Pridgen...Party of 5

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2011-03-18T18:26:00.001-07:00

Should I Change the Title to Party of 6??

2011-02-14T10:43:00.001-08:00

Too bad we can't get a tax deduction for this new addition! But, nonetheless, we love her.

Here's to a New Year!!

2011-01-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

I think I say this every year about this time. One thing on my "list" for 2011 to do is to be a better blogger. From October to the First of the New Year, the days, nights, and life in general just have a way of passing me by!

This past year my mom and I stayed busy with our new business embarkment. Originally we purchased an embroidery/sewing machine combo in September 2008 and we stayed busy throughout those holidays. After those holidays, I came up with the idea of designing teacher school shirts and they have been a HIT. From July 2009 to September 2009 we purchased 2 commercial machines so that we could just keep our heads above water. We are looking forward to a great 2011 year!

I, personally, have 3 main goals for the beginning of 2011 as far as sewing/embroidering. 1. Learn how to use the cap frames that we have. We bought everything that we need in order to embroider caps but just haven't had the time to go and let them show us how to use them. 2. Learn how to digitize. Again, we have the software to be able to do it but I haven't had the time to go and learn. 3. Take more sewing classes. My mom is the sewer. I can do the basics but just don't feel comfortable enough to purchase a pattern and tackle it by myself.

Now that it's the New Year, my main focus will be to begin coordinating the annual Bunco event benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Central Georgia. Looking for volunteers, asking for door prizes and silent auction items, getting as many players possible and getting it all organized. This will be my third year holding the event and I'm hoping that it will be even better this year than the previous years! We shall see!

So here is to 2011! Cheers! :)

Merry Christmas from The Pridgen's!

2010-12-25T09:24:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from our Family to yours!! Remember JESUS is the reason for the season!

First Cheer Camp

2010-10-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

This was the first year that Kaylea went to the cheer camp that the TCHS cheerleaders put together as a fundraiser. As I knew she would, she loved it! Especially being held up as if she's at the top of the pyramid!

Doing what they Love!

2010-09-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

I was in the living room watching tv when i heard Drew singing and playing on the keyboard. Little did I know that he had changed out of his school clothes, put on jeans, a tshirt with a white button up shirt over it and a hat turned around as if he's in the making of a new album. *swoon*

Kaylea has become quite the little helper in the kitchen. When ordering some aprons for embroidering gifts, I ordered extras and let her pick the one that was her favorite. Of course, once she put it on, she had to help in the kitchen. Here she is helping make spaghetti. :)

Go Big Blue!

2010-09-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

First Day of School Pictures

2010-09-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today embarks on the first of 12 years of public school for Drew and Kaylea. This was really a surreal day for me as their mom!! The first day of school I walked the twins to their class. Drew was a great, strong big brother. He watched as his sister looked into the classroom full of kids and she had a meltdown. My first thought was that he was next. I just knew that him seeing her get nervous would cause anxiety for him but I couldn't have been more wrong. Kaylea looked into the classroom and then looked at me with the biggest crocodile tears. I walked her down a little bit so that the other kids in her class wouldn't see that she was upset. Drew watched as I wiped away her tears and told her what a great day she was going to have meeting new friends. She quickly pulled it together and they both headed to class. Of course, once I got in the van I had a meltdown myself. As I drove off I remember thinking "what is wrong with me?? I know my mother never did this!" Thanks to facebook, i saw from my friend's status' that i was not alone. Here are Drew and Kaylea on their first day of school.

By this time, Drew and Kaylea have been in school for almost 2 weeks and Will was eager to be like his older brother and sister. He was ready to go to the "big boy" class where his teachers are Mrs. Cathy and Mrs. Tammy. Both of whom he knows Drew and Kaylea had when they were his age!

Beach Vacation!

2010-06-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

After much anxiety of whether or not the oil spill in the gulf would affect our vacation, we decided not to cancel our reservations and stick it out. Boy, are we glad that we did!! We could not have asked for more beautiful weather!

The first 2 days there were double red flags which means you are not supposed to be in the water. The rule breaker that I am, we got in the water, but not too deep. The waves were really big and loud and a bit scarey when we got to looking at how harsh they were. But after the first two days, we had yellow flags the rest of the days. By the end of our vacation, the ocean was almost as calm as a lake and as blue/green as the Caribbean. I've gone to Panama City Beach since I was a child and never remember the water being more beautiful than it was when we were there last week!

Two other couples were there as well so we had a lot of entertaining! We were able to do a lot of fun things with the kids as well. Two of the first time things were Putt Putt and for Will, riding Go Carts! That has always been one of the favorite things that the twins always enjoys doing and this year Will was tall enough to go on the "big" track!! Just like Drew and Kaylea, he LOVED it!! Too bad all I had was my camera phone to take pictures. :(

Another first, was the men decided to ride the Coyote Ugly bull!!! Yes, I said Coyote Ugly! Definitely not a "kid friendly" place, but the bull was in the parking lot and every night we would ride by it and say that the men needed to ride it. One night at dinner, the men brought it up, and within about 10 seconds had all decided that they wanted to ride it! Brian went first, Wingate went second, and Shane went last. We piled all 7 kids in the back of the "Hoopty" (Shane's suburban) for the kids to watch! Yes, we parked the van in the Coyote Ugly parking lot and the kids got to enjoy watching their dad's ride a mechanical bull!! Oh what fun! Luckily we were there just after dark and there wasn't a crowd there yet.

