Another weekly visit down

Yesterday Rikk and I were in Anchorage for our 4th weekly visit since we have been back. So far everything as just been going great. The doctors have just been really impressed and surprised at how well the surgery went and the twins are doing. Yesterday was a good appointment, just not great like the previous ones.

The good news: Phineaus (the boys named the small baby this) is doing great. He is right on track gestationally except for his size. He weighed in at 15oz which is a third smaller then he should be, but still going strong.

The little worrisome news: Ferb (the boys names the big baby this) is showing a little bit of stress. His Dopler measured at a 1.5 which is the start of "the doctor's a little worried, but not freaking out" stage. His blood flow is having a bit of a struggle. She asked if I had been more active this last week then previous weeks. Yes, I have sick kids. She told me that I am to have absolute BED REST and not to be anywhere near anyone who is sick. She is hoping that if I am good at the bed rest, lay on my left side and keep up on my fluids, Ferb should be fine next week. The reason she isn't freaking out is because everything else about him is measuring normal and his activity/movements hasn't lessened from previous ultrasounds. Ferb weighs 1lb5oz and good gestationally.

Dr. Richie (Anchorage doctor) said she will take us whenever Dr. McWilliams wants to send me. We got a phone call from Dr. McWilliams yesterday and he put in paperwork that day saying he wants us in Anchorage ASAP because the babies are now viable. He put in his request that Rikk be sent with me, that he is needed and that we should hear any day when we are to go. With Rikk going this means that all the boys can go. Rikk will more than likely just do the rest of kindergarten with Hunter at "home" which Hunter says he is happy about. After all, there are only two months left of school and it is just kindergarten...plus, Hunter's teacher said that if he went into 1st grade now he wouldn't have a problem.

Life now is hectic. Kyler got sick last night and thankfully Rikk was here to take care of it, although it was quite comical! There was TONS of dry heaving from Rikk, cleaning of throw up and diarrhea. And I really did feel bad that I couldn't help...mostly for Kyler's sake! Kyler seems to be doing well sick wise today, but he wants his mommy and I am locked in my bedroom so that I don't get sick. When he talks to me thru the door it is the saddest, most pitiful voice I have ever heard. He keeps telling Rikk "I just want my mommy." :( Rikk did put all my meds in a ziplock bag and taped a tissue over Kyler's mouth so that he could see me for a few seconds from afar. He makes me want to cry.We are hoping that Hunter will drop soon if he is going to drop at all. It would have been nice if they had ALL gotten it at once so we could be over it sooner, but such is life! We will keep you all updated on how we are doing. We love and miss you all and appreciate everything you all have done.

***The reason the boys picked the names Phineaus and Ferb is because there is a cartoon that they watch on Disney about two bothers named Phineaus and Ferb. Phineaus is the smaller brother and Ferb is the bigger brother.***

Walker and Dad

Rikk got home from work the other night at around 9pm. Walker was still up, not feeling good and snuggling on the couch with Nana. Rikk went over to see how he was feeling and left some snow on the carpet that melted. This is the conversation from when Walker got off the couch.

Walker: The floor's wet here.

Rikk: It is? Did you go potty on the floor?

Walker: NO!

Rikk: Are you sure?

Walker: No.

Rikk: You're not sure? Maybe it was Joe (Walker's stuffed monkey that he was holding).

Walker: (Giggling ) No, it wasn't Joe, Joe doesn't have a weiner!!!

Rikk: (Trying not to laugh) Oh, Joe's a girl monkey then. Maybe her name is really Joellene, Joe for short.

Oh the things that little boys say. My mom and I were laughing pretty hard.

Only when Rikk's not home...

I was on the phone last night with my good friend Rachel and we were laughing so hard. We were sharing stories of our kids' potty training, potty/poo accidents, and kids just being sick in general and came to one conclusion...these things seem to happen only when our hubbies are not home. After I got off the phone with her I called my mom.

It was about 10:30pm and Walkie comes downstairs whining and whimpering a little. He curls up next to me, sits there for a couple mins and then stands up holding his tummy. I ask, "Does your tummy hurt? Do you have go #2? Are you going to throw up?" He whines and nods yes to "throw up". I tell him to hurry to the bathroom, tell my mom "gotta go"...but we don't make it.

