It seems crazy to us that it is already getting to be the end of March. But we are so excited! Our days keep busy with our two lil' monkeys. Chloe and Zachary sure wear us out, but they make us smile and laugh, too. I love them so much! God is so good to us!
Chloe is our adventurous little girl who is s-l-o-w-l-y learning cheerful obedience. She turned 18 months on the 20th and loves being Mum's little helper. Anytime she realizes that I'm going to be doing some cooking, she rushes to the bedroom to have us get the chair and bring it into the kitchen so she can reach the countertop. I'm in the process of teaching her how to crack eggs so we've been washing the floor a little more lately! We are praying that she would grow to love Jesus more each day, it is so cute to watch her bow her head or say "Amen!" when we pray and we love hearing her "sing" during the day and at church. She thinks she is Zachary's 2nd mommy, so we have to keep on eye on them so that she doesn't squish him when kissing him or pick him up {yikes!} She's been a lil' obsessed lately with worrying that her lil' baby doll is in constant need of a diaper change, but it is cute to watch her care for her dolly! She definitely isn't afraid of heights and has climbed up on just about everything in the apartment. She also loves computers and yesterday I got to learn how to put my keyboard letters back where they belong on the keyboard. ;-) We know God will use her strong personality for His glory someday {and even now!}, but whew is He using it to teach me patience in the meantime. :-D
Zachary is a very happy lil' chap! He loves his one-on-one attention times {when Chloe is down for her nap!}. He squeals and laughs and just jabbers away. :-) He was 12lbs. 12 oz. at the beginning of the month, so he is definitely growing! He loves his big sister, even if he does get this look of terror in his eyes when she comes running at him. :-P It is amazing that younger children survive. He loves "The Big Red Barn" and just being read to in general. I love reading to and playing with our munchkins! I'm so thankful for how God has kept us all healthy this year and even allowed us to realized that Zachary has an intolerance to some dairy {just like Chloe} at an early age - at just a few weeks so I am being careful about what I eat for his sake. Oh, at his 2 month appointment, the doctor said it looks like he is beginning to teethe. {Whimper...I'm not ready for that!}
Dwight has been able to take a break from studying the past month as we are near to his completion of the CPA exam. We should hear the results any day now and we are praying that he passed!!! It has been a very difficult test(s) to study for and take, but God has been very gracious to him. Dwight is an amazing gift from God and I still am in awe that I get to be married to my best friend! He is so good to me and our lil' ones. :-)
Dwight has given notice of his resignation to Focus (on the Family), yet will continue to work there up till just a few days before we move to northern Missouri come May. We are super excited about being near family {same town as Dwight's family and about 5 hours from mine} and about experiencing humidity once again!! There are still many unknowns {like a job!}, but we are confident about God's leading. :-) So, I've been organizing things lately and will soon begin to pack boxes with my lil' helper girlie.
In November I tested positive for Celiac (as well as DH). The first two weeks after going off of gluten were terrible as I felt really sick and my hives worsened. But after 8+ years of just not feeling good it is wonderful to have energy again and not ache! The challenge now is just avoiding gluten as I am frequently discovering that it is in unexpected places... and that makes for a few not-so-fun days. :-) We are so grateful that God allowed for me to be so quickly and easily diagnosed. I have had wonderful doctors here in Colorado and Dwight was super-sweet as he urged me to go to them. :-) I never considered myself to be that sick and just thought I needed rest and was experiencing maybe some Chronic Fatigue from my involvement in full-time ministry. I was naive in accepting how I felt as my new "normal" and not making a bigger deal out of it, but the advice I was being given was that it was due to how I was managing stress, which caused me to feel very stuck and discouraged. Very few people were even aware! So I am so thankful for Dwight's loving care for me in realizing that everything was not normal and in helping me find out that it was due {in large part} to what I was eating! :-P Someday we will be able to experiment with alternative flours and other ingredients and I am really looking forward to that fun challenge. :-) I am very thankful that in spite of the nutritional issues of Celiac, Chloe and Zachary are so healthy and that that the pregnancies with them went so well! I consider that to be a miracle.
