Happy Holidays!!

The end of 2011 culminates the close of a very blessed year for us.

After many struggles, we finally welcomed two very precious healthy bundles safely into our lives. We're settling into our home in NH and adjusting to different work schedules.

I can't think of any pearls of wisdom or witty sayings at the moment. My ears are listening to my babies napping noises, my mind is slightly sleepy and my body is healing from nine months of growth.

We just want to say thank you to so many people. What a tremendous help it has been for people to drop by with ready made meals, treats for our sweet tooths (guilty!) and baby things. We didn't know or realize we would need it before but we're so thankful for all of these things now.

We hope you enjoyed the birth announcements and our holiday cards are on the way!

In case you missed it or are not on Facebook, click below to view our Christmas card and photos:

Counted Blessings:Peppermint Christmas Cards
Check out our collection of Christmas cards and holiday cards.

Wishing all of you out there a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May it be filled with laughter, love and many unexpected joys.

Hugs to all,
Ken, Naria, Emma, Matthew & Aria

First Photo Shoot

Things at the Hamilton household are quite hectic these days. Juggling the feedings, explosive diapers (yes, folks - infants can have those too) and household chores consume most of my waking (and sleeping) hours.

Amidst all the loving chaos, we did manage to have a good friend come by for a visit and for the babies' first photo shoot! We took several in their Christmas best as well as some candid no clothes shots.

Here are some of my favorites:

Aria



Matthew



Aria in her stocking



Matthew in his stocking



Holding hands ...



Aria with big sister, Emma



Matthew with his big sister



The End of their First Photo Shoot.



They are Here!!!

So this is a little late but I've been busy changing diapers and feeding mouths around here!
I'm happy to announce that we welcomed two additions to our home on November 18, 2011.

Matthew Douglas Hamilton was born at 9:45am. He was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches long. He is our little monkey baby with a head full of dark hair and plenty of body hair to match!

Aria Yong Hamilton was born at 9:46am. She was 5 pounds 11 ounces and 18 inches long. She is our dainty angel with a little halo of fuzz on her head.

Every task is doubled and now that Ken has returned to work, I have all the night time feedings and diaper changes. That transition hasn't been easy while also trying to recover from my c-section.

Regardless of the lack of sleep and any discomfort, they are my miracle babies. They were born full term at great birth weights. Neither of them needed to go into the NICU as many twins do and were able to come home when I was discharged from the hospital.

Since we've been home, they've been eating great, gaining weight and have been such good babies. They've brought us such peace and a wholeness to our lives.

We were lucky enough to bring them home a few days before Thanksgiving ...



... and we are thankful for our blessings.

(btw, in case you're wondering:

Matthew's shirt says "Mommy's little turkey" and Aria's shirt says "Thankful for daddy".)

We gave them their first baths this past Monday. I can tell you that they weren't as excited as we were.

Matthew's "BEFORE" photo = Content

During...

...and Matthew's "AFTER" photo = NOT content

Aria's "BEFORE" photo seconds before water ...

...And here come the waterworks!

...and drying off ... and camera shy.

Even though the babies weren't as excited about their bath as Ken and I were, it simply illustrates why parents become parents. Reliving every experience through their eyes makes even the most mundane seem like an adventure.

Check back often for updates and our latest adventures!

At last!

Cliches like "Better late than never" and "Some things are worth waiting for" come to mind as I upload these photos but honestly, thanks for being patient because these photos really should have been posted weeks ago!

So without further ado, our finished nursery ... Only days before their arrival!

Far wall room view

Far right room view

Matthew's Space

Aria's Space

Changing Table

Matthew's mobile (Little green monsters if you couldn't tell :)

Aria's mobile (a little more fancy)

Bamboo Hardwood Floor & Rug

Nursery Light (that also glows in the dark!)

Growth Charts

New picture window

Much needed swing and left side of closet

Left side of closet and middle anchor

Right side of closet

Bouncer

Located outside of nursery door ... Self-explanatory, right?

So I apologize for the grainy photos. I took them with my iPod instead of the camera because it was easier for me to upload but I'm sure you get the general idea.

The stripes details on the nursery walls aren't as easy to see and Ken will tell you now that they look good but don't let him fool you into thinking he was excited about the idea of painting stripes from the get-go. After all the renovations we've been through together, you would think he would leave the details up to me but it is usually still an ongoing "discussion".

Hope you enjoyed the photos. The next ones we post will be the babies living in this room!

Countdown has officially begun as we are now less than two days away!!

Nursery is Almost Complete

After weeks of hard work, I'm happy to report that we now have hardwood floors installed, walls up and painted, windows installed and even the cribs put together in our nursery. I haven't yet had the chance to take some pictures but I am hoping to do so within the next few days.

I am 36 weeks and 3 days today. If I were only expecting one, 40 weeks would be considered full term. I cannot even imagine waiting four more weeks!! As it is, I'm not looking forward to waiting another two weeks. Well, a little less than two.

Although I have had many good intentions of packing a hospital bag, I haven't even done that yet. Lately, I'm having a hard time just keeping up with my bathroom breaks and the laboring walk (or the pregger shuffle/waddle I now have) just to get to the bathroom.

But I'm not complaining! I am only anxious!

Pictures soon!

Must break for lunch now :)

False Alarm (Dad's Version)

As I sat quietly in my office on Tuesday morning reviewing the list of items I needed to complete by day’s end, I casually viewed a text message my wife sent.

"Gah - going to Labor & Delivery for IV. Boo".

Now, my first reaction, as I am sure most expecting fathers would be, was one of pure shock and scared out of my pants!

I was thinking to myself, the bedroom is not ready, the house is not ready, we still need another car seat, and hell, I'm not ready!

