Our Weekend Adventure

This past weekend we met the Robeys in Bloomington, IL for a winter-weekend getaway.  We had planned this a while ago and we were all looking forward to getting out of town and enjoying a fun weekend.  I'm sure most of you have already put the weather of this past weekend out of your minds.  In case you forgot, here is what Friday night looked like.


     (Maybe it wasn't this bad - but it was bad!)

As lifelong Chicagoans, Owen and I figured that the roads wouldn't be that bad and we would be fine.  Um, that was not the case.  Kyle and Teri were nice enough to take Artu for the weekend so we needed to drop him off at their place in Villa Park.  About 40 mins into out trip Owen and I decided that we would drop off Artu but then go home and head down to Bloomington in the morning.  It took us three hours to drop off Artu and get back home.  We were extremely lucky that Gwyneth and Lillian were quiet the whole time.  Charlie was a different story but one out of three's not bad!

The drive on Saturday morning was a breeze and we made it down to Bloomington in no time at all.  We, and by that I mean Owen, unloaded the car so we could get ready to go to the childrens museum in Normal, IL.  The place was a hit with all of the kids.  We knew Charlie was having a good time when she didn't want to leave to get lunch.  The girl never turns down food!

Lillian checking things out

Gwyneth playing around

Charlie practicing for her first job.  

Lillian and Gwyneth

Charlie painting on the glass.  Loved that she could get some of her creativity out and I didn't have to worry about the mess!

 

After the museum and lunch we headed back to the hotel for some pool time.  I'm happy to say that it seems like Gwyneth and Lillian enjoy the water just as much as their older sister and Mom.

This was the first time that we stayed in a hotel with all three girls.  Needless to say, our room was a little crowded but everyone slept through the night and we survived.  We had a great time and hope to make this trip an annual event.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Yes I know, it's a few weeks late but wanted to reach out and say hello. 2012 has started great in my opinion, hey who can complain about 50 degrees in January?!?!.... even though the real January just showed up this week. As you can see in this picture, my girls seem to see snow a little differently than I do. I can read their minds "ohhh, look at the beautiful snow, I want to go out and play" while I just think about the driveway that I need to shovel.

Gwyneth, Lillian & Charlie

Charlie and I brought in the new year with smiles and looking forward to 2012!!

Dad/Grandpa Has Surgery

So, today my Dad had what you would consider major surgery as he was at Mayo for open heart surgery. My brother and I traveled to Rochester to spend the time with him and my Mom during his surgery. I don't know all the medical terms and given that it's a bit late and I'm exhausted, I just thought I'd share what he went through. As I write this, the surgery went as planned and he is in the ICU and doing well. He will get his breathing tube out later tonight and should be awake tomorrow and be responsive to visitors. When I saw him earlier tonight, he looked good for someone who just had major surgery. He does have a number of tubes and wires hooked up to him but he just looks good. I held his hand for a quick minute and it was just really good to see him and know that he'll be awake tomorrow.

Surgery
6:00 - Dropped Mom and Dad off at hospital for his preliminary tests
10:00 - Has Angiogram which shows 2 partially blocked arteries that they will "fix" during surgery in addition to other issues
1:12 - rolled into surgery
2:40 - Working on releasing vessels so can be rerouted Not on heart and lung machine yet. A double bypass is reported
3:30 - Aorta vale will also be repaired/replaced
4:10 - Put on heart and lung machine
5:55 - Off bypass
7:00 - In ICU, normal rhythm without a lot of meds. Will be on ventilator for 4-5 hours.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it as it was an emotional day for all of us and I know my Dad will need the positive vibes as he recovers in the coming months!

9 Month Stats & Predications

Gwyneth and Lillian went for their 9 month check up last week.  The doctor said that both of the girls are growing pretty much right on target. 

Gwyneth
Height: 28.5"
Weight: 21 lbs. 14 oz.

