Making Valentines

Last year, we made heart crayons for Isabella's Valentines...

This year...trying to plan ahead... 

I did my Pinterest search for Valentines Day early (or I thought)...

Perhaps you've seen these Valentines "You Rock" or the "You are Alright"

 So cute! 

I didn't want to give Big Sis too many ideas or she'd have a hard time deciding or want me to keep searching...and yes she knows what Google is!

I was kind of excited, these were so cute and we wouldn't be handing out candy hehehe...but then one night she says, "Mom we don't have to do those, we can just come up with our own design!!"

And just like that my Pinterest bubble was busted!  I even offered to buy them!! How easy would that be?

But the excitement in her eyes convinced me to let her "design" her own Valentine.

We even took a trip to Michael's with the trio in the choo choo wagon last Monday.

Timing was perfect because that very same day we got the info that we needed 29 Valentine's.  She was responsible for writing her friends' names and signing her own.  We were warned to start right away!

So instead we folded, she wrote, we stamped and stuck stickers on...

I think the fun lasted one or two days, then they became a chore.  Luckily letting her pick out the treat for her friends over the weekend brought back the excitement.  

We still have 11 more to do...And someday we'll have about 90 to do! 

Scribbles!

Our coloring is still lasting a whole five minutes before they start eating the crayons or markers!

We are trying so hard to make it part of our everyday routine but frustration sometimes gets the best of me.

You see the babies are going to be TWO in May! And though they are doing great, they still are lagging behind in some areas.  It could be the preemie thing...(25 weekers) lacking interest and fine motor skills...or the triplet thing...lacking one on one time, or also knows as only ONE mommy and four kids.  

Maybe their personality ...who knows!?!

But look at these scribbles! (The pink ones!)

Marcos did those all by himself!!

And this mama is proud!  

One of the four might just follow in daddy's footsteps!

Freedom!

The best thing ever 

taking the family to a fenced baseball field 

freedom....

They don't have this kind of freedom at home.  They still continue to be confined to a pretty big playroom.  We are not sure how much longer we will be able to pull this off...as they are constantly banging at the gates and finding things to climb on.  We let them walk to the table when its time to eat and walk to get their diaper changed.  Most of the time they are holding someone's hand.  The thought of baby proofing the entire house at this point is overwhelming.  I think its impossible, especially when Isabella's stuff is always nearby and living in a tri-level home with 3 sets of huge stairs.

 So for now we'll be at the baseball field!

Peaceful Moments

Books are bringing a sense of peace and quiet as long as they haven't seen them in a few hours.

They are going in their mouths less and less! 

Marcos enjoying reading books.

 Sofia reading.

And a big OH NO! I THINK this is Marcos but not 100% sure.  This is what happens when I dress them very similar and then take a few days to upload the pics. Unfortunately I didn't take another pic to help me figure it out. Sorry boys!

Marcos (or Carlos) petting Mickey.

These pics are quite peaceful, but very far from everyday living.  This morning Marcos was getting really rough with Carlos in a not playing kind of way.  Ok, he was beating him up.  Marcos has been getting more and more aggressive and we are trying our best to redirect our sweet boy.  

Perhaps the teething...or lack of language...but this too shall pass, we hope quickly.

The 100th day of school

Last week a good friend of mine gave me a good laugh.  

She teaches kinder and told me how she put baby powder in her hair on her 100th day of school.  

Then she asked about Isabella's.  I hadn't heard much of it yet.  Sure enough...a couple of days later, Isabella got assigned her biggest project yet for first grade.  A collection of 100 items grouped in 5s and 10's.

I won't lie...my first reaction was, You have to be kidding me! Who has time for this?! Soon followed by "We'll have to make three projects when the trio is her age!"

So here it is...after a long but healthy week, our Friday and Saturday night...Dad cut out our big heart while Isabella and I collected, arranged and pasted.  She came up with the big Valentine idea and the tissue paper all by herself!  It turned out to be lots of fun and some good quality Bella time.

I love how this girly girl finished up her project quickly Saturday night so she could still watch a Star Wars movie with Dad!!

