The Seventh Month

This month began with the end of our night nanny. Bradley had decided to make a change of location and move to Michigan. We were sorry to see her go, but the timing was perfect since the kids were pretty much consistently sleeping through the night. Thank you, Bradley, for all your help! We couldn't have survived it without you! And thank you to everyone who donated money to allow us the joy of a night nanny for such a long time! Thank you!

On Dec.23 we loaded up the kids, enlisted the help of our wonderful neighbor and friend, Cris, and headed to Victor Ashe Park for some family pictures. Cris was nice enough to shoot them for us, and her son Carter was nice enough to sleep in his stroller so she could! We wanted them particularly as Christmas presents for family and were very pleased with the results. Thanks Cris! Here are Jim and I and the kids in birth order: Jonathan, Zachary, Reagan, and Thomas.

The next day we took our first road trip! Matthew and Michele (friends who now live in Georgia) were at Matthew's parents' house in Butler, TN, 2 and a half hours from here, so we decided to take the kids for a visit. They were so good! They slept the whole way there and the whole way back and were just delightful while there. It was such a fun trip! Not only did we get to see Michele and Matthew and their beautiful son Andy and Matthew's parents, John and Sue, but we also got to see Matthew's sister Jessie, her husband Tim, and their little girl Lily, and Matthew's other sister Carrie! It was such fun to watch all the kids roll around and play together!

Matthew and Andy

Jessie, Tim, and me with assorted children

Lily

We stayed home for Christmas which was really nice. It allowed us to have a relaxing day. We opened presents with the kids and took pictures. Later that day, Jim's friends Jason joined us for Christmas dinner. We had ham, turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing, etc., all made by my wonderful and talented husband! That's right, Jim baked a turkey!

On the 27th we had our first overnight road trip! We went to Jasper and spent the night at Granny Kat's house. The drive was great, since the kids slept again. Sleeping overnight was a challenge. We have two Pack n' Plays that we set up for the kids. Jonathan and Reagan slept in one and did okay once Reagan finally quit crying and went to sleep. (They share a crib at home) Zachary and Thomas started out in the other one together, but we eventually took Thomas out and put him in the floor in our bedroom, and later in bed with us when we decided he was cold on the floor. (He and Zachary both move around too much for them to share sleeping space. At home Zachary has a crib to himself and Thomas has a Pack 'n Play to himself.) It was a good experience and we had fun. I'm glad we went!

Granny Pam and Jonathan

Great-Aunt Jayne and Thomas

Cousin Josh and Jonathan

Cousin Caleb and Jonathan

Great-Granny Kat and Zachary

Great-Aunt Jayne and Reagan

Then we had company at our house. Michele and Matthew stayed with us a couple of nights, and we had a blast visiting with them and letting the kids play together!

Michele and Andy

Andy and Reagan

Andy at the park

Reagan's first swing!

Jim plays backup for David

Thomas, Zachary, Andy, Reagan, and Jonathan

Jan 4 we had RSV shots again. But more importantly, Cousin Tyler was born! Aunt Carey's water had broken the week before, and she had been in the hospital ever since, so we had known it was just a matter of time before he was born, and this was the day! It worked out well for us since we parents were already planning to come to Knoxville to help me with the kids so Jim could go to Evansville to help Clay paint the nursery. So Jim got to be there for Tyler's birth! For those of you who don't know, Tyler has cystic fibrosis. Thankfully, his case seems fairly mild so far, and he is doing well. In fact, although he was born earlier than the quads were, he only had to stay in the NICU for 14 days, 2 less than Jonathan, Zachary, and Reagan. (Side note to the day: Thank you Abigail for being brave enough to help me take the kids to get their shots! Such courage!)

Cousin Tyler!

So beautiful!

Proud Daddy!