We are praising God for:
~Each other! :-)
~Health
~A cute home to rent in MO. We are tickled at the thought of having grass for the kids to play in, a clothesline, the ability to have a garden, and being in a house! Having our bed in a room other than the living room is pretty exciting too. :-P
~God's provision for these coming months
~A church family there in MO {you know who you are... hi!}
~Samaritan's ministries... much more affordable than typical insurance for our time of unemployment
~Spring... so happy about warmer weather!!!
Please pray with us for:
~That the packing and moving would go smoothly
~That our Jeep would continue to be reliable, especially with the long trip ahead
~A job!!! :-)
~Peace amidst the unknown and time of waiting. Sometimes I get really scared but I know God loves us and is leading us, so I need to trust Him and view everything that comes as His blessings for us!
Thursday, March 24
Monday, February 28
Tuesday, February 8
Just something fun...
Yesterday I was browsing around online for a bit and was inspired to begin dreaming up a sewing project that will probably not happen for a bit yet, but was fun to think about anyways! I rediscovered a website called Shabby Apple, that sells amazingly lovely dresses. Although I wouldn't say I would wear all of them, there were a few that definitely caught my eye! So now the inspiration they have provided just needs the some pretty pink fabric, some yellow floral fabric, and maybe some seersucker... and time. Hah. ;-D Here is one to show you what I saw... This one is called Pina Colada, and then I also liked their Garden Isle & the Penelope and Odysseus. Just some fun girly stuff! :-)
I love how their dresses are longer-than-most (falling at about the knee) and made with thicker-weight fabrics. And the attention to details! Ruching, buttons, ruffles & pleats! :-) Who says all that is just for lil' girls? {Grin}
I love how their dresses are longer-than-most (falling at about the knee) and made with thicker-weight fabrics. And the attention to details! Ruching, buttons, ruffles & pleats! :-) Who says all that is just for lil' girls? {Grin}
Friday, February 4
Tuesday, February 1
Life with two...
... is fun but tiring! :-) For a bit there they were sleeping great, but then they both decided to switch off their waking up times at night so that mama was getting up every hour (or less). Yawn. We were a bit nervous about how Chloe would respond to another littler one around, but she loves Zachary to pieces, and loves giving him kisses, worries about him when he cries, and wants to check up on him all the time. It has been more of separation anxiety type worries that she is acting up about, but those seem to be getting better - minus the sleep! :-) I didn't like being away from her one bit (or Dwight for that matter, but he was at the hospital more than she was), but we were glad Hannah was able to be here to stay with her.
So we are still "bunkering" down here at home (we like to avoid going anywhere until baby is closer to six weeks, other than quick trips to the store or doctor where we keep them covered up - Chloe only had one cold her first year and we think that "guarding" her immune system those early weeks had a lot to do with it!) We did get to take an unexpected trip to the Urgent Care though, last week when Chloe's elbow slipped out of joint when she and I were playing. I felt terrible for her, but the nurses were so great about it all, and she was back to her normal self in a jiffy! Zachary slept the whole time we were gone - he is one lil' sleepyhead (usually!). :-) Overall, he is a very content little guy, he has an adorable smile and dimple, too!
