Guess who turned 31???

Hint: It's not Dawn!!!

Rikk celebrated his 31st birthday on Monday the 29th. He has not been looking forward to turning 31 or any year older the last couple years! But he made it and he only had a couple new cracks and creeks when he woke up that morning!!! He had to go to work that day so we celebrated it yesterday and the boys couldn't wait!

For his birthday Hunter's gift was that he would be good for ONE WHOLE DAY! Believe me, that's a great gift! Walker's gift was a foot rub, which was a good gift because Rikk LOVES to have his feet rubbed. Kyler's gift was a back rub, which really just ended up being him jumping on Rikk's back a couple times while Rikk was lying on the floor. I was surprised I didn't have to take him to the hospital after that...Kyler is not small you know!

Rikk's one request was that the boys decorate his cake (Rikk decorates ALL birthday cakes in our house and does great). He told the boys to do whatever they wanted to it, so we split it up into sections and they had a good time. Here is the masterpiece they made:

In case it isn't obvious to you (wink-wink), Hunter drew a Ben 10 Omnitrix, Walker drew Caillou and Kyler drew a picture of Rikk!

Rikk and his cake (Walker is the photographer for all these pictures)

Rikk in DEEP thought for his wish

He was posed like this for about a good minute waiting for Walker to take the picture.

Blowing out his candles...he wouldn't let us put on 31!

We love you Rikk/Dad and are very proud of you and all your accomplishments. You are such a good example. We love playing with you and spending time with you. We hate it when you have to go to work. We wish you could stay home everyday, but know your job is important and that you are REALLY good at it. Thanks for all that you do for us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Some GOOD News!

We found out that Rikk will be able to go to Anchorage with me and that the military will pay for it...HOORAY!!! We are so happy. I am so glad to know that if we were to receive any bad news and if we are able to find out the sexes of the babies that he will be there with me. We have our appointment on the 13th of January.

Side note: My doctor changed my due date to June 18th, a week earlier because the babies are measuring a week further along. Here is my question...since I now have an earlier due date and the babies are measuring 15w4d, shouldn't that mean that I am 15w4d? I know, a pretty stupid question, but I forgot to ask my doctor about it at my last appointment...she had me thinking about other things like only one placenta! But if I am then 15w4d, that means that I will be just shy of 18 weeks when we go to Anchorage, so they should be able to tell us the sexes of the twins as long as they cooperate. YAY!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve for us holds a few traditions. Growing up in my family we always opened up a present marked with a star by our name. Every year it was the same thing...pajamas! And every year my parents played dumb and acted like they had no idea what we were going to open up! We would all have to put on our pajamas, do a little fashion show, and then get our picture taken. We never knew what we were going to get for Christmas, but we could ALWAYS count on new pajamas! After the picture was taken we would then load up in the van with our pillows, blankets and a candy cane from the Christmas tree and go drive around to look at Christmas lights. We would also have Christmas music playing...who could forget listening to "A Barry Manilow Christmas" cassette tape!!!

Well Christmas Eve in our house is pretty much the same. We all open up our one gift...pajamas, imagine that! They get put on and a picture taken. Then the kids grab their pillows, blankets, and a candy cane and we load up into the Yukon to go and look at Christmas lights. We even stopped at the corner coffee shack and got hot chocolate this year! There weren't very many lights in our area so we decided to head to Fairbanks to say hi to Nana and Papa and to check out the lights I used to go look at when I was little. Much to our dismay, there were hardly any lights on display this year. But Kyler made sure we did not miss them. EVERY time he saw lights he would yell as loud as he could in his little helium voice, "CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!" We would get to laughing so hard, that we actually looked forward to him yelling!

We then came back to the house and had some eggnog ice cream and Rikk read us, "Alaskan Night Before Christmas" instead of our usual, "Night Before Christmas". The boys thought it was really neat because it was about caribou and everything Alaskan. They then left out some cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeer, then it was off to bed with them and more wrapping for me.

Walker got snowmen, Hunter got plaid and Kyler got monkeys with candy canes!

Visit with Santa

We took the kids to see Santa this year and we were really not looking forward to it. The reason being is because Hunter usually stands across the room and yells to Santa what he wants because for some reason he has always been afraid of Santa and Kyler and Walker are usually crying hysterically because they don't want to sit with or be anywhere near Santa. But the kids have been begging to see Santa this year, so we went and waited 30 minutes for our turn. This was what happened when it was finally their turn...

They were ALL happy!!!

Walker JUMPED right onto his lap.

Kyler only cried because he had to get down!

Hunter said he wasn't afraid, eventhough he kinda looks it!

