Day 2 of eating Oatmeal

You know how I said earlier that my girls don't eat? Well, scratch that...Mary-Gail is a natural at eating from a spoon. Who knew?! I still struggle with Rebecca. She is so opinionated and stubborn. Wonder who she gets that from :)

We started eating Oatmeal cereal 3 X day when we returned from Colorado on Thursday, 8/31, and so far so good. Mary-Gail opens wide when we say "Eat your oatmeal" and show her the sign for "eat." Rebecca just laughs at us and then spits the oatmeal out. She's gotten better at taking her bottle though. Too bad I'm trying to phase the bottles out.

Enjoy these pictures:

Mary-Gail "dancing" as she eats her oatmeal
Rebecca looking at Tony saying, "Save Me!"
See these pursed lips? They're not opening!!
Mary-Gail - more dancing

Pictures from Alamosa, Colorado

Whew! We made it! What a loooong road trip. What was supposed to be an 8 hr drive turned into a 10 hr drive. We left an hour and a half late, and it was raining when we enter the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Plus, it was a windy mountainous road and it was dark. My babies did better than I did! Mom and Jo commented that Rebecca & Mary-Gail were the best troopers they had even seen.

Monday night (around 9:45 pm) we checked into our hotel. Spencer's family had supper waiting for everyone at their house, but I opted not to go - Mary-Gail had poop leaking from her diaper and needed immediate attention. Dad stayed with me and helped dress the girls after I bathed them. Both their clothes and sockies were bagged pronto! We gave them their "dream feed" at 10:30 pm and tucked them in bed (portable pack'n'play). They slept through the night and got up at 6:30 am. Just like clockwork.

Tuesday proved to be an interesting day. After breakfast at the hotel, we loaded up Jo's minivan and headed to the Colorado Gators park. Well, we tried to. Mary-Gail's incident from the night before (poop) was all over her car seat, the seat belt holding the car seat base, and the towel under the car seat base to protect the leather seats. Yucky boo-boo! Taking the car seat cover off was tricky, and we just threw away the towel. Sorry Jo - I'll buy you a new towel. Nearly 15 minutes later, we were strapped in ready to go. BTW, Rebecca & Mary-Gail were laughing, smiling, and talking this whole time.

We headed about 45 minutes to the Colorado Gators farm. We held a 3 ft long alligator, saw lots of snakes, and even more alligators. We even got to see an alligator get fed. There were some Emu's that were really interested in Rebecca & Mary-Gail and followed them along in their fences.

10 year old Tortoise

Dadda taunting an Alligator

"Stumpy" - alligator missing right front hand

Barely viewable - Mom holding a 3ft alligator

Tuesday night was the magical night #2 - the wedding reception. Carly looked as beautiful as she always does and her husband, Spencer, was all smiles. The reception was in Spencer's parent's back yard - beautiful. Jo and I did Carly's hair again, and again we all stayed to clean up afterwards. Rebecca & Mary-Gail attracted quiet a crowd and lots of attention. Especially when Rebecca would voice her opinion and "tell it like it is." They went to sleep at 9:00 pm (2 hours after their real bedtime) and slept with their naked legs draped over each other.
Wednesday morning we hit the road. Left at 8:00 am and got into Provo at 4:45 pm. Loooong, loooong, looooong road trip. Now for the pictures:

Spencer, Carly, my mom, Rebecca, my dad, William

JoJo, me & Mary-Gail, Spencer, Carly, Mom, Dad w/Rebecca

Me & my absolutely beautiful babies! Mary-Gail (L) & Rebecca (R)

Carly & Spencer are going to sent this picture out in their "Thank You" notes

Spencer's parents, Debbie & Todd Mortensen, Spencer, Carly, Mom, and Dad

9 months old today!

I had to create a separate entry to document this huge milestone! Rebecca & Mary-Gail will be 9 months today at 5:47 pm and 5:53 pm respectfully. My doctor's Dr. C Joseph Glenn, and Dr. George C Gourley (my uncle) had a hard time "finding" Mary-Gail. Her position was high under my ribs and when they opened her placenta, they said she kind of squirmed higher. Dr Glenn got hold of her leg and pulled her out - poor baby. She was all sorts of bruised, but Dr. Glenn knew what he was doing: even one ounce of pressure on a 27 week preemie's head and she would have brain damage.

Some of my favorite and memorable pictures:

Rebecca (left) & Mary-Gail (right).

Born @ 27 wks 3/7 days (3 months + 1 week early).

Mary-Gail has the nasal canula for oxygen and in most pictures is on the Left.

The above 2 pictures were on our Christmas Card for 2006

Wondering why my babies have a Cherry Coke bottle between them? Well, 1st: I lived on Diet Cherry Coke and Chocolate milk while I was prego and on bed rest. 2nd: The Coke bottle gives you some perspective on my babies size. 3rd: We're hoping to strike a deal with Coca-Cola :)
Mary-Gail is smiling - she had such a hard time (heart surgery + bilateral grade 3 brain hemorrage) and she still smiles!
Diapers don't even fit! P.S. the red plaid bows in their hair - measure 1 1/2 inches long.

Babies 1st road trip

Okay. It's Monday, August 27, 2007. The girls and I are going on our 1st road trip today. Kind of scary, I know. Especially since it's a long 9 hr drive. Where are we going? To Alamosa, Colorado, just East of Grand Junction, Colorado. Carly & Spencer are having a wedding reception there since Spencer is from there and his family still resides there.

We're leaving Provo at 9:00 am and hope to be in Alamosa by 6:00 pm. We're staying at the Inn of The Rio Grande Hotel - it's got a waterslide! The wedding reception isn't until Tuesday night, so we'll have Monday night and most of Tuesday day to relax. We're planning on leaving for home early Wednesday morning - not a whole lot to do in Alamosa. I'll post some pictures when we get home.

P.S. today is Rebecca & Mary-Gail's 9 month birthday! Can you believe it? Crazy how time flies!

Fun at the movies

Mom and I took Rebecca and Mary-Gail to the movies yesterday. That's right - the movies! Tony was at his IDPA shooting competition all day and I didn't want to sit home alone. So, mom and I decided it was time to see a movie at the Provo Towne Center. We packed up Rebecca and Mary-Gail and stuffed their diaper bag with milk and toys and headed to the 12:55 pm matinee show. We grabbed a bite to eat at Subway in the Food Court and ventured to the theatre to see HAIRSPRAY!!!

Oh my gosh was it so so good! Honestly I was worried that we'd have to take the girls out or stand in the entryway and hold them, or worse - that Rebecca would try to "sing" with the movie (more like scream) - but they were super good and watched the whole movie! (Rebecca dozed for about 45 minutes, but that was it).

By the time the show ended, mom and I were dancing in our seats and so were Rebecca and Mary-Gail. Mary-Gail was kicking her legs and pumping her arms in my lap, and Rebecca was bouncing in mom's arms. So funny! I really think they liked the music and the fun colors. If we tried to take them to any other movie, I don't think they would have lasted. What a fun afternoon!

We then picked up Lovey and went to super at Joe Vera's Mexican Restaurant and then headed to Jo's house. We put out the kiddy pool and put on the girl's swimsuits for a quick dip - the hose water was cold! Yesterday was a great day - thanks mom and Jo!

Fun w/Great Grandma & Grandpa

So my loving mom picked me and the girls up on Friday, and we went to my Grandma & Grandpa Gourley's house (they live on 930 East in Provo, just 2 blocks North of the Provo Temple). We spent nearly 3 hours visiting with Grandma & Grandpa. We played with Rebecca and Mary-Gail and talked about how much they have grown. We fed them and then decided that we were hungry too. We adjourned to the kitchen where Grandma made us supper: chunked ham and pickle sandwich on homemade wheat bread, bean w/bacon soup, and my favorite - fresh peaches with splenda and milk - yummy!

After super we asked, "What should we do now?"

Grandma said, "Let's go back and look at those babies!"

We returned to the living room to find Rebecca and Mary-Gail rolling around on their blanket. Here are some timeless pictures of my Grandma LaRae, and mom, Rebecca, holding their name sake, Rebecca LaRae.

Great-Grandma LaRae & Grandma Rebecca with Rebecca LaRae, almost 9 mo old

Great Grandma playing with Rebecca

Great Grandma showing Rebecca her "Hello Bee! Hello Me!" book

Independence Day

I was on the treadmill this morning flipping through the TV channels of CNN, ABC & CBS. My feet were dragging and I was not interested in pushing myself. I clicked to the TODAY show on CBS and saw Martina McBride performing her song "Independence Day." Can you believe I got choked up? I started thinking of my wonderful, strong, independent mom and I got emotional.


I don't know if it is because I've been thinking about my mom a lot, or because I'm a mom now, or what, but my mind kept picturing my mom and all that she does: she's a hospice nurse and takes care of geriatric patients. Mom has taken care of people all her life - from 7 pregnancies, raising 6 kids & babysitting 8+ kids at the same time, going to school while working as a low-paid CNA at a resthome, getting her RN license at 40, continuing to work at the same resthome as an RN now, getting promoted to the Director of Nursing (DON), changing jobs to go to another resthome facility to work as their DON, then changing jobs again to be a hospice nurse. My mom has the biggest heart and the most patience and THE MOST LOVE for people - no matter how badly they've hurt her or wronged her - she is so giving. The one characteristic that best describes my mom is Christlike.


So I'm running on the treadmill and thinking of my mom, crying, and my feet start moving faster and I'm hearing the words of Martina McBride singing "Independence Day" and I'm so grateful to have a mom like mine. My mom is strong. My mom is compassionate. My mom is giving. My mom is my friend.

My favorites

My favorite things:
* When Rebecca lets me hold her to feed her
* When Mary-Gail laughs at me
* Morning time when I hear the girls "talking" to each other
* Morning time when I peek at the girls in their crib and they smile so big
* 7:30 -8:00 pm when my lovey comes home
* 9:00 am when I take Rebecca, Mary-Gail, Pixie & ArlaMae for a walk (you should see us: large "cadillac of all strollers" double-stroller, two very happy pups on separate leashes - it's quite a sight)
* When Tony plays with the girls and they squeal with delight
* Each time I kiss Mary-Gail she laughs and smiles
* Mary-Gail's smiles: her eyes light up her whole face. I've never seen anything like it
* Rebecca's lovely voice - sometimes scream - because she talks all day long
* When the girls discover new things!

Saturday, August 18, 2007 - a beautiful day & night

So my baby sister, Carly was married for time and all eternity to Spencer Mortensen on Saturday, August 18, 2007. Her sealing was absolutely wonderful. Carly was glowing and had an aurora surrounding her. Her sealing was at 8:20 am in the Salt Lake City Temple - she had to be there 1.5 hours early, making her leave Provo at 5:30 am! Wow - but she did it and everyone was able to attend. Her photographer was amazing! Just great with all the people that were there and especially good with the kids during the reception that evening. Here are some pictures of the reception, albeit I wish we had a picture or two of the food table, the enchanted garden (my dadda's backyard) and all the behind-the-scene workers.

Carly with Mary-Gail
Spencer & Carly with all their nieces and nephews - Whew!
My lovely sister, Joanna and her husband, Jed
My dadda, "Pappy" with his grandchildren
My Dadda w/Mary-Gail, Me, and My beau, Tony "Lovey" w/Rebecca

Introducing Carly & Spencer Mortensen

Carly kicking her feet up on her wedding day, Saturday, August 18, 2007
Carly & Spencer on wall at SLC Temple, Sat 8.18.07
My lovely baby sister, Carly and her handsome husband, Spencer, Sat 8.18.07
Carly flirting in one of the reflection pools, SLC Temple, Sat 8.18.07
Quick glance back, Sat 8.18.07

Wedding of all weddings

Oh my gosh! My baby sister is married!! Carly Sue Brown married Spencer Lewis Mortensen on Saturday, August 18, 2007, in the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. Their temple marriage was at 8:20 am (Carly, Spencer, and their escorts had to be at the temple 1 1/2 hrs early (6:40 am) which made them leave Springville by 5:45 am at the latest. Ouch!) Spencer actually stayed in SLC Friday night with his family who drove in from Alamosa, CO, so his drive to the temple wasn't bad.

