We're 1 month old!

Hello to all our friends and family!

We can't wait to meet all of you. Mommy and Daddy tell us about how so many of you have been thinking about and praying for us. They say there are so so many wonderful people just waiting to meet us.

Today was a big day for us...we're officially 1 month old. Mommy made cupcakes for all the nurses and doctors to celebrate our big day!

Time has really flown by in our little isolet "condos". Everyone keeps talking about how much we are growing. We are almost up to 3.5 lbs. each. We're just glad to finally have some clothes on and some of those wires off!

We have heard that we have another house somewhere else that Mommy and Daddy can't wait to show us. We can't wait to go and see it. We even heard they have a big dog that loves to play... We hope he is tough enough for us.

We love Mommy and Daddy's visits and the time we get to spend with them. We really like just laying in their arms and enjoy it when they read to us too!

We were really nervous when we first got here.. but now we're really starting to get used to it. Thanks for loving us so much already!

-Aidan and Addison



Proud mom and pops with Addison...

Addison blowing out her candle...

Aidan is a bit tired to blow out his candle...

Aidan showing off his baby blues...

Daddy's girl already ;)

A New Season...

Fall is now here. I love this time of year. The air chills off. It gets a bit dryer. It's a touch more crisp. You can leave your windows open. Diana and I can walk outside without sweating. My dog and I can play outside longer. It's almost time to go to the fair. It's so great. Autumn (this is what smart people call it) is here!!!!

If I were honest I think I love every season right when it first gets here. Whatever gene we as humans carry that leads us to appreciate "normalness and predictability" has been completely disconnected or vacant from my body since birth. I can't handle things very long without change. (This is incredibly ironic when you consider my wife is very fond of structure, details, and the sticky note - though I am learning the value of lists as a means to keep one focused ;) Either way... the seasons changing is a reminder that a new time is upon us. This is good for me. It causes me to reflect. "What am I happy with?" "What do I want to change?" "What should stop and appreciate?"

This brings a great deal of hope in my life. Usually I am reminded what amazing friends and family I have. I am reminded what an incredible wife I have. I am reminded that I dont have to keep things the same in my life. I can work to make things better. I am reminded that I can make steps towards being the man I was created to be.

It's also a new season in the sense of being for the first time, a father. Other than being a husband I have never felt such a burden for someone else. Everything I think about seems to be going through a different filter.. "what is best for my family?" I pray that as time passes and as seasons change I will grow to be a better man. I hope to grow to be more loving and more compassionate. I hope to become a stronger leader as well as grow in humility. I long to be more forgiving and to encourage others around me more. I hope to understand grace better as means to teach it to my family and show it to the world around me.

As seasons change I pray we have time to reflect on who we are becoming and remember things don't have to stay the same. I believe the story we are in is one the says "there are always new possibilities." May we all find ourselves in that story and find ourselves moving towards what and who we were created to be.

Cheers!

-Jason

Yes...we have clothes!

Addison in her little outfit

Me and my boy...

I have a feeling this will be a favorite picture of mine for a while...

Diana and Addison

Between these two women in this picture my heart is in no way shape or form my own any longer... (not that is has been in the last 5 or 6 years ;)


To see more pictures visit Rebecca's blog as she has put more up on her site... (if we put all of them here you wouldn't have to go to her site and check them out ;) thanks for sharing your amazing gift with our family Rebecca!!! (regardless of if our pics are on her site - you should frequent her site as she just does amazing work)

So many great things happened over the past week with the kiddos.

Their PICC lines were pulled because they no longer need the IV nutrition. When they no longer have that line they start putting little onsies on them. They don't like to dress them when the PICC or IV lines are in because they don't want to risk disrupting the lines. It's fun to see them in little outfits, makes them seem more like a "normal" baby. We have some really cute onsies for both Aidan and Addison (thanks Becky, Leslie, Rebecca and Karen) that I took up to the hospital over the weekend. They are still a bit small for the clothes but really cute in them anyways!

They also were taken off the Vapotherm form of oxygen and are just getting regular oxygen, another great step! They are growing, growing. growing. Aidan weighed in at 3lbs 1 ounce tonight and Addison was 2lbs. 14ozs.

