things are changing...

Sophie had her 6 month checkup today, even though she is almost 7 months old... but with the craziness of Christmas and being sick in December and all it just didn't work to get her in and then the new year came and she was doing well so i put off her appointment a bit... i knew she was growing slowly, but so did Emily at this age... i was surprised to learn today that she has lost 10 ounces in the last 2 months... so, her diet changed today... while i hope to continue nursing her as much as possible, i also have to give her formula (yuck) every day, and lots of it to get her back to gaining weight and i have to pick up the pace with her solid food intake (we are calorie loading here!) Developmentally she is on track, but size wise...well... she's too tiny. :( As a mom who wants to do everything that is best for my kids and having read and concluded that nursing is the absolute best source of nutrition for babies (God made it that way :))... it is very hard to take the news that it isn't working for mine... and that she isn't growing... i'm glad that we caught it now... but wish i knew what was going so wrong. I feel like a failure... a bad mother... like somehow i should try harder to make better milk (if you know how... please send me instructions!) :-p... like i have failed my child. How i feel isn't really what's important of course, but it makes it harder to handle. I'm ok with other people giving her a bottle of formula when i am away from her... but it was very sad today when i had to give her bottles after nursing her every time. I REALLY wanted to make it to at least one year with nursing so that she can have the immune system benefits and bonding time... but today was very discouraging. I feel bad too because I had put off her appointment if i would have just set aside some time back in December, we could have caught this earlier. :( But... hopefully with these changes Miss Sophie will start packing on the pounds... and hey... maybe she will get big enough to defend herself and we will be able to leave her in the church nursery with all the chubby babies!

Emily on the other hand is growing like a weed and talking all the time :) today in walmart she was trying to come up with every excuse possible to get out of the cart, "my new shoes want to walk", "i need to go find some bananas", "let me show you where the fishies are", "my 'dedos' won't stop it wiggling" at one point she even pointed up at the ceiling where there were several mylar balloons and said "Mommy, I need to walk now so I can jump up up and hold these farkel balloons (sparkles- she also calls sprinkles this...) till they are down on the ground" yeah... didn't work... sorry kido :)... but you do win the cutest 2 year old award! :)

Sophie's getting bigger...

slowly but still bigger :) she had her 4 month check up on wednesday, and she is 11lbs 2oz, 23 inches tall and her head is 15.75 inches around. The NP pulled up Emily's 0-6 month growth charts for me and Sophie is following them almost exactly. She had bloodwork done, just to check her liver, and it all came back normal as well praise God! :) So that worry is now gone and we don't have to deal with specialists and stuff! hooray! Emily was so sweet when Sophie was getting her shots, she told the nurse to be nice, that Sophie didn't like getting boo-boos and she kept gently rubbing Sophie's head and saying "you ok Sophie, two more boo-boos all done, you be ok! you need paci? you be ok! i kiss boo-boos? you ok Sophie" and when it was all over she wanted to give Sophie a hug and "tuddle her" (cuddle with her). I'm glad to have shots behind us! :)

growing things, growing girls and an oatmeal bomb!

I'm working on teaching Emily about many things, but one is God's creation. So far she's got down that "God made the beans, baby put in dirt, baby make flowers!" hmm... we are still working on it :) i try to show her her plants every day and let her water them so she can see how they are growing, as they spend most of their time in the window sill far above her head. :) i missed 3 or 4 days but here she is discovering how much her beans had grown!

and she wanted the plants to "sit in my wap" she loves this little plant, and even started singing twinkle twinkle little star to it. :) :) very cute!

this big pot she wasn't so sure about, she said "no no mommy, it big, it bite me!" so this moment didn't last long :)

Emily continues to be a good big sister and is very gentle and caring with Sophie, she loves to hold her, give her her pacifier, and bring her toys, she even tries to dance with Sophie sometimes, but Sophie isn't big enough yet, they have to stick to pat-a-cake :)

and oatmeal... yes it exploded out of her bowl one day while daddy was "watching her"... hmmm... he wasn't watching very close! :) Yes, she needs a haircut but... she asks very politely for a hair bow every morning so that she can see :) hehe

I have found a new love, pillowcase dresses, oh so easy, oh so cheap to make and so cute! (Thanks for the idea Dani!) Now i'm on the hunt for some real vintage eyelet or just "fancy" pillowcases for dresses for spring! :) So much fun!

