Newborn Pictures

One of my favorite photographers took Brecken and Joelle's newborn pictures.  She had us over for a modeling session so she could work on some new poses.  Check her out. 

Cutest little owls ever!

Adorable little feet..if you look closely you can see their heel pricks :(

Perfect wintery shot!

Cuddling in bed.

The next shot is a picture of Adelyn facing the same way as Joelle:

Sleepy Jo

Adelyn facing the same way as Brecken:

Mommy's littlest man

As effortless as this looks..it wasn't.

Love.

The more I look at the comparison shots of Adelyn, Brecken and Joelle, I think Adelyn is a mix of the two of them.  Which makes sense because Adelyn has traits from both Eric and I, Brecken looks like me and Joelle looks like Eric..

Follow-up

We went to the doctor for the weight check.  I was pretty not-excited for it.  Dr. Lund was out of town for the week so we had to see the doctor I don't like.  I was also a little concerned about Joelle's belly button.  It was looking quite a bit like Adelyn's and I was concerned it would need to be cauterized.  The babies were weighed and they were both .  She was pleased with their weight gain.  The doctor looked at Joelle's belly button and agreed it would need to be cleaned and cauterized.  (cauterized=using silver nitrate to stop the oozing)  Eric went with me to the appointment and was thoroughly horrified about the whole process.  I, unfortunately, had remembered from Adelyn so I was immune to it all.

Doctors Visit

We went to the doctor today so the babies could get a once over before Christmas break.  Brecken weighed in at 6lbs 3 ozs and Joelle was 6lbs 5ozs.  Since Jo has lost weight we have to go back on Tuesday for a weight check.  Dr. Lund said they are both a little jaundiced so we also had to do a heel prick to get a baseline level in case it continued.

Home. Sweet. Home.

We arrived home today at 11 with our new family of 5.  I HATE being in the hospital.  I hate everything about it.  Sitting in that bed.  The food.  People poking you at all hours of the night.  The smell.  The gown.  Just being there.  Right after delivery I asked when I could go home.  They told me I had to leave in 24 hours and it would depend on how the babies do as to when they would get to leave.  I wasn't leaving without my babies so I nursed them lots :) When we left the hospital Brecken weighed 6lbs and Joelle weighed 6lbs 7ozs.  We didn't have tons of visitors which is kind of how we planned it.  Our parents came Saturday night and then we had people trickle in all through Sunday.  When we had Adelyn we had TONS of visitors and we both hated it.  We had no sleep and tons of people to entertain.  We made sure this time that there weren't many overlaps and we had some breaks in-between.  We have to go to the doctor on Wednesday to make sure the babies are doing well before everybody leaves for Christmas break.

A post in which I brag about myself a little.

December 18, 2010.

A day I will never forget.  A day that I became a mom to not 1 child but 3.  My day started at 6:30.  I packed up last minute things.  Ate breakfast.  Prepared to leave Adelyn for the first time EVER.  That part was very hard for me.  My mom and sister stayed at our house with her, so that was nice, but I have never left her over night anywhere or even for a whole day...and now I was supposed to leave her for a couple days.  So it goes when you have to give birth right?!  We ended up making it to the hospital a little before 8:30.  When we walked into our room it was a little unnerving seeing the 2 bassinets waiting for us.  Reality hit then, we were really going to leave with two more babies :)  She checked me before starting my IV and I was still a 4.  Sigh.  After 3 attempts at my IV she finally succeeded.  Not her fault, just my stupid rolling, small veins.  Dr. Taylor came in about an hour after that and said that my contractions looked good.  I said well it's no different than at home.  At this point I wasn't holding my breath for a change.  I asked if I could walk around and what a production that is..I had to have all the monitors hooked up.  You could only put one baby on a battery powered monitor so I had to be back in the room every half hour to monitor Joelle and get my Pitocin bumped up.  At lunch time she checked me again and I was a 6.  Definitely moving up but not where I had wanted to be.  I was pleasantly surprised that Pitocin didn't make my contractions horrible like I have heard from more than one person.  After lunch my nurse wanted to monitor both babies for a while since we hadn't had a good reading from either one of them while I was walking.  She asked me a couple times if I wanted an epidural and I kept saying no because I wasn't in much pain at all.  She checked me again at 3:00 and I was STILL a 6.  I asked if I could get my water broken and she said she would call Dr. Taylor and ask.  She called him and he said that he was on his way in and if I had progressed he would break my water and if I wasn't progressing any more he was going to send me home.  I told Eric I am NOT going home so we better get in the hallway and run so I would dilate some more.  Apparently it worked because in the 15 minutes it took for him to come to the hospital I dilated to a 7  :)  He broke my water and I asked again to walk but they told me I had to wait for a little while so they could make sure breaking my water didn't put either of the babies in distress.  I called my mom at 5 and told her what was going on and told her I probably wouldn't call again until after the babies came.  At this point my contractions started becoming painful but not nearly as painful as they had been when I had Adelyn, so I still didn't want an epidural.  My nurse told me if I wanted an epidural it would probably have to be now or I might not get a chance.  She was actually really helpful in my decision making because she had very similar labor experiences to mine.  Her first was really hard and her second was easy.  She also had gotten an epidural with her first and she didn't with her second.  She was very encouraging of me to not get an epidural, which is what I had wanted but there were quite a few people who wanted me to have one...doctors, anesthesiologists, other nurses, etc.  She offered me Stadol and I was extremely hesitant to take it because I had heard from quite a few people that it made them sick or hallucinate.  I discussed this with her and she said it lasts about an hour and I would know virtually immediately if it would make me sick or see green people.  She said that I could get half a dose if I wanted and I decided to do that.  No nausea or scary green people :)  We walked around the hall for about 15 minutes because my IV battery was dieing.  That really got things moving and I was feeling some pressure so I asked her to check me again when I got back and she said that I was almost completely dilated and that she was going to call Dr. Taylor.  As soon as she walked out the door I told Eric you better call her back because I'm pushing and I'm pushing now.  In the 4 minutes it takes Dr. Taylor to get to the hospital I had pushed Brecken out and was getting ready to deliver Joelle.  She was head down and remained head down..so no farm animal delivery.  When they came out they looked so small to both Eric and I but we were pleasantly surprised and proud they weighed 6lbs 4rozs and 6lbs 12ozs!  There was no screaming during the delivery on my part and Eric survived with all his limbs intact.  I'm pretty sure not everyone can say that ;)  With all that being said, delivering without an epidural was seriously the best thing I have ever done.  If we have more kids I can say without a doubt that I would not get an epidural..unless if I had a labor similar to Adelyns.

