6 Months Old!

It is hard to believe that 6 months ago this little peanut came into our lives! It has been a wild six months.

Yesterday she had her 6 month appointment. She is definitely a peanut weighing in at 13 pounds and 6 ounces. She was 25 3/4 inches long. She is tall and lean. Remind you of anyone? :) Just like her daddy!

She looks just like Pace did and has a lot of the same GI issues that he had. I told the doctor that even though I have been down this road before that I feel like a first time mom again with her. She definitely keeps me on my toes. The doctor said that she will be one to beat to her own drum :) So far, very true!

She definitely LOVES to be held and with 10 arms and 5 people around here, she has been held a lot more than any of the other ones were. And yes, we pay for it .... nightly at about 5:30 pm until bedtime :) 

She is such a joy though. Her middle name of Joy really does fit her. She has huge smiles to give most of the time.

Happy 1/2 birthday little Keegan Joy! We love you so much and we can't imagine our family without you in it! Cannot wait to see what God does with your little life and how he grows you into the young woman he has created you to be!

A little sprouts update

Hey there long lost friend! Hope you all are doing great! Life has been busy since lately. I'm trying to do a better job of being present in my kids lives which means less computer time. Let's face it .... in 10 years it's not going to matter to them how many blogs I wrote about them, what will matter is how much time I invested in them. And as naps have just about gone away in our house - my computer time has lessened. I realized the other day that I have been bad about documenting things lately. I was looking over old posts and remembering the crazy things they said and did and think .... I've not blogged lately about anything that they have done. So here is a little catch up while they are each having a few quite minutes and Keegan naps :)

Ryan just finished 1st grade. He will be 8 in December! WOW! Right now he loves to read, I mean LOVES to read. He devours about a book every 2 days if not sooner. He loves football - GO DAWGS! I've trained him well :) He also loves legos and comes up with some very neat creations. For the last 2 to 3 months of school he got into writing stories. He has written about 20 so far that he keeps in a binder. There are a couple that melt my heart - One that he wrote about Keegan and her birth. That binder will definitely be saved!

Pace just finished kindergarten and turned 6 in May. He is amazing us at his wit and humor. He is definitely following suit with a second born/middle child characteristics. He loves to do most of the things his brother does but he still loves playing with Kennedy. There are days when I find him cooking with one hand and building legos or throwing a football with the other :)  He also enjoys writing stories and following in his big brothers steps.

Kennedy - Oh Kennedy - She is our spunky, drama llama :) Just kidding - well sorta :) She definitely keeps us on our toes. She is as sweet as pie but she sure knows how to pull all of our strings. She is probably closest to Pace and they have a fun relationship. Kennedy will be going to pre-k this year and she is so excited to get to go to school. She has been looking forward to this for a while .... it's all we hear about. She will be 4 in August and blows my mind at how advanced she is for her age. Girls just do things faster than boys!

Keegan - just turned 6 months old. She'll get her own post for that .... so I'll save what I'd write here for that!

That's a little catch up for the kids. Jeremy and I are just plugging along trying to be the best parents we can be and lead these 4 little ones to be the ones God created them to be. Life is never boring around here!

If you think about it pray for me ... I will be going to Brazil this fall with our church on a mission trip. I'm so excited about it! We will be working with a church that our church is partnering with for the long term ... this will be our first short term trip. We are going to be going into orphanages, which pulled at my heart strings when I first heard about the trip. God has not let go of my heart - having 4 kids and being adopted myself ... I cannot wait to go love on the least of these that many people forget about! If you want to hear more about my trip or support me financially - let me know!


 

My Triplets?

I once again found this GA sleeper that I put on both Pace and Kennedy. I get so many comments on how Keegan looks so much like them that I thought I would show just how much and how it can change from minute to minute. So obviously the top picture is Keegan in all 3 pics. The bottom picture is Pace on Top and Kennedy on bottom .... They could be triplets at this stage ....