Here are a few pictures of our vacation!

Drew

The boys (they used the floaty as their football)

Will

Kaylea

Never have I seen the water so beautiful and the sand so white!

The kids enjoying the pool!

The men I love most!
Typical Pridgen Family picture :)

All 3, looking and smiling

I take this same picture every year.

Although we hated to come home, we were definitely ready to come home!!! There's definitely nothing like Home Sweet Home!

Graduation Day!

2010-05-22T20:01:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of Will's graduation from the 2 year old class. He had such a GREAT class this year. The group of kids that were in his class were so pleasant to be around!

Then we got to celebrate the Kindergarten graduation of Drew and Kaylea. Drew and Kaylea had a combo song together then Kaylea had a speaking part immediately after "their" song. They both did such a great job. To watch how far they have come, I just can't put into words. They are such miracles. Little miracles to begin with and now they have grown into such big miracles. Here are a few pictures from graduation:

Happy Birthday Will!!!

2010-03-24T10:55:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Will!!!

I can't believe my baby is 3. Unfortunately, my baby has never really been a baby! He walked at 10 months old and hasn't stopped!! This last year there have been MAJOR milestones met! Talking Non-Stop- Check! Learning his ABC's- Check! Counting to 25 (well, he can count to 100 but he skips a few numbers between 30 and 100! LOL)- Check! Writing his name- Check! Potty training-Check! You see, he really isn't a baby anymore. His latest answer for when I ask him "Are you still my baby boy?" His answer is "I'm not a baby, I wear big boy underwear!" Well, there ya go. :) To him, his greatest accomplishment in the last couple of weeks is getting his very own T-Ball uniform! He's so excited about it! So, I thought it would be fitting to post a picture of him in it. Also, is a picture of him with his birthday hat that he made at school. :)

2nd Annual Bunco Bash!!

2010-03-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

This was my second year putting together a Bunco fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House! Last year we raised $5000.00 which included a Bridge and Bunco event. This year I decided to only do the Bunco event and we raised around $5300.00!!! Wooohooo!! What a humbling experience it is to see my friends support a cause that is so dear to my heart. And for that, I am truly thankful! Here's a group shot (which doesn't have the Perry or Waycross group as they left before the group picture was taken. Also, is a picture of the coolest Bunco cake ever! Thanks to G's Creations (can be found on Facebook) for your creativity and your generosity!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

2010-03-02T17:29:00.001-08:00

This week is Dr. Seuss' birthday! Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! I only know of one person (one of my best friends) that does not like Dr. Seuss. For some reason he freaks her out. Yes, she's crazy! Her name is Rhonda and if you see her, you can tell her that I "outted" her. HA! Otherwise, I think every other living being on planet earth loves Dr. Seuss and all of the great books that go with him: Green Eggs & Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who..Can You?, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and the list could go on and on. Today the kids had to dress up as one of the characters from Dr. Seuss. Drew and Kaylea went as Thing 1 (Drew...for the obvious reason that he was born First) and Thing 2 (Kaylea). Will wore a shirt with the Cat in the Hat. My embroidery machine has really come in handy for making the kids their crafty little shirts. :)

This is Drew, Kaylea and Will with Mrs. Tammy Hancock. She has always dressed as the Cat in the Hat.

What Does the Future Hold?

2010-02-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

What does the future hold for this little guy? Last Saturday, Drew got up and put on his black pants, button up shirt, and tie (as usual.) Most kids put on jeans and a tshirt, but this seems to be what he is most comfortable in. It was the most beautiful day outside that we've had in a very long time and so went outside to have some fun in the sun. Before we knew it Drew was riding his bike with his black pants, button up shirt and tie. Of course, the helmet and bike made for a great picture. Shane and I couldn't help but laugh. He reminded us of a religious solicitor riding a bicycle! And we got to thinking...what does the future hold for this little guy? Will he be Baptist or continue to break the mold?? :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!!

2010-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

That's right!!! It snowed in South Georgia!! Not only snowed, but it snowed and STUCK!! Oh what fun! Here are a few pictures from all of the fun. :)

Kaylea wanted to see what the snow tasted like! :)

Sibling Love
Will wore his coveralls like Dad!

Kaylea with her South Georgia Snowman...Chocolate Chip eyes

and the nose is the top from the hot sauce bottle.

Me and Kaylea

Drew knew nothing but throwing HARD!

Our House

Happy Birthday Drew & Kaylea-A trip down memory lane!

2010-02-08T04:53:00.001-08:00

Drew- 2lbs 2 oz.

