Seasons

As a parent, you quickly come to understand that seasons don't just apply to the weather! There are gorgeous seasons, and harsh ones, and they all come and go just as do Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Max is in a tumultuous season right now. He can be so bright and cheerful one moment, and then angry and tempestuous the next. We're getting into the separation anxiety stage, so while I remember what's coming (and to be honest I dread it a little), I also remember that it won't last forever. It will give way to a new season, filled with new challenges, but also new things to enjoy.

He's cooing and making so many new sounds, and loves to hear his own voice. He lights up when we imitate a sound he's made, and responds with even more vigorous vocalizations. He started rolling both front-to-back and back-to-front before he was even 3 months old, and now he's a pro. He can roll from back to tummy in the blink of an eye, although he's usually not that happy to find himself that way. He wants to MOVE. He can already dig his little feet into the floor, push his bottom up into the air and propel himself forward on his belly. I fully expect he may be army crawling by 5 months. It's crazy, really. He watches Amy constantly, and we think that's the reason behind his intense desire to be mobile.

He's exploring textures, grabbing and mouthing toys, and chewing on his hands. I wonder if he will be a late teether like Amy or if, like everything else, he'll do that earlier too. He loves pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo. Being spoken or sung to are pretty high up on his list of Things That Are Awesome. He's an ambidexterous thumb-sucker just like Amy was (and still is!).

And Amy. She's practically speaking in paragraphs now. Her understanding and comprehension are sharp as a tack and she just loves to have our undivided attention. She's definitely a drama queen, as most 2-year-old girls tend to be. Whining is big right now, much to our frustration, but like anything else, it's only a season. She still adores Max, and I really hope she and Max will be close as they grow. She can't give him enough hugs, kisses, and love, and I think she'll be delighted when he can finally follow her around and interact with her. I think we'll still see some jealousy when he's able to play with "her" toys, but hopefully she'll continue to be loving and gentle to him as she is now.

As she continues to grow it's a lot of fun to see how our interaction with her changes. She's always busy and loves to learn new things. She loves to sing songs, and now knows most of her basic nursery rhymes by heart. She recognizes several letters, and we're working on numbers. She can sing her ABC's and count to 12.

We continue nightly prayer time, and she knows most of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. George is excited to start teaching her how to pray the Rosary. I think she'll be able to understand a little more about Christmas this year, and we're excited to celebrate in South Carolina with my family.

I'll post some pictures in the next post, but at least now I'm caught up on the kids! We've had a very enjoyable fall...so I've got lots of posts up my sleeve!

Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful colors of Fall!

4 Weeks

I can't believe it's been almost a month since Max was born! While there have definitely been those sleepless moments when time seems to go slowly, for the most part it's sped by.

Amy is still doing great with Max, and is always near him, talking to him and loving on him. It's definitely my favorite part of being the mom of two.

Max has been a little challenging for me because he wants to be held so much and didn't nap very well during the day. We've been struggling to solve his issues with gas (related to breastfeeding - forceful letdown that causes him to gulp a lot of air, and a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance), and he definitely has the whole "witching hour" fussies.

But he started intentional smiles in his third week (and only does it for me! lol)...weeks before Amy's first smiles. He really loves to see everything, and is always trying to hold up his head to look around. We found a solution to his daytime naps (the bouncer in the picture, paired with the Miracle Blanket), and he loves bathtime.

We adore him more every day, and can't imagine our lives without him.

Growing pains

I've been saying a lot of prayers lately that I will remember the sacrificial nature of motherhood. While initially it's tempting to ask for things to be easier, I try and ask to be mindful of my children and that they are gifts given to us, and not burdens. In the day-to-day, it's easy for me to get too wrapped up in the lack of sleep, lack of routine, and the new challenges of two vs. one. I end up in a place where I start resenting my role as mother and caregiver...something I chose and wholeheartedly know to be my vocation.

But I've been reminded during those times of prayer that just because this is my vocation doesn't mean it's the easiest road. It's the road with the most grace, yes. It's the road with the most rewarding moments imaginable. And it's the road with the most challenges, but challenges that were designed to help me get to Heaven.

