We're stylin

So have you wondered what we've been up to lately?

Let me catch you up.

We celebrated two very important birthdays in March and yes, I made the cakes but I am no Lou Lou. March 14th, Sean turned 9 and March 16th Natalie turned 13. They are growing like weeds. Natalie tried out for Jr. High Cheerleading this past Friday and made it. She is so excited that I don't know how to explain it.

Sean and Natalie and a few of their friends all went bowling for their birthday and back to our house for pizza and cake.


Sean is getting ready to start baseball. He just finished playing basketball for the Jr. Jazz and I have to tell you I was so impressed with how much he improved over the season. This was his first time to play organized basketball and he did great. I still think his true sport is going to be football but he needs to stay busy when he's not in football season.







We had our 10 month check up and Austin weighed 17.1 and Colby weighed 15.3. They are still maintaining the 2 pound difference. We hope the boys got their last RSV synagis shot at that appointment. RSV season is still open but normally it closes in April. Our Dr. went ahead and scheduled one more round of shots but we hope to cancel that appointment. Thank God that we made it through the winter without either boy being sick. I knew we had to be very cautious and I am so ready to get out of the house with the boys but I also know how important it was to protect them this year. I just wonder if I'll ever stop using hand sanitizer and constantly looking around to see if anyone is coughing or sneezing.


They are getting so big and Colby is all over the place. He is also learning to pull up on things. He can get to his knees and get one foot under him but he hasn't figured out how to stand yet. In fact he scared Heather one day last week when she went to get him after his nap he had pulled himself up and since the mattress was still raised he could have very easily fallen out on his head. So Pat and Sean lowered his bed that night. Austin is totally content going backwards. He gets up on his hands and knees but pushes backwards instead on going forward. He can get anywhere he wants to he just has his own way of doing it.


We finally did it.......their first haircut

I finally gave in and let Pat give the boys their first haircut. Colby went first and he did great. He thought it was kind of neat and he even laughed a little during the process. Austin on the other hand had a true melt down. He was crying as soon as Pat turned the clippers on. We did video all of it so one day he'll look back and laugh. I have two zip lock bags full of hair and some of Austin's is still in curls. Cutting their hair should made them grow up quick. They no longer look like my little babies but big boys.



As you can see by these snap shots Colby was a very good boy.

Here is my very sad, scared Austin. He wanted nothing to do with getting rid of his curls. We don't have many photos of his hair cut because I ended up having to try and calm him down so Pat could finish.






Austin was much better and was all smiles after he had some cuddle and play time with Mom. He even seemed to like looking at himself in the mirror after he had a shower and was relaxed.

We also recently had family in visiting from Arkansas. My twin sister, Aunt Anna, Uncle Nate, cousins Matthew and Lauren. We had a great time skiing and the boys loved Matthew and Lauren.

Lauren in the middle was very good with the boys. She would dance for them and sing them songs and was very concerned if they started to cry. She would tell me "your baby needs you".

I'll try and send another update soon.
Alexa

Happy St Patrick's Day

Kiss us we're Irish!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy St Patrick's Day from two very Irish boys.

Don't forget to wear green or we'll pinch you if we see you and we've gotten good at that just ask Mommy.

Mommy says she'll send another blog later once we are off the computer

Much love to all,

Austin and Colby

PS don't tell Mommy but we think we heard her and Daddy talking about cutting our hair today.....yikes.

9 months old and growing

Well it continues to snow here in Utah and we expect even more this week. The boys are doing great. Austin now has two bottom teeth that have broken the skin. He is doing really well with them and never got really fussy. Knock on wood. Colby doesn't have any teeth yet but with all the drool and mouthing I think it's only a matter of time.

We had our early intervention visit last week. She had a little more personality than last time but not a lot more. Austin had a break down when she touched him. I felt so sorry for him. He just kept crying until I picked him up and then he kept looking over his shoulder to see if she was still here. His evaluation was good overall. He is doing everything he should be doing. We have to work on sitting which he can do for a few seconds but he prefers to stand. He stiffens his body like a pencil so we can't put him in the sitting position and then he just smiles at us with the look of "now what are you going to do".

Here is Austin with all his curls. He gets them from his Daddy in case you are wondering. Pat wants to cut their hair so bad but I won't let him until they turn one.

