Ari's MRI Results

We got the reults back on Ari's MRI (1/07/09), and I can't say that it's anything new. Dr. Kara Lewis (Ari's Peds Neurologist) told us that the MRI just showed that there is no active blood in the brain any longer. It is consistent with the previous MRI that she had when she was about two weeks old in that it showed scarring on the brain where the blood previously existed. She said that while the brain can't really be mapped, the areas of grey matter that were affected typically correspond to delays in motor development (particularly gross motor) and trouble with planning. She also said that because the scarring is so close to the grey matter of her brain, Ari will be suseptible to seizures. While all this comes as no surprise to us, and I usually try to live by the old adage "no news is good news", I can't say that I wasn't the teensiest bit bummed that there were no miraculous improvements -- I'm always holding out hope.

Hearing about Ari's brain "trauma" and "injury" always kind of make me re-regret my decision to have a natural delivery over a C-section with the twins. It just haunts me that my choice may have turned an otherwise healthy, normal baby girl into one with a lifetime of trials ahead of her. Many friends have been talking me out of these thoughts by kindly but firmly reminding me that 'everything happens for a reason', and that we may have dodged an even bigger bullet by choosing the path we did --( i.e. who knows if something worse could have happened to either of the twins or to me during a C-section?). I am grateful for these voices of reason. And seeing as though no one got me a time machine to go back two years for Christmas, I'm going to try my darndest to adopt this theory.

4 Years

January 6th was Jacob's and my four year anniversary. They have been a great and eventful four years. On the one hand, time has slipped by. On the other hand, we've accomplished so much and had so many amazing experiences that many people don't come by in a lifetime. In the last four years, we've had two homes; we traveled together to Cozumel, Kauai, Aruba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Maldives; we started our own business; we struggled with infertility and went through fertility treatments; we had three beautiful, amazing children; we have undergone grave trials pertaining to health and financial setbacks... and through all the ups and the downs, we are still in love. It has been a wild and wonderful ride. We have tested the limits of for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and in sickness and in health. And that's all just in the first four years.

Jacob and I celebrated our anniversary by going to dinner at Windows on the Green at The Phoenician resort. We ate a six course dinner, and every bite was pure gourmand heaven. It was our first night out without any babies in a long time (thanks to Isabella's new sleeping schedule), which made the evening that much more novel.

I love my smart, funny, caring, compassionate, witty, adventurous, playful, hardworking, SEXY husband, Jacob.

Weekend Outings

We love to spend our Saturdays out and about doing family fun kinds of things. With this beautiful weather (mostly in the 60's during the day), these days are no exception. Last weekend, we went to Freestone Park to ride on the Desert Breese Railroad in Gilbert. Gabe was in little boy heaven from the minute he saw the train. Upon realizing that we were going to ride it, he fell into an awestruck trance (similar to Christmas morning). I kept asking him questions like, "What are we riding on?", "What sound does a train make?", and "What is that animal on the pond?". He would answer me in a reverent whisper "train," "choo choo, " "duck," and so on. Ariana smiled and waved the entire time like she was in the Miss America parade. Gabe also got to ride on the horse on the carousel, and he did not want to get off. It is so fun to see their little spirits light up like that. They help me rediscover the joy in life's simplest pleasures.


This weekend, we went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Although this was more for our pleasure than the kids' (we love Dale Chiluly's blown glass masterpieces), they still really enjoyed the stroll in the fresh air and all the beautiful colored glass balls and swirls. We had a lot of fun, especially with Aunt Marci accompanying us.

It's a Brand New Year

In the past, I haven't made a habit of setting resolutions at the start of a new year. This isn't because I'm against them or because I would knowingfully break them. Rather, it had more to with me just forgetting what they were. Now that I'm blogging and I have a way to reference them whenever I need to, I have no excuse but to make them, put them in writing, and solidly commit. And since I have to make up for lost time, I have a few.

1. I am going to get in shape and stay in shape. This is so cliche, but I mean business. I am going to get killer abs, triceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Not to mention, that I want to kick start my endurance so I can go on runs and hikes with Jake without having to whine at him to wait for me. Jake and I are on week 2 of our P90X workout series (out of 15 weeks), and I LOVE it.


2. In line with getting in shape, my goal is to improve my posture. This has been really in need of attention since I was a slumping teenager, but in my rebellion, I've put it off until now.


3. I am going to work on scaling back my long-windedness and improving upon brevity. I need to start applying the concept of 'less is more' in conversations. This does not apply to my blog, which I love for its attention to detail (when reflecting on past events). It only goes for spoken dialogue.


