Merry Christmas 2008!! Here is a sneak peek of Christmas Eve at the Janks. Our "family gift" was a new digital SLR, Nikon D80, so I will be bombarding this site with fabulous new pics!! I love our new camera!
More photos to come...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
You remember that pool scene from Caddyshack...
You know the one with the Baby Ruth that helped to clear the pool? Yeah well, G&A had a re-enactment of it last night in the tub, but it was no Baby Ruth.
We were having a good time splashing and playing with foam letters, when Abs starts crawling for the back of the tub behind G, and G starts crawling the other way. I see her reaching for what I first thought was a toy, when I realized that we didn't have any brown toys in the tub at the beginning of bath time.
I screamed out don't touch, and grabbed Abs, soapy head and all and pulled her out. She proceeded to start crying hysterically, which got G started crying as well. C grabs G and we look at each other and try to figure out what to do with two screaming, wet kiddos. I take the head rinse cup, and scoop the "Baby Ruth" up and deposit it into the toilet. Still can't get all the floaties out, and it would take way too long to get the tub scrubbed. They're too big for the bathroom sink. There are dishes in the kitchen sink. Its too cold (28 or so with a wind chill in the teens) to go hit the hose outside.
Kitchen sink it is. Quick wash of the sink, move all dishes to the counter out of the reach of little hands, and minutes later, we have 2 smiling clean children. Got them down, and C thankfully got the short straw and bleached the toys and tub.
Just another night at the Jank house.
We were having a good time splashing and playing with foam letters, when Abs starts crawling for the back of the tub behind G, and G starts crawling the other way. I see her reaching for what I first thought was a toy, when I realized that we didn't have any brown toys in the tub at the beginning of bath time.
I screamed out don't touch, and grabbed Abs, soapy head and all and pulled her out. She proceeded to start crying hysterically, which got G started crying as well. C grabs G and we look at each other and try to figure out what to do with two screaming, wet kiddos. I take the head rinse cup, and scoop the "Baby Ruth" up and deposit it into the toilet. Still can't get all the floaties out, and it would take way too long to get the tub scrubbed. They're too big for the bathroom sink. There are dishes in the kitchen sink. Its too cold (28 or so with a wind chill in the teens) to go hit the hose outside.
Kitchen sink it is. Quick wash of the sink, move all dishes to the counter out of the reach of little hands, and minutes later, we have 2 smiling clean children. Got them down, and C thankfully got the short straw and bleached the toys and tub.
Just another night at the Jank house.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Recent mugs...
Here are a few snapshots after church this past Sunday.
This is the sweetest. Not the most flattering pic, but for those who were not aware, Matt started taking violin lessons not long after the babies were born. He has kept it up and is playing really well! He has a number of songs down pat, many of which are children's songs. So last Saturday while we were all still in our PJs, Matt played a mini concert for us. George was absolutely enamoured with his daddy's music and I was thrilled to capture this moment!
This is the sweetest. Not the most flattering pic, but for those who were not aware, Matt started taking violin lessons not long after the babies were born. He has kept it up and is playing really well! He has a number of songs down pat, many of which are children's songs. So last Saturday while we were all still in our PJs, Matt played a mini concert for us. George was absolutely enamoured with his daddy's music and I was thrilled to capture this moment!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Geo's Ears
Goe's ears have been clear for about 2 weeks now (knock on wood), and of course yesterday was the scheduled appointment with the specialist in OKC for a second opinion. We decided to keep the appointment even though there were currently no issues, and to see what he had to say.
Of course he took a quick look, and nothing wrong. We went over the last 11 months of infections and the treatment path up til now, and he agreed with everything. The only thing he would change was treating any new infections with an iodine drop instead of the vinegar drops, and he said we should stop the daily Singular, since the tests showed Geo was not allergic to anything tested for. So if he gets another infection right off the bat, it may have actually been doing some good.
So we'll see what the future holds, and pray for the best.
Of course he took a quick look, and nothing wrong. We went over the last 11 months of infections and the treatment path up til now, and he agreed with everything. The only thing he would change was treating any new infections with an iodine drop instead of the vinegar drops, and he said we should stop the daily Singular, since the tests showed Geo was not allergic to anything tested for. So if he gets another infection right off the bat, it may have actually been doing some good.
So we'll see what the future holds, and pray for the best.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Fifteen Months (plus two days)--letter to Abigail
My sweet Aberdoodle,
You are full of spirit and spunk and can charm anyone! You love to make people laugh and know just how to wrap them around your pinkie finger. Your facial expressions are so expressive...sometimes you furl your brow and play hard-to-get, sometimes you flash that gorgeous 12-teeth smile, and other times you have Monkey hanging out of your mouth as a comfort measure if you are skeptical of your environment. Your strawberry blonde hair, chubby cheeks, and petite frame makes you look like a little doll!
Your intellect has blossomed in the past month. You follow directions really well, unless it is something you don't want to do, then you do what you want while watching for my reaction. You are great about "helping" Mama, taking things from room to room, loading clothes in the laundry basket, or picking up toys. You love to go wake George up from naps, running into the nursery and standing at his crib, screeching for him to awaken. You know where your shoes and socks and coat go on your body and love to wear them! You understand so much of what I say to you and you try to repeat some of the words. You are definitely chatty like your Mama and fluctuate your tone in your "storytelling". Your words are Mama, Dada, Bubba, Mo-mo (Monkey), mama milk, Gee-gee (Georgie), bye bye, Boo-Boo (Boomer), cat, all-done, mo (more), up (when she wants to be held), juuce, nigh-nigh, and our favorites, Abu and Abiga (her versions of her name).
Though you only weigh 20 lbs, most of the time you eat really well. You would prefer to drink soymilk all day long but you are adventurous in trying new foods. Tonight, you tried butternut squash soup and ate apple off the core. Yesterday you loved your dinner of corn, peas, baked beans, hummus on crackers, and part of a chocolate chip cookie. You have recently started drinking juice out of hard mouthpiece sippy cup (which you think is great fun!) and ice water out of regular straws in cups. Anything I am eating, you want to try.
You have started running in the past week and tonight you were prancing around in your pjs on your tippy toes....too cute! You love to read/eat books and you love to sit in anything Abigail-sized! You love rocking horses too. You also like to sit in Mama's lap when I'm looking on the internet. You also give the best hugs. You don't sleep as well as your Bubba, but I guess you get enough rest for your energetic little self! You always awaken before G and I love it when you wake up talking or singing.
You certainly have a fiery temper and can turn the screaming off and on in a heartbeat. You can get really mad if you don't get what you want, and you have the "slippery baby body" (where you arch your back and put your arms overhead) down pat. You do not like diaper changes--you are sooo wiggly--and you don't like sleeping on long car drives, which has made our recent road trips challenging.
...But you have been "spirited" since the day you were born, and I have grown to love that aspect of you. You are very attached to your mama and we have such a wonderful bond. I hope and pray that you and I stay as close as Nana and I are...having a strong mother-daughter relationship is priceless and something that I already treasure between us.
all my love, Mama
Friday, December 5, 2008
Fifteen Months (and one day)- letter to George
In their daddy's pattern, here is the first of my letters. (Abigail, your nap was too short today for me to write both!)
My sweet Georgie,
You are too precious for words. Always smiling and laughing, going for things 110%. Sometimes I look at you and cannot believe that you are turning into a little boy. You have developed so much in the past month. You have begun to take more risks with walking, going from one side of the room to the other, yet still preferring to crawl because you are fast! You have begun to talk more, saying Mama, Dada, mama milk, uh-oh, cat, sissy, and my personal favorite, barking at Boomer and the cats.
You have become more finicky in eating, wanting only your favorites of soy yogurt, pbj sandwiches, graham crackers, and bananas. If we give you something that you don't want, you throw it across the kitchen. You learned how to drink out of a regular straw this month and you love ice water now. You still love apple juice and soy milk. You have grown a ton...you are sooo heavy! You weigh ab 25 lbs. but you are solid! You wear 12-18 mo. sized clothes but you can squeeze into 12 mo. bottoms in a disposable diaper.
You are definitely a water baby--you love love love bathtime and now that we've recently started bathing you and Abigail in the big bathtub, you try to crawl away when it's time to get out! Can't wait to swim more with you in the pool and watch you kayaking with Daddy.
You certainly have a strong connection with Abigail, giving her sweet smiles and putting your head to hers. You are not such a fan of her trying to climb all over you and sometimes you protest her hugs. You think it's great fun to chase her with your walking toy while she runs ahead.
You definitely have a temper and are beginning to assert yourself. If redirected from something you want to do, you scream and hit and arch your back. You can screech some high pitches!! You are very focused and love to figure out how things work. You prefer to play with things that are not toys (like remotes, boxes, phones, etc.) and love to rattle the locked cabinets. You love to laugh and crash into things and swing in the swing in our backyard. Your head tilt reappeared this month but I suspect that it is because you began walking--our PT told us to expect that. You also have 2 molars about to pop through the skin, which has left you fussy and painful sometimes. You have four teeth on top and two on bottom and you smile with pride!!
(addendum: How could I forget to mention about your ears? We are still battling your chronic ear infections and will see a new ENT at Children's on Monday. We are hopeful that he might have new ideas as no one can figure out what causes your ears to drain so badly. At given moment, your ears have not drained in eight days! But you are a trooper, only acting sick when your ears are really really infected. However, you HATE anything that resembles a doctor's office and scream like crazy--can't blame you with how often your ears have been suctioned and poked... )
You still love to snuggle and give great kisses. My heart melts when I hold you and you sink into me with all your weight (that's the part of you being low tone that I treasure!). There is something very special about the connection between a boy and his mama...now I get it!
with love, Mama
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Meeting our Connecticut family
We had a fab time at Grammy and Grandpa's in Texas! The twins LOVED meeting their cousins Jacob and Nate and Aunt Missy. The weather was great to be outside and G&A loved the hundred trips in the wagon...I think they wore down a grass path around the outside of the house. The twins played non-stop with their cousins and we enjoyed Round 1 of Turkey Day feast (Round 2 to come in Shreveport with the Martins in a few weeks).
A few new breakthroughs: A&G learned how to drink through a regular straw which helped while eating at restaurants and started eating off the kids' menu; G is walking more and more every day; we turned A's carseat around finally; A had THREE molars come through this weekend, which explained the fussiness.
We had a fantastic time and loved getting to spend lots of time with the family. Billy successfully completed another marathon and Missy rocked her half-marathon--yea!! I don't think Grammy and Grandpa's house will ever look the same....toys and kid stuff everywhere!!! Matt and I were really glad we got to see Oma--please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she is battling round 2 of MRSA.
A few new breakthroughs: A&G learned how to drink through a regular straw which helped while eating at restaurants and started eating off the kids' menu; G is walking more and more every day; we turned A's carseat around finally; A had THREE molars come through this weekend, which explained the fussiness.
