Kid-Isms

Nolanisms-

• My dad told Nolan he had eyes in the back of his head. Nolan said, "Nuh-uh!" Pause. "Only Mommy's have that!"
• "When I'm 7 do you wanna buy me some video games? Then when I come in for lunch from playing outside, I won't be sad."
• We were telling Nolan about a friend who is pregnant. Nolan asked, "How many babies is she having?" We said, "She's having one baby." Nolan looked at us, put his hands on his hip and said, "Well we have more than her."
• I read Nolan a card to the family from my mom and dad. After I read it Nolan asked, "Are you supposed to read that every time I sneeze?" I was so confused, so I asked why...he said, "Because the letter says 'God Bless you.'" (My mom always signs letters, "God bless you all..."
• Brian jokingly told Nolan to "watch your mouth." Nolan said, "I can't watch my mouth, I can't even see it."
• When Nolan found out Daniel was having a cardiac catheter procedure because the doctors have to "fix his heart," Nolan said, "Oh. I think his heart is broke because I squeezed him too hard."

Joseph-isms

• Joseph shook the wine rack (naughty), then immediately came over and kissed us.
• When J is doing something he's not supposed to he covers his mouth with an open palm, as if he's covering his mouth while laughing.
• Joseph has ear piercing screams/shrieks and he does this pretty much all day long. I am hoping this phase passes soon.
• Josephs suddenly terrified of the bath tub, going into hysterics at the sound of the bath.

Danny-isms

• When D is done eating food, he'll continue to put food in his mouth, but he'll spit it out then throw it on the floor.
• Daniel suddenly won't eat anything we try to feed him off a spoon or fork. He has to do it 100% himself.
• Daniel loves to dance and sing!
• Daniel can now stand in place and walk all on his own.

Dance Party

Quietly Mischevious

Between the two twins, my polar opposite boys, Joseph is definitely the rough one. He's always stealing a toy, hitting Daniel, or pushing him over. For the most part, Daniel is completely laid back and just goes with the flow. But I have always thought he's just waiting...and calculating. My theory proved to be a bit right last week when J fell asleep in Brian's arms and we let him rest on the floor while we got lunch together.

XOXO,

Daniel's Procedure

Hi friends, Thanks for all the prayers and support, as always, I'm so humbled by it. Daniel did fantastic today. He has two new stints in his heart, which is ultimately what we wanted, because this will buy us more time before his next open heart surgery. Once we meet with the cardiologist (hopefully tomorrow before we leave), we'll update with more specifics. Right now, D is at my side, sound asleep. He has had a bit of a rough afternoon, with terrible gas, which made his heart rate soar twice, the second time sending everyone into (what felt like to me) a panic. They don't mess around here and I'm grateful for that. I'm so glad it was nothing more serious than gas...it was pretty scary for a bit there. D's managed to pass some of the gas and he has even been smiling, cooing and get this...dancing. I knew we couldn't keep him quiet long! The rest of the gang is doing well, the other two boys behaved great and Grammy & Pop Pop L were a HUGE help! I'm waiting for some grub and then I'm hoping to catch some z's myself. Thank you all so so much. We're so grateful. Our family's heart is full tonight. XOXO,

Daniel Update

As I've mentioned in a couple posts, alot of our "getting settled" process has been getting Daniel to all of his doctors appointments. We were told that Boston was the best place to be for all of D's medical issues and people were right on, we really feel blessed to be in a place where every specialist really knows their stuff and help is at our fingertips. So far we've met with his cardiologist, GI, Orthopedic, Early Steps (he is right on track, except for his weight) and 2 dietitians/nutritionists. We have an upcoming genetics specialist we'll meet with in a couple months, if not sooner.

Daniel has already had a sedated echo, where they looked really closely at his heart, x-rays on his spine and lots of blood work. Tomorrow is a big day for him, as he'll be getting a catheter cardiac procedure. That means, they'll insert a catheter into his leg (while he's asleep, under anaesthesia) and up to look even closer at his heart. They are concerned with the uneven pressures on the blood flow in his heart. Brian, as always, could explain the medical side of this way better than myself. We'll have lots more answers after tomorrow about when his next open heart surgery will be. He will stay overnight tomorrow and I will stay right next to him at his bed.

