Saturday, September 12, 2009

Counting my blessings

This past week I took the kids to the doctor for their routine checkups. The cold they've been fighting for the past 2 weeks is finally dwindling, and the normal sleep pattern is beginning to return. Thank goodness!! For awhile there, the nose congestion was preventing them from any long block of sleep, and many tears resulted. Poor little kiddies!

What a different attitude you can have about going to the doctor if you have healthy kids. There was a while when Emily would have 3 or 4 doctors appointments a month, and the wait time (2 hours usually) would just kill us. The kids' pediatrician here in San Antonio is great--close by, little wait time, and very sweet and competent doctors. This time we had a great visit. Here's the news:
Leo, 2 months old. Weighs 13lbs 8 oz., and is in the 90th %. He is 22" long, in the 25%.
Emily, 25 months old. Weighs 22 lbs, and for the first time is on the growth chart!! She's a little below 5%. Her height is 33", which puts her at the 25%.

So basically they even each other out. They do that quite often. Leo sleeps all day, while Emily sleeps all night. Emily talks all day, and Leo barely makes a peep. Emily never stops moving, while Leo never starts to move. Perfect kids.

The other great thing that happened this week is that Emily graduated from therapy! She's been receiving occupational therapy once a week for 2 years, starting with helping her learn how to suck (too long with the tube feeding) and sleep (due to a raw nervous system). The therapy changed into helping her crawl (at 13 months) and then walk (at 18 months) and then talk (22 months?). Looking back, it's crazy to think that all I wanted was for her to be able to talk and climb and play. Just give a kid a little time and they'll catch up! She tested at a 29 month old level...what a big girl!

I'm going to miss some of her cute sayings in her munchkin voice...some of which have already phased out.
"nokay"
"wee wee" (go outside)
"bless you emmy"
"crazy corin" (crazy lauren)
"hii my brudda!"

God gave us some cute little kids!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Subordinating

I've been following this great Catholic-mom-blog for some time now, which is written by a group of young Princeton graduates. The posts range from all sorts of different mom topics, and I had to share this article commenting on Ephesians (5:22-25)...
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives,even as Christ loved the church...
It addresses a few important tips on how to have a wonderful marriage. In such an anti-family society plagued by divorce, it's crucial that we have our marriages in tip top shape for the benefit of our children. I think we could all add a few onto this list...tithing...practicing NFP...check it out.

http://buildingcathedrals.blogspot.com/2009/09/submission-as-good-as-it-gets.html

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Family Updates

I just realized today that I haven't posted any news in almost 2 months. The days go by very slow sometimes, but looking back, the months have gone by super fast.

Emily has acquired a whole new slew of words and finally speaks in full sentences. I am literally shocked everyday at her energy level. Trying to wear her out is just impossible, and she tends to get faster and louder and crazier the more tired she gets. Luckily I was able/forced? to learn to juggle 2 kids alone sooner than I felt comfortable. By the time Leo was 2 weeks old we were out and about and I never had time to be afraid. We are ready for the hot weather to end so our outings will be a little more enjoyable:) Emily turned 2 in August, so now we're trying to potty train her. So far she's scared of the potty and now scared of pooping on the floor. She has had a really hard time getting used to all the changes around here and very often acts like a baby and wants to be carried everywhere. I think we're going to hold off for a few weeks on the potty.

Leo is growing into a little chub. I'd guess that at 8 weeks old, he's about 15lbs. and wears the same size diaper as Emily. He's your typical baby...feed him and hold him all day and he's happy. As soon as we can get to our box in storage, I'm pulling out the baby sling. I think he's started to regulate his sleep a little bit with blocks of 3-4 hours of sleeping or being awake at a time. We've all been sick with a cold for the past week, so he could just be trying to recover. He gave us his first smile around 6 weeks, and this morning he started to laugh at me with a towel wrapped around my head. He's such a cutie!

Eli's doing well and excited that we found a house! It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in a nice little neighborhood about 3 miles away from his work, my parent's house, church, and school. The great thing about the house is the space--it is 2200 sq ft! All 4 of us have been living in my childhood bedroom at my parents house for the past 9 months (which is awesome because we were able to save up our money, but a little cramped:) We got an unbelievable deal on the house because it's a foreclosure. I think we've got our work cut out for us, but are excited for the potential. We close September 22, which is Eli's 26th birthday. We're hoping to move in by the end of October.
The other big changes around here are that my sister Mary Clare left for Rome to study with UD at the end of August. One week later my sister Lauren left for Rome too, taking a job as an au pair. My other sisters Teresa and Annie have started school and my mom went to work teaching a spirituality class at JPII, the new Catholic high school in San Antonio. All of a sudden the house is pretty empty most of the time!
Unfortunately I dont have the time to post pics at the moment since Emily is waking up from her nap, but I just posted a new album to facebook that you should check out!