How I love thee…

Projectile vomit, I love thee. Chunks of breast milk, you add to my attire so well.

Maria, I love thee. You emptied the diaper pail and cleaned the oven without my asking; you are heavenly sent.

Summer days, I love thee. Smells of sunscreen and the pool penetrate my skin; late afternoon naps and treats elongate our days; time outside lets us burn our endless energy…if only it could be summer every day.

Drum Sticks, I love thee. I reconnected with you awhile back during my pregnancy and haven’t been able to leave your side since.

Summertime fruit, so sweet and flavorful, I love thee. You make me feel better about my Drum Stick addiction.

My Ergo, I love thee. You allow me to snuggle with Paige and still wipe someone else’s bum; you are a handy helper.

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

Katelyn is officially a Kindergartner and I feel officially old! She has looked forward to this day throughout this entire school year, but more so over the last few weeks as the excitement of graduation day loomed near. There is something magical about making the transition from Preschool to Kindergarten. In Kindergarten, there is responsibility like homework, wearing a uniform, packing a lunch. There is the excitement of making new friends and surviving the adjustment to all day school. Kindergarten is going to bring a lot of changes to our lives – good ones and exciting ones, but with a level of uncertainty. What will happen to our old friends? Will the playground be as fun as it was in Preschool? What will homework be like? How will packing and bring lunch go? Perhaps these are more my fears than Katelyn’s, as children sometimes just go without so much worry as adults, which is a very good benefit to childhood innocence.

This year in Preschool, Katelyn has matured and it is evident in how she carries herself and in her relationships with her friends. She has always had friends at school, but this was the first year that she truly has a strong relationship with another little girl and throughout the year, they’ve become really good friends. When I ask what she did at school, her response is always the same, “Played with Avery.” Of course, her teachers make sure she does her jobs too, usually with the art jobs being her favorite. Katelyn hasn’t mastered reading yet, but is getting really good at letter sounds and rhyming, all pre-reader skills. She has been learning to write lower case letters, in addition to perfecting her upper case. She is confident in her ability at school and very social.

It has been wonderful watching her thrive this year in Preschool and I pray that her enjoyment in school continues for years to come.

A huge accomplishment for her

Vanessa graduated from Early Preschool this morning. That fact that she made it through the entire year was an amazing feat in itself. And honestly, that is why we enrolled her in school. Last Fall, when we were looking at the transition from Early Start to being three years old and not qualifying for school services, we felt the need to put her into a structured program to see how she would adjust and transition, plus to keep working on all of those things that we had been improving on prior, like speech and language and separation. We knew that if she couldn't handle a typical classroom setting, then we’d have more reason to fight our public school. However, school proved to be a wonderful addition in her life. No, she did not look forward to it every time she went, and still has her challenging days, but slowly, we worked through it together. School provided her the opportunity to blossom into the funny little girl she is, to build her creative imagination, to find her logical reasoning ability, to work on relationships, and to have fun. It is still extremely challenging for her to tell me what she did at school, but I know she enjoyed her time there and I hope it continues to be a positive aspect of her life.

With Ms Tiffany, her teacher

Happy Graduation!

Dear Paige

Dear Paige (A.K.A. Baby G),

Welcome! We are so very excited to have you here and now a part of our lives. We waited a long time to meet you and it was worth every minute of waiting, plus every minute of pushing. For someone who wanted to come so early in the pregnancy, you took your sweet time when it was finally time for you to make your entrance.

I went into the hospital for a non-stress test on Monday the 25th of May because your activity was rather low, especially for someone who was so hyper-active in my womb. Your activity was fine, a little flat, but still acceptable. But your fluid was very low and since you were already four days past your due date, we decided to induce. My water was broken around 1pm and you arrived about 7 ½ hours later. Your cord was wrapped around your foot, which caused your heart rate to drastically drop with every one of my pushes. It became a little worrisome when your heart rate would get really low (more than half of your baseline rate) and you were not coming out on your own, so with the assistance of the vacuum, you finally arrived.

You have beautiful blue eyes and a head full of blonde hair. You were 8 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long. You’ve already gained your birth weight back plus a few ounces, which is very reassuring to me that nursing is going well, despite how I think it is actually going…which given that you are my third baby that I’ve nursed, you’d think I’d be, or at least feel, more confident in my ability, but moms just have insecurities no matter what. The first few nights you decided to be wide awake from midnight to 5am, but I think we have that finally switched around, thank God because that schedule really wasn’t working for your Daddy and me.

Katelyn and Vanessa love you so much and are really good helpers. Between themselves, they have created a little system when it comes to diaper changes…Vanessa will help get the diaper from the drawer for me and Katelyn will dispose of the dirty diaper. You get lots and lots of kisses and are sung to several times throughout the day, a favorite being Rock-A-By-Baby. And instead of singing Happy Birthday to themselves when washing their hands, your big sisters now sing Happy Birthday Paige. Katelyn loves to hold you and talk to you. Vanessa is completely content just watching and observing you and giving kisses and hugs.

You are now a week old and, yes, I am just now posting your first pictures. Life is busy; there is no denying that fact. Thankfully, this is the last week of school for your sisters and summer tends to be a little more relaxed. Right now, you are snuggled up on my chest asleep – this being a favorite spot of yours. I have a feeling that I’ll be wearing you a lot, which is fine with me as it means that I’ll get all of those extra snuggles from you.

You are so loved and we are truly blessed with you. I love you to the stars and beyond.

Love,
Mommy