Abagayle's special day

We celebrated Abagayle's coming home day Friday. I have had some technical difficulties which prevented me from posting about the day until now. You may remeber from last years post that it took Abby awhile to come home because of feeding issues. I am sure now that that was her way of preparing us for "Abby's World". She does everything in her own time and in the way that she sees best, not usually agreeing with her parents!

Abby started her day off with chocolate ding dongs that Poppie had bought. I had asked him to stop the night before and get doughnuts but he thought she would like these better! They all loved the chocolate frosting, coating the chocolate cake, filled with vanilla cream! Thanks Poppie for the very energetic group of three year olds! Mommy went out at lunch to run errends and brought back McDonalds for the whole gang. Abby LOVES french fries. That evening we all went to the carnival at Jamahl's school. It is a lot of noise to tolerate for the parents but the kids had a blast playing games, eating pizza, jumping in the bouncer, and tumbling on the gym mats. Overall, I know that Abby enjoyed being the special girl of the day.
Abagayle is extremly smart and outgoing. She is the boss of the group and keeps everyone in check. She loves to look at you with her big eyes and smile while she is doing something she isn't suppossed to be doing! Abby loves to read, do puzzles, sing, snuggle with Mommy, wrestle with Daddy,suck her thumb, and especially loves anything "Cinderella". We are so proud of the little girl she is becoming. Abagayle, keep your determined nature, it will get you far. If you keep standing up for the injustices in the world like you do now, the world better watch out. We love you so much!

Another important date

February 19th is a big day for 2 reasons in our house. Three years ago today Keyan had her trach put in. We were scared, in disbelief, sad, and yet happy to be getting rid of the tube in her nose. After so many attempts to get her off the ventilator, while we certainly did not like the idea of a trach, we did want to be able to hold her easier, let her move around, and experience life a little more normally. I know that the picture looks bad but she actually looked a lot worse before the trach. It was amazing how much more peaceful she was after the surgery. When this trach journey started, we were told she would have the trach for about a year. Here we are three years later and living life to the fullest with her trach. Every Spring we hope to get rid of the thing, but we know that in God's perfect time it will happen and boy will we have a huge party. The trach has given her a great quality of life and no matter if we have it for three more months or three more years we will take it one day at a time and be thankful she is with us. It is amazing how three years can pass so quickly.

Today also happens to be the girls original due date. Had they gone full term, they would have been born today. So...they are officially three years old today! Maybe that means that they will start listening, become potty trained, and stop fighting!!! Oh I can dream can't I?

It is Sidney's Day!

Sidney came home from the NICU 4 days after McKenzy. She had survived quite a time in the NICU having had numerous infections that made her neck swell up like a football player. She had two terrible IV burns that she will always have to scars to show for, blood transfusions, and so much more. We were so happy to take her home. Three years ago we were surving bottles every three hours, crying for what seemed like 20 hours of the day, dressing two teeny tiny babies, keeping medicines straight, and changing diapers constantly. Of couse that was with only two babies home!!! Now we are surving totally differnt dilemas but there are certainly plenty of them.
We started the day with chocolate doughnuts yet again and than we were of to Kindermusic where everyone made a big deal over it being her special day. After Kindermusic, Sidney got to spend the afternoon with Auntie Roo going shopping and eating out for lunch. She got to choose a sister to go with her and she chose Abby. Abby was thrilled with this because she is getting very tired of waiting for her special day. We rounded out the day with rootbeer floats for everyone. It took the girls a little while to figure out why there was pop in the ice cream but before long they were eating them up.
Sidney has a very sweet disposition 90% of the time but when she wakes up in a bad mood it is a bad day for all who are in her way. She LOVES doggies and is thrilled when Jamahl lets her "borrow" one of his. She still has the least amount of hair but when she lets mommy put a piggy tail in it she looks absolutly adorable. She is finally getting her tooth in that the Dentist thought was not there and that seems to be causing her a great deal of trouble but she just perserves thru it all. She is strong minded but always willing to share her hugs and kisses with anyone. She is our serious girl who doesn't always have a lot to say because she is taking it all in. Sidney, we love you and know that your strong streak will serve you well in life. Keep your happy spirit and easy going outlook on life, you add so much to our special family!

