The Life and Times of the Sturtevant Family
Sturtevant Twins
23 Weeks - Belly Photo
Wow, 23 weeks already. The holidays sure made the time go by very quickly! I am getting pretty big but still feeling good. I get mild back pains every now and again but no real complaints. It feels great to have the energy to do all of the things I want to do and not have any real discomfort! I'm in maternity clothes all of the time now and am obviously pregnant. It's nice when people comment on my belly or on the baby!
It is different the second time around though. When I go out by myself or with 1 child, people see my pregnant belly and give me such an adoring look as if to say, "Awww...how sweet".
When I am out by myself with the twins (99% of the time), people see my belly and give me a look that can best be described as a combination of shock and horror. I guess I should get used to it though. In this area, a family of 5 is a large family and having 3 children in 4 years is definitely out of the norm. Yes, we'll have our hands full but we wouldn't want it any other way!
My nesting instinct is kicking in as I'm starting to collect lots of baby hand-me-downs from friends. My friends have already shared the following items with us: tons of 0-6mo clothes, a swing, bouncer, bathtub, exersaucer, bumbo seat, toys and more. This baby is already so spoiled! We are hoping to move before the baby is born so that we will have a 3rd bedroom for the baby. I am really eager to get things set up for our new baby!
I have a 24 week Dr appointment next week. I think it's just a regular check up and I expect everything to be a-ok.
Just to compare, here is my 17week photo:
http://sturtevanttwins.com/2011/12/05/17-weeks---belly-photo.aspx
It is different the second time around though. When I go out by myself or with 1 child, people see my pregnant belly and give me such an adoring look as if to say, "Awww...how sweet".
When I am out by myself with the twins (99% of the time), people see my belly and give me a look that can best be described as a combination of shock and horror. I guess I should get used to it though. In this area, a family of 5 is a large family and having 3 children in 4 years is definitely out of the norm. Yes, we'll have our hands full but we wouldn't want it any other way!
My nesting instinct is kicking in as I'm starting to collect lots of baby hand-me-downs from friends. My friends have already shared the following items with us: tons of 0-6mo clothes, a swing, bouncer, bathtub, exersaucer, bumbo seat, toys and more. This baby is already so spoiled! We are hoping to move before the baby is born so that we will have a 3rd bedroom for the baby. I am really eager to get things set up for our new baby!
I have a 24 week Dr appointment next week. I think it's just a regular check up and I expect everything to be a-ok.
Just to compare, here is my 17week photo:
http://sturtevanttwins.com/2011/12/05/17-weeks---belly-photo.aspx
Christmas 2011
Our Christmas Extravaganza came and went so quickly. It was a busy but fun time! We were on the road for all of Christmas week with 5 family celebrations in 5 cities and 800+ miles of car travel. With two preschoolers and a pregnant momma, that was quite a feat!
We started out by going to Grandma Betty and Grandpa Bill's house in Waterford. Andy & I enjoyed our time and the kids did too!
We stayed the night and had a great Christmas Eve dinner with the Boyd side of the family. It was especially nice to spend some time with Great Grandpa Bill and hear about his experiences in WWII.
The cousins loved playing together and I was happy that the kids got to spend some time with the family.
Next, we had our own family celebration at home in San Jose. Bettie got a new CD player so that she can play her own music whenever she likes. Oh boy does she love this! She knew how to work it right away and plays her favorite CDs everyday (Music Together, 50 Silly Songs, Kids Express Train). Quade got a die-cast metal, battery operated Thomas. He has been asking for a "Thomas that goes all by himself" and loves watching Thomas pull the other cars around his tracks.
Then we had my family's celebration in San Francisco. Can you tell what a great time the kids had tearing up the house with their cousin? The adults got to hang out and chat for *hours* while the kids played on their own. Did I mention that they kept themselves occupied for hours? It was pretty much awesome!
One of our favorite annual celebrations is at Bonny Doon. The whole Sturtevant family comes from all over the world to celebrate this special time together. It's such a joyous time and it's wonderful to have the family all together. Great Grammy Sturtevant gave us the beginnings of her autobiography. It was fascinating learning many of the details of her early life and having them in writing is just incredible.
We enjoyed a yummy, all gluten-free meal, presents for the kids and lots of fun cousin time!
I couldn't resist posting pictures of Bettie & Quade in their matching outfits. Aren't they adorable? I'm afraid my days of matchy-matchy clothes are coming to a close as I got a bit of push-back from both Bettie & Quade this year. I talked them into wearing these outfits by calling them "Pingu" and "Pinga" (favorite cartoon penguins) costumes.
