Cousins and a Bumbo

Megan loves the bumbo seat and she likes it even better when someone will lay in front of her and give her all the attention! These girls love their cousins!

Busch Gardens

We made our first trip to Busch Gardens on March 21st for season pass holder day. All we did was Sesame Street and Dragon Land and it was so fun. It just so happened to be Big Bird's birthday. All the kids got free Big Bird dolls as a present. We didn't tell Erin so it would be a surprise. She took Big Bird a card she had made and I snuck a return address sticker on there. Lo and behold, Big Bird wrote her back and even stuck a feather in the card. This has made Erin's year I do believe! She sure does love that bird! Can't wait to go see him again.

Pray for Anna on Monday!

Just asking for you to pray for Anna on Monday morning, April 12th. Her MRI is first thing about 8:30. She will be under anesthesia and it should take about an hour and a half. Of course, we don't know when we will hear results. Thank you for lifting her up!

Highs and Lows

I think over the past year I have been on the craziest roller coaster I have ever ridden. Life with children seems to be a series of highs and lows and I feel like I'm rarely on a steady stretch of straight, wide open track. I want to go back to the kiddie coasters. We have finally ascended through the thick of Megan's colic and all are so much happier. Anna is recovering from her latest cold, but she really hasn't been too sick this winter. And Erin, well she is just easy, never a problem, rarely anything going on with her.

On Monday we had a high! Megan decided nursing would be okay with her again so I was able to resume with that. Anna also had her yearly retest with the Speech Therapist and her progress is so much better than I realized. She averages around 28 months in most categories, Expressive Speech being her weakest area, but definitely improving. I was so happy on Monday, I felt confidant in my ability to parent 3 children and overall like some of the weights were being lifted.

On Tuesday we had a low. What I assumed would be an easy trip to the Opthamologist for Anna to prove that her vision was perfect, turned out to be the beginning of another journey. Anna's eye exam showed that she has small optical nerves, a curvature of the eye issue and strabismus. Don't ask me what all that means because I couldn't understand it, didn't want to hear it and don't want to think about it. For now it means Anna has to have an MRI so the rest of the eye and brain can be viewed. That should answer questions about the first 2 issues. For the strabismus, drifting of the eyes, she has to wear a patch for 2 hours each day, alternating eyes each day. This should go on for 3 months and then hopefully they will be able to see which eye is stronger and how to correct it.

SIGH....I won't pretend that I was strong. I have learned how to hold it in at the doctor's office. I've learned not to ask too many questions because they will just tell me....let's just wait and see what the next test shows. I've learned to take a day to process the information, cry, and then find the positives and move on the next day. I can't tell you that I haven't felt discouraged this week. I know Anna has the potential to have so many issues and we have been so blessed at the easy correction of many of them already. Days like Tuesday just remind me how long our road with Anna is going to be. I'm sad for her even though she doesn't realize half of what's happened to her. It's difficult to watch your children struggle, but I know it's building character. I can keep my mind on the fact that God has a big plan walking around in that little 2 year old body.

Please pray for us over the next week. The MRI isn't scheduled yet, but I expect it to be within a couple of weeks. I'm having a hard time with the patch. We're calling it her eye booboo and she seems to be fine with it and hasn't tried to take it off today. God is good and I know this low will go into a high very soon, it's just the ride we're on.

In true Anna fashion, nothing phases her. She played outside with out even thinking twice about the patch. It's Mommy that's having a hard time.

Anna's Taco

We are constantly trying to get Anna to say thousands of words throughout the day, and every now and then, she'll totally shock us. Last night at dinner she desperately wanted a taco shell, so she said "taco." This is so impressive because up until now the "t" and "c" sound have been very difficult for her! Yeah for Tacos - maybe we'll have them every night!

Coming out of the fog...

I think we are turning a corner. Megan is going on her 2nd good week in a row with only a few minor outbursts of unexplainable crying. We are very thankful that we are heading into a new season with her. I love that the weather is warming up, Megan is smiling and sleeping better and we are all returning to a feeling of "normal!" I am still following a gluten free and dairy free diet and I really think that has made the most difference in Megan's tummy issues. I cheat every now and then on the gluten, but never on the dairy. It's my hope to try to add some of the gluten back in slowly, but I'm afraid to do it just yet. God is giving me the strength to hold to this diet as it is definitely far from my normal consumptions!

Megan has the biggest smile that makes me almost forget all the tears. She is cooing and starting to try and giggle. Erin loves to play "this little piggy" with her and Anna still mothers her by bringing her passy and luvy. This week she has just awakened to her toys and they don't scare her as much anymore. She'll track me all the way across the room and craves face to face attention. She is a good napper, probably my best one yet, but she hasn't gotten the night time routine down yet. She still wakes once around 2 a.m. and then finishes the night in the swing. I know, I know, I will have to break her of that, but right now, I have to catch up on my sleep and you gotta do whatcha gotta do! For now, we are just enjoying a lot more peace and quiet - Thank you Lord!

Photo Shoot

Our Little Family

Baby Love!

I thought getting a picture of 2 kids together was challenging, throw a newborn in the mix and it's near impossible. I have a very short fuse for picture taking. Although I want the perfect shot, I get very stressed very quickly trying to get it and then usually give up all together! Luckily on Sunday we were able to get a few decent shots. No particular reason, just finally got the girls in coordinating outfits and needed a new pic for the blog header! Here are a few extra shots we got, as you can see, Anna is very infatuated with her baby sister!