Matthew's Birthday Pics

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Please don't fall over

Yes, I know you can't believe that I am finally updating the blog. What is the special occasion you may ask? I figured people would want to know how the death of Michael Jackson has impacted our family. Or, perhaps you want something else to read about if you are like us and are sick of hearing about it :-)

But, seriously, it has been a busy few months. For those who have not heard, I resigned my position with the school district and will be working from home. I have started a company that specializes in smocked clothing for children and am also getting ready to launch another website. I will be purchasing a professional grade embroidery machine that will allow me to do appliques and monograms. I have been accepted to several Jr. League Holiday Fairs throughout the South and Brent and I will be traveling on Oct and Nov selling smocked dresses and monogramming. I also have some events coming up at the local mall and at some consignment sales. We are praying it will be a success. My website is still not finished but it is www.smockadotkids.com my second site will open in August www.preppyandpersonalized.com. So, you can see why I haven't had time to update everyone!

We went to Florida for the Fourth of July to visit with Nana and Grampie Turner and the aunts, uncles and cousins. Yes, I am over the shock of Nana and Grampie taking off to Florida for the Summer. It was a quick transition from working full time with them downstairs to staying at home alone. But, as I type this, Matthew is asleep and Ana Kate is chewing on a toy.

Both kiddos are doing well. Matthew crawls backward quite well and Anna Kate is getting there. Matthew's helmet came off after only 2 months. We are thankful for the great results! He went for his first haircut a few weeks ago.

I promise to try to be better about updates. I am posting a few beach pictures we took last weekend and will post more photos soon. Please pray for work for Brent, that my business ventures will be successful and that the kids will continue to meet their developmental milestones.

Much love-
Wendy, Brent, Matthew and Anna Kate

Much Needed Update

Hello everyon. I am going to try to post some new pictures ASAP. All is well in Turner Land. Before I forget, please consider sponsoring our family for this Saturday's March for Babies. We have set a goal of $250. We have had one donation so far. Because I am not a computer wiz-the banner on the blog says something like "help support my friend"-but those contributions go to our family team of Matthew, Anna Kate, Mom, Dad, Nana and Grampy Turner and some of their friends and the Baker's from our church. So, please consider if you would be interested in making a donation.

Our trip to Massachusetts went well. The kids did great on the flight and although it was a busy time at home-they did great. They were happy to be at Nanny's suprprise 90th birthday pary. With the exception of a dead battery when we returned to Charlotte-it was an uneventful trip.

Mattew got his helmet on Monday. By Saturday he will be wearing it 23hours per day. So far, it hasn't seemed to bother him. Both kids did well at their second NICU follow up visit. They are on track developmentally for their adjusted age. We do need to work on rolling over-but they are doing well besides that. They do very well in their exercausers and are growing and changing everyday. Matthew seems to be developing faster with speech and Anna Kate has better muscle control and strength. It is interesting to see how they are changing and developing differently. Overall, Matthew's personality continues to be more laid back and Anna Kate is a little more high strung. Just like their Mom and Dad :-).

Helmet . . .here we come!

We took both kids to be evaluated last Tuesday. Matthew will be getting a band (Helmet) in the next few weeks. Hopefully it will help round out his head so his ears align. I will try to add more info and pictures once we get the helmet.

We are flying to MA tomorrow morning to see my family. I have had a cold all week and the kids have now come down with it. We are driving to Charlotte in the morning and flying to Boston around 11:00. Please pray that the kids do well on the plane. We will be returning Thursday.

Appointment next Tuesday

Matthew has an appointment next Tueday at Orthopedic Services to have his head shape evaluated. They will determine if they want to start the banding (helmet) process right away, or give it some more time. Anna Kate's head had been a little misshapen-but hers is much better.

This week is going to be spent getting ready to travel to Massachusetts. We will be leaving next Saturday. I am sure it will be an adventure!

I was just thinking that it was a year ago this week that we found out we were expecting triplets. Our family has experienced many emotions this past year. We are thankful for the two wonderful children he has given us to raise on earth and our precious son we will get to see again in heaven. Many of you have been here to support us during this past year and we truly appreciate it. I will try to take some photos this week to post!

Sponsor our Walk

Our family of four (and anyone else who wants to join us) will be participating in the March of Dimes fundraising walk at the end of April. Our family goal is to raise $250. Brent and I decided this would be a great thing to do as a family each year. We can walk not only in memory of Andrew, but also in celebration of the two beautiful children we still have with us.

If you would like to sponsor our team, you can go to www.marchforbabies.com/scturnertwins or click on the banner at the top of the blog.

I haven't made the page look all "pretty" yet, but it will serve the purpose.

We take Matthew back to have his head checked this Tuesday. We will probably end up going for a scan to have a helmet made. Please pray that it will be covered by insurance. I will try to post later in the week to let everyone know of the outcome!

Getting Bigger Every Day

The kids had their well-check this week. Although they are seven months now-this was their 6month check up. The doctor was very pleased with their progress. Anna Kate was 13lbs 5 oz and Matthew was 15lb 50z. Both kids can now roll from their stomach to their back and are drooling like crazy! Anna Kate had decided she likes to suck on her hand. Just this morning Grampy said he woke up to hear her sucking away! Both kids have a great disposition and literally wake up smiling! I hope to be able to post some of the Easter photos we had taken in the next week or so.

A busy month

Wow-I didn't realize it has been a month since our last post. We have been very busy! The kids had a visit from their Aunt Beth and some of their cousins over the Presidents' Day weekend. Sadly, I had to fly to Massachusetts for a funeral. It was a quick trip, but I was glad Beth was here as an extra set of hands while I was gone. When I got home, Matthew wasn't acting like himself and we ended up at the doctor. His fever was just under 102, but the doctor said it was viral. It turned into a lot of congestion and coughing which was quickly passed on to Anna Kate.

