birthday eve

Tomorrow, Sept 5, is my birthday.  I am actually looking forward to it.  I turn 40 this year! God has done so many things in my life this past year it is down right amazing.  I am amazed at how much God loves me from taking a little chicken legged boy to being such a fighter and a strong one. He has the strongest legs of any baby I know. To taking a year of doom and gloom and turning it into a year of joy and celebrations! This past year could have devastated me, my family, my children, and our walk with God. But instead it has caused this Iverson family to be stronger than ever! God.... I love you! Even when I have been faithless and not sure how this whole thing would turn out, God has remained faithful to me and my family. 

Arianna has already sang happy birthday to me about 5 times. She loves to sing and dance.  Someone told me once that when their kids were little they didn't need entertainment, their kids entertained them.  I am beginning to see that!  We were in the front yard on Sunday tossing a ball back and forth. She said mommy, let's dance! I thought no way, not here in the front yard... that is something mommy only does inside the house with curtains drawn! She didn't care who saw her, she just danced danced danced... I love her spirit!  Then there was Isaac, who was sitting on a mat.  He couldn't keep his hands out of the grass, he kept pulling at it, digging in the dirt... oh my... Arianna didn't like the grass at all.  They are so different.. This morning I found him underneath the curtain in our bedroom.  He had it in his mouth and just chewing away... I thought only pets ruined curtains.  I'll have to watch this boy! Oh and we are up to 5 teeth now... and they keep coming!

Good night all!

3 teeth!

Isaac has been battling bronchitis for the past two weeks! We have had to give him albuterol treatments every 4 hours when he is awake. He started sounding so much better yesterday and we believe he is winning the battle! Our fighter! Last night I was playing with him when I saw something in his mouth. Turns out it was a third tooth in the upper gums. He had already broken through and is moving on down. He is starting to have the chewing motions when I feed him the puffs snacks that dissolve in his mouth. I think he is almost ready to move from puréed foods to something a littler lumpier. He is destined to be a good eater.

School started yesterday at the school where I work. I forgot how lively the place is when the children are there.  David started his class this week too. He is learning how to build computers this semester.

Tonight while arianna was having a snack she said, " I want to be a cub!" As my mind was racing to figure out what in the world she meant, I remembered we read her Bernstein Bears books. I guess she thinks being a cub would be a pretty awesome thing!

My sister Teresa and her family came to Illinois lt week. We were able to spend some time with them. Arianna kept following her cousin around so much her cousin told her to stop following her! Arianna didn't care though and still followed her around.  She had a great time with her cousins!

One year!!

Wow! One year ago tomorrow morning our Isaac Mathias Iverson was born! What a miracle God has done in our family. He is now an 18lbs, has his first two bottom teeth, says mama & dada, claps and waves, and is about ready to crawl. He is one of the happiest babies I have ever know. Sweet arianna didnt even laugh as much as Isaac does. He loves bath time and splashes about and doesn't care when he gets water all over his face. He is defintely small for being a year but that us expected as statistics show that he won't be caught up to his age until about 2 years to the date he was to be born. He loves his food. We were going through two cans of formula a week. I ran out of coupons a long time ago! He still has to go to regular checkups with  a pulmonologist and the NICU follow ups. He is scheduled for his circumcision on August 28. Please pray for this as it will take about an hour. I believe it is more complicated than if it were done within a few days of being born.

Arianna has had a great summer. She is so brave but very cautious too. She finished ballet and was adamant about swimming lessons. So we signed her up. She was so cautious about putting her head under the water that the instructor recommended that she take the beginners class over. Now she wants to go back to ballet again where she can runaround on dry ground.  I think the next venture we take will be another swimming class. Swimming is a life lesson that she will have to learn.  Ariannas was brave enough to spend three days and three nights with my parents.  She did a great job and kept asking me why I was calling her. I wasn't sure she would ever want to come back to live with David and I she was having such a good time.

