Mogie is 8 Months Old!

The question I know you've all been dying to know the answer to....

Is she crawling yet?

(Just kidding. unless you really were.)

This last month was visiting Grandparents, more hiking, her first Halloween, one final work trip for Daddy, and yes, a crawling baby.

:: Size ::

Dare I say she is maybe a bit bigger? She moved up into size 3 diapers - although she is clearly on the small end of wearability - and some of her smaller 6 month clothing can get tight lengthwise. 

"Here, buddy! Have some lunch too!"

:: Eating ::

Every three hours still, and we added solids for lunch this month. She still is not really into baby food (like she maybe will finish a jar in a meal...some days), but has shown a preference to apple sauce and sweet potatoes. And she is definitely a messy eater. I'm planning on buying stock in laundry stain remover.

:: Sleeping ::

As a whole, she is still doing two wonderfully solid naps during the day and sleeping through the night, with a couple of hicccups. The first was when she learned to crawl, and then quite soon after learned to pull up on her crib bars. It was a long few days being patient with a very excited baby who would rather be crawling and getting stuck than sleeping. The second was a cold that messed with her night time sleep, which has resulted in some very early mornings (5:30 a.m. is the average), which we're hoping doesn't become the new pattern. Wish us luck.

"Mom I'm STUCK!"

:: Milestones ::

Two big ones: she crawls (forwards!) and she can pull herself up on things (she prefers her crib). Josh was right in his prediction - it happened while he was away on a work trip! It has been beyond fun to watch her haul around the house and get into every mischief imaginable, and it has been an adjustment for everyone to have to keep an eye on her for when she gets into every mischief imaginable.  No toy, no room, no paper, no dog bone, no piece of dirt is safe from Mogie these days.

:: Dellie ::

Her new nickname for Mogie this month became "Jo." It was beyond random and short lived, but I feel I would be remiss to not include it here because she was very persistent with it for a good three weeks.

I feel like their relationship is on its way to getting better. Mogie's new found mobility has been an adjustment for Dellie because nothing is safe and little sister is happy to get in her business all the time, but there are also moments of playing together that are beginning to happen because Mogie can finally crawl-chase Dellie through the house. Dellie does love to feed her baby food, push her in the stroller and swings at the park, go for rides together in the grocery carts, and is slowly learning how to exchange toys with Mogie with she's gotten a hold of something she is too young for. We as a family are also learning that duplos are the only safe, yet fun toy for both infant, 4 year old, and grown adults.

BUT Dellie has also taken to "siren mode" and will announce very loudly every time Mogie even looks at an outlet, dog bowl, or pair of shoes. We're working on that ;)

:: I Don't Want To Forget ::

How Mogie will scratch the carpet until she gets a fist full of dog hair, and then eat it all; how she will thump her legs on the crib mattress when you try to hold her still to calm down for bed; how she will hold her hands out for Radar to lick during meals; and how she giggles every time he does.

Mogie is 7 Months Old!

Time for another one! Can you believe it?

This last month we went through two more work trips for Daddy, the beginning of baby food, her first hike, and a child who is oh so close to crawling (but not yet).

:: Size ::

No changes - still in 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers. Although I suppose her feet might be getting a bit bigger since some of her smaller socks and shoes are getting too tight.

:: Eating ::

Every three hours during the day, plus solids for dinner time. She hasn't taken much of liking to solids, however, unless it's warm and has some oatmeal mixed in. She prefers feeding herself, but is terrible at it (lots of dropping and choking on tiny bits), along with chewing the wrong end of the spoon. In summary, there is a lot of face making and mess making during dinners in our house.

Hiking, and the super rare baby napping not in her bed.

:: Sleeping ::

This month we officially found a sleep time groove. She naps two times a day - one morning, one afternoon, and sleeps from 7 pm to 6:30 am. The consistency has been great for getting back into the swing of life, and not feeling like I need a nap myself every day :)

Another milestone - way more TV watching than Dellie ever got to see at this age. The perks of being a second child.

