Happy Halloween!

We have a ghost!


False alarm...


Cute little pumpkin

Nothing to report (Isn't is nice?!)

Dylan is doing great! We think she's probably got her nights and days confused, as evidenced by her sleeping peacefully right now, and not so much from... uhmmm... say 2 - 7 am or so. That's not so good. She just wasn't comfortable and very complainy. Maybe it's all just catching up to her. We did what we could, full belly, pain meds... but nope. Of course, now she's not on meds and has an empty belly and is not even stirring! Bah! At least Matthew's off this week to help out.

I think we will start weaning her from the strong stuff today and see how she does.

She's still very puffy around her eyes and we can't tell if that's the eyebrow bone that he said would be prominant, or if it's just puffy. No more BIG green eyes for now though. They mentioned that it will take 3 months for the external swelling to go down, and 6 months for the internal swelling. Very interesting.


This morning...


The whole family got haircuts this week, but I must say Dylan's is the worst. She has a long patch on her right side, and her neck line is long too. Whoever did it at the hospital wasn't a professional, they should hire someone! ;) I meant to have Jill straighten that out yesterday (ie. take it ALL off) but I totally forgot.

In his spare time, Matthew has been busy playing with his toys. Legos. He splurged on a kit a few months ago and finally got it put together when I was on night shift at the hospital. I took a picture. Some of these things are amazing, they have a Taj Mahal too, but it's $300! So, uhmm... no, that's not on the Christmas list.


And, since I haven't posted anything of Duncan lately I thought I would throw something out there. Here's a picture of him playing with his latest favorite toy which I happened to get as a shower gift. He loves it. When he sees me stacking it to pick up he crawls over as fast as he can to unstack. We stack and unstack this thing 20+ times a day!


Thanks again for every one's support. I am totally humbled at how many people from all over the US have been coming here to check on Dylan. She's definitely loved and we are really feeling it these days!

PS Duncan cut the other top tooth. He's at 6, she's at 3!That made for a fun night the other night, he was up from like 2:30 - 5 just to play.

Home at last!

I was supposed to call Melissa and let her know what the plan for today was so I was harrassing Matthew up at the hospital to let me know. He said that he would call me back in a half hour to discuss. After an hour I called, and called... But no answer. Then he showed up at the house with a baby and lunch! Woohoo! He wanted to surprise me. Cute!

Anyway, Dylan and her big round noggin are home now thank goodness. She will just be a little doped up for the next couple of days but she seems to be doing well. Just sleeping now but I think things will get back to normal at some point!

In her own bed


Sorry Val we are going to miss you when you go in tomorrow but wishing Simon the best for his little procedure. I hope it works out this time! =/ We will be thinking about you guys tomorrow!

Thanks again to everyone for their support through this, we couldn't have done it without you!

She's getting there...

Today we got a visit from Grandma and Jessica and Steve. Jessica brought cookies and a new crocheted blanket (woot!) that apparently Steve hand-crafted. ;) Geez J-bird, make your husband do all the work why don't ya? She's just doing her part in the 10 lb gain that we have during every hospital stay. What can we say, we love their greasy cafeteria food and those Nutty Guys get me every time. Anyway... this makes TWO blankets for Dylie and one for Duncan from Jessica. We love our hand crafted blankets around here as you may have noticed from all the pics.

She's doing great, still a bit swollen and she has random bumps on her head that we want to follow up with the Dr's about but all in all, she looks great. Like a completely different person... but great nonetheless. Seriously... she looks totally different. It will be funny to look at before and after pics once the swelling goes down.

Still not sure if she will go home tomorrow of Tuesday but she's doing really well so we hope tomorrow. It will be nice to get things back to normal!



Grandma singing...

Couple more pics from yesterday

I took these last night, she was wide awake and playing with a syringe wrapper.

They already pulled the drain today and Matthew said she looks great, my shift starts at 3 or so so I will take lots of pictures of her new head!

Oooo, my head!

Frankenbaby

Matthew took the early shift this morning and sent me pictures. They are TERRIBLE! But you can see how nice and round her head is. It does take a bit of imagination to get around that nasty drain tube though. Yuck!

We don't have a 'johnny-on-the-spot' nurse today (boo! hiss!) so I am going up a little earlier than I origionally expected. Melissa's on Duncan duty again... or should I say Kali is?

