Our Growing Boys

I am amazed daily by how big Owen and Isaiah are getting! They have grown into such cute, funny, wild, crazy toddlers.

10 of their favorite things:

1. Cheerios (I believe they will always love cheerios hehe)

2. Playing at the Park - we go to the park often. Owen loves the park and asks to go almost every day

3. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - we watch at least one episode each morning and one before bedtime. I am so thankful for this show (however annoying it might be in the car for 6hours). It helps me keep the kids busy while I do the many things I need to do in the morning for Owen. I get to prepare all the medical supplies for the day in peace :) It is also very helpful in the car on our trips to Oakland. 6hours in the car are now peaceful with children watching their favorite mouse sing and play lol

4. Talking on the phone - they love talking to their favorite people on the phone :) they especially facetime or skype.

5. cars

6. Legos

7. Coloring - coloring on paper, on their new easel (their NICU nurses bought for their birthday), coloring books, the kitchen floor . . . haha

8. going anywhere with Mimi (my mom) - if we are in Mimi's car, they are happy. If she leaves without them, they are extremely upset

9. Running - they now will say "1,2,3 go!" right before they take off!

10. Jumping - they jump up and down on the floor, they jump off tables, furniture, steps, playground equipment, basically anything from a height they feel semi-comfortable jumping off of lol

These kids are hilarious! Mostly in a good way, and sometimes in a way I can look back at and laugh later.

Owen is in a new phase of doing everything himself. I have to give him choices or he simply won't do what I need him to do. When getting dressed I have to have two of everything so he can choose which one he would rather wear. I will hold up two shirts and say, "which one would you like to wear?" he will then cross his arms and sigh saying, "hmmmm. . . " and then he will take a big breath and point to one. He does this all day, every day! LOL Isaiah is in a phase where he also wants to everything himself. However, he doesn't need choices yet. I will try to put his shirt on and he will yell, "Me do it self!" That is his phrase for anything I try to do for him :)

Owen is now against wearing his backpack. Instead, he will decide to carry it. He will wrap up the extra tubing around his arm, pick up the backpack and head out to do what he wants to do. He can also disconnect himself from his g-tube feeding. After naptime, instead of getting his backpack off his IV pole, he just disconnects himself rom the feeding and comes into the living room lol. Isaiah is so cute when it comes to Owen's health. Whenever Owen's pumps are beeping, Isaiah runs over and tries to fix it. He always says, "Me fix it!" as he tries to push all the buttons on the pumps lol. Thank God for pump locks :) Isaiah also gets very concerned for Owen whenever we are putting a new g-tube in or changing Owen's broviac dressing. He tries to pat Owen's head as he says, "Owie ok mommy, owie ok." It's adorable!

Here are some recent pics of the boys!



Holidays, Winter, and everything that comes with it

The holidays are here! I love the holidays.
I love visiting with family.
I love the spirit in the air
- the music - the lights - the movies -
It's all wonderful.

Except for one thing: It all happens during the winter.
The winter is stressful.
- cold - sickness - fevers -
It's all, for lack of a better word, sucky.

Preemie moms get it, mostly. The first winter home from the NICU is stressful trying to keep your baby from being re-hospitalized with colds, flu's, and many other things being spred around. They will need oxygen, suctioning, breathing is rough for a preemie with a cold. However, we are not in our first winter home. We are in our 3rd winter home. We should be done. But we're not. Sickness is still as scary to me as the first winter we were home. Sickness usually brings on a cold, which brings on a fever, which means Owen being hospitalized. The sicknesses that don't bring on fevers usually bring on coughs and stuffy noses, which bring on throwing up, which brings on feeding issues, which brings us to a screeching hault when it comes to increasing Owen's feeding rate and getting him off TPN. It's all a big circle.

Owen has been healthy so far, PRAISE GOD! But, I can't help but worry about it. It's in the back of my mind everytime he steps outside, everytime I'm feeling under the weather, everytime I hear a cough or a sniffle. Owen has come such a long way. I am so thankful for all he has overcome. I pray that he can overcome this winter without all the struggles that usually come. Since his last broviac was placed, on June 5th, he has been mostly healthy. He hasn't had a true line infection, he has only been hospitalized twice, his feeding rate is going up, and his TPN is getting lowered everytime we have a GI appointment. We are so excited about Owen's future.

So, as we prepare for Christmas, we try to prepare Owen for all the family outings. This year will be a rough one. We will be heading down to LA for Christmas to see all of Heath's family (YAY! - we haven't seen some of them for 2 years!) That trip will mean long days, lots of people, lots of germs and things he's not exposed to every day. So, say a little prayer that he stays healthy and is able to fight off sicknesses without hospitals. On top of that trip, when we get back home my brother and my sister will be staying in our house for at least a week. Another exciting, fun family time but also includes a lot of people, germs, and things he's not exposed to on a regular basis. Lots of prayer for Owen this holiday season :) We are hopeful that he will be able to enjoy it all while staying healthy! You can do it little man!