Happy 1st Birthday, Presli!

Baby girl,

Oh my sweet Presli, how did you already get to be one? This is your very first birthday love letter from Mommy. It seems like yesterday that I was praying, hoping, and believing God to bring your little life into existence. Wow, were you worth the wait! You have brought unspeakable joy into our family this past year. Our hearts are overflowing with love for you.
From your gentle movements in the womb, to your very speedy birth (I was holding you in my arms just 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital!) and contentment as a newborn, everything about your first several months was pleasant as could be. You rarely cried, slept amazingly well, and enjoyed all the attention we lavished on you. Park was taken with you from the first time he saw you and spent most of his days by your side encouraging you to give him your first smiles and laughs. And indeed you obliged!
Some of the things I remember most about those first months was how you loved to be swaddled, adored your car seat, pacifier, baths, and anything to do with watching Park. You spent many naps in your moses basket right in the middle of all the action. You chose an early bedtime right from the start and often slept in until 9. Usually I would wake you to eat right before I went to the bed and then you'd only wake to feed once before morning. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed looking over at you in the night and imagining all the plans God has for your precious life.
Months 3-6 were a little bit more challenging, mostly based on the fact that you seemed to get every little cold or illness going around. Even sick, your sweet demeanor shined through. When you were 5 months you got the Flu, RSV, and Pneumonia all right on top of each other. My heart broke to see you go through all that, but as little as you were, it became very evident that indeed dynamite comes in small packages. Sister, you are one tough cookie!

Your first tooth popped through at 4 months and by 7 months you were crawling at lightning speed and pulling up on anything you could find. You did the traditional crawl, but often went so fast you wouldn't put one of your knees down or even bear crawled long distances. We liked to call you Miss Pop Up because you would pull up on walls, tables,, the dishwasher, a box of diapers, and even other babies. You preferred standing to sitting, even in the bath tub. Before you could stand on your own, you would simply let go and lunge in the direction of where you wanted to go. Your falls and tough spills also earned you the name "Baby Boom Boom." You are one crazy, fearless, little girl!

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Month 7 to 11 were all about busyness. You love to wonder around and explore, but I'm shocked that we have not had a huge need to child proof lock anything. You like to pull out toys and clothes, but pretty much stay away from breakables. Other than standing in your highchair, you are quick to listen to a firm "No" and often react broken hearted if you feel we are upset with you. You adore people and would rather sing songs together are be interacted with than be off on your own. You are quick to smile, easy to make laugh and overall joyous to be with. I love that you are quick to come sit in my lap and constantly giving us hugs and kisses when we are not expecting it. However, when you are ready for a nap, you mean serious business. We often laugh that you can be playing contently and then within seconds of yawning, you immediately holler for your blanky, pacifier and crib.

Month 11 you took off walking and lets just say you might have a serious power walking career in your future. Apparently, you have places to go and people to see and no time to mess around. You often walk around, carrying items that are almost as large as you are. It is not a rare sight to see you wondering the house with 3 loveys and a large baby doll in hand. You ADORE baby dolls, and are especially fond of your lovey that is a doll with a blankey attached. If you can't find her, you will search high and low while calling out, "BAAAAABY!!!" until you stumble upon her. You are often quiet, babbling softly or making sweet cooing noises like "OOh OOh!!" as you point to new things. As quiet as you can be though, you actually say several words very well, such as "Momma, Dada, Bubba, Pop, Baby, Ball, Uh-Oh, Up, Hi, Night Night, Bye Bye, Tane Too (Thank You), and you adore blowing kisses and waving to anyone. You've also mastered climbing the slide from the bottom and sliding back down on your tummy (feet first). Looks like we have another climber in the family!

We thank the Lord for you, Baby Girl. You are a gift to our family and we do not take you for granted. I see so many incredible qualities in you and pray every day that God would use me to mold and shape you into all He desires you to be. I know there are big plans for your life and we count it as an honor that He entrusted us to raise you. You are a constant reminder to me of His faithfulness and hand on our lives. Someday, you will hold your own babies in your arms and only then will you comprehend the depth of my love for you! Happy First Birthday, my Presli Pie! You get sweeter each and every day.

