Church, graduation and a Doctor visit

On Sunday we took Kalli to church for the first time.  She went to Sunday School and in to big church with us.  She did good!  She was a little noisy but Lex assured me that it wasn't as loud as I thought it was.  ha!  After church we had lunch at my parent's.  Some of our cousins were in town so we got to visit with them too! 

We planned on taking family pictures at my sister's house that day, but it was too windy and we didn't want to risk getting the babies sick.  We ended up going to the club house where Mo and Pop live.  Kagen wanted to do the picture taking.  I have about a 100 random pictures on my camera that she took. 

This is one of the pictures Kagen snapped. 

I thought getting one child to look and smile at the camera was hard.  Now it's twice as hard!! 

My sweet niece Ciara. 

After pictures we went to visit with Mo, Pop and Charlotte before heading home.

Monday night my parent's watched Kagen so we could take Kalli to her NICU graduation.  It was wonderful seeing the nurses and doctors again and all the other families. Kalli did so good and loved looking at all the other babies.  She had her graduation picture taken and got a cute t shirt.  I wish we could have seen all the nurses that cared for her but, I'm thankful for the ones we did see.  They are all amazing people that really care about their patients.  I could never thank them enough for the care they gave Kalli.  They ALWAYS had smiles on their faces and were so encouraging. 

Dr Morris is an amazing woman!  She took such great care of Kalli and always explained things where I could understand.  She was the one that admitted Kalli AND discharged her.  We were so blessed by all the Doctors but especially Dr Morris. 

Dale was one of the sweet nurses that helped us.  We also knew him through a mutual friend and he was a patient of mine when I worked for Dr Black. 

Ericka(left) and Jennifer(right) are two of the sweetest girls you will ever meet.  They are angels.  Ericka was one of the NICU nurses in the delivery room with me when I had Kalli. She took such good care of Kalli.  Jennifer is equally as wonderful.  She knows my sister and a friend of mine so it was a blessing to have her as well! 

 Sunday night we noticed Kagen had a rash on her sides.  (She had been taking Amoxicillin for about a week for a double ear infection) We gave her some Benadryl but, the next morning the rash looked worse.  I called the Doctor but, they were booked up so they scheduled Kagen to come in the Tuesday morning.  It worked perfectly because Kalli was getting her second Synagis shot. 
So yesterday we got up early and headed to the Doctor.  The Doctor thinks it could be an allergic reaction the the antibiotic or it could be something else but, she doesn't want to risk giving her the medicine again.   So no school for Kagen at all this week and she is going to be taking a steroid medicine and Bendadryl.  Fun!!  Hopefully it will clear up fast.  I know she has to be miserable!! 


This weekend I am suppose to go to Grapevine with my mom and sister for our annual shopping trip.  I'm really looking forward to it but, I am also nervous about going.  This will be the first time I've spent the night away from Kalli since she came home.  I know she will do good, it's me that will be a nervous wreck.  And I hate leaving Kagen when she has this rash.  I hope it goes away by this weekend.  It will be a nice break but I know I will be SO ready to get back home. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  Ours was filled with food, family and tons of fun!  We started our day off at my parents house before heading to Nanny's.  Kagen loved keeping us all entertained.

Doctor, Doctor!

Friday Kagen was complaing of an ear ache.  That night was pretty rough.  Saturday morning Lex took her to the doctor and we found out she had a double ear infection!!  Poor baby!!  She has always been so difficult to tell if she was sick,so it's nice that now she can tell us when she is in pain or doesn't feel good. 
Yesterday both girls had their check ups and Kagen had her ears rechecked.  She still has a pretty bad infection in her right ear but, you would never be able to tell by the way she acts!!  My Mom ended up going with me.  Taking two kids the the doctor is a lot of work!  They both did great and Kalli is the only one that had shots.  She is so tough!  She cried during the shots but as soon as I picked her up she stopped!  When I turned her around to see the nurse she started crying again! haha!!  She was fast asleep 5 minutes later.

 Kalli hasn't rolled over yet but, her Doctor isn't worried.  She said it's probably because she was held a lot especially in the NICU and just doesn't care to roll over.   Kalli is just awesome!  Her chart is marked "special needs" but, the Doctor and nurses agree she is doing wonderful!  You'd never know she was ever 5lbs and had lung issues! 

Kagen looks great too!She is right on track.  She's still tall and skinny! I was so glad she didn't have to get shots.  When she was finished she kept saying, "Kallis turn!!" 

