Saturday, October 20, 2012

T-Shirts and Small Projects

I love Saturdays because we can spend the whole day together as a family and I get Tom's help with the babies. I can even run a few errands on my own and leave the babies home with him for a little bit. I knew today was the release of some new Thunder shirts at Tree & Leaf, so I ran to pick some up for me and my crew. I can't get over how cute my sugars are in their little Rumble T's!


And here's my new Thunder shirt!


I've been brainstorming ideas for a small project: organizing Wren's hair accessories. After I picked up our Thunder-wear, I stopped at Hobby Lobby to get a few items for my little project. 

I purchased this precious wrought iron 5-prong wall hook for $8.99 (40% off of $14.99 with a coupon). I also bought 2 white command hooks for $4.99, and a 4-pack of D-rings in the fabric section for $1.99 for the other part of the project. The total for this project was $15.99.

When I got home, I hung the hook on the back of the nursery door because there wasn't an open spot for it on any of the nursery walls. 


Next, I sifted through my big bag of various ribbon pieces. (Okay, it's actually my mom's bag that I confiscated a while back.) After I found 4 pieces of ribbon that were long enough, I trimmed them, heat sealed the ends, and hot-glued them around the D-rings.


After I finished gluing the ribbon on the rings, I hung the rings on the prongs and clipped Wren's bows onto the ribbons. I left the middle prong open for headbands. Pretty simple, and I think it turned out pretty cute!


Since I had all my crafting supplies and ribbon out and I was in a project mood, I decided that Wren needed a bow to go with her Thunder shirt, a brown bow, and a white bow. I think I got a little carried away with the white bow. She'll just have to grow into it! Ha! ;)



Friday, October 19, 2012

Last October

Exactly 1 year ago, on October 19, we got a phone call that would change our lives forever. Our fertility clinic called to give us the official blood work results of our IVF pregnancy test. The results were that I was very positively pregnant! I remember that day so vividly, Tom, Ruby, and I were sitting in the empty bedroom between our office and master bedroom awaiting a phone call from our clinic. The room that we sat in was a room that was kept empty for a long time in anticipation that we would one day be able to turn it into a nursery for a sweet little baby. We cleared the room in faith that the Lord would bless us with a child. The Lord is faithful, and He blessed us more than we could have ever imagined. He blessed us with TWO children at once. I can't imagine life without our precious miracles, Grady and Wren. I look back on our joyful celebration in that empty bedroom with an extremely full and thankful heart.

A lot has happened since that day last October. We lost my dear Granny Mary,  I carried our precious babies 32 weeks and 5 days, I delivered our babies and recovered from a tough C-Section, spent a long, exhausting month visiting our babies in the NICU, brought our babies home from the hospital, learned how to care for them and be a family of 4, we lost Tom's dear Grandma Helen, I quit my full-time job, and became a full-time stay-at-home-mommy. Whew! Lots of changes and adjustments!

And because I can't conclude this post without their picture, here's an instagram I snapped last night after checking on my babies for the last time before going to bed. 

Your mama loves you so much, sweet babies.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Poppy Seed Chicken with Havarti Cheese

You know those friends who are rockstars and completely keep you afloat during life's biggest trials? Well, my friend Julie is a complete rockstar friend. She's probably not going to like the fact that I'm bragging on her here but, that's okay. During our crazy exhausting NICU days she would not let me get away with telling her we didn't need anything. She went grocery shopping for us, let herself into our house, stocked our fridge and freezer with food, made us her awesome homemade granola bars, and left hot ready-to-eat meals for us after some really long days. She blessed us big time!

One of the meals she made for us was Poppy Seed Chicken with Havarti Cheese. It was a hit with Tom and I. I got the recipe from her via Vanderbilt Wife a while back and finally got around to making it last Monday. This recipe will be in our regular dinner rotation now. Thanks Jules!


1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3 oz. Havarti cheese, diced or shredded (I used sliced deli Havarti)
4 1/2 T butter, divided
3 T flour
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. chicken base or bouillon (I used sodium free Herb-Ox bouillon packets)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 T poppy seeds
1/3 c. plain yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)
1/3 c. soft bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs)

Melt 3 T butter. Whisk in 3 T flour. Whisk for one minute until bubbly. Whisk in milk; stir continuously for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and boullion. Remove from heat.

Stir in chicken, cheese, and poppy seeds. Keep stirring until cheese is melted. Fold in yogurt. Pour into buttered casserole dish.

Top with bread crumbs; dot with butter. Cook at 350º for 40-50 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles (I served over white basmati rice).

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Grady & Wren: 5 Months





 









Grady's Stats: 13 lbs 9 oz / 23 inches

Wren's Stats: 14 lbs  1 oz / 24 inches

Grady's Clothing & Diaper Size: 3 Month/3-6 Month clothes and Size 2 diapers

Wren's Clothing & Diaper Size: 3 Month/3-6 Month clothes and Size 2 diapers

Special Outings: Sunday, September 11, was your first Sunday in the church nursery. One of the sweet baby room volunteers, Mary Ann, wrote this message on my Facebook wall about what you did on your first Sunday in her room. I'm so thankful she posted this message for me, it's such a big milestone for mommy and you guys! Sounds like you guys had a great time and had lots of ladies to love on you.


