Spring is here!

Well, here we are about a month after my last post!  Since then, we have been constantly on the go!  Darran's mom had surgery (and is doing well), we went to my class reunion at Sentinel, had a big Easter weekend with family pictures, Darran's been meeting deadlines on a couple of big projects at work, and I have been SICK SICK SICK and found out yesterday that I will most likely be having my gall bladder removed!  At this point, it's actually a relief to get this news because I'm just ready to feel better and get back to being a wife and mommy.

As usual, Natalie has been our little ray of sunshine through the stress and sickness lately as she has been healthy and happy and growing like a little weed.  At her 6 month appointment she weighed 17 lbs, 10 ozs and was 27" long!  She likes to eat and hasn't really found a food that she doesn't like!  Her favorites, though, are sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce and bananas, and she loves this mixed vegetable puree that has potatoes, peas and carrots in it.  She is also dangerously close to crawling.  She can get up on her hands and knees and scoot a little and rock back and forth, then she plops down on her stomach and rolls over.  Funny thing about her is that she absolutely WILL NOT start to crawl if you put her down on her stomach.  She has shown great independence with the whole thing and really wants to sit up first, then reach forward and put herself on her stomach and push up BY HERSELF.  Heaven forbid that we try to help her or prop her up or support her.  No, she likes to do it herself, thank you!  I think we have one independent gal on our hands!  She squeals and laughs and says all sorts of sounds (which pleases her speech pathologist mother).  And Darran will deny it, but she says Mama!  She's also learning the DaDa sounds as well but still needs to practice.  She loves to play with other kids and just smiles and reaches out to hug and touch people.  We love it when she reaches out to us to pick her up.  She is sleeping well in her crib (instead of the little bassinet), and often rolls to her stomach to sleep at night.  We also have discovered that she loves for us to rub her ears!  I was cleaning out the outside of her ears, and noticed that she got really quiet and shut her eyes a little and smiled really big while I was doing it.  She does it every time now - it's like she's purring or something - so funny! 

Lily is also doing a little better.  She is now on her new seizure medicine since we found out that she has a liver condition called microvascular dysplasia.  This new medication should control the seizures better without harming her liver like many anti-convulsants would.  We appreciate all the calls and prayers for her!

I'll post a few pictures now and then add Easter pictures later.

Here is Natalie with our sweet neighbor Marilyn with the beautiful green blanket that she knitted for Natalie.

Easter bunny outfit and Natalie trying to reach for the camera

In her wagon with Lily getting ready to plant some flowers

In the wagon looking at our daffodils

Keep checking the blog for more Easter pics and hopefully a quicker update - unless the gall bladder surgery comes sooner than expected!