So proud to announce...

Brecken Eric Fitzgerald

5:59pm

6lbs 4oz, 19in

Joelle Marie Fitzgerald

6:08pm

6lbs 12oz, 19in

More details to come later!

D-Day

 38 weeks 2 days.  Huge.

Two bassinets.  Two babies.  Hello reality.

38 Weeks

T-Minus 48 hours'ish until these babies get their eviction notice and have to vacate the premises!

 

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 38 weeks, belly measures 42 weeks.
Weight Gain: 35 pounds..let's be serious I am eating way to many Christmas cookies :)

Babies weight: According to BabyCenter 6.8lbs
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Tired.  Uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over.  If I lay on my back, even a reclined position, I get extremely short of breath.  Like nauseous and about to pass out short of breath.  Something about to much pressure on my aorta.  And my diaphragm.  And my rib cage.  And my back.  You get the picture.
What I miss: My body.
Cravings: 84 East, Christmas cookies, food.

Best moments this week: Getting a good report from the doctor.  They are both still head down and look great.  Induction is scheduled for Saturday at 8:00am.  I asked about just breaking my water since I'm dilated to a 4 and he said we can do that if you want but then if you don't start contracting you just signed yourself up for a c-section.  He said pitocin would be the best way to go because then if my body decides it's not ready they can just turn the pitocin off and I can go home.  Bah.  I really didn't want pitocin but I don't want a c-section even more.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting these babies!!!

Names: Yes!!  Baby boy needs a middle names but Eric is "pretty sure" what it will be..

Wordless Wednesday

37 Weeks

37 Weeks.  I honestly never thought I would see the day where I would carry TWINS to 37 weeks, without any complications.

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 37 weeks
Weight Gain: 32 pounds

Babies weight: According to BabyCenter 6 1/3lbs
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Tired.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over.  If I lay on my back, even a reclined position, I get extremely short of breath.  Like nauseous and about to pass out short of breath.  Something about to much pressure on my aorta.  And my diaphragm.  And my rib cage.  And my back.  You get the picture.
What I miss: My body.
Cravings: ??

Best moments this week: Baby Boy is STILL head down.  Baby Girl is now head down as well!  My doctor was disappointed saying that a vertex/breech delivery is "more fun for the doctor."  I told him that I'm glad I won't have to feel like a farm animal..but that could still change ;) I am dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced.  I have to admit I'm a little nervous of walking around Meijer and sneezing out a baby..  Our poor son is going to have the biggest cone head ever.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting these babies, hopefully sooner rather than later!  This weekend is our "self-induction" weekend in the hopes that they'll come before I have to be induced.  Bring on the hot wings and the pineapple!!  I'll also be taking walks as I can fit them in.

Names: Yes!!  Baby boy needs a middle names but Eric is "pretty sure" what it will be..

36 weeks

Let's be serious.  I am huge.

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 36 week, my belly measures 40 weeks.
Weight Gain: 30 pounds

Babies weight: According to BabyCenter almost 6lbs
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Tired.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over.  If I lay on my back, even a reclined position, I get extremely short of breath.  Like nauseous and about to pass out short of breath.  Something about to much pressure on my aorta.  And my diaphragm.  And my rib cage.  And my back.  You get the picture.
What I miss: Cuddling with Adelyn.  Having a normal proportioned body.  My belly looks entirely unnatural and I don't think my legs will ever *look* as skinny as they do right now!
Cravings: Cereal

Best moments this week: Baby Boy is STILL head down.  It's a record for him, folks.  Dr. Taylor *says* that since he has been like this for 2 weeks now he "shouldn't" move.  Hopefully.  Making it full term.  I never thought I would make it this far.  Being dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting these little ones.  They can come any day and theoretically be ok and not need any extra measures taken.  I have an induction date of December 18..if I make it that far.  Please, dear God, don't let me make it that far.

Names: Yes!!  Baby boy needs a middle names but Eric is "pretty sure" what it will be..

22 Months

Since I haven't talked ONLY about Adelyn in forever, I'm pretty sure I need to do that.

*Adelyn you are officially 22 months old. 

*You weigh about 28lbs and are 35-36in long...and still have a large head ;)

*You wear size 24month, 2T and some 3T clothes.

*You wear a size 5 diaper..although we are moving up to a size 6 shortly, at night, because we have had way to many leaks lately.

*You have had your very first haircut and I cut barely an inch off the back.  You were rocking the mullet pretty hard core so I laid down the law and said it had to go.  Since your curls aren't quite so curly in the winter it was looking pretty bad.

*You take 1 nap from about 1-3 and you sleep from 8ish to 8ish.

*You are currently on your 3rd cold, for this season.  And refuse to get rid of it.

*You talk A LOT.  I couldn't even count how many words you say and you understand pretty much everything we say.  Sometimes you string together two words but it's still mostly one.  You are getting much better about using your words instead of having a temper tantrum and most of the time if we remind you, you use them instead of having a temper tantrum.

*You do this adorable thing where you turn your head to the side and say "peas peas" if you want something.  Sometimes you cut your eyes over at us to instead of looking directly at us and that just totally adds to the cuteness.

*You use "peas" and "tanks" a lot!!  I love that you are so polite and you will even tell random people that if they have something you want.. for example: stickers at the doctors office/target/wherever we happen to be.

*We are working on your patience.  We usually just have to tell you, and keep gently reminding you, to be patient when it comes to getting what your wanting.  Who are we kidding though, everybody struggles with patience!!

*You LOVE the movies Cars, Choo Choo (The Polar Express), and the Babies movie (which is a documentary I picked up at Redbox one day..and for a while it was the only thing you would watch..thankfully we can now watch any of those 3 and it's ok).  Anything else though and you don't like it.  It's been rather nice that I can sit down for an hour and a half and we are both entertained.

*You officially made the transition to the way back of the van and it slightly saddens me.  You don't seem to mind and you love to climb up into your seat by yourself (I put a stool in front of your seat so you could easily get to it).  I think you actually cry/whine less being way back there because now I really can't get anything for you.

