Lions and tigers and elephants, oh my!

So, we've missed quite a lot of posting so I'm going to try to catch up with a myriad of photos and a few stories. In May, all of the G.O. staff was in from the Dominican and we enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo with Tim, Samira, Tony and Jen. In April, we received the all clear from RSV season meaning no more monthly painful shots for the girls!!! It also means we can come out of isolation. It has been a blast hanging out with friends, playing with other kids, and going to our first playground at the zoo! Bring on the germs...slowly!!

Rogers' and Krauss' with the baby elephant.

Tony finds a new friend.

Raena, the tour guide.

Daddy and Sophi hang with the birds.

Daddy walks through the zoo with his girls.

Team Bionic Duo & Walk America

Thanks to all of you who donated to Team Bionic Duo for the March of Dimes Walk America walk! With your help, our team raised nearly $1,000 to help end the devastating effects of prematurity!

We stopped by the girls' story on Ambassador Alley.

Team Bionic Duo! Sara, Jeff, Brittney, Vic, Toby, Joel and Robbie. Thanks, guys for enduring the 20 degree temperatures!!


Memory Mile was dedicated to our angels. We know that sweet Phoenix looks over his parents and his friends, Sophi & Rae every day. We miss you Phoenix!

Thanks everyone for a great walk!!!

Walking in the DR

The girls decided to take off in the Dominican. We were there for nearly three weeks and the girls learned to walk...no more crawling!! They also learned how to say, "hola"! How fun! Here are a few shots from the trip...much more to come!

The girls stop for a second for a photo with abuela Marisol and Angela.
The girls' first trip to the DR was during Tony's first birthday...we got to celebrate his second birthday this year! They absolutely LOVE Tony!!

Can we take these off?

Vanessa helps Raena take a swipe at the frosting!

Remember Nico and Paulina's twins, Paola and Adrien...they're growing!!

Yesica loved playing with Raena....Rae doesn't look so sure in this photo though...man, she looks like Jeff!

Ronald McDonald Helps NICU Families

When the girls were born, we spent 8 weeks going back and forth to the hospital. We would sit for endless hours by their isolettes. We were lucky because our dear friends, Joel and Toby, lived close to the hospital and we stayed with them to remain close to our girls. Many families lived hours away and would either run up incredible hotel bills or not be able to see their babies. As a result, for the girls' first birthday, we asked our family and friends in lieu of gifts to make a donation to the new Norton Suburban Family Center in conjunction with the Ronald McDonald house.

We are so happy to say, that now the Family Center houses up to four families, has a full kitchen, laundry facilities, internet access, and a family room where families can relax, rest, and become rejuvenated. Because of many of your kind donations, families can now remain close to their small ones as they grow and become stronger.

The girls enjoy a little time with the clown.

Rogers' family poses in front of the wall

The girls' names!

Thank you!!!!

Our Girls are Finally Walking...Now You Can Too!

As you all well know, we are always making requests for global aid as that is the line of work we're in. We're hesitant to make this request because many of you already give so much to so many worthy causes…including to us! However, this request is the result of our sweet daughters and their journey that has forever changed our lives. As you know, Raena and Sophi entered the world 10 ½ weeks early. While the odds were against them, prayers and the doctors saved their lives. We were among the fortunate who were able to bring our children home, but many never have that opportunity. We want to make sure no other parent or child has to endure what our children did.

We are participating in our first WalkAmerica because we believe in the March of Dimes mission to save babies. Jeff and I currently serve on a March of Dimes NICU Family Support Committee and see the many efforts of WalkAmerica to end premature births. You have an opportunity to help by putting on your walking shoes and joining our family team for a little exercise and a wonderful cause! Or you can sponsor us to walk, the girls will be riding. It's easy - just visit our Bionic Duo team web page to sign up and raise money for this very worthy effort. Click on the link, then click the "Join This Team" button. The link is http://www.walkamerica.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=377585

The money we raise helps save premature and sick babies. Premature birth is the #1 cause of newborn death and the biggest threat to babies’ health today, and through WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes is funding important research to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it.

We’ve joined with millions of compassionate people across the country who support WalkAmerica each year. Join us to save more babies!

Peace in Him,

Vicki, Jeff, Sophi & Raena

Well it Finally Happened...

Well, the girls have been wrestling with the "D" sound for some time now. You might recall that they were very quick to say "Momma" even if it was by accident, at least the first time. Over the past two weeks (and after a tune up of sorts to help them hear the lower frequency "D" sounds at the audiologist)the girls have been working hard (and Vic has been working hard with them) to say DaDa. The early manifestations were "ah-ah" but over the last two days I have begun to hear a very distinct "Dada." So, as you might imagine, Dada's glad to hear it.

Peace,

Jeff

Preemie Party!!!!

