Rick took the boys fishing and they had a good time! I think they liked walking around and exploring more than the actual fishing part.

This is their favorite book, a little people Christmas book. They fight over it many times a day.... but here is a rare moment when they were actually looking at it TOGETHER and not fighting!

Life with 2 babies

You know that really annoying stage when a baby wants to feed themselves? Well, that is my life x2. I know, the more independent the better. But I am really too busy to be cleaning up messy clothes and waiting 30 minutes to finish one little bowl of food. I can feed them so much faster (and cleaner!) But, Timmy (now 18 months old) basically refuses to be fed by another person. He will turn his head, scream... throw a fit. So, I gave up and let him do it. EG HAS to do everything he does, so she swipes the spoon and does it herself, too.

Let me tell you what these babies have been doing! They love to play in the lazy susan. They stack up the cans, spin it around and pull everything out. The other day I noticed that my sweet and low supply as well as my canned goods supply was looking a little low. Then, I actually caught them in the act! They have been throwing away my canned goods (and sweet and low!) They are certainly a dynamic duo!!!! I lost my iphone somewhere in the house a few months ago and I am almost certain Timothy threw it away.

The mouth...

I have searched the internet for pictures of post cleft palate pictures. When I say post... I mean within days or weeks. I want to see what it looks like as it is healing. So, since I couldn't find any, I have been taking pics of Emma Grace. Maybe it will help someone else one day. Her surgery was on March 29, Tuesday. I have a picture from March 31 in the post below this one.

April 4... what is that yellow thing? Can't wait to ask the doctor about that one.

This is April 6. Doesn't it look good? I know he cut the sides (where there actually was skin) so maybe that is why she has those yellow/white fillers on both sides. Hmmmm, again... can't wait to go to the doctor on April 15 to talk with him about everything!

Overall, we have had a pretty easy time. Dr. Chariker wanted the arm restraints on her for a week, that was the only hard part because she sucks her thumb. Exactly one week later, we ditched the arm bands. We are careful about what she eats and I don't let her walk around with toys in her mouth, but really we haven't had to do too much differently. Her pain was very easy to control and in many ways this surgery was less stressful than the lip. I know it was more painful for her, but because it was tucked away and safe in her mouth, I didn't worry as much. The stress of watching that lip heal was really hard on us, but this palate... not so much!

Before and after...

We are home from Emma's surgery! Dr. Chariker worked on her for 65 minutes and said that everything went fine. We go back in 2 weeks for a follow-up. We are hoping (and praying) that it was a successful repair and that there are no leaks that will have to be fixed. He said we will know in 1-2 years if the muscles are attached properly and if her speech will sound normal. In his words, "if not, I have a procedure for that." He took a look at her lip and felt it looked pretty good but he wants to re-evaluate at the 1 year mark (November). He is thinking that he will go back and adjust it a little bit. His comment to Rick and myself, "I want her to look as perfect as possible before starting school." This made us laugh! We are so thankful we waited for both surgeries to be completed here!

So, the dumbed down version of what he did: build a floor for her nose (she had nothing, if you stuck your finger in her nose it would go down to her mouth), attach the muscles that she will need for speech and then connect the palate. He actually had to scrape skin from the bone to help with the repair. Everything he used was already in her mouth, isn't that amazing?!?!?!?!

We feel she is doing well. Last night was her second night and she only woke twice, both times she was do for pain meds, which is why she probably woke up. She took a 3.5 hour nap today and has eaten 3 meals. She has played like normal although she is way crankier than she is normally. Here are some before and after pictures:

Waiting to get started. They didn't start until noon, and she hadn't eaten since the night before. She kept asking to "eat" and was signing for milk. It broke my heart!!!

She was laughing with daddy and I got this "pre" picture of her palate! It was opened like that all the way to her gum line, which also has a split in it.

She asked for her cup as soon as we saw her and would NOT put it down! She drank a whole cup right away!!

Here it is...the after. Looks gross, huh?!?!?! She had egg for breakfast yesterday and last night we thought that yellow stuff was egg. Rick wanted to poke it out and I actually suggested getting tweezers to pull it out. Can you imagine? She would've screamed in pain and we would've screwed up Dr. C's hard work. Thankfully we didn't follow through with either of our stupid plans and realized today that this is NOT egg. I googled a picture online, and the little guy's mouth looked almost exactly like this.

So, we have another lip surgery in our future and a surgery for her gum line when she is around 8-10 years old. The doctor did say that her teeth are lining up nicely, so that was great to hear! Please pray that her palate is fixed and that we don't have to do anything else!

