SIX MONTHS!

We did it! Officially made it through six month with the twins. They are the healthiest, happiest, cutest babies around!!

Jaxson: 12 lbs 10 oz / 24 inches ( -5% ) He is behind the curve just a little bit but following it ... so no need to be overly concerned. We will continue to give him his Neosure supplement and hopefully he will catch up soon!

Dakota: 13 lbs 8 oz / 24 1/3 inches (20%)

The male curve is larger than the female curve ... so we are not comparing apples to apples here people ... However, Jaxson is definitely the runt of the group!

The doc says to keep up the good work! She gave us the clearance to start solids ... watch out!

Jaxson smiles if you just look at him ... he LOVES attention. Watch out if you leave his side for just one second, he might be little but he his loud! He rolls over constantly and holds his head up like he is getting ready to take off crawling. He does NOT like to sleep during the day and will make it about six hours for us at night before needing to cuddle with mommy and daddy.

Dakota belly laughs and loves to analyze things. She loves when she can feel your face, and look right into your eyes. She stares at things like she is really trying to figure out what is going on around her. She reaches, pulls, and picks up small objects. When she is laying on her back, she will push with her feet, arch her back and scoot across the room! Funniest thing I have ever seen!!

Best. News. Ever.

Below is an update from my brother on my nephew Billy. This is the best news we could have asked for. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

Friends and Family,

I'm excited to announce that this is going to be my last update on Billy.


While watching his healing closely and keeping him out of bacteria's way, his physical progress over the last week has been remarkable. We had another visit to the doctor this past Thursday. The doctor was amazed at his progress and made several comments on his ability to recuperate quickly. Her excitement was quickly picked up by all of us and gave us some well needed relief from the waiting game we have played for the past couple of weeks. All bandages were removed and all pig skin is gone. Yeah!! The doctor quickly gave him approval to return to school, take a shower, and go outside. A big change from where he's been. Things are getting back to normal quickly.


While the new skin is pale in comparison to his old skin, he's going to heal nicely. He is still waiting on his eyebrows to grow in completely and has a little bit of acne from wearing the extra layers of skin. Moving forward, he has to put on lotion as many as 6 times daily and has to wear SPF 60 sunscreen every time he goes in the sun for the next year. This will be a critical part of his daily routine, right along with brushing his teeth and flossing. If not, he risks his skin drying out and turning a dark black burnt color. This is a small price to pay for where he could have ended up. We are so blessed to be where we are today.


Michelle also organized with North Cobb High School for BB to have a tutor visit him for 3 hours. She stopped by on Friday morning. She helped with some homework, gave Billy a couple of quizzes, and administered an essay that he need to complete. The idea was that this will all help loosen the load when he returns back to school. I'm sure he has a lot of work to do to catch up and keep in line with the requirements of North Cobb's International Studies program.


I know you guys have all heard it before, but I have to share. This experience has truly been an eye opener for The Rose's. You know the old saying, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Well, just a few weeks ago, this idea crossed my mind. It was all to real, to think about life without my BB. A feeling I NEVER want to feel again and I don't want any of you to experience either. Over the last few weeks, I've held BB's hand, rubbed his back, hugged him, kissed him, helped him eat, helped him to the bathroom, asked constantly if he needed anything from me, watched TV with him, played video games, played cards, slept by his side, worked on his computer, etc... Every chance I had, I spent with him. More importantly, I let him know how important he is to me, how lucky I am to have him, and that I love him. While I can't loosen my on grip on engaged parenting, I can share my love. A day will never go by without me telling him again... Even when he does make mistakes... And I know he will....

Of course, I can't finish this email without saying thank you to all of you. Your unbelievable support helped us make this a growing experience. Your emails, phone calls, gifts, dinners, goody bags, lawn mowing, and visits were incredible. You kept our spirits high! We simply can't thank you enough. I can only hope that I'm here for all of you if you ever fall on times of need. You guys rock!


Thanks again!


Bill and Michelle Rose

What an incredibly lucky family we are!

This past weekend I traveled to Indiana to visit with my college roommates and to welcome Baby Amelia Naville. We had a fantastic afternoon together!

Andrea looks absolutely beautiful and her girls are Cute. As. Ever.
Krista was able to make the trip with Olivia (3) and Ella (2) They are SO ADORABLE ... Tyson really took to Ella ... watch out!!

Kelly, Emily and Katie were able to make the trip in from Indianapolis and spend the afternoon with all of our children. It was so great to see everyone!

