When It's Cold Outside...

When it's cold outside, we try our best to stay in, stay warm & stay healthy. This has worked out for 3/4 of us lately. I came down with a stomach bug over the weekend, which left me down and out. Daddy had to step-in to full time baby duty and caring for me. Luckily, my illness only lasted for 24hrs and then I was back in action. We are thankful the babies did not come down with it, too. 

Now that the holidays are behind us, we are back to our regularly scheduled programing. Mon-Thurs at Gran & Poppy's with Nurse Lisa and Thurs-Mon at home. It isn't an ideal situation, but it is working for us. The best part is that with Brian working in Dallas we are all 4 together! 

Drake has started his week off on a great start! Both is physical therapist and his speech therapist have been really impressed with him! That makes this mama very proud! His PT is working with him on sitting up on his own using his hands for support. He has a long way to go, but this is a goal/milestone that is exciting to work toward! 

One of our NICU nurses came by Gran & Poppy's today for a visit. It was wonderful seeing her and catching up! I'm so very glad that she can see and witness Drake and Kennedy grow and develop. She was such a huge part of their little lives from the beginning. We are already looking forward to her next visit! 

Happy boy!

Wearing daddy's duck boots!

A pint sized chair! She loves it! It was actually given to Gran as a little girl by her Aunt...it's an antique!(shhh...don't tell Gran we said that)

Waving from her chair.

Working hard during Physical Therapy!

New Discoveries

The first few days of 2014 have taught us that Drake loves the sound of Harlee's new dog toy and that Kennedy is a little diva...I think we already knew that. Papa delivered some Christmas presents from Aunt Gigi & Uncle Chuck & both babies love the presents! 

Poor little Drake has been dealing with a bit of a tummy bug today. I hate for him to not be 100%, but I'm thankful he is not dealing with something much worse. Pedialyte seems to have done the trick! We'll try 24hrs on Pedialyte and then slowly wean back onto his regular diet of Pediasure. The names are very similar but the products are quite different. 

Kennedy is quite fond of the grilled cheese sandwich...she must get that from her daddy. She has moved up from bite size peices to strips. I think she feels like a big girl when she can hold the piece and take her own bites. Although she still manages to put too much in her mouth whether it is sandwich or Cheerios! Brian asked me where she gets that habit from (after biting off 1/4 of his own sandwich in one bit)...gee honey, I don't know where she gets it! 

Lately Drake has started to seem much more aware of his surroundings! We are all learning more ways to make him smile & we are enjoying every second of his sweet happy face! His dietitian is coming tomorrow and we can't wait to see how much he has grown! 

I love this smirk! 

Are you supposed to have the remote?

Eating her black eyed peas for good luck!

He passed out while sissy was eating dinner.

Thank you for the rocking Dino, aunt Gigi!

Best buds napping together!

The smile that melts our hearts!

Oh, my! Our little diva! Thanks for the skirt, aunt Gigi!

Looking outside for daddy! 

Ringing in the New Year!

Happy 2014!  2013 has been good to our little family, and I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us! Daddy is home from his hunting trip, and we were all excited to be reunited! 

Drake received his Synagis shots this morning in Dallas, and as he grows, so do the size of the shots. Tears were shed, but we all braved through. By mid-morning no one would have ever known how traumatic the office visit had been. Ever since his two front teeth broke through at Christmas, our happy little boy is back! Everyone has taken notice of his happier disposition, including all of his therapist. 

Kennedy has finally had a successful big girl bath!!! For the longest time, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with a full bathtub that did not include her infant tub. Adding new bath time toys did not make a difference, but she finally decided the big tub was acceptable this week. She has also successfully taken a few pictures with my cell phone. Who knew a toddler could figure that out on her own! 

This evening after dinner I was in our living room surrounded by all of my soundly sleeping family. I couldn't help but smile! When your duck hunter has been up since 2am, he is not able to stay up past dinner. We did buy champagne, so I will have to wake Brian up to toast the new year :) Wishing everyone a very happy New Year! 

My little snuggle bug!

She has been insistent on wearing hair bows lately! And she clearly doesn't stop moving for pictures. 

Pool time!

A successful big girl bath!

Sweet baby boy!

