Hello Again-Happy Thanksgiving!

Who knew that staging a house to be sold with little ones living in the house could be so cumbersome! Well that was our entire summer! Luckily, our old house sold and we love the new house. We have ALL the room that we were needing and we couldn't be happier.

 

How do you say 'thank you' enough to a person who year and year captures a moment in time that is priceless forever. These images will grace the walls of our new home - the home these boys will grow up in and hopefully return home to over the course of their lives.

 

The twins are so active right now! Running, jumping, and climbing!! Our house is a playground right now and they are into EVERYTHING!!

 

Taylor has been introduced to tackle football by the new neighborhood boys which has grown into a desire to try out flag football in January as a team sport. I guess it's nearly impossible to have 3 boys, live in Texas, and not have one interested in football!

 



The Tiniest of Surgeries

 



Today you were brave Jacob.

You were more than brave, you were a Superhero!

You couldn't eat this morning when you woke-up,

but that didn't bother you too much.

You energized a little with a treat of apple juice and the bubble machine.

 You happily traveled in the car to the hospital with Mommy and Daddy.

You patiently waited while Mommy and Daddy talked to all the doctors and nurses that would be with you when we couldn't be.

You willingly went with the nurse that would help put you to sleep-

no crying for you but Mommy cried a little as worry began to settle in.

You pointed with your finger at the big doors that magically open and close

and off you went with your team of caring doctors.

 

We were escorted to wait for you in recovery.

75 very long minutes later - I got to hold you again!

You were so thirsty and drank a whole sippy cup of apple juice.

Again, you didn't cry my brave little boy,

but instead took a much needed nap in my arms.

You really woke-up in the car when you saw your big brother for the first time.

You finally got to eat a snack when we got home

 and you really caught up on your food at dinner tonight!

 

I kid now that you're only 12 months old and you've already had plastic surgery.

A tiny surgery to repair a build up of scar tissue...only a half inch incision. 

We hope that your little pinky heals correctly over the next two weeks so that your finger has the mobility that it should while you grow over the years ahead.

 

And yes, I still hate vacuum cleaners and we're pretty sure Jacob does too!



We Made It!

 

We made it through the first year! Holy heck that went by fast. I guess that's what happens when you never have a chance to sit down, drink a hot cup of coffee, eat a warm dinner, hold a conversation for longer than 1 minute, sleep past 5am, or be alone long enough to use the restroom by yourself.

 

It's been hectic beyond belief, some would say crazy or busy, but I would say "the hardest year of our lives", but in just the same breath I would say, "the most gratify and rewarding year of our lives so far too". We were an unstoppable team...running routines, schedules, and pure determination to do whatever we needed to do to make it through the day. The saying, "it takes a village to raise a child" has never been more true.

Jacob's hand is healed, however his little finger on his right hand is still a little crooked due to the build up of scar tissue. We've had a really hard time finding or creating a splint small enough for a baby's finger to hold it straight. As of today, Jacob is going to have to have surgery to release the tight hold the scar tissue has on his little finger. I'm already dreading this day...I can't begin to express the emotions I'm already having.

Both boys took their first tentative steps before their birthday. Ryan was first a few weeks ago, actually when I was visiting a friend in California. Luckily, I got to see him do it right away when I got home. Jacob surprised us all by regular crawling (up on his knees) and free standing for about a week and then he was ready to take his first steps too.

Cake is good!!

Happy 1st Birthday Boys!


I Hate Vacuums and This is Why...

 

Never did I think an accident like this could occur in my very own home with my very own vacuum cleaner to my very own child. Unfortunately, to my dismay it did happened and it happened to Jacob. My sweet little curious boy put his hand underneath the vacuum cleaner while it was on. I was using the attachment tools to vacuum out a windowsill and my back was turned. Both boys had crawled up behind me to see what I was doing and that's when it happened. The cry was immediate and my panic was immense, as I tried to survey the damage to such a little hand.

 

The side of Jacob's right hand looked badly scraped. The gash wasn't large in size, however it was very obvious that it was deep - later we found out it down to the dermis. After some careful bandage wrapping, and several calls to family, we decided to wait till morning to go see his pediatrician since it was Sunday. At the doctor's office we learned that since the wound crosses onto his little finger and over a joint, our pediatrician had to refer us to a pediatric hand specialist at Dell Children's. The fear is that once scar tissue begins to form and that it will block the mobility of his little finger. Our hand specialist doctor had a little hand splint made for Jacob to wear at night, which he doesn't like, but we are happy to try whatever we can. Now we just have to wait to see how it all heals and go from there.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Soccer Mom

 

 Last Saturday was early preseason soccer in our neighborhood. Not only was Taylor so excited to see other children from his school there, he scored his first tournament GOAL! I'm so relieved that the twins are old enough now that we can schedule more activities for Taylor. I'm sure Taylor is excited about that too!

 

 

 

 



9 months-A Year of More Firsts

 

 

 I think this post is indicative of our life right now...it's taken me 3 weeks to complete their 9 month post! Oh well, such is life with a family that always has someone awake and ready to go! Both twins are on the go in their own separate ways, very vocal and chatty - go figure, and growing in personality and size everyday.
 



Here's what Ryan's been up to lately-
* Had his first double ear infection and first round of antibiotics this last month.
* First trip to the beach. I actually have no pictures of the twins on the beach because both of them were super sick and it was freezing!!
* Has 2 teeth now (bottom front).
* Nickname: army man, because of his fast pace arm-over-arm tummy crawl.
* Learning to get up on his knees and will crawl forward short distances. Pulling up on furniture too.
* He also learned how to go from a lying down position to sitting upright super quick.
* First one to have his crib lowered. Getting a little too good at pulling up on things.
* Outweighs his brother this month. 21 pounds vs. 20 pounds.
* Loves the bath and gets mad when Taylor is going to take a bath and he's not.
* Loves to hold anyones hands to walk.
* Listens and follows - no touching - rules very well.

Here's what Jacob's been up to lately-
* Had his first ear infection and first round of antibiotics.
* Finally has his first 2 bottom teeth.
* Finally started to become more mobile. He army crawls like Ryan but hasn't figured out the arm-over-arm technique that Ryan uses to move fast. He just pulls with his hands out in front and pushes off with his toes.
* Nickname: inchworm
* Fascinated by doors, door stoppers, wheels, cords, the microwave, and watching you eat.
* Loves the bath.
* Gets frustrated if he's left in a sitting position and can't get down to his tummy to crawl. Very tentative still.
* Loves to hold your hands to practice walking.
* Likes to dance to a toy car's music (see video below).