Ecstatic Eight

A quick overview of what Kirby is doing at 8 months - crazy that I was pregnant with her for a little over 8 months. Where does the time go? It does not seem like 16 months ago I was first pregnant. Weird.

Kirby's new loves:
zuchinini, white potatoes, egg yolks
laughing at her daddy slowly walking towards her
crawling
playing with her musical ball
sitting up big on her mats
laughing at anything that you say that ends in "mmy" (yummy, tummy, mommy)
being with new people
babbling "bbbaaabbbaa"
spoons
my family - starting to recognize them better after being gone for awhile
shoes
fuzzy rugs
real animals
rocking and singing
reading books
Things she does not like: the cold concrete floors that are all over our house

Last Thursday we packed up and made the long haul to Montgomery. Kirby did really well most of the way. She got ansy about the last 20 minutes, but I always get that way about an hour away from there so it is just natural. We were trying to keep her awake and entertained until dinner was ready, so we headed outside to the grass. Grass is something she is not used to because we have no back yard yet! She loved it. I thought the colors in these pictures were really good. About a week ago I posted about Kirby actually taking a few crawling "steps" and then stopping for breaks. Now she goes about ten and then takes her breaks. This morning she even followed me from the bathroom to the bedroom to get my jewelry. It was pretty funny when she finally got to me because she looked back to the bathroom like, "Wow, I went a LONG way!" I just heard from Bethany that Nathan (Kirby's predestined boyfriend) is now walking! He is 11 months. What a go getter. Kirby crawled at 7 1/2, Nathan walked at 11 ... their next date, I mean get together (CR), should be full of chasing each other around and around! Can't wait! This weekend Derrick and Megan got married. Kirby is less hands on this time around, so I actually had a chance to snap a few pictures throughout the weekend festivities. It was a beautiful wedding and they are such a fun couple. I know Steve is smiling proudly for Megan and Ryan and their choices in life-long mates. Rehearsal dinner kisses ... Megan got D a Yeti cooler! D got Megs birthstone rings for Steve and his dad.Ryan and Rachel ... 3 months into their nuptials!The spoons kept Kirby entertained since she was out past her bedtime. By the end of the night, I think we had 7 spoons on the floor. Long lost Primos!Kirby with Aunt E!Dad, Cec and Ray catching up.Virginia and Kyleigh boot scootin.HullabalooApparently Megan had lost that lovin' feeling~Haley and Cole "caught" the garter and bouquet.Grandma McGlohn had 2 glasses of wine, so she decided to boogie with us. We could not let her go!

Milked Out

I think I am just about milked out and I am "udderly" disappointed. I would really like to nurse Kirby for a full year, but lately when I sit to pump, all I get is about an ounce. No matter how long I sit attached to that darn machine, all I get is an ounce. I am not ready to give that up. Besides the fact that it is the best thing for her and there are nutrients that formula can not duplicate, I love the intimacy of nursing. It is my favorite time. When she gets up at night, I actually get excited that she gets to nurse. That is gone; not sure what happened. I kept it up as long as I could, even with school. It seems that every time I turn(ed) around I was attached to the machine. I ate like they suggest, trying to get enough calories in to keep up. I have not run in forever, so I am not loosing too many calories. I tried and gave her the best I could for the longest I could. I actually thank the Lord that I was able to do it for (almost) 8 months. I know some mothers can't nurse at all, so I am forever grateful that I had this chance.

I do not have any new pictures this post because I keep leaving my camera card here and the camera is at home. One day I will get it all together and get rid of what all the magazines call "pregnancy brain". I say I am more than likely going to be forgetful the rest of my life now that I am a parent, and that is just some silly excuse. They don't even have a prescription for that diagnosis so it must not be real.

