Weekend with Tauntie

We spent this past weekend in Jackson, MS helping Jeff's sister (Tauntie) with her landscape project. Addy absolutely adores Tauntie AND Tauntie's new baby, Boudreaux!

I love this picture because not only does it show the beautiful work that was done in the yard but it highlights Addy's project she had working inside the house. Notice the large window to the left...we were outside in the yard & she & Luke were inside napping...well Luke was napping while Addy was busy ripping the corners of the curtain off the rings and shoving pillows in the window.

BFF

Luke & Addy were laying on the floor together this morning as I was getting ready for work. I had my back to them getting something out of the drawer when I heard Addy say, "You like me? Let's be best friends." She had no idea I heard her & she went on carrying on the sweetest, little conversation with him.

Double Digits

10 10 10 TEN POUNDS 10 10 10

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

Luke's developmental follow-up visit at the NICU went well today & he has reached a milestone.....DOUBLE DIGITS in the weight category!!! We are beginning to wean him from the caffeine and his vitamin D is discontinued. He sometimes sleeps 5 straight hours at night. We still do kangaroo care and there is no sweeter smell than the top of his head. He will be 5 months old tomorrow...hard to believe! Those 2 months in the NICU were grueling and the days seemed to crawl along...the 3 months since he's been home have flown by.

Jeff has been very busy working on his business plan for the State Farm Agent application process. He'll go before a panel of interviewers at the end of April to present his business plan and hopefully enter the pool to qualify for an agency of his very own.

Addy-cakes is a growing girl and very busy...she is still very fond of her baby brother and loves covering him with kisses. We were headed out to my grandmother's house for lunch last Sunday and would you believe we passed a turtle crossing the road? Da-Da decided to turn around and go see if it was our friend Egg. When Da-Da picked him up a strange yellow substance dripped from the underside of his shell...we let him ride in the back of the truck the rest of the trip. Addy was convinced it was Egg but Da-Da said we would have to inspect him a little closer to be sure it wasn't Egg's mean brother who has claws and bites. Cousins Gabe and Rachel were at Grandma's and they were an excellent distraction for Addy so that yellow-substance-drippy-turtle could do what turtles do best and that's bury themselves in the grass and get lost.

Monday I started back to work at a brand new job. I am doing home health now with Synergy Home Care. I look forward to holidays and weekends off as well as day to day flexibility for whatever mommyhood throws my way. Boy oh boy do I miss staying in my jammies all day rocking Luke & watching Ellen...HELLO real world! I managed to throw away our tax refund check this week. In the 8 years we have been married we have never received a refund. This year we literally felt like we hit the jackpot...we were GETTING MONEY BACK!!!! Yep...and I accidentally threw the check in the trash can. Threw it away Monday...City trash pick-up was Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop

Luke Patrick with his namesake...his loving Pop-Pop!

We pray baby Luke grows up to be big & strong like you.

We love you.

"Fully Vascularized"

These words were music to my ears this morning during Luke's follow-up eye exam. His little eye development is right where it needs to be. God is sooo good!!

This is my last week home with Luke before I return to work. Yet another one of the countless blessings that we have received...I have been home with Luke for 12 weeks! This time with him was only possible through the very, very generous love offerings of our amazing family...and the Family Medical Leave Act. Thank you, thank you so much...I will forever be grateful for and cherish this special time we spent together...Just me and my boy !

And my God will meet all your needs

according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Baby Luke

You see life is tough…

Luke’s 4 month/well-baby check-up with the pediatrician went well. He is still just over 9 lbs which puts him at the 10th percentile for weight. He is at the 50th percentile for length/height and 25th percentile for head circumference. We are scheduled for a developmental follow-up visit with the NICU in 2 weeks and we are looking forward to seeing everyone and checking up on Luke's developmental milestones. He is smiling and cooing more everyday and sometimes I think he is really trying to tell me something...like here

"Baseball stinks! I would rather sing in a rock band."

Not So Girly-Girl

I’ve about decided to trade in Addy’s cutesy bows & dresses for rubber boots & overalls.
Nothing is sweeter than hearing my baby girl giggle. And no one brings out her giggle better than her Da-Da.







Handy Manny (AKA Addy) & Pop-Pop trying to salvage my bike cart that I managed to squish by accidentally running it over in my 2-ton SUV.


Meet “Egg” the turtle.

