Homemade Flash Cards!

So I got the idea from a post on pinterest! I totally love that site!!! I thought it was time for them to start learning their colors, numbers, and basic shapes. So here is how you do it!!

First, make a visit to your local Home Depot! Go to the paint section and grab about 2-3(they are free so I grabbed a few extra in case I messed up one) of the solid color swatches.

These are the solid color swatches I picked up! Grab a few extra if you need they're FREE!!!

Use a large plain white, no lines on either side, index card.

Measure a half way mark and cut down the middle. You will need a lot of these so just cut a way at about 20 to start.

Once the index cards are cut, you are ready to trim the color swatches. I just used a pair of my scrapbooking scissors to trim around the swatch giving it a nice cute boarder.

Now, on the back side of the swatch apply some glue. I just used a glue stick, less messy and dries quick! Place swatch in the middle of the index card.

We are going to be teaching our babies spanish too! I have english on top and spanish on the bottom. This is optional. We feel it is benificial to them learning the second language while they are young and can absorb it, but completely up to you!

Once glued and description on back, I used the self laminating paper I picked up at Walmart and laminated all the colors! This should keep them fresh for a while!! Four of these will fit on one sheet of laminating paper. BUT PLEASE REMEMBER when you cut the four squars out, YOU NEED TO TRIM THE CORNERS!!! These will be very sharp and you do not want your babies cutting themselves!

These were very easy and I love the way they turned out! Oh, and if you didn't notice the OCD in me, I had to color coordinate the writing with the swatch! I like colors not everything has to be written in black ink!!! (Well I had to use black for the yellow since you could not see it at all!)

For the shapes, I opened a word document and inserted the shape images. You can use publisher as well. Now my printer was acting up with the color, so I just printed out the shapes and colored them in with a red marker and outlined them a little thicker with black. I them cut them out and glued them onto the half cut index card. Once they were all done, I laminated them the same way I did with the colors.

Almost finished! Just need to laminate!

The Babies Room!

This is the babies room! Once they got stable and good in the NICU, I would go home for 2-3 days a week for 3 weeks to work on it. I think that the coolest part is the ceiling at night! I used glow in the dark paint and had their uncle paint little splotches to look like stars.  He even made some shooting stars too! I also used that same paint to put a coat over the moon I made with the wolf, so it glows as well and you can see the silhouette of the wolf. I will try and get some pics at night to post. Not sure how well they will turn out.



Begining stages of the tree!



First layers of leaves!

 

Water fall and pond!

Animals up!







We "carved" their names in the tree!







Tree complete!



Introduction to L&L

Hi there! Well I am finally learning how to start a blog! I imagine as I start writing about how it all started I will be a sobbing mess and hopefully can get through this! It will probably be extremely long, so thank you in advance if you make it to the end! Here goes the introduction to our life!  On December 20th, 2009 we got the official 2 pink lines on the pregnancy test! I can't recall how many I had to pee on, but for several days prior we had been getting a very faint 2 lines.  There was no way of keeping this hush hush as I was sick almost every 5 minutes!!!

We decided to announce our news on December 23rd, which was my dads birthday.  I ordered a cookie bouquet and had them put on one of the baby blocks, love baby Terrill! My dad pulled the bouquet from the big bag and said, "Oh thank you, now I will have a cookie a week with my tea!" me and my sister(who found out the same way my parents did when I took her with me to go get the cookie arrangement), were behind him and my mom laughing and trying not to make a sound since they didn't get it!! It took a few minutes to sink in and then my mom remarked, "Wait, love baby Terrill.  I think they gave you the wrong cookies! Wait, what, oh my gosh, seriously...!!!" They started jumping up and down like two kids that were just told they were going to Disneyland! Then turning to me, I was finally able to let the laughing and tears fly!  It was truly a blessed Christmas that year!