 

4 Months Old & an update

Keegan turned 4 months this past weekend. It is hard to believe that 4 months have passed since we went to deliver her. So much has happened since she joined our family. The blog has been unusually quiet. I've been busy being a mom to 4 kids. I think we are finally settling into a routine where I can hopefully pick back up journaling about our lives .... for the 2 of you that read this still :)

At 4 months Keegan really lives up to her middle name of Joy. She is such a little joy. She is always smiling - well most of the day - she does have her witching hour like all babies do. It is so fun to watch the older three interact with her and love on her. She is laughing and just taking in the world around her. However, what is funny today and draws out cackles will not tomorrow. Makes for funny times as the kids try to get her to laugh at them. I've got to pull out the video camera more often!

Yesterday, we took her for her 4 month check up. For the most part she is healthy. A week and a half ago she had two episodes that scared me to pieces. I rushed off to the Pediatrician with her only to walk out and find a new one. Yesterday, was our new appointment with a new pediatrician, who did not treat me like an idiot. He asked tons of questions and really listened to Jeremy and I. We both felt validated and understood the path that he was asking us to take with her.

Next Monday she will see a neurologist and have an EEG and depending on the results of that she will have either a MRI or a cat scan. This will determine whether or not she had a seizure or this was just a reflux type situation. Our prayers are that this was just a reflux episode and not a seizure of any type. She has not had another episode so we are thankful for that. We would appreciate your prayers for her that this is nothing serious.

For fun I thought I'd throw up the stats of all 4 of them at 4 months. It helps me remember the other 3 and also is just fun for me to see the differences in our kids. Keegan definitely is our little peanut!

KEEGAN
Height: 25 inches
Weight: 12 pounds

RYAN (at 4 months)
Height: 25 1/2 inches
Weight: 13 pounds 11 ounces

PACE (at 4 months)
Height: 25 1/2 Inches
Weight: 14 pounds 13 ounces

KENNEDY (at 4 months)
Height: 24 1/2 inches
Weight: 13 pounds 5 ounces

2 Months Old!

Keegan is now 2 months old! So hard to believe that my baby is getting so big! I took her in for her two month appointment today and here are her stats ...

Weight: 9 Pounds 14 Ounces
Length: 22 6/8"

Just for fun a comparison with her siblings:

Ryan @ 2 months:

Weight: 13 pounds 11 ounces

Height: 25 inches

Pace @ 2 months:

Weight 13 Pounds 11 ounces

Height: 24 inches

Kennedy @ 2 months :

Weight: 11 Pounds 12 ounces

Height: 24 3/4 inches

She's a bit on the shorter side compared to the other 3. I thought she would be close to Ryan but looking at his 2 month stats ... I guess not :) She's perfect though! We love her so much and can't imagine our lives without her!

Happy 2 months baby girl! You have completed our family and we are so thankful for you!

It's been a while ...

WOW! I can't believe it's been a month since I last blogged! I haven't been spending much time on the computer lately. Life has just been too busy to spend time doing something that won't matter in a few years. :)

Keegan is 8 weeks old. Next week she will be 2 months old. It seems like she should be older than she is. She has definitely been a different baby than the other three. Love her dearly, but she is a handful at night - Or has been. Thankfully, the last 2 nights she has slept through the night and that has been wonderful. Though I still wake, waiting on her to wake up :) I think we are finally turning a corner and the reflux medication seems to be working. It's nice to have a happy baby. It's also nice to not have her in pain!

Ryan, Pace, and Kennedy all 3 swoon over her. Especially, Kennedy. I'm not exactly sure what Keegan thinks of her though. Kennedy is learning to dial it down a notch or three so I think that will help as well. Both of the boys are such big helpers and they just love her to pieces. I cannot wait to see her as she begins to interact with them more.

