Lincoln Park Zoo

Last weekend, we took the boys to Lincoln Park Zoo. It's a fairly small zoo located right off Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago. It was perfect for the boys' first zoo experience; it wasn't too big so if we got tired we could leave AND it was FREE (well, besides the ridiculous parking fee). It was a hot day, but with the cool lake breeze, it was just perfect.

Many of the exhibits were too far away or too high for the boys to see without us getting them out of the stroller. The highlight of the day were the seagulls the boys saw in a grassy area. Being the prego I am, I missed this highlight as I need my umpteenth potty break.

Here are some pics from our day:

The boys watching the puma

The puma
A family pic! We should make a point to take more of these. We just always forget.

Hmm...I forgot what these were

The boys looking at an ape. It was huge!

The ape.

The beautiful Chicago skyline from the zoo

Other Miscellaneous Things

The boys got Pillow Pets from their Aunt Cara for their birthday. These things are a huge hit. Mostly, the boys like to tackle them, but are now using them as pillows in their cribs. On this day, I had them sit on their pillows and put on a Baby Einstein. It didn't last very long, but it made for a cute picture!

The boys had their first popsicle. At first, they really didn't get it, but soon started devouring them.

Earlier this week, we celebrated Eric's dad's birthday. Here's the boys playing with Grandma Groen. I made this cheesecake for the dinner that night. It was Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I HIGHLY recommend it. It was a very light cheesecake and it didn't crack when I baked it!

The boys are finding areas in the house where they like to hide. Here, Brandt was hiding under a side table in the family room. I put blanket over it to make it more like a fort and he loved it!

Big Brother T-shirts

When we told Eric's parents we were going to have another baby, we got these t-shirts for the boys that say "Big Brother" on them and we had the boys wear them when we skyped to share the news.

At the time, the boys were wearing 12 month clothes but the smallest size the store had was 24 months. Yeah, that made me feel really great when I was buying them...my children weren't even old enough to wear the "big brother" t-shirts when we had another on the way!

Anyway, they were wearing them one day before we moved and I took some pics. Looking at these pics makes me really miss our house :'(

Cute butts!

Really late posting of the boys' birthday

I've been so bad at posting lately! Here are a few pics of the little party we had for the boys.

Their cake. They had a "Baby Einstein" themed party

Beginning to get into the cake

Getting messy!

The boys got this car for their birthday. It was the perfect toy for twins. We had one boy sitting on the car and the other push him around. It was so funny! The boys loved it.

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet?"

~Romeo and Juliet

This quote has been playing in mind ever since we found out we're having a girl. For some reason, we are having the toughest time deciding on a name. We used to love the name Emma, but in the past few years everyone has named their daughter Emma. I don't know why we mind so much, but we don't want our little girl to have a name where she's going to have 15 other "Emma's" to share it with.

We also have a slight problem. Well, it's not really a problem so much as an expectation we unknowingly made for our family's names. You see, the letters in our names go: B,C,D, and then E. We did not intentionally do this; we just really like Brandt and Carter and we are already Darcy and Eric. So there you go...now people think Baby Girl Groen needs to have a name that starts with an "A." We're not really putting too much weight into the name needing to begin with an "A," but it does create a slight fear of disappointment in those wishing for the ABCDE Groens.

We also have this problem: as Eric puts it, I like floofy names. And it's true. I like them pretty. I wouldn't pick a modern name. I pick names that sound pretty with they're spoken and when they are written. Written with lots of curly cues and loop de loops. Names that sound like little Girl Groen needs to wear bows and ruffles and petticoats everyday. Eric does not. We have the hardest time even finding a name that we both think is okay. And okay just will not do. Ugh.

So the search for Baby Girl Groen's name continues. She needs a name and at this rate, we're going to be the couple at the hospital they won't let leave because they haven't named their child.

I ask that if you have any name suggestions, please let me know. I mean ANY suggestions. I like floofy, Eric likes simple. So really anything will be taken into consideration!

