at 22 months...

I'm 22 months today and we're waiting on a HUGE snowstorm to come in any minute!! (so prepare yourselves for some ensuing snow pictures this weekend...)

At 22 months...

• I am a talker! I'm trying to put together sentences and always repeating things I hear Mommy & Daddy say. I count to 14, I spell my own name ("C..A..R..O..L..I..N..E!"), I can say most of my ABC's, I say "Careful, Daddy" when Daddy's on the ladder & after Mommy sneezes, I say, "Bwess you, Mommy." :) As I look through my books, I will tell you all the things I see or I'll fill in the words myself complete with inflection.
  
• Whereas I used to be a GREAT eater & eat LOTS of vegetables or anything you would put on my plate, I've become a more...um, "selective" eater. I'm mostly tired of bananas (which used to be my absolute FAVORITE), and I am now refusing to eat certain foods that I once liked. (broccoli, chicken, casseroles & soups, etc.) Of course I wanna fill up on foods like mac-n-cheese, applesauce, bread, noodles, cheeseburgers, nuggets, & ice cream now. :) Thankfully things like eggs, cereal, rice, blueberries, & most fruits are also still a hit.

• I am a CLIMBER! Mommy can't keep me off of coffee tables, chairs, tables, etc. If I can go vertical, you'd better believe I WILL.
• After dinner, it's my job to pick up all the little food bits off the floor & put them in the trash can while Mommy & Daddy clean up the kitchen. I also help them by putting shoes & toys away.
• When I get in the car, I like to listen & dance to Mommy & Daddy's music. That means I'm starting to sing words from my favorite Cold Play CD & the Avett Brothers... :)
  
• My separation anxiety is doing much better! I don't cry when I go to the nursery at church now! (woohoo! Yay for repetition & just sticking with it!) Yesterday, an elder's wife at church came & took me to her house for the entire DAY, and as I drove off I blew goodbye kisses to Mommy & Daddy!
  

• When we pray before meals, I not only hold out my hands, but now I close my eyes, bow my head, and say, "Dear God." ha!
• I can fill in the last word of every line of the Lord's Prayer just from hearing Mommy & Daddy say it a few times. (That blows Mommy's mind now smart I am!) I am literally a SPONGE. Anything you throw at me I will learn.
  
• I LOVE Sesame Street. I know all the characters by name, and when Elmo's World comes on, I am in HEAVEN.
• My favorite game is "getchu." (as in, "I'm gonna get you!") I love to be chased & then tickled. It's so fun and it makes me crack up!
  

• Without a doubt, I am my Daddy's sweetheart. (Mommy thinks I'm pretty stinkin' fantastic, too.) :)

(Let it snow!!!)

these are a few of my favorite things...

Okay- everybody sing with us now! (to the tune from "The Sound of Music," of course...)


Sliding with Daddy and goin' to the park...


Watching the light-up deer in neighbor's yard...


Doodling & drawing with the greatest of ease...

These are a few of my favorite things!


When I get stuck,


When it runs out,


When I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things....

...and then I don't feel so bad!

potential future career paths (christmas edition)...

Maybe I'll be the church pianist. "Away in a manger..."


Or perhaps the costume designer for Christmas productions. (In Hawaii?!?) :)


Or maybe I'll be the soloist on stage that belts out "O Holy Night." Hmmm... well...


There's always retail, I suppose.


Any ideas??? (you'll get extra bonus points if you can make it Christmas themed!) Let's hear your guesses & we'll pick a winner!

somebody's feeling better...

(Those are a few of my first jumps off the floor ever, people! I am officially airborne now!)

p.s. here's a funny one-- that last post about all of our sicknesses was Post #666.... hmmm... :)

'tis the season...

Well, I promise I really don't want this blog to turn into nothing but health updates, but ya know, that's just what our family is dealing with right now on many levels! So here's today's health update:


After driving up to Charlottesville to see a dermatologist about Caroline's continuing hair loss today, turns out she does NOT have a fungal infection of the scalp. (and wasn't that SO nice of our pediatrician's office here NOT to call & tell us the lab results so that we could stop giving our child potentially harmful medicine for another 5 WEEKS?! Apparently when they faxed over the paperwork to the Charlottesville dermatologist, it said that they had found nothing fungal!?! You better believe I have placed a call to our pediatrician's office on THAT one...)

The dermatologist saw lots of new hair follicles, so hopefully in another 4-6 weeks our sweet daughter will have a bunch of stubble growing back in! (we'll be starting a new "look" for toddlers, I think...) :) The doc thinks it's probably something called "telogen effluvium," which is when a virus, fever, stress, or change in hormones triggers a reaction where hair falls out-- it can happen to women after pregnancy, for example, as well as in children for whatever reason.

SO... after 3 weeks of what was SUPPOSED to be an 8 week treatment for a (non-existent) fungal infection, we're stopping the medicine & waiting & watching.

In other news, Caroline's cold is getting better, and it has not only spread to Daddy, but to me as well. (as if we all needed ONE more thing, right?!) :) But Daddy came up with the BEST home treatment for sinus pain... (so file this one away in your back pocket)


(and don't you know I was thrilled to have my picture taken at this moment...) ha ha!

