10-Year Blog Anniversary

Ten years?! This month marks one decade since we started the Duggar Family Fan Blog. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing the latest Duggar news with our faithful followers from across the globe. Since our first post on December 26th, 2009, our blog has received more than 233 million page views from readers in nearly every country.

We are beyond grateful for each and every one of you, and we are grateful to the Lord for the opportunity he has given us to create a positive online source for Duggar updates.

Happy New Year to all! Here's to 10 more years.

-Lily and Ellie
Bloggers and friends of the Duggars

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Duggar Twins Turn 21

Twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah celebrated their 21st birthday yesterday. Jed owns a car lot in Northwest Arkansas and is running for state representative, while Jer earned his commercial pilot license this year. Happy birthday to these two!

Jedidiah Duggar and Jeremiah Duggar

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Duggar Christmas 2019

To celebrate Christmas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar hosted a big gathering and gift exchange at the "big house." Some of the couples were away for the holidays, but many were able to come. (Josh and Anna Duggar and their kids traveled down to Florida to visit the Kellers, and Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo hosted the Vuolos in Los Angeles.) Below are a few snapshots from the Duggar Christmas extravaganza.

Ivy Seewald and Jennifer Duggar

 Bella Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar

Josie Duggar, Ivy Seewald, Garrett Duggar, Gideon Forsyth, John-David Duggar

Joseph Duggar and Addison Duggar

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Bella's 1st Christmas

Bella Duggar, Christmas 2019

On our Bates blog, we posted a photo of little Willow Balka lying under Josie and Kelton's Christmas tree in East Tennessee, so we thought it would be appropriate to share a similar picture of Bella Duggar in Northwest Arkansas. Bella is almost seven weeks old.

Wishing all our readers a very Merry Christmas! May we take time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday, which is Jesus Christ's birth.

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Jill's New Haircut

Jill's hair before her new cut

 

Jill Dillard just made a drastic change to her appearance. She had a stylist take 14 inches off her hair and plans to donate it to an organization that makes wigs for individuals who have lost their hair. This is a big milestone for Jill, as she has never had that much taken off at one time. Have you ever donated your hair?

Jill's new hairdo

Photos courtesy dillardfamily.com

Duggar #6 Turns 26

Happy 26th birthday to Jinger Vuolo (formerly Jinger Duggar)!

Photos courtesy jingerandjeremy.com, duggarfamily.com

Duggar #18 Turns 11

With six Duggar birthdays in December, sometimes it's hard for us bloggers to keep up! A few days ago, we shared a photos of the three ten-year-olds, Jordyn, Mackynzie, and Josie. Yesterday, Jordyn hit a big miestone and turned 11. Jordyn is a sweet (and very smart) girl with a beautiful heart. Happy birthday, Jordyn!

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Grand-Duggar #17 Coming Soon

As Christmas and New Year's are quickly approaching, so is Abbie Duggar's due date. She is already 36 weeks pregnant, with the baby due around John and Jana's 30th birthday (January 12th). For those who haven't heard, it's a girl, which will bring the Duggar grandchild count up to eight girls and nine boys.

John-David Duggar and Abbie Duggar

Celebrating their 1st anniversary on November 3

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

'Grandma Duggar Remembered' Recap

Counting On "Grandma Duggar Remembered"

