Devin starts school on Monday

Devin will officially start 3rd grade on Monday, 8/25. She told me that she is "looking forward to the new adventures in 3rd grade". (her words) I think she's just bored...

Finally....a tooth!

Last Saturday, 8/16, the tiny tip of a tooth finally made a long-awaited, much anticipated appearance in Deren's mouth. We've been dealing with a very miserable little man. As soon as the little tip made its appearance, he became a new man. (thank goodness!) It is the bottom front tooth on the right. And I believe the neighboring tooth will be making an appearance very soon.

Summer Update

How is your summer going? Ours is HOT, HOT, HOT! Record-setting temps here...incredible!

Devin is still enjoying her trips to the library and the pool. However, she has begun the countdown to the start of the new school year. I think she's ready to go back.

Deren is growing like a weed. He is seriously on the move now. He crawls everywhere - over, under, around. He's also started trying to do somersaults. I tried to tell him he's too small for that. I figure he'll be pulling up and trying to walk in no time. His new word this week is DADA. Originally, he was scheduled to have ear tubes put in on August 1st. The surgery has been rescheduled for Friday, September 12. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Eric is enjoying watching golf and baseball. He's also been catching up on his reading.

Me? I've been working like a mad woman. It's been crazy-busy at the hospital. On a positive note, all the running around I do at the hospital has paid off. I have lost over 20 pounds since March. (ccf)

Deren sleeps

Isn't this the sweetest thing you have ever seen? I just love to watch Deren as he sleeps...

Mama

Mama. This is Deren's first word. He said it clear as a bell day before yesterday (7/3). I do believe it's the most beautiful word I've ever heard. (ccf)

Time Flies...

Wow! It's hard to believe that this year is just flying by. It's already mid-June! Deren is 6 months old. Devin is 8, and getting ready to start 3rd grade. Does that mean I'm getting old? (actually, I did just turn 38!)

Deren is now crawling and sitting up on his own. He doesn't always manage to stay up for long...I say he has "roly poly butt". He's very vocal; "talks" all the time. He loves the bath. And the boy loves to eat. We have moved onto the 2nd foods - and he eats 2 jars at lunch and at dinner. Then he tops those off with a bottle. He goes in for his 6 month visit next Tuesday.

Devin is enjoying her summer vacation. She's been to the pool, to the library and to the golf course. She is currently working her way through the Ramona books (she only has 1 to go!) Eric took her to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. She enjoyed that, too.

Eric spends his days reading and watching TV. He also plays softball 3 nights a week.

Me...I'm working. (ccf)

Mother's Day II

Pics of my mother-in-law (Joyce) on Mother's Day....

Mother's Day II

Pics of my mother-in-law (Joyce) on Mother's Day....

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day as a mother of two...

Mother's Day

Pictures taken at church... Mother's Day 2008

Devin's Report Card

Devin brought home this AWESOME report card...

straight 100's!!!

We are so proud.(ccf)

Deren...what a big boy!

So, this has been a month of firsts for Deren....



Had his first ear infection treated with his first antibiotic (amoxicillin...yum). His pediatrician also decided that the 10 weeks of congestion might actually be reflux. He started ranitidine and albuterol breathing treatments...oh what a difference. (that's when he started sleeping through the night - 7.5 to 8 hours!) He discovered that he likes to sleep on his tummy (and will flip over even in his sleep). He tried cereal and strained foods. So far, we've worked through squash, carrots, sweet potatoes (see picture below - loves, loves, loves the sweet potatoes!!!!), green peas, pears and bananas. He developed an ear infection in the other ear and was treated with a stronger antibiotic (cefdinir...not so yum). On the 22nd, he began "reaching" for people. He can hold his own bottle. And he can roll or "inchworm" himself anywhere on the floor... Time is flying by for our little man. And he is the biggest flirt!!! (ccf)

Deren's 4 month check up

Deren had his 4 month check up today. He weighs 14 pounds even and is 25" long. He has mastered rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy. He is also "inchworming" his way across the floor! He prefers to sleep on his tummy and will roll over in his sleep to this position. He has slept 8 hours each night for the last 3 nights... (yea!!!) (ccf)

Looks like an angel...

This is my favorite photo to date. Doesn't he look like an angel? You can get lost in those big brown eyes....

