Spring Fun!

Cealy loves to read. Her book room is on the main floor so we are in there most often. She acts out scenes from her favorite books. Show her any book, and she will tell you the title, not because she can read, but she memorizes everything! The other day I heard her talking to a character while running from the rain in our house. "Dotty, don't get your polka dot dress wet, lets run!"

Could a child look more like their father? I mean Sebastian is Danny completely, but he loves me more.

Ceal LOVES going to Marm and Steve's house. She always goes on a long walk with my mom, and asks me NOT to come. Sweet of her. Cruz is in the stroller, he was okay to be on the walk because he can't talk to Marm. On our way to my mom's house, Ceal will say, "Mommy you can't talk to Marm, but I can. Okay?"

I love this, because every morning Sebastian watches Cealy act like her crazy self.

I feel like it's Summer!

The weather is out of this world amazing, 80 in March for weeks!!

Sebastian is big and adorable! It is hard to carry around a 23 pound baby, but he wraps his arms around my face and kisses me, and I just don't mind that I need back surgery. Ha!

He is 7 months. I cannot even believe it. I still tell everyone he is 6 months, because 7 months seems to old.

No, he doesn't sleep through the night. He gets up and screams until I come in and hold him. I usually take him in my room and sleep with him. Go ahead and tell me you would never do that, because I also said that when I had my sweet Cecilia sleeping through the night by 5 months. You will do anything to sleep by 7 months.

I cannot stand to hear him cry. He is obsessed with me, and it breaks my heart. Dan won't let me talk during his night bottle, because if I do, he bursts into tears, until I hold him. I am learning sign language to speak when others are around. If he thinks I am in the house, screams of terror come roaring out of this child. I love it.

The chunk is not crawling, and cannot sit up completely yet. We need to work on the core of Sebastian. Oh how I love this child. He makes having a boy absolutely necessary in life.

My Ceal gets more fun by the day. Kenzie left for Switzerland, and she happens to be Ceal's best friend, so I get to be the stand in while Keke is gone. She really said to me the other night, "You are my best friend mommy, but when Keke gets back, she is my best friend." Thanks.

Ceal tells me she loves her daddy about 30 times a day. "I just love my daddy, do you?"

Cealy is painfully shy. It breaks my heart. She will run around and talk your ear off at home or at my sisters, mom's house, or Pop and Nana's. I took her to a birthday party last weekend, and she didn't say a single word the entire time we were there. Not a single word. She watches little kids play, and she loves to play, but she is just so shy.

Ceal is the absolute sweetest sister in the whole world. If Sebastian is crying she runs over to him and makes sure he gets whatever he needs. She always tells him she is there, and everything is okay. I just love it.

If any child cries in class or near her on the playground, she can't stop thinking about it. She talks about it all day long. Sometimes she cries too. Today one of her friends came over, fell and started crying. Ceal cried with her. She was so sad her friend was hurt. Cealy is the most sensitive child. She is just so special.

Now let's not get ahead of ourselves. I certainly have my moments. I want to pull my hair out at night when Sebastian is screaming and I can't put him down. Cealy is demanding, and wants to be played with. Today I told her to watch herself, and do you know she said, "You better watch yourself." I rattled the house with how hard I walked to get her and place her in time out.

Ceal locked Dan out of the house last week. I went running with my mom, and Dan went out to the garage to throw the trash away and boom Ceal bolted the door. Sebastian was inside on the ground. Dan had to call his dad for keys and talk to Cealy through the garage door. He told her she would get a sucker if she unlocked the bolt. A couple seconds later, Ceal unlocked the door, and said "Where's my sucker?" This kid is too funny.

Ceal's World.

I asked Ceal to smile for a picture and this is what I got. Below was the second picture I tried to get. Then check out the picture her father asked her to smile for...Really?

How does this happen? Danny says, "Ceal will you smile for me?" And boom, she smiles.

Ceal is particular about what to wear, and she does NOT want any help. So there are days we leave with a bowtie. There are days we leave with our shirt backwards. Most days we leave with shoes on the wrong feet. But she feels confident, and I can't break that so...I have that kid at Target.

Ceal does not lack in the personality department. I laugh a lot. We go to time out quite often. She is a peach most days, and still loves to nap and go to sleep at night. I just can't get enough of my Cecilia.

We go to the library once a week for books. She loves getting books, and reading them all week.

We go to My Gym, a gym for little tykes, and work it out for an hour. She LOVES it there. Parents have to be there too, so I get to wear the good backpack with Sebastian. That is my work out.

Ceal hides everything. "Ceal, where are Sebastian's toys?" "Ummm, maybe behind the curtains." Why?

She says she is frustrated a lot. Then says she is sorry she was frustrated. I wonder where she got that from.

