2011

2011 will be remembered as the year...

At Aunt Debbie's Christmas party

1. Ian learned to walk, run, talk, and sing.

2. Nadia started taking ballet and participating in AWANA.

3. Paul spoke at a conference near Lake Garda, Italy.

4. Ian had weekly OT,  three surgeries, and was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis.

5. Ruth got her first DSLR camera and 50mm lens.
6. We went on our first (and most likely last) cruise.
7. Ruth and Nadia started baking (brownies, cookies, etc.) at least once a week.
8. Paul wrote his first ($500,000) grant proposal.

9. Nadia sang her first vocal solo (in front of about 200 people).

10. Ian learned his shapes (square, rectangle, triangle, oval, circle, octagon, and pentagon) and how to sleep through the night.
11. Nadia learned how to do 12 or 24 piece jigsaw puzzles by herself.
12. We started the ivf process for the third time.

13. We had our first pool membership, and Nadia had her first swimming lessons.

P.S. I used Joy's idea for this post.

Naps and Needles

On Christmas Eve Paul and I stopped at the Rite Aid near his parents' house to get our flu shots. We don't have a Rite Aid near us, and Rite Aid had an agreement worked out with our health insurance that it wouldn't cost us any money to get a flu shot there. My university requires employees (and their spouses) to earn 70 "HealthyU points" each year or we have to pay more for our premiums each paycheck. A flu shot is worth 15 points; this is why we got them. It was Paul's first flu shot. Unfortunately he did have some side effects that day. Aside from a sore arm, I didn't notice any side effects. I've had the flu shot a few times over the past 10 years. Ian had his flu shot earlier this month. Nadia who didn't get one this year. Paul also had a physical this morning (worth 30 points) for the first time in several years. The only other times he had a physical over the past 10 years were when it was required for a home study when we were pursuing domestic and the international adoption.

I had an RE appointment this morning for my baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. I was given the desired "green light," which meant that the stabbing began this evening. Dr. Z started me on 150iu of Follistim and 75iu of Menopur. The last two ivf cycles I started on 150iu of both meds and then my dosage of Menopur (Repronex the first cycle) was dropped to 75iu on the 4th day. I am to go back on Monday just for bloodwork. The nurse gave me 4 boxes of Menopur for my 4 boxes of Repronex, and she gave me another Follistim pen. This is at the least my 4th Follistim pen, and in all reality I could have used the same one all these years. Thankfully they are free. The Follistim didn't bother me, but I admit I didn't enjoy the Repronex injection. The first time I gave myself an injection in the stomach was almost 8 years ago. I've given myself over a hundred belly shots, but it's been over 2.5 years since my last one. I guess I forgot that it's a bit painful. As I was tempted to scream OUCH, I reminded myself that if these shots result in a sweet baby in my arms, they are absolutely totally worth it. It helps to put things into perspective. It feels a bit surreal that the egg retrieval is less than 2 weeks away. The reason it feels that way is because with the previous 3 ivf transfers, I was on Lupron shots for weeks before the stimming started. I'm grateful that Lupron isn't a part of the protocol any more, but it just didn't seem like I was really so close to starting the ivf cycle. I'd appreciate prayers that the "right" number of eggs would begin growing over the next few days. I have no idea what the "right" number is, but God does!

As you can see from the pictures, Nadia enjoyed the Christmas party at Aunt Debbie's house today. Ian didn't have quite as good of a time because he wasn't feeling well today (cough, runny nose, etc.). Hopefully he didn't spread his germs to anyone at the party. Nadia ate one deviled egg, two chicken nuggets, pretzels, grapes, crackers, chips, and three Hershey kisses. She also enjoyed playing with Olivia (Paul's cousin's stepdaughter who is also 3.5 years old).

They both napped on the drive down to Debbie's house. Ian's nap was the typical length (30 minutes). Nadia slept much longer than that. She took a nap seven days in a row! Only three of those were taken in a bed (at Grandma's house). The other four were taken in the car. We shall see what happens when she goes back to taking her nap in her own bed starting tomorrow. Ian napped for 20-30 minutes almost every day; one exception was yesterday when he only napped for about 7 minutes in the car. Of the past 7 days he only took a nap in his crib two times as I let him sleep in my arms on Monday. Last Saturday he took his nap in a highchair at Paul's parents' house. Ironically, that was his longest nap. This evening he slept some on the way home. It's the first time in quite awhile he's taken two naps in one day. I think the darkness made him think it was time for bed. Hopefully this won't interfere with his ability to sleep through the night tonight. In light of his not feeling well I thought it was good that he got a little extra sleep today.

