One Year checkup and pictures

On Jan 18, we had the girls one year check-up but its always funny how it seems you have them not very close to when they are a year. The are almost 13 months now and they are both healthy. They have come a long way in just over a year and its exciting for Kristin and I to see them continue to develop and grow.

Hailey was 17 lbs 7 oz and 27 1/8 inches long. She is are little petite gal and she has a smile that will light up a room. She seems very independent and she loves to talk. She will sit around and just jabber away and it always gives us a good laugh. She is still very content on crawling around and she is a very wonderful eater. She is not picky so I am guessing she has her mom's taste buds.

Brynn was 18 lbs 10 oz and 28 1/2 inches long. She is the little bruiser and a little more aggressive. She likes to tap Hailey on the head so watch yourself if you are laying on the ground. Brynn has been walking for a month now and really has no intentions on crawling. There are a few times she will crawl and that is only when she wants to get somewhere quick. She always wants to be by sister and playing with the same toys as her. She is talking a little but she is a little more quiet than Hailey. When it comes to food, Brynn is like me and knows what she likes and that is what she is going to eat. She loves meat and is not a huge fan of veggies always.

At the beginning of January we had a Christmas celebration in Pella, so we took the time to get the girls one year pictures taken at Digital Galleria in Pella. The girls were wonderful and below are just a few pictures that were taken. I hope you enjoy.

All pictures are courtesy of Digital Galleria

What a difference a year makes

A Blessing From God

Hailey and Brynn, you are 1 year old today. We are so blessed that God gave us two beautiful children. You came a little earlier than expected but I think you knew how much Mommy and Daddy loved Christmas, you wanted to give us a wonderful gift. You were both in the NICU for 9 1/2 weeks and it was a long journey for your Mom and I. We were so thankful for all the wonderful Doctors and Nurses that took care of you each and every day. Each day with you is truly a blessing and we love that you two our in our family.

Hailey, you are our little bookworm and musician. You love to look at all the books and dance to the music with the toys. You have a smile that is so precious and your little jabber is so cute. Thank you Lord for putting Hailey in our lives.

Brynn, you are the bruiser of the bunch. You love to test the limits and climb on everything and do whatever it takes to get where you want to go. You are starting to walk and its so fun to see the happy look on your face when you accomplish new things. Thank you Lord for putting Brynn in our lives.

We Love the both of you very much.

Brynn

Hailey

One Year Later

Last year on December 23, we went to the Christmas Eve Eve service. Little did we know that before we left for church, Kristin's water had broke. The only explanation that we could get is that Hailey's head had blocked the flow and allowed us to go to church. Our friend happened to have her camera with her and got this great picture of Kristin, just a few hours before the girls arrived. When we got home from the service, I finished cleaning the driveway and when I got inside, I was informed that her she thought her water broke. Since we were so well prepared, we had to look up the number for the hospital online and we gave them a call. We made it in to the hospital a little before 9 pm and by 12:56 and 12:57, our family had doubled. We were so blessed that God took care of us in this time and blessed us with two very precious girls.

Didn't she look so comfortable.

One year later with her bundle of joys. She looks a lot happier in this picture.


Birthday Party

On December 21st we changed our plans and decided to have the girls birthday party early. We were going to have the party on the actual birthday, December 24, but we were not quite sure what mother nature was going to have in store for us. Luckily, all the family lives pretty close, so they were able to make it on short notice and we had a great time. Kristin made the octopus cake in a couple of hours and the girls were blessed with some nice new toys and clothes.

Their new slide that they will have lots of fun on for many years.

This is Fergie the Frog, Hailey enjoys the rocking toy.

Ms Octie

They were not quite sure what to do with their cupcake.

Surgery

As some of you may know, when Brynn was born she had umbilical hernia or what we like to call as an outtie. It has always been soft and easy to push in since birth, so we were told to watch it as she got older and hopefully as she grew it would get smaller. When we went to the her doctor for her 10 month check-up, our doctor suggested that we go see the Pediactric Surgeon. Now some people might be worried to bring their child to the Pediactric surgeon but he remembered us because he came to see Hailey when we were in the NICU. When we spoke to him, he suggested that we have surgery, because it wasn't going to get smaller and if we did have the surgery now, the skin would continue to stretch out. We could have waited until she was older but then it would have made it more difficult for the Doctor to make her belly button look normal. We talked to Brynn and since she is dying to wear a bikini next summer, we figured we better get it done now.

Brynn was such a trooper and didn't cry at all. Before the surgery she had a good time. They had this nice car that I got to push her around in. She seemed like a natural behind the wheel but good news is that is a long time off. Since she was having surgery, she was going to be put to sleep for a little while and the nice nurse that helped us out, let Brynn pick out which mask she wanted. Now usually this wouldn't be a big deal but these masks were special. The masks had a scent to them and Brynn picked out the one that smelled like bubble gum. After surgery she was a little upset since it was at 8:30 this morning and she had her last bottle at 7:30 the night before. Once she woke up she got her fluids and seemed to do a little better but still very sleepy. I had the hard job of holding her while she slept, it was a good afternoon.

Hailey had a great day today as well because she got the chance to spend the morning with Grandma Talma, while Mom and Dad where with Brynn. I think she was a little confused since Brynn was gone but I think she enjoyed the extra attention and all the toys to herself. Hailey was happy when we got home and this evening it was becoming more normal with them both moving all around the house.

