Life

As my last post indicated things have been crazy the last few months. And unfortunately to add to the chaos everyone has been sick. Flu, colds you name it. Atticus is finally acting more like himself again but we continue to battle with Tristan's health. He is very prone to infections due to his surgery and an abnormality with bladder. He has basically had non stop infections since his surgery over a month ago. He had just finished a round of antibiotics Friday, only to wake up Saturday with another fever and signs of infection. We went ahead and started him on another round of medicine and he woke up today with the flu. My heart just breaks for him. He is so miserable and has been through so much these last several weeks. We talked to his dr about the concerns we have regarding issues with his last surgery. His dr confirmed that he would indeed need additional surgery. Unfortunately this surgery could end up not working also meaning we are back at square one. he will have his next surgery in about 5 months and if it results as this last one did he will need a much more intense surgery to correct the issue involving a mouth graft and 2 more surgeries at minimum. And unfortunately he will still have the abnormality with his bladder that will need to be fixed. This one will be tricky due to location. We had hoped this issue would absolve on its own but it has not and is now one of the main cause for the infections he is having. This is something we had hoped we could push aside for a number of years and deal with once his first procedure was complete. But it is rearing its ugly head and just adding to the current issues.

It's all so overwhelming but I am continually comforted by the tender mercies of the lord and the continued perspective he throws my way. At times I just want to break down and then I am reminded that these issues have a clear cut path to an end result, even though complications have arrived Tristan's quality of life should not be compromised by these issues so long as they are resolved. I have often times looked back at my blog posts while I was pregnant with the boys and I am reminded of how much worse things had seemed at one time. This is the same little boy who I was told had the possibility of being born deaf and or blind, and possibly mentally retarded. He is none of those things and for that I could never be more grateful. And so when faced with these specific challenges I at times need to remind myself how incredibly blessed he truly is, and how blessed we are to be parents to such a special little boy who makes me smile everyday! As do his brother and sister. I know these last few weeks have been hard and we have yet a long path before us to get Tristan where he needs to be but such is life and things could always be so much worse.

Conflicted

Conflicted

This week was a wonderful one! We had so much time with our families and had some pretty special experiences, unfortunately this week also had some bad news so I sit here very conflicted, happy about the experiences I had but sad about what is to come.


We had a great Thanksgiving with BOTH of our families. Devin and I have never had the issue of choosing which family we will spend Holidays with because fortunately both our families live in a 5 mile radius of each other. It makes for a very busy Holiday but it is just so nice to not have to choose.

Unfortunately this will be our last season with this wonderful convience. My parents have just officially announced that they will be moving to Washington. My parents have been going through this "process" for several weeks and so it is not exactly new news to me but when my father was officially offered the job, it hit me as if it was the first time I was hearing about it. I have never lived more than 2 hours away from my parents in my entire life. Devin and I built a house on the east side of town to be close to them (as well as his parents) and I intended to live close to them for the rest of my life. Unfortunately this is not how things played out and I can not help but be very sad. I could go on about all the reasons this SUCKS! but I think most are pretty obvious so I will spare you. I am however happy and excited for my family and this opportunity that they have been given. I hope that this move will be a positive one for my younger siblings and parents and I wish them the best. Yes it will be fun to go visit but it will definitely alter the sense of security I have built having them so close.

So Thanksgiving was good but also a little bitter sweet.