Eight Special Days

On December 23rd our Christmas festivities began. In reality they started sooner than that when you consider the Christmas dinner at church, making Christmas cookies and brownies, etc. Last Friday we let the kids open their presents from us. The next day we spent the day at Paul's parents' house where we opened more presents, watched some football, and ate a delicious meal. We ended the day at church where the kids participated in a birthday party for Jesus and then the candlelight service. Nadia did a good job singing that night (maybe tomorrow I'll have time to upload the video), but Ian didn't participate (just stood there quietly). I played a flute solo ("Birthday of a King") and sang with the choir.

On Christmas Day we drove to Maryland after Sunday School and church. I had a vocal solo that morning (my first at this church). I fed Ian at church right before we left. He fell asleep in the beginning part of our drive. The only restaurants that we passed which were open were two Chinese buffets and Denny's. We weren't interested in a sit-down restaurant, so we got food at Sheetz (a gas station). The food was awful (and Paul and I generally aren't picky!).  Later we passed a gas station that had a Subway inside. If we are traveling on Christmas Day again, we'll hopefully remember to hold out for the Subway. Paul and Nadia napped during the end of our drive. We arrived at my parents' house only moments before my sister and her family arrived home with my dad (who had picked them up from the airport). This was the third consecutive day of opening presents for our family!

On Monday we stayed at my parents' home all day. The kids had so much fun together! Rachel is 2 1/2, Adam will be 5 in February, and Susie is 7 1/2. The first thing Ian said when he woke up on Monday morning was "Adam, Adam, Adam". He loved it when Adam would chase him around the house. All of the kids enjoyed playing with the ladybug I had given my sister (for Rachel). They kept crowding into closets and the half-bathroom to enjoy the nightlight. Twice the kids locked themselves into a bathroom or bedroom. Oops! Over the time we were there I enjoyed playing Battleship with Susie, Connect Four with Susie and Adam, and Boggle with my dad, Wendy, and Drayton. Boggle is my favorite game, and I only get to play it 1-2 times a year. On Monday evening my mom served the traditional meal (turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, etc.), and after dinner we went caroling int heir neighborhood and distributed plates of cookies that Nadia and I had made. On Tuesday we had one outing (to Chick-Fil-A), and on Wednesday several went bowling (Paul, Drayton, my dad, Adam, and Susie) and then nine of us went ice skating later that afternoon (everyone except my parents and Ian). It was Nadia's first time going ice skating. She loved it! She liked going around only holding my hand (which was a workout for me), and she also liked using the walkers the ice skating rink had for young children to use. I was pleased that the kids didn't watch any tv on Monday or Tuesday because they watched too much on Sunday and Thursday (in the car). Wednesday evening they did watch part of the movie "Babe" (the one about the pig).

We left my parents' house around 9:45 this morning. We drove about one hour to visit one of my friends. I hadn't seen in her more than four years. She enjoyed meeting Nadia and Ian, and I enjoyed visiting with her and seeing how much Will had grown (he's 11 years old). We were roommates from 1994-96, and we also taught at the same school during that time period. We left her house about 12:45 and arrived home at about 4:30. I fed Ian at her house, but he was very hungry when we got home. Nadia had a nice nap in the car, but Ian only slept for 7 minutes of the almost 5 hours we spent in the car today. I thought that was the reason he wouldn't stop crying, but it turns out he was really hungry. I thought since I had fed him at 4:30 and changed his diaper that I would wait a bit before feeding him his fourth meal of the day, but he finally told me "hungry." I fed him his fourth meal not that long after his third meal, and he finally stopped crying. It is very helpful when a child can communicate his needs!

It was really great to spend 3 1/2 days with my family. I have two sisters. One lives in Turkey. I haven't seen her for about 18 months, and I have no idea when they will make their next trip the US. Although Wendy has lived in Vancouver and Chicago over the past 8 years, she still has made several trips back to MD every year, and almost every time she's been in MD, we've come down to visit. She won't be making as frequent trips in the future. I might not see her again until next Christmas. I admit I shed a few tears over this as we said our goodbyes. I wish I could see my sisters more often. Wendy took some pictures yesterday, and she also gave me some lessons on how to take better pictures with my camera as well as some editing tips using Lightroom software. She's become a rather talented photographer in my opinion! I don't aspire to becoming a professional (as she has), but I do want to continue to improve my skills as I photograph my favorite subjects (my kids of course!).

