tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47080726779910913532024-03-21T03:07:30.799-04:00Catholic & CrunchyStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.comBlogger485125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-80184618681211946382019-03-31T16:33:00.001-04:002019-03-31T16:33:49.612-04:00Jacob's Birth Story Part 2So after having a bite to eat, the doctor came in to see me, check my cervix, and put in the order for pitocin. That was started at 8am. I was SO READY. It's funny how you can go from total dread (the week leading up to) to being so beyond ready to get things going. I knew it was baby time and so I just wanted to do it already! The doctor said that I could get out of bed as long as the monitor stayed on me, but that once he broke my water, he wouldn't let me get out of bed because of risk of cord prolapse. However, just like with Clare's birth, the amazing nurse, Pam, told me as soon as he walked out, "you can get out of bed! If the monitor comes off, I will come back in and find the baby. That's my job!". She was SO supportive. She also told me she thought I'd have a baby by 11am. I was excited to hear that (because surely they do this all the time and know what they're talking about???) but I was also nervous that we would go way past that and it would dampen my spirits.<br />
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Being that I had experienced both a natural birth and an induced birth, I was really afraid of the pitocin. Felicity's labor wasn't a horror story or anything, but MUCH harder than Clare's labor which I consider pretty easy! So I was very nervous going into another induced labor. My doctor had told me to decide ahead of time about an epidural because I tend to labor quickly. I went back and forth for a bit but ultimately decided that, if labor was fast, I wouldn't need one. And if labor was long, there would be time to ask for one later. But I really did not want anything to slow or halt labor, did not want a catheter, did not want to be stuck in bed after, and did not want the risks of the spinal headache or back pain. Those things encouraged me to go without the epidural, though I was open to changing my mind if labor was long.<br />
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So anyways, after I started the pitocin, Pam would periodically come in and check on me. I didn't feel much. At 9:10 she raised it to 6. And at 9:33 she raised it to 8. I was having some bleeding, but was just swaying through what felt like very easy contractions. That was the point that I started to get nervous. I asked Steven to google what the top dose of pitocin was and he said it was 10. Well here I was at an 8 and felt good! I was afraid it meant my body wasn't responding to it this time because last time contractions were wracking through my body nonstop! I started to wonder if this was going to end in a csection. I went from worrying about pain level to worrying about even being able to deliver this baby!<br />
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But just like that, the contractions picked up. At 9:45 by Steven's watch, I had my first tougher contraction. I remember glancing down at his phone at 9:50 and marking that as the time that it felt tough. And with Felicity, it got hard at 10am, then pretty unbearable at some point until I had her at 1pm. So I told myself "here we go; I can do this for 3 more hours!" because it was still so much easier than Felicity's. In fact, it felt a lot like Clare's labor. At 10:13 Steven noted that I began holding my stomach during contractions. I was still doing my swaying back and forth, but I remember it feeling better to support the weight of my stomach. The doctor called at 10:20 and said he would break my water in 15 minutes. The nurse saw my labor progressing and checked my bleeding again and said she was going to go ahead and check me. At that point she said I was 7 cm and she was visibly excited which gave me the push I needed! She had me stay in bed for the doctor to break my water which was hard, but not as awful as I expected it would be. Dr. G came in and sat on the edge of the bed while I finished a contraction, then broke my water. That was the first time I've had my water broken (I refused with Felicity, and it broke at home with Clare) and was not nearly as weird of an experience as I imagined it might be. So my water was broken at 10:36. He said he would hang out at the hospital for a bit and left the room. Pam was finishing up something and said she would check on my frequently but to let her know when I started feeling a lot of pressure.<br />
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About a minute later I said "I don't know if this is the kind of pressure you want to know about, but I'm definitely having some". And within a few minutes from that I said "It feels like I'm breaking in half" which I apparently say every time I am about to birth a baby! Pam said "You know, I'm just going to stay in here", and then stuck her head out and called for the doctor. She checked me and he came in and she told him I was almost fully dilated with just a bit of a lip that could be pushed. I was, at that point, in excruciating pain from the pressure and yelled "get him out!", to which another nurse said "ok, then push!". I pushed twice and Jacob Oliver was born at 10:47am... 11 minutes after being 7 cm and having my water broken. When my babies want out, they want out!<br />
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The doctor exclaimed "he's a good size!", clamped the cord, had Steven cut it, and passed him right up to me. That was the experience I didn't get with the girls and I wanted SO BADLY for my (probably) last baby. I was <i>over the moon</i> to have this little guy on my chest! I just kept talking to him and loving on him. After a bit they took him to wipe up a bit more and I let Steven hold him while some of my stitching was getting done, then took him back for some more snuggles. Once the doctor was done, I latched him on and he started nursing right away. I was so in love with this little boy! About 15 minutes later they checked his blood sugar, which is standard when the mother has had gestational diabetes, and that's when our hospital stay took a turn. Spoiler alert: he's fine and perfect! But it took us a couple days of special care nursery to get there. To be continued!<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-20128538487500921522019-03-23T08:51:00.003-04:002019-03-23T08:51:55.374-04:00Jacob's Birth Story, Part OneWhen I went in for my 36 week appointment, my blood pressure was up. I didn't think a ton about it because I was feeling stressed, and just chalked it up to that. However, when I went in for my 37 week appointment, it was even higher. My induction was set for 39 weeks and 4 days, which I was really happy about, because I was pretty sure he would come before then anyway (which is what happened with Clare). However, the doctor walked in that day and let me know that my uric acid was up the week before when he checked my blood work. He explained that, exactly like when I was pregnant with Felicity, these were early markers of heading toward pre-eclampsia and it would be safest for everyone, me and baby, if Jacob came out at 38 weeks. For some reason, this absolutely blew my mind. Even though this was the chain of events for Felicity, too, I had naively assumed it would not happen again this time. He set the date... come in on March 6th, Ash Wednesday, at 7pm after eating dinner at 5pm. I text Steven to let him know, and called him and my parents once I left the doctor that day. I was such a bundle of nerves!!! Knowing the date made it so real, and my parents and Steven had already planned for the 39+4 induction, so I felt pressure (from myself, not them!) knowing they had to change all their plans. I had a good cry on the way home so I could keep it together in front of the girls. We explained to the girls that the baby would be there in a week!!!<br />
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To say I was a mess for that week would be a massive understatement. I wanted so badly to avoid an induction and wanted him to come on his own. I knew it was unlikely given that I was only in my 37th week, but I was diffusing and bathing in clary sage like crazy. I was short with the girls and just struggling so much with my own feelings and emotions.... until the day of the induction. I woke up that morning with SO MUCH peace. I think knowing there wasn't anything I could do to change it, removing that element of attempted control, helped me a lot! Steven was off that day and my parents were heading to our house. We had a really lovely morning with the girls. We didn't do anything special, but we were all in great moods and I felt like we really just enjoyed our last day as a family of four. It was everything I needed to be mentally and emotionally ready to go in for the induction. My parents got there and we all hung out until about 5 when Steven and I were going to head to dinner, and my parents were taking the girls to eat and go to the hotel. And that's when my precious 5 year old lost it. I think it all hit her that I would be gone and that big changes were happening. She sobbed and clung to me, and I cried quite a bit, too. It was so hard! Thankfully my mom text me soon after with picture updates of how much fun they were having. But man, that was so hard on my mama heart!<br />
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<br /><br />Steven and I went and had dinner at Chipotle, then ran to Dollar Tree for toothbrushes. I finally remembered to pack toothbrushes for the girls, but did not pack one for myself :). Then we headed to the hospital. We were super early so we just drove around for a bit before heading in. When we walked in, we told the security guard we were going to registration for an induction. He said he needed to call them (I was pretty sure he didn't need to....), and fumbled around with papers for a bit. I told him they were expecting us, and could we just head back? Then he fumbled with maps and couldn't find registration. I told him we knew where it was :). Poor guy. We headed back to registration and had to wait a bit. We saw signs saying children under 12 couldn't visit the hospital which gave me about an hour of panic because I had told the girls they could see me every day! I don't mind the policy during flu season, but was just bothered that no one warned me so I could prep them!<br />
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We headed up to L&D after I got delivered and a nurse took us into Clare's birthing room, L&D #3. I took that as good "mojo", being that her birth was so easy. The nurse did not seem personable to me, which made me nervous, because we've only ever had AMAZING labor and delivery nurses there. I really wanted that to continue. But thankfully, she warmed up pretty quickly... maybe was just overwhelmed when we came in? Either way, I was glad to see her warm up to us! The room was sweltering when we got in, so we asked her to lower the temp. I was sweating soooo badly under the gown and sheets! It felt so gross. I got the gown on and waited for our OB to come in. He came in later on and checked me and said I was 3 cm. I had been 2cm the week before and he seemed pleased. He placed cytotec and said I could take something for sleep if I wanted, but it was up to me. He offered me ambien or morphine. I declined both because I knew there was a chance I could go into labor that night and did not want to be feeling the effects of the medicine. That was potentially a mistake because that night was very hard! Now I know that the cytotec was working, but I also had a headache. I asked the nurse if I could have something for it, but she could only offer morphine because that's what the doctor had written an order for. I declined and just got through it, but I was contracting on and off, feeling some pain in my cervix, and my head was hurting. I woke Steven up once but otherwise let him sleep because I wasn't sure what the rest of the night (or the next day!) would hold and wanted to make sure one of us was well rested. I got a few cat naps but between being uncomfortable and the nurse needing to fix the monitors and check blood pressure, I only slept about 2 broken hours that night.<br />
