Sledding

Baby Shower Christmas Tree & Decor

Devan made a little video of some the decorations my mom had up.  Don't you just love the boy/girl christmas tree? Here is the YouTube video he posted.  As a side note...I did not pick out the music for the video.  That one was all Devan.

Oregon Baby Shower

Last weekend we went to Oregon for a visit home/baby shower. We really wanted to go up there before the end of the year because we weren't exactly sure how long I would be able to fly. I'm glad we did it when we did and didn't wait any longer.

Mason is growing up so fast. Can you believe he is 6 already. Crazy...I know.

Check out the food spread. It was delicious. Thank you mom & Aunt Di! I was so happy that Buffy and her girls were able to come down for the shower.

My Aunt Di made these super cute diaper trykes. Totally adorable. I've never seen anything like them before. She did a wonderful job.

Kai was my special helper when it came to opening presents.

I am an Oregon State fan. NOT UNIVERSITY OF OREGON! My cousin Jeff and his wife Krystal thought it would be super funny to get us a pair of baby Duck shoes. Stupid Ducks :)

Buffy was in charge of the activity. She came up with this super cute idea of everyone making a onesie for the babies. Everyone had a great time doing it. Plus, they are such great keepsakes from the shower...not to mention incredibly practical. I have a picture with everyone and the onesie that they made. Loved this Idea!!!!!

Here are some before when they were plain white onesies and then the finished products.

My dad made a little monkey one because Charlie used to call Mason his "little monkey."

Me showing Devan all our loot

The Great Escape

Today we had our big baby measuring ultrasound. I was worried that one or both would be missing something like a kidney...or a heart chamber. But do not worry, all their major organs were in place and accounted for. And yes...we still are having a boy and a girl. Baby girl is still baby A (because she is closest to the cervix) and baby boy is still baby B.

During our ultrasound baby girl was being super wiggly. She was moving all over the place. However, baby boy was resting peacefully...sucking his thumb. How cute is that?!

Here is the 21 week tummy shot.

One last picture. There are a couple of places on my body that freak me out. The first is my neck. I seriously don't like my neck being touched. The 2nd is my belly button. I know this is crazy but my heeby jeeby notions tell me that if you push on a belly button you'll go straight through to the guts. Needless to say, the thought of my belly button eventually popping really FREAKS ME OUT!!! I've decided to also document this process. I'm calling this "The Great Escape."

The Big Reveal

Today marked a wonderful day. First it started with me waking up, throwing on a hoodie and boots and then heading out to the Maverik down the street for my black friday newspaper.

Now for our big news....WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE HAVING!!!! It's a secret we've been keeping for some time. Are you ready...did you already look at the pictures and figure it out yourself? That's cheating ya know :)

We were lucky and found out that we will be having a little boy and a little girl at our 16 week appointment...3 weeks ago. Devan and I have spent a lot of time online looking at how people announce pregnancy in fun and exciting ways. We always looked on knowing that it was something we would most likely never have the opportunity to do ourselves. So, when we found out what we were having we knew this was our opportunity. We went the route of colored cake. This is what the caked looked like this morning getting its first crumb coat.

We all sat down for dinner, Garald said a few words then right before we had the prayer Devan said that we had an announcement. He grabbed our cake and then set it down in front Nyla and said that the cake would reveal what we were having. The best moment of the day came when CarrieLyn decided Nyla was taking too long to cut it and dove in herself.

This has hands down been the best Thanksgiving Devan and I have ever had. We truly feel as if the windows of heaven have been opened and that blessings have been pored upon us. We have so much to be thankful for. We have wonderful, amazing, loving & supportive family & friends. Thank you for all of the prayers and fasting that has been done for us over the past several years. We Love you very much!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING :)

From 16 to 18

I haven't been very good at the whole pregnancy picture/post thing. I have reasons for that...I'll express my reasons in a little bit. Let's start with a few pics. Here we have 16 weeks and then 18 weeks. I feel like I have grown a lot in just a short span of time.

Technically I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow but I have some down time tonight and Devan thought it would be a good idea to take another belly shot. Nothing like taking a picture at the end of a rough day...make-up all worn off...ready to collapse in to my bed...oh sure, I look just gorgeous :)
Now, let me invite you into my mind for a quick glimpse at my blogging issues. As previously established I have watched for years as everyone around me has gotten pregnant. The facebook updates and blogs were kind of like torture. I'm not trying to be melodramatic...that's just how it is. Now I find myself in a difficult position. I didn't want to read about pregnancy stuff...now I can't quite come to terms with writing about it myself. Devan has to remind me that people are genuinely interested in my progress...but what about that one person that it hurts.
Alright, glimpse is over. Here is my goal. I'm going to try to be more active in my blogging. With that said...I'M GOING TO BED. This gal is tired!

Random Stuff

Last week I went to the BYU/Oregon State football game. It was a lot of fun. This was the closest I figured I could get to a group photo. I went with Garald, Sam & Lance. Yup, my Beavers won. WooHoo!

