Easte*r

I have always loved E*aster - for the celebration of Christ's resurrection, but it also feels like the beginning of spring, especially when we have a late Ea*ster like this year. But of course, E*aster has new meaning for me in recent years. Z*oe was born the Wednesday before E*aster in 2007 - the night before M*aundy T*hursday, and we were discharged on G*ood F*riday, if you know your days surrounding E*aster. This year, Z*oe's birthday fell on Ea*ster. We celebrated by attending Grandma Kath*y and Grandpa St*eve's church also with D*ave's mom in the morning and having E*aster dinner and a very small celebration with the party planned for the following S*unday.

I decided that I am glad E*aster is a floating holiday and won't fall on her birthday every year - its a lot of candy and pomp and circumstance, but it is also special and we enjoyed it. I resisted the urge to buy matching E*aster dresses for my girls and went for individualism instead for two reasons - because it was Zo*e's birthday also and because they both had adorable dresses that I wanted to see them wear again.
Z*oe was so excited for her birthday - she had been asking about it for weeks and we had explained first that her birthday was in A*pril and then we started saying it was on A*pril 4. So when someone at my parent's church asked Z*oe about her birthday on E*aster, she said, "I will be 3 on A*pril 4th!" When we reminded her that it was A*pril 4, she just smiled and said, "Oh yeah. Its my birthday today!" Earlier in the morning, Da*ve brought her into the bathroom right after she woke up as I was in the shower and I sang "Happy Birthday" to her. I wish I could have captured the look on her face in more places than just my memory - I had forgotten how magical birthdays are when you are a child. Z*oe received a few gifts that day, and she was quite excited.
Grandma K*athy has been very into making her own cards (she made many V*alentines this year complete with paper doilies) and she made Z an adorable birthday card.
Grandma K and Grandpa S also gave her a horn and tassles for her bike with training wheels - she loves it!

Z got a waterproof baby for the bathtub from Grandma J*udy - Z firmly believes there is no such thing as too many babies at least for her, and she loves being able to take one in the tub every night.

And we can't forget PJs - something Z is very into these days. She would wear them all day if she could - maybe some of you can relate!

We ended our day with attending our own church's E*aster service for the first time - we meet in the evening and we have often gone elsewhere E*aster morning instead. It was lovely and unique as only H*ouse of M*ercy can do. All in all it was a great birthday and the best part for Z*oe was realizing she would be celebrating again soon!

Li*ly's recent Ultrasound

Li*ly had another ultrasound in which they are checking on the size of the ventricles in the mid section of her brain. They are doing ultrasound instead of a Cat-Scan or MRI because they can still look through her soft spot until it closes (it closes completely somewhere around 18 months). Amazing! Again, this was the major concern during pregnancy (NOT Dow*n's Syndrome). The ventricles had decreased in size dramatically from in utero at birth and then were slightly enlarged in Januar*y, so she was rescanned again in Feb and again on Apri*l 2. We are praising God that there again appears to be no change (this was the result in Feb too). L*ily goes in next week to her pediatrician for her 6 month check, so we will find out then what happens next. I decided this time to bring a camera - and Da*ve was able to come too - but then of course we forgot the camera. T*im, our ultrasound tech, was kind enough to let us use his IPh*one and emailed the pictures to us. You can see that L*ily does not seem to mind! Thanks Tim, where ever you are!

St P*atrick's Day Fun

I have always been fond of this day - long before I knew I was Iri*sh and long before I could claim the holiday as "J*en P*atrick Day". This year, my sister and I took the girls to the parade in downtown St. P*aul. We also saw some I*rish dancing and made I*rish charm bracelets. I snapped a few shots to confirm for you how crazy the I*rish in St. P*aul really are. (Does anyone remember former MN Go*vernor Je*sse Ven*tura's comment on D*avid Lett*erman telling the world that the St P*aul streets were designed by drunken I*rishm*an?!?)

