Long time no see, or should I say no blog!

Quads 7months and 1 day! Lt. to rt.: Heath, Leah, Ricky, and Ty (Can you believe I didn't stick them in birth order!)
Jenna and her birthday caterpillar cake.

Well I'm sorry that its been a month since my last update. I started trying to get this done on 3/11 and now its 3/23. Never planned it to be this long! At the end of Feb. I was waiting for us to go to the Dr. for checkup so I would have new weights to post. Well that didn't happen because we had to wait 2 weeks on our Synagis shots. So we finally got to our checkup and 6 months shots on the 14th of March! The babies new weights and measures are...drum roll please!

Ricky: Weight: 15lbs length:25 3/4inches Head circumference:17inches

Heath: Weight:14lbs 2oz Length: 24 inches Head: 17 1/4 inches

Ty: Weight: 11lbs 13oz Length: 24 1/4inches Head: 16 1/4 inches

Leah: Weight: 12lbs 7oz Length:23inches Head: 16inches

Everyone is doing great! Tyler's eating is getting better, still puking couple times a week. He's now on Prevacid 2 times a day and had made him a happier baby. I still have to wrestle with him at least through half of his bottle, but at least he's now taking 5-6oz. Each one got 5shots on their checkup! Talk about awful!! Very painful for us all!Ricky and Heath are now eating between 6-7 oz, more on the 7 side. Leah is also taking on the average5 1/2 to 6 oz too. The week after they turned 6months old,2/23, I started trying to spoon feed their cereal at noon. The week before we went to the doctor we added applesauce. Last week they had peaches and this week is pears. I love watching then react to the new tastes! Ty found his feet on March the 6th. He's like a little monkey! When you hold him up against you he grabs hold with both hands and won't let go. He got a handful of Kristi's hair yesterday, 3/22 and I thought he was going to take her to the ground! Jenna turned 7 on the 7th! She had a caterpillar cake and a few friends over for a sleepover. We also went and did a little shopping in Fort Worth on her birthday. It was the first time I had been to the mall since very early in my pregnancy with the quads. On Monday the 9th Heath turned over from his tummy to back and it was also Jenna's first spelling bee. She did a great job and got 3rd! On Friday the 13th we headed back to Cranial Technologies in Dallas with Ricky and Heath. They had to take 3-D pictures to send to the manufacturer so they could get to making the cranial bands. they looked like little robbers! It was too funny! They put their pacifier in their mouths and then put this little stocking over their entire heads to take the picts. The boys did great and didn't fuss a bit. the drive went better since we borrowed my brother-in-law's GPS. We go back this Friday to pick up the bands. By the end of February Leah had taught Heath how to spit. then the week of the 9th, Ricky starting blowing bubbles and Ty followed on the 16th. They are all drooling like crazy. I don't remember Jenna drooling that bad, but I guess she did. They are all gnawing on their hands and yours. Ricky and Heath though seem to be actually having painful gums, yeah for oragel. On the 20th Leah mastered turning over from her back to her tummy. She can go both ways now so of course you stick her in her bed one way and find her another! Last week was spring break for us. Very uneventful except for taking Jenna to the dentist for a checkup. No cavities! Jenna finished little dribblers on the 25th and is still playing soccer. Her basketball team got first! Way to go Wizards! Ashley is running track. Her first track meet was the Friday before Spring break. Hico got 2nd. She's running the relays and they got first in the sprint and mile relay and second in the 800 m relay. We have been blessed that the babies have been well. We've been taking them for walks on the nice warms days. So far they all like it!


Leah with her new shades. One hip chick don't ya think?

Ty hanging onto the giraffe while looking out the front door.

My friend Tish and her little girl, Caitlyn came to see us while she was on spring break. Isn't she a doll?!

Circling the kiddos so they can entertain each other during tummy time.

Leah with her Lovey from the NICU and her blankie/chewy that Jenna bought her with her own money.

Leah and Ricky snuggled up.

Baby robber #1, Ricky.

Baby robber #2, Heath. Gimme all you diapers and no one gets hurt!

I was so proud of myself for getting this picture. they may not be smiling but their all looking at me!

Jenna entertaining Leah, Heath, and Ricky. They think sister is pretty funny.

Ty right after his bath. Smellin good again!

Everyone else waiting their turn while Ty was getting his bath. I line them up in my bedroom outside the bathroom so I can keep an eye on them when no one else is home during bath time.

Stripped down on one of our very warm days. They liked being free of clothes.
Lt to rt: Heath, Leah, Ty (Ty & Leah are holding hands!), and Ricky

Jenna pushing one of the strollers down the hill during our walk.

A friend of our from Stephenville , Courtney stitched their initial to a onesie and Leah also got a little pink tutu! They were adorable! Thank you Courtney! (They are in birth order this time.)

Ty in the stroller

Leah in the back of the other stroller. the 2 little ones have to ride in the back for now.

Jenna posing with the babies for me. Heath and Ricky in the front.