3 Year ago....

... We brought McKenzy home from the hospital. It was a long 2 and a half months in the NICU. She is the first born girl and was the first one home. She got a special outfit that was all her own and the preemie size was huge! She weighed just over 5 pounds and was so tiny. She came home without any monitors or tubes. We were so lucky and happy to have her at home.
I can't believe how her looks really have not changed. She has always been a beautiful little girls and continues to get prettier by the day. We had a fun coming home day with doughnuts in the morning for everyone. She got to choose what we had for lunch and she choose McDonalds fries. She also got to choose the movie of the day so she felt very special. Earlier this week, she perforated her ear drum and has been in a lot of pain. Today though she was finally more herself, talking a mile a minute.
McKenzy loves to cook with Grammie. Her favorite part is licking the beaters and watching what the ingredients do in the mixer. She loves Dora, Barney, cookies, chicken nuggets, peaches, and playing with her sisters. She definetly marches to the beat of her own drum but it is a fun drum. When she is mad, we all know it, but her laughis more contagious than the common cold.
We love you McKenzy! Keep your individual spirit, it will take you far in life. You have an important role in our family as the "keeper of the sisters." It is a big job, but you do it well. It was another fun year and we can't wait to see what the next one has in store. You are a beautiful girl.

A new Car

When I came across this car bed at a local consignment shop I could not resist getting it for the girls. They have been playing "car" for about 2 months now by all climbing into one bed and pretending to go on trips. I believe they have been to Target, Meijer, the mall to play and to Cinderella's castle in Florida many times! They are quite the travelers. So, this is suppossed to be a toddler bed but we have yet to put a matress in it. They all love to play in it but than when they are ready to go to sleep, they go to their own beds. Occasionally one of them will decide to sleep in it but we haven't had a lot of fighting over it, believe it or not! It is so fun watching them play together and use their imaginations. Oh the places they will go in their lifetimes!!!

Keyan goes to School!

I will do my best to write this post without all of the emotions that are involved for me although when the poor Schwans man asked me why I was dressed so early this morning, I started bawling. Needless to say, it has been a very draining day. Keyan started her special education preschool this morning. She has tried to start two other days but the first day she was under the weather and the second day, it was so foggy that morning classes were cancelled. So, the third time was a charm and she made it. Keyan will be going five days a week for three hours a day. She has a nurse that attend with her, and believe it or not, Keyan rides the bus to school!!! You have never seen anything like a little three year old getting on a big bus! She had a good first day and whenever anyone asks her about school, she says, "I ride the bus and eat cookies!!!" So, pray for her health and saftey, pray for her little brain neurons to form all of those new pathways, and pray for Mommy to survive this whole unnatural ordeal.

Keyan's new backpack! She is the only one that got one and the other girls can't figure out why but she is very excited to have something all her own that is not medical equipment!
Daddy left for work late so that he could see her off onto the bus. Shortly after we handed her off to the nurse she started bawling...so did Mommy...but by the time she got to school, she was happily singing The wheels on the bus... Keyan, we love you and are so proud of your love for life. Keep beating all the odds!!!

A Wonderful Christmas

Our house was filled with laughter, awe, excitment, and fun this holiday season. I can't imagine that we will ever have a year this fun. The kids all loved everything about Christmas this year. The Christmas tree was so inviting that McKenzy and Keyan just could not keep their hands off of it. The lights on the tree matched the sparkle in their eyes everytime they got near it. Jamahl was in charge of helping the girls make cookies with Grammie. He did all of the important jobs, but did share licking the spoons and beaters. They made several differnt kids of cookies, a batch of everyones favorites, and the kids loved sampling ALL of them! Our lives have been filled with new songs to learn, Christmas movies and books, the anticipation of Santa, learning about baby Jesus, an endless supply of goodies, giving and receiving gifts, and spending time with family and friends. A house with a 6 year old and four 3 years olds can be awfully chaotic, noisy, and stressful. However, it is times like these where we are reminded of how lucky we are to have a houseful of eager children just waiting for the next adventure. We hope you had a wonderful holiday. Here is to a great 2008!