Our Thanksgiving!

It went very well actually! It was the first year that we had dinner at my house. Usually we go to my grandparents- but since my grandma had a stroke, she wasn't up to cooking (and they decided to go some of their family in Texas). So everyone else (mostly our parents and siblings) came over to our house. Justin and his dad deep fried the turkey and made a ham, my mom, Justin's mom, my brother and my grandma dean all brought over some side dishes, while I made the mashed potatoes and gravy, pinwheels, veggies, cheese dip and a pie. YUM YUM. We had SO much food left over we'll be eatin' turkey and fixin's for weeks! Here are a few pics I got of the kiddos in their turkey shirts before they all got T-day goodness on them!

The handprint turkey shirts we made! (Do you see Ayva and Anna holding hands? Aw...so cute) L-R Ayva, Anna

Justin, Ayva and Anna.

Their shirts turned out really cute. I made their handprints be turkeys and I put their nicknames on the back. Justin's said BOO BEAR Ayva's said SASSY PANTS Anna's said GIGGLE BOX.

Justin's toofers.

Mommy and Ayva.

Look how happy my tiny Ayvie is!??? This new medicine is helping but hasn't stopped them all together. Hopefully the full dosage will! Keep your fingers crossed!!

My brother, Uncle Robbie with Anna in her pink snow bear suit (we ate outside on the patio and it was a little chilly for babies)

WE HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!

Way Back When-sday

Anna

Ayva

Ayva

Justin

The babies were all still in the NICU and it was the first time I got to hold both my girls at the same time!

My video

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We're on the news!

Here is the link to a video of the kids birthday picture on the news!

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=3767270D6F9F2D4BD794EB45003AE4BB?contentId=2492770&version=163&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

And click on November 22-23 segment 2!

So funny...

I went to the bathroom and when I came back, this is what I found....

The really funny part is that before falling asleep under his chair, he stole his sister's paci. He's so silly!

Stats

Well the last two days we had 2 docotrs appointments. Monday was the kiddos 1 year check-up along with their 1 year shots. Here are their stats:

Anna- 17 lbs. 4 oz. Head cir. 16 3/4 in. Length 26 in.

Ayva- 15 lbs. 13 oz. Head cir. 16 in. Length 26 in.

Justin- 16 lbs. 4 oz. Head cir. 17 1/2 in. Length 27 1/2 in.


Ayva lost weight (boo) and Justin didn't gain any (from the last time he was at the Dr. which was 3 weeks ago). Anna gets the star for gaining the most weight!! Yay Annie- Bananie!!


And yesterday my mom and I took all three babies to CMH for the girls' EEG's (Anna's was a three month follow-up). My aunt Debbie, who works at CMH watched Justin while my mom and I were in the rooms with the girls. Anna is still good- NO SEIZURES! Thank God!! She will have to be on the medicine until she hasn't had any seizures for a year. And poor little Ayva is still having seizures and now is having some bad side effects from the medicine she is currently on. She's having trouble sleeping and eating and is very irratible (and if you know Ayva, I mean more so than usual). So we are running out of options. The next step is to start her on a medicine that is not approved in the US. You can only get it from Canada or Mexico (although it is approved in almost every single country except the US). We will be getting it from Canada. And the really sucky part of that is insurance won't pay for out of country medications. SO we have to pay out of pocket for it and it is kind of expensive. BUT, my poor baby can't learn or hardly do anything while having the seizures- so we have to find a way- any way- to stop them so she can be healthy. Even if it means sacrificing some things. The girls' Dr. said that if money weren't a factor- he would choose this medicine over all the others. He also said that he had 8 patients in the same week (including the girls) who all got diagnosed with I.S. when the girls did. 7 out of the 8 have stopped seizing after only starting Topomax (including Anna). Ayva is the only one who has not stopped seizing yet. POOR BABY! I wanted to cry when he told me that! Of course it had to be MY baby :(

I just want to ask everyone who reads this, and tell your all your friends to please pray that this new medicine works and she can learn again and be ok. Because I don't think I can deal with paying all that money, and knowing almost EVERYONE who has been on all the other meds that she has, is well again and she is not. Already so much has gone on that I don't know how much more I can handle. Thank you!

The birthday party post!

Saturday was the babies first birthday party. Over 35 people came over to our house and we all had a really great time. Thanks to everyone who came! The party started around 2 o'clock and we opened a ton of presents. Then they each ate their cupcake and I was surprised who enjoyed it the most. I thought Justin would have liked the cupcake the most- but it was ANNA who shoveled in as much cake as she could! It was so funny to watch her eating it. Justin was overtired by cupcake time and he didn't really like it at all. And Ayva kind of put her hands in the frosting and licked it off. Enough of my yammering..... here's the pics! (special thanks to "Aunt" Julie for taking the pics so I could be in them with my babies!!!) Their cupcakes - Thanks Granny for making them in you oven (b/c ours is broken )

Justin with his birthday hat on

The hat didn't last :(

His birthday outfit!