Lillian
Height: 27.75"
Weight: 19 lbs. 14 oz.

I know that I'm more relaxed with Gwyneth and Lillian's development than I was with Charlie.  With Charlie I knew what she was supposed to be doing developmentally every month.  With Gwyneth and Lillian I figure that they will do everything in their own time.  It's such a different experience being able to truly enjoy them at this age.  It's nice not worrying if they're 'on track'.  If Charlie taught me anything it's that kids have their own schedule and they'll do things when they're ready. 

So far Lillian seems to be a trailblazer.  She has been the first to babble, crawl, pull herself up, cruise around furniture, and clap.  Gwyneth is doing all these things too but she seems to pick them up after Lillian.  Nothing seems to scare Lillian or slow her down.  If you turn your back for one second she is half way up the stairs!  I know that a lot of you have heard my predictions but based on her personality now, I think that Lillian is going to be the mastermind behind all of the girls' shenanigans.

 

Charlie loves her little sisters so much and loves to play with them.  Every once in a while she gets a little too rough with them but for the most part she is great.  She loves to read and sing to them and LOVES to make them laugh.  Charlie will be right by Lillian's side when Lillian is hatching a plan.   Owen doesn't like when I say this but I'm sure that Charlie will have a mug shot some day.  I feel that this mug shot is going to be a direct result of one of Lillian's ideas. 

Now for our sweet Gwyneth.  Her chubby little cheeks and her chubby little thighs make her so kissable!  She is overall a very happy, smiley baby.  Based on the low key personality she has now I see her as the voice of reason when Lillian is planning something.  She is going to try and convince Charlie and Lillian that it's a bad idea.  But since she is a good sister and doesn't want them to get into any trouble, she'll drive the getaway car! :-)

A Minor Scare

Since Charlie has been born, Donna and I have found out that not everything happens as they show it in the movies or how you read in the books or hear from friends. Well, on Halloween we took some pictures of the girls in their cute costumes and while looking over the pictures that night, Donna noticed a little cloudiness in Charlie's left eye. While I thought nothing of it, she went back and looked at some other pictures and the "shadow" was there again. Apparently, Donna had heard of this before as she became concerned and explained to me that it can be something very serious and that she needed to go to the eye doctor as soon as possible. After listening to Donna's concerns and what's she's read and seen on the internet, I fully supported her idea to take Charlie to the pediatric eye doctor. So, this morning off they went at 7:15 to get her eyes checked. I am very happy to say that after a full examination, there are no tumors in her eye. BUT, Charlie does have an astigmatism and will have to wear glasses full time. Yes, she inherited her Mom and Dad's terrible eyes, something we had hoped maybe, just maybe she got lucky and we didn't pass that down to her. So she will be getting glasses as the doctor said that if she doesn't wear them her eyes could get much worse and lead to other vision issues.

So from this minor scare, I again learned more about being a parent. I learned how much I already worry about my little girl and just the thought of anything happening to her makes my heart ache. There was a pit in my stomach for the the last few days thinking that something could be wrong with Charlie. I realized that IF anything happens to her, how fast I will willingly trade places with her if I could so she doesn't endure any pain or unhappiness. Seeing her smile has become one of the best parts of my day and I will do anything to keep it that way.....except buy her a pony!

I also have to say that I learned yet again, how parenting really is a team effort. I never would have thought anything of the "shadow" that Donna saw in the pictures. I just chalked it up to our cheap camera and nothing more. I joke with Donna all the time but it really is true how lucky I am and they are to have a Mom that is so in tune with them.

So on with my day I go and happier now that everyone seems happy in the house again. I will call it a blessing that it's just glasses knowing that it could have been much worse. Again, something else that reminded me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family.

(And yes, this is a bit sappy but that is what daughters can do to a man........so in other news, how about those Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!!......Better?)

