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What a busy week (and it's not over yet!)

We have had a very busy week around the Wells household. Things started out on Sunday morning with Baby Dedication at our church. We were so excited to show off Kamryn and Kourtney to our church family who had so diligently prayed for them since June. It was a Sunday of "miracle babies and answered prayer" as Bro. Bill put it. Then Sunday night we decided spur-of-the-moment to do one of our favorite traditions and go see the Christmas lights at Lake Lanier's Magical Nights of Lights. So we bundled everybody up and loaded them in. We had a great time - Karlee remembered going in the past and was super excited to tell Kendall all about what was going on. We let the girls sit in the front in our laps and they had a blast. Kendall enjoyed the light but not as much as the carnival rides at Santa's Village. She had a ball on the carousel and train but the flying cars were her favorite. It was a cold, drizzly, dreary night but we had a great time and I hope it will be something the girls remember for a long time.
Monday we had a little breather, but Tuesday was PICTURE DAY!! The twins had a session called "Tiny Treasures" that morning where they take pics of their hands and feet as well as pics with Ken and I. They did great but we had to stoop in the middle to feed so it took a while. Then for some crazy reason, we decided to go the Mall of Georgia to take Christmas pictures that night. It was a zoo in the picture studio and Kendall got all out of whack. Ken finally asked to move to a back room (we had been in the front window where everyone was gawking at us). Kendall settled down and did much better there and I think the Christmas cards turned out great. Let me know what you think when you get yours! Ken rewarded the girls with a trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop where they made Moose and Anna, Christmas moose whose antler light up. They were so cute walking back - poor Kendall was dragging her box/house because it was as big a she was.
Today we took Kendall to see a pediatric opthamologist in Atlanta about her eyes. We just wanted to get a second opinion from a specialist since you only have one pair of eyes. They tested her for muscle weakness as well as checking her vision. She seems to be "extra" far-sighted (apparently all children are far-sighted but their eyes work like zoom lenses to see things). This causes her eye to cross as she is trying to focus. Her glasses help her to focus with out the extra work. He said that she doesn't need surgery but will probably continue to wear the glasses. Most kids grow out of this around age 12. So, we will see him every four months for now (we will cut it to every six as she gets older) to check the prescription of her lenses as well as have a yearly exam to look for major changes. He did tell us this could run in the family, so he wants to check Karlee at the next visit.
In the midst of all this we have been finishing up the addition. The final plumbing went in on Monday. Wednesday they fixed the heat/AC and put down the quarter-round and we got our CO (certificate of occupancy) so we can move in but we still have work to do before that can happen - cleaning, doorknobs and garage door. Ken did get his garage cleaned out so he can at least park his truck inside.
Coming up we have lots planned for the weekend. Karlee and I will be attending a production of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with her class and then have lunch at Chick-fil-A on Friday morning. Saturday we have a Boy Scout pancake breakfast with our cousins in the morning, followed by the Watkinsville Christmas parade. Then we have special plans Saturday night and I have a cookie swap on Sunday afternoon as well as a Toy-for-Tots party to attend. WHEW!! I think next week is a little slower although we are going out (TWICE!!) for my birthday.

Thankful Thoughts

On a funny note - This is a funny story from today.

Me: "Ken! Go back there and see about them. Everybody's crying - and I think I heard a slap."

Ken: (as he is getting up) "Karlee probably hit her."

Karlee: (running out from the back with Kendall trailing behind crying loudly) "Daddy, I had to spank her because she took something away from me!"


On a more serious note - Our miracle baby's are 6 weeks old!! I can't believe it. We have so much to be thankful for this year. I have been reading a lot of stories lately about TTTS and I realize how lucky we were for so many reasons. First, the statistics are daunting - 80% mortality if not treated or detected. Second, there are about a million anatomical things that need to be right in order to perform the surgery - the location of the placenta, umbilical cords, blood vessels, amount of amniotic fluid, etc. etc. - and every one was exactly as it should be for us. Third, our doctor recognized the problem and knew the best place to send us for treatment. He didn't waste any time trying to manage it himself or send us to other specalists who would not be aggressive in treating the situation. So here is a list of just some of the things we are thankful for this year:

• Our maternal fetal specialist, Dr. Rosemond, who knew what to look for, detected the TTTS and sent us immedialty for treatment.


