Photos Much Over Due

These are my favorite photos from our photo shoot with Sonya. I was extremely pleased with how well they turned out. I can't wait to do another shoot, hopefully outdoors next time. The first one is my absolute favorite of all. Thanks Sonya, I'm sorry it took me so long to post them.

"Normal" Stuff

Joshua had an appointment today with the pediatrician. He did great! He weighed 18 pounds 3 ounces which was up 2 pounds from his 4 month appointment. He also gained two inches and is now 28 inches long. He got a couple of shots, cried for just a minute and then went back to chattering happily. His doctor said it was fine to start giving him whatever food we really wanted to give him. He said to stay away from nuts, eggs and honey until at least one year, but we're free to give him any soft table foods that he will eat and we want to give him. Things like mashed potatoes, smashed fruits and veggies, yogurt, ice cream, etc.. Plus he said it's fine to start giving him Cheerios and that kind of thing. I need to head out and get him a box of those!! I love his doctor. He's not the kind of doctor who just reads the "doctor manual" and spits out what it says, he actually uses the years of experience he has to tell you what works and what's really best for your child. I love that. We've been really blessed with the medical team that has surrounded us lately. We've had this same pediatrician for awhile and I've always loved his style. But we've had surgeons and doctors dealing with Joshua's care that I have just loved also. His main surgeon is incredible. I just sent him a little email the other day with a picture of Joshua in Mickey ears and he was so kind in his response. He really is a good guy.

Tonight we had a nice family night out. We went to Pizza Tower for dinner and then went to the park to play. I am really enjoying the weather lately. I'm ready for spring! Joshua went down a slide (with his siblings help) and swung in the baby swing for the first time. The park was empty for most of the time we were there, so we just ran around like we owned it!!

The homeschool convention is coming up in about 3 weeks. I am so excited. One of the speakers that I loved two years ago will be here again this year and I can not wait to see him again. He was really the beginning point of the transformation in my way of thinking about what schooling means to me and my family. I can't wait to see what else he has to say. I get so energized at the convention. Homeschooling parents are such a minority and it's so nice to be surrounded by like minded families, even if it's just for a few days. It's nice to know you're not the only one.

The last two nights, we've watched the International Space Station fly by. It's really kind of cool. It looks like a star that moves across the sky in a minute or two. It doesn't flash or blink, so it's easy to tell it's not an airplane. When it gets to a certain point in the sky, it loses it's sunlight reflection and seems to "go out". I think that's the coolest part. It's supposed to do it one more time tomorrow night between 8:11 and 8:17pm, but I think it's going to be cloudy tomorrow, so we probably won't be able to see it.

We've also been watching Molly the barn owl as she eagerly awaits the birth of her owlets. You can see the live cam here. Isn't she cute?? Oh and I heard a man fishing found a nest of bald eagles a couple of miles from our house here. It's pretty rare to have a nest here. That's pretty cool.

I've finally gotten back into couponing. I'm doing it a little differently though. I just don't have the time to clip coupons right now, so instead of buying newspapers every week, I go to couponclippers.com and order the coupons I want. I end up spending right about the same amount I'd spend on newspapers every week, and I only get the coupons I want, in the amount I want and the best part is that they're already clipped for me!! I went to Kroger yesterday (they're having one of the mega sale things) and my order was 57 before sale and coupons and I walked out paying only $11! My coupon box has shrunk a lot, but it works for me right now. I'm happy to be back on the wagon saving money at the grocery again. When things were so crazy around here, I was lucky to actually make it to the grocery store, let alone worry about couponing. Now I'm back to where I want to be!

Our house is sooo beautiful!! Well, it was beautiful when we first got home from vacation anyway. We got the whole downstairs interior painted and I love it so much. It was a Christmas present from my parents and we ended up splitting the costs to make sure we could the trim, ceilings and everything done. I am so thrilled. We've lived in this house almost 6 years now and it feels so good to have the downstairs finally "done". I'm working to get everything put back away, but I had forgotten how hard it is to get things done with a baby in the house!! Especially this baby, because he sure does love his Mama!! I cut him some slack though, because we both missed out on a lot of mommy/baby snuggle time when he was in the hospital for 105 days. The housework will get done eventually, maybe when he's 10!! I am hoping to get a lot done this weekend. I should be rested up because tonight is my night off from overnight baby care. Daddy does Friday night to give me a break. I actually don't mind getting up with him. I love cuddling him at night, but it is nice to get a full night's sleep.