David and I have both lost weight this summer! Yippee! I will be 40 in September so I felt it is best to lose the baby weight before I hit that number. We have had a great and busy summer. The school that I work for starts classes on August 22. I am looking forward to starting the year.  My sister, Teresa, and her family are coming to Illinois for a visit next week.  She will meet Isaac for the first time and help us celebrate his birthday!

Thank you for reading.

Follow up

Isaacs appointment went well. It proved to me once again how God has taken care of him and my family. We found out that he is swallowing too late in the drinking process. So we have to thicken his bottles with crushed cereal. Swallowing too late was causing liquid to go down his airway. The doctor was amazed that he hadn't been sick with a cold due to the late swallowing. All I can say is God has protected him. He has had this swallowing issue for at least a few months, when I noticed he wasn't always swallowing when his mouth was full. We started solid foods tonight! His first meal was sweet potato!he ate it like a champ. I think he is so excited to have eaten something with more substance. He must have been ready! He is a clean eater too which makes me so happy!

June...

I apologize for the long silence. My job has been extremely busy the month of May which caused metro be exhausted almost every night. Now that school is out for the summer I feel as if I can breathe more! So what has been happening in the iverson household this past month? Isaac is completely off of every medication! What an exciting thing! I hate medication and turn to it as a last ditch effort. If I have a headache I forget that an aspirin will take away the pain... I just don't take much myself so I don't like giving it to my children! in fact that is how I got him off of the reflux medicine... I had forgotten to give it to him for a few days and nothing changed. So I quit giving it to him altogether! Isaac is weighing in around 15 lbs, loves the exercauser and the door bouncer. He won't stop bouncing when he is held either. His legs are so strong. We had him dedicated yesterday at church. The best man from our wedding performed the dedication. The word he got from God when he was praying over him was "wisdom". That Isaac would have wisdom beyond his years. The Bible also says that wisdom is the principle thing. David and I both thought there would be something spoken about laughter and joy. However, that is what his name means so he will live up to that anyway. I was excited when it happened to be something else that was spoken over him! As for precious Arianna.... She says "I am done with ballet and now I can take swimming lessons!" Everytime we would go to ballet we would have to walk by the big pool. She kept asking to go swimming. I told her she had to finish this first before she could start in swimming. The last class got her all excited because she knew she could take swimming lessons next. So the first class is next Monday! By the end of the ballet classes she was doing all the moves and even dances at home. David and I just laugh at how cute she is. She starts dancing and then starts to dance funny and she can barely stand any longer from laughing so hard. We have to say that this year we are working on paying all of our medical bills. The beginning of the year started with me having to go to the chiropractor. Then David had to start going. Isaac has had about one specialty doctor per month. Hoping we hit his deductible very soon so we can get some relief. However, we have to say that with all of this money going toward medical bills and David and I being in agreement about not being in debit, that God has really been faithful. We have been doing well. Tomorrow I have to take Isaac to have a swallow test performed. Not sure what that will be. He is ready for solid foods but sometimes I notice he chokes when he is drinking. So his pediatrician gave us the recommendation to see a specialist. Believing to have some answers tomorrow. I am looking forward to making his food, I made ariannas baby food it was so easy and fun! Thank you for your patience with me as my life had been so crazy! Alli wanted to do. Was come home,spend some time with my family and go to bed! Thank you for reading!

where has the time gone?

It has been way too long since I last wrote, I apologize to my faithful readers.
The Iverson family is doing well.  Arianna has taken to ballet now and doesn't just stand and watch the instructor.  She does the moves and actually enjoys herself now.  The key to the success was that we aren't in the room any longer with her.  We watch on a monitor.  Little did we know that there is a posted sign that says that we are allowed to watch for the first class and after that we have to watch on the monitors in the hallway.  HA! well, we went 3 times. The instructor didn't say a word. Maybe she thought we couldn't read... oh well, we may have a ballerina in our midst yet.