• It’s the day of the pregnancy photo shoot. Jana and Grandma, as well as a couple stylists, are helping the ladies get ready. Anna, Kendra, Lauren, and Joy are expecting, while Jessa has week-old Ivy. “She’s pretty happy, so I’m thankful,” says Jessa of her daughter.  
• Abbie is hoping to feel well enough to announce her pregnancy by joining the photo shoot. “…I just prayed and just said, ‘Lord, if you want me at this photo shoot, you’re going to have to get me off this couch,’” says Abbie.
• When Jana drives up and Abbie gets out of the car, the girls all scream. Michelle helps her walk over to the couch, as she is still feeling very nauseous.
• “Six grandbabies in one year is a good start, but the more children that are married, I wouldn’t be surprised if there could be like twelve grandbabies in one years,” says Michelle. “My guess is, this is just the beginning.”
• In Laredo, Jinger and Jeremy are packing up their moving truck, with help from church friends who own a moving company. The moving truck will leave the next day, but the Vuolos plan to stay through the weekend for one last service with their congregation. “We’ve had many amazing memories in this home,” says Jinger.
• “Honestly, we thought we’d be here for many years and didn’t really foresee leaving,” adds Jeremy. “As excited as we are to move to Los Angeles, we’re definitely going to have a bit of sadness as we leave the house here and say goodbye to Laredo.”
• On June 9, the Vuolos are still in Laredo but are no longer in their house, as it has been completely emptied out. They receive a call that Grandma Mary Duggar has passed away. The Vuolos were planning to make the 20-hour drive to LA over a period of days, but they are now headed to Arkansas.
• “Sunday morning, my mom came over to our house,” shares Jim Bob. “She wanted to fix us breakfast, and then she said she wanted to go to church with us, and so she ended up hoping in the car with Jana and a bunch of the kids and headed over to church. And then she came home, she wanted to sit out by the pool. And a lot of times, she would go and put her feet in the water and just kind of rest and relax out by the pool. She’d had a couple of strokes a few months ago, and so her health was a little fragile.”
• “We really feel, believe, that most likely this was another stroke and that she just fell…and happened to be near the pool and fell into the pool after the impact of a hit and scrape and fall,” says Michelle. “And so I’m thankful for Mary’s sake that it was quick, and I pray that there wasn’t a lot of suffering in that.  
• “It was just a shock,” says Jana. “We were just at church. I had driven her there and spent the morning with her…”
• “I think overall, our family is doing pretty well,” says Jim Bob. “We truly believe that when a Christian dies that they go to heaven, which is a wonderful place.”
• After the Vuolos arrive in Arkansas, Michelle and Jinger sit down with the funeral director to discuss Mary’s celebration of life.
• “With Grandma passing, it’s definitely brought our family together,” says Michelle. “I have waves of emotions, and it just hits me when I least expect it. I think I go through days where I’ve really got it pulled together, and then other times, I just can’t pull it together. I was very close with Grandma Duggar. I probably talked to her and probably even saw her about every day.” Michelle lost her mom years ago, and Mary has always been there for her.
• “Grandma was not only our grandmother, but she was also a dear friend to each one of us,” says Jessa. “It didn’t matter who you were, she was Grandma to you. That’s most often how she would introduce herself. She’d say, ‘Hi, I’m Grandma.’ She took a genuine interest in people. She would converse with you in a way that made you feel special and loved and cared about.”
• Mary’s family gets together for a viewing and celebration of life the day before the funeral. Many people speak and share memories. Joseph stands up to talk but can’t because he is crying too hard. Jeremiah gives him a hug, and then Kendra comes up to hold him while he composes himself. He tells the guests that he is reminded of Grandma every time he comes home to the house where he and Kendra live, which used to be Grandma’s house.
• The next day, Kendra’s father, Pastor Caldwell leads the family in prayer before the funeral. At the end of the service, Mary’s loved ones are able to say their last goodbyes before the casket is closed and taken to the graveside, where Jeremy says a few words.
• The following day, the Vuolos say farewell to the family and head out to LA. “It’s really a little sad seeing Jinger and Jeremy leave, but it’s party of life,” says Jim Bob. “Our kids grow up and start their own families, and they’re not all going to just say right here.”

The rest of the season 10 finale features Addison and Bella's birth specials (links to recaps are below).

Addison Duggar Delivery
Bella Duggar Delivery

Season Finale Airs Tomorrow

Season 10 of Counting On kicked off on October 15th with the Duggar date night competition and the Vuolos' trip to Los Angeles to scope out the area, both of which took place in early 2019. Tomorrow, the season ends with Grandma Duggar's heart-wrenching June funeral and Lauren and Kendra's beautiful November birth specials. The two-hour Counting On season finale premieres tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9pm ET/9pm CT.

Photo/video courtesy TLC

Three 10-Year-Old Duggars

Mackynzie Duggar, Josie Duggar, Jordyn Duggar

Every year for a very brief period (eight days, to be exact) three of the Duggar girls are all the same age. Jordyn was born on December 18th, 2008, Mackynzie was born on October 8, 2009, and Josie arrived three months early on December 10, 2009. So between December 10 and 18, all three of these girls are the same age. And they also happen to be best friends.

