Picture Updates

We're having a great lilac year!

This one is her Mommy's daughter!! This is obvious if you've seen baby pictures of me....


My outdoorsy girls.

Three months.

Finally, a hat this one will tolerate!

The life of the youngest child.

Ready for church.

Two months, three weeks, contemplating life.

Blowing bubbles with Grandpa at Cousin Mark and Alissa's wedding last weekend.

The Lord's Prayer

I'm quite sure our Miss Mouse has the strangest requests for bedtime songs of any child in the area. Last week she was praying and praying and praying, which is just fine and wonderful, but I couldn't take a whole lot more of praying for the 'lamp, Grammy's cats, the door, Grammy's cats, the bathroom, Grammy's cats, etc.'. So, I suggested we say the Lord's Prayer. She thought that was great and wanted to pray it over and over, too. Again, this is a good thing, but after the third time, we were stuck again. I decided we could sing it. Yes, indeed, I do a mean rendition of The Lord's Prayer. Mean. Anyway, it has become her new favorite bedtime song. She sang "heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, which are heaven" all the way home from a wedding this weekend.

Baby Mouse has had several amazing days. After being told last week that we needed to work with her to straighten out her neck, we seem to be making some progress. It seems that she was so 'right oriented' that she was actually shortening the muscles on the one side of her neck because she refused to use them. I couldn't figure out what could have been perpetuating this problem. We would go in for a chiropractic adjustment; she would adjust well, and then she'd be out again in a couple of days. She's been an incredibly gaseous, fussy little gal, who had a look on her face almost constantly that said "I really don't want to cry; I'm so sorry; I just don't feel good!". It's been pretty tough. The only way she would sleep for the first six weeks of her life was on my chest....with her head facing right. I never even gave it a thought. She napped in her little Moby Wrap on my chest for 3-4 hours a day (2-3 hours at a shot, twice a day)....with her head facing right. Our chiropractor told me, as I had tears in my eyes from realizing that I was probably to blame for this situation, that most of the problem probably stems from a interuterine position. Good to know, but I'm sure it has probably been made worse from how I have allowed her to cuddle with me. Not that the cuddling has been bad, but I never thought to force her neck the other direction, and now it is nearly impossible. So, she has been spending most of her naps in her carseat now with her head in a neutral position. Thankfully one of my double strollers has a carseat attachment so that we can go for walks with the carseat. And there are always errands to run, of course!

Anyway, with the modifications we've been making in the past few days, she has started sleeping consistently from 10:30-4:30, eating at 4:30, eating on the other side at 6:30, and sleeping until 9:30. She doesn't have nearly as much gas, and she has been cooing and gazing into my eyes when she's awake instead of looking uncomfortable. It's been incredibly rewarding, especially since it has been incredibly hard to not let her cuddle up in her favorite position! We still cuddle an awful lot, and I hope that continues....just perhaps with her head facing left.

More news on Baby Mouse:
*She is starting to grasp things in her hands! She has started out much stronger in the left hand, similar to her sister. It will be interesting to see if she continues that way as Miss Mouse has.
*She really does gaze into my eyes much more than Miss Mouse. Miss Mouse was cuddly, but not as cuddly as Baby Mouse. Miss Mouse enjoyed seeing me, but not nearly in the way Baby Mouse seems to. Baby Mouse will gaze and get this beautiful, loving look on her face and just stare at me for several minutes at a time! Oh, to be loved!

News on Miss Mouse:
*She repeatedly counts to 16 these days. Usually it is for no reason at all, but she almost always gets the sequence correct. Sometimes there are a few numbers left out, and I know she doesn't have the concept down completely. But it's a start!
*Today she told me that she had a "sharp fingernail". Then she said she had two of them. Then she said she had one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve of them. I told her that was interesting since she only has ten fingers. Such fun!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

On Sunday as I was getting ready for church, Miss Mouse went out of the bathroom on a mission to get books to read to her little sis. She came running back in (I peek out of the shower curtain regularly) with a stack of books. First was Brown Bear, Brown Bear. She read the whole thing to Baby Mouse who listened attentively. It sounded like: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What see, Brown Bear, Brown Bear?" then each successive animal, "Purple Cat, Purple Cat, What see, Purple Cat, Purple Cat?" until she got to "T-shirt, T-shirt, What see, t-shirt, t-shirt?" That would be, uh, "teacher". Close.

