All I Want for Christmas.....

.....are my 4 big molars! Four molars times three boys....that's a lot of teeth coming in! Ian is getting all of his 6 year molars, and Caleb and Levi are both getting at least their bottom two (I can't get a good enough look to see the top). They don't seem to be bothering Ian, but Caleb and Levi haven't been eating much and Caleb has been pretty grumpy - his tooth has been red and bothering him. But maybe they'll get them all at once and be done!

The NICU has a Christmas party every year and this is how much Caleb and Levi liked it! They didn't even want to sit on the chair by Santa. Ian, on the other hand, was very excited to see him and gave Santa a letter he wrote him and had a nice little visit. They also had some crafts at the party and everyone was happier by the time we left.

I just like this one :)

Caleb loves the vacuum attachment - he uses it to take pictures - with his nose :)

We decorated "trees" - a lot of fun!

Caleb was watching Ian and Daddy shovel snow - we've had enough snow and cold temperatures that the snow has stuck around for over a week!

Ian was a shepherd one day (he has three blankets tied around him), and Levi saw, and for days afterward needed his blanket tied around his head too.





Just thought it was cute! Caleb likes the antlers around his waist, since they won't stay on his head :)

I love how versatile toys are for toddlers! The missionaries can drive/ride in the tractor, and the wise man can catch the bus driven by the angel, with Joseph, Mary, and another wise man as passengers :)

November 2008

Looking back at pictures I took last month, I'm actually surprised at all that happened during November! Really all I remember is sickness and recovery. Levi had a hard recovery from getting his tonsils out, we all had the stomach flu (John even missed two days of work - the first sick days he's taken since I've known him!), and I had the real flu over Thanksgiving. But we're all back to normal, and we did actually do a few fun things along the way.

It took Levi until the 11th day after surgery that he finally looked like he might return to normal. The 12th day I tried to get him to eat but he wouldn't; we went to Grandpa and Grandma's house that night and they had ice cream...Levi went running into the kitchen, sat down, and ate more than his brothers did! So after that he slowly ate more and more until now he's back to eating what he was before (still mushy food) but he's eating much more of it! It took him 2 weeks before he drank anything on his own (so for 2 weeks he was force fed with a syringe, while watching hours and hours of Winnie the Pooh!). He lost at least 2 pounds (10% of his body weight) but now, 5 weeks after surgery, 3 weeks after starting eating again, he's gained back those 2 plus 2 more!! He's passed up Caleb on weight by about a pound (it's easier to add higher calorie things to his mushy food than it is to Caleb's "real people" food).

Here's Levi about 1.5 weeks after surgery, when he wasn't eating yet, and then a picture of him at the end of November, much happier!

Levi did feel good enough to play a little, he and Caleb took turns giving each other hair cuts :)

Enjoying a little "snack" - they usually pretend to eat ice cream....could it be because daily ice cream is what is helping them gain their weight??

I'm not sure how Aunt Deb knew when she made these blankets (before they were born) that they would be Winnie the Pooh fans....notice the blankets, toys, and book.....Winnie the Pooh and friends are all they talk about!

Since I was sick, we didn't go out of town for Thanksgiving. But that gave some time to work and play with Daddy! Ian loved being on the roof helping him clean out the gutters.

In their "one-horse open sleigh, singing "Jingle Bells", their favorite song.

Of course, as soon as Thanksgiving was over Ian was ready to put up the tree! There was a lot of help this year, and the tree is heavily decorated on the bottom few feet :)

Caleb with his hat and antlers.

And, I can't get it to let me write below the picture, but Ian made this belt out of paper and found his boots to be Santa. He was a little sad he didn't have a red coat. Last year, he didn't like the idea that Santa came to people's houses. For some reason, this year he's all excited about Santa coming.

Funny Sayings

I have pictures I need to put up about November, but I need to write down some of the funny things Caleb and Levi have been saying. It's great to be two!

