Ok, so first off, we have had a MAJOR life event that occured at the end of January into February that landed Ridley in the hospital for 6 nights. We are still following up on all of that. I plan to try to fully document that here, too, so I can remember details later, too. But, let me try to go back and attempt to catch up. HA! I’m 5 months behind on pictures! Oy! Best hop to it, right?!
Sept 29: Love when babies sleep in the froggy position. ♥ We’ve been busy today, so we’re finally taking a rest at home.
Oct 1: Tomorrow, Charlie will be 6 wks old! What?! Went for our appt today.  Sandra has been my amazing Certified Nurse-Midwife with Ridley, through our two losses, and with Charlie. We have been so incredibly blessed by her! She’s not just a midwife, but an amazing friend, a shoulder to cry on, and so much more! Bethaney was with us for this birth and her sweet encouragement was just perfect. Our family is so thankful for these ladies!
Oct 2:Â It matters not what filter (if any) that I use, the dark circles under my eyes remain (I even have makeup on). Would I like more sleep? Absolutely. Does having a sweet baby sleep on me get old? No way. Am I thankful? Without a doubt.
Oct 4:Â My favorite part of this picture is hard to see but check out the leg rolls forming at the bottom of the picture! Grow baby, grow!
Oct 5: Getting more chins everyday! ♥
Oct 6:Â We are more likely to catch the sleepy smiles on camera than the awake ones right now. I love them all!
Oct 8:Â A little extra time before preschool well spent. 🙂
Oct 8:Â Who slept a 5 hr stretch last night that mommy got to enjoy, too?! Yep, this sweet boy! (4 hrs x 2 the night before!). I know better than to expect this on a regular basis, but we’ll take it when we can!
Oct 8:Â Didn’t get a picture before it went to school and lost the oars on the other side, but this is the Viking ship Abriella made all by herself for a history project. Proud of her hard work (and thankful for art camp that taught her how to work with clay!).
Oct 9:Â Charlie slept over 7 hrs straight last night! I only woke up a few times during that stretch, so I’m feeling pretty good!! God knew I needed some better sleep, especially while Stephen was gone. Thank you, God!! And, a picture just for kicks. Charlie loves to look at himself in the mirror.
Oct 10:Â Daddy strategically took Charlie… So we are playing a little settlers of catan.
Oct 12:Â Fun doing a fall craft with friends this morning! This was with the Farnham family. We first met them a few years ago when we did Kindermusik at their house. They have grown by 2 since then (now have 5). Wonderful christian family!
Oct 14:Â Good morning!!
Oct 15: National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day:Â A sister Hope Mom. Thankful for the relationships with some beautiful and strong mamas! (My friend Emily Copeland)
More from Oct 15:
This morning, as I was waiting on balloons for tonight, I was talking with the lady blowing up the balloons. Charlie was with me and she asked about him. I said he was my 4th, not even wanting to get into what the balloons were for. Sometimes, i just don’t want to go there. She said she had 2 and they were 9 years apart. Something immediately inside me felt like there was a story in that.
I kept quiet and we continued to talk about babies. She then went on to “randomly” share that she had dealt with infertility and years of failed treatments before her 2nd was conceived naturally. Ah… I then shared that the balloons were actually for babies lost, and that we had 2 not with us. She was so sweet, compassionate, and not awkward at all, and recognized how Charlie was such a blessing. She was actually familiar with the significance of today. She then blew a kiss to the balloons, and said “Mmm, sending them off with love.” It was obvious she meant it.
I know many women in this journey also have infertility as part of their story. Some of you have gone through years of treatments only to give those babies back to God. Some of you have gone through years of treatments, and your dreams of ever having life grow within your womb have never been fulfilled. Some of you are dealing with infertility after one or more of your babies have already gone to heaven, when that was never an issue before.
Everyone has a story. God is weaving it together in ways we may never understand. I believe He is sovereign and He is good, even when this life hurts so much. As I send these balloons off tonight, I’m praying for hope for you, too. Hope in the One who will redeem every bit of this life one glorious day. Hope in getting to see our Savior face to face one day. Choose Hope. ♥
More from Oct 15:Â This evening, we sent up balloons to remember and honor our babies that are enjoying the presence of Jesus already. We wrote notes to our Teeny and Tiny. Tiny would’ve been a year old this month had he made it near his due date. We miss our babies, but have we ever been changed because of them! We are choosing hope today. Hope of sitting in the presence of our God one day. (I had baby spit-up on me in my picture 😉 )
Oct 16:Â These two. Not sure you can find a bigger fan of Charlie than Colby.
Oct 17: Sweet baby breaths in my neck. I don’t want to take any of it for granted. ♥
Oct 19:Â Enjoyed a cool walk this morning.
Oct 20:Â One sleeping, one crying. (both rear-facing in their seats)
Oct 21:Â Different strategy for our morning walk today.
Oct 21:
2 months today! Boy, is this guy ever growing!! Not sure how much he weighs currently. He was 10-3 at a day shy of 6 wks. So, I’d say he’s 12lbs or more, but we don’t have our appt for another 9 days.
He’s smiling a lot these days. He eats a lot–clearly. He loves to look at himself in his mirror beside his changing pad. He will not take a bottle yet, so we’ll keep trying at that one. He still is not a huge fan of the car, which is unfortunate. He coos. He loves his siblings a lot.
He still sleeps in the room with us in his pack n play. He is very unpredictable at night, but he does occasionally sleep longer stretches, but we never count on it. smile emoticon
We love this guy tons!
Oct 22: Most Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the others are at school, you’ll find me in a rocking chair with this handsome little guy. My house may be a mess, but I don’t want to miss this. ♥
Oct 23:Â Little mama. She and I are trying our hands at knitting tonight.
Oct 27:Â Let’s hear it for baby leggings and cute socks that look like shoes! And little chunky legs! Oh, and cloth diapers! Some of my favorite things!
Oct 28:Â Newsboy hat for the walk this morning. Hat was made for RIDLEY by my friend, Beth Kelly. Love when I can use sweet things again.
Oct 29:Â Literary Day for the older 2 and dress up at preschool for Ridley. So, we have Mary Lennox (Secret Garden), Pa Ingalls (I forgot to get a pic of his fiddle), and (for at least the 2nd year in a row) Capt America.
Charlie wanted to represent on literary day, too, with a little love for Peter Rabbit.
Oct 30:Â 12lbs 8 oz today at 2 months and 9 days. He’s growing!
Oct 31:Â Mary Lennox, a friendly (trashbag) ghost, and ??detective?? Capt America! Lol! We clearly don’t put a lot into Halloween!
We walked the “candy trail” downtown and went to a fall festival at another church. Then, the kids went to a few houses in our neighborhood and then we ended the night watching some old Casper cartoons. The kids thought they were hilarious! Love my little family! Ridley has just been knocked into the wall by Abs (she didn’t realize he was behind her).
Ok, that gets me through October. More in the next post!