Our Family Tree

Of all my earthly possessions my family is my most favorite! I can't thank God enough for everything He's done for me and blessed me with. I am one very blessed girl!!!

Our latest masterpiece.   L.O.V.E

Rayleigh- 8 Months

Rayleigh is our easiest going baby. She smiles a lot and entertains herself well. She has long dark hair and lots of it. Her eyes are brown. She's taking her bottle well. She loves baby food. She sleeps the best at night. She is talking and cooing at lot more these days. She loves to laugh and she usually always gets the hiccups after she laughs. She loves her feet and can get them in her mouth. She always pulls her socks off. She's quiet but very mischievous. She tries to play with all the babies, however, Mia doesn't appreciate Rayleigh messing with her. She likes to steal everyone's pacifiers. Rayleigh weighs 15lb 4.5oz.

Rayleigh is showing you her toe touch.

She's trying to chew on Gracie's hand.

Gracie- 8 Months

Gracie Lou is still our diva. She makes a noise that isn't a cry, it sounds like she's complaining about something. She will let you know when she's not happy. On the flip side, she's such a sweet and funny baby. Some of her looks crack me up. She'll look at you sometimes like, 'what the heck are you talking about'. She's hilarious. She loves her paci. She can sit up for a few seconds on her own. We noticed yesterday that she has her first tooth. She likes to be held and talked to, she's very interactive. Just like Tessa, she likes to scoot backwards on her back and therefore, she doesn't have any hair on the back of her head. She's also starting to get up on all fours and is trying to scoot around. She weighs 15lbs 4.5oz.

Brant: 8 Months

Brant is such a little turkey. He loves Brady. Brady can make some funny little noises and Brant will laugh and laugh. Brant watches everything that Brady does. It melts my heart to see them two together. Brant has brown hair (with maybe a hint of red in it) and I think his eyes are going to be bluish/hazel - I think eventually they'll be hazel. He is loud, he laughs out loud, he squeals, he screams, and he cries loudly. He is getting better about intertaining himself. He rolls everywhere and he's fast at doing it. He is trying to crawl, he'll get up on all fours and tries to push forward...he's got the army crawl going on. He's also getting better about self-soothing himself. I think he sometimes gets overstimulated and he just wants to be put down and left alone. He's also doing much better at night, in fact, he slept through the night last night. He weighs 15lbs 4oz.

Brady and Brant playing in the baby bed together.

Brant and Rayleigh

Tessa: 8 Months

Tessa is our first baby to get a tooth (she now has 2)!!! She drools all the time; we usually have to change her clothes at least once a day because her shirt is so wet from the drool. When she's on her back, she will push with her legs and inch backwards...therefore, she doesn't have any hair on the back of her head. She's so big and cuddly. She's got the biggest and sweetest smile. She still doesn't have much hair. What hair she does have looks like it's going to be light brown. She's got beautiful blue eyes. She cries when you try to put her down, she loves to be held. She holds her head up well, reaches for things, she loves to stand up and bounce. She's starting to roll over (she's the last baby to get this technique down). She is fascinated by her hands. She'll look at them for the longest time just trying to figure out what they are and how they work. She can also cross her fingers. She drinks most of her bottles and loves baby food. She weighs 15lbs 3oz.

Rayleigh was practicing her new wrestling move on poor little Tessa.

Caught in the act... She's sucking, chewing, or biting Gracie's finger. Gracie and the rest of the crew better watch out now that Tessa has two teeth. They are very sharp and she's not afraid to use them!

Mia: 8 Months

Mia is our oldest quint, but you probably wouldn't guess it due to her size. She's still the smallest baby, by a lot. She weighs 13lbs 7oz. She is consistently gaining weight and is doing well in the growth department, she's just a small baby. I was concerned about her growth and talked to the pediatrician about it, he said she has "failure by comparison" --- I was like, what??? He explained that because she's a multiple, she's compared to the other babies and it looks like she's not doing well, when in all actuality, if she were a singleton, we wouldn't have anyone to compare her to and we'd think she was doing just fine. So, I'm going to stop worrying so much about her being small and except the fact that she's probably going to be my small kid. Mia has the sweetest smile and loves to snuggle. She's got a weak cry and she growls when she's trying to talk. She just had another surgery to have her airway stretched and it was very successful. She's much louder now. The doctor told us she shouldn't need the procedure done again unless she gets sick &/or starts having trouble breathing. She rolls all over the place. She's reaching for things and can put her pacifier back in her mouth when it falls out. She chews on her hands a lot, I think she's trying to cut a tooth. She will respond when you say her name. She's getting lots of brown hair and it's getting longer. Her eyes are hazel.

Quints: 8 Months

I can't believe I'm already writing this post. It can't be real that my babies are 8 months old now. This time last year, I was finally coming to grips that this was going to be my reality. I was finally convinced that we were going to have 5 babies (at the same time!!!!). I'm so thankful that our story has been a happy one. I know things could have gone much differently for us, it could have been a sad and tragic story, but thankfully God blessed us with five wonderful babies. They are getting so big. I'm amazed at how well they are doing. They're gaining weight consistently, which is great. They are meeting milestones (for their adjusted age of 5 months) and developing well. They are interacting with their environment more, staying awake and alert longer, and are very expressive and sociable with people. They all love to be held and played with, and they are noticing each other and Brady now. They all like to grab the closest pacifier and put it in their mouth. They will also put the closest hand or foot in their mouth (no matter who it belongs to). It's so funny to see one of them sucking on another one's hand or foot. They are always going to share such a sweet and special bond. They're starting to laugh a lot more. They like to eat baby food. It's a mess and takes several people to get them all fed, but they enjoy it and I'm so thankful that I had several friends go in together and buy us a baby table. It makes feeding 5 babies at once so much easier. They roll everywhere and it's a job to keep them still while they're eating through the g-tube (the girls). They have discovered their hands and feet. They grab for toys, are holding their heads up well, and are all over the place. They've all stayed pretty healthy this past month, thank the Lord. They are still wearing size 2 diapers. And are in 6-9 month clothes.

