Brooke and Kamryn’s 1st Birthday Party Pics

A year ago, this is where it all started!!! Oh my! I knew my belly was big, but oh myyyy! My mom showed me this picture from her camera the other day, and it brought back so many memories!


And now look! We are celebrating their first birthday! What a year this has been for us. We have been given so many blessings from God, and we are so incredibly thankful for them all. We celebrated their birthday this past Saturday and had a blast. We surrounded the girls with family and friends and had so much fun! The girls both really got into their cake! Once they tasted that icing, it was alllll over!

This year has gone by so fast. The girls are getting so many teeth in, I hurt for them! They are trying to pull up, but haven't gotten the hang of it yet. But, they are always in such happy spirits. Every where I take them, people always tell me what good happy babies they are. I just smile and say to myself, "Yeah, I know"! They bring me happiness and joy each and every day. Below are pics from the party...

Papa and the girls!

Papa and Brooke




My friend Naomi and Cinnamon who have been there by my side this whole year! True friends they are!

Meems!

Mommy and Kamryn

Auntie J and "Aunt" Jackie

Aunt Jackie and Brooke

Auntie J and Kamryn

Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob

Daddy and Brooke about to sing Happy Birthday

Daddy singing Happy Birthday to Brooke

Mommy and Kamryn

Mommy singing Happy Birthday (I didn't think I'd get emotional during this moment, but I did)

Family Pic

Let the fun begin!

Uncle Terry and Kamryn

Party Girl Brooke after cake!

One of my closest friends, Jackie, came in from Houston. She helped me out so much, with the babies, party, everything. I honestly couldn't have pulled this weekend off without her. Jackie, you mean the absolute world to me, and I'm so thankful that God put you in my life 10 years ago. I know we will be lifetime friends! What a blessing you are!

I know I'm awful at posting updates. I'm so busy with them all day long, that by the time I put them to bed, I'm exhausted. I will try to do better!

My heart goes out to all of the current CDH families who are going through what we went through a year ago. I pray for God's will for all of you! CDH will always be a part of our lives!

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about the other CDH families that we got to know so well this time last year. We still pray for your angels and survivors!

With love,

Shawn and Stephanie

Read more...

11 Month Pics!

I know, I'm horrible at keeping this blog up to date. I'm so sorry!!! My life is just crazy right now trying to prepare for Summer, end of school, taking care of two little ones, etc. And the best part is, I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!!! Just a quick update with pictures... The girls have about 6 teeth a piece. Kamryn's been pretty sick with ear infections and some wheezing. We had a few xrays done of her lungs, which turned out to be all clear. But, they did put her on breathing treatments four times a day. Not fun, but she's definitely starting to get better. I think tubes are in her near future though!

They are both crawling (started on Mother's Day). So, they are now mobile and going in opposite directions. They have started to pull up, but haven't been successful quite yet.

They both say Mama, Dada and Baba (bye bye). They are turning 1 on June 17th. It's so hard to believe. This time last year, I was a nervous wreck, dealing with being on bed rest, trying to keep Hollie busy and happy, and of course worrying about Kamryn. The Lord has blessed us so much this year, and we are so incredibly thankful to Him.

Above are pictures that were taken earlier this month from a friend of mine in my MOPs group. I think they turned out so great.

Much love to all! Will post more after their One Year Birthday!

Love, Stephanie

Read more...

Easter Pictures

Hi everyone! I hope and pray that everyone had a fabulous Easter. Ours was very low key, but fun. Below are pictures...

These first two were taken last week of Brooke right after her bath and without me brushing her hair. Check out how much hair she has. I think she actually has some curl in there.

Okay, here are Easter pictures. These dresses actually had matching hats, but Kamryn would have nothing to do with it. And Brooke's just kept falling over her eyes, so I went ahead and removed them. This is over at our neighbor's house, while the bigger kids were hunting easter eggs.

This has become a classic Kamryn smile. She squints her eyes, and crinkles her nose. It's adorable.

Here are the big kiddos, ready to go have their easter egg hunt. Hollie, Brady and Cole.

They had to line up on the curb before they started so that everyone would have a fair shot.

And they're off...

The easter egg hunt was quick, but fun. Angel, thank you so much for letting us come over to hunt eggs. We had fun!

Mimi and Papa came in for the weekend as well. Mom and I went to my cousin's baby shower, while Shawn and Papa took Hollie to her soccer game (she scored two goals by the way). The babies went with my mom and me. They were great and hardly fussed the whole time we were gone. It was a fun day, but tiring.

The babies still have colds. I'll be so glad when this Texas weather turns warm and stays that way. This constant temperature change is keeping them from getting better. I'll be so glad when the girls don't have runny noses any more.