Whenever we come home from a trip, I always feel a bit overwhelmed as I feel the need to unpack, put things away, do the laundry, etc. as soon as possible. It was FAR more daunting of a task today because we hadn't put away the gifts we received on Saturday plus we were bringing home more gifts from my family's gift exchange on Sunday. Also, I was feeling the need to take down the Christmas decorations. We got quite a bit done, and then I ran out of steam. Hopefully we can finish getting everything back in order tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we'll be driving back to Harrisburg (we drove through it today on our way home). We're headed to Paul's aunt's house. They live about 2 hours away from where we live. The kids will each be getting one last present to open tomorrow. That's why I'm calling tomorrow our eighth (and final) day of Christmas (the fourth day in which they opened at least one gift). We've had a lot of fun and created wonderful memories. Ian definitely has the hang of opening presents. He managed to find Paul's birthday presents (his birthday is January 3) and unwrap Paul's gifts on Sunday morning. Oops!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Wendy took this photo as Nadia's 3 1/2 year picture.

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Her first time ice skating! (12/28/11)

Uncle Maurice holding Rachel (age 2 1/2)

Half-Birthday

Nadia definitely experienced jealousy over a birthday for the first time earlier this month. She kept talking about her birthday, but I think she finally grasped the concept that her birthday is a long way off. So she has turned her excitement towards Christmas. She's been saying "it's MY Christmas" (in contrast to Ian's birthday). I keep telling her it's Jesus' birthday that we will all be celebrating on Christmas. I can't believe that six months from today she'll be four years old. Most people don't get presents on their half-birthday, but since hers falls on Christmas Eve, it's very probable that she'll get at least one present on her half-birthday each year. Today she got lots of wonderful presents from Grandma & Pop Pop, Great Gram, and Uncle Al &Aunt Millie. She got a play castle (like a tent), a karoke machine (she loves singing in that microphone!), princess pjs, a new Snow White costume and tiara, another Sweetpea stuffed animal (she had asked Pop Pop for that), and some books.

She still loves to hear Bible stories. Some of her other favorite books over the past month have included Come Back, Amelia Bedelia, Cow Finds a Friend (which also Ian's favorite book at the moment - he calls it the "cow skunk book"), Diary of a Worm, and Charlotte's Web. Pop Pop gave her two books today that he knew she'd love - one tells the story of Jonah and the other the story of Noah (two of her favorite Bible stories). She also loves the new Bible, which we gave her yesterday. This particular Bible had come very highly recommended by several blogs I follow, and I have to say that thus far, I am very impressed. I think it's the best one we own (Jesus Storybook Bible). I like how they weave truths from the New Testament into the Old Testament stories.

Over the past month she took far fewer naps. She hasn't totally given them up yet (had one yesterday for example), but she's gone as many as 6 days in a row without taking one (in her bed at least). She's now more prone to sleep in the car or stroller than she has been in years. On Thursday she took her nap in the stroller en route to the park, and this evening she fell asleep in the car on our way to church. Ever since Ian came home from the hospital, we've kept her bedroom door closed whenever she's been sleeping. A few weeks ago she started asking us to keep the door open during her naps and at night. She always used to fall asleep with her head on the pillow, but now she often sleeps with her head at the foot of the bed. I'm happy to say she has outgrown the habit of pulling the sheets off her bed, and she's gotten a little bit better in terms of how many tissues she goes through in her bedroom.

She's made progress over the past month with learning to identify a few letters of the alphabet. YAY! I'm hoping she'll really take off with this now.

She's worn her Snow White costume almost every day. It almost feels like I'm back in the days of when I was teaching in a middle school that had school uniforms. I actually prefer to see her wear different clothes and not the same thing all the time. Her first one is in shreds. I'll be tossing it now that she got a new one today. She loves wearing dresses on Sundays, and the rest of the week she doesn't care what shirt/pants I pick for her to wear, except she doesn't like to wear jeans. She loves wearing her black patent shoes on Sundays, and she alternates between two different pairs of sneakers the other days (Tinkerbell or Elmo sneakers).