A few recent pictures...

This entertains my kids for hours!

Making mulch soup... not looking forward to cleaning this out when it is time for sand!

My big boy... love him so much

This was from a recent event at my school. AF looks like all of his teeth have rotted out.

The boys enjoying a spring day!

MF at his first Tball practice

This kid loves to eat... enjoying a cupcake (that he stole from me!)

He is such a handsome little boy. This picture makes me laugh because he took the hat off the boy and put it on the dog.

There are no words for the love that we have for this little girl. She is beyond precious and I simply can't imagine NOT having her. So thankful that God had her planned for our family.

TF looks confused, EG was smiling on command

EG with her great grandparents.

New blog address

Well, hopefully you found us! I decided to make my blog public again, and because of that I wanted to change our blog address. I didn't want our last name and location to be public.

So, I haven't posted in over a month. We are just always so busy it is hard to keep up with all the stuff I did in my stay at home days. I think this blog is important because it keeps track of my kids and their milestones and it is a heck of a lot easier than writing in all their individual journals, which is something else I have been horrible about! I have also lacked motivation because since I have gone private I don't think anyone read our blog. But, now that spring break and summer vacation are in our near future, I want to get back in it again.

EG continues to do great. Her palate surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday and I am a nervous wreck. I want to fast forward these next 2 weeks so we are out of the yucky recovery stage and life is back to normal. She is WALKING now and getting stronger each day. On March 2 I took my kids outside and she walked for a solid 45 minutes because she couldn't knee walk or crawl on the concrete. Ever since, she has been walking. She leads with her belly and if we are being honest, it is a very ugly walk... but she is doing it. So thankful she did this before her 2nd birthday! To think of the milestones she has hit since coming home is overwhelming to me. She could NOT stand with support the day we met her. She felt like spaghetti. In 5 months, she has learned to stand with support, pull to stand, cruise, stand without support and walk. It is really amazing! She is feeding herself and communicating so well. She does a lot of sign language and is trying some words. She is the most wonderful, precious little girl that I have ever met. To say that I am completely and totally in love with her would be an understatement.

AF is doing well in school. He was identified as potential for the primary talent pool. I wasn't surprised. When it comes time to test in 3rd grade we will know if he qualifies for the gifted and talented program. He is a smart boy and definitely has a mathematical mind, so we will see where it leads him. He is going through one of his stuttering stages right now and it is about ready to kill me. His speech teacher says it is normal. He is learning so much and his mouth can't keep up with his mind. We have been down this road before and it is a short-lived stage. We don't say anything or point it out and we let him stumble through his sentences. It is hard for me and I am sure it is frustrating for him. He told me the other day that some boys in his class are telling him to go away and they don't want to play with him. I hope this is just normal kid stuff and them not picking up on the fact that he can't hardly get his words out. Always something to worry about. After much begging and pleading from his parents, AF decided to play baseball again. He is really very good at it and he is LOVING it. I can't believe he threw such a stink about not playing.

MF is doing great as well. He is loving school now and transitioning great everyday. I don't feel like he is learning as much as AF did in preschool so he is going to be my project this summer. He is still my goofy and sweet boy that loves to cuddle and give kisses. I have never met a child so laid back and sweet. It is unbelievable how patient and loving he is towards his sister. I think he would take the clothes off his back and give them to her if she needed it. We were so thankful that our Little League friends agreed to let him play, even though he is not quite of age. R is coaching his team and he is doing great, for being the youngest one there! I can't wait to see him play ball this summer.

TF... what can I say about him. He is 17 months old and he has one word... EAT! No mama, no dada, no uh-oh.... it is eat. And boy oh boy does that kid love to eat. He screams a lot, throws a lot of tantrums.... but let's face it, we really rocked his world when we brought EG home. I try to be extra patient with him. I spend more time rocking him at night and kissing all over him. It is hard for him to share his mama with another baby. He can be so sweet to his sister, but he can also be a big bully and sit on her. (yes, he actually pins her down by sitting on her.) I think he is frustrated by the lack of talking, but we have been down this road before with our oldest. He will talk and he does probably need speech. That is another summer project, to get hooked up with therapy. But, AF had 25 words when he was 2.5 years old, and now (other than the stuttering...) communicates just find and does well above average in school. It's just one of those things. I am thankful I have walked this path before so I know not to get too upset about it. He really is a handsome and sweet little boy, he has just had a rough few months!

OK- my promise to keep up with this blog better. I know it is boring to read all these updates, but guess what... it is for my kids not you :)