Carly had Jo and me do her hair and get her ready Saturday morning, which meant we needed to be at Mom's by 2:30 am. Double Ouch! Tony and I decided we'd spend the night at mom's instead of getting everyone up and driving over in the wee hours of the morning. We gathered the girls and our other girls (Pixie & ArlaMae) and headed over arriving at 10:30 pm.

I still had sewing to do on Rebecca & Mary-Gail's dresses, so I stayed up until....1:30 am. Did I already mention that I was sooo stinkin' tired to begin with?! Carly let me sleep until 3:00 am, but that was it! Jo, who lives about 2 miles from Mom's house, was already upstairs with curly irons plugged in and bobby pins ready.

We tackled Carly's beautiful thick, red hair and 2 hours later (along with lots and lots of hairspray and bobby pins) we had created a masterpiece.


These pictures are from when Carly had her hair done "professionally" for her bridal pictures. Jo and I knew we were going to do Carly's hair for her wedding, so we videotaped the process and I snapped a few still shots.

One expensive Week

Okay. This last week has been the most expensive week I've ever had!!

Cute Car is wrecked (Friday, 8/10 @ 11:45 pm)

My new Razor cell phone is ruined (Friday, 8/17 ~6pm-ish)

My digital camera dropped on my Mom's tile entryway and doesn't focus anymore (Saturday, 8/18 @ 5:30 am)

Don't hang out around me - It'll cost you.

A New level of Tiredness

Do I look tired here? This picture was taken in late February when the girls came home from the hospital and I thought I was tired then. I am two hundred times more tired now. Here's why...my baby sister Carly (and yes, I still call her my "baby sister") will be married on Saturday, 8/18/07. Joanna and I threw her a bridal shower the previous Saturday, 8/11/07. And on Wednesday, 8/15, I decided I was going to sew my littles their dresses for Carly's reception. 3 days to finish 2 dresses...piece of cake!

Their dresses are beautiful!

• Chocolate Shantung material
• Double-faced front & back
• All seams finished - french seams or hand sewn in facing - something I've started to do since I don't have a serger (hint, hint)
• Skirt is heavily gathered on empire waist enhanced with a thick band sewn in on side seams
• Cute snow-cap sleeves are double-faced
• A large contrast bow attaches to the front of the dress
• 9" inch zipper - which gave me so much trouble - is perfect!

The pattern is from New Look and was perfect for my babies. I normally like to alter patterns to give them some uniqueness, but I just didn't have time this time. JoJo bought 2 flower clips that I might use instead of the contrast bow. It will save me time and I can use the flowers for my hair afterwards.

Drugs, Anyone?

These are all the drugs we're using on our little babies: Rebecca & Mary-Gail have coughs, colds, runny noses, and congestion. Mary-Gail's cough is so sad - her throat is raw and she cries each time she coughs. She looks at me as if I have the cure right in my hand and I'm not giving it to her.

Rebecca's tempature at 6:00 pm was 37.9 C (100.22 F). We had dosed her with Tylenol already, and I was nervous that her temp wasn't dropping.

7:30 pm - 37.5 C (99.5 F)
9:30 pm - 38.8 C (101.84 F)

Conversion Chart

I called my sister, Kristie, who also happens to be a Nurse Practitioner. Kristie said to give Rebecca a sponge bath and to start liquid Motrin, which could help reduce Rebecca's temperature faster than Tylenol. We didn't have any Motrin, so I bathed Rebecca while Tony tested Mary-Gail's temperature, drained her nose, gave her nose drops, fed her, and dosed her with Tylenol, and then went to the store to get liquid Motrin. At 11:00pm Rebecca's temp was 38.1 C (100.58 F). I stayed up through the night and monitored both girls' temperatures, and then dosed them again at 3:00 am.

I'm happy to say - knock on wood - that Rebecca's temperature is 37.0 C (98.6 F) and we're happy today! Thank you Kristie for your help!!