"Can you be quiet please? I'm on a call. Yeah, hey it's Dan. I'm just playing in the basement. HAAAAAAA. Okay well got to go, Bye." That was Pop and Nana. Ceal talks on her pretend phone with these conversations.

Ceal has an invisible friend that only comes out at dinner. Her name is Marm, which happens to be her grandmother's name. She feeds her and tells me if Marm liked her dinner or didn't. Ceal hoards Sebastian's baby food and feeds Marm and sometimes Steve in her book room.

Ceal is very sensitive. She cries if she sees someone else crying. If there is a page in the book where a kid fell or is crying she can't get over it.

2 1/2 and fully potty trained!! Woo Hoo!!

Lost your Sheep?

Ceal walks past me with her head down...

"Cealy, what is wrong?"

"I'm just feeling kind of sad."

"Why?"

"I just lost my sheep, and I can't tell where to find them."


So we looked for her sheep...everywhere.

Sebastian is 6 months!

6 months is so fun! I have been waiting for this age. I forgot how fun this age can be. He loves the jumper, but loves to be held more. He smiles and laughs. He is obsessed with Cealy. As soon as he cries, she comes running and says, "I'm here brother, I'm here!" She lays on him and kisses his sweet face. They play on his play mat for hours. If I run somewhere and come back home, the second he hears my voice, he burst into tears. It cracks everyone up. He is laughing, having fun, then hears his mother, and bang...crying. I pick him up, and he smiles and laughs. He is hilarious. Sebastian is starting to sit up, but not without help. He eats ALL day. 4 bottles and 3 meals. So when I'm not playing with my babes, I'm feeding them. I can't leave Sebastian for longer than a few hours, because I think of his sweet face, and have to get back!

He is over 22 pounds and in a toddler car seat. Does he sleep through the night? Of course not. That would be too easy, and my children don't like easy. He gets up multiple times. I ignore him, and then he starts wailing like he is being pinched, I run in, and....he is smiling...at 2am.

Sebastian's Murmur.

Some of you may know, my sweet little Sebastian was born with a murmur. Many children are, but they close soon after birth. However, My little little Sebastian's heart was not closing, and appointment after appointment, the doctor said, we will send him to a pediatric cardiologist, and see if it needs closed.

I tried with all my might to stay positive. I prayed and prayed. I thought about it often but then I gave it to God. After my last appointment I was angry with God. "How could you not listen to me, after I have been asking for so long?"

My appointment was today. I felt sick. My sister Mackenzie went with me and took care of my sweet Cecilia. Of course the two of them kept most of my thoughts on funny things. Cealy is semi-potty trained but I sure just took her without a diaper so Mackenzie had trips to the bathroom that were unsuccessful but funny for me.

The doctor was a peach in a half. She said let's take a look at his heart on ultrasound, and we will see if we need further appointments. She was very laid back, and I was already thankful I was in her hands.

The ultrasound technician, was an angel. Her name was Nancy, and by all accounts she was send from God to be in that room. I would have believed that she was an actual angel that flew back up to heaven after we were through, but my mom knows and loves her and so she is said to be real. Nancy is confident and happy. She loves her job and it shows. Sebastian smiled at her the whole time, and she took my mind off my sweet son's heart. Nancy talked about anxiety and not worrying about what tomorrow will bring or what we cannot control. "More adults would be cured of cancer like these children I see everyday, if they would not think about having cancer every minute. If we would all act like children at times, we would see that life is fun and not worry so much." When I told her I was going to be 30 soon, she lit up, "Are you excited?" I have never been asked that, but yes, I think I am. She said she loved being in her 40's. She has lived and learned, and has mental clarity. She makes getting older seem like a gift, and shouldn't it be?

After a wonderful conversation, the doctor came in and said it closed. "What closed?" His heart murmur is gone, she said, and it closed all on its own.

I thought the best news I would receive would be that Sebastian would not have to have surgery. I prayed that God put his hand on Sebastian's heart, and he did.

God also brought me Nancy today.

Today was a day that makes the ugly or bad days all worth it. A day that is better than being on vacation in the sun. A day where I learned how to be patient in waiting on God's answer. And a day where I was able to meet someone that passed on a great life lesson.

Isaiah 64:4 God works on behalf of the ones that wait for him.

Adoption.

I have wanted to adopt since I knew I wanted children.

I have prayed to God for a long time to help guide me to adoption. We would be open to the foster adopt program in Indiana, or we would adopt internationally. I loved my students as my own. I had many children from foster care. I loved them and I happened to love many of their foster parents. I saw many happy stories, and many children being loved. I have also seen the sad stories, and I understand the obstacles.

Keeping this in mind, every child in this world is a child of God.  We are all brothers and sisters through Christ. Tony Dungy said, "God adopted all of us into his family."

We will see where we end up in this process. We feel extremely blessed with Cecilia and Sebastian, and we would love to add to our family if willing. It is all in God's hands.