• Dr. Bebbington and the team of specalists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), who performed the life-saving surgery for the twins.


• my husband, who was my rock through all of this. He had to be "superdad" and "supermom" doing it all - cooking, cleaning, bath, bedtime, diapers, playtime, laundry, birthday parties, church, driving, AND go to work everyday. Thank you and I love you!!!


• Our families, especially our parents and siblings, for "baby-sitting" us every single day since June. I know how tiring and inconvienient this was many, many days.


• Our Sundy School friends and our church family at PABC, who sent snacks and good wishes to the hospital in Philly, donated money for food, brought meals, baby-sat, visited and most importantly PRAYED without ceasing.


• My scrapbook girls, who made the most beautiful scrapbooks for the twins and gave them to me at a fun party with yummy food. I am so excited I have a way to document all their special moments - because I would never get it done on my own!


• Our wonderful neighbors in Dove Creek, who prepared meals for us when many of them have never even met us.


• Our ob/gyn Dr. Halbach, who took great care of me and delivered the babies safe and sound.


• Our beautiful, healthy, full-term babies, Kamryn and Kourtney, who show no signs of TTTS - no physical defects, heart damage, kidney damage or neurological defects.


• Kendall, who finally seems to be doing better after seeing Dr. Nurko in Boston and just has a milk protein allergy and nothing that will require surgery and/or long-term issues.


• Karlee, who the best big sister, always helping with the babies and Kendall when ever she is asked.


• YOU - OUR PRAYER WARRIORS - who lifted our family and our sweet, sweet babies up to the Lord in prayer. Day-in and day-out for months and months, you continued to intercede on our behalf. We know the power of prayer, we get to literally see it everytime we look at our girls. We are eternally grateful to you!


• our God and savior, Jesus Christ, who has great plans for us - plans to prosper us, and give us a hope and a future. Who gives us strength when we think we can't take on any more, who provides for ALL our needs, who loves us even when we question him and who performs MIRACLES for those he calls his own.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Life with many small children

Things I say at least 1o times a day (no, I am not kidding - I really counted one day!)

1. "Kendall - take ________ out of your mouth." Feel free to insert anything in the blank. Yes, I do mean ANYTHING!! My list includes socks, crayons, the twins pacifiers, shoes, money, Polly Pockets, Fred (the dog!!!), any small pieces of food found on the floor, in her car seat or stuck to her clothing, fuzz and strings from clothes, paper and stickers.


2. "Karlee give ______ to Kendall. I know it is your favorite/you had it first, but if you give it to her, I PROMISE she will stop screaming." In this case, the blank is whatever Karlee has. Then she will give it to Kendall and get something else. Then, you guessed it, Kendall wants that instead. Well, actually she wants both.


3. "Kendall, DON'T TOUCH THE BABIES!!!!!!!!!!" Kendall, who weighs 31 pounds, has terrible balance and no idea what gentle means.

Did you notice that they all involve Kendall? I guess that is what happens when you live with an 18 month old. Add her to the oldest who is 4 going on 13 as well as the newborn twins and things get a little KRAZY. Life becomes one wild ride and all you can do is hold on tight and hope for the best - and throw your head back and laugh!

Update on the twins: Kamryn and Kourtney are five weeks old today. They continue to do well for the most part. We have discovered that Kourtney seems to have the same problem as Kendall. Most of you know we spent the first year of Kendall's life traveling around the country from specialist to specialist trying to determine what was wrong with her colon. After Atlanta, Augusta, Dallas and Boston it was determined that she had a milk protein allergy. I noticed the same signs and symptoms that Kendall originally presented with so I decided to call the doctor. He said that it sounds like Kendall's situation so he put Kourtney on alimentum for a week to see if this make a difference. She has been on it since Tuesday and we can definitely tell a difference. Since they are identical, Kamryn has it too - she just never had any symptoms since she has been on formula since she was a week old. So, we will be getting a goat when the twins turn one to supply milk for 3/4 of our children!! Other than this problem, the twins are doing good. Kamryn weighs 9 pounds and 1 ounce and Kourtney weighs 8 pounds and 1 ounce. They look exactly a like but the weight difference makes it easy to tell them apart for now.