*You LOVE your Papa and Nana.  You ask for them practically every day, multiple times a day.  It usually goes something along the lines of Daddy? He's at work.  Papa? He's at work  Nana? She's at work.  2-3 times, sometimes more, per day.

*I worry about you adjusting to being a big sister but we talk about it with you all the time so hopefully we only have minor jealousy issues.  We have some plans in place so you hopefully feel extra special.

*You still LOVE to eat.

*You still only bite/hit/kick me.  It makes me sad but at least it isn't anybody else and according to Parenting it means that you are most comfortable with me...hmm...

*You still have a love affair with your paci.  You typically only get it at night and for naps but I think you might have a heart attack if we took it away.

*You currently have approximately 6 teeth on top and 8 on bottom.  You got 5 of those teeth, 2 molars and 3 eye teeth, within the last 3 weeks...another good reason you may be hanging onto your cold.  I say approximately because you rarely ever let me feel the top teeth and when I stuck my finger in there the other day I discovered the eye tooth and the molar on the one side and still have yet to figure out if you have any on the other side.

*When we went to the allergist the other day I was strongly encouraged to use your Flonase/Nasonex daily because you are a mouth breather and if you continue that you could be a mouth breather for the rest of your life.  So we now added that to your Qvar regiment.  You are going to be my drug baby.  It could be MUCH worse though so we'll be thankful that we have minor issues with you.

Mommy loves you baby Adelyn and I know that you are going to be the best big sister I could ask for.  I am so excited to watch you grow and I LOVE the stage you are in right now.  I think I say that a lot but this stage is really fun because you express yourself so much and you are starting to talk so much now!!

34 weeks

Whoops.. this post is almost 3 week over due..but I am going to post date it so you never would have known if I hadn't told you ;)

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 34 weeks
Weight Gain: 28 pounds
Babies weight: According to BabyCenter 4.75lbs..
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Tired.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over.  If I lay on my back, even a reclined position, I get extremely short of breath.  Like nauseous and about to pass out short of breath.  Something about to much pressure on my aorta.  And my diaphragm.  And my rib cage.  And my back.  You get the picture.
What I miss: Cuddling with Adelyn.  It's quite hard when you have a pumpkin in the way :)  It's very painful to bend over and stairs just plain exhaust me.  I can do one flight but if I try to go from the basement to up-upstairs I get quite winded.  Sleeping on my stomach..
Cravings: Hmmm...I don't know right now...   

Best moments this week: Baby boy is officially head down!!  No c-section for me..if he stays that way.  Dr. Taylor said "there is about a 3% chance of him switching positions again."  Being dilated to a 2, technically a 1, because I am not effaced at all.  At least a 1 is something!!  The basement is coming along and so is the babies room!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting the babies..in a few weeks ;) FINISHING.THE.BASEMENT.

Names: Yes!!  Baby boy needs a middle names but Eric is "pretty sure" what it will be..

A sneak peek of the babies room..it isn't completely finished but it's close..

Baby Girl's side of the room

Baby Boy's side of the room

32 Weeks

Today marks 32 weeks.  YIKES.  Where has time gone?!  It seriously escapes me.  I can't believe I have made it so far carrying two babies without any complications.  AWESOME.  So thankful.  I had an appointment today and my doctor is very pleased with how they look.  Our stubborn baby boy is once again completely transverse.  Sigh.  At 24 weeks he was head down, 28 weeks transverse, 30 weeks mostly head down and now at 32 completely transverse.  Apparently he hasn't gotten the memo that he can't be delivered back first.  Dr. Taylor did tell me exactly what I wanted to hear though and that is he won't be making any c-section decisions until I am actually in labor.  So thankful that he isn't pushing for a c-section.  My belly measures at 37 weeks which (I believe) is one week larger than I ever measured with Adelyn.  So apparently I'm just plain huge from here on out..

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 32 weeks
Weight Gain: 26 pounds
Babies weight: According to BabyCenter 3.75lbs..which our babies were at 30 weeks..so who knows :)
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Numbness in my hands and feet.  Tired.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over.  If I lay on my back, even a reclined position, I get extremely short of breath.  Like nauseous and about to pass out short of breath.  Something about to much pressure on my aorta.  And my diaphragm.  And my rib cage.  And my back.  You get the picture.
What I miss: It's very painful to bend over and stairs just plain exhaust me.  I can do one flight but if I try to go from the basement to up-upstairs I get quite winded.  Sleeping on my stomach..
Cravings: Hmmm...I don't know right now...   

Best moments this week: The basement is completely primed.  All the junk is out of the babies room!!  Eric and I put the cribs together and I started hanging stuff  on the walls.  My very sweet friends had a diaper shower for me last Saturday.  It was very nice and I received lots of diapers and some other essentials.

What I am looking forward to: The babies bedding is almost done, the mattresses should be here tomorrow along with some other miscellaneous things we ordered!  Going to the doctor every two weeks..just means we are closer to meeting these two precious bundles!  FINISHING.THE.BASEMENT.

Names: Yes!!  Baby boy needs a middle names but Eric is "pretty sure" what it will be..

A day (or morning) in the life…

Just a day morning in my life.

It started out great and the past few days have been great, with Adelyn.  Anyone with a toddler knows that is a pretty long stretch of time before something is going to go haywire.  In all honestly, most of it, is my fault.  It all started with me trying to hang some stuff up in the babies room and she was playing in her bathroom.  Mistake number 1:  I should have closed the bathroom door.  I could hear her clanking around in there but told myself its ok because all the shampoo/oil/lotion bottles in reach are still sealed.  I finish up and go in to find her licking Burts Bees soap and in her escape, because she knows she's not supposed to be doing that, she throws the bottle.  Yay.  Can anyone say I now have clean(er) floors in that bathroom?  I start cleaning that up and realize the Burts Bees lotion is on the floor.  I pick it up and it's half empty.  It WAS a brand new bottle.  I'm looking all over for the lotion mess and realize its in the drawer.  Cool.  The wood needed moisturizing right!?

Side note: Dear Burt's Bees, Go ahead and seal those bottles before you sell them.  We are paying enough for them that you should be able to do that.  Thanks.