She can now do 24 piece puzzles all by herself. Way to go, Nadia! It wasn't that long ago she couldn't even do a 12 piece puzzle on her own.

She's really gotten into role playing and imaginative play lately. She spends a lot of time playing with Little People (the bus is her favorite). I love to hear her chattering away telling little stories. She also really takes her role as being her stuffed animal Sweetpea's mom. She even sometimes prays for her daughter to feel better in her prayer before bed, lol! Lately she's been calling Sweetpea "Karen" (she got the name Karen from the movie Frosty the Snowman).

She really enjoys painting and playing games. She enjoyed playing Zingo last night (a game we gave her yesterday as one of her Christmas presents. She also still really enjoys hide-and-seek, London Bridge is falling down, and Ring around the Rosy.

She's gotten better about feeding herself although I still have to feed her if I want her to eat something she's not crazy about eating. It's pretty easy to feed her vegetables these days as long as I mix some raisins in with whatever she doesn't want to eat.

She's made some slight progress over the past month with not sucking her thumb as much, but I think I'm going to have to buy thumb guards if I really want her to totally break the habit.

I love our 3 1/2 year old soooo much! Thank you, Lord, for blessing our lives with this sweet princess! What a special Christmas it was in 2007 when I was pregnant, and it's been growing more special each year now that she can participate in more of the celebrations.

Three Days of Christmas

I thought it would be best to let the kids open their Christmas gifts from us today ("Christmas Adam" as we called it growing up) so they could enjoy playing with their new toys for one day. We'll be spending tomorrow at Paul's parents' home - opening presents, watching football, eating yummy food, etc. We'll drive straight from their house to our church for the Christmas Eve candlelight service. I'm singing two songs with the choir, playing one flute solo ("Birthday of the King"), and singing with the kids (an encore of the songs they sang at the Christmas dinner earlier this month). After going to church on Sunday morning, we'll be driving to my parents' house. My sister and her husband and three kids will be flying in from Chicago that afternoon as well. The kids will be opening presents three days in a row! As we brought the gifts down and placed them under the tree last night, I realized I bought them more stuff than I probably should have. I had been buying things here and there throughout the year. I definitely bought them far more than I did the past 3 years.

Nadia made the card (pictured above) yesterday. I brushed paint on her thumbs and we used her thumbprints to look like Christmas lights. She had a lot of fun, and she used Christmas stamps and a red stamp pad to cover the back side of the card. Today we took some of her cookies that she made over to our neighbors, and I asked if they'd be able to babysit on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. They might be moving to Texas, but if they stay here, they can watch the kids from 2:50-5:30 two days a week.

Ian's favorite part of the festivities was unwrapping gifts. He's gotten very good at ripping that paper off! He loved the wrapping paper that had snowmen on it. He kept shouting "Frosty"! I think he'll enjoy playing with the toys I got him, but we didn't get any strong reactions when he opened them (in contrast to the train set he went nuts over at his birthday party). The gift he seemed to enjoy the most was the car Nadia gave him (she picked it out and they wrapped it for her at Cubbies). Nadia also enjoyed unwrapping the gifts, but she was also very, very excited about many of the things we gave her. I think the books and dvd's were her favorites, and she definitely wanted to use her new Sweetpea cup, plate, and bowl for lunch today. I've already been reading some of her new books to her. Ian has been playing with his new road carpet, wearing his new fire chief costume, and building with his new blocks. Nadia gave lots of her gifts tight hugs and squealed with joy many times. I was also pleased that she was very profuse with giving thanks for her gifts. Christmas with little ones is SO much fun!!!

One of the gifts I gave Paul turned out to be a dud. I doubt he'll ever wear it. I got him a navy blue baseball cap that says "World's Best Dad" on it. I'm sure he'll wear the NY Giants t-shirts I got him, and he said he likes the photo calendar and the NY Giants UNO game I got him. Paul got me some socks, a pot, a beautiful silver necklace, and a bag for my camera. I did the shopping and the wrapping, and Paul had the "pleasure" of assembling things today. That kept him busy for awhile!

VERY Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful that Jesus was willing to humble Himself and take on the form of a tiny, helpless baby. It's so easy to get distracted at this time of year by all the festivities and forget that we're celebrating Jesus' birth! It helps that Christmas falls on Sunday this year; we'll be at Sunday School and church on Christmas Day.

