Our Last Vacation

Our trip to Scottsdale, AZ.

We had a really great time and got a lot of relaxing in! We really missed Liv but knew that she was in good hands.

This was the villa we stayed in.

On Sunday after we got in we got settled in and then went out for steaks at Flemings Steakhouse. The steak was soooo good!

Monday we got up and went to the Fashion Square Mall were I was only to be disappointed. They didn't have any maternity shops! Everything was for skinny rich people. Two things that I no longer am. Then after lunch we went back to lay out by the pool. We had supper later that night with Chris, Adam's cousin, at Oregano's. They had great pizza and the best half baked cookie/ice cream dessert ever!

Tuesday, we went to Galvin Park and hiked up to the "Hole in the Rock". It looks a lot more difficult then it was, trust me!

Then we decided to go to the Phoenix Zoo since it was right next to the hiking trail. We couldn't believe how many people were there. It was a zoo! And I have never seen so many double strollers in my lifetime! I think I spent more time checking out strollers then I did looking at the animals.

Tuesday night my grandma Eekhoff got into town, she stays there for the winter, and so we went over to her place, went out to eat, and made a quick stop at a near by BabiesRus.

Wednesday was our last full day there so in the morning Adam and I woke up early to get massages at the resorts spa and then soaked up some sun. That evening we went out to eat at McCormick and Schmicks. I had the best fish and by far the best ever apple dessert in my life. Seriously it was that good, a must if you ever go there!

Then it was off to the Phoenix Suns game. They got beat by Houston, but it was still a fun game to watch.

Finally, we flew out early Thursday morning. My sister picked us up and then it was off to get Liv from Nate and Jocelyn's. I have to admit I was worried that she wouldn't be happy to see us. But when we opened the door and she saw us, she gave us the biggest smile, started laughing and came running over for hugs and wouldn't let go. What a wonderful way to end our trip!

Drum Roll Please.......

We would like to officially announce the sexes of our babies! Baby B is in fact a BOY and babies A and C are both GIRLS!

Once again our visit went very well. All the babies seem to be developing very well at this time, as well as their momma. The doctor cleared us for our trip to Phoenix, so we are very grateful for that. Between work, doctor appointments, physical therapy for my back, taking care of Liv, and all the other day-to-day things that life brings Adam and I could really use a little R&R.

So while things are looking good Dr. Hess did say that between now and 20 weeks they will be carefully monitoring the girls at each appointment. Apparently, that is when twin to twin transfusion is most noticeable. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, twin to twin transfusion can occur when two babies share the same placenta. Basically, when this happens one of the babies ends up getting more of the nutrients from the placenta then the other baby. Which will leave one baby healthy and the other one in not so good of situation. But, like I said before, so far so good, and they seem to be sharing very well for the time being. Let's just all pray that they will continue to share at least for the next five months, and if I'm lucky the next 18 years!

Again they took a ton of pictures and even did some in 3D. I don't think I will be posting the 3D ones though because the babies are so tiny yet and I don't want to scare anyone. In those pictures you can see them like they are right there in the flesh. Once they get some meat on them I will show those. The ultrasound tech was able to get a good profile of the Baby B (the boy) and Baby A, but Baby C kept turning so you just get a side view. Otherwise I have a ton of body part pictures too if anyone is interested.

They are growing so fast and already look so cramped. I can't imagine how they are all going to fit in there! When I told my mom that she reminded me that I too will be growing with them. Growing out that is!

Just Liv

Ever since we found out we were going to be having triplets our blogs have been pretty much just about that. So, I thought it was time for a much needed update on Olivia.

When Adam and I found out that we were prego we decided to take Olivia out of Mother Goose Daycare and take Jocelyn up on her offer to watch her. And so far it has worked out great, at least for us! For those of you who don't know Jocelyn is my sister-in-law. She is married to Nate, Adam's brother, and they have three kids of there own. Brady is in first grade, Owen goes to preschool 3 days a week, and Mabry is just around a half of a year older then Liv. Adam drops Liv off in the morning and I usually pick her up after I get off work. She seems to really enjoy playing with her cousins and loves Jocelyn.

