Sunday, February 24, 2008

Adventure Weekend For Addie and Alex


Here is our friend Tracee holding Addie for the first time. We had lots of visitors this weekend.
Addie and Alex have had a very busy weekend. Daddy came home from a business trip late Friday night. On Saturday, we all went out to dinner with some friends, Tracee, Todd, Allie, and Alicia. Allie and Alicia were students in one of my first grade classes that I taught. It was so much fun to be able to see them! Of course, we went to one of our favorite places, Carlos O'Kellys. While we all enjoyed takling and eating lots of chips and salsa, Addie and Alex slept. Allie and Alicia had fun holding the babies after dinner. They even got to help daddy change diapers. Oh boy! On Sunday, Addie and Alex spent some time at Grandma and Grandpas house while mommy and daddy did some errand running. Then, we went and visited mommy's friend Dana that just had a baby last month. Addie and Alex met their new friend Noah for the first time. He is super cute! On Monday, the twins will get their 2 month shots. Tonight, one of our primary nurses from the NICU is coming to visit Addie and Alex. We are looking forward to seeing her! Nurse Holly can't wait to see the babies as it has been 6 weeks since she last saw them.....



Here is Allie holding little Addie. Tonight was a big night for Allie. When, I was in the hospital Tracee and Allie came to visit. Allie was so sad that she could not see the babies. So, tonight she was even able to hold them. How fun! I will never forget the night that I told Tracee that we were expecting twins. When she told Allie, we about died laughing. Allie said, "mom, do you think that since she is having two that we can have one?"

Allie and Alicia have fun holding the twins!

Alicia enjoyed this moment with Alex as he was finally not so wiggly.
She could not believe how much moving around he did. Alicia did a great job holding such a big boy!

Alex and Addie get ready for their big night out on the town!

It was like pulling teeth to get a good picture of the two of them. When Alex was not falling asleep, Addie was crying. But, here again she is the life of the party, always awake!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

We are 9 Weeks Old!

Can you believe that we are 9 weeks old already? Wow, time does fly...
Well, both Addie and Alex were tested for RSV and thank goodness, both of their tests came back negative. So, we are just fighting the nasty common cold. On Monday, Addie also had lab work done to check how her blood count is doing. The not so good news was that her blood clotted and therefore, they were not able to test it. On Tuesday, mommy and great grandma loaded up the twins and went all the way back to the hospital for more lab work! Boy, it is a chore to get both of them ready to go... I was not leaving the hospital this time until I was sure that her blood sample would work. So, we had time to spare. We went to visit some of mommies nurses during this spare time.
Great news is that Addie's lab work came back much better than in previous weeks. Her red blood count is still on the low side. However, it is increasing, which is a good sign. Our pediatrician does not see a need to retest again unless we have more issues. Our next trip to the doctor is on Monday for a 2 month check-up and shots.
Here are some pictures from this week!

I am sure that I cannot trick you in this photo as Alex is much larger than Addie..
Alex is for sure out of all preemie and most of his newborn clothes. Addie is out of all preemie and into newborn clothes. I cannot believe how much they have grown in just a few days! Any ideas yet as to who they look like? It is so funny as one says that they look like mom and another says that they look like dad....

On Wednesday, mommy found a time and life saver! Both Addie and Alex can
be fed at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no way that I thought that this would work, but I gave it a shot and sure enough, it did! I don't know that I will be able to feed them like this everytime, but we will for sure try. I placed both Addie and Alex sideways in their own boppy pillow and fed them. It worked like a charm!

Who is this???????????? Addie is ready to eat!

Here is Alex looking at himself through the glass on the fireplace.

Uncle Mike has a good time holding Addie and Alex. How did you guess that Addie is the one awake. I am telling you that she is the "life of the party"!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Tuesday Update: Getting BIG

