are behaving most of the time. Her contractions are staying constant and not affecting her cervix length which is really good. Karen contracted like this with Ryan and had no problems, so the doctors think it may be "something that just happens" with Karen's pregnancies.

Well, heading off to bed for another fun filled week of school. Please email or comment soon. We haven't heard from a lot of you since we started this blog. We don't know if you view it unless you tell us, so please tell us what you like, don't like, or would like to see in the future. (Seeing Joe dress in drag and do the hula will never happen, so don't even ask, Andy!! ) I posted another video of Ryan on his site for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Like Peas and Carrots

Today with Ryan was just one of those days where you just want to hug and squeeze him all day. A lot of times when I come home from school he pretty much says hi to me and then is on his way...trying to stay close to mom. On the other hand, today he was happy to see me and said "Hi daddy!" when he saw me sitting on the chair after his nap. We went outside and I pushed him on the swing at the park until I could convince him that we must rush home to eat supper before daddy melts away! He laughed and jabbered on the whole time on the swing, figuring I knew what he was talking about. I just nod my head and laugh when I think I am supposed to laugh...kinda like when Karen talks to me. Anyway, he was just being so cute today that I had to post a picture and write a little snippet about my wonderful son. It's not everyday we go together just like peas and carrots. Make sure and click on "Ryan's Pics" to see some all new videos of Buzz Lightyear....I mean Ryan. It's so hard to tell the difference these days.

No I didn't give birth to only one of my girls already!! This is my friends baby "Lorelei. " Such a sweet baby, just like her parents our new friends that I met and took care of in the hospital. This was the last baby that I helped deliver before I got put off of work.



Ryan loves to read books, he can't seem to get enough it seems, or he is just trying to stall his bedtime!! More picutres of Ryan on "Ryan's pic's"

Moving on UP....to the West side?

We are going to be moving soon. We are going to be moving into a nice big 5 bedroom house with a big backyard at the end of a cul-de-sac. I guess I should also mention that it's my mom's place. With Joe not working and me now on disability there is no way we'd be able to afford that on our own! We are going to need the help with the twins and Ryan will love having Grandma around and kids in the neighborhood to play with. There are pro's and con's with any change, but the pro's out way the con's for sure. We have decided to rent out our place, and are currently showing the place and looking for (and praying for) the right renter to come! We could use any extra prayers in this scary time. We are hoping that the transition will take place within the next month, to be all settled before the twins come. We won't be that far away, just in the neighboring town so hopefully our friends we are leaving here won't forget about us!

Happy October

I just turned the Calendar page, another month has flown by! We have a calendar that we made that has pictures of Ryan all throughout the year, and this month is him in his dinosaur costume! Oh he's so cute! This year he is going to be Buzz Lightyear and is very excited! We aren't very Halloween crazy people, but we love this time of year. All the holidays are around the corner, and birthdays too... Ryan's, cousin Kenzie's, Grandma Joyce's, and soon to be the 2 little sweet girls growning inside me. And speaking of that another good thing about this time of year is that the weather actually changes from sunny and hot to a sunny but a little bit chilly. I'm desperately needing a change in the weather to wear my BIG maternity clothes...which always seem to be Long sleeve or long pants type cltohes..why is that? Oh Well, Happy October everyone! (Or should I just say Happy October to our 2 faithful readers... Robyn and Jane!! )heehehe

Life Happens

Well today we had another appointment to check up on the girls and my pregnancy. The girls look great weighing in at 1 lb and 10 oz each, they both look healthy and happy kicking away like crazy!! The doctor always compliments how amazingly "text book" the twins are, which is a good thing, since there are a million things that can go wrong! That makes me very happy to have such good babies, and especially that they are healthy!!

So things are looking really good so far, except for the fact that I've been contracting. I was at work this weekend and the contractions were much stronger and a lot closer together. The doctor gave me medicine to start taking and sent me home. And the specialist and my OB that I see both agree that I shouldn't return back to work. At most I would only be able to probably work for 3 more weeks being pregnant with twins, and this is a critical time for the girls and we don't want anything to happen now. So I'm off work and not sentenced to bedrest as of now. I'm going to try take it easy and take my medicine and hope this pregnancy will continue to go well. But I sure could use any prayers and it sure would be appreciated!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Hey everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long time since we posted anything. We appreciate all of your comments! Well, this past month has flown by and we have been running around like crazy. The first week of August, we drove out to Utah to visit family and friends. We first stopped in Vegas and visited one of Karen's friends from high school for a couple hours, but didn't stay the night due to Karen's addiction to gambling. Ok...that was a joke, please don't send any gamblers anonymous stuff to our home. We actually didn't stay long because Ryan had a runny nose, and the friends we were visiting had a 3 month old baby. We know what it is like to have a sick baby and didn't feel like passing on the germs. From there we went to St. George Utah and stayed the night with another one of Karen's friends parents. We had a great time and stayed up probably too late just chatting the night away. The next morning we arrived in Kanab and had a great time visiting Joe's family. Since Grandma Smith is running a daycare, Ryan had a blast playing in the sandbox, on the swingset, in the toy room....I could go on but I may run out of space. Let's just say Ryan had FUN! Ryan is really a "social" boy and loves to play with other kids, so having all the daycare kids there made it even better for him. Especially with cousin Kenzie. I think Kenzie was happy when Ryan left because Ryan couldn't stand to not have her by his side. He couldn't pronounce "Kenzie" so he would call her "Ekie". Every time she wasn't around he would go "Ekie!...Ekie!" He sure loves his cousin Kenzie. He may not sleep well, but at least he gets along with other kids. Friday of that week, we went camping about an hour north of Kanab. Ryan had a blast playing with Kenzie in the dirt and looking for "nanmals" or if you don't speak baby talk that was "animals". The only problem we had was that us poor Californians weren't ready for the frigid 40 degree weather at night. We didn't pack right and we all froze during the evening, which caused all of us not to sleep well at all. Because of that, we decided to pack it up and go home a day early. We hated to leave, but we were beat and couldn't handle another cold night without sleep. I guess we will try again when Ryan is a little older...and we bring warm clothes.

