Some pictures of David: (more to follow of the others when they finish loading)
Friday, August 9, 2013
At this very moment one year ago . . .
David was being born! Will was already out, and Marcie, Seth and Gracie were on their way. In less than 3 1/2 minutes our 5 babies entered the world. Today all are healthy, happy, hearty and hale, miraculous given how early they were born and how tiny Gracie was (1 lb 12 oz), and how very sick Seth was. We PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW that Seth is with us to celebrate today! I don't have any birthday cake pictures yet since we are actually celebrating tomorrow when my brother and his wife can join us. (We'll miss you, Katie and Calvin!)
Some pictures of David: (more to follow of the others when they finish loading)
Some pictures of David: (more to follow of the others when they finish loading)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
"Birthday" confusion
Hi all!
Several people have asked me to clarify what I mean when I say the quints' actual birthdate is coming up (this Friday) but that they are really just 9-month-olds. In case I've been too confusing on the blog, when I say "adjusted" age I mean the age they would be if they had been single babies and had been born on their due date, November 3rd. In my mind that is really the day they will be one-year-olds. Right now I consider them 9-month-olds because that's what they are, "adjusted" for being born 3 months early. My reasoning (and that of the therapists and preemie specialists) is that we wouldn't expect any other baby due or born in early November to be walking or talking yet, so neither do we expect ours to be walking and saying their first words. David, of course, is ahead of the curve, being able to stand on his own and climb things. Seth has been running about a month behind other kids his adjusted age (so he's more like an 8 month old, thanks to his extended hospital stay) but that's only in the area of large motor skills. He was the first babbler and has been the first one to learn to say and wave bye-bye. He is clearly just as bright as the other babies! It's so much fun to watch him play and "talk" and problem-solve. His small motor skills are excellent. Speaking of which, all the babies have a great pincer grasp when picking up their food, although Will thinks a fistful is better than two fingers' full. ;)
Seth laughing at Aunt Samantha:
All this to say, this coming Friday, and all week long in fact, I feel like we're celebrating a year of God's amazing faithfulness and goodness and the miracles He's done since these little ones were actually born. We're going to be in Arkansas with my family, so there will be no big birthday shindig beyond cake and a couple of presents - mostly so they can have a few new toys to keep them entertained while we enjoy some peace, Lord willing! In November I hope we can host an open house for the babies' due date.
Another BIG reason I don't consider the babies one-year-olds is that time is flying by too fast, and I want to be able to think of them as 9-month-olds and savor each day! They are just so much fun.
Thanks for caring and celebrating with us, and for praying us through to this day!
Love and gratitude beyond measure,
Carrie
Several people have asked me to clarify what I mean when I say the quints' actual birthdate is coming up (this Friday) but that they are really just 9-month-olds. In case I've been too confusing on the blog, when I say "adjusted" age I mean the age they would be if they had been single babies and had been born on their due date, November 3rd. In my mind that is really the day they will be one-year-olds. Right now I consider them 9-month-olds because that's what they are, "adjusted" for being born 3 months early. My reasoning (and that of the therapists and preemie specialists) is that we wouldn't expect any other baby due or born in early November to be walking or talking yet, so neither do we expect ours to be walking and saying their first words. David, of course, is ahead of the curve, being able to stand on his own and climb things. Seth has been running about a month behind other kids his adjusted age (so he's more like an 8 month old, thanks to his extended hospital stay) but that's only in the area of large motor skills. He was the first babbler and has been the first one to learn to say and wave bye-bye. He is clearly just as bright as the other babies! It's so much fun to watch him play and "talk" and problem-solve. His small motor skills are excellent. Speaking of which, all the babies have a great pincer grasp when picking up their food, although Will thinks a fistful is better than two fingers' full. ;)
Seth laughing at Aunt Samantha:
All this to say, this coming Friday, and all week long in fact, I feel like we're celebrating a year of God's amazing faithfulness and goodness and the miracles He's done since these little ones were actually born. We're going to be in Arkansas with my family, so there will be no big birthday shindig beyond cake and a couple of presents - mostly so they can have a few new toys to keep them entertained while we enjoy some peace, Lord willing! In November I hope we can host an open house for the babies' due date.
