A Late Birthday Post

It's been almost a month since the babies turned ONE!!!

I still can't believe I have two 1-year-olds and a 3-year-old! Amazing!

God is good. We are truly, truly blessed. Despite the craziness of our lives we feel very grateful for such wonderful kids.

Here is a little slideshow of the babies birthday (the actual day) & then some pics from their little party.

This slideshow made with Smilebox

Surgery Update

Because we were all sick around the time McKenna was to have her surgery, we had to reschedule it. I wish I could inform you when the new date is, but unfortunately I can't. I have been jumping through hoops to get it back on our calendar and it's been quite the process (very frustrating). I will hopefully know something by Friday. Probably won't be until the end of August.

I hope you are having a super duper week!!

ps...my little twinsie girls will be ONE in just 2 days!!! I can't believe it. I'm currently in a state of denial.

Re-do please??

If I had super powers, I think I would like one of them to be where I can go back in time and re-do it.

That's definitely what I would do and I'd like to start it 9 days ago!

That's when the virus from you know where showed up at the Vann house. It started with Jillian on Friday night, then McKenna Saturday night, then Eden Monday morning, then me Thursday night, then my Mom Friday and my Aunt Saturday. Thankfully Nick & my Dad have not gotten and I hope and pray they don't get it. I'm so ready for this to be DONE!!!

Everyone experienced it differently. Jillian and McKenna both were throwing up and didn't have fever. McKenna's throwing up only lasted several hours, but she's had it the other way for about 6 days now. Eden only had fever for a day and half, but had blisters in her throat for about 3 days (Jillian had blisters too). I had nausea, chills, and fever but mine only lasted 24 hours - which is about what my Mom & Aunt experienced as well (they were around the girls b/c they were helping me - I feel terrible that they got sick too). Mine was like morning sickness with chills, body aches, and fever!! YUCK!

Jillian threw up periodically over 5 days. We took her to the hospital on Sunday because she was throwing up everything we gave her and was showing signs of dehydration. Her pediatrician advised us to take her to get her re-hydrated. We were there about 6 hours. She received 2 bags of IV fluids, anti-nausea meds, and some meds to help with her low blood sugar. She perked up pretty quickly and was acting hungry. We fed her some bland foods and pedialyte and we were able to take her home. She did great Monday & Tuesday and was finally acting more herself . Tuesday night she threw-up again, but we thought maybe it was because she had eaten too much that afternoon. She slept good that night, but the next day she kept throwing up everything. I took her to her pediatrician and he gave us prescription for Zofran and told us she was dehydrated and to take her on to the hospital for more IV fluids.

The doctor at the ER thought her vital signs looked pretty good and she wanted to try the Zofran first to see if we could get her to eat and drink before we tried the IV again. Thankfully, that plus a mixture of Maalox and Benadryl for the blisters in her throat helped her be able to eat and drink w/out having to do the IV.

Thankfully, we are all doing much better today and I am looking forward to a more normal week.

I wish I had cute pictures of the girls on the 4th of July, but unfortunately I don't.....because we were cleaning up pukey all day. :(

I would be happy never to have that virus in my house EVER again!!!!!!

If your wondering, my doctor called it the Adenovirus. He first thought it was Coxsakie (which I think is the Hand, Foot, Mouth disease), but since the blisters were only at the back of Eden and Jillian's throat and the fact that everyone experienced it differently, he thought it was probably the other virus.

I also need to say a very special THANK YOU to my wonderful and amazing family. My parents came to our rescue several times this week and my Aunt came twice to help me when Nick was at work. It would have been sooooo much more difficult without them here and I'm blessed to have such an incredible family.

Our Summer So Far - In Pictures

This summer has been so much more fun than last summer. I spent most of our summer last year on the couch, on bed rest, and poor Eden didn't get to do many fun summer things. I am determined to make it up to her this year and make it extra fun and special.

Here are some pictures of the girls and what we have been up to...

Splash pad fun...

They love watching big sister

Jillian

When they get splashed, they squeal and take deep breaths...haha

Splish Splash

Sprinkler fun

Exersaucers...

This girl loves to swing!

