Hello all,
We recently took the kids to Meadowlark Gardens for their first photo session with a photographer.
We were hoping to get some cute photos with the kids and with the pretty spring flowers and cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Lessons learned! Beyond the challenges of getting two babies to be content, looking, and/or smiling at the same time; the kids had so many pretty things to look at, including the feel of their first shoes, Katharine chewing on the ribbons and layers of her dress, Christopher pulling up his "big boy" shirt, etc.
Fortunately it was not too sunny or hot, and only got chilly when the breeze picked up.
And there was only one significant tearful moment, with a quick five minute catnap for both kids, wrapped up in their decorative quilts.
But all in all, we think we got some really nice photos.
We were SO excited to receive the proof gallery with slideshow to preview. So we had to share. Here's the information...
Our online proof gallery can be viewed at:
http://www.veralana.com//proofs/2011/041011proofs/slideshow/
user: client
pwd: myportraits
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
March 2011
Hi, We're seven months old!
We've been doing a lot of growing and getting stronger this month! Christopher is now sixteen and a half pounds, and Katharine is thirteen pounds! We've had lots of fun playing in our gyms and exercising with Mommy and Daddy and spending time on our tummies.
We can push all the way up on our arms and look all around the room, which is a pretty neat perspective for us! We like to hold and touch things and move them around to see what they do. We can reach lots of things, and love to see how things feel by sticking them in our mouths. Christopher has even learned to do this with his feet!
We can roll from our backs to our tummies, and sometimes from our tummies to our backs. And we are starting to learn to roll over and over toward something we want to see closer.
And we love to play games with Mommy and Daddy! We like tickling games for our tummies, chins, and noses. And we like to practice sitting up and standing while Mommy and Daddy hold our hands. We're not quite ready to sit up yet, but love practicing it in our bumbo seats.
We've also been learning a lot about sleep! When we started turning over this month, we had to start to learn to sleep without our cozy sleepsacks. This has been challenging sometimes, but it is getting easier. Mommy and Daddy are great about helping us get back to sleep when we have trouble, and we're remembering to take naps during the day so we can be happy and have fun.
What a busy month we've had! And when we're not napping or exercising, we've been going on walks with Mommy and Daddy, on outings to the store or to playgroups, and just hanging out together. We're starting to really enjoy looking at each other and playing together. And sometimes it makes us sad when our brother or sister is sad!
You can see new photos of all our fun by copying and pasting this link into your browser
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=8433993930105%3A1772796618&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
And if you didn't hear already, we are in training to walk in the March of Dimes March For Babies this May! Check out our information and video, and find a link to donate or walk with us in our "March For Babies" post.
Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
We've been doing a lot of growing and getting stronger this month! Christopher is now sixteen and a half pounds, and Katharine is thirteen pounds! We've had lots of fun playing in our gyms and exercising with Mommy and Daddy and spending time on our tummies.
We can push all the way up on our arms and look all around the room, which is a pretty neat perspective for us! We like to hold and touch things and move them around to see what they do. We can reach lots of things, and love to see how things feel by sticking them in our mouths. Christopher has even learned to do this with his feet!
We can roll from our backs to our tummies, and sometimes from our tummies to our backs. And we are starting to learn to roll over and over toward something we want to see closer.
And we love to play games with Mommy and Daddy! We like tickling games for our tummies, chins, and noses. And we like to practice sitting up and standing while Mommy and Daddy hold our hands. We're not quite ready to sit up yet, but love practicing it in our bumbo seats.
We've also been learning a lot about sleep! When we started turning over this month, we had to start to learn to sleep without our cozy sleepsacks. This has been challenging sometimes, but it is getting easier. Mommy and Daddy are great about helping us get back to sleep when we have trouble, and we're remembering to take naps during the day so we can be happy and have fun.
What a busy month we've had! And when we're not napping or exercising, we've been going on walks with Mommy and Daddy, on outings to the store or to playgroups, and just hanging out together. We're starting to really enjoy looking at each other and playing together. And sometimes it makes us sad when our brother or sister is sad!
You can see new photos of all our fun by copying and pasting this link into your browser
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=8433993930105%3A1772796618&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
And if you didn't hear already, we are in training to walk in the March of Dimes March For Babies this May! Check out our information and video, and find a link to donate or walk with us in our "March For Babies" post.
Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
Sunday, March 13, 2011
March For Babies
Friends and Family,
We would like to share with you our plans to walk in the March of Dimes "March For Babies" this May.
If you are a regular visitor to our blog, then you are probably familiar with the story of how our family grew this year, with much time spent at Fairfax Hospital. If you are a new visitor, please feel free to read our early posts, beginning last summer, when Andrea was admitted to the hospital.
Our family is so grateful for the doctors and nurses at INOVA Fairfax and Fair Oaks, who cared for our family before and after our kids were born. We feel blessed to be able to say that our little ones are healthy and happy at home with us! We walk in gratitude for their work and for the emotional support we received from the March of Dimes, and we walk in honor of all families touched by a baby in need of miracles. Thank you for helping these miracles happen!
We are signed up with the Inova Fairfax Hospital Center NICU Team. You can visit our pages to get more information or make a donation if you would like to contribute. Here is their site...
http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=1480669
We are signed up as "David and Christopher Keller" and "Andrea and Katharine Keller", so we have two pages.
Also, the kids are included in a photo tribute created by a nurse to kickoff this event. Here's a link to paste in your browser:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=d6f464f3add9f6576587df&skin_id=1602&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email
And finally, here is some additional information about the organization and the event:
Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.
Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the 'donate now' button on this page. Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!
The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
Your gift will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.
Thank you, with love,
Katharine, Christopher, David, and Andrea
We would like to share with you our plans to walk in the March of Dimes "March For Babies" this May.
If you are a regular visitor to our blog, then you are probably familiar with the story of how our family grew this year, with much time spent at Fairfax Hospital. If you are a new visitor, please feel free to read our early posts, beginning last summer, when Andrea was admitted to the hospital.
Our family is so grateful for the doctors and nurses at INOVA Fairfax and Fair Oaks, who cared for our family before and after our kids were born. We feel blessed to be able to say that our little ones are healthy and happy at home with us! We walk in gratitude for their work and for the emotional support we received from the March of Dimes, and we walk in honor of all families touched by a baby in need of miracles. Thank you for helping these miracles happen!
We are signed up with the Inova Fairfax Hospital Center NICU Team. You can visit our pages to get more information or make a donation if you would like to contribute. Here is their site...
http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=1480669
We are signed up as "David and Christopher Keller" and "Andrea and Katharine Keller", so we have two pages.
Also, the kids are included in a photo tribute created by a nurse to kickoff this event. Here's a link to paste in your browser:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=d6f464f3add9f6576587df&skin_id=1602&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email
And finally, here is some additional information about the organization and the event:
Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.
Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the 'donate now' button on this page. Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!
The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
Your gift will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.
Thank you, with love,
Katharine, Christopher, David, and Andrea
Thursday, February 17, 2011
February 2011
Hello everyone! We hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!
We are just beginning February, but Mommy and Daddy have new pictures to share already because they've been playing with their camera!
We're six months old now, and we went out to dinner with Mommy and Daddy to celebrate our birthday! And how we're growing!! Christopher is 15 pounds, and 26 inches, and Katharine is 12 pounds and 24 inches!
So far this month, we've been having lots of fun playing in our gym, playing in the snow, practicing sitting and standing, and hanging out together!
Here's the link to our gallery of some of our favorite fun pictures so far this month!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=7821790720105%3A185759887&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Keep checking back later this month for new pictures!
Love to everyone,
Katharine and Christopher
We are just beginning February, but Mommy and Daddy have new pictures to share already because they've been playing with their camera!
We're six months old now, and we went out to dinner with Mommy and Daddy to celebrate our birthday! And how we're growing!! Christopher is 15 pounds, and 26 inches, and Katharine is 12 pounds and 24 inches!
So far this month, we've been having lots of fun playing in our gym, playing in the snow, practicing sitting and standing, and hanging out together!
Here's the link to our gallery of some of our favorite fun pictures so far this month!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=7821790720105%3A185759887&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Keep checking back later this month for new pictures!
Love to everyone,
Katharine and Christopher
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Greetings 2011!
Happy New Year from the Keller Family!
We began the month with a visit from Grandma Sturgeon, who came to play with us for a week, while Mommy spent time looking at daycare centers for the fall. It was fun to have time to play together, listen to stories in the rocking chair, and we got to go out to eat at Clyde's for a nice dinner - our first outing to a restaurant! And we got to Skype with Grandpa and cousins Katie and Sam! Somehow, we managed to not get any photos that week - But we had a wonderful visit with Grandma, and can't wait to visit again!