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The next morning, I was over it and READY! They were supposed to bring me breakfast at 6, so at 6:30, expecting it would come at any point, I sent Steven to the cafeteria to get himself something. He came back about a half hour later and still no food for me. The nurse checked me and I was 4-5 cm, so the cytotec had definitely helped (it did nothing for my cervix when I was induced with Felicity). After a bit he asked if they were bringing me food before the pitocin got started. The night nurse and the day nurse, Pam, who was about to take over, sort of hesitated and looked at each other. The night nurse said "I'm going to let you make that decision". Turns out they were worried about me throwing up in labor because I was already almost 5cm. However, sweet Pam took pity on my and went and got some options from the staff room... some applesauce, cereal, and juice. I was nauseous because it had been 14 hours since I'd eaten and I still technically had gestational diabetes at that point! So I ate a little but that almost made me feel more nauseous so I stopped. Luckily it hit my system a bit later and I started to feel SO much better, and wasn't even noticing my headache anymore!<br />
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Stay tuned for more...Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-92231276346626586552018-12-23T08:01:00.003-05:002018-12-23T08:01:56.583-05:00End of Year Baby Prep Ramblings As usual, I cannot believe that it's almost Christmas and almost a new year! And that means... it's almost baby time!!!!!!!! When I first found out I was pregnant, I kept thinking how far away it was. But as with my last two pregnancies, any time the holidays are involved, it goes SO FAST. The end of the year is over in a flash, and all of a sudden it's prep time. I'll have about 2.5 months to do what needs to be done. And since I'm proclaiming a minimalist baby :), it's not a ton. There will be no nursery for this little one since history shows our babies like to spend the first 10-12 months in our room anyway. Or rather, mommy likes it because it's easier! The AAP recommends 6 months I think, for SIDS prevention, and I tack on a few extra for "mommy's going insane" prevention :). All we need to do in our room is set up the pack n play, and get the baby's clothes, diapers, wipes, other little accessories organized in an empty shoe organizer in our closet. The pack n play has a diaper changing section, so we didn't bother with a changing table in our room this time. My other goal is to get the freezer stocked. I, like most other moms probably, find meal prep to be very overwhelming for the first 2 months or so. Friends and family usually take care of us for the first 2 or so weeks, but I like to be well stocked after that. It'll be a combination of frozen pizzas, premade frozen lasagnas, chicken nuggets, and freezer meals I've put together, mostly for the crockpot but some casseroles, too. I want to not think about dinner for as long as possible! I told Steven yesterday that I also want to get some of those meal prep containers that are really cheap on Amazon, and get the girls lunches made for the week each week on one day that he's off. They tend to like "snack style" lunches... pepperoni, lunch meat, cheese, veggies and ranch, fruit, some type of cracker. So I can put everything in there, one of the girls can grab two out, and Felicity can grab them a few crackers if I'm tied up with the baby. The name of the game is going to be making everything as easy as possible! The great thing about an early spring baby is we can spend a lot of time outside before it gets blazingly hot. I think that will help the girls' adjustment a LOT since they're already used to outside time. I can nurse, rock, shush- whatever I need to do- just as easily outside in the 70 degree weather as I can inside, and they can play on their scooters, run, dig etc. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about transitioning from 2 to 3 children, mostly because I know the noise level and reduction of snuggles will be really hard for Clare, but I also know that I can only do what I can do, and the rest is a game of survival :). Anyway, as much as I love the holidays, and I'm soooo excited for Christmas morning with hubby and the girls, I am also excited about starting the new year and getting ready for our baby boy!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-29994120282181854072018-12-15T15:39:00.004-05:002018-12-15T15:39:53.285-05:00Baby Names Well, we announced our baby's name to the girls so I guess it's pretty official! It's so weird to me saying and using the name before birth. We knew our girl and boy names for the girls, but since we didn't know what we were having, they never got used until they were born. We referred to Felicity as Penny (small form of Cash, our last name), and Clare as Jellybean. We had dubbed this baby Mimi3, as Clare has long called all babies or small things "Mimi" and he's our 3rd child, but now we go between using that and his name, Jacob. I wouldn't let Steven or I use it at all for a few months because I'm so afraid I'll get tired of it before he's born! But I felt like knowing it would probably be good for the girls, and they both talk about him, so I think it was a good choice. We haven't totally solidified a middle name, but we are leaning towards Theodore. That was our boy name when we were pregnant with Felicity, but by the time I was pregnant again, it was way too popular for me to consider. This time I knew I didn't want it as a first name, but wasn't sure whether I'd want to use it as a middle name. Often through this pregnancy, when I get overwhelmed, I remember how much God wanted this baby here. If you need a slightly TMI recap, this baby was a one shot wonder 😂😂😂, which was shocking considering Felicity took many months and fertility treatments, and Clare took many months. This time, we were afraid but open to the thoughts of a 3rd, and then later I said a prayer to God, essentially "God, I don't know if we'll be that open again, so if you want us to have a 3rd child, make it happen". And here we are. So anyway, I was up with pregnancy insomnia the other night and googled names that mean "God's will" or "God's gift", and up popped Theodore among many other names that were from other cultures and not something we'd choose. It just felt meant to be. Like "oh, there you were all along!".<br />
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Did I ever share the story on Jacob? I don't think I did. The day we found out we were having a boy (maybe 13 or so weeks with an early blood test my mom sent us from Amazon), we were pretty stressed. Honestly, we both expected it to be a girl and we *know* girls, so it shocked us! We sat on the porch that afternoon for quite some time, chatting and getting used to the idea. We began chatting names, which we had already done SO many times before, and had never even come close to agreeing on one. Even previous pregnancies, the girl names were easy and the boy names were so tough for us! I went into the hospital with Clare knowing that, if she was a boy, I didn't want to use the boy name we'd picked lol. And all of a sudden one of us mentioned Jacob, which had someone never come up on a saint list before, and we both lit up. We both liked it! I quickly googled and yes, he's a saint! He was a martyr in Korea. <br /><br />So, barring any random decisions that I totally have the prerogative for, our baby is Jacob Theodore!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-32072976825296040732018-12-10T09:45:00.001-05:002018-12-10T09:45:19.820-05:00Life HappensAs you can see, life gets in the way of my very lofty plans to journal daily. But it's mostly for good reasons! I've had some very wonderful days with my girls. I'm the worst about letting a bad hour ruin an otherwise good day, so I've continued to work hard to shift my perspective and not do that. Yesterday was about as perfect as perfect can be. Any time there's winter weather, Steven has to stay overnight at a hotel. He had to stay two nights this time. So any "break" I get when he gets home is obviously gone during that time. I was prepared for yesterday to be tough, both because it was mostly an indoors/can't-go-anywhere day AND because he was gone for 48 hours. But the girls and I had such a great day! We watched some extra shows and The Star movie, snuggled and read books, they played makeup, really just every day stuff but I didn't let a tough 5 minutes here or there spoil the day. And bed time was EASY which is not often the case. It was exactly what my mama heart needed. Today Steven is still at work, it's still super gross outside and below freezing, and we're stuck inside again but.... so far, so good! We got our school done, our advent things done, and the girls are snuggled up with a Curious George Christmas movie. I've relaxed my rules around screen time a lot the past few days, which is fun for ALL of us. It makes me glad for my regular screen time rules, because this feels so out of ordinary and special. I'm working hard still on slowing down this advent and it's helped a lot. I still think about running out for a tree... but I remind myself how much they've loved playing with their Charlie Brown tree, and how much I've loved removing a situation where I'd need to redirect constantly. I'm enjoying simplifying gift getting, and focusing more on reading lots of great Christmas books with the girls, doing our advent wreath prayers, praying our new baby's rosary, and doing crafts together. The Jesse tree did not happen again this year, and I'm not even stressing it. Maybe next year! I hope your advent is as peaceful as ours is going so far!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-82055078094409577852018-11-26T12:42:00.001-05:002018-11-26T12:42:39.670-05:00Letter to our Baby BoyBaby boy,<br />
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We are getting SO excited for you! This pregnancy is flying, no doubt because your sisters are keeping me SO busy! Physically this pregnancy has been easier than my last one, so that is nice! Maybe it didn't get harder until later... I can't remember. But I'm enjoying feeling somewhat human :). I am reacting to the progesterone injections that are keeping you snug and warm inside, so that is a bit scary, but trying to trust that everything will be ok. So far I'm having to miss one of my two shots per week, and have had to be on antibiotics for that area getting infected. I found it weird that I never had this problem the last two pregnancies (well maybe once or twice but never recurrent like this) but apparently with it being in oil, you can develop almost an allergy to the oil. I guess not allergy but intolerance? So that's potentially what's happening but... they don't make it in another oil! Just a small price to pay for my sweet boy. If only I could get your sisters to quit bouncing off my right side!<br />
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Today at library story time there were 3 different babies all crawling age, and all boys. Both girls loved them and kept rubbing their heads and backs, and watching them crawl. It got me sooo excited to see them with you!!!! It still blows my mind that you're a boy, and it's been fun watching other baby boys because I really only ever imagined myself as a girl mom! I ordered a few newborn sleepers and it was really fun to get them in the mail and try to picture you wearing them. Ms Natalie (mommy's best friend and your future Godmother!) got me the diaper bag and dinosaur muslin blanket I wanted. It makes it feel so real! In a few months you'll be snuggled in that blanket! You are such a wiggly guy and I wonder if you always will be. You seem to be more "hands" than feet. I feel those hands going ALL the time, but only get truly kicked once or twice a day. I love you and can't wait to meet you.<br />
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Love<br />
MommyStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-40283053961691537362018-11-25T12:56:00.003-05:002018-11-25T12:56:48.364-05:00Oh My, Apple PieThis morning I made an apple pie. That might be a regular day for some people, but I really struggle with baked goods, so I don't make them often. But I realized that never having them does nothing to help my girls, and I want them to have memories of us baking. So when I came across an apple pie recipe that sounded good to me (pie is usually not my thing!), I ripped it out and decided to make it at some point. Then Steven's mom asked me to bring a pie for Thanksgiving, and the girls and I had so much fun making a chocolate chess pie. And I happened to have one crust leftover so.... now there's a freshly baked apple pie on my counter waiting for dinner time tonight! I know lots of people bake around the holidays, but it's hard for me to rationalize that knowing that we're already getting lots of extra treats around those times. I need to get better at making treats here or there in the longer spells without holidays/treats/candy. My neighbor bakes all the time, and usually ends up giving half away as soon as she makes it. This sounds painful to me :), but certainly healthier than standing in the kitchen silently eating a brownie while my kids play in another room!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-67501216908529039242018-11-24T20:05:00.001-05:002018-11-24T20:05:26.987-05:00Homeschool UpdateWell, since I never posted about starting homeschooling, I guess this isn't really an update :). I started pre-k with Felicity in September, right after our family beach vacation. So far we are absolutely loving it!!! I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching for a couple years (we have known we wanted to homeschool for a while). I stumbled upon Charlotte Mason, and then Mater Amabalis which is the Catholic version, and it was love! There is very little formal schooling before age 7, and lots of time spent outdoors/in nature, coupled with living books instead of text books, and lots of high quality literature. Could it be any more perfect!? I'm sure I will tweak it a bit each year, but so far I've been really happy with it and I'm eager to do kindergarten with her next year! We are in the first year of "prep level" this year. There were one or two things I removed, but otherwise I'm following it pretty closely. Our day generally looks like: breakfast while I read a bible story, followed by any table work we are doing (writing, math, workbooks- which are NOT Charlotte Mason but my kid loves!, etc). Then we move out to the couch for reading time. Generally we do arts/crafts and one other thing in the afternoon; usually a hands on phonics or math game, and then we spend as much time outside as possible. I aim for about 2 hours a day... that'll increase when they can go outside without me, either because of their age or because we FINALLY build a fence ha! Sometimes they scooter and play with friends, and other times we go on nature walks, hikes, or make "soup" out of mulch, rocks, and berries. We have started nature journaling a tiny bit, but mostly I leave nature time pretty unstructured for now. I would say all in all, we spend 40 or so minutes a day doing "school" when you think of the more formal things, but of course Felicity is learning tons outside of that when she helps me clean, or cook, or just asks questions on her own. We normally do about 4 days a week with maybe a super quick thing to wrap up the week on the 5th day. Next year will go up to about an hour a day. One of the biggest perks for me has been doing art with her. She not only loves it, but I am enjoying it and learning so much, too! We've learned about a couple different artists now, and my favorite so far has been Kandinsky who created abstract art. There is a book "The Noisy Paint Box" that has SUCH a wonderful message for young kids, with his actual life experiences and quotes in it. I highly recommend checking it out! We are going to start some music study soon (and by study I mean painting or coloring while we listen to a composer and me mentioning his name :) ), and we are going to The Nutcracker next month... can't wait! So far homeschooling gets 2 thumbs up from all of us!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-43750605801585522432018-11-23T10:12:00.005-05:002018-11-23T10:12:55.221-05:00Five Minutes NOT About Thanksgiving :)It would be easy to use my journaling time today to recap what we did for Thanksgiving but, let's face it, that would be kind of boring. What I'm going to share is related, without a play by play. After we ate yesterday, we went to my mother and father in law's new/old farm. I say new/old because it has been in their family forever, but they are the new owners. They have lived the last 30 years in a small ranch home not too far from this land. My MIL's mother and father had this land and the buildings on it until she passed earlier this year. There are 6 children and they split up the land, animals, rental trailers, and farm equipment between them. No one else wanted the actual farm, but my MIL did. My FIL was a bit resistant, mostly because of the amount of work it would take to keep up with the small farm property, and then to sell their house they've lived in for decades. But since no money had to be exchanged, they can take their time with both getting the farm house ready to move into, and selling their current home. There are many old sheds and buildings on the property, but one is the house my MIL grew up in that had no electricity or running water before the current house was built. It is so crazy to think about that! Yesterday we walked down to the creek and saw the spring that her parents would get water from. It's now fairly dilapidated and stores old farm stuff, but it is really cool to have that piece of history on their property. After they split everything 6 ways, my in laws got about 10 acres of land including the house, one of the pastures, some woods, and the creek. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have my kids grow up visiting and playing here!<br />
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One of my internal struggles since choosing the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling for my family is that there is quite a lot she recommended, that I agree with, that is really hard to provide in many modern day settings. For example, she suggested that kids be outside for 4-6 hours a day. I actually totally agree with that, but when you have a toddler and live in the suburbs with small lots, you have to supervise everything, and who has 6 hours to sit outside each day!? Any day that's nice, we aim for 2 hours, and my kids LOVE nature and being outside, so it's working. But I do still with that I could open the back door and send them out into our expansive field of a backyard to run, play, and collect bugs. Buuuuut I really like having neighbors and short mowing times and Target, Chickfila, and Starbucks 5 or so minutes away :). So, in a way, this is the best of both worlds. I keep my modern conveniences (I'd still like a bit more property at some point in our future, but for now we are staying put!), but we have 10 glorious acres of land we can hop in the car and go play on and explore for the day. I'm not sure why we didn't feel like we had that same access when Steven's grandma was alive... certainly I don't think she would have cared, and probably would have loved it!... but this certainly feels like opening a whole world of nature and fresh air to my kids. Yesterday they spent about a half hour running across the tops of hay bales. I can't wait for more of that!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-17074676826562429452018-11-21T14:31:00.001-05:002018-11-21T14:31:18.726-05:00To Tree or Not to Tree I've obviously been thinking a lot these past few days about letting go of stress and choosing joy, even amidst certain circumstances that I can't change. I came to a pretty big (for me) decision today that I still have mixed feelings about, but I know it's the right decision. A few weeks ago, I sent Steven a Five Below ad and asked him to swing by and pick up their $5 4 foot artificial Christmas tree. I knew for $5 it would probably be a Charlie Brown tree, but I figured that would be perfect for a tree that the girls could decorate and undecorate to their hearts' content. I got a few wooden ornaments from Michael's that they can paint, and we have plenty of kid friendly ones in our stash. At that time, it was going to hopefully be a way to keep Clare from undecorating our real tree, like she did last year. But today I had a light bulb moment. Eliminate stress, choose joy. Let the girls have their tree as OUR tree. Charlie Brown and all, who cares? They certainly won't. They'll be <i>thrilled </i>to be totally in charge of the tree. And it will save us the money of buying a real tree (which I LOVE, but it does get pricey year after year), and the time of getting it, getting it set up, watering it, vacuuming the needles every few days, feeling stressed when ornaments are being taken off, and eventually having to take it all down to the curb, and scrub out the tree stand from all the sap. A year off? I'll take it. I don't feel pressure at all from my family; I know the kids will love the little tree, and Steven is very pro reducing stress for me. But I still feel that outside pressure, imaginary maybe, of anyone coming in our home seeing that we don't have a 'real' (live or more legit artificial tree). There's always that neighbor or friend with the show worthy house that you can't help but think "man, they're going to think this is so lame". But.... like was on my list, I need to let go of expectations- both expectations I have of myself, and ones that others may have of me (or that I assume they have of me). So I am letting it go. This year we will embrace and enjoy our Charlie Brown tree! And next year we'll have a crawler, so this may be a tradition for a while ;). As Felicity popped up this morning at 6:15 and said "Happy Thanksgiving Eve, mama!!!!", it helped me realize that she cares about the same stuff I do... the people, the joy of the season, the excitement. She doesn't need anything fancy to enjoy the fun of the day, so neither do I!Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-11233137448324367472018-11-20T08:55:00.003-05:002018-11-20T08:55:54.124-05:00Changes on the HorizonSo out of the list I linked to yesterday, there are definitely a large handful I think I could benefit from. I know that if I go 'whole hog" into it, it won't last, so I'm hoping for some slow changes. The fact that I'm journaling for the second day is hopeful :). I also know I may lose and gain momentum at various points, and I want to be ok with that as long as there's over all progression. So here are the things I want to focus on, eventually:<br />
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<i>Take time in the morning to find your center and set intentions for the day.</i><br />
One thing I love about Felicity's preschooll curriculum is that it includes actual bible readings each morning. A lot of curriculums for that age would be kid style bible stories. Because this is actual scripture, I've found myself benefitting from it too! And now that both kids are sleeping well, I'm hoping to have a few minutes each morning to wake up and get my head in the game before they do. This happens a couple times a week right now, and is so helpful! So this one I will keep trying to improve, but I've unintentionally been working on anyway.<br />
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<i>Consistently let go of expectations. </i><br />
This one is actually addressing expectations you have of yourself and that others have of you, but my bigger stumbling block is unrealistic expectations I can sometimes have of others. So that's going to be my bigger focus.<br />
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<i>Enjoy nature.</i><br />
Another thing that has been enhanced SO MUCH by Felicity's curriculum! We have been doing nature walks, hikes, and nature journaling and I would lying if I said it didn't benefit me as much as it does her :). Even the simplicity of watching my girls collect acorns is so relaxing. I like enjoying nature AND enjoying them in nature.<br />