As you can tell, it is getting har do decide which pictures to put on the blog.
There are so many good ones to choose from these days! Over the past few days,
Addie has had a little cold. On Monday, when she woke up from a nap, she was making real raspy noises and was having a hard time breathing. It almost sounded like she was snorting.
Right away, I called the doctor. Well, when one goes, the other goes too. Therefore, we packed up Addie and Alex and headed to the doctor. The doctor says:
1) Addelynn has a bad cold. She is very congested and her nasal cavity is blocked making it hard for her to breathe. Therefore, we are giving her nasal drops on the hour in order to make way for her to breathe.
2) Alexander has the start of a cold. Imagine That!!!
3) After the doctor visit, we headed to the hospital for lab work. The doctor wanted an update on Addelynn's blood count and also wanted both Addie and Alex tested for RSV. If you have not heard, RSV is a horriable virus that is critical to preemies and small infants. We are praying that they both just have colds and not RSV. Please keep your fingers crosse. We should know the results on Tuesday sometime. Going there is always an adventure. The outpatient lab was closed. Therefore, we had to go to addmitting and then to the main lab. At this point, the twins were already 2 hours past their feeding schedule. Oh no! So, daddy warmed the bottles while mommy took both kids to the lab. What a chore! Ha Ha Ha
* After the lab work was completed, we fed both kids at the hospital. Of course, everyone wants to look and see them. I felt so silly as everyone kept saying "Oh, you have two boys". I said, no and explained that both of them were in blue sleepers as they were not expecting going out of the house. But, when the doctor said to bring them in, I did not have time to change their clothes. Whew! Feeing two babies at the hospital can be very time consuming! All said and done, we left home at 2pm and did not get home until after 7pm. WOW!
Ok, for the fun part..... How much do you think that Addelynn and Alexander weigh now? They will be 9 weeks old tomorrow!
Alexander is adding around 2 ounces a day and weighed in at: 9 pounds 2 ounces
Addelynn has added lots of weight since her last visit. She weighed in at: 6 pounds 10 ounces

Are we getting big, or what? On Sunday, Addie and Alex got all dressed up!
The twins have so many nice clothes, but there is no way that they will get to wear all of them!
They are growing so fast! So, we play dress up when mommy and daddy have some extra energy. We never realize how much time and energy it would take to dress them up!

Are we supposed to be on mommy and daddy's bed??????????????

Alex and Addie pose for the picture. Here you can see just how much bigger Alex is.
At times, I was worried that he would topple over on his little sister.




On Sunday we had some visitors. Big Great Cousin Kami was able to see


Alex and Addie for the first time. She even was able to hold little Addlie. How exciting!


Kami is in kindergarten and is proud to have little twins as great cousins...

Daddy enjoys holding Alex and Addie.

What trouble can we get into next? Who do you think that we look like?
Please post your thoughts in the comment section.. It is so much fun to hear what
people think!

Awww. Brother and sister pose for the camera!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Time for Addie and Alex to Hibernate

Happy Saturday! Today, mommy and daddy dressed us up in our new cub outfits!
Thank goodness it is a chilly day as these outfits are really warm... Of course, we could not get our picture taken without Bradyn being involved. Enjoy!


Can you tell who this is?
Addie is wide awake! Is she cute or what?


Here is Bradyn on Watch Dog Duty!!!!!!!!!! Bradyn is very
protective of the twins.

Alex could not even stay awake for the pictures!

Friday, February 15, 2008

From Our Heart To Yours


I am sure that you are getting better at telling who is who... I guess that we can share this time. Alex is on the left and Addie on the right! Thanks to our friend Kimmie in Baltimore for making us such a cute card!

Assortment of February Pictures

Enjoy this picture assortment from February!!!



Here's Addie sitting on the couch like a big girl.

Awwwww. I love my sister!

Big Boy Alex in his new dinosaur outfit!!!!!!!!!!! Am I handsome, or what????

Did I trick you yet? Who is this?

One more try, who is this?

Valentines Day Photos: Alex and Addie's First Valentines Day

Happy First Valentines Day to Addie and Alex!!!!!!!
Valentines Day was very busy for all of us. We had Addie's ultrasound appointment this morning. Then, we stopped by the NICU to visit Joanne. She was our primary nurse when the twins were in the NICU. She was so surprised at how much they have grown in just a few weeks. We hope that you enjoy the pictures below! I did not get a picture of the back of the outfits, but they had little velour wings. They were too cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, they were hard to tell apart at times dressed alike. Can you tell them apart?Please comment in the comment section and let us know who is who..... We will post the answers later on!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck!


Daddy was glad to be in town for the twins first Valentines Day!
Here they are all bundled up ready to go. Obviously, Addie is in the pink and Alex in the blue.
This picture was too easy!

We are too cute! Mommy and Daddy had to be super quick taking this picture.
Addie actually was able to sit up longer than Alex today.