The next book was The Three Little Pigs which came out "Piggy, piggy", turn the page, "Piggy, piggy", next page, "Piggy, piggy". And so on and so forth.

Then was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. That was "Light. Moon. Egg. Leaf. Warm sun. Berry hungry! Two pears. Two pears. Two pears. Still berry hungry. Cake. Cheese. Sausage. Tummy ache!!! Green leaf. Felt better. Big, fat caterpillar. Nibble hole. Butterfly!" She got the main ideas, I suppose.

I took a longer shower than planned because it was just so sweet to listen. As I blew my hair dry, she read Baby Mouse a 'touch and feel' book. She took her hand to touch each page. Baby Mouse looked at me like "I'll put up with this, Mommy, because I am such a sweet baby". I laughed and laughed. I'm hoping to get the whole process on video sometime.

Rollercoaster Week

It's been a rollercoaster of a week here. It seems like a long time ago, but just one week ago we were celebrating Mothers' Day. Mr. T. took me out for frozen yogurt on Saturday night since he and a friend were leaving immediately after church on Mothers' Day to make it to another friend's wedding in Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day with the girls. The kids at church sang a song with "Happy Mothers' Day" in it. Miss Mouse picked up the chorus and sang it around the house all day. Pretty special. In the afternoon we went out to eat with a friend, her daughter (they happened to be the significant others of the friend Mr. T. went to the wedding with, so they were having a 'girls day', too), and my mother-in-law. It was a good time. Miss Mouse ended the meal with food from ear to ear. Baby Mouse slept right through. Then the girls and I and Grandma headed out to the lake. It was a treat to be there overnight. We made it back right before a rain storm hit on Monday afternoon. Mr. T. was already back from the wedding, so we had a nice evening together.

Mothers' Day is a tough day, as well. One of many, I guess. It's such a blessing to get to celebrate with my two girls now....but the memories of my first Mothers' Day are still close. The WELCA at church presented us with a check for the gift of our choice; they wanted to hold off on the shower until after the baby was born because we hadn't found out whether we were having a boy or girl. They wanted to recognize Mothers' Day for us, though. We went out to eat after church to a pizza buffet, and I was offered a sundae - they were free for mommies that day. I declined. I was watching my figure after all....watching it get bigger, that is. Anyway, the excitement, expectation, joy, and optimism of that day were shattered not a month later. The women who were so excited to throw a baby shower and help babysit ended up throwing a funeral instead. It left us feeling loved and supported, but it certainly wasn't the way anyone expected to support us on Mothers' Day 2005. I suppose those memories just make the current Mothers' Days even more precious. These days are like a dream that I don't ever want to end. I've lived somewhat of a nightmare, and this, with a wonderful husband and two beautiful, healthy little girls, this is a dream. Sometimes I have to take a deep breath, sort of like sucking in mountain air, to try to take it all in.

So, that emotional rollercoaster started the week off. Tuesday the girls and I went to a going-away party. It was held in one of my former classrooms. Again, there were a lot of ghosts and memories there from a time before Hope. A more naive time, I guess. I'm glad we went. Another alumnus of my graduate program recognized me and talked to me about her daughter and son-in-law who had lost a baby girl last year. Can't say I ever wanted to be recognized as the woman who lost a child, too, but it's healing for me to be able to talk with other people....I'm not sure I ever say anything helpful, but sometimes I think it's more just giving them a chance to talk to someone who they know understands what they're saying.