So I'm learning - much more with two than I did with one - to pray more. I'm learning to rely more on grace, and to ask for it. I'm learning to recognize opportunities to improve and grow as a mother, and as a child of God. And I'm learning to be thankful for these two precious gifts, even (and especially) in the most challenging moments of my day.

Amy and Max

I admit I was apprehensive about how Amy would adapt to Max once he arrived. We talked about baby Max for months, and I think we prepared her pretty well for the eventuality that Max would be part of our lives outside of Mommy's tummy. But you just never know how a toddler is going to react to such a big change.

I shouldn't have worried. Amy adores Max. She's a typical toddler, never quite aware of what each of her limbs is doing at any given moment, but we can see the effort she makes to be so gentle when she approaches her brother. She adopted that "parentese" way of speaking to him from the first, and she loves to be close to him and hold him. It just makes my heart soar when I see her face when she's looking at him. Yesterday, she proclaimed to Daddy "I love him!", at which point I about melted into a puddle from the sweetness.

I know that in no time at all she'll be bossing him around, but I hope that she stays just as loving and gentle with him for a long time to come.

Max's Birth Story

My labor with Max started with 3 days of early labor. On Thursday the 21st, I started with light contractions about every 8 minutes. I noticed them and they showed up on my non-stress test in the doc's office, but I didn't really have to concentrate through them at that point. Overnight into Friday, they got more intense and frequent, but would taper off when I took a bath...which was an indication that things were not yet underway. All day Friday, they continued at a little higher intensity than they were on Thursday. I went to the chiropractor, and to the play gym with my mom and Amy. Overnight into Saturday the scenario of the previous night played out again. I really wasn't getting a whole lot of sleep, since the contractions would amp up during the night. Saturday, I started having to concentrate through a few, but toward the evening they started spacing back out.

Saturday evening, I talked to my doula, Kay, who was just getting back into town from a conference in Atlanta. She told me to remember that every woman is different, and active labor might not be the textbook 4-1-1 (4 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute, for at least 1 hour) for every woman.

Around 10pm Saturday night, the contractions were getting and staying stronger, after they had lagged and faded somewhat through the afternoon. They were still about 10-12 minutes apart though, so I didn't think much of it. I had a late snack and tried to go to bed. Around midnight, I had to wake George up to start counterpressure on my back during the contractions. They trucked along at 5 minutes apart for about 50 minutes, and then spaced back out to 10 minutes. I was really annoyed by that, because I had started thinking we were finally getting somewhere! So we decided to try and get some more sleep. I woke up to every contraction for the next couple hours, and finally around 3:30 they were getting so intense I had to get up and sit on the birth ball with George applying counterpressure again. Once again, we trucked along at 4 minutes apart for 50 minutes, and then they spaced back out again. This time, though, they were 10 minutes apart but the strongest I had had so far. I decided to call Kay and see what she thought. She reminded me again that it's different for everyone, and asked what my gut was telling me. I said I thought it was time to go to the hospital. So that's what we set out to do.

At this point I was starting to feel very nauseous and got sick before we left.

We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, and when they checked me I was relieved to hear that I was 6.5 cm dilated! That was huge for me, since I never made it past 4cm with Amy.



Once at the hospital with Kay and George, we walked, I used the tub, and I got doses of antibiotics since I was Group B strep positive. God provided the best of nurses for me, Heather, who had just finished studying to be a midwife. This was a huge blessing, because not many other nurses would have been so patient over the next several hours. Labor kept intensifying, my water broke in the early afternoon, and for a long time I didn't dilate any further, even though my body was changing in other ways. My cervix was moving from posterior to anterior, I was effacing, and Max was moving down. I'm so thankful I had Kay there to explain to me that dilation isn't the only progress to be made. It was fairly discouraging to hear 7cm after several hours, and I was starting to block myself mentally from getting any further. Kay and George encouraged me to stay upright, which was really tough because the contractions were ridiculously painful that way, and I would sometimes have as many as 6 in a row with almost no break in between. Finally, after about 45 minutes of vertical positions, I couldn't take it anymore, and asked for an epidural. It was hard for me to go that route, because I desperately wanted a natural childbirth, but after almost 4 days of contractions and 20 hours of active labor, I was more exhausted than I had ever been.

