Family Birthday Party!

Since we have just a smidge more going on this year, we asked Macyn what she wanted to do for her birthday, and she chose Pizza Ranch. I am a-okay with that, instead of hosting everyone! We had lunch along with some birthday cake and gift opening. It was a nice get together. For the first year, I didn't make Macyn's birthday cake - I had the bakery do it. I wasn't for sure how it would turn out since they weren't even sure they could make a Sofia the First cake. Once I saw it for the first time it was completely awesome and Macyn loved it! Sure, it was more expensive than a home made cake, but the $17 price tag sure beats me trying to create one myself and mess up the kitchen all while watching three kids!

Gift opening

Macyn received some pretty good gifts. Items included: puzzles, tattoos, movies, clothes, purses, doll blankets, a Barbie set & Palace Pet from Mom & Dad, and Don't Spill the Beans game. After gift opening we sang Happy Birthday and Macyn blew out her candle and she served us her cake!

 

Happy Birthday, Macyn! Love you!

Its Party Time!

Party Girls!

Macyn had her very first birthday party with friends. I wasn't sure how this was all going to go, but all in all it went well. We had some typical girl drama (one girl wanted to sit by Macyn, and arguing over who got which Barbie). Other than that, we decorated pumpkins, watched Sofia the First, read books, played Barbies, played outside, ate some cupcakes, and had some hot chocolate!

We decorated the pumpkins with glitter and jewels. Even though I didn't get a picture of the finished pumpkins, they actually turned out really well!

 Macyn and I also baked some cupcakes. I made some cheap cupcake picks by printing out some Sofia the First circles and taping them to toothpicks.

The party went well for the most part. Birthday girl ended up pouting in the bathroom for a while for unknown reasons, but once she got over that she was able to enjoy her party as well!

Kamryn & Laityn: 5 Month Checkup

 We had the girl's 5 month checkup, and here are some updatres!

• Kamryn is 13lbs, 7oz and 25" long
• Laityn is 13lbs, 3oz and 25" long
• This puts them in the 30th percentile for their weight, and a little less than 10% for their height - with that being said, they are starting to catch up!
• The treatment for Laityn's hemangioma is working, and will have a checkup in Sioux Falls in a couple of weeks
• Kamryn still has a flat head, and if its not better by December she will need a helmet
• We have increased their bottling to 5oz now instead of 4
• We got the okay to start cereal - I am amazed at how fast they are catching on!
• We are hoping with the increased bottling and cereal, they will sleep through the night. Not so much yet, really looking forward to that day!
• Since the roll over constantly, we have decided to put them in separate cribs. Tonight is their first night separated, so we will see how that goes!

Case and point: I left the girls on the floor as I went to another room, and when I came back I found Laityn rolled onto Kamryn and was sucking on her head... by the look on Kamryn's face, I don't think she was too impressed!

It's Wedding Time!

My sister finally tied the knot and we had a weekend full of wedding fun! I was a bridesmaid, Macyn was the flower girl, and DH was an usher. As always, I end up taking alot of pictures, so I am usually not in a lot either. I got a few good ones, but never really got the twins..... anyways, it was a wonderful day and a beautiful wedding. I was honored to be a part of it!

Sisters!

Laityn

Macyn and my nephew, Caden

Our attempt at a family picture...Macyn refused to be part of it!

Kamryn

Macyn and the bride-to-be!

Kamryn & Laityn: 5 Months

Our big girls are 5 months old (about 3.5 months adjusted). They continue to do well and grow! They are awake more often and will give lots of smiles! Its hard to get a picture of them smiling because they are always more interested in the camera than paying attention to Mommy. The girls are starting to sleep through the night occasionally. When they do sleep through the night, they usually go to bed around 7:00-7:30 and get up around 6:30. So we can't really complain!

They will soon be able to start eating cereal around 6 months. This is a little later than full term babies, but normal for preemies. We have given Laityn a little bit of apple juice before to help with a little constipation and she sucked it down with no funny faces!

Other things they have done this past month:

• Giggling! Laityn loves to giggle, shes the show stealer most of the time
• Kamryn can now roll both ways
• They have found their feet, and like to hold onto them
• They chew on their hands constantly
• Haven't mastered grabbing toys yet, but they are getting better
• When they do grab toys they go straight into their mouths
• Head control is much better, but we are a loooong ways from sitting
• Both love their bouncy seats
• They aren't really fans of pacifiers, but still like to be swaddled
• Laityn: 12lbs 11oz, 24" long
• Kamryn: Not sure on measurments, but still bigger than Laityn :)
• Their hair is growing in more and sticks straight up 
• Still wear size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes

Macyn likes them most of the time. She is sometimes helpful, sometimes not. She always gets mad at the twins for "not putting their toys away." She sometimes carries them around (only if I am RIGHT beside her), and makes them laugh during bath time.

Its hard to believe they are 5 months already. I just love them so much and they are at such a fun age!

Blessed

Don't you just love it when you have one of those moments and say, "Wow, God, you're amazing." As I sit here and type this, I am sitting in awe, trying to wrap my mind around how God puts the right people in your lives when you need it most.