Rachel (cousin, sister-in law, other half... you get it) and I headed out at midnight on Black friday to get some shopping out of our systems and got a little more than we bargained for!!! First I ran over a huge possum on the way to pick her up.. and it mostly just grossed me out.. it was the size of a house cat!  Then when we arrived at the mall there was this lady falling/rolling on the side walk having a hard time getting up we decided to go over and see what was up. Apparently so did this man who nearly backed over Rachel trying to pull up beside the lady. Luckily he missed!!! any way the lady was mostly just suffering from "I just had one beer" syndrome so we called her a cab and went on our merry way. The first store we went in was a mad house (Forever 21)!! and after waiting in the checkout line for about 45 min we were about to the cash register when the girl in front of us passes out smacks her head on the floor and has a seizure.. unfortunatley her friends just stared while this happened in stead of catching her. So needless to say we were a little bit traumatized!!!! luckily the night when on without a hitch and we got tons of great deals and I am officially DONE christmas shopping!! and birthday shopping since D's Birthday is also in December. I finally got home at 5 am just in time to be woken up at 6 by my sweet little babies!! I have never been hung over but I can imagine it was pretty close to the same feeling!

Saturday we had my little sister Hollis' baptism. It was wonderful and she looked like a little angel!!!  Rachel and I went to Joann's afterwards and got a Grip load of fabric!! I am so excited! and hope to be a more successful quilter in 2013!! and Luckily I have LOTS of pretty fabric to help me stay motivated!!!

Sunday we blessed Scarlett with her cousin Josie Kay they both looked so beautiful in their dresses and I was so happy they were able to share their special day with one another. Josie was born a month after Scarlett. I hope that they will grow up to be best buds!!

After the blessing we had a nacho bar at my mothers house and tons of friends and family came over! it was so wonderful!!

unfortunately the day ended on a sour note.. Tristan had a pretty intense surgery 3 weeks ago. He and Atticus were born with a birth defect that has needed surgery to correct. Atticus' was very mild and was corrected with out any hitch when he was 8 months old. Tristan's has been much more complicated and has required much more prep and precision to fix. Unfortunately tonight we realized that he is not healing as well as we had hoped and there are small holes that have formed along his incision known as Fistulas. I will have to take him in to see his Dr. tomorrow and we will have to see what this will mean for Tristan. I am not sure what to expect and I am hoping for the best but I cant help but think that the details of this complication will mean multiple more surgery's. Its so hard.. I hate that Tristan has to go through this and that his small little body has to go through so much pain. He was such a trooper last time but I know that it was still hard on his little body. It breaks my heart to know he still has a long road ahead and we are not out of the woods like we had originally thought.

So that pretty much sums up my thoughts for the night. My heart is heavy and I am anxious about all of the unknowns that are yet to come and I am ready for things to just be "normal" again.  until next time.

Traded in the beat up civic for a schnazzy mommobile

So Scarlett is now 7 weeks old and I seriously could not love her more! She is as cute as ever and she is sleeping through the night... I probably should not say that out loud or I'll jinx it but she is seriously the bomb! She slept 10 hours last night!!! In her own bed might I add!

She also got her ears pierced 2 weeks ago. It was a little traumatic (mostly for me) but they are so dang cute! And they are healing nicely. I can't wait till I can start switching them out! 4 more weeks!

My little boys... Oh my little boys... they melt my heart, make me laugh, make me cry, and make me want to scream all in a 5 minute span!! But I seriously don't know what I ever did without them!!! They are pros at escaping.. Just because there is a deadbolt on the front door doesn't mean they can't get out.... Lesson learned! Luckily I have a chime that alerts me when the front door opens so they barely made it out the door! But it seriously freaked me out!

We had a play date this week with a little boy their age and lets say they need some work... They kept tag teaming him! If Tristan was trying to steal the little boys toy Atticus would come out of now were to help a brother out! Poor kid!! But what can you do.. At least they didn't bite the poor kid.. I mean if my pediatrician didn't know they were twins one look on the multiple teeth marks on their arms, back, stomach,... Dare I say face and social services would be at my door! They are brutal to each other! One minute Tristan is smacking Atticus in the face with a truck and the next minuet they are hugging and giving each other kisses! What are you going to do!!!


Django... The dog I'm going to kill him... That's all

D is working his buns off and on his off days marking things off his honey do list! He seriously is my most favorite!!! Our house is a work in progress but I have yet to find something the man can't do!! So if he wasn't so awesome I wouldn't have him building an entertainment center landscaping out yard putting up moulding.. I mean really it's his fault!

