Her First Ride Solo

My heart swells with pride!!


The first time daddy let go. . .


Showing some confidence

March for Babies 2009

March for Babies was another wonderful experience. So blessed we are.

Alex and I packed up the girls early and headed out ahead of the crowd for a 5 mile run. We managed to run 4.5 miles with a few stops here and there. The girls were extremely good in their strollers including Savannah who was happy to sit in her old jogger.

I was happy to bump into familiar faces such as Savannah's old preschool teacher who was sadly walking for her friend who lost both twins born at 25 weeks. We saw another friend of mine who has one year old twins, one of which spent a week or two in the NICU. Finally, we saw the girls' first Early Intervention therapist who left us a year ago to have a baby. She was surprised to see the girls so big and active. It was a full circle moment.

There were many unfamiliar faces as well. Groups of people with identical shirts that tell about their "angel." It is wonderful to see the parents uplifted in support but hard to imagine what our life would be like had it been us. One couple struck me as we ran. They headed out early as well. They were young and without a child. Every time I saw them they were holding hands and quiet. I have to imagine that they were walking in honor of their child who never made it home from the NICU.

How did we get so lucky? We have two healthy and vivacious preemies. We also have wonderful friends and family who supported us in donations for this year's walk. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you who participated with us in spirit!

Hitting the Pavement

I am very excited to have all three of my girls WALKING across the finish line tomorrow. Standing by an isolette was a daily occurrence for 125 days. It seems so long ago, yet when I see pictures or watch my movies the fear and pain become fresh again. Saying we are lucky doesn't cut it. I wish there was a word that could describe our miraculous outcome.

Send Adeline positive thoughts, she is a bit under the weather and we really want her to enjoy herself in the morning.

Just Having Fun. . .

I guess the girls know the Monkey song since Adeline chimed in right away. Listen to Adeline when I ask Lila if she is supposed to climb out of her crib.

Something to Consider

"Your toddler will do what they need to do, and not necessarily what you say. If you're patient, then they will be patient. If you speak gently, then they will be gentle. Whatever you want them to be, you have to start becoming."

-Helen Hunt

A Little Dirt Doesn't Hurt?????

We spent last weekend outside since it was beautiful and sunny. Savannah was anxious to get the garden in order so we could transplant our seedlings. In the process of getting things squared away, we filled the wheelbarrow with potting soil. Soon, Lila was trying to climb in so I decided to get out some shovels and let the girls dig their hearts out. Never, in a million years did I expect it to lure the other kids from our cul-de-sac, eight in all. Even Adeline would go over and dig for five minutes or so until she was maxed out and needing a break. While she was back and forth, Savannah and Lila Grace were in the dirt for two solid hours.

Soon I noticed their was a "who can get their hands the dirtiest" competition. I, not so wisely, decided to get a bucket of water out so everyone could wash their hands. Lila had other plans.

Dirt + Water = MUD!!!

Yep, handfuls of dirt were added to the bucket and then poured into pots with holes in the bottom. Those holes drained the muddy water right back on Lila's body.

Do I dare say this will be the dirtiest Lila Grace will ever be? We had to strip her down outside in order to save my house. The bath was intersting but what was more entertaining was when I held Lila up to the mirror to give a glimpse of her dirty self. She didn't like the "yucks" once seeing them in the mirror.





Water. . . the fatal flaw



Go ahead and double click on this picture so you can get a feel for the extent of her dirtiness.


Impressively dirty for Miss Belle


Nothing quite compares wot her sister though. Lila was thirlled to be naked because she could squish her feet in the big mud piles. Don't worry, I took her in before she streaked through the neighbor's yard.

The Haircut II

Here is the after picture of Adeline (excuse the drink, she was very into her smoothie). I love her hair when it is wet and clean. It still gets a little out of control after a night of sleep. She looks so grown up!

To give you an idea of how much and how long. . .


Miss Lila didn't have much in the way of her cut locks

Haircuts and ER

We took the girls for their first haircuts today. I wasn't going to cut their hair for at least another few months but Adeline has reached her limit with all of her tangles. Her hair was more than halfway down her back. One of the most difficult things we have to do with her is comb her hair in the morning. It has always wacked out her sensory system which results in yelling and throwing EVERY morning.

