Bath-time fun!

The kiddos were being so cute in the bath today, so I pulled out my phone and started snapping photos. Enjoy!

New shirts and instruments!

Do you like our new shirts? Our mommy and daddy gave them to us for Christmas. We love them!

It's the beginning of the Snyder family band! Videos to come later...

A belated Merry Christmas

We had a nice Christmas together after Noel got home from church (2 Christmas Eve services and 1 Christmas Day service). Our day consisted of eating homemade sticky buns in the morning, playing, opening presents, and skyping. Hazel and Jude still have no interest in gifts, so our present opening took almost the whole day as we tried to simultaneously keep them entertained.

Hazel's new Christmas dress from Grandma. So cute!

Best attempt at getting them both to smile.

Jude was happy to show off his new Christmas sweater from Grandma.

Interested in the ribbon.

We hope you all had a Christmas filled with joy and celebration!

Crawling Around in Our PJs

Here's a little video of Jude and Hazel up bright and early this morning. They are getting so strong and mobile! Notice also that their favorite toys are the remote control and the coasters. :)

Just as we predicted

Jude has been teething for MONTHS and up until a few days ago, he had no teeth. All along, we've been saying that when he starts to get teeth, he's going to get a bunch at once. Boy were we right! Yesterday I felt in his mouth and both of his bottom teeth had come in. Today I felt in his mouth and his 2 top incisors came in! Whoa! 4 teeth all at once! I hope his front middle teeth come in soon or he may be sporting a vampire look very soon.

Also, now that his hair his getting longer, we're noticing that it's curly on the bottom. So cute! If we trimmed it, the curls would be gone, but I still don't think it's quite long enough to do that. It's not really curly, but there are definite curls. The pictures don't capture it that well, but you can see a couple!





Jude is also really into giving kisses, mostly to Grandma. He plants a big open mouth smooch on her cheek all the time. Very cute. He (and the rest of us) will miss her when she leaves tomorrow!

Busy

What have we been up to? I think the question should be, "what haven't we been up to?". It's been really busy around here with Noel having extra services to plan, trying to organize shopping/mailing Christmas presents in a place where little shopping exists, going to the doctor, being pregnant, etc. Thank goodness my mom is here for a couple more days! Our freezer is now filled with meals and baked goods, we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner today, and we actually WENT OUT FOR DINNER the other night (without the kids) for the first time since we lived here thanks to her! Whoa. It was great. Here are a few pictures from today.


Hazel's new favorite ride.

Hazel is GREAT at walking behind her car. She still isn't standing on her own, but boy can she walk fast behind this thing! We go round and round and round the couch. Hopefully she'll be walking on her own soon! Jude is just starting to push his car slowly.

Jude loves it too!

Family photo for grandma since I decided not to wear sweat pants today. :)

The kids are growing and changing so much! They are babbling a ton, but have no actual words yet. I think they're both close though! They are eating up a storm (especially Jude) and it feels like they are eating constantly (still 6-7 times a day)...seriously?!?!?! Someday we'll get to the larger quantity less times per day. They have the "larger quantity" down. They just still want to eat all the time. At least they're eating! And not barfing! They are early to rise and early to bed (which isn't really our style, but there's nothing we can do about it). Down at 6ish and up at 6ish. Ugh. They love making funny faces and Hazel is constantly playing peek-a-boo (at the table with her bib, on the changing table with her shirt, on the floor by putting her head down, etc.).

On a different note, I went to the doctor on Friday (25 weeks 4 days) and things are looking great. Praise God! We are so thankful and continue to pray for this pregnancy and new life.

Still here!

No, we haven't fallen off the planet. It's always busy around here, but feels like it's been busier than normal lately. Hazel and Jude are fully recovered (thank goodness!), but it took quite awhile. Hazel is eating more than she's ever eaten before (probably trying to make up for the weight she lost), but her sleeping is now worse than ever. She was actually quite a bit better for a week or so before she got sick, but not so much anymore. Jude has decided he wants to follow in Hazel's footsteps and spends many nap times awake in his bed. It's always something! We've had some VERY long nights with Hazel and some very long days with Jude. I really can't even imagine adding another baby to the mix. It's going to be crazy.

We had family pictures taken recently and will try to post a few soon (we've been having some internet issues, which makes posting stuff challenging).

I'm 24 weeks pregnant and feeling really great. Things looked really great at my last appointment and we're so grateful that this pregnancy seems to be going smoother so far.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a difference a year makes! We are thankful for so much, but especially how much Hazel and Jude have grown this past year. They were fighting for their lives last year at this time and now they are thriving (still sick with a stomach bug, but a bit better today). We enjoyed a quiet meal with a family from our church and had a nice day overall. Maybe one of these years we'll actually spend it with family!

"Happy Thanksgiving! I didn't throw up all day today! Yay!"

"Happy Thanksgiving! I finally started eating better again today. Yay!"

This is the best we could do for getting them together.

Sick kids

It's been a challenging few days here. Hazel and Jude are sick for the first time. Last week they had runny noses and congestion. That seemed to clear up on Sunday, but then they came down with a stomach bug of some sort. They seem to be doing a little bit better, but still aren't eating much and are not totally recovered. Jude's still sleeping more than normal and filling his diaper much more than normal, and Hazel is still struggling to keep food down. Please pray they get better soon! I can't even tell you how many extra loads of laundry I've done so far this week. Thank goodness we have our own washer and dryer!

Picture day!

