White Christmas in Georgia........

Sure was....When we left church on Christmas morning we walked outside to what appeared to be a "wintry mix" (Scott must have said that a dozen times before we got back to my mother's house for breakfast).
On Christmas Eve we went to Scott's grandmother's house, Memaw, to spend time with the Henson side of the family. Although we were short on time, we had a lot of good laughs.  The family traditionally does gag gifts for each other, but I simply ran out of time and energy this season so I had none to give.  We sure did get some good ones though.  Memaw, Grandma, Nana & Poppa Henson, and Richard & Jake, sure did get TJ and Matthew some awesome clothes and toys.  If we got tons of stuff this year for the boys, I am afraid of what we will see next year. YIKES!  Everyone has been so thoughtful! 
After appetizers at Memaw's, we headed to my parents for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner of shrimp cocktail, lobster tails, and filet mignon......sooooo yummy!!!  Mom did a great job again.  Dad made me my new favorite drink too...sparkling grape juice with a splash of cranberry...looks like a cocktail, tastes like one too (if you were to have a very weak bartender) but there is none of the hangover...so all around yummy.

Christmas morning we woke up to get ready for church, gave Roger his stocking with loads of canned pumpkin, cranberry, sweet potatoes, and traditional dog treats...he loved his peanut butter lollipop!  We headed to church, then to breakfast at Mom's, exchanged gifts...more great stuff for the boys...and then quickly home to get started on dinner...

With the bad weather already on its way I had to get the standing rib roast started as it was going to take about 3 1/2 hours to cook...as well as all the other things to go with it.  We planned for Tommy, Myra, and Richard to spend the night...oh, with their dogs too, in the event they were snowed in.
Mom and Dad had to get to the airport too for a flight to Denver.
Dinner was great - lobster bisque to start, prime rib, carrots and onion in a Cabernet glaze, asparagus, corn, and rolls.....dessert...a little raspberry cheesecake and cappuccino cheesecake too...although we had to rush through this so everyone could get out safely.
Good thing they left when they did (too early for my taste but had to be safe).  My parents got to the airport, and after a little trip to the ditch, Tommy, Myra, and Richard got home safe too....
All in all, one of the best Christmas weekends in a long time...snow on the ground and family that is healthy, happy, and safe...what more could you ask for...oh...I know...Paul, Alli, and Declan....maybe next year! 

Roger and his Christmas loot!

Big girl and Scotty

I swear I'm not choking Roger...he was a good boy all day!

21 Weeks

Here is Dad putting the finishing touches on the nursery that he did for the boys....he painted, installed chair rail, and will put up a cieling fan soon.  This is one of his many gifts to TJ and Matthew.



20 Weeks

This week I had my 20 week apppointment, which means I am half way there!  I took my mother-in-law in the hopes that she would be able to see the ultrasound or at least hear the heartbeats.  There was no need for an ultrasound, which is good, but Myra was at least able to hear both TJ and Matthew.  She really seemed to enjoy it.
Both boys hearts sounded strong and at this appointment TJ was pretty calm, not a lot of movement, which is opposite from every other ultrasound.  Matthew on the other hand was moving all over the place, which we had not heard/seen yet.  He is usually pretty calm. 
After my regular appointment, Scott and I went to the perinatal specialist, which is common practice with multiples.  This was our 3rd visit.  The last time we were there (16 1/2 weeks) both boys weighed about 7oz (I later read that 3-5 oz is the average for that stage..yikes).  At this visit they did an Anatomy Scan.  We were able to see all of their organs, the heart chambers, brain activity, kidneys, fingers and toes and everything else.  We were also able to confirm that they are both indeed boys! 
The appointment went well...and both boys are now about 13 oz each.  Again, everything that I have read says they should be around 10 oz. each.  So, perhaps this means they will be big...or...they are just growing fast right now.

I also found out that we will schedule the C-section for April 20th.  That means we are just 4 months away.  They will arrive during the 37th week, which is a little early, but typical for multiples.  The doctor and I agreed that a C-section was the best way to go...don't want to have to do an emergency c-section after pushing one...in the event that the other is a little stubborn.

We are so exctied....can hardly wait for the boys to get here. 

The names.....and the meaning behind it

For some people (Paul and Alli) it takes a long time to figure out what name you want to give your child...for us...about 10 seconds. Long ago we decided that if we were ever fortunate to have a son his name would be Thomas John, or TJ.  We had a girl name picked out too...but I guess that one didn't work out.  Thinking of the second name didn't take too long either.  We thought of family names immediately and found some pretty impressive people to name our son after.

The meaning and origins of:

Thomas John (TJ) Henson   and    Matthew Paul Henson

Thomas - means "twin"; named for Scott  (Thomas Scott Henson), Scott's father - Tommy Henson, my Fathers' middle name - Paul Thomas Hogan, and Scott's grandfather - Thomas Leon Henson.

John - means "God's grace"; named for my uncle; John Heckelman

Matthew - means "Gift from God"; not initially named for anyone in particular, I have always loved the name, Scott loved it and then when talking to my mother, discovered that it was her grandfather's middle name.

