Happy Birthday Girls!!!!

April 29th, 2006 was the happiest day of our lives. 3 beautiful girls blessed us with their sweet spirits and we were finally a family after 4 years of roller coaster infertility treatments. We all know the tale from there. Kelly and I will NEVER forget our sweet Madelyne Rose and Emma Jayne and we look forward to the day we get to see them and raise them. As Kelly mentioned a while back, we have a unique situation in that we get to play mommy and daddy again in Heaven and that is exciting! Happy birthday girls. We miss you every day and we love you very much.
There is one thing I have to admit. During the midst of all that heartache last year, I had NO idea that we would be so happy 12 months later. Abby is everything to us. EVERYTHING. The sun rises and sets with that girl as far we're concerned and her fighting spirit is something I often comment on because it never ceases to amaze me. I am forever thankful that she is still with us. She is our "Little Miss Magic," our "Nugget", our "Burnin' Hunk o Love," our "Abby Girl" just to name a few. And based on her new found attitude that's coming to light, I think "Stinker" and "Wild One" will be names for the future. She's got some energy to say the least!
As far as the celebration of today went, we didn't do much. We are planning an actual party for her for this coming weekend so today we just kept it low key. Abby was in a great mood though, almost as if she knew. I have some pics below to prove it. But before I get to that, I have some updates.
Abby is finally over the vomiting thing and she is eating a lot better these days. She's feeling a bit heavier too. I thought it was just me, but Kelly said she noticed it too. I'm thinking she's pushing 15 lbs right now but we'll have to wait and see. I forget which appointment she gets weighed at, but I'm sure we can toss her on a scale some time this week. And ever since her surgery, there have been some definite improvements with her left arm. She engages it a lot more and is constantly bringing it in front of her to assist with whatever toy she has in her right hand. It's not perfect by any means and she still has trouble actually opening her hand and using her fingers to grab the toy, but the desire is there. And with Abby, desire is all we need! She began to make some new noises today as well. She was all about the "aaaahhhhhh" kind of sound but we were hoping she'd use her lips to make the "B" sound. And she did it a few times yesterday! We heard a lot of "bbbaaaahhhh" kind of sounds. She also has a new giggle which of course is adorable.
On to momma and Eddie. Unfortunately, momma is on bed rest now. Well, semi bed rest for the moment. Her doc wants her off her feet as much as possible She is already having contractions but as long as we can keep them to less than two an hour or so, we should be alright. Kelly is doing everything she can to make sure this happens. So am I actually. And so is Kelly's mom, Kelly's grandma, and pretty much everyone else. All the love and support is very much appreciated. So how far a long is she and how much longer does she need to go? It's breaks down like this:
Kelly is at 26 weeks right now. The first hurdle is 28 weeks so Eddie needs AT LEAST another 2 weeks. Again, that's just the first hurdle but it's not really where we want to be. Obviously the statics of having a healthy baby increase each week, and the stats get really promising around 32 to 34 weeks. 28 weeks is just the time frame when you'd say, "okay, there's an okay chance here." But what we want is, "okay we have a great chance here." And again, that's not for another 6 to 8 weeks from where we are now. We can do it though! Keep those prayers coming!

And finally, here are some GREAT 1st Birthday shots!!!!

We LOVE YOU ABBY!!!!!