Growing Pains

My twinners aren't babies anymore...they are toddlers. They still feel like babies to me, maybe they will always feel that way because they are MY babies. But the fact is they are growing up and getting big. And getting big meant getting new beds.

Ty was climbing out of his crib like crazy, and naptime became a hassle because he would climb out and climb in Gracie's crib. Oh the stinker! Zac was getting too big for the bassinet so it worked out because he needed a crib. Time for some bed changes!

Kev and I had the bed conversation numerous times since the beginning of the year. We knew we would have to do it, we just weren't sure whether we wanted them to go to a twin bed or a toddler bed.

After much debating and looking at all the options we decided to go with twin beds. Actually our pediatrician recommended we just start with the mattresses on the ground. So that's what we have done.

They got to pick out their own bedding, Toy Story for Ty and Repunzel for Gracie. The first few nights of course were hilarious. Lots of jumping on the beds. But it has been about a month now and Ty has really gotten the hang of it. Gracie however, doesn't really know what to do with her freedom. She doesn't quite get it and frequently winds up in her crib for the night.

It has been extremely hard for me because my once excellent sleepers have started getting up way earlier since being out of the cribs. We are still adjusting and hopefully it will only get better!

No more crib!


First night with the new beds...consisted of two little monkeys jumping on the bed!


They love to throw everything off their beds.


I found them asleep numerous places since switching to beds. Ty is such a good boy, he must have fallen asleep praying.


And of course we constantly find Gracie asleep on Ty's bed!


In other "growing pain" news, I have taken away the paci except for bedtime! This was a huge, daunting task for me to think about while pregnant and then with a newborn. But I decided it wasn't going to get any easier, so we did it. And we have all survived! The first few days Ty had major withdrawls!...seriously it was like an addiction for him. But now they willingly give me their paci in the morning and call it their "night night pi" They have always called it their "pi" although I am not sure why. We have endured some more screaming that may have been settled with a paci but I am proud us especially of Kev for not giving in.

Again though, no more pacis just means that my babies aren't babies anymore!

My sweet Zac

Oh, I have so many posts to catch up on and yet I don't seem to have the energy to do it once I get the kids in bed. Lack of energy plus lack of motivation equals lack of posts.

Anyway, so nearly a month ago now we went ahead and had the procedure done on Zac to help his breathing. His epiglottis was floppy causing his airway to be covered which resulted in his loud, noisy, squeaky breathing. We were hoping that he could grow out of this which most babies do, but my little guy was just working so hard to breathe. His acid reflux was bad which just caused everything to be worse. We felt like he wasn't really thriving more like getting by.

I talked to our ENT and of course he heard him again on the phone and we just decided that the benefits outweighed the risks and we would do the surgery. It just so happened that he had operating time that Friday morning and so two days later we took our Zac in for surgery. The surgery went really well. They went down his throat and made two cuts on each side of the epiglottis where the extra tissue was. So there was no incision, which was nice. It was quick and quite simple. Zac of course didn't feel anything as he was out.

The hardest part was afterward seeing him on a breathing tube. They had to restraint his arms so he wouldn't pull the tube out. They mostly just kept him comfortable for the rest of the day and we couldn't even hear him if he did cry because of the tube.
Kevin and I just stayed with him while recovering in the ICU. We were in the exact same room as we had been back in February. Then at three in the morning they took the tube out and at about 7 in the morning Kevin fed him a bottle which he drank so fast. Within 24 hours of his surgery he was doing great. I fed him again later in the morning and he did awesome. They took all the tubes and monitors off of him and he continued to do well. So when we saw our ENT at 1 in the afternoon I asked him if we could go home and he said yes! Yay!

So it was an only one night hospital stay and Zac was doing great. And the best part was Zac was so so quiet! The ENT had said he may sound worse the first day because of the swelling but seriously he sounded awesome! We were so happy! Kev thinks he smiles and coos so much more now. His chest isn't contracting like it use to, he isn't having to use all his energy to breathe. Our ENT fixed our little guy! Well, he still has a little noise, but now he has a much better chance of growing out of it. Yay!

I never felt nervous once we decided to do the procedure. Kevin and I had been praying for a direction as to whether or not we should do it or not. And I really feel like we were guided and were able to make the correct decision for our son. I have a strong testimony of prayer and I know we will get answers, He is just waiting for us to ask. We feel so blessed to have Zac in our lives and the opportunity to be his parents.