We took Arianna in for her 3 year well check up. She her weight and her height are 50% for her age.  She ways only 30 lbs which I feel is small. Isaac already weighs 14 lbs... half her size. oh well.

Isaac is doing well also. We had to take him into the Dr. too.  He had a rash on his tummy. The doctor mentioned that sometimes babies can become allergic to soaps that we have been using where originally things were fine. So we are now a dye and fragrance free home.  I have to take him in to get his well check up too. I think he will be starting solids soon.  That should be fun.  I like making baby food.  I had a ball when Arianna started eating solids.  It is so easy to puree everything and freeze it. i have a feeling he will LOVE to eat! He rolled over for the first time last night (5/2/12). He was on his back and rolled onto his tummy. When he got there he started crying.  I think he was stunned at what had just happened!

Arianna is officially pacifier free!!! We are so excited.  I had read a while ago that if you cut some of the tip of it off weekly eventually they won't have anything left to hold in their mouth.  So David took the paci and snipped it without her knowing it. She put it in her mouth and said it doesn't work.  So she slept the first night without with a little help from daddy and I (sleeping in our bed). Then in the morning she looks at it and says to me "I am waiting for it to get fixed." Same thing for the next two mornings.  Now, she doesn't even look for it or mention it! I only wish we could have done this sooner!  Great success in the Iverson household.

Thank you for reading! enjoy your weekend.
Talinda

Thursday, april 19

Wow this month is going really fast. The school I work for only has about 5 weeks remaining in the school year. It is so hard to believe! I came across some of the photos of Isaac's stay in the NICU today. They brought tears to my eyes as I looked at them. It is so hard to believe my healthy baby boy was sooooo tiny with such little thin legs. God has done an amazing work! I am in awe of His greatness and His love for our big boy. He is eating so much these days. I am having to buy a can a formula each week! I am still nursing but it is not enough to keep him fed for very long. I am doing what I can though. Which I love to do that for him.

Arianna loves being his big sister. There are days where she says "I didn't get to hold him yet." or asks "can I hold him?" it is so cute to see her with him. He is truly about half the size of her. A recent picture that was posted on facebook by their babysitter displays that his head is about the size of arianna's head.

Ballet was a bust this Monday. She was back to watching and not much dancing. Not sure how to break her out of her shell. My personality is "go out and do it and have fun even if you mess up!" so I have to keep reminding myself that little girlie was made by God and has qualities that will surpass mine. After every ballet lesson, we have to walk though the sports complex. She asks "can I take swimming lessons now?" then asks for her swimsuit. I guess that is next. However, I have told her she has to finish ballet first. She seems to be alright with that! Maybe she will like synchronized swimming! Ha!

Ballerina take two

Tonight was the second night for dance class. Arianna did much better. I have to teacher her how to curtsy. Didn't even think about it but that is one thing I need to help her with. She did dance about 50% of the dances. Whenever the teacher said to sit, stand at the wall or wait she was the first to do it. She is a good listener. I am certain she will do even better next week. She loves going and gets so excited before we go.

We had another eye appointment with the specialist today. He discharged Isaac from his care. Isaac's eyes are mature enough where he will not have problems with his retinas detaching due to being w preemie. Again, another way that God has shown Himself faithful! I can do nothing but praise God for his goodness and helping in Isaac. He is so healthy!

We had a great Easter weekend. David had Saturday off so we were able to spend two consecutive days with him. Those are rare in this family. We took arianna to the circus. That was so much fun. I think she is over her fear of elephants. I didn't know that elephants can balance so well. I don't think that I have ever been to a circus before. If I have I was too little to remember. I think ariannas favorite part though was the stunt motorcycle drivers. They were exciting to watch. Her mouth was wide open as they leaped through the air and did tricks!

Have a great week! It is back to work for me tomorrow after our school had 2 extra days off this weekend for Easter break.

