Celebrating

Before I get to the festivities, I wanted to share the moments before we left the house. While I was gathering our stuff to head out for the celebration, the kids watched a little Diego. The girl surprised me by joining in and making a shell just like Diego told her to. I caught it on camera followed by the boy making a shell for her. Too cute! Then the girl kept reaching toward Diego doing her "I want" sign. Again, too cute!











Our evening was full of adventure celebrating the girl's big day. The kids and I picked up Grannylou and headed to see Pop who had to work. The girl enjoyed snuggling with her Pop while the boy ran up and down the sidewalk, ramp and stairs. He didn't want to leave! Then we headed to the mall to meet Clay for dinner and play time. The boy did a great job singing "Happy Birthday" and watching the girl open a gift. Grannylou couldn't stand not to give the girl her gift on her actual birthday since we were together. The girl did not disappoint with her excitement over the adorable heart-filled pjs and Granny's Purse book. While she won't be able to play with it for another year or so, it is an adorable girly gift with lots of things to do. She wasn't too fond of the sunglasses though! After dinner, we headed to Build-A-Bear. The girl was most interested in the machine that stuffs the animals - everything else was lost on her - but she sure does love her polar bear (appropriately named Valerie since it was Valentine's Day)! Then it was off to join Grannylou and the boy at the play area. We just went a few weeks ago, and she wasn't all that impressed; but last night was a different story. We could hardly keep up with the two kids. Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was a wonderful way to celebrate a very special day!

















And one last thing (to explain the last 2 pictures that don't seem to fit) - the girl climbed up on the step to our tub today. She was so proud of herself - as was her brother. It all came to a screeching halt when she failed to realize she had to step down and took a good tumble - fortunately into the carpeted closet! Our adventurous one didn't stop for long though before going right back. Something tells me the small bruise above her right eye from yesterday's fall will not be the last!

Guess what today is...

It's her birthday! Crown her Miss Valentine! I can hardly believe it's been a year since she made her dramatic entrance into this world. (To read the story, click here.) She has been a whirlwind in our lives, and something tells me that is how she is going to approach life. It seems like she does something new each day. Even this morning she stopped nursing and made the sign for eat. I asked if she wanted to eat and she did it again...so off to the highchair we went. She just beamed as the boy and I sang to her this morning (hearing him wish her a happy birthday melted my heart). She seems to know it's her special day. She loves drinking from her sippy cup, she loves eating whatever her brother is having (or anyone else for that matter), she's pointing, she has 5 teeth, she's practicing walking alone, she's a cuddler, she loves giving kisses, she has learned a fake cry and how to throw temper tantrums - feet kicking and all, she loves baths and doesn't care if you pour water on her face, she hates having her teeth brushed, and she is totally captivated by her brother. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you except for one last thing. My absolute favorite thing she does is that the first thing she does in the high chair is put her hands together for us to pray. She picked it up from her brother, and it warms my heart each time I see it. My love for her is intense...and my heart's desire is that she falls in love with Jesus early in life and totally abandons herself to Him.

Here are a few pictures from this morning. Don't you think she knows it's her special day? Then she's enjoying her Valentine's/Birthday card from Mimi, Granddaddy, and Auntie Claire!












Being sentimental, I took pictures of her bath last night so I could capture her last moments awake as an infant. Two things she loves - her brother and baths!












I caught her practicing her spoon skills on Tuesday. She is so proud of herself you can see it all over her body!

A miracle and a blessing

I've discovered a new trend in my life: I get really (I mean really) reflective around my children's first birthdays. Mind you, I've only had 2, but the same thing has happened both times about a month before the big day. In some ways I think I am finally coming out of the fog of the last year and can begin to see how this new little one so dramatically changed life and me. Part of me says I am just highly over-analytical and rarely content with things as they are. There is always room to improve, right? (Pause here to say that I am learning to enjoy today and to relax. It's a work in progress!) In other ways I think I am simply a silly girl who is sentimental to her core and relates so well to the verse that describes Mary treasuring all these things in heart. God uses these times of reflection to show me many things: how I've grown, where I need to grow, the blessings He's given, and most importantly how He's been there every step of the way even when I didn't pay attention.

Already being in this mindset, I was overwhelmed by a song a friend posted on her blog. You can see the video here. It is a wonderful song about the road of infertility. It took me down memory lane of our road which was really not as treacherous of a journey as it could have been. God kindly spared us a lot of the heartache and pain others experience. I am in certainly no way making light of our journey. It was hard. It was lonely. We didn't know how it would end. Unlike Job, I often blamed God asking why He didn't trust me with one of His children. I found myself angry and bitter toward others who got pregnant easily. I questioned God's plan when I found out the teenage son of a friend was about to be a dad. I tried to make deals. I begged, pleaded and cried until I had nothing else in me. Amazingly, the strain was minimal on our marriage. While not quite as dramatic as me, Clay longed and hurt too. We found comfort in each other instead of pushing each other away. While we felt many others couldn't understand, we knew each other did. God grew us during those years - through waiting, through testing, through results, through trusting.

