A Twin Tale

Love Bunny

2011-08-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I was putting the girls to bed I told Sierra, "I love you bunny." She thought that was soooo funny. She returned with "I love you forsey (horsey)." I started laughing and so she kept going, "I love yoouuuu wabbit (rabbit) " "I love youuu bumble bee." My sweet Sierra. This girl keeps me laughing every day. So fun to see her sense of humor beggining to develop.

Shoes

2010-11-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

My girls loooove shoes...especially if they are shiny or sparkly! Recently, I had to buy them a new pair of shoes as they have out grown their last pair. Its amazing how fast they grow out of shoes these days. I was looking at their shoes and thinking, "wow these are big girl shoes, not baby shoes anymore." It made me a bit sad to think about those tiny infant feet now fitting into big girl shoes. I remembered holding and kissing those little bitty feet and my heart sank a bit. Now those feet need bigger shoes with hard soles because now they can walk, and run, turn circles and bounce themselves up and down. I smiled thinking of all the things they can do now with those little feet and I realized that I'm blessed. Yes... I miss those tee-tiny feet, but what a joy it is to see them being healthy little toddlers, running around and playing. Thank you God for little feet that grow...one day I pray they may run to you as you draw them to yourself.

I Still Miss You...

2010-11-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

Miscarriage. The word is difficult to even say and most people keep the topic hush, hush. I've had two miscarriages...both before my girls were born. When I first lost the pregnancies I was devastated and my heart ached for my babies. Someone told me that once I had kids that it would help heal my pain. In a sense I guess this is true. I love my girls and am so blessed to have them. Having a baby(or two!) in my arms made the ache seem much less painful.However, this time of year brings back memories...and even though my girls are here, I still miss my babies...my first two. I can't help but think of some cute little 3 year olds running around. I miss that my girls don't have big sisters or brothers....and my heart aches. I guess I wasn't prepared for the fact that my heart still hurts...but it does and it probably always will until I see them again in heaven. So to my dear, sweet babies....mommy loves you and still misses you....I always will.

Blessings and Challenges

2010-09-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

I've not written on the blog in forever, mostly because I feel I have to keep everything in order and well...I just haven't had much time in the last 6 months to update the blog. The girls keep me going ALL the time!

I think maybe only two or three people even read this blog so writing here is mostly for my sake. I guess its a way to keep a record of my thoughts and feelings about our life but mostly to show pictures of the girls.

The girls are growing and are so full of life and fun! They bring such joy to this mother's heart. I recently took the girls to their 18 month appointment. I can't believe they are 18 months old! Its really amazing how time flies. I will write a little update on each girl.

I will start with Sierra first as there is a bit more news on Savannah so I will save that til last. Sierra is the funniest little girl you've ever met! She is growing and becoming more beautiful everyday. She is always running and always laughing. She is probably the most active little girl I've seen! She is also extremely sweet. As she is running she will suddlenly stop come put her head down on my leg, pat me and say "Mama", "Mama." She melts my heart and makes me smile. She is quite the little athelete and can kick and throw a ball. She can spin circles, walk backwards, and run faster than most 2 year olds. She likes to put her hands together to pray before meals and says "YAYYY" at the end of the prayer instead of "Amen." She can say over 50 words. She also can stack blocks, put shapes through the shape sorter, and is trying to figure out puzzles (though she doesn't have it quite yet!) She enjoys playing with her cousin "Haygeeee" (Haley) and admiring her newest cousin Karis. She loves to rock her baby but mostly she loves books. She reads out loud in her cute little babbling voice and makes us laugh. Her best friend is her sister Savannah. She loves to give her hugs and kisses and hold her hand. When Savannah is sad Sierra brings her books and toys. Sierra LOVES her sister and her Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her. Please continue to pray for Sierra's tibial torsion. The doctor feels it is looking better and we are excited about the progress shes making. Praise the Lord!

