What's New at 17 Months Old

I tend to treat at my blog as if it were my journal. I like to keep a record of the little things that we do and experience as a family that I might not remember when I'm 50... or in a couple months when I'm making their annual scrapbooks. Besides the vacation, which was an obvious one, this month was full of small developments and new acheivements. Every day, I see my kids grow up a tiny bit more, and it fills me with a mix of excitement, nostalgia, and a little sadness at how quickly time passes.

This month, Gabriel is getting into everything (as if I thought he'd discovered everything last month!). He cannot enter a room without leaving it in shambles before he departs. Gabe is my little chatterbox -- he is constantly babbling sentences and asking us questions that we can't quite understand yet. He has a vocabulary of about 25 words; including his latest "bird," "blankie," "bear," and "car." He is constantly imitating any sounds he hears around him, especially funny noices and laughter. He likes to talk about things as he's pointing at them. He plays games and loves to laugh at Ariana (they are getting to be such great friends!). He is willing to share all of his toys, food, and sippy cups with her. Whenever I put cereal on his tray and not hers (because she can't feed it to herself yet), he lovingly puts one on her tray every time he eats one. He willingly gives her one toy after another when asked. He loves to socialize and has no inhibitions whatsoever -- Jake and I can't hardly recognize him, because we were both so shy as children. Gabe will go up to any child (he prefers older kids) and say "hi" and wave and start babbling and laughing as soon as he makes eye contact. I love that he loves people! He is so affectionate -- loving to give hugs and kisses. Gabe loves typical boy things like cars (he pretends nearly all of his toys are cars and zooms them across the floor), playing catch with balls, making a mess with his sippy cup, a being roughhoused by Daddy. He tries repeatedly to somersault, but always falls to the side. He is also very focused and can concentrate for long periods of time on one activity, such as matching shapes in a puzzle, putting pegs in a pegboard, building towers with blocks, or putting little balls down his rolly ball ramp. I frequently find him "reading" books in a corner aloud to himself. He can take off his shoes and tries to put Ariana's on. Gabe can identify body parts (ear, tongue, teeth, nose, hand, foot, belly button) and can name one... can you guess which? He is learning animals and can name three. He likes to scribble with pens (on the couch) and with his magnadoodle. Gabe is starting to learn to use a spoon at mealtime. Like last month, Gabe is getting a little more demanding of attention. Whenever Ari is sitting on my lap, he will try to push her off or sit on her lap. This will definitely be a challenge when the third baby is vying for her spot on my lap too! Ever since our vacation, Gabe is getting so attached to Daddy. He wants Daddy to tuck him in and he throws and all out tantrum whenever Jake leaves the room or the house to go to work. Gabe is now getting to be very aware of what is right and wrong. When he repeatedly does something that he's told not to do, he will throw a temper tantrum and have to spend a minute in time-out. It's very odd, but it seems like Gabe likes time out, because he quits crying the second he's facing the corner and he often peaks over his shoulder and grins at us, trying to get us to smile back. When the minute is over, he always runs over and gives us a hug and a kiss. I love this boy, and I feel so lucky to have him in my family.

Gabe loves to play catch with Chewy.Gabe had a blast playing the games at Peter Piper Pizza. His favorite was bowling, as you can tell by the crazed look on his face.Gabe got to bond with his Uncle Ryan. While Ariana has not had as many formal skill developments, she has definitely grown and is seeming more mature and like a big girl every day. Ari loves to use her left hand -- she claps with it to music, waves (and says "hiiiii!"), splashes in the water, feeds herself (large foods like bread, green beans, chunks of cheese), reaches and grabs toys, scratches and pulls my hair when she's frustrated with me, and so much more. She belly laughs and plays games with Gabriel anytime they're together (especially in highchairs & carseats). Her favorite games are peek-a-boo and word play nursery rhymes (like "itsy bitsy spider"). Ari has a keen awareness of her surroundings and a great sense of humor. She laughs at almost any incongruity (even the most subtle ones). Ariana is getting to be more and more vocal. She frequently babbles sentences with many different consonants. When she wants to get my attention, she'll yell "mamamama." She will also ask for food by shoving her chest out, waving her hand, and saying "eh eh eh." She loves to play with whatever Gabe has and wants more and more to be treated like he is. She loves to practice drinking out of a sippy cup (she brings it to her mouth with the handle but only chews the spout) and use a spoon. Although Ari's expressive vocabulary isn't where Gabe's is yet (she says three words), she understands most of what we say. When we ask her a question to which her answer is 'yes', she will nodd her head vigorously. She is also very responsive to direction. While sitting in her highchair or practicing sitting independently, Ari sometimes slouches foward or to her right. When I ask her to "sit up please," she corrects herself to an upright position and smiles at us. She also likes to take her sweet time when drinking her bottle. When she is getting distracted, I simply say "Ari, drink your milk" and she gets right on it. Ari is eating all kinds of regular foods -- pretty much anything we eat as long as it's room temperature, and she hasn't had baby foods in over a month. She can take her hat and sunglasses off, throw her toys, and turn the pages of her books. When we put objects in her right hand (her weaker hand), she will use them functionally (brush her hair, feed herself, attempt to push a ball). Ariana is getting so close to sitting, and although it is a gradual process, I now have no doubt that she will get there. I am so proud of my baby girl. Her sweet angelic (and sassy!) spirit keeps me strong. She is my sunshine.My princess is all smiles.Bowling with Grammy.

