Life since the end of August

Well, clearly this will probably be a (very) long post. I hope that you can hang in there until the end :)

Before I get started, I wanted to share with you how twins are made, in case there were any qustions...Ha ha :) My mom sent that to me last night and I thought it was too cute.
Ok... so, let's see.... You may remember from a previous post that we went to the lake in August with our friends the Byingtons, Cowarts, and Schaefers. It was so much fun and we were excited b/c it was one of the last weekends before we started our new journey together as a couple :)
The next weekend, we had our Sunday School Social at the Nicholson house, where we played Battle of the Sexes with rousing games of Taboo and a trivia game. The boys won. We let them.... of course ;o)At this point, Josh and I had already given up alcohol and sushi (for him, it was just until I got pregnant)... and I'd already started eating like I was pregnant, just in case I got pregnant didn't know. Plus, I wanted to go ahead and get in the habit, since (hopefully) I'd be doing it for real very soon! This, of course, included milk fats in real ice cream ;) It was the least I could do for my future baby(ies)! Then, Joshy caught the Swine Flu... and apparently growing up at his house, when he was sick, they would bake.... so he made us biscuits from scratch! YUUUUM! Of course, he washed his hands a lot and stuff.
A few days later.... (Sept 2nd) we went to the Dollar General to pick up some pregnancy tests. Even though it was a little early (I hadn't missed anything yet, wink wink), and those tests were not designed to perform that early.... I got a little trigger happy and took one anyway. This is what I got.What? You don't see the line to the right of the dark line???

HA HA HA.... Well, it is there, but it is the FAINTEST line that you will ever see in your life! It was so faint that I called Josh in to look at it. I didn't know if I was just imagining one there because I wanted it to be there so much. He saw it, too. (Thank goodness, I wasn't losing my mind.) Little did we know that my ability to put a line on that test 5 days before my missed period meant that there were LOTS of hormones in there b/c there were 2 babies! I actually mentioned that little fact to Josh at the time, but then we both just chalked it up to the test just doing its job and detecting the pregnancy hormone. Either way, that line was not enough for us.... so we took my $5 off $20 purchase and $3 CVS coupons and bought some digital tests. No more guesswork! THIS is what we saw.... :)...and this is what we did. Josh was SO proud. I was so relieved and grateful! I still couldn't believe that I wasI'd waited for this my whole life!!!...and it was finally here :) So, that weekend, we went to the lake with my family and told them the good news. They were a little caught off guard b/c they did not even know we were trying, but excited nonetheless! Some of my extended family was down there (including baby Braegan -see pic) and it was really hard to not tell them yet! (We wanted to wait until we'd gone to the doctor and heard that everything was ok, first.) A week or so later, Josh's mom came to town and we told her. She was thrilled! (She bought some sparkling grape juice to celebrate.) Then, we called Josh's dad and he was so excited, and actually said he'd had a dream a few nights ago that I was pregnant. Crazy!A week or so later, Aunt Grace sent Baby G a package! What a great surprise! It was a pair of boy socks, a pair of girl socks, and a set of winnie the pooh pacies. She also wrote him/her a sweet note. Aunt Grace was calling Baby G "Gentilly" at that point because it was the size of a lentil.The next week, I took a belly pic or 2... at 7 weeks, for a comparison picture for future belly pics....(sorry, I was a little bloated!) haha...A week or so later... we found out there were 2 BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!That afternoon we called many friends and family, and the next Sunday, we told our Sunday School class and then posted it on Fbook/the blog! That Sunday afternoon, Joshy G had his first Cyclocross race.... in the mud! Everyone got nasty dirty. Some people even had to get off their bikes and pull mud out of their spokes b/c they couldn't go anymore!
The next weekend, we went to Vanderbilt Homecoming and my 5 year reunion! It was so much fun and the twins were the hot topic of the weekend! The week we got back from the reunion, my friend (from freshman hall!) Krista (far left in bottom pic) shared the news that she, too, is pregnant and due May 24th! They couldn't get an appointment before Homecoming and wanted to go to make sure everything was OK before spreading the word. I knew it was such a hard secret to keep at Homecoming! They did a great job.
Then, this past weekend, we went to Atlanta for a surprise party for my BFF Joy's husband, Luke! He had an awesome cake! Earlier in the week, Joy's long time friend, Cheryl, asked if we'd mind picking them up at the ATL airport on the way to the party. It worked out PERFECTLY and we really enjoyed the company and getting to hang out with them that night. She had her little boy, Griffin, with her....and boy is he precious! Cheryl is pregnant with her 2nd baby and is due around June 13th! Needless to say, we had PLENTY to talk about! :) Her husband, Dave, is seriously one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. The group "Fresh and Gentle" gave a special performance for us.... (It's Luke and Mike D, who happens to be lead singer for the Christian band, 10th Avenue North--they are awesome.) The raps they did were some they made up years ago when they were roomies and were so funny!
Sorry to disappoint.... Here I am at Joy's house Sunday AM right at 11 weeks.... Still no belly.... maybe a remoooote protrusion compared to the old pics. (Maybe). Although, when I lie down, I can definitely feel the one that is coming and Josh says he can see a tiny one when I hold my shirt up....and my pants are getting a little tight haha.... I've started unbuttoning them when I sit down... even in class. (gasp!) Don't worry... I'm not rushing a belly, because, with twins, there will be PLENTY of belly before we know it... more than enough! No belly, however, as you might see, my (bra) cup runneth OVER! I had to get a new bra by about oh... 6ish weeks.... going from a DD to a DDD. No lie. I fear for the boobs to come....and pray I won't suffocate my babies come Springtime. ;o)