He throws up all over the carpet right before it meets the kitchen, then walks forward and throws up all over the kitchen floor and continues to do so while I am scrambling for something for him to throw up in. It's on his jammies, his socks, my BARE feet (gross)...he is crying and I am trying to be comforting while dry heaving at the same time.

We get cleaned up and I get him settled in my bed and then go to clean up the "mess" that has been made. I am sure the lady next store appreciated the carpet shampooer running at 11:30pm...oh well, right?! We were up ALL night and then he also got a fever. The poor kid was fighting a nap but finally lost and is seeming to feel better.

I am totally jealous he is sleeping and I am not!

The above and below pictures are Kyler trying his best to convince me he is sick, so that he can have some Sprite soda too!

Snow Day With Dad!!!

We got quite a few inches of snow the last couple days so the boys were DYING to go out and play in it. Rikk being the SUPER dad that he is took them out for a while and they had a lot of fun. They even made a snow cave!

They look so snug in there!

Who is it?

It's Hunter!

Hunter had a LOT of fun!!!

Here comes Walker.

Walker's almost through.

I LOVE Walker's face, it says it all!

Fat Baby is struggling.

Kyler's almost out.

Kyler could barely see the whole time!

Buried in the snow!

Here are some more pictures of the boys' snow day with Rikk. They got to all get buried in the snow.

Buried to their heads.

Kyler trying to see.

Hunter loved it.

Walker is actually STANDING up.

Rikk buried himself.

How identical is TOO identical???

These are some pictures we got of the twins a couple weeks ago from an ultra sound in Anchorage. They were doing this at the same time...kinda weird and creepy, and I'm not just talking about how they look!!!

The one on the left is the small baby. The one on the right is the big baby. How odd is it that these two boys were doing the exact same thing, in the exact same position (breech), at the exact same time. CREEPY!!!

***Sorry, but Rikk hasn't hooked up the printer/scanner yet so I had to take a picture of the ultra sound pictures.***

The Mom Song!!!

This song says it all!

Walkie's Birthday Party

Better late than never I guess! Walker had his 4th birthday party a couple days before we left for Seattle and I just realized that they never got posted. Here are just a couple of pictures of some of the gifts he got and his cake. Rikk is very disappointed in the cake because he only had an one or so to work on it.

A Spiderman sticker book.

His own camera so he will stop stealing the new one, hiding and using it.

I love his smile!

Ben 10 Omnitrix watch cake.

Baby Bedding

This go around Rikk and I have decided that we really like blue and brown for the twins' bedding and room. I found this one set that I am really starting to like and just wanted an opinion. I don't want to do animals or vehicles on the bedding this time. Just something more "clean" looking. And I love how it has polka dots and stripes. Let me know what you think.

Happy Valentine's Day Rikk!

Rikk,

I just wanted to say thank you for the last 7+ years! You are a wonderful husband, an even better father and you truly are my best friend. I couldn't imagine my life without you. I love you BIG much!!!

Love,

Dawn

We were strangers starting out on our journey
Never dreaming what we'd have to go through
Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected what you did to my heart
When I lost hope you were there to remind me
This is the start

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
I know that my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothings gonna tear us apart

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

***This would have been better if I could have used some wedding pictures but they are all packed away from when we sold our house***

Jesus wants me for a SUNBEAM!!!

Rikk had the "opportunity" to teach Walker's Sunbeam class yesterday. This class is for kids who are 3 turning 4 in 2009. I think he said there were about 7 kids in his class, 4 boys and 3 girls. First, let me mention that Rikk is not a very touchy feely kinda guy, especially by people/kids he doesn't know or who aren't his. This little problem made for a very interesting class. Let's just say he felt quite a bit like the sunbeam in the picture above, but minus the smile!

He said that the boys in his class kept putting their hands on his legs or shoulders and he would very nicely grab their wrists and put their hands back in their laps...only to have to repeat this over and over! There was a little girl who wanted her mommy and was crying. Rikk finally picked her up, but put her on the END of his knee. She kept trying to lay back on him and he would lean back and very gently push her forward!

