10 weeks

can't believe the boys are 10 weeks old... we got the final results of the placenta test yesterday and they were right all along. we have identical twins. we were pretty sure about it anyways but its nice to know for sure.
they have been changing so much lately. smiling lots more and just generally maturing. they are so strong already.
we had a good weekend..its been so hot here though which is hard because we don't get a chance to be outside much. tommorow is suposed to be not as hot so maybe we will get out for a walk.
we are looking forward to this month as we have a few visitors coming our way.. auntie evelyn will be here next week for the whole week..jamie and craig come see us on the 22nd...daves parents are here the 20th for 10 days and our ywam friends will get to meet the boys on the 25th..we can't wait.

here is a picture of noah fresh out of the bathtub (in the blue towel) and ari right after his bath.

splish splash

i was taking a bath... this is ari he loves the bath.. only got a good shot of him cause noah was not as happy to be wet.. next time.
well the weekend was a success. we all had a great time. it was nice to have a change of scenery and really get to relax.
i figured it was about time i wrote about my mother... there is no chance i could have survived the last while having the babies home without her. faithfully she walks in the door at 9am and helps me all morning..she helps me feed, change, wash dishes and clean and just spend time with ari and noah. she gives me time to shower and make coffee and we share a chat over toast with crunchy peanut butter. i look forward to her coming each day. then she either comes back in the afternoon to help me (usually returning with groceries of some sort and usually dinner) or i pack the boys up and we head over to her house. its hard around feeding time with only two hands. usually they are both hungry and if not being held they tend to scream and scream and scream and that makes the mommy stressed out!!! having my mom here really calms me down.
i just wanted you all to know how much she means to me and how sane we are only because of her. i am panicking a bit for august as they are taking some much needed time to tour around on their Harley. they planned there week long vacation for when my inlaws were supposed to be here but then my inlaws bumped there trip back a few weeks and now i will be left alone.. without my mom. she is panicking too which doesn't help but i know i have people i can call up for help its just not the same. so if anyone wants to come visit me.. just ask audrey how much fun it can be to hold babies all day long.. maybe this will be good for me as it will for sure make me appreciate my mother even more. she really is one terrific mom and a superstar grandma.
we love her. mom we love you...
love heather, ari & noah

firsts...

i wanted to blog quickly this morning before we left for the weekend. it will be our first weekend away and we are excited to be going up to the cabin with grandma and grandpa. its amazing how much stuff i have to pack anticipating a whole weekend away. last night i said to dave "is 80 diapers enough?"
we have had a good week - many firsts.. first doctor appointment which went well she was happy with how much weight they are gaining. noah weighs 9lbs2oz and ari weighs 9lbs. little porkers. she wasn't too concerned with ari's hernia and told me what to look for if it should take a turn for the worse. its huge but not painful for him. they both are awake alot more and staring at me and SMILING!! oh my what a feeling when they gaze up at you with these goofy little smiles. i love it!
dave and i were looking through my birth pictures (our midwife was allowed to take crazy pictures of the c-section) anyways we came across this picture taken a minute before we walked into the operating room. scary - remember i had been in the hospital for 4 days already which doesn't do much for your looks (or hair ugg)... enjoy. i will post when we get back... love to you all.

Harley Davidson...

so this will be our tribute to the Harley...if anyone knows my dad he is slightly into riding motercycles and loves his Harley... of course before the boys came we got the onesies and now that they can wear them i must say they are absolutly adorable. here is our first family photo and of course a photo of the boys with grandpa and grandpa who incidently are also dressed in fine Harley gear. sunday my dad and i hopped on said bike and headed for Miami to look at the amazing huge windmills they have up there. it was a beautiful day and i forgot how much i liked riding. it was a great day! thanks dad.

new friends and other things...

hi guys we wanted to introduce you to our new friend Jesse. he was born on July 8th and we are so happy he is here to play with. yesterday morning we spent some time lying around and hanging out with him. he's just like us you know lays around eating and burping and pooping. we've been having a blast. although he's only a week old we are all about the same weight. we imagine in a few months we'll all be beating up on each other and william will be bossing us around. we can hardly wait!

yesterday was a good day. we hung out with grandma at her house. we love going there it makes mom much happier and we get lots more cuddles that way.