We had a fantastic time and loved getting to spend lots of time with the family. Billy successfully completed another marathon and Missy rocked her half-marathon--yea!! I don't think Grammy and Grandpa's house will ever look the same....toys and kid stuff everywhere!!! Matt and I were really glad we got to see Oma--please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she is battling round 2 of MRSA.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Bruiser and her sidekick, Mr. Wobbly
We have two walkers!!!! G took his first steps last Tuesday night and will occasionally take 5-6 sequential shaky steps, though he still prefers crawling or whipping his walker toys around (you have to watch out as he'll slam you in the shins). A started running--really a quick shuffle with her short little legs--late this week and now she wants to walk everywhere we go! Due to A's high energy and fearlessness, she has bruises everywhere! Currently, she has a huge bruise and goose-egg in the center of her forehead where she fell into the leg of the examination table at the doctor's office on Thursday. Add that to half a dozen on her legs...and G has his share to boot!
We have been a very sickly household this week. Started with my 48 hour stomach virus on Sunday night, G awoke with blood draining from his ear Monday morning which sent us back to the ENT with another double ear infection. I stayed home from work Tuesday to recover from my illness. Matt started feeling bad Wed and toughed it out until we learned on Thursday that G had "pneumonia" at which point, we rushed Matt and Abigail to the doc thinking they also had it. End of the story tells that no one had pneumonia (pneumonia is the name of G's bacterial infection in his nose which started his current ear infection but not the common respiratory pneumonia like we thought), but here are the current dx:
G: double ear infection & yeast infection
A: single ear infection
M: single ear infection and sinus infection
Things are starting to look up. A had another tooth pop through (she has eight now!) and we are going to turn her carseat around this week...she finally weighs 20 lbs. G weighs in at a whopping 24 lbs. and has a half a head on his sis in height.
We are headed to Spring Branch this weekend for the twins to meet Aunt Missy and cousins Jacob and Nate and see Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle Billy!! Billy is running the San Antonio Marathon and Missy's running the 1/2----go Team Jankowski!!!
G&A on Halloween with two of their day school teachers, Miss Sarah and Miss Danielle
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A chill in the air...
Abs on her beloved music rocking horse
Mr. Cruiser
Getting love from Grandma Millie
Several milestones recently...A is walking everywhere and has become our little daredevil. Within 24 hours, she acquired three bruises on her face and a busted lip from falling....shall I say not so steady on her feet?? G had his first haircut today in our kitchen. Daddy managed to trim his light brown locks while Mama entertained with toys and graham crackers.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
You know parenthood has hit a new low when...
you have to scoop poop out of your child's mouth!
I realized I forgot to share our hilarious story from a few weeks ago so here goes...
We were beginning our normal bedtime routine following the twins' dinner. Abigail pooped in her diaper as her grand finale, so that put her first on the docket for bathtime. We still bathe them in the kitchen sink; our sink is big enough and it's much easier on our backs. Call us selfish if you wish. So into the water Abigail goes. I put G on the floor to play while I did "poop duty" with the cloth diaper. It was explosive, so it had to take priority. I went into the other end of the house and upon my return to the kitchen, looked down at G (whose favorite thing to do is push the chair around the kitchen)....he had poop all over his mouth from the seat of Ab's booster chair!!!!!! I was mortified, shreeked, scooped him up, put him into the other side of the sink and started hosing him off with the hand sprayer, clothes and all!!! Matt's yelling, "spray in his mouth!" so just as I have done with Boomer a thousand times before, started fishing the poop out with my fingers! Matt and I are cracking up laughing and completely grossed out at the same time! And of course we start throwing blame, "you were supposed to be watching him" and "I couldn't watch him and bathe Abs too"...all the while laughing hysterically!
So after ten minutes of thoroughly analyzing the situation, Matt realized that in order for him to have eaten the poop, there should have been poop finger trails from the seat of the chair to the edge---I'm shaking my head as I'm writing this thinking how sad it is that we had to discuss the logistics of our son eating his twin sister's poop. We finally figured out that the "poop" all over his face was the brown vitamins that we gave him after dinner and it dripped from his lips to cover his chin!!!! And yes, we stuck our noses in his mouth to ensure that it was indeed vitamins, not poop! Too funny....
Hopefully you had a good Monday belly-laugh like we did!!!
I realized I forgot to share our hilarious story from a few weeks ago so here goes...
We were beginning our normal bedtime routine following the twins' dinner. Abigail pooped in her diaper as her grand finale, so that put her first on the docket for bathtime. We still bathe them in the kitchen sink; our sink is big enough and it's much easier on our backs. Call us selfish if you wish. So into the water Abigail goes. I put G on the floor to play while I did "poop duty" with the cloth diaper. It was explosive, so it had to take priority. I went into the other end of the house and upon my return to the kitchen, looked down at G (whose favorite thing to do is push the chair around the kitchen)....he had poop all over his mouth from the seat of Ab's booster chair!!!!!! I was mortified, shreeked, scooped him up, put him into the other side of the sink and started hosing him off with the hand sprayer, clothes and all!!! Matt's yelling, "spray in his mouth!" so just as I have done with Boomer a thousand times before, started fishing the poop out with my fingers! Matt and I are cracking up laughing and completely grossed out at the same time! And of course we start throwing blame, "you were supposed to be watching him" and "I couldn't watch him and bathe Abs too"...all the while laughing hysterically!
So after ten minutes of thoroughly analyzing the situation, Matt realized that in order for him to have eaten the poop, there should have been poop finger trails from the seat of the chair to the edge---I'm shaking my head as I'm writing this thinking how sad it is that we had to discuss the logistics of our son eating his twin sister's poop. We finally figured out that the "poop" all over his face was the brown vitamins that we gave him after dinner and it dripped from his lips to cover his chin!!!! And yes, we stuck our noses in his mouth to ensure that it was indeed vitamins, not poop! Too funny....
Hopefully you had a good Monday belly-laugh like we did!!!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Yay Texas!
In honor of our beloved Longhorns and Sooners, 
George and Abigail dressed up for the Red River Rivalry!! Good game Sooners and congrats to our Texas Longhorns on an AWESOME game!!! Hook 'em Horns!!
George and Abigail dressed up for the Red River Rivalry!! Good game Sooners and congrats to our Texas Longhorns on an AWESOME game!!! Hook 'em Horns!!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Weekend with the Lees
Here's pics as promised...
We had a fab weekend with the Lees...Rhonda's baby shower (sorry, no pics), St. Joe's Fall Festival, hanging out at the house, playing in the backyard, and walks in the neighborhood to eat our favorite Rusty's Custard! Hasn't Reba-Grace grown so much?!?
We had a fab weekend with the Lees...Rhonda's baby shower (sorry, no pics), St. Joe's Fall Festival, hanging out at the house, playing in the backyard, and walks in the neighborhood to eat our favorite Rusty's Custard! Hasn't Reba-Grace grown so much?!?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fall is here!
Quick update....
We have a busy schedule right now as our dearest friends Robert, Renee and Reba Grace are here visiting from Washington D.C. We have had tons of fun and have taken oodles of pics which will be posted very soon!! The Lees leave tomorrow (sniff, sniff) and Matt's mom Debbie arrives on Wednesday (yea!) to visit for a while. I don't see things slowing down much this fall, do you? Wouldn't have it any other way though as our lives have NEVER been slow!
To follow up on George's ears, we went back to the ENT last week and his right ear is STILL infected. G started Singulair (sp?) and his ears showed reduction in redness, but still infected. They cultured the bacteria and we are awaiting results...hopefully will know more by tomorrow and go back to the ENT Thursday to assess our new plan of attack. Maybe new antibiotics, maybe take the tubes out?? Not sure yet. I assure you that the staff there knows us by name!!
A is walking lots, still not 100% confident but becoming more bold and trying to walk everywhere. She is still more efficient in crawling though. Her strawberry blonde hair is becoming thicker and she has little curls over her ears. She has stolen my heart!! G is hot on her heels as he is speedwalking behind pushtoys, trying to run his sister over. Each day, he spends more time weight bearing on his legs and improves his balance. And he has a laugh and smile to make you want to bury him in kisses!!!
They are doing really well in their day schools now--loving their teachers and barely turning around to say goodbye to mommy as they take off for the toys and new friends! It makes it much easier for me to go off to work knowing they are well taken care of. We still struggle with the new schedule (they usually protest naps at home after sleeping 1 hr at school which makes for a very long evening and early bedtime) but hopefully it will even out in time.
Stay tuned as new pics are coming soon!
We have a busy schedule right now as our dearest friends Robert, Renee and Reba Grace are here visiting from Washington D.C. We have had tons of fun and have taken oodles of pics which will be posted very soon!! The Lees leave tomorrow (sniff, sniff) and Matt's mom Debbie arrives on Wednesday (yea!) to visit for a while. I don't see things slowing down much this fall, do you? Wouldn't have it any other way though as our lives have NEVER been slow!
To follow up on George's ears, we went back to the ENT last week and his right ear is STILL infected. G started Singulair (sp?) and his ears showed reduction in redness, but still infected. They cultured the bacteria and we are awaiting results...hopefully will know more by tomorrow and go back to the ENT Thursday to assess our new plan of attack. Maybe new antibiotics, maybe take the tubes out?? Not sure yet. I assure you that the staff there knows us by name!!
A is walking lots, still not 100% confident but becoming more bold and trying to walk everywhere. She is still more efficient in crawling though. Her strawberry blonde hair is becoming thicker and she has little curls over her ears. She has stolen my heart!! G is hot on her heels as he is speedwalking behind pushtoys, trying to run his sister over. Each day, he spends more time weight bearing on his legs and improves his balance. And he has a laugh and smile to make you want to bury him in kisses!!!
They are doing really well in their day schools now--loving their teachers and barely turning around to say goodbye to mommy as they take off for the toys and new friends! It makes it much easier for me to go off to work knowing they are well taken care of. We still struggle with the new schedule (they usually protest naps at home after sleeping 1 hr at school which makes for a very long evening and early bedtime) but hopefully it will even out in time.
Stay tuned as new pics are coming soon!
Monday, September 29, 2008
She's hot to trot
Abs Takes a Stroll from Matt on Vimeo.
Abs finally decided she was ready to walk today. This evening, she took off across the dining room toward her toy, and she repeated it all evening. As you can see she is very excited about her new-found mobility. Geo says just wait.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Updated Pics
Some recent cute pics...
Here's George doing his new favorite position! He had fun playing in Tori's crate while Nana and Pop were here.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Woes of Illness
As a new parent, one can never really be prepared for what it is like to have a child with a sickness (much less how it affects your life ie. taking off work, less sleep, dealing with insurance companies, etc.). But multiply that times two, and it's a whole new ballgame.
Before I begin, I must make a disclaimer that we have been blessed beyond our comprehension to have minor illnesses. Many families are affected with major, life-threatening diseases that I cannot even pretend to understand. My heart goes out to those who are dealing with much more severe situations. I thank God that G&A's health situations have been manageable, cureable, and all-in-all, not really big deals.
It has, however, been more than we have dealt with before and seeing your sweet angel in pain or discomfort can be heart-wrenching. Abigail has been relatively healthy. She has bad allergies and it is not uncommon for her to have a drippy nose or lots of sneezes. She has had a few colds and two ear infections to date. She has the occasional fever but never very high. George on the other hand, oh sweet George...
