Think SPRING....again!

ok Blogger is having an issue tonight here is Charley!

Think SPRING!!!

Last Friday when it was coated in ice and snow outside Chris and I decided it would be the prefect day to do the girls Spring/Easter Pics! We did these at home on our bed and the one together we did in our living room!After about 140 pictures these are our favorites! I hope that you like!

NEW SKILL ALERT!!!

Miss. Charlotte can sit up ALL BY HERSELF!! She is has been doing it since yesterday. I put her in front of me on the floor and just let go. She only did one face plant on the floor.Which I thought was pretty good! She can go about 30 secs to about a minute before getting to excited and Webbles over! We thought that she would sit early because she really doesn't like to roll over at all. I think since that post saying that she had, I don't think that she has done it more then twice! But, she LOVES to sit up and look out while she is on our laps and she really loves her Bumbo sitter. She likes to watch Lily dance and just laughs like crazy at her. She is on her way! Next week is already 5 months! It goes too quick!


ONE MORE POST COMING>>>

We started the paperwork!

For Lily's readoption! GOTCHA!!! HA

We are taking full use of Chris's week off between jobs to get some things done that have been left undone WAY too long. Sadly, one of the most important is getting Lily's name legally changed and the best way to do that in Maryland is to re-adopt. It is not at all as bad as it sounds. Lily came home on an IR-3 Visa. Because Chris and I went to visit her before the adoption was completed in Guatemala as soon as our plane crossed the magical United States line in the sky she was an American. We are doing this to make it easier for her in the future and to FINALLY change her name.

There has been a small change to what we are going to make Lily's legal name. For those who don't know, when Chris and I named Lily we decided that we wanted all of our children to have a name that they can grow into, but also have a cute nickname. Lily was supposed to be Lillian Catherine, Lily for short. That has never seemed quite right. We have over the past 2 years batted a few different versions of Lillian. Today we HAD to settle it. SOOOOOOOO we would like to formally introduce (well in 6-8 weeks).....

Lilliana Catherine
Pronounced Lilyana

I tried to push for that spelling but was quickly informed that it wasn't going to happen, then something was muttered about being a flower child and lots of head shaking (he knows he loves me!! LOL)

I will keep everyone informed when we are going to have our day in court (insert Law & Order Theme Da Daaant).

Rub a dub

Three girls in a tub! Heehee Tonight all the girls got a bath together in the big tub! Chris was pale from the time the water started until everyone exited successfully! Normally, we use Mommy & Me bathtime as part of Lily's reward system. When I asked her if Charlotte could share tubby time she got super excited! So after dinner, Lily ran around the house practically begging us to get 'nadid' (naked) and in the bath tub. She helped wash Charlotte's feet and showed her all of her bath toys! LOL Then very shortly there after Charlotte got out and Daddy took her to get dressed while Lily and I played until Daddy came back to help Lily and I out. She gets a little too excited exiting the tub so extra hands are needed when we take Mommy & Me baths! Too Cute!

Stay tuned I am updating with a few more posts tonight.... things are brewing here in Henry world!! Megan

Whew what a week! And pics!!

I have been wanting to post all week, but we have been so busy during the day, then by the time the girls get to bed we are wiped!

Chris and I earned another parent badge! We have had our very first, very sick child. Now a little side note... Lily other then being a little under weight (only 23 lbs @ 2 years), is super healthy. She has been home over a year now and we have only been to the doctor as a sick visit two times. Now don't get me wrong she has had colds and GI upsets but nothing bad enough to warrant more then a call to the doctor for advise. I guess she thinks she will give us a break for waiting so long or her! :-) Now Miss. Charlotte on the other hand we have already decided is going to be our problem err umm more challenging child.

It all started last Wednesday when she coughed I think twice, but it was more then a normal clearing of the throat. Thursday esp in the morning it was increased, by Friday morning my Mommy senses were tingling telling there was more to this then a cough/cold. She just looked like she felt bad. So off to the doctors we went. Chris came home to stay with Lily b/c I didn't want to expose her to anything. Charlotte had to have her weight checked ready for this... she is 16 LBS 10 OZ!!! She gained 2 pounds in a month! She doesn't seem overly chubby! She and Lily are only 7 lbs apart!! I was still giggling about that to myself when doctor checked her over and said that her lungs sounded clear but that her right ear was pink. My heart stopped.

Now I am a Nurse and I have dealt with much worse then this, but when it is your baby, your brain tells you that you have failed and now your child is going to be deaf. A little irrational anyone?!?!?! It doesn't help that when I called Chris and told him what the doctor said he was totally devastated and asked about 3 billion questions. He is such a good Daddy! Charlotte is now on Amoxicillin for the next 6 days. It is looking like all of our efforts (and antibiotic) are paying off and she is feeling better. Friday night and Saturday were the worst for sure. She and I bonded over steam in the bathroom. Today I even got her to laugh a little when I ate her belly. ;-)

I can just tell that Lily is a child that will continue to amaze throughout her life. On Friday Charlotte was so miserable, I was being super fast to meet her needs but she was in tears a lot that day. At one point I was telling her "it's ok Mommy is hurrying I promise, it's ok Charlotte" Lily came into the kitchen and looked up at her on the table (she was in her bouncy seat) and said to her "tay rdette, tay" in the sweetest little voice. I turned around for just a second and let myself take that moment in. I don't know if you have ever seen Kermit the Frog in the Muppets Christmas Carol (strange I know just go with it:-)? Lily looked like Kermit the Frog when he sings to the moon. I tell Chris all the time that she reminds me of a little Kermit b/c she has a little round tummy and little thin legs and hips. IDK I was just in awe of her at that moment.

