Brady is TWO!!!!

Where has time gone? I can't believe my baby boy is 2 years old already. I still remember being pregnant with him and wondering what life would be like after he arrived. I remember the day of his birth so vividly. I remember thinking he was so tiny, even though he was 8 lbs 2 oz. I remember thinking he'd never sleep through the night. I remember thinking he'd never be able to ride in a car without me in the backseat and even then, I wondered if he'd ever ride peacefully and quietly. I remember wondering if he'd ever start talking. I'm thankful I've kept up with Brady's developments on my blog, I can always go back and read when he did certain things, because there's so many things I've already forgotten exactly when they happened. I also did a "pretty" good job of writing milestones in his baby book as well as a scrapbook. I hope I'm able to continue to write down his future milestones because I know I'm only going to continue to get busier the older Brady gets as well as the arrival of our new additions.

My how he's changed over the past two years. I'm so amazed how fast these past two years have gone. Since he arrived, I've tried to make myself 'live in the moment'. I try to enjoy every little moment of his life. I can't describe and there really aren't words to describe how much we love Brady. He has been such a blessing since the day I found out I was pregnant with him. He made us parents and filled a huge hole that was missing in our lives.

Here's a few things Brady has been up to lately.
=His vocabulary is expanding every day. Since I've been in the hospital for over 6 weeks, I've really been able to notice how well he's talking.
=If he wants something, he'll say, "right there, right there". My sisters brought him out to Dallas last week and they didn't even get 15 miles away from home before he spotted a Dairy Queen and said, "right there, right there".....of course he got ice cream.
=His favorite person in the world is his Aunt Kristian.
=He loves playing with tractors, trucks, and trains. He will play for a while by himself with him toys.
=He loves watching Frosty and Curious George.
=He gets up at church and helps lead songs.
=It's the cutest thing ever to hear him say a prayer.
=He can tell you that mama is in the hospital.
=He loves to have his face and back rubbed. He also likes to have his fingernails filed. He'll be perfectly still and doesn't like it when you stop.
=He's acting like he might be getting more teeth in the back of his mouth.
=He doesn't like to use FaceTime. He likes to get the phone and push the End button.
=It melts my heart to hear him say, "I love you".
=He can climb out of a baby bed now. I can't believe it took him so long to do it but Steven had to convert his baby bed into a toddler bed because we were scared he might fall and hurt himself.
=He loves to be outside. I'll be so happy when it warms up and he can go out more.

It amazes me how much he understands now. He listens to everything, even when you think he's not paying attention. He is a boy on the go. And he's such a little charmer.

Here's a look back of some of my favorite pics of Brady.

Love, love, love that sweet little smile.

I couldn't agree more... Thank Heaven for "our" Little Boy!

All kids have to have at least one bath in the kitchen sink.

Cutest little frog ever..Brady's first Halloween

Love those big blue eyes.

My little cookie monster... I caught him cramming his mouth with mini Oreos

Shopping with mama

Ready to swim!

Such a happy boy!

Future gardener....just like Daddy.

Smiling and riding in a car....something we never thought we'd see...

Little beach bum

He is a man of many talents. 

Little sherif ... Brady's 2nd Halloween

I think he's a little confused about this potty training thing...

He wasn't excited to meet Santa this year.

In deep thought

Stealing mama's bed when she gets up to use the restroom.

Mama's little monkey!

Brady had several birthday celebrations this past week, but we've decided to have his birthday party this summer when everyone is home and settled in... I can't wait to plan his tractor party... I'm so excited.

Happy 2nd Birthday Brady James!! We love you so much! Can't wait to see how much you change in the next year.

Quint Pregnancy- 28 wks!!!!

I'm 7 months pregnant with the quints!!!! What a blessing it is to finally make it to that big 28 week milestone we've been working towards. I know all the glory goes to God. I'm so thankful for all the people out there who are praying for us. I'm so blessed to be here at Baylor where everyone is taking such good care of me. I have not come across one person who hasn't treated me with the upmost respect and care. My nurses even gave me a cookie cake celebrating me making it to 28 weeks! They are seriously the sweetest people ever. As happy as I'll be to get out of the hospital and start enjoying my life again, I'm really going to miss all the ladies who have taken such good care of me the past (almost) 6 weeks.

