Kids say the darndest things...

So, I was blog-stalking tonight. Yes, I admit it... Who doesn't like to look around from time to time?

I came across this blog post by a husband of a girl that I went to VHHS with...and I totally LOL'd!!!

http://auburn9803.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-did-you-say.html

I can't wait for all of the funny stories we'll have about what sweet Jack Henry and Harrison say and do. . . I'll definitely have to start a notebook to document them!

19 week belly post

Here's the belly pic for 19 weeks (18wks 6 days). We are getting geared up to start working on the nursery right after Christmas, and actually picked up our new nursery chair from Storkland this morning! I'll try to post a picture once we get it in the house, etc. Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas season. Being pregnant, especially with boys, gives me an even greater appreciation for the sacrifice that God made by giving His one and only son to save me from my sins.

We are so wonderfully blessed.
Merry Christmas, y'all!

Reagan June Keever

She's here!!! My best friend, Eden, and her husband, Josh, welcomed their 2nd baby, Reagan June, yesterday at 12:33pm (in CA). This sweet baby weighed in at 7 lbs 3.5oz and was 19.5 in long. What a precious addition to their already wonderful family! Congratulations, y'all! We love you and could not be happier for you :)

18.5 week appointment

Wednesday, we went for our 18.5 week appointment. As you might remember, this would've been our gender appointment, had we not been so fortunate to find out at 15.5 weeks. For those of you who haven't had babies (hey, I'm just learning all of this too-no worries) the gender appointment is typically also the one where they do a lot of important measuring and checking on the baby(ies). For example, they measured the boys' nuchal folds in their brain/back of their heads. The size of these can tell them if Downs Syndrome is indicated. Thank the Lord, both of them had "normal" range nuchal folds. (ie: Around 4+ typically indicates D.S. and the boys both had around 2.5 or less). The ultrasound lady also looked at their kidneys, lip (for cleft palate), and other stuff. Everything looked fantastic. (Praise God!) The boys are to the point in their development that the ultrasound lady no longer measures their size in CRL or Crown to Rump length. Now, they measure the head circumference, abdominal circumference, and femur length to determine their size. Both boys are still measuring about a 1/2 week big (yay!) and are each weighing in at approximately 10 oz! (Babycenter suggests a typical baby would be almost 7 oz at this point.) You know how we love for our babies to get good, big measurements... bc I kind of associate big with healthy, for my boys. As their mommy and total source of nutrients, I love hearing that they are getting plenty and growing strong! Dr. Banks said they, and I, are looking "GREAT!" and he is so pleased. YAY! Here are some pictures of our sweet boys...
Baby B's legs! Josh and I saw these and immediately both of us said "he's definitely our child!" haha... (those look a lot like our legs) Baby B loooves his legs... he was kicking them and moving them around a lot of the ultrasound lol... love. it. and him :)
Here is Baby B on his belly... good spine shot!
Sweet Baby A's profile...loving that belly.
Here is Baby A's sweet foot! I cannot wait to kiss them all over.
Baby A was very into his arms :) He even gave us what looked like a flexed muscle arm at one point Ha Ha.

18 weeks!

I can hardly believe that I'm already 18 weeks pregnant. When I announced that I was pregnant, the little twin icon (on the ticker above) was between the "5" and "10" elephants b/c I was 9 weeks pregnant. Now, here I am 9 weeks later! The beginning of the pregnancy went by slowly, which I attribute, in part, to waiting for our 1st baby appointment at 8.5 weeks. Now that I go every 3 weeks, it is flying by and the belly is definitely growing! People actually look at me and know I'm pregnant, which is nice... I think I was fortunate and my "looks only like a gut" stage was brief Ha Ha... It's pretty undeniable now. My family and definitely Josh are loving the belly. I like it, too, because it makes it all feel more real. :) We have our next doctor appointment this Wednesday 12/16. I cannot wait to see how much the boys have grown! It would've been our gender appointment, had we not been so fortunate to find out at 15.5 weeks. From what I understand, this will still be a long ultrasound because they will be doing a lot of measuring. It'll be nice to be able to look at the boys for a long time :) Here is a picture for comparison...

