Precious Babies

Each of us seem to be a little saddened in the wake of what occurred on Friday. I can not begin to imagine the pain the families and that community are feeling at this time. Like so many of the rest of you, I'm taking my time to hug my babies a little tighter each chance I get and tell them I LOVE YOU excessively. And in the midst of that horrendous event, one of my life long friends and her family lost their house to a fire early last week. Thankfully each of them is safe and had no harm done to them. Unfortunately they lost everything. Please say a prayer for The Babel Family that they may continue to follow God's plan and have faith that with God's love and strength they can overcome their present situation. I am honored that they are my friends, for they have shown such strength, compassion and hope in moving forward.

Now on to HAPPY thoughts...

First and foremost...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!!! Our dear friend and fellow preemie turns 7 today. She is an amazing and beautiful child. We love you big girl!

My precious babies are getting so large, literally! Bella and Alex each had their 4 year and month check-ups this past week. Our micro-preemie, weighing in at 1lb 11oz at 24 weeks of gestation, is now in the 95 percentile for height and weight. I cannot believe how tall she is...here's to hoping she continues to have her Nanas height. All is healthy with our big girl! Alex is also measuring large...17lbs and 25.5 inches. I love this chunky little guy. So many rolls it is awesome! He on the other hand had to be taken back to the doctor this morning. He has a mild case of RSV. He has battled with nasal congestion from his first week. Saline and the suction might as well be his favorite toys to play with; however, he screams bloody murder at the mere sight of them. Even with all of the Purell and Lysol, he still managed to get RSV. Fortunately it is mild and low dosage breathing treatments are all he needs at the current time. Say a little prayer that he recovers quickly and it does not develop into anything more severe.

We hope you all are enjoying the holiday season the best you can. Peace of the Lord be with you and may the Christmas spirit fill your heart.

Birthday Celebration

 My first prunes

 Having Fun with our Tablets

 Opening Bday Presents from my Godmommy & Abby

 Dance Time with Daddy

HAPPY #4 BELLA BABY

Four years ago today God blessed us with a special little girl. She has forever changed our lives in more ways than we could have ever expected. She is precious, funny, intelligent, active, tricky, independent and nothing less than a miracle.

As soon as I woke up this morning I climbed into bed to snuggle with her for a brief few minutes before her inevitable morning tour of the house investigating everything, telling her brother what to do and then heading into her new toy...a trampoline! Each of us sang her HAPPY BIRTHDAY and then she received phone calls from each of her grandparents followed by many texts before the clock struck 8am. This is one loved child.

We love all of our blog family and are so fortunate to have had you in our lives 4 years ago reading and praying with us (and continuing to follow our families journey). Our little girl has overcome so many hurdles and is an amazing little person. She is living proof that any obstacle a micro-preemie might be labeled with can be squashed like a bug.

What she went through those early months will forever be a part of who we are and has forever changed our mission in life. For the first time last night I started to explain to her what happened. This morning while talking to Nana and Papi she started to talk about what we discussed last night. The girl is like a sponge! Hopefully I can do justice to explaining the joyous miracle she is and the respect that all of our extended family in Virginia deserves. She definitely talks about Colleen, Kam, Sherry and Lauren/Abby quite often (mostly because we just saw them). Now we just need to keep expanding on the story we tell her when she looks at her photos and all the photos of the great people that took care of her.

The birthday girl gets WHATEVER she wants today, now that she is at an age where she really understands and can voice what she wants. This morning we got to watch the cartoons she wanted. Daddy took her to breakfast at our normal weekend pancake/taco place. I'm leaving work early to get her separate from her brothers to take her out on her own for a little bit. Then she gets to decide what we have for dinner. On Saturday she gets to go ice skating and go see the light display at the zoo. Love being able to celebrate her birth, truly a blessing!

So here is to you baby girl...HAPPY #4!!! Mommy and Daddy love you more than we could ever express with words.

Merry Christmas to you all...peace of the Lord be with you all!!!

ISABELLA OVER THE YEARS

At birth

At 1

At 2

At 3 

Today

 

The Boys

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We certainly did, great time in New Braunfels with family. My brother cooked an awesome dinner for all of us, thanks Uncle Bobby. We are really looking forward to this holiday season. We are celebrating Bella's birthday this weekend at the zoo and ice skating rink. And then Nana and Papi will be here in 2 weeks.

Now, the rest of this post is all about Zach and Alex...because in 2 days it will be all about the princess turning 4!!!

Zach Attack is all over the place. Our two year old little man is hell on wheels; running, jumping, climbing, tormenting his sister, trying to wrestle and getting into everything he shouldn't. He is almost fully potty trained, but he seems to want to go ALL THE TIME. Also, everytime Bella goes to the potty, he has to go at the same time. And as of two nights ago he is randomly taking his pull-up off. He is at the stage where he is stating longer sentences, remembering and receiting more and problem solving. Sometimes he gets a little loud and out of control while screaming. He loves singing and dancing. I've said for a long time he would be the next Justin Timberlake. Then the other night, we were watching an SNL Christmas special. One of JT's skits came on, his soup cup bit, and low and behold...Zach, with never seeing it before, starts imitating him to a tee and doing the exact dance moves.

Alex is growing by the second. He is easily 16.5lbs. I take him back to the doctor next week for his 4 month checkup, so we will know for sure then. He is attempting to flip his bottom half, holding and turning his neck every which way, sitting up very well when propped and positioned securely, and pushing with his legs when you try to make him stand. He smiles and responds to anyone that will pay attention to him. He loves it when his brother and sister talk to him.

Until two days from now, enjoy these adorable pictures of our little boys...