The end of "Cute Car"

Friday night I was involved in a head-on collision. I was coming home from my sister Joanna's house in Springville and was only 3 blocks from my house. I was heading West on Center Street and getting ready to turn Left (South) on 1860 West. I noticed a car at the stop sign on 1860 West and was gauging how far the car was into the road. I started to turn and WHAM! I didn't even see the other car's headlights until they hit me. Collision of a 2002 Ford Explorer with my 1999 Volkswagen Convertible Cabriolet. Who do you think won?
Cute Car filled up with smoke - it was actually the powder from the airbags - and my chest was so tight. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't expand my lungs. I was just hit by a monster of a vehicle going at least 35 miles per hour. My neck burned (I have an awful seat belt/airbag powder burn on my neck) and my eyes were on fire. Somehow I managed to unbuckle my seat belt (thank heavens I put it on), and nearly fell out of the car. The other car passengers were a young mom and dad and two little boys - probably 2 and 3 years old. The mom was screaming, "If anything happened to my babies..." And then I REALLY couldn't breathe. Oh my gosh! If anything did happen to those kids. I immediately thought of Rebecca and Mary-Gail. Oh please let those boys be alright.
Ambulance and Firetrucks along with 3 squad cars showed up not even a minute later. A policeman was asking me something and I just couldn't put it together. I kept trying to call Tony, but finally realized I was dialing my own voicemail. Tony wasn't answering his phone, so I called the next person, my brother-in-law, Jack Kemp. It was now 12:00 midnight. Carol sat with the girls and Tony and Jack started out to find me. I totally forgot to tell Jack where I was. Tony hugged and loved me and then surveyed Cute Car. I didn't even go back to the car after I got my cell phone out - I was having flashbacks of my accident when we moved to South Carolina. More on that later. A paramedic checked my blood pressure: 198/100, and my pulse was 98, but my oxygen saturation was 100 and I was just in a major accident. I was OK physically, but mentally and emotionally I was NOT. The other family was OK too. Both boys were walking, and talking/crying. The mom went with one boy to the hospital for further assessment, but we were all alive.
Now the awful truth: no collision on Cute Car, just liability. Cute Car was my dream car - ever since I saw the 1980's movie, "Can't buy me love" I have always wanted a convertible cabriolet. Tony gave me my cabrio for my birthday last year, July 2006, and we came to call her "Cute Care." I only got to drive her until September when I was put on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. And then b/c of my C-section, I had to have someone else drive me to the NICU for 2 weeks! By then, the weather was too scary to drive in, so I drove our Suburban. Then we gave Cute Car to my sister, Carly, to drive. So, I wasn't until just recently that I was driving Cute Care again. Now she's in the tow yard with no front end. Boo-hoo.

Planning the Bridal Shower

CarCar, my baby sister of 27yrs, is getting married next week - August 18, 2007. A date to remember. She and her finance', Spencer Mortenson of Alamosa, CO, have been dating for a little over a year and will be husband/wife next Saturday. JoJo and I are putting on her bridal shower tomorrow at Jo's house in Springville.

We still have to get the groceries, which we plan on doing tonight at Walmart, and we have to hang signs to get to Jo's house since there is road construction. We made these party favors and ran out of mints in the process: a 64 oz box of mints only netted 20 party favors. Definitely not enough.

Food:
Cafe Rio Salad
Raspberry Sherbert & Diet Sprite Drink
Oreo sandwhich icecream cake - yummy

I'm in charge of the food, and Jo's in charge of decorations and the game. We've video taped Spencer answering questions (When was you & Carly's first kiss? What is your song? etc) and we're going to ask Carly the same questions. She has to answer what she thinks Spencer is going to say. If she gets the answer right, we have a present for her. If not, Carly gets to chew HubbaBubba Bubble gum. I hope it turns out like we've planned.

The best sister in the world!

My sister, Joanna, is the best sister in the world! Today is her birthday - 29 yrs old - and she lovingly volunteered to watch Rebecca and Mary-Gail so I could get my hair cut and colored. Did I mention that she had her three kids to watch also? 5 children 4 yrs and under: Gage, 4rs; Reese, almost 3yrs (October); Rebecca & Mary-Gail, 8 months; and Cy, 3 months. Jo had worked all day long and still had a smile on her face when I came back 2 hours later. I wish I would have taken a picture to capture the moment: Reese standing on the arm of the chair leaning towards our built-in bookcase, Gage hanging on the couch, Jo sitting on the floor w/Mary-Gail in between her legs feeding her with one hand, and her other hand stretched over to Rebecca sitting in her bouncy chair trying to feed her. Poor Cy was left on the floor fending for himself. Pixie and ArlaMae were cuddled up together in their doggie bed (only big enough to hold one of them) trying not to make a peep. JoJo spent her whole afternoon/evening birthday watching my kids. What a crazy thing to do! And, to top it all off, I didn't even give her her b-day present. What a lousy sister I am! I love you JoJo. P.S. I got you a Sony CD/AM/FM player that goes under your kitchen cabinet :) Happy Birthday Sister!

