Changes

Andrew

Aaron

One of the reasons I haven't added to our blog for almost four weeks is because I don't know where to begin. I have loved every age so far, but right now is my favorite!  (And I'm sure each one will continue to be my favorite) Each day they are learning  SO much as they explore and try new things.  It's hard for me to believe Aaron and Andrew are more than 9 months already! I can't put into words how much I love them and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful babies.  And I'm not just saying that because I'm their mother- they truly are such good babies. Very seldom are they fussy or cranky.  Andrew and Aaron are both our little miracles.

In the last 4 weeks they have changed SO much that they're almost different babies!  Here are a few things:

• Teeth- In the last week Aaron's two top teeth came in and his increased mood and decreased eating let us know they were coming.  Andrew's two top teeth are on their way out.
• Exploring- They are curious about EVERYthing.  A few days ago Aaron was on our bedroom floor while I was getting ready (Andrew was still in bed) and within about 10 minutes he'd pulled on the curtain, flipped the door stopper back and forth, and flip the handles up and down, and played with all the toys I'd put on the floor for him.  Andrew is doing the same thing.
• Crawling- Not quite, but almost.  They both do the army, or commando, crawl.  They both get up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth.  Very soon they'll be crawling.
• Dropping- In the last couple of weeks Aaron learned that if he lets go of something in his hand it'll drop.  He'll drop his binki, toys, Puffs (bite size flavored food), and anything in his hands OVER and OVER again as he watches them drop.
• Bullies- Their favorite toy is the whatever the other baby currently has.  Andrew (and sometimes Aaron) will do whatever it takes to get Aaron's toy.  But Aaron is learning- the other day, after Andrew repeatedly tried to grab his toy, he switched it to the other hand, dropped it out of Andrew's view and played with something else.  Andrew left him alone.  I've even seen Aaron push Andrew away.  This morning, Andrew snuck up on Aaron and grabbed a toy out of his hand while he was distracted with something else in his other hand.  Then, when Aaron rolled over, Andrew took his other toy!  You'd better watch out for Andrew!
• Physical therapy- Since November we've taken Andrew to physical therapy because of his weak stomach muscles due to his surgery shortly back in June.  His motor skills have accelerated now to catch up with, and maybe even surpass, Aaron's.  Since starting therapy he's learned to roll over, sit down, reach for things more, and army crawl.
• Separation Anxiety- Just in the last week  they have started crying when someone else holds them. It doesn't happen all the time, and it's usually Aaron that cries. They're turning into Mama's boys!
• Babbling- They love to try different sounds with their voice.
• Head shaking and hand eating- I promise I didn't teach Aaron to go around shaking his head!  But he seems to enjoy doing it.  Andrew has always loved putting his hands in his mouth but lately it appears to bring him a lot of satisfaction. When he's excited, happy, and when he's eating (makes eating time VERY messy).
• Hello!- Both Aaron and Andrew love it when we wave their arm and say, "Hello (or goodbye).  But Aaron will now wave on his own- just one little wave but it's SO cute.

Giggle Fest 1

We have some of the happiest babies and we have the video to prove it.

Thanksgiving to New Year's in a Nutshell

There have been several posts I wanted to add since Thanksgiving but never got around to it. Let's just say it has been a wonderful holiday season!  It makes such a difference to be parents and enjoy Christmas with two beautiful babies. The year 2008 has been one we'll never forget as we have witnessed blessing after blessing and the miracle of Andrew and Aaron in our lives.  We look forward to 2009 and watching as Aaron and Andrew make new discoveries.   Here are a few things from the last month:

FIRST SWIM

Thanksgiving morning at our hotel in Payson, UT with cousin Lexi. They LOVED swimming in the pool.  We'd forgotten their swim suits so regular diapers and sweat bottoms had to suffice.

FIRST THANKSGIVING

We spent Turkey Day in Santaquin, UT at my brother, Steven's house. There were 13 kids ages 8 months to 9 years old (10 of them were boys).  It was crazy, loud, and lots of fun.