Additional info added by Donna...Major Scare!
So, I just wanted to add a little bit more info to what Owen posted to give more reason why I took Charlie into the doc.  Like he said, I noticed some glare/shadow in Charlie's left eye.  The first picture I noticed it in was taken about two weeks ago but I only looked at it on the camera so I just thought it was a weird glare.  When I put that picture in addition to other pictures from Halloween on my computer and looked at them on a bigger screen, something didn't sit well with me.  Tucked in the back of my brain I remembered something about a certain cancer being detected by parents after looking at pics of their kids.  Well, Detective Donna was on the case and it didn't take long to confirm the info that I remembered.  There is a very serious cancer, retinoblasoma, that shows up in young children.  Retinoblastoma is a rapidly developing cancer that develops in the cells of the retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye.  I found some pictures of other kids that have been diagnosed with this disease so see if it was similar to what I was seeing in Charlie's pics.  Here are the two pics of Charlie and a pic that I found on line of a confirmed case.

There have been other things that I've perceived as "wrong" with Charlie but I've never had this type of gut feeling that something just wasn't right.  I told Owen what I thought and he said to get it checked out.  Unfortunately, the doctor couldn't see her until today.  Longest wait ever...or so I thought.  Went in this morning and saw the doc.  When I showed her the pics I had of Charlie she said, "oh yeah, we need to check this out".  Oh shit!  I was hoping that she was going to call me crazy and send us home.  They had to dilate Charlie's eyes so the doc could get a better look.  We had to wait 30 mins for the dilation to be in full effect.  That was the longest wait ever.  All I could think of is that this doctor could change the course all of our lives within the next hour.  When we got back into the room, the doc looked into Charlie's eyes, then she looked at me and said that there are no tumors.  You have absolutely no idea how relieved I was.  I didn't really pay attention to what she said for the next couple mins b/c I was trying not to cry.  The reason that Charlie gets the glow/shadow in her eye is because she has amblyopia.  She will need glasses to correct the amblyopia and astigmatism in order for her eyes to develop normally.  Glasses?  No biggie!  And, don't let Owen fool you.  I'm pretty sure that if Charlie asks for a pony, he'll get her one!  

Happy Halloween!!!

This year for Halloween Charlie dressed up like Strawberry Shortcake and Gwyneth and Lillian were strawberries.

Strawberry #1 - Gwyneth

Strawberry #2 - Lillian

 Strawberry Shortcake and her posse

Charlie really couldn't stand the pink hair.  She was much happier when we took it off.

We were able to get a family picture with our girls.

My little Lilly-Pie and me

Charlie didn't get too much candy this year but the Great Pumpkin is going to come tonight and take her candy and leave her a toy in its place.  The candy will then be donated to the troops overseas so they can enjoy a little Halloween too!  The bag that Charlie has is the one that she decorated so the Great Pumpkin knows where to put her toy.

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Charlie's 3!

Charlie turned three this week!  I can't seem to remember what life was like before Charlie so it's weird to think she is only three.  We had a small family party for her last weekend.  This was the first time that she understood that it was all about her and the presents were for her.  Based on her reaction, we are in trouble at Christmas.  She'll be up bright and early to see what Santa brought her!

Relaxing in her new princess chair before her party. 

 Princess Charlie ready for the party to start.

So excited that everyone is singing to her!

She actually blew out the candles with out spitting on the cake too much! :-)

 Our little princess loves cake!!

With every birthday comes a fun visit to the doctor just for a check up.  When I took Charlie today it was an adventure.  She has wised up to what happens at the doctor's office and was crying before we even got into the waiting room.  By the time we got into the room to see the doctor it was pretty ugly.  I tried to calm her down, the nurses gave her stickers but nothing worked.  Luckily, she only got the flu shot so the full-blown screaming didn't last too long.  As far as her height and weight Charlie is right on target.  She is 37.25in. and 32lbs. 

