"In Jesus' Name, Mah-men!"

Before we are about to pray for the food at dinner, we tell Lily, "Fold your hands and close your eyes." She doesn't usually close her eyes, but she's getting pretty good about being able to link her fingers together. And she usually yells, "Mah-men!" mid-prayer because she can't wait for "Amen" any longer.

Last night, we didn't tell her anything before we started praying, and when we opened our eyes, her little hands were folded! It was so sweet. Boy did she have a big, "See what I did?" grin on her face. Then this morning, after Lily and I were settled at the table with our blueberry pancakes, she folded her fingers together and looked at me expectantly.

It's the little things that your children learn that make your heart go, "Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!"

Little Chubby Buddy

I can't believe our little Jacob Ryan will be 2 months old in a few days - it feels like he was just born! The time is really flying by much faster with the second one. I feel guilty that I don't have as much time to donate to him as I did to Lily (or as many blogs written!), now that she's older and takes the majority of my attention. But other people are telling me he'll get the extra attention from Lily that he can't get from me, so it all balances out. All the same, I feel like he's getting so big so fast and I'm MISSING it!



Ryan and I were completely blessed when God gave us our chubby little buddy. We couldn't have asked for a better baby. He's sweet and adorable and calm and sociable. He loves to be around everyone else, and his big smiles and rambling coos just melt my heart. He looks into my eyes and grins the way I don't remember Lily ever doing. I remember telling people that I didn't really think she was any happier with me than with anyone else. She was just happy in general.

But this little buddy...he knows who I am. He smiles when I talk to him and stares happily when I sing. He watches me walk around the room and settles down when in my arms. He stops crying to listen and stare when he hears me coming. Maybe he'll be the snuggly little buddy that our independant daughter never was.

I absolutely love that Lily's completely her own person and can keep herself occupied for long periods of time. I want to raise independant, self-sufficient, responsible children, the way my parents did.



But having a little buddy to love and cuddle and cherish...what more could a Mama want?

Three Babes *ALMOST* Sleeping

Lori and Jay have checked into the hospital - again - to have their baby. This is the forth time in three days. They are both getting tired of false alarms and all the stop/starts. Hopefully, they will have their baby soon!

Their other "baby" Kirsten is here with us until Lori and Jay leave the hospital (if it's another false alarm) or until Ryan's mom comes to take over watching her (if the labor is real this time).



(Two little monkeys, jumping on the bed...)

Currently, Kirsten is downstairs asleep on the rug in the living room, with only her head sticking out from under the coffee table.



She somehow scootched the rest of her body under there while she was settling in. Jacob is asleep on our bed where I just finished feeding him (and thanks to the monitor from Benai, I don't feel the need to check on him every five seconds - thanks, Benai!).

And Miss Lily is in her crib...screaming. She doesn't realize how tired she is and that if she would just close her eyes and lay down and go TO SLEEP, she would feel immensely better. She usually goes to sleep without a problem, but once in a while, she protests, and I've found that a few minutes of crying help her settle down better than anything I can do for her.

I still can't get over how Kirsten fell asleep. She just layed down in front of Veggie Tales, closed her eyes, and that was it! You mean, babies actually DO that? I've heard tell of such things, but have never experienced it with MY little one. My goodness...how nice.

8 Weeks Old in Size 4 Diaper

Earlier today, I was out and had to change Jacob's explosion in the car. I grabbed a diaper and the wipes out of the diaper bag and got to it. It took all the wipes in my travel case to get him clean (including the heel of his sock...he loves to kick happily while I'm changing him). Whilst fastening his diaper, I'm thinking, "This is hitting him really high up the belly." Then I turned it over and read the number on the butt.

Oops. Number 4, not number 1. Too late now.

So my son is wearing my daughter's diaper. Could be worse. He could be in her fuzzy pink bouncer or her pink butterflied crib.

Again.

Lily's 1st Trip to the ER

Sunday during nursery at church, Lily took a tumble into the metal door hinge and took a nice little gash out of her forehead about 1/4" wide. It wasn't too huge, but it was the depth that was a little scary.