Addison's heart murmur seems to be getting better, they can barely hear it when they listen to her heart.

We love spending time with them, holding them, reading to them, just hanging out. This time has truley become our favorite time of our day.

The next step is to get them out of the isolets (their "condos") and into an open bed as they call it. Then they will be able to be in the same liitle crib!!! They have to show that they can regulate their body temperature to make this next step.

We are reminded on a daily basis of just how BIG God is when we see our little miracles. Thanks again for your continued love, support and prayers!

-Jason and Diana (both were contributing authors to this post ;)

Studio Tonight...

Myself and some friends have been writing some music over the last few years. Most of the music has come out of different places we have been in life be it physically, emotionally, spiritually (I dont know if you can really separate any of those things.) Some of the songs have turned into songs we sing at Visio Dei (our church) and some have just been songs we play when we're just hangin out playing music.

If you know me well then you know I have wondered for a while what to do with these songs. Should we just leave them alone for what they are, should I record an album as Jason Gore, should I record an album for our church community (as Visio Dei), should I record an album as a band (Treeline)...

Well with no more answers on that I have decided to just start recording. My plan is to start recording with Mark McKee here in town just a couple tracks at the time. I going to start with songs that have made their way into our church community and going to have different people that I am close to help out with the recording. I am assuming that having something in front of us (me) will provide a bit of inspiration to continue writing and recording. My hope is by the end we will have a meaningful collection of songs that are reflective, meaningful, celebratory and full of hope.

So - The time has arrived... Tonight myself, Zack Van Hoy (drums), and Patrick Downing(guitars) are going into the studio to lay down scratch tracks and track drums for 2 songs. Pray for us, wish us luck, or whatever it is you do ;)

Here's to what we hopes to be a great project...

Cheers!

-Jason

Just two pics

These brighten up my day...

That's my boy. He's probably thinking about all the times we're gonna have together. Honestly I am enjoying every second, even just right now...

If I didn't know any better I would suggest she is posing. Addison has already won my heart and she has to do absolutely nothing to do so. Between her Diana I think I am in a lot of trouble.

CHEERS!

-Jason

The Happy Family...

Greetings to our faithful blog readers!

Apologies for the delay in our postings as of late...no surprise to any of you that life is keeping us very busy!!!

Addison and Aidan are doing so well. They are growing each day and are now both above their birth weights (Addison by about 2 ounces and Aidan by about 5 ounces!). They are both off their IV fluids and getting their nutrition from mama's milk with the HMF (Human Milk Fortifier) they add for extra nutrition. This is a big step for them! They have also both decreased in the flow and percent of oxygen they are getting.

Jason and I are enjoying getting to spend time with them. We have a little stack of books we keep up there and read with them. A few of our favorites are "I Love You Stinky Face", "Horton Hatches An Egg" and "The Pokey Little Puppy".

Addison still has a little bit of fluid around her lungs and she continues to get the lasiks to help pull the fluid off and out of her. This is part of the reason she hasn't gained as much weight as Aidan.

We know you all want to see another round of photos and we will put some up soon...promise! :)

Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement!!!

A good night...

Tonight Diana and had a date. We started out our evening seeing our babies at Wake Med. It's hard to top that if I am honest. After visiting our children we then went to a restaurant called Taco Bell for some fine Mexican/American cuisine. For an appetizer we enjoyed a hard shell corn tortilla with bean spread and cheddar cheese on top. Our main course was a grill, stuffed, chicken burrito con hot sauce that was simply incredible. We then indulged ourselves with a dessert of what else but taco bell's world famous cinnamon twists. We matched our dinner with a beverage selcetion of a fine rasberry nestea from their soda fountain.

After dinner the romantic evening continued a Babies R Us for a little game we call "let's find a changing table."

Then we came home and got ready for a yard sale.

Now Diana is asleep on the couch.

In all seriousness... it was great just to hang out with my wife. (We both really did get excited when we saw taco bell.) I love that we can have fun just doing simple stuff. We had fun together. Our babies have had a good couple of days. Our dog is pretty sweet too. We have good friends and great family. Tonight, life is good...

