What? A Blog from Me???

Well, some pigs just flew outside our window so I guess it's time to blog. Really though, the not having a laptop since early fall really cramped our internet style and it was downright impossible to find time in our crazy hectic lives to go to the upstairs bedroom to use the desktop that was in there. Thanks to our fabulous new Mac book (hand-me-down from K&B) we can now do internet things that our iPhones don't do well with.
In reflecting on the past several months, we have had a LOT go on... starting with Avery's arrival. This little girl is almost 8 months old on the 18th and she is a complete sweetheart. She is seriously so easy and happy that I'm kind of scared to have a third baby (not to mention how my body would not be to happy with me). Avery is a sturdy sitter now and is starting to get up on her hands and knees a bit and rock. In the back of my mind I try to remind myself to enjoy this non-mobile stage while it lasts. She and Noah are starting to interact with each other usually in the form of growling back and forth and laughing. But when Noah gets a little too friendly with her she will train her eyes on me intently as if to say "are you gonna protect me from this kid?" And when it comes to going to sleep, Avery is a champ and has since day one. Though she sometimes thinks that 10 or 11pm is a perfectly acceptable time to go to bed, when she is ready to sleep, it is almost instantaneous... no shaking or rocking needed (as was the case with Noah). She even sleeps through the night better than her brother. :)
Noah is officially a little boy and is always making us laugh. He has an incredibly sweet spirit and will quickly give hugs, give kisses to booboos and say "are you ok?" after a cough or sneeze or at will. Beware... he will not stop asking "are you ok?" until you say "I'm ok". Melia learned this the hard way last we hung out with them to her annoyance. He is also saying new words and learning new things daily. Of course he knows how to navigate our iPhones as any Stinchfield kiddo would. He also totally loves both of his grandmas calling them "mama" and asking to call them several times a day. Unfortunately his conversational skills are limited and he pretty much asks them "where are you?" at least 5 times per call. When he is not REALLY calling someone, he has a hand up to his ear and pretends to talk to mama. I would be omitting a huge part of his life if I did not mention his obsession with trains, ALL trains. The run we usually go on goes right alongside a railroad track that is well traveled and then we often swing by the train station to check out the locomotives there. And anything in the media with trains he is sold on... Thomas the Train, Polar Express, a reality show about trains, Youtube trains.
Since the fall, Brent and I have had our share of challenges with large medical bills, 2 car accidents, around 5 rounds of sick kiddos including many doctor trips and asthma treatments for Noah. Of course 2 days after his 2nd tube came out, he got a double ear infection. May be following in dad's footsteps?
Brent and I are plugging away at our jobs and trying to always balance work and home lives. Often housework suffers so we can run or enjoy our kiddos. The phrase that says "there is a season for everything" is one I often think of.
Well, I think I have spewed enough for now, however disjointed, I'm glad to have written something and hope to get back to more regular blogging.
Love to all!
Buffy

Noah having fun on the phone

March Already??

It seems that life and this pregnancy are wizzing by at times... and sometimes not so much. Like when I am dealing with the not so fun side of being pregnant with all of the issues that make up my pregnancies. I can't wait to be able to run again, have energy to get through a day, no back/hip pain, etc. On the positive side, I am sooo excited to meet this baby girl. I think about what it will be like to have a second child, what she will look like, how will she be different from Noah as a newborn, how will Noah be as a big brother, and on and on. It took me a while to actually get excited about having a girl once we had the ultrasound mostly because I suppressed the desire for either gender so much as to not be disappointed. Then slowly I started looking at pink things in stores and realizing that hey, "we are having a girl!!!". I only know how it is to have a baby boy so it will be a new experience even though I am a girl myself... silly I know.

As for Noah, we are anxiously getting ready for his surgery which is scheduled on April 2nd to remove his adenoids. The last couple of months have been a struggle for our family as Noah has had plenty of illnesses, trips to the E.R., and an increasingly more difficult time breathing and sleeping. 6 months ago, he slept through the night, now he wakes up between 1 and 4 times a night mostly because he sleeps so lightly and gets frustrated with waking up likely because he can't breath well. I wouldn't have called it sleep apnea until Anne mentioned it with regards to Beck. I then looked it up online and Noah satisfied each symptom. I have heard that the difference before and after the surgery is tremendous and I can't wait. Noah is naturally a happy kiddo, but with the loss of quality sleep, I'm guessing he'll be even happier without waking up all hours of he night. This will also be a welcome change (sleeping through the night that is) just in time for the birth of Avery. :)

Lately, Noah has been saying the word "yah" all the time. If you ask him any question, he will respond with "Yah" or an occasional "Nah". We really need to get him on video responding "yah" to all kinds of silly things like we have done with him lately. He also really likes music and musical kid shows and loves to dance to them. We'll be in the car with my iPod playing my music and when a song comes on he likes he'll bop his head or start laughing and smiling. It is hilarious to see him dig Kanye West or Black Eyed Peas and Coldplay. I guess we aren't the parents that play only kid music but Brent and I like music so much and variety that I think we couldn't handle just kid stuff.

Brent and I are plugging away at our respective jobs and always trying to perfect the work-life balance. Brent is super motivated when it comes to his career and always excelling with whatever store he has in his charge. His current store is no exception from what I hear.

I on the other hand am definitely struggling with motivation at work which started once I was prego and dealing with fatigue and such. Of course I don't let things slide and put my best forward, but on the inside I am really struggling with working 3-9 hour days. I was on a list among my colleagues to take a student but was not expecting to get one this spring until I was informed last month that I would have one for 6 or 8 weeks starting this week. I will be sharing her with another therapist who will have her on my days off. Sadly, my last student was here when I was about 6 months prego as well and I would really like to say in the future that I don't want another student when prego again. I just hope this student is sharp and on the ball as she should be with this being her last internship as I don't know if I'll have the energy to deal with a struggling student PT. We shall see!

On one last note, I have to say here that the nesting instinct when pregnant is no joke. I like organization anyway, but looking at my home through these nesting eyes is entirely different. The only downside is I have been pushing myself beyond what my tired self would like me to do to satisfy the organization urges. Among lots of little projects, we also recently painted our upstairs hallway and bathroom, as well as put cabinets up. In the end, I really like the results of a nicer and more orderly home.

TGIF

Yah! It is finally Friday and I'm so glad the weekend is here. I just hope Noah will see the end of his health issues soon. He had yet another puking incident today after Brent fed him some french fries... he had not eaten anything all day which should have been a clue.

Tonight Noah did two things that made Brent and I laugh. The first was after he had obviously made a big stink and we were debating how long to wait to change his diaper, he went over to where we change him downstairs by the diaper caddy and laid down... WHAT?? He then let me change him without protest. He has traditionally always put up a fight with diaper changes so who is this kid and what did they do with Noah? Soon after, we changed him into his PJ's around 6:30 and 7 is usually his bed time. But after I brought down his favorite blankie fresh from the dryer, he went to the stairs saying "nigh nigh"... he was asking to go to bed. I'll never argue with that request! :)