Mallory and Kelby

December Recap

2011-01-05T13:04:00.013-06:00

So here is a brief recap of our Christmas festivities. God blessed us immensely this year. We were able to buy gifts for a few less fortunate kids, deliver gifts to sweet children whose parents sadly are in prison, spend a couple of days with Jeremy's family and squeeze in a short visit with my sister. It was truly a perfect Christmas.

(You can read this post how ever you wish, but it will make the most sense if you scroll to the bottom to start. Sorry my brain can't think backwards, and moving images around always locks down blogger.)

And we ended the Christmas celebrating with a warm fire, pizza and a movie.

On our way home from Cloudcroft we stopped by Abilene to spend Christmas with Sara, Conner, Jackson and Harrison. It was an extremely short visit but so fun to get to see them.

Christmas morning came bright and EARLY as all of the kids were still on TX time. We were all up checking out what Santa brought by 4:45am! (yes that is correct) Needless to say all of us adults had about 8 cups of coffee to find our smiles for the camera. Santa brought our sweet girls a train set, blocks, books, puzzles, games and clothes. It was so fun to see their faces when they realized Santa brought exactly what they asked for.

It snowed a little the night we got there. Thankfully there was an area on the golf course completely shaded. The snow melted everywhere else but this little bitty section, which was just enough to go sledding down. The girls loved it, but I have to admit I loved it more!

We got the chance to spend Christmas in Cloudcroft, NM with Jeremy's family. Jeremy's Aunt Nita has a cabin on the golf course. It was so much fun! We picked out a Christmas tree from the forest (with a permit of course), decorated it with fruit loop garland and lights.

Jeremy helped the girls make a Trix house and decorate it with candy. Not totally convinced we could keep Mallory from eating regular gingerbread and not wanting to spend a small fortune making GF gingerbread only to throw it away we went with Trix and marshmallows. The weight of the icing proved to be to much as it collapsed fairly quickly despite structural enhancements by the our resident civil engineer.

From Dec 12th until we left to see Gran & Grandad we made a craft (ha! or "crap" as Mallory says. She is still learning her "ft" sound) or did something Christmas-y. The all time favorite was snowmen.

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-05T12:38:00.010-06:00

Happy New Year everyone!! I can't believe how fast the last year went by. 2010 was a wonderful year for us and God provided so many sweet moments with our girls and wonderful memories that I hope I can always recall.

Mallory and Kelby were the silliest two year olds around. Watching them learn, discover and share everything they were figuring out was priceless! So far having two three year olds in the house is proving a bit challenging only because they stepped up their "A Game" faster than Momma did. It is hilarious to hear them talking as they play, plotting their next move and discussing the days events.

Mallory is definitely our comedian and little ham. She instantly can pull a funny stunt when the mood gets too serious or the car is too quiet. Kelby is still the prankster and her laugh gives her away every time she realizes she got you.

One thing we did not do enough of in 2010 is blog and for that I am so sorry! I promise to be better at carving out time to update the blog.

Hugs

&

Kisses,

Jeremy, Jennifer Mallory & Kelby

Cheatham Family Summer Summary

2010-10-20T14:15:00.002-05:00

We had a great summer that as always went by way to quickly! If we had to pick the highlights they would have to be:

* Had an awesome Father's Day celebrating Jeremy.
* Jeremy became an official licensed Professional Engineer.
* Luxury of hanging out with Morgan and Brenlee for a week.
* Fabulous Fourth complete with fireworks
* BYBC and Summer Fest at HCBC Pflugerville
* Mallory finally got her tonsils and adenoids out (trust me this was a blessing)
* We meet some wonderful (future life long friends) when we joined the best Real Life Group ever.
* Celebrated 4 years of marriage to my wonderful husband.
* Watched God move mountains for us and in our heart which increased our faith in him.

And well... I think that about catches everyone up on our Summer.

To-doodle-do!

Catch Up & Kerrie's Wedding

2010-10-20T13:54:00.008-05:00

Once again this summer brought another family Wedding. Jeremy's cousin Kerrie got married at the end of July to Tyler DeHay. It was the most beautiful wedding and Kerrie looked gorgeous! It was great to see all of Jeremy's extended family and celebrate with Tyler and Kerrie on their special day. The girls loved dancing and playing with their cousins.

A few pics below:

Catch Up & BYBC

2010-10-20T13:31:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness! Has it really been almost four months since our last post? WOW! so sorry to any fans we still have left out there in blog-ville. Sadly once the craziness of this summer slowed down I was totally out of the habit of blogging that it got pushed further and further down the to-do list. I am currently monitoring nap time, and after checking email, figured I would blog a bit.

Where to begin?

July:
We hosted a backyard bible club (BYBC) for out church this summer and had a BLAST!! BYBC is our church's version of vacation bible school with a twist, instead of meeting at church the meet in neighborhoods around the city. Kids from our high school youth group volunteer to come around to each house and teach the elementary kids about God. Going into it I knew it would be fun, but was not at all prepared to be blown away by how much these high school kids truly love Jesus and their ability to get the younger kids on fire for him every evening in the 100+ degree weather. It was absolutely amazing!!! We can't wait to host another BYBC next summer!

4th Pics. (in reverse order)

2010-07-06T16:04:00.020-05:00

Sorry these are in reverse order.

A little sugar helps fight off Mr Sandman

3 out of 4 with eyes open and 2 out of 4 smiling = success!

Another attempt to try and get all eyes open with smiles failed miserably!

Momma's Kelby-Elby~

"Look! A helicopter!"

Almost time.....

Eating popcorn and waiting on the sun to set

Checking out the candy~

Kurly Sue

Notice the little boy eying their candy.

Picnic before the parade started.

Gotta clean the glasses

Are they not the cutest????

Fourth of July 2010

2010-07-06T15:37:00.002-05:00

Oh my goodness this day could not have been more perfect for this patriotic passionate American! I LOVE the 4th!! Normally I get all festive with cookies and decorations but this year the weeks prior were a little chaotic. We improvised with Starbuck's vanilla fraps and popcorn as our festive food. The three day weekend made it even better. I love when the holiday falls on the weekend so that Jeremy can have a three day weekend home with us.

The day itself kicked with a great church service. After which rushed home packed a picnic then went to the Round Rock parade. The girls loved it despite the extreme heat and humidity. It was a first for us as parents to see how much you have to help your kids grab the candy tossed to them. Unfortunately we were surrounded by quick aggressive kids and parents that saw the candy tossed by parade floats as a contest. The girls loved the parade though and the horses were the biggest hit as always. Afterward, we came home for naps and ice cream followed by pizza and fireworks.

With all of the rain lately several cities and organizations had to reschedule their firework displays. Thankfully the city of Pflugerville did not have too and we were able to see a great show Sunday night. Our subdivision is less than a mile from Lake Pflugerville where the fireworks took place, so we were able to walk over with out having to mess with parking and shuttle buses. Waiting for sun down proved tricky as their is only so much to do, but once the show began the girls LOVED it!!

Summer Fun

2010-07-06T15:23:00.007-05:00

Princess Brenlee! Lovable and cute as ever!

Morgan- she is gorgeous even fresh out of bed and her hair all a mess. Lucky sweet girl!
The next Vana White! haha!

Mallory & Brenlee

Mallory & Kelby's first time inside a McDondald's!

Crazy, I know but I honestly am grossed out by the interior of any fast food restaurant. Factor being a parent to a child with Celiac and that pretty much limits any trips to fast food establishments for these girlies. I do however love McDonald's fries (I am American!) and thankfully they are one of the few places that does not fry their fries in the same fryer as other food; therefore they are Gluten Free. Our nieces came to stay for a week and the trade off spot was supposed to be Starbuck's. However, Eastland's Starbucks is no longer open so McDonald's was second on the list. ~~Hey a road trip with four girls REQUIRES coffee!~~~

Father's Day

2010-07-06T15:14:00.004-05:00

Father's Day was a complete day of celebrating the wonderful Daddy that Jeremy is to the girls. It kicked off with Cinnamon Ice Cream French Toast served with Ham and Eggs followed by play time, late church service, long afternoon of naps and golf, then ended with a BBQ with our neighbors.

I am so thankful for the screams of joy and giggles that fill our house every evening when Jeremy comes home from work. For the hours he spends playing with them and the love they have for him. Every girl needs an amazing Daddy to love on her and shower her with hugs and kisses. So glad my girls have Jeremy as their Daddy.

Slumber party aftermath

2010-06-07T21:40:00.002-05:00

This is the first of many, we are certain. After putting the girls to bed at 8ish, going in twice to silence the giggle fest we finally headed to bed at 11. Jeremy checked on the girls and they were sleeping peacefully in their own beds. However Saturday morning when we went in to get them, they were snuggled up on Mallory's bed. They had already run off to play by the time I found the camera to take a picture. We have no idea when Kelby climbed in bed with Mallory. They have not slept together in the same bed in two years. I love the bond they have. Nothing is sweeter.