Next we head downstairs and I'm trying to complete my picture order through Walgreens website.  Mistake number 2:  I HATE Walgreens pictures.  They don't have matte available through pick-up and they do weird size adjustments to your 4x6 pictures.  BUT they had half off prints and you can pick them up with-in a couple hours and I thought it would be nice to be able to show everyone actual pictures when asking the grandparents which ones they wanted.  It takes me an hour and 20 minutes of broken up time to finally, between me and the store, to come to the conclusion that parts of the website are down and therefor I am unable to finish my order.  Sweet.  Thanks for wasting my morning and making me super frustrated that I have ignored my child for nothing.  I give up on Walgreens (shouldn't have tried in the first place) and start gathering things up to shower Adelyn and myself.  It had been 3 days since Adelyn had a bath and since my sister is watching her tonight (and I hate making things difficult for a sitter) I didn't want to make it 4 by having her skip her bath tonight as well.  I bring her in the bathroom, she has a poopie diaper, so we are changing that and she proceeds to stick her hand in her dump and then in her mouth.  Didn't you know it was extra tasty the second time around!?  Gross.  We get in the shower, I wash up, I'm washing her and she proceeds to pinch not one, but BOTH of my nipples (HARD) while asking waztat?  Thank you.  That felt great.  To top it all off when Eric came home to grab his lunch he proceeded to point out that the neighbor's dog who has been using our front porch to do his business has, once again, done his business there.  I, in a fit of rage pregnancy hormones, told him (Eric) that I had it.  I have already talked to the son, the grandma and most recently the man of the house, very nicely, about their dog pooping on our porch.  It has gone on the whole summer and he typically does it on our front walkway, right on the front porch or, if we are lucky, the driveway.  I told Eric that it was getting delivered back to them in a bag with a note attached because, quite frankly, it is rather disgusting.  So that is what I did.  And this was all before 11am.  Thankyouverymuch.

*If you can't see the note enough to read it, it says: Dear Neighbor, PLEASE fix however your dog is escaping.  We are really sick of picking up poop off our front porch. Thanks.  Nichole Fitzgerald

30 Weeks

*Please take notice of the new haircut/color.  Although it was a bad style day today, I LOVE it.  It's closer to my natural color and takes me 15 minutes to blow dry and style the whole thing.  Verses me not doing a thing with my Duggar'ish hair before...

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 30 weeks
Weight Gain: 24 pounds
Babies weight: We had our Ultrasound this morning and Baby Boy weighs 3lb 11oz and Baby Girl weighs 3lbs 9ozs.  For the record that's 7lbs 4ozs of baby.  I can't believe that I want that to almost double..eee...
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Numbness in my hands and feet.  Hungry.  Tired.  I have been getting more and more tired and it's really hard to bend over. 
What I miss: Being able to bend down without it hurting. Getting out of bed vs. rolling out :)  Snuggling with Adelyn without a watermelon in the way.  And Eric, don't forget Eric.
Cravings: Oreo's!    

Best moments this week: Having our 30 week Ultrasound and seeing the babies.  It was so crazy how much we could actually see this time.  We could see his profile so well and we could see her actually sucking.  Melts my heart.

What I am looking forward to: Finishing the basement and getting things done in the nursery!!

Names: Yes!!  Now just for a middle name for Baby Boy..

Charlevoix

 We got back from Charlevoix on Sunday and were able to enjoy a long weekend as a family..yay!!!  The weather “was the warmest they have had in a really long time.”   It was in the 50’s/60’s and sunny the whole weekend.  We did a trip similar to this last year where we go just as a family and don’t do a whole lot.  It’s really enjoyable and super relaxing.  



The pretty lady in a cute alley we found right on the main street. 

 

 Adelyn and I swimming in the hotel pool.  Adelyn is in a cheesy smile phase right now and loves to say “cheese” when we take a picture.  I love it!!

We found a park after a long drawn out process of going to every park Garmin suggested only to be disappointed in the lack of toys.  The way Garmin took us it led to the baseball side of the park and Eric (who, mind you, is the biggest rule abiding person I know) decided just to drive across the field to get to the other side of the park!  That was probably the chilliest morning, hence the hat ;)

It was Charlevoix’s Apple Festival while we were there.  They had all kinds of vendors, crafts, a petting zoo and horse rides!  Adelyn loved to look at the animals.  She wasn’t such a huge fan of feeding the goats but we got some pictures and then she had fun running around the pen and asking “waz tat?” for every animal.  We took her on her first pony ride and when the pony first took off she was shaking her head no but then she got into it and wanted to go again :)

28 Weeks

These pictures are of Adelyn and me swimming while we were on vacation.  Yes, I still wear a bikini.  Mainly because I still think my body is going to be forever ruined and this will probably be the last chance I get to wear one :)

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 28 weeks
Weight Gain: 22 pounds
Babies weight: 14.8 inches long and 2 1/4 lbs per BabyCenter
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Numbness in my hands and feet.  Hungry.  Tired. 
What I miss: Being able to bend down without it hurting. Getting out of bed vs. rolling out :)
Cravings: Food.  

Best moments this week: Getting the good news from the Doctor that everything looks well!

What I am looking forward to: Another big Ultrasound at 30 weeks.

Names: Girls name: Yes. Boys name: Yes.

26 Weeks

These pictures crack me up..partially because I think that I am pretty close to looking like what I was when I was 40 weeks with Adelyn (the second picture).  Apparently when I was pregnant with her I had a picture taking lull from weeks 32 to 37.  Weeks 37 and 38 are just random pictures by our slider not my typical posed living room shot.

My favorite BIG girl and I on her favorite perch :)

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 26 weeks
Weight Gain: 20 pounds
Babies weight: 14 inches long and a pound and 2/3 per BabyCenter
Movement: They move.  All.The.Time.
Symptoms: Numbness in my hands and feet.  Hungry.  Tired. 
What I miss: Being able to bend down without it hurting. Getting out of bed vs. rolling out :)
Cravings: It was tootsie rolls and smarties this week :)     

Best moments this week: Watching the babies wiggle and roll in my belly!

What I am looking forward to: Finishing some things up!

Names: We are decided on a girls name and I *think* we are decided on a boys name.  Now he just needs a middle name..

Funny Conversations...