Our biggest concern with Daniel lately, other than his heart, is of course his weight. The cardiologist said we may be able to pinpoint a reason for his slow gain in the procedure tomorrow, which would be a huge help. He eats well most meals, drinks his milk so-so (much better than his bottle days), but with all the calories we give him, he should be gaining more. Its so frustrating.

But I will say this...he is the most amazing little boy. He walks everywhere now, and still has the proud smile when he does walk. He's so proud of himself! He is extremely mischievous, but quietly so. He is a huge ham and has begun to love cuddling with me, often stopping play to run across the room, huge grin on his face, to give me a hug and lay his head in my lap for some love. He reminds me so much of Nolan. He adores playing trains and cars and thinks its a blast to run full speed down hill...Nolan at least did this in grass, but Daniel prefers concrete. His eyes are still the most amazing thing you've ever seen. I love that all 3 of my boys have the most gorgeous blue eyes, but each differs just slightly in tint. D's are like looking into a clear blue pool, or like drifting in a sky. They are magical. I've gotten off on a tangent, but I'm hoping that my emotions will drift out to you enough to know how much we could use your prayers tomorrow and in the upcoming months. I love telling Daniel how many people are praying for him and pulling for him. We love you all and will be updating the blog and facebook tomorrow!

XOXO,

Bath Time

Bath time in our house is pure insanity. I dread bath time as much as I love it. Its absolutely fantastic when we have nothing going on the next day, we've eaten dinner on time or early and we can enjoy it, but that doesn't happen most nights. Its a lot of work....BUT (there's only a but, isn't there?), its so fun, too. Messy, soaking wet, splashing fun. The twins are starting to kind of listen when we tell them to sit down, but some nights its constantly sitting one on their bottom, then turning to the other and sitting them down. For awhile we didn't let them bathe together, but in the end, it was a longer process and not nearly as much fun for them. Nolan always was a wild one in the tub, so now we are expecting him to be the "calm" one and I know its not always fair. One of these days I'm going to just move all the towels/rugs/etc and tell him to splash his brothers back...who am I kidding, I'm not that brave. Here are some pics from the night before their birthday. Grandma M was here to help, so we let them go a little nuts and we were able to get some video and pics.

D sportin the mohawk:

Daniel stands, Nolan trying to get him to sit down: Joseph stands next:

I just think J looks adorable in this shot:

XOXO,

Two Wheels

Look who got his training wheels off! I could only watch him learn in the grass, once he was on the street, I had to go inside. He is a pro and much to my dismay a complete daredevil! He really tries (and mostly succeeds) at keeping up with the older boys in our neighborhood, so he jumps curbs, does "no hands," "no feet" and is a speed demon. He's really ready for the next size bike, so we're debating getting one now or waiting until Christmas...we'll see. I'm super proud of him, even though he terrifies me!

XOXO,

Summer Bash

The weekend prior to the 4th of July, Hanscom AFB had their annual summer bash. There were rides, food and fireworks and it was a great night! The fireworks were at about 9, and we walked home afterwards (we walk most places on base these days) so the boys were up late. The next morning they all slept until 9 AM!!! Happy Momma!

Daniel riding the carousel: Joseph and I, before it started, at which point he cried. Now that we know he gets carsick I feel bad!

Nolan and his little pal, Addie, who lives down the street:

Oh, did I mention the beer garden? :)

XOXO,

Twin's 1st Birthday

The twins birthday was June 12th and snuck up on me rather quickly. We decided to have a low key, family day focused on the twins instead of throwing a big bash...especially since we just moved here. Brian's parents were in town and so the 7 of us went to an amusement park geared towards younger kids in New Hampshire. There weren't quite as many rides the babies could ride as we thought, but they were thrilled to be out and about and Nolan definitely had fun! We ended the day with take out pizza, presents and of course cake. It was a beautiful day, and one I used to reflect on the past year. We are so grateful to all of our friends and family that supported us endlessly in the past year and most importantly I'm so grateful to my God for giving us these boys and for each and every day with all 3 of them. They are all miracles and they make me so stinkin' proud!

