Just a Teaser

Just a quick update until I have time to get a real post in on our fall break weekend in Chattanooga.

We had loads of fun doing this...



and this...



and seeing these...



doing a little bit of this...



and now we are all wanting to do a lot of this...



and I am not talking about the fella playing the video games. I am trying to tackle laundry and regroup for tomorrow morning, more to come later.

Girl Hair

I am always looking for new ways to do Sophie Kate's hair. It's a bit of a challenge b/c she can't sit up on her own so she is either on her back or she is leaning against the back of her head quite a bit...so a traditional pony tail is out of the question. The style also needs to be held tight enough so that it won't come completely undone as she lays on her back and turns her head from side to side. I wasn't joking, it's a pretty tall order. Even when I put her hair in pigtails I end up redoing it 3-4 times throughout the day b/c it just can't stand up to the wear and tear. Now you know why SK's hair is always on top of her head, b/c when I do it like that it doesn't get messed up during the course of an SK day.

A few weeks ago my mom was here helping me out with things after Jacob had his ear surgery and this is what we did one morning to SK's hair straight out of the bath tub, wet and all...





I think she likes it...



It stayed put nicely for about half the day but it was a jumbled mess by the time daddy came home from work. The problem with this particular style is that mama can't do it by herself, I need an extra set of hands...so as much as I loved it on her, there will only be random sightings of this one.

Alright, switching gears...I know y'all have been missing pictures of the G man in his underwear. Someone please tell me what 3 year old knows how to work a feeding pump...when SK's pump starts beeping b/c her feeding is finished Grey is all over it.



Yay, fall break has officially started! Two days off school to do whatever we want not including getting up early, bus stops or homework. It has been rainy, cloudy and gloomy here for over two weeks with very little sunshine to speak of. It has been so dark in the mornings that it looks and feels like two o'clock in the morning when I am trying to get the boys up for school at 6:30. Well, all I have to say is that the sun better not be blazing into my boy's room tomorrow morning, I want to see the sun just as much as anyone else around here, but I'd like to wait until 9:00 to do so, can I get an Amen!?!

SK's Stuff

Continuing with the Sophie Kate's room theme, I am now going to show y'all some of the things that are in and around SK's room.

This china hutch that is now a curio cabinet holds lots of sweet things...Sophie Kate's oh so tiny and oh so sweet first pair of shoes, some picture albums from SK's first year of life, some of the things SK made this year at Vacation Bible School and some stuffed animals.



Sophie Kate's jewelry box holds her necklace and bracelet as well as some well meaning plastic rings that Cooper and Jacob have brought her, such sweet brothers.



Yuck, some of SK's medical supplies; in finding out about SK you will quickly discover that these are a part of her everyday life, but they do seem outta place in such a girlie room.



Back to the cute stuff...awww...SK's shoes hanging out on her changing table.



This little praying bear has been our traveling buddy since SK was born. This bear, along with the painting of her life verse in the previous post and a picture of her 3 brothers has made every trip with us to Children's Hospital. There were always certain things I would go and grab without hesitation anytime we were admitted and those along with her boppy pillow were always a part of the grab.



Sophie Kate's feeding supplies...



her nebulizer...



This is my dish draining rack, everything you see here is used for SK...



These are the meds that SK receives everyday and some of them multiple times a day.



It doesn't seem right to me that those things should coexist with these things...



or these things...



Medical supplies and sweet pastel colored baby bedding do not go together, feeding tubes and frilly dresses go together about as well as oil and water, nebulizers and suction machines have no place with polka dot shoes and jewelry boxes but they do when you are talking about my girl.

It breaks my heart that these necessary evils have taken the place of my baby girl's baby dolls and tea sets. I hate that an IV pole, a feeding tube and a feeding pump have taken the place of what should have been my little girl's stuffed animals and snugglies at her bedside. I hate that these things have made themselves at home here, it is only b/c God has made Himself at home here that we are able to take it all in. He prepares our heart to be able to handle it, He gives us the strength to bear it each and everyday.

