Plane Maintenance

We haven't boarded the plane due to "plane maintenance." This kills me. In my head they're under the plane reconfiguring the engine. Andy assures me they're cleaning and gassing up. Either way, it doesn't help my flying nerves!!

We're Off!

We are finally headed to Disney! We have a 10:05 a.m. flight and are walking out the door. We told Lilly this morning and this is her reaction...

*Please excuse my deep morning voice. It was early.

Lilly's 4th Birthday

Lilly had a wonderful birthday with two celebrations. It was a lot of fun but I'm exhausted now. I'm not sure why because it was very stress-free. My body is screaming, "You're too old to be pregnant with twins!" or something like that.

Last night we went to Olive Garden for Lilly's birthday dinner. Babcia (Andy's mom) and Stephie went with us.

Lilly was hell-bent on having her drink in a wine class. We went along with it but when I watched her drink it (and ask for a lemon wedge on the side) it scared me. Our future...

They sang Happy Birthday to Lilly and she blew out a candle atop a heaping mound of whipped cream. We passed on cake since we were heading home to enjoy cake with Babcia and the DiNunzios.
Lilly picked a Care Bears cake for her actual birthday and was beside herself with glee. As if you couldn't tell... (I love this picture - so genuine!).
Then she opened some presents from the DiNunzio's and Ella had fun walking around with one of Lilly's new princess high heels on. She walked really well too! It was hysterical.
Earlier in the day Lilly opened her big gift from her grandparents; Papa and Babcia. They went in together and got her a very nice scooter (pictures and video to come).

Today Lilly had her birthday party at Bounce U with a few friends from school and home. It was fun and super nice for me to not have to worry about a clean house or entertaining! Here they are watching the video before they entered the arena.
My friend Christine drove down from central New Jersey and it was great seeing her and her girls again. Chessa and Ella shared a snack.
Peek-a-boo!
I can't talk about how I look when I'm pregnant because it really really surprises and upsets me to see myself in pictures so let's just say this is a disclaimer for the following pictures: Oooh, yuck, ack, ahem, agh.

Me and my girls.

For some really foolish reason I let myself be talked into taking Ella down the slide. Bouncy things make me dizzy. They always have. Climbing the ladder to get to the top of the slide had me feeling totally woozy and dizzy, not to mention I now have back pain in two places. I'm old. But Ella loved it!

*Before you look at this next picture, did you read the disclaimer?

After the kids played in two different bouncy rooms for over an hour they went into a party room and enjoyed pizza, drinks, and cake. Lilly wanted an Ariel cake. It was actually very delicious and I don't even like cake.

*The look she gives at the end is apparently because she thought her friend helped her blow out a candle. I was relieved she quickly recovered without incident.

Lilly had so much fun bouncing with her friends that she passed out in the car on the way home. She is still asleep as I type.

Happy 4th Birthday sweet girl!
Now, for your present from Mommy and Daddy...

Labor Story, Part 2

The second half of my labor. Written to you Lilly girl...

By 3 a.m. we left for the hospital. I actually worried at some point on the drive to U of Penn if we would make it. Little did I know I wouldn't have you for another 16+ hours!

When we got to the hospital, Daddy pulled the car right in front of the emergency room so we could rush inside. Thinking back I think that's really adorable. We were so excited for your arrival! I was admitted to triage where we would wait to see if I was far enough along to be admitted to a delivery room. I was tired (had been awake at 25 hours at this point!) and in pain. So much for the big plan I had to shower and fix my hair for the big delivery! And wow, Mommy gets very swollen at the end of pregnancy! Yikes!

We were finally admitted and I was given an epidural around 9 a.m. The epidural made me very sick so they gave me an anti-nausea drug in my IV which made me loopy and sleepy so the next 8 hours are a blur as Daddy and I dozed off and on in a dark delivery room. We also talked to some friends and wondered why I wasn't progressing past 5 cm.

Finally, around 4 p.m. and after 37 hours of laboring things had moved along and I was ready to push and meet you sweet baby girl! Well I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed. I pushed for 3.5 long hours but you never even moved an inch! You stayed snug and content above my birth canal. The doctor finally figured out that you were "sunny-side-up" and that was the reason for Mommy's pain and long labor. Dr. Wu went in and turned you the right way and out you came!!

Lilly Grayce Davis
6lbs, 9oz
19.5 in
7:24 p.m.