January has been quite variable here, sometimes frigid, in the single digits; sometimes sunny and in the high 40's. This has made for many indoor days with time spent mall-walking in the mornings, as well as several nice afternoon walks to Vienna.
On Martin Luther King Day, Mom and Dad got very brave and took the family out to dinner by themselves! We've been having fun visiting with our Grandmas and Grandpas on Skype. And we've had some fun visits with friends!
Most exciting was the Thundersnow storm at the end of the month, which dropped two inches per hour of heavy, wet snow, which in just a few hours took out our power for a one day and two nights. It got a little chilly, but it was fun sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room for a couple of nights, and we got to take another outing for dinner to get warmed up!
We turned five months old this month (which makes us about 3 months old developmentally, according to our due date of the 21st)! Katharine just turned 11 pounds and Christopher is 14 pounds (how's that for starting at 3 pounds and 3 pounds, 5 ounces!?)
We've been smiling all the time, and have started treating Mom and Dad to some laughs, giggles, squeals, and lots of other fun sounds we're learning to make.
We're both working out in the activity gym a lot too - Christopher is great at push ups on his tummy, and Katharine is loving her standing practice! And of course we're both practicing to get really good at everything. We are grabbing ahold of things, and Christopher loves to chew on his Whoozit (you'll see it in our pictures!).
Although Mommy and Daddy have not been getting a lot of photos of "events" lately, they have been spending time practicing with their cool new camera, which has been taking really nice pictures of all our play times. You can see their handiwork on our January photo gallery. Here's the link, so you can copy and paste it into your browser.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=2952099910105%3A1417876962&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
*Also... if you haven't checked the photo gallery for December in a while, there are a few really sweet new photos of the kids at Christmas that Aunt Linda shared with us. You can see those at the end of the December gallery - just go back to the December post for the link.
Enjoy!
Love,
Katharine and Christopher
We began the month with a visit from Grandma Sturgeon, who came to play with us for a week, while Mommy spent time looking at daycare centers for the fall. It was fun to have time to play together, listen to stories in the rocking chair, and we got to go out to eat at Clyde's for a nice dinner - our first outing to a restaurant! And we got to Skype with Grandpa and cousins Katie and Sam! Somehow, we managed to not get any photos that week - But we had a wonderful visit with Grandma, and can't wait to visit again!
January has been quite variable here, sometimes frigid, in the single digits; sometimes sunny and in the high 40's. This has made for many indoor days with time spent mall-walking in the mornings, as well as several nice afternoon walks to Vienna.
On Martin Luther King Day, Mom and Dad got very brave and took the family out to dinner by themselves! We've been having fun visiting with our Grandmas and Grandpas on Skype. And we've had some fun visits with friends!
Most exciting was the Thundersnow storm at the end of the month, which dropped two inches per hour of heavy, wet snow, which in just a few hours took out our power for a one day and two nights. It got a little chilly, but it was fun sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's room for a couple of nights, and we got to take another outing for dinner to get warmed up!
We turned five months old this month (which makes us about 3 months old developmentally, according to our due date of the 21st)! Katharine just turned 11 pounds and Christopher is 14 pounds (how's that for starting at 3 pounds and 3 pounds, 5 ounces!?)
We've been smiling all the time, and have started treating Mom and Dad to some laughs, giggles, squeals, and lots of other fun sounds we're learning to make.
We're both working out in the activity gym a lot too - Christopher is great at push ups on his tummy, and Katharine is loving her standing practice! And of course we're both practicing to get really good at everything. We are grabbing ahold of things, and Christopher loves to chew on his Whoozit (you'll see it in our pictures!).
Although Mommy and Daddy have not been getting a lot of photos of "events" lately, they have been spending time practicing with their cool new camera, which has been taking really nice pictures of all our play times. You can see their handiwork on our January photo gallery. Here's the link, so you can copy and paste it into your browser.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=2952099910105%3A1417876962&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
*Also... if you haven't checked the photo gallery for December in a while, there are a few really sweet new photos of the kids at Christmas that Aunt Linda shared with us. You can see those at the end of the December gallery - just go back to the December post for the link.
