Cute Pictures From This Week

Luke and Madison are 4 weeks old today! It has been the most precious 4 weeks that we will always cherish.

Here are a few fun pictures we took this week.

Madison relaxing

Luke hanging out on the boppy. Look at him hold his head up! Go Luke!

I think they are starting to realize that the noises they keep hearing are coming from another person. They seem to be looking at each other.

I love this picture! Sleeping in their sheep swing together.

Jonathan and I took the babies on their first walk around the neighborhood.

"Don't even think about taking this paci away from me!"

Meeting their cousins, Noah and Micah. Madison is going to have to hold her own with 4 boy cousins and a brother.

3 Weeks Old and So Many Firsts

We had a great week! Their umbiblical cords finally fell off so we were able to give them their first real bath! No more sponge baths! Luke loved it! Madison, well, she was in a little water shock but every bath since has gotten a little more enjoyable! We also went to the lake house for the first time and stayed for the weekend. It was great to get out of the house and get away. We had so much fun hanging out rocking on the back porch! Jonathan was able to get the boat out and try some of his new toys...the wedge and a new surf board. Gabby and Papa watched the babies while Bert, Hannah, James, Angie, Kevin, Justin, and I went out on the boat for a little while. It felt great to be back on the water!

Here are some pictures from this week! We are so in love with them!

Madison warming up after her bath

Madison getting clean

Luke loving the warm towel straight out of the dryer!

Getting that rear nice and clean! It takes teamwork!

"Mom, this is nice!"

Luke soaking it up!

Does it get any sweeter than this??

Luke taking good care of Madison! Already such a great brother :)

Daddy and Luke having tummy chat time

Jonathan trying out his new toy! Did I mention he got it on the 1st try! Surfs up! Soon he will drop the rope and ride the wave.

Rocking our sweet babies on the porch

2 Weeks Old

"Every blessing you poor out, I'll turn back to praise."

I love that praise song! We truly feel blessed and we give all praise to God. I am feeling SO much better! Blood pressure is coming down, hemoglobin is back up, and I have a lot more energy now! I am really able to enjoy these precious gifts. Thank you all so much for all the prayers! We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. They were 2 weeks old and Madison gained 6 ounces since her last appointment!! She now weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces (birth weight was 4 pounds 8 ounces). Luke gained 6 1/2 ounces. He now weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces (birth weight 6 pounds 5 ounces). So they are both over birth weight! It made mama and daddy feel really good that they were gaining.

Here are a few of the thousands of pictures we have taken over the past 2 weeks. It is really hard to only choose a few!

Luke enjoying some floor time

Madison sleeping like a little angel

Luke ready for the summer

Madison asleep in her daddy's arms. I have fallen in love all over again with my husband! He is the most amazing dad and more than I could have ever dreamed of. He did everything when I was in the hospital and took great care of both me and the babies. I pray that Luke will be just like his dad and that Madison will look for a husband who is just like her daddy. Jonathan is the kind of dad I feel like every child deserves. He eats the babies up and I love watching him with them! Life with Jonathan just keeps getting better :)

Let's go racing boys!! Daddy watching his first race with the babies :)

Mother's Day

Natalie had her first mother's day today and it was really fun.  She is an awesome mom, Luke and Madison are very lucky to have her as a mother.  Natalie is so great with them and I love her more each day through this adventure.  

Some of you have mentioned bringing dinner for us and we really appreciated that.  Kelly Keever, one of the sweet ladies in our small group at Grace has graciously offered to organize times for meals.  Those of you that have expressed interest in a meal can contact Kelly at kellyskeever@gmail.com.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many gracious friends and family and could have never done this by ourselves.  Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers.

 

We're Home

Last night they took Natalie off the Mag and this morning she was doing a lot better. The doctors came in this morning and said the best thing, "you are going home today". Natalie's blood pressure is still up so they sent her home with BP medicine and they were going to reevaluate her in a week to see if her BP goes back to normal. So we finally came home today and everyone is doing really good.

We are excited about going home!

Natalie and the babies rolling out

Home sweet home

Mommy lovin on Madison

Lovin on Luke

Tonight Natalie's condition did not improve like they were expecting. She was moved from the regular mom/baby unit to the high risk unit. Due to her elevated blood pressure and swelling they decided to start her on magnesium to try and reduce some of her problems. When I left around 7:30 she had already gotten a little better from this medication. They said this medicine could make her very sick, but she was blessed that she didn't see any of these side effects. This has been a very long several days for both Jonathan and Natalie. Please continue to pray that Natalie's condition will improve and that God will give Jonathan the strength to care for not only two new babies but also a sick wife. As for the babies, they are both continuing to do wonderful. The doctor's are still going to take it day by day on when they will be able come home. They have asked that they don't have any visitors at this time so they can rest. We'll keep you posted.

Needless to say Jonathan and Natalie have their hands full today so I (Jennifer, Natalie's sister) am updating the blog for them. As most of you know, the babies were delivered early because of Natalie's condition. She had preeclampsia and her swelling and blood pressure was of concern. Since the delivery she had continued to have symptoms as well as a low hemoglobin as a result of the blood loss during the operation. Yesterday, after a couple of scary episodes, they decided to give her a blood transfusion. This has helped her hemoglobin levels but her swelling and blood pressure are still of concern. The doctors have all reassured us that this is all due to the preeclampsia and it will just take some time for her body to recover. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. As for the babies, they are doing wonderful! Luke is very laid back and little Madison is not scared to voice her opinion. Despite Natalie's condition, she continues to feed them and they are both latching on great. I should also mention that sweet Jonathan has been wonderful not only taking care of my amazing sister but also very hands on with the babies. As of right now, the doctors are taking it day by day on when they will be coming home. Again, please keep all four of them in your prayers.

Need some sleep tonight

Sleeping Clemson Fans

I was going to write what happened today but there has been no time.  We will try to update tomorrow.  Here's another pic. 

The First Day Update

Luke (Left) and Madison (Right)

Their first time back together

Mom and babies are still doing really good. Both Luke and Madison feed with mom this moringing and they have been in our room all morning. They all are pretty tired but haning in there.