It's Fall!

Fall is here! Fall is one of our favorite seasons. I love decorating the house for the Fall and Halloween! This past week of school was full of spirit for HoMeCoMiNg!!! It is a busy week with all sorts of activities, and a bit tiring with all the extra "Spirit" that the kiddos at school had. Adam, Izzie, and I capped of the homecoming week by going to the parade. Notice the winter gear... It was sort of chilly!

After the parade, we kept our tradition of the past couple years and ate at Ted's Pizza. Then we were off to the game. Menomonie played Superior and won 50 something to 14 (we left early). As I have been in the district for going on 7 years, it is fun to see the familiar names on the field that I had when they were 6th graders!

We ended our weekend with a Sunday drive to the apple orchard. The colors are beginning to turn and I was craving a fresh caramel apple, so we took a drive to the Maple Leaf Orchard in Spring Valley. We ended up buying some other apples to make apple crisp. Now I just need to find the time and energy to make it sometime early this week!

I had my first volleyball game this past week with my 7th graders. We played Altoona and they did a great job. We won 1 of the 4 games, but I knew the scoreboard would not show how my girls played. Altoona has a different coaching philosophy than Menomonie. They have "Try-Outs" at the 7th grade level, and they have teams divided up by ability. Well, we played the "A" Team and they had a server that played all 4 games and scored at least 15 points on us right off the bat while some of their girls never got playing time. :( At the 7th grade level, I truly enjoy seeing all girls play and watching all girls grow in their skills. My girls did a great job and I am excited for their next games this week!

Some other exciting new for this week.... Our house is FOR SALE! After long debating of when to sell and when to build, our goal is to now maybe/hopefully be in our new house before the babies are born! Of course all is now dependent on when and if our house will sell. We have been busy meeting with our builder so have everything set for when we get an accepted offer. This weeks big development was staking out the rectangle on our lot and trying to finalize some decisions on the house plans.

Baby Update (15 weeks): Sorry, no belly picture again! That isn't something that is in my daily routine... and believe me I have been forgetting ALOT lately!

The babies are close to the size of softballs weighing about 1 3/4 ounces and 4-4 1/2 inches long. Their eyes are continuing to move on their faces and their ears are continuing to develop externally. On some ultra sounds, babies at this stage can be seen sucking their thumbs. Lanugo Hair covers their little bodies with their thin skin. I have had more people at work make comments this week about my belly, and it really depends on what I wear. The day I got most comments I was wearing an actual maternity shirt and it was white (I get less looks and comments when I wear dark colors).

Kids Say The Darndest Things!

I'll start out the post with the most exciting part of our week... Our doctor appointment on Monday afternoon! It has been four weeks since our last appointment and we were both excited to hear the heartbeats again. First going over all the results of the blood work that they drew the time before was pretty standard. Everything came back perfectly normal, even my iron which in the past has been low! The next part of the appointment was for the doctor to check my uterus... I didn't really feel like I have popped yet but I think he basically told me I have (and will continue to for the next 6 months). My uterus is right about at my belly button, maybe a tad higher. I was measuring 13 cm (from pubic bone to top of uterus) at 13 weeks! The measurements should match with your weeks, but he said they usually don't catch up with each other until 20 weeks. Without the prior ultrasound, Dr. Walker said with the size of my uterus, he would have ordered one thinking it was twins.

Next was hearing the heartbeats! We for sure heard one strong one at 160 beats per minute. As Dr. Walker moved around my abdomen, he heard another one that was about 157 beats per minute. He can not be sure that they were the two different heartbeats, and to be sure they need to be 10 beats different. That wasn't the case, but I feel we heard two. It felt to me he was in two very different spots. Either way, with they way I am "growing" we are confident both are healthy and growing strong. It is such an amazing experience! Another appointment in 4 weeks which will put me at 17 weeks, and an ultrasound at 21 weeks... most likely NOT going to find out the genders!

The pictures for this week are not too exciting... The first is the closet as it stands. Notice the Diapers we are beginning to buy with coupons. I am sure we will find a specific brand that we like, but hey... these were on sale and we had coupons!


The other picture is Adam practicing cuddling on the couch with babies. He said, "take my picture, I am practicing being a dad." Izzie sure is a cuddler and it isn't rare to find them in this position.

Last, but not least... The reason for the title. I told my students and my volleyball team about the twins this past Thursday. I again broke out some Twinkies and Doublemint gum. As I shared this treat I asked "Why might I be sharing this treat with you today?" Here are some responses:

"Because it's your BIRTHDAY!!!" - Nope.
"Because the Twins won last night and your a baseball fan." - Nope.
"Because you like Twinkies and they're your favorite." - Nope.

After more hints, someone said "YOUR HAVING TWINS!" Leave it to one of my students to say, "I noticed you were getting bigger," and another said "That's going to hurt when they are born!" Thanks kiddos...

The last quote I will share comes from my friends 10 year old son. Jamie and I were having a mini girls night out on Saturday night and as I went to pick her up at her house, her son ran to the window to sneak-a-peak at me. When I got into their house Jamie told me he said, "She isn't even that fat yet." Thanks Blais, I'll take that as a compliment!!!

Sorry - no belly picture this week. My mom was begging, but it didn't get done. Next week.