:: Milestones ::

I really thought we would have a crawler by seven months, because this girl doesn't stay put anymore. She scoots herself around backwards, planks, and pushes into the bridge position, but just doesn't get how to go forward at all. It's amazing, hilarious, and sent us into a panic about how to baby proof our house since it's been 4 years and we worried more about baby proofing for the cat than we did for Dellie when she was a baby.

She also got her first set of the dreaded bottom teeth.  Thankfully, no biting has happened, but she does like to rub her teeth on her top gums, which is almost just as painful during feedings. Thankfully too, teething was pretty minimal as well.

Mogie is also sitting up on her own quite comfortably, which has been bittersweet in the bath time department. It's fun to have both girls sitting up and playing during baths, but it is also the end of the era of the baby tub.

And lastly, we have a proficient peek-a-boo baby. She loves it, but I'm pretty sure I love it more than her.

:: Dellie ::

Honestly, I feel like the relationship between the two of them has stalled out. Mogie is still not super relational in the fun ways yet, but it starting to get less fun in the grabbing toys from her sister sorts of ways. I knew from the get-go that their sibling relationship was going to take me being pretty intentional in fostering good playing-together habits (because of their age gap), so I'm not too surprised by it. But, it has been discouraging, since I think a part of me was honestly hoping it would happen naturally.

The jealousy is also something we are still working on. We've gotten pretty  confident in being able to set boundaries with Dellie ("I can't give you raspberries on your belly like Mogie gets") but still communicating love and that she matters ("But I can give you a silly kiss on your cheek"). We are hoping and praying that our efforts will work, and that this phase will pass soon.

:: I Don't Want to Forget ::

How Mogie loves to kick and splash the water in the bath tub for-ever; the squinty face she makes every time she takes a first bite of baby food (even if she's had it before); playing peek-a-boo with her sleep sack whenever you change her diaper; how she took to her first time in a swing like she's been doing it her whole life; her love for lounging in the grocery cart; how she will put herself into a full plank position, but still refuses to even consider moving forward.

Mogie is 6 Months!

Half a year, readers, half a year.

I knew it would come fast. And I wasn't wrong.

This last month has thankfully been a bit less exciting, but the potential for more excitement is definitely on its way. Mogie hasn't had too much change in her world, but she is showing signs of new developmental milestones that I am sure I will be sharing with you next month.

This month we had Josh's parents visit and traded our beloved car for a legitimate van - with them! The mom-mobile has been officially named Her Majesty Princess Margaret Silver Fairywagon. (It's like we have girls or something.) We took a daytrip up to Jerome, AZ, decided we really could try to swing more day trips like that with two kids, and rearranged our entire house to accommodate our growing small group.

:: Size ::

She weighed in at 14 lbs/14 oz and 26 in long at her 6 month appointment, wears 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

:: Eating ::

As a whole, she's doing well. I finally felt comfortable enough to try dropping the late night feeding again, and she hasn't missed it one bit this month. She still eats about every 3 hours during the day, and she even tried her first tastes of solid food (aka sucking on a chunk of cantaloupe and a spoonful of baby oatmeal). I'm both excited and hesitant about getting into baby food because while it is fun, it also means she's growing up.

And it means diaper changes get a lot less fun.

Pretending to sleep in bunk beds.

:: Sleeping ::

We are back to our regularly scheduled sleeping this last month. She goes about 11-12 hours at night, and naps anywhere from 2-4 times during the day. Her first and third nap are definitely the most important, and she can really struggle through the last few hours of the day, but she still have proven to be fairly flexible and bounce back when her nap routine gets messed up. It is hard to get her to wind down and fall asleep if she is over-tired, which can result in a decent amount of manhandling her while holding and rocking her, along with a few trips to retrieve the pacifier from behind the crib after putting her down to fall asleep. Eventually, though, she will fall asleep :)

Another important milestone - up on shoulders. Mogie will grab on and suck the back of your head until it is completely soaked.

:: Milestones ::

Nothing official to report, but she is really close to sitting up on her own and does a decent amount of scooting backwards, turning around, and generally winding up in a different spot from where you set her down.

She has started to show a heightened awareness of where I am and when the person holding her is definitely not me. Along with that she will sometimes offer a loud, but short, protest that I am leaving her alooooone! Oh! And she has started to understand and love playing peek-a-boo, which I consider one of the most important milestones there is.