Joe started school this week at Cal State Fullerton and loves the idea that he is finally at a university. His classes keep him busy, but at least he is home everyday by 4:30. Karen is doing well with the twins. Her cervix length seems to get longer every time she goes in. The longer the better. If it gets too short, it could mean she has to go on bedrest....which we don't want at this stage in the pregnancy. Well, not much else new in our neck of the woods. I'm going to post some pics, which you can view by going to "Ryan's Pics" at the top left corner of the screen. We love you all.

A Nice Visit

Yesterday turned out to be a great day! Ryan took a 2 1/2 hour nap! This never happens for this house. We are usually lucky if Ryan sleeps 1 1/2 hours. Ryan was REALLY cranky in the morning, so the long nap was welcomed with open arms. We also had a visit from Uncle Joe who lives in Phoenix. He was out here on business and was nice enough to grace us with his presence.....or it could have been punishment depending on how you look at it. :-) Karen was sleeping since she worked last night, but Uncle Joe, myself, and Ryan all walked up to the local lake and got a smoothie to cool ourselves on such a hot day. Uncle Joe stayed for dinner and then left while the traffic was still good! Karen's brother and sister-in-law also joined us for dinner and any of you who know Karen's brother Andy, means that his presence was enough punishment in itself! Ryan really had a good time with Andy and Megan so that made it all worth it....especially when Ryan took Andy outside. The peace and quiet with Andy gone was great! (Way to go Ryan!!)

I think I've figured out how to upload videos, so give me some time and I should have a small one for you soon.

And the Twins will be.......

So today we had another ultrasound appointment and Joe and Ryan were able to come with me. The Doctor is very certain that Baby "B" is definitely a girl and He is "pretty sure" that Baby "A" is also a girl!! So there you have it.......... We are having 2 girls!!! We are VERY excited, and Joe has now realized that will make him outnumbered instantly. But that's how I've been this whole time so he'll get a taste of it and do just fine.

Our first appointment we had, the doctor predicted that we would be having at least one girl for sure and that the 2nd would probably be a girl as well, or (he added jokingly) that it may be a Cubs fan with a very small pee-pee! That made all of us laugh out loud, especially Joe who was sitting in the corner proudly wearing his Cubs hat!! :)

So we will have to get used to pink, which is foreign in this house!!

Our First Blog

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to our blog site. This site is handy because it is easier to set up than a regular website, and we can still post pictures, videos, etc. so those without high speed internet don't have to waste ten minutes downloading them.

Karen is doing well and the babies are growing well. For those of you who might not know, we are having twins! We have found out the sex of both of the babies, but we are not going to release that information until we have a 100% confirmation from the doctor in the next week or two. Karen is finally past most of the severe nausea she experienced early on, but she still gets mild waves of nausea here and there. She is having a blast playing with Ryan and doing a great job providing for our family.

Ryan is a bundle of energy that never seems to wind down. He still only has 4 teeth and seems to be content at gumming everything. Since he doesn't know what it is like to have teeth, I guess he can't be sad he doesn't have more. Lately, the weather here has been scorching (108 on Saturday!!) so Ryan loves to play with the water hose outside to cool off. We have a small plastic pool he likes to fill then dump.....fill then dump....fill then dump...you get the picture. Everything was great until today he brought the water hose in the house and daddy didn't notice for a couple of minutes! I guess daddy won't take his eyes off Ryan anymore when he has the hose. Ryan is growing so fast we can't believe what or where he learns what he knows. Ryan will have to grow up real fast come this December when he has to be a big brother to the twins.

Joe is enjoying his summer off school and work and loves to have lots of time to play with Ryan and a little (sometimes a lot) of time for Xbox. Joe will start at Cal State Fullerton this fall and he is excited to finally be at a university. Joe will apply to a couple pharmacy schools this fall and if he is not accepted, then he will apply next year. Next year should be a sure thing since he will be done with his undergraduate studies by the time school would start.

That is all for our family right now. We will do our best to post new blogs as often as possible, at least a couple times a week. Please check back often and feel free to leave any comments you wish. You might have to sign up to leave a comment, but it is easy and free. We love you all and will keep in touch.

Joe, Karen, and Ryan