Hysterical! (at least to me)

I have not laughed this hard in months!

Tim called me into the bathroom when he was bathing Megan....she was bright red and bearing down.

Tim didn't think that there was any poop until he moved her to rinse and down drops a turd ball.

He wants to rinse her off then take care of it..I thought that perhaps he should take care of it and then rinse her off with non poop water. He agreed and proceeded to pull the turd out with his hands. I almost peed my pants!

Here are some pictures. The dark spot next to the green area is what you are looking at. Enjoy!

Santa

The babies met Santa today!

John was all smiles and Megan really liked Santa's fur collar.

No tears from either baby!

This weekend the babies did two things for the first time.

1. Eating fresh fruit (yummy) through a mesh baggie thing...banana is so good...yet so messy!

2. Sitting in a high chair to eat instead of a bouncy seat

I can't believe that they are getting so big! I still think that they look pretty tiny. Especially in their high chair seats.

My favorite!

Christmas is and has always been my favorite holiday. I am working on finalizing Christmas shopping as well as decorating the house for the holiday. I am not surprised that it is taking a bit longer to get things done this year....I am a lot busier now than I ever have been.
I am going to brave the mall Santa this week and see how John and Megan enjoy sitting on his lap. I will let you all know how it goes.

Sequence!

For those of you who spent time at Grandma Peggy's house this summer.....
Over the holiday weekend I taught Tim's family how to play Sequence. I thought of our time together this summer and really spent a lot of time thinking of Grandma....especially since we were playing at her dining room table.
Such great memories!

Thanksgiving

Grandma Mary Lou with all 6 of her grandchildren!

The three brothers: Roger, Tom, Tim, and their mom!

Devyn holding Megan

John, Tim, and his mom

This year Tim and I decided to stay home for Thanksgiving. We were very happy to have Tim's family join us for the weekend. The family began to arrive on Tuesday evening and our house was busy from that point forward. This was the first time in quite a few years that all of Tim's brothers were together with his mother and father. The babies loved spending time with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.
Turkey, ham, stuffing, and all the trimmings were made by myself and my sister-in-law. We had a wonderful time cooking and eating! Tim's aunt made pies and we all seemed to overindulge! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without overeating though!
Our final guest left on Sunday at 6 am. Tim, the babies, and I went back to bed and slept until 9! It was wonderful having everyone together and it was great having the house quiet again.

6 months old already!

I took John and Megan in for their 6 month checkup last week.

They are doing great! They are moving right along (but below) the curve of the growth charts.

They now eat cereal/fruits/vegetables three times a day and the rest of the time are still breastfed. John absolutely loves peaches. Megan eats everything, but wants to feed herself most of the time. She is usually filthy when we get done eating.

John weighs 12 lbs 6 oz!
Megan weighs 11 lbs 2 oz!

They continue to amaze me. They are laughing and making adorable sounds! John is very close to sitting up and they both roll all over the place! I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring!

Last chance for calendar purchase!

Hi everyone. Sorry to say, but this is the last chance to order calendars online.

Greta (the woman who made the calendars) is going to hold a few back, but the rest will be put in local stores so that they sell over the holiday.

If you are at all interested, please take the initiative to order now before they run out.

Click on the link below to go directly to the webpage to order the calendar.

http://gmyers.photobiz.com/cart/product_list.cfm?categoryID=6598

Holiday Photo Shoot

Some of you were not able to access the photo shoot that we just did. This is because it was on the photographers Facebook account. If you do not have facebook that was the problem.
Here is a link to follow http://www.hrphotodesign.com/proofs/ choose Nickel, enter gallery, password is holiday.
Enjoy.

Fall

I love the fall! The smell of leaves and the beautiful colors. Sadly, I think that it is over as the snow has begun!

Thankfully I put the kids outside in the leaves earlier in the week.

John tried to eat the leaves the entire time he was in the pile.