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Austin Turns 26

Wishing Austin Forsyth a very happy 26th birthday!

Austin Forsyth and Joy Forsyth 

Elk hunting trip October 2019

Precious moments with stillborn Annabell Elise Forsyth

Passed away in June 2019

Austin Forsyth and Gideon Forsyth

June 2019

Austin and Joy

Honeymoon in Kandersteg, Switzerland 2017

Austin Forsyth and Joy-Anna Duggar

Celebrating Austin's 23rd birthday (before marriage)

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

'A Surprise Delivery' Recap

Counting On "A Surprise Delivery"

• While most of the Duggars are in Tennessee at Carlin Bates’ wedding, they receive a text from Ben saying that Jessa’s water has broken. After Jim Bob drops them off at the airport, Josiah and Lauren fly Michelle and Jana back to Arkansas in one of the planes (the “slower” plane).
• “As the mom and the grandma, I really want to be there to assist and be of help when my girls are in labor,” says Michelle.
• “Our birth plan all along through this pregnancy had been to have a hospital birth with a midwife, but the morning that I went into labor, my midwife had left town for the week, so we called a backup midwife, and she came to the house,” explains Jessa. “We’ve done two home births in the past, and I actually love and prefer home births.”
• This particular plane doesn’t have air conditioning, and it’s about 90 degrees. Partway through the flight, Michelle starts throwing up, so Josiah stops for gas and a bathroom break at a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere. “I don’t do well in turbulence,” says the Duggar mom. “I tend to have a sensitive stomach when it comes to motion. Then you add to that heat, and it was quite an awful flight for me.”
• Back in Arkansas, Jill is at the Seewald house with Jessa and Ben helping with labor. Certified Professional Midwife Teresa arrives with her assistant.
• By 5:00, it has been about nine hours since Jessa’s water broke, and she is in active labor and ready to push. Jessa listens to praise music to calm her. Ivy is born on the Seewalds’ couch.
• “Holding a newborn baby for the first time, there’s just this flood of emotions, and I always cry,” says Jessa.
• Post-birth, Jessa is bleeding too much, which is a problem that she had with Spurgeon. At the sight of a big gush of blood, Ben decides to call the paramedics, and Jessa agrees. Jessa is taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and Ben joins her with the baby.
• “It’s standard in the hospital setting for every woman to have two bags of Pitocin, whether or not she needs it, after delivery to help her uterus clamp down and stop bleeding, and I guess I’m one of those women who benefits from that.” Before long, Jessa is feeling much better.
• Ben’s parents bring Spurgeon and Henry to the hospital to meet their sister, and the airplane group arrives soon after.
• Lauren cries as she holds Ivy. Her miscarried baby, Asa, was due on the same day. “I was actually kind of scared to hold the baby,” says Lauren. “I didn’t want to cry, but it’s just too much emotions. It was very hard for me, but it was definitely healing to hold Ivy.”
• Jessa stays overnight at the hospital with Ivy. When the rest of the Duggars return home, they all come over to the Seewalds’ house to meet the new addition. Looking at Ivy’s bow, Spurgeon remarks, “If you take her band off, it’ll be a boy.”
• When the family arrives, Grandma Duggar holds Ivy first because Ivy was born on Grandma’s 78^th birthday.
• When John and Abbie return from a mission trip to the Philippines, Jana goes over to their house to bring flowers from the garden party, which Abbie missed. “I do feel a little bit of a special connection to Jana, just because she’s John’s twin, and twins have this thing that basically nobody else gets,” says Abbie. Jana laughs, claiming that she and John can read each other’s minds.
• Abbie is laying on the couch when Jana comes by. Abbie tells her that she is eight weeks pregnant and is due the week of Jana and John’s 30th birthday (January 12, 2020). Jana is thrilled. “Morning sickness has hit me pretty hard,” says Abbie, who has been admitted to the hospital a couple times due to dehydration.
• “It’s definitely hard watching Abbie in pain and just wishing I could take it away,” says John.
• In Laredo, Jinger is at the hair salon getting blonde balayage (highlights that look more natural and require less maintenance). Jeremy says he is on board with the decision.
• Michelle and the four oldest Duggar daughters share their thoughts on the hairstyles that they experimented with as young adults:
• Jana: “Growing up, I think we all had a similar hairstyle. I did peroxide in my hair one time, and it turned yellow, yellow blonde.”
• Michelle: “And we were all like, ‘What happened to your hair?’ It was awful. She was like, ‘I don’t know why I did that and tried it without asking!’”
• Jessa: “I think that kind of intimidated some of us other girls from branching out and doing anything to our hair.”
• Jinger: “We would get perms, and we would perm each other’s hair. Yes I had a perm, no I did not need it because I had naturally curly hair. Why I did it, I don’t know. I think it was kind of the fad. So everyone was getting a perm, so I got a perm.”
• Why do the Duggars all have long hair? “I think there’s some style preference and some personal conviction, but overall, long hair, I think we’ve just always read in the Scriptures that it’s a glory for a woman to have long hair,” says Michelle. “But I think, each one will have to come to their place when they become an adult.”
• Back at the Vuolo house, Jeremy is watching Felicity while packing up the house. When Jinger walks in the door with her blonde hair, which she loves, Jeremy agrees that it’s beautiful. “I think we’re now officially ready for California,” says Jeremy. “You look like a Cali girl.”
• Jana makes a change to her hair, too. She goes brunette.
• Joe and Kendra have their big ultrasound at the doctor’s office. Christina (Kendra’s mom), Lauren (Kendra’s oldest sibling), and Isaiah (Kendra’s youngest sibling) come along. The doctor gives Lauren an envelope with the gender inside. James and Jennifer help her make a cake.
• The families meet up at a local park for joint gender reveal party and first birthday party for Garrett. Garrett’s smash cake has either pink or blue frosting inside. It takes him a little while to make it to the center. “I think I ended up kind of pushing his hand down a little bit to help him dig in there,” admits Kendra. It’s a girl!