Good night!
Oh & happy belated birthday Cherie!

Our ballerina

Tonight was the first dance class for arianna. We are calling it ballet but technically it is called a dance class. They will learn dance steps including ballet steps. She was so excited that when she woke up this morning the first thing she said to me was "mommy, when we go to ballet you may have to carry me so I won't get my ballet shoes dirty!" smart girl! This is after I told her a few days ago that her ballet shoes cannot be worn outside.

Tonight on the way home from the babysitters she said to me. We won't eat dinner just go to ballet and then et afterwards. I am amazed at her thinking process. At class she mostly observed everyone. She stood around lifting her little tutu and just watching. The instructor would come over and take her hand to try to get her involved. David and I keep reminding each other that at this time we need to just tell her what a good job she did instead of criticize. Afterwards she was so talkative. She liked the butterfly step but neither David nor I could remember what that step looked like. There are 8 classes which end in May. Not sure if we will take swimming lessons next as when we walked out of the class she saw the pool and the kids swimming and she wanted to get her swim suit on!

We are planning an easter egg hunt this weekend. Hoping the weather will be nice.

Isaac is doing well and has been sleeping through the night more! Way to go cutie pie! I knew you could do it!

Thursday, march 29

Since we were on vacation last week, every morning Arianna wakes up and asks..."where is daddy?" then asks..."are we going to the Kinneyminneys? She loves spending time with us! I love that. Over the past month she had been rather spicy and feeling her independence. I think she might been feeling a little left out @ times...after our vacation she is starting to want to be around me more. I love it. Before it was all about daddy!

This Saturday night Arianna is having her first sleep over. Her "best friend" Naomi will be spending the night. Her parents will celebrate their anniversary that night. David was the one who suggested for us to keep her overnight. I think it will be a great experience for them! Then Monday she starts dance lessons at the park district. We bought her leotard with ballet skirt and shoes. She is so excited! I am really looking forward to seeing if she likes it! If nothing else she will look adorable in her outfit!

We have been working on Isaac and getting him to sleep through the night. We started by having him fall asleep on his own. He has been doing pretty good so far. Some nights he has cried for a little while. It is difficult to her them cry.. But studies have shown that it makes them better sleepers if they can learn to fall asleep on their own. This way too if they wake up in the middle of the night they can put themselves to sleep without help! LOVE IT!

Have a great Friday!

Spring is here!

The family is on vacation this week. We visited mom and dad starting on Saturday through yesterday. It was a good trip. We visited the zoo and the local children's museum. Mom asked me what I wanted to do on my vacation and we did it... We spent time with my parents and they were able to enjoy their grand kids. They bring so much joy and laughter to them.

Dad and David worked on his 65 corvair. We were able to tow it up to our house so David can drive it this year. It hasn't been working for over a year. I know David is excited to drive it once again.

Today we went to our second NICU follow up. Isaac is right on track with his vocal (speech) and physical development. He now weighs 13.1 lbs. which we think is really good. However he shows up as being in the 5 percentile for his weight. However I had heard that they would have put him on a higher calorie formula if they were too concerned. We are happy with the results. We don't have to go back until July.

Tonight arianna asked for dipping sauce for her carrots. David and I don't typically use dipping sauce for our vegetables. We found some Italian dressing to which after tasting it arianna said "that will work!" she even shared her carrots and dipping sauce with David and I! She is so sweet.

The end of a loooooooooong weekend

Arianna is officially 3.  She had a very successful birthday party on Saturday.  We had three princesses parading around our house.  I realize that 3 year olds don't really play together but separately.  They had a really good time.  They made some princess switchplate covers.  Well, they tried.  It was fun to see them put the stickers on where they wanted to.  Arianna received a beauty set with a curling iron, flat iron, blow drier and things alike.  She has done my hair a few times and just finished styling David's hair.. He loves his little girlie!