New Pics

New pics of Deren & Devin taken in March.

More Devin news

This was a big week for Devin. Not only was it her birthday, but she also took 3rd place in her school for her Stranger Danger poster. She received a ribbon, a gift card to Oscar's and one to Chili's. The poster will be moved on for secondary judging at the Admin building. Congrats to our little artist! (ccf)

Devin turns 8

Devin turned 8 on Sunday. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday she was learning to crawl. And she's not like any other 8 year old I know. Did she want to go to Chuck E's for her birthday? Nope. She chose to celebrate at Brio's in South Lake. And then we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert. She raked in the gifts, too. Her "big" gift was a Nintendo DS and some games. She also got some money, clothes, makeup and DVD's. Overall, a really good day. (ccf)

Deren's on a Roll....

Ok, so Deren is laying in the floor tonight on his pallet when all of a sudden he rolls from his tummy onto his back. I squeal like a girl (ha ha)at his accomplishment. Then I roll him back to see if he will do it again; and he does. In fact he did it three more times and then proceeded to cry because he was tired. Let's just say that Mom and Dad are bursting with pride. Dad is now ready to put a Football uniform on him and turn him lose on the unsuspecting (fill in Team name here)to terrorize. We will start working on walking tomorrow, bike riding next week. (ccf)

Love My Job

I love my new job at Cook. I am busy pretty much my entire day! I've already caught on to most of it. Several of the other techs and a couple pharmacists have commented on that fact. (yea me!) I will start training in the I.V. room this week - I'm really looking forward to it. During the course of my day, I go up to the different floors to deliver meds. Seeing so many children ill makes me all the more thankful that we have 2 very healthy children. I think the NICU is the hardest for me. So many preemies. I just want to scoop them and love on them! I'm going to start adding a special prayer for these children...

Eric got to spend some quality time with the kiddos this weekend since I worked. Yesterday, was not such a good day for him and Deren. Eric went in to fix a bottle for him, and started to pour the formula only to have it run all over the counter.
Apparently, Eric grabbed one of the disposable liner bottles and neglected to put in a liner. (ha ha ha) Deren has been a little ill and not in the best of moods. Unfortunately, he didn't cut his daddy any slack! Today, was a much better day for them. (ccf)

First Day

Today was my first day back at work. Well, actually, I sat through orientation. Leaving Deren at day care was also a first. And it was hard. I missed him so much. I missed Eric and Devin, too, but it was different with Deren because I've been with him pretty much 24/7 since he was born. It was very strange... But I'm proud of myself: I didn't cry. Kudos to me! The teachers said that Deren had a very good first day. He talked alot, drank all of his bottles and read a book. I know he's in good hands, and that's what makes it easier for me. I'll be working this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. (ccf)

Waiting for something new

I'm so glad the writers' strike is finally over. I miss seeing new episodes of my favorite tv shows. I really miss Grey's Anatomy. Eric misses Pushing Daisies. We both miss The Office. The only new thing on tv is LOST. So, yes, I've gotten sucked in again. While I was out on maternity leave, I started watching TNT's "Primetime in the Daytime". This included reruns of Angel, Charmed, ER, Las Vegas, Without a Trace and Law & Order. I got hooked on Angel and Charmed. I've made it through all of the episodes of Charmed. Now I'm working on Angel. Of course, I didn't watch this when it was on originally, so it's all new to me. But I am truly enjoying it.... (ccf)

3 Days to Go...

I'll be starting a new job on Monday. I'm excited, but also a little scared. It's been over 7 years since I started a new job. Of course, I'm also a little worried about leaving Deren in a daycare. I know he'll be well cared for at Kids' Place. And I'll miss him like crazy! We've been together pretty much 24/7 since he was born. And he's such a little man... (ccf)

Let's talk about me....

Just thought we'd throw out some factoids about us....

Eric enjoys golf (when he has the chance to play) & playing softball. He enjoys singing as part of the Worship Team at church. He is an Aggie (class of '86). He enjoys reading. He is a special ed teacher and has the Content Mastery class at the Shannon Learning Center. His favorite song is "Something" by the Beatles. His favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. His favorite book is Trinity by Leon Uris.