Kaylea- 2lbs 1 oz
Christmas 2004
1 Year Old

Christmas 2005

2nd Birthday

Easter 2005

Beach 2006

Christmas 2007

Beach 2008

5 Years Old

Can't believe they are now 6

Pajama Day!

2010-01-22T09:44:00.001-08:00

Drew is mad because he wanted to be in the middle. Can you say DRAMA? LOL Gotta love that that's his only worry! :)

The Uncertainties in Life

2010-01-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Some friends of ours son was involved in a terrible car wreck on Christmas Eve. He is in ICU in Savannah and all of the emotions that his parents express are the same ones I remember feeling when the Drew and Kaylea were in the NICU.

Although our faith in God was so strong (as is Renee and Tim's) it was so hard to hand over everything to Him to take care of. As Tim and Renee write on their caringbridge site, it's the unknown that's the torture....sheer torture. I remember saying to myself thousands of times, if we just knew what life would be like, we would deal with it. But it was the unknown that haunted us. I looked back in the private journal that I kept and here is one of the entries (which I've never shared before and no one even know I documented...not even Shane)

March 1, 2004 - Day 21
We were told that we would have good days and bad days and well, Thursday was a VERY bad day. We were told that both Drew and Kaylea have Grade III brain hemmorages. How can this be? I had such a great pregnancy and to be told this I just don't understand. Are my babies going to ok? I can't help but wonder what their quality of life will be. The internet is a great source of information, but can also be too much information as well. I have read and read and read searching for every bit of hope that it will offer me. An ultrasound is what showed the grade of hemmorage and so the doctors ordered a CAT scan just to compare and it did verify this. The doctor was as positive as he could be. He said that Grade I and II you can usually see no signs of the bleeds once the children are older. It's the Grade III's and IV's that are a lot more serious. Grade IV is definitely cerebral palsy, Grade III is hit or miss. It could be that they have CP as minor as having to stretch a little longer as the next kid at baseball practice all the way to complete wheelchair bound. Dr. Troup did say that with Drew and Kaylea doing so well with breathing on their own and tolerating their feeds that that is a really good sign but the future cannot be foreseen and we will not know the extent of their developmental state until between the ages of 1 and 2. We are choosing to withhold complete details from the family. We are telling them that there are brain bleeds but we are not telling the severity for the simple fact as it will not help the outcome and will only cause worry. As parents, it's just something that we do not really want others to know and then them look at our babies and feel sorry for them. We will do whatever it takes to give them access to the best care, whatever that may be.

Even though we've had a set back, we continue to thank God that things are going just as they are. Even though the news hasn't been ideal and isn't how we had planned it, we know that things could be so much worse. We're praying that God will just continue to wrap his arms around our babies and keep them safe in His hands.

I remember the day that we got that news as if it were yesterday. Although it seems like a lifetime ago, sometimes it seems like yesterday. I was a complete emotional wreck which is so not me. I always have it together and I just couldn't seem to keep it together. Looking back, that's why God put Shane with me. Although he was very worried as well, he was my ROCK! He was what I needed! I remember going to our room at the Ronald McDonald House and just laying there with Shane wondering how in the world this could be happening to us!

And now, almost 6 years later, it is a distant memory. A memory forever etched in our minds, but nevertheless, distant. That's my prayer for Tim and Renee and Jordan's wife, Heather. That in a few years, on each Christmas eve, when their family is together and they are reading the Night Before Christmas with their grandchildren, that the heartaches they are having today, will be a distant memory to them then.

Playing Catch Up! Part 2

2010-01-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

For the last few years, we have always opened gifts at my mom's on Christmas Eve. I say that because of the next picture that I am going to post. Christmas Eve night we were ready to throw out the reindeer food and i wanted everyone in their Christmas pajamas. Well, Drew would not cooperate. He wanted to wear his Spiderman costume that he got from my mom and since it was Christmas Eve and I didn't want the hassle of that battle, I just threw my hands up and said "Ok" :) With that said, here they are throwing out food for the reindeer.

The excitement of Christmas with little ones gets better each year. I could not wait to see the reaction to the kids with what all they got. Drew asked for drums, Kaylea asked for a bubblegum machine, and Will wanted a motorcycle.

Playing Catch Up! Part 1

2010-01-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

The holidays are always so busy at our house. Starting with Thanksgiving until the end of the year.