Play time

2010-06-07T21:32:00.006-05:00

Mallory in deep concentration!

Mallory is the best little Mommy to her baby dolls. She constantly is taking care of their every need.

A new bath time ritual..

2010-06-07T21:22:00.004-05:00

At first glance it might appear that the bath tub toys are nicely put away. However, that is not the case. These bath tub toys are in line to "go potty". Their potty is at the other end of the bath tub, this is merely the line. Kelby makes sure every night during the bath that each and every toy has a chance to "go potty". She is very insistent in her directions to the toys that they "Go potty, right now, OK! Right now, go potty." Thankfully, she is not playing with the real potty or even her real potty. Mallory is the cheerleader for the bath tub toys. When they have finished she energetically claps and says "Yeah! Good job, you did it!"

Cripple Creek Ranch

2010-06-07T20:16:00.017-05:00

This picture pretty much says it all! We had a wonderful opportunity to go to a friends family ranch for the weekend a while back. Araceli and Hunt Hellums are dear friends of ours and when the offered we could not say no. Their family ranch is in Medina, TX and truly sits on the most beautiful piece of property either of us have ever seen. Hunt's parents host camps and hunting trips for orphans all across the state. The ranch consists of 5 or 6 cabins, a main house, lodge, several ponds to fish in, horse back riding, canoeing, swimming pool, tons of hiking trails and a peaceful creek to listen too.

We had so much fun getting to visit with some great friends we hadn't seen in a while and enjoying every bit of the ranch. Heidi came along too for the adventures and honestly had more fun than anyone there! She completely checked her "spoiled lap dog" attitude at the gate and became Heidi the ranch dog. She out ran the ranch dogs, swam in the lake and river every chance she got, bailed out of the jeep while it was moving, chased the roosters and quickly treed the ranch cat in mere seconds. By the end of the weekend she had earned the name White Lighten'.

Mallory's turn.

Araceli helping Kelby hit the pinata.

Alex clearly had some experience hitting pinatas.

Heidi was really hopping Luke would whack it open. Then the roosters caught her attention and she was off!

Heidi was gone before we could snap a pic. She chased them in and out of the chicken coup. They finally gave up and flew into the tree. All of us city folk were shocked to know roosters could actually fly that high.

Mallory, Alex and Luke eating their loot! Alex is actually 6mths younger than the girls. She and Kelby could pass for sisters. Many times we all got the two of them confused.

Hunter riding the horse.
Mallory and Kelby crashed Saturday afternoon. Sadly they missed the pony rides.

More pics of the ranch.

The main house and the edge of one of the cabins. Scarlet, a friends dog, was scoping out the place.

The girls first boat ride! This does not look safe, but I promise it was completely safe. The whole boat ride lasted maybe three minutes. The girls giggled the whole time.

Zilker Zephyr

2010-06-07T17:17:00.009-05:00

Gran and Grandad came in town about a month ago and fortunately the weather that weekend was gorgeous! Taking full advantage of a nice day we headed down to fabulous Zilker park to play and ride the train. Our cameras memory was almost full so we didn't get to take very many pictures but did snap a few of the girls riding on the train. After the girls played and played on the play ground. Kelby LOVES slides- the higher the better!- and Mallory just loves to run wild and swing.

Staking out or seats before it fills up.

Kelby riding with Gran.

Mallory hanging out with Grandad.

"Biggirlbed!"

2010-06-07T16:06:00.011-05:00

We conquerd the task of big girl bed transition in a weekend. After taking down the cribs we taped off the walls, painted and the set their beds up the following day. A simple painting task took longer than expected. You may remember that we had diamonds painted around the girls room. Well we foolishly assumed they would easily be covered with two coats of paint. Unfortunately, it took two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Not exactly in the plan or budget for that matter- but it finally got done! We have a few more things we want to add to the room, but for the most part it is complete!

The big reveal! They were SOOOO excited!!!

Mallory's bed

Hanging out on Kelby's bed.

Baths before our first night in the big girl beds.

The first night and really pretty much every night so far has gone well. There is the occasional giggle fest or late night gab fest, but for the most part they lay down and go to sleep easily.

Kelby's first night in her bed.

Mallory's first night in her big girl bed. (she refuses to wear pants to bed!)

Bye, bye cribs.....

2010-06-07T15:09:00.008-05:00

So the time has finally come to say good bye to cribs and hello to big girl beds. It was a bittersweet day as Jeremy and I stood and thought about all of the sweet memories of them in their cribs. From the first few nights they slept in their cribs, the first time the started standing up (picture to come) and now look at them!

Funny how small the beds look compared to two years ago. We took pictures of the last time in their beds and the last time of them together in each bed. It had been a busy day already without naps so as we began to take pictures the girls panicked that it was bed time!

Disassembled cribs ........

A bare empty room. Babies will no longer sleep in this room. It is soon to be occupied by little girls. Little girls that can get in and out of bed on their own, open doors, feed themselves, and dress themselves. Little girls that can now request songs, shows, food, toys and activities. Little girls that no longer need to be carried everywhere, but can walk and even run where ever they want to go. TONS and TONS of fun times lie ahead. But our hearts were heavy with the fact that babyhood was over!! Very thankful for pictures, because I do not feel that I enjoyed it enough. If I could do it over again, I hope that I would soak up every little moment!

March of Dimes Walk 2010

2010-06-07T14:39:00.008-05:00

Hello from the long lost world of parenting toddlers. Whew! They are lovable, hilarious, creative and exhausting! haha!

To start the first of many updates, here are pictures from the March of Dimes Walk. We proudly raised a little over $150 this year. Thank you so much to everyone that donated. The walk was fantastic as always. A bit breezy and cool, but much better than hot and humid! This year the 5K trek went through the capital grounds (instead of just around the perimeter) which for this extremely patriotic political junkie, was an added bonus. Something about walking on the grounds of the state capital just energizes me! ( I am a dork, I know!)

As we mentioned before, this year Evan's name was on one of the memorial towers. Seeing her name was such a reminder of why we walk and the miracles that God does through the March of Dimes. Below are a few pictures from the walk. We wanted to have shirts made this year, but procrastination got the best of me. Here's hoping for next year!

Evan's tower reads:
Evan Reese Cheatham
November 16, 2007
Psalms 4:13
Thank you God for the five hours we had Evan in our arms,
but more importantly, for holding her in yours until we get home.

We borrowed two single jogging strollers for the walk this year. As you can tell by the girls expressions, it was an early morning!

The annual Capital picture.

Rebecca McIntosh O'Dell

2010-05-03T15:36:00.003-05:00

In September of 2007, as many of you know, we found out that we were parents of three little miracles. I was 16wks along in the whole pregnancy journey and the weight of that news was literally every emotion in the book. Yet at the same time, we were over come by the peace that only God could give us, as he quickly comforted Jeremy and I with his assurance that he was still in control.

After we left the sonogram we called our church and asked to pray with a pastor. God connected us with Doug James, a pastor on staff at HCBC. A connection was instantly formed with him and we dearly love and cherish him. He is a wonderful man after God's own heart and is everything you could want in a family pastor. I could go on and on and on about how much he means to our family, but that is not the intention of this post.

God also brought a wonderful and remarkable woman into our lives. After every service as Tim would ask a deacon or elder to offer the benediction, elders and members of the prayer team come forward to pray with members of the congregation individually. One of those people was Rebecca McIntosh O'Dell. I can vividly remember the first time we meet. She looked stunning as always, and with her warm smile greeted us genuinely. We began to share our prayer request, she laid her hands on my pregnant belly and prayed for us. Each Sunday there after, when our paths would cross, she would make a point to stop and pray for us. Her heart for God was inspiring. She truly lived out our call as Christians to be His hands and feet.

I learned today that she passed away over the weekend. I do not know the cause of death, but I do know that there is a HUGE party in Heaven as she is welcomed home. I am certain that she is hearing those words we all hope to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant, well done!"

Life with Lemonade and Peach Tea..........

2010-04-23T12:50:00.003-05:00

Well those are my new nick names for them. =) As they were playing the other day outside -Austin truly has the best spring time weather- I got the craving for old fashioned lemonade or ice cold peach tea. Looking at my two giggle boxes I thought, well there you have it- Refreshing Lemonade and Peach Tea! - totally different yet equally fantastic!

A quick update on my lovely ladies. Both are completely chatter boxes. In the last 4 weeks they have totally expanded their vocabulary, but mainly we can actually hold a conversation with them and know they understand. I love it! As I get ready in the morning they sit on the bathroom mat, eating Dora cereal chatting with me about the days events. Granted there are still moments of fighting over where to sit, who can touch Heidi, quick checks to make sure their cereal cups are equally full and the list can continue, but all of that quickly vanishes back to giggles and chats about what to do.

