First Bath

The girls had their first bath at home. It is such a fascinating intellectual experience to watch a human go through their "firsts" and wonder what their brain is wiring to each of the new activities. Did they find it pleasant, scary, new, warm, cold, safe?

Annabelle was first and Charles did a great job being gentle and yet getting Annabelle nice and clean. She was a tough cookie and didn't cry; I think she was more in shock at all of the new sensations. You can tell by her big, open eyes! Like Aunt Gigi said before, they are like little kittens, and even more so when they are down to their birthday suits...just like wet kittens!

I think Annabelle had a good first experience! Especially since Daddy talked so gently to her and let her know she was doing a great job.

Here is Annabelle getting dry in her warmed towel. She was so sweet, calm and happy!

Then mommy had a chance to wash Abigail. She did not hold back as much as Annabelle and let out a few yelps when the water hit her little body.

Doesn't she look so sweet in her pink towel? All happy and clean.

Songs of a new life

Its funny how when you don't go out of the house much and you don't listen to the radio or your iPod, how music will still creep into your life. Or ours at least. I think I have always been one of those people who can relate a song lyric to random things people say and I know my siblings have a habit of this too. Here's a list of songs, some could pass as children's songs, and some definitly not, that we've been stuck on throughout the day as we raise these girls:

1) Oingo Boingo - "It's a Dead Man's Party"
...started singing this song the day I went into labor and I couldn't get it out of my head. Still comes up occasionally for no reason with the lyrics:

"I was struck by lighting
Walkin' down the street
I was hit by something last night in my sleep
It's a dead man's party
Who could ask for more
Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door
Leave your body and soul at the door . . . "

2) From Gigi, the musical performed by Maurice Chevalier - "Thank Heaven for little girls"
...this title is written on many pieces of the girls clothing and whenever I see it, I start to sing it to the girls. Appropriate lyrics:

"Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!
Thank heaven for little girls
they grow up in the most delightful way!
Those little eyes so helpless and appealing
one day will flash and send you crashin' thru the ceilin'
Thank heaven for little girls
thank heaven for them all,
no matter where no matter who
for without them, what would little boys do?"

3)"That's Amore" famously sung by Dean Martin.
...Aunt Gigi started singing this song to Annabelle, I believe because of the lyric "Vita bella..." Perfect song for little girls!

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella"

4) From Disney's Aladdin sung by Robin Williams - "Prince Ali"
...Charles was bored once while I was breastfeeding in the NICU, so he got Pandora radio up on his phone and found a childrens station. This song came on, and not only is the song dangerously addicting, it was one of my favorites in High School and we played the song for our field show in band.

"Prince Ali! Mighty is he!
Ali Ababwa!
Strong as ten regular men, definitely!"

5) Technotronic - "Pump Up The Jam"
... Leave it to Aunt Gigi to bring the 80s into the situation. Everytime I would get out the breast pump, Aunt Gigi would serenade me with this song, and now its the theme song to pumping:

"Pump up the jam
Pump it up
While your feet are stompin'
And the jam is pumpin'
Look at here the crowd is jumpin'
Pump it up a little more
Get the party going on the dance floor."

6) Elvis Presley- "Little Sister"

... I think I picked up the habit of calling Abigail "Little Sister" from my friend Jeanette who calls her daughter this around her older son. But everytime I did, the Elvis tune would follow.

"Little sister, don't you
Little sister, don't you
Little sister, don't you kiss me once or twice
Then say it's very nice
And then you run
Little sister, don't you
Do what your big sister done"

That's all for now! I'm sure there will be more to come.

Pediatrician Appt.

On Tuesday, the pediatrician had us take the girls to his office. It was the girls first outing once they had been home from the hospital on Sunday.

The Dr. wanted to see us because he wanted to make sure the girls were still growing, still gaining weight, and still feeding. And we wanted to see him to ask him about the temperature thing, and to ask him about Annabelle's ferocious dreaming. She dreams so vividly that she literally could be a sleepwalker when she grows up. She growls, and cries, and whimpers, and everything but she is totally asleep. Again, we saw her sleep in the NICU, but we usually always saw the beginning or end of their sleeps and never saw this. We worried that she wouldn't actually be sleeping soundly enough or that she would disturb Abigail.

