Macy's Gingerbread House!

Macy LOVED making her first gingerbread house on Christmas Eve! She was too busy decorating the house to bother eating any of the candy (I wish I could say the same)!

Mark's "Man Shower"

So, I got my twin shower and Mark got his "Man Shower." He was totally surprised when we showed up at Outback Steakhouse and there sat all of his fellow residents and directors. He had no idea what they had been planning behind his back! We had a great meal and received some nice presents, one being a $100 gift card to Sam's Club for diapers! We're going to need that one!

No Babies Yet!

I made it through Christmas and still...no babies! I had a doctor's appointment today and I am measuring well over 40 plus weeks with no signs of coming anytime soon. The babies have both almost doubled their size in the last 4 weeks. The boy weighs 6 lbs 6 oz and the girl weighs 5 lbs 11 oz. Yes, that is over 12 pounds of baby in me right now and believe me, I am feeling it!

The ultrasound also revealed that the boy has since turned and is now breach (the little stinker)! The little girl is head down and would be the first to be delivered since she is lower. With the second baby breach and being the larger of the two, the doctor went ahead and scheduled a c-section for me on January 17th (my 38th week mark) to avoid any major complications that could come with trying to deliver both naturally! I'm a little nervous for a c-section so anyone that has had one, please calm my fears! Also, pray that I have these babies before the 17th! I would like to be DONE being pregnant and I might as well have babies to take care of in the middle of night since I'm up anyways!

We'll post pictures as soon as they get here!!!

Macy, not so sure about this Santa guy!

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday night and Macy was all excited to see Santa until it was her turn to sit on his lap! As you can see, she wasn't so sure anymore! While we were cleaning up after the party, she was looking all over and asked in a sweet little concerned voice, "Where did Santa go?" She likes him...she likes him not!

Next Year...For Sure!

If you've been looking for the Swensen Family Christmas card, well...look no further because HERE IT IS! I have been completely zapped of all energy so you'll most likely see only a birth announcement from me in the upcoming months! The doctors say 2 to 3 more weeks until the babies are here! However, we have been receiving so many beautiful Christmas cards from all of you in the mail and we appreciate you thinking about us! We love hearing how you are doing and seeing pictures of your beautiful families! We hope you all know how grateful we are for your friendships, love and support! You are all such a wonderful part of our lives! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

TWINS SHOWER!

So the wonderful friends in my ward here in South Carolina threw me a fantastic twin baby shower back in November! I received the most adorable little boy and girl things and can you believe these cakes? That was my friend, Alyssa's doing! There isn't anything she can't do! These girls are the best! They are already signing up to bring in dinners, take Macy for play dates, and to come over and rock my babies! I am so grateful knowing that I have so much support around me! Heaven knows, I'm going to need it!

I've Been Tagged!

The rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am a horrible writer (which is why I'm crazy for blogging). I write and rewrite things until they are just perfect. If you ever get a thank you card from me or any other note you should absolutely treasure it because it probably took me an hour to write and most likely there were several drafts written prior to that final draft you received! It's a horrible waste of time but I just want to say it all right and it never seems to come out that way the first time.

2. I am the worst at buying things and taking them back. I'm surprised I'm allowed in certain stores certain that they have flagged my account. It's not the money I'm worried about, but it's that I want to ABSOLUTELY LOVE the thing I bought! Even when I've found something I'm looking for, I keep on looking to see if I can find something somewhere else that I love more, better, best! It's really exhausting. Sounds a little O.C.D....I know! It's just better if I don't go shopping in the first place. But who can resist?!

3. I love to wear shoes! They are usually the last thing I take off, if possible, even after my pants. I just love having something on my feet. It's more comfortable that way!

4. I love, love, LOVE chocolate! That seems to be all that I've been craving lately with this pregnancy. Chocolate milk, chocolate chips, hot chocolate and my new favorite...hot cocoa chocolate Kisses! Have you tried them? They are unbelieveable!

5. I love Hollywood gossip. If I could indulge in one thing every night, it would be to watch Access Hollywood or EXTRA. It's such trash, but I love keeping up on the stars and hearing about all of their drama. When I had a gym membership back in Ohio, I would love to go the gym and workout just so I could read all of the gossip magazines. I'd always grab like 3 or 4 of them to read. I can't wait until the day I can afford to throw away money on subscriptions to People Magazine and US Weekly!

6. I hate getting ready for bed at night. I put off the whole routine as long as possible. I hate flossing and brushing my teeth (shhh...don't tell my husband) and washing my face. I just want to climb straight in to bed and go to sleep! Is that too much to ask?

The following people are now tagged: Allyson, Robyn, Julia, Emily, Laura, and Lezlee. Have fun!

Macy All Grown Up!

Here is our little doll! She is becoming so grown up and very independent! When it comes to getting dressed and putting on shoes and socks, it's always "No, Mama. I do it!" She has become a little talker and sings at the top of her lungs every where we go (even the grocery store). She definitely gets that trait from her dad! She makes us laugh every day. She is such a sweet little girl and she is going to be such a good helper when these twins arrive.

Corvallis, Oregon here we come!

We're moving to Corvallis, Oregon in July!!! Mark found his dream practice and it's been pretty amazing the way the whole thing has come about. We both feel really good about our decision and are excited to get settled in and buy our first home and begin "Real Life" as I call it.

We made a trip back to Corvallis the first part of November and fell in love with the city. It's a little bigger than Logan (where Mark and I both grew up) with a population of 53,900 people. It is home to Oregon State University so it has that college town feel to it and it also has a cute little downtown with lots of boutique shopping and one of a kind restaurants. There are bike lanes and trails everywhere and tree-lined streets and neighborhoods (just what Mark has always wanted). The fall colors were brilliant when we were there and we had lots of sunshine the first day but also had a little taste of the fog and gray skies. The gray is my main concern but I've lived through Columbus, Ohio winters. Corvallis only has 8 more cloudy days a year than Columbus and yet it doesn't get nearly as cold. The temperatures are pretty mild year round.

Mark will associate for one year and then have the opportunity to begin the buy in process to become a partner. He'll eventually buy the doctor out when he retires. It's a great opportunity and we are thrilled about it! We just wish we were a little closer to home but 12 hours is definitely doable. We'd love for you all to visit!

Check out my Slide Show!

Pregnant with Twins!

If you've ever wondered what somebody pregnant with twins looks like at 30 weeks, this should satisfy your curiosity. Thirty-six weeks is considered full term for twins. That means I have possibly six more weeks to go. We could be talking Christmas or New Year babies!

I had an ultrasound today to check the size of the babies. The boy is weighing in at 3 lbs 14 oz and the little girl is 3 lbs 7 oz. If you do the math, that is 7 lbs 5 oz of baby I'm carrying around already. My stomach is STRETCHED to what seems like capacity but amazingly it keeps getting bigger! The twins appear healthy and strong, which would explain the punching matches I feel during the middle of the night. They are already going at it! Such brotherly/sisterly love!

We put together the twins room over the weekend! It's a crazy site! We have two of everything...two swings, two car seats, two bouncers, boy and girl clothes. We're starting out with only one crib because we've heard that twins sleep better together. I think they'd miss each other if we separated them so early! It's going to be so sweet seeing the two snuggled up together! We still can't believe this is happening to us but we are so excited to meet these little ones and to see what life with twins will bring to our family!