Happy 5th Birthday, Park!

Bubby boo,

I can hardly believe the grown up little boy in front of me is really you. You have matured so much since your fourth birthday. Last year at this time you were counting down the days until your baby brother entered the world. It just so happened when that moment finally arrived, she was actually your sweet baby SISTER instead! Oh, what a difference a year makes! Last week you told me, "Remember when I used to want Presli to be a boy? I was so silly, Mommy! I'm so glad God gave us a girl because I can't imagine life without my baby sister."
And my heart melted for the millionth time this year from the front row seat I've had at watching the love that has developed between you two. To say she adores you would be the understatement of the year. She basks in your attention and waits for you to tote her all over the house. She giggles the loudest when you feed her and squeals in delight when you play ride-a-little- horsey. I've long sense gotten over how rough you are with her because as you always point out, "But Mommy, look how much she likes it." How can I argue with that huge grin on both your faces? You are her biggest fan and she is your personal cheerleader. The only time you have shown any jealousy of her is if Daddy gives her too much attention when you are trying to wrestle with him. For the most part, you want her included in everything!

You also completed your first year of preschool and it was so much more than either of us could have imagined. I was hesitant to share you with someone for 2 days a week, but I soon learned how you flourished at the opportunity to meet new friends and have new experiences. You adored your teachers and eagerly anticipated what theme each week would hold. The time was also valuable for me to adjust to life with a new baby and balance giving each of you everything you deserve. Daddy and I take the responsibility of molding and shaping you very seriously and could not have been more pleased with the results of how this preschool opportunity has helped further grow you into the person we pray you become.

As for your personal interests this year, anything that requires hitting, kicking, or catching a ball is still high priority on your list. You played on your first organized team this summer and having Daddy as your soccer coach has been icing on your cake. (Because let's be real, he still ranks #1 on your list of interests!) You are also slowly discovering the world of video games on Daddy's phone and the two of you love to see what new level you can reach together. You also love to work in the yard together, build or fix any and everything, race, wrestle, tell jokes, count coins, go to Cabellas, fish, read your Bible, or listen to his famous Boy and Mr. Squirrel stories. You've also gained a huge interest in Star Wars and super heroes and love acting out anything related to this with your friends. You adore having friends and cousins over to play and I'm amazed at how caring of a friend you are becoming. (Oh, what a long way you've come in this area!:)

As active as you are, books are still your passion and you've even developed a love of books on CD. In fact, you love them so much I've even had to limit your listening time to an hour a day. You've become quite the little reader and often finish an entire book without me having to help out with a single word. So far, you really like the Biscuit series of books that your Phyl Phyl introduced you to, but you also love to go to the library and pick out all kind of new reader books. You are famous for making the deal, "I'll read you a book if you'll read me one, too." And since you got your love of books from me, that is one deal I can never resist. You are so excited to read to Presli, but told me it bothers you that "she likes to eat books more than she likes to read them." Let's keep working on her, buddy.

Speaking of new skills, you have also mastered riding a bike without training wheels this year. And can I just say that you are so proud of yourself? But, nothing makes you as proud as the fact that you lost your first tooth in June.

But do you know what Daddy and I are proud of? We are proud of the generous spirit God is developing in you. We are proud to see what a servant you are becoming. We are proud to see glimpses of how our correction and discipline of you is paying off. We are proud to see your tenderness towards Presli and willingness to apologize if you've hurt her feelings. We are proud to see your obedience in doing what is asked of you. You have such an independent spirit, determination to excel, love for learning, excitement for experiencing new things, and overall joy for life.

We adore you precious boy! Thank you for filling our world with color and bringing us unspeakable joy. You are uniquely you and we are so thankful that God's creative fingerprints are all over you.

Happy birthday, my love!

Trouble in a Tutu!

Back From Medical Leave

ATTENTION: This blog is not dead.

True, it has been on life support. But I'm not ready to pull the plug just yet.
I really never intended to neglect it for the last three months, but I've been on a medical leave of absence of sorts.