My mind was racing when I started to text her back asking if everything is ok. I had to wait a good 10 minutes for a reply because there were nurses and doctors in her room. I will say those ten minutes felt more like 10 hours and the whole time I am wondering, “Is she delivering”?

My fears were solidified when she finally texted back ten minutes/hours later stating she was having contractions!

I jumped to my feet thinking I am about to be the father of twins coming a month early. I promptly called my wife’s cell phone to see how she was doing and what I needed to bring.

Of course, she did not answer the phone....................At this point I am packing up my stuff and getting ready to head to the hospital.

I was moving through my office like a pro football running back having flash backs of my youth. Now, I will not sit here and say I was driving to the hospital like an old man on a Sunday morning gazing at the leaves. However, I did make it from the office in downtown Boston to Allston in record time. Mario Andretti would have been proud.

I burst into the hospital room my beautiful wife was in, half expecting to see her in the throes of child birth. Instead, I see her lying there as cool as cucumber watching Jerry Springer while sipping her Apple juice.

Her response to me coming in the room, “Can we get Mama’s for dinner tonight?”

Needless to say, it was a false alarm, this is my story and I am sticking to it!

The Waiting Game ...

34 weeks and 5 days today. We have about 3 more weeks to go.

Yikes! 

So close and yet so far away, right?

Even though I'm sure every mom-to-be experiences anxiety and excitement towards the end, I can tell you, it's none too pleasant. I still don't feel prepared at all.

Hospital bag is NOT packed.

Baby clothes are NOT laundered.

Nursery is NOT done.

All baby items NOT purchased.

But I try to keep positive. I'm still working full time from home at this point although I seem to get exhausted easily and my extremities ache. I have many good intentions to get things accomplished in tandem to working. Even though I sit at a computer all day for work, I don't find all that much time to do the other things I need to do during the day. I barely find the time and the energy to make myself breakfast and lunch.

Wah! Wah! Wah!

I'm done whining now.

I did buy the extra car base we needed on Amazon today. I cleaned up some clutter around the house today and I am hoping to complete a few other tasks between bathroom breaks. I am also planning to cook dinner tonight as well.

I'm thankful to NOT be on bedrest at this point so I'm most thankful for that.

Sacrifice = Labor of Love.

False Alarm

Yesterday, I went to my weekly prenatal office visit not really thinking anything was out of the ordinary. Of course, I live in NH and my doctor is in Boston so if you are from this area, you can simply imagine the type of horrific traffic that is required to get from Point A to Point B.

I left the house at 7:30a and got there just 15 minutes before my appointment ... which was scheduled for 9:30a.

It is routine for me to have a non stress test every week now since we're only about a month away from delivery. Needless to say, that seems to be where it all went downhill. My usual standard appointment turned into a "put on a johnny and get to labor & delivery" appointment.

I was hooked to IVs, strapped to monitors and I wondered "Would this be a bad time to ask to go to the bathroom?"

In the end, it was a false alarm and I was allowed to go home with babies still cooking inside.

Ken came rushing over to the hospital from work when I texted him earlier in the morning that they were taking me into labor & delivery. He had the idea that really meant "labor" and "delivery" even though I told him it didn't.

I laugh now remembering how he flew into the room. I'm not sure what he was expecting. All he found was me in the bed, with a johnny on and strapped every which way while flicking through daytime TV.

Now that I'm down to the wire, I'm supposed to take it easier.

I know that hubby was definitely relieved that babies didn't arrive yesterday.

He was thinking "That nursery is NOT finished!"
I was thinking "I never even packed my bag, washed those baby clothes, picked a pediatrician or figured out that breast pump!"

Obviously, us ladies multi-task even in our thoughts.

It's a Boy! Oh ... and It's a Girl!

For those of you that were able to make it to my shower amid your busy fall schedules and the funky New England weather, Ken and I are immensely appreciative!

For everyone else, we're so sorry you missed it but hope we are able to catch up in the New Year!

The shower was held at the Stonehenge Inn & Spa in Tyngsborough, MA. It was a wonderful spot although the muggy weather left little to be desired that day. It was a fall festival theme so guests were greeted with cotton candy upon arrival, cider donuts during lunch and kettle corn and caramel apples to take home.

We were happy to see so many friendly faces before these new ones arrive!
Food and company were excellent! 

Is there anything more blissful than that?

Special thanks to our friends Allison and Angie for coordinating this whole event into a stressless time for this one somewhat stressed lady!

Below are some pictures for you to enjoy :) 

(Disclosure: Ignore the fact that I take up the ENTIRE space in the pictures I happen to be in!

And why did I think wearing stripes was a good idea?  You've been forewarned!)

The shower was a great success and I hope everyone who attended had a great time. I know we all enjoyed it immensely!

We also disclosed the names of our little ones.

Matthew Douglas & Aria Yong. 

Both middle names are our respective fathers' first names and the first names are ones we chose that were special to us.

Today, I am 32 weeks along and counting down the days until they arrive. Doctor still says the week before Thanksgiving is the magic day but we'll see what happens!

I've invested in a maternity support belt (strong support). It is the anti-sexy belt and there is no hiding it but it's well worth the money and the purpose it serves. This stomach is starting to run away from my body and that isn't the most pleasant feeling I've experienced.

Otherwise, I don't think I'm faring too badly. I'm moving a lot slower these days especially if I have to walk a long distance.

I've had my first experience riding an Amigo a few weeks ago at our local Lowes Home Improvement at my hubby's insistence and my subsequent embarrassment. BTW, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about ... its basically one of those ride on carts for the elderly and handicapped. I'm not sure I fall into either category but the thing beeps when you put it in reverse and it doesn't go more than 5 mph ... maybe even less than that.

Life brings one new experience with the next ... I embrace them all.
Even ones like that.