I guess you could say life is just normal now. I could not be more happy with normal. Oh, and here's a tip. If you haven't already, you need to go out and buy some Wal-Mart brand (Great Value) peach sherbet. It's about 2.83 or something like that, but it's so good, I'd pay 5 bucks for it!! Trust me you won't be disappointed!! (Thanks Dad!!). Also, if you have a cell phone that doesn't include a camera, may I implore you to reconsider that. I was one of those people who for so long said I have a camera to take pictures and all I need a phone for is to make calls. Then one day my husband convinced me I needed to get an Iphone. He couldn't have been more right!! Without that camera, I would've missed pictures of: Joshua's first smile, Abby and Noah at Meijer's "pumpkin patch", Abby and Noah on Big Thunder Mountain in Disney, Joshua's first ride in a shopping cart and first visit to the park. Maybe I would've gotten over not having those pictures, but I'm so glad I was able to get them. All of the pictures in this post were taken with my phone. Just something to think about.

A Synopsis of Our Disney Trip - March 2010

When we arrived in Disney, it was chilly.
Joshua's first ever ride was the parking tram!!
I was overcome with joy, and even shed a few tears when I first saw the castle!

Ok, so Joshua's first REAL ride was Peter Pan.

He eventually rode all he was big enough for!

The weather was pretty nice, not too hot or cold.

The kids swam in the pool a lot!!

The pool was heated, so even on the chilly nights we could swim, that was nice.

The pool was themed about an ancient city and had a huge Mayan pyramid and a jaguar slide - very cool!

I carried the baby in the sling as much as I could. We both enjoy that.

Abby got to meet her favorite character - Jessie!

Joshua met Mickey and Minnie together in Mickey's house.

Joshua was wearing a Mickey outfit that Minnie loved.

We found out that Joshua loves to touch the characters noses!!

We had lots of great meals.
At many of our meals, we also got to spend time with characters.

We had an awesome early morning safari.

We saw elephants, cheetahs, lions, flamingos, crocodiles and a pregnant giraffe to name a few.
The safari is my favorite ride in all of Disney.

We had lots of fun interaction with the characters.

Joshua slept through a lot of it, but we got pictures!!

Abby has become the family daredevil.

She rode Everest with me, the Tower of Terror with Daddy and many others.
She rode the Rock n Roller Coaster for the first time (Noah rode that too).

Both kids rode the "mountains" of the Magic Kingdom.

Daddy and I love riding the big rides with the kids, it's so much fun.

Joshua wore a lime green Dumbo shirt while riding a lime green Dumbo.

That matching stuff makes me happy!!

We saw Remi from Ratatouille at the french restaurant in EPCOT.

It was really cute and funny as he reacted to us at our table.
Even Joshua was interested (can't you tell?).

The Flower and Garden Show began at EPCOT began while we were there.
We loved strolling around and looking at the beautiful topiaries.
Someone gave us their pink Mickey balloon because they couldn't take it on rides!

We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort.

The grounds at our hotel were just stunning.

Our room was on the top floor facing the water, the view was gorgeous.
We could see EPCOT and Disney Studio's nighttime shows from our window.

Noah is always ready for some audience participation.

This time he had a turn driving our Jungle Cruise.

He is never shy about that stuff, I love that about him!

Abby always looks for nuts or acorns to give Chip & Dale.

They are always gracious receivers!!

We got to meet the characters from Up for the first time!

Our last day was at EPCOT.

I loved this picture with Joshua and the "big ball"!!

Our little viking family!!

We can't leave without our yearly viking photo in the Norway pavilion.

Well, that's about it. It was a long trip but lots of fun. On both ways we stopped in Atlanta (we drove). On the way in, we spent the night with Steve's family. It was so nice to see them. On the way home we stopped to eat lunch at the Varsity which is a drive-in we've seen on many Food Network and Travel Channel shows. We're not sure when we're going to go again. Only time will tell I guess!

