Matt's Update

Well, I posted last Friday about the twins' surgeries and how well they had gone. Sunday the boys started getting very cranky and had a lot of drainage from their noses and ears (ewww... I know). We were told that this was to be expected and that discomfort from the adenoidectomy would peak at 4 days post-op. Well, Sunday night was a hard night. The boys were up most of the night and were very uncomfortable. Monday night things got BAD for poor little Matt.

Matthew was up the ENTIRE night on Monday. He slept in 20 minute intervals when he became exhausted from the screaming... and when I say screaming I mean SCREAMING. I was very close to taking him to the ER but kept counting down until 8am when I could call his doctor. His fever reached 102 and he was just inconsolable. It was horrible.

I called the doctor Tuesday morning at 8:01. The R.N. assured me that this was "normal" and I assured her this was absolutely NOT normal. We went back and forth for a few minutes (I know she thought I was being difficult... but oh well) and I finally got an afternoon appointment.

Grandpa came to the rescue (once again) and kept the boys for an hour and a half so I could shower and stop crying. (I was soooooo tired and worried.)

We saw a Nurse Practitioner at the Pediatric ENT office at 3. Good news overall. The tubes were/are not blocked and there are no abscesses. Apparently my little guy has an extraordinary amount of swelling. The swelling is putting pressure on a nerve which is causing the fevers and terrible pain. She gave us some new pain meds and almost doubled his Motrin dosage. It seems to be helping A LOT. He is still not "himself" but he is definitely on the mend.

Thank you so much to everyone who has written and called to check on the boys. And a huge thank you to Jenna for adding us to her prayer list! (Jenna keeps an amazing prayer list on her blog. Be sure to peek at her 4 little cuties and check it out.)

4 Tubes In... 4 Adenoids Out

The twins had their surgeries on Thursday and everything went really well. It was a stressful few days (of course) but they've been so sick for so long... I'm very convinced that this was the right thing to do.

Part of the stress for me was that the boys were scheduled for 11:15 and 11:30 am. We were told they could not eat or have milk after midnight. I was VERY stressed about this... BUT when the pre-op nurse called on Wednesday she said I could give them Apple Juice and Jello until 8 am... SCORE. I had the boys up before 7 and stuffed them with as much Jello as I could. (They didn't mind :)


We had to arrive at the surgery center at 10 am (which was almost an hour away!) We thought there was some important reason for this... we were unable to figure that reason out. We sat in the waiting room until 11:15. This gave Grandpa and I plenty of time to worry while the boys had time to play and realize that Jello is not a very filling breakfast. (Note the empty bottle my poor baby has... They were starting to panic w/o their milk... they held onto those empty bottles w/ a death grip!)



Grandpa and I took both boys back into the pre-op area. Matthew was taken back for his procedure first. The surgeon came out within a few minutes to tell us everything had gone very well and to take Danny back. We were told that he also did great and were called to the Recovery Room for Matthew just a few moments later. That was not the best part of the day.

Poor Matthew. He had a really hard time coming out of the anesthesia. He was screaming, trying to pull out his IV, pushing me, and fighting. It was very, very hard to calm him down.



Danny was also full of tears when he was brought back a few minutes later. However, his didn't last. Danny quickly cuddled in and fell asleep on my shoulder.



Overall things went very well. The boys have been sleeping, eating, and playing since Thursday night. They are pretty much back to themselves already. Dr. Andrews said that their adenoids were HUGE so he thinks that these procedures are going to help them get healthy and STAY healthy... which will make it all worth it! Thank you all so much for all the well-wishes and prayers!!

I Bet I Can Make You Smile...

Here is Matt trying to change Danny's diaper


(I asked Danny if he needed a diaper and he promptly lied down to be changed... right on the porch... no shame :) Matt decided to take care of things for his little bro').

Home Sweet Home

Kirsten and Brian got home last night!! They had a great trip and I'll be sure to post some of their pictures soon.

