Crose Twins - Mirabel shapes her words

What a miracle! Mirabel was born with a recessed chin, and had a ton of challenges in feeding because she habitually kept her tongue up to the roof of her mouth. She has largely acted as "the silent partner" in her trouble making plans with Morriah... up until today, she's only ever said "Aaaaahhhh!!!" and never really shaped her sounds or used her tongue while vocalizing. This video of her shaping her words is an answer to prayer! - 9.23.09

CT Scan for Mirabel

Yesterday Mirabel had a CT Scan of her brain to determine whether the amount of cerebral spinal fluid in her brain has continued to increase and if the ventricles look under pressure. This is the result that her neurologist sent to me today:

"The scan looks similar to the ultrasounds and to the MRI with more fluid in the vents than usual and more around the brain as well, implying that the system is not under pressure (which is what she looks like too - not under pressure) So keep the appt and see what they say. Thanks for letting me know about the scan."

Sounds good to me! Our appointment with the neurosurgeon (which she is referring to) is on October 12th. They will be able to tell us their expert opinions as to whether or not Mirabel will need a shunt to relieve the excess fluid.

As we've been saying all along, we're just so thankful to God that Mirabel is not suffering any severe symptoms. She seems to be her normal, joyful, playful self! Please continue to pray for her health and that God will make it very clear to the surgeons exactly what Mirabel needs (or DOESN'T need!).

Thanks for your prayers!

Here's a picture of our precious girls - just for fun! : )

Crose Twins - MJ walks and waves

Bravely trusting her balance to a moving "vehicle" is not something MJ is completely comfortable with... but she's getting there!

Crose Twins - MJ makes ME laugh, visits

The girls have a talent for silliness together, and it's so fun to see how they are able to entertain one another!

Crose Twins - MJ balances on own

Although she enjoys the independence and sense of accomplishment from standing and balancing on her own, she PREFERS the security of knowing that she can't fall any further once she's sitting on her baby-bum!

Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Pattern - Draw it to Know it - Neuroanatomy Tutorial

Here's a diagram of the CSF and ventricles... hope this helps!

Mirabel Health Update

Yesterday we went in to Kaiser to see a Neurologist because the ventricles in Mirabel’s brain are larger than usual – which is a sign of excess cerebral-spinal fluid. This could be indication that for some reason the CSF is not draining or being reabsorbed properly. Presently there is no obvious reason why this may be happening – but our next step is to have a consult with the Neurosurgeons and get another MRI.

If things get worse, Mirabel will have to get a shunt (a drainage tube with a valve) put into her brain to relieve the pressure that would otherwise build up.

Thankfully – our prayers were answered because she is not presently showing any of the symptoms of pressure on her brain (always looking down, throwing up, irritability, pain gets worse when laid down), and so the Neurologist is hopeful that a shunt may not be necessary…

Please continue to pray that Mirabel’s head growth will slow down to normal levels – and that she won’t need surgery at all! Hopefully this will just turn out to be a (scary!) “growth spurt.”

Mirabel remains her usual easy-going affable little loving self.

My family appreciates your friendship and support.
-Tim, Jess, Mirabel, Morriah, and Monster

Crose Twins - Mirabel and Purple Cow

We dug up an old purple cow that Daddy gave to Mommy when they were just young dating teens, and offered it to Mirabel.

She immediately started CRACKING UP at the sound that the cow made! Enjoy!

Morriah CRACKS UP!!!

This baby knows no fear! She just laughs in the face of danger.

Best laughter video yet from Morriah!

NO FEAR!

Morriah is actively preparing herself for a career as a stunt-woman... she is just crawlin' and fallin' all over the place:

"No pictures! Get the paparazzi outta here!"

"Aw Shucks, I just KNOW this is going to end up somewhere public that I don't want it..."

She acquired this gnarly indentation by face planting onto the foot of an ottoman... OUCH!

Good luck baby! Stay safe while you're adventuring!

Crose Twins - ME likes blue box

Don't throw away your children's toy boxes, people! The cardboard case is as valuable to them as the thing that came inside it...

Mirabel decided that the blue box was far more fun than anything it contained. What a funny little pirate baby!

Crose Twins - ME and Mirror Talk

What does she think when she looks into the mirror?

"Mirror, mirror, on the floor... who's this cutie I adore? ME!"

But if she notices that it's a cheap bent mirror, she probably thinks "AAAGGGHHH!!! I look like a circus freak?!"

But I think her reaction is positive. She seems to like herself ;-)

Crose Twins - Learning to Share

Twins have to learn how to take turns, share, and not kill each other much earlier in life...

Mirabel has a lot to say about the subject, and Morriah seems to taunt at first - but we're confident they'll get it eventually :-P

Crose Twins - Foot Wrestling

Mirabel was cracking up when we first started this "foot wrestling" and we caught just the tail end of the fun. Still, you can see that she really enjoys it!

Crose Twins - ME's revenge

Morriah has unfortunately learned the power and pleasure of hair pulling - with Mirabel as her usual victim (although she does get her Mom now and again...).

When Daddy set her down at her sister's feet to get her pajamas buttoned - she completely freaked out!

I think she was afraid that Mirabel would exact her revenge... but Mirabel was so pleased by her sister's distress that all she could do was laugh!

So funny!

Crose Twins - Tug o war

The girls both have AMAZING grips. It can be almost impossible to pry certain objects from their hands... well we decided to test their competitive spirits in a friendly game of Tug-O-War. Who do you think will win?!

Crose Twins - ME plays ball

Daddy is so excited because the girls are finally starting to play GAMES! One of the current favorites is "roll back" with the volley and soccer balls. Mirabel (being less mobile) is always a willing participant, but sometimes Morriah prefers to explore rather than play.

Crose Twins - Proof MJ crawls

In no time at all, Morriah has mastered the crawl. She started off moving diagonally, but now can skootch quite efficiently anywhere she wants... and a lot of places we DON'T!

Crose Twins - Half asleep wrestle with Dolly

Mirabel gets SO tired, but she refuses to fall asleep. Well this time I caught her while she was waiving her dolly around. Notice that her eyes are closed the whole time. Semi-conscious for sure!

Crose Twins - Follow the trail

Like a bloodhound, Morriah sniffs out her precious Puffs... and demonstrates her new skill: crawling - to capture and devour her prey.

Crose Twins - Food Art in Tub

Daddy's famous last words before insanity: "Their therapist said it'd be GOOD for them!!!"

Food play is just GROSS... but at least we were smart enough to do it in the tub!

Crose Twins - Babies vs Carrots

Morriah and Mirabel love trying new foods! Since they've already had carrot frappe, we figured they could handle a round of baby carrots... while Mirabel holds on tenaciously, Morriah apparently loses her cool.

Crose Twins - M and M laugh at mom

Mirabel and Morriah were in an especially delightful mood. Nothing makes the twins laugh more than watching their Mommy shake her hair!

So . . . Tim and I have this idea that we want to try to post the babies' milestones as they happen. We're going to give this a try and see how it works out - so check back frequently to see how and what the girls are doing! : )



Yesterday (09-09-09), Morriah and I were sitting together in the recliner. I was giving her "butterfly kisses" on her cheek. After a minute of that, she pulled her face down so that her eyelashes were touching my cheek and she blinked to give me "butterfly kisses" back!! SO PRECIOUS!!



Today (09-10-09) I noticed that Mirabel has cut both of her top two front teeth! Hooray! She was having trouble eating last week and now we know why. : ) Congrats on the breakthrough (pun intended!), Mirabel!