Last Sunday we were at Katie & Dougs for the blessing luncheon. Devan decided to make Baby Sam a little pillow bed. He seemed to like it...but really..who wouldn't. It looks way comfy.

Yesterday marked opening day of the deer hunt. The boys were lucky this year and got 2 deer before 9:00 am. Garald got a really nice fork 'n horn and Price landed this beautiful 4 point.

The deer had a ton of ticks & bugs crawling on their faces...Sophie found it fascinating :)

12 Weeks

We had our first official dr appointment on Friday with a normal, every day, non-specialist, obgyn. I also had my very first ultrasound on the outside of my stomach. Let me tell you....what a wonderful experience. I have waited many years to see an ultrasound of my baby/babies taken with an average "out of body" ultrasound. Here is a photo of our little lovelies... The top is of both. I'm already learning that they both will not sit still long enough or face the right way at the same time to take a picture together. The two pictures below it are individual shots. The middle one is the best.

While at the appointment we were able to ask several questions. Here are some of the answers I got.
*Will I need to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist? Technically I am not considered high risk as of now (that could always change, but hey, the same goes for people preggers with one babe.) However, I will be monitered as if I am. This means more frequent visits and tests. If a problem or concern arises we will then consult a specialist.
*What will my dr visit schedule look like? From now until 20 weeks I will go once a month. From 20 to 32 weeks I will go every 2 weeks. From 32 weeks to the end (which on average is 36 to 37 weeks for twinners) I will be going weekly. On top of going to the ob weekly I will also be taking a stress test at the hospital every four days. During the stress test I will basically just lay down on a bed for 30 minutes or so while monitors are put on my tummy to track the stress of the babes.

Another tid bit of information I thought you might want to know is my due date. My due date is April 17th. That is if I go a full 40 weeks. This might happen...and I am going to try to do everything I can to keep them cooking for as long as can...but hey, babies will come when they come...and like I said earlier, twins are usually born around 36 to 37 weeks.

I've also had several requests for a tummy picture. Here you go...

Don't worry, I wrote my week number with lipstick :)

Massiel's Big Day

After years of preparation and many dollars spent Massiel is finally a US Citizen. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! This was the first time I have been to a US citizenship ceremony. Now, truthfully, it started off a bit rocky when there wasn't enough seating for family & friends...then they wanted to send us to the dungeon to watch it on a live feed....then we ended up getting wrist bands with numbers hoping to get squeezed in some where...then finally we got seated, in the auditorium. The whole ceremony only lasted an hour but was so great. There were a few speakers, and then they did the swearing in. Every new citizen (which was around 200) stood, raised their right hand, and swore an oath. Then something special happened. The reigning federal judge asked people from different parts of the world to stand and then asked one or two to share a thought. We watched Massiel stand when he asked for people from Latin countries to stand. The thoughts shared were so touching. It made me realize how I take my liberty, freedom & rights for granted. They were all so grateful to be us citizens...it was awesome. Then the show was over and they gave the newly arraigned citizens their citizenship certificates. Here is when Massiel got hers.

Here are some pics we took outside after the ceremony.

Get Ready World

This morning we had our first ultrasound. We get asked a lot how far a long we are. We were 7 weeks pregnant yesterday. (I know it seems like we should be so much farther than that since we started this whole IVF process in June.) So we show up, go in to the exam room. I can't initially see the screen but Devan can. He immediately knew. Then the nurse lady gal said "are you ready for the Gregory twins." Simutaneously we both took a big breath of air. Its hard to believe! It's crazy! It's wonderful! It's scary! It's a miracle! Did I mention it's scary?
So there you have it. Do you think the world is ready for Gregory twins? Scary thought isn't it?

Ghost Falls Hiking

On Saturday we went hiking with some of Devan's family up to Ghost Falls in Draper. We had a lot of fun, the trail was beautiful and we even saw a rattlesnake.

Here's the whole gang at the ghost falls bridge.

I'm not sure what most people do when they're hiking and see a rattle snake. Well, the Gregorys grab a stick, poke it (from a somewhat safe distance) and watch :)

Later that evening we took Katie's kids swimming up at Sams. Here they're having a race.

So Cute!

BFP

In the world of infertility we use a lot of abbreviations...such as DH (dear husband), TTC (trying to conceive.) Well, Devan and I are pleased to announce that after a couple of blood tests we got a BFP. Also known as a BIG FAT POSITIVE. Yup, we're preggers. While we are extremely happy to hear the news, we're cautiously optimistic. Just over three years ago we were pregnant. However, I had a miscarriage between 6 & 7 weeks. Seeing and hearing a heartbeat is something that I'm extremely looking forward to. I think I will feel much better once we get to that point.
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This weekend we went to Yuba Lake w/ Scott & Sarah and many of our other great friends from our old ward. No, I didn't go tubing :)