Aaliyah and kissy above.I went to get my hair done and Corey taught Ciara to hold her bottle while I was gone.
Some cute pictures of a happy baby
On all fours
Going through mommy's purse with a smirk on her face
Decorating the tree
Sister love
Aaliyah coloring her nails on the potty. Notice the crossed legs! Hilarious!
Putting the angel on
Building a "castle"
Aaliyah and her castle. We were potty training that day.
Ciara is doing well again weighing in at 13lb 6 oz. She has grown to 26 1/4 inches and is finally on the percentile chart for her head circumference and length. He length is the 7% and her head is in the 5%. She is still not on for her weight. So we are getting there!!! She had a check up on December 7 and everything looked good. She got her second round of synagis and her vaccinations updated. Aaliyah went to the appointment with us so I went ahead and got the girls there H1N1 shot while we were there. I was undecided on whether or not I wanted them to get one. After some talking with my doctor, who I have come to admire and trust because I worked for him, I decided to get it. Aaliyah was not too pleased and she cried and yelled "I don't want a pinchy!" She cried for a little bit and then was fine. Little does she know we have to go back in a month to get the second round. Shots are a part of life and although I feel horrible when she has to get them, I am saving her from some nasty diseases.
On Wednesday, December 9 we traveled to Dubois hospital to have our first Developmental Clinic appointment. The night before we got a nasty snow/ice storm, but the main roads were fine so we made the trip. At her evaluation they took her height, weight, head circumference, and details on her eating and sleeping habits. After the initial interview we went over to see the speech therapist to see how she was progressing. She did will with the speech evaluation but she is not quite on target for her gestational age. She scored at about 4 1/2 months. We want to see her around 5 1/2 months, because she would be that old if she came around her due date. Then we went over to see the physical therapist for her evaluation. Ciara did excellent in her motor skills and scored 6 1/2 months! She is about a month ahead. I was so pleased and excited. So their recommendations to improve her speech would be to talk to her more and read her more books. I have made an effort to do both of those things daily. We go back for another evaluation in June. We will go about ever 6 months until she is two. When she hits two years old they will expect her to be on track with her chronological age. I think we are on the right track and we will continue weekly therapy with Kathy as long as we need it.
Aaliyah's allergy medicine seems to be working. She would not take Claritin for the life of her so I spoke to the doctor and we tried Allegra on her. She says this medicine is much yummier and she gives me no problems taking it. She can breathe much better and I'm not constantly wiping snot from her nose!! We have continued to try to get her potty trained. Corey's Uncle Keith suggested that we let her run around naked. It worked when he was potty training his boys. So for 3 days she was naked from the waste down. And for those 3 days she did not have one accident. She went on the potty everytime. When we would have to go out of the house we put a pull up on her and she would not use the potty even though I hounded her. She was doing well then just this past week she regressed. She just got out of the tub and started yelling "I need a diaper." So I said well just go on the potty. She threw herself down and was having a major temper tantrum and refused to go on the potty. So I put a diaper on her and she peed. I have been trying since and she does not want to go on the potty at all. She just cries for a diaper. I will continue to try, but it is exhausting when she fights me.
Aaliyah is so excited about Christmas and she talks about Santa daily. There are a couple of presents under the tree and she has already asked me if they are for her. Her newest thing is spending the night with grammy. Usually once a week she spends the night with Grandma Benson and then on the weekend she spends the night with my mom. If we happen to be visiting on a night that she can't spend the night, we have a royal meltdown when we have to leave. She cries and sobs and pleads to stay. She is definitely a product of Corey and me. Corey and I used to cry to stay with our grammies and beg to be with them all the time. Corey actually used to get in the car to go home with his parents and then he would cry that he wanted to stay with grandma then once he got there he would cry to go home. There was no pleasing him even back then!!!
Ciara has started to get up on all fours and getting ready to crawl. She did get forward a little bit by moving her one hand and knee to get to the kitty but she hasn't figured it out since. She'll get up on all fours and rock back and forth and then she'll lift up her hand and fall. It is so awesome watching her grow.
My hysterectomy went very well. After I got out of surgery I was in a TON of pain and nothing seemed to work. I was pumped full of pain medicine and it wasn't touching the pain. I only had to stay the night because I was so uncomfortable I begged Dr. Cherian to send me home. The back pain continued and I never did have any belly pain. Dr. thinks it was gas pains and it might very well have been, but it was very painful. I did not go anywhere for Thanksgiving and Corey took the girls to Auntie Kay's house to celebrate with the Bensons. He brought me home a plate, but I did not feel like eating for days. I have been slowly recovering and I get better everyday. I still can't lift anything and whenever I have to take the girls somewhere I am really sore after lifting Ciara's seat in and out of the car. I had to lift Aaliyah into the car one time because she was really tired and I was in serious pain for a couple of days. I actually thought about going to the ER, but with rest I was fine. I have lost 14 pounds since the surgery and I am feeling good. I don't know if I was retaining fluid or what but the weight just fell off. It feels good to loose some weight.
We went to a benefit for Phalen Manners and had a great time. My mom came and got the girls after they were there for a bit to visit and then Corey and I had a date night. Corey made a beautiful shelf to be auctioned off and my grandpa Detwiler donated some spoons and spatulas and a cutting board. There were a lot of businesses that donated as well. Corey and I had a good time and it felt good to help raise some money for such a good cause. I have not talked to Sarah since the benefit, but the last update I got was promising. She was weighing in at 2lbs and was fighting an infection. Unfortunately somehow she got a lung infection and is on a 21 day stint of antibiotics. After talking to Luke's step mom I learned that they were contemplating giving her some more steroids to help the lungs. There is a possibility that the steroids could cause some brain damage so they had not decided what to do yet. Please continue to pray for Sarah, Luke, Phalen, and the rest of their family. I know that God can do wonderful things and he is with Phalen while she is fighting to breathe.
If I don't update before Christmas I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. We are quite excited about it this year and it is going to be a ton of fun with Aaliyah. But also remember the real reason for this season. Remember that tiny baby that was born in a stable that changed the world. Everytime I hear the song "Do you hear what I hear" I get teary eyed thinking what Mary and Joseph were going through that starry night. "He will bring us goodness and light" and he certainly has done that for me and my family. May God continue to bless you and keep you safe.
Trying to get Ciara to crawl! and Aaliyah jumping off the couch
