Aiden’s outfit says it all. This was our first Thanksgiving with everyone home together, and we certainly have so much to be thankful for. Grandpa and Grandma came from NY to visit, and the boys (the *real* reason they came ;-)) loved all of the extra attention! We took a trip to the Gaylord Texan and the boys had quite a time (see pics below).

It is amazing how big the boys have gotten, almost overnight. Their clothes from even just a couple weeks ago do not fit them. Ethan and Evan have started mimicking almost everything Aiden does, even to coughing like him and sticking their fingers down their throat and gagging themselves. Aiden is becoming more and more mobile, and can semi-“crawl”/scoot everywhere like greased lightning. It is the funniest thing; he looks kind of like a rabbit with a broken leg.

Please continue to pray for him, and that God will give us wisdom to know what to do. His vomiting has continued to worsen, and he has been steadily losing weight since going to the g-tube. We will be moving him to a G-J tube (putting a tube down through the g-tube into his intestines), which hopefully will improve his weight gain. Several of you have suggested some possibilities to check out, such as mastocytocis, pyloric stenosis, Vitamin B deficiency, and others. We truly appreciate your suggestions; thank you! Unfortunately, he has been tested for all of those things and so far, all of the tests have come back negative.

Below are lots of new pictures and some video. More than anything else, at this time of year, we are most thankful for all you, our extended family and friends. Your kind thoughts and faithful prayers mean so very much to us, and we hope that you enjoy this wonderful time of the year.

Trouble is roaming the neighborhood

Evan, just because the dogs do it doesn’t mean you should!!!

A car came by and Boo got scared

Ethan, what are you up to?

They are opening everything!

Evan apparently forgot that he can walk

Couch potato alert!

Ethan plays peek-a-boo with Carolina

The ‘Outdoor Explorer’ is always indoors

What a face!

The eyelashes are his signature

Grandpa and Evan spend some quality time together

So sweet!

Grandma and Grandpa take the twins for a ride

This year’s decorations at the Gaylord Texan are larger than life and a lot of fun

So many balls…Evan thinks he’s in heaven!

Ethan wanted to check out the lights

The boys enjoyed watching the “elf” make animals balloons

There was an attempt at a picture of the trio in the sleigh…obviously, the attempt failed miserably

Evan was thrilled…there were even “balls” hanging from the ceiling!

Grandpa with Ethan, a bottle of orange juice, and a purse (don’t ask)

Grandma gets in an arm workout (it’s harder than it looks!)

Everyone was worn out afterwards

They get so excited about the Letters DVD. They are only allowed to watch it twice a day, so they make the most of it

We can now webcam…the boys love it (grandma and grandpa love it even more)

Ethan does the one-fingered Aiden touch

Aiden is mobile!

Two’s company…

…three’s chaos!

There is so much going on these days! Thankfully, everyone is healthy again and Manish was the only who had the flu.

The second round of Cisapride did not work; Aiden continues to vomit massive quantities of milk and it seems to be getting increasingly worse, rather than improving. He often gets dehydrated and we really are not sure what to do at this point. We will continue to consult with the doctors, although they are not certain where we should go from here. On a positive note, he is becoming more mobile. He moves at the speed of a turtle, but has made exceptional progress scooting around just in the last couple of weeks. While his increased mobility is great, it has become extremely challenging to keep him connected to his oxygen and feeding pump and also keep Ethan and Evan from pulling them over on top of each other.

The twins continue to grow like little weeds. Evan’s vocabulary is increasing every day. He will bring something to us or he will point to something and say “dis, dis” (this). He likes to try and imitate when we tell him what “dis” is. Evan’s newest favorite food is blueberries. Now everytime he is hungry or sees us eating, he says “beesz…beesz…beesz” (his version of “blueberries”). He cannot get enough of his blueberries! Whenever he eats something he likes, he says “nyamm, nyamm, nyamm” which means “yum, yum, yum.” Ethan’s new “word” is “adjiit,” and he is very into the “gggggg” sound. Not sure what that means, but whenever he wants to tell you something that is what he says. He has become very cuddly and sweet lately, and likes to run up to us, wrap his arms around our legs, and hold on as tight as he can.
All three of the boys have discovered how to play peek-a-boo, and are having a lot of fun running around with their hands over their eyes!