Last but not least was Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dorothy's celebration in Sonora. With all of that exposure, travel, no naps & late bedtimes, Bettie got very sick. Our poor little one had a double ear infection plus a virus and was such a trooper even though she was ill! We weren't sure if we would make it to Sonora, but we did. We had such a relaxing time with Grandma & Grandpa once we got there.
Andy's brother and sister and their families are such a blast to be around.
The kids got to spend quality time with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dorothy going for walks, playing ping-pong (read: throwing pp balls at each other), enjoying their cousins and new presents of course!
We started out by going to Grandma Betty and Grandpa Bill's house in Waterford. Andy & I enjoyed our time and the kids did too!
We stayed the night and had a great Christmas Eve dinner with the Boyd side of the family. It was especially nice to spend some time with Great Grandpa Bill and hear about his experiences in WWII.
The cousins loved playing together and I was happy that the kids got to spend some time with the family.
Next, we had our own family celebration at home in San Jose. Bettie got a new CD player so that she can play her own music whenever she likes. Oh boy does she love this! She knew how to work it right away and plays her favorite CDs everyday (Music Together, 50 Silly Songs, Kids Express Train). Quade got a die-cast metal, battery operated Thomas. He has been asking for a "Thomas that goes all by himself" and loves watching Thomas pull the other cars around his tracks.
Then we had my family's celebration in San Francisco. Can you tell what a great time the kids had tearing up the house with their cousin? The adults got to hang out and chat for *hours* while the kids played on their own. Did I mention that they kept themselves occupied for hours? It was pretty much awesome!
One of our favorite annual celebrations is at Bonny Doon. The whole Sturtevant family comes from all over the world to celebrate this special time together. It's such a joyous time and it's wonderful to have the family all together. Great Grammy Sturtevant gave us the beginnings of her autobiography. It was fascinating learning many of the details of her early life and having them in writing is just incredible.
We enjoyed a yummy, all gluten-free meal, presents for the kids and lots of fun cousin time!
I couldn't resist posting pictures of Bettie & Quade in their matching outfits. Aren't they adorable? I'm afraid my days of matchy-matchy clothes are coming to a close as I got a bit of push-back from both Bettie & Quade this year. I talked them into wearing these outfits by calling them "Pingu" and "Pinga" (favorite cartoon penguins) costumes.
Last but not least was Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dorothy's celebration in Sonora. With all of that exposure, travel, no naps & late bedtimes, Bettie got very sick. Our poor little one had a double ear infection plus a virus and was such a trooper even though she was ill! We weren't sure if we would make it to Sonora, but we did. We had such a relaxing time with Grandma & Grandpa once we got there.
Andy's brother and sister and their families are such a blast to be around.
The kids got to spend quality time with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dorothy going for walks, playing ping-pong (read: throwing pp balls at each other), enjoying their cousins and new presents of course!
Holiday TAXI
So we have this Cozy Coupe car that the twins got for their 2nd birthday. You know the one...the bright, plastic, kid-powered car (think: Fred Flintstone style) that most every kid has played with at some point.
When Bettie is driving the car, it's name is "Cozy Coupe" and when Quade is driving, it's name is "Taxi". I have no idea why.
At some point last month, Quade told me that his Christmas wish was to decorate Taxi for Christmas and drive him around Christmas in the Park at night. Quade was just sure that everyone would marvel at Taxi and say, "Wow! Look at that Taxi. He looks so great!"
We thought it would be pretty cool to make his wish come true.
When Bettie is driving the car, it's name is "Cozy Coupe" and when Quade is driving, it's name is "Taxi". I have no idea why.
At some point last month, Quade told me that his Christmas wish was to decorate Taxi for Christmas and drive him around Christmas in the Park at night. Quade was just sure that everyone would marvel at Taxi and say, "Wow! Look at that Taxi. He looks so great!"
We thought it would be pretty cool to make his wish come true.
- We took the kids to the Dollar Store and let them pick out all of the decorations they thought Taxi would like. They got ornaments, lights, garlands and more.
- Bettie & Quade decorated Taxi with our help. Can you say...WAY too much tape?
- We drove Taxi (and the kids) to Christmas in the Park one evening after dinner and let Bettie & Quade take turns showing off their creation.
We got many adoring looks and tons of smiles. Really, it was just too cute.
Here is Quade ready to head out
Crusin through Christmas in the Park just as proud as could be
We ran into friends Margot and Finn there who sufficiently Ooohed and Aaaahed over Holiday Taxi and how great he looked. That was exactly what Quade was looking for and it totally made his night!
