So yesterday was the big day.  Well, one of the many big days from our perpective.  We had a crew with us to see the babies & to discover their genders.  There were 7 of us total.   Me, Tommy, Dad, Doug, Tim, Julie, and Martha.  We show up at 9 am and sit in the lobby waiting to be called back.  After sitting for a while, Julie says “I can’t believe your not anxious ... I’m about to jump out of my skin.”  Oh I was anxious alright!  I was screaming inside HURRY UP! We finally get called back and we pass the Doctor on the way back to the ultrasound room.  I introduce the Dr to my dad & tell Dr. Busbee, “this is the man who owns the cows you were hearing on the phone the other day.”  That was an interesting conversation. Dr. Busbee wanted me to elaborate later in the exam room about how many animals we had on what he construed to be a full fledged farm. 

Anyway, so I jump on the table and we get started.  The first bambino, our little BOY made himself very visible.  He showed his goods right off the bat.  Our little GIRL on the other hand was being very modest (as she should be) and it took a lot of poking around to get her to reveal. But she finally did & near the end she made it obvious to us.  It was such a wonderful experience.  We got to see their little spines, noses, hands and feet.  The nurse said that developmentally everything looked great.  The heart chambers looked great, as did the brain, bone structure etc.  I was thanking the Lord right then and there. 

One interesting thing was that even though they were growing right on target for their gestation week (and they were only one millimeter apart), the nurse said that clearly the boy would be built like Tommy.  She thinks he will be tall.  You can even see his long legs and feet on the ultrasound picture.  The little girl will be petite, she said.  The little boys disposition was so sweet.  He was so relaxed and chill.  Laid back just like his daddy.  The girl seemed a little more high strung ... like someone else I know. :) She had her butt in the air and her knees tucked underneath.  She even had the cord between her legs & she kicked him a few times.  So funny to see them interacting in the womb. They are keeping each other company. :)

Afterwards I made all my phone calls and texts and then posted the news on facebook.  I spent the rest of the day enjoying the support and love of friends and family.  Thankful that people actually care about our news ... it’s such a nice feeling. 

Later in the evening, Tommy and I laid in the floor of the nursery and just imagined where things would be placed in the nursery & how we would decorate/design it.  We talked about names a little bit & how we needed to FOCUS on that first.  We later laughed about big birthday parties and how it would be split ... princess & pirates, diamonds & dinosaurs, spa & sports.  So much fun ahead.  I can hardly contain it. 

A friend a work gave me a bag of goodies today.  Girl/Boy pacifiers, a baby book, girl/boy clothes hangers, and some baby lotion & powder.  I popped open that lotion and took a whiff and almost teared up.  What an amazing smell.  Ohhh ... to hold them close!!  One day soon.  The days are whizzing by!!  At least now I know how to decorate.  If only I knew what to monogram!

   

 

 

I think I may have felt some ‘fetal movement’ this morning.  I am 16 weeks so I am not sure if I am imagining it or not. It was so subtle.  But it happened twice.  It felt like fluttering.  Could it be?!? 

I am so in love with the these little nudgers already!! 

It’s Love before first sight. 

I am really having a blast being pregnant.  And it seems to be going by fast!  I will be 15 weeks tomorrow.  Geez!  Glad to be in the Second Trimester though.  That brings so much relief.  I'm no Fergie, but I do feel kinda Pregalicious.  :)

I have been traveling quite a bit lately.  After getting back from West Palm with friends, Tommy and I went to Orange Beach for 2 nights and then Destin for 2 nights.  Now I am in Jackson for another few days.  This is a work trip with benefits - per diem money $$$!!  Our beach trips were fun b/c I actually felt comfortable laying out and swimming.  We did some shopping (i.e, Motherhood Maternity, and Carter's), played some skee ball (my fav) and had some nice seafood dinners.  I felt/feel so in love.  We are at a good point in our lives.  Enjoying what we have now ... and knowing things will be very different soon ... is a fun journey to be in together. 

I have had some pretty intense pains in my side.  This last Sunday I even called my Doc out of concern.  He didn't make me feel stupid even though it turned out to just be more stretching.  And, let me tell ya.  You don't get this big, this fast, without experiencing some pain.  :)  I love My Doctor.  I have heard that some women 'fall in love' with their OBGYN's while pregnant.  Not in a literal sense of course.  But they are so attentive to your needs and feelings.  At least my doctor is.  And he makes me laugh so hard.  He is a trip.  When I called him on Sunday, I stepped outside and the cows were lowing and mooing.  He was like, "what the heck?"  He said he was a city boy, and not used to those sounds.  He offered to meet me at His office, but I settled on more tylenol instead.  After talking with him, the pain eased up.  I think it was anxiety adding to the pain.  At my last visit, he told me that my belly was 'rounding up nicely."  Ummmm ... ok.  He measured my belly.  Patted around on it a bit.  And then listened to the heartbeat with a little 'contraption.'  He said he could only hear one of them clearly b/c one baby was laying on top of the other.  It's always cool to hear that sweet beat.

