We plan on taking them out to a fun dinner to Chuck E Cheese or the Rainforest Cafe on their birthday and then having their birthday party over Memorial Day weekend when my parents and brother come to visit. The theme will be Elmo, of course!
Isaac is still doing well and growing like crazy! He is wearing 3-6 month clothing, although he won't turn two months until the 18th (twins birthday). He is starting to coo and smile at us. Jared witnessed his first offical laugh last night! He seems to enjoy Julia and Kai's company until one of them tries to sit on him or hugs him too tightly. He is sleeping for 5-7 hours at a time at night, which helps me get a little bit more rest.
For a quick health update, we met with Kai's new urologist last week. After receiving medical advise from a urologist at the Spina Bifida clinic that totally conflicted with the treatment that our urologist from OKC prescribed, we were wanting a third opinion. We learned that treatment for children with neurogenic bladders (dysfunction of bladder due to spinal nerve damage) varies greatly depending on what urologist you talk to. There is not a lot of "evidence based practice" in this area, so we are hoping that more research is perfomed in the future. Our new doctor believes that Kai's testing from the past does not indicate a need to catheterize at this time. He will have to catheterize when he gets older (unless he is in the small 2-5% of kids w/ SB who do not need to) to stay continent, but the doctor does not think that it is necessary for us to catheterize him until he is 3-4 and ready to "potty train." We have decided to stop Kai's medicine and to stop catheterizing him for the next 6 weeks. We will then do another urodynamic study to see if the pressures in his bladder have changed and if there is any damage (reversible) to the kidneys. At that time we will decide if that treatment is best or not.
It has been a lifestyle change for me to stop Kai's medical treatment. It was such a routine part of our day....when he woke up, before nap, after nap, and before bedtime. I have to admit that it's so nice to keep the gloves and medical supplies in the closet! We pray that Kai will remain healthy without the treatment and that he will miraculously one day not need any help to be continent!
Julia is doing great and jabbers all day long! She has become more independent and often I find her with her clothes off! She loves to play make believe and will feed all of her dolls and stuffed animals. Both Kai and Julia love drinking from cups without lids on them and eating with their utensils. They also love coloring, jumping in their ball pit, swimming and playing outside.
The above picture is the best picture we could capture on Mother's Day. It pretty much explains how most days go around here! These kids have a hard time staying still! We did have a really nice day. Jared had flowers delivered and cooked a crepe breakfast. I also received a card from the kids with certificates for backrubs, an uninterupted nap, and hugs! We ended the day swimming at our neighborhood pool. (The things I choose not to mention were finding Julia in her crib after naptime completely naked with soiled sheets and Kai crying all the way home from the swimming pool!)
We have enjoyed several visits from Tulsa friends lately. We joined my old coworker, Kris, and her husband, Daniel, for dinner last week. Then we had the Mueller family stay with us last weekend. It's always good to see familiar faces and get caught up with good friends! We hope to do more of that next weekend when we travel to Tulsa for a quick visit.
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