It all started so innocently, with Park giving Presli some type of cold on steroids the last two weeks of January and the first week of February.

Then there was a week of reprieve before my big ambulance ride.

It was a preschool morning and the kids were both in the car in front of our house when I jumped out to help Park with a stubborn seat belt. Unfortunately, there happened to be a stealthy patch of ice I was unaware of. In Park's words, I "flew through the air" and landed on my tailbone, all of which officially made me his favorite superhero. I vaguely remember feeling woozy, but desperate not to pass out on the street with the kids in the running car, I crawled (that's right..hand and knee style, folks) to the front door. I managed to ring the doorbell, but passed out in Chris' arms the minute he answered the door.

The next thing I remember was laying on the floor of my house looking up into Chris tear stained eyes as he screamed into the phone, "Thank you Lord. Yes, she is conscious now!!!" When I heard the sirens, I knew I must be dying. That had to be the only explanation for my famously cool under pressure husband to be in hysterics. *People, let's not forget that this is the same man that never broke a sweat when a roadside delivery of Presli came into question!

Poor guy assumed I had knocked myself unconscious from hitting my head on the ice. Turns out, I had simply passed out from the pain of my backside. I'd seriously love to know where that "black out" coping mechanism was when I was in the throws of natural child birth, for crying out loud!!

But, other than a month of tailbone trauma and nearly sending Chris into cardiac arrest, we were no worse for the ware.

However, somewhere in the middle of that injury Park came down with high fever and extreme congestion. He got over it so quickly that we never realized it was the flu until Presli got it. Poor baby had the flu and RSV at the same time. And two weeks later that escalated into pneumonia. But, thanks to many prayers, she escaped hospitalization and things seemed to be looking up. That girl is quite the trooper, I tell you. She never stopped smiling through the whole ordeal.

We took a quick getaway to the lake and had a great time with family. But upon arriving home, Chris came down with something awful. It was the sickest I have ever seen him and lasted over a week. His glands swelled up and his voice became unrecognizable. After being tested for strep and mono, it turned out to be an out of control sinus infection. I'm so thankful the kids and I escaped that one, but we came down with sore throats, runny noses, and nasty coughs a week later.

And that is our current status. We are believing the plague is behind us and that the months ahead hold great health and clear breathing. I completely understand if you want to avoid us in real life for a few more weeks just in case:)

And here you thought I was going to give the same old "dog ate my homework" excuse for not blogging. (*Side note- speaking of canines, is it wrong that when Park asked me for a dog recently I told him, "We already have one, sweetie. It just lives at Grandma's house."?)

But, in the midst of Health Crisis '10, we have also experienced many great things. One of which is we have been shown an outpouring of love from our church's Cares Ministry. I seriously had no concept of how much warm meals, cards, Easter baskets and extra special touches could mean to a family in need until we found ourselves on the receiving end. It moved me to tears.

I also have to give the Lord some credit for providing me with many opportunities to be a better servant. I tend to be selfish when it comes to giving of my time and taking care of sick kiddos sure helped me work some of that out. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a slow learner, but thankfully, our God is a patient God. I didn't always do it without grumbling and complaining, but there were some breakthroughs in the my circumstances will not dictate my joy department.

Some other big things going on in our household over the last 3 months are:

Presli learned, forgot, and has finally remembered how to sleep through the night again. She has taken, refused, and learned to enjoy again an occasional bottle, although she loves her sippy cup and drinking through a straw even more. She is crawling around everywhere and loving her new found freedom. Although nursing remains her primary source of sustanance, she is pumped for solid foods and screeches, "MMM MMM MMM!!!" the minute she sees something coming. So far, she is a big fan of rice cereal, squash, green beans, and sweet potato. And even though she is our little Sweet P, she wasn't so much a fan of eating them. I think she comes by this naturally since I was gagging as I attempted to shovel them in her mouth.

She is also loving being pushed in her outdoor swing by her beloved big brother. Baby girl has been known to squeal in delight as he pushes her to new heights that make Mommy cringe. Those two are already ganging up on me.

My goal is to backtrack and record some posts of updates on the kiddos, but for now I'll just close with some pics.

