They just keep growing

Nora has been cruising for a couple weeks now and has been testing her balance. She'll stand in front of either me or Steve and then slowly let go and wait with a huge grin for us to notice and cheer. She's so proud of herself! She's not attempting steps on her own yet though. Out of curiosity, I checked the other girls' baby books. Ella started walking in the 2 weeks before her first birthday. Amelia started walking the day before she was 11 months. Nora will be doing it soon. And with the way she's done other things, she's be running within a month of her first steps.

For example, out of nowhere the other day, she climbed a stair. I was working out and Steve was doing bedtime upstairs with the big girls. Nora was at the bottom of the stairs, as usual. She suddenly squealed and I looked over and realized I couldn't see her little butt. I ran over and found her standing on the bottom step. So I stood behind her as she climbed another step. And then another. When Steve had the big girls in bed, he sat on the landing and Nora climbed the rest of the way up to him. By the next day she was practically an expert. She's quick and just keeps going. We have a gate that we keep near the bottom of the stairs and we've started using it when the big girls go upstairs (Nora wants to be with them at all times. Except during nap time if she's in her crib, she screams. So she thinks she wants to be with them but immediately changes her mind when she's left upstairs.). I figured we'd be okay otherwise because the upstairs isn't appealing unless Steve, Ella, Mia, or I are up there. Nope. Yesterday she decided to take off up the stairs in the middle of the day, despite all of us being on the first floor. So we're using the gates most of the time now.

Mia is willing to sit on the potty now, although she has yet to actually GO on the potty. She likes to insist she's too small for the potty, even the little one. So sitting there is a step. Hopefully we can get that done by this summer. It might mean more laundry but it would also mean less diapers and a little less money spent on them. (What will I do with all the extra time?! Right, probably spend it in the bathroom with Mia, lol.)

Ella will be 5 this fall, which means kindergarten. I have mixed feelings about this. How is she already old enough for kindergarten? How am I old enough to have a child old enough for kindergarten? Anyhow, we have the paperwork and just need to fill it out and get it back in. She's ready. Shoot, MIA already knows all the things required for kindergarten. Since we're doing school of choice, I'll have to drive her in every day. Not looking forward to that. I like my relaxed mornings. It'll be all day, 5 days a week. Seems like a lot starting out. But Linda works in the lunch room, so there will be a familiar face. And I'm honestly more concerned about how Mia will handle Ella being gone so much than about how Ella will do. It'll be strange only having two home during the day. Ah well, we'll adjust and all do fine, I'm sure.

As for me, I did my Turbo Kick training on Sunday! I have to wait for the official results (4-6 weeks, torture for impatient people like me) to begin teaching, but I'm confident I passed. Being the perfectionist I am, I'm hoping I earned a gold instead of pass but will be okay with pass. Either way it means I get to teach! I'm working on learning the round and cuing and nailing down the details. We're continuing with fit club for now. I'll have a ton more info about all that on my fitness blog.

Things are changing a bit for Steve at work. I can't share details yet, but it's good news for him. I'm proud of him and so happy that he has a job that is fulfilling and helping him learn more. I have the world's best husband. :)

So we're all growing. Change can be hard but growth is good. How are you growing?

Humble

I've decided having kids keeps you humble and teaches you to laugh at yourself. There are times when it feels like the only options are to laugh, cry, or go insane. Laughing is by far the best option. As for being humbling, think about it. Generally you become a parent by giving birth with a room full of people watching you. There's no way to do it modestly and at that point, you don't really care who sees what parts of you. But it's humbling, baring yourself and being that vulnerable in front of a room full of people.
From there, your schedule is more or less determined by this tiny person. Although you're the parent, you're the adult, it's clear that the baby is the one running the show. You feed them on command, you clean their butt, you snap awake (or some state of semi-consciousness) when they cry. This is humbling.
The way your kids humble you changes over time. As they grow, it could be a tantrum in the middle of the store that is humbling. Or the way your child mimics your worst qualities. Or the truth that they state loudly, not having learned tact yet.
This morning Mia and I were having a serious discussion about potty training. Mia's not quite 3 and has the attention span to match. I suddenly realized she was focusing on my forehead. As I continued talking, she stared, mesmerized, and raised her little hand and pointer finger. Wondering what she was doing, she suddenly poked the zit between my eyebrows. And then poked again. Thanks, kid. I'm trying to have a serious talk with you and you poke my holdover from adolescence. At least it was comical. ;) I tell you, having kids keeps you humble.

