Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Swimming

If Mady had her perfect day, it would consist of swimming or just being outside ALL. DAY. LONG.  
I love that she likes being outside so much.  
And I would be happy to oblige this request more if it weren't so hot and her baby brother/sister wasn't causing me to be a walking furnace.  (It seems the nausea that I've been doing much better with creeps up when I get overheated as well.)
But, we try to get out as much as possible.  
Yesterday, Jeremy and I bought her a pool.  This is what she thought of it!








Monday, May 28, 2012

A question...

This question has been bugging me for almost all of 18 months of Mady's precious life.  
It's a question that most moms don't even think of.
And it's one that most moms aren't bothered by, even a little.  
But it's the one question that causes my heart to be saddened and my attitude turn defensive immediately.  
Why are babies and toddlers judged solely on 1 element of their development: gross motor skills?
When enrolling her in classes, this is the question that is asked more than any other, is she walking yet?
No one seems to care that she is well advanced in her verbal and social/emotional skills.
No one seems to ask how many words she can say or how many signs she knows.
It doesn't seem important that she can point out different animals that you name in a book.
Or that she can use a spoon fairly well to feed herself.
I HATE that she is judged on this walking skill and held back because of it.
What if she doesn't walk until she's 2?  
Are we going to keep her held back because she can't do ONE thing?  
Would we not allow a kid with cerebral palsy to go on to first grade because he/she can't walk?
Then why do we do that to babies?
It's not fair and I'm sorry that I get a little defensive when this criteria is used on classes that have NOTHING to do with gross motor skills.  
Gymnastic classes?  Ok I totally understand.  
Other non gross motor related?  Not understanding at all.
I will always defend my kiddo. 

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Moving and Daddy's Birthday

Well we officially moved out a week ago and have been settling into our new temporary location, Jeremy's parent's basement.  Not our ideal spot to settle but it'll due until we make our huge move to Cheyenne.  
Mady has done EXTREMELY well with all this craziness.  We've had only 1 night of "rough sleeping" by Mady's standards which is probably considered "good sleeping" by others.  Since it's so dark in the basement, she takes amazing naps (almost 3 hours) and sleeps in till 8:30 most days.  
The move for me wasn't all that easy since I am pregnant and spent my first trimester packing boxes and reminding myself not to lift anything too terribly heavy.  My back still hasn't quite recovered from the move but my energy is slowly coming back!  YAY!
Lexi has been the most annoying part of this whole process.  Lets just say that she has whined at our door in the basement at 3 AM a couple of times, wants to be let out immediately to go upstairs and wake up the whole house, and is super hyper, ready to play in the morning while her friend Gabby (Jeremy's parents dog) likes to sleep in.  



We celebrated Jeremy's birthday last Wednesday.  Mady and I tried out a homemade finger painting recipe to make Daddy his birthday sign.  

She wasn't all that thrilled with the texture but we still got the sign made to surprise daddy!  

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Big Sis

We're so excited for Miss Mady to be a big sister!  Our baby is due November 15.  I am 13 weeks currently.

Even though I would love to say that this pregnancy has been wonderful, amazing, awesome, or insert some other positive adjective, it has not.
First, I've been incredibly sick.  So much so that I take some wonderful doctor approved drugs to help.
Second, once you lose a child, the gift of having a blissful, fear free pregnancy is gone.
Every little thing that's different from Mady's pregnancy or the same from our miscarriage in December causes me to worry and I have to constantly remind myself of Who is in control.
I constantly compare different physical symptoms.
Am I throwing up enough?  Well that must be a good thing because I wasn't sick at all with the miscarriage.
Was that a cramp I need to be concerned about?
Is my belly getting bigger?
The list goes on and on...
And even with all the fear, I find that there is peace when I rely on God's strength and don't give into the temptation to worry.
Philippians 4:13 has been a verse I've quoted many times over the last few weeks.
"Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds and Christ Jesus."
So when the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat in the office with the doppler today and my mind went to the worst case scenario.."Be Anxious for nothing"
When I'm waiting to see that flashing on the ultrasound screen signaling a heartbeat..."Be Anxious for nothing"
When I'm having a hard day, missing our 2nd beautiful baby and start worrying about the same thing happening to this one..."Be anxious for nothing."  
So please pray for us as we embark on this adventure of pregnancy.
Pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
Pray that we will rely on God's truth and not give into the fear and lies that Satan throws at our hearts and minds.