TEMPLE LIGHTING IN ST. GEORGE

Steve with my dad and Andrew (L) and Aaron (R) the day after Thanksgiving

ANDREW STARTS PHYSICAL THERAPY

The week after Thanksgiving Andrew began physical therapy once a week.  Until a couple of weeks ago Andrew wasn't even rolling over, he HATED being on his stomach and whenever they would sit in Bumbo seats Andrew would tilt to one side and try desperately to get out.  This was because his stomach muscles are weakened due to the kidney surgeries he had last June and July. Within a week of starting therapy he began rolling ALL over and he's getting closer to sitting on his own.  The plan is to continue therapy until he's walking.

TWO HIGH CHAIRS- FINALLY!

Until a couple of weeks ago we would feed one in the high chair (the only one we had) and the other would sit in the swing.  They have officially graduated from the swing and moved on to an Exersaucer and a jumper.

AARON SITS UP!

A week or two before Christmas Aaron began sitting on his own- long enough to take a picture. He's now sitting for longer and longer before falling over.

AARON NOW READS

Aaron is a very fast learner.  At this rate he'll be reading college textbooks he's age 5.

FIRST CHRISTMAS

This was the best Christmas yet!  Very different than last year when we thought Andrew wasn't going to live.  Not a day goes by that we aren't grateful he (& Aaron, or course) is so healthy and happy- and SUCH a good baby.  Even though they were more interested in boxes and wrapping paper- and cared more about bottles & naps- we had a good time playing with them and their toys.  We took the tree and all the decorations down on New Year's Day and said good by to another-WONDERFUL- year.  The boys loved laying under the Christmas tree and playing with the branches and admiring the lights.  I'm sure next year's tree will be set up a little different- no ornaments on the bottom 1/4 and no presents until Christmas Day (that won't much different than this year now that I think about it).

ANDREW'S FIRST TEETH

The Sunday before Christmas Andrew's two bottom teeth decided to come out of hiding but are not yet visible on camera. Aaron's two bottom teeth are getting longer and his two top ones look like they'll be showing  themselves any day.

Happy 2009 to all of you!!  I can't believe 2008 is already gone. It flew by but will have so many unforgettable memories for us.  I rang in the new year while feeding a baby (Andrew) that thought it would be nice to wake up shortly before midnight and have some fun rolling all over his crib, "talking" to nobody and doing anything but sleeping.

Snow Day in Vegas??

When I heard school was cancelled today in Clark County I couldn't help but laugh.  Sure, there was a lot of accidents last night because of the slippery road. That's because most people here have never lived in snow and don't know how to drive on it (not that I'd want to drive in it on a regular basis).  I grew up in California so I'm not a native of a snowy place but I have lived in northern Utah and taught school there.  They would be laughing if they learned school was cancelled and we had no snow on the ground.  It had to be the worst of storms, like a blizzard, until school would be cancelled.  One thing I heard today, though, was teachers still had to go to school.  Even though I'm not currently a teacher I have to speak in defense of them.  This snow day will have to be made up eventually- by kids AND teachers, but teachers don't get a day off today like the students.  Teachers truly don't get paid enough.... they'd probably be working today even if they did get the day off .

I still can't believe it.... SNOW DAY in Las VEgas???????

Winter Wonderland & Boy Surgery

Red Rock (temporarily know as White Rock) the day after it snowed &

our blurry backyard Monday evening

Yesterday it snowed here in Las Vegas! Snow is a common occurrence in many places but in the desert it's an exciting event.  In our area of the valley the snow covered the ground, plants, & rooftops and was still there the following day.  It was beautiful and made it feel more like Christmas! 

