Carson's and Owen's first race

Carson and Owen ran in the Link 4 Life Run on Saturday, April 18, 2009. They had a fantastic time! Check out the short video of their race day.

Is that a train I hear?

Here's a short video of Carson singing his favorite bedtime song. Thank you to Johnny Cash and Daddy for teaching Carson this song.

Update on Stella's and Isaac's "condition"

Stella and Isaac went to see the pediatric GI doctor on April 13, 2009. I'm sure Dr. Zayat thought we were crazy for taking two "healthy" babies to see her. Stella and Isaac were as happy as could be the day we saw her. They were walking and crawling all over the place. All in all it was a good appointment. Dr. Zayat doesn't seem to think there is anything seriously wrong with the babies, due to their activity, weight gain, and positive results in blood work and stool samples and no change in the babies condition when we changed their diet. This is the best news we could have asked for. It seems as if Stella and Isaac have Toddler's Diarrhea. This is a condition where the only cure is time. Carson and I were informed that it should go away when the babies turn three or four years old. So, until then we will all just suck it up. I tell myself that this could be so much worse. We are very blessed that this is all that's wrong with Stella and Isaac.

No news is good news, right?

I just got back from Stella's and Isaac's doctor appointment. They saw Dr. Rupe again today since she is the doctor who's been treating the babies for their "latest" condition. We had weight checks and blood work drawn today. I'm here to tell you, blood work is no fun with two infants and only one parent. Lots of crying, nurses, pokes, and stress are involved in taking blood from a 14 1/2 month old. Stella and Isaac are on week # six of having chronic diarrhea. Isaac has it much more often (four or more times a day) than Stella (one or two times a day.) We don't have any answers as to why the babies have had diarrhea for so long or as to why they have it so often in a day. Tests have been run multiple times from stool samples and everything comes back negative. This is a good thing, but still doesn't give us the answers we are looking for.
Our next step is to visit a pediatric G. I. doctor. Unfortunately, by the time I got home from picking Carson and Owen up from preschool (closed early due to the ice storm we are having at the moment) the doctor's office was closed. I won't be able to schedule the babies' appointments until Monday, now.
I am planning to hear on some of the blood work later today. I'm thinking only positive thoughts. I really hope we can figure out what is causing the diarrhea so we can stop it. My poor babies!

14 Months Old

Stella and Isaac had their 14 month check up with Dr. Chavez on Monday, March 02. I took the babies to the doctor by myself while Carson came home to stay with Carson and Owen. We were at the doctor's office for more than an hour and a half. Isaac was crying most of the time because he wanted to be napping in his bed. Isaac hates missing his nap! He really wasn't a happy camper after getting his four shots. It was a long afternoon, but coming home with a good report makes it all worth while.
Stella now weighs 18 lbs. 8 oz and is 29 1/2 inches tall. This put her in the 03% for weight and 35% for height. Isaac weighed in at 20 lbs. 8 oz and is 30 inches tall. He didn't gain any weight from our last appointment. Dr. Chavez said that was probably due to him being more mobile and possibly from being a little under the weather (rotavirus). He wasn't concerned with Isaac's lack of weight gain. Isaac is in the 08% for weight and 28% for height. Both Stella and Isaac got a good report from Dr. Chavez.
I still don't have any walkers yet. Stella is getting pretty serious about trying to walk. She can take steps on her own, but still prefers to walk on her knees. Isaac is content with crawling. The babies are a lot of fun! They have begun twin talk. They also try to carry on conversations with the rest of us. Who knew they had so much to say?

Here's a video of one of the greatest sounds in the world!

Daily Occurance

Owen loves his cape! I get to hear Owen sing and hum the Super-Man theme song (old school cartoon one) multiple times a day. He will put his cape over his shoulder and arm in just the perfect place then will take off running. Owen always keeps an eye on his cape as he runs. He has to make sure he's "flying." Knowing Owen the way I do it's surprising he hasn't run into a wall yet.

Mommy's Birthday

Yesterday was my (Kara) birthday. After breakfast and during the babies' nap the big boys got to play outside. Then Carson and I packed up all the kids for a birthday lunch. Carson and Owen loved eating lunch with daddy. After lunch the big boys had preschool. All the kids came home and napped then played outside once again. When Daddy came home from work he took the big boys to the grocery store to buy my birthday cake. Carson and Owen had told me they wanted to get me a pink cake...because girls like pink. Oh, did they ever get me a pink cake. They chose to get me a bright pink heart shaped birthday cake. Owen wanted to bring it in from the car. He dropped it three times in the garage, ran inside the house dropped it on the floor and said with great pride "look at the cake we got you!" Of course, the cake was face down. I picked it up, turned it over and saw all the bright pink frosting on the lid of the cake container. This didn't seem to phase either one of the boys. They were so proud of the bright pink cake they picked out for mommy. They were beaming! Carson and Owen sang happy birthday to me (again) while Stella and Isaac wondered what the heck was going on, helped me blow out my candles, ate cake, and opened my presents for me. What a day! It was a good birthday. Everybody should celebrate a birthday with three year olds.