When we arrived home from Thanksgiving, Kaylea quickly noticed that there was an Elf on our mantle with a book next to him. The kids were shocked but Kaylea was INTRIGUED! I got the elf down and we started looking at him. After a few minutes, I asked them to sit in my lap so that we could see what the book said. As I read the book, we found out that we were NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THE ELF!! Oops! Kaylea's eyes were HUGE! The book said that if we touched the Elf that he would lose his magic. I could tell that she was very concerned about this so I quickly recovered with "It's okay, we didn't know. We know now so we will put him back up and not touch him again. It'll be okay." :) She was nervous about it but I was able to convince her that it would be okay. The book also said that we had to name our Elf. So I told them to look at him closely and think of a name for him. Kaylea instantly said "He's smiling and looks happy so I think his name should be Happy." The boys agreed so that was his name. The kids were so funny. They would wake up first thing and go searching the house to see where he would be that morning. He sat on top of the stove, on top of the light fixture above the island, on the light fixture above the breakfast table, in the Christmas tree, on the decorations on the mantle to name a few. I think my favorite was in the freezer as I told the kids he must really miss being home at the North Pole and the freezer was the closest place that felt like it. :) Here's a picture of our little elf.

As the end of the school holidays approached, the twins were getting ready for their school play. The day that the kids found out what part they would be in the play, they could not wait to tell me. I picked them up from school and Kaylea said "Mama, guess what I'm going to be in our Christmas play? I'm going to be an Angel!" I said "Ohhhh, you are going to be beautiful" and she said "and guess what Drew is going to be? He's going to be the DONKEY" Before I could say anything, Drew said in such a proud voice " YES I AM, YES I AM GOING TO BE THE DONKEY!!!" haha...I knew that I couldn't laugh as it would just break his spirit so I just praised and him and asked him about his part. In the back of my mind I was thinking (and laughing), only MY child would be so proud to be a donkey! And it just so happens, he was the BEST donkey. He had his first solo singing part on a microphone. Such a big deal for him! Kaylea had a speaking part and she spoke so eloquently! I could not believe how good she did and was not shy one bit! Here are my Angel and Donkey. For the record, Will has decided that when he gets 5 he wants to be the donkey too! Talk about a Pridgen tradition! :)

Black Friday Extravaganza!

2009-12-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

It's tradition that the Pridgen 5 head to Atlanta to my dad's for Thanksgiving. For two reasons...1. So that we can visit and have Thanksgiving with my Dad, Step Mom, sister, uncle and aunt. 2. Because it's so much more fun to be in Atlanta on Black Friday! :)

The men know that Black Friday is our day of shopping and their day of watching the kiddos!

This year my creative sister made us matching Black Friday shirts and shopping bags. We got the most compliments on our Black Friday gear! We could have made a killing selling them because everyone wanted our shirts and bags. And we can't forget our mooning Santa! Yes, we have reindeer antlers with rudolph's nose on the vehicle and a mooning Santa stuck on the window to give Black Friday shoppers an extra laugh! Some may think we are a little extreme, and well, maybe we are. But we have fun and that's all that matters!

Potty Training in Progress!

2009-11-14T18:48:00.000-08:00

Will has been ready to potty train for a few months now but frankly I just wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to get in the back of Walmart for him to tell me that he had to potty, me leave the shopping cart rushing across the entire store with him (and probably the twins) in tow. Just really hasn't been on the "priority" list. But, Wednesday after his nap I put his first "big boy" underwear on and he was SO PROUD!

He has done so well! Has had an accident or two, but overall done great! His favorite place to go is outside in the yard! Shane says he's like a dog marking his territory because everytime we look around he's got his pants down to his ankles and tee teeing.

The main thing now is that he doesn't want to do #2 on the potty. I saw him straining and rushed him to the potty earlier. I sat him on the potty and he looked down between his legs and said "I SEE IT!!" LOL...can you say KODAK MOMENT??? So, here ya go!

Looking at his poop coming out. Gross I know, but it's all for the record, right?? :)

And this is usually what we see when we're outside.

So, very soon, it will be the first time in over 5 years that we will not be buying diapers! Woooohoooo!!!!! :)

My New Baby

2009-11-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

When the twins were in the NNICU I went to the local sewing shop and looked at embroidery machines. Actually I drooled over them as I really wanted one but knew I'd have no time once the twins got home. Since then I have thought about getting on and just never have.

About 2 months ago, my mom decided she wanted an embroidery machine for when she makes quilts and so I jumped on board and went with her to this same store to help her pick one out. About $3000 later, we came home with a new toy! And oh what fun it has been!

Here are a few things I've done so far. :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

Got to love Halloween. Here we have a Drama Queen (Lauren), Troy from HSM (Drew), a Rabbit (Hannah), Gabriella from HSM (Kaylea), a Cowboy (Chase), Superman (Ryan), and a Blue Devil football player (Will.)

Somehow, me, Michele and Amy were the lucky ones to take all 7 kids Trick or Treating. We loaded the kids in Shane's Hoopty (the suburban) and off we went. It was crazy and a lot of work getting all in and out and buckled at each house, but the kids had a blast! This was the first time the kids have ever actually gone trick or treating since our church didn't have a fall festival this year. We now have WAY TOO MUCH candy but I think that's par for the course.

When we got back, the men were holding down the fort. You know, listening/watching football, chit chatting, and building a fire for us to make smores when we got back.

Here are a few other pictures of the kids.

Out With the New and In With the Old!

2009-10-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is "Out With the New and In With the Old" Isn't that backwards??