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<i>Eat nourishing whole foods.</i><br />
Yeah, this is a big one I need to focus on. I will definitely have to do it slowly but I know this is a big part of my problem.<br />
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<i>Get up and dance when you feel too serious.</i><br />
At first the thoughts of this made me want to punch someone so I was going to toss it in the "does not apply" pile. But who I do spend my whole day with? An almost 5 year old and almost 3 year old. I think this could diffuse many a situation or tense mood!<br />
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<i>Unplug your devices and relish in the stillness.</i><br />
Well, there's no stillness here, but I certainly could stand to reduce my screen (phone) time!<br />
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<i>Be mindful of complaining too much/Practice radial gratitude/Seek out the good in a situation (all similar so I combined them).</i><br />
I'm awful about this. I could have 8 beautiful hours in a day and I let 1 really hard hour overshadow all of that. I'm going to focus on more intentionally noticing what things I am grateful for and what things are going well. I tried this at the park yesterday after reading this list. Clare was having a REALLY hard time, as she has been for a few weeks now, but in all reality that was 30 minutes out of 2 hours and 15 min. So I sat back towards the end and relished in how nicely they were playing in the sand and how most of the park trip had actually been delightful!<br />
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<i>Get lost in a storybook.</i><br />
Work in progress! I am generally in the midst of one fiction book and one or two nonfiction books, but part of putting the phone down will be picking the book up more!<br />
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<i>Set goals and take daily action to make them happen. </i><br />
I sort of do this now, but could use improvement. We have Felicity's lesson plan laid out, and I always have a general list of what I want to get done that day. But I still waste a lot of time and let a lot of projects fall by the way side. I am good at keeping up with daily tasks, but not so good at things like cleaning out closets, spring cleaning, etc.<br />
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<i>Formulate a person mantra.</i><br />
This one sounded cheesy to me at first, but I do think in those tough parenting/stay at home mom/homeschooling moments, it could be helpful to have a mantra to repeat while breathing.... "you are a good mom, your children are good children, you can do this". Something like that, maybe.<br />
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<i>Don't assume.</i><br />
This mostly applies to my husband. I need to communicate with him more and assume less, especially because my assumptions at the end of a long, tiring day (for both of us!) are generally neither fair nor kind.<br />
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<i>Laugh as much as possible. </i><br />
Another thing I am terrible at! I am way too serious for my own good, and I need to learn to find humor in things, to laugh at myself, and just relax a little!<br />
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This took way more than the recommended 5 minutes of journaling a day, but it's worth it to have it all in one place that I can look back on when needed! Plus my kids are (mostly nicely) coloring in the other room while I'm doing this :).Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-63972507639414099442018-11-19T11:28:00.001-05:002018-11-19T11:28:21.583-05:00Trying Something NewI've been on a search the past few days of how to "thrive" instead of "survive". I feel like I have spent the majority of the past 2 years in survival mode. That doesn't mean there hasn't been joy; there has been a LOT of joy. But for me it means there hasn't been enough joy or gratitude, I've stressed to much, I've had too high of expectations of myself and others, and I haven't dealt well with circumstances outside of myself and/or my control. I've been thinking about how we are going into a season of <i>actual survival </i>after the baby is born, and how am I doing that when I still feel like I'm in survival mode right now??? So I've been hunting for books and podcasts to help. I haven't found a ton as far as practical help, but I did find <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/panache-desai/31-ways-to-move-from-surv_b_12801518.html">this article</a> that has quite a few things I want to implement (and also some fairly woo suggestions lol).<br />
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So one of the suggestion is to journal for 5 minutes a day. I think, ideally, that would be handwritten form. But this is so much easier. For now, I'm going to aim to do it here. If that doesn't work, or it begins to feel too personal to post to the general public, I'll switch to actual journal form. If I keep up with this for at least one day, I'll be back tomorrow to share which of the 31 I want to work on implementing :).Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-55571597138818257592018-10-16T20:21:00.005-04:002018-10-16T20:21:57.722-04:00This Pregnancy So Far...I don't think I will be with it enough this time to do those cutesy quizzes (did I just hear an audible sigh of relief from my handful of readers? ;) ), but I did want to at least document some things, so I'm going to make my own categories here! I'm 17 weeks and 4 days currently.<br />
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Weight gain: Oy, let's get this over first. I've gained 13lbs so far which is a lot for this point in pregnancy AND I started off about 10 lbs higher than my last two. Not at all excited about losing after baby is born, but it is what it is for now. It's definitely making me more self conscious and less "cute pregnant" feeling, but I'm trying to love my body knowing that this is very likely our last.<br />
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Nausea: Very similar to the girls, I was nauseous for about the first 10 weeks, pretty badly (it felt to me, at least), and then it eased up a lot, totally disappearing by 12 or 13 weeks. It felt so terrible at the time but already seems like a distant memory! Ice water did not seem to help this time around, which was my go to last time, but "preggie pop drops" did!<br />
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Cravings: Meat, "real food" or "dinner food" as I call it (ie only eating meal food and not snacks, which I'm sure contributes to the 13 lbs!), and Taco Bell supreme tacos. Oh man, such a strong craving for THAT particular taco and I'm not normally a huge taco/crunchy taco fan, though I do love texmex in general. I even tried making them at home and it did nothing to satisfy my craving. I was sort of anti sweets for a while and now back to wanting ice cream but... that may have nothing to do with pregnancy lol.<br />
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Least favorite moments: Spending the last few months fighting with insurance over progesterone, which THEY said they'd cover at 50%, only to find out they actually won't cover it at all. Feeling so exhausted that it's sometimes tough to make it to the next room! It happens a lot in the morning but rarely in the afternoon; so weird.<br />
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Favorite moments: Clare asks to feel the baby and then giggles and says "baby tickle me!' even though clearly we know she's feeling nothing. It is PRECIOUS. Finally agreeing on a boy name with Steven after WEEKS of discussion, the afternoon we got our blood test results back saying we're having a boy. Apparently we just needed to know that we in fact CAN make boys lol. The name isn't final so I'm not sharing, but it was nice to finally agree on one!<br />
<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-54345284821835753592018-10-03T17:52:00.002-04:002018-10-03T17:52:43.799-04:00Oh Boy!Dear Baby.... Boy?,<br />
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Well, Meammy sent us one of those blood tests you do yourself and mail in and, according to that, it says you are a boy! I have to say, Daddy and I are pretty shocked. I did not have a feeling about either of your sisters, but I had a strong feeling you were a girl. I think we just assumed we only make girls :). Daddy is still processing the news, but loved the Avengers onesies Meammy sent. I think that helped him to picture his little boy wearing them. I am very excited except that no matter how you look at it, boy clothes just aren't as cute, haha! There are some cute clothes, definitely, but soooo much blue and sports themes. I've seen a lot of bear themed things which, as you get to know me, you'll learn I love bears, so I'm sure you'll have lots of cute bear clothes! I am going to a consignment sale for half price day tomorrow and I'm pretty excited to pick out something for you. I'm going to let Felicity choose something as well, which I think will help excite her about her little brother. It might not surprise you that she was on team girl, but she'll come around! She loves ALL babies, but prefers ANYthing that is a girl right now.... girl dolls, girl people, girl "colors" as she says (sigh!), girl animals. I want to be extra sure you're a boy before I go crazy on clothes (I'm so excited I get to buy things for you!!!!), which we won't know for 5 or so more weeks at the ultrasound. But I figured a couple items at half price day will be just fine. It's going to be so different having a baby boy in our house.... or will it? Felicity is pretty classically girly, and Clare is a really nice mix between girly and "tomboy" (I wish there was a better way to describe what I want to say!), and then we'll see what you're like, and what things you enjoy. All I know is you're going to be loved, and kissed, and babied as much as you can stand! We are really excited for a tiny baby in our house. Love you so much!!<br /><br />
<br />Love,<br />MommyStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-42576065827947811562018-09-13T21:41:00.001-04:002018-09-13T21:41:27.553-04:00Dust Off the Old Blog for Baby #3Baby #3,<br /><br /><br />Ahhhhhh! I'm 13 weeks pregnant, but it's still overwhelming to think about, although incredibly exciting. As you might notice by the lack of pre-pregnancy letters, our journey for you was quite different from your sisters. Let's just say that we took what was a VERY small chance, being ok with the VERY small chance that we would get pregnant, knowing that it took fertility meds for Felicity, and many months of charted trying for Clare, and, well, here we are :). Though I initially completely freaked out at being pregnant (after all, I had taken 2 negative tests before the positive and really did not think it was possible I was pregnant), I remembered me something that has brought me peace every day since then. And bare with me if you aren't Catholic/religious, because this concept might be super weird to you. A couple days after said chance was taken, I prayed to God. I told God that I was not sure daddy or I would have it in our hearts to be that open again and that if it was His will for there to be another baby in our family, he better work with what we gave Him. I have no doubt that you were in God's plan for our family all along. Daddy and I both had so many reservations and hesitations about whether to grow our family or not, simply because of the needs of our current children (and ourselves!), but I'm so glad we took that chance and God ran with it. Felicity is beside herself with joy. She will be 5 when you are born and is already, seriously, the most amazing sister ever, so I have no doubt that'll extend to you, too. I love seeing her level of excitement and understanding at this age. She talks about you almost every day, and went to our 8 week ultrasound to see our little bean. Clare doesn't quite get it, but will point at my stomach and say "baby tummy?". She needs lots of reminders to be gentle with mommy's tummy, but she's getting there. Just before I found out I was pregnant, both girls became really interested in babies which really tugged my heart strings. That has continued, as well as playing babies, and playing baby dolls has really picked up. Your sisters are processing the wonderful news and are so excited. I know we'll have growing pains but, if I'm honest, I knew deep down I wasn't "done". Despite the fact that my last pregnancy was pretty awful and I don't really love nursing, I didn't feel done with either of those things. I wanted to feel one more baby grow, feed one more baby, watch one more baby meet milestones. I'm so glad it's you. We left gender a surprise with your sisters, but we are going to find out with you. I'm nervous I will regret it (finding out at birth has been SO MUCH FUN!), but we want to experience this side of it, plus I really need to know whether or not to keep the closet FULL of girl clothes for a Feb/March baby that I have stored! Your cousin is due March 12th, just before your March 21st due date. So many babies :). Love you so much and keep growing, little one. Now I should probably go take a "bump" picture since I'm already 2 pictures behind. Sorry 3rd baby :).<br />
