My Crazy Babies

This is just a taste of a crazy night at my house! Keagan and Riley are crazy girls- crazy cute! I have had many requests to post videos of Keagan walking and this video had Riley in rare form- she is not always this vocal. They are crazy but they are mine! And after viewing this how can you not just adore them?

Baby Steps

All three of us Kikuchi girls have been making progress so I had to report!

Miss Keagan is just walking everywhere! While shes cruisin around the place she almost always has something in her hand and is laughing at herself! Its impossible not to laugh with her!
Miss Riley has made big improvements with her therapy and is finally sitting up on her own! I am thrilled and so proud of both my girls!

And as for me I am occasionally putting bows on the girls a little more then before. Hopefully this will stop the inevitable question I always get "Oh one boy and one girl?" Even when both girls are in head to two pink in their pink stroller?!

And last but not least I finally gave into the serious peer pressure and joined Facebook! I literally have to schedule a shower during the day and you are all a witness of what a great blogger I am so I don't know what I am thinking. But maybe it will make me feel normal for ten minutes a week! Baby steps!

Have You Ever Seen a Cuter Pair of Lady Bugs?

Cutest Pumpkins

Nana made the adorable pumpkin hats- like the ones she made for them in the hospital last year so they are so special to us! She even bought the shirts. Aunt Lisa found the socks at Target of course. All I had to do was get them dressed and TRY to get a good picture!

Happy Halloween 2009! This year was MUCH better then last!

Party Girls!

In Hawaii the first birthday party is a really really big deal. Here in Texas we just had our family and close friends over for some yummy Texas Bar BQ and a really good time. The girls dad was here from Hawaii and brought their Grandma Hudson and Great Grandma Lee. It was so nice to celebrate the amazing year we have had full of miracles!

Keagan waiting for her guests. I LOVE how she peaks out the window!
Riley in her party dress!

The tastey cake!

Decorations!

Let them eat cake!

We let the girls have at their miniature cakes on their actual birthdays- the party was on Saturday. Riley just kept quitely digging while Keagan squealed and wildly flung her hands around. VERY telling about each of their personalities. It was so cute but quite the clean up. Wiping butter cream frosting from the crown molding and out of my babies ears is definitely a one time deal- hopefully!

One Year Ago

One year ago today my EVERYTHING changed. My life changed. Who I am at the very core changed. And my eternity changed. I am unbelievably thankful for it! Today Keagan and Riley turn ONE! It has been the longest, most challenging, most exhausting, and stressful year of my life. But they have brought more joy, happiness, and love into my life then I ever hoped for. And that kind of change is priceless!

I can't say that they are so big. At 14.4 lbs and 18.5 lbs. they are not the biggest one year olds on the block. I can't say they haven't had their challenges. They both were so sick in the beginning-plus so tiny. Keagan had her leaks in her lungs and her heart surgery, and of course Riley still has her serious battle with her heart disease and is developmentally delayed. But there is SO much I can say. Like they are so dang cute! And they are tough girls who fight through their obstacles with a smile. I can say they both love to laugh and make everyone else around them join in and just have the best spirits about them. Most of all I can say I love them inside and out, top to bottom, unconditionally.

To my sweet Keagan on your birthday, I cant believe you are getting to be such a big girl. You are so independent, on the go, busy, curious and smart. I hope that continues to grow- but don't go too far from your momma. Thank you for watching over your sister like you do and for making me laugh so much!

And to my sweet Riley, I love your smile and what you say to me without talking. I am so proud of you for being such a fighter and please continue to fight each day and the Lord will help you as I will and all others who love you. Thank you for being so sweet!

Happy happy birthday to my little angels! I can't believe it came so fast! We are off to ride the carousel and then a big huge cake here we come!!!

Nine Months!

Its amazing to say that my little angels are 9 months old! I can't believe how big they are and how much they continue to change each day. They both still fill my life with so much joy its overwhelming sometimes! They are alot of work but they are beyond worth it.

