MM and her Horsey

MM loves to add "y" to lots of words. Help has become "helpey," up has become "upey" and so on. It is so cute. Today, Margaret Mary wanted to wear her "horsey," which is a sweater that my memaw made me when I was a little girl. It is knit and on the arm is a horse, complete with a flowing mane. It was obviously made in the 80's, but MM LOVES it. Sorry for the blurry pics, but MM refuses to sit still for the camera these days.

Ball!!!

MM is at a really cute age. She is able to express so much. The other day she drew a "ball" for the first time and was sooooo proud of herself. She wasn't able to duplicate it, but it makes me wonder if she has inherited her father's amazing drawing skills! She loves coloring and is really good at helping me pick up all the crayons when she is done. So far, she knows yellow, purple and blue.

Henry Rolls!

Our New Stroller

Jason and I bought a used double jogging stroller so I can go out for some runs a couple times a week. I love it, MM loves it, and Henry will put up with it for about 20 minutes. Getting them in their jackets is a battle sometimes, but they look so cute in them. We think that Henry looks like the younger brother from "The Christmas Story" who cants move because he has on so many jackets! I love the pic of them laying on the floor together. I was taking a pic of how funny Henry looked, and MM started laying on the floor imitating Henry. She does this alot: imitating his sounds, how he stuffs his fingers in his mouth, how he plays on Mama, it is amazing how observant MM is!

In the Kitchen with MM

(Sorry the pics are so large. I am having a hard time finding a way to post pics taken on my phone to the blog. Dad- do you know how can I get pics from my phone onto my desktop?)

Today Margaret Mary and I made cookies for Jason and his friends. I was in a big hurry and was debating on whether I should make them fast and get it done or let MM help me and who knows what could happen with that. I decided to let her help and we had a ball! I measured everything out and she dumped everything in the right bowl. She helped me stir and make the dough into balls with our hands. You can even see her stealing choc chips out of the bowl in one of the pics! We had such a good time and I was glad that I didn't miss the opportunity to have this quality time with her.

Stories

Margaret Mary's growing ability to express her thoughts is amazing. She is constantly telling stories, aka, retelling us past events using the words she knows. For example, everytime we go out and swing, she points to the tree where Jason threw the rope up in the tree to hang up the swing and says "papa!" Or if I get her a cup at breakfast, she will tell Jason "mama, cup" (aka "mommy got me the cup." You have to know the context to get her stories, but it is still amazing.

The other day the neighbors' puppies came up and knocked Margaret Mary off her bike. She was screaming, the dogs were on top of her, Jason was beating the dogs, it was quite an event. (Dont worry, she is fine). Later on that day, she was talking and re-told us the story using her words. "Dog," then she pants like a dog, "bike, ouch, papa," (then she hits her hand, imitating Jason hitting the dogs). Jason and I were stunned. Our little girl is growing up!

P.S

The first time Margaret Mary held an ornament, she got super excited, yelled "ball!!!!," put the ornament over head and threw it. Needless to say, it shattered all over the kitchen floor. It happened so fast, we didn't have time to say no or to stop her. But it is def one of our favorite Christmas memories so far.

Ornaments

One Christmas tradition we took from Jason's mom is to buy an ornament for each person in the family each year. We went shopping the day after Christmas (to get all the ornaments on sale) and picked ours out. Jason picked out an overalls ornament to celebrate the birth of his baby boy, I got a pearl snowflake (because who doesn't love pearls!), and we picked out a music symbol ornament for Margaret Mary. We were going to let MM pick our her own ornament, but within two minutes, she had about 15 ornaments dangling from her wrist like bracelets! For Henry, we used a sweet ornament that a friend gave us around the time of Henry's birth that said "baby's first Christmas."



When we got home and were going through all of the old ornaments Jason's mom had gotten him each Christmas, Margaret Mary was mesmorized. As we unwrapped each ornament, she would ohhh and ahhh. It was really sweet and I was so happy that I got to catch her excitement on video.



Since then, it has been a fight to keep Margaret Mary from taking the ornaments off of the tree to play with them. She is in this stage where she is constantly testing her boundaries and Jason and I are still unsure about what her bounderies are! For example, we will tell her not to take the ornament off of the tree, so she will start swinging the ornament all around on the tree. We tell her to stop swinging the ornament, and she startes kissing the ornament and putting her tongue on it. We tell her to stop licking the ornament, that they are for touching gently. We want her to be able to touch the ornaments because many of them have doors that open, etc. She then starts banging two ornaments that are close to eachother together, to which we tell her to stop. She is good about obeying, but she always finds ways to do something else slightly outside the boundary that we just set for her. After five minutes of saying no to all the other ways she has found to play with the ornaments, while keeping them on the tree, while not banging them, etc, Jason and I are left exhausted wondering what IS okay for her to do and how much playing the ornmanets can take. Having kids is very challenging!