My parents were here for the weekend and I think they are amazed at how good Isaac is doing.  I did call Early Intervention to come back and re-evaluate Isaac.  I doubt he will qualify because he is definitely progressing normally as a 3 month old.  He has been moving a lot in his crib, kicking a toy when I have it down by his feet and almost rolling over. We also think he might be able to sit up by himself soon. It is amazing to see how much he has changed. We are planning on getting him dedicated at our church early May. It will be so fun to dedicate him. 

Last night David and I went to a benefit for the school that I work for.  It was fun.  Good food and fun fellowship.  We purchased some open gym tickets during the silent auction so we can take Arianna to one of the local gymnastics gym.  I can tell we need to increase our one on one time with her.  She is showing signs of needing more attention.  We love our three year old and look forward to seeing her blossom.  She is so precious. We can see that when we have fun with Isaac she wants to be right there with us.

Have a great week and enjoy your families.

Where does the time go.

I find. Myself busy with cleaning, laundry, cooking, getting ready for the next day, etc...I have failed to blog. I apologize. I don't have a lot of news...however I know as I type I will think of things.

David took Isaac yesterday to the eye doctor who is seeing great improvement in his eyes. However they are still immature so we will be going back again in three weeks for another check up. He is still quite a happy boy. I realize that Arianna weighs around 26 lbs and Isaac is almost already half of that! He is making up for lost time. I was reminded yesterday of the scripture that says "do nor despise the days of small beginnings!" that is little Isaac! Watch out world, here he comes!

Arianna turns 3 on Friday! It is so hard to believe my little girlie will be 3! We are having a small party for her with only two other girls. She doesn't know yet as she will ask me everyday, is it Saturday? We are having a princess themed party. I think I might create a game of place the tiara on the princess' head, decorate your own tiara, etc. it will only be for a few hours so the girls can have fun and then go home to take a nap. If anyone's knows of a good frosting recipe that doesn't include hydrogenated oils, let me know! I have an organic cake mix but am looking for a better option for the frosting.

Saturday

Yesterday arianna's "nose wasn't working" when she woke up! She has been dealing with this cold today too. Me, Isaac and she stayed home almost all day. We only went out to Walmart when David got home from work. Please believe with us that Isaac will not get sick with this cold. Breast feeding helps his immune system greatly so that is a big plus. When we went to Walmart David played the crane game that you see in some stores. He won arianna two stuffed animals with one quarter. She was extatic to say the least. She kept saying "good job daddy for winning me these animals" David and I thought that the quarter spent to win them was so little compared to the joy we got seeing her hug them!

We will be watching our church service online tomorrow morning as arianna can't go into children's church with the runny nose she has.

I am excited to have a three day weekend this weekend in honor of President's day on Monday! Although, I doubt I can sleep in. This morning as David got ready for work the entire Iverson household was up for the day at 5:30!

The end of a good weekend!

We had a full weekend! Arianna had her best friend over yesterday. It was fun to see them play together. Although I was surprised how possessive she was with her toys. Especially baby Julie. Overall though the girls had a blast and arianna was sad when she left. I had told her the night before that she was coming over. On Saturday morning she woke up @ 5:30 when david was getting ready for work & asked if naomi was here..I love her expectant spirit!

Then last night we were blessed from a couple from our church who babysat while we went out for dinner. They painted ariannas fingernails, played dress up and watched a movie & we werent even gone that long! They ALL had a blast!

Isaac is really getting busy when he is awake! He is staying happy longer and longer! I really enjoy the cooing and laughing! I also love it when he grabs my finger and some of his toys. I don't think he will qualify for the state of Illinois early intervention program again this month! I am ok with that!

