December 23, 2012

Recovery

Recovery was tough! She had no balance at all! She could not stand up let alone walk. So we set up her bed downstairs and Daddy stayed with her each night until she had better control of her balance and she no longer needed medication at night.

The first couple days she was on 5 different meds with over 20 doses a day between them all! We were waking her every couple hours at night. We were EXHAUSTED! I forgot how tough it is to sit and cuddle your baby all day. She enjoyed many movies, shows, popsicles and ice cream during her recovery. She had so much I was afraid it was going to become a daily need for her. But one day she just stopped asking! So we were not about to ask her if she wanted any!

After being on meds round the clock the first couple of days we could finally start weening her. By the end of the week she was only on 2. She took them without any complaint. Except for the ear drops... But I think I would complain too :) She had those for 3 weeks 3 times a day. The biggest challenge by far has been keeping water out of her ears while bathing. We have to keep this up for another couple months! The other hard part is making sure she does not get her ear hit or is too active for the first 3 weeks. 4 year olds are hard to keep down!

Kara now has a surgery ear as she calls it. We haven't told her she is having another one yet. I wonder how she will react to that news!?!


December 14, 2012

Kara's BIG day!!

Kara has been SO excited for her surgery and to get a "line" just like big brother! Well that day has finally come!

Our wonderful neighbors took care of Allie and Trev while we headed down to the Children's Hospital for Kara's ear surgery. We left around 7 to get to the hospital for check in time at 8:30. Well we ran into a little snag along the way! A semi truck had rolled earlier that morning so we were not going anywhere! We called the hospital and told them what was going on and they said that was fine. We still had plenty of time. We finally arrive at the hospital a little late. Kara has her Rudolph with her and is ready to go!

We get called back to go in for prep and Kara gets to put on a gown (that is WAY to big for her) and socks (which are WAY to small for her!) We ended up getting new socks and Rudolph easily fit into the smaller socks :) Kara was a rock star as they got her height, weight, blood pressure and all that good pre op stuff. She enjoyed sitting in the chair watching tv while we were waiting. Surgery ended up being over an hour late! Kara was getting very hungry and thirsty! We tried to take her mind off of it. I too was very hungry and thirsty as we couldn't really eat either as we were with her the whole time. Finally it was time to head back to the OR. Scott got his has mat suit on and took her back until she fell asleep. She was a rock star throughout everything! SO brave!

My Dad had met us there so we hung out with him there. Surgery took longer than expected so that was nerve wracking. In the cafeteria they had tables set out where they were selling gifts for the uncompensated care fund. We did a little shopping. Ok. Maybe more than a little. But it was close to Christmas and we still needed gifts. PLUS it went to a great cause!

We decided to get something to eat and of course as soon as we sit down to eat our pager goes off! Time to see our baby girl :) We first meet with the surgeon. He said she did great BUT it was a lot more complicated than expected. Instead of one growth in her ear she had SEVERAL all over her ear. He explained this is rare and he has NEVER seen anything like it. As of now he was able to preserve the ear bones and reshape her eardrum but we do not know if this will last. She goes back in 6 months for surgery number 2. They will no more then. He told us we have a long road ahead of us and we are not out of the woods yet. He also told us to decide who was staying over  night with her and that visiting hours are over at 8pm. If there was a child that would have trouble keeping things down it would be her as they had to do so much extra work in her ear.

We then go back to recovery and get our baby girl. She is just waking up and has a big blue bandage on her head and her ear is covered with guaze and bandages. 20 minutes later the nurse tells us we will be going home!?! Um... The surgeon just said she is staying the night... SO it turns out that Kara is handling everything well enough that we get to go! I'm not too sure about this... Kara doesn't care as long as she gets a wheel chair ride :)

So an hour later we are discharged and on our way home! She is a rock star just like her big brother!

November 24, 2012

Congenital Cholesteatoma

We took the girls in for a routine well child exam. It turned out Kara had a bad ear infection. But the Dr. kept saying it didn't look right. But not to worry about it because the ear infection is just really bad and that is why the eardrum does not look right. So sweet Kara was put on a heavy dose of antibiotics and we were to go back in two weeks. 