Kristi found this headband for Leah. Isn't she just adorable! You just want to kiss her!

My little basketball star, Jenna.

Jenna's basketball team-the Wizards.

And she's out! One minute she's jumping like a kangaroo, the next she's passed out!

First day of spoon feeding their cereal.

Leah and heath checking out the rings I'm rattling. Leah's sliding back down.

More cereal out than in on Ty. At least he's happy!

Another spitter, Leah.

Heath not too sure about the whole thing yet. But now he's the best eater of all 4.

Can't get it in him fast enough!

Ricky not to sure either about the taste. I have to eat this?

Heath and Ty always end up next to each other no matter how far apart I put them! It's so sweet!

I got you now my pretty pink poodle!

More February pictures

Ty liked being in the stroller and out of his car seat after the long ride to Dallas to Cranial Technologies.

Heath trying to eat Leah's arm. She's just yummy!

Ricked zonked out after his pictures were taken for the cranial band evaluation.

Heath just couldn't jump any longer after lunch. Nap time!

Heath and Ricky just smiled and talked to each other. It was sooo sweet!

Heath loves to talk to his great Granny.

Heath wondering "What can I do with these things? Will they fit in my mouth?"

Nana and the big boys, Heath and Ricky.

Randy, Jenna, and Ashley headed to the Daddy-Daughter Banquet at our church.

Jenna in the huddle at her 1st soccer game. Go Dragons!

Jenna and her team mates going after the ball.

Jenna checking out her Valentine's goodies.

Jenna and her friend Fernando smile for the camera!

Everybody jumping after lunch.

Happy 6 month Birthday to you, you, you, and you!

My sweet 6 month olds: Ricky, Heath, Ty, and Leah. Notice we're getting fat little tummies! Noticed when I loaded I must have not had the red eye reduction on. We have red eyes instead of our pretty blues showing!

I can't believe the babies are already 6months old! Our days go by so fast! Before I know it, it will be summer and I'll planning their 1st birthday! I'm just ready for them to start holding their own bottles! I'm also looking forward to them sitting up on their own and crawling. I know it may sound silly to look forward to crawling with 4 but I do! The other evening I was flipping channels and came across a show on Discovery Health, I women giving birth to triplets. They were showing her c-section. The emotions that overwhelmed me surprised me. It took me back to the babies birthday and my own c-section. I still need to write about that day. It's still so vivid in my memory. So I couldn't watch the show, too emotional for me. Heath has been holding his head up better while on his tummy, getting stronger everyday. On Tuesday we took the quads to Cranial Technologies in Dallas to be evaluated to see if they will need cranial bands. I don't know how people live with all that traffic! It's crazy! Ricky and Heath for sure need the bands (which we already knew). They say Ty could also benefit too from one. His asymmetry is low to moderate so its kind of up to us if we put him in one. Leah doesn't need one at all! It was a long day and totally screwed up their new schedule I've been working on. So now for the past couple days trying to get them down and to stay down for their afternoon nap has been a challenge. I had to put Leah in the playpen today because she kept bugging Ricky. She can be so noisy and wiggles all over the place! Now she's being like Ty and turns herself over when she's supposed to be still and sleeping! Ty's eating is still up and down, we go back to the doctor next week for checkup and 6month shots. Oh joy! I have a prayer request: My cousin's oldest son, Clayton,he's 11, had a place taken off his face that came back as melanoma. He went to Cook's for lymph node biopsy and it came back positive for cancer. Please keep their family in your prayers. He will come to Cook's to begin treatment but will able to do the rest at Shannon hospital in San Angelo (they live in Eldorado). His mom is a nurse and will be able to give him the shots later on down the road after they get through the initial start. The first month is treatment 5 days a week. They also have 2 other children that this separation will be hard on them. So please keep them in your prayers :Cody, Christy, Clayton, Colton, and Cassidy Arendt.

Our little Sweet Pea! Isn't she a doll! I couldn't help but I thought she needed a bow after bath to spice up the outfit. We had shoes too but forgot to get a picture!

The kiddos have been having a good week. Ty is eating a little better. It takes forever to get his morning bottle in him or any of them for that fact. the Prevacid seems to be making him feels better. On Wednesday Kristi and I took the boys back to see Dr. Vaughan for their post-op visit. their incisions looks great, are healing well. Probably in a few weeks it will be hard to even tell where they are! Thanks Dr. Vaughan! We took him one of the famous Koffee Kup coconut cream pies just to say thanks for getting us done on surgery day since he had to pull some strings so we didn't get cancelled. Leah has gotten busy pushing up and rolling over. Ty is doing it more but it makes him mad at night when he gets stuck on his back. Heath is starting to hold his head up better and even push up on his arms a bit. when he's on his back, he rolls onto his side to check things out in a different angle. Heath and Ricky in the stroller as we wait in Dr. Vaughan's office.

Ty staring down Heath in Kristi's lap.

Dr. Vaughan and the boys Heath, Ty, and Ricky.

Ty checking out the toy in front of him, not letting go of that passy.

