5 Months Already???

Actually, a little more than 5 months.  Looking back, it has flown by!

Clara weighs 14lb 6oz.  She is THE HAPPIEST girl on the planet.  She will smile (with that sweet crooked smile) and giggle and coo at anyone who comes near her...even if you aren't talking to her :)  Clara is easy and fun.  Laid back and chunky.  She is wearing a sz 1-2 diaper and size 3-6 mth clothes (about to outgrow all of her 3mth).  She eats 5 7-oz bottles each day, and sleeps 12 solid hrs at night.  You  can lay her down WIDE AWAKE and she will talk/groan her way to sleep.  She sleeps on her back with her arms above her head...VERY relaxed (sometimes, she slaps Ellie in the face :)).  Clara loves silky blankets and will smother her face with it when you give it to her.  She is starting to take her pacy (which she isn't too attached to) in and out of her mouth by herself.  We love our "Clara Bet, CB, Clawa (Eve's babytalk)".

Ellie weighs 10lb 10oz.   She will smile and try to talk to you if you give her a little effort.  She opens her mouth to talk to you, but it is almost always silent.  She is a momma's girl!  She has strong little legs and a very stable neck.  Ellie is slowly, but surely outgrowing her newborn diapers and clothes.  She LOVES to be held like a football, on her belly, across your arm (her head by your elbow).  She is such a skinny thing...something we Hilley/Lairsey's are NOT used to :)  Ellie eats 5 6-oz bottles each day, and will go 12 hours between feedings, but usually wakes up around 4am for her pacy.  She sleeps most soundly on her belly, with a pacy and silky blanket close by...and can fall asleep when put down wide awake.  Ellie LOVES her pacy...almost too much, sometimes it is a pain.  We do not leave the house without one or two close by.  I am still praying both she and Clara will find their thumbs (like Eve).   Ellie is a sweet girl, when she cries there is usually an easy answer, and she can be pacified quickly.  We love our "Ellie Bet, Ellie Belly, Eddie (Eve's babytalk)".  

Eve continues to do great with the girls.  She loves them so much.  When they cry, she will look at me and say, "please help them, momma!!"  She can officially tell them apart, and she knows their cry's (for the most part).  She loves taking a bath with them, although neither one of the twins really care for bath time.

All three of our girls have developed into awesome car-riders.  We are SO blessed.  They hardly make a peep.  Eve is doing great with our FAIRY TALE FAST...no complaints!  Instead of talking about killing people, I now hear her talking about "look in a book" or singing "peace like a river" "do, Lord, do Lord, oh do remember me" or her ABC's.  That goes to show that kids really do WANT boundaries, and can survive and thrive when you realize something you used to allow is no longer good for them!!  So proud of the 2 1/2 year old she is!!!  Eve is able to turn on the lights and open our pantry door.  She is also starting to get her drink out of the fridge, and is awesome at bringing me diapers and wipes and blankets and clothes and anything else i need for the little girls.  She THRIVES on being my helper.  Today, Ellie was released by Dr. Hatley.  I took all three girls to drs office by myself this am!!  I was quite nervous, but they were PERFECT.  When the nurse walked in, Eve quickly addressed her by saying, "dont look at me or clara!  only ellie!!"  The nurse laughed and went on with her business.  It was rude, but she is so funny to me!!  We are all healthy and whole!  Thank you, Jesus for Drs that you have inspired!  And thank you for my unique, precious, and delightful girls!  I love them so much!!

Fripp Island 2011

This year's beach trip was awesome.  I LOVED it.  The five Lairsey's stayed in a 3 bdrm CJFV with the 6 Davis', and mom, dad, and Lauren shared a 2 bdrm back by the pool.  The location was perfect.  We could see the ocean anytime we wanted.  It was right out our back door.

