so, in all this beautiful momma life i'm leading, i just don't want to forget. so this is the latest & greatest on all 5 mooneys.
january 2012.
((it's hard to do this for me...because all i want to put beside everyone's name is "they are awesome & i love them like crazy", but when i look back in 20 years that just won't be enough detail))
matt is amazing. if i was a really good writer (like him) i would just write about him, but i know i'll never do it justice so i just don't. he is the. best. dad. every time i see him pretend with hazel or tackle anders or gently hold & learn lena, i just wanna cry. how did i get him? last week began his first full days back at work since lena came home & my first full days to do it alone. (i use "alone" very loosely because even though matt is back at work, lots of folks helping out) he still came home early & called & texted a few times to say things like
"are you making it ok?"
"you are a great mom, you can do it!"
he is focused & wonderful to watch as he lines up & does all the question asking & fact finding for a plan for lena's care.
work is pretty consuming when you've been out of the country for 6 weeks. and it's also pretty consuming when you do what you love, when you are pioneering & advocating through a pretty new & quickly growing organization. when passion & profession mingle & mix & lines of work & life are blurry. so he is fathering hard & working hard & i am so honored to be his wife.
thank you brooke robinson for great pictures ...too bad we were in ukraine & didn't get to send any christmas cards:)
lena is home. it's so sweet to even type that. she is here & she is such a joy to us every day. we just had no idea how she would do with so much change & she has done so great. she definitely has times, usually after a lot of people have been over, that she lets us know that it has all been too overwhelming. but for the most part she is just happy & sweet & rolls with everything. she loves riding in the car, she is sleeping well at night & no matter how tired she may be in the day, she is not interested in a nap. she has only eaten soft or liquid type food for 5 years & is learning to chew food... this is probably the most difficult part because we are wanting her to get good nutrition & eating is just hard for her. she does better & better every day & we are being patient with each other in this area. she loves her stander & does not love her wheelchair & i just love that she let us know:) she started physical, speech & occupational therapy last week & she loves the intentional interaction, which i think is the cutest thing ever.
oh, that beautiful smile!
hazel is 3 years & 3 months. she is so full of life & joy & enthusiasm. she loves to sing & dance & laugh & play pretend & read books & make up stories & learn letters. sometimes she laughs so hard that she get the hiccups. our being away for so long seems to really effect her...her light just seemed dimmer for about the first week we were back. not because of anything having to do with lena, she just seemed to really miss her mom & dad. understandable, & heartbreaking. she is doing much better & seems back to her old self. she is a great sister. i wish the world could see just how dear she is to lena. she wants to take a bath with her & she wants to wear the same pajamas as her & she wants to have tea party's with her & she rubs her cheek & go gets her toys & explains to people that she can't see very good. even though she is the middle in actual birth order, she is very much the "older" sister, taking care of everyone. she is smart as ever & asks great questions & hilarious questions & is always scoping the world around her with great attention.
here is an example of a single line of questioning/statements that happened at bedtime the other night, all of which took place in about 2 minutes.
she was playing with a new dog that our friend hillary (& her husband ben) gave her::
i'm so glad hillary got me this dog.
his name is ruffy.
what is ben's middle name?
why are they married?
do they live int he same house?
this dog is so handsome.
he has a black tail.
i wanna get married with ben.
does he only love hillary?
is hillary his only wife?
why?
mommy, where is their house?
how do you get there?
is it a long way?
can we drive there sometime?
do we still have a picture of them? (we get christmas cards from them)
can i see a picture of them? (i go & get the current christmas card picture & show her)
where's the other picture of her in the white dress? (referring to wedding picture from the christmas card from 2 years ago!)
why do they have sticks? (the current non-white-dress picture is set with some trees in the background)
why is ben's hair different? (to which i say, what do you mean hazel? why do you think it's different?)
it's not curly like the bideo (meaning video...which, ben's a musician, but i have NO idea where she would've seen a video of him?)
she just crawled in my lap & is begging me to type "h" because it is her favorite lethter. (she just typed that "h" as i was typing & i'm leaving it:))
hazel:: ready to play with lena, kiss lena, have a tea party
lena:: ready for bed:)
anders is 2 years & 2 days. i wrote a lot about him for his birthday post, but he is also doing amazing with all the changes & with his new sister! he sings a specific song to lena that just says her name over & over. right when he wakes up (usually the earliest riser of the house), he points to hazel's room & says "haze" & then to lena's room & says "lena"...although, it doesn't sound like it, it sounds sort of like "wewa". he has lots of words that only i (& sometimes hazel) know what he's saying. he's not real verbal, but he is talking a TON more these days. he is learning to be softer with lena...he loves her a little too much. he is also learning that it is okay to be told "no"...something i'm not sure he heard much of while we were in ukraine for 6 weeks.:) he is so cute & quirky & funny & these are the days where just more & more of his personality shine through...so fun learning more about him!
checking in...love it all and it suits you to a T. :)
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