Juggling

I really thought I would have more time to write here once I was home. I am laughing at myself as I write that. Who am I kidding? Staying home with three kids under the age of five has been one of the greatest challenges of my life. I really do love having this time with them, and I am not missing the work world. We are definitely still adjusting to a routine. I feel like I am always just staying ahead enough to keep from wiping out completely . It is like being on a treadmill that speeds up at regular intervals.
Chris continues to tell me not to be so hard on myself, that this is all still new and things will settle down soon enough. I will continue to try and believe him. I am lucky that he is there with an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on as I continue to hash all of this out.
I have found my greatest challenge to be an adorable little 2 1/2 year old boy that has more energy pulsing through his veins than I can keep up with. Micah has hit that age where constant arms length supervision is a must. He has figured out that when nursing I am kind of out of commission for a bit. He deems these as the best times to flush whole roles of toilet paper down the toilet, help himself to a snack (this is usually something messy like yogurt), and go treasure hunting in his sisters room. Those off you who have little brothers know what kind of mess this leads to.
Nevertheless we are still alive and well. I am learning and grateful for the time God has given me with my children. Every moment I want to tear my hair out I remember what great patience and love God deals with me. Of course at the end of a long day when the two oldest shower me with hugs and I love you's, or when Isaac finishes eating and gives me a huge gummy smile, my heart melts.
Maybe juggling can be fun, once you get the hang of it.
Yes it is all worth it.

Happy Half Birthday Micah!

I love my baby boy. Today he turned six months old. He has really started to display his cute little personality. He is definitely a morning person. He goes to bed early and wakes up early. He laughs and talks about things we have yet to understand. He is on the verge of crawling. He gets on all fours and rock back and forth and then flips over and rolls all over the house. He is starting to eat solid foods which makes it fun for us to all sit down at the dinner table together. Our family just feels complete with him around. Here are a few pictures of my wonderful little man.


Micah on his birthday




Six months old and trying to sit up.
He loves his big sister.

Teething is a Nightmare

What happened to my sweet little boy? He has been overtaken by the teething monster. I have heard stories about babies who go absolutely crazy while teething. I didn't believe it. Kaylie never really fussed while she was teething. She never ran a fever. Yes she chewed on things more than usual, but for the most part she just went with the flow. Micah has decided to throw all of our previous parental confidence out the window. So much for thinking all that experience with the first baby would make raising the second a breeze. Micah has proven what every parent says but I had failed to realize until now. Every child is different. Micah has always been a little more clingy since birth. He likes to be held and coddled. He is not usually content to just lie in his crib or sit in a bumbo and chew on a teething ring. I had finally made some peace with this. Chris and I had learned to balance a baby on one knee while eating and allowing a little extra cuddle time after getting up in the morning. He had started gaining that cute little baby personality, laughing, smiling, and babbling a lot of intelligent baby wisdom. Suddenly a few weeks ago things began to seriously change. It started with an almost constant drool. No problem, nothing a burp rag and a few extra changes of clothes can't handle. Then came an instinct to chomp down and gum on anything that comes close to his mouth. Who knew gums could injure a finger so badly? Next came the continuous crying as he chews on his own hand. At this point it is almost impossible to make him happy. If I hold him he still whines, if I give him a teething ring he gets frustrated because he can't shove the whole thing in his mouth. I even have tried oragel which works temporarily, but in no way solves the problem. I work so hard to get a smile or even a little laugh, but he just seems uncomfortable most of the time. I know time is really the only solution, but my sanity is wearing thin. When it's all over I 'll look back and this will seem like a little blip in the entire spectrum of child rearing, but for now I'm just praying for those little teeth to start coming in!

Family Unit

I have been thinking a lot about the dynamics of a family lately. I remember after having Kaylie how I struggled with whether I could love another baby as much as her. I knew deep inside I wanted another child, but I was often hesitant on pinpointing a time. I finally realized I could wait forever and there would never be a "perfect" time. When I found out I was pregnant with Micah I was excited, but still a little worried about how this would effect Kaylie. She is pretty close with Chris and I. I feared it would be difficult for her to share time that had soley been devoted to her. After Micah was born my fears began to melt away. She was so excited and proud of her little brother. Now Kaylie has never been maternal. She doesn't play with baby dolls and she tries to help with Micah, but she's not jumping to change diapers or anything. In spite of this she still has this deep love for her brother. Recently we were loading into the car and Chris was about to put Micah in. Kaylie didn't see the carseat in his hand and asked where Micah was. Chris jokingly told her he was staying home. Kaylie burst into tears. She was so upset. She did not want Micah to be left at home alone. This is what I love about Kaylie. She is intuitive. She can read feelings and she never wants anyone to be left alone. She does have her share of terrible 3 year old moments, but deep inside is an enduring goodness that is so pure.
Micah is still carving his place, but he already has made a deep impact on our lives. Micah makes me stop and realize that I don't always have to be doing something. He loves to be held close and will let me know he does not appreciate my focus being on something else. I like to multi-task, but he has shown me sometimes it is good to just be still and enjoy the moment.
If there is anything I have learned about family it is that everyone has a place. No matter how we evolve over time as we grow we each bring something vital to the table. I am learning to appreciate my husband and each child, for who they are and how they make our home a happier place.

