Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Christmas 06

Merry Christmas!! The girls enjoyed their second Christmas and their first "hearing" Christmas! They love signing "Away in a Manger" (they really just move their hands around!) and humming it with a little babble in there too! Among their new signs this week...Christmas, tree, monkey (unrelated I know, but still very cute!), and present.






We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Rogers' crew. Sophi likes Granny's elf hat...it had a bell of course! Rena preferred Uncle Mark's santa hat.

















The girls have sweet little short legs and are still too short for chairs...so Granny and Papaw found some perfectly sized stools for them to learn to stand up from. They really think they are big girls now!!!



We have a complete band now with keyboards, bells, tamborines, and drums!! As you can tell from the photo at the left, Sophi hear's the bells just fine!!
With all of the toys, wrapping paper, lights, etc....the winners for the day were the apples the girls received in their stockings at Grandmother's house.


The girls enjoyed their apples with their great grandpa Charlie. Can you tell he adores them? He prays for them every day and says the only thing wrong with them is they're not blondes!










Saturday, December 23, 2006

Sharing...

Rena goes in for the steal of Sophi's pacifier.

Thank you for your prayers...Sophi's surgery went well. Our experience was much different at the hospital this time. We were in and out within a couple of hours and Sophi was back to her normal sassy self quickly. She is now the owner of a larger tube that will hopefully reduce the chances for ear infections and help her with her balance. Please continue to pray for healing of her implanted ear. Merry Christmas!!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Ho Ho Ho

sophi & rena enjoy some time with santa

We were pretty bummed that we missed the Logdon Christmas party with all my (Vic's) aunts, uncles, cousins, and the infamous Santa who always shows up for the kids...and adults! I couldn't wait to have my own kids so they could experience a crazy huge Logdon get together! However, with the girls health, we had to bypass the party for one more year. I was on the phone wishing everyone at the party a Merry Christmas when sitting on the corner in a big golden chair was Santa himself. No kids around, just Santa kicked back enjoying the warm weather. I ran home and grabbed the girls for a photo opportunity...how great was that! Our first photo with Santa.

Sophi has learned the word for "nose" and was intrigued with Santa's nose. Last week I told her "no"when she was grabbing something and she looked at me and smiled and touched my nose....how am I ever going to say "no" to that!!! How sweet that she's learning to communicate through hands and voices!

The girls just completed the speech portion of their assesments. In July, they scored as 6 month olds at 12 months old. Last week, they scored as 16 month olds!! What a jump!! They are doing fantastic!

We go in at 6:30am this Friday to Kosair Children's Hospital for Sophi's surgery. We'll keep you updated!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

MaMaMa...BaBaBa

Rena and Sophi pose for a Christmas photo.


The past few weeks have flown by!! The girls are babbling nonstop...so much so, sometimes I miss their new sounds in all of their jabbering! Both are saying, "MaMaMa" now, especially when they are upset about something, "BaBaBa" for their ball, bus and baby, and "eat" which of course is the most important word to learn first! They know and use about 30 signs consistently and are learning new signs every day. It's amazing how quickly they pick signs and words up! Their favorite new sign is "monkey" and they both make an "e, e, e" sound with their sign.


Unfortunately, Sophi is scheduled for surgery again on Friday, December 22. The micro tube they put in her implanted ear is clogged and her inner ear is filled with fluid. The doctor explained that there are risks of infection either way...by leaving the tube in and risking an inner ear infection of the fluid or by replacing it and the risk of infection with surgery. We are opting with the surgery in hopes that it will release some of the pressure she has and make her a little more comfortable.


Developmentally, they are growing by leaps and bounds. We are scheduled with First Steps for our review the first week of January. The girls have already been "tested" for their developmental development and they are finally catching up! Most of the effects of prematurity are evaporating! It's been a long and slow journey, but it has been so worth it to see them be able to do things that doctors told us they may not ever do because of their prematurity. Both girls are up and walking with their walkers...it won't be long before they are walking on their own! It appears that there are no signs of mild cerebral palsy or other issues with Sophi's brain bleed....praise the Lord!!! What miracles!!


We're still in a bit of lock down. RSV season hit Louisville early this year and they've even had to close a couple of day care centers down for a few days because it is so bad. RSV is a respiratory illness that most children get before they are two. It typically looks like a cold, however, for preemies whose lungs are still fragile, it can send them back to the hospital and on a ventilator. Because the girls have mild chronic lung disease, our insurance pays for Synagis shots that they get once a month from September to April. The $3,900 a piece shots, gasp....wow, I know...we understand how serious RSV would be to our kiddos if our insurance is willing to shell out nearly $8,000 a month for shots, does not prevent them from getting RSV, however, the shots should help keep the illness to a runny nose and not a severe case of respiratory stress. We're just trying to stay away from RSV altogether, that's the safest bet!!

Because of that, we may miss out on seeing a lot of you at holiday functions, parties, etc. Please don't take it personally. We're trying to protect the girls. Today they are having a Christmas party at the Louisville Deaf Oral School thanks to the Kiwanis Club. We aren't able to go, however, we'll be there next year. They say by two, the girls lungs should be strong enough to handle germs. So...we'll be dressed in red and ready to party at all of the Christmas functions next year!

Thanks for your continued prayers!!