my new favorite shoes

too bad there's like a foot of snow outside :)

josie's hospital is near a mall...
i could post more of my new "favorite" items,
but then you might think i have a shopping problem

a shopping problem, who me???

watch me grow... and other stuff

josie at 1 week

the zoey doll is a little bit bigger than a beanie baby
in theory, i'll remember to take a similar picture each week :)

so josie's most recent details...
a few days ago she had her first blood transfusion, which kind of freaked me out, but they assured us it was fairly routine. she's been off & on the cpap and the nasal cannula (as seen in this picture). they take her off o2 completely for short periods of time so she can build her breathing endurance.

yesterday was her first milk feeding in a while. afterwards they decided that they were going to wait longer until her o2 stats (or is it sats? not sure) was consistent & stable. if they force her to digest food without proper o2 in the blood, digestion could take longer and could lead to an infection.

this wednesday is our first real meeting with her primary doctor (and a social worker). i think we'll have these meetings every few weeks - or more frequently depending on her status. hopefully we'll get a better idea of where they see josie heading in the days & weeks to come.

lastly, here's a picture of what our evenings often look like as we head home from the hospital. clearly, you can tell which kid takes an afternoon nap and which do not.

logic

in january garrett started swimming lessons for the first time. every week he would cry and scream and use every excuse in the book to get out of the pool. last week was the first week he didn't cry. (we were so proud of him...and totally shocked!) his teachers are great. he clings to their neck the entire class, but as long as he's in the water i don't care. tonight is swimming lessons...

so at breakfast today...

me: garrett, you have to eat all your yogurt.
garrett: why mom?
me: cuz that's how you'll get big and strong.
garrett: but mom... if i eat all my food i will get TOO big and strong. then i will be TOO heavy for my teachers to hold me in the pool.

we want their little brains to start working...but when they do that creates a whole other set of issues :)

staying busy

is it any wonder my kids came home from grandma & grandpa's house exhausted?
homemade playdough & peanut butter cookies... all in one afternoon!

and yes, those are original teenage mutant ninja turtles :)

(my favorite pictures are ryan and his pack & play...the fact that they posed him for those pictures is too funny...and so like something i'd do!)

just so you know...

my parents have been taking the kids the past few days from about 9am-4pm. that has given me lots of LOVELY free time. free time to sleep, watch tv and well, blog lots.

monday i am hoping to resume my normal life with the kiddos. so i'm guessing you won't see as many posts each day :)

but thanks to all my free time, i've FINALLY put some new pictures up on shutterfly.
click here to check them out.

abc

the grandparents bought the kids a big bag of that pink bubble gum. the kind that you only get on halloween and it's super hard to chew. not to mention the taste lasts all of 5 minutes.

olivia wanted a piece after school today. she also asked if i'd start chewing it for her.
thanks, but no thanks!

don't shoot the messenger

so after the call from the hospital the other day i'm a bit anxious every time the phone rings. yesterday i was taking a nap and the phone rang. caller id said "spectrum" which is josie's hospital. i was pretty freaked out and thought "not again!!!"

caller: hi, this is so & so from spectrum nicu
me: oh, hi (with a very shaky voice)
caller: don't worry, it's not an emergency! i'm just calling to set up your appointment with josie's doctor...

that poor secretary...i bet she has to say "don't worry, it's not an emergency" with every phone call she makes!!

1 week old

wow, it's hard to believe this little girl turned our world upside down just 1 week ago.

we love you, josie!!

(grandma & grandpa's hands)

breakfast

it's 8am and i just gave my 2 little boys fruit snacks.

i figure that since i have 2 week restriction of picking kids up & driving, i should have a 2 week grace period of feeding them whatever makes them happy, right?

i like big little butts

josie vs. ryan