Eric, Adelyn and I all have colds right now.  Adelyn is actually (surprisingly) the healthiest.  I can only hope and pray she doesn't get worse.  Eric and I have both had a hard time sleeping the past few nights, something about being unable to breath through your nose and a constant tickle in your throat make lying down quite difficult.  Last night we were laying in bed talking about baby names and trying to decide on baby boy's middle name.  FYI I think we have finally come to a consensus on his first name.  Our original plan was to have both babies have our first or middle name.  Wweellll neither Eric nor John go with the first name.  Eric is most definitely not broken hearted about it.  He says he doesn't need to have somebody named after him.  So we are trying to come up with something else.  I really like using a family name for the middle name and we're pretty hosed on that too.  So then we started talking biblical names and none have really struck our fancy so we are going to have to look some up.  I was asking Eric what Jesus' brothers names were and his response was "Jesus had brothers?"  I was like..um. yeah.  Then Eric asked well what's Jesus' middle name?  I said I'm pretty sure he didn't have one.  Eric goes "no, I think it's T"  Say what?!  Eric says "Yeah, Jesus T. Christ.  As in Jesus, The Christ."  Oh. My.  Pretty sure we were dying laughing.  We kept saying how God was going to make us choke on our cough drops in our sleep..Yikes.  He had another crazy one too but I don't remember.  Such is life.

Miss Adelyn

What has my baby Adelyn been up to lately?! Well she isn't such a baby anymore.. She is a toddler who is developing a STRONG personality. She has minor..I guess..temper tantrums that make me either want to pull my hair out or cry with her. For the most part she is so sweet and loving and full of giggles. She loves to give everybody hugs and kisses. Sometimes when her and Kota are looking out the front window she just reaches her little arm over Kota and just stands there, holding her. When I'm in the kitchen she loves to run up to me and hug my legs. Sometimes she holds her arms up to me and says "peas?" Seriously melts my heart. She has the cutest little head of curls and I still have not cut her hair..I refuse. She is so independent and HAS to feed herself at every meal. She doesn't want any help whatsoever and I must say she does pretty good..for a 19 month old ;) She loves to read right now and she can point out certain objects in books. She will bring us stack after stack of books and want to read them. A lot of the time she has to turn the page so we might not be reading it in the correct order but still reading. Amazingly, or not, her favorite books are the books I get out of the Target dollar section. Isn't that how it always goes though?! She still sleeps a solid 12 hours or more at night. I put her to bed between 7:30 and 8 and she sleeps until 7:30-8:30 the next morning. She is about 35 inches tall and weighs 26/27 pounds. She is wearing 2T clothing with the exception of some 18-24 month clothes. I still think that she is going to be completely surprised when we have the babies. She knows the babies are in my belly but as for coming out..ha. Her vocabulary grows every day. I couldn't tell you how many words she knows now. She is starting to put two words together. We have heard her say bye car, GO car, daddy shh? (she thought daddy was sleeping). She is doing a really good job at saying please instead of whining. Whining drives me nuts. We now live in an non-gated community. We took our gate down and Adelyn didn't even notice! I rarely find her at the top of the stairs by herself but she is totally confident in going down the stairs on her belly so I don't worry about it at all. Eric on the other hand..well, when I told him to take the gate down you could hear his helicopter blades start whirring. Every time we see a greenish colored van heading down the road she says "Nana?" Nope, sweetheart, it's not Nana. She loves to play outside and is still in love with her sandbox.
That concludes my thoughts today on Adelyn..I'm exhausted.

24 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 24 weeks
Weight Gain: 14 pounds
Babies weight: About a foot long and just over 1lb!
Movement: They move A LOT. Sometimes I will have days that they don't move much at all though..but they sure make up for it the next couple days.
Symptoms: Numbness in my hands and feet. STARVING.
What I miss: Being able to bend down without it hurting. Getting out of bed vs. rolling out :)
Cravings: Nothing really comes to mind now..
Best moments this week: Seeing the babies!! I still can't believe there are TWO in there and every time I have an ultrasound I can't believe how much they have grown!! Finding out that Baby Boy (Baby A) is head down and things are good to go for a vaginal delivery! Woot woot. Baby Girl is breech...that could change but he said they probably won't change positions anymore. I am 99% positive that I have decided just to get an epidural. Reason being since she is(and potentially remaining) breech Dr. Taylor will be reaching up there and pulling her out by her feet. OUCH. Things are actually starting to come together with setting up for the basement being finished and finishing other projects around the house.
What I am looking forward to: Finishing some things up!
Names: Still decided on the girls and undecided on the boys. We had two contenders. Then I nixed one and brought back another of my favorites. Eric and I are both pretty undecided as to which one of two again though..bah. It has become more of a mutual decision? I just don't want Eric to feel railroaded into one or the other...

22 Weeks

I thought it would be fun to post a comparison picture of when I was pregnant with Adelyn..I think they are pretty close :)

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 22 weeks
Weight Gain: 10lbs..FINALLY double digits.
Babies weight: According to BabyCenter almost 1lb and 11in long. The size of a spaghetti squash :) ..times 2 ;)
Movement: ALL. THE. TIME. Which I love!
Symptoms: My hands (and feet) have been going numb faster. I still have horrendous gas..the belching kind. I can't lay down after I eat, anything, or I get intense vomiting feelings and then when I sit up I belch so loud the windows rattle. No joke. Ask Eric. Hunger pains. Sometimes I eat a full meal and am starving 5 minutes later. It's nuts.
What I miss: Being able to move with ease. Sleeping through the night without having to wake up to use the bathroom. Eating normal amounts of food.
Cravings: This week it has been sweet stuff. Candy, dessert, ice cream. Yum.
Best moments this week: Actually purchasing a VAN. Sad but true. And I am actually thinking I might love it. Don't tell Eric.
What I am looking forward to: Next week's OB appointment. I got the approval to take a vacation in mid-October. As long as I have an OB visit prior and take my records with me, he said it was ok. Kind of weird for me having to get an ok to take a vacation when I will be "only" 28 weeks pregnant. That's the difference between a single pregnancy and twins though :)
Names: Still decided on the girls name and undecided on the boys. Come on Eric!

Socially Acceptable..?