Enjoy!
Love,
Katharine and Christopher
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Hoiday Happiness
Hello all,
With the New Year already rung in, here are the holiday updates for December.
December found us venturing out a bit more, walking to Vienna on warm days, walking at the mall in the mornings (which the pediatrician assures is safe) on cold days, developing smiles and laughs, and taking our first big trip!
We had a wonderful visit in Ohio with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, and friends. It was so good to finally be home again, and Katharine and Christopher had great fun on their first multi-state travel! :)
The last photos from our Christmas visits are up on the December gallery. Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=6649285000105%3A1079353112&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
More in the New Year!
Love,
Andrea, David, Katharine, and Christopher
With the New Year already rung in, here are the holiday updates for December.
December found us venturing out a bit more, walking to Vienna on warm days, walking at the mall in the mornings (which the pediatrician assures is safe) on cold days, developing smiles and laughs, and taking our first big trip!
We had a wonderful visit in Ohio with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, and friends. It was so good to finally be home again, and Katharine and Christopher had great fun on their first multi-state travel! :)
The last photos from our Christmas visits are up on the December gallery. Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=6649285000105%3A1079353112&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
More in the New Year!
Love,
Andrea, David, Katharine, and Christopher
Saturday, November 20, 2010
A Time To Be Thankful For What Matters Most
We are so thankful to have our little girl and boy home as we approach the holidays!
The fall has been beautiful, and things are beginning to turn colder here. So we still take advantage of the warmer days for walks, and are starting to get into a routine here at home.
The last several weeks have presented some feeding challenges for both of the kids, but especially for Katharine. She had been having a great deal of discomfort when eating, which caused lots of screaming and crying and spit ups, and unfortunately not enough eating and growing. Many long days and nights of worry caused us to visit the doctor a few times a week to try to pinpoint a treatment which would give her relief from the excessive acid reflux she was experiencing. Finally after three weeks, we were sent to a GI specialist, who recommended simplifying her medications to just one in greater strength, and going back to thickening her feeds, as they had done in the hospital.
While a follow up exam showed that all is functioning properly and that her delayed swallow reflex was corrected, thickening of her milk now allows her to keep it down better, helping to control acid reflux and spit ups. As soon as we made this change, she began to double what she can eat, and has not had spit ups as frequently. Christopher also had been having more reflux symptoms than before, as he is getting bigger and eating more. So the pediatrician recommended thickening his feeds too, and now they are both eating with greater ease.
We learned that this is not necessarily a step backward in their development, it is common among babies to reflux, and sometimes even a little rice cereal in the milk solves the problem. And eventually rice cereal will be a first food. We are using a different gel thickener we became used to in the hospital, and it is a very easy change that has made a world of difference for the kids! At their pediatrician’s appointment this week, Katharine’s weight broke the eight pound mark at eight pounds, two ounces! And Christopher is our big boy at ten pounds, two ounces!
The alleviation of this constant worry has made all of our lives easier and happier this last week, and we are beginning to settle into a routine. We are getting a little more sleep, and are glad to have help coming in a couple times a week to give Mama a break and give us both one good night's sleep a week.
We have been SO grateful for all the kindness of our friends who have come to brighten long days, bring meals, and lend moral support. And let’s not forget the cookie-laden care packages from Grandmas and Grandpas!! There have been moments when we truly needed to be lifted, and we thank you so much for doing just that!
We realized that we have taken shamefully few photos so far this month, and now that things are calmer, we are eager to capture and share more of those “almost smiles”, fun in the activity gym, and other precious moments to come! We look forward to sharing the kids’ first Thanksgiving this next week with Grandma and Grandpa Keller, which will also be sure to provide lots of opportunities for several sweet photos!
This post is our thanks-giving to all of you for your love and support, for being there, for listening, and for sending your love and prayers to our family throughout this year. We are so thankful for you, and for the kids, and to God for bringing our little ones home safely to us!
UPDATE:
We had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa Keller for our very first Thanksgiving! We had a lot of fun visiting, sharing our thankfulness, and decorating our first Christmas tree! Complete photos for the month, including the holiday are now ready at our kodak gallery link! Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=836744249905%3A1272939009&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Wishing a wonderful December to all!
With Love,
Andrea, David, Christopher, and Katharine
P.S. We became aware through the blog of fellow NICU parents that November is Prematurity Awareness Month! I was surprised to learn that 1 in every 8 babies is born prematurely. As I read through the posts of other parents on the March of Dimes site, I was struck by one that made this comparison; "You never notice how many red cars are out there until you drive a red car."
Through our experience in the NICU, we have heard so many stories from people who had, or knew, or were children born prematurely. Some of these stories have been inspiring, and some have been heartbreaking.
And we are truly grateful for the way our lives have been blessed by the doctors and nurses of the HRP wing this summer and in the NICU's at Fairfax and Fair Oaks this fall.
The March of Dimes does wonderful work for all those touched by these challenging and sometimes tragic births. You can find more information at http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurityawareness.html
The fall has been beautiful, and things are beginning to turn colder here. So we still take advantage of the warmer days for walks, and are starting to get into a routine here at home.
The last several weeks have presented some feeding challenges for both of the kids, but especially for Katharine. She had been having a great deal of discomfort when eating, which caused lots of screaming and crying and spit ups, and unfortunately not enough eating and growing. Many long days and nights of worry caused us to visit the doctor a few times a week to try to pinpoint a treatment which would give her relief from the excessive acid reflux she was experiencing. Finally after three weeks, we were sent to a GI specialist, who recommended simplifying her medications to just one in greater strength, and going back to thickening her feeds, as they had done in the hospital.
While a follow up exam showed that all is functioning properly and that her delayed swallow reflex was corrected, thickening of her milk now allows her to keep it down better, helping to control acid reflux and spit ups. As soon as we made this change, she began to double what she can eat, and has not had spit ups as frequently. Christopher also had been having more reflux symptoms than before, as he is getting bigger and eating more. So the pediatrician recommended thickening his feeds too, and now they are both eating with greater ease.
We learned that this is not necessarily a step backward in their development, it is common among babies to reflux, and sometimes even a little rice cereal in the milk solves the problem. And eventually rice cereal will be a first food. We are using a different gel thickener we became used to in the hospital, and it is a very easy change that has made a world of difference for the kids! At their pediatrician’s appointment this week, Katharine’s weight broke the eight pound mark at eight pounds, two ounces! And Christopher is our big boy at ten pounds, two ounces!
The alleviation of this constant worry has made all of our lives easier and happier this last week, and we are beginning to settle into a routine. We are getting a little more sleep, and are glad to have help coming in a couple times a week to give Mama a break and give us both one good night's sleep a week.
We have been SO grateful for all the kindness of our friends who have come to brighten long days, bring meals, and lend moral support. And let’s not forget the cookie-laden care packages from Grandmas and Grandpas!! There have been moments when we truly needed to be lifted, and we thank you so much for doing just that!
We realized that we have taken shamefully few photos so far this month, and now that things are calmer, we are eager to capture and share more of those “almost smiles”, fun in the activity gym, and other precious moments to come! We look forward to sharing the kids’ first Thanksgiving this next week with Grandma and Grandpa Keller, which will also be sure to provide lots of opportunities for several sweet photos!
This post is our thanks-giving to all of you for your love and support, for being there, for listening, and for sending your love and prayers to our family throughout this year. We are so thankful for you, and for the kids, and to God for bringing our little ones home safely to us!
UPDATE:
We had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa Keller for our very first Thanksgiving! We had a lot of fun visiting, sharing our thankfulness, and decorating our first Christmas tree! Complete photos for the month, including the holiday are now ready at our kodak gallery link! Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=836744249905%3A1272939009&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee
Wishing a wonderful December to all!
With Love,
Andrea, David, Christopher, and Katharine
P.S. We became aware through the blog of fellow NICU parents that November is Prematurity Awareness Month! I was surprised to learn that 1 in every 8 babies is born prematurely. As I read through the posts of other parents on the March of Dimes site, I was struck by one that made this comparison; "You never notice how many red cars are out there until you drive a red car."
Through our experience in the NICU, we have heard so many stories from people who had, or knew, or were children born prematurely. Some of these stories have been inspiring, and some have been heartbreaking.
And we are truly grateful for the way our lives have been blessed by the doctors and nurses of the HRP wing this summer and in the NICU's at Fairfax and Fair Oaks this fall.
The March of Dimes does wonderful work for all those touched by these challenging and sometimes tragic births. You can find more information at http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurityawareness.html
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