Central Green, "...A Lasting Tribute..."

If you read my post earlier, you now know that I separated this part from it as it deserved its own attention.  On Saturday was the dedication of a new park in Jasper called "Central Green".  It is a passive park made up of benches, trees and fountains which are meant for children to play.  It is developed on land that used to be the old middle school (where both of my parents attended, as well as Phil, Mark, Courtney and I) and has been left vacant for many many years.  After months of having a very very small hand in the design, I could not believe how beautiful this park was.  Impressive is the word that comes to mind.  I didn't take pictures because I had a restless Diana or a restless Lilly in my arms the entire time, but I just copied all of Steph's, so THANK YOU STEPHANIE!  The Mayor and Superintendent acknowledged all those people who helped bring this park to fruition.  Tom also spoke more directly about my parents, and at the end of the ceremony surprised us with this:

It is a stone that is located right at the entrance to the park, and it is simply gorgeous.  There are no words to describe how grateful we are to have something so beautifully written in a place that we hope will be a big part of many children's lives.  I can't wait to show my kids this when they are old enough to understand.  And I can't wait to have a place to go that feels peaceful yet fun to remember my parents.  They were, afterall, extraordinary people who dedicated their lives to their children.  It all seems so perfectly fitting.

 The fountains

The crowd

 The mayor acknowledging all the people who this park was dedicated on behalf of.

Fr. Gary was there to do the blessing

Grandma Lila

Maureen and Grandma Burger

 Our fam

 I had to dress the little L & D in their L & D shirts as we prepared to dedicate a park to the late L & D




MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN CREATING SOMETHING MY PARENTS WOULD TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN.

Crash and Burn

That is exactly what I did when we got back to Indy yesterday.  The craziness of the past few weeks took its toll and I was more exhausted than I have been in a VERY long time.  So instead of getting our Christmas tree and putting up decorations, I let Matt watch the girls while I took the best 2 hour nap OF MY LIFE...without a single ounce of guilt whatsoever.  And then actually I took another nap when the girls took their nap, and once again, no guilt was found looming its angry head.

We had a nice Thanksgiving in Indy with all the Bajoreks minus Mary Beth and Brian who were definitely missed!  I couldn't help but think I was experiencing the most "normal" Thanksgiving in my 31 years of existence.  I mean, I realize a Thanksgiving feast of 60 people is not your typical family gathering...at least it's not for anyone but the Segers!  I definitely enjoyed the more intimate setting for a bit of a change.  Lilly and Diana's taste buds were on fire that night because they devoured the yummy kind of sweet potatoes (made with loads of sugar, of course), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn and of course turkey.  They had the happiest tummies on the block! 

You know I am tired when I didn't even try to get a cute pic of the girls together for their 1st Thanksgiving!

 Babci and Lilly

Dziadziu and Diana

 The girls' 1st Thanksgiving feast!

Then on Friday we headed down to Jasper.  Going to Jasper is not something I look upon with a ton of excitement, and usually the second we hit the 1st stop light I want to turn the car around and head back to my 'safe place' in Indy.  Phil compared our visits like a boxing match.  He and Courtney get delivered a thousand little punches as they are closer to home than Mark and I are and therefore have frequent reminders of what we've lost.  Mark and I get delivered about 3 or 4 big blows a year, as that is about as often as we come home now.  This trip was the 1st time we all decided to stay at Phil and Krista's house instead of tirelessly trying to bring life to my parents' house.  So, the biggest blow of the weekend came when we had to drive past my parents' house on our way to Phil and Krista's house.  It sucked - that's really the only word that comes to mind.  But, then we got to Phil and Krista's where there was sign of life..and open bottles of wine...and I immediately knew the decision had been made that we will start staying there from this point forward.  It is unquestionably easier in every single way.

Sometimes things are cuter than kids.  

JUST KIDDING!  But I did have to laugh at all the bottles of wine open considering there were only about two of us drinking it.

This year we also decided to start some new traditions of our own, and on Friday the men (Phil, Mark, and Matt) fried a turkey, which was delicious!!

 The men tending to the turkey fryer!

Meanwhile the kids are HUNGRY!

Then on Saturday was the dedication of Central Green which I wrote all about in a separate post.