Savannah is a DADDY's girl! She loves her Daddy and would prefer to be in his lap than anywhere else in the world. She is a sweet, cuddly and did I say sweet little girl? She is layed back and has a personality much like her father. She is delicate and beautiful and such a gorgeous little lady. She loves her doll and gives it kisses and hugs. She also loves our dog...and likes to kiss and hug her as well (which doesn't make Bama very happy.) She is a smart little girl and is quite observant and likes to figure out how things work. She likes to open and close doors, unzip and zip zippers, put objects in and out of boxes, and even sort her foods on her plate. She enjoys watching Veggie Tales and dancing to the music. But mostly, she loves books...she likes to turn the pages and pretend like shes really reading the story. She can sit on the couch and read books for long periods of time! She is shy around others and doesn't like the church nursery very much but enjoys following her cousin "JAGEEE" (Haley) aroud and imitating what she does. She loves the "baby" Karis and just likes looking at her. Her best friend, however, is Sierra. If Sierra is not in the room she goes to find her. The other day she stayed with Gram and Sierra went to the doctor with me. Mom said she was quite concerned and ran to the door asking for Sierra. She loves to play ring around the rosy with Sierra and Mommy. She is our sweetie and Mommy and Daddy are proud of her. We ask for your prayers for Savannah. At her 18 month appointment her doctor was a bit concerned. Savannah has low tone and tight heel cords...Savannah walks on her toes and tends to tire out a bit quicker than her sister when walking. The doctor wants Savannah checked by a developmental team here in Asheville. It seems Savannah will need some physical therapy. We are not sure what is going on with her as there are many things which can cause these issues one of them being mild Cerebral Palsy. This Thursday we had our intake interview with the specialist and on the 21st of September a team of specialist are coming to the house to evaluate her. We would appreciate your prayers for our daughter! We are excited to see how God chooses to work through what seems like challenges in our lives.

We are so thankful for these two daughters that God has blessed our family with!

Kari

Big Girls!

2010-02-26T17:33:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of my big girls. Here they are around one year old! The birthday pictures will be coming soon!

Savannah Elisabeth

Sierra Faith

Beautiful Lady :)

Piggies :)

Pony Tails

2010-02-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

When I think of little girls, I think of pony tails. Cute little hair bobbing around all tied together with a pretty bow on top. So today was my first attempt at a pony tail as Sierra's hair is getting a bit longer. Little did I know how complicated a simple ponytail could be when trying to create one on an 11 month olds head. After many attempts this is what we came up with...

Sierras First Ponytail

First Steps

2010-02-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Savannah took her first steps today to my utter amazement. Savannah is quite timid and has always been afraid of doing things without Mommy or Daddy helping her. I was holding her sweet little hand as she walked around and I was shocked as she looked up at me and let go taking the next three steps all by herself. I was so proud of her...I started tearing up right away. What are these crazy feelings that come over you as a parent? I would like to say I was only tearing up because I was so proud and excited for her (and yes that was part of it) but I was also tearing up because she is growing up so fast. Amazing all the firsts this year. First smile, first laugh, first crawl, first word and now first steps. I am so blessed to be the mother of these two beautiful girls. I know that one day shewill probably be looking up at her Daddy and letting go of his hand as she takes her first steps as a new bride. I pray that the time between now and then will be filled with more precious memories and that the God who has given me these precious gifts will draw them to himself so that they may become young women after HIS heart.

Things I Love..

2010-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

Several months ago I started a list in my journal of the things I love about each one of the girls and things I love doing with them. I hope to keep this list going as the girls get older. Here is what I have so far:

Savannah:
1.her sweet heart
2.her beautiful smile
3.her squeal
4.how she lifts her head up from the crib when I come in the room--smiles at me and then drops her head back down with shyness
5. how observant she is
6.her cry (she shounds like a little sheep--baaabaaa and her little lip and chin shake)
7.when she talks and laughs with Sierra
8.holding her when shes scared
9.when she only wants to be with mommy
10.her amazing eyes (like daddy)
11.her strong little arms and how she flexes when you pick her up
12.rocking
13.cuddling with her
14.how she tries to kiss my cheeks
15 how she says "ah" in front of everything "Ah Da- Ah Da" for daddy
16.how she waves her arms when we sing "Clap your hands all ye people"
17. Her love of music- She has enjoyed it since the womb
18. Her toothless smile
19. Her sweet voice
20. Standing up in her crib and smiling when I come to get her
21. How she is such a night owl
22. How she gets excided when adada (daddy) comes home
23.her timidness
24. How she holds onto me so tight like a monkey
25. her laugh
26.how ticklish she is
27.How she is content to just sit with me
28. How she claps everytime we sing songs
29.How tiny she looks holding on to daddys legs
30.The wasy she tilts her head when she smiles
31. How she covers her eyes when she is being shy
32.How she says mama
33.How strong her grip is when we try to pull something away from her.
34.How she loves her bath
35.How she makes me miss being around her if I'm out on an errand or even while she sleeps
36. Her sweet face as she sleeps