Mallory and Kelby are both still being seen by ECI. We continue to be blessed with wonderful therapist that are truly knowledgeable in their field of expertise. They girls will remain in that program until they turn 3. (sniff, sniff, don't want to think about how fast the next 7 mths will go!) At that time, if developmental services are still needed they will be seen by the school district. With all of that said though, they are developing so well. The girls annual evaluation was at the beginning of this month and in every area they are with in 4mths of their age group or above in some cases.

As far as potty training goes, I had huge hopes of Mallory catching on quickly and diapers going away. Granted thinking that our trips down the baby isle at HEB would be coming to an end was sad for this Momma, yet I still encouraged Mallory to wear her Dora panties proudly. ;) In the midst of praising Kelby for being Momma's big girl that could go all by herself, and still working with Mallory, Kelby began to really act out, bite aggressively and chew her nails at the cuticle. So as we pieced this puzzle together the thought crossed our minds that Kelby was not seeing being a big girl as a good thing, but more of as a punishment. Reluctantly we went back to diapers for her. This was seriously an adjustment in parenting for us, but as soon as we did her over aggressive behavior stopped, she began minding more, and her nails began to heal. In the whole process of figuring out the problem, we have redone sensory evaluations on both of the girls. Kelby has shown to have a very mild version of Sensory Integration Disorder. Both her occupational therapist and physical therapist feel that with catching it so early we can give her (and us) tools to use to help Kelby transition easier to new life stages. As we have slowly added new activities and techniques for bed time etc, we can already see a difference in her.

We continue to thank God for the miracle that the girls are. This is a teeny tiny drop in the big bucket of possible outcomes that they doctors gave us for Kelby. (you may remember that she was born with a grade 3 and 4 brain bleeds) If this is all we have to deal with, then bring it! Praise God for blessing our girls with the outstanding physicians, and therapist that work with them. Do not ever think a day goes by that we are not grateful and humbled for the care they have received!

Well I am off to clean house during what is supposed to be nap time, however maybe that should be renamed giggle time as I am not hearing snoring!

Springtime Playtime

2010-04-19T19:16:00.008-05:00

Mallory has a new 'purse' that she has to carry around at all times... it's more like a big bracelet.

Thinking of our sweet Evan Reese today......

2010-04-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

Won't you join us in walking in this years March for Babies on May 8th, and if you are able donate to the March of Dimes? God uses this amazing organization in so many ways. We are grateful for them and their dedication to preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Glory Baby, by Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

_________________________________________

Sweet precious little girl. Momma and Daddy miss you so much. Your time with us was a blessing and a miracle in an of itself. We are so thankful for you. Praise God for letting us hold you and meet you. We look forward to the day when you can show us around heaven and take us to meet Jesus face to face. We love you~

Pig- Tails!

2010-04-13T13:21:00.005-05:00

Mallory's hair is now long enough to actually fix. From day one neither Mallory nor Kelby have wanted anything on their head or in their hair. Friends, family and strangers are always asking "Won't they wear bows?" To which we always sigh and say "We try, but they yank them out." The girls ask for bows all the time, but once we get them in their hair, you can almost count down the seconds before they pull them out. However, yesterday Mallory let me put her hair in pig tails. I took tons of pictures on our camera and drove her nuts talking about how cute she looked. Surprisingly today, she let me fix her hair again AND she asked for bows!! If this trend continues, I will have to get busy making hair bows. (now if her bangs will just grown out long enough to pull back.)

Pictures!

2010-04-06T14:09:00.015-05:00

Kelby and her "Big girl panties"
- also giving Mallory the look of "I drawn the line at sharing underwear. I'm not joking."

If you are going to clean out your closet, you must try everything on one more time.

The girls "proofing" everything I am pulling out that doesn't fit.

Hat- check, Shoes- check, Pj's- check. Hmm what am I missing??

Oh yes! Mittens!

Easter Pics.- or attempt at.

Mallory trying to act interested in a ball. - AKA ignoring Momma

What? Stand where?? Really Momma, we have to take pictures now?

IF you can catch me, I might sit for a picture.

Kelby : I said might! Gave you 5 seconds, not my fault the camera is slow.
Mallory: You just said sit here, you never said smile.

The neighbor kids get to play, why do we have to pose for pics?

Trying one last time. Looks like the adorable smiles will only be in our minds. Best place actually!

Will try to add more later. We didn't get very many on Easter, both camera batteries were dead and refusing to hold charge. Jeremy tried to get a few with the video camera, not sure how well those will turn out. We had a great Easter weekend!! Friday we attended our church's Good Friday service, Saturday we hunted eggs with some friends from church -it was gorgeous outside- and Sunday we went to church then came home to spend the rest of the day with our neighbors. Most of their family lives here in the Austin area and they had some family in town for the weekend. Together there were eight kids ranging from 7mths to 7 years old. We rented a bounce house and had an egg hunt. The kids LOVED it!! They ran, played and jumped til they could hardly speak a complete sentence. Made for two very tired girlies come Sunday evening!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors that graciously included us in their family gathering. They are also from the west Texas area, so we share the appreciation of trees and "no dirt days"!

I hope I never forget............

2010-03-29T21:57:00.007-05:00

It seems as if in the last few weeks my babies are now kids and as we move on to next steps I realize how much I want to go back and relive the past two years. I didn't absorb it enough. Here are a few things I hope I never forget.

1) When you wake up, be it from nap or in the morning, Kelby always says "Hey Mallory... Boo!" and I hear you fall over in your crib laughing.

2) "Daddy, mere, help you!" or "Momma, help you, Momma." (anytime they need some help)

3) "Momma hold your baby, pease"

4) "Daddy, hold you"

5) The thrill of trying on all of your shoes in your drawer.

6) My cleaning helpers, obsessed with organization.

7) Claps of excitement for popcorn, chocolate milk, eggs, Dora cereal, cookies, etc.

8) How you both instantly take your shoes off when we get in the car

9) Sleepy sillies at night. Running around the house giggling at everything

10) "I poop, I stink!"- Mallory

11) Kelby- your high pitched voice as you imitate me to Mallory

12) You both love to hold hands in the car, as we walk, in your high chairs.

13) "Momma, Color paper, pease"

14) Kelby- your creative hiding places and the thrill you get out of hiding things - especially your glasses (or anything of Mallory's)

15) Playing with my shoes in the morning while I get ready.

16) Sitting on Daddy's rug in our bathroom, side by side, eating cereal out of your snack cups in the morning.

17) Night, Nights! - and your puppies... 'must haves' before bedtime.

18) Reading the same book over and over and over....... and over....

19) Your request to sing songs every where we go. And Mallory's insistence on singing while we're doing your breathing treatments... "SING.... SING... SING..."

20) Kelby- your sweet over protectiveness of Mallory

21) Kelby- your smirk and half laugh when something funny happens to someone else.

22) "Uh-oh, Break it!"... (at least once a day)

23) "Where go?" and the genuine bewilderment of not knowing where Daddy went when he's holding the blanket in front of his face... or not knowing where your cup is when you put it under the blanket... it's like Magic... and it's oh so exciting when you realize it's still there... under the blanket.

24) Reading the same book from #18.... again.

25) You love going to church to play with your friends, but we love how you're so excited when we come to pick you up, like you thought you'd never see us again.

26) Kelby- We love your 'seriously thinking' face.

27) Mallory- We love your supper sweet, flirty, ham it up smiling face when you get up in the middle of the night.

28) That you INSIST on singing B-I-N-G-O while you use the potty. "Sing, Puppy"

29) Dancing feet!

30) Your fettish with wearing your church shoes around the house so you can dance.

31) You are both so excited to see us if we leave the room for just a second.

32) When you look at the screen of the laptop and ask for "Gran and Grandad"

33) Mallory- you love to play like you are talking on the phone. Kelby- my future speedy texter.

34) Your creative daring climbing abilities.

35) Mallory- You patiently sit and use your nebulizer and get your blood drawn as long as we sing songs from Veggie Tales or church.

36) Kelby- you are the sweetest overprotective sister.

37) You putting your glasses on your forehead while you play "peek-a-boo"

38) Asking where your eyes are when you look for your glasses

and I'm sure we'll be adding to this list as the days go by...

Are you with us???

2010-03-23T14:56:00.003-05:00

It is that time of year again, actually we are a bit late in announcing, the March of Dimes March for Babies walk is May 8, 2010 9am. This is the one event that we will try our hardest to never miss. Jeremy and I decided that our family participation in the walk would be our tribute to Evan every year. The March of Dimes is an amazing organization that does so much for NICU's across the country and research for babies born prematurely or with birth defects.