We had our first ultrasound(u/s) on January 28th, 2010. I was 9wks along.  Little did we know we were going to get the shock of our lives!  My Dr came in and we talked a little. She started with the u/s and she wasn't saying anything.  She had the screen away from us so we couldn't see anything.  I started to get scared and nervous.  I remember looking up at the ceiling and hoping everything was alright because this was taking a very long time. She then tells me and my husband, bubba, at the same time she is turning the u/s machine towards us to tell her what we see. We looked and before I could say two, bubba yells, "I knew it!"  Yep, we had two beans cooking! She said this was probably why I had been so severely sick.  Now, i guess I have to explain how bubba knew it to be two!  Well for weeks, even before getting prego, we had always talked about it and how crazy it would be, what would we do, how would we manage, etc. I even had a dream I was sitting in my Dr's office and there was a lady there with twins and I kept looking at her but never said a word.  Then I was called in to see my Dr and she said it was twins, congratulations! I woke up in a slight panic! The next morning I told bubba about the dream and we laughed.  So, while in the office at our appt, he again decide to joke about it just a few minutes before the Dr came in! Good thing we didn't have a bet going!

Bad picture above, it was 2am and I was soo tired.  I think I was about 19-20 weeks here.

All in all the pregnancy was good, aside from being sick all the time! I got to see my Dr every 3 weeks and sometimes in between had other u/s for measurements and such.  Towards the end of April, I started having problems.  Things changed so fast from one appointment to the next. I was about 22 weeks along and this was way to early for babies to be here.  My Dr said my cervix had shortened by half and she was putting me on bed rest. I can't remember much else of the conversation we had because I was so terrified that we were going to loose these babies. It is so hard to begin to describe how much you love something that isn't even here yet. I was willing to do what ever it took for these babies. Bed rest seemed to work for a little bit, but i felt like something wasn't right. I started a little cramping and little did i know they were contractions. On May 13th, 2010 I went to see my Dr. She said that I was dilated to 1cm and she needed to get me to a hospital that had a level 3 nursery, NICU.  I was rushed to Roseville Kaiser by ambulance. With my phone in hand I was trying to keep in touch with bubba, who had to follow us through traffic. They gave me an iv and started pumping me full of magnesium and two other meds to stop the contractions. I felt as if I was in a bad dream and there was nothing I could do to wake up.  Things happened so fast it was unreal. While at the hospital I was constantly moved from one floor and back. When i got stable, I was moved to the Mother baby wing.  When I wasn't, it was back down to labor and delivery.  Our goal was to try and at least keep these babies in to 28 weeks as the survival rate would be much higher. I was shot full of steroids to help protect the babies brain and strengthen their lungs if they get here early. Night and day, Dr's and nurses in and out. Didn't get much rest at all.  Not to mention they had the bed practically upside down, so gravity would help keep the babies in! By Sunday night, i had been checked out and was dilated to 6cm.  I had the Dr from the NICU come up and talk with us about what to expect if the babies were born early.  He was a great Dr.  He gave it to us straight and didn't sugar coat anything.  We cried the whole time he was talking to us and then I lost it when he told us that if the babies were born now, 24wks 6days, there would be less than a 20% chance that one or both would survive. He also told us a list of health problems that they could face if they did survive.  Then we had a visit from two of the nurses from the NICU. They gave us some run down as to what they NICU is, what to expect, and what they do. Again, I still felt as though I was in a bad dream and ready to wake up at any moment.