We also managed to hit Allie and Haley's pinkalicious birthday party on Saturday!  Things were going great until it was hitting the girls' bedtimes, Diana slammed her head into the side of the pool table while Lilly smashed her finger, and Matt jetted off to the Jasper High School basketball game.  Luckily Kelly came in to save the night and got to experience first-hand what the bedtime routine with twins is all about!!

And onto today, we went to the pediatrician who said that Diana's finger seems to be healing perfectly!  Tomorrow morning we are off to the plastic surgeon, and then HOPEFULLY we can get back to some sense of normalcy around here!  But 1st we need BABY GATES!!!

Thanksgiving 2010: Full circle

I will try not to be all doom and gloom in the posts that will begin today and end after Christmas.  I thought about not posting at all, but this has become such a therapeutic outlet as well as a fun one, and so I post.

This is the time of year I have been dreading for nearly a year.  It is impossible not to enter today with sadness.  Afterall, my parents aren't here; last year they were.  Last year over this weekend was my babyies shower, and with that I think about my mom.  Can you think of someone with more strength than my mom?  Although her desire to be involved was huge, her energy was all too low.  She sat in the audience knowing that she likely would never meet the baby girls for who were to receive the gifts that I was opening in front of her. Cruelty at its greatest, I can't help but think.  And then there was my dad, who's strength was emblematic.  He managed to make it to the wildly chaotic Seger Family Thanksgiving (well over 50 people), although did not have enough energy to walk on his own.  And then I had to say goodbye to him on Sunday as we headed back up to Indy, and it tore me to pieces.  I walked away from my dad after giving him a hug while he was sitting in his chair.  Not 30 seconds later, he stood up, walked over to me and gave me the biggest hug I have ever received in my life, and then he patted my belly as to say "be strong for them."  It's something I think about a lot. I knew at that moment, everything was about to change.  And not more than a few hours later it had, as we received the phone call that my dad had been taken to the hospital.

When I look back on this weekend alone, I know exactly how my brothers, sister and I have managed to make it through the past year without completely giving up.  We inherited our strength from the two strongest people I have ever met.  We have no choice.  It's in our blood.

With all the sadness, there is still PLENTY more to be thankful for.  My husband and my HEALTHY kids, my brothers, sister, and in-laws, niece and nephews, the entire Burger/Seger family, the entire Bajorek family, and my wonderful friends.  Oh, and my dog.  How dare I forget that furry beast?!

We are celebrating Thanksgiving in Indy today with the Bajoreks.  My 1st Thanksgiving as hostess!  If there is ever a time I need my mom, it is TODAY!  She was the hostess with the mostess!  I royally suck in comparison.  Luckily I did not have to cook the turkey.  I can't even cook raw chicken breasts without vomiting in my mouth.  It will be a long time before I tackle a whole turkey.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

The table is set!  Bring on the turkey!

This is what you would find if you entered the Bajorek house on Thanksgiving morning.  Two little monkeys.

 Daddy keeps singing, "meeee and my monkeeeeees"

This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago, but I love it!  The girls got these adorable hats from their fellow twin cousins Melissa and Jenny!

Back at home! (Is this normal?)

So I just put both girls down for a nap, raced outside to remove the rotten pumpkins from our front porch (cross THAT off my mile-long to-do list!), checked the monitor to make sure the girls were down, noticed that Lil was sitting up, BUT her head kept bobbing up and down.  I turned the volume on to hear her cry, but no cry.  All of a sudden I realized she was sleeping...sitting up!!  I thought about going in there to lie her down, but then just kept watching the monitor to see what would happen, and you guessed it...her body gave in and she plopped right down and did not even wake up from the impact!  It is no surprise because this is a girl on the move! Did I mention she's crawling now?  Yup, started that while I was at the hospital with her sister and hasn't stopped since.  It was like she said, "Eat this, mom and dad!  Maybe next time you'll think twice before spending over a week with Diana while she is in the hospital with a terrible infection and being poked by needles all day long!"  Sorry Lil Bean.  We did miss your 1st crawl, but are sure someday you will understand!  And seriously, it did take you over 9 months to do this! :)

Things have been pretty hectic since coming home from the hospital and right now I need to be doing a thousand other things than blogging!  However, I couldn't leave ya'll hanging!