Josie Duggar's Golden Birthday

 Jinger Vuolo, Michelle Duggar, Josie Duggar

October 2019

Has it really been ten years since Josie' Brooklyn Duggar's premature birth? And since today is December 10th, it's her golden birthday. One of our first posts to this blog was about Josie's arrival. She weighed 1 pound 6 ounces and spent months in the hospital in Little Rock. Praise God that she is thriving at age 10!

Josie Duggar

March 2016

Josie Duggar 

June 2012 (cooking with Jill and using a recipe from our blog because they couldn't find their family's copy)

Josie Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar

Mid 2010

Josie Duggar and Michelle Duggar

Early 2010

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Watch Bella's Delivery

Lauren Duggar and Bella Duggar

 

Bella Milagro Duggar is already one month old! TLC just posted two short segments featuring her birth (links and recap below). Be sure to tune in tonight at 9pm ET/8pm CT for a brand new, hour-long episode of Counting On.

Josiah and Lauren's Baby Part 1
Josiah and Lauren's Baby Part 2


Recap
At 11:25am on November 7, Lauren, whose due date is still 10 days away, is having significant contractions, so she and Josiah head to the Swanson home to exercise (lunges and walking on the treadmill and stairs). They return home and then leave for the hospital later that night. Lauren is 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. Lana (Lauren’s mom) and Michelle arrive before midnight. Jill joins them as another support person. Unfortunately, Lauren is having back labor.

Around midnight, Lauren receives an epidural. She starts to feel faint and dizzy, so she lays down. After a while, she is still feeling back pain, so the doctor gives her another epidural.

By 8am on November 8, Lauren is still experiencing painful contractions, so the doctor gives her medication to help her relax and breaks her water. That helps her dilate more, but she is exhausted.

At 4:15pm, Lauren starts to push. Between pushes, she is able to relax well. Bella arrives at 4:24pm, weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and measuring 18.5 inches, after about two days of labor. Before long, Bella’s eyes are wide open, and she happily laying on Lauren’s chest.


Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Felicity Vuolo, Almost 17 Months

At nearly 17 months old, "little" Felicity isn't so little anymore. The Vuolos have been residents of Los Angeles for about six months now, and they say that they have enjoyed exploring all that their new city has to offer. By population, LA is the second largest metropolis in the United States, with New York coming in first.