On Wednesday, September 12, we went back downtown to see Miss Sherri at Mommy's old office. She knitted a blanket for you, Grady, and crocheted a blanket for you, Wren. She wasn't there the first time I took you to the office, so we made a special trip to see her.

On Thursday, September 13, we went to visit Daysha, Lyndon, and Denton at their house in Yukon for a few hours in the afternoon. You had lots of fun and Miss Daysha got to help Mommy and love on you guys.

On Saturday, September 15, I took you both to Sam's to shop for a few items. Daddy met us there after he helped a friend with truck trouble. Sam's is the only place where the carts are big enough to put both of your carriers in at the same time. Of course, if both of you are in the cart, I only have the underneath area to hold our items. Obviously I can only do this when we have very few items on our list. I had it under control, even if Daddy hadn't met up with us after we had been there for a bit. But I'm glad he came in his own car because I didn't take the stroller out of the back of the car and our loot wouldn't have fit very well otherwise.


On Sunday, September 23, our church had a baby dedication for you along with several other babies. During the dedication service, your Daddy and I committed to teach and train you to: follow God, to lead a Christ-centered life, and to develop a relationship with the Lord.

On Tuesday, October 2, we had our first play date with babies around your age at Miss Paula's house. We played with Caleb and his momma, Paula; Cora and her momma, Hillary; and Sawyer and his momma, Amber. In total there were 5 babies, 2 big kids, and 4 mommas. It was surprisingly not a zoo and we had a very nice time. The other mommas helped me love on you and feed you. So thankful for their help with you on top of taking care of their own babies!

On Friday, October 5, you went on your first road trip to see Aunt Blaire get married in Tulsa. The trip started with a 1.5 hour detour, but despite that you both were exceptional travelers. There was minimal fussing both going to Tulsa and coming home. We stayed in a hotel after the wedding and you slept the whole night in hotel cribs. Your Daddy and I are so proud of how well you did.





On Saturday, October 6, we went to visit Aunt Heather and Uncle Steven at their new house in Tulsa and then we went out to eat lunch with them before heading home. We had a great weekend away from home but all four us were pretty exhausted from our little trip.


Milestones: You both are great nighttime sleepers. We have swaddled you every night until last night (October 6). You have been repeatedly getting your arms out and we figured you are over being swaddled. Mommy and Daddy are not over swaddling yet because it helps you fall asleep quickly. After we put you down without your swaddles on last night, you cried off and on for a few hours, but you both finally fell asleep and stayed that way until 7:00am. You normally sleep from when we put you down at 8:30pm to 6:00am, so about 9 1/2 hours a night. You are also becoming sturdier and stronger. Wren you like to fully extend your strong little legs and "stand up" in anything we try to buckle you into (the stroller, swing, bouncy seat, and car seat). You have both become so much more interactive when you are spoken and sung to. You are "talking" more and now laughing and squealing. You can tell the difference between people you know and strangers. You've both started grasping the toys hanging from your play mat. You also grasp hair, necklaces, our shirts, and your burp rags. You've found your hands and oftentimes they are in your mouth, especially you Wren. When we put you on your tummies for tummy time you are starting to push up more than before. You have not rolled from your tummy to back yet. We are still working on that skill.

My Thoughts:  Your small bottles that hold up to 5 ounces are no longer needed. It really got to me. I teared up and was simultaneously happy and sad. It spurred me to go back and read the update emails that the NICU sent on your behalf to Daddy and me every night. You used to only take +/-1 ounce per feeding (we had to measure your intake in mL), first by feeding tube and then by bottle. Now you are taking 6 ounces at each feeding. We are so proud of the progress you have made! It was hard to see past the heaviness of the NICU days when we were in it, but you have soared past those hurdles with flying colors. You are both incredible miracles that I get to hug, squeeze, kiss, and nurture. 

Routine:
These days our routine looks roughly like this:
6:00am Feed
6:30am-9:45am Nap
10:15am Feed
10:45am-1:30pm Playtime/Tummy time/Cat naps
1:30pm Feed
2:00pm-4:00pm Playtime/Nap
4:00pm-5:00pm Playtime
5:15pm Feed
5:30pm-7:30pm Playtime/Tummy time/Cat naps/Bath-time
8:00pm Feed
8:30pm Bedtime

Favorites: Being spoken to, sung to, our bedtime routine, and your new johnny and jenny jump-up toys



Dislikes:  You both still hate tummy time with a passion. Grady, you get so upset when you finish a bottle and we take it out of your mouth.  You have started throwing royal fits over this. It is out of control! We have to have a paci close by for you to keep sucking on after your bottle is finished.

Food:  At your 4 month appointment, your doctor said you could stop using Similac Neosure Premature formula. We received samples of Similac Advance, Similac Sensitive (for fussiness and gas), and Similac Spit-Up. Now that we have tried all of those formulas, we have decided that Similac Sensitive is the best fit for you both right now.