We had our 9 month old doctor appointment. Dr. Cox is very pleased with how they are doing and he said just to remember they should only be 6 months old not 9. Austin weighed 16.3 pounds and is 28 inches long. Colby weighed 14.10 pounds and is 26 inches long. They are not on the chart yet for 9 month old but when you do age correction they are in the 4th and 2nd percentile for weight. The funny part is their head measurements have them in the 5oth and 60th percentile.

They both got their RSV synagis shot and they will for sure get one next month. We don't know if they will get one in April or not. It depends if RSV season has been declared closed. Austin's weight was at the limit that he had to get two injections which he was not happy about. Colby will have to get two injections next month.

Dr. Cox thought both boys, but especially Austin is very stiff in his legs, hips, ankles and knees so he wants both boys in physical therapy. We hope we can find one to come to the house to work with them so we don't have to take them out every week.

They are loving their baby food and in fact we can move to stage 2 foods. They are always reaching and grabbing for our food when we eat. Both boys are starting to sit up on their own. They haven't figured out how to catch themselves when they start to fall over. Colby is the one we have to keep an eye on. He rolls all over the place and very quickly too. In fact I caught him one day rolling towards the stairs. Guess it's time for the baby gate.

It's so hard for me to believe they are almost one year old. Where has the time gone. Hope you are all doing well and look forward to seeing some of you this summer either in Texas or Arkansas.
Well I have two boys to feed and get ready for bed. They sure are trying to sleep through the night but right now one of them is awake around 3;30-4:00 and when I get him back to sleep the other one is awake around 5:30, so it makes for a very long day.

Alexa

Happy Valentine's Day

Won't you be our Valentine?

Ok well you can't be their Valentine because I am hogging them all for myself. Our boys are enjoying their first Valentine's day as you can tell. They are doing so well and in fact Austin has his first tooth that just barely broke the skin. He's not fussy and seems to feel fine. He's just so darn cute and I know once I see a small little tooth when he smiles he'll just melt my heart even more. I could just eat both of them up especially in the morning when I go in to get them and they are both so happy and smiling. I just thank God everyday that he gave me two special little boys and that he has continued to take care of them.

Colby is now my roller. He is rolling all over the place and gets very upset when he ends up next to something like the couch or entertainment center that won't allow him to keep rolling. He doesn't realize if he rolls back the other way he then has plenty of room to keep rolling. He has become very fond of sleeping on his tummy at night which makes me very nervous. It doesn't matter how many times I roll him over during the night he still flips back to his tummy. Guess he gets that from me. Austin is not much of a roller but he loves to stand. All we have to do is hold him under his arms and he stands for a long time just looking around and watching whatever is going on.

Here are Austin (left) and Colby (right) enjoying their balloon. As you can see they still have their wild hair. Pat keeps trying to cut it but I won't let him until they turn one.

The boys are really hoping Daddy buys Mommy a big box of chocolate so they can have some in their milk. They don't want to be left out.

We wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day and we hope you take the time to let those you love know it.

Alexa (and Pat and boys)

We are 8 months old

It's play time and dinner time

Our boys turned 8 months old on the 21st. How time has flown. They currently weigh 15.12 for Austin and 13.11 for Colby. They are still maintaining a 2 pound difference which is so weird since there was only a 8 ounce difference when they were born. We took the boys for their 2nd flu shot this month and also their monthly RSV synagis. They weren't wild about the shots as usual but they did well after a little cuddling. We also took Austin for his neuro check up this month at Primary Children's Hospital. The doctor said his growth is normal and everything looks good. We'll go back in May or June and as long as everything still looks good and there is not major growth at that time we'll discuss removing the reservoir sometime this summer.

Here is Austin in his big boy chair getting ready for dinner. We have started introducing the boys to rice cereal. Colby is figuring it out pretty well but Austin doesn't seem to know what to do with his little lizard tongue so he sticks it out.....with all the food. Our Dr. said he might not do as well with food initially because of his severe reflux and a fear of having stuff in his mouth. We just keep practicing with him every day and we know one day he'll catch on. For now he is still nursing and on bottles (still my milk) and he eats about 6 oz each time. Colby is also starting to eat a lot more. So for those that used to laugh at my dairy farm in the freezer we are hitting it hard now. I am still nursing and pumping but thank goodness we have the storage to help out because we have two boys who like to eat.

Colby with his new style of hat. Something has to cover that wild hair of his.


