Thursday, March 27, 2008

Smiles, words and swords...

Well, as the days go by, and the hours continue to pass I find myself noticing little hints here and there about how the kids are growing so fast...I can't seem to keep up with them. But I wanted to jot down a few and share them with whomever may read this.

I will start with our baby, baby girl Gratia. Tim says "It ryhymes with mafia." Nice Tim. So Gratia, She was a whopping 12.5 lbs at her 2 month check up, which seems like so long ago. And since then i have noticed not only weight gain, but her big personality shining through. She has the most beautiful smile. It's so sweat, when she does it, it makes you feel like a million bucks. Then she will proceed to chat and coo at you, have conversations. She loves it when you make sounds, not whale sounds, but like motor boat sounds. My favorite lately is when she will be crying in her crib, waking up or just hungry, when you turn her over and she notices you it's an instantaneous smile. Like oh hi, so glad to see you. Love you momma. And she is definitely a daddy's girl, just like her big sister, whom I am listening to right now chatter to herself while going down for her nap. Oh Fiamma, but we'll get to her in a moment. Back to Gratia. She is a daddy's girl. Even early in the game. When she hears her daddy's voice she gets so curious as to where he is. come here dad. talk to me. it's pretty cute. Ok trying to think..other than being few days shy of 3 months (so glad we will be done counting in weeks) and growing like a weed OH she is trying to roll from her back to her tummy. She kinda spins in circles, like a break dancer, but she is definitely trying without any prompting. I think deep down she really wants to be a big girl and play with Fiamma and Elijah, I know they would love that!

On to Fiamma, my precious little lady. Other than being a daddy's girl and setting good example for Gratia, she is talking talking talking. She will repeat pretty much anything, she was compared to a parrot the other day, and definitely is putting words together and making sentences. Ever since, hold this momma. It's been, come on mom, let's go, two shoes...she dazzles me with her way with words. Other than words, she is definitely not afraid to say no. Most of the time it makes me smile, which I usually get in trouble for, but I sometimes can't help but laugh. If she is on her slide or motorcycle, Elijah can't even get near with out her making a fuss and letting him know that it's hers for the moment. We have our work cut out for us, that's for sure. Oh and teething, yes i believe the girl is getting some more teeth. Which seems painful and might add to the crankiness and cuddleliness that has been happening lately. She is still working on her ABC's and seems to be doing quite well with them. She loves to pray. She often reminds us when it's dinner time to do so. We usually pray for every one and thing a few times round. She is a very good big sister. Wanting to help pat and hold. I still can't believe she will be 2 in August.

Elijah. Boy by day and warrior by night. He is 3 now and since then he has aquired a very nice sword with some fabulous armor. But we have had to draw some boundaries with the sword fighting. To keep him from drawing it upon Fiamma and myself, we have made it clear that Tim is Goliath and he is who you fight, and you need make sure he has his sword too. They tried it out for the first time Tuesday night and now Tim has a wound to show for it. I guess Elijah was too quick for him and snagged him on the nose. Blood everywhere. Elijah just waited until Dad was ok and ready to fight some more. Fight, fight, fight! Other than turning 3, getting some stiches, and more lollipops he is a wonderful brother, he loves umbrellas and wants to fly like Mary Poppins. I often think he thinks it will happen if he is outside with his umbrella open. Just waiting. His new favorite book is Peter Pan, loves a good pirate, and asks for licorice every morning for breakfast.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

How bout 4 stitches and a lollipop? YA!

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It's that time again. Every year, it seems, around Elijah's birthday he takes a trip to get some laceration glued back together. Not to be out done by the previous year, for his third birthday he got four stitches on his upper lip. We aren't sure how it exactly happened but we do know dancing not only leads to sex but when mixed with a coffee table it leads to stitches.

Like his other facial wound, we were all nice and bloody, but after a few tears he said he was "feeling better now, mom". We decided to forgo the ER in favor of our doctor. We had some more clarity this time. So rather than rushing to the ER, we decided to call our clinic. We think he is pretty comfortable there...he often asks to go to the doctor, not necessarily for the Dr. We've figured him out, it's for those dang lollipops! Heck, we are their best customers.

They got us an appointment an hour and a half later at 1:30. I took him in and Mariah stayed with the girls at home. He was ready to go though, he had his back pack in hand and we said a little prayer or two before we walked out the door. When we got there we played our trains and spelt words until it was time to stitch him up. I had explained to him how it was going to go down. He layed down on the table, closed his eyes and let the doc stitch him with out a tear or much movement for that matter. In fact, he cared about getting his stitches so much that he fell asleep half way through.

When everything was done I picked him up, he woke up, then he asked for his lollipop. We got the lollipop, of course, and went home smiling.

Thank you Lord for lollipops!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

more lollipops, PLEASE!

Really, the time we have had with Fiamma has flown by,she is already 18 months old.It's crazy for me to think about. It feels like yesterday she was just a few months old captivating us with her giggles and coo's. Now she's on to bigger and better!
We had her check up last week, we all went, which I am not sure we will do again. But aside from that, Fiamma is now 29 lbs, and 33 inches long. She's quite the talker too. She told me yesterday in the car to "hold this mamma". Wow, I'm only used to hearing Elijah speak to me in sentences, now Fiamma. It's pretty crazy...
Not to mention that Gratia will be 8 weeks tomorrow and Elijah is 3 in just a few weeks. I am blessed. We are blessed ( I will include Tim for I know he feels the same..)
I praise God for what he has blessed us with. I am a tremendously lucky momma to have the 3 kids that I do and a wonderful husband who will pile into the car with me and sit in the smallest room known to man for a checkup for his baby girl. With chaos all around, Dr's and nurses asking questions and poking at Fiamma, we were able to stay calm and get out of there in one piece.

It does help to have a basket full of lollipops to eat while waiting.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.