HUGE thanks to Trina for the soup the other night and the best neighbor's in the world, the Mollers, for food last night. We ended up getting home later then expected but we had yummy food here like it was 6:00 chow time.

Here are the latest (SCARY) pics of the little Frankenbaby.








As long as she's argeeable I will take more when I get up there this afternoon.

We have eyes... and TEETH!

Seriously, is this a toothy week or what? Duncan cut another (5 now) and Dylan actually cut her doofus toofus! That makes 3 for her. The two on the bottom and the one in the middle on the top!

It was a pretty good day today until tonight when she just couldn't seem to get settled. I called the nurse and she is okay now, but she had a little rough patch and couldn't get her meds yet so she said they tried everything to get her comfy. Sad...

She opened her eyes quite a bit for Melissa during the day and me this evening. She did raspberries too, which was cute. I would rather her sleep then be awake trying to open her eyes but I guess if she's not crying I won't complain, too much.

If all goes as planned the bandage will come off tomorrow, and the drain on Sunday. So we should be able to see more of her tomorrow I hope.

I tried to take pics but I really don't like this camera, I like mine at home quite a bit better. These hardly turned out but you get the picture (picture? Get it?). Here's Dylan with her eyes open as big as she can get 'em.

Tiny update

Dylie got a second tooth! Now that's excitement! At least she was on Morphine and Tylenol with Oxi while she cut it right? It's another cute little one on the bottom. Someday she'll have chompers!

We took a couple pics but she looks about the same, a little more swollen maybe. However, when I put the memory card in to upload, I didn't realize it was the one that Matthew took with him to England and India, so I have been waiting for 15 minutes to see the pics we took!

She had to have Oxygen yesterday because she got a little too comfy on the meds. I am not complaining, I would rather she sleep. She doesn't wake up and cry anymore, she just grimaces and goes back to sleep. Thank goodness, that was pretty close to torture I would say.

My mom came over last night with Duncan so I could go up at 3 and meet Matthew up there for a dinner-ish meal. She got Duncan dinner and off to bed which was great. Tracy, Shannon and Charlotte came up too and Charlotte convinced a nurse named Dusty to give her a sippy with milk. I know this because she said Dusty about 50 times after she got it. She's such a little charmer!

Matthew's up with her now taking a couple of calls form the hospital but Melissa's going to go up and stay with her during the middle of the day so Matthew can go to the dentist and I can take Duncan to his well-baby. Then she's picking Duncan up and I am going up. So Melissa's on big time kid duty today. Shout out to Mel, THANKS! it's nice though, Duncan slept all day yesterday because her girls wore him out the day before. AND he slept in to 8:45 this morning, woot!

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments on the last post. Love to all!

You can't really see anything in this pic other then she's a bobble head. She has her cute little pink love there to help hold her binky in. She likes to hold on to it usually... Matthew kind of wanted to get the whole picture, with that little drain bulb and everything.

Now *that* was a long day!

Everything went well today, thank you everyone for your thoughts. She went into surgery this morning at about 9:15 or so... and we finally got to see her at about 4! I am sure it took a while to get her all sedated and intubated, she's such a tough stick, it's a good thing she was asleep before all the poking. She had to have two IVs, and arterial line and a central line. I saw 5 pokes on the back of one hand and 5 sticks on the other hand/wrist with no IV, I think they finally got one in her foot... and the arterial line they had to do in her crotch.

It ended up being more invasive than they originally thought, they went back further than the top of her head to reshape it. Then they put in plates and screws to hold the bones in place until her body makes bone to fill in the gaps. The screws and plates dissolve in a year, which we found quite fascinating! Thet set her eyebrows a little more prominent then you would expect, I guess in a few years they tend to sink back in. We haven't see anything yet though, I want to peek!

She's in the PICU now, and she will wake up and cry and put her hand to her head like "It hurts right here!" But they have her on as much morphine as they can give her. I just want her to sleep through the next three days!

They said her eyes will swell shut by Friday, but I think they already have, as you can see by the pictures. The bandages will come off on Friday and they will pull the drain that goes above her eyebrows on Saturday. She should come home on Monday.

Boo to this day, I need to go catch some Zzzzs!

