A Trip...

We went on a trip. The girls had a respite weekend away, and we flew to Montreal to visit Alex's sister Deanna. It was a great trip, full of sightseeing and morning sleep-ins.

I would like to say the girls did well, but unfortunately, Hope started one of her vomitting episodes while we were gone. She's been sick since last Sunday, and today she has not vomitted, but she hasn't had a wet diaper yet either. It makes me so sad, to see her sick again. I was really enjoying her little smiles.

Good!

We're doing well. I'm six months pregnant and feeling a lot of movement and the pregnancy has been very easy so far. Ashley is back to moaning a LOT, and the clonidine drowsy effect has completely worn off and although we still give the clonidine, it doesn not help her at all. Hope is cute and cuddley with precious little half smiles for us, when ever we give her some attention.

This past weekend, I ventured out to Killarney with the kids while Alex stayed home to work on the deck. Brodie had some fun playing with his cousins Titus and Vienna at the farm. He even declared Titus's dog to be a very nice dog. He's getting a bit braver with pets, although he stays far away from the one's that jump on him.

Sleepy

I'm feeling sleepy these days and so is Ashley. The Clonidine makes her pretty drowsy, but it's cute to see her fall asleep in our arms...

Lucky for Brodie, his daddy can hold Ashley and play Wii at the same time! Oh and he's icing his foot too...talk about multi-tasking!

The deck...

We've been working on our deck and it was pretty exciting to bring Ashley outside to feel the wind on her face and get a bit of sun. Unfortunately, the deck building has come to a halt. Alex has sprained his ankle, rather badly (the doctor said it would have been better if it broke!). So, he's on crutches.

Ashley's new medication is making her sleepy but has not stopped the crying. It may take a bit of time to figure out what will make her comfortable. Hope is doing great despite her many seizures.

Nothing new...

Nothing too exciting here. Ashley is back to her uncomfortable self, usually crying more often than not. We're still trying different positions/cuddles and trying to adjust meds to help her find comfort. Mostly I think she needs to sleep and is having trouble with that because of the seizures. The next med we are going to try is called Clonidine. Apparently it works very well with pediatric patients with irritability and pain and general discomfort.

Hope is great. She hasn't had a vomitting episode since March and is still giving us little half smiles, and appears to look at us when we talk to her. Brodie is loving school and enjoying soccer in the evenings. We're enjoying Wed evening slow-pitch. It's a good start to the summer.

Teeth!

Ashley lost her two bottom teeth this weekend...can you see? She was so cooperative, letting me take a photo!!! Now she is caught up with Brodie, he's only lost his two bottom teeth as well.

The girls are doing well, same as before. Multiple seizures with smiles in between. Hope is still pretty responsive at times and this makes it fun for us. Ashley still wants to be held...A LOT!

This past weekend we started working on our deck, and are excited for a backyard this summer. It's our third summer in this house, so we are going to appreciate every bit of this deck and I'm sure the girls will too. Our door to the deck is a 'low-profile' door, that the girls' chairs can roll over easily. So it will be fun to bring them out with us for a meal outside.

Ultrasound

No pics today, I've been a little slow in the camera department. We had our ultrasound today, and baby looks good. Good strong heartbeat (140 bpm), good growth and cuteness all around (how could one of our babies not be cute!!!).

No, we did not ask about the gender...we like a surprise, so you'll all have to wait to see what 'pops out' in September (or October, since I'm likely to be late). We didn't expect anything too exciting to show up during the ultrasound, because the ultrasounds and fetal assessments with the girls were always normal too.

Hope and Ashley are doing well, although it seems like they're competing to see who can have the most seizures. Hope definitely wins though, because she's having at least three seizures per hour. AShley is only having one per hour (when awake).

Brodie was supposed to start soccer today, but it was raining so we went shopping. Not a great way to stay on budget. Alex was showing me the 2011 Sienna van because it has middle seats that slide on a track quite a distance. We've been trying to figure out how we're going to fit three car seats and get Brodie into the back row, and travel with a wheelchair and two strollers (which he would have to climb over, if he has to climb in the back hatch). Alex thinks this new van might work because we could slide Ashley and carseat all the way forward, without collapsing the seat and Brodie could slide in the back from the side door. I'm not sure I'm excited about a car loan. I think we'll wait till baby comes and see how much trouble we have, then make a decision. Besides, we find ourselves too overwhelmed to travel anywhere as a family anyway. Thus, no problem!