then today you'll never guess what happened it was hilarious. we spent the morning cuddling and then I (Ari) wasn't feeling so great and had some projectile spit up that landed all over my brother. he didn't seem to mind although it sure made his hair all curly. mom and dad got some pictures see below. i doubt it will be the last time...
enjoy your day as we enjoy ours. love ari & noah

chubby tubbies

i figured it was time to write a real post. i find myself with the time as my boys are lovingly being held by their dad and their grandma which is nice for mom... not sure what i would do without either of them. don't even want to think about it. life is busy to say the least. my days fly by filled with lots of feeding, changing, burping, cuddling and basic hygene (for me). the boys are so good for the most part they sleep well at night which we are extremely thankful for. i find the days hard when i am alone as feeding two is time consuming and can be stressful when one gets food and the other has to wait - man those little tiny mouths when they scream make life a bit heartbreaking. like today all three of us cried and cried. we sing the patience song alot and i am trying to teach them that as humans we only have two hands.
yesterday our midwife came over and we weighed the boys. Ari has caught up and passed his little brother he weighed in at 8lbs 11oz. Noah is just a bit behind at 8lbs 8oz. Incredible.
Its amazing how fast they are growing. I hope you continue to read this as I promise to try to be more creative in my writing.

sad goodbyes at 6 weeks old

audrey left us on saturday. having her here was a lifesaver for me. the boys loved to cuddle with their madrina and i definitly loved the company she provided. after i dropped her off at the airport on saturday i drove away and had the feeling that there are just some friendships that will never leave you no matter how far away you are or how many years go by without seeing each other. i love you audrey and am inspired by you and your life.
its been a good weekend other than that. yesterday the difran family had there first big outing (minus the walmart outing last week) we went to our church picnic. it was nice to get out and of course not many people have seen the babies. the boys did really well and we were thankful for the shade of a big tree.

the boys also got to meet grandma difran yesterday afternoon. she was passing through with a group on there way to regina and they stayed for a few hours. grandma got to cuddle and change both boys. i think they liked meeting her.
dave is home today which is nice and the boys are sleeping right now which is nicer. the days are long but i have to admit our nights are pretty good. they sleep a good 4-5 hour stint (as long as for the last hour or so they are in bed cuddling with us) i can't complain about that.

.. took me a few days to post this. yesterday the boys were 6 weeks old! noah weighs 7lbs8oz and ari weighs 7lbs5oz. they get bigger and bigger each day. today we went to the chiropracter to get the boys adjusted with the hopes that it will help their sore tummies which have a hard time digesting their food. they did pretty good considering we woke them from nice naps.

motherhood is a mix of emotions for me these days. extreme emotions. i am amazed at how much i love them and some days am amazed at how selfish i want to be. they are teaching me so much about myself and i am daily learning how to let go of things that really in the long run don't matter. its about choosing the best for them and learning how to stay sane in the midst of that.
to all those who go before me i commend you and am thankful that i can learn so much about motherhood from you.

tales of two monkeys

yes we are still alive. its busy these days! we are blessed to have audrey here this week which has been so nice. we missed her and the boys are having fun cuddling with their madrina! i will write a post this week filled with more details on how we are and what we are up too but i wanted to get some cute pics up from this past weekend. our little monkeys are just too cute!!

happy fathers day

well we are making it.. every day seems to get better and better. its amazing to see the progress our little guys are making. they get bigger and bigger each day. on thursday our midwife came and weighed them and noah was 6lbs1oz and ari was 5lbs14oz.
i plan to write a better blog this week but here are some more pics to tide you over till then.

we are home!!!

so happy to be home and in our own crib together at last!
we will update you more later... when we are not all so sleepy!

and then there were three...

well we have had our little noah with us since friday evening. what a wierd feeling taking him from the hospital without his brother.. it has been going real well. he is so sweet. he has done so well in the midst of these circumstances. its amazing how adaptable they are. we are staying at a house offered to us by complete strangers (friends of the fabulous friends we had been staying with). we go in to see ari when we can and although it doesn't feel like enough ari is resiliant and continues to be a champ at breastfeeding and the most mellow easy going guy.
we are hoping to be bringing ari home with us tommorow. we all need to go home. i have been in winnipeg for far too long. today is the boys 3 week birthday and although time has flown by its long overdue to head home and settle into life with our new family.
we will update you more as the week goes on. i really appreciate having this medium to share with you all whats going on and know that we have so many people sending positive thoughts our way. hopefully next post it will be just the four of us enjoying snuggles in our own bed at home.

almost home

well the journey looks like it has an end in sight... we are hoping to be home by the end of the weekend. noah is ready to go and ari needs to have no breathing episodes and he can go too. they both have grown so much this past week. its amazing to see their progress and how they have turned into little newborns all of a sudden. noah is over 5lbs and ari is quickly catching up. in the last couple days ari has been eating like a little piggy. they are allowed to eat whenever they want and however much they want now as opposed to their schedule. so that is the update for now we are hoping to be ready to go saturday or sunday morning. we will keep you posted. for now enjoy some newer pics of the two of them. they are taken this week. notice how much their faces have
filled out..my little piggies.