Diana is doing great!  Up until late yesterday things were ROUGH!  The only place she was happy was in our arms.  She wasn't sleeping.  She really had no interest in playing with her sister, or with anyone for that matter.  That 1st night was pretty rough as well - I compared it to bringing a newborn home for the 1st time.  A newborn and a 9 month old.  AWESOME!  (sarcasm, obviously.)  But, my little Diana pulled through yet again and last night slept all through the night (minus having to wake her up to give her meds).  I really think Diana is getting her groove back!  Even though the doctors told us it could be a week or two before she starts to feel 'safe' again, I really think we are about a day away from it.  I tell ya...this girl is a rock star!

We had our 1st follow-up appointment today with our pediatrician who had not seen Diana's finger since I brought her in the day before we landed in the hospital.  She couldn't believe how this all evolved (and she didn't even see it at its very worst.)  We definitely have another week or two before the finger heals completely.  Next week we visit the plastic surgeon so I will be interested to see what he thinks.

Other than the fact that we have only been home for two days, have two crawling babies, one who is a bit more needy and requires meds 6 times a day and constant attention to that little hand, about 4 suitcases that have yet to be unpacked, hosting our very 1st Thanksgiving, then leaving for a weekend in Jasper, on top of emotionally preparing for the tough weeks ahead (this coming weekend will be one year from when the journey with my parents commenced) ....THINGS HERE ARE GREAT!!  Ha!  They really are great and we are SO happy and feel very fortunate to be at home and back to a relatively normal way of life!  (This, for us, is normal!)

I will leave you with a little video of Lil crawling and what you can now find at the Bajorek household...

 

GOING HOME TODAY (insert one thousand exclamation points!)

We are waiting for the official discharge from the nurses but all doctors agreed that little Diana is ready!  We could not be any happier right now. :)

Come on, mom!!!  Let's blow this joint!!!

Diana + Lilly reunion!

Phil, Krista, Addie, Courtney, Mark & Steph all came to visit and brought Lilly with them!  I had visions of Lilly and Diana getting so excited once they saw each other so we wanted to capture it on video.  Well, it didn't go exactly as planned.  Actually, Diana pretty much broke my heart as she sat there nearly expressionless except for the tears that welled up in her eyes but absolutely no cry or whimper came out of her whatsoever.  It was by far the saddest eyes I have ever seen in my entire life.  I don't know if she was overwhelmed (there were 8 of us all crowded around her!) or if she was sad or what exactly her thoughts were at that moment, but it was a tearjerker for us to watch!  She spent the rest of the time with that same stoic expression.  However, when we got back to the room, she was all smiles again and wouldn't stop babbling!  I know for a baby she has been through a lot, and even though she saw all familiar faces, I suppose being isolated for a week had some effect on her.  I have no doubt though that once we get home and back into a routine, my spunky Lady Di will be in full force once again!!

Diana update - Day 8

It's a good thing daddy stayed with Diana last night because at 4:30am her IV failed and they took her to the ER to take an X-ray to see if there were anymore good veins.  Unfortunately they were all blown so they decided to put her on oral meds until the doctors got here in the morning.

Guess what, after all doctors have come and gone today, the verdict is......WE MIGHT GO HOME AS EARLY AS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!  The next 24 hours are crucial to this decision.  If the doctor does not see enough improvement tomorrow morning, we travel back to those dreadful two words...PICC line.  So, fingers, toes, eyes and ears crossed that our little Di can show enough improvement on the oral meds to get us the heck out of here and back at home in time for Thanksgiving, and more importantly...reunited with our Lil Bean!!  There still will be a question of how the finger will ultimately heal and whether damage has been done to it, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. 

You know what this means now that Diana is not attached to an IV, right?  WILD!! CHILD!!  Right now she is in her crib literally plunging her entire body from one side to the next.  Those metal bars she keeps smacking into apparently aren't going to stop her.  It's like she's screaming, "FREEDOM AT LAST!!"  But, actually she keeps saying, "mamamamamamamamamama."

I was able to spend a few hours this morning with Lilly.  I walked into her room when she woke up and she was sitting up in her crib, but when she saw me she went flat on her belly and started flailing like a fish out of water she was so darn excited!!  Talk about making mommy feel good. :)  She is now in the hands of Phil, Krista and the feisty Addie-boo until we get out of the hospital.  Addie definitely puts Lilly in her place, which I think will be good for Lilly to balance out all the extra attention she has been getting lately! 

