Autonomy

Lilly is so grown up. It's both sad and beautiful at the same time. She keeps me company, loves to chat, loves crafts and cutting with scissors. She loves her family and loves helping me with Ella. She's funny and smart. She's sweet and spunky. She's a risk-taker yet careful. She loves to be outdoors and doing anything physical. I enjoy our time together so much.

Today, while Ella napped, Lilly worked at the kitchen table on some "projects." She wanted to cut and glue. She made a lion and a birdhouse and did a few other projects. Then she found some princess tattoos. She wanted her arms adorned in these tattoos. It's her spring break so why not!? Party like a rock star, right?

For the last month Lilly has been dressing herself. I thought it would bother me but it really doesn't. I even find that I let her go some days without brushing her hair!? She picks out her outfit including socks, shoes, and hair accessories. It's always interesting and usually involves a dress of some sort over pants with several hair clips and jewelry. Today she put on a new sundress, Valentine socks, princess light-up shoes, two randomly placed hair clips, and her favorite Hello Kitty watch. The tattoos added a nice touch.

I'm not sure why this doesn't faze me. I am still completely unnerved by the mixing of playdoh colors. It's just who she is and she's so proud of herself when she goes out that I can't deny her that simple happiness. Oh, I forgot the light-up princess sweatshirt that she always wears as a finishing touch.

Family!

Sunday my sister Stephanie and my nieces Brooke and Bailee came to visit from Florida! Last year they visited during spring break and they received 3 free tickets on their return to Florida (I think they were bumped or offered to be bumped) and they expired on April 1st. I told Stephanie to go somewhere exotic but she chose to come back to see us in very very rainy New Jersey! Lilly was very excited. She loves to see her cousins!! She had just seen Kate and Elizabeth and couldn't wait to see Brooke and Bailee.

The visit was wonderful. The girls are so grown up. Brooke is 13...

Bailee is 10.

Cousins.

It rained every minute of their visit. We went to see the Easter Bunny at the mall today. We were the only ones there. Lilly was pumped.

Ella wanted to ride in a police car stroller so I rented one but Lilly liked it more.

Sisters.

I needed to get Lilly white Mary Janes for Easter so we hung out in Payless where Brooke had a little fun.

Cousins at the mall.

Poor Ella. She has Strep Throat and Bronchitis and I stuck her on the Easter Bunny's lap. I knew she'd cry so I prepared the photographer and they quickly snapped the picture and I took her off of his lap.

When we got home Lilly matter-of-factly told me that the Easter Bunny was just some guy dressed up in a costume. I was shocked but then I thought about it and of course she probably thinks the Easter Bunny is a real bunny and the costume had to seem obvious to her this year at the ripe 'ol age of four. My baby's growing up.

When we got home the girls dyed Easter eggs. Ella played with plastic eggs.

Ella pretended to dye eggs with a plastic egg and water.

Then they had an Easter egg hunt in the house.

We had a great time though it was too short! I look forward to their return visit in July when the boys arrive.

Fab Friday

Today, Ella played with Playdoh for the very first time. I thought she'd eat it but she didn't. Nor did she even attempt to put it near her mouth. She's growing up, sniff, sniff.

She focused very hard on the task at hand.

The cheeks kill me. I love them so very much.

And the hands... oh the little tiny puffy hands.

Lilly worked hard too using her awesome imagination to create some really cool creatures for me. She also made me jewels. This afternoon we're going to go to Target to get some new Playdoh as ours has seen better days. I'm wondering if Lilly's past the mixing-until-you-get-gray stage? I would love that.

This morning I had my anatomy scan ultrasound to check in on the babies. It's a very in depth ultrasound described here:
" The ultrasound anatomy scan, or level 2 ultrasound, is an amazingly interesting experience for parents-to-be. Your baby will be measured from crown to rump, around his middle, around his head, etc. The four chambers of the heart will be viewed, as well as the kidneys, bladder, stomach, brain, spine, and sex organs. Measurements are taken to make sure your baby is growing appropriately (and that his or her gestational age is still on target). A survey of the organs, including the umbilical cord, ensures that they are developing normally (or identifies any potential problems as soon as possible). The sonographer will also be looking at your amniotic fluid levels, the location of the placenta, and the fetal heart rate."

