Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for lots of things -

loads of dirty clothes, piles of stinky diapers, stains, 2 a.m. wake up calls, stretch marks, little hands that seem to be into everything, sweet potatoes spit in my face, water splashed all over the room, teething, whiny cries, exhaustion . . . all the things we didn't think we would ever get to experience!! I am so thankful for our little miracles that God blessed us with. Every day they give me lots of smiles, laughs, squeals, and lots of snuggles and love. And I am reminded of what special blessings they are - our two little blessings sent from above. How amazing they are and I am truly thankful.

And for a husband that has walked through it all with me. I'm thankful that Addyson and Braden have a daddy willing to let them soak him so they can have fun in the bathtub and who will play with them after a long day of work until he is totally exhausted.

Someone to listen to the highlights and low points of my day - who else would also get so excited about poop, spit up, and the fact that Braden can pull himself a couple inches. I am truly blessed - thank you Lord!

"Your Love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. How priceless is your unfailing love!"

from Psalm 36

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and pray that you enjoy the many blessings God has given you!!

Splish Splash!

Addyson and Braden have been busy playing together. Braden has big smiles for Addyson and she makes him giggle and giggle!!! They've had a few run ins lately - Braden hit Addyson with a toy he stole from her and she wasn't impressed!!! But she is pretty feisty herself!! She's learned how to take her socks off and then she likes to play with them!
They have learned how to make their rattles rattle!!! They like to play together in their room after they get done eating and get their diapers changed.

Braden likes to play with daddy and sit close to him when he's eating. Usually daddy will slip him something. On this day he was getting little bites of a grilled cheese sandwich -- but apparently Braden wanted the whole thing so he just grabbed it and stuck it in his mouth!!! Pretty much everything goes straight in Braden's mouth these days - he is trying so hard to get teeth but still nothing that we can see!!! He drools buckets and buckets and his cheeks and chin look like it too - ouchy!!!

The kids got their H1N1 shots and this month's RSV shot so we're good to go for a while. I am thankful for that - because especially Addyson doesn't feel too well for a day or so after shots and that made for some not fun nights!! But we've had plenty of laughs lately too. They are both giggly and into everything. They can roll and scoot around and get themselves all kinds of places.

Here's Addyson trying out daddy's new glasses!

And Braden looking cute! He is outgrowing his bathtub and he learned to splash!

Prematurity Awareness Month

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. 1 in 8 babies in the U.S. is born prematurely. Many do not have the tremendous outcomes that our miracles did. Click on the link below to learn more about prematurity and find out ways you can help.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/fightforpreemies


There are so many wonderful doctors, nurses, and researchers that God has gifted with the abilities to research and develop ways to take care of preemies. We are so thankful for all of their work and without them we wouldn't be enjoying our precious babies today. Here are pics of our 30 weekers - sometimes it's easy to forget just how far they've come and what special preemies God gave us!!

Addyson McKinley

Braden James

8 Months Old!

This is pretty much what Addyson and Braden have been spending their time doing!! Their fingers sure must taste good!! Addyson's teeth are still trying to push all the way through. Braden's are still nowhere to be seen but he is working hard on them. I think I may have spoken too soon about the crankiness not being too bad. They have been pretty cranky lately - but who wouldn't be when your mouth hurts that bad . . . I've always thought that pain in your mouth is the worst kind so I have to feel sorry for them.

On Tuesday the kids were 8 months old!!! We had them weighed to check up on Addyson. She has finally reached the 11 pound mark!!! And Braden weighs 19 pounds!!!!! They are both gaining well.

Addyson has been sleeping much better at night. She has gone 8 hours between feedings the last couple of nights! I am so thankful for that right now - it helps the crankiness from teething and Ryan's long hours in the field to not seem so bad!!

Boomer Sooner!!!

Ryan and I went to the OU - K-State football game in Norman on Saturday! We had a great time. In case you missed it here's the scoreboard!! Boomer Sooner!!!

The weather was PERFECT!!! It was over 70 degrees in Oklahoma at kickoff - what a great night for Sooner football. A BIG thank you to Uncle Pat and Aunt Barb for the tickets - to my cousin Morgan and her friends for inviting us to tailgate with them - and to Ryan's parents for watching Addyson and Braden. I was nervous at how I would do leaving the kids - I knew they would be fine but I wasn't sure how I would feel being 4 hours away for 24 hours. We left around noon on Saturday and got home Sunday afternoon. We missed them and were glad to be home to hold them and play with them. But Ryan and I really enjoyed the time away together and I didn't worry about them like I thought I would! It was a great break for us. Here are some more pictures from the game.

And another great thing - I didn't even have to tote my pump along with me. I have finished pumping. Woo-hoo!!!! Here's what I have to show for my 8 months of hard work:

2 healthy, growing kids . . . and 41 gallon Ziploc bags full of frozen breastmilk!!!

They're getting part formula and part breastmilk and are eating so much food right now that this supply should last them through the end of the year at least!!!

So . . . now for what the kiddos are up to these days ---

We are eating lots of food - we now eat fruit too and are on to the 2nd stage baby foods that are a little thicker. Addyson LOVES her fruit and it took us a while to convince her she still needs to drink her bottle. Here's proof that sometimes she actually DOES want to eat!

Hanging out with their dad reading books

Practicing sitting all by themselves - they can both sit for a good 45 seconds or so before they topple over -

Drooling like CRAZY and chewing on anything in sight.

Addyson's bottom two teeth are poking out!!! Braden's are yet to be seen but he is constantly covered in drool and chewing on his hands and clothes ALL THE TIME so I'm sure it will be soon. They are both a little fussy but not the horrible crankiness that I was afraid of.

They're starting to get in a routine and take good naps - Braden can go 10 hours at night! Addyson hasn't been able to go very long lately but I think part of that has to do with working on her teeth so hopefully soon she can go a little bit longer. She had been doing 7 hours pretty consistently which was wonderful!!!

And of course, plenty of playing together. They are so fun to watch interact with each other!!!