1. Boil up some water on the stove.
2. Add a few drops of steam inhalant. (optional)
3. Pour it into a bowl.
4. Put a towel over your head & around the edges of the bowl and breathe in all the STEAM! woohoo! It's fabulous.

And now... here's the vertigo update: (good grief!) Overall I am well. I had some good days and then a couple of minor dizzy spells. Seeing an improvement, though, & I go to the doc again on Fri. morning. I'm less discouraged than before, and thankful for your continued prayers as I recover.

I SERIOUSLY feel like I can relate to all the senior citizens out there who live from doctor's appointment to doctor's appointment! I know it's thankfully just for a season, but everything has seemed to hit us all at once!

'Tis the season, I suppose...

if you can't be in texas...

At least you can always pretend with play-dough...

So many thanks to all of you who have lifted us up in prayer & sent such encouraging messages & comments yesterday & today. Geez, I probably should've asked for you guys to start praying sooner, because today has been my best day in quite awhile & the dizziness has noticeably subsided for the meantime! God indeed hears our prayers! So THANK YOU- I am blown away and my discouragement has turned to hope.

Unfortunately Marc's cold worsened today, so I don't know who's-nursing-who back to good health anymore! Thankful that God is good to sustain us all.

Another physical therapy appt. at 8am tomorrow morning...

disappointed...

I don't feel like I (Amy) have the emotional energy to write much, except to ask you guys to pray for us. Tomorrow the three of us were supposed to get on a plane to head to Texas. (Marc has RUF staff training in Dallas all week, so Caroline & I were going to stay the week with my parents & get to have an early Christmas with my family, not to mention see some old friends and birthmommy Megan!! again.) But we won't be boarding that plane. And I'm really, really bummed.

For the past 2 months I've been experiencing positional vertigo (BPPV to be exact, if any of you are aware of it). It came on suddenly. A few severe episodes have left me nauseous and vomiting, but most often I experience a constant "swimming" feeling in my head & just feel off-balance. The dizziness can turn severe if I flip over in bed or reach down to pick an object off the floor.

Long story short- when you've got this type of vertigo, physical therapy is supposed to be highly successful. So I have started going to a therapist for the past couple of weeks. I've had my good days & I've had my bad ones. Last night was really rough, and it made me realize that I'm not in a state to be able to fly to Texas. :( So I'll be staying back here & doing some more physical therapy to try to get this under control. Thankfully Marc has gotten permission to skip his training to be of help to me this week. I think the toughest part of all of this is the feelings of utter discouragement & wondering if I'll ever feel "normal" again. I believe that I will in the long-term, but in the meantime, it's a struggle. I'm so discouraged.

Caroline, who is STILL losing hair!, has been fighting a nasty cold that has her throat & chest all filled up with "gunk" & leaving her cranky, fussy, & can only be consoled with Elmo. :) If she continues to get any worse, I'll probably be taking her to the doc this week as well.

Sweet Marc is holding our little family together right now, but he, too, is starting to feel some cold symptoms as well.

Isn't it just SO true that when it rains, it pours?!? Reality ain't always glorious, is it? :)

So if you think about it, pray that the Lord would be gracious to heal each of us (and all of our many various ailments!) quickly. Pray that He'd give us grace to deal through this & strength to get through it all.

Thanks & much love,
Amy

christmas pics...

We took some pictures before our RUF Christmas party last night, but of course we forgot to get one of all 3 of us!! Oh well...

best buds are always there to...

Sit & hang out when you need some quiet time.


Offer words of encouragement or a friendly pat.


Dance spontaneously with you in the kitchen.


Chase you through a tunnel.


And love you just the way you are. (even when your hair falls out...) :)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

go fire...

a columbus thanksgiving...

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I just got home from a trip to Columbus, Ohio, where all of our family met up & I got to meet my Great Grandpa Hogue for the first time!


Mommy & Daddy didn't know how I'd do for 7 straight hours in the car, but sometimes I just like to amaze them... between napping & reading & listening to music together & any other fun distractions Mommy could throw my way, I did great!


My FAVORITE part of the trip was being able to play with all of my cousins! Trevor & Tyson were next door to me in the hotel, and as soon as I woke up each morning, they were the first people I kept itching to see! They were SO sweet to me & we really had a blast together.


I also loved seeing my baby cousin Erik, who is now 6 months old! Isn't he a cutie?


Need I say more?

hotel fun...

Filling up the ice bucket!


Swimming at the pool!


Eating a snack with Pop by the pool.


Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, too!

updates...

Before:

Our original entryway/foyer light fixture.

After:

Ooh la la... :)

Other updates:


I'm still balding & looking more and more like middle-aged men I see. :) The doctor said it could take another week before the medicine levels start to "kick in." It's gonna be a long 8 weeks of treatment but I guess we'll get through it, right? (maybe I'll have some hair back by Christmas?!?) Mommy & Daddy have a hard time seeing me go through this...


but as you can see, I could care LESS!