CHRISTMAS PICTURES!!

Today we turned the living room into a photo studio and took Christmas pictures of the boys and their cousin Maddie!

It wouldn't be a true photo shoot if my boys didn't cry...!

 

Happy Holidays!

So Thankful!

This day last year was by far the worst day of my life.  We were told that Bennett did not have kidney's or a bladder and that he would not survive more than a few hours after birth.  At this very moment I am thankful that modern medicine is not always right!

Today was the best way I could have spent this day with my boys.  They turned 8 months old today and we took them to see Santa for the first time!  A year ago I never thought I would get to see his first anything.

These 2 boys bring so much joy into my life and I am thankful for every moment I get to spend with them (I am also thankful we are spending less time together in the middle of the night!)!


We went to the Gaylord today hoping to avoid the crowd to see Santa.  We are trying to limit Bennett's exposure this winter to try to keep him healthy, but he still has to do all the 'normal' firsts!

I thought for sure that 'stranger danger' would set in as soon as they were in Santa's lap.  I was shocked when there were no tears, but there were no smiles either...maybe they were upset about the hats!

Yes, he is trying to teethe (he still doesn't have any teeth) and you are lucky to find a time when his hands arent in his mouth

Yep...he's working on his 3rd tooth!

I am thankful to TODAY and getting to spend it with BOTH of my boys!  

Pictures Take 2!

Today we went back to the Arboretum for round 2 of pictures in the pumpkins!  It was stragetically planned with multiple reinforcements to help keep babies happy and snap extra pictures.  This time we got about 30 minutes of happy babies before the massive meltdowns began.  Overall it was success compared to last time!

Sweet Bennett!

Precious boys!

Discovering a pumpkin

Mia and Blake

Cousin Maddie Claire

Look at that bow!

Peek-a-boo!

Blake and Addison...want to share a giraffe?

Warner and Duncan Twins!

Sweet Luke was there too!

Meredith, Bryen and Maddie

Proud Papa

Mom and her Princess

They have more than pumpkins...

Blake pushing up...I was hoping it wouldn't look like he had bed head...

There were a few tears, but much less than last time

Frustration with Hope

This past week has been frustrating to say the least.  I feel like we have gone backwards 2 month in the progress Bennett has made with his eating.  He was doing great...eating 2-3 ounces at time without fighting or crying and now I'm lucky to get an ounce down him with a great deal of effort.  I'm thankful he is still doing well with baby food, but I'm still disappointed. 

The nutritionist came to the house today to weigh Bennett and he now weighs 18 pounds 0.6 ounces.  His weight for length is 83.6% (they prefer closer to 50%) and he gained 18.6 grams per day (they want 10-13 grams per day) over the past 2 weeks.  That probably doesn't mean much to many people, but it gives me hope...my hope is that his decrease in eating is because we have been feeding him too much...again.  It is a fine balance between the bottle and baby food since Bennett doesn't get to tell us when he's done like most babies.

The nutritionist also wants us to switch him to a different formula to see if it will help.  Basically the new formula is easier to digest.  I about had a heart attack when she told us this...I just bought enough of his current formula to hopefully get us through at least 3 months, and formula is one of those things they don't like to take back...maybe you will better understand if you see my formula stash...

All of this was either free or on sale...there is no way it's going to waste!

I am hoping over the next few days we see some improvement with Bennett's appetite and that we can find that 'perfect' balance if there is such a thing.

Even when I'm frustrated I can always count on them to make me smile...