The NICU

I forgot to tell everyone that isaac is now wire free! Last friday when he was extremely fussy i had discovered that the probes on his monitorwas irritating his skin. Hoping that was the cause of the fussiness i took him off of the monitor once and for all! He has slept better every night since then! Isaac had a pulmonologist appointment this afternoon and I wasnt certain if he would give me a hard time about deciding to take him off the monitor. He didn't seem to mind. We now have a prescription for the company to come out and remove the oxygen tanks and two other pieces of equipment. I just hope I can find all of the oxygen tanks! I hid them away to keep them out of sight!

After Isaac's appointment we visited the NICU for the first time since leaving on October 30! When we got in the elevator I actually had forgotten what floor I had lived on for 2 1/2 weeks and visited for 2 1/2 months! The nurses couldn't believe their eyes at their little man! A few of them were even excited about his round head. I guess one of their great concerns is to send babies home with round heads. It became clear to me tonight how blessed we were to have such a fabulous team of nurses and staff at the hospital. Truly without their sacrifice and love for their job Isaac wouldn't be the little boy he is today! They couldn't stop smiling at him and loving on him! He was smiling and talking right back! I don't miss the place but I miss the ladies there! We will go back to visit! I just wish David could have gone too. They saw what a great dad he is and even commented on it tonight. I guess it is rare to see dads as involved as David is. They said some parents don't even come to visit....even though it is a tough situation, I could have never left my child there without visiting!

Reflux!

Well reflux has reared it's ugly head again! Last Thursday Isaac started getting really fussy with bouts of inconsolable crying and again not nursing well. This time he had a lot more spitting up as well. I could tell he clearly wasn't feeling good but he didn't have any signs of a cold. So I waited it out until last night! Whoa what a night! He didn't calm down for much of the Super Bowl. Pretty much cried throuh the first thee quarters. David had today off so he was able to take him to the pediatrician. They found out that he had outgrown his reflux medicine dosage since he weighs 11 lbs 10 ounces now! Our big boy! He has started to grab things too. His little hands will grab our fingers and now some toys. He is overall a happy boy and it isn't fun to see him turn red and not breathe because of a reflux episode. He loves to be tickled! He just laughs and waves his hands and kicks his feet. It is delightful to see him so happy. He loves to see and hear his sister too. She makes him smile.

Yesterday we were driving through our church parking lot. One of the cars of a student who attends the school in which I work drives a pink Volkswagen Beetle. Arianna saw it and said something to the effect "I like that pink car. When I get older I will have one like it. It is pretty" at least she knows what she likes!

Healing

Isaac had another eye exam yesterday to be certain that the ROP eye issue is still improving. The great news is that it is getting better, in other words the are healing and he is growing out of it! We are so excited that as the doctor put it "he is progressing nicely out of ROP". We are getting the monitor memory downloaded tomorrow. This is where they will be able to tell if the alarms that we have had are true alarms. We are hopeful for a good report in this area as well. Isaac has not had an alarm in quite a while. His nightly sleeping is also getting better. I am not sure if I am getting more sleep but at least I am not sleeping in the chair as long. I think I am even getting longer periods of sleep in my own bed. We are amazed at how much he has progressed. The NICUs across the US call Caucasian boys wimpy white boys because they are typically the ones that progress the slowest whenborn premature. If you look at isaac, he looks anything but wimpy! He is strong and chunky! He is getting a double chin and looks just like a little 2 1/2 month old baby. I know he will be six months old on the 12th but he is sure looking good!

As for his sister....she still amazes David and me. Tonight she and David were going over a scripture In Ephesians. David started out the verse and arianna finished it for him. If I wasn't standing there listening I wouldn't have believed it. She has such a good memory! Tonight she saidS:"when we have my birthday party...." I wasn't sure I was going to have q birthday party for her... But I guess she thinks I am.

Sorry it has been so long since I have written. Time flies these weeks. I am falling asleep now and I need to stay awake to fold a load of laundry and make a lunch for tomorrow!

