5 Months Old

I can't believe that Brooke and Kamryn are 5 months old today! The time truly is going by so fast. As demanding and challenging as they are, all three of my daughters are the lights of my life!!! Here are a few pictures...

This first one is Hollie feeding Brooke. Hollie helps me out so much! The heavier the girls get, the harder it is for me to carry both of them at the same time, so Hollie is my little helper in the mornings. She'd much rather be writing in her diary or playing with her American Girl Dolls, but she toughs it out and helps me anyway!!! I think she's going to be on Santa's "Good Girl" list this year!!!



This next one is Kamryn. It's obviously her bedtime, and I think I was still bathing Brooke and getting her ready for bed. Well, Kamryn couldn't wait!!!



This next one is Brooke in her exersaucer! Lately, she leans back like she's in a recliner or something. It's so cute.



And this last one is the two of them this morning. These hats were given to us by Sheryl Trost, Jaime's mommy, back when we both found out we were having CDH babies. These hats were my very first baby gift I received for the twins. I couldn't wait to put them on their sweet little heads. And seeing how it was 42 degrees outside this morning, it was the perfect time. How cute are they???



I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. This time last year, I had just learned that I was expecting two miracles, instead of one. I think I was really nervous and really excited all at the same time. I think that Shawn and I both have grown so much since then, and have learned to take each day one day at a time, and live life to its fullest, because you never know what God is going to toss you.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. We will be posting more pictures soon.

Love,
Stephanie

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Halloween Pics!

Okay, so Shawn's fever FINALLY broke late last night. He still has a headache, but I see light at the end of the tunnel!!! Whew! Here are the pictures I promised...

These first few are of Hollie carving the pumpkin. What a fiasco this was... We bought the pumpkin a few days before we carved it, and when we opened it up the night before Halloween, it was all moldy inside. So, we had to rush to the store to get another one. Well, guess what, they were sold out. So, we went to another store, and thankfully, they still had pumpkins. We opened this one up, and it was perfect. I bought this really cool pumpkin carving kit, that is really easy and really no carving at all. You just hammer these colored pegs into the pumpkin and when you put the flickering light in, it lights up the colors. It's really neat and the pictures don't do it justice.

These are of Hollie "gutting" the pumpkin... Actually, this was a staged photo. I got to do the dirty work...









Here's Hollie dressed up in her costume. She was Sharpay from High School Musical. She LOVED her long blonde hair, and wore the wig ALL DAY LONG!!! Brooke kept looking at her like, who are you??? So cute. Here's Hollie all diva'd up!









And we can't forget the babies. They were dressed up as pumpkins. Well, just pumpkin onesies, but hey, they looked adorable. I made sure they were dry, fed and rested before I attempted to take these pictures. Brooke just wouldn't hear of it. She was so cranky, and thought the whole picture taking thing was a not so good idea... Kamryn, needless to say, had a hard time focusing on smiling for the camera... LOL!







So, here's Kamryn...



She's definitely packing on the pounds, and catching up with Brooke.

So, last night, Shawn was at his worst. His temperature was 102, and his cough was so bad, that his chest was in so much pain. I called the doctor on call, and had them call in an antibiotic and cough medicine. Well, that turned into a huge ordeal. The pharmacy that I had them call it into, closed right before I got there. I called the doctor back and had the answering service call the doctor, to have him call the prescription into a 24 hours pharmacy. So, while I was picking up the medicine, my friend Cinnamon took Hollie and her daughter Rylee trick or treating. I was so bummed that I missed walking house to house with Hollie. I've never missed a Halloween with her, but I had to get this medicine for Shawn. He was so miserable. Thank you so much Cinnamon for taking them. I appreciate it so much!!! You're awesome and I owe you one!

That's it for now. Enjoy the pictures. More to come later.

Love,
Stephanie

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I hate the flu!!!

Just a quick post. Please pray for Shawn and the girls. Shawn has the flu pretty bad. We aren't sure if it's the Swine flu or not, b/c his doctor didn't test for that. He said there are too many false positives/negatives, and no matter what, he has the flu. So, he prescribed him some Tamiflu, and he's been on it for 36 hours and his temp is still climbing. I'm hounding him with tylenol and advil, but ugh, this thing is fierce. Please pray that the twins don't get this. For now, they are in the best of spirits, and showing no signs, but we just need those extra prayers right now. Will post Halloween pictures tomorrow.

Much love to all,
Stephanie

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PEACE!!!

So, today I went up to my old work, to pick up my belongings. It was so good to see everyone!!! And they all got a kick out of the babies. One of my friends there, Michelle Collins, made me these beautiful afghans for the twins. As soon as I got home, I had to break them out and put the babies on them right away. So, here are Brooke and Kamryn on their new afghans. Aren't they beautiful??? Michelle, thank you so much! They are so lovely! The girls are going to keep these forever!!!



So, then of course, they decided to show off their bellies. Or maybe Kamryn is trying to show off her scar, and Brooke is copying her. Who knows, but it's so darn cute, I had to snap this picture.



And then, they grabbed hands, and held them like that for quite a long time. They are starting to really bond!!!



And of course, Hollie had to get in on the action, so she put her own "peace" shirt on, and posed with the girls. This one is frame worthy!!!



That's all for today. We're fixing to break out the sweet potatoes again. Wish me luck! LOL!

Love to all!

Stephanie

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Mmmmmm, Sweet Potatoes!!!!