I hope tomorrow my post will be titled, "GOING  HOME!!"

Di loves going down the glass elevator and staring at the human-size stuffed animals!

 Lil Bean was ALL smiles this morning!

Diana having fun being pushed around the hospital!

While Lilly is having fun being pushed around Target! (pic courtesy of Phil)

Diana update - Day 7

After another rough night of sleeping for less than 2 hours, I was feeling pretty crummy this morning. However, that all changed when the plastics team came popping in at 5:45am to be the first to examine Diana's finger and all 4 of them AND me let out a happy squeal! It looked SO much better! I was instantly relieved. Finally things are looking up! They aren't the ones to make a decision on next plan of action, so we waited a couple of hours for the hospitalist team to give their thoughts. They agreed things were much better and we MIGHT be home as early as Monday or Tuesday!!! 2 weeks? WHATEVER! (I hope...)

So, since things seem to change daily around here, our new plan is this: they would like to give Diana at least 24 more hours of IV meds. However, the lifespan for her IV expired a day ago and it is doubtful it will hold up another 24hrs. Given the improvement of her infection and the optimism that we could potentially go home in a few days, they have changed their minds once again and do not want to change to a PICC line (if you are tired of reading this PICC line debate, I can guarantee i am a hundred times more tired of listening to it). I had to agree to one more time of allowing them to at least try and find another good vein on Diana. :( I will do whatever we need to, but that doesn't mean I am happy about my Di being put through this once again. After they have seen even more improvement, they will switch her to oral meds and need to monitor her for another 24 hrs on that, and THEN we can talk about getting the heck outta here!

In other good news, I advocated for having diana's vitals checked every 8hrs instead of every 4, and they agreed without a second's thought. That means less interruption for her during the night!

All in all, today was the first day I finally could see the light at the end of the tunnel! Hoping it gets brighter with each new day!

BTW, Diana now says "mamamamamamama". I love it! And I am hoping to see my Lil Bean tonight who is in the hands of a VERY pregnant Andrea and a nearly as pregnant Jennifer! Those are some awesome cousins I have!!

"Hey Lilly, look at me!!!"

They let Diana out of her room tonight!!!  She was the happiest we have seen her in a week!  We still aren't sure what suddenly changed the doctors' minds, but we didn't care!  We wheeled her around the halls and even got to ride the elevators down to the main area.  You can imagine how many times we got stopped, and for some reason every time someone commented I felt obligated to say, "Well, she also has an identical twin sister!"  Diana was smiling and squealing the entire time.  I was so happy we could give her this little bit of freedom!  We also had to add a pretty bow today to freshen her up a bit.  When I was packing my bag this morning, Matt sent me a text message that said, "Bring a burrettet for her hair.  We need to get this girl looking pretty."  I translated that to mean "barrette".  I had already packed her some bows, but I thought that was terribly cute that daddy wanted to dress up his little girl!

Diana update - Day 6

Most of the doctors have already been in today and everything that I told you yesterday carries over to today. It appears that the bacterial infection is the stubborn one over the viral. Once they can get that infection under control, we should be rockin' and rollin'. That is according to me, not the doctors. They are now running frequent blood tests to make sure Diana's kidneys don't show signs of damage due to the length of time she has been on the antibiotics. Currently, 'they are perfect' said the doctor. The kidneys and liver will be the organs hit hardest when all is said and done. The doctor explained to me how to look for jaundice. Yup, think I have seen it once or twice in my life, thank you very much.

Also, if I have said it a thousand times I will say it again...THANK YOU to all of you for your thoughts and prayers! And a special thanks to all our babysitters, grocery shoppers, housekeepers, laundry washers, food delivery ppl, etc. You know who you are and there is no way to express our gratitude!

I have been very negligent with my email so I apologize. And we don't have great cell service here either. But we do have McDonalds!

Instead of a picture today, I will leave you with the girls' 9 month photo shoot! I smile every time I look at them-they both look so happy!!

Diana update - Day 5

Yesterday (Tuesday) I was beginning to think that my parents had something to do with this little bind we find ourselves in knowing that my brothers, sister and I were dreading the upcoming holidays.  I began to feel that as long as Diana leaves the hospital a healthy little girl, they must have schemed this whole scenario as a way to direct our minds elsewhere and at the same time do it in such a way that would force us to be thankful for what we do have as opposed to mourning their losses the entire month of December.  Today, though, I realize they must be on heaven vacation - my dad golfing and my mom shopping at places far cooler than Elder Beerman - because there is no way they have a hand in what is going on here with my sweet Diana.

