Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween fun!

Halloween was saddened by the passing of Chris' Aunt. So wehad and edited dual celebration. Yesterday we went to a Trunk or Treat at the Early Childhood Center Harmon receives his speech therapy at. Harmon was so cute with his little baggy and it was fun to dress up. We were all cats (except Daddy Dracula).

After wards my family came over for dinner. My parents actually cooked a whole big meal and drove it the hour it takes to get to our house. It was a lot of fun and afterward my mom stayed with us the night since Chris needed to go to Phoenix. We did all these old traditions like watching the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and I took Harmon Trick or Treating. Unfortunately there was no one who had candy in our neighborhood BUT fortunately Harmon was too young to notice he was getting robbed :)



Now we are nearing on mid-night and Daddy is safely home from Pheonix and Harmon is hyped up on chocolate. I dunno if we will be getting him to bed anytime soon.

Our twins are 2 months {well sort of)!

This week my little babies turned 2 mos. They are getting so big. In fact they just outgrew their premie clothes! There is something called adjusted age which means they really are as old as their due date. Their due date was October 25 so they are really just NB babies as per size and development. I guess they are really just little old babies.



Thursday, October 29, 2009

3 kids in 3 years :p


This week has been a busy week. This is part of the reason I've not blogged in a while. Tuesday was our 3 yr anniversary! For those who don't know our story when I met Chris the last thing I was thinking is that I would be with that man for the rest of eternity. He was Mr. Cool with an ego and attitude the size of Texas (totally not my type I thought). I was Ms. Independent looking forward to moving and happily enjoying the single life. We had a LOT of fun together those first couple dates and even though we thought the other was totally not our type we continued to go out. One day I think it dawned on both of us that we were very much in love. It was weird b/c I always thought it would be a fairy tale moment but instead it was the slow realization that I wanted to keep being around this man. That he was a good, kind, fun loving, human who I didn't want to be separated from. If you ask Chris I was this quirky, opinionated good hearted, person whom he didn't want to be without. So we got married. Neither of us are perfect and we drive each other crazy BUT I can easily say we are madly in love with each other.




It is so funny b/c when we got engaged we knew we wanted children right away. So after we got married I started doing all the charting and stuff and realized I had infertility. I have a form of infertility known as anovulatory cycles. This means I don't ovulate on my own. I am really fortunate that I got such a clear and easily treatable diagnoses quickly. Each time we tried to conceive we only had to wait roughly 9 months. Many women I know go much longer trying... sometimes years. It makes me realize two things:
  1. Is that we are beyond blessed. Anyone who is fortunate enough to get pregnant and have a child needs to realize there is no greater miracle. Enjoy every moment b/c it will go by too quickly!
  2. There are so many who struggle with this. Be mindful if you know someone. Support them every way possible and be aware that talking about your own kids and/or pregnancies can be painful to others with infertility or those suffering miscarriages. Let them take the lead in conversations
I am so grateful for everything I have! I never planned on all of this but I couldn't be more blessed. It going through mild infertility, premature babies, and post-partum depression that help me realize even more how lucky I am.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mommy "NO!" :)

Since I wrote my miserable commentary the other day things have been getting a little better around the Hakes home. We have a wonderful nanny who comes in every morning and just helps me out until noon. She takes Harmon on long walks and plays with him in the back yard. This has really helped b/c this was the special attention I always gave Harmon before I was hospitalized. Harmon still wants to be the baby... he sneaks into the crib and sits in his old car seat every chance he gets BUT he is learning to be gentle and like his new siblings.


Today has been the best day though! Today Harmon learned the word "NO!" For those who know Harmon know he is a very very bright boy but doesn't say a word. He has been in speech therapy for a while now but it hasn't produced a lot of results. Today though he started answering my questions and comments.

  • Harmon say goodbye to Miriam (our nanny who he loves and hates when she leaves)... "NO".
  • Harmon would you like to take a nap? "No" and than he ran away from me :p
Most moms would hate their toddler mouthing off but for me it is better than Christmas! For so long we have communicated through sign and telepathy but now knowing he is learning how to talk... that just makes everything happier today!