Two weeks pass and Kara has an appt with her Dr. The infection is cleared but the strange mass is still in her ear. He thinks it is a cholesteatoma but he is not certain so we are given a referral to the ENT. He said maybe we would be lucky and it is a bead in her ear, but he does not think so.

Since it can takes weeks to get into Children's as a new patient I went to the local ENT to get an official diagnosis. We were seen two days later. They confirmed it was a Cholesteatoma. Kara had a hearing test in which she failed on the ear with the mass in it. I never even knew she had some hearing loss! They told us Kara would have to have surgery and they would send all the info into Children's so we could bypass having the tests done again.

I was able to get a pre op appointment about two weeks later. Kara and I headed to Children's Hospital. She was sporting her fancy white flower girl dress, a tie dyed Dora hat and her black Halloween cat :) The surgeon met with us and he hooked Kara up to "ear" tv. It was pretty cool that the tool they used to look in her ear had a camera on it so we could all see it up close on the tv. We had a couple dates available to us. One right after Thanksgiving and one a couple weeks before Christmas. I chose the latter of the two so Kara would only have to miss one day of school instead of a couple weeks.

Kara and I then went and had lunch in the cafeteria. I explained to her that she would be having surgery and she was pretty excited! She was going to "get" a surgery just like her brother and have a line! I let her pick whatever she wanted for lunch that day. It consisted fries and Doritos!  Hey! It is not everyday your child will be having surgery and I want the kids to think of Children's as a happy place :)

After lunch we went to the play room where Kara played a little and painted. Her white dress ended up a little purple and red but nothing that wouldn't come out in the wash. We met with a child life specialist and she gave Kara a play Dr. kit and a gown for her kitty so she could practice on it. Kara LOVED it!! The kids have been playing Dr on their animals and each other for weeks now!

The thing Kara is looking for the most is unlimited movies, shows, and ice cream!! 

September 29, 2012

Allie and Kara are 4!!

Allie and Kara were SO excited to turn 4. Again it was another beautiful late summer day on their birthday... I think they have had better luck with with weather than their brother who is born in the middle of summer!

The girls have wanted a rainbow Star Wars party for the past 6 months...This was an interesting party to plan indeed! We had two pinatas... One rainbow, one Darth Vader. We had Star Wars cookies that we made ice cream sandwiches out of. Rainbow ice cream. The plates, cups and napkins were a mix of rainbows and Yoda and Darth Vader. A perfect combination! We played some games and had Star Wars music in the back ground. We had everyone dress in their favorite Star Wars character or rainbow theme. Allie was sporting both :) The girls had a great time and celebrated with lots of friends and family!

August 25, 2012

Blue Angels

I braved going to watch the Blue Angels with the kids as Scott had to work that day. We took my niece, Kenzie, to help with the kiddos. She was a HUGE help! It was VERY hot outside. 90 degrees and not a lot of shade. Allie and Kara had their first bus ride and they really enjoyed it! We went with about 10 other families and had a wonderful experience!

We got to go to the hydropits and tour the area. Their were lots of hydroplanes and we got to watch them practice. We also met a lot of the drivers who were nice enough to sign autographs and get their pics taken with the kids. The kids even got to sit in a hydroplane, although the girls decided they just wanted to stand up next to it :)

After the tour we went by the water and ate lunch. We had to walk a little ways to get to the benches and with the heat the girls were done walking!! Two of our guides carried Allie and Kara on their shoulders. They weren't too sure at first then the girls were smiling and having a great time! It was a beautiful day and the kids did great. Their were clowns making balloon animals for the kids while we waited. After awhile we got to watch the the Blue Angels practice... It was absolutely AMAZING!! A day we will never forget!

August 3, 2012

Ah...the Fair

We took the kids to the local fair this weekend. They had a blast! It is a one day fair with animals, pony rides, games, fun booths and of course food! We started the morning off by going on pony rides. The girls did not want to get off... They had so much fun they started crying when it was over. What a difference a year makes! Last year they cried when we tried to put them on the ponies!