But we had to miss out on all the fun.  We were at the hospital all day yesterday for Aaron & Andrew's "boy surgery".    It was a rough day for them and hard for us to see them suffer. Thank goodness they only have to do it once.  It's times like this that I'm really glad I'm a girl (there's plenty of not-so-fun things!). Andrew and Aaron were not allowed to eat anything for a couple of hours prior to the scheduled surgery and then we had to wait a couple of extra hours because they were behind.  Fortunately they both fell asleep while waiting so that made the wait seem a little shorter but they were STARVING.  I felt bad for eating and drinking liquids while they couldn't. As soon as Andrew was wheeled into Recovery it was Aaron's turn.  During Recovery Aaron was a little more fussy than Andrew- probably because he hasn't had the practice Andrew has.  This was Andrew's 4th surgery and he has a higher pain tolerance than Aaron.  After surgery they were both really tired and worn out.  We were worried they'd be cranky today but they've been doing great and have had a pretty normal day.   

Aaron & Andrew prior to surgery

To protect their little pee-pees from getting pooped on while they heal Aaron and Andrew have to be double diapered.  The inner diaper has a hole cut in it (see left picture) for the pee-pee to go through.  The outer diaper is a size bigger and is the one that pretty much gets peed on.  Normally we go through about 10 diapers a day with two babies.  Not that we use enough diaper daily but now we'll go through close to 20 a day until Friday when the dressing will come off.  Last night we spent about to an hour preparing enough diapers for a couple of days.  The pile shown will probably last about 2 days.

Miracle Baby

As we celebrate this Christmas season I am filled with joy for the two great blessings we have- Andrew and Aaron.  At this time last year I wasn't in such a joyous mood.  In fact, Christmas last year was one of the hardest I've had and we just went through the motions.  It was a year ago this week we learned Andrew wasn't going to live.  After losing Rachel only eight months earlier you can't imagine what it was like.  Of course we were happy that one of the twins was healthy but it still didn't make it easy to learn we would lose one.  That week we even called the mortuary and reserved the spot next to Rachel so they could be buried next to each other.  

Andrew is our miracle!  I know that because of the many prayers in our behalf and the priesthood blessings I received he was born a fighter.  There are many tender mercies surrounding his birth.  Although I would have preferred to deliver them natural a c-section was arranged.  We did not know ahead of time about his TEF and may not have lived if he'd been delivered natural.   Another blessing was Andrew weighed close to a pound more than Aaron at birth.  This made it possible for him to undergo major surgery the following day to repair his trachea & esophagus.  We are also very grateful his kidneys were not as serious damaged as previously expected.  This allowed us to put it "on the back burner" until the more life threatening issue of his TEF was taken care of.  I should mention that a follow-up kidney ultrasound done today is the best one so far!  He is making excellent progress!

There are not words to describe my love for Andrew.  He brings me so much joy and happiness each day.  I love it when he grins big, breathes in excitedly, and kicks fast whenever he sees me at his crib following a nap.  I love it when he cuddles against me before his naps.  I love the spiked hair near the crown of his head.  I love his high pitched voice and the squeal he makes.  I love watching him play with his feet.  I love hearing him say "dahdahdahdah."  I love his bashful little grin when he turns away when someone new (or familiar!) smiles at him.  I love his hacking-like chuckle that's intended to be a giggle.  I even love getting up in the middle of the night to stop his crying by putting his binky back in his mouth.

But most of all, I love that he's healthy and strong and very much alive.

Where does Aaron's red hair come from?

We get asked that question all the time.  Most people don't notice that Andrew has red in his hair but one person at the grocery store did.  It's not as noticeable but he definitely has some red.  "Oh, you've got twins!  And look at that red hair!"  It's quite obvious that Steve and I have anything but red hair.  So when people ask me that question (which is A LOT) these are some of my usual answers (in order of the most common responses):

• My mother had red hair
• Red runs in the family- a brother and 3 cousins have red hair
  
• My grandmother was Scottish -her maiden name is McGee

The picture below is of my mother the year she was married in 1968 (age 26).  She died when I was 15 after a courageous battle with cancer. I never thought I would have a red head- and I've got two (kind of).  But it will serve as a reminder of the legacy she left.  I miss her and look forward to the day when I will see her again.

The second most common question asked is, "Are they identical or fraternal?"  All I can say is-we've discussed this before (see Oct 18, 2008)