2 GIRLS!!!!

We had the very special experience of getting to see our babies in 3D today! They confirmed what we already suspected, that Jackson will soon have 2 sisters! When we first peaked in, they were busy moving around and kicking and elbowing each other. By the end of the session, they had settled into sleepy mode were being so sweet snuggling and nuzzling each other. Typical sisters, fighting one second and back to best friends the next! I'm only 17 weeks, so they were small enough to see clearly in the same shot and it was amazing.

Great big thanks to Mimi, Nana, Papa and Matthew for taking the time out of their busy days to join us (and to my sweet friends who took the time to log in online). Even Jackson was able to come and see his sisters for the first time. We are truly blessed.

13 week Ultrasound

Our 13 week ultrasound was a success! Both babies are growing at a healthy pace and the heart rates were 158 and 161 BPM. This picture is a little blurry, but you can see "top bunk" laying on his/her back while "bottom bunk" is turned face forward (and honestly looking a little squished). It was so fun to see them both of them moving around and kicking their little legs. And what a relief to know they are healthy!

While we are a little anxious about adding two members to our family at once, we are are becoming more and more excited as we watch our little ones grow. I'm currently 14 weeks along, the start of my second trimester! I'm still nauseous, especially in the morning and at night, but Matthew has been so supportive and helpful during the times when I can do little more than lay on the couch. I'm confident that soon (within the next couple months) I will be feeling much better. Unfortunately, my belly is growing at an alarming rate, so I'm sure more discomforts are in my future.

Jackson is doing great and even had a little taste of what having a sibling will be like this past weekend while our friends Diana and Tyler were in town. Jackson and Tyler are just less than 3 years apart, which will be the same age gap between Jackson and the twins. They had a blast running around Cades Cove and playing together!

Party of 5...

After much consideration, Matthew and I decided we wanted to make Jackson a big brother. Little did we know that he would soon have TWO siblings!!!! We found out today that we are expecting TWINS! I'm about 6.5 weeks along so technically my due date is September 10th, although we expect to meet our new little additions sometime in August. I will go ahead and answer some questions. No, twins do not run in our family. No, we were not taking fertility treatments. We were just blessed to be the 1 in 70 families who get to experience the joy of Fraternal Twins (as opposed to identical). My ovaries worked overtime in December and left 2 eggs for fertilization. Lucky us! We will have to wait a few more months to find out if we are having 2 boys, 2 girls or 1 boy and 1 girl. We are overwhelmed by the thought of 2 newborns, 3 children under the age of 3 and eventually 3 kids in high school at the same time! It's a lot to take in, but we feel certain God will guide us through this journey. We feel blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends who can support us along the way. We appreciate your prayers and kind words, we need them! Much love from the Slaydens, soon to be a family of five!

Jackson is our big boy!

Two years into parenthood, we are so proud of our little man! Jackson is such a blessing and impresses us everyday with something new. He says so many words and is putting together small sentences. We just love to hear him talk! He loves sports, especially hockey and baseball. It's adorable to see him play!