As for the cupcakes they are doing great. Rachel has a bit of colic but I think she will be okay. I'm hoping we will be able to get off the special formula real soon since they are gaining weight so well. Also hopefully it will be gentler on her tummy.

Callum is the pimp daddy of the group. He is very well behaved and just eats, sleeps, and plays. He is starting to remind me of his cousin Troy with the chubby little cheeks. Rachel is just our little string bean still... hopefully she will fatten up soon. Right now she has the most gorgeous blue eyes and when she is happy she has the prettiest little smile. No doubt about it... I've got 3 very different but VERY cute little kids ;)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Halloween Preview...

Okay so our Halloween dry run might not have gone as well as hoped (Harmon hates his mane and the twins are WAY too small for their costumes) but I don't care b/c everyone is sooo stinking cute! Here is our cat family...



Our fearsome tiger and beautiful Cheetah


Than we have the KING of the jungle

And all the fearsome cats together

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Long days...

When I was in the hospital I managed my time by tv and trying to get through the day until Chris came bye. It was hard b/c I was so used to being on the go but than all of sudden I was just STUCK and couldn't be working or out just moving around.

In a strange way this is similar. The babies are ALL napping and so here I am on the computer bored out of my mind with no idea what to do. Perhaps I will start a crafts project soon or something... I dunno. I need to do something. I've been dealing with a bit of Post-Partum depression or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (which is very common when you have spent a long time in the NICU and hospital). Now being stuck at home is making things harder and doing very limited work (I used to be a marketing for Chris' company but now I only do a project here and there with the advertisements) makes it even tougher.

It doesn't help that right now we have to be on guard with H1N1 and RSV. B/c the babies are premature any exposure to these illnesses could mean hospitalization. I never thought I would be scared to death of germs but knowing the consequences makes these risks too serious to ignore. We have been counseled to avoid stores, church, and even the park is risky.

Oh well this is just my whining. I know I should be grateful the babies are doing so well (and they are). Some days it is hard though. Those are those long days... like today and probably tomorrow...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

No more pictures!


So today we did our family pictures and I don't think we will be doing this again... for a VERY VERY long time. HOLY MOLY CANNOLI that was an ordeal. First we were 15 mins late and so they gave our appt away so that meant our not so patient tot had a good 30 extra minutes to get wound up. He would not sit still and his pictures came out a little odd. My favorite was this one. I dub it "EVIL Harmon"

The twins did good except when one was up the other was up the other was asleep.


We still got some amazing photos though like this:


To see more of the pictures see our main blog: link


Monday, October 12, 2009

Twins by the numbers


Ever wonder how much stuff twins use? I never could have guessed until now!

We go through the following:
  • A package of diapers in little over a day
  • 16 bottles a day
  • 14 bibs a day
  • 4 receiving blankets a day
  • 6 onesies a day
  • 1 can of formula every 3 days
And this is just the beginning! Good thing we a great washing machine!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

My little Cupcakes at home...


Callum is such a sweet little man. I call him my "alien" b/c of how he looked when he first got here and how he has his BEAUTIFUL dark eyes that look everywhere taking in the world. He will be a very smart little boy one day! He is so observant and so sweet. When he cries he cries like a little Billy Goat, just like Harmon did.

Rachel is so sweet and beautiful. Her nick name is Sweet Pea and she is just precious. She is also more strong willed though than Callum. When she wants something she wants it RIGHT AWAY. She is going to be a tough strong chick just like her mommy one day :)

Daily life...


On the moms boards I visit there are many ladies who always say 2 under 2 is so much fun but I say 3 under 2 is just a bit insane. Of course we never planned on 3 under 2 but we would have it no other way. Nevertheless I think I discounted what a challenge it would be. Midnight feedings that used to be 30 mins with Harmon are now an hour. The diapers, formula, wipes, trash, clothing, laundry, etc just mound up sooooo fast. The babies are so sweet it breaks my little heart I have to divide my time so much.