This is becoming a more common occurance - Dellie jumping into ways to play with Mogie while I am busy. Love, love love.

:: Dellie :: 

My favorite sister moment was when Dells asked to hold Mogie, then specifically asked to have Mogie on her lap, facing her. I obliged, knowing at some point the baby would likely pull her hair or make a grab for her face, and therefore planning to stay aware of the eventuality. The eventuality, however, became immediately, and within three seconds of plopping Mogie down she had grabbed both of Dellie's cheeks and was yanking them as hard as she could. (Which is remarkably hard for a little baby, mind you). Funny thing, Dells hasn't asked to hold her sister since that incident ;)

Dellie is really getting into the swing of sisterhood, but is also starting to get a little jealous of the attention Mogie gets because she is in the super fun and responsive baby phase. We parents have had to work through how we can make sure Dellie knows she's still important, while also helping her understand that she's too old to be tossed up in the air and given raspberries on her belly like Mogie gets.

It's also been interesting and fun to see just how different these two are, but also the ways they are the same. Mogie is just straight up more active, aggressive, and assertive than Dellie ever has been, but she also has already shown the same tendencies towards sharing coffee mugs in the morning and shyness towards strangers, just like Dellie was at this age.

:: I Don't Want to Forget ::

How Mogie will give her own baby version of hugs and slobbery kisses; her general interest in grabbing your face, neck, and arms, resulting in lots of reminders that you really should have clipped her nails yesterday; when she tries to stick her pacifier in your mouth while being rocked before naps; having to practically straight-jacket her with your arms to get her to calm down to sleep; how she lightning grabs anything at the table, including laptop cables, dinner plates, hot coffee and important paperwork; how she pulls the car seat shade all the way down with her feet and then kicks at it every time we drive; her excited squeals when Dellie jumps, dances, and laughs around her.

Mogie Was 4 Months Old! And Now She is 5!

Whoops.

Little behind on the updates, but I suppose it's to be expected.

Thankfully Mogie hasn't been behind on her growing skills ;) and oh my what skills she's developed over the last two months!

These last two months have been eventful!  We went to another wedding (with more flying), met tons of family, survived the first step of baby mobility, four month sleep regression, jury duty for me, and Daddy's first work trip.

First off - 4 Months!

4 Months Old. Not Impressed.

:: Size ::

Mogie got dangerously close to growing out of 3 months sizes at her 4 month mark, and did get moved up into size 2 diapers. She weighed in at an ounce shy of 14 lbs, and 24 inches long, making her slightly under average in weight and a bit of a shorty.

:: Eating ::

Every three hours (or so), with the end of the day being the hardest stretch for her to manage. She had her dream feed around 10 pm and then was good until between 6 and 7.

The big realization that came this month was that Mogie has a strange, but pretty clear connection between having seriously spitty days and (drumroll please).... my consumption of ice cream the night before.
Mind you,  this doesn't happen when I eat dairy, nor sugary foods in other forms, but some how combining the two together and freezing them makes her suddenly the upchuck queen. So sad momma has had to figure out new late night treats to satify her sweet tooth.

:: Sleeping :: 

Wonderfully. We figured out napping cues and scheduling, and she consistently was sleeping through the night. Next month is a whole different beast, however, so stay tuned.

:: Milestones ::

She was this close to rolling over from her back to her belly when she turned 4 months. See video below:

And also was quite prone to turning herself around on her play mat quite regularly. She also found her toes AND loved to taste them regularly (still does!), making diaper changes suddenly a lot harder.

Another ridiculous, but important milestone for our girls:

The first signs of curly hair. I am so beyond excited at the thought of another curly headed kiddo.

:: Dellie ::

Dellie figured out that Mogie will be eating food in the next couple months, and started getting very excited about when she can "feed her sister mashed peas!"  Poor baby.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now 5 months!

First off, this picture captures our world right now with "The Moge," as Dellie calls her - she's an active little girl with a plan of her own, and we can't help but laugh at how cute, ridiculous, and sometimes overwhelming it can be.