Sweet Zoe turned 1!!!! Zoe was a 31-weeker and spent time in the same NICU as the girls. Her parents are good friends of ours and we never knew we would walk the same path together. It's good to have each other....especially during the winter months! If you notice, there's only one balloon in the background. There were three until my little monkeys came in the room and crashed Zoe's party!! Happy Birthday, Zoe!!

Sophi too!

Well, we finally caught the little stinker on tape! Sophia takes a few steps for us on camera. Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1OnI19nB88

Curly locks...

Sophi sits still as Aunt Laurie cuts her curls for the first time! While the girls had half of their heads shaved for their surgeries, they've never had an official "first haircut". We couldn't wait to have Aunt Laurie give them the professional treatment! Thanks, Aunt Laurie!!

Rena's making sure she doesn't take too much off!

Aunt Laurie with Rena and Sophi after their first haircuts!! Great job, Aunt Laurie!!! She's at Force 2000 for anyone who is looking for a makeover!

Play Date...and just playing!

My friend Wendy is in town as her husband, Major George, is courageously off to work "saving the world" as Debbie tells baby George! The girls had their first play date with George and had a blast!

Sophi gets smooched by sweet Dazzle. Both of the girls LOVE dogs and make the sign for dog and start barking "arf, arf, arf" when they see one!

Sophi says, "Happy New Year!!!"

Ditto! from Rena

Happy New Year!!

He's cutting teeth too!!! Rena enjoys a close-up look of Jaws at Newport Aquarium.

Rena Walks!!

We said we'd post it and here it is!! We're still waiting to catch Sophi. Follow the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ-b5zJcVHA

One foot in front of the other...

Our focus has certainly been to just keep putting one foot in front of the other this past year as we've watched the girls endure many challenges and slowly meet their milestones...our girls' seem to have picked that trend up as well. Sophi put one foot in front of the other and took her first steps on Thursday and Rena followed on Friday!!!

To many, this might not seem that incredibly exciting, afterall, most kids eventually learn to walk. But to a preemie mom who daily remembers the all so encouraging words of her doctor to the tune of "we'll just have to wait and see", who has fervently been praying for this day for the last 18 months, and for our therapists who have stood by us and patiently tried many different avenues to help with the girls' slow development, it is just so surreal!! Let's have a party Emily, Ericka & Kristie!!! Thank you so much for cheering the girls on and loving them almost as much as we do!!

I still remember the day they told us about Sophi's brain bleed and the many outcomes it could have. Walking was one of our next hoops to see if she would be able to do it. And not only was she able, but she did it with that huge toothy smile and energetic bright eyes! What a joy these angels are to us!

Needless to say, there is a big party at our house!! We're trying to get it on video so we can post it, but the girls love a stage and it seems that when we get the camera out, all they're interested in is seeing themselves in the camera screen!

Next on the list....cartwheels!

Uh Oh!

Well, its been a little while since we’ve reported any new happenings with the girls' speech development so we’ll try to get you caught up. The sounds are sutble and come in batches. The girls will utter a few new sounds and then just kind of wait for about two weeks and then suddenly, again, something new! Something surprising.

So…
About four weeks ago the girls started saying “Eee! Eee! Eee” at breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. They are missing only the “t”. “Mama” was there first word. “Eat” is officially the second. It was funny. Several days ago in the evening Vicki and I had fed the girls about an hour and a half before we decided to eat something ourselves. I asked Vicki, who was playing with the girls, what she wanted to eat. The girls had their backs to me and as soon as the question left my mouth they both turned, faced me, and started saying, “Eee, eee, eee,” signing and crawling. I said playfully, “Who taught these kids how to hear? You two are always eating! Let us eat.” So, for the first time, having daughters that circle our plates like vultures anytime we try to eat, we have to spell it out to each other if we’re going to get into something we don’t want to share. “Hey Vic, do you want to “E-A-T?”

They also make a “ma” sound for “more.” We know this because they often accompany the sounds with the sign it signifies. And when they sign “please,” more often than not it is accompanied by “eeaze.” They’re working on “eyes,” “nose,” and “ear.” They come out “Iy,” “Noo…,” and “eugh” (yeah, use you’re imagination on that one.) Vicki got after Soph the other day and said, “Sophi, No!” To which Soph responded by turning to her, smiling and putting her index finger on the end of her nose. That probably means she’s not hearing the S’s on the end but that’s ok for now.

They also make a kind of chirpy noise, especially when they’re scolding us for taking something away or telling them no. They sometimes sound like Dino from the Flintstones and at other times like Beeker from the Muppets. Its pretty cute.

This weekend we traveled to Nashville to visit Crosspoint, a church that supports our work in the Dominican and Haiti. We had the opportunity to stay with our friends Page and Christina (we met them when they came down on a short-term trip to the Dominican last July). Page has some dogs that were barking at the girls from outside of a glass door. The girls stood in their faces on the opposite side and barked right back for the first time ever, “ar, ar, ar!” They were outrageously excited by the dogs. Sophi, in particular, was fearless.