No More Hernia

Three months ago today, my sweet baby Micah was born. To celebrate today he had his inguinal hernia repaired. Our day started off at 5 am. I am seeing a medical trend here, they like to get us in early. I already felt horrible because Micah could not have any formula after midnight. He ate his last bottle around 9pm last night. I knew he would wake up in the wee hours of the morning ready to eat again. Fortunately he drank some pedialite and went to sleep. We all got up groggy and hungry, but we had to be at the surgery center by 6:30. I wasn't sure what kind of time frame we would be looking at. We came prepared for the long haul. My little man was absolutely wonderful in spite of the circumstances. When I was done filling out paperwork, I came to the back room where Chris had taken Micah. He was smiling and cooing at the nurses. He was just plain adorbale in his little Cook's Children's t-shirt and socks. I forgot my camera so no pictures. When they came to take him back he looked upset and stared at us wondering why we were not going with him as he was wheeled down the hall. We both went to the waiting room and started crying. It actually went by faster than I thought it would, but my heart goes out to all of the people who have children who require a lot of surgery and hospital visits. It is so hard to release your child's care into the hands of others. The doctor came out about 45 minutes later informing us everything had went well. Of course we were told Micah would have to refrain from horeseback riding and driving for at least 6 weeks! We haven't told Micah yet. Twenty minutes later we were brought back to the recovery room. He was hungry, but other than that he was his usual self. We were released by 9:30. A three hour turnaround is not bad. Micah is resting close to daddy now. Thank God for His graciousness and protection.

Surgery

My baby boy is going under the knife in a week. He's only 12 weeks old and already another hospital visit!
Not to be alarmed it is nothing too major. Last week at his two month checkup the doctor noticed what seemed to be a hernia in his scrotum. She recommended we see a pediatric surgeon for a consultation. From what I have read these are not extremely uncommon in infant boys. It seems when their testicles descend before birth. the opening sometimes does not close. The doctor told me it is usually not too serious in infants, but can cause problems later if not corrected. We decided to do the surgery as soon as possible to take advantage of having already met our deductible for the year. I know it is a fairly simple outpatient surgery lasting only 30 minutes, but the mommy part of me still doesn't like the thought of it. The surgeon told me most infants are feeling back to normal the next day. Please keep Micah in your prayers over the next week. While I know it is a simple surgery, it is still surgery and their is always a small chance for complications. It feels like these last few months have been a little trying for our whole family.

Did I mention Chris was rear ended yesterday? It was completely ironic because on the way to work we were discussing the fact that our insurance should be going down soon because we have not had any tickets or at fault accidents recently. Luckily Chris was definitely not at fault. The car is still drivable, but will have to go in the shop soon. I am just ready to get past all of this, and enjoy the holidays with my family.

Well that's my little update for the night. I need to get some sleep.

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

A good majority of our outings this year have been to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. What better weekend outing than the chance to get outside and enjoy beautiful weather in a serene setting. The best part is the price. There is a nominal fee for the Japanese Garden portion, and of course we always bring money to buy food for the koi fish. This was a very special visit because is was Micah's first trip. At least the first trip he was not chilling in my uterus. He is just getting to that stage where he is becoming very aware of his surroundings. He was extremely calm and peaceful as his little eyes soaked in the surroundings. He smiled and cooed a lot, which melts the heart at any time. Kaylie enjoyed herself as always. She woke up early just to remind me today was the day we were going to feed the fish and turtles.
The one thing that always gets me about the gardens is all of the "photographers." Everyone gets too engrossed in their own projects that it literally start looking like a group of photographers taking pictures of another group of photographers. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the art form. I love taking pictures when we are there. It's just something about the weekend when I see a million flashes going off around me, and we have to be careful where we walk in case we ruin a picture. Sometimes it is just nice to enjoy the surroundings without running into a tripod. Of course I did take some pictures of my own, but I try not to take it too seriously on a day like today.
I leave you with a classic picture for the day. We just happened to catch this as we were coming around the pond. The bird dove into the water and grabbed a fish and swallowed it whole. Poor Kaylie was briefly traumatized. I guess we all have to learn about the circle of life sometime!