*the picture of little noah in the carseat is him passing his first test making him ready to go home!
*ari and mom
*ari and noah together again (these two were taken today - thursday)

my 100th post

well last night i slept in my own bed and it was nice.. it was wierd coming home yesterday without the boys especially since everything is ready for them to be here. it was nice to sort through some stuff and it will be good to get some stuff done today before we go back later this afternoon. in no time the boys will be home and i will not have time to tie up loose ends.
we called the hospital this morning to check on them and they had a fabulous night!! both gained weight and noah is almost at his birth weight. ari had no breathing spells all night which is amazing. and ari took a whole feed by bottle which is amazing!! we have to get them full feeding by breast and bottle so that we can get rid of tube feeding them so they can come home. we were so pleased with the progress they are making. hopefully by the end of next week we will all be cuddling at home.
dave and i are good a bit of an emotional roller coaster we feel we are on but its been good how it has brought us closer together and we see them extreme need for each other. this is a crazy experience and there is no one i would rather share it with.
so now that my pregnancy is over and i have beautiful babies i will leave you with some of the things i notice and love every day that i can do now that my belly is gone..

1. i stare and stare at my feet and ankles as they are so small - finally!
2. i can lay on my stomach whenever i want (as long as its not close to pumping time)
3. i can turn over and move around when i sleep which is a great feeling
4. no more nasal congestion and no more snoring
5. i do not have to run to pee every 5 sec
6. dave does not have to bend his back to hug me anymore
7. i have the most beautiful babies in the whole world!!

(can you tell who is who?)

sleepy babies!!

this week..

i have a few minutes before i need to get going and spent some time reading comments you all have made since we entered the hospital 10 days ago. maybe its the craziness of this all but i was so overwhelmed by your beautiful thoughts and was sitting here having a good cry. thank you for making us a part of your life and for reading. a special thanks to JB a few posts down it was just what i needed to hear.
well my most fabulous husband has left to go back to work. having him leave last night was incredibly hard as he has been my rock and been the best friend i could have ever asked for. watching him hold, kiss, change and love on our boys has brought me to tears so many times. his gentle heart overwhelms me. for those of you who really know him he brings a mellow vibe everywhere he goes and has transferred that to the boys (for now) its lovely to see.
i have family coming a few times this week and dave will be back wed evening and then for the weekend. think of him as leaving the boys was harder on him than he thought.
spoke with the boys doctor yesterday and we are looking at another 7-10 days. they just need to mature and fatten up. they are doing so well and everyone is so pleased with their progress.
i have a cell phone and would love to hear from people. i was not sure how to send an email to all those who would want to know so if you see this and want the number email me (i am guessing only those who have my email would really want to speak to me anyways) it would be nice to hear familur voices. i will check in tonite and get you the number.
love to all of you and again my heart is lifted knowing we are so well taken care of in thoughts and prayers from all of you. we will try to post pics again soon.

me and my brother back together again...

well to the faithful who are still checking in. thank you. it is good to be home from the hospital and sleeping in a regular bed with my super amazing husband who take such good care of me. i am doing well other than dealing wtih a horrible backache due to my bodies relapse after carrying 50lbs of belly. we spend all day at the hospital with our brave strong boys who are amazing us daily with all they can do. Noah and Ari are lovingly taken care of by the nurses in the NICU and we are blessed by them. All we are doing is letting them grow and get stronger and in no time (hopefully by the end of the week) we can take them home. i was going to name this post me and my breast pump as we are now best friends. but i have to hand it to my new best friend who is now helping me feed my boys exclusively the good stuff. Noah is even feeding during the day from me and Ari who is a bit slower is learning lots. we thought you would enjoy seeing our boys together now that they are all off the Iv's and stuff. it was amzing to stare at their beautiful similar yet different faces. we are overwhelmed with love and awe of our little guys. hope you enjoy the pictures. keep checking back i will keep you all posted. dave will be heading home on sunday to go back to work next week and i will stay here and spend the days at the hospital and hopefully before we know it we can take them home.

here they are! Noah is on the left and Ari is on the right. the first of many family photos!

Welcome to the World!!!

We know you are dying to hear the news and we are excited to tell you about our beautiful little boys. Ari Jeremiah was born at 2:49pm on may 22 weighing 4lbs 7oz. 17 3/4 inches. Noah Emery followed at 2:50pm weighing 4lbs 10.5oz. 18 inches. Birth story to follow once mom is doing a bit better. Boys are being watched in the newborn ICU and are both doing well. Ari had some breathing issues but is now breathing on his own. Both are feeding well. Please keep us in your thoughts as spending a week here has been a bit hard on our little family. Heather should be discharged tommorow and will stay in the city as long as the boys, which is now looking like at least another week may be 2. They are progressing more and more everyday. They just need time to grow.We will update again this weekend. Love to you all!!

