A couple nights ago, Emerald asked if she could sleep in her big girl bed.
Since Gabriel sleeps in our bed, Emerald has been doing the jealousy thing and wanting to sleep in a pallet beside our bed. It has been a problem because I have to get up to pee about a thousand times a night, and her pallet makes it difficult to walk around the room to get to the bathroom.
But the other night she asked if she could sleep in her big girl bed, so I helped her clean up and set up her room, put her blankets on her bed, pick out a few stuffed animals to lay down with her...we did the whole bedtime routine thing where they take a bath, I sing a few songs to them, we read a book, say prayer, and have hugs and kisses time before they go to sleep.
She laid awake for a while, but as soon as Michael kissed her goodnight, she fell right to sleep and stayed there all night! She didn't get out of bed until I woke her up at 8 the next morning.
Ever since then, she has slept in her room--she is very proud of being on her own. I am a little more skittish with her sleeping so far away, but I'll get over it.
Other good things...Gabriel keeps trying to talk. It isn't consistent, but sometimes he will try and say "hi" or mimic Mike saying "I love you!". He is putting more effort into socializing, being more affectionate, and much more engaged. I think it's because he is getting a lot more of his sensory needs met, but we are all very grateful--it is nice to see Gabriel making some progress.
We did his yearly evaluation with ECI (I may have mentioned it before) but it shows that he has been improving across the board, in all developmental fields. In motor skills, he is actually advanced for his age! His progress is about 5-7 months in each area. It is really encouraging to see these things because it is so, so easy to get caught up in what he is not doing that it feels like we are just treading water, not moving forward at all.
Despite all my pregnancy woes, Benjamin is doing fantastically. He is growing well, always passes his NST's with no trouble at all...he is healthy and beautiful and perfect. This is the best that I could hope and pray for. Who cares what happens to me--I can handle it--but I don't want it negatively affect my little boy. Thankfully, it is not.
Michael's work has been super understanding with letting him take time off of work to be with me for doctor's appointments and to stay home and help me. They are a wonderful set of people, and I am happy most days that Michael works there. I know it is not his dream job, or even one he enjoys, but they do take good care of us, and they are so flexible and agreeable. We never have to worry that Michael will lose his job because he had to choose to be with me over going into work one day. Obviously if he is not there, he is unable to sell so we want to keep that to a minimum, and we don't want to lose the faith of the management so we would never abuse the privilege, but it is nice to know that if we need it, we don't have to be afraid to ask.
I am selfishly thankful that Beth has not had to move out of town yet. I know it is coming, and I will not make it worse for her having to leave when the time comes, but I have really loved having her here near us. She spent so much time away--in New York, in Austin--that for a stretch of a few years there, we never got to see one another, and it has been just amazing to have her just a few minutes away. And for right now, she is still here! And there stands a good chance that she will still be here when I finally have this baby beast. I have some amazing friends, I really do, and having them in town has made me spoiled, but I love having them around.
We have had a ton of help from Michael's family, and I could not be more grateful for that. Worrying about who will watch the kids while we go to yet another doctor's appointment would have been an added stress that frankly we could not handle, but Grannymom and Ken and Rhonda have been amazing. I am really appreciative that they live here, too :) Plus, Emerald and Gabriel just adore seeing them more often. You can see their sweet little faces light up whenever Grannnymom walks through the door, and that means so much to me.
Finally, my parents are going to be here on the 4th of September! I didn't want them to miss out like they did with Gabriel and just end up seeing a fat, pregnant, and cranky me. They will be such a big help, and to be honest, I need my Mommy and Daddy on big things like this. I would like to live them forevers, but I am grateful for anytime that I get with them at all. And in October, my Amber will be coming down with Grayson; Jarrod and Julia are planning on coming to visit...I couldn't be happier. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family, and getting them to come and visit me is just the best. I can't wait to see all of them.
It's 10 now and I really should be heading to bed. Feeling a bit better about life and everything--I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am not going to be an ingrate. God really has blessed us.
So toodleoo and goodnight!
--Andie--
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