Grandma & Grandpa come to visit!

We were so excited that Grandma and Grandpa Thornton and cousin Braydon were able to come and visit us this weekend. We had a lot of fun but we were hoping for better weather. Still we did get to spend a lot of time outside. I played a lot of wiffle ball with Braydon and he helped me to finally get introduced to our neighbors after going over there to ask for balls back that were hit over the fence. I got to teach Braydon some new tricks on the trampoline which was fun because I havn't jumped that much in a long time. I'll admit though I was pretty tired after a day of wiffle ball & jumping on the trampoline. It was a big reminder that I am going to have 2 kids that want me to come and play.





We also got to go to the park where the twins love to swing. Braydon was able to make a friend real quick which was nice so he had someone to play with.







The last night they were here we got to play mini golf but forgot to bring our camera so no pictures. After mini golf we went and had dinner and then went and got cheese cake from the Cheese Cake Factory. MMMMM my favorite! Their time here was a lot of fun but like always we were sad the visit was so short.

Softball

I am on a softball team with some of my co-workers (well some used to be my co-workers, a lot of them were laid off with our last big lay off - hence our team name the Unemployed). Anyway it is a lot of fun. We are so laid back and just out there to have fun. Thanks goodness because I am horrible, I have never been athletic. Friday night we had a double header and because we got to play so much Greg got to join us in the second game. It was a lot of fun watching him play and now we have decided to sign up for a fall league together!

Jayse's first hair cut

We finally gave Jayse a hair cut. He did really well no whining or crying. I was a little sad to lose his cute curls but his hair was getting in his eyes so it was time.

(Jayse before the hair cut)

(Starting the hair cut)

(Done with the top so now he has a mullet!)

(Cutting the back, getting rid of the mullet)

(All done! My two handsome guys)

1st Birthday

The twins celebrated their first birthday on May 21st! Jayse couldn't eat any solids yet so we didn't do much. My mom came over and sister and we let them open presents and that was it.

(Jayse excited he got a shovel)

(Jaelee reaching in for more presents)


At the last minute we decided we wanted to have a party for the twins because Jayse was getting his arm splints off and was going to be able to eat again. So Tuesday night I was making invitations and planning their party for Saturday. We took the twins outside and put them in the hammock to get some pictures for their invitations. Trying to get a picture of the two of them both looking at the camera and smiling is almost impossible so after almost 30 pictures we decided to just do single photos.
(this was the best photo of the two some)




Saturday came and it was time to party. My mom, sister, grandpa & grandpa, Aunt & Uncle Harker, & my cousins Robyn & Jack came with their kids. We had a lot of fun. The kids went on the slip and slide, played in the kiddie pool, and jumped on the trampoline.






We had a lot of great food, bbq'ed hamburgers & hot dogs and I made 2 cakes. I was so excited to see the twins dig into the cakes. Jaelee didn't really like it which didn't surprise me because she doesn't like to get messy. She liked it when I fed it to her and she didn't have to get her hands all dirty. Jayse just dug in and made a big mess, I loved it! We took the high chairs outside so we could just hose them off when they were done and not worry about a big mess inside. It was a great day and I am glad we decided to have a party and thank you to everyone for coming. I can't believe the twins are all ready a year old. I love having them in our lives and am so proud to be their mom.

Busy.....

Jayse is doing really well except the twins got sick with something and they both have lost their appetites and have been throwing up the liquids we give them. But they are both starting to get over that. We have been really busy lately. I have been taking some pictures, I took some senior pictures last week and this weekend I got to do a photo shoot of one of my work's homes which was so much fun!
(Senior picture of Anthony)

(Picutre of a Timber Frame Home in New Meadows, that I took! Hopefully this leads to more.)

On Sunday it was so warm we decided to go get a kiddie pool for the twins and a slip and slide for me and Greg, it was so nice to play outside (and the twins got to use their swimming suits for real this time instead of just a fashion show) and Jayse got to spend some time without his arm splints.
(It took Jayse a while to get used to the water but then he loved it!)

(I think his nose was itching him)

(Jaelee liked the water right away but didn't want to put her arms in it)

(Look at all those teeth! And she looks so cute in her swimming suit)

Update on surgery

(Jayse the morning of his surgery smiling and playing)


So Jayse's surgery went well on Thursday. The night before we let him stay up late and eat whatever he wanted because he wont be able to eat any solid food for at least 3 weeks (which is proving harder then I thought. I never thought about how he would feel when he saw us eating yummy solid food when he can't). We got up early Thursday morning, Jayse couldn't have anything to drink after 6 am so we woke him up super early to drink some water and then we got ready and headed to the hospital, Jayse was doing surprisingly well for not having his normal breakfast. We had to wait for a little while when we got there and then went back into the pre-surgery area where he got his little hospital gown on.


