Mixed Emotions

It is hard to believe that this part of our journey is soon coming to an end. The babies and I are going back to Austin in a few days. I am really going to miss my Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Rick, and my cousins Ashlyn and BrieAnne whom I have been living with for the past five months. They have been amazing to put up with me, my family, my parents, the babies, all our stuff, and all the people that have been coming over to help with the babies. I am sure things will be much quieter around here when we are gone! I will also miss all the wonderful people I have met and grown to love while I have been here and the other family members living nearby who have done so much to help me.

While I am sad to leave everyone here in Arizona, I am also excited to return to Austin. I have been gone for nearly five months and I am looking forward to seeing all our friends in Austin again. I am also looking forward to having my family back together in our own house. It was hard to be separated so much from my husband and older two kids these past months. I have so much empathy for people like my sister-in-law, Tobi, whose husband has been serving in Iraq for the past year and who won't be back until Christmastime.

The babies are doing great! I can't believe how much they have grown! Rustin and Kassidy are both over six pounds now and even Kaydence, who was the smallest at birth, is about 4 1/2 pounds. Each baby is really starting to show their personality. Kaydence is the little fiesty one---I think that she is going to be the "leader of the pack" someday. Ryder is a little thinker. He also makes the best faces of any of them. Kyndall is very sweet--she is going to be the little princess. Rustin and Kassidy are both really laid back and don't get easily flustered. Now that they are all older (four weeks yesterday!!) they are starting to act more like "real" babies. They sleep less than they used to and get a little fussy in the evening. They are all adorable (in my totally unbiased opinion) and I still look at them everyday and think what a miracle they are! I am so grateful for these beautiful little blessings!!

Here are some recent pictures.

A rare moment when all five babies are asleep at the same time!!

(Jeanie, Rachelle, Kassidy, Rustin, Kyndall, Ryder and Kaydence)

Three peas in a pod--Kyndall, Rustin and Kaydence.

A one-day supply of bottles.

The babies get ready for their first big outing together! (We went down the street to take some pictures at a friend's house.)

(Ryder, Rustin, Kaydence, Kassidy, Kyndall)

Mixed Emotions

All Five Home!

Kassidy, the last of the bunch, came home today! It is so nice to have all of them here. It was hard to split my time between home and the hospital. I think it is interesting that the babies came home in reverse birth order. They must have wanted to make it easier for me to remember, since I seem to forget a lot of things lately!

This weekend Jayson, Riley and Kaiya headed back to Texas. Jayson needed to go back to work (since now it is more important than ever that he remain gainfully emplolyed!!) and the older kids were anxious to get back. Riley will start school again in a week. It is strangly quiet around here with Riley and Kaiya gone. They have been so sweet with the babies so far and I hope it continues! They both get excited when the babies wake up and they can hug and hold them. Riley can even feed a baby if we need him to. Kaiya is dying to try feeding a baby by herself, but I am not ready to let her "help" me that much yet!

Our church has been incredibly supportive since we started bringing babies home. People bring meals three times a week and many people have signed up for shifts to help with the babies. The volunteers that really amaze me are the ones that want to come for the overnight shift. Besides the volunteers, my aunt and her family have been incredibly helpful. I am so grateful for all the help since there is no way I could do it alone.

Here are some recent pictures of the babies:

Kassidy

Kaydence



Rustin


Kyndall

Ryder

All Five Home!

Ryder is Home!!

Today we brought Ryder home from the hospital! Rustin will be coming home tomorrow. They actually offered to have me take them both today, but I opted for one at a time. I am not one of those people that jumps straight into the pool and gets wet all at once, I am more the one stair at a time type :-) So far Ryder is doing pretty well, despite all of Riley and Kaiya's attempts to "love" him. I was actually a little nervous to start bringing babies home, but the adventure has to start sometime!

This morning I met with some gals from our church who are organizing volunteers to help. It is amazing to me how many people are willing to do something. Sign-up sheets went around in all the classes last Sunday and even several men signed up to help out.

My recovery is slow, but steady. Everyday I feel a little bit better. I still have a lot of swelling in my feet, legs and tummy. If I leave my feet down for too long, they really puff up. My family finds my feet quite entertaining. They (my feet) have been compared to a memory foam mattress---you can push your finger into them and then take it away, but the indent still stays there. And it doesn't just have to be finger shapes, it works for just about anything.

I also walk pretty slowly, since I still have some pain. Today I took my aunt, who has MS, and my grandma with me to the NICU to see the babies. We had a race to see who could get there first. It was kind of like watching three turtles race in slow motion. I am sure we were quite a sight :-) (No offense Grandma and Jeanie).

My kids, when they first saw me in something besides a hospital gown, had some funny comments. My son Riley told me that I was skinny again and he was so excited that he could put his arms all the way around my waist when he hugged me. My daughter, Kaiya, just said, "Wow, mom! How come you are still fat? Did they leave one of the babies in there?" I think I need to work with her on being a little bit more tactful :-)

Ryder is Home!!

The CBS Early Show

The quints are supposed to be featured on the CBS Early Show tomorrow (Aug 6th). They plan on doing a live (if you are on the east coast) interview with Jayson and I and they are going to try to get all the babies together in one crib. Tune in to see some cute babies!!!

The CBS Early Show