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

So I've started to re-read one of the books my best friend (and sister) Joanna leant me while we were on best rest. It's called "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." Rebecca and Mary-Gail are 5 months old adjusted (8 months gestation) and they have been totally off schedule, not eating (Rebecca) and not napping. The past few weeks have been really trying with this week being the climax. I'm hoping I can re-focus and understand what my girls are doing and saying. They're becoming much more active and get bored more quickly. Thus, I've been taking them with me on more of my errands - partly to just get out the house, and partly because I need a break from them.

Anyways, I'm to the section where the author talks about S.L.O.W. (acronym for Stop. Listen. Observe. What next). I'm hoping this will help me understand the girls' new language (screaming) and read their new cues (smacking me with their hands - Rebecca is the only one doing this).

Kemp Kuties are used in education training!

I totally forgot to post this!!! Our Occupational Therapist, Annie Miller, wanted to use our girls to help other parents in the NICU understand "how" to do tummy-time with their preemies. Annie came over on Monday, 8/6 for our monthly visit and saw Rebecca & Mary-Gail on their tummy-time mat in front of our huge mirror and needed a picture of them. I was so overwhelmed - only because I needed to hear that I was doing something right. This week has been so difficult for me for some reason, and hearing Annie say that my girls were the poster children for tummy-time was, well, a lifesaver.

Rebecca & Mary-Gail love to look at themselves in the mirror. In fact, if I can't calm them down, we find a mirror (not too hard to do in our house) and smile, and tilt our heads, and talk, and touch our faces in the mirror. Rebecca knows it's her image she's seeing. Mary-Gail just likes to see herself next to me...I think. They are truely the most amazing little miracles ever.

Why won't my kids eat?

I love to eat. Tony loves to eat. Why don't my kids love to eat? Rebecca used to be my 100% guaranteed eater, and I used to struggle with Mary-Gail. Well, they've had a Freaky Friday experience b/c now Mary-Gail will finish her bottle and Rebecca barely takes 2 ounces. Our doctor's say "as long as they're gainiong weght they are getting the nutrients they need and are OK." Yeah, right.

Rebecca hasn't eaten since 10:30 pm last night. It's now 8:45 am, and this is what's left of her bottle. We average about 60 - 80 cc left in the bottle. I keep filling it full thinking she'll surprise me and drink it, but not yet...

signed,

frustrated momma

Humidity!! Thank heavens for humidity.

Humidity!! Thank heavens for humidity. The girls and pups and I went for our morning walk at 7:30 am and I was so grateful that the air was moist. It has been so dry here and with all the fires we've had the air is yucky. Humidity. It reminded me of Charleston, SC. Tony and I miss it there. We would go for a walk nightly and take the girls (Pixie and ArlaMae) and walk around the Danny Jones track - less than a mile from our house. We usually did 2 laps, but depending on my day at Blackbaud we might go for 4 or 5 laps. ArlaMae loved that track!!! She would race ahead of me and Tony, while Pixie just meandered along. The only time Pixie ran was when ArlaMae tinkled - Pixie had to christen it so she would run up to ArlaMae. Sometimes Pixie was so impatient she would actually tinkle on ArlaMae! Arla would run ahead of us, and then run back, and then run ahead of us. She knew the words "track" and "bye-bye". To this day she will still race to the front door when you say "bye-bye." If you're not right behind her getting her leash and harness ready, she'll cry and start talking to you. Pixie gets excited too, but gets mad at ArlaMae for being impatient. So funny to watch them.

My mind wanders. Humidity. My skin would glow and my hair was so...dare I say radiant. I love being home in Utah, but the dry air and dry weather is a bummer. Mary-Gail and Rebecca like to go for walks also, although Mary-Gail tries to thrust herself out of her car seat. Gotta watch that little girl.