In September Olivia cut four more teeth and has been currently working on a couple more. She got pink eye in both eyes, then she got an ear infection in one of her ears. Poor thing couldn't catch a break!!! But that was the FIRST time that she has ever gotten sick and she was just turning 14 months old, so that is pretty darn good! And really the only bad thing about it when she was sick is that she didn't sleep through the night. Otherwise all she wanted to do is snuggle with her mommy, daddy, and blankie! Now she back on track and playing more then ever.
She is also picking up on things very quickly. She can tell you what a kitty and sheep says, and that a piggy snorts. She can't figure out how to snort yet so she makes a noise like she is clearing her throat...very cute! She also knows where her nose, toes and where her button (belly button) is. Liv is starting to talk a little. Saying things like; shoes, mo (more), mommy, daddy, and I swear she says thank you, even ask my mom.

Olivia still loves books and playing with her babies. She has also been testing out her Snoopy golf clubs that Paul Ortenzo in Greenville, SC gave her. Other things she likes to do is play chase and tackle your legs, hide behind doors and play knock-knock/who's there, draw on her magnetic board she got from Austin and Ashley in Texas, and climb on you like you are a jungle gym.

Liv has been so good an has always had such a great personality and I can only hope and pray that she has three younger siblings act the same way.

Still Looking Good!

This will probably be the last time we will be able to get all three of them in one shot. In this picture you can see Baby B and C's head and then part of Baby A's body. You might have also noticed that they are labeled differently this time. Apparently whoever is the lowest is considered Baby A and so on.

Here are the two possible identical twins. You can hardly see the membrane that separates them anymore. I have a feeling that Baby C is going to get real tired of Baby A kicking it all the time. But the Ultrasound tech said that they could, and probably will, switch positions so Baby C could end up getting some sweet revenge on Baby A.

Here is Baby A resting with it's feet up. The blur that looks like it is attached to it's rear is part of it's brother or sister. Baby A seems to be growing right on track and still has a healthy heart rate.

This is Baby C, it too was right on track growth and heart rate wise. I think that might be it's siblings foot resting under it's head.

And last but certainly not least here is Baby B, the singleton, looking very relaxed setting Indian style. He too looked very healthy. And yes I did say HE. We can't be certain yet but we are all pretty sure we saw something down there today. Adam was pretty excited! We think that at our next appointment they will be able to tell better. Oh, and no need to be concerned about that black hole looking area, that's his stomach!

Now as for me, I'm still doing really well. Fatigue and some lower back pain is all I can complain about at this time. My belly is starting to expand, but nothing too disturbing yet. It will be interesting to see how big it actually gets. And no you will not be seeing any naked belly pictures of me. Maybe one with clothes covering it but not one of just bare belly!

And as for Adam and Olivia, they are both doing great!!!

Our next appointment is November 7th.

Trouble

After some consideration Adam and have decided that it might be best if we find Trouble, our cat, a new home. With that being said, if anyone is interested in a cat, or knows someone who would like a cat, we have one that we are willing to give away for free. Trouble comes with updated shots, a variety of litter boxes, and a bag of kitty food. His front paws are declawed but still loves to be outdoors hunting and playing. He also likes to lay around and nap a lot too.

Olivia really loves him, and somehow even with the chasing and hair pulling Trouble seems to like her too. So they are really going to miss each other. We have had trouble for the last four years and he has been on many adventures with us. He has traveled across the country and explored many backyards, but I think it might be in both of our best interest if he doesn't make the next one with us. He won't have to worry about four babies chasing him and pulling his hair and we won't have to wonder when the last time we fed him was.

So it will be sad for all of us, except maybe Adam, but if we can put him in a good home that will make us all feel better. We would much rather him go to a good family then to have to take him to the kitty shelter.

HERE THEY ARE!!!