Another BIG reason I don't consider the babies one-year-olds is that time is flying by too fast, and I want to be able to think of them as 9-month-olds and savor each day! They are just so much fun.
Thanks for caring and celebrating with us, and for praying us through to this day!
Love and gratitude beyond measure,
Carrie
Marcie, Gracie and Will are going places!
And not just by crawling! :)
 |
| The bottom of this shopping cart is full of plaster of paris so it doesn't tip over. Genius idea, Lynn! Marcie is pushing Gracie, who doesn't appear to know what to think about it. |
 |
| Gracie may not be thrilled with this idea, but Marcie clearly is! |
 |
| With her sister no longer at the controls, Grace is happy in her new "seat." |
 |
| Will is going up, up, up! He also loves to be hung upside down. In fact, all the kids but Seth love it! Upside down was Isaac's favorite way to be carried, oddly enough. |
Monday, August 5, 2013
Got someone! And Gracie is crawling all over!
Thanks for volunteering, Trish! :)
Gracie is SO cute crawling and laughing and babbling all over. Hooray, Grace! She crawled by 9 months adjusted age, within normal development. We're SO grateful; we continue to work with and encourage Seth, and he's making slow but steady progress. He's definitely getting to the toys he really wants that are just out of reach. He scooches a bit and uses his hands on the floor to stabilize himself as he reaches way out. Hooray, Seth! He also ate really well for the speech therapist today - pears off of a spoon. Thanks for praying!
Love,
Carrie
Gracie is SO cute crawling and laughing and babbling all over. Hooray, Grace! She crawled by 9 months adjusted age, within normal development. We're SO grateful; we continue to work with and encourage Seth, and he's making slow but steady progress. He's definitely getting to the toys he really wants that are just out of reach. He scooches a bit and uses his hands on the floor to stabilize himself as he reaches way out. Hooray, Seth! He also ate really well for the speech therapist today - pears off of a spoon. Thanks for praying!
Love,
Carrie
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Anyone available tomorrow afternoon? Plus photos
Hi those of you in this area,
Do any of you happen to be able to come help tomorrow around 3:15 to about 6:00? We have a gastroenterology appointment for Seth. I'll post as soon as I get someone.
Thanks!
Carrie
Below are a couple more pictures of our surprise visitor who, together with his grandma, allowed us to take the "sextuplets" picture just for fun. ;) Even Isaac had to study the "Matchy-matchy" picture I posted yesterday to realize there were too many babies and figure out which one wasn't ours! He said twice, "This is really hard!" The extra little guy is the grandson of Lynn, one of our beloved volunteers. We loved having him here to play Friday; Marcie especially seemed quite taken with him!
Do any of you happen to be able to come help tomorrow around 3:15 to about 6:00? We have a gastroenterology appointment for Seth. I'll post as soon as I get someone.
Thanks!
Carrie
Below are a couple more pictures of our surprise visitor who, together with his grandma, allowed us to take the "sextuplets" picture just for fun. ;) Even Isaac had to study the "Matchy-matchy" picture I posted yesterday to realize there were too many babies and figure out which one wasn't ours! He said twice, "This is really hard!" The extra little guy is the grandson of Lynn, one of our beloved volunteers. We loved having him here to play Friday; Marcie especially seemed quite taken with him!
 |
| This one would be really tough even for me! Will, Seth, Noah and David are enjoying looking at Marcie and Lyneé outside the window. (I don't know how much Marcie and Lyneé enjoyed the HOT outdoors!) |
 |
| The latest boy band? :) David, Noah and Will posed themselves like this and I was able to capture the moment! |
 |
| Noah and David |
 |
| Marcie and David are constantly pulling up on our legs. Sometimes it's hard to get anywhere! |
 |
| At the circus yesterday: We paid for $15 tickets and got $118 seats thanks to no-shows! |
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Baby milestones and developments
I started this yesterday but didn't finish and post it:
Seth and David do a really cute trick of turning themselves in circles on their bottoms while sitting. Seth is currently doing this and babbling while waving two girls' shirts in the air. He's very proud of his acquisition of the shirts because he had to pull himself up on the partially-open drawer to be able to reach in and steal them. It's really exciting to see him pull up on things and be so driven to get to toys and keep up with his siblings. What's even more exciting is that Seth is now taking 1/3 of his daily nutrition via mouth! He's taken 7.5 ounces both yesterday and today, plus food (on a toothbrush, oddly enough - he prefers the texture of the bristles to that of a spoon). Thanks for praying that he continues to eat and drink better as the days go by so he can get off his tube feedings entirely. Right now we're only hooking him up to be fed during his nighttime sleeping hours. What a relief!!