Today's doctors' reports fared none better or worse than ones previous.  The plastic surgeon definitely has concerns about some possible dead tissue in the finger (at the tip...or possibly it could just be the nail) but once again that will not be determined until all is healed.  He reassured me by saying that, if a surgery is needed, he is on call throughout the entire holiday season so he may be our Santa Claus this year.

The second team of doctors who actually monitor the infection were a little less than impressed with the progress, BUT, they do agree there has been improvement.  For whatever reason it just is not healing as fast as they think it should.  Therefore, we were warned that Diana could remain in the hospital for another TWO WEEKS.  The title of that day's blog would say, "Diana update - Day 19."  When I took her to the ER on Saturday I brought my Costco card with me in hopes to run there after we left.  Joke's on me.  Obviously I was a bit taken aback by the two week timeframe and I actually think I heard my aunt Debbie gasp who was with me at the time.  I was really hoping we would be home by the weekend.  This means another potential holiday in a hospital, and even worse than that missing the dedication of the park in Jasper honoring my parents.  Not the best of news I heard all week, but definitely not the worst...and so we move on.  The hardest part is that Di is still in isolation so we can't even go as far as the nurses' station with her much less down to the main area where we could wheel her around in a wagon or take her for a walk.  It is very hard to keep a 9 month old entertained in a room the size of many bathrooms where she cannot crawl, stand up or essentially move at all. If I were her, I would be having a cow every second of every day.  But she isn't...and that's why she is awesome.

The issue of her IV was brought up again today, and this time it was agreed upon that if her IV falls out, she is to be put on the list ASAP for a PICC line.  No oral meds, unfortunately.  I have my own hesitations with this because she will have to be 'out' during the process, and I am not sure as a mom I am ready for that kind of stress.  So, let's just HOPE that darn IV stays in there for the duration.

I was able to come home tonight and spend some time with my sweet Lil Bean.  She was in the amazing hands of Elaine, Debbie, Abby and Beth today (no, it doesn't take 4 ppl to watch her, but there is just so much of her to love!)  Also, our fabulous photographer Jamie brought over some yummy chili and her even yummier son Jude who is just a few months older than Lilly so she had a playmate today!  When everyone left we laid on my bed while I gave her 12 tickle tortures and listening to her laugh hysterically just totally made my day!  I would also say, "Where's Diana?"  And she would look around searching for her partner-in-crime.  Soon, girls.  You will be reunited soon!!

Also, I just unpacked my overnight bag and noticed that I had packed 2 of the exact same going home outfits for Diana.  Apparently those won't be needed for a while, but I had to chuckle that obviously Diana only needs one outfit, but I have never had to pack for one child...and obviously I suck at it!

 Diana was in a GREAT mood this morning after having slept for nearly 13 hours with only a few interruptions from the nurses poking at her all night!

Diana update - Day 4 (part 2)

Not surprisingly after I posted the last update about Diana being able to play in the exersaucer and crawl around did things go sour.  Her IV came out once again.  Let me tell you how many times she has been poked with an IV needle since Saturday...14 times.  Matt and I were Diana's advocates and said enough is enough.  The nurse completely agreed.  We discussed putting in a PICC line then, but the Dr. decided against it because he is optimistic that if she can get through one more full day on an IV, she may be able to go to oral meds.  We agreed to ONE more time, and that's it.  I cannot see my baby girl go through this anymore.  This time they called the IV team in (the elite of all IV professionals) and the nice lady got it on the 1st try (now in her arm) and it is still in.  REJOICE!!

This is how exhausted Diana was tonight:  she fell asleep around 6pm and the nurse came in at 9:30pm and unwrapped her cast-like contraption holding in her IV, flushed her IV, hooked up the antibiotics, took her pulse, heart rate, vitals and temperature, removed the dressing from her hand and put ointment on her finger...and Di slept through the entire thing.  This was definitely a first.  Right now when I usually would be calming her down from a hysterical outburst, I instead sit here blogging with her sleeping peacefully in the crib next to me.  Probably time for me to do the same thing.

