Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Weeks Twenty-three & Twenty-four!

It's so hard to believe that we are already 5 days into the 24th week of this pregnancy!  On one hand, time seems to have flown by, but on the other hand, it seems like a long time ago that I was newly pregnant and overwhelmingly nauseated 24 hours a day. 

Someone asked me the other day if I was one of the women that "just loved being pregnant?"  I wasn't sure how to answer that question ... I did not enjoy the nausea and exhaustion that lasted well into the 2nd trimester, but is it the coolest feeling the world to be growing two little babies and to feel them moving inside of me?  YES!!  It IS the coolest feeling!  And it only makes us more and more excited to actually meet Parker and Reagan within the next few months.

The anticipation is like something we have never experienced before - because we know the end result is going to be like nothing we have ever experienced before.  We have literally rearranged 3 rooms in our house, overhauled all of our closet space, and have plans to add shelving and other storage necessities in our attic and garage to maximize our space.  But all this for 2 little bodies that are still so small that they fit in my belly?  It is so hard to wrap our heads around it all!  I keep walking into the nursery and looking at the cribs trying to picture what Parker and Reagan will look like laying in the cribs ... 

I remember feeling this way when my sister, Selena, was pregnant last year with her son, Landry.  I kept wondering what he would look like, act like, smell like (is that weird?) and how he would change as he grew.  But I had no idea that those questions would multiply both in number and intensity when it is now our own children that we are wondering about.  These 2 little miraculous mysteries are so hard to conceptualize! 

Here we are at 23 weeks.  I have affectionately named my baby 'bump' the "twin torso" because the word 'bump' just doesn't cut it!!

And here we are at 24 weeks!

Only one week left at work and then I will be home until Parker and Reagan arrive...I am really looking forward to some time to rest and get ready for these sweet babies to be here!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Let the nursery festivities begin!

Happy New Year everyone!  Chris and I had a great trip home to Orlando over the week of Christmas, and came back to a very chilly Atlanta! 


 I got Chris a Kindle and he got me a Coach purse...this was our last hurrah for a few years! :)


 Our sweet nephew, Landry, on Christmas morning.  I could kiss and snuggle him all day long!

Chris' sister, Erica, and her new husband Scott.  The sweet kitty in Scott's hands is their newest addition, Lola!

Our very dear friends, Diane Rothrock, Virginia Bibler and my sweet sister, Selena Fettig, threw me a baby shower while we were home (the day after Christmas!) and us girls had a great time getting together with all of the women in my life that live in Florida.  We had a car-full on the way back to Atlanta because of all of the generous baby and Christmas gifts that baby boy and girl Even received.  OH, and we now have names for baby boy and baby girl Even: Parker Jay and Reagan Lynn. :)


Virginia, Me, Diane & McKenna, Selena

My mom came back to Atlanta with us and spent the week helping us purge, organize, move furniture, paint, etc. and she also worked on the bedding for the babies!  After this week, we can now call the former office the "nursery," and the former upstairs spare room the "office/spare room."  Things are a little tight, but that is all part of the fun, right?!

We went shopping while we were in Orlando for fabric for the crib sheets, bumper pads and bed skirts, all the while still trying to stick with my bird theme that I so obsessively wanted.  This is what we have come up with so far...(it is hard designing a room for a boy and a girl!).  The striped bird fabric below was my "inspiration fabric."  I loved the colors, the birds, and the stripes and polka dots. It will be incorporated into both the Parker and Reagan's bumper pads and bed skirts (and maybe some other fun projects later on!)


And from this fabric, we chose this yellow for the nursery walls:


 and got chocolate brown curtains for the windows:


This is Parker's bed skirt that my mom made while staying here this week (a shot with the yellow walls and brown curtains) Reagan's skirt will have teal fabric where the green is, and pink fabric where the teal is.  {Pay no attention to the man behind the bed skirt...}


Here is their closet where we have a "blue" shelf, complete with blue hangers for Parker and a "pink" shelf, complete with pink hangers for Reagan, and we also have a fun new hanging storage bin for sheets, burp cloths and other essentials:

And what bird-themed nursery would be complete without a birdhouse night-light? (it makes me smile every time I see it!)



And here I am at 22 weeks.  Feeling HUGE and already a bit tired and pretty sore in my back ... but we figured the pictures will be fun (and comical!) to look at later in life when I *hopefully* have a waistline again!! (mind you, I am not wearing any make-up and my hair is a mess...just focus on the babies in my belly, please!)


HELLO!!!!  Yup, there are 2 babies in there.  I can't wait to see how big I am going to be by the end (please note the sarcasm in my typing!). I know that Parker and Reagan's sweet faces will be totally worth it, though!


My OB has told me to stop working as of February 1st, so my last day of work at the hospital will be Monday, January 31st...which is QUICKLY approaching!  It is so hard to believe, but at the same time, I am very grateful to have some time to rest before the babies come. 

I think that is all we have to report from the Even household for now.  It has already been a busy and productive start to the New Year!