The top picture was taken at 14 weeks 6 days... and below was taken at 17 weeks 6 days.
Wow, I just realized that is only 3 weeks lol... The belly is really growing! *I think that we are going to start taking down the pics in the hallway so we'll stop getting those reflection lines in the picture... they are driving me nuts. I just forget every time. lol...I should probably make myself a note... and hang it actually ON the pictures. Ha Ha*

Elastic panels... and incredible hubbies.

So... I finally bought some maternity pants today.... and I LOVE THEM!!!! My friend, Krista, said that she doesn't know why women don't just wear them all the time... and I've gotta say, particularly comfort-wise, I totally agree! It was such a relief to just be able to pull them up and down when going to be bathroom... instead of having to reposition my pants that would not even zip up or close at all and then position my belly band on top. I owe it all to my precious hubby, Josh. He took me to shop during the hour between my sweet sister, Paige's, graduation (magna cum-laude!) from Samford University this AM and graduation lunch at Village Tavern. He would get me any new sizes, stood there and told me what looked good, was SOOOOOO encouraging in the midst of trying on clothes with this big old belly and boobs, and was very kind about the fact that I just need some clothes...that fit and are comfortable. He said I was particularly fortunate that he witnessed my trying to get dressed this AM Ha Ha...and knew that I NEEDED new black pants, etc.

I cannot rave about him enough. What a blessing he is to me in general, but he has been particularly incredible during this entire pregnancy, taking care of me and the boys... especially this AM at the graduation when I looked at him and told him that I felt horrible and had to get out of there... my vision was darkening (like I was about to faint) and I felt like I was going go throw up! Turns out, I think I was just OVERheated! That auditorium was way too hot and once I got into the cool hallway, got some water, and went to the potty, I felt MUCH better. Josh was there with me the whole time (not in the potty Ha Ha) and such a great caretaker.

Thank you, Lord, for my precious husband, Josh, that You hand-picked to love me so much. GREAT JOB! :)

JHG and HNG...

Josh and I have officially decided on the boys' names!

Jack Henry Gamble

and

Harrison Nash Gamble

My daddy's uncle's name was Jack and we just love Henry.

We will call him "Jack Henry."

My daddy's name is Harrison, so I've always dreamed of having a little Harrison, and Nash was Josh's maternal great-grandfather's middle name.

We will call him "Harrison."

We are unbelievably blessed to be welcoming these sweet babies into our family!

It's gonna be wild around our house, but oh, so much fun! :)

Belly pic 17 weeks... and a little more.

Here is what I call my 17 week (16wk 6 days) picture... As I've said before, I really take the picture the day before I get a "new week," but it's certainly close enough! I'm still feeling great... with the exception of the occasional low moments... which tend to coincide with getting too hot and usually some water helps the bad feelings go away. No worries! I thought I'd also post the other 2 pics to show the moments leading up to the belly pic. Miley did not really want to cooperate tonight and was feeling very needy for her mama... at first it's her loving on me and then she did her thing where she sticks her nose between your knees. We have no idea why she does, but ever since she's been tall enough, she's loved doing this to anyone who will let her. (Don't worry, she's not sniffing your crotch, it's just a nose between the knees.) I honestly think that she really likes the pressure on her face... and it puts her back in the perfect position for you to pet her. Win-Win for her. :)
THE belly. and sweet miley.

Miley with Milton, Josh's dad last weekend. He loooves her, and she loves him back!

The other night, Miley reminded me of a good child-rearing concept: check out exactly what they are doing before you fuss at them... I saw her under the Christmas tree (close to the usual spot she takes stuff she's not supposed to have) chewing on something... I started to fuss at her and realized that sweet girl was just enjoying a more festive bone-chewing experience under the tree. No harm, no foul...and oh, so cute. I had to snap a pic of this b/c it was cute... clearly, as is a woman's perrogative, Miley could not make up her mind which bone/toy she wanted.... so she chose 3. There ya go, Miley girl!

TURKEY TOSS 2009

I started a post about this during Thanksgiving week, but got busy with Thanksgiving and other family time, and totally forgot to finish it... so I just started over.

