April 29th, 2008

For those of you that don't know, my grandpa has had a rough year. To make a very long story short, my grandpa started to go down hill this time last year and after surgery, aspirating fluid into his lungs multiple times, and several hospitalizations, he ended up in a nursing home. His doctors don't seem to know what went wrong, but he is very confused most of the time. I have only been to see him one other time since the girls were born, and the girls had not met him yet. Yesterday, my mom and I took the girls to a doctor's appointment and then stopped to see my grandpa on our way back. Luckily, my grandpa was having a great day. He knew who we were and was able to carry on a fairly normal conversation. To our surprise, he put his hands out to hold the girls and we were able to get pictures of him holding both of them. In a situation with very little hope, we celebrate the good days.

Papa Fox and Emerson
Papa Fox and Stella

Papa Fox and Emerson (Emerson's hair doesn't usually look that red)

Papa Fox and Stella

Stella and Emerson in their adorable hats

Papaw Marty being silly with Stella

April 27th, 2008

We all survived our first big road trip! We left late Thursday night and drove through the night to try to keep the girls on their schedule, and we were hoping that they would sleep in the car. On the way to Indiana, they slept most of the way with very little crying. However, on the way home on Saturday, we left a little bit earlier so we could eat dinner with our friends Beth and Darwin in Indy, and then stopped at a rest stop to feed the girls their last bottles of the night. The girls did great until after their last feeding...then Stella cried from Brazil, Indiana to Vandalia, Illinois. It was horrible! I think she was just tired of being in her car seat (we were all tired of being in the car.) Besides a few hours of crying in the car, the girls really did do great. We were very busy and ran around a lot more than they are used to. On Friday, we all spent time with James' family, and then on Saturday we went to Marion (where we went to college) for James' brother's graduation. The girls and I skipped graduation and met up with my friend Kim at Starbucks. When James and his family were done with the ceremony, we all met up for lunch. The girls got to meet several family members that they hadn't met yet. They did really well during lunch and did pretty well with being passed around and having cameras in their faces. We got home early this morning, and we are all going to try to rest and recover today before starting another busy week.

Great Aunt Karen with Emerson
Great Great Uncle Odell with Stella

Great Great Aunt Pat with Stella

Great Grandma Mary Ann with Emerson and Stella

Emerson laughing!

April 21, 2008

Emerson and Stella got their flu shot booster today, and they got weighed while they were there. Emerson weighed 12lbs 12oz and Stella weighed 12lbs 3oz! They are getting so big! Emerson is rolling over from her back to her stomach and is rolling across the floor. Stella is grabbing toys and is working on sitting up by herself. They have both enjoyed the warm weather and seem to love being outside. We still think that they are teething. Stella has been pretty happy, but Emerson has been extremely fussy for about a week. I talked to the doctor, and I think we are going to give orajel a try. (We have already tried teething tabs and Tylenol.) At the end of the week, the girls will take their first road trip. We will be going to Indiana for James' brother's college graduation. We are going to drive through the night to make the 7 hour trip easier on the girls. Hopefully, the trip will be a positive experience for all of us!

Emerson and Stella relaxing on the recliner.

Daddy making Stella and Emerson laugh before bath time.

April 14th, 2008

Buddies.

Emerson and Stella were 7 months old on Friday! They both have a busy week this week. They have developmental, occupational, and physical therapies, parents as teachers, and their last RSV shots. They will get weighed when they get their last RSV shots, and we will post their weights when we know them. They were also busy little babies last week. We have decided to try to take them out a little bit more now that the weather is getting nicer. They went to the accountant with us to finalize our taxes on Thursday, then they went to church and out to dinner on Sunday, and finally, they went to pick out their swing set for Mamaw and Papaw's house. (They slept in their car seats while cousin Ruthi tried out all of the swing sets.) We changed their schedules last week also. They are sleeping longer at night now, and they have been much more pleasant during the day because of it. They get four bottles a day, and then they get baby food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They are doing really well with their baby food. So far, they have tried rice and oatmeal cereal, green beans, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Stella prefers bananas and sweet potatoes, while Emerson seems to like anything we offer. Over the next few weeks we will probably also try apples, carrots, peas, and barley. They are both holding onto rattles and toys, and Emerson hit Stella in the head with a rattle last week and left a mark! They are getting to be such big girls!

Emerson and Stella
Stella

Emerson

April 8th, 2008

I know we have posted a lot of pictures recently, but I just can't help it! They are starting to do so many new things, and we are so proud of them. We can't help but show off our babies! Emerson found her voice today, and I got it on video! The videos are at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Go Colts!
Stella sucking on her hand.

Emerson eating Stella's foot.

Emerson talking!

Emerson singing or talking...you decide!

April 5th, 2008

Emerson is starting to hold her bottle! She doesn't mess around when it comes to her food!
Emerson loves playing with her hands.

Stella loves sucking on her hands. We were trying to get a picture of her sucking on her hand, but she started rubbing her eyes when we got out the camera.

Stella and Emerson sat in their stroller like big girls when we went for a walk today. They were very interested in their surroundings and seemed to enjoy the walk.

Emerson

Stella

April 1st, 2008

Emerson and Stella went back to Boone Hospital last week for developmental clinic. Stella finally caught back up with Emerson...they both weighed 11 lbs 4 oz! Emerson is still quite a bit longer than Stella though. Emerson was 23 3/4 in. long and Stella was 22 3/4 in. long! James and I sometimes wonder if Emerson will be tall like him and Stella will be not so tall (like me!) I guess we will just have to wait and see. Both girls did really well at developmental clinic. We were a little bit concerned because they had to skip their morning nap so we could be there at 9am, but they both did great! They were being tested according to their adjusted age (it was 2 months 25 days.) They both tested between 3 and 4 months developmentally! We have two tough little girls! Emerson's hair is finally growing back, and it sticks straight up! Stella's hair is growing back on the sides, but she is still pretty bald on top...she really does look like Great Grandpa Bob! The girls are starting to interact with each other a lot more. It is so funny! They smile and talk to each other whenever they can see each other, and they have even started holding hands. Emerson is eating her cereal really well and can almost get her feet to her mouth. Stella has started scooting around in her crib and loves to sing along with music. Hopefully, she sings better than her parents! James has been really sick, but so far the rest of us have stayed healthy. We are really hoping that the girls and I can avoid getting sick. James' brother, John, and John's fiance, Sarah, came to visit for James' birthday. Here are some of the pictures:

Uncle John and Stella
Uncle John and Emerson

Aunt Sarah and Stella

Aunt Sarah and Emerson

Stella

Emerson