And A Happy New Year!

The last week of the year brings a lot of people looking back on the happenings of the past year.  This is no different in our household.  And we have a lot to look back on.  2012 has been an extremely busy year for our family.

The biggest event happened on February 15 when we went from a family of 3 to a family of 5.  This happened way earlier than we had had expected or hoped....3 months and 1 day too early to be exact.  Christian and Charlie joined our family nonetheless being born at 27 weeks gestation.  They weighed 2lbs. 4oz. and 2lbs. 2oz. and were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary's Hospital.  They ended up staying there for almost 3 months- Christian 73 days and Charlie 85 days.  Then, after being home for about a month, Charlie had hernia surgery and stayed another 5 days in the hospital recuperating.  Easton became a big brother and has done a great job leading the way for his little brothers.

It's been a whirlwind having 3 boys under the age of 2, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  We have the most amazing little boys parents could ever ask for.  Our summer seemed to go by so fast even though we really didn't do too much.  We didn't get any camping in...didn't even get our camper out of storage this year, but we had other things to look forward to.  We spent warm summer days outside with the boys and went on many many walks in our neighborhood stopping along the way to let Easton play at a nearby park.  We spent time with family and friends and still hosted our annual Byron Good Neighbor Days celebration at our house taking in the parade just down the street and fireworks that are shot off not a mile behind our house!  It was another spectacular view.  Easton even decided to stay up for his first fire works display even though he was one tired boy by that time!  We spent a very hot 4th of July in Stewartville where Easton enjoyed the parade and the Christian and Charlie (and mom and dad) enjoyed the air conditioning inside Granny and Pa's (Tyler's grandparents) house.  And of course, throughout the summer, we had the pleasure of watching our sons grow and learn each and every day.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to extend my maternity leave by several months and stay home with the boys until September.  I couldn't have a better employer and amazing supervisor to be so supportive of me and our family.  And of course I couldn't have a more amazing and supportive husband to be able to take that amount of time off of work.  When I did go back to work I went back at 30 hours a week and have the flexibility of working from home when needed.  Again....I have an AMAZING employer.  Right before I went back to work Easton left family daycare and we started employing a nanny that comes to our house to watch the boys 3 days a week.  Yes, we are very very lucky and fortunate to have such an awesome deal with an amazing nanny who loves our boys and they love her as well.

This fall we had fun celebrating Halloween and getting the kiddos dressed up.  Easton had fun trick-or-treating for the first time and even got to go out with 4 of his older cousins for a short time.  He had so much fun!  Thanksgiving and Christmas were-needless to say-busy.  Non-stop family gatherings and many more firsts.

We're looking forward to a busy and fun 2013 where we have so much planned.  So bring it on 2013!  We're ready for you!

From our house to yours.....Happy New Year!

Just a Check-Up

Christian and Charlie had quite the adventurous day today.  From 9am to 3pm they spent the day at the Mayo Clinic.  Not exactly how a baby, or a mom for that matter, wants to spend the day....let alone a cold, snowy, blizzardy (is that a word? we'll go with it) day.  No worries, there is nothing concerning or wrong with the boys.  It was just a check up kind of day.  First they visited Dr. Brodsky in the Mayo building for another eye exam.  This time they were not checking for ROP (Retinopathy Of Prematurity) which is what they were watching for while they were in the NICU.  Those checks are all done.  This check up was to look for nearsightedness.  I'm not exactly sure how they can tell, I think it has something to do with the shape of the eyeball and cornea.  Anyhow when the boys got there they had numbing drops put in to their eyes as well as drops to dilate their eyes.  Then we had to sit 25 minutes and wait for their eyes to fully dilate before the doctor could do the exam.  25 minutes to a 10 month old can feel like eternity, or so Charlie tells me.  We passed the time by playing and singing songs.  The doctor called us back and Charlie was up first.  All looked good!  No glasses needed and he doesn't need another eye exam for 2 years!!  Next, Christian.  The doctor made a comment about how alike they look and no wonder because they are identical twins.....Ummm, no.  The nurse got a good laugh out of that one.  Nonetheless, he was trying to get the point across that their eyes are about identical and Christian will not need glasses either!  Recheck in 2 years!  Yea!!!  The boys were such troopers for this appointment.  We left the Mayo building at 10:30.