I decided to pay the extra money and take the girls to my hair lady - that is if you can call her my hairstylist if I only see her twice a year?? Anyway, I knew she would be patient, the salon would be less crowed, empty in fact, and she wouldn't judge Adeline if it went poorly. All I needed was twenty sets of eyes on my screaming and kicking child at the Hair Cuttery. Mia did a great job with the girls. Adeline wanted to go first and sat for all of the combing! She ended up sitting through most of the cutting but got restless about 15 minutes in. It took quite awhile because she has A LOT of hair. Now her hair sits above her shoulders in a stylish cut. She looks really cute with it down.

Lila Grace went second and didn't want Mia to touch her. Eventually, she warmed up and was all smiles. Only and inch or two came off of her hair but it looks much cuter.

We headed to the park afterward to let the girls play around. I guess we should have headed home for naps because Adeline decided to fall backwards and hit her head. She was climbing up to a higher level on the playground structure and lost her balance. She fell back and smacked her head on the lower level. Because she has low tone and is physically weak, her reflexes don't kick in to catch her as they would in a typically developing 2.5 year old. She usually rallies after five minutes of crying but didn't this time. She cried with her head limp on our shoulders for 15 minutes with no signs of calming down. This was followed by vomiting which sealed the deal for an ER trip. My gut told me she was fine but I knew I would never sleep or let her sleep without getting her checked. The vomiting was just too weird.

After a rather smooth and quick ER visit, less than four hours, we were on our way with a normal CT scan under our belts. Adeline was given Versed to sedate her for the CAT scan which was ironic. It is the same medicine that I declined for her previous surgery. It makes kids loopy which makes the separation before surgery easier. It worked for the scan because she was swaddled, strapped and then taped to a stretcher that moves through a donutlike machine without a fuss. She was perfect, sweet and still. She came out of the scan singing Twinkle Twinkle at the top of her lungs and counting to 10. That all ended abruptly and she became a thrashing monster that didn't quit until in her own bed (the reason I have always declined this additional sedative for surgeries). I was the mom with the thrashing kid in the parking lot that got an evil eye from every passerby. I thought taking her outside while Alex finished up the discharge would help. Boy was I wrong. I am pretty sure that I will stay far, far away from Versed in the future.

Here are the before and after pictures of Lila.



Blowing Kisses


Only before and during pictures of Adeline, the after will have to wait




Had to include a picture of my very patient big girl who spent the day tagging along and then in the ER waiting and waiting

School Pictures

The twins' school tried out a new photographer this year. I can't believe the time that was put into the girls. Sibling pictures. . . who does that?? These are the proofs (which have a yellow tone) that were sent home. Not perfect but absolutely amazing considering I wasn't there to help. You should see the class picture. Each and every child looks reasonable. These are two year olds remember!

(double click on the picture)

A New Routine

Being that I put the girls to bed solo on most nights, I am always looking for ways to make the process easier and less tiring. I have to admit that bedtime is my least favorite time as I am tired and so are my girls. Before it has always been a two round production. I give the girls a bath and clean everything up. Next, the twins and I a read two stories in their room followed by Adeline's bottle of pediasure. I have always held her and made it more of a snuggle time. Of course the Pediasure means we have to get back up from the snuggle to brush teeth and then finally, I chase the twins down for bed. Round two immediately follows which includes showering Savannah, reading her stories and then giving her a snuggle before bed. All in all it takes a good hour and a half, if not two hours. This puts me into the nine o'clock hour before I am kid free.

Lately, I has switched it up. It doesn't come without a cost though. I have taken the "baby" out of the routine which saddens me a bit. Now we get everyone bathed and dressed. The helping Savannah shower without the twins getting involved is still tricky. Adeline feeds herself her bottle and then all girls brush their teeth. Each girl picks a story and we sit on the couch together and read. Since the twins can sit through just about any length of book that Savannah enjoys, it works nicely. It also adds one more story to each girl's day. After stories the twins go right to bed for their second wind of sisterly banter across the room. While they do whatever it is that amuses them so much, I lay down with Savannah and talk about her day for a good ten minutes. This way all girls are in bed by 8:00 (which Savannah really needs but never got) and I am free by 8:15. What a world of difference it makes! Let's hope we can continue. Daddy isn't going to like it when he gets home because it really does make you feel as though the twins are big girls.