Yes - we are still here!!

I know it has been forever since I have posted but I have had to choose between blogging and sleeping and well, you can tell what I chose. So, I will try to go back to the last post and catch you up on everything that has happened since then.

Hospital Stay: On Friday, when they were one week, we noticed that Kamryn wasn't eating well and seemed to sleep a lot and be very lethargic. We talked to the doctor and he had us stop nursing and do bottles only until the morning, when he would see us in the office. When we saw him Saturday morning, Kamryn's weight was still down and she had not eaten well during the night, continuing to be lethargic. He did not seem as concerned as we were but I knew that something was not right and I guess he picked up on that and decided that we needed additional testing and sent us to the hospital. Once we got there, the nurses were able to see that Kamryn was having trouble eating and that she was very lethargic. The doctor ordered some blood work as well as an upper GI scan to check for any problems. The scan was normal but here blood work showed a little dehydration and a high bilirubin level. Her level was 17.5 and apparently 20 is the point where brain damage can occur. So, the started her on the photobed (a light bed, sort of like a tanning bed) as well as IV fluids. We also changed her formula from regular Similac to Alimentum which really seemed to help. She did the bed and IVs all night and by morning we could see a HUGE difference. They rechecked her bilirubin then and it was down to 12. So, she came off the bed and IV and then they rechecked bilirubin again that afternoon - it had gone down even more to 10 so we got to come home. Basically she had been caught in a vicious cycle that she couldn't break - the high bili levels made her lethargic, which made her not want to eat, which made her more tired and lethargic, etc. etc. Eating was the thing that would get the bili levels down but she was just too exhausted from not eating to eat any more. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO PRAYED FOR KAMRYN - AGAIN OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED!!!

Feeding Specialist: Once we got home, Kamryn was definitely better but she was having major problems eating from the bottles that we had. We tried several different kinds but with no luck. Ken finally had to go back to the hospital and get bottles from them to make it through the next day or so. Then we had the pediatrician refer us to the feeding team (he had mentioned doing this anyway when we were in the hospital). We were able to see an OT on Tuesday - she said that Kamryn is a "disorganized" eater. She can do all the separate parts of eating - sucking and swallowing but she can't put them all together and breathe in between. So, she has to use a special bottle ($30 a piece) and we have some other things to do while she eats to help her eat better. We have seen the OT again since the first visit and Kamryn has not really gotten a lot better but she has not gotten worse. So, we will continue to work with her and see the OT again in 2 weeks.

GA/FLA & Halloween: We had planned for several weeks that Karlee would go to Jacksonville with Ken's parents for the ball game - especially since her cousin Tanner would be going. Ken decided Thursday after she left, that he really wanted to go but he didn't want to leave the rest of us. We thought about just packing up everybody and going but decided that might be a little too much!! I finally convinced Ken to go and have a good time - he deserved it after being SUPERDAD since June when my bedrest started. So he left Friday at noon and got the J'ville in time to meet Karlee and the rest of his family at a Halloween Fall Festival. Karlee had a great time as Supergirl and she was very excited to see her daddy. They enjoyed spending time together but I don't' think Ken enjoyed the ballgame too much!! Kendall, the twins and I stayed home with my mom. Kendall was Raggedy Ann for Halloween - it was the cutest costume - she loved the hat! My cousin Kerry came out and we dressed the twins in their Halloween onesies and went trick-or-treating at a few houses in our neighborhood. After Kendall got a sucker at the first house, she was not interested in getting out of her stroller and going to any more houses so we can home. She LOVED opening the door for all the kids that came to our house. She would shriek and run to the door every time the doorbell would ring.

House Update: The new addition is coming along very smoothly. They have been painting this week and the cabinet guy is coming to install the vanity in the girls' bathroom as well as the cabinets in my scrapbook room. The trim guys should start on Monday, then flooring will be next. From the outside, you can hardly tell that it is an add on - the brick guys did an amazing job and so did the painter. Ken still assures me it is on schedule to be finished by Christmas.