Also, Lilly was in the great hands of Caroline and Beth today, and Mark and Steph this evening.  THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!!

Tuckered out little girl

 Steph sent this picture of Lilly - she is in great hands and being fed well!

Diana update - Day 4 (part 1)

Diana had another rough night, and in turn so did daddy who was with her all night.  They had to remove and replace her IV 3 different times b/c of clotting and positioning.  They hope this last one they put in is good and tight.  Matt is a such a better support for Diana when it comes to this b/c I was so upset when I was holding her through it the night before, but the nurses said he was so calm and making her laugh and immediately calmed her down when it was all over.  I imagine he could have a daddy's girl for life when this is all said and done.

There has been mention of putting in a PICC line if our stay extends beyond another 3-5 days, which there is a good chance it will, but hoping hoping hoping it will not.  We are familiar with the PICC line because my parents each had one, and essentially it's a catheter similar to a standard IV but goes deeper into the vein so works better for prolonged periods of time.  They are going to wait another few days to decide.

Di's finger still does not show much improvement, but what the doctor explained to us was that the anti-virals she is on are working mostly to ensure the infection does not spread, and then will attack the living virus.  So, his utmost concern would be if it is spreading, which it is not.  Even though there has not been a lot of improvement, we are told not to be alarmed.

The good things that have come today is that Diana no longer has to be on fluids and her vitals do not need to be monitored 24 hrs. a day so she is completely without wires for a few hours at a time and has been able to crawl around! They even brought in her favorite exersaucer for her to bounce around in.  She was in 9 month old heaven!!  She is still in isolation though and I wish so badly I could take her outside of this room to let her explore her surroundings, but rules are rules and we will abide.

Almost like being at home!

Diana update - Day 3

Sunday night was pretty rough due to the dressing on Diana's hand that kept coming off and a 4:30am IV relocation that had also come out.  My heart was breaking for her left and right.  I couldn't (can't) help but think she does not deserve all this torture.  We slept for a few hours this morning though and she woke up in a great mood.  That was short-lived when the doctor came in to check her finger and shocking, it wasn't any better.  So a transfer to Riley was decided and we once again packed our bags and signed all the paperwork and this time finally loaded the ambulance around 2pm and were on our way.  The best part of the road trip was that Diana has been in isolation so she was finally allowed outside of her hospital room!!!  She kept waving "bye bye" to people!  Once at Riley, I felt much more relaxed knowing we were at the best of the best. 

We were immediately welcomed by 3 different teams of doctors.  The overall consensus was that Diana's infection is viral and therefore just needs to run its course.  This was great news!  Also, the infection is contained to just the finger and the fear we've been living with for 3 days that it could spread elsewhere seems nearly impossible at this point (as long as the anti-virals continue to work which we should begin to notice tomorrow.)  They are also keeping her on antibiotics as well to be safe.  The head pediatrics plastic surgeon explained to us that a surgery at this point (to release the pressure in her finger and/or remove some of the infection) would actually make it worse.  He did warn us though that after the finger has healed a possible reconstructive surgery could be necessary depending on how bad the virus attacked it.  So, I am okay with this and only feel relief at this point that we know what it is and we are doing something about it and we have amazing doctors around us.  Diana will continue to be in the hospital until the end of the week at the earliest, possibly up until next week.

Many people have asked me how this all started so let me explain:  Friday morning we woke up and I noticed that the tip of Diana's finger was a bit swollen and red.  I thought she smashed it in a toy or just hurt it standing up on something.  Surprisingly my gut told me to do something about it instead of 'wait and see' which is the approach I usually take.  I called the pediatrician's office as soon as it opened and took her in a few hours later.  The pediatrician didn't really know either but did say she thought it was infected as opposed to injured and started her on an antibiotic. She drew a marker around the finger and said that if it goes beyond that point over the weekend, call her.  Saturday morning it had, so I called her and in to the ER we went.  You know the rest of the story. 

I need to brag about my little Diana.  The doctor could not believe her disposition and told us just how painful this has to be for her, but she doesn't even seem to notice it.  The only pain meds she has been on is Tylenol once or twice a day.  If you poke her with something or wake her up from her slumber, don't be fooled, she will yell at you.  But other than that, she has been a very brave soldier.