4. I want to start speaking more sweetly to my husband. Jake is a great husband, and I love him, but sometimes I sound like I'm barking at him when I don't mean to. In my defense, I guess I can sometimes be too empassioned, and come off sounding like an overenthusiastic parent in the stands at a little league game. You know they mean well (and they're not actually mad) -- they just get way too excited. Same goes for me; need to scale back on the urgency.


5. Last but not least, I want to get prepared to get sealed as a family in the temple.
   

Of course, I have so many new years wishes, but those are my resolutions; the things that I can control.

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my family on New Years Day. Gabe & Ari would rather ham it up for the camera than eat dinner.

Ariana's MRI

On January 7, Ariana had her second MRI since birth. This MRI was intended to follow up her latest seizure on October 30th. She was supposed to get it done in the hospital, but her appointment kept getting pushed back, so we elected to do it outpatient. This was also Ariana's second time under general anesthesia. Ari was a trooper throughout the whole thing. She didn't like getting her vitals checked prior to the MRI or having the gas mask on her face, but she woke up peacefully, and did really well the rest of the day. We should get the results back in about a week.

Ari's AFO Casting

January 5th, Ariana and I went to get casts made for her AFOs. The leg braces are custom fit to her, so that's why we do the casting. Anyway, it was a painless procedure in the physical sense, but that isn't to say that Ariana wasn't mentally traumatized. Turns out, ever since her latest stint in the hospital back in November, she has become afraid of medical personnel. I can't say that I blame her. But I was feeling sorry for the poor guy who casted her, because Ariana screamed bloody murder the entire hour. She only paused to take those few and far between gasps of air in order to resume screaming. What ticked her off about him? Well, she was initially suspicious of the scrubs, but the big purple rubber gloves were what ultimately terrified her. Each time he put them on or took them off, she'd lose it all over again. Poor girl. The big finale was when he took out the electric saw and proceeded to use it to cut her cast off. That even made me nervous. As for Ari, you'd have thought he was cutting her leg off the way she reacted.

Anyway, it was sad, but kind of funny too in an over-the-top kind of way (considering all that screaming was for nothing). I tried to console her thoughout the casting, but she would have nothing to do with it. I even brought her favorite snack: berry cereal bars. She threw them at me. Oh, well. And I, of course, don't have pictures. That would just be awful. Hopefully, it will go better next time (when her feet outgrow them and she needs new ones). As for this pair, we'll get them in about a week and a half from now. They're white with black Dalmation spots.

December Milestones

The month of December was for us, as I'm sure it was for most of you, crazy busy. Between preparing for the holidays and going out to spend time with friends and family, there never seemed to be an idle moment, especially for the kids. In December, Gabriel and Ariana turned 22 months old, and Isabella turned 3 months old. Here is a review of some new things that Gabriel, Ariana, and Isabella are up to this month . (P.S. I have my work cut out for me, because I'm writing all three kids' milestones in one huge post. Sorry to all those making an attempt at reading this -- it's not short).

Gabe has been really active, as usual. He still very much enjoys going to the park and frequently requests the outing. He's getting really good at going down the slide by himself (without wiping out at the bottom), and can climb up all the playground steps without any help. Gabe is just beginning to figure out how to jump. A couple of times, I let him jump on the sofa just so he could feel the "lift off" sensation when he sprang up. One last gross motor acheivement he's made is getting into the carseat on his own. Granted, I sometimes give him a little boost as he's struggling to climb up, but for the most part, he gets there by himself. I have to say, this has been a relief, because Gabe's carseat is in the back row of the minivan, and it takes a bit of maneuvering to squeeze back there while lifting him into his carseat. It's much easier on the lower back to only have to buckle him in.

Gabe is still really interested in practicing his letters and numbers. Although the idea of there being two different symbols for every letter in the alphabet is still a confusing idea for him (upper and lower case), Gabe has moved on to discovering phonics. For Christmas, Gabe got a Leapfrog Letter Factory phonics DVD, and he will watch the heck out of that thing. He understands that each letter makes a sound, and he's getting really good at putting each sound to its respective letter. It's still very much a work in progress, but he's getting there, and he loves it. Gabe's also learning to count -- not just rote counting from memory, but really understanding how many of something there is. As in, he knows we have two hands and five fingers on each hand. One of Gabe's favorite games is to identify people by name. I'm always kind of impressed by this, because he frequently can tell you what someone's name is after only hearing it once or by overhearing it being used in conversation. Same goes for animal or vehicle sounds; often I don't even remember teaching him the things he seems to know. Like when I tried to stump him the other day by asking him what sound a rabbit makes (here I'm thinking that I don't even know this). He paused a second then said "hop, hop" and jumped as he said this. He's a pretty observant kid. He's the one finding the "green light" on the smoke detector, the "red octagon" at the stop sign, or the "star" on someone's tiny tattoo. It's a neat perspective.