All of these things coexist for the most part peacefully here because without them we wouldn't have this...



and we are absolutely crazy about her.

Love you guys, thanks for loving our girl.

Sophie Kate's Room

Before she's not a baby anymore and before she out grows her crib and gets a big girl bed, I want to show y'all Sophie Kate's sweet room. The one and only girl room that I got to do up to my heart's content.

We actually converted our dining room into SK's room, she was originally set up to bunk with a certain little red head but circumstances dictated otherwise so we rolled with the punches the best we could.



Those sweet pink floor length curtains...I finally had a reason to get them...two years ago.



Sophie Kate's crib bedding, it was love at first sight.






Ok, one of my very few crafty moments...I actually painted those letters for SK myself, I also did some for Grey too since they were going to be sharing a room. Alas, it seems since then all the craftiness that was left in me has departed. Please note the bows to the left of SK's name.



Please note bow display #2...girlfriend will not lack a matching bow with any outfit thanks to hand-me-downs and gifts from friends and family.



There were so many precious things that were given to us when Sophie Kate was born, one of the most personal were these three paintings done by a friend of mine. The picture in the middle with the cross on it has the verse "Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17 and then the picture at the top has the verse "The Lord is the One who goes ahead of you; He will be with you, He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8. Chad and I clung to this verse, even reading it now brings back such a flood of memories, such an unbelievably difficult time, but the Living Word does not return void...He will never fail us!



This one is Sophie's life verse "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save, He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17. Oh baby girl, your Creator delights and rejoices over you, you are indeed a blessed daughter of the King!



Now if you will please turn your attention to the ceiling. Yes, that's right SK has decorations on her ceiling. We have 4 darling little butterflies hanging from the ceiling in SK's room.





I really didn't think this post would run that long but it seems that it has. I would love to share with y'all some things that can be found in and around Sophie Kate's room but I think that stuff is best saved for another day.

Oops, I almost forgot the most important thing that makes SK's room the sweetest...



Thanks for checking in on us, have a great weekend!!

The Gait Trainer is here!

Remember when I told y'all a while back that we were going to be getting Sophie Kate one of these...



of her very own.

Well here it is...signed, sealed, delivered and hot pink!





I took her up to the gym at our church so that she could roam around in some wide open spaces. Doesn't she look absolutely thrilled? Cheer up Sophie, it's not going to be that bad.



These are the new shoes we bought her to wear with her splints...



and off she goes...





I think this is the official "I'm done" face...



Yep, she was right, she was done...



I am trying to get SK in her gait trainer for a little while each day. She can only stay in it for short periods of time right now b/c she does get fatigued pretty quickly and I certainly don't want her fussing while she is in it. We want her to enjoy this experience not be unhappy with it. So far, so good she really likes being in the gait trainer, so we do it for about 20-40 minutes at a time depending on SK's attitude. It is very exciting to see her starting to put things together in an effort to maybe being mobile one day.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.

An Update on our Boy

Jacob is healing very well from his surgery. He is now in his second full week back at school and besides being more tired and worn out than usual, he really seems back to his fun happy self. Yes, keeping him from doing all the things 7 year old boys love doing is proving quite the challenge given the beautiful weather we have been having here this week.

He probably shouldn't be doing this...



or this...



and I am pretty sure that this...



and this...



are definite no-no's, but what am I supposed to do...I see this silly face...



and he really has been very good for so long. Hey, we made it 2 1/2 weeks that's really good don't you think?

Outside has been calling our name this week, how could any of us resist...







Daddy's home from work, let's all gang up on him before he even has time to get in the house.



And then there is me and this little darling, watching from the sidelines...



It won't always be this way baby girl, with the strength and determination God has given you, we will find a way to get you off the sidelines. Thanks for checking in on us, enjoy the weekend!!