Guess who's mobile?!

She was trying to crawl all morning, but just couldn't get those legs to move. We were downstairs and the camera was ready. Right before her nap, I heard Collin yelling from upstairs that Bailey (the cat) had an accident on the floor. We went upstairs to clean up the mess and I sat her down on the floor. I sprayed the spot with white, foamy carpet cleaner and off she went for it. Of course the camera was downstairs...

A letter to Maw Maw

Today was a tough day. Today was my Maw Maw's funeral. It still seems surreal to type that last sentence. I have been fortunate enough to have had all 4 of my grandparents here with us for 31 years. So this feeling of loss is new to me. Although she has had health problems for a while, and I always thought she would probably be the first to pass on, it still seemed to happen too quickly. I spoke to her on the phone on Wednesday and early Thursday morning, the Maw Maw I knew and loved was gone. She went into respiratory and cardiac arrest which lasted for 10 minutes. Because of the lack of oxygen to her brain, she suffered severe brain damage and was placed on a ventilator. For four days, she was unresponsive and in a coma. It was very difficult to watch her lie in that hospital bed. She could not open her eyes, move, or speak. Everyone kept saying she could hear us. I think this comforted some, but it made me feel uneasy. I didn't like the idea of her hearing us and not being able to respond. But I am glad that she might have been able to hear many of us saying goodbye to her and know that we were all there with her. Our family made the decision to remove life support on Sunday evening. She passed away peacefully 20 minutes later.

Dear Maw Maw,

There are so many things I will miss about you. But I will remember you and cherish these memories forever.

1. Playing in the basement. I'll never forget the piano, international dolls, or the Bee Gees guitar.
2. Spending the night at your house.
3. The way you always said, "Good Night, Don't let the bed bugs bite" when tucking us into bed.
4. The way you let us have coffee in the morning. (And sugary cereal).
5. The way you would take us to Kroger the night before to buy sugary cereal if you didn't know ahead of time that we were spending the night.
6. The way you could always count on finding club crackers and goldfish in the pantry, Coca Cola and Sprite in the refrigerator, and Klondike bars in the freezer.
7. Little chocolate things with little handles. (aka Hershey's Kisses).
8. The way your candy dishes were always filled with #7.
9. The way you always had peppermints in your purse.
10. The way you would stand in your driveway, jump up and down, and wave bye with both hands each and every time we left your house.
11. Taking baths in the basement bathroom with all of the wind up bath toys, bath paint, and pink dove soap.
12. The way we had drawers of extra clothes and jammies at your house.
13. Jiffies (aka slippers or house shoes).
14. "I'm going to hang you up by your toes, and let the rabbit nibble your nose."
15. The way you always brought presents for all of us when it was someone's birthday. (And the way you carried on this tradition with our children). You always said, "we/they just wouldn't understand" even though we/they would have (and you probably knew that).
16. The way you always took us to Sunday School and church with you.
17. The way you could curl my hair in those perfect little ringlets.
18. The way you took us shopping for back to school clothes.
19. Heck, the way you took us shopping every Sunday after church.
20. The way you took us to eat at the Sheraton after church. I will never eat an Eggs Benedict without thinking of you.
21. The way you always brought us back bags of travel size shampoos/conditioners, etc. whenever you went on a trip.
22. The way you always gave us your free gifts when you bought something new from Estee Lauder.
23. Saddle oxfords.
24. The way you took me to the Marriott Marquis once just to hang out in the lobby and wait to catch a glimpse of a New Kid on the Block.
25. Mick's and fried green tomato sandwiches.
26. The way you decorated your house for Christmas.
27. Maw Maw biscuits.
28. Banana pudding. (And the way you hid it in the laundry room so we would think you didn't make it. But you always did.)
29. Christmas Ham. (I sure hope this recipe can be found somewhere).
30. The way you brought sausage and biscuits to our house every Christmas morning when you came to see what Santa Clause brought us.
31. California Pizza Kitchen.
32. The way your oxygen tanks never slowed you down.
33. Countless Braves and Thrasher's games.
34. My first country concert. Randy Travis.
35. My first trip to Las Vegas. And the way you allowed my boyfriend (who would become my husband 5 years later) tag along.
36. The way our conversation started the same each and every time I called you at the office. "Estelle Howard, may I help you?" Hey, it's me, Kristen. What are you doing? "Me? I'm trying to get a little work done."
37. The way you would mutter under your breath when you were irritated. Although we could all hear you and we usually knew exactly what you were irritated about.
38. The way you never wanted anyone to go without. (You heard one of us say we didn't have a jacket to match one day. The next time we saw you, you brought us 5 new jackets. Each.).
39. The way you love your great grandchildren so much, you refused to move from the hallway outside the door as one of them was being born. The hospital staff finally brought you a chair.
40. The way you spoiled those great grandchildren just as much as you did your grandchildren. Your boyfriend (aka Collin) and little Kristen (aka Katelyn) love you very much. I wish they could have known you for as long as I had the privilege of knowing you.