Thanks to my mom and dad for their help. They came in for the weekend,  helped me prepare for the trip and kept me company (and from going crazy) on a 2 hour car trip ... THANKS!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Have a great week!!

Fall Pictures!

We love Fall! We had some catch up work to do from the past few weeks. Enjoy the pictures!

Uncle Adam and Tyson ready to get dirty!

Enjoying a ATV ride with Uncle Adam!

 

We enjoyed time with Brian's family this past weekend, the pictures say it all. Tyson adores his uncle Adam and never let him out of his sight. He spent the whole weekend on the four wheelers, eating donuts and drinking apple cider, spending time with Cousin Keegan and well, just being a boy. He loved it!

Congratulations to Aunt Megan and Uncle Rob. The wedding festivities have started. The shower was a huge success. They received so many wonderful gifts. Party on the next few weekends ... just 4 more weeks until the big day! We are so excited for you and can't wait to celebrate in style!

Update on my Nephew Billy: He had a doctor's appointment on Thursday of last week and the outcome was great! He was able to get the bandages off of his face and the healing process has begun nicely! He has to keep the bandages on his chest and arms for now. They still need a little more time. The risk for infection is still very high. Visitor’s have remained limited and keeping the house disinfected has been a priority. He spirits are high and he is really doing great! Thanks to everyone for your prayers! The hopes are he will be able to return back to school in the by the end of the month. Teachers have sent homework home by internet, and Michelle has been helping him complete some of his studying. They are really hoping that he is able to keep from getting behind. Everything is looking really positive!

Keep the Prayers Coming!!

Thanks to everyone who has continued to pray for my nephew Billy. As most of my followers know, he was severely burned in an accident last Tuesday night. He continues to make progress everyday. This has been a parents worst nightmare for my brother and my sister in law. They have remained so strong for Billy. As my sister in law said "it is amazing the strength the Lord gives you ... just amazing ... So hard to explain"


Please keep praying for their strength!

Here is a quick update my brother sent out in an e-mail tonight:

Another couple of days have gone by and Billy continues to amaze us. He's showing a lot of strength right now. He's up and mobile, moving around the house a few times a day. Mostly restroom breaks and dinner.


He's eating better, but not as well as we would like. Unfortunately, the extra layers of skin are tight and have adhered to his skin, causing pulling and some pain when trying to open his mouth. He can't eat anything much larger than a dime because he can't get his mouth open wide enough. Drinking through a straw and cutting things really small seem to be the answer. Unfortunately, it even hurts to laugh and smile. The good news is, this will get better over time. One of my daily duties is to cut away the skin as it dries and releases itself from his skin. Not a fun task at all. I've been so nervous cutting around his mouth, nose, and eyes. I've also been keeping the netting trimmed; I even cut out a spaghetti stain the other day.


Michelle and I are working hard every day to continue to focus on the mental healing with Billy. You all are helping wonderfully with your voice mails and emails. We think there are two ways to stay on top of the mental healing, visitors from friends his age and adults. While we have to limit it, we want to try and start scheduling some limited visitors each night to stop by and spend some time with Billy. Call us if you would like to come see him. He just wants to talk, watch TV, play games, and get his mind off of his bandages.

Important: Please don't plan time with Billy if you are not feeling well or if you have been exposed to anyone sick. We simply can't take the risk. You'll also need to go through Michelle's Sanitizing Ritual (MSR) before you can go into his bedroom. Infection is still our largest enemy.


Billy has a doctor’s visit on Thursday. The Burn Center from Augusta has an extension at Cobb General and Billy's surgeon comes here on Thursday. They also have centers in FL, SC, MS, and AL that they visit once each week. That keeps us from having to make the trip back to Augusta and allows Billy to see the same individual that started his care. Our hopes are that the bandages will come off and give us our first look at the healing. This visit will determine if additional surgeries will be necessary, such as repairing skin graphs.


Sammy finally made it home after fighting off the flu and staying at my parent’s house. He had his first glance of Billy since the accident. Young kids are awesome; he jumped in and played games with Billy like nothing was different. Yesterday was Sammy's 6th birthday, so we had a mini-birthday party with him at the house. He loved it!


Michelle and I want to thank everyone again for your help. We knew we had it special here and are now confident in the over-sized heart you all have. The dinners have been great, although we are feeling a little plump from all the great eating. I need to get out and start running again; I still haven't seen the neighborhood damage from all the flooding.




Thanks Again!


Bill and Michelle Rose


Again ... thanks for all of the support. It was a tough week all around.