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Love,<br />
MommyStacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-56045874686513770072018-04-09T20:18:00.001-04:002018-05-16T20:15:50.081-04:00Update on My Girls I am apparently no longer a blogger, but I wanted to at least give little snippets of life since my baby girls just turned 4 and 2!!!<br />
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Felicity:<br />
Current interests/likes: mermaids, Paw Patrol, Octonoauts, Animal Mechanicals, chapter books (we went through the Mercy the pig series together), dinosaurs (mostly longnecks from Land Before Time), crafting- mostly scissors, glue, and paint currently, board games, Go Fish, mazes, workbooks, pretending to be a dog, playing rock, scissors, paper, having "movie nights" with her friend Aubrey, having mommy or daddy dates (just her and one of us), folding my cleaning rags for me, making her own pbj.<br />
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Dislikes: being bathed (she likes playing but not being washed), sleeping alone or going to bed alone (after 2+ years of no problem!!!), writing letters even though she knows them, getting ready for bed, having her hair brushed.<br />
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Favorite sayings: Compellor for propellor, vamilla for vanilla, gorilla bar for granola bar<br />
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Medical things: My poor girl is dealing with anxiety and we are treading lightly and lovingly, waiting to discuss with her doctor at her well check to see at what point we should be getting outside help for her. She's incredibly afraid of being anywhere alone; hence the sleep struggles I mentioned. Or even where she perceives she's alone but she's really not, like her being in her car seat, me telling her I'm grabbing something from the back of the van, and then disappearing from her sight for 30 seconds to do it. And she went from playing alone in her room 2 or so hours a day to not at all. It's been a few months of this so... my gut says it may not get better without some intervention (besides us trying to love her through it). Otherwise, she's very healthy and is right on track developmentally.<br />
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General: Felicity is my rule follower and little helper. She says so many things that Steven and I say she's "my" daughter... IE she is my mini me. She wants to help, please people, and keep the peace. She also likes to make sure other people are following the rules. Felicity is SO smart and learns so easily and quickly. She's all about work books and, for the most part, has no problem with kindergarten level workbooks. She loves being read to and making up fairy tales to tell each other. She's gotten super cuddly and touch needy, so we get a lot of snuggles together. Felicity is my little buddy and I love running errands with her.<br />
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Clare:<br />
Current interests/likes: anything resembling a piggy bank where she can insert small objects into a containers, any tiny things whether they are toys or not (for ex, she loves the tiny Calico Critter babies and bottle/pacifier), her play kitchen and Melissa and Doug cookie set, pretending to be a dog, climbing, jumping, swinging, snuggling, books, snacks.<br />
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Dislikes: any arts and crafts besides the rare occasion where she participates for a few minutes, messy hands, having her hair washed, not being held on demand, sleeping alone.<br />
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Favorite sayings: She calls my parents "mammy" and "boppa", short for what Felicity calls them, "meammy and meampa", touch (rhymes with couch.... for couch lol), tup for cup, she calls herself Wara, meaning Clara which is our fault for calling her that when she's naughty lol, "Wara do it", and very favorite and longest lasting is "naynayne" for airplanes, which she is OBSESSED with! She says "bapple" for apple, "oof one" for other one, and "oof-fly" for butterfly. She has the SWEETEST little voice and I love hearing her talk, especially now that she is starting to string words together.<br />
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Medical things: After a year of struggles meeting Clare's needs and feeling like there was something just off, we had her evaluated through early intervention. She is right on track developmentally, but is very sensory seeking, and mildly sensory avoidant. We are so fortunate to be receiving developemtnal play therapy one hour a week and OT one hour a week. I didn't even know developmental play therapy was a thing, and it surprised me to hear them say she needs it... but the more I thought about our day to day, they are totally right. She's extremely disorganized with play and doesn't usually seem to 'get' it. Felicity can do very little with Clare around because Clare rarely can join in in any meaningful way, which is especially frustrating for Felicity as she is too afraid to play alone in her room right now. So I am really thankful to be getting services started for her (next week!) to help her play better, feel better, respond better to stimuli, and for us to be able to help her.<br />
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General: Clare keeps us on our toes. She is NOT a rule follower :), and prefers to do her own thing her own way. She will run as far away as she can one second, and not want to be put down or have me out of her sight the next. Clare likes to do things on her terms and knows what she wants. Clare is so inventive and resourceful that it shocks me. She can get anything from anywhere, even when I feel like I've fully "Clare-proofed" something. Watching her wheels turn is fascinating. She will stack furniture in a heart beat to get over gates, onto counters, open door knobs, etc. She is very emotional and does an amazing full body pout, and equally amazing head-only pout. It's a little sad and a little funny at the same time. Clare is such a funny little girl. She's always made silly faces, and now she tells knock knock jokes that make zero sense but are hilarious in their delivery. I can be on the brink of so much frustration with her, and then she does something so funny I can't help but laugh and squeeze her. She stretches my 'parenting muscle' daily, and I am mostly glad for that. I can't really parent her by the book, or at least not just by ONE book. It takes a lot of forethought, compassion, empathy, creativity, boundary upholding, and love to get through our days, and she makes me a better parent every day. Love my silly little bear!<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-59736250447879367712017-09-26T14:11:00.000-04:002017-09-26T14:11:09.218-04:00Coming Out of a Fog I can't promise I am back to blogging with any regularity (in fact, I can probably promise that I'm <i>not</i>), but I am climbing out of a year and a half funk of post partum depression and thyroid madness, and it feels good to feel like myself again. My pregnancy with Clare was pretty rough, as well, so the "me" I am finding was buried quite a ways down there! I suspected, after the fact, that I had some degree of post partum depression with Felicity, so I figured I knew what to look for after Clare was born. Except I guess I still didn't! After about 9 months of feeling like I was a terrible mother, couldn't parent these children of mine, kinda wishing for a different life, and sleeping a lot more than is normal for me (well.... a lot less than is normal due to a baby, but taking advantage of any opportunity to nap during the day with the house semi falling down around me), I finally went to the doctor. It took a bit to get my thyroid back in business, which was one piece of the puzzle. My doctor was impressed I was functioning as "well" as I was with a TSH of 12! But things still weren't quite right, so she recommended I try an over the counter supplement called 5HTP, which is a serotonin booster. I have to be careful how I take it due to interactions with my thyroid medicine, but I noticed an almost immediate improvement. After a couple months, I started feeling that feeling again, and upped the dose. I'm now at the highest dose, and feeling really great. (Side note: do not take without asking your doctor, especially if you are already on other medications.) The next step (because I can't take any higher of a dose) would be antidepressants of some sort, but I will cross that bridge if and when I need to.<br />
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It's nice to enjoy life again and not feel overwhelmed by every single thing that comes my way. One of my friends will see my reaction to something and joke, "wow, those are good meds!!". But it's true! I feel like a different person, or like I used to before, and I am able to appreciate my kids despite the trials of having two littles. When I began to talk to friends about how I was feeling, it was surprising how many people had been through or are currently going through a similar thing. As much as my 'village' helps in other ways, it was incredibly helpful to share resources, vent, and know I wasn't the only one going through this. I'm not totally sure what about our day and age makes PPD/PPA so common (though I have my theories), but it's been amazing to have people to push me to feel better, and to support me. If you aren't feeling like yourself, please, please talk to someone. It can sound scary, daunting, or just downright exhausting to make and attend an appointment (hand raised), but it is so worth it. I wish I had gone sooner, because I think in the back of my head I knew it was an issue, but I was just waiting for it to get better. Instead, I lost a lot of opportunities to bond with my kids or just enjoy the time with them. I am hoping a potential next time around, I'll deal with it sooner!<br />
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It also helps that I'm doing things for myself. I haven't done that great of a job of that in the past 3.5 years of being a mom, but I'm making it a priority now and Steven of course supports me 100%. My main desire is for alone time (introvert here!) where children are not needing me or touching me. My secondary desires are for relationships and faith strengthening. So twice a month, 3 friends and I get together for a Bible study. We are using the <i>Blessed Is She</i> series which are deep enough to be moving, but easy enough to not have homework :). We meet at a Panera for about 2.5 hours of food, chatting, and studying. It is SO refreshing!!! I'm also going to a season of plays at a local theater. They happen every other month and have multiple show times, so I should have no problem working around Steven's schedule. I went to the first one last weekend, <i>Doublewide, Texas</i>, and it was hilarious and so much fun! I was gone for about 3.5 hours and felt completely refreshed the next morning, despite being out late and getting less sleep. It is nice to invest in myself, and I know my family will benefit from it, too!<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-81856265472276800722017-07-24T20:33:00.001-04:002017-07-24T20:33:51.601-04:00Current FavoritesI have come to accept that I don't have the time or energy to blog anymore. But periodically I sitll want to jot down things that I don't want to forget. These babies are growing SO fast. Literally overnight Felicity quit saying "lellow" and "Selicity" and began saying "yellow" and "Felicity".<br />