Trying new things

I have heard our pastor say many times that insanity is doing the same thing over & over and expect different results. So I have heard of a new book on sleeping for babies. There are a lot of good ideas. I have started implementing some of them. I know I can help Isaac to sleep longer it is just a matter of time. I haven't mentioned it in quite some time but I am still having a lot of back and shoulder pain. There is still numbness that comes and goes in my left hand. Over the past few days I have had a great pain in my right wrist. My doctor says that sleep will help my body to heal. I also know that it will help Isaac too. So we are on a quest to get at least 3 hours of consecutive sleep in one night. I know it will be a tremendous help.

Isaac is smiling and cooing. They are adorable sounds. It is great to see him express joy. His life has had a rough start but he will live up to the meaning of his name "He will laugh"! He is still dealing with reflux. We can sometimes hear his tummy gurgle with it. Then he let's out a big scream and cough... This too cannot stay! We are fighting it with a lot of prayer and know that it is a matter of time before it leaves his body!

Arianna had a cold over the weekend where she was down for about 4 days. She nonetheless still had a joy about her. She woke up one morning with a hoarse voice and says "I sound like a man." we don't know how she comes up with these things! She is so smart. We have been reading Go Dog Go by dr. Seuss. One part is wear a girl dog has a hat on and asks a boy dog "do you like my hat?" tonight she and David were going to target and she was wearing a hat... She came up and asked me "do you like my hat?" I said I do not like your hat. I wanted to see what she would say. She got it right! She answered just like the book. She said "goodbye!"

Today is David's birthday! He is such a good dad and husband. I am so glad that he asked me to marry him! Sometimes I think we have too much fun to be adults and have been married for 7 years!

Sleepy boy

Isaac has been sleeping since we arrived home from the babysitters tonight! Evidently he is having a growth spurt or something. I actually catnapped on the couch for about 30 minutes myself before going to bed. I have been adding the rice cereal to his formula at night. Although i have finally found a bottle nipple that will allow the thicker liquid to come out, I haven't noticed that it has made much of a difference. I have had to throw out quite a bit because I would make a mixture before he goes to bed to get his tummy full so he would hopefully sleep longer. Then he would suck so much, when nothing was coming out, it would tucker him out which would cause him to sleep! Maybe that is the real reason to add rice to the bottle?

Evidently Arianna is planning on going home with my mom & dad. They are coming to visit and tonight she tells me she has her blanket and pillow packed! I think she is ready because David & I have been on her about telling us the truth. It starts young and innocent but lying really doesn't produce a good child, teen or adult. She asked for juice to drink tonight. I asked her if she had some in the morning as we don't like her to have too much. She told me she didn't have any. Then I thought about it and remembered she had. Talking her through why to tell the truth she started saying "when I get bigger I will tell the truth." so our training continues. She did however decide water would be okay to drink tonight. She told me her tummy was asking for the water....

snow and purple boots

I definitely have a girlie girl.  I bought Arianna some new snow boots and she wants to wear them every day.  When we walk outside she has to walk in the snow in them.  She says that when grandma and grandpa come up this weekend they will jump in the snow with her.  Get ready grandma and grandpa... bring those snow boots.  Arianna really likes the snow.  David and I are going to have to purchase a sled.  This weekend would have been perfect days to go sleding.  However, today it was in the 40s...

Isaac is definitely developing.  He is developing relatively on time for a 2 month old child.  When David or I say his name he will turn his head and look at us.  David has been playing with him and can get him pretty excited to where he squeals with delight.  I don't seem to have that effect.  I think my effect is more "where's my food mommy?"  which is alright.  I don't mind.  I like to snuggle with him at night when it is only him and me.  It is also fun to sing in his ear.  He really likes to hear singing. 

I started to teach Arianna how to make her bed.  We will see how that goes.  She was pretty intrigued when I started.  She happened to be sitting on her bed while I was showing her for the first time.  She said "I better get off my bed." so I think she understands the concept... we'll see.  I know it is a big task for an almost 3 year old but she seems to be past her age in figuring things out anyway.  Today we were driving and a white pick up truck drove by with green tires.  I saw it and thought it looked funny.  The next thing I hear  is "that pick up truck has green tire."  I remarked at how observant she is...

