Tuesday, November 30, 2010

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

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

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!

Monday, November 15, 2010

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.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

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.

Monday, November 1, 2010

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!