Let's hear it for the boy!

Eli is crawling! I was worried for a while that he wouldn't because he could get where he wanted by either scooting or rolling. He has also acquired the skill of going from being on his tummy to sitting. This has been such an exciting step for him, and I myself have loved watching him achieve it because we have been saying for months that he would crawl soon, due to the fact that he has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking for the past 2 1/2 months.

We sometimes have people at church ask us if we want to trade children because he is usually so content and rarely cries. I always smile but think in my head of asking if my emotional girls are part of the package swap. :) If you have ever seen Eli in person you would know that he likes to bounce up and down which means I have awesome mom muscles, and I had someone ask me if we had a Johnny Jump up at our house, to which I responded yes and then I was asked if our door frame are still in tact. :) His bouncing is intense.

I think it is interesting that sometimes when I worry about him and whether he is up to speed or not, I have three thoughts come to me.

1) Is it because of his Seizure disorders
2) Is it just his personality and he will do it when he is ready
3) Perhaps his size makes things a little harder to figure out how to manage his body (like crawling)

Jed often tells me that I worry too much, and he is right. I am so to have Jed as a sounding board for all of my concerns, he usually assures me that everything is ok, and helps me be calm. right now we are currently waiting to hear back from the Neurology dept. We are seeing some seizure activity breaking through. All incidents are very short, usually something like his back straightening up quickly like he has a chill, or his head dropping quickly when he crawls, or bending his head to the side. They increased his medicine a whole mL 3 weeks ago and it worked for a bit but it is breaking through again.

Eli is saying one word at this point. Mom. I am really liking it, he says it in a really drawn out way. I love it. We took this picture Sunday and it reminds me so much of a picture of my brother Spencer when he was a baby.



My mama has been asking politely for some picture of Eli so that she can do some digital scrap booking. I am pleased to announce that I am ready to oblige. Ruby got some great shots of him this morning as he was enjoying his mid morning snack of chicken and gravy(which my sister believes smells like catfood. I must concur.) and mixed veggies. Bubba has never met a food he didn't like.

February love

My mom had us over for a Valentine cookie making day a week ago. The girls loved it. Emma has been asking daily for me to drive her to Grandma's. We had a great time.



My amazing visiting teacher called me on Monday and offered to watch the kids so we could go out. It was seriously so nice. We hadn't been out together without any of the kids in 6 months. It was wonderful. Gina is so thoughtful and the kids had a wonderful time.

Eli has given me some Valentine love by sleeping through the night. It has been a long time in coming. But I am truly enjoying it.

On Valentines we made pink heart pancakes. It was a fun change.




At the beginning of the month we went to see my c0usin Lanette, we had lunch and had a good time visiting. The girls loved playing with photo booth on her computer. She sent me pictures but I can't seem to get them to post. We also visited University mall and the kids had so much fun playing in the tree house and on the dinosaur bones.



Ruby got registered for kindergarten and she insisted on coming with me, when we got there she was so excited! She asked me "When can I meet my class mates?" and "Can I take a tour of the school?" She will love school.

Confessions

*Sometimes I use a "mean voice" when Ruby would prefer a "nice voice." On occasion I feel ashamed of myself.*

*Extra Desserts gum is my new best friend.*

*I have a habit of falling asleep whilst reading with the light on. My utilities bill told me it was unhappy with me today.*

*I realized that I try to replace my feelings with food, so I don't have to deal with them. I am trying to change and sometimes I would like to tell my feelings to pipe down so I could enjoy a slice of pizza.*

*My mom always told me to be nice to my sister because we would always have each other. Those words ring true and I love having my sister only 1/2 a mile away.*

*I am a true worry warthog.*

*Sometimes I want to hold my children after they are sleeping, and I crawl in to their rooms and hold them for a little bit. Most of the time however they wake up, but not before I get to sit with them for a while and watch them sleep, and remember that what I do matters and how precious the time I have with them is.*

*I love my grandma-ish workouts.*

*I laugh at my own jokes.*

*I want to have a garden and eat cherry tomatoes to my hearts content. I miss the community garden more than I can say.*

*As a young woman, my friends and I adored bestowing upon one another wedgies to the point of panty rippage.*

Ukrainian Miracle.

I wanted to post about something that is really important to me, my neighbors. Yes you heard right folks. I have the most amazing neighbors, they are some of the happiest, most Christlike people I know. They have suffered a lot of tragedy, that could make those who have walked in the same shoes angry and bitter, however they have used those experiences to grow and become better people who are filled with compassion and love.

This past year they hosted 3 orphaned siblings from Ukraine. The children, 1 girl and 2 boys came and stayed with the Ceran family for 6 weeks at the end of the year in 2010. They are wanting to adopt these 3 beautiful children and were expecting to have 6-12 months to raise the funds necessary, but have recently found out that the children could be ready to come in March.

Their son Caleb has drawn an exquisite picture of President Thomas S. Monson and has been raising funds by selling prints of it. They are also having a huge garage sale on February 12 at the Rockwell Charter school in the Ranches to raise funds.

