Merry Christmas, Family of Six!

Davis Family – 11/2012

January—Jordan had been home one month and we were all getting to know each other. He was one traumatized little boy and spent most of his time grinding his teeth and hiding from us. He could crawl, but didn’t crawl much. He only played with his one toy. He had eye, ear and heart appointments shuffled in with normal family things. Anna was 4 1/2 years old, Maggie was 2, Jordan was 2 1/2. The very day that Brian went back to work… we found out about Carolyn. I was 4-5 weeks pregnant then.

All in the life of a parent. (Look how tiny Jordan was!)

February—Let’s see… morning sickness hit me really hard this pregnancy. I was so exhausted and yucky feeling 24/7. It was definitely one of the more grueling times in my life. We didn’t really have much go on this month…. Lots of me wishing Brian didn’t have to work so that I could stay in bed. Alas, no such luck! 🙂

My picture albums show that we took a time out from feeling sick to go to the beach with friends! (Take a back seat and wait your turn, morning sickness!)

March— Hooray! Second Trimester! I think we all got sick this month. Haha We had a little bit of snow and I was beginning to enjoy life again! I was cooking, blogging, and getting to know Jordan. Jordan was coming out of his shell and beginning to explore and allow us into his life some. He was eating well from a spoon and was thankfully over the first hump of food refusals. (Thankfully, he has never refused yogurt!) We had a few visits from Early Intervention which was helpful.

Looks like a family trip to the zoo was needed in March too! Jordan wasn’t impressed, but we’ll give it another shot in another year or so.

April—Oh April, how you bring the promise of summer! We found out that we were having another little princess this month! Everything looked great at the ultrasound and it was fun having the big girls with us for it. (A friend offered to watch Jordan, since he tends to panic in small rooms or when being restrained.) Jordan had grown so much stronger and more active and was standing in the middle of the room and even attempting a few steps! Our big girl Anna graduated Cubbies (AWANA) this month and I was sooooo glad that Brian wouldn’t be gone during the evening every week any more.

Anna had a very special fifth birthday party with a few friends!

May—This was a fun month! Anna had her first swimming lessons this month every Monday and Wednesday with her good friend Shaylee. I really enjoyed watching her grow in confidence and have so much fun! It was a little interesting juggling Maggie and Jordan with my pregnant belly. This pregnancy was particularly difficult in terms of pain and mobility… whew! So glad to be able to be capable of moving faster than a waddle again! The second half of this month we were all sick. Lol I’m just going through what my calendar said!

Some lady felt the need to let me know that pool floors are gross. I know that, ok? Next person to inform me may carry Mr. Floppy-Pants for the next hour.

June—More swimming lessons! Jordan got tubes put in his ears this month and we saw a huge change in his vocalizations and understanding during this month. The tubes precipitated us being able to tell him no-no, which is absolutely essential for keeping a mobile little one safe! Anna went to Vacation Bible School for the first time and I was foolish enough to sign up to help with childcare there. I was so tired! On June 11th, we got a random request to view our house. I had put a “make me move” price on Zillow without thinking much about it. June 20th we signed an offer and we were preparing to move! OH MY GOODNESS. I was pregnant and not getting around great. I had my three little people and so many wonderful friends locally. And it was time for God to answer our prayers about moving! All aboard folks!

Happy days!

July—By the end of this month, we were in a new home. Meanwhile, I was just about as stretched as I’ve ever been. (Seems to be a theme for this year!) I wanted all my little birdies settled in a nest, but we didn’t have one yet! Family and friends wrapped themselves around us and pulled us through. Thank you everybody. There really are no words to express your gifts to us.

Everybody but the kids were tired! (Oh, Anna had ballet lessons this month!!!)

August—At last. Home. Home. Home! Not moving. Not packing. Not looking for a place. It was time to take care of us. We settled in. We did lots of normal family things. We played outside in the grass and dirt and met our great neighbors. I discovered that Anna and Maggie were city girls as they were pretty funny discovering dirt, bugs, sticks, roosters, beetles and all such things that exist here on our 1 acre rental lot. It’s been FANTASTIC.

Country boy on the “farm.”

September—A little bit of false alarm labor and some visits from family started off the month. Visits to a few local churches and about a week of overdue waiting prepared us for Carolyn’s speedy arrival. After an intense, mind-boggling hour and 20 minutes of labor, Carolyn Grace Davis entered the world into her Papa’s hands on the 15th. She was a perfect 8 lbs. 6 oz. little girl with short brown hair and kissable, smooshy cheeks. The first two weeks of post-partum are always pretty painful for me, but it passed without incident and I was very happy.

Scene of action.

Hello little Miss Smooshy!

October-December—Can I just smoosh these three months together? We had great company and good times. It’s been an easier adjustment than I thought—going from three to four little ones. I don’t feel like I’m really on my feet yet and I’ve made the occasional SOS call to bring Brian home from work… but I never claimed I was superwoman!

So my sweet babies are 5 1/2, 3 1/2, 3 and 3 months old now. It’s amazing. Where has the time gone? I am really looking forward to this next year. I have plans for some homeschool time for Anna that I really hope to pull through. It’s not going to be anything big…. Well, from your perspective. From my perspective, I will be super proud of myself if I can sit down alone with her every day for 30 minutes! I just love to think about the things coming up…

Silly girls!

Smitten

Little stinker

Merry Christmas everybody! Happy New Year! Go do something BIG with your life! God can handle it.