Happy New Year!!! and they are discharging us tomorrow

It will probably take awhile for Jackson and Connor to learn how to properly celebrate New Years but we didn't want our hospital stay to stop them from celebrating their first big holiday.

What big things we expect to see in 2010. As far as we know, they only made it until 10:30 p.m. but we could only imagine what kind of partying was going on in the nursery!! What fun the nurses must have had that night.

We are scheduled to be discharged tomorrow and are totally terrified. We may or may not have asked if we could just pay to stay in the hospital a couple days longer. There was a lot of discussion about having a support system in tact and it really resonated with me that we REALLY didn't have much organized. Obviously, we would have visitors and the sitters were set up once I was returning to work but the day to day taking care of the boys was our responsibility and especially for their mom, who could barely walk until yesterday, it was a daunting task. 

But, for these two cuties, we will figure it out.

And then we became a family....

On December 28, 2009, Jackson Charles was born at 1:57 p.m. and he was followed by his little brother, Connor Patrick, at 1:59 p.m. Jackson weighed in at 6 lbs 14 ounces and Connor had his big brother beat slightly at 7 lbs 12 ounces.

Both boys measured 20 1/5 inches and were finally happy to have enough wiggle room outside of mommy's belly.

Jackson was so happy to meet everyone that he announced his arrival in splashing fashion hosing down the doctors and medical staff. We were so excited to finally meet our babies and figure out how just how much our lives would change..........
 

Our last Christmas as just the two of us.....

Despite a very lazy morning and afternoon that actually including me taking a nap, which NEVER happens, we arrived to celebrate Christmas with the family.   Everybody was in shock that we actually came out to celebrate. 

We had hoped to have 2 additions to celebrate their first holiday but they just aren't ready yet. Maybe New Years?!? or Valentine's Day.  Their 1st Christmas onesies will be returned when I am out of the house again.....

 Sophia holding onto the bump and feeling Baby A and Baby B.

Mary and I on our last Christmas without our babies.

Family.

They're coming soon but not yet....

I went in for a check-up and my blood pressure was slightly elevated.  The doctors had no choice but to send me to the hospital.  Since we were not expecting this as a possibility as nothing had changed (that I could tell), we stopped at the house on the way to the hospital to get our bag.  Again, it was ready but we just didn't think it was time.

Jackson and Connor had other plans and we were sent home but not after hours spent laying in the hospital bed.  I was never a big drinker of water prior to pregnancy with the boys but I was consistently thirsty and one thing that you are not allowed to have in the hospital if there is a chance for delivery is water.  There were several nurses that were rooting for it to by my day and one who wasn't.  I asked her to her to check my bloodpressure whichever way was the "right" way to figure out whether or not I was staying or leaving.  In the end, we were sent home with my itchy and I mean ITCHY stomach.  The pups rash appeared yesterday on my first day of "bed rest" and it is not to be taken lightly especially when your husband takes the only car that you can drive out of fear that you are going to try to go out.  The neighbors took pity on me and got some cream that is working.

Belly pic in case today was the "DAY!"

A tour around Double the Fun's Nursery

Many, many years ago before going through the struggles of infertility, we had discussed that once (not an if) we had children, we wouldn't be finding out the gender. As a result, we've had portions of the Alphabet Soup bedding set from Pottery Barn Kids sitting in our attic once they discontinued it. It matches the gingham and with the help of some winning bids on ebay, we were able to secure everything we needed.

One of the items that we needed to secure was a second valance as two babies do not fit into the small bedroom of the house. This room received a lot of love from Tony and Gina with the paint and hanging and organization.

The rug may be our favorite part of the room.

This crib will soon house Baby A and Baby B. We are so excited to meet you. 

The bookshelf and baskets full of bibs, receiving baskets, toys and bathing supplies.

And, once it is time for Baby A and Baby B to be separated, we are ready with the 2nd crib. 

Some of the wall art. 

Despite the scramble to make this in to a room for 2, we wouldn't have it any other way.  It turned out exactly how we planned and these little people have no idea how excited that their parents are to welcome them home.

Please stay inside for just a little longer

The wintry weather arrived a lot earlier than what I was expecting and we received enough snow to keep us inside and require an actual shovel.   We were so concerned that Baby A and Baby B were ready to meet us.  Good thing that they decided to stay inside for just a little bit longer. At least it happened after my LAST week of work before going on bed rest.  Everybody was on major alert and since we are so close to the hospital, we knew that if need be -- we could have reached the hospital.