This year is going to be extra special for us. The Austin MoD chapter has memorial towers scattered through out the grounds area on the day of the walk. These towers each pay tribute to a little one that has left this earth way to soon. I received an email Friday asking if they could do a memorial tower in honor of Evan. Of course I said yes and sent in the information. So honored and humbled that they want to honor our little girl. I know God is using her story in so many ways, and it just warms my heart when we get to be apart of it. The sponsors that donate the funding for the towers will also give us the banner after the walk as a keep sake.

So with this special tribute we are working extra hard to raise money for the Austin MoD chapter. If you would like to donate to March of Dimes, we will have a link posted on our blog shortly. I am going to call around tomorrow to check on locations for a bake sale fundraiser and am looking into other ideas as well. If nothing else we would love to have you walk with us on Saturday May 8th. The walk is a short 3.2 miles through gorgeous downtown Austin. The path goes around the capital so there is even a photo op! We would love to have everyone join us.

Potty Training.

2010-03-23T14:32:00.003-05:00

Whew! Seriously can not believe how fast time has been flying! It has been little busy at in our neck of the woods lately. Jeremy is studying for his PE exam (take 2) and attending a prep course for the last 5 Saturdays. Which has left the girls and I entertaining ourselves 6 days a week. I love the time with just the girls and makes me appreciate even more how much Jeremy helps me and plays with the girls.

I had a wild hair to try potty training a few weeks ago. The girls had pulled a stunt with taking their diapers off during nap time and a few other Mom's I knew made it seem not near as bad as I envisioned. So not expecting the girls to really be ready just yet and figuring we would go back to diapers with in two days, I gave it a shot! However, the girls fooled me and some what caught on, so I can't go back now! They LOVE their Dora panties and refuse to wear anything else. Needless to say if I had a nickel for every time I have said "Do you need to potty?, keep your panties dry" over the last three weeks I would be a rich Momma!

Kelby has a better hang of it and actually, today, pooped in the potty. Mallory thinks it is more fun to sit on the potty with your panties on, which defeats the purpose of keeping them dry.
- Sorry I know many of you could care less about potty training, and honestly before kids I rolled my eyes at parents that went on and on about the whole process. HOWEVER, now that I have been over my head in the whole ordeal, I feel the need to be one of those parents and ramble on! Plus it is a big mile stone that needs stamped and celebrated! - On a rough estimate once the girls graduate fully to panties we will save $160 in diapers and wipes monthly! Now that there is some incentive for Momma and Daddy to hang in there.

Fun and cute pictures have been taken and will be uploaded soon. Hugs to all of our friends and family!! We love you all and miss you bunches!

SNOW in Austin!

2010-03-02T22:17:00.011-06:00

TWO days after the nice trip to the park, we got about 1-2 inches of snow! So we went out with the girls and built their first snowman!

Kelby was having a GREAT time...

Mallory... not so much...

Kelby - having a blast!

Mallory - "Seriously, can we go inside..."

There's a smile, so she wasn't completely miserable...

Our 'Snow Raider'

We love the park!

2010-03-02T22:07:00.010-06:00

We had a great weekend a couple of weeks ago, it was really nice on Sunday so we spent the afternoon at the park.

Valentine's Weekend

2010-03-02T21:54:00.010-06:00

We had a great Valentine's Day weekend... Momma and Daddy got a weekend away. Gran and Granddad came to the house to keep the girls.

We got the girls a princess tent... they're still not sure about it.

We had a great weekend in Fredericksburg... this was the place we stayed.

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-03-02T21:46:00.006-06:00

We made some snack food for Super Bowl Sunday and let the girls dig in... this was their first experience with chips and queso... they loved it.

notice Mallory's glasses are missing in these... we try... its hard when they're 2... ;)

Mallory's first haircut

2010-03-02T21:40:00.005-06:00

Mallory's hair was starting to resemble a mullet, so early February we decided to take her for her first haircut.

Before shot

During...

After...

February catch up...

2010-03-02T21:29:00.007-06:00

Iit's been so long since we updated the blog... here's some random photos from January and February...

"Where go?"

Boo!

Here we are! Notice Kelby's glasses are missing, that's a common occurrence... she likes to take them off and hide them... we've found them in the most random places... thankfully we have always found them eventually...

More random pictures...

2010-01-30T09:22:00.006-06:00

The girls get to eat at the table with us now... we raised their chairs and took the trays off... this was their first time 'eating at the table'.

Their favorite new past time is coloring...they always go grab their big coloring book and ask to "cuwuh"

Christmas & New Years Pics.

2010-01-28T15:38:00.017-06:00

There honestly are not that many pictures lately. I can't believe we have let so many fun days go by without a quick pic. Promise that will change! We do have lots of videos, but those are harder to share on blogger.

New Year Cupcakes.

Happy New Year Breakfast (okay New Year Breakfast, Kelby wasn't ready to say "Happy" yet.)

Our only family picture this year. - Will plan better next year.

Jackson and Harrison checking out all Santa brought.

Kelby Christmas Morning. Our camera memory filled up before Mallory woke up, so her pics are only on video. (and Kelby is not a fan of AM-photo shoots.)

Enjoying Cheese Puffs before bed. SOOOO Thankful they are gluten free!

Christmas at Nana's. Two very tired little girls posing in front of the tree.

Freeze!

2010-01-22T14:30:00.004-06:00

Both of the girls are chattering non stop now and 85% of it is understandable. It is so fun to hear your words come out of their mouths. Phrases like "oh gosh", "Heidi, no bark" "Happy girl, happy" and "Here ya go girls". They love to help clean up their toys, throw things in the trash, get their shoes, turn the tv on and off, and try to type on the computer. The age they are at is so fun. Last night I was bathing Heidi and they were dancing around giggling. I caught myself wishing I could freeze time and they would forever be this age! Oh do they have to grow up?

I think that pretty much gets you caught up with our little world. =) I promise to have Jeremy post pics this weekend and resend out the link to smugmug (our online photo gallery).

Giggle Monsters

2010-01-22T14:19:00.005-06:00

Our girls are ticklish gigging monsters. They love, in fact crave is a better way of describing their passion for being tickled! As their proud parents we love hearing their laughter. They even tackle each other for a quick tickle fest!

Another sure fire way to start the giggles is a game of "Where go?". The idea that you magically can't find your hand, toes, juice cup, snack trap........ well you get the point. Suddenly it reappears from your sleeve, pants, blanket or hand and you guessed it - loads of giggles! While waiting to get Mallory's blood drawn, a young couple came in that had just found out they were expecting. Mallory was hamming it up with the Dad-to-be. Then another mother came in with her child and proceeded to loudly teach her child the ABC's, as all of us quietly watched. Right as they called our name to go back, Mallory turned to the Dad-to-be, held up her sleeve and said "Where arm go?". He laughed and said "where is your arm?" Mallory giggled back "Here it is!" He cracked up laughing and she blew him a kiss and said bye bye! It was almost as if she was saying "Hey, I may not know my ABC's, but I can do magic!"

Celiac Update

2010-01-22T14:01:00.003-06:00

As many of you know our Princess Mallory was diagnosed with Celiac disease in October. There is no cure for celiac but a strict gluten free diet can allow the intestines to once again start absorbing nutrition. The lab test that is done is called a Anti-tTg test. It looks at the antibodies to monitor the bodies compliance with a gluten free diet. In October when Mallory had her scope done to formally diagnose her, blood work then showed her levels to be over 200. Normal levels are between 4-7. At the beginning of January we did another round of blood work and she was back down to 15!!! WOOHOO!! They are predicting that by April her levels will be in the normal range.

We are so thankful that Mallory is doing better. She still hasn't gained a whole lot of weight yet, but we are on the right track! You might recall that she had tubes put in her ears in October too, those seem to be working and she has gone three months with out an ear infection. Another huge PRAISE!

Mallory is the sweetest little fighter. She just bats her gorgeous long eyelashes and smile her way through everything. Praise God for Mallory, we are so Thankful for her!

Catch up!

2010-01-22T13:44:00.003-06:00

You know as a little girl when I would whine about the days dragging, my parents would always say the older you get the faster they go by. AMEN to that! Wow how did January go by so quickly??

Here is a quick recap:

December: When we last posted Mallory had just gotten glasses. Both of the girls are doing well with them and have had check ups proving that their vision is much better with their glasses. For Christmas we condensed our travels to Lubbock and Midland this year. We hated not getting to see our fabulous extended family in Amarillo and Meadow, but time just wasnt going to permit. 2009 was the Weaver's turn for Christmas Eve and Day so Lubbock was our first stop. Thankfully we got their before the BIG snow hit! Jeremy played with my sister's kids in the snow and had a blast. I tried to convince the girls it was fun but Kelby is not a fan of any temp that does not allow you to wear sandals and Mallory just kept saying "mess Momma, mess" haha! Good thing we live in Austin! Seriously, Kelby was mortified when i tried to put boots on her feet. Santa brought us more than our fair share of goodies and we felt every so blessed!!

