Relearning life...

[10 months. pictures. kidney stones]

Mirabelle turned 10 months old this past week.  Boy has the time flown by this year!!  I found myself thinking about her 1st birthday party the other day and it just blew me away...  My baby is on the verge of being a toddler!!  She has been growing and developing like wild fire this month.  She now has 3 words (Dada, Momma, and Bye-Bye), she waves, she can pull herself up and stand, she gives kisses, she is learning to clap, and she can mimic just about any sound we make with our mouths. 

The day after she turned 10 months we had a well-check out at her doctors office in Sugarland so, since we were already out that way, we went to the mall and got portraits taken at Picture People.  Its been since Christmas so it was time to get some portraits done before she turns one.  They turned out great.  I will post a few at the bottom of the post.  If you are interested in ordering any prints leave a comment and I can send you the link for the website so you can place an order.  I did print a few wallets and 4x6 size pictures to give out to some family members but beyond that would be on your own. 

Last weekend Bill was super sick with a bad stomach virus that left him feeling terrible till Tuesday of this week.  Thankfully he is back to normal now.  Around Tuesday I started to feel like I was coming down with the same thing.  Wednesday and Thursday were worse than Tuesday.  Finally, Friday morning around 6 am I woke up in excruciating pain...I felt like I was in labor all over again.  After about 3 hours I couldn't take it anymore so Bill had to take me to the minor care ER center.  Turns out I have my first kidney stone!  They think it's too big to pass on its own so I will be going in Monday morning to have a procedure done where they will reduce it so that it can pass easily. 

I have heard from people that a kidney stone is more painful than labor.  Now that I can compare I would say that its similar but different.  The trouble with the kidney stone is that there is no break, where as with a contraction, you know that you have a 30 second to 2 minute resting period to look forward to before the next one comes on.  This was like a 6 hour long contraction...and we are talking BACK LABOR!!  I tried to think back on what I learned in my birth class for helping with pain so I have been taking a lot of hot baths and using my labor breathing. 

I could definitely use some prayer...I really don't want this thing trying to pass on its own since it is the size that it is.  Unfortunately I have no one to blame but myself for this stone.  My medication can cause kidney stones I knew that I would need to stay on top of my water intake but lately I have been very lazy about it.  Live and learn!!

P.S. There are some new pictures in the "Mirabelle Ani" photo album if you want to take a peek!

[Think Before You Speak]

[since you asked..]

I have had some emails asking how to leave comments on this blog.  For those who are unfamiliar/ new to blog world and/ or new to typepad, here is your free tutorial! 

At the bottom of each entry I write in gray you will see the date and time of when the entry was posted.  Next to it you will see the word "Comments" and in parenthesis a number ...which on this blog usually reads (0).... hehe!  If you hover your mouse arrow over the word "Comments" a hand should appear indicating you can click on it...when you do a new window will appear that will allow you to leave a comment.  Inside this window you can write in your name, your email (this step is required but this WILL NOT appear with your comment so don't worry about giving that information out), and a URL (this is optional but if you have a blog or a website you want to link back your comment to you can add it there).  After typing in that information you can write your comment in the comment box provided and then click "Post".  You comment will then be published to the blog for both our family plus other blog visitors to view. 

Now that you know know to leave a comment how about we all PRACTICE!!  I KNOW there are several lurkers on this site that remain silent and I would love to get a "hi and hello" just to know my readers. 

P.S. Want to hear a scary fact... only 65 days to go until Mirabelle's 1st birthday...EEEK!!!

[Stop saying JUST!]

Ever since giving birth to Mirabelle I have had the privlidge of being a stay-at-home mom.  This is something I strongly believed I was supposed to do.  The decision to stay at home with my daughter (and future children if God chooses to bless us in such a way) was one that came after much prayer and deliberation.  I am not brash enough to stake the claim that this is what I will be doing the rest of my life but I do know that this is what I feel I am called to do until my children are school-aged.  I may find that even then, they need me more than ever...I have heard that, even though they are in school their needs do not lessen..it all depends on what kind of a mom I want to be.  I have committed myself to staying home full time until my youngest is in school and I will assess our needs and my desires at that point.