~Thanks for checking in... I either need to get better with the camera or we lead a pretty boring life.

First Big Purchase

I'll start out by saying that I have no pictures this week. We didn't really do anything that allowed us to take pictures! You can say we were pretty boring this week. I basically went to work, was on survival mode through volleyball practice and crashed when I got home. There were nights Adam brought me supper on the couch and then I went straight to bed!

I had class on Friday night, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday. I am working towards my master's with another certification . The class was about Communication and Language Disorders. I found certain elements very interesting for how to work with and support some students I work with, but also found how newborns, toddlers, and children pick up language and speech VERY interesting. That brings me to this weeks update on the babies!

The babies are about the size of a peach this week. They are about 2 1/2 to 3 inches from rump to crown. The babies have doubled in size since the 7th week... explaining why I have been exhausted. The babies heads are slowing down in growth letting the rest of their bodies to catch up. Right now their heads are about half their length and by week 21 their heads will be about a third of their length. Their ears are just about at their permanent places on their heads, their eyes are moving closer together, and their intestines are developing. I read somewhere that this week you can start talking to the babies and music helps with brain development. I learned in my class this past weekend that talking to the babies actually helps them with the rhythm of language for later development. I laugh every time Adam tries to "talk" through my belly button to the babies. He thinks his mouth has to be on my belly and all it ends up is a muffled noise.

Oh! One more exciting thing from this week... We bought the stroller we have been eyeing up! Thanks to Adam (bargain shopper) we found it for MUCH cheaper than we had seen in the stores so we ordered it. It's out first major purchase, just another thing making this whole experience very real! We especially liked it because it is on a single stroller base and can easily convert to a single and double stroller with all the attachments. Maybe I'll get to go shopping with only one baby for an afternoon and it can be converted to a single (wishful thinking?). Also, when it is a double, it doesn't feel like we are pushing a bus!!!

We have our doctor appointment tomorrow. We are excited to hear the heartbeats again!! I guess we aren't really sure what else the appointment will consist of but we will keep you posted in next weeks entry!

1st Trimester and Twinkies!!!!

This week was a very busy week! I started back to school with meetings on Monday and Tuesday, an orientation day with the students and their parents on Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday were full days with the kidos. I have to admit that it is nice to get back into a schedule! I hadn't had a chance to share the news with my friends at the Middle School, so on Monday I was prepared to make my announcement with Twinkies and Doublemint gum. The note read:

" Enjoy a TWINkie... Have some DOUBLEmint Gum...

Because Adam and I are expecting TWINS!

Follow us on our Journey... http//babywamboldt.blogspot.com/

~The Wamboldt's

If I have a dollar for every time I was asked "Do twins run in the family?" and "Are you going to find out the gender?" I would have the babies college paid for!!! So let me answer the questions:

~ Yes, twins run in the family. I also mentioned earlier that I was on fertility medication that will also increase the chances of multiples. When talking to my doctor he has no idea which of the two it was. Also, when approaching the magic age of 30 years old, that also increased the chances. So was I the 1 in 25-30 pregnancies that resulted in multiples because of Clomid OR was it the fact that of 5 females in my generation on my mom's side the 3 that have had babies have all had a set of TWINS???? It's hard to say, but it doesn't really matter anymore... Watch out Elly and Megan!!! To make things short I say, "Yes, twins run in the family."

~The second infamous question... Adam and I are really up in the air of whether we will find out the gender at the 20 week appointment. Shopping for baby clothes is difficult! I don't want anymore YELLOW DUCKIE stuff! It would be soooo much easier to know since we are buying double of everything. On the other hand, for the larger items, we want to go neutral anyway so can we get away with not knowing and have the true surprise? We don't know and probably will not know until the day we have the ultrasound. Call us weird, but we have already began to buy diapers as we receive coupons... we know we will need them and boy/girl does not make a difference!

My first day back to school (Wednesday, September 1st) I came home to some beautiful flowers at home from my family (Adam and Izzie)! Thanks Guys!

On Friday night Adam and I went to the Menomonie Football game with some friends. Menomonie won 27 to 21 against Wasau West. It was kinda rainy/misty but we had fun. Since I have been at the middle school for coming up on 7 years, the names and faces on the varsity teams are more familiar and getting more fun to watch. We then went out for a bit for a friend's birthday. HaPpY BiRtHdAy Jamie! With a short nap after school I was good to go, until I hit my wall at about 11 o'clock!

We ended the week with a family get together on Saturday. They boys went golfing while I got to give Baby Elle some snuggles. Adam's parents were over and it is always nice to have a great home cooked dinner!

This is me, my mom (Kathy), Missy, Laura, Dave holding Elle, and Jerry.

12 Weeks

At the end of this week, I will be through my first trimester!!!! I continue to feel great, but hope to get more energy back as I head into full work weeks and coaching volleyball after school. As you can see from the picture, I definitely cannot "Suck it in" anymore. I have some regular pants that still fit, but have started wearing more maternity this past week for the comfort.

The babies have doubled in size in the past three weeks. The babies are nearing three inches long and weigh about 4/5 of an ounce. The facial features are taking on more definition this week as the chin and nose are more refined. This week also marks the arrival of fingernails and toenails!