I wasn't sure what to expect with his birth and all, but we made it! ;-) We had been told different things about what being induced would be like, so that Sunday (Jan. 2nd) was a long day of nervously waiting. I was expecting the worst! :-P Dwight was so good about comforting me, praying with me, and it was wonderful to think about meeting our baby soon. It was so strange to get to the hospital and be checked in while feeling normal. We got there at 9:00 PM and they gave me my first dose at 9:30 - I was surprised to hear that I was having contractions every three minutes, since I didn't feel a thing. Even with all the raspberry tea and evening primrose I'd been taking I wasn't dilated at all. They dimmed the lights and left us alone to sleep and then I got my second dose at 12:30 (she said I'd dilated to a 1 by then and said that was really good. I thought we were still in for a l-o-n-g day ahead, so I cried with frustration that I wasn't dilated more at that point!), when she checked on us again at 3:30 she said I was at a 4! I was happy to hear that, but surprised since I still didn't feel a thing. So she just told us to try getting more sleep. :-D We did actually sleep - crazy, huh? :-) At 4:00 I started to feel just a bit of pressure, and at 4:30 I began to feel very light cramps. I went ahead and got an epidural (since the anesthesiologist was next door anyways, lol.) and then at 5:00 I started to feel more obvious cramps (not sure where the meds were...), so I woke up Dwight and asked him to distract me. :-) At that point the nurse came in to check on me, and I was dilated to an 8, so they called my midwife to have her come in. She barely made it in time. :-) By about 5:30, I was hurting and the meds weren't doing a thing (so I asked for more, because really, if you are going to have meds, isn't it not supposed to hurt??? :-P) and by 5:45 contractions were coming every two minutes and they realized the bag of water was bulging. I felt SOOO much better once Sharon, my midwife, got there and was able to break it - whew! Zachary's heart rate kept dropping, so I was on oxygen for his sake. He got a bit stuck (just like his big sister had) but thankfully there was no tearing or anything this time around, midway through pushing they had to cut off the cord from around his neck (it was wrapped twice really tightly) and he was born at 6:09 AM on January 3rd. They sure don't describe crowning as "ring of fire" for nothing! ;-P Dwight was great - I'm sure glad they allow Dads in the delivery room nowadays! It was fun to hear that Chloe had a lil' brother! He is so precious to us!
I was able to hold him for a bit, but then handed him off because I could tell I was beginning to fade a bit, so while they checked his vitals and all, I was put on oxygen (my blood pressure went really low). Yay for warm blankets! :-) I wanted to hold him so badly, but was just too weak, so he got some daddy time in instead. :-) I love seeing Dwight and him together! When I was finally up to trying to nurse him, he was just too sleepy and then a nurse thought he looked a little bluish, so she took him off to check on his levels (this was about 4-5 hours after he had been born). We were very grateful that the nursing staff there was so excellent!
After a bit Dwight went to go check on him, and then a bit later I went to go check on them. Little did I know that Zachary would be on oxygen and we would be in the NICU for the next day and a half! We were so scared, and went through a lot of tissues as we prayed and held each other - he looked so tiny and sad with all the tubing and monitors! {On a side note I think it will be quite a long time before I hear the song "Give Me Jesus" by Fernado Ortega without crying - it came on the radio station that the nurse had playing there and it was such a comfort to be reminded that Jesus was with us and our lil' man!} Come to find out, Zachary's condition of low oxygen levels and a still open PDA valve are quite common - at high altitude - but well, we aren't really from here! Babies just aren't routinely sent home while still on oxygen where we come from! Chalk up another reason as to why one should *visit* Colorado and *not live here*. :-P
Those were some long days and nights but we are thankful he is okay, and that we didn't need to bring any supplemental oxygen back home with us. They were great about letting Chloe and Hannah be with us there at his side in the NICU, and I was known on the postpartum floor as "the patient who wasn't resting and was never in her room." Oh well. ;-) After a few bumps with nursing (he was being formula fed while there in the NICU to get his blood sugar up), he is now a growing, always hungry boy! (He was 9 lbs at his two-week appt.) We love our babies. :-)
Thanks for praying for us! :-D
{I'll post more pictures when able. :-) }
So we are still "bunkering" down here at home (we like to avoid going anywhere until baby is closer to six weeks, other than quick trips to the store or doctor where we keep them covered up - Chloe only had one cold her first year and we think that "guarding" her immune system those early weeks had a lot to do with it!) We did get to take an unexpected trip to the Urgent Care though, last week when Chloe's elbow slipped out of joint when she and I were playing. I felt terrible for her, but the nurses were so great about it all, and she was back to her normal self in a jiffy! Zachary slept the whole time we were gone - he is one lil' sleepyhead (usually!). :-) Overall, he is a very content little guy, he has an adorable smile and dimple, too!
