Sweet Baby William

During our last trip to Ohio we finally got to meet Baby William (son of my dear friend Erica). He was so sweet giving hugs and being ever so patient with Brenna and Nora wanting every toy he was playing with.

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs. <3

In just one week Maureen and Kudzayi will be husband and wife! I'm so thrilled for them, but its still hard to believe my baby sister is getting hitched. I guess she's not a baby anymore:)

We had lots of fun during our last visit celebrating them (well, I guess it was mostly Maureen). We painted a scene of two lovebirds and danced at a Piano Bar for the bachelorette party. For the bridal shower we tasted tea and learned about their medicinal properties. We are headed back to Ohio Monday evening for the big event next weekend. Grandpa Kelly is arriving this evening to be our travel companion again. At least we know what to expect now (hopefully). Ted is headed to FL for a quick business trip and then he'll meet us in Ohio to celebrate. I'm excited for Brenna and Nora to meet more family and dear friends.

First Visit to the Kelly Grandparents

Grandpa Kelly is a trooper as traveling with two babies is quite challenging. I felt like I got hit by a truck the first day on the ground. Our new car seats are very big and heavy! We had a nice, but busy visit. The girls remember their Grandparents and Aunt Mo which warms everyone's hearts. Brenna and Nora loved meeting their Uncle Kudzayi, but not enough to make them sleep soundly :)

Bath Time & Milestones

Both Brenna and Nora are doing very well sitting on their own. Nora also started crawling the day we moved into our new home (hence the need for the baby gated play area). Brenna gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth, and them heads backward. She is also pivoting well while sitting. I can't believe they are already 7 months old! Bath time is getting fun!

Grandpa To The Rescue!

We have been struggling quite a bit with the stress of moving, lack of sleep (even less than "normal"), starting a new job, etc. Grandpa Kelly has come to save the day! He has helped so much with settling into our new home & catching up on sleep. We call him the baby whisperer because he can get Brenna and Nora to sleep so easily. He can handle them both so well with no help even. I'm very impressed and grateful. Grandpa, the girls and I are off to Ohio on Monday night for Aunt Maureen's wedding festivities. We will be there for a week and Dad will get some much needed rest while we are away.

Brenna's First Fever

Early Sunday morning I took Brenna to the ER for a fever of 102.9 F. They gave her some Tylenol-it came down nicely and didn't return. They did discover she is battling a bladder infection and a viral cold. She is still in very good spirits though. She was smiling at the hospital staff after she got poked and prodded. We met our new pediatrician (who I really like so far, unlike our prior one) on Monday who wants to take a closer look at her bladder with an ultrasound and another screening. He doesn't seem to be worried though.

This first sickness is tough on us all. I hate to hear Brenna (and now Nora) cough as well as fight to give her medicine for the infection. I know we are so blessed that this is their first sickness. We knew this move would be tough on us all, but Ted and I were hoping to bear the brunt instead of the girls.

Ted is absolutely SuperDad. He has stepped up so much as I've been paralyzed and overwhelmed at times during this process. I am so grateful to have such a hard working and patient partner.

We are in our new home, but far from settled. Ted starts work on Monday and I am trying to not get behind with my paid work and my Matron of Honor duties for my sister's wedding. Grandpa Kelly comes to visit Tuesday night and we are eager for his arrival. So much to do!

More Transitions

It has been such a blessing to have been able to partially feed Brenna and Nora our surrogate's breast milk for SIX WHOLE MONTHS! What dedication she has had to pump for this entire time. We also have an angel friend who manages a UPS store and helped us greatly with the shipping process.

We had to give up our freezer because of the move to Boston and our surrogate has been training at night for her new (dream) job as a Labor & Delivery Nurse which understandably has impacted her milk supply. There couldn't be a more qualified L&D nurse than her! We are so happy for her. The girls have been eating all formula for about a week now and seem to be adjusting well.

Brenna and Nora have probably been ready to start solids for a couple weeks now, but we wanted to make sure they handled the travel and hotel living well before introducing even more change. They had avocado last night and seemed to enjoy it overall. We are going to stick with that for a few days and then move on to sweet potatoes! Yum.