Cutie bug!

Silly Jilli

Sandbox time

Jill - Miss. Independent

Hello??

Celebrating Daddy on Father's Day

Daddy and all his girls

Daddy and the twinsies

Daddy's breakfast for dinner...Delicioso!

Belgian waffles with fresh fruit and syrup...

Chillin' in the stroller

Jill-Jill

Sweet girl

I had to move them to the grass b/c they got tired of getting wet

Fun Fun

Apple...

McKenna bear

She pulls up on EVERYTHING!

Eden loves to entertain her "babies"

Bedtime bottle

Hi there...

Love this pic of Kenna

She loves to play with books

Goodnight!

E & J

Have a great weekend!!

Little Miss McKenna...

July 8th is going to be a big day for this precious little baby girl as Nick and I will be taking her down to the Med Center for surgery. The day the babies were born we noticed a bump above her right eyebrow. We were told by the nurses, doctors, and her pediatrician that it was bone and probably caused by the way she was positioned in the womb. She was head down on my pelvis for a good 3 months at the end of my pregnancy. Our pediatrician told us that if it really was her bone, then by the time she was 6 months it would have smoothed out. Around 6 months it hadn't really changed and to us seemed bigger. At their check-up appointment our doctor suggested we see a pediatric surgeon because to him it looked like some sort of cyst. I took her a few weeks ago to to the specialist and he confirmed it to be a benign dermoid cyst. According to webmd.com, a dermoid cyst is a saclike growth caused when skin and skin structures become trapped during fetal development. McKenna's doctor suggested we do the surgery to remove it pretty soon because at this point it's just underneath the skin and would be easier to remove. If we waited until she was a toddler or until childhood, it has the potential to attach itself to her skull making it more difficult to remove and most likely will continue to grow. The surgery is a 30 minute procedure and she will be able to come home with us that day. Thankfully they don't have to use any tubes to put her under, just a mask.

I realize this is just a minor surgery, but it's still scary to think about especially since she is only 11-months-old. It makes this Momma nervous and anxious thinking about it. I know God is totally in control of this whole situation and He has really given me peace about everything.

We would appreciate some prayers for our precious angel. Please pray for her doctors and nurses, for her to cooperate well and for her recovery. Mommy & Daddy would appreciate some prayers too as we will probably feel very nervous that week and especially that day.

I will post updates here about the surgery and after.

Thanks for your prayers!

We're Stuck on You, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day, Nick - from your girls!

Untitled from Carissa V on Vimeo.

Healthy Eating & Living

Why is it so hard?? I feel like it's so much work to be healthy by eating and doing the right things for our bodies. Do you feel like that? If it's easy for you, can I have your secret??

I've been reading about nutrition for children and how important it is. For the past 3 weeks I have kept Eden completely off of foods with dyes or preservatives and she eats mostly organic foods. I haven't noticed any huge changes in her, however she ate some fruit snacks the other day and almost immediately after she was running around screaming (silly screams) and just well, hyper. It's not unusual for her to be running around being silly and screaming , but this was a little different. If you know Eden well, you know she is a busy bee to begin with, but honestly her behavior has even been better. I honestly can't say it was because I kept her off those foods, but I bet it helped in some way. If you are interested in learning more...here are the books I have been reading...really interesting and eye-opening stuff!!!

For a while I didn't buy organic foods because my thought was they are too expensive - and yes, organic food is definitely more expensive. However, with careful planning and organizing, about 80% of my groceries are organic and still within our budget. If you shop at HEB you can purchase Central Market organic foods (USDA organic) for less than name brand organic choices. Also, I discovered that the 365 brand from Whole Foods Market is less expensive than name brand as well. It's extra work on my part, but I feel it's worth it.

Here are some things I have discovered that we love...

I bought this orginally for Eden, but I actually really enjoy this cereal in the mornings and for munching in the afternoons. The babies love it too.

Even Nick loves these veggie chips...perfect with a sandwich!

These are yummy too, however for some reason Eden doesn't really care for them.

Eden LOVES these...and I love how easy they are!!

Do you have any organic eating tips or things you like??

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-14