A view of all three and the tops of their heads!This is Baby A. It is the biggest of all three and has it's own sac and it's own placenta.
This is Baby B. It has it's own sac but shares it's placenta with it's brother or sister.
And this is Baby C. And even though it's already having to learn how to share it seems pretty relaxed! :)
Aren't they AMAZING!

What a miracle life truly is.

SURPRISE!

As some of you already now Adam and I are pregnant again, but what some of you may not have heard yet (which I doubt) is that we are having multiples. And I'm not talking twins! Adam and I are working on triplets. Yes, your read that correctly, TRIPLETS! How that happened, we are still trying to figure that out. I wasn't on any fertility drugs and triplets definitely don't run in either of our families, so I would have to say that this was just the work of God.

We had our first appointment with our doctor last week, and after she had finished her exam she asked if I think I might be farther along that what we had expected. I said that it could be possible and then she said or you could be having multiples. We just laughed and said yeah, right. Then she tried to find a heartbeat, but was only able to get one for about a half a second. So she decided that I should come in next week to get an ultrasound to double check the dating.

So, yesterday Adam and I went in to see the Ultrasound Tech. After I had hopped up on the table she asked if this was just for dating and Adam and I said yes, and then we joked about how the doctor said that otherwise it could be multiples. So, the tech says, "Well lets just see what we can find." Then she puts the thing on my belly. I am looking at the screen and Adam is looking at her. Immediately I see what she sees, and she starts counting, "One...Two...oh, Three!" And without looking at the screen Adam stands up and gets about three feet from her face and says, "You are lying to me! Are you kidding? You are lying!" And she says, "No, I'm not. There is three." And me still in shock grab Adam's arm and point to monitor saying, "Honey, look there really is three!" Then there was a lot of laughing, crying, silence, and questions for the next 30 minutes while she took pictures of them all and made sure they had all there parts. It was crazy! We saw all THREE heartbeats and saw all SIX arms and legs. They looked like they were having a pretty good time in there. Lots of movement!

After coming to terms with the fact that we are going to have triplets (which surprisingly didn't take that long) we shifted our focus to the health of these babies. So that is our number one concern at this point.

Now today we had an appointment with our doctor. She said that all the babies had healthy heartbeats, looked good, and were the right size. So those were very big pluses. She also said that since I had a healthy pregnancy and delivery with Olivia that was also a big plus. And she says that because I seemed healthy to begin with that was a plus as well. So those are all good things. But because I am now considered high risk, I will have appointments every two weeks and then the closer I get they will move them up to every week. But the good news is that even though I am considered high risk as of right now, I have no restrictions on what I can or can't do.

The doctor did share with us that our due date is the same, end of April, but that if we can carry them until the end of March (about 36 weeks) that would be awesome. She also said that with triplets you end up delivering around 28 to 36 weeks, so that means that if all goes well we could even have them late February early March. Anything earlier then that the more complications there will be. So now we pray for a long, healthy pregnancy, no matter how miserable I get.

I would have to say that Adam is really handling this all very well. He has been so supportive and understanding. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. And as for Olivia, she has no idea what is about to happen to her. But now I know why God has blessed us with such a wonderful little girl. She is going to do great.

I will try my hardest to keep my blog updated as best I can. This is just such a blessing and miracle that I want to share it with everyone.

Mother Goose

Mother Goose is the name of Olivia's new daycare. This is a picture of her on her first day, Tuesday, August 19th. Her teachers all said that she did pretty good. Their routine is a little different from ours so there will be some things that she is going to have to adjust too, like no morning naps, sleeping on a little cot, and eating different kinds of table foods. But I really feel like she will do well there. She is in a room with eleven other 1 year olds and three teachers that have all been CPR certified and First Aid trained. They all seem to be very nice and caring so that helps a lot. I have to say it has been probably the hardest on me. While I know that she is at a very good daycare and the staff is very nice and caring, I still have I hard time leaving her. She does seem to have a lot of fun there though and the kids in her class are all so cute!