Ricky found a baby looking back at him in the little mirror. Good head control boys!

Peanut (Leah) all smiles in the jumper. She's the most active of all of them, bouncing like crazy already.

Lunch time! Thank goodnes for bottle holders!

Jenna is playing little dribblers. Her team is the Wizards in blue. she's the one with her hands up and the little pony tail.

The girl keeps those hands up and ready!

My sweet teddy bear, Ricky.

Heath wide -eyed talking to me while I'm trying to take his pict.

Bumbo time. Ty's not too happy about it.

Heath chillin Friday morning with Dad.

Today in Quadville...

We had them all together playing on Sunday. They were all talking and kicking and waving their hands in each other's face. Lt-Rt: Ricky, Heath, Ty, and Leah

Today Ricky rolled over from his tummy to his back! Over the past week his head control had gotten better and I catch him pushing up on his arms when he's on his belly so he can look around. Ty has been doing this for about a month now, he started at the end of December, first of January. Leah is working on it but gets ticked and then quits. Heath is my lazy boy. He'll look around for a bit then he's done! They have all found their hands now. I get cracked up at them as they try to shove their whole fist in their mouth. Leah also has found her ears and I like watching her as she holds her hands together. It's so sweet! We went to the doctor on Friday the 30th. My friend Toni went with me to help. We were both huffing and puffing by the time we got them into the room. Those kiddos are getting heavy! Ricky weighs in now at 12lbs 14oz; Heath is not far behind at 11lbs 12oz; Ty was 10lbs. 5oz and Leah was 10lbs 6oz-she beat Ty! Ty still hasn't been eating good since the surgery and even a little before that. He started eating less and taking longer on top of projectile puke. So I called Dr. Ong back on Tuesday and told her I thought we needed to change or do something now instead of waiting another 2 weeks. So she changed his stomach med to Prevacid. Today so far he's eating at 4 1/2 oz again instead of just 3oz. Hopefully this will do the trick. If not we will go back to Cook's to see a Gastroenterologist. So please pray that this is the answer! As you can tell the others are eating great and putting on the weight! On the 17th of this month we go to Cranial Technologies in Dallas to have the babies evaluated for cranial bands. The bands help reshape the babies skull if needed. I think Heath and Ricky for sure will need the bands but we're taking all of them to be evaluated. One longer trip with all 4 is easier that splitting it up. The bands are quite expensive so pray the insurance will cover! Jenna has been busy playing little dribblers basketball. They have had 2 games and won both! Their fun to watch play all hovering around the ball. Well must go about time to feed again! TTFN!

Boys Surgery

Ty and Ricky in their seats in the stroller.

Ricky watching every move the nurse is making.

One of the nurses putting little footies on Ty after she put the pulse oximeter reader on his big toe.

Randy holding Heath while the nurse is banding him.

Ricky in his Cook's t-shirt before surgery.

Ricky 's very interested in what the nurse is telling him.

Heath and Ty arm in arm while they wait their turn.

Ricky is the step down recovery room with his puppy pacie.

Heath after he reached step down recovery.

Ty in recovery. You can still see his "tan" from the prep solution.

Getting us situated upstairs in our room for overnight.

Heath with his bilateral dressings. Look at that double chin!

Ricky and his bilateral dressings. He's happily looking at the puppy on the chelf over his head.

Ty with his right side dressing. He lucked out and had only one hernia.

The boys had their inguinal hernia surgeries Thursday, January 15th. All went well. We nearly got cancelled right after we got there because they had an emergency come in earlier which had bumped everything back. But Dr. Vaughan worked his magic after I reminded him it takes an act of Congress for us to get there and for me to have the help needed. So he pulled some strings and we got it done and even got to start earlier than expected. It was organized chaos as we were getting the babies ready. So many people in such a little room! there was at least 3 nurses doing the paperwork, weighing, banding, and helping change the babies plus the anesthesiologist doing his assessments, and then all of us: myself, Randy, Kristi, Joyce, 3 babies and double stroller plus one more carrier! But it all got done! Ricky and Heath ended up having bilateral inguinal hernias and Ty was only on the right side. They all did great and seemed not to hurt. they were a little fussy upstairs but nothing a little Benedryl couldn't;t cure! Ty seemed to have a little trouble with his throat after surgery, possibly some swelling or irritation from the breathing tube. He had a croupy/barking cough and just acted like his throat hurt, not wanting to eat for a few days. Surgery/anesthesia always affects red heads differently. Might be a myth but I believe it! Ty's started rolling over from tummy to back. Ricky is getting close. We go the 30th to get another round of Synagis shots. The kiddos also like laying under the jungle gym and the bouncer. they get those arms and legs a going! I get cracked up at Heath in the bouncer. He's the only one who gets to kicking hard enough to keep the music and lights a flashing. Ricky will lay in the bed and talk up a storm to the mobile. They are getting stronger, holding their heads up better and pushing up on their arms when on their tummies. I can't wait to see how much they weigh now!