We finally did it! We got rid of my civic!!! Holly Honda was on her last leg! And trying to cram 3 car seats in the back just wasn't fun I mean it worked but it wasn't fun.. But when my hood started threatening to fly off every time I hit the freeway we knew it was time! Luckily a good friend of ours works at Jim Click and got us an AMAZING deal on a fully loaded used 2012 Chrysler Town and Country. I absolutely love it! It's so wonderful! And I think my kids appreciate the air conditioning in the back my Honda lacked so its a win win!!!

We also took a trip to apple Annie's the boys had fun holding their little pumpkins in the stroller and it was fun to take a little day trip in our new van and have some quality family time! We are seriously so blessed. I really could not ask for anything more in my life I sometimes wonder how I am so lucky to have the life I have I really have so much to be grateful for!

Welp that's about it!!

Scarlett's birth story

I realized I announced the birth of Scarlett and a little of the aftermath but I want each of my children to have their entire birth stories written down so here it is!!!

I woke up around 4:30 am, I had showered the night before so I straightened my hair pulled it back and put on a little make up cus let's face it it was about to be a LONG day and if there were any pictures taken I didn't want to look completely horrible!!! Devin woke up and gave me a blessing and immediately my nerves were calmed and I proceeded to get ready. Devin woke up the boys and I packed the last few things they would need while at their grandmas houses. We started to run late making me a little testy but eventually we were all packed up in the car and on our way. We dropped the boys off with my mother in law and headed to the hospital. We got checked in and I had some wonderful nurses take care of me that morning! They asked me a million in one questions ( what is the point I pre-registering???) and started an iv and pumped me full of fluids!! I seriously had to use the restroom 3 times before I went to the or! My favorite nurse was Genevive! She was super cute and very calm and positive she made me feel at ease, cus let's face it I was really nervous, scared, anxious you name it!!! I kept thinking how this experience getting prepped for my C-section was so much more pleasant than my last go around!! I welcomed the mindless chatter of the nurses and Dr's as I waited to be taken back. My dr came in and talked to me asking if I had any last minute questions she has always been so good to me! And then she and my nurse told us about their upcoming trip to Honduras where they were going on a charity trip to help out hundreds of women from the country. Then my anethesiologist came in and explained the procedure and I told him about my concernes with morphine making me sick and he told me that there were several alternatives that should help me recover better. I then was given the option to walk back to the or which I thought was a great idea. Last time I was wheeled back in the bed crying because my contractions had gotten so intense and wanting to punch my nurse in the face who kept asking me a million questions!!! This time I would have skipped back if they asked me!!! Coincidentally I walked right into the exact O.R. That I had delivers the boys in something about this was comforting. They had me straddle the table and Genevive held me as the anesthesiologist started my spinal it was a little uncomfortable and took him a couple try's to get it in just right but once it was in it took affect immediately and a rush of warmth flooded through my body and I was laid back. They then asked if I was able to move over a little bit on the table not a chance. The next thing I knew my legs were in the air and I was re positioned! It was the weirdest thing seeing my legs way up in the air and having no control of them! Shortly after that I felled like I was going to be sick and the anesthesiologist gave me some Zofran and it helped pretty quick. My dr came in with two others and they pulled the curtain up. Devin also came and sat by my head. It was just a few minuets later and my Scarlett's cries filled the room I immediately began to cry there is nothing sweeter in the world than hearing your child cry for the first time! My dr said she was so petite and kept saying along with the nurses how cute she was and how beautiful she was. She also lifted her up so I could see it was so special to finally see her! Devin went with her to get her cleaned up and checked out and I could hear her cries as my dr worked on sewing me back up with later I found out took a little extra work. It was so funny to hear how feminine her little cries were! I was so used to hearing my boys that it never crossed my mind that she would actually sound like a girl!!! I couldn't help but feel so happy and satisfied!!! Devin brought her back in a few minuets later and pulled off her cap and said "look at this hair!!"she had a ton of hair and it was so dark!!! She looked so different from the boys!! He continued to sit by me and I touched her face and just couldn't stop looking at her! Unfortunately I got sick, for real this time before they could give me more Zofran and it ruined the moment a little but but eventually i felt a little better. Next they wheeled me into the recovery room and I started feeling really loopy. Devin brought me Scarlett and I was able to nurse her and hold her for the first time. She latched on right away and hasn't l really stopped nursing since!! Devin then took her to get a bath. I then proceeded to get sick a few more times and in between told my nurse how wonderful she was and how awesome she was... I was really out of it!!! But hey at least I was nice!!! Before devin left my nurse mentioned that my uterus was extremely thin so thin that I may need to think very carefully about having more children because I could potentially rupture with the strain of another pregnancy. My dr later told me she pulled my muscles over the thinned out areas and that if we wanted to have another that she thought it would be ok. Any way back to Scarlett's day! I was then given some reglan to help with my nausea and it made me soo incredibly tired I could not even focus! I was then taken to my room and spent the rest of the day pretty sick but so in love with our new little girl that it didn't really matter!!

