dadadada

Coranelle has taken to going for walks in the pack. She likes being able to see everything. I am happy that she'll hang out so we can get outside and get some exercise!
Adelaide, Coranelle and Charlie, playing together. Really, they just kept hitting each other and taking toys from one another.
Coranelle and Adelaide reading together on Friday night. I love that they are matching and Adelaide has her hand on Coranelle's back.
Playing with Grammadele's sweatshirt string. GPS (grandpa Steve) and Grammadele babysat saturday night so we could go on a date!
Playing with GPS in the tub!
So close to really crawling!

Yesterday, Coranelle started saying "da da". We don't think she has any idea what she is saying, but it is so fun to hear her "talking". She is rarely quiet and seems to always have something to offer to the conversation. I think she'll be talking for real, very soon!

Yesterday, Coranelle also started waving to Grams. It is so fun to see her growing up and we had so much fun listening to her talk last night and watching her scoot around. We feel so very lucky to have her. I know my last post was a bit depressing, and I just have to say, we wouldn't trade Coranelle for anything. I love our little family and we are so happy with our home, Broomfield, having family living close by, and our own little family. I think no matter when you have kids, there is a transition phase. Even if all of our friends and siblings had kids already, we would face challenges with raising Coranelle and learning how to be good parents.

That being said, we had a great time this weekend getting to have dinner with some friends who also have babies that were born in May. It is great to get together with people on a similar page in life. On Saturday, Mom and Steve came to our house so that we could go out on a date. Coranelle did well after she got used to Steve and then had lots of fun while we got some time alone as couple to enjoy church and the delicious salad, breadsticks, and sangria at the Olive Garden. Coranelle seems to be doing better with letting other people hold her and play with her, which is a great relief to me!

I am working on switching Coranelle over from 5 feedings to 4, and from 3 naps a day, to just 2. So we are changing the whole schedule. She is doing well now, but the first few days, it was too much change at once for a touchy kiddo. She just wouldn't fall asleep for naps, so we decided we needed to eliminate one of the changes for a while. We started swaddling Coranelle again for her naps and she slept wonderfully and was cheerful and happy when she was awake. Eventually, we'll get this napping unswaddled down. But, 2 days of her sleeping less than an hour all day long made for a pretty fussy baby, and tired and frustrated parents. I am enjoying the freedom of nursing every 4 hours instead of every 3 and hope that this continues to go well!

That's all for now. I hope you all had a great weekend!

isolated

Our cloth diapered baby. Ryan said we needed a picture of her with just a diaper on. Here they are. I know, she's so cute!

At Which Wich for a little date night with Ryan. He came home with a pretty bouquet of tulips and took me to get a fun sandwich and chocolate shake.
She's such a big girl with her sippy cup.
Playing with her ugly doll. We are tying to help her foster an attachment to something so that when we drop her off at church or at the rec center, she'll have something familiar that will comfort her.


Ryan's word is "shafted", mine are more like "isolated" or "lonely". Yup, it's Sunday afternoon and we're lying low. I hate to complain, and this is not a post to evoke pity... I just want to be honest and feel that sometimes it helps me to write out these feelings. All weekend, Ryan and I have felt a bit sad and shut out. We feel that more and more often, we are spending Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays alone. It's as if having a baby has somehow eliminated us from all previous social circles. Quite often, unless WE make plans with people and initiate, we don't have plans. And even with us being the ones who do most of the inviting, it still feels as if the majority of the time, people have better offers. Sometimes, I grow weary of always being the one to try to get people together and wish that someone else would give us an invite. And, to top it all off, the homemade bread I just pulled from the bread machine (that was supposed to make spending the evening at home more special) is a hard lump of salty, dense dough. How did that happen? Sigh...

I am thankful that I have Ryan as my best friend and that makes this stage of our lives so much less lonely. I don't know what I would do without him around to cook with, go on walks with, change our baby after huge blowouts with, laugh with, or vent to. I really don't. And, I wouldn't trade Coranelle for the social life that we used to have. Never. I just didn't expect this and will have to keep it in mind when our friends and family decide to have babies.

In other news, we are working on baby proofing the house because Coranelle is a pretty efficient scooter. I think the full-on crawling will come soon. We have outlet plugs in, foam around the coffee table and fireplace edges and baby gates on the stairs as well as cabinet locks are coming soon. We also have a mesh barrier that we tied up between the banisters on our staircases. This is not a cheap endeavor! But, it will be worth it.

