Our life

Life has been a little hectic lately. Two weeks ago we took the girls up to Ogden Utah for the first time to visit Michael's sister and her little family. We had a lot of fun playing with cousins and friends. We went shopping in Park City and four wheeling in Little Moab with Michael's friend Andy and his girlfriend and kids. We had a great time with all of them and can't wait to see them again in August. We came home right as the girls were getting sick and of course I caught whatever they have. They have also learned to roll, Reagan being quite the master doing three rolls in a row, and with their stuffy noses leave little slime trails wherever they are. The girls are quite active now and love to people watch and observe what's going on. They are no longer content being infants on the couch. They are big girls and love to be up and about. I'm so glad that they waited until Daddy was out of school to become so active because I need all the help I can get. Michael is so great at taking care of the girls in the morning so I can sleep in. He is such a fantastic Father and Husband.

Andy's turn

Michael trying not to give us a heart attack since he had Katie's kids in the car with him!

Katie and I with the girls. It was windy, so please excuse the hair!

Bailey and Reagan in the hammock at Aunt Nicole and Uncle Brian's.

What's new?

We went on a picnic to Dog Valley and it was really windy. Every time a big gust would come through the picnic site Bailey would stick her tongue out!
Reagan holding her bottle

Not much has been going on in our little family. The girls are right on track developmentally for their adjusted age which is a huge relief. We've been told since day 1 that our micro babies were going to face so many challenges and that they were really going to have to struggle, but we have been blessed that they have not. They are at such a fun stage grabbing everything they see and trying to sit up. They talk to each other and hold hands and get so excited when they see one another. They have each rolled a few times from tummy to back and Reagan held her bottle on her own the other day for about 30 seconds. The physical therapist and developmental specialist are so pleased with their progress. Mom and Dad are pretty proud of their little fighters too! After 6 and 1/2 months of giving the girls breast milk only I decided to stop pumping (sorry about the subject!). I couldn't keep up with them anymore and was having to feed them more often. My supply was decreasing because of the stress, so I stopped. They have to take a special preemie formula and they don't sell a lot of it at the store so every time we go in we buy every can that they have, usually 3 or 4. Our pantry looks like we're hoarding baby formula! The only other thing that is new lately is that I have taken up a new hobby. I am learning to quilt and so far I love it. Michael says he doesn't know how I can stand to sit there and cut out all those little squares perfectly, but I like it!

A day late...

And don't they look happy about it! I should have posted this yesterday, but I got busy and forgot, so it's a day late. The other exciting thing that happened yesterday was that my brother Skyler got his mission call! Unfortunately, the stinker is making all of us wait until tomorrow night to hear where he's going! He swears he's not going to peak, but I don't think he can do it. You can see a video of him getting it in the mail on his blog to the right. I'll let you know where he's going tomorrow! I can't wait. I can't believe my baby brother is leaving us for two years!

Sometimes no news is a good thing

Yay! Bailey bug is off her oxygen. She's so cute when she sleeps!
Playing at the park. They were so worn out when we got home.
I love that sweet little smile!
Even the baby size bunny ears didn't fit :( 

It seems like so much has happened the past 6 months, that it's nice to finally kind of settle down. The girls both recovered quickly from their bronchitis, but not before passing it on to Daddy who ended up getting pleurisy from it. The infection got into the lining of his lungs and he was in excruciating pain all the time. He would wake up at 3 am doubled over in pain. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do for it except wait it out which can take over 2 weeks! He's finally feeling better.

Bailey has been off her oxygen for about 2 weeks now. I love having portable babies! We've gone shopping, to church, to the park, on lots of walks and to dinner with a friend. And it is sooo much easier bathing them. Because they are both off they finally sleep in their own room. They absolutely love sleeping in their crib and will sometimes cry until we lay them in there. They calm down immediately. Daddy and the dog are also sleeping better with them in their own room. I am the only one who is getting even less sleep than before. I am constantly getting up to check on them, and I get paranoid when they don't make any noise.

Easter weekend was so much fun. A very dear family friend (she's been part of our family for almost 23 years!) came to visit. The girls loved her and were always smiling and giggling with her. She went shopping with my mom, sister, me and the girls on Saturday. We had the girl's picture taken with the Easter bunny. We all went to church together on Sunday and then had a big family dinner. She left Monday and we all miss her already!

Look Mom, no oxygen!

That's right, Reagan is officially done with her oxygen. Here she is on Wednesday or as I like to call it,"no more O2 day." She loves parading around the house and has already been on a lunch date with Auntie Leah and Auntie Alisha for Leah's birthday. Grandma doesn't know she's off yet. Boy will she be surprised when she comes home from London! Reagan may even make an appearance at church this Sunday.

So sad, our baby fits in the fruit bowl. There was no fruit in it at the time.