Jinger Vuolo and Felicity Vuolo

Photo courtesy jingerandjeremy.com

'Five Pregnancies and Counting' Recap

Counting On "Five Pregnancies and Counting" 

• Jana sets up for a garden party that she has planned for the ladies. The weather is questionable, so the brothers put together a wooden arbor indoors and wrap lights around it. After the women arrive, they enjoy snacks in the living room before heading outside to make flower arrangements. Grandma Mary Duggar is present, as this gathering takes place just weeks before she passes away.
• “A lot of times when we do parties, it’s the whole family, which is fun, but it’s also really special to do something like this where it’s just the girls,” says Jessa.
• Jessa predicts that she is about two weeks away from delivering. She says that she has felt better this pregnancy than during her past two. She credits her healthy food choices and the fact that she is making sure to take her vitamins.
• In addition to Jessa, four other Duggars are expecting. Kendra is due November 6, Joy is due November 9, Lauren is due November 17, and Anna is due November 25. “It is kind of hard for us now to keep track of who’s pregnant and who’s not, who’s due date’s first, and what the lineup is,” says Michelle. She suggests getting a picture of all five expectant moms.
• Jessa and Ben take the boys to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, to see the sites of the engagement scavenger hunt that Ben put together for Jessa almost five years ago. They stop at a bakery to grab a quick snack before hopping on the train. Later, they stop by the glass chapel where Ben proposed. “Being back here five years later, in the same location, it’s just crazy how fast time flies,” says Jessa.
• The boys are both asleep in the double stroller, so the Seewalds enjoy a romantic moment, as they relive the moment when Ben got down on one knee. “You’re a wonderful wife and mother,” Ben tells Jessa. “You’re the best,” Jessa replies. “I’m blessed to be married to you.”
• Josiah and Lauren visit the doctor for an ultrasound. They are relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat.
• Lauren was about six weeks along when she miscarried Asa. “It’s very emotional…because every time I go to the doctor, I just get that scared feeling like something’s not right,” says Lauren. Her first month was difficult, as she experienced low progesterone levels. The expectant mom says that Josiah has helped her to be at peace by reminding her that this baby is God’s, not theirs, and that she needs to trust God. Lauren has bloodwork done to determine the baby’s gender.
• Jessa picks up Kendra and 11-month-old Garrett for a play date at the park. Later, the pregnant girls get together at the big house to swap maternity clothes. “It’s pretty expensive to buy maternity clothes,” says Lauren. “It almost feels like they purposely mark it up higher because they know we have to buy different sizes so often.”
• Some of the clothing items are not maternity, so Jana adds ruching (a piece of elastic on the sides) to accentuate the girls’ bumps. “[Jana] is the Jana of all trades, instead of the Jack of all trade” says Anna.
• “I like being pregnant, but I enjoy not having to suck in all the time,” says Joy. “I can actually be proud of my belly.”
• Lauren’s mom and sister Lily host a gender reveal party for Lauren and Josiah. All the Duggars come over and munch on food in the Swansons’ beautiful yard. There are a bunch of black balloons filled with white confetti and one filled with either pink or blue confetti.
• As the couple starts popping balloons to find the one with the gender announcement, one of the balloons gets loose and floats into the sky. When all the balloons have been popped, they assume that the one that got away was the one with the colored confetti, and they start to worry that they won’t ever find out the gender. But Lily comes out of the house with one more balloon. Everyone thinks it’s ironic that she was able to prank Josiah, who is usually the one playing the pranks.
• The confetti is pink--it’s a girl! “I’m going to wake up early tomorrow and go shopping and buy the cutest little outfit!” exclaims Lana Swanson, Lauren’s mom.
• If you guessed that Lauren and Josiah are going with an alphabet theme, you were right. Their miscarried baby was Asa, and this one’s name will be Bella Milagro, meaning “beautiful miracle.” The Swansons also have a name theme. Lauren and her mom and sisters have names that start with “l,” while Lauren’s dad and brothers have names that start with “d.”
• On May 26, Jessa’s water breaks two weeks before her due date. Most of the Duggars are in Tennessee for Carlin Bates’ wedding, and Jessa’s nurse midwife is gone. Labor starts off slow, so Jill comes over and suggests taking a couple tablespoons of castor oil to get things going. Jessa’s contractions start to pick up. Michelle and Jana are one their way home.