CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!

My first pony!

Santa's Helper!

Blue eyed baby!

'Tis the season!

Sofi with Pilar, our wonderful neighbor!

Meal of plenty...

Thank you Scott and Kristin for having us over for Thanksgiving!!! It was soooo goooood!!!

Charlie playing with Sabrina!

The boys played Wii all day in their PJ's!!!

Scott's first time meeting the girls!!! He has been away since their coming home... thanks for serving Scott!!!! Doesn't pink look good on him:)???

Thanksgiving Goodness!

Thank you Aunt Erinn for the dresses!!! We might wear them for Christmas too:)!

I GOT A GOOD ONE!!!!

Sophia is almost crawling (scooting forward) and rolling back to tummy!!!!

They love playing together! Both were fussy until they played like this...

NO DEAR IN HEAD LIGHTS! Nothing but a beautiful smile!

A dear in head lights!

I figured out why she always makes this face for pictures. She is starring at the orange light that comes on to remove red-eye. I tried so hard this morning to distract her and get her to smile and this was the best one!!!!

Sophia and Tyler

They just love each other!!! You can see how Sophia's scab has fallen off and is healing up GREAT!

The Cole's Update

Sophia has been so happy! She doesn't spit up as much any longer. We used to have to put a bib on her at all times, but now she only needs one when she is eating solid. She does still spit up but not nearly as much! Sabrina is very happy, strong and playful. She is still growing bigger than her sister, and is eating 3 meals a day of solid food! She loves it!!! When I put the bib on her she starts to smile. If I walk away without feeding her first she tells me all about it!!!! Sophia is in the middle of a growth spurt so she is waking one extra time in the middle of the night, and sleeps a tad more. They are both napping 2-3 times a day! The boys are loving home school. They want to do it everyday, even though we only do it 3 times a week! Tyler loves spelling and is learning Science from our neighbor. They are learning about the planets. Alex loves to draw circles and faces. He is young to do too much, but they are both learning sign and many other fun things. The girls are napping through the morning making it easy for us to get school work done then. It gives me one on one time with the boys. THIS IS FUN!!! I have always wanted to be a Mama!!!

Double Trouble!

Aren't they darling!

SO FUNNY!

Just like the youtube video:)!

Here is one just like it!!!

www.youtube.com.watch?v=n308ML-LvSY

Deck the Halls!!!!

Tis' the season!

The soap dispenser actually lights up!

Meal time!

Sweet Pots:) Pears and oatmeal!

Sweet Precious Girls!

Giggles with brother Ty!

SO tired!

Sweet sleepy face!

Warm and 

cozy!

Our boyfriend!

New News!

So we received a bill for Sophia's surgery, which is fully covered, but still... $24,000!!! Aaron and I have noticed that she really is happier than she has ever been. We are thinking the hemangioma was putting pressure in her face and now she feels relief. I am handling everyone on my own very well. Aaron worked two days of overtime this week and I am not stressed. Like most moms I enjoy a break once a week or more if I can, but the 5 of us are doing really well together!!! Today I was cleaning in the kitchen, the girls were on the floor and the boys were playing with them. When I turn around Sophia and Tyler are GONE. I am wondering... did he pick her up... then he comes running into the room and says, "I DID IT!" He then explained the he held her feet and pulled her into his room! So the bald spot on the back of her head is now larger:) hahahahaha

Everyone if still dealing with sneezes and runny noses. The girls are wheezing quite a bit, but they are doing well considering. I am starting pre-school/K tomorrow 3 times a week. We will see if I can keep up with this:) The girls take a long nap in the am so I know I have this time to spend with the boys... so I will try and TEACH:)! It is in my blood!!! :)   

Pretty girls with Daddy!

Peek....

a boo!

SO PRETTY!

She is getting better!

Sophia is back to her normal self.... just as demanding as her mother:) Her incision is healing well and the bruising is almost gone! She pulled off her bandage in the middle of the night. The one I though she could never take off. So... I am going to leave it uncovered:) It is healing nicely!

Baby food!

Sabrina has been doing wonderful eating baby food 3 times a day after her bottle/nursing. Her last bottle is just before bed and she does not take baby food then! She ate a tablespoon of oatmeal and one whole serving of pears this morning! She is going to start getting more and more chubby! Sophia still has the extrusion reflex, which is where she pushed her tongue outward when the tip of the tongue is touched or I try to feed her solids. She will grow out of it and we are trying food every once and while, but she is doing well with just nursing. She is not super hungry between like sister is. I think Sabrina is hitting a growth spurt, hence the baby food. Although, today Sophia is back to herself after her surgery. She is doing so well. Her incision is healing and still needing to be covered with some antibiotic ointment, but she looks really good! The bruising is almost gone and the swelling has been gone for several days now. The boys are a tad antsy with being inside so much since the rain began, but I think we will invest in a pass to a local indoor pool! They are boys and need to get out and about! 

Everyone has a cold right now. Aaron is at the tail end. The boys are in the middle, the girls just started coughing and runny noses today, and I think I am starting it all today too! We are still in high spirits, but should have invested in some tissues!!! I mean, bought stock... we have plenty here:) Could have made a profit with how much we have been using:) Well... best go blow my nose! Have a great day!