I'm pretty sure that the fact that there isn't a single picture of me on Facebook with my tongue sticking out or fish lips means I'm an adult. That is all.

Edited: I meant duck lips, not fish lips. Not attractive, people.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is relatively quiet at our house. Steve rarely buys me flowers (actually I don't think he's ever bought me flowers for V Day), which is fine. They're overpriced today and I'd much rather get them out of the blue a week from now than get them today because someone says he should give them to me. Jewelry is generally reserved for bigger occasions, like my birthday, Christmas, our anniversary, or maybe Mother's Day. I might get chocolate or a card, which suits me. I have a sweet tooth and I love to keep the cards and re-read them later. We're pretty low-key so this is good for us. Today I came downstairs to find a Where's Waldo? valentine from Steve. :) (I have a collection of old unused valentines that we use now.) I opened my computer to find an email from him and a FB wall post. When he went to lunch, he sent me an I love you text. :) Low-key but so sweet.
We bought little stuffed animals for the girls. Ella got a tiger, Mia got a monkey, and Nora got a giraffe. They love them. We also made valentines for all the family that's coming later today. That's right. We're having our Valentine's Day dinner with all my siblings, brother-in-law, and two nieces. We're just doing Chinese takeout. It will be loud and probably a bit chaotic with 5 little girls 4 and under. But it'll be fun. I love my family.
We did our "romantic" date yesterday. With all three girls. :) We just went to Finley's after church. Ella talked loudly, Mia wore as much as she ate, and Nora slept and then danced. It was wonderful and really represents our little life. I love our little girls and my dear husband.

Now for some updates...
Madelyn has had a few setbacks this week. She has an episode with her breathing and regressed a little with her feedings. She's still doing relatively well but won't be coming home as soon as hoped.
Becky had a gallbladder attack and will need to have surgery. We don't know how soon, since she has to get a referral from her doctor to a surgeon first.
I'm most concerned today for Chad Cole. Little Miranda was removed from life support and passed away in Chad's arms Tuesday night. The funeral for Sara and Miranda was Saturday. Now it's Valentine's Day and Chad's arms are empty. Please remember to pray for him and his and Sara's family. The parts that end up in the news are over but he has a long road ahead of him and needs prayers as much as ever. Thinking of him and what he's been through reminds me to be thankful for my family and any time we have together. In his blog, Chad said Sara was the embodiment of love. So on this day about love, be loving, to everyone. Not just the people you love and the ones that are easy to love. Be kind to others. And not just today. In memory of Sara and Miranda. Spread their legacy.
Happy Valentine's Day.

Life is fragile

My heart is heavy today and I'm pensive. I'm also counting my blessings. The last few weeks have been a bit crazy. Lots of news, news that affects us but isn't really our news. News that makes me sad.

Before Christmas, my dear sweet sister shared the happy news that she was pregnant again, with their third baby. It was her fourth pregnancy. Unfortunately, we found out a month ago that it was similar to her first pregnancy - her dates said 11 weeks, the baby measured 8, and there was no heartbeat. Heartbreaking news. She miscarried a week later. Emotionally, they're doing okay, although I'm sure there's more grieving to come.

The following week, one week ago, Steve's sister Becky went into labor far too early, around 33.5 weeks. Despite two trips up to labor and delivery, she was sent home. She had back labor but didn't realize that's what it was, until minutes before she gave birth to her daughter on the bathroom floor. Madelyn Faith was 4 lbs 12 oz, 17.5 inches long and had good color for being 6.5 weeks early. This news was crazy, but has a happier outcome. Becky is doing well and Madelyn is doing amazingly well for being so early. She's breathing on her own, regulating her body temperature on her own, and is taking some of her feedings orally. She's even latched without a problem. Becky and Zech are hoping to bring her home to big sister Abigail sometime in the next week or two. She needs to be consistently taking larger feedings orally but appears to be well on her way.