We were happy that his Christmas wish came true.
Half Time Baby Update
I can't believe that I am already 20+ weeks pregnant. Halfway there! It has gone by so incredibly fast and I really just want time to slow down. It's such a special time.
I spend an inordinate amount of time in the evenings just marveling at our new baby. Most evenings you can find me with my feet up, surfing the interwebs and watching my tummy with a stethoscope around my neck. I love listening to her heartbeat! Every few minutes, I shout out to Andy, "OMG did you see that?! Wow! That was amazing! Come here, you have to feel her!"
I stare at my belly and watch her poke my belly and feel her dancing in there. I talk to her and feel her respond. It's such a gift. I feel that I am bonding with this baby already because there is only ONE baby to talk to and when I feel movement, I know exactly who it is! It sounds funny, but it wasn't the same when I was trying to get to know TWO different babies at the same time while they were in my tummy.
She is so incredibly active! She kicks and moves so much. I feel more movement with this baby than I felt with the twins at this stage. To be fair, she has a lot more room to move. She is amazingly strong and sometimes the kicks are so hard that they stop me in my tracks. It's reassuring to know that I have a healthy, strong baby girl growing in there.
Andy was able to feel the movement at 16 weeks which is almost unheard of. Andy & I can WATCH her move my tummy with little jabs from 19 weeks on. Crazy! She already has a schedule and is awake and moving from 9:30pm to at least midnight or sometimes 1am. I'm sure that has nothing to do with my nightly hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream. Pure coincidence, I'm sure. hee hee
My next check-up is in 3 weeks.
I spend an inordinate amount of time in the evenings just marveling at our new baby. Most evenings you can find me with my feet up, surfing the interwebs and watching my tummy with a stethoscope around my neck. I love listening to her heartbeat! Every few minutes, I shout out to Andy, "OMG did you see that?! Wow! That was amazing! Come here, you have to feel her!"
I stare at my belly and watch her poke my belly and feel her dancing in there. I talk to her and feel her respond. It's such a gift. I feel that I am bonding with this baby already because there is only ONE baby to talk to and when I feel movement, I know exactly who it is! It sounds funny, but it wasn't the same when I was trying to get to know TWO different babies at the same time while they were in my tummy.
She is so incredibly active! She kicks and moves so much. I feel more movement with this baby than I felt with the twins at this stage. To be fair, she has a lot more room to move. She is amazingly strong and sometimes the kicks are so hard that they stop me in my tracks. It's reassuring to know that I have a healthy, strong baby girl growing in there.
Andy was able to feel the movement at 16 weeks which is almost unheard of. Andy & I can WATCH her move my tummy with little jabs from 19 weeks on. Crazy! She already has a schedule and is awake and moving from 9:30pm to at least midnight or sometimes 1am. I'm sure that has nothing to do with my nightly hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream. Pure coincidence, I'm sure. hee hee
My next check-up is in 3 weeks.
1st Nutcracker Ballet
I have been itching to take the kids to the Nutcracker ballet but wanted to wait until they were mature enough to really enjoy it. This was the year! Instead of a children's theater production, we sprung for the real, full-length, adult performance at the Center for Performing Arts put on by the San Jose Ballet.
I am so glad that we didn't cheap out, because the performance was breathtaking! It was truly a delight to watch and we were all entranced by the music, the story and the costumes. This will definitely be one of our annual holiday traditions!
Ready for the performance to begin
Posing in the gorgeous new holiday outfits that Great Aunt Geraldine sent
I'm rockin' the 19wk belly and Andy is sportin' the famous "Holiday Mustache" that only makes a brief appearance once a year around the holidays
I was impressed that Quade remembered the whole story of the Nutcracker from the puppet show we went to & followed along the whole time. He thought Clara was a "beautiful ballerina"
Bettie and Quade were perfect little theater patrons for the first half but were rather squirmy for the 2nd half. Squirmy but quiet. I can't blame them though. By the 2nd hour, even Andy and I were having a hard time sitting still!
This is what intermission is for, right? Andy and the kids ran and ran. He's the best Daddy ever.
Just give these kids a patch of grass to run around on and they are as happy as clams!
I am so glad that we didn't cheap out, because the performance was breathtaking! It was truly a delight to watch and we were all entranced by the music, the story and the costumes. This will definitely be one of our annual holiday traditions!
