Exciting Year So Far!

2016 has been a great year for the Parks family so far!

We finally sold our home and can start with the building process. We're currently working on getting blueprints designed. It's exciting getting to pick the layout of the house we want. There is definitely lots to think about. Which way do you want the door to open? Right handed or left handed? Where do you want windows, light switches, light fixtures, cabinets, stove, oven, sink??? All kinds of decisions to be made! It's a lot but it will absolutely be worth it and we're very excited! We'll keep you posted on the house as it progresses.

We both have had advancements in our careers this year. I don't talk a lot about our careers on here, because they are such a small part of our lives (in our opinions). Work is simply something you do so you can enjoy life with family! We have been blessed in our careers this year.

My health has been good. PFT's staying pretty steady despite the winter. I wasn't admitted through the winter and managed to make it through with only a couple minor bouts with colds. That's a huge plus! Thank you Lord!

I was asked to write an article for the AARC Times again. If you recall in one of my previous posts from a coupe years back, I was asked to write an article for the AARC Times (American Association of Respiratory Care) about my life with CF. It's a nationally published magazine. The link to that post is here. This time they asked me to write about the 2013 CFF Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines. I submitted the article last week. It's in the review process. I'll keep you posted and post pics of the article in the magazine when I get it. It's always exciting to be asked to write an article for a magazine of this caliber and I am honored!

The boys are all doing great!! Trevor has been crawling since about 6 months old. He is so desperate to catch up to his brothers and be able to run and play with them. The twins will be 3 in 5 days! So hard to believe they are this old already! It's been a very exciting year thus far and we can't wait to see what God has in store for the remainder of it!

Here's a few pics of the family for you to enjoy!

I finally made it back to Chicago for a respiratory conference and was able to go to Jake Melnics and get their Street Fries. They are AMAZING!! If you're ever in Chicago I highly recommend going there.

Ignore the booger nose and this is one handsome boy! The prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen!

My red-headed mini-me. We're still amazed that we had a red head! Love him!

Lately Jace wants to ride in daddy's car all the time.

Our awesome Easter picture! Keeping it real!

First Steps

Well, the boys have gone and done it... they learned to walk. They've been taking a few small steps here and there. But now we agree they are officially walkers. They still choose to crawl a lot, but they can walk the length of a room! They started off going from one couch to the other. Our couches butt up against each other forming an "L." Instead of walking along the entire couch and transferring to the other, they started letting go and taking a step or two to get to the next one. They began getting gutsier and gutsier and finally we started working with them.

I heard about a study by a physician that said that babies who crawl early and longer have higher IQ's. That combined with not wanting to have two babies able to walk and get into even more stuff, led us to let them crawl until they decided they were ready to walk! Lol! I guess now they're finally ready. Here's a video of some of their first steps! Oh, and for some reason they just love the camera and wouldn't leave it alone, lol!

P.S. If you click the star looking icon in the bottom right corner of the video, you can change the video to HD (1080p)



10 Months Old

The boys turned 10 months old yesterday! They're growing up way too fast! It's hard to believe how much they've grown and are able to do now.

They both are crawling and have been for awhile. They pull up and stand next to anything they can grab approximately 157 times a day. It's all they do, lol. Crawl to this thing, stand up. Sit down and crawl to that thing, stand up. They shuffle along the couches, and walk from one thing to the next. We still have their jumpers in the living room. (We occasionally still use them while I'm doing treatments or we need to get stuff done without worrying about them getting into something. They're trapped, lol). They'll crawl to the first jumper, pull up on it. Then walk around it, side-stepping while holding on. They transfer to the next jumper, then to the coffee table, to the couch, the other couch, and now they've made it around the entire room! They're pretty close to walking too. They let go with one hand a lot or will not hold on at all and lean on things. They both will stand on their own when we make them. Only for a short time. They usually sit down pretty quick and take off crawling.

Jeriah has figured out how to climb up my legs and onto the couch, lol. I often sit at the couch with my legs crossed at my ankles. He has figured out how to put his knee between my ankles, pull up enough to get his other foot in there, then pulls and climbs up my legs and into my lap. It's hilarious! He works so hard when he's doing it.

They both give kisses now. It's absolutely adorable! They are the typical open mouthed baby kisses. Jace has been doing it for a little over a month. Jeriah just started a week or so ago. The other night, we were all sitting in the living room playing. Jeriah climbed into my lap while I was sitting on the floor and proceeded to give me kiss after kiss. I only asked for one but he just kept going. A couple times he caught me off guard and I had my mouth open, haha! Every time he gave me a kiss I said thank you and he smiled and laughed. I bet he kissed me 10 times. I was laughing so hard by the end of it! He's also been giving his brother kisses too. If Jace is laying on the floor, whether getting his diaper changed, playing or whatever, Jeriah has been known to come over and kiss him on the head. It's so cute!