I was so glad you were here and you were perfect! Mommy had some trouble after you were born. It's graphic so I'll skip the details. It was scary but Mommy made it through and by midnight was in a regular room with Daddy and you, sweet baby girl!
It has been 4 years since you arrived and I cannot tell you how deep my love is for you. I have been reliving your birthday for 2 days and I would do it all again a thousand times. You are amazing!

Today, you are 4 years old. You are so proud of yourself and so are we.
You can eat cupcakes for breakfast, dress yourself, make your own meals, use the bathroom alone, take care of your baby sister, talk on the phone, make everyone laugh, recognize letters and their sounds, write many letters and a few words, sing songs and create songs, do crazy gymnastics moves, dance like a ballerina, run fast, ride a bike and scooter, roller skate, skip, gallop, and so much more. You're a big girl but you're always Mommy's baby girl.
Your birthday breakfast today!
Using utensils to cut your pancake all by yourself.
Heading to school with your special cupcakes and fruit, birthday napkins, juice, and your Zhu Zhu pet (Bella) to share.(Cupcakes in horrible lighting taken with my cell phone.)
Tonight we will go to Olive Garden to celebrate, tomorrow you will (hopefully) have a little birthday party at Bounce U, and Friday (you don't know this yet), we're going to Disney World.

Happy 4th Birthday Lilly!

Labor Story, Part 1

Almost 4 years ago today, I was 7 hours into what would turn out to be a 42 hour labor. I awoke at 3 a.m. with labor pains that were 15 minutes apart. I was excited. I quietly crept downstairs to watch TV so that I wouldn't wake Andy. When he got up for work around 6 a.m. we were excited and eager to have our first baby girl.

The pain wasn't bad so I told him to go ahead to work to tie up some loose ends. He headed in and planned to only stay a couple hours. I remember standing in the hallway while Andy got ready for work when he said, "We're having a baby today! Her birthday will be February 23rd!"

I hung out at home and got ready for my hair appointment to have my hair highlighted. I figured I could still go since the contractions were mild. I went to the hairdresser and then met Andy at Panera Bread for lunch. We talked about when we thought she would arrive. I had no idea it would be the next evening!

As nighttime arrived I was surprised to still be having sporadic contractions. They were a bit stronger but were 12 minutes apart, then 8 minutes, then 10 minutes, and so on. Around 10 p.m. I decided to start walking. Andy laid on the couch and I walked circles around our downstairs. It didn't help so I moved to the basement and got on the treadmill. The contractions picked up and I remember I actually started jogging and would have to stop, bend over, and breathe through the contractions. By midnight they were about 5 minutes apart so I called the doctor on-call. I was also in a fair amount of pain. He told me it was too early and to wait until they were 3 minutes apart. I was in pain and eager and just wanted to go to the hospital but didn't want to be sent home since it's a 30 minute drive so we waited.

Tomorrow's labor story to come...

Yummy

Lilly made her own sandwich today. It is made of cheddar and monterey jack cheese chunks that she cut herself, 2 banana slices that she cut herself, and pepperoni. And she ate it.

Burnt

I had to share/document this...

For Christmas Andy brought the girls two little t-shirts that say, "My Mom is Hot." It was clearly a joke. They are only used for sleep.

Tonight, I was putting Lilly to bed. I had just put lotion on her so I said, "Let's put on some pajamas or at least a t-shirt" because otherwise she likes to sleep naked! She said, "Oh, I know, I want my mom is burnt." I said, "What?" She said, "My mom is burnt. That's the one I want."

Then it hit me. The shirt. I got hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing. She said, "What? Hot, burnt? That why you laughing?" I swear, it was really really funny. I'm sure you had to be there and I'm so glad I was.

Lilly's Quest

Lilly has been asking, off and on, to get her ears pierced for about a year. My mom made us wait until our 10th birthday to get our ears pierced and I always assumed I'd do the same. When Lilly asked however, I really couldn't think of a reason to say "no". I don't mind small, dainty earrings on kids and if she didn't mind the pain I was fine with it. Yesterday she asked again but this time she seemed serious. I again explained that it hurts, feels like shots, burns, etc. She said it was fine. Andy and I talked about it and agreed. Since she's turning 4 on Wednesday we thought it was good timing.