As some of you know, Charlie is not the best sleeper in the world.  Actually, she sucks as sleeping.  Since last November she has been getting up at least once a night. We have tried everything from earlier bedtime, later bedtime, no naps, naps, warm milk, tea, different routine - you name it we have tried it.  We kept saying that it was a phase but since we are coming up on a year of this "phase" I brought it up with the doctor.  She said that it sound like we have tried everything so she referred me to a sleep specialist.  After all the therapy that Charlie has already gone through (some without any success) I'm a little leery of another specialist.  Plus, I think I've finally figured out why she is not sleeping well.  Who can sleep like this? :-)

Job Hunt is Ova'

As many of you know, at the end of June I was laid off and became part of the unemployed statistics we see every night on the news. Since that time I've been relentlessly on the job hunt talking to companies and recruiters on a daily basis. I am very happy to let everyone know that as of a few days ago, I have signed my name on the dotted line and have accepted an offer with another small technology company for their Director of Business Development ....... a fancier word for sales guy. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason so hopefully I will look back on the past few months and smile. On the brighter side, I was able to spend some extra time with the family enjoying time this summer with them. Charlotte, Gwyneth and Lillian are growing so fast that I was able to take a breath and enjoy the time. Enjoying a few days at the splash park, seeing Gwyneth and Lillian sit up for the first time and taking Charlotte to her first day of preschool are just a few things that I was so glad to be around for.

I just wanted to thank all of you for all of your thoughts, well wishes, prayers and crossed fingers in my hunt!! The passing positive comment or the short email kept me going!

So, now I start my new adventure and as you've all heard me say before....if it wasn't an adventure what the hell fun would it be!!!!

Carpe Diem!

We did it!

When Gwyneth and Lillian were born Owen and I said that we just need to make it through the first six months.  Once we make it though six months things will seem a little bit more routine and we won't be so overwhelmed.  We did it!!  We survived six months of being parents of twins!  I don't know how to accurately describe what it is like to be parents of twins except that it's more challenging than I thought it would be.  On the flip side of that, we get double the reward!

I took Gwyneth and Lillian for their six month doctor's appointment last week and both girls are doing great.  Gwyneth is 18lbs. 4.5oz and 26.5" tall.  Lillian is 16lbs. 10oz and 26.25" tall.  Both girls had to get more shots.  Gwyneth did awesome and was a total trooper.  Lillian wasn't as lucky.  She developed a pretty high fever on Friday and felt pretty miserable all weekend.  She is normally a happy-go-lucky baby but after the shots she just wanted to be held all the time.  She started to feel a little better yesterday but after a good night sleep we have our happy baby girl back! 

To celebrate their half birthday the girls got to "eat" their half birthday cake.  They were a little apprehensive since the last time they both sat at the table together they got peas.  They looked at each other as if to say "here we go again!"

Gwyneth waited for Lillian to try it first.

Then she decided to get in on the action too.

 The girls didn't really get the idea of eating the cake but they sure liked to play with it!  Charlie was pretty upset that she didn't get a cake but once she realized that her sisters couldn't eat it and she would get some she perked up!

Chow time!

So, Mommy and Daddy normally update the blog but Gwyneth and I wanted to personally tell you about our first experience with "solid" food.  First off, it is not solid.  It's like soup...not great, but at least it's something new.  

So Mommy got us pretty pumped up to try the new food.  She put us in our chairs on top of the table.  We must be special because Charlie doesn't get to do that!  She told us how great the food was going to be and how tasty it was.  Um, whatever!  She obviously has never tried this stuff.  It is N-A-S-T-Y!!!  The first thing that she fed us was green beans.  Yuck!  We wanted to make Mommy proud so we did our best but, yuck!  I'm pretty sure it was what wax paper tastes like!

Here we are listening to Mommy tell us how awesome the food was going to be.  She can be pretty convincing when she wants to be so we were hanging on to her every word.

