Two Peas in ONE Pod

Two peas= Brady and Reese

Pod=one bedroom

The girls shared a bedroom for a week when visiting Grandma. After the visit was over, they didn't want to stop sleeping together! Every night they would ask to have a sleep over. The nights we made them sleep separate, Reese would cry trying to fall asleep and often wake in the middle of the night crying. When we let them sleep together, Reese never cried herself to sleep, nor did she wake up in the middle of the night.  But these nightly sleepovers required one kid to sleep on the floor.

School is coming up and we wanted them to get a solid nights' rest in their own BED. Only one solution for sleeping in their own bed but in the same room. We moved Brady's bed into Reese's old room, which we now call the sleeping room. There is only beds and books in there. Now Brady's old room looks like this...

Please excuse the mess...this new arrangement is still a work in progress! So now the girls have ANOTHER playroom...yes, they now have three playrooms. Speaking of playrooms, I want to show off my latest reorganization of the main playroom. 

 Everything has a bin or place now. Every bin is labeled with words and a picture. The best part of this, the girls and Karl know where things go. The girls also love so much having everything organized, they willingly clean up one activity before getting another out. If they forget to clean something up, they immediately do it when I remind them... The house is always clean when Karl gets home from work and I am very proud of this!

Lots of changes and milestones happening here...

Only 3 days until Kindergarten starts....AHHHHH!

I got a promotion!

Well today has been an overwhelming (in a good way) day of new beginnings! 

Elli has started to figure out her thumb. She has had a HUGE desire to sooth by sucking, but wouldn't take a paci. She had been trying to suck her thumb/hand but it would only frustrate her more. I would try many things, but usually resort to nursing (even if she wasn't hungry). No wonder she is 90th %ile right? Well a couple times yesterday and today I have found her actually sucking her thumb, no pro yet, but we are on the right path, which allows me to breath a sigh of relief.

Reese had her first voice lesson today! She asked to learn how to sing so that she could be on American Idol when she is a teenager. I have asked her several times if she wants to do gymnastics or soccer or dance, etc etc etc. But she insists that singing it is. Not too many voice teachers want to teach a 3 year old, but when I tell them I have no expectations (aka I am NOT a stage mom) they let their guard down. I told them as long as she comes out smiling I am happy. She LOVED it today. However, she would not share any details with me. Here is a glimpse of her mid session.

Now for my Brady girl. Yesterday, she came up to me and said, pointing in her mouth, "Is that a new tooth?" Looking in her mouth I think she is crazy...sure enough there was a point of a molar poking through. I get onto google, and reminded that there are 6 year molars, and these are adult teeth. My baby girl has a tooth in her mouth that she will be chomping on when she is 98....CRAZY! Well ironically today was their dentist appointment...she also has two loose teeth! WHAT! I think I am more excited then her. I wonder how much money the tooth fairy will bring her in a couple months ;) Get a good look at this toothful 'smile' because that is about to change!

And to top off all this excitement going on here, I went 9 weeks without losing an ounce, but in the past week I have lost 7 pounds! 

So, about that title I choose for the post. I may not have a job that measures success in quantity, money earned, figures and goals reached. But I have a job that has milestones reached and smiles achieved. Well I have had a burst of milestones thrown at me at once and to me I feel like I took a step up in pay! 

Wordless Wednesday: Brady or Elli? Twins born 5 years apart

 

If you didn't figure it out...Elli is all the brown onesie shots and Brady is the rest!

Owl Blanket Project: Month Two

So Elli Dew is two...months old! Therefore time for another picture on the owl blanket. She is definitely a growing girl. I feel like each morning when I pick her up she is heavier then the day before.  

I just love those cute chunky legs!

At her 2 month well baby visit, she weighed 12 pounds 4 ounces....90th %ile and was 23.75 inches long.... 90th%ile. Now while she is a proportionate baby, she is a BIG baby. Yah, for a healthy little girl. She grew 2 inches in one month and gained about 3 pounds! WOW, all from momma's milk!!!

Milestones: She loves to smile at me, especially right before I start to nurse her. Also, she is now sleeping for 6 or 7 hour stretches at night!!!!! She loves tummy time, especially for naps. Like right now I am typing this in her nursery while she sleeps on her belly. I spend a many of afternoons in her nursery watching her while she sleeps on her belly. I know as soon as she can roll over she will be sleeping that way at night too. The doctor said she can tell she loves tummy time since her head is still very rounded!

As far as the cloth diapering goes....it doesn't :(! I was really excited about this journey. I wanted to do it because both Brady and Reese got so many diaper rashes, lots of cloth diapering mothers swore by the fact their babies never got rashes except when they used disposables. I was sold. I asked my mom to make me some, she went beyond the call of duty and made me about 30 newborn sized cloth diapers in three different styles with the cutest fabrics. My Pensacola friends equipped me with the gear needed to laundry cloth diapers. I was set. So after Elliot's umbilical cord stump fell off, I excitedly ventured into the new journey. Well, within 4 days Elli had a HORRIBLE diaper rash. I thought it was a mistake I made, maybe I didn't wipe her well in a middle of the night change. I got her bottom healthy and almost immediately she rashed up again. So I got advice from my experienced friends, stripped the diapers clean and gave it another shot. Within an hour of trying it again, Elli was getting another rash. I gave up then, 3 rashes in 10 days, I was done. It was a hard decision to make though. My mom had put endless hours of sewing, not to mention the expense of the PUL fabric. My friends gifted me with supplies. I personally had invested money in a new diaper pail. I felt like I was allowed to give up, but I had to do what is best for my baby. There has only been one rash in the month that I have used disposables.

