Visitantes!

We had our first over-night visitors this week who we didn't hold hostage! Meg and Travis came from Greenville and stayed at our casa on their way to DC . . . and we let them get away with only staying one night! We were so excited to be able to introduce them to our sweet boys. It was such fun to visit with them!

After several days of complete melt-downs by everyone (Hatch and me included), we decided the babies needed to take naps . . . so this week, we have been trying to teach the babies to nap. We have had more success some days than others. We try to get them to snooze once in the morning, again in the afternoon, and then take a little nap in the evening. It's quite an experience trying to convince two tiny people that they do, indeed, need to sleep . . . all in all, they are very sweet babies who (like their parents) need their rest!

Hudson has started giggling all of the time! When he is not being very serious, he is quite the charmer with his smile! Will is smiling and talking up a storm, and he loves grabbing things with his hands! (We think this is great that he can see well enough to focus on things dangling down and grasp them!)

We also took Will to the doctor this week, and they are pleased with how his eye looks--each day the hemangioma decreases in size! We are so grateful for that. Please continue to pray for his eye to reduce in size and for God to heal it completely!

This Meg holding Will and Travis holding Hudson (who is clearly ready for a nap!)


Meg with Will (who was desperately trying to tell her something) and Shannon with Hudson


We still have the babies sleeping in the same crib at night. Hatch walked in the other night after they'd been asleep for a while, and he saw them snuggling . . . we love it!


We did a little photo shoot the other day and here are some of their sweet pictures:

Chunky Monkey Hudson Hall


Lounging


Very Serious



Grinning William Jeffrey


Another smirk


Tumbling Will


The boys together (they were not too thrilled with me by this point!)
(Hudson and Will)


Looking up at Daddy


Leaning tower of Baby

Cool Uncle Judah (and pics too)

You may not know about Uncle Judah, so we wanted to tell you a little about him . . . he is kind and compassionate, he is about to have a BIG birthday, and he is very sweet to our boys (not to mention a huge help to us!) After being out of school for several days due to the snow, Uncle Judah put his creative mind to work and made a snowman by putting together massive balls of snow and wheeling them around on a dolly. He did a great job making the eyes, nose, and buttons as well. The boys were really excited to see their first snowman up close! We LOVE Uncle Judah!


Will chillin' with Cousin Kelly before his little surgery


And, his eye has started to decrease in size! Praise the Lord! We need it to get smaller, but progress is great!



And some sweet shots of Hudson

Hud profile

And, this one is my attempt to show Hud's chubby thighs (this one is for you, Ann Long . . . eat your heart out!)

We love FRIDAYS!

We Reppards love Fridays, and this one was especially fun. Here are the reasons why we loved this Friday so much:

1. On Fridays, Daddy comes home and stays home for the weekend and it makes us all very, very happy.

2. Hudson slept from 9:30pm until 8:45am! Insane! And, yes, I checked multiple times to make sure he was still breathing! (Will slept off and on until 8am--not bad for the little hornet!)

3. Hudson and Will's newest bud, Grayson Brock was born! He is so cute and his long legs and toes lend themselves to many future athletic and energetic games with our boys. Although Hud and Will couldn't go and visit him, Mommy and Daddy took turns visiting the baby and driving the Reppard crew around the parking lot (as to not stir up any hunger pangs by staying still!) We love Grayson! See his pictures here.

Here are some pictures from this week:

Look at our cool San Fransisco shirts from Auntie Katie (Will and Hudson)


The boys are playing with more and more of their toys . . . it's very fun!

Here is Hudson laughing at the bee on his bouncey seat

And Little Will is playing with the monkey on the changing table--he gets pumped up when he grabs the monkey!


Some cute shots of Will (whose hemangioma seems to be growing smaller! Praise Jesus! Please keep praying for this and for him to stay healthy (the steriods are suppressing his immune system so we are in hiding for a while) . . . back to the doctor on Thursday!)


And some cute shots of Hudson doing tummy time!


The boys in their Bumbo Seats. This is a conversation I imagined happening between them:


Hudson: "Today, I almost peed on mommy and all over her bed! It was awesome! SO close!"
Will: "That would have been so cool. I spit up all over mom's leg when she wasn't paying attention! Got her! ha!"

Peace from Will

"Ha, Ha, Ha . . . Kid Stuff" . . . from Hudson


We have loved some of the warmer weather, and are SO grateful for our friends who have given us the double jogger! Spring cannot get here soon enough!

Last Saturday's walk to the coffee shop (Hudson and Will)

Long walk with Mommy on Monday! (Will and Hudson)


So Sweet!

