Evie's Next Surgery (and Peek-a-boo!)

Yesterday we took Evie to see her cardiologist. Earlier in the week, we had been given a surgery date of February 12... but when we first got to the doctor's office yesterday, her pulse-ox (i.e., her oxygen saturation level) was about 65. That is really low! (The last time she visited the doctor with a level that low, the doctor sent me to the ER with her and she was admitted.)

The nurse kept checking her pulse-ox, and as Evie calmed down (she was crying at first) her stats rose to 75 and her color got much "pinker." Luckily, no trips to the ER, but her doctor was concerned enough to move up her surgery date to February 5th, and maybe even sooner if the hospital has an opening.

The surgery will be another unifocalization procedure (check out these previous two blog entries for a refresher on unifocalization, MAPCAs, and an explanation of Evie's heart defect). There is one MAPCA remaining in her body, and her surgeon will use a shunt to detach that MAPCA from her aorta and attach it to the existing shunt on the right side of her body. This will help lower the pressure of the blood flow to her lungs. This is necessary in order for her to (hopefully) be a candidate for the next surgery (The "Glenn" surgery, the one we thought she would be having now).

Her surgeon will also put in a stent to fix one area of an artery on her right side that has narrowed quite a bit and is restricting blood flow.

While he is working on her, he may also change her existing shunts to larger ones, if needed. The shunts do not grow with her, so they may need to be replaced over time.

Last weekend Grandpa and Nana Cermak were over and Evie started playing peek-a-boo with Nana! She's always giggled at others doing peek-a-boo, but has never done it herself until now.

Giggles and Tackles

It is so true when people say that twins have their own language. Evie and Gavin have conversations all day long! Even their pediatrician acknoweldged last week that it makes sense that they aren't saying words yet, because some of their communication needs are already met through each other. Then it is not so frustrating to them if they can't say the words that Francis and I say.

Many of their discussions are actually giggle-fests. (I never get enough of watching these!) Here is Gavin, laughing so hard at Evie that he falls over:

Evie has gotten more agressive in playing with Gavin lately. She'll pull on his shirt, pull his hair, or hit his head - all of which he thinks are funny, but I have to remind her to be gentle because if their roles were reversed she'd be screaming. Here she is tackling him:

Stacking Rings

Evie and Gavin have been doing so many new things lately that I could post even more blog entries than I do now! They just won't stop being adorable amd making up new games. I can't wait to show you all what the newest game is... it involves lots of giggles and flinging things onto the floor. More on that in a future post!

Last week at their physical, the pediatrician said that their next milestones would be fine motor skills and vocabulary. Now, Evie and Gavin have gotten the hang of putting the plastic rings back on their ring stacking toy... before, they just took them off. Evie was able to put them back on a few weeks ago, and now Gavin can, too.

All that stacking was hard work. Gavin decides to take a break and chomp on his squeaky clam:

Bath Time!

When the twins outgrew their Bumbo seats, I was stumped on what to do at bath time. (I am not ready to put them both in the big tub at the same time!) I tried putting one in the pack-n-play or in their crib while I bathed the other, but whichever one wasn't with me hated it and screamed the whole time. Then I tried to time the baths when other people were here to watch whichever twin wasn't with me, but that didn't always work out either.

Then I hit upon the idea to put one twin in our single umbrella stroller in the bathroom with me while I bathed the other one. That way they were strapped into something and could also see me. They balked at the stroller at first (because it wasn't moving) but now they are fine with it.

The key with Evie is to keep her in just her diaper in the stroller. Here she is giggling while Gavin gets his bath:

Gavin fiddles with the leg rest while he waits his turn:

Feeding the Birds

The twins love to watch Francis refill the bird feeder in our backyard:

They like to wave at him and imitate him. Here they are stomping and trying to jump:

And here is what we get in return - up to twenty birds all eating at our feeder! Evie and Gavin know the word "birdie" and will go look for them if I ask.

Spitting, Shrieking, and Doctors, Oh My!

I took the above picture yesterday morning, before going to the pediatrician's office. Evie had just walked over to Gavin, unprompted by me, and hugged him. Ahhh, so cute!!! I LOVE having twins!!!

We were at the doctor's office for a lot longer than I expected, and the kids were getting hungry and tired. Grandma Cordes was there to help me, thank goodness, because the twins were resteless. The office had a nurse out sick, and then there was some confusion over one of Evie's shots, so we left at 11 am and that is when they usually take naps! The good news is that we got home, fed them and got them asleep by noon. Whew!

You can see their updated info in the "Twins in a Nutshell" on the left of your screen. Gavin remains steady in the 95th percentile for height and the 50th for weight. Evie is still not on the chart for weight, but has moved up from the 5th to the 10th percentile for height! For those of you wondering about their head size, Gavin is in the 75th percentile and Evie is in the 5th.

Here are a few videos from the week. Gavin is enjoying the sound of his own voice shrieking:


Evie is enjoying spitting:



And the twins' new game for this week involves throwing three plastic balls onto the floor and then chasing them and throwing them again:

High Chair Silliness

Evie and Gavin are 15 months old today! I am taking them to their physical in the morning and hope to have the blog updated with all their new info by Friday morning.

There is always a lot of silliness happening at our house. On Monday, Evie just couldn't stay awake after her lunch (you can click on any picture for a larger view):

"My sister may be tired, but I'm not!"

Later, during dinner, Gavin was holding onto the frozen washcloth I had given him earlier. Then he decided to put it on his head:

He's quite pleased with himself!

Evie has learned to move her tongue around in her mouth and make silly sounds. Gavin is also enjoying shrieking lately - more on that in a future post!

A Visit With Laura

Last week, our friend Laura came over for a visit. We were happy to find time to catch up with her, since she has triplets age 2 1/2! Laura helped watch Gavin while Evie was in the hospital - it looks like he didn't forget how much fun they had!





Gavin thought it was the funniest thing in the world to throw toys at Laura:

Lunch With Our Cousins

Last Saturday, we took the twins on a road triup to Kenosha, WI, to have lunch with our aunts and cousins from Milwaukee. Evie and Gavin slept in the car onthe way there, but were rather overwhelmed when we got into the restaurant and were greeting everyone. They both were in full Mommy-mode! They relaxed after a while, though. Not all of the cousins had met the twins (although they read the blog faithfully), so they were a big hit.

Here's Gavin exploring behind Dennis' chair:


Cousin Steven and his fiance Amy, who are getting married in May:


Our Aunt Sharon was thoughtful enough to bring some new table toys for the twins. A new toy can go a long way!


David fed Evie her lunch. She discovered crayons at the restaurant and did not want to let them go!

Evie thinks about coloring:

Gavin was happy to sit in Grandpa's lap and gnaw on the mustard bottle:

Fashion Plates

The twins have been spoiled with a lot of new clothes lately! I have to admit that I think their outfits are so adorable that at night, I set out their clothes for the next day, even if we are just hanging around the house. Here are some of their new duds (mostly Evie, but there are more choices for girls)!

This ladybug outfit is one of my favorites!