A Robinson Christmas

It has been an interesting year, and I thought this version of the poem was a little more fun... Merry Christmas everybody!!!

Whit's Promotion to Commander

For those of you who couldn't make it to San Diego for this, but have repeatedly asked for photos or videos - here you go! CAPT Keith Hamilton is the person who administers the oath of office for my new rank. He is my Skipper here at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW). CAPT Mike Williamson is my direct boss and Operations Officer, and helps Kathie put on the two shoulder boards. My mother, Nettie Belle, was on hand to assist with the new hat.

Hope you enjoy!
Cheers,
Whit

Cal's Happy Dance

This is just funny! :-)

Super Naomi!

Just some fun with Kate and Kathie. And of course, Naomi... :-)

Fun with Family and Friends!

This is a fun composite of several people we have had over to the house these last few weeks. I figured I should capture it and put it to music - since it is much more fun that way!

Enjoy! :-)

Road Trip!!!

OK - it took me waaaaaay to long to make and upload a new video, but this one is worth it. Better grab a comfy seat because this one is pretty long. Hey, it took us 10 days on the road to make this happen - so sit back and enjoy!

By the way - the places you see in the movie include:
San Diego,
Solvang (Pea Soup Andersons),
San Rafael (Muir Woods), Sonoma (Kundi, Kenwood and Chateu St. Jean wineries),
Napa (Burgess, Sterling and Cakebread wineries),
Monterey (Naval Post Graduat School, 2009 Concours d'Elegance vintage car weekend),
Cambria (Hearst Castle),
The Reagan Library,
and Long Beach.

The kids were great, and we couldn't have done it without our newest family member Carlyn. Really. Not kidding here... No chance. :-)

Thank you Carlyn for everything - including being a really fun traveling companion!

Enjoy!

P.S. If you are ever in a mini van on the road driving through Big Sur - just pull over to the side of the road and stick a finger down your throat. It will save you the trouble of having to do it the hard way. Ahhhh, memories of the road to Hana... :-P

Kathie's Birthday Video 2006

Well, Kathie had a great birthday on July 10th. She received a manicure, pedicure and facial coupon from her favorite place, plus a Starbucks gift card for her coffee needs... Tried to keep it on the consumable side this year... She needed the pampering - believe me!

I was thinking about this time 3 years ago, when I was deployed to Afghanistan. I had the idea of a multi-national birthday card - so here it is!!! Birthday wishes from Albania, Romania, Great Britain, Canada, Poland and the United States... Enjoy!!! :-)

Happy Birthday Kathie!!! :-)

Memories of Kauai...

I was just going through my computer files and found my FAVORITE video - made by our dear friend Olivia right before I deployed to Afghanistan (March 2006 - February 2007). At my farewell I was presented with this video, which I admit to watching EVERY DAY while sitting in my bunk over in Kabul. I absolutely love it - it truly depicts the amazing life we all shared in Kauai. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Whit

To Our Primary NICU Caregivers - a Heartfelt Thanks

Hello everyone! First of all we wish to thank all of you who have been sending your best wishes and love over these past SIX MONTHS since Caldwell and Naomi were born. Thank you all!

This post is dedicated to a special group of people - the nurses and respiratory therapists who took care of the babies (and the parents) on 12 hour shifts for an astonishing four months while we had babies in the NICU. To show our appreciation for their care and love we hosted a barbeque at our house on Saturday, June 6th. If we could have hosted 1000 parties in their honor it simply wouldn't be enough - because there is no substitute for somebody standing by your side and even giving you a much needed hug when you have just received bad news about your baby. Oh, did I forget to mention that it is because of these heroes that our babies are even here today? That's an important issue that we will NEVER FORGET. So thank you - from the bottom of our overflowing hearts.

It wouldn't be a blog post without a cool video, now would it? Hope you enjoy!!!

Caldwell and Naomi At Home

Things are looking up for Cal & Naomi. Caldwell has been doing extremely well and making strong forward progress with his occupational and physical therapies. Naomi continues to grow and is becoming very flirtatious, especially with the boys... :-)

They are getting along very well, and always enjoy some good snuggle time. Here is the latest video of them just hanging out and enjoying the time together at home. There are also a couple of clips with Mandy, our respiratory therapist and good friend from the NICU.

Thanks to everybody for their support and friendship. Believe me - we truly appreciate every phone call and inquiry - and especially the visits! :-) A very special thank you goes out to all of the Navy Civil Engineer Corps families that have been so supportive to us during this crazy time. Thank you for the meals and care you have taken to assist us as we learn the meaning of the term "overstimulation"... :-)

Caldwell Coming Home!