Vacation in Dominican Republic

We just got back from our vacation late Monday night. We had so much fun, and I am SO glad that we went. The break was much needed, and it was everything that I had hoped it would be. My prayers were answered (finally)!
We left on Monday, July 14th early in the morning and caught the first plane (Southwest) out to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I say we "caught" it because we were flying standby on buddy passes (yes, we're brave!). We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale after a six hour flight and immediately checked in to the Ramada that we were staying at for the night. Our flight from Florida to the Dominican didn't leave until the following evening. The kids did so well on the flight -- I was shocked! No crying the whole way there! They ate lunch on the plane, took a 2 1/2 hr. nap, and played with all the little dollar store toys that I bought them for the trip. Like every flight we took, we were lucky enough to have a full row to ourselves, so Gabriel got to sit in the middle seat between Jake and I (even though technically he was supposed to be a "lap child" and we were flying "nonrevenue" a.k.a. lowest priority). We didn't spend much time at the Ramada in Florida other than to sleep. That evening for dinner and the next day for lunch we were visited by my Uncle Bruce, Aunt Cindy, and cousin David. It had been four years since I last saw Uncle Bruce and 11 since seeing the others. Jake and I had so much fun just catching up with them. On Tuesday evening, we began the next leg of our journey. We took a two and a half hour flight (Spirit Airlines) to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Then, we rode another 2 hours by taxi to the resort, which was in La Romana. This was a bummer only because it was an extra $100 each way that we hadn't budgeted, but the babies were angels the whole ride.
We arrived at our resort, called the Sunscape Casa del Mar, late Tuesday evening. Our newly renovated room on the first floor (for the stroller) with two cribs was ready for us when we arrived. We were so pleasantly surprised by everything, because we were in the habit of never expecting things to go that smoothly :). The weather was perfect every day we were there -- always sunny and consistently in the high 80's. The babies slept great in their cribs, which surprised us as well, since they normally are used to having a room each to themselves. From that day foward for the rest of the week, we had such a relaxing and fun time. Jake realized that it was the first week that he got to spend with the babies uninterrupted since they were born. The babies napped well, ate well, and had such a great time playing in the water with all the other kids. I am so glad that they got to have those experiences -- I feel that it was so enriching to them to have the socialization and break from routine. Gabe made tons of friends and loved to practice "swimming" in the one foot shallow part of the pool (he would crawl on his hands, floating his legs and rear as he moved) and jumping into the deep end (into our arms). Ariana perfected her waving -- she now waves and grins every time someone waves at her or says 'hi'. Gabe and Ari loved the beach and the pool. They would often fall asleep right there in our arms. The resort itself was really nice. The grounds were beautiful and perfectly manicured. There were flamingoes and palms of every variety. The food was not the best, but as I've said before, I can be hard to please when it comes to food. There was so much variety to choose from, though, that everyone was satisfied.Although this trip was definitely a family vacation, and by no means a romantic getaway, Jake and I did get to have some time to ourselves each day. Since our room was on the first floor and only a couple yards away from the pool, Jake and I would put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and sneak out the balcony to have a swim during naptime, alternating checking on the twins every five minutes. This worked perfectly, and we were usually done with our break before the babies were finished napping. Jake also got to go scuba diving three mornings that we were there. Although I didn't get to go with him (because I'm pregnant), I was really glad he got some time to do what he is passionate about.Although we were sad to leave, we knew that it was time to get back to normal life. The way home was probably the roughest part of the trip, but even then it was surprisingly hassle-free. We did travel for 20 hours straight, waking up at 1 AM and not arriving home until 10 PM. Gabe had a couple 15-minute crying spells in the airport, but the plane rides were pretty easy thanks to a baby dose of benadryl and our portable DVD player. I am so thankful that this trip was a success. We prepared as best we could and then we just had to relax and trust that things would fall into place. And fall into place they did. It was very liberating to feel like we are now able to travel with our kids and still hang on to a little bit of adventurous spirit. Now, my only regret is that I didn't take nearly enough pictures (tear*).

