Dirty 30!

today i am officially 30!! wow!! i was born around 3 am (mom cant remember the exact time) 8 weeks early. mom also likes to point out that i have always been impatient! anyway, so, i love my birthday. like, i love celebrating...not just my birthday, anyone's birthday. this dirty 30 has been awesome so far!

this weekend my little bro, grant, came in from michigan with his friend to start the celebration!! they got in friday morning...and we pretty much went right to chick-fil-a. grant loves chick-fil-a and they dont have them in michigan. i would be so sad without chick-fil-a!! then we came back and i baked all afternoon. i had invited a few close friends to meet us for dinner and then back to our house for a fire and dessert. i know some people think it is strange that i made my own bday desserts, but i liked it. i knew that they would be good and exactly what i wanted. :) i made a boston creme pie, a pumpkin spice cake with carmel glaze, and sugar cookies. dinner was so fun! there were 14 of us. we went to this really cool burger place called "the shack"...thats exactly what it is...a bunch of lean-tos/tents/plywood/etc. the weather was perfect...a little chilly for some of these texans, but perfect for me. (today was not so awesome...it was 89 and humid!!! ugh!) the fire was awesome...little levi LOVED it...the desserts were good, and the company was great!! i am so blessed by the friends that i have made here!

the rest of the weekend went really fast! it was so nice to have grant here! we didnt do much more than sit around, but that was really nice for both of us. it reminded us both of what it was like when the three of us lived together in ohio.

today was good too. i worked today, but it was a good day at work. we have a big event this weekend (that i will have to miss, sad) so we were busy getting things ready for that! my team also took me for lunch at a really awesome bbq place. peter and i were supposed to go to dinner tonight with some friends, but i wasnt feeling very good, so we opted to meet up next week. tonight, we ordered a little chinese food, sat on the couch and did nothing. it was actually pretty nice. our friends jess and griff came over too...just to veg with us. :)

thursday morning i leave for las vegas. I CANT WAIT!!! seriously...dirty 30 fun in sin city!! a little cliche, but so exciting! i am meeting up with my mom, aunt sally, and cousin alex...4 girls, all fun!! we are going to see garth brooks (on his last night in vegas), cirque du soleil's O, lots of sight seeing/window shopping, some real shopping, and frozen hot chocolate at serendipity! be looking for some pics next week!

here are a few from this weekend...i didnt take as many as i wanted to...boo!

Boston Creme Pie, recipe found on pinterest. soooo good!

dessert table with the baker :)

my goofball hubby and me (tiara courtesy of Robin!) at dinner

at the house with Jess and Robin. 

Levi, my little friend, who has more facebook and twitter followers than me! 

Grant and me at Chuy's for lunch Saturday. all grown up! no, we are not twins, but everyone thought we were! 5 years difference, i am older! 

30 years old and 16 weeks prego. love those LOtwins!!

i have been sent so many sweet fb messages, texts, tweets, cards, and presents this year. i have so many people that love me! it may sound cheesy, but my best present this year is my babies. i remember just a few months ago breaking down into tears thinking that i would turn 30 with no hope of a family. i was so upset! God has blessed me with not just one, but two awesome little ones growing inside of me. thinking about celebrating next year with two babies makes me just about giddy! God is is good...

blessings, ALo

October 15th

october is breast cancer awareness month, but it is also pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. specifically, october 15th is the day set aside to remember all the sweet babies we have lost who are waiting for us in Heaven. this was all set up back in 1988 by the awesome (and one of my favorites) president reagan. unfortunately, over the last 24 years, the stats have not gotten much better. 1 in 4 pregnancy end in tragedy. there are still over 2,000 infant deaths/miscarriages each day in the united states alone. so sad...takes my breath away!!

january 8th will always be the day that peter and i set aside to celebrate our sweet charlotte and her short time with us. today, october 15th, i have spent so much time praying for sweet family and friends of mine that i have met personally or through blogging that have all had to said good bye too soon to their sweet babies. some of these people have been such a huge encouragement to me in getting me through the days and weeks since saying good bye to Charlotte. Heaven is going to be such a sweet place of reunion when we all hold our babies again! I CAN NOT WAIT!!!

in special remembrance today for:
my big brother
my niece/nephew that i call Peanut
Jaxton
Lulu
Thatcher
Bean
Christian
Filomena
Caleb
Matthew

i cant wait to meet each of you in Heaven and snuggle you close!

please take a moment to remember the sweet babies in Heaven and say a pray for their parents as they anxiously await their reunion!

i love you, baby girl! cant wait to see you and hold you once again!!

blessings, ALo

WOW

ii am so sorry. i guess my last post did not send correctly after i wrote it. i had written an update after our nuchal test a few weeks backs, but i dint see it anywhere on here! i am sorry if i have left you hanging! since that day, life has been so crazy! like...way to busy! i was still getting very sick, tired from normal pregnancy stuff, plus both of my jobs have been keeping me going more than normal. so, i just havent made the time to sit down and let you know how things are going. i am sure you will forgive me.

maybe you realized that no news is good news. it was! we had great news that monday for the nuchal tests! baby a (who i think is a girl) had a nuchal of 1.4 (remember anything under 3.5mm is normal) and baby b (who i think is a boy) had a nuchal of 1.2!! both were very normal! i am thinking girl and boy based on heart rates that day, but that will not be confirmed for at least two more weeks.

i go this friday, october 12, for a check-up and ultrasound. i cant wait to see the babies again! this week i have started to feel a little better (thankfully!!!) and i am even tolerating sugar a little bit better as of today. i have basically skipped as much sugar as possible because it was making me feel so sick. i am just finishing up my 13th week...hello 2nd trimester! i may have been super nauseous the last several weeks, but i never threw up. so...i am up 8 pounds. i have been told that is still ok, but i am hoping that i can now get back into the gym. hopefully with this trimester my weight will not get out of hand. my belly is definitely starting to show. i am told that it is definitely a pregnant belly...i dont look like i just ate too much or have a beer gut (i dont even drink beer, but still).

life is good. i have made a decision to go from doing hair 3 days a week, to one. i have just been too tired and my house and hubby need me to be more available! i am ready to start preparing things for two babies around here, including my job hours! it would be really helpful if i could sleep through the whole night, but i guess my sleep habits are getting ready for babies too. other than that things have been good. this week the babies are each the size of a large lemon or a clenched fist...getting big!!

here are a few pics from the last few weeks.

eyes closed :( 11wks5days

12wks5days

13wks5days

LOtwin A

LOtwin A profile

LOtwin B

LOtwin B profile

 i already love these kids so much!! we are so blessed...even when i feel a little over whelmed by howlife will change...in the best way possible!! i promise to post new pics as soon as i can after this friday's appointment...hope you are ok with me showing off my beautiful babies! :)

blessings, ALo