What to do?  What to do?  Their next appointment wasn't until 1:30.  Since it was blizzardy (yes, I'm going to use it again) I didn't want to leave the Mayo campus or drive around.  By this time both boys were looking a little sleepy.  I decided it would be good just to walk around for a bit.  Low and behold we stumbled upon a coffee shop.  Okay, you got me.  I knew the coffee shop was there and deliberately walked in that direction.  Well, since we were there I thought I better get a cup of coffee because you know there isn't anything better than a nice hot cup of coffee on a blizzardy day (yep, there it is again). By the time I got my coffee Charlie was sleeping and Christian wasn't far off.  So, we walk some more.  We then come upon an area of the Charlton building, a commons area where there are places to sit and relax most likely for people just like us, trying to kill time between appointments. This area also has a very large window spanning 2 stories looking out onto the street and other Mayo Clinic buildings as well as a piano in the corner. By this time Christian's eyes are very heavy.  I decide to sit for awhile while the babies slept.  I had brought my Nook and thought I could sit and enjoy my coffee and read a bit.  I sit, get cozy, enjoy my coffee and reveled in the beauty of the falling snow outside...even though it was windy and blizzardy (it will be a word when we're done here).  Just as I get my Nook out a man walks up to the piano and started playing.  We were sitting right next to the piano.  I don't know who this man was, he could have been a famous pianist for all I know, but WOW.  He played very well and it just made the entire scene complete.  Sleeping babies, coffee, falling snow, and beautiful music coming from a piano.  It couldn't get much better than this.  This man played a mixture of Christmas music and Billy Joel songs.  An odd combination of music if you ask me, but wonderfully comforting, soothing and relaxing.  After sitting and relaxing for about an hour I decide I better call Tyler and meet him for lunch before the next appointment.  Both boys are awake by now.

We meet, choose a local pizza spot in the Mayo campus area.  I must tell you, in case you're not familiar with Mayo, that everything in the downtown/Mayo campus area can be walked to via either a subway or skyway system.  We do not have to walk outside at all.  Nice, huh?  Especially on a blizzardy day like this!  While we eat Christian decides he should eat too.  I feed Christian, Tyler plays with Charlie.  So, nice lunch with Tyler and he needs to get back to work.  By this time it's 12:30.  We still have an hour to burn before their next appointment.  The boys and I walk some more and Charlie decides he's had enough of sitting in the stroller.  I find another spot to sit and feed Charlie.  Meanwhile Christian tells me a very engaging story about how he's so excited for Santa to come next week and that he'd like to bake some cookies to leave out for him and his reindeer.  He's got it all planned out.  I guess we'll be baking cookies this weekend.

1:15 we walk to Baldwin building.  This appointment was for weight checks and Synagis shot.  Synagis is a shot that helps them fight RSV if they would be unfortunate enough to get it.  It doesn't mean they won't get RSV, but if they do it shouldn't be as severe and their bodies should be able to fight it better.  These shots are especially for premature babies and they are monthly shots between November and March.  We get called back almost immediately.  We get weight checks first.  Drum roll please.....Charlie is 11lbs. 11oz and Christian is 15lbs 14oz!!!  Way to grow boys!  Now, the cruddy thing about these shots is that the dose goes by weight.  The bigger they get, the bigger the dose.  The bigger the dose, they need to divide it in to multiple shots.  Christian is big enough they had to divide his shots, he had to get 2 shots.  Charlie got 1.  Another cruddy thing about these shots is that we are required to sit at the doctor's office for at least 30 minutes after the shot so a nurse can check them every 5 minutes to make sure they are not having an allergic reaction to the shot.  So there I sit with 2 upset, crying babies, trying to cuddle and love up both.  With such a long busy day both of them fell asleep fairly quickly after the shot.  By 3:00 we meet Tyler and leave the Clinic and go pick up Easton at my Mom's house where he had a fun day with his cousin.