George has had ear infections continuously since he was 6.5 months old. He has been on antibiotics for that whole time less approx 3 weeks. Yes, count it, he has been on antibiotics for six months of his little life. For a while, we were counting the infections. But there came a point where we lost track of the number, after all, it's probably the same infection that has never gone away. It has either been in the right ear or both ears. We were referred to the otolaryngologist when he was 10 months old. We were able to hold off from getting the tubes until he was 11 months old, and in the past 1 1/2 months, he has had to have his ears drained twice. The doc said the integrity of the tubes is great and they are draining properly. Yes, we thought the tubes would fix everything. But alas, we were wrong.
He is currently on sulfa ear drops to treat the infection in his right ear. G's bacteria is resistant to the typical ear antibiotics that are given, so if the sulfa drops don't clear it up, they will culture the bacteria and attempt to discover what will kill it (wish we had already done this). Hopefully when we go back in a week, there will be no infection. I was hopeful until today, when I got him out of his crib, he had eye gunk and a raspy wheeze. Not looking good. We will also have another audiology exam in a month or so as the one two weeks ago showed "inconclusive"--which means that either he could not hear out of his right ear or Abigail distracted him and he did not respond to the test.
I have started researching alternatives to treat/prevent ear infections. The first line of defense is to keep him away from people with colds. Well, that is impossible unless we literally become hermits in our house. We decided that I would continue breastfeeding, since G has a weakened immune system and breastmilk is best for babies with ear trouble. I am happy about our decision and feel confident that breastmilk supplementing a nutritious diet will hopefully put him in a better situation. Again, the thought of "think of what his illness level would be like if you hadn't been breastfeeding" resonates and I want to help him as best I can. We also started both babies on multi-vitamins. Many sites talk about food allergies as being the cause of ear infections. Neither G nor A are on cow's milk (they drink soymilk), so the next most common allergen is wheat. Wheat is in nearly EVERYTHING, so we'll see how the other tactics work first. We might do an allergen test through our pediatrician, which would help us determine the cause a bit easier and quicker.
So if you have any ideas or suggestions, we are open to them. Many, many children have ear infections. Poor baby George just has a difficult time getting over his. Good news is he is still a very happy guy with great communication skills and full of life and vitality. JJ Waggoner put it perfectly, "when George listens to you, he listens with his whole face!" George is an amazing little boy and we have no doubt that he will overcome this challenge. His physical ability conquering is a testament to that....
Before I begin, I must make a disclaimer that we have been blessed beyond our comprehension to have minor illnesses. Many families are affected with major, life-threatening diseases that I cannot even pretend to understand. My heart goes out to those who are dealing with much more severe situations. I thank God that G&A's health situations have been manageable, cureable, and all-in-all, not really big deals.
It has, however, been more than we have dealt with before and seeing your sweet angel in pain or discomfort can be heart-wrenching. Abigail has been relatively healthy. She has bad allergies and it is not uncommon for her to have a drippy nose or lots of sneezes. She has had a few colds and two ear infections to date. She has the occasional fever but never very high. George on the other hand, oh sweet George...
George has had ear infections continuously since he was 6.5 months old. He has been on antibiotics for that whole time less approx 3 weeks. Yes, count it, he has been on antibiotics for six months of his little life. For a while, we were counting the infections. But there came a point where we lost track of the number, after all, it's probably the same infection that has never gone away. It has either been in the right ear or both ears. We were referred to the otolaryngologist when he was 10 months old. We were able to hold off from getting the tubes until he was 11 months old, and in the past 1 1/2 months, he has had to have his ears drained twice. The doc said the integrity of the tubes is great and they are draining properly. Yes, we thought the tubes would fix everything. But alas, we were wrong.
He is currently on sulfa ear drops to treat the infection in his right ear. G's bacteria is resistant to the typical ear antibiotics that are given, so if the sulfa drops don't clear it up, they will culture the bacteria and attempt to discover what will kill it (wish we had already done this). Hopefully when we go back in a week, there will be no infection. I was hopeful until today, when I got him out of his crib, he had eye gunk and a raspy wheeze. Not looking good. We will also have another audiology exam in a month or so as the one two weeks ago showed "inconclusive"--which means that either he could not hear out of his right ear or Abigail distracted him and he did not respond to the test.
I have started researching alternatives to treat/prevent ear infections. The first line of defense is to keep him away from people with colds. Well, that is impossible unless we literally become hermits in our house. We decided that I would continue breastfeeding, since G has a weakened immune system and breastmilk is best for babies with ear trouble. I am happy about our decision and feel confident that breastmilk supplementing a nutritious diet will hopefully put him in a better situation. Again, the thought of "think of what his illness level would be like if you hadn't been breastfeeding" resonates and I want to help him as best I can. We also started both babies on multi-vitamins. Many sites talk about food allergies as being the cause of ear infections. Neither G nor A are on cow's milk (they drink soymilk), so the next most common allergen is wheat. Wheat is in nearly EVERYTHING, so we'll see how the other tactics work first. We might do an allergen test through our pediatrician, which would help us determine the cause a bit easier and quicker.
So if you have any ideas or suggestions, we are open to them. Many, many children have ear infections. Poor baby George just has a difficult time getting over his. Good news is he is still a very happy guy with great communication skills and full of life and vitality. JJ Waggoner put it perfectly, "when George listens to you, he listens with his whole face!" George is an amazing little boy and we have no doubt that he will overcome this challenge. His physical ability conquering is a testament to that....
Sunday, September 21, 2008
12 month update
Before I begin, Lauren did a fabulous job recounting the twins' bday weekend on her blog (see The Holy Lands to the right) as did Matt on his 12 month letter on his running blog (see also to the right). So I will skip the details of their party weekend and jump straight to specifics about their development and life in the crazy Jank house.
Instead of doing the necessary household evils like folding laundry and picking up from our two tornadoes, I am sitting down to update on the myriad of changes in G&A. Life has really changed for us in the past month. G&A are attending two day school programs from 9am-2pm on M-Th, which is when I head to my nursing home and adult day center and do counseling with my clients. It took the babies about three weeks to get into our new routine, and I'm still trying to adjust! Since G&A are out of our house, their nap schedule is totally wacky. Fortunately for the teachers at their schools, they nap for at least an hour there. But poor Mama, when we get home, I have two babies velcroed to my legs! No naps in the afternoon...and my twelve months olds definitely need more than an hour of napping each day. Needless to say, I need them to nap more too! We'll see how things continue to change in the next few weeks.
(Writer's note: This entry will be broken up into segments as G&A keep awaking from their naps, so I don't think I have time to write everything now...)
Physical Mobility/Communication:
We have seen the most dramatic changes in George in the past month. He is now crawling at lightening speed from one end of the house to the other. When Pop and Nana were here, he fell in love with his Pop! While Pop was fixing our plumbing in the front bathroom and installing cabinet safety locks, G was his little assistant. G found a new love of toys....drills, rulers, hardware, etc.
G would crawl everywhere Pop went.
In the past few days, he has begun to pull up on furniture, legs, moving ottomans, push toys....it has been wonderful to watch!! From a physical therapy viewpoint, he still shows greater strength on his left side but yesterday he was trying with all of his might to push up on that right leg! He is one determined little kiddo! Just last night, G began cruising...he walked along the couch and went from dining chair to dining chair (trying to pet our cat Louise of course--a little motivation never hurts!). He is able to walk confidently behind slower-rolling push toys and loves to push boxes around the house. He loves to bounce up and down, stand on his head in "downward dog", and wave his arms around in excitement while bouncing. He loves anything that looks like something he is not supposed to have, like the broom, He babbles, coos, and squeals, but only a few distinguishable words: "daddy" and "Pop". His sister understands more than we do!
Hard for us to believe, but Abigail is still not walking! She has been cruising for months and crawling everywhere, but we are learning that our petite little flower is pretty cautious. She stands independently at times and will take a few steps here and there, but has not shown any desire to be a full-time upright walker. She is so funny, she pushes G over, steps on him, tackles him, literally runs behind push toys (sometimes runs over G with the toy), and goes anywhere her heart desires. She loves to sit in her "Abigail" chair (constructed and handpainted by the Millers) and ride her music pony...she can even get on and off by herself. She has a great vocab: "momomo" (mama milk), "dada", "bubba", "mama", "mo" (monkey--her treasured lovie), "Pop", "Nana" and "nigh-nigh" (night night).
Even though A is still small, she weighed in at 17.1 lbs. and 28" long at her one year check-up. Pretty different than her big bro who weighs 20.4 lbs. and 30" long--G looks so much bigger than A. We weighed them yesterday on our bathroom scale and A was 18 lbs. and G was 23 lbs. Not "official" but wow, they feel like they are really gaining weight! She wears 6-9 mo clothes and G wears 9-12 mo clothes with a 12-18 mo. thrown in occasionally. Cloth diapers are fabulous, but they definitely make their clothes fit more snug.
Cuisine a les bebes:
Food has been an interesting change for our two one-year-olds. Matt and I made their food, pureeing and mashing, until they were about ten months old. We tried to choose healthy selections, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. We are now transitioning to more finger foods and trying to have them eat what we are eating.
They are both becoming more opinionated about their diets. They would eat nothing but carbs!! His faves: crackers, pb&j sandwiches, o's & graham crackers. He will eat green beans, squash, yogurt, and fruit. A will try nearly anything, but prefers yogurt, pb, fruit, and all carbs. They are dramatic about their preferences...throwing food or tossing their sippie cups when they are done. They are consistent about using sign language for "more" or "all done" to express their needs. They are drinking soymilk and diluted juice from sippies with straws. I am still breastfeeding 2-3x day. I planned to wean them at a year, but they decided they were not done and I wasn't ready to stop either, so we are continuing. With G's health problems, it helped me to know that continuing to BF will be better for G and A will benefit as well (more on that later).
Gotta run...babies are awake and ready for a snack!! Stay tuned for more later on George's ears...
Instead of doing the necessary household evils like folding laundry and picking up from our two tornadoes, I am sitting down to update on the myriad of changes in G&A. Life has really changed for us in the past month. G&A are attending two day school programs from 9am-2pm on M-Th, which is when I head to my nursing home and adult day center and do counseling with my clients. It took the babies about three weeks to get into our new routine, and I'm still trying to adjust! Since G&A are out of our house, their nap schedule is totally wacky. Fortunately for the teachers at their schools, they nap for at least an hour there. But poor Mama, when we get home, I have two babies velcroed to my legs! No naps in the afternoon...and my twelve months olds definitely need more than an hour of napping each day. Needless to say, I need them to nap more too! We'll see how things continue to change in the next few weeks.
(Writer's note: This entry will be broken up into segments as G&A keep awaking from their naps, so I don't think I have time to write everything now...)
Physical Mobility/Communication:
We have seen the most dramatic changes in George in the past month. He is now crawling at lightening speed from one end of the house to the other. When Pop and Nana were here, he fell in love with his Pop! While Pop was fixing our plumbing in the front bathroom and installing cabinet safety locks, G was his little assistant. G found a new love of toys....drills, rulers, hardware, etc.
G would crawl everywhere Pop went.