Earlier in the summer I heard about Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. First Baptist Church was offering it and I asked our church (Northside Baptist Church) if it was something they would consider offering. Kevin said that he would look into offering it in the fall and now here we are. There's about 80 people in the class and it has really been eye opening for Shane and me. We aren't in a lot of debt. When we began the class we only owed our house mortgage and Shane's truck payment. We are now on week 4 and we officially have no truck payment. Above is a picture of the truck Shane had when starting the class. It's the nicest truck that he has EVER had. After listening to Dave Ramsey's philosophy for a couple of weeks, Shane put his truck in our front yard with a for sale sign in it and sold it within a week or so. He has been without a vehicle for almost 2 weeks and has found a replacement vehicle! YES! He now is the proud owner of a Suburban and it is PAID IN FULL!! Woooohoooo! Here's a picture of the new addition to our family! The kids are really excited about having a "new" ride! :)

Milestones at the Pridgen House

2009-10-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are in a stage of milestones at the Pridgen household. I will start from oldest to youngest.

We are getting to a stage where FINALLY bath time is getting so much easier. Drew (and Kaylea) is getting to where he is showering independantly!! WOOOHOOO!! A huge milestone around here as bath time for three gets a little hectic. Here's a picture of Drew washing his own hair in the shower.

As you saw in a previous post, the kids are beginning to read. Kaylea loves to write. She writes all the time. I saw her in her room writing on a post-it note and snapped a picture.

Later I went in to see what the note said and it read "I love Ms. Debbie. I love my sweet Will" Here's the actual note. Makes my heart melt to see how far we've come!

And last but certainly not least, our little Will. We just laugh at the things that he comes up with. Normally at this age, 2, kids are learning to pull chairs over to something to get what they want. We are definitely past that stage. Will does that, but he's doing it to get the scissors to open something that he's gotten out of the pantry. He no longer wants me to help him with anything. He wants to "open" everything himself. Here he is practicing that task.Milestones are always fun and are usually bittersweet. Milestones always put things in perspective for me. They always make me smile when I'm seeing them learn new things and at the same time make me a little sad that the kids are growing up so quickly.

Occupation Day at School

2009-09-22T08:30:00.003-07:00

Drew and Kaylea had Occupation Day at school on Monday. Everyone kept asking Drew if he would go as a preacher since he loves his suit. But I knew that wasn't going to happen! For some reason he gets embarrassed when people call attention to him in his suit. He is so funny. He DEMANDS to wear it at church but will not wear it anywhere else (except in the playroom at our house.) haha...so, with that said, he went as a doctor. He initially wanted to go as a basketball player but we didn't have the outfit so his second choice was to be a doctor. And Kaylea, well no one will be surprised at what she wanted to be. She went as a princess...Princess Belle to be exact. :)

Also, last Saturday Michele and I took Kaylea and Hannah to get their ears pierced. It has been a long process. I found out that a doctor about 45 minutes away from us will put numbing cream on the kids ears before he pierces them so the child doesn't feel it. I told Kaylea about it but later found out that you had to be a patient of his in order for them to do it. Soooo...i've been trying to figure out how to get the cream. Finally I just asked our pediatrician if she would call some in for me. It was just that simple! So, we went on Saturday. Kaylea had already told Hannah that she wanted to go first to show her that it didn't hurt. However, when we got there her anxiety kicked in and she got a little scared. But she didn't feel a thing! The cream definitely worked and she is now sporting beautiful little diamond earings. Here are a few pictures from the day...

Just a little scared... :(

But now so proud! Best buddies!

Close up of the earrings. :)

A Fresh Start to Blogging!

2009-09-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking for some time now that I really need to keep up our blog. To my surprise, I pulled our old one up and saw that the last entry was in 2005. How sad! So much time has gone by. When I read the last entry it seems like that instance was a lifetime ago, however, in other ways it seems like yesterday. This is a new beginning. :)

Because our blog was ancient and hadn't been updated in so long, I had to do all of the upgrades to even get access to it. Thanks Casey for being patient with me. I can tell you right now that the background, banner, etc. will not be changed that often!

Drew and Kaylea are now in Kindergarten and are beginning to learn site words. They are now up to knowing around 80 words. Out of those 80, I can only use one particular word about once a week because it is just too much! LOL Watch the video and you will see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyKOTk8fyCY

And then there's Will. Will is now 2 and thinks he's 5 like the twins. Unfortunately for him, he was never really a baby. Always along for what we had in store for the twins. But now he's his own little self. Smart, loving, independant, athletic, and adorable! What more could we ever ask for? Will loves to play sports. Anything that has a ball involved he is game on! Baseball, football, golf, basketball and even bowling and shooting pool! Of course, whatever Drew is doing is pretty much what he wants to do too.

I thought I'd add a few first day of school pictures as well. :)

Update Finally!!

2005-10-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!! It has been FOREVER since i've updated. I said that i wasn't gonna slack anymore and time just gets away from me!