Thank you to those who kept Brynn in your prayers today and we are so blessed the God has blessed so many people with the wisdom and ability to operate on precious little girls.

She wasn't a big fan of the surgery outfit.
Pre-surgery fun. She liked being pushed around in the big car.

Cuddling with Mommy after returning from surgery.

Brynn was a little trooper. Her bandage is right above her diaper line.

Post surgery afternoon nap with Dad. I had a rough afternoon.

We have two little moochers in our house now. Luckily for Daddy, he eats his food quick.

We got a fence to guard our tree, as you can see it works.

They love to look at the ornaments by the Christmas Tree. We were taking pics for Christmas so this was a special opportunity without the fence.

We got these costumes from a friend and we just had to put them on the girls.

Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy.

Well, I have been told by numerous people that its been a long time since we posted anything. I guess when you don't post things in a few months its considered a long time. I believe that in my original post that I said I would do my best and keeping up and I guess I fell a little behind.

I am sure you will notice when you look at the pictures that the girls haven't changed that much (yeah right). Both of the girls are so precious and they are bringing so much joy to our lives.

Since the last time I wrote the girls have had a chance to go experience camping for the first time. Now I better be completely honest about the camping. It seems that everyone in my family enjoys sleeping in tents or campers and waking up and walking through the grass in the morning to take a shower or go to the bathroom. Well, I would tell you the reason we didn't stay out at the campsite was because we had two little ones but I must confess, Kristin and I have never stayed out for the whole weekend. Maybe one of these years everyone will convince us to stay out there but so far, we like the nice soft beds and not the ground. At the campout this year the girls got to compete in their first race and it was hard to know who got first or second so we called it a tie. Its difficult when they are both strapped into the same stroller. I would like to thank all the kids for not beating me in the race b/c that might have been a little embarrasing for me. Kristin and I did compete in the 2 mile race with the adults and we both managed to run the whole thing and we were even standing after the race. Kristin enjoyed it so much that she went on a 4 mile run, just for fun, with the running family from Michigan and Colorado. It was a fun campout, as it is each year, and it will be better next year when the girls can run around and play with all their cousins.

The girls are keeping me and mom on the move now that both know how to crawl and pull themselves up. Its hard to believe that they will be 10 months old in a few days and it seems like they will never slow down. Kristin and I just enjoy watching the girls interact with each other and its great that they like to play together. They love to crawl up and down the hall and laugh together and its so great to see their big smiles when they see you chasing them.

I know there are lots of other things the girls have done since I have last posted and I apologize that I have not done a good job at keeping this up to date. I will write some more next week after the girls have their check up and then we can see how big they are and how they are doing developmentally. Hope everyone enjoys the pics and there will be more to come in the next week.

Move it along sister.
I think Hailey gets the onery look from her mother.

Hailey

The neighboor door was playing with his remote control truck. As you can see it caught the attention of a couple people.

Brynn

Brynn likes to play with her dog blanket.

Hailey gets to play with the Lamb.

6 month check up and lots of twins

I apologize that we have not posted anything in a while. When I said I was going to do a blog, I said I would do my best to keep everyone updated. Kristin and I are pretty tired after work and then playing with the girls, we try to get as much sleep as possible.

This past month the girls were six months old and they had their lovely check up with shots. We are pretty lucky because they don't do to bad with the shots and they usually only cry for a couple of minutes after they are all done. We had their Dr appt on July 9 so it was a little after they turned six months. I always like the checkups because I am always so curious how big the girls are getting. Hailey was 12 lbs 7 oz and 23 3/4 inches (she was a little disappointed she didn't get to 2 ft tall yet). Brynn was 12 lbs 15 oz and 24 1/4 inches.

After the Dr appt, the girls had their developmental screening and we were so pleased with what they had to say. After observing both girls, they are each doing activities in the 6 and 7 month levels. This is such a blessing to us that God is developing Hailey and Brynn each and every day.

Both girls had the opportunity to try rice cereal this past month as well and each day they get a little better. Hailey seems to like it a little better that Brynn, so I am guessing Brynn might be like her daddy and be a little picky. Its fun to watch them try to learn how to eat. Both girls are becoming a lot more active. Brynn is starting to get up on all fours and she has not figured out how to crawl yet but she can sure lunge for objects she wants.

The girls had a good time a couple of weeks ago, when they got to go meet a lot of new friends. We were able to get together with 5 other couples who have had twins in the past year. Some of the couples where from our twins class, so it was fun to see them again. We spent part of our time in the NICU with 3 of the couples that were there, so it was fun to see how everyone was doing. We are going to attempt to get together with these couples each month, to keep in touch and give the adults a little social time. There were a two couples that were unable to make it so when the whole group is there, then their will be 8 sets of twins, sounds like a fun time when they all start walking. All of the kids did wonderful and they even sat nicely to let us take their picture. Thanks for checking up on us and I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Twins gathering.

6 months old - Brynn

Story time with Dad, obviously Brynn likes the camera better.

Brynn, did your cousins tire you out again? We love to wear are pretty dresses.

Rice cereal - Mmmm Tasty

6 months old - Hailey

Thank you Daddy for letting me sleep on your arm.
Anytime Hailey.

Hailey after a nice bath.

Are we not so adorable!

The girls were a little tired after a walk with mom. They love this stroller since they can see everything.