:: Size :: 

Halfway through the last month, I broke down and finally sized her up into 6 month clothing. It was a sad, sad day, but she's been a lot more comfortable since I finally gave in.  It's been funny how much harder it's been to move her up in sizes, but I realized that part of it is because Dellie was a tiny baby - and wasn't even close to growing into 6 month clothing until she was 6 months. So my point of reference is off because Mogie is "bigger," even though she is under average in weight and height.

Ice cream party

:: Eating ::

Ever since figuring out ice cream as the spit up culprit, I've been a lot more careful about consuming it, which has made things a lot more manageable. Mogie still eats regularly about every 3-4 hours, and has her dream feed around 9-9:30, then is good until the next morning. We tried dropping the dream feed, but it led to sleep issues (unrelated to below sleep issues), and so we don't feel like she's quite ready to go the full 12 hours at night yet.

This girl loves her Sophie giraffe.

:: Sleeping ::

Did you stay tuned? Good.

So, before Mogie I had heard of the four month sleep regression... and laughed it off. Dellie didn't really have any issues with night waking regression EVER so I just assumed it was some silly little thing other moms blew out of proportion.

Ha.

Ha.

So the week Josh left for his work trip, someone decided she had better things to do than to sleep. Like roll all over her crib, get herself wedged, and then cry. On repeat. Every hour. Every night. For a week. I finally got so desperate I pulled her back into our room just so I didn't have to walk that stupid hallway every five minutes to roll her back over yet again.

Lesson learned. Four month sleep regression is a real thing.

Thankfully she got over that as soon as Josh got back - lucky guy missed the entire thing ;)

:: Milestones ::

Did I mention Mogie learned to roll over? Right after turning four months, she first learned to roll onto her belly, and has shown a preference to staying belly side down ever since. She did learn rolling back over a couple weeks later, but will only use it in an attempt to get back onto her belly, thus initiating a clumsy sort of log roll across the floor.

Or the crib, if it happened to be 2 in the morning.

All the girls spiffed up for my brother's wedding.

:: Dellie ::

Dells has figured out a few ways to make Mogie laugh (the most successful one being jumping on the bed), and it is the best things as a mom to see them interacting with one another finally. She is very concerned about how much Mogie poops, and asks regularly for an approximate size of the surface area it covers in the diaper.

She also fed Mogie a bottle for the first time, which proved to be less successful than the picture below may seem.

Dellie is regularly heard saying, "Oh Moge!" and likes to confuse strangers by exclaiming to them that she has a "little sister named Mogie and she's a really spitty baby."

:: Cloth Diapers ::

Slowly getting back to full stash status. I've also just started learning a ton about proper washing practices, which is crazy since I thought I had it all down pat. 

:: I Don't Want to Forget ::

Mogie's preferred way of sleeping on her her belly with her face in her hands, the way she shakes her head when she's tired to try and keep herself awake, how she loves to just stare at you and gently (or sometimes not quite so gently) grab at your face, how she just hangs out in the airplane position while on her belly, and how blowing raspberries on her belly makes her giggle every single time.

Mogie is 2 Months Old!

Get used to it, little girl. You're stuck with her for life.

Our Dragon baby has mellowed out a bit, but still proves to be a bit of an adorably aggressive personality. She loves her play mat, death grips, ceiling fans, and baths; and hates bouncy seats, going to sleep, and getting changed when she really thinks its time to eat.

She also survived her first Mother's Day (which turned into the first day of a long week of an awful stomach bug for the rest of us), first family birthday (her Dad is now officially a boring adult!), and her first baby shower (which her mom hosted for a couple of friends who are due in the next couple months).

The almost twins hanging with the bigger kids at the baby shower.

Two Month Stats

:: Size ::

She clocked in at her appointment at 11 lbs/9 oz, 22 in, and a slightly bigger noggin.  Her percentiles are 50%, 25%, and 85% (respectively). So short and stout, with likely most of that weight coming from her head size ;) She's in 3 month clothing, and size 1 diapers.

:: Eating ::

We've found a pretty consistent routine of about every 3 hours during the day, with a last feeding around 10 pm, and another around 4 am. Sometimes she will stretch even longer on a random night, but then will go back to her regularly scheduled programming. She's also turned out to be pretty flexible with what time she eats during the days, so the actual times she eats can vary from day to day.