Then it was time for a potty break, which completely threw Rikk for a loop because he didn't know about this before hand. He asked if they could all go potty by themselves and the little girls started to argue over who was the biggest girl. And then a little boy said he needed help...to which Rikk replied, "You're a big boy, figure it out yourself dude!" Thank you Kasey Roberts for getting the girls to come out of the bathroom for Rikk.

But the thing that got him the most was the fact that little girls don't "sit" like little girls should. He said he has never been flashed sooooo many times in his life and felt like he should just go ahead and put himself on the sexual offenders list!!! He came home with what my family calls a "primary headache" and didn't want anyone to talk to him or touch him. Oh how I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for this class!

Walker and Nana

While we were gone my mom told me this story of her and Walker. We were both laughing pretty hard!

My mom said that she had the boys in the tub and that Walker had to get out to go #2. He got on the toilet and she left for a second and came back. When she did Walker was getting off the toilet. Here's their conversation...

Nana: Walker, did you wipe your bum?
Walker: Yes!
Nana: With what?
Walker: These (as he points to a container of flushable wipes)
Nana: I don't see any in the toilet and I used the last wipe on Kyler earlier.
Walker: No, I didn't.
Nana: Let me go and get you some toilet paper.

She went into the bathroom in our room to get the toilet paper and saw Walker streaking up the hall. She handed him the toilet paper, expecting him to wipe right then or wait until he got back to his bathroom. He took of streaking down the hall again, looking at Nana and trying to wipe his bum all at the same time. They get into the bathroom and the conversation continues.

Nana: How'd you do (at wiping your bum)?
Walker: Not very good! (Walker then hands Nana the toilet paper and assumes the position by bending over right there!!!)
Nana: You had just better be glad I am here and not your Papa!!!

I LOVE my boys, they are too cute and funny!!! And I LOVE my mom for putting up with them!!!

Nothing but GOOD news and more GOOD news!!!

We went and had out ultrasound on Friday and I must admit I was really nervous about what we were going to see. The first thing the ultra sound lady wanted to do was measure the amount of fluid around the smaller baby. He had zero around him before the surgery and on Friday he had 4.96cm...we were amazed! Rikk had to pull his chair closer to the ultra sound to get a better look and to believe what he was seeing. The smaller baby's bladder was there and the right size, before it wasn't there. She did a few measurements on him and then went to the bigger baby. The bigger baby went from 9cm of fluid to 5.26cm which is great. His bladder is now the right size and his kidneys are almost there too. We were so HAPPY with everything. The doctor came in and took a look and was really impressed with what he saw. He said he wanted to go and crunch some numbers. He was sure that the smaller baby was going to be really anemic and wanted to go look at the numbers.

We waited for the doctor in the conference room which is never fun because it's a HUGE room and just Rikk and I and it just feels like the "bad news" room. The doctor came in and said he was just amazed. All the numbers he crunched for different things came out perfect. The smaller baby is right on target, right where he should be for his gestational age!!! AND he wasn't even close to being anemic which just blew the doctor's mind! Rikk and I knew why the two guys were doing so well though!

The doctor called the doctors down in San Francisco to tell them how everything went. Those doctors were just as amazed as well. They told our doctor in Seattle to send us home...yes, they said to send us home!!! They want us to have an ultra sound every week down in Anchorage with the doctor we have already seen. They said that unless the Anchorage doctor finds reason to keep me in Anchorage or to send us back to Seattle, they all hope to NEVER see us again.

We got home to our three beautiful boys last night and were just as excited to see them as they were us. We played for a few hours and then it was bedtime. Hunter couldn't get to sleep...we think that he was afraid we wouldn't be there when he woke up. But my parents, sister and brother-in-law did such a great job with the kids and we REALLY appreciate it. I am supposed to take things easy, do things lightly. Rikk is still acting like I am on 100% bed rest which has been nice. We are thinking better safe than sorry.

But we are home and happy our little family is back together again. Hopefully the next "exciting" news we will have to share about the twins will be their birth...which will hopefully be another few months! Thank you all again for your thoughts, prayers, fasting, putting our names in the temple, everything...we REALLY appreciate it.