Quick update

We leave for Disney on Friday. I'm so excited and the kids are too!! I've worked really hard to get our entire downstairs emptied and ready to be painted while we're gone. That is going to be so nice to come home to.

We're driving down this time and we're stopping in Atlanta to visit family. I'm also excited to see them, we don't get to near enough. We're spending a total of 11 days in Disney and then with the drive time both ways, we'll be gone about 2 weeks. We're staying at the Coronado Springs resort on Disney property. We haven't been there before. They recently remodeled and they are the only moderate resort with queen size beds instead of just the doubles. That will be nice. I just can't wait to get away from everything and relax with my family and have lots of fun too!!

We got our new van and it's so nice. It has so many different things going on that I'll probably never learn them all. We got the 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE if you're interested. They asked us to do a small bit in their next commercial. It is airing now for the next few days. Our part is very small. You blink and you'll miss us!! It's also on their website (Kings Toyota). I hate that you can't even see Joshua's face, but oh well, that's the footage they used.

I need to get baby boy ready for bed now, so I'm off. I know a lot of you want to see the pictures Sonya took, but you'll have to wait until we get back because I packed the cd away with all of our other stuff from the downstairs. Sorry, but I'll post them soon. They're really good!!

A European Vacation of Sorts

When we first arrived in the NICU (it's actually called the RCNIC at our children's hospital, it stands for Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care), we were given a little "welcome" packet. In it was this short story that really hit home with me. When I read it, I really felt like someone understood how I felt. When you're in this kind of situation, you kind of feel very alone. You can be surrounded by friends and family and still feel that way. You know that no one you know can even begin to understand how this situation is. It hurts to feel that way. It's hard. It's these times that if you're not a believer, I don't know how you'll ever get through it. But alas, we're through it and the sky is clear now and Joshua is healed and Daddy and I are working on healing our emotional scars. In fact we're planning a 4 day getaway in a few months to do just that. So anyway, I just wanted to share this short story that I felt really helped me know that some people do know how this feels and I'm not alone:

Welcome to Holland

By Carol Turkington

When you're going to have a baby it's like you're planning a trip to Italy. You're excited. You get a bunch of guidebooks, you learn a few phrases in Italian so you can get around, and then it comes time to pack your bags and head for the airport in Italy.

Only, when you land, the stewardess says, "Welcome to Holland." You look at one another in disbelief and shock, saying, "Holland?? What are you talking about? I signed up for Italy! But I don't know anything about Holland! I don't want to stay" you say.

But you do stay, you go out and buy some new guidebooks, you learn some new phrases, and you meet people you never knew existed. The important thing is that you are not in some filthy, plague-infested slum full of pestilence or famine. You are simply in a different place than you had planned. It's slower paced than Italy, but after you've been there a little while and have had a chance to catch your breath, you begin to discover that Holland has windmills, Holland has Rembrandts.

But everyone else you know is busy coming and going from Italy. They're all bragging about what a great time they had there, and for the rest of you life, you will say, "yes, that what I had planned."

The pain of that will never, ever go away.

You have to accept that pain, because the loss of that dream, the loss of that plan is a very, very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you will never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland!

Of Scars and Band-Aids

Today Joshua is 5 months old!! And he is done with medical care!! He had his central line removed on Monday and that was the final step. He is now living solely on his bottle feeds and not longer has IV feeds. He has gone from this:


to this:

All that he has left is a scar (actually 3 scars, there are 2 small ones from the ostomies right below the diaper line) and a band-aid that covers the healing spot where the central line was. The redness is from the bandage he had on there previously. He has very sensitive skin and it turns red very easily. So he has the big scar across the belly that should get lighter and lighter over time. They used the same spot for both surgeries so he'll only have the one scar.

