Another Ultrasound update

I had another ultrasound yesterday. I love getting to see Andrew's progress from month to month! He's looking really good...baking evenly! He's doubled in size since last month, weighing in at 1 lb, 15 oz! He's right on track. His heart continues to look great, no signs of narrowing of the aorta, no VSDs, all 4 chambers. It's always a relief to hear (and see) that things are going well. While I was watching yesterday, I remembered what the ultrasound images looked like for Benny's heart when they used the color (to show directional flow of the blood) and it looked so different from Andrew's. To see Andrew's ultrasound have distinct colors in certain areas was a little strange, because for so long all we saw was a mixture of red and blue all over the place with Benny's! We're so thankful that baby Andrew is looking healthy. Just another 14 weeks and we'll finally get to see his little face! I'm going to scan in some of the ultrasound images later so I'll be sure to upload them into the blog (and on facebook too)!

Ultrasound Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that I had my monthly ultrasound today and aside from his feet, which we already knew about, he is looking very well! His heart looks great, his aorta looks completely normal, and all his body parts are accounted for. His growth is right on track, weighing it at a whopping 1 lb, 1 oz. That's double what he was a month ago! This is a picture of one of his feet. It looks almost exactly the same as Benny's but the cleft doesn't look as deep as Benny's. So, needless to say, we are relieved and thankful that all seems to be well with this baby! We're going to continue to follow the baby with ultrasound throughout the pregnancy (every 4 wks) just in case anything were to develop, but I will keep you posted!

We're walking!

I just wanted to share a little video clip of Benny finally taking his first steps! It's just a short few seconds, as that's all he's able to do at the moment in between falls, but he is so excited with himself for doing it on his own! We are excited as well and encourage him everyday. Enjoy!

Also, here are some photos from the last month or so!

Finally an update!

Well, it's definitely been a little while since I updated the blog. Sorry! I'm just really bad about it. Anyways, I thought I would catch you all up on some stuff that has been going on.

The biggest news right now is that Benny's 2nd heart surgery is scheduled for Friday, February 5th. He will be admitted the day before and will spend the night there getting prepped for surgery. Darin and I are feeling a lot better about this surgery than his first one. After speaking with the surgeons, we know now that this surgery is not as intricate because it's not focusing on all the "rewiring" like it was last time. This time around is primarily just for replacement of his valve. The surgery time is also about 1/2 of what it was the first time around! What a blessing this was for us to learn. So while we dread the idea of surgery in general, we know that Benjamin is a tough kiddo, who is in great hands (the surgeons' and God's) and he will be back to himself in no time! He's only expected to be in the hospital for about 3-5 days, which is amazing to us. We were expecting it to be longer considering that his first time around he was in the hospital for 24 days, but that was also primarily due to his feeding. We are hoping that he doesn't regress in the progress he's made but we are prepared for anything. He has been working with a physical therapist and an education specialist and they both feel he is doing fantastic! The P/T really only comes once a month just to follow him, but she feels he would fine without her too. It'll be nice to have her around post-surgery though, just in case he does regress in certain areas.

Benjamin is doing great, as I mentioned before. At his last appointment (as of Monday) he is 16lbs, 15oz, so he's just about to hit 17 lbs! It's a milestone for him! He's been at 16 lbs for so long! He's obviously nowhere on the growth chart but he's creating his own line below the growth chart! He's always been unique. He is walking along everything and anything that will support him, and has even taken a couple steps without holding onto anything. He's definitely trying! He is just a happy little boy who just loves to smile and play. He's also very attached to Daddy, but I'm working on adjusting that a bit! Tonight, he actually wanted me for bedtime and not Daddy. Highly unusual but it made my night nonetheless!

