Rachael is TWO!

Before we celebrate turning 25 months old, tomorrow, I'd better get to talking about a certain TWO year old in the family!
As should be expected with a birthday in the peak of flu season, Rachael's actual birthday brought her a virus -- with a high fever and extreme fatigue. What a present, huh? So, instead of a party, we had a quiet weekend, but, one the brought a visit from Pops & Eileen and cousins Mary & Allyson. So, mommy got a girls' visit, nonetheless!
Rachael also made the transition to the Waddler room (read: 2 year old room) at school. She did really well from the start -- making friends and immediately recognizing her friends from her most recent Toddler room. Her new teachers Ms. Michelle and Ms. Kesha do a really great job of keeping the kids busy with art projects and other fun lessons. She receives 30 minutes of Spanish each day, as evidenced by the fact that she counts to 10 en Espanol every day.
We were fortunate that almost everyone we had invited to the 1st attempt at an Elmo party could make it for the re-scheduled date. It was a fun morning; but, it should be noted that Rachael is NOT a fan of the guests singing Happy Birthday, nor does she want to blow out a candle. This situation makes her anxious and it's hard for me to be patient with her and just accept it as a part of her personality. I want so much for her to enjoy this milestone situation and I feel like she's not "normal" - but I know full well this is a response that's on the normal continuum for someone her age. We'll see how she is when she's 16! :)
Here are the pictures of the party....I had a lot of fun putting it together and am thankful that Mike tolerates all of my late nights making banners and listening to me fuss over the details. Happy birthday, Rachael! I hope she looks back on her birthdays and feels celebrated and special and loved...because she is.

Catching up in pictures...Christmas 2011.

So, in the last several blog posts, I've done a lot of "talking"...and have skimped on the pictures, enough of that!

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!

Over-thinking

OK...for the new year....a resolution:
to QUIT over-thinking the need for each blog post to be poetic, and a thorough rendition of our life and the kids' milestones. I need to just get on here and record things -- for the occasional reader and for our memory's sake.

BEN: at 8 months, 2 weeks: full on army crawling, with coordinated arms and legs and PULLING UP to stand! He is so impressed with himself when he can get up at the music table or the coffee table or the ottoman...you name it, the boy wants to stand near it!  He's doing really well with his jar foods, taking 2 jars each day and cheerios/puffs/yogurt melts. He also will mash on bite-sized bananas, too. Still no teeth in sight...but, that doesn't seem to stop him.

RACHAEL: Her language is exploding and she's doing well at learning Spanish words as well as signs in American Sign Language at school. By 22 1/2 months, she finally finished cutting all 4 incisors...thank goodness that's over...they were painful for her. And, on December 17, 2011, during the bedtime routine, instead of just muttering her usual "wuv" to Daddy, Mommy and Ben on her way upstairs, she said, "Wuv you, Daddy. Wuv you, Mommy".......OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Heart melting....all over the floor. She has no idea how sweet those words are to hear -- I don't think it'll ever get old.

Pictures next time, promise!

7 & 21

Let's start with a recap of month 7 for Ben, shall we?
He really became an 'expert' sitter this month! And with the ability to sit, comes the ability to play with Rachael's toys in new and annoying-to-her ways! His steady body and solid hand dexterity really make a difference in the way he explores the world. And, watching Ben makes me realize how different Rachael's skills were at the same age. As we knew then, what she had in gross motor, Ben has in fine motor skills. Everyone's different, right?
He also continues to work on his pre-crawling skills and will absolutely breakout in belly laughing if you giggle right along with him or tickle any of his numerous tickle spots!

And, moving right along to month 21 for Rachael:
Rachael started "running" more this month...really picking her knees up and moving with more speed when she wanted to 'run'. She continues the language spree -- really trying to figure out the possessive -- is it blankie Rachael or Rachael's blankie? And, sad, but, true, the TV has entered her field of view. (Rhyme unintended there, but, fun, nonetheless!) So, she can now sit and watch a 1/2 hour program without being distracted. This can be helpful when you need to feed Ben or cook dinner, but, can be a slippery slope. We try our best not to encourage this habit and find that she probably watches an hour of TV a week.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't tell you that there's an innate love of Elmo and it has presented in our daughter! I swear, we hadn't watched him on TV before and until Nana gave us an Elmo book for Halloween, didn't have him in a book -- and yet, she knows who he is and says his name with great adoration! Hence, the immediate shift of pending birthday party theme from mommy's choice of the Very Hungry Caterpillar to ELMO! :)

Enough 'talking', here are some pictures:

2 years...