Happily not knowing why she's in the funny PJs...

Eeeeeek, we have a time!

So I guess we have to be up at Primary tomorrow at 8! That's EARLY! It will be so nice to have this whole thing behind us! Poor little pickle has no clue, she's just happy to be here.

Matthew just left to get her labs done, he was planning on being home at 1:30. Uhmmm... well... I guess as long as he gets there before 5 we are good. I was going to get my hair done but Noah's sick, poor little dude... and I just don't think I should be around anything else for the babes sake, so I guess all the cute doctors will have to look at my roots. No biggie. No greys yet, but after this year maybe I ought to look closer!

We got Halloween costumes for them, I thought they were going to go without, but what kind of mom doesn't do Halloween TWO years in a row? Okay, to be fair, they did spring themselves on me a little early last Halloween, but still. So here's Duncan. Hilarious.



He is going to Melissa's tomorrow, I hope she has her house baby-proofed because he moves so quick I loose him and have to perk up my ears or go looking for him. I could always follow the trail of drool, but that's unreliable.

They also get Synagis again this year, which is great. That's the RSV vax. We just have a copay of $25 for Dylan and $50 for our fat boy who need two doses. That's great considering the shot runs from $1200-$1600 a month right? We will take it.

Oh and welcome to new baby Mangrum! Sara had Maddison Julia (or Juliet?) last night. The little picture I saw was so cute! I figured I shouldn't go over with sick babies, but I want to... bad... She was 6lbs 13 oz.

Please say lots of prayers for little Dylie tomorrow!

We've come a long way babies!

So I didn't go to Lake Powell. I am having muuuuch more fun with the babies here at home by myself. They are sooo sick! And Dylan needs to get over this by Wednesday! She is stuffy and her bum is totally raw. It's so sad! And Duncan's nose is running and he has a little cough but he's acting pretty normal. crawling around all over. Over all thought, it's a pretty sad situation if you ask me! Lots of boogies, lots of diapers and a bundle of tears.

I am taking a quiet moment (snoozing babes) to post because I wanted to put up some pictures that we took about a year ago that I think most of you haven't seen. Where has the year gone? Duncan spent 28 days of it in the hospital, and Dylan a whopping 89! (And that was just the FIRST visit!) But it all started a year ago this week. Yay! We are so glad to have them here and love them to death, they are worth everything we went through, no question!

Duncan when you couldn't really see his cute face!


Another... all 4lbs of him!


Dylan and Matthew, this was the night she was born, 2lbs 9 oz.


Dylan and me (look down at your own pinky to see how small she was, bitty!)


Dylan in Lights


Dylan and Matthew's wedding Ring, she was two weeks old


Duncan-Roo


Matthew holding Duncan for the first time


And shifting gears... here's more of the little monster today, crawling!




I will post again with surgery information when we find out more on Tuesday. That's when they call with a time and instructions. Love to all!

We are all sorts of mobile around here!

He's crawling and she's rolling! October is really a celebration month for us because not only do we have birthdays but Dylan has learned how to roll form her tummy to her back! Hooray! We are so proud of our cute little one, and again grateful for her great Physical Therapist, Pat. She started rolling for the first time last Tuesday and is just getting faster now that she knows she doesn't have to be on her tummy if she doesn't want.

And little mister has learned how to crawl, he's been crawling forward since last Sunday and he thinks he is pretty grown up. If I am in another room I just hear him laughing really hard and I know he's making a break for it. It's a dead give-away. I am sure learning how to be sneaky will come later!

We had a little get together for the Twins' birthday on Saturday with a few people over. It dawned on us late last week that we should probably do something for Duncan to eat cake soon, in light of Powell next week and Dylan's surgery on their birthday. So we just invited a few people over for cake and ice cream. It was really fun, they got to visit and play with a few cousins. Aunt Jane just happened to be in town so they stopped by too which was a fun surprise. They brought lots of new books which is great since Duncan has found the book love. Grandma and grandpa gave them the ever-classic spinning egg chairs that were a HUGE hit with Abbi, so we know they are winners! They love all of their new stuff!

I was doing laundry and needed somewhere to put Dylan while I changed it out, perfect fit!


The Monster Cupcake-cake


Before


After




Duncan's opening his new lawn mower from The Paolis


Their cousin Jessica is heping Dylie open a present, a vaccuum cleaner, start 'em young!