The good news: Annabelle and Abigail both gained weight and grew longer! Annabelle is now 5 lbs, 6.5 oz and Abigail is now 5 lbs, 7.5 oz! Little Sister weighs more now than Big Sister! They also look great to the doctor; he said that his exit report from the NICU was the most beautiful and simple report ever since the girls had no problems, really. They just needed to eat and grow! Lucky us!

About the temperature: he told us that the temperature might change throughout the day as it does with adults because our bodies go through different phases of activity. He told us to continue to monitor it and let him know if anything was extreme, but that they should begin leveling off and getting used to the environment, and as they gain weight they should be putting on more fat to help regulate the temperature more.  

And the dreaming, the Dr. said, "Well, babies do dream, you know!" I guess we just have an active imagination coming our way.

Another doctor's appointment tomorrow so we'll keep you all posted!

Our House = Hot Box

With the cooling scare on our first night we started brainstorming all the ways we could make our home and their crib exactly like the NICU. We remembered that the NICU always had the heating set to a comfortable 75 degrees. I was always sweating when I went in there. In fact, Charles caught one of the nurses with her head in the surgery room by-pass window one night because she was burning up in there (I guess surgery rooms are always cold...and they have a window where they pass the baby through after a c-section so they can be cleaned off, etc.)

So we decided to turn our heater up to 75 degrees. We left all the windows closed and tried to keep the environment as similar to the NICU as possible. Least to say, when we would visit the NICU we would sweat, but we always had relief. Living in this personal hot box is insane! Trying cooking in a hot box! Try changning diapers and having your hands sweat and not realize that it is your hand sweat making the babies' clothes wet, not the diapers! Ha!

Just when the most beautiful day of the year so far came upon us with the sun shining and the breeze blowing, we are sitting in manufactured hot air. Now, granted the girls are super happy, keeping their temps right where they need to be. So Charles dressed in bermuda shorts and T-shirts, and I dressed in tank tops and skirts with elastic waists (ha!).

The poor dog does not know what to think. I mean Charles had the air conditioning expressly installed for that dog's benefit. He does not handle heat well. But he was a trooper, and just sat in his bed and panted for a few days until we all began to acclimate.

That is, except Charles. He is still miserable.

First Night

I was so glad to be home. I know the hormones make me more emotional too, but I was brought to tears when they were safely inside our house. There is just something about the comfort of your bed, and your toilet, knowing that if you need a towel, you don't have to ask to get one, and if you are hungry, you can go sneaking food in the middle of the night and no one will care!

Beyond that, just knowing that the girls were close, 10 feet away, at all times, just soothed the soul. Daddy could be making dinner while I breastfed, and I could be cleaning while he changed diapers. And we BOTH could be napping when they were napping! These were like little miracles!

The nurses at the NICU kept saying they wanted to "keep" the babies longer so we could get our sleep. I didn't understand that concept because frankly my body would not allow me to sleep because it thought it was breastfeeding. Sure enough, every three hours, my body was screaming to FEED those BABIES! So getting more sleep seemed irrelevant.

However, what we didn't anticipate was that there would be other reasons to be up rather than feeding. The idea that we would be up more, because no one else was watching our babies, and it was just us didn't occur to me! :-) (duh!) Before, in the NICU, we would go back to our home or room and nap and know that they girls were okay. Now that they were home, neither of us could sleep, not being sure that we could hear them if they were upset.

So that first night, we started some shift work. Charles helped me get the girls ready to feed, helped burp and change them, then once they were put down to a nap, he would nap and I would stand watch. Then when they were ready to feed again, I would wake him up we would feed and when we put them down to sleep, I would nap and he would stand watch.

It was a good thing we did that the first night because the girls' temperature dropped really low that first night. They got down to 97 degrees (they should be between 97.9-99). According to all the SIDS stuff, you aren't supposed to have anything in the crib except for a sheet and the babies wrapped up. So that's what we did. Even though the house heater was set to 72 degrees, they got really chilled. I doubled up their clothing, I put two swaddle blankets on them, I fed them. But it didn't work.

Finally Charles said, "we may have to take them back to the NICU." As much as I didn't want that, I knew if we needed to do it, we would. I told him, "let me call the nurses at the NICU and see if they can give us some advice."