Two things that totally made my day today:  1) we had to take the IV off Diana to ride in the ambulance so once we got to Riley and in her crib this girl could not be stopped!  She was crawling and pulling herself up and playing with toys and smiling and laughing...it was my old Diana shining through!  And 2) I finally came home tonight while Matt stayed with Diana and decided I wanted to be at home in time to see Lilly before she goes to bed.  I was missing her A LOT!  So Lilly and I had a date tonight and it was a great end to a crazy day.

Lastly, Matt and I cannot thank you all for the support you have shown and especially to those offering to help us out with Lilly.  We are set through Friday but may be hitting some of you up if our stay extends beyond the weekend!  We are very lucky to have such a great support system (I feel like I have said this exact statement a couple of times this past year.  Is anyone ready for 2011 as much as I am? :)

 Diana gets anything she wants in the hospital, so is it any surprise that we have Baby Einstein on 24/7?  Here, she is obviously delighted at our choice!

 All bandaged up but that won't stop our Lady Di!

 Our sweet girl trying to catch some well-deserved zzzzzzz's

 All ready to go for a fun ride in an ambulance!

Taking advantage of the few hours without an IV pole attached to her!

Thank you Riley for a much prettier bandage and scrubs!

Diana update - Day 2

Diana slept so great last night despite noisy machines and constant interaction with the nurses. I pulled her into "bed" with me around 4am and I got to cuddle with her for several hours. This morning matt brought lilly up so she could put a smile on Di's face. And did she ever!

Things have been a whirlwind ever since. The doctor examined dianas finger this morning and was very concerned. It didn't look any better and the infection seemed to be spreading. She also lacked movement in it. She decided she wanted a plastic surgeon to look at it for possible surgery to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately being a Sunday a surgeon wasn't available so she recommended we transfer to Riley. She also was beginning to think the infection looked viral instead of bacterial and began an iv of meds to treat both. In the meantime we packed our bags and were waiting for the ambulance from Riley when our doctor came back in and said they had called in a plastic surgeon from Riley who was not on call today to see if he would be willing to come in to take a look instead of us traveling down there. Btw clarian pediatrics is an affiliation of Riley so we knew we were getting quality service but since it's much smaller all the teams of docs we needed were not available. This doctor however was willing to come in. He was pretty impressed by what he saw but almost immediately said it was viral with a possible combination of bacteria. He put some type of potent topical solution on it and wrapped it up good and tight. So now poor Di has a cast on her leg to keep her iv in and now a giant club for a hand that has to be tied to the iv pole to keep elevated. This girl is going to get the prettiest doll around when this is all said and done! Also they checked to make sure there was a pulse in her finger because there was fear blood was not circulating to it, but there is so that's great news.

Right now the order is for lots of meds, lots of immobility, and every 2 hr pulse checks. The doctor proclaimed that in 24 hrs we should see much improvement. Boy I hope so.

Let me just add that Diana is loving all this attention! She is being held nonstop by Matt and I and seeing that she has always had to share time with her sister, she is soaking it up! But truthfully she is one incredible little kiddo. Hoping this will all be over soon!

Diana - Day 1

Let me preface this post by saying that I am on an iPad therefore you can expect many grammatical errors.

Not sure how to begin unfolding the past day but let's start with where we are right now, which is in the pediatric intensive care unit at clarian north. Diana was admitted after I took her to the ER early this morning because of what appeared to be swelling on her index finger. I will spare you the traumatic emergency room details. Let's just say the fear of hearing that my daughter is going to be admitted to intensive care for a couple of days, will be hooked up to an IV of antibiotics, and appears to have an infection that could potentially be life threatening did not dissolve well with a first time mother who less than a year ago lost both her parents in intensive care units. I put on an Emmy winning performance in the ER and by doing so think we scored the best pediatric doctor here.

After several failed iv attempts one doctor finally got the iv in dianas tiny little foot. I think Diana stopped the earth from rotating due to her blood curling wails--all well deserved because the poor girl was being put through hell. She is being so brave.

The current diagnosis is cellulitis which is a skin infection most likely caused by staph or strep. The hope is that it is localized in the finger and has not traveled elsewhere. They are currently growing cultures to make sure. Diana is on an antibiotic that hopefully will show signs of working by tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

Diana is such a trooper and I am so proud of her. Her spirits are a little down but whose wouldn't be when you are missing your other half and your greatest joy in life (standing up and crawling) aren't allowed because of fear your iv will come out? But boy when daddy turned on baby Einstein did her face light up! And the jello we also gave her got us quite a smile as well!