Anti-Thrombin III Update

When I arrived home from vacation, I was greeted by a slew of messages from my doctors (my OB & Perinatologist/Geneticist), who both apparently forgot that I was in the Dominican Republic. Between the two of them, they left me about two messages for every day that I was away. In my experience, it is a rare thing to get that much concern from health care professionals. In the messages, the doctors kept using terms like "urgent," "critical," "serious," and "rare condition." They would repeatedly ask my voicemail, "where are you??" and tell me that it was very important that I call them back "right away." Needless to say, I felt a little stressed about the whole thing. When I got ahold of my doctor, he seemed relieved to be reminded that I was just on vacation and that no tragedy had befallen me. He only confirmed that I do, in fact, have a serious case of an Anti-Thrombin III deficiency, which is the most serious and fatal of all the clotting disorders. He told me that because of the rarity and seriousness of the disorder, he and my other physician who are both perfectly qualified to treat me, would prefer that I go to a third physician in Scottsdale for my treatment (I'm assuming just to cover their you know whats). I will be receiving a high therapeutic dose of heparin for the remainder of my pregnancy as well as a baby aspirin regimine, possibly followed by coumadin treatment post-pregnancy. To clarify, this and my other clotting disorders are not specific to my pregnancy, as I may have indicated previously. My "condition" will remain the same after I deliver and for the rest of my life, as this is a genetic disorder that we were only fortunate enough to discover now, because of the pregnancy complications. Anyway, the good news is that I still feel really good, and I'm still loving this pregnancy.
Here are my 29 week belly pics:

Week 27 Pregnancy Update

I just got my 27 week ultrasound yesterday. I have to say that there is one benefit to having a "high risk" pregnancy, and that is that I get to check up on my baby every couple of weeks. Yesterday was also a follow-up appointment with my Perinatologist (high risk pregnancy doctor) & Geneticist about my lab work results. As it turns out, there was some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first? Here's the good news: my MTHFR mutation is not likely to cause any major harm to myself or the baby, given that my homocysteine levels were low and my folic acid levels were high enough. With low homocysteine levels, I'm not at an increased risk of clotting due to the MTHFR. Therefore, on its own, the MTHFR does not warrant any treatment with blood thinners, during or after pregnancy. My only instructions were to continue to take folic acid every day for the rest of my life. Not bad.
Now, the bad news: as it turns out, I also tested positive for what is known as Antithrombin III Deficiency. Antithrombin III (AT-III) is a protein made in the liver. It inhibits coagulation and limits the forming of blood clots. A shortage of AT-III affects the normal process of coagulation and can lead to excessive blood clotting. Patients with AT-III deficiency may have thromboembolic problems that begin in early adulthood. Clots forming in the legs and pulmonary embolism are the most common. Pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, and surgery may contribute to the thromboembolic event. My physician informed me that, of all the clotting disorders that are known today, Antithrombin III is, by far, the most serious and life-threatening. There is a 50% chance of me forming a serious venous or arterial blood clot in my lifetime. Because the treatment for this disorder would be require heparin (blood thinner) injections for the remaining duration of my pregnancy and possibly a long-term treatment with blood thinners (Coumadin) following pregnancy, my physician requested a retest to be certain that I do, in fact, have the disorder. Unfortunately, she was given no reason to believe that I don't have it, based on my results.
And, I'll end on a good note. Isabella is growing great. She weighs two pounds, and she is right on track for her gestation. She's also beautiful, although the pictures don't do her justice because she was moving when they were taken.