Skinny Minnie & Roly Poly: The twins are identical. We know for sure because they shared a placenta - this could only happen if they were identical. (This is also the only way they could have TTTS). However, because their weights are so different it is pretty easy to tell them apart - there is a "small one" and a "big one" (a.k.a. Skinny Minnie and Roly Poly). Kamryn is the bigger of the two and weighs about 8 pounds. Kourtney is smaller and weighs 6 pounds 11 1/2 ounces. Kamryn's face is much fuller where as Kourtney's chin is a little more pointy. They have many of the same mannerisms and they sleep the same way - even down to how they hold their hands. But, they are already starting to have their own little personalities. I can't wait to see how they will look and act as they get older.

I hope that catches you up a little on some of the things that have been going on. In the midst of all of this, we have been trying to adjust to life with "four under five". I have had the twins by myself quite a bit and it is not too bad - I have managed so far. I have even done the twins and Kendall by myself - a little tougher but still not too bad. I have yet to try all four by myself - I am not totally crazy!!! I am feeling good and I hope to start driving again sometime this weekend. I will post pictures and more twin info soon.

1 Week Old

We've survived one week!!! It has been crazy. The twins and I came home on Monday and it was a restful afternoon once we finally got home. We were at home on Tuesday also. Wednesday we had to take the twins to the doctor for a weight check. Kamryn was down to 6 lbs. 7 oz. and Kourtney was down to 5 lbs. 9 oz. so the pediatrician decided that we needed to start supplementing them with formula. So he had us give a bottle after every other feeding. Thursday I got to go to Karlee's school for her book fair - she was so excited that I could go places again. Then she and Kendall had to get flu shots - they did great!! We sent both grandmother's while I stayed with the twins at my mom's. The pediatrician accused Ken and I of giving them the "dirty job" but Karlee didn't cry and Kendall only cried for a minute or two. I was so proud of them.

We really started to notice yesterday that Kamryn was not nursing well, nor was she taking her bottle well. We got some baby scales today to weigh them and she had lost another 3 ounces since we had seen the doctor on Wednesday. This really concerned us - since we had been supplementing for two days,they should not have lost any more weight. We talked to the doctor again tonight and he wants to try Kamryn on bottles only for tonight and then we will see him in the morning. Ken and I are concerned that maybe she has some issues from the TTTS since she was the donor. Please keep her in your prayers. We will update you all in the morning after we see the doctor.

THE BABIES ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!

MOM AND BABIES!!!



KAMRYN DAILEY WELLS



KOURTNEY SUMMERLIN WELLS



Hey, this is Ken trying to make this post so hopefully it will be right. The twins were born yesterday at around 1:30 PM. Kourtney Summerlin Wells was born at 1:27; weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long. Kamryn Dailey Wells was born at 1:28, weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long. We knew that there would probably be a weight difference due to the TTTS, obviously Kamryn got the most of the placenta when they disconneted the blood vessels on the placenta during the surgery this summer. Kourtney had some low blood sugar and respitatory distress at the first, but they put a NG tube down her and feed her some formula which brought her blood sugar up from 31 to 61, this in turn eliminated the respitatory distress and she started doing well. She had to have blood sugar checks ever three hours until we had 3 in a row above 50 and we finished those around midnight last night. Both babies are doing great along with mom and nursing well and Greer seems to be handling the feeding really well. I am going to try and attach some pictures as well.

Thanks for all of the Prayers!!!

Ken and Greer

Today is the DAY!!!!!!!!

It is officially baby day! I am still up because I was waiting until the last minute to eat - from midnight to 1:00 pm is a loooooooong time to go with out food and water - especially for a pregnant woman! Ken got me Taco Bell around 11:30 and I really enjoyed it. We are headed to the hospital around 11:00 and the babies should be born sometime after 1:00. Ken will post as soon as he gets a chance so check back often for updates!!

Thank you all for your prayers during our long journey - lift us up one more time with prayers for a safe C-section, healthy babies and a quick recovery for me.

We love you all!!!

Halloween Preview

How cute are these kids???

37 Weeks!

We are 37 weeks today! They measured the babies this week - Kamryn is measuring 6 lbs. 13 oz. and Koutney is measuring about 6 lbs. The doctor was a little concerned about the difference in their weights, so she called our specalist. He said that he was not concerned - they had checked blood flow, breathing and heart rates and the smaller baby seemed to be doing great - so no cause for alarm. It is common for TTTS twins to have a fairly large difference in weights. When they performed the surgery and separated the connecting blood vessels, each baby got their own "half" of the placenta. Except, this division is rarely a true 50-50 split. In our case, the donor (Kamryn) has about 40% of the placenta and the recipient (Kourtney) has about 60%. This means that Kourtney should be the larger baby - we are not really sure why she is not but she is healthy so that is all that really matters. My hemogloabin is continuing to increase, it is 11.2 now so that is great!! Especially since Ken started an antibiotic and they would not allow him to donate blood like he had planned. Also, Kamryn has turned AGAIN and is now transverse (or crosswise) with her head back in my ribs. So it looks like a C-section again - for now anyway. I guess it will be week-to-week or even day-to-day since she seems to be turning and flipping so much.

House News: They got the slab poured for the garage on Tuesday and were supposed to start framing on Wednesday but that was before the monsoon of rain. While the rain was much needed in our area, it caused a HUGE problem at our house. We had major water build up all around the new foundation that had been poured as well as building up under the house. It was crazy for about 5 hours as Ken, his dad, and my dad worked in the rain and mud hooking up pumps and hoses and digging trenches for the water to drain. They finally got it all pumped out and we thought the rain was finished only to wake up and find out that it had rained more in the night and there was water everywhere again!!! Thankfully, the rain stopped for good and Ken was able to get it pumped again and not miss too much work. It has all worked out and the framers are here today and may even get the second story finished by tonight. Yeah!!

Check back often for updates on the babies - ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!

36 Weeks!

Only two more weeks!!!!!!! We are 36 weeks today and we got some great news at the doctor's yesterday. Kamryn has turned and is now HEAD DOWN! This means that I can try a regular delivery if I want to. We will stick with the date of the 17th and if she is still head down then it will be an induction instead of a C-section. My hemoglobin has also come up since last week. It is still not as high as they would like it to be for a C-section but it is improving. We are trying to decide what is the best/safest option for me and the babies.

The babies bags are packed and the stroller and car seats are ready. We are going to put the bases in the car next week. We have one cradle and we are getting the other this weekend. The garage slab will be poured either Saturday or Monday and the framers are supposed to start on Wednesday.

I can't believe that the babies are almost here. I am so excited but so nervous. I have no idea what to expect with two. It will be a great new experience. We have waited so long and with so much anticipation as well as uncertainty, that it will be so wonderful to actually have them here.

35 Weeks

We are 35 weeks today. Things are still looking great. The babies are doing great. Fluid levels are good, heart rates and breathing are good. They are moving around a lot and everyday there is less and less room for them to move. Kamryn is still breech so a C-section looks definite. The only problem seems to be that my iron levels are low and even with medicine they are continuing to drop. I am trying to eat lots of red meat and green vegetables. We are just a little concerned because when Karlee was born, I had a some excessive bleeding. I didn't need blood but they had some trouble getting it stopped. There is a little more risk of blood loss with a C-section and twins. Please pray that my hemoglobin levels will increase.

They have started on our house. They have graded and poured the footings and the walls. Ken is going to try to get it filled in this weekend so they can pour the slab for the garage early next week and then they will start framing. I "requested" that the framing be finished before the babies come home so we don't have hammering with newborn babies in the house. This should give them about two weeks to get the framing done which should be no problem. Things seem to be moving right along. We just need the weather to continue to cooperate.

34 Weeks (and we have a date!)

We are 34 weeks today! Things are still looking great. We have graduated from our maternal-fetal specialist. We saw him for the last time this week - we have to see our regular OB weekly from now on and we will have a biophysical profile (similar to a non-stress test) done each time. They will check heart rate, breathing movements, fluid levels and fetal movement for each baby. Measurements this week: Kourtney - weight = 4 lbs 11 oz, HR = 146 & Kamryn - weight 4 lbs 15 oz, HR = 134. This means I have 9 lbs 10 oz of baby in my belly - and you can definitely tell by looking at me. Kamryn is still breech so we have scheduled a C-section for Friday October 17th at 1:00 at ARMC.