Lilly's brave. She never cries when she gets shots and I knew she'd be fine getting her ears pierced but as the time drew closer for me to take her to the mall I started to get nervous! I didn't know what to expect and didn't want her to be in pain. I even called the pediatrician to ask if they do it (they once did but don't anymore) and asked for any tips or advice. She gave me some tips and off we went. We headed to Piercing Pagoda which is the same place I had mine pierced 25 years ago!

Here's the video...

Oh, and two things: 1. She fell, scraping her knees on the way into the mall so is upset at the start of the video and 2. I know I say, "Look at Mommy!" a lot but she never stands still or looks at the camera! You know how annoying it is to hear yourself on video!? Ok, enjoy.

(Just watched and not sure why the video is chopped off a bit on the right side?! Lilly is centered in the original video and it is correct on You Tube but not sure how to correct here. Here's the link if you really care at You Tube: Lilly's Ear Piercing)

My Poor Baby

Sweet Ella's having a hard time. She's had so many ear infections (12!) and we finally had our long awaited ENT appointment at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). I assumed the doctor would talk to me and say, "Oh yes, twelve ear infections, let's put in tubes" and we'd schedule surgery. No. The nurse saw us first. Took a quick history and told me the next step was a hearing test and then the doctor would determine whether he'd meet with us (!!). We went back to the waiting room and waited. They called us and we went back to first have a picture of Ella's eardrum taken. The audiologist was lovely and said there was no movement in either eardrum. I said, "Is that good?" Um, no. I'm clueless. The eardrums are of course supposed to vibrate and move. The next step was a hearing test. We went into a dark room. Ella sat on my lap and the audiologist went into a booth separated by glass. She told me not to give Ella any clues. Piece of cake! Well, I was shocked... She first came on the right speaker and said, "Hi Ella baby! Hi sweet girl!" Nothing. Ella didn't turn in the direction of the sound. Then, she came through on the other speaker. Nothing. Ella was still looking up, down, and all around but not in the direction of the audiologist's voice!!! After each tone/voice that came through a bear playing drums with lots of circus lights came on. It was loud. Ella always acted startled and turned in the appropriate direction. I wondered deep down if the bear was coming on because Ella was not hearing the sounds. She did end up hearing many sounds during the test but I knew she had failed. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I had no idea she couldn't hear well. When the audiologist came in I said through tears, "She failed didn't she?" and the doctor confirmed that yes, she had not done well. We were sent out to wait again and of course we were able to see the doctor.

When the doctor came in I was struck by how rushed I felt. CHOP is the top pediatric hospital in the country. We are so blessed to live so close and be able to use all CHOP specialists for our kids. We don't even need referrals with our insurance so it's so nice to always see top doctors in the field. But I have noticed that they do not have the best bedside manner. I really don't care if they're great but it's an observation I've made a few times. Dr. Jacobs was nice. He smiled. But he was very matter-of-fact and told me her hearing test was not good and her ears were filled with fluid. He explained that is most likely why she failed the hearing test and would need tubes as soon as possible. Six weeks after her surgery she will have a repeat hearing test and the hope is that she will pass with flying colors. He also added that she will likely need speech since she has not correctly heard sounds/words for a long period of time. I felt like a failure. I told him I felt horrible for waiting so long and he said, "Yes." Yes!!! He said, "Yes!" He was right but my pediatrician kept telling me she'd outgrow it. I wanted to take her when she was 9 months old but they kept telling me to wait and I trust them. By the time I decided to make the appointment I had to wait 2 months to get in. So now, she's 15 months old and has moderate hearing loss due the back-up of fluid.

I told Dr. Jacobs that Ella has been up crying for 2-3 hours a night, every night, for over 2 weeks. I thought it was because I weaned her but he confirmed my fear that she was in pain. He said the fluid probably builds up overnight and the pressure wakes her and keeps her awake. Double sigh and double feeling of failure. I asked what I could do to help and he said to keep giving her Motrin.

I scheduled her surgery and am freaking out that it's March 16. The first available was the day we come home from Disney but we wouldn't make a morning appointment so I settled with the next available. That's a month of sleepless nights. A month of holding her for hours. A month of medicating her to get through the night. A month of pain for our sweet baby. A month on top of the two weeks she's already endured. I feel stressed, tired, and hopeless. I called to see if we could arrange an earlier surgery but she oh-so-sweetly reminded me that we're dealing with the top doctors in the country who in turn are treating the most profound ENT issues of children who come from all over for treatment. It definitely gave me perspective but I still feel sorry for our baby.

