"Y" has suddenly become "CK"

The weekend before Easter (when my mom was visiting), Gavin suddenly starting pronouncing words correctly. If you remember, I few weeks ago, I wrote about how Gavin would always incorrectly say marker, sticker, or any other word with a "CK" sound in the middle (watch the video HERE). He did this since he learned to talk. But a couple of weekends ago, he started saying the "CK" in these kinds of words. And it's not a fluke. He's continued to correctly pronounce words like ticket, turkey, bucket, and cracker. I'm happy that he's learning, but I'm sad that this little toddler quirk of his is officially gone. Tear.

"I think it's better to be safe than sorry"

This is what I said to Wes on Sunday while we were driving to the hospital. You see, after my 3 hour stint in the hospital on Friday, I kept having contractions all day on Saturday and Sunday. But, they were inconsistent and sporadic.

Then on Sunday, I had about 2.5 hours of consistent contractions every 25 minutes. I called my doc just to see what she wanted me to do. "Come in if they are consistently 10-15 minutes apart."

So, I sat. And counted.

I had a contraction at 6:55. Then again 7:05, 7:15, 7:27, 7:36, and 7:48. I told Wes that I thought we should go. Sarah was already here visiting for the night (thank goodness!), so she put the twins to bed while we went up to the hospital.

When we arrived and I was hooked up to the monitors, I was definitely having contractions, and they were about 10-15 minutes apart. I was given another (I had this on Friday, too) shot of brethine to stop the contractions (and it did), I had a fetal fibronectin test done (which I was scheduled to have this morning anyway), and my cervix was checked (and I wasn't dilated any more than I was on Friday).

About an hour later, the fetal fibronectin test came back negative (YAY!). This is the test that tells you if delivery in the next two weeks is imminent or not. It's not.

My cervix was checked again and it was the same.

I was sent home with directions to take a muscle relaxer every 6 hours.

Now we're back to waiting...

Egg Hunt

Yesterday, Wes took G & V to an egg hunt and festival of sorts (complete with bouncy house, popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, face-painting, and playground). They were very excited all morning and got ready to go very quickly.

Here they are before they left.

When they arrived, the bouncy house was first.

They were also very excited about the face-painting, especially Vivian who really wanted to be a kitty. Gavin requested a dragon from two different face-painters, but walked away satisfied with a puppy-face (unfortunately, he wiped most of it off before Wes could snap a pic).

They ate lots of popcorn and each got a hot dog.

 Then, it was time to start the hunt! They got right to it and somehow knew exactly what to do.

Bubbles, Cookies, and Hair Bows

Our friends, Brenda and Brian, recently sent us a package of goodies in the mail. Three of the many things included in this box were bubbles, cookies, and hair bows. Of course, we had to head outside to test out the bubbles, eat the cookies, and wear one of Vivi's hair bows.

Thanks, Brenda & Brian!

"That's a contraction?"

This is what I said to the nurse at the hospital yesterday while I was apparently having a contraction.

Before you get too freaked out, let's get a couple things straightened out. Yes, I was sent to the hospital yesterday. And yes, I was having contractions. But I'm back home now. 

Okay, onto the story.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor for my weekly cervical check. Two weeks ago (we didn't measure anything last week), I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yesterday, I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. So, my doc sent me to the hospital for monitoring to see if I was having any contractions. They ask me every week if I'm having any and I always say "No." Apparently, I don't know what contractions are because when I made it to the hospital and was hooked up to the monitors, I was definitely contracting. Every 2-3 minutes.

The nurse said that they were very mild, but that they were definitely happening. During a couple of them, she had me touch my stomach to feel what it was like. Well shit, I've had that feeling before. I just thought it was the baby's head pushing out. It didn't hurt (it was just uncomfortable) and it was only a small portion of my belly that was tight. So they monitored. And monitored. And monitored.

I also received a shot to try to stop the contractions. It worked. I went from consistent contractions every 2-3 minutes to an entire hour with no contractions. My cervix was checked again and it was the same. So, they let me go home.

I'm supposed to go back if I have consistent contractions or contractions that increase in severity. But, having a few here and there is apparently nothing to worry about.

By the way, I'm 31 weeks tomorrow.

• Three weeks left 'til I can safely deliver at our hospital here in town (if I go into labor- and they can't stop it- prior to 34 weeks, I will most likely be sent to Charlottesville, which is about 45 minutes away). 
• Four weeks left 'til I'm off bed rest.
• And, nine weeks left 'til I reach my actual due date (June 9th).

Side note: when Wes and the twins came to pick me up at the hospital, Vivian said, "You have the new baby, Mommy? I want to see her." (Side note to the side note: Don't worry, we still don't know the sex of the baby. Vivian always calls the baby a girl/sister and Gavin always calls the baby a boy/brother. Of course.)

"Dat not fair!"

This is what Vivian says whenever she doesn't like something, someone takes something from her, or just in general when she's unhappy with the way that things are going. She's usually yelling this with a rather mean (or reprimanding) look on her face. It has become one of her catch phrases in the last month or so. She's definitely our feisty child.

More Bike Riding

Bike Riding

While GG was here last weekend, she went downstairs and brought up the kids' bikes. They were ridiculously excited. G & V really love their bikes, but have been unable to actually ride them in the past. They would get on and just push with their feet on the ground. Or, they would try to pedal and nothing would happen; unless we gave them a good nudge. They just weren't coordinated enough in the early fall (which was the last time we had them out).

On Saturday, they still were unsure. They both really wanted to do it, but it was very difficult for them. After a lot of practice around the house and on the front porch, Vivian suddenly became a pro on Sunday morning. It was like she just woke up and said, "I'm gonna ride my bike today." Gavin, on the other hand, still needed that nudge. But he's figured it out in the last couple of days.

Here are some pics (and videos) of our Sunday morning bike ride on the front porch.

 (Vivi and "Sammy," a seal statue my
mom brought down. Don't ask.)

Of course, lip gloss had to be applied
during our bike riding session.

Before & After (30 week pics)

The week before last, my doc gave me the "OK" to go get my hair did. I called and made my appointment immediately for a cut and color.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Shorter and darker; just the way I like it!

Washing the Car (and bike and chair)

My mom came down to visit and help out with the kiddos on Friday afternoon (thanks!). On Saturday morning, GG and Vivi went to the store while Gavin and Wes washed his car. Gavin was in love; especially because he got to wash his car, bike, and chair along side of Wes.