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Thankfully she is still holding onto pupcakes for cupcakes, Old Mcdonald's for the restaurant, pupperoni instead of pepperoni, and she says paper toilet for, of course, toilet paper.<br />
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Felicity went to a parents' night out recently. Well, both girls went, but we only left Clare long enough to go to dinner. Felicity was so excited that we ended up deciding to leave her for the whole thing, from 6-9. She, who even just a few months ago would not leave my side at soccer, ran to the classroom in a place she'd never been before, to people she'd never met before, without a second glance back and Steven or me. She was SO excited and had not an ounce of hesitation. It was so cute to hear her talk about the night as she's rarely away from me for me to hear about something she did that was her own thing. She talked about how the 'blue shirts' helped her... the people running it all wore blue shirts. So cute!<br />
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Felicity is obsessed with our neighbor's boys!!! We babysit them for about 8-10 hours a week and walk with them most week day mornings followed by about a half hour of play time... and she still begs to see them! It is so sweet to watch their friendships.<br />
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Clare does not talk much at all but has the cutest little personality quirks and mannerisms. She has one version of "If You're Happy And You Know It" that makes her day when it comes on in the car. She turns to look at her sister, beaming, and begins clapping. I often turn it on to boost my own mood! Clare also loves Old McDonald and sings "EIEIO". Felicity often will get up dance during the opening song of her shows, and now Clare does too, even if Felicity isn't. She smiles at me and turns circles until she falls. In fact, the only dance move she has is turning circles haha! *In the interim of writing this and it sitting in my drafts, my sweet baby has had a language explosion! She calls herself "pitty" (pretty) when she puts anything on including but not limited to Steven's work shoes, and a fireman raincoat. She says woof, her version of meow, sissy, Jesus, and bye bye. She is also super in love with our friend's baby who she has named "me-me" and she now refers to all babies and baby dolls as "me-me".<br />
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Clare is really into whatever Felicity is into, which I expected would happen when they were older, and I find precious to see already. Because Felicity is so into Paw Patrol, Clare also likes "deedee" (dogs). Any time Felicity wears her paw patrol shirts and bathing suits, Clare runs to her, points, and exclaims "deedee!". I found a baby sized Skye shirt at Old Navy on clearance and knew she had to have it! So funny that she's "into" things already at this age, just because of her sister! She is also obsessed, OBSESSED with shoes. She wants to wear everyone's shoes, no matter how big, and the crankiest mood can be lifted by putting on a pair of shoes, real or 'dress up', and walking around the house. I have never seen a kid so into shoes!<br /><br />These girls may wear me on daily... no, more than that!... but I am really loving watching them grow and change!<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-21748629148799964602017-03-14T20:36:00.001-04:002017-03-14T20:36:28.403-04:00My Baby is 1!!!Wow, what a year!!! Clare has changed so much, beyond the obvious ways. She started off as a super quiet, laid back baby who nursed about 23 hours a day, for months. She also slept 8-10 hours straight at night. Then the 4 month regression hit, a little early at 3.5 months, and my cool as a cucumber baby became kind of fussy and hard to manage, and woke to nurse a ton at night. Now at a year, she is still kind of .... tempermental :). Teething pain has surprised all of us, and she has 6 teeth that all came in over the course of about as many weeks. She is loud and proud, a little chatterbox, and likes to let you know what she's feeling. Clare is also such a funny little girl! She makes the best faces and cracks up at her sister, being tickled, and lots of other things.She is such an explorer and nothing slows her down. She climbs and goes down slides by herself (even big playground ones), and basically climbs anything she can scale! People keep telling me how tiny she is, which surprises me as she's always been around 65th percentile for height and weight, but I guess she has slimmed down a lot since her 9 month well check due to how insanely active she is! We go on the 16th, so I will find out stats. I've dealt with a bit of post partum depression, largely related to sleep, and that coupled with some crazy thyroid issues has made her first year harder for me than it would have otherwise been. It has also gone even faster than Felicity's first year did. But along the way we have had so many great snuggles because this girl is such a great eater! As brave as she is, she gets overwhelmed in crowds and new settings, and often we retreat to somewhere quiet and I nurse her and kiss her little hands. I have loved those little moments and they've kept me going through the chaos and struggles.<br />
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Height:<br /><br />Weight:<br /><br />Medical issues: none since the last update!<br /><br />Sleep: Her sleep has gotten worse, so we're going to begin very slowly night weaning a la Jay Gordon's method. I'm going to choose 4 hours where she won't nurse and Steven will take over during that time, so I'll get a minimum of a 4 hour block of sleep. Then she can nurse/sleep with me. Her adjustment to the toddler bed for naps and the first part of the night was pretty easy, so I'm hoping this goes just as well!<br />
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Clothes/diaper size: Same as last month... 12 months clothes (thought I have her in some 18 but they're a bit too big), and size 4 diapers.<br />
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Likes: Eating EVERYthing she comes across, especially rocks and mulch at the park. She doesn't actually swallow it, so I don't stop her, much to the dismay of children and parents alike at playgrounds. Clare likes to be tickled, play peek a boo, look through books, nurse and cuddle, kick while nursing and general other gymnurstics, loves to put toys in and out of containers, and loves playground equipment.<br /><br />Dislikes: Clare does not like having her diaper changed or clothes changed/put on. She is not a fan of swings (so opposite from her sister!), preferring to crawl all over the playground. She does not like bed or nap time, though thankfully is usually down within about 10 minutes.<br /><br />Nicknames: Clare Bear, Sissy, Clara<br />
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Milestones: Clare took her first steps on February 23rd, and a week later was up to 10 steps at a time. Currently she can cross entire rooms and does about 50/50 with walking vs crawling. March 7th was when her climbing really took off. She began climbing any steps she could find, and especially loves climbing up on the couch from a foot stool. Today she figured out how to get off the couch by herself by sliding down on her belly, so maybe I'll have a few less heart attacks ;).<br /><br />I don't want to forget this: Clare and Felicity have begun to play with each other in the back seat of the car and it is SO CUTE to watch and hear. Felicity will hold Clare's hands and they giggle, or they'll make faces or noises at each other. Felicity will also hold Clare's hands and walk her around the room. It's great practice for Clare and Felicity feels like such a big shot for helping. Clare sometimes tackles Felicity, and it is so much fun to watch her initiate play with her sister! I can't wait to see how much more this fun and wild personality of hers develops!!<br />
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<br /><br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-86891071047758800562017-02-20T13:01:00.000-05:002017-02-20T13:01:04.607-05:00My Big Kid is 3!!!!The little girl who made me a mommy is 3 today. I can't believe it! The year from 2 to 3 has hands down been my favorite, and I'm excited to see what 3 holds. I did not think the 2s were terrible at all. Watching her grow, learn, and become her own person has been such a fun ride. Felicity is smart as a whip, tender hearted, assertive some of the time, and shy some of the time. I often say I never know what I'll get with her. I guess she's like a box of chocolates ;). For her birthday, we threw a Paw Patrol family party complete with a pink cake with purple icing that she requested. Today we're going to a giant indoor play place and having ice cream sundaes for supper! She got lots of paw patrol toys as well as a cleaning kit, outdoor toy kitchen, and our big gift to her is magnatiles... which we can't wait to play with :).<br />
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Height: 38 inches... she had a growth spurt this year and looks so tall to me now! She outgrew our back up car seat (even though it's rated for 40 lbs 40 in) almost over night.<br /><br />Weight: 36.5 lbs; during that growth spurt, Felicity also went from a 2T to a 4T. She has almost no 3T clothes to pass down to Clare because we barely had anything in that size before the pants got too short. I do think her diaper affects that somewhat, but 4T clothes seem more comfortable for her.<br />
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Medical issues: Poor girl has some major constipation issues we're puzzled by and trying to solve, which also seems to be affecting potty training, so that's on the back burner until we get everything figured out for her. Other than that, she's had a couple small bugs and colds this year but has actually been the healthiest out of the 4 of us. Multiple times the rest of us would have something, and she'd never catch it.<br />
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Sleep: About a month ago, Felicity gave up naps. I don't mind because she still has a "rest" where she stays in her room for about 90 minutes. Sometimes she stays in bed and other times gets out, but she plays quietly. This gives me down time while Clare is down, or time to nurse/keep Clare down while she is in her room, so it works out really well. She has put herself to bed easily and slept through the night the entire past year, with (thankfully) no regressions when Clare was born, or anything like that. She's a great sleeper! Felicity usually sleeps anywhere from 6:30/7;30pm to 6/7 am. Some days she will sleep til 7:30! I realize that may be early for some, but it is luxurious here.<br />
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Clothes/diaper size: As I mentioned before, she's mostly in 4T. I suspect she'll be in them for quite a while, but she could surprise me! Felicity is wearing a size 6 diaper.<br />
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Likes: Everything Paw Patrol! Her imagination has exploded over the last few months, and she will easily spend an hour in her room or at the kitchen table playing with her paw patrol toys (and she has LOTS of them because we apparently have no self control). From 1 until about 2.5, she didn't care much for toys, especially if she was playing alone. Most of her things went untouched and she was much more into reading, dancing, arts and crafts, etc. Now she will get out Little People, puzzles, her doctor kit and so many other things and come up with her own little scenarios. I have a blast peeking in at her to see what she's playing. It's such a fascinating glimpse into her little brain.<br />