We ended our trip with a stop in the big city of Stanton. Jeremy's nephew got a dirt bike for Christmas. It was so much fun to watch him ride like a pro at the track. The girls love playing with our nieces Morgan and Brenlee. Brody is up and moving like a crazy man, which only adds to the fun for them. Christmas with the Cheatham clan brought even more goodies! Some how once again we managed to get almost everything loaded in the Expedition and head south!

It was great to be home, but know sooner did we get back and Kelby got a sore throat and stomach bug. Kelby is so feisty that you hardly know she is sick. Even with a 103 fever she was running around the house laughing and giggling. We ended 2009 with Kelby sick and started 2010 with Mallory catching the bug. Check history, we have yet to ring in a new year and not have a sick kid! Guess you can't break tradition? Thankfully it was only a 4 day virus.

Finally getting back in a routine after being gone for eight days and sick kids for another eight days was tiring! I'll have Jeremy post pictures later as he is more patient with blogger than I am. (i know many of you are shocked! haha)

Sunday Play Day

2009-12-20T22:22:00.011-06:00

It was nice outside this afternoon, so we took the girls for a walk around the block in their wagon, then we played in the backyard for a while.

Holiday Happenings

2009-12-20T22:13:00.006-06:00

We went down to Zilker Park on Saturday night for what used to be the "Trail of Lights"... not much of a "trail" this year... it was on a much smaller scale this year, but it was still fun for the girls... they loved the lights.

Mallory's Glasses

2009-12-10T09:22:00.001-06:00

We'll post some more pics later, but here's one of Mallory in her new glasses. She wasn't sure about them at first, but she's warming up to the idea.

More November Updates...

2009-12-06T21:31:00.016-06:00

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Lubbock, visiting both sides of the family.

Some pics from Thanksgiving Day with Gran and Granddad at Aunt Debbie's house.

It was a nice day, so we went outside for the afternoon... the girls had fun playing in the back of Granddad's truck...

We spent the weekend with Nana and Granddaddy!

The girls loved playing in the truck with Nana! Here they are waving bye-bye... there were lots of waves...

The most fun part was "falling out"... they would take turns driving and they would throw themselves out onto the carpet and they thought it was the funniest thing...

Kelby with her Christmas "necklace"

We tried to get a good Christmas picture, but the girls weren't really in the mood for pictures.

Happy 2nd Birthday! 11/16/09

2009-12-06T21:16:00.006-06:00

We had a "Double Bubble" party for the girls...

Kelby's Glasses

2009-12-05T10:09:00.009-06:00

It's been so long since we posted anything. We'll post a lot of updates from November later, but here's a few pics of Kelby in her new glasses. Mallory will get hers next week. :)

Weekend Fun

2009-10-26T20:09:00.018-05:00

We didn't do much this weekend but hang out at the house and play. It was a perfect fall weekend. Here are a few random pictures... and we've realized why we're not photographers.

Kelby telling Mallory to 'sit' for the picture.

Rockin' on the porch...

Sweet Berry Farms '09

2009-10-17T22:33:00.013-05:00

We went out to Sweet Berry Farms this afternoon. It was such a nice day to be outside, our good friend Salli and her son Hunter went with us. We are thinking about having the girls' birthday party out there this year so we went to scope it out.

Kelby loved the goats...

And they loved her popcorn...

Our best attempt at a family photo on the hayride.

Strolling through the flower fields.

Little man Hunter.

Salli, Hunter, Jen and Kelby

Family shot... +1

Kelby picking out a pumpkin.

The weather was so nice, it didn't get above the 70's (though it did start to feel a little warm before we left) so we didn't think to break out the sunscreen... so we all got a little red.

Kelby Knievel

2009-10-17T22:19:00.006-05:00

Kelby has one speed... 90 miles an hour. Non-stop, from the moment she wakes....bouncing off the walls, giggling all the while. This is just the latest of her injuries - it doesn't look that bad in the photo- but she hit the corner of our entertainment center door on her forehead. Kelby cried for maybe 2 minutes. It made a huge egg on her forehead, but she couldn't have cared less. She went right back to playing and laughing as I took pictures. Nothing slows our Kurly Sue down, nothing, and we love it!

God is great! - Mallory's Surgery

2009-10-17T21:55:00.012-05:00

Little Back Story:

Mallory hadn't been gaining weight like she should, so our pediatrician had some tests run a while back. Those tests came back showing that she possibly had Celiac Disease (her digestive system can't tolerate gluten - causing malnutrition, poor weight gain, etc, etc, etc). In order to formally diagnose Celiac an intestinal scope has to be done. Mallory also has had 6 ear infections in the last year so we were looking at getting tubes too- I know, poor Mallory, right?- to top it all off, Jeremy was considering switching jobs and at the beginning of the month so we thought our insurance would be ending as of November 1st.

So we began on September 30th with prayers for an opening in Dr. Sanders schedule for a scope, one in Dr. Sawyer's schedule for tubes, and insurance approval + a job for Jeremy come October 23rd. What do ya know, on October 2nd, Dr Sanders office called me to say a spot had opened on October 7th, then when I talked to Dr. Sawyers office, he was going to be at the same facility that day and could easily add Mallory to his list. PRAISE GOD! Such an answered prayer as we could not change Mallory's diet until the scope was done. She was feeling worse as the days went on and would hardly eat. God is so good and definitely looked out for our little Angel.

I talked with Dr. Sanders on Tuesday (10/13) about the results from the scope and they did confirm that she does indeed have Celiac. Now they want to test Kelby as well, because it is a genetic disease. Hopefully we can avoid having to have another scope done. But, it looks like we will all be going Gluten-Free! Do you even know how much stuff is made with wheat, rye or barley???

And... Mallory is a whole new kid after the surgery. She feels so much better and is back to playing tricks on Kelby. She was in the best mood the day of the surgery, almost as if she knew that she would feel better after.

* Oh and Jeremy's company is allowing him to stay on through the end of the year, so more time to job hunt. Anyone need a civil engineer specifying in Land Development??? I know a FANTASTIC one. ;)

On our way to the hospital...

Before surgery...

After surgery...

When she finally got back to normal, mind you she was a GROUCH for about 2 hours after the whole ordeal, she was starving and loved the GF arrow root cookies we had for her. The nurses loved her and she hammed it up too. Our little Missy Lou is quite the trooper, we love her and we are so proud of her.

Bubble Gum Playland

2009-09-27T15:14:00.005-05:00

Nana sent the girls a couple of new things this week. They Love their new "Bubble Gum Playland". Thanks Nana. Kaylen also came over to play.

It's 'bin' a Great Day...

2009-09-27T15:07:00.007-05:00

So, the girls new favorite toy seems to be one of our many plastic bins. They have played with it for days.

The 'kids' Table

2009-09-27T15:02:00.002-05:00

We went over to our friends' (Justin and Brandy) house to watch the Tech vs UT game and the girls had their first experience at "the kids table". They look so big.

Lazy Saturday....

2009-09-13T14:19:00.011-05:00

We had another nice lazy Saturday at the house. The girls had fun playing and just hanging out.

The girls got some new Tech shirts for the football season... Guns Up!

and Mallory of course doesn't believe her outfit is complete without a necklace...

Oh look, she found another one for Kelby... (and don't they both look so BIG in this picture)

Here you go Kelby, that shirt would look much better with a necklace...

yes, that's perfect!

and apparently Kelby thought Mallory's outfit would look better without one, so I guess she took them both for herself. :)

Later that night after baths...

Again, the girls have so many toys to play with, but Kelby likes to play with the free plastic pitcher we got from our trip to the hospital... doesn't everybody have one of these. :) We use ours to wash the girls' hair in the bathtub. What do you use yours for?

Kelby loves it... and what is that... behind her... oh yes, it's the money we could have saved by switching to Geico..... that little guy taunts us all the time.

and Mallory always wants to go bye-bye before bedtime... so she goes into our closets and brings us our shoes. :)

A Little Taste of Our World Lately.... some random videos.

2009-09-08T20:20:00.009-05:00

It seems that we can never get a good video of the girls, they'll be doing something funny and we'll run to get the camera and, of course, they no longer find whatever it was amusing... but, here's a few videos we got this past weekend. We had a great weekend, just hanging out at the house. :)

Heidi is inside most of the time and the girls love playing with her... we had let her outside for a while, but the girls really wanted her to come back in to play.... and you'll notice that Mallory really wanted to go outside.

Kelby likes to watch the camera screen when we use the video camera... hence the "Uppease" - translation... "Up please..."

One of the girls new favorite games... blanket tug of war... until it ends with someone being dragged across the floor. :)

The girls love their little slide in the playroom but they've had a hard time remembering that you go one at a time and you don't stand at the bottom of the slide when someone is coming down. :)

In review. . . . . . .