This past week has been a lot tougher. I am getting more uncomfortable everyday. I'm having a harder time sleeping at night which really affects the rest of my day. Nights when I sleep well tend to lead to better days. I had my soon yesterday and all the babies still look good. Starting this week I'll have 2 sonos (on Tue & Fri). I'm also having my contractions monitored twice a day. So far everything still looks good even though I feel like I could pop at any moment. My weight gain  is concerning me. Last week I weighed 148 lbs and this week I weighed 149 lbs. It's getting harder to eat very much at a time and I always feel full. I drink several Boosts a day to try to get the nutrients needed for all the babies. Last weeks sono showed that the babies are growing well, I just have to keep trying to eat as much as I can to keep them fed and healthy. I'm having more contractions, but they are moderate and in an irregular pattern. I find that I'm starting to stress out about every little pain I have, I guess I know the end is getting closer and I really want to keep these babies inside me as long as I possibly can. My doc told me this past weekend that the longest they'll let me go in this pregnancy is 34 weeks. So at the most I have less than 6 weeks to go. I'm really hoping to make it to my goal of 30 weeks, but every day from here on is a blessing. For every day I stay pregnant means 3 less days the quints have to stay in the NICU. Every day is a blessing. All the babies are still very active, and they like to put on a show while I'm having a sono. My doctors decided I didn't need to have my blood sugar checked every day because I was never too high, so now they spot check my sugar levels once a day, Mon-Thur. My problem is keeping my sugar levels up, the past two days, I've been too low.

I haven't taken my 28 week picture yet. Hopefully I'll get that done before Sun.

Thank you all so much for all the prayers.

Quints Pregnancy- 27 weeks

So we're only a few more days from our big milestone of 28 weeks. I'm so thankful to still be pregnant with the quints. Like any pregnancy, I'm getting more uncomfortable every day, but with that being said, I really am enjoying this pregnancy. I love being pregnant, it's such a wonderful blessing. I love feeling the babies move around, they are very active. I had a sono today and everyone still looks good. They all weigh between 2lb to 2lbs 11oz. I was worried about the smallest baby but my doctor said she was doing fine. I was surprised they were that big. I hope they continue to grow each day. I know I'm growing like crazy.

My sugar levels have been on the low side so my doctors are letting me eat pretty much whatever I want. Steven got us take-out all weekend and my sugar levels were never too high. My nurses are calling me a "pretend" diabetic. I have to agree with them, I honestly don't think I have too big of a problem. My nurses are working on getting permission to scale back on monitoring my sugar levels since I'm not having issues of being too high.

I've enjoyed lots of company lately. Steven & Brady came up Thursday to see me, Mom and Kristian came Friday to see me (they took Brady home with them when they left) so Steven & I got to spend the rest of the weekend together. My grandmother from Houston came up Sunday and because of bad weather, she stayed Monday night as well, so it's been nice to see so much of my family lately. I've also had lots of friends stop by.

I want to thank everyone who's been praying for us. I know the only reason I've made it this far is because of all the prayers people have been saying on our behalf and God saying yes to those prayers.

27 wks

Quints Pregnancy- Gestational Diabetes

There is never, ever, ever, ever a dull moment in this pregnancy. Monday I did my glucose test and failed it (barely). So Wednesday, I had to do the three hour glucose test. They woke me up at 4am, took my blood, then I had to drink the yucky sugar juice. They came back at 5am, 6am, and 7am to take my blood. To pass the three hour test my blood levels had to be within the normal range on 3 of the 4 blood tests. Well, I only passed the first (baseline) test. So that means I have gestational diabetes.

The treatment plan is to watch how many carbs I eat each day. My dietician has been working with me everyday to teach me how many carbs are in the foods I eat and she helps me plan a menu that will work for me. Originally, my daily calorie intake was 2200. They check my blood at 6:30am, then I drink a Boost, around 8:30am I eat breakfast, two hours later, they check my blood again, then I eat a snack. I eat lunch around 11:30am-12:30pm, and they check my blood two hours later. Then I eat a snack, later I eat dinner, two hours later I have my blood checked and finally before I go to bed I drink another Boost. It's really hard to stay on such a strict schedule and remember how many carbs are in all the foods I eat. I'm so thankful I'm in the hospital so my nurses, doctors, and dietician can help me make good choices and stay on track.

I pains me to know I can't eat whatever I want; I'm a carb loving girl! I love bread and chips. To stay within my daily caloric intake I really have to watch what I eat. At breakfast, lunch, and dinner I can have 45g of carbs. 8 chips equals about 15g of carbs! I can probably eat 50 chips with salsa in one sitting!

I have a new found respect for people who live with diabetes on a daily basis. Diabetes is a disease that really changes your life. I'm sure once you become familiar with how many carbs are in foods and know how much you can eat to keep your blood sugar regulated it becomes easier to deal with but it's definitely something you have to stay on top of and become educated about.