Not a preemie anymore...

So, in medical, scientific terms, the period of prematurity ends at calendar age two years. What does this mean? That on January 14, 2012, Rachael is no longer considered a "preemie" or to have a different adjusted v. calendar age...she is just simply a T W O year old! And, for those that know her well, she's been "caught up" for quite a while now and she is every bit of a two year old....talking up a storm, running, jumping, laughing, loving and being her determined, head-strong self.

In looking back over her 2nd year, she's changed so very much....almost as much as she did in year one.
Here's a year-to-year comparison:

She has gone from baby to little girl right before our very eyes!
I can't even begin to write all of the things she says because she'll attempt to say just about anything. She can count to 10 (not always with all of the numbers....she sometimes goes from 4-10 and back to 1-3), she can repeat her alphabet, saying most of it in order on her own. She will sing Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Wheels on the Bus and Ring Around the Rosy. She is infatuated with Elmo and most any Sesame Street character. She loves to dance around the living room and prefers to be outside at least for some part of each day. She eats pancakes/waffles/cereal or english muffin for breakfast and eats almost everything they serve at school for lunch and snack. For dinner, she likes ravioli, pizza, chicken, blueberries (frozen), peas (frozen) and carrots, green beans, and sometimes ham and grilled cheese sandwiches. She also likes cheese quesadillas, mexican rice, refried beans, baked beans, pork BBQ.
She LOVES Ben....giving him many kisses daily -- most of them on her own accord. Now, she'll also push him over or take the toy he's playing with if it suits her. So, we work dilligently on sharing and being gentle. She is pretty good with her "please" and "thank yous"...we'll keep at that as well. These children will be nothing if not polite!
We have enjoyed this year with her (minus the tantrums!) and are excited to see what this next year brings.
Rachael, we pray for you daily that God will bless you and keep you and continue to help us learn how to parent you in the best way that we can. We love you, little girl! Mommy & Daddy

Christmas Craziness....welcome 2012!

OK...promised pictures last time, but, they're being held hostage on the camera's memory card or in another laptop....so, they exist, they're just not here. (I'm not sure why I've lost steam with the blog...perhaps it's that life is moving at a whirlwind pace and I don't foresee that ending anytime soon.)
Ben's first Christmas was eventful!
On Dec 21, as daddy and I were finishing some Christmas shopping, we were rear-ended on the way to the mall. It was a tap, really, but, caused $1000 worth of damage! Thankfully, no one was hurt and all vehicles were just mildly dinged up.
On Dec 23, we headed to PA. Around dinner time that night, we found that Rachael was running a 102.9 fever. She hasn't been sick in 4 months -- we knew our luck would run out at some point. On Christmas Eve, while everyone else was at church, I took her to Urgent Care and she was diagnosed with bronchitis. Antibiotic prescribed and out the door we went. Well, 3.5 hours later, as I was about to give her a bath, I discovered a bright red irritation on both thighs with white welts -- poor baby! We rushed her back to Urgent Care, they gave us a steroid and another antibiotic and we were home with her by 9pm. It was not the most fun, I must say!
On Dec 28, Ben registered a 102 fever, even though he'd just ended antibiotics only 48 hours prior.
We had him checked by Mimi's dear co-worker, Dr. Rogers, and he gave him another round of meds.
Around that same time, we learned that several cousins who were planning to be with us at the Craft family party were also struggling with colds/stomach flu. So, we decided to skip the party and head back to NC on New Year's Eve....better safe than sorry, right? Well, how about a tire blowout on i95 South just outside of Richmond, VA??? That ought to top-off the chaotic trip! Thankfully, cousin Charles helped us with his connections to a repair shop and a savvy AAA repairman helped us put the spare on. Nothing like a 12-hour ride home.
In all of this though, I have to say:
~ we had a blessed holiday -- full of family, love, care and laughter.
~ at each turn, we had resources to help us with our sick children and our broken vehicle
~ Mike and I repeatedly said, "as long as we're in it together, it'll be OK"
~ I was thankful we weren't working so that we could focus on each new challenge

Rachael was really in to the celebration this year. She certainly "gets" the idea of opening presents and watching her say "thank you" to her grandparents and aunts/uncles was really special. Ben did a great job of playing with ribbons and paper and of being especially cute and smiley.

We're excited to watch Ben and Rachael grow this year...and after seeing Rachael go from 1 to 2, we know what's in store for Ben and it'll be great! Ben, as of 12/23, his 9 month birthday, was fully crawling with his belly off the floor. As of the new year, he's eating lots of different table foods and really enjoying it. His teeth are close...we're waiting for them to come through. Rachael is ONE WEEK from turning TWO (can NOT believe it!) and is funny and crazy as ever. She's as sweet as pie and can have a melt down like it's her job!
(Oh wait, maybe it is!) And....pictures will be next. Pinky swear. :)

Wishing you a blessed 2012!