Two years ago was the scariest day of my (our) life, so far. I woke at 4am with a broken bag of water gushing everywhere. I jolted Mike awake, dressed quickly, called Duke's OB on call, woke the in-laws to explain and rushed out the door. The ride to the hospital was a hurried, but, quiet, dark one. I couldn't have imagined the fear and the journey that lay ahead. That was to be my last car ride for 65 long, long, loinng days. I was admitted to the antepartum unit on the 7th floor of Duke University Hospital with one goal: keep the baby cookin'. Through some sort of miracle, Rachael remained with just little bits of fluid in my belly until 31 weeks and 6 days gestation, after the water breaking at 23 weeks, 1 day gestation.
I come to this day in complete disbelief on many levels:
~ wow! has it been two years already?
~ wow -- it feels like that was a lifetime ago!
~ wow -- I could not picture Nov 14, 2011 on that fateful day two years ago!
Mostly, I'm surrounded by a feeling of complete thanksgiving -- for the medical staff who cared for us, for the healing presence of our God, for the love and compassion of our family and friends and for the precious little girl who lights up each and every day.

A Busy Saturday...with a first haircut!

This past weekend, we had a great Saturday in the Concini house:
We took Rachael for her first haircut, then, we went to Barnes & Noble for some new books, and ended the morning with lunch at Jason's deli. It was such fun family time -- both kids did great in all 3 places! (It's not typical for us to go 3 places in one clip -- so, I was impressed.)
In the afternoon, Ben wore his NCSU onesie to cheer on the Wolfpack (Daddy graciously agreed to let Ben wear the shirt for the 'big' game vs UNC.) and after nap, Rachael had her two friends, Claire and Evan over for a playdate. Mommy got to enjoy time with Claire & Evan's mommies.
It was a great, busy day...here it is in pictures:

Time to get with the program...

OK...so, my babies' lives are flying by and I'm busy enjoying it, rather than documenting it! However, there comes a time when you have to stop and just. blog it. (really? did I just write that?)

Let me bring you up to speed:
Months 5 & 6 for Ben: He continues to be a happy, peaceful, gentle baby. He has earned his name that Gammy so aptly gave him: "Gentle Ben". His eyes are kind and his smile comes easily. He continues to babble with lots of consonant sounds: ba, ba, ba....ummmm.....ummmm...and our favorite, bwep, bwep, bwep. He laughs when you find his tickle spots and is immediately attracted to playing with the school bus, the fire truck and anything with wheels -- what is it with boys and wheels? (fire, too, I'm sure!)
As for other milestones, he started taking solid foods on a daily basis by October 1 and the 'official' date for sitting up by himself on October 13th. He loves fruits and YoBaby yogurt, but, he's not a fan of veggies...in fact, he'll make himself gag on peas. (Sweet potatoes and carrots are the only exception!) He's lifting up on his knees and rocking back and forth...I bet we'll have a crawler by Christmas. He had his first trip to the beach with Mimi & Papa and isn't quite yet a beach bum -- but, that will come with time!

Months 19 and 20 for Rachael: Ahhhh...the diva! She continues to amaze us with her language...and truly in these two months has just embraced her voice -- in all ways! On September 16th, we heard her first sentence, said when dumping dry cheerios out of a bowl: "me made mess!" (very proudly!) And, then, there were the moments of her voice that weren't so thrilling...we had some trying times figuring out how to handle the inevitable tantrums that go along with understanding so many things, but, not being in full control of your emotions. She enjoys dancing and asking us to sing "I'm Bringing Home A Baby Bumblebee" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She loves to play outside as much as possible and when inside, she enjoys her tea set, using the shape sorter, "cooking" in her kitchen and reading books -- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Little Engine That Could, Goodnight Moon are among her favorites. She has gravitated towards her "blankie" and "glowie" which she religiously carries to bed.
And, now for some photos:

The dichotomy of parenthood...

Hello, long lost blog! I have found my way back to you. I'm sorry for the complete and utter neglect, but, life. happens.

So...the thing that's on my mind: the constant pulling/tugging of parenthood:
While at work: I can't wait to see my babies. When will it be 5 o'clock? OR Boy, I'm so glad I'm at work....no one to lug around and no diapers to change.
While at home: How long until they go to bed? OMG, I can't take anymore crying...whining....tantrums. OR How sweet is it when Rachael gives Ben a kiss on the head? Oh, my, I love Ben's precious smile. Snuggling with Rachael while reading goodnight books is the BEST.
While with friends or out with Mike: Oh, I needed this! OR I wonder what the kiddos are doing? I hope they're behaving. I really miss them. Oh, look at all of these people with babies...thank goodness for this (insert activity) without kids.

How is it that a Mom can feel these things? They seem to be in direct conflict with each other.....sometimes unable to get enough of your children and sometimes having TOO much of your children (and their snot, drool and dirty diapers!). This mixed-bag has been very evident to me lately and one that I'm wrestling with:
When I long for some adult-only time, does this mean I'm not a good Mom? When I'm wishing that I could be home with my kids each day, does this mean I'm not a good employee? When I use up all of my energy with my children and have very little left for my husband, does this mean I'm not a good wife?
I suppose the ebb and flow of these feelings and questions is what this role in my life is about...and learning to manage each side of it is the challenge, at least for me.

I do also need to wish my husband -- the best partner, friend and father of my children -- a happy sixth wedding anniversary! These years have been some of the hardest and sweetest of my life and I wouldn't want to go through these years with anyone else!

I promise...the next post will have pictures and updates about the kiddos and what they're up to!