As I worked on separating the kids into two rooms in January, two picture frames jumped out at me. For the first time, I realized how true the words are about our kids. My sister gave me the first one for the boy's sonogram picture that uses the word 'miracle'. The frame I bought for the girl's sonogram picture calls her 'our little blessing'. Our boy is our miracle baby. We had less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant without a medical procedure. Ferility drugs wouldn't help our situation. We were waiting on timing to begin our first procedure when we found out we were pregnant. MIRACLE! What we thought might never happen did through the hand of God. Then a few weeks before his first birthday (and about 9 months of not being very careful), God took my breath away when we found out we were pregnant again. Not only had He given us the desire of our hearts with one child, He chose to give us a blessing with a second. I was speechless - and that's a big deal for me. God reminded me He was MUCH bigger than the box I often try to fit Him in.

Sadly, there are times I forget the miracle and blessing these two are. I get selfish and tired and frustrated. I raise my voice. I complain. I whine. I cry. And I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I'd rather lose sleep every night than not know the joy of comforting my child. I would rather sound like a broken record than never hear, "I love you, Mommy." I would rather feel unseen and unappreciated than never watch my kids faces light up when I enter a room. I'd rather be the woman I am today than never know the highs and lows of the road we walked. And I'd rather die than do any of this life without God.

Pure love

I love my pacis.

What about you?

Indoor "sand"box

The boy had a blast digging in the "sand" today. Combining ideas from my cousin and a friend, I poured dry oats into a plastic tub and let him go to town. It was great, easy entertainment for over 30 minutes! He is my child...he quickly swept them off his leg if they spilled and I even found him picking up individual oats putting them back in the tub!




He enjoyed watching himself in the oven door







- especially when he said, "Escalpa!" (That's "dig" in Spanish. Thanks, Diego)


The dog enjoyed our fun as well and it made cleanup a LOT easier!










The boy seems to be a sponge right now as is typical of 2 1/2 year olds. Some of his current favorite phrases are:
- "Come on, amigos!"
- "Make a shell" (while putting his hands on his head). This is often followed by "There's more nuts. Make a shell." as he runs around. This is all from a Diego episode.
- "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro" (as he counts coasters). He can count up to ten in Spanish.
- "Round and round" (he's asking us to dance with him).
- "Thank you, ____." He's gotten very good at thanking others for things - even his sister after he takes something from her hands!
- "Good job!" He says this to himself or anyone else that does something good.
- "Sorry" He knows he has to say it so he'll quickly respond sometimes even before you tell him he did something wrong. I heard the girl crying the other day and figured he had pushed her or something. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard him saying, "Sorry, Whizbiss, sorry" before I ever even got to him.

I could go on and on bragging on our little man, but I will spare you. While he can be a challenge, he can melt your heart with his "Love you, Mommy", his prayers, or his singing (He is Exalted is his current favorite). Can't believe he's on his way to being 3...and the girl will be 1 in eight days!!! More about her next week...

It's a big day!!!

It's brief, but you get the idea...she's so proud of herself!



She kept practicing, but her excitement is often her downfall - literally. She'll be running in circles before we know it!

Bounce House party

The boy and I had the fun of going to a Bounce House birthday party for a friend from church Saturday. I was curious how he was going to respond since he hasn't been fond of bounce houses up to this point. He was so excited when we got there, and he quickly began running around laughing in pure delight. He quickly got over-heated and began a coughing fit thanks to a lingering cold. Once he got calmed down and caught his breath, I was able to help him try one of the bounce houses. It required my pushing; but once he went down the slide, he was hooked!









Another bounce house (there are a total of 5 in this place) had a slide inside it. A friend caught us having fun!








He really did have a great time once he realized what fun he could have! Eventually he got brave and tried one on his own. Here is his process of standing...










Then his buddy, Drew, helped him figure out the climbing wall to get up to the slide. The footrests were far enough apart that I had to help him up. Once on top, he just sat there until his friends joined him for a slide down!
He really enjoyed the cake too - taking his sweet time eating until well after all the presents were opened! He came home with a balloon that he played with until bedtime (the party was from 10am - 12pm!), and then went searching for it the moment he got out of bed this morning (sadly, it met its end while he was asleep).

Posing

The kids were playing happily last night when I looked over to see what was holding the girl's attention so long...and this is what I saw! She found a new seat and was quite proud of herself!

I told you that it is often hard to catch the boy in a picture these days. I have way too many photos that look like the one on the far left because he's more interested in looking at the camera than being photographed. We had a rare moment last night where he wanted to "pose." He would position himself just so on the fireplace all the time saying, "Cheese!" The pictures below show him making a shell like an armadillo (thanks, Diego!), getting himself into his pose, and then how he is often found around the house these days - one sock on, one sock off!