Zac is such a sweetie. It is so fun to see him smile and hear him laugh. He has brought such joy to our home already.







I just love my little boy! He has my heart!

Playdate PDX

This last week the kids and I spent the week in Portland with my sister and got to see my Dad for a couple days. It was a good week to head down since Kevin was very busy with work and wasn't home too much.

The kids did great and seemed to enjoy our little break in routine and had fun with their Auntie and Grandpa. Of course it seems the more kids you have the less pictures there are. This seems to be the case as of lately, I need to do better about pulling the camera out. Poor Zac will have far less pics than the twins.

Anyway, my sis and I took the kids to this great place called Portland PDX. They got to run, jump, play and slide. They had a blast and I actually got some smiles for pictures.













I decided the Pacific Northwest needs lots of places like this, since it rains so much and our kids can't burn energy outside.

Zac's blessing

Happy May Day! Does this mean no more winter and summer is on its way? Today is the most beautiful day in Washington. The perfect day for a baby blessing.

I love baby blessings...especially for my own babies. I feel so grateful to have a wonderful, worthy husband who honors his priesthood and is able to give our children blessings.

We made it to church on time, 5 minutes early even. Miracles do happen! The twins were even super quiet during his blessing.

I of course started crying the moment Kevin began speaking and couldn't tell you all that was said. But I do know the spirit was strong and it was beautiful. Zac also did amazing, didn't make a peep.

We were so happy to have Kevin's dad here for the weekend and my sister as well. That's all the family that came. But we love our adopted Washington family and we were happy to have them come. Thank you!















We love you Zac Christopher!

28!

So our conversation went something like this:

A couple weeks before my birthday...

Steph: I just want to go down to Portland for a weekend, do some shopping and get my hair done for my birthday.

Kev: So I don't need to do anything?

Steph: Nope.

The night before my birthday...

Steph:Do you know what so and so got for their birthday? And what her husband did for her on her birthday? :)

Kev: I thought you wanted to go down to Portland and pick out your own gifts?

Steph: I do. I am just saying I like surprises too.

Kev: I think you may be disappointed tomorrow.

Birthday...



Not at all disappointed! It was a wonderful day. I love my Kevin.

Zac Zac

Our little Z is such a sweetie! We just love him so much. He really is such a great baby. A cuddle boy too, loves to sleep on your chest.

He really has been through alot already in his short two months. We visit the doctors office weekly for weight checks. The ENT wants to monitor his growth closely because babies with severe floppy epiglottis' will often choose breathing over eating. Luckily that hasn't been the case for Zac yet. The ENT says he can't believe how well he eats for how awful he sounds.

This last week has been hard though because he caught the twins' cold and has a cough. So breathing problems plus congestion from a cold makes life even harder for the boy. He will eat and then cough so hard that he throws it all up. Not fun! We are hoping the cough will soon leave.

When I go places I get lots of looks of concern when they hear Zac. The nurse at my OB office said "Oh he is singing!" Lots of people will say, "How cute he is snoring".

But it breaks my heart to know he is working so hard to breathe. We really hope he doesn't have to do the procedure and that he can grow out of it. 85 percent of babies do.

He has started smiling and cooing and we just think he is the cutest.

Best Friends

I am so glad that Ty and Gracie have each other. With the demands of a newborn and not being able to go outside due to the rainy weather it is so nice they have each other to play with. And of course fight with too :)

They are my little mess makers, every room of the house is constantly being "re-decorated" by my little tots. Kevin says they take advantage of the fact that I am not going to run after them when I am feeding Zac. Oh the naughtiness! Time-out has been used often.

They turned two and I feel like instantly they started acting two. Where did my sweet babies go? To toddlerhood that is where. They get very upset when something doesn't go their way or the other one has what they want. And they know how to push each other's buttons too. But they also love each other more than anyone else. And they know how to comfort each other when the other one is sad.

A couple weeks ago when they were sitting on the floor watching their favorite Toy Story Ty put is arm around Gracie and they sat just like that, side to side with his arm around her. The sweetest thing! I was feeding Zac of course and the camera was not within reach.

Their nursery leaders always tell me how neat it is to watch them in nursery because they are so connected. They look out for each other and are truly best friends.





















I love my twinners!