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your prayers, excitement, and well-wishes! We have been so so touched by all of your responses here, face-to-face, and on facebook. Thank you! Everything is still going really well, and I'm feeling well (with yucky moments here and there) and grateful for it b/c I've heard horror stories about how horrible it could be. Praise the Lord! We have our next appointment on Wednesday, Nov 4th (12.5 weeks) and have invited my Mama to join us. From what I understand, we should be getting another ultrasound at this appointment, so I'll definitely be posting those! I cannot wait to see the babies. They were the size of grapes the last time and this time they'll be limes! Hope y'all are doing well!

xoxo Mama Tay

PS. Other exciting news: Today, I booked a plane ticket for next weekend to go see my BFF, Eden, who is about to pop with Baby Reagan! I haven't see her since this Summer sometime and won't get to see her again for months, due to my very early travel restrictions b/c of the twins. The doctor and I had discussed a possible trip with my family after Christmas (Id be 20 weeks) and he said he wanted me no more than 4-6 hrs from B'ham.... so, I called last week to ask the nurse what their thoughts on travel before 20 weeks was, and she said that my trip to CA would need to be before 16 weeks! Goodness... All of that to say, I'm going next Thursday and just so excited :) Because of our living situations, I've never gotten to see Eden THIS pregnant, so I'm pumped for that mega belly. She claims she is bigger now than she was with Wyatt at this time. I love a good belly! Plus, I've just been missing her. It's hard to constantly keep up with each other on the computer and phone minutes run out quickly.... not to mention the 2 hr time differnce. Can't wait for some one-on-one! Woohoo!!! AND I'll get some Wyatt loving!!! Oh yeah.. I forgot the 2nd best part: I had enough miles to get my flight (which was $500+ expensive) completely FREE!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! He knew... He just knew :)

I PROMISE!

I PROMISE I will do a new post ASAP! I was planning on doing one tonight, but I have a sinus headache that is putting me to bed soon... I'm hoping for tomorrow to be the day to post. I have lots of pictures to update with....once that I've saved since we found out we were pregnant!

Seeing double!!!

I am SO glad to finally be able to tell y'all that I am about 9 weeks pregnant and due on May 17th. AND.... We have known that I was pregnant since the beginning of September, but we just found out Wednesday morning that Josh and I are having TWINS! We started trying in August and I was on my knees before the Lord multiple times a day asking for His perfect will and timing with getting pregnant... and to guard our hearts in the process, should it not happen right away. We were so blessed that it did! We originally wanted to wait a few more weeks, but we couldn't wait any longer once we found out there were two!