Isabella's middle name

After much deliberation, we finally settled on a middle name for Isabella. We went through something similar with figuring out Ariana's middle name, because while Jake and I both agree that we like Mediterranean sounding first names (although all three of my children's names have Hebrew origins), Jake veers sharply towards French & old English middle names, and I well... don't. Jake was pretty insistent on Clarice for Ariana's middle name, and I contested it fiercly, so we settled on Elise (which is a variation of my name and also rhymes with Clarice). For Isabella's middle name, Jake's top picks were Cosette, Corinne, Lisette, Corinna, Marina, & Simone. Mine were Madeline, Emme, Chloe, Jolie, & Simone. Neither of us would budge on either of ours. The other day, I ran across a name that I have always liked, and I just knew that Jake would love: Juliet. I also knew that if I acted like I was too excited about it, he would turn it down. So, I did what most savvy women do when they want their way... I presented the name and acted like I couldn't care less either way -- so it could be his choice. Needless to say, our new daughter's full name will now be Isabella Juliet Taylor. So pretty!

What's New at 16 Months Old

I can't believe the kids are already 16 months old! I find myself still saying that they're 15 months whenever anyone asks me their age. This month is already a fun month for us, despite the opressive heat. First of all, Ariana has cut some new teeth, giving her a total of 10 with another two on the way (Gabe has over 12 already, but I'm afraid to check on the exact number, because he likes to bite off my fingertips). Maybe it was Ariana's extra teeth or maybe it was the teeth brushing helping to desensitize her mouth (yes, we barely started teeth brushing on a regular basis, because Ari has resisted it for so long), but Ariana is now eating only solid table foods like a champ! She is so good at it -- she almost eats as much as Gabe does at each meal. She doesn't like warm temperature foods and still can't chew chunky or shredded meats very well, but other than that, you would never know that the sight of a solid food headed towards her mouth used to make her gag & cry just four short months ago. This girl has come so far! I am so proud of her! Another thing is that Ariana is doing a lot better with sitting. It is a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless. Ari can now sit for up to two or three minutes, instead of one minute like last month (or 15-30 seconds in previous months). Of course, she still has "off" days, but we have seen a definite overall improvement over time. We have three more months till Isabella gets here -- come on Ari, I know you can do it (sit independently)! Ari is also being a lot more vocally expressive. She was always social, but now she frequently tries to get attention with her voice and babbling. We also transitioned the kids down to one nap per day, as of Saturday. We had to do it abruptly, so as to make it possible to coordinate all of our four therapists' schedules, but it is going okay so far. Based on the past three days, the kids would prefer to sleep three to four hours in the middle of the day, but that's not usually possible with all the therapy visits. It's also pretty hard to get in my shower and morning routine with Gabe clammoring up my leg and Ari whining because she dropped her toy. But, in the long run, I'm sure that it will be for the best (at least we'll be able to get out a little more & we won't be stuck in the room all day on vacation).
Last but not least, Ariana is getting weaned off her Phenobarbitol. Per doctor's orders, we switched her down to 2.5 ml twice daily (versus 3 ml before) two Thursdays ago, and this Thursday, she'll move down another .5 ml to 2 ml twice daily. Although we will still be on Phenobarb on vacation, we are moving steadily down, and it won't be long now until my baby is medicine-free (except for folic acid, which isn't a drug). Gabe is also moving right along. He speed walks (not quite running, but close) -revised 7/4 Gabe is running! - all over the place, and gets into everything! He hides, throws balls, uses his words & sign language, and imitates everything everyone does. His favorite thing to imitate is people's laughter, and he's really good at it. When he hears someone laugh, he will often copy it immediately. It's his little way of feeling like he's "in" on the joke. His other favorite noise to make is the "ROAR" of a lion. He roars at us all the time. When he first sees me in the morning, he'll roar several times without being asked. Gabe is also gaining a love for cars, of all things. I don't know where he learned it, but he drives his little cars (from the Cheerios box!) all over the floor, saying "broom broom!". On Saturday, we went to 2 birthday parties (happy birthday Mylie & Saylee!), and we had a blast. The first was at a "splash pad", where there are little water features coming out of the ground at the park. Gabe and Ari had so much fun! Ari didn't stop smiling the whole time, being the true water baby that she is. It took Gabe a few minutes to warm up to the idea of water spraying in his face incessantly, but once he did, he was unstoppable. He ran back and forth, wading through the deep puddles in his little Crocs, squirt gun (that he doesn't know how to shoot) in hand, pointing and shouting with all the other 2 year olds. He acted like such a big kid that I could hardly recognize him! When it was time to leave, I carried him out to the pavilion, but he ran right back into the water, without so much as a backward glace. When I carried him out the second time, he threw a tantrum with kicks and screams and everything. Apparently, he doesn't think it's too early for the terrible twos. My babies are growing up!