CUTEST KIDS EVER!!!

They are laying on a blanket that Josh used!!! He is gone now :( snif snif... ball.... 3000 miles have never felt so far away! Spring of 2011... here we come!!!

My boys are gems! They are amazing big brothers!

MORE GIGGLES...

Sophia loves her Mommy!

Giggles...

Sabrina loves her Daddy!

Current pic!

It is a tad pussy but Dr said to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't swell or bruise more!!! I think she scratched it! Her low lid is a tad paralyzed, as to be expected. This will come back. You can see her IV hand well in this pic too! PRETTY PRETTY GIRL!!!!!!

Fun with cuz!

Nathan, Jan and Eva came over tonight to spend some good quality time. It was great! They brought pizza and Key Lime pie.... OOPS THEY FORGOT IT HERE:)!!!!! Eva had so much fun crawling around with the boys!!!! Can't wait till they come over again!!!!

Multi-tasker!

This was before her surgery but I had to share:) She is a multi-tasker:) She can pick her nose and suck her thumb:)!!!!!

Newest update...

So the Dr did not have to reconstruct any bone. Both Aaron and I thought that is what he said yest. After clarifying this morning he said there was a vein going in to the bone and he would have had to if we waited longer. So, it is a good thing we had it done when we did. Sophia likes to pull on the bandage. So much so that she took it off twice. We now only have a band-aid on it and she is doing much better with that. I put it in her blind spot... so I don't think she knows it is there:) She hardly needs pain meds today and is happy and talking like nothing happened. It is still swollen and discolored, so won't know about the indent until it heals, but it is looking good so far!!!

Some pics... be sure to read below too...great stories!

She loves her thumb:) This is her after some good drugs! She sleeps most of the time which is best for her recovery!!!

Settling into Daddy's arms just after reaching for him! Her eye is still quite black and blue.

Just after waking from anesthesia. Not much bruising.

Sweet and Sour

Today Sophia was a tad fussy in my arms. As Aaron walked by she was watching him and reaching for him. So I said, "Daddy Sophia wants you." He then holds her and she completely settles down and falls asleep in Daddy's arms. She did this inutero too. She would be kicking like crazy and then when Aaron touched my tummy she would stop and sleep for a long time. So this is the sweet story....



The sour one... Aaron went to go get some food in the little food bar at the hosp and saw a man stealing a ton of food. He very calmly asks... "Are you going to pay for that?" The man hesitated and then Aaron showed his badge:). Aaron then helped the man put the food away. Aaron told the two ladies working to be watchful of this man and they were overly grateful. At first they thought he was campus police but he further explained and they acted like they saw a hero:)!!! He didn't say that... but that is how I felt when he told me the story when he returned. HE IS MY HERO!!!!

Sophia is out of surgery!!!

What a day! Sophia is resting well now, but it was not an easy morning. She woke 11pm last evening and I fed her. This was her last meal until after her surgery. We got her up by 5:45 to get to the hosp by 6:30. We hung out for an hour while they did all the prep work. She did fall asleep again. I thought for sure she would be screaming that whole time. She did not! She was in surgery for about 1.5 hours before the Dr came out with the update! He said the tumor was the size of a large bouncy ball, Aaron calls it a superball. B/c of its size it was impeding on a bone and he had to recontruct that bone. We are not sure what bone and what he had to do to that bone, we will find out tomrrow. B/c of the reconstruction her right eye is quite black and blue and swollen shut. As we held her the few hours following the surgery we watching the bruising grow with the swelling. This is when she began to scream. She did not want to eat, just suck her thumb and sleep but she was in too much pain. They gave her tylenol... but it was not enough. She is now resting well with oxycodone. POOR BABY!! I was holding her trying to calm her down before the meds, then tears filled my eyes! The incision is about 1-1.5 inches long, but we have not seen that yet. She has a compression bandage on her face that is putting pressure on the remaining hole so that it does not fill with fluids. The bandage will come off in the next few days. There will be an indent on her face for about 1 year until the atrophy tissue below the hemangioma learns to grow in. We are at the hosp till this evening so they can make sure she is doing well enough to be home. We did take some before and after pics that I will post once we are home. Thank you all for your prays. Everytime my girls have gone through something this difficult there has been a calmness and peace over her and the room, besides when she was in the pain... but now, she is sleeping soundly like a little lamb! Thank you all again!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner

Uncle Josh will be leaving a week from tomorrow. He is getting his bike ready to go!

THE BOYS

Hide...

...and seek!

Both Grandmas will be happy to hear the boys are eating their veggie tables and the meal I prepared instead of something separate from us!!! The girls are eating more solids now too! The girls were laying on pillows in front of me today, so they were at a bit of an angle, eating their breakfast. I had Sophia on my right and Sabrina on my left. Whenever I tried to feed Sabrina a bight Sophia would try to grab my hand and get her sister's bight! I had to move Sophia to the left side. This way it would be fair game for food! The are both grabbing at toys and bringing them to their mouths. THEY ARE SOOOOO BIG! They get their flu shots tomorrow and then a day off from Drs before Sophia goes in for surgery at 630 am on Wed! Keep us your prayers!