In the past few days, he has begun to pull up on furniture, legs, moving ottomans, push toys....it has been wonderful to watch!! From a physical therapy viewpoint, he still shows greater strength on his left side but yesterday he was trying with all of his might to push up on that right leg! He is one determined little kiddo! Just last night, G began cruising...he walked along the couch and went from dining chair to dining chair (trying to pet our cat Louise of course--a little motivation never hurts!). He is able to walk confidently behind slower-rolling push toys and loves to push boxes around the house. He loves to bounce up and down, stand on his head in "downward dog", and wave his arms around in excitement while bouncing. He loves anything that looks like something he is not supposed to have, like the broom, He babbles, coos, and squeals, but only a few distinguishable words: "daddy" and "Pop". His sister understands more than we do!
Hard for us to believe, but Abigail is still not walking! She has been cruising for months and crawling everywhere, but we are learning that our petite little flower is pretty cautious. She stands independently at times and will take a few steps here and there, but has not shown any desire to be a full-time upright walker. She is so funny, she pushes G over, steps on him, tackles him, literally runs behind push toys (sometimes runs over G with the toy), and goes anywhere her heart desires. She loves to sit in her "Abigail" chair (constructed and handpainted by the Millers) and ride her music pony...she can even get on and off by herself. She has a great vocab: "momomo" (mama milk), "dada", "bubba", "mama", "mo" (monkey--her treasured lovie), "Pop", "Nana" and "nigh-nigh" (night night).
Even though A is still small, she weighed in at 17.1 lbs. and 28" long at her one year check-up. Pretty different than her big bro who weighs 20.4 lbs. and 30" long--G looks so much bigger than A. We weighed them yesterday on our bathroom scale and A was 18 lbs. and G was 23 lbs. Not "official" but wow, they feel like they are really gaining weight! She wears 6-9 mo clothes and G wears 9-12 mo clothes with a 12-18 mo. thrown in occasionally. Cloth diapers are fabulous, but they definitely make their clothes fit more snug.
Cuisine a les bebes:
Food has been an interesting change for our two one-year-olds. Matt and I made their food, pureeing and mashing, until they were about ten months old. We tried to choose healthy selections, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. We are now transitioning to more finger foods and trying to have them eat what we are eating.
They are both becoming more opinionated about their diets. They would eat nothing but carbs!! His faves: crackers, pb&j sandwiches, o's & graham crackers. He will eat green beans, squash, yogurt, and fruit. A will try nearly anything, but prefers yogurt, pb, fruit, and all carbs. They are dramatic about their preferences...throwing food or tossing their sippie cups when they are done. They are consistent about using sign language for "more" or "all done" to express their needs. They are drinking soymilk and diluted juice from sippies with straws. I am still breastfeeding 2-3x day. I planned to wean them at a year, but they decided they were not done and I wasn't ready to stop either, so we are continuing. With G's health problems, it helped me to know that continuing to BF will be better for G and A will benefit as well (more on that later).
Gotta run...babies are awake and ready for a snack!! Stay tuned for more later on George's ears...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
One Year Pics
If you want to see a little peepshow of George and Abigail's one year photo shoot with Trina Gibbins, go to her blog at right (trinagibbinsphotography.com/blog) to see our adorable twins!!
Trina, you are amazing!!
Trina, you are amazing!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Happy Birthday
It is hard to believe that one year ago today, we were slowly getting used to the idea that there were two little beings in the room with us. It is with great joy that we celebrate G and A's first birthday. What a year it has been.
I asked Carrie if she wanted to recreate the scene, but she was deadset against it. Something about getting out of bed at 12:30 didn't appeal to her at all.
Thanks to all for your support, love and prayers over the last year. We can't wait to see what numero dos brings.
I asked Carrie if she wanted to recreate the scene, but she was deadset against it. Something about getting out of bed at 12:30 didn't appeal to her at all.
Thanks to all for your support, love and prayers over the last year. We can't wait to see what numero dos brings.
Monday, September 1, 2008
G&A's Birthday Party
Here is a glimpse into the weekend's festivities for G&A's first birthday party. More to follow!!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Appreciating my hubby...
If you have a husband and children (of any age), you must read today's post at "Mothers of Multiples Tell It Like It Is" (see link at right) entitled State of The Union. Well said. What do you think?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Summer's Nearly over....
What a crazy whirlwind since our last post. I celebrated my birthday with our Supper Club friends last Saturday and we had the "SuperTwins" (G, A, Ean & Quinn) early birthday party on Sunday--our friends Chris and Stephanie and their twin boys are moving to Florida, so we won't be able to celebrate all four babies' first birthdays together. We swam at their pool and the adults ate yummy chocolate raspberry cake! Check out Steph's blog to see the pics: http://eqsmom.livejournal.com (or click on the link to the right)
Sunday was a huge milestone day for the twins...
Abigail took her first steps!!!! We were sitting on the floor at the Nichols' and A stood up on her own, took one step, became off-balanced, grabbed my shoulder to steady herself and took two more steps!!!! We were in disbelief!! She was so tickled at herself! She took a couple more steps later, but then kept trying to RUN--imagine that! Steph caught her later steps on her camera (see her blog).
George has mastered pulling up to his knees and contnues to crawl all over the place. Yesterday, George conquered the mighty "box" and with help, he stands behind it and takes off pushing the box on his own! He is still learning how to shift his weight from leg to leg but he is so proud of himself...ear to ear smiles and laughter!
It is so fun to have two crawlers; Abigail will come around the corner and hot in her pursuit a few seconds later is Georgie! A laughs all the time at seeing her brother crawl...she is so excited to have him chase her. A few mornings ago, I was making breakfast and heard the babies laughing hysterically. I peeked around the corner into the dining room right as A pulled up to standing on the sliding glass door. She whacked her head really hard on the glass and I was waiting for the wails to follow. Instead, G started cracking up and Abs did the same; she then fell to her bottom and fell on top of him, both roaring with giggles! That is one of the best twin gifts is watching them interact positively with each other! I love it!
Other recent remarkable aspects of crazy Jank life:
~Yesterday, when our friend Susan came over to bring her daughter and our AWESOME nanny Amy lunch, A waved and said "bye-bye!" to Susan as she left! She has been trying to talk and repeat what we are saying.
~Sunday, G had his first major wipe-out...the first of many to come between the two babies I'm sure. He was standing up holding onto a chair at the pool at the "SuperTwins" party and fell, hitting his head on the concrete. He had a small goose-egg and concrete rash on his face and shoulder that healed by the next day. Needless to say, my heart jumped into my throat...I guess it's payback for the countless accidents I had as a child and stress that I put my parents through...
~Believe it or not, G has ANOTHER ear infection. Yes, he got tubes, but apparently it won't stop him from getting ear infections if he is anatomically compromised (due to the position and size of his eustatian (sp?) tube). The tubes will hopefully change the course of treatment to antibiotic ear drops instead of oral antibiotics and the effects of the infection won't be as severe. We'll see...
~We are going on Day 11 of the poop-monster! The twins have had a stomach virus that has been going around and it has not been fun. They have been on a bland diet and we started soymilk yesterday--who knew that soymilk has binding properties?? Needless to say, we abandoned cloth diapers over a week ago and I am very eager to begin again since we have been through 100+ disposables since this began. Abigail has started to put weight back on and George has started eating again too, so I hope we are on the mend!
~After eleven and a half months of breastfeeding, the twins have begun to wean themselves. My goal was to make it one year and we have succeeded--I say "we" because without Matt's 200% support, it would not have happened! The babies have cut out the nighttime nursing (before bed) themselves and they are fine eating solid food all day. I will still breastfeed in the morning for a few more weeks and gradually stop pumping...by this time next month, we hope the babies will be on cow or soy milk completely! I feel very mixed about it, but it gives me confidence that G&A are showing me that THEY are ready!
We have two big things on the horizon. G&A start their children's day out program tomorrow (3 days per week, 5 hours per day). My heart sits in my throat as I realize my babies are growing so quickly. Tears filled my eyes when I purchased their nap mats a few days ago....they're too little for nap mats!!!! Their first birthday is coming soon. We are looking forward to having family here for Labor Day weekend to celebrate and can't wait to see them have their first taste of "sweets"!!!
Sunday was a huge milestone day for the twins...
Abigail took her first steps!!!! We were sitting on the floor at the Nichols' and A stood up on her own, took one step, became off-balanced, grabbed my shoulder to steady herself and took two more steps!!!! We were in disbelief!! She was so tickled at herself! She took a couple more steps later, but then kept trying to RUN--imagine that! Steph caught her later steps on her camera (see her blog).
George has mastered pulling up to his knees and contnues to crawl all over the place. Yesterday, George conquered the mighty "box" and with help, he stands behind it and takes off pushing the box on his own! He is still learning how to shift his weight from leg to leg but he is so proud of himself...ear to ear smiles and laughter!
It is so fun to have two crawlers; Abigail will come around the corner and hot in her pursuit a few seconds later is Georgie! A laughs all the time at seeing her brother crawl...she is so excited to have him chase her. A few mornings ago, I was making breakfast and heard the babies laughing hysterically. I peeked around the corner into the dining room right as A pulled up to standing on the sliding glass door. She whacked her head really hard on the glass and I was waiting for the wails to follow. Instead, G started cracking up and Abs did the same; she then fell to her bottom and fell on top of him, both roaring with giggles! That is one of the best twin gifts is watching them interact positively with each other! I love it!
Other recent remarkable aspects of crazy Jank life:
~Yesterday, when our friend Susan came over to bring her daughter and our AWESOME nanny Amy lunch, A waved and said "bye-bye!" to Susan as she left! She has been trying to talk and repeat what we are saying.
~Sunday, G had his first major wipe-out...the first of many to come between the two babies I'm sure. He was standing up holding onto a chair at the pool at the "SuperTwins" party and fell, hitting his head on the concrete. He had a small goose-egg and concrete rash on his face and shoulder that healed by the next day. Needless to say, my heart jumped into my throat...I guess it's payback for the countless accidents I had as a child and stress that I put my parents through...
~Believe it or not, G has ANOTHER ear infection. Yes, he got tubes, but apparently it won't stop him from getting ear infections if he is anatomically compromised (due to the position and size of his eustatian (sp?) tube). The tubes will hopefully change the course of treatment to antibiotic ear drops instead of oral antibiotics and the effects of the infection won't be as severe. We'll see...
~We are going on Day 11 of the poop-monster! The twins have had a stomach virus that has been going around and it has not been fun. They have been on a bland diet and we started soymilk yesterday--who knew that soymilk has binding properties?? Needless to say, we abandoned cloth diapers over a week ago and I am very eager to begin again since we have been through 100+ disposables since this began. Abigail has started to put weight back on and George has started eating again too, so I hope we are on the mend!
~After eleven and a half months of breastfeeding, the twins have begun to wean themselves. My goal was to make it one year and we have succeeded--I say "we" because without Matt's 200% support, it would not have happened! The babies have cut out the nighttime nursing (before bed) themselves and they are fine eating solid food all day. I will still breastfeed in the morning for a few more weeks and gradually stop pumping...by this time next month, we hope the babies will be on cow or soy milk completely! I feel very mixed about it, but it gives me confidence that G&A are showing me that THEY are ready!
We have two big things on the horizon. G&A start their children's day out program tomorrow (3 days per week, 5 hours per day). My heart sits in my throat as I realize my babies are growing so quickly. Tears filled my eyes when I purchased their nap mats a few days ago....they're too little for nap mats!!!! Their first birthday is coming soon. We are looking forward to having family here for Labor Day weekend to celebrate and can't wait to see them have their first taste of "sweets"!!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Big Crawler and Near-Walker...
Here's a few glimpses of the past week...harvesting tomatoes....g crawling...picnic with Sunday School friends....playing with Avery....
Big news today!!!!!!!
G's main goal in PT was to learn to crawl....since he has mastered that goal, he graduated!!! No more weekly PT! His PT Amy felt very confident in his accomplishments and felt that he is on the right track towards pulling up, standing, cruising, and eventually walking. G was so proud of himself!! Thank you Ms. Amy and Ms. Sarah for all of your therapeutic expertise!
Big news today!!!!!!!
G's main goal in PT was to learn to crawl....since he has mastered that goal, he graduated!!! No more weekly PT! His PT Amy felt very confident in his accomplishments and felt that he is on the right track towards pulling up, standing, cruising, and eventually walking. G was so proud of himself!! Thank you Ms. Amy and Ms. Sarah for all of your therapeutic expertise!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Can't believe they are 11 months old....
Nearly a year old. I am speechless. I wasn't sure we would make it. Of course we made it, and we are thriving, all four of us!
Major milestones this month...
George~
~pivoting on his bottom, transitioning to the crawling position by himself---started CRAWLING the night he got his tubes and has been crawling every day since!!! YAY!!!
~will stand at the couch independently and needs minimum assistance to get to standing
~learned how to go from laying down on tummy to sitting all by himself!
~mastered his sippie cup once we switched to the straw cup--likes watered down apple juice
~teeth: has top two and bottom two with incisors on the way!
~talking up a storm!!! Uses "DaDa" appropriately and explores his vocal range well
~favorite toys: loves to play with his "drum" (oatmeal container with OJ lids in it), soccer or beach ball and spoons--anything he can manipulate with his hands and feet
~wears 9-12 month clothes (ab 21 lbs.) and never wears shoes!
Abigail~
~loves to "walk"/run pushing a diaper box all over the house--smiles and laughs like crazy when she does it
~stands independently for a few seconds before falling to her bottom
~crawls EVERYWHERE!!!
~says "DaDa" and "Mama" and "Bubba" appropriately--my heart melted when she called for me the other morning from her crib!
~mastered her sippie cup once we switched to the straw cup--loves to drink watered down apple juice--even took a few swigs of breastmilk the other day
~teeth: has top two front, rt. incisor, and bottom two teeth
~favorite toys: anything she is not supposed to have like our shoes or cat's food dish, music toys
~wears 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes (ab 18 lbs.) and also loves to run around on her tippie toes!
Hard to believe that this all happened in a month...and that things change sooooo quickly! We are so very blessed to have George and Abigail.
Major milestones this month...
George~
~pivoting on his bottom, transitioning to the crawling position by himself---started CRAWLING the night he got his tubes and has been crawling every day since!!! YAY!!!
~will stand at the couch independently and needs minimum assistance to get to standing
~learned how to go from laying down on tummy to sitting all by himself!
~mastered his sippie cup once we switched to the straw cup--likes watered down apple juice
~teeth: has top two and bottom two with incisors on the way!
~talking up a storm!!! Uses "DaDa" appropriately and explores his vocal range well
~favorite toys: loves to play with his "drum" (oatmeal container with OJ lids in it), soccer or beach ball and spoons--anything he can manipulate with his hands and feet
~wears 9-12 month clothes (ab 21 lbs.) and never wears shoes!
Abigail~
~loves to "walk"/run pushing a diaper box all over the house--smiles and laughs like crazy when she does it
~stands independently for a few seconds before falling to her bottom
~crawls EVERYWHERE!!!
~says "DaDa" and "Mama" and "Bubba" appropriately--my heart melted when she called for me the other morning from her crib!
~mastered her sippie cup once we switched to the straw cup--loves to drink watered down apple juice--even took a few swigs of breastmilk the other day
~teeth: has top two front, rt. incisor, and bottom two teeth
~favorite toys: anything she is not supposed to have like our shoes or cat's food dish, music toys
~wears 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes (ab 18 lbs.) and also loves to run around on her tippie toes!
Hard to believe that this all happened in a month...and that things change sooooo quickly! We are so very blessed to have George and Abigail.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tubes are in
Just a short note that Geo had his tubes put in yesterday, and things went pretty well. The whole procedure lasted about 6 minutes. He screamed for the whole time, but had his paci and Mommy and Daddy right there with him. He just didn't like being strapped down with his head held still. As soon as he was unstrapped he stopped screaming, and he stopped crying by the time we got to the reception area. Even smiled a bit as we were leaving the office.
He was a clingy in the afternoon, but took a 3 hour nap, and acted his normal lovable self until just before bedtime, when we had to put earplugs in before and during bathtime. Gave him some motrin and he slept through the night without waking once.
On a side note Abs only laid down for 10 minutes when Geo went to the Dr's office. She knew something was up with her brother gone.
Thanks for all the prayers, and keep praying that the tubes will keep the infections out.
He was a clingy in the afternoon, but took a 3 hour nap, and acted his normal lovable self until just before bedtime, when we had to put earplugs in before and during bathtime. Gave him some motrin and he slept through the night without waking once.
On a side note Abs only laid down for 10 minutes when Geo went to the Dr's office. She knew something was up with her brother gone.
Thanks for all the prayers, and keep praying that the tubes will keep the infections out.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Twin lovin'!
Have you ever seen two cuter babies? This was taken after we got home from church. It was literally 101 degrees and we stripped the babies down to cool them off. Abigail loves her brother so much that she decided she wanted to sit in George's lap. They are getting soooo big!!
A Little Bit Greener...
Many of our friends in Oklahoma accuse us of being crunchy, and I guess by "typical" Oklahoma standards, we waiver to the side of granola-y. Perhaps this media push to be "green" is suggesting something that we should be doing all along....using our resources, not wasting, being frugal, using renewable and natural elements. It cracks me up that it is now in vogue to be green.
I have learned that to better myself as a person, I must surround myself with goodness and positive people. Many of my daily practices are result of a myriad of influences from others. I think that as we change and evolve, we are pushing ourselves to challenge the mundane. So instead of the ordinary, Matt and I are thinking and practicing outside of "the box" to better our family and souls. It is amazing how lazy we can become and how quickly we can become creatures of habit. Why throw away perfectly good Ziplocs when you can rinse them in hot water, put them over a tall bottle to dry and reuse them (thanks Mom--I cannot make fun of you anymore!)
My hope for this post is that it will challenge you to examine your own daily practices and change to something better. Maybe by hearing what others are doing, you will re-think your methods to improve upon them and be a positive influence to someone else down the line. Or else don't do anything....
1. Homemade Laundry Detergent--Matt found a recipe and video for making laundry detergent, which costs pennies compared to the $17 bottle of Tide we were buying monthly. It was simple to make--took about ten minutes--and cleans the clothes and diapers well. Not so great at stains and does not have a scent (requires a paradigm shift as I was raised in the era of fragrance and softness=clean), but it does the job for a tiny fraction of the cost. See below for the cost breakdown. Pennies, I tell you! Recipe can be found here.
Cost analysis:
$2 borax
$2 ivory soap (12 pack)~ ab 17 cents per bar
$3 Arm & Hammer washing powder
$4 bucket with snap-on lid
Total ...$0.81 per load of laundry (total ingredient list makes about 8 batches of soap which lasted us for over a month, and we do a LOT of laundry)
2. Cloth Diapers--When you have two babies that go through at least 6-8 diapers per day, costing us $80 per month buying from Sam's, that was great motivation to use cloth. The process to change the diapers is nearly as simple as disposable diapers plus washing one additional load of laundry per day...it was easy for us to see the benefits quickly. I have to make sure the re-used Ziploc is in the diaper bag each time we leave the house, but other than that, it's simple. I won't even get into the benefits to decreasing the amount of diapers in our local landfill and how much better it is for G&A's skin to be in cloth. Plus, they are so darn cute in cloth!
3. Biking to church--we have started a family practice of trying to bike to church each Sunday. We live less than 2 miles from our church and McFarlin even has a bike rack under a shade tree. The babies are so cute riding in the bike trailer and we get a good quick workout. Although I will say it was a test of our new transportation to ride home in 101 degree heat yesterday...good thing the ride is short.
4. Driving slower--Matt did an experiment and learned that he could increase gas mileage by 5 miles to the gallon by driving 60mph to work. Good lesson to leave a few minutes early and SLOW DOWN---in all of life!
5. Cooking out on the Grill--Our new favorite method for cooking summer meals is on the grill. Our oven and stovetop heat up the kitchen and house soooooo much. Plus the grill cooks faster and we have a yummy meal in no time.
6. Diaper wipes--I tried an experiment to make our own wipes using a wipe solution recipe and paper towels. Needless to say, it did not work. Instead, we use the cheap baby washcloths and a spray bottle with water in it! Then we throw the wipes in the load of cloth diapers we are already doing each day...too easy. I still use commercial wipes for going out of the house because I haven't found another system to work well...but I'm open to suggestion.
7. Turning off lights, opening window blinds and running ceiling fans--we are able to set the house thermostat on 78 or 79 degrees and depending on the time of day, it saves on electricity. In contrast, we close the windows on the sunny side of the house at peak heat times.
8. Change bulbs to flourescent bulbs--we're not replacing light bulbs nearly as often now.
9. Growing a garden--still working on this one. Once the nearly 200 tomatoes that are on our vines turn red and are ready to pick, we plan to share produce with other friends who have gardens as well. Great for healthy eating and the twins love their daddy's squash!!
10. Decrease the amount of paper towels and napkins used--we try to use cloth napkins, towels and washcloths for kitchen use. Amazing how we can stretch out the time between bulk paper towel purchases.
11. Curbside Recycling--yay Norman! Finally we have curbside recycling! They pick up everything but cardboard, so we have a bin in the garage where we store cardboard and make our bi-monthly run to the recycling center (coupled with other errands of course!). It is AMAZING how much we have decreased our trash output by recycling everything we can.
12. Reuseable Grocery bags--or use the plastic or paper bags you get for other purposes--or take them back to the store with you to refill with more groceries.
13. Composting--still working on the system and waiting for our first batch to be ready to use, but paper scraps, as well as food scraps have lessened the amount of trash we are throwing away. Plus, the garden and lawn will love the extra nutrition from the compost.
We are certainly not extreme in our practices, but we have found that if we do a few simple things that take a wee-bit more effort (some of it does not require more effort, just planning ahead), the cost savings can be significant and it makes us feel a whole lot better about how we live. Pretty cool that George and Abigail are being raised knowing that recycling is just a way of life.
Please share things that you do in your household....we love to try new ideas!!
I have learned that to better myself as a person, I must surround myself with goodness and positive people. Many of my daily practices are result of a myriad of influences from others. I think that as we change and evolve, we are pushing ourselves to challenge the mundane. So instead of the ordinary, Matt and I are thinking and practicing outside of "the box" to better our family and souls. It is amazing how lazy we can become and how quickly we can become creatures of habit. Why throw away perfectly good Ziplocs when you can rinse them in hot water, put them over a tall bottle to dry and reuse them (thanks Mom--I cannot make fun of you anymore!)