Spit ups definitely still happen, but she will actually have days where she doesn't at all (!!). The doctor was optimistic that she *should* quit spitting up completely by 9 months old. Ha ha.

Looking into the future a bit, I am sure.

:: Sleeping ::

I'm also starting to figure out her sleep pattern as well. She will generally stay awake and happy for about an hour to and hour and a half between each feeding, then nap until her next one. Granted, this doesn't happen every time, and often there's at least once a day where she either wants extra sleep or none at all. But she is a lot happier these days while she's awake, and is learning to fall asleep without fighting it every single time.

She does falls asleep fairly quickly after her night feedings (enough that I have trouble getting a full feeding in most nights), with the rare exception, which usually turns out to be a need for a solid burping.

:: Milestones ::

I swear I saw her first legitimate smile around 5 weeks.

This was me when that first smile happened.

But then nothing until about 8 weeks, where she would give the most adorable open-mouth grin to... the ceiling fan. Talk about an ego buster. She currently does smile, but is a bit picky as to who and when she will reward with one. However, she is always willing to "talk" back and forth with you with the sweetest little "goos," "gahs," "ayes," and raspberries.

She has started reaching for the toys attached to her play mat, and grabs hair, shirts and the back of your arm with an impressive death grip. She's a mover as well, and it is quite normal to find her shifted around a good 45 degrees from wherever you left her. Lastly, she has found her hands, but doesn't know whether to chew on them, try to suck her thumb, or whack herself in the face with them.

Those who tummy time together, stay together.

:: Dellie ::

Happier baby = happier big sister. I've caught Dellie playing with her on multiple occasions, which usually goes something like this:

"Okay, Moge, we're going to drive in our car to the store now. (high pitched voice) Ok, Grandma!(normal voice) Here we are! Let's get out now!" (hops away and leaves baby sister in the car.)

I have dreamed of these moments for years, and I just about cry for joy every time they happen. Dellie also likes to play on the play mat with Mogie, and has declared which hanging toys belong to her and which are her sisters (we're working on that). She's still very helpful with picking out outfits to match with her own, throwing away diapers, and wiping up any spit she runs across.

She has also finally gotten fairly comfortable with the routine we have of when I need to focus on the baby (feeding and getting down for naps) and when I have the time to focus on being with her.

:: Cloth Diapers ::

Mogie is finally fitting in the regular size diapers... but it turns out a lot of them are leaking too. We thankfully have enough still working to make it through the day time, and are going to slowly work on replacing them over the next few months. But I have gotten into the routine (and have a great 4 year old helper) of getting them washed and folded, and am actually enjoying getting into the swing of using cloth diapers again.

:: I Don't Want To Forget ::

The surprised, happy smiles Mogie gives me when I pick her up after having left her alone for a few minutes; the way she pulls on her hair when she's tired; the way she violently shakes her head in what seems like an effort to evade falling asleep; how she prefers to be held with her head flung backwards over the crook of your arm so she can see the world from her upside-down vantage.

I am truly enjoying getting to see little glimpses of her personality come out. She is definitely her own, and I am so glad I get the privilege of being her mom.

P.S. Our insurance still has her labelled as "Baby Boy." ;)

Mogie is 1 Month Old!

She's two pounds heavier, almost two inches longer, and has officially lost her title as the easiest baby in the world. She's also been re-nicknamed to Dragon baby. Cute, I know. But this girl makes some of the most amazing snorts and growls, spits her own version of fire, and has the personality to fit. And I swear, it is a nickname of pure endearment in this house.

I wish this picture truly captured just how red she gets when she's mad. 

She has also continued the trend of being involved in medical mix ups. Yes, we're still in the process of finalizing her status as a girl. We also have had the pleasure of needing to re-do her newborn blood screenings, because not just one, but both tests they performed in her fist week of life came back with insufficient amounts of blood to test. Us three girls have had to spend more hours at the lab than we've ever cared to getting another round of tests done. Here's to hoping the most recent one actually works!