Rolling (Kind of long... but worth the wait! She's faster now!)


Crawling

Not one... but TWO new teeth!

We have two new teeth in the Anderson house bringing Duncan's total to 4 and Dylie's total to 1! Yes! She finally got a teeny tiny tooth on the bottom. It's just sharp at this point, you can't see too much. That explains why she was a little testy a couple of days ago.

Yesterday we went to the Neonatal Follow-up program. We learned more about Dylan's MRI, apparently she also has little or no Olfactory Tracts. Which are nerves that go from your nose to your brain. So she might not be able to smell! Who knows though really... He said she will probably taste sweet, sour and that type of thing, but when you walk into a steak restaurant and your mouth waters... that's probably not going to happen. Interesting.

Nothing much new from that appointment even thought it took over 4 hours. Yikes!

She's also been eating since the GI doctor put her on an antihistamine to make her hungry. It's working which is fabulous! We just need to kind of bring down her food at night, shifting it to the day and maybe we will be able to get her off of the pump. When I told the neurologist this yesterday he told us that when he was working at LDS hospital in the 70s, before they would do this antihistamine trick... they would put a couple drops of whiskey in the baby formula to stimulate their appetite. I thought that was amusing, "is that alcohol I smell, on your baby's breath?!"

We are going down to Lake Powell the weekend after next. It's the first time we are going down this year. I am not terribly excited but Matthew has to go since he's on the big boat with his mom and it shouldn't be too bad. The water and weather will be fabulous like it always is this time of the year.

Duncan thinks he's funny

Duncan has decided it's really funny to scrunch up his nose and breath in an out... I don't know how else to explain it. We just started doing it a couple of days ago and now it's how he greets you when he's trying to be funny and get a reaction. He's so his father's son! Started to get a little sense of humor, I love it.

He's also figured out how to get back up into a sitting position from crawling or rolling around. He just thinks he's so big when he does it. Of course he's get stuck under things (like the excersaucer...) and wonder why he can't sit up all the way. He hasn't figured out how to get himself out of those predicaments yet.

So I tried to get this nose thing on video and it's all just not nearly as cute as it is in person. It didn't help that he's pretty tired. But, here's a little taste. And it's a glimpse at how he's getting around these days too!



Regardless, it makes for some really cute and funny still pictures.








And then a few of Dylan that we took yesterday, just for good measure.

Almost Forgot...

I almost totally forgot to post up these pictures we got of the whole Anderson family.


Everyone...

Just all of the grandkids...

The little Anderson Family

Me and the babes

Happy Double D Birthday Month!

Duncan has another tooth now, one of the big chompers on the top is coming in. He HATES when you feel for it though, he didn't mind the bottom but these top ones really bothered him I think. You can actually see it peeking through though. Poor kid. Meanwhile Dylie, our little late bloomer doesn't have any! I thought siblings kind of got them around the same time usually, but I think she knows she doesn't need them yet so why go through that.

Dylan's actually thinking she's big right now, sitting right between my legs as I am typing. If she's bored she will put herself to sleep, and then at 3 in the morning she will start to sing so we have to work on not letting her get bored! It's funny, if I stop to deal with Duncan and lay her down I will come back to a sleeping baby!

No crawling yet, unless you count backwards... Duncan will rotate and move backwards to get into things. It's coming though! He's all over the place. We are still waiting for Dylan to roll over and she's not likely to until after the surgery which will slow her down a bit.

We went out to eat with Tracy and Shannon again, we are getting to be old pros at this! We just keep throwing food at Duncan all night, he keeps eating and stays out of the drinks, knives, napkins, menus and everything else he can possibly get his hands on. After they came over to the house and Charlotte played in toy land. I took pictures of her in that bouncer that she just loves. It's so funny to see her play in it because she's just the tiniest little thing but walking and running and stuff. It's pretty cute. She only weighs like 17 lbs so she can still go in the swing and stuff even though she's a year and half or so.

We went out to eat with Michael, and a bunch of his friends the other weekend and then they all came over here to hang out after. It was really fun. They were just down stairs playing with the pool table and stuff. It's always nice when the party comes to you right? The babies went to bed and we were free to stay up way too late.