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Sunday, August 24, 2008

BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH

That's what it sounds like she says, most of the time.

In the tub tonight, she was pulling up (on her own) to a stand overandoverandoverandover. So I go get the camera... then she won't do it. We tried to help her, still nothing. Oh well. It was one of the few times she didn't just freeze and stare blankly at the camera, so we figured we'd post it anyway.

So here's some random Charlotte squealing. You might want some earplugs... at times, we sure do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbqGAjiUoNQ

For some reason, the video keeps freezing up - so clicking on the link might make it work better. Unless you want to take all day to watch it.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

WHAT do you think you're doing??????

Isn't she supposed to crawl first???

I turned my back to her, messing around in her dresser. Turned back...





She's SO pleased with herself!

And here's her dismount... it could use some work. (Can you tell I clicked and lunged to try and catch her at the same time? lol).

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Better late than never...

I'm way behind on an update - I realize this. My apologies. I've been running around like a chicken without a head all week, caring for my baby, my husband, our home, working (I still have a job!), reading my vampire books, watching the olympics, etc. I had my stepmom here for several days, helping - which was amazing - but she's gone now, so we're flying solo.

Jason's surgery went well. They had to take out more disc material than originally thought, so he will likely need a permanent spinal fusion in a few years (as opposed to the removable dynamic fusion currently in place) - but he woke up and was able to feel all parts of his legs, and the pain that radiated down them both was mostly gone. There were also some very scary symptoms he was having, that have been relieved as well. God is so good! He does, however, still have a long way to go. He's nowhere near pain-free, and still in need of prayers. For the next long while, he's not allowed to drive, pick up the baby, etc - which means a lot of extra work for me. I don't mind, really, but I'm human and I tend to get bitchy - so pray for us both. :o)

Oh! And because we like to "do things right" (you know... adding in little extras, like my smashed finger)... the morning after Jason's surgery, they brought him his breakfast (oatmeal with brown sugar & raisins, a cream cheese muffin, a club sandwich, cheesecake, a scoop of ice cream, coffee and a diet sprite - He thought he was Michael Phelps or something). He bumped his table and spilled his coffee on his thigh. I don't know what degree the burn is, b/c he didn't have a doctor look at it (the nurses ran in and stripped his gown, TED hose, blankets, etc off) - but it's been a week and his thigh is still covered in blisters. It's the worst burn I've seen him get, and I watched him dump hot frying oil on his hand once. Nothing like pouring hot coffee in your lap when you can't jump up and do anything about it. Poor guy.

In Charlotte news.... it's official. She's big. The past two weeks she has EXPLODED with new tricks. They're hard to describe - she's just changed. She's more independent (despite the separation anxiety we're working through), her personality is BLOOMING, and she is so eager to get moving. She no longer just cracks me up, she cracks herself up, too. It's the sweetest thing. She scrunches up her nose when she laughs, and she loves to give her momma kisses.

She doesn't talk yet - but she does babble quite a bit, and her babbles sound distinctly like words. Our favorites... "Hi Bob! Hi Bob! Hi Bob!" (who's Bob???) and "bad dad bad dad bad dad".

Thursday, August 7, 2008

We're finally here! (from an email)


*This is mostly the same info I sent out earlier in an email, but I always seem to miss folks*

*Oh, and there's a gratuitous baby picture at the end. Naturally. *

We're finally knocking on the door to (hopefully) recovery!

Jason's much-anticipated-hopefully-prayer-answering 3rd surgery is tomorrow morning. He will be in the hospital for a couple of days, and then home to recover for a few weeks.

A few prayer requests...

~ Please pray that our family can get some rest this evening (I'm looking at Charlotte on this one...), and have peace going into tomorrow.
~ Please pray that his surgeon would have just enough coffee, no unfortunately-timed case of the hiccups and be able to get through the scar tissue to release all of the disc material off of his nerves.
~ And finally, please pray that all of the nurses in his unit have patience. When Jason gets hopped up on that morphine, he gets a really strange sense of humor (more strange than usual). After surgery #2 he was stockpiling their ice cream and playing some sort of reeeeeeeeeeeeally slow "tag" with his IV pole rolling along behind him.

Oh yeah, and feel free to throw in something about this being the last surgery he needs, finally being relieved of his chronic pain and being able to play with Charlotte the way he would like to. That would be awesome. :o)

I will send out an update after he's out.

And to make everything fun, I think I broke the tip of my finger off today. That should make my single-momhood of the next week easier. Ugh. There's a picture of that below, too. (Because I like to take pictures of my injuries, lol).


Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Social Butterflies and Party Animals

So last year, around this time, we were in the middle of our "baby boom"... where it seemed that everyone we knew was pregnant, delivering or trying to conceive. So now, it only stands to reason that we're in the middle of our "first birthday party boom".

Saturday, we celebrated Pierce!

Here are some random shots from the party (mmmm.... I could go for a walking taco right about now).

It's my birthday, and I said get the camera out of my face!


Pierce, Maggie & Dealey


Sweet Dealey






I love this... it looks like Dealey is trying to console Pierce, and Maggie is giving whatever upset Pierce a look of reproach...


Sweet Maggie





Charlotte & Aron (Maggie's daddy)


Fun on Daddy's knee!



I should take pictures of adults, sometime. Hmmmmmm..,

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Vampires got me.

I love to read. There's really no better escape, in my opinion, than a book that grabs you and won't let you go. However, I mostly gravitate towards contemporary fiction, drama, family stories etc... sci-fi? Not so much. Vampires? No thanks.

So how then, do I find myself, hopelessly addicted to the Twilight series???? Geez. I can't put it down! I read it while I nurse. I read it in the car. I read it before bed. I read it before Charlotte gets up in the morning. J-U-N-K-I-E.

Part of what I love about it is that it's targeted towards grades 7-9, so it's an easy read. It has a love story in it, but it's not smutty. Is it the next Bronte or Dickens? No, not at all. But as long as you know that going in, you'll enjoy it.

There are 4 books out in the series, so far. So go... buy Twilight. Read it. Then come back and tell me I was right.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Charlotte & Levi...

Back when Jason & I were taking our birthing classes, we met another couple that we seemed to "click" with. They live nearby, he has had a back surgery, we obviously have babies the same age and they are passionate about their walk with Christ. It's almost eerie when we spend time together, just how much we have in common.

Moms and babies got together for a playdate yesterday, and it's the first time that Charlotte & Levi have been big enough to be interested in each other. And when I say interested, I mean SOOOOO interested. Levi is now crawling so he was over, around, under, behind and on top of everyone in the room, including Charlotte. And Charlotte seemed very intent on licking Levi's forehead (my strange baby), and swiping his paci (which she doesn't even like).

It's cute to see them together because Charlotte is slightly small for her age, while Levi is in the 95th percentile. He looks like a toddler compared to her... but he's gorgeous!

So fun! The pictures aren't that great because truthfully - there was a lot of activity, and the adult conversation was good. :o)