Ready for the performance to begin
Posing in the gorgeous new holiday outfits that Great Aunt Geraldine sent
I'm rockin' the 19wk belly and Andy is sportin' the famous "Holiday Mustache" that only makes a brief appearance once a year around the holidays
I was impressed that Quade remembered the whole story of the Nutcracker from the puppet show we went to & followed along the whole time. He thought Clara was a "beautiful ballerina"
Bettie and Quade were perfect little theater patrons for the first half but were rather squirmy for the 2nd half. Squirmy but quiet. I can't blame them though. By the 2nd hour, even Andy and I were having a hard time sitting still!
This is what intermission is for, right? Andy and the kids ran and ran. He's the best Daddy ever.
Just give these kids a patch of grass to run around on and they are as happy as clams!
Fantasy of Lights / Holiday Train
One of our favorite traditions of the season is to ride the Holiday Train in Los Gatos. I think that Andy and I get more excited than the kids do about this train. We bundle up after dinner and ride the open air train cars admiring the larger-than-life holiday light displays. Afterwards, we each have a hot cocoa & ride the carousel. It's magical.
waiting for our turn
'
ready to roll
This year, we drove through the park to see the lights in addition to the train ride, mostly because I goofed up. We intended on riding the train and even invited friends John, Margot, Finny and Henry to join us. They arrived at the park first only to find that the train was not running that day. Doh! I guess I should have checked the schedule first! I felt awful, but all was not lost. We all grabbed a quick bite to eat and then hopped in our warm cars to drive through the "Fantasy of Lights" while listening to holiday music on our car radios. The kids were happy that they got to see the animated light displays (especially the dinosaurs) and we ended up going on the train a few days later. Whew! #disasteraverted
warm & comfy in the car singing along to holiday favorites such as: Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey, Feliz Navidad & Jingle Bell Rock.
waiting for our turn
'
ready to roll
This year, we drove through the park to see the lights in addition to the train ride, mostly because I goofed up. We intended on riding the train and even invited friends John, Margot, Finny and Henry to join us. They arrived at the park first only to find that the train was not running that day. Doh! I guess I should have checked the schedule first! I felt awful, but all was not lost. We all grabbed a quick bite to eat and then hopped in our warm cars to drive through the "Fantasy of Lights" while listening to holiday music on our car radios. The kids were happy that they got to see the animated light displays (especially the dinosaurs) and we ended up going on the train a few days later. Whew! #disasteraverted
warm & comfy in the car singing along to holiday favorites such as: Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey, Feliz Navidad & Jingle Bell Rock.
Last School Day Before Winter Break
Here are a few pics from the kids' last day at their nature school before their winter break.
To be completely honest, I have a love/hate relationship with this school. It is A LOT of work for the parents (twice as much for twin parents) and there are a few kids there with big behavior issues, but days like today make me fall in love with the school all over again. Bettie and Quade simply adore it and are so happy there. I love watching them blossom!
Bettie starting out her day on the rocking boat - a great sensory activity!
Each child rolled, cut & decorated their own gingerbread cookie. Bettie picked the baby gingerbread cookie cutter and put just a few raisins on as buttons. Sweet and simple.
Quade made a big gingerbread boy & covered it in coconut and cranberries - a very fancy cookie. When it came time to eat, Quade had his gluten-free sugar cookie version of the gingerbread boy.
He saw that everyone else had a brown cookie, so he got a cinnamon stick and started grating it over his cookie (2nd photo) in an attempt to make it brown. Very clever & a little sad too. #mommyfail. Next year, I promise to make him real, gluten-free gingerbread cookies!
Bettie and her friend were playing Bakery, buying & selling cardboard gingerbread "cookies"
Each child made their own candle holder by using the hot glue gun (with help) to affix a candle, brechts, leaves, sweetgum fruits, fir cones & moss to a tree round which they called a "tree cookie". Bettie, once again, chose to keep hers simple with just a candle. Quade's was very ornate and had at least one of every item on it.
At circle time, each of the children sat with their candles as the teacher lit them. They were in awe! We learned about how different cultures celebrate with lights during the short, dark days of winter. The kids spoke about how lights are used in their family traditions. It was a very rich experience. We loved it!
To be completely honest, I have a love/hate relationship with this school. It is A LOT of work for the parents (twice as much for twin parents) and there are a few kids there with big behavior issues, but days like today make me fall in love with the school all over again. Bettie and Quade simply adore it and are so happy there. I love watching them blossom!
Bettie starting out her day on the rocking boat - a great sensory activity!
Each child rolled, cut & decorated their own gingerbread cookie. Bettie picked the baby gingerbread cookie cutter and put just a few raisins on as buttons. Sweet and simple.
Quade made a big gingerbread boy & covered it in coconut and cranberries - a very fancy cookie. When it came time to eat, Quade had his gluten-free sugar cookie version of the gingerbread boy.
