update

Thank you all so very much for your thoughtful notes, emails, phone calls and most of all--PRAYERS! It's been a very emotional few days for us......... Everyone is hanging in there. Yesterday was Mom and Stepdad's wedding anniversary. Pierce picked out some gerbera daisies for Nana. They're bright yellow and cheery. My babies have been wonderful for uplifting their spirits. Pierce is very confused about Nana's house being "broken" and is afraid of our house breaking too.

Stepdad bought Mom a new bible for their anniversary (she was very upset about losing hers in the fire---we had gotten it for her for Christmas a few years back) which was very touching. He inscribed it with a msg about a fire may consume their belongings but it wouldn't shake their faith or marriage. An insurance adjustor is meeting with them in the am. I'll update some more then with pics.......... I would greatly appreciate your continued uplifting of my mom/stepdad as they begin the process of rebuilding.

Nana's house is "broken"

Our family woke up to a disaster this am. The story goes like this:

Mark and I were up very early getting ready for our departure to NYC. We were just about to load the kids up and head to Nana's for her to take us to the airport--early check-in and departure. Nana called around 5 am and asked us if we could drive ourselves to the airport instead of her dropping us off as originally planned. Her voice was trembling and Mark knew something was wrong. Around 2:30 am, my mother's attic went up in flames. She and my stepdad had only moments to get dressed and leave the house. Praise be to God of the highest they made it out safely! Of course we canceled our trip. Four fire departments bravely came and put out the blaze that would leave most everything destroyed. The fire marshal escorted them through the house once the fire was out. They weren't able to look through much (this all happened between 2-5 am) at the time b/c the ceiling/sheet rock was falling in. It was an electrical fire that started in their attic. Red Cross (I am so glad we support this organization) met them and issued them tax free debit cards to go buy some clothing with. They'll be staying with us for now.

It wasn't until they spent much of the day sorting through the wreckage did we learn of the care and attention the heroic fireman took when distinguishing the fire. They ripped pictures off the walls and threw them and my mom's laptop with priceless photos in bookcases and the entertainment center and covered as much as they could with tarps. They took everything out of their closet and covered it with a tarp on their bed. While much of their stuff is ruined from fire/smoke/water damage, we are so thankful that some things are salvageable.

It's a long road ahead, but it's a start. It's never a good time for this sort of thing to happen, but it almost seems like it couldn't have happened at a worse time with all the other crud they have going on. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin the process of rebuilding.

Back to School!

Fall session starts today for P! Here's my big boy before we head out:

Fun in the Sun

Harper's 18 month well baby

went great! She's growing awesome!
Height: 33 inches (85%)
Weight: 23.8 pounds (45%)
Head 18 1/4 inches (50%)
She's right on track (and even ahead) developmentally! She showed off some tricks such as jumping, pointing to body parts, blowing kisses, and just being her all around sweet self. She had to get 2 shots (1 from missing her 15 month well baby) and wasn't too happy about it. I made Mark hold her down and even he teared up. Mama snuggles and Motrin fixed her right up though.

Swimming in Skivvies

Attn knitters--you need one of these!

http://www.theknitkit.com/ I had came across them on HC but found their website with a store locator. I found a local yarn store in the small town I grew up in who carries them. My mom lives nearby and got me one for my birthday (and a gift certificate to the store--I can't wait to go shopping there). It's awesome! I love that it keeps all my knitting notions in one place and they're not floating around in my knitting bag or a ziploc.

Surprise!

I had a fabulous birthday weekend! These were delivered on Friday afternoon compliments of my loving husband and precious babies.

Red roses are my absolute favorite (I'm a romantic)! The lilies are just starting to bloom. The whole bouquet smells heavenly.

My mom came over to babysit that evening so Mark and I could go to dinner. We got the kids fed, P helped me blow out my candle, gave them some birthday cake, bathed them, and put them to bed. Then we left for "date night". Little did I know that Mark had arranged for his brother and SIL to meet us as a surprise! We walked into the restaurant and he said, "Look, there's someone we know at the bar!" I was so shocked and taken aback. He had planned this over a month ago! Some of our friends were supposed to join us too but had to cancel last minute. We had delicious steak, some nice wine, and great company.

