Majkin and Carson's 1st Birthday Party

I can't believe it has been a year since our precious babies were born!! (And since my last post!!! SORRY!!!) Wow! Where did the time go? Here are some pictures from Majkin and Carson's 1st birthday Party! Enjoy!! (They are in no particular order!! Sorry!!)

MU
EVERYTHING'S BETTER with Cheerios!! :)

Yum!!

The Arboretum

The kids and I braved the 93 degree weather today at the Arboretum. I had never been- but heard that it was a beautiful place to walk. The kids and I needed to get out of the house this afternoon- so we went! I should have planned a little better- an gone in the a.m. when it is not as hot- but we walked in the shade and enjoyed being outside for a little while! The sprinklers hit us a few times and the kids didn't seem to mind! Here are a few picutres from our walk!

Random white flower (magnolia I think.)

There were several mini waterfalls like this! So pretty!

There were lots of sculptures among he gardens. Most of the bronze sculptures were of children. I liked this one!

Here are the kids! :) Majkin was smiling in this photo...super cute!

And Carson was smiling in this photo! Again- super cute! It's hard to catch them both at the same time! :)

We had a great time today. I can't wait to go back (when it's a little cooler) with the whole family! It's a beautiful place! (and FREE! Everybody likes that!!)

RICE CEREAL!!!

Carson has been waking up a lot during the night and I heard that starting the kids on cereal would help keep their bellies full longer- and maybe help them to sleep more soundly. So...we tried Rice Cereal for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Taking his first bite...

Really Mommie? This doesn't taste right!!

Nope! No more!!!

Mommie....No!!

Whaah!

We will try again in a few weeks...and hope for success!

March of Dimes

We walked in the March of Dimes walk in May. After being on hospital bedrest- I learned that a portion of the activities that were offered during my "luxary" stay- were funded by the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes organization's major focus is on premies and their families. While the kids spent time in the NICU- several programs offered to us were also funded through the
MOD. We realize what an important role the March plays for families and are grateful for the help and support our family was shown. Thank you to all who donated to the cause, and to our family for walking with us!!

Meg and Patrick, Kir and Carson, Mary and Luke

Mary and Luke, Ben in the black stroller, Kathy and Ava


Jason, Patrick, Henry, and Meg

Kir, Majkin, Mike, and Carson

Catch Up...

For some reason- I have not posted on this blog in FOREVER!!! Maybe it's because the end of the school year is crazy, or that having 2 kids is crazy, or that finishing school work and having 2 kids is crazy. Yep! One of those reasons....and now it's time to play catch up.

FIRST- Pictures of the babies at 4 months...

Carson- 4 Months Old

Majkin- 4 Months Old

We've spent lots of time with family these past few months. Here are some favorite pictures..

Grandma Viki and Carson

Mamo with Majkin and Carson


Aunt Alyssa with Majkin (Easter)

Uncle B and Aunt Katie with Carson (Easter)

3 Months Old!

I can't believe it's been 3 months since our babies were born! Time flies when you're having fun! :) Carson is now 11 lbs 13 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. Majkin is now 9 lbs 14 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. They are both finally on the growth chart! Carson is in the 25th percentile for weight and Majkin is now in the 5th percentile. Yay!!

Both kids are smiling a ton and Carson has started babbling more and more. When I leave for work in the morning, Majkin looks up at me with her big blue eyes and smiles all over! It breaks my heart to leave her like that! At least I know she is happy at home with Grandma! Carson does the same thing. He'll look up at me and grin so big! I just love these kids something fierce!

This next week is my Spring Break at school- and mom and I are flying back to CO with the kids. (YIKES!) This will be my first trip back to CO since the end of July!!! (Which most of you know is sooooo not normal for me!) Mike will be working his way out to CO via western Nebraska- and will meet us in Longmont for the weekend. Then- he and I will drive back to KC with the kids on Sunday. I'm nervous about the flight...and about the drive! I have no clue how these little tykes will do- but I am praying that they travel well! I am so anxious to see my family and friends! It's been far too long...and I have 2 super cute babies to introduce everyone to! :)

Hi guys!! :)

Weekend...

