Mothers of Multiples Are Freaks of Nature

We were at the ped's office today and Owen was diagnosed with an ear infection and Emmaline a sinus infection. GROAN. We weren't able to see our pediatrician, but saw the next best thing, the fabulous Dr. McClard. After awarding my kids with prescriptions for antibiotics, she pulled out her phone and showed this to me. This is by far the most hilarious thing I have seen in a long time! Those of you who have gone anywhere with my kids have heard this, and there isn't a single question asked in this video that I haven't heard. The only subjects left out are how much weight I gained, how much I ate, and bedrest. And they are always asked by strangers! People are so funny, I know they're just interested and most of the time don't intend to be rude, but to me it feels like a broken record. :)

Aaaaaaand, Action!

I'm behind on my video blog postings, so I've posted three below from the past couple of weeks.

I thought I would be filming Owen and Emmaline playing in their room with books, but when I came back with the camera, this is what was happening. This is the first time they had tried playing with this, so now I'm going to have to think creatively to cover it up! So much for my authority!



Owen and Emmaline love their "house" and "farm" Fisher Price toys, and Emmaline was cracking up this time when they were playing with the house door.



Emmaline and Owen were trading pushing each other on this toy in our backyard a couple of weeks ago, and Emmaline was starting to get a little moody. I guess it wasn't going fast enough for her!

Let's Go to the Hop!

I was so excited to dress Owen and Emmaline this Halloween, especially since they are old enough to toddle around and enjoy it! I really don't know how to label their costumes: Sock Hop, Grease, James Dean...it was hard to pick! Vince did a great job slicking back Owen's hair, and Owen didn't mind it a bit. I think he knew he looked "cool."

The Friday afternoon before Halloween, they had a blast invading Vince's Deloitte office downtown for their family Halloween celebration. They had trick-or-treating, "haunted cubes" and a cake walk (we didn't participate in that, but took a peek at the yummy prizes!). Emmaline, who normally still uses a pacifier at night, has brought back the daytime habit off and on since she's been in the hospital, so she's sporting it in a few of the pictures.

Too cool for school.

Taking candy inventory in Daddy's office.

Toddle toddle toddle...

"I don't have enough fingers for my loot!"

"Soooo, why don't we just save time and I'll take this bucket?"

On Halloween, Bianca had a litte gathering at her house, and we were the first to arrive, so we took plenty of pictures before the kids got too distracted. :) They were the only kids there besides baby Violet, so they loved the attention!

Emmaline: "I said, LOOK at my cupcake bag!"

The kids: "Why are the 'rents in this picture? How lame!"

Mission Control

Waiting for the party guests to arrive.

Owen had a comb in his back pocket for touch-ups (and to chew on).

SUPER VIOLET!

Fun With Julianne! (and Nancy and Kevin)

We enjoyed a quick afternoon visit with my oldest bestie Nancy, her husband Kevin and 11-month-old daughter Julianne. They were here from Tulsa so Nancy could take her Pediatric Board Exam, and came by the next afternoon on their way back home.

Emmaline and Julianne had a blast running up and down the halls together, and Owen chimed in with the riff-raff. :)

Owen and Emmaline at 15 Months

Owen and Emmaline turned 15 months a few weeks ago, so we learned their much anticipated growth to date!

Emmaline
Weight: 21 lbs, 14 oz (30th percentile), Length: 30 1/4 inches (40th percentile), Head Circumference: 18 inches (40th percentile)

Owen
Weight: 24 lbs, 12 oz (55th percentile), Length: 31 inches (50th percentile), Head Circumference: 18 1/2 inches (40th percentile)

Emmaline is walking (and sometimes running) all over the place and loves to carry all of her babies in her arms at the same time. She also loves to point to things so we will tell her what they are. She's so much fun and very vivacious, and acts as the "leader" in her Mother's Day Out class of five. She is still a little shy around new people, but will warm up pretty quickly after a while. She still loves to dance and look at books.

Owen can walk around the entire house as long as he has something to hold on to, which includes the wall. He is so close to walking, and I will be so relieved for him when he does since he is so frustrated. He loves to stack blocks and say "uh-oh" when something falls. He is getting so big and has a great appetite! He is such a happy little guy, unless he is frustrated from learning to walk.

