Our Longest Journey

One year ago today, I was out of the classroom writing curriculum for my school district and anticipating my glucose test. I was 28 weeks pregnant, and for some reason, I could not get comfortable that day. I remember roaming around the room, shifting in my chair, and being grumpy overall. When Tony and I went for the sonogram, both kids looked great, and we debated what to have for dinner as we waited to see the doctor. My doctor came in and said "I don't know how else to say this, but you need to go upstairs and get in bed." I burst into tears and Tony sat frozen- we had no idea what the next few hours would bring.

As Harper Lee would say, "thus began our longest journey together." We were put in a room, and I was hooked up to a fetal monitor to watch the kiddos- they remained active and looked great. We found out I was in labor and was having contractions three minutes apart. I was given two shots- one was a steroid to build their little lungs, and one was a shot to stop my labor. Terrified- we were terrified. The idea of meeting two little babies who were no where close to being ready for this wide world was something we hadn't even fathomed. I remember laying on the bed, watching the monitor, holding Tony's hand, and wondering what we would do if this didn't work. What in the world would we do?

Tony went home and got me clothes and pillows and some comfort items for my stay, but everything he did was in a fog- how could things have been turned on their ear so quickly? I cried. I cried a lot. Things hit me in waves- my first thought was that I'd be in the hospital for Christmas, then my mind raced about the babies and all the things I might have done to cause this- too many "what ifs" to count.

Tonight, one year ago tonight, my babies and I settled in for our first night alone, just the three of us- no Tony, and no Abby; it was something we've never encountered before. I didn't know what the night would bring; I'd never spent the night in a hospital, and Tony stayed late to tuck me in. There would be 17 more nights of tucking in before the babies got here, but we had no idea how long we would be there when we embarked on our first night of hospital bed rest.

Now it seems so long ago, and it's hard for me to remember who that girl was laying in that bed, but I know that if I hadn't gone into the doctor that day, gone to stay in the hospital that night, and had the shots I did, who knows what would've happened to my beautiful babies. So, I suppose December 12th will always be a double-edged sword for  us: the day our lives turned into a storm, and the day our babies were saved.

Here are some of the last pictures I took before I went into the hospital; Tony took these pictures of the three of us on Saturday, and Wednesday we were in the hospital. We had so much fun at the park that day, and the weather was great, and I'm so thankful we got to take this pictures before everything got complicated.

 
 

Snow Days

Before I get into the snow storm business that we've dealt with all weekend, I need to write a short blurb about little Harper. She has been making us laugh with little things that she's picked up on. For instance, when we change her diaper, we usually offer her a toy to distract her; Tony has been offering her a baby hairbrush and saying "brush your hair, Harper" and today, she brushed her hair- too funny.  She also likes to sit in a small wagon, and I watched her grab the handle and hoist herself up, I took a picture and she laughed and then sat back down. This time I flipped on the video camera and asked if she was going to do pull ups, then I said "ready, set, go!" upon hearing this, Harper pulled herself right up to standing and grinned, then she sat down and I said "are you going to do another one?" she immediately grabbed the handlebar and pulled herself up again. I have no idea how she knew what "pull-up", "go" or "do another one" meant. Harper and Jack also have a little dog that plays songs and says the phrase "So big!" Harper heard this and threw her arms over her head like she used to when we would do her stretches. I don't know how she remembers this stuff, but she cracks me up.  Oh, and here's a picture of Jack- a boy after my own heart, reading- love that little one. Okay, onto the snow day...

Today is day three of being trapped in the house, and tomorrow will be more of the same. For some reason, Texas has decided that it wants to be Michigan and we have been relegated to staying inside and snuggling under blankets while the thermostat hoovers around 27 degrees and the sheet of ice that is our driveway keeps us prisoners in our own house.

Day 1 was fun- a day off work and a day to play with the kids and introduce them to the "snow"- it's deceptive, it looks like snow, but instead it's just ice (ask poor Abby who went barreling headfirst into the flowerbed). The kids seemed to like the crunchy ground and didn't even mind getting bundled up for the cold.

Day 2 we realized we wouldn't be getting out all day long and we noticed some things around the house needed to be tended to, for instance, we have two trees that we lost to the ice- front yard tree is missing two large branches from the top that have crumpled and look like sad reminders of the shade of summer; the backyard tree has been split down the middle, like a banana that's been peeled. So Tony put on his boots and assessed the damage. When he got back inside, we heard a chirping noise and realized that a smoke detector needed new batteries, we had one- done!  Until the second smoke detector started chirping, thank goodness the neighbors had a battery...until the third smoke detector started chirping- we now have a disconnected smoke detector on the island.

Day 3 has been a drag. Harper stared running fever last night and threw up when we tried to give her medicine. She has spent spurts of the day playing with Jack followed by quiet time sitting with me or Tony. She has had a couple of outfit changes due to other puking experiences and we are praying for a few things: 1) for the fever to break, 2) that she will keep eating so she doesn't dehydrate, 3) that Jack won't get sick.

Speaking of Jack, he took a spill today. He was trying to crawl and maintain his grip on his football, unfortunately, he slipped and whacked his head on the window sill. It was just a small cut, but it bled and required some ice, which he wasn't fond of. Still, the boy was smiling ten minutes later and up and playing. I suppose I should get used to bumps and scrapes with these little movers and shakers.

