Happy New Year 2008!

What a year 2007 turned out to be! One of the most emotional years yet for our young family. In the first part of the year we learned that we were having twins, which was very exciting! But with that news came complications that landed me on and off bed rest for 12 weeks and was scary not knowing if all would be ok. In that same 12 weeks one of my dearest friends moved from San Antonio back to the east, Pennsylvania to be exact, to be closer to family. That was hard to say good-bye, but I know it was for the best for her family.

Then things normalized for 13 weeks and the pregnancy was business as usual for me and pregnancy. Couldn't eat a lot, was nervous I was not gaining enough weight, but all was well with the babies and we found out we were having a boy and a girl.

In April at 25 weeks big news came that the pregnancy was in jeopardy if I did not go on bed-rest immediately, so well.... I did as I was told. I got steroid shots just in case, but thank god they were just an extra boost that was not needed when they thought I was going to go into labor. It was really scary not knowing what the future held for the babies at that time, but I had to trust a greater power then my own that was to be, would be!

On July 12 we welcomed 2 new additions to our family, just 4 weeks early, Cameron Patrick and Zoey Makena joined their big brother Ethan Joshua and mommy and daddy to make the Myers Family Party of 5! They were little and sweet and just perfect!

In September the first light of my life turned 4. We are so blessed to be Ethan's parents and just when you think it's not possible to love him anymore, you can feel your love for him grow stronger and stronger each day. We love watching the joy in his face when he learns something new or laughs at an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that he has seen 30 times. He is such a sweet, caring, loving little boy with such a zest for learning, dancing, playing board games and loving his brother and sister, that we are truly grateful that he is the big brother and such a great role model for Cameron and Zoey.

In October I returned to work after 6 months off. That was weird. No matter how long your gone, things don't change much and there is always work to be done. Everyone at work was so supportive of us in our pregnancy and after, that we truly feel like we have a second family here in Texas.

Thanksgiving was spent at home with a special guest, Matt's second cousin who started her freshman year at UTSA this fall. Her mom is in the military and they were stationed in San Antonio for some time, so this feels like home to Ariel and she knows she is welcome at our house, laundry and all, anytime. Pictures:http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMvO&emid=sharview&linkid=link2

Pre- Christmas Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMvs&emid=sharview&linkid=link2
Christmas was crazy for our family, but crazy fun. When you have three kids, you have to get things done whenever you can, so it took us only 2 days to get the tree up and decorated, but probably 2 weeks to put all the other stuff up. It was great to see the kids faces at the lights when they shined. Christmas really is a magical time for all children and should be enjoyed for as long as you can extend the season. Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMwU&emid=sharview&linkid=link2

On December 29th, we took Ethan to his first college football game, the Alamo Bowl which featured the Texas A&M Aggies taking on Matt's Alma Matter- Penn State. Penn State was of course victorious and we had a great time, and were so glad Penn State came to Texas and that we could enjoy this time with Ethan. Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMxQ&emid=sharview&linkid=link4

Well that brings us to the end of a crazy 2007, but a roller coaster worth the ride, even if I did get sick a few times :) We look forward to 2008 with Ethan starting Kindergarten and the babies learning to crawl, walk and turn 1. We hope you will check back and see updates as we can get them on the site.

Thank you to all of you for being part of our life and enriching us all the time with what you bring to us and the world.

Love the Myers Family!

I am the mom of a 4 year old and 10 week old twins-Yikes!

Hello All- A quick update, well because that is all we have time for these days, but wanted to just fill you all in on the happenings with the Myers family.

Ethan turned 4 on Sept 16th. He celebrated with his friends on the 15th at a place called Big Top Kidz. He loved it. He spent much of the time there with his best girl Kyleigh, you will notice in the pictures! Afterwards we went out to lunch with grandma and our neighbors-Bill, Kathy and Makenzie. Makenzie and twins were born on the same day. On his actual birthday he opened presents and played while mom, dad and the rest of the family tried to rest. Link to the pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMtk&notag=1

Zoey and Cameron had their 2 month check up and are doing GREAT. Cameron weighed in at 9lbs 13 oz which is up 4lbs 3oz in 2 months. Zoey weighed in at 8lbs 12 oz which is up 4lbs 2oz in 2 months. They are both finally on the percentile charts for their actual ages vs. adjusted age. Basically what that means is they look at how they are progressing against kids their age and then against kids who are the age they would be if I can gone to 40 weeks in the pregnancy. Since I was only 4 weeks early they are not too concerned at all, but said they could do some things a month behind other kids or we may never see any difference. Since size wise they are both on the chart for their actual age they did not even look at adjusted age. Zoey is in the 5th percentile for both height and weight and Cameron just under the 25th percentile for both.

Please keep Ethan in your thoughts and prayers on Tuesday (9/25) as he will be put under to have his adenoids taken out and another set of tubes put in his ears. It is a fairly routine surgery for the doctor, but not routine for me to have my son under anesthesia. Please keep him in your thoughts!

We will update you after the surgery and let you know how it goes!

Ethan started pre-kindergarten on Monday August 27th. He is so excited to finally move to the Purple room for 4 year old's and out of the 3 year old's Green room. "Green is still his favorite color and won't change even in the new room" according to him on the ride to the first day of school. He has many of the same kids in his class this year as last with some new additions. His teacher from the Green Room, Ms. Lori also moved up and is now teaching in the purple room. The other teacher in the purple room is Ms. Marti, who was his teacher two years ago. We love both of his teachers and know that he is going to learn a lot this year in preparation for Kindergarten in the fall.