It is still hard for me to believe that I am old enough to have 4 kids. I was talking to my grandfather on the phone yesterday and he told me that he was turning 90 this year ... that just doesn't seem possible. I still feel like he should be in his 60's allowing me to stand beside him as he drove his red mustang convertible around the neighborhood. My grandmother has alzheimers and is going downhill. I hate that disease as much as I hate cancer. My grandmother has always been so busy and vibrant. These days she is not so much anymore. Yesterday, I saw a different side of my grandfather as I believe he is realizing his wife of 68 years is no longer really there. I have so many memories of my grandparents, it's so hard to see them sick and hurting.

Memories ... I hope we are creating the kinds of memories that our 4 kids will look back on and know that they were loved, cherished, and cared for and a home that they will want to return to. A home that is full of love and fun moments. A home that is a safe haven for them and a place that is a retreat for them in hard times. SO please excuse the blog if it is quiet .... we are busy making memories. I'll get on here and blog about it from time to time ... but the last thing I want my kids to think about when they think of me is a mom who valued her computer time more than she valued time with them!

Have a great day!

Keegan's Story

I haven't blogged much lately ... Today Keegan is 4 weeks old! It doesn't really seem possible. The last 4 weeks though they seemed to move slowly b/c of lack of sleep - they really have flown by. I look down at my little peanut and realize that all too soon she will be running around playing with the other 3.

Some people have asked about her birth story so I thought I'd blog about it ... that way I can have it written and others who want to know, can know. :)

Tuesday the 20th we got to the high risk doctor at 8:15 for the amnio. They estimated her to be 8 pounds 8 ounces and for her belly to be the size of a 41.5 week gestation baby. After being monitored we left and Jeremy wanted to get a hair cut. So we ran a few errands and had lunch with the kids and Jojo before going to my regular OB appointment at 2. She hadn't gotten the results of the amnio yet but said they would call to let us know whether or not to come to the hospital at 10pm or not. We went home and waited .... and waited .... and waited ... and finally went to dinner with the family one last kids night at Chickfila as a family of 5 - we hoped :). We hadn't heard before dinner so we thought we would have a message at home when we got done with dinner. We didn't. We were unsure at this point what to do as the OB office was closed and the high risk drs office had closed early. We decided that we would just show up at 10pm and if they sent us home they sent us home.

The drive to the hospital was quiet. I'm not sure either of us knew what to think. When we got to the hospital they told us to have a seat - our room was not ready as they had a few women come in at the same time. So we waited in the waiting room with about 10 young men/women who looked to be in high school. It seemed that they thought this was a game. They were in and out of the girls room who was in labor and finally they were kicked out because she was getting an epidural. I felt a little sad for them - all too soon they would realize that this was no game - and this was not going to be as easy as they thought it would be.

A few more women came in and had to wait with us in the waiting room. Finally at 12 we were taken to our "birthing suite". I was beginning to get nervous ... just thinking that this was really about to begin ... I was going to meet my baby girl soon. I was thinking about how I was going to be a mom to 4 - how the older 3 would react to a new baby in the house. Would Jeremy and I ever get a moment to ourselves again? And then just as these things were flooding my mind - a peace came over me as Jeremiah 29:11 came rushing to the front of all my questions/thoughts/feelings. He planned this, he had this and he had us in his hands - I didn't need to worry.

They had an incredibly hard time finding a vein for the IV. They tried 5 different times digging to find the vein all to go up against a valve each time. I tried to get them to use a smaller gauge needle as this wasn't my first rodeo and I knew what was used before - my veins are small. Finally, they decided to use a smaller one and the 6th time was a charm. But, I felt like a pin cushion by this point :)

I was hooked up to all the fluids and the next waiting game began. I was already having contractions about 3 minutes apart by the time they kick started them. I was dilated to a 3 at this point. They told us to get rest - Jeremy had no problem falling asleep. It was not as easy for me. Even though I felt a great peace, I was too excited to sleep. At 7 am my doctor came in and told me that she had a c-section and a hysterectomy to do and then she felt I would be ready to push by lunch time.