Heather checked me before the epidural, and I had made it to 8cm! I was relieved that all those awful contractions during the previous hour had done something!

Once the epidural was in place, I could finally get a little rest. And it only took another 30 minutes for me to be complete (10 cm)! Kay and I discussed it later, and she said she was glad I got the epidural. She suspected that a lot of my emotional and mental blocks from Amy's labor were slowing things down, and that once my body (and my mind!) could relax, everything could move along more quickly.

Heather wanted me to labor down (where they have me sit upright to help the baby come down even further) before trying to push. So we did that for a while, and then the nursing shift changed, and my new nurse wanted me to start pushing. I was having "hot spots" of pain through the epidural, and I could definitely feel pain in my belly while pushing, but fortunately none below that. I felt like it hurt everywhere in between pushes. It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever physically done.

After almost 2 hours of pushing, my doctor delivered Max at 9:24pm. He told me later he was impressed and glad that I had managed the VBAC, and I thanked him for being so willing to wait so much longer than usual for Max to come on his own.

God provided us with so many graces along this road, not the least of which was finding the right doula in Kay (and that Max waited until she was back in town to be born!!). We would not have had the confidence to get through all those hours without her, and she and George made the perfect team. I really owe this VBAC to her. :)

Heather was another grace. She was willing to let me go on intermittent monitoring, which they don't like to do with VBACs, and I knew she wanted that VBAC for us as badly as we did. When I saw her the next day, I thanked her profusely, and she gave me a huge hug and said how badly she had wanted to be there when Max was born, but that she was so excited for us that we had been able to have the VBAC.

This recovery has been a totally different experience. I felt so free and relaxed even the next morning after Max was born. I am SO thankful that God allowed us to have this experience. Even though I didn't manage a natural childbirth, there isn't anything I regret or question about Max's birth. It was just what I hoped for.

Cherishing these moments

Time. When it comes to kids, it always seems to be speeding by. My daughter is almost two years old. She amazes, challenges, and amuses me every day. She is hilarious and smart, and ends up in timeout at least 20 times a day (usually a lot more!).

And yet, I find myself feeling so bittersweet about these last few weeks before her brother is born. While I'm so excited to begin our lives as a family of four, I feel her babyhood slipping further and further away. And every day that we get to spend just the two of us feels like a little treasure that I'll get to hold in my heart forever.

I know she probably won't remember much about this summer, just because she's so young, but I hope she knows and feels how much I love this time with her. I hope we can create memories that I can keep and recount to her when she's older.

People keep telling me to relax and take it easy. But I don't want that to be how I spend this time. We go to the pool, to open gym time, to the park, and we are out and about every day. We talk, and giggle, and cuddle. These are our last days when she will be my "only", my baby. And I'm loving each and every minute.

Healing from a c-section...more than just physical

When I talk to people who have never had a c-section about the emotional healing I've had to do, there is usually some look of confusion or even disgust. I get the "well, your baby is here and healthy, so what else matters?" attitude. Make no mistake, having emotional scars from my c-section doesn't mean I am any less grateful for my beautiful daughter, or the fact that she got here safely. I am grateful not to have encountered anything dangerous during or after her birth. But that doesn't erase what was lost. It doesn't minimize the feeling of failure.

In my particular situation, my body never progressed past 4 cm. I never contracted well on my own, and my body didn't even really respond to pitocin. Sure, I spent 24 hours "in labor", but nothing happened. I was labeled "failure to progress" and have spent the better part of the last 2 years trying to understand why that happened. Why my body failed at the most basic and essential job it was designed for. It made me feel like less of a woman. To not be capable of bringing my child into the world? Failure.

I saw my daughter's first hour of life in pictures. There was no squirming baby placed on my chest, no looking into her face as she took her first breaths. I heard her first cry from behind a curtain. There was no watching my husband cut the umbilical cord, or getting to count her fingers and toes. I was paralyzed and cut open, staring at the ceiling of an operating room. I wasn't the one to change her diapers in the hospital, I wasn't the one who got to be with her during her newborn tests. I had to have someone hand her to me, I couldn't go to her.