We then went to the petting farm. The bunnies were the big hit here. Baby Dutch bunnies were everywhere! Got me thinking of when I was younger and raised and showed bunnies. I would love for my kids to get into 4-H also. With Lops of course because those are the superior bunnies to show:)

We visited the rest of the animals and walked along the booths. We watched some zumba and listened to great local music. The kids loved the snow cones. They each had a rainbow one. The girls enjoyed it a little too much and it was all over the front of them!


The kids got to tour firetrucks and they even got to use the hose and spray water out of it! There was a "burning" building they had to put the flames out on it. They toured a little house and learned about safety hazards and how to prevent them. Also, what to do in case of fire. They got to crawl out of the "second" story window. (It was a camper they made into 2 stories.)

The kids also played games like finding money in the haystack. They ate lots of cookies and snacks then it was off to swimming for a birthday party.

August 2, 2012

Family Time

We had a great week with my BIL and SIL when they came to visit from Montana. They stayed with us for the week and we had a lot of fun! Allie loved that "Tim and Paula lived in the library" :) We went on many adventures!

We visited the aquarium, walked along the waterfront, visited the new carousel...  Very cool! On the way to the aquarium we got stuck in some horrible traffic. There is a reason I do not like driving in the city... All the one way streets for one. The traffic and nowhere to park for another. Anyway Allie had announced she had to go potty. We could SEE the aquarium I just needed to park and get there. It SHOULD HAVE taken us less than 5 minutes. 10 minutes later, sweet Allie is kicking my seat almost in tears she has to go so bad! Quickly Auntie Paula gets a cup and has Allie pee in it... Allie is not sure what to think at this point. I just think she was a little relieved she finally went! We were stuck in traffic for another 10-15 minutes and Paula had to hold onto the cup until we could dispose of it. Of course it was very full and we went over multiple railroad tracks! But eventually we parked and went to the aquarium.  It was a first for the kids and they LOVED it!

On the way home we couldn't figure out why traffic was so bad... It wasn't Friday or even close to Friday. Cops were everywhere! Blocking the streets, on the overpasses. Southbound on the Freeway was completely blocked by the Secret Service. We had no idea what was going on. We were just glad to be getting out of the city. Come to find out the President was in town! That explained our 2 hour commute on the way home...in the carpool lane! It should have taken an hour or less.

We went to local touristy places that we normally do not visit. It is nice to have people from out of town go on adventures with you.  Then you can really appreciate the beauty all around you. Even it if We stopped for ice cream and treats a few times. We really wore the kids out. Or so we thought... They still didn't want to sleep at night!

We played in the water, went out to eat, had family over for BBQ's. We had a lot of fun and it was sad when it was over. Hopefully they can come back soon. After all, the girls love it when they live in the library!

The kids asked when we get to go to Montana. I explained it takes a long time to get there. We would have to be driving in the car from the time we woke up in the morning to the time we went to bed. We would probably have to stay overnight in a hotel. They were up for it! Hopefully soon we can take a road trip to Montana.

August 1, 2012

Chopped



I think I am going to end up styling the girls hair in all the fun ways I never had the courage to do. Beware girls... Mommy may just get a pair of scissors and spur of the moment idea and chop your hair off :) That is exactly what happened a couple weeks ago.

We were all at home, no plans for the day. I grabbed the scissors and asked the girls if I could cut their hair. Of course they were up for it. I grabbed their put it in a ponytail and cut it right above it. No turning back... Now they had cute little bobs. Allie was moving a lot and so she has more of an inverted bob. I kept cutting it to even it out and it somehow it got shorter and shorter :)

I am starting to get used to the look. It is pretty cute. I kept their bangs long as we have been growing them out. They did not want to sit still for the pics... Go figure!

July 30, 2012

Summer Fun - Part 1

What's the best part of summer. Doin' stuff (whether the sun comes out or not)! Here's a few of things we've been up to this summer:
  • Picking and eating strawberries and raspberries
  • 4th of July - parade, s'mores, friends, BBQ & fireworks
  • Playing with snails
  • Swimming at the pool and the lake
  • Bike riding
  • Picnics
  • Playing at the park
  • Slumber parties in the "library", as the kids call it

Check out Allie's glamour shot with the snail. Priceless.

Daddy took Trevor, Allie and Kara to the new Lego store in Alderwood when it opened and the kids got to help a Lego Master Builder build an 8 foot tall Yoda! Trev is a little bit obsessed with Star Wars so he was excited to get his pic with some of the characters at the mall!