Link to a few more photos of Ethan preparing to go off to school and one of the twins: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMtG&notag=1

Babies are good- Both are now on medicine for reflux, but are handling it well. They both had Upper GI's to check for the presence of reflux, but more to check the anatomy and ensure there were no obstructions. Both tests were fine for anatomy but we saw the reflux. Very weird to see your child's insides while they are eating and watch it all work. The babies handled swallowing the barium fine. They said infants do better then adults because they don't know any better, plus they only have to drink such a small amount and it's diluted.

At last check (6 weeks) Cameron weighed 8lbs 5oz and Zoey was 7lbs 8oz. That means in their first 6 weeks of life they have gained about 3 pounds each which the doctor says is great. They are finally on the percentile chart for their age. We will get official weights and percentiles at their 2 month check up on September 12th. They can actually wear size 1 diapers and no longer have to wear newborn size. Also all their preemie clothes are finally too small, however much of the 0-3 is still big, so it's tough to find clothes that fit, and we focus on the newborn size which is a little smaller then some 0-3 stuff.

We are looking forward to a visit from Aunt Trish and Cousin Sarah on Oct 3! They will be here until the 8th and I go back to work :( on October 9th.

Hope everyone is doing well and we would love to hear from you!

Links for More Photos

Good Day Friends,

So many of our loyal readers have asked for more pictures!!

Here you go...

July 24 - August 6 (First Two Weeks at Home)

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMr8

August 7 - 17th (Backyard by the Pool, Riding the Train - Post TS Erin/Flooding)

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IatGTZs5aMsg&notag=1

Enjoy!

Matt, Penny, Ethan, Cameron, and Zoey

Catching Up with Zoey and Cameron

Good Day Readers!

We do apologize for the delay in updating our blog, but the two newest members of the family were very hesitant to give any interviews to the author. The editors of this blog have ironed out all differences (except for the sleep issue) and the "Stars" have since agreed to submit to interviews. The content of which formed the update below.

Our last update came on July 23 when Zoey and Cameron were released from the NICU and sent home. Since that time, both babies have done really well in terms of growth. At their last measurement (last Thursday), Zoey was 6lb 6oz and Cameron was 7lb 0oz.

Cameron has developed a bit of "silent reflux." His symptoms include reflux without actual spit-up, which sometimes results in some stomach aches/pains which interferes with his normal sleep/eating routine. He has been on Pepcid for the last 6 days or so and seems to be doing much better. He went on Tuesday (of this week) for an Upper GI scan. After not being able to eat for 4 hours, he gobbled down 1/2 oz of Barrium liquid and once the scan began, he promptly spit it up. The radiologist and doctor were able to see his reflux occur. Fortunately, his anatomy is correct and the issue isn't being caused by a anatomical problem with his Intestines, Stomach or other internal organs. We'll continue to monitor the situation along with the doctors at ABCD Pediatrics and hopefully we'll continue to see progress.

Zoey is doing well too. As you read, she has grown tremendously from her birth weight of 4lbs 10oz. In the past few days, she has started to show some similar symptoms as Cameron, but we'll continue to monitor them as well and hope that it is "just a phase." She is very alert and active and very vocal.

Both babies are very happy. They enjoy eating, sleeping, pooping (all of the normal stuff). They are practicing holding up their heads and are also masters of the facial expression. They give us all kinds of smiles, smirks, frowns and the such. Recently, both have discovered their little fingers. Just last evening, Cameron tried to put his whole hand in his mouth, but he eventually settled on eating just his thumb. The babies eat about every 3 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. Generally, they sleep between feedings, but they are definitely more awake and aware of their surroundings than 2 weeks ago. Since they sleep together, we often have to calm Zoey and Cameron down quickly or we risk the other one waking up. They are still not a huge fan of their swings, but they are starting to warm up to their bouncy seats and other toys.

Grammy Janice (from PA) arrived on July 27 and has been a big help with the babies (allowing Penny to get some much needed morning naps) and with doing some yardwork despite the HOT Texas sun. Pappy Paul arrived from PA on Friday (August 10). They have enjoyed meeting and visiting with the babies and exploring the sights of San Antonio (and beyond). We'll be sad to see them leave on Saturday (August 18).

At this time, we are trying to keep the babies on a similar schedule so that we can maintain as normal a life as possible with us getting some sleep (about 4 hours a night now), Ethan going to school, etc. Sleep has proven to be the most valuable commodity. Matt doesn't often take advantage of his napping chances (during the day), so he is probably having the toughest time with the lack of sleep. On more than one occasion, he has awoken confused and bewildered. Once, he swore that a baby was hiding under the covers of the bed.

Since Grammy Janice was in town, Matt did go back to work for a few days (part-time) at the beginning of August to help extend his overall leave. He goes back to work on Monday, August 20, but will continue to take time off as needed for appointments and to help Penny when she needs a break, etc. Penny is scheduled to return to work on the Tuesday following Columbus Day.

Well, we hope that you feel updated and we do apologize for the lack of postings during the past few weeks. We'll try to do at least weekly updates so you can track the progress of our crazy family!

Congratulations to Michelle West on the birth of her little one and to Bill and Kathy Moore (our neighbors across the street) on the birth of Zoey's best friend, Mackenzie. She was also born on July 12...Look out next year for a big Chimayo Bend Birthday Party!!

Our best wishes to all, we send much love from Texas!

Penny, Matt, Ethan, Zoey and Cameron

Update to Welcome Home

Oops...While prepping for another blog update, I realized we forgot to include Lisa on the list of NICU staff...My Bad! Sorry Lisa! You know we loved you!!!

Look for another update on our adventures at home soon!

Love,

MPEZC and the Kitties