Who knew?

Well last week was pretty crazy around here. Tuesday morning my mom sent me a text saying to call her asap because she needed my help. When I called her back she was frantic because my little brother had a date to homecoming(which was on Friday, as in 3 days later) and this was the first any of us heard anything about it. His date's mom called my mom trying to get details. So I spent all morning in the flower shop trying to get a mum ordered for this poor girl. The rest of the week was spent getting details and all that good stuff. The funny part about the whole situation was that Michael just thought he would go on Thursday night and pick up a mum. Boys are so clueless! Everything turned out wonderful and Michael and Gabriella looked so cute together(but they are JUST FRIENDS)! I can't believe how grown up he looked in his suit and tuxedo vest. Apparently just wearing the vest is the in thing these days. Wow, I feel so old saying that!

Well in the middle of all of this homecoming drama we had a few appointments for the boys. Jordan had ANOTHER appointment with the eye doctor. I was really confidant that this would be the last one, but the wind was quickly taken out of my sail. He wants to see him one last time(he promises) just as an exit exam. We saw a different doctor this time, who I liked allot better. He says that Jordan's eyes are stable and clear but he just wants to make sure we have crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's. What they don't realize is that my poor child is extremely cranky for the rest of the day after these exams. I don't blame him because the exam looks like cruel and unusual punishment. His poor little eyes are all puffy for the rest of the day. So hopefully this man keeps his promise and this will be our last visit to the torture chamber. Originally, this was the only appointment for the day but, I had to make a last minute appointment with the pediatrician. Mr Jaxon is losing his hair! Everyone kept telling me that it was normal and that all babies go through this but, I knew something wasn't right. First of all, Jaxon had already gone through that stage and it wasn't nearly as drastic as what is going on now. We all thought that he had a bad case of cradle cap so I have be treating his head for that(olive oil 15 minutes, scrub with cradle cap brush, and then regular shampoo). I started noticing that his hair was coming out in the brush and then it got to the point where I could just pull his hair out straight from the scalp with no effort at all. His scalp is also extremely dry and somewhat crusty looking. When I told all of this to the nurse when called she told me come in. Well when Dr Savrick looked at his head she took him to see her partner to get her opinion. She came back and said we both agree that is it RINGWORM! I just kinda looked at her like "did you just say ringworm?" Apparently it is extremely common in kids and it's a fungus, not an actual worm. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how he got it so I started doing some research. You treat ringworm of the scalp and beard differently that ringworm on other parts of the body. There is no topical ointment or lotion for it. You have to attack it from the inside out. So Mr Jaxon is taking a medication for the next 8 weeks! The doctor said that it is important to take it for the full 8 weeks even if it seems to have cleared up. I also can use a medicated shampoo for a week to stop it from spreading on him and passing it to other people. I also learned that ringworm is an airborne fungus and someone can be carrying it and never be symptomatic. So he could have caught it from someone that held him or just in the air. Don't worry he is not contagious , just in case you are around us. The worst part of all of this is that he will probably lose all of his hair before it is over. I'm soooooo glad we had their pictures done already.

If this ringworm thing wasn't enough Jaxon has also been acting like he doesn't feel well lately. So he's been very clingy and decided that he doesn't want to take a bottle anymore. All he wants to do is nurse. Oh did I mention that I start work tomorrow. Great timing Jaxon! I was getting really nervous yesterday because I didn't know what I was going to do if he wouldn't take a bottle. I remembered that I have some playtex drop-in bottle which are shaped like a breast. Eureka! It worked! It's funny because when I first tried these bottles he wouldn't have anything to do with them. I believe that Jaxon is going to be my picky child.

All in all the boys are great! The are talking up a storm(baby talk that is). It's really funny and cute. They are a handful but we have fun and I love them to pieces.

Little Rock

Well it's been a little crazy since I've last updated. I experienced my first hurricane(well that I can remember, I survived Alicia as an infant). We all fared well, which is amazing considering some of our friends had some serious damage. I can't even imagine what the other side of Houston and Galveston is going through. We still have friends that have no power and Jyusef has been out of school since last Friday. He will go back tomorrow but the students won't return until Tuesday. Since Jyusef had some what of a vacation we decided to go to Little Rock to visit friends and family. We ended up flying because continental was running an awesome special ($69 each way). Yes, the boys had their first airplane experience. I will have to say they were wonderful. Both flights they were very good boys. People kept saying "I forgot they were even babies on the plane. I was a little nervous about their ears popping but we had some ear drops that numb the ear-thank you Melissa! On the way there I gave them Tylenol just in case the drops didn't work, but on the way back we just used drops. The only bump in the road we had was Jaxon spit up all over me 15 minutes into the flight in the way back. I kinda had a feeling he would because he was very full wouldn't burp. Combine that with the turbulence and pressure you get baby vomit. We had a great time in Little Rock and of course, the boys are now spoiled rotten. Between family and close friends the boys we held all the time! I really want go to Searcy and visit Harding but time just got away from us. Hopefully we will get to go to Spring Sing.

On another note, my little brother turned 18 today! I am having a hard time with this one. It seems like I woke up and Michael is all of a sudden a man. I am going to have to brag a little now. Michael is such a good boy! I know that makes him sound all of two but he really is a good kid. He makes such good decisions and you never have to worry about he getting into trouble. He's such a good example to his friends and his nephews. I love watching him with my boys because I know he would throw himself in front of a bus for they. I can already tell they love their Uncle Mike. So happy birthday Michael, I love you very much.