I don't know why everything is blue and underlined now, so forgive me. Sweet Bailey bug did not get to come off her oxygen because her machine did not record her data. That is okay though because we kept getting false readings which probably would have caused the doctor to keep her on for another 4 weeks. Instead, she will be doing another test next week and will hopefully be off in time for Easter!

In other news, the girls had their first trip to the ER on Tuesday night. On a side note, I've learned that the wait at the ER is veeeery short if you are pregnant, have a baby, or your skin and eyes have turned yellow. Tuesday evening, I noticed that both girls felt pretty warm. They had been sleeping most of the day and were grumpy when they were awake. Reagan's temp was 101.5 and Bailey was 100.8. At the advice of our awesome Brother-in-law (also known as our after hours physician, Thanks for all your help Brian!!) we took them to the ER. They had chest x-rays and RSV and flu swabs. The swabs came back negative and the x-rays were clear, leading the doctors to the conclusion that both girls had upper respiratory infections. We were sent home at 2 am Wednesday morning with instructions on how to keep the girls cool and to give them Tylenol every four hours. They did find that Reagan is missing some bone in her right arm up near her shoulder, so we will be seeing her pediatrician next Thursday to find out what testing he wants done to determine the cause. We will keep you updated. Prayers for her would be appreciated, because even though we are confident that it is nothing, there are some causes of missing bone that are a little unsettling.

Doctor's appointment update

The girls had another appointment with the pulmonologist yesterday. Bailey now weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz and is 20 inches long. Reagan is 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. They have grown so much in their little 5 month lives. Both girls did really well during the 10 minute room air test the doctor did. Even Reagan stayed up at 99-100 when she was upset. She lowered Bailey's oxygen flow from 50 cc's a minute to 25. So she is now on the same amount as her sister. We'll be doing another overnight room air test either late this week or early next week, but I have a feeling the girls still won't be coming off the O2. The doctor said that our areas RSV season has been extended through April, so once again she is "not in a hurry to take them off of the oxygen." She said to me "you'll be so glad once all of these tanks and tubes are gone." Umm, you think so? Sorry, that was mean, but she has obviously never had a child (let alone 2) holed up in her bedroom for 3 months because they're hooked up to equipment that makes it very difficult to travel. I really do like her though, especially when I told her we were waiting to bless the girls until they were equipment free and that I was afraid they would be a year old before they could be blessed. I know nothing of her religious views but her response was " the real blessing is that your girls are here and they are healthy." I guess I needed to be reminded of my many blessings and to stop having a pity party for myself. 

Me A-Z

I'm a bad blogger. I can't think of interesting things, so I either post dumb stuff or wait for a fun one that is pretty much already done for me. Like this...

A - Age: 23
B - Bed size:​​ King
C- Car you drive​:​​ Gold Hyundai. It's my grandparent's and I'm borrowing it while they're on their mission.
D - Dad'​​s Name:​​ Jeff
E - Essen​tial start​ your day item:​​ A kiss from my husband

F - Favor​ite actor​(​​s)​​:​​ Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Daniel Craig
G - Gold or Silve​r:​​ white​ gold, preferably with some diamonds
H - Heigh​t:​​​ 5'2
I - Instr​ument​s you play(​​ed)​​:​​ I used to play the piano, but have since forgotten how. I have played the violin since I was 10.
J - Job title​:​ Mommy
K - Kid(​​s)​​:​​ 2 and you know all about them!
L - Livin​g arran​gemen​ts:​​ A weird question, but okay. In a house with my husband, daughters and dog.
M - Mom'​​s name:​ Lora
N - Nickn​ames:​​ Mal, Mally
O - Overn​ight hospi​tal stay other​ than birth​:​​ Tonsilectomy when I was 3, pre-term labor, gall stone removal (both last year)
P - Pet Peeve​:​​ I honestly can't think of one right now.
Q - Quote​s you like:​​ Okay, I love the office, so I have a lot of favorite quotes from there: "We're off like a herd of turtles", "Next time I'll let you get the cake and I can scream at the birthday girl." Those are just two of my current favorites.
R - Right​ or left hande​d:​​ Right​
S - Sibli​ngs:​​ Little sister and little brother.
T - Time you wake up: Whenever the girls decide they want to eat. Usually between 6 and 8.
U- Under​wear:​​ Under there. Under where?  Haha i made you say underwear..... (That was another weird one that I didn't have an answer to.)

V - Veget​able you disli​ke:​​ Squash. I have never liked it and to this day it makes me gag.
W - Ways you run late:​​ It used to be that I just couldn't get up on time. Now it's because I've got 3 people to get ready for the day instead of one!
X - X-​​rays you'​​ve had: Teeth, wrist and gall bladder.
Y - Yummy​ food you make:​​ I make lots of yummy​ food :)
Z- Zodia​c:​​ Cancer