Luckily, at 2:30 am we got one of the great nurses who was on the night shift. We told her the situation and she gave us some great advice. "Take all their clothes off and take your shirts off and put them skin-to-skin with you. Then take all your swaddling blankets and put them in the dryer. When they are warmed up, wrap them in the swaddling blankets without clothes and see how they do. Call us in an hour."

Charles was smart enough that he had already thought of the dryer idea while I was on the phone. So I sat in our chair and put them right on my chest and belly (which is like a miniature heater due to all the milk production). Then Charles came around and topped us off with the warm blankets. Within an hour, they were up to 98.2 and 98.3, where they always were at the hospital. I called the nurse back and told her she was brilliant!

All in all, our first night with the girls was amazing, awe inspiring, cozy, scary, and humbling.

They're Home!

As much as we appreciate EVERYTHING that the NICU team and hospital staff has done for the girls, I can't say enough how great it is to be home! As you know, on Friday I camped out at the hospital all day and the girls had a total of 8 feedings in a 24 hr period, 6 on the breast and 1 by bottle and 1 by tube.

The pediatrician came in the next morning and told us that we were ready for our 24-hr stay at the hospital, which would be all day Saturday. We would offer the breast at all feedings and also allow the girls to wake up when they were hungry instead of insisting on a schedule. That meant we had to be a little flexible and allow them a little extra time to wake up between feedings but no more than four hours. They successfully woke up every four hours and had six great feedings!

On Sunday, the pediatrician said that they could go home with us!!! He said that he trusted that we would monitor everything closely and that he trusted us as parents. I guess that was something I was taking for granted but I bet hospital workers have seen some pieces of work take these little precious babies home; it meant alot that they could see we were trustworthy.

After checking in with the hospital staff and signing off our paperwork we packed up the babies and their new belongings (the Napa Valley Adult College had quilted blankets that sat on top of their incubators that became ours, as well as crocetched hats and blankets that the girls wore to keep warm, as well as diapers, pacifiers, nose sucker things...man! it was like a goodie bag!).

Annabelle Lily in pink

Abigail Novella in purple

Then we dressed the girls up in the amazing crocheted clothes you saw from my second shower, done with love by Wendy Daniels. We rolled them down to the "Well Baby" nursery and took their "hospital" shots in the cute outfits. Of course by the time that was all done, it was time to eat again, so we fed them and then finally went home with the girls for the first time.

We videotaped our journey down the corridors, saying goodbye to nurses, and saying hello to the rain. Sunday, of course, was THE rainiest day of the week. But Charles parked under the overhang and got the girls in the car and drove us all, safely, slowly the 1.5 miles home in pouring rain.

Amy, Charles, the girls and the pediatrician

P.S. - Forgive the delay in posting, but taking care of the babies at home, eating, and sleeping was my top priority this week! :-)

Frustration

Ugh!!! When can the girls come home? Every time we ask We are never
given any specifics because I guess it depends on the girls' growth
and we can't predict how they'll do.

But one of the main reasons they aren't home is supposedly because
they aren't "nippling" all their feedings, supposedly because they
aren't waking up to feed. But as soon as we are here, the girls wake
right up becuase we start to change their diaper, take their temp and
uncover them so they arent so warm under the covers. Then as soon as
they hear our voices they start to root. And then they feed for at
least 15 min.

We were noricing that with some nurses, the girls made progress and
were feeding more and we would get more calls to come because they
were awake, but other times, the girls would just be fed through their
tube.

One of the more with-it nurses told us yesterday that she predicted
they'd be home this weekend and said her goodbyes cuz she was off
shift for the week. Then we came in today and another nurse said it
would be five more days. I was so frustrated!!!

So we made a big stink and asked for the pediatrician to meet with us
and tell us what specifically we were looking for, (besides the three
things) for example in determing whether they were awake enough to
feed. Do they need to wake up on their own? If not, can simply
uncovering them work as a wake up device? Does it have to be right at
9:00 pm or can we wait a little longer to see what their schedule is?
Do they need to be crying? In everything we've read, it's not great to
wait until a baby cries to feed them because then they are irritated.
Your supposed to look for earlier cues like rooting, hand flapping,
eyes open, etc.