I can't believe we've gotten here finally. It is such a relief and a joy. We are just so blessed that our baby is healed. It's almost too good to be true!! He is growing so much and learning new things all the time. He laughs and smiles at us so much, it just melts my heart. He's a big talker too. He loves to just babble and babble. He's really into playing with toys now too. He likes to feel and look at rattles and rings. And of course he loves to put them in his mouth. He also loves to suck on his fingers. He's working on sitting up and can sit for just a few seconds right now. He still hasn't gotten rolling over down, but we've been keeping him from laying on his tummy too much because he had the iv line on there that would be uncomfortable to lay on. So we're working on rolling now that it's gone. He weighs almost 17 pounds now. He is drinking 150 ml (5 ounce) bottles now about every 3-4 hours (even at night, ugh!!).

I am still pumping breastmilk for him, but we've had a bit of drama with that over the past few weeks. We realized after he had several adverse reactions to certain bottles (pulling away from the bottle, gagging, letting it dribble out of his mouth), that something was wrong with my frozen breastmilk. After doing some research we realized that it had all soured. It wasn't a matter of storage because the milk I pumped at the hospital and they stored there was soured as well as the milk I stored here at home. So I can't use any of it. I read that some women have a high level of an enzyme that breaks down the fat in the milk too quickly or something like that. So I'm guessing that is what my problem is, but I'm not sure. I just know that I have to throw all of those gallons of milk out and it breaks my heart to do it. When we found that out, I spent several days pumping every 2 hours (about every 4 through the night) trying to increase my supply, but it just didn't work. So after talking with his doctors we are now mixing the breastmilk I pump fresh with Similac. Part of me is so bummed that he's now getting formula, but I can't beat myself up about it. I've been pumping daily for 5 months and it's very difficult. He's healthy and growing and that's the important part. I think I'll probably pump a few more weeks and then we'll see from there. I don't know if I'll pump over our vacation or not. Maybe just in the mornings and evenings. I don't know though.

So our vacation is in 15 days. We will be gone for a total of 14 days. We are staying at Coronado Springs this time. We haven't stayed there before and wanted to try it. It's the only moderate resort with queen size beds!! I'm really excited about it. I started our packing list today and that always gets me excited. We were planning to not do the dining plan this time, but in the end decided to go ahead and do it. We've really just gotten so used to having the nice meals, that we can't go without it. Having been through what we have over the past 5 months, walking down Main Street USA and seeing that castle welcoming us again, will be such a relief and a true signal to the "rest of our life". We can finally breathe again and get on with our lives. I've had so many dreams about how purely happy I'll be when we get there with my 3 children. It's so close now, I'm so excited.

Our other exciting news is that we're getting a new van. We're picking it up tomorrow. It's a 2011 Toyota Sienna. The 2011 models just arrived earlier this month. It's red with tan interior and has lots of cool accessories. It'll be fun to drive down to Disney in our new van. I spent the night tonight cleaning out our old van and I got emotional. We're trading it in, and I'm a little bummed about that. Am I the only one who gets sentimental about these things? We've had this van for 5 years and there's been lots of memories associated with it. We drove home from Texas in it, used it to move from our apartment to our new home, used it to keep us and the kids warm when we were building our new house in the winter, drove to Disney, Gatlinburg, Chicago, slept in at the hospital parking garage, brought Joshua home in it and on and on. I'll be sad to see it go, but I'm happy we're getting a new van with every safety feature available. That makes it worth it!

Well that's it for now. I'm ready to go pump and go to bed. Thanks for all the prayers, it worked!! He's healed and we're moving on with our life. I couldn't be more blessed, thrilled and in awe of God's goodness. Just look at these three blessings. What beautiful babes they are.

Life

*Disclaimer. I'm typing this in my phone while at Abby's cheerleading practice so there's not going to be any pictures for this post. Sorry. I'll put more up soon.