We are ready for Christmas babies (if they want to join us)

Since we had no idea when the babies are going to arrive. I was determined to get the house ready in case they decided to join us for Christmas.  After the rush to get everything done with the house, I thought why not add another item to our list.  Michael was adamantly against it but we had the 1st Christmas outfits ready to go.  

In case they are ready, so are we.

 

Family Baby Shower

Gina and Missy attempted to surprise me for a baby shower and had actual cooperation from Michael but I opted to change out of my tee shirt for a nicer top and put on make-up in case it was the day.  And, Penny's vehicle with its Pennsylvania tag definitely secured that it was a baby shower.

They really didn't believe me when I explained that I figured it out.  This is my "i figured it out" face despite all of the lying that was going around.  The rationale that Tony needed help from Michael did seem a little questionable.....

A big thank you to the shower guests from Double the Fun and their mom and dad. We are so anxious to meet you and can't thank you enough for the essentials.

With the hostesses. 

I was able to change into something more comfortable, which was very appreciated, prior to cutting the cake.   It was incredibly hot in Gina's house that day.  My tolerance for heat is no bueno in general but add on a couple of extra pounds and I'm in full on sweat mode.

Boston BabyMoon - Touring Fenway Park

While we are at the game, we noticed that the Red Sox offer tours of Fenway Park.  And, we figured that there would be no better way to learn more about an amazing place.

We were given a lot of information about the park including that Fenway has trademarked the color green on the monster,  history of the ballpark and how the Red Sox almost didn't make it in Boston and that despite the rumors of a new ballpark for Boston -- Fenway isn't going anywhere.

One of the best parts was touring the press box.  They explained that once Daisuke Matsuzaka was signed, the size of the press box needed to be doubled due to all of the international press covering the game. 

What a great way to end a wonderful trip as a couple.  Our next trip will require double the number of bags and include our twins.   We can't wait to show Baby A and Baby (Double the Fun) how amazing the city of Boston is.   They should know that their mom would move there whenever she finally convinces their dad to take another Bar exam.

Boston BabyMoon

Earlier in the year, we won a silent auction of 4 tickets to sit on top of the Green Monster. The tickets are very hard to get and unless you know someone, you most likely won't get the opportunity.  We decided that it would be a great idea to incorporate the baseball game into a long weekend in one of our favorite cities, recognizing that it would probably be awhile before we get back to Boston.

After checking in, we headed to the area surrounding the park.  Nachos at the Cask N Flagon were just as good as our last visit.

We invited Marc and Monica to join us as we had 4 tickets.  With a horrible weather forecast for the day that we selected to use the tickets, we purchased tickets from someone selling on the street. It was a win win and we ended up being able to see 2 games.  They are huge Tampa Bay fans but appreciated the park as they love the game. 


We were sitting on the 1st base side and got to see a lot of Youklis.  Love that we were able to get a picture of Youklis' batting stance with Papi in the warm-up circle.  We may or may not have gotten scolded to get the first/closer than what we were picture...

There was a rain delay and we stopped into a bar and were able to enjoy all of the fun as the Sox came back to win the game and Papelbon got another save despite walking the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th.  Even though we weren't in the park, the celebration was just as big.   They played all of the music that they do in the park and it was CRAZY!!!

We did some sight seeing with Marc and Monica including a trip to the Bull and Finch for lunch and stocked up on rain gear as the forecast was accurate for a rainy day.   It was a little cooler which didn't bother us at all. 

We were led the a series of elevators and stairs to get to our seats but it was amazing to be sitting on top of the Monster.  Definitely a once in a lifetime experience that we are so happy to have had the opportunity to enjoy.  We sold the extra tickets to a father and his daughter who were from Florida and Red Sox obsessed.

Our view from the Monstah!  Clay Bucholz followed Josh Beckett's performance from the prior night and did not disappoint. 

There is nothing like the ball getting handed over to Papelbon to get the save when you are sitting in the park. The music - "Shipping up to Boston", the crowd and EVERYBODY and I do mean EVERYBODY jumping up and down (including the seriously pregnant mama  along with her A and B) so that it feels as though the stadium shaking is something that any baseball fan should get to experience regardless of what team you are rooting for. 

We did do some sightseeing.... an abbreviated Freedom Trail tour due to the pregnancy limitations. Our trip in July to Philadelphia made this mama painfully aware of the distress that walking too much can put on your body. We took lots of breaks and enjoyed a leisurely stroll opting to skip the Beacon Hill portion in favor of an Italian Festival in the North End.

The public gardens.

The Ducklings from Make Way for Ducklings. We hope that the boys will enjoy this story. 

Stopping for some chowder and oysters at the Ye Olde Union Oyster House.