Welcome 2016

2016 has gotten off to a little bit of a rocky start. The girls are still fighting winter germs and we've made more trips to the doctor than I would like! Avery is on a second round of antibiotics and I'm hoping all these coughing germs will disappear soon. Addison has been the most sad about missing a few days out of preschool. I hadn't been feeling well since I went in with a kidney stone. I went up for a check up and ultrasound and found out I have gestational hypertension. Or in other words high blood pressure. I never realized how crumby that can make you feel. This has resulted in a lot of changes around here. I got put on the care of the high risk doctor and now have frequent appointments. I've been traking my blood pressure daily and pretty much sitting on the couch. I was told to rest 70% of the day and now it's down to 30%. I have had no energy from doing nothing which is kind of not fair! I am not supposed to lift anything heavy...aka Avery. This has been one of the hardest parts about all of this. She cries for me to pick her up and I've had to explain that I can hold her hand or she can sit on my lap on the couch. Simple tasks such as carrying laundry baskets and changing bed sheets have been passed to Dave. I hate feeling so helpless and dependable on someone else. Dave has been a good sport and comes home from work and puts on the Mr. Mom hat. I can't lean over and do baths or wrestle Avery at bed time alone. He's had to miss a lot of YM activities and we're learning to be happy at home. Papa and Grammie took turns coming up and helping with the girls while I ran to doctor appointments. One day the girls talked Papa into taking them to see the puppies at the mall. This is a favorite activity to go and do for both of them. You pick a dog and they put you in a little cubby and let you play. Somehow they always pick a really wild and nippy dog that chases them around. I've appreciated all of the help of having my parents close. It's hard to have to go to a doctor that is 30 minutes away. I just hit 32 weeks and I'm trying to try and not wish this to be over. It is must easier to sit on the couch than to have to live at the NICU. I've had a lot of friends take the girls for a playdate and bring meals. I am hoping that life goes back to a healthy new normal in a couple of months!

Last of 2015

 Here is a photo dump of photos that I didn't think made it into the count yet. These girls are my life. Their faces are the memories that I try to preserve through these books. I love journaling the ups and down of our lives. Someday I hope the words are read and memories and laughs are brought back to light. Here's to another year that has gone by:)

Goodbye 2015

New Years Eve 2015 was a quiet one, but good one. Dave got us tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters in the afternoon. It was entertaining, but we had a hard time hearing the speakers. They had some pretty cool dance moves and I even got Dave to stand up and do the YMCA. My parents came up to celebrate at our house this year. We had a spread of yummy food and set up for a movie night in the family room. The girls thought it was pretty special to have a picnic table in front of the tv. Addison had picked out, Despicable Me to watch. During the movie the girls got to make a candy necklace. Addison took hers very seriously while Avery just shoved fistfuls of gummy rings in her mouth:) Auntie Kate gave the family Pie Face for Christmas which is a great game! We even convinced Papa and Dave to play. You put a plop of whip cream on and then spin to see how many clicks you have to turn the knob. It smashed everyone's face, but Grammie and I! Avery loved asking Papa to fill her mouth with the whip cream. I was surprised that Addison thought it was fun to get her face that messy. We played a few rounds and then got out the party poppers. Netflix had a countdown video that we played with the girls. We got out sparkling bubbly out and toasted to a new year! We used the whole bag of poppers and then cracked open some glow in the dark sticks. Addison's favorite thing to do lately is to turn off all the lights and have a candle going. The glow sticks were her favorite part of the night. After the girls were in bed we watched a movie and continued to eat way too much goodies! We toasted at midnight and then we all passed out! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for our family. Mostly that we get to add another little Michael baby girl in March! Happy New Year!