Mike and I went to dinner Thursday night to celebrate my birthday! My mom and dad watched the kids for us while we were out. Dinner was fantastic! It was the first sushi I'd had since before being pregnant! :) After dinner we did a little window shopping- and then decided to head home.

The kids had done well for Grandma and Grandpa- however Majkin didn't eat and was starting to get fussy. She was also pretty warm. We took her temp and found that she was extrememly warm- 100.6, which for a little baby is too high. We called the Dr. and were told we needed to bring her to Urgent Care to check her out. We left Carson in good hands with his grandma and grandpa and Mike and I brought Majkin in.

We were checked in after 11 pm. She was diagnosed with a uti and a kidney infection- which was cause for admission to the hospital. :( Bummer. We were settled into a room by 2:30 a.m. and Majkin was able to recieve some antibiotics and a little tylenol to help with the fever. The fever spiked through the night (104.9) which really scared me! The Dr. reassured us that the fever would fluctuate over the course of 24 hours- and that was to be expected with this infection. The medicine should start to kick in after the first 24 hours. It did- and by this am little miss was fever free! Yay!

Today has been a much better day. Majkin's color has improved and she is much more comfortable. Grandma and Grandpa Samson brought Carson into visit yesterday and again today. It was great to have him here. It is so hard not be be able to be home with him- but Majkin needs us here- and Carson is in great hands with his grandparents. Grandma Kris and Grandpa Palmer came to visit Majkin today also. I'm sure that helped her perk up! :)

We hope to be able to go home tomorrow! It's no fun to have a sick baby!! We're so glad she is starting to feel better now. We appreciate your prayers!! We'll keep you updated as best we can! What a weekend!

Baptism Day!

Uncle Matt, Carson, Grandma, Grandad, Aunt Jenn, Majkin and Daddy and Mommie in the back! :)
Mamo, George, Patrick, Uncle Jason, Aunt Meg, Carson, Aunt Katie, Majkin, Henry, Papa, Uncle B, Great Grandma Jo, and Daddy and Mommie in back!

Uncle Jason, George, Aunt Meg, Carson, Gpa Joe Palmer, Gma Kris, Patrick, Aunt Alyssa, Majkin, Henry, Aunt Katie, Uncle B, and Daddy and Mommie in the back!

God Parents: Aunt Meg, Autie Sarah, Uncle Matt, Carson, Aunt Jenn, Majkin, Aunt Katie, Aunt Alyssa, and Daddy and Mommie in the back (again!)

Today, February 14, 2010 Carson and Majkin were baptized! We had lots of special people with us for the occasion! My family from Colorado (Mom, Dad, Jenn and Matt) made the trip out for the special day, along with my best friend Sarah.

Here is a rundown of family at the baptism...

Carson & Majkin's...

Grandma Viki and Grandad Rick

Uncle Matt and Aunt Jenn

Auntie Sarah

Mamo and Papa (Paula and Randy)

Great Grandma Jo

Gpa Joe Palmer, Gma Kris and Aunt Alyssa

Great Grandma Diane and Papa Mike

Uncle Jason & Aunt Meg with cousins George, Henry & Patrick

Uncle B and Aunt Katie

Aunt Sally

Uncle Mike, Aunt Kathy, cousins Daniel, Scott, Mary, Ava, Ben & Luke.

What a party!! :)

Matt, Sarah, and Meg sponsored Carson as Godparents and Katie, Alyssa, and Jenn sponsored Majkin as Godparents. The service was beautiful with a special song sung by the choir to commemorate the day!

We are grateful to God for the blessings he has given us this year. What an incredible journey! We are thankful for the health of our babies, and for the family and friends we have to share these precious gifts with!

PICTURES!!!

First time together at home

Giving it another try...

Mmmwah! I love you, brother!

Playing on the floor.

Together Again....FINALLY!!

Hooray! We have our family together again for the first time since December 21st (when Carson came home).

