June

We started June with another fun play date with our twin group.  :)  

We always have so much fun lining them all up by their ages!;)

I love this picture of Katherine.  She was so proud of herself for getting out of her pajamas.  Pretty impressive, I'd say.:)

My sweet friend Mere watched Kaden and Katherine one morning. Her twins, Kathryn and Garrett, took such good care of our twins.:)

I took these pictures of Kaden while I was feeding Katherine in the front seat.  He was waiting so patiently and he seemed pretty proud of himself for being in the drivers' seat.:)

Later in June, Kaden finally outgrew his second helmet.  It's hard to believe that he started in January. Time flies when you're having fun.;)  I took this picture of Kaden with Shana, his therapist.  She was so sweet with Kaden and even though I won't miss the long drive or the hassle of a helmet, we will miss sweet Shana!;)

They had their 9 month appointments in June.  There was a longer than usual wait, so I did all sorts of creative things to pass the time.:) Their doctor said they were doing great!  

Katherine:

Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz.  (less than 1% adjusted) 

Height: 24 inches (less than 1% adjusted)

Head: 17.3 inches (83% adjusted)

Kaden:

Weight:15 lbs. 11 oz. (2%, 11% adjusted )

Height: 27 inches (47%adjusted )

Head: 18 inches (93%  adjusted)

We love these two stinkers!:)

Here are a few other fun photos.  Katherine tried Mum Mums for the first time and loved them.:)

 Kaden has become quite a pro at scooting backwards. He ends up under our furniture quite a bit.:)  He's obviously pretty proud of himself.:)

 We celebrated Father's Day at the end of the month.  I took Karson to Seasons 52, which is his favorite restaurant, while Gramps and Granny kept the babies.:)

Katherine and Kaden made their Daddy this sweet footprint keepsake. I sure hope they follow in their Father's footsteps!:)

Katherine,

We love seeing you grow and grow!  You might be tiny, but you make sure everyone knows when you enter a room.:)  You have started to try some new solid foods this month.  You love pears, sweet potatoes, peas, and Mum Mums.  Avocado isn't your favorite, but you'll eat it if we give it to you.  You also like yogurt melts and puffs. You have started to sit up on your own this month.  You tip over when you try to move, but we know you'll be a pro at sitting in no time!  You've started to lift your head up and look around when you're on your tummy.  You love to be able to see all that is around you.  You have the sweetest smile.  You just melt our hearts when you look at us. Your brother thinks you're pretty special, too! You've actually started interacting with him a little this month.  Sometimes you laugh at each other and start talking while you're eating.  It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself.;) We love you baby girl!:)  

Love,

Daddy and Mama

Kaden,

We love to see you grow and grow, too!  You have become quite the explorer.  We've started to "baby proof" the house, because you want to explore everything.  We love that you are so active and curious. You also have started to try some new solid foods this month.  You also love pears, sweet potatoes, peas, and Mum Mums.  Avocado isn't your favorite, but, like your sister, you'll eat it if we give it to you.  We think you don't like the texture. You also like yogurt melts and puffs. You have started to sit up on your own this month.  You have become very strong and you can move all around and still maintain your balance.  One of the most exciting things this month is that you've started saying "mama." You said it for the first time when I went into your room after nap time.  I thought it was just a coincidence, but after I took your sister to the living room and came back to get you, you said it again.  It could just be a coincidence, but it sure was sweet to hear!  We love you baby boy!:) 

Love,

Daddy and Mama

May

At the beginning of May, we were moving back into our house and unpacking .  It was pretty crazy doing this with two babies, but they did great!;) My sweet friend Eleanor entertained them for a while one afternoon, and I got SO much unpacking done.  Yeah for sweet friends!;) 

Later in the month, we started Wednesday morning runs with Daddy.  Everybody loves Wednesday mornings.;)

I love this next picture.:)   Caroline, Ann Marie, and Stephanie are friends that I have met who all have twins about the same age as Katherine and Kaden.  We have play dates occasionally and we always enjoy our time with these amazing babies and mamas.:)  This particular play date was at a Frisco RoughRiders Game.  Caroline's sweet husband is the the VP, so he got us a very luxurious suite for the day.  It was the perfect way to watch the game!:)

Katherine and Kaden enjoyed their first trip to Rosa's Cafe.  My sweet friend Toni met us there for lunch.

On the 11th, they turned 8 months old. These pictures capture more and more of their little personalities each month.  We always have quite a few "outtakes" to chose from.:)

And then, we finally get a sweet one.:)

The day after their 8 month birthday, we celebrated Mother's Day.  I'm so very thankful to be a mommy to these two!

 My sweet friend Amber always invites us to her dad's house for their family's celebration of Memorial Day.  Katherine and Amber's daughter, Ellie, had lots of fun together.:)

Kaden braved the pool for the first time and was NOT a fan.  It was a little too cold.:)  

My dad's cousins stopped by on their way through town to meet Katherine and Kaden.  Dave and Terri Sue have been some of their faithful prayer warriors.:)

Aunt Isabel came over to meet Katherine and Kaden.  She also has been such a faithful prayer warrior for our little ones.

These last few pictures are just a few precious pictures of our sweet blessings!

Kaden,

Your smile is absolutely contagious.  People can't help but smile at you when they look your way.  Many of your smiles this month have been because of all the new discoveries you've made.  You roll all over the place and get so excited when you "roll your way" to something new.  You can move across a room in just a few seconds.  It is pretty entertaining to watch. You love to grab everything that you see. You also got your first tooth on the 20th.  You were NOT a fan of the teething process.:(  It broke our hearts! We did, however, enjoy the extra cuddles while you didn't feel well.  We love you more than words can say!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Katherine,

You are such a little talker!  We hear "ma" and "da" all the time, and can't wait until it really means something.:) Everybody we meet comments on how feisty and talkative you are.  We love that you have so much to say! Almost everybody we meet also compliments your HUGE smile and your beautiful blue eyes.  We couldn't agree more, baby girl!  We love YOU more than words can say!