Tuesday was quite the day for us. We had a dermatology appointment for Laityn bright and early at 8:00 to check a hemangioma. Hemangiomas are benign masses that are red and raised. They are very common in girls, twins, and preemies. So needless to say, the twins had a lot of factors going against them. Kamryn has a couple small ones – usually they grow and then start to shrink around 1 year of age. They usually don't treat them since they are merely a cosmetic defect that will correct itself over time. Well, Laityn has a large one on the back of her neck, along with a larger one underneath the skin. We were referred to the dermatologist to make sure everything was okay. I went into this appointment being expected to be told, "you don't need to do anything, it will go down on its own."

So we go into our appointment and were told it is normal, but the location is worrisome. It was about the size of a racquetball and since its on the back of her neck, they were worried about it attaching to the spine. We needed to be referred to the Pediatric Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor. I had a knot in my stomach, because this mass was supposed to be "normal." The ENT was in surgery all morning, so the Dermatologist CALLED him in surgery and discussed Laityn. They were able to squeeze her in – but not until 1:00. This appointment seemed eerily familiar to the appointment we had with Macyn's mass – lots of calling other doctors and consulting outside of our room. We had some down time, so I went and visited a couple of people.

A friend of mine's baby is in the NICU, so I went and visited them for a while. It was an awesome experience and I loved every minute of it. He is a miracle baby and I felt blessed to be able to witness what a miracle he is. After that I met up with my sister and mom (who just happened to be in meetings in Sioux Falls) for lunch. Shorty after that it was time for the next appointment. I still had a knot in my stomach.

We were seen right away and the doctor took a look at Laityn's mass. They also had an assistant in training look at it, and then called in another medical student to look at it as well. Nerve-wracking to have 3 doctors staring at your child and listening to the diagnosis. The diagnosis was good, it hasn't attached to the spine. Since it is in a bad location, they want to treat it with a fairly new treatment – blood pressure medicine. Researchers discovered that this medicine can reduce hemangiomas by accident. Since it is a blood pressure medicine that can cause low blood sugars, they wanted to do an EKG and blood work to make sure she is healthy enough to take it.

We then got sent over to the castle and had the EKG and blood work performed. The EKG came out to be abnormal. I was worried – if they can't treat the mass with medicine, I was worried what other little options there were to treat it. Since the EKG was abnormal, they wanted a heart ultrasound/echo done to see what is going on. Fortunately, they had a cancellation so we were able to be seen yet that afternoon. We went into the room and they started the echo.

About midway through, I happened to look up and saw a painted tile on the ceiling. It said "Elise Faith" along with a psalm. I instantly felt a sense of comfort and calmness. Elise was the daughter of a couple we met through a small group who had passed away due to heart defects. Even though I never had the privilege to meet Elise, she felt like an angel to us that afternoon. I believe it was God's way of letting us know he's still by our sides.

After meeting with a cardiologist it turns out the EKG was not accurate and there are no signs of heart issues with Laityn and we can proceed with her treatments.

So, it was quite the day, but it was a day full of complete blessings and a little bit of healing for myself too. As for visiting my friend in the NICU, she asked if it was hard for me to be back. To answer that, yes, it brings back memories, but it made me feel comfort, knowing that us NICU mommies aren't alone.

I was reminded those feelings of how excited I was to see our babies' eyes, hear their cries, and just stare at awe of them. It was a nice time to reflect, and I would lie and say when the precious baby boy was having a spell I was hard to not have tears in my eyes. Tears of bringing back old memories, and tears of joy because our babies ARE HERE and even though they have spells and oxygen, they are alive and thriving!

It was nice to get out of the business of our lives and focus on what's important and how precious life is. I can't help but look at him and be amazed at what a miracle he is. Then I look at our twins and think the same thing. If I learned one thing about the twins being born early, it was the first time in my life that nothing else was important to me - not bills, work, nothing. The only thing that mattered to me was my girls were here and alive. It was an eye opener, and allowed to to focus on the important things in life, and reflect on how faithful our God is.

As I reflect how I came to know these "friends," I was reminded how they just came into my life recently. The parents of precious Elise I just met for the first time about two months before the twins came into our world. As for the parents of the baby boy in the NICU, I was reminded that I saw them in my doctor's office while I was still pregnant. It just so happened we had an appointment the same day and we were one of the first people to know they were expecting. Little did we know that they would be going through a similiar situation in only a few short months after us. She has told me that she believes that God knew what our future held for us and it wasn't a coincidence that we saw each other that day. 

I fully believe this that God reconnected us and gave us the support of another set of parents who could only understand what we were about ready to go through. I just love it when everything makes sense and how our lives are inter-weaved through friendships, faith, and experiences. He knew what the future was going to hold for us, and he knew we would need each other.

When I sit here and reflect on all of this, I am completely speechless, and in awe of how God has held us in the palm of his hand this whole time. I am so grateful for our connection group and the reconnection of old friends. I have prayed to God a lot, asking him to draw me closer. If this is any indication, I would say through these experiences he has drawn me closer and answered those prayers. 

I will leave here with the lyrics of a beautiful song:

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful of comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp you infinite wisdom
Who can fathom the depth of your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above
 

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you

Amen. You are amazing, God.

First Day of Preschool!

 Macyn was super excited for her first day of preschool. With that being said, once we got there she told me, "I don't want to go to preschool anymore." Needless to say I ended up leaving her there in tears, but she does really enjoy it now!