Introducing Baby Evelyn

Joy and Austin Forsyth just announced the name of their precious, six-day-old baby girl! Evelyn Mae Forsyth. "Evy" joins older brother Gideon, who just turned two-and-a-half.

Evelyn Mae Forsyth

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

'The Best Duggar Christmas Pageant Ever' Recap

Counting On "The Best Duggar Christmas Pageant Ever"

• The Duggars throw their second annual ugly sweater party. Some family members go all out and wear full “ugly” outfits. Everyone votes for the weirdest costume (James wins), cutest costume (Jana wins), most creative costume (Josiah and Lauren win), and ugliest costume (Justin wins).
• Jim Bob is proud to take a photo of the three newest babies and their moms. Addison and Bella arrived in early November, and Maryella is just a week old.
• “I hope this tradition will continue, which I think it will,” says Jana. “It’s just a fun time bringing all the family together. You can’t go wrong with that.”
• In California, the Vuolos cut down a Christmas tree at a farm outside Los Angeles. Growing up, Jinger’s family only had a live tree one year, and they planted it in their backyard at the end of the season. “We try to keep the focus on the birth of Christ, but we definitely like to pull out the lights, the Christmas tree, big wreaths,” says Jessa.
• When the Vuolos make it home with their tree, it’s time to decorate. The finished product is beautiful.
• The older kids, who grew up doing Christmas plays in their front yard and at their church, are organizing a pageant for the grandchildren and younger kids. The play is two days away, and they are just starting to rehearse.
• Jim Bob gets down on his hands and knees to play the donkey. Jackson and Johannah are Joseph and Mary. Jordyn and Mackynzie are the angels. Tyler is the king. Michael is the scribe. Jason, James, and Justin are the wisemen. Jennifer, Josie, and Mason are the shepherds. Spurgeon starts off as Gabriel, but he asks to join the other toddlers as a sheep because they get to eat graham crackers.
• On the night of the pageant, family and friends gather to watch. The performance takes place at a one-room schoolhouse/church building that Jana renovated. It was built in the 1800s, and this is the first event to be held post-renovation.
• The play goes pretty well. The scene where Johannah rides Jim Bob the donkey down the aisle is a bit choppy, as Johannah steps on Jim Bob’s costume. “I think I found my niche in life,” says Jim Bob. “I love making people laugh.” The snacks left for the sheep on stage help them stay in one place for a short time, but they do end up wandering.
• Joseph leads a carol singalong, and then Jessa presents Jim Bob and Michelle with a gift that all the kids have been working on. Jessa took pictures of all the grandkids using white backgrounds and then edited them to look fancy. Jim Bob and Michelle are tickled. “Pops and I have said…the greatest joy is to watch our children have children, and so this is definitely the multiplication process right here, y’all,” says Michelle.

Baby Girl Forsyth v. Gideon Forsyth

Baby Girl Forsyth is four days old. Joy and Austin still haven't revealed her name, but we thought we would share this adorable photo. Do you think she resembles Gideon? How about the other two Duggar babies pictured below? The Duggar genes certainly are strong!

 

Baby Girl Forsyth

 

Newborn Gideon Forsyth

 

Newborn Maryella Duggar

 

Newborn Meredith Duggar

 

Photos courtesy duggarfamily.com

Baby Girl Forsyth is Here!

Joy (Duggar) Forsyth and Austin Forsyth

Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth welcomed their baby girl two days past due. She arrived safely on August 21st, 2020, weighing 8 lbs 5oz and measuring 19.5 inches long. The new addition was born at the hospital according to plan, and we think she looks just like older brother Gideon. If you think this birth announcement seems a little incomplete, you are correct. You are likely wondering what name the parents chose. Well, that information has not yet been shared. We will let you know as soon as we find out. Photos are available on the TLC website.

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Baby Forsyth #2 is Past Due

Joy and Austin Forsyth are on baby watch! Their daughter's due date was yesterday, which means she could literally arrive at any time. How adorable is this photo of the pregnant mama and her son, who will be two-and-a-half in three days?

Joy-Anna Forsyth and Gideon Forsyth

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

Duggar Grandchild #20

Addison Duggar and Garrett Duggar

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will soon have more grandchildren than they have biological children. That's right, the 20th Duggar grandchild is on the way! Who is the lucky couple? We will give you a hint: This will be the third Duggar sibling to have a family of five. Okay, that doesn't narrow it down all the way. We'll just tell you: It's Joe and Kendra! 

Garrett Duggar was born in June 2018, and Addison Duggar arrived almost 17 months later in November 2019. Joseph Duggar, who will turn 26 before the due date, and Kendra Duggar, who just turned 22, are expecting Baby #3 in February 2021, so this time, there will only be a 15-month gap.

Will this little one be a boy or a girl? Stay tuned! Visit the TLC website to watch an announcement video from the expectant parents and see their photo shoot. 

