The Things They Say...

Lately Hailey and Hannah have been cracking me up with some of the things they say. Here are a few examples...

Hannah, when she didn't want to get out of bed one morning, "No Daddy! Turn off the light! I have to go to sleep!"

Hailey, when I told her Daddy had to go to work, "Yea, Daddy has to go make some money!"

Hannah, "I can't wait to go to hospital!" (We were going to see a cousin.)

Hailey, "No Mommy, those not shoes, those tennis shoes!"

Hannah, "You broke my pizza!"

Hailey, "I want to go to school with my toes."

Getting Ready for the New Year

I went back to work Wednesday. I've really enjoyed my summer off, but at some point it has to end and they have to send kids back to school. I'm really excited about this year. We have a lot of changes but I think it's going to be a good year. At least I'm praying it will be a good year!

Hailey and Hannah will be moving up to their new class at daycare tomorrow. Which means that they will be working on using the potty there. I bought some pull ups because, well, they just really aren't ready for underwear and pull ups are much easier to get up and down than a diaper. Earlier, after Hailey seeing that Hailey's was wet, I asked her if she wanted a diaper because she was about to take a nap. She said, "No, I'm a big girl. I'm not a baby!" Oh my... so I guess we're done with diapers. I just hope we get this conquered pretty quickly because pull ups are not cheap! We haven't made a whole lot of progress since my last post but hopefully we will since things will be a little more consistent. I'm hoping to only use pull ups for a week or two... We'll see. Personally, I'm ready to be done with diapers/pull ups but I know it will happen when they are ready!

A Big Step!

As of Monday, Hannah is now using a walker. Those who are my friends on facebook have probably seen this video and are probably tired of it! I am just so indescribably proud of Hannah. She has overcome so much and it is so amazing to see her becoming more and more independent. Her therapist is very pleased with her progress and thinks this will help her feel more independent and be able to keep up with Hailey and other kids. This time last year, she could not even really crawl! She was doing the whole inch worm/belly flop thing. Those who know Hannah personally know what a happy child she is. She loves to play and sing and is soooo smart!
Hailey has been sweet when Hannah is using her walker. Last night, we went to the mall just to have a big, indoor space for her to practice using it. Hailey was running everywhere, and when we got to the door of the mall I told her to stop and wait for Daddy and Hannah. She saw Hannah coming and called out, "Come on Hannah! Good job! Yeah!" and clapped her hands. I love these girls more everyday!

I do have a couple more videos, but this one turned out the best. I may post the others soon.

Just a Few Facts

I was recently telling somebody about my pregnancy with Hailey and Hannah. I couldn't remember some of the statistics but I came across this nice little list of facts about monoamniotic twins. Just thought I would share. By the way, trying to get a little better at keeping the blog up to date/current!

Monoamniotic factoids

*Monoamniotic twins are always identical
*Monoamniotic twins are the result of a late splitting egg; one that split around 8-12 days after fertilization
*Monoamniotic twins only occur in 1% of twins
*Monoamniotic twins share a placenta and amniotic sac which means they have skin to skin contact
*Monoamniotic twins are considered extremely high risk because of the risk of cord compression leading to fetal death as a result of umbilical cord entanglement
*Monoamniotic twins are always delivered by C-Section
*Monoamniotic twins are usually delivered between 32-34 weeks gestation because the risks of staying in utero are greater than the risks associated with a premature birth
*75% of monoamniotic twins are girls
*inpatient monitoring at viability yeilds the greatest success rates

Oh the joy...

So we've been working on potty training this summer. Kind of. I am trying to get more serious about it today. We'll see how it goes....

Hannah will pee in the potty but she still struggles with the idea of telling me she has to go. Hailey tells me she wants to go potty, after she's already gone. I think we're making progress. They definitely know what the potty is and what it's for so hopefully before long we'll be done with diapers?

Just trying to move along...

So this past Wednesday Hannah got her braces. I keep obsessing over the fact of whether or not they are on right, if they are too tight, is she comfortable, and I swear that hinge looks different than it did before. I'm trying to tell myself that everything is fine and she is going to be fine. It's just one of those things that I am finding difficult to do. I want to be in control of the situation and the fact is, I can't. I'm just going to have trust that all is going well. (On just a side note, somebody should invent see-through braces and shoes so I can be reassured at all times that her foot is in there correctly.)

Hannah has done well adjusting to the braces. She has not worn them to daycare yet so hopefully that will go well. Tomorrow is her first day of therapy with them so I'm eager to see what the therapist says (and hopefully have my mind put to ease!). She gets tired of them after a few hours and so we give her a break, which is what we were told to do anyways. I can tell that they definitely help stabilize her. She still is not able to stand on her own but hopefully that will come soon.

