Our Growing Babies

They'll always be my babies, that's for sure, but they are definitely not babies anymore. Just this week Meredith has begun sleeping with no pull-up at nap time and has had no problem staying dry. Berkley isn't there yet, but I'm hoping big sister will encourage him to get on that train soon. Also this week Meredith has begun completely undressing and redressing herself, even down to her socks and shoes. Meredith even likes to pick out her own clothes, which means she doesn't always match, but she's always cute and proud. I can't believe she's meeting these milestones and I know Berkley will soon follow. Wow! They're going to seem so grown when Elizabeth arrives. Also in the last two weeks they have started sleeping in together at night. It varies from night to night whose room they are in, but they want to be together. It all started with Sandy coming through, they were scared of the wind and rain, and they haven't wanted to be apart since. it can be inconvenient because Steven and I tend to have to go upstairs more often to settle them down, but I love that they want to be together.

And here is a picture of them in their Halloween costumes. Sadly, all my pics from that night were deleted when my phone crashed, but I had emailed this one to some family and was able to retrieve it. They were the CUTEST Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood ever!

My Larry Pup

Not all the news in our family this week is about my biological babies, I also want to share about my firstborn, my Larry pup. I LOVE my dog Larry! He will be 9 years old this spring and I've been in denial that for him, that means he's in his early senior years. He has always been young and spry in his behavior and appearance. But, sadly he is experiencing his first senior health condition. Larry has been diagnosed with Horner's syndrome, which is also a condition that humans can have. It's a nerve condition in his face and similar in a way to Bell's palsy. His lip is sagging and he can't close his right eye, it looks like he's had a stroke. The eye condition means he needs eye drops throughout the day and his eye gets gunky and the sagging lip makes him excessively drooly. Thankfully there is hope that he could be back to normal within 4 months, but i just wish I could know how/why this happened to prevent it from happening again. Having to wipe his eyes and face has just confirmed to me how much I love him and how much he means to our family because I haven't minded it a bit. We love you Larry! Here's a pic of his affected side, it's not super clear, but you can see the sagging.

Dance Moves

We decided to have a little lunch picnic today and after the twins ate we proceeded to listen to a little Huey Lewis and the News. I think they liked it based on their creative dance moves. If any Jamesville folks were paying attention as they drive by, they certainly got a show.

21 weeks

As of Wednesday, I am 21 weeks along in this pregnancy, which means we're a tad over the halfway mark. I am feeling very well and beginning to get a bit anxious in regards to our preparedness for Elizabeth's arrival. The twins continue to talk about the baby, Berkley in particular calls her "your baby in your tummy." I love to hear them say Elizabeth. My sister's best friend's name is Elizabeth, although she goes by Beth, and she made a comment about the baby's name, saying that my Meredith and baby Elizabeth are destined to be best friends. I hadn't thought about that before and it just affirmed to me that Elizabeth is the perfect name for this little girl. Elizabeth started kicking more strongly in the last week to where Steven could actually feel a couple of kicks, which is exciting to share with him. Can't wait until the twins can feel a kick! Here's a 21 week shot of the baby belly.