Levi, "I gonna drive the blue car." Me, "where are you going to drive to?" Levi, "to Grandpa's house. Caleb sit in the back seat. Pooh Bear coming too."

Levi, "Mom! We're baking (raking) the leaves!"

Levi, after getting a tissue, "I blowing up my nose."

Caleb, after I said I had a head ache, "Mom, you got a hair ache?"

Caleb, "Mom, you making a milkshaker?"

Caleb, "Daddy's moving (mowing) the lawn."

Caleb, after taking Ian to the bus stop, "no neighbors to talk."

And Ian, until just a few weeks ago, has needed to look at the "destructions" (instructions) to see how things are supposed to go :)

Hospitals and Halloween

Levi got his tonsils out Thursday morning. We knew he had to stay overnight, and if he was doing well could go home the next morning. He had to show he would drink at least 16 oz of liquid in a day before they'd let him go home. Right after surgery he drank about a cup of juice - since then, none. The doctor said she hoped I wouldn't be getting my mail at the hospital, and she told me her weekend plans, thinking we'd be there forever. She said I'd have to just make him do it, using a syringe to get liquid down him. It actually worked, and he was okay with it. So they let us go home Friday evening. He has only drank about an ounce on his own since, and so he's getting it all by syringe. He's really not all that happy about it, but if he can be distracted watching Winnie the Pooh on TV, then he'll at least tolerate it. We've watched Winnie the Pooh almost constantly for days now! Keeping him medicated with his pain medication has helped a lot, and he actually wants to play some. He's acting better than I thought he would. He's not himself yet, but talking and playing sometimes. After we got home he was excited to see Caleb, and they said hi to each other and Levi gave Caleb a hug. It was really sweet. Then they went on to fight over toys, just like always :)

I started this a few days ago but haven't finished yet, so I can update - Levi was doing better every day, Sunday he had a really good day. Then came Monday. Ian and Caleb both caught the stomach bug I had, and after trying to keep Levi from it, he still got it by afternoon. So Monday evening he was back to the hospital to get re-hydrated. Tuesday I think he must have hurt a lot, he wouldn't swallow hardly, but hopefully every day hereafter will get better!

A few hours after surgery.

Friday morning the Child Life Specialists took all the children who were able trick-or-treating around to the nurses stations on each floor of the hospital. Levi actually had just taken his medication and was kind of out of it, we didn't make it to all the floors, but he held in to the things he was given - especially these two little boxes he fell asleep with later on - and it was nice to get out of his room for a little while.

Friday afternoon Levi was feeling pretty good. We went to the playroom and then brought some toys back. He was playing with this toy that plays music and after a while he laid down and played with it, and in a few more minutes the music stopped and he was sound asleep, his hands still on it.

Since we knew Levi would be sick on Halloween, and grandparents wouldn't be home that night, we went trick-or-treating to their house on Monday. That way I could still make Caleb and Levi the costumes I wanted (I didn't think it would be nearly as much fun to have a Thing 1 without his Thing 2). Plus I got to make Caleb another one for Friday. Ian was excited to be a train engineer, that's what he wants to be when he grows up. On Friday Ian and Caleb had a great time trick-or-treating and both kept wanting to go to more and more houses.

Thing 1, aka Caleb, Ian the train engineer, and Thing 2, Levi.


Ian the train engineer, Caleb the doctor, and Levi the patient. He got this bear at the hospital and has fallen asleep many times since then with it in his arms.




The excitement of trick-or-treating and Levi coming home was somewhat subdued this year, with the still-birth of our sweet little baby niece on Halloween morning. It was really a shock to everyone, and we're saddened greatly by it. It's so nice to know there is a plan for each of us, that sometimes sad things are part of that plan, and that we can have faith it will all work out for our good in the end.

October 2008

Lots of pictures from this month so far....I try to take pictures of everything that happens so that someday, when I write in their baby books, I'll remember what happened and when - it's my way of note-taking!

Caleb is just makes me smile!