We went in Wednesday for our first appointment at 8 weeks. For the few weeks leading up to the appointment, Josh had been having a strange feeling that it might be twins. Who knew daddies had such great intuition, too? :) As we looked at the screen, all that was important to me was hearing that everything looked great, seeing a baby in there in the first place (i know that sounds crazy, but i kind of needed that to really seal the deal that it was real!) and to see it's little heart beat. It was nuts because I've seen an ultrasound with twins in it before, but for some reason, when those 2 black sacks popped up on the screen, it did not occur to me that it was twins lol... (preggo brain already?) I was just desperately searching for what is now known as Baby B in his/her little sack. Once I saw him/her, I felt so much better. The precious ultrasound lady said everything looked great and then showed us the 2nd baby because "IT'S TWINS!!!". LOL.... Josh's legs went numb and he went to sit on the floor by the door. I started laughing and crying both tears of joy and tears of laughter because apparently I thought it was HILARIOUS! I told Josh to "quit being so dramatic and come look" lol... He did, and we just watched our BABIES' heart beats and were told exactly what I needed to hear: "Everything looked GREAT." PRAISE OUR SWEET LORD! Next, we were moved to the waiting room for our appointment where I looked at our ultrasound misty-eyed.... which turned into alligator tears as the magnitude hit me. I was so so so happy for those babies. I did cry out of being a little overwhelmed though... "Joshhhhh..... if it's 2 girls, then that's 2 weeeeeddings...... and two colllllegggess..... and NO ONE IS GOING TO WANT TO BABYSSIIIIIIT" booo hooo... lol.... I got my act together and laughed with Josh's response that Yes.... but we will only be buying them ONE car. lol... I said, "Fair enough." Dr. Banks met us in one of the exams rooms, where Josh had already called his parents---they were thrilled...and caught off guard haha... and we were escorted to his office. I felt so special :) He was ecstatic about our "spontaneous twins!!!" and was ready to tell us all about the process. Josh could only stay a few minutes b/c we (or I) was silly and made the appointment way too close to one of his boot camp times and, with it being our first appointment, we did not realize how long it might take. We will definitely know next time. :) After Josh left, Dr. Banks answered questions, gave me a quick schpeal of the next 31.5 weeks, and just rejoiced over the babies. Next, I went to get my blood drawn, where I called my sisters to share the good news. After I got off of the phone, another lady waiting said, "Oh! You're the one having twins!?" lol.... (I didn't realize that we'd reached celebrity in the 1hr + that we'd been there haha)... Yes that's us! Apparently she knew b/c she was the appointment after my meeting with Dr. Banks and he apologized for taking so long and gushed about the twins. I'm thrilled that he is so excited about these babies. He'll be an excellent doctor to be welcoming into the world... with JOY. :) After getting my blood drawn, I set up our next appointment for November 4th, and headed to my parents' house to show my mom "my ultrasound." My Aunt Sharon was there and they were beside themselves. Actually, my Aunt Sharon is the most excited about these babies of anyone. They are going to be extremely loved and I am incredibly grateful. Since then, we've been making some calls and slowly spreading the news.

Please forgive me if you should've gotten a call and had to find out here or on Facebook. I am really sorry. Life has been a whirlwind since Wednesday, and I've been doing the best that I can on calling people. Since twins are considered full-term at 36 weeks, the plan is to carry them as long as they can stay in to give them the greatest chance of being as healthy as possible! Fortunately, my mom opted to have a c-section at 38 weeks with my sisters (both 7 lbs a piece!) and said she could've gone longer, but her dr was going to be out of town and she since she worked at Brookwood, she knew she didn't like the dr that was on-call the next week. Haha. She went ahead and let them take them at 38 weeks. So, that's encouraging.