*(sigh of peacefulness.....)

sleep well,

-Jason

Things change quickly...

About 3 hours after my last post saying things are going well we got a call form the doc saying Addison needed a blood transfusion to really help her get through some tough times that could be coming up. This was based on some x-rays that showed too much fluid was around her lungs and some signs she may be getting a little sick.

As it turns out, it's posible her lungs aren't as "strong" as first thought. Then again life with babies this tiny simply makes it very difficult to know whats going on all the time. She has since recieved the transfusion well and adjusted nicely.

For now they are both doing well, going up on how much food they are eating, and gaining weight. I fully believe they are just like their mom and dad and are simply refusing the "norm" as a potential road to travel. I'll take it ;)

Here's to not following the norm!!!

-Jason

Aidan and Addison

Well our babies have had a strong past few days. Here are the updates...

Aidan is (seemingly) over whatever stomach bug he had. His energy level is back up and his eyes are wide open quite a bit. I may be a little biased but trust me... this guy is handsome. His weight is up to an astounding 2 pounds and 9 ounces which is 2 ounces over his birth weight. He got down to just over 2 pounds before he started this increase and he has gained just about everyday for the last 5 days. Every morning and every night I let him know how proud I am of him for how hard he is fighting through all of this. I can tell he is giving it everything he has.

Addison is so adorable. She has her mothers eyes and I can already tell I am in a lot of trouble. I am not sure how she knows how to look at me the way she does but it is beautiful. She did get officially diagnosed with a heart murmur and it was apparently allowing some blood to get back in her lungs. They have given her some medicine to help close that valve and we'll get those results today. On a recent x-ray it did look like she had some extra fluid in her lungs and she is having a little more trouble breathing right now. The docs have upped her oxygen flow and change a couple other things and that has seemed to help her a bit. Her weight is up to 2 pounds and 10 ounces which keeps her just a touch heavier than her brother right now. I attribute that to him having to work so hard in the womb to hold her in ;)

All I want to do is sit at the hospital all day. I am finding it hard to concentrate as I just want to be close to them. I know Diana is feeling the same way. We had a couple of baby showers over the weekend (which were amazing!) and some of our friends gave us some car seats. It was a bit emotional thinking about the fact that this is what we'll bring them home from the hospital in. In some ways we just want them home and in other ways we know they are where they need to be. Time just seems to be passing slowly at times...

All in all things are great right now. The prayers and support mean so much. We feel so protected and cared for. Thanks for sharing in this with us.

Jason and Diana

ps - I will post some new pics later today or tonight. I also have some video I would like to get up but I need to do a little research and figure out how to do it. I need to edit and figure the best way to upload it here. If you have any knowledge of this... please to send it my way.

pss - Diana and I are both tired ;)

Hard to believe...

Our kiddos are already a week and a day old! Over the past week there have been moments of pure joy, feelings of helplessness, tears and smiles. The emotional rollercoaster has been a bit tougher than we expected. We are so thankful that we have such supportive and encouraging family and friends and the thoughts and prayers of so many. Please know that we appreciate all the e-mails, calls. cards, etc. Our apologies if you haven't heard back from us, days just seem to fly by right now.

Aidan is doing better today. The X-ray of his belly/intestines this morning showed a big improvement. Thanks for the prayers ;) They were also able to get his PIC line in his little arm (this serves as an IV but they dont have to keep moving it around and resticking him all the time as these can stay in for up to 30 days.)

Addison is doing well. She does have a heart murmer which was a bit concerning. She was given and ECHO exam and it showed it was pretty large. They begin givin her medication for that this morning and it sounds like that is already closing up.

Both babies had head ultra sounds (normal test for babies) and showed no blood on their brain. This is a very good thing. They have also gained about an once per day over the last 2 days which is also exciting. They are both about 2 onces shy of their original birth weight but look to be heading in that direction.

The doctors, nurses and other staff at the ICN (Intensive Care Nursery) at WakeMed are amazing!!! We are so grateful for each of them.

