9 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

9 months old already! We have had some ups and down this past month, but just looking at how far these two have come, overshadows some of the downs. Both girls enjoy crawling (on their tummies) anywhere and everywhere....the bathroom, bedrooms, mudroom, behind the couch, table, and everywhere else in between. They are also starting to pull up onto their knees on things as well. They like to follow each other where ever they go....they are pretty much inseparable!
They have started to eat some finger foods, but we are under specific rules of no dairy or other allergens, so they eat meat, puffs, toast, and other small things. They do pretty well and they enjoy the tastes of all their new foods.

Here are some individual updates
Kamryn
• 16lbs 14oz, 28" long
• She is starting to babble saying, "mamamama" and "babababa."
• Learned how to do "SO BIG"
• Loves to eat...anything!
• Holds her own bottle
• Sits up on her own
• Crawls everywhere 
• Loves taking a bath with both sisters
• Went to the doctor to see if she needed a helmet. She will be getting one in two weeks and will wear it for 22 hours a day for about six months
• Was also diagnosed with toriticollis, and we did some physical therapy with her, along with excercises at home. I am happy to say her toticollis has resolved and no longer requires therapy
• Had a repeat heart echo and discovered her ventricular hypertrophy has normalized
• However, the echo discovered a new problem - pericardial effusion. This means she has fluid around her heart, and if there gets to be too much fluid it can cause her heart not to function properly. She has been on ibuprofin to try and get the fluid out of there. We have a repeat echo in two weeks

Laityn
• 16lbs 2oz, 27.5" long
• Crawls on her tummy
• Sits up on her own
• Has pulled herself up on the couch
• Went and checked on her hemangioma, and we will begin to wean her off her medicine within the next few months
• She hasn't quite gotten the pincer grasp down yet
• We found out despite being physically on track, she is now developmentally behind. If she doesn't start to catch up soon, we may need to do some further testing
• We knew she would have the possibillty of being slower, due to the fact that we don't exactly know how long her brain was without oxygen when she was born...just never would have imagined it would show up this quickly
• Had her first ear infection
• LOVES bath time- and splashing!

So this past month we had many ups and downs, and some medical news that gives me a knot in my stomach. I try not to worry and I think what makes it better is being home with two happy girls. They fill my life with so much joy, and it seems to outweigh the "bad" news. I am just so proud of them with how far they have come, even if there are still challenges along the way. One quote I love, "Remember that your child, not statistics will determine her course."

Even if odds are against them, they determine their course. God already knows what course they will be on, and has planned it out already. This is a very comforting fact to get through these "bumps" in the road.

A little behind...

I have come to the realization that I have let this blog "go" for a little less than a month now. Well, I am trying to play catch up, so you may want to check out some posts that I will be back-dating. Enjoy (and I hope I can find more time to update)!

Merry Christmas

Here are the highlights of Christmas this year. For our kids, we decided to go with the, "Something they want, something they need, something they wear, something they read," motto. This cut out a lot of unnecessary gifts, and we put in more thought once we picked things out for the kids!

Anyways, here are some pictures from all of our Christmases this year!

8 Months: Kamryn & Laityn

Our girls are 8 months old! They have seemed to develop a lot since last time I updated, so here is a rundown of what has been going on:

Kamryn:
• She still doesn’t sit up…at all, or make any attempt at crawling. She just rolls and rolls!
• Can hold her own bottle!
• A great self-feeder. I gave her a cheerio the other day and she was able to pick it up and chew it down
• A good eater – she opens her mouth soooo wide!
• Mostly sleeps through the night (knock on wood). Thank you Halo Sleepsacks!
•  Her head is still flat and will be mapped for an orthotic helmet on New Year’s Eve
• She likes to experiment with her voice and will often make up some pretty strange sounds
• No teeth…at all! (and no signs either!)
• Professional present bow-ripper-offer

Laityn: 16lbs
• Had the stomach flu this past month which resulted in vomiting 5x, a trip to urgent care, and a trip to the doctor
• Still has a runny nose and the doctor pretty much said she is just catching everything
• She can sit up for a short amount of time
• When laid on her tummy, she will get up on all fours and rock back and forth. She has also figured out how to inch herself forward, similar to an army crawl
• She refuses to hold her bottle or eat anything unless you physically put it in her mouth
• Her gums have some big bumps and I think she may pop a tooth out one of these days
• She sometimes sleeps through the night, but I think this more due to being sick than anything. Once again – Thank you Halo Sleepsacks!
• Loves her baby food, formula, and some apple juice

As of right now they are a little behind developmentally (not sitting), but in reality Macyn didn’t sit up until 7 months and they are about 6.5 months adjusted. They both like to show their personalities and often get upset if you take a toy or something they really wanted away (like ripping open Christmas presents). I can’t believe they are on the downhill slope of being one already. They are growing so fast! Other than being behind, they continue to have little known health issues. Its always in the back of my mind that they will just do things slower than other kids their same age. I see other babies 1-2 months younger and they are already sitting up, where Kamryn can’t at all. I feel it will be a relief once they can finally hit all their milestones and have the reassurance that they are developing properly. Whether they are behind or not, I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world and I cannot imagine life without both of them!

Macyn's Preschool Program

I took an extended lunch break to attend Macyn's preschool program. They sang songs, acted out poems and stories, and played instruments to songs. It was pretty cute to see all the kids participate. One of my favorite parts was when they were handing out the bells, the kids all said, "Whatever one we get, we don't throw a fit!"

Finger play

Sleepy reindder

After the program

Christmas Photoshoot

In traditional fashion, I did a photo shoot of the twins under the Christmas tree this year, just like I did with Macyn back in 2009. I wrapped up a box, added a bow, and took some pictures of the girls!

Macyn's First Christmas Program

Macyn participated in her first Christmas program. This involved practicing at church during Sunday School, Wednesday nights, and one Saturday. The morning of the program, it took some convincing on my part, when I had to drop her off in the choir room, that we would be watching for her. She was on the verge of a meltdown, but fortunately she didn't....until the end of church, at least. The kids sang 6-7 different songs for a total of about 15-20 minutes. This included bell ringing and many actions. She did really well in her first program and we were so proud of her!

Ready for the program

Sister Picture :)

Nursery 1- 1st grade

Rocking baby Jesus

....."laid down his sweet head"

This is pretty much how all our pictures went after church

Twins with Grandpa & Grandma (Macyn refused to participate)

The best picture we could get!