Merry Christmas!

This year, we stayed home for Christmas. With two kids under two and a carseat hating baby, the idea of traveling to North Carolina was too much. We really missed seeing family and the Christmas party but it was so nice to start our own traditions and relax. Christmas eve we went to a friend's party and stayed for an hour or two before MM got so hyper we had to leave. We love that she can stay up late now and that we don't have to be home by her bedtime. Henry had a hard time at the party (so much stimulation), so we were home and in bed by 9:30. Christmas day was really sweet. We woke up at about 6ish, and kept the kids in bed till Jason had lit the candles in the living room around our Sacred Heart picture. When he was done we got the kids up and took them to our altar where there was a present wrapped waiting for them. Margaret Mary was really excited and kept on saying "you you you!" ( by which she means "me me me!"). We said a little prayer and let her open the present and inside was a little baby Jesus! Margaret Mary loved it so much! She held baby Jesus in her arms, nursed him and then pointed to his diaper and said that he had a "yuck." So cute. We sang some Christmas carols and she sang with us in her own little jibberish. When we stopped she begged for more. We love our daughter's sweet heart, her love for the baby Jesus, and her love for music.





We then opened presents and she loved all them! Her favorite was in her stocking, two containers of puffs, her favorite snack. We don't buy them often because they are so expensive and she goes through them soooo fast. Margaret Mary opened them both up and had one hand in one and one hand in the other. She then preceeded to dump both containers on the floor in a massive pile.




Henry just sat and watched the excitement for a little while, then got really overstimulated, cried and then passed out. Here he is durring one of his better moments.



The rest of the day was filled with eating peanut butter balls, decorating the Christmas tree (Catholics celebrate Christmas for 12 days, starting with the 25th), Mass, and a big ol' dinner where we cooked our first ham. We think that everyone on the West side got a dirt bike for Christmas because every two seconds we would hear them roaring by outside our house. We ended the day with a walk around the neighborhood in our new (used, but new to us) double jogging stroller. Some neighbors saw us walking, came up to say hi (yes they were wasted), and called my sling a "pooch pouch." Jason and I couldn't stop laughing. Gotta love the west side. :)

Pictures from My Parents Visit

So most of you have already seen these beautiful pics of my children, but I thought I'd post them on here for those who don't keep up with facebook. Thanks Morgan for capturing my children so well! In these pics, MM is 19 months old and Henry is 3 months old.

Henry and Mommy

I love having a little boy. I love hugging his little barrel chest. It is such a blessing to watch him grow up . I wanted to share some intresting facts about Henry. When he went to the doctor for his four day check-up, he weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces (his birth weight was 9 pounds, 3 ounces). He hadn't lost ANY weight in the hospital and had gained seven ounces! The doctor said that she had never seen a baby gain like this (in a good way!). I guess all that nursing in the hospital really helped him. When Henry went back to his two month check up he weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces. I love having a fat little baby boy and think that by 6 months, he will have almost caught up with his sister!

Old Movie of MM twirling...

thought this was too cute not to share. This was taken when MM was about 14 months old and had just figured out how to spin.

Having Henry, September 23

Please forgive the lack of posts! To make a long story short, we now have a new computer that makes posting soooooo much easier. I thought that I would backtrack a little and tell Henry's birth story. Four months ago I looked like this:



We were planning for a homebirth and everything was going well until the last couple weeks when I started having tremendous pain in my pelvic bone. When Henry would kick, it would really hurt and I would just lie in bed trying to relax through them. My due date came and went, and the pain continued. I went in for an ultrasound when I was a week overdue to make sure that the baby was okay when it was found that I had low fluid. This explained the huge pain I was having. Henry's head was right in my pelvic bone, almost grinding up against it, because there wasn't enough fluid to cushion it. This rocked our world because having low fluid disqualifies you from having a homebirth. We went in for a second opinion ultrasound and found that my fluid level had dropped even more; it was time to get induced. We deflated the pool that I was planning on giving birth in, and rushed around trying to get things ready for the hospital.



