Party On

Thank you to everyone who came to Cohen's birthday party (and those of you who wanted to but couldn't, there will be another party next year I'm sure!) I have to be honest and say that I strongly dislike planning parties and such, it was a lot of fun and Cohen deserved it, but I'm glad I don't have to do it again anytime soon!

Cohen got a few toys, a few clothes, lots of stuff that he asked for to put in NICU Care Packages and LOTS of fabric for diapers! We appreciate your support for our ongoing projects.

We had a fun little party and the sun even came out for a bit! I did not take one single picture at the party, these are all from Karen!

{For NICU Care Packages}

 {Lots of fabric for diapers}

 {Auntie Cubby & Dave}

{Look who made an appearance at the party!}

 {Cohen & Isaiah}

{Auntie Eva & Uncle Bruce}

 {Cohen & Danielle}

 {Time for cupcakes!}

 {Fish balloon for Carter}

 {Getting ready to let balloons go}

{Happy Birthday, Carter!}

NICU Care Package Feedback

A few of you have noticed the survey over on the side. If you are new here, at Christmastime we collected items for NICU Care packages. We were able to take 47 care packages along with blankets and hats for each baby. It was a lot of fun and went far beyond my expectations. Now that we are all finished, we would like to get a little feedback to see if this is something you would be interested in helping with again. We would love to be able to do something like this again, however, it was only possible because of all of you who helped out! So please take a minute to answer the poll (it's anonymous, no one will ever know it was you, even if you say "no" you don't want to participate again!) I know many of you are stealth readers, but if you have any additional feedback please feel free to email or facebook me. It would be a huge  help to know what you thought went well or what would make it easier (ex. the Amazon wishlist, how to get things to us, whether you liked it at Christmas or whether a different time would be easier) Thanks!

Stocking Delivery

 Our week is a little busy this week...

Monday: Cohen's OT at 9:30
Tuesday: Work meeting for me at 7:00 am
Wednesday: Pulmonology appt at Children's, maybe visiting some friends, and maybe a little trip to the NICU if Cohen is up for it

The good news is that all the stockings, blankets, and hats etc got delivered last week. Danny and I were going down to Seattle for a Christmas/birthday party with some friends so we loaded up all the stuff in the car to drop off. We had to take my mom's blazer because neither of our cars had enough room. Cohen stayed with Gramma and Grampa for the night and we thought it would be easier to unload all the stuff without him.  I didn't take too many pictures because I was too busy carrying stuff.

 {This was my favorite blanket that I made}

We got to the hospital and met up with some friends who helped us guard the car and bring everything in (Thanks Ryan & Tiff!). I went up and got Diane, the NICU social worker who I had been chatting back and forth with. I'm not sure she quite understood how much stuff there was. She got her intern to come help thinking we could carry it all. Little did she know I had two grown men waiting at the car to carry it up and it still took 5 of us and one giant wheelchair two different trips. I tried to warn her that there was a lot of stuff but I think she was a little surprised. She was pretty excited about it and thought that the parents were really going to love it. Diane filled up her office and borrowed a little of someone else's to store the stuff. They will probably be handing it out closer to Christmas, which is just fine with me. I'm hoping she will send me a little email after they give everything out so I can hear how it went.

 {All loaded up and ready to go}

We didn't visit very much, just a quick trip but I did get to see the social worker from the Drs office who was such a huge help to us during the pregnancy and after the boys were born. She was so wonderful to us and I hadn't seen her in a while so it was fun to see her.

 

{Ryan & Danny}

 {Mom made cookies for all the nurses}

THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU to all of you who helped out in any way for this project whether by gathering stuff, knitting hats, making blankets, or giving money donations. We couldn't have done it without you! When I first had this idea, I had no idea how big of a project this was going to turn into but I am so happy with how it all turned out. Thank you so much for taking the time to help us give back to the people who have given so much to us and for helping other parents who are in such a difficult situation. We appreciate it SO much, it means so much to me. I wish I could hug you all :)

Oh, and I'm working on a little something that I am excited and nervous to show you...I will let you know when I am ready.

On Hold

All of the stockings, blankets, and hats have been delivered! Now that our Stuff the Stockings project has come to an end, I'm tired. Okay I've actually been tired since June, but I'm ready to rest. I am behind on many, many things. I haven't finished sending out birth announcements or thank you cards for my showers. If you haven't gotten your announcement or a thank you card, it is coming. I just ran out of envelopes and steam. They are coming, I promise. I am also behind on birthday presents for both of my sisters whose birthdays were at the beginning of December. I want and need to do these things, I am just putting them on hold for awhile. Don't worry, I probably won't put the blog on hold because this is my brain and how I remember things.

I'm putting them on hold so that I can rock my baby while he still wants me to. And play card games with my husband. We used to play board games and card games all the time.

I hate having things hanging over my head so someday they will get done, just be patient with me. And also, while I'm at it, I'm sorry if you have written/texted/facebooked me and I haven't responded. I really do read them all and appreciate them. When I read them I often think about what I would say in response and then I think I count that as actually responding. Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. For now, I am putting things on hold so that I can spend some quiet time with my family and try and rest.

Another Stocking Update

Tired of hearing about stockings yet? Well, I have another update anyway. We would like to have everything in by Dec 3, in one week. The things we are collecting had taken over my entry hallway so I had to move them into another room.

If you still want to donate something we still need:

Starbucks or restaurant gift cards
New or gently used children's books
Small lotions
Small notebooks or post its
Kleenex travel packs
Hand sanitizer
Stockings

If you prefer online shopping, don't forget about the Amazon Wish List.  This has been a nice option for people because you can ship it directly to us.

Thank you all so much for your help, we really appreciate it. I am slowly but surely working on stockings. More slowly than surely actually. If anyone wants to help out in the stocking department it would be much appreciated.

Coming soon: Cohen's first Thanksgiving