Paul - means "little one"; named after my father Paul Thomas Hogan, my brother Paul Philip Hogan, and my grandfather Dennis Paul Hogan

It was really important to Scott and I to name our children after the people we most love, respect, and admire.  All of these men have impacted our lives, both directly and indirectly, in countless ways.  It is our hope that our boys have the character and love of family of each of these men.

17 Weeks...wow..big news

So I went for my 16 week check up and took my mother with me. She was so excited to get to see/hear the babies.  We had NOOOO idea what was about to happen.
First, we had a little scrare....we could clearly hear one heartbeat...loud and clear.  The other heartbeat was more difficult to detect.  The doctor said something about one baby can sometimes block the sound waves of the other baby so it appears that there is no heartbeat.  So, we quickly moved down the hall to the ultrasound room. My doctor was immediately able to find both heartbeats and we could see the babies moving around.  My mother was really excited to see this for the first time.
Then the doctor said she could tell what sex one of the babies was, but not the other...did I want to know????  I initially thought "no way..not without Scott", plus, we wanted it to be a surprise and tell everyone on Thanksgiving if we found something out. But, I couldn't stand it and told her to tell me....a BOY!!!  It was such an emotional moment. I was really excited to be able to share it with my mother, especially since she has been there every step of the way.  After we left, we drove straight to Scott's office and he was a little surprised to see me...but was on Cloud 9 when I told him we had a little TJ on the way!!  Couldn't believe it!
A few days later we headed to the perinatal specialist for our regular appointment.  TJ, the lower sitting baby, was moving quite a bit but they were able to get a ton of pictures of him and his organs, etc.  It was pretty cool to see the chambers of the heart and his kidneys and everything else.  They too confirmed that he was in fact all boy.  The technician then moved on to the baby that sits higher in my belly.  Every time we have been for an ultrasound this one has not been cooperative...won't uncross the legs, blurry pictures..you name it.  Well, after a few minutes, the technician determined that this baby was also a BOY....so, now we know we have 2 little boys coming our way.  It sure will be a house full of testosterone!  Things will certainly get interesting...probably smelly and dirty too!

15 Weeks

So we are now 15 weeks along and I am getting bigger by the day, which is fine by me, but finding clothes is a challenge. I still have had no nausea or any major issues to date, thankfully.  It is definitely feeling real because Roger certainly notices my growing stomach and is constantly checking it out. 

To prepare for the arrival of these babies,I thought that I would create a monthly "to-do" list for both Scott and I.  Obviously he has the more labor intensive jobs, but nonetheless, we both have been busy on our weekends. Thankfully my parent are only a few minutes away...my dad (so amazing) has spent A LOT of time at our house - installing a light kit on a ceiling fan, patching walls, hanging shelving in the garage...I could go on an on..
Mom has been by too - she has helped get the yard looking good and we have done some serious shopping.
We have already ordered furniture for the nursery, have been researching things for a registry, and mom has been hitting the garage sales getting some serious deals on things.  We have had a lot of fun and no fights yet when we've been shopping...It's been a great time to spend with her.
This past weekend was nice...not too much work to do.  We were actually able to just lounge around on Sunday which felt great.
Next week we go back to the specialist and we are hoping for a good report.  We should get another ultrasound that day.  Hopefully these peanuts will cooperate with us and let us see what we are having.  I am getting frustrated not knowing.  Will it be 2 boys?? 2 Girls?? One of each???  So exciting...but I want to know NOW!

12 Weeks

It has been 4 weeks since our last doctor's appointment and we have seen these babies via the ultrasound at every appointment since basically conception.  It is pretty cool that we have photos of them at every stage of my pregnancy....we even have the pictures of them as embryos...strange, but one of the benefits of modern science.

Leading up to our 12 week appointment, Scott and I were pretty nervous, as we have been at every stage.  We certainly aren't taking anything for granted.  Since I have had absolutely no morning sickness, no real cravings, and other than fatigue, no real symptoms of pregnancy, it's easy to feel like something is not right, therefore amplifying our nerves.

October 22 was our 12 week appointment and our doctor brought us right in to the ultrasound room.  So far everything looks good, good blood pressure, good (not high) weight gain, and when she showed us the monitor, we saw two bouncing babies.

Our doctor first focused on the active baby.  We could clearly see the heartbeat, the head, fingers, legs, toes, and tummy.  This baby was crazy...bouncing everywhere.  It apparently was ready to party.  The doctor wasn't able to get a good photo because the baby was moving too much.  The other baby....well that's a different story.  We saw the heartbeat right away, saw the hands, fingers, legs, head, and tummy, but this baby was much more relaxed.  It was just hanging out...watching its little buddy go nuts.....I wonder if this is a preview of what to expect in a few months... Yikes!  But I'll take it..

The babies appeared to be healthy and active and my doctor felt confident that everything is headed in the right direction....

A few days later we had to go to a specialist for a better ultrasound and some standard genetic testing.  The same thing happened at this ultrasound...the one baby was not very cooperative and wouldn't let the technician get a good view.  We did get some great photos.  These pictures are awesome......we could see everything.....except what gender we're dealing with!