Traditions

One of my favorite things about celebrating the holidays in my own house is laying the foundation for our family traditions. We have had all but one of Savannah's Christmas' at home and we are starting to find our own way in this season of "madness."

I grew up in a house full of Christmas cookies. My mom started cranking them out in mid-November and froze them until December. Although, I don't claim to come close to such numbers (the looks of them tell you I have had very little practice in the cookie department) we make our own none the less. Luckily, while I was in Texas house hunting my mom was making the much needed cookie dough. On Christmas eve, after church, we came home and rolled out our cookies for Santa. No pressure for them to look or even taste good (shhhhh) made it the best Christmas decorating experience one could have. We sprinkled, stuck large and unsightly decorations all over and stuck them in the oven. The excitement of arranging three cookies (one from each girl) for Santa was palatable. We poured his chocolate milk, wrote a note and then went upstairs for a valiant attempt at sleeping.


Although the babies couldn't really participate in the production of the cookies to my big surprise (especially considering Adeline only cares for purees) - they worked very hard at the consumption. Are these really my kids - one baking/writing legible notes, one eating a whole cookie in less than a minute and the other slowly eating her cookie but eating a solid none the less? It really isn't the difference of a year that is currently amazing me during my reflection on Christmas Eve, it is what lies ahead. Most of the time I am the first to tell you that three is harder than one but in this instance, three fills the room with love, laughter and memories!!



Other traditions that stand out in my mind and I hope eventually grow into what my children define as "celebrating the season as a family" are going to Christmas Eve service (even if we fought very hard to stay seated together in sanctuary), feeding the Reindeer when returning home from church, and counting down the days to Christmas eve on whatever school project is hung on my walls. Gathering around while Daddy read, The Night Before Christmas was a first this year but worth repeating in years to come.

Less focus on presents, more focus on family was the road we took this season and it was incredibly fulfilling. I can't believe we are "here" already. Last year was so far from a holiday celebration and this year was everything I could have wanted in my holiday and more.

Merry Christmas!!

We have many reasons to celebrate this year!!!

Santa Train

Our second annual "Santa Train" ride is under our belts. Grammy and Papa joined in this year and thankfully the babies were able to go as well. Last year, it was just Mommy and Savannah. We debated over taking the girls because of the germy kid factor and because Adeline was a bit under the weather. Again, the whole "to be or not to be the normal family" was tugging at me while making the decision. Luckily, Adeline seemed quite cheery when she woke up and we decided to bundle and go. I am so glad we did.

It was so wonderful to watch my little Adeline sit all by herself on the train smiling at every passerby. Lila Grace stole the show as she was up and down and walking all over. Savannah, of course, was keeping an eye out for Santa remembering that last year he gave every child on the train a toy.


Santa visited our train car and spent extra time with the babies and graced Savannah with a pair of binoculars. Everyone was happy, somewhat healthy and best of all we looked like your average family enjoying the holidays.



Let us not forget where we were last year at this time. We were PUSHING Adeline as hard as the doctors would allow, in order to help her come down on her settings so that we could bring her home. Lila Grace was hooked up to two monitors and using oxygen in her car seat. Although, I constantly try and leave the NICU behind us, I find it very important to measure where we are now in comparison to a year ago. It slows me down, helps me reflect on the blessings God has provided in my life and makes me undeniably grateful for having experienced these two miraculous girls and their difficult, yet amazing journey over the past year.

A season to celebrate indeed!!!

Proud Mommy

I was very fortunate to attend Savannah's preschool Christmas program this year. It would have been nearly impossible had my parents not been here to watch the girls while I went.

I am amazed how watching my big girl stand up on stage can make me feel so proud. She is shy and a bit tender so watching her do the hand motions, or "hand lotions" as she likes to call them, while singing the words is a pretty big deal. The night before I asked her if she was going to look for me because I was going to blow her a kiss. She responded in her very serious voice with big eyes, "Mommy, I have to do my hand lotions so I will not be able to catch your kiss." Yes, she thinks everything through, even the catching my kiss while singing scenario.

Here is a little clip to of her program in case you are interested.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!!

I feel like I have a theme going with my last few posts. Yes, that would be the "Three Being Harder Than One," theme.













Since Daddy was home this weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to cut down our Christmas tree. In the name of not letting these babies slow us down, we forged through the melting snow and mud, bumpy terrain and a train ride to get our tree. Yes, we visited the Shamrock Tree Farm for our third annual cutting of the tree.

Our morning started with layering everyone in three layers of clothes. Easier said than done with babies. However, I was very thankful for the extra padding because Lila decided to walk off the top step and tumble down the stairs. Completely our fault (still feeling guilty) but luckily not a catastrophe. After the tears we were finally off to the farm. We put Lila Grace in the jogger, Adeline in the Bjorn and Savannah walked but was not hesitant to voice her disgust of all the mud. Once finding the tree, (less of an agonizing decision when you have two babies who are at any minute going to hit a wall) we watched Daddy work very hard to cut it down with the rickety saw. Savannah yelled, "Timber," as the third Wolf-Shaw tree came tumbling down. The tractor/driver came to take the tree but realized he had no claim checks. Thus, Daddy and Lila rode back with the tree while Adeline, Savannah and I hiked back. Savannah was greatly relieved to see that they still had endless cookies waiting for customers in the wreath barn.