Both kids started feeling better just in time for our mini-snow storm. We got about 2 inches of snow last weekend. But, before the snow started, we lost power last Sunday. So, Brent hooked up the generator and we used electric heaters in the bed rooms. "Camping" inside might have been fun if Anna Kate didn't scream all night. Monday morning school was cancelled and the doctor's office didn't open until noon. When we got there, we found what I had expected-she has her first ear infection. She finally seems to be feeling better-so we are thankful for that!

Nana has been good about taking some pictures-so they are all thanks to her!

New pictures

Wow-it has been a while since I have posted. But-it has been on my to do list every day. The best we can guess, Anna Kate is 11lbs and Matthew is 13lbs. At night, she is still on a 3 hour schedule most of the time. But, will sometimes go 4-5 hours (on a few occasions). Matthew is sleeping 6-10 hours at night, which is wonderful! The pictures I posted were taken at JCPenny. I am hoping to do Easter Pictures in a few months.

I am adjusting well to having three jobs! :-) We couldn't do it without Nana and Grampie downstairs. Both the kids are expressive and give us lots of smiles and noises. They are doing great with head control and like to lay on their play mat and play with the toys that hang above them. Sadly, Anna Kate seems to enjoy the TV a little too much. I heard her screaming the other day only to find that Brent had turned off the TV. I guess she likes the colors!

Another ex-preemie in need

A few months back I met a mom of twins who were born at 24 weeks. This is an amazing family! Chasity is mom to Isabella and Landon. The twins are two and everyday is exciting in their house! Chasity is a single mom and recently they found that Isabella has cancer in her liver. She is on a waiting list for a liver transplant. Thankfully, they have good insurance-but there will be lots of other costs involved. Chasity will be out of work for quite a while and she will have to pay for full-time care for Landon who also has special health needs. They have recently set up a donation site and donations are tax deductible. I have included a link to their fundraising site-she just got it up and running today! As you pray for our kids, please pray for their family too!

A Good Report

Both kids did well at their 4 month checkup. Matthew is doing so well in the growth department, that he is just about off the preemie growth charts. We are very happy about that. Matthew weighs 12lb7 oz and Anna Kate weighs 10lbs4oz. Matthew's cardiologist appointment went well. he was very pleased with Matthew's growth. The Dr. had gotten a call from his therapist that she thought his legs were swollen. That would not have been good news. In fact, the doctor said he was expecting to have to send us to Charleston the next day. But, when he saw him, he said he was just fat! :-) We will go back to see him next month.

A Busy Week

Last week was full of adventure! Our NICU follow up appointment went well on Tuesday. Both kids are on track developmentally for their adjusted age. Matthew's head shape is something we are going to watch. Brent says he has a permanent sun shade built in because of his forehead. The physical therapist said she thinks we can fix it with positioning. We will go back in a month to check it. They won't see the nurse practitioner again for three months. They gave us information regarding their percentiles. They use a regular growth chart, (not preemie), but base it on their adjusted age. They said the percentile they really watch is head circumference because that is an indicator of brain growth. Here are the stats:
Matthew Anna Kate

Weight 12lbs 1.25 oz-60th%ile 9lb 11.75 oz-30th%ile


Length 22.25 inches-50th%ile 21.25 inches-25th%ile


Head Cir 16.5 inches-95%ile 15.34inches-90th%ile


I started back to work on Wednesday. It was a good week back and great to see all the people I work with and the parents. However, we lost power Wednesday while I was at work due to high winds. We didn't get power back until Thursday evening. So, we used the generator to heat the basement and huddled up down there. As you can see by one of the pictures-the kids kept each other warm!

We are all looking forward to a visit from Grammy Morrow this week. She will be coming on Thursday and will leave on Monday.

I am constantly encouraged and touched by the people I meet who have been praying for us and the kids. This week at work, I got a beautiful card in my box from a group called Moms in Touch. It said they had been praying for me and would continue to do so and welcomed me back to Buena Vista. I have also been in contact with a teacher at another school whose church group has been praying for us and has put together a basket of items. This mom has a particular connection to us as she has BBG triplets and her daughter's name is Anna Kate. I got her email on Friday afternoon and it was a great end to a hectic week.

Both kids seem to have a cold and aren't quite themselves. Nanny and Grampy (aka The Downstairs Daycare) will be taking them to the doctor tomorrow for their scheduled checkup. Matthew will also be going back to the cardiologist on Tuesday for a follow up. The lacix doesn't seem to be working quite as well-so we are going to check to be sure the holes haven't gotten any larger.

We had the kids evaluated by an occupational therapist last week as well. She didn't see any real areas of concern, but is going to be working with them 30min each every week. Like she said, they are supposed to "magically catch up" to their actual age by the time they are two. So, anything we can do to help would be good.

My new realistic goal is to post once per week :-). So, we'll see if that works out!

A New Year and a New Blog

I am glad you have found our new blog. It was such a blessing to have everyone follow the other blog during the last year. I can't believe how Matthew and Anna Kate are growing. On Tuesday, they will go to the NICU follow up clinic for their first appointment. They both seem to be doing really well. We had someone come to the house to take some pictures. I can't wait till I can take them to a photo studio!

We had a quiet Christmas. Brent's sister, Brenda, and her family stayed here one night on their way home to Florida from Maine. Then Brent's parents went with them to spend some time in Florida. They are coming home tomorrow and I know the kids miss Nana and Grampy!

I will be going back to work on Jan 7th. The kids will stay with Brent or his parents. I am thankful that my job allows me to get home at a good hour and that I have Spring Vacation to look forward to!

I am not sure how frequently I will be able to post-but I will try for once a week!