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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!!

Stay tuned for my Christmas post.  I promise to get to it soon.  Right now I just feel like I need a little down time to catch my breath!  Hope your Christmas was great & your 2011 is even better!

HO HO HO!!!

We attended breakfast with Santa this weekend with Terry's family.  I completely expected that the girls would be super afraid of the Jolly Man this year but that wasn't the case.  They wouldn't smile for me, but there were no tears either, so I was happy with our pictures.  Alexis even said "HO HO HO" to Santa when we saw him in the store.  Both girls exclaim "ho ho ho" whenever they see anything with Santa on it lately.  I'm totally loving the holiday season this year with my munchkins.  I'm finding it more difficult to chase two toddlers, carry a diaper bag and still take quality pictures.  But, here is what we got:

Alexis too busy coloring to look at the camera.  Future Artist?? 



Addison also determined not to look at the camera.  I think she just spotted Santa!

I love the look Alexis is giving Santa.

Alexis is done with Santa at this point.

There was a very cool fish tank inside the store that Alexis was mesmerized with.

Love this picture!

Away in a Manger.......

Anyone notice anything strange about this picture?

Somehow Elmo keeps finding his way into our manger scene.  Who knew that Elmo was a vital part of the nativity??  Not me!!



Thankful....

Better late than never with my Thanksgiving post right?  Actually, I have an explanation as to why I'm not posting it until now.  I didn't really feel comfortable with posting on the internet that we would be out of town and that our house would be empty for intruders to easily access.  Yep, that's right.....we were brave enough to embark on our first official road trip with the munchkins.

We decided that it was time for us to make the journey to visit our family out in the St. Louis area.  After two weeks of pre-planning and packing up just about everything but the kitchen sink, we were ready to roll.  We left Thanksgiving day, promptly at nap time, with hopes that the girls would sleep in the car.  Once again, I seriously stressed about the girls being able to contain their little wiggle-worm bodies in their car seats for four plus hours.  And once again, my kiddos surprised me with their amazing resilience and ability to adapt to different surroundings.  About forty five minutes into our trip this was my kiddos....

Sadly these are the only two pictures that I took our entire trip :-(

They slept very well for a little over an hour.  Then it was Barney time.  As much as I despise Barney, he saved us on this drive.  Prior to our trip, we installed a dual screen dvd player in the SUV.  The girls were pretty excited to be able to watch Barney & Elmo in the car.  All but the last twenty minutes of the trip the girls were fairly content. 

Once arriving at Grandma & Grandpa's house the girls were in heaven.  They couldn't decide what toys to play with first, or what picture to rip off the shelf first.  The girls were excited to have free roam of the house and to be free to explore their new surroundings.  Again, I seriously stressed about whether or not the girls would sleep well away from home.  They have never spent the night anywhere except in their own cribs.  And as I should know by now....they amazed me with their adaptability.  Both girls went right to bed every night.  Alexis would cry for all of thirty seconds before going to sleep.

Now the trip home.....UGH, where to begin.  Let's just say the trip home didn't go quite as well.  We tried to follow the same routine that we did on the way to St. Louis, with hopes that the girls would take a nap in the car.  About twenty minutes after we left Grandma's house, Addison started vomiting in the car.  I told Terry to pull over, thinking that I could just clean her up and we would be on our way.  Nope, not so much!  As soon as we stopped Alexis started gagging and throwing up everywhere as well.  I'm not talking just a little vomit.  I'm talking serious projectile vomit covering every inch of their clothes, their car seat, their hair, the seat of the car, etc.  At that point we decided to turn around and head back to Grandma & Grandpa's house.  I gave Terry the option of either (A) Taking the girls into the house, stripping them of their vomit soaked clothes and giving them a bath or (B) cleaning up the car and the girls car seats.  To my surprise, he chose B.  So, long story short, after about an hour and a half delay cleaning the girls, the car and ourselves, we got back on the road.  The girls almost instantly fell asleep and took a great nap.

After nap time, the girls once again showed their excitement to be watching movies in the car.  My crazy sister Paula, was out early on black Friday (no thank you!) trying to score some deals.  She picked up a few dvd movies for the girls, including Beethoven.  The girls seriously were in love.  For about an hour or so, all we heard from the front seat was.....dog, dog, DOG, big dog, and DOOOOG!  All but the last forty five minutes of the drive they were pretty content.  I had to get pretty creative with some of my singing, and tossing of stuffed animals, and pretty much just acting like an idiot to keep them entertained.