God is so good to us and we're thrilled and honored that He feels we're capable to handle and raise His two babies! Please pray for us and this incredible (albeit overwhelming) journey that we're about to take with Him and each other. We are on our knees for healthy, happy babies (and mama!), regardless of what their sexes should be. (Which we will find out around Christmas time. We will definitely be telling their sexes and names--once we choose them!) I do not want to wish away my pregnancy, because I am actually enjoying being pregnant so far, but am also fantasizing about all of that sweet neck sugar and sweet meat that I will be kissing by May 17th. Thanks for sharing in our joy.

Please also keep daddy Josh in your prayers as well, if you don't mind. He is desperately searching for a new job and more training clients to support his brood so mama can stay home :)...and not have to pay for 2x the day care! :)

-- "I prayed for [these children], and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."
1 Samuel 1:27

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Eph 3:20

Here are our first pictures of Baby A and Baby B... they look like gummy bears right now and are about the size of grapes haha. The ultrasound lady said that everything looked GREAT and we got to see their sweet little heart beats: strong at 162 and 169.
On the top is Baby B. The white circle is his/her yolk sack that is a source of nourishment. I guess Baby A's sack is hiding.
On the bottom is Baby A. This is a great shot and looks most like a baby out of all of our ultrasound pictures. We are so so blessed!

Gamble life.

So... lately, we haven't been up to a TON, but I wanted to post anyways b/c it'd been a while. Josh and I are doing really well. This weekend, we are actually keeping sweet Elsie Marie Brannon while my parents are out of town. She's been a delight and I'm so proud of my sweet Miley for sharing her pup-mom, pup-dad, water bowl, etc. with Elsie with such a sweet and cheerful heart. Makes a pup-mama proud :o) As you might remember from a previous post, Elsie is here post-surgery to have a 2.5 lb tumor removed and she seems like she's back to feeling great! What a relief. She "talks" to me and runs outside to go potty, etc. Needless to say, she wasn't very chatty or into running when she had that tumor in her!

Lately, we've also been spending a good bit of time with my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Ira. There's really no specific reason as to why other than enjoying their company just hanging out at their house and talking about wedding stuff--- My cousin Rachel got engaged a few weekends ago up in NYC on the Brooklyn Bridge! Her new fiance' Chris (such a sweetheart) did a wonderful job planning the trip and getting friends and family to come up to surprise Rachel with a post-engagement gathering. As a PR (public relations) gal, Rachel loves a good party, so it was very thoughtful of Chris to speak to her heart that way. BTW the ring is absolutely beautiful with diamonds in the band and a round solitaire diamond. (Great job, Chris!) Last weekend, my cousin Rachel came to town to do wedding stuff with my aunt. They got some vendors nailed down and I'm HONORED that she has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. She and I have not only been cousins, but friends for a long time, visiting each other in college and now we'll both have been in each others' weddings. When we were little, Rachel even gave me one of those best friends necklaces where we each wore one half. Now that she's finally settled somewhere a little closer to home, I am looking forward to visiting her more often and getting back to close friends again, especially now that we'll both be old married ladies :o) It will be fun to chat about our hubbies and married life. I know that she has made a lot of close friends over the years in the various cities in which she has lived (Birmingham, AL (hometown); NYC, NY (worked after undergrad); Lexington, VA (undergrad) ; Athens, GA (Grad school) ; and Nashville, TN (now as an adult). It means a lot to me to have been asked. I hope that she really knows that. From what I know of Rachel's taste and the details about the wedding so far, it is going to be a gorgeous celebration next Fall! Can't wait, Rachie!

Hmm... Josh recently interviewed for a new job. Without going into detail (I'll post more if he gets the job), I'd really appreciate it if you'd all take a minute (or more) to pray for us and Josh's job situation. He is planning to keep training on the side, so please keep spreading the word, but will have another main job that will hopefully be better able to provide for us. Thank you for your prayers!

I guess that's it, for now. Hopefully we'll have some good news to report on Josh's job situation soon. Have a great Saturday, Y'all!