Well it has been 3 1/2 months since Cal was brought into this world, and today was the day when he could actually experience it! No more fluorescent lights, recycled air and temperature readings... No more bells, alarms and hospital noise. It was time for him to say goodbye to all of the wonderful nurses, doctors, therapists and staff at the UCSD medical center in Hillcrest. They have truly become a part of our extended family, and we will truly miss our early morning and late night visits. Enjoy this video of our little guy coming home!

P.S. The oxygen bottle is expected to remain with him for about a month. Another goal for this family... :-)

Naomi at the Day Spa...

It was wonderful when our friends Caitlin and Mark came over the other day for a visit, and Caitlin and Kathie were able to bathe little Naomi. What a difference from the first time she had a bath! Whit posted this video on Facebook, only to be permanently banned from any future video posts due to the music attached to the video. Something about copyright laws...

Naomi loved the bath and we all got the biggest kick out of watching her go into a sleep coma. Enjoy the video!

Naomi Escapes!!!

Well, the time finally arrived when we could take little Naomi Belle Robinson home with us. She was obviously ready to go, as evidenced when she was attempting to crawl out of her crib. I don't think she will miss the noise and the fluorescent lighting of the NICU, but we have had great success with her being able to sleep without us having to tiptoe around the house.

Her transition has been easier than we expected, however it has been difficult to maintain the contact with all of our friends like usual, since we are in a fragmented sleeping pattern now (Naomi eats every three hours). We are truly grateful to the staff at the UCSD Infant Special Care Unit for all of their knowledge and teaching over the past 11 weeks. It really made this transition much smoother for us. The remaining challenge is to get Naomi's brother Caldwell home as quickly as possible.

Cal has been doing very well and making progress back at the hospital. He is gaining weight, and looking good! He is scheduled for a final (hopefully) hernia surgery next week (week of March 2) and is expected to have a rapid recovery, although it means putting him back on the ventilation equipment for a short period of time. The hernia has been holding him back from making progress on his growth, as it has been providing him with a level of discomfort every waking hour of his days. Hernias are common for premature infants, and Caldwell is not alone in this situation at the NICU. It was actually difficult to lock in a time for the surgery, as there is a waiting list of preemies that are scheduled for the same thing.

So enjoy this video - we were so grateful for the help and support of our nurses and doctors at the UCSD NICU for their assistance in getting Naomi to break free and smell fresh air for the first time!

No animals were harmed in the making of this film.

Together Again

February 2nd, Cal and Naomi met once again after a long separation since December 8th. We found that after all this time, they still remembered one another and Caldwell really enjoyed being with his sister. We still believe that he is plotting and scheming his great revenge to his inadequate space in the cozy womb. Time has been flying by after each and everyday with our little ones.

Naomi has made great strides with her feedings and is planning her great escape to come home with us some time soon. Caldwell continues to grow and is acting more like a baby boy than a patient constantly recovering from his surgeries. We will keep you all updated when we have more free time. As for now we are heading back to the NICU for more cuddling with our little babes.

Naomi's first bath

Naomi enjoyed her bath much more than her big brother. She especially loved the back wash from Daddy. Enjoy!

Bath time for Cal

A little video that Daddy created of Caldwell and his first bath. Just to let you in on a little secret, he is now 6 wks and 1 day old in this video. Oh yes, he is stinky, and he slept the entire night like a fresh little baby boy. Enjoy!

The Naomi And Cal update

I must apologize for the delayed update of our two little bambinos, however Whit and I have been super busy with adjusting to our new schedule.

Since their birth Cal has had two surgeries, a PDA ligation (close the valve that was once connected from his heart to the umbilical cord) and a reservoir that was implanted in his head to remove the cerebral fluid build up on his head due to his ventricles being blocked. We are hopeful that is can resolve itself otherwise he will need a permanent shunt to help drain the fluid from his head. Otherwise out little guy is doing great tolerating his feedings and growing like a weed. He now weighs 3lbs 9 oz. As for our little princess Naomi, she was taken off her feeds the 1st of the year for 10 days due to a concern with her bowels, but now she is good to go and feeding like a rock star! She is now 5 lbs :) They are making great strides in their day to day developments and provide us with endless entertainment.

Life in the NICU has been an experience to say the least and we have been so blessed to have such wonderful doctors and nurses that take care of Naomi and Cal, as well as us too. The warmth of the environment has become our new home and we developed new friendships with fellow parents, babies and the staff. I have to admit that we are going to miss our daily routine with our new friends when it is time for us to all come home. At this point, the Dr's tell us that Naomi should be home in a few weeks and the plan for Cal to come home after their due date (Feb 17). The main focus for them is to become fluent at breathing, sucking, swallowing and maintaining their body temperature. All the things that we take for granted.

Our life has changed drastically and we are learning the new life of being parents of preemie babies. The dream of having a no frills pregnancy and birth of our children is long past. Instead we were given the adventure parent route and we would not change it for the world. We feel very blessed to have two beautiful babies with endearing personalities.