AND since I've used up all my sick days, if the blog doesn't get updated soon just assume I'm taking vacation time:)

(Speaking of vacation, I'm headed to the Emerald City this weekend. Can I just tell you how PUMPED I am for our church's FLAVOUR women's conference this weekend??? If you live in the DFW area, it is not too late to be apart of it!)

Our Sweet Tooth

Baby girl is already in her fourth month of life and has a lot of bows to show for it. Her latest accomplishment, though?

Welcoming her first tooth!

Big brother couldn't be more proud. Mommy and Daddy are pretty in love with her, too. And don't even get me started on the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins....

She is growing up before our eyes.

Slow down, Presli Pie. We want to savor every slice.

Glimpses

When I looked at the date yesterday, I realized that it was one year ago that I found out I was pregnant with Presli. God is so good and merciful. She is a constant reminder to me that His plans are so much better than mine.

And speaking of dates, happy 8 year anniversary to my sister and brother-in-law. They are going to celebrate by praying that their boys actually sleep through the night without playing musical beds. Here's to reclaiming lost rest.

My precious baby girl is still sleeping well, as long as someone is willing to give her back her "pa" in the middle of the night. Do you think we could hire out for that task? The pacifier is such a double edged sword. And I'm not sure what it is about mine and Chris' DNA, but we only know how to make children more oral than dental floss. I guess it all works out, though, since Park adores when Presli sucks his cheek and she is more than willing to endure him licking hers.

YUCK.

Moving on to more pleasant topics, we had a very Merry Christmas. I loved how excited Park was about every little thing and it was icing on my cake to see Presli sporting a red sparkly tutu with candy cane striped tights. Presli adored her first "real" baby doll, especially sucking its cheeks off. (What is is it with that girl?) Challi and I were giddy about seeing all the girly things under the tree after years of Santa bringing footballs and superhero paraphernalia.

We had some awesome Christmas services at the church, followed by waking up to a white Christmas. The Texan in me never would have thought that possible! And Santa actually came on the 26th this year because it takes him a little longer to get down to Lolli and Pop's house. But, he did drop of some stocking stuffers to us in Dallas on the 25th. We made the 5 hour drive Christmas morning and Park was very thankful Santa waited to bring gifts until he could get them with his "crothers" (cousin brothers) the next day. He was also thrilled that Santa Facebooked him on his Daddy's I-phone.

Who knew Santa was so tech savvy? Maybe he could teach me a thing or two.

And it wouldn't be right to talk about the holidays without mentioning our Christmas cards. Apparently, I have a history of being overzealous when it comes to capturing just the right shot. After attempt number 15 million on day 7 of Operation "I WILL GET THE RIGHT SHOT EVEN IF IT KILLS US!", Chris suggested it was time to lower my expectations and rely on his superior editing skills instead. Perhaps he came to this conclusion based on Park bawling that he couldn't hold Presli anymore because his hand had frozen solid from her drool. Or, it could have been Presli's obsession with staring at the ground and spitting up on her dress.

I guess it's also possible that the defining moment was me dancing around behind the camera shaking jingle bells and barking orders like, "DO NOT MOVE IF YOU WANT A LICK OF THIS CANDY CANE AFTER THIS IS OVER!"

All's well that ends well since we did end up with some semblance of a Christmas card. Even if it didn't actually make it into the mail until the New Year.

I also completely forgot to participate in Boo Mamas Christmas Tour this year, but I did want to leave you with one glimpse. Last holiday season, when we had been praying for a baby for over a year, I unpacked the Christmas stockings and promptly burst into tears. I had been so certain that by December I would be hanging 4 stockings and the visible reminder of knowing that hadn't happened yet tore at my heart. All last Christmas as I looked at those three stockings I prayed God would allow me to add one the next year. And here is a peek at my favorite Christmas decorations this season:

I praise you, sweet Jesus. Not just for fulfilling the desires of my heart, but for loving me enough to walk this Earth and take my sin upon yourself.

Thank you for constantly reminding me to focus more on that picture than the one that goes on my Christmas card.