So Long Oxygen! We Won't Miss You!

Tuesday I talked to the neonatologist clinic that has been keeping up with Lindy's oxygen to ask how long we need to keep it in our house. Lindy has not used oxygen since the middle of July. She asked a few questions and then said she would write the orders to discontinue it!!! They came on Wednesday and picked it all up!! They took all the oxygen and they also took all the monitors. Now we have no clue what she is satting. For the last 13 months we have known exactly what her oxygen saturations have been. It is a little nerve-wracking not to know now. Even thought she hadn't required oxygen for over a month, it was nice to actually know it for sure! We will definitely NOT miss the oxygen and we hope to never see it again!!!!

Lindy's sweet feet with NO sensors taped on!!

The last time we checked her oxygen saturations before they picked the equipment up.

We have had a fairly quiet week. On Wednesday Lindy had her Governor Morehead teacher here for a visit. Then we went to the audiologist for more hearing tests. They are starting to get all the little pieces put together. Each time we go they gather a little more data and are working on a complete audiogram. Lindy does great at these appointments.

It was around Wednesday when Miss Lindy started acting up a little bit. All week we had been having a little trouble getting her to take her bottles. On Wednesday she refused her 3pm and 7pm bottles all together. She drank 11oz of milk that day. We thought maybe it was a fluke, until she did it again on Thursday. She would drink the 7am bottle just fine, drink 5 of 6oz in the 11am bottle and then refuse to have anything to do with the 3pm and 7pm bottles. She was acting completely happy and normal. We were stumped, but frustrated. We knew this was not enough milk for her. Friday she drank her 7am bottle great and then Drew fought with her to get 3oz of the 11am bottle. We called the doctor and we had an appointment for 4pm on Friday, just to make sure nothing was actually wrong. Wouldn't you know she actually drank her bottle around 3:30pm though? They checked her out and couldn't find anything. She is just acting up. Our best guess is she is telling us it's too much for her. She has continued eating her solid foods just fine all week. We are going to drop a bottle and see if we can get her to drink 3 good bottles a day. Keep your fingers crossed!

The other exciting event, well for me, was that Drew took the babies to Charlotte Thursday and spent the night with his dad. This gave me a little over 24 hours of free time!!!! Something I haven't had since last summer when I was on bed rest. I went shopping all day Thursday and didn't have to rush home to feed babies. Friday I spent most of it worrying about Lindy not eating, but I was able to get some little stuff done around the house. I love my babies to death, but a little break was nice! And they behaved for Daddy(except Lindy eating), so maybe he'll do it again sometime!


Willy Will has had a good week. He has spent the entire week pooping. I'm not sure what has upset his stomach so much but we're all about tired of it. I suspect it was the new grapes, plums, and bananas he tried last Sunday but we haven't had anymore of them since Tuesday. So I'm not sure why he is still pooping so much. He has pooped up his back three times this week. He's gotten baths every day but one, and we are usually every other day kind of people. It's been a stinky week around here!

Will had been holding his bottles pretty well lately so one day this week I plopped him in the Boppy and gave him his bottle. He fed himself for the first time. It's nice to know he can do that. It will make it easier when I'm by myself. I still like holding him though and giving him a bottle!

Nothing exciting had happened this week until this morning. Will STOOD by himself this morning! Nana and Papa drove in for a visit last night and Nana and I were playing with the babies in the nursery this morning. He was reaching for a book Nana had and he let go of everything. He fell pretty quickly but for a moment he was standing by himself. We got him to do it a few more times too. He's growing up so fast. Before I know it he'll be walking. Scary!!

Today is the babies' 13 month birthday. Time goes so fast. I swear it was last week when we had their birthday parties.

Have a good weekend. We'll be hanging with Nana and Papa!

Lindy's usual reaction when we try to use the straw bottle.


Two curious boys.

Will feeding himself!

I love this next series of shots. Lindy just looks like she loves Will so much! She always smiles when she sees him.

Friday post and pictures

Another week has gone by so it's time for a post. This week really was pretty quiet.

Last Saturday my friend Carina came to visit. I met Carina in grad school at Salem. She was so good with the babies! After Carina left we headed to the Wake Forest Fan Fest at the football stadium. It turned out to be pretty fun. We got to be out on the football field and check out the new Deacon Tower. They had inflatable games for the older kids and they introduced all of the fall sports teams. You could have stood in line to get autographs but the lines were pretty long. Especially for the football team. Will and Lindy both made friends, check out the pictures below!

Sunday we left after church and went to Charlotte to a baby shower. Then we spent the night at Drew's Dad's house. Lindy threw up in the bed and Will didn't sleep in his bed, but other than that it was a nice little visit. What should have been a 1.5 hour trip home turned into a 3+ hour trip because of a tiny bit of road construction.

We pulled in the driveway at exactly 2:45pm, the same time Lindy had an occupational therapy appointment. The OT was waiting for us. She said Lindy is doing well. She gave us some suggestions for helping her to sit up straighter. We introduced the honey bear bottle. It's the honey bear jar that usually comes with honey in them. Therapists use them as bottles with straws. We introduced Lindy to a straw. They use them because they are negative pressure bottles, meaning we can squeeze liquid up through the straw. Therapists do not like regular old sippy cups; they prefer babies be straw trained. Our first adventures with the straw haven't gone too well. Lindy doesn't even like the straw in her mouth. I find it hard to squeeze the milk up the straw. If I actually get it in her mouth then half the time I can't get the milk up the straw. What an adventure. I tried Will with it and he took it a whole lot better. We'll keep trying with Lindy and see what happens!

Wednesday Lindy had her fourth tooth pop through her gum. She has a fifth one that is very swollen and puffy and should be through soon. Will is still content with his two little teeth! Thursday I placed some Puffs on Lindy's high chair tray and she managed to pick one up and put it in her own mouth. She fed herself! There are so many things I never thought I'd have to think about but have had to with a child with vision and hearing loss. I put Puffs on Will's tray and he just eats them. At first I was putting them on Lindy's tray and she can't see them on the white tray. The OT suggested putting them on a dark color so she can see the contrast. When I did that, she saw them and picked them up!

We've tried some new foods this week. Monday they ate broccoli, cheese, and carrots. That smells horrible when you open the baby food jars. And the baby burps that follow are so stinky! Yuck! They tried cottage cheese today at lunch and it seemed that Lindy enjoyed it much more than Will. I smashed up some of the lumps and Lindy ate it. Will was not opening his mouth and was pushing my hand away. But he ate a cup of yogurt great!

So nothing huge this week, just a few small milestones. Have a great weekend.

Carina, Will, and Lindy

The babies at the Wake Forest Fan Fest. Sitting on the 50 yard line of BB&T field, also known as Groves Stadium.
Will and his new friends! He's the man!!
Lindy and I with WFU golden boy, Rusty LaRue.
Our sweet sailor babies.
Will with a bad case of bed head after a nap.

Lindy and her bow!
Mama and her babies.
Our cool wagon with it's cool canapy.
Swinging is hard work !

Lindy attacking the orange lion on the Exersaucer.
Daddy's little sweetie and Mommy's little cutie.
When he's inside, he wants out. When he's outside, he wants in!
It's an overall kind of day around here.

Surprisingly Busy Week

I didn't think we did much this week and I didn't think I took many pictures, but I was wrong on both accounts.

We spent all last weekend with Mimo here. The babies always have fun with her. She babysat a couple nights for us so we could go to a wedding rehearsal and wedding. Thanks Mimo for all the help. An extra hand around here is so much help!!

Sunday the babies got to try zwieback toast for the first time. What a mess! The babies seemed to really enjoy it but we didn't enjoy the cleanup so much! Lindy was so funny with it. She'd have it really close to her face to check it out and would then stick it in her mouth. She'd pull it out and stare at it up close and then stick it back in her mouth. They have also had biter biscuits this week and they make just as bad a mess. Hopefully it is feeling good on their teeth though! The babies also got to brush their teeth for the first time Sunday. We've been wiping their mouths out with a washcloth but I finally got them toothbrushes so we've tried them out this week. They don't seem to mind too much!

Tuesday morning we had Lindy's deaf and hard of hearing teacher at the house. Then I took the babies to town and met some friends, Donna and Vicky, for lunch. Will sat in a big boy high chair for the first time ever! I forgot my camera though. What kind of mother am I? They both did really well during lunch. Then I was really brave and took both of them to Walmart by myself for the first time! I just took the double stroller in because I just needed a couple things. All the attention still catches me off guard.

Wednesday Lindy had a hearing test at Baptist and she did pretty well. We put her in the sound booth and she did so much better than last time. We had her hearing aides off and the audiologist was coming through the speakers. I was surprised at how much she turned in response. When she turns in response to a sound a dog in the corner lights up and barks. After lowering the lights we think she could actually see the dog. The audiologist said her hearing is about what we expected. She said it's more in the mild range for low frequencies but then it drops off with the higher frequencies. A lot of speech sounds are up in the high frequencies. She did a little better than we expected in some of the higher frequencies so she was able to turn her hearing aides down just a little bit. We are seeing definite responses with her hearing aides so that is exciting!

Thursday the babies finally got their one year old shots at the pediatrician's office. It was just a nurse visit since we'd already been for the actual doctor's appointment. Neither one of them enjoyed the four shots but both calmed down pretty quickly. We medicated with Tylenol throughout the day and neither seemed to have any problems. Will's second tooth also seemed to break through the surface on Thursday. Lindy also started eating whole Puffs on Thursday. She gags a little bit but otherwise does well with them.

Today the babies had lunch for the first time. We hadn't gotten around to starting lunch because neither seemed to be needing more food. I'm still not sure they do but I decided that lunch would be our time to explore some new foods and some finger foods. They had yogurt today for the first time at lunch. I think the temperature caught Lindy off guard at first but then she ate it. We just shared one YoBaby cup and they didn't finish it but it was good to start something new. All we do each day is sleep and eat! Seems like there really isn't that much time for anything else! This evening we went out and the babies took their first ride in their new wagon. They were so cute. Will loved it. Lindy kicked back and threw her foot up and rode for awhile before getting a little fussy. I wish we had some sidewalks we could go out on a real walk! The highway we live on just doesn't cut it!

Enjoy some pictures of the week.

"Don't bother me, I'm teething."

Standing is fun!

Sneaky Will. You have to watch that one!

Zwieback toast!

Brushing our teeth!

Cute church outfits.

Our newest addition to the living room. Containment, mostly for Will! It's been called the corral, OK corral, baby jail, and penalty box this week. I call it a lifesaver. I needed someplace to put him and know he'd be there when I got back. We brought this little swing set back from Missouri with us. We've been out on the porch a few times this week enjoying the pretty afternoons. They take turns between the swing and exersaucer.
Our little bongo players! The little monkey in our house. He crawled up here by himself.
Lindy in a cute new birthday dress.

We have a little stuffed dog that we use when we do our Learning to Listen sounds with Lindy (something we do to teach her to listen). Every time she sees it she smiles so big. It's so cute!
And finally, the babies first red wagon ride.

Cool babies! Check out Lindy with her leg cocked up!

Show Me State Road Trip

We left on Sunday, July 27th and we DROVE to Missouri! 27 hours later we landed in Missouri at my sister's house. The babies went to eight new states in one week. They did amazingly well. Lindy was a dream baby the entire way there and back. Will did get a little bit fussy each way but really wasn't too bad. We really enjoyed our nation's rest areas. We would find a rest area that would be close to the babies bottle time and would stop at it. We spread out a blanket, let them roll and stretch, fed them bottles, and then Drew and I would make a sandwich and eat there as well. We saved a lot of time and money by stopping at rest areas. We became pros at our little stops.

We made it to my sister's house in time for dinner on Monday night. We got to meet baby Rylee for the first time. She is so cute and sweet. It's funny to see Drew willingly pick her up and hold her. 5 years ago we had to make him hold Hayley!

Tuesday we did not do much of anything. We were trying to recover from the drive and were trying to get good naps for the babies. My parents flew in early Tuesday morning so we had the whole gang together!

Wednesday was the babies 1st birthday and their second birthday party. Most of the day was spent getting ready for the party. We all had a great time, and they got to meet all kinds of family.

Thursday we went to Overland Park, Kansas to the Deana Rose Children's Farmstead with my sister, Amy, her husband Lee, her daughters, Hayley and Rylee, my parents, and our cousins Lauree, Cassie, and Ruby. It was the neatest place for kids. Hayley and Cassie had a blast petting the animals, bamboo stick fishing, and riding a pony. The best part about it was that it was free! Some of the things inside cost money but it is free admission. How cool is that! We pulled the babies stroller up to some goats and before we knew it the goat was nibbling on the stroller handle!

Friday we left my sister's house in Kansas City and drove up to Maryville where my family is all from. We went by the nursing home on the way into town and visited my grandmother. I had not seen her in two years. She got to meet Will and Lindy for the first time. She had not seen Drew for awhile either. Drew loves my grandmother because she kept telling him how good looking he is! After hearing it all weekend, he really thinks he is hot stuff! Friday afternoon my mom, Amy, and I took Hayley to the Maryville Aquatic Center. It is by far the coolest city pool you have ever seen. It has water slides, diving boards, a regular big pool, and a really awesome kids area. The kids area has the zero entry part on it which is really neat. We had planned to take the babies but they had not been sleeping or napping well so they had to stay home. I'm a mean mama! Friday night we met up with my uncle and cousins and had a cookout at my grandparents house. Some other family members who were in town were able to come as well.

Saturday was the least fun day of the trip. We had my grandfather's funeral service that day, even though he passed away on June 7th. My grandmother was able to get of out the nursing home for the first time in 2.5 years and come to the funeral. The service was really very nice. Our cousin, Lyndsey, babysat the kids at the church. We brought them down to the lunch afterwards so they could meet even more people. My grandfather had talked about them a lot so everyone knew all about them. I sure wish my grandfather had been there to meet them instead of us attending his funeral.

Sunday morning the girls visited my grandmother at the nursing home and then we went swimming again. This time we took Drew and the babies. They seemed to have fun, before they conked out and fell asleep. Sunday evening we headed back down to my sister's house in KC.

And Monday morning we took off for home. We took a different route home, this one took us through Tennessee. We spent Monday night with an old friend of Drew's, Greg, his wife Sloan, and their daughter Hannah. It was good to see them, but with that many babies at bedtime we didn't get to spend as much time visiting as we would have liked.

We took off Tuesday morning and got home around dinner time. We were all VERY happy to get out of the car. We've spent all week recovering and trying to get back on schedule. Will got to Missouri, and he forgot how to sleep through the night! There were a few very long nights where no one in the room was very happy. He's done better since he got home. Between teething and being in a strange place he was not having much to do with sleeping at night!

Here are lots of pictures from our trip.

Drew and Will at our first rest area in West Virginia. Me and my sweet baby girl.
A nice lady came to look at the babies and offered to take a picture of us! Hayley and Will. The babies loved Hayley and Hayley loved the babies!
Hayley teaching Lindy how to play Simon.
Nana and Will.
Will and Lindy got to swing for the first time in their lives! Will absolutely LOVED it! He laughed the entire time. It was so cute!
Lindy wasn't so sure. She acted pretty nonchalant about her first swinging experience.

Uncle Drew and sweet baby Rylee.
Will and Lindy with some goats at the Deana Rose Children's Farmstead.
Who knew Drew was a strong and gentle dairy farmer?!
Our little family.
The Crozier Gang. My family, plus my Uncle Jim, cousin Michael, cousin Lauree, her husband Danny, and her kids Cassie and Ruby.

My family together.
My sister's family.
Our family.
Nana, Papa, and their grandkids.
The sweet outfits that the babies wore to their Great Grandfather's funeral. Will wore the sweater vest in honor of his namesake, who frequently wore sweater vests. So many people told me on this trip that Lindy looked like my grandfather. That's cool that Will got his name and Lindy got his looks!

Doesn't he look so old?
Such a big boy!
The sweetest girl EVER!
I love this picture. She is so cute when she plays with her feet. Doesn't she look like she is having the most fun? Lindy, Will, and baby cousin Rylee.Just a bunch of cousins hanging out. The girls visiting Granny. We were missing Rylee though.
At the Maryville pool.
Lindy hates this hat!
Swimming will wear a baby out.
Our family with Granny at the nursing home.
At a rest stop on the way home!
"Are we there yet?"
The cutest and best car riding baby girl ever!