Is Kindergarten ready for Hallie?

Most of the time people ask me if Hallie is ready for Kindergarten. The better question would be is Kindergarten ready for Hallie? She is so sassy and quick. Her smart remarks are hilarious (most days!) She is a little mother hen, incredibly protective, sweet, and bossy. Hallie is the most sincere little thing I have ever met. Very compassionate and sympathetic. Full of attitude, she always has something to say and an opinion on everything. We are very blessed!

We had her Kindergarten check-up and dental visit today. The check-up didn't get off to a good start when they told her they were going to draw blood for a lead screening and to test her hemoglobin. Let's just say her remark to me was "it hurts so bad I'm going to need a cast." She has definitely gone through a growth spurt this year. Since last year's preschool physical she has grown 3 1/2 inches and gained 5 pounds. Little Miss now weighs 43 pounds and is 3 ft 9 inches. Otherwise she is in great health. One of her tubes (which she got at 7 months old!) is still laying in her ear canal. How funny!

Then we went to the dentist. Hal just wasn't having a good day. She has a cavity and another small one starting. Boo!! So we are getting the cavity filled next week. They put fluoride on her teeth to try and help them. She got her lecture about brushing well, brushing for 2 minutes, and brushing twice a day.  Oh happy days. What is a few more medical bills this year?! She was very brave and let the dentist do everything they needed to do without any hesitation. I am very thankful for cooperative children!

So as far as paperwork/appointments go, Hallie is ready for Kindergarten! I just hope Kindergarten is prepared for this full of personality little girl!!

Lazy Weekend

Weekends with Hallie gone are soo quiet. We all are out of our element without her. Corbin took a 3 hour nap Saturday morning. Bored without his sister? I think so :) We didn't do much Saturday which was nice! Played and napped while Daddy worked!

Working on those muscles!

 

Daddy's mini-me? I think so!! I love it! 

 And sometimes he gets lazy and decides its easier to play with his feet :)

I also learned that Corbin has a bit of ornery in him! He rolled over to the plant. First he was just feeling it with his feet. Then he started grabbing it with his hands and pulling pieces off. He had a hand full when I pulled him away from it, told him no, and then he started crying! Heartbreaking!

Sunday we went to the fair. Again it just isn't the same without Bear. Corbin wasn't fond of the pigs squealing. He may have cried a little. But he LOVED the goats. Just his size and they were friendly. If one would jump up onto the fence he would reach out wanting to love on it. Adorable! It was decided we are definitely making a trip to "Uncle Steve's" orchard this fall! He will love to pet all the animals.We did a test run on the new car seat. He was excited about it, but we aren't so sure. It is definitely more difficult since he isn't a great sitter yet, but maybe this will help make him (and force us to make him!) do more sitting and become a little more stable.

Life Lesson

I read something today that hit home hard....

"Let your dreams be bigger than your fears, 

your actions louder than your words, 

and your faith stronger than your feelings." 

It was another one of those ah-ha moments where I realized that no matter what fear I have in the future, I still have today. Today I believe in my children, I trust, and I have faith. We have come such a long way in the last three months. We may have had to make sacrifices (and I am sure there is more to come), but at the end of the day family is all we have. We brought these kids into this world so we must do all we can to make their life as happy as possible. We wanted and prayed for these kids. God gave them to us to protect and guide through this crazy life. No matter what difficulty or hurdle we are faced with, someone else always has a bigger difficulty or a larger hurdle. For that we are blessed. My mom told me something that she was told when she was a kid in bible school. We always as "why" to God when faced with adversity, but we never ask "why" when God blesses us with good fortune. I had never thought about this before, but it is true. When we started this process with Corbin three months ago, all I could was ask why our baby? Why now? Haven't we been through enough? Never once did ask why did you give me the joy of pregnancy? Why did you give us such a wonderful miracle of a child? Why did you allow delivery to go so smoothly? It is all part of His plan. Being the control freak I am, I wish I had this plan in writing, but I don't. So until I can see the last page, I will keep going trusting He is taking me down the path I am to go.

Here are pictures from the last week showing some of Corbin's progress and new tricks!

I know I keep saying C's sitting is getting better slowly but surely, but I feel we have made significant progress keeping him forward and using those arms to support himself.