2009-09-08T13:24:00.004-05:00

The past few months have been filled with a few family trips and lots of time staying cool in this insane Austin heat. You know it has been hot when you get excited that it will only be 94 for the next few days.

The girls are each talking up a storm and their babble is turning into actual audible conversation. They both have become very helpful with cleaning up toys, making beds, putting up laundry etc. It is so fun to ask them to do things and watch them think it all through.

Kelby weighs almost 22lbs now and Mallory is still holding on to 19lbs for all it is worth. We are working with her doctor and meeting with a nutritionist soon to help get her over the 20lb mark and off to gaining again. She is our picky eater so adding calories to her diet is a little tricky. But over all they are still fabulously healthy!

We have a bunch of really cute giggling videos. We will try to add one tonight and maybe a few pics too!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-08-20T21:44:00.006-05:00

It's been so long since we updated, we'll post some more updates next week, but for now...

The girls had their first chocolate chip cookies a while back.... they were a little messy.

Mallory liked them.

Kelby loved them... :)

Vacation with Nana and Granddaddy

2009-07-13T20:52:00.037-05:00

Nana and Granddaddy took us on vacation this past weekend in Dallas. We had a great time. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan again (yes, Nana and Granddaddy spoil us) :)

We went to the Dallas World Aquarium on Friday and then toured the new Cowboys' Stadium on Saturday. We also went to the mall a few times, and ate a LOT of good food (again).

Thanks Nana and Granddaddy for a GREAT vacation!

The Gaylord Texan - The views from our room (this is such a nice place - if you ever get a chance to go - don't pass it up).

They had trains set up all through the atrium at the hotel for the summer.

We got the girls ready for bed and then headed down for dessert in the lobby... because we were on vacation and it was so good!

The girls loved all of the fountains in the atrium.

The Dallas World Aquarium

Sloth

We loved the penguins

The new Cowboys' Stadium. WOW! It's GINORMOUS!

It has the largest dome roof in the world! The Statue of Liberty could fit inside - standing up or laying on her side.

One of the many (many) concession areas.

The view from one of the luxury suites.

The HUGE screen/scoreboard. The largest in the world!

Getting the field ready for Soccer.

The "Miller Lite Lounge" - field level - the carpeted area is where the team will enter the field.

Field level - Jerry Jones' private elevator at the end of the hallway.

A view from field level.

The girls had a great time, just playing in the rooms.

Where's Mallory?

The atrium

We had to get another photo where we had our Christmas picture taken.

We had such a good time!

July 4th in Lubbock

2009-07-13T19:58:00.023-05:00

We went to Lubbock for the 4th to Nana and Granddaddy's. Aunt Sara and her three boys (Conner, Jackson and Harrison) met us there for the weekend. we hadn't seen them in a while, so it was a great weekend of fireworks, parade, playing in the backyard and Lots of good food.

Aunt Sara and Mallory

We found this little car in the garage. Kelby LOVED it.

She also loved the swing in the backyard.

A few shots of Jackson "posing"

Austin Children's Museum and the Mall

2009-07-13T19:43:00.012-05:00

A while back (June) we decided to have a weekend that was just for the girls... so we went to the Austin Children's Museum on Saturday, and took the girls to the Cookie Lounge for a cookie afterward. Then Sunday after church we went to the mall and let the girls play inthe mall's playground. It has been so hot - we had to think of indoor things that they would like to do. They seemed to have a good time.

The Museum

The Mall

Father's Day

2009-06-23T21:36:00.017-05:00

We had lunch in the park and attempted to feed the ducks...
but they weren't really interested.

Chocolate Chip Cookies... YUM!

She looks like such a big girl in this picture.

Daddy and his girls....

The ducks.

Feeding the ducks?

It was a really hot day - so the girls were really hot and tired when we left the park.

After we put the girls to bed, we had a friend watch them and we went out for dinner and a night at the driving range... it was a great day!

Charlie Bear and Heidi

2009-06-23T21:27:00.005-05:00

So, we have decided to try to have some puppies - so Heidi had a friend over for a few days. :)

Meet Charlie Bear - One of the girls nurses from the NICU let us 'borrow' him for a few days - Thanks Valerie

The happy couple...

Random Pictures from June....

2009-06-23T21:11:00.011-05:00

Trip to Gran and Granddad's - Sorry - we didn't get many pictures.

Playing outside with Kaylen...

Excuse me... comin' through

Fun - the girls are already fighting over jewelry :)

And - our first bathtub mohawks... :)

A few videos from this weekend...

2009-05-24T16:03:00.008-05:00

Thanks Nana and Granddaddy for the new Sandbox - We LOVE it!

2009-05-24T15:43:00.008-05:00

Daddy and Granddaddy built the girls a new sandbox... And Nana made the roof canopy. We LOVE it!

Nana playing with the girls in the backyard.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T15:32:00.009-05:00

Nana and Granddaddy came down for Memorial Day weekend and we had a great time! We got some backyard projects done and we had a great big get together with friends. We were planning on having it in the back yard, but a storm blew through right when it was starting, so we had to move inside. It was still a great party though.

Our weekend project - The Sandbox (Thanks Nana and Granddaddy - We LOVE it!)

The Party set-up before the wind came through...

Nana and the girls before the party

Gran and Granddad Visit (5/15-5/17)

2009-05-24T15:24:00.006-05:00

Gran and Granddad came down for a visit for the weekend. We had a great time, but the fun events got rained out. So, we didn't get many pictures.

We went down to San Marcos for a Swing Music Festival and were going to head to Gruene from there, but the rain came and cancelled all of our plans.

We ended up having to play inside all afternoon. This was the only picture we got with Gran.. (sorry Gran)

Mallory pushing Kelby on their little bus...

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:04:00.009-05:00

Our attempts at getting a good photo like we got last year for Mother's Day...

So... we gave up and went inside to play ball.

"Cooling Off" Saturday afternoon

2009-05-10T21:49:00.008-05:00

We got hot and tired at the walk, so we spent Saturday afternoon in the backyard playing in the water.

Kelby carried one of her shoes around all afternoon.

And found the one muddy spot in the backyard...

Mallory chose to spend most of the afternoon in the shade of the back porch.

Kelby after she found the mud...

Buddies...

March for Babies '09

2009-05-10T21:29:00.011-05:00

We had a great time at the walk again this year.

We stopped for bagels on the way down... the girls loved their bagel bites.

The walk...

The annual 'In front of the Capital' pic

We went over to Shady Grove for lunch after the walk.

We made the girls' shirts this year. "I'm a 24 weeker! Phil. 4:13"

I love Kelby's face in this one... "I will sit on this bench, but I will not smile for your picture..."

Capri Sun

2009-05-04T14:20:00.005-05:00

Yep! This beats water and juice all together.

Can't believe my babies are old enough to drink Capri Sun.

Super Heros

2009-05-04T14:04:00.009-05:00

Our friend Trey celebrated his fourth birthday with a Super Hero party. Everyone got their own cape to wear. It is so hard to believe how big the girls are now that they toddle around everywhere. The capes were a huge hit! Along with the Capri Sun.

First Balloon

2009-05-04T13:44:00.004-05:00

The girls got their first balloon the other day. I am a wimp when it comes to hearing them pop, so I have not let them play with them before. Our grocery store hands them out periodically, not wanting to admit that I am 31 years old and scared of balloons I graciously said "Of course they would love one". They did great with them. Mallory was more interested in the lollipop at the bottm of the string than the balloon itself. The balloons lasted all the way home, to take Heidi to the dog park to play and then peacefully floated away.

Spring Fest '09

2009-05-04T13:27:00.007-05:00

As many of you know Jeremy took his Professional Engineering Exam on April 24th. All he said after it was over was " Wow! that was hard." For some reason the results are mailed out 60 days after the test. (yes it is scan tron, and no they do not look at the written work). So we are patiently waiting to find out how he did.

In the meantime to take his mind off of the test we went to Spring Fest in Bee Caves on April 25th. It was so much fun and a great way to unwind and spend family time. It was held at the new Hill Country Galleria, which is an upscale outdoor mall. They had about 100 vendors and live bands playing in the amphitheater. The girls had so much fun eating outside and clapping to the music.

Easter! Easter! Easter!

2009-04-13T21:32:00.012-05:00

We had a fantastic Easter this year. The weather was gorgeous, went to church; heard a great sermon and fell in love with our church all over again!, had brunch, took naps, and finished the day hunting eggs with friends. Could not have asked for a better day, except if we had our families to join us. Here are a few pictures. As the girls get older it is harder to place, primp, plead for smiles and take the picture all before something changes, so bear with us, this is all we could get before melt down hit.

The Candy! (goldfish)

We tried to come up with a way to top last years but it proved to be impossible. =)

Shhh, Testing in Progress!