One Month Stats

:: Size ::

At her doctor's appointment she clocked in at 9 lbs, 8 oz, and 21.5 inches long. Oh, and her noggin has jumped a couple inches too. She is currently right in between newborn and 3 month clothing sizes, and technically still fits newborn diapers (thanks to a particularly small rear end).

:: Eating ::

Anywhere from 2-3.5 hours throughout the day. There has also been many a day where she has gone into serious cluster feeding mode. She also has continued to be a spitter, with the severity of it being dependent on how close her feedings are, how I burp her, how angry she is... I could go on. I feel like I'm starting to see trends in what causes worse spit ups, and do my darnedest to avoid them. Even still, we're still doing at least a load of laundry a day.

Mogie's first Easter. She obviously had a blast.

:: Sleeping ::

This area is where Mogie lost her angel baby status. She was sleeping almost all the time for the first two weeks, and so when she suddenly started staying awake for chunks of the day, I was shocked. Unfortunately too, she's also been spending most of her awake times crying. I don't think it's so bad that I can call it colic, but it has been a hard adjustment for us parents and Dellie to figure out how to either help her stop crying or suffer through it without turning on each other.

Thankfully, she does keep her crying fits confined to the day time. She mostly sleeps at night, with one or two feedings, although she did have a slightly terrifying phase where she would stay awake after her 2 a.m. feeding for at least an hour. Josh was wonderful enough to spend those few nights walking her back and forth until she fell asleep, and (hopefully) the phase seems to have passed and now she konks right out after her midnight snacks.

A rare moment of affection on both ends.

:: Dellie ::

The true adjustment phase has finally hit for her. She really struggles with the bouts of crying - to the point that she has broken down herself in tears because of it. Over the last couple of days, however, she has figured out she can help by sticking the pacifier in Mogie's mouth, which I think has really helped her feel like she be a part of the solution. Speaking of being helpful, Dellie is quite willing to grab a diaper or a change of clothes for me, and is always up for some friendly advice. A common phrase in the house is, "Mom, I think she's crying because she's hungry/tired/needs changed." I generally find it endearing, unless my sense of humor is out the window :)

Quote of the month: "Mom, once you're done feeding her, you should throw her in the trash because she spits up too much."

:: Cloth Diapers ::

Someone asked me if I was going to start up the cloth diapering posts again. I promise I won't drag you through those again ;) BUT I do want to write a little bit of what's going on with them, if nothing else for my own sake.

We did start using our cloth diapers with Mogie after the first couple weeks' adjustment, and are currently sort of using them during the day. Partly because I'm not ready to jump all in, and partly because there is a LOT of leaking going on (boo). Unfortunately, some of the elastic didn't survive storage for four years (go figure). So we're just making it work as much as I can handle during the day, with some regular diapers mixed in when I just need a bit of a break.

:: I Don't Want to Forget ::

As much as these last few weeks have been stretching in my emotions, my tiredness, my mothering, everything, it is amazing to me how natural it feels to take care of a newborn this time around, and how much easier it is to operate under severe sleep deprivation.

I don't want to forget how much I enjoy just sitting there while she sleeps with all her tiny weight in my arms; how she snorts, growls, and does her strange panicked cry/laugh whenever she knows her meal is almost here; that she prefers to sleep with her arms straight over her head and her legs stretched out as far as they can go; realizing that she has a heart shaped birthmark right on her forehead between her eyebrows.

I title this one, "Grouchy and the Hedgehog."

We love you, little Moge. You're a bit of a mystery and you keep us on our toes, but we can't imagine life without you around.  Happy surviving one month!

She's Here!

In case you haven't heard the news (which I think everyone has, cause I'm quite late getting this posted), but our little girl arrived!

7 lbs 13 oz - 20 in

Meet Imogene Sasha, born Sunday, March 13th at 7:30 pm. She came fast and furious, and we are so thankful she did!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The whole week before was a bit of a mess of emotions. On one hand, I was beyond excited that this was it! She's going to be here any time now! But also a lot of confusion and frustration that my body was slowly dilating, but not actually going into labor. I have dreamed of getting to experience the process of going into labor on my own, especially so after going through with an induction with Dellie, but knew each day that I was running out of time. Especially scary was the thought that I may never get the chance again if my attempt at a VBAC failed and I needed another c-section. I felt a little bit like a ticking bomb which may or may not actually go off.

