The Phamily Blog

Because my life will ALWAYS be crazy and exciting...

I had pretty much given up on blogging. It was a therapeutic release for me after the birth of Gabby and it was also a way to keep family and friends updated on what was going on with the Phamily.

Once we settled, I felt like we were a normal, boring family and I didn't have much to contribute anymore so blogging fell on the back burner- especially as I was juggling raising these two crazy kids, being a wife, and going to school!

There has been a lot going on- we stay busy pretty much 24/7 but the most important, blog-worthy news should be awarded to the fact that...

I'm PREGNANT!

With TWINS!

We like to keep it interesting around here, ya know?!

No but seriously- crazy train...I'm on it!

Anyway, I get a ton of questions almost on a daily basis so I'll go ahead and answer what you're probably wondering now:

Yes, this was planned (well, ONE baby was planned!)

No, there were no fertility treatments involved.

No, twins do not run in the family.

Yes, I know I'm going to have my hands full.

We do not know if they are fraternal or identical (they are both girls!) but they are dichorionic/diamniotic meaning they each have their own placenta and their own amniotic sac so most likely, they're fraternal but there's still about a 30% chance they could be identical. We'll check them out when they're born and report back :)

When I went in for my first prenatal appointment back in February to confirm and date the pregnancy, I had a feeling there would be more than one. When Cameron was only a year old, we actually conceived multiples (triplets) but miscarried very early on so I knew there was a chance I was a hyper-ovulator and it could very well happen again. Another hint was the fact that because I have suffered through quite a few miscarriages, my doctor had been monitoring my hormone levels early on and they were very high- which could be an indicator for more than one baby! Nguyen and I talked about wanting twins just a few days before my appointment, never really feeling like it would really happen but...

It did and we are SO excited!

So, that's why I'm back. I want to document this time (I should have started this a few months ago but that's okay.) I'm 23 weeks pregnant as of yesterday and the weeks are FLYING by. In fact, I toured the NICU in a neighboring city (the closest NICU to us) and had my first "Mothering Multiples" class this morning.

My saint of a father has already begun nesting for me since I can hardly walk thanks to the back pain and contractions. My garage is clean and organized and he started painting Gabby's new room this week.

I can't believe this is happening but then again, this is my life so...I guess I can!

I have so much more to write about but I want to spread it out.

Plus, I'm ready to start whining and being all miserable but I probably shouldn't do that on post #1, right?

I'm going out of town for a night so of course...

1:45 PM 3 Comments »

Gabby has to go and get sick.

This happens EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

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Gabby has been acting a little "off" since Tuesday but I assumed she just needed to catch up on sleep. Well, turned out that on Wednesday she spiked a moderate fever and was miserable. I dosed her up with some ibuprofen/tylenol every 4 hours and she responded well. And then this morning she woke up looking a hot mess:
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She had what appeared to be little fever blisters all over her mouth. It looked so painful! I felt awful for her. I proceeded to change her diaper this morning and about fainted at what I saw. My poor girl is covered in these nasty little red bumps.

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I immediately called the doctor even though I was pretty sure it was a viral rash. She will typically develop a rash all over her belly and back shortly after a fever but this rash seemed different. Off to the doctor we went!
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My little lady has been diagnosed with an a-typical form of hand foot and mouth disease. It's viral and just needs to run its course. Her doctor did say that if these little bumps start looking more blistery (filling up with fluid) that we might actually be dealing with a case of chickenpox. Time will tell.
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Despite the nasty rash, she seems to be back to her cheery old self! No fever since midnight last night but we still need to keep her away from others until she's gone 24 hours fever-free. So that means my trusty sidekick doesn't get to go on our girls night away this evening. Bummed :(
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I know she'll be fine though and will have lots of fun with Cam and daddy. Seriously though, why does this always happen? I swear people are going to start thinking I make this crap up which is why I felt compelled to provide photographic eveidence!
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Hopefully this will clear up within a week and she can go back to school on Monday! Stay healthy, friends!

Wordless Wednesday: Cupcakes!

8:34 AM 2 Comments »

It's Signing Time with Gabby and Friends!

5:20 PM 4 Comments »

Today was a day I have been looking forward to for quite some time now. Many of you know how proud I am of my girl and her ability to successfully communicate with us thanks to American Sign Language. We owe a LOT of that to "Signing Time" videos and cd's. They are and have always been Gabby's most favorite thing to watch. We have been watching these videos since Gabby was about 6 months old and can sing every song, word for word as well as sign along with co-founder, Rachel Coleman!