May 17th, 2010, exactly 25 weeks along! The day was slow and not much going on.  We held steady through the night and most of the afternoon. My parents came down to bring us some yummy dinner, I have to add they had done this every day since we were admitted to the hospital, and the Dr going off shift cleared me to eat regular food! We had some gyro steak and chicken sandwiches with rice and salad. After eating, I started having some real big contractions, like so bad I needed to squeeze my husbands hands.  I was able to breath through them and told him that was the worst I had felt.  Then I felt something move downwards. We called for the nurse and she rushed the Dr in. She examined me and said that i was fully dilated and she could see a hand, but the sack was still intact. She said this was it and we were going to have to deliver.  Now, baby A was coming out head down, but baby B was still sideways.  Our new goal was to deliver baby A and keep baby B in as long as we could, whether it be a few more hours, days, or weeks!  The longer the baby is in the better.  They had placed an epidural the day before as precaution which was a good thing because otherwise they were going to have to knock me out. We got to the OR and after everything was set the Dr started calling out what she was seeing so we knew.  She said I see the hand, now the hands gone, oh now i see it again. Let me tell you after this whole thing until now we laugh that baby A was doing some John Travolta disco moves while coming out! Now time to push.  After 4-5 pushes out came baby girl Laila Florence, born at 10:04pm, 1lb 10oz and 13in long. The NICU team started working on her immediately. I couldn't see anything and didn't even get to see her. They then had to find baby B and check its stats. They couldn't find the heart beat. Another Dr came over and tried to listen with the doppler thing, nothing. They ordered complete silence and finally found baby B's heart rate. It was very faint and they told us we can't wait, we have to go in. C-section with baby B. At 10:52pm, baby boy Levi Timothi was born, 1lb 9oz and 13.25in long. I had to watch as they wheeled them both out in a hurry. The nurses asked if bubba was going to come with them and I remember him looking torn whether to stay with me or to go with them. He told me that if I needed him to stay, he would stay with me. I told him to go with the babies and make sure nothing happens to them and that they are alright. I felt so helpless. I wanted to be with them and do what ever i could for them, yet I was laying on the table with my insides hanging out. Half way through getting stitched up I started feeling sick. I tried everything I could to not throw up, but after a few minutes that nice yummy dinner wasn't so nice! Finally I was put back together and in recovery. My mom sat with me and bubba was taking the rest of the family down to the NICU to see the babies one by one. I wanted to be with them so bad, but they wouldn't let me until the epidural had wore off and I was able to stand on my own.  The nurse said to get some rest and she could take me down in the morning. How was I supposed to get rest when they couldn't even tell me the status of my babies other than they are doing fine right now. She said the earliest she could take me in would be by 6am and that she could come get me and wheel me down there. I told her not to forget and if I was sleeping to wake me up no matter what. Poor bubba, i felt so bad because through this whole thing he was not getting any sleep. He tried sleeping in the window ledge they had for a 4ft person as a bed. Then the fold out chair. He was my rock through all of this. He woke up early with me the next morning to go see the babies. All I had seen of them was the pictures he had taken with his phone. So I was wheeled down to the NICU which was the bottom floor of the hospital, we called it the basement. We had to wash our hands super good as soon as we got in the room. I was taken over to see Laila first. She was so tiny. Her skin was reddish pink and a little transparent.





This is baby Laila after getting to the NICU.



This is little Bubbas after getting to the NICU.







Everyday for the next few days was crazy. We finally got some updates with the babies. Laila was still on the bili lights and they said that she would be intubated for a while. But overall, she seems to be doing good. The news they gave us about bubbas was scary, but we knew that no matter what, we were going to do what ever it took to help get him better. The Dr had told us that he had a grade 3 intraventricular hemorrhage(IVH) on the left side of his head and a grade 4 on the right side. We had no clue what they were saying and so they had to break it down for us. The left side stopped bleeding quickly, but it took a while for the right side to stop. There was nothing they could do to stop it and said it was going to all be up to him and how his body responds.

I was discharged from the hospital on May 23, 2010. They had parent rooms that were right across from the NICU and we were able to stay there for a few days. The hospital we were at was wonderful! In the parking lot across the way from were the NICU was, they had trailer hook-ups. We were able to borrow my in-laws trailer and stayed there for the next 4 months.



This is me and our new home for the next 4 months.



Here's Bubba.



This is where we stayed, spot #5! So close to the babies, but we would really like to be right next to their beds!

On May 25th, 2010, babies were just 8 days old and we were slowly getting used to the roller coaster ride of the NICU. We decided we had to make a trip home, home was 1.5 hours away, to get some clothes and pick up some other stuff, shampoo, soap, dishes, food, etc. I was so nervous and scared to leave them even if it was for just a few hours. I hadn't left them since they were born and I was in the NICU all day every day with only about 6 hours to sleep at night, to which I was up every two hours pumping. Just as we were about two minutes from the house, my phone rang and I saw it was the hospital. I answered and it was the Dr. She asked if we were in the trailer and I told her we had just gotten home to grab a few things. She told us that Bubba had just made a turn for the worst and they had everyone working on him and revived him. I totally lost it. She told us to be careful and to hurry back to the hospital as soon as we could and that he was stable at that time. This was the second time we almost lost him. We quickly gathered our stuff and headed back. We got to his bedside and all I could do was put my hands over him cupping his head and feet and cry. I must have said a million prayers and begging for him to be okay. If ever our faith was tested this was the day. From that day it would be a while before I left the hospital.