Jedi Training Academy


A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Trevor decided to have a Star Wars theme for his 7th birthday party. He wanted it complete with lightsabers and Jedi training. He invited a few padawan pals over for some intense training, battling and fun!


Traditional Star Wars fanfare along with words of wisdom from Yoda greeted the padawan partygoers. They were met and guided by Jedi Masters Scott, Jackie and Jason. The younglings received the traditional Jedi garb of a brown robe. Of course, no Jedi is without his/her trusty lightsaber. The Jedi training consisted of activities to prove your worthiness and skill with your mind and your lightsaber.

A disturbance in the force was felt by the Jedi Masters. The young padawans had proven there skills and were ready to battle the dark side. Darth Maul (in shorts and flip flops) showed up at the the party to try and turn the younglings to the dark side. An epic battle ensued between Darth Maul and the Jedis, but the force was too strong in them and they defeated Darth Maul.


The training was completed by destroying the Death Star, then refreshments of Yoda Soda and Wookie cookie ice cream sandwiches. Each Jedi was given a certificate showing that they were now an official Jedi. May the force be with you.



Happy Birthday Trevor. We love you.

July 26, 2012

Kids love swings, Daddy loves building them

Our plan was to get the kids a swingset this spring. We looked at Toys R' Us and Costco and one thing was clear...they are pricey. That alone made my brain click on and decide to design and build one myself.

Trevor and I starting sketching ideas of what we wanted. Here was our criteria:
  1. Big enough that the kids wouldn't quickly outgrow it.
  2. Strong enough so I could play on it. Duh.
  3. Swings.
  4. Slide.
  5. Better than "crappy store bought" ones.
  6. It must be super cool, rad, stellar, epic and awesome all at the same time.
 Here is the pictorial adventure:


Daddy's original sketch (left) & Trevor's sketch (right)
Trevor's sketch has a place for lightsabers, a Lego table and a TV.
It did have to be awesome, right?


This beast is built to last. Look at those beefy hex bolts. [grunt arr-arr-arr]


Phase I - structural framing, railing & slide. Done.





A-frame for the swingset. Allie says, "Is it done yet, Daddy."


View from our kitchen window with swing beam and a few rafters in place.

Not exactly sure what I'm doing here. My motto...when in doubt, just add more wood.

That's my head sticking out of the roof. Custom wavy rock wall installed. Final shingles going up...way up.




Success.

Glamour shots. Ka-chow.





After countless trips to Lowes and countless hours designing, measuring, cutting, MacGyvering and hauling tools around, this project is done. It was a 3-month project from start to finish with many, many days of rain in between. It turned out to be more expensive than just buying a crappy one from the store, but in my opinion, it was well worth it. The kids absolutely LOVE it and I found it to be very rewarding to build.

Trevor calls the swingset, "The Death Star". The girls call it, "The Clubhouse". I call it "Super cool, rad, stellar, epic and awesome"

Project materials:
4 x 4 - legs
2 x 6 - framing
4 x 6 - swing beam
1/2" and 3/8" galvanized bolts
5/4 x 4 cedar decking - railing
2 x 4 cedar - railing
5/4 x 6 cedar decking - floor
2 x 4 studs - rafters
3/8" sheathing
asphalt shingles

June 9, 2012

Sports weekend

Soccer

Trevor really wanted to play spring soccer with his new friend from school. So we decided to sign him up. It was only on Saturday mornings and they practiced right before they played. He has done really well this year! Last week he scored all 3 goals and this week he got another one and 2 assists! He really has become more aggressive and now that understands the rules he is playing smart. That doesn't mean he doesn't stop to pick flowers or do some Star Wars moves...because Battle Droids are everywhere, right?


 


Baseball

A few weeks after we signed him up he decided he REALLY wanted to try baseball this year. Practices were twice a week and games on Saturday. Since Soccer was only once every Saturday morning we decided to let him do both sports at the same time. So we had soccer games early Saturday morning and around noon he played baseball. He has really caught on to baseball. He has a great throwing arm and is improving on fielding and batting. When he does make contact, he hits it pretty hard. He has had a lot of fun doing both sports.