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So you can understand my excitement when I learned Rachel was coming to our hometown to put on a show! I snatched up some VIP tickets immediately!
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Lucky for us, we received an email just a few days ago from the signing time crew inviting us to a special "Story Time With Rachel" for a small donation. Of course I jumped on that oppurtunity as well! Thanks to our good friends, Lisa and Sheridan, we got some front row seats for story time!
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We sat down before Rachel made her appearance and I was just SO sure Gabby was going to lose her cool as soon as she walked in with her orange jacket and blue and orange taped fingers. I was picturing something similar to what you see on T.V. like when the New Kids on the Block performed back in '89 and teenage girls across the world were convulsing and foaming at the mouth...except that didn't really happen with Gabbers. Darn.
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She was definitely aware that this lady was the same chick on the videos but I guess it just wasn't really all that exciting? Still, she listened and watched.
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She checked back on me frequently as if to say "Is this for real?"

Haha! I get it now!

After story time, we had the oppurtunity to "meet and greet" with Rachael. Gabby is still sporting her "Back to school summer cold" and it definitely shows...

We had a nice chunk of time between the story time and the actual show so we decided to hit up Chipotle for some lunch. Gabby tore up some black beans and rice!

Sweet Sheridan

Handsome Joey

Mmmm...Rice!

Because we were so quick to jump on those VIP tickets a few months back, we had yet another oppurtunity to a meet and greet with Rachael before the show. But this time, she had "Hopkins" with her and Gabby was ALL about that green frog.

I seriously had to peel her off of him and she was not so happy with me. She kept shouting at me "AHKINS! AHKINS!"

We did get a little souvenir signed by Rachael which Gabby has read no less than fifty times since we got home.

Soon, the show was getting ready to start and the room was filling up with little signing people. Of course, because this was going to be the really fun and exciting part, Gabby decided it was time to have a nap.

Going...

Going...

Gone!

It was a lot of excitement for one day!

Thankfully, as soon as the theme song came on, Gabby perked up and showed me a little enthusiasm!

She wasn't the only one who partied a like a rockstar...

Although she stayed awake for the remainder of the show, I could tell she was fading fast.

I think overall, Gabby had a GREAT time and I am so glad we had the oppurtunity to meet a woman who has helped so many families bridge the communication gap with their children. A lot of The Sisterhood was there and I know we all felt silly, but there were several misty eyes as that theme song came on for the first time, myself included. I thought to myself "Why am I crying?!" But it makes sense...Without sign language, we would be so very lost. The gift of sign is SUCH an amazing one and one that I will forever be grateful for!

From Gabby's daily communication journal...

8:58 PM 2 Comments »

Everyday, Gabby's teacher writes a little something in a spiral notebook to let me know how Gabby's day was. It's always fun to get home and read what she did during the day but I especially love hearing about how well she is adjusting. I am one proud mama!

8/22 Welcome to school! We are so excited to have Gabby here with us!

8/23 Gabby is such a natural. You would think this was her second year at this school! She loves our activities and joins in for everything. She watches the other kids and does what they do! It's going to be such a fun year!

8/24 Gabby ate seconds on fish and a cantoulope at lunch today. She played on the equipment at recess and climbed the spiral pole with help. We colored our books in small group. Gabby loves to color with markers! We can't wait to see Gabby on Monday!

I knew Gabby was going to have NO problem adjusting to school. She is seriously the most social little butterfly in the whole entire universe. In fact, when I show up to pick her up from school she is usually finishing up her snack and gets furious at the sight of me. I can't decide if it's because I could potentially be cutting her snack short or if she really just doesn't want to go home. I'm guessing it's probably a little of both!

Today, her teachers had a "meeting day" so there was no school. It was probably best because my girl is pretty sick. No fever but she is very congested and breaking my heart with her droopy, watery eyes and nose. Both her and Cameron have been in bed no later than 7:30 every night and Nguyen and I are loving it. We're hoping both of the kiddos are 100% next week. Darn those germs!

Welcome to Preschool!

