A Rainy Day in April

Before April gets completely away from us, I wanted to share some video of the girls. In addition to many rainy days, there were a fair number of days that both girls were very cranky or sick. When I was ready to pull my hair out I would always try to crank the music and engage them in some sort of play. They have always responded well to music and in either case, it makes their fussing less noticeable. The video below was on one of those days.

There were many hours of riding and pushing the cars back and forth through the house last month. Surprisingly, Lila Grace can even push Savannah when they weren't dancing to the music. The cars were supposed to turn into an outside toy but we are having too much fun with them indoors. Adeline loves their music and is often found sitting by one clapping her hands to the tunes.

Finally, Lila Grace just took up jumping which surpasses Savannah's abilities at the same age. She is much more physically able and willing than I ever expected at this point and time. She is fearless and scarily strong. I can't believe she can get both feet off of the ground.

Goodbye April, Hello May

As I say goodbye to April - my most dreaded month - I am up to my ears in sick kids. Savannah has recovered thankfully, but Adeline is back on the O's and fighting a fever. Lila Grace has a never ending runny nose and terrible cough. Both are wanting Mommy more than normal which makes me feel sick with exhaustion.

Why? Why must April be such a tough month? I have come to conclude that April is a teaser. First, it hits us with cold weather and sick kids. But then it warms up and we find ourselves running around outside in our new summer clothes. That all comes to an abrupt end with our cloudy skies, cold temps and snotty noses.

Here's hoping May brings a breath of fresh air to this germ infested house.

Happy May Day! (This is my absolute favorite art project Savannah has brought home this year)

They're Here

Who would have thought orthodics could be so stinkin' cute!!!

Crossing the Finish Line

We did it! All three of my girls took part this year and what fun we had. It was nice to walk and not be concerned about Adeline's health, the temperature or when the babies' next feeding should be. This year, we headed out with three very happy and content little girls.

I was amazed by the number of people walking this year. I was also struck by the sizable teams walking without in children. Lucky! Blessed!! There isn't a word that can describe how we felt. I think it is safe to assume that Adeline was one of the smallest babies born taking part in the walk. But there she was, standing alone at the starting line, eating the Goldfish like all the other kids at the checkpoints and enjoying the music show afterwards. Anyone looking at her would have no idea of her start in life. The same is true for Lila as she went running off the starting line and was the first dancer in the music show. She was so cute standing in front of the crowd dancing.

Here is a little clip of our photos. We had a really nice time and look forward to participating in many more March of Dimes events.

Never Underestimate Your Children

That was the lesson I learned after spending three hours in the ER with all three girls this past weekend. Oddly enough, Savannah was the cause for the trip with a 104.5 fever, high heart and respiratory rate and listless appearance. After battling it all morning, I finally gave into my motherly instinct and took her in. All of my "go to" people were otherwise occupied which meant the twins were in for the trip as well.

Luckily, the ER wasn't crazy busy as it usually is on Sunday afternoon. Savannah was triaged and we were taken directly too a room (sympathy for the "you've got your hands full" mommy). As I carried Savannah and two bags while pushing the stroller with the girls, I realized that this is what being a mother is all about. You somehow find what it takes to do something that you thought impossible. Taking all three kids to the ER was on my list of impossibilities until Sunday.

First, Savannah was extremely calm, mature, and agreeable. No tears, no fuss just plain cooperation. She laid on the stretcher for three hours with no pillow or blanket and no mommy by her side for the most part. She was patient and told me about every fifteen minutes that she wanted to go but seemed to understand that a departure wasn't going to be in her immediate future.

The twins we amazing as well. Not thinking, I put them in the car about the same time I should have been feeding them lunch. I grabbed Cheerios but nothing more. After their initial complaints of being in a hospital - worrying that they were going to be the ones poked and prodded, the girls just sat in their stroller. I never took them out! I keep feeding them Cheerios and walked them back forth in front of Savannah's room. During the times that Savannah needed my help, someone else walked them or they just watched. No cries, meltdowns and no sleeping, of course, but who's complaining.

We were finally discharged with the intention of hydrating Savannah and bringing her fever and heart rate down at home. That didn't work as well as it was said to have. The anti-nausea medicine didn't work and after hooking her up to Adeline's monitor I watched her heart rate spike to an all time high of 175. Her sats weren't great and her fever was 104 again. Needless to say it was a sleepless night for both of us but we managed. Between the baths and vomiting, we caught a couple of hours of sleep.

Although, it was a stressful situation and I wasn't completely confident in my decision to care for Savannah at home, I feel I did the right thing. I am so proud of all three of my girls. They all rose to the occasion just when I thought things might become disaster. Thankfully, Savannah is better now and we have all caught up on sleep (thanks to Daddy's return home for a few days). We can just add this illness to the long list of nasty viruses we seem to pick up during the month of April.

Can I just say, April is my least favorite month?

March for Babies

We are looking forward to participating in the March of Dimes, March for Babies this upcoming weekend. This year, the girls are older and more active and will be a lot of fun to have with us. Who would have thought that these girls could do some of the "marching" themselves (more later on Adeline's first steps).

I remember feeling so proud of our girls last year. They made it, they were with me, we were on the road to recovery!! We are still on that road to some degree but what a great place to be. We will most likely walk with many families who lost their baby and are still working through their grief. I feel fortunate that I am a walker celebrating my girls and their success.

As this weekend approaches, we ask those of you who follow Adeline and Lila's blog to pray for those babies still fighting in the NICU, those babies who are fighting to stay in the womb just one more day, and for those babies who are home and working to overcome their start "behind the 8 ball."

If you would like to walk this year, you can use the March for Babies link on the side of this blog to direct you to our website and the March for Babies homepage.

What about the chickens?

As the four of us were enjoying chicken strips for dinner, my oldest asks,

"When do the chickens get to go somewhere else?"

"What do you mean?"

"When are they put back together?"

I get it, when do they move on to their next life, kind of like the way Savannah views moving from this life to Heaven.

"Uh, I don't know sweetie. Daddy knows a lot about chickens." (yes, I left out that many young chicks were the victims of Daddy's science endeavors.)

"Oh - pause - Were they scared?"

Clearly, she is on to the turning the chicken into a chicken strip.

"No, they really didn't know what was going on."

"Why?

"Chickens aren't smart like people. They don't think about everything like you do."

"Oh, Did it hurt?"



After successfully changing the subject, I could breath a sigh of relief. I hesitate to get into death or killing chickens with Savannah. She doesn't really understand what dead means. She just thinks that you get to move onto Heaven. Since Heaven is this wonderful place, she assumes she can take everything and everyone with her that she loves.

What to do with this girl? She is just too deep!

For those of you who were wondering, yes, Adeline ate the chicken and pumpkin bread for desert!