Grateful

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a person of faith. I cherish my relationship with God. As I sit here and reflect on my day, my week, my year; I am amazed by just how much of a presence God has been in even my little, day to day occurences. It just struck me. I am blessed, and I am grateful.

I know he will be with us when we take Oliver to CHOP tomorrow.

And may his grace be with you, as well.

Cute, Cute, Cute!

Look at my cute little nuggets! This is thier 3 yr./6 month pictures. I like to professionally document every 6 months or so...

Big News!

So I've been holding off on this post for a while, but I think it's finally time to say it. Mac is almost potty-trained! You have no idea how much I hate diapers, and how excited I am to have Mackensie finally out of them. When I went for her parent-teacher conference 2 weeks ago, her teacher asked why she was still in diapers, since she always uses the potty at school. At that point, we were averaging about 20% on the potty, 80% in diapers. But when her teacher said she always went at school, I realized that it wasn't that Mac didn't know how to control pottying, but rather that she just didn't feel like stopping and going at home. So I waited for the weekend, put some underpants on her, and didn't look back.

We've averaged 1-2 accidents a day for the last week, and yesterday we finally had an accident free day! I'm so excited, but my mom pointed out that potty training is all good until you are out and your child has to go to the bathroom constantly. Well, we went out to lunch today, and she went on the potty 5 times. What?! It was a long lunch, but I had no idea how often she had to go. It was a really colorful bathroom and I think she just liked going in it. Then we went to the mall. She didn't quite make it to the bathroom, and we had a poop situation. What a mess -- I almost missed the diapers. Not to mention the fact that I kind of skeeve on bathroom germs, and I have to crouch down on the floor, cover the seat for her, and then convince her not to touch the seat/toilet paper roll/stall garbage while we wipe and flush. It's a lot of gross work, but I'm still flush with the excitement of no diapers.

6 months

6 Months Ago

6 lb. 11 oz.
Sleeps a lot
Eats through IV
So perfect and small
No shunt

2 surgeries, weekly casting, 1 pair of $1200 braces*, 16 sessions of PT, 500 pokes in the eye by Mackensie, and 1 billion kisses later...

Now

19 lb.
Eats breastmilk, prunes, applesauce, and cereal
Can sit on his own
"Stands" in his excersaucer
Giggles and "talks"
No shunt!


Six months ago today Oliver joined us on the outside. Even though I had contractions in the middle of the night and thought he was going to make an early debut, he arrived bia c-section at 9:55 a.m. on August 13. The last six months have been amazing -- he has grown into such a sweet and laid back little baby. He has taught me that you really can love two babies with all your heart, and allowed me to do all of the things that I wish I had done differently with Mac. He has met and exceeded any expectations that we could have had for him. I thank God for him (and Mac) every second of every day.

Happy 6-month birthday little man!

* I just found out today that each of his braces cost $594. Insurance was refusing to pay for them, but now it seems like they will. The braces don't even stay on, and when they do, they leave red marks. They are made of plastic and velcro with some padding. I seriously feel like I could have made them. I am dumbfounded and so grateful for the fact that we have insurance.

A sick day for Everyone

So nobody was able to escape the evil stomach bug. Oliver got it, too. Poor guy...now I know the difference between a lot of spit up and actual baby vomit. Ugh. Tim and I are back at work for the first time today. I think Oliver is pretty much over it -- he was finally able to keep some milk down last night. The only upside for him was that he got to try Pedialite and applesauce -- two new flavors for him.

Even though we were all sick, we did get to spend some good family time together. That's something we don't always have. Mac was the healthiest, since she started on Saturday and had pretty much recovered by Tuesday. So she had free-run of the house while Tim, Oli, and I were passed out on the couch. Any guesses what a house ruled by a 3 year old looks like? I considered taking pictures for posterity but was way too embarrassed. It seriously looks like a hurricane hit. There are baby blankets (that she uses as sleep mats for her dolls) and the corresponding dolls everywhere. Books are scattered on every surface, since that is all I could really do with her. We watched so much freaking Little Bear my mind might explode. Her puzzles are strewn through every room. I just last night finished the piles of puked on sheets and towels that were waiting to be laundered.

Okay, I know this description sounds bad, but really it wasn't. Tim and I got to veg and watch some non-Little Bear TV, Mac and I did read a lot of books and doa lot of good snuggling. And once he threw up, I got to snuggle Oliver pretty much non-stop. Once we were feeling a little better on Wednesday, we made the Lipton Ring-o-Noodle soup from a packet, which is always a "sick day" treat. It was also nice enough for us to open the windows and air the house out -- God's way of helping us get rid of the germs.

I guess everyone needs one good "sick" a year where they are able to hibernate. Hopefully this was it for us. I'm glad we got to hibernate together.