To make a long story short, the hospital I wanted to be induced at wouldn't take me and we ended up at Shands in Jacksonville, a totally ghetto hospital with terrible white walls. It was the most unattractive place to have a baby in. My midwife went with me to check in while Jason and Margaret Mary checked in at a hotel. It took FOREVER for the hospital to start the induction,. We checked in a 9, and they didn't hook me up to the pitocin till 3 am!!! I was having small small contractions and they kept on changing their plan of induction based on that. When the pain started getting intense, the anesthesia people came and gave me a GREAT epidural. I had wanted to go naturally, but pitocin changed all that! I was so happy with my epidural. With MM I couldn't feel my legs, it was terrible. But with this epidural, I could still move them. I was very happy. By now it was morning time and Jason and MM were at the hospital with me. Having the epidural gave me some great time with MM, like below, where we got to spend some quality time together.



As time progressed I could feel my body working hard and so I asked for some quiet time to relax. Within minutes I felt like pushing. I was so happy that my epidural allowed me to feel that, and to later, feel my son coming out of me. With less that 20 minutes of pushing, I pushed out my 9 pounds 3 ounces son. Jason announced it was a boy and we had some great nursing time. Below is our first family picture. :) MM loved Henry and gave him lots of kisses.






I was sad when he had to go to the nursery. One of the reasons why I wanted a homebirth was to keep him with me after the birth. When he came back from the nursery, he cried non stop for a day and a half. Nursing was the only thing that would calm him down and soothe him. Poor guy. We signed an AMA to go home early and I am so thankful we made that decision. As soon as we got home, Henry calmed down and turned into the chill, sweet baby that he is today.





I had been praying my whole pregnancy that God's will would be done with the birth of my child. I was praying that mostly because I was scared of the pain of childbirth, and was asking for the grace to surrender totally to the pain out of love and gratitude for our little blessing. It took on a whole new meaning when we had to go the hospital to be induced. When I was checking in at the hospital I wanted to cry. It was so ugly, I felt so awkward, I wanted to give birth in my house with my family nearby, not surrounded by nurses and docters I didn't know. While praying and wiping away tears, I found peace in God's will for me. I realized that he loves me sooo much and that this birth plan was the best gift that he could give me. Although it wasn't my plan, I know that his will for me is always good, and that fact brought sweet rest to my heart in the middle of hospital chaos.

Happy birthday Henry! What a joy your are in our life!

Margaret Mary and Papa

Margaret Mary and Jason have really bonded since Henry was born. It is so sweet to see them together cuddling and having fun. They go to Holy Mass each day together and MM loves praying with him at night time and for him during the day. Last night during family prayer, Jason was kneeling and MM went up to him and just wrapped her little arm around his waist and stayed there for a while. I love that MM loves her papa.

Baby Sling

To get MM used to the idea that I'm going to be slinging a new baby in a couple of weeks, we made a little sling for her baby. She LOVED IT!!! I put her baby in her sling and she started sweeping the kitchen (what I do with her in the sling!). Margaret Mary loves babies, esp loves the baby Jesus, whom she says good night to each night. I cant wait for her to meet the new baby and pray each night that they would truly love each other with a holy, self giving love like St. Benedict and St. Scholastica had!

On a side note, sorry all my pics are posting sideways. I can't figure out how to fix them. :(

Birthday Party

For MM's first birthday party, we met some friends at the Mission Grounds for a good ol' Easter egg hunt (Catholics celebrate Easter for 40 days!). Margaret Mary had fun chasing the big kids and playing with bubbles. I was so impressed with her cousins who looked out for her the whole time; making sure she didn't get too close to the water, holding her hand, etc. Very sweet.

The AC Unit

Unloading my camera, I couldn't resist but posting this video. It is a couple of months old, but really captures her at the 12 month age. So cute, so fun, but with a mind and a will of her own! At 15 months, she is still a little talker and says so many words! She says (or a shortened version of) ball, box, baby (her favorite), outside, dog, cat, horse, duck, woof, bird, hat, Jesus, Mary, moma, papa (her first word), apple, eye, no and shoes. It seems like she says a new word each day!

Margaret Mary's First Birthday!

Sorry this post is a little late, but Margaret Mary celebrated her first birthday May 12th, 2010. Jason had to work that night, so we celebrated in the morning with a nice birthday cake. Margaret Mary, as you can see, was not too happy about having her hands dirty with cake and soon the cake was all over her face as she tried to wipe her eyes (we were all still sleepy!). I think she liked the chocolate, but she defiantly prefers eating with utensils! Her favorite present? a birthday balloon. She carried it around with her everywhere, which was really helpful as I could tell where she was all day by just looking for the balloon moving about the room. :) What an amazing year it has been; Margaret Mary is more than we could have ever wished for!

