left eye

Our little Left Eye had her surgery this morning. Everything went so well and we feel nothing but gratitude and relief.

Did I even put it on the blog that Bethany was going to have surgery? Last week was such a blur... Two Saturdays ago we were excited to have a little girl that had just finished her antibiotics and a left eye that looked better than it had in weeks. Just a little swelling. By Monday the infection was obviously on its way back. By Tuesday it was full blown. Back to Monday, we called our ophthalmologist (the 2nd one) who referred us to an ocular plastic surgeon, who was able to squeeze in an appointment on Wednesday, and recommended surgery to clear out her tear duct as soon as possible, and before I knew it we had an early morning appointment at the Manhattan Eye Ear Throat Hospital the following Monday. Today.

Special surgery jammies!

Squeezes from/for Daddy.

Everything went so smoothly, I couldn't believe it. Even Isaac helped out. B had to be put under general anesthesia, so since she wasn't allowed to eat within 4 hours of the surgery, I had planned to wake her up and feed her by 4:30 am. At 4:15, my alarm went off. At 4:20, I finally wake up to my alarm... and a crying baby. Isaac. What? I was supposed to be waking up Bethany! It turned out to be perfect because I was able to nurse him, put him down, wake her, nurse her, put her down. It's always better when they can stay on the same schedule, aaaand (more importantly) it got me out of bed to feed her before it was too late. When Andrea came to babysit him, she said Isaac must have been looking out for big sis. I think she's right.

Bethany said that if she had to wear a crazy surgery outfit, I did too.

I took that challenge and raised her a crazy blue hat.

The doctor said the surgery went well (hooray for incision-free surgery!) and we made a follow-up visit for next week. I'm hoping, hoping, hoping this is the end of blockages and infections and swelling and antibiotics.

Feeling good after surgery, a feeding and a good (rare) nap in Mom's arms.

She still took revenge on the IV for poking her.

Can I just say (again) how amazing this little girl has been? Bethany charmed the socks off of everyone we saw at the hospital and on the way there and back. She's been charming the socks off of everyone as I've toted her around in the Bjorn for all of her appointments. All around the city there are subway cars and waiting rooms full of people not wearing socks.

Happy to be on the way home.

I'll charm your socks off, too!

Not to be forgotten, there's this sweet little boy...

Oh, hello.

What made this all sooooo much easier x 1,000,000:

* friends that babysat for Isaac

* friend that brought us dinner

* friend that arranged all of the above (did you know that Abbie is short for Above and Beyond?)

* boy that loves to play with our friends while we take care of his sister

Gratitude and relief.

gettin' lucky in kentucky

A failed attempt to get all the babies lined up... They move fast now!

From Ohio we moseyed on down the road just a little to see another group of great friends in Louisville. How lucky in Kentucky is that! These are our BYU buddies that Jared & I have known since freshman year. The guys all lived together and I was just, um, around a lot. The fellas picked up their own gals along the way who are even mighty finer than they are (wink, nudge).

So, now we try to make it a habit to get together every year or as often as we can. In past years we've hit up Portland and Seattle, upstate New York, Connecticut, and Texas hill country. This year we lived large at Chateau Fiet-- Kevin & Rachel's gorgeous new home near Louisville.

This was also the first year (of many, it would seem) that the entire reunion was completely baby-centered. Between us we now have a 3-year-old, and 4 under the age of 16 months. This is evident in the fact that all of my pictures were completely baby-centered. The only way an adult got into any of my shots was if they were holding a baby or in the background. I didn't even get a shot of our one night out as big kids for an amazing tapas dinner (but I will never forget that stuffed date, and I didn't even think I liked dates).

Good thing all those kids are so adorable. Some serious gems being served up right here...

Twin time on the swing!

Can we install 100 of these in NYC please??

We immediately locked up Bethany. Thanks for the heads up.

Rachel tosses Isaac in the sink after an especially good meal.

Sink bath for Bethany, wahoo!!

Bennett

Liam

Saxon & Andrea

Isaac & Kevin

Tyler & Saxon

Bennett tickling Isaac = boy laughing at boy laughing at boy laughing...

Happy birthday Bennett! Now eat this cupcake.

Isaac parties like a 3 year old.

Bethany could not get enough of those indoor columns (neither could I).

Ground-floor windows are the best...

...THE BEST!!

Another attempt at a baby pic. Toys help keep them in place, a little.

Such good times, such good friends. We love you and are so lucky to have you! Can't wait til next time.

And that, with the Ohio trip, wraps up October! Hooray!

ohio & the friends who left NYC too soon

In October we got to visit some of our faaaavorite people-- some great friends we made during our first year in NYC, before they moved to Ohio.

He and Jared are both dentists and have a friendship that is "white hot." That's in quotes because those words have actually been spoken. She was the first person I met on our first Sunday in New York (did you know that?), and we just might be even white hotter. When friends like that get together, there's not much on the agenda other than having the best time ever and watching our 4 babies become besties too. We still managed to snap a few pictures during the couple days we were there.

A walk through their lovely neighborhood.

(Don't tell Jared I posted a pic of him with a Bjorn. He hates it passionately. I think it's hot. At least that's what I tell him?)

Daddy helps Bethany with her new kicks from Miggs. You can't really tell, but they're black Chucks. The twins also got red ones, so either kid can wear either color. How smart is that? (Say that with a British accent and then it means genius and fashionable.)