I got a mirror to hang up where they could see in it easily, because Caleb and Levi don't know who they are - when Levi looks in the mirror, he says it's Caleb. When Caleb looks in the mirror, he says it's Levi. It makes sense, really! Even one day Caleb was wearing his hat that he knows is his and watched me in the mirror put it on and off his head and he still said it's Levi! But now that they can see themselves more often, they are figuring it out. Before, they only saw their brother, or himself alone in a mirror, hardly ever did they see the two of them together. Maybe now they're realizing there are two of them.

They all like to wear these on their heads. I'm sure someday Caleb will love that he's wearing pink :)

Ian went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch with his class, and had a great time! I went along, not that he even cared I was there. He's really so very different than he was a few months ago! School has really changed him. He was just going with all the kids and so happy to be there. They went through a little corn maze, picked pumpkins, and went through a straw bale maze. And, the biggest thing, he got on the bus! He hesitated at the door, but then got right on and sat in the front with two friends. I sat in the back, and couldn't even see him the whole time, but he did great! And so.....

....he now rides the bus to and from school! For a few days after the field trip we didn't have time to get him to the bus (he has to go about 50 minutes before school starts, after having eaten lunch, whereas if I drive him we leave 10 minutes before school starts) and he actually cried when he couldn't ride it (rather than crying at the bus stop at the thought of getting on the bus)! When he did ride for the first time he jumped up and down when it came around the corner. Now, he wants to ride every day, which is quite convenient for me! All it took was one time and he loves it! I figured that would be the case, and I'm glad they had a field trip to give that chance.

SNOW! This was the afternoon of October 10, only 4 days after spending the afternoon at the pumpkin patch wearing a t-shirt, practically getting sunburned. It snowed for about an hour, and took a while into the next morning before it all melted.

They love the new desk! And no, I didn't put Caleb in the drawer - he got in himself! But couldn't get out :)

Can I just say toddlers are so funny!?! Caleb laid looking at this book for quite a few minutes. I guess he's getting strong stomach muscles!

Their favorite activity - riding (or climbing, or wrestling) Daddy!

We went to the pumpkin patch again, with some friends. Ian didn't want another pumpkin since he got one already, but helped find these little ones. Caleb and Levi loved them, wouldn't let them go for anything! They carried them all around while tripping all over the vines on the ground.

Levi likes the pumpkins at home, too! They needed a ride on the bus :)

I wonder if they're identical? I took these pictures just seconds apart of how they were sleeping. Often Levi sleeps on his back and Caleb on his tummy, but there are times when they are in the exact same position - and often with their heads back like that; doesn't look too comfortable to me, but they seem to like it!

Levi

I dedicated a post to Ian and Caleb, so now it's Levi's turn. He's such a sweet little guy. He can really get into what he's playing, he gets really mad when I make him stop to eat. He likes trains and cars and buses and his backpack and most of all lately, the missionary "little people" type toys we have. He has them ride in the bus, take naps, drive cars, you name it.

I think he looks like a spaceman in this one! He's wearing the hood to Ian's coat.

Levi loves to play with Caleb and Ian, he loves to be silly with them, but he also likes to just play by himself, like with the cars and trains.

Exactly 2 years from the day Levi was discharged from the NICU he returned to the hospital to do a swallow study - they sat him in this chair and brought the x-ray machine to the left side of his head, and gave him pudding and milk that had barium in it, and did a video x-ray (it has more technical terms, of course) to see on the screen how he swallowed (that's not his profile on the screen, that was the last person's). And from that, it was determined that he needs his tonsils out! John thinks I'm a little crazy to be happy about this, but I am! The little guy can't eat. He can only eat pureed food. He's interested in trying new foods, and will suck on or even bite pieces off foods....but he spits them right back out. He'll even bite through a whole apple slice and spit out each bite, and then ask for more. But he can't chew and can't get any solid food down without gagging. So, I think that getting rid of his tonsils will be a huge help, and that then the therapy he's getting (plus more he'll get afterward) will be able to help him learn to eat. The recovery might not be so fun, though!