The girls are also doing well. Abi is involved in Girl Scouts and is about halfway through her first cookie sale! She's loved the idea of selling things and collecting money (too bad she doesn't get to keep the money!). She is excited though that the money they earn is going towards a trip to the zoo! She's earning all kinds of patches! Emily is jealous that she doesn't get to be a part of Girl Scouts yet, but is looking forward to the day when she can (which is still 2 years away). The girls want to get involved in Soccer this spring so hopefully we will find a league. Abi wants to play with one of the girls from her troop so we're going to try and work that out! Abi also took her first trip away from home, without her parents! She went with her friend Brianna (from Girl Scouts) and her family to an indoor waterpark in Grapevine, TX, which is about 4-5 hours from here. It was called Great Wolf Lodge, and the website looked fantastic! She had so much fun and I was happy to hear that she did a great job being on her own! My baby is growing up!!

Darin and I are busy as usual. Darin is doing well at work. It's hard to believe he's coming up on his 1 year anniversary in April! We can't believe we've been here that long. Back in November, when hours were down at work, Darin picked up a second job at a brake shop, working on Saturdays. It was great as it helped out tremendously with Christmas, and now it's helping us in other areas! Poor guy is exhausted, and we are blessed by his commitment to his family. He's hoping he can take the summer off from his job though, as we are expecting a new baby in August!

It was a big shock to us, as we definitely weren't planning on having another, but the Lord has his own plans! We are still very excited about our new arrival and look forward to making our family a little bigger! I had an ultrasound done last week with a perinatal specialist, to check for any problems with this baby, due to our history with Benjamin. Obviously, this early on, they can't see major organ development but they check other things, such as the fat on the back of the baby's neck. I guess if there's too much there, it can indicate that there is a problem. But that looked normal. I also had blood work done to check for any indicators that there is a problem, and received a phone call a few days ago that everything came back great! So, praise God, it looks like this baby will be healthy and have no major complications. I'm following up with the specialist at the beginning of March, since they'll be able to see things (like the heart and the sex) a lot better to determine if this are developing normally. But as of now, things appear to be great!

Well, for now I guess that's it! We will keep you posted with Benny's surgery, and I'll be sure to post picture of his progress as well as the pregnancy! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! We love all of you!

Thursday update 9/10

Benny had a good old-fashioned doctor appointment today so I just wanted to give you all a little update on his stats! He has finally passed the 15lb. mark!! He weighed in at 15lb, 3 oz! Woohoo! He is 26 1/4" long. He is obviously still way below the average but he is progressing well for him. He is growing and he is proportionate to his own stats. He's doing very well. He is, as we mentioned before, a couple months behind developmentally but he's working very hard!! He is pulling himself up on things now and crawling like a champ. We're still working on
his solid foods. He can handle the baby food, but he still has a bit of trouble with normal solid food. He'll get it though! These are just a few pictures of him today...he was all dressed up for his appointment, and looking oh so cute if I say so myself!







Emily was supposed to be just a spectator at the appointment, but I decided to have her get her flu shot since we were already there! She was a champ, and while a few tears flowed, she did great! We celebrated with a happy meal from McDonald's! Abi's is scheduled for tomorrow, after school of course!

It's a good thing we did grab some lunch before going home because when we arrived home, we discoverd while attempting to open our garage door, that our power had gone out...thanks to a fabulous thunderstorm!! Our front and backyard was flooded!! There was a river running through our front yard, and that's not an exageration! It was nice to get some rain though, we desperately needed it! And, both Benny and Emi took great naps!!

I also learned today that Teresa, my sister, was admitted to the hospital and is being induced. So hopefully I will have a new niece within the next 24 hours!! We're all awaiting and anticipating her arrival! I will keep you posted if I hear anything, or receive any pictures!!

Tonight I have a parent orientation meeting at Abi's school, immediately followed by a PTA meeting. Yes, I have become part of the PTA! I figure I should be a responsible parent and participate :)

Overall, today was a good day!

Friday Night Campout!!

