Our First Family Christmas Card!

Stationery card

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Can You Believe This?!

Look at Abel & Belle as embryos that had been thawed and transferred to my womb after being frozen for 4.5 years!
Look at Abel one year later!
Look at Belle one year later!

Once again, I have to boast in our Lord - He sustained them in the freezer for 4.5 years, in my womb for 7 months, and in the NICU for 5 & 6 weeks... and He continues to sustain their little lives in our care. What grace!

Fun with Family!

Both Mimi (my mom) and Mama Niecey (Aaron's mom whose name is Denise) along with Aaron's sister, Bethany and her husband, Matt came down for a visit on Wednesday. Aunt Bethany took lots of pictures and unfortunately, mommy isn't too great at taking pictures regularly so we are glad for some new candids! The 2nd picture is Abel & Belle about to get in the car to head for Cracker Barrel with everyone and the 5th picture is Abel with Uncle Matt. Abel and Belle wore semi matching Osh Kosh shirts to Cracker Barrel with their blue jeans - Abel's was a snowman shirt in 6 mos size and Belle wore a Christmas candy cane/gingerbread house shirt in a 3 mos size. As you can see in the pics, Abel is much bigger than his sister. Also, notice our dog, Toby hidden between our legs for our family shot...yes, he came and got between our legs himself! Ha - we love our mini dachshund (aka our third baby)!

Oh and it is quite possible that these are the cutest babies ever!...Ok, we are admittedly biased. :)

Ending 4 Months...Going on 5 Months!

I used to blog once a week, but now, I am doing good to post once a month! I'm sorry to always leave ya'll hanging!

By God's grace, Abel and Belle continue to grow and flourish. They had their 4-month pediatrician appointment and shots on October 18th and the doctor said that he was pleased with their growth and to keep up the good work! Abel weighed 12 lbs 3 oz and Belle weighed 10 lbs 13 oz. They are taking between 24-32 oz of formula each day and they also began eating solids around their 4 month old birthday. They have tried rice & oatmeal cereal (single grained - not combined yet), stage 1 peaches, pears, prunes, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots. We will be introducing green veggies in the next few days. Our pediatrican recommends using the "3-day" rule to test for any food allergies and beginning with yellow veggies before the green ones (not sure why though...). They usually take a bottle between 4-8am, cereal mixed with fruit between 8-10am, a bottle and a veggie for lunch, cereal mixed with fruit for dinner, and a bottle before bedtime usually between 10-11pm. I also mix their formula with their cereal, so their daily intake of formula is included in that figure. They love their solids! Abel is a pro with the spoon and Belle can handle it, but she just isn't as great as him yet.

They also had their follow-up NICU appointment with the occupational therapist last week (she will check their development again at 8 and 12 months). Again, by God's grace, they are further along in their development than needed! Since they were born 8 weeks early, they can have a 2-month delay on all developmental milestones until they are 2 years old without concern. Any delay after 2 years old is a true developmental problem. However, they are right where most term 4-5 month olds are with their motor skills. They are still small for their birth-age, but are catching up with their weight and height with each check-up.

Their new favorite thing is watching t.v. Yes, I said watching t.v. They will either sit in their bouncers or their Bumbos and watch Veggietales, PBS Kids shows, etc. They will even try and turn their heads to face the t.v. while drinking a bottle in our laps from the couch or recliner - haha! Of course, they cannot follow the story lines yet, but they enjoy the sounds and colors.

They will be 5 months old on Friday - wow!