Adjusting to three

Well we are home from the hospital and devin is officially back to work. I have to say having him home for ten days was awesome and I was not ready for him to go back! With the boys, devin was back to work before I was even discharged from the hospital. So I really appreciated having him full time for the first 10 days! Especially since he was getting up at the crack of dawn with the boys and letting me sleep in with Scarlett! It's been a LONG time since I have slept in past 7:00 am!!! Thanks to my two little alarm clocks! Any who our first couple of days home were great but also challenging I was still hobbling around the first few days and in quite a bit of pain so it was hard to do even little tasks. It was probably harder on Tristan and Atti who didn't understand why I couldn't pick them up or why they couldn't climb all over me and the baby! But we managed ok and I am now at 11 days post C-section and off of any pain medication and feeling loads better! My body is also is working its magic and shrinking back to my new Post kids "normal" which hey I'm not going to complain about one bit!! I would give up my pre children body any day for my three beautiful children without hesitation because there is nothing like being a mom! I forget how much I love newborn babies there is just something so special about having a fresh little baby in your home! Scarlett has been so wonderful she is sleeping pretty dang good at night and only waking up once or twice and sleeping in her bed, sometimes getting her back to sleep is a challenge but other than that she has been a dream! After having one I can't believe I did twins especially nursing! This little Girl is a piglet! Im so glad that the twins were first because I was so oblivious and had no clue how much harder two was!!! With that said having one baby is so weird! And so much less stressful! I don't feel like I have to keep to the strict schedule I had with the boys and I can actually just go with the flow and let Scarlett make her own routine which so far has been really nice! The boys are also adjusting as well as can be expected they are very curious and stand watch anytime I change her or she is upset. They smile and laugh when I let them touch her hair or kiss her so I definitely think they like her... Mostly. Time will only tell! Well that's about it for now here are a few pictures from her newborn photo shoot that my cousin did and she did an incredible job! And also some pictures of my grandparents meeting Scarlett for the first time! Enjoy!

She is here!!!!

Scarlett Ann arrived right on time Wednesday morning at 8:02 am! She came out crying and both DR's and the nurse were already commenting on how adorable she was before she even handed her to the nurse! And I must say she is an absolute doll!!! She weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz and was exactly 18 inches long. She has lost a little weight which is normal since we have been in the hospital and weighs 5.13 now. She has been such a good baby so far!!! She is nursing like a champ and is sleeping a couple solid hours in between nursing in her isolate in our room at night. Recovery was a little rough for me the day she was born but I am physically much more capable this time around and day two and now three have been much better. Devin and I are just so in love with this little girl we are so happy she is a part of our family! She definitely looks like a Bendall baby! She has a head full dark hair and looks like a mini me! Where as the boys are without question mini Devin's!

