We're Still Here

Mommy with Jenna and Daddy with Jilly enjoy Christmas with family

Jilly (back) and Jenna (front) weren't really into opening packages...they did like the bows though! ;)

Jilly and Jenna

Wow are the days ever busy!! Between working at home this last week and two little twinkees on the run I can't seem to catch my breath, let alone update the blog.

I promise to post a real update soon but in the meantime I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We had lots of fun with friends and family. Jillian and Jenna especially enjoyed their visit with their Grandpa Marty while he was here the last 10 days or so.   They were very sad when he left to fly back home to South Korea today. :(

I promise there is More to Come...
Jessica

Happy 1st Birthday Jillian & Jenna!

Jenna (White bib) and Jillian (pink bib) enjoy their cake!

Happy Birthday Babies!!
I can't believe it has been one whole year since the girls were born. The first 5 months or so went really slowly, the tasks with feedings and diaperings overshadowing the joy of parenthood at times. Especially the first two months the girls were home with round the clock feedings....but once the girls turned about 6 months old things began to get super fun and it seems time just flew by. Jillian and Jenna became more interactive and expressive; their schedules got better and things got easier all around. Not that the first 6 months were awful or terrible, they were just...challenging.

So we had a big ol' birthday party yesterday. Probably a good thirty-some odd people. I think the number of people was overwhelming for the girls at first but they did really great. Jenna, of course, blossomed with the attention and soon stole the spotlight with her smiles, silly faces and vocal expressions. Jillian wasn't as comfortable with the attention and I held her a lot of the time. Out of the two Jillian is more shy and reserved when it comes to people outside of her small radius of a comfort zone. She warms up after a while but still doesn't like big crowds.

After everyone arrived we opened some awesome presents and then had cake. The cake was just hilarious. True to form Jenna enjoyed hers thoroughly. She had it everywhere...nose, eyes, belly, hands, face, legs.  She was just a ham, too. Once she figured out everyone thought she was funny she just kept trucking along, shoving cake in her little frosting covered mouth. :) Jillian wasn't crazy about the cake. She got messy but not nearly as much as Jenna; and while Jenna finished her entire piece of cake (thata girl!!) Jillian left more than half. Now, if I were to give her another piece of cake while no one was looking or after the crowds left I would fully expect her to look like Jenna.  It is funny how a child's personality forms so early and how differently personalities of siblings form. They are individuals for sure!

To that effect...Jared and I had decided earlier in the day that we would ask everyone to sing the Happy Birthday song twice, meaning to each baby individually. I actually got the idea from the reality show John and Kate Plus 8. They sing to (or used to) each of their kids separately, too. So when it came time to sing we asked for two songs and were pleased when everyone happily agreed. Actually....we ended up singing three birthday songs. :) My step-dad's birthday (Glenn) is the same day. I have never asked him but if it were me I wouldn't appreciate me stealing the day! Not only did Jared and I get married on his birthday (12-20) six years ago but we had our first kiddos on his birthday, too. We (sort of) surprised him with his own cup cake and song. :) I had told Jared earlier in the day my plan to give him his cupcake after we sang to the girls and he accidentally announced it when I was asking everyone to sing the individual birthday songs to Jillian and Jenna. In the end I think Glenn appreciated it though. :)

So after everyone left the party my Mom and Glenn stuck around and helped us pick up a little. My mom helped me take tags off of all the sweet clothes we got so I could wash them. Glenn held Jillian and helped her rock on her rocking horse (Glenn handmade each of the girls a rocking horse!). Katie held Jenna, Jared cleaned up cake and cups. After they left the girls were ready to eat and be put to bed...they were soooo tired! I was too...the girls were asleep by 7:15 at the latest and the only thing I remember after that is Jared waking me up at 9:30 to get ready for bed. :)

Jenna (in polka dots) and Jillian (in daisies) are dazed and ready for bed after their big girl party.