Whew, what a long story to a long day.  But there it is.  The happenings of the day.  An update on Christian and Charlie and a small glimpse of what it's like to be part of the King household for a day.  Oh, but our day isn't done yet.  We still have the evening routine to go through as well as bedtime, cleanup time.  Bed time for babies, 8:00-8:30, bed time for mom and dad, 10:00.  We hope your day was a little less eventful than ours and we hope you didn't have to venture out into the blizzardy weather.  We'll leave you with some updated pics of Christian and Charlie:

Charlie Bear working on sitting

Christian rockin' his big boy jammies and a mohawk

Sleepy Christian

Waiting at the doctor's office

Holidays

We are in the middle of the busy holiday season and have yet to slow down.  Wait, what's that you say?     We won't ever slow down again? EVER?  Well, that may be, but we're having fun with our little guys anyway.  Our days lately have been filled with work, feedings, naps (the kids, not the adults sadly), appointments, Santa pictures, church pictures, meetings, Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, new clothes and new shoes shopping (again, the kids not the adults), gatherings with family and friends and the list goes on and on and on.....

Easton is again enjoying another round of "school" a community education class he takes on Monday evenings.  He has so much fun getting out of the house and meeting new friends each week.

Easton in his "recliner" reading

And enjoying some pudding.....

Christian is on the verge of crawling.  Well, it might be awhile yet, but he's getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth almost like he's awaiting take off.  And if he's not on his hands and knees he's rolling around trying to find his big brother's toys because we all know those toys are way more fun than the baby toys.  We also switched Christian to a "regular" formula instead of giving him a special formula for preemie babies.  Since his weight gain has always been good and he is over 9 months old the pediatrician said to go ahead and switch him over.  And along with formula he eats solids 3 times a day!  AND, drum roll please.........Christian is working on his first tooth!  A little sliver of the tooth has poked through, but has more work to go.  Way to grow Christian!!!

Christian working on crawling!

Charlie is catching up to his brother slowly.  He is also rolling around like crazy and working hard on sitting.  He gets places fast with his rolling and is such a strong little boy.  Don't let his size deceive you.  He also likes to arch his back and push with his feet when he's on his back so he scoots around which has led to a nice bald spot on the back of his head.

Charlie filling in for Santa while Santa is on his dinner break

All in all, everyone is doing well, staying healthy, growing and learning new things each day.  We continue to pray for good health daily.  The last thing we need is for any of us to be sick!

Giving Thanks

Although we are thankful each and every day of the year, today we are especially thankful for everything we have.  We are thankful to God for blessing us with our 3 miracle children who make us smile and laugh each and every day.

We are thankful for Easton and his un-ending need for exploration and climbing.  He sure keeps us on our toes and keeps us thinking of new ways to keep him out of places he doesn't need to be exploring.

We are thankful for Christian and his beautiful smile, his infectious laugh and easy-going attitude.  We are thankful for his determination in life.

We are thankful for Charlie in knowing what he wants from life, his constant need for snuggles and determination to be strong and thrive.

I know I am thankful that my family is all together, happy and healthy.  It's been one heck of a year, but  we have been incredibly blessed by the Lord and I know he is forever watching over us.

9 Months Old!!

I can't quite believe it myself, but Christian and Charlie are 9 months old today (6 months corrected tomorrow)!  It seems like it's taken forever to get to this place and at the same time I wonder where the time has gone.

CHRISTIAN

Christian is on the move.  By rolling and scooting and pushing with his feet he can get anywhere he wants to and quickly.  The other day he found Easton's wagon full of blocks and thought that was pretty cool to play with.....Although, Easton didn't find it amusing.

He's also working hard on sitting and from the looks of it will be doing this on his own in no time.  Check this out......

And have I ever mentioned he's the happiest kid ever?  I'm not exaggerating.  He really is happy almost ALL the time.  It makes this mama very happy to see such a smile every day and hear such wonderful laughter from him.

CHARLIE

Charlie, our little man.  He's growing and experiencing so much.  He's also working on sitting, has been rolling so much more lately and all of a sudden LOVES tags.  We have a soft tag blanket that has been entertaining him for what seems like eternity and he especially loves the tag on his blankie.  And he has so much hair!  We joke that Charlie will need a hair cut by the time he's 1, but that Christian probably won't need one until he's 3!