We've also had our home early intervention visit this month and we actually have new people because since we moved we are now in a new school district. We weren't impressed with the first visit at all. Colby does not qualify for the program but Debbie use to evaluate him as well when she would evaluate Austin. Well our new person didn't even act like Colby was in the room. I talked to her and asked her to evaluate him as well and she said no because he was not in the program. She barely even talked to Austin and she was supposed to be playing and interacting with him and evaluating him in the process. They even tried to talk me into taking him out of the early intervention program. I made it very clear to them that he qualified for the program for one year,we pay for it ourselves and I expect them at least once a month for that year. I may see if we can get another person who wants to do their job.

Here is Colby in his big boy chair getting ready to eat. He is such a good boy even though he tends to get it all over himself. He loves to try and help hold the spoon or bowl.

We are all doing well. I've been sick for the past 4 days but I am on meds that seem to be working. Dr. Cox our pediatrician said that RSV is really bad this year. He said there are more cases this year than last year and they seem to be worse so we are just thankful once again that the boys get their monthly shot and we can't wait for spring so they can leave the house for more than a trip to the doctor.


The boys got an exersaucer for Christmas from Grandpa (John) and they love it. As you can see they are all smiles when they are playing. Austin tends to get frustrated when he can't get the toys in his mouth. He pulls and pulls on them and leans as far as he can but he just can't seem to make it happen.


Pat is staying busy with real estate and Sean has started playing basketball for the Jr. Jazz. He is doing great and really seems to enjoy it.

Natalie is still very involved in dance and she also tried out at the local theater for a part in the upcoming play. She was one of 250 that tried out but she did not get a call back. We were very proud of her for even wanting to try out.

We continue to unpack our boxes and get settled into our new home. One day I'll get a chance to take photos of the new house for everyone to see. I just don't seem to have all the free time anymore......wonder why?

Natalie and Austin are having playtime and both boys love their big sister, Natalie. She is so good with them. If only I could convince her to change diapers. I'm still working on that one....it might involve more allowance.

We hope you are doing well and that 2007 is being good to you.

Alexa

Happy 2007

We wish you all the best in 2007

We all sure had a wonderful Christmas. We picked up Grandpa Gregson on Christmas afternoon from the airport and we picked up Natalie and Sean on the 26th at 1:00. Lyndsey did not come.

We opened gifts that afternoon and the boys did pretty well for about 15-20 minutes then they got a bit overwhelmed. All their gifts were great. They got outfits that they needed, books, toys, an exersaucer and a johnny jumper thing but it doesn't go in the door frame it has a stand alone frame. They also each got a bumbo chair which is great and allows them to sit up on their own.

Natalie and Sean got awesome gifts and they were so appreciative of everything they got. They are such sweet kids. Natalie got a cell phone and I swear I think she sleeps with it. Sean got a new football playstation game that he has been playing non-stop. They also got money and gift cards to do a little shopping of their own. Pat and I will have to flip a coin to see who goes shopping and who babysits. Bet I win the shopping trip.

All I asked Santa for was a "Silent Night" and believe it or not the boys gave it to me. They went down about 9:30pm on Christmas Eve and slept until 6:00 on Christmas Day. I was so grateful and shocked and of course the first thing I did was to go make sure they were both breathing. I thanked them many times and told them they can do that any time they want.

Most of our snow has melted but we did get a little bit last night. I know the mountains got quite a bit since we got mostly rain. I am taking leave (Army vacation) this week so spend with the kids and my dad.

Pat got me a new laptop that I can use in the house since our office in our new house is outside in the garage. The previous owner had his home office set up and so we just decided to do the same. I'll try and take some photos of the new house soon and post them for you to see.

Well the kids go back to school Tuesday and I go back to work on Wednesday. Where has the time gone? Colby and Austin are off to the Doctor on the 2nd for the 2nd flu shot and their RSV shot as well. They both currently have stuffy noses, coughs and sneezes that I hope Dr. Cox will tell me is no big deal.

Austin managed to get one of the presents which turned out to actually be his from Lou Lou and Mikey so we opened it and it was one of his first Christmas ornaments.

I hope you've enjoyed our holiday photos. I have a lot more but I will just send them out via email as I have two sleepy boys I need to get in their PJs and to bed.

We wish each of you health and happiness in 2007 and we hope we have a less exciting year than 2006.

Blessings

Alexa

Merry Christmas

We are Santa's Lil Helpers

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We are so excited for the boys first Christmas. Yes, they do have Christmas outfits for tonight Christmas Eve and another one for Christmas Day.

Let me catch you up on what has been going on in Utah since Thanksgiving. First of all we had a wonderful Thanksgiving as you probably read in the previous post. The boys went for their first neonatal follow up this month.

