Thursday, October 31, 2013

3 Months: Time Sure Does Fly


     Holy cow. It's already time to do another month update. I just can't fathom how fast time is going by. I find myself already longing for those first few weeks when Lucy was still an itty bitty newborn. I'm crazy I know. She is growing so fast and I wish she would stop! Of course I want her to grow and turn into a wonderful young lady but it's a bittersweet thing every time she masters some new skill. Now she is 15.6lbs and 24in long! She's growing like a little weed.
     She has been getting better at her coordination, and is almost able to intentionally grab her toys. She has gotten SO close to rolling over, I'm sure it will be any day now. She can get onto her side pretty well but not quite all the way over yet.
     With Roxas I was so anxious for him to hit every milestone and I obsessed over whether he was on track. With Lucy I am the complete opposite. I really don't keep track of what milestones she is "supposed" to be reaching or anything and I'm much happier for it.
     Despite my best efforts to make sure I do everything the same for Lucy as I did with Roxas there are still things I've ended up not doing or changing how I do them. I'm glad I have left some things behind, like doing the cute little blocks for the monthly pictures which were a real pain to deal with. I'm also glad I have kept up with other traditions like taking a few minutes of video each month with just Lucy. I watched the video of Roxas's first year the other day and I am SO happy that I did this and I'm continuing to do it for Lucy.
     Today is Halloween, Lucy's first, and of course we had to do some of the obligatory fall/halloween pictures. Lucy was great for most of it, Roxas however was a real pill. I would have had better luck convincing a donkey to sit by the pumpkins and smile. I got a few shots of him but nothing like what I wanted. That's just how he is though, unbelievably independent and if he doesn't want to do it...he won't.






 He's a total crack up though. I was asking him to please come sit and he just kept saying "no!" That's his new favorite word. At first I don't think he realized what it meant but now he totally does. He says other words but not with any regular use. Sometimes we will get a "doggie" or "Grandma! Grandpa!" out of him but for now he still babbles on in his own little language. He's just a little ball of energy constantly on the go. He's a little sponge too. I see him do all kinds of things that mimic something he saw me do. Which means I have to be REALLY careful what I do around him or he might start doing the same thing. One bad habit he picked up was my tendency to open things with my teeth. Bad, I know! He's a phenomenal big brother and really just loves his little sister. I know he will be the best protector for her. If she's crying he does whatever he can to make it better. Lucy loves him too. If he's around she looks and him and just follows him, watching every move he makes. She usually has a big gummy smile for him too.

    
     He got a "big boy" haircut and loves to rock a "faux-hawk". He's turning into such a little boy full of mischief and wonder. I love being able to watch him learn and grow every single day. He has a super fun sense of humor and makes me crack up laughing all the time with his antics.


She's a bit of a ham too! No piggy pun intended. Lucy is one of the most smiley little things I've known. She's gotten much better about sleeping, I usually get a good 4 or 5 hours uninterrupted sleep now, which is fantastic. Overall she's a really happy baby, although she still wants to be help or nurse just about every second of every day. She's my snuggly girl and I love it.

     A few weeks ago we got to go to Phoenix and watch my big brothers compete in a SicFit competition. My oldest brother owns Havasu CrossFit and my other big bro is also a crossfit trainer. It was AWESOME seeing both of my brothers compete and has inspired me to join crossfit and try to get myself in good enough shape to maybe someday compete with them. I can dream.
     While we were in Phoenix we went to the zoo and had a blast seeing all the animals! Roxas loved looking at all the neat critters and learned that snakes say SSSSSSSssssss! He was too cute. Lucy slept most of the time in her carrier, but she had fun too.








     So life with the two is pretty hectic but I finally feel like I'm getting back to something of a new normal. I have had days where I wonder what on Earth was I thinking wanting two kids. It can be really overwhelming and frustrating at times when both of them are cranky and I can't seem to make either of them happy. Dealing with a hungry, screaming baby while your toddler has a temper tantrum can really work on your last nerve. I've almost lost my head a few times but a quick chill out on the patio does wonders. Just five minutes of fresh air can totally rearrange my mood. It's all worth it on the good days though. When Roxas climbs into my lap and snuggles or Lucy falls asleep on my chest. It's all worth it.