How can a person resist this face?!  Really, how?  Charlie has started eating more solids lately along with his milk and we're hoping that will have a nice impact on his weight.  Both boys have their 9 month check ups on Monday next week where they will get their second flu shot and their first Synagis shot which helps their bodies fight RSV if they are unfortunate enough to get that this year.  We're praying and crossing our fingers that they don't.

More updates next week after their appointment!

Happy 9 month milestone baby boys!

Raising Boys

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything new.  We haven't been doing much, but at the same time have been extremely busy.  Doing what, you might ask?

Other than trying to keep a low profile so everyone stays healthy.........

Well, Easton has been going to "school" on Monday evenings in order to get him out of the house and run off some of the pent up energy that only a 22 month old can have.  It's a community Education class where he can meet and play with other kids his age and where they have lots of age appropriate toys and activities he can experience.  He loves to go to school and always walks into the room like he owns the place! Mom or dad always stay with him, but I don't think he'd care if we weren't there!

Easton painting for the first time at "school"

Other than going to school, Easton went trick or treating for the first time this Halloween, carved pumpkins for the first time and he's been busy helping dad with fall clean up inside the house and outside as well!

Kids = Cheap labor!   Just kidding, the one spot he washed was very clean though!

And he got to ride the tractor with dad too!!  The highlight of his week I think!

This kid LOVES his tractors!

Christian has been busy learning how to move all over.  He is rolling like a pro and has even started scooting around a bit.  He tries to get his knees up underneath him, but doesn't use his hands at the same time so isn't quite up on his hands and knees.  Regardless, he can get places fairly quickly with his scooting!

Floor time with his big brother

Christian is still one of the happiest babies I have ever met.  He is truly a blessing and a joy to have around!

And Charlie....Our little Charlie Bear works so hard....between eating enough each day, trying to gain weight, going to physical therapy AND learning new skills, this is one tough kid!  Along with his bottles, Charlie has started eating more solids which we hope will help pick up his weight gain.

Yes, Charlie fit in one of our pumpkins!  He looks thrilled, right!

Charlie enjoying his first solids....

He has really started to enjoy eating

And.....Charlie got his first battle wound from growing up with a big brother.  Easton decided it would be fun to throw Christian's half eaten bottle at Charlie's head.  Charlie ended up with a goose egg and nice bruise on his head and Easton ended up in time out.  Easton decided it wasn't so funny after-all once he sat in time out for 1 minute (which, keep in mind, is like forever for a 22 month old!).

Poor Charlie recovered quickly after some snuggles with mom.

So, we've been asked how Tyler and I are holding up with our 3 hooligans.........We're doing okay.  It's chaotic and stressful at times, but we can't imagine life without any one of our boys.  We get out from time to time on date nights which helps us re-group.  This last weekend we had a "mega-date" where the boys went to grandma and grandpa's for the day and night and Tyler and I were able to spend some much needed time together where we explored a cave in St. Paul, went rock climbing, got to eat 2 full meals without interruption and then enjoyed a concert AND got to sleep in.  I know, unbelievable!  But we realized that we're getting too old to do all that in one day and stay out so late.  I think we're both still recovering 2 days later!

Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN!

Charlie was not happy about getting dressed up....and Christian just wanted to steal his Nuk

Christian is always happy...One of our little pea pods

Charlie, another pea pod

Our little pea pods!!

Easton, the farmer, who tends to the pea pods

First Halloween out trick and treating

Happy Halloween from the Kings!

Extra Caution

Not much is new in the last week or so, but here's an update anyway.  We are all doing well and trying our best to stay healthy.  We all battled colds for the past week and prayed it wouldn't turn into anything nasty for the little ones.  We are dreading the cold/flu season since it can mean terrible things for the little boys.  A simple cold could turn into something more serious in a blink of an eye and could lead to medications or even hospitalization for these preemies.  We're counting our blessings that they've done so well since being born and haven't encountered anything too serious so far.  Needless to say, we're becoming extra cautious and limiting their exposure to too many people, places or things.  We're washing our hands to the point of extreme dryness just to make sure we aren't passing too many yuckiness to them.  We know some of the other babies that were in the NICU with them that have already been sick this fall and we're just in the start of the cold/flu season.  They already had a struggle at the beginning of their lives just to live, we'd hate to see them struggle with something so unnecessary and something so aviodable. So, this means that if you're feeling under the weather or if you've even been exposed to someone who has been sick, we're going to ask that you refrain from coming to our house until you feel better.  Thank you.