Friday night Darin and the girls camped out in the backyard! They were so excited! The idea of sleeping in tents thrills them! Unfortunately, I had to stay inside the house and sleep in my bed because we couldn't leave Benny in his crib alone now could we?! But, nonetheless, the kids had a great time! We roasted weenies for dinner (which as you can see, got burnt to a crisp!) but they were yummy anyways! Besides, it wouldn't be camping if we didn't burn some of the food. For dessert, we had to have smores...a camping favorite! I'm proud to say that the girls definitely showed self control and both of them only had one, and said they were full. Of course, they did ask for an extra marshmallow and a piece of chocolate!

We wrapped up the smores around 9pm and it was off to the tent with all of them! They took a couple games and some cards, along with a lamp so they could see! They managed to stay awake for quite a while, but eventually, during bedtime stories (they all took turns telling one), they passed out...

The next morning, they woke with happy faces...all except for Darin, who was stiff and sore (he's getting old!). They must have woke a bit early because Darin was inside when Benjamin woke up and he took care of Benny and the girls while I got to sleep in! Win for me! So, anyways, just wanted to share some of our fun times with you all, as well as some pictures. Last night we did movie night. We watched Escape to Witch Mountain which Emily seemed to like, and I think Abi did, at least up until she fell asleep! I think the whole "waking up early in the morning for school" is starting to catch up with her! But, she still gets excited about going everyday and can't wait for the weekend to be over! We told her that when she's older that mindset might change :)

On a side note, I have a facebook account that I upload many of our photos to, so if you have an account, send me a friend request! Then you can see more photos!

Have a great Labor Day weekend and be safe!!

Finally, I know!!

I know, I really stink at updating this thing. I'm sorry to everyone for lagging, I just finally uploaded the pictures from my camera for the past couple of months! That's how behind I am. Well, as I am supposed to go watch a movie with the girls soon, I will do a brief update. Besides, pictures are what's most important, and I have included those as well!

Benny - is doing really well. His heart hasn't had too much change so our appointments are now every 2 months as opposed to every month! This is good news for us because not only is it easier on me to only have to worry about appointments every other month, but also it means that his surgery will be a bit farther away, giving him time to get bigger! Hooray! He's getting so big too! He's just about 9 months old now, and while he is getting big, he has just recently graduated to wearing his 6 month clothes. At his last doctor visit, he hadn't broke the 15 lb. mark yet, but hopefully September's appointment will show differently! He's such a sweet boy and is always smiling. We really have been blessed with a terrific boy!









Emily - what a ham this girl is! She's always into something, especially kitchen cupboards (they're her favorite hiding spot when the girls play hide-and-go-seek). She is very creative and is always making up stories about something. I definitely think she is the imaginative one! She's always inventing "friends". It's really cute! She's enjoying being the big sister to Benny. She's always wanting to help change his diaper. She's looking forward to when Abi starts school I think. She knows it'll be different, but I'm looking forward to the time I'll get to spend with just her. We have our preschool workbook picked out and the day Abi starts school is when Emily starts "school" too! She's looking forward to it!










Abigail - is starting school on Monday!! I can't even believe it! She will be an official Kindergartener. We had a chance to meet her teacher on Wednesday night, at "Meet the Gator" night. The gators are the school mascot. She will be attending Aue (pronounced ow-wee) Elementary and will be in Mrs. Ellsworth's class. There are actually 2 Abigail's in the class, kind of funny right?! We picked her name because we thought it was different! Ha! While it is a sad day for me, I also know it will be a great one as well! I definitely think the dynamic at home will be different now that Emily will be the big sister around the house. We shall see!












Darin & Elisia - are doing great. Darin just celebrated his 27th birthday (yep, he's pushing 30) on the 14th, and is currently in San Diego for the weekend as his celebration. His mom and I purchased him a plane ticket to San Diego for a long weekend. He left Thursday night and returns on Sunday afternoon. He was very excited to get to go home and see his friends! He took Benny with him so that the grandparents could enjoy him, giving mommy a break as well. It worked out well too because now I am able to do things with the girls that I normally couldn't because of Benny. We went to Sea World today with my friend Amanda, and her boys Ethan and Corbin. It was a long and hot day, but the kids enjoyed themselves! Tomorrow, we're going to go see a movie and maybe grab some lunch or something.



I hope everyone is doing well. I will try to remember to post pictures of Abi's first day of school on Monday! Hopefully none of me crying :) Love to you all!

Cardio appt update

Just a little update from today's cardiologist appointment:

Benny's murmur sounds about the same as it did last time, which is good news. It's not getting significantly worse, so he still has some time. Dr. Rogers does want to get some opinions from his colleagues so next Tuesday at their conference he'll be talking about Benny and asking input as far as when the best time to do the surgery is. He'll be asking the surgeons as well, and get their input so that we can maybe get a more definitive time line for when things will be happening. He's going to call me and let me know what is discussed and suggested. I think it's a great thing and I'm looking forward to hearing what the surgeons and other cardiologists have to say.

He has gained weight too! He weighed in at 13 lbs, 12 oz. This is 1lb, 4 oz more than last month! Wahoo! I guess that solid food is sticking! He has a well check tomorrow, more shots (for all 3 kids in fact), so we'll get some more stats tomorrow probably. He is starting to crawl, it's really quite cute. He can get up on all fours and rock back and forth but he just can't figure out what to do with his hands and legs to make himself move so for now he has resorted to throwing himself forward and landing on his hands. We figure within the next couple of weeks he'll be crawling!

I will let you all know how his appt. goes tomorrow!

Gearing up for Summer

We cut Emily's hair yesterday...nice and short for summer! She wanted to do it, and I figured since I was cutting her bangs I might as well! We think she looks so cute (not that she didn't before). I trimmed Abi's bangs too but that was a disaster. We went a bit shorter than plan :) Darin said it's like a mullet, business up front party in the back. Oops! Oh well, we told her she looks great and she's going with that! It'll grow out soon!

Wow...I need to get better at this!

I realized this morning that I'm really bad at doing this...I should try to be better. I'm going to try, but I make no promises! :)

We've been in Texas for about a month and a half now and we definitely think we made a good decision. We just love it out here. We love that we now feel like life has slowed down a bit for us, which is definitely a good thing. The kids are having a ball, going to the pool, the park, playing in the backyard! It's wonderful for them. Although they do make comments all the time about going to Monkey's house and Nani & Papa's house! So, since it's been a while since I've poste
d anything, I thought I would do a brief update on what's been happening (it's not exciting, I promise).

Most importantly, Benjamin had a cardiologist follow-up yesterday and while his echo showed some minor narrowing again, it wasn't enough to show concern and think about action at this time. This is great news! It means that his procedure he had done in San Diego before we left is working...it's buying him some time, which is all we can hope for. He'll be seeing his cardiologist once a month from now on. While I'm glad that he's following Benny closely, I sure hope our insurance comes through soon! These visits are getting expensive! Yesterday, his appt. cost $783! Isn't that crazy!! That's a discounted, private pay rate too! Benny is doing absolutely wonderful. He's getting so big, he's like a little man now. He weighs 12 lbs, 8 oz and is 24" long. So, he's definitely growing. He's actually starting to move into his 3-6 month clothes and out of his 3 month clothes! He's started solid foods and he is quite the eater. He loves his sweet potatoes and 'nanas. But he's not picky, he pretty much eats everything we give him! He's a good sleeper at night too, usually only waking up about once a night, usually early in the morning around 3a or so. Although the past 2 nights he has slept all the way through, so we're hoping this is a sign that it's getting better! He's rolling all over the place, stomach to back and back to stomach. He's very strong. We think he'll be trying to get around within the next couple of months for sure. He's just perfect and we couldn't hope for anything more...God has definitely been watching over our little man!

As for the girls....well, let's just say that at the moment I am typing this, Emily is crying because Abi did something to her. That's a typical day here, except that moment takes place usually 2-3 times an hour. It's getting ridiculous. They want so much to play together but when they do all they do is bother each other. Abi has been a big instigator lately. She likes to antagonize her sister ALL THE TIME!! They keep me busy. But they also have good moments, as you can see by the picture. Sisterly love is great! Abi will be starting Kindergarten in August, hooray! She's so ready as am I! She is very excited about it and asks questions about it all the time, primarily about nap time...she's really tired of nap time :) Emily will enjoy the one-on-one time with me I think. It'll be good for her to spend time away from her sister too! She can become more independent.

Darin loves his job. The pace is a lot slower than he's used to, which is a good and a bad thing, but he's adjusting. He likes the people he works with, they've all been really nice. He's so close to home that he's been able to come home for a lunch a couple times too. What a treat! It's funny though that as soon as the kids start screaming he has to go back to work. I don't get it?! :)

We've been busy around the house trying to get everything situated. We're still nowhere near where we want to be, but hopefully soon. Darin's mom is coming out in July so our goal is to have it together by then! Last weekend, we built a mantel for the fireplace, it needed something desperately! Darin is quite the handyman! He built it and we both stained it together. It turned out really nice we think. It was Darin's idea to add a bit of Texas flair to the mantel, hence the stars in the corners. It is a project that we are proud of! I've taken to gardening, if you can believe it. I'm trying to turn my brown thumb to a green thumb! So far, I've been successful. My garden is in full bloom. I'm growing carrots, cucumbers, green beans, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce (although the lettuce isn't doing too well). Darin built me my vegetable bed for mother's day! How sweet huh?! I will try to post some pictures of my garden later, if I remember to take the photos!

That's pretty much what's been happening around here! Nothing too bad, just a lot of busy work. I'm going to try and post pictures more frequently of the kids. Keep your fingers crossed! Oh, FYI, I added a couple links on the sidebar for Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, which is where Benny will be having his next surgery, and for the Congenital Heart Institute of Texas. I also added his new cardiologist's name with a link to a page with info on him in case you're interested!

We're finally here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are finally here and getting settled in good ol' Texas. It's been a crazy week and a half but things are coming along. Darin started work on Monday and is enjoying it thus far. He's more excited about the fact that he doesn't have to get on the freeway to get to work. On a side note, the roads here are crazy...yield here doesn't mean "yield" it means "stop" apparently. There are people stopping on the freeway at yield signs! It's a bit scary. I'm adjusting better to it than Darin! The kids are all doing well and the girls are excited. They've already been to the pool and the park, and Monkey even bought them a little plastic pool for the backyard for when mommy is feeling lazy! It's been very humid here the past couple of days but we've been warned to get used to it! So we're trying.

Benjamin is doing well. We thought he was finally getting over his congestion..he had a couple of days without it! But of course, he sounds as if he's getting a little sick again! Poor guy just can't catch a break. Tomorrow is his follow up cardiologist appointment. We're going to meet his cardiologist and make sure the results from the procedure are still good. His new cardiologist will be Dr. Rodgers. He was referred to us by Benny's previous cardiologist in San Diego. Apparently he's very popular (which hopefully means he is good) because his next available appointment wasn't until June! So I just had to name drop..."Benjamin Carr"..."oh yes, I have his information here, is tomorrow good for you?" and we got in! It's nice to know people! I will let you know what I find out! I'm still waiting on a referral for a surgeon but I'm going to talk Dr. Rodgers about that tomorrow too.

Okay, off to put my bathroom together and finally take a shower!! Mugginess is yuckiness!

Benny's Procedure

I know many have been wondering when Benny's procedure was going to happen. We have been wondering too...until today. We finally found out that Benny will have his cardio-cath procedure on Thursday at 10:30am. Of course, we had already planned for Benny to leave for Texas with Patty on Thursday, but now the plans must change...again. It's obviously a less invasive procedure than heart surgery but it still takes about 3-4 hours. They will do some exploratory stuff with a camera to see if the balloon will work to open his artery up and if it will, they will do it then. If it won't work, then he'll have to have heart surgery again. This would wait until we got to Texas though. We are praying for the best, and are hopeful that the balloon is all that will be needed! It's one overnight stay at the hospital for Benny so he'll be able to come home Friday. He'll have the weekend to recover and then it's off to Texas on Monday!

The move went well today. We got the house all packed up...man do we have a lot of crap! Darin left tonight with the truck so hopefully he will make good time and get to Texas by tomorrow evening. Please keep him in your prayers as he makes his way to Texas, by himself. My dad will be leaving tomorrow morning with our car (he's driving it out there for us) so keep him in your prayers as well. We are all excited about this new adventure and know that whatever God has in store for us, it'll be great!

I will make sure to let you all know how the procedure goes and what we find out. It's time for bed for me! By the way, if you would like to email me, please use my gmail account as our central cox account is unavailable to me. My email is elisiacarr@gmail.com

Benny's appt/Texas

Yesterday Benny had his Echo done. I unfortunately was not there with him as I was delayed in San Antonio unexpectedly (more on this later). From what Darin has told me, the doctor believes that the tube that was placed leading from his heart to his lungs has an exclusion (or is it inclusion?--I think I will have to amend this post later). Basically something is blocking the flow, causing his heart to have to work harder. The doctor is going to call us this week to let us know how soon they can get Benny in to have catheterization. Better than heart surgery, yes, but still sad. He should only be in the hospital one night, which is great news for us. However, the first step will be to put a camera up there to see if a balloon can fix it. If it can't, they will have to do the surgery. So, we're all praying for the best! The reason why they couldn't see exactly what they wanted was because they couldn't sedate Benny due to his congestion (which is still lingering, unfortunately). They didn't want to risk the chance of him choking or anything while sleeping. So, this is what we know for now. We will update you all as we learn more!

As for Texas...we are officially moving. Darin is scheduled to leave with the rental truck on April 15th. The girls and I will follow shortly on the road. We will be having someone fly out with Benny as we don't think he would make such a long trek in his carseat. He hates that chair...and he sweats like a pig in it. So, whatever day someone leaves with him is the day the girls and I will leave on the road. No plans are finalized yet (though should be within the next couple days) but hopefully my dad will be joining the girls and I on the drive out so I don't have to drive alone.

Darin and I flew out to San Antonio last Sunday night, with the intention of finding a house by Friday, our scheduled departure day. We had found a house, a great one, but the owner got nervous about renting his house out and backed out of the deal, after we paid our application fee of course! The day he backed out was the day we were scheduled to leave, so we made the quick decision that Darin would fly home and collect the kids and I would stay behind to find another house. I stayed until Tuesday. Luckily, thanks to the help of Darin's cousin Tommy, we found another house in the same neighborhood for just about the same rent. We were so thankful, because the neighborhood is wonderful. There is a pool and a park for the kids, walking trails, and Abigail's school will be right down the street! We're greatly looking forward to the move! So, make sure to update your contact info! The Carr's new address will be 8107 Cooper Mill, San Antonio, TX 78255. We probably will not be getting a house phone, but we will let you all know our new numbers when we get them.

Okay, must get ready to do some major packing today! Write again soon!

An early bloomer

Well, apparently Benjamin is going to be a man ahead of the game. At 3 months old, he is teething...and when I say teething, I mean his teeth are actually cutting through already. The funny thing is, it's his top two front teeth that are coming in. Usually babies start with the bottoms but hey, Benjamin has never been a typical baby! He's been very irritable lately, and I've been giving him Tylenol. I talked to the nurse today and she said we could give him just a tiny bit of orajel, but only after he eats, because it can cause the babies to not be able to use their gag reflex and they could choke. So, we are going to use that sparingly. I just can't believe he's got teeth already. I will try to take some pictures and post them.

Darin is recovering from his illness, thank goodness. He missed 2 1/2 days of work and that can hurt, but he's getting back to normal, thanks to good old antibiotics. Now Abi is starting to get the stuffy nose and such...bummer. Anyways, that's the latest!

February Update

It's been a little while...I should post something. The amount of time in my day to do this seems to dwindle so fast! Benjamin had his 2 month check-up last Friday and everything looked good. He still weighs under 9lbs, coming in at a whopping 8lbs, 11oz. It's strange to think that the girls were just a few ounces lighter than this when they were BORN! He was 20.5 inches long. He is around the 3% for growth and weight! He's a little guy. But he is gaining and growing so Dr. Martinez saw no reason to be concerned. We are still on the 22 calorie diet...he obviously needs those extra calories! He's getting so big so fast. He's finally started smiling, though he must be prompted to do so. His best times are usually when he just woke up. He is sick right now with a little cold but nothing to be concerned about. We just feel bad for him because it makes it harder for him to sleep, mainly during the day. He's doing really well at night and usually sleeps straight through now, from about 8p to 4-5am the next morning. We are grateful for this accomplishment! So, all in all, Benjamin is progressing quite well and we know he'll be hanging with the boys in no time!

The girls are...INSANE! They have really put all their effort into arguing and fighting with each other these days. Emily is going through this "I HAVE TO SCREAM EVERYTHING WHEN I'M MAD" phase. We're working on that! Abi just provokes her. Sometimes I find myself getting so frustrated...poor Darin, I think sometimes he dreads coming home :)
Darin and I are hanging in there. We just found out that we don't qualify for Medi-Cal (apparently Darin makes too much money), so now we are on the search for our own insurance. Thankfully Benny has Medi-Cal for the first year, and after that we can probably switch him over to Healthy Families, which the girls have. We're so thankful though to have had Medi-Cal coverage throughout this whole ordeal. We received a bill in the mail the other day from Children's Hospital for $58,000 for Benny's surgeries and stay in the NICU. That doesn't include any other bills we 've been receiving from various doctors. I don't know what we would have done if we actually had to pay for all of that. It's a pain to sort out (making calls, forwarding bills to Medical, etc), but well worth it!

We spent last weekend redecorating our bedroom with fresh paint and furniture rearrangement. It looks fantastic! I have a brown wall now and I think everyone should have one in their house somewhere. It's beautiful. Tomorrow, Darin will be working, and the girls and I will probably be doing some Valentine's Day craft projects, including making Daddy cards. We hope all you lovebirds have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Remember to always tell those you love just how much you love them! And remember, God loves us most! Happy Valentine's Day!

Accidents Happen...

Yesterday, we spent quite a bit of time at the doctor's office, which was definitely not in our plans for the day. Abigail accidentally pushed Benjamin off our bed, how it happened I'm not sure. Benjamin was sleeping between two pillows...I think Abi tried to help too much while I wasn't looking! I do know that it was a long drop (at least 2.5 ft) and I heard him fall from our bathroom. Poor little guy. He had a HUGE bump on the back of his head all day, and I thought it was only getting bigger instead of smaller. I felt so bad. So I took him to the doctor just to make sure he didn't hurt his skull or anything, of course they had to do xrays, but everything was okay. Just a battle wound I guess...the joy of having big sisters! At least his bump has gone done today! And Abi felt really bad about it...she had a tear in her eye.

The girls and I are going to take a trip to the park today after we make our special rice krispy treats with the pink "mashmallows" that Nani gave the girls. They are very excited about this...and thanks to Nani's suggestion, we must now use heart-shaped cookie cutters instead of just spreading them into a pan! Thank you Nani!

January Update

I thought I'd just post an update on Benny's progress and the rest of the "what's going on" news for the family. Benny, as of last Wednesday, weighed 8lbs, 60z. He's doing great with his weight gain. I'm thinking about talking to his pediatrician at his 2 month check up about going to normal calorie formula as opposed to the 22-cal diet he's on right now. He's not breastfeeding anymore, which makes me sad, but I will say, makes things so much easier for me. My supply had gone down so much and after he was admitted a second time, I just lost all hope. But he's doing great and I've told myself that I'm not going to feel guilty for not breastfeeding him. The doctor said he'll be just fine :)

He's starting to look much more like a little person with a personality. He has started smiling, which is the cutest thing ever! I've been trying to capture it on camera but he seems to know this, and changes his expression before I can push the button. This picture is the best I could do for now. He's even started rolling from his side to his back...soon he'll be doing crazy rolls in the crib, we think. He's even getting into routine now. He does down for a nap every morning between 9:30 and 10am. And our biggest news....drumroll please......HE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! He sleeps from about 9pm to 6am the next morning. It's been so nice!

The girls are great. They went to the dentist last Wednesday and they loved it. They got a new toothbrush and some kid flossers and that was worth the trip for them! No cavities! Hooray! Abigail is trying so hard to be the boss now, it's driving me crazy. She want to be a mommy so bad...I have to tell her several times a day, "that's not your job, that's mommy's job!" Poor Emily often receives the Abi scolding for something and ends up crying. Oy! It's always entertaining at our house, to say the least :)

Darin's job is going well, but he has expressed interest in looking for another job. This is definitely not where he wants to stay. Perhaps we'll start looking for jobs in other areas (wink wink!). Of course, we also have the option of having me return to work and having Darin stay home. He of course is all for this option! I really told him it's not as great and easy and it seems! :) We signed up for a 4-week parenting class at our church entitled "Parenting By the Book" and so far we've really enjoyed it. We're learning a great deal about ourselves as parents and about our kids as well. It's challenging us to re-examine how we're raising the kids and we both come away each week with something new. I think it's a great way for us to start the new year.

Anyways, that's our family for now. We're just hanging out, having fun. Now that things are settling down, I'm going to try and load pictures up here frequently so be on the look out!

Happy Birthday Abi!

Today we celebrated Abi's 5th birthday! I can't believe she's five already...Darin and I were talking the other day about how grown up she is now. It almost seems that in the past 11 days since Benjamin was born she just transformed into this BIG GIRL. She's all about what to wear, and makeup, and taking purses with her now. It's unreal! So, for her birthday we thought it would be fun to get her a Caboodles case and fill it with some makeup and stuff. She LOVED IT!!

As it's been a tight year for us, we opted not to have a party for the girls this year. Instead we had a "Birthday Day" a couple weeks ago in which we celebrated both girls' birthdays on the same day. It was basically a day of fun...went out to breakfast, visited the park, saw a movie in the real movie theater (Madagascar 2, very cute). So, today we kept it low key. We made special birthday pancakes in the morning for breakfast, followed by presents. Then the girls went to the gym with daddy. They love the gym! We had Personal Creation pizzas for lunch, with extra olives! We then went to Monkey's house (that's what the girls call Darin's mom in case you weren't aware) where we partook in cake and presents. Even Emily got presents! And can I just say that now the girls have more cash in their pockets than we do! While Abi hung out at Monkey's house and Emily slept, Darin, Patty and I went to the hospital to see Benny.

I am happy to say that he is doing well. We did have a set back though with his feeding. They switched him to Pedialyte because he wasn't taking to the breastmilk like they had hoped. He wasn't digesting it very well so he'll be on Pedialyte and then they'll try again when they feel he's ready. I am sad to say, however, that I, his own mother, could not go see him because I am now officially sick. I feel fine, but I have the standard runny nose and sore throat. I'm very upset and I'm already going through withdrawls...please pray for a speedy recovery for me. I miss my boy! I did get to hear him crying over the phone tonight though. His nurse held the phone to his face and I heard him crying a bit and got to say hi! It was very nice of her. He sounds a lot stronger vocally than he did yesterday so that's good news! So, though I didn't see him, I know he's doing well, and Darin made sure to take a picture for me. We took him a little hat that is apparently too big for him...he has such a small head :)

Anyways, after Monkey's house, we took the girls to Soup Plantation for dinner, as they love the buffet style because they get to do it themselves. We finished off the night with a movie theater at home. It's one of our most favorite things to do. Space Chimps was the movie...it was a late night. Thank you to all who thought of Abi on her birthday!