Everyone keeps asking for more pictures, so we have uploaded lots of new ones this round. Enjoy!

Aiden is so cute!

…and happy too…especially when he pulls his oxygen off…

hmmm…perhaps we could do this more often?

Evan loves learning his letters!

Ethan loves being outside!

He heard a dog barking and wasn’t sure what it was

Lots of room to run outside!

So much fun!

Down the slide we go

Evan is so happy to be outside

Ethan isn’t sure he likes swinging

Dad is going to take the twins down the kiddie slide

While it looks like a safe landing, Manish realized halfway down that this slide was NOT meant for adults

The boys are so happy to be with Grandma

Yes, he really does have big feet!

And away they go…

Sunday evening at church

The boys are all dressed up in their Sunday best

Getting everyone out the door is a monumental task

Lights out for Aiden…his outfit says “My Dad is my Hero”

Storytime with Grandma

Evan is playing his new favorite game

He loves it!

So handsome!

Ethan enjoys watching the others play

Aiden is getting into it, too

Where did Aiden go?

There he is!

Evan is loving this (look at all those teeth!)

Ethan is more interested in the camera (he really IS his daddy’s clone)

The Letters DVD is such a hit. This must be the 20th time they have watched it

They are really into it

Aiden pays attention very well

Evan takes this very seriously

Ethan likes to stand and watch it

Aiden has starting putting all kinds of things into his mouth–even the cord to his pulse-ox monitor

He can now pull himself into kneeling

Snuggle time with Mommy

Aiden buries his head in Evan’s lap…he loves hugging the twins

Evan, don’t strangle Aiden with his oxygen cord!

The boys are very into little hiding places

And two came tumbling down…

Sharing is hard….and of course, someone always gets hurt

Ethan is learning to unzip his pajamas

Despite the beautiful weather we have enjoyed here in Texas lately, it’s that time of year again: Flu Season! Man down: Manish came home from work sick earlier this week, and has been fighting off the flu for the last couple days. He has been “quarantined” and is in isolation away from the boys until he feels better. We have learned to take every precaution possible, particularly since Aiden is so susceptible.

The twins continue to surge in the growth and development. They have learned to say “done” (they pronounce it “duhhhn, duhhhn, duhhhn”) when they are ready to get out of their highchairs, along with a number of other attempted words. Also, they have been learning all types of new sounds listening to their catchy Leapfrog alphabet DVD we got for them. They love it!

Aiden has made a lot of progress in the last two weeks. He can now push himself into a sitting position and has started trying to catch himself when he fall backwards while sitting. This past weekend, he actually scooted a few steps for the first time! (Before, he wouldn’t have anything to do with getting on his hands and knees, so that is significant progress.) Also, he has begun taking some very small bites of pureed baby food. We put some food on a spoon and he looks at it, thinks about it and then touches his lips to the very edge of the spoon to check it out (it is so cute). When we put some food in front of him, he will touch it with his right index finger which he does in the video below. Manish has started playing a new game with Aiden where he move his little chin up and down and Aiden makes noise (also in the video below), then laughs and laughs.

Aiden is turning into such a little cuddler, and he is never happier than when he can be with his brothers. He gets so excited, and he wants to hug them so badly! As Ethan and Evan run by him, he tries to wrap his arms around their legs to pull them down so he can lay wrap his arms around them, lay his head down next to theirs and cuddle with them, but of course, they are very busy boys and want nothing to do with it!

Please pray that Manish gets well but more importantly, that no one else gets sick.

Enjoy the brief video and pics below.

Grandma reads to the boys

He is still a baby

Brave Boy! Evan fell down on the concrete and scratched his nose…he did not even cry.

Aiden loves his singing book

Evan can now climb into the swing himself

Ethan takes a little walk

Evan, what do you have?

Don’t put it in your mouth!

Double Trouble!

We wanted to dress the boys up and take them to the “Pumpkin Patch” to take some cute pictures…but instead, we ended up loading everyone in the car and going to vote.  In order to vote, we had to drive over 20+ miles each way because although we live in Flower Mound, we are still registered to vote under our old Dallas address.  The entire process took quite a while!

