July 4th on July 10th

I'm a little late on getting the July 4th pictures up, but I've been trying to catch up period. Our church has a spectacular firework show every 4th of July, so we decided to take the whole family and let Hayden see her first fireworks! It took a week for her to catch up on her sleep, but it was well worth it.

This week has been a little overwhelming, but in all good. I had a friend pass away from cancer last Saturday and her funeral was Tuesday. RIP Bonnie Blue, always in my heart.

The boys had shots on Monday and it took several days to get over that. Hayden has been doing very well with potty-training, but has had a few accidents. They all seem to be settling into a schedule. Overall I'm so proud of my family. I'm now not quite as terrified of being at home alone with all three as I was at first. I'm still so grateful to have had a lot of help and support.

On my prayer list: the family of Bonnie and my best friend's mom, who just found out she has stage 2 breast cancer. I love you Mary and you'll pull through and do fine. Our God is an awesome God. The power of prayer is unlike any other.

Happy 10 weeks Ethan and Garrett!

My Princess

This post is dedicated to my sweet girl, Hayden. It's always been all about Hayden, but since the boys have been born, I feel like I've short-changed her (even though she still gets plenty of my love). My sister, brother, and sister-in-law are in town helping me adjust to my new world of three kids and a household, so it's been a big party for Hayden. She gets two new brothers, whom she adores, and attention from every angle of my house.

Since she's turned two, it's like she's a new child. This new little person, who speaks in sentences that I can understand, starting pre-school soon, sleeping in a big-girl bed, and just recently started wearing big-girl underwear, has taken over my baby! I'm so proud to say that she's been potty-training for two weeks and has only had four accidents. She has surpassed my every expectation!

Some of her more recent pictures.......

Someone found mommy's mascara!

At least she knows how to use the suction bulb, but doesn't know where the balm ex goes!

I love you so much Hayden! You're going to be the best big sister to your little brothers!

Been kinda busy!

It's been a WHILE since my last post. Just haven't been able to find the time. Let's see, what's happened since March. Well, Hayden turned two, Spencer had a birthday, OH, I had the twins on May 1st. They were 10 weeks early and spent six weeks in the NICU. Talk about a rollercoaster ride. My water broke on Friday night at 11pm and they were born Saturday at 9 am almost. I delivered at Pitt Memorial Hospital and three weeks later, the twins were transfered to Wake Medical Center. Garrett James weighed 3 lbs and Ethan Spencer weighed 2 lbs 12 oz. They were both around 16 inches long. They came home on June 14, 2010. So far, life has been hectic, but absolutely wonderful.


Garrett James


Ethan Spencer




Hayden is in love with her little brothers.




They have been home now for 3 weeks and are 9 weeks old. They weigh 6.6 lbs (Garrett) and 6 lbs (Ethan). They are still like newborns, but are growing fast. My due date was originally June 11th.





One week old

Garrett
Ethan


12 Days Old

Ethan
Garrett


3 and a half weeks old

Garrett

Ethan


5 weeks and in the same crib!




At home finally! 6 weeks old!







2 Months





Looking back at the photos while writing this post has been humbling. How blessed am I? The NICU experience was difficult, but I have two healthy boys as a result. Both Wake and Pitt NICU teams were wonderful and did their best to keep us comfortable. Now my days and nights are filled with feedings, diaper changes and some crying, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My boys are definately little fighters!

Well I've managed to kill the battery in one of my cameras and lose the memory card in the other, so there will be no recent photos with this post.

I'm at home today with a sick child, once again. This is the second virus this year that Hayden has come home with. The fever, though low, is hanging around and we had more throwing up. Now just bring on the diarrhea and let's get this over with. Gotta love how graphic this post is! It's doing me good to be off my feet today AND cuddle with Hayden.

Hayden's 2nd birthday is coming up this weekend. My how time flies! We're not doing an elaborate celebration like we did last year. Just a family outing to Marbles Museum and dinner to, possibly, Chuckie Cheese (dread) after.


Some of Hayden's pics from her first birthday last year. She has changed so much in one year. I'm so proud of her and how much she's grown and matured.