After arriving at home, we were pretty much convinced that it was just an isolated car sickness issue.  Well, that was until Alexis woke up about thirty minutes after going to bed.  I was rocking her in our chair and I could see it in her face.  Yep, I got pelted with projectile vomit.  I'm pretty proud of the fact that I saw it coming and that I was able to position her where I took the brunt of the destruction and she didn't need yet another bath. 

All and all most of our first road trip was amazing and my girls yet again continue to impress me.  I'm so thankful for those two little munchkins that I can't even put it into words.  Yes, being covered in puke is super disgusting but I'm thankful that I Addison and Alexis in my life that I wouldn't change a second of it.  They make me a better person, and I thank God everyday for blessing me with those sweet little angels.  I'm also grateful for everyone in our life who continues to support us.  Our parents and families, for constantly being there for us whenever we need them.  Terry's sister and brother in law, for continuing to feed us clothes from their adorable twin girls.  Our friends and neighbors who continue to be an amazing support system.  The mysterious Angels in our lives who randomly drop off boxes of diapers on our front porch.  Whomever you are, thank you! And everyone in our lives who has ever said a prayer or supported our family in any way.  It would be impossible to name everyone individually.  For all of you, we are thankful.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1

Prematurity Awareness Day!

I've really been struggling with writing this post today.  I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I'm finding it difficult to rehash the past and explain why prematurity awareness is so near and dear to my heart.  I went back and re-read my post from last year.  Those pictures (also shown below) break my heart and remind me how truly lucky my family is.  I owe everything that I am to the nurses, doctors, the March of Dimes, and everyone else who had a hand in caring for my precious little preemies.

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. 

A half a million babies will be born premature in the United States this year. Some of them can be prevented through quality prenatal care. Other births, like Addison and Alexis', are sudden and unexpected. The March of Dimes is leading the fight for prevention and to find answers as to why.

I’ll never know exactly why, which is something I struggle with from time to time. I always wonder if there was something I could have done differently. And there are times when Addison or Alexis are having moments, and I wonder if this is just their personality or if this is their “preemie” coming through, and making me take notice. Whatever it is, I always notice.  That "preemie mom anxiety" is something that never goes away.  At least it hasn't for me yet? 

Addison---day 3 still fighting for every breath.

Alexis---day 4  (notice the safety pin? Kinda puts the whole size thing into proportion)

I can’t change the fact that my girls were born premature. What I can do is tell their story, and revel in their development. I can support the March of Dimes and their mission: to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  I invite you to join me to support all the tiny miracles. Help make sure that ALL the tiny miracle babies and their parents can call themselves survivors.

We will be participating in the March of Dimes Walk again next year.  I should have the exact date soon.  Once I do, I will pass that along to everyone who wishes to walk on our team or to help with a donation.

I am just one of hundreds of bloggers that is taking time today to help raise awareness about this important cause. Bloggers Unite!

Still teary eyed....

Every fertility shot...

Every day of bed rest...

Every financial hardship...

Every hour spent in the NICU...

Every tear shed...

Every ounce of pain...

It's all been worth it to see my two little miracles blowing me kisses this morning and to hear Addison say

"LOVE YOU"

for the first time, as I was leaving for work this morning.

I'm still fighting back the tears as I think back to those days where we were told that my beautiful baby girl would never leave the hospital.  Everyday I look at my girls and still can't believe how far they have come.  Days like today make me appreciate how far we've come even more. 
God is truly great and has blessed us beyond words.

REVISION: I'm not saying that every day with my girls isn't worth every ounce of heartache that we went through, but days like today melt my heart more than words can say!

PSALM 16:11

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

HALLOWEEN 2010

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the girls from Halloween.  They had a blast trick or treating this year.  A big thanks to my friend Sherri for helping us chase the girls around the neighborhood.  Without her, these pictures would not be possible!  In hindsight, we should have put the girls in their wagon and pulled them around the neighborhood.  Oh well, next year we will be better prepared! 

We attended a small Halloween gathering the Friday before Halloween.  As you can see, Lex was not happy about having her picture taken that day.

My little duckling.  Love those big brown eyes!

Checking out the other people in costume.

Alexis was very intrigued by the costumes.

Alexis running away from us on Halloween night.  She really could have cared less about the blow up pumpkin in one of our neighbors yard.

Addison, my sweet little bug.

Addison checking out all of Trina's candy.

Addison Grace...don't you just wanna squeeze her?

Round 1...not quite sure what to think about the costume.

An attempt to get both girls in one picture.  Didn't work too well!