Whew...we needed a good rest. This week and weekend are going to be hugely busy. My Dad comes home from Korea on Christmas Eve (woot! woot!) and then we spend the 25th, 26th and 27th with different families each day. I am looking forward to it. Even though it is the girls' 2nd Christmas, this one will be even more special since it will be their first Christmas at home. Last year they were only 5 days old in the NICU. We did get to hold them for the first time on Christmas Day so that was such a sweet gift, but now I am glad to be able to celebrate the whole day with them and be thankful for the healthy, happy, active one year olds they've become!

Merry Christmas to All!!!

More to Come...
Jessie

PS: Check out ALL the birthday photos with THIS LINK at Snapfish.com. Remember Snapfish is free to register with no obligation to register so there is no reason to not sign up and look if you want. Also, if you've forgotten your password you can click on the link and take the steps to retreiving it.

Not Now Mama, We're Busy...

Jillian crawls into her exersaucer to retrieve some of her favorite toys.

Jenna loves to be held and she loves to stand. :)

I can't help but think lately about the GINORMOUS changes the girls have made over the last year. They are 8 days away from turning one year old, can you believe it? It is always amazing to me what milestones humans accomplish in their first year of life. Jillian and Jenna started out as babies who were barely 3 pounds when they entered this world. They couldn't breathe or eat without assistance and couldn't be held safely until five days after they were born.  Now, they are big girls who can crawl with ease, stand, scoot, feed themselves and voice their opinion. They've also morphed from cute, little baby lumps to the most busy girls I've ever met. :)

I don't know that I've ever met two kiddos who like to play more! They love crawling from room to room, reading books (especially the book held by Jillian above that shows her pictures of people "Who Love the Baby" (her).  They also love to listen to music and Jillian likes to dance every now and then (which means she will either rock back and forth or shake her arms). Another favorite is to bang toys together to see how noisy they can get. :)

They are getting really good at finger foods too. Take for instance this morning: they each had half a pancake broken into tiny bits and they also each had a quarter of a banana cut into small pieces. This was the first breakfast ever where they fed themselves. :)

I remember when the girls were little and other parents with multiples would constantly remind me that "it gets better." I can agree. Not that the newborn/infant age was bad or boring. But as they get older things have a way of getting easier. Of course I am still the same amount of tired--I traded babies who would sleep all day and be up at night for babies who sleep all night but are constantly crawling in opposite directions during the day. :) I had hoped that chasing after them would assist with my effort to loose the rest of my baby weight but so far it isn't working. Of course... I suppose making an effort would involve working out and eating right (neither of which I have time for but figured I should be honest).

On the whole though, the last several months have been really great and lots of fun. I will be sad to see this phase end but I know a new phase is right around the corner and perhaps I will be surprised at how much I will enjoy it. :) I guess I am just hesitant to see a good thing change.

So... I decided to come up with some new statistics for you like I did in the beginning, since curiosity abounds. :) The girls are eating less bottles/formula everyday but you should see the faces of the cashiers at the grocery store when I bring my shopping cart LOADED with baby food. :)

Here we go (this is for both kiddos together):

6 bottles a day (3 each) at 6 ounces of formula for each bottle is 36 ounces a day, 252 ounces a week, 504 for two weeks and equals to 3-4 cans during a two week time frame.

We go through 2-3 boxes of baby cereal during a two week time period.

We go through 82 jars/tubs of baby food during a two week time period (that includes snacks, lunch and dinner but doesn't include things like Cheerios, Cereal Puffs, Yogurt, Juice, and other baby finger foods).

We use about 130 diapers in a two week time frame which averages to about 9-12 diapers a day.

We go through 84-88 bottle liners during a two week period.

We run our dishwasher at least once every day.

I do laundry for the girls 3-4 times a week depending upon how many times someone spit up or a diaper leaked. :)

All I know to say here is

"Thank the Good Lord for coupons." :)

More to Come,

Jessica

Jared, Jillian and Jenna root for the undefeated NO Saints! Woot Woot!

PS: I make no claims to be mathematically sound in my calculations...however, before emailing me I would advise you to review the list of things I do in one day before pressing the send button. :)

A Moment of Praise

Jillian Grace

Jenna Faith

Today was a busy, but good day. This morning we went back to the pediatric eye specialists who examined the girls upon discharge from the NICU. Because of the CPAP mask they wore when first born (The CPAP forces a constant stream of oxygen into the lungs so that they do not collapse. The CPAP is not a ventilator as the equipment does not breathe for the patient but rather makes it easier for the patient to breathe on their own.) they are at risk for ROP or Retinopathy of Prematurity...basically they were at risk for an eye disease that can cause blindness.