I am also going to start taking some Continuing Education classes through the University of Phoenix in February. I had planned to get my masters while being at home, but long story short- it is way too expensive for the minimal pay raise I would receive when I returned to teaching. So, continuing ed classes and professional development classes seem like the better plan, as they will also move me up on the pay scale and be easier on the budget as well as allow for a more flexible schedule in taking classes. My first class is Spanish for Educators level II and I am really excited about it. It is all the vocabulary and cultural knowledge that I wished I had at the school I used to teach at. I will learn how to communicate to Spanish speaking parents about their child's behavior, educational progress, and the things they are working on in school. I think it will be a great way for me to keep up with my Spanish and fun to have a challenge in my life that does not center around an infant. The university offers lots of classes that interest me, so I am looking forward to taking a few of them while I am at home.

For those of you who have been asking- Amanda is currently stuck in Miami, Florida. She went with the owner of the orphanage and some other volunteers to take 83 kids to be picked up by their adopting American families. What a blessing that all of those kids are now with their "forever families". Amanda and the other GLA staff are now stuck in Miami, as they are not letting charter planes back into Haiti. So, keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they try to get back to Haiti in order to get the remaining kids to Canada to their new families.

I hope that all of you enjoyed your weekends. Thanks for reading!

Small Things with Great Love

There is a quote that they have been referring to at church recently that goes like this:
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love"- Mother Teresa

I keep pondering this quote in light of

everything that has happened in the last week or so. I see Amanda living this out right now in Haiti. Since many of the nannies at the orphanage have gone home and not returned, and other volunteers have flown home, her "job description" has changed. She's been taking care of the babies, trying to get 85 of them fed and ready in the mornings. I cannot even imagine such a task, as Coranelle seems like a handful, and that's just one baby! Amanda has also been copying papers in order to expedite the adoption process and get kids home to their families as soon as possible. These may seem like small things, but she is doing them with great love and it is making a huge difference. Over half of the kids at the orphanage will go home this week. The earthquake has destroyed paperwork and hoops that normally have to be jumped through in order to get kids into good families have vanished. What a blessing! Amanda has also heard that 5 of her students are okay and 2 other teachers have made it. I am not sure what she has heard about the rest, but there is one kid, JJ, who is missing. She is very worried about him and sad to think of what his fate could be. Continue to be praying for her and all of those at GLA. More shipments of food and supplies are supposed to be arriving soon.

I told my family, this past week was emotional for me. I wished I could be of more help to those in need. The other night as I was giving Coranelle a bath- watching her laugh and splash- I couldn't help but break down and cry. I was just picturing those Haitian mothers, trying to rescue their own kids from the rubble. I just cannot imagine. I suppose we have to just continue to do small things with great love.

Our church has begun a series to put this quote in action- if you will. For the last few weeks, our pastor has encouraged families to donate $1 for each family member at church that week. $1 is not something that takes a lot of sacrifice, nor will it change a life. But, $1 from each person has drastically changed the lives of a few people these past few weeks. The first week, the money was used for a family of 7 who lives nearby in a trailer home. The pipes in the home broke and the mom was doing dishes in the bathtub. Their car was in an accident and one of the youngest boys (20 months old) had severe disabilities- including being blind, deaf and having to be on oxygen. This family had, at one time, been Jehova's witnesses but had been pushed away from their congregation when the mother accepted a blood transfusion before her twins were born. The family was truly without hope. Flatirons church went in with the $1 donations from a few weeks ago and did a complete home makeover. They had volunteers but in new cupboards, floors, appliances, furniture and a wheel chair ramp. It looked truly like a wonderful new home and the family was so thankful. Small things with great love. Unforunately, on Saturday night or Sunday morning, the little boy with disabilities- Messiah is his name- had his heart fail him. He died this weekend, leaving our whole church so very sad. We can only smile knowing that God took him home to play, and to fix his little body. The family also said that if this had happened a few weeks ago, they would have struggled through it alone, and hopeless. And now, they had people from our church at their sides while they were down at Colorado Children's hospital with their son. All I can say is that life is truly bitter sweet. Please keep this family in your prayers as well.

We are so very thankful for Flatirons church in our lives. I am so happy to be a part of a body of people that tries hard to follow after the heart of Christ. I love that the church is a place that is reaching out to help widows, orphans, single moms, drug addicts, and broken and hurting people. It makes me so happy that I can leave Coranelle in the nursery with kind, trustworthy volunteers so that Ryan and I can go learn and be refreshed. It has been such a blessing for us these past few years.