2. Based on recent events, I was fairly certain the President was going to deny my childrearing request. I had never contacted him directly, but I did so on Tuesday. I explained that Ian will be in Hershey Medical for a month next semester. I believe that this information plus the prayers of many who were praying on my behalf caused him to change his mind. Yesterday he wrote a letter approving my leave. The secretary of the union forwarded it to me today. I am so, so, so thankful that I will be able to work PT next semester. I am also so thankful that Jill sent it to me by email today. I had spoken with her about it on Monday and with the President of the union on Tuesday. They knew how anxious I was to hear the decision. I'm not sure when I would have found out if Jill hadn't forwarded the email to me. I consider this to be the best Christmas gift I have been given this year. I haven't opened my gifts yet, but it's going to be hard to top this! I'm looking forward to a much better night's sleep tonight.

3. The weather was mild enough to walk to the park today. I needed some excercise after eating so much chocolate chip pizza this week! Ian was the only one who had fun at the playground. Nadia fell asleep on the way there and didn't wake up until we were on our way home. Obviously she's not 100% ready to give up her nap yet.

Shopping and Baking

I wasn't planning to go to the mall this week, but yesterday I learned of a $10 off $25 purchase coupon that was good at Macy's today until 1pm. I also had some unused Hallmark coupons, and it had hit me recently that I should get some rewards for Ian for potty training since candy obviously is not an option. I had purchased some tiny little vehicles for him earlier that I had intended to give him as one of his Christmas presents, but I'm going to save those for rewards for success with toilet training instead. He's really excited about wearing big boy underwear, particularly as I got him Thomas (train) and Cars briefs. I decided to get him one bigger item to use as a larger reward. Once the potty training starts then I'll decide exactly what he'll have to do to earn this prize. I let him pick a stuffed animal at Hallmark as I had a $7 of $12 purchase coupon. He selected a tiger. I can't believe I bought a stuffed animal as we seem to have a billion of them, but we don't have any tigers. He does love tigers, and both children really do adore their stuffed animals. Maybe I'll buy one of these someday as a better way to store them. I'm going to try a 3 day potty training method that Joy had success using with two of her children thus far. It's certainly worth a try as it took a lot longer than 3 days to potty train Nadia. I'm planning on starting the potty training on December 31. It would be awesome if it worked in light of how easily he gets diaper rash. I won't have ANY trouble pushing the liquids with Ian although it will mean he'll go through an insane amount of rice drink for a couple of days.

Speaking of rice drink, I've gone back to giving him a little bit of it after every bite as long as he doesn't cry or fuss when he takes that bite. It's working!!! The upside is that I'm not holding his hand or head, and he's not crying or fussing. The downside is that I can only get him to eat about half as many bites as he was eating in a meal when I fed him while he was screaming. I really would like to conquer the crying habit by February so they're not going to need to work on that at Hershey Medical. I'd rather them work on texture and chewing and swallowing, but if he's still crying, they won't address anything else until these behaviors are extinguished. Hopefully I can gradually get him to eat more than one bite in between sips of what he calls milk so that he won't lose weight.

The other store I shopped at today was Macy's. I first went into BonTon to see if they had any black or grey adjustable waist pants for Ian (size 18 months). Nope. Then I tried Macy's. I don't shop there very often, but maybe that's a mistake! I again looked for black or grey pants for Ian. I found black pants, but they don't have an adjustable waist. Hopefully they'll work. I couldn't just buy the pants as the only black pants I found came as a 3 piece set that included a jacket and a shirt with a fire engine on it. He does NOT need any more shirts, but I'm sure he'll love it! The set was originally $49.50, but I paid $7.49. All the other items were $1.48 each these included 4 dresses that were originally $48 each. I got two for Nadia and two for one of our nieces for her next birthday. The dresses are really pretty (even have crinolin underneath). I couldn't resist them at that price! I also got Nadia a set of two festive hair things (red and black - she didn't have any in either color) and a two piece newborn size Christmas outfit for her doll. The grand total based on original prices would have been $269.50, but I paid a grand total of $17.47 for 4 dresses, 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, 1 jacket, and 2 fancy ponytail holders. Not bad, eh?