In other news, Ken has all of the house stuff lined up and they are scheduled to start grading tomorrow (Friday). Kendall had a check up at the ENT and her ears look great and her hearing is 100%! We also had to get her glasses fixed for the first time this week, but I don't think it was her fault that the nose piece fell off! Karlee is doing great at soccer and even scored a goal in the game on Monday. I will try to get some pictures posted soon.

The Early Bird . . .

gets the attention? I read one time that children will develop certain sleep patterns or habits for some unusual reasons - one of them being so the child can have the parents all to themselves. I think that both of my children do this! Kendall has been waking up at or before 6:00 am EVERY morning lately. Ken gets her from her crib and brings her to our bed where she has her milk. She snuggles with us, plays with my hair, climbs all over Ken, plays with Fred and really seems to enjoy spending time with us by herself. Karlee is a late sleeper, some mornings we even have to wake her up, but she stays up later than Kendall. This is her special time to spend with us by herself. She gets in our bed and we read a couple of books. Then we say our prayers and snuggle. It is really neat to me when I stop and think how my kids create their own ways to spend quality time with us. I am not sure how this will work when there are two more - I hope no one will decide that their "special" time is 2 am!!

33 Weeks

We are 33 weeks today. We saw the doctor yesterday and everything is looking good. Kamryn is still breech. (I really don't think that she is going to turn - she really hasn't changed position since we got back from Philly.) So, it looks like a C-section. We have tentatively set a date of October 17th - this will be 38 weeks and 1 day. We will see if I make it that far or if they will come sooner. They did not do any measurements this week either. We will see Dr. Rosemond next week and I am sure they will check and double check everything, so I should have some good info then.

I am working on getting everything ready - nursery, bags packed (for everyone), clothes washed, cradles set-up. Ken is hoping to start on the addition in about 2 weeks so we can get finished by Christmas - he sort of promised me it would be done by then. We have some things to move in order for them to begin, but they should not have to be in the house for any part of the addition except the final tie-in when it is all finished. I am getting a big mud room downstairs and I am so excited!! I want cubbies for all the girls to put their junk in. You wouldn't think Kendall, at 16 months, would have "junk" but she does - diaper bag, shoes, car toys, jacket, etc. and Karlee has even more than that so they will be a big help in keeping neat and organized.

I have a few twin questions - if anyone can help me out, please let me know.
1. Can they sleep in the same cradle, crib, bed? For how long?
2. How to you manage time to do anything else if you nurse them? And how exactly does that work?
3. How do you get them on the same schedule?

Thanks for your help!

32 Weeks

We are 32 weeks today. I don't have anything new to report because for the first time since June 13, we had a week with out a doctors appointment. I am sure this will be the last, since we are getting close to our due date and my OB appointments will be every week.

Kendall is doing great with her glasses. She doesn't pay any attention to them - unless they get bumped and crooked - then she comes to me right away to get them fixed. Once we caught her with the nose piece in her mouth, but I honestly think they fell down near her mouth instead of her pulling them off. She is doing well with her colon problems and is growing like a weed (she was 16 months on Monday). She loves to eat and fruit is her favorite. Karlee will tell you "the child loves some fruit now!"

Karlee is three weeks into pre-school and is loving it. She could already write her name but now she is learning lowercase letters as well. I love that her teacher is doing a lot of science with them as well. They are doing "speriments" - each week they will learn a new science concept based on the letter they are studying. This week was "absorption" for short "a". (By the way there is a great new show on PBS called Sid the Science Kid - that teaches basic scientific concepts. It comes on at 7:30 am and then again mid-morning.) She is also taking art class on Thursdays with her teacher from last year- Ms. Leslie. She is also playing soccer this fall on her Uncle Tommy's team with her cousin Tanner.

I worked in Kendall's room/the nursery a few days ago and got some stuff done. (Ken was worried the babies were coming because he thought I was nesting!!) I packed up most of Kendall's summer clothes, got out newborn sizes to be washed and tried to figure out how to fit all of Kendall's things and all of the twins' things in the same room until we get the addition finished. Ken has been working hard all week talking to subcontractors and getting bids for framing, electrical, etc. Hopefully we will be able to start on it soon so it can be finished before Christmas. Karlee really wants to share a room with her sister - she thinks they will sleep together everynight.