That's about it. Have a fabulous Easter everyone!

Love,

Stephanie

Read more...

9 Months Old! How is that possible???

Well, the girls turned 9 months old on Wednesday. I am just in awe at how fast the time has flown and how beautiful they are. However, I thought caring for a set of twins was hard, but, it's even harder with a broken foot and toe. (fell down two steps) I am having to wear this really heavy boot on my left foot (I swear this thing weighs 100 pounds) and a lovely little shoe on my right foot to support my right toe. Carrying the babies around the house and up and down the stairs is tough to do with this little bump in the road. I have about 4 more weeks of this bliss too!


Anyway, the girls are getting so big, literally. We went to the doctor yesterday for their well visit and Brooke weighs 24 pounds. She's off the chart for height and weight. Kamryn weighs 19 pounds and is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. They called her "average". I think she's anything BUT average.


They are both getting on their hands and knees and want to crawl, but when they look up at me, they just have this look like, now what do we do???


Kamryn has been sick for the last 2-3 weeks. The twins both had a sinus infection, and were put on an antibiotic. Brooke got well pretty quickly. But, Kamryn didn't. I took her back to the doctor and they switched her antibiotic. She had this persistant cough that wouldn't go away. So, I took her back on Sunday morning, and they diagnosed her with mild asthma (not cdh related) and put her on breathing treatments. Her cough still didn't budge. So, yesterday, we took them in for their well visit, and the doctor finally put her on a steroid. Hopefully this work! The good news is, there is only slight wheezing, but no fluid in the lungs.


Yesterday, after the doctor's appointment, I got them home and put them into their high chairs. The doctor said I'm supposed to be feeding them 3 times a day in their high chair now. Can I just tell you how inconvenient that is, especially when you're in a hurry??? I have been feeding them dinner in their high chair, but nothing too challenging. Well, yesterday we tried macaroni and cheese. The pictures below best describe how that went. Brooke was more fascinated that she got to hold her spoon, but Kamryn was not happy with me AT ALL!!!


So, below are a few pics... This was taken this morning. Brooke is always smiling and laughing!






Here's the macaroni experiment! You want me to eat WHAT???

She hates me!

Trying to figure out how to put the mac and cheese on the spoon and then into her mouth!

These were taken just a few days ago. Right before I took them, Brooke clobbered Kamryn in the head with a toy.

Look at those thunder thighs!

Happy Spring everyone!

Love, Stephanie

Read more...

Updated pics

Hi everyone! I know, I'm horrible with updates. But, below are pictures that were taken within the last 3 days. The girls are getting so big. Kamryn was able to sit up before Brooke, but once Brooke saw that, she quickly learned. They aren't crawling or pulling up yet, but I believe it's in their near future. They had their first tug-a-war over a toy the other day. And as cute as I thought it was, I knew that I wouldn't think that way for long. I'm sure they are going to have lots of sisterly "arguments" in their lifetime. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!!!

This one was taken just a minute ago after their nap (which they are now taking together at the same time in their cribs -- FINALLY!!!)


This was taken last night. This was a basketball toy that Gammy got them for Valentine's Day. They LOVE this toy!!!

And here they are on the farm. Mimi got them this for Christmas, and they think this is so great. Lots of things for them to push and pull and make lotsa noise!!!

That's all for now. We're on our way to the doctor for the 2nd go round of H1N1 shots. Yeah!!!

Stephanie

Read more...

7 Month Update and More!

Could they look any more tired??? This was Saturday night, and they had barely had a nap that day. Kamryn can't even hold her poor head up! Will take more in a few days and post them.

I can't believe the girls are 7 months already. The last 7 months of my pregnancy seemed to just drag! It's amazing how fast the time flies once they are here. Brooke's cutting another tooth on top. As soon as they are really visible, I'll take a picture and post it. She's a rolling queen! When I put her on the floor, she just goes and goes. She's also getting on all fours and starting to rock, so she's really getting ready to crawl. Kamryn is rolling too, just not quite as fast yet. But, she's getting there. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but she's certainly working on it. And the best news of all...... THEY ARE SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! We're talking a good 12-13 hours. I'm finally sane again! LOL! Well, sorta!

Last weekend, Candice, Jackson Beal's mom, came in town for a visit. She's the sweetest girl, and she was so gracious and kind, even through all of our every day chaos! We loved having her visit, and Hollie was sad to see her leave. Here are a couple of pictures of her visit.

That same weekend, Jessica Singletary (Parker Reese Foundation), was also in Dallas. We met up for lunch, and it was so fun to finally meet her. Even if the visit was short, I loved visiting with her. Below is a picture...

That's all for now. More soon!

Stef

Read more...

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

Read more...