My hope for this post is that it will challenge you to examine your own daily practices and change to something better. Maybe by hearing what others are doing, you will re-think your methods to improve upon them and be a positive influence to someone else down the line. Or else don't do anything....
1. Homemade Laundry Detergent--Matt found a recipe and video for making laundry detergent, which costs pennies compared to the $17 bottle of Tide we were buying monthly. It was simple to make--took about ten minutes--and cleans the clothes and diapers well. Not so great at stains and does not have a scent (requires a paradigm shift as I was raised in the era of fragrance and softness=clean), but it does the job for a tiny fraction of the cost. See below for the cost breakdown. Pennies, I tell you! Recipe can be found here.
Cost analysis:
$2 borax
$2 ivory soap (12 pack)~ ab 17 cents per bar
$3 Arm & Hammer washing powder
$4 bucket with snap-on lid
Total ...$0.81 per load of laundry (total ingredient list makes about 8 batches of soap which lasted us for over a month, and we do a LOT of laundry)
2. Cloth Diapers--When you have two babies that go through at least 6-8 diapers per day, costing us $80 per month buying from Sam's, that was great motivation to use cloth. The process to change the diapers is nearly as simple as disposable diapers plus washing one additional load of laundry per day...it was easy for us to see the benefits quickly. I have to make sure the re-used Ziploc is in the diaper bag each time we leave the house, but other than that, it's simple. I won't even get into the benefits to decreasing the amount of diapers in our local landfill and how much better it is for G&A's skin to be in cloth. Plus, they are so darn cute in cloth!
3. Biking to church--we have started a family practice of trying to bike to church each Sunday. We live less than 2 miles from our church and McFarlin even has a bike rack under a shade tree. The babies are so cute riding in the bike trailer and we get a good quick workout. Although I will say it was a test of our new transportation to ride home in 101 degree heat yesterday...good thing the ride is short.
4. Driving slower--Matt did an experiment and learned that he could increase gas mileage by 5 miles to the gallon by driving 60mph to work. Good lesson to leave a few minutes early and SLOW DOWN---in all of life!
5. Cooking out on the Grill--Our new favorite method for cooking summer meals is on the grill. Our oven and stovetop heat up the kitchen and house soooooo much. Plus the grill cooks faster and we have a yummy meal in no time.
6. Diaper wipes--I tried an experiment to make our own wipes using a wipe solution recipe and paper towels. Needless to say, it did not work. Instead, we use the cheap baby washcloths and a spray bottle with water in it! Then we throw the wipes in the load of cloth diapers we are already doing each day...too easy. I still use commercial wipes for going out of the house because I haven't found another system to work well...but I'm open to suggestion.
7. Turning off lights, opening window blinds and running ceiling fans--we are able to set the house thermostat on 78 or 79 degrees and depending on the time of day, it saves on electricity. In contrast, we close the windows on the sunny side of the house at peak heat times.
8. Change bulbs to flourescent bulbs--we're not replacing light bulbs nearly as often now.
9. Growing a garden--still working on this one. Once the nearly 200 tomatoes that are on our vines turn red and are ready to pick, we plan to share produce with other friends who have gardens as well. Great for healthy eating and the twins love their daddy's squash!!
10. Decrease the amount of paper towels and napkins used--we try to use cloth napkins, towels and washcloths for kitchen use. Amazing how we can stretch out the time between bulk paper towel purchases.
11. Curbside Recycling--yay Norman! Finally we have curbside recycling! They pick up everything but cardboard, so we have a bin in the garage where we store cardboard and make our bi-monthly run to the recycling center (coupled with other errands of course!). It is AMAZING how much we have decreased our trash output by recycling everything we can.
12. Reuseable Grocery bags--or use the plastic or paper bags you get for other purposes--or take them back to the store with you to refill with more groceries.
13. Composting--still working on the system and waiting for our first batch to be ready to use, but paper scraps, as well as food scraps have lessened the amount of trash we are throwing away. Plus, the garden and lawn will love the extra nutrition from the compost.
We are certainly not extreme in our practices, but we have found that if we do a few simple things that take a wee-bit more effort (some of it does not require more effort, just planning ahead), the cost savings can be significant and it makes us feel a whole lot better about how we live. Pretty cool that George and Abigail are being raised knowing that recycling is just a way of life.
Please share things that you do in your household....we love to try new ideas!!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Argh...
Yet another ear infection for G. Tube procedure scheduled for Tuesday. Prayers for miraculous healing again.
Monday, July 28, 2008
10.4 months and growing strong!
Here are a few glimpses from last week. Little Aberdoodle is crawling ALL OVER THE PLACE and George is trying to pull up and mastered going from laying on his tummy to sitting! Abigail weighs 17 lbs. and George is 21 lbs. now. Abigail has started pushing things around the room to help herself walk, like boxes and chairs; George is standing and rolling lots. George cut his two front teeth (one this past weekend) and Abs has a new incisor. They are talking up a storm--especially to each other--and laughing all the time. As I write this, they are in their nursery keeping each other from taking a nap. Now that George can sit up in his crib, he can see his sister and finds it oh-so-important to catch up on the day (or decide how they are going to plot together to finally catch Louise the cat). We have a whole new twin challenge ahead with that milestone. Since George is sitting up so well and they love water, see the glimpses below of their beloved activity, bathing in the big tub!
On Friday, as I was awaiting the arrival of Grammy and Grandpa (who were taking care of the babies for the weekend while Matt and I took our first twin-free trip), Abigail became quiet. When I peeked in to see what trouble she was into, she discovered that toilet paper is waaaaaaay fun to unroll and though it didn't taste very good, she wanted to try anyway!
Matt and I spent the weekend in Plano for Dave Gannaway and Stephanie Rex's wedding----such a blast! It was great to be with Matt's buddies from law school, especially since we knew the twins were in great care. I loved hanging out with Jenn Freisen too and we both had brunch with her on Sunday before heading north on I-35.
We wish Dave and Steph many years of happiness and can't wait to see your pics of Costa Rica!
On Friday, as I was awaiting the arrival of Grammy and Grandpa (who were taking care of the babies for the weekend while Matt and I took our first twin-free trip), Abigail became quiet. When I peeked in to see what trouble she was into, she discovered that toilet paper is waaaaaaay fun to unroll and though it didn't taste very good, she wanted to try anyway!
Matt and I spent the weekend in Plano for Dave Gannaway and Stephanie Rex's wedding----such a blast! It was great to be with Matt's buddies from law school, especially since we knew the twins were in great care. I loved hanging out with Jenn Freisen too and we both had brunch with her on Sunday before heading north on I-35.
We wish Dave and Steph many years of happiness and can't wait to see your pics of Costa Rica!
Monday, July 21, 2008
NO TUBES!!
Surprisingly, no tubes today! Our new ENT felt that because G was infection-free today--praise GOD!-- and showed no hearing loss--even more praises--, it would be fine to wait until he got another infection to do the tubes. Miracles do happen!!
The doc did a mini-procedure on G, strapping him to the papoose board and cleaned out the earwax from both ears. G screamed louder and harder while Matt was holding him in the examination room than in the procedure room....he cried during the minute long extraction but quickly recovered when I whisked him up in my arms and his daddy stroked his face. We feel certain that he will do just fine during tubes. I am really, really glad we chose this route without anesthesia (no offense Josh, if you're reading!).
So now begins the waiting game again. If he gets another infection in the next month, we go straight to tubes. If two or more months pass, then we have another exam and then possible tubes. And we don't even get to collect $200 as we pass "GO". Hopefully we can make it through the rest of the summer and if he still results in tubes, maybe they will last at least through this next cold/flu season.
All I know is I'm thanking the good Lord above!
The doc did a mini-procedure on G, strapping him to the papoose board and cleaned out the earwax from both ears. G screamed louder and harder while Matt was holding him in the examination room than in the procedure room....he cried during the minute long extraction but quickly recovered when I whisked him up in my arms and his daddy stroked his face. We feel certain that he will do just fine during tubes. I am really, really glad we chose this route without anesthesia (no offense Josh, if you're reading!).
So now begins the waiting game again. If he gets another infection in the next month, we go straight to tubes. If two or more months pass, then we have another exam and then possible tubes. And we don't even get to collect $200 as we pass "GO". Hopefully we can make it through the rest of the summer and if he still results in tubes, maybe they will last at least through this next cold/flu season.
All I know is I'm thanking the good Lord above!
Baby Georgie's ears
Please keep George in your thoughts and prayers today as he will be having tubes put into both ears at 4:45pm. We feel very optimistic that this will cease his duration of 4 months of ear infections. It is very frustrating that after our diligence of virtually no medication during pregnancy (except for a few doses of Tylenol and steroids to stop preterm labor)and nearly eleven months of breastfeeding that George has spent the last four months less 1 1/2 weeks on antibiotics.
I do not share our practices out of pride but as a reminder that we make all the efforts we are able to do and hope that the non-controllable things are in a less critical place because of it. We also feel confident in the method of using no anesthesia by his otolaryngologist and are prayerful that George will not be uncomfortable for long. Hopefully his discomfort and fear will be quickly relieved since the procedure for both ears is about 10 minutes in length and the numbing drops take effect within 3-10 seconds. We are also glad that Matt and I will be able to be right there with him through the whole thing and he can have his pacifier.
As several people have shared with us, cognitively I know that this is a simple procedure that is done on many, many children every day. But this is OUR baby and it's never been done on HIM before. I know he will come out just fine and feel so thankful that he has not had any hearing loss to this point. Who knows, having his ears drained might help him to crawl right out of the exam room!! (wink!)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Adventures in Oklahoma and West Texas...
Apologies for those seeking new pics lately...our computer has made a habit of freezing up and not running programs appropriately...it will be "going under the knife" over the next week or so until we can figure out what's up.
We had a fantastic time with Evie, Kirby, Mom and Dad the week after July 4th. The girls had a great time with the babies and George and Abigail grew to adore their cousins!! We had an unexpected adventure when we went to Turner Falls Park (1 hour south of Norman) on Monday when Pop's minivan died and we were stranded. We spent the morning/early afternoon swimming and having a great time and upon driving away, a part in the engine broke and we had to pull over in the park. After several hours, the tow truck came to get the van and towed it to Ardmore (22 miles away) and Matt showed up in his boss' surburban like a calvary beaming over the hill!! We were thrilled that he took off work and came to rescue us! The girls were great sports about the situation and they passed the time by playing in the creek across the road (thank goodness we were still in the park). The babies were absolute troopers--they alternated napping and watching E&K swim. We got back to Norman around 7pm, all exhausted and relieved to be home!
We also went to Pauls Valley to visit Pop's Aunt Marie and cousins Ruth, Doris, and Carl and aunt Sis while they were in town (they rode the Amtrak train down to Ardmore to pick up the van--a silver lining to the situation as the girls had never ridden a real passenger train and the van was covered under warranty.)