Isaac and their adorable 3 year-old feed the giraffe at the zoo. I might have been as excited as the kids were. I've been compared to giraffes in the past and I'm not totally sure how I feel about it...

The big kids. Jared & I worked on teaching their big girl all the appropriate situations to say "oh snap!"

Family portrait (grabbed from Miggy's blog) because we love this family like our own. Seriously tempted to send these out at Christmas. (Note Isaac wearing one red Chuck. That boy.)

Ahh, friends! It's true. You left New York too soon!

10 months old!

The babies turned 10 months old on Sunday! They have been soooo much fun lately (medical emergencies aside).

Bethany...

* is one seriously cool chick. If we weren't related, I'd still want to be friends.

* smiles easily, but if you want to make her laugh, she's going to make you work.

* will almost always laugh if you hang her upside down and tickle or kiss her neck.

* has had a bunch of very minor medical things ever since she was born: slightly high blood sugar those first couple days, a little bit of jaundice, a mild case of thrush, plugged tear ducts, an umbilical hernia, a urinary tract infection at 6 months, and then a couple of eye infections. Her eye is the only thing we've needed to be truly concerned about.

* has almost no hair, just like her mama at this age.

* has never been much of a cuddler. She's an independent woman.

* can clap, point, wave, click her tongue, and stand and walk when supported.

* will clap and grin ear-to-ear anytime you say "yaaay!" It's pretty much the best thing ever.

* loves her walker and will do laps in the hallway for as long as you let her.

* gets mad when it's Isaac's turn to push the walker.

* has 3 teeth (2 on bottom, 1 on top) and at least 4 more (3 on top, 1 on bottom) coming in now.

* is definitely Daddy's little girl. That man is whooped over his little sweetie.

* steals from her brother, and doesn't even feel bad about it.

Isaac...

* loves to squeal and shriek and scream happily. He can be LOUD, and I love it.

* laughs so easily it's not even funny. (Except it really, really is.)

* gets attached to the most random things: at first it was the turtle on his crib mobile, then the bath toy turtle, then the nasal suction (never used, for that purpose anyway), etc... and now it's the baby hairbrush.

* has a respectable amount of hair on his head now. Jared thinks that's why he suddenly loves the baby hairbrush. Naturally.

* has been the picture of health from the beginning.

* has a knack for finding danger-- he goes straight to the electrical outlets, bites on cords, tugs on the floor lamp.

* can point, wave, and stand and walk when supported. He's almost got clapping down, but he usually just slaps the back of his other hand like he's punishing himself.

* tries to eat dirt and rocks the second we go outside and Mom turns her back. Basically, he tries to eat everything. (When do they outgrow this stage? It's exhausting! But my finger sweep is getting good...)

* has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom), and 1 more coming in on the bottom.

* has already chipped his front tooth (probably while trying to eat rocks).

* loves roughhousing with Daddy. He loves to get tickled and tossed around.

* steals from his sister, and doesn't even feel bad about it.

Dixon girls in NYC

My sister and niece came to visit us in early October, and we loved it. It was especially meaningful because my brother-in-law--a very talented and educated architect--had just recently ended a long stint of unemployment, so it felt like a continued celebration of his new job and an honor that the girls' first big trip would be to come see us. Thanks, sis.

A musician in the park started playing All of Me-- our wedding song!

Find us on the screen in Times Square! (Hint: look for the stroller)

Not only did we have a great time together, but I also learned a few very important things. Examples:

• I previously believed that the New York food scene had something for everyone and nothing lacking. That was until I looked for a restaurant that could accommodate a gluten-, dairy-, egg-, soy-, yeast-, peanut-, cranberry- and sugar-free diet (my poor sister is intolerant to all of these things). Yeah, that restaurant does not exist.
• I also learned that Rock of Ages is a fun musical, but not exactly appropriate for 13 year-old nieces (oops!). While watching it I realized I also shouldn't have recommended it to other people without seeing it first (sorry, Martins!). Haha. It's funnier now...
• And lastly, I was reminded of how awesome my niece is and how if she wants to move in with us forever I'd take her gladly.

We love you both! Come back soon!

a year ago: Jared & his pumpkins

I'm going to do a few "a year ago" posts, and I'm kind of excited about it because (1) a year ago I didn't have a blog--or even a non-blog--and (2) a year ago is when things started to get, um, BIG.

I can't pretend this was my idea--Jenn B did a similar thing the day before her baby Violet's 1st birthday, where she posted a picture of herself a year before, so pregnant and soooo ready to have that baby. I thought it was brilliant. Maybe she wasn't the first to do it, but she's the first that I saw and so I'm crediting her. And then copying her.

Let's start with this one. It wasn't exactly a year ago today, but it was about this time of year, and I just checked the rules and they say that's okay. I also just wrote the rules. Also, I didn't really write them, so I can't show them to you so you'll just have to know that whatever I do is fair game, k? (Sheesh, it's exhausting assuming everyone's a fact-checker like me.) We went up to CT last Fall for pumpkin picking with our good friends, the Shamos. Jared found the perfect pumpkin that was just the right shape and size...

Just after this I got accused of smuggling pumpkins. Hahaha. Rude!

a spooky sunset + halloween 2009

Tonight the sky dressed up in orange & black for Halloween. Okay, so this picture was taken just a few minutes before that happened, but trust me, it did. :)

Somewhere in this photo, thousands of people are lining up for the NYC parade. Last year we were part of it, looking like this:

An astronaut, and Saturn 7 months along with twins.

For Halloween 2010, keep scrolling down...