Following my C-section we were informed that my uterus wall is extremely thin and could pose some potentially life threatening risks if I were to have another baby. We were told we could potentially have another but there would be a many things to consider. Obviously this has been something interesting to think about as we enjoy this brand new baby girl and haven't even left the hospital yet, but will definitely be something we really will have to consider and pray about later on and decided are we really done having kids at 22?? I guess time will only tell. and there definitely other avenues to consider. Right now we are just so content with our little family of five I can't imagine being any happier!

Getting ready!

Hey!! we are approaching the arrival of Scarlett! I will go to the hospital at 5:30 am on Wednesday and if all goes according to plan we will have a new baby girl by 8:00 am!!! I've been working like crazy to get her room/nursery all finished and it's almost complete!!! I'll be posting pictures today or tomorrow. I'm getting a little nervous for my C-Section but I'm hoping things will go a little better with recovery this time around. I am definitely in better health/shape than with the boys at delivery, and I'm going to forgo the morphine for some alternative medicine directly following surgery... Last time I got really sick afterwards and was really out of it and some of my first memories of meeting the boys the day they were born are pretty foggy. So hopefully that will make a difference. Other than that I am ready to go! I've had an unbelievable pregnancy and it was really nice to just be normal!!! With that said I'm done carrying around this bowling ball and I'm ready to hold this baby in my arms!

In other news we got a dog.... I was not very pleased about this. Devin has been dying inside to get a dog for years! he was trying to get one the week before we moved out of his parents but I forbid him! So I'm surprised he waited 4 weeks after moving in!!! He had major Dog fever last week and said regardless he was getting a dog! I was pretty adamant that he wait until after the baby was home but as you can see that didn't happen! I did give him some guidelines which were; no puppies, no males, and NO Big dogs ! I have always had small dogs and did not feel comfortable getting a large dog especially since my boys are absolutely terrified of ALL dogs! I was afraid a big dog would be down right awful and that it would end badly. So what does Devin get?!!! A male puppy German Shepard.... He did a LOT of begging and pleading and didn't nessecarily do it without consulting me but I was definitely less than thrilled! And it didn't help that the second we brought him home he peed on the tile and I slipped in it while carrying a chair in from another room and I pretty much landed in the splits 38 weeks pregnant... I literally cried! I could have killed Devin right then and there!!!! Luckily things have been MUCH better since then! He has been the best dog hands down I have ever owned its been almost a week and that was the first and last accident he had so although he is a puppy he is completely potty trained. He has been great with the boys who have definitely warmed up to him and now can't leave him alone! He has accepted the fact that he is their own personal jungle gym and deals with it! He already follows simple commands and is incredibly mellow. Needless to say Django has won me over. And Devin is the Happiest man alive it's been like Christmas for him! His life long dream has been to have a German Shepard so I guess he has hit the pinnacle!

As far as other news goes we are definitely LOVING our new house! It's been so fun to decorate and just have our own space again! The boys are both walking really well now and just wander all over the place! They are also starting to put small phrases together! It's so stinking cute!!! And nice to actually know what they want for a change instead of playing 50 questions!!! Well that's it for now!! Next post will probably include some pictures of our new arrival!!!

Summer!

So not a lot has changed since my last post but we are embarking on the last week before we close on our house! My 22nd birthday was Wednesday and Devin and I celebrated by getting lunch at Chillies and going to Home Goods to pick some new things out for our house! We also went and looked at our house and it is nearly complete! The kitchen is practically done the flooring is in and so on. It was a nice way to end the day knowing that we are getting so close to being in our home! I am also getting into the last several weeks of my pregnancy! I can't even believe what a dream this pregnancy has been compared to the last! I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow and I am still doing laundry, dishes chasing around twins, and I can even paint my toes! It's definitely a good change from last time! The baby is measuring right on track and I'm hardly having any Braxton hicks just a few a week oh and I'm not swollen like a tick yet either! Although I know that may happen any minute! All in all I'm feel so blessed that things have gone so well this time around!

