Double Take

Joe and I were going through some things yesterday and we came across some of my baby pictures. We found a picture of me around the same age as the girls and it was fun to see the resemblance that Sarah has of me. If it wasn't for the picture obviously being old some people might even mistake it for Sarah.

Parent/Child Dedication

Today we participated in the Parent/Child Dedication service at church. It's very important to us that we raise our girls in church and today was very special for us. My Mom, my brother Jimmy, his girlfriend Kim, and Kim's mother were all there today. Our church doesn't baptize babies but instead parents dedicate their children to God and promise to raise them in a Christian way.

My brother took pictures and as soon as he sends them to me then I can post them. Joe and I took this picture when we got home this afternoon.

A Parent's Promise

As a parent, I understand that my responsibility involves leading my child into a relationship with Jesus Christ, helping her understand God's specific purpose for her life and connecting our family to our church. Therefore, I promise today that I will strive to do the following:

* To recognize that my child is a gift from God.

* My relationship with this child is a sacred trust which requires an investment of quality time and unconditional love.

* To assume the primary responsibility to teach my child Biblical truths and values.

* To pray consistently for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of my child.

* To create an environment within our home that brings life and demonstrates the Fruit of the Spirit of Christ.

* To live a life worthy of the lord.

* To connect our family to the local church so that we flourish in God and in relationships with others. Psalm 92:13 says "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God."

* To encourage my child to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8) all the days of her life.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

5 months ~ already!

I cannot believe they are already 5 months old!! They are both doing great (other than a minor cold this week) and they are so big. We just love them so much.

I truly consider it a privilege to be their mother. I have so many hopes and dreams for them. I hope they are both strong, independent women. I hope they speak their mind and never stray from their values. I hope they stand up for what they believe in. I hope they live their life without regrets. I hope they dream big and work hard. I hope they understand that everything worth having in life won't come easy but not to give up. I hope that they remain close sisters and value friendships and family. I hope they come by often to visit when Joe and I are old. :) I hope they know how much they are loved. I hope they always trust in the Lord. I hope they truly appreciate what they have in life and how fortunate they are. I hope they help others who are in need. I hope they laugh and have fun. I hope they travel as often as they can. I hope they make decisions in their life that they will be proud of. I hope that they live their life with hope and optimism. I hope they smile and walk with a cheerful heart. I hope they take responsibility when they make mistakes. I hope they can forgive others. I hope they follow their heart and never second guess themselves. I hope they never take a single day for granted. Most of all I hope they are happy, healthy and enjoying life to the fullest. I've promised them and God that I will do everything I possibly can to raise them in a way that they can achieve all of this.

New Toys

Today I got to stay home with the girls because Nana is sick (hope she gets to feeling better soon). They are both asleep right now so I thought I would share some pictures of the girls enjoying their new toys. The "Jumperoo" is the newest edition to our toy collection. It joined us compliments of Dan & Alissa as a shower gift and the girls LOVE it. It's definitely a must have item! They are finally big enough to enjoy it and I think we have just as much fun as they do just by watching them laugh and jump.

The jumperoo is more accomodating for Kristen because she can touch the floor and actually jump in it. Sarah can barely touch the ground so as soon as she grows a bit more then it will become her favorite as well. We decided to let Sarah spend some time in her bumbo chair instead. We first tried this at Christmas but they weren't sitting up in them as well as they needed to. Now they are both really good at it (she looks so serious in the picture - I don't think she quite knew what to think about it).

The girls are also now officially sleeping in their own cribs but it wasn't because we just decided to make the change. I had something last week (originally I thought it was allergies but I now believe it was a cold) and I have past it on to the girls. Kristen got it first and Sarah just has a touch of it. Kristen had a stuffy and runny nose so we decided to put her into the other crib. Joe had put some blankets underneath the mattress so the mattress was slightly elevated. That seemed to help her avoid getting too much of a stuffy head while sleeping. Since that seemed to work we've been doing it for the last couple of nights. They both stretch out in their own crib and seem to be o.k. with it so I guess this will be a permanent thing.

Thumbs & More

Sarah has started to stuck her thumb. I knew she would eventually because she did it while in the womb and we watched her during the ultrasounds. Both her and Kristen stopped taking their pacifiers several weeks ago....they just simply weren't interested in them any longer. I guess she prefers a more permanent pacifier. She seems to do it mostly when she's tired.

They are both starting to hold their own bottle. They can't hold it for very long but I'm sure they will get better at it every day. We actually hadn't been trying to get them to do this until just recently so they haven't had any practice until now. We're still solely on formula and they eat 6 oz 4 and sometimes 5 times a day. Even though we could start rice cereal now we've decided to hold off. Our Pediatrician recommends waiting to start any solid foods until 6 months. She said that it can have a significant impact on the development of food allergies. Since I had a lot of allergies as a child I think it would be best to wait as long as possible. They still seem satisfied after each meal so I don't think we'll have any problems waiting for another month.