Sierra
1.her crooked smile
2. how her nose crinkles up when she smiles
3.her chubby cheeks
4.kissing those cheeks
5. her sweet heart
6.how easy it is to make her laugh
7.her laugh
8.singing to her and seeing how much she enjoys it.
9.her beautiful brown eyes
10.how she tucks her legs up under her while she sleeps making her little behind stick up in the air.
11.when she talks and laughs with Savannah
12. coming in the room right after I put her down to sleep--expecting to see a sleeping baby. Instead I see a baby who has flipped over-she gives me a huge smile and starts to laugh--she knows its funny--I try not to laugh ;)
13. How she shakes when she gets excited
14.cuddling her after she wakes up form a nap.
15.How she has no fear
16.How she crawls faster when I'm coming up behind her
17.She stands in the crib holding her blanket around her
18. She tries to get Savannah to play with her
19. looking into eachothers eyes
20. How she snorts when she laughs or cries
21. Her hair curling behind her ear.
22. Her smile with her bottom two teethshowing
23.how silly and fun she is to be around
24. how she likes to read ooks
25. How she wants to touch everything
26. Her little marble nose
27.How she laughs at night when I tickle her cheeks
28. How she says mama
29.How she crawls real fast then laughs when I'm coming up behind her and goes even faster
30. Her little mouth
31.Her "serious face"
32.How when I read her a book she bangs her hands on the pictures because she is so excited
33.How she tries to eat 10 puffs at one time
34.How she still likes to cuddle when shes sleepy
35.Her sweet sleeping face
36. Her first steps

11 Months :)

2010-01-31T20:25:00.001-08:00

What a cutie. Savannah LOVED the swings at the park! As you can see Sierra loved swinging as well. She also likes to show off her new two front teeth. What a beautiful smile!

10 Months

2010-01-31T20:14:00.001-08:00

My girls at 10 months old...dressed up for the Christmas Eve Service :) My princess Savannah- Savannah has become an expert crawler. She also likes to walk as long as shes holding mama's hands. Savannah can say, "mama", "dada", "doh"(for dog), and she likes to point out the light when you say light.

My darling Sierra
Sierra is learning to walk now and is very proficient. She can also say the following words: "mama", "dada", "doch (dog)," "nana (Savannah)"

9 months

2010-01-31T20:07:00.001-08:00

Ok people turn your heads :) Here is Sierra standing up by herself :) She also started taking her first steps this month! Here is Savannah standing up. She's a little more cautious and doesn't want to let go yet!

8 Months Old!

2010-01-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

My beauties at 8 months old in the shirts "Mama Tata" made for them. Sierra got her first tooth this month...hooray!

Savannah enjoying some of her favorite carrots!

Here is Sierra at 8 months old. What a big girl shes getting to be!

Haley's Birthday...2 Years Old!

2009-10-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Haley loving on Sierra...Savannah says....I'm next!
Family Shot

Haley with her Aunt Kari

Haley's birthday cake...good job, Cher!

Haley opening her presents!

7 Months old!

2009-10-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here are my beautiful babies at 7 months...

Sierra Faith

Savannah Elisabeth

Sierra and Savannah

Hooray! Our new outfits from Gram!

Sweet smiles!

6 months

2009-10-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

Here are my sweet girls at 6 months...half a year...wow! Sierra is on the left and Savannah on the right.

5 months old

2009-07-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

It seems crazy that five months have come and gone. Here are our sweet babies. We hope you enjoy seeing how big they are getting.

Sierra

Savannah

Our two babies

Rocking

Sierra at Gram and Papa's House

2009-07-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Sierra is a very fun loving and happy little girl. She LOVES to talk...to anyone and everyone. She is very social. She enjoys smiling, cooing and laughing. She loves to roll and move herself around. Even though she is very active, she also loves to cuddle. She is a sweet girl and we just think she is amazing. We love Sierra.

Savannah

2009-07-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Savannah at Gram and Papa's house. Savannah is a joy to have in our lives. She is a very content and sweet baby. She is laid back and calm most of the time. She loves to smile, and squeal with her voice. She does get scared quite easily and also seems to get her feelings hurt (especially if you pick Sierra up first or talk to Sierra and not to her). She is very strong and can stand up holding on to the sofa (even though it scares her a bit). She can walk when mommy holds both of her hands. We love Savannah.

Cousin Haley and her "Vannah"

2009-07-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is the first time Haley got to see the girls. She ran over to Savannah and said "Peese" (Please) which is what she says when she wants something. Then she gave her a big kiss...and luckily we caught it on camera....here is Haley with "Vannah" (that is what she calls her). She also loves "Erra" which is what she calls Sierra but we didn't catch their meeting on camera. We have three beautiful girls in the family now :)

POOL :)

2009-07-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

A fun day at the pool in our backyard. The girls are wearing their swimsuits that Amanda bought them. :)

Savannah chillin in the pool

Sierra all relaxed

Daddy has to kiss those cheeks!

More kisses!

The girls...not too sure what to think but Savannah finds security in holding on to Sierra...hahaa!

Having fun :)

4 months!

2009-07-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls at four months! WOW how time flies. They are getting so big! I love their smiles...what a blessing they are to me.

Baby Dedication

2009-07-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

Our church has been a huge blessing in our lives for the past four years. This year, however, we understood for the first time how a church can become family. Every need we have had since I was on bedrest has been met. The church prayed diligently for the girls and me when I went into preterm labor. They prayed for Savannah with all her issues. They provided meals and friendship and just someone to talk to those long days while I was stuck in bed. We couldn't think of having the girls dedicated anywhere else. Desiring God has played such an important role in the girls life. Here are a few pictures of their dedication.

Tata, Eric with Savannah, Kari with Sierra

The Alvarez Family

Girls and their Dad on Father's Day

The girls and their mommy

Eric, his mom and the girls

Pastor Coty and Sierra

Pastor Coty and Savannah

The actual dedication

Savannah and Sierra in the service....Savannah is closer up...Sierra in the distance.

Fathers Day

2009-07-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

For Fathers Day the girls made handprints and footprints that we put in a picture frame for Daddy.We grilled out some of Erics favorite sausage dogs as a way to celebrate. The girls were also dedicated on Fathers Day at church...I will post on that soon! Eric is truly the best dad and I am so proud of him. The girls love him so much!

Here is Eric...when we grilled out.

Here is Eric...breakfast in bed...and his present from the girls!

Savannah's green hand from making Daddy's present :)

Tata's Dresses

2009-07-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the girls in the dresses that Tata made for them :)

3 Months

2009-07-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls at 3 months. They are lifting themselves up on their arms and even rolling over. Here are my beautiful daughters.

Savannah...a little sleepy.

Sierra...pensive.

A sideway shot :)

Smiles

Sweet girls...more smiles!

My Girls

2009-07-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

Here is Sierra. She is a fun and curious girl...looking around at the world.

Here is Savannah...She is shy but extremely sweet and loving.

Trip to Asheville

2009-07-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to visit family in Asheville. Here are some fun pics!

Gram and Papa with their girls!Great Grandma Dillon with Savannah and Sierra Aunt Cheryl and Savannah

Uncle Chris and Savannah

Papa and Sierra

Gram and Sierra

Smiling

2009-07-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

Savannah Elisabeth

Sierra Faith

The girls are really becoming expressive...here are a couple of good smiles!

Mothers Day

2009-07-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Mommy

Sierra and Mommy

Eric took the girls and me to the park for a Mother's Day picnic. Later on that night he surprised me when Coty and Beth came over to take care of the girls so we could have a date! We had a lot of fun that day. Here are a few pictures...enjoy!

2 month pictures

2009-04-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

We can't believe our girls are already two months old. We love them so very much! They were not too happy about taking pictures this day but we got a few good ones.

....here we put their soothies in to calm them down! Two minutes before....hahaha!

Sierra and her whistle mouth.

Savannah... right before she started crying....gotta turn your head a bit.

Daddy and his girls

2009-04-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Eric is a great Dad. Here he is "Super Dad" in action...cuddling Savannah and feeding Sierra at the same time.