...So Kirsten came running in the door last night and I scooped her up for a HUGE hug and some love. While snuggling in I cried "You grew! I can't believe you grew!" and Kirsten cried (I SWEAR this is true... I have witnesses) "Mommy! I think you lost pounds! You look like a young mommy!" That's my girl :) I'm sure Brian put her up to it (although he denies it) but how cute is that?? Do they know how to make me smile or what? (And she DID grow! Look!)


The boys were already asleep when they got home last night. Brian went down to get the boys this morning and they were SO happy. Danny wouldn't let Brian put him down and he kept saying "Dada! Dada! Dada!" I asked the boys where they thought Kirsten was. They ran straight for her room calling "Sissy! Sissy!" Danny climbed right into her bed with her and Matt wiggled up to kiss her nose until she woke up. Then they all had a dance party. (How else should siblings celebrate being reunited at 6 am?)


I love my family so much.

Moments Like These...

make my heart MELT.



I don't ever want to forget Danny's giggle as he announced "Hat Mamma!" or Matthew's laughter as he yelled "BOO Mommy! Boo!"

... Just try to tell me they aren't the cutest kids you've ever seen!

Baby's First Black Eye

I don't know who cried harder when Danny hit his eye on the edge of the table today... (Yes I do. It was definitely me.) I feel SO SO SO SO SO bad for him! I don't know what to do! I can't give him any ibuprofen since his surgery is scheduled for Thursday and he REFUSES to let me hold ice on it. I can't figure out how to keep the swelling down :(



The picture doesn't do this injury justice. It looks SO bad. I feel awful. Poor, brave baby.

Story Time

Well, the boys and I are trying to fill up the hours until Brian and Kirsten come home... (Okay, I'm just being dramatic... we're having plenty of fun on our own.) Today we went to Story Time at the library with our friends Dylan, Noah, Malia, and Isaac. The last time we went it was a little unstructured for my taste... but today was much better! We had a great time.

Here is a shot of my good listeners :)

They boys were totally intrigued by the stickers they received. They just loved them... it was really cute.


After story time we hung out in the children's area for awhile.

Here is Matt building with some Legos.

Danny had fun trying to complete a puzzle... they are getting much too big!

WAAAAAHHHHH!

They LEFT me! They actually LEFT me! I guess I'm being a bit dramatic...

Brian and Kirsten left yesterday to go skiing in Colorado with Brian's parents. The boys and I were invited, of course. I thought it would be too hard to take the boys at this age... so I decided to stay home with the little ones. I kind of expected Brian to leave Kirsten too and go skiing with his dad... I was wrong. He was very excited about taking Kirsten on a "Father - Daughter Ski Weekend". Yea, it sounds sweet and fun... but I MISS them! They have been gone for 27 hours and aren't coming back until Monday night. I've never been away from either of them for this long! (Well, I guess I was when I was in the hospital but they visited everyday so it was different.)

I hope you guys are having a WONDERFUL time! I love you both so much and I can't wait for you to come home!!!!

Let's Party!

Last week our friend Noah turned 1! (It's hard to believe that Matt and Danny are now "big boys" of the group.) We had so much fun celebrating at a Pirate Playground Party.

The park playground we went to is right next to Albert Whitthead airport and has lots of little planes for the kids to play on.

K. Grace and Matt

Daddy and Danny

The prettiest pirates ever!


Somehow I didn't get a photo of the birthday boy... isn't that awful? Sorry Noah!

Half A Cake + Half A Song = A Whole Lot of Fun

Today was Kirsten's "Half Birthday"... C'mon... you know what a half birthday is right? The glorious day when mere seven year olds officially become seven and a HALF year olds! We like to celebrate by making half a Birthday Cake, singing half of the "Happy Birthday" song, and telling Kirsten "Happy Bir..." all day long (we only say half of it... get it?).

