Hittin' the Rock

Last week Sage and I took six (6!!!) kids up to Picnic rock for a full day of splashing, relaxing, and snacking. The weather was beautiful, our chairs were comfy, and the kids were great. It reminded me so much of hitting Huntington Reservoir with my mom when I was little. All we needed was some Tab, some lounge chairs, and some baby oil (to work on our sweet tans, of course).

Keeler kickin' it in his cute, cute hat.
Climbing trees with the kids.

How I spent about 75% of the day. Sweeeeet.

Showing off their Tootsie Pops. I guess great minds think alike because, let's just say that Sage and I both brought the kids all kinds of usually-contraband treats like suckers and Twinkers--I mean Twinkies. (Having never consumed the most shelf-stable of all foods before this day, all of our deprived children were calling them Twinkers!)

Milo exploring the river.

Beckett just chillin' on the chair.

Helping Isabel to search for a lost "fish" from the end of her fishing pole.

Isabel showing off the remains of her Twinker.

In theory, those little toy fishing poles are a great idea. In reality, four toy fishing poles being flung about is a recipe for the biggest tangled mess of your life. Then, repeat said tangle 20 minutes later.

Eating lunch (and a little bit of sand) on the rocky shore.

We heart summer.

Too soon and Tomorrow

Milo's hand wrapped around Spencer's thumb just days after birth.

Tomorrow, we walk in the March of Dimes annual fundraiser (the March for Babies--formerly known as Walk America). Every year when this even rolls around, we find ourselves reflecting on our luck, our children, their lives, their births, and all that is possible for them now--that may not have been possible if they'd been born even a decade earlier.

.

Milo and Isabel were born too soon. They were too small. They spent too long in the hospital. They--Milo especially--have endured too many doctor's visits, too many ER visits, too many hospitalizations, and too many surgeries. But, here's the thing--they are alive. They are relatively healthy and their quality of life really is quite good.

.

I will never forget the moment when Isabel was born. She was the only one of my three children that I was able to see immediately after their birth. She was tiny (3+ lbs), blue, and limp. She was a flash and then she was gone. Whisked away to the NICU for intubation, medication to help her breath, IVs in her umbilical cord, monitors, assessments, medications, feeding tubes, threats of surgery and a long stay. She was "healthy" by NICU standards but, as a parent, it was terrifying. Every time the phone rang my heart raced. Every time I left the hospital, my heart ached. When she finally cam home, we were overjoyed. But, at the same time, this was just the beginning of our life as parents of preemies.

.

Milo's birth was something I missed. Well, I didn't really miss it per se, I was just knocked out for it. He was the proverbial "splash and slash". Yanked from the depths of my body in a mad rush to save his life. And it did. His journey was just as complicated as Isabel's...only so much more so. Days and days on ventilators and backup ventilators and positive pressure ventilation devices. Life-threatening bradycardia, life-threatening drops in his oxygen saturation levels. And then. He left the hospital. And our journey really began. So many doctor visits. ER visits too numerous to count. Hospitalizations that I've lost track of. Procedures. Surgeries. Rescue medications. Knowing more than any child should about what to do if he can't breathe. More surgery. More plans. More doctors. More specialists. But still, he's here. And he's really relatively healthy and well.

.

20 years ago, this would not have been a given. 10 years ago, the positive outcome still would not have been a given. Because of research funded by the March of Dimes, both Milo and Isabel benefited from steroids given to me while I was pregnant. They both received medication to help their immature lungs stay inflated shortly after birth. They both received testing for a variety of metabolic disorders like PKU (so did all of your children!).

.

Premature birth is increasing. Every single year. And, truthfully, no one knows why. For our family, that is the most important piece of what the March of Dimes does. They support research into potential causes of premature birth and into potential treatments. But they do so much more.

.

We walk tomorrow, as a family. We walk tomorrow, with my department at the hospital. We walk tomorrow with other loved ones who have lost babies to premature birth. We walk tomorrow because we truly believe in this cause and in all that the March of Dimes is hoping to support, protect, and help.

.

If you'd like to walk with us or if you're able to make a donation to support the March of Dimes (No dollar amount is too small! Every donation counts--especially during times like these.), please visit our webpage at www.marchforbabies.org/pvhnicu.

Celebrating the big FIVE with their preschool teacher, Mrs. Bonnema.

Issy does research and we all do the zoo.

Issy Does Research
A few weeks ago at preschool, the class was discussing sea life. Starfish--or as they are properly known, Sea Stars--were talked about. Isabel came home wanting to know even MORE about them. She most specifically wanted to know how they eat. So...Spencer helped them look up Sea Stars online and, together, they learned all kinds of things about them (They have no brains! No blood!). They asked Spencer to print the information off and Isabel proudly carried it off to preschool to show her teacher. Well, the teacher took it one step further and had Isabel present the information during circle time. :) She told Isabel, "Isabel, I will probably remember you forever and ever now! You will always be "Isabel: The girl who was only five years old and did a research project on Sea Stars for preschool!". Isabel, of course, was overcome with both embarassment and pride. :) Me? Mostly pride.