Enjoy looking at our cute little babies

3 days and counting....

A rare apperance here by Dave writing to let you all know what is going on and why all the silence from Heather. Heather had a fetal assement on thursday which showed very active, thriving babies. The cord was not presenting but seems baby A has his little foot jack knifed way down with baby B's head pressing on it. She then saw her doctor who did an exam to find her 3-4cm dialated with water's buldging. She was informed it was too dangerous to go home should the water break. Heather was then admitted to the hospital that afternoon. So, here we are at the end of day three a bit weary & tired and still waiting.... We are waiting till Monday to see the Dr. again and re-assess the situation or unless her water breacks. A C section seems the only possibility as of now, the question is when? Please keep us in your thoughts as it is hard to be far away from home living in a hospital. When we know more we'll fill you in! Thanks for your love and prayers. Heres to healthy babies soon.
Dave & Heather

come on little guy you can do it

i guess the countdown is on.. i find myself wondering where i'll be and what i'll be doing when it's time to meet the boys. i debated writing this post but figure i could use all the good warm thoughts you would all send our way. we have a few options at this point and will know more on thursday when we have our appointment in winnipeg. as of now baby a is footling breech with cord hanging down by his feet. baby b is heads down but not far enough to get in front of the other babies feet.
the risk of my water breaking is what is the concern because the action of the water could bring the cord lower and then as is natural either feet or the other babies head will begin to press on my cervix cutting off the cord for baby a. scary. so...we are hoping that either baby a still has room to move heads down or he can skooch his little feet way up so baby b can get his head lower (and then he would be come baby a) confused? stay with me.. i've really been fighting with fear the last few weeks and the unknown and having to give up all the thoughts i had around what my birth would be like. i have begun to realize that whatever the outcome my thoughts can dictate what my birth ends up meaning to me. my midwife has been so good had helping me process all that. so on thursday we will be able to tell more whether or not i get to go till i go into labor or if they will schedule a csection after the long weekend (which would put me past 36 weeks). please keep us in your thoughts as we only want the best for our little guys. we can't wait to meet them. yesterday dave was sitting across the room from me and looks over his eyes really wide and says "so, soon we are going to have babies here? two of them." like it had just hit him. it was pretty cute.
thats about all for now. just remembering to enjoy the moment and all that surrounds me, waiting eagerly to meet our boys.

happy birthday...

to the best husband in the world!!
a winner in most everything!!

baby pool

its been so quiet here in blog land. i find myself checking for comments and checking other peoples blogs and its far and few between. maybe its wearing off...i hope not. anyways.
we went for another appt in winnipeg yesterday and got to see the little guys. they are doing really well - moving alot and growing ALOT!! we were so surprised to hear they both are about 4lbs14oz. Can you believe that! i have almost 10lbs of baby inside. they are still not in optimal positions.. baby a (right) has his little bum down and feet dangling below tickling my cervix which is not good as they would call this a footling breech and would not let me deliver "naturally" but i would have to give birth by ceserean. they are also cautious because the cord has slipped down there with the feet and that means if my membranes rupture (water breaks) and they are still in this position that causes many risks to the babies. so.. we are doing everything possible to get baby a to switch position. baby b (left) is head down but not far enough to be the first baby yet. please say a prayer for us if you think of it.
ok on to more fun we have set up a baby pool and we want you to all go and enter what you think the babies weight, length and date of birth will be. (there will be prizes). all you have to do is go to http://www.ExpectNet.com and enter our game name which is DoubleBlessing. Dave and I did it seperately and he picked the same day I did. How wierd is that!! Its really easy to do. Remember no points for guessing the gender thats a freebie!
We'd love to hear from you!

today i miss most things vancouver. i would like to eat sushi. i would love a good cup of coffee - i am still not under the impression that tim hortons equals great coffee. i miss my friends. i would like to walk up and down the drive with them. i really miss craigslist... man we need a desk and if only we had craigslist we would have desk within minutes. i have not even peeked on craigslist till today and had to exit quite quickly it's still too soon. the wound is too fresh. did i mention i miss my friends..
on a better note this was the after thought of a good prarie storm.
God is in the beautiful details.

home sweet home

just wanted to share some pictures of our house. these are main floor pics (all newly painted by my wonderful husband!) we are really happy with the way it has turned out so far. enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92072146@N00/