Megan had no idea what to think and just laid there for a few minutes until she saw her brother having a taste.

Photo Shoot!

Follow this link to see some new pictures!
We had a great photo shoot done by Heather Rogers at an amazing house. I can't wait to see the rest of the photos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=1344608991&aid=8645

When it rains it pours!

I am in total shock right now.
I received a phone call around 6 this morning telling me that my grandpa passed away.
He went into the hospital three days ago to have his gallbladder removed and was recovering nicely.
I talked to my grandma Jean last night and she said that he was doing good and that she was going to pick him up today.
This comes not even two weeks after my grandma Peggy passed away.
I keep thinking about what my grandma Jean is going through and hope that she knows how much we all love her and are there for her. I am sure that it will be a trying time and I hope that she leans on us as much as she needs to.

Calendar

Hi everyone!
I wanted to let you know that the calendar benefiting the NICU at St. Joes is completed and ready for ordering.
I just went on Greta Myers website to make sure that you could access it and to my surprise the twins are on the cover.
Each child in the calendar is either a NICU graduate or a sibling of a NICU graduate. Greta has donated all profit of the sales of the calendar to the NICU. Please feel free to order one (or two).
Here is a link that will take you directly to the web page you need to order. http://gmyers.photobiz.com/cart/product_list.cfm?categoryID=6598

Her website homepage is http://gretamyers.com/

Let me know if you ordered one!

My grandmother's obituary

Juanita "Peggy" Heirman
Aug. 13, 1935 - Oct. 26, 2008MISHAWAKA - Juanita C. "Peggy" Heirman, 73, passed away at 12:25 p.m. on October 26, 2008, at her home after a battle with cancer. Peggy was born on August 13, 1935, in Eldorado, IL, to Elmer Bryan and Gertrude Marie (Loney) Whitfield. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, James Whitfield and Elmer (Tollie) Whitfield; and a sister, Neva Jean Yellich; and in-laws, Ernest and Florence Heirman. On March 27, 1954, in St. Bavo Catholic Church, Mishawaka, Peggy Whitfield married Richard "Spike" L. Heirman, who preceded her in death on June 29, 1993. Surviving are their children, Robbye Lou (Tad) Warner of Osceola, EnRico Lee (Amy) Heirman of Crystal Lake, IL, Stephanie Ann (Mort) Sarabakhsh of Fargo, ND, Christina Marie (Brian) Gangl of Melrose, MN, Rex Arthur Heirman of Michigan City, IN, Knute Eric (Kim) of Seminole, FL, and Karen Lynn (Michael) Iannotti of Seminole, FL; sister, Nada "Tootsie" (Clarence) Senger of California; and brothers, Leonard (Julianna) Whitfield of Mishawaka and Bill (Jean) Whitfield of Port Clinton, OH. Also surviving are 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Peggy lived in Eldorado, IL, from 1935 to 1942. She then moved with her family to Mishawaka and had lived here ever since. She graduated from Mishawaka High School in 1953 and worked as a cook for Mishawaka School City for 30 years. Peggy was a member of St. Joseph Church in Mishawaka, the Eagles Ladies Auxiliary, and was a past member and secretary of ASFSCME Local 3060. Peggy thought her greatest legacy was her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She lit up a room with her smile and laughter. An avid collector of angels, spoons and lighthouses, she made the best pancakes anyone could ever imagine. Most importantly, she lived her life as a Good Samaritan. Family and friends may visit from 3 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in the Hahn Funeral Home, 505 W. 8th Street, Mishawaka. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30th, in St. Joseph Catholic Church, Mishawaka, with Reverend Terry Fisher presiding. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Mishawaka. Memorial contributions may be made in Peggy's name to the Center for the Homeless, the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care; or to St. Bavo's athletic department. To leave the family an online condolence or to share memories with the family, please visit our website at www.hahnfuneralhomes.com.