I guess the baby is gone

forsythia

Since today is full of bright sunshine, I deemed it the perfect day for our Forsythia painting. With a little brown paint and tissue paper the girls created their own branches of the bright yellow flowers. Miss Dot (OT) helped Adeline join in which gave her the opportunity to paint, crumple and glue. I couldn't have commanded the focus she needed had it just been me and the girls. Lila was apparently pooped after painting and falling flat on her head while climbing around on the chairs. Before I knew it she went upstairs, crawled in her crib, turned her music on and covered herself up before falling asleep.

Spring Break

We were all very excited to get away from Philly and the cold weather for spring break. We packed up the car and headed to our good friends' house in North Carolina. We decided to break up the trip with a stop in Baltimore's inner harbor to visit their science center. It was fabulous. Nestled right on the harbor was a huge display of dinosaurs waiting for Savannah as we walked in the door. This was the biggest and most crowed venue we have visited without a stroller and boy were my girls good. The twins walked the entire time and understood that they had to follow our directions and stay close. We were there for over two hours without a fuss or whine. I was shocked. All of the girls delighted in the different exhibits which provided lots of hands on activities. The dinos were the biggest hit but in close second was the kids room that housed a gigantic water/current table. If you live within driving distance I strongly recommend a visit.

Soon we were headed south and arrived in Durham right before bedtime. Surprisingly, the girls didn't sleep more than 15 to 30 minutes on the way. Savannah didn't make a complaint once and amazed me with her patience. As long as we had the movie on the Belle was happy and so was Lila with the exception of the one hour she constantly asked for up up up.

Once at the Banks' house the girls were in their element. Toys, playground and trampoline was enough to keep them occupied. They slept like superstars which is the key to any trip away from home. We took all seven kids to the Life and Science Museum which seemed to be a very popular idea for not only our two families. There is a huge play area with various enclosed spaces to hide which was packed with kids. We let the kids run around but it wasn't long until I couldn't find Savannah. She is not one to wander and I panicked after calling her name many times without a response. My mind was thinking of someone sneaking her out of the museum and shoving her into their car all while I was still looking for her on the musuem grounds. Once I found her I burst into tears and squeezed her tight. Since it was seven kids to two moms, we decided to make an early departure because some times the activity isn't worth the risk. Jumping on the trampoline in the backyard was more exciting anyway.

On the steps at the museums butterfly house (I must note that Adeline enjoyed the butterflies and instead Lila Grace was the one who was scared. I never know with these girls)

Back home playing outside




Adeline preferred playing basketball as the trampoline was a complete sensory overload.



Soon Savannah was in the action and Adeline switched her interest to golf.



All of the kids were anxious to dye eggs. We split the kids into two groups but somehow they all morphed into one. The mess could have been much worse but it was still a challenge to keep the dye in the cups. This year, Aunt Natalie bought magical eggs that made the kids' names appear when put in the dye. All of the kids were quite impressed.





We celebrated Easter on Saturday after having to explain to Savannah that some families do it a day early because the Easter Bunny isn't as accomplished as Santa. The Bunny has to divide and conquer. It seemed to satisfy her. That morning the kids woke up to eggs hidden in the yard the baskets filled with goodies. Thankfully we were in a warm climate where I could put Easter dresses on the girls and not worry the cold. It was really nice to watch them hunt for eggs in their nice dresses. I was surprised to see Adeline walking through the grass and picking up eggs even if it was for only a few minutes due to lost interest.




The baskets


The Hunt






Later that day we decided to take the families to Daddy's old stomping grounds and visit Duke University. We walked through the gardens which were beautiful and lots of fun for the kids. The terraced beds gave Lila Grace somewhere to climb and test her balance. I had visions of carrying her out of the gardens soaked in pond water. If there was ever going to be a child that would fall into a pond it would be Miss Grace, especially when dressed in her Easter dress. Luckily, Nathan gave up his stroller so we could strap her in near the pond areas which prevented her from taking a dip all together.










We decided to pack it up and leave that night so we could have our Sunday to get organized before Daddy left for TX. The kids were phenominal in the car and slept most of the way. I thorougly enjoyed the ride. Nothing is better than sitting a car with three sleeping kids and dozing in and out of sleep yourself. I think Lila Grace would agree.