The best group shot we could get at the party.

Another attempt to get a family picture on Halloween night.  This was the best we could do.

My little Thief!!

I promise I will get the rest of our Halloween pictures up soon, but I just had to share this video of Addison stealing our neighbors candy bowl!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Look What I Bought.....

Yep, that's right!  We are now the proud owners of four little princess potty chairs, two for upstairs and two for downstairs.  The girls have randomly started saying "uck uck uck" and grabbing their bottoms after they poo.  So, I decided that it was a good time to start thinking about introducing the potty.  While I'm not 100% sure that the girls are ready for full-blown potty training, I figured it couldn't hurt to start presenting it. 

Just like everything else, I did a lot of research about potty chairs.  I was almost 100% positive that I wanted to get the fancy Baby Bjorn potties until I read the reviews about them.  It never would have dawned on me to think about splash guards and the high center piece when dealing with girls.  I'm glad I actually did read up before just going out and buying them. 

Like I said previously, I'm not positive that the girls are ready for this but we are going to start slowly and see where we go.  If it doesn't work and the girls reject the idea completely, then we will wait a few months and try again.  I've heard too many horror stories about parents who start potty training too early and then their children rebel and they are in diapers until they are three.  I have no plans to force the issue and plan to let the girls decide on their own when they are ready.  So, my plans are to just introduce the potty before the girls take a bath.  I will let them sit on the chair and see how it goes.  Wish me luck!



If you have any potty suggestions, I'm all ears!

18 Months....

Yes, I know I say this every month but I seriously can not believe that my little babies are so grown up.  It  doesn't seem right to me that we are less than six months away from the girls second birthday.  Everyday they surprise me with something new that just proves to me that they are no longer babies.

I wanted to wait until I had actual facts and figures before I did my 18 month update.  The girls got gold stars and princess stickers from the pediatrician yesterday.  She continues to be amazed by how well they are doing and is very impressed by their progress.  The girls got a Hepatitis A shot, a flu shot and a heal stick to check their iron levels.  Addison seriously did not cry at all.  She did this little fake sobby thing, but didn't shed a tear.  Alexis on the other hand, well you would have thought someone was murdering her.  So here we go:

ALEXIS

• As of  yesterday (the 19th) she weighed 20 pounds 13 ounces and was 30 1/2 inches tall.  Finally hit the charts:  7th percentile for weight & 12 percentile for height.
• Currently uses Size 4 Kirkland's (Costco Brand) diapers
• Currently wears 12 month clothes, sometimes an occasional 18 month but that's very rare.
• Wears size 5 shoe
• Has 12, maybe 13 teeth.  Trying to verify this is like sticking my hand into an alligators mouth.
• Officially no longer uses a bottle, EVER.  She had a hard time with this, especially at bed time, but we are happy to say that she has finally given it up.
• Loves Barney and Elmo.  Can literally be screaming her head off and the minute you turn on Barney or Elmo she will instantly calm down.
• Still has a limited vocabulary of:  MaMa, DaDa, Cat, Ball, Buh Buh (barney), MoMo(Elmo), BaBa (bottle aka, sippy cup), Dog, Tah Dah (when she does flips or just generally anything worthy of a Tah Dah).  She tends to do more pointing than talking.
• Has the sweetest personality when she is by herself, not that she isn't sweet when she isn't alone, but it's obvious she loves the personal attention.  She will give hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle.
• Loves to read books, actually let me rephrase that....she loves to turn pages of books.
• Loves to sing and has the sweetest little singing voice.
• Knows several of her body parts and will point to them when asked. 
• Recognizes a dog, cat, frog, pig or cow.  If you have a book and ask her where the dog is, she will point to it.  Also will say mmmmmm, trying to say Mooo, to imitate a cow.