Austin was doing great. He weighed in at 14 and a half pounds. He's getting so big. They were very pleased with him. The neonatal follow up is a round robin of doctors. We saw physical therapy, dietician, opthamology, neurology and a neonatal specialist. The opthamologist wants to watch Austin a little more closely than Colby just because there is no way to know how or if his brain bleed will affect his vision in any way. They dilated his eyes and said his optic nerve looked great. They will check his eyes again in like 3 months. Physical therapy was very pleased with his motor skills and said he right in line for a 4-5 month old which is his age corrected. He just needs more tummy time to work on his neck muscles. They said we could start rice cereal so we tried some yesterday and Austin loved it. So he'll get it once a day for a week to make sure he tolerates it ok. Then we can move to baby food. He's growing too fast for me.

Colby also got a good report from his neonatal follow up. He weighed 12 and a half pounds. There is still a solid 2 pound difference. Colby has found his personality and he loves to talk now or should I say squeal. His big thing to work on is straightening his legs because he likes to keep them curled up and to work on bending his ankles and applying light pressure to the bottom of his feet. He doesn't like things touching the bottom of his feet therefore when we stand him up he doesn't want to put his feet flat down and apply pressure. He is doing great with his tummy time and he can roll from his back to his tummy. We are still working on tummy to back. He also got to try rice cereal yesterday and liked it too so we'll continue feeding him once a day.

Colby went to see the plastic surgeon last week about the shape of his head. He has favored his right side since he was born so now the has a flat spot on the back of his head and the right side of his forehead sticks out just a little. We've been keeping him on his left side for the past 2 months and we can see a difference. The Dr. said he won't do anything (helmet) prior to 6 months age corrected. So he told us to keep doing what we are and he'll re-evaluate in Feb. when Colby will be 6 months age corrected.

They are both sleeping pretty well at night. They usually eat around 8:00-9:00 and go to sleep until around 5:00. Every once in a awhile one will wake up around 2:00 but not very often thank goodness.

Natalie and Sean are doing great. Natalie has her orchestra performance a week ago and she played very well. She is growing into a beautiful young lady. She is still taking ballet and tap and we saw her ballet recital and she's great. She is also still taking piano lessons and still manages make to make excellent grades. Sean or should I say lil Pat loves the 3rd grade and is doing great. He has become quite the reader and every time I turn around he's telling me about a book he's reading....Luckily it's not always the same one. He is getting ready to start basketball in January so we'll have more photos of him soon.

Pat is doing great with his real estate. He stays very busy but it's nice to know he's coming home every night unlike his last assignment in the Army when he was gone so much. The boys get so excited when they see him walk in at night. He is their nightly entertainment.

I closed out my semester at school and commissioned two new Lieutenants into the Army. I am loving being able to still teach and mentor future Army officers and still be able to enjoy motherhood. I'm not saying it's easy and I have no free time for myself but it's all worth it.

We bought a new house in North Salt (closer to the kids) and we love it. We have been moving it over the past couple of weeks and we think we are almost done. I'm not saying everything is put away but we have a place to eat and sleep. We did put up a Christmas tree and have decorated some. The kids love the new house and are so excited we live so close. We live about 1.1 miles from their mom. I know that should make things interesting. Moving here will help us be able to support the kids more and not have to do so much driving all the time. As our boys get older and get involved in activities (sports) that will make it easier to support all the kids.

We had lots of snow and I've actually made it skiing a couple of times. We have great babysitters who have been willing to watch the boys so I could go with Pat, Natalie and Sean. We aren't taking the boys out much due to RSV and flu season and we have to be very careful who comes to our house. Everyone has to be healthy.

They boys got their December RSV and Flu shot and Jan.2nd we go back for another round of shots. I'm still so thankful they qualified for the RSV. One little girl at the neonatal follow up was getting the RSVshot but had already gotten RSV and was in the hospital for awhile. We just don't want that to happen to us.

Heather has gone home for the holidays and we'll miss her so much but I know she misses her family in New York as well. She got the boys a new bumbo chair and the love it. It helps teach them to sit up and gives them the support they need to do so. We'll be sure to show you pictures when we take them.

Well I have two babies to get ready for the day. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we hope you take the time to reflect back over all your blessings from 2006. We have so much to be grateful for and we thank each and every one of you for your support, thoughts and prayers during 2006.

Blessings,
Alexa (and family)