Lilly also seems to be missing her other half because the team of sitters who rallied around her said she seemed a bit off. I don't know if I believe them because I got the biggest smile ever from her when I went home to visit her! This is the longest they have ever been apart though so it wouldn't surprise me if they notice. And speaking of the team of sitters--being the siblings of Matt and I--THANK YOU for setting aside all the other things you had planned today to babysit Lil.

Right now I am on couch unable to sleep but thankfully Diana has been peacefully sleeping for about an hour now. She is hooked up to a lot of noisy machines and the nurses keep coming in disturbing her beauty sleep. Let's hope for a good night. I will update when we learn more tomorrow.

9 Months!

These monthly posts come way too quickly!  The girls turned NINE months on Monday, which means they have officially been enjoying life outside of me as long as they were enjoying life inside of me.  36 weeks in, 36 weeks out!  Looking back over the past 18 months...ah heck...the internet would crash if I went there! 

This is as good of a 9 month picture as I could get.  Nothing I do or say anymore captivates their attention!  The rest of the pics looked something like this....

So, what are L & D up to at 9 months?  There have been major milestones, like Diana crawling, both of them moving to all the places they shouldn't, pulling themselves up on all the things they shouldn't, entertaining themselves by playing with none of the toys I buy and instead all the 'toys' I don't (like kitchen utensils, Tupperware, cellphones.)  They play peek-a-boo with me now...hiding something over their face and pulling it down.  They babble "dadadadadada" and Lilly even can say "nanananana" (but she refuses to trade that "n" for an "m"!)  They talk to each other about who is going to sleep at the next nap and who isn't and who is going to have the major diaper blowout while the other simultaneously throws up her entire bottle.  Have you ever heard of 'twin talk?'  It's hard to explain but these two have mastered it.  And I swear that is what they are saying!  But honestly, I have never enjoyed the girls so much as I do now!  This is a GREAT age!

 My vertical tots!

 My view from the kitchen - GENIUS! Dining room tables are SOOO overrated!

 Caged animals!

 "Mom, why are we in here while the dog is laying on the couch?"

There have also been other milestones like using their tiny little fingers to pick up their own food.  We have entirely graduated from baby food and now only offer solid foods.  I realized very quickly how that little bit of independence made a world of difference (in my world, at least...and it is all about me!)  They eat cheerios, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, avocados, cottage cheese, grilled cheese, chicken, ground beef, beans, yogurt, bananas, blueberries, waffles...pretty much everything you and I eat with a few highly allergenic exceptions.


You know you love your kids when:  
1) You have never cooked anything that doesn't come in a box or out of the freezer but suddenly you are searching for recipes.
2) You have never steamed anything in your 31 years of existence and are often found googling "how to steam carrots" every other day because you still forget how many minutes to punch on the microwave.
3) Touching raw chicken makes you want to vomit but you do it anyway...with gloves on obviously.

Diana, my clean eater, munching on some chicken and avocados.

Lilly, my messy eater, spreading the chicken and avocados all around her tray and in her hair and up her nose.

 Who needs a Dyson when you have a doodle?

We also had the girls' 9 month check-ups on Monday.  Dr. L said they are doing great!  As for stats, Lilly still outweighs Diana by a pound exactly.  

Lilly:  20lbs 4oz (75%), 28" long (67%)
Diana:  19lbs 4oz (59%), 27 3/4" long (59%)

I also told Dr. L about my Nursery vs. Nurseries experiment and wondered if she had any insight.  This is how our conversation went:

Me:  "So the girls have been waking each other up during their naps and often only sleep for like 25 minutes so I decided to separate them and now they sleep for about an hour and a half and sometimes I have to wake Diana up after 2 hours because she's still sleeping...{pause for a breath}...so do you think I should keep them in the same room or separate them?"

Dr. L:  "Lady, do you actually have a brain?"   "Well, if that were me I would separate them and then when they are older and want to share the same room, you can do it at that time."

Me:  "Hmmmm....okay then."

When I say it out loud it does seem like a no-brainer, huh?