It is also great to see Charlotte light up whenever Lily comes to talk to her. Lily has this really squeaky way of saying 'Hi (insert name)', So she will come up to Charlotte and say 'Hi Rdette, hi!' give her a ugg (hug) and a tiss (kiss). Chris and I have made up songs for both girls (necessity is the mother of invention). We made up Lily's at the US embassy! LOL Anyway, Lily loves to sing and especially those songs. I have walked in on her singing Charlotte's song to her! It is so sweet even sweeter b/c when Lily "sings" she only sings the last word of each verse. I have to share this...

This is Charlotte's song..

Charlotte, Charlotte, how do I love you so
Charlotte, Charlotte, I can't wait to see you grow
You are so short and tiny
and you have a little hieney
But you are mine
Baby mine
and I love you oh so much

So when Lily sings it to her we hear
rdette, rdette....oooo
rdette, rdette....row
iny
heiney (she gets that right every time!!)
ine
ine
uccccchhh!

The best part is that you can see her singing the other words to herself, she just can't vocalize them yet. We are going to try to tape her.

Man oh man I love those girls!

Ohhh and this is Chris's last week @ Alcore. He has accepted a new position with a company much closer to home. No more 45 minute trips up 95!! YEAH! He is going to take a week off with us girls and then start his new job on 3/3!! Like anyone else leaving one for another he is mixed with excitement and terror! I know he will do great. :-)

This weekend Chris and I are going to have our monthly date! As long as Charlotte keeps improving. So excited, we are going to do Easter shopping for the girls... wasn't it just Christmas?

Wow I REALLY need to make time for posting, if not I seem to end up with Mega-sized posts!

If you made it this far I should at least reward you with updated photos!

Full circle

Today is a special day for Chris and I. We will never view President's Day the same. A year ago today I took a test that forever changed our lives. We found out that we were pregnant! I was going to title this blog exactly what I said to Chris that morning... 'OMG WE ARE PREGNANT!!!' It is a moment burned into my mind forever. Just like the day I first saw Lily's tiny face. Both took my breath away! Something that only my babies have ever done.

I don't know what I did to deserve these girls but whatever it was I am sure glad that I did it!

Big Day for the Girls!

*****************DISCLAIMER****************************************
I am not writing this to start a debate. This is purely why I think that today is an important day for our girls.
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Ok on with the post!

Today it is FINALLY our day to go vote in the Primary! We are going to take the girls with us. I know how silly that sounds but I am proud that we are going to teach our girls from a very young age the importance of voting. This is a historic thing. I am not at all saying that they will win but either way there will be a African American man, or a female on the ballot for president. I hope that when the girls are able to vote this will be the norm, and Chris and I can say that we took them when it was a first. We think it is especially important because we have a rainbow family to show our girls that anyone can do/be anything they want.

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Moving right along....

It is has been pretty quite around here. We (the girls and I) just got back from a stay at my parents house. We went there so that Chris could get the house ready for the appraisal. We had some painting to be done and we didn't want the girls around that. Chris was also busy last week going on interviews and he was made an offer on Thursday. It is with a company MUCH closer to home, that alone sold us on it. His drive now is over 45 minutes this will be 20 or less! The only draw back is that this company brings all their new employees in under contract (yuck). But he has had ample reassurance that as long as he does a good job and proves his worth then they will bring him in full time. So I have full faith that all will go as planned and he will be brought on sooner then we thought!

Well my afternoon alarms are going off... the girls are awake! Will update more soon

We are ROLLIN'!!!

Charlotte rolled over today! YEAH! She doesn't like it, and she only did it about 3 times, but whateva playa she DID IT!!!LOL She can get up on her hip easily, we help her figure out how to get on her belly and then she will roll back over. She HATES being on her belly, I am talking full on red faced screaming. So she is learning how to get back over pretty quick! She was a little slow with smiling. I thought for a while I had a grumpy baby, but those days are long gone and now she smiles and laughs freely! I am sure that she will get to rolling over down soon enough.

