They're here!!!

...and they're beautiful and they're time consuming. Vitals: Cooper Takeo Stokes born at 3:11 pm on May 6th weighing in at 6 lbs 6 oz. and Tucker Kiyoshi Stokes born at 3:12 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz. also born May 6th via C-section. Now mommy needs to get back to feeding and trying to sleep. Lovies!

It just keeps growing and growing....

Here are some photos chronicling the ever expanding middle through the month of April. The first here is from an April 18th baby shower thrown by my relief society. I was still able to stand without pain at this point. That has changed. :-p These jeans still fit in the legs and bottom, but there is NO way they cover the middle now. I tried really hard to make them fit last week crossing my fingers and everything. No luck. The fabric top that makes them maternity pants just slowly slid down until my stretch marks were visible in all there glory from the navel down. I am now down to one pair of pants, which you will see in the following pictures.

Daddy taking time out on April 19th to whisper some words of wisdom to his boys. He kept telling them to come out and see him. I was not amused. I kept scolding him because they would have been way too tiny at that point.

And here we are at our friends' Chris and Becca's home in Ogden, UT on April 23rd. We had to make a trip to see one of the specialists in person. I'm not sure what is with the face, but we really did have a good time visiting.

A little love for the daddy. He has been a real trooper through all of this crazy stuff. I'll have to be sure and show him some love at 2:00 am when we're both up with crying babies. :o) April 26th.

"The girls (me and my sisters) and the boys." I can't believe they completely cover Vicky's torso. This was at a really fun going away party for my sister Jessica who has moved to Pennsylvania because her husband got a job over there. We will miss her so much!

Holy belly. Nibbling on a strawberry at grandma's during the party.

April 29th visit to the hospital to see Dr. Belfort, one of the specialists who performed the transfusion on Baby A. He's a really nice guy.

There it is people: The incubator. That's the most recent picture I have. There will be more I'm positive.

So...I'm a slacker.

I have admittedly been terrible about updating this thing. Bedrest and Dr. appointments have been just about all I do now. I watch a little TV, see the doctors, nap, and eat. Here are a couple of pictures from the 33.5 weeks. I am now at 36 weeks and there has been a C-section scheduled for May 11th (shortly after 37 weeks) with ultrasounds every other day to see if that will be bumped up. The boys are recovering from the virus they acquired and getting rather large so I'm hoping to be able to bring them home from the hospital once I am released as well. I feel huge and there are no longer any comfortable positions to be had. I just have to maintain a chanting mantra of the countdown. Having a goal makes things a little easier. There is something to look forward to. And that has helped us all breathe a little easier. With all of the uncertainty we had to deal with lately, it is nice to have somewhat of a plan. Not one that is set in stone, but still an idea of when the boys will arrive. I am tired more often than ever before and that includes now so I am going to go make friends with my pillows. Love you all. It takes a lot of effort to carry these guys so far out front. It's all baby hanging out there. :o)

At least one with a smile. I can't believe I thought I was big then. I'm even larger now!!!

You asked....

...so here they are! More pictures of the ever growing middle. Today we had our 28 week ultrasound to check the boys' growth and make sure all is well. The kiddo on the right is still bigger than the one on the left, but only by a few days so it's nothing to worry about. Dr. Allred would like the little one to catch up a bit, but there's still time for that. Since Grandma Stokes has decided to call them "Chuck and Tuck" until their real names are revealed I will use those names to help you folks at home keep them straight as well. We'll call Baby "A" Chuck and Baby "B" Tuck. So..."Chuck" is on the left, weighing in at 2.5 pounds (approximately), and presenting head down (yes, this is a change from the last ultrasound) and "Tuck" is on the right, weighing in at 3 pounds, and now breech (facing head up). They have switched positions which isn't a bad thing, but might cause some trouble if they stay that way. It is not preferred to deliver larger twins feet first. Although if one is delivered head first then the other would have plenty of room to "flip," even with assistance from the professionals. ;o) My only complaint at this point is that Mom (me) is now profoundly uncomfortable about 90% of the time and there is still two months to go. We're in the home stretch now so I've just got to keep my eye on the prize. I think our birthing class this Saturday will help with that. At least I'll feel a little more prepared. Okay, enough rambling. On to the photos: These next few were intentionally taken in the same sweater that the 19 week photos were taken in to illustrate the extent of growing that has occured over the last 9 weeks. Just scroll down to see the difference. It's quite surprising. It does, however, explain the stretch marks that have now taken over.