Other than all that.....
Easton is a rockin' and a rollin' with new words and talking up a storm.  He is loving his little brothers and loves to make them laugh and smile.  It's actually very sweet to watch them interact with one another.

Christian is a movin' and a shakin' with his rolling and can be across the room in a blink of an eye.  We've also noticed him trying to get his knees underneath him, but I'm sure crawling is still a ways out.  But we'll be working towards it!  While Christian and Charlie had their colds, I took them in to see their pediatrician just to have them checked over, have their lungs listened too...ya know, just in case.  At that visit a week or so ago Christian weighed a whopping 14lbs!  He's doing great!

Charlie was also seen at the same appointment Christian was and weighed 9lbs. 12oz.  So very close to 10lbs!  He's working so hard to gain weight and just grow, but dong a good job of it.  He's also working hard each day to work on his rolling, and doing a wonderful job, I might add.  And some big news.....Charlie ate some oatmeal cereal yesterday and liked it!  Here's hoping to a little bit of solid food here and there to add more calories and hopefully cut down on that darn acid reflux.

All in all we're doing pretty good.  Gearing up for Halloween next week!  Stay tuned for some pictures!

8 MONTHS OLD!!

Yep, that's right....our littlest men are 8 months old on Monday!  Corrected age is 5 months Tuesday.  They are getting big so fast and learning so many new things these days.  Christian is rolling around like a little rolling pin it almost seems like he'll be crawling in no time.  Charlie is working so hard on growing but is also enjoying learning to roll around and getting to be a pro at grabbing things.  He loves to grab your face when your talking with him closely.  So what did we do to celebrate 8 months old?


We made crowns for our little kings....

Christian

Charlie...He's trying to grab the camera

Our little kings together.  Please disregard the poor condition of Christian's crown.  He decided to eat it after the first few pictures.

Charlie's showing that beautiful smile more and more these days

And we couldn't leave Easton out of the crown-making fun!  Yes, he decorated his own crown.  And please ignore the fact that he had stuck the marker in his mouth.  You'll be relieved to know that they were washable, non-toxic markers!

We couldn't leave dad out of all the fun.  After the crowns were made, Easton and dad had a coloring contest.  I wonder how long it's been since dad has colored with crayons?

Funny Story

I have to share a funny story.  And it's not really the story that's so funny, but the picture that was taken.    Now, I want you to imagine this before you see the picture.  Imagine in your mind that you're at our house.  It's about 9:00pm and the household is settling down for the night.  Easton is in bed fast asleep and Tyler and I are working on getting Christian and Charlie down for the night.  Christian and Charlie have been fed but they're still awake, laying in their bed trying to get themselves to sleep.  Picture in your mind that Tyler and I are trying to pick up the house a bit before we go to bed.  Tyler is writing out some bills, I'm putting toys away, washing bottles, wiping off counters, etc.  Christian and Charlie are very tired and I know they'll fall asleep soon, but they just can't seem to settle in.  There's a lot of grunting and groaning going on and Charlie is fussing on and off.  Tyler and I continue what we're doing, trying to let the boys do their own thing and get themselves to sleep.  All of a sudden, Charlie lets out a high pitched wail/scream and continues to cry.  I'm thinking he must not be able to settle in on his own tonight.   Picture in your mind what you think must be going on in that crib....

I know having 3 boys is going to be an adventure.  I know as they grow together there will be some arguments, some pushing, shoving and fights.  I know there will be tears but also laughter.  Between brotherly arguments I'm hoping they'll find time to be friends and have fun together.  I can already see these boys of mine are mischievous....all 3 of them.  But it's always the quiet one you need to keep a close eye on..........

When I went to see what was going on I couldn't help but laugh.  Yes, it's the quiet one you need to watch out for.  And doesn't Christian look much too pleased with himself?  That's because he not only stole Charlie's nuk, but the blanket on the other side of Christian...yes, that's Charlie's too.  Christian thought this was so funny and laughed as I gave Charlie back his nuk and blanket.
Silly boys.