Jalen's follow-up appointment

Jalen had his follow-up appointment with the dermatologist regarding his hemangioma. The Dr. said there was no need to do a second laser treatment. However, she does want to get an ultrasound done on him to make sure there are no hemangiomas internally. Since Jalen has multiples (6) on his body she wants to make sure. She is not concerend with Landon since he only has 3. Though, Landon does have one on his upper eyelid that we need to keep an eye on. It's a size of a pin point and the Dr. said this will probably not rise since it has just now developed. We go Monday for Jalens' ultrasound. Jalen was also weighed at yesterdays appointment and he is now 16.1 lbs! He was just 14.10 2 weeks ago! Landon was not weighted, but I am sure he is right with Jalen. They are growing so fast!

Of course here are some pics.

"Im telling you, Landon! It was THIS big!"


"your hands are so soft"



"I will always lend you hand or a thumb" And yes Landon did suck his thumb


"Look Mom! I can feed myself!"

Play time!

Slept in own crib!

It was time for Jalen and Landon to be seperated and sleep in their own crib. They have been sleeping in same crib since day one that we brought them home. Last night we made the transition and it was a SUCCESS! They both still slept through the night. I am sure Jalen appreciated not being kicked. Landon is a HUGE squirmer and moves around a lot. The other night I found his legs on top of Jalen and wondered how many kicks Jalen took. Jalen stays put in the same spot we layed him down, but Landon will move across the bed and even do 360s and 180s in there. Boys are fussing to eat, so I better go feed them. :-)

You will always be remembered Skye!

Last Sunday, my mom had to make the unfathomable decision that it was time to put our beloved 15 year Shepard beagle mix, Skye to rest. She had a very bad heart and high blood pressure. Skye was a great dog and very much loved. Skye was our first family dog after many numerous attempts convincing my dad allowing us to have a dog and taking care of a few strays that came to our door. I was 10 years old when we brought Skye home. We named her Skye because of her husky blue eyes. I remember the first night we brought our puppy home. My brother, sister, and I were so excited to finally get a dog and wanted to stay up all night playing with her. Skye was our princess! We bought her matching pink collar and leash. She loved taking walks around the neighborhood. Skye acted like any other puppy with chewing on base boards in the house, stuffed animals, digging holes, and etc. My dad would always get upset with Skye digging in his flower bed. It did not take Skye long to be house trained. She was always happy and energetic! I miss going over to my parents and her not greeting me at the door. I get sad looking at her corner where she took naps and her not being there.



I will always remember that day when Skye came in from outside one night with something in her mouth. She quickly ran upstairs into my room to what my mom found a huge surprise. In her mouth was a rabbits’ head! Skye was always curious about the world outside. I will miss watching her put her paws on the window sill to watch the cars drive by in the neighborhood, watch the kids playing, and everything else going on. Skye would always bark at strangers though when greeted she always would come up to you and give you a doggy kiss. I will remember how Skye was afraid of huge thunderstorms that went on during the night. She would curl up in bed with me or if I was not home, she would go wake up my mom. My sister took my place after I moved out.



Skye was very spoiled! We made sure she was always happy. My mom would buy her special dog food to put in her regular food. She had 2 big comfy beds. She had one downstairs and one upstairs in my sisters’ room. She received the second one, when she started having a hard time jumping up on the bed. My mom always made sure she was happy. I am going to miss watching her “make” her bed. She would move the pillow top halfway on her bed to make it to her liking. When Skye was a puppy, my mom spoiled her with pigs’ ears. This was her favorite until she was introduced to cheese. Skye would wake up and jolt downstairs if she heard this word. Where ever she was, she would run to the fridge and sit there wanting some cheese. I will always remember playing our game, “If you’re happy and you know it.” I would sing this to her and replace the words clap, shout hooray, stomp your feet, with shake, lay down, and other dog tricks she learned. My sister and brother always laughed at us when we did this, but it was our bonding time and she loved it! I think because at the very end she got a piece of cheese. I will remember laughing at Skye humping peoples’ legs and Hunter. We would always say “Skye you are a girl! Quit that!” I am also going to miss Christmas with her and watching her sniff and try to open her gifts.



Skye was very loving and very protective with us kids. There would be nights that I would not be at home and Skye would whine at my parents’ door waking up my mom. She would bring my mom into my room, jump on my bed to show that I am not home. This did get me in trouble some nights when my mom did not know I was not home yet. I am going to miss sneaking dinner scraps from the table to Skye. I am going to miss sneaking her on the couch cuddling watching TV. Skye was a fan watching movies and TV. She would sit in front of the TV and would just sit there and stare. It always cracked us up when we had movie night and Skye would join. I will always remember Skye running laps around the pool and sunbathing in the summer time. She loved the outdoors and lying in the sun. Even though I hated the haircuts, but I will always remember the haircuts mom gave her because she just knew she felt cooler. I did always enjoy seeing her with a bandana scarf around her neck. My mom always had the pet shop give her haircuts along with cutting her nails. She HATED getting her nails trimmed.