First off a Joshua update. He is doing so well it is truly a testament to how good God is. As of right now ( Sunday night) he is drinking 95ml bottles every 3 hours. He is only hooked up to the iv feed for 8 hours a day, which we do during the night. So he is free during the entire day!!! It's so incredible!!! We are continuing to up the feeds to about 120ml which is our max. We are supposed to reach that by Thursday (by upping 5ml twice a day). If everything goes as well as it has he will be off the iv feeds for good after Thursday!!! Then we should be taking him in for an outpatient surgery next week to remove the central line. Then that would be it. After 5 months it will finally be over. It seems too good to be true!! The only area he's having trouble with right now is actually breastfeeding. We've tried a few times over the past few days and he is not only not interested, but he gets mad. It's really kind of heartbreaking for me. In still pumping after all these weeks (20) and have always hoped I'd be able to actually nurse him at the end of this. Of course there's still hope, but I'm kind of bumming about it right now. I just don't see how I could possibly keep this pumping up for 7 more months. It is so hard to work the 20 minutes it takes several times a day on top if actually feeding him by bottle. Plus our vacation in 4 weeks is going to be really tricky if he's not nursing. I don't pump at his max right now so I supplement with what's already stored and I won't be able to keep milk frozen for the 14 total days that we will be gone. Please, please pray for us in this matter. It is so important that I keep feeding him the breastmilk for his first year, not only for the benefits every nursed baby receives, but also because it's the best for healing his intestinal tract. Thank you!!

Noah and Abby are really getting used to having the baby around now. They are such big helpers and are always asking to hold him. They are so cute with him.

They are moving right along in their lessons. We are trying a new "block" schedule where we only do certain subjects each day. For instance we only do math on mon, wed and fri. But we do 5 days of work in that time. I find we waste so much time in changing subjects that the less subjects we do a day the leas time we waste. We do have 4 things we do daily which is Bible, calculadder ( math drill) , spelling and poetry memorization ( the kids love this!!). Then we divide up math, English, writing, geography, Ohio history, science and handwriting. So far I love it!!! The homeschool convention is in April. I CAN NOT WAIT!!! I love it so much.

Well I need to go now cheerleading is over. More to come soon.

It's So Nice

Today was Noah's birthday party. We had all the family and some friends out to Larosas for pizza, cake and fun! It really worked out well and Noah had a great time. We were all in the party room at the back of the restaurant, so it was nice and private. We had 10 kids and 23 adults! I was so excited that so many could make it out (especially since I was late to let everyone know about the party!). Noah chose to have Bengals decor, so we brought special plates and napkins for the cake, balloons and the cake. We also had goodie bags with a small Lego set, an inflatable football and some candy for everyone. This was the first big family party that I got to bring Joshua to. It was so nice. I''m so glad I get to share him with everyone now.


So, Friday we had our appointment with the surgeon. Of course when we arrived, we had a bit of drama! His IV line got caught in the stroller and as we pushed it, it immediately snapped at one of the filters on the line. Joshua wasn't hurt at all, it never pulled on him or anything, but we needed to get some help to fix the problem. The nurse that's assigned to us in the GI clinic was paged and she came to help us. It ended up not being a problem and we didn't even need to hook him back up for the day, they just let him be off. So after that excitement we finally got to see out doctor.


He told us how the x-ray we took last week looked "normal"!! He was just amazed at how well Joshua is doing. Our GI nurse ended up staying with us during the visit, so she could organize his IV feeds with the bottle feeds. The plan now is to increase his bottle feeds 5ml everyday for the next week and then 5ml twice a day for the week after that and then he will be at max feeds!! After this first week, he should be getting enough food to taper off the IV feeds for good!! Oh I can't wait!! He said if he tolerates this week with increasing 5ml everyday and gets to 75ml bottles, we'll be doing the victory dance!! We increased to 45 this morning and so far so good!! I just can't believe after having such a dismal outlook a few weeks ago, we are now looking so optimistic. Whatever was causing him trouble must've fixed itself and now he's open and doing well. The Lord really is amazing. I knew He could do it, it just didn't seem like it was His plan. Thank goodness it seems like it is now!!


So back after Joshua's first surgery and we were told he wouldn't be coming home until Christmas time, we rescheduled our Disney trip that was for early December to the end of February. Well payment in now due for that trip, so we asked the surgeon, what he thought about whether or not we'd be able to go and he said without even thinking about it, "oh yeah, that would be fine"!! So we have just 34 days until we leave!!


I have a lot to do to get ready for that (of course!!) especially because while we're gone our entire downstairs will be painted!! Walls, trim, doors - all of it!! It's the Christmas present from my parents. So I have to clear off all the walls, put away curtains, move furniture, empty shelves, etc.. to get that ready. But I can't wait to come home to a completely repainted home!!