Her next research project was not nearly so...intellectual.
Isabel: "Mommy, can you show me where you keep those one pointy shoes that you sometimes wear to church?"
Me: "Sure. Why? Are you going to use them for dressup?"
Isabel: "Well, I was just looking in my Fancy Nancy books about ways to be fancy and I saw a picture of something fancy and it was shoes like those."
Me: "Ooohhh. Okay, um, let me get them down."
Isabel: "See Mom, look right here (pointing to a picture in one of her Fancy Nancy books). Look how FANCY she is!"

Research into how to be fancy. So cute. And so funny. And so...Isabel.


We Do the Zoo.
Last week, my mom took a day off to babysit Keeler while I was teach parent at preschool and we all headed down to the zoo for a lovely afternoon.

Keeler was a little suspicious of his first zoo trip. Well, mostly of the stroller I think.
Enjoying ice cream at the end of our afternoon at the zoo with grandma.

Keeler. Just being adorable.

Keeler doing what he did for 75% of our zoo trip. Sleeping. In the wrap. In his cute giraffe sweater. (In honor of the giraffe baby born just days after Keeler.)

Milo and Isabel checking out the elusive Red Panda (Grandma Kim's new favorite animal).

Keeler Goes on Tour

This past weekend, we made our first trek back to Utah since Keeler arrived. It was a snow and fun filled adventure! We missed seeing much of the family (snow and illness) but we did get to see some of my aunts, uncles and cousins, my grandparents, Spencer's parents and stepsisters and his brother and sister and nieces and nephew. I also got to see several friends from back in the day (a.k.a. high school). It was a whirlwind! Here are some pics from our adventure--in completely random order.

My grandpa Manuel holding Keeler (another namesake--you may remember that Keeler's middle name is Manuel). This is the first time I've ever seen my grandpa hold a newborn. I think I must have caught him in an off moment or something. I'm happy about it regardless. :) It was so fun to visit with them and see them hold Keeler.
Milo's mad winking skills. Most excellent because he tries to keep the rest of his face completely still.

Keeler takes a little snooze with Spencer-the-borderline-narcolept. Seriously, he can fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

Isabel and her student, Ali. She spent nearly our entire visit to Spencer's dad and stepmom's house "training" the dogs. Nevermind that some of them (Ali) are already trained. She was so cute and so hilarious! When Ali actually did what she said (after hours of trying to get Leo, another dog, to do what she said) she nearly passed out! We were all laughing so hard.

A little love from Ali.

Milo completing his reading test with Grami Tami (she's a first grade teacher extraordinaire). He tested at a Level 3 which confirms our suspicions that he's a smarty pants. :)

Isabel with her entire class. She hasn't stopped asking me, "Mom, when can I get a Pog? Imean a Pag? I mean a Pog? Mom, what is that dog called again?" It's a Pug. And the answer is...ask me again in a few years. :)

Isabel in the fanciest clothes that I packed her (minus the tiara, wand, shoes, and purse--those were borrowed). She was completely T.O.d at me for not "packing fancy enough stuff". She was completely aghast that I packed TWO PAIRS OF JEANS!!! Sigh. :)

Keeler being cute with Grami Tami. He wore his boots since he heard it was going to snow and all.

Grami Tami and Cutie Keeler. He was a big fan. He even wore his favorite dog shirt to their house because he heard about all their pups. :)

Keeler and his fab aunty Mel. Not to be confused with Melissa. Or Lissa. Having two aunts named Melissa can be a little teensy bit confusing at times. Oh and see that leather jacket? Just one sign of her toughness. Look out!

A little story time with Grandma Cathryn. Big twins, little twins, and Royan. (Milo refused to pose do to his complete infatuation with the stinkin' PSP. He informed me that "Mom, it is sort of like exercise because it exercises your thumbs and stuff!". Riiiiiiiggghhht.)

Issy cuddling Olivia when she (Olivia) was sad. I'm telling you, one day these two are going to take over the world together. They have enough spice between the two of them to...well, I don't even know.

Baby BFFs

Lucky little Keeler already has a BFF in his two favorite states (Utah and Colorado--although let's be honest and say that he has only been to one other state--Wyoming).

His Utah BFF, Koen, is the adorable son of Amy, my BFF-since-I-was-14. Koen was born 4 days after Keeler and is so stinkin' cute! He has tons of blonde hair and generally wears it in a rock starish fashion. He also has an excellent smile. See above for proof. It has been so fun to have babies at the same time although through very different avenues. :) Keeler REALLY wants Koen to come and visit.

~

Keeler's Colorado BFF, is none other than Beckett!! Beckett is the son of the infamous Sage. He was born at 12:57am just 6 hours before we left for our Utah trip. I was lucky enough to meet this guy just after he was born and, let me tell you, he is adorable and was worth the wait! :) Sage rocked a successful VBAC delivery (see her post for the full story--worth it and completely inspiring) and has some seriously cute boys--with matching dimples nonetheless!

"The big guys" and "the little guys" as Porter calls them. :) Trying to get all five kids to sit, look at the camera, not show their underwear (Isabel), or not show their athletic socks with fancy dress look (Isabel) and not cry (Keeler) was quite the challenge. As you can see, we didn't exactly succeed! ;)
Keeler is just taking a moment to reflect on all of the matching outfits that they will soon be wearing (not joking) and all of the fun they will have growing up.