Jace looks like he's gonna be our little ball player. For a month or so now, he's been throwing stuff, mostly balls. We went to Toys R Us the other night and bought 5 balls. They both like playing with them, but Jace will throw them and chase them. He's getting quite the arm on him! It's funny to watch him. It started with him slapping or pushing the ball along the ground and chasing it. Now he picks it up, throws it (sometimes with this cute side-arm motion, other times overhand) and chases it. He always has to have something in his hand too. He'll find something, a book, block, stuffed animal, ball, etc. and crawl all through the house while holding onto it. He always has something in his hand.

He also loves to push buttons. He loves to crawl to the Xbox and turn it off and on over and over and over. He will stop after it dings a few times and look at the TV to see if it's on. They both have learned the noise the Xbox makes when it starts. Whether they are in the room or not, if they hear it, they crawl to the TV and stand right in front of it when the Xbox comes on, lol. I don't know why, but they do and it's funny. They have several toys with buttons. They have a tractor with a button on top that makes it make noises. It's so funny how particular Jace is about pushing any buttons. He sticks his little pointer finger out and puts it right on the middle of the button and pushes it. He won't slap it with his hand or use any finger. It has to be his pointer finger with the rest of his fingers in a fist, lol!

They get into everything! We have to keep all doors closed! If we forget, they will notice and dart in the room and into everything they can. They're too smart! Jeriah has figured out how to open cabinets and the bottom drawer on our stove.

They like it when I build a tower of blocks so they can knock it over. I usually can barely get it built. As soon as they see me start building one, they race over to knock it down!

They're pretty much done with baby food now (except oatmeal cereal, they love the stuff). They want what mommy and daddy are eating, which isn't always the healthiest stuff! That is soon to change I think. Monica eats pretty healthy. I do not! I'm getting/starting a nutrition plan soon and it may drastically change the way I eat. I have yet to see, lol.

I guess that's enough rambling for now! Here's some pictures of our boys, who we are thankful for (since it is Thursday)  :)



Twin Update & Thankful Thursday

The boys turned 6 months old this month and had their doctor visit this week! They're still growing!

Jeriah went from 13 lbs 9 oz to 15.5 lbs and from 25 3/4 in to 26 3/4 in.

Jace went from 15.5 lbs to 17.5 lbs and from 25.5 in to 26.5 in.

It's crazy that they each grew exactly one inch and gained 2 pounds!! The doctor said everything looks great! They're hitting all their developmental milestones and then some!

They're both sitting up on their own. Jace does awesome at sitting up! He's got it down! Jeriah still likes to lean back a lot, lol. He seems more interested in wanting to stand. I wouldn't be surprised if he skips crawling or only does it til he can pull himself up so he can walk. Monica and I joke that Jeriah wants to be a big boy, while Jace is content being a baby, lol!

We can start introducing meats and feeding them table foods! We started last night at Texas Roadhouse with bread and sweet potatoes. Jeriah did great and loved it, while Jace gagged and spit it out. Haha! They are so totally different in almost everything they do! It's so funny to watch!

The only downside is for the past 2 weeks they've had stuffy noses. We've had to suction them A LOT. Recently it started turning yellow, so they are getting their first doses of antibiotics :( I thought I would be a lot tougher and that suctioning, etc. would be easier than it is. I hate it. They cry and do not like it! I completely understand. It's the equivalent of being NT (nasotracheal) suctioned for adults. That's where we as RT's put a suction catheter down your nose into your lungs and suction. To get all the mucus, we have to put the bulb syringe really far into their little noses, especially Jace. His congestion is worse. They can't sleep good, because they can't breath and they have trouble eating as well for the same reason. It's hard to watch them be so uncomfortable. On top of the congestion they got 4 shots yesterday and were running some pretty good fevers for 2 days after. Poor little guys are having a tough go these past couple days!

Today the congestion seemed a lot better, and they seemed more back to themselves! Hopefully them and daddy will all be back to our normal, healthy selves next week!

The only plus knowing their little immune systems are getting stronger. For that we are thankful!

Speaking of thankful..... It's Thankful Thursday!!! We have so much to be thankful for! Life is full of blessings, big and small!

