Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Memories

As I look at Kai laying on the ground next to Isaac (he just ADORES him!) I am reminded again of how fast time flies.  It seems like just yesterday that Kai and Julia were that small (or smaller) and were snuggling together in their boppy pillow or in a bouncer chair.  All the memories rush in.  It also reminds me of God's faithfulness.  That first year of the twins life was filled with good memories and a lot of scary ones.  I remember being uncertain if Kai would make it through surgeries, and if he would, would he develop normally?  Would he be able to walk and run with Julia and all of the other kids?  Would he have any brain damage and be able to learn truth?  Today Kai is a walking and talking example to us of God's goodness and mercy.



One Month Old! 





Many other memories have been brought up this past week after learning that my grandfather (father's dad) in Nebraska was sick and might not make it much longer.  Grandpa ended up passing away on Friday morning.  Although grandpa was not doing very well the past few years, I can easily remember all of the "good ol' days" when he was strong enough to golf, go dancing with grandma, and bike around the lake.  I have many memories of him pulling us kids behind the boat on an intertube or water skiis (we thought we would die several times after we fell in the lake and he didn't notice for several minutes!), teaching me how to golf, attending all of our sporting and school events, telling me stories of how he and grandma met along with other stories, taking us to Nebraska football games, sitting in his basement watching golf, baseball, football, or whatever sports season it was, playing cards, pulling my pig-tails, or just walking down the street watching him hold my grandmother's hand.  I was so blessed to grow up with my grandparents nearby.  Even during college brakes, when I would return to Nebraska, I found comfort sitting with grandma and grandpa in their basement.  While everything else in my life was changing, their love and support was always constant.
I am glad that he was able to meet Kai and Julia (along with my sisters' kids).  They will grow up hearing many stories of Great Grandpa Jones.  Although we will miss him, his legacy will live on. We will be headed up to Nebraska this weekend and the memorial service will be on Monday.








Sunday, April 10, 2011

Party of Five

Wow, how time flies!  I have been planning on updating the blog for weeks and am just finding the time to sit down and do it.  It's crazy that I'm busy all day long, but still nothing gets crossed off my to-do list!  Maybe I need to add things to my list like:  change 20+ diapers...check! feed hungry kids three meals plus snacks...check!  nurse Isaac every 2-3 hours while keeping Julia and Kai occupied....check (although the twins seem to get into trouble during this time)!  clean up after the kids.....never quite done!  give Kai medication and take care of medical needs every 4 hours...check!
We just completed our first week at home without grandparents around to help.  We sure enjoyed our time with family.  My parents came down and watched Kai and Julia for the first few days that I was in the hospital.  My mom stayed for the rest of the week and was a huge help as I continued to heal from the c-section and Jared returned to work.  Grandma Jones had never spent this much time with the twins at one time.  She has a lot of good memories and a lot of exhaustion to show for it!  She did help me get out of the house a couple of times that week to run errands and get Kai's hair cut.  I'm not sure how I'm going to get out of the house without any help any time soon!












As Grandma Jones flew home to Nebraska, Papa and Nana Christianson were flying into Dallas from Washington.  We enjoyed a lot of play time while Jared and Papa worked hard doing home improvements to the house and yard.  They got window treatments hung, doors installed to the gameroom, fixed the gate outside, painted the garage ceiling, raked up leaves, mowed the lawn, etc.  As they were working outside, they found a bunny nest including four baby bunnies.  Julia and Kai loved seeing the bunnies along with lizards, and the next door dog in our back yard.  After Nana found one of the baby bunnies the next day without it's head, we have realized that there might be even more critters that come into our backyard : (









Baby Isaac is over three weeks old now and is such a sweet baby.  He has already seemed to figure out night and day.  He still wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat at night, but he has no trouble falling right back to sleep after eating.  I was concerned about nursing, since we didn't have much luck with Julia and Kai. But now I figure that it is going well since he is so content, goes through a ton of diapers, and gained a whole pound in a week!  At the two week mark, Isaac had surpassed his birth weight of 7 lb 13 oz and was 8 lb 8 oz.  We asume that he is over 9 pounds now considering the size of his cheeks and his double chin!
Julia and Kai absolutely adore Isaac.  They love giving him kisses, patting his head, and pointing to all of his body parts.  They are usually really gentle, but we have to keep a close eye on them.  Julia has reverted back to all things baby and has been caught with Isaac's pacifiers in her mouth and has climbed into every swing and bouncy seat that we have in the house.


Julia being silly


Although we have only lived in Texas for four months and have been busy, we realize that we have met more people than we had realized.  We have had people from our church, from our playgroup, from the Mothers of Multiples club, and neighbors bless us with meals and offers for help.  I think we will be having meals arriving at our house for another three weeks.  We feel so blessed and appreciative since there is little time for cooking meals!
Well, now that I've documented all of this, it's time to take a nap before everyone else wakes up!