What I don't like about this post is the # of memories that are missing. I know I'm leaving something important out. It's impossible for me to sit here and list 31 years worth of memories of you. I have to add some of my favorite stories that I don't remember, but that you have told me throughout the years. Like the time you took me to the toy store. I loaded your arms full of toys and then looked up at you and said, "Hold me, Maw Maw." Or the time I cried because I thought you didn't buy the swing set, when really Paw Paw was building it in your back yard as I was crying. Or how you used to have to hold my feet to make me go to sleep.

Maw Maw, I am going to miss you so much, but I know that you are in a much better place. I know that you can run and you don't need your oxygen tank anymore. I know that you are taking care of Daddy's brother now. I know that you are looking down on us always. You will live in my heart forever. I hope that there is a shoe store (and a Saks Fifth Avenue) in Heaven.

Estelle Kinsey Howard
December 12, 1935-October 10, 2010
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine warmly on your face,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys...

Unless they're this cute.

20 Things That Made Today Great

1. Sleeping in. I woke up to sunshine coming through my bedroom window this morning. Okay, I actually woke up to Mike's 7:20 alarm. Not children on a monitor. Collin slept until 7:30. Katelyn slept until 8:00! 12 1/2 hours!
2. Snuggles. When Collin woke up, I asked him if he was ready to go potty and get his big boy underwear on, to which he responded, "no, let's just lay in my bed and snuggle for a minute."
3. Yucky fever/sore throat virus gone. For the day anyway. Sore throat seems to be making its appearance again.
4. Tickets bought for Toy Story 3 on Ice. Collin is going to be so surprised!
5. Plans made for a kid-free anniversary dinner tomorrow night. 6 years!
6. Halloween decorations. Collin has been counting down the days until October 1. We got the pumpkins out bright and early this morning.
7. Cute Halloween outfits (and shoes that finally fit Katelyn).
8. Blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. Which lead to #8.
9. Nice, outside lunch at Sonic with the kids.
10. Collin's super cool robot glasses in his Sonic kid's meal.
11. Collin making Katelyn laugh all the way down to the Spirit Halloween store.
12. Collin not throwing a tantrum in the Spirit Halloween store because his size was not in stock in his chosen costume.
13. Two Halloween costumes purchased at Party City. (Along with some cute yard decorations.) Sheriff Woody and a cute little fairy in case you were wondering.
14. One tall decaf pumpkin spice latte.
15. Collin wearing his Halloween costume while we decorated the yard with newly purchased decorations.
16. Family walk after dinner.
17. Collin falling in the toilet while I was giving Katelyn a bath. (This was not funny for Collin, and he got really upset that I laughed.) He usually sits on the potty while I bathe her, but tonight, he didn't realize that he had left the seat up.
18. Bedtime stories.
19. Mike doing the grocery shopping for next week.
20. DVR'd Private Practice.

And now it's bedtime. Good night and happy October!