We got C a new car seat to try out getting ready for the next stage. His carrier is waayyy too heavy to carry these days. He was soooo excited and kept kicking his feet to feel the new fabric. I can't wait for him to be forward facing in the car so we can have all sorts of fun!

 We think we see a tiny bit of red hair on Corbin's little noggin. Adorable!! Grandpa Jon would be proud!

We have several items to work on for therapy. Reaching to the side for toys, continuing to get better at sitting, working on getting up on all fours, and strengthening core muscles. One way to help Corbin is to have him kneel against something. Hallie's stool is the PERFECT height! He is such a good sport about therapy, but when he has had enough he is done. I am so thankful he is mild tempered and accepts all the crazy things we make him to. It's all because we love him and want the best. We are sooo excited about the progress he has made over the last couple of weeks. It gives us hope for the future and maintains our faith.

5 going on 15

Hallie has proved to us time and time again that she is wise beyond her years. Last night's conversations shouldn't have surprised me, but she always finds a way to catch me off guard. We had "girls night" last night. I took her to swimming lessons while the boys stayed home :) 

We had to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart. We got out of the car, and Hallie's first comment was "this place is disgusting." I asked what she meant, but I knew the answer by looking around the parking lot. "Why do people think they need to litter?" she asked. We continued on our mission and left Wal-Mart. As we were headed out Hallie shouts from the back seat "I am going to go back there and pick up all that stuff so it can be recycled. I know all about recycling so I would be good at it." If only adults had that type of attitude!

Last night was her last night of swimming lessons. The poor little girl gets so distracted when there are other kids in the pool, so we had bribed her with a new pair of goggles if she did well and tried her hardest. She did awesome! She even asked her teacher if she would time how long she could stay under water. She may not be the best swimmer yet, but she has definitely made some progress this year!!

Swimming face down in the water. Whoohoo!

Year 1 of swimming lessons in the books!

On the way home we were chatting and I called her Bear. This isn't unusual. Her name is Hallie Bear at our house and Bear for short. I have no idea when/where it started. She informed me that I can no longer call her Bear because she is growing up. I told her I didn't care how old she was she would always be Bear. She was not impressed!

I love getting to spend time with her alone because her quick wit is absolutely hilarious. She can come up with the funniest things right off the cuff and many times not even mean for it to be funny. I am very proud of the 15 year old my 5 year old is becoming. Just don't grow up too quick on me Bear. :)

Rolling and rolling and....

Rolling!!! Corbin finally rolled willingly and 100% on his own from back to belly multiple times tonight. As in 9 times in 15 minutes. It should have been more but toys and the boppy got in the way of his new skill. I am so happy that we see progress. I never knew I would be so proud of rolling. 

With his new skill has come a new "problem". He gets stuck in his crib. This morning he was on his belly with both legs through the rails. He couldn't crawl forward and couldn't roll back over. Tonight so far we have been in twice moving him because he had limbs wedged between rails. :-)

Hal had a good night playing with a couple of her favorite girls. Here is part of their photo shoot!

Day by day

Day by day. I try to live day by day. I am constantly reminding myself not to look into the future for it is a true unknown. I can't help myself. When I had Hallie, I had no fear. As a young first time mother, I never gave a thought to something going wrong. I was going to have a perfectly healthy baby. She was such an easy baby and so far a pretty easy kid too. My mother in law told me little Corbin wouldn't be the same and she was right. :) Corbin is a daily struggle. He is on his own timetable and will not allow me to push him. He has been different than Hallie is so many ways. She is a go getter, and he marches to his own tune. Things have to be just right in Hallie's world, and Corbin goes with the flow (this is where Hallie is much like her mother and Corbin much like his father!!). Hallie still challenges us with things like her sassy mouth and quick wit humor. She is a strong willed little girl. A quality that will serve her well in life, but makes it hard on her parents. So while I remind myself not to look anywhere but today, it is hard. For today I remind myself how blessed I am to have these two children. Many people struggle with infertility or never are given the chance to have children, I am blessed. God made me a mother for a reason. God is giving me these challenges knowing I can handle them. Some days I question whether God knows my true strength.

The best big sister ever!!

These smiles can literally brighten any one's day!

I think Corbin looks a lot like his Daddy in this picture!

