Catching up on pics and the weekend

Pictured above:

* Jack and Ryan - best buds!

* Brooke with her Halloween blanket

* Brooke flexing her muscles - watch out boys!

* Jack's homecoming last Saturday

* Ryan's homecoming last Tuesday

Well, we survived the weekend without my parents! They are in CT for baby Lila's christening but we had our wonderful extended family here as back-up. On Friday afternoon my girlfriend Susan (from Indianapolis) came over. We were best friends in high school and I haven't seen her in eleven years! It was so great to see her and catch up. Then in the evening, my Aunt Sheryl came over to visit and help with the gang. She's so great with Kyle and he loves to see her. She also helped me give the boys their baths - another two person job :-) Then on Saturday, my cousins Amy and Lynette made a long awaited trip to see the babies - both here and up to the hospital. They made us some delicious food...our freezer has never been so full! They then went to the Michigan/MSU game and tried to get a refund from us after the horrible game :-) On Sunday, my aunt came back so Ed, Kyle and I could go to church together. We then stopped at the mall to get Kyle new shoes and had some lunch. It was so wonderful to spend some "alone time" with Kyle...we had a wonderful day. Another funny Kyle comment from today: we were walking into the mall and Kyle said "let's get mommy's wheelchair!" Thank GOD I don't have to do that anymore :-) My aunt and I then went up to the hospital to see Brooke. One of our favorite nurses, Suzy, had a cute Halloween blanket for her (pictured above). Thanks to all for your help and support. I hope you know how much your appreciated!!!!!

Here are a few updates on the babies:

Jack

He's still the big eater of the group and continues to increase his feedings each day - up to 70 cc's each feeding (every 3-4 hours). We talk in cc's rather than ounces as they still don't drink too much! He also has the loudest cry. We rarely hear it but when we do, there's no mistaking who it's coming from!

Ryan

Our little peanut is also getting bigger everyday. He's up to 45 cc's each feeding and gaining quickly on his brother! He loves his pacifier and is a very contented little guy. There's a lot of sleeping around here these days...hopefully that doesn't change :-)

Brooke

She's doing great. Today the doctors were talking about sending her home this week - yikes! They say the only thing keeping her there is her feeding tube; she's mastered everything else. If she did come home this week, it would most likely be with her feeding tube. At each feeding (every three hours) they try to give her a bottle. If she doesn't finish it all, they give her the remaining portion via nasal tube over a one hour period (controlled via a machine for slow, continuous feed). I'm anxious for her to come home but nervous about the feeding tube! We'll check in with the surgeons tomorrow to get a better idea of timing. I CAN'T WAIT to have her home so our home will be complete.

That's all for now, I'm off to feed some babies :-) I hope you are all well...