Something that I have noticed since becoming a stay at home mom is a recent word that is spoken often in my presence.  Too often I am asked if I am "JUST a stay at home mom" or "are you not working these days?".  The truth is that I am not JUST a stay at home mom ..but in fact that is exactly what I am and its a role I am proud of and a career path I feel takes much initiative and dedication.  I would never ask someone if they were JUST an accountant or JUST a pastor or JUST a school teacher or JUST a CEO!!  Why is it when referencing a woman that has chosen her children as her full time career we suddenly see her as choosing the easy way of life..she is choosing to JUST focus on one thing.  The truth is we are still working just as hard as all the teachers, accountants, CEO's, retailers, etc.. out there.  Working moms take their kids to daycare/ school while they work their 8 hour job but those 8 hours working moms are separated from their children, stay at home moms (SAHM) like me are with their kids nurturing, feeding, entertaining, educating, etc...   Also, just like the working mother, we have to find time in our week to keep our house clean, run errands, make appointments, grocery shop, stay healthy or go to Dr. appts., find sitters when necessary, make time for our husbands, stay connected with our extended families and church ministries. 

When it comes down to it, the only big difference between the working mother and the SAHM is that the 8 hour work day looks a bit different.  This isn't just an issue of semantics..it can really be a shot in the foot since so often people feel that the SAHM has it so much easier or has some how chosen a simpler path in life.  There is nothing simple about it...its just a different one and I feel no one path is more valuable than the next.  This is my path and I couldn't want anything more!!

[too long]

It's been entirely too long since I posted here!  Life has been a bit busy around here.  First we had Holy Week and Easter, which is the busiest week in the life of a family in ministry.  Mirabelle wore her pretty white dress that I bought her last year on clearance when I was still pregnant with her...she looked precious.  I will post pictures soon!  Other than that we have been dealing with the trials and tribulations that come with teething.  My poor girl appears to be cutting 4 on the top jaw all at the same time.  I noticed today that she has two white spots next to her two bottom teeth as well so before long she may have a mouth full of 8 teeth!! 

Last week was the most difficult since she's been born.  That first night home from the hospital was a tough one but it proved to be easy in comparison to last week.  Monday she didn't seem herself.  By mid-afternoon she was very zoned out and running a fever of 102.  We took several naps and snuggled alot.  I assumed this was all caused by teething but was on the lookout for a possible ear infection.  On Tuesday the fever broke but she was very fussy and she started biting every time she would nurse.  It started out that she would bite at the end of eating and by evening she was biting me before we could even start...to the point that I could NOT feed her!!  I tried many methods of teaching her to not bite but all it did was scare her and teach her to NOT NURSE!  That night she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore and she didn't nurse all day Wednesday either (this is a girl who usually nurses 6 times a day and 2-4 times a night).  I was pretty upset about the whole thing but thankfully Thursday morning around 5 am I convinced her to nurse and she slowly gained the confidence back.  It broke my heart...she was so afraid I was going to "yell" at her that she didn't want to nurse...she was so confused.  After doing some more research I think I am more prepared in the future if she were to start biting again. 

Friday she was my sweet, happy girl again and we spent most of the day walking around the zoo and swinging at the Evergreen park.  The weather has been AMAZING this weekend so we have been doing our best to take advantage.  Today we went back to the zoo with friends and had a great time. 

We have been adding more solids to her diet and she is now getting table food 3 times a day.  Her new favorites are fruit purees mixed with oatmeal and sweet potatoes mixed with broccoli!  She is also starting to learn to drink from a sippy cup.  We use a cup called Born Free which is made of a non-toxic plastic that doesn't leech into the liquid the child is drinking (like many of the other soft plastics do) and it has a low suction system which is easy on the teeth.  She's getting the hang of it!  I am still making her food homemade.  A friend lent me a great recipe book that I have enjoyed...I think I am going to just have to order one myself before I give hers back!

Lastly, a couple weekends ago Mirabelle and I were able to take a surprise trip to Bakersfield, CA to visit Katie (my best friend).  I made arrangements to take a taxi from the airport to Katie's high school where she teaches.  When they called her into the office and she saw us standing there her jaw hit the floor!!  It was the best surprise I have EVER pulled off and we had a great weekend.  We got to have lunch with her older sister and play at the park with her niece and nephew.  Here are a few shots from that visit.

