We're pretty sure but you never know...

I'm 15 weeks along today.  It's a big milestone for me.  I feel like this last month has been an eternity in waiting.  I guess I've been spoiled with having my previous appointments be only 2 weeks apart!  The wonderful thing about waiting a bit longer this time was seeing how much they've grown!  They're just so much bigger.  We saw legs, arms, fingers, spines...it's really just all such a miracle to me.

I asked the doctor to try really hard to see if he could see the gender.  He got a pretty clear shot right from the beginning and paused it there to label it and then said, "If we see something different in a minute, we'll just delete that one!"  I thought that was funny.

This is Baby B (I think? I'm really not sure, to be honest).  This baby is breech right now but that's not a worry yet as they'll keep moving around for some time.  We like this picture of the baby with it's hand near it's mouth, possibly sucking a thumb.

This is Baby A (Again, not sure).  This one has it's head down and you can see the profile and legs up on top.

And here's the picture you're all curious to see...

What do you see?  Or maybe a better question is what don't you see?

 Girls!

We really only got a good shot of Baby A because she was head down.  Apparently it's more difficult to see the gender on breech babies.  Plus, Baby B had her legs completely closed.  But to reiterate, for those who are unfamiliar with twin factoids, since they are identical, they're the same sex no matter what.  Fraternal twins are the only ones that can be boy/girl or girl/girl or boy/boy, you get the point!

So poor Jonah will be outnumbered, which I have to say was a little sad to realize.  He wanted them to be boys and kept asking why they were girls.  Even though I've thought they were girls this whole time, I kept thinking Jon would probably be right and I'd end up being wrong again.  For some reason it was easier to think of Sophie being the only girl as opposed to Jonah being the only boy.  I'm really not sure why.

BUT!  We are so excited and hope we aren't surprised in another month with the news that they were wrong and they're boys because we already went out shopping today and bought a couple of cute little outfits for the girlies.  I guess things can be returned, right? ;)

Please forgive the attempt at a self-portrait:

15 Weeks

Something I want to make

I was browsing twin stuff a few weeks ago and came across this picture:

And I just about died!

This girl sells them on etsy for $160.  It's really just a prop for photography.  Since I don't take a lot of newborn pictures, I figured it isn't worth buying.  Somehow, though, maybe I can create my own.  I'm not great at knitting/crocheting, but it's so cute that I might have to try it!

This picture is from Wee Works Photography and the product is available here: Etsy

Just giving credit where credit is due.

I'm married, dude...

On my way home from a baby shower today, I found myself stopped next to one of those big white vans with no windows; you know, the kind that kidnappers drive.  I glanced over to see the driver smiling and nodding in my direction as if to say, "Yeah, baby, you know you want this!"  Really? Do I? It wasn't enough for me to just turn away and instead I instinctively gave him a dirty look and shook my head as if to say, "No, sicko, I don't want that."

As I drove away I thought to myself, was this the best way to react in that situation?  If I had played nice and innocent and smiled, that guy probably would have begun making obscene gestures right back.  If I had simply looked back at the road, he might have thought, "Oh yeah, she totally wants this."  Instead, I decided to nip it in the bud and make my point absolutely clear, "I'm disgusted...married, and disgusted!"  I think I've done my civil duty for the day.  Maybe, just maybe, that guy will think twice about ogling the next lady he stops next to at a traffic light.

Oh, and by the way, I've crafted.  Check me out.

Almost 14 weeks

It feels like it's been much longer but I've finally almost hit the second trimester of this pregnancy.  Since we made our news public a few weeks ago, the reality of twins has started to set in a little more.  Here's what I've been up to lately to get in the spirit of this change:

1. Downloaded the book Raising Twins to my Kindle and started soaking up every bit advice there.
2. Started looking for another double stroller to fit 2 car seats-- we already have 2; a jogger and a Sit n Stand but neither holds 2 car seats unless we buy adapters for the jogger. I don't want to push my jogger in stores, it's way too wide.
3. Started researching car seats and weighing whether or not to be cheap and buy one car seat that doesn't match (not likely ;) ) or buy two brand new matching seats.
4. Researching twin nursing pillows (you betcha! It's possible to nurse two babies at once and I'm going to give it all I have!)
5. Waiting for the moment we get to find out what these two little peaches are (hopefully in about a week!!!)

And even more exciting is that I found the double snap n go stroller I've been wanting on Craigslist for half the price it runs in stores!  I also bought a brand new bouncy seat at Target on clearance.  I even put it together because I couldn't wait (but took it apart again because a move is probably in our future and it travels better in the box).

I've also been feeling a thousand times better and have even started crafting again! 

Jonah tells me often that he wants them to be boys or girls, no boys...like him.  I'm sure he'll be happy with whichever.  He also asked me the other day if I now had THREE babies in my belly.  I'm grateful I was able to assure it there were only 2.