On a lighter note, Coranelle made it through another church service in the nursery and a 1/2 hour at the rec center childcare this morning. It feels nice to know that she is beginning to be more independent and can be kept happy if distracted. She also let my mom, Steve and her Grams hold her this weekend for long periods of time. She still doesn't sit still and cuddle, but if people have toys, puffs and other things for her to play with, she does okay. That is a relief to me! Last night, while Heidi held Coranelle, I got to hold Josh and Claire's puppy- Kona. Kona was nice and calm and cuddly and I was delighted when the mini teddy bear fell asleep on me. Despite her tiny body and cuddliness, apparently she was really scary to Coranelle. Hopefully, she'll warm up to Kona and the two will be good buddies.

I have a new look. I got my hair all chopped off this past week by a friend. It looks... short. Ashleigh did a great job, but I guess I have to get used to it. Ashleigh came over to do the haircut and brought her daughter, Leah. Leah and Coranelle are only about a week apart, so it was fun to see them play together. I also got my nose re-pierced again. Ryan recently asked me if I missed my nose stud, and I did. So, he encouraged me to go get it pierced again. I don't have teaching interviews anymore, and it is exciting to have something small and sparkly. Ryan says it helps me to feel like my only identity is not just being a mom. Fun!

Not much else to report. I just hope that as I live my life, I can remember to do small things with great love. I think that mindset will help me with staying home to raise my daughter. I cannot do great things, just small things with great love. Does making baby food all morning count?

fragile

My dad dancing with me on our wedding day.

Kyle- when he was 2 at Christmas time.

These are a few photos Amanda sent this fall of her students. I am not sure of their names, but I thought pictures of a few faces would be helpful for your prayers.


I write this post today, with a heavy heart... and without adequate words to describe my feelings. I was reminded these past few days about how fragile life is, and it breaks my heart.

Amanda, my little sister, has experienced the traumatic earthquake and its aftermath in Haiti these past few days. We are all SO thankful that she is okay, but the event has torn the country into pieces. The orphanage that she is living at is okay, but there are 200 people there (95 babies) that have a limited supply of food and fuel, with all roads leading there destroyed. And much more devastating is the fact that many of the Haitian nannies that work there have lost their homes, husbands and kids to the earthquake. I cannot even begin to fathom what they are going through. Last night, the entire staff and all of the kids spent hours out in the driveway trying to stay away from the aftershock that was happening every 5-10 minutes. They hadn't eaten diner by midnight. The weeks to come are sure to be incredibly hard. Amanda had been teaching at a school nearby- closer to the epicenter of the earthquake. She has not heard from the other teachers or about her students. I cannot imagine what she is going through right now, worrying about her kids and their families. Having taught myself, if something happened to one of my students, I would have been devastated. It is hard to wrap my mind around this disaster. Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere... the nation that already suffered losses and damage from hurricanes last year... a country without the resources to rebuild homes, let alone rescue those that are trapped.

And, I just feel so helpless. From a distance, how do I help? How can I comfort my sister or help those families who have lost their homes and their loved ones. I am trying to get in touch with our church to see if we can do a collection for the orphanage or those in need in Haiti, but it doesn't seem like near enough. In the meantime, please pray for Amanda, her students, the kids in the orphanage and the staff. Pray hard. I can only hope that God uses his people to reach out and take care of these hurting people, in huge, abundant and drastic ways.

I also think of how fragile our health is. I think of my dad, who has always been the epitome of health. He is active and eats well and takes good care of himself. Why then... why the cancer? Why so young? Why did it spread so fast? I cannot imagine how hard it is to be by himself in Florida for 2 months, undergoing treatment. He is tired and fighting hard! But, he should be at home, with his 3 year old son and wife. Kyle needs him right now, to play with him, read to him and be there. It just makes me so sad. I feel helpless again. I wish so much that I could be there to keep him company or help in some way- something more significant and meaningful than a little care package or a phone call. Pray for dad too- that this radiation does its job- fully and perfectly and my dad can have his life back- so that dad can sail around the world with his family. I cannot wait for the day that dad can take Ryan, Coranelle, Christina, Kyle and me on a rafting trip down a river. I see how much I took those vacations for granted.

