The Name Belle Means...

"Beauty" or "Beautiful." Fitting, isn't it?! 

Sitting Up, Valentine's Day, My Birthday, and Pictures!

Abel and Belle are growing up so quickly now! They can both sit up alone and Belle is army crawling...soon to be real crawling. Both have cut the same 2 teeth on their bottom gums. They had their 2nd appointment with the Occupational Therapist last week (she meets with them every 4 months until their 1st birthday since they were born prematurely) and they are doing fantastic! Belle is developmentally at her birthage - between 7-8 months old. Abel is developmentally at his adjusted age - 6-7 months old. They are wearing 6-9 month clothing, in size 3 diapers, and eating grains, fruits, veggies, meats, snack puffs, yogurt, and pudding now...and drinking 25-30 oz of formula a day. They still struggle with reflux, especially Belle, but it has improved some since their newborn phase. Belle has been able to sleep in her crib since November now, which is a HUGE praise! They sleep 12 hours a night (which started at the end of November) and take about a 1-2 hour nap a day in their swings which they are quickly outgrowing! Below are 3 slideshows of Abel, Belle, and other festivities (photos taken by my talented sister, Grace). Since my birthday is on Valentine's Day, Aaron and I went on a date to Longhorn Steakhouse while our pastor and wife baby-sat the twins - what a gift they gave us! :) Sadly, Aaron is not in any of the pictures below because he had his Annual Physical Inventory at his store and worked all weekend so Abel, Belle, and I spent the weekend with my family and celebrated mine and my sister's birthdays. We are so blessed that God chose us to shepherd Abel and Belle...we love them so much and are so grateful for them!

   

   

   

1st Sippy Cups

As you can see, we have a ways to go with the sippy cups - right now, Abel and Belle think it is simply a toy. Love them!

Oh and ignore Abel's Christmas bib...it was a clean one so I used it anyway. :)

Strolling thru Target...

...while Mommy shops, of course! :)

Baby Dedication and Other Pics

The first 4 pictures are from Baby Dedication and the last pic is one of Abel pretending to be Indiana Jones. :)

Baby Dedication, Christmas, and Hello 2012!

Abel and Belle were dedicated to the Lord on November 27th. My mother-in-law has some pictures on her camera, so I was waiting for those from her before I updated the blog. However, she has had some computer trouble, so who knows when I will get the pictures. More important, though, is the fact that we are aware of what a great responsibility God has given us in shepherding these little children to know Him. We pray that He would convict their hearts of sin and save them at an early age and that they might live for His glory early in life... and be spared the heartache that living in rebellion against God can bring. Please join us in praying that they would be saved as soon as God wills.

We flew to Memphis, TN for Christmas with the babies. They did great and had lots of love and attention from our extended family. They also got lots of toys - Yeah! :) Aaron and I long decided we didn't want to teach any of our future children about Santa Claus being a reality. They will still get gifts from us (though we didn't this year, because they are so young and got plenty from family), but will know that they are from daddy and mommy. They will still take pictures with Santa in the mall and watch the Christmas classics on t.v. We plan to teach them about Santa as a fun, fictional character (such as Mickey Mouse). Our heart in this isn't to be legalistic, but we want Jesus and His incarnation to be their focus and not fantasy.

Lastly, as a New Year's resolution, I have started Weight Watchers and exercising. My goal is to be back to my pre-pregnancy size and weight by the summer. Pray for grace.

As I reflect on this new year, I'm amazed and grateful for God's grace in 2011. 2011 will forever be a special year because it was the year that Abel and Belle were born. But, I'm excited to welcome 2012.

And for fun, I put them in their highchairs for the first time this morning!

6 Months!

Yesterday, Abel and Belle had their 6 month check-up and shots. They are finally on the growth chart/curve. Mind you, Belle is only in the 15th percentile for her birthage and Abel is even less (though he weighs more...boys and girls are charted differently). But, they are on the curve! And for their adjusted age, they are both over the 50th percentile! Belle weighed over 14 lbs and Abel weighed over 16 lbs. They are rolling over like crazy now and continuing to be such joys in our home. I don't have time to post much more, because I hear one of them waking up from their nap, just as I sit down to post. But, I will leave you with these adorable pictures from their cousin's 1st birthday party. They are eating a cupcake baked into an ice cream cone last month (yes, I let my not even 6 month old babies eat icing. Haha). Abel actually enjoyed it more than the picture showed, he was initially upset because I had woken him up from a nap to take pictures, but he came around to liking it. :)