Physically, it's hard for other women to understand what a c-section means, too. Having someone you barely know shave you to prep you for surgery, being naked on a table in front of a team of strangers, staying in bed until you can feel your legs again, someone having to help you shower. I couldn't get out of bed in the middle of the night to pick up or change my daughter. It leaves a physical scar that never goes away, and will have an effect on every single birth you have after that.

All of those things most people take for granted. I would have given anything to be able to have all of those moments, even the poopy diapers. I was embarassed by the physical challenges.

So no, for me a c-section is not "just another was to give birth" or "no big deal". It comes with a lot of emotional and physical baggage, a lot of why's and why not's.

When I got pregnant with this baby, I found a lot of those emotions welling up again. Those same feelings of failure came flooding back, along with fear. Fear of another potential surgery, fear that my body would fail again, fear of trying to VBAC.

I realized I had to come to terms with Amy's birth, and get past these things...I had to heal emotionally. And for me, that meant learning. I threw myself into learning as much as I could about VBACs and c-sections. I educated myself about the risks of both a VBAC and a repeat c-section. I learned things about the state of our medical system today, and how most doctors don't even follow the recommendations of their own organization (ACOG), when it comes to what they recommend to their patients for birth after c-section. Our society has gotten so sue-happy that doctors are afraid to allow women to try VBACs, even though it is regarded as the safest method of birth after c-section. I learned about the benefits of vaginal birth for the babies themselves, and about the importance of the baby's position during pregnancy and labor. I learned more about labor and the textbook "definitions" applied to it. I read, and absorbed, and asked questions.

I thought I was prepared for labor and birth with Amy, and now I feel more than that...I feel informed. I feel like I can make choices and decisions regarding my prenatal care, and even the treatment I receive in labor. I read my operative report yesterday, and found out that Amy was posterior (or "sunny side up"). Having the understanding I do now about fetal positioning, I know that many more of these babies are delivered by c-section, and many are labeled failure to progress because they can't move down into the pelvis well enough to help with dilation. But I've also learned that posterior babies can be helped to turn during labor, that women don't always experience back labor, and that the common "interventions" used in labor these days are not always necessary.

More than anything, I finally feel like I didn't fail. And that was the biggest hurdle of all.

I still want this VBAC. I still want to have all those experiences of a vaginal birth. I still want to know that my body can give birth the way God designed it to. But I also know now that if it doesn't go that way, it's ok. I have truly done everything I can to prepare myself. I will not feel as though I didn't do enough. I will not feel like I failed.

Frogs and Snails, and Puppy Dog's Tails...

We had our 20-week ultrasound today. I watched nervously as the tech scanned all the important parts and functions of our baby's little body. I never can quite breathe a sigh of relief until the tech visibly relaxes and I know all is well with our little one.

All things seem to be in order, and developing right on schedule! We also took a peek at the gender of our newest family member...it was several peeks actually, because the cord was in the way, right between the legs. But in the end, the tech confirmed that we are having a BOY! And yes, she's sure it wasn't just the cord. :)

He's measuring just right for my due date of July 13th. There are no cysts to be seen, and the placenta is attached in the posterior position. I'm hoping to try for a VBAC, so the location of the placenta is a big deal. It's a little closer to the cervix than they'd like, but it tends to migrate upward as pregnancy progresses, so they'll recheck at 32 weeks to make sure it's out of the way enough to try that VBAC.

It still feels kind of surreal to call this baby a "him". Before we had Amy I would have been totally content to have a house full of boys! But after having her, I had a hard time imagining having anything but girls! Funny how that works!

Most of all, I know God is designing our family in just the way He intends it. I'm excited to have a whole new set of firsts with a whole new member of our family, and to raise a brand new human being to honor and serve his Creator.

Family

I don't know how a lot of people classify their college experiences, but I do know how I remember mine...it was a home.

Our music department was so much more than a branch of our college, it was a genuine family. The bonds we formed, the trust we placed in each other as we worked and struggled and gave so much of ourselves in our performances, and the caring we felt from so many sides have all made a huge impact on me. I have often recounted how blessed I felt to attend a small, close-knit college like Simpson, and be a part of a department with such a rich history and reputation.