Gabe has gotten a tiny bit better about hitting and throwing, but I know as soon as I finish typing this sentence it will probably change again. Screaming behavior is still in full force... and so is the whining. But believe me, I'm very grateful for his sweet and fun times, and there are many -- not complaining at all.

Gabe's communication is improving vastly all the time. He is becoming much more comprehensible and he is increasingly combining words to make 3 or more word sentences. It is no longer such a struggle for him to say the things that he wants as opposed to signing and whining. If I had to choose my two favorite things that he says now, it would have to be "me, me, me, me!" (in response to 'who wants to eat?' or other like querie) and drumroll... wait for it... "Luvoo" (yes, as in 'I love you'!). I'm in love.

I've started introducing the fork and spoon at mealtimes. It's going okay. Forking makes more sense to him than scooping. He is still attempting to scoop by smashing his food with the back of his spoon. He gets the food in his mouth pretty consistently. It might take some time, but we're getting there. And truthfully, I'm glad I waited till now, when he's more coordinated, to persue this, because I don't like messes that much.

This month, Gabe likes: Christmas lights, car rides, the park, letters, numbers, CARS (his collection of matchbox cars is dwindling one by one because he hoards and hides them), getting tickled, his videos, medicine droppers, Ari & Bella (yay!), steak & orange juice (and other foods -- these are only the new ones), geting tickled, hamming it up for the camera, showering with Daddy, his ball pit, and his tumbling mat.

This month, Gabe dislikes: getting dressed, being put down by Daddy, when he doesn't get his way (i.e. get to watch his movie or get to tote his blankie around), and having to interrupt playtime (i.e. to eat, go home).

Ariana is making improvements, but as usual, they are more subtle. She is still rolling to get around. Only now, she is making some efforts to bring her knees up under her to get into a crawl position. When she does this, she usually gets really excited, and in her excitement, she rolls over (thereby leaving the crawl position). Ariana is also sitting for much much longer periods without support. It is pretty amazing how long she can sit if she is focusing. When Ari is concentrating really hard on something, she sticks her little tongue out. In speech therapy, we are trying to teach her the command "tongue in", so she is more aware of it. As you can imagine, with all that time spent with her tongue out (in combination with low oral motor coordination due to the CP), Ari still drools quite a bit. We used to just use a cloth bib to save her shirts, but we trying a new approach now that she's older. We've been telling her to "wipe your mouth," which she does using her little hot pink and turquoise blue wrist sweatbands that our Occupational and Speech Therapists bought for her. Ari responds to both requests by putting her hand in her mouth (essntially pointing to her mouth or tongue), and this works well enough, because the tasks get accomplished in the process. But back to the topic of sitting for extended periods, it's really neat, because I often forget how long she's been sitting there without any support. I've stopped counting the minutes and seconds. She can even play with a toy while she's sitting there. What's still hard for Ariana is sitting somewhere that only provdes minimal support or poor support, such as a restaurant highchair, grocery cart, or even her stroller if she isn't strapped in. Her Physical Therapist explained to me that this is because Ariana only has trunk control in a complete sitting or foward sitting position -- not on the different grades of leaning positions. Therefore, if she attempts to utilize any minimal support provided (like a low back in a grocery cart), she loses control, and reverts to her extension patterns. It's just a matter of time before Ari will get strong enough to support herself in these enviroments too. Once she fully masters sitting, we can start working on reaching up and to the sides while in the sitting position. Practically all of our physical therapy excersises work on strengthening her trunk to these ends (and ultimately, for walking).

While Ariana has always been very expressive, she's recently become even more so. We have adapted ways of communicating with each other, because she is currently nonverbal. When I ask her if she wants something and the answer is 'yes', she'll grin widely, clasp her hands together, raise her eyebrows, and kick her legs. If it's 'no', she'll throw her arm out as if to say 'get it away' (it's similar to the ASL sign for 'all done'). She also has sounds that accompany these gestures. Ariana loves to imitate people. She does back-and-forth turn taking with making sounds, and she often comes close to approximating what someone is trying to get her to say. She tries so hard, it's really adorable. We are working on identifying objects with pointing (i.e. "which one is the doggy?") as well as trying to incorporate some simple sign language and gesturing (i.e. clapping, signing 'please', and pointing to body parts -- which she loves!).