Aiden continues to have some rough days.  After discussing it with his medical team, we are giving the Cisapride another try, and have just re-started that medication with some changes in his other regimes to see if it will make any difference at all.  He woke up this morning with a runny nose, which we are praying is just allergies and not anything more serious.  Unfortunately, even something as simple as a runny nose makes Aiden’s life so difficult.  Between the constant vomiting and milk pouring out his nose and having to be suctioned to clear his airway, the addition of a continually running nose has caused his little nose to be completely raw.  Then, because it is continually running, it also blocks his nasal cannula as well, and the drainage down the back of his throat makes his gag more and he has woken up coughing and gagging every time he tries to sleep.  Poor baby.

Ethan and Evan are still growing like little weeds, changing every day.  The other day, as we were watching The O’Reilly Show (a cable news show on Fox) we heard the title to O’Reilly’s new book (“A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity”).  Upon hearing this, Manish and I simultaneously looked at each other and said “Ethan!”  This title perfectly describes Ethan’s little personality–we couldn’t possibly have put it better.  He truly is a bold, fresh little piece of humanity!

Enjoy the movie clip below and some pictures of the boys. The twins play king of the hill (actually, king of the box of clothes) and Evan entertains us with his latest as he washes up after dinner (even Ethan and Aiden find it very amusing!).

Evan decided that Ethan’s milk tastes better than his

The bold fresh piece of humanity himself

Evan, is the milk really sweeter from another bottle?

Manish loves these little pj’s…he has decided to get one for himself

Uh oh, a battle over the phone

Ethan?! You fresh piece of humanity! Do not touch that door handle!

Aiden, love the tie!

I said, I love the tie!

It’s fake? So much for dressing for success

This spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E…lots and lots of trouble

Aiden voted today! In addition to registering dead people and fictitious characters, they also registered 1 year olds and Aiden got to vote — he is actually quite conservative (see the elephant)!

The boys are growing by leaps and bounds (literally!), surging in their size, speed, development and wiliness! The twins have learned how to use door knobs and are opening doors whenever they get a chance (they have even tried the front and back doors, thinking they could escape ;-), and getting into all kinds of trouble. When they are chasing each other (or are in trouble or trying to get away with something!) they do a semi-sprint in the opposite direction. They have started getting a little “violent” with each other, so we are working with them on being kind and gentle (there’s a strong feeling that that one might take a while *sigh*)!

It appears that the medication (Cisapride) is not working for Aiden, but we are reserving judgement as we had to take him off of it for about a week and have not yet restarted it. Fortunately, he has finally had a few good days during which he has vomited less frequently, so it did give him a little break. More than anything, we know that Aiden’s health is in God’s hands and we must trust that He can heal Aiden in His time. Following up on a previous prayer request, we are very encouraged that Aiden has started receiving some minimal “feeding” therapy to help with his oral aversion, so that he will be more accepting of things in his mouth. Unfortunately, they will not able to get him into the intensive daily feeding program until Spring ’09, but at least starting this week, he will have brief feeding therapy appointments in Dallas twice a week. Naturally, this presents some logistical challenges with the other two, but we are so very glad that Aiden is finally getting some help and trust that one way or another, the Lord will work everything out.

On another note, our home has been completely taken over by the boys and they are systematically destroying it, one room at a time. The family room will most likely need new carpeting soon due to dirt, vomit, saliva, food, formula and various other things which we will not discuss because they bring back troublesome memories.

It’s very difficult to believe that more than 13 months has gone by since the boys were born — how that time has flown. In a recent visit to our pediatrician, she was amazed at how advanced Ethan and Evan are for their age — even compared to many full-term babies, and how well they continue to do. What a blessing and answer to all of the many prayers that have gone up on their behalf! Thank YOU again for your faithful prayers on their behalf. Please pray that all three will remain healthy as we enter the RSV and cold/flu season.

Enjoy the video below which has several clips of the boys having a good time.

Evan’s little teeth

Ethan, you look puzzled

Aiden is a happy boy!

His newest thing is playing with his tongue

Evan joins me in their little play tent

They throw all their favorite toys over the cage wall

I asked Ethan to smile for a picture and this was his response

Ethan, nice footwear

I was leaving and they wanted to go with me

Aiden just keeps smiling

Ethan loves dinner time

Here Aiden, have a bite

See, it wasn’t so bad…now he wants more!

Ethan (and Evan) will mimic Aiden with their fake cough