Hunter and the big Polar Bear

Appointments All Around

I had to take Hunter and Walker in to the doctor's on Friday for this croup/congestion thing that we have had since before Thanksgiving. The doctor said I wasn't a hypochondriac, which made me feel good, that they shouldn't be soo sick soo often. She decided to put them on two different types of inhalers...one for everyday use twice a day and another if they get into a coughing fit and can't stop. Plus they got saline drops for their noses which Walker just LOVES...no he doesn't, he really HATES it! They will be on the inhalers for a few months. All the kids are premies, but Hunter and Walker should have outgrown getting sick so easily, their immune systems should have strengthened up by now, but the doctor says that they apparently haven't and sometimes that happens. They are starting to sound better and you can tell Walker is feeling better because he is starting to cause trouble! We will all be happy when they are better!

We had another appointment for the twins this last week. I am not really sure how much I like my doctor. She does a lot of speaking without thinking it seems to me..."The baby on the left is moving as much, let's check them out...oh, they're fine. It doesn't look like the is enough amniotic fluid with that baby...oh, there is." and things like that. I asked the other high risk doctor about mine and he seems to have every confidence in her and he is deploying in a couple months, so I am stuck with her.

But the report from FMH says that the dividing membrane that makes the babies in their own sacks is VERY, VERY thin. When this happens it usually means that the babies share one placenta. My doctor looked around thinks that they is only one placenta which isn't horrible, but it definitely is NOT great news. These kind of twins are called monochorionic diamniotic (mono/di) twins. Basically the just of it is that one baby will steal blood from the other which can/will cause defects in the smaller baby.

Good news is that we get to go to Anchorage to have an ultrasound on January 13th with a perinatologist to make sure everything is okay with the babies and to see if they do in fact share a placenta or each have their own. We will also hopefully be able to find out the sexes of them as well. I will be just shy of 17 weeks, so we will see how willing they will be to display what they got!!! Bad news is that the military as of right now won't pay for Rikk to go with me. He will be calling them tomorrow to try and get it all worked out, but we will see. If they won't pay for him to go, he says he will just buy his own ticket to go. He doesn't want me to be there by myself in case they possibly see something wrong. Plus, we both want to be present when we find out the sexes.

So, that is our update. I luckily don't have another appointment with my doctor until January 12th...I had four in the last 5 weeks. We will keep you posted on how things are going.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!

After WEEKS of begging us to put up the Christmas tree, we finally got it done the other night and the kids couldn't have been happier. It was a lot of fun and the boys had such a great time. Walker was disappointed the next morning when Santa hadn't come, but now realizes that there are still a few more days until Santa comes.

The Napping/Lounging Chair

I love how Walker's belly button is showing!

Kyler seriously sleeps like this all the time!

We purchased some new furniture and I will post more pictures on that later. The one piece that seems to have become the napping/lounging place is the chair. The kids constantly fight over who gets to lay there, who was laying there first, etc!

Twins Update and Good News!!!

This last week has been a little bit stressful. On Tuesday we went into the doctor and I got to have another ultrasound. I get to have one at EVERY appointment! That's really nice because in EVERY room they have a sign posted that reads, "Ultrasounds are not for gender identification, but for serious medical purposes." Now at every visit I can just say, "If you happen to notice any gender parts, please feel free to point them out and let us know." But back to my appointment. The doctor did an ultrasound and said that she didn't see two separate sacks for the babies, that they appeared to be in the same sack. NOT GOOD. She also said that she isn't a ultrasound tech, but she just didn't see two, and we should know for sure Thursday when we go to FMH for an ultrasound. She then went on to explain what would more than likely happen during my pregnancy...like more than likely having to be hospitalized from 24 weeks on down in Anchorage (FMH doesn't accept TRICARE) and that the risk for them to be delivered even earlier was there. The reason being is because the mortality rate for twins like this is only 50% because of the risk of entanglement. The only news that Rikk found good at this appointment was that he will be allowed to give me my weekly shot of progesterone(sp?) from probably 14 weeks on and it HAS to be in the bum! He is going to be getting too much pleasure out of this I think! I can just see it..."Okay, are you ready? Alright here I go....just kidding!" and him laughing while I wait for it!

So we went and had our ultrasound at FMH yesterday and the tech took all kinds of pictures before the doctor came in. The doc looked at the pics and they did some more and he said that he only saw one sack. I got a little sick to my stomach. The doc said if they are in the same sack then they will be identical twins. Then the tech and the doc both went "oh" and pointed at the screen. The doc then said that he would put money on baby A being a boy. They turned the screen and he pointed out two little legs and a little peterbug. Okay, that means two boys! Rikk was excited. The doctor told him that girls aren't bad, that he had two of his own. Rikk asked their ages and the doctor said they were 10 and 7. Rikk said, "Let me know how it goes in five years!" Needless to say, the doctor didn't smile! But there is more!