Harmon is a bit jealous of the little guys. I feel so bad b/c a lot of it is b/c he has gone through so much change. In the above picture you see him wearing a hat... why? B/c the babies wear hats. He also is going on a hunger and sleep strike.

Fortunately Gualita Zimmerman is to the rescue coming for a week. Already she is helping Harmon adjust to his new siblings. It is our goal to have him adjusted by the time she leaves next week.

We are sleepy. No doubt about it. First night Daddy only had 3 hrs of sleep. Because of my arthritis Chris has been letting me get extra rest. Gualita Zimmerman has been so sweet to everyone helping with the night shift especially. Since Harm is on sleep strike he will only sleep with one of us. So everyone is taking turns with sleep overs with him. I must admit that is sweet, it makes us remember what a cute little baby he still is.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

They are here!


Well it finally happend the cupcakes have arrived! It feels like the end of a really long journey and the beginning of a whole new one that promises to be full of excitement and exhaustion. So far day one we have our hands really full and Harmon just doesn't know what to make of everything; but just having them home makes it all worth it!

At first they didn't want to leave...

One proud dad!

and Mom!

and curious little brother!

Who loves his new siblings!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

1 month, 1 week, 1 day...

since our cupcakes were born! Hard to believe it has been that long already and yet sometimes it seems like it has been so much longer.

Today we found out from the doctor both are being released tomorrow. We are cautiously THROUGH THE MOON!

I'll update either way with what happens!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

What a bummer!


Today was very bittersweet. Chris and I went to the hospital with really high hopes. We brought their car seats to the hospital in preparation for Rachel leaving tomorrow (they test them to make sure it is okay) but the nurse informed us that Rachel had lost weight and would not be going home tomorrow.

But this was the first day we got to put them together. They look way cute together and Daddy was in Heaven. I also got to put the fear of life into the nurse when she tried to have them not dressed in their cute outfits. Also the tubes are gone making all the cuter for pictures and of course signifying that they are ALMOST there.



Harmon playing in the rain


In Harmon news he still has no clue that he is getting siblings. He has had a busy weekend going to the fair, playing in the rain, and Gualita got him his first train set.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween fun!

Halloween was saddened by the passing of Chris' Aunt. So wehad and edited dual celebration. Yesterday we went to a Trunk or Treat at the Early Childhood Center Harmon receives his speech therapy at. Harmon was so cute with his little baggy and it was fun to dress up. We were all cats (except Daddy Dracula).

After wards my family came over for dinner. My parents actually cooked a whole big meal and drove it the hour it takes to get to our house. It was a lot of fun and afterward my mom stayed with us the night since Chris needed to go to Phoenix. We did all these old traditions like watching the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and I took Harmon Trick or Treating. Unfortunately there was no one who had candy in our neighborhood BUT fortunately Harmon was too young to notice he was getting robbed :)



Now we are nearing on mid-night and Daddy is safely home from Pheonix and Harmon is hyped up on chocolate. I dunno if we will be getting him to bed anytime soon.

Our twins are 2 months {well sort of)!

This week my little babies turned 2 mos. They are getting so big. In fact they just outgrew their premie clothes! There is something called adjusted age which means they really are as old as their due date. Their due date was October 25 so they are really just NB babies as per size and development. I guess they are really just little old babies.



Thursday, October 29, 2009

3 kids in 3 years :p


This week has been a busy week. This is part of the reason I've not blogged in a while. Tuesday was our 3 yr anniversary! For those who don't know our story when I met Chris the last thing I was thinking is that I would be with that man for the rest of eternity. He was Mr. Cool with an ego and attitude the size of Texas (totally not my type I thought). I was Ms. Independent looking forward to moving and happily enjoying the single life. We had a LOT of fun together those first couple dates and even though we thought the other was totally not our type we continued to go out. One day I think it dawned on both of us that we were very much in love. It was weird b/c I always thought it would be a fairy tale moment but instead it was the slow realization that I wanted to keep being around this man. That he was a good, kind, fun loving, human who I didn't want to be separated from. If you ask Chris I was this quirky, opinionated good hearted, person whom he didn't want to be without. So we got married. Neither of us are perfect and we drive each other crazy BUT I can easily say we are madly in love with each other.