I laughed when I went in to find Levi one day, he had got down the wipes because Eeyore needed his diaper changed :) He's really observant, and things need to be done the right way, things need to be in their right places (except the toys that are all over the house, of course :) ), drawers and cupboards need to be shut, even if I'm trying to use something in them.....

This is Levi when his therapist was here - he was playing in cornmeal. As you can tell from the video below, he doesn't like things on him; but he actually did pretty well with this cornmeal - he had it all over him! He was so distracted by this blue-haired guy, I suppose, that he forgot to mind the cornmeal touching him.

So here's a video of Levi - part of his therapy is sensory-oriented. Some kids have problems with things touching them, all over their bodies, making it hard for them to want to have different textures and foods in their mouths. So, part of what she does is use things such as suckers, that stimulate his mouth, but also she does sensory activities, like playing in the cornmeal from the picture above. She also brings beans and I also have some for him to play in; with Caleb around it's easy to tell the differences between them. Caleb will get in and get covered, Levi tries not to touch it, as you can see. Next there's him singing while playing the piano, and finally my favorite - he always asks, "What are you doing, Mommy?" and I answer with what I'm doing and ask him what he's doing - and I love his answer - "oh, pretty good".

End of September

It's almost the middle of October, but time to add some more pictures from September. Not too much more happened besides what I already wrote, but there are a few random pictures....




Ian still hasn't ridden the bus to school, but we've walked a few times. It takes about 20 minutes, which is a pretty good walk for a little boy. But he's wanted to do it several times.

One day when I was in the other room, Ian was playing with Caleb and Levi and he asked if they wanted to color, which of course they said yes. So he got out paper, tape and scissors (to cut the tape) to tape their papers to the table. He got them crayons and was so sweet about it!

Levi (in hat) and Caleb enjoying a little dinner and phone conversation (with the TV remote) at Grandpa's house.

Ian's train - seconds before it rolled off it's round block wheels.

And a video - the first part is Caleb (on right) singing "Are You Sleeping" and Levi joins - kind of like a round, kind of :) The tattoo-looking things on their arms, by the way, are stamps they get from gymnastics. The second part of the video is Ian drumming - I have no idea where he ever saw anyone drumming, but he's pretty good! The last part is Caleb leading Levi in "Ring Around the Rosies" - in a very roundabout way :) I said I'd never have kids running around in diapers, but I suppose this is proof that that isn't true.

Ian and Caleb

Ian....... because of his newest achievement (if you can call it that?)

He lost his first tooth last week! Both his bottom teeth have been loose for months, but he won't wiggle them. Then one day he bit into a bagel and knocked it pretty loose. So after that I got him to let me wiggle it until one day it wiggled right out! John told him what we did with our teeth when we were little (no mention of the actual words "tooth fairy") - he put his under his pillow and got a quarter from it, I put mine in a glass of water on the kitchen table and there was a dime in the morning. So Ian decided he wanted to put it in a glass of water, and maybe it would turn into a dime. All evening he kept watching and saying he thought maybe it was almost turned into a dime. He was excited in the morning to find the tooth gone and a dime in it's place. I think he still believes it actually turned into a money :) He's been excited to show everyone!

......and Caleb, because he cracks me up! He's such a funny boy. He's such a toddler - he sings and plays and dresses up however he wants and thinks the world is his (Levi doesn't really appreciate that, since he's also a possessive toddler....). But I love to watch Caleb, and see how happy he is. He sings as he plays in his sweet high-pitched voice. So, some pictures of his silliness from this month.

So do you think they're related? Within a few days of each other both Ian and Caleb tripped outside, missing for the most part their knees and elbows and both landing on the same part of their face! You can't see Ian's as much, we were on the way to school when he fell and so he went into class with his mouth bleeding inside and a very fat lip. The swelling went down some by the time I took this picture and it wasn't as scraped on the outside as Caleb's.