July 27th, 2009

On Saturday night, the girls went to our church nursery, and stayed for the entire service! Taking them to the nursery has been a battle. They aren't used to being left with strangers and have had some attachment issues in the past. James and I had become extremely discouraged and had all but given up. To our surprise, they did very well this week. We are so proud of our big girls!

After church, we went into St. Louis to celebrate my Uncle Bart and Aunt Charlotte's 50th Anniversary! The girls enjoyed spending time with our extended family, and playing with Kent and Sue's dog, Velvet. Right before we left, Stella was being silly and fell off of a chair onto the patio. Her face hit the patio first, and she busted her lip and scraped up her nose. It could have been a lot worse. She is a tough kid!

Aunt Karen and Uncle Larry sent the girls some new toys and super cute clothes last week. The girls are wearing their outfits in the pictures below. Thanks Aunt Karen and Uncle Larry!

Nanny and Stella.

Stella and Velvet. Emerson actually enjoyed playing with Velvet more than Stella, but I didn't get any pictures of Emerson with Velvet. Velvet was very sweet and did very well with the girls.
Emerson sitting like a big girl! She looked so cute in her new outfit!
Stella was also trying to sit like a big girl in her new outfit. This picture was taken seconds before she fell. It broke my heart.

Stella's first busted lip. I think Mamaw Ruth might have been more upset than Stella.

July 23rd, 2009

I found some pictures that were left on my camera from John, Sarah, and Ellie's visit a few weeks ago.
This is Stella and Emerson enjoying the spaghetti that Aunt Sarah made us. Sarah used the girls' Great Grandma Annie's special recipe. It was amazing.

Emerson loved the spaghetti!

Stella loved it too!

The girls were showing Ellie where her nose is. Ellie didn't seem to mind.

Emerson and Stella looking at the tractor magazine with Uncle John.

Stella, Ellie, and Emerson

Happy Emerson

I was trying to get a picture of the girls kissing, but I wasn't fast enough. It is so cute when one of them gives the other one a kiss. They really are buddies.

James put a Little Swimmer on Stella's head, and she loved it!

Emerson is a princess!

Stella is a princess!

The girls enjoying their new patio.

The girls went to their buddy Jocelyn's 2nd birthday party last Saturday. It was supposed to be a swimming party, but it was 70 degrees!

Jocelyn and Stella blowing bubbles.

Emerson going down what was supposed to be a giant water slide. They were able to play on it without water. They had a blast, and didn't even know that it was supposed to have water in it!

Emerson climbing up the "water park" like a big girl.

Jocelyn got a Barbie Jeep for her birthday. The girls loved it!

One of Jocelyn's cousins taking Emerson for a ride.

Jocelyn's cousin taking Stella for a ride. Yes, he has his arm around her.

Jocelyn taking Stella for a ride.

Emerson and Stella enjoying Jocelyn's new Jeep!

Our fourth anniversary! We left the girls with my parents for the night, and we went to the Kid Rock concert with some friends. Then we spent the night at Harrahs. It was a blast!

July 17th, 2009

Wow! We have been busy! We went camping for the first part of the week. The girls did great, but the weather didn't cooperate. We ended up coming home a day early because of the rain.
On Thursday we took the girls to developmental clinic at the hospital. Emerson weighed 21.4 lbs, and Stella weighed 20.10 lbs. They both did really well on their developmental assessments. They are both right where they should be for their adjusted age! Our doctor and therapists are very pleased with their development, and can't get over how well they are doing for 25 week preemies! We don't have to go back to developmental clinic for an entire year! We are so proud of our miracle babies.
James and my dad have also been busy working on our new patio. I think they are pretty much done now. We have really enjoyed our new patio. It is quite a bit bigger than our deck was, and it looks great!
Dennis and Sharlla came over for dinner tonight, and Sharlla took some pictures of the girls enjoying their new swing set. Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty got them the swing set for their birthday. The girls love their new swing set, and they seemed to enjoy having Sharlla take their pictures. Thanks Mamaw Ruth and Papaw Marty for the awesome swing set, and thanks Sharlla for the great photos!

These girls are too cute!

Emerson is so excited about her swing set!

Stella is obviously pretty excited too!

Emerson

Stella

Stella has always hated to swing, but tonight she loved it! She made Dennis push her for about a half hour!

Emerson loves swinging (with her monkey!)

Stella's monkey was a casualty of swinging.

July 8th, 2009

Stella had her post-op appointment with the audiologist today. She passed her hearing screening, and her tubes were open with no fluid in her ears! Here are some more pictures from Uncle John, Aunt Sarah, and cousin Ellie's visit:

The girls can't get enough of "Lellie."

I love this picture because it looks like Emerson is posing.

James with Ellie and Stella.

Aunt Sarah with Emerson and Ellie.

John and James with Ellie and Stella at the zoo.

Picking out clothes at Build A Bear.

Stuffing Stella's chimp, Nigh.

Mommy and Emerson holding her leopard, Kitty.

Daddy and Stella with Nigh.

Emerson (with crazy hair), Ellie, and Stella

Crazy hair and no pants! Classy!

Naked babies=Happy babies!

Stella was trying to teach Ellie how to roll over.

July 7th, 2009

James' brother, sister-in-law, and niece came to visit us for the week. The girls have enjoyed spending time with their cousin Ellie (and Uncle John and Aunt Sarah.) The girls are very interested in Ellie, and Emerson even calls her "Lellie!" Here are some pictures from the first part of the week:

Stella relaxing on the couch with Uncle John and Cousin Ellie.

The girls checking out Ellie while James holds her.

So cute!

Stella and Emerson getting ready to go to the St. Louis Zoo for the first time.

James and John with the girls.

The leopard was the highlight of Emerson's day! When he would walk past us she would yell, "KITTY!"

Watching the zebras.

Me and Sarah with the girls.

We took the girls to Build A Bear at the zoo. Stella got a chimp that she named Nigh.

Emerson got a leopard (big surprise) that she named Kitty.

Emerson kissing "Lellie!"

Silly girls in the pool.

I love this picture of the crazy girls.

Stella splashed herself as I was taking her picture.

Emerson kept posing for the camera. She usually doesn't like to have her picture taken, so I made sure I got lots of pictures.

Playing with cousin Ellie in the pool.

More pool time.

Cousin Ellie!

Happy Emerson

Beautiful Stella