ADDISON 

• As of yesterday (the 19th) she weighed 19 pounds 2 ounces and was 30 1/2 inches tall.  (Yes, both girls are the exact same height.)  She also finally hit the charts:  1st percentile for weight & 19 percentile for height.
• Currently uses Size 4 Kirkland's (Costco Brand) diapers.
• Currently wears 12 month clothes.
• Wears size 5 shoe
• Has 12 teeth.  Again, this is very hard to verify 100% these days.  Addison is a little more laid back about letting me check but she gets tired of me looking in her mouth very quickly.
• Sleeps with a little blanket.  I'm ok with this since my girls never took pacifiers. 
• Shares her sisters love of Barney and Elmo.  I think Addison loves Elmo more.  Anytime she seems Elmo anywhere she makes sure that everyone knows that she just saw Elmo.  We were walking through Target's baby section the other night and she saw Elmo on a baby bib and started shouting "Elmo Elmo Elmo".
• Her vocabulary has seriously exploded in the past month.  I can't even begin to create a list of words that she knows.  Everyday it is something new.  Yesterday at the pediatricians office she pulled Terry's keys out of the diaper bag and held them up and said "keys?".  A few nights ago, she kept saying something that Terry and I both thought sounded like "apple".  Sure enough, she was telling Terry that she wanted applesauce. 
• Is a social butterfly.  Is always telling everyone Hi or Bye.  Loves to wave, blow kisses and draw attention to herself.  Super Cute!
• Loves to read books.  She will actually sit on your lap and let you read to her.  She also loves to turn the pages but is more willing to let you read to her.
• Knows several of her body parts and will point to them when asked.  She also will tell you where your specific body parts are located.  Her favorite lately being teeth.
• Recognizes and can imitate several animals.  She says mmmmmm (instead of mooo) for a cow, baaaa for a sheep, twack twack for a duck.  She can pick out and point to a specific animal if you ask her.

We are anxiously awaiting Halloween at our house this year.  The girls are loving their costumes and can't wait to make their debut around our neighborhood.  Stay tuned for more updates.....

Venting.....

• Why don't people understand that a preemie baby will ALWAYS be considered a preemie baby? 
• Why can't people understand that preemie lungs are considered undeveloped until the child is AT LEAST 24 months corrected age?
• Why can't people understand that a preemie will always have weak lungs and be more apt to contract colds and respiratory infections?
• Why can't I make people understand that during cold, flu & RSV season it is in the best interest of my children to stay at home and away from other children?

Before you judge or get mad I ask you ONCE AGAIN to place yourself in our shoes for just one minute.....

Imagine you went through hell and back just to get pregnant.  Your pregnancy is rough at best.  You almost lose both your surviving children within minutes of them being born.  You spend countless hours in the NICU for over three and a half months of your life.  Don't you think that you would do everything humanly possible to make sure your children don't get sick?  Don't you think that you would do everything in your power to make sure that they don't ever have to suffer one ounce of pain?  While I'm not naive in the fact that my girls will never get sick, I think it's only good parenting to try and protect them.  Am I wrong?  Please just try and understand before you judge and/or make your ignorant comments. 

How far are you willing to go to protect your kids?  I will do anything I have to!  And if that means putting up with people who can't grasp that concept, then so be it, but I just wish I could make people understand!!!

October 15th

Today is October 15th, National Pregnancy and infant loss remembrance day.  Before we struggled through infertility, a miscarriage & losing our baby girl Hope, I had know idea that this day even existed.  While I continue to trust that the Lord has/had our best interest at heart, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't wonder or think about my Angels in heaven.

Today we ask that you say a prayer for every parent who has lost a child and for every child that was taken from this world too soon.

Children of the Corn??

Took the girls to the local pumpkin patch over the weekend.  I seriously can never remember going to a pumpkin patch and being too hot.  Usually we get to enjoy warm apple cider and some hot chocolate....not so much this year.  The temperature was close to 85 degrees and we were making sure to keep the sun block near.  We had a blast checking out the different animals and just generally being out of the house and enjoying the beautiful day.  I love that the girls are actually understanding animals now.  They can tell me pig, horsie, duck etc.  They still get confused sometimes, but watching their little minds work, makes me very happy.  The girls loved running around the corn maze.  Yes, I said "running".  It was so hard to get decent pictures, because it seems as if they both like to run in different directions.  Here are a few pictures, I couldn't decide which ones  I like best so there are a bunch:

 Addison checking out the piggies.

Addison watching the horsie. 

My best attempt to get both of the girls looking at me.

Addison on the toy horsie. 

Alexis determined not to look at me.

Again, my best attempt to get both girls to look at the camera.  Alexis left & Addison right.

Addison....how can you not love that little face? 

Alexis (left) Addison (right)  Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Alexis in the scarecrow head.

Addison in the scarecrow.

All the following pictures are the girls playing in the corn maze.

Addison says, "looking for the perfect pumpkin is hard work.  I'm just gonna rest here for a second... right in the dirt."

Addison, "which one shall I get?"

Addison, "This one looks good".

Alexis, "I like this one but it's a little heavy for me."

Addison testing out her muscles.  I didn't work.  The great pumpkin won.

Alexis also putting her muscles to the test.  She just ended up knocking it over.

Alexis, "I like this one!"