"A" is for Ayson

Ays has been working so hard at school on his name. And every day I would ask him if he practiced it at school and he would say, "mom, A's are really tricky!"  Ha!!!

 So, it finally clicked for him today and he's so proud:))) we have A's drawn everywhere now;)

Selfie

Love these kiddos:) Happy Hump Day!

First Day of Pre-K!

Ayson started school this year...CRAZY!!!!  Here are his obligatory first day of school pics.  He was so excited...he ran right in and never looked back.  He seriously cried when I picked him up because he wanted to stay longer...ha!  It's a great feeling to have such a well adjusted, social kiddo!  Makes my mama heart happy :)))

 Looking forward to watching him grow and learn this year.  Here's to your first year of school buddy...we love you!

Ays man turns 4!

It's hard to believe that we have a 4 year old already...how is that possible?  It seems that he really has just grown up all of the sudden.  He is very independent, strong willed, funny, hilarious to have a conversation with, and a great big brother.  Can't wait to see what this energetic little guy has in store for 4 :)

A few pics from his birthday party we had over a month ago ;)))

Seeing his new swing set for the first time :)

So excited!!!

    

My poor neglected blog....

Well, I have so much to catch up on that I don't even know where to start. I swore I was going to keep up with this so Axton didn't feel neglected when he's 15 and wondering why every day of his life wasn't documented like Ayson's...whoops ;)

Oh well, we quickly learned that two kids is way more than double the work which leaves less time for this. But, we are loving every single busy minute of it:)

So here's something to get me started back up...we moved Axton to his room this weekend. He's been sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room. Sad for me because this means he's growing up so fast already! He handled it way better than me;) He slept until 5am! This kid is a rock star sleeper:))))

:)))))

Happy Friday...start your day off with a smile:)

Happy Due Date

Wishing our littlest (not so) little man a happy due date!  It's crazy to think that he's just now supposed to be here!!  We are enjoying every minute with this cutie.  He already weighs 9lbs and is 22 1/4in long.  Can you imagine how big he would have been if he would have gone to term...yikes!!!  We are very fortunate that we got to bring home a healthy, growing kiddo!

Bringing home Axton

It's time for me to play some catch-up!  I can't believe that we've had Axton home for over two weeks already.  It's been so amazing to have our family all together under one roof...it was a LONG three months.  You really don't realize how much stress you are carrying around until its gone.  I think I can speak for both Aaron and I when I say, that having a 3 year old and a newborn at home has been a breeze compared to what we endured over the past few months!

So, lets get you all up to speed.  Axton has been the easiest baby, so far.  I'm sure all of this will change, but for now, he eats great, sleeps great, and when he is awake, rarely fusses.  He really is just a chilled out little dude.  Ayson is absolutley in love with his "baby brudder."  He has to show him off to everyone he sees and loves to be involved with everything that involves Axton.  He has been a little jealous at times too, but overall Ayson has adjusted so well to not being the center of attention anymore.

And as for Aaron and I, we are just happy to have life back to normal.  We have been busy getting the house re-organized, and just enjoying all the day-to-day chores and activities that had to be pushed aside while Axton and I were in the hospital.  LIFE IS GOOD and we couldn't be happier :)

Here's our life in pictures over the past two weeks...enjoy!

 Ayson meeting Axton for the very first time.  Ays was never allowed in the NICU, so the day we brought Axton home was the first time he got to meet his little brother in person.  He was so EXCITED!

He couldn't wait to hold him :)))

I often find these two cuddled up next to each other.  Ayson will crawl in next to Axton and share his blanket with him.  It's so cute!

This makes my heart happy :)

First bath with bubba

This crazy kid can hold his head up already during tummy time!

More cuddles

And now, a sneak peek of Axton's newborn photo session.  Jennifer Aldridge did an amazing job...we can't wait to see the rest of them!!!

 

 

We're outta here!!

He passed and we are outta here:)

Tick tick tick...

Ax is in the middle of his fourth car seat test.  Finger crossed...if he passes, we go home!

This is going to be the longest 2 hrs of my life...

:)

Just had to share...he's simply the sweetest!

Car Seat Test(s)

Quick update!  Axton is cruising along and getting stronger.  We are still waiting on him to pass his car seat test.  He has failed it three times now.  Each time he does a bit better.  Yesterday, he made it the full two hours, but just had too many desats during the test.  Good news though, each time he desatted, he rebounded very quickly.  This is just a prematurity issue and will resolve with time.  So, we are still waiting.  They will retest tomorrow.  Fingers crossed, we will be busting out of here tomorrow.

I just love how teeny and cozy he looks in his car seat :)
 

One foot out the door!

A lot has happened around here since Sunday!  Axton passed his hearing screen, he was circumcised, and we have completed all other requirements for discharge except for that pesky little car seat test.  They tried the test yesterday and little dude failed it pretty quickly.  They must sit in their car seat for 2 hours and not desat below 88, or have any bradys.  Axton has had some issues with desatting, so of course, this is the one thing holding us here.  He is great when he is laying down or being held, and hardly ever desats while feeding anymore, but the position the car seat puts a little body in, is not the most conducive for optimal oxygen saturation.

So, we wait.  I'm not sure if they will retest today, or wait until tomorrow.  We were so hoping we would be outta here yesterday or today, but little man is holding out on us.  It's hard to be patient when this marathon of a journey seems to never end.  But we know that he'll be ready when he's ready and so will we! 

If only he knew how great it would be to go home ;)

Happy Stormy Sunday

Hope everyone is staying safe out there...I'm camped out at the hospital just in case things gets a little hairy.  My crazy mama gene is in high gear and I just want to make sure little Ax stays safe.  I swear storms never bothered me until we had kiddos!  Now, I'm not a fan.  But anyways, enough about that.

Our littlest little man is doing great!  They took him back off the cannula at 7am this morning, and he is back up to trying to nipple all feeds.  

He is doing well at keeping his oxygen saturation up and seems to not be tiring out as easily.  Just my own opinion; tonight will be a big indicator as to whether he's ready or not to handle all of this.  If he does well over night tolerating everything, I think we will be well on our way to getting the heck out of here.  We are cautiously optimistic about it all.

He is doing great on his weight gain and now weighs 2978g or 6lbs 9ozs.  He doesn't fit in any preemie clothes, and if he keeps this up, will be out of newborn stuff in no time.

In other news...we had a great weekend full of lots of visitors!  We also got to spend some quality time with Ayson on Friday night at the bowling alley.  He had a blast, and surprisingly able to do it all by himself, from picking up his ball, to carrying it to the ramp, to pushing it down the alley.  He has been asking to go every day since then! 

 

I'm so, glad Aaron and I got to spend some time with him doing something he loved because a lot of our time is spent here at the hospital, which I'm sure isn't much fun for him.  But, he has been a trooper through it all.

Until tomorrow...enjoy a few other pics from our weekend :)    

Hanging out next to me on the couch :)

Sharon getting in a little bit of cuddle time

Dominic and Ayson out for an afternoon ride to the park :)

Learning to share with our friends ;)

Making News Already ;)

 Check out today's Tulsa World!  You might just see a familiar face or two.  The Tulsa World stopped by on Monday to do a story on the NICU and the March of Dimes.  They asked if I wouldn't mind talking to them and as it turns out, we were a perfect fit for their story because of our NICU experience as well as our involvement in the March of Dimes.  I was honored to share our story about our two little miracle babies...ENJOY!

Tulsa World Article (Click Here)

If you have a chance to get the print version...pick one up! The write-up is big and has all the pictures from the online version. It's in the Scene section.