L*ily's Dedication

On Ma*rch 14, Lil*y was dedicated at our church, H*ouse of M*ercy. At our church, this celebration includes D*ave and me washing her feet as a symbol of our service in love for her. It was a very emotional day for us - another milestone that we could not envision a few months ago. It was emotional for us when we did this for Z too because it is a culmination of our beliefs that G*od lends us these children - they are no our possessions but a gift from G*od - a gift that we are "borrowing" and a gift that we have been entrusted with to raise them in the best way we can. This ceremony was intense for us as we realized that there was a time not so long ago when we did not dare think this far ahead - when we couldn't think this far ahead because the road was too unknown, too scary, when we were just trying to get to the next curve in the road or even just the next mile marker and could not think of what came next.

The intensity of the moments during the dedication was interrupted a bit by a lovely almost 3 year old who had only stood on stage once before and who did not see her dear cousin, A*ugust, in the second row until after we were on stage - in the haste of the day and the preoccupation of the ceremony, we had failed to explain to her that her cousin would be there beckoning her to respond to her adorable "Hi Z*0e!"
All of Li*ly's grandmas and grandpas were there - Grandma and Grandpa S*undseth were kind enough to be our photographers for the evening so unfortunately, we didn't turn the lens around on them. This is Da*ve's mom, and then from left to right, D*ave's step mom, dad, and our dear friend B*elinda who takes care of L*ily one day a week. (I don't know who that guy is behind them, but he sure thinks Li*ly is cute too!)

Update on L*ily

L*ily will be 5 months old tomorrow - I cannot believe it! She is doing very well - she was 10 lbs 9 oz at her 4 month check. Three days before that, she flipped from her front to her back for the first time. I laid her on her tummy for tummy time and went around the corner to get her baby keys from my bag. I came back and she was on her back with a startled look on her face. So I laid her on her tummy again and turned to get the keys - she flipped again! So, I laid her on her tummy a third time and watched this time and over she went. She likes to learn a new skill right before we go to the doctor and then show off when we get there. Sure enough, she did her flip for her doctor who told me "she is not supposed to do that yet." Way to go L*ily!

It so happens that my nephews have the same pediatrician - she is an excellent pediatrician that they were already seeing, but we were also referred to her from the hospital because she works with children with Down's Syndrome too. Shortly after I had L*ily in, M*inke reminded the pediatrician that we were related when she had taken one of the boys in. The pediatrician said, "Oh L*ily, she is one amazing baby!" It brings tears to my eyes and I ask myself, "how did I get here?" I tend to get a bit Poly*anna about things sometimes, and I know that L*ily has many challenges in front of her but these days I am trying to soak it all in amidst the juggling (this is why I can't seem to blog as often as I'd like!) and I am resting in the sentiment, Look how far we have come!

Even as I say that, I do ask for your prayers for our next brain ultrasound coming up this Friday. The purpose of this again is to monitor the size of her ventricles to see if they have increased. There was no change between the last 2 ultrasounds after they had increased slightly from birth to 2 months. The doctors are hopeful because she is meeting all of her developmental milestones thus far. I will update after I have one - likely we won't know the results until after the weekend.

Sisters

Z*oe loves being a big sister - and at her age this means a lot of touching L*ily's face, head, hands, and the rest of her body. We have had to talk a lot about being gentle. But it is also so sweet to see and I am so happy that she has taken so well to her little sister.
When one of us starts talking with L*ily or doing something for her, Z*oe wants to help or to just hang around.
Sometimes this means L*ily gets a burp cloth not quite under her chin, Z*oe's face a little to close to her own, or ends up modeling something, like say, sunglasses:


But just as often, it means Z*oe is kissing her, "loving on her" or talking to her, and L*ily is always watching Z*oe to see what she will do next - following her every move with her eyes. She tracks well these days and tracking Z is way more exciting than some little rattle! I am so excited to see how they grow together and grow into loving, fighting, silly sisters. I had that and I'm glad they will too. Thanks E*m!

Four Inches!

This is how much hair my not quite 3 year old got cut off her head last week. Unbelievable! She was born with S*undseth hair (J*en's) and D*ave's cowlicks, so when her hair gets too long, its in her eyes and all over the place. I think her new hair looks adorable, although A*untie E*mily says now she looks old. What do you think...

Before:

After: