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!

Happy 1st Birthday Lindy and Will!!!

I know this post is a week late. We've been out of town.

The babies turned 1 year old on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008. We simply cannot believe they are one year old. Where does time go? Some other family blogs I have read on the internet did not do big celebrations for their premature babies’ one year birthday. They had a hard time accepting they are a year old, when they weren't supposed to be. Yes, it's hard to accept it since they should only be around 9 months old. But Drew and I felt that we needed to celebrate the accomplishments that both babies have had the last year. We wanted to celebrate the obstacles they have overcome. We are so proud of how they have blossomed the last year and we wanted big celebrations to mark the day.

Of course for Drew and I the day also brings about some mixed feelings for us. We wish more than anything that Adam could have been with us, celebrating his first birthday and eating his birthday cake. It should have been three babies, not two. Drew and I are pretty guarded about the subject but we miss him more than words can ever describe.

Most of you know the story of the last year. The babies were born at 25 weeks and 2 days. The babies fought in the NICU for many long months. Will came home after 100 days, on November 6th, 2007. 50 of those days he spent at least some part of the day on a ventilator. Lindy came home on December 19, 2007, after 143 days in the NICU. She spent at least some part of 95 days on a ventilator.

They have come so far. Lindy easily takes her bottles and easily eats her rice cereal, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables. So far there is nothing she does not like. She has begun eating almost full sizes of Puffs. She does continue to have thickened milk. Her biggest accomplishment has been to come off oxygen during her waking hours. She is tank free during the day. She is still debating whether she needs the oxygen during sleeping times. We haven’t used it for almost two weeks so we shall see. Lindy has done so well overcoming her hearing and vision issues. We know she sees. Even without her glasses on we know she sees us. We are pretty sure she hears us as well. We have seen her definitely turn in response to sound. It is exciting to see that! Despite her severe hearing and vision loss, she is the happiest baby we have ever seen. She smiles all the time. She looks at us and smiles and it melts our hearts. She has the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen. The addition of her two bottom teeth make it even cuter! She has also started cutting her top left tooth. Teething has been a nonissue for Miss Lindy. If she has been in pain, we can’t tell. She has started rolling over completely and sitting for shorts periods of time unsupported. She loves to bear weight on her sweet, chunky legs. Overall, she is doing awesome!

Will is doing so well, also. He easily takes his bottles and happily eats his rice cereal, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables. So far there is nothing he does not like. He eats full sizes of Puffs now. On the way to Missouri I would hand him a Puff and he would take it from me and put it in his mouth. This was the first time he had actually gotten them in there. While in Missouri he picked Puffs up off his highchair tray and ate them. Another first for him. He also continues to have thickened milk. One might not know Will was ever a premature baby. He has excelled developmentally since he came home. He is on target in most areas with his adjusted age. He rolls, crawls, and pulls up now. He loves standing on his chunky legs. Will is really fun to be around. He has an infectious smile and laugh. He is a people person. He lights up when new people come in the room. He has become a terror on knees. He is into everything he can get his hands on. He makes a beeline for everything he is not supposed to touch! He babbles away all day long. He loves when Lindy makes noises and has recently found our cat Jack to be very entertaining.

Our kids have some of the best temperaments I have ever seen. We have truly been blessed with such happy, laid-back children. They have proven time and again that they are little fighters. It’s been a heck of a year. We hope the next year will start of better than the last, but we hope that the babies continue to thrive and develop as they have this past year.

Their actual birthday was spent in Missouri with my family. The day was spent getting ready for another big party that evening which a lot of my family and friends came to. I’m so happy the babies got to meet their extended family and have them help celebrate. Enjoy the pictures!

Happy 1st Birthday Lindy. She woke up surprised that it was her special day!

Happy 1st Birthday Will. He was excited it was his special day!
A little birthday breakfast.
Good birthday breakfast eats!
The most precious first birthday girl EVER!
The most precious first birthday boy EVER!
Just a couple of 1 year olds!
These were there party shirts. Thanks Aunt Amy!
Their Missouri birthday cakes.

The babies eating their cake!
Lindy knew exactly what to do this time. As soon as I sat it down she immediately put her hand in it and then started sucking that thumb! She must have a sweet tooth!
Will was a little unsure at first. The frosting had a definite texture to it and at first he was just feeling it. With a little help from his mother, he was able to smash through it. And then he knew what to do. He remembered that sweet stuff from the week before!
This time Lindy made the bigger mess. She was pink all over!
Will's smashed cake.
Lindy's hard work.
Celebrating the big day with cousin Hayley.

Cousins Lauree, Cassie, and Ruby were in MO from Colorado.

Some friends, Erin and Philip and their daughters Ella and Katherine and Carolina (twin girls) were there. My sister's best friend Shelly was there. My sister and Lee are on the right.

Me and my Great Uncle Truman. The babies great great uncle.

My sister, Amy, holding sweet baby Rylee, more cousins Ken and Nancy, my mom, and another cousin Sandy.

The kids table, Christina, Ella, and Hayley.

More family: cousin Chris, Uncle Truman, cousin Julianne (with her back to the camera) and Uncle Jim.

We didn't get a picture of everyone but also at the party: Cousins Susan and her kids Christina and Danny; Cousins Janet, Chris, and their kids Julianne and Nicholas; Barb and Merle; Lori and her son Shawn and daughter Kylie; Aunt Sue; Cousin Lyndsey; Cousin Natalie and her son Gabe.