Huge Babies!!

Just a quick update for all of you! We had another doctors appointment and ultrasound yesterday. It went very well and the babies are looking wonderful! They estimated our little boys weight at 5 lbs 4 oz (HUGE) and our little girls at 3 lbs 12 oz (right on track). We were very surprised but happy by both of their weights. He is measuring in the 88% for weight and she is in the 45% for weight for 31 weeks.
Our little girl is still head down and ready to come out but our little boy decided that being head up is more fun. We are hoping that he decides to turn head down soon because a c-section is not the way that we were hoping to go. So you can all be praying that somehow he finds a way to turn head down.
I continue to be more dilated at every appointment lately but they seem to be hopeful for a few more weeks. Thank you again for all your prayers. We are excited for some September babies and anxious to meet them when it's time.

Mr. Hygiene!

It seems to have been a while since we have posted any bath time pictures. I do promise that we have been bathing him since then and not just calling his play time outside with bubbles a bath! For a while bath time was not a happy time in our house, but I believe we have turned over a new leaf and gotten past the terror of bathing. Something that helps us greatly is a tooth brush. I have never met anyone who likes to brush their teeth more than Quinn. And of course it is not with his cute little tooth brush that I got him but with a big tooth brush like mom and dad. He is pretty funny and any time he sees his tooth brush or finds a picture of one in a book, he desperately wants to brush his teeth. Hopefully he will hang on to these good habits and teach them to his brother and sister!

Tomorrow we will have made it 5 weeks on bed rest, an accomplishment that I never thought possible but we are still trucking along! We have an ultrasound on Thursday and we are anxiously awaiting to hear how big these two babies are. Dan and I are making bets and whoever wins gets to pick where we order food from for a date night! She was estimated at 2 lbs 7 oz and he was 3 lbs 7 oz at our last ultrasound which will have been three weeks ago tomorrow so if you care to join our date night please offer up your bets on how much they weigh! We are hoping that they continue to measure big!
Quinton has gotten a little practice being around babies since I have been on bed rest. We have had some great friends helping us out and many of them have babies only a couple of months old. We are working on touching babies gently and not stealing their pacifiers, I'm pretty sure that Quinn has tried out the pacifiers of all the babies that come over. He is just making sure they work right! I think he will be a great big brother and a good helper!

Check out Quinn's nice farmers tan! This boy sure does love the outdoors!

Mr. Messy!

Quinton sure has enjoyed me being on bed rest! People bring us cookies, Nana and Papa come to visit and Nana makes delicious meals every night. I don't think that he is suffering at all! He thoroughly enjoyed Nana's ribs and even dipped the bones in bbq sauce and ranch dressing as dessert!

I just thought these pictures were too funny!

Quinn is thinking " My goodness my Nana is a goooooood cook!"Enjoying a chocolate chip cookie made by a friend of ours!Once again we were so blessed to have my parents come and chase Quinton around for a couple of days for us. It is always such a comfort to Dan and I knowing that Quinn is in good hands and being well taken care of. We have really enjoyed their company and their help. It is weird to think that the next time we see them will be when these babies arrive.

Not only did they make cook delicous meals, they also took tips from Aunt Kelly and brought sour gummy worms for Quinton. I do not think that Quinton was lacking in love, attention, playmates or food while they were visiting. Dan and I are truly thankful for all of their help and the help of so many of our friends and family here in Des Moines!

He would get this huge smile on his face every time he would get a gummy worm.

Nana and Papa took Quinton on many adventures outside and played in the hose with him.

Now I know where Quinn learns all his new tricks from. Nana trying to teach him to role his tongue... it resulted in more like just sticking out his tongue but oh well!At the ParkLearning new things

Overall I think that Papa had just as much fun with all Quinton's toys as Quinn did.

Building a huge tower for Quinn to knock over!

Tuesday will be 4 weeks on bed rest for me. I am happy to say that looking back it has gone by significantly faster than I was thinking it would, but the road ahead still looks long to me. Our doctors are so pleased with how we are doing and how long these babies have stayed inside especially with such an early scare. They seem to still be growing and getting bigger... well at least I am getting bigger so I assume they are getting bigger too. Plus I keep getting kicked harder and harder! I will say though that feeling the chaos in my belly (especially with two) is my favorite part about being pregnant. It is this secret thing going on that no one else knows about. I just love it!

We are truly a blessed family of five. We just cannot wait to meet these two little ones. Continue to keep us in your prayers! We really would like to bring these two babies home from the hospital with us right away... No NICU please!! I also cannot wait to be able to pick Quinton up again. We are realizing that "normal life" as we knew a month ago will never happen again but we anxiously await the arrival of our twins so we can start our new "normal" life and start a new adventure. It is such an exciting time for us! We are looking forward to 3 times the mess and 3 times the faces to clean ribs and cookies off of (we are not planning on starting the twins on ribs and cookies but hopefully they will get there) and we are looking forward to 3 times the joy. Thank you for all your love and support!

Fun with Daddy!

Another week gone by and we are all hanging in there. Quinton continues to be a go with the flow little boy but sure does LOVE when his dad comes home. Quinn had quite a busy week with shaving and playing with soap bubbles. Dan is always full of good ideas when it comes to entertaining Quinton. Who knew that an old plastic drawer, a little bit of dawn dish soap and a hose could lead to so much fun... and so many bubbles. My boys had a blast and they both got clean in the process. They even scrubbed Dan's shoes clean while playing (productive and fun).

Just having a good time!

