The Merrills

Sorry I have been behind in my blogging. Between my AZ trip, family coming into town and just having fun with being tired, uncomfortable and achy from the pregnancy....blogging has been put on the back-burner.

SHOWERS:
From October 15th-19th, I was in AZ for my baby shower. My sister, Stacy and friends, Shelly, Lisa and Miranda helped throw it for me. It was so great to see my family that I haven't seen for a while and some friends that I haven't seen in a VERY long while.

Here are pictures of the great festivities....


Stacy made these cute little pumpkin babies that greeted everyone at the door. If you look closely, they have had a bit of a blowout from their diapers!!

She also made this cute autumn/Wild Things wreath for the front door.

It even had the boys' names on it...

These were the labels for the food. She had it catered from Souper Salads. Everything was so yummy! We had salads plus cornbread and gingerbread. My friend Shelly also did chocolate fondue.....mmmmmm.

Everyone made a scrapbook page with advice for me and the boys'. It turned out so darling!

Here is my Aunt Jenny, with her daughters Lindsey and Annie. Jenny had twin boys as well, they are about a year younger than me. I definitely got some good advice from her....especially about breastfeeding. I really want to breastfeed.

Opening gifts...that is my sister Stacy with one of her cute doggies, Corona.

A picture with my friends Amy (left) and Shelly (right). We used to hang out tons in high school. It was so cool to see everyone again!

These are my mom's bestest friends, Linda (left) and Shirley (right). They are always there to support me.

Here is a picture with Stacy again and my niece, Anna.

My friend, Lisa, made me the cutest diaper cake. She even put a couple of Maxes in there for each of the boys.

October 24th was my last shower up here in Las Vegas. My friends Buffy, Adriana and Tennille threw it for me. They did such a great job! My sister, nieces and mom were able to come down from Utah for this one as well. So we had visitors for a couple days, which was fun.

First off, the food was fantastic! They did a brunch spread with meats, cheeses, rolls, fruits, veggies, breakfast casseroles....you name it!!

Here is Tennille and I enjoying the yumminess!

They had really cute games. Rhiannon (left-Buffy's daughter) and Dawn (right-my sister in law) both won.

Ursela was also a winner. She is super competitive.....so I figured she would make it happen and she did. She won twice!!

My niece, Brooke, even won a game!

Not sure if I have mentioned this yet. But I have somehow ended up having three showers thrown for me this month. I am feeling very loved :)

Last Saturday, my ward threw a baby shower for me and my impending baby boys. My wonderful friend, Amy, offered to have it at her house and it turned out awesome!

I have been craving a lot of these lately:CHERRIES! I don't know why but anything with cherries in it just sounds so good. Cherry coke, cherry 7-Up, but most of all, my favorite thing to order these days is a Sonic Route 44 Cherry Limeade with extra REAL Cherries. (Make sure to say REAL cherries, otherwise you will end up with tons of extra cherry syrup and the flavor is off.) Ryan has gotten sick of going to Sonic for dinner, so sometimes I just go get drinks there and nothing else.

So, when Amy asked me what I had been craving lately, the only thing I could think of was cherry limeades. She made sure to have all the fixin's to make us some. Sprite, cherries and cherry juice. YUMMY! There was also a great pasta salad, veggies and rolls with homemade strawberry jam (the only way to eat jam, I say).

After eating dinner, it was time for cake and presents. No arguments from me :) They got a great cake with the yummiest chocolate frosting ever.


Here are a few shots of me opening up presents.





My friend Andrea also sent us a present. She gave us two coordinating onesies that are super cute. I have a feeling that these boys are gonna be rocking out at a very young age!!


I just want to say again THANK YOU to everyone who came, gave us a present or has supported us so far in this journey.

Quick update on the boys:
I am 28 weeks along and have started going in for monitoring twice a week. They check the blood flow circulation, heart beats and for contractions. So far, everything is looking good!

Tomorrow, I am heading down to AZ for the weekend. My sister and friends are throwing me a shower for my family and friends who are in AZ. I am so excited to see everyone! I will be flying in and then Ryan will drive down to pick me up on Sunday. The flight is pretty short, so hopefully I am not too uncomfortable :)

See ya next week!!



PS-Don't you love the new signature?!?! I have been jealous of everyone else's cute signature and finally figured out how to add mine too!! This is the website I used if anyone is interested: MyLiveSignature.com

As promised in the previous post, I need to catch you up on the boys and my belly.