Love, 

Mama and Daddy

On the Go!!!

April was such a HUGE month for our little family!:)  We were finally able to get out of the house!!!  While I admit that I did really enjoy our seven months "in", it was also really special to be able to finally share our babies with the world.  During the first weekend of April, we visited Karson's hometown Seminole.  His grandparents were driving in from Kansas, so we thought it would be a good time to see everybody and take Kaden and Katherine on their first road trip.

Kaden enjoyed play time with Gramps...

and nap time with Gramps...:)

and nap time with Great Grandma Helen...

and nap time with Uncle Korbin...:)

Katherine enjoyed snuggles with Aunt Amy.

And then she snuggled with Great Grandpa Hughie.:)

Kaden enjoyed his time with Great Grandma Doris.

He thought that Great Grandpa Don was pretty cool.

And Aunt Gale and Aunt Amy were pretty fun, too!

Kaden and Katherine enjoyed being outside with Granny and Aunt Amy.;)

And Aunt Vicki even stopped by for a visit.

It was such a special trip.  We were so glad that Katherine and Kaden were able to see all of their "Greats.":)  

On the way home, we stopped in Abilene to see my Great Aunt Loreta.  We became very close while I went to ACU, and it was very special to introduce the babies to her.  

Back in Frisco and with all of this new freedom, I quickly put the babies to work... They were great little shopping helpers.:)

On the 11th, they turned SEVEN months old!!! I think this might be the sweetest yet of their month by month photos.:)

On April 14th, we took Katherine and Kaden to church for the first time.  It was a pretty incredible and emotional day. It was such a blessing to be able to worship with them in our arms. 

  My sweet friend "Aunt" Alli was so sweet to help us with Katherine and Kaden. I love this picture of her and Katherine.:)

After church, we stayed for a picnic. Kaden and Katherine received lots of love from  lots of sweet people.  :)  I didn't get many pictures (can't imagine what I was busy doing:) ), but I did get a sweet one of Kaden with "Aunt" Toni and Katherine with "Aunt" Alli.:)

,

 Here are a few more fun pictures from April...

Kaden has learned to stick his tongue out to copy Daddy.  It is pretty cute, in my totally unbiased opinion, because he concentrates so hard when he does it!:)

Here is a cute picture of Katherine...I don't know how she does it, but she ends up with cereal all over her head when she eats!:)

At the end of April, we moved in with some friends while we had some work done on our house. We lived with our sweet friends Chad and Miranda Johnston for the first few days.  Kaden and Katherine LOVED meeting other little friends.;)

Kaden and Payton found each other pretty entertaining.:)

Who us?:)

And Payton and Katherine were just so sweet to watch.:)

 Ranger could not have been more precious with Katherine.  He's such a precious little guy.

On our last day at the Johnstons, Chad's parents dropped by and Kaden and Katherine definitely enjoyed getting to see them.:)

After we left the Johnstons, we moved in with our friends Matt and Amber.  They live just a few minutes away from Karson's work, so he was able to come and visit us during lunch.  We loved that!

And finally, we moved in with the Chamblees. Alli's sweet kiddos and I were sick  while we were there, so we didn't get to play together as we had hoped.  Next time, for sure!:)  I did snap this sweet picture of Kaden and Katherine enjoying the back patio with Daddy.:)  

We are so incredibly blessed to have such sweet friends!  They were all fabulous hosts and hostesses and we made lots of fun memories during our time.:)

We also had our first NICU reunion at the end of April.  It was really special to see so many of the people who have helped us on our journey.  

This is Dr. David Weisoly, their neonatologist.  We loved him!

And Miss Veronica was a huge blessing to us!  She taught Kaden and Katherine how to eat, which was an unbelievably huge help to us.:)

We also were able to see some of our favorite NICU nurses.

 Kathryn holding Katherine :)

We love Miss Abby!

Nicole holding Kaden:)

Here is one last picture from April that makes me laugh. It was Katherine's first time in her jumperoo.  We might need to put a pillow under her.:)

Sweet Katherine,

You truly amaze us!  You are one happy little girl.  You LOVE to smile and you LOVE to talk.  Everywhere we go, people comment on your spunky personality. One of our favorite memories of you this month is when you went with mama to speak about our NICU experience to several nurses and hospital staff.  You had the entire audience laughing and smiling with your silly faces, expressions, and talking.  It was absoutely precious. You LOVE people!  Sometimes, when you see someone you love, you shriek so loud that it almost hurts our ears.:) You also love mirrors, your feet, and nap time.:)  You have become such a good little napper!:) You have really started to enjoy cuddling, which we love.:) You are finally growing some fuzz hair on your sweet little head.;) Pretty soon, you'll be wearing a pony tail!  Sweet Katherine, we pray that you always have a heart for others and that you continue to love people so deeply.  We love you precious girl!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Precious Kaden,

You are such a joy in our lives!  We just think you are the sweetest little boy ever! We love watching you with your sister.  You really LOVE her!  You constantly want to touch her, look at her, and be wherever she is.  Sometimes, she doesn't want you to pull her hair and suck on her ear, but we keep telling her that it is only because you love her so much.:)  Your motor skills have really improved this month.  You are really good at shaking a rattle and you love shaking and grabbing all of the toys on your jumperoo.  Sweet Kaden, we pray that you always love your sister this much and that you always stand beside her and support her as you go throughout life .  We couldn't be more in love with you!

Love,

Mama and Daddy