To date, Tommy has went to every one of the Doctors appointments, which is VERY special to me.  :)  When its time for delivery, he will know the Doc as well as I do.  AND .... GUESS WHAT?!?!?!!  Not this Thursday, but NEXT Thursday we will go to find out the gender(s).  Drum roll please. I have been waiting on this!!  I do not really have a gut feeling about what they are.  I know that whatever they are is what God intended for us.  That makes the whole discovery more fun!  I've been more ready to spend money on these babies than ever before.  I've been refraining from buying anything.  But when I can know what to buy - watch out!  :)

Tommy and I talked the other night about not going overboard with spending but to also buy what we want.  A good balance.  We've been waiting for this & I've bought lots of shower gifts up until now.  Now I'm ready to buy for the Barko Babies!  :)  Tommy made a funny comment.  He was saying how these may be our last babies ... so perhaps we should name them Alpha and Omega - the first and the last!!  :)  My punk is funny. 

Anyway, enough for now.  I'll be back soon.  Stay tuned for the gender announcement coming soon. 

We are driving back from our West Palm vacation. I love technology. I can type on the road. Super cool. We went to Silver Springs today and had a wonderful time. We were one of the few people at the park today. We took the 3 boat rides & checked out the animals. One of the 'cruises' worked out nicely for us. We were the only ones in line so we got a private tour down the river. Saw gators and turtles galore. :) To give you a quick run down on the trip … we left Tuesday night and drove to Lake City, FL. Spent the night. Then drove to West Palm on Wednesday. We shopped, took a dip in the pool, had dinner @ the Cheesecake Factory, and shopped at the Gardens Mall that night. Thursday we went to Lion Country Safari and had 3 rhinos walk right up to our car. Crazy! We sat there looking in amazement at them. It felt scary considering they were soooo huge. One seemed bigger than the car!! We read a sign later that said to not stop any where near a rhino b/c they can cause damage to your car. What the?? So glad we avoided that! Wish we had noticed the sign earlier. Right before that we had a whole herd of zebras pass in front of the car. Pretty cool stuff. That evening we ate at Max & Erma's, shopped in Marshall's, and went for dinner at Rocos Tacos & shopping at City Place. I bought a nice clearance purse from Anthropologie. I just love that store. I tell Tommy every time I go in one. I wish I dressed like this. Vintage but hip. Stacey and I both agreed that we don't dress like we'd like to. Its funny how i've been having post-purchase anxiety. Even on this small purse purchase, I was thinking, that $$ could have went towards a crib, stroller, or pack of diapers. Life changes. I can tell that already. This trip was fun. Tommy kept feeling my belly & he hadn't before. We would make guesses at various times about whether the babies were awake or asleep at any given moment. Vacationing in FL in August was not 'comfortable' at most times. But somehow I stayed cool by taking breaks, and drinking LOTS of water. Anyway, so on Friday we drove to Miami. We went on a Duck Tour that took us around the city and even into Biscayne Bay. We boated around 'Star' and 'Palm' Island where all the celebrity multi-million dollar homes were. I particularly remember the original Miami Vice House, P. Diddys House, Rosanne's house, and even where they shoot the 'inside footage' of CSI Miami. We had lunch at Five Guys (gotta love it) and then we went to the Bayside Marketplace. Very nice breeze & pretty good shopping. We got a virgin strawberry daiquiri and a Pina Colada to share. Yumm!! We then went to Miami Beach and took a drive down Ocean Drive - where all the 'happenings' were. The water reminded us of the water at the Dominican Republic. Very tropical but little to no waves. We found ourselves standing beside a topless lady sitting up. Cael was wandering her way and so we had to direct him away. Gross! We stopped on the way back at Boca Raton for some Maggiano's Italian. Saturday, Tommy and I drove to Orlando and laid out by the pool. Talked about child care & decorating the babies' room. :) We went to the Mall & I did some shopping in A Pea in the Pod. I bought a nice pair of jeans, a dress, and a shirt. Tommy took my Mac to the Apple Store for the Snow Leopard upgrade & then we went to City Walk at Universal Studios. That place was hopping!! So much shopping and restaurants and night life. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp House. We took the boat cruise around to the Portofino Hotel to check out that fine establishment. I'd love to stay there someday. So Italian and romantic. One cool thing about traveling is getting to talk so much on the car ride. Tommy and I started reflecting on our 'history.' We got married in March 2001 and moved into a trailer behind his Grandmas House. We lived there for about 4 years until we built our house. We moved into it in March 2005 and I got off birth control pretty soon thereafter. We thought it was the right time for us. We had both graduated college. I had been working at the Courthouse for 5 years. Tommy had been in his career for 1 year. He had started working for A.G. Edwards in April 2004. I really felt we were READY then. Things were all lined up. But God had very different plans for us. We shared a lot of laughs as we discovered we both had different recollections of when I got off birth control. I remember it as being a joint decision. Tommy remembers me informing him after the fact. Surely not. :) We did both agree that I had introduced the idea months before. I clearly remember explaining to him that you had to 'get it out of your system for a few months.' :) Who knew it would take me so long? Ha. For the record though, no one we knew, friends or family around our age, had babies yet. We weren't trying to keep up with anyone, we were just ready to have a baby. Or so we thought. Tommy revealed that it scared him. Being the provider was a bit more intimidating at age 25. My mom got sick around that time. We remembered having a big Mother's Day shrimp boil for her at our new house that May. The whole family came and we had a great time. I never knew we would only have a little more than a year longer with her. These babies will be born on our 9 year wedding anniversary. We've been through a lot together. Mostly good, but some tragedy and long waiting as well. Like I mentioned, we thought that we were ready for children then. When they get here, it wlll be about 5 years later. So, we have decided to enjoy this time in our lives. It was when God, the Creator, wanted to bless us with children. It's nice to be in this season. To be able to realize that His timing is perfect!! It's our time to be parents. And, are we ready now? YES!! :)

