How we picked the babies' names

I thought Cassie's comment was a good idea, so here is the reason we chose our babies' names.

We chose Gabriel Blake for our son about 10 years ago when we watched the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger. That was Heath Ledger's name in the movie. We both have always liked the name since then, and Jeremy really liked Blake (but it was never my favorite), so we decided it sounded good as a middle name.

We chose Graycen Rose for our daughter because it is "sort of" a family name. Gray is my mom's maiden name, but you can't really name a baby Gray..kind of somber. We picked the "cen" on the end of the spelling because it seemed more "girly." As for Rose, I have always liked it as a middle name. We have also always liked this name.

It's funny because if they had been two of the same sex, they would not have both had "G" names. We are not into "matchy-matchy" names, but it just worked out that way. We also had these names picked out before we even started trying to get pregnant, so at least for the last 4 years! So, that's where we got the names from! Glad you like them!! We hope Gabe and Graycen do too!

Hectic, but fruitful time!

Well, now I am 22w4d! Wow, how time flies. It feels like we were just in the Czech Republic getting our babies! I have been so busy trying to get things done while I still can, as my job is going to make it very hard to do anything but work and sleep in a few weeks. Apparently, I have pregnancy amnesia, as I have been forgetting things left and right, which is not like me. I told everyone at work to leave me notes when they need me to do something for them, as I am having a hard time remembering everything. At home, I have an ongoing list of things that I am trying to get accomplished by the end of this month. On the top of the list is deciding where we are going to live and what kind of childcare we will have. If we stay here, we will have to rent a less expensive apartment, and probably Jeremy will have to stay home with the babies. That is not top on my list of ideas, but it would be doable. What I really would like to do is transfer to Greenville somehow with my job, and then use our connections there to have childcare we know and can trust to help us with the babies. Thankfully, my work provides and employee assistance program that I called today. The lady is going to do a search for childcare providers in Charlotte and Greenville that have weekend care. If we stay here that is our biggest concern, as we both work retail hours right now. Please keep this as #2 on your list of prayers for us. #1 is the babies' health, of course, but this is definitely #2 for us. The babies appear to be doing well, and they are busy kicking me daily. I think that Jeremy is a little jealous, as they usually stop moving right when he puts his hand on my belly! I did remind him that if I have a c-section, he will be the first one to get to hold each baby, and I think that made him feel better! I just realized this has been a very rambling post, so I think I will go ahead and end it now. Off to check more things off the list!

POP ROCKS!!!

Today we had our 21 week ultrasound. Our little babies are growing like weeds. Gabe measured at 1lb 2oz, and Graycen was 1lb! My mom got to go with us to the ultrasound today. She was so excited, it was like she was having the babies herself. The babies are very healthy looking, and both were head down when the ultrasound started. Fast forward to after I almost passed out on the table, and then Gabe had turned all the way around and was head up! Once again, we got the most active shots of Gabe, but Graycen was more active this time too. We had one brief moment when we got a good face shot of Gabe (it almost looked 3d), and he looked like his daddy! Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo of that one. They are moving around like crazy now. As I type, I have little "Pop Rocks" in my tummy. That's pretty much exactly what it feels like. I am getting poked and kicked in all sorts of different places at the same time. It makes me wonder how they are positioned in there, as the movements seem to be all over the place. We had a lot of excitement this morning, so I am going to rest now! I should take my time to rest now, as I am sure that I will have very little time later on:)

Bigger and more Refreshed than ever

Well, we survived the cruise. No hurricanes in our path. It was really fun and somewhat relaxing. Jeremy kept getting mad at me for not wanting to nap or go to sleep early, but I felt fine and didn't want to miss all the action. We bought a cute picture of us on the ship that we can show to the babies one day. When the babies whine that they have never been on a vacation, we will whip out the picture and show them that they were obviously on a cruise with us. Today, I am really tired, but it could be a combination of things. A) the 12 hour trip from Ft Lauderdale yesterday, B) the lack of real resting that occurred on vacation, or C) the super rainy day that we are having. I do have a new symptom though, my first really uncomfortable one. I have been having a lot of "catching" in my lower left side of my back (to the left of my buttbone), which makes me feel like I may fall a lot of times. I called the doctor, and he thinks it is just my hips starting to spread coupled with the overdoing it on vacation. So, I have been trying to rest more today. On a much brighter note, I finally felt the babies move this week. I was sitting on the 5th deck staring out at the ocean, and I felt 3 little "pops" in my belly. It was really fun, and Jeremy also got to feel a little movement this week too. I know that soon enough, I will probably be begging them to not move quite so much, but for now we are thrilled that they are moving. Also, today we registered at Babies R Us. It was incredibly overwhelming, as we need two of somethings, one of others, pink of this, blue of that and neutral of other stuff. We just closed our eyes and clicked!! Just kidding, but we probably would have been just as successful doing it that way. We will probably be readjusting the registry as we go on, but we needed to have one started for showers and such. Please keep us in your prayers for the babies health and our job/living situation as we will have to make some decisions soon.