Kirby weighs 17 1/2 pounds now. We had to take her to the doctor last Friday because I was concerned about an ear infection. We caught it early, so doctor said I had good mother's intuitions. I said, "well, when I miss 3 hours of sleep in a row I know something is wrong." That shouldn't take a rocket scientist, but it did make me feel like a good momma. She is actually crawling now, not just scooting backwards. She only goes about 4 "steps" before pushing herself up to a sitting position and acting completely worn out. I imagine if I was lugging around her beautiful, chunky thighs I would be pretty exhausted too. I mean, she weighs 17 pounds, but I think 10 are in her thighs and 5 in her cheeks! I love to squeeze her cheeks and thighs ... she cracks up and they are just so cute and healthy! She loves people - she loves going to the baseball game and getting passed around to all the pom-pom girls who smile extraordinarily big. She loves their big poofs at the front of their hair and pulling on their perfectly tied bows. She made it all the way through church and Sunday school in the nursery last week! There was a student of mine in there so I suggested she take care of her because she loves teenagers (she once was a cheerleader, so I am sure the bubbliness helped as well). They said she was the only one that could keep her; when they tried to pass her off she fussed. Therefore I think she will be our personal nursery sitter!

Our last wedding of the wedding stretch is this weekend. I am so excited to see family again ... it feels like it has been forever, but it has only been a little over a month. Oh how so much has happened in that month, though.

What is even more important about this weekend is that it is Easter. What does Easter mean to you? I know to me it means sacrifice. It means redemption. It means eternal love and life. It means doing something that I would never be able to do. It means Heaven and it means He is alive. This year I have been very discouraged with some of my students as far as being able to share Christ with them. Every year I get so close to my kiddos and they KNOW, I mean KNOW I am a Christian. This year, I don't think most of them even know what a Christian is, so it is hard for them to notice. They know I am different in some way, but that is it. Some of the things they say just pierces my heart. One kid told me he didn't have time for church. I cried. The reason I tell you this is not to discourage you as well, but to encourage you to pray for our youth. Pray that their families would take them to church. Pray that the Lord would work on their hearts and in their lives to draw them close. Pray also that I could be a fisherman in such a big way that they would say, "I have to have what she has!"

Matthew 5:19 "Follow me and I will make you fisher's of men."

These are old, but I love them I don't think I ever shared these.

Singing until the whole world hears ...

I am addicted

To Kirby Rose. She is just so much fun. All I can think about all day while I am at school is, "I wonder what Kirby is doing right now. I wander how she is making them laugh. I wonder if she is doing anything new." Then I look at my pictures and I am content for a little while. We are so blessed with her. She teaches us love without conditions all the time. We (finally) got to see Kevin, Bethany, and Nathan this past weekend for a bit and we had such a great time. We set Kirby down on the floor and just like any ol' gal she immediately started talking Nathan's head off. Nathan wanted to touch her. It is so funny how girls are girls and boys are boys, even at such a young age. I did not have my camera with me, but Bethany was able to snap a few pictures and video tape for a bit. I will share when I get some. Kirby is very close to crawling. Again, I am ok that she is not yet. Once she can, she will be hard to keep up with. She already has a hard time just sitting still, so once she can she will be gone. The last few mornings when we go in to her room to get her out of her crib, she is on all 4s rocking back and forth and giggling. This morning CR went in there to get her and she was just sitting up talking. The other day I went balistic on him when he showed her how to stand up in the crib. His response, "Ya, like me not showing her how to do this is going to keep her from doing it." "Well, if she isn't shown that it is an option then maybe she won't." Oh my innocent thinking as a mother!

I Can See ....

... the healing hand of God. If you do not believe that God still works miracles and specifically answers prayer, follow this link. What an amazing testimony of His strength! On days (like today and all of last week) when I am feeling bummed about what is going on under my nose inside the school walls, I think about Hallie and the amazing adventure God has already taken her on and what her family has learned from it. Of course it is no adventure that anyone would ever want to go on; however, they have seen God's miracles and that He is faithful to His promises. So encouraging. Continued prayer for their entire family and specifically Hallie. They are a long way from over.