They gave him some medicine to make him sleepy and when the nurse came to get him to take him back he just went to her without even looking back at us (he was too busy trying to grab her glasses off her face). The surgery lasted for over 2 1/2 hours and then he was done. The Dr. came and told us that everything went well and he had decided to go ahead and revise Jayses lip along with all the reconstruction of his nose, mouth and throat and told us that he would have a tube in his nose to help him breath because he was going to be pretty swollen. When we went back to the recovery area to see him I was so overwhelmed I saw Jayse and saw him screaming with all this blood I just turned around and cried into Greg's arms. Once I had calmed down I went over to him and picked him up and rocked him for about an hour while they continued to monitor him. He had to stay in the hospital overnight to make sure that he was going to be able to eat well enough before he went home. The first day was really rough, I started to wonder if we had done the right thing. He was just such a happy little boy before and to see him in pain and crying was heart breaking but Greg kept reminding me that we had to do it and it was better to do it sooner then later. Greg stayed with Jayse in the hospital through the night . When I came back in the morning I could tell Greg had a rough night (He looked really tired and his shirt had specs of blood on it form Jayse and a big wet spot where Jayse's diaper had broken and leaked out onto him). He didn't get to sleep at all because he had to hold Jayse the entire night. Jayse had a rough night because basically he had to learn to breath all over again. The doctor told us that some kids feel claustrophobic because their air ways are closed more now and on top of that they are swollen and full of drainage.

Our entire day Friday was spent going up and down the hospital halls pulling Jayse in a little wagon. That was the only thing that he liked. He cried when we went into his hospital room, so we just kept walking around. Jaelee went to my moms to play with her uncles and help my mom with yard work.
(this picture is a little gross with all the blood but he looked so precious in the wagon I had to get a pic)

We were hoping to go home that day by 4 but Jayse hadn't drank enough on his own early enough in the day. We managed to get him to drink about 8 oz's at about 7 but the nurse thought it was too late so they hooked him back up to the iv and told us we were going to have to stay another night. I was going to stay with Jayse but he became such a daddy's boy that he cried whenever Greg wasn't around so we both had to stay. We were trying to get Jayse to sleep that night but he was kicking and thrashing around and he managed to kick the iv out of his foot, the nurse came in and looked at it and said she needed to call the Dr. to see if he wanted her to try and put it back but instead we got great news. The Dr. said since he managed to drink 8 oz on his own that we could go home. So finally at about 10 o'clock Friday night we got to take Jayse home. The night was hard again but definitely bearable since we were at home.

Saturday we saw a huge improvement in Jayse. He was in a better mood, he was smiling, and more active. He was drinking quite a bit and by Sunday he was crawling even though he has those arm splints on (to keep him from putting anything in his mouth, which the nurse said he should wear for 6 weeks!) And all the sudden he has become attached to wearing hats. It is so cute. Also he is sticking out his tongue 24/7 again, it cracks us all up. Greg says he just likes the taste of air like a little puppy. So now that I have gone on and on and on I really just wanted to say that the surgery went well, we had a rough time but now things are great and we love Jayse to pieces and are so proud of how well he is doing and handling everything, he is our little champ!
(Greg and Jayse getting ready to go on a walk, he looks so cute with his hat and arm splints)

(Jayse in the car yesterday after playing frisbee golf with dad)

Jayse's surgery

As some of you know Jayse was born with a cleft lip and palate. Well, Jayse is having surgery to repair his cleft palate on Thursday. I am nervous about it of course because it is surgery and there is always a worry when it comes to surgery but I am excited for Jayse to be a step closer to having a normal mouth. We have a very good surgeon and team for his surgery and the Dr. is very optimistic about the outcome. He will have to do some work on Jayse's nasal area, the roof of his mouth and some reconstruction of the muscles in his throat. It should make it easier for him to eat and speak when that time comes but he still may require some speech thearpy. In prepration for his surgery we have had to ween him off a bottle. We had to do this a lot faster than we thought. We have been giving both the twins sippie cups since they were about 5 months old knowing that this day would come and we were trying to prepare, we thought we had another month or so left before the surgery but we found out last week that the only opening they had for his surgery would be Thursday so we had a week to competely drop the bottles. We decided to take them both off bottles and it has been amazinly smooth. The first night it seemed like they cried a little longer before falling asleep but the next morning we put the bottles away and haven't used them since! So we are all ready for the surgery. He will have to spend the night in the hospital and then we should be coming home Friday. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

Here are some great pictures of Jayse:

Jayse a little over a month old, before he had surgery on his cleft lip


Jayse 2 days after the surgery on his lip (all ready looked great)


Jayse just yesterday playing with Jaelee on the couch with daddy making them laugh