This morning, I found out that my voice teacher, Maria, is entering hospice care and is not expected to live much longer. For those of you unfamiliar with voice studios, I can only describe them as your home base. The place you seek encouragement, feedback, and honesty. Where you know you will be pushed beyond what you feel you are capable of, but will also have your teacher and studio-mates right there with you. Your teacher guides you in your professional choices, and you trust him/her to direct you wisely. It's an intense relationship, but one that serves for your betterment.

Maria has been a part of Simpson's Music Department for many, many years. She has always been quite the style icon at Simpson, and well-known for her remarkable taste in shoes :) There isn't a day that I can recall when she wasn't dressed to the nines. When I was there she was the Chair of the department. After my freshman year, when my first Simpson voice teacher left the school, I had to try and figure out which studio would be a good fit for me. I was blessed in that first teacher, in that I learned a lot about what I needed in a teacher, which was someone who would push me, and not allow me to give only half, or be content to be on the sidelines. That was Maria. My first year in her studio, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was remarkably resilient, and by the following year, was on the mend. A couple of years ago, I heard that her cancer had returned, but that's all I really knew.

While I was in grad school, another of the Simpson voice teachers passed away after her own battle, and she also had been a faculty member for several years. So to now know that we will likely lose Maria too feels a little like our family is falling apart. It's the way of the world, and the relentless march of time, but it's still very hard. So much has changed there in the last 6 years that I'm not sure I would recognize my home, but those familiar faces of the faculty were what made it enduring. I can only hope that I will be able to go to Iowa for a funeral, and celebrate this remarkable woman...wearing my very best high heels.

What I Love About Toddlers: Sarcasm Edition.

1. I love when my toddler shrieks as loud as she can - and at the highest pitch imaginable - when she is frustrated. Such a sweet, sweet sound.

2. I love that if I have to leave the room, she goes straight for the wipes, climbing over any obstacle in her way, so that I can return to the room with a huge pile of individual wipes to put back in the container. She knows how much I love to do that.

3. I especially love #2 right after I have refilled the wipes container. It makes for maximum cleanup. She's so considerate.

4. I love that I have to put my toddler in timeout 80 times a day for throwing heavy toys onto the floor. While staring straight at me.

5. I love how my toddler eats her food one crumb at a time. She's so dainty.



There will be a sincere edition. But not today.

Why?

Today started out really well! Its a great day...the sun is shining, its a decent 50 degrees outside, but then I made a mistake. I asked for help.

Why do people who are always saying they "just want to help" make it so, SO hard for you when you actually take them up on it?

George and I work really hard to be independent, that's true. We want to be self-sufficient, and not have to depend on others for help. It doesn't mean we want to be above needing help, just that we know we should be able to do a lot of things on our own, and not develop a habit of never dealing with our own stuff.

I'm firmly in the camp of "Sometimes you've got to put on your big kid pants and DEAL with it". But that doesn't mean there won't be times when we need a favor. We try to make those times rare, so that we don't take advantage of anyone, and we offer our help and services to others freely and without expectation of having the favor returned.

But maybe we've gone too far to the extreme in our independence. I guess the fault could lie with us, too. I don't know.

It just...wasn't a great encounter this morning. But I think I should put on my big girl pants and just enjoy the rest of this day! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I like all these little blog things that help people (i.e. me) with what to post! Here's a new one (and yes, mom, it's more than just a picture) that I've seen a bunch on other blogs I read. Thought I'd try it out today!

*Disclaimer: A lot of what I'm loving right now is about food. I'm pregnant. It's the way it is.

1. Sandra Boynton books: Amy just loves these, and so do I! It's fun as a parent to enjoy the books you read to your kids. I love how witty and silly these books are, and someday I want to have the whole collection!

2. Stacy's Pita Chips: particularly the Parmesan Garlic & Herb and the Cinnamon Sugar. I love these because they don't have a hint of soy to be found in their ingredients, and they're so filling that even an 8oz bag lasts me for a while.

3. Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream: (I had an image and then I tried to backspace a word and it disappeared. It was way more work than should be acceptable to get it on here in the first place, so I'm not fixing it)

This ice cream was a staple in my house from the time I was a little kid (my dad still eats this ice cream with orange sherbet). I'm more of a chocolate Breyer's girl myself, but the other day I was suddenly hit with a strong craving for vanilla Breyer's and chocolate syrup (which of course I mix up until blended. duh.)

So. Yum.

4. Smallcakes, A Cupcakery: This is a local business that has gotten big press with the chef being on cable's Cupcake Wars and The View (they're Whoopi's fave cupcakes). But they started right here in the metro and tomorrow a store opens right here in my suburb of KC!!! I am pumped. I drove to Olathe, KS the other day to get their special Valentine's Day box (Red Velvet, Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Fudge, and Pink Champagne). Delish. Worth the drive, but I'll be glad to have one 5 minutes from me too!

So that's what I'm loving today! What are YOU loving today?

Is it dinner time yet?

I'm making a crock pot roast today. This was a super awesome idea many moons ago when we were young, childless and working/going to school outside of our home everyday. Homemade dinner! When we arrive home! As if by magic!

Now that we've procreated and I am home with Amy (and S and T) all day, I am beginning to think this crock pot thing was a very, VERY bad idea. For all of you who have been pregnant, you're aware of the heightened sense of smell. Now imagine, if you will, being pregnant and cooking a nice, hearty, meat-and-potatoes dinner...All. Day. Long. Here's a little sample of what my train of thought has looked like today:


10:00 am: Mmmm...that smells so good.

10:00:37: Is it 5:00 yet?

10:01: (baby moves) Hi sweet thing!

10:02: Seriously, it has to have been another 7 hours by now...

10:03: maybe I can have some roast rare for lunch? George probably won't notice if I cut off a chunk or two. Or ten. Right?

10:05: (takes lid off pot and gazes longingly at cooking roast) Maybe I'd better check the clocks to make sure they're still working...

When I've not been playing with/feeding children, this has been my thought process. Seriously, I've somehow arranged a little torture chamber for myself here. Not a wise move.

I wish I knew a way around it, but alas, I don't have the free time toward the end of the day to chop veggies, sear a roast and watch it on the stove for 2-3 hours.

Next time, this will be a weekend meal, when I can escape from the house and try to forget the sumptuous meal cooking in the pot.

Is it dinner time yet?

No damsels in distress here...

I've always been grateful to the men in my life who saw how important it was for me to know how to deal with mishaps.

My husband taught be long before we married how to change a tire all by myself, and my dad spent hours teaching me how to drive on ice and snow in empty snow-covered parking lots. I still think of my dad's lessons every time I go out in the snow. And I've put George's lessons to work for a friend in college when she had a flat. I've gotten down on the ground in a skirt to change my own tire, too. I have to say I'm proud that I have the confidence to handle some basic challenges that come my way.

Yesterday was another of those situations. Our Honda, as a result of catching the front bumper on the driveway, had a flap underneath that had come loose. The first time it happened (about 6 months ago) I heard a loud flapping while driving on the highway. I was only a mile from a Honda dealership. They checked it out and said they just zip-tied that flap back to the bumper. So yesterday, when I heard that tell-tale noise, I knew what to do. I hit up a Home Depot, bought some zip-ties and got down on the ground in the (wet...thanks to the snow melting) parking lot (in all my pregnant glory) to fasten that flap back up. And the ride home was quiet and flap-free.

I hope we can teach our daughter(s) how to be independent and self-sufficient, and I'm grateful to my dad and husband who encourage me to be knowledgable about such things.

Thanks, guys.

Lately

What have we been up to? Not a whole lot, really. I seem to come up with witty blog posts as I'm drifting off to sleep and then in the morning I can't seem to put them as well as I had hoped.

I dread being a boring blogger, but I guess I have to remember that this is really just a way to log our memories, right?

Amy is growing like a weed. She had her 18 month appt last week and her stats are:
Weight: 25.5 lbs - 70th %
Height: 32 in - 55th %

Since her struggles to gain weight between 4 and 6 months, she's been solidly in the 5oth % for weight, so I was glad to see that she's still growing well. She hasn't reached that picky toddler eating stage yet, thankfully.