The big kids were at such a fun age for the pool and the beach.  They loved it all...and played hard.  We bought Eve a new floatation device from Gander Mountain online (it was cheaper there than at Target), and it worked great.  It looked like pink swimmies but with an attached piece around her chest also.  She was completely self-sufficient in the water.  Eve didn't love to jump in the pool, which I was a little disappointed by.  Actually, I have to take that back.  Her definition of "jumping in the pool" was more like gliding in the water off of the steps.  She likes to keep her hair out of the water, and hates getting her face wet.  But she had no problems bobbing around the pool kicking her legs and playing above water :)

When Saturday rolled around, she was not ready to leave the "beach's house" as she lovingly referred to our condo.  Neither was I.  I thought the twins were going to be a TON of extra work, but they were really great fun!  We took them down to the beach and dug out a little place for them to recline in the sand.  They loved it.  Mimi and Poppa took turns holding them if they got fussy.  They also loved watching us swim in the pool from their bouncy seats.  We only took them swimming once--at the Cabana Club pool.  I was surprised that the "chilly" water didn't make them upset :)

We rode the golfcart almost every night, and saw lots of deer and lots of alligators (even several baby alligators this time).  Eve was a chatty kathy to whomever had the luxury of sitting with her on our golfcart rides.  Usually, it was MiMi, who got to hear literally hours of chatter about whatever was on her mind.  MiMi was also a great story teller, and Eve LOVES to hear stories.  Snow White was the fairy tale of the week.  Eve talked MiMi into telling her that MULTIPLE times.  She even got to watch Snow White for the first time this week...and now we have started a FAIRY TALE FAST... all because the wicked witch in Snow White mentions the word "kill"...and Eve picked up on it.  A man came by mid-week to fix the sliding glass door leading out to the ocean.  He blocked the doorway for a solid 30 mins while trying to work it all out.  During that time, he would lay in the doorway fiddling with the wheels on the bottom of the door.  Eve thought she needed to go outside.  So she looks at me and says, "momma, we need to do something to him so I can go outside."  I brush it off by saying, "Eve, he's almost finished, please be patient,"  Well, at almost the same time, Eric says, "Well, what would you like to do to him, Eve?"  To which she replies, "KILL HIM!"  Oh my word.

The ocean was our most-fun spot!  Eve loved splashing around and went out in the waves with me and YaYa a few times.  She would giggle and run and jump and play for hours...then she got hungry :)

The beach was a BLAST.  Already thinking about next year :)  We love FRIPP!

A Purple Party

Eric asked Eve what she was going to be when she grew up.  Her response was "i'm gonna be fthree, and then five."  So that started a birthday party conversation (my birthday is coming up).  Eve said, "My birthday is coming on E-time and I'm gonna have a PURPLE PARTY!  A purple haircut, a purple hat, and purple, purple...".  The girl loves purple...and whatever she wants to do, happens at "E-time" :)  smart girl.

Ellie is whole!

The day we've been waiting for finally came!  We checked into MCG 5th floor on Saturday, May 7th to begin Ellie's bowl prep.  That was 48 hours of lots of leaky bags, liquid poop, and a pulseox that wouldn't stay on her foot!  :)  Then it was off to surgery.  Monday morning, at 7:30am, they took my baby back.  They left Eric with a pager so he could get updates as the surgery progressed.  At 11:30, Dr. Hatley comes to get us from the waiting room.  All had gone well.  She was extubated and being sent up to the NICU.  When we arrived to the NICU, we had to wait for them to assess her and get her settled before we could go in to visit.  After an hour, we took turns (me, Eric, Poppa, PaPa, and Grandma) going back to kiss on Ellie.  They were keeping her in NICU tonight and hopefully sending her to the floor on Tuesday, if that is what I wanted.  Her Monday night was a little painful, she was given some good pain medicine that helped her rest fairly peacefully.  They had trouble keeping an IV in, so she went through 5 in about 24 hours.  They called the PICC team to come help out.  On Tuesday night, the PICC team was unable to get a PICC in, so they stopped poking, and let Ellie rest overnight.  Dr. Hatley preferred that she stay "another day or so" in NICU for close monitoring.  Wednesday morning, MiMi tries to visit, but the PICC team was at it again, so she had to leave.  By the time Poppa and I got there at 11, Ellie had a successful PICC line in her right arm, and yet another IV in her head.  PITIFUL.  Dr. Bhatia let us know that he had a few concerns that would keep her in NICU for a few more days:  Her belly had swollen more than expected.  They started her on an additional antibiotic just to fight off an infection, if there was one.  Her cough was also a little alarming, the nurses were concerned and really wanted to keep an eye on that.  Her chest x-ray also showed that her right lung was "more cloudy" than the other.  He suspected aspiration.  Dr. Bhatia would like to do a barium study as soon as she starts her feedings back at the end of the week to watch her milk as it travels.  GOOD NEWS FOR THE DAY: Ellie had her first poop.  When I changed her diaper this afternoon, there was just a little bit.  Later on, when her nurse changed her, there was, what she called a "pretty good-sized meconium diaper":)  Dr. Hatley didn't think we'd see that until much later in the week.  That is a sign that she is ready to start eating again.