My girls

2009-04-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Cuddle time! Relaxing :)

Mommy and Sierra

Mommy and Savannah

Just a few pictures to show what the girls are looking like lately. They are getting so big!

Good-bye Tata

2009-04-25T21:04:00.001-07:00

We really enjoyed having Eric's mom stay with us. She was a big help and the girls loved her. Here are a few pics of her and the girls the day she left. We miss her :)

Sierra looking up and smiling at her Tata.

Sierra looking at her grandma...being able to focus her eyes was a new concept :)

Tata admiring her little sweetie

Tata and Savannah :) Savannah loved relaxing in her grandmas arms!

New Clothes

2009-04-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Gram and Papa sent us some new clothes. We really loved these sweaters! They came in handy with the chilly weather we experienced a few weeks ago. Thanks Gram and Papa!

Sierra in her sweater Savannah in her whole outfit :)

Easter

2009-04-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the Easter eggs I dyed for the basket...you might have to look sideways :) My little Savannah all dressed up!

Sierra and her Easter bonnet :)

Though we did not get to go to church on Easter I still thought it would be fun to dress up the girls. I also dyed easter eggs and made them a basket. Call me crazy but I love doing things like this :)

Photo Shoot

2009-04-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Baby Feet!

Sierra and her half smile...Such a sweet girl!

Savannah and her beautiful self~

Our little Angels

Our friend, Mark Moore is a great photographer. He is a missionary and works with Eric's parents in Honduras. He does photography on the side. He took these pictures of Savannah and Sierra for us. If anyone needs a good photographer for a reasonable price, I can get you in contact just let me know.

Amazing Grace

2009-04-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Savannah Elisabeth Alvarez

(Picture taken by Mark Moore)

For those who have not heard...When I was 20 weeks pregnant with the girls we were told that our daughter Savannah had a potential problem called craniosynostosis. This is where the sutures of the skull fuse early. This can cause various problems varying from skull and facial deformities to mental retardation depending on what causes the problem. When Savannah was born the cranio surgeon came to the NICU and looked at Savannah. She told Eric that Savannah had an 85% chance of having craniosynostosis as Savannah still had a ridge down her forhead. She said it would be very rare for the suture to look like that and not be fused. She then sent Savannah in for a CT Scan. This CT Scan had to be done twice because Savannah was moving too much (so they had to sedate her a bit.) The result of the CT Scan was that Savannah's sutures were not closed! The doctor wanted us to do some "excersises" with Savannah's head and see her in a month to check on it. When I took her back to the doctor, she was amazed to see that Savannah's was as she put it, "completely normal." She told the nurse that she would not have belived it if she would have seen Savannah in the hospital. We want to publically say that we believe that the Great Healer...Jesus Christ healed our precious girl. We know that he does not always choose to heal us in a physical way but we are thankful he saw fit to heal Savannah in this way. Amazing grace...we are not worthy...to him be the glory. We thank you for all your prayers concerning this matter. Praise God!

Coty, Beth and the girls

2009-04-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Savannah getting some cuddle time with BethSierra enjoying a nice snooze with Coty

Loving on the girls

Coty and Beth have been a blessing to our family since we became members of DGCC. They have helped us with the girls since they were born and have been there for us while I was in the hospital with eclampsia. Here they are with our girls!

1 month old pictures

2009-04-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Our little Savannah growing up! One month old...can't believe it! Sierra weighing in at 6 lb 1 oz. at one month!

Together :)

I thought I would try to put up their one month pics before they are 2 months hahaha!

Family Pics

2009-03-24T13:03:00.001-07:00

More kisses and Love! We take pictures even while they sleep.

Loving on them! God is good!

Getting our girls to sleep.... it is really easy-SOMETIMES :)

Our little family is now GROWING! Alright!

Sleepy Heads

2009-03-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Our precious daughters...they love to be together. Sierra can sleep anywhere.

Our little angel!

Eric keeping a close watch....haahaha!

Eric continues with his careful care.....while sleeping!

First Bath

2009-03-24T12:34:00.001-07:00

Sierra's first bath.... she really enjoyed it! Sierra getting her face washed, not too sure about what was happening.

Kari holding Savannah after her first bath. Snug as a bug in a rug!

Savannah enjoying her first bath.