Things are going great around here. Drew and Kaylea went 15 months without ever having an ear infection and then got one and couldn't shake it so we ended up having tubes put in their ears. That was in August. It went great and no problems since. But, i wouldn't recommend having two infants coming off of anesthesia at the same time! That was stressful but at least it was over with all in one day.

Drew and Kaylea are doing great. They are EVERYWHERE! Including many places that they shouldn't be. Haha...like climbing on recliners, couches, tables, boxes, whatever they can find.

This is actually the fun part. I'm finally enjoying being home with them!! Sounds bad, but i didn't really enjoy the first year of staying at home and i look back and hate that. It was just such an adjustment for me staying at home and on top of that having two preemies! Now that they are walking and somewhat talking and have a little independance about them, they are just a joy each and every day!

We are probably going to somewhat hibernate again this winter. Not as bad as last winter, but we're going to still be careful. They aren't eligible for the RSV shots this year since they haven't been sick or had any chronic lung problems. That's great that they aren't getting them because they haven't been sick but it'd be nice to be able to get those shots for another winter. But, since the shots are $2500.00 per child per month (yes, you read that right) I think hibernating will be better for us financially! haha...

I sure wish i knew how to add pictures!! They are still skinny and are only about 18 pounds still, but boy have we come a LONG way!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Frustrated!

2005-08-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

We went for Drew and Kaylea's 18 month check up on Friday. It went really well. Their ears look fine and everything went great. Other than they are still underweight. Are these kids ever going to gain any weight? Kaylea weighed 17 pounds 10 oz and Drew was an even 17 pounds. Which makes no sense whatsoever! He eats 2-3 times more than she does and she's always ahead of him in weight. The doctor is fine with it though. They are 30 inches long. They are on the 25th percentile for their height and 2 percentile for their weight.

I'm really frustrated this morning. I have everything that we need to know in order for the neurologist to tell me how to wean Kaylea off of the phenabarb. He is an hour away from us. I finally got the nurse this morning and she tells me that we must come in to see the dr for him to "go over the test and tell me how to decrease her meds" What?? I've got the test results right in front of me. Why can't he just look at the same paper that i am looking at and tell me how? Now i have to round someone up to either go with me with both kids or find someone to stay here with Drew while i take Kaylea. Ughhhh...can't anything be smooth? Of course, it all boils down to $$. These stupid doctors want to be able to charge for an office consult in order to talk to me. Ughhh...it just infuriates me! I told the nurse that i have both the EEG results and the phenabarb blood level and she asked me where i got it and that i didn't need to have that until the dr went over it. Excuse me? These are results of whether or not my child is having a seizure or not and you're telling me i don't need them until the dr can go over them with me. Please! I told her that we pay for those tests and they are our medical records and that i have every right to have them. She said that they could get Kaylea in tomorrow to see the dr. Of course, that's the one day our of dh's schedule that he has a meeting. And the one day that his mother isn't able to come over that morning. Geez. So, i'm not sure what we're gonna do. The next appt that they have isn't until Sept 15th and i definitely don't want to wait that long.

On another note, our Sunday School teacher and great man in our community doesn't seem to be doing very well. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer 3 years ago. They only gave him 6 months to live in the beginning. His unbelievable faith in God has gotten him through 3 years of treatments and he's just now beginning to feel the effects of it. His body just isn't holding up like it was. We rec'd an email from him last night stating that he was going on down to the oncologist tomorrow instead of waiting another 3 weeks for his regular followup appt. It's the first email that has really sounded as if he's unsure of what's to come. I'm praying that his bone scans that he gets tomorrow doesn't show what he thinks it will show. His family needs our prayers!

Picky, Picky, Picky!

2005-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

I took Kaylea to the speech therapist. The ST asked me a lot of questions on background info and then give Kaylea several things to try. Crackers, ice, pudding, etc. She ate all of it with no problem. The ST said that she definitely doesn't have an adversion. She thinks it's just stubborness. haha...she didn't use that word. I think she used strong minded. Anyway, she is going to come one time per week and see if she can work with her. She says that she has ways of "tricking" kids into eating something that they never wanted before. All I can say is GOOD LUCK. But I definitely want her to come! It definitely won't hurt anything.

Drew has been a little whiney the last day or so. Not sure what's up with him. I just hope it's not his ears. And speaking of ears. Kaylea has not slept well for the past week or so. That's usually a sign that it's her ears. We go to the pediatrician for their 18 month check up on Friday. I'll have her check both of their ears out to see what she says. In the meantime, i'm not looking forward to the visit. Although it will be a bitter-sweet one. It's the last round of shots until they are 4!!!!! YAY!!!! I'm so glad of that. I'm sick of shots/vaccinations!

Terrible 2's???