This age is so much fun because they are discovering on their own and want to learn how things work. They are so social and it's fun to watch them interact with other toddlers. They love their Mother's Day Out class once a week too, which is such a relief for me. :)

Emmaline loves climbing in and out of things!

Owen deciding if he wants to let go of the couch.

Happy Birthday Bianca! We took Aunt B and Miss Violet to Dream Cafe for lunch.

"See ya, highchair..."

"Owen is trying to jump out of his highchair again."

"Hey, we want what you guys are having!"

Visit From the Edwards Family

I am so behind on my blog postings! We've been busy since Emmaline was sprung from the hospital (she's a new woman, totally back to normal), so I have lots of new photos to share!

Our longtime friends Travis, Tessie and their two-year-old son Tanner (baby Tenley is due in February!) visited us a few weeks ago from Denver, and we had so much fun! On Saturday, Vince and Travis went to the State Fair and the OU/TX game and on Sunday, Tessie and I went to Northpark mall. So, we had a "guys watch the kids day" and vice versa. It was a nice arrangement! :)

Vince and Travis took the kids to the Arboretum on Sunday and Travis took the cutest pictures!

"Tanner, when I was a boy I had to push something like this uphill in the snow on the way to school."

Looks like an album cover from the '90s

First one to the tall guy wins!

Playing that morning.

Emmaline the Brave

Miss Emmaline has been through a lot the past week, and I don't even know where to begin, but I want our family and friends to know, as I know I wasn't able to communicate very well through it all.

Owen and Emmaline caught colds almost two weeks ago, and everything was going in a typical "the kids caught a cold" way. Last Monday, Owen started running a fever so I took both in thinking we were in for ear infections. Emmaline had a nasty cough, but she checked out fine, as did Owen.

That evening, Emmaline started to run a fever, so I started her on Motrin and put her to bed. The next morning, she wouldn't stand up or even sit up in her crib and her breathing was shallow and wheezy. She was barely moving. Scary! So, I called our pediatrician around 8 am and got her in at 9. We got there, and rotten things started happening:
- They got us in and took her oxygen level, and didn't tell me what they found
- Someone told a nurse down the hall to call 911
- Two pediatricians came in with nurses and gave Emmaline a shot and put a mask over her face (I got a few more details then). There were also a lot of concerned parents in other exam rooms who curiously looked on when the stretcher and EMTs came down the hallway.
- A nurse started asking me for phone numbers because she said someone would need to come and pick up Owen because an ambulance was coming for me and Emmaline (huh?!?!) Vince was out of town and we don't have family in town, so I gave them my friend Bianca's phone number
- A nurse pulled a crying Owen out of his stroller and took him away to another room, while a stretcher came down the hall of the ped's office to get me and Emmaline
- As we left in an ambulance, Bianca was on her way to get a frightened Owen
- Emmaline was admitted to the children's ER. Since she didn't improve, they moved us to the regular ER and a nurse told me he would "be straight with me" as my child may stop breathing and they wanted the equipment around us in case she did
- Vince got on a plane as soon as he could and picked Owen up from Bianca's (she is totally amazing, I don't know what we would have done without her and her husband Adam)
- Emmaline was admitted to the Pediatric ICU, where she was put on steroids, antibiotics, breathing treatments, got an IV and little tubes in her nose and got her blood drawn.
- She was there for two nights, and then was moved to the Children's Hospital wing on Thursday
- Vince and I traded nights with Emmaline. She was terrified and scared, since nurses came in all night long to give her breathing treatments, take blood, etc. My mom stayed for one night to help out with Owen since he wasn't allowed in the PICU, which was a lifesaver.
- We were discharged Friday

Yuck, yuck, YUCK! And, her diagnosis? She had caught a cold!!! A cold that had turned into a respiratory infection. Her diagnosis was a strain of the Rhino Virus (a cold) that she could have caught anywhere, and though Owen and Vince had it too, she just responded in a much worse way. So frustrating, I was up all night in the hospital wondering where it would ever be safe to take her again. The doctors and nurses were wonderful though, and said she would be okay, and with the right medications and preventatives, this should never happen again.

So, she has two inhalers she will be taking for a while. I'm so, so thankful that her recovery, according to the hospital staff, was remarkably quick and she made such a speedy recovery.

Thank you thank you to everyone who helped us out and for your thoughts, messages of support and prayers. I just pray that's the last of hospitals for a while!