Jacob Sitting

Upcoming appointments!

We have a lot going on in the next few weeks.

On Monday the boys have RSV shots. On Thursday I have an eye appointment and Ella has her first dentist appointment. Then on Saturday (the 9th) we are having family pics done. I am really excited! Eric and I are going shopping this Saturday (the 2nd) so I can get some outfits for the kids.

From the 11th to the 15th Ella is spending the week with her Grama Anne and Grampa Brent. She is pretty excited. I have an appointment with my endocrinologist on the 13th to see if my thyroid levels are back to normal. I hope so.

Ella's birthday and other news

Ella's birthday party was on Saturday and it was a succeess. It was a small party but lots of fun. Ella's friends Ethan and Jocelyn were there to help her get the candy out of the pinata. We had a "Cars" movie theme - hand picked by Miss E herself. Ella got lots of great gifts and the proof is scattered all over the house. ;)

Jacob's 2nd physical therapy appointment was this morning. Eric ended up taking him because the roads/visibility wasn't too hot and I'm not super confident in my driving lately since I only do it once ever few weeks or so. Jacob is doing well at the appointments and according to Eric is a charmer - but, we already knew that!

In other exciting news - Jacob can sit up by himself for several minutes! Very exciting.

Boden is getting better at sitting up as well. He still isn't too crazy about tummy time. Jacob, on the other hand, immediately rolls onto his tummy when placed on his back.

Jacob - physical therapy

I just set J's first physical therapy appointment - tomorrow at 8 am. Since he has a flat spot and tends to hold his head a certain way, we are going to get him some therapy to make sure he doesn't develop torticollis. He'll be getting the PT in Vermillion at the hospital. They are really nice there - I had PT there when I was pregnant with Ella and had sciatica really bad.

Eric is going to take him since he doesn't get to go to many appointments. Wish them luck!

My Twin Brothers Rock

I have looked for quite awhile for this particular paper - the brown 'kraft' paper that is the background for this layout. When I did paper scrapbooking I used it all the time. I found it today and I was pretty excited! It doesn't take much to make me happy these days. :)

This is Ella wearing her "My Twin Brothers Rock" t-shirt.



Supplies:

*Staples, kraft paper, frame: "I Love You" kit by Nathy Geuens
*Patterned papers, jelly, ribbons, tab: "Upbeat" kit by Jeni Cantrill

6-month appointment

Well, Jacob and Boden had their 6-month appointments on Friday. Sara was super awesome and took work off and came with for help. The boys got 4 shots each so it is always really helpful to have someone there for help for those appointments. Judy had Ella overnight Friday night.

The boys are doing great. Jacob is 18 pounds, 6 ounces. He is in the 75th percentile for weight! Holy moly. Boden is 16 pounds 2 ounces, and is in the 45th percentile for weight. Both of them are doing so well.

Not much new to report on them - they are pretty much doing everything any other 6 month old would do. Although they aren't really sitting up or reaching out and grabbing things yet, we need to be patient and remember that their adjusted age is only 4 months.

Jacob has a bit of a sideways hold to his head so we are going to start some physical therapy with that so make sure it doens't progress into torticollis.

First Glance

To commemorate the boys' turning 6 months today, I squeezed in time to do a layout of the day they were born. I don't have any good pics of Boden but I have a few of Jacob. These pics were taken by Eric as they let me touch and smooch Jacob before they took him to the NICU.

Paper by Andrea Designs; Both frames by Katie Pertiet, Heart brush by Mikkel Paige

The Amazing Digi Scrapping Race

I am so excited - my friend Jenny and I are teaming up for the 3rd season of the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race. It's a takeoff of the reality show on TV. In this case, teams of 2 go around the internet to specified digital scrapbooking sites. At each site we are given a challenge for a scrapbook layout. We have to follow all the rules and post the layouts. Each team that completes all the layouts and follows all rules is entered into a contest to win a big fat prize. Along the way all participants also get lots of great stuff - free kits, coupons for digital stuff, that kind of thing.

It doesn't start for another month but we are signing up in a week. I am so excited.

I'll be sharing all my layouts for the race here. Be on the lookout for some interesting stuff!

Our twinks are 6 months!

Happy 6 months, Jacob and Boden! Time really flies - it seems like they have only been home a little while. :)

A few Christmas layouts

I have done just a few Christmas layouts so far. I still need to finish from last year too! I had help from some quick pages and templates.

This first one is a favorite. I took this pic of Ella on Christmas Eve. I love this template by Gina Marie, I will be using it a lot. Also used are papers and alpha by MGL Scraps for the Whimsical Wonderland collabo.



This layout is a fun one - I took some pics of Jacob in the Christmas lights. Template by J. Sprague, papers from the Mint Mojito kit by Suzanne Walker.


This layout is of Boden, taken in November I think. Quickpage is from Weeds & Wildflowers.

Summer Beauty

This layout has my favorite picture of Ella from the summer. I took it at Lake Lakota in August.

I did this layout for a challenge at O Scraps. We had to use everything from a freebie kit by Paint tge Moon Designs by Annie Manning - "Nature's Glow" kit. The kit is different than what I usually use but it was a fun challenge. Not only did we have to use everything from the kit, but we were to scrap our favorite photo from 2007 and use it more than once on the layout, with different effects on the photo. There were so many favorite pictures from 2007, it was hard to choose. This photo is certainly up there. :)

I also used Sweet Genevieve's Tea Stained Alpha and a frame by Katie Pertiet on this.