Early morning the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, my sister Grace, Josh, and I went down to Rick and Bubba's annual Turkey Toss. Grace and Josh intended to compete--in the women and men divisions, respectfully. The toss is where people throw frozen turkeys to see who can throw the 12 lb turkey the greatest distance. The measurement is taken after the turkey lands and quits sliding. Each different division (men, women, soldiers, children, and high heels) competed for various amounts of gift cards to Academy Sports, the highest being $1,000! Josh chose the backward throw, which had gotten him good distance in a turkey toss back in 2003 (i think it was). Grace, on the other hand, chose the overhead throw. Grace was throwing pretty solid 50-something throws, but there were two previous champs who were throwing 80 ft throws! Knowing she could not conquer these beasts, Grace swapped to the high heel division! LOL... She borrowed some high heeled boots from a lady behind us in line! Anyone who knows Grace at all knows she is definitely a lady, but not a lady who enjoys the high heel... (nor does she need them at 6 ft tall) Ha Ha. Anyways... Josh did not perform as he would've liked to... and will try again next year if the Turkey Toss is held in Birmingham. (It changes locations each year. One year it was in Nashville and Auburn another year.) Well....

GRACE WON THE HIGH HEEL DIVISION!!!

We were (are) so proud! Here are some pictures!

Warming up with a 25 lb weight... makes the 12 lb turkey feel light!
Let's do this!Joshy G lookin' awesome and strong :)These boots were made for.... throwing frozen turkeys?I can hear "Eye of the Tiger" playing
All of the 1st and 2nd place winners!

New background

As you can tell, I'm trying out a new background that's a little more festive for the holidays. Hope you like it... I'm still working out everything (colors, pic, etc.) to what I like.

UPDATE:
Ok... not to sound horrible, but I'm loving the new layout...and esp the new pic. It fit perfectly under the blog title and JBG's hat matches the color scheme :) YAY! I might leave it up for quite a while.

I love this time of year :)

Gender Dinner, pajamas, and a belly pic!

So, I'm heading to bed, but wanted to do a post...

The way we told my parents:

We had a "Gender Dinner" at our house...grilled burgers and chicken... the family offered to bring sides, and we made a very special dessert! The layers of the cake were blue/blue, blue/pink, or pink/pink, depending on whether the babies were boys or girls ...or one of each! (Clearly, ours were both BLUE!) Here is a pic of our family that came... like I said before, I had to keep the guest list very short, b/c we were cooking (and I have very limited seating for dinner guests), otherwise I would've invited more people, for sure. It turned out to be my aunt/uncle, God-parents, my parents, cousin Rachel +fiance' Chris and cousin Laura, and sister Paige and boyfriend Brent. Oddly enough, the "adult" women (mom, aunt, God-mother) happened to also be our "babysitters".... for when I go back to school in the Fall after the babies are born. They have all generously offered to keep the boys to help out! (Answered prayer!) Really, the people I cared most about being there were my parents. The dinner was planned for them, so we could tell them the gender(s) in a special way. We were so glad everyone was able to come (esp with such last minute notice). I always love having people over! (It certainly doesn't hurt that now my house is so clean! Ha Ha) There is also a before and after pic of the cake that Josh made! It was, by the way, more delicious than our usual cakes. Apparently he only used egg whites, so maybe that was it! Or....maybe I'm pregnant and things taste better. Ha Ha.... maybe both :)BLUE INSIDES!

The way we told Josh's parents:
They came to town on Saturday afternoon. Josh instructed them to go ahead and put their stuff in their room. When they got in there, they found pajamas that said "Thank Heaven for Little Boys" on each of their beds. Josh's mom was particularly excited that we're having two boys. Apparently she'd sat on Santa's knee in Marshall, TX (visiting family) the night before and specifically asked him for 2 boys! :) Guess her Christmas wish came early. Glad we could help. Ha Ha... They are really excited to meet the boys this Spring, and Regenia has offered to come stay with us for a week sometime after they are born to help out. She is always very generous with Josh and me.