We hope you're having a good weekend! Thanks for caring about our family.

with love,

-Jason and Diana (Diana wrote most of this one - then she got tired ;)

Update on the Babies

Aidan is having a little trouble as of yesterday afternoon. After some ex rays and tests the doctors are concerned of a possible bacteria infection in his intestines and have begun treating him in case. I am not gonna go into all the details as to how they have narrowed it down to that but that is where we are. As to how serious... with what this could be, all babies respond differently and there is no "normal" series of events or recovery. Again, more unknown. Did I mention lately how well Diana and I do when things aren't possible for us to simply fix or work to make better. ;)

I would like to ask for some of you prayer time for him. He is a tough little guy but I can tell this has him down a little. I can look in his eyes and tell he is feeling a little weak.

As for Addison, she is doing great today. She looks a bit more attentive and alert with each passing day. She loves to ook at Diana and I and you just get a sense she is smiling. It's so obvious she knows our voices.

Diana and I are doing well. She is tired but holding up. I am not used to being in situations I cannot fix when need be but I am learning more and more that I am not in control. It's funny how we really learn "faith". I feel as though I am in some kind of rapid learning center right now. Things go like this... "you can't do anything... choose to have faith or not." We are fortunate to find strength and to have faith in something bigger than us. Please pray that this continues for us.

I feel like a broken record but thanks to each of you time and time again for your love, prayers, and support. I am hearing stories of more and more people than I could imagine somehow being passed along to this blog. I believe God is using each of you in your own way whether you know it or not. For that I am grateful.

The only other update I have is this - It's amazing how fast and how deeply you fall in love with them. I am amazed.

Love and Peace,

-Jason

More pics

These pics were taken by one of our best friends Rebecca. She is as good as it gets when it comes to photography. Thanks Bec for helping us capture these memories!

Here are some shots of our Daughter Addison:

How about a little wave ;)










And here are some shots of Aidan:









I will give a health update by the end of the night. Please continue to pray for them especially Aidan right now. We are waiting on a call back from the Doctor but he is having to undergo some tests tonight as he is acting a bit unresponsive today among some other things. We noticed it ourselves as we were there. It was really hard to leave the hospital knowing there is nothing we can do. Such a helpless feeling.

We have been told this is the life to expect over the few months with premature babies. Up and down all the time. Please continue to keep Diana and I and our sweet babies in your prayers. We will keep you updated.

Love and Peace,

-Jason and Diana


You can see other pics Rebecca took on her blog here. She is available for weddings, family photos, and the like. You can contact her from her blog and she would love to hear from you.

Here are some pics

Here some pics over the last few days...

Mom and dad just after birth


Diana with Aidan in his little apartment

Diana with little Addison. Nice shades ;)


Me hanging with my little boy

Aidan and dad touching

Aidan sleeping

Diana with Aidan

Diana with Aidan. Look at those little eyes.

Our Daughter

Bright Light!!!

Addison's tiny toes. So amazing!

Aidan rockin the beanie ;)

We hope you enjoy the pics. We are enjoying living them together ;) Our babies are amazing!

Yesterday I got to hold Aidan while Diana held Addison. Something about it just felt right.

Please keep us in your prayers as we do have a long road in front of us. We'll keep the updates coming as well as other pictures. We are now getting ready to go home from the hospital to live in our house for the first time since 13 days ago. We're excited about this but its hard to know we're leaving our babies here. We know they are in good hands and that our God is in control. This makes it a little easier.

Thanks again for all the support!

-Jason and Diana

Great News!

The nurses have told us we can hold Aidan this morning. This is great news as we were told before they were born that it may be as long 3 - 5 weeks before we can hold them.

Sorry for the lack of update over the last 24 - 36 hours as we've been really tired and a little busy. We do have some great pics and I imagine we'll get some in our upcoming visit with Aidan so I will get those up as quickly as I can.

Quick health update as of last night. Addison is still on CPAP but things are going well with it. Aidan hsa been off of the CPAP for a couple days now and is breathing well. We have been told it's not surprising that Addison is still on CPAP... it is more that it's amazing the Aidan doesn't need it this soon. They have both lost 2 - 3 ounces since they have been born but to my understanding this is normal. The nurses did start feeding them some of Dianas milk yesterday and they appear to be digesting it well.

OK - more to come later. We're going to hold our boy!

-Jason and Diana