The first visit was very traumatic as the doctor had to hold back the eyelids of each baby with prongs as he examined each eye. In all of the girls' procedures and shots and what not since they've been born nothing affected me emotionally quite like this did. It was horrible. So... I was prepared for a worse experience since the girls are older now and more aware of their surroundings; however, the experience wasn't at all like the first visit. We were examined by doctor and then the nurse put dilating drops in each of their eyes and then we were examined by the doctor again...this time without the prongs. The worst part was the drops as they seemed to sting a little right when they were administered. Otherwise, the girls thought it was great since they were shown so many pretty lights. :)

The best part of the visit? The outcome, the girls were given a completely clean bill of eye health! Not only did the blood vessels and retinas in both girls' eyes develop normally, but also, it is unlikely that they will need corrective vision in the future. The doctor was able to examine the eyes in a way that showed any far or nearsightedness. The girls' eyes were completely normal. What a blessing!

I know some of you already know this but many do not...I am legally blind without corrective vision. Not that I can't see at all or have tunnel vision, but my vision is so horrible that I literally can't see clearly enough to make out anything (not even the BIG OL' E on the wall during the vision test). Also, my mom has eye problems that can be genetic and my Dad also had (laser treatment fixed his eyes!) terrible vision problems as well. Jared and his family on the other hand have great vision. Jared can actually see better than 20/20. I was so worried that the girls would have eyes like me and my side of the family. What a blessing that they will never have to go through the humility and annoyance of wearing coke bottle sized glasses. The doctor said that if someday they have to have corrective vision it would be minimal.

Isn't it amazing though? Not only did they not inherit my vision problems but their eyes are normal and healthy despite the risk of disease from their prematurity! Praise God! I tell you, the Lord has heard our prayers for Jillian and Jenna for sure. When the girls were first born it seemed like we were being bombarded with all kinds of diseases and disorders that they were at risk for because of their low birth weight and prematurity. ROP, Cerebral Palsy, and deafness just to mention a few. And now here the girls are, almost one, with so far absolutely no signs of effects from being born 10 weeks too soon.

The Lord Is Faithful. Not that the Lord wouldn't be faithful if things were turning out differently. Just because there are times of trial and hardship doesn't mean God has forgotten you or doesn't love or care about you.

"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"But God demonstrates in his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Trials of life are like teaching your child to ride a bike: At first he won't succeed. He will fall, he will want to give up. But you as a parent know it is important for your child to ride his bike on his own; without support from others or objects. Therefore even though YOU KNOW he will go through pain and suffering you encourage him and help him persevere; because through the trials he will find success. You know the road is bumpy but you also know the future is bright and you know that eventually, he will learn to ride on his own, without falling.  That is just like our Father. He allows us to struggle knowing that we will fall, knowing that we will have pain and suffering. But He can see ahead of us, past the stumbles, and he knows the outcome before we do. We just need to trust that he is faithful, because he always is.

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9

"O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you." Psalm 89:8

What to know more? http://needhim.org/

More to Come,

Jessie

PS: The doctor also said that the girls' eyes would stay blue. The shade may lighten or darken but the pigments are blue. :) Cool huh? Niether Jared or myself have blue eyes.We think they get it from their Grandpa (Jared's Dad)...he is one of the few in our families with true blue eyes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jillian (in pink & brown) and Jenna (in pink) get ready for Turkey Dinner!

My attempt at a "kids only" Christmas picture.

Jillian (in stripes & Jenna) are getting better at pulling up to standing. They like to stand on the picture chair now instead of smiling sweetly to take a picture! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!! In traditional Thanksgiving style I just want to say how thankful I am for such wonderful and supportive family and friends. A husband who goes above and beyond making sacrifices for a family he loves; and I am also thankful for my healthy, beautiful daughters who richly and tremendously bless my life every day.

