the beginning of parenthood

...today we got to partially see Sully's face! He wouldn't open his eyes for us but to Cheryl's excitement we got to see his hair! He looks like he might have some blondish-red hair. Cheryl told me when we first got married that one of the reasons she married me was because she wanted red headed babies...no pressure. When they came out on Tuesday night all I saw was dark hair and thought "oh no" :)

Please be praying for a few things. We need their little stomachs and stuff to really start "waking up". Mom's milk is one of the best things for them. Be praying against any brain bleeding. They go in for testing for this on Monday or Tuesday. And also constant prayer against infections as they continue to develop and grow. They heard a little heart murmor on Camden yesterday and said that it was a valve that should close eventually. So please be praying that it close up naturally like its suppose to.

Here's little Sully with his mask off. They changed out his CPAP to another one


Here he is again...I'll get a better picture of his hair for next time




Grandpa B and Sully




Nothing like mom's hand to keep them calm...



...I think this was when we were being too loud :)

our happy "new mom" ...this was before they told her she was going to be "feeding" every two hours.

...and Cheryl(mom) after 12 "feedings" :)

Here's Cam raising the roof with his hands...I think I'm going submit these guys for the next etrade commmerical.

Sully hanging out...

they are cute little mini feet

each day...

Each day has something new to offer. Today we got to see Cam's whole face since they were born 3 days ago. It was exciting as you'll see he opened his eyes and looked over at us. I'm sure he saw just dark shadowy blobs in front of him, but he saw us none the less.

Its also the simple things we gives thanks for...they both experienced their first "duece"! The nurses had been giving them very little bits of milk yesterday and they stopped b/c they didn't see them moving the milk through their system. So today they gave them suppositories and an hour or so later "waaa laaa"!

On a side note Chery's brother graduated from Texas A&M today. Happy day! And as timing has it, Cheryl graduates from Sam Houston State University tomorrow with her Masters...(looks like she won't be walking).

Alright that's it from me for tonight. Please keep praying for our little guys!

So here's Cam with his full head gear...


And here's our little guy free from that stuff




his little eyes squinted as they hadn't seen the light since they were born




Here you see the beginning of us tag teaming these guys...this is Cheryl and I feeding them.

So its the less conventional way of feeding...we're using syringes to get the food in their feeding tubes. But we're feeding them none the less (eventually Chris will be phased out as they upgrade to the real deal :) ) I'll probably get diaper duty...

Here's their private "suite" in the NICU. Unfortunately this "hotel" doesn't give "frequent flyer miles" or "Hilton Honor Points".

...and this is what happens when you let your friends hold the camera

...a couple more from the night Day 2...

We had a couple of "firsts" last night. Who would think that you'd get so excited to change a diaper...

...its hard not to smile when you look at these guys...






Our first diaper change...and we get so excited.


...little legs and feet

Humbled and Amazed: Our new reality

....from a new "mamma"

I have a confession to make. Often when I read the blogs of others if there is a lot of typing I usually don't read it. I am more of a "look at the pictures" kind of blog reader. If you are like me, then this post might not interest you because I don't have any pictures of the little guys. Well, I do, but they are across the room and I am comfy in my (hospital) bed letting the swelling go down from my feet. So...this post will be text only.

Humbled.
We have always loved being surrounded by friends and family. Our new reality is that we not only love being surrounded by friends and family, but we are also humbled at the outpouring of love, compassion, and generosity. I never tire of answering the phone and responding with "yes! we'd love to see you". I never tire of answering the question of "what happened..we just saw you ______day?". I never tire of showing our pictures (thanks Mom and Dad for printing those by the way) of our baby boys to friends and family. (yep, I think I will be that mom who carries an album in her purse). So, to all of you who have called, visited, texted, emailed, facedbooked (verb, ha!), and prayed for us....we are so humbled.

Amazed.
The whole pregnancy "thing" always fascinated us. Our new reality is that we daily marvel at what a miracle a tiny baby really is. As I was looking at Cam today I tried to take everything in. Did you know that even his cuticles on his toes (...which look like his fathers might I add) have perfectly formed cuticles? Wow! Also tonight I was amazed to see the milk that I had just pumped and put into a syringe, flow straight from that same exact syringe into a tube that will provide Sullivan with nourishment to help him grow (Cam ate too...don't worry!). What a perfect equation God has created. We stand Amazed.

a little vocal exercise... :)

Day 2

Its day 2 and Sully and Cam are rock stars! Today they started giving them a little milk (1/2 once) to get their stomach and intestines started working. We were excited about that. They have moved them into isolet's today to try and create a more similar environment to their mommy's belly. All news has been good today. So keep praying for them!

Sullivan's new shades :)


Sullivan before sunglasses...




Chris(Dad) and Sully

Camden's new "crib".

Sully on the left...Cam on the right

So as most of you might know we've had a last minute surprise happen last night. Last night, May 11 at 11:40pm and 11:41pm, our babies came into the world at 29 weeks! Happy Birthday little guys. Here are some snap shots from their first 24 hours of life...