It's also become very apparent that they know and love their Nana. Each morning my mom looks over the crib as they are waking up and they both give her a great big smile.

What A Year

2007 was without a doubt the best year of my life. It all started one year ago today when I learned that I was pregnant. I had actually taken a test the day before but it was negative so I decided to take another a day later and it was positive. I really couldn't believe it and I definitely wasn't convinced. Three other tests later and I was becoming convinced. A week later I started having serious nausea and that stayed with me until around 13 weeks. When I went to my first doctor's appointment they gave me an order to get an ultrasound done. My doctor doesn't do ultrasounds in the office but instead uses another OB doctor who specializes in prenatal diagnosis, CVS and amniocentesis. I was 6 weeks pregnant at the time of the first doctor's appointment and she suggested that I wait another week to get the ultrasound done since by that time we should be able to see the heartbeat. She told me that day that sometimes severe nausea can be a symptom of multiple births so she thought it would be best to check. I didn't actually get to see my doctor that day because she was tied up in deliveries. Since I knew her from working at the hospital she popped in just to stay hi as she was leaving to go back to the hospital. Her one minute visit with me is when she ordered the ultrasound and I figured she was probably ordering it as an added bonus because I didn't get to see her and for waiting for so long.

On January 31st I went to have the ultrasound done. A part of me knew there was a chance we could have twins but another part of me really didn't think it would actually happen. I really hoped for twins but I knew statistically it was a long shot. The technician who did the ultrasound was someone that used to work for the hospital and I knew her. She put the first image up on the screen but never said anything.

Here's the image that I got to see that day....

To find the baby she had to zoom way in to see more. She waited until she found each heartbeat before she told me and I started to cry happy tears. I always wanted twins and I was shocked it was actually happening. I couldn't believe something so wonderful was happening to me. I had just prayed for one healthy baby but God was blessing me with two.....I felt so fortunate. As soon as I left I was so excited that just had to tell someone. I wanted to tell Joe but I didn't want to tell him over the phone so I decided to call my mom. Charlie answered the phone and I told him so he was the very first person to hear the exciting news. Charlie then got my mom on the phone and when I told her she dropped the phone crying. When Joe got home I had him look at the ultrasound picture to see if he would figure it out. He immediately looked at it and said, "Are we having two???". We were and we couldn't have been happier.

During that visit Dr. Darby reminded me that I was a high risk pregnancy and he talked a lot about the risks and explained everything to me that could happen. It scared me but it was something I needed to know. From that point on I was what the office called a "frequent flyer" and seemed to be there all of the time for ultrasounds.

I was 11 weeks for the ultrasound below. They would kick each other all of the time because they were in such crowded quarters.

The next milestone occurred when we learned they were girls. It took about 45 minutes for the first full fetal anatomy scan on Baby A (Kristen). At the end of it she said Baby A was definitely a girl. Another 45 minutes later we learned that Baby B (Sarah) was also a girl. That was a great day and we were thrilled! Joe and I really had a hard time deciding what to name them. We didn't name them until the second day of their life because we hadn't made up our minds. I really liked Hailey & Maggie but Joe said no way. Joe already had a Hailey in the family so he didn't want it and he thought Maggie was an old persons name. A friend of mine who teaches elementary school also told me that a ton of girls are named Hailey since it's very popular so that helped me move on. Joe liked Emily & Peyton. Emily reminded me of my college roommate my freshman year so I couldn't agree to that (bad memories). It was also important for us to pick what we call "mainstream" names. We wanted something more common but not on the top 100 list to balance out our unique last name. Kristen was a name that we both liked from the beginning so I had a feeling we would end up with that name. Sarah was a name that we talked about but ultimately decided on when she was born.

We've had a fantastic year......I am looking forward to what 2008 will bring for our family and I can't wait to watch Kristen & Sarah grow and experience new milestones.

Jacob's Visit

Jacob spent the long weekend with us and it was the first time he has been down for a visit since the girls were born. He really seemed to enjoy them and he knows a lot about babies since he has some experience with his little sister back home. Jacob is almost as tall as Joe and has grown up quite a bit. Grandma Katie, Aunt Angela, Aunt Susan and Cousin Konner also came by for a visit with Jacob and the girls. I took a few pictures of everyone this weekend. We did not get to see Joe's family for Christmas so they brought the girls some gifts. They got some really cute clothes and they even got cute look a like dolls .

Look alike dolls from Grandma Katie