Pain

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Quick update/prayer request ... I think I can say that the dreaded postpartum rheumatoid arthritis flare has begun. Despite still being on prednisone, most of the joints in my hands and wrists, as well as my left elbow, are swollen and hurting. Praise God that Robbie is a champion nurser and can do his thing without much help from me! I am also thankful that we have his two-week appointment tomorrow so I can get the pediatrician's input on the medications recommended by my rheumatologist (in other words, so that I can double-check their compatability with breastfeeding). My rheumatologist is ready to write the scripts as soon as I have the green light from our pediatrician, so we're hoping to be able to treat this more effectively very soon!

I love blooming trees!

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Here are some shots in our yard a couple weeks ago. Isn't it cool that God could have created all trees the same ... but He chose to provide beautiful diversity in nature instead!

From March 2009



From March 2009



From March 2009



From March 2009



From March 2009

Oh, and I could tell it had been an abnormally snow-filled winter when Jocelyn saw the tree in bloom and yelled, "SNOW!" I don't think a native Raleigh toddler would have mistaken white blooms for snow in most other years!

While she's adjusting well...

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...we can tell that Jocelyn is getting a little less attention than she's used to. I don't think it's normal for a little girl who has just tumbled from the top of the stairs to the bottom, cutting her lower eyelid and banging herself up nicely on the way down, to ask for "more fall stairs." When asked why she wanted to fall down the stairs again, she said, "for more Daddy hold." Yep, even though she was hurt and bleeding a little, she was willing to do it again to get more cuddle time. The three of us talked about it, and Lee and I are pretty sure now that she understands that she can just ask for cuddle time and that injuries are not a prerequisite!

I do think that she's getting an impressive black eye from the fall, and I'm wondering if it will be the right shade to coordinate well with the yellows and purples in her Easter dress. Should make our first Easter pictures as a family of four a little more interesting, huh?

Reptile & Amphibian Day at the museum

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The NC Museum of Natural Sciences, that is, on the weekend before Robbie's arrival. We expected Jocelyn to love it after her exuberant reaction to Bugfest, but evidently BUGS = COOL! but REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS = CREEPY! She did like some of the bigger snakes (i.e. the snakes that could easily kill any of us), but everything else, including the box turtle, was frightening.

Checking out an albino snake
From March 2009


Loving the shell, mainly because it held no live turtle!
From March 2009


This cute little guy ...
From March 2009


... is evidently truly scary! When he moved, she jumped back and clung to Lee.
From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009


Cuddling with a fake snake
From March 2009


More snakes!
From March 2009


Scared again (by the suggestion that she might want to touch a little snake)
From March 2009


Hey, look, big venomous snakes! Not scary at all! (Yep, Jocelyn is weird like that.)
From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009


A little crocodile
From March 2009

From March 2009


The freaky alligator snapping turtle
From March 2009

From March 2009


Another croc
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An iguana
From March 2009


And the sea turtle (Umm, we didn't get any pics of the sea turtle ... oops! But I promise that we were looking at the sea turtle in this picture!)
From March 2009


But, as interesting as the exhibit was, Jocelyn loved the fish ... yep, the ones that are ALWAYS there at the museum!
From March 2009

Priceless (and pictureless) moments

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I try to capture all our little moments on camera, but that doesn’t always happen … usually because it’s hard to be fast enough (even if the camera is within reach, which is often isn’t!) and other times because a picture just can’t always catch what I’d like. So here are some of those moments in words …
  • This morning when I knew Robbie had slept long enough to need to be fed again soon, I let Jocelyn go into his room. She sat in the rocking chair next to his bed, grabbed a couple of books, and said, “Read baby,” and then proceeded to read him story after story.
  • Jocelyn loves stories. Sometimes she wants us to make one up, and sometimes she wants one read. When we make them up, she gets to add parts. Usually she names one girl in the story “Dee” (not sure why!) and one boy “Boy” (very original, don't ya think?). In a story today, Dee and Boy were watching birds who said, according to Jocelyn, “Boo!” You never know what her part in the story will be, and I love waiting to hear what she has to add next!
  • Lately when she picks out books, she has taken a liking to Mommy’s books. Last night she had Lee read her about five minutes of Hamlet. Tonight, it was Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments. I wonder what it will be tomorrow.
  • This evening as I nursed Robbie, Jocelyn came over and said, “Baby eat.” I confirmed that, yes, he was eating, and then she went to Lee and said, “Big baby eat” and began to lift up his shirt, fully prepared to nurse from daddy. Here’s the conversation that ensued:
    Lee: No, Daddy doesn’t have milkies that work like Mommy’s. Mommy’s are for feeding baby Robbie, just like they fed you when you were a little baby like him. [Then, as Jocelyn looked like she was about to come to me in hopes of joining Robbie in nursing…] No, Mommy’s milkies are for Robbie; they’re not multipurpose. Well, actually, they are, but … umm … let’s go back to reading about abortion, because all of a sudden that’s a much easier topic for us to discuss.
    Jocelyn’s response to all that: Otay!
    And they continued reading about abortion without skipping a beat.
  • I think I may have the only two children who hate/hated being swaddled as babies. They just want freedom! At least Jocelyn liked being swaddled from the chest down (as long as her arms were out of blanket) until she was a few weeks old, but Robbie has already rejected any sort of swaddle or blanket. He is currently sleeping in the crib sans blanket, and he’s happy as can be.
  • And the moment that inspired this post and that made me think, “Some things you just can’t get on camera” … tonight, as I sat on Jocelyn’s bed, nursing Robbie and waiting for Jocelyn’s bath to be over so we could all pray together, I looked around her room at her scattered toys and down at my lap to our precious new addition, and I was overwhelmed by the goodness of this time. I don’t think words can suffice here either, and the phrase “we’re blessed” just seems to lack the fullness of it all. So, rather than trying to babble on and explain what neither pictures nor words can capture, I’ll just end this post here.