My Grandma and Grandpa bought the girls this cute tub for their baths. Thanks Great Grandma and Grandpa! Our homecare nurse, Barb, helped show us how it's done! We were very thankful that we had three home visits from a NICU nurse. She helped us tons during the first week we had them home.

Tata - Grandma and her babies

2009-03-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Sierra trying to eat Tata's arm Tata with both her girls.

Tata with Savannah.

We are so thankful that Erics mom has been able to be with us and help us. She helps with everything, feeding, cleaning, and most importantly loving on them.

Our First Visit to the Pediatrician

2009-03-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

The girls were so hungry they were chewing on their hands and trying to eat eachothers elbows, ears and fingers!The first time we placed the girls together! They love each other :)
Kari and the girls in front of the doctors office waiting for Eric to park the car.

Eric wondering what he got himself into :)

The very next morning after we brought the girls home we had to go to the pediatricians office. We had to be there at 9:30 a.m. This turned out to be a challenge as we had no idea how long it took to get two girls fed, burped, changed, washed up, and back into their padded car seats. Both girls did great! They weighed in at 4lb 11 oz (Savannah) and 4 lb 9 oz (Sierra.) They were small but had surpassed their birth weight.

Going Home

2009-03-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

Our two girls...home at last! The girls did not fit well in their carseats because they were so small so the NICU nurses had to put padding all around them and under them to hold them in their seats. Here is Savannah in her going home outfit from Lindsay...She looked so pretty :)

My cousin Lindsay made some beautiful dresses and bonnets for the girls to wear on the way home. Here is Sierra in her outfit. What a cutie!

Ready to go home!

Two weeks after the girls came into this world it was finally time to take them home. It took a long time to convince the doctor to let me go home the same day. I had to be checked out by a physical therapist and all kinds of madness :)...In fact she didn't discharge me until 6:30 that night...The girls were not discharged until 9:30 p.m. but finally, finally, FINALLY we were all going home.

Preeclamptic Crash and God's Faithfulness

2009-03-20T20:04:00.001-07:00

Eric taking care of the girls while I was in the ICU. Such a proud Daddy.
Beth helping to feed the girls while I was out of comission. Thanks Beth! The girls love you and Coty.

Four days after I gave birth to my girls I began to swell. I thought it was very strange to be swelling so much after I gave birth. I also started to have headaches. I was ready to be discharged when the nurse came to take my vital signs. She noticed that my blood pressure was elevated and did a reflex check. My leg felt like it was going to jump off my body. Rigid reflexes said the nurse, I have to call the doctor. The doctor came in checked me over and determined I was post pardum preeclamptic. I would have to be taken back to labor and delivery and put on a Magnisium drip. I was not thrilled but figured it was better than having seizures. As soon as I was put on the drip I felt horrible. My body felt so hot and all my muscles seemed to fail. My face turned bright red, my eyes began to swell shut and I could no longer walk. This is temporary I thought as I would only have to be on the drip 24 hours. 24 hours became 36 hours as my body was not recovering from the preeclampsia. After 36 hours they took me off of the Mag. I began to feel a lot better without having the side effects of the Mag. The next day, however, things began to get worse. Instead of regulating my blood pressure was getting higher and higher. I was no longer allowed to see my babies as my pressure was too high and I was emotionally drained. I began to have chest pain and felt that I couldn't breath well. My swelling got worse and my reflexes were still extremely rigid. My friend Beth came to the hospital to see our family (we are very thankful for Coty and Beth as they helped us take care of our girls by holding them and giving them bottles in the hospital when we could not.) Beth and Eric went to see the babies for their feeding. I was alone in the hospital room and terrified as I saw my blood pressure get higher and higher by the minute. When it reached 186/125 I called the nurse I told her I did not want to be alone and that I was struggling to breath. She wrote it off as a panic attack but my blood oxygen level had dropped to 80 percent and my heart rate had dropped to 58 as my heart stuggled to function. When Beth and Eric came back I told them how I felt and how I was struggling physically and emotionally. Beth spoke with the nurses and decided to stay the night with me. It was a great comfort to have her there during this time. God is always faithful. My husband also stayed by my side as I went through a very diffult night. The next morning the doctor came in checked my signs and was worried. I was given a chest x ray and it was found that it was not a panic attack causing me to have a hard time breathing but the fact my lungs were full of fluid. I was put on oxygen and my doctor began putting me on a myriad of blood pressure medicine to try to bring it down. Nothing worked. She came into the room and told me that she had come to the end of her expertise and was calling a cardiologist. The cardiologist came and decided it was time to admit me to the ICU in the Dickson Heart Unit. By this time I had a severe migrane and was having visual disturbances. I don't remember much of the rest of that day. I remember Eric telling me he needed me and the girls needed me and to fight for the girls. My sweet husband such a blessing to me! Beth stayed that night as well holding my hand and helping me to stay calm by praying and quoting scripture. In the ICU I was put on a Labatelol drip and was also given Lasiks (sp?) to pull the fluid off my lungs. They pulled four liters of fluid off of me in only 24 hours. I was also put on seizure medication as a precaution because of my rigid reflexes. The nurses in the ICU were great....amazing actually. Another gift from God. I am amazed by the way he provided for me in every way during this difficult time.I was very well monitored and this helped to put my mind at ease. I was finally able to see my girls again as the ICU was right down the hall from the NICU. The ICU nurses would wheel me down with all my monitors...it felt strange but I was just so happy to see my babies. After several days in the ICU I was weaned off the drip and put on very high doses of blood pressure medication. When my pressure was relatively stable I was moved back to a normal hospital room. The first night my pressure spiked again but the nurses were able control it with an injection of Labatelol. Slowly I began to get stronger. After 18 days in the hospital I was finally told I could go home. I was released the same day as the girls were! That was such a blessing. I am still fighting with my blood pressure right now and on very high doses of medication. I ask for your continued prayers as over time they are weaning me off of the medicine. I want to be strong again so I can better care for my girls. Please know that your prayers for me during this time meant so much. I know many people were praying...family, friends, my co-workers and my church family. The more I think about this crisis the more I see Gods faithfulness through it all...I hope you see it too.