Yesterday Cassie and Rachel my sister in laws threw me a baby shower! It was so wonderful and they made it so special! I got so many cute girl clothes I could die! It's really going to be a bummer if Scarlett is actually not a girl which I guess is totally possible but I'm relying on my ultrasound 12 weeks ago to have been correct! If not I guess I'm a prepared for a little boy x2 so all is good! That's pretty much it for now!

Update!!!

Since my last post tons has happened in our little family!!! For starters we are expecting another baby September 8th!! And we are so excited! We found out in April that it is indeed a little girl!!! And we have decided to name her Scarlett Evelyn.

The boys are doing new things all the time!!! They are now almost 17 months?!!! Where has the time gone?! Atticus has really taken off with walking, he is just walking all over the place! Tristan is trying so hard to keep up and can stand up in the middle of the room by himself and he can then take about 2-5 steps! They are so funny with each other and have their own little language and just jibber jabber back and forth all the time! I wish I knew what they were saying!!! As far as real words go they can say no, go, momma, dad, cow, uh-oh (this phrase is said about 100+ times a day!) and moon. They are now weighing in at Atticus: 20 lbs Tristan 16lbs! Tristan is now done with his cranial band. He could have had it on another 4 weeks but his head was reacting terribly with huge abrasions and heat rash so we decided to be done, but it definitely worked some magic while he had it on. Tristan is also starting treatments for a big surgery that he will have in the next six to eight weeks. Its a surgery to correct a urinary birth defect he was born with. We will be happy to have it behind us and hopefully have the first of two- three surgeries done before the baby arrives! He has the best Dr. Ever and we know he will be in good hands!

In other exciting news we FINALLY bought a house! It was quite the process! Things here have gotten a little crazy again in real-estate and we put offers on 3 properties that turned into bidding wars! The fourth property was finally the one that worked out and we are so happy that it did! We are actually building our first house! When we purchased it it was already framed so we have been able to pick everything out and make some custom changes! Rumor has it it will be done at the end of July! So needless to say it will be a busy summer but we feel so blessed and are so excited for what's to come!

LONG OVER DUE UPDATE!

So Its been a while since I've updated this old blog and to be completely honest we have been rather busy! For starters we moved twice!! First we moved to a new apartment and then a few weeks later we moved in with the in-laws so that we can start working on buying a house of our very own!! Something we are very excited about!!! We plan to be here  for the next year as we search and save for the perfect little home for our family!! D is loving his job and getting to experience all kinds of craziness! Never a dull moment!! I on the other hand am enjoying being home with our little boys who just turned 1!!!!! its hard to believe that they were tiny little babies in the NICU this time last year! It is amazing to see how far they have come since then!! They are crawling maniacs and starting to pull them self's up on to things!! They never cease to amaze us with how strong each of their little personalities are!! Atticus has been dubbed our little dare devil!! He managed to break in the stairs our first day at the parents (fell all the way down and was smiling before he was even retrieved!!) and just this week we had to lower their cribs because he decided he was done with is nap and quite literally jumped out!! He keeps us on our toes!! Tristan is as sweet as ever!! He loves to be held and snuggled although a little less independent and prefers to be close to mom, he is very smart already clapping, waving and blowing air kisses and melting every ones heart he meets! He recently got a cranial band to round out a flat spot on the back of his head and if it were possible is even more adorable!! The boys are still the best little buds in the world unless a ball is involved then its a WWF smack down but other than that we enjoy listening in on their many bed time conversations over the monitor, and always wonder whats so funny at 12 in the morning when they have both randomly woken up and are laughing hysterically with one another!! they sure are a blessing and I don't know what I would ever do with out them!! That is it for now!