     We will be going out trick or treating at the nursing homes in town today and I'm really excited for how much fun it will be. I know both the kids and the elderly people will just love it. After doing my rotation in the nursing home it's heartbreaking how many people there have nobody and just seeing a little one can completely light up their faces. It's a great thing for everybody. I will try to put up a post soon with pictures from our adventures tonight but no promises. Finding time to sit at my laptop with no interruptions is almost impossible. 




Friday, October 4, 2013

Celebrating an Angel Today

     Today was a day I had never thought about, a day I thought surely would be far away. Today at noon we gathered to celebrate the life of my second mom, Sherry. She took her spot in Heaven last week after deciding to stop the treatments for the cervical cancer she courageously battled for the past three years.

     When I first became friends with Tashia I think she actually warned me how goofy her parents could be. She was right. I loved Sherry's sense of humor. She would always have something to laugh about and could make a joke out of just about anything. Hanging around Tashia's house was never dull for sure. I will miss her jokes and laughter. Awhile ago I was talking to Tashia and she told me they were out picking wigs for mom. I jokingly told her to get a hot pink one...and Tashia told me mom had already tried that one on. Of course Sherry tried on the hot pink wig, I would expect nothing less. That kind of thing was always happening, she was just a naturally fun person to be around.
     Sherry was also incredibly kind. The picture above is from the day she brought my first horse, Annabelle, to me. I was absolutely overjoyed. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted a horse and after saving my money and working out all the details for her care I finally had my horse. I love that horse, and it pains me that she is no longer my own but I do still visit her from time to time. I wasn't the only one overjoyed, I could tell Sherry was happy that she was making a dream come true for me.
     Sherry treated me like one of her own, I would show up at random to the house to hang out and she never seemed annoyed to have an extra teenage girl in the house being all teenage-ery. Some of my favorite days were when Tashia and I would spend the weekends riding, eating and hanging around watching country music videos. Of course the videos all came with commentary from Sherry. She's the first person who ever told me I look like Leanne Rhymes too, I'm pretty sure she was just being nice.
     I remember in particular one evening I was hanging around with Tashia, and Sherry dragged us outside to watch the sunset from the front porch. Of course being the obnoxious teenage girls we were...well we didn't really care too much at the time. Hey, teenagers...whatta ya gonna do right? Anyways, she dragged our butts outside and said "Look at the sun set, it's almost gone!" and as the sun dropped below the purple mountains she said, "Plop! There is goes! Isn't it purty?" There is a good chance one of us rolled our eyes and giggled. My memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember really clearly what Sherry said. Now that I'm a little older and hopefully wiser I realize this trait of Sherry's was one of the best. She noticed the little and often beautiful moments in life when few others took the time to notice. Something as little as a pretty sunset was worth admiring to her. Others might just shrug and go "yeah...it's a sunset, whoop-dee-doo" but Sherry saw the uniqueness, and the beauty of it. That. That is an amazing thing.
     I will miss Sherry so much and my heart just breaks for my "other" dad and I hope to see his goofy grin once again someday. It kills me that my best friend who I consider a sister and who has been there through some of the toughest years in my life has to know this heartbreaking pain of losing your mom.  I know I miss Sherry but her family misses her even more than I do, it's hard to imagine that kind of hurt. Yet I know we all celebrate and rejoice that she has gone home, her body restored beyond perfection and she is dancing (most likely in the dorkiest way possible) in Heaven with God.

Mom, I miss you. I love you. I will see you again someday when us girls can all go riding together on streets paved with gold. 

Rest in Peace.

Help Sherry's Family
If you can spare even a few dollars I ask that you click the link above and donate to help the family cover the funeral expenses. With all the hurt of losing Sherry I pray they do not have to worry about money right now.