Just for Giggles!!!

Pictures of all my babies at 3 months old.

Brianna ..................................... Mikayla



David

Uh oh. Ben just caught me and he is none to happy.

Not sure why Ben needs to find the largest blanket in the house and wrap the smallest member of the family in it.

Peacefully sleeping on the couch now, but sometime tonight Ben will put him in the cradle still wrapped in the massive blanket and then around 2 a.m. I'll get frustrated I can't figure out how to get David out.

Early Intervention

Ben and I have decided to do early intervention with Mikayla. At 21 months (this Sunday) she will have a three word vocabulary (more, ball, up).

After playing with and watching her play and asking me LOTS of questions they came up with percentile ranks for her. They said the normal range is from 12% to 95%. Don't know how they got a base for them, but I thought they were interesting.

Mikayla's Percentile Ranks
gross motor 84%
fine motor 98%
cognitive 62% (learning tasks)
receptive language 75% (understands)
expressive language 1% (uses)
self help 50% (since then she has learned to take her own shoes off)
social emotional 87%

We know she just has a delay and that she will talk. People tell me that she'll talk, don't worry about it, but that isn't want I want to hear. I know they mean well and are just trying to reassure me and I appreciate it, but I already know that she'll talk. I want to hear her talk. I want to hear her say momma. I want her to find her voice and discover the joy in talking. I want to hear her. Selfish, yes, but 'tis the season.:)

I took Mikayla to get her hearing and vision tested today and couldn't take Brianna with, so I left her home. I cried almost the whole way to the development center. Brianna is my little sidekick and goes EVERY where with me. I seriously can not have a baby shortly before she goes to school.

Lets just say it has taken me a while to get back to "normal" hormone levels. I was super emotional for awhile there (sorry Ben), but am feeling more in control. And to prove it I no longer cry when Ben gives me a candy bar as a surprise.

Hopefully with help, Mikayla will speak soon. Perhaps I'll have a change of heart when she's never quite, but until then I'm getting her help.

Twelve

Since there are 12 days to Thanksgiving, I thought I would share 12 things I'm thankful for. These are coming in no particular order, well just as they pop into my head or were taken on the camera.

Cold and sore throat medicine with sleep aides.

Snowy days. The office is dead and Ben doesn't have to go outside and work.

David! We love having both genders. He adds soo much joy to our lives. We are very grateful we got him to be our son.

Everyone who has given us something to help with our surprise boy. Grandma Johnson gave us the lion onies and I love it! Ben's fav is the shirt from Loralee.

My visiting teachers who come faithfully every month, according to my memory. I love my visiting teachers.

My sewing machine Ben got me. I thought I'd just use it for simple mending. Silly me. But I love seeing my girls in cute jammies I made.

Mikayla! She is so silly and brightens our days. You would think that at 12 weeks old the novelty of David would have worn off, but no. She loves her siblings and we love watching it.

Strollers. They have a magical way of making everyone happy.

Super quick and easy dinners that are also yummy. Chili cheese dogs is a favorite here. Also grilled sandwiches with tomato soup.

Our new and improved couch. It's comfier then it looks.

Baby boy blankets. After my LITTLE break down so many people gave to us and I'm very grateful.

Brianna! She keeps us honest and on our toes. We are so proud of her. She is such a big help with so much.
Ben! I love him deeply and am incredibly grateful for everything he does for me.

There is so much more that I'm grateful for. The list could go on and on.

I truly hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

50 Days

Just to go with my new background and to give everyone a chance to get out and get me something nice and thoughtful... there are 50 days to Christmas!

Halloween Costumes

Brianna wanted to be a fairy and Mikayla had to be one too.

Ben didn't want David to be a cat so we settled on Superman.

Trick or treating! Brianna was devastated that I forgot the wings at home so I ran to the store and bought new ones (at lot faster then the forty minute drive home to get old ones). I think the original wings were cuter, but the girls were super excited to get new ones.

Looking cute at grandma and grandpa's house while eating candy.
All my kids were adorable flying around!

We hope everyone had a fun Halloween. We sure did.