Thursday morning, the girls and Nana and Pop loaded up and traveled to Lubbock where Matt, the babies and I joined them on Friday night. We spent the weekend with Sherry, Doug, and Brad at Sand Creek Ranch....such a fun retreat!! We rode four wheelers, dirt bikes, shot b-b guns, swam in the pool, fed the horses, watched gorgeous west Texas sunsets after the thunderstorms, made s'mores, and gazed at the stars and moon through the telescope. The babies loved being with everyone and we were completely relaxed and content...it was so nice to be in the country that we stayed an extra day and came home Monday. (more pics will be posted later from other cameras)
We arrived home to find HUGE VEGETABLES IN OUR GARDEN!! Look at proud Farmer Matt!
We had a fantastic time with Evie, Kirby, Mom and Dad the week after July 4th. The girls had a great time with the babies and George and Abigail grew to adore their cousins!! We had an unexpected adventure when we went to Turner Falls Park (1 hour south of Norman) on Monday when Pop's minivan died and we were stranded. We spent the morning/early afternoon swimming and having a great time and upon driving away, a part in the engine broke and we had to pull over in the park. After several hours, the tow truck came to get the van and towed it to Ardmore (22 miles away) and Matt showed up in his boss' surburban like a calvary beaming over the hill!! We were thrilled that he took off work and came to rescue us! The girls were great sports about the situation and they passed the time by playing in the creek across the road (thank goodness we were still in the park). The babies were absolute troopers--they alternated napping and watching E&K swim. We got back to Norman around 7pm, all exhausted and relieved to be home!
We also went to Pauls Valley to visit Pop's Aunt Marie and cousins Ruth, Doris, and Carl and aunt Sis while they were in town (they rode the Amtrak train down to Ardmore to pick up the van--a silver lining to the situation as the girls had never ridden a real passenger train and the van was covered under warranty.)
Thursday morning, the girls and Nana and Pop loaded up and traveled to Lubbock where Matt, the babies and I joined them on Friday night. We spent the weekend with Sherry, Doug, and Brad at Sand Creek Ranch....such a fun retreat!! We rode four wheelers, dirt bikes, shot b-b guns, swam in the pool, fed the horses, watched gorgeous west Texas sunsets after the thunderstorms, made s'mores, and gazed at the stars and moon through the telescope. The babies loved being with everyone and we were completely relaxed and content...it was so nice to be in the country that we stayed an extra day and came home Monday. (more pics will be posted later from other cameras)
We arrived home to find HUGE VEGETABLES IN OUR GARDEN!! Look at proud Farmer Matt!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Twins, twins and more...
Nana, Pop, Evie and Kirby are up for the week to celebrate July 4th and hang out with their cousins. We have had tons o' fun and many adventures to "make memories" as Kirby says. Here are a few glimpses of the week so far....
Stay tuned for more pics...we are all heading to the ranch in Lubbock this weekend to visit Sherry and Doug...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tagged!
I'm a sucker for these things. This is the second one I've done today. Thanks for the tag, Sasha! Look below to see if your "it!"
A. Attached or Single? Attached (happily married for 7 years!)
B. Best Friend? Blessed with many...
C. Cake or pie? Cake AND pie, topped with ice cream!
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? a good morning smooch from my honey
F. Favorite color? today, bright green
G. Gummy bears or worms? worms, sour
H. Home town? Shreveport, LA
I. Favorite indulgence? bread pudding without raisins but add bourbon sauce
J. January or July? both, july for swimming, january for Matt's bday and skiing
K. Kids? Two and we are also done!
L. Life isn’t complete without? my precious family
M. Marriage date? June 23
N. Number of brothers and sisters? youngest of 4
O. Oranges or Apples? depends on my mood
P. Phobias? snakes
Q. Quotes? "Ginger Rogers danced every move that Fred Astaire made, she just did it in high heels and backwards."
R. Reasons to smile? where do I begin, the simple things in my life
S. Season of choice? Fall
T. Tag 5 people: Wally, Alicia, Lauren L, Mattie Moo, Christy
U. Unknown fact about me? I make beautiful Lee Michael's bows
V. Vegetable? love them- was a vegetarian for 15 years until I got pregnant...
W. Worst habit? being controlling...
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Pregnancy ultrasounds!!
Y. Your favorite food? today, margaritas with good tequila...is that a food? ;)
Z. Zodiac sign? Leo
Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? giraffes
A. Attached or Single? Attached (happily married for 7 years!)
B. Best Friend? Blessed with many...
C. Cake or pie? Cake AND pie, topped with ice cream!
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? a good morning smooch from my honey
F. Favorite color? today, bright green
G. Gummy bears or worms? worms, sour
H. Home town? Shreveport, LA
I. Favorite indulgence? bread pudding without raisins but add bourbon sauce
J. January or July? both, july for swimming, january for Matt's bday and skiing
K. Kids? Two and we are also done!
L. Life isn’t complete without? my precious family
M. Marriage date? June 23
N. Number of brothers and sisters? youngest of 4
O. Oranges or Apples? depends on my mood
P. Phobias? snakes
Q. Quotes? "Ginger Rogers danced every move that Fred Astaire made, she just did it in high heels and backwards."
R. Reasons to smile? where do I begin, the simple things in my life
S. Season of choice? Fall
T. Tag 5 people: Wally, Alicia, Lauren L, Mattie Moo, Christy
U. Unknown fact about me? I make beautiful Lee Michael's bows
V. Vegetable? love them- was a vegetarian for 15 years until I got pregnant...
W. Worst habit? being controlling...
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Pregnancy ultrasounds!!
Y. Your favorite food? today, margaritas with good tequila...is that a food? ;)
Z. Zodiac sign? Leo
Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? giraffes
Monday, June 30, 2008
Great weekend at home...
We call her "Off-Road Abs" as she is a little crawling machine!!
Friday afternoon, the Nichols twins and mom Stephanie came over for a play date. The babies had a great time interacting and stealing pacifiers. We enjoyed a nice Friday evening at Jazz in June in Brookhaven Village. The babies loved hanging out with the Gibbins, Tonya, Maddie and Sydney (who took these pics)---and we did too! Sunday afternoon, the Stelzers kept the babies and took them swimming while Matt and I had a post-anniversary date. We had a quiet picnic at the park, devoured our annual honeymoon cherry pie, and journaled in our marriage book.
Our neighbors Millie and Mark came over yesterday to check out their upcoming groceries from our garden when Matt discovered the first fruit from his labor! Check out our first organically grown zucchini! It may be the only organic veggie as little grubs have invaded the squash plants. Matt has to do his homework now to learn if there are any non-chemical ways to get rid of them.
In case you wanted perspective, now you can be really impressed! Look how big!!
Friday, June 27, 2008
p.s.
a funny side note...Abigail has learned that it is great fun to stick her finger up her nose....the perfect sized orifice for her little nubbins....and Georgie can clap!!!! Yay babies!!!
We survived VBS!
Matt and I volunteered this week (Sun-Thurs) for VBS at church with a million little rugrats and had an awesome time!! Thank goodness and big appreciation for Ms. Patsy in the nursery for taking such good care of G&A, who didn't skip a beat with the on-the-go-every-single-night and modified 9pm bedtime. I have learned that the twins were also pooped as they slept in every morning until 8:30 or 9am!!! woo hoo!
We are looking forward to a quieter weekend, starting with consumption of a few brewskies and great jazz music at Jazz in June . We will take and post new pics next week. Happy weekend!!
We are looking forward to a quieter weekend, starting with consumption of a few brewskies and great jazz music at Jazz in June . We will take and post new pics next week. Happy weekend!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Father's Day Weekend in Texas
Here are a few recent pics from visiting Grammy and Grandpa two weekends ago. The babies loved swimming at the Reiker's gorgeous pool overlooking Canyon Lake. We went to visit Oma as well and are glad she is doing better. Happy Summer!
Monday, June 23, 2008
June 23, 2001
At this exact moment, seven years ago, I was finishing up a 5K walk surrounded by our closest friends and family. Billy and Missy hosted the "Martin-Jankowski Wedding Day Fun Run" on our wedding morning at Clyde Fant Parkway in Shreveport. What a fabulous way to begin one of the most important days of my life! Yes, I saw my hubby-to-be across the crowd, but we did not speak.
The coolest thing was that morning, Matt completed a goal that he set for himself while we were engaged. He wanted to get into shape and to do so, he walked/ran the mileage that it would take him to get to me (from Lafayette to Austin)---360-some-odd miles. That began his passion for running! Taking care of himself was the best wedding present ever.
Hard to believe it has been seven years. Matt awoke me this morning with a kiss as he was heading out the door and said "Lucky Number 7!" I treasure the past seven years and I feel so blessed that God made our paths cross in 1996. So glad that a mutual friend came up to me while I was on a date at Ivan's with another guy to see if I would be interested in going out with Matt. Who would have ever thought that I would be the happiest I have ever been with the chili-bowl haired, sideburns-wearin', socially awkward Centenary freshman? I wouldn't ever change a thing...
The coolest thing was that morning, Matt completed a goal that he set for himself while we were engaged. He wanted to get into shape and to do so, he walked/ran the mileage that it would take him to get to me (from Lafayette to Austin)---360-some-odd miles. That began his passion for running! Taking care of himself was the best wedding present ever.
Hard to believe it has been seven years. Matt awoke me this morning with a kiss as he was heading out the door and said "Lucky Number 7!" I treasure the past seven years and I feel so blessed that God made our paths cross in 1996. So glad that a mutual friend came up to me while I was on a date at Ivan's with another guy to see if I would be interested in going out with Matt. Who would have ever thought that I would be the happiest I have ever been with the chili-bowl haired, sideburns-wearin', socially awkward Centenary freshman? I wouldn't ever change a thing...
Friday, June 20, 2008
We're still alive!!
It's been a while since our last post, but we have been putting out fires....
Road trip to Austin/Spring Branch for the twins to have their first overnight away from Mama and Daddy (and Mama and Daddy to have their first romantic getaway post-babies with a fabulous early anniversary dinner at Salt Lick with Amy and Drew), double pink eye for George, computer crashes, internet goes down, double pink eye for Abigail, internet comes back up today....that's our week in a snippet.
Geo. is feeling better, no more swollen red eyes but Abs just started with symptoms this morning....I guess that's our new life as twin parents, everyone shares and shares alike. Prayers that we don't get it next....
Road trip to Austin/Spring Branch for the twins to have their first overnight away from Mama and Daddy (and Mama and Daddy to have their first romantic getaway post-babies with a fabulous early anniversary dinner at Salt Lick with Amy and Drew), double pink eye for George, computer crashes, internet goes down, double pink eye for Abigail, internet comes back up today....that's our week in a snippet.
Geo. is feeling better, no more swollen red eyes but Abs just started with symptoms this morning....I guess that's our new life as twin parents, everyone shares and shares alike. Prayers that we don't get it next....
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The "Moore Beach"
Yesterday, we enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon in the Nichols backyard. It has been great to hang out with the Nichols, especially since Ean and Quinn are exactly one month younger than G&A. Having a twin mommy as a dear friend is something that I treasure. It is nice to bounce ideas off each other, learn about the latest and greatest stuff, bargains, and decide which foods we will introduce next!
Steph, I will miss you when you move to FL---nobody else will tolerate me being two hours late for our play dates!!
Steph, I will miss you when you move to FL---nobody else will tolerate me being two hours late for our play dates!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
NINE MONTHS OLD!!
So cliche, but where has the time gone? I cannot even remember what I had for breakfast this morning....