We're back!

Many of you have been all over us about updating so here I am. Life with twins is definately an adventure. These boys constantly keep me on my toes but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are doing absolutely wonderful! We have been free for oxygen for a little over a month now. The only doctor that we are still following up with (besides the pediatrician of course) is the eye doctor for Jordan. He still has a tiny amout of residual ROP left. It is inactive but it until it is all cleared up we have to follow up for eye exams every 2 weeks. It is quite a pain to be honest with you. No matter what time we make the appointment for we end up waiting at least 2 hours to see the doctor (who is in there a whole 5 minutes tops). The entire time he is torturing my baby. Other than that, the boys are 100% healthy! They just started with rice cereal this weekend and they seem to like it. I will post pictures of this experience below. I am giving it to them before bed so they will sleep longer. Right now they sleep for about 5 hours which is great. Jordan is knocking on 8 lbs and Jaxon is knocking on 9. They are both hungary right now so enjoy the pictures!

Jordan tasting cereal for the first time

He loved it!

Jaxon tasting cereal for the first time

Jaxon full of cereal

Okay, okay we hear ya!

Let me just start off by saying the JYUSEF was suppose to post an update when Jordan came home, but apparently I have to be super mom and wife (hehe)! The boys are doing absolutely fabulous. We had our first big outing on Sunday to church. Everyone swarmed us and it was so great to the reactions on their faces. I kept hearing everyone say "oh they are so tiny" but I'm thinking THEY ARE SO BIG! We have taken alot of pictures since they've been home and we will post them soon. As happy as we are to be home we are kinda sad that we didn't get to say goodbye to one of our favorite nurses, Erica. We were really hoping she would be the one to discharge Jordan but they didn't need her that day. We did, however, have Lija and she is another favorite of ours. These two were our primary nurses and we couldn't have asked for better people to care for our sons. We miss you guys! We have had a couple appointments already and so far so good. Last week we have eye exams and Jaxon got a clean bill of health(no more ROP). Jordan still has a little bit left but the doctors says it's looking better and better every time he sees him. He will go back next week for another exam. We also have seen our pediatrician and she is WONDERFUL! She was just amazed at how well the boys are doing considering how early they were. Both boys are growing and developing right on track.

Well I think that is that. Sorry about the delay but I promise we will get "life at home" pictures up soon.

Just a growin'

The boys are doing great! They are getting so big and developing so well. It's hard to believe how tiny they were when born! Jyusef got to hold both boys together today and it was so cute! Of course it ended up turning into a photo shoot (thanks to yours truly)! As you can see, I placed the boys side by side so you can see, they do indeed, look ALOT alike! That's about all for now, enjoy the video!

Another first

Today was another very exciting day for us. I got to hold BOTH boys together at the same time today! It was definitely not an easy task, but very fun. The hardest part was getting them both situated. Once one of them was comfortable the other wasn't because I was moving to much to make them other one happy. It was so amazing watching them sleep side by side because their heart rates and respirations were exactly the same. All three of us stayed kicked back for about two hours. I absolutely loved it! Jyusef wasn't there when all of this happened so when he finally got there he almost had a heart attack. Jordan's crib is the first bed you see when you come into the pod and Jyusef froze when he saw the crib was empty. I didn't see he at first, but apparently he stood there frozen for about 20 seconds. He said the first thing that popped into his head was emergency surgery. The nurse was took a picture of this special occasion so I hope you all enjoy!

Weekend Update

Please continue to pray for Baby Samantha. She was home for 8 days when she ran into some complications from her previous surgery. She is now back in the hospital. We saw her dad on Friday and he said that Baby Noah is doing great. Please pray for Baby Samantha and her family as they go through this difficult time.

As for the boys, they are doing pretty good. They have become a lot more alert this week. Their vision is progressing well. Jaxon will have his vision tested again in three weeks and Jordan will have his tested in two. Also, they both passed their hearing test. I'm not sure exactly how they do all of these test, but it is pretty amazing that they can check those things out.

We haven't heard anything, but we are hoping that the boys will be able to come home within the next month. Jaxon now weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces and Jordan weighs 5 pounds 5 ounces. Jaxon lost a little bit of weight after he came off of the fluids when he had his infection. The doctors say that is perfectly normal.

It is really funny to see Jaxon now, because when he was sick he wasn't as alert. He slept all of the time. Now he has his eyes wide open almost as much as his big brother.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for Jordan and Jaxon in hopes that they will continue to progress and be able to come home soon. Also, please remember to pray for Baby Samantha and her family. Please continue to pray for the doctors who oversee our children at this wonderful facility.

Web Albums Updated

Click here to view the updated web albums.

The Answer Is B, Jaxon then Jordan

I admit, it really wasn't a fair question, but it was fun. Jaxon now weighs 6 pounds and 1 ounce and Jordan weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces. Jaxon tends to be a little "lazy" and so I think that is helping him pack on the ounces. Jordan on the other hand is always awake as is evidenced by the pictures that show him with his eyes open all of the time. I called to check on them the other night at 1 AM and the nurse said, "Jaxon is sleeping, he's doing fine. Jordan is just laying in the bed with his eyes open looking at the ceiling." I guess we know who the night owl is. I am working on uploading new pictures as we speak.