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!

A Happy Week

All the prayers we've prayed...

All the tears we've cried...

All the time spent at the doctor...

All the medicines, regimens, treatments, and therapies...

Now look at them!

On Wednesday, Hazel and Jude will be one year old, and all I can say is, this is going to be an emotional week.

Siblings

Hazel and Jude are constantly interacting, mostly by pulling or pushing on each other to get where they want to go.

This is a few weeks old, but here Hazel is using Jude's face to help her stand. Surprisingly, he didn't mind.

Just a few days ago: Jude finally getting back at Hazel by pinning her down while she was trying to stand at the gate. She was not happy. He was also trying to get to the gate.

They have a lot of learning to do when it comes to playing "together". Basically, they just always want what the other one has. I can give them the exact same toy, but it doesn't matter. They still want what the other one has. And lately, Hazel's been trying to steal Jude's bottle if he's feeding himself. Who knew the jealousy would spill over into eating?! They are great kids though.