Our little bookworm

Ella is such a book hound, has been pretty much since birth. Although sometimes she would rather be running around like a crazy person, she can still sit quietly for quite awhile and read by herself. And if we forget books at bedtime, forget it! Big trouble. I did this layout to remember some of the books she is obsessed with right now. She is read these books so often that if we try to skip a line, we get yelled at. :) She can also finish most of the lines in these books for us or even 'read' a page herself from memory.

Some remodel pics

This pic was taken while Eric was laying carpet in the playroom on Sunday.

These are of the bathroom. It's about 90% done. We just need the plumber and electrician to come in. Eric isn't 'allowed' to do his own electrical work anymore. :)

Remodeling!

Eric and I have been remodeling/building something in our house pretty much since we moved in. We have gone from project to project. Last year at this time we were just finishing up remodeling our kitchen. Now we are finishing with part of the basement - a 2nd bathroom and playroom. We spent our weekend doing that fun stuff. Eric tiled the bathroom and I painted the playroom. Yesterday while the kids napped we tiled the hallway from the bathroom to the stairs. Now we need to grout. Then I will paint and hang pics on the wall. We also have trim left to do but we are both at the point where we could care less about that!

Yesterday we also moved Ella's toys into the playroom!! Yay! That was a big job and it isn't organized like I would like it, but we need some shelving first. I guess that is next on the list.

When a fridge goes nuts

We recently had our fridge go a little nuts. Not fun.

Wednesday we took off for Sioux Falls for J's & B's NICU follow-up appointments. Ella went to daycare. When we got home at about 4:30 or so, our freezer and fridge were warm. Lovely.

We saved what we could. Chucked a ton of food. Not cool. Thankfully that night and next day were chilly enough to keep the food we saved in the garage and breezeway. Eric told me we now had a walk in fridge. Ha. Ha.

The next day a repairman came out to check out the problem. Good thing it was only a bum relay switch, or we would have either been without a fridge until new parts came, or had to buy a new fridge. Yikes.

The good thing to come out of it was that we cleaned our fridge and freezer out really well. No more ancient soy sauce!

January 13, 2008

So, a little update on the boys.

On November 26th Boden had an echocardiogram to check on the VSD he had (small hole between the lower chambers of his heart). That has closed up, so, huge relief there.

The boys have been getting RSV shots every 4 weeks. I really hope they work and Jacob and Boden don't come down with it. For preemies it is a pretty big deal. Ella had RSV twice and we were lucky - she was never sick enough to land in the hospital. So, having the extra protection of the RSV shots is good for piece of mind at least.

On January 4th Jacob had a BAER hearing test. He had not passed his hearing tests in the NICU for his right ear and this test is more thorough than the ones they do in the NICU. He had to be sedated for the BAER but took it like a champ. He has passed both ears now and we are really happy about that.

On January 9th the boys had a NICU follow-up appointment with Dr. Khan, one of their neonatologists (he is the doc that was there when they were born). They are looking really good - Jacob is 18 pounds and Boden is 16 pounds. He told us that we can now start using regular formula instead of the preemie stuff - he said if we continue with the preemie stuff the boys will end up obese! The main thing he stressed for us is to remember that the boys were 8 weeks early, and we need to go by their adjusted age rather than actual age, when it comes to milestones and development. He stressed that we not compare them to other babies their age. Right now they are almost 6 months old but their adjusted age is only 4 months.

They have their 6 month appointment with Dr. Olson on Friday and they get another round of shots. Not my favorite appointment - it is hard to comfort one baby and help hold another baby getting shots. Eric has to work so I go it alone.

Both boys are such good sleepers, we got so lucky. They have been sleeping through the night since they were 3 months.

Eric took this pic of them in the tub the other night. They love baths! Boden is on the left and Jacob is on the right. They are looking more and more identical every day.

January 13, 2008

This layout has some of my fav pics of Ella. They were taken last year - in October of 2006. Looking at them makes me realize how quickly she is growing up and losing those sweet chubby cheeks. She is really turning into a little girl instead of my little baby. Makes me sad but still excited to see what she will be like in the coming years.

The paper is by TaylorMade Designs - from her Plain Jane kit. The template is by Vintagecharm - Design Blueprint 5. The font used for journaling is "Vaguely Repulsive."

January 12, 2008

Well, I'm going to try to add a few layouts and see what happens. Since I'm still pretty new to blogging this may take awhile!


Before I forget, my header was made using the Songbird Kit by Jan Crowley (paper, flowers and "Wild" word art) and the White Foam Alpha by Becki Kress. :)


This layout was done for the Jan Crowley "Queen of Quirk" Designer Challenge at my fav scrapping place - O Scraps. :) The challenge was to scrap your '08 resolution or goal. All elements used on this layout are from Jan Crowley's Songbird kit, except for the white scalloped frame which is from Katie Pertiet.

My new obsession

In October I started scrapbooking digitally, and I can't stop! I'm officially addicted. I have found it so much easier do scrap this way - no mess, lower cost, and my creativity has gone through the roof. Don't like the color of a paper? Change it! Want that pic bigger and black & white? Change it! So easy.

Coming back!

Well, I realize it has been a year since I actually posted. Very sad. Lots has happened, namely, two very special additions to our family. I had Jacob and Boden, our identical twin boys, on July 16, 2007. We went through a lot to get them here - they were surprise babies and even more surprising was the fact that we were having twins. Then we found out they were suffering from TTTS. Then I had surgery in-utero in April to attempt to 'cure' them of their TTTS. This left them in the same amniotic sac so on May 21st I was admitted to the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy. We knew the boys would be delivered early, and sure enough, my c-section was scheduled for July 16th - the boys were 31 weeks 6 days. They spent about 6 weeks in the NICU before coming home.

Life at home with a (nearly) 3 year old and 6 month old twins is hectic but a lot of fun!