• Flashback Friday: First Summer

     Flashback Friday - Brina's Flexible and Totally Asleepc

     Brina completely folded in half and sleeping

    This flashback Friday bounces us back to June 2005.  The girls first summer!  They were continuing to grow.  It was amazing to see them start to learn more and change.  They still could go to sleep in the most unusual (and what looked like uncomfortable) positions.  Their smiles and little giggles made our days so much brighter.  They put up with our silliness as parents and we had a lot of fun learning together.

    We were home for the majority of the month of June.  At their regular Doctors appointment they were growing and looking healthy, however, on Brina’s apnea monitor her heart rate was showing unusually high numbers so we had to go into a specialists office to get her hooked up to an EKG.  We also had to bring her home on a portable EKG for a couple days to see if there were any complications.  Thankfully she was fine, she just has a faster heartbeat than other kids at her age.

    Karlie Sucking her Thumbc

     Karlie was our thumb sucker.  She is enjoying her thumb as she falls asleep.

    Cuddling (Karlie and Brina)c

    Snuggle bugs

    Karlie found her fist and Brina giving us a shy smilec

    Looks like mischief!

    Karlie laughing because she pushed Brina offc

    Karlie giggling as she attacks Tigger!

    Karlie our pretty presentc

    Karlie fast asleep with a decorative gift bow on her forehead…..she has no idea!

    Flashback Friday - Karlie and Brina shy smilesc

    Love seeing those pudgy cheeks!

    Brina doing the EKG in the doctors officec

    Brina having the EKG test done.  She is not very happy with us right now.

    Flashback Friday - Brina and her wiresc

     Back home with all the EKG wires attached to her.  She was more content once we were back home and didn’t seem to mind the extra wires until we pulled them off 2 days later and she had a bunch of red spots all over her belly.

    Sistersc

    Hanging out!

    Brina holding still so we can get a shotc

    Silly ducks….Brina – “What are you guys looking at?” while Karlie snoozes away completely unaware of the duck on her head.

    Karlie Cutiec

    Karlie tolerated our silliness.  As long as she was fed, changed, and got to play she was a happy baby.

    Karlie's Milk Bellyc

    Look at that cute milk belly! Such a huge change since her surgery the month before when she couldn’t keep anything down.  Thankful for the doctors and a healthy baby.

    Brina picking out gifts in Cheaper Than Dirt Catalogc

    Brina is excited about picking out gifts in the Cheaper Than Dirt Catalog…..makes Daddy so proud!

    Flashback Friday - Brina showing off her silly hatc

    Brina showing off her fancy “pant” hat.   She is not very impressed.

    Karlie wearing her pants wrong and showing off her diaperc

    Karlie is not overly excited by her hat either.  She is ready for her nap!

    Happy Brinac

    Happy Brina Bee!

  • Flashback Friday: Meeting Extended Family Members on 1st Trip to Kansas

    Grandma Doris and Brinac

    Great Grandma Doris holding Brina.

    Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were just over 3 months old.  It was also their first airplane ride and visit to our Kansas family.  I have a lot of extended family members in the Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado area.  It was an adventure flying with two little ones on heart apnea monitors.  Thankfully my brother Lee flew with us and was a big help getting all the kids and their stuff into the airport.

    The biggest disadvantage to flying with twins is that you cannot sit together.  There is only one extra air mask per row on the airplanes so you cannot sit in the same row, you have to sit either behind or in front of each other if you have a “babe in arms“.  Something we were not aware of until flying with the girls the first time.

    We also realize that a lot of airport workers are not used to seeing babies on heart apnea monitors.  At one point they delayed the plane from leaving and brought the monitors up from the storage area to put them on.  Per the Doctors if we are holding them they didn’t need to be on any monitors, however, the workers insisted that they have them on.  It made one of the security guards at one airport so nervous when we took the monitors off the kids that he pushed all our stuff through without stopping to thoroughly inspect everything and immediately said “please put those monitors back on!”   I guess having tiny ones on monitors makes some people nervous.  To Jake and I it was pretty normal, we had to deal with them from day one.

    We had several family celebrations and gatherings during our long weekend in Kansas.  The girls got to meet a lot of Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins for the first time during this adventure.  They met many new faces on both the Hendrich and St. Clair sides of the family.  Thankful for kids that travel well, safety, and for time with family.

    Thankful for these precious pictures.  The girls are blessed to have so some many wonderful memories with their Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and many more extended family members.

    Grandma Willa and Karliec

    Great Grandma Willa talking with Karlie

    Renelle, Karlie and Grandpa Verlync

     Renelle, Karlie, and Grandpa Veryln being silly!

    Flashback Friday - Aunt Tracy and Karliec

    Aunt Tracy with Karlie.

    Aunt Vick, Karlie, Alecia,  Emily, and Brinac

     Aunt Vick and Alecia with Karlie and Emily with Brina

    Brina and Karlie getting ready for a napc

     Snoozing on the bed at Grandpa Russell’s and Grandma Penny’s house!

    Cousin Nathan being goodc

    My fun and cute nephew Nathan!  He is the girls oldest cousin on that side of the family.

    Daddy and Brinac

     Jake relaxing for a few minutes with Brina!  Thankful for all his help and willingness to travel all the way out to KS with the little ones to visit my family.  Love him so much and he is an amazing Dad to our girls.

    Lee and Jordan at Jordan's graduationc

    We got to go to my cousin Jordan’s High School Graduation while we were in KS.  Jordan’s pictured above with my brother Lee.

    Renelle and Brina at St.Clairsc

    Aunt Renelle holding a sleepy Brina.  Renelle is super good with kids.  She was my “partner-in-crime” while growing up and probably the closest thing to a “sister” I had while growing up in a house with 3 brothers!

    Whitney and Clairec

     My cousin Whitney and her niece Claire!