Helping Daddy put some bubbles on his head!

This is a new thing for Quinn but whenever something "bad" happens... like he kicks the ball into the bushes or a toy is under the couch or he drops his cup from his high chair... you know those kind of "bad" things, he throws his hands on his head and says "Oh No" I am pretty sure that his Nana and Dad taught him that but it is pretty funny!

Here are a few videos of our future Soccer Star!! I am actually pretty impressed with Quinton's ability to kick the ball multiple times. We have already sent these videos to soccer scouts, we think he is a natural!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAt3NdGgom4

Sorry this is sideways I always forget when I'm taking videos. Check out the ''Oh No'' at the end of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4UJL9ENUDk

A little more practice at shaving with Dad. By the time Quinton has facial hair he is going to be a pro! (Quinn is proudly supporting his Papa and Nana's Razorbacks!)

Taking a break for resting to watch my boys play outside. 28 weeks and already significantly bigger than I was with Quinton when he was born... but thrilled that these two are still inside!!

We are now officially past the 28 week mark with these crazy twins. We are so happy to have made it this far. Doctors have told us that 90% of babies born after 28 week have little to no long term health problems which is a huge relief. But we are still hoping to keep them inside as long as possible! Overall things are looking great. I sure wish I could be a little more in charge of my own life but as I am reminded daily it is only a season. We continue to be blessed by our many friends and family who are so generous with their time and are delighted to run after Quinton for us. Thank you for all your love and support! We are a very blessed family of 5!

BIG Babies!!

Just wanted to let you all know that our ultrasound went great today! The babies are BIG and fabulous (not that we ever doubted that)! They estimated her at 2 lbs 7 oz and him at 3 lbs 7 oz. The Doctor laughed and said that they were growing like single babies and they were very pleased with their growth. They said that she looked right on track for 28 weeks (which is what we will be tomorrow) and he looks like a 30 week old baby. She is head down and kind of scrunched at the bottom of my uterus and he is totally stretched out, his legs were completely straight at the top of my uterus. It is always so fun to see them moving around. They were practicing breathing a lot which is great. So everything looks well in terms of the babies and we are so thankful.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Keep praying, especially that my cervix will hold as they keep getting bigger. Praise the Lord for Big Babies!!

My Boy Brings Me Joy!

What a joy Quinton is! Obviously lying down is not the ideal situation but I will say that being home and being able to watch Quinton play and laugh, brush his teeth, read a book, eat bubbles and be "Destructo Boy" as his Papa calls him, brings me so much joy. I do however think that he is a little confused why there are ALWAYS people around, why I can't pick him up and why I can't play with him. But I am reminded daily that he will not remember this and that as soon as I can do all those things again he will be normal again. I do suppose it is good practice for him as he gets used to not having all of his mom's attention because I think when these babies come my attention might not all be on him. Overall though, Quinton has been quite a wonderful boy and is learning to go with the flow.

Quinn does however LOVE his Nana and Papa and seems to have no trouble adjusting to them being around. My parents were a tremendous blessing to Dan and I am came to Des Moines for a week to help us take care of Quinton. I think Quinn exhausted them every day but I think everyone enjoyed them being here. They helped us cross many things off our "to-do list" and cleaned and cooked and did laundry and took very good care of all of us. They will be back in Des Moines on the 12th for a couple of days to run after "Destructo Boy" again for us. They are such a blessing to Dan and I and Quinton seems right at home with them. He did get very spoiled with lots of popsicles and walks to the ice cream shop, no wonder he likes his Nana and Papa so much!

Quinton enjoyed his new play place on our screened in porch. Papa and Dan put up some lattice on the lower portion of the screens so that Quinton could not push through the screens and fall. Quinton was serenading us while we sat on the porch!

My sister Kelly sent me a bedrest care package that included some sour worms. I am always amazed at how sharp kids are. Quinton has never seen this kind of candy before but he knew right away that it was food and showed his little smile and said please please please... so I gave him one...

The Boy could not get enough of the sour worms.. I only gave him a few but he was so goofy about them and so so excited to eat them. Thank you Aunt Kelly for helping me keep my spot in Quinton's heart with some sour gummy worms!!

Eating sour worms with Daddy! Life doesn't get much better than this!

Taking a nap with Daddy. My two precious boys!

We truly have been blessed by all of your prayers and emails. We are now 27.5 weeks along (I have to throw in the .5 because every day on bedrest is a huge accomplishment!). The Doctors told us that 28 weeks is a huge accomplishment so we are looking forward to checking off a few more days. We have another ultrasound on Tuesday and we are anxious to see how the babies are growing and get an estimate on how much they weigh and then another Doctor on Thursday. I am pretty excited about both of them because it means I get to get out of the house and look around!! I might even make Dan take me for ice cream or something after an appointment! We are so thankful though for how things are going. We are glad that I have not progressed any further. We are learning to go about life a little differently these days but things seem to overall be running smoothly. The doctor even told me if I make it to 32 weeks and have not progressed any further they might give me a little freedom on my feet and if I make it to 34 weeks I might get to run an errand!!!! We also would get two more steriod shots for the babies at 32 weeks. So we have lots to strive for... but still one day at a time is enough for me to tackle!

We have been overwhelmed by the amount of people stepping up to help us and to run after Quinn. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends who just want to help. It brings tears to my eyes so often just thinking about how blessed this crazy Rude family of five is. Thank you all for your continued love and support. These babies are pretty lucky to be loved by so many people even before they take their first breath. Keep Praying!!!