2009-04-13T21:05:00.009-05:00

As many of you know Jeremy is taking his PE exam on April 24th (prayers please!). This weekend he took a practice test. The girls woke up from naps about an hour to soon. Rainy weather canceled out the swinging outside or the walk so we opted for snack time. A little popcorn in a snack cup shut them up for about 45min. Haha!I have never seen the girls eat so quietly! It was priceless, if they dropped, the quickly picked it up and savored the very last morsel of popcorn. We have had it before but apparently that was what they were craving.

*Oh and normally a basket decoratively hides the collect of stuffed animals, but the basket also makes a fabulous Easter basket for the Easter bunny to leave his treasures.

We have walkers...

2009-04-08T20:10:00.003-05:00

The girls have been walking all over the place today. This is all we got on video. Our neighbor's daughter, Kaylen, came over to play also.

Mallory Kate

Kelby Grace

April Fool's!

2009-04-01T08:35:00.002-05:00

April Fool's! Hope you have a great day.

Austin Fair and Rodeo

2009-03-22T09:28:00.012-05:00

We had a great time at the Austin Fair! This will definitely be an annual thing.

The girls loved the animals in the petting zoo!

HUGE Longhorn. When he stood up, at his shoulders he was a foot taller than the lady standing by him.

New carseats - Thanks Nana and Granddaddy!

2009-03-22T09:18:00.008-05:00

We can't believe the girls are big enough to have front facing carseats. I guess they can't either... they were a little skeptical at first...

But once we started moving they realized this wasn't going to be so bad...

hmmmm.... I wonder why we haven't been sitting like this before now.

I like it!

Update... random pics

2009-03-21T08:51:00.009-05:00

Bottles before bed...

Swinging on St. Patrick's Day

Trip to Dallas to see the family... Mallory didn't feel great.

Playing with Heidi's Bell on the back door...

You rang? ...

A year ago........ (continued)

2009-03-01T14:30:00.009-06:00

2/28/08

Mallory - Leaving the hospital

Kelby - Leaving the hospital

The night before we left...

2/28/09

Mallory in her chair.

So hard to get a picture of Kelby smiling with her eyes open - you get one or the other ;)

Kelby's "Urkel" pants.

Mallory looking for toys...

Leaving the NICU - one of our favorite nurses, Sara, was there to discharge the girls.

A year ago........

2009-02-27T14:49:00.007-06:00

A year ago today I had just talked to Dr. Rivera and Dr. Lynn (love and miss them) and they told me the best news ever. My baby girls were coming home.
A year ago today was my last day at EduCare and had to tell my wonderful family of co-workers goodbye.
A year ago today Jeremy asked to take a few days off of work to bring his baby girls home from 3 months in the NICU.
A year ago today I was at Babies R Us buying the last two cases of formula and grabbing bottles.
A year ago today I was packing my bag and Jeremy's to go spend the night in the NICU. I have never been SO EXCITED to stay in the hospital.
A year ago today I made tons of phone calls and emails to tell EVERYONE my baby girls are coming home.
A year ago today I was making plans with Katy Ridgeway to come take pictures of my babies coming home. And Saundra Johnson was so sweet and watched Luke so Katy could help us.
A year ago today I took Heidi to the groomers so she would be all clean and shinny to meet her new friends.
A year ago today I scrubbed my house from top to bottom. It was gleaming!
A year ago today I made sure the car was clean and car seats were installed already for my little princesses.
A year ago today I got to actually pack the diaper bag and place it in the car for the first time.
A year ago today I took infant CPR and Apnea monitor training.
A year ago today I helped one of our NICU nurses, Sara, take all the monitors off of the girls and prepare to wheel them out of the NICU bay.
A year ago today I walked along side the girls crib as we walked down the hall of the NICU to the room-in suite. Pure joy and elation!
A year ago today I got us all unpacked and ready for our first night with the girls.
A year ago today I had my first night of every three hour feedings and trying to keep babies awake to eat.
A year ago tomorrow I got up and got my baby girls bathed and dressed for their first trip home.
A year ago tomorrow I said good bye to a hand full of the best nurse and our family at St. David's. ( I miss all of you so much)
A year ago tomorrow Jeremy and I carried our baby girls out of the hospital. There are not any words that can even begin to describe that feeling.
A year ago tomorrow we oh so gently strapped them in their seats and drove away from St. David's.
A year ago tomorrow my baby girls came home for the first time after 105 days in the NICU.

I can not believe it has been a year. I think this is harder for me than their birthday. I look back at all of the older post from last year (starting with this one) and I it seems like yesterday. How fast time goes. I wish I could record every minute and watch it over and over. How much they have changed and what precious little personalities they have. To say God has blessed us doesn't even seem to cover it.

To everyone that helped us through this year and anyway, shape or form............

We are truly grateful to have you in our lives. Thank you!

Wonder how much this will cost us?

2009-02-23T17:56:00.004-06:00

The girls have had the stomach bug for the last week and a half. They were great sick babies only fussy off and on. Mainly just spent time changing sheets and diapers but we are on the mend!! Praise God!! Kelby is back 100% and Mallory is almost there still getting sick every now and then, which brings me to the point of this post.

Over the weekend Mallory was very inconsolable to put it mildly, mainly at night. We figured it was ears, as nothing else seemed to comfort her. This morning she woke up on the complete wrong side of the crib and was not in the mood for anything. After a very unusual four hour nap I decided a doctor's visit was worth $30 to see what was wrong. Dr. Dudley did a full check up and everything looked normal. Due to her behavior over the weekend Dr. Dudley was concerned she might have a bowl obstruction. To be on the safe side we went for x-rays. After several pictures of her tummy, and three hours later we have found out that she just needs to poop! We are very thankful that everything came back normal and am guessing during all of the x-rays this is what she was trying to tell me. "Nothing is wrong! I just have to poop!" Lord only knows how much this poop cost us!

Join Team Cheatham Girls

2009-02-11T13:30:00.002-06:00

It is that time of year again! The March of Dimes March for Babies walk is May 9th here in Austin. After walking last year we agreed that this will be something we make a point to do every year. The March of Dimes is such an amazing organization. We could tell you so many stories of how God has used them to make a difference in so many lives. It would be great to have you walk with us and if you want to donate to our team even better. We will have Daddy post a link later of how to sign up to walk with us in May. The walk is only 3.2 miles through downtown. It is so much fun and we loved it last year. So quick before you forget, grab your calendar, mark Mother's Day weekend as AUSTIN- March for Babies with the Cheatham Girls. - Hugs and Kisses to all! Mallory & Kelby

Silly Girls

2009-02-05T21:54:00.007-06:00

Mallory and Kelby have gotten so silly lately. There are many crawling races with lots of giggles, laughing tug-a-war with toys, silly kisses to each other, love pats (or hitting we are going with love pats since they laugh during them), and spitting contest. It is so fun to listen to them laughing and squealing at each other. At night they definitely have the sleepy sillies. We always grab the camcorder and camera- and of course dead silence fills the room. But the other night we did catch a few shots. So many fun years ahead!

For you Aunt Dixie!

2009-02-05T21:45:00.005-06:00

My Great Aunt Dixie always laughs at my Mom for buying the girls toys. She says all they want to play with is Tupperware, boxes and plastic cups, there is no need to waste money on silly toys.

I have to say she is absolutely right! Mallory finally discovered our stash of Tupperware in the pantry. And for almost 3 hours this is all she played with. So many things you can do with it. Scoot it, throw it, chew on it, attempt to stand up with it, and of course bang on it. She kept grinning at us and laughing. I had a feeling she was thinking "Gosh, why didn't I get this from Santa?"

Who looks like Who?

2009-02-05T21:33:00.006-06:00

I have always loved looking at old pictures and seeing what traits carry down over generations. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of Jeremy and me at the girls age to see which side they favored. Over the holidays I snagged a few pictures from my childhood and Jeremy's parents are going to see if they can find some of him around the same age. In the mean time here are a few of me

1) Easter '79 (one year)
2) Guessing about 18mths-24mths
3) Fall '79

.

This one will work

2009-01-30T15:48:00.008-06:00

I have been working on the girls baby books lately and noticed I needed a "Messy Me" picture. I think this one will work. =)

Just as a note: This whole being messy with your food thing is an adjustment for me. We only do the really messy foods like jello, macaroni, etc every now and then. And right after we are straight to the bath tub and de-gunking the highchairs takes place. Kelby for the most part stays moderately clean while eating unless it is a messy food. Mallory on the other hand is like her Momma- it all ends up in the hair. Cheerios, veggies, cheese, chicken nuggets, turkey, gold fish, fruit etc. I can even spoon feed her in hopes to keep her clean, yet some how her hair will be "glued" together with whatever she ate. She does manage to get some food in the tummy in between dragging it through her hair and dropping it off the side for Heidi. Malloy and Kelby both are roughly 19lbs.

