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I wanted to just start over. Our new address is www.thedandepfam.blogspot.com

Puyallup Fair 2008

We were able to have a family excursion to the Puyallup Fair yesterday. David has been looking forward to it all summer, hoping I'd be out of the hospital and up to going before it passed us by. It was a beautiful day - even almost a little too warm when standing out in the sun for a while - and felt so good to be outside and doing something fun together.

Last year, Ethan's favorite parts of the fair were the horses. He was into the animals and thinking they looked pretty cool. This year, all he cared about were trucks and tractors. The very first thing we came upon was a fire truck. He LOVED it! Mostly he is infatuated with wheels but he thought the whole thing was pretty cool. He started throwing a fit when we took him away from it to move on to the next attraction. It was funny!

Every time he saw a truck or a tractor he would point it out and try to climb out of his stroller so that he could be next to it. I think his next favorite display was the John Deer tractor tent. There were more than a dozen tractors out for show and he was just in heaven. He finds the wheels so facinating. It's hilarious. You'd think if you've seen one, you've seen them all but no - not for him.

David's favorite part was the people watching and meandering. His favorite attraction was the man shooting out of a cannon stunt. My favorite part was the grange displays. The array of vegetables, beans, canned fruit, etc. was amazing and beautiful. I couldn't imagine how long it took to design them and then to put them together. I would LOVE to grow all of those things - how fun! A lot of work but fun!

Here are the pics we remembered to snap:

We had to tear him away from the fire truck.

Tractors, tractors, tractors!

The quad display he raced toward.

First Family Visit

On Sunday, Daddy, Mommy and Ethan went to visit the babies. This was our first visit together. Since they were up in the satellite nursery where there were only the two of them and one other baby, the nurses were a lot more relaxed and allowed us to be a bit noisier than usually permitted. Ethan really didn't have much of an attention span for interacting with brothers or for anything else either. We brought lots of snacks, his matchbox cars as well as a DVD player so he could sit and watch his favorite movie right by the babies' bed. As soon as we turned our attention to the babies though, he was up and running around, trying to get the attention back over to him. Then, Daddy started holding Emren and it was all over from there. Ethan started screaming and climbing frantically up David's knee, wondering why he was holding someone else besides him.

Soon, we got him calmed down though and he sat for about 60 seconds with Daddy and brother Emren. He even tried to touch him nicely. His favorite part was finding the pictures of balls on Emren's blanket saying "ball" and pointing to them. After that, he was done, ready to get down and do something else.

There was a waiting room right near the nursery so David and I then took turns keeping Ethan entertained while the other spent time with the boys. I got to hold Emren while he got his milk through the tube this time and then was able to feed Elijah his bottle. Elijah took the whole thing and in record time! I was so excited!

Sunday's weights were as follows: Emren 4lbs 11oz. and Elijah 4lbs 14oz. Grow, grow, grow!

Ethan's Update

Ethan is learning so much, so fast! He has known for a while that shoes go on feet but is learning how to get his feet into the "hole" of the shoe. His are a bit small and more tricky so he's been practicing his new skill with Mommy's shoes. David wasn't too excited about our son walking around in women's shoes but I didn't mind so much. I had to capture this new discovery. I'm so proud of how he's trying new things and making so many connections.

Emren's Update

Little Emren is doing great! Every time I go to see him, it seems like he's progressed in one area or another. It's amazing how many times the nurses will say things like, "He's doing such and such on his own now but he could go back and forth with needing help," yet he never ends up needing the help. They give him a new challenge and it seems like he meets it and keeps up.

He's now at 4lbs 4.2oz - over a pound bigger than when he was born, only 3 1/2 weeks ago. He can maintain his body temperature on his own now (as long as he's wrapped up well) so he's in an open bed. I'm sure he misses the coziness and quiet of the incubator but he's a trooper.

Every time I am around Emren when he is getting fed, he always gets the hiccups. I used to think it was so cute when Ethan got them as a newborn - the little squeaks - but now I don't think they're so amusing. It looks like it hurts the poor little guy. His whole body moves with each hiccup and it just looks so uncomfortable. He never cries about it though. I think I would if I got the hiccups that often.

The two boys got moved to a satellite nursery where there are only three babies total in the room. It's nice because it's a lot quieter and they get the nurse's full attention. She doesn't have to leave the room to attend to another baby for a feeding or their distress alarms. I think they both like their new home. Hopefully their next move will be our home!

Elijah's Update

So much has happened since I've last posted. Elijah is doing very well. He is able to maintain a healthy body temperature on his own so they took him out of the incubator and put him in an open bed. It's so great because I can touch him and see him so much better now.

He's up to 4lbs 8.2oz and getting bigger. The exciting thing lately is that he has been trying to nurse from a bottle. It's only a very small amount and only on occasion but he's doing it! I'm so excited. I know every little thing makes it that much closer to him coming home! I'm going up there to spend tomorrow and Friday with them so I'm very much looking forward to bottle feeding him for the first time!

I noticed on Sunday that when I was holding him, he stayed wide awake for almost 1/2 an hour. That's the longest I've seen him awake and alert. I was worried I was stressing him out and he wasn't able to sleep but the nurse said that he is getting older and was just very aware that "Mommy" was there and he didn't want to miss out. I liked her version best. It made me feel so good - like my baby did know who I was.

The Twins Together

So this was my favorite part of my day - I got to hold the boys together for the first time. They haven't been next to each other since they were born. I know they missed one another. They snuggled up side by side and fell asleep after just a couple of minutes.

Usually Emren breathes a little faster than Elijah. On the monitors, he is up around the 70's and 80's while Elijah is in the 50's or so. Today while they were sleeping next to each other, they were both breathing exactly the same. It was so beautiful! It's like Emren just needed his brother to show him how to do it correctly.

Having the two of them in my arms together just made me cry. I am so grateful they are both here and are healthy enough for me to hold them and kiss them. There really is nothing like holding your precious new babies. And being able to take part in their special bond between each other is such a blessing. I cannot describe how happy I am to be their mommy.

It's amazing how much we have been blessed through these tough times and trials but then to be even more blessed with having these babies here and healthy.