Tooth fairy makes a visit!

Not only do you see his missing front tooth, but you also get a nice view up his nose.

Trevor came home from school the other day with a paper towel in his mouth and I noticed a little blood on it. I thought he had gotten hurt, but my friend who dropped him off didn't act like anything was wrong so I calmly asked Trev what happened. He said while on the bus he was eating an apple and his friend told him his mouth was bleeding. Trev hadn't even felt it. He then discovered his tooth was loose. We had no idea it was loose!

So when he got home he went to look in the mirror. Sure enough it was loose! I checked the others and they were not loose. He tried twisting it and within 10 minutes it was out! He was so excited!! Tooth number 3 has finally come out! Upper front tooth. And this time with no help from the dentist and no permanent teeth already there! He has a cute gap when he smiles:)

The tooth fairy made a visit that night and Trev was happy that he got money!

April 26, 2012

"Summer chips"

That is a phrase we hear often around the house these days. Sometimes we hear, "summer tacos", "summer cheerios" or perhaps "I want summer cheese, please".

Have you figured it out yet?

Allie and Kara are not asking for summer, just simply some more. So this is the ongoing gag at our place when someone wants more of something. The kids can't ask for "some more" without smiling.

February 24, 2012

ABCs


Enjoy the latest episode in the Life with Twins video series. As always, crank the volume for total enjoyment.

Those of you with accute hearing will pick up on the girls saying "leave a message" when they are done with the alphabet song. Here's the background on that...when Trevor was little, we had him sing his version of the alphabet song as our answering machine message. We also had him say "leave a message" when he was done. So now, of course, that phrase has been ingrained into the alphabet song in our house.

February 3, 2012

Can they really be ready for preschool!?!

Allie and Kara have had so much fun checking out preschools! They are anxious to go now. We were going to put them in this year but after seeing how much we would spend for two years and two kids at the same time we decided this year we would work at home and next year they will go to Pre-K. It has been hard to find preschools willing to let them in Pre-K as their birthday hits right after the cutoff, but we have found a couple willing to make an exception!

Each morning the girls do their calendar and are doing a great job memorizing the days of the week! We are working on letters too. The girls surprised me by writing their names! I will post pics later. They can recognize most letters now and know most of their sounds. Thanks to their AWESOME big brother who likes to play "Teacher". He loves to teach them everything he knows and they LOVE listening to him and soak it all in! I can't believe my babies are growing up and going to school next year!

All 3 kids have been enjoying swimming lessons. Trevor can now swim the short length of the pool! He has come a long way from his first lesson! The girls took to the water with no problem at all and have WAY to much confidence in the water for a 3 year old :) Trev is excited to start spring soccer and the girls will continue with swim lessons.

We had a rare snow event a couple weeks ago and had about a foot of snow! It was a nice week off staying home all week. Scott was able to work from home and luckily I stock up on food when it is on sale and we did not have to leave our house. We went sledding with our neighbors and the girls had a hard time walking in the snow so Daddy had to carry them to and from the sledding hill. Only down side is we are in school for a week longer. But we sure did enjoy the snow!

January 4, 2012

Cardiology update

Trev had his cardiology appointment last week and as expected he was awesome through the whole appointment. He is after all, a Rock Star!! He is in the 75% for height. Way to go Trev! He gets to continue to play sports and swim just like any other kid his age.

His heart function looks great. His right ventricle has been growing with his body and currently is not enlarged... Yay!! His body is still excepting the fact that he does not have a pulmonary valve which is wonderful news. His cardiologist expects that in about 2-3 years we will start doing the treadmill tests to see how is heart reacts during exercise. As of now they can not put in a new valve via the cath lab. But who knows what they will be able to do when it comes time for Trevor to get his new valve and conduit. Technology is changing daily and they can do some pretty amazing things! Not many kids with his diagnosis have a patch on their pulmonary artery, so Trev is kinda paving the way for kids born today with pulmonary atresia :)

We moved to a wonderful new neighborhood with awesome neighbors! They watched the girls for us so we could focus all of our energy and time on Trev during his appointment.

Thanks for all the prayers for Trevor! It is amazing how far he has come!