Here is this week's belly pic. We took it right after church... I've decided that none of these are flattering, but that's the nature of the sideways belly pic I suppose lol... At least I'm not in pajamas this time! Ha Ha.(That's not my belly button, it's my pants that are undone and being held up with my belly band! I've yet to buy maternity pants... mostly b/c I dread the shopping/trying on of pants. Think I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon since these wouldn't even zip!)

Hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving, regardless of where or with whom you spent it. We are all so fortunate for the wonderful lives that God has given us and I am extremely grateful. . . particularly this year, for my savior, family, friends, and definitely my incredible husband Josh, and my baby boys baking in my oven :)

and the babies are....

I will post more later, but wanted to thank you all for participating in letting us know which way you voted!

Josh and I are thrilled to announce that we'll be welcoming
TWO BABY BOYS
this coming Spring!
It's going to be wild around here, but we are soooo excited :)

boys/boy+girl/girls

Sooooo the BIG news is that we FOUND OUT THE SEX of the babies on Wednesday! It wasn't scheduled, but b/c they were big enough, we were able to look with the ultrasound tech to find out! :o) She checked multiple times on each baby and is certain on both of them!

Josh and I are curious and would like to know who voted for what on the poll, so we can see who guessed right!

Will you please take the time to tell us?

Either way, we're having a family dinner at my house tonight to tell my parents, and a few other family members (I had to limit the # of guests b/c we're cooking) and the dessert will be what reveals the gender! Then, Josh's parents will be here tomorrow, where we've got another way to reveal it to them!

Please don't bother asking me... or Josh... b/c we're lock boxes :) AND we'll be telling shortly after telling Josh's parents on Saturday! We just want our parents to know before we spread the word to anyone else. (I haven't even told my best friends!!!) We are so excited to finally know who is in my belly and be able to talk more seriously about names... which will be a post in the future, b/c we've yet to really sit down and decide. Plus, there is still plenty of time :)

Hope you all had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
We sure did
and are so thankful
for our boys/boy+girl/girls! ;o)

Those precious Gamble twins...

Here is Baby A's leg... and 1/2 of its body.... loves that belly time!

Here is precious Baby B... seems to be sucking its thumb!

Here is Baby A again... Again on the tummy... love it.

It's funny, b/c that's what our kids will be known as... The Gamble Twins. Too cute :o)
Here are some pics from the appointment today! The Dr. is very pleased with their development so far. Both babies are weighing in at approx 5 oz and Babycenter says typical for this week's weight is 2.5 oz (for a singleton)... so we've got big babies so far! Such a blessing and perfect, b/c it is ideal for twins to gain more weight on the front end b/c their weight gain/growth rate slows down and even eventually declines a little compared to singletons. They are also both still measuring about 1/2 week ahead of schedule. Their heart beats were both strong and in the 130s and 140s. Grace and Paige (my twin sisters) were both 7 lbs a piece at 38 weeks and I was 9.9 lbs born past my due date. We Brannons make big babies apparently :) Josh was also about 8 lbs... so these babies have got that going for them, too!

Navel oranges....in my womb.

Well, I was politely reminded by Katie B. at Whitney's baby shower that I need to take a belly pic today. "Do I need to take your belly picture right now so you'll remember???" Ha ha ha I loved it... and the fact that she and so many people are so into our babies. :o) So, here's this week's babies belly! I've gotten into a habit of taking them on Sundays, which is technically "X weeks and 6 days"... or 14 weeks and 6 days today... but I just round them off... so this is my 15 week belly pic. I kind of wish I'd gotten Josh to take it when I got home from the baby shower b/c I definitely looked cuter than I do here, but he was taking a nap and I thought it'd be a bit insensitive to make him get up just for that. I probably should've put my hand on the bottom to show the belly better... but, well... I'm still learning how to take the perfect belly pic :) We've got a good bit more on which to practice though. Ha ha. My goal is to take the pics every Sunday in this doorway. BTW... we have our next Dr. appointment on Wednesday and Aunt Grace and Aunt Paige will be joining us! The babies are the sizes of navel oranges this week....about 4 inches long and weigh about 2.5 oz.
My loves wrestling/loving in the hallway post belly pic.
Joshy G. the other night... on his trainer... playing football on Wii... lol
Miley fave spot as of late... which is nice and wonderful, except she's gotten that red cover thing all hairy and dirty... so I might be washing it and putting down an approved Miley blanket to help stop the dirt and hair. It'd be easiest just to not allow her up there... but that'd involve her not being a spoiled little pup... which she is, clearly.