Gracie is crawling more and more and pulling up on everything, which is also fun to see. She continues to be amazingly sweet and patient. She and Seth are the easiest of the five. Marcie is the most challenging in that she is very mobile and very determined on getting what she wants. She actually knocked a bottle out of Will's mouth today because she wanted it! But she has unlawful amounts of charm and winsomeness that make her irresistible. She loves her siblings and the adults in her life and readily shows it by grinning ear-to-ear and squealing with delight.
Gracie also does lots of squeals of delight and chuckles of glee when she's playing or supposed to be sleeping. (If you want to hear a sample of her silliness last night at midnight): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpek9XjAzhc&feature=player_detailpage
David is active (the latest: getting to his feet alone, standing for a while, then sitting again!) but not nearly as demanding as Marcie about getting his way, and Will is sensitive and quick to tears, but slightly less active than David or Marcie. He's a real sweetheart, too.
Marcie and David frequently move in tandem. They were both standing up against our bathroom door, frustrated that they couldn't get in. Will is often not far behind, but he and David also go off separately and do their own things. Seth and Will are really close buddies. It's adorable! They are just crazy about each other.
Seth and David do a really cute trick of turning themselves in circles on their bottoms while sitting. Seth is currently doing this and babbling while waving two girls' shirts in the air. He's very proud of his acquisition of the shirts because he had to pull himself up on the partially-open drawer to be able to reach in and steal them. It's really exciting to see him pull up on things and be so driven to get to toys and keep up with his siblings. What's even more exciting is that Seth is now taking 1/3 of his daily nutrition via mouth! He's taken 7.5 ounces both yesterday and today, plus food (on a toothbrush, oddly enough - he prefers the texture of the bristles to that of a spoon). Thanks for praying that he continues to eat and drink better as the days go by so he can get off his tube feedings entirely. Right now we're only hooking him up to be fed during his nighttime sleeping hours. What a relief!!
Gracie is crawling more and more and pulling up on everything, which is also fun to see. She continues to be amazingly sweet and patient. She and Seth are the easiest of the five. Marcie is the most challenging in that she is very mobile and very determined on getting what she wants. She actually knocked a bottle out of Will's mouth today because she wanted it! But she has unlawful amounts of charm and winsomeness that make her irresistible. She loves her siblings and the adults in her life and readily shows it by grinning ear-to-ear and squealing with delight.
Gracie also does lots of squeals of delight and chuckles of glee when she's playing or supposed to be sleeping. (If you want to hear a sample of her silliness last night at midnight): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpek9XjAzhc&feature=player_detailpage
David is active (the latest: getting to his feet alone, standing for a while, then sitting again!) but not nearly as demanding as Marcie about getting his way, and Will is sensitive and quick to tears, but slightly less active than David or Marcie. He's a real sweetheart, too.
Marcie and David frequently move in tandem. They were both standing up against our bathroom door, frustrated that they couldn't get in. Will is often not far behind, but he and David also go off separately and do their own things. Seth and Will are really close buddies. It's adorable! They are just crazy about each other.
We are, of course, absolutely in love with each of the five babies and their big brother. We can't imagine life without a single one of them! They fill our home with love, laughter and a lot of (mostly happy) activity and noise. :) Thank you, Father, for our blessings! Thank you all for blessing us so richly by caring for our family.
Love in Christ,
Carrie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Gavin, Carrie, Isaac, Will, David, Marcie, Seth, & Grace Jones