The doc left and the tech took some more pics and then said, "I think there are two sacks. Let me go and get the doctor really quick." She got the doctor and they came back in and the doctor now says, "Forget everything I told you, except about baby A being a boy. They are in their own sacks, which means that there could be a boy and a girl." They couldn't see any boy parts on baby B or girl parts, so that means there is still a chance that one could be a girl...can you tell I would LOVE a girl! I was 11 weeks yesterday and the babies are measuring at 12 weeks. I am starting to feel a little better (thank you meds!) which is nice. I am still really tired ALL the time, but to be expected. And my tummy is still growing. I will have to take a pic and post it along with the ultrasound pics I got yesterday (I left them at mom and dad's).

Our other good news is...WE GOT OUR EXTENSION!!! We are so happy about this! Our orders will actually say that we can stay through September, which we won't because Hunter will be starting school before then. We also lost our orders to New Mexico. Rikk will submit his dream sheet again and in April we will get a preliminary list of all the bases we could get sent. If one off our dream sheet is on there, we can pretty much bank on going there. If we don't like any of the possibilities, then we were told we could get New Mexico back. So we will have to just wait and see.

Oh and Kyler slept in underwear for the first time last night and only had one little accident. He also got up three times to go potty! We are so proud of him. This morning I said, "Did you get up last night and go to the potty?" And he said, "Yeah, high five mom!" He was so proud of himself too and wanted to call Rikk. What a cute kid!

But that is our good news for the week. And we couldn't have asked for better news. My stress level has gone down quite a bit since yesterday and that of course is great.

Cute thought on twins

So Rikk and my mom were talking about us having twins. Rikk is now okay about it, still freaked out (as I am as well), but okay about it. The thing that made him really okay and finally laugh about it is a theory my mom gave him on why we are probably having twins. To give a little background, Rikk was sure that at four we were done, we were going to have no more. So my mom told him, "You know why you are having twins don't you? It's because there was this fifth little spirit up there waiting. The fifth said to the fourth, 'Dad's not gonna let me come, so I'm coming with you!' That's why you are having twins!" We don't know the reason why, just that it is all a part of our Heavenly Father's plan. But my mom's reason, even though she was joking, sounded good to Rikk and has made him feel a little bit better about everything.

Naming some babies...

We don't have any names picked out yet of course, but there are a couple that I like. All three of our boys end in an "er" so I think that we are going to stick with that if we have a boy or two. For girls, we are undecided if we will try that out or not, but there is one name that I like that ends in an "er".

The two boy names that I like (and wanted to name Kyler...I HATED Kyler's name until he was about a year old!) are Thatcher and Bridger. Rikk HATES Thatcher and isn't the biggest fan of Bridger. For a girls name ending in "er" I like Wynter. I saw it spelled like this in a magazine and that it was cute.

Help us out and give us some suggestions of "er" ending names for both boy and girls. We like unique and original names, but would love to get as many suggestions as possible.

Do You See What We See???

We had our first ultra sound yesterday and thought we would share it with you all. It's not high tech at all, but our's was taken at a military hospital.

Believe me, we were as surprised as the rest of you probably are. We cannot believe that we are going to have TWINS!!! Are you freakin' kidding me?!!! I had to go to my appointment by myself because Rikk had to pick up Hunter from school. The midwife couldn't find the heartbeat using the regular heartbeat things, so she decided to do an ultra sound to hear it and to just take a peak at the baby. We heard the heartbeat and saw the baby. And then the nurse said, "Oh!" I was unsure what that "Oh" meant, so I asked her what. And she said, "There's another baby! Let's see if there are anymore!!!" I said, "Shut up, are you freakin' kidding me?!" I couldn't believe it. There weren't anymore, but that's okay, two was a big enough surprise for me!

I met Rikk at Fred Meyers and Mom was there working. I asked Rikk if he wanted to see the ultra sound. He looked at it and said, "It's a baby." I told him yes, but to really look at it. He looked at it, looked at me, looked at it again, looked at me again and then said, "I better not be seeing what I think I am seeing." Mom waiting VERY patiently said, "What, is it a girl?" I said, "I don't know what we are having, I just know how many we are having." Mom started to yell (not to loud) "Twins, are we having twins?!" Then a combo of Rikk handing mom the ultra sound and mom ripping it from his hands so that mom could see.