Mommy and her Girls!

2009-03-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Once again you might have to look sideways.....Mommy and Sierra.

Mommy with Savannah

Daddy and his Girls!

2009-03-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Savannah yawning.
Daddy rocking Sierra.

More NICU Pics

2009-03-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sierra with a little smile!Savannah after her first bath. She was now ready to hold :)

Savannah resting...we couldn't wait till she got well enough to hold!

Savannah trying to take her first bottle! What a challenge 5 ml's can be when you only weigh 4 pounds.

Eric with one of his baby girls (Sierra). There has never been a better daddy! Gram came to hold her babies! This is Gram with Sierra....we could not hold Savannah until later because of the fluid still in her lungs. Both girls love their Gram! Papa came too but was busy taking me (Kari) to get a catscan because an abnormal EKG right before delivery. Both girls love their Papa too :)

NICU

2009-03-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

You might have to turn your head to see this one. Sierra in the incubator...she was allowed a bath and some clothes as she was under less stress. Savannah all hooked up the the monitors- They did not bathe her or put clothes on her the first day as she was under too much stress from her water rupturing early and then the delivery.

Its kind of dark but if you look close you can see Savannah holding her Daddy's finger while in the incubator that first night.

Savannah and Sierra were taken to the NICU minutes after delivery. Savannah needed a little help with her breathing and was put on CPAP but only for a few minutes. Sierra needed no help with her breathing at all! They were put on IV's and many different types of monitors. They were kept in incubators to keep their bodies warm as they could not regulate their own temperatures. Savannah had to have a feeding tube part of the time as she had difficulty eating all that she was supposed to. She is our pokey eater to this day :) She also had to be on antibiotics because of her water breaking early. The girls had great nurses who did a wonderful job with them; we attribute this to all the prayers for the care of the girls.

Delivery

2009-03-15T20:43:00.001-07:00

Our beautiful girls--Savannah Elisabeth on the left and Sierra Faith on the right

Ready for Action :)

It seemed like forever before they brought Eric in to be with me. I kept asking when they would allow him to come back. After everything was ready Eric finally arrived and held my hand as they delivered our precious girls. When I saw the girls for the first time my heart stopped. I cried tears of joy.What beautiful perfection! Soon they were wisked away to the NICU as I was put back together.

Labor and Delivery

2009-03-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Eric getting ready to go!