A few belly pics...

Sorry I didn't post any belly pics on the last update. I don't do it very often b/c, for some reason, it feels daunting, but once I do it, I remember how easy and quick it actually is... so, here are some belly pics for the masses. Don't expect much lol... like I said... a "little" babies belly... I'll do better at taking/posting them more regularly.
These 1st 2 were back at 7.5 weeks
This was 10 weeks
I think that this was tues or thurs this past week... 13 weeks Kind of awkward pic b/c of my vest... should've taken it off. This was yesterday, right at turning 14 weeks. It's not a very flattering picture (please ignore that!), but you can def see the belly because of the more fitted dress. I'm also a little full from lunch. :) Don't want to overstate the belly size.It is very hard work gestating twins.... or at least taking care of someone who is :)
He's so precious to me and doing a fabulous job taking care of me. Josh can't wait for the babies to be here so he can finally meet them :)We can't forget Miss Miley, my best girl and fur-baby.

Trip to CA, maternity clothes, and a little baby(ies) belly....

So, last weekend, I had the pleasure of going to see my BFF, Eden, and her hubby Josh and son, Wyatt. They are so precious and I had a fab time visiting with them! I haven't gotten to see them since July, when they made the drive out to California when they moved there. She and I had talked about me or Josh+me coming out to visit, and one potential trip before didn't work out. I knew that my Dr. was going to restrict my travel early (no more than 4-6 hrs from B'ham as of 20 weeks---that's the last week of December!) and that my opportunities to go see Eden were passing quickly! I called Dr. Banks' office and asked the nurse when I should go out there (I feel like I might have already posted about this--sorry if I have!) and she said before 16 weeks... so I went ahead and booked ASAP! I do know that I told y'all that I got to use all miles so I paid $0.00 for the plane trip! YAY! PRAISE THE LORD! I made it out there at 12.5 weeks, save and sound. Bless Eden's heart. She came to get me at the airport at 10:45pm (CA time---12:45am AL time!) in all of her tired, preggo glory. We got back to the house, she gave me a quick tour, and we hit the sack. The next AM, I woke up around 5:30am CA time and decided that was a BIT early to head downstairs, and forced myself to just lay there and snooze for a while. An hour or two later, I headed downstairs and saw that face I'd missed kissing for months...Wyatt!!! He's SUCH a doll and has grown up a lot since I last saw his sweet face! Aunt Taylor looooves Wyatt sugar and made sure to get plenty of it that weekend. The first morning, he introduced me to "Buh"(Buck, the dog) and some of his toys. Such a ham. The rest of the day/weekend was spent relaxing, eating, catching up, playing with Wyatt, watching football, and talking babies! For those of you who may not remember, Eden is preggo with #2, Reagan June, who is due Dec. 25th, but will arrive via c-section Dec. 18th. Needless to say, we had a lot to chat about! Eden has done a FAB job decorating their place in CA and is such the Susie Homemaker. She's got it down to an art and manages to keep her house straight, cook almost every meal, have a happy husband, gestate a baby, and care for her 16 month old.... while not losing her mind! She made us some wonderful meals while I was there! (which totally spoiled me) It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so grateful they let me come out to visit! Oh! I also got to try Inn-N-Out for the first time and YUUU--UUUUM! Eden was right! I highly recommend it. Very fresh and cheap!