We had a pretty quiet weekend, nothing too exciting. We got a quote to get the roof replaced. I think we are going to go ahead with that. I really don't like having to fork over that kind of money for something that isn't even fun! LOL Ohh and BTW for those you who get phone calls from the roofing replacement company please forward any and all complaints to Mr. Henry. I asked him not to, but we got an additional $250 off. Hey, isn't that what family is for??? ;-0

Moving right along...we made it to Church this morning. Yeah I am so glad that we are getting more regular about that again. Lily and Charlotte were the hit of the Nursery. Lily goes anyway, but this was the first time for Charlotte. They both did great. The ladies LOVE that there is a baby. Charlotte just eats that right up! As we were leaving coffee hour Lily was saying her normal good-byes to everything in eye sight..i.e. "Bye table", "bye light", "bye baby". Ohh and she isn't happy until we repeat what she has said, I think that she likes to know that we understand her. Today Chris tells her to say good-bye to church. she says "bye (little pause)ursch", then follows that with "bye ends" (friends). Chris wanted to hand her the keys to the car!! She also is all about singing. Her favorite right now is Happy Birthday. We have had days recently that I have sang Happy Birthday to everything/everybody she can think of. But now when we get the part where you say the name of the person I pause and she says it. Today she started singing it. It is beyond cute to hear her sing Daddy or Mommy. My FAVORITE is rdette (Charlotte).

Have a great Monday!!

Can you tell me how to get..

How to get to Sesame Street? Cuz THAT is where we are going on vacation this year! YEAH! There is a place in PA called Sesame Place. Kind of like a Disney World for public television. We wanted to do something this year, but our options are limited because of how old the girls are. We wanted to go some where that would a blast for Lily. Charlotte will be 8.5 months so she will be along for the ride for the most part. We went ahead and booked it today. We are going the last weekend in June right before our anniversary. Lily is very excited to go see where Elmo, Grover, Cookie, and Ernie live. Elmo is a very close second to her Dora. She LOVES when we pull up the website because Elmo talks! She drops whatever she is doing and RUNS to the computer. It seems nice and not that far from here (about 2 hours), and not that expensive for what is included. We got a 2 day pass, and both days we signed up to have a meal with characters! The first day we have breakfast with Elmo and friends, and the next day we will have dinner with Big Bird. We are really excited!

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There isn't any easy ways to change gears like this. But I think it is very important share a little about this child and her family.

I wanted to ask everyone to pray for a VERY special little girl that passed away early this morning. One of my blogger buddies (another adoptive Mommy) posted about her and her family a few weeks ago. Since then I checked in on her and her family daily. Maddie was a barely 5 years old. She was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma (Cancer) when she was two.

This is her website.

http://www.caringbridge.org/tn/madelyn/

Please keep her family in good thought, and hug and kiss your babies a little tighter tonight. I know that I did.

We called up the doctor....

Not too much going on this week. I think that Chris and I just trying to get through it. Thankfully it looks like we did! Thank you to everyone who offered a kind word over last weekend and the days following. It meant a lot to us.

The girls are doing great, getting bigger by the day. We are all right now enjoying a little down time. I do have another installment of as the Henry's turn though.

Apparently our girls are beginning their careers as WW wrestlers! On Wednesday night we were all on the floor in the living room just hanging out. Lily was dancing, she lost her balance (see where this is going?? :-) and fell chest first onto Charlotte. Charlotte starts screaming, Lily is yelling "Boo Boo's", Mommy and Daddy play one-on-one defense, and pick-up which ever child is closer. Very soon everyone settled back down and no one looked worse for the wear. Sigh... nothing could be THAT simple right? Right...

Later in the evening Lily and Chris went to get Lily her bath, and I was getting Charlotte her bottle. I looked down at her little face and right around her left eye and side of nose there is a slight (were are talking tiny, Chris had to turn on a huge light to really see it) bruise, and swelling. I freaked! Just a few days before I had read a story on a message board about a baby that was hit in the face with a book and stopped breathing because the book broke his nose. Gotta LOVE the Internet! In my mind all I can see is this story unfolding in front of me. We called up the doctor and the doctor said (LOL)to watch her overnight and if anything changed to call her back. By this time Charlotte was taking her bottle with no problems. Besides nothing holds this child back from her food! We thought everything was fine. Sigh.... Why is NOTHING ever easy???

Chris and Charlotte go into bed around 9pm, I stayed up to calm down from what was suppose to be our "peaceful" evening! LOL Around 10pm I hear Chris moving around in the bedroom, then I hear "oh God oh no" I FLY, I mean literally took off in flight to the bedroom. We met in the hallway. Chris is holding her like he was holding radioactive material. She had vomited her entire bottle. It looked like Linda Blair had been sleeping in the bassinet. It was all over. Chris went to work on cleaning all that up and I started peeling off her sleeper. (Didn't I just talk about how I love being a Mom? I was channeling that during this LOL). The poor baby's big blue eyes were as about as open as she could get them, and I knew that she wasn't done. She continued to erupt I think 2 more times until she settled. So then came this big question... Is this because Lily fell on her or is it just a tummy ache? We debated for a little while and we decided it would be safer for her and I to camp out in the living so that I could keep a hand on her all night. Thankfully our bassinet is one that is convertible. So we are able to remove it from the base and it becomes a Moses basket. We put that on the floor in front of the couch in a way that I can touch and see her. Thankfully all was ok. She slept until 230am and got back up again. I gave her some pedi-light. That didn't go well. I do have to say though that I carry the color of orange pedi-light well. Her and I slept together until Chris was up getting ready for work. Finally around 6am she took a whole bottle. Just as she and I start to fall asleep Lily woke up for the day :-)

Some days it just don't come easy!!!