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!!! :-)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
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
Cheers,
Whit
Sunday, June 7, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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"... :-)
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"... :-)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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... :-)
P.S. The oxygen bottle is expected to remain with him for about a month. Another goal for this family... :-)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
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 loved the bath and we all got the biggest kick out of watching her go into a sleep coma. Enjoy the video!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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.
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.
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