Later that night one of us dropped something and said, “uh oh.” Rena, for the first time and clearly as can be, looked up and said “Uh oh.” She did it again and again for us but I’m sure that when the time comes to show her off to our therapists she’ll clam up just for fun. (I had to come back and add this part: as I was writing this Soph started saying “Uh oh” just as clearly as Rena!!) How cool is that! Thanks Page for the awesome hospitality and all of your love for the girls!

And thanks to all of you who check this so frequently out of the same love for our girls. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Grace and Peace, all

Connexin 26 is not the title of an old Alias Episode...

We finally have discovered the root of our girls’ deafness. The girls’ genetic test results came back and it turns out that it is as we suspected, Vicki and I are carriers of a rare recessive gene for deafness.

So, above is our Punnett Square. Remember those from science class in highschool. Remember thinking, “When am I ever going to use this stuff?” Well it just goes to show that you never know what might prove to be useful in your life. Anyway, as I said, Vic and I are carriers which means that our hearing genes are Rr (R=Typical Hearing, r=hearing loss and/or deafness). So combine the two above and we’re left with the 25% chance to have a child with typical hearing who is not a carrier of Connexin 26, a 50% chance of having a child with typical hearing who is a carrier of Connexin 26, and a 25% chance of having a child with significant hearing loss/deafness.

So, there you go. And so what’s the bottom line you ask? Well, quite frankly, we’re a family of X-Men! So all you regular o’le humans, don’t be haters!!

For more info check out the new link to the left “What is Connexin 26?”

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!

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!!

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!

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!!

Sshhh...

Sshh!! Ssshh is important. No, no, don’t be quiet. Just listen. Listen to a child that could not hear say, “Sshh…” But rather, when Rena says it its more like “thhshhshhshhshh.” She’s trying and she is almost there.

Vicki and I noticed her mimicking us over the weekend. When we play with her with her little baby we pretend to put the doll to sleep and we say, “Sshhh, she’s sleeping” and we hold our fingers over our lips as we shush everyone. Rena and Sophi do the same the difference being that Rena comes very close to making the sound. I was with the girls for their speech therapy today and had Rena showing off. Our therapist is thrilled with how quickly she is coming along. Add to this that we asked Rena today vocally to find her baby doll, no signs, no hints, just the sound of the words and she went for it! She heard it; she recognized it; she responded to it. How Awesome!

And no, don’t worry about Sophia. She’s coming right along too. Remember, her program is set a little lower than Rena’s in terms of intensity so she’s not getting quite as much. Regardless, we are sure now that Soph is turning to her name when we call her. The other little thing is something that Vicki and I discovered while we were giving them both a bath tonight. Sophi and Rena both love birds and especially ducks (ducks in books, ducks on T.V., pictures of ducks, ducks in the bathtub). We play auditory games with the ducks too. “Sophi, the duck goes quack, quack, quack, etc.” In the bathtub tonight Sophi let out a series of loud guttural sounds. She kept doing it over and over again and I started to laugh. I told Vicki that she sounded like a barking seal. We couldn’t figure it out. I was on my way to get her a bucket of fish when Vicki put it together, “Jeff, I think she’s quacking…” She was absolutely right. Every time Soph would pick up the ducky she’d bop it around to the rhythm of her seal barks. Now, granted she doesn’t have the sound quite right but she has put it together that the duck makes a sound and does so in a particular pattern. In other words, she’s been listening.

So there you have it, Rena’s first “Shush” and Sophi’s first “Quack!” What a hoot!!

November 2006 Gatlinburg

My sister has requested that we update the blog with new pictures so that the "Bacon Strips" i.e. scabs might be moved a little further down the line. My initial response is to say, "Just wait until we get their tonsils taken out." But since those are in good shape right now we'll have to wait on those photos for a while. At anyrate, here you go sis...

This time last year Sophia was still on oxygen and weighed around 6 pounds. So we missed last year but this time we were able to participate in the Rogers' family annual Gatlinburg weekend. We were able to hit a trail thanks to our handy baby hiking backpacks. We did a short 3 mile round trip hike to see Laurel Falls.

Laurel Falls

Vic packs Soph with no trouble at all...

Rena digs her first quality piggy-back ride...

Soph can't take any more of the fresh air. She's out.

And so is Rena who's sleeping standing up!

Girls playing in leaves. Great lures for drawing in Smokey Mountain Bears...

And it works!!

Oh, but really they are safely in the mini-van while dad is foolishly outside taking pictures. I was using a telephoto lense so I was not nearly as close as it might seem. Pretty cool, huh? First time we've ever seen a bear in the wild. We saw him from the road after we got back from our hike.