So, tomorrow will be day 4 of house arrest, and I think Tony is going to try and make it to the store. We're hoping that temperatures will be above freezing by noon and can help clear out all the ice.  I'm thankful we're safe and warm and have each other- even if we've all got cabin fever.

11 Months Old

I'm a few days late on the 11 month birthday post, but it's better late than never!

Our little 11 month old twins are movers and shakers, that's for sure. Both Harper and Jack are practicing their walking by pushing various items and walking behind them. So far, the favorite items are laundry baskets and diaper boxes, though we did get a little wagon from Aunt Kiki and Uncle E that Jack and Harper are crazy about.

Harper is still into climbing and scooting into places she shouldn't be. Harper has also started clapping, especially when we do "patty cake". She waves "bye-bye" and Tony's trying to teach her to give high-five's. She has been eating pretty well and will try any food you put in her mouth; she's even started trying to snag food off of our plates when we eat dinner. I am not worried about her growth at this point -she weighed in a 15 lbs at her last doctor appointment, so she's still growing strong.

Jack loves books and is getting better at his walking skills; he is a toe walker, so he's having some trouble walking quickly, but I know he'll get it down. Jack also claps all the time and loves "patty cake" and singing "The ABCs" and any song that involves arm movements. He gives high-fives and he's working on waving. Jack is a not quite as adventurous with trying new foods, but he's willing to take a bite and he's getting better about not making sour faces. Jack weighed in at 19 lbs at our last doctor's appointment and he's still getting bigger everyday.

In addition to the kids celebrating their 11 month birthday, we also celebrated their baptism on Sunday, December 1st. We decided to have the kids baptized at the church I grew up in Arlington; this was neat for me because I was also baptized in the same church, and the congregation had been praying for Jack and Harper since they were born.  We were honored to have our family witness this very special day   and to welcome Jack and Harper into the family of faith. We also took communion during the service, and during communion the pianist played the hymn "How Great Thou Art", which was one of my late grandfather's favorite hymns; I told Tony "Paw-Paw's here" when I heard the song- it gave me goosebumps.

The kids both did a great job at church. They didn't cry or fuss when they were getting baptized, not once, and they were great during the rest of the service. Tony had to take Harper out once because it was warm in the church and her dress was making her hot and she got fussy, but when they came back in about 5 minutes later, she was well behaved. We are very lucky to have such happy kids, and we're lucky they could entertain themselves with some paper, a necklace, a watch, and the family in the pew behind us. The kiddos were even good for pictures and kept from fussing while we took a few shots before heading to my parents for lunch  so we could visit with everyone and let the kids play.

The weekend was busy, but very fun and now I need to guess I need to get started planning a first birthday party- where has the year gone?

Happy Thanksgiving

This week has been a whirlwind and this weekend has been especially busy in the Collett house. We have been blessed to be surrounded by family this week and we were very thankful to get to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family.

We began our Thanksgiving with the twins' first viewing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; they didn't seem too interested in all, but I'm sure the big balloons and musical numbers will get their attention next year. Mid-morning Tony's brother Ryan and his wife Erica and their daughter Emmy came up so they could spend the weekend with us. It was fun to see all three kids play together.

In the afternoon we all packed up and headed to Nana and Pop's house for our feast. The dinner was good and the company was wonderful. We had 14 adults, and 5 kids- having a houseful was hectic and exciting. It was fun to talk to everyone and to see the kids playing with each other and giggling and getting passed back and forth from relative to relative. The kids also got to try a variety of new foods: Granny's cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and Nana's sweet potatoes. Harper happily tried everything and opened her mouth like a little bird for second bites. Jack, on the other hand, is a little more cautious about trying new foods, but I think he liked what he tried.

My mom and dad remodeled a room in their house that hasn't been furnished yet, so it was quickly deemed the "play room" for the kids and my mom pulled down some old toys my brother and I had so the kids could play. My mom even got Harper a laundry basket to push around, which she spent quiet a bit of time doing. Jack surprised all of us by pulling up to a little wagon and then pushing it and walking behind it; he had never done that before, and his smile was priceless.

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season and being with all of our family reinforced how blessed we truly are. Here are some pictures of our little turkey kids and our family on Thanksgiving.

We also got to celebrate Uncle Rex and Tanner's birthdays- Happy birthday Tanner and Rex!  More updates this week about the rest of our eventful Thanksgiving break...

The Week Before Thanksgiving

It's 7am on Thanksgiving morning and our house is still quiet. Mimi and Papa have been here for three days, and they have warn the kids out and the kids have warn them out!

I thought that I would get up this morning and update the blog before all the Thanksgiving festivities start. We have had a busy week filled with family, and we are so blessed to have more family coming in today and an opportunity to visit with them all. Since my next post will be about Thanksgiving, here's what we've done in the week leading up to Thanksgiving...

Jack tried Paps' coffee- just kidding!

We watched videos

The twins got their Synagis shots

Harper practiced walking with a hula hoop

Abby tried to take a nap

It didn't last long...

My girls

Most importantly, we took naps