Birthdays and 26 weeks

Monday was the girls' fourth birthday and the day I made it to 26 weeks. Crazy to think that 10 more weeks of pregnancy and I will be considered full term for twins. Time is really flying. Where did March go anyway? Shaun has next week off for Spring break so we are planning a day trip up to Denver to go to the children's museum for the first time. The weather has been beautiful and it just makes me happy to be able to go outside with sandals on and no coats! It makes life simpler since Katie and Addie aren't completely independent with all of that stuff yet.

Here are some pictures from the birthday party and an updated belly picture. I try to share those belly shots discreetly because I know they can cause pain for women who are still longing for pregnancy. I promise to never share these pictures directly to Facebook or as the first picture on my blog. My thoughts are never far away from how amazing it is that I am actually experiencing the very thing that I had given up on several years ago. I do not take it for granted.

This picture cracks me up because it pretty much sums up their different personalities. Katie had her candles blown out before we had finished singing "Happy Birthday" while Addie sat far back from the flames, afraid she would get burned. She did blow them out after we finished singing though!

26 weeks!

I want to leave you with one prayer request. Last Friday I had an appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine to do an echocardiogram of the babies' hearts and another more in depth anatomy scan. It is standard procedure to do it on multiples born through fertility treatments because studies have shown that for some reason those babies have a greater chance of heart defects. Everything looked great with both babies except the doctor couldn't tell conclusively if Joel's aortic heart valve was bicuspid or tricuspid. Normally, it should be a tricuspid valve but about 1-2% of the population is born with a bicuspid valve. In fact, it is the most common heart defect that some people probably have and don't even realize it. It sounds like it is usually a fairly benign issue, but it is good to be aware of it because it can cause heart problems later in life. Since the doctor couldn't tell for sure, she said Joel should get another echo done within his first month of life so we will know what we are dealing with. So, we don't really even know if there is a problem, but we are praying that if there is, the Lord will put his healing finger on that tiny valve and heal it before Joel is born. There is no reason to worry about something that may or may not even be an issue, but of course the best case scenario would be for the next echo to reveal a tricuspid heart valve. Thanks for your prayers!