By Friday, we were happy to wake up to a warm, sunny day. I had a hair appointment (long overdue) for myself and Miss Mouse. It's a 50 mile drive or so for our hair appointments. By the time we got there, it was pouring rain and freezing cold! Terrible Mommy hadn't even brought Baby Mouse a blanket!! Miss Mouse had her first professional hair cut, getting her bangs trimmed. She did great and sat like a perfect little lady. All the way down she said "ask her. trim my bangs. ask her" because I had told her we'd have to ask and see if there was time (I hadn't mentioned Miss Mouse when I made my appointment). She was so excited that Jill had time to trim her hair.

Since we were so close, I had to make a stop at the cemetery. I don't go regularly. This time of year, though, I feel a strong pull there. We'll go again on June 2nd. Again this year someone beat me to putting flowers out. She has a beautiful little bouquet of bright pink ones. It was pouring still, so I just jumped out and left the Mice in the car. Baby Mouse was still sleeping, but Miss Mouse had questions this year....

Miss Mouse: "What doin', Mama?"
Me: "I want to visit Baby Hope's grave."
Miss Mouse: "Oh. I visit, too."
Me: "No, honey, it's raining. You can visit next time if it isn't raining."
Miss Mouse: "Oh. I visit next time! I visit Baby Hope!"

A little while later when Miss Mouse notices I'm crying (the flowers get me every year....it's just awe-some).
Miss Mouse: "Mama crying. Why Mama crying?"
Me: "Mama's crying because I miss Baby Hope. I wish she lived here with us."
Miss Mouse: "Oh. I love Baby Hope. Baby Hope loves you." (sidenote: She calls herself "you").
Me: "Yes, I'm sure she would have loved you."
Miss Mouse: "Baby Hope loves you. Baby Hope loves you. Baby Hope loves you."

On the way out of town:
Miss Mouse: "Baby Hope lives here."
Me: "No, Baby Hope lives in Heaven."
Miss Mouse: "Oh. Yeah, Heaven. Baby Hope loves you."
Me: "Yep, yep, yep. Baby Hope would have really loved you."

At home, she decided she wanted to look at pictures. She found Hope's book and sat down with her Daddy to look. She pointed out Baby Hope in all the pictures as well as who was holding her.
We were both pretty quiet when she saw the last picture and said "Baby Hope covered blankets. Baby Hope trying stay warm." Yep. What else do you say at this point.

Ugh. Things I never imagined having to explain to a 2-year-old.

When we got home, I began my routine of parking the car, unlocking the door myself, going back for Baby Mouse and her carseat, and then bringing in Miss Mouse. I stopped at unlocking the door because I smelled burning in the house. Aaahh! I sniffed around and felt the basement door and ascertained there was not a flame fire anywhere. I was still worried about something electrical, so I grabbed the phone and called Mr. T. Then I ran the girls over to the neighbors. Poor Baby Mouse hadn't eaten in four hours, and the neighbors had carpet layers at their place. They pulled the girls in the door right away anyway, and I met Mr. T. at the door. We figured out it was likely the blower fan burning out. Thankfully we were able to get it fixed before five on a Friday night. Quite the bill, but at least we have a fan.

I was heading back to our house from the neighbors just as our guests for the afternoon were walking up the driveway. Close friends of ours from Enderlin were in for the day and wanted to stop by to meet the newest Mouse. The rollercoaster continued as I saw one of the men carrying a faith chest up the driveway. He began making faith chests for every child baptized in that church a few years before we left. I was sad that Baby Mouse wouldn't have one like her older sister.....now she has one. So special....of course, I cried. What a puddle I am!

Oh, to top off the adventure on Friday, Miss Mouse had her doll, Mickey, going tinkle in the morning while I was feeding Baby Mouse. Normally this is fine. That day she decided Mickey had to wipe. And wipe. And wipe. And wipe. I was yelling "pretend!", but before I got there, she had the whole roll in the toilet. She solemnly says she will not ever do it again. I had no time to dig it out before we had to leave for our hair appointments, so, with the chaos of arriving home to a burned out fan and the fact that the basement bathroom wasn't put together yet from the flood (it is now!), we had no useable toilets in our house when our guests arrived. Good thing they are close friends!