Do your ears hang low?

2009-01-30T15:27:00.006-06:00

When Mallory was in the hospital Jeremy took Kelby to pick out something for her. This adorable elephant is what he found.

What difference a year can make

2009-01-29T14:21:00.010-06:00

Babies change so much in their first year and I think it is so much fun to go back and compare pictures from a year ago. So this year I am going to try and post a current picture and one from last year. I am a little late in starting for 2009, so please forgive me. But hey, January is not over yet!

January 2008

January 2009

Big Milestone!

2009-01-18T21:41:00.005-06:00

Of course the video camera was tucked away in it's case, and the camera was in my purse which is probably in the car when Mallory had one of many "firsts" today. BUT the memory is engraved in our minds for sure. I will try to recreate it for you.

Today Jeremy stood Mallory down and let go. She stood there for a second, dropped to go crawl off, but before she got all the way to the floor. You could see little wheels turning. And slowly she stood right back up,completely unassisted. She grinned from ear to ear as we screamed "Yeah Mallory!!" Held her hands above her head and laughed. The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. She was so cute and so excited as were we.
My mom (Nana) always says "Don't you wish when you put them to bed they would say 'Momma tomorrow have the camera ready, I think I may________.' " So true Nana! Our baby girls are getting so big.

Just a few Pictures.......

2009-01-15T13:58:00.007-06:00

Mallory helping me clean out stuff we don't use.
Lunch time gossip!Got love Chicken Nuggets!!!
Cedar Park play group. 10 mommies- 20 babies! It is a blast!! ages range from 5mths - 14mths (M&K being the oldest) We are set to host the December play date. Can you imagine 20- 15mth - 2 year olds!

More pics to come soon.

Christmas Pics (better late than never... ? )

2009-01-05T20:28:00.016-06:00

Christmas Morning

Kelby strumming her guitar and Mallory trying desperately to get into the cereal puffs
Christmas Afternoon at Memaw and Papaw's - playing with all the cousins
Playing house with Nana

Lunch at Nana's
Kelby eating CHEESE! and corn...
Aunt Sara and Nana reading with the girls

The best picture you can get of five kids and a dog!

And finally... the drive home... and Granddaddy had to ship us some stuff. :)

Mallory is Home!!

2009-01-05T20:25:00.014-06:00

Mallory came home from the hospital this afternoon. She has been so excited to be home and Kelby is excited to see her sister. They were both exhausted after the weekend and went to bed easily, Mallory was really glad to be back in her bed.

Friday - not feeling well at all... :(

Sunday - Starting to feel a little better.

Sunday night

Monday

Tradition????

2009-01-04T16:34:00.003-06:00

There is something that seems to be coming a tradition at our house, that we would rather not continue if we can help it. Every year that we have been in Austin, in January someone in our household is in the hospital. In January of 2007 Jeremy had a spiral fracture on his ankle and broke his pinky during his second and last ski trip. In January of 2008 our little girls were growing away in the NICU. And now this year our sweet little Mallory is hanging out at Dell Children's Hospital. Don't you know our insurance just loves us! I am sure a standing ovation will take place if Jeremy's company ever changes carriers. haha - "Yeah we are done paying for the Cheatham's! hahah

We went into the ER Thursday night due to a cough and breathing problems along with slight dehydration. (We have fabulous neighbors, we called them at 11pm and they gladly ran over to watch Kelby) Mallory was transferred to PICU on Friday afternoon and then back to a regular room last night. She is feeling a lot better and is even pulling up and jumping in her hospital crib! The PICU doctor's loved that one! Still looks like we will be there a day or two longer. Mallory is still requiring a little oxygen and is on an IV for extra fluids. While filling everyone in on Mallory's medical history - all of the doctor's have commented that she along with her sister should be the poster children for 24wkrs! They were all quite amazed that this was our first trip to the hospital since leaving the NICU and at how great she looked. (PRAISE GOD!! He is so good!)

So far Kelby has remained well (what a blessing!) and is just confused as to where her sister went. But she got extra spoiled by Gran and Grandad who came down to play for the weekend.

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. We will update everyone on her progress as we can.

Hope everyone's New Year is a little less eventful than ours has been.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-19T17:42:00.005-06:00

2008 Stats for the Cheatham Family

75 Trips to St. David’s NICU (we miss and love all of you so much!)

3,050 Diapers (roughly!)

$1,120 to People’s Pharmacy for Prilosec or Lactolose

$900 in Co-pays for 12 well checks, shots and 3 sick visits

650 Cups of coffee

385 Jars of baby food

305 Nights of rocking sweet babies to sleep

152 Nights of bath time fun

150 Nights of midnight feedings

140 Trips to HEB for food, formula diapers or wipes

114 Jumbo cans of formula

75 Cases of wipes

70 Loads of laundry (at least)

20 Pairs of shoes

16 Bottles to sterilize daily

9 Fabulous months of having our babies home

8 Road trips to see friends and family

2 very mobile, very busy baby girls

2 strollers, car seats, swings, boppys, bebe pods, booster seats, sippy cups, walkers, etc.

1 Business launch- The Gerber Daisy. We hope to be in Peddler Shows in 2009. Check out our website www.thegerberdaisy.com

1 Super Dad that will be a licensed engineer in April after the PE exam

1 Lucky Momma that gets to stay home due to insanely high daycare cost and I absolutely love it!!!

1 Very patient dog that has adjusted very well to two babies that pull on her ears daily.

1 Blog to track all of our daily adventures. www.Cheathamtriplets.blogspot.com

1 Fabulous First Birthday Bash with lots of family and friends

More pictures taken of us than any star in Hollywood

Lots of Toys, Clothes, Blankets, PJ’s, Burp Cloths, Bibs and Socks

And most importantly………..

Countless blessings from God including two perfectly healthy baby girls. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Makes all of this Priceless!

May His grace and love surround you this Christmas season as you celebrate His birth!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Love,

Jeremy, Jennifer, Mallory and Kelby

The Cheatham Girls .......

2008-12-19T17:36:00.003-06:00

Coming to a town near you!

We are out the door and on the road for the next eight days. Yes we pretty much packed the closets! Our car consist of every piece of luggage we own, a few bags, pack n play, stroller, boosters and everything else two little girls need. Along with a dog and two tired parents! WOOHOO!

Tour Dates:

Dec. 20th- 23rd Nana's House Lubbock, TX
Dec. 23rd - 25th Gran's House Stanton, TX
Dec. 25th Mema's House Meadow, TX
Dec. 25th Nana's House Lubbock, TX
Dec. 26th Mosley Crowd Amarillo, TX
Dec. 27th Nana's House Lubbock, TX
Dec. 28th Aunt Sara's Pad Abilene, TX
Dec. 28th Home Sweet Home - Austin TX!!!!

Yes, We are nuts!! And yes we will become quite comfy in our car and wish we had a tour bus by the time this whole thing is over! Safe travels to all of our friends and we hope to see you along the way!

Hugs, kisses and Merry Christmas!

Lonestar Christmas at the Gaylord Texan

2008-12-16T16:07:00.012-06:00

Pics with the Conductor

More photo ops before we board

Harrison and me waiting for the train to come.

Conner and Mallory

Jackson showing Mallory the lights

Attempt # 5 to get everyone to smile

Just a glimpse at all the decor in the atrium

We recently met Nanna and Granddaddy and the rest of Jen's family in Dallas for a little winter get away. We stayed at the fabulous Gaylord Texan. It was beautifully decorated to the hilt for Christmas. This was the girls first hotel stay ever and they did great! Our little adventure also included a ride on the Polar Express with our golden tickets to see Santa. The train ride was great for the first hour but the last 30minutes prove to test Kelby and Mallory's coping skills. Did not blame them a bit. Stuffed into extra layers to stay warm, loud music over old speakers and the rocking of the train almost did Mom in too! We had a great time playing with Conner, Jackson and Harrison. It was a perfect weekend to get everyone in the holiday spirit! If you are ever in the Grapevine area you must at least take a looksy at the Gaylord. Merry Christmas Ya'll!~

Kelby is DONE with picture taking. Enough with the photo ops!

The Georgetown Christmas Stroll

2008-12-07T19:59:00.010-06:00

'The Gerber Daisy" booth

The "stroll"

Kelby Grace

Mallory Kate

Getting a good nap in

Thanksgiving

2008-12-07T19:49:00.003-06:00

Just a few pics from Thanksgiving weekend, we didn't get many pictures...

Cousin Blaire and Kelby

Kelby

Momma and Mallory before bed

Kisses

Cousin Morgan navigating Mallory through the kitchen

The day after Thanksgiving - playing with Brenlee's tent

Silly Girls...

2008-11-23T17:11:00.002-06:00

The girls have gotten to where they play with each other a lot. We had Kelby in the walker and Mallory pulls up on the side of it.