I cherish, even though she's sick, these days at home with just she and I. They will be short-lived since I only have 3 or so more months left before the twins come. This pregnancy has taken so much out of me, I feel like I've been a zombie for the past 5 months. Spencer has been great also. He helps so much with Hayden and keeping the house and bills together.

I'm so blessed!

I'm Back!

OK, so it's been a little while. Life has been hectic, but still wonderful. Lot's of catching up to do!

We're are fast approaching Hayden's 2ND birthday, mine has gone by, and I'm 21 weeks into my pregnancy with twin boys! Excited is not even the word, neither is overwhelmed. We've been busy rearranging the house to fit our "family of five" needs (pics will come in the next post). Our dining room table has now been moved into our eat in kitchen, making it severely cramped, but I can't part with it, I love it! And what was once my formal dining room is now the playroom. Spencer repainted Hayden's bedroom to a lighter color and the spare room is now empty, awaiting two more cribs.

Miss Priss is no longer "the baby". Tammy and I were trying to figure out what we are going to call our little ones now that they are no longer "the babies".



Some of the things she is NOT doing is NOT using the potty and NOT sleeping in a regular bed, which is fine by me. I don't think I'll attempt it again until after "the boys" are born. She is, however, talking very well. I can now understand about half of the gibberish she speaks. Some of it is still gibberish because she just likes to talk!









We've had a pretty cold winter. It is definitely colder than the past few winters. It has snowed here in our area of North Carolina three times worth noting. I believe they are calling for more next week. I was still sick at the time of the first snow, but managed to get outside for about 15 minutes and take some pictures.






Hayden enjoyed being out in it, but it was so cold on that first day. She did not want to come in, but I did not want to stay out, so I won! I think I dressed her in about three layers and she resembled "Randy" on A Christmas Story.



My Boys

We found out last Thursday via ultrasound that I am carrying two boys. Baby A is on my right side and weighs about 12 ounces. Baby B is on the left and weighs about 13 ounces. They both weigh a ton in my book. At 21 weeks, my legs, lower back and pelvic area are so sore. I never experienced that much fatigue or soreness in my whole pregnancy with Hayden. I have almost gained 20 lbs. I am working through this month and will start the maternity leave process next month. At five months, I'm already feeling and seeing the results of being on my feet 6 hours a day. I didn't even go on maternity leave with Hayden after until she was born! It has definitely been much more of a challenge this time around. The nausea started to subside about 2 weeks ago. I still take a Zofran at about 4 am every morning, but other than that, I'm feeling pretty good.

I will need some ideas on boy names. I've never been creative when it comes to choosing names. I had always loved the name Hayden, so that was easy. I also never dreamed I'd be naming 2 boys at the same time either!


Next up will be Hayden, Tanner and mom's birthday. Maybe I won't wait another month to post!

I Want Tizza!

Tizza! Tizza! It's pizza night at the Bellamy house. Hayden's favourite meal is cheese pizza on a thin crust (or a thicker one). As long as I say "pizza" life is good and she is HUNGRY. Daddy is out of town on business for the evening, so my little BFF and I decided to be bad and eat good. Daddy doesn't usually agree to pizza, but he's not here so we can do what we want!




This is my attempt at vegetables. I got a choice of three toppings, so I picked spinach, mushrooms, and olives. It was really good.



I don't usually allow this (even though she tries it often), but let her slide for a quick pic. She has been testing the waters!


Just look at that Innocent face!

Oh! and by the way, Domino's new hearty tomato sauce is GOOD! It's not REAL bad if she and I (mostly) ate over half of a large pizza, is it?



New Years was low key. My mom took the family to eat at Ribeye's. It was great as usual. We attempted to see the ball drop, but failed. Mom left around 9 and I was awakened by firecrackers at midnight. We spent New Year's Day at the Moss' for football and finger foods.







It's been a great year so far. Today, I have felt the best since getting pregnant. This morning was a little shaky, but it turned out great!

Well I must now sign off and save my child from the bowl of yogurt that's attacking her!

Oh, here's a pic from earlier this week when Hayden and a Nutri-Grain Bar got into it. It's safe to say she won!