Breaking Brooklyn News!

Brooklyn may live in the Mile High City where the air is fresh and thin but that's no longer stopping her from breathing without assistance.  The results are in...458 days after birth and less than a month after her sister "raised the bar," Brooklyn stepped up and gave her oxygen the boot.  Our house is no longer the neighborhood fire hazard.  Woohoo!!

 (Brooklyn clapping for herself when she heard the news!)

(Mom and Dad are quite excited to get rid of cords, tanks and cannulas, so is Brooklyn!)

(So long oxygen!)

Summer Fun -06/13/14

The girls are walking!  It was hotly debated who would be first...Mom and Dad both had their money on Madison as she'd been doing LOTS of standing and half-attempts to take steps, but the winner is Brooklyn.  Well, sort of.  Madison watched Brooklyn zip confidently through the room shortly after taking just her first few steps and decided she wasn't to be outdone.  No more than 12 hours later, Madison joined in on the walking. 

It's getting hot outside but the girls don't mind.  A day on the floor at home just isn't what it used to be.  There have been lots of festivities to kick off the summer, starting with Aunt Laura's wedding this past weekend with all Mom's extended family in town from coast-to-coast. (Pictures to follow on the next update). 

The community pools around here are awesome but generally pretty crowded, so....we got our own "waterpark."

Brooklyn loves the hundreds of convenient drinking fountains that come out the side. 

It has been a hard-fought battle over the months but in the summer sun and heat, the girls are starting to finally appreciate the hats and sunglasses that they once promptly removed. 

We've been to local music and arts festivals, an extreme mountain sports event, and more. 

Aunt Laura's wedding was in Vail where we spent 6 days of fun.  The weather was mostly great and we visited parks, went for hikes, and feasted with family.  Grannie D (Danny's mom) made the trip to hang out with the girls so Mom and Dad could get their party on for a few nights.

Just as quickly as we celebrated Madison's graduation from oxygen, we needed to resort to old habits as an extra few thousand feet of elevation took a toll and required an extra whiff for a few days, but we're happy to be back home and on "room air"

BREAKING BABY (MADISON) NEWS -5/29/14

A full 416 days after birth, Madison has been formally granted permission from her pulmonologist to say "goodbye" for good to oxygen!! 

Dad has been arguing for a long time that if those lungs needing oxygen were the same ones she used to demand food or express her occasional discontent, the docotrs have been crazy all along. 

(oxgyen-free with a monitor for testing saturation levels at the time)

(Feeling quite rested from a night free of cannulas and cables)

Yay Madison!

13 months -05/18/14

The girls are starting to interact much more than before, rather than just simply acknowledge each other's existence.  In spite of her almost uncontrollable energy, Brooklyn takes the time to give out lots of hugs and kisses.  Madison doesn't always appreciate the gestures and often gets frustrated and a bit angry when Brooklyn offers her love.

(Brooklyn on left, Madison on right)

(Brooklyn)

Madison is very engaged in her surroundings and points at everything.  We think she likes us to tell her what she's pointing at as she's starting to expand her just-started vocabulary.  Well, that may be a bit of a stretch but she is definitely using the first syllable of many words in the right context like: baby, book, bath, more, pa (for Grandpa).  She has been using sign language for a while now to tell us when she wants "more" or is "all done."  The problem is, she'll ask us for "more" but we don't always know if she wants more food, toys or something else. 

(Madison)

(Madison)

Both girls hate anything on their head or face including hats, bows, sunglasses or whatever so it's a bit of a rare moment to catch such happiness under the circumstances (thanks to Aunt Susan for the sweet shades!).  Past moments captured with headbands are usually a result of significant distractions. 

We LOVE the water!  After spending a day at the river that runs through the local park, Mom and Dad rushed out to buy this water table and a mini, inflatable water park with a slide.  So far, the water table has been a hit!  Even as the weather cooled into the evening and a breeze moved in, Brooklyn couldn't help but squeel continuously with joy as she soaked herself till she shivered on her first day playing. 

  

The girls both love attention, (and get plenty of it anywhere we go)...thanks for keeping up with their blog!

Happy 1st Easter!

More than a year into life, this is the girls' first Easter, funny how that works!  A wonderful Easter it was, too.  The weather was great and we enjoyed much of our day taking in the sun.  Dinner was Madison's favorite, lamb.  We'll spare you the text and share mostly pictures this time. 

  

Now that we stand, nap time is more like social hour.  This surprise shot was captured mid-nap. 

Happy 1st Birthday Madison & Brooklyn!

Happy 1st Birthday Madison & Brooklyn!  These spoiled little girls were more than grateful to have received so much time, attention, and gifts from their friends and family over these last few weeks (not that there's ever a shortage of any of the above).  

They act much older and wiser than just one year old as they kick back in these comfy new chairs of theirs, complements of Gigi & Grandpa Swanson

Thanks to Aunt Laura for baking two very delicious cakes special for each girl.  Unfortunately the happy (and mildly unimpressed) faces pictured below were the happier of the cake-eating moments.  It isn't confirmed but Dad speculates that they have Mom's eating habits and simply wanted a fruit or vegetable over such a sweet treat (their first!)

These kids should come with timers.  At least that way, everyone would get there fair share of time with them.  Fights almost broke out over baby-time but all ended peacefully. 

We even squeezed in a brief family picture amidst all the madness. 

Since Gigi and Grandpa Swanson were, unfortunately, unable to attend the original shin-dig, the girls gladly donned their birthday best for a second round.

Four generations of family were in attendance.  Great Grandmommy made the difficult trek from central Florida to Colorado for the first time in 8 years for the "can't miss" party of the year. 

And (almost) as exciting...they finally got to meet Uncle Matthew; Dad's almost-twin-but-five-years-younger brother! (Thanks for the hats and headbands Uncle Matthew & Aunt Jessica)

It's so hard to decide which gifts are our favorites.  We sure do love our activity centers...

and the multi-colored tunnel from Papa J (Abrams) is a hit....

but how can you beat wrapping paper and ribbons??

Papa J also couldn't help but turn his first granddaughters into little minions for a while. 

 Parties aside, the girls are staying busy progressing through other growth milestones.  They both are avid crawlers and get into everything.  They stand themselves on anything they can grab ahold of but still need a tiny bit of support.  No un-assisted walking is taking place yet but we suspect Madison may break out as the first soon enough.  

The girls continue to make progress in weight and height on the growth chart and seldom is it even a discussion anymore.  Unfortunately, oxygen is still a part of the routine at nap and bedtime.  No official word on why but further studying will probably take place in the next couple months.  Overall, everyone's happy and healthy.