It's funny to see her height be so average when everyone we meet remarks on how tall she is for her age! I had a bittersweet moment last night when I checked on her before I turned in. She had turned herself around in her crib so that she was laying across the width of her crib. When we first brought her home, that's how we laid her in the crib and she seemed so small! Now, with her legs all curled up because she no longer fits that way, it was shocking to see that my baby had gotten so big!

She's still a really good-natured kiddo. She likes to cuddle up and read books (some of which she's now "reading" to us), but is also always on the go! She's starting to show off her little temper sometimes, but will still go to timeout all on her own. She has over 50 words, and is beginning to put them together. She likes to narrate what she sees going on, even if a lot of what she says is still hard to understand!

It's amazing to see her answer questions purposefully, instead of just guessing a yes or no answer. The child knows what she wants, that's for sure.

We couldn't feel more blessed by our girl. She's so funny and loving. Can lightning strike twice? I sure hope so.

Snow Days

I've got to be honest. I love a snow day. As a caregiver for teachers' kids, it's one of the perks.

To a point.

The downside is that I don't get paid for snow days. Since Dec 21, when Christmas break began, we've had a total of 6 IN-school days. Yeah.

Now, I'm from the land of lake-effect snow. 7 inches of snow is a drop in the bucket. There's no way we'd have had all these snow days in northern IN. But somehow this area of the country is surprised every year that it actually SNOWS in the winter. Imagine! It's crazy! And people are unprepared every. year.

So I guess I don't have much of a choice but to grin and bear it. And maybe play in the snow a little bit too.

New Year, New Beginnings

Wow, this poor blog has been collecting dust for a while! Sorry blog...one of my New Years resolutions is to blog more regularly. No, really! Pinky swear.

Let's just begin with a bang, shall we? Baby #2 is on the way!!! Due July 13, he or she will be arriving at an opportune time, as I will no longer be caring for kiddos during the day, and will still have some weeks to recover before they return. (I'd like to take a moment to give a shout-out to NFP and breastfeeding for helping me space my kids so nicely. Thanks guys, you rock.)

George officially works for the new company now. We're dealing with a new insurance and some changes to budgeting, since now he gets paid weekly, but nothing too tumultuous.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the Brown side of George's family. His aunt and uncle moved from PA to KS this summer, so it was nice to be able to celebrate the holidays with them.

Christmas was fun. We celebrated with the Labers (Janice's family), and enjoyed being able to share the news with them in person. Amy came home with quite a haul.

It was hard not to be with my family for either of those holidays, but we're hoping to see them in the next few months, so I'm hanging on.

We had a simple Christmas as a family. I think we both prefer it that way. I'm looking forward to next year, when Amy is older. I'm already thinking of Advent traditions we can do as a family, that she may be able to start understanding.

We've started prayer time as a family every night before bed. As soon as George takes the holy candle off the mantle, Amy hits her knees next to the fireplace. I think the main draw at this point is the candle, but I know that eventually she'll pray the prayers with us. At the very least she has learned to kneel without getting up, and that we look at but don't touch the candle. We're working on the sign of the cross. So far she has the "In the name of the Father" part, which is mostly just a smack in the forehead. I hope we can instill the importance of both family and individual prayer in our children.

I'm not caught up on pictures yet, but I hope to get some up soon.

One prayer request for the next few months: my best friend and her husband had their first baby on Dec 29th. He was 13 weeks early. So far, he's been very stable, and already reduced to a lower ventilator. He also had clean brain scans that showed no signs of bleeding. He does have a heart murmur that they're hoping to correct with meds. Please just pray for his continued stability, and for their new little family as they navigate the very long road ahead. Mom and Dad are soon to be separated, as they're a few hours from home and he has to go back to work. This will be hard on them both. The baby's name is Calvin Jesse. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

We'll be moving in the next couple months. I'm not thrilled about it, but our landlord is selling. We're hoping to find another house, but the pickins have been slim. But God has always come through, and we know He will again.

I guess that's it from here. I really will try to post more. I was doing pretty well before my last one in November. And the biggest reason for the long silence was the news of the new baby that we couldn't share just yet. That's all I really wanted to post about! We'll be finding out boy or girl at the end of February.

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas, and you're in my prayers for a wonderful 2011!