So how is Hailey adjusting to this? Well, when we first came home, she wanted to wear them. Of course, she can't. She also is not allowed to wear Hannah's new tennis shoes (we had to buy some to fit the braces). Luckily, Nana had just bought her some new flip flops. Hannah can't wear flip flops so this is something unique that Hannah does not have. She seems to be content with the fact that Hannah has "boots" and she has flip flops. In fact, she LOVES her flip flops! After the first few times of being told that the braces were Hannah's, she has not cared to try and put them on again.

It has taken me a few days to adjust to all of this. It seems like it is more difficult for Hannah to crawl with the braces, yet she can't walk on her own. It was pretty rough for me the day we go the braces. I had been so excited thinking this was such a big step and now seeing her trying to figure out how to move about in them is so difficult. It's just one of those hard things in life I guess. She is such a happy, content child and yet I ache for her to be able to do all the "normal" things 2 year olds do. Now don't get me wrong, Hannah is one determined little girl and she usually finds a way to compensate.

All I know to do is try my best to put our faith in God and know that His will is what is best. All I can do is pray for His will to be done and that I will relinquish all control to Him. He has gotten us this far so I am positive He can carry us the rest of the way. To put things in perspective, I try to focus on just how far Hannah HAS come. This time a year ago, she couldn't even crawl. She'll get there.

The next step...

Hannah's physical therapist has told us that he wants to go ahead and get Hannah in leg braces. They will be AFO braces (which I had to google after Matt told me because I had no idea what they were...). He says they will help to stabilize her and get her stand up straight and hopefully walk all on her own! I'm so excited and anxious about this next step. I don't think the braces will be uncomfortable but we will have to hope that she WANTS to wear them! We've already been thinking up ideas on that end... i.e. a new pair of shoes, letting her decorate them with stickers, and really talking them up like it's a huge deal (which it is!).

They're Two!

Well, our little girls turned two back on February 5th. We had a party the following day and had an awesome time with family and friends. Hailey and Hannah were really into opening presents this year. They got a lot of clothes which they were fine with. Every time Hailey pulled a dress out of a bag, she said, "Ohhh pretty!" Hannah had just as much fun with the tissue paper as she did playing with her new things.
It's hard to believe that they are already two years old! Time is passing way too quickly... I'm looking forward to all the new things this year is sure to have in store for us!

Hannah's OT

Hannah was evaluated by the occupational therapist today. She's decided she will see her every other week and give us home exercises to do. So Hannah will have one hour of therapy every other week: 30 minutes OT and 30 PT. The physical therapy will still be every week. Tonight she leaned up against the wall in her room so she could have both hands free to do the wiggle dance with Hailey. (Wiggle wiggle wiggle go! Wiggle wiggle wiggle go! Wiggle wiggle wiggle STOP! Hold stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillll..... For all you non Yo-Gabba Gabba fans out there!) I'll have to try and get that on camera.

What? I have a blog? Seriously?

Ok, I'm going to self proclaim myself as the world's worst blogger. I thought it would be a fun way to keep people updated and um... as you can see I have not kept anybody updated since August...
My last post was all about Hannah not having to go to occupational therapy anymore... well, on Monday she getting evaluated again by an occupational therapist who thinks she may need some more. I'm not really upset about it or even viewing it as a step back. She is still making amazing progress and if this is something she needs to help her move forward then there is no way it's a step back.
Just to give a little update on how the girls are doing...
Hailey is walking/running/jumping all over the place. She is very busy most of the time but still likes to cuddle with me at the end of the day (or days that she is being very clingy). She is talking like crazy. There is no way I could try to list or count the things that she says now. She is also talking in short sentences, like "No no kitty. Outside kitty!" and "TV on!" (when we get in the car and she spots the DVD player we got for Christmas). She has gotten very good at actually telling us what she wants. She also talks to and takes very good care of her baby doll.
Hannah, as I mentioned, has made outstanding progress. She is cruising everywhere, can get in and out of her little chair, can get off the couch (without falling!), and, can lean against the wall or couch and not hold on! She can push a walker toy and loves to get in the crib and "jump jump jump!" Hannah is talking a lot too, maybe even more than Hailey. She has begun to talk in small sentences and will repeat ANYTHING that somebody says. When we leave somewhere she says "bye bye" to just about everything... blanket, bed, chair, couch, etc. She likes to tell Hailey "no" and has gotten very good at communicating what she wants.
Both of the girls are so much fun right now. We love to play with little people, read books, color, sing, and just about everything else two year olds like to do. What? TWO??? Yes, in less than a month my little babies will be two years old! I can hardly believe it myself.
Overall, we are having a great time and everybody is doing wonderful! Here are some pics from Christmas.