She was right - though she wasn't quite done with her other patients :) It was time to push and she got there just in time. My epidural wasn't quite working as it should :) So I felt more than I wanted to. I don't know how those of you that don't get one do it! I had a bit of my epi working and I know I wouldn't have made it with nothing - I have a very low tolerance for pain. I remember telling them I couldn't do it. Jeremy, looked at me and said "honey, you don't have a choice, she is RIGHT there." Some how I mustered up the strength and 2 pushes later she was out. They laid her on my chest and I remember thinking what a small almost 9 pound baby she was :) I couldn't tell who she looked like and all I wanted to do was hold this little bundle of Joy!

After a few minutes they took her to check her out and all I could do was ask a million times if she was ok. The best part of all of this was we had our ipod playing in the background with some music. We had started it earlier and right as she came out the the song, How Great is Our God, started playing. It was a beautiful reminder to us that God was in the middle of this birth and that he was taking care of all of us. Also she was his creation and that we celebrated as we held our new addition to our family!

She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and perfectly healthy. They tested her sugar levels due to my gestational diabetes. Her first stick was fine and they tested her 5 more times and each stick was fine. It confirmed all our thoughts that I really was just borderline and didn't really have GD. Though it was better safe than sorry!

We are adjusting well to being a family of 6 ... dare I say having 4 kids is really no different than having 3 or 2? The newborn stage is always the hardest but at least I have a beautiful reason to get up at 3 or 4 in the morning :) Right now she is giving me about 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night so we are thankful for that!

I look forward to seeing how God will use this little life to bring him glory! She's yours Lord - we are thankful that you are allowing us the privilege of raising her!

Life with 4!

Life has definitely been interesting with 4! I guess it has only been so crazy because we were in and out of the hospital twice. We both felt like we hadn't given the attention that 1, 2, and 3 needed while we had to take care of 4 and make sure she was ok. The first week was hard because of this.

Keegan is home now but we face feeding challenges. She lost a lot of weight in the beginning and so we are trying to get her back up to her birth weight.

In the hospital her liver and thyroid tests came back elevated but the doctor said he wasn't concerned about them. Her body is still trying to adjust to being outside the womb and all those are still regulating. He said they just were not elevated enough to cause him to probe further. That was a relief to us. We were discharged about 32 hours after we were admitted, her jaundice levels had come down dramatically during that time. They wanted them to be under 15 to send us home and she was 10! We are so thankful for all your prayers!

The craziness of the holidays have died down and we are slowly getting into a pattern that works for us. The older 3 just love having a baby in the house and are super helpful with her. We will see how long it takes the newness to wear off :) School starts back this week so we will see how I do getting the boys to school on time :)

It's a crazy life but I wouldn't trade any of it ... It's amazing to see a new life come into the world and the fact that God chose Jeremy and I to parent these 4 continues to amaze me. I am beyond blessed with these little lives and I pray that we do our part to raise them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and with all their strength!

Happy New Year to you all!

Keegan Joy

Keegan Joy arrived last Wednesday for anyone who may not know already. Life has been a bit hectic and I haven't been able to update the blog as much as I would like lately.

She was 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. Far from the 9 pounder they told me I would have :)

Right now she has been admitted to a local childrens hospital for jaundice. Her levels have come down some but they are also looking into a few other things. We are waiting this morning on her Doctor to round and also a gastroenterologist to come by and check her out. They did some bloodwork last night and will do more this morning around 8:30. Her thyroid levels came back elevated - we haven't been able to talk to the dr to find out what this means yet. We will this morning when he rounds.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying. Please keep praying for her and for us when you think about it.

