Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous Christmas this year! Much better than last year!!! It was the babies first Christmas at home. Too bad it was just another day to them. ;) And Gavin was teething so he woke up at about 1:00 AM and pretty much cried all night long. So he finally fell asleep when everyone else woke up and I wasn't about to wake him up, so he got see what Santa brought later in the day. And Dax for some reason decided to sleep in, so by 9 Aaron and I got a little too excited and woke him up!

Dax was asking for a Nintendo DS, but 2 weeks before Christmas he decided that he wanted a remote control Wall E. Yay, huh. But Santa must have worked fast because Dax sure got one. He was so excited! It's pretty cute, it dances and everything. He got lots of fun stuff but the best thing was, a lump of coal! He's been a bit naughty lately and been threatened to get some coal, so Santa just had to follow through with the threat. Dax didn't think it was very funny! :)Santa brought the babies a wagon train. It's so cute, they're gonna love it! It'll be great in the summer for walks around the neighborhood. Each wagon has a cup holder, and the front one has a little storage compartment. And Santa also brought me, Aaron and Dax Nintendo DS's. We are nerds I know, but they are way fun! :)

So all in all it was a great day! The kids got lots of fun stuff from everyone. So thank you to all!

And a couple days before Christmas, Kalee's mom some how got Santa and Mrs. Claus to come to her house ;), and they invited us to come see him! So we got some pictures of the kids with Santa for the first time.

Dax is still a bit nervous around Santa...

All the kiddo's, Gavin is the only one smiling! Dax is doing his nervous smile.

And Devree doesn't care for Santa AT ALL! So this is about as close as she would get....

And on Christmas Eve we got to go to Aaron's moms for a brunch, even though she had surgery on her toe that morning! So thanks to Aaron's sisters Ashley & Angie for cooking! We got to open all of our presents from them, and Vickie made all of the grand kids blankets that are soooo cute! Then later we got to my Grandma Rose's house for dinner and open some more presents, and me, Nicole and Amber raided her jewelry case too and had TONS of fun, got some cute rings! Then we went to my mom and dad's house for our family Christmas party where we have some snacks, play BINGO (and I won blackout! and got 50 smackers!), and we get our beloved Christmas Eve jammies! And this year since my dear ol dad FINALLY finished their basement we got to have a ping pong tournament! The ping pong table has been in the box ever since we bought it for him for Christmas 2 YEARS AGO. It took him a couple of years to finish the basement, but it looks AWESOME and he did it all by himself! And to top it off, he still is Ping Pong Champion!
Us in our new jammies....

The Dickmann clan...

Aaron won a yard stick of bubble gum during BINGO, and he thought he'd see how much he could put in his mouth!

Christmas morning, before the kids woke up...

Dax and Wall E...

The babies in their sweet new ride...

The kids after a long Christmas day...

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008!!!!

All is well, again!

Well, once again Jaxon did great with his procedure. He was scheduled to go in at noon but they were actually about 20 minutes ahead of schedule so he was able to go in early, and Dr. Muntz (the ENT) is amazing with these scopes so he was all done within a half hour. So not too long to worry. They put the scope down into his lungs and airways to see if there were any cysts or if some of his airways were a bit flimsy instead of stiff, which might cause him to wheeze all the time. But all of that looked great. He was also able to get a better look at his vocal cords and it turns out that his left vocal cord is also completely paralyzed. He said the right vocal cord isn't compensating completely which means it isn't coming all the way across the throat to meet the left vocal cord, so it's leaving a space which is probably where the wheezing is coming from. Both Jaxon and Gavin's vocal cord nerve must have been nicked when they did their little heart surgery when they were 2 weeks old. Luckily, Gavin's right side compensates very well so he doesn't wheeze and they didn't hit Jacee's nerve so she is great. Muntz said they are doing a study right now about the PDA ligation's (that was the heart surgery they had) and vocal cord paralysis and it's showing that the smaller the baby is then the higher the risk for vocal cord paralysis. And all the babies were still not even 2 lbs when they had the surgery, so that makes sense.

But Jaxon woke up fast and felt great after it was all done. When I went back to the recovery room the nurse was holding him because he kept trying to climb out of the bed! Which as we know, he's super good at. Silly Jaxon, my little busy body! Just like daddy.

So now we just watch to see if the wheezing gets better. The doc said there are several things to try if it doesn't get better, we will just cross that bridge when we get there.

I remembered the camera this time!

Right before surgery in his cute hosptial gown...

Oh, look at that sweet face!

Getting his vitals checked in the recovery room...

Downing his clear liquids that they let him have after...

Funny story...