Yesterday, before we went to my in-laws for turkey dinner, I was remembering that at this time last year I was still pregnant...very pregnant. I was just beginning to get into that phase towards the end where no matter what you do you are just plain ol' uncomfortable. I also remember last year how excited I was for the food. All of it sounded so good and once it was time to eat I loaded a HUGE plate of all kinds of yummies...only to leave almost all of it on the plate. After I had eaten just a little I felt so full and stuffed I couldn't eat anymore. But thing was that I wasn't full at all, I just couldn't fit anything else into my tummy!

This year I more than made up for it. I ate lots of appetizers and then I had lots of turkey, potatoes, green been casserole, bread and dessert. Ahhh....it was good. Real good. :)

The babies did well, too. We tried to give them bites of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and little, ity, bity bites of turkey but they were much more interested in the Cheerios I had packed instead. ;) Ha!

This morning I tried to sit both girls and Shelby down for a Christmas picture for our Christmas card. I think sometimes the ideas in my head are too grand. Having to get two babies and a dog (who is scared of the fireplace...but that is the cute spot for pictures!) to sit still long enough to snap a CUTE picture is just not possible. Especially when you are doing it solo (Jared is currently taking advantage of our time off together to get yard work done).

More to Come,

Jessica

I Can't Even Think of a Title for this Post

Jillian said her first word yesterday. Want to know what it was? Any guesses? Anyone?

"PooPoo." What in the world right??!?!?

So the story goes like this... I always ask the girls if they are poopy. Not sure why, I guess it is my way of trying to potty train as early as possible. Hey, the sooner we can eliminate diapers from the budget the better. Now, don't freak out. I am not actively trying to potty train...it is a subconscious thing mostly. I promise. Also, if they could tell me when they are messy that would be a lot more pleasant than going around sniffing baby bobos all day. I've been trying to train Shelby on that...you know like a police dog so that when she sniffs a messy poo she howls or points or something.  So far Shelby is very unreliable...there was so much hope, too.

Jillian and her lovely hair :)

Anyhoo, Jared and I were playing with the girls in the living room yesterday and I kept smelling messy diapers. So I said, "Jillian, are you poopy?" And Jillian replies, "PooPoo." Clear as a bell. I asked Jared if he heard and it he agreed she said it. So then, in our zeal to hear more 'big girl words,' we encouraged our 11 month old daughter to say poopoo...over and over again. I think she actually got tired of saying it because now she won't even attempt to say the word anymore. Stubborn tike. :)

Well, for those of you who are wondering, no...she wasn't poopy. I think she was just repeating the word. But still, it was a word!

More to Come,

Jessica

Are These the Same Babies?

Gosh! It has been such a long time...typing this it feels like I am writing long lost friends. :) We finally got our computer back from HP yesterday. Thankfully they were able to repair the computer while leaving everything intact, our pictures, videos, documents...everything! I guess the only thing that was wrong with the computer was the power source. It was damaged in the storm but easy to replace.  I have to say...HP did make the situation really easy. They sent us an empty box, a big piece of shipping tape, and a FedEx label so that we could send our computer to them. We didn't have to pay for anything since it was all under warranty.

Not having to pay for the computer is a big blessing. As we quickly found out in the few days following the lightening storm our heater/AC had been affected as well as our washing machine...not to mention all the things I had listed in the last post. The heater and washer though were by far the most expensive; and while the heater was repaired we had to replace the washer. Anyhoo, enough about that...only positive thoughts from here on out.

Let's see....what have the Winters been up to the last few weeks? My goodness there is so much that has happened I don't even know where to begin!  Let's just do it the old fashioned way and list them beginning with:

1. Jillian is finally crawling on all fours. She no longer flops or inches her way to things, no siree. She is a bonafied crawler just like Jenna. Both girls have started to climb on things (namely me). They can both get up on their knees but no one has ventured getting up in a standing position yet.  But...Jenna can now get into a sitting position on her own. She can go from tummy to sit and crawling to sit. She is really good at it, too.