Since I hadn't found any grey pants at the first two stores I tried, I decided to make a quick trip into Children's Place. I have only shopped there once before. I need to keep this store in mind more often. It's so easy to get in and out of compared to a department store, which is difficult to navigative with a side-by-side double stroller. They had such a nice selection of adjustable waist pants, and it was possible to JUST buy a pair of pants rather than having to buy a three piece set.  I got him a pair of 18 month adjustable waist grey corduroy pants for $7.49.  I think Ian is definitely set as far as clothing goes now. This is the only downside of always shopping at clearnace racks, yard sales, and consignment shops. I ended up with some nice sweaters for him that he hasn't worn yet because he didn't have any pants to go with them.

Paul checked yesterday with PSU to make sure we will be able to enroll in their insurance again if the President doesn't approve my 50% leave request. The answer thankfully was YES as long as we do so by January 22. So this means I will not have to work FT next semester. I really don't see how I could do that, especially with Ian spending 4 weeks of the semester in a hospital almost 2 hours away. This has taken my stress level down a lot. I am still hoping the President will approve my request, but I don't think it's going to happen. I'd love to hear his decision this week, but I have a feeling I won't hear until next month. As of yesterday, I've already waited a full two months.

It seemed so weird yesterday that Ian napped more than Nadia. He slept 30 minutes, and she didn't sleep at all. Well today it was back to normal in this house as Ian only napped for 20 minutes, and Nadia is still sleeping as I type. So she didn't go a full week without taking a nap. I'm glad she took a nap as she woke up an hour earlier than usual this morning due to an upset stomach.

P.S. While at the mall in their stroller, Ian pointed to the "B" on Nadia's shirt and said "B". Way to go, Ian!

Cookies and Cards

It hit me that I didn't take any pictures of Nadia's Christmas cookies. I'm planning on taking these to Maryland on Sunday to give to my parents' neighbors when we go caroling. Tomorrow we're going to make our last batch of cookies (for 2011 anyhow) - gingerbread. Nadia keeps saying that she hopes one of them doesn't run out of the oven (Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett is one of her favorite books). Yesterday we made some chocolate chip marshmallow pizza. I had better not make that very frequently as I don't seem to have much self-control when it comes to that delicacy! Thankfully sugar cookies don't tempt me. We didn't do any baking today, but Nadia did make four Christmas cards for her grandparents. I brushed tempera paint on her hands, and she pressed her hand on the paper to make the trees. She then used do-a-dot markers and glitter pens to decorate the trees. I drew the stars on the tops of the trees. I think her grandparents will love them!

I'm happy to report that Nadia made progress with her letter identification skills today. She almost always could find or identify the letters "B" and "N" in her books. I had some letter flashcards and laid six of them on the table. I asked her if she could find the "X". She picked a different letter. Ian happened to be listening to our conversation, and he immediately reached across and picked up the "X". Learning to identify letters is definitely easier for Ian than it is for Nadia, but I'm sure she'll get it in the near future!

Today the kids saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast for the first time. I recorded it last night. We watched the first half after breakfast and finished it after dinner. Both children were upset this morning when I turned it off. Ian kept saying "watch Beast." Beauty and the Beast has been Nadia's favorite fairytale lately, and when I found out it was being aired on the Disney channel, I decided to let her watch her first princess movie (unless you count the VeggieTale versions of fairy tales). She's definitely into princesses these days. If I let her, she'd wear her Snow White costume 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She's worn it SO much over the past three months that it's been ripped and torn to the point it's almost in tatters.

Gingerbread House

Nadia made her second gingerbread house today. About 11 months ago she made her first after I purchased a kit off a clearance rack. This year we used two of Ian's milk cartons, graham crackers, homemade frosting (egg whites plus powdered sugar), and some candy (spicettes and Skittles) to make one. It's definitely not going to win any awards, but she had fun, and she enjoyed licking the frosting off her fingers and eating some candy along the way. Considering her age and my lack of artsy/craftsy talent, I think we did just fine. Although we were busy working on this gingerbread house at noon, I did remember to call the Pediatrician today. They wouldn't give a referral. It seems they don't have a favorable view of the OT clinic that EI recommended. I asked which OT would he recommend, and he said they only refer children with a feeding disorder to a feeding team. So we're probably going to be treading water until he's admitted to Hershey in about 2 months. This is one of those times when I wished we didn't live in a rural area.