2005-08-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Are they coming??? Ughhhhh....Kaylea is getting sooooo rebelious!! I just want to wear her tail out sometimes. Well, and sometimes i do and it just doesn't phase her. I think she's numb to pain. She is in the climbing stage and is climbing on everything! In the recliner (and when she can't quite make it she throws a tantrum), in the glider, if there's a table next to the chair that she has climbed in, well, she climbs on that. The girl has no fear at all! We covered our hearth at our fireplace with fabric and she climbs on it and tries standing up. She tries standing up in the chairs too. Ughhhh....she can't be left alone for 2 seconds or i'm afraid that she will break her neck! The bad thing is, she'll just look at me when she starts to do it. It's like she saying in her head when she looking straight at me and is saying "i'm about to stand up so just watch. i know you don't want me to and maybe you won't even notice if i do it very slowly" Who knows. I guess this too shall pass.

While we were on vacation we saw a lady that had triplets. Since we were on vacation with another couple that had a one year old, her kids thought that they might be triplets. They walked over to our table and asked if they were triplets and we told them no that my set were twins and that was our friends little girl. She proceeded to tell me that she had 8 year old triplets and that it gets much easier. She said that if i can just make it to 3 years old then it's a breeze. COME ON 3!!!! We were talking about "schedules" and she said that anybody that just has a single baby doesn't know the importance of a "schedule" to mom's of multiples. Boy, was she right. People usually think i'm just being over-reactive when i say "what time will it be or what time do you want to go" and when they say a time that's in their nap schedule I just pass. They are like "can't you just work it to where they nap earlier or later." Ummmmm....nope. Sure can't. I was glad that our friends heard her say that. Their little girl had no schedule whatsoever on vacation. By the end of the vacation she was about on Drew and Kaylea's.

I still haven't heard from Kaylea's EEG. This is just ridiculous! I can't believe how long it is taking. I'm on hold now with the doctors office to see if they have the results. I'm really wanting to get them so that i can schedule a visit with the neurologist so that we can get her off of this medicine. With the assumption that the EEG was fine and she doesn't need it.

We go to a speech therapist on Monday to see if she has any techniques and tricks to see if she can get Kaylea to eat more than she does. She just won't even try anything new and it is soooo frustrating!

Ok, just got a phone call back and the EEG was negative. Thank you Lord!! So, the next step is to get her off of this medicine. It's kindof scary to think about. I mean, she's been on it practically all of her life and it's such a strong medicine. But, this is what i want. I don't want to wait for her to "grow out of it." I want to get her off of it asap. I need to go and get an appt scheduled with the neurologist.

New Beginnings!

2005-07-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last night went much better than expected. I set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. and got up and went in Kaylea's room and turned the light on. I let her wake up and stand up and i got her out of her bed. I turned all of the lights on in her bedroom and the living room and kitchen so that it would be nice and bright. She sat with me in the recliner for a long time playing with a book. We watched Celebrity Poker on Bravo. LOL Around 6:30 a.m. we went and woke DH up and I took a bath. Then he took a shower and before we knew it it was 7:30 and we were on our way. We went to the hospital and waited for a while. They finally called us back around 8:30 or so and we went to another waiting area. We sat in there at least another 30 minutes. DH took Kaylea out in the hospital halls and let her just run around. She did great for having been up since 4:00 a.m.!!! Then the EEG tech (whom I happened to know) came out and said "Dawn, we're going to have to reschedule the EEG" WTH??? I said, "Um, no we're not. I'm not getting her up at 4:00 a.m. and sitting up all night with her." Anyway, there was a little bit of confusion but I got our doctor on the phone and it was a go. We took her in the room, gave her a bottle, and she was out like a light! She slept through the whole thing! She was such a big girl. I guess we won't find out anything until Monday or Tuesday on the results. I just pray everything is ok and we can get her off of this medicine!

In the meantime, I couldn't help but think about Drew all night! This was his first night away from home! Dh and I were in the bed and I couldn't quit talking. I would say "I wonder how Drew is doing", "I wonder if he's gone to sleep yet", "I hope he sleeps ok for my mom", etc. I know dh was like "Shut up and go to sleep!" LOL My mom said Drew did great. He only woke up one time and went right back to sleep. She said that the minute he woke up, he got up and went straight for the piano. LOL He LOVES my mom's and stepdad's piano! That's practically all he does while he's there.

All in all, it was a great and smooth night and day. Very unlike what i had in my mind! I told my mom that since Drew passed the test of staying away from home that they're gonna have to keep him more often. LOL I doubt that will happen, but we shall see!

Good Intentions!

2005-07-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

I had such good intentions when I began this site. It was supposed to be a journal for all of our family and friends to keep up with us. I made 3 lousy posts and that was it. That's pretty pathetic. So, here's to another try.

Drew and Kaylea are such joys in our lives. They say after children you don't remember what you did before them. Well, that hasn't hit, but i wouldn't change a thing! Watching them grow and learn something new everyday is so much fun. Watching new steps, new teeth, new attitudes, all this new stuff is what Shane and I made. Amazing!