Atlanta Whirlwind Trip

We spent a couple days in Atlanta last week. But if I list all the things we did you will think we were there a week (especially considering we had a one month in tow).

We went to the Dwarf House (first Chick-fil-a, that happens to serve beef), Georgia Aquarium, Children's Museum, Braves baseball game, Lennox Mall, and Legoland. Of course the events we preplanned (Aquarium and ball game) the girls found a lot less entertaining then the last minute trips to legoland and museum.

Here are my three favorite ladies all kicking their legs in the hotel bed. I really enjoyed this moment as they all played together.

 I enjoyed this sight as well!

 The whole time at the aquarium Reese asked to go back to the hotel and Brady was concerned about missing the dolphin show... but we got some cute pictures ;)

 You know I have the responsibility to raise my kids right and teach them to collect as many pressed pennies as possible.

 I had to grab a couple of pictures of Elli Dew on her first vacation!

 I thought the overhead river was pretty cool!

 Gotta love Reese's scared face!

 The aquarium tunnel

 Proof we were in Atlanta ;)

 After walking around for thirty minutes, Reese got really excited about the big bottle and asked to have her picture taken with it! Look at that sassy pose!

 With time on our hands we walked to the Children's museum, we only had 45 minutes until closing, but the girls loved EVERY minute there.

 I mean who wouldn't love to slide down a banana!

 Here is the fam in their Giants PJs, ready for the game the next day.

 Game day thumbs up

 Karl took the older girls to the ball game while I stayed behind with Elli so she wouldn't be exposed to the heat.

 Karl got ticketed behind the Giants dugout, this was the view from their seats!!!!

 On the way to Atlanta Karl found out he will be promoted next fiscal year, this is a big accomplishment for him. Here he is telling his youngest his exciting news.

 Our last adventure was in Legoland, this was the girls' favorite stop!

We really had a blast in Atlanta, but as always the time went too quickly!

the ABCs of love

We recently had a good friends move to VA. The older daughter was in the girls preschool class. Well my girls have enjoyed making pictures to send her. This is the recent note Brady wrote for her friend.

She had me write a translation on the note. But basically she wrote everyone's name of her friends and family. When she didn't know how to spell a name, she would do the initial sound. I love how she included all the dogs and cat of the extended family. I also like how a couple of the uncles have the name's inital sound inside a U.

Mostly I love her progression in language skills and that she uses this skill to express her love.

Elli Dew and Vesicoureteral Reflux

Some of you have heard before Elliot was even born that she had fluid on her left kidney. It was seen during one of my ultrasounds. They told us it would more than likely resolve itself by the time she was born. She had testing done the day after she was born and they still saw fluid on her left kidney and then started talking about duplicate voiding system, which in my tired state tried to understand, but I remembering looking at Karl afterwards and asking "did the say something about pelvis?". Well after a couple visits to the local pediatric nephrologist and a VCUG test, we got her diagnosis yesterday.

Elliot has VUR (Vesicoureteral Reflux) grade III. There are five grades of VUR, five being the worst case and usually needing surgery to correct. Elli's is grade 3 and for now will need to take daily antibiotics to prevent UTIs. The reason UTI's need to be prevented is due the the reflux (backwards movement of urine). Bacteria is tracked into the bladder and then back into the ureter. If a kid has too many UTIs there is potential for scarring and damage to the kidneys. Elli Dew will get the VCUG yearly to see if she has outgrown the condition. My friend's daughter had the same condition and outgrew it at about 4 years old. We are very thankful that surgery is not needed at this time, and her doctor said she has about an 80% chance of outgrowing this and not needing surgery as a child.

Now about those double organs and pelvis, I thought I heard them mention in the hospital ... Elli's ureter splits into two. So on her bladder on the left side there is one ureter but on the way to the kidney it splits into two. Then the collecting part of the kidney, renal pelvis (ah-ha! I knew I heard pelvis) is duplicated on her left side. I don't really know the implications of this, but hopefully will learn more later. Her doctor is a little 'salty' and can't hear me when I ask my questions. So, I have learned most of my info from the internet, and there isn't too much out there about duplicated renal pelvis.

This condition causes no direct pain. The only pain would be from the UTIs, but with her medication she should not have much of this to deal with.

Hope this answers some questions and gives insight to those family members and friends who are curious.

Wordless Wednesday: Thankful for Our Freedom

8 years ago...

Eight years ago...to the second (I timed the posting) I married my best friend. I am a lucky woman, not everyone gets to have the life I have, a life of true happiness.

In honor of eight years, I will list my favorite eight things of the last eight years with my honey.

1. Building an ever changing relationship with my best friend.
2. Raising Dewy and Pace
3. Brady
4. Reese
5. Elli
6. The Good-byes
7. The Hellos
8. The Moves

I think one through five are expected. I love my husband, dogs and kids! Life is good. But why do I like the deployments and the hello and good-byes that come with them, you ask? No, it isn't because the laundry pile and grocery list significantly decrease. It is that we must live apart. Yes, I do appreciate this. Why? Because it is then that our marriage is driven completely by our love, deep down in the bottom of our heart kind of love. During deployments it is not Karl's cleaning the toilets that make me love him (I do however love this), it isn't his bringing the trash cans to the road, it isn't his loading the car with suitcases perfectly in anticipation of a vacation, it doesn't happen during deployments....it is his love for me, his sincere concern for my happiness. During deployments that is all you have...is love. Now with that said, it makes the hellos that much sweeter. It makes you appreciate the times he is there to load the car or drag the trash cans to the street.

I love my life and the journey the past eight years has handed me, and honestly I wouldn't change a minute of it. Karl Spencer Orthner, I do.

Here's to another eighty!