Keeping Up

Some days (or weeks), I feel like I am putting in the bare minimum to keep up with the craziness. It has definitely been one of those weeks. We've been trying to paint our living room and knew we would have to do it in spurts with two little ones and a pregnant mommy. It is coming along nicely, but we didn't count on the fact that all four of us would be struck down in sickness over the past week. Shawn and Jamie were plagued with head colds, coughs, and congestion, while Clare and I came down with the stomach bug that is going around. Funny enough (and a definite blessing!), the boys didn't catch what the girls had and vice versa. It was enough to knock us off our feet for a few days. I have to be grateful, though, because we have really managed to get by this winter fairly germ-free. (Of course, I will be jinxing us now!)

Clare's eating is still going strong. What a huge improvement. I cannot put the feeling into words how relieved we are to have that past us (to some degree, since we still have weight checks and the swallow study in the future). However, she is continuing to have bowel issues, even with being on the Miralax, so we are currently trying to figure this out. She is back to screaming in pain when passing something and even passed blood last night. It may be her body trying to adjust to the sudden inflow of food again, so we have been doing a lot of dose tinkering. It's always going to be something, I fear. My hopes of Clare walking by her second birthday are pretty much nil now. I am keeping my fingers crossed for June, at this point. I can't say she isn't making progress, but the progress is going at a snail's pace. We recently bought her her first pair of shoes, by suggestion of her PT. A sturdy cruiser made by Stride Rite with high tops to support her ankles, going on the theory that if Clare had more support around her ankles, she would feel more confident about taking some steps. She will walk a little holding onto our hands, but will not cruise along furniture or even let go of one hand. Clare loves her new shoes and has learned the phrase "new shoes" while pointing to them. Her vocabulary continues to expand and her receptive language is amazing, so I am thankful that she continues to develop in that area. She loves to be involved in whatever we do, including testing out the new baby swing for us. As you can see, she loved that, too!

It has been a disappointing winter snow-wise in NH. Poor Jamie. In the fall, he eagerly looked forward to winter - building snowmen, snow forts, sledding, having snowball fights. In the past, we have a good continuous 3-4 feet of snow on the ground by now. This year, we have maybe three pitiful inches on our yard. Jamie (and Shawn) were so determined to build at least one snowman, though. See if you can find it in the photo!