Spaghetti & Smoothies & Great Memories to Come :)

Ryan made us a delicious dinner of spaghetti and smoothies tonight, but I have to admit, as good as that was, my favorite part of dinner this evening was not the supper itself- it was having room for all of us at the table. Previous to a couple of weeks ago, we had been dining at the two-seater table that I had originally bought for my one-bedroom apartment when I first moved here. It was a great table with a lot of dear memories- I have often sat at it and reminisced about the night Ryan proposed to me across that table seven years ago- but, nevertheless, we have completely outgrown it, and I have desired a larger dining table for quite awhile now... and I am thankful we have one! I look ahead to all of the amazing times we will have there. I fondly remember the oval table where delicious meals, sweet conversation, and a miasma of Sorry and Uno games took place at my grandmother Weez's house when I was growing up. I hope that the girls have lots of treasured memories around this table one day. :)

Best Baby Inventions

Right after Syd was first born, a dear friend asked me what my favorite baby invention was, and at that time I was not sure. Would it be the Boppy, Bumbo, or Bjorn? (Seems like most baby products are alliterative and must start with 'b'!) Now, 18 months in, my two favorite inventions are disposable diapers and the washing machine, but quickly following those two is our Phil and Ted's Sport Double Stroller. It is so handy, stable, and easy to push. It also is fun to see people realize that Mackenzie is hiding below Sydney. We are crazy about it and love that we are not obnoxiously wide when shopping with the girls and can navigate easily. Here are a couple of pictures of the girls in the stroller. By the way, these were taken on Christmas Day. We had a little bit of a white Christmas (on the ground, at least). :)

Learning a lot!

I have a lot on my mind tonight, and thought writing it out might help me to start fresh tomorrow! First of all, I am so thankful that Sydney is close to the end of being over a very rough bug that she has had since Thursday. The first three days of it, she could not keep any food and barely any liquids in her system, and needless to say, we have been cleaning a lot of laundry and carpet from the aftermath of that all. I took her to the doctor on Saturday, which was good to find out that she was doing okay in the midst of it, because that night she kept throwing herself down and crying out loudly for quite a while. She also did that a bit the days before, so we had learned that distraction was healing and are ever so thankful for the Wiggles. (Incidentally, each time we let her watch T.V. and she is obviously tuned into it, I hear the American Academy of Pediatrics quoting in my head that television viewing is not recommended for children under the age of two. :)
Oh, and I should mention that I am thankful that I did not get that horrid bug, but am especially thankful that Mackenzie came through unscathed. Sydney still does not have her appetite back and has lost a little weight and is not 100%, but is so much better. I will be wiping down high chairs with antibacterial wipes and using her placemat when we eat out from now on, in case that is how she got it. Ryan was down and out with it over the weekend, and we are so glad that he had a quick recovery.
Mackenzie is doing so very well, but she continues to throw up a bottle a day, sometimes every-other-day, and it is usually without warning. It can occur during a feeding or minutes afterwards. At her well care exam today, I learned that babies do that sometimes and that there is no concern since her weight gain is good - oh, and she is up to 9 lbs., 10.5 oz. I am hopeful that we can help her keep that food in her and that this will get better and better. It can be hard when Syd has hung out with us during the first feeding, the clean-up, and then the re-feeding, but she is such a sport, she usually grabs wet wipes and starts cleaning! :)
Passerbys at stores would often tell me when I was pregnant that I would be busy when baby number two arrived, especially with the girls being 16 months apart, and I would nod and smile. And now, sometimes, I feel like I fight to keep a smile on the inside in all of the busyness all day long. I am used to running around busily from teaching, but I could go home and rest all evening long if needed. I think starting my new Master's class this week in conjunction with everything at home has been a lot and I really want to learn from these experiences - to be joyful in the midst of the craziness and to enjoy being the mommy to these two precious girls. It is already going so fast... All of this keeps me praying a lot, and one verse in particular has been on my heart as the Lord encourages me throughout the day -
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness... boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Cor. 12:9)
Well, I do feel better after getting all of that out. Thanks for listening. Oh, and I never posted Christmas pictures, so here are a few... looking at them tonight reminds me that I have a lot to be truly thankful for...