That about covers what we have been up to lately. I should have more to post about the twins after our doctors appointment next week.

31 Weeks!

We are 31 weeks today. This is a big milestone for TTTS babies. I don't think that any of the doctors ever expected us to make it this far. We saw the doctor this week and he was just amazed at how well the babies are doing. They are in the 45th and 55th percentiles for weight which is wonderful. He said fluid levels look wonderful and they are moving great. He watched them "breathe" for a while and seemed very excited by that. Kourtney has turned again and is now head down but Kamryn is still breech. She just flat out refuses to flip around. I am starting to wonder if their personalities in the womb will be the same out of the womb. Kourtney was the recipient "the taker" and she is crazy - moving, flipping, kicking - pretty much wild. Kamryn was the donor "the giver" and she is much more calm - she does move but nothing like Kourtney. It will be really interesting to see how their personalities develop.

Kendall got her glasses today and she is the cutest thing. She has been so good with them. She has not tried to pull them off once!! One time she brought them to me to put back on - but we realized that they came off when she tried to pull a bead necklace over her head. I really think that she can see better so she wants to wear them. Her ears seem to be doing great as well - not signs of any problems. Praise the Lord!

Kendall's Surgery

**UPDATE** Kendall's surgery went great and we are already home. She had quite a bit of fluid in one ear, which they drained, but the doc said that she definitely needed the tubes because it would have never drained on its own. This should improve her hearing. She is doing great - just a little tired. Thanks so much for all the prayers!

Kendall will have her tubes put in first thing Wednesday morning. We will be the first surgery - around 7:30. The surgery should only take about 10 minutes, so with recovery time the whole thing should take less than an hour. Please pray for the doctor as he performs the procedure and for Kendall to be calm, peaceful and unafraid. She also got fitted for her glasses today - she looks adorable. Hopefully, they will be in Friday for final adjustments and she will have them for the weekend.

30 Weeks

We are 30 weeks today. Everybody is doing great. Fluid levels are normal as are heart rates, cord blood flow and cranial blood flow. Kamryn weighs 3 lb 4 oz and Kourtney weighs 2 lb 15 oz. which is essentially about the same. They are within 9% of each other so this is perfectly fine. We had our second "graduation" so now we only have to see the maternal-fetal specialist every four weeks. So we will see him at 34 weeks. We are still seeing our OB every two weeks. We have truly been part of a miracle - it is amazing to see how well the twins are doing compared to where they started. We are so grateful to our doctor for recognizing our problem so quickly and sending us to the best place possible for treatment. Isn't God amazing?!!!

A quick update on Kendall: We saw the ENT doc today and he said tubes are a "no-brainer" for her. She is scheduled to have them put in on Wednesday morning. Please keep her in your prayers - even though she is an old pro at being put to sleep it is never something you want have done to your baby.

Today was a "BAD DAY" for Kendall at the doctor

Ken has taught Kendall to put her hands on her head to show she had a "bad day". It is really quite funny and I will try to get a picture up as soon as I can. Well, today she really needed to do that and it wasn't so funny. She had a check up this afternoon and we discovered she has a few problems. First, she had her sixth ear infection since October. This means she will need tubes in her ears. We will see the ENT doctor on Thursday to find out more, but we will try to do the tubes ASAP. We want to be through with this by the time the twins arrive. The other thing that we learned was that she has a problem with her vision. She has what we think is strabismus (one of her eyes turns in). We will see the opthamologist on Monday to see what treatment we will start - probably patch therapy and possibly glasses later on. She also needed two shots (just regular vaccines - but still not fun). The good news is that the non-diary diet seems to be working great for her colon problems. Please continue to keep Kendall in your prayers. We appreciate it so much. None of this has taken away from her sweet, sweet spirit. She is still the happiest, silliest, most loving child you will meet. I thank God everyday that none of this has changed her personality - she is still my same sweet Kendall!!

Scott is Married!!