...my first attempt

Tomorrow is Sophie's 4 month shots day... no fun... and the munchkin lost her ugly pacifier today as i was hauling 2 kids and 2 bags out to the car at mom and dad's... Max, the dog, will probably enjoy it or something... this is the only pacifier she will take...eeek! I had to nurse her to sleep tonight and I must go to Target and look for a new one tomorrow... I bought new ones that were just a different color (or so i thought), but apparently they aren't the same because she doesn't like them one bit! :) She chews on them, screws up her face, spits them out and cries. :(

Also, we are taking Emily off of wheat... there is some allergy or something going on (for over 2 months now) and i'm determined to get to the bottom of it! Poor little girl cries for peanut butter and jelly almost every day for lunch, but peanuts is one of the things we had to cut out in trying to find the culprit! So now i'm learning about gluten free diets... :-p and i'm finding they are a lot of work... i'm sure once i get the hang of it, it will be easy, but there is so much to learn! A garden is a must for next summer and I need to find a good food co-op around here to buy gluten free grains for bread, pasta and such. But for now, I just want to get my girly feeling better!

I can't resist! :)

 a face like that! :)

I really can't understand people who don't want children... i used to not... but now... i can't imagine why. Pure joy. All day. A few little fits inbetween but Sooooo much fun! :)

:(

I'm still in shock... he will be missed by so many... but now he's with our Father...

Roderick Jackson

Roderick Dylan Jackson, 46, of Chattanooga, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.

He had lived in the North Georgia area for most of his life and grew up in Mount Zion Baptist Church. He was an Army veteran and was the facility services supervisor with Covenant College for more than 10 years. He was currently a member of New City Fellowship Church in Chattanooga and was a deacon in the Tennessee Valley Presbytery. Mr. Jackson was the Founder of Mercy's Chosen Children, a Christian foster and adoption agency, and had previously led Mercy Ministry for Highland's Presbyterian Church.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Oliver and Niner Ruth Jackson.

Survivors include his parents, Gwendolyn and James Montgomery Sr., of LaFayette, Ga.; mother of his children, Tonya Starr, of Chattanooga; sons and daughters-in-law, Roderick M. "Ricky" and Jennifer Jackson and William O. and Allison Jackson, all of LaFayette, Ga., and Giovanni N. "Gio" Jackson, of Chattanooga; daughters, Hadia S. "DeeDee" Jackson, Gwendolyn G. "Grace" Jackson and Maricela Y. Jackson, all of Chattanooga; brothers and sisters-in-law, Bryne and Pam Jackson, of LaFayette, Clifford and Susan Jackson, all of Chicago, Ill., Jerrold Morton, of Griffin, Ga., Frank "J.R." Morton, of New Orleans, La., Donnie and Valerie Lawrence, of Noble, Ga., James Montgomery Jr. and Samuel Montgomery, both of LaFayette, Ga.; sisters and brother-in-law, Audrey and Jerry Bundy, of Atlanta, Vernetta Shropshire and Judy Griffin, both of LaFayette, Ga.; two grandsons, Roderick Michael Jackson Jr. and Tristen Jackson; several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and many friends.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, at New City Fellowship Church in Chattanooga with brother Randy Nabors officiating.

The body will be at the church from 10 a.m. until the service time Wednesday at the church.

Burial will follow in Lafayette City Cemetery.

The family will receive friends after 5 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Mercy's Chosen Children, P.O. Box 986, LaFayette, GA 30728.

Online guest book at www.wilsonfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements are by the LaFayette Chapel of Wilson Funeral Homes, LaFayette.

(from http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/sep/15/obituaries-september-15-2008/)