This morning, I took Coranelle to the zoo with a friend and her daughter. As I watched happy toddlers run around with their fathers, and little kids shrieking with excitement about the growling lions and jumping monkeys; I couldn't help but squeeze Coranelle a little harder than necessary. I am so thankful for my family, but life is so fragile. Nothing is certain and we have to truly cherish each other, our health and our many blessings. How often we take it all for granted.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34838824#34838342

Above is the link of the NBC interview about the earthquake with Dixie, the owner of the orphanage that Amanda works at.

scooting!

Once again, she does better when she is not on camera- but you can have a glimpse of her "crawling" here.

progress

Playing at the zoo
Some momma, daughter time.
Checking out the Rhino
Going for a ride, checking out all the animals!

Coranelle had made a little progress this past week in learning to trust other people. My mom came over Saturday and spent the morning with us. Coranelle was content playing with Gammadele and even let her hold her. Coranelle was very cheerful, laughing and smiling a lot. She took a trip to Costco and was even patient while we were driving around lost for almost an hour. I was very proud of her. Later, we tried our luck with childcare at church. Coranelle didn't cry when I left her, so I was happy about that. The two times that she has actually made it through the service without our number being called, she was crying when I went to get her. The volunteers in the nursery had just been patient and kept her despite her fussing. But, it was a different story on Saturday when I went to pick her up. She was still sitting in the same spot, but had dry cheeks and a smile on her face. She was playing with a sweet volunteer and did a great job! What a relief for us. I am sure the puffs we left helped, but it felt so good to know that she hadn't been crying for over an hour.

In light of our success at church, I am hoping to try the childcare at the rec center soon. It would be great for me to be able to workout without pushing a stroller and I think it would be awesome for her to play with some other adults and kids. Plus, it is only $2/hour- you can't beat that!

Coranelle is becoming more mobile all the time. She has been showing off her scooting to everyone who is willing to watch. She can get across rooms, but slowly. She is starting to use her arms a bit more, and appears as if she is swimming breaststroke across the carpet. We'll see how long it will be before we have to baby proof. They grow up fast, don't they?!

It is finally starting to warm up here, so we got to enjoy the zoo for the first time yesterday. Coranelle seemed to like being perched up on top of Ryan and watching the animals and the people. I think she liked the bird exhibit the best because of all of the tropical plants, colorful birds and the movement. I am excited to take her there more often! It will be nice to get outside in the afternoons this week and enjoy the sun and above freezing temps!

That's all for now! Have a great week!

This is Coranelle giggling. She was laughing a lot more before we got the camera, but it's such a precious sound, I couldn't resist!

New Year

Our family at the wedding. This was after the cute tights and shoes came off, but she still looked adorable!
Coranelle and me at Lynn's wedding on Saturday.

Happy New Year to all! When I think back on it, parts seems to have flown by while others dragged. I cannot believe that Coranelle is now 7 months old. The parenting thing has gotten gradually easier as Coranelle becomes happier. She'll never be a chill, or easy child, but I have really started to appreciate her stubborn, restless personality. She's packed in a lot of activity in her last 7 months. Actually, she's packed in a lot of activity in the last 7 days!

We have had the chance to see a lot of great friends over the break. I saw my good friend Jessica on Tuesday and it was great to catch up with her and have her play with Coranelle again. Jessica is now working in Boston, so it's always a treat to see her! We also saw my friend Jaime and her husband Amado and it was good to hear about their lives- now that they live in Texas. We also had my friend, Kaitlyn over for dinner. She drove down from Allenspark to see Coranelle "in her own turf". It was great to catch up with these girl friends and I was so touched that they went completely out of their way to make time for us and come visit. We also got to see some great friends of mine from High School on New Years Eve up in Estes. We went up to my friend Phil's house for a fun party. Phil built his house from top to bottom and it is gorgeous. We love being there! Phil and I have been friends since middle school and we studied at Capernwray and Taurenhof together in England and Austria after HS. It was fun to catch up with some HS friends. Coranelle was wonderful and when she got tired, we tucked her into her carseat and she fell right asleep in the master bedroom. Then, we got to stay and enjoy the party until 11:30. We spent the night in my parents nice little condo up in Estes and really had a fun little get away. Saturday, we had another wedding. Coranelle did fantastic and I was so proud of her. Thanks to her new love for puffs, I did not even have to take her out of the ceremony. She just focused hard on taking puffs from Ryan's hand and eating them. She was quiet and happy for the whole ceremony. There were a few other babies there that melted down and had to leave, and I was amazed that for the first time, Coranelle was "well behaved". She got to meet lots of family friends of the Morks at the reception and when she was fussy and tired, she took a little nap in her carseat. It was an enjoyable night and fun to be with Josh, Claire, Bruce and Heidi at a wedding.