Cyndy enjoys scrapbooking, reading & singing as part of the Worship Team at church. She is a Pharmacy Technician, & will begin working at Cook Children's Medical Center on March 3. Her favorite song is "From This Moment On" by Shania Twain. Her favorite movie is An Affair to Remember. Her favorite book is A Time for Us.

Devin is currently in the second grade. She enjoys reading (she has read ALL of the Junie B books & competed as part of the Battle of the Books team for her school) & singing. She also enjoys playing basketball & watching sports on TV with her dad. Her favorite song is "Who Knew" by Pink. Her favorite book is Tink, North of Neverland. Her favorite movie is "High School Musical 2".

Deren is currently 10 weeks old. He smiles. He "talks". He turns Aggie maroon when really mad. He will stick out his tongue at you if you stick out yours at him. He has great control over his head & neck. He scoots all over when put down on his tummy or back. His favorite song is "Casey Would Waltz with the Strawberry Blonde". His favorite book is "I Love You Forever".

This girl knows God is in control...

Last August, I attended the Women of Faith conference. I bought the t-shirt that said "This Girl Knows God is in Control".

In January of 2007, Eric & I decided to try fertility treatment one last time - literally. My insurance would cover one round of IVF. So either it worked or it didn't. As soon as we started, I began to pray. I was very specific in my prayer. I asked that God impart the wisdom & knowledge to Dr. Pinto in order to successfully transfer a fertilized embryo, resulting in the delivery of one healthy child. A week before Easter, Dr. Pinto was able to harvest 22 eggs. Of those, 14 were successfully fertilized. The day before Easter, we went for our embryo transfer. We were told that only 4 embryos had survived. Two would be transferred, & the other 2 would be frozen. It snowed that day. I took that as a sign from God. I went home for 4 days of bedrest, & then had to wait 2 weeks to take a pregnancy test. Dr. Pinto called me at home that evening to tell me that my blood test was positive! I kept praying. I tried to remain positive & optimistic, but I was still worried. When we finally got to have our first sono & saw the little heartbeat, I cried. God had answered my prayers. Still, we chose not to make the news public. We had told a few close friends, Pastor Ryan & Devin. We waited until I hit the 12 week mark to tell everyone else. Let me just say this: no way would any of this had been possible without Dr. Pinto. He was absolutely fabulous. We consider him a part of our family now. :)

Due to my "advanced maternal age" (37 is advanced? are you kidding?), I was considered high risk & was sent for genetic testing. I kept praying. My initial tests came back negative. Now I was having to have monthly sonograms. We found out that our baby was going to be a boy! My second round of test results came back showing positive (5%) for Trisomy 18. I was so upset. I prayed harder. I had some close friends praying for us. I had Pastor Ryan praying with me. I had the amniocentesis test, & then had to wait 10 long days for the results. I prayed even harder. The morning the counselor called with the results was one of the happiest days of my life. Deren was a healthy little boy! God is good.

Deren was born in December. Perfectly healthy. Beautiful. A real gift from God.

At the end of December, my company closed the facility where I worked. For the first time ever, I was unemployed. I began to pray. I decided that I really wanted to work at Cook Children's Medical Center. I completed the on-line application. I was contacted by the tech supervisor for an interview on a Wednesday. During the interview, he asked how many resumes I had put out. My response: "One. This is where I want to work. If you don't offer me a job, I'll start sending out others - I have 200 of them." Then I started to look at daycares (just in case). I checked out the Kids' Place (run by Cook's/Harris). It was perfect. Unfortunately, they only had a 2 day slot open. What was I supposed to do with Deren the other 3 days? I looked at other daycares. One of them was awful. No way would I leave my infant there! I checked out the Campfire center. It passed. Very clean. Lots of love & interaction with the infants. Okay, it was doable until a full-time opening became available. On Friday of that week, the tech supervisor contacted me by email to let me know that he was waiting for the position to be posted. He had forwarded my paperwork to HR, & had instructed them to offer me the job once it was posted. YEA!!!! I called Campfire to let them know I would be in the next week to enroll Deren. A few hours later, I recieved a call from the Kids' Place telling me that they had had a family withdraw, & now had a full-time slot available for Deren if I wanted it. You know, last year, I prayed so much for so many things, that I was scared to ask for more. But God knew what was in my heart, even though I didn't ask. And he showed up bigEvery night, before I go to bed, I thank God for the gifts He's given me. (ccf)