My brother found this darling, little turtle on the golf course Saturday afternoon & decided he would make a nice surprise for Addy. It was love at first sight!
Addy & Egg spent a lot of quality time together Sunday . They bonded in her clubhouse, slid down the slide, had lunch together and Addy even introduced him to Baby Luke…please don’t let there be a foreign and contagious turtle disease? Anyway as we sat in the driveway waiting for Da-Da to return from washing his truck we thought it would be a good idea to let Egg out of his Tupperware home so he could stretch his legs and explore a bit. Well, Egg’s turtle brain must have been saying…"FREEEEDOM…I’m outta here!!!” And free he was. Egg wasn’t your average turtle. He was of the speedy line of turtles and in 4 seconds flat he made his way clear across the yard and skillfully buried himself in the grass. Needless to say Addy was heartbroken. “MY TURTLE!” she sobbed “He’s gone!” We immediately got on our hands & knees and began digging around in the grass where we last saw him…no luck. About that time we saw Da-Da’s truck rounding the corner. My thoughts were…thank goodness Da-Da the hunter to the rescue. Addy ran over to his truck in tears to explain what had happened. Da-Da joined the missing turtle search as we all 3 returned to our hands and knees in full-dig-mode but even the keen hunter came up empty handed. The best explanation we could come up with was that Egg missed his family and was off trying to find them. We passed the canal behind our house on our walk this afternoon and Addy peered through the fence to see if she could see Egg. Hopefully at some point this summer we’ll cross paths and reunite with a turtle named “Egg”.

Ash Wednesday

Baby Luke is over 9 lbs! Can you believe it?






Here's the wind-up... and the pitch!

The therapist in me longs to document things so I have continued charting his growth…every Tuesday. It’s pretty amazing to look back and see just how far he has come in 4 months time.

A couple of weeks ago we took Addy to the production of Peter Pan put on by Pineville High School and let me say that it was IM-pressive!! She & I were in awe the entire time. I have never seen Peter Pan before nor did I know the story so it was very special to experience it together for the first time…very special! Addy was not fond of “Capun Hook” but Peter Pan & Wendy spoke to her (in character) as we were leaving the auditorium and her, little face just lit up. Addy loves her daycare class and they have been learning Bible stories. When she reads to her imaginary friends “Say-Say” & “Doo-Doo” at home she retells the story of “Goliaf”…its hilarious.

As the warm weather rolls in we are looking forward to spending time at The Camp on

Cane River.

First Smiles

Luke has become a friendly little boy over the past few days. In an attempt to catch one of his sweet, little smiles I bet I took 100 pictures today...thank goodness for digital cameras.

He is doing great! We are still spending all our time at home. He loves being held and when he is not being held he will tell you (i.e. screaming at the top of his lungs) that he likes being held until someone picks him up. I am still enjoying every precious moment at home with him. I take full blame for spoiling him rotten!!! Yesterday I sat staring all day at 3 baskets full of laundry that needed to be folded and put away...I just couldn't bring myself to put him down. Finally at about 4:30 p.m. I decided to hurry & fold & put away the clothes before Jeff got home so he would think that I had a productive day...(wink, wink)

Luke had a follow-up appointment with the eye doctor last week and it went well. Dr. Kahn said that the blood vessel growth on the retinas are continuing to develop and he will see him once a month until the growth is complete. Worst case scenario would be that Luke may require a laser procedure on his eyes somewhere down the road but Dr. Kahn said that he doesn't foresee this being necessary based on how things are progressing now. Luke has also gotten 2 Synagis shots to hopefully prevent RSV (a nasty respiratory virus that can be really dangerous for pre-term babies). He tolerated the 2 Synagis shots and his regular vaccinations well. We go back for his second set of vaccinations and his last Synagis shot the first week in March.

Addy is slowly but surely learning what NOT to do with or around her baby brother. So far this week we have reinforced that its not a good idea to jump over him or hold your heavy, wooden jewelry box over him so he can "see it"...sheesh...

For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 108:4

Comparison

This is my first time to do a side-by-side photo comparison of Addy & Luke at about the same age. People have asked me who I think he looks like & its hard to say. Addy's little face and head were so round...I used to say that she had an onion head. Luke's face is definitely more oval shaped. There is no mistaken that little pug nose though...hee, hee, hee!

Singin' in the Rain

Addy got this umbrella for Christmas and she looooves it! Earlier in the week the weather was pretty funky but she didn't care. She pranced around on the driveway with her umbrella & was 1 happy, little girl.