Rikk was instantly sick to his stomach, looked like he was going to throw up and pass out at the same time! He has finally come to terms with the fact that this is apparently how things are supposed to go and doesn't look like he's going to throw up or pass out anymore! The thing that is so funny about this is that we have been joking around for about the past month with mom and dad and our friends Derek and Martie that I was going to have twin girls because I am already showing quite a bit and into maternity pants. So, for there to really be twins, it still feels like a joke! And Hunter is happy. He has been praying for twin boys and said he was happy his prayer for twins was answered and wanted to know when we would find out they were boys!

We are excited and scared at the same time. With my kids already coming early and now there being twins, we are quite a bit nervous how things will go. I go in next week to see a Twins Specialist at Bassett (the Army hospital) and then I go to FMH to get a high tech ultra sound to make sure the babies are in the own sack, that there are only two, etc. So I will have a better ultra sound to post next week.

I still don't have an official due date, they say I will get one next week with the ultra sound. I have been given the 19th and 25th of June so far. Yesterday I was 9w 4d, and baby 1 was measuring at 10w 4d and 3.71cm, and baby 2 was measuring at 10w 1d.

Well, that's our exciting news! We will keep you posted on how things are going. CRAZY!! Oh and any advice anyone can give about being pregnant with twins, having twins, etc would be VERY much appreciated!

Friendship Fudge

This fudge recipe is really easy and I think your kids will have a good time making it and squishing the bag.

4 C powdered sugar
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 C butter (stick butter)
1 t vanilla
1/2 C Cocoa powder

You just throw all these into a big ziploc bag and squish, squeeze and mush for about ten minutes and you have fudge. I would suggest transferring it into a baking pan and put in the fridge to let it get a little harder, but it is still tasty right out of the bag. I guess you could even add nuts if you wanted. Let me know if you try it and if your kids liked it! Thanks for the recipe Jenny!

Kindergarten Picture

I really LOVE this picture!!!

Hunter's 6th Birthday Party!

Hunter wanted to wait until Rikk got home from the NCO Academy to have his birthday, even though he knew it would be a while after his actual birthday. He said he couldn't have his birthday party without his "Best Friend" there...how cute is that?!!! We decided this year to have his party out at the Community Center on the base. It has a big play place, a blow up castle and his own room that he picked out with the theme "Fairy Tales". He invited a couple kids from his class and his friend Taylor from down the road (we were missing Maddie!). Why we haven't had birthdays out there before I don't know. It was great...they played, opened presents, ate cake and ice cream and played some more. Oh and of course Rikk made the cake as usual. Hunter wanted Batman the Dark Knight (he just likes the black costume better than the original), so Rikk made it and it was good. Here are some pics from the party...

Doctor's Letter

I had my first appointment out at Bassett yesterday with the high risk doctor, Dr. McWilliams...it was basically just a meet and great and to discuss us getting a letter from him to extend our stay here at Eielson until after we have the baby. At first he didn't seem to into it, but when we explained that we have family here, that we already know that doctors and nurses at Anchorage if something were to happen, etc...he got on board. He wrote us a letter for Rikk's packet to hand into the Commander, so we should be able to stay! The Commander already told Rikk he just needs to get a letter from the doctor and he'll push it through. We have to wait for the "official" okay to stay, but things are looking up and getting this letter is just one less stress for me.

Oh, and I am 8 weeks today! I have gotten two different due dates, three different times, so Dr. McWilliams says to wait until my first actual appointment on the 24th and whatever due date I get then will be my due date for sure. I have gotten June 25th twice and June 19th once. So more than likely, but hopefully not, this little person could come sometime in May or April. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

I know we need to get on here and post Halloween pics and other stuff, but I have had such horrible morning (ALL DAY) sickness that I have let the house go a bit, need to get caught up on the laundry (it's clean, just not folded and put away), I wait to do dinner dishes until the morning, all that fun stuff. Rikk has been nice by picking up on my slack (except the laundry, he couldn't fold laundry to save his life!) and that has been such a great help.

The boys have been really helpful too. The other morning when it was time to get up and get going, Hunter knew I wasn't feeling well and went and got a yogurt for me to eat! When I am throwing up, Kyler is usually trying to shove me out of the way because, "I want to see!" he says! And the other day I had just made Walker and Kyler some Mac & Cheese and had to hurry to the bathroom to throw up. A couple minutes later Walker comes in holding a bowl with some Mac & Cheese in it that he dished up all by himself for me to help me feel better. Made me throw up more, but it was such a sweet thing for him to do. All my boys (that includes Rikk) are all so sweet and loving, especially since they know I am not feeling well.

