I emailed two people as soon as we'd booked our tickets to fly back to the States - my hair dresser and my friend Marianne, an uber talented photographer with Charade Photography. (She also did our Maternity photos when I was pregnant with Madi as well as Madi's Baptism and One Year Photoshoot)
We settled on a date towards the end of our visit, which made me a little nervous with the Houston weather, but I think worked well since I pretty much doubled in size during the trip!
The morning we went for pictures was a bit overcast and cold, but doable. Madi was a bit of a pill (once again!) and only wanted Mommy to hold her. We still got some fabulous pictures though thanks to Marianne!
Now get ready for picture overload because it was just too hard to narrow down which ones to share! :-)
Well Miss Madi, you are 21 months now! You also survived your third long-haul from Europe to America (not to mention your 38th flight as well!) You were a fabulous traveller and we do not take that for granted. We'll have lots of pictures and updates from the trip to come (hopefully soon), but until then here are some of the memories we want to capture from this past month. :-)
- You have a pair of pajama pants a little too long. They were covering part of your ankle and it bothered you so much you kept lifting your foot and asking us to "fix it". Well, I happened to wear a pair of pants intentionally too long for our trip to the States. I was walking slightly ahead of you and Daddy and all of a sudden heard you say "Mommy fix pants". You were not satisfied until I had hiked them up mid-calf (the only place I could get them to stay) and your Daddy was laughing so hard (despite my glaring at him) and enjoyed reminding you to remind me to fix my pants throughout the day.
- You are starting to say "thank you" and "you're welcome" and "sorry" without us prompting you! It's so precious and I'm glad you have manners, but we are still working on when you need to say "sorry". :-)
- You stopped using the pacifier. You were only taking it at nap time anyway (and sometimes on the airplane) and we just stopped giving it to you. You haven't asked for it once either... easiest transition ever.
- You have started counting to 10! Sort of. ;-) You skip 1 and 9, but consistently count the rest of the numbers. You also point to things as you are counting so you are starting to have a concept of what it means.
- You have started playing pretend just a little bit and it melts my heart. I watched you feed your stuffed animals and little people with pretend food and you also love feeding us food you make in your kitchen. It will be wonderful to see you continue to develop and watch your imagination go wild!
- You are starting to grow up and it makes us so sad! You stopped calling a banana a "ba-da" and actually call it a "banana" now. It surprised us since we usually call it a "ba-da" to match you and made us realize just how much you are catching on to things around you. You also stopped calling a marshmallow a "marsha" and say the whole word now. You are so good at talking!
- Additionally, you are starting to put together logical sentences about things. You will tell us "Madi want more please" and "Nei Daddy, stop" and lots of others. You are quite the little talker when you aren't being shy. :-)
- We stayed with Jason's sister and her family in Houston and you fell in love with their doggies. It might have something to do with the fact that they don't run away from you like our cats at home do. ;-) You hugged them and loved on them, but did not like their loud barking. Once you were used to it and didn't cry, it just annoyed you. During an episode of Peppa Pig, the dogs started barking and you stood up on the sofa and said "Nei doggy, stop!" and held your hand out as though you were stopping someone. It was the first time you said stop and we laughed so hard!
- You are starting to take a couple of steps up stairs on your own without holding on and are starting to prefer walking up the stairs (holding on to the rail or one of our hands) rather than crawling. You definitely aren't to the point where we would let you do them on your own, but are starting to get the hang of it for sure.
- You are starting to understand the concept of smiling for pictures and were taught the phrase "cheesy smile" while we were in Houston. Now when we say that we get a cute but very "cheesy" smile in return.
Yesterday morning Daddy and I watched you sleeping for a few minutes before waking you for school. You seemed so big in your crib and we just can't believe how much you have grown or that you are going to be two in just a few months!! The time sure does fly by quickly! We have loved every stage of your growing and changing, but it sure would be nice for it to slow down a bit. ;-) We love you baby girl!
How far along: 20 weeks (click here to see 20 weeks with Madi!)
Gender: We found out we are having two more precious baby girls! Here is Madi sharing the exciting news via a delicious cupcake. :-)
Twins' Development: The babies' bodies are now coated with vernix, which they will have as long as they are submerged in amniotic fluid. The top of my uterus is now about two inches above my belly button. (Source: Baby Center Twins)
Sleep: Still sleeping very well, but consistently having to get up at least once to use the restroom. Otherwise it's been good and I'm thankful for that!
Movement: I've been feeling more and more flutters inside, but nothing outside yet. We found out at our hospital ultrasound last week that both of my placentas are anterior so it will probably take longer for us to feel any kicks externally. :-(
Unglamorous body changes: Nothing really - still no stretch marks, but definitely growing. We've only been in America for a few days and already Jason and I can see that I'm quite a bit bigger! Really glad I don't spend my entire pregnancies in America... I'd be gigantic!
Maternity Clothes? Wearing pretty much all maternity pants and a few stretchy regular ones. I also switched over to majority of maternity tops.
Showing: Yes! People have actually asked how far along I am so I must be showing. ;-)
Food cravings: Nothing really. We are getting lots of delicious and unhealthy American food. Hello donuts and Mexican food, hehe.
What I miss: Nothing comes to mind.
Anything making you queasy: Nope! I can drink coffee again!! Woohoo! Now I'm just having to be disciplined and only have one cup of regular and then switch to decaf, which is like nonexistent in Norway, but fortunately available in America.
Strange experiences: Shopping for twins and thinking about all the stuff we are taking home with us! We were definitely thinking we were set on baby stuff, but have had to get some more clothes (especially in newborn size) and then another high chair, rocker, new stroller, etc. It's been a bit overwhelming!
Best moment this month: We had our hospital ultrasound last week just before we left for America. This is the official ultrasound where they take extra time and precaution with measurements to check that everything is going well with the pregnancy. It took about 45 min for her to do all the measurements she needed on both babies. We have two incredibly active and healthy baby girls who are measuring perfectly (same as a singleton still) and my due dates wasn't adjusted any based on their size. Also, we had a safe and amazing time traveling with Madi to America! I was able to get some rest on the flight and stay hydrated and moving. Madi behaved super well and we are so grateful for that. This past weekend we had one set of grandparents come visiting us and we were very sad to see them leave today. Madi had a blast playing with them and we enjoyed having an extra set of hands! We're staying with Jason's sister and her family and have had a blast catching up with them and watching all the cousins play together.
Looking forward to: Seeing more family and friends while we are here in Houston! Also hitting a few more restaurants and shopping places on our list before we leave. :-) And just for fun, I pulled my 20 week picture with Madi... I am definitely showing a lot more than I was with her! (I also hadn't been to America yet either, hehe.)