Update on Little Will

Thank you so much for praying for Will's little surgery today. We are so grateful to God that everything went very well. Dr. Brown said that Will did very well under anesthesia and she was able to do a total of 10 injections into the lesion. She did 8 across the front of his lid and 2 on the inside of the lid. We were all very pleased that his bleeding was minimal afterwards. She was able to watch his eye throughout the procedure, and she said his retina and inner eye look great. We are so thankful for that! After he came out of the anesthesia, they were feeding him and called us back into recovery. They had warned us that he would be fussy, but we fed him and after he ate, he looked all around and gave us his sweet little smile. Will was such a trooper! He stayed asleep from 5:45ish until they took him back for the surgery this morning, and we were amazed that he didn't start screaming with hunger. We head back to the doctor tomorrow for a follow-up visit, and we will likely see her weekly for a while. We will not know for a week or two if the injections are working to reduce the size of the hemangioma. We are so thankful for your prayers, and we would like to ask you to keep praying for Will and his eye--please pray that Jesus would use the steriods to reduce the size of the hemangioma and that He would heal this growth quickly, and please continue to pray that Will would be able to use his eye and not risk losing his vision. We will keep you posted as we are able. Thanks so much for partnering in prayer with us for our sweet little Will.

Prayers for Little Will

Thank you for praying for our little Will. We wanted to update you on his eye and ask for continued prayer. After receiving a second opinion in person (plus a third and forth opinion over the phone), we decided to go ahead with the steriod injections for Will's eye. His little procedure will be on Tuesday morning (3/10). We have to arrive at the hospital's out-patient surgery center at 6am, and the procedure will begin at 7:30am. Hatch and I will take him in the morning, and we are told we'll be there for 3-4 hours total. Again, our hope is that the steriods will reduce the size of the hemangioma and stop the aggressive growth (but we do not expect it to go away or disappear . . . we will wait for that to happen on its own). We feel great about our doctor, and we are grateful to be in her care. Please pray with us for the following:

• for wisdom and guidance and compassion for the doctors and surgical team caring for Will


• for the details to go well (Will can't eat for 12 hours before the procedure, the steriods are supossed to make him fussy, his eye may bleed from the injection, etc.)



• for no complications and for God to use the steriods to stop the growth and reduce the size of the hemangioma



• for Will to be able to open well and fully use his left eye



• that Will would not lose the vision in his eye and that his sight would develop appropriately



• for peace for Hatch and me (I am more worried than Hatch . . . . I just hate that Will has to be intubated, put under anesthesia, etc., but we know he will be okay and we are grateful for that)

We will keep you posted on things as best we can. Thanks for your prayers!

Tres Meses!

We can hardly believe it, but our boys are already 3 months old! They have grown so much and much to my (tearful) dismay, they are now sleeping in their crib in the nursery. The boys still smile a lot, which we just love, and if you catch them at the right time, they may chat with you or even give you a giggle. Will tries to lift his head (while on his back) in order to move himself around or attempt to convince you to pick him up, and Hudson has started crying tears (which breaks my heart!) Turns out Hudson is like his mom . . . we get cranky when we are hungry, tired, or both! The babies turned 3 months on Monday, which was very fun because we had a snow day with daddy and our new friend Trib Caldwell was born! A great day all around!

Here are the three month comparison pictures . . . unfortunately, these sweet outfits are now retired. ahh!

(Will and Hudson)
2 Months old:
(Hudson and Will)

3 months old
(Hudson and Will)

Some 3 month shots of

Handsome Hudson


And Sweet Baby William



Can you tell that we just LOVE them? :)

Snow Days and Snow Bears! (and update on Will)

The Reppard crew has thoroughly enjoyed the snow here in Richmond! Because of Will's doctor's appointment, we got "snowed in" at Sugie and Bumpa's house with Aunt Katie and Uncle Judah. Even Hatch got a snow day on Monday! We were without power for a while, but we're back in action now . . . Here are some pictures from our adventures in the snow!

Two cold and unhappy bears found lounging in the snow . . . Hudson and William



Shannon with Will and Hatch with Hudson



An Update on Will:


We took Will to the doctor today (Tuesday) for a follow-up visit with the pediatric opthomologist. We all agree that his hemangioma is growing, although not quite as rapidly as before (so that is good). We are scheduling an appointment with another doctor for a second opinion about Will's hemangioma. After this, we will decide if we will move forward with a steriod injection procedure. If we do this, it is likely that we will do it in the next few weeks, but we will not schedule anything until after we have the second opinion. Will will have to be put under anesthesia and put on a breathing tube for the procedure (which will be outpatient at St. Marys). Fortunately, the procedure is short and quick . . . he will only be "under" for about 5 minutes. The benefits of this procedure do outweigh the risks, although there is a small chance it may not work at all. Our goal with the procedure is NOT for the hemangioma to disappear, but to reduce the size of it to a point where we are no longer concerned with it restricting the vision and development in Will's eye. Then we will let "nature take its course" and let it go down on its own over time. We will keep you posted on things, but in the meantime, please pray for Jesus to reduce the size of the hemangioma and heal Will's eye; for wisdom and guidance for the doctors and for Hatch and me as well.


Please also keep praying for our friends, Mary Elizabeth and Meade Stone. Their son, John, is still having seizures and not responding to medication. We join them in praying for complete healing for John. Please pray for endurance and strength for the Stones. Here is the latest update from them.