Six years...and a few weeks

Amidst the holiday rush and festivities, I forgot to pay homage to our 6 year anniversary on December 18th.  I did my best to ignore the ever-present state of nausea and tried to enjoy a night out with my best friend.  He took me to Macaroni Grill where we usually eat way too much bread followed by the most wonderful Penne Rustica but I was only able to manage a few chunks of bread and opted for the grilled shrimp and vegetables instead.  Morning sickness is a crazy thing.

After dinner we headed to the theater to join the other Harry Potter nerds for the latest flick.  Good movie.  We seized the day and headed to The Chocolate for some delicious hot chocolate and a cazookie (giant, hot cookie with ice cream).  It was only 10:30 or so when we got home but we were both exhausted.  I can only imagine the hour our 25th anniversary celebrations will conclude.

I love my sweetheart more than I could ever imagine possible.

Rehearsal dinner

Jonahs or Sophies?

After we announced our double news, I had someone from church ask if I thought they'd be "Jonahs or Sophies".  I thought that was clever because not only will they either be boys or girls, we're not sure if they'll be the blond or the brunette version of our kids.

So, I ask YOU...Jonahs or Sophies??

I'm hoping we'll find out in a little less that 3 weeks what they are.

I've added a poll to our sidebar so go ahead, take a guess!

All sorts of new things

This new year has a lot of unknowns for the Bush family.  We're at the exciting point in our lives where we are making big decisions and by and large, most things are completely out of our control as we begin this year.

Jon will be graduating from BYU this April with his MBA and I'm so proud of him and the countless hours he's spent on school and homework.  This means we will hopefully have a new job soon and be moving to a new place and be meeting new people--all things I'm excited for.  It's also difficult not knowing what's in store because I really like to plan ahead, even when nothing ends up going as planned.  I guess it gives me a sense of control in situations I know I can't control.

There is one thing, however, that we're sure about this year.  We're definitely going to have less of this:

A LOT more of this:

And hopefully not as much of this:

And we'll be buying another one of these:

Have you figured it out yet?  You might think you have...but you're probably not expecting this:

OK.  Let me help you just a little...

That's right! We're expecting identical twins!!!!!

A couple of months ago, we found out we were expecting again and the doctors decided to see me early (6.5 weeks) to make sure everything was going well because I had a miscarriage back in August.  I was EXTREMELY nervous when we went in for the ultrasound.  The doctor kept moving the thing around and for a few seconds wasn't saying anything at all which made me panic.

Finally, he said, "Yep!  They're BOTH doing great!!!"  I couldn't have been more surprised if I'd woken up with my head sewn to the carpet!! My immediate reaction was relief and then I just couldn't hold it all back anymore and just started bawling.  Jon and my sister were there in the room and everyone was shocked and screaming and laughing and when Laura saw me crying she said, "Are you crying because you're sad or because you're happy??" and of course I was overjoyed! I just couldn't contain it.

Never in a million years would I have expected such a thing as twins!  We aren't genetically predisposed to having twins and it never crossed my mind as a possibility.  

The doctor said right there that they were identical because of how close they are to each other.  So I went home to research immediately and started learning about twins.  Identical twins happen completely by chance and are not hereditary.  They are "monozygotic" which means one fertilized egg splits and VOILA! Two babies.  The odds of having identical twins is 1 in 250. 

Here are a couple more ultrasounds for your viewing pleasure:

So as we embark on our new adventure to a family of 6 (yikes!!!) a lot is going to change.  We're happy and excited and grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with so many things we take for granted.

I'll be documenting a lot on this pregnancy because it's so different than anything I've ever experienced already.  I've never had morning sickness with my other two pregnancies and this one has been a doozy.  My belly is growing exponentially and I already look like I'm 20 weeks.  This has made it very hard to hide in public.  

So I'm relieved that I'm in my twelfth week and relieved and nervous to be sharing the news with you all.

Here are my belly shots to date:

9 Weeks

11 Weeks

Our Story

Jon and I met through my brother.  They were roommates in college.  My brother invited me to go on a trip with him and his friends to the Grand Canyon in 2002.  During a game of Truth or Dare, I was dared to kiss the boy I liked the most in the group and I revealed my interest and kissed my sweet Jonathan.  I think he was pretty shocked!

We dated and then got married 2 years later in December of 2004.  After 1.5 years of marriage, we decided it might be a good time to start a family.  I got pregnant with Jonah one month later and he was born in March of 2007.  19 months later, I gave birth to our beautiful Sophie in November of 2009.

When Sophie was six months old, we decided that Jon should go back to school and get his MBA.  He chose to go to BYU, a great school.

Jon will be done with school this April 2011.  We are also 15 weeks pregnant with identical twins! What a surprise they were! We were planning on having one, but the other decided to tag along for the ride.

We love our family and love to be together.  We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we love it.