Odds and Ends

Whew! Going back to work while you still have a baby eating every three hours on the dot can wear a mom and dad out!!! I'm still nursing him a lot, so the nights are mostly mine until 4 or so and Tre' takes over. :) He sleeps pretty well between feedings, but interrupted sleep catches up w/ me after a while, esp. when we have to be up and moving by 5:45 or so. We're supplementing w/ formula twice a day, so tonight, I'm going to try a formula bottle around 11 PM to see if that gives him a longer stretch for the first part of the night. We shall see.

Anne from GA, I had to laugh when I read your comment about the satin pillow working great if you actually sleep ON it!! :) I can usually tell how restless Iz's night has been by the status of her hair in the morning. She is all over the place in bed. But, the satin pillowcase is FANTASTIC when she stays on the pillow!! Thank you to whoever made that suggestion. :) Maybe I just need to get a whole satin sheet set for her!!

Thanks also to Lisa who suggested the book The Spirited Child. I've already purchased it and it's companion workbook. I'm only just starting it, but it's made me laugh out loud several times b/c I feel like the author has been sitting in my living room! Even though I haven't read much, I already feel like I'm gleaning a lot from it. It's given me a different perspective and I love the positive focus it gives to spirited kids! Izzy has so, so many wonderful characteristics and has a heart the size of Texas -- we've just got to help her learn to channel that energy and persistence and determination in the right direction. She's currently outside w/ Tre' blowing off some steam. It's gorgeous outside and outside time is great for her sanity and mine!! :) She has done really well w/ Chip and really hasn't seemed too jealous, but today as I was getting Chip's kisses, she asked for me to get hers... and kept wanting me to do it. I kiss her all the time (it's kind of a game at our house), but it was a reminder for me of how much her world has changed in the last 2 months. It's tough to go from being the only kiddo under the roof to having to share the spotlight w/ a little 2 foot being who needs lots of attention. She's done well though, and I love how much she loves her brother.

After we shared about Izzy's MRI, a couple of folks had asked if we're going to have Chip scanned. We will scan them both once a year until they're 5 -- that's the plan for now. An ultrasound through Chip's fontanel shortly after birth showed a wonderfully, beautiful, normal brain!!! :)

I hope you'll continue to check on and pray for the Morgan ( Ryan and Missy ), Maxey (Annette), and Escoe (Blaine) families. These families are dear to us and they are each walking their own unimaginably difficult journeys. Missy Morgan and her son, Ryan, are both battling relapsed cancer. Annette Maxey is facing a nasty brain tumor and the treatment is tougher than anyone should have to face, much less a 4 month old. Her parents lost their first daughter, Maddy, to undifferentiated sarcoma... please pray for them. We met the Escoes when our daughters went through some of their treatment together. Kendrie is doing great, but her dad, Blaine, is facing another relapse of his cancer. I know they all welcome any prayers and encouragement you can give them. Cancer is hard, but all of these families are facing/have faced it w/ 2 members of their immediate family. It's really just so unfair!

I hope to get some pics up from St. Patrick's Day soon. Would you believe (shame on me!) that I didn't get a single picture of Chip?!?!?!?!?!?! I know we have at least a couple from family member's cameras though. There were 5 kiddos 3 and under all celebrating together and we've got the pictures to prove it. I haven't seen them yet, but I've heard they're pretty funny. :) Izzy loved the parade and kept saying "more music, more music." It was a good and green day!

I'm gonna nuzzle this sweet baby boy for a few minutes more and then round up Tre' and Iz for some chow before we hit bathtime and bedtime. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods and that you have a great week!

"Boring" Home Video of Chip (w/ a Way Too Loud TV in the Background and My Cheesy Baby Talk)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's Really Hard to Get a Good Picture of 2 Young Kids at Once

Pictures of Chip (and One of Izzy)

Guess Who

Ok, I confess, this is Catie!! Tre' and I were looking through some pictures last night while we were watching Idol and came across this one. I don't have a good recent pic of Chip (he's growing SO stinking fast!!), but I'll get one up soon. He is really starting to look like Catie, esp. through the eyes. I don't think we realized it until we saw this picture.

Pics of Izzy -- Some of Chip to Come :)

This first one just makes me laugh. I was trying to get a good pic of the 2 of them lying together, but Izzy was in a wiggly mood. But check out her hair. If she stood up it wouldn't move in the back. It defies gravity when she gets up in the morning. We DO brush it, this was just first thing in the AM.

Ready for gymnastics!











My country girl!

I Need to Buy a Book....

and it's called The Strong-willed Child. Oh Ms. Izzy... She is truly, one of the most tender-hearted and empathetic kids I've ever met... esp. at such a young age. But boy oh boy... if she tests us once in a day, she tests us about 472 times. Her current favorite phrase is "Izzy do it!" She truly has me puzzled on exactly how I'm going teach her without breaking her spirit. Sometimes she tests us by not doing what we've told her to do, sometimes it's by doing something she knows she's not supposed to do, sometimes it's when she's in time out and it's lifting her hiney off the chair just a bit when it's supposed to stay flat on the seat, sometimes she does it when given 2 choices and she chooses a completely different one. I believe that consistency is the key, but there are times that consistency can be really exhausting. I also believe that this time is so key in laying the groundwork for the rest of her life. Learning now that "no means no" and that when Tre' or I draw a line that isn't to be crossed we mean it are vital. Learning those things now, I think (and hope and pray) will make for a smoother road through those tenuous teenage years. Here's hoping Tre' and I can be consistent each and every day and that we are making the right decisions in training her up in the way she should go.

It's so interesting to me that her strong will is balanced with the tenderest of hearts for other people. She is a people person in the truest sense and that has been obvious since she was very young. We don't go shopping or anywhere in public that I don't meet someone b/c of her greeting to each person she passes. It cracks me up when I'm pushing her through the grocery store and she passes the guy behind the meat counter and hollers, "How ya doin'?" She is very aware of how others feel and is quick to check on them. If someone is sad, she will walk over to them, place her hand on their shoulder, and ask them, "kay?" for "are you okay?" I am so proud of her for the tender, caring spirit I see growing in her and it does give me comfort as we work to help her grow into a young lady who knows how to listen to her mom and dad.

It's amazing how your children can each be so different and how they each give you different challenges as you work to raise them. I do believe that God created Tre' and I to be the parents of Catie, Izzy, and Chip... and I believe He has uniquely equipped us with just the things we need to do it well. Sometimes it just comes easier than others.