I think not. As a pregnant person (for the 2nd time) I am still failing to see how it is socially acceptable to make rude comments about my (or any pregnant person's) weight. It is not acceptable for me to say to the guy (or gal) down the street "my, it looks like you have put on about 20 lbs" but yet it is (people think) acceptable to make comments on a pregnant person's weight gain. Every pregnant person is WELL aware of how much weight she has gained. She sees it every time she looks in the mirror and prays she doesn't see stretch marks (or more stretch marks), every time she steps on the scale and it says "error, only 1 person at a time," looks down and realizes her feet have disappeared, puts on a shirt that is probably a size or two (or more) bigger, puts a pair of stretchy waisted, incapable of staying up maternity pants on, puts underwear on and it's gotten so tight it's like an insta-thong, puts a bra on that fit before but all of a sudden you can't connect it and it looks like you might lose a boob (or two) when you get finally do get it connected etc. We don't need comments about how much longer we have to go (believe me, we know) or comparing me to every other pregnant person you know-unless if it's in a positive way. News flash: everybody is different. Every pregnant person is different. It makes a difference if you are taller or shorter, larger or smaller, you exercise or not, you eat healthy or not; as to how much weight you will gain and were it will disperse. Also, as a side note, just because I am having twins does not mean it is even MORE acceptable for you to poke fun of me. Guess what folks, I am growing TWO babies. Not one. No you cannot tell me I look just as pregnant as the person who is 12 weeks further (with one baby) than I am. No you cannot comment on how much larger I have gotten in precisely 2 weeks. No you cannot say how far away December is and my how much bigger I am going to get STILL..guess what..it's really not that far away and I know that I am going to get bigger, thanks. No you cannot inform me of the fact that twins are going to be A LOT of work (when you haven't had them yourself), believe me, I have already had one..I think I am aware that they will be a lot of work. It is also not polite to have known one person, in the world, to have delivered 9lb (each) twins and crack jokes that that's how big my babies are going to be. Also unacceptable, informing me that it is completely likely that since I have fraternal twins I could be delivering on two completely different days. Thanks. I knew that too but I'm pretty certain it isn't going to happen..unless if I deliver one a couple minutes before midnight and the other a couple minutes after.

Just go ahead and suck it up and tell the next pregnant woman you see that she is beautiful. She is growing life, folks, and that in and of itself should be (and is) way more beautiful than the fact that she may have gained 20 pounds or 60, gotten stretch marks or not. In the end she has delivered into the world one more person (or two or three or even more) that will make a difference. Then if you must, once that pregnant lady is out of sight, then and only then, can you run and tell Mary down the street or call up your best friend Jane and tell them how huge so and so is.

DISCLAIMER: with all this being said I do not mind, at all, nice comments about how I am growing, that I look great, or that I may have popped out since you saw me last. Every pregnant person should be told that. I'm just saying the WAY you say things and the tone you use has a lot to do with how I (or any other pregnant person) is going to perceive your comment.
If you want to touch my belly and I know you that is also totally fine. If you are the random lady(or man) at the grocery store, once again, unacceptable to touch my belly. But that's a whole different post...and may or may not actually be posted.

You know you have a toddler when...

*she talks to every mannequin you pass at Kohl's.
*she spits her food out on the table, you tell her that's gross, so she starts spitting her food out all the time and telling YOU it's gross.
*she pushes in your husband's chair because he can't remember to do it.
*she constantly asks "waz tat?" even after telling you waz tat is.
*she knows faster than the other person on the phone when I want to end a conversation...and starts saying bye. repeatedly.
*she's actually getting the hang of saying "peas" every time she wants something.
*she might love dogs more than she loves people.
*she poops in the tub.
*if you tell her we are going bye bye, we have to leave. RIGHT. NOW.


...to be continued.

20 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 20 weeks
Weight gain: 6lbs
Babies weight: 10oz boy, 9oz girl (at 19wk Ultrasound)
Movement: Yes! Our little boy is quite the mover. He's going all the time. Our little girl likes to give big hard kicks when she moves. I think most of the time she is trying to stay quiet and avoid her brother...who, the last two times we have seen them, has been kicking some part of her.
Symptoms: Crazy dreams. Also came to the conclusion today (at my Doc's appointment) that I, once again, have pregnancy induced kidney stones AND pregnancy induced carpal tunnel. Nothing new with the kidney stones, I had them with Adelyn. They aren't painful, just yucky symptoms. The carpal tunnel however I am not excited about. My hands have been going numb/asleep when I lay down and he said with it showing up this early I will probably be in braces by the end of my pregnancy. Yay.
What I miss: My energy.
Cravings: Winshueller's cheese!! I still haven't gotten some... (I know I totally butchered the spelling but am to lazy to look it up).
Best moments this week: The doctor confirming that their are no visible problems with the babies!!!
What I am looking forward to: Getting a van. Sad. But true. The jetta is starting to be too small for me to get Adelyn in and out of and it is a strain on my back to buckle her in, change her diaper etc. The basement being finished. DECORATING the babies room =)
Names: The girls name is essentially decided and we have two boys names picked out so I told Eric he has to decide since I like them both :)

Today marks the big halfway point, to 40 weeks, which I do NOT plan on going that long! I had my appointment with Dr. Taylor this morning and he said everything is looking good. My goal remains to make it to 36 weeks, anything from there is fair game :)

Leave of Absence??

