Potty Training Day #187....(I'm not actually counting...)

OMG...If someone would have told me back in January how much poop and pee I would be encountering and talking about over the course of the next 6 months, I would have thought you were crazy! But alas, after 6 long months with my sweet Ava, she has finally conquered her "fear?" of going #2 in the potty chair! And boy did we celebrate!!! Even Bobby joined in on the dancing and sharing of M&M's! :) SHe has been the funniest little girl when it has come to this situation because every time I would get her to try, she would look at me so sweetly with her big brown eyes and say, "No Mommy, I just have pee pee today." And then we would wash hands, she would go play in her room and within 5 minutes, we would be changing her dirty panties....:sigh: So I am hoping and praying that we have turned a corner/crossed over a hurdle/etc etc!

There Will Be a Day...

One of the greatest gifts that God has given me since Victoria's death is a tremendous longing for Heaven. Living for eternity was an ideal that I always strived for, but never before was it ever so tangible in the sense that Heaven is the place where I will be united with Christ forever. And in that bond, I will be drawn closer to my sister. It's a longing that brings me to tears, esp when I listen to the song, There Will Be a day (It is the first song to play on my blog when it opens). Just close your eyes and breathe in every word. It's a breath of fresh air that brings hope, especially in tough moments when I am missing Victoria the most. This song brings me joy for Heaven, and my heart rejoices knowing that Victoria is in a place with no more tears, no more pain, no more fears.
"Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace He brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting"

Pics from our week long extravaganza in Atl!

Oh Happy Day!!

My sister Alex comes home from South Africa on Saturday!!! And oh my goodness, I cannot WAIT! I have missed her so much. Losing Victoria has really made me treasure my friendship and love with Alex. She is such an amazing young woman, and my family and I are soo proud of her hard work during her student teaching in South Africa. She has been there since January. We got to see her briefly over Easter which was bittersweet. She came in town for her fiance Tyler's little brother's funeral. It was so wonderful to see her, but our hearts were broken at Ross' passing away. It is amazing to ponder that in all of time, God destined Alex and Tyler to be united in marriage and He knew the bond they would one day share in losing their younger siblings. It will be a cross they will bear together that will strengthen their marriage in the best and worst of times. We do find peace and consolation as we ponder at times the laughter and friendship Ross and Victoria must share in Heaven as they were friends here on earth as well.

I have been working on little t-shirts for Ava and Lucas to wear when we pick up Alex from the airport with my parents. Instead of making a big welcome home banner, my kids are going to be the banner with the shirts I am making! I will post pics soon!
As I type this, my heart is just beaming with excitement at spending the next week at home with my sister and parents. I am so grateful for our bond as sisters, and when we are together, it is as if Victoria is right there with us as we share stories and memories with one another. I love you Victoria. I miss you so. You are in my heart always, and I look forward to the extra closeness we will all feel on Saturday as you join us in our homecoming for Alex!

Here is a link to the blog Alex kept while in South Africa. Some of her stories are so interesting!
http://grahamstown2010.blogspot.com/

Ava & Lucas at 10 months

Lucas will be 10 months old tomorrow...I can't believe it! I thought it might be fun to compare photos of them at that age. Ava seems so much bigger to me at that age!

Update: He's not so Little anymore!!

Yeah for Lucas! We had an appointment at the Dr today for a follow up/weight check and Lucas gained almost 2 lbs in one month! He now weighs 17lbs 13oz which puts him in the 5 percentile- better than last month! I was so relieved.
On to my sweetie Ava. She is such a doll and I love her so. It is AMAZING how much children pick up what we say to them or around them....Bobby and I have been working on manners with Ava, and one of the things we have been doing is when she apologizes to us regarding disobeying or acting out, etc, we make sure to look in her eyes and say, "I forgive you" (Thank you Lindsey G for being my example of this with your children!). So today, Ava was coloring with her friend Palmer and I told them it was time to pick up the crayons. Palmer accidentally knocked the crayons over and I heard Ava tell Palmer, "Palmer you need to say sorry."
P: "Sawwy"
Ava: "Ok, I forgive you"
Hehehe, I just thought it was cute because Palmer didn't really need to apologize for knocking over the crayons, but I think Ava just wanted to say, " I forgive you"!

Our little Little Guy

Sweet Lucas...it's official: You are little! Ever since Lucas was about 3 months old, Bobby and I always found ourselves calling him our "little guy". At each of his check ups -3mo,6mo, and now 9mo- he was always measuring in on the small side and slowly decreasing in his percentiles, but at his most recent 9mo check up, it was time for an intervention. Poor guy officially "fell off" the growth curve measuring in at the 3rd percentile for height and <3%>

I continued to nurse him for a few weeks (which he was pretty much totally disinterested in) and would give him a 4-5oz bottle afterwards, which he almost always gulped down (geez louise...). I wasn't really ready to stop nursing, but Lucas clearly was. So ANYWAYS, we go back for a weight check next week, and according to our scales at home, he is definitely gaining weight- maybe almost 2lbs this month! I will post back with an update. In the meantime, it has been fun to come up with creative ways to fatten him up- doughnuts, pizza, icecream, reese's-hahhaa jk! He does eat alot of mashed avacados though! And I mix coconut oil-a really healthy source of fat- in almost all of his baby food. I hope it works!