For example we came at 7:30 tonight and the nurse hadn't called and
when we got there, she said they hadn't moved and were still sleeping.
But Charles looked at Annabelle and saw that she had pulled out her
feeding tube!!! Now is that a sleeping baby? I think she pretty much
told them how it would be working from now on! And then she went on to
feed for a total of 30 minutes.

So I camped out at the hospital today in the guest room and have been
on them like glue to remind the nurses I am here and to make sure they
are giving the girls a proper chance to wake up and eat off the breast/
bottle before they stuff things down their tube...

Soon... Soon... Breathe.... :-)

Open crib

Yesterday, Annabelle and Abigail left their "hot box" and went into an
open crib!!! They monitored their temps for one hour and found that in
their little onsies, they got a little cold. So they dressed them more
warmly. I called them their "snow outfits!" They did well all night
and when we arrived this morning the incubators were gone. One test
passed!

Annabelle

















Abigail

Scheduled vs ad lib feedings

At the beginning of our girls lives we tried to feed them whenever
they woke up (which wasn't often). They call this Ad-Lib type feeding.
And as I've said in earlier posts, we were all clumsy.

Then, to sort of inspire them to eat and to ensure I was making enough
milk, the nurses put us on a schedule. I am breast feeding or pumping
every three hours (3:00 a, 6:00 a, 9:00 a, 12:00 p, 3:00 p, 6:00 p,
9:00 p, 12:00 a). I did that for the last two days I was in the
hospital and the first five days home (thus the lack of blog posts!! I
had to sleep sometime!)

When we went home, we picked the three best daytime feedings the girls
had with us (9:00 a, 3:00 p, and 9:00 p) and have been going to the
hospital at these times to breast feed. Then on the between feedings I
pump, and the nurses put the breast milk down the feeding tube.

In the past two days, in hopes of getting them home, the nurses have
been giving them the breast milk via bottle if they are awake between
feedings. Again, they have to eat all feedings via nipple to come home
either breast OR bottle! Yesterday they ate 9:00a breast, 12:00 p
bottle, 3:00 pm breast, 3:00 pm tube, 6:00 pm bottle, 9:00 pm breast.
We will find out how their night feedings went when we go this morning.

Soon, we will be adding in daytime breast feedings which means I will
be at the hospital longer. (say from 9:00-3:00 p to start, and then
keep adding in feedings until the girls are taking all feedings from
breast/bottle.

The last two days I will stay overnight at the hospital as a guest
(they have a guest room!) and basically feed anytime the girls wake
up. So we are moving back to the Ad Lib type feeding. When we get
there, the girls will be home!!

Amy

Who are they?

Annabelle Lily is curious young girl. She has the most expression filled sleep. She will go from a frown to a smile, to consternation, to a yawn all while in REM. Charles and I say that it is her way of practicing her emotions now so when she gets to express them more fully she will have the facial expressions down. She has the biggest almond shaped eyes and when awake, she is an observer. She looks at everything with great study. If she is this awake when it is time to feed, and if Abigail gets there before her, she will not latch on; Instead she will stare wide-eyed at this creature feeding beside her studying her every feature and position. She rarely makes noises when doing this as the goal is to take in all the information visually. That is not to say that Annabelle is not verbal. She is the more "talkative" of the two. She starts her feeding sessions with gurgles, oinks, grunts, and all kinds of sounds that I love to mimic for her. It is our little game. Once she does this litany of sounds, she usually settles in and begins to feed. Her feeding has improved TONS since we started. She was the more lacksadaisical of the two feeders. She would latch on, and then kind of sit there until a massage of the breast got her a little appetizer, and then she would start sucking. Her feedings would be short-lived as she would oftentimes quickly fall asleep so soundly that no offer of food or body massages would wake her up. Now, she has become more vigorous in her feedings and the distractions are less interesting to her. I had done some pleading with her earlier in the week letting her know I would not be happy to leave her behind another week while her sister got to come home. I think it worked! :-) But this lacksadaisical attitude suits her personality. She is very laid back and on her first day out of the womb, my friend Erica got a classic pictures of her with her arms behind her back and legs sprawled out like she was sunning herself. Everyday is a day at the beach for this beauty. Most nurses say that Annabelle looks most like me, although her features are not as distinct as Abigail's. I see it in her eyes mostly.