Of course, I pack everyone up to cut the tree in order to try and feel like the "normal" family, the "not held back by our prematurity" family. Yet, nothing is as easy as it seems. There it sits in the back of my head, "Should we be here?" "Are they too cold?" "Is Adeline keeping her sats up?" What if I slipped and fell in the mud - would she be dangerously hurt?" And there is always the mom who is encouraging her toddler (probably same age as the twins) to look at the babies. "Say Hi to the babies." Then the toddler touches the girls which makes me question whether or not we should be in public. Should I say, "Please don't touch - they were one pound babies or just give the mom the look? Clearly, we continue to hang in the balance between "normal" and "premature."

On the flip-side, I type this sitting by our tree that was beautifully decorated with the help of our biggest girl. How nice it is to see how much she has grown up over the past year. There was no, "Don't touch that," or "Be careful," she just knew what was appropriate. She took great joy in examining all of the ornaments. I took great joy decorating the tree while my two babies slept upstairs. I take even greater joy stressing about what they might do to my tree instead of trying to find time to decorate it in between NICU visits. It is hard to believe that it was only one year ago!!

Let it Snow!

What a treat it was to wake up to freshly fallen snow. It was less of a treat when we were battling traffic home from the city for three hours the night before. Thankfully, the many hours in the car were quickly forgotten when Savannah pulled up her blind and saw snow the next morning. Luckily, Daddy was home. I certainly couldn't bundle all three kids and myself for a quick jaunt out in the snow. (I am still in shock over how hard it is to get everyone out the door now that the weather has changed - three is harder than one!!!)

After putting on many layers we all made it outside. It is important to note that Adeline and Lila will have know idea what snow is now that we are moving to Texas so this fun in the snow was must do before moving. Once outside, Adeline sat patiently on a blanket and watched Savannah try to pull Lila Grace on the sled. Lila Grace kept trying to climb off and eat the snow while walking around in boots that were two sizes too big. Was I really supposed to buy boots for these girls? As you probably can tell by the pictures, no one was really thrilled when forced to sit still for pictures. But hey, what is life without a few (or a lot) of pictures.


Our fun in the snow did turn out to be FUN. However, it was a lot of work for a very short period of fun. I think I will let the other snow storms come and go before I bundle all three kids again. I will be too busy shoveling the driveway and walk anyway. Yet another reason why it is better to have Daddy home rather than in Texas. Let's pray for a a warm winter.

Savannah's Thoughts for the Day

Here are some of the conversations I have had with my biggest girl over the last 24 hours. I should keep a running log. She is the funniest and sweetest girl I know.

"Mommy, pretty soon I won't be able to help you with my baby sisters. Nlivia (no that is not a typo) is getting ready to come out of my tummy. That means I will have TWO babies (Bunny and Nlivia) and there will be FOUR babies in the house."

Walking into her room to wake her on my birthday:
A long and quiet stare is followed by, "You don't look any bigger."

"Mommy, I just like you and I want to be with you." (literally)

"Mommy, do you have to go to work after Daddy gets home?" "No," I say. "Yea, I get to be with my whole family today!"

"Mommy, I love you as big as the world!"

Why did you name Bunny, Bunny I ask? "I just like that cute name and Bunny is soooo sweet."

"Are we going to have to sell everything someday? (someone has caught on to ebay)

Happy Birthday Daddy

Here is a little Happy Birthday wish for Daddy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to be home on his big day. We are hoping that next year we are together as a family. For now, we will send him wishes from afar.

37 . . . . is that even possible? Are we really that old? Yikes!!

A Day of Thanksgiving

Our first official Thanksgiving with all of the girls!! It certainly is a day of "thanksgiving," especially when we look back to where we were last year. At that time, we had just brought Lila Grace home and Adeline was beginning her last real "fight for life" in the NICU. Not happy times. It feels like years ago. I can't believe that Adeline hasn't been home a year yet.



This year was quite a different story. We spent the majority of the day at home as a family. We were able to watch Adeline crawl up on all fours for the first time (instead of her preferred commando style), make pumpkin bread and relax. This evening was spent at our good friend Charlotte's house. We celebrated the girls' road home from the NICU and the joy they have brought into our lives over the past year. How nice it was to sit around a table with the girls intead of sitting around their isolettes in the hospital.

Not only is it Thanksgiving, it is also supposed to be the girls' 1st birthday. If you look at them as 12 month olds you would not think twice about their development. Of course they are small, and yes, Adeline is still commando crawling, but there is nothing that says these girls don't fall into the range of "normal" 12 month old development. I recognize that they are 15 months old and eventually they must conform to their actual age expectations, but for now, I am happy to see them evolving from babyhood to toddler-hood as all one year olds do.