Anna's birthday outfit.

Ayva's birthday outfit.

The fam.

Auntie Ashtie with Ayva before the party

Anna, Ayva and Justin before the guests arrived.

Anna looking silly with her party hat on!

Ayva with her party hat on!


J with his party hat on!

And I won't bore all of you with the present pics so here are just a few of them opening gifts!

Anna with Auntie Ashtie's help

Justin with Daddy's help

Ayva with Mommy's help

Justin was terrified of Elmo!

Justin's girlfriend Makenna laying on the kiddos new stuffed doggie

J with his cupcake
Anna with her cupcake

Ayva with her cupcake

Pictures and junk....

I just thought I should post some pictures of the kiddos b/c I realized I haven't posted pics in a while. So here are some new ones...

J in the laundry basket. I guess he thought he would help me fold.

Anna's first set of piggy tails!

Ayva's first set of piggy tails!

Ayva with daddy.

Anna trying to stand.

I can't believe that my tiny, itty bitty babies are almost ONE!!! It seems like time has just flown by.

~Anna Jeanne~

My funny, giggly girl. She is almost always happy- always smiling. She now has three teeth (the bottom middle two and one on top). She is just like she was in the NICU, a go-with-the-flow type and is content to just being held by anyone. She likes everyone and will smile for you all the time. Her seizures are gone and hopefully will stay that way (keep your fingers crossed). She is beginning to re-learn all the skills she lost- she can hold her head up very well now, she is working on sitting (she's getting close), she is trying VERY hard to crawl (her legs get the idea, but her arms don't follow). Her vision is improving GREATLY! She is beginning to track objects better and is starting to reach for some things when she can see them! She loves to give kisses and lick things (sometimes these two things go hand in hand for her). She is rolling all over the place and she knows how to pull her sister's hair now (I think baby J taught her that one!). She has all the sudden started hating veggies! Only fruit for my chubby-kins. She is the messiest eater on the whole planet! She can hold her own bottle and stand holding onto something, both for a short period of time. She likes to snuggle and now knows that if she cries when she is put down, she usually gets picked up again. She is the loudest out of the three of them and talks nonstop- sometimes at 4 in the morning. All in all she is a very happy girl who is trying to catch up to her brother.

~Ayva Verlie~

She is my quiet, serious baby. My DIVA for sure. She needs things her way or she is not happy. She is very particular on how things are to be done, and will not change her ways just to make things easier. She has 4 teeth (the top middle two and the bottom middle two). She is my snugglie bear and always wants me to hold her and snuggle with her. She is not very much of a people person- as she only likes for me, Justin or my mom to hold her. Even though she is still having seizures, she is trying to overcome them and make some progress. She is holding her head up better and is also starting to see better. She has started liking to sleep in our bed with Justin and I at night and will sleep so soundly that she snores! She is holding her head up better on her belly and not hating it on her back so much. She has started not liking her bottle so much and would much rather eat real food. Over all she is happy, and is totally a mama's girl!

~Justin Case~

He is my ham bone. Always doing something funny- wether it's making funny noises or just being himself. J has 3 teeth (the bottom middle two and a top one). He looks the smallest of the three, but actually weighs more than Ayva. He can still wear some 3-6 month clothes, but mostly wears 6-9. He talks all the time and can say "mama" "baba" and an assortment of other babbling words. He is an expert crawler, and cruiser and is going all over the place. He loves to eat and tries not to make a mess. He loves puffs and will sit still if he has some. He likes to pull people's hair (especially sisters') and loves to play with shoes and jewlery. He has a little stranger anxiety and only wants his "mamama" most of the time. He is a very loud and outgoing baby when we are at home, but when we go somewhere new, he is very quiet and shy. He is a very sweet boy and can clap and blow kisses. He is working on walking and it shouldn't be too far away. He holds his own bottle and likes to throw it down when he is done and get out of his chair himself. He is funny, loving and a very happy little boy!

Everyone has gotten a new "big kid" carseat - although they still have to sit rear-facing b/c they do not weigh enough to turn around. So far Anna is the only one who has gotten to ride in them (she got to go with mommy to the dollar store).

It has been a rough, loving, exciting, heartbreaking- but rebuilding our hearts, crazy, hectic, fun, busy, and overall the best year of my life. With all the things that happened over this year, I can't even imagine what is to come over the next year! I'm sure it will be filled with three times the love, three times the excitement and three times the joy!