Leaving the Accessories for Later....

Ahhh... time is flying!  Wait- slow down- pause- more time with my babies PLEASE!  I feel like I blink and weeks at a time go by, it is CRAZY!  Things have been hectic!!!!

the hubs has been on 3 separate business trips in 2 weeks...

we've been to St. Louis for Ms. Maggie's first follow-up...

lots of therapy...

lots of bottles, pumping, cleaning, cooking, diapers, playing, few Mommy meltdowns, few Harper meltdowns, but lots of good... I mean GREAT moments for the memory book;)

 Harper and I LOVE baking together.  I think 5 months in an apartment will do that to ya- we've had fun breaking in our Mommy/Daughter aprons- ha!

A two-year-old's imagination: this lemon was her best friend that day.  WOWSERS!

And making what she called 'a sculpture' out of hangers...

Little crazy... I was beginning to think that our 'At- Home Isolation' was getting a little scary!

We scheduled some playdates pronto;)!

Good times with friends... yes, eating a slice of bread- no need for any spread or eating from a plate for that matter- just a slice of bread requested for snack time...

 ...and playdates in a trunk {oh MAN that sounds awful} but they had a BLAST.  Double bonus: Mommy got to run into Hobby Lobby while the trunk playdate continued...

Seriously, a girls got to do what a girls got to do to run errands when you have a little one who's not quite ready to be in 'store germs' quite yet.  HUGE thank you to Jessica for agreeing to my insane request and watching the girls in the parking lot while I quickly shopped- ha!

And then there is the mid-snack nap still in dress-up clothes.  Truly she had a cracker in her mouth- oh my GOODNESS!

Through all the crazy though, there is never a shortage of these moments.  These girls are just precious. I am thankful each day that they have each other:).

Little Sister turned 6 Months Old!!  I still cannot believe it has been that long since I welcomed she and her siblings into this world- amazing!  She's my little miracle for sure!

And then it was time for our first visit with Maggie's doctors since discharge!  I was armed with 20+ questions and a car packed to the brim for our 1-night-stay in St. Louis- ha!  It was INCREDIBLY well worth the hassle... such a happy couple days:

Nana met us there to watch the munchkin so Pete and I could both be a part of Maggie's appointments.  

Thank heaven's you were there, Mom!  It meant sooooo much to us and made those 4 hour long appointments so much easier!!

So, during our visit we got some WONDERFUL news:

Maggie was only to wear oxygen at night!

She no longer needed speech therapy as she was gaining significant weight!

We were able to stop seeing the ENT as her stridor has significantly diminished.

Her hernias had improved and they're not going to do surgery at this time!

We were able to start leaving our house (being smart about it), but actually GET OUT!

They were pleased with how she was doing physically and how well she was eating;)!

Did I mention no day-oxygen and leaving our house?!?!

Long story short we were THRILLED... GOODBYE accessories (for now);).

Our only concern right now is her vision.  Lil Miss isn't focusing well, but they assure us these things take time with all she has undergone; we have to be patient and we will learn a little more about the severity of her visual impairment when we meet with her neurologist in April... I pray every night that our little munchkin will be able to see us someday.  Any positive thought and prayer we can have for Lil Miss to overcome this hiccup would be appreciated... the unknown just kills me as a momma- I am trying so hard to be patient...

So of COURSE while we were there we had to go visit our favorite nurses and show off the adorable accessory-free face!!

And pause for a sister-pose:)!

I swear these two are looking more alike by the second!

 So, after a hotel stay we went back home to enjoy some family time before Daddy left for his next business trip:

The first place I went to with Harper when she was newborn was Target, so of COURSE I had to keep with tradition- ha!

Don't worry- Maggie stayed covered like this the entire time;), but man it was great for Harper and I to get out again... Did we really need the $50 worth of stuff we got that day?  Probably not.  But Harper's excitement to get out of the house was worth EVERY PENNY!  And Mommy was feeling just as happy;)- good times!

 Harper and Daddy enjoyed their first evening out together... corsage and all for the Princess Ball!

My date that evening... love her!

While we were at SLCH we had Maggie's newborn pictures taken (at 5 months old- ha!).  Such special moments captured of the 4 of us during our family time in the NICU.  Having these images now is so priceless to me- so surreal to think that journey is over...

Such a crazy transition this has all been!  I think bringing a new baby home is always full of heartbeats and hiccups.  Our experience bringing Maggie home is nothing short of a roller coaster as we each adjust in out own way to her being here.  There is much that is similar to bringing Harper home, but so many differences as well- beginning with the dynamic of having two children.  We feel unbelievably blessed to have such amazing friends and family helping us along the way as we get settled.  I personally am trying so hard to slow down and enjoy these amazing moments with my babies.  Just as I feel like I blink and we're weeks later, I know soon enough it will be years flying by.  Enjoying my munchkins... and trying to document it all along the way (ha!:)) is my goal...