Dressed, locked & loaded and ready to go to the doctor for RSV shots. (from l to r: G, R, T, M, B)

from l to r: M, T, B, G, R

Prematurity Day 2014

So, today has been set aside to bring awareness to premature babies. I've seen several posts on Facebook of premature babies and I almost brust out crying every time I look at that tiny little baby. It brings back all the emotions of watching our five fight for their lives for those first few months. I saw this quote about premies: 'Some people get to meet their hero(s), I gave birth to mine'. How perfect is that?!?! My premies are fighters and are such strong little babies. Watching them fight for their lives was so tough and heartbreaking, but thankfully, God brought them through that tough time, He brought us all through that tough time. And I'm so thankful for the extraordinary NICU team at Baylor University Medical Center. They will always have a special place in my heart.

Here are the "sweetest" premies I've ever seen! I sure do love my 29 weekers!!

Brady: The Terrible & Terrific Two's

Brady is inching closer to three every day and it makes me so sad. I have enjoyed every stage of his life, but right now, he's really extra fun. His vocabulary and speech have exploded in the past few months. It's so funny to have a conversation with him. Sometimes, he's too smart for his own good. And he says &/or does things he should get in trouble for, but he's too darn funny and makes us laugh. He has great manners for a two-year-old, we work on that everyday and I can tell that it's working. He's a very loving little boy and very busy too. I love how he loves to rub my arm at night when he's falling asleep, and yes, he still sleeps in our bed. We haven't figured out how to get him to sleep in his own bed yet. He's a wild sleeper and keeps us up when we should be sleeping. He's a really good helper. When he wants something to eat or drink, I'll tell him to go get his bowl or cup and he knows exactly what to do.

All About Brady:
-Favorite shows: Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse Playhouse, Bubble Guppies, Curious George, Lilo & Stitch.
-Favorite things: He loves his pillow & blanket (when his pillow case starts to come off, he tells me "pillow broke" so I have to "fix it" for him and put the case back on it). He loves to play with his trains & loves to run around like a crazy person. He loves bubble baths. He loves going outside.
-Favorite colors: He loves the color blue. He has learned most of his colors. He loves to play on Steven's iPhone.
-Favorite food: He likes strawberry waffles, strawberry oatmeal, strawberry yogurt, orange juice, Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, fried catfish, french fries, mash potatoes, goldfish, pretzels, gummy bears, Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, & water with ice.
-Favorite people: He gets so excited when Gavin comes over to play with him. He loves anyone who will play with him.
-My Favorite Brady Phrases: "hold you" (instead of hold me), "I love you", "I'm awake" (he says that every time he wakes up from a nap or in the mornings), "where's babies", "I'm back". Last night he told me he was going to "spank my butt"....that wasn't my favorite phrase but it sure was funny. His daddy got in trouble for saying that phrase to him!

Sometimes he's moody.

He's ALL BOY... here, he's playing with a frog.

He plays hard and he sleeps hard.

He hates pictures. I'm sure people wonder why he's never in pictures with the quints, well it's because he won't stop and be still and take a picture. In fact, he usually throws a major fit when it comes to pictures. We have to try to bribe him with candy and most of the time, that doesn't even work.

He loves trucks.

He likes pony rides.

He's fearless and he loves his Thomas the Train baseball cap.

He loves to take bubble baths and rub bubbles all over the wall.

He knows how to throw some major fits. 

He loves Brant and does a great job of entertaining Brant. Brant laughs more at Brady than anyone else.

Like father, like son. Brady is a lot like Steven.

He's pretty darn cute, if I must say so myself.

This is exactly how he sleeps, with his pillow over his head (and sometimes with his trains in the bed with him).

Sometimes he still thinks he's a baby.

He loves orange juice and strawberry waffles. (He'll even eat the waffles straight from the freezer, still frozen).

He's too cool for words.

He loves Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets.

When his pillow case comes off (to him its broken), mama has to fix it. He loves to rub his pillow between his fingers.

He's always got to be in the middle of everything...here, he's on top of the baby table during feeding time.

He's a tractor guy.

He still likes to bounce in his bouncer.

He loves playing with his trains.

He's always on the go and loves to be outside.

He's part monkey. He loves to climb on everything.

He still has blond hair and beautiful blue eyes.

Oh, how I love my sweet little boy. He's growing up too fast and it really makes me sad how fast time is flying by. Of course, there's times when I could pull my hair out because he's being a little toot, but what do you expect from a little boy. He's a little charmer, full of life, silly, funny, one-of-a-kind ringtail tooter & I wouldn't trade being his mama for the world. I wish I could slow time down, but since I can't I'm going to do my very best to enjoy every little moment of Brady's precious life. 

And I will say, I'm terrified of what life will be like in a couple of years when I have FIVE two-year-olds!!! Start praying now people, start praying now!