Bubba took this as we rush back to the hospital after getting the call from the Dr.



On May 29th, 2010, both babies had PDA ligation surgery to close a valve in their heart. They transported Laila to the OR, but because bubbas was still on the oscillator they locked down his NICU room for an hour and they did his surgery at his bedside.  It was amazing the amount of progress they had after the surgery. For Laila this was the only surgery she had to undergo. For little bubbas, he still had a lot more. His blood finally clotted and the bleeding stopped, but now both ducts that drain his spinal fluid from his brain down through his spine were blocked and causing his head to swell. His neurosurgeon had to place a temporary subgaleal shunt at the top of his head so that it would relieve some of the pressure building up around his brain and head. He had to gain more weight before they would put in his permanent shunt if the subgaleal one failed. Well, after 4 weeks, the shunt was failing. Bubba was able to reach his 4lb goal and they had him scheduled to get his Ventriculo-peritoneal(VP) shunt a few days later. During this surgery they also had to repair his double hernias. As if this poor baby hasn't been through enough. My heart broke every time he had a set back, because with each one it seemed like we were starting from scratch.

This is little bubbas.

 

Well, that almost sums up most of the horrible stuff we had to go through! It took a while, but both babies had months of growing and thriving in the NICU. Laila was able to come home on August 20th, 2010 and Bubbas came home on August 27th. He still had some trouble breathing on his own and needed just a little boost of O2, so he got sent home with O2 and an apnea monitor. We had a few times when the monitor would go off at night and my gosh it scared the heck out of us. He just needed me to touch him and he was fine.



First time I got to hold Laila.



Mommy giving Laila a bath for the first time.

  

Mommy giving Bubbas a bath for the first time!



    

Daddy, Mommy, and Bubbas





Holding Bubba for the very first time!

First time daddy got to hold Laila, on his first Father's Day!



The first time daddy got to kangaroo with Bubbas.





No matter how bad of a day he was having, he would always give us a smile to let us know he was okay.



This is what it looked like when his subgaleal shunt failed. They had to drain the fluid with a syringe.




Waiting to go to the OR for surgery.



This is after surgery to remove the subgaleal shunt and place the VP shunt.





Few days after surgery he needed another blood transfusion. He had so many I lost count after 15.



One morning when we had come into their room, the night nurses had this picture and a ton more just like it posted all over each babies bed. This was the first time they were reunited together since birth! Shortly after this picture was taken, they were able to start co-bedding!



Having fun with my baby girl! Turned her into a little pink mermaid!



First time I got to hold the both babies together at the same time!



I just love this one!




Cuddle bugs!





Bubbas first day home!



Laila finally home!



  

Tummy time turned into sleepy time!

And some more sleepy time!



October 6th, 2010 we were back to the hospital in the PICU. Bubbas VP shunt had malfunctioned and he had to have a revision. Surgery was scheduled for first thing in the morning and it kept getting pushed back. My poor baby was in pain from his head swelling, was soooo hungry and he couldn't understand why we weren't helping him. This was the saddest picture of him. Breaks our heart every time we see it.



They had just brought him back from surgery and we were waiting for him to wake up.



This is his lucky No.7! We call these his baseball stitches!




One of my favorites! Cuddling with daddy a few days after surgery.



Surgery was a success and this big smile was all we needed to know he was feeling better!



In a way, his surgery was a blessing in disguise because we were able to take Bubbas off the oxygen!



Our 1st Halloween!



Our 1st Thanksgiving! We had so much to be thankful of this year!

  

Mommy and Laila



Mommy and Bubbas





Our 1st Christmas all together!



Merry Christmas to all!



Those presents really made us tired!



It has been one amazing journey and I know that it will only get better from here! This time last year it was hard to believe that we would have made it this far. Happy Birthday to our two little angels!