Or not. I NEED to get better at this thing. One because I enjoy it. Two because I want my memories..or random thoughts. Third, it's fun to look back at what we (Adelyn) have been doing.
So.
What have we been up to?!
I am almost 20 weeks pregnant. With twins. Don't you forget it. We found out last week Friday that we are having a boy and a girl! I couldn't be happier :) It was quite obvious, ok probably absolute, what each babies gender was. More on the babies later this week..if I'm not a slacker. We are still in the process of trying to find a van. A process which I hate immensely. It's like buying a house. We are always a day late and a dollar short. Sigh. I have had my first official week without Sophia. It's been helpful in some ways and yet I miss the companionship of Sophia (and Tiff). We are also in the process..key word: process..of the basement getting finished. Our plan of attack now is to drywall it, we are going to paint the floor, put rugs down and hopefully potentially put trim down. Depending on how poor we are at that point. Oh well..I just need it usable! Eric is doing the same ole, same ole. Working, working and more working. Now on to my favorite little person.
Adelyn:
She is officially 18 months old. We had her well-baby visit last week Wednesday and she weighs 26lbs 3ozs, 75th percentile. Her height is 33.5inches, 95th percentile and her large head is in the 97th percentile. She only received one owie and is supposedly done with shots until she is 4. But I was told that she should get the flu shot. Thanks but no thanks. She says about 30 different words and we are working on saying please mama instead of whining for something. It's going rather well actually. I also have been sitting her on the toilet every night before bed and we just hang out for a minute or two and then she gets one M&M. Well tonight she went POTTY!! It made my heart smile. I would love to have her potty trained before the babies come..but am not quite sure how realistic that is. I would say tonight is a step in the right direction :) She is also back to not being allowed to have her paci downstairs and that transition went much smoother than the first time I transitioned her to no paci. We had a brief couple weeks, 2ish, where I had to allow it again because someone thought it was acceptable to bite Sophia. Um. No. Now she just bites things when she becomes angry and I tell her no bite and lead her to something else. She is one stubborn little girl. Armchair parenting is definitely not effective in the slightest with her. Not that it should ever be allowed but hey sometimes I get lazy (or just pregnant and exhausted chasing an 18 month old) and preach from my throne on the couch. The word no is not effective with her either. I can say it nicely or holler and neither have any effect. Eric would say she is my daughter. I guess I can't argue. The girl knows what she wants.

Fun Summer Ideas

I saw this on another blog I read and I read through all the posts because I wanted to gather up as many ideas as I could!

~Paint with pudding (on the table, paper or your BODY!)..or finger paint if you are feeling daring
~Put flour on the kitchen table and play cars in it. You can also add fun cups or whatever your heart desires
~Make playdoh. Play with said playdoh
~Cook
~Zoo
~Go to a local farm and ask (or call ahead) to look around
~Color
~Paint
~Have a picnic on the living room floor
~Build a fort
~Swimming
~Fill a container with dried beans and scoop them , sort them, drive cars through them, shovel them etc
~Have a letter of the week. Draw a picture pertaining to said letter, hide uppercase and lowercase of that specific letter around the house and find them, bake something with that letter
~Bake cookies and decorate w/ whatever holiday is coming up
~Sidewalk chalk
~Paint a wall indoors with chalkboard paint, instant rainy day chalk fun
~Popcorn balls..popcorn, 1 stick butter, 1 bag marshmallows. Pop popcorn, melt butter and marshmallows together, combine all ingredients, roll into balls and let cool.
~Fruit Loop Sort..click here for the printable and instructions
~Hike
~Marshghetti..Bag of marshmallows, box of spaghetti (regular not thin) and build something.
~Games..board games, card games, etc
~Twist pipe cleaners into glasses, animals or jewelry
~Water balloons
~Bubbles
~Paint the driveway or fence with water..use sponges or just spray
~Sprinklers
~Make popsicles..try layering with fruit, yogurt, juice
~Wash the car
~Have a dance party and play all kinds of music
~Play hide and seek
~Write or draw in shaving cream
~Work in the yard together..pulling weeds, planting flowers, planting/picking vegetables
~Make a pine cone bird feeder
~Learn to sort laundry
~Help clean the house..give them a damp cloth, swiffer, duster and have them go to town
~Dictate a letter to a friend or grandparent while mom writes and take a trip to the mailbox
~Make an obstacle course
~Go on a campout
~Hide easter eggs and have kids hunt for them
~Have a scavenger hunt..find a blue sock, a purple shirt, a pine cone etc.
~Play "I Spy"
~Go bird watching/listening. Can you find a cardinal or robin?
~Play tag
~Books on CD
~Mystery bag..place an object in a bag and let them feel it and guess what it is
~Build your own pizza
~Have a tea party
~Fill a tub with water and set it on a towel..go to town!
~Barnes and Nobles story time..every Tuesday morning..or check our your local library!
~Fun Crayons..break up your old crayons, put them in a silicone tray with fun shapes and bake them until they melt. Abut 7 minutes at 275. When they re-harden, the crayons make great funky colors
~Sidewalk paint..make with equal parts cornstarch and water..then add food coloring. Enjoy!!
~Homemade bubbles..1 C. water, 2T. light corn syrup, 4T. dish washing soap
~Make your own silly puddy..mix 4 parts Elmer's glue with 1 part Borax, add food coloring and store in a plastic baggy
~Make a collage with old magazines
~Fun snacks..cookie cutters and bread to make cinnamon toast

Fun ideas I picked up from many other blogs and wanted to have them all in one spot for later use :)

SURPRISE and random thoughts

For the few of you who guessed my surprise from my previous post (ahem-Kelly ;) ) I actually deleted what I had said and will re-enter it again tonight..just so I can remember what I had been feeling that day..

As for my surprise we are going to have a double blessing in December-we are pregnant with TWINS!!! It caught us incredibly by surprise since neither of us have twins, at all, on either side. The one and only thing I can think of is that I had only been done nursing Adelyn for a month before I got pregnant..and being pregnant for 9 months and nursing for 13 months equals 21 months of the female organs not knowing what to do. We have since got over the shock and the excitement is beginning to set in. I always tell Eric that the Big Man upstairs must think he's one funny individual because I was always one to proclaim loud and clear that I would NEVER have twins, I would never drive a mini-van (which is now our only (practical) option), I am terrified of stretch marks (and being pregnant with twins I am bound to get them), I am terrified of reaching whale like proportions, little babies scare me-little as in 4lbs..I can do 5lbs. 4, not so much...much less, I now have to deliver not one but TWO babies. The other things that terrify me is that Adelyn is going to get lost in the shuffle and I want to, but essentially have to, breastfeed. But He knows what He's doing and He must think I can do it :)
Oh and having a "plan" how many, what gender and how many years apart they are pretty much flew out the window too. I've heard from many people that having a "plan" is pretty much asking for something different. Ours was to have 2 kids close together, preferably girls, then wait until Adelyn started school to start trying for our 1 (in Eric's opinion) or 2 (in my opinion) more kids, boys. Pretty sure that isn't going to happen :)
The babies are both measuring exactly the same and they are fraternal..definitely a bonus, no twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome with fraternal twins!
We have many changes coming in the Fitzgerald family and we are excited for what comes our way!