"Smile pretty."

This is what happens when Tia gets tired of posing.

Sunday after church.

"Do something cute."...ummm, yeah. This is about as cute as it gets these days.

This is my "holy cow my back hurts" face. :-p
And that's all for now folks! See ya'all later.

Bigger and Bigger...and Bigger.

So the evening became a photo shoot for some reason and you can see here what my opinion of that idea was. I had no make up on, my back and legs were cramping and aching, work was crazy and my husband says, "let's take some pictures of your tummy for the blog, honey!"
Knowing that if I didn't do it now, I would just be pleaded with for days until I agreed, up from the recliner (which has now become mommy's chair) I heaved myself. Luckily, I didn't have to go far. I made it to the wall that is about five feet from the chair and told TK that was as far as this little adventure was taking me. And so the modeling began...



Not too enthusiastic about it yet. Taking a glance down to see if I still have toes. I haven't seen them in a while so I like to check every now and then. j/k. I do have to be sitting down, but I can still see them. Standing is another story entirely. I have to bend WAY over, which is also quite a task. Moving on....














I figured it was probably a good idea to look like pregnancy wasn't absolutely miserable. A smile couldn't hurt, right? Most of the pictures of me have been when I'm pretty tired. I think I may need to talk to my sister about a real photo shoot with TK when I can find a cute outfit and put on some make up and not take pictures after hours of work. Maybe then he'll understand how much "fun" it is to be the center of the camera's attention. :-p

Cheese!

And now...a trivia question: how are twins made?

Well...

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.

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Step one:

And step two:

Hee hee! So, the hairstyle leaves a little to be desired (it was much cuter when it was in ringlets earlier in the day), but those onesies are just so stinkin' adorable! The boys will wear them home from the hospital as long as they are big and healthy enough. These little treasures are especially great because their father, TK, will use any shortcut he can on the computer. ESPECIALLY these two. He uses them at work all day long. They are priceless! There are some perks to having two in there. ;o)

The Nursery is Coming Along

Here are some pictures of the nursery as it comes together. The first one above is a coloring table that TK made for the boys. We had an old computer desk so he just hacked off the legs so that a couple of little chairs would fit just right underneath. I think we'll be spending a lot of time at this table.
Fun noise makers! Thank you to the Gharibs!

Trucks galore. Every little boys dream. Of course these will have to wait for finer motor skills, but they are great to have.


Books, books, books!! These are my favorite part of the nursery so far. We have been so blessed by so many wonderful gifts. Thank you again to the Gharibs!

Comfy and Cozy in the swing from the Kapurs. They were also kind enough to hand down a wonderful high chair. We are truly lucky to have such wonderful friends.

Carrie works on a baby blanket while Goober Bear tries out the swing. The bouncer looks lonely without a stuffed buddy to try it out.

The stroller that will make many a trip for two. I think I'm going to have to practice steering this monster so I don't run into people.

Cribs (and dresser) from Grandma and Grandpa Stokes are protected by an army of stuffed animals and trucks. They will watch over the boys once they are here as well. That will be in just two and a half months! The day is getting closer and closer and I can tell as the little guys get more and more active and my tummy gets larger and larger and larger and larger....oh, sorry. Got carried away there for a second. The stretch marks have arrived and the growing continues! There will be more belly pictures to come, I'm sure. Until then....

24 Weeks

Well, I had another ultrasound today. Baby 'A' (the one on the left side of my expanding gut) measured at 24w6d and Baby 'B' (therefore on the right) measured at 25w2d. So one is currently a little longer/taller than the other. It will be interesting to see if one of them looks like me and the other looks like TK. I think that would just be hysterical. Baby 'B' is also now head down while Baby 'A' is still breech (head up). They got the hiccups yesterday and that was quite an experience. The doctors have said that I will now begin to grow more rapidly which is a good thing, though I am already running out of things to wear! There's not much that goes over this mound without looking extremely dumpy. My legs and backside are still pre-pregnancy sized so wearing really big maternity pants is quite a sacrifice of dignity. My rear has never looked so dumpy. But comfort is of utmost importance these days. It definitely comes before all other fashion priorities. :-p
That's all for now, I'm so sleepy I could fall asleep here at the keyboard.