My Little Girl

One of the perks of Jason's job is that when he has to go out of town, we often times get to come with him. It is so much fun exploring with our little family and watching Margaret Mary take everything in. Driving through Tallahasse, we stopped by some local gardens and let Margaret Mary "walk" around (keep in mind, these pics were taken a few days before she took her first steps). We discovered that Margaret Mary LOVES anything water: water fountains, streams, lakes, etc. She goes crazy, starts screaming and will throw a fit if she can't put her little hands in the water and play. I wonder if she will stay that way as she grows up. We are a little worried because she doesn't seem to have a healthy fear (by that I mean, ANY FEAR) of the water. During bath time, she sticks her face in the water and tries to blow bubbles. At the beach, she tries to pull you further and deeper into the water...

In the Garden with Margaret Mary

These pics are from a few weeks ago but I thought they turned out too cute not to post. MM loves spending time in the garden: squatting, looking at and picking flowers, pushing and collecting things in her wagon, playing in the dirt, eating the dirt, watching Papa work... Our garden is really blooming and is such a peaceful place to hang out. Thanks Jason for your vision, hard work and excellent ant killing skills. :)

MM with her Nose in a Book!

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My daughter loves to look at books, esp in her car seat! She holds the books right up next to her face and laughs and talks to them; so cute!

MM and her Little Red Wagon

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Our First Glimpses of Baby Craig #2

Last week, Jason, Margaret Mary and I went in for my five month ultrasound. We were so excited as we had not seen our baby yet on ultrasound. (Because MM came after our battle with infertility, we had an ultrasound at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 20 weeks, etc.) The experience was very disappointing. When the ultrasound tech called my name in the waiting room, she looked really nervous and seemed to be scolding the receptionist. She explained to us that kids under 10 aren't allowed to go back, and that no one on staff was allowed to watch our daughter; aka, Jason had to stay in the waiting room with Margaret Mary while I went back by myself. Jason and I were frustrated, but I went in by myself and had a very impersonal experience with the ultrasound technician. "Here is the kidney, check, here is the hand, check." There was no awing over my babies fingers or toes or sweet exchanges between Jason and I as we got the first glimpse of our baby. The ultrasound tech allowed Jason and Margaret Mary to come in the last five minutes of the ultrasound, but it wasn't the same. She gave us a disk of the images and sent us home.

When we got home, I popped in the disk to discover the HORRIBLE quality of the ultrasound photos. They are very grainy and there are NO good pics of the baby's profile (the classic ultrasound shot). We have GREAT shots of MM in my womb via ultrasound photos, so it makes the experience all the more frustrating!

Among all the frustration and chaos, one sweet thing did happen. Margaret Mary, when she came in with Jason, started waving to the image of our baby on the ultrasound monitor, and right as she did this, the baby lifted up his/her hand and "waved" back. Jason and I pray daily that our little babies will be good friends and so it was very sweet to see this little exchange between them. Margaret Mary has really taken to baby Alyssa (Eryn's baby) and loves to watch her, grab/scratch her hand, and help burb her (aka, hit her back). She found a babydoll the other day at a friends house and started hugging it and swaying back and forth; I thought by heart was going to burst out of my chest! Margaret Mary is going to be such a sweet and loving big sister!


(Baby waving to MM!)

Spaghetti and Carrots...

...make for a happy Margaret Mary, and one MESSY kitchen floor!

Just Another Day in Paradise...

Potato Chips

On one of our many trips to visit Eryn in the hospital after she had her baby, Margaret Mary found a bag of Tammy's (her Granny)potato chips in the corner of the room. We were so busy with Eryn that we didn't notice for a couple of minutes that she wasn't just playing with the bag, she was reaching her little hand inside and EATING ALL THE POTATO CHIPS out of it! We have been trying to steer her clear of unhealthy, salty foods, but now she is hooked; I can't say I blame her. Here she is, greasy hands and everything...

Making A Mess in The Kitchen-part 2

Margaret Mary has discovered the two bottom shelves of the pantry. While it does create a HUGE mess, I can't complain for it gives me a good 5-10 minutes of time to get stuff done in the kitchen before its back to chasing MM around the house. She really can get around...fast. Yesterday I was trying to unload the dishwasher and couldn't do it because she kept on crawling from our kitchen to her bedroom. I would pick her up and bring her back, only to repeat this process over and over. I hear this is just the beginning!

How we keep MM entertained when TRYING to eat out...

MM just wants to play!!! It is so hard to keep her entertained, and not reaching, trying to eat, crawling around, pulling things off the table. This little trick has been a life savor! It gives me a minute or two to down my food!