Photo courtesy joeandkendra.com

'Highs and Lows' Recap

Counting On "Highs and Lows"

• The night that Jinger and Jeremy announced their pregnancy to the family, Jinger started having symptoms of a possible miscarriage. The next morning, an ultrasound revealed that the baby had passed away.
• “Not having walked through this before but talking to others who have walked through it, I think the woman definitely can take it harder for the sense that she was carrying that life within her, and she was sustaining that life physically,” says Jeremy. “So as difficult as it was for me, I was just thinking it’s got to be that much more difficult for her. I just wanted to be a comfort to her.”
• Later, Jeremy pulls off a surprise birthday party for Jinger. “I just wanted to celebrate Jinger with some of her closest friends and family,” he says. Jeremy sets up tables and chairs at the Mahoney home.
• While Jinger (along with Felicity and a friend) attends an iPhone photography workshop, Jeremy meets up with the Duggars at their hotel. Jim Bob, Michelle, Ben, Jessa, Ivy, and Jana, along with Laura DeMaise, have come in from Arkansas. Michelle is really looking forward to spending time with Jinger and comforting her after her miscarriage.
• As Jinger learns how to take great iPhone photos and how to develop them in a dark room, Jeremy is getting last minute things together for the party. The Vuolos meet back at home, and Jeremy tells Jinger that he is going to take her on a date, so she puts on her new dress and curls her hair. They leave Felicity with a babysitter, and Jeremy puts a blindfold over Jinger’s face.
• Back at the Mahoney house, the Duggars are helping set up, and the classical musicians are practicing. When Jinger and Jeremy arrive, the musicians start playing ‘Happy Birthday.” Jinger sees a group of friends, and then the Duggars come out to greet the birthday girl.
• “I want Jinger to know how much people love and appreciate her,” says Jeremy. “She’s an incredible woman, and she’s incessantly selfless, always caring about others and pouring out and serving and using her time and energy to love others.” At the party, friends and family share words about Jinger. Jinger presents his wife with a custom painting of Jinger and Felicity.
• “The picture really caught Jinger’s heart of loving Felicity, being such a good mom and nurturing her,” says Jim Bob. “It was just so special.”
• “This is the best birthday party I’ve ever had,” says Jinger.
• The next day, Michelle, Jessa, and Jana take Jinger out for coffee to show their love and support following the loss of the baby. The miscarriage had happened about a week earlier. Michelle knows that different couples grieve differently, and she always asks her children how she can best help them in times of struggle. “You mean the world to us,” Michelle tells Jinger.
• In Arkansas, Jessa and the kids take Ben to Vold Vision to have laser eye surgery so he will not need to wear glasses anymore. The procedure goes very well, and Ben is thrilled with the results.
• Meanwhile, John and Abbie get together with Joy and Austin for a carriage ride to see Christmas lights. Abbie is six weeks away from her due date, and she and John ask for words of wisdom. “It is really strange giving my older brother parenting advice,” says Joy-Anna.

Highs and Lows

Michelle Duggar and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald

An all-new episode of Counting On airs tonight on TLC. The Vuolos grieve the loss of their baby, and some of the Duggars fly out to Los Angeles to be with them. Jeremy also throws a huge surprise party for Jinger to celebrate the wonderful woman that she is. And Ben has surgery to correct his vision. 

If you have login credentials through your TV service provider, you can watch the show right now on the TLC website.

Tuesday, August 18
8pm ET/7pm CT: A Beautiful Miracle
9pm ET/8pm CT: Highs and Lows NEW!

 

Photo courtesy TLC

Gracie and Aunt Jana

Grace Duggar and Jana Duggar

Do you recognize this sweet girl sitting next to Jana? We'll give you a hint: She's seven months old, and she's the daughter of Jana's twin brother. What a cute little baby Grace is!

Photo courtesy duggarfamily.com

'A Beautiful Miracle' Recap

Counting On "A Beautiful Miracle"

• Eleven days before their due date, Lauren and Josiah are making sure they have their hospital bags packed, as Lauren’s contractions are picking up. They head over to the Swanson home to walk on the treadmill and the stairs. The parents-to-be invite Jill to be part of the labor. They head to the hospital at 5:45pm to find that Lauren is 3cm dilated and 80% effaced.
• Lauren’s birth team consists of Josiah, Michelle, Lauren’s mom, and Jill. When she hits 6cm, Lauren’s back labor is very intense, so she gets an epidural, which wasn’t part of her plan. The epidural doesn’t work well, so the doctor gives her a second one about two hours later.
• “I definitely can sympathize with Lauren with the back labor that she is experiencing,” says Michelle. “I’ve gone through that a few times, and I know, that is really uncomfortable.”
• Her back pain is still not completely gone, so Lauren receives a drug to help her sleep. Meanwhile, the Seewalds put together a care package for the new parents.
• Back at the hospital, Lauren’s contractions slow down. The doctor gives her Pitocin but says that she will need a C-section if things don’t progress. Before long, she is able to push, and Bella arrives! “It was such a joy for my heart to see Josiah and Lauren holding little Bella in their arms,” says Michelle. 
• “Going through a loss and then holding a child that you’ve been waiting for is probably the greatest thing you could ever feel,” says Lauren. On the day that Lauren is discharged from the hospital, Jim Bob and Michelle come to help her and Josiah pack up.
• At Joe and Kendra’s home, one-week-old Addison is doing very well. Garrett has been a bit jealous, but he enjoys giving the baby kisses.
• In Los Angeles, Jinger, who is 10 weeks pregnant, is baking a pregnant gingerbread cookie. The rest of the Duggar clan is making gingerbread houses at the big house for family night, so the Vuolos join via video chat and share their news. “You know the problem with this?” Jeremy says to Jinger. “We’re not going to be able to make one as pretty as you.
• During family night, the teams have one hour to build their gingerbread houses. “Building and decorating our house was a challenge,” says Jana. She turns the project over to Jim Bob. As Jana carries the finished product over to the computer to show the Vuolos, it falls over.
• Jason and James make a ship, and they use a hot glue gun and a drill.
• When the family sees Jinger and Jeremy’s pregnant Jinger bread, it takes them a minute to figure it out. Michelle is just really impressed by the detail. When she realizes what it means, she and Jim Bob are all smiles.