More Pictures of Shalise

Shalise is up to 7 lbs now and doing great! Here are some recent pictures, I even got a half smile... :)

Holding Shalise

I got Carson to hold Shalise for a minute. He's been wanting to since we got her, but he's had bronchitis so now that he is finally feeling better I don't have to worry about him coughing on her. He thought it was pretty neat to have her sit next to him and watch some TV.

Jake and I have also enjoyed holding the all 6 lbs of her! She is very cuddly and we just can't get enough of her. She is so much fun to have in our home.

Sweet Dreams

I think one of my favorite times is watching the kids sleep, especially Carson. This is probably the only time during the day that he is holding still! He is always on the go and running around. When he naps, he cuddles up with his little bear that Nana gave him and get all comfy. This was on a Sunday, we have to wake him up to go to church and it is very hard to do with him looking so happy and peaceful! Who would want to wake this kid up and ruin his sweet dreams...

Brothers & Sisters

My twin brother was in town this last Sunday and came over for a visit. We decided to get the rest of the siblings to come over as well. We were thinking that is has been at least a year since we have all been in the same place at the same time so of course we had to take pictures to document the occasion! It was great for all of us to spend some time together. Here are pictures:

Tashina, Tairel, Darvell, Lilet & Johan

Dad As A Jungle Gym

Carson has decided that the best jungle gym in the world is Dad! Jake was sitting on the chair the other day and all of a sudden Carson was behind him climbing his back to stand on his shoulders. He looked a little nervous the first time he did it but after he got comfortable he wouldn't stop! Here are some pictures.

So then Jake decided he was going to show him to climb his weight equipment instead and Carson did not like that at all! Here is him saying, "no, daddy, no":

So I guess when it comes to dad, he is a safe jungle gym because Carson knows he won't fall, but when it comes to that other equipment, it just cannot be trusted! :)

I See Those Eyes!

I finally got some pictures of the baby with her eyes open. Marcus also wanted to see her so I let him hold her for about 5 seconds while I took a couple pictures and then his turn was over. He wasn't very happy about it but I can't risk him getting her sick! I figure he'll have his whole life to hold her, so he can wait. Here are some pictures of her and then Marcus holding her, he was super excited! I aked Carson if he wanted to hold her and take a picture and he just shrugged his shoulders and said "later Mommy." So apparently taking pictures just didn't work with his schedule, so I'll put some on later when I can get him to sit down... :)

Shalise Marie Gillen

Well, I think we finally decided on a name for the baby. Her name right now is Jasenya Fuana Marie Valdez. When we adopt her we will change her name to Shalise Marie Gillen. I guess it's possible we could change our mind, but we're pretty sure we're going to stick with that. :) We feel so blessed to have her in our home. I picked her up from the hospital yesterday and so far so good. She sleeps a lot which I hear is common for a preemie. So I guess it'll be a little while before her personality starts coming through and we really know what she's like! I can't believe how little she is and I think I really realized it when I put her in the carseat. Here is a picture of the carseat and a few other pictures and when I can finally get a picture of her with her eyes open I will post those as well! :)

New Foster Baby!

We got a call from the state last week telling us that Marcus's birthmom had a baby girl and they asked if we were interested in being screened, which of course we said YES! They screened us along with 2 other families this week and we were chosen! She was teeny tiny weighing in at 4 lbs, 10 oz on Christmas Day! Her name right now is Jasenya. It looks like we will probably be able to adopt her so we'll be changing the name, but we're not sure to what yet. So if you know any cute girls names, let us know! She is still at the hospital but it looks like we will be bringing her home this weekend sometime. I do get to go see her at the hospital in the meantime so here are a couple pictures. Keep in mind the nurse did a terrible job of taking a picture of me AND the baby so sorry they are not the best pictures!

I got looking through pictures of Marcus as a newborn and noticed that they do have a lot of similiarites, we think Marcus is pretty cute so I'm sure she will be pretty cute too! Here is Marcus at 3 wks old:

And here is the baby: