Fall Festival

Yes, yes I know. I've fallen way behind on my blogging. I came down with some kinda something (again) last Thursday and felt pretty much like I'd hit the bottom of the barrel until Wednesday this week. I was a total slacker in all area's of my life while I was sick those few days. The only housework that actually got done was loading and unloading the dishwasher. My children ate nothing but junk food, fish sticks and ravioli. Jon and I ate either leftovers or takeout (which gets pretty darn old) and after all the hard work I just described to you that I had to do, I had no energy left to be creative! It's really ridiculous how fast things get junky when you don't stay on top of it and even more ridiculous how your house can go from semi-clean to looks-like-nothings-been-done-in-3-months-around-here the minute you start to feel bad! Needless to say, I had to get a shovel and dig the house out of the junk that piled up. After almost a month of being sick then feeling better for a couple days then being sick again, I think I've whipped whatever it was that had a hold of me! Jon and the kids are well, for the record!During one of my "Oooohhh I think I'm getting better" moments, we went to the Fall festival at the school where Jon teaches and the kids just had a blast. There were a few little things for the kids their age to do, most of which rewarded them with candy, and tons of kids their age to play with! From the moment we got there James was wide open. He was so into it, running here and there and every where, only stopping to make sure I was behind him every now and then! It took Audrey a little while to warm up to the idea of so many strangers and so many things to do!James got up on one of the jungle gyms all by himself without even thinking about it and he even went down a big twisty slide all by himself! The duck pond was their favorite activity but to them it was the pond duck! (They were really moving so fast most of the time that I barely had time to get any good pictures of some of the stuff they did.)It was cold and windy that day, the one day that's actually felt like Fall around here the entire month of October! There were a lot of people there and some of the lines were really long(well, long to parents with two totally wired 2 year olds that don't understand the concept of "lines") so we didn't do everything there was to do but we did enough to wear them out, despite all the candy they consumed!

Way Ahead of the Game

That's what our neurologist said yesterday when I told him James was standing, walking and running flat footed. He got this huge grin on his face, his eyes lit up and he came out from behind his desk to look at James. I took the brace off and he tested his reflexes and then his range. He said it was amazing the progress James has made and to keep on doing what we've been doing because the most important thing is to not loose the range of motion he has gained. The more he grows, the more his muscles grow so the more at risk he his to loose some or all of what he has gained. So again, we are at status quo but this time with an encouraging neurology visit behind us and an appointment to go back in another 6 months. The last thing the doctor said to me as he was leaving was "Have a Merry Christmas. It's gonna be a good one for sure" and he pointed at James. It made me feel good to have this man be so genuinely happy for us!

#250

Not much going on around here lately and for that I am thankful. Not feeling very creative today, probably because this dang cold keeps hovering around our household like James does the dining room table! So when I saw that this was gonna be my 250th post, I thought that would make a good title. Really can't believe there are 250 memories captured of my kiddos on here. There are a few good things about living in the 21st century!

Patiently waiting to be let out!

Watching t.v. in mama's bed. When did they get so old?

We go back to the neurogologist tomorrow afternoon for his 6th month "check-up". I am so excited to see what Dr. Ayala has to say about all the progress our little man has made!

Let them eat cake

More tales from the terrible two's: James doesn't really have an attitude problem, I'm pretty sure he is gonna be the "easy" child (crossing my fingers, knocking on wood.....)! He does, however, think that he is a monkey(and a big monkey at that)and climbs on everything these days i.e. the dining room table, all the chairs, the toy box, the toilet, his crib. He's also like a chipmunk and gets into any and all food that gets left out within reach of his chubby little hands! I was putting clothes in the dryer the other day and heard the distinct sound of tinfoil being peeled back. I knew I'd better not waste any time on this one and ran into the kitchen to find one of the little birthday cakes on the floor (obviously I didn't have it pushed back far enough on the counter!) with 4 little hands in it. Audrey barely had any on her face while her brother had it all over his face and hands and the floor. He must of known he only had a small window of time to eat that cake and stuffed it in as fast as it would go!

Terrible Two's

Or Battle of the Will's. Either way it has been rough around here this week. My oh my I feel like the mother of two month old twin infants, not 2 year old twin toddlers. I swear, I feel like I did when I was getting up every 3 hours in the middle of the night for an hour(or more) at a time to feed and change diapers. I feel like I did when they wouldn't stop crying and I didn't know what to do. I feel......powerless, helpless and overwhelmed. Perhaps it is because I haven't gotten much sleep in the last 3 weeks due to this relentless sinus mess that wont leave me alone and decided to over take my children's little nasal cavities a week and a half ago. Perhaps it is because once again my house never stays clean, especially the floors. (I am lookin forward to sock wearing weather.) Maybe it's because my children, mainly Audrey, wont stop crying, whining, or fussing. Audrey has this new attitude of "Well if I can't have it or if they say no, I'll just starting crying and get louder and louder and then I'll throw myself on the floor to really make it look bad. Or if they tell me to do something that I don't want to do like say please or get my diaper changed, I'm gonna scream NO and not do it. I might even swat at them with my cat like paw." Iron will, that child. Iron will. I keep telling her "You've met your match dear. Where do you think you got that iron will from, hmm? And who do you think invented that look? You don't scare me and I will win." But on the inside I am trembling because I am scared. She may have inherited that iron will from me and I may have invented that look, but having it and trying to tame it, shape it and channel it in the proper direction are two completely different things.
I have this amazing, beautiful, bright, bubbly little girl and it's my job to train her up in the way that she should go. It's a tall order being a parent sometimes!

Second 2nd Birthday Party

On Saturday we had James and Audrey's second partay here at our house. We had planned on having it outside on our freshly pressure washed deck(which made it look branspankin new, btw)but about an hour before the big bash was to start, it started raining. I was a little disappointed because I had grand decorating plans AND because the deck is now such a pleasant place to be but it was excruciatingly hot so I didn't complain. For months now I had planned on making their cakes but I got sick at the beginning of the week last week and by Wednesday I backed out and called Sister Gloria who is a member of our church and cake maker by trade. She is one of the sweetest ladies ever and readily agreed to help me out! I couldn't of done a better job if I'd tried. I told her just to make one cake but she insisted on making them each a little cake to dig into.(They weren't as interested as last year. James asked for a fork to eat his with!) Lately my kids have developed an obsession with Popeye, it's all they ever want to watch. So I was going to have a Popeye themed party but it is next to impossible to find any Popeye stuff and I had neither time nor money to create Popeye myself so I went with Pumpkins and black and orange. You know, since Halloween is only a couple weeks away! They were really into opening the presents this year and got overly excited about all their gifts, even the clothes!The minute that baby Samuel arrived both James and Audrey couldn't keep their hands off him. They had to hold him and pet him and give hugs and kisses. They would stop playing to sit and hold him!We had a pumpkin pinata for the kids to smash open and get tons of candy to take home and drive their parents crazy with. (Yes, I am a wonderful friend and sister!) But, as Jon was stuffing said pinata full of all that tasty candy, it busted. So, we had to put some band aids on him......This child is so spoiled, you just can't trust nobody these days! (These pictures were taken with in seconds of each other and notice the discarded juicy cup on the floor!) All in all we had a wonderfully loud, crazy, hectic birthday party! I'm just glad it only comes around once a year!!!

First 2nd Birthday Party

James and Audrey's birthday was on Friday while we were in Mississippi for the association. They share a birthday with lots of dear friends and one extra special family member, Sydney. Sydney turned 16 this year(hard to believe THAT) so we had to have a party in between church services on Friday! Aubrey(Sydney's sis)has recently found her special talent, making and decorating cakes. I asked her to make James and Audrey each a little cake and of course she did. She also made Sydney's.