Please also keep a childhood friend of mine in your prayers, Erin. Her father passed away last Tuesday. The services were this past weekend. I heard they were very nice. I was not able to make it, but Erin knows I was there for her in her heart! She is also such a strong person. She continues to be there for her mother, who will need some time to heal from her loss. Erin is an amazing person and, this week the Lord has also given her strength ... I love you!

Last ... GOOD NEWS! Miss Amelia Naville made her debut last Tuesday also!

Introducing ....

Amelia Naville 7lbs 9oz and 19 inches long born @ 9:20! She is perfect! Both mom and baby are doing fantastic. They have gone home from the hospital and are settling in just fine.

Praying for a great week!!

FOOTBALL ...(supporting our team through good and bad)

Football season is here ... ahhh ... I love this time of year! The air is crisp in the mornings, the humidity is quickly fading, the smell of fall is in the air!!

We are still standing behind our good ol' Cincinnati Bengals. They may not make the best decisions, and they may not represent the city so well sometimes ... but we still get our hopes up EVERY Sunday that they will come through for us ... last weekend was a bit painful, losing the game in the last 38 seconds!!

Well ... there is always this Sunday ... GO BENGALS!!



All dressed up in orange and black!

Daddy and his baby girl ... so sweet!

Brothers ... "Mommy, when will Jaxson be big enough to play football with me?" This has been the question of the week :)

Other pictures from this week ...

Tyson getting a little ice cream treat ... he stirred it up and said he was making coffee ... hmmm ... mommy and daddy are drinking a lot of coffee lately :)

Showing off their (temporary) tattoo's

Just hanging out

Miss blue eyes herself

Trying out the bumbo seats. Jaxson a big fan ... Dakota not so much ...

Acting silly ... Daddy is so proud of this picture ... (not really) but mommy thought it was pretty cute! I love my yellow shoes!

Jaxson is becoming a pro at holding his head up ... next comes the roll!

The babies have really started to let their personalities shine. Dakota is pretty laid back. She takes long naps during the day. Love to have awake time, play time, in the evenings before her night bottle. She is happy when she wakes up, and is pretty patient most of the time. This is a great thing ... because her brother, well, just the opposite! We love our Jaxson, but he is everything but patient. He takes short naps throughout the day. He would much rather be held than, well, not be held. He spends a lot of time in the swing, besides some one's arm, this is the only place that he is content. When he is happy, he makes the cutest little baby noises, laughs out loud and his smile can brighten any one's day ... so that makes up for the other stuff!

We are VERY lucky when it comes to night time sleeping. They both do very well, sleeping from 10 p.m. to around 5 a.m. That works well during the week, and on the weekends they will go back to sleep until around 9:00. NO COMPLAINTS IN THAT AREA!

Big brother is doing great in school. He is constantly getting praise for his cooperation, sharing, eating, napping, listening ... whose child is this :) I guess he knows what he can get away with at home (haha)

OTHER NEWS

Please be praying for Matt and Andrea. They will be welcoming their new baby girl next week. We can't wait to meet that precious baby! I will post updates as soon as she arrives, you can also click here to follow their family blog. Andrea is spending precious time with big sister Cydni before the big day! We love you and have been thinking of you so much!

Happy early b-day to two of my besties! Aimee and Marla are both turning the big 30!

Happy Anniversary to Grandma and Grandpa Jones! You are such an inspiration to Brian and I. We pray that our relationship only strengthens as yours has over the years. Cheers to many more happy years together. We love you!

Another Happy Anniversary to my big brother Bill and my sister in law Michelle ... I was sixteen years old when they were married. I remember having to put off getting my driver's license because we had to travel for their wedding weekend ... haha! Love you guys, hope you had a great day!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Congratulations Chris and Paige!

My boss finally tied the knot! Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Janson!

Grandma and Grandpa Jones made the trip in to watch the kids for us, so Brian and I could spend the weekend celebrating with with the newlyweds! THANK YOU!

The wedding was GORGEOUS! The ceremony and reception took place at the Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati. We were thrilled to share in such a special day.

Announcing Husband and Wife!

Perfect Pair!

They took a ballroom dancing class and showed off their fancy footwork for the first dance!

All dressed up for the night ... felt so strange w/o the kids but we had a great time! (We did not think about the reflection from the mirror in the background when we were taking the pictures :)

The Cake ... so yummy!!

Work Friends!

We are so happy for you, Chris and Paige! You sure know how to throw a party. Congrats to the happy couple!