Boogaloo 2009

Lesson on Faith

Our Addy is a strong-willed child...very determined & opinionated. She is trying at times to say the least especially when she sets her mind to something. People have told me that these are qualities we want our children to have but at this age with the combination of her personality & my desire to teach her discipline & respect we have some exciting interactions. Lately mealtime and bedtime have become an all out war. Last night during dinner Addy stripped her shirt off and started monkeying around so I walked over to her highchair to begin the battle. I was caught off guard by what she did & said...

She looked up at me with her big, round, brown eyes and patting her bare chest said in the most innocent, angelic voice, "Jesus is right there. Jesus is in my heart." She smiled softly then reached up and touched my chest & said, "Jesus is in your heart to."

Lump in throat, swallow hard!

It was one of my proudest moments as a mother to see the formation of Addy's faith beginning at such a young age. I found in scripture, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:14-16 How I wish to embrace the simple truth that Addy was ministering to me...Jesus is in my heart, he's in your heart to. We are all God's little children and when we open our hearts to Him we can feel His hands on us blessing us each and every day.

Thank you sweet, baby girl for teaching me this powerful lesson.

Happy Day

We decided to meet my cousins Callie and Davina with their kids Cohen and Dani at the zoo on Saturday morning. It was such a gorgeous day! On the way to the zoo as we sat at the red light in front of Cabrini Hospital Addy pointed to the hospital and said, “That where Luke live…short pause...Poor lil’ buddy…short pause…We wait so long to bring him home.” I would love to know what she was thinking during each little pause.

Luke is really doing great!!! He has reflux and spits up a lot but other than that he’s just busy getting bigger and cuter by the day. He has outgrown all his preemie clothes and the preemie diapers!!! I laid him on his belly in the middle of the living room a few days ago and I was walking in an out of the room checking on him when I found him on his back. Huh? How’d that happen? I thought maybe Reese got sneaky and nudged him over so I put him back on his belly and sat staring at him to see if he’d do it again...after 30 minutes of nothing I gave up. That night before his bath I tried it again to see if he would do it with Da-Da watching and sure enough he rolled right over.

I am still at home with Luke and some days I don’t even crank up my car. I have always said that I could never be a stay-at-home mom but you never say never right? If I could I would trade in my full-time speech therapy job for full-time stay-at-home mommyhood in a heartbeat! When the weather is pretty we take walks around the neighborhood or swing in the back yard. We wait anxiously for Addy to get home then our evening routine begins…change out of “school clothes”, hand sanitizer, kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses, dinner, more kisses, bath, books, kisses and cuddles. We were advised to keep Luke at home and limit his visitors for at least the first month and avoid crowded places for the first 3 months. He has managed to stay well the first month home so we continue to pump the hand sanitizer and thank God everyday for all his healing grace and protection from germs. I’ll be going back to work on March 23rd and MiMi (Jeff’s mom) will keep Luke so that he can stay out of daycare while his little immune system is still maturing. We’re trying to work out a plan to keep him out of daycare for the first year.



This is where you can find Addy 98% of the time...the other 2% of the time she is in front of his face.


Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. James 5:13

HAPPY 3 MONTH BIRTHDAY LUKE !

Our lil' dumplin' is up to 7 lbs. & is doing great! He is having more wake time and doesn't seem to mind when Addy sneezes and he gets showered with half eaten donut. I feel pretty sure he is going to give Mommy that special 1st smile real soon.

We have been asked to serve as the local March of Dimes Ambassador Family for 2009. If you are interested in learning more about the March of Dimes or joining us in this wonderful cause click on the link to the right. Our goal is to raise $900 (as a tribute to the 9 weeks Luke spent in the NICU) for the March for Babies campaign.

Happy Birthday Mama!

~ A Mother's Love ~
A Mother's love is something that no one can explain

It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain

It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it or take that love away

It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking

And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking

It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns

And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems

It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation

And it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation

A many splendoured miracle man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence of God's tender guiding hand

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Hope you have a wonderful & happy, happy birthday!

We love you,

Bec, Jeff, Addy & Luke

Tomorrow is Tuesday

Feeeeeeed Meeeeee!

Tuesday has been our day since Luke's journey began. That was the day he got his formal measurements...even after discharge we went back on Tuesday. Hmmm, what will we do tomorrow? We don't have an appointment to be measured...I'm contemplating taking him to Kroger to test the produce scale. Do you think anyone would notice?