Grace is eating cereal....and has RSV

Yes, you read that right. We've moved from croup to RSV. We spent Sunday morning in the ER again (my mom came with this time, for which I was very thankful). Our friend Cindy was working that day, so we got in right away and were treated very well. They diagnosed her with RSV, but her O2 levels are good, she's eating well, and doesn't have a fever, so they did not admit her. Grace is doing really well, so you'd never know that she was sick. Hopefully that's a precursor to her personality...not much bugs her, and she smiles and talks all the time!

Yesterday I fed her about a tablespoon of rice cereal, and she loved it! By the time she was finished, she had gotten the hang of eating and was sucking on the spoon wanting more. (See the pictures above). Now, if we could just get her healthy and get rid of the cough, things would be alright!

The bottom picture is of Grace hanging on to Lily's hair. When Lily gets in Grace's face, Grace grabs a hold of Lily's hair and won't let go. Glad to see that's she's standing up for herself already.

Next week, we're going to take our trailer to southern California, so stay tuned for mobile updates on the blog. We'll be sure to post pictures of us on the beach and riding our bikes on the boardwalk to make those Midwest readers a little jealous!

a whirlwind weekend...

We have a had a whirlwind of a weekend since Saturday! On Sunday we baptized Grace in a meaningful service. It's such a privilege to be able to do that in front of everyone, and we loved sharing it with our family and friends. As our pastor said, it's very reassuring to have everyone standing behind you, promising to help you raise your child to know our amazing God. We enjoyed a very nice lunch at our house afterwards and were even able to sit outside! Then, we anticipated an uneventful evening at bible study with our friends, but when we got home, the babysitter said Grace was coughing pretty badly. She was wheezing and coughing when I got her up to check on her, and we were a little nervous. We ended up taking her in to the ER (see picture of her with her hospital bracelet), and she has croup. She is doing much better now, but it was pretty scary for a bit. She did keep smiling in spite of it all, though. The hospital staff was amazed! Then, after a night with no sleep, we woke up to Lily celebrating her fourth birthday! She had a great day: lots of presents, McDonalds with her dad for lunch, and pizza with our family at night. She thought she was a princess all day. Last night I only had to get up twice, and Grace slept pretty good. She sounds much better, so hopefully she's on the mend! I am so thankful for our family... Brooke, who we could call in the middle of the night to come get Lily so we could take Grace to the hospital. My parents, who stayed home with Grace so we could still celebrate Lily's birthday last night. And everyone else who supports and encourages us and loves our kids!

Still learning....

Not the greatest picture of the girls, but Lily loves to hold her sister. I just figured out how to add pictures to a post, so I am trying it out!

Grace rolled over from her back to her tummy on Saturday. Sunday there was no stopping her! She rolled over every chance she got. Of course, she can't figure out what to do once she's rolled over, but we're working on it!

This and that...

It's been a busy week in our household. We were lucky enough to have Anna Marie at our house for 5 days while Kevin and Brooke celebrated Kevin's 30th birthday in Park City, Utah, skiing with friends. Lily and Anna Marie got along pretty well, and there were no major catastrophes! I've included 4 new pictures for you to enjoy. Lily was messing around with her milk from oatmeal breakfast, and I captured the "Got Milk?" picture of her. I think we should send it to the Milk Processing Board! Anna Marie liked to wake up Lily in the morning, so here's a picture of them together in Lily's bed. Anna Marie would run into Lily's room, climb on the bed, and squeal until Lily would wake up. It was pretty cute, even at 6:30 in the morning. "Dolly with the tag" is on the blog to show you Lily's very well loved Dolly that she's had since she was a week old. That doll goes a lot of places and hardly ever gets washed anymore, for fear it will completely fall apart. There's no stuffing left in her, and she's got lots of rips and tears. Lily loves her "Dolly with the tag," and can't go to bed without it. It's also featured in the last photo, which shows Lily and Grace watching Lily's favorite show, "Curious George." I bought that Bumbo chair that Grace is sitting in last week. She likes being able to sit up and see the world, and she's gotten stronger even in the last few days. And for the big news....Grace rolled over for the first time today! She has been trying for over a week now, and it was fun for Lily and I to be able to see her actually do it!

On the right are a few links to webpages I enjoy. The Orange Bell is handiwork by our friends and family, Kevin and Robyn Olsen. They are a very creative couple who collaborates in making beautiful, unique jewelry. My friend Kimberly is the one who turned me on to blogging, and you can see her blog with the link on the right. She and her husband recently adopted a boy, Thys, from China.

Pictures of the girls

Our friend, Breanne Schaap, started her own photography business recently. We had her at our home on Friday to take pictures of Lily and Grace. I posted the link on the left to her blog. She's posted a few pictures of Lily with more to probably come. I also appreciate reading her daily Bible verses. Anyone who appreciates images with a thoughtful eye will enjoy looking at Breanne's pictures. Look for more pictures that I've taken of the girls soon. We have Anna Marie staying with us this week, so it should prove to be ripe for picture opportunities!