Mike and I brought Majkin home from OPRMC NICU (like all those letters?) on Thursday, January 14th. She came home with a monitor so that we can tell when she is having trouble with her heart rate (oxygen level) increasing or decreasing, and so we can tell when she isn't breathing enough per minute. When her heart rate increases or decreases too much, or she doesn't take a breath for over 20 seconds, the monitor alarms with a LOUD beeping sound- which stops once her levels have regulated. (We ALL can tell when her heart rate goes up because she grunts and turns red in the face- we don't need the monitor for that!) We're more concerned about the times that her heart rate decreases or she isn't breathing enough per minute. There have been a few alarms for the breathing issue- all of them when she is sleeping and looking a little "too comfortable"- but the alarm we hear most is when her heart rate increases because she is mad! ;) She wears the monitor at all times right now- but we're considering taking it off more during the day when we're watching her closely. We hope she only needs to wear the monitor for a month or so.


Overall- she is doing extremely well here at home. She LOVES to be held and LOVES to be near her brother. Majkin likes it best when Carson is laying next to her. She gets mad when he is picked up and she is left laying alone. When she fusses- Carson gets fussy. When Carson fusses- Majkin almost smiles! :) Silly girl!


It is so fun to watch the babies interact. They look at each other and "swing" their arms around- sometimes looking like they are holding hands! So sweet! Sadly- they don't seem to be on the same "awake" schedule yet so it is hard to catch them "playing" together. We are anxious for that time to increase so that we can watch these kids interact even more!


Speaking of schedules- we are still working on getting the babies on OUR schedule. They eat 30 minutes apart right now- which is great when we have more than one set of hands. However, when I go back to work and the grandma's are watching the babies alone- the schedule might not be so ideal. Carson is still nursing- and Majkin is taking a bottle of breast milk. Since being home- we have tried to put her on the breast a few times. She has done a good job- but is not efficient enough at this point to do it exclusively. We'll keep trying!! I'd love to get them both to nurse at the same time! (Nights would be so much easier!!!)


I will try to post again soon with more updates- but seeing as this post is just now being written and we've had Majkin home over a week and a half....that just might not happen!! I promise I'll try!!


Thank you all so much for your sweet cards, prayers, and thoughts!! We appreciate them all so much! We would not be where we are without the love and support from friends and family.

The Little-Big Man...

Carson thinks he is so big!!! He is moving his head from side to side and is trying hard to hold it up on his own. When we put him up on our shoulder- he lifts his head to look around and them PLOPS back onto us! It's hard not to laugh! (Unless he bonks his nose- which makes him so mad- and us so sad!) He is eating every 3 or 4 hours and growing big!

The only time Carson is fussy is when he is wet, dirty, hungry or sleepy. (Pretty normal for a baby!) It is fun to see him so alert during the day (not so much fun to see him alert in the middle of the night)! He loves to be held, rocked, read to, and sung to. He loves music. (Just like his mommy.) He has a musical sea horse thanks to my good friend Kate's mom (Thank you Vicki!!!) that he LOVES!! He will watch and listen to that all day! (We just have to keep pressing the sea horses tummy so that the music doesn't stop!)

We started giving him baths every other night. Sometimes he LOVES it- and sometimes he HATES it! :) He does not like to be cold- and well- that is part of taking a bath! Worst part: having is upper body washed. Best part: having his hair washed! His little personality is so funny! We love having him here!

A Step in the Right Direction!!

On Tuesday afternoon, I spoke with the neo-natal dr about Majkin. We wanted to do more than just wait for her to spell again, so the dr. ordered an upper GI scan to look at her tummy, her esophagus, and her ability to swallow. The scan showed that she has significant reflux (poor thing!) which is coming all the way up into her throat- and could be causing the choking spells. It could also be to blame for the spontaneous spells she has in her crib after feedings. The dr ordered for her to take Prilosec (what a big girl!) once a day to help with the reflux. Unfortunately- the medicine doesn't take away the reflux- but it does help to relieve the pain she may feel with it. She started taking the medicine on Tuesday evening. We were told that it takes about a week to see the medication work- but we could start to notice a difference by the 3rd or 4th day. Well- fingers crossed- Majkin did not have any spells yesterday- and so far today has been spell free! :) Thank you all for the prayers you are sending up- as we can tell they are working!

Pictures!!

Here are some updated pictures of the kiddos! We can't wait to have them in the same place at once! :) We're still waiting for Majkin to be ready to come home. We don"t know exactly what is going on in her little body, so the doctors are trying to find some answers for us. Thank you all for your continued prayers. We appreciate them so much!