Right now I am celebrating something much bigger then the girls turning 9 months. At her last Cardiology appointment, Riley and I discovered that all of my hundreds of hours of prayers and many of yours I'm sure (thank you for those) have been answered and her heart has slightly improved! The size of her heart is the same, but the function, or the pump has improved. Her doctors are thrilled and we are beyond elated! Its just a small improvement and she still is under going alot of treatment, but we are so thankful for answered prayers! We are also starting the long process of looking into some developmental delays for Riley. With her heart, her prematurity, and her extremely low birth weight she has alot of cards stacked against her. But the girl is so tough and is strong willed which will always pay off for her. She is also such a happy baby. Wherever we go we get comments about what a happy baby she is- and gorgeous of course! Keagan is a curious crazy little girl who is army crawling all over the place and grabbing everything she sees. She loves to growl and scream at the top of her lungs at any toy she can find. Her favorites being the spring door stopper on the wall or the tv remote control. Every one that knows her says that Keags is just a funny little girl and she makes everyone laugh.

They are both so different but so amazing. I love watching each of their strong little personalities develop and seeing them learn new things all the time. They are still really close and love to be touching or at least near each other. I'm so thankful that they have one another and especially thankful that I have both of them! I can't believe it's been 9 months. Before I know it, their whole first year will be over!

Laughing

Army Crawling

Almost Seven Months!

Almost Seven Months!

On Thursday the girls will be seven months old! Its hard to believe.

Riley came home from the hospital for the first time when she was seven weeks old and I was so thrilled we had made it to that point. That seems like yesterday but yet so much has happened since then. They are both getting big and changing everyday right before my eyes. They just act like such big girls now that it makes me worry that Pre-School is going to come too fast. Keagan is a little ahead of Riley (as to be expected) but even she still has a little catching up to do from being so premature. Keagan is just recently sitting up on her own. She loves to roll all over the place and sits and plays with her toys. Lately Riley has become much more vocal and is constantly really telling me something. I just wish I knew what that something was! They are both still very smiley and such happy great babies.

Two weeks ago Riley was back in the hospital. They were just monitoring a virus as anything can really set her heart over the edge and it is difficult for her to get rid of things. After eleven hours in the Emergency Room before we were admitted and having every possible test in the world including an IV in her scalp, we were happy that we only had to stay one night! It was a little scary as the children's hospital that we go to was where the baby died from the Swine Flu. So Riley was in an isolated room for extra precaution. Also because of that stinky bug we haven't been anywhere but my sisters house and long drives in the car for at least three weeks! Brutal but worth it especially when you have a critically ill one. I think I am going to end that torture soon.

On Mothers Day this past Sunday I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am that the Lord sent me these two precious girls. I am so blessed to be their mom! And even though it is REALLY hard and exhausting work I can't wait to see what the rest of their first year has in store!

The girls today:
After their bath which they love, can you tell?

In their big girl outfits:

In the Texas Bluebonnet fields on Good Friday:

In their Easter dresses. They were just excited for their Easter Baskets which was mostly books, pajamas, teething rings and of course carrot baby food. But the best present he Easter Bunny brought was their Grandma and Great Grandma from Hawaii for a really great 5 day visit!

After a Long Walk

The Girls in Action

Beautiful Blessing Day!

It was such a special day! I literally was in awe at how beautiful my two little girls looked. Their dresses were a gift from my mom before they were born and their pearl bracelets were a gift from Travis and I to them. I plan to expand the bracelets for them to wear on their baptism day and wedding day. Normally I don't do bows, but my mom and sister talked me into it and I am glad that they did.

March's Favorites

It's only the 10th but these are my favorites so far. I'm sure there will be many more.

Cousins are the Best!

They really are the best! We have had SO much fun meeting all our cousins recently. I am SO sad that we didn't get pictures of the girls with our cousin Tyson before we left Hawaii. We need some soon!