We attempted to have pictures of the kids taken today as well as a family photo since it's been awhile. The location was great, the weather was great (a bit cold though), but the kids were tired, snotty nosed, and cranky. Just great. Fortunately, Noel's mom's cousins, Marcia and MerriAnn, were visiting us today and snapped a few candid shots while holding all of our extra things. Hopefully we get at least 1 good photo out of the several our photographer took! Can't wait to get them back!

Hazel was beyond ready for a nap when we were done. In fact, she fell asleep in my arms as we walked to the car. That has NEVER happened. She even stayed sleeping when I put her in her car seat, which has also NEVER happened. And then, she was still sleeping when I took her out of her car seat! Wow! She must've been incredibly exhausted, because that was a first.

It's a girl!

We had a great appointment at the doctor this week and found out that baby # 3 is a girl! We both thought it was a girl and everyone was guessing girl, so I was excited to find out we were all right. So far, everything with the pregnancy looks good. I will be going to the doctor a lot more frequently now due to my history of preterm labor. We continue to pray for an uneventful, uncomplicated pregnancy and a big, beautiful, full-term baby.

When I have a little more energy, I'll try to post a picture from the ultrasound. I guess another belly picture would be appropriate too. And maybe some more pictures of the kids. However, I'm tired tonight and am going to rest.

1 year old

Hazel and Jude have grown so much the past year. Here is some info about them.

Hazel:

• Weight: 17 lbs 7 oz (5% for actual age, 25% for adjusted age)
• Height: 26 3/4 inches (less than 3rd% for actual age, not sure for adjusted age)
• Head size measured at 45% for actual age, which I'm pretty sure is off because her head is not big, especially compared to the rest of her (which her other stats would indicate). Who knows about these growth charts.
• She got her 3rd tooth on her birthday, but is working on at least one more (probably several)
• She started clapping on her birthday and loves it!
• She loves music and bounces/dances whenever she hears any kind of music or beat
• She is not a great eater overall, but will eat anything I'm eating. She seems to really like garlic bread, pancakes, cheerios, but isn't too into fruits and vegetables (though sometimes she likes carrots and potatoes)
• She loves crawling to the bath naked every night.
• Hazel still hates going to bed, but is getting better about getting up in the night. She generally naps 1-2 hours twice a day, but it's a bit inconsistent.

Jude

• Weight: 17 lbs 8 oz (less than 3rd% for actual age, we weren't given adjusted age)
• Height: 27 1/4 inches (less than 3rd% for actual age)
• Head size is 30% for actual age
• Jude has no teeth, but is working on a mouthful. I can see at least 4 upper ones that are working their way down.
• Jude loves to explore and play with anything that moves (opening and closing doors, gates, drawers, etc.)
• Jude loves to eat and will eat pretty much anything we give him. I don't know if he has favorites because he eats everything. He's very impatient about food and isn't good at chewing (due to impatience I think). He tends to swallow a lot of things whole and I can't cut anything fast enough for him.
• Jude is a little fussier and overall more needy than Hazel, but is still a pretty easy going guy.
• He consistently sleeps 11-13 hours at night, but takes very inconsistent naps (usually 40 minutes 2-3 times a day, but sometimes 1 1/2 hours twice a day).

Though they're both small for their actual age, the doctor thinks they look great and they are growing fine. They're both doing fine on their adjusted age growth charts, but probably won't be very big kids (maybe due to prematurity, but most likely due to "small" genes). The doctor would like them to get on their actual age growth charts in the next 6 months, but all that really matters is that they continue to grow.

When we were at the doctor yesterday (a new doctor), he walked in and said, "Wow, I didn't expect to see a kid (referring to Jude) looking like this when I read about his brain bleed." As the appointment went on, he said, "Honestly, I've never seen a kid with his brain bleed doing this well. I worked in the NICU for a year and saw a lot and I've never seen this." Jude is a true testament to God's healing power and it's so nice to hear how surprised all the professionals are when they see him. Thank you for the many prayers prayed on his and Hazel's behalf. We appreciate the continued prayers to as we strive to encourage them in their development.

20 weeks

This was taken last Monday at 20 weeks. I think it's kind of a forgiving picture because I'm pretty sure I look bigger than that. Anyhow, I'm definitely looking pregnant, but not as pregnant as I was with Hazel and Jude (thank goodness!). We hope to find out gender this coming week. Any guesses?

Birthday Fun!

We had a great day celebrating Hazel and Jude's first birthday. Here are some pictures from the day. More to come later, along with stats, favorite things, etc.

Starting off the present unwrapping early. We had so many presents to unwrap (from us and sent by family and friends) that we didn't even get through all of them in one day.

Birthdays are fun!

I made them carrot cake cupcakes. Here they are holding the entire cupcake. It looks like Jude is guarding his with his life. They had no hesitation to dig right in. It was pretty funny.

"Yum! I love carrot cake cupcakes!"

"Yum! Me too!"

"Sugar makes me happy...until I get a stomach ache."

"Eating a whole cupcake makes me happy...until I barf it up."

Ready for more presents!

"I love my new jumprope! Finally a rope/cord that I'm allowed to play with!"

Riding on her new "car" from the Snyder grandparents.

Checking out his new "car".

A Few Funny Pictures

This first series shows what happens any time Hazel and Jude see their mother with food: they have to have some! And since we want to encourage them eating more solids, Heidi likes to give them some if it is an appropriate food for them to eat. Here is Heidi trying to eat a bowl of cheerios in the family room. She got mobbed by the babies!

Part of our bedtime ritual is a bath. And part of our bath-time ritual is Hazel crawling to the tub naked and pulling to stand (and then half the time, peeing on the rug). Here she is, eager to join her brother.

Hazel loves to "help" us load and unload the dishwasher. In this one, she is sad that I have closed it up and started it running. She wanted to keep looking inside!