I wasn't sure what to expect with his birth and all, but we made it! ;-) We had been told different things about what being induced would be like, so that Sunday (Jan. 2nd) was a long day of nervously waiting. I was expecting the worst! :-P Dwight was so good about comforting me, praying with me, and it was wonderful to think about meeting our baby soon. It was so strange to get to the hospital and be checked in while feeling normal. We got there at 9:00 PM and they gave me my first dose at 9:30 - I was surprised to hear that I was having contractions every three minutes, since I didn't feel a thing. Even with all the raspberry tea and evening primrose I'd been taking I wasn't dilated at all. They dimmed the lights and left us alone to sleep and then I got my second dose at 12:30 (she said I'd dilated to a 1 by then and said that was really good. I thought we were still in for a l-o-n-g day ahead, so I cried with frustration that I wasn't dilated more at that point!), when she checked on us again at 3:30 she said I was at a 4! I was happy to hear that, but surprised since I still didn't feel a thing. So she just told us to try getting more sleep. :-D We did actually sleep - crazy, huh? :-) At 4:00 I started to feel just a bit of pressure, and at 4:30 I began to feel very light cramps. I went ahead and got an epidural (since the anesthesiologist was next door anyways, lol.) and then at 5:00 I started to feel more obvious cramps (not sure where the meds were...), so I woke up Dwight and asked him to distract me. :-) At that point the nurse came in to check on me, and I was dilated to an 8, so they called my midwife to have her come in. She barely made it in time. :-) By about 5:30, I was hurting and the meds weren't doing a thing (so I asked for more, because really, if you are going to have meds, isn't it not supposed to hurt??? :-P) and by 5:45 contractions were coming every two minutes and they realized the bag of water was bulging. I felt SOOO much better once Sharon, my midwife, got there and was able to break it - whew! Zachary's heart rate kept dropping, so I was on oxygen for his sake. He got a bit stuck (just like his big sister had) but thankfully there was no tearing or anything this time around, midway through pushing they had to cut off the cord from around his neck (it was wrapped twice really tightly) and he was born at 6:09 AM on January 3rd. They sure don't describe crowning as "ring of fire" for nothing! ;-P Dwight was great - I'm sure glad they allow Dads in the delivery room nowadays! It was fun to hear that Chloe had a lil' brother! He is so precious to us!
I was able to hold him for a bit, but then handed him off because I could tell I was beginning to fade a bit, so while they checked his vitals and all, I was put on oxygen (my blood pressure went really low). Yay for warm blankets! :-) I wanted to hold him so badly, but was just too weak, so he got some daddy time in instead. :-) I love seeing Dwight and him together! When I was finally up to trying to nurse him, he was just too sleepy and then a nurse thought he looked a little bluish, so she took him off to check on his levels (this was about 4-5 hours after he had been born). We were very grateful that the nursing staff there was so excellent!
After a bit Dwight went to go check on him, and then a bit later I went to go check on them. Little did I know that Zachary would be on oxygen and we would be in the NICU for the next day and a half! We were so scared, and went through a lot of tissues as we prayed and held each other - he looked so tiny and sad with all the tubing and monitors! {On a side note I think it will be quite a long time before I hear the song "Give Me Jesus" by Fernado Ortega without crying - it came on the radio station that the nurse had playing there and it was such a comfort to be reminded that Jesus was with us and our lil' man!} Come to find out, Zachary's condition of low oxygen levels and a still open PDA valve are quite common - at high altitude - but well, we aren't really from here! Babies just aren't routinely sent home while still on oxygen where we come from! Chalk up another reason as to why one should *visit* Colorado and *not live here*. :-P
Those were some long days and nights but we are thankful he is okay, and that we didn't need to bring any supplemental oxygen back home with us. They were great about letting Chloe and Hannah be with us there at his side in the NICU, and I was known on the postpartum floor as "the patient who wasn't resting and was never in her room." Oh well. ;-) After a few bumps with nursing (he was being formula fed while there in the NICU to get his blood sugar up), he is now a growing, always hungry boy! (He was 9 lbs at his two-week appt.) We love our babies. :-)
Thanks for praying for us! :-D
{I'll post more pictures when able. :-) }
Tuesday, January 18
Zachary James Bailey
Our lil' man was born on January 3rd. and is growing like a weed! Chloe (aka big sister) loves him and loves investigating his little noises, Daddy is splendid, and Mama will post more soon... ;-)
Tuesday, December 21
Almost Time!
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| 2 days shy of 40 weeks |
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| The big sister! She's been playing with baby and becoming good friends with her Aunt Hannah. She will even ask her to hold her! |
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| With Mama... she is one big girlie. She wears 2T already (and sometimes 3T). It is fun hearing her jabber and see her run. |
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