Skye was very friendly and excellent with kids. I am glad Jalen and Landon got to spend some time with Skye before she passed away. I will always remember coming over to pick up the boys and Skye would be lying next to them protecting them.



You were an awesome dog, Skye! We will all miss you. Your friends Hunter and Jackson will meet you in doggy heaven one day and you guys can play like you used to. Even though several days have passed, I still get sad and shed some tears. You were with us for 15 years. I know you are now not suffering any more or no longer in pain. You will never be forgotten Skye! I love you!

My very talkative baby

I believe Jalen is going to say his first word before Landon does. Jalen is constantly making sounds and many excited squeels all day. He can just sit there for a whole hour cooing. Here he is in action.

Dr's appointment and other stuff

I know I am a little late on the update about their Dr's appointment, but wanted to let everyone know that it all went well. The pedi said they both look great and he said they are ready to start on cereal. We have not tried the cereal yet and we may wait a little while. At this appointment they received their shots and they were not fans at all. They cried a little bit, but with a little TLC, in seconds they went back to sleep. It broke my heart as we were leaving because I heard a little boy crying out to his mommy and screaming "it hurts" This is going to just kill me when the boys start talking crying out for me and there is nothing I can do. Who knows maybe we will be just lucky and they wont mind shots...haha NOT! I don't think there is a child out there who likes them. The pedi was also happy to know that both boys are sleeping through the night and have been for over a month now.

In some news about Jordan, he has received an opportunity to play at the Field of Dreams at Walt Disney World for soccer. We are all excited and happy for him. He will be traveling in mid January for 5 days to play in this soccer tournament. He was scouted from the local traveling soccer league and will be playing with them.

Everything has been going well and we are always on our toes. Here are some pics since it wont be a blog with out pics right? :-)

Landon

Jalen in stroller

First ride at Kings Island

Jordan being spanked by the pumpkin

tummy time

4 months old!

I can't believe they are 4 months old today! They look so different from the day they were born and only being 4 lbs. Yesterday Jalen and Landon had their follow-up appointment with the NICU and everything went great! They are both where they need to be according to their adjusted age and are right on track. The adjusted age is the age that they would have been if they were born on their due date (June 30th). The therapists did show me some exercises to work with the boys to help them learn how to sit up on their own. The exercises are little baby crunches. Both boys tend to keep a straight back going from laying down to sitting up. These exercises will help them use their upper muscles better and learn to bend the back.

The nurses weighed them and WOW they are getting so BIG! Landon is now 14 lbs 8 oz, 24 inches long and Jalen is 14lbs 5 oz, 23 1/2 inches long. They are in the 75th percentile in their weights and length going from their adjusted age. We will see how much they have grown next Monday when they go in for their 4 month appointment and shots.

Boys in their blue jeans

Jalen

Landon

I have been slacking

Sorry guys! I have heard from some people that a quick video post does not count as an update of the boys. :-) We have been really busy and I am hoping things will slow down now that summer is over. Booo! Though that means it's football season and our household are HUGE football fans. We even caught Landon turning his head to watch the Colts preseason game. The boys are getting so big and I can't believe they are 2 days shy from turning 4 months old. Tomorrow they have their follow-up appointment with the NICU and next week they go see the pedi for the 4 mo. check up. They will get their shots and we will talk about cereal. I am 50/50 if I want to start them on cereal or not. I have read that it is better for the infant to start eating cereal at 6 months old of age. I will ask the pedi and see what he thinks. Obviously they don't need it to sleep through the night, since my breast milk has been doing the tricks. It has been over a month that they been sleeping through the night. Typical bedtime would be 8-9pm and they wont wake up until 6-7:30am. Daddy and I love getting the extra sleep. However, we usually can't nap during the day because they only take a few 20 min power naps.

We love that they are so active now. Both boys have been doing everything together. Both wake/sleep at same time, eat, and learning new tricks. They love playing with their legs and feet. Both are also fascinated with their hands. They love playing with their toys and know how to use them. During tummy time, they will reach for their rattle/toy and bring it towards them. Landon and Jalen are constantly laughing and smiling. There are times that it's hard to feed them because they would rather sit there and smile than eat. I will probably post another blog tomorrow or next day to give the update from the appointment.

Here are some pics

Boys playing

Jalen showing off his babylegs

Jalen in his swing

Landon loves tummy time

Jackson and Landon stops and turn to smile at camera

"Shake...Goodboy Jackson"

Landon dancing to Michael

Sorry it's a little shakey. I was dancing too. :-)

Boys playing