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Felicity loves naming colors, numbers, shapes, days of the week and letters. She's has them down for probably close to the last year, except days of the week which are very new for her, and is now starting to enjoy trying to copy letters (as of this week). She is incredibly easy to teach. I have never 'formally' taught her anything. She watches educational shows, we sing songs, read, and I point out things in every day life and she absorbs them almost immediately. I'm always surprised when I teach her something once or twice (like how to pray the children's rosary where you just say the names of the prayers) and she will do it on her own days or even weeks later. I hope she is always this much of a sponge.<br />
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She also enjoys just about any show on Rootle (the PBS kids' channel), any book that comes her way especially Berenstain bears, dress up, snacks, and night snuggles.<br />
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Dislikes: Felicity is very, very tender and is, dare I say outraged?, when someone hits or pushes her, or takes her toys. Though she of course will offend others in the same way, it is so hurtful to her when it happens to her. Much to my dismay, she does not really like kisses or hugs. She might run up and hug me once or twice a day, but that's about it. Kisses are almost nonexistent. She doesn't like loud noises, anything in her shoes, or wearing coats even when it's cold!<br />
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Nicknames: She mostly requests to be called Skye (Paw Patrol), and we call her Tickle, Big Girl, baby, and sissy.<br />
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I don't want to forget this: Felicity has matured so much this year! She's pretty good at using her manners, although she's a little 'bossy' ;). She LOVES nursery (1x a month) and being left with neighbors (maybe 3-4x a month) where 8 or so months ago she would have dissolved in tears at being left. Now she runs off, refusing a hug goodbye. Probably out of necessity, Felicity has become much more independent since Clare was born. She gets her own diapers and wipes, along with her sister's, and throws away the dirty ones. She's putting her dishes in the sink and sometimes will wipe up her messes. She is pretty good about putting things away, and seems to like things having a 'place'. She's very much a preschooler and not a toddler anymore!<br /><br />I love watching the special relationships she has with her grandparents. She warms up to them almost immediately, if not immediately, and loves to play with and cuddle them. It's also been so fun to watch her with her sister! Although sometimes it's frustrating how rough she is with her, there are also tons of sweet moments where she'll try to comfort Clare if I can't get to her right away, saying things like "it's ok baby; your mommy is right here!". She also is cute about sharing her food with Clare, which she won't do with anyone else!<br /><br />I love this girl so much!!!!<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-69316894403156032052017-02-14T20:04:00.002-05:002017-02-14T20:04:33.033-05:00Clare Sophia: 11 Months<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">One more month until I'm the mom of a toddler, instead of a baby! Today is her last first holiday (besides her 1st birthday, of course).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Weight: 21.5ish lbs, she's slimmed out and slowed down! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Height: No clue! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Medical issues: None really except super fussy sooooooo much of the time! I only put it under medical because I think it's due to teething. She will have a good week, then a few hard weeks and *pop* a tooth appears. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Sleep: Thankfully she is sleeping until 6 or 6:30 most days! We moved her into the toddler bed for naps and to start the night, and it was SO EASY! I figured she was ready because she wasn't sleeping as well and, while she's not doing much of the night in there yet, it has been such a simple transition. I would say 90% of the time she is asleep within 10 minutes. Such a difference from her sister who took 60-90 minutes to fall asleep for many months! She is still napping twice a day; usually she does a 30 ish minute morning nap and about an hour and a half in the afternoon. She goes to bed around 6 or 6:30. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Clothes/diaper size: Still mostly 12 months with a couple 12-18. She was wearing bigger sizes than her age for the longest time and now we seem to be hanging out in this set of clothes for a while! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Likes: hanging on mommy, laughing at/with her sister, wrestling with her sister in small doses, climbing anything she possibly can, eating (finally!) </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Dislikes: me sitting on the couch AT ALL EVER (so exhausting, wee one), me leaving the room, poopy diapers, having her diaper or clothes changed </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nicknames: Clare Bear, Clara (her alter ego) </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Milestones: January 15th she got tooth #2 (her other bottom/middle tooth). On January 22nd, she started cruising, and REALLY picked up on it on February 10th. Also on February 10th, Clare realized she can climb! She climbs up the baby slide by herself, uses the foot stool to get on the couch, and a step stool to climb into a kitchen chair. She is one adventurous girl!!! On February 11th, her top right tooth broke through and I can see the top left one working it's way under the gums... which explains why she's been pretty miserable; poor girl :(. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">I don't want to forget this: Goodness, she makes the best faces!!! Clare can do the funniest little contortions with her face and erase an entire tough morning with one goofy look at me! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">She is super ticklish and lately the palms of her hand get her laughing SO hard! I love to tickle her and smother her in kisses. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">If Clare is not happy about something, she will slowly fall to the floor and lay on her back. So dramatic!!!<br /><br /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span>Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-18001344400341448062017-01-15T20:37:00.001-05:002017-01-15T20:37:57.387-05:00Clare Sophia: 10 Months <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Double digit months!!!! For once, I wasn't going to be sentimental about something, but then Steven said "she'll never be single digit months again!!!" and I got all verklempt.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Weight: 21.5ish lbs</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Height: Yard stick broke so not sure lol.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Medical issues: So last month I shared (again) that Clare has been kind of difficult and cries a lot, particularly with me. Well, guess what? The issue has been solved and it had nothing to do with her. It was all me! My thyroid was completely out of whack and was manifesting itself in PPD-like symptoms. Clare was feeding off of that, and in turn I thought she was super fussy, especially with me, and did not want to be around her much. I am SO SO SO glad I finally figured it out and am being treated because she and I have both been a night and day difference, and trying not to focus on the 2+ months I basically lost with her because I was a mess :(. Anyway, medically this past month she's been great. A tiny bit rashy here or there but nothing too bad. I've even been able to give her a tiny bit of dairy on occasion without a rash flareup! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Sleep: Basically the same as always but mornings are soooooo hard because she's waking up in the 5am hour having to poop. I can't change the time she poops! So we are both up very early and are very tired. She's having 3 naps often because she can't make it to her first nap time getting up that early. So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping Clare's poops will at some point wait until at least 6!!!! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Clothes/diaper size: 12 months for the most part, although I've pulled out a couple seasonably appropriate 12-18m things that she has worn and they aren't super big! She's in a size 4 diaper and I imagine will be for a while. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Likes: to hang things out of her mouth and give her mother a heart attack, like a toy drum stick while crawling; pacifiers to play with; pouches for breakfast; pulling hair</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Dislikes: playing alone on the floor for more than 20 min or so without me down there to keep her company (she doesn't want/need me to play with her but just wants me close by), </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nicknames: Clare Bear, Rocky (dubbed Rocky by her Paw Patrol obsessed sister)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Milestones: At the very end of December, Clare started climbing stairs. Of course she gave me yet another heart attack by climbing our brick porch steps, but now that I know to watch for her heading that way, I can spot her and she does a great job! She later climbed almost all the way up our friends' stairs at their house. On Jan 4th, Clare stood for a couple seconds unassisted. She has done it more and more since then, probably peaking at 5-10 seconds at a time. On the 12th, she began standing up from the sitting position on her own, without using us or furniture to pull up. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">I don't want to forget this: She is still my funny and silly girl. Clare is constantly putting random things to her head like a phone. When she stands, she will often put both hands up beside her ears like "look ma! no hands!" and is so proud of herself. She has this one tooth that she'll smile with her bottom jaw jutted out so all you see is this little tooth sticking out, and it gets me every time! Clare just makes such funny faces all the time. </span><br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-90669608874469927472016-12-31T19:18:00.000-05:002016-12-31T19:18:01.031-05:002016 In Review: Felicity and ClareName: Felicity<br />
Age: 2 years 10 months<br />
Height: 36 inches<br />
Weight: 35 lbs<br />
Clothing Size: 3T<br />
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Favorite (<i>Felicity is very resistant to the idea of choosing a favorite of anything, which I find sort of endearing, so I ended up answering these from my perspective so you didn't have to read "all of them!" 5 times in a row)</i><br />
Food: peanut butter<br />
Show: Paw Patrol<br />
Activity: playing with mama<br />
Book; any Berenstain bears<br />
Friend: probably our 5 year old neighbor, Marshall <i>(I actually did ask this one and she said "all my friends" followed by "my buddy Marshall").</i><br />
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In 2017<br />
I want to learn: a wipey (<i>clearly she was confused by this one lol</i>).<br />
I want to go: to the museum<i> (she said a dinosaur museum... not sure where she got that from but we will do it!). </i><br />
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Name: Clare<br />
Age: 9 months<br />
Height: 27 inches<br />
Weight: 19 lbs 2.5oz<br />
Clothing Size: 12m<br />
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Favorite<br />
Food: Shepherd's pie and sweet potato casserole<br />
Show: Not currently interested<br />
Activity: Eating inedible things<br />
Book; Good Night book with animals you can pet<br />