Here are a few of my belly at 25 weeks (this week).








I went in this week for another set of appointments. I see a perinatal specialist every two weeks and my ob every month. I am 25 weeks, measuring at 30 weeks already. Those twins make ya grow double fast!! I also got the go ahead to fly down to AZ for my baby shower in October......so excited for that. Flying for an hour is much better than driving for six!

I also got my lab order to go get my glucose test. This is one thing I am NOT looking forward to. Blood work, drinking some yucky sugary stuff and then having to sit there for an hour. Sounds more like a "Shelly Puking Test". I throw up medicine a lot, so I am nervous about doing it then and having to start all over again. If anyone has any tips for getting through a glucose test....send them my way!!!

Here are some shots of the boys this week.....





We have decided that the boys' profiles most closely resemble Alfred Hitchcock at this point. They are both breech at this point and very active. That translates to lots of kicking on my bladder area. So, yeah, I pee a LOT!

Ryan is excited to finally be able to feel them kick soon. Hopefully in the next couple weeks they will be big enough for him to feel them from the outside.

Oh yeah, the shoe situation is getting a bit ridiculous. I think tomorrow I may go try to find a pair of flats that I can wear to church. I can only wear one pair of shoes, besides Old Navy flip flops. But I do love these shoes! I got them at Payless before our trip and they have become a godsend!!



I have been sleeping okay, once I can finally get to sleep. It seems like I am just not tired half the time. Ryan and I trying to walk/run regularly, which Ryan is sure will help make me tired by the time bedtime comes. Otherwise, I am just up wasting time on Facebook and looking for "Where the Wild Things Are" nursery ideas. I am excited to start working on the nursery and getting it put together.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Baby B kept on trying to touch his feet and knees to his chest!

Okay, so this week we went to the doctor's again for an ultrasound and we have some news. Well, half-news. We now know for sure that Baby B is a BOY!!!! See below for the evidence.



Baby A was not cooperating this week, but the ultrsound tech THINKS it is a girl. She couldn't tell for sure, because the cord was right between the legs. But, she thinks there is a good chance that it is a girl. So, if that holds up, we will be getting one of each-one boy and one girl!! Ryan is still holding out for two boys, but I think it is a girl too. We go back in two weeks, so hopefully then it will be clear and we can know for sure.

I am so excited to be able to start planning, registering, etc. We already have names pretty much picked out too, so that is one headache we don't have to worry about.

In other news, we went up to Utah this week just for the day to visit my parents and sister. It was nice to get out of the heat for a while. It actually rained pretty hard a couple times. We got to go to my favorite antique store in Cedar City, Betty's Antiques It is right down on Main Street and always has the best stuff. The owner goes back east to get lots of old furniture, house remnants, etc. They have some refurbished stuff, but a lot of it is the real deal. Every time we go there we find some stuff we love. And they are always willing to make a deal. My sister got a great deal on an old trunk and Ryan got a steer-head door knocker and this huge artillery shell he loves.

I scored some awesome antique buttons that I am gonna use for some of my buttons magnets and button stamps for Baubles & Buttons. So be on the lookout for that :)

Last but not least, I just started a scripture study program called, 40 Days Closer to Christ. I am excited to be jumping back into the scriptures and really want to finish the Book of Mormon this time around. I am ashamed to say that I have never read it all the way through. Each day has a list of scriptures and quotes to ponder, plus a section of the Book of Mormon to read. I am glad to be doing it and hope it will help strengthen my testimony.

I think that is about it for this week. We are planning a big road trip from here to California, then up to Oregon and back again. We will be going in August and are having a great time planning it. More on that to come next time :)

At our last appointment, the doctor tried to see the sex of the babies, but they weren't cooperating. They were just content to lay there with their legs crossed. He said, "Well, if they are girls, then that is a good thing" :) We are hoping to find out the sex of them soon!! I feel like I have so much to do and prepare for, but knowing the sexes will make it so much easier.

We had some recent updates around the house as well. We finally bought a travel trailer. We have been wanting one for a while, plus with the babies on the way, space is going to be a bit tighter around here. My parents will stay in it when they visit and then we can use to go on some fun family vacations! This isn't a picture of ours, but it looks just like it. It is a 1997 Thor Wanderer, 28 footer.