Looking back now, it's amazing how God wanted to walk me all the way to end of my own rope and then let me fall for a bit before catching me. It's like He knew I needed to let go (once again) of all my hopes and expectations and dreams for this child and when and how she would be born before He would step in and do His thing.

And once I got to that place, boy did He.

The funny thing is, I have friends who were walking through almost the same situation as us at the same time - waiting for God to pull through and let them have a VBAC. And God did, literally 2 hours before they were scheduled for their c-section. It was incredible! Amazing! God is so wonderful in His timing!

And there was no way He would do the exact same thing for me. My heart thought I knew Him well enough to know He wouldn't perform the same miracle for me, for this baby, for my family.

So I tried and tried for days to make things happen on my own - and the funny thing was, each attempt at starting labor almost had the opposite effect of slowing down or stopping contractions.

Until I came to the end of my rope. And gave up, and let go, waiting to hit bottom. I believed that I was a bomb that would never go off, not without help. I would always need the medical community in order to get my babies out of my body, I was going to have to start labor Sunday night by having my water broken, and hopefully heaven would be kind and it would work. But even then, I believed ultimately that I was eventually going to be staring another c-section in the face.

But God, oh that son of a gun! - He performed the exact same miracle for me. 5 hours before I was scheduled to come in to the hospital for that last ditch induction, the contractions finally stuck (although they weren't painful). 3 hours before I was scheduled to come in, I found myself crying from both the pain of each contraction and the overwhelming fear this wasn't actually labor (which it was). and 30 minutes before I was scheduled to come in, our little girl was born. An incredibly fast, mostly uneventful, very successful VBAC. Everything I had dreamed of experiencing happened. Not a detail was missing.

In so many ways, I'm still in shock.

God used the birth of my first to break down so many lies and ugly areas of my life and to begin a journey of getting to know who He is in the midst of broken dreams and suffering; He used the birth of my second to remind me that He still is the Miracle Maker, the one who binds up my broken heart, who cares about my dreams and wants to give me, His child good things.

I feel like in so many ways this journey is complete. I know there are a lot of loose ends to tie up, but after four long years of battling through how God fits in a broken world, He has finally taken me to end. I am done struggling with my c-section. My scar seems to have faded even more over these last two weeks. I am done facing down secondary infertility (although I may see it come again). Who know's what will come next, but this day, I build my altar.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." 

Lamentations 3:22

Happy 4th Birthday, Child!

....What a year. In case you haven't experienced a three year old, they are a trip. A wonderful, hilarious, trying, confusing, beautiful trip.  This girl was no exception.

We took trips around the neighborhood all spring...

Making our favorite stop to the purple orchid tree, along with every single flower along the way.

She took to naming each and every one, my particular favorite being the "yellow cornflowers."

We took a trip to Palm Springs in March...

Where Dellie has a blast visiting her grandparents...

Along with visiting each and every flower she found along the way.

In May, she took her first trip to Disneyland...

Where Minnie became a new family member and oh, what a trip it's been ever since that character has become a household name.

Minnie has traveled everywhere with us since then...

and has been a mouse, a bird, a kitten, a granddaughter, a best friend, and at times a terror for us parents.

In July, Dellie began the journey of becoming an older sister...

and while we're still waiting for the two to meet face to face, it has been a trip watching her figure out what it means to have a baby growing in Mommy's belly and what life will become with a little sister.

This last fall has been a trip of figuring out boundaries and freedom appropriate for an imaginative and curious little girl.

She has taken us for a trip with her imaginary worlds - playing princess, space ships, going to school, being Minnie's grandma...

with her blossoming skills in writing, pre-reading, tricycling, crafting, storytelling...

along with arguing, debating, and seeing just how much she can get away with.

We love you, Goob! Every wonderful and frustrating and lovable inch of you from your curly "yellow" hair to your Minnie Mouse light up shoes. We can't wait to continue seeing the little girl you're becoming!