Beauty

Marc is very depressed. Marc is the old man for whom I'm guardian. Today we planned to visit him and when we got there he was in his room with the door locked. When he opened the door he was really down in the dumps. He looked great though! He did some complaining to me in both English and Romanian and then scolded me for not talking to him in Romanian. I decided we better get him out of his room or I'd be stuck listening to him tell me for an hour about how they keep throwing all of his belongings away. Lilly took him by the hand and we went in search of some action!

We walked to the activities room where several people were sitting around a TV watching Danielle, the young activities coordinator, do an exercise video. She was trying to get them to join her but no one was interested. Marc didn't want to go in. Lilly went right in and started exercising. This made Marc laugh and she was finally able to convince him to go into the room and sit down. I sat with him and watched Lilly do the exercise video for an entire hour! Ella even joined her for quite some time but of course I had left my cell phone in Marc's room and was unable to capture the best video.

Eventually Lilly was able to get one of the residents to join her. It was really adorable. The entire room filled as everyone was drawn to the girls. Marc, who has not been lucid in some time, even said to me, "Everyone is smiling. This is the best medicine." Lilly is truly amazing. I don't know how she acquired such a gift but to see her with elderly people is absolutely unreal and beautiful. Even Ella warmed up today and got out and danced. Usually she's pretty scared when we're there.

Here is a portion of the video I took after I ran and got my cell phone:

Technology

I'm trying to use a new application on my cell phone to send videos from my phone to my blog. Bear with me... If you get some weird emails/blog entries, ignore! I didn't know it would post them to my blog. I thought it would somehow store them on my blog.

Laughter

Yesterday I got a really great laugh when I looked in the 3rd row of the van (the "way" back seat) and saw this...

Lilly picked out a unicorn piñata for her family birthday dinner. She had it on her mind that she needed "a unicorn yayata" to complete her birthday celebration and lo and behold there it was when we walked into AC Moore. She proudly carried it out of the store announcing, "This is heavy!" to everyone she passed.

We decided to stop next door to have lunch at Subway since it was well past lunchtime and Lilly held the piñata on the short drive. After we ate lunch I was busy putting Ella into her car seat and I guess Lilly was busy buckling in the unicorn! When I looked into the rear view mirror while driving I got hysterical. I don't know why but every time I look at this picture I crack up. This has always happened to me throughout my life. I'm not sure if it's normal or not but it's the way I am. I picture certain things over and over and can crack up every single time. My friend Caitlyn and I used to say the word "bologna" when we needed to stop laughing and get serious again. It worked every time. But I digress.

Unicorn made it home safely and is now hanging out on our dining room table waiting to be stuffed and hung next Wednesday. Then we will beat it until it breaks. Is that normal? Or nice?

Stumped Parent Moment #3,456

I had another moment where I was left stumped. No clue how to respond or react. These moments always throw me for a loop. Here's my account:

Lilly, Ella, and I were in the Gap shopping (big sale today and today only). There was another little girl there shopping with her mom. Her name was Isabella. We were in a tiny space together for quite some time. Ella was in her stroller eating animal cookies from the old school Barnum's box with string handle.

Lilly and this little girl were talking a lot. There was major 3 year old competition going on between the two of them... "I'm bigger than you!" and "My mom's buying me these shoes and your mom is not!" It was driving me crazy and most of the lip-smacking was coming from my very mouthy almost 4 year old. It's a phase I've been told. I'm waiting patiently for it to end. I put Lilly in time out for the fresh talk and continued to shop.

Isabella wanted the animal cookies. She kept begging her mom for our animal cookies. We decided to share and Lilly was kind enough to take her a few cookies. Isabella wanted more, and more, and more. Finally, the cookies were almost gone. There were 2 left and Isabella came over to get more. I explained they were gone and she left. I had put aside the 2 final cookies (one for Lilly and one for Ella) and when we went to check out I told Lilly to sit in a chair by the checkout counter and eat her cookie (it was the first one she'd had).

Isabella's mom was in line behind me and we both began to check out and pay. About this time Lilly picked up her one and only cookie and put it to her lips. Isabella swooped the cookie from her hand and put it in her own mouth and quickly ate it all the while saying, "I got your cookie! I ate your cookie! Hee hee I ate it!!" Lilly was wailing like she'd been stabbed. She was hysterical and was sobbing, "You ate my cookie! That was my cookie! You ate my cookie!" and then the final, "You are stupid!"