And here she on Monday morning.  Definitely not a morning person!

Phone calls galore!!

This morning has been a bit crazier than usual, that included lots of important phone calls. 

We first had a call from the director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program (DHH).  

Very informative. Marcos qualifies for the program.  I just need to get one of our doctors or audiologist to make the referral.  

Then we got a call from scheduling....Marcos's tube surgery is tentatively set for March 19.  

This is requiring lots of coordination because since he is going under general anesthesia, we are requesting that his clogged tear duct be repaired.  Again something that we've been dealing with for awhile, that he has not outgrown.  Our pediatric opthamologist explained it like this:

"Basically once asleep I use a thin silver polished wire called a probe and pass it down thru the tear duct drain system to open up any partial clogs"

This will help Marcos not get teary every time he goes outdoors.  No matter what the weather is like outside, he often looks like he has been crying, when he hasn't been.  I've kind of been avoiding this because it's not causing any harm but if we can get it done at the same time, we will be very happy so we can enjoy the outdoors more.  Our doctors have advised to have the procedure done if it had not resolved itself at 18 months. The time has come.

We've also had to reschedule his speech evaluation a couple of times due to lack of childcare for the other 2 but its now back on our calendar again for February.  Another advantage of the DHH program is that they provide a home visit vs. the clinic appointment through our insurance.  So we will wait and see what happens with that referral. 

Though hearing tubes, speech delay, and clogged tear ducts can also be common in full term babies, its really hard for me not to think that this is a result of being born at 25 weeks.

But in reality, there are way more serious things we could be dealing with so I move on and continue to advocate and get things done.  

In between all this important business I was able to capture some sweet moments....Sofia and Carlos kissing.

 With both her brothers!

Somehow all these calls are helping ease the frustration I feel when I can't get anything done....besides taking care of all the kids. 

Yay for nap time...wait...did I just hear Sofia say "hiiiii" through the monitor?!

Marcos, can you hear me?

We have been healthy for a few days now and hoping we stay that way.
Marcos was able to make his appointment with the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor last Friday and I was not thrilled with the outcome.  One of the tubes seems to be clogged with either fluid or ear wax, while the other one is not in place.  We've been dealing with hearing issues since the beginning. He did not pass his newborn hearing screening when he was discharged from the NICU.  He has been retested several times with very little change.  I have been told that the hearing loss is in the middle part of the ear, therefore not permanent, also known as conductive hearing loss.  Up until now, the doctors have assured me it was fluid in the ears.  In June of 2012, Marcos had his ear tubes put in to see if they would help.  The test (tympanometry) afterwards did not show much difference.  The doctor was a little bit puzzled and decided to wait and retest.  I've lost count of how many times we have visited the audiologist.  In December, he was tested again with no significant change.  So now, the doctor would like to put him under general anesthesia again so he can see what is going on and insert new tubes if necessary.  We were also given another explanation as to what could be going on.  He may have an abnormality in one of his ear bones resulting in hearing loss due to lack of contact between the conduction bones in the middle ear.  This type of hearing loss is easily fixed with a hearing aid.

This will be the fifth time that Marcos undergoes general anesthesia.  Though I am glad it is not permanent hearing loss, I was a little bit shocked because this has not been mentioned before. 

But here are the positives.  The bone abnormality will only be explored if the 2nd set of tubes have no significant impact on the next hearing test.  He is scheduled to have a speech evaluation that will hopefully give the doctor valuable information to help solve this puzzle.  Lastly, I know he hears me.  He loves "Old McDonald had a Farm..." and tries to say E-I-E-I-O at the right time!  He also says bye, ball, wa-wa for water, ca ker for cracker, car and a few other words/sounds.  

And so this journey continues....Please pray for us and our doctors to help figure this out.

I'll share a couple of pictures taken during the doctors visit.   Look how big he is!!

With my assistant Isabella

I can't believe my tiny little boy who weighed 1 lb and 4.8 oz and measured ONLY 11 1/2 inches (the length of a barbie doll) is a full blown walking toddler!!! 

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?