I heard her crying just when communion was starting. Figures, it was my kid wailing during the most serious part of service. I figured either she was protesting getting her diaper changed or she heard the music and got upset when I didn't show up. I was just about to get up and sneak out to see her, when one of the nursery workers (the pastor's wife) stuck her head in to get me. Jacob was in her arms.

That day started the LED notification system they were supposed to use to summon me. But I guess when there's blood involved, no one wants to push buttons when they can walk the 10 feet to just come get me.

She told me, "Lily fell, I'm going to get ice." She carted Jake towards the kitchen with her. I just figured it was one of Lily's normal falls. The poor little clumsy girl falls and hits her head a lot. Ryan and I have joked that maybe we should keep a helmet on her. Maybe now it's not such a joke.







I get in there and see blood. I wasn't expecting that. The only times Lily's hurt herself enough to bleed, it's been her mouth. For instance: she's fallen and hit her mouth on the steps while crawling up them multiple times.

So I hold my little baby in my arms and take her to the rocking chair. I sit down and she holds me tight, her head against my shoulder as she screams. This is not typical. Usually, Lily arches away from you while she screams, and wants to be put down even while still crying. I was handed the ice, but held tight to my little girl, relishing the moment and knowing that comforting her was my top priority.

The service ended shorty after, and everyone who saw her forehead wanted to know what happened and suggest what I should do. I probably wouldn't have thought about the stitches factor if so many people hadn't said the same thing.

Our friend Brian was an EMT so he cleaned the wound and also suggested taking her to get it checked out. I called our pediatrician, and she said to have the ER look at it. After Ryan and I got home, we put our crabby daughter to bed. The long 4th of July weekend had screwed up her nap schedule and she desperately needed sleep. We hoped the band-aid we put on her forehead when she got home would not be removed, unlike the band-aid she took off in the car and played with the whole ride home.

It was funny, sitting around for hours while she took a good, long nap, knowing we were going to be taking her to the ER once she woke up. You usually don't picture the ER as somewhere you PLAN on going.



(Getting ready to get out of the car and go into the ER, wearing her Star Wars band-aid.)

Eventually she woke up and I took her in. Ryan waited in the car with Jake b/c we didn't want him exposed to a million hospital germs at just 7 weeks (ER germs seem much different than postpartum germs).

Three different nurses look at her and repeatedly question why it took us 6 hours to bring her in...it was almost accusatory, like our postponement signaled neglect. That frustrated me a little. It's not like this was the kind of injury where waiting changed anything.

The doctor came in with a little clear plastic tube in his hand...it reminded me of a disposable saline solution vial. He told me it was liquid stitches and we were basically going to glue Lily's wound shut in place of traditional stitches. We held her down on the bed and he told me she would cry because of the restraint, not from the glue.

True dat.

But once it was over, she was back to her normal happy self and I'm sure she had no idea what all the fuss was about all day. She probably just thought she banged her head like always and, "Why does everyone keep poking at it?!" We're glad it's over with and that she hadn't hurt herself much worse than she did. That could have been her eye and not her forehead.

The doctor said the "stitches" will last for five days, so don't disturb the area with soap or lotions during that time, and cover it with a band-aid only if she messes with it, which she hasn't. The whole area is hard, like crazy glue.

Maybe next time we'll crazy glue the wound shut ourselves and save ourselves the $50 co-pay ;)

Sleeping Thru the Night: Now Mandatory

Mama needs some sleep. Not just a few hours here, a few hours there. But real, loooong sleep. Ryan gave me a break Friday night, spending the night in Jake's room with him, giving him an expressed bottle every time he woke up. I only woke up once - I didn't hear anything and promptly went right back to sleep! It was wonderful.

Yesterday was torture. Some days just kick my butt, and yesterday was one of those. I was exhaused, Lily was crabby...not a good combination. So last night when Jake woke up to eat, I popped his pacifier in his mouth and held it there until he calmed down (he's not so good at keeping it in, though he enjoys having it). I guess we both fell asleep, because next thing I knew, it was 5 a.m.

I'm going to try that method again tonight. If he had kept screaming, I would have fed him. But apparently, a little sucking was all it took. Hopefully, this method will keep working and - after six sleepless weeks - I can begin to get a little more shut-eye.