Grandma Peggy

This afternoon my grandma Peggy passed away. When my dad called me I was both relieved and sad. I felt relief because I knew that she was no longer in pain and sadness because I was never going to see her smile again.

My grandma always remembered your birthdays and sent a card with her signature kiss inside. My birthday is in December...I am going to miss getting that card this year!

She was an amazing mother and grandmother. She was always there to listen to you or to show support when you needed it. She was a true inspiration to me and a joy to be around.

I had the privilege to spend the past few weeks with her and I know that I will remember our time together always.

My aunts said it best...we had a great time this summer. We all got to spend time together. This would not have happened if not for grandma. I only hope that the relationships that have grown these past few months only continue to get stronger now that grandma is gone.

Megan's Shoulder Update

I just realized that I have not updated everyone on Megan's shoulder.
The good news is that it has not blistered in over a month...yeah!
I spoke with the doctors office about the difficulty drawing her blood for any lab work. They decided that we could wait until she got bigger to do the tests.
Now we just wait and see. If it starts to blister again, or if there are symptoms on other areas of her body we will move ahead quicker.
I will let you know if anything changes.

Away from home!

I decided that I needed to see my husband and spend time in our home so I came back to Michigan for the weekend.

I am heading back to Indiana on Monday afternoon and hope that the drive goes well.

I promised some pictures, so here are a few from our trip.

I am going to try to figure out how to do a slideshow and add that today as well!

Talk to you all soon.

Missy

A great opportunity to give back!

Hi everyone!
I am writing to invite you to join my family and I. We are going to be part of a silent auction and fashion show to benefit St. Joseph Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (the twins spent the first two weeks of their lives there).
The event is the evening of November 13th (a Thursday)
The evenings festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will end with a celebration at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets for the show are $25. All proceeds from the ticket sales and silent auction go to help the NICU! The event is being held at Washtenaw Community College - Morris J. Lawrence Building
Tim, the babies, and I will be in the fashion show and I will be speaking about the impact the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit staff had on our family. It should be a wonderful time!
Let me know if you are interested and I will get you the tickets!

Pictures of the babies

Hi guys.
Follow this link to see some pictures of the babies.
These were taken by Heather, a professional photographer. She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to work with her again.
They were taken when the babies were about 2.5 months old.
I will get some newer pictures posted soon!
http://www.hrphotodesign.com/news/?p=73

Our first!

It is official, we have our first case of the yucks!
John has what we believe to be a bacterial infection. We are having a great time with explosions coming out of both ends!
Wow! For a kid who normally poops once or twice a week...8 times a day is a lot!
Being in Indiana, away from our doctor, and away from Tim does not make this any easier....we will just ride it out and hopefully get through it soon.

My grandma

My grandma Peggy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a week after my babies were born.
She sought treatment and when it didn't work decided to live the rest of her life with her family and friends close by.
Recently hospice has been called in and things are taking a turn for the worse.
The babies and I have been in Indiana for two weeks and will remain here until grandma is no longer with us.
This is a stressful time, but I am happy to have so many of my Aunts and Uncles around to lean on!

Megan's shoulder take 2!

I am very frustrated with the results of Megan's appointment with the allergist.
The allergist ordered quite a bit of lab work so we went to the lab that they directed us to in an attempt to get her blood drawn and to see if the clustering of histamines have spread to other areas in her body.

Lab #1
Dug around in her arm without any luck. They told me as they were digging around that the needle was probably larger than her veins. My thoughts....why are you even trying then!
They decided that they weren't able to draw her blood and after giving us the materials we needed to collect her urine for 24 hours they sent us to lab #2.

Lab #2
Waited for 35 minutes as other people were getting called back (they arrived after we did).
Finally someone came out to let me know that the allergist had ordered to many labs to be drawn on a child of Megan's size. The lab had called the doctors office and requested a call back so they could decide what labs to draw first and which ones we would have to come back for. The office called back 1 hour and 30 minutes after the lab called them.
We were finally pulled into the back room and they put Megan down on a table. They searched her arms and hands for a vein that would work and could find none. Finally they decided that they were going to try to get at least one lab done by doing a heel poke....no luck there either!

