7.11.2012

Lucy's blessing day





A big post to play catchup with life...

Well, it's been more than a year since I've posted. Take that as a sign that I have been doing a lot of mothering to 4 small children. Since my last post I got pregnant and gave birth to our 4th child. It's been a great time, but a busy one, and certainly a bit difficult too.

The pregnancy was relatively easy. I credit that largely to the almost daily trips I made to the gym during the last 4 months of the pregnancy. I was in better shape when I gave birth to our baby girl, Lucy Jane, than I am now, almost six months later.

About a week after she was born I got mastitis, which I was never able to completely rid myself of for the next two months. I began supplementing her with Meyenberg's powdered goat's milk (which allowed my body to rest and filled her up better), and treating the infections and clogged ducts with lavender essential oil, and finally was able to resolve the problems I was having.

I was able to keep nursing her, but only just a little bit, for three and a half more months. Finally, a few days ago, nursing came to an end for us. Despite how difficult it was, I am sad to be finished with nursing. I love holding baby close to my skin, and feeling like I can supply her needs with my own body. I also wish I could provide her with the continued benefits of breastmilk, such as passing to her the antibodies I produce. Oh well, there's nothing I can do at this point.

I do give Lucy an infant's probiotic (Udo's brand), to keep her digestive track healthy. She also gets an omega-3 supplement called "Omega Swirl" (Barlean's Organic Oils brand). Lucy is growing well, with chubby cheeks and great skin color, and she is very energetic and responsive so I am certainly happy to have a healthy, beautiful baby, and such great resources to take the place of breastfeeding, since that is no longer an option.

Mavis completed the first grade in May. She has been learning Chinese and Spanish. Jack just began with Spanish school this summer. It is exciting to watch them learning languages. Mavis told me once, "I love learning my languages." She really loved her Chinese teacher, Ms. Le.

Jack says he likes "doing projects." He does really love painting and glueing and cutting. I think most of all he loves taking things apart with his tools. He is adept at removing screws and has removed many, many of them from different locations around the house. Often to my dismay.

The two older children have also excelled at swimming. Last summer, on the last pool day of the season, Mavis swam the entire length of the lap pool (75 feet) without taking a breath. That is amazing! She won an iTouch for her feat. Currently Mavis is enjoying using her mermaid fin that she received as a birthday gift this year. Jack is getting braver and more agile with each trip to the pool. Last time he swam to the bottom of the lap pool, a depth of 5 feet, on his own. He does flips and floats on his back and gets around by himself in the deep end with relative ease. Max likes hanging out on the stairs of the lap pool, with most of his body submerged, leaving his nose just above the water. The lifeguards keep their eye on them because the little goofball looks like he's about to go under at any moment.

Max is just barely two, and we have such fun watching him. He entertains with his words (often hard to translate) and sounds. He is especially drawn to dinosaurs (sawshwaourz) and enjoys growling, roaring and making his play dinosaurs eat things. The soundtrack goes something like this, "rawwrrr, raaarrrrwwwrr, num, num, num."

Lucy just learned to roll over. She gets super excited by happy faces talking to her. She can almost hold her own bottle. Her laugh and her smile are deliciously sweet. I dare say she rivals the Gerber baby for cuteness. What yummy, squishy, rolly polly little arms and legs, tummy and cheeks she has!

Josh has traveled a lot this last year, which has meant I have been on my own with the kids a lot. He is great when he's here though, often making dinner and taking the older kids with him to the pool, or on errands. My cousin Nateal lived with us for a year and half, and right after she moved out Josh's cousin, Taylor, and his wife, Megan, moved in. Having them around has helped me not feel too alone when Josh is out of town.

It was super fun for me to travel with him on his last audit. We spent the week in Rhinebeck, New York with his clients-turned-good friends. They are lovely people, super friendly, foodies, and full of interesting conversations. I was almost speechless when Deb told me one of her favorite things to do is mix colors. I wanted to quote Nacho Libre when he says "Everything you just said is MY favorite thing to do, every day!" I loved talking with her about the gospel. I was impressed with her testimony of the Bible and prayer. She has such a good spirit about her and was also delighted to spend time with baby Lucy, which was nice. I hope we will get to see them again soon.

I guess that's enough of an update for now. Time flies so quickly these days, a sure sign that I am getting older. It may be a while before I write again. Considering how times speeds up the older I get it may be years before I realize that I haven't written and ought to jot down some thoughts again. We'll see. Life keeps on going and I must too. Mavis calls, as I write, demanding some help with another project.... (making fruit leather from the apricots we picked at Stephanie's house).