Poop, Poop, Poop

Well folks. Today was most certainly a day for the record books (and, sadly, it's not over yet). I attempted to do a little packing this morning. Just kidding. Sophia cried the whole morning. Adelyn was intent on destroying my house. Finally got both of them down for a nap at 10...ah silence. Precious silence. For an hour. While they are sleeping I realize that Lakota, who is in the house, has poop all over her butt hair. Sick. And she was in my house. Even sicker. She got booted out. Adelyn woke up at 11. I vacuumed. We ate lunch. Played outside a bit. Sophia woke up at about 1:15, the one shining spot in my day, her sleeping for 3 hours. One baby for 2 hours. We played outside some more. Came inside because I realized even with sunscreen on Adelyn was turning pink. I tried to go to the bathroom. Key word folks: tried. I hear Adelyn open the basement door so I call her. She comes running and shes waving two tennis balls around. I'm wondering what that funny brown streak is on her arm. Then I realize she has funny brown streaks on her feet, her legs, her arms, her hands. Poop. Ah yes. Diarrhea. Adelyn does diarrhea quite proud. Since she didn't go yesterday (and she's an every day person) you can only imagine. She has managed to track it all in my bathroom. I go out to change her and see poop on the carpet, poop on the bumbo, poop by toys. I lay her down on the mat and take her diaper off..there was a scant two inches spared in the front. The rest had poopies everywhere. As I'm attempting to clean her up I have a fleeting thought, ok it was more than fleeting, of taking her outside and spraying her off. She sticks her hand in it and proceeds to mash it in her fingers. 1) Because I have her legs in one hand 2) In my other hand is poopie wipes. She wipes it all over her belly and then STICKS IT IN HER MOUTH. Pretty sure I yelled no quite loudly. Then I realize she already has a crusty brown spot by her mouth. Be still my heart, don't quit on me now. I wipe her off the best I could and she got a bath.
Nap time #2 for both babies. Attempting to put Sophia down while Adelyn goes back and forth between the bedrooms. She trips. Crashes face first into the door jam. Already has a small bruise on her cheek..here's to hoping it stays small.
Keep in mind I was in the bathroom for mere minutes. Toddlers are dangerous. I am going to have to start tying her to the chair when I have to go.
And. It's only 4:16. I still have more than a couple hours to go.
Can I get a rain check for today please??

15 Months

So I am a week over due but better late than never. We went to the doctor last week Monday and your stats were:
weight: 23lb 15oz, 70th percentile
height: 32 in, 90th percentile
head circumference: 97th percentile
Hey, at least you are maintaining in the head circumference area.
Dr. Lund said you look great and can't believe how much you talk. Apparently 2 words are normal, you say about 10-15.
-hi
-bye
-dada/daddy
-mama/mommy
-please
-baby
-this
-yes
-hot
-eyes
-uh oh
-oohhh
She isn't concerned about the fact that you, STILL, only have 2 teeth. She said if you didn't have any that would be cause for concern. You were tested for a dairy allergy. The first test came back positive, the second negative. So, back to square one we go. The doc said she isn't ready to send you to an allergist yet. If we could hold off until 2 then you would be exposed to more.
Haven't mentioned this on here yet (I don't think) but we watch Sophia Monday through Friday. With that being said I have made you go down to one nap, most days, from 1/1:30 -3:00. Sophia also is sleeping at the same time and it is much needed for Mama to have that break. I also started, today, to have quiet time with you. For a half hour in the morning while Sophia sleeps you will play quietly in your crib. I put some books and quiet toys in there and you are (supposed to be) entertaining yourself. We then spend the other half hour just you and me while Sophia sleeps. Day one was a success except for the intermittent crying but I think you will get there.
We got the news of our lives yesterday. Probably the biggest surprise I will EVER have. No joke. I rotated between crying and staring blankly off into space. I was mainly EXTREMELY overwhelmed. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I will get there. I will reveal our surprise shortly.

Random Conversations

Random Conversation #1 (via Gmail chat):
I informed Eric that I would like to make it to Costco today. His response: Don't forget Dove soap. The following conversation ensued:
Eric: get bars
me: bars of soap?
Eric: Yes. I think I like using a wash cloth.
me: oookkkk.
Eric: I'm sick of the loofa.
me: ...
Eric: Now that I think about it, it weirds me out. The loofa idea. Festering dirt.
me: I'll see what I can find. Sick.
Eric: It's like a bacteria's best friend.
me: (saying bye and signing off of Gmail chat)

Thank you, Eric, for thoroughly disturbing me. I will be using a washcloth from now on too. For the record...I did throw our loofa's away because if you do think about it, it is VERY disturbing. And how do you really spell loofa anyways?


Random Conversation #2 (via texting):
Rachel (my sister): Hey you are a (insert acronym inappropriate for blogging..or anything)
me: This must not be Rachel...
Rachel: No it is.
me: Why would you say that? Do you know what that means?
Rachel: Yes. And Cosmo told me to.
me: Oh. Who the heck is Cosmo? And do you always listen to what people tell you?
Rachel: My magazine. It told me to tell you so you are more open to doing things for me. You know, like waxing my caterpillars (her eyebrows).
me: OMG. I just laughed out loud. You know where I live if you need your caterpillars waxed.
Rachel: Yeah but sometimes you don't like to :)
me: Ha :) Just because I don't like to doesn't mean I won't do it.
Rachel: Still. I feel bad.
me: Seriously. Don't. I'm sure you don't like babysitting Adelyn for free.
Rachel: She is a nut. And makes me laugh.
(Notice how she avoided the actual question?)
me: It's true :) I should probably develop a better attitude about doing your eyebrows AND your hair. I'll work on that.
Rachel: So did my lovely comment help?
me: Nope. But what you said after did.
Rachel: What did I say after?
me: That you feel bad asking me to do it.
Rachel: Oh yeh. Cause you always grunt. So I don't ask very much. And Jake (her boyfriend) doesn't believe that I have caterpillar eyebrows.
me: Well feel free to ask whenever you want!
Rachel: Yes ma'am.

Now why did she have to call me a (insert acronym inappropriate for blogging..or anything) to accomplish that? That is the actual question and the answer is probably because I make her feel like she can't be open with me. I should work on that too.