Spring!

Way overdue for an update. It's been almost two months since the last update and a lot has happened. When we last left our twin tornadoes, they were still new to this whole "newborn" thing and had a lot of catching up to do. We are happy to report that while they are still relatively small, both boys are developing quickly. Colin is up to 15 pounds, proudly sports rubber band rolls on his arms and legs, and was recently told by the pediatrician he is addicted to snacking through the night and needs to keep his after dinner meals to a minimum. His jolly demeanor and jovial attitude have not been affected as he continues to laugh, squeal, and drool his way through life. He has also started to eat solid foods and we are doing our best to turn him into a pretentious foodie with his homemade gastric masterpieces. Patrick has made great progress both in terms of physical appearance and emotional development. Physically the boy is becoming somewhat of a specimen - compact, lean, and strong. He has shown that he can take bottles with and without the NG tube in, but still gets fed via the pump through the night. We continue to hope and pray and trust his tube will come out soon. The NG tube has increased his weight gain - up to 9 lbs - and as a result he is more alert, more comfortable, and now laughs and smiles and talks with his brother more. It's a welcome sight to have them interact and be such fat and happy little men.

Of note, the boys have two vacations already under their belts. Right after the last update, we loaded the boys up and traveled home to California for a while. The boys are great travelers, and their parents have figured out a pretty good system for traversing the country with their gear in tow. Flying with twins is quite the experience - and by experience I mean the circus. It's like nobody has 1) ever seen twins before, and 2) ever seen so much junk, so many contraptions, and such an ordeal. Highlights include Patrick being frisked by TSA, which by the way you don't see us videotaping it and complaining to national news outlets, dirty diapers right as the fasten seat belt sign comes on, and endless stories of people who are twins, know twins, or want to be twins.

It was nice to be home and to take the boys on a victory tour of sorts. We are grateful for the endless prayers and support we received from family, friends, friends of family, friends of friends, and complete strangers. It was a good trip home and we are excited for the next time we can visit. The boys loved traveling so much, that less than two weeks later they boarded another flight, this time headed for Dallas for Uncle Tommy's wedding. Both boys suited up for the legend-dary celebration. It was a good trip and the boys are grateful for all those who held them, fed them, changed them, and loved them. Special shout out to their great-Auntie who came from Hawai'i to take care of them.

Since returning back to MD, the boys have benefited greatly from some super friends from the church who have done everything from washed bottles to cooked meals. Special thanks are in order for their newest friends - Faith, Grace, and Anna who have been indispensable in helping Macall during the day when Pat is working. We couldn't have survived without them and are so thankful for their desire to serve.

All in all, we survived the metaphoric and meteorologic winter season and are thankful for the emergence of spring. No better way to celebrate than 1) St. Patrick's Day for the little leprechauns and 2) by taking in the Cherry Blossoms. March has been a good month.

Juliet loved meeting her cousin.

 CA and CA.

 The boys.

 The whole team helping Patrick eat.

 Cousins.

 Grandma Marilyn loves her babies!

Good thing there's two of them to go around!

 Atticus patiently watching Patrick. What a good big cousin.

 Morning fun with Gumby.

 Auntie Kaitlin testing out one of Colin's many bowties.

 Wedding!

 Patrick with Great-Auntie Kacie

 Rehearsal dinner.

 Cool kids.

 This captures Colin.

 Half birthday!

 At one doctors office, Patrick has to wear a hospital gown.  It cracks me up.

 I look just like my daddy.

 Patrick takes after his daddy in every way, including taking St. Patrick's day very seriously.

Cutie.

 Cherry blossom festival.

Visit from Uncle Scott.

Life With Twins...

So it’s no coincidence that we have not been able to update the blog since Patrick came home from the hospital the week of Thanksgiving. The Holidays + Twins + Living far from Home  = Twinsanity. Even with help – namely Pat’s mom who came for 4 weeks in December and is on her way to the airport to return for a second tour of duty as we write– we are still always washing bottles, doing baby laundry, feeding babies, and changing diapers. December was also the month of the Doctor for the Horans. Patrick had follow up appointments with each doctor who examined him in the NICU. Perhaps the biggest revelation and step forward for December was realizing that Patrick was tongue-tied. Once we had his tongue clipped, the boy started to speak multiple languages, drink multiple bottles at a time, and stick his tongue out at will. Overall Patrick has been deemed healthy and whole, with a few special courses of treatment that are described later. For Christmas, the four of us were able to spend it together at home – which given the past year, is the greatest gift we could have asked for this year and a tremendous reminder of the Father’s love for the world by sending his Son into the world as a little baby boy. Joy to the World indeed.

Grammy Sharon and Grandad arrived on the 27^th to help us celebrate Christmas again and we will celebrate it once more with Grammy K and Gumby when we come home to California.

Auntie Kaitlin arrived just in time on the 31^st to help Colin and Patrick ring in the New Year.

With all of the Holiday visitors gone, we roughed it for 10 days. And survived. Somehow. There is never a dull moment and the boys and their doctors have a strange sense of timing because once the help left, things of course became more complicated than two parents can handle without help. Though Patrick has slowly been gaining weight, he apparently wasn’t eating enough apples to keep the doctors away. We saw the Gastrointestinal specialist who promptly put Patrick and Macall on dairy free diets, while Pat and Colin were left to eat all of the leftover ice cream, cookies, and treats from Christmas. In addition to the new diet, Patrick was admitted to the hospital for 3 days to have a nasogastric feeding tube inserted. Together the tube and the diet have allowed Patrick to gain some much needed weight in a week, and he now weighs 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Quite the weight gain considering he came home from the NICU a little over 4 pounds and then took a month or so to gain a pound.

Colin’s up for sixth man of the year award as his willingness to defer to Patrick has not gone unnoticed. His numbers coming off the bench have not suffered either, as he remains a solid weight gainer and currently weighs over 11 pounds. Doctors continue to praise him for keeping a smile on his face the whole time. Literally, he cannot stop smiling. Should he eventually win the award, Colin has informed me that as his speechwriter we need to be sure to thank Christine Apolenis, Kerry Robertson, and Katherine Ungerecht for taking care of him while Patrick needed extra attention. Late hours, towers of bottles to wash, braving bowels moving on weekly rather than daily schedules, and cross country flights can earn you a shout out next blog post as well. Those up for the challenge should contact Colin’s representative, but don’t delay as space is limited.

The first real snow fell this weekend, signaling it’s time for us to take a vacation to warmer places. Macall and the Boys depart this weekend (with Grammy K) for a trip back to California and Pat will fly next week.

Thanks for sticking with the blog and sticking with the boys. Lots of pictures should make up for the long delay.

 Patrick has such long eyelashes.