Saturday brought news from someone I don't know. I know his brother and we have a lot of mutual friends, but he's not someone I've met personally. His name is Chad Cole. He's been married 14 years to his best friend Sara. They were expecting their first child, after trying for 18 months, and Sara was 37 weeks. Saturday they were traveling on the highway and pulled off onto the shoulder because of white-out conditions. A semi hit their van. Chad had some injuries but nothing life-threatening. Sara was taken to the hospital where she delivered their baby girl and then died from her injuries. Baby Miranda was born without a heartbeat or brain activity. They got her heart going and then transferred her to U of M. According to Chad's blog, without a miracle today or tomorrow, he may also lose his baby girl too. My heart aches for him, thinking how a few days ago his world seemed near perfect, married to his best friend with a baby coming soon, and now that may all be lost. I read a few recent blog posts and in one he talked about his favorite memory of 2010: finding out they were going to have a baby. He ended that post with this: "Two lines...two beautiful...perfect...clearly readable pink lines...that's my best memory of 2010. You've got big shoes to fill 2011...big shoes..." It made me tear up. Big hopes, dashed a month later. Please pray for them.

I also heard yesterday that my aunt lost her brother. I have no idea if he had been sick. To round out the day, I also found out that Steve's uncle lost his sister yesterday. She had been sick, though I'm not sure for how long.

So I'm sitting here, hurting for all the people hurting around me, happy for the good news, and painfully aware how fragile life is. Pray for all of them please. Count your blessings and hug your loved ones. You're blessed.

Snow day!

It snowed last night. Now, it's February in Michigan, so snow is normal. But this storm had hype. People were calling it snowpocalypse and the storm of the century. They predicted as much as 24 inches of snow in our area. Just to be safe, we stocked up on milk, eggs, bread, diapers, and formula. At 4:30 yesterday, it wasn't even snowing. The blizzard warning started at 5 and by 5:30, it was snowing steadily. I was honestly getting excited for this storm. Big snow! Plus Steve was told to work from home if the bank opened and if it didn't, he'd get a paid day off. Awesome!

Okay. I lived in Sault Ste. Marie until I was almost eleven. It snows heavy up there. They're equipped to deal with it though, so we only had a handful of snow days the entire time I was in elementary school (seriously, three maybe?). With all the hype, I was expecting something of that sort. Like FEET of snow. After all, that's what they were predicting. By the time I went to bed at midnight, there were only a couple inches of new snow. But it was supposed to be heavier from midnight on...

We all got up about 9am, after Steve made sure earlier that the bank was closed (although the recording said it was closed for the holiday, lol). I looked outside...it definitely snowed. It's definitely a snow day. It'd be a bad idea to try to drive somewhere, especially since we don't have 4 wheel drive. But really? THIS was snowpocalypse? I'm underwhelmed. According to weather.com we got 6 inches. NOT the predicted 24. It is still snowing but the prediction is only another 2 inches. Storm of the century, hmph. LOL.

Steve is home today and it's paid without taking his vacation or sick time. And the girls will love playing in this. It should be a good, productive day. But I think the most memorable thing about this storm will be all the hype, lol.

Thoughts on Parenthood

Parenthood. It's like a full-time job, especially if you stay at home with the kids. Except it really isn't. If you work full-time, you get paid. Parenthood isn't a paid position, at least not monetarily. And most full-time jobs are 40 hours per week. Not parenthood. How many hours are in a week? That's how many hours you're working. But you do get a break at night. Well, maybe. It depends on how well your child sleeps, if said child is sick, teething, injured, or any number of other things. We'll call night duty being on call. You might get called in, you might not. But there are date nights! Yes! Well, that's nothing like a "real" job either. You have to pay someone else to take your shift and you're still on call. As for the job description...well, it includes everything. Changing diapers, feeding, bathing, comforting, cleaning up, laundry, teaching them, well, everything. Also, there's no expense account. You pay for everything too. Really, parenthood is nothing like a job, it's a lifestyle. It's like a tattoo on your face: you have to be fully committed.

Note: This is all tongue-in-cheek, meant to entertain. It's the running monologue in my head while I change the umpteenth dirty diaper that has leaked this week. I dearly love my kids and would do anything for them but let's be honest, it's nothing like a job. ;)