Baptism

It has been a long time since we have posted! We have been very busy around here. I am officially back to work full time. My mom is here watching the girls while Mark and I work. We took the girls back to Indiana at the end of July to have them baptized and introduce them to our families. A friend of mine cut up my wedding dress and made three baptismal gowns for the girls to wear. It was a tough decision, but I figure that was the only way I was going to be able to let all three of them wear my wedding dress. They were beautiful. They were baptized in the same church that we were married in and by the same person who married us. It was a very special day. The girls were so good during the church service and the baptism. My mom and grandma put together a wonderful reception afterward. It was so nice to visit with old friends and family. We spend the rest of the week spending time with family. It was a good trip. We were both nervous about flying with the girls, but they were the best little travelers. They slept most of the trip. Here are some pictures of the baptism.

Payton

Jillian

Chloe

The girls with all their God parents and Pastor

Mommy, Daddy, the girls, and Pastor

The girls with their God parents, Mark's parents, and My Dad

Chloe, Payton, and Jillian

Look how far we have come...

As we reflect back on the last 4 months, it is hard to believe how far we have come. I can remember back to when they were in the hospital and we were living day by day not knowing what the next obstacle would be. I know many of you were praying right along with us and we are so thankful of that. The power of prayer is amazing. Now they are all home and healthy and we have new obstacles, but we wouldn't trade them for the world.

Over the past few months Mark and I have had a huge support system. Without the help of our friends and family, I don't know where I would be. For the first two months after the girls came home we constantly had someone here to help. First my mom, and then my dad. and then Mark's grandma and my grandma were here to help. Since they have left, it has been more difficult, but our friends and family here in Florida have really stepped up. My brother and sister-in-law come to our house about once a week and really help us with everything! I have amazing friends who take time away from their family almost everyday to help me take care of mine. Many people from my school have sent meals and gift cards to alleviate some of the workload. We are just beyond blessed with not only our three beautiful girls, but also such an amazing group of friends and family. We can't thank everyone enough for all they have done for us.

I have not taken the girls to get weighed since the last time I posted, but they are big enough and healthy enough that we are going to take a trip home to Indiana at the end of this month. We will be getting the girls baptised in the church where Mark and I got married. I can't wait for many of our friends and family to finally meet the girls. I posted some videos of then and now, it is amazing how far we have come.

then...

now...

3 month pictures

Today we took the girls to get their 3 month pictures. It seems like we just got their pictures taken, but since they were in the hospital for so long and then they weren't allowed to out in public, we didn't get their newborn pictures taken until they were almost 2 months old. They are not technically 3 months old until July 7th, but we decided to go while we still had my grandma here to have extra hands. I like to keep the ratio one to one. :) The girls did really well. They kept their eyes open this time and even had a few smiles for the photographer.

My grandma leaves on Sunday and we are officially on our own until my mom comes back in August. I am a little nervous, but we are so blessed with such good babies that I am sure we will be fine. With all of our help since they were born, we were able to get them all on a good schedule and get ourselves into a routine. The past couple of nights the girls have been sleeping almost 5 hours at a time. I am praying that this will last. Enjoy the pictures.

Jillian

Payton

Chloe

Jillian, Chloe, Payton

Payton, Jillian, Chloe

Daddy and his girls

Mommy and her girls

Family picture
Payton

Chloe

Jillian

Chloe, Payton, Jillian

Family picture

Almost 3 months old

I can't believe that the girls will be 3 months old on July 7th. People have told us time will fly by and it really has. The girls are all doing very well. They are officially out of newborn diapers now. :( That is great news but it just makes me realize how quickly they are growing. We took them to the doctor on Friday to check their weights. Payton now weighs 8lbs 4oz, Jillian weighs 8lbs, and Chloe weighs 8lbs 14oz. They are starting to stay awake a little bit more during the day and are starting to hold their heads up for very short periods of time. Every now and then I think they give me a smile, but Great Grandma thinks it is still just gas. Here are some new pictures from Father's Day and some others.

Chloe, Jillian and Payton in their new outfits from Grandpa Rod

Jillian, Payton and Chloe cuddling on the couch

Jillian

Chloe

Payton

Chloe

Payton

Jillian

The girls in their Purdue outfits

Chloe holding her sisters

Mya with her cousins

Daddy's first Father's Day

Dad's Against Daughters Dating

Chloe

The girls love their cousin Mya

Eye Doctor

We had another eye doctor appointment on Friday. This is the third time the girls had to see an eye doctor. Since the eyes are one of the last things to develop in the womb, the girls had under-developed eyes. However, this time the girls passed their eye exams! They currently have fully developed eyes! I was brave enough to stay in the room this time, but I am so glad I never have to watch that again. The girls will have to go back to the eye doctor in 6 months. The doctor told us another common problem with premature babies is glasses and cross-eyed. This time they won't have to pry their eyes open, but just shine a light in their eye to see if they need glasses or will be cross eyed. We are praying all goes well and we won't have to deal with either of those things. After the six month appointment if all goes well they won't have to go back anymore. We have been so blessed with help from friends and family ever since the girls have been home. Most of these pictures are of our friends and family with the girls. Enjoy!


Derek and Mya and Jillian
Great Grandma Mary (Mark's Grandma) with all three girls

Great Grandma Justine (my grandma) with all three girls

Charlie guarding his sisters

The girls all dressed in their pretty new dresses

Daddy sleeping with Chloe

Chloe all curled up

Payton our little boilermaker!

Grandpa Rod with all four granddaughters

Mya with her cousins

Pictures and Appointments

The girls had their first photo shoot last week. They all turned out really well. I have shared some of the pictures below. Today the girls all went to the doctor. Chloe now weighs 7lbs 8oz, Jillian is 6lbs 10 oz, and Payton is 6lbs 11oz. They are now big enough that they do not have to be woken up to eat every 3 hours. We can let them sleep up to 4 hours during the day and 5 hours at night. That is amazing news in our house. We are hoping to get a little bit more sleep around here now. Today we also got the results from their hip ultrasounds. They all came back normal. Now the last thing to check off the list is their eyes. We have another eye appointment on Friday and hopefully it will be our last. I hope you enjoy the pictures.