What a week. What a rollercoaster. What a ride!

Milestones for us all

As you can tell from the heading picture and the picture of Miss Mouse above, the crocuses were outstanding this year at the farm. A friend recently mentioned that she didn't realize they grew in the wild. My response was that until a couple years ago, I didn't realize they could grow anywhere else.

We've all had quite a few milestones lately.

Here are a few from Miss Mouse:

*Gave up her pacifier at about 25 months....right after her two year molars all came through and surprisingly close to when Baby Mouse (avec le pacifier) moved in. One night the white pacifier was lost, so I thought I'd try out how it would go if I told her the two green ones were lost as well. She said "oh" and hasn't had one since. I held off until after the molars were through because the sucking motion helped her ears drain. Apparently she was ready to give it up!

*Potty training is still going strong. We're in "pretty pants" which are basically reinforced panties without the plastic outer covers now. There are still accidents fairly often, but she's really into being a "little girl" instead of a "baby". There are little girl privileges such as turning on the tv for the news, helping Mommy cook, etc. that she doesn't want to miss out on by wearing a diaper except for naps and bedtimes.

*Gave up rocking to sleep around 24 months. Right around the time we brought Baby Mouse home, Miss Mouse decided she'd rather go to sleep in her bed. I still stayed and sang until she was asleep and then tiptoed out of the room. This turned into a bit of a struggle, as she would force her eyes to stay open so that I would sing longer. We instituted a rule called "you have to have your eyes closed, or I won't sing". It helped for awhile but turned into one more thing I had to be 'bossy' about (obviously I'm bossy a lot as the mother of a toddler....). The past few weeks, it has been working just very, very well for us to read a book, say prayers, and for me to sing "Kitty, Kitty" (my family are likely the only ones to know this song....who knew it would be passed onto another generation!!!) and two verses of "How Great Thou Art" and then to just leave the room after goodnight kisses. There were many times during the teething months where I wondered if I'd be rocking her until she was 15. I thought I must be crazy still rocking a toddler, especially when almost all the literature and "research" on proper child development tells parents not to rock a child until she is asleep. Everything I've read says that she couldn't possibly have learned how to fall asleep on her own unless I let her "cry it out" at some point and "trained" her by forcing her....I'm sure that is true for some children. All are different, and so, of course, the smooth transition we've had with The Mouse wouldn't happen with some. But, I'm glad I held out for this transition. Waiting until she was ready to fall asleep on her own is, perhaps, the best decision we've made so far. Keep in mind, I don't post the bad decisions! :)

*Counting - up to three is really solid. We're shaky but can sort of go up to ten. We're working on French numbers now. She used to yell at me when I'd speak it to her...most days she likes it now.

*Talking - five word sentences are very common. She repeats everything we say.

*Praying - We still pray every night for Grammy's cats. I guess she can sense any cat of her Grammy's would need a lot of prayer. We also pray for Baby Mouse's tummy ache and Daddy every night. Everyone else gets a varied amount of prayer, but those cats, Baby Mouse, and Daddy are regulars.

Baby Mouse:

*She is a super-smiley little gal. Super, super cuddly, too. She naps on my chest in the recliner or in the Moby Wrap if we're outside with Miss Mouse. She'll sleep a solid three hours that way. Miss Mouse was a cuddly baby, but this little Baby Mouse just outdoes her older sister in that way completely!

*She's gotten lots less fussy. This is a major accomplishment for all in the household! Miss Mouse also talks about how it is "hard when Baby Mouse cries", so for all involved, especially Baby Mouse herself, we are thankful for this.

*She slept from 11-6:30 when she was 10 weeks old. Now if we can just get this to be a trend we'll all be doing really well!

*She had her first hotel stay at nine weeks for my small business conference. She did just as well as her sister did with her first stay. We'll hope this trend continues, as well, even though we don't do a whole lot of hotel overnights.

The Mouse King:

*Has grown a full beard.

*Has full range of motion back in his shoulder and, consequently, has completed therapy!!! Yay!!!

*Has gotten back on his bike.