Audrey's flip flop cake

Sydney's cake

James' tractor cake

Playing with the goodies that were in the back packs they got from SuSu and PaPaw

They had a great 2nd birthday and got lots of cool stuff. They were especially into the cakes this year. Well, I say they. I should really say James was into the cakes this year. I told them the day we were leaving to go out there, that Aubrey was making them each a cake for their birthday party at Aunt Becky's. Big mistake! The whole way there he talked about Aubrey and the cake. "Mommy, eat cake." "Mommy, Aubrey make cake." Mommy, cake Aubrey." Mommy, mommy mommy....... Good thing he was asleep when we got there or else we would of had to have the party right then. Wouldn't of mattered that it was 10:00 at night! He continued to talk about it periodically the next day but he wasn't as obsessed with it as before. But once we brought out the cakes that afternoon he was soooo excited! And he was all into blowing out the candles too. Audrey wasn't real sure what to do with it so James, being the kind big brother that he is, leaned over to her cake and blew out the candles!

We are having a birthday party for them here at our house tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have more funny tales to share with you next week!!

A Good Hope

We had a great time in Mississippi for the Good Hope Association. The Lord truly blessed and came down to meet with us at every service. The song services were especially blessed I felt like. There were a few that were so beautiful I just knew the Lord was about to come back! Jon and I left there with a renewed spirit and gladness in our hearts to be privileged to be a part of such a wonderful thing here on this earth: The Old Line Primitive Baptist Church!

Bella and Audrey playing in the sand. I think they are gonna be really good friends!

The 3 grandmothers Nenie, MaMaw and SuSu! We had so much delicious food at this meeting and at every meal time I said I wasn't gonna eat again. I didn't have any room left. But I'd find myself stuffing my face, again! I paid for it Saturday night, big time.

Audrey trying to score herself another one of those peanut butter cookies.

It worked!

We didn't stay for the afternoon services, I thought it was too much to ask of my 2 year olds.

This was their first Old Baptist Association and I must give them an A+ on conduct and all other categories. The only time they got stir crazy was Saturday night but who can blame them? After all, they were on their 8th sermon in 2 days!!! They love their family and they love going to church. What more could two parents ask for?!

I'll post pictures from their birthday party next time!

2 Years

James,
Where do I begin? This has been a big year for you. As your mother, I have been blessed to watch you grow into an amazing little boy. You are a very sweet, very tender child. You love to snuggle, especially in the middle of the night! You have to have your bankie(blankie)to go to sleep and occasionally you ask for punky(your monkey) at bed time too. Just recently you have started resisting bed time. You used to go down no problem at 7:30 on the dot but now you think of every excuse in the book to stay up longer. Seems like you are gonna be THAT kid, the one who never wants to go to bed! You still love reading books and I think that if I would (could) read to you all day long you'd be satisfied with that. Music is another thing you love, especially things with catchy tunes to them. You love to go to church and sing church songs. Last year when I wrote to you I told you one of your favorite times of the day is when daddy gets home. Well, that hasn't changed. You ask about daddy at least 3 times a day and when you hear the door chime you shout "DADDY" and run to the back door! You still love to wrestle with daddy and you especially love to have your toes tickled. (That's an excuse you use to try and get me to take your shoes off during the day!!) For the most part you and your sister get along splendidly and you have a wonderful relationship. You ask about her in the morning if you get up before her. You fight a lot more now but I attribute that to your age. You still think she is hilarious and every now and then I see you being sweet to her for no reason. You don't like to share with her but it is easier to get you to share a book or toy than food. Don't even think about asking you to share your food with her or any one else for that matter! You took your first step all by your self the night before we moved into our new house and you started walking officially a few days after you turned 18 months. Your language skills have really taken off within the last 2 months as well as your charm skills. The minute you sense "trouble" you flash me this toothy grin and pucker up for a kiss. You make it extremely hard to discipline you sometimes! You repeat almost every thing you hear and can say 5-6 word sentences. In March of this year you were diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. It was a total shock to me and your daddy and it was a hard thing to accept. But the Lord, once again, gave us grace and mercy and strength to endure and blessed you with a wonderful spirit and strong will. As of today the CP that affects your little body seems to be an exceptionally mild form and the only visible problem you have is your left leg. You had to start wearing an AFO (ankle/foot orthotic) to keep you from walking on your tippy toe so that the calf muscle will start to grow properly in your left leg and hopefully, one day, be able to walk heel to toe. Even more hopefully, not have to wear a brace at all! In May you started receiving PT every week from a really nice Physical Therapist, Ms. April, who comes to our house. A few weeks ago she bumped it down to once a month because you are doing so well!! I also enrolled you in the state program "Babies Can't Wait" which is Georgia's early intervention program. You were automatically eligible because of the diagnosis of CP and it is totally free! Ms. Cherie is the Speech and Language Pathologist for BCW and she comes to our house every week but mostly just for observation. So far you are not behind in anything!! You and Audrey have formed a delightful relationship with both April and Cherie and you respond very well to them. Your daddy and I love you James Bryant, with all of our heart and soul. You have been such a blessing to our lives and we thank God every day for the precious gift of your life.