When Abigail came out of my stomach one minute after Annabelle, the doctor said, "She's a fighter!" And Abigail has not lived this label down since. Being the second born, and the smaller of the two, she has proved herself just as worthy of a good feeding! Once she got the hang of latching on, she never lets go. She feeds vigorously and continuously most times (no one is perfect!) and leaves with a fuller stomach than her sister most times. She also is very particular with her body when she feeds. She likes to lay her hand over the breast. As she gets closer to end of the feeding the arm slowly slides down and eventually covers her eyes, letting us know she is ready to sleep. She is very sensitive to the florescent lights in the NICU, and generally won't open her eyes when feeding because the position faces her head toward the ceiling. If we cover her head with a towel or our hands she will engage in visual observation much more. Don't be fooled by her strength and stamina in feeding. Once in Daddy's arms, she becomes a big flirt. She will stare into his eyes for hours on end, pursing her lips and flipping her eyelashes. She has the most interesting eyelashes in that they are sectioned into groups that form into a point. They almost look like falsies, they are so beautiful. Abigail likes to form her lips like she is about to give kisses. She will sit there with that facial expression and you can't help but kiss her back. I think she even has a dimple forming on her left cheek. Abigail's look is distinct; every person that comes into the room says she looks "just like her Daddy." I see that she has Daddy's eyes and eye expressions, and Daddy's nose. When Daddy rolls his eyes, he has Abigail's look in them and the two can imitate each other seamlessly. But Abby does have my mouth. I will bring my baby book to the hospital to prove it!

We are so blessed with these girls, and so in love. They are amazing.

Why the NICU?

The girls currently sleep in what I call "hot boxes." They are also known as incubators. They are hooked up to two monitors: heart monitors (EKG) and oxygen sensors. The nurses use these instruments to watch their heart rate making sure they don't drop too low or shows signs of stress. They look at their oxygen levels to make sure they are breathing okay (but luckily no breathing tubes!)

For the first three-four days, the babies and I tried to breast feed but all three of us were clumsy. I guess late-pre-term infants are notorious for their lack of "sucking" technique, their tendancy to fall asleep while feeding, and their lack of stamina. And I was new at this too. I did produce the "liquid gold" colostrum so that the girls could get the anti-bodies they needed in those critical early days. The nurses supplemented with formula to make sure their body weight didn't drop too much. I guess most infants lose their birth weight in the first couple of days until the mother's milk comes in, and within a few weeks, they gain it back again.

After three days and the girls still weren't sucking vigorously enough to amount to much of a feeding, the nurses put in feeding tubes. I was a little upset by this, and disappointed in myself that we couldn't work it out, but when I read the literature and realized that this is classic for their gestational age, I didn't feel so bad.

Out of 8-10 feedings in a 24-hour period, which is a normal feeding schedule, the girls wake up for about four feedings. During the other four when they don't wake up, they are fed through their tube.

Now that they are a week old, I am producing enough milk through pumping that the girls can get their feedings both off the breast and through the tube, made up of pure breast milk! No more formula!

To get out of the NICU and come home, they need to take all their feedings either off the breast or on the bottle (with pumped breast milk) without falling asleep, they need to maintain their body temperature outside the "hot box," and pass the 1-hour car seat test. In this test, they sit in the car seat with the oxygen monitors on to make sure that their airway is not restricted in any way by the strange position or their lack of head control.

When all these tests are passed, the girls will be home!

The Nick-You

Ha! When I read Guinevere's post about the Nick-You, I cracked up. If I did not have some really close friends whose babies were also in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and did not have a paramedic for a husband, I probably would not have known what it was either.

My friend Annette talked to me alot about the NICU. I was very concerned that the twins would be born early (call it mother's instinct :-) and that they would end up in the NICU. Mostly, I was worried that they would have breathing problems, would have low birth weights, or end up with other serious problems. I was also worried about the cost, considering our medical insurance covers 80% of our medical bills and we have to pay the other 20% (what happened to the days of $10.00 co-pays to every appointment under the sun?). Luckily we do have a family out of pocket maximum, but that is still $6,000 for the year. Yikes!

Annette allowed me to see that there are positives to the NICU, however. For example, traditional births have the baby in the hospital room with them with a few tips from nurses here or there. Then in two days they are home and on their own. With a child in the NICU, the nurses give you one-on-one attention in breast-feeding, attending to your baby, changing diapers, taking temperatures, noting differences in skin tone, rashes, etc. She found that it was like she was getting extra lessons in parenting that many parents wish they had.