Joseph & Daniel's 1st carousal ride.

The park's shark. Nolan asked if he would bite him!

We had a mini photo session before cakes and gifts. It went fairly well, but Joseph is afraid of heights, so didn't like being up on the box. I love this shot because Nolan, without anyone telling him, kept kissing Daniel.

Two out of 3 smile big. Poor Jo Jo is terrified.

We are set up to party!

The cakes were made by me. Ha, not! I wish! Maybe next year. I went to an adorable little bakery in Lexington, fell in love with the place actually. We laughed that the "big people" cake was the same size as the babies, but double stacked (the babies one layer only), but it was MORE than enough (had a yummy raspberry filling in the middle for us)! We sang Happy Birthday twice...to Joseph, then Daniel. This was the part of the day I almost cried...where did a year go? Joseph wouldn't keep his hat on until we could distract him with cake. The first bite...Daniel's (left) not so sure. Joseph's positively sure of this and is hurrying before we decide to take it away!

Getting a little messy. Daniel mostly just watched from this point on, very intrigued, totally happy, but not interested in the cake. We finally offered it to him on a spoon and he gobbled it up...he's very civilized!!

This just makes me chuckle, because Daniel kept watching J like he was insane! How different can two boys be?? Big brother gets a bite!

What a glorious disaster!!!

XOXO,

Proud to be an American

Joseph LOVES playing with these flags and even points and asks for them (I swear it sounded like he said, "AG!"

Daniel's just a cutie pie, happy as always!

XOXO,

Happy 4th Of July!!

Wow, what a difference a year makes. Last year Brian and I were severely sleep deprived, but so happy. This year the whole family slept in until 8 AM. We're REALLY happy! Happy Independence Day folks and a huge thanks to all our men and women who allow us to be free! We had a great day, relaxing and grilling out with some neighbors/friends. The kids all had a blast.

Last year, those babies were so tiny!!! The twins were not even a month old, so so crazy! J is on the left, D on the right. Even Nolan looks so young.

And the present day:

I had a little too much fun dressing the boys up. Hey, I'm a mommy to all boys, let me have my fun! Even Brian got into to it. (Nolan was too, but he was way too busy to take pics. Even the family photo was a complete interruption of his play time)! Joe Dirt, Jr.

XOXO,

June's Kid-Isms

Yep, I'm a day late and a dollar short. But here they go.

Nolanisms:

• The days of "lasterday" are close to gone. He got teased, so now we are working on saying "yesterday." It was the only word we didn't correct (other than Jofus) and he of course got teased!
• I took Nolan to the Boston Children's hospital for what turned out to be a scare, a false alarm belly ache. Anyway, after he was feeling better, he was lying in the hospital bed in his little gown and feeling better, so of course he was cl owing around. I told him to stop or he would fall. He looked at me as if I was insane and said, "Mom, its okay if I fall out of bed and get hurt here. We're in a hospital."
• Nolan kept calling Brian and I "ERUPTING Cheese!" and belly laughing so hard. We thought he was officially off his rocker until he followed it up with, "Good day Sir!" We finally realized he was quoting a TV commercial, where the Cheese-It tells the doctor an "interrupting Cheese" joke. He thinks its the funniest commercial ever!
• Nolan asked me one day, very seriously, "Mom, what if I wasn't so cute?" I was thrown off and asked what he meant. He said, "Well you always say, 'You're lucky you're cute!'"

Jo-Joisms:

• Joseph walks now...everywhere, all the time. Its my favorite baby hood stage, watching him toddle around, belly sticking out, arms back, no fear to speak of and just plum thrilled to be walking!
• J also gives kisses on command, but watch out, they are always open mouthed and often with a tongue hanging out!
• J says "Niy-Niy" and then puts his head down as if going to sleep!

Danny-isms:

• Daniel walked, too!! But once he mastered it, he got over it and still crawls everywhere.
• Daniel only signs for more when we eat ice cream.
• D & J both clap
• D & J both mimic Nolan and I chewing gum. Its hilarious!

XOXO,