Awaiting Keegan Update

Yesterday, I was sent by my OB to a high risk OB doctor. I have been feeling very dizzy / light headed for a few weeks and then I fainted on Wednesday and fell. I'm still feeling very dizzy / light headed. So they wanted to determine why. She did an ultrasound and looks like Keegan is already the size of a 37 week baby even though she is only 34 ... what can I say ... we grow them big in our house :)

My regular OB had put me on bed rest because of the contractions I have been having. The high risk doctor told me I didn't have to be on bed rest but to limit my activity alone due to my sciatica and falling. The bed rest is aggravating the sciatica and making the pain / falling worse. She said that she would not stop labor at this point if my body decided to do it on it's on - she felt Keegan would be just fine if I went into labor at anytime. If she does not come on her own before Dec 20th we will have an amnio that morning and if she is ready induction later that day / evening! It is still surreal to me that I could be holding my new bundle of joy in just 18 or 19 days ... or less if she decides to come on her own.

It just seems so much more real to me now that it is winding down .... ready or not family of 6 here we come! :)

Bed Rest ...

This weekend my doctor put me on Bed Rest :( It's not as fun as it sounds :) But, the contractions have slowed down and baby girl is still safely inside doing cartwheels and practicing her kick boxing.

I on the other hand am going stir crazy. Thankful to my hubby and my kids who kept me company. We watched football together and cheered on the Dawgs as they beat GA Tech! It was a beautiful day .... even if it was spent in bed.

Special thanks goes out to my hubby who put up our Christmas trees and to the kids who helped him decorate them both. Sad that I didn't get to be a part of it this year. That is always a fun time watching the kids pick spots for their ornaments and seeing all the ornaments they have made through the years. There are two that melt my heart each year. Both kids were in the same 2 year old class for pre-school. Different years but the same teacher. She made these ornaments with them each year and the end result was a snow flake with a picture of my little 2 year old snow flake inside. There are several other picture ornaments on our tree and it just reminds me how quickly my kids are growing up. It's too fast for this momma's heart! One day I'll be in my momma's shoes and my kids will be bringing their kids to visit me and I'll be going to visit them. I want that day as far away as possible :)

So since I'm bored on bed rest ... tell me what are some good books you have read lately or a good movie I should watch?

Thankful

There are so many things I am thankful for. I am one blessed girl just because my Jesus gave up his life for me. If that was all I had to cling to, I'd still be blessed but my cup over flows.

I went to the DR last week and had been having (still having) pretty regular contractions. I am 31 weeks today and it is just too early for this little girl to be making her debut into our crazy world. She did a test and thankfully, I am not at risk of going into labor for 2 weeks. Prayerfully, longer than that. We also talked about the gestational diabetes (GD). She questions the test and whether or not I really have it. You see, my numbers have stayed at the low end of "in range" and I had lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks. She seemed more concerned about my weight loss than she did the contractions even before the test results were in. So, she took me off my meal plan and told me to eat normally for the next week. That week ends tomorrow when I go back to check in. My numbers have stayed "in range" with a few that were higher but still not out of range. I suspect that she will tell me to continue this course. She did say that she didn't want to put me through another 3 hour test - thankful for that. So we will never really know whether the test was wrong but it seems like it was.

My 3 kiddos have prayed nightly for mommy to be ok for 2 weeks now. There is just something precious about the prayers of children. Their faith is so huge at that age and they just trust completely without reservation. I could stand to learn a few things from my 3 in that department. Sometimes their prayers bring tears to my eyes and other times they make me laugh out loud, but all the time they are precious and dear to the heart of God. So, I choose to believe that my God answered my childrens prayer and he took away the GD.

I have much to be thankful for .... this month I'm reminded of all those things as we look toward thanksgiving in a few weeks. My cup really does overflow! I can choose to see the negative because let's face it, life isn't always roses and answered prayers (in the way we would like but they are always answered - but that is another post itself)! Or I can choose to see all the things around me that are good and be thankful for my abundant blessings. I choose the latter ....

I choose to be thankful .... how about you?