Friend: her sister<br />
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In 2017<br />
I want to learn: to walk! (I'm guessing.)<br />
I want to go: wherever my sister goes (again... guessing :) )<br />
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Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-74604820879831843122016-12-23T20:24:00.001-05:002016-12-23T20:24:27.691-05:00Goodbye, My Sweet KittyYesterday we said goodbye to our cat, Buttercup. It was awful. Horrific. But blessedly fast. Yesterday around 4, when Felicity was napping and Steven was out running errands with Clare, Buttercup came up beside me on the couch, which she normally does when she knows both kids are out of the living room. But, she couldn't settle which I thought was just the slightest bit odd. She jumped down and went over to the Christmas tree and I just watched her for a second. I realized that her sides were moving a LOT when she was breathing, like she was having to work really hard. I decided to call the vet and hopefully get an appointment for today so that we didn't go into a holiday weekend with a potential issue. The vet tech asked if she was open mouth breathing. I stood up to look at her and, not only was she breathing in with her mouth open, but she then tried to hide under the Christmas tree skirt which is entirely unlike her. The vet tech said if I could come right then, they could see me, and that she was showing signs of pain or distress. My heart sank immediately and I just had this feeling that it was the end.<br />
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For the past 6 or so months, Buttercup has been showing her age. She's always been very kitten like, playing with her beloved fuzzballs, playing at night, coming up to me for love, but that's all slowed down. She's 14, so it didn't surprise me, but it's been a bit of a sad realization. After I noticed her breathing funny, I remembered that she hadn't eaten much of her wet food for 2 days in a row, and had missed the litterbox a couple days ago. Adding all that together, I just knew it wasn't good. I tried to get a hold of my neighbor to come sit at my house while Felicity napped until Steven got back (I immediately called him to head back), but couldn't get her. So I woke Felicity up and rushed her and Buttercup into the car. I text my mom and sister and a couple friends to pray for me to make the right decision. I tried to keep it together as I drove, for Felicity's sake.<br />
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As soon as we got to the vet, they got us right in... another sign that this wasn't good. Thankfully Steven got there about 5 minutes later and I sent Felicity with him and told him to come home. I didn't want her to see/hear anything just in case. The vet came in and was able to draw fluid off her chest cavity, which he said is what was causing the breathing issues. He analyzed the fluid and said there were cancer cells, likely lymphoma. He offered treatment to reduce the fluid, but I knew that didn't make sense for her. Obviously the lymphoma would take her at some point, and I didn't want her to end up in a ton of pain, or have some horrible episode while I was home alone with the kids and I'm trying to drag all of us to the vet and, worse, put her down with the kids there. I knew that for all of us it was best for it to happen then. I of course started crying and the poor vet gave me a hug. Even though I was prepared for this option going into the appointment, I just couldn't shake the feeling that in minutes my sweet cat would be <i>dead.</i><br />
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I got Buttercup in 2007 when she was 5 years old. I wanted a persian really badly and she came up on my petfinder search at the shelter near my mom's house. I called my mom who went to visit her, and the first thing she saw when Buttercup looked up at her was her tongue. Mom said to me on the phone "you HAVE to get her!" and then jumped through hoops for me (I was an hour and a half away at college) getting the adoption rolling. I drove up a couple days later and my mom and I went together to pick her up. She lived at my mom's house for a couple months until I moved into a pet friendly apartment for grad school. Buttercup somehow knew I was her person and would stay with me any time I came to visit. When I moved into my apartment, she was my companion, my buddy. She kept me company for many years, moved with me to Raleigh, got to know Steven with me, and welcomed my babies into our house... well, at least tolerated them ;). I had her for 9 and a half years, which is so hard for me to believe!<br />
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<br /><br />After I paid and signed paperwork, the vet took us into the room where they euthanize. They try to make it comfortable and non clinical with art work, tissues, comfortable couches, but I felt like I was walking her into a chamber of death. The worst part of it, and the part that will probably haunt me for quite some time, is that Buttercup fought the medication. The first shot was supposed to slow her heart rate and lower her blood pressure so she'd relax, and the second one would stop her heart. They give the first one, then the second one like 5 minutes later. He gave her the first shot and walked out, I guess so I could have time alone holding her, but she began to fight, then her jaw was making some awful grinding noise that is etched in my mind, and she began to dry heave on my arm. It was awful. So awful. I felt like I was torturing the poor cat who spent her life loving me and keeping me company. Thankfully he came back in pretty quickly and, once I told him, gave her a bit of a shot that almost immediately made her go limp. I held her while they shaved a spot off her leg for the final shot, and then held her for just a minute or two after he said her heart stopped beating. I cried into her fur and told her she's been such a great kitty, and thanked her for loving us.<br />
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Going through that experience, I'm not sure how people open their hearts to love another pet again. I'm sure it will happen for us eventually, but right now I can't even fathom it. She was such a special girl, in a way I can't even explain. Buttercup seemed so different than other cats, with this quirky little personality. We knew each other so well. I keep thinking I see her around the house, and realize it can't be her. I see where her food dishes were, that is now just an empty spot. I expect her to come up to me meowing for her canned food, and she doesn't. I miss her "doing her rounds" where she'd walk into our bedroom and our bathroom before circling out multiple times each day. I went to wrap presents today and realized I could use tissue paper, because she wouldn't be there to consume her favorite 'snack'. I cleaned up all of her supplies today to donate to a lady at church. It was too hard seeing it all and I just want it out and to let someone else benefit from it. I think the worst part, besides the awful grinding noise playing over and over in my head, is thinking about her body just waiting to be cremated. I know it's just a body, but I hate the thoughts of her being alone. The whole thing just stinks. I've been spending intentional time today looking back at old pictures of her and talking about memories with family and friends. I've actually had fun finding pictures from certain events and texting them to people :). I'm going to try to focus on the memories and get yesterday out of my head. I miss my matty girl.<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708072677991091353.post-8941357088560606502016-12-15T14:04:00.000-05:002016-12-16T14:46:22.341-05:00Clare Sophia: 9 MonthsLet the birthday prep begin! Well, not really. Felicity's birthday comes first, and we're just doing something simple at home for both of them, but wow, 3 months until my baby is 1!!! It's been a very, very busy month for her!<br />
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Weight: 19.8 lbs... she is starting to thin out!<br />
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Height: Not sure<br />
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Medical issues: possible food sensitivities... she's often super cranky but I haven't been able to link it to food (ie isn't always after eating or nursing). Clare is like that more with me than anyone else, and often will cry until I pick her up, and then cry and push away when I do pick her up. It can be exhausting! She has a slight bug currently, and had pink eye a couple weeks ago. Basically someone in our house has been sick for almost a month!!!<br />
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Sleep: Clare is all across the board on sleep. Some nights and days she sleeps great, others she wakes up a lot or after a very short period of time. But I roll with it because I make her roll with our schedule and don't plan around her naps. She IS on more of a schedule which is nice. She does a short nap about 2-3 hours after waking up and a longer nap around 1 (which is awesome since that's when Felicity goes down). Her bed time is later, around 7/7:30 where it was 6:30 until about a month ago. She is an early bird, waking between 5:45 and 6:30 most days. Some days she actually gets less sleep than her sister! I find it funny that she seems to change preferences on going down from week to week. For a few days or a week she wants to be rocked to sleep, then switches to being nursed to sleep.<br />
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Clothes/diaper size: 12 months and size 4 diapers<br />
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Likes: Rubbing her head/face on soft things like stuffed animals or blankets, getting whatever toy her sister is playing with, yogurt drops, crackers, drinking water from a straw cup, being held, 'wrestling' with Felicity<br />
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Dislikes: mommy putting her down, being at the table after her food is gone, bumping her head (she does it a lot!)<br />
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Nicknames: Clare Bear still, and I call her Clara as her alter ego when she's getting into trouble or super cranky<br />
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Milestones:<br />
Nov 21 Began sitting on hands or knees after nap (vs still laying down)<br />
Nov 26 Bottom middle, left tooth officially through the surface<br />
Nov 29 Pulled up to standing on me, now can pull up and stand holding onto a surface with one hand<br />
Nov 30 Gives kisses to her reflection<br />
Dec 1 Says "mama"<br />
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I don't want to forget this:<br />
The day Clare said mama, she had been crying a lot. I ran an errand to home depot and she screamed the entire way there and back. I was so frazzled and over it. I pulled up to our house, went around and opened her door to get her out, and she happily said "mama!". Now I know she had no clue what it meant, but it was the perfect moment because I was feeling so DONE and all those feelings of love and happiness came flooding back in. I went in the house in happy tears to tell Steven.<br />
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I love her pure innocence and joy at discovering new things. One day she found a ziploc bag containing yogurt raisins leftover from Felicity and began shaking it. She never expected anything to come out, and when it did AND was food, she was so thrilled with herself!<br />
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Clare has an amazing laugh. She is kind of reserved with it, but it is the best thing to hear. I often tickle her belly because it's an almost guaranteed way to get her to giggle.<br />
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Clare generally has her mouth pursed. Looking back at her newborn pictures, she has always done that. I wonder how long it will last! I consider it her trademark :).<br />
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<br />Stacyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05625035254559197934noreply@blogger.com0