The whole day was very special and helped make my 30th one to remember! And like I told Mark, him and the kids are what make everything so special! Thank you all for the birthday wishes! big hug

Steven called!

and his MRI/MRA results all came back negative! Thank you all so much for your prayers!

prayer request for my bro

My brother went to ER last week for a terrible headache (a million times worse than a migraine). He face swelled up, his eyelids were drooping, and he was in excruciating pain. The ER team did a CT scan and some oxygen therapy and told him to follow up with a neurologist (his sxs are a textbook case of a cluster headache). Mark talked with his former med school roommate who is now a neurosurgeon in Austin (where my bro lives) for a good referral. My brother followed up with him yesterday. He agreed with his ER diagnosis and provided him with scripts for everything they did for him in the ER to keep on hand--O2 tanks, steroids, etc.--for the next attack. He said these cluster headaches come in cycles and until they figure out his cycles, there isn't much you can do preventative wise except for treat the sxs with oxygen therapy and steroids during an episode. Some pp have cycles every few weeks, some every few months, and some pp even go years between cycles but it will happen again. These attacks can last a week up to a year long. His first attack was a week long. He felt terrible and could barely speak. Although it was ruled out in the ER, he is being sent for further imaging studies today (MRI and MRA) to make absolutely sure it's not an aneurysm or a tumor. Your thoughts and prayers for my brother are much appreciated!

Vaca slideshows

I owe you several, okay lots, of slideshows. Since we're so far behind, pics w/o captions will have to do. Click the links for the albums:
NYC December 2008
Christmas 2008
Harper's 1st Birthday
TX Hill Country Spring 2009
Easter 2009
Pierce's 3rd Birthday
Smoky Mountains Spring/Summer 2009
Rocky Mountains Summer 2009

general update

Haven't made a bragging post in a while. Let's see....................

Pierce--smart as a whip! He's known his ABC's, colors, and shapes by recognition since he was just a shade over 2. We're currently working on letter sounds. He talks like an adult and amazes us daily with his intelligence. He still loves playing with trains and his fave--riding his bike. He's very much a man's man........trucks, cars, bugs, blocks, legos, you name it. He is currently on summer break before school starts again next week.

Harper--growing too fast! She just turned 18 months. She's my lil' sweetheart--very loving, passionate, and assertive. She loves Pierce, baby dolls, and dogs. She's a fabulous eater--eats anything/everything you give her.
Words: yes, no, pierce, one, mama, dada, nana, pawpaw, rabbit, bath, choo choo, shhhh, cheese, night night, down, uh oh, baby, dog, yum, backpack
Animal sounds: meow, ruff, moo, neigh, roar, bzzzz, chirp, cheep, hoot
Signs: more, milk, please, all done, drink, dog, cat, elephant, bath, tree, one, help, sleep, i love you, blows kisses, waves, airplane, up
She plays peek a boo, pat a cake, ring around the roses, and other finger plays (itsy bitsy spider, open/shut them, etc.). She knows her eyes, nose, ears, feet, hands, head, and belly button.

Bilingual Baby?

So we're all getting over yucky colds............last week when we were driving home from school, I sneezed. Harper murmured something that sounded like, "God bless you". I told her thank you and excused myself. Next Pierce said, "She didn't say God bless you, she said, "*insert baby babbles*". I said, "What does that mean?" Without missing a beat, he replied, "I know, she said "God bless you" in Spanish!

school update

Pierce capital L-O-V-E-S school! In fact, last week we took him on Tuesday (a day he doesn't usually go to school) b/c Mark was off work and wanted to finally meet his teacher. After a long talk with Mr. D, Mark, and Pierce we decided since he loves it so much, we'd start letting him go 5 days a week now instead of waiting until the fall (the first 2 weeks he only went MWF). Last week was our first week trying it out 5 days a week and he did great! He goes for 2 1/2 hrs M-F. This fall we'll bump him up to the full 4 hrs/5 days a week.

It's wonderful b/c he's so busy at school and comes home talking about all the exciting things he did with his friends. His favorite thing of course is outside play time b/c he loves riding trikes. Last week when I went to pick him up, he was riding a scooter. A push scooter, can you believe it?! I had no idea he was big enough to coordinate something like that!

It's also been a great reinforcer to our parenting style. I parent much the same way as I teach. And since the preschool program is ran by the education department of my alma mater, it is founded under that same principles and guidance we use at home. Pierce's head teacher is actually a professor in the education dept. He is AMAZING..........I've been very impressed with him!