I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to try to make this short and to the point, but Friday, my mama and I started nursery shopping and found our perfect overstuffed (Josh-approved) nursery chair (or for our money and the amount of room we have haha) at Storkland. My parents are going to buy it for us for Christmas! (Thank you, Mimi and Big Daddy!!!) We've also been talking fabrics, colors, etc... so I'll keep y'all posted as we make progress on that! It was amazing getting to spend such great one-on-one time with my mom. She and I can see each other basically whenever we want b/c we are fortunately in the same city and less than a mile from each other, but life has its demands on our time and that isnt always as often as we'd like. Thank goodness for mother-daughter dates :)

My Aunt Sharon and I went shopping yesterday and got me started on some cute maternity clothes from GAP. Heeding my mother's advice, I'm trying to keep it to a minimum, since I'll apparently be so sick of them at the end of the pregnancy that I never want to see them again. lol...I'm also trying to keep the costs to a minimum and used a 30% off coupon for the 2 items I did purchase and am going to try to shop Old Navy and Target for my other pieces in the future. Aunt Sharon was SO sweet and generous to buy me 2 cute tops that I'm really excited about :) I always enjoy hanging out with her and yesterday was no exception.

So... Over the past few days.. or maybe week, I've started to get a belly! Like I've said before, I am trying not to wish for much of a belly yet b/c I know that the twin belly I'll be growing will be ridiculous and large, but it is nice to finally see some growth going! Josh has been very curious why I haven't gotten one yet b/c he thinks it shouldve already started since there are two in there haha. It's cute. He is still being SUCH a fabulous caretaker and husband through this. I'm very blessed to have him. He's also vvveery understanding (so far) with my buying maternity clothes (he even went back to GAP with me to look for leggings tonight and was very helpful!) and a few gender neutral outfits (on sale) (really pajamas) from Janie and Jack (so cute!!!)... In my defense, those and the onesies I bought in CA that say "Womb Mates" on them are the only thing that I've bought yet, so I think I'm doing ok. Everyone (definitely including me) is getting very anxious to know the sex of the babies. I can't wait to know WHO is in my belly and call them by name! It won't be toooo long... about a month. We're planning to do a dinner with some family at which Josh and I will reveal the babies' sexes in a cute way.... so, stay tuned for that one.

I'll be 14 weeks tomorrow. In the beginning, the pregnancy was going by slowly, but basically ever since we found out it was twins at 8.5 weeks, it has been going by a lot faster. I'll be 14 weeks tomorrow and we'll have 1.5 weeks until our next appointment! Grace and Paige are going with us and I'm excited :) The next day will be one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. Between the blessing of twins and his new job at Verizon that he'll be starting soon, Josh and I have SO much for which to be thankful. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

I hope that you are all well and blessed. I'm off to relax on the couch and watch Brothers and Sisters in a bit. TTFN! (Ta-Ta For Now!)

Baby Update 12 weeks 2 days

both of the babies... Baby B is chillin' and Baby A is doing flips... will be interesting to see if this is a bit of foreshadowing :) haha
Baby B
Baby A flipped on his/her tummy.... and I think fell asleep lol.

I just got back from my 2nd prenatal (12 weeks 2 days pregnant) appointment with my doctor, Dr. Banks, at Brookwood. Because we're having twins, which is considered a high-risk pregnancy, we have a LOT of ultrasounds and got another one today, which was VERY exciting!

They are growing like weeds and I love it! Baby A is measuring 12 weeks 6 days big and Baby B is measuring 13 weeks big (so both essentially 1/2 week ahead) I was so glad to hear that. I'd rather them be on the big side b/c I associate that with healthy and getting plenty of nutrients! They both have strong heart rates of 158.

I am due May 17th, 2010, but with twins, the goal is to get them past 36 weeks, which is considered full-term and will be April 19th. My personal goal, assuming all is healthy and well, is to get them to May...May 3rd will be 38 weeks. It could happen! Sweet Grace and Paige (my sisters) were born at 38 weeks at very a healthy 7 lbs a piece! whew! Dr. Banks is very hopeful, too.

Both of my parents got to come with Josh and me this time, so that was very special! My next appointment is the day before Thanksgiving, and boy, do Josh and I have MUCH for which to be thankful this year! Josh has also recently had some job interviews and a few offers. What a beautifully answered prayer. God is so so good to us. It humbles me.

Oh yeah! It's looking like our gender appointment will be approx DEC 16th! Can't wait!

Hope you're all well and blessed.