It isn't looking like we are moving back to our room on the 5th floor any time soon... but one day at a time.  The good news is that Ellie will make a FULL recovery, and her ostomy bag will be a thing in the DISTANT past!!

Thursday morning, I walk in to see this:

She was happy, sitting up, smiling, cooing, and getting attention from everyone that walked through the NICU.  Her belly was MUCH softer, and she was having small poops much more frequently.  Dr. Hatley was not willing to move her to the floor just yet.  "A few more days" or so.  Although I never lost hope, I did realize that the chances of her moving out to the floor over the weekend were slim to none.  Friday and Saturday roll by and Ellie is improving drastically each time I see her.  You could just look at her and tell she was feeling better.  The nurses made a boppy for her out of blankets so she could prop up and see what was going on.  Sometimes, they would even unplug her and walk around with her if she was fussy.  I never once questioned whether she was getting enough attention (or love).  By Sunday, they were ready to start her feedings.  They gave her half an ounce of pedialyte at noon, another half ounce at three and moved to formula at six.  She cried when you pulled the bottle away, wanting more.  :)  Tuesday night, she got her PICC line removed and was able to be discharged straight home on Wednesday, May 18.  I couldn't get to the hospital soon enough that afternoon!  When I got there, she was snoozing on her belly.

  We unplugged her and ran out the door waited patiently for Alan, the nurse practitioner to discharge us.  It only took about 20 minutes.  When we pull up at the house, we see this:

The Davis kids had made Ellie a welcome-home banner and brought some balloons (for Eve).  Finally, my twins were re-united again!  They had been apart for 11 days!

I love them.  I love them individually, but I really love them together...can that possibly make sense??  Eve and her afro wanted in on the "welcome-home" pictures :)

She is a dream of a big sister...eager to help mommy and GENUINELY loving the girls...God has done something amazing there...and you can bet I am going to continue to foster that "sister-bond"for the rest of their lives.  I am praying against jealousy, annoyance, and being left out.  I believe these girls will grow up wanting to play and share with each other.  Families are one of God's greatest blessings.
Well, with all that said, my family is whole again.  Everyone is home and healthy and happy.  God is faithful to us.    

Rapunzel

Eve has fallen in love with the movie "Tangled".  She can pretty much quote it.  She starts by saying, "Once upon a time, a single drop of sunshine fell from sky and made a golden flower.  The golden flower had special power that healed the queen.  And in that moment, the world was perfect."  I LOVE IT.  I just got bits and pieces of this on video.  She will ramble on and on about "Gothel" (not sure what the mothers name really is, but this is what Eve calls her) and how she stole the baby and put her in a tower, and the floating lanterns, and someone cutting her hair, but that first part is the BEST.

out of the mouth of Eve...

Tonight, Eve was in the bathtub after some fun at the park.  She said to Eric, "Daddy, I want mama to take me a bath."  To which Eve replied, "Eve, I want to give you a bath."  Eve says, "Let mama do it, daddy.  You're not very good at it."  :)  Adorable.

We can always tell when Eve is into something she shouldn't be.  She'll look at us with a guilty face and say, "dont worry about it, mom" or "you guys just talk" (meaning: dont watch what i'm doing over here!").  

When I give Eve an answers she doesn't want, for example: "Eve it's time to go to bed" "Mama, can I do one more puzzle?" "No, baby, I said it's time to go to bed." "Can you say 'sure?'" :)

She is telling everyone that Jesus has taken Ellie's booboo away.  She is very proud of the new tummy her sister has.  

puberty at 2??

Eve was having a REALLY BAD afternoon this week... VERY dramatic.  Everything was making her cry, it was plain pitiful.  I guess she just woke up on the wrong side of the nap-bed!!  I was giving her a bath and she was crying...uncontrollably.  I said "Eve!  What is wrong, baby?"  She replied "Absolutely nothing!" with a miserable little face.  When we finished the bath, I took her to Eric to dry off and put on jammies.  Eric said, "Eve, what is wrong?"  She said "Nothing hurts, I just wanna cry!"  Oh my!  Is she about to start her period?????  I am NOT ready for this with THREE girls!  Someone.... help!!!

:)