Ari is still eating poorly. She improved for about a week. Now, not so much. Her appetite is so fickle. One day she loves a food, and the next day, she acts like it's poison. Sometimes, her preferences change from one bite to the next. Oh, and I put Ariana back on breast milk. Other than the fact that it's the healthiest thing she gets in her diet, I have many reasons. She is constipated chronically, and while the breastmilk doesn't seem to be helping this, it's not making it worse either (like cow's milk). I am hoping that the antibodies will help boost her weak immune system. This past week, Gabe got sick (bad sick) and Ari and Bella missed it (so far!). Lastly, I have an oversupply, and Isabella won't take a bottle to save her life. So, I was pumping and storing every night for no reason until Ari started drinking it. Waste not, want not.

This month, Ariana likes: pointing to her hair, being called "pretty", being sung to and singing into her microphone, telephones, remote controls, toys that make sounds or light up, getting tickled, watching Gabe get tickled, sweet foods, her ball pit, sliding down slides at the park, getting makeup put on (yes, really), and when people talk in silly voices or make funny faces.

This month, Ariana dislikes: going to bed, eating foods that are not sweet, when Gabe screams or takes away her toys, when she is sitting for too long, being left out, and not getting what she wants (i.e. the phone, to shred the magazine).

On December 27, Isabella turned three months! I can't believe it. I am loving this stage though (no surprise, seeing as though she is my most easy baby). There have already been so many new developments in the last week, but I'm saving them for next month's post, because I told myself I would stick to December milestones only, or this post will go on for days. Anyway, Bella was 14 lbs. at 3 months old. She is a chunky baby, and I love it. She has about five rolls on each leg and three chins. I told you -- she loves to eat.

This month, Isabella has been cooing and smiling and laughing. She has only belly laughed a handful of times, so far, but it was so cool when she did. Luckily, Jake and I both got to witness her first laugh. Isabella is very personable, and will socialize with anyone that makes eye contact with her. I wish I was talking to her right now instead of typing this post because she is just so tempting. Bella also loves to squeal. I think she enjoys the sound of her own squeals as much as I do, because she can entertain herself pretty well just doing that.

Isabella has been getting so much stronger. She can now pull her head up when she's on her tummy. I have to say that tummy time is still no walk in the park for her though. She gets pretty fussy, and doesn't like to stay there for long. I really think this has something to do with the fact that her tummy is just so huge that she is essentially balancing on it and supporting her whole body weight on her belly alone (I guess it doesn't help that she's doing this with only one forearm and hand). Naturally, much pooping and spitting up ensues in this position. Doesn't sound too comfortable, huh? Bella still perfers to be on her back, kicking happily, or in a propped up sitting position on the couch. The more people she can see from her vantage point, the happier she is. Which leads me into my next announcement that she has enough head and trunk strength to sit propped up, whether it be against the couch back or for a couple minutes in the boppy pillow.

Isabella has also been grabbing at her toys recently. I messed with her swing by dangling a rattle from some links across the top, and she's been having at it. At first, I thought it was a fluke that she wound up with the rattle in her hand. But after subsequent repetitions of this rattle and link shaking behavior, I realized that she was, in fact, playing with it!

Isabella's schedule has been getting more regular. She still eats every three to four hours during the day (I try to feed her often when given the opportunity, so she won't be hungry at night), and she seems to be taking three naps. Normally, they aren't long naps (more that an hour), unless I wrap her in the swaddle blanket. Speaking of the swaddle blanket or miracle blanket: can I just say that I highly recommend it? I'm going to preface this next statement by saying that I'm aware that Bella could shift on me at any time (please, don't sweetie), but Isabella has been consistently sleeping through the night. Starting at a little after two months old, Isabella has been sleeping from 8:30 or 9 PM to as late as 8:30 AM. Yes, she has gone a full 12 hours many a night. Granted, sometimes, she wakes up at 6:30 AM, but not usually. After we put the twins to bed, I nurse Bella and then wrap her snug in her swaddle blanket, put her in her crib, turn on her womb sounds teddy bear and her mobile, and walk away. She'll watch her mobile and then peacefuully fall asleep. In the morning, she wakes up cooing. I know. I am very lucky. My baby is sooo nice, and she clearly loves me. All this does not mean that I sleep 12 hours -- I don't. But my baby would allow it, and that's all that matters.

This month, Isabella likes: being in a sitting position, when people talk to her, sucking her fingers, watching Gabe and Ari, mirrors, her mobile, eating, and taking baths.

This month, Isabella dislikes: having sleep or feedings interrupted, being surprised, and the hour betwwen 7 and 8 PM. And that's about it.