I know I have written on the blog about the rough transition we have had being new parents when so many of our couple friends are not parents yet. We had a lot of people promise us, pre-baby, that they would still hang out with us even after we had a kid. We had a lot of those promises broken and felt like we missed out on a lot of invitations to do things with our old group of friends. But, I feel like God is answering our prayers and providing new couples with kids in our lives. We have a few friends who are trying to get pregnant and another couple that has recently found out that they are expecting. We have a great couple up the street who had a sweet baby girl in November and I am excited for our daughters to be friends and for us to spend more time with the parents. Like all things, it takes time to adjust to a huge change in our lives.

Updates on Coranelle- As I mentioned before, she LOVES puffs. She has pretty impressive coordination in getting them in her mouth with her finger and thumb. It is a great way to keep her entertained while we eat dinner, meet someone for coffee or at a wedding! She continues to eat more and more solid food and care less about nursing. I refuse to worry anymore about this. I feel like she might self wean, but I am thankful that she has such a hearty appetite for "real" food. She eats solids three times a day now( and I try to nurse her 5 times a day still). I got a great babyfood making book from Steve for Christmas and have made her a great oatmeal ( oats, milk, dried mango or apricots, and banana). She loves that! I have also tried a cheesy, tomato, squash and pasta dish as well as a chicken, sweet potato and apple dish. She eats pretty much anything I give her. She is now scooting too. I wouldn't call it army crawling because she doesn't know what to do with her arms. But, she can push her self across the floor with her feet and get something she really wants. She continues to be super vocal- shouting and talking all the time, and super energetic. I held a 5 month old baby on new years eve. She was very sweet and chubby and was willing to be held by anyone (despite the fact that she doesn't go to daycare). She just cuddled up against me and sat still with her head on my chest. I was holding her while Ryan was bouncing a shouting Coranelle up and down next to me, remarking that Coranelle has never cuddled like that! It is so crazy how different babies can be. And, it also helped me realize why she is still so little. She moves ALL the time and burns so much energy. It has also made me less gung-ho about the anti swaddling kick I was on. Her little arms and feet are so spastic that it is just about impossible for her to lie still enough to fall asleep. We'll wait on the unswaddling for now.
Coranelle seems to be recognizing faces of family and friends and getting more comfortable with them. She has seen the grandparents and aunts and uncles more often and seems more willing to play with them and more comfortable being with them when I'm out of the room. She still doesn't love to just be held, or walked around, but I am pleased with the small progress she is making.

In other news, Ryan's back to work full time and we miss him already. It was really nice to have him home for 2, four day weekends. My dad will be arriving in Sarasota Florida today in order to start about 8 weeks of radiation. He has rented a condo and will be near a beach, but this is going to be a hard two months for him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through this treatment while missing his wife and 3 year old son in NM. Amanda is back in Haiti for another semester of teaching. She is still living in the orphanage and really has a heart for Haiti and has made some very lasting friendships down there. She was home for Christmas for a few weeks and we got to see her Christmas day. She and Rebecca have got to spend some good time together over the break.
Stefan and Rachael will continue to plan their wedding. I am so excited for them and really love that we get to see them more often now. They have made a lot of effort to visit us a couple times a month and come hang out with Coranelle.
Steve starts his tax season hours today and will be very busy for the next few months. He and mom have been working hard to get an office set up in Longmont so that Steve can work a few days a week at home, rather than commuting. I think that will be really great for both of them! Also, Josh and Claire are getting a puppy January 17th(a mini poodle). It will be fun for us to enjoy their dog and let Coranelle and her puppy cousin grow up together!

I just finished The Host, by Stephanie Myers and enjoyed it. It had a strange plot, but was another story of impossible love (like the vampire/human romances in her twilight series). I am looking for new books to read, so please leave me a comment with your book suggestions. I love reading in the evenings (and occasionally a chapter during Coranelle's naps) for pleasure. While in college and teaching, I had very little time to read and am loving the chance now!

Sorry that this was such a long update! I hope you are all enjoying the new year!