[day at the park]

We decided to make a trip down to our local park on Saturday.  The Evergreen Park walking distance from our house so we loaded Mirabelle up in our great Phil & Teds stroller and headed down.  We strapped Mirabelle into the swing using my ring sling for added security (all the more reason to love the ring sling!) and away she went.  She LOVED it!  She squealed with delight and had a great time for about 20 minutes.  She laughed and looked around and stared at her feet and of course enjoyed all the faces Momma and Daddy made at her.  We will definitely be going back again soon..I think it will become a new regular activity.  Here are some fun pictures I took while we were there. 

[8 months in Seattle]

Lately Mirabelle has been a bit of a cranky pants and I feel helpless to her aid at times.  Mostly she just needs lots of extra snuggles--that I CAN do and I love do snuggle that precious angel so, so what if the laundry piles up!!  Turns out my stinker has cut not one but TWO teeth over the course of the last two weeks.  She is now the proud owner of her bottom two front teeth.  She is even showing them off in the first featured picture below.

This girl travels well!!  This past Monday we headed out to Seattle for the Resurgence Conference at Mars Hill Church with took place at their Ballard (main) campus.  We had to take 3 planes to get there and she slept the entire way there.  Mirabelle and I didn't attend much of the conference but Bill and the Kaleo elders in training got their fill.  It was wonderful I've heard and the little I participated it was great.  I spent most of my time exploring Seattle for the first time, despite the fact that this was my third trip there.  I rode around with Jeanette (our worship art minister's wife) and amazingly we didn't get lost once.  I had the joy of showing her from point A to point B where once Bill, Mark Retzloff, and I walked 5 miles uphill thinking it would be an easy stroll to Mars Hill...HA...WHAT A MISTAKE THAT WAS!!  She was impressed.  We went to Archie McPhee which is this quirky store that literally sells tons of random crap you don't need but want.  We drank lots of coffee and window shopped in a bunch of shops downtown that were very unique and excentric. 

One night we had the pleasure of traveling into the mountain regions just out of the city to one of the elders parents homes and had a home-cooked meal. It was so good and the neighborhood and scenery was breath taking! 

The last day there we hung out at the Public Market by the shore and bought some organic dried fruits, handmade cake donuts, and then had fresh seafood for dinner and a nice restaurant.  I actually tried sushi for the second time in my life and acutally liked it.  Now I'm on the hunt for a restaurant here in houston to go try it again and see if I TRULY like it or if it was one of those "in the moment" kinda things.  I think I would definitely want it cooked though. 

Mirabelle was a bit fussier the way home but everyone around us on the plane still commented on how well behaved she was.   Then today I noticed her new tooth so that explains it.  She is very happy to be home and back in familiar space.  I am sure she will be excited to see all the familiar faces at Kaleo tomorrow too.

The day we flew home Mirabelle turned 8 months old!!  How  quickly time is flying by!

Well, I better get to bed...I will leave you with a few pictures from our trip...I appologize but I have not had time to edit any of them so some of them are a bit blah.

[Picture post]

Just taking a break to show off my precious girl being as cute as ever!

[2 First Times in the same week]

This past wednesday Mirabelle participated in her first Ash Wednesday service!

The next day..she decided to start sitting up on her own!!

[7 months already!]

Mirabelle went and turned 7 months old without asking us...thats kids for ya!  She is doing wonderful and her personality is revealed more with each day...it makes us love her that much more.  We are pretty sure she is going to be an attention ham and able to draw a crowd with her antics.  She cracks us up all the time with her faces and sounds.

She started solids this past month, and so far, her favorites are yellow squash, frozen bananas, and sweet potatoes.  I make them all fresh with  my "Magic Bullet" so we are saving lots of money making it fresh and in bulk, not to mention, we get to avoid all those nasty additives and perservatives. 

She has gone from a scooch to an army crawl.  We expect to see those knees up and into a full crawl any day now!  Also, she is sitting up great in a highchair but not independently just yet.  She has gotten to the age where the 30 minute Baby Mozart video actually captures her attention and she loves going for walks in her stroller.  We are lucky enough to live across the street from a walk/ jog trail.

Oh, I forgot to mention, she also likes to share apples with Bill.  She did this the other day so I had to run and get the camera...what a goof!