The Virginia Zoo

Mike is on leave right now for 2 weeks, a much needed break from his crazy schedule as a Navy Recruiter!!  So, on Monday we decided to take the girls for a trip to the zoo.  It was around 80 or so degrees and beautiful outside, so a perfect day for it!  I hadn't realized this, but in the 10+ years we have lived here, Mike has never been!  Haley and I have been several times, but Mikaela hadn't been just yet either.  So, off we went for a nice family outing - something we NEVER seem to have time for!  We had such a great time.  Haley has always loved animals, and has always loved to read all the signs about the animals and soak in every bit of information she can about them!  Oh, the joys of homeschooling!  It was definitely an educational field trip for her though.  ;)  


Mikaela couldn't wait to see the elephants, and she sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to one that looked like it was dancing and needed some music!  I think for all of us, our favorite part were the Meerkats.  There were 3 out and they were so cute and funny!  Mikaela couldn't wait all day to ride the train, so we saved the best for last and did that right before we left for the day.  We got a Family Membership because it would have already been half paid for after paying for the day, so we will have to make many more trips to the zoo for some family fun!  We really had a great day.  Here are some pictures ...

A fun belly shot in the water globe in the front of the zoo.  :)  Hard to believe I am 23 weeks already!

22 Weeks ... and we picked names!

Here we are, at 22 weeks and things are still going great!  I had an OB appointment yesterday and everything looks good.  My cervical length was right at 3cm which was good.  Baby A is still just chillin out in there and Baby B still never sits still!  So funny.  I found out that I will be delivering in the OR even though if Baby A is head down, we are going to shoot for a vaginal delivery.  They like to deliver in the OR just in case they end up needing to do a c-section if things don't work out with delivering both babies vaginally.  Necessary, but it means that only Mike will be able to be in the delivery room.  :(  I will miss not having Tiffany (my sister-in-law) in there with my again. 

I am having contractions still, but they obviously aren't doing anything, so they are just here to annoy me still!  I'll take that over preterm labor any day though!  ;)  I'm amazed every day how wonderful this pregnancy is going.  I pray that God will continue to bless us and keep these babies safe!  My first goal is to make it to 34 weeks.  :) 

Here is my 22 weeks belly shot - I really can't believe how huge I am already!  Sometimes it is still hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are 2 babies growing in there.

In other news, we came up with names for our little girls!  Baby A will be Carly Ann and Baby B will be Callie Marie.  ♥  We just loved the names Carly and Callie together, and their middle names are in memory of Mike's grandma who was such a wonderful, fun, beautiful woman, Annette Marie Ryan.  She lost her battle with cancer nearly 7 years ago.  She and Haley went through cancer and treatment together and they had such a special bond.  The world lost a very special person and she will always have a very special place in the heart of anyone who knew her.  Carly and Callie will always have a part of her with them.  ♥

Easter Pictures ... catching up!

I kept meaning to post about Easter and share some pictures, but time just got away from me! Easter was wonderful in the Curtis house. Mikaela was so cute the day before coloring Easter eggs. She got SO excited every time an egg came out of the color. It was so much fun watching her hunt for Easter eggs Easter morning too. She was just so darn cute and fun to watch this year. Haley and Taylor were super sweet about leaving eggs for her to find and Taylor even kept letting her take eggs she like out of her basket! It was a wonderful morning.

Carrie and her kids came over later to have dinner with us and play outside. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the kids played outside ALL day long! Izzie was in Heaven as she played outside all day with them too! Mickey was in her beautiful dress all day plahying hard. It was very dirty by the end of the day, but it all came out in the wash thankfully. :)  It was adorable.  It was a wonderful time spent with family and friends.

Miss Lexie, Carrie's baby girl

20 weeks ... Halfway There!

Today marks 20 weeks pregnant!  In some ways it has felt like it drug on (mostly in the beginning when I was SO MUCH more worried!) and in other ways it feels like it has FLOWN by!  The contractions are starting, but after a trip to L&D this week, it has been determined that so far they are just Braxton Hicks because my cervix is still measuring >3cm and hasn't changed.  I have been trying to get some shopping done as I know my shopping days are limited!  It is so hard to walk around already because the round ligament pain gets out of control and now that the contractions are starting, it makes me nervous.  I am not on any type of bedrest yet because they aren't real contractions, but they are scary because I don't know how to tell the difference with my history!  I am starting to feel more movement, and Aunt Tiffany even felt some movement from the outside this week!  It's pretty sporadic still, but so much fun to be feeling real movement and jabs.  :)

Here is my 20 weeks belly shot:

The big news in the Curtis household right now is the new swingset!  It is all put together now, complete with a wooden border and some cedar mulch thanks to Mike!  He is awesome!!!  ♥  Mikaela is really enjoying her new swingset and first thing when she wakes up it's, "I wanna go play on my swingset!"  So cute.  Honestly, all the older kids are enjoying it too!  Here is a picture of the completed project, and a few I took last weekend just before it was completely finished.
 

We are enjoying some gorgeous 70 degree weather here in Virginia!  This week has been beautiful and the weekend is supposed to be perfect!  We are looking forward to enjoying the weather and Easter together.  Mikaela is so excited about the Easter Bunny coming and bringing her candy!  It's so cute.  :)  Speaking of, we took her yesterday to see the Easter Bunny and she was SO EXCITED and then when she got on his lap, she wouldn't look at him or smile.  She was all seriousness!  Luckily, Aunt Tiffany was able to get a cute little grin out of her for the picture at least!  Once she was off his lap though, she was talking up a storm to him and asking him to bring her candy and prizes.  So cute!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a very Happy Easter!  Mikaela is going to be a blast this year.