Esther at 4 Months

We have come so far!  We thank God for Esther's health and that she is now a normal baby.  She can still be fussy and is definitely stubborn, but the pain and screaming are over.

Esther is getting so big!  She is rolling all over the floor and her crib.  She is enjoys holding toys, especially a new crinkly book and little soft "lovey" blankets.  At her four month appointment, the doctor said her head control was "super."  The appointment was on February 9th; she weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce and was 23.5 inches long.

Whenever I am feeding Esther, she likes to reach for, grab, and pinch my chin and neck.  Esther makes a lot of noises and smiles easily.  She does prefer for me to feed her.  We have learned that, though she is exclusively bottle-fed, she does not take bottles from others easily.  

Esther is napping more regularly, and sleeping okay at night.  She typically gets up twice during the night.  I'm still a tired mom, but we're doing okay.

(I just realized that there is a photo repeated in the collage above.  Oops.  Forgive me.  Sometimes her hair looks much blonder than the above pictures show.)

Evan Update

Evan is getting to be so tall.  He tends to be very sweet, though hunger and sleepiness hide that sweetness.  He still asks for kisses and hugs...while other times refusing them.  He loves his family deeply.

For the past month, Evan has been responding with, "My pleasure!" when thanked for helping.  I know I don't say it often, but suspect he picked up on it after hearing it just once.  He says it a few times a day!

Evan has been cleaning up toys so much better these days.  He is beginning to do this on his own, too!

One of the cutest things ever is hearing Evan "speak" for Esther.  I guess a while after Esther was born I would occasionally use my "Esther voice" to pretend she was saying good night to the children or maybe to thank them for singing to her.  One of the cutest things ever is hearing Evan "speak" for Esther.  He uses a high, quiet voice to talk for Esther.  It puts a big smile on my face every time!

This morning Evan ZIPPED HIS COAT all by himself!  That was very exciting!  We were all very proud.  This morning after he greeted the preschool coordinator, I suggested he tell her what he did this morning.  Then we also told Meghan's teacher.  Her teacher also made a big deal of it and gave him a sticker.  (Can you tell why he wants to go to preschool?)

In early March Evan will have another EEG.  He has been seizure free since October 2009.  Would you pray with us

• that the EEG will show no seizure activity.
• that he continues to be seizure free when he goes off his medication.
• that Derek and I are able to sleep deprive Evan enough for an accurate reading.  (It's necessary that it is a sleep-deprived EEG.)

Here's our big boy!

Thank you for praying!

The Art...

My Meghan is a sponge.  She learns and applies phrases and ideas so quickly, it sometimes amazes us.

Yesterday Meghan came to me and asked me to braid her doll's hair because it was a horrible, tangled mess.  (I thought the braid was a great idea!)  When I asked her if she would rather Daddy do it, she replied, "No Mom.  You know the art of braiding."  


Seriously??  Where in the world did she hear that?  And I will thank her for her confidence in my braiding skills.  You may view it as low expectation, but it may be confidence...right?

A Treat

Meghan has been talking about President's Day for the past week, including Lincoln and Washington and asking questions about who our President is now.  Yesterday I told Meghan and Evan that I had special plans for today.  (Oh, wouldn't it be neat to go to Mount Rushmore on this day...or any time?)  I did not tell them what the plans were...and never did.  (Derek was home from work today and stayed with Esther.)

But this morning I did take them to a local play place with bouncy things and tunnels (think GIANT McD's play zone).  A couple friends from church went as well.

Though it took Evan a full 40+ minutes to consider bouncing and the tunnels were just overwhelming to him, they had a blast!

Though blurry, you can see the joy...

It didn't take long for Evan to Master this.

The best part of the day was seeing Meghan and Evan act like little best friends!  They would yell each others' names from across the room.  Meghan encouraged Evan all day long.  I loved that and had nice conversation with friends, too!

Some things do not change...even after all these years.

(I love this photo of Meghan's face, despite the blurred hand.)

March 2009, age 2 (shortly after I began the blog)

May 2009, age 2

a

May 2010, age 4

What can we say?  The girl loves her hair bands.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning we made heart animals  (linked to the other blog) and did a little photo shoot with the kids in their Penn Sate shirts before Evan and Esther outgrew them.  

 Saturday we had enough snow to go out and play.  Only Meghan was interested, so she and I made a snowman and enjoyed the sled together.

Do you rub your nose on your favorite snowman?  She does!

Not an Important Announcement

At the dinner table

Meghan: The twins will need bunk beds.
Mom: What twins?
Meghan: The twins that you are going to have.

At this point one of us let her know that we are NOT expecting twins, or any baby for that matter.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that evening


Annette, using the computer: Do you want to see something funny?
Derek: What?  A picture from high school?
Annette: Uh, no.  (Thinking: Why is big hair such a novelty to Derek?  Everyone had it; he's just too young to remember!)

A toilet paper horse

A Summerish Hike in January

Tuesday it was too beautiful too resist at fifty degrees and sunny.  Before picking Meghan up from school, I spent over 20 minutes preparing for a hike.  It was worth it.  It took an hour and fifteen minutes to walk the mile.  The kids loved it, and so did I.  It was seriously my first walk since October 22nd.  seriously, I needed some fresh air and exercise.

I will let the pictures tell the story.  They are in the order they were taken.