To mark their "unofficial 1st birthday," we took the girls to go see Santa (against the advice of our pulmonologist). We thought going before Thanksgiving would decrease the chance of catching some nasty virus. To our surprise, we weren't the only ones chatting it up with Santa the day before Thanksgiving. Savannah was proud to hand Santa a letter from her teacher stating that Savannah had been a very good girl this year. After realizing she wasn't getting his lap all to herself, she climbed on up and helped Santa hold the babies while everyone looked at the camera and tried to smile. Try, being the operative word.




There is so much to be thankful for this year. I felt like the world was crashing down on us last year and today I feel nothing but blessed. I can't express in words how much I love these girls. They are my joy, my delight and the root of my happiness. It has been a fight to get to this place but I feel an overwhelming sense of peace. Maybe it is Miss Adeline rubbing off on me. She has plenty enough serenity and inner strength to go around.

We thank our friends, families and those who didn't know us yet felt compelled to pray for us, for your steadfast prayers and support over the last year and a half.

Making Progress

It is hard to believe how far the girls have come. One year ago, they were both still hospitalized on varying forms of support. Today, Adeline is commando crawling and Lila Grace is up and walking.

Adeline has come very far these past two weeks. She is now taking things in and out of containers, looking for dropped objects from her high chair and mimicking various sounds. She likes to play the "shake your head no game" with her sisters at the dinner table and "see how much water you can splash out of the tub" during bath time. While most of these activities create more mess, take more time and seem to gang up on the single parent (when all three girls are shaking their heads no and not eating), I celebrate them! It is positive yardage. Adeline is also closer to pulling herself up to stand and working on a hands and knee crawl. She is 16 pounds, and 26 3/4 inches long. Yes, that is remarkably small but considering where she started, it gigantic growth.

Miss Lila Grace. . . Has any baby gone from tripping over their own feet to walking so quickly? Just a few days ago she was working on mastering 10 steps and now she pops up unassisted and walks in and out of rooms. Not only is she steady on her feet, she walks over toys, dodges her sisters and bends down to pick something up without missing a step. Instead of tipping toys over, she is working on tipping barstools, chairs and any large object she can manage to turn over. Often, Savannah is running ahead of her and sit on whatever she has her eye on which is met with much screaming. Oh, the joy of siblings!! Lila is just starting to say a few words. She says her own version of Uh-Oh, Elmo, and hello. She is weighing in at just under 19 pounds and is 28 inches long - just barely on the charts.

Time. . .Where does it go?

Now that we are just a few short weeks from Thanksgiving, I decided to take time out of my busy day (cleaning for our open house) and make pumpkin bread with my BIG girl. Although this activity ran the risk of going poorly (as I was trying to clean and not create a mess) I am proud to say that I let my child's need for experimentation override my need for cleanliness. Not only did Savannah get a great kick out of labeling which ingredients were dry and and which ones were wet she also identified the "soft" and "scratchy" ones. Yes, that means hands in the flour!! She takes everything in and wants to make sure and miss nothing.


We had a great time. She was very proud of the three loaves we cranked out in an hour's time. I was very proud of my oldest girl. How sweet, sincere and intelligent she is. How did this little girl turn into such a Mommy's Helper? I look forward to the day when all three of my girls are up at the island and baking with me. Until then, I will continue to try and take time out of my busy in order to give Savannah the time and attention she is due.

Halloweein 2007

Hope everyone had a great night trick-or-treating. We had a full day and were able to enjoy taking all three girls out and about this Halloween. Lila Grace and Adeline were Scaredy Cats and Savannah was a beautiful witch. The girls hung out in their stroller while big sister filled her treat bag with candy. Yes, it is harder to divide yourself between three kids during days like this but we were undeniably happy that we didn't have to make the long drive into the NICU this year.

Here is a peak at how our last couple of days played out.

Adeline's ASD Closure

The Girls' First Birthday

I can't believe Adeline and Lila Grace are one. What a remarkable year this has been. It is nice to be on the other side of the NICU where we can just enjoy our girls.
For their big day, we took them to Toys R Us. As you can see the whole family had a lot of fun. The girls would have rather I left the crowns at the counter but eventually were too distracted by all of the toys to worry about what was sitting on top of their heads.

After the toy store, we went to Red Robin where the girls were sang to and given "birthday sundaes." They dug right in and became a real mess. Even Miss "I don't like to Eat" was shoveling the ice cream into her mouth at lightening speed.

We ended the day with a quite party at home. Lila Grace demolished her cupcake while Adeline soon became unimpressed by the whole thing. Both girls ended up needing a bath and were soon exhausted and in bed for the night.





















The following Saturday was slated for the "big" party. Friends and family came over the celebrate. Uncle Adam, Grammy and Papa, and Steve and Heather all flew in for the occasion. we had a great time and the girls seemed to enjoy themselves.