But first things first... Shawn and I took the babies to their 4 month well visit. Drumroll please.... Brooke weighs 18 pounds, and Kamryn is just 5 ounces shy of 14 pounds. They are both growing and developing perfectly. We couldn't be more pleased!!!! They said to go ahead and start introducing solids, which I already have somewhat... But, he said to go ahead and try new flavors, soooooo last night was Sweet Potatoes (Thanks to my friend Tandi, who gave me some - Thanks Tandi!!!). Brooke is a champ. It's hard to get her to open her mouth to put the potatoes in, but once she does, she's quickly learning to swallow the food, instead of spitting it back out. Kamryn, on the other hand, is quick to open her mouth, but once I put the sweet potatoes in, she spits them right back out. But, she smiles the whole time doing it, and thinks it's oh so funny. Below are pics.

Kamryn





Brooke





And look who found their thumb... This is Brooke.



Brooke is soooo close to rolling over front to back. We're going to practice today with the video camera, so I'll be sure to get some footage of that.

That's all for now. More soon!

Love,
Stephanie

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Great!!!!! Hollie has the Swine Flu!!!!

Yep, that's right... I was on my way to take her to meet my sister, brother in law and my niece, so that they could take her to Six Flags, to celebrate my niece's birthday. I noticed something was wrong when Hollie wouldn't eat the donuts I bought her for the ride over there. She wasn't talking much. I kept asking her if she was excited and nervous about the roller coasters, etc... Finally, I felt her head and she was burning up. I pulled over to the closest Walgreens to get some Motrin and a thermometer. Sure enough, she had 101 fever. I immediately gave her the motrin and called my sister to call off the trip. Hollie was so scared that she would disappoint Madelyn and my sister. She didn't want them to be mad at her for cancelling. I told her that she wouldn't have any fun if she went feeling this badly (not realizing yet that she had the swing flu). I decided to go ahead and meet them in the parking lot to give them a hug anyway, b/c I don't see them much. Well, on the way, I get a ticket for running a stop sign. It was more like a stop line, on the feeder road. It was the weirdest place for a stop sign to be, and I realized I ran it right afterwards. And sure enough, flashing lights were behind me in no time. The whole time the officer is talking to me, Brooke is wailing in the backseat (if the car is not in motion, she goes bananas). I thought for sure, this officer would cut me some slack, seeing that I had twins in the back, one crying and a sick 7 year old in the front. But nope, he just said that he knows how I feel, b/c he has a 3 month old at home. REALLY???? YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL??? SHEESH!!!! Sorry, just had to get that out.

Anyway, we see my sister, give quick hugs. I changed the babies, fed them a quick bottle, and we were on our way to the after hours clinic. We timed it just right, b/c we were the first ones there. No waiting AT ALL!!! They did a strep and flu test. No strep, but she tested positive for the Swine Flu. Sssooooooooo, they gave her a prescription for Tamiflu and 3 pharmacies later, we were able to get it filled. Shawn's mom came over to pick up Kamryn and keep her until Hollie is better. I've washed all the babies linens that Hollie has touched, and "lysoled" all their toys, swings, bouncers, etc... Shawn and I are so nervous that they or we will get this. Please pray that Hollie heals quickly, and that Shawn, me and/or the babies do not get this. Hollie is doing really well. I'm keeping the motrin in her and she's busy coloring and watching tv.

That's all for now!

Thank you so much for your prayers. We appreciate it.

Stephanie

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Quick Update, Pics and other exciting news...

It's hard to believe that Brooke and Kamryn are approaching 4 months. They are both doing so well, and have the sweetest personalities. This morning, I decided to break out the high chairs, and try some cereal. Just for funsies! It was so much fun. Brooke was fussy, until I put her in the high chair. Once she was in it, she enjoyed the different view and couldn't wait to see what was coming up next. Kamryn, on the other hand, fussed once she got in the high chair. Once we started the cereal, Brooke just giggled and cooed. Kamryn fussed more. But, she ate better than Brooke did. It was so fun to watch them!!!

My days are constantly busy and filled with bottle feeds, diaper changes, rocking babies, soccer practices, soccer games, bible studies, carpool lanes, homework and more. I love my new job (stay at home mommy)!!! It's everything I could have asked for and so much more. It's challenging and rewarding every single day, so it just doesn't get better than that!!!

Here are some pictures...

This one is of Kamryn a few weeks ago. I can't get over that smile!!!



This is Kamryn doing "tummy time" in the onesie that my step sister gave the girls. I couldn't resist taking this picture. Becki, what do you think???



These next two are Brooke and Kamryn this morning having cereal for the first time. Check out Brooke's face. She was totally getting into this cereal thing...







Also, we are so blessed and excited that Jordan and Claire stopped in Dallas for a quick visit, so that Kamryn could meet Max. Although the visit was short, we had a wonderful visit, and it was so good to swap CDH stories. Jordan and Claire, Max is beautiful, and we are so thankful to know you. Thank you for driving a little out of your way so we could all meet. We know you were pooped from the drive. We're so glad you made it home safely! Below is a picture of Kamryn and Max - Two courageous CDH Survivors!!. So cute!!!



I'm so sorry that our posts are farther and farther apart than they used to be. We are just so busy!!! Like I said earlier, my days are filled with non stop baby/7 year old action. I promise to post more often with pictures, since the girls are close to settling into their daytime routine!!!

One more big announcement... Shawn has decided to go back to school to get his MBA, so when he's not helping me with the babies (which is quite often), he's reading books or writing papers. I'm so proud of him for all the hard work he puts in for our family at work and at home. He's a great daddy, and a wonderful husband. I'm so blessed to be married to such a remarkable man!!!

That's all for now. Much love to everyone!!! More soon!!!

Love,
Stephanie

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