10 Months!

Happy 10 months Kate Kate!
Here's what the past few weeks have brought you...
1. A tooth! Your first pearly white made it's appearance a week or so after you turned 9 months old. The second is on it's way also. Mommy was finally able to snap a picture of it today.
2. A love of books. You get so excited when you see a book. You immediately sign "more" so someone will read it to you.
3. A trip to see our friend, Jill (an audiologist). You passed your evaluation until the very end when you wouldn't respond to the lower intensity sounds. You were possibly just distracted by Mommy's badge you were playing with. We'll take you back in a few weeks for a retest.
4. Your first PT session. Ms. Maggie saw you last Friday. She thinks maybe your hips are a little weak and move a bit too much. (You can reach for a toy in sitting and practically lay your tummy on the ground.) This is possibly why you have a hard time staying on your hands/knees by yourself. You have been doing better since that day...trying to get in that position. One little foot keeps getting stuck. But with help from Mommy, you can stay on your hands and knees much longer and even rock back and forth. We see a lot of this.
5. Meal time changes. You really disliked stage 3 foods, so we moved to mostly finger foods. Mommy didn't think you were eating quite enough, so we went back to stage 2 plus finger foods. We haven't put a food on your tray that you haven't accepted. Pizza, black olives, waffles, pancakes, turkey, chicken (probably your favorite), tomato, avocado, potatoes, broccoli, green beans, peaches,pears. You name it, you like it. And you got the go ahead from the doctor to have yogurt and cheese as well. You are loving them!
6. Communication! You're taking after your big brother in this area! When you see something you want, you sign "more". As long as we can see where you are looking, we can figure it out. This is most obvious when there is food or a book in your line of sight. Just like we had to with brother, we have to explain to everyone that no, she is not clapping. She wants (insert whatever you are looking at). It's really sweet that you have discovered how to tell us what you want!
7. New games. You've discovered the ever popular game of dropping something just to see it picked up. Over and over again. You also started playing catch with Mommy. And you are surprisingly accurate at throwing the ball back to Mommy every time.
8. Holey pajamas. One day last week, Mommy noticed you had a hole in the foot of your jammies. Then I realized you had a hole in the foot of EVERY pair of jammies you have. I guess you have grown out of your 9 month sleepers. Here you are in your new big girl jammies. (Note to other Mommies: Wal Mart has super cute $5 organic cotton pajamas. I was pleasantly surprised. Collin and Katelyn will both be sporting these until they are discontinued or until they are too big for a 5T).
9. More love for your brother, the cat, and the dog. You get so excited in the morning when we hear big brother waking up and go into his room to get him. The same excited you get when the cat or the dog walk by. It's so cute.
10. Lots of 5-5:30 wake up calls. Okay, you were the wake up call. You and Mommy had lots of quiet playtime in the mornings this month before anyone else was awake. You have been back to 6:30 for the past few days. That's been nice, because Mommy was getting a little tired. 11. More and more love from your Mommy and Daddy!

We love you sweet girl!

How big is Katelyn?

Soooooo big!!

So yesterday, I put Katelyn in her crib while I vacuumed her room. She just looked so grown up to me sitting in there playing with her tea pot (her new fav toy). I thought, well I'll go get the camera and take some pics of her since it's been a few days.

I got some cute shots...

but I never thought I would capture this...
At her 9 month check 2 weeks ago, the nurse asked if she was pulling up to stand. My response? Not even close. What do I know??

Now as an OT, I'm not supposed to be happy about this step towards walking before she's even getting on her hands/knees. So I'll be working extra hard to get her crawling. But as a mommy, I'm proud as can be that she's taken another step forward.

And did I mention she's decided baby food is for babies, and clearly she is not one of those. Here she is after her yummy avocado and diced apples dinner (with a few bites of chicken noodle dinner snuck in by mom).

We love our big girl!!

Picture Day

Well, not only did I take the kids to have their school pictures taken today, but picture day carried on all day at our house. Mainly because I received my Lightscoop in the mail today and just had to try it out. It is a little mirror device that fits over my pop up flash to bounce the flash and make the lighting look more natural. So we had a small session in the morning just to test it out and got some good shots. Then later this afternoon, I took Katelyn's 9 month pictures and tried to replicate a bathtub picture of Collin that is hanging in their bathroom. I had taken them last week, but was unhappy with the lighting in all of them. (Hence my purchasing a Lightscoop this weekend). So here's a slideshow of my favorites. I haven't edited any of them, so ignore the spots on the background in some of them. And the pics of both of them are the best I could get. Collin is such a goofball lately, and I can't get him to give me a natural smile for anything. (He did great for the photographer at school, however.) Enjoy!