Family Pictures

We got to see a proof of our family pictures and we LOVE them. If you would like to check them out (which I highly recommend!) just click on the link below. And if you live in the area, I would definitely call Kim and get some pictures taken. Once again Kim, thanks so much for everything. We LOVE the pictures and can't wait to see more!!!

http://portraitsbykimberlylowry.blogspot.com/

Drum Roll Please...

Rikk and I are going to be blessed with a new little spirit joining our family this summer...that's right, we are PREGNANT!!! Rikk has been gone about 8 of the last 10 months so it was bound to happen! We are so happy and excited! The boys (including Rikk) all want to have a boy and as much as I LOVE my boys, I would LOVE to have a little girl! Hunter has actually said that he wants twin boys and Rikk told him to be quiet!

I so far am feeling not to bad. I am VERY tired and VERY nauseous, but have yet to get actually sick, even though Rikk has tried VERY had to make me gag. My sense of smell has become quite strong so that has been pretty bad. I can't stand to open up my fridge...nothing has spoiled, but the smell makes me want to throw up every time I open it.

Rikk has talked with the Base Commander about us extended our stay here and he said that it would be fine, that he just has to fill out the paperwork. He also told Rikk that there is a 50/50 chance that if we extend that we could lose our orders to New Mexico. That is great and bad at the same time. We could get a place that we really want and we could end up some place even worse (for us) than New Mexico. Rikk will talk to his 1st Shirt and get all the information, but I am about 100% sure we will stay.

But that's the new and exciting news for us. More to post later.

Rikk's Back!

Rikk made it home safe and sound on Friday from the NCO Academy at Elmendorf in Anchorage. He graduated on Thursday night , so he left Friday morning. At the graduation he was surprised with winning the "Distinguished Graduate Award" and just couldn't believe it. This award was given to him because of his grades and was also voted on by his classmates and the instructors. Yay Rikk, we are so proud of you!

We are also REALLY, REALLY, REALLY glad to have him home. The boys played with him all day yesterday and today and I even got to take nap...an uninterrupted nap!!! The boys are sad that he has to go to work tomorrow, but know that he won't be gone long. So starting again tomorrow, I will hear all day long, "Is it almost dinner time?" because they know Rikk gets home just before that. We love you Rikk and are glad you are back!

MY BAD!

Last night for dinner I decided that we would have breakfast. The kids LOVE to have breakfast for dinner, so we had scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I had the eggs all cooked, put the bacon in the microwave (yes, I was to lazy to cook bacon the REAL way) and start to butter the toast. All of a sudden I hear some yelling coming from Hunter...

Hunter: MOM! FIRE! IT'S ON FIRE!

(I hurry and turn around to see the plate of bacon on fire in the microwave.)

Mom: Ah crap! Thanks Hunter for seeing that.

I didn't notice it when I put the bacon in the microwave, but I put it on a paper plate with "glittery" stuff on it and it just lit up in flames. Thanks goodness Hunter saw it and yelled. It was only in there for about 15 seconds, but the plate was ashes.

I then call my mom and we have a good little laugh. While we are talking I decided to make a couple "runny" eggs for myself (that's what we called them growing up) and all of a sudden Walker yells out.

Walker: MOM, THERE'S A FIRE!!!

Mom: (Laughing) Walkie, hush up, there is no fire!

Meanwhile, my mom is laughing hysterically at what he said and so is Walker...he thought he was sooooo funny!

***So remember, don't put anything "glittery" in the microwave!***

this isn't something new

Am I the only mom who goes through the following scenario at night...While I am tucking one kid in bed, one is running down the stairs. While I get that child into bed, another one takes off running...and on and on for about 30-60 minutes. My kids have their own little "tag team" going at night! And I don't get it. It's not like going to bed is something new, WE DO IT EVERY NIGHT!!! We have the same routine every night...snack, teeth, book, potty, water and prayer. Some nights I can laugh about this and some nights I want to scream! I did notice this didn't start until Rikk left for Anchorage, so I am hoping that it will stop when he gets back. But this is always the end result, which I love.

Candy Fun!

I got this idea from my friend Dahlia (Can't remember how to make her name a link, so just click on Jeremy and Dahlia to the right...and if anyone can remind me on how to do make it a link, it would be greatly appreciated). You make a mixture of 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup salt and 1/3 cup flour (although I used a little more flour so it wasn't so runny). You mix this all up and then spread it out into a pie tin. We invited the boys' friend Taylor over to join in the fun. We let them all decorate their dough with all different kinds of candies. I took Kyler and Walker the day before to the store and just let them have a ball in the candy department picking out all kinds of candy in every shape, size and color. They absolutely LOVED doing this and were so sad that their little girlfriend Maddie wasn't there to help eat the candy as they decorated.