It is so funny b/c when we got engaged we knew we wanted children right away. So after we got married I started doing all the charting and stuff and realized I had infertility. I have a form of infertility known as anovulatory cycles. This means I don't ovulate on my own. I am really fortunate that I got such a clear and easily treatable diagnoses quickly. Each time we tried to conceive we only had to wait roughly 9 months. Many women I know go much longer trying... sometimes years. It makes me realize two things:
  1. Is that we are beyond blessed. Anyone who is fortunate enough to get pregnant and have a child needs to realize there is no greater miracle. Enjoy every moment b/c it will go by too quickly!
  2. There are so many who struggle with this. Be mindful if you know someone. Support them every way possible and be aware that talking about your own kids and/or pregnancies can be painful to others with infertility or those suffering miscarriages. Let them take the lead in conversations
I am so grateful for everything I have! I never planned on all of this but I couldn't be more blessed. It going through mild infertility, premature babies, and post-partum depression that help me realize even more how lucky I am.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mommy "NO!" :)

Since I wrote my miserable commentary the other day things have been getting a little better around the Hakes home. We have a wonderful nanny who comes in every morning and just helps me out until noon. She takes Harmon on long walks and plays with him in the back yard. This has really helped b/c this was the special attention I always gave Harmon before I was hospitalized. Harmon still wants to be the baby... he sneaks into the crib and sits in his old car seat every chance he gets BUT he is learning to be gentle and like his new siblings.


Today has been the best day though! Today Harmon learned the word "NO!" For those who know Harmon know he is a very very bright boy but doesn't say a word. He has been in speech therapy for a while now but it hasn't produced a lot of results. Today though he started answering my questions and comments.

  • Harmon say goodbye to Miriam (our nanny who he loves and hates when she leaves)... "NO".
  • Harmon would you like to take a nap? "No" and than he ran away from me :p
Most moms would hate their toddler mouthing off but for me it is better than Christmas! For so long we have communicated through sign and telepathy but now knowing he is learning how to talk... that just makes everything happier today!

As for the cupcakes they are doing great. Rachel has a bit of colic but I think she will be okay. I'm hoping we will be able to get off the special formula real soon since they are gaining weight so well. Also hopefully it will be gentler on her tummy.

Callum is the pimp daddy of the group. He is very well behaved and just eats, sleeps, and plays. He is starting to remind me of his cousin Troy with the chubby little cheeks. Rachel is just our little string bean still... hopefully she will fatten up soon. Right now she has the most gorgeous blue eyes and when she is happy she has the prettiest little smile. No doubt about it... I've got 3 very different but VERY cute little kids ;)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Halloween Preview...

Okay so our Halloween dry run might not have gone as well as hoped (Harmon hates his mane and the twins are WAY too small for their costumes) but I don't care b/c everyone is sooo stinking cute! Here is our cat family...



Our fearsome tiger and beautiful Cheetah


Than we have the KING of the jungle

And all the fearsome cats together

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Long days...

When I was in the hospital I managed my time by tv and trying to get through the day until Chris came bye. It was hard b/c I was so used to being on the go but than all of sudden I was just STUCK and couldn't be working or out just moving around.

In a strange way this is similar. The babies are ALL napping and so here I am on the computer bored out of my mind with no idea what to do. Perhaps I will start a crafts project soon or something... I dunno. I need to do something. I've been dealing with a bit of Post-Partum depression or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (which is very common when you have spent a long time in the NICU and hospital). Now being stuck at home is making things harder and doing very limited work (I used to be a marketing for Chris' company but now I only do a project here and there with the advertisements) makes it even tougher.

It doesn't help that right now we have to be on guard with H1N1 and RSV. B/c the babies are premature any exposure to these illnesses could mean hospitalization. I never thought I would be scared to death of germs but knowing the consequences makes these risks too serious to ignore. We have been counseled to avoid stores, church, and even the park is risky.

Oh well this is just my whining. I know I should be grateful the babies are doing so well (and they are). Some days it is hard though. Those are those long days... like today and probably tomorrow...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

No more pictures!