So the other day when Jaxon and Jacee were taking a nap I went to check on them, and I first checked Jacee and she was fine, then I went to Jaxon's crib and ummm he wasn't in it!!! It's not a good feeling when you go to check on your baby and they're not there!I started to freak out and then I looked down and I could see a little foot poking out from under Jacee's crib. He was sound asleep under her crib! I never heard a thud or him crying so I have no idea how he got out so "gracefully". I have a pile of clothes that don't fit them anymore that I had next to his crib that maybe he landed on to pad his landing, but I really don't know. Silly Jaxon. :)

And I took Jaxon to the ENT doctor doday to see if we he can figure out why he's still wheezing. So he did a little scope to check his vocal cord, and it's paralyzed just like Gavin's! But he didn't think that was why he was wheezing, so don't you worry he has to have a procedure again next week, December 23rd!!! This time won't be so bad, it's just a scope (so no incisions) to see if anything is obstructing his airway, but they do have to put him to sleep to do it. Poor kid. I'll keep you updated on what's going on with this. Ugh!!!!

All is well...

Well Jaxon's surgery went very well!

He couldn't have any food (just clear liquids) after midnight, and nothing at all after 8:30 the morning of the surgery, so when he woke up hungry in the morning I gave him a bottle of pedialite, and he must have been hungry enough that that was able to hold him off. I was a bit worried because when he's hungry he can be a little bear, but he did great. We had to be at Primary's at 10 AM and his surgery was at 11:30. Everything was right on time too which was nice. I was a nervous wreck as usual. I don't handle this kind of stuff very well. And it was hard because he was all happy and playing, he had no idea what he was in for, poor kid. But the doctors and nurses were so cute with him, so when they took him from us to go in the OR, he didn't even care, he was all smiles for them too.

Since he was in the NICU for so long, we weren't able to get him circumcised. And to do it after they are 2 weeks old they have to get put out to have the procedure. So we had no idea when he was going to be able to have it done. When I found out he had to have the eye surgery, I quickly called a urologist to see if he could come do it while he was out for the eye surgery. And they thought it would be a great idea, the less you have to go under anesthesia the better! So poor thing is sore at both ends! ;)

He had eye muscle surgery on both eyes to fix his lazy eye problem. The doctor said that 1 in 3 babies that had the ROP surgery like Jaxon had will develop a lazy eye. And Aaron had the same problem when he was little so he has also had the surgery (twice!). So the poor thing didn't have good odds! That's probably why he had the problem in both eyes, the previous surgery and genetics! The doctor did also say that in most cases the surgery has to be repeated, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Both surgeons said everything went very well, he did great while under anesthesia. And they were a bit worried about how long it would take him to wake up and get off the vent since he's a 24 weeker and has asthma. I guess they tend to take a long time to wake up. But he woke up fast, and was off the vent by the time he was in recovery. He just had to have a bit of oxygen blow by for an hour or so. Not too bad! And the first thing he wanted when he woke up was a bottle, and he downed that! So he didn't seem to get sick from the anesthesia which is nice, I can not say the same thing for myself!

But he's sure a trooper, his eyes don't seem to bother him much- they are just really red on the insides. But he is sure sore downstairs! His little "thing" is a few shades of purple (He's going to be so proud of me for sharing that info!), but he hasn't been whiny at all, just when I change his bum and I have to put drops in his eyes 4 times a day which he doesn't care for. But he's been great! You'd never know by his attitude that he just had surgery 2 days ago.

I forgot to take my camera to the hospital so I had to take pics with my phone, so once I figure out how to get them off my phone onto the computer I will post pics. Until then, here's a pic I took today, you can barley see the red in the corners-and I just put drops in so they're a little watery.

Naughty babies...

So we are sooo in for it! We have all the babies cribs in one room, which has been just fine, until now. Last night we put them to bed like usual- they normally go right to sleep with no fuss. So I go up to check on them about a half hour later and I hear them all giggling. So I open the door and Jaxon and Jacee are standing up in their cribs and Gavin is on his hands and knees and they are all looking at each other, then someone makes some sort of noise and then they all laugh and laugh! So now bedtime has turned into a little party. I can't wait until they start "crib hopping" too! ;)

*****And a reminder that Jaxon's eye surgery is tomorrow, so send some prayers his way please!!! I'm not too concerned with the actual surgery, it seems to have minimal risks, but I DO NOT like anesthesia. So every one's thoughts and prayers for everything to go well, and him to have a speedy recovery would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Happy Birthday Jaxon, Gavin & Jacee!

*****This is a LONG post****

Well, my babies are now 1! I can't believe it. And what could be a better day to celebrate their first birthday than Thanksgiving. We got to celebrate and show how truly thankful we are that they are actually here with us, and that they overcame all the obstacles they encountered. It was a great day. A day that a year ago we didn't know if we would be able to celebrate.