What's been going on?

So, the blog has been VERY quiet lately. Life has been quite hectic around here. I have been keeping my neighbors newborn last week and this week as well, and that has reminded me of so much to look forward to in a few months :) Kennedy is not quite sure to do when he cries. She wants to take him home. I talked to her that we can't just give a baby back because he cries, but she doesn't care. I asked her what she was going to do when Keegan cries and she said we could take her back too .... though I'm not sure where she would take her :) It has definitely been interesting seeing how she does with a newborn. She has been great with him and loves being a helper. I wonder how things will change when it's Keegan and she stays here all the time instead of 8 hours a day :)

On another note, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and I've been learning how to manage that. So far, so good. The diet isn't really a diet, yet it does cut out a lot of things I like. I was doing pretty good until last night when I really wanted some baked ziti that a bunch of people around me were having .... anyone that knows me, knows how much I LOVE pasta! It's a staple in my diet along with anything casserole and so last night was just the first of many hard "no" moments I'm sue. BUT, each time I feel a kick or a jab, I am reminded of why those "no" moments are necessary. Provides me with a little perspective and also reminds me that I really don't have to do this long. Prayerfully, it will go away after she is born and I can resume some of my pasta loving life :) I think I will keep some of the ways of this "diet" after she is here and limit some of my non healthy choices.

The kids are all doing well. Both boys are doing excellent in school. They both adore their teachers and that makes this momma so happy. I love sending them off to school knowing they are learning and being loved on at the same time. Pace calls his teacher is "girlfriend". He absolutely loves her. We have been so blessed by the teachers in our kids lives so far. God started them off great with their first teacher at the age of 2 and he has not stopped showing us his favor in the teacher department since then. We are very thankful and pray daily for those that will teach our children ... both present and future. And, we also remember those who have been past teachers and are thankful for them and the impact they have made on our children.

Kennedy is growing like a weed. Her vocabulary never ceases to amaze me. She is such a joy to spend time with. She loves to "read". She has books that we have read to her so much that she knows the jist of the story. She spends her morning room time in her room reading those books to her dolls. Many times I will look in on her and she has them all lined up and she is reading to them. Other times she is transforming herself into whatever princess she chooses to be. She loves to do her hair ... one day she had over 6 clips in at one time. I never thought I would have such a girly girl with two very boy, boys :) But I do and I love watching her shine!

That's about all that is new in our world ... Hope you all are doing well! Let me know what's up with you in the comments if you want!

Have a great day!

Seeing Keegan

Yesterday, we got to see Keegan, yes we chose a name and Keegan Joy it will be. When we were in for our 20 week ultrasound they couldn't really see her heart or her hands so they wanted to do another ultrasound to make sure all was ok. She was perfect in every way.

She is lying transverse right now, which is why I wondered if there was more than one in there. I feel her all over the place. Knowing how little she is at the moment it made me wonder if there was 2 in there instead of 1. I was assured though, that there is only 1! :)

It is such a joy to get a peek inside and see our little girl growing. We have had 5 ultrasounds so far .... because of the miscarriages and so we have seen her more than we got to see the other 3. Looking at the screen always tears me up as I see a heart beating, or a hand waving, a foot kicking, or a mouth opening. So amazing to me the way life begins and how incredibly wonderful this process is.

Yesterday, she was sucking on her thumb and her feet at various times. She didn't really want to uncurl her fingers for us but we finally got a wave from her and that was too cool.

Just so neat being able to see her this early and I cannot wait to love on her in just a few months! It's going to be here before I know it. Until then, I'm savoring all these kicks and movements .... all too soon they will be gone and she will be outside growing way too fast :)

A friend of mine noted on the picture above that it looks like a hand is cradling her head. I had not noticed it until she pointed it out and tears came to my eyes as I think of the verse that says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 - He is taking care of my baby even now as she is forming in my womb. I will be framing this picture for her room!