So I need to get all that ready, do 5 more weeks of lessons with Abby and Noah and now I get to pack for a family of 5!! I can't believe how great things are looking now. It's so nice!! Well here's a couple of pics from the last snow that we had. I put a hat on the baby and took him out on the porch for just a minute, so he could "experience" his first snow, while Noah and Abby played in it. The next day I took them sledding, but I left Joshua with me in the car, it was really cold!!

Some updates!!

Quick update:

Noah: Doing very well. Is playing Upward basketball still and loves it. Is going to be signing up for baseball again this spring (after taking a year off - his choice). He is doing very well in his lessons and says that Spelling is his favorite subject. At his well check this morning he was 83 pounds and 4' 8.5". Wow, he only has 10 and a half inches to reach my height!!! He had a wonderful birthday yesterday and is looking forward to his party Saturday. Noah has become a real sports fan just like his Dad!! During the football season he has perfected shouting at the tv and disagreeing with the refs!! He knows all the penalties and even makes judgements on the play calls of the coaches. Aaahh, the apple really doesn't fall far does it?? It's really cute though to see them sit together and watch a game!! He even chose Bengals tableware for his party.

Abby: Doing great as well. She is still doing her cheerleading. She has decided to undertake perfecting the cartwheel all on her own and this past week at her game, when they announced her name she ran out and did an absolutely perfect cartwheel with pom-poms in hand!! I teared up with love for that girl, I just couldn't help it. She has practiced and practiced the cartwheel and it paid off. Her lessons are going well too. She is learning cursive and multiplication. She delights in "decorating" me with the makeup and nail polish she got for Christmas!! I actually really love the color of nail polish she put on me!! At her well check she was 75 pounds and 4' 2.5". Her eyes and ears checked out perfectly and she's a healthy girl!

Joshua: Could not be doing any better!! He had his clinic visit last Thursday and had an x-ray done. Both the GI doctor and the surgeon agreed that this last x-ray looks much improved and we are now increasing his bottle (breastmilk) feeds more rapidly!! Now instead of moving up 5ml a week, he's moving up 15ml a week. We will meet with the surgeon this Friday, and I'm pretty sure he's going to say "no surgery!!!". Otherwise I know he wouldn't have asked us to increase the feeds so much. I can't wait to hear what he has to say. At his well check today he was 16 pounds 3 ounces and 25 inches long. He got his 4 month immunizations and looks super healthy. In fact the doctor said he couldn't find enough adjectives to describe how well he thought Joshua was doing. We have started getting him to sleep at night in his crib. We've been previously sleeping with him downstairs. He either slept in the pack'n'play or the swing and sometimes just in my arms!! He seems to be doing well in the crib. He still wakes up a lot to eat, but he goes right back to sleep after that. He is right where he's supposed to be developmentally which is such a blessing after how long he was in the hospital. He is getting less IV feeds since he's getting more and more breastmilk. He now has a 6 hour window when he's completely off the line and that is such a blessing. It's from 4pm to 10pm. We can spend that time doing normal family things and not have to worry about the pumps and lines. It is so nice!! The more he feeds by bottle, the longer the window will get until he's eventually completely off it!! I've been accused recently of spoiling him as he now has a definite preference for me. After all we've been through, I couldn't be more thrilled with him showing me "some love!!" Even if the house is a total disaster, I'll happily hold and love on my baby whenever he wants it!!

Daddy and I are doing great. We're figuring out routines and how things are going to work now that we have 3 kids! I'm trying to work out the kids school routines, Joshua's care, meals, pumping milk and cleaning. It's a lot and I'm always busy, but it's a good busy!!

Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis (the ones who run the Creation Museum) came to our church last week for a little convention. They did 5 different talks and all 5 of us attended them all. What a blessing that was. I just can't say enough about this man and his ministry. His unashamed passion for the Word of God is so inspiring. I've been reading a couple of his books since then and we got the kids some of his books and a homeschool curriculum. I just love that they are not about telling Bible "stories" but about talking about the true history that is written in the Bible and how Science continually proves the authenticity of the Word of God. We saw one talk on the the many miracles that occur in the woman's body as a baby is created. Things happen during this time that normally are opposite of what normally occurs in the body. It's just incredible. And we also saw a talk on astronomy. What they do there at Answers in Genesis is so wonderful.