Sometimes Mommy talks to quick for me to follow so I looked to Gwyneth for reassurance that everything was going to be okay.  Since Gwyneth is older than me I trust her judgment.  Rookie mistake!

Luckily, Gwyneth went first.  As you can tell, she didn't seem to care for the green beans.

I couldn't believe it but she actually started to spit it out back at Mommy.  There is no way I would ever have the guts to do that.

I just screamed to let her know how gross the stuff was.  Part of it was because it was my first time eating from a spoon and it was a little difficult to figure out but mostly it was because the stuff was disgusting!

Personally, I think that Gwyneth and I should get an A for effort for attempting this stuff.  You can't tell us how yummy something is going to be and then give us green beans!  How about some bananas or plums?  Even carrots would be better!  We were proud of ourselves for trying the food and even swallowing some of it.  Here we are doing our 'happy dance' to show how glad we are this first experience is behind us.  (Mommy has fed us some peas since then and they are MUCH better.  Now that we are getting the hang of the eating thing is kinda is fun, just like Mommy said.  Please don't tell her I said she was right!)

I'm sure we'll have a ton more experiences to share with you so keep checking for more updates.  Thanks!

Love,
Lillian & Gwyneth

This past weekend we took a little road trip down to Arcola to visit the Robeys.  We were planning on leaving right after lunch so we would beat some of the Friday afternoon traffic.  Plus, Gwyneth and Lillian eat about every 4 hours so we, and by we, I really mean I, needed to make sure that we weren't stuck in the car with two screaming and hungry babies.  I'm proud to say that we actually made it out the door right after lunch.  I think it helped that we started to pack on Thursday night!

Another reason we need to get down there was to go to Yoders.  I'm sure we have mentioned this before but Yoders is an awesome Amish restaurant in the neighboring town.  It is a must-do when we go visit.  We went to Yoders on Friday night and stuffed ourselves with their stick-to-your-ribs cuisine.  This was our first trip to a sit down restaurant with all three kids so I was a little concerned how the girls would do.  We timed it pretty good so Gwyneth and Lillian slept almost the whole time. 

When we get together with the Robeys, either down there or up at our place, we have a tendency to eat a lot!  This weekend was no different.  We had peanut butter pie for breakfast on Saturday.  We know it's not healthy but it is fabulous!  Charlie was so excited to eat pie first thing in the morning!

Nan was a great helper with the girls.  She got Gwyneth to fall asleep right after she ate.

Lillian and Gwyneth like to sleep by each other

Robey with Gwyneth just enjoying some quiet time.

 The main reason for our visit was to celebrate Josie's (aka JoJo Bean) first birthday.  She was surrounded by so many people that love her I know she had a great time!

The Burritt family ready for the party

 Sisterly love!

 Mommy (Laura) and the birthday girl.  Check out all the pink frosting on JoJo Bean!

It has only been a couple days since we left but we are already looking forward to the next time we can get together!

Arts & Crafts

Owen will attest to the fact that I'm not a crafty person.  I would love to be, but I'm not.  I have tons of ideas but never seem to know how to execute them.  I'm happy to say that I finally followed through with a craft project that I said I was going to do.  

If Gwyneth and Lillian have hair like their older sister there will be TONS of hair bows in our house.  I have yet to master making bows but I figured I could make something to display the ones they do have.  I saw the idea for a bow holder on another blog and thought it looked easy enough (no sewing involved).  All I needed was a glue gun, some fabric, ribbon and an old frame.  I didn't have a frame but found one at Goodwill for $5.00!  Since the frame wasn't the right color I had to get some spray paint too.  Add the paint, fabric, ribbon and frame together and my project only cost about $12!

It took longer for the paint to dry on the frame than it did to the rest of the project.  Here it is completed and ready to be hung up.

 On the wall in Gwyneth & Lillian's room.

Now I have to figure out how to make the bows.  Maybe I'll accomplish two craft projects.  Maybe.  Stay tuned...