HALF WAY THERE!!!!

Ok, so technically I am only 18w2d, but since most twins come at around 36 weeks, Jeremy and I are celebrating the fact that we are on the downhill side of things. My dad asked me how I am feeling today, and the truth is, except for my need for sleep and my burgeoning belly, I don't even feel pregnant. I am really jealous of Cori and Joy, who both are feeling little "baby flutters," as I have felt NOTHING yet. I am sure that by the end of it, I will feel more than my fair share though. It is a really busy week for me at work, just trying to finish up things before we leave on our cruise this Friday. I am so ready for some time off. One of the guys at work pointed out that I haven't been on vacation yet this year. I couldn't tell him that my FMLA was really a fabulous vacation with IVF stuck in, so I had to agree. After next week, I will still have about 30 hours left of vacation, but I am holding on to those in case I need them later in the year, or so I can take off the week between Christmas and New Years. I am sure I will need it then if not before then. Please keep the babies in your prayers, as this pregnancy seems to be going so incredibly well, and I don't want anything to go wrong. Also, please pray that Jeremy and I will be able to make the right decision about jobs after the babies are born and where to live. We would love to move back to Greenville, but I don't know how it will work. Let's face it, I don't know how it will work here either. There's a lot of unknown, and I am trying to pray about it now, and hopefully make a wise decision before November, as I will be incredibly busy and incredibly pregnant at that time. We just want to make the right decision, so pray that God makes that abundantly clear to us! I'm off to rest, and lament about how I will be the whitest, biggest belly girl on the cruise ship in just a few days:) Oh well, too bad, so sad!

16w5d---ultrasound

Wednesday, we went to our 16w OB appt., had blood taken for the alpha protein test, and heard their heartbeats...baby A was 145 and baby B was 132...so the doctor joked, "Sounds like one boy and one girl." Our ultrasound was scheduled for the next morning, so we were hoping we could find out on Thursday. My whole family was taking votes on what they thought the sexes were. Most guessed a boy and a girl. Well......they were right. We got to see the cutest "bottoms up" shot of both of their rear ends side-by-side, with their parts clearly showing!!!! We are thrilled, as this is perfect for us! Our ultrasound lasted about 1 hour, and the tech measured everything that they normally check for at 20w. She said they were so clear, and so cooperative, she was going to take advantage of that and measure everything. They both have all their parts, 4 chambered hearts beating correctly and he is 7oz and she is 6oz. They measured at least 17w on everything, and were very close in their measurements, which is very reassuring! He was a show-off, waving at the camera with both hands and doing acrobatic tricks. She was more shy, but the tech said it could be the position she is in (squished down near my cervix). Speaking of my cervix, is measured at 4.6---which is nice and long---no imminent signs of preterm labor. Jeremy and I feel blessed beyond belief, as we have had no problems with this pregnancy at all, and it looks like we are on track to have a healthy, beautiful boy and girl in late January!!!

15 weeks, 2 days

Well, today I am 15w 2d! I finally told my employees on Friday and Saturday last week. They were shocked!! That actually shocked me, because Jeremy swore that they already suspected something. They didn't. Actually, they thought I was kidding, and they said they couldn't tell at all. I asked them..."Didn't you think it was funny that I was wearing the same 2 suits for the last 2 weeks?" They didn't even notice that. I'm glad that I told them all, because I am not down to only one pair of my old pants that will button. Last week at the Dr's, I had only gained 4 lbs in 5 weeks, and I don't think I have gained anything this week so far. We go back in one more week for another ultrasound. The dr's office called 2 days ago and I will be having an ultrasound and visit every 4 weeks for now, which is exciting, as most women do not get this many ultrasounds. I am unsure when they will change to every 2 weeks, but I think probably in Nov. sometime. Jeremy and I are hoping and praying that I will be able to work through Christmas with no problems, so add that to your prayer list for us. I know that it is getting long, but we appreciate every prayer! So do the babies!!!