And....we have a walker!!!

It is official.  She is walking.  :)

V has been walking between 8-15 steps for a couple of weeks.  She has been just taking off and walking towards anywhere she wants for the last week.  But, then she always takes 3-15 steps and plops down, sometimes out of nervousness, sometimes she just loses her balance.

But, tonight, she rounded a corner.  She took off walking and didn't fall.  She just is walking everywhere and she is sooooooooooooooo proud of herself.  I love watching my children learn and grow.  This is so much fun.  :)  She still falls on occasion, of course, but she is just walking pretty much where ever she wants and I could watch her all day!  :)

Hopefully soon I can add a picture to this post.  -sigh- We will see about that one!  Life is quite crazy these days.  I am so grateful that we already had prayed and planned on this next baby.  I am glad that I am 15 weeks pregnant.  With all this craziness, I might've said, "I can't do it." and I would never have the joy of this coming infant in our home.  Isn't God great?  He works in the best ways for us!  I am so blessed!

Another First Day!

 And...we have another first day of school.  Hard to believe they are back already.  It is even more difficult to believe just how old they are!!

 C started 7th grade today.  He was definitely the least nervous...hardly at all.  He is such a talented kid.  I am proud of him.  This year brings Honor Band (way to go!...He had to try out to get in) and football.  He begins practices tomorrow early (6:30 or 7:00).

 Here is my little J, only he isn't so little any more.  Perhaps you can guess which grade he is entering?  Yep 1st.  He is so much more capable than he was in Kindergarten.  He was nervous, but not upset.  School is a routine for him now. 

 As he sits at his desk, he is trying to convince us of how sad he is! 

Then, of course, there is my K.  She began high school (9th grade) this year.  Oh my!  She is so ready, but she was very nervous.  As I dropped her off, it felt a little like taking her to Kindergarten - leaving my baby in a strange, new, and big school and trusting she would make it. 

I know she will be fine.  In a day or two, after the kinks are worked out, she will be more than fine, she will thrive.  But, for now, I am just praying for a good day for her.

I don't feel like it really has been 14 years since I became a mom, but she is the evidence.  I guess I am getting older.  I don't feel "old," just I know that having a child in high school makes me seem ancient to many.

V is such a happy baby.  She is just playing around, mostly by herself.  She is walking 8-12 steps at a time (although occasionally she still falls after two) and she is just letting go and taking off walking with no destination in mind.  It won't be long until that is all she does!  I am grateful today especially for her good nature.  I have severe leg pain that may or may not be pregnancy related (it doesn't seem to be, but you never know) and the pain woke me up around two this morning, never to go back to sleep.  Needless to say, between lack of sleep and continuing pain, I am dragging.  Thank goodness V is so good at entertaining herself.  In so many ways, she is a blessing to me. 

And, I miss A.  It has been nearly a month already since we saw her.  I wish we lived closer.  I am also ready for this new baby....not ready for it to be born, but just excited that I get to be a Mom again. 

Stuck Under the Ottoman

 So, yes that happened today.  V crawled under the ottoman after a block and got all the way under and stuck, except for just her little toesies on one foot.  I would have loved a picture, but I couldn't leave her stuck.

This wasn't true yesterday, however.  All of a sudden, I hear her complaining from across the room.  When I went to see what was the matter, I found that she was stuck in her toy basket.  She had walked in, sat down, and couldn't get out.  My camera was right there, so I did take her picture before rescuing her.  

 This is another fun face of V:

 All the kids are exceptional with her.  C is one of them.  He loves to carry her on his shoulders and they both have so much fun.  I am so blessed with such amazing children.  So very blessed indeed.

Finally, two days ago, V turned 11 months old.  It is hard to capture a very mobile 11-month-old with her "number day."  Here are some of the many faces of V:

 V is such a joy to have in our home.  She is very happy and well-mannered.  She is into everything, but that is expected for her age.  She will take 3-5 steps at a time, between objects or people, but when she isn't walking solo, she has a "walker" toy that she pushes all around and walks behind and loves it!  She has figured out how to walk around it and push from the front if she runs into something.  She has also discovered how to turn the corners to go around the island in the kitchen.

She loves to do "Soooo big" and "Peek a Boo."  She will say "Amen" at the end of a prayer and "peeeessseee" if she wants more food.  She also says "Jesus" and loves to look at His picture.   She also knows how to shake her head "no" and nod her head "yes," although I don't think she is quite to using them to respond to us.  She will, however, if we tell her "no," shake her head as if to acknowledge what we said.

In other news, we got to see our new baby via ultrasound today.  I am so relieved.  I am always nervous about losing a baby after the one that we lost almost two years ago.  He/She was waving at us on ultrasound, is measuring big, and has a steady and perfect heartbeat.  I am so grateful.  He/She also has two arms, two legs, a little bum, and a large head.  We could see the profile and watched him/her move.  I am so grateful.  Life is such a miracle.  It really is.  I am blessed to be part of it by getting to carry these babies of mine.  (Oh, and much to the consternation of K, C, and A, there is only one baby and not twins.  Thank goodness!!)

I am soooo exhausted all the time.  I have little energy on a daily basis.  Maybe now that I am 14.5 weeks and in the second trimester, it will begin to come back.  Ha!!!  Even if I wasn't pregnant, we have K starting early morning seminary at 6:00, then C goes to football practice around 6:30, then we go get K from seminary, then J goes to school about 7:10, then, finally, K goes to school (leaving on the bus) about 8:10.  Yikes!!  What a crazy life we lead!!  I really don't know how I will function, but I will just put one foot in front of the other and one day in front of the next and we will make it.  CK is so supportive.  I know we can do this. 

So, I may not blog very often....tomorrow we begin early morning practice schedule.  It happens for real on Monday.  We have been practicing at night for the entire week, but it is now time to wake up early.  -sigh-  Hardest on Mommy this year, I am sure.

Amazing!

Just the fact that I am taking the time to post, even briefly is amazing!  I have so much to share and so much that I want to remember, but......I cannot run faster than I have strength and this pregnancy is really taking it out of me.  I am unable to do many things that I have to just put on a "someday" list and try my hardest to forget about them.  Not easy for my personality, but I am doing better (of necessity).

Today, though, I had a great time.  V and I drove over to visit my dear, dear friend that moved just over a year ago.  I am lucky in that we get to talk frequently and that we still see each other a few times each year.  Iit is always a treat to be able to be together.  I love her and respect her and just getting to visit was such a blessing to me.  Her kids adored V and just loved her so much.  It was wonderful to watch.  I cannot express enough how grateful I am that I went.  I am grateful that CK is always supportive and encouraging.  Such a blessing.  He helps me want to do things like this.  I am grateful.

It is kind of an odd week.  We had to say goodbye to A on Saturday, as she went back to her other home.  We also had to say goodbye to K, C, and J as they are on vacation with their dad for an entire week!  It is just V and CK and I.  Very quiet and very different than having all five kids running around.  I miss all four of them.  XDH has never taken his three for this long.  I am grateful that he is choosing to take time off work and make these memories with them.  I will be sooooooooooooooo ready to have them home and ready for them to be back, but, for now, I am grateful they can bond with Dad.

I just barely downloaded all 350-ish pictures from our Colorado, Utah, and Idaho summer trip, as well as all the rest of our summer activities.  -sigh-  I have a lot to catch up on.  One day at a time.  One day at a time.