Archive for May, 2008

6 Months Old!

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

My baby Andrew is now 6 months old. WOW a half of a year has gone by since I’ve had him? Why are my kids growing up so fast??? I just wrote Mary Elizabeth’s 3 year update and now his 6 month one. (Yep they are exactly 2 1/2 yrs apart + 2 days).

Drew is so cute lately, this truly is such a cute age. I remember it with ME and sometimes I’d like to freeze time for a bit. This picture of him is from 2 weeks ago but I loved it so I had to post it anyway ;)

And yes, that’s him sitting up. Right as he turned 5 months old he started sitting up a little bit and by the time he was 5 1/2 months old he didn’t have much trouble staying seated. Sometimes if he gets too excited he’s still bound to topple but sits rather well. He didn’t grow too much this past month, only about 3 oz and they had a hard time measuring him but I think he’s about the same length or just a bit more. He needs his 6 month growth spurt so that I can make sure he fits into all those adorable outfits I got him for the summer in the next size!! (And if any of you know me – I sure did buy a lot- and very very cute ones!!).

He has started recently with cereal and fruit – won’t eat the cereal without the fruit though and he really likes the bananas. He loves loves loves his big sister, starts laughing just watching her. And he likes playing with his toys. He loves attention and being cuddled, held and sung to too. Still very inquisitve and will often focus on things and study them – do I sense a bit of nerdyness like his daddy??? LOL! Anyway he, like his sister is a true joy.

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They both had their check ups today at the dr and that went well. Dr told us it was OK for ME to stop taking naps if she didn’t need them, glad the Dr was ok with it, because she wasn’t taking them no matter what! She has too much energy and when she did nap (rarely) she would be up past 11 pm! So now she’s been sleeping basically 8pm til 8:30am. Give or take a 1/2 hr both ways. They were pleased with how she is doing and how smart she is.
They think her weight was "off" 2 weeks ago for pre-op because she was 27 lbs not 28 this time around and while it’s possible she lost weight – that much doesn’t sound right and she certainly doesn’t look like she lost it. They weighed her twice to make sure and she is 27 lbs so we’ll stick with that. Also- I think we’ll be cutting back on her overnight feeds (via gtube) in hopes of her eating more during the day. Her weight is great, she’s still a shortie but doing well.
Drew is a shortie too (not as much as her but still) so I think it’s in the genes. And Drew did well too – they were pleased with how he’s doing and all that he can do. He got his shots and cried so hard, the nurses made fun of him there because his big sister always was tough with that! haha. He got over it— eventually!!

:) stay tuned we have a busy weekend ahead- ME’s bday party, My cousin’s graduation party and Memorial day :)

Posted in Andrew, Mary Elizabeth | 110 Comments »

3 Years old!!

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
My baby girl is 3 years old!!!! Where on earth did the time go???
So let’s see, recently she was weighed and measured and that was about 28 lbs and 33.5 inches. Still on the shorter side but growing on her little curve that she’s got going. I will find out the official stats on Thursday when both her and Drew go for their check ups.
She is such a smarty pants. Of course she knows all of her colors (and has for some time now), she knows a lot of the letters of the alphabet, she understands her IF & THEN concept which has helped us tremendously (IF you do this, THEN mommy will give you this). LOL. She had the worst of her terrible 2′s when she was around 2 1/2. Not to say she doesn’t have her moments, and isn’t a typical 3 yr old girl- but she does listen better now than before. She knows so much I don’t even know where to begin, but I know she’s on track or even ahead of where she needs to be because of evaluations she’s had.
She is very artistic, as proven before with her wall-art murals. She draws circles, faces, crosses, balloons, the letter M, and attempts hearts and triangles. She loves music, dancing, and doing little gymnastics that she learned at "the little gym" class she attends. Arts & crafts are more and more fun to do with her now that she is older.
She loves to dress up- she is definitely a girly-girl. Likes to wear dresses, loves jewelry, loves shoes, and pocket books etc. A real accessory girl! She still loves her dolls and plays pretend a lot. Sometimes she doesn’t have to pretend and uses her real-life doll to play with- ie: her brother, whom she loves very much!
Mary Elizabeth is very social, adores other children, likes teenagers and young adults. Older adults too- but it takes her a few minutes to warm up- if you give her attention and play with her- she’s your best friend! Lately she has become a "Daddy’s girl". Though she definitely shows love to everyone she’s been batting her pretty brown eyes at him and clinging to him a bit more.
She is a funny little girl and a bit bossy too, she’ll be found telling people to stop talking, giving them a "shhh" or even told her own mommy to "Leave her alone" at times. She’s a real pip! Mary Elizabeth is also very loving and sensitive- she will notice when people are sad or hurt, and has a real soft side to go over and help them or give them a hug. I find her migrating towards those in wheelchairs and giving them a big smile and delighting them with her charm.
She is now NEARLY fully potty trained. Does very very well with going potty. But going #2 on the potty is still a struggle and I find that she often hurries up to do it in her overnight diaper before we put her undies on! But I know she’ll get there very soon. She has to anyway, she is going to PRE-SCHOOL in September!
My tough, smart little cookie means the world to me, and I just can’t believe that she’s growing up so fast….

PS- the Lakeland Revival was more than awesome and we are definitely glad we went. My husband wrote up a synopsis of the events and his feelings – if you feel like reading it- here is a link: http://babyraia.com/LakelandStory.doc

Posted in Mary Elizabeth | 815 Comments »

A Leap of Faith…

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

We’re going to Florida tomorrow, Friday afternoon. 

Our church and other churches around here have let us in on the big thing going on in Florida- miracle healings taking place like wildfire. It’s called the Florida Outpouring.

Here are a few links:
Article on CBN
Florida Outpouring website
Ignited Church
God.tv – website in which we’ve been watching it from

Last week Andy felt warmth go through his hand after watching it and praying hard. He felt it go very warm and start to tingle. He went in and prayed for Mary Elizabeth and especially her nerve (as we found out that she had either nerve damage or a sleepy nerve from the injections- either way it would take some time to wake up – and we mean some TIME). She went from not being able to close her mouth (one side would stay open- best way to explain it is a popeye-look), to fully closing it after Andy prayed over her. Amazing!



So we continued praying hard for her and others have been joining us in this prayer and her face has gone down dramatically. And for skeptics- it has gone down in places that were untouched for a long time. I’ve never seen her cheek bones look so prominent before. Our daughter is worth everything to us and we will do anything for her. ME seems excited to go on a plane. So off we go, we leave Friday and return Sunday after attending 3 services. Keep her in your prayers!

 

  Ready for Florida?

  Can you just pack me in here?


She’s just too precious!

Posted in Mary Elizabeth | 14 Comments »

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

I hope you all are having a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. I am overjoyed myself to have 2 wonderful children and truly blessed. I can’t say it’s been that relaxing around here though because Mary Elizabeth is having a bit of a rough time with recovery from her surgery the other day (May 8th- tongue lasering etc). She had some work done at the back of her mouth/airway and has some bleeding from that. This is coming out of her trach and also she’s swallowing some of the blood which upsets her stomach. So keep her in your prayers. She is a trooper though, really toughing it out- but being almost 3- she’s so aware of everything so it’s a bit harder on her then in the past.

Anyway nonetheless, all the hugs and cuddles will be cherished today and always!

 

Posted in Mary Elizabeth | 2 Comments »