To add to the Thankful Thursday aspect, I got to meet a neighbor of ours this week. Monica has been driving my blazer to work so I can have the car in case I need to take the boys anywhere. I forgot to mention to her that my gas gauge is broken. Uh-oh! Thankfully it didn't run out of gas on her, it ran out on me, lol! I was on my way home from getting the boys medicine, and it broke down about a mile from the house. I was walking to the house when a car passed me, turned around and stopped to offer a ride. It was a neighbor who had recently moved in. We hadn't had the chance to introduce ourselves yet. He gave me a lift back to the house, and along the way we had a short conversation about our families and lives. I learned that his wife has cancer and is halfway through the chemo/radiation process. They have a son, under 1 year old, and he had to quit his job to work from home so he could take care of his wife and son. Obviously they are going through a rough time. I wouldn't have guessed it by his demeanor though! He is in good spirits and seems to be a great guy! I'm looking forward to getting to know them better! Please keep them in your prayers!!!

Afterwards, Monica and I were talking about how awesome God is and how He works in mysterious ways. I was slightly annoyed when I ran out of gas and how bad the timing was (as if there's ever a good time to run out of gas, lol). As they say, hind sight is 20/20. If I hadn't run out of gas, I wouldn't have met my neighbor. Who knows when we would have introduced ourselves. God wanted us to meet and he used my blazer running out of gas to do it. He has reasons for everything! It's exciting when God puts new people in your path!

So, what are you thankful for this week?!?!

P.S. Here's some recent pics of our boys!

Sitting up like big boys

Jace off in "Jaceland" and Jeriah high on applesauce

Already posted this once but it's an all-time fav

Their new winter hats

Posted this one already too, but it's a good one in their mummy outfits

Snoozing, holding onto his toy :)
You can also see his first little cut on his eyelid.
He was playing with his aunt and got a little rowdy!

Jace's "I just woke up and I'm trying to sort life out" face

Sleeping holding a toy again

First time sitting in big boy chairs at the restaurant

There were too many distractions to get them to look at us and smile, lol



6 Months Old

The boys turned 6 months old 2 days ago on the 12th! It's really hard to believe they are getting so old! They develop more every day! We notice them doing something new almost on a daily basis. It's so crazy!

If you've been reading any of our other posts, you already know that Jeriah has 2 teeth now. They stick out more and more all the time! Jace has been chewing on everything! We expect his teeth to poke through anytime. They are becoming more mobile. They aren't crawling yet, but they have figured out how to twist, roll, wiggle and grab the blanket/mat to pull themselves all over. They are close to scooting! They both will put their face down, push with their feet to get their butts in the air and push with their feet. It looks like they're trying to climb, pushing one foot after the other, but they don't go anywhere, lol.

They've gotten much better at sleeping!! In fact, Saturday, the day they turned 6 months old, they slept from 9:30 until almost 7 without waking once!! (angelic noise) It was wonderful! We can pretty much lay them down almost wide awake and they will fall asleep on their own without much of a fuss. They're such good boys!

We go for a check-up at the end of the month where we'll find out how big they are! I'll be taking wagers if anyone is interested! Haha!

They have learned so many new things, I feel like I'd have to go on and on and bore you to death. So I'll mention a few and leave it be. They are really watching each other and even more than that, starting to interact with one another. As parents Monica and I think this is one of the coolest things ever! They will laugh at each other and they're starting to babble to one another. This afternoon when I got home from my study appointment, I went into the kitchen where they were sitting with momma and made some funny faces at them to get some laughs. I got the laughs, and right after they laughed at me, they turned and looked at each other, like "Did you see dad being silly?" It was awesome!

Last night we had a birthday party for my father-in-law. Monica's cousin's fiancé (lol) was ducking behind me and popping back up, playing with Jace. When she would duck behind my other shoulder, he would lean over my back, look to see where she went, and then laugh really hard when she popped back up! We had never seen him leaning to look for something like that before. He did it again today with Monica. It's too cute!

Last one, Jeriah has gotten so fast with his little ninja moves! If anything is within reach, BAM, he's got it! He is a fast little booger! It's almost as if he's always waiting for something to get close so he can pounce on it, lol. He's got some quick reflexes.

Alright, I guess that's enough. Enjoy the pictures and videos!

 

We have the most good-looking boys ever!

Sleeping on grandpa

Sometimes he zones out... :)

Fuzzy head

Shopping is tiring... I felt the same way.

The following pictures were taken in order of how they happened.
It serves as an illustration of how mobile they are becoming.

Running when it's cold! They both slept the whole way!