They have a website that tells about some of the Ceran families experiences and what brought them to the desire to adopt. They are such a wonderful family and the girls absolutely love them. Corrine who is the mom, often has the girls over to visit and play. Instead of calling her Corrine, my girls have dubbed her as Ceran. Whenever they see her, they scream out Ceran! Ceran! and they are always greeted with a hug and kind smile and genuine interest.

Very often we hear about things like this and we think to ourselves "I wish there was some way I could help." Turn your thoughts into action and you can help save these children and give them a home where they are loved and cared for and can have the opportunity for a bright and happy future.

Here is a link that will take you to their website, where you can get background information on the Ceran family, (they have been in the newspaper multiple times) find out about Christina, Sasha and Eddy, and find out how you can help.

http://www.ukrainianmiracle.com/

Yesterday the girls and I were sorting through some of our old things that we could donate to the garage sale and I found a pair of pant that are 3-6 month size that both of my girls wore as babies and we had Emma try them on and they still fit!

Birthday Hilarity

One of my most favorite things about Birthdays is the interview videos that come along with them. The girls answers never fail to amaze me. They are quick witted and such beautiful girls. My little Miss Ruby is 5 and Emma is 3. Sometimes they make me laugh, roll my eyes, and most of the time fill my heart with immeasurable joy. I really like it when they share their insights on how mommies are the most important people or when they are mommies they will have or do certain things. It is also pretty comical when I tease Jed or call him some random name they Ruby will usually pipe up, and say "Is that how you talk to your husband? Daddy is a sweet handsome guy. You need to apologize to him." My girls are amazing and some of the shiniest little people I know.

Back at 9

Eli is now nine months! It is amazing how quickly 9 month of life goes as opposed to the 9 months you wait to meet these little angels.

Eli is trying to crawl. For the past two months he has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth and at this point he is sliding one knee and gets one arm up and then falls. He has a lot of weight to learn to manage and I am sure he will get it soon.

These are his stats:

Weight: 23 lb. 5 0z
height 28 in.
head: 45 cm.

He loves anything we give him food wise, I am hoping he is spared the picky genetics that were so lovingly passed down from me. When we give him finger foods he can get it into his hand but usually has a rough time getting to his mouth.

He is such a delightful baby, usually when we are at church I rarely get to hold him because I have a few young women who flock me and ask if they can hold him, and I always welcome the help as there have been a few times that Jed has been home sick, or times that he is passing the Sacrament( which sometimes the short amount of time it takes seems like an eternity with my 3 adorable children.) Then Jed takes him for Sunday School and then I always have people who are so willing to hold him while I lead the music in Primary. I am very blessed.

I am looking forward to warmer days that allow me to take the boy outside to play.

So much to catch up on, hopefully I will follow through. The girls birthday videos will for sure make the cut. They are pretty classic. It is good to be back in business.

Thanksgiving Blessings

We hosted Jed's side of the family this year at our home. It was a great experience, I can't take any credit for it's success other than providing a semi-clean house. The happenings truly felt like a family on taking and each person contributed and helped all along the way to make the transition so smooth.


I love the tradition with the kernels of corn and I really feel like I have been more grateful this year than I have been in my entire life. I'm 25, I suppose it's a little late in coming; but I will run with it. I bought a box of tissues especially for myself. This was my 3 thankfuls:

1) Dr. R and Dr. N for helping my son live a normal and full life. We got really great news back on Wednesday that means his 2 weeks of treatment did exactly what it was supposed to. His smile is back and we have so much hope.

2) My mom and dad. As far as their children go, I don't think they have ever asked what was in it for them. With every year that passes, I find more and more that I want to be like them.

3) Experience. Even when it is painful and causes us to worry and sorrow it can be for our good.When we come out on the other side we can see that it has the power to make us stronger and better for going through it.

I got some amazing(at least I think so) shots of my kids this morning before I sent them downstairs to watch the parade so I could peel 17 pounds of potatoes in peace. :) I love and cherish these little faces and personalities. They truly are one of my greatest blessings. Jed would have been involved in said photo shoot but he was out participating in the Turkey bowl. He is a blessing too.

These pictures scream personality to me. If I were to post the 5 pictures I got of each of them, you would easily to see the personality that fills these little bodies. I think I am going to have to print a montage of each of them.

It was wonderful to have GG Romig with us. She astounds me, she is so spry from recently recovering from her broken hip and for being almost 91. She is amazing. I got some sweet shots of her with Emma and Eli. She was singing to them, it was a moment I will not soon forget. She also brought her sucker tree. All of the grandkids loved it and on of my favorite sounds was Brody walking around all afternoon asking for a sucker.


One other highlight I feel is important to mention is that in my duties as host, I failed to procure a salt shaker. It was comical/embarrasing to see my 2 pound can of salt being passed around the table and watching salt being very carefully dispensed so no one ended up with a cup of salt on their potatoes.

T and Chase were the last ones here and we invited them to stay and play a game with us. I was so happy they stayed, we have a truly wonderful time and it was so fun to see the girls have so much fun with "Melissa" and Ashlyn. Seeing my girls make those sorts of memories with their cousins evokes so many memories from my own childhood. I love it.