4:23 PM 4 Comments »

Today was a VERY exciting day in the Phamily house. The littlest had her very first day of preschool and just as I expected, it was the best day of her life. She is on the afternoon schedule so unfortunately, Nguyen and Cameron were already gone for the day once it was finally time to leave. It didn't matter though- we still made a huge production out of it and she loved every second though you probably can't tell from the following pictures!
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We finally got to school and she was ecstatic at the sight of the playground. There was a sign on the door stating they weren't going to open it until exactly 11:30am to allow the teachers to have a break so she got to play for a bit and say hello to all of her class mates as they strolled in.
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excuse the smudge on my camera.

Once we got into the classroom, the teacher had the parents and children do a "scavenger hunt" as a means to get to know the classroom and figure out where everything was. We explored the "library," the bathrooms, the puzzle station, the coloring station, and the big ABC carpet where Gabby would be practicing all of her good listening skills. Once we reached the carpet, the teacher began talking about how they were getting ready to eat lunch and how everyday they were going to make healthy choices. She then asked "Who loves milk?"

GABBY DOES!

Other than being very, VERY chatty on the carpet while the teacher spoke, she did wonderfully! She ate lunch like a champ and washed her hands at least three times while I was there. I left shortly after lunch and returned about an hour and a half later. Apparently she never noticed I had left. She is home now and resting peacefully in front of the T.V. I foresee a very early bedtime tonight!

1st grade!

4:10 PM 2 Comments »

Well, it's official. The sweetest boy in the world is a first grader as of last Monday! I have to admit that I was REALLY looking forward to this day. This summer seemed like it lasted forever.
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Is he not the cutest?

Gabby had to get in on that action too but not to worry...she will have her very own sign to hold tomorrow!

We arrived to school bright and early, eagerly awaiting the opening of the gates so we could rush in and see his new classroom. We ran into some familiar faces along the way. Cameron was SO happy to be back at school. I was slightly nervous because as you can see, the dude is sporting some REALLY hip glasses but sometimes when you're that cool, people might feel the need to pick on you. Turns out, his glasses are the talk of the town and especially amongst the first graders. Everyone wants a pair. No more worries from this mama!

Cameron with his best friend, Sebastian.

We finally made it to Cam's new classroom and found his new desk. He got paired up next to a girl but not just any girl...this is the girl Cameron told us ALL last year that he would be marrying. I bet she digs his glasses.
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Shortly after this picture was taken, the parents were encouraged to leave. I would have stayed all day if they would have let me. Truthfully, first grade has been quite an adjustment for the mama bear. He's in school all day now. He eats lunch there. He plays with the big kids at recess. He is so much more independent.

It definitely is taking some getting used to for Nguyen and I but Cameron seems unfazed which is wonderful. His confidence is beginning to shine through which we couldn't be more thrilled about but at the same time...we're definitely getting a dose of "it goes by way too fast!" He is such a little man now and wanting to do more and more on his own. I love it and hate it all at the same time. :)

Cameron came home from the first day of school and proclaimed that is was the best day of his life! Love that boy!

Well...have you missed me?

2:10 PM 6 Comments »

Here I am! I haven't blogged in a year! WHOA! This is simply inexcusable, I know. And being that I am not taking any classes this semester and as of tomorrow will have TWO children in school, what better time to start up again!
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The truth is, I do love blogging and I love reading other's blogs but I have felt completely swamped with life and am just now starting to feel like I have some time again. That being said, there is so much to catch up on. I plan on backtracking quite a bit over the next few days and hopefully can bring the ole' blog up to speed.
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Speaking of catching up...last night was my ten year high school reunion. I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive and nervous about it but it turned out to be a really lovely evening and I got to catch up with some old friends. And of course, my best girls were all there as well minus Ashley (miss you, friend)...
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Tiff and Julian

Dayna and Cesar

Lauren and Jason

Stacey and Mike

We all had a blast and had the best time catching up. I am already looking forward to the next reunion! I think my husband is too...he might have had a better time than me and to be honest, probably talked to more people than I did!

(for the record, these hats were provided for photography purposes. Nguyen didn't show up to my reunion in whatever kind of hat that is)

It's blurry but cute!

And good lord...how many chins do I have? Oh well...something was obviously funny.

After leaving last night and being reminded of countless wonderful memories, I realized I can't let the memories we're creating now escape me. When I look back on my blog from three years ago, I am so impressed with the documentation of everything we went through. I don't want to stop now. It is my goal to get back into this, not only to keep my family and friends informed, but to have this journal to look back on. There are very important things happening with our family and I can't wait to share them with you again.

Stay tuned!