To start it off the local paper, The Standard Examiner, did a story about the babies and what miracles they are and it ended up on the FRONT page! We are famous now! ;) And then we gave the babies their presents. We got them a toy to share, and then gave them each their own little toys and a book. It's funny because they had no idea what was going on. Just another day to them with a new toy. Then we went and visited Aaron's family at their Thanksgiving dinner, and then went and ate Thanksgiving dinner with my family at Shedogs (Sheila's) house. Yummy yummy! Then of course we did our annual Turkey Bowl with my family. This is a tradition that has gone on since my mom was little. I am NO good at bowling, one turn I get a strike and the next two turns I get gutter balls-real consistent huh! The babies were pretty tired after that long day so we went home and put them to bed, no pie for us! Then I decided to be a little crazy and went with Kalee, Nicole, Derek (who was able to come visit for Thanksgiving), and Nieko to Park City for Midnight Madness where I also met up with Amanda and we hit all the awesome sales and got lots of cute clothes for my kiddos. Then we all proceeded to head towards home and stopped at Walmart in time to hit their sales too! Nicole actually ended up getting knocked flat on her back and got stepped on while trying to get a camera! My line wasn't so hectic, but it's pretty funny to see all the people dive to make sure they get what they came for. Security had to come "tend" to some of the groups because people were fighting, that's pretty sad. What people will do to save a few $$$. So I ended up getting home at 6:30 AM! But my cousins Spencer and Madeline were nice enough to come over before Aaron left for work so that I could get a couple hours of sleep. Thanks guys!

Here's some pics of their birthday...

-The "group" present...

Jaxon in his new outfit and his present...

Gavin in his new outfit and his present...

And Jacee in her new outfit with her present...

Then on the Nov. 29 we had a birthday part for them, here are some pics and a slide show from that...

Group shot...

Jaxon- a wee bit crossed eye!

Gavin...

And Jacee-she absolutely HATED the hat...

Birthday slide show-

And here's an update on what each of them are up to now.

Jaxon- Weighs 15 lbs 13 oz and is 26 3/4 in. tall. He has two little teeth on the bottom. He has got to be the fastest army crawler ever, and is starting to crawl a bit. He can pull himself up to his knees on most everything. He can sit up and go from crawling to sitting by himself. He LOVES having a bath, thinks it's hilarious to splash himself in the face. He's my busybody, doesn't sit still too long. He studies everything, when he spins a toy he just watches it, it looks like he is trying to figure out how it does that. I think he's going to be my smarty pants, especially with the glasses. He goes in for surgery on Dec. 10 to have eye muscle surgery to hopefully fix the lazy eye and while he's under anesthesia he gets to get circumcised, YAY! ;) He thinks he's downright hilarious (which is so true). He laughs at everything, and he laughs so hard. It doesn't take much to get him to laugh. He still loves to suck his thumb, I know I will regret it later, but right now it's nice that he can soothe himself. And while he sucks his thumb he has to be holding something in the same hand, usually his taggie blanket. He still spits up a lot. And we are still trying to figure out why he wheezes all the time, so we're treating him for asthma but it doesn't seem to help a ton so this is a "work in progress."

Gavin- Weighs 14 lbs 3 oz and is 26 1/4 in. long. No teeth yet, but his gums are swollen so I'm sure they're coming. He rolls wherever he wants to go. He can get up on his hands and knees but hasn't quite figured out how to move. He can sit up un-supported for a bit and is getting better at it each day. He's my little sweetheart. But since he doesn't quite get around as well as the other two he seems to get picked on by the other two (mainly Jacee) and anytime they hurt him it breaks his little heart. He seems to be a bit of a mommy's boy, but not too bad. He's loves to smile, just have to look at him and he smiles. When he laughs, he laughs so hard that he can't breath and his face turns bright red. And he's super ticklish, so all you have to do is touch him and he laughs. He loves "real" food. He gets so excited that he shakes when he thinks he's going to get some food. And to everyone's surprise he does real well eating solids, so hopefully soon he can get rid of his G-Tube. Hooray!!! And although he has the paralyzed vocal cord, his voice seems great so far, except when he gets sick he loses it completely very easily.

Jacee- Or miss Piggy as she's now known weighs 16 lbs 14 oz and is also 26 1/4 in. long. She doesn't have any teeth yet either. She has daddy wrapped around her little finger. She can sit up and can go from crawling to sitting up all on her own. She also mainly army crawls but can crawl when she feels like it, especially on hard floors like tile, wood and linoleum. She can pull herself up to standing on about anything and has even climbed about 5 stairs (it probably could have been more but as soon as we noticed she was up them we hurried and picked her up so she didn't fall)Right now she's the bully of the bunch. Her favorite thing to do is crawl over to Jaxon and sit on him and not move. For some reason it's her favorite spot, though Jaxon doesn't seem to care for it at all. She loves to steal toys from Jaxon and Gavin, but Jaxon is starting to put up a fight. I say she's just getting a head start because with 3 brothers she's doomed. But if they think of taking a toy from her or sitting on her, she screams. Such a girl. She has stranger anxiety, if she doesn't really know you, she just stares at you. She could win a staring contest easy. She also loves "real" food. Especially those fruit puff things, she starts kicking her legs whenever she see's them. She will do patty-cake sometimes, and will also wave bye sometimes. She also shakes her head NO when she doesn't want anymore food or you to do something she doesn't want you to.