He saw that everyone else had a brown cookie, so he got a cinnamon stick and started grating it over his cookie (2nd photo) in an attempt to make it brown. Very clever & a little sad too. #mommyfail. Next year, I promise to make him real, gluten-free gingerbread cookies!
Bettie and her friend were playing Bakery, buying & selling cardboard gingerbread "cookies"
Each child made their own candle holder by using the hot glue gun (with help) to affix a candle, brechts, leaves, sweetgum fruits, fir cones & moss to a tree round which they called a "tree cookie". Bettie, once again, chose to keep hers simple with just a candle. Quade's was very ornate and had at least one of every item on it.
At circle time, each of the children sat with their candles as the teacher lit them. They were in awe! We learned about how different cultures celebrate with lights during the short, dark days of winter. The kids spoke about how lights are used in their family traditions. It was a very rich experience. We loved it!
Race Video (better quality)
I love, love, love this video. It says so much.
*Quade and Bettie are in yellow*
*Quade and Bettie are in yellow*
Off To The Races
Mid-December kicks off birthday season for us. Most of Bettie and Quade's friends have their birthdays within the next few months so we will be doing lots of partying!
Their friend Ryan had a relay race birthday party with a real track coach and everything. Bettie and Quade have zero exposure to track and field events or sports of any kind, but they sure did love it!
Here are the 3 year olds (and one brand new 4yr old) warming up
Bettie had a blast! I had no idea that she would love it so much. She did every single event. It was so much fun to watch her.
Quade insisted on wearing his Cal track suit because he wanted to be "Number 1". He was ready to win!
Bettie & Quade's first ever long jump. Quade was really good at it but jumped from too far back this time. Next time for sure! Bettie did more of a long hop but was very proud of herself nonetheless. I was very proud of both of them for trying something new and doing it with such gusto!
Quade's favorite event was the hurdles. He got to use his "big legs" to clear the hurdles. Look at him fly!
Their friend Ryan had a relay race birthday party with a real track coach and everything. Bettie and Quade have zero exposure to track and field events or sports of any kind, but they sure did love it!
Here are the 3 year olds (and one brand new 4yr old) warming up
Bettie had a blast! I had no idea that she would love it so much. She did every single event. It was so much fun to watch her.
Quade insisted on wearing his Cal track suit because he wanted to be "Number 1". He was ready to win!
Bettie & Quade's first ever long jump. Quade was really good at it but jumped from too far back this time. Next time for sure! Bettie did more of a long hop but was very proud of herself nonetheless. I was very proud of both of them for trying something new and doing it with such gusto!
Quade's favorite event was the hurdles. He got to use his "big legs" to clear the hurdles. Look at him fly!
Baby's 18 Week Ultrasound (photos)
Our ultrasound was all good news.
The ultrasound tech is certain that we have a Baby GIRL!!!
We are very excited but Quade insists that the baby is a boy. We kept telling him that he is having a baby sister and he kept saying that he is having a baby brother. We were going back and forth and his final response was priceless:
"I'm not going to argue. We will just have to wait and see when the baby comes out."
The baby's anatomy appears to be completely normal and she is still growing a few days ahead of schedule. She reminds me a lot of Bettie in that she has the same big tummy, super long legs and is very active just like Bettie was.
Baby is lying transverse, across my tummy and pressed right up against the placenta.
This was supposed to be our last ultrasound, but I don't want to go another 20+ weeks without seeing my baby again. I was so spoiled with the twins because I got to see them at least once a month and every week towards the end. When baby is bigger, we will probably get one of those fancy 3-D ultrasounds in the next month or two just like we did with Bettie and Quade. so.much.fun.
The ultrasound tech is certain that we have a Baby GIRL!!!
We are very excited but Quade insists that the baby is a boy. We kept telling him that he is having a baby sister and he kept saying that he is having a baby brother. We were going back and forth and his final response was priceless:
"I'm not going to argue. We will just have to wait and see when the baby comes out."
The baby's anatomy appears to be completely normal and she is still growing a few days ahead of schedule. She reminds me a lot of Bettie in that she has the same big tummy, super long legs and is very active just like Bettie was.
Baby is lying transverse, across my tummy and pressed right up against the placenta.
This was supposed to be our last ultrasound, but I don't want to go another 20+ weeks without seeing my baby again. I was so spoiled with the twins because I got to see them at least once a month and every week towards the end. When baby is bigger, we will probably get one of those fancy 3-D ultrasounds in the next month or two just like we did with Bettie and Quade. so.much.fun.