As for eating, Ian did a little better this weekend. I think it has a lot to do with what I feed him. Today he did better with handling texture than he has lately, but he screamed and fought me a lot more than he did the past two days. Karen isn't coming this week or next week, but it's been awhile since I felt like she was a help with his feeding issues.

As for sleeping, after months of going down at night without crying, he's back to screaming in bed at naptime and at night. It's harder on my nerves now that he's more verbal as sometimes he yells my name over and over again. It's hard not to go in, but doing so just prolongs the crying (I am speaking from experience here). He's doing really well sleeping through the night, and his nap is on average 30 minutes long. Up until a few days ago, Nadia had never missed her nap more than 2 days in a row. Today was her fifth day of not napping in her bed. She did fall asleep in the car around 4:15pm on Thursday en route to going to Perkins for dinner. She also fell asleep in the car last week at 3:45 on the way to ballet. I'm trying to decide whether to just make it a "room time" for her or to insist she stays in her bed for more of a "quiet time." I had hoped she wouldn't give her nap up this early, but I guess at 3 1/2 she no longer needs a nap on a regular basis.

I've had trouble sleeping the last three nights. I don't have trouble falling asleep, but whenever I wake up in the morning, I can't go back to sleep like I usually do. Instead I lie there going back and forth in my mind as to what I should do if the President denies my request for childrearing leave. I vascilate between thinking I should resign or that I should ask for 10 student teachers plus 2 night classes and attempt to work FT next semester. I really don't want to work FT though. My main concerns are who will be able to feed Ian while I am at school and how I would possibly juggle working FT while caring for a 3.5 year old while my 2 year old is in the hospital for a month (especially as that hospital is almost 2 hours from our home). I really, really, really wish he'd approve my request, but from some things that happened on Friday, I am feeling quite certain his answer is going to be "no." To be honest, even teaching 2 night classes will be a challenge. I wish I could continue my current schedule (of teaching 2 online courses), but our department isn't offering any online classes next semester. I'm scheduled to teach 2 online courses next summer, but that won't happen if I end up resigning. The university will be closed next week so if I don't hear this week, I won't be hearing anything until January. I haven't stared working on my syllabi, haven't made childcare arrangements, etc. It's really stressing me out because normally I'd be working on those now since the new semester begins in about one month. I'd greatly appreciate prayers that I'll hear the President's decision this week, and that if his answer is "no" that I'll have wisdom to know what I should do.

This morning I picked up a refill of my bcp. I just have five more pills to take (last one will be Saturday), and next week I should start stabbing my belly. I also picked up fluoride tablets (for Nadia) and drops (for Ian). I didn't owe a dime for any of those, which was nice. I also haven't been paying any co-pays for Ian's doctor appointments now that he has both Blue Shield and Medicaid.

Ian's 2nd Birthday Party!

Paul's parents, my mom, Paul's grandmother, and his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew joined us to celebrate Ian's 2nd birthday today. I figured he wouldn't eat the cake; so I said Millie should make whatever kind of cake Pop Pop would prefer as he'll be turning 70 yeras old in 3 days. In honor of Pop Pop (who is a meat and potato kind of guy), I served pot roast, mashed potatoes, cheddar biscuits, vegetables, and applesauce. Hopefully next year I can take Ian's preferences into account when planning the menu.

Ian had zero clue how to blow out his candle. Nadia blew it out for him. Millie had brought Ian a cupcake with dairy free frosting. I hoped he would at least play with the frosting with his hands. Nope. He pushed that cupcake away. Grandma put a dab of his frosting on her finger and was trying to put it on his lips, but he turned his face away from her. Maybe next year. We're 0-2 thus far in getting the classic "frosting on the face" photos that most kids have taken at their first birthday party. My guess is we'll never have such a picture for Ian because by the time he is eating cake, he'll be eating with utensils not his fingers.

He did have a clue however regarding how to open his presents. Nadia was disappointed as she enjoyed "helping" him in the past (doing it for him). Those days are over. He can open his own gifts! The gift he opened today which brought about the most excitement was a Thomas & Friends wooden railway. He kept exclaiming "TRAIN, TRAIN" and looked like he was going to burst with excitement. I was very grateful for the 7 family members who drove to our house today to celebrate his birthday. I want to try to make his day special each year even though his birthday is so close to Christmas. One perk of his birthday being so close to Christmas is that we were able to share our Christmas cookies with everyone at his birthday party. The sugar cookies were a hit!