Long overdue update

I had my 27 week check-up and ultrasound yesterday. Everything looks great. Baby A is measuring at approx. 2lbs 2 oz. and Baby B is approx. 2 lbs 4 oz. They are both growing on schedule and my due date has been bumped up officially to June 29th. Since my doctor won't have me deliver any later than 38 weeks, the girls will be here by June 15th. We are slowly stocking up on the necessities, the carseats arrived last week, I ordered the stroller yesterday, and we'll be picking up diapers and wipes with each shopping trip. The girls are pretty active but don't move nearly as much as I remember Maddie moving. It feels more like popcorn popping most of the time. Every once and a while I feel more pronounced movement, like the other night. Aaron and I went to see Michael Buble in concert at Abravanel Hall. One of the songs had a drum solo that was really loud and I was enjoying it when a sudden punch in my abdomen made me jump a little in my seat. I think we have finally decided on the names, Camille and Gabrielle. We know middle names as well, but they're underwraps until the girls get here (surprise for the family I suppose). The nicknames we will be using are Cami and Brie.

Speaking of the Michael Buble concert, it was excellent. He is a great entertainer! We laughed a lot and the music was great. We don't often splurge on a night out like that, but we were not disappointed. We enjoyed a nice meal at Samba Grill and then browsed and shopped at Borders bookstore before the concert. Our seats were perfect, we were on the 2nd row of the 1st tier on the right side of the stage.

The latest addition to the family is a white 2006 Nissan Quest. We traded in the Toyota Matrix, which did not have room for three carseats in the back. Neither does our Dodge Neon, but that car will primarily be used to get Aaron to work and back now that I am going to be home fulltime. This was a large purchase that we put a lot of thought into. We have had the van for about 3 weeks and we love it. Maddie loves that she can see out the windows so well, I love the power sliding door and the rear A/C and heating vents. Aaron's a big fan of the V6 engine. There is a ton of cargo space as well. After we got over the initial shock of having (and needing!) a minivan, we're loving it!

Maddie is struggling with the upcoming changes, I suspect. She's acting up a bit more, wants more attention, testing her boundaries a little bit. It's been a challenge to figure out how to handle it all. She is mature for her age, and it's hard to remember sometimes when she does something that is normal for a 3 year old that she is just a 3 year old. We can have lengthy detailed discussions about things, she has the soundtrack of Wicked and the Wizard of Oz memorized, she's very independent. It makes it difficult to discipline her because she seems to be a little adult so much of the time. I have been reading and practicing the 1, 2, 3 Magic techniques and that has helped a bit. Maddie must think it works, she attempted to count the cat out of her room the other night. "ZEUS! Get out of my room! 1, 2, 3!" No, it didn't work, but I had to smile at her technique. Maddie has one more month of preschool, her last day is also my last day of work. Since I'll be home for the last 4-6 weeks before the babies arrive, I am hoping to have enough energy to do some fun things with her.

Aaron is taking the NCLEX on Wednesday, April 5th. The poor guy is stressed to the max. He's been studying at least 10 hours a day for the last 2 weeks. I think he will do just fine, but he always struggles with test anxiety. This particular test is a big deal, so I completely understand the stress. He really loves his job and the people he works with. His schedule will work out pretty well for us, as crazy as it is. He works Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from Noon-Midnight and then Tuesday and Friday from Noon-Midnight. He has a 5 day stretch where he's off every other week. With his shift starting later in the day, I might be able to get a shower every morning when the babies get here!

Sorry this update is a little disjointed, I'm at work and keep getting interrupted. I will most likely post an update next week once Aaron has finished his NCLEX.