The Cobbs Get a Snow Day

Dallas/Fort Worth area got record snowfall yesterday, which meant a snow day for most. Considering that my car wouldn't get up the incline of our driveway this morning, I figured I might as well take the day off, too.

On the back deck. Several inches of snow.

The boys didn't quite know what to make of it.

Not our snowman, but it's a good one.

If you're in the DFW area, enjoy the snow. I doubt this area will see this again soon, if ever.

Double Vision

Eye surgery went off without a hitch. We have a couple of groggy boys with bloodshot eyes, but all went well as far as we can tell. When they came back from surgery, they were seriously zonked, and stayed that way until...well, they're still that way.

Mom tried to give John-Raven something to eat. Still preferring to sleep, he and his brother wouldn't take anything until early afternoon.

Eventually, we got both of them to wake up and eat a little bit, so we were given the go-ahead to take them home. Recovery shouldn't be too bad - they don't need eye patches (although that could have made for some good pirate jokes...fear the Dread Pirate William! Arrrrrgh!). Once their strabismus is fixed, they'll be seeing more clearly and with any luck, will no longer be seeing double. I can't say the same for their parents, though.

Late Holiday Pics and Upcoming Eye Surgery

Yes, we are woefully behind on blog posts. I'll try to get caught up over the next week and promise to be better in the future. (Also know that Amanda does a good job putting up pics on Facebook, so if you're into that, consider adding her as a friend.)

Last post showed John-Raven after his hernia/hydrocele surgery. Shortly thereafter, his dad (me, of course) had a long overdue shoulder surgery (a story for another time), which was no fun for anyone because it meant I couldn't pick the boys up, cook gourmet French dinners, play Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, write the Great American Novel, or help Jack Bauer protect the country from terrorists. It also meant that Amanda had to do some extra work taking care of the boys.

Better late than never, here are some pics from the holiday season '09.

Mom gets some extra help in the kitchen.

Mom does double duty feeding to compensate for one-armed Daddy.

(No, that Christmas tree isn't actually on fire.)

Storytime!

Gigi's gift created quite a buzz. John-Raven looks on in awe, one bumblebee staring at another.

Our ever helpful goddaughter Reese assists William in learning to roll over.

We had some good holiday fun with family this year, complete with a white Christmas and the rather unexpected discovery that William thinks cousin Joey's whoopie cushion is the funniest thing ever.

As you can see, we had a good Christmas, and welcomed the New Year with open arms and the hope that we won't have to spend quite so much time in hospitals and with doctors and whatnot this year. The boys have at least one surgery ahead of them already - this one for their eyes. They have infantile esotropia, which is a form of strabismus. Their eyes cross as they try to process visual information on opposite sides (left eye tries to see stuff on the right side, right eye tries to see stuff on the left).

Many babies start out with some level of strabismus that resolves as their eyes get stronger, but esotropia doesn't go away on its own. It's neurological in nature but it can be fixed - or at least improved - with surgery (or multiple surgeries, as the case may be). So they're scheduled for back-to-back operations at Cook Children's Hospital bright and early the morning of February 4th (that's tomorrow, as I write this). We'll give you an update when we're done.

Determined to be Identical

(Meant to publish this week before last...sorry!)

As narrated by John-Raven...

"On Wednesday, we checked in at Cook's for another surgery. No, not for my shunt (which is still working just fine, thank you very much) but for a hydrocele repair. (I know, all these medical terms confuse me, too. Just remember that 'hydrocele' has nothing to do with 'hydrocephalus'. Hydrocele surgery is basically like hernia surgery. Not a big deal, really.)"

"See, my brother, William, had his hydrocele surgery while still in the NICU, and I guess I got a little jealous, so guess what? I decided I needed a hydrocele repair, too! (Hey, if we're going to be identical twins, let's do it right.) Mom spotted the problem a couple of weeks ago and knew what it was right away. So we scheduled the surgery for Thanksgiving break, and off we went."

"Mom got me up super early. We were on the road by 5am! I didn't mind, though. I was pretty happy all morning, really. I got to see lots of nurses who gave me lots of attention, and I didn't even cry when they took me away from Mom and put me under. See that picture above? That was me in 'Recovery 2'. I was so out of it. I opened my eyes once in a while when I heard a little baby crying a few beds down, but other than that, I didn't really want to wake up for a while."

"Mom tried to wake me up to eat, which was something the nurses and doctors said I had to do before they would let me go home, but I was tired and was more interested in sleeping than eating. By the time 3pm had rolled around, I'd had a breathing treatment, a steroid shot in my IV, and an ounce of milk, and we were headed home! I was pretty sleepy the rest of the day, too. Since I'd been wearing my frog pajamas, Mom nicknamed me her little 'Groggy Froggy'."

"I'm all better now, and fully recovered. And I'm looking real tough, too, with a couple of more surgical scars to match William's. Twin life, yo!"

Things We Love

We LOVE to READ!

Grandpa LOVES to read and sing to John-Raven, and John-Raven LOVES The Hungry Catapillar!

Mommy LOVES to read to William, and William LOVES Mother Goose!
It gets him quiet instantly. :)



The Family LOVES us some Halloween!

Mom and Dad recycled costumes from a few years back....wonder why? I can't think of any reason they didn't come up with new and creative costumes this year. The boys have Halloween shirts and Candy corn socks....Mom LOVES the dollar section at Target!




A few new additions to this year Boo-riarhood Party....other than the 4 new little ones on the street....Black Lights in the Garage! All the kids LOVED dancing in the glowing lights!


Most, but not all, of our beautiufl little girls in the hood. They LOVED the candy and getting to hang out together.

Mini Me's

Little Plummer looking studious in Dad's specs.




John-Raven our little nerd also in Dad's specs.



Mom and Dad got a night out thanks to our very gracious friends, the Chavarrias (also parents of identical twins....girls that are 10 weeks older than the boys). They had 2 extra tickets to see U2 and Muse at the new Cowboy stadium. It was worth the lack of sleep! We were able to make it from our home to our seats in 30 minutes! And the same coming home!

On a new note, we visited the Neurosurgeon this Tuesday. Both boys were had head sono's done. The tech had to switch cameras to get a good picture because their fontanelles are getting very small. It was an uneventful day. The doc said the shunt are working. There is still quite a bit of fluid from what he could tell, but the important part is that the shunts are doing their job. We inquired about helmets since the boys have plagiocephaly (flat spots on the back of their heads). He said he wouldn't if they were his kids, but he did give us names of places and prescriptions to have them done. He said he would leave that decision up to us. We will be doing our research and making a decision soon.

Woo Pig Sooie!

This is for all you Hog fans out there.


John-Raven loved calling the Hogs.....

...while William has on his serious game face.

And yes, mommy did teach us how to call the Hogs.

And we are GREAT at it! I bet they can hear us all the way in Fayetteville!

Thanks Jami and Jason for our Razorback tattoos.