Labor and Delivery

Babies heartbeats on the top and contractions on the bottom

I woke up on February 22, with some pain in my chest and lower back. Hmmmm....interesting I thought. I called the nurse who came in gave me a nice peppermint rub on my chest and I went back to sleep. A few hours later it was time for the babies to have their daily monitoring. I was still having strange pains but was not sure what they were. When they hooked up the monitor I was contracting every two minutes! So this is what these pains are :) They called the doctor who came up and said I would be having a C-Section that day. After 11 hours of labor, they took me in to prepare me for the C-Section. This was the most exciting and terrifying time I had ever experienced. Eric was thrilled as we knew it was only a matter of time before we saw our beautiful girls.

Savannah Breaks Her Water!

2009-03-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

I was 33 weeks pregnant when Savannah decided to break her water. I was told to come into the hospital where I was put on antibiotics and told that I would have the babies within the week. Four days later....I went into labor :)

Pre-Term Labor

2009-03-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

Out of bed to go to the doctor
At 25 weeks I went into pre-term labor. I was put on complete bedrest and my sweet husband had to take care of me. Our church family was a great help during this time bringing meals every night! We all worked together to keep the babies inside and healthy.

Graduation

2009-03-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

The babies cheering for daddy!

My husband the graduate!

The Alvarez family

Eric's graduation was amazing! It's been a long ride but we made it! Though I was put on moderate bedrest just two days before, I was allowed to go to his graduation as long as I rode in a wheelchair. We had a lot of fun and the babies were cheering for their daddy inside my belly.

Tough Times

2009-03-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Sierra

Savannah

We found out at our 20 week appointment that one of our sweet baby girls, Savannah, might have a life threatning condition. My parents were with us at the ultrasound and we were enjoying looking at our beautiful girls when the nurse told us the doctor would come in and take a look at the girls in just a minute. I thought something might be up as usually the doctor doesn't do the ultrasound themselves. The doctor came in and kept looking at baby A. She spent a long time looking at the head and heart without saying a word. I reached over and held my mom's hand knowing something was not right. The doctor then told us she had some bad news and asked if we wanted our parents to stay in the room. We of course did not mind. The doctor then told us that the shape and circumfrence of Savannah's head were not "normal." There were basically two possibilities said the doctor, trisomy 18 or craniosynostosis. Devastating news as trisomy 18 would mean that our little one would most likely not make it to delivery much less her first birthday. Craniosynostosis would not cause death but could cause severe facial and cranial abnormalites that would require surgery and potentially mental retardation. We knew, however, that God had blessed us with this sweet girl and that no matter how long we had with her or what problems she had we would love her no less. So after many tears we asked our family and our church for prayer and we placed our little girl into the hands of the One who loves her more than we do.

Girls!

2009-03-15T18:59:00.001-07:00

After many weeks of wondering what sex the twins might be we finally found out...two girls! Daddy (Eric) was thrilled and so was Papa (my dad.) They believe deep down that girls love their dads and grandads the most. I beg to differ :)

Ultrasound Growth

2009-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

13.5 weeks

9.5 weeks

As twins are always considered "high risk" we were able to watch the babies grow by ultrasound. It was amazing to see how they grew bit by bit. We loved hearing their heartbeats and seeing little arms and legs moving around.

"Its a Miracle!"

2009-03-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

After a long and excruciating three week wait it was time to for our first ultrasound. We were both excited and nervous as we had previously had two early miscarriages. My parents came and stayed patiently in the waiting room as we went in. The nurse turned the machine on and said..."here is one" and then, "here is two." I immediately said "two what?" not quite grasping what she was getting at. She then said, "two babies!" Eric jumps out of his seat and says, "it's a miracle!" I just stared at the screen taking it all in. That is when I heard my babies heartbeats for the first time. What an amazing sound. Eric went and got my parents who were also shocked at the news and excited. It really was a miracle.

The Journey Begins

2009-03-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

It was our 5 year wedding anniversary and we were about to go out to have a nice dinner at Antonios (Hilton Head). I was getting ready when I began to think.....and then to wonder....am I pregnant? So I did what you do when you think you might be....and sure enough two very dark pink lines. I immediately started thinking of the many amazing ways I could tell Eric but of course I couldn't wait and so I ran into the hotel room and handed him the stick. After asking me what this stick meant I told him I was pregnant. Definately the best anniversary present anyone could ask for.