As Some of You May Have Heard......

We have a big announcement...................

WE ARE HAVING TWINS!

After 3 years of hoping and praying, God has answered with a double blessing for Josh and I and we couldn't be more excited (Josh still a little nervous, but mainly excited:) I am currently 9 weeks and 1 day, with a due date of May 31st. My goal date for twins is May 1st. As some of you may or may not know, we have been dealing with infertility for a long while and have been to 2 clinics spanning over a year and a half. Today I was officially released as a fertility patient (sad and exciting at the same time) so that is a great sign! We were spoiled again today with another ultrasound and were able to see A and B moving around...very cool! It is so amazing how they change so much from week to week. Below are some pictures from what has been secretly going on in our life for the last 6 weeks......

First EVER positive test! I have always d taking these things so I cheated and waited until after 2 ultrasound appointments before taking one, for picture purposes:)

I have been blessed to have an ultrasound every week for the past 6 weeks ( I found out super early at 3 weeks) so here are a few of the progressions......I don't have today's scanned in yet, so the latest one is for 8 weeks 3 days.

5 weeks. Hard to see but if you really look close you can see 2 black dots...that is it!

7 weeks 4 days....clearly see 2 sacs and 2 "blobs" inside:)

8 weeks 3 days. Baby A is on the left and is all stretched out. Baby B on the right is curled up and can't be seen very well.

Sorry if you can't tell anything from these ultrasounds at all (Dad...) I am so use to them it is clear to me, but just trust me that there are two:)

Here is my weekly progession...







(UGH! I am having trouble putting captions on the pictures..so I am giving up. They are in order of 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks. The picture of Josh is at 4 weeks:)

Yes, I actually look bigger at 4 weeks than 8 weeks, your eyes are not deceiving you. I had a moderate case of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). I won't go into what it is, but you are welcome to google it if you are interested, but basically it caused my ovaries to more than triple in size. I gained 8 lbs in one week but am now back to normal. That belly was sure hard to hide though!

Contributors to my OHSS (times 6)

We didn't get to tell a whole lot of our family in person, as we are hours away from many, but there was a camera when we told some of the Steeds, thanks to Papa Tom. Here are a few happy photos.

We just want to thank all of our friends and family for all of your many many many thoughts, words of encouragement and prayers. You have helped sustain on this journey and we have felt your love and hopefulness. We are humbled and blessed by you all, and are so thankful for you to share in this joy with us. May God continue to bless you and please know how much each of you mean to both of us. We will never be able to fully express it ourselves.

Fall Festivities

We had a fun weekend, filled with lots of fall/Halloween things. The weather was actually very nice, no rain, so it was a perfect weekend to spend outdoors. On Saturday, we went to the Gardens with Josh's parents and his nephews. There was a scarecrow display/contest that we all thought would be fun to experience. Here are a few pictures from our morning.

Josh's parents, with a beautiful view

One of the favorite "scarecrows" of the day

Sunday afternoon we were invited to our dear friends/neighbors to carve pumpkins. Luckily, Josh had purchased one a few weekends ago, with the hopes of carving. We had a great time visiting and cutting. The carving was followed by a quick game of baseball in the side yard.....felt so good to be outdoors and not be sweating! The pumpkin on the right, is a pumpkin with an "idea" and ours is just your run-of-the-mill pumpkin. These are a few outtakes of the silly pumpkin pictures.

Close up of our pumpkin (hat NOT approved by Josh:)

Actual pumpkin carvers/creators

Scary Halloween faces! Can't you tell from Little C's face how scary they were in person?!!

Sunday night was Trunk or Treat, complete with pizza, games, and inflatables in our church parking lot. This is always a lot of fun, and so cute to see all the kids, costumes! Here are some pictures of our nephews and close friends.

Knight

Dragon the Knight fought

Spidey

Cuddly Tiger

Cute as a button Lady Bug

The Greaser

Hope everyone is enjoying their fall!

Home Improvements/Upgrades

Josh has been busy around the house again. In the past few months, he has tiled the back porch with the help of some friends. I don't have a "before" picture, but the floor consisted of old, brown, industrial carpet. We are loving this update!

Not the best time of day to take a picture, but hopefully you get the idea:)

Josh has also tried out his hand at carpentry...and built his very first bookshelf! I think it turned out great and may very well push for another one or two to be made!

Finally.....not sure if you remember our make-shift entertainment center....but it has been replaced! Yeah!

Old

New

My dad and Josh found a perfect spot for the "old" instead of taking a sledgehammer to it (as Josh would have loved to do..)

Perfect holder for some garage "stuff"

Steed Family Fun Day

Two weekends ago we had the pleasure of spending the weekend with Josh's family. His parents came down on Friday and spent the night at our house, which is always a treat. Saturday morning we watched Big E play soccer (unfortunately his older brother was recovering from sickness so he couldn't play) and then everyone came out to our house for grilling out and football. The party then moved to Big E's house for his 5 year old Army birthday party and some more football watching. Everyone had a lot of fun and enjoying lots of good food. Sadly, we didn't take more pictures or group photos, but here is what I got!

Soccer action

Still smiling after playing a hard game

Cool Army cake

Birthday Boy

Blowing out the candles

Party guests

Josh with youngest nephew (the party attire was camo).

Birthday Weekend....St. Louis Here We Come!

This past weekend we went to St Louis with our friends, Kim and Jacob, to see a few Cardinals games....surprising I know, but this was high on Josh's list to do for a birthday weekend. We were able to go to the games Friday night and Saturday afternoon (sadly, they lost both), make a trip to the zoo, and hang out with our friends and our gracious hosts, Kim's aunt and uncle. We had a fabulous weekend and I think my sides still hurt a little from laughing so hard:)

Car Crew

Ready to take on St. Louis!

Friday Night Game (Bleacher Seats):






Highlights of the Zoo:

This lion was just perched on that branch...I would have loved to see if get down, b/c there did not appear to be an easy escape route!

The penquins were probably my favorite..they gave us a good show!

Saturday Afternoon (Upper Deck):

Josh's happy place:)

Josh took pictures of all the statues but I won't bore you with those!