Here is our beautiful half of a cake. (The candy says 7 1/2)

The boys were thoughtful enough to only be HALF dressed for the party :)

There is usually a "no gifts on Half Birthday" policy... but since I found some Hannah Montana hair glitter for HALF off I went for it! (That's actually totally untrue... it was 90% off and only .75 but I was trying to keep with the theme.)

... and notice that the gift is only HALF wrapped

This is what seven and a half looks like!

"Happy Bir... Honey!"

Dear Danny,

My sweet, silly boy. You make my heart smile.

What an exciting, busy month December 2008 was. You enjoyed the holidays but you also enjoy your regular routine. On Christmas Eve you loved opening gifts and playing with your new cars... but at bedtime you made it very clear that the party was over and you were turning in for the night :) Your awe of all things Christmas is something I'll always remember. You liked to stand in front of the Christmas tree pointing at each, individual ornament whispering "WOW" over and over. It was so precious. You enjoyed wearing your Santa outfit and as soon as I pulled it out of the drawer you would start calling "Ho, ho, ho!" You, Kirsten, and Matt all enjoyed standing in front of dancing Santa statues and dancing along.

You have officially become a little sponge. You take in everything around you and you are always thinking. You know all your body parts and many animals now. You like to play the "animal sound game" and make sounds as I test you (with cow, cat, dog, monkey, duck, bird, alligator, and sheep).

You like to be read too... as long as we read NO DAVID! or DAVID GETS IN TROUBLE! You bring the books to me pointing your little finger and yelling "No, no, no, no!"

Your language skills are exploding. You are starting to put words together and ask questions. A few times recently you've said something that didn't make sense to me but I always figure out that you know exactly what you are talking about! (For example, a few days ago we were playing outside and you giggled "Duck... quack, quack, quack"... clearly there was no duck on the lawn. I asked you if you saw a bird and you said "Duck Mama... quack, quack". I looked at your sister and giggled and called you silly... to which Kirsten said "Mommy, he wants the rubber ducky over there" and pointed to the toy. Duh.)

You love, love, love "Blue's Clues". You like to play outside, jump, dance, sing (preferably in your sister's new microphone toy), and play with balls. You LOVE balls. Grandpa made the mistake of pointing out his tangerine tree to you by saying "look at all the balls"... now all round fruit must be thrown and kicked :)

You've had a hard time with your ears this winter/fall... but you've been such a trooper! I keep taking Matt to the doctor because I can tell he's not feeling well. I always have the doctor check you too once I see that Matt has an infection and EVERY time the doctor cringes when she looks in your little ears and comments on how bad your infection is. I can't wait for you to get your ear tubes. I'm so ready for you to be healthy!

You still love cuddles but now you like to tease me and run away giggling when I ask for kisses. You refuse to let anyone cut your hair and you are terrified of the garbage truck. However, you are not the least bit afraid of climbing on top of (and jumping off of) tables, beds, and step stools. You make me laugh about 100 times a day.

You are the beauty in my life. I love you sweet boy,
Mommy

My Kids Are Geniuses... Seriously!

They are! I know all parents think this... but I'm convinced it's true with my gang.

Here's the proof:
1. Kirsten gave me a science lesson about caffeine last night. It acts like sugar and it can stop your bones from growing.

2. Kirsten can read ANYTHING you put in front of her (and lots of things you don't put in front of her... Daddy's sci-fi novels now have to be hidden.)

3. Danny's language skills are getting ridiculous (says the speech therapist mommy... so it's official!)
- Yesterday he picked up Kirsten's "Angel Barbie" and said "Ma Ma... Baby!" (all dolls are babies... LOVE the generalizations) "Baby... Bird! Bird Mommy." (Because the angel has wings! He JUST learned about birds and he's already making the generalization about wings!)

- Danny loves babies. He is always pointing out babies. Yesterday when I was talking to Kirsten about "the babies" and asked her to bring me "the baby" Danny looked very confused and asked "Matt? Matt baby?" when Kirsten picked up Matt... of course he knows HE is a big boy... but his twin could totally be a baby.