Can you tell here who is who??????????????????

Who is this? In the comment section write "Photo 1" and your guess!

Who is this? In the photo section, write "Photo 2" and your guess.

Lots of Catching Up

Sorry for the delay in the postings! Again, we have found ourselves to be so busy..
Therefore, I will try and take some time and catch everyone up with pictures and updates.
Both Addelynn and Alexander are doing fantastic! This week, they have really become more alert! It is so fun to watch their facial expressions. They are both on a wonderful schedule. We are even starting to get more rest at night, knock on wood! Enjoy!


Here is Alex getting ready to go out to the doctor....

Addie is awake and ready to roll. We took her to the hospital on Valentines Day to have a hip ultrasound. Her ultrasound that she had while in the NICU showed that she needed to be re-evaluated. But, everything looks great now! No more hip ultrasounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on, enough pictures..... I swear going out and about is such a big event. We must have taken 50 pictures before even leaving the house..

Alex is really starting to fill out his carseat.

This morning, I was able to remove one of Addie's blankets used to support her in the carseat. This shows us how much she has grown in just two weeks time. What do you think?

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

7 Weeks Old Today

Can you believe it? Alex and Addie are 7 weeks old today. It is so hard to believe that tomorrow is their original due date. Once tomorrow arrives, Alex will have been home 3 weeks and Addie 2 weeks. It is so hard to believe! Time goes by so fast......
Right now, we are on an every four hour feeding schedule, which is very nice. Once Addie's blood count increases, I htink that they will be able to go longer at night. Right now, there are times that we are having to wake them to eat...

On Wednesday, Alex switched to a big boy bottle.....
Until now, we were still using bottles that he used while in the NICU.
But, when he started sucking so hard that he was flatening the nipple, I knew that it
was time to move forward. We have a few different types of bottles here at home ready to try. However, I am very pleased with how he did with the 4oz. Avent bottle. The other plus is that they are super easy to clean. Way to go Alex! As of right now, he is normally taking 4 ounces every 4 hours. He is also getting better at giving us burps!

Tonight, Addie and Alex were in the pack n play. When mommy and grandma looked in on the twins, here is what we saw. Yes, Addie has a green pacifier, but Alex decided that he wanted some of it too............. The video below is live! How funny.......
I find it so cute that no matter how far apart you lay these two, they find a way to basically be right next to eachother.......


Enjoy this video of Alex and Addie..............................


We are having a great week, but we miss you daddy!!!!!!!!!!

While our daddy has been gone, mommy and grandma have been manning the fort!
During the day, Addie and Alex sleep, eat, and sleep some more!!!!!! But, we always have time for pictures.


Alex and Addie share the boppy. Mommy has found that they can sit in the boppy while the other is eating. She can't wait til they can both be fed at the same time using the boppy, but we are waiting on Addie's blood count to increase!

Is this a cute picture, or what????????????

Addie enjoys the swing. Today, she fell asleep in the swing.

Mr. Personality himself. He loves to sit in the boppy pillow and just look around....

Twins together!

Goodbye Daddy!!!!!!!!!


Well, daddy hit the road this week for work! It is his first time away since both babies have been home. On Monday, before he left, we had time to take a few pictures............ It has to be hard with him being away, however mommy is doing her best to keep the blog updated. Thanks to grandma for helping mommy in the evenings and overnight............


Daddy misses the twins already!

Daddy kisses Addie.......

Daddy kisses Alex.........

Playing Catch Up: Sorry for the Delay

Here are some pictures from the weekend...
I hope that you all enjoy! We had a pretty good weekend.
Obviously, we did not do much besides take care of the babies, but it was nice to just stay at home.... On Super Bowl Sunday, Addie and Alex had their first bath since they have been home. Since it is so hard for preemies to maintain their body temperature, we did not venture out and try this until then. Yes, don't worry they still got cleaned everyday just not in the bathtub. Stay tuned for more updates!

Alex loves the bath..... He was so relaxed that he almost fell asleep!

Like we have said before, Addie is the life of the party! She does not go to sleep for anything! She especially liked the sprayer on the bathtub.

We have been trying to let Addie and Alex have a few hours a day in the same area.
This weekend, they spent lots of time together in their pack-n-play. No matter how far apart you put them in the crib, they will find a way to get as close as possible!

Addie and Alex fall asleep next to eachother...... How cute!