2. Both girls have cut their first tooth! Jillian's tooth came in on Sunday. Jenna's came in yesterday. It was funny because before I went to work yesterday I put my finger in Jenna's mouth to check for any teeth and she still hadn't gotten any yet. Then when I got home later in the afternoon her first tooth had broken through! You can't really see the teeth yet since they are just now popping up but you can definitley feel them. Now that Jillian and Jenna's teeth are through the skin the girls seem to be feeling and sleeping a bit better. We had a few rough days and nights though. Poor babies.

4. Our most exciting news by far....Jillian has graduated from Cranial Technologies and no longer has to wear her band!! Yeah!!  Actually she just graduated yesterday, I took her down and they did an "Exit Interview" where they repeat all of the photos. It is so neat to see the changes and we are so happy with the results.

5. We took the girls on our first family adventure...to the Ft Worth Zoo! Every year for my little brother and sister's birthdays (Cody & Katie) Jared and I do something special for them instead of only giving a gift. For example, when Katie turned 5 we took her to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and let her build a stuffed animal, she picked a kitty, and then we bought the kitty two outfits. A few years ago we took Cody to Dave & Busters and played games all day and then with all of the tickets he won he got to pick neat prizes. :)

Now that they are getting older, and also since we have a family ourselves and are therefore on a tighter budget...we have a harder time coming up with ideas. This year we decided to take them to the Zoo. We did the lunch thing and the gift shop thing (the tickets had been acquired for free). They had a lot of fun, too! I was afraid they would be too old for the Zoo but I don't think anyone needs to worry about that....the Zoo is fun at any age.

Anyhoo, we took the babies along with the kiddos and the girls just had so much fun. We took their big stroller and they just had a blast looking at so many new things. In fact, the only semi fussy moments were when they got hungry for their 2:00 feeding and again right before we left...we were waiting for Cody and Katie to the pick their gift shop prizes.  It was a huge success though.

In fact, I think Jared and I need to go back to the Zoo as much as possible. It is actually somewhat affordable when you compare the adult priced tickets compared to tickets at Six Flags or something along those lines. And...kids under 2 are free!

I guess that means we need to get going now though...the girls are almost one! Can you believe it? Next week they will be 11 months and then in December we have our Big One Year Old Birthday! I can't believe how fast time goes. It seems like yesterday we were bringing Jillian home from the hospital and counting down the days until we could come and get Miss Jenna. Now, they are crawling and eating finger foods and talking up a storm. Before I know it they will be saying their first words, eating the same meals we do and walking all over the place.

It makes me kind of sad in a way. Jared and I aren't completely sure what our plans for family are. We always said 1 kiddo for sure, and probably 2. We didn't expect the 2 for 1 deal we got. But if we don't have more Jillian and Jenna will be my only babies...looking back I am blessed to have had them be "babies" for so long due to their prematurity. Sigh... time flies.

There are some things I won't miss though...like the poo disasters. Yes, we still have those. Had one this morining in fact. I always check the girls for messy diapers before we get in the car to head over to Grammy's House. This morning both girls were clean, which is unusual. So we load up and drive over. Twenty five minutes later I pull up to Grammy's House and unload the girls. Once insde we are catching up on family stuff and what's new with the babies and I start to smell something. Jillian, whom I am holding, must have "done her business" in the car. But...somehow the poo has managed to escape the back of the diaper so she has poo up her back, on her shirt, on MY shirt (ick!) and of course it is nasty. You know the routine...I get her cleaned up, me cleaned up. My mother-in-law lends me a non-poo shirt to wear for the day, etc. "Here's the thing though." :) Shouldn't these stories be like....wwaaayy in the past? How long do babies have poo explosions? I mean...they eat solids now. Shouldn't their diapers be less....mushy?

TMI...right? (TMI= Too Much Information for those of you who just went... eh?)

More to Come!

Jessica

PS: There are soooo many new pictures that I am posting a link to Snapfish so that you can see them all, instead of just sharing a few. Remember...you have to register for Snapfish but it is totally free with no purchasing requirements, so feel free to get registered if you haven't and enjoy! The girls are super-de-dooper cute lately and I would hate for you to miss out. :)

CLICK THIS LINK TO GO TO THE SNAPFISH ALBUM