Not only are our girls healthy as ever with no serious problems in breathing, or low birth weights, etc., we have found the nurses to be just as helpful as Annette described them. We have learned how to tell if a baby takes a whole feeding, how many diapers to expect when they are eating full meals, how to take their temperature, how to note jaundice, and what kind of feeding schedules and options are available. And we have made some excellent friends in the nursing business! How could we go wrong!

Mommy's home

Hey all,

Long time no talk. I wanted to give an update. I was dismissed from the hospital on Thursday, April 1st around 4:30 pm. That day was much harder than I could've imagined.

During the week I was in the hospital, I sent Charles home few nights to see if he could get some sleep. No use in the both of us being grumpy. Guinevere stayed with me in the hospital those nights... Since she is a night owl anyway, it made sense to have someone on the night shift and someone on the day shift. But when Charles came back that first morning away and I asked him if he slept, he said "not much..."

I couldn't understand but he said, "Just wait, it is really hard to be away from all you guys sitting at home alone. I ended up sleeping on the couch watching TV to keep my mind off things."

Well, Charles is a wise man. The day I had to go home and leave those girls at the hospital was soooooo hard. I cried most of the morning, and when I went to visit them in the NICU, I would start crying again. I stayed as long as I possibly could to the last afternoon feeding, but ultimately I had to go home. I eventually was comforted by the fact that we would be required to visit them a couple of times a day for feedings.

Charles took me to the house after picking up my pain meds, and I came home to a clean house, dinner made and fresh flowers in every room. Aunt Gigi makes a hell of a welcome home party! :-) The three of us ate chicken enchiladas, discussed the upcoming schedule of feedings, and off I was to bed.

At 9:00 pm, we headed back to the hospital to do our first "from home" feeding. The girls didn't know any different of course, but for me, it took some getting used to. We had to store all our accessories in the NICU instead of in our large comfortable room. Now we breastfeed in this small little side room. Hey, it's better than being out in the open!

The life lesson learned from this experience is that many times, we have to make hard decisions that, although are tough for us and not in our personal best interest, are ultimately in the best interests of our children. Ahhhh....parenthood... :-) Here we come!

Shower #3

FAMILY SHOWER

Click here for a slideshow of this blessed event!

My bestest friends Erica Martensen and Stephanie Solberg threw a racous party for both Charles and my family and some local friends who hadn't been to other showers. Since I alread had a number of more traditional "showers" Erica and Stephanie wanted this to be more of a "Celebration of Life" for our upcoming little ones, and wanted Charles to be able to share in the fun. So we had a co-ed event filled with talking, eating, drinking, and an all around great time.

We had one "get to know you" game, where people had the names of famous women taped to their back. They could only ask yes or no questions of others in order to guess who the famous woman on their back was. Since we are bringing [brought!] two beautiful girls into the world, Erica and Stephanie thought it would be good to honor the women who had come before them.

A fire toasted cold hands out on the back porch, Mexican food abounded, homemade Tres Leches cake was eaten, drinks were poured, toasts shared, and for the first time a considerable amount of my family got to meet Charles' family. Our wedding was just immediate family members so none of my cousins, aunts, uncles, or friends have ever met Charles brothers, nieces, and nephews.

One of the coolest things was that my uncle Bob took some great pictures of the groups of family members which we will cherish for all time, and we got some great pictures of Charles and I with our wonderful hosts, Stephanie and Tom Solberg. (Erica we missed you!)

Another amazing keepsake was when uncle Michael took video with his new HD camera (which we also got as a shower gift from Monica and Tom Knecht!!!) of people giving their toasts to the new parents.

Our families generously provided the girls with almost a full wardrobe of clothes for every occasion, and we also got a car seat from Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Michael, and our boppy pillows from Aunt Bennie and Uncle Bob, and Target gift certificates from Charles' brothers Dennis and Mark.

Hostess, Erica Martensen surprised me with embroidered slip dresses, an antique store-type find; and Hostess Stephanie Solberg surprised me with hand-knitted hats.

Overall, this event was a blessing, and it served as a Celebration of Life, our families, and my last week at work.

P.S. Sorry it took me so long to get the run-down in writing!!!