24 weeks

Here you have it. Me and my girls. 24 weeks along, measuring 38. I'm feeling the pressure and growing out of clothes, but I have over 2 months to go! I'm excited to FINALLY enter my 3rd trimester--that's a welcome landmark! (sorry the lighting in these pics isn't great) Attention kids: triplet pregnancy may be hazardous to your health. Our subjects are professionals, not actors. DO NOT try this at home.

Pregnancy Update

So I am now 24 weeks along and measuring a mere 38 weeks along if I only had one baby inside! Needless to say it's getting cramped. I am now seeing my OB/GYN every 2 weeks and the multiple birth specialists every 2 weeks but doing not much else--they have given me strict orders to stay home and lay down! The babies weigh about 1 lb. 7 oz. each and are measuring a few days ahead of schedule size-wise--yeah! Even though that means I'm getting bigger, faster, the real goal here is to give these babies the best start I can.

Physically, well I'll be honest, I'm exhausted all the time. Food goes through me like fuel in a car, meaning the babies burn it all up as fast as I can put it in. I'm supposed to consume up to 4000 calories a day just to feed them so that is quite a challenge. I'll take a photo again soon so you can all see my growing belly! I'm getting big now!

Two of my heroes

41-year-old Dara Torres in her 4th Olympics and Michael Phelps in his 3rd Olympics. They rock the pool!

OLYMPIC FEVER

I HAVE TO ADMIT IT...I HAVE OLYMPIC FEVER! Every night I am glued to the TV set--although I have to admit that the swimming is of course the biggest draw for me.

MICHAEL PHELPS AND DARA TORRES ARE MY HEROES! They are amazing and I just can't get enough! I know everyone loves Michael Phelps, but really, do you get what an amazing thing he has done?! He is unbelievable. My kids have been into it as well, so it's been a wonderful family activity every night.

Let's see...I'll get these babies safely here, then start training about a year from now, and maybe by 2012 I'll be ready to swim along side Dara Torres in the relay...

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Visiting Washington, D.C.

Dave and I on the steps of the U.S. Captiol building and in front of the Reflection Pool leading to the Washington Monument. (That's my belly at 20 weeks pregnant with triplets)

Here we are attending a Washington Nationals baseball game, and another shot of me in front of the National Christmas Tree and the lawn in front of the White House with the Washington Monument in the background. (The White House is behind Dave, who is taking the picture.)

Dave and I got to go to Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago and we enjoyed it so much! A few years ago I was born there while my dad was stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital but we moved when I was 6 weeks old and I've never been back, so I was so happy that my pregnancy cooperated and allowed me to go. (I know some of you who I don't see very often have been wondering how huge my belly is getting, so hopefully you'll appreciate these pictures for that reason also!) Anyhow, I was limited in how much walking I could do, but we tried to see as much as we could using bus tours, etc. and we enjoyed our trip so much. Being aware that this might be our "last hurrah" vacation together for quite some time, we really tried to make the most of it!

Some highlights were touring the U.S. Capitol building (Dave pushed me in a wheelchair--hehe), visiting the Lincoln Memorial (I absolutely loved it--you can't even imagine it's impact until you visit), and a bus tour of the city on a double decker bus with no roof on top so you could really see the sights. Our hotel was amazing (The Willard) and there were some dignitaries from Pakistan and Sudan staying there while we were there so the entire block was roadblocked by police cars the first 3 days, so that was interesting. Oh yeah, and we got to go see the Washington Nationals play a Major League baseball game.

Thank goodness my doctor let me go! He didnt' exactly give me his blessing, but I guess he realized that I was pretty set on going, and I was able to convince him that being there in a posh hotel without kids would be more relaxing that being at home...

We are Swimmers

Here is Haylee diving and with some of her teammates!



Haylee and Tyson... Yeah! Ben got his first medal!

Ben's first dive!
Look out, Michael Phelps...



We just finished another wonderful season of swim team with the Treehouse Athletic Club! It was such a fun season--we love swimming so much! This year Ben, age 4, begged and pleaded to "do the swim races," so I finally allowed him and he was awesome! He swam and swam and never gave up and finished his races and at the League Championship he earned a medal for his 25 freestyle after dropping a whopping 48 seconds from his time!

Haylee and Tyson also had terrific season, setting personal best times in all their events and placing in the top 16 in their events at the Championships. Tyson even earned a silver medal for his 25 freestyle and a bronze in his 25 breast stroke. Haylee and Ty both came in 6th place in their butterfly swims--go butterfliers! Tyson set some new team records for the 8 & Under boys and most importantly, we had fun and loved it! Swimming makes us happy!

Countdown to bedrest

My doctor informed me that at 24 weeks he's putting me on bedrest, which doesn't really mean I can't leave my bed, but rather that my activity is restricted to a minimum--no shopping, no walking around, no partying all hours of the night. This is really going to cramp my style! I only have 2 weeks left to live it up.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little pressure to get things in order. I have selected the nursery colors and am so excited about them! They are not traditional by any stretch, but they will be bright and cheery. Dark pink, lime green, royal blue, turquoise, and orange! My friend Janna Hassell has plegded to help me make the quilts and bedskirts from duvet covers I found, and I know this might seem ambitious to you non-sewers, but it really won't be too tough.

We've picked out some names and since everyone is asking anyway, I'll let you in on them:

Hannah, Eden, Bella, Emmie, Gracie, Summer, Emma, and right now I'm having a mind-block but we have a list of 10 favorites and then we'll mix and match when the babies are born.

We're so excited!