Kagen::
 Weight: 29.4lbs (35 %ile)
 Height: 38 1/2 inches (80 %ile)

She's finally potty trained and hasn't had any accidents in about a week.  So hopefully we are in the clear but, we will see!  She is still a picky eater but, she is getting a little better with trying new things.  She loves to color and work puzzles.  She has such a cute imagination.  She loves to sing.  She has started asking questions about EVERYTHING!  She still takes one nap a day.  She is loving school so much.  I hope to put her in Dance next year.  She loves dancing!

Kalli::
Weight: 14.5lbs (65%ile)
Height: 24 1/2inches (60%ile)
Her head size is finally getting bigger!  It's now in the 20%ile.

She wears size 2 diapers.  Size 3-6 month clothes.  She laughs and coos. She still hates tummy time.  She started waking up again at night, but I really don't mind it.  Weird huh?? I guess it's because I'll miss this time with her.  She still nurses so we are going to try and wait until she is closer to 6 months before we try cereal with her.  I can't wait for her to start trying food.  I'm planning on making her food.  So fun!!


After their appointment yesterday my Mom and I took them to the mall to look for matching pajamas for Christmas.  We didn't find anything!!  We did get an Angel from the Salvation Army Angel Tree.  Last year we did the shoe box thing but, I thought we would do something different this year.  I asked Kagen if she wanted to get gifts for a little boy or girl and she said, "Girl!!!"  So we picked a 3 year old little girl.

Thankful

I am so excited for Christmas.  I seriously have never been this excited.  Our tree is already up, since Kagen asked ever so nicely if we could.  But I admit, I've forgotten a little about Thanksgiving.  I have so many things to be thankful for.  Often I moan and groan about not having everything I want, but then I wake up and realize I have been blessed in so many ways.

• I'm thankful that I can proudly say I am a Christian and can attend church without worrying about being sent to jail or worse.

•  I'm thankful that Jesus loves me even though I am a sinner.

• I am so thankful for my husband.  Lex is the man of my dreams.  He wants to make sure our girls are raised in a christian home and grow to know the Lord.  He makes sure we don't go to bed without praying every night.  He works so hard for us so that I can stay home.  He loves everything I cook even if it tastes horrible. ha!!

• I am thankful for Kagen.  She is a strong willed little girl but I wouldn't change a thing about her.  She is hilarious.  She loves making people laugh and cares so much about others. When I'm having a bad day she knows and will give me a kiss and a hug.  . She loves her baby sister so much too!

• I am thankful for Kalli.  She is such a sweet sweet baby.  She was the best surprise I could ever receive.  It's amazing how much she lights up my world.  She is a fighter and is so strong.  She was the last piece to our family.   

• I'm thankful that I can stay home with my girls.  It is such a blessing to be able to do this.

• I'm thankful for healthy girls.  I took that for granted with Kagen.  Kallis NICU stay made us realize how often we take being healthy for granted.  I never once thought I would be the one with a child in the NICU.  I am so thankful her stay was short compared to other babies and that she is now doing great. ((Please pray for the families that are still in the NICU. You can't truly understand what they are going through until you go through it yourself.))

• I'm thankful for the NICU nurses.  It's obvious they care about their patients.  They are some of the most amazing people I have ever met.  They are supportive and encouraging.  It takes a very special person to do their job.

• I'm thankful for my family.  I have one of the best families there is.  I love spending time and laughing with them.  I'm so glad I grew up in a Christian household.  They have done so much for us and we have so much love for them.  There is no way I could express how grateful I am for them.

• I'm thankful for my family of in-laws.  I married in to such a wonderful group of people.  I'm so thankful for everything they have done for us and love them all so much!  I can't even say how much they mean to us.

• I'm thankful that we are debt free.  I don't say this bragging, but hope to be an encouragement for others. We learned such a tough lesson a little over a year ago.  And we decided it was time to get things right.   I believe the financial struggles we went through have made us wiser about the way we spend money.  Through prayer, family and Dave Ramsey we have made it to this point.

• I'm thankful for our home and that we have a safe place to sleep every night.

• I'm thankful for the food we eat.  There are so many families that struggle to put food on the table.

• I'm thankful for my friends.  I have some of the sweetest and caring friends.  I'm so thankful for all the new and old friends I have.

• I'm thankful for our church.  We are so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful church.  We love our Sunday School class as well.  They have all been awesome prayer warriors for us.

• I'm thankful for Kagen's school.  I was hesitant about putting her in school but, I am so glad that I did.  She talks about school and the friends she has made there constantly. 

 
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Videos

We've been working with Kagen on spelling.  I have to give most the credit to Lex though.

 The other day we asked her to spell 'stop' and she did!! 

Daddy has been teaching her this too.

This one makes me laugh.  We made a video for Kathy's birthday and Kalli had some gas.