I was in shock. Really I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Lilly's tongue was about to touch the cookie and poof! it was gone. I didn't know what to say. Isabella's mother was not saying anything. She was smiling and paying. Everyone in the store was staring. The sales girl was trying to tell me about a coupon she was putting in my bag and my head was spinning. I was pretty pissed frankly. All I could say to Lilly was, "That was not nice but we cannot call people names."

I hugged Lilly, picked her up, and left the store. When we got outside I knelt down beside her and told her that what Isabella had done was mean and rude and that I would get her a new box of cookies. I also reiterated that no matter what someone does we cannot call them names."

Here is Lilly's version of the story with some side stories and some gymnastics:

2010 Winter Olympics - Vancouver, Canada

She came, she saw, she conquered.

If the opening ceremonies had started at 7:30 as advertised then Lilly would have seen more than she did but she was a trooper and hung in until about 9:30 p.m.! Then I said, "Just go to sleep baby" and within 30 seconds she was out like a light.

The Buddah

I've been asked for belly shots. I must be a very very brave woman. Here you go...

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

We've had our fill of snow this winter. We've had 3 storms and they have totaled 70.3 inches. This last storm added the final 17 inches and was our only mid-week storm so it's the only storm where the kids missed school. 70 inches of snow and only 2 days of missed school. Pretty amazing.

Today makes it all worth it. It is beautiful and sunny and we were able to get out and walk to Jackie's house to visit and deliver cupcakes.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

Disney World, here we come!!!!

That's right, we're heading to Disney and we're sooooo excited!! We are surprising the girls and going to Disney World Feb. 26 - March 2. That's 17 days away and I can hardly believe it! There are so many times in a day that I want to tell Lilly as I know she's going to freak out. But it's a birthday surprise and we don't intend on telling her until we land in Florida. Hee hee.

It was a last minute suggestion that I mentioned in passing to Andy and he shocked me when he said, "Book it." I was only half serious as I think I said something like, "We should take Lilly to Disney since we won't be able to vacation once the twins come." She loves everything Disney. She totally digs princesses. She's asked us on more than one occasion when she'll get to go to Disney World. We never even dreamed of going in the near future but news of the twins changed that and we decided, who cares? Let's just DO IT! And we did. And we're pumped.

We're staying at the Port Orleans French Quarter in Disney World.

We even booked two rooms so we can hang out with the lights and TV on while the girls are sleeping. Our kids go to bed at 6:30 p.m. though I know Disney will bring later bedtimes. Did I mention I'm so excited!?

We haven't been on a family vacation since we became a family. Our last trip together was to the Bahamas when I was pregnant with Lilly. We're overdue!

We went to the Disney Store and bought a bunch of sale items to take with us and give the girls each day so we don't have to spend money in the park on gifts. It was tons of fun shopping for them. We even got matching shirts for all of us!

I'll be sure to chronicle our trip. Until then, shhhhhh! Lilly (nor Ella) knows this is coming and I'm hell bent on keeping it a surprise.

Snow

This storm is no joke. It started later than they were forecasting so I didn't believe we would get any at all. We are now at 20 inches and it's expected to snow another 7 hours. It's been snowing hard all day long. I feel trapped. I don't need anything but I don't like knowing I can't get out and about. Our roads haven't been touched which is rare. But we did have some fun outside!

Daddy building a snow fort.

Hi baby girl!

Ella even made a debut (which meant I did as well). She really liked it this time though the wind is fierce. She was supposed to get a chest x-ray at 11 a.m. but everything closed down. She has still not recovered from her respiratory infection so her time outside was short and sweet.

The snow fort was a hit. Andy made me go inside. I was wearing pajama pants since I do not have snow gear. I realized today I've never had a stocking cap and I want one. I crawled through on my hands and knees while Andy assured me it was "really warm inside." Lilly was inside waiting for me (it's very big inside). I completely forgot I was pregnant until I couldn't fit out of the exit. It wasn't because I'm pregnant that I couldn't fit but I just happened to remember and it made me chuckle. That and I was wearing snowflake pajama pants in almost 2 feet of snow.

Ella had the most fun watching the action from the rocking chair on the porch.

Snow angel!

Snow is beautiful and fun for a short while but it's really nice to be inside with a warm fire and hot chocolate. I love lazy days with family.