Belly laughs! Gran experienced this a few days ago. You can't hear him, but if you are holding him, you can feel his laughter. 

My sleeping Drake & Harlee to my left.

Sleeping daddy & Kennedy to my right :)

'Tis the Season

We have really been enjoying this holiday season and having extra days to spend with loved ones off from work. We spent Christmas at home just the 4 of us, and daddy made pancakes for breakfast. What a treat! This was Kennedy's 1st time eating pancakes and she was a BIG fan. Daddy insisted that she have syrup with them; therefore, we went straight from the highchair to the tub immediately following breakfast. She really didn't get that sticky, but the bath seemed like the easiest option for cleaning. Her daddy also gave her a whistle which was lots of fun, once she got the hang of it. Drake did not like the sound of her whistle at first, but he is really good about adapting to noises once he has heard them. 

Brian (daddy) is out of town on a hunting trip with a good friend; therefore, the babies and I are back in McKinney spending these extra days with Gran & Poppy. Kennedy is getting her energy out running around their house constantly playing with her new toys. She likes playing with Drake's toys, too! Today I was able to get out for a lunch with some good friends. It was really nice to see each of them and catch up. Those with children had them in tow, and while it would have been nice to have Drake & Kennedy with me, the risk of illness/germs is too great. Someday...patience is a virtue. 

Sweet girl giving bubba a kiss. 

Best buds/cousins! 

Christmas morning at home! Santa even put her doll in the stroller :)

Lounging with his lion.

Pushing her stroller everywhere! 

Bed head! Thanks for the whistle, daddy! 

Story time with Poppy!

Clearly a mess!

He looks like such a big boy!

Cheese! 

Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas over the weekend with family, and now we are settled in at home this Christmas Eve. Tonight we were all in the kitchen cooking dinner and listening to Christmas music; Drake was relaxing in his baby chair while Kennedy was dancing all around with giggles and smiles! I would say this was a very successful Christmas Eve at home with our little munchkins! We are so thankful Drake and Kennedy are both happy and healthy. That is the best Christmas present of all!

Kennedy is obsessed with wearing beads!!! We use them with Drake as a part of his therapies, but Kennedy finds them and immediately puts them on to wear. She also loves her hair brush that she received as a present. Everywhere she runs around the house she has beads around her neck and a brush in her hand. Oh, and our little escape artist climbed out of her crib last night! Brian went into their room when he heard her during the night. To his surprise, she was sitting in the floor playing with diapers and such that she discovered in the closet. 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!!!

Playing in her new wagon!

Jacob got a wagon, too!

Drake seems to like his new sensory toy!

He had a tight grip on his check from Uncle Mikey & Aunt Jamie!

Beads and brush in tow!

Big boy!

She spotted some hunters outside after breakfast.

Opening a present from Papa!

Christmas with Papa!

Look at those teeth!

Harlee likes to lay near Drake.

Tough Guy!

You should have seen our brave little man this morning! Wow! Never in my life have I seen such a brave little soul. When the phlebotomist punctured his arm in search of a vein he made a pouty face and teared up, but he never cried. This is routine blood work to make sure his seizure medications are not causing any problems with his organ function. 

We may not be able to go anywhere or have visitors, but it didn't stop us from having a little fun with some Christmas photos this week. These are not professional shots by any means, but we did the best we could using a white sheet to cover Gran & Poppy's chair as a backdrop. I am still very pleased with the way they turned out! 

I am also including a picture of our Christmas Card that didn't happen. We took the picture and ordered the cards weeks ago, but somehow our order was lost in the mix and never arrived...(I'm still working on a refund). Oh well, no big deal. We're glad to be able to have a copy of what it would have looked like to share with you on here, and hopefully next year it will work out in our favor. Tomorrow morning we will be celebrating Christmas in McKinney with my family and then on Sunday at our house with Brian's brother and dad. Oh, so many things to be thankful for in our lives! Please be sure to say a special "Thank You" prayer for all of the joys in your life, too! 

Last year & this year! Sister harassment never changes! 

Our little Santa! 

Little Miss Christmas! 

Inspecting every ornament. 

Our sweet Christmas angels! 

Photos of babies are not easy! 

Love! Love! Love!

This was our Christmas card. Merry Christmas!