Little man has been sick this week. We hoped the tubes would help, and they still might. He has fluid on his right ear and Dr. thought he had strep. Thankfully his test came back negative for strep. Cuddles, prayers and love (and antibiotics!) have been our week so far. On a good note, it was nice to spend 2 quality days with the kiddos. I only wish Corbin would have felt better so we could enjoy the beautiful days!

In other news Corbin is continuing to work on those core muscles that will allow him to sit, crawl, and everything else. Each day we sit for a few seconds longer than the previous day. We have figured out the remote and phones provide good encouragement for him to lean forward to balance that noggin of his! :)

Oh...my...gosh! <3

I don't think these two could be any sweeter. Tonight Jon went out to mow so I started supper. Corbin got fussy and Hal told me she would help. When I saw them both asleep I couldn't help but tear up.

Happy Belated 4th of July!

It is already July. The year is half over. I can't grasp this concept. Life seems to be going by far too quickly. Never enough hours in a day.

Tumba wumba!!! Love those cheeks!

We had a long 4th of July weekend and were able to get a lot crossed off our lists. Jon got projects done and continued, I was able to get the house, garage, and car cleaned, and Corbin got lots of naps in. Its amazing what we accomplished while Hallie was away :) We realized how much less chaotic and QUIET our house is without her. We would much rather have it the other way, I almost felt bored at times.

July 3 Corbin got his tubes. I was nervous because Hallie screamed the whole time waking up from anesthesia, not to mentioned the screaming before surgery because she was hungry. Corbin proved once again he is much more mild tempered than his sister. Jon had been playing with him before surgery, and I was feeling neglected so I took him from Jon. Within minutes Corbin was asleep in my arms. The nurse had come in to let us know they would be taking him in a few minutes and would put him on the bed. I decided to put him down to see if he would stay asleep (he did!). He slept while they took him, woke up briefly when they put him on the operating table, and quickly was back asleep with anesthesia. A half hour later they come wheeling the bed back into the room, and Corbin was laying there smiling and looking around. He inhaled a full bottle down and acted like nothing had happened. Happiest parents ever!

His thoughts on the situation? Maybe...

Before surgery

After surgery

Miss Hallie came home on Sunday. We were all so happy to see her, but I think Corbin won the prize for most excited. I love that they care for each other so much. I am thankful they get along so well (so far!) because the age difference was something we had all worried about. Hallie had an eventful week so she was exhausted when she got home. Daycare even made her take a nap yesterday.

Tomorrow is therapy in the morning and swimming lessons at night. Thankful these kids are learning and gaining new skills.

Somebody is *NINE* months old!

This may be a day late but....

Corbin is growing and changing daily. Just want we want!! He weighs 18 lbs 12.5 oz and is 28.5 inches! We (and his pediatrician) couldn't be happier with the progress Corbin has made on gaining weight and keeping it on! He is still working on sitting up consistently. We can't wait for him to continue to get better at sitting. His infant carrier is getting to be a tank with him in it so we are ready for the next car seat as soon as he is willing! He is starting to pull his knees under himself when on his belly and likes to rock back and forth. He just needs to get more arm strength to keep himself up on those hands and knees. He has also figured out how to move himself. While on his back, he pushes up on his feet until his butt is in the air and scoots on his back. Silly silly boy! The jabbering has definitely increased with the occasional squeal of excitement. He LOVES attention. After being with me at work one day, he was so excited to see Hallie all he could do was scream and giggle. Daddy loves to crawl on his hands and knees to Corbin and listen to him giggle with excitement. This week I got home from work and was greeted the way every mom wants to be. Corbin reached out for me and squealed with excitement. He gave me kisses and hugs and kept giggling. Its all these moments that reassure us that Corbin is happy and healthy. He knows who his family is and how much we truly love him. Hallie is gone all this week so I am excited to see their "reunion". I'm not sure if Corbin will be able to contain his excitement to see his sister again!

Tomorrow is the day we are all anxious for. Corbin gets his tubes! We are praying this provides relief for his poor ears, helps his balance, relieves his cough, and overall allows him to continue developing!

HAPPY NINE MONTHS CORBIN!

Mommy please remove this sticker!! :)

Don't mind the demolished sticker he is wearing. He really wanted to get it off his shirt :)