I knew the sex of the babies but was eager to confirm that they are indeed still little boys. ;)

Here is Baby A sucking in some amniotic fluid.

And I feel a little funny about showing his boy parts and all here but just don't tell him I did it. Here, in all it's glory, is Baby A's penis. I never thought we'd see a penis in our lifetime of having babies.

Baby A is our rowdy little guy. He is always active, usually not very cooperative during scans, and likes to kick the wall that separates him from his brother with both feet very hard. I felt sad to see him kicking his brother in the head this morning. Boys will be boys?

Baby B is usually calm. He is all stretched out way up high above my belly button. He's shy and often covers his face with his hands. Just like his twin he too was sucking in fluid for his profile shot.

He was a little more shy with his boy parts so they're more of a blur but here they are exposed for the world to see. Sorry buddy.

The babies are doing well thankfully. They each weigh about a pound and are almost 11 inches from head to toe. I still feel good and am still (believe it or not) processing this whole twin thing!

Sisterly Love

This morning I wanted to mop the floors. I sent the girls into the basement to play. They played beautifully and I was able to mop the floors and they dried before Ella came climbing back up the stairs. I thought she had a black eye at first.

Then I realized she'd been the victim of Lilly's make-up artistry.

Awesome Luck

Andy and I were just discussing how Lilly's bike is too small for her. I never realized how teeny tiny a 10" bike is! The tires are smaller than a salad plate. A couple of nights ago I received a mass email from a preschool mom that she was hoping to give her older daughter's bike away to a good home. She mentioned it was a 12" princess bike. How perfect is that?

I emailed her back and today we received the bike. Lilly was pumped to say the least. Princesses, a basket, tassels... what more could a girl want? To top it off it was free! What more could a parent want?

Life

**Update: ACKKK!!! Once again the video is chopped off!!! Anyone know why this happens? It looks perfect on You Tube and on the blog when I upload it. I can't take it.**

We've been crazy busy with diarrhea viruses, tubes surgery, trying to maintain a clean home (my goal as of late), and daily living. I've missed peoples' birthdays and forgotten what day it was. But I've resurfaced! And here's a little video to keep you entertained.

Why won't babies perform for a camera? The minute I turned the video off Ella said, "Please!!! Bye!!!" Figures.

The New Ella

Ella is well! Yay! Huge sigh of relief.

Things went very well this morning and we were home in 2 hours.

When I arrived, Ella was a bit unsure and kept "pinky" close by. Her thumb was her comfort. She stayed in my lap while we talked to the anesthesiologist, nurses, and doctor.

They informed us that they would be giving Ella "happy juice" so that she would separate from us easily. I had no idea "happy juice" = totally wasted. Within ten minutes the child was so drunk she could hardly function. She stared at Andy's hand for a long time.

Drunk baby.

The surgery went well. The doctor said he drained a lot of fluid. He told us she would notice an immediate difference in her hearing which was really great. Ella woke up from anesthesia very peacefully which was surprising to the nurses. She was starving and drank juice and ate crackers. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink in 15 hours. They let us leave (without pain meds!) since Ella was doing so well.

When we were driving home Ella started crying. By the time we got home she was hysterical and screamed for a solid hour. She wouldn't let me near her and wouldn't even let us touch her. She laid on the floor sobbing. I eventually called CHOP back and asked what we should do. I was regretting not getting the pain medication for her before we left (they would have administered it there). The nurse reassured me that this was a normal delayed exit reaction and that she needed to just work it out. This is what she did for an hour (but without sucking her thumb for most of it).
It was so sad.

Andy came home from the pharmacy with chocolate and decided to give Ella some. I was unsure but it worked!! The nurse on the phone said, "Chocolate is good! Whatever works!" so I went with it. A small bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs later and she was happy again!

She took a short nap and awoke her happy self. We already notice that she's much steadier on her feet! Unreal! She has been a very wobbly walker for months and she's walking steady for the first time.

Lilly's first words when I picked her up from school were, "How's Ella and how are her ears?" When she got home she kissed her and looked in each ear. She saw the blood and gook and said, "Oh my poor baby." I'm so glad she has empathy!

Thank you for thinking of Ella today. We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.