Drew has been trying to walk now for several weeks now. He can walk across the house now but still isn't very confident about it. And he's still wobbly. He's only stood up in the middle of the floor a time or two and started walking, otherwise, he starts by holding on to something. Boy, we never thought this day would come and it has! He's such a happy boy. And the telephone is his new best friend. He is so darn funny. He'll put it up to his ear and it sounds like he's saying "Hello" and he just babbles off a conversation. It's hilarious.

Kaylea is her same ole self. Just as independant as ever. Ever since vacation she (and Drew) has been a little monkey. Climbing in the glider rocker, on the couch, standing up on the bed. Whew! It's enough to give you a heart attack.

They've started really loving to play on their bean bags. They'll just walk up to them and fall on them and just laugh. They'll go back and forth. Drew will be on one and Kaylea on the other and then they'll switch.

I sent a picture to the NNICU where they were for so long. It was a picture of them in their beach chairs on the beach on their first vacation. I haven't heard from anyone to see if they got it. Hopefully they did. We are still so thankful for everything that they did for us. I just hope they don't think i'm a freak for sending them a picture! I mean, we've been gone over a year now. I know their primary nurses were happy to see it. The rest of the nurses probably just think i'm nutso!

Tomorrow is Kaylea's EEG. We've got to keep her up from 4 a.m. until 8 a.m. because the EEG has to be a sleep deprived one. Boy is this going to be a fun night! A little recap as to why she's having this done. While in the NNICU when Drew and Kaylea were having trouble eating they wanted to make sure that it wasn't something neurological so they did an EEG on them. Drew's was fine and Kaylea's had 10 seconds on there that was questionable. So, they put her on phenobarbital just in case there was something going on. Ends up that they were allergic to their formula. Anyway, she's been on this medicine ever since and I want her to come off of it if she doesn't need it. Primarily because it's a narcotic. To grow out of the dosage she would have to be 30 pounds and that seems as if it'll never get here. So, in order to wean her off, the dr has ordered another EEG. Never would i have imagined that it would be a sleep deprived EEG. Ughhh...so, that's where we are. Hopefully the night won't be that bad and we'll have it done and we'll be able to get her off of that medicine. That's the only medicine that she's on and Drew isn't on any. They've both had one additional EEG and both of their's were fine.

Boy, are we lucky! And boy have we come a LONG way from when we came home with them. I can't even begin to remember how many meds they were one. It was several on each baby. I've got it written down somewhere.

I'll update tomorrow on how the night went. Sending prayers above that it's not as bad as i think it's going to be!

Busy Busy Busy

2005-01-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

My dad, Bev and Dalas came this weekend and we had, yet, another Christmas! haha....it was great. I really enjoyed having them here and spending time with them. They bought the babies the cutest stuff! And they also got all 4 of us matching Tommy Hilfiger outfits. I smell a picture coming with those outfits! LOL...

Drew has learned to do patty cake and it's now his new favorite game. It is the cutest thing ever watching him! Kaylea has been ill as a hornet all weekend. She's cutting two bottom teeth and she has a little bit of congestion to go with it. Not a good thing. She seems to be doing better today. Hopefully those little teefees will cut on through and she'll be her old happy, on the go, independant self instead of needing me 24/7.

I've got some great pictures but I've got to figure out how to get them posted!

Another Great Day

2005-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

I thought that after the holidays that it would take me a little while to get back in the swing of things and on another good schedule. But, it's totally opposite. Things just seem to fall into place. The only anxious time is around 11:00 a.m. and they are both wanting to eat and take a nap. But, I've learned to not get uptight and that one just has to wait his/her turn. I just have to decide which one I feel is the hungriest or sleepiest and let the other one learn some patience. Boy, is that hard. Not only because it drives me nuts to listen to one cry, but also because they are still babies and they don't understand "it's not your turn yet" just yet. All in all, it seems to be getting somewhat easier but much better when I'm here alone.

These babies tickle the stew out of me. I swear Drew is gonna have whiplash if Kaylea keeps going up behind him and ramming him with her walker while he's in his. haha....i'm like "WATCH OUT DREW...HERE SHE COMES" and his little feet will go 90 to nothing trying to run from her. LOL...such a sight! That's one way to get that little booger (Drew) to step with one foot at a time rather than being lazy and pushing with both feet. He's doing so much better with that. He seems to have broken that habit thank goodness.

The First Post

2005-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

So, this is the first post of many....I HOPE!! I have very good intensions of keeping a journal of Drew and Kaylea. I have had one on another site but wanted to start a site where everyone could check out periodically to see how they are advancing instead of me having to send out group email updates. That way, for the people who don't want to get the emails anymore, or just plain thinks we are way too obsessed with these little rascals, well, they don't have to visit the site and don't have to roll their eyes when they receive the emails just to instantly hit the delete key. haha....i'm hoping that no one actually does this...but, you never know.

So.......i will TRY MY BEST to update this daily or every other day and continue to add updated pictures.

Everyone who wishes to, please add any comments! I'm gonna try to get a guestbook set up to where you all can sign and post something for Drew and Kaylea to have and cherish forever! In the meantime, just click on add comment to do it for now.