So today we did our family pictures and I don't think we will be doing this again... for a VERY VERY long time. HOLY MOLY CANNOLI that was an ordeal. First we were 15 mins late and so they gave our appt away so that meant our not so patient tot had a good 30 extra minutes to get wound up. He would not sit still and his pictures came out a little odd. My favorite was this one. I dub it "EVIL Harmon"

The twins did good except when one was up the other was up the other was asleep.


We still got some amazing photos though like this:


To see more of the pictures see our main blog: link


Monday, October 12, 2009

Twins by the numbers


Ever wonder how much stuff twins use? I never could have guessed until now!

We go through the following:
  • A package of diapers in little over a day
  • 16 bottles a day
  • 14 bibs a day
  • 4 receiving blankets a day
  • 6 onesies a day
  • 1 can of formula every 3 days
And this is just the beginning! Good thing we a great washing machine!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

My little Cupcakes at home...


Callum is such a sweet little man. I call him my "alien" b/c of how he looked when he first got here and how he has his BEAUTIFUL dark eyes that look everywhere taking in the world. He will be a very smart little boy one day! He is so observant and so sweet. When he cries he cries like a little Billy Goat, just like Harmon did.

Rachel is so sweet and beautiful. Her nick name is Sweet Pea and she is just precious. She is also more strong willed though than Callum. When she wants something she wants it RIGHT AWAY. She is going to be a tough strong chick just like her mommy one day :)

Daily life...


On the moms boards I visit there are many ladies who always say 2 under 2 is so much fun but I say 3 under 2 is just a bit insane. Of course we never planned on 3 under 2 but we would have it no other way. Nevertheless I think I discounted what a challenge it would be. Midnight feedings that used to be 30 mins with Harmon are now an hour. The diapers, formula, wipes, trash, clothing, laundry, etc just mound up sooooo fast. The babies are so sweet it breaks my little heart I have to divide my time so much.

Harmon is a bit jealous of the little guys. I feel so bad b/c a lot of it is b/c he has gone through so much change. In the above picture you see him wearing a hat... why? B/c the babies wear hats. He also is going on a hunger and sleep strike.

Fortunately Gualita Zimmerman is to the rescue coming for a week. Already she is helping Harmon adjust to his new siblings. It is our goal to have him adjusted by the time she leaves next week.

We are sleepy. No doubt about it. First night Daddy only had 3 hrs of sleep. Because of my arthritis Chris has been letting me get extra rest. Gualita Zimmerman has been so sweet to everyone helping with the night shift especially. Since Harm is on sleep strike he will only sleep with one of us. So everyone is taking turns with sleep overs with him. I must admit that is sweet, it makes us remember what a cute little baby he still is.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

They are here!


Well it finally happend the cupcakes have arrived! It feels like the end of a really long journey and the beginning of a whole new one that promises to be full of excitement and exhaustion. So far day one we have our hands really full and Harmon just doesn't know what to make of everything; but just having them home makes it all worth it!

At first they didn't want to leave...

One proud dad!

and Mom!

and curious little brother!

Who loves his new siblings!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

1 month, 1 week, 1 day...

since our cupcakes were born! Hard to believe it has been that long already and yet sometimes it seems like it has been so much longer.

Today we found out from the doctor both are being released tomorrow. We are cautiously THROUGH THE MOON!

I'll update either way with what happens!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

What a bummer!


Today was very bittersweet. Chris and I went to the hospital with really high hopes. We brought their car seats to the hospital in preparation for Rachel leaving tomorrow (they test them to make sure it is okay) but the nurse informed us that Rachel had lost weight and would not be going home tomorrow.

But this was the first day we got to put them together. They look way cute together and Daddy was in Heaven. I also got to put the fear of life into the nurse when she tried to have them not dressed in their cute outfits. Also the tubes are gone making all the cuter for pictures and of course signifying that they are ALMOST there.



Harmon playing in the rain


In Harmon news he still has no clue that he is getting siblings. He has had a busy weekend going to the fair, playing in the rain, and Gualita got him his first train set.