Sorry for the delay in blogging.  time has run away from me this past week.

Have a great week.

Sleepless in Elgin

Well we are back to not sleeping very well. Isaac was up about every 45 minutes to every hour last night. Yikes.. I finally just gave up and just shut the light off and slept in the rocking chair in his room...

Today David took Isaac to the pediatrician for his monthly check up. He weighed in at 10 lbs 7ounces. The pediatrician suggested for him to sleep on his stomach to see if that will help the sleeplessness. She also suggested to add infant rice cereal to his formula to see if that will help some of the effects of reflux. She also suggested adding the vitamins with iron back in because he really needs them. He also had an eye exam follow up again. It showed further improvement on the concern of ROP. That is a definite praise.

We have had such good weather that David picked up Arianna from the sitters early today and actually took her to a park...in January....in Illinois! She swang and slid down some slides. Tomorrow there is a forecast for snow!

Tonight Arianna keeps saying "Talinda hold me." It is so funny to hear her say my name. Right now she and David are sharing a hot chocolate. She took a sip and says "it isn't too shabby!"

Glad it is Wednesday! Come on weekend where I can sleepin until 6 am!

Smiles & Sleep!

Well everyone we are on our way to more sleep @ night! For the past 3 nights I have gotten about 1 to 2 more hours of sleep. It doesn't sound like much but it truly makes a difference.
Since we eliminated the vitamins with iron and I have been fasting from sugar I believe that those two changes have helped Isaac's digestive system. Not certain but at this point I will take it and move forward on getting the reflux and cough to lessen. Sometimes when the reflux happens I can actually hear it in his throat or tummy. This morning he actually smiled a cooed at David! It was so adorable! To see him finally respond to someone talking to him. We went to church today and it seems as everyone wants to see the boy they have heard so much about! I have noticed people love babies. Sometimes I stop and think everyone started out a baby! Everyone!

Yesterday arianna watched a curious George movie. It talked about bones in the body since George had broken one of his. The kids traced themselves and drew the bones that they felt, onto the tracing. I had a large piece of paper that I had been intending to trace Arianna's body like I had done in grade school. I wanted her to be able to draw her face and hair and such...well she drew her face (including her dimples) gave herself some blue eyes and purple
hair. Then she proceeded to reiterate the curious George movie. Talking about bones and what they do. I was amazed at her comprehension after only having watched it two times.

Have a great week!

Wednesday, January 4

I hope the new year is treating everyone well. We are back to work at our school. It is nice to be in a routine again. I have started a sugar fast because I find myself not fitting into the clothes that I could when I returned to work in December! Hoping it comes off as fast as it came on! Maybe it will get the hint that it isn't welcome and leave.

I am still waiting for my Christmas gift from Isaac. The only thing I asked for was sleep...maybe he is holding out for when I will be completely surprised and not expecting his gift! I could only hope!

He has had some apnea episodes where his breathing slows and the monitor alarms. However they are quick and his color always looks good. When David took Isaac to the pulmonologist this week the dr asked if we wanted to get rid of the monitor. We both agreed we should keep it for a little bit longer. However, we can officially get rid of the oxygen tanks!

Arianna likes to listen to what she calls "bible songs". Tonight on the ride home she is singing along with it and is singing "He is able, He is able, He is able just now". She also walked in the house and says "let's watch church on the iPad". Another reason why we are glad we bought the iPad, so we can watch and listen to a church service anywhere in the house. David and I both agree that this is the funnest age with Arianna so far. There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't all laughing together. This morning she said "after I go to the mackinneyminney's you come pick me and Isaac up after work?" I told her yes and then when we get home daddy will be home...she screams with joy and says "I love being home with you, daddy and Isaac." I pray this excitement lasts well into adulthood!