What now?
We could go to the lab in the emergency room where they might be able to find a vein to draw the labs (where we would also have to pay a co-pay...and don't at the other labs).
I have decided to wait until I talk to the allergist and get his suggestion.

My poor kids!
Megan's appointment was at 9:45 a.m.
We went straight from there to lab #1. We left lab #1 at Noon
Got to lab #2 at 2 o'clock and arrived back home at 5 o'clock
Our feeding schedule was off, our sleeping schedule was off, and our frustration level was elevated!

Mobility!

On September 22, 2008 John decided to roll over from his back to his stomach.
While I was at the gym tonight (the 24th) he rolled from his back to his stomach and then back again!
Gone are the days that I can put him in his Boppy and walk away for a few minutes without worrying about him! Hopefully he stays in the roll over and then back mode for a while before he moves anymore!

Megan's Shoulder

When Megan was born she had a blister on her shoulder. The nurses and doctors thought that it was a sucking blister and told us it should go away on it's own. When the blister healed and the scab fell off there was an area on her shoulder that looked like a burn. When we took her for her 2 month check-up we filled her pediatrician in on what was happening with her shoulder. Since the time of her release from the hospital her shoulder had blistered three times and didn't seem
to be improving.

The pediatrician sent us to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist didn't want to do a biopsy because she was so small. He also felt that he knew what the problem was. His initial diagnosis was that it was simply where her skin did not fully form. We were sent home with a special soap and told to put Aquaphor on it twice daily. It should heal quickly. The spot continued to blister.


We went back to the dermatologist to get the area checked and were told that because it continued to blister it was not simply the opening in the skin as he originally thought. Megan had to have a biopsy so that we would finally be able to determine what was happening with her tiny little shoulder. Then we would be able to treat it properly.









This is a shot of her shoulder bandaged up after the biopsy.




The diagnosis..... Cutaneous Mastocytosis.....the dermatologist said that the epidermis shows mild irregular acanthosis and hyperkeratosis.....(still not exactly sure what it all means, so not going to try to explain it to you until I do)



What do we do....we have been referred to an allergist to see if we can get it taken care of....we will keep you posted!

4 months old

John and Megan are 4 months old!


Here are our stats:


Megan's weight and length: 9 lbs 5.5 oz and 21 1/4 inches long

John's weight and length: 11 lbs 5.5 oz and 23 1/2 inches long

Megan is in the 5th percentile for length, weight, and head circumference...on the preemie chart

John is in the 50th percentile for preemies.

The nurse practitioner said that they looked great and that they were doing certain things that 3-4 month olds should be doing! (Technically they should only be doing stuff 2 1/2 month olds can do). She also said that not only is Megan small, but that she was tiny compared to other babies born 6 weeks early.

Getting bigger!

John and Megan are approaching 4 months of age.

John is getting to be a big boy, but Megan is still pretty small.

Megan is wearing newborn clothes and diapers now!

John is able to wear quite a few 0-3 months clothes, but most of his pants are still newborn.

They love to be near each other! When we lay them next to each other it is not uncommon for them to hold onto each other (at times hitting or kicking)! It is really cute when we notice them holding hands. We hoped that they would like each other and think that signs are pointing towards a positive relationship between the two!

Spending time with cousins

We are lucky that John and Megan have been able to meet all 6 of their cousins already.

We spent a week with Roger, Sara, and kids over the 4th of July and a few days with Tammy, Nick, and kids a few weeks before.

All of the kids were awesome with the babies and I wish that we lived closer!

Spending time with grandparents!

John and Megan love spending time with their grandparents and great-grandparents!

Play time!

I love the smiles!

Pictures of Megan in the hospital

Enjoy these pictures of Megan.