The next day we had our 6-month checkup. My parents helped me take the kids, quite an experience for them, I'm sure! We create a sensation wherever we go! Anyway, Zachary weighed 17lb 15.5oz putting him at 50%, Reagan weighed 17lb 2.5oz putting her at 75%, Jonathan weighed 16lb 0.5oz putting him at 25%, and Thomas weighed 13lb 13.5oz putting him still at 3%. They had a great checkup, except for Reagan's wheezing. She had been wheezing ever since her bout of croup, but the pulmonologist had told us it was a side effect of her reflux and would go away when the reflux did. Molly seemed to think it should go away now! So Reagan started breathing treatments, and now she almost never wheezes! We also got cleared to move up to stage 2 foods!


On the 20th the kids turned 7 months old! We celebrated with another photo shoot, and Jim and I running away for the night! Wonderful Pam and Gwen came over to keep the kids, and Jim and I went to a dinner with friends from both West End and Parkway. It was great seeing everyone again, and we had the best time!

Here are some of our 7-month pictures. Mom, we did these first ones just for you! I hope you like them!

Jonathan

Zachary

Reagan

Thomas

Additional Pictures!

Here are the individual shots Michelle took of the kids on their 5 month birthday, plus a couple extras that were just really good!

Jonathan

Zachary

Reagan

Thomas

Mommy and Reagan head out for a walk

Hello, Zachary!

The Sixth Month

This month began with Thanksgiving! Daddy Bud, KayKay, Aunt Jodie, Uncle Jeff, and Cousin Kinley all came to visit for the holiday, and we had a great time! Bradley joined us for Thanksgiving dinner, which was a special treat. After dinner we got all dressed up and went to the park for a big family photo shoot. My parents used one of the pictures from this shoot on their Christmas card. Here are a couple of the pics we took:

Our wonderful friends Frank and Stephanie and their son Knox came over on the 25th and kept the kids for a few hours, giving Jim and me the chance to get out and do some Christmas shopping. Here are Stephanie and Frank at an earlier visit:



The first weekend in Dec. we had several visitors. First Great-aunt Nancy and Great-uncle George came over from Memphis to see the babies. We had a great visit with them! Jim's cousin josh also came to see us that weekend with his friend Erin. It was so nice to see Josh and to meet Erin!

George and Nancy with Thomas, Reagan, Jonathan, and Zachary

Josh and Erin with Zachary

On Dec.6 we had RSV shots again. At this visit Zachary weighed 16lb 7oz, Reagan weighed 16lb 1oz, Jonathan weighed 15lb 3oz, and Thomas weighed 12lb 9oz.

Dec.9 was a big day for me and Jim! Kim and Gwen, two of the wonderful ladies from church, came over and kept the kids all day! Jim and I got to eat lunch together, go shopping, go see a movie, AND go out to dinner! It was great! Thank you so much, Kim and Gwen!


On the 14th, we all loaded up in the van and took the kids to their first party! The English department from my school had a Christmas party at Frank and Stephanie's new house, and we were all invited. In fact, I was told we couldn't come unless we brought the babies! We had a blast, and the babies were so good all night! It was great to see everyone!

B.A. with Thomas

Angie with Jonathan

Kathy and Neil with Reagan

Jim with Zachary

The next day we had an appointment to take the kids to the High Risk Clinic for a developmental checkup. It was kind of a strange experience because the kids were being evaluated according to the developmental milestones of their adjusted age, that is the age they would have been if they had been born on their due date instead of early. So the doctors kept talking about how advanced they were because they were doing things most babies don't do at 4 months. Well, that's because they aren't 4 months! They almost 6! Of course, I understand that a lot of babies who are born early do progress more along the lines of their adjusted age, but ours are so normal that it was just weird. So when the head doctor said she wanted them back in six months at which time she hoped they would all be sitting up and maybe crawling, I was thinking in my head that some of them better be walking by that time! My friend Michelle said she hoped all four of them walked themselves into the office and said, "Hello!" That would be great!


Dec 20 the kids turned six months old! Michelle took pictures, but I don't have them back yet, so you'll just have to wait! Sorry!

We Love Bath Time!

Here are a few shots Michelle took when the kids were four months old. As you can see, they love the bath!

Jonathan

Zachary

Reagan

Thomas

(Sorry, Thomas, I didn't know you would be getting your picture made when I picked out the towels before we started baths, so you got stuck with a pink one! Oops!)