Well I guess that's it for now. We're all together, we're doing well, and we're happy!! Praise God!!!

Happy Birthday Noah!!!

Today my boy turns 10!! Wow, double digits!! Where has the time gone? I just can not believe I've spent an entire decade with this boy as his mom!! He is such a joy in our lives. He is such a deep thinker, super loving, ever creative, and always full of questions. His mind works in ways mine will never. He always keeps God's Word close to his heart and strives to obey both it and his parents. Always helpful, without complaint. Takes the label "big brother" to heart and is always good at it! We love this boy without ceasing and will be eternally grateful for the blessing of having him as ours.

Happy Birthday Noah Lucas, we love you so much!!

4 Months!!!

Happy 4 Month Birthday Joshua!!! We can't believe you've already been with us 4 whole months!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You bring such a sweetness to our family and we'll always be grateful for you. We love you so much.

Love,

Daddy, Mommy, Big Brother Noah and Big Sister Abby!

Two weeks home!

Isn't he cute?? We all laughed when he reached up to grab hold of his little bottle!! As of tomorrow (1/7) he will be up to eating 20ml every 3 hours. That means in 24 hours he will have a total of 160ml which is about 5 ounces. A little more than half of a can of Coke. Not much, and boy does he let us know that he's not happy about how little it is!! But, we're going slow to make sure we don't have any more problems. We saw our surgeon and also our new GI doctor last Thursday and the plan is to go up by 5ml every Thursday for the few weeks. We'll see the GI doctor again next week and then our surgeon the week after that. At that appointment, we should be getting the final word on whether he's better or we're having surgery. I can not even imagine going back to the hospital now. While we've only been out for two weeks, it seems like forever ago.

We have also seen our regular pediatrician as well. He has taken over the responsibilities that the neonatologists were doing in the hospital. We'll have to go see him again next week as Joshua will be due for his 4 month immunizations. Wow, 4 months!!! But he's doing really well and hopefully will continue to do so and we'll be just waiting this out and moving on with our lives! Oh, how I hope!

I'm hoping to get him on a more regular sleep schedule in the next few weeks. He's not getting enough milk in his bottles allow him to sleep for too long during the night. About 4 hours is the longest. He wakes up about 3 times during the night, gets a diaper change, has a bottle and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes he's restless though and we have to try different sleeping arrangements such as the swing or being held by us in the recliner!! Whatever works! But I'd really like to get him sleeping in his bed the whole night!! Maybe someday!!

Well here's a few more pics. This is Noah and Abby at the Globetrotters game last week. It was fun although I think Abby was a bit bored with the actual "basketball" portion! She liked all the tricks and stunts though! And of course Noah really enjoyed it. He loves basketball. This is Scooter with them. He was Noah's favorite!!

We had to get Joshua a new swing because the other one just wouldn't swing! I don't know if hew as too big for it or what, but he only weighs 14 pounds, so it should've worked. Oh well, the new one is very similar to the one he had in the hospital and he likes it. So it all worked out!

I got the kids gingerbread house kits for 75% off after Christmas. Who says you can't make a gingerbread house after Christmas? And for only 2.50 each, not bad!!!

Jasmine loves her new puppy!! Joshua started screaming like 2 seconds after this picture! At least I got it!!

This was taken today. He scratched himself on the face, but still looks so cute!! Look at those cheeks! He looks so healthy and happy!!

Daddy and I are doing well. It's been a rough 2 weeks as far as getting anything done around here! I pretty much just take care of the baby, help the kids with school work, do the dishes, pump breastmilk (yes I'm still pumping, it'll be 17 weeks tomorrow!) and make meals. No time for anything else!! I really need to do some laundry tomorrow!! I did get some help from the kids. Today Noah cleaned a bathroom and Abby swept the floor. They are such good kids, I'm so blessed!! They are both very enamored with their new brother too. They are asking to hold him all the time and even when they're not holding him, they're playing with him and talking to him. It's so cute!!

Well that's it for now. Have a great day!!