4. Matt opened the child-proof infant Motrin (with the safety cap) in 10 seconds flat. Don't ask why he was playing with the medicine... just be amazed at his motor skills. (Daddy was with him... no worries.)

Here is Matt helping Kirsten check her homework

Case Closed... Genius children.

Matty D,

You and those adorable dimples! They are just so charming (and even though you are only one and a half I swear you know it!)

This month we celebrated your second Christmas. You spent the month "Ho, ho, ho"ing and crying because I kept dropping you in Santa's lap. (Sorry about that... but I got some really cute pictures!)

You are having a really hard time with your ears. The ear infections you and Danny have now have been lingering since the beginning of October. This month was hard for you. You were in quite a bit of pain with your poor little ears AND you cut your last two teeth (for awhile anyway)! I feel so bad for you when you are not feeling well. You are usually the sunniest, happiest little guy. The only upside is that you only want me when you don't feel well. At 3 am I have to remind myself how precious this is... but it really, really is. You have always been Daddy's boy, but when you don't feel good I'm the only one who can calm you down. Hopefully next month's letter will have some information about the surgury I am now very convinced you need for your poor little ears.

This month you finally figured out how to climb up the bars of your crib. You haven't actually climbed OUT yet... but you've climbed on top of the divider between you and Danny. (Danny thought it was AWESOME. He laughed and cheered... You boys are going to either keep me very young or age me very quickly... I'm not sure of which way it's going to go yet...)

You LOVE to reprimand Danny. You point your little finger and yell "No, no, no, no, no!" when you see him breaking a rule. (Usually one you have just finished breaking... thus giving him the idea).

You know all of your body parts now (including eyes, ears, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, arms, toes, feet, belly, fingers, and head). You are STILL addicted to your bottle (which I am embarressed to admit... you just may take it to college with you). You love to dance, watch "Blue's Clues", and play outside. You love to snuggle Kirsten and follow me around in the kitchen warning me "HOT! HOT!" anytime I touch anything (so cute). You will only sit in your high chair for about 90 seconds at a time... which is making meal times a little stressful for me (but very amusing for you).

You are really, really smart.(I know all parents say that... but you might just be a genius!) You are learning new things every single day and I am constantly amazed by you.

I love you sweet baby. I love you so so much.
Mommy

My Girl,

I say it a lot, but this month REALLY did go too fast. We had so much fun though... and we made so many new memories. I love that we have our own traditions now. You and I decorate the Christmas tree together each year. For some reason Daddy doesn't love doing this the way you and I do... but I so look forward to doing it with you. I'm sure we'll have to include your brothers in the next year or two, but for now I like that it's "just us girls". We did lots of holiday baking together and as I learn new recipes you are learning them right along with me (I'm sure you'll be a MUCH better cook than I am!).

You were an angel in the Christmas pageant again this year. Three of the other moms made a point to tell me how sweet you were. During each rehearsal you helped the "little girls" and were a perfect role model for them.

You celebrated your First Reconciliation at church this month. You were so excited (not nervous at all!) and RAN back to the confessional to be the first one. You are very aware of "right" and "wrong" and you make me so very, very proud.

You spent most of your holiday break helping Daddy and Grandpa rebuild the deck. You love to be outside and included in these projects. (I expect that you will be MUCH handier that either Daddy or I could ever hope to be.)

You have one giant "grown up tooth" growing into your huge gap and you are so proud of it. It is so very, very cute.

You received an electric guitar and a violin for Christmas. You love sitting with Daddy for your "guitar lessons" and you can't wait to join the violin club at school. (I don't know if this is because you are truly musically inclined if it's just because you love Mrs. Zeoli, your music teacher, so much... either way it's really cute.)

I love enjoying the little girl you are and imagining the amazing person I know you will become. You are so very precious to me. I love you with every breath.

Love,
Mommy