February's Favorite Random Pictures

These are just the random pictures from last month that I wanted to include. I promise they don't always just wear their pj's like they are in the pictures and that they have more than this one outfit. I guess they just do really cute things in these ones.

Quick Catch Up

So I guess having twins, moving states, and living at hospitals or doctors offices make you a really bad blogger. I can't say I would change that though. So I am going to TRY and do a little catching up but I'm sure I will leave so many parts out- ALOT has happened in our family recently as you can imagine.

First things first-the girls are AMAZING! About a month ago we had a big cardiology appointment. They confirmed that Keagan's heart is fine and the best news of all is that Riley's left ventricle did shrink a tiny bit. The medicines only have this effect in about 5-10% of kids so all her doctors were thrilled! We were going to the Cardiologist which is about an hour away and several hours of test every other week, but now we have been upgraded to every three. Those days are quite the event to say the least. The poor girl has had so many people poke and prod her for so long that when a nurse even comes near her she eyes them out. But we are SO thankful for the level of care and attention that we are getting at Texas Children's Hospital and love the team of doctors and nurses who treat us like family. It is still a diagnosis that will likely result in a heart transplant at some point- we just don't know when the Lord will have that happen.

This is an exert I sent about a month ago to family in an email (I should have just blogged it). Remember I'm trying to quickly catch up here before a baby wakes up :"They are getting so big and changing everyday. Keagan has recently found her tongue which she likes to stick out ALOT and her thumb which she works SO hard to get in her mouth and is left disappointed once she does because it is so small. She loves to take a bath and to lay next to her sister and hold onto Riley's clothes. Riley has the biggest smile now and still has her grey/blue eyes. She is so curious and observant and very strong especially for how small she is. She still can not survive without her paci and likes to go on walks in her stroller. They have both started rolling over- they did for the first time on the same day within 5 minutes of each other. They may not look alike but they are definitely twins. The other day they were laying together and mimicking each others noises for about 5 mins. They are already developing their own twin language. "

So that was then and this was todays email: "The girls are doing great besides both of them having some stomach issues and Riley and I having pretty bad colds. Even though they are sick they still have such happy infectious personalities and love to smile and talk. That part is SO much fun! They definitely each have their own different personalities which have been obvious for a long time. Riley is still much more serious and loves to stare at things and people to figure them all out. But she has a great big smile that will melt your heart. Keagan is more care free and loves to kick and play. She laughs alot and everyone laughs with her. Their personality difference is so apparent when they take a bath every night- my favorite part of the day. Riley relaxes and looks around and smiles big (my mom calls it a Julia Roberts smile) when you smile at her. And Keagan on the other hand splashes so much that my shirt is sometimes soaking wet. They are amazing!

They are so different but love to be together. They like to just sit and stare at one another and when they are laying down together they have to be touching. One or the other will grab onto the others clothes. That is usually Keagan as she is trying to suck on Riley's hand. She quickly moved from sucking her thumb to sucking her whole hand. It's hilarious! She tries to get her whole fist in there which I got one night in the picture included. They also started eating rice cereal last week. They love it which is no surprise that Travis and I would have babies that are good eaters!"

Well hopefully that covers the main bases. I have such a strong testimony now that the Lord sees both the big picture and guides us accordingly, and that he also takes care of the little things too. I am amazed at how He has the time and that He loves me enough to bless us. Because we have been so blessed. Maybe one of those blessings will be more time to blog but probably not. If it's a choice between showering or blogging the showering is going to win every time!

There Is No Place Like Home

After a blur of endless days and nights, Riley is home. She now weighs 6 hefty pounds. Her medicine is more stable but her heart remains very sick. She will continue to be closely monitored. Emily is immensely relieved to finally (after 2 weeks) be in the same location as both of her girls. She has only slept about 5 hours in the last 3 days (she is convinced she saw Riley twiddle her thumbs!), and now she can actually lay down in a real bed.

Little Riley has a long road ahead, but she has proven over and over to beat the odds. Thank you for your prayers, love and concern.