I can't believe that my baby brother is married! He got married at Navarre Beach in Florida so the doctors would not let me go - I was so sad. I have been getting updates all day from Ken. I talked to them as soon as the wedding was over. Karlee was the flower girl and did AWESOME!!! She was so beautiful in her dress. She was the "star" of the show - smiling and throwing her petals as she walked. They all had a great time at the reception, Karlee and Katie danced and danced and even Kendall danced with her daddy. Congrats Scott and Shanna!!

29 Weeks

We were 29 weeks yesterday. Nothing really new to note. Things are still looking good. The babies move around a ton. I can feel (and see) them moving and every week we go in, they have changed position. This week they were laying on top of each other so right now it still looks like a C-section. The doctor has said from the beginning that she would not let me go past 38 weeks so at the most we have 9 weeks to go. At this point, it is really up in the air as to whether we can go that long, but we'll see. We want to get as close to that as we can - and avoid a stay in the NICU. When we see the doctor next week, we will have new weights and measurements to share.

I want to say a special thanks to my neighbors who have been providing meals for us lately. A sweet mom with two young children has organized the whole thing and it has been wonderful. It is so helpful to Ken when he can come home from working all day and not have to cook a meal. The food has been delicious - we are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors! Thank you all.

Flippin' for Summer!

I can't believe that Karlee is only four and she can do a flip off the diving board! She learned to dive several weeks ago and she does it beautifully. Then Ken taught her to flip. It is so cool. I am so glad that she is having fun at the pool. That is her special time with her daddy and I know they both treasure it. I kind of feel like the girls have been robbed of their summer because of all the baby drama. There were so many things that we planned to do with them that we had to put on hold - beach trips, ball games, playin in the pool, storytime at the library, playdates with friends, picnics, etc. Oh well, we will have plenty of summers to do all these things (we will just have two more people). Ken has decided that we need to get a camper so that we can afford to go on vacations. This summer is almost over and we will go back to our "normal" routine. I can't believe that most schools around have already started. Karlee will start on Monday. I can't believe that summer is over.

28 Weeks

We are 28 weeks today. Our doctors appointment this week was good news again!!! Both babies have normal levels of fluid, hearts look good, blood flow looks good. In fact, we are doing so well that we "graduated" to visits every two weeks instead of every week. We have increased our OB visits to every two weeks, so we are still going weekly to see somebody. The only not good news (not really bad news) was that both babies are breech. Kamryn has been transverse for a while but in one week Kourtney flipped totally around and is now head up also. This is not good for me becuase I want to have a normal delivery and not a C-section! Thank you so much for all your prayers - God is listening and answering. We are so blessed.

Kendall is 15 months

I can't believe that Kendall is 15 months today. She is growing like a weed. She is just about the funniest kid I know (besides Karlee of course). She has this silly grin she does that just lights up her whole face. It is amazing that she is so happy and cheerful after all she has been through. (It's a long story - lets just say she has seen her share of Children's Hopsitals around the country.) She has two new tricks - drinking from a straw and doing a "roll-over". I don't think Karlee could drink from a straw until she was at almost three. She loves her big sister and her favorite game to play is hide-n-seek. She will "hide" her eyes with her hand while Karlee hides and then she will go find her. When she finds Karlee, she squeals with delight. My sweet, sweet Kendall!

27 Weeks

We are 27 weeks today. We got great news at the doctor this week. Kourtney (the recipient) now has a normal level of fluid!!! PTL!!! Her heart looks normal - no thickening of the walls could be seen. What a miracle. In theory, this should have happened shortly after the surgery but for some reason it did not so our doctor seemed to think that maybe it wouldn't. But, things have changed. The doctor said if he was seeing us for the first time he would think it was a normal twin pregnancy. He also said that he would "bet" that we would make it past 31 weeks (which was sort of our goal after the surgery). Yeah!! Ken and I are a little cautious about getting too excited. We want to make sure that it was not just a random thing or that it doesn't continue to go down and end up too low. The doctor says we really need to see how things look next week and then he will have a better idea of whether the fluid level is stable. As our OB said - 27 weeks is great but we still have a long way to go. So, the dreaded bedrest is working - I guess I'll stop complaining now. There are pictures of each girl and the last picture is of both girls and they look like the are fighting. I hope it is not a sign of things to come!

Kourtney

Kamryn

Fighting Like Sisters