I have been feeling off and on good and bad. I am hoping its because I am now approaching the 2nd trimester. What a celebration that will be! Yesterday I woke up early and had breakfast with Cassie. Came home and cooked 2 batches of Buffalo Chicken dip - 1 for the boys doing the Fantasy Football Draft and one for the girls who would be hanging out talking about pregnancy and babies. Friday night was the 1st time I've cooked dinner for me and Tommy since I've been pregnant. We have been eating out mostly b/c I couldn't stand the thought of cooking something and then eating it. We had coconut shrimp and twice baked potatoes. So ... all in all, I am feeling better. Yes, I did have cramping and back pain yesterday that sent me to the bad for an hour and to the tylenol bottle and Yes, I did wake up at 6am this morning sick to my stomach. BUT. It's all tolerable. And, despite my occasional moaning or groaning, I am still SO VERY THRILLED to be pregnant with these twins. Last week I had a small scare. I did a small amount of spotting and the doctor had me come in for an ultrasound. I got to see those little sweethearts again. Heartbeats were good. They were very active again & doing somersalts & water ballet. Such an exciting and amazing sight!! Tommy's job is still in limbo. Colonial Bank got bought out but the Wealth Management Division/Brokerage did not. Daddy Tommy has been a little stressed as a result but he has some things in the works (possibly) and we know that the same God who gave us these sweet babies will bless us and help us provide for them. No doubt about that. I stepped outside this morning to say hello to Daisy and felt the wonderful Fall temperature!!! It's the end of August and I SO EMBRACE this cool morning. I love Fall so much. And the fact that I will enjoy Fall this year in my 2nd Trimester of Pregnancy just tickles me Pink. Thank you God. That was such an added bonus!! This Tuesday afternoon we are taking a fun little road trip with our super cool friends, Gary & Stacey Wade. We are going to West Palm Beach and Miami. We will be there from Tues - Sunday. I got the thumbs up from the Doctor who then begin to tell me how cool the place was. I got excited. I Love to Travel. That's pretty obvious about me. And even though I am thrilled about this trip, I am actually okay with the fact that I won't be doing it as much for a while. These babies will be a whole different kind of adventure. So, with that being said, I'm getting ready to pack my little maternity shorts, my camera, my twin books to read, and lots of snacks and water for a wonderful pre-babies trip. We are going to see some beautiful stuff and eat some yummy food!! I love how the Lord blesses us. He knows what we need and when we need it. His timing is perfect. All Praise and Glory goes to Him this beautiful Early-Fall-like Sunday.