First of all, I have spent several hours trying to update the look of our blog without success. Sasha, I guess I need you to walk me through scrapblog via phone. I am sooo close and it will look so much cooler!
The twins celebrated their nine month birthday last week. It continues to amaze me how quickly the babies develop, each forming and exploring their own personalities.
Abigail has shown physical changes most dynamically as she is now crawling, pulling up to standing, and cruising. Still shaky on her feet, it does not stop her from exploring EVERYTHING! The funniest is that she cannot figure out how to get down out of standing. When she falls, she is as straight as a plank and hits the ground HARD! We worked this weekend on teaching her to fall to her bottom or knees. She has been eating small bits of table food like pizza crusts and green beans. Tonight she ate sweet peas from my dinner plate. She currently has four teeth (two top, two bottom) with two more on the way. She still does not sit still and yesterday, crawled all the way from our living room into the nursery down the hall following my voice while I was changing G's diaper. She loves kisses from her mommy and playing "off-road Abs" with her daddy.
George has learned to express his desires very strongly. He will swat at the spoon if he doesn't want to eat, will growl at you if he wants your attention, and laughs hysterically with his entire body! He sits up very tall and rotates his trunk well on right and left sides. He loves to stand (with resting breaks) at his LeapFrog music table. He holds his head up steadily and we notice his head tilt less and less. He still goes to PT weekly and is making leaps and bounds of progress. Today, he started rolling around after toys and pulling his knees up into crawling position....uh oh. He maneuvered himself over his daddy's legs on the floor for the first time. Poor baby has terrible ears and we have an appt to see the ENT in early July after his current (5th) ear infection. He LOVES music, jumping in the exersaucer, and sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth. He weighed in at 19 1/2 lbs last week...still loves to eat!
Life in the Jank household has definitely been kicked up a notch. Between battling ear infections and terrible allergies, we have been:
growing a garden...riding our bikes to church and pulling the babies in the trailer...adoring our babysitter Jennifer who keeps the babies so we can continue to pay our mortgage...taking more car trips (except this weekend to celebrate our sweet godtwins Carlisle and Jackson Camper's first birthdays--we had to cancel as Matt is sick--Happy Birthday almost!)...sleeping more (usually 11 hours at night for the twins)....sleeping less (ear infections, teething, wanting to be awake with Mama and Daddy) and trying to maintain sanity amidst daily changes!
First of all, I have spent several hours trying to update the look of our blog without success. Sasha, I guess I need you to walk me through scrapblog via phone. I am sooo close and it will look so much cooler!
The twins celebrated their nine month birthday last week. It continues to amaze me how quickly the babies develop, each forming and exploring their own personalities.
Abigail has shown physical changes most dynamically as she is now crawling, pulling up to standing, and cruising. Still shaky on her feet, it does not stop her from exploring EVERYTHING! The funniest is that she cannot figure out how to get down out of standing. When she falls, she is as straight as a plank and hits the ground HARD! We worked this weekend on teaching her to fall to her bottom or knees. She has been eating small bits of table food like pizza crusts and green beans. Tonight she ate sweet peas from my dinner plate. She currently has four teeth (two top, two bottom) with two more on the way. She still does not sit still and yesterday, crawled all the way from our living room into the nursery down the hall following my voice while I was changing G's diaper. She loves kisses from her mommy and playing "off-road Abs" with her daddy.
George has learned to express his desires very strongly. He will swat at the spoon if he doesn't want to eat, will growl at you if he wants your attention, and laughs hysterically with his entire body! He sits up very tall and rotates his trunk well on right and left sides. He loves to stand (with resting breaks) at his LeapFrog music table. He holds his head up steadily and we notice his head tilt less and less. He still goes to PT weekly and is making leaps and bounds of progress. Today, he started rolling around after toys and pulling his knees up into crawling position....uh oh. He maneuvered himself over his daddy's legs on the floor for the first time. Poor baby has terrible ears and we have an appt to see the ENT in early July after his current (5th) ear infection. He LOVES music, jumping in the exersaucer, and sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth. He weighed in at 19 1/2 lbs last week...still loves to eat!Life in the Jank household has definitely been kicked up a notch. Between battling ear infections and terrible allergies, we have been:
growing a garden...riding our bikes to church and pulling the babies in the trailer...adoring our babysitter Jennifer who keeps the babies so we can continue to pay our mortgage...taking more car trips (except this weekend to celebrate our sweet godtwins Carlisle and Jackson Camper's first birthdays--we had to cancel as Matt is sick--Happy Birthday almost!)...sleeping more (usually 11 hours at night for the twins)....sleeping less (ear infections, teething, wanting to be awake with Mama and Daddy) and trying to maintain sanity amidst daily changes!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Found the Camera Cord....
These are pics from Memorial Day Weekend in Houston and the week prior at our house (Mother's Day, crawfish boil, etc.). Enjoy!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
How could I forget to write about....
my first Mother's Day???
The day began wonderfully. I was awakened by sweet Abs who gave me her first piece of art! It was a 12x12 stretched canvas where Daddy painted a heart in the center and Abigail "hand painted" around it with bright primary colors. When George the sleepyhead finally awoke, he presented his art too! Matt shared the story of their art time...Abigail was fascinated with the feeling of paint on her hands and was timid in putting it on the canvas, so her hand motions are short and whispy. George loved painting and was aggressive in his technique, smearing and grabbing the canvas with both colorful hands!! The 12x12 canvas have already found their place in our bedroom and I will treasure them daily. Daddy also presented me with 2 hour-long in-home massage sessions from our fabulous-o massage therapist Missy Dodson.
We went to church, received sweet carnations for Mother's Day, and the nursery ladies made "footprint" art with the babies for the mommies. We spent the afternoon shopping for new clothes for me. What relaxation and feelings of being loved! I adore spending time with my hubby and babies!
The day began wonderfully. I was awakened by sweet Abs who gave me her first piece of art! It was a 12x12 stretched canvas where Daddy painted a heart in the center and Abigail "hand painted" around it with bright primary colors. When George the sleepyhead finally awoke, he presented his art too! Matt shared the story of their art time...Abigail was fascinated with the feeling of paint on her hands and was timid in putting it on the canvas, so her hand motions are short and whispy. George loved painting and was aggressive in his technique, smearing and grabbing the canvas with both colorful hands!! The 12x12 canvas have already found their place in our bedroom and I will treasure them daily. Daddy also presented me with 2 hour-long in-home massage sessions from our fabulous-o massage therapist Missy Dodson.
We went to church, received sweet carnations for Mother's Day, and the nursery ladies made "footprint" art with the babies for the mommies. We spent the afternoon shopping for new clothes for me. What relaxation and feelings of being loved! I adore spending time with my hubby and babies!
Wow....so many "firsts"
They say to enjoy this time in your baby's life because it comes and goes so quickly....we have learned that first hand in the past week...where to begin??
George now has his first two teeth and Abigail began crawling (8 1/2 months old). Again, George has a very high pain threshold as he wasn't fussy at all! Within 24 hours of learning to crawl, Abigail began pulling up to her knees, which prompted lowering her crib mattress. She also started "talking" and like her brother, loves to say "dadadada". Both babies began picking up finger food and feeding themselves last week, so they have been eating lots of puffs and mum-mums. Nana and Pop were here to witness those wonderful milestones as they came up for a visit all last week. They brought 80 lbs. of crawfish and we hosted friends for our annual crawfish boil, which was tons of fun!
We spent Memorial Day in Houston with the Morris clan and Brad. Mom, Dad, the twins and I drove down together Thurs/Fri and Matt brought the two dogs (Boomer and Tori) on Saturday. It was the babies' first time to visit Houston and first time to spend the night in Nana and Pop's trailer--of which they will come to love as they get older. George and Abigail loved being toted around by their cousins--I think Evie and Kirby changed every single diaper all weekend! The babies swam in the pool for the first time at Cliff's 13th birthday party and LOVED IT!! They cried for the first 15 seconds but once they got used to the water, they started kicking and splashing! George loved jumping up and down in the water (his new favorite thing to do!) and Abigail kick,kick,kicked! While we were in Houston, Abigail cut her top two front teeth, which was exciting too! Kirby taught Abigail how to blow razzberries and Aunt Laura taught her how to wave. We started baby sign language while we were in H-town and both babies started using the sign for "milk" within three days--so smart!
We drove home through Austin to visit Oma, Matt's Granny. It was wonderful to see her and she loved seeing her great-grandbabies. Her health is stable at this point but prayers are still needed. After 12 1/2 hours on the road we finally returned home and the babies were exhausted all day yesterday! They did great in the car and we have decided to make a habit of picnics and playgrounds along our roadtrip routes!
When I find the camera cord, I will upload recent pics....
George now has his first two teeth and Abigail began crawling (8 1/2 months old). Again, George has a very high pain threshold as he wasn't fussy at all! Within 24 hours of learning to crawl, Abigail began pulling up to her knees, which prompted lowering her crib mattress. She also started "talking" and like her brother, loves to say "dadadada". Both babies began picking up finger food and feeding themselves last week, so they have been eating lots of puffs and mum-mums. Nana and Pop were here to witness those wonderful milestones as they came up for a visit all last week. They brought 80 lbs. of crawfish and we hosted friends for our annual crawfish boil, which was tons of fun!
We spent Memorial Day in Houston with the Morris clan and Brad. Mom, Dad, the twins and I drove down together Thurs/Fri and Matt brought the two dogs (Boomer and Tori) on Saturday. It was the babies' first time to visit Houston and first time to spend the night in Nana and Pop's trailer--of which they will come to love as they get older. George and Abigail loved being toted around by their cousins--I think Evie and Kirby changed every single diaper all weekend! The babies swam in the pool for the first time at Cliff's 13th birthday party and LOVED IT!! They cried for the first 15 seconds but once they got used to the water, they started kicking and splashing! George loved jumping up and down in the water (his new favorite thing to do!) and Abigail kick,kick,kicked! While we were in Houston, Abigail cut her top two front teeth, which was exciting too! Kirby taught Abigail how to blow razzberries and Aunt Laura taught her how to wave. We started baby sign language while we were in H-town and both babies started using the sign for "milk" within three days--so smart!
We drove home through Austin to visit Oma, Matt's Granny. It was wonderful to see her and she loved seeing her great-grandbabies. Her health is stable at this point but prayers are still needed. After 12 1/2 hours on the road we finally returned home and the babies were exhausted all day yesterday! They did great in the car and we have decided to make a habit of picnics and playgrounds along our roadtrip routes!
When I find the camera cord, I will upload recent pics....
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Reba Grace's 2nd Birthday!!
Happy birthday, sweet Reebers! Our precious godchild turns two today and we love her so much! In her honor, we have posted a slideshow of random pics highlighting special times we have had together during her second year. George, Abigail, Boomer, Anna and Louise do not know what to do without Reba Grace around....nor do we, you've stolen our heart!
We miss you and send you big smooches!
We miss you and send you big smooches!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Afternoon at the park
Today George, Abigail, and I went to hang out with our friend Stephanie and her twin boys Ean and Quinn. We walked a couple of miles and enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine and wonderful friendship. Aren't the twin babies soooooo cute in the bucket swings?
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