It's a.......!!!!!

Over a week ago, I had an ultrasound done at my new OB's office. I was under the impression it was going to be THE ultrasound where all the measurements are taken of the baby to make sure he/she is growing normally and to determine if it's a boy or girl. I was bummed because Eric was on call that day (it seems like he's on call everyday, but that's another issue), but I was still excited to find out if the baby is a girl or boy.

Old Man Ultrasound Tech greeted me when I got there and informed me he was going to do the ultrasound. Seriously, this guy was so old. Anyway, OMUT (this is what I'll call him for short), proceeded to perform the ultrasound. I was waiting for him to start taking all the measurements, to tell me my amniotic fluid was fine, tell me there was no signs of downs syndrome or hydrocephalus...anything! All I got was, "Yep, you're right on schedule for your gestational age. Here's the brain matter and here's a femur." And then the exam was over. I asked, "Wait, can't you tell if it's a boy or girl?" He replied, " Oh no. It's too soon yet and this machine is so old, I wouldn't be able to tell."

I was so mad! Not only did it seem like the ultrasound was for nothing except to measure the gestational age, but stupid OMUT didn't even try to find out for me. Now I know that ultrasounds aren't to determine the sex, but this guy could've tried. What made the most mad was that he told me his machine was too old. What a big fat lie!

I went home and made an appointment at one of those ultrasound boutique places. I told the lady I spoke with I just wanted to know the sex of the baby because I'd just had a ultrasound but OMUT wouldn't tell me. She asked who did the exam and when I told her, she said, "I taught him all he knows! He certainly could've told you."

That Saturday, Eric was off so we and my in-laws took the boys and went to the boutique place. It was so much fun! The lady was a really good (and nice!) tech and she made sure to get a good shot of the goods. Without further ado, here's the pictures that were taken, beginning with showing off the goods.

It's a GIRL!!!! See the three lines? Ok, it's kinda hard to tell, but they're on the left.

Her beautiful little feet are crossed. What a little lady!

Here are some 3d shots. Since it's still pretty early, she's looking pretty skeletonish, but beautiful nonetheless.

She's smiling!

And here she is sucking her thumb :)

We are so excited to add a girl to the mix! We love her so much already. Now I just hope we can decide on a name!

We made it to IL!

We are finally here and almost settled in. There are still a few lingering boxes that don't seem to be getting unpacked, but besides that, we're all in!

The drive itself was loooooong. I remember it being long, but it's so much longer with children! It seemed like everytime we got on the road, someone had a poopy diaper requiring immediate attention. It was three really long days.

We're living in Eric's parent's basement this year, so most of our stuff is in storage. What a hassle it was to divide everything up between the two places and making sure the movers got it to the right place. We're just glad to be here and that the drive is over and our stuff made it, too!

Here are a few pics of the trip and when we first got here:

Caves in AZ

Mr. Carter sleeping in the car. The boys don't really sleep well in the car, so I was grateful when they did for a little bit.

Me driving. I think this was the third day when I didn't know if I could go any further.

The little travel companions. It was so helpful to have my mom there. While one of us drove, the other would tend to the boys.

Mr. Brandt and his foot :)

The day after we got to IL, we all went swimming. I'd just changed the boys' diapers and put them in those cool designer huggies that look like jeans. We went out to the pool to show off the diapers and decided the boys should swim. Ummmm...if anyone doesn't already know this: normal diapers explode when they get too soaked. We had to invest in swimming diapers the next day. Anyway, here's Carter with his grandpa.

Mr. Brandt!

Mr. Brandt in his denim diaper

I love this picture. I look like crappola, but Brandt sure is cute!

Playing in "real" grass for the first time.

My mom with Brandt. It was so fun to swim and not be driving!

Everyone having fun at the pool.

I have so much more to post, I need more hours in the day. Both the boys have started walking. It's so amazing how they just decide one day they are going to try it out!