Happy 8th Birthday Holliebear!!!

So, today is Hollie's birthday! She went to bed last night with the biggest smile on her face. She was just so excited about turning 8. Today, we went to Toys R Us to get a few gifts for her, and then to Celebrity Bakery for a cookie and a cake. Then, it was back home to light the candles on her cake and blow them out. Brooke and Kamryn hadn't seen anything like this before, so they were pretty intrigued by the whole thing. Brooke hadn't had a nap all day hardly, so she's in the zone. Kamryn just woke up, so she's well... in the zone... Below are pictures.











So, after the babies ate, we had to put them in their jammies. I pulled Brooke's shirt over her head and left it there, and oh my goodness, she looked like a little chiquita banana girl. Hollie and I were laughing so hard. We had to take her picture.



So, of course we had to do the same thing with Kamryn! Check out the drool machine!



Other big news for Brooke is, she has her two bottom teeth! Yeah! So, now she can bite the spoon when I feed her! Pretty cute!

Hollie's official birthday party is in a few weeks with all of her friends, so we'll be sure to take lots of pictures then too. AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Love to all!

Stef

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Christmas Pics and update

Wow, this Christmas came and went so fast. We have so much to reflect on and be thankful for! Tomorrow marks the anniversary date of when Kamryn was diagnosed with CDH. I was only 13 weeks, and my joy of expecting twins, turned from joy and excitement to worry and tension!!! This Christmas season, I really took the time to look back at this last year, and thank God repeatedly for all the many blessings he has given our family. Shawn and I still can't believe that we have 3 daughters. I told my mom the other day that I will start believing that I have 3 girls when the twins start asking me for things. "Mommy, can I have...", "Mommy, I really need a...". LOL But, I know that when that starts happening, and when Hollie is a pre-teen, as frustrating and worrisome as it will be, I will enjoy every second of it. At least, I will try to... But, for now, here is an update. Brooke is rolling over both ways completely! Kamryn's still working on it. She's so close to rolling over back to front though. Brooke loves to stick her tongue out and spit. She thinks it's hilarious. And frankly, so do we. Kamryn giggles when you tickle her, and it's the cutest laugh ever. Hollie is growing taller and testing my patience every day, but she is still delightful as always!

Below are some pictures taken over the holidays...

These are my 3 girls. The lights of my life!

Hollie...


Kamryn


Brooke


Here is a picture of the keyboard that Santa brought Hollie. She LOVES it. She wants to start taking piano lessons in the Spring.



Kamryn in exersaucer at Gammy's...


Hollie and Maya



Maya and Kamryn



Hollie presents






Hollie and Daddy being silly as always!



Shawn's only gift. Uncle Bob played a mean trick on Shawn this year, and put all of Shawn's gifts in his own pile. The gifts he gave to Shawn, he labeled it to Uncle Bob, From Shawn. They are always pulling pranks on each other at Christmas time. It's fun!



Mimi and Papa came to visit us the day after Christmas. Shawn made an amazing dinner of Chicken Fried Steak, but it was venison (he shot bambi this hunting season). It was surprisingly delicious!!! I don't think we spoke the entire meal, b/c everyone was devouring in the awesome dinner!!! My hubby can cook!!! Here is Papa reading to Brooke and Kamryn. Kamryn is falling asleep in his arms. So sweet!



These last few are of the girls last night. You can tell by the last picture that we are all pooped!!!


I can't help but sing "Let's get physical..." by Olivia Newton John when I see this picture.


That is a full jar of sweet potatoes (her absolute favorite) in front of her. I can't believe she fell asleep while eating. I was feeding Brooke about two spoonfuls, and turned to Kamryn and she was out like a light. So darn cute!


We are all sick with colds and congestion, and are looking forward to the sniffly and runny noses to go away!

It blows me away that the twins are 6 1/2 months old already and Hollie is turning 8 on Saturday! I guess this means that I'm getting older too. Ugh!!!! 2009 has been a year of celebration for us, and we are truly thankful to God for our entire family and friends.

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Thanksgiving update and pics

This Thanksgiving flew by!!! I was really looking forward to Hollie being home for a week, and it just went by so fast, even I was upset when she went back to school this morning. Here are a few pictures and videos. But, let me first say that Brooke is turning over from back to front (she did this for the first time the night before Thanksgiving). And Hollie lost her two front teeth!!! Here are the pics of our family on Thanksgiving... First the videos... This one is Kamryn partying it up in her exersaucer. She's really talking!!!



Here is Brooke rolling over from back to front. She did this for the first time in her crib the night before Thanksgiving. So, this is the morning after. I didn't think she was going to do it, so I moved over to Kamryn, and right as I did that, she rolled over. I caught it though. Oh and I think the camera adds 10 lbs.



Here are pictures from Thanksgiving with Shawn's family... These are Shawn's Grandmother GG (Great Grand) with Brooke and Kamryn.





And here is Aunt Judy and GG holding the twins. GG is holding Kamryn and Kamryn ended up falling asleep in her arms. So sweet!!!



Then, on Friday morning, we drove to Austin. This was the twins first road trip, and I have to say they did great. My mom was gracious enough to get us a hotel room. She also rented exersaucers, high chairs and an extra pack and play for the hotel room. It worked out perfectly, and we are so thankful!!!

Here's Uncle Terry (my sisters husband) with Kamryn.



And my sister with Brooke...



My step dad went to the nursing home to pick up my grandparents (Nana and Grandpa). This was their first time to see the babies. As soon as they were inside, I got the kids together for several pictures. I've never seen my grandmother so happy!!!









And here is Brooke and Shawn watching football together.



And last, but certainly not least, Hollie lost her two front teeth!!! I'm pretty sure that's all she wants for Christmas... These were taken this morning, as she lost the second one in the middle of the night. She was so excited!!!





We truly hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We loved seeing our family and look forward to Christmas when we can see everyone again.

Much love,
Stephanie

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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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