Pierced Ears

I just love girly girls, so I figured it was time to get Christina's ears pierced. She was such a little trooper and so brave! Barely even a cry! It was no worse than any of her doctor appointments. She is just such a little darling! And additionally, she is finally starting to pack on some weight (relative for her of course). Today she weighed-in at a whopping 9 lbs., 5 oz.! I think by the Ides of March she will be well into 10 pounds! 

What could be cuter!

What is cuter than a little girl in a headband! And no, she isn't that badly cross-eyed, she just loves to look at her hands! 

And I'll tell you what isn't cute. James doing this to six tubes of lipstick. 

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

Milestones

This past week or so has been a week of milestones for baby Christina. She has started to coo and smile socially.

Her "cooing" is more of a grunt that she makes when she's awake, but it is differentiated from her cry. And besides crying, it's the only other sound she makes, so we are going with calling it a "coo"! She loves to suck on her hands and this is often accompanied by her coos. 

And this week she has started to smile, though sporadic. I consider them social smiles because they happen when we are smiling and talking to her, it's just that she doesn't always smile when we are smiling and talking to her. And it happens more rarely than often. She will not smile on cue, but I'm stubborn like that too so it's no big surprise! So this week was the first time she has smiled back at me. I was taking her out of her car seat and James was right next to me. It was a very tender moment for me as a mother and I'm sure for James as her brother, because the first thing he said was, "Mom, take a picture of sissy!" It was very precious to me because her care takes a lot from me and for the first nearly six months of her life there has been no reciprocation from her (with the exception of the fact that she stops crying if she hears me or I pick her up). While I don't need reciprocity to continue to love and care for her, it certainly helps me feel as though I am in some way getting my love through to her. After she smiled at me, she then smiled over and over again to James. She seems to have a real soft spot for her brother James. I just keep thinking that she and James were best little buddies in heaven and her body is preventing her from so much. But nonetheless these are amazing feats for our little girl! 

And what's interesting is that I truly mean it when I say it's amazing! At least for me, with a handicapped baby you have very low expectations for accomplishments and when she does happen to reach a milestone it's nothing short of a miracle! At the top of our stairs we have this picture by van Gogh called First Steps. I love this painting. And now with the addition of baby Christina to our family, this painting has added meaning and only makes me love it even more. There is so much joy in family and in your posterity. There is something so beautiful about the fact that seemingly simple accomplishments of a young child make you feel so much happiness. And even though Christina will not follow the path of a normal child, her accomplishments, like cooing and smiling, we cherish and find great joy in.

Life's an Hourglass

When James was born, I decided that I would enjoy every stage of his life and not just wish for the next phase to start. I would hear many people say how it gets so much better once they sleep through the night, then it's once they stop teething, then it's once they are potty trained, and on and on the list went. But I didn't want to view James' life as just waiting until the next moment. I wanted to enjoy every minute of the phase he was in and that is how I view mothering him.  

Being James' mother is such a joy. And I tear up just thinking about the happiness it brings me to be his mother. I love seeing him play and make believe. I love seeing him learn to talk and learn to ride a bike. I love seeing him try to walk, talk and even dress like Brian. I love seeing his vibrant personality and sassy sense of humor take shape. I love seeing him make good choices and learn from his mistakes. I know that this childhood will be gone in a moment and he will be a man in the not so distant future. I just love soaking up all this time I am able to spend with him in this part of his life. 

I love this song from Mindy Gledhill, called Hourglass. This song perfectly captures my feelings about mothering a fun, little boy. She does so much better at describing what I'm trying to say!

Little boy, when you speak

I can't help but kiss your cheeks

I love the way you grab my hands

And tell me all about your plans 

Rocket high, comets fly

You and I could take a ride

And fly away to Neverland

And give our best to Peter Pan

When you reach for the stars

Don't forget who you are

And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast

See the sand in my grasp

From the first to the last

Every grain becomes a memory of the past

Oh, life's an hourglass

Life's an hourglass

Story's read, prayer is said

Close your eyes sleepyhead

While angels linger in your dreams

And hold you in their feathered wings

Just like you, I was small

Not that long ago at all

I wish you all the happiness

That God gives freely if you ask

When you reach for the stars

Don't forget who you are

And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast

See the sand in my grasp

From the first to the last

Every grain becomes a memory of the past

Oh, life's an hourglass

Life's an hourglass