Audrey,
You my dear are my little sunshine. You are such a happy, delightful and tender child. I am so blessed to be your mama and to be able to watch you grow into an amazing little girl. You may have enough sass in your little body to make up 3 Scarlet O'Hara's but you have the love of 3 Melanie's to go with it. You take care of your brother constantly; always making sure he has what you have. (Unless of course it is your favorite book or toy, then there is a throw down!) The two words you say the most these days are "Bubba take, bubba take." You love to read books and, like your brother, you'd be satisfied to read books all day long. Unlike your big bro, you love bed time. A few times you have even asked to go to bed saying "Get bankie, pappy and go seep". You've just started asking for a baby doll to go to sleep with but usually, as long as you have your pappy you are golden. You love going to church and singing church songs and you also love to dance to music I play on the ipod. The faster the tune and the louder the music the more you like it! You took your first steps in the days following Thanksgiving, much to the disappointment of all the family that spent almost every moment that week watching you to try and see your first steps! You love to chalk (draw) and you hold your crayon or marker like someone who can actually write. It's amazing how advanced you are. You have been talking in 5-6 word sentences and repeating every thing you hear for some time now. You love to put puzzles together and keen, keen(clean, clean). I am constantly finding you with some sort of wipie in your hand wiping down things. The floor and the wall are your most common targets and you always sing some tune while you are cleaning. I sure hope the habit of loving to clean sticks with ya! You absolutely adore your daddy and I am always teasing him saying the two of you make me sick with the way you love each other! But you still want mommy when you are scared or hurt! In the days following your brothers diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy you were the only bright part in those days. It was like you knew something was wrong so you tried extra hard to make us smile or laugh and you always succeeded. You were very good during those days too, I hardly had to get on to you. Even at this young age I think you have the instinct of a mother. You are quick to comfort Bubba when he is hurt, like bringing him his pappy, tenderly putting it in his mouth for him and patting him on the head. You have no problem sharing food with him as long as it was your idea to do so. If he just reaches over in your bowl and grabs a handful of what ever is in there(which happens often)you don't like that at all and let everybody know it with this horribly shrill scream you have mastered in your short two years of life! You are still the wiggle worm, always moving and always talking, talking, talking! Your daddy and I love you so much Peach, and thank God every day for blessing us with the gift of your life.

My darling children,No matter where life takes you, what lies ahead for you as individuals or us as a family, I want you to know how very much I love you. And how very much I need you. I strive daily to be a God honoring mother, to raise you up in the way that you should go. To make sure you know how very much I love you and how special you are to me. I fall short though, I know I do and there are many nights I go to sleep just knowing that I have totally messed you up, so sure that all my efforts have been in vain; that everything I have done is wrong. But I wake up the next morning to see your beautiful smiling faces and feel those short little arms around my neck squeezing me tight. Or I witness a beautiful exchange of hugs between the two of you, unsolicited by me and I think that maybe, just maybe, I have done something right! We have stressful days around here for sure. We've shed lots of tears in two years and I'm sure there is more to come. But, when I think about our life together, about our family, I hear laughter and see smiles and feel arms around me tight. I see us dancing and singing and just enjoying life. If I had to use one word to describe our family it would JOYFUL. I love you my darlings, for ever and ever. Love, Mama