Powerful Poisons come in small packages

This is an Afrikaans saying, and it so applies to Lilly.

I am one tired momma. I am thankful she is sleeping through the night which she started doing at about 6 1/2 months. Because she is constantly going. She use to get so frustrated that she couldn't get where she wanted to go. Then she started crawling and would get frustrated that she wasn't fast enough. Now she is crawling all over the house and she is pulling up on everything she can. She wants my attention a lot of the time and barely takes naps. She takes a short nap in the morning then crashes right after lunch and sleeps for several hours (which I am thankful for) then she may or may not take another short nap later in the afternoon. She is so busy she didn't gain any weight from her 7 month check to her 8 month check and only grew 1/2 a cm. so She is still tiny.

Time to lower the mattress....

8 month pic...Wearing Aunt Heathers dress Papa bought for her to come home int he hospital...it was to big for heather at birth but fits Lilly perfectly at 8 months

Loving these pigtails

She has a great appetite...She will eat anything we give her...just hopes this last 

will pull up on anything, but hasn't quite figured out how to get back down

She is definitely a sinner, and wants her own way. It took 45 mins for her to eat her cereal one morning, because mommy wasn't going fast enough and she was throwing fits...Daddy had to keep taking her to the bed room and spank her and bring her back after she was calm. It was quite an ordeal. But she is just so darn cute, even when she is crying out of frustration she is cute...which makes discipline hard for me.  

Please Excuse the Mess, My Family is Making Memories

In the 1 1/2 years of Gary and I being married, I cannot tell you how many times I start crying because I feel I  am a terrible wife because I just can't seem to keep the house clean. Our first home was on a farm so it was ALWAYS dusty and dirty, no matter how much I swept there was always dirt on the floor. We don't have a dishwasher so there is always dishes to be done. And now with a 8 month old, who takes poor naps, I  can never find the time to do much around the house. It is always my goal to get the laundry done, especially if it is a Sunny Day because we don't have a dyer ( I am thankful for a Washing Machine, we ran out of washing powder last month and I did one load by hand. I have to say Gary was sick and I can't drive his car so i was stuck to do it by hand until my mother in law saw me and went and bought me washing powder {makes me very grateful for my machine even more}. ) But if i get the laundry washed and hung on the line and getting dinner made is all I get done in one day then I am very lucky.  Gary tells me not worry about it, but all I think about is all those times I got into trouble as a kid for being messy. I am not a neat freak like my sister. I struggle to stay organized, it might have something to do with my learning disability but I don't know. I get stressed out when I have to organize stuff. Heather use to help me when i was at home with all my organizing. She even packed my bags when I came to Cape Town the first time.

Last month when Gary was sick, so sick he didn't leave the bed for a week and had a fever in the 40C/ 104F. I had to take care of him and Lilly and make sure Lilly didn't get sick as well. One day i had to go to the shops so My Father in Law came and picked me up and my Mother in law stayed with Lilly. My house looked like a tornado had hit it, but I was so exhausted every night after Lilly went to bed that I just couldn't think of cleaning. I was so embarrassed because our messiest part the house was our bedroom and my mother in law sat in there to chat with Gary while Lilly was sleeping. Gary reassured me that his parents didn't care and they understood that I have a baby and a sick husband, but all the moments of getting in trouble growing up for having a messing bedroom kept flooding back to me.

I cannot tell you how many times I have cried on Gary's shoulder about this issue and he keeps telling me that he and Lilly are my main priority and if the house work doesn't get done then it doesn't get done. We don't live in a house but a home, and to get over it. He tells me if I get one chore done a day then to be happy with that. But I fear people think I am Lazy...I mean what do I do all day, I'm a stay at home mom. I take care of a baby, which is a full time job.

So my new painting for our walls is going to be "Please Excuse the Mess, My Family is Making Memories"...mostly to remind myself that we don't live in a house but a home and Lilly and our future children are more important and I want them to know that Mommy wants to spend time with them instead of the dishes, vacuum and bleach. And I want them to have GOOD memories growing up...

My new painting

And when Lilly gets old enough and if more children come along I hope to start her and them with age appropriate chores.

Favorite Fridays

I am learning to find the Joys and not focus on the bad...it is hard sometimes to not focus on the negative aspects so here is week 2 of me focusing on the blessings of the week instead of the negatives

1. A husband who willingly helps out around the house

2. A little girl who sleeps through the night and is so pleasant...you would never have guessed that she had horrible Colic her first several months of life.

3. Having all our needs provided...even when you are trying to figure out how to make the last few penny's last til pay day

4. A clean house

5. A little girl who is loving learning new things and wanting to try all kinds of things, and foods.

6. Going on a much needed date with hubby with out baby in tow

7. Being able having my best friend as my husband, who I can speak about anything with

What are you doing?

Lilly has her own personality and her own Likes and dislikes these days...

She prefers to sit up and play with her toys then laying down....

 She also thinks she should be involved in EVERYTHING Gary and I do. She wanted to read Daddy's book so we gave her one of her own!

 I was looking at Newspapers ads and Lilly wanted to sit on my lap with me...She pulled all the ads on the ground...I put her on the ground where she played for 30mins with the ads

I love this pic! all her Toys on one side of her, and the ads on the other side...and her face says which should I play with MOM?

Favorite Things

I have been encouraged to write a list of favorite things from the week past...I will try to come up with a list every Friday, but being a mamma of a 6 month old it might not happen. This week could be hard to get a list since this week was the first time Gary and I have been separated since before we got married, but I have had some wonderful moments this week which I am thankful for

A dear friend, Lorna coming and staying for a few days to keep me company and help with Lilly while Daddy was in Pretoria. 

A little Girl who loves to be thrown up in the air; the laugh she lets out just makes you laugh right with her.

A little baby who is finally learning to sleep through the night, she slept from 10-6 almost every night, one night she slept from 10-8...I loved it and am hopeful it will continue!!

Going to a craft store and buying some stuff to keep my hands busy during down time.

Getting three new books for less then 100 rand ($12)

Speaking to my Husband on the phone several times a day and hearing all the things he is learning

having in-laws that graciously take  care of us in all sorts of ways and help out when ever asked!

A little girl that lights up when ever she is naked! if I would let her she would be in her nappy (diaper) all day long...she even cries when i start to put new clothes on her.

A little girl who LOVES music.

A little social bug...went to the shops to return some winter clothing that was to big for her (since we are now going into spring) and as we were in line waiting for our turn Lilly starting laughing a smiling. I looked in the direction of her laugh and an "Aunty" (as they are called here) was coming in the line behind us. Lilly laughed and talked to her the whole time we waited, as well as all the other people in line with us.

And for a husband who is to be returning home in 2 hrs!!! I have missed so much this week

So with out my husband this week, which i was dreading, I am able to look back and say it was a good week. There were sad moments where I missed my husband so much and Lilly was driving me nuts, but in the end it was a good week and I am thankful for all the little moments that has made it special.

first Trip to the hospital

Sunday night at church Lilly started to cough and wheeze some. I didn't think much about it, just thought she was getting a cold. Monday morning she woke up with a fever so I gave her meds and lots of Fluids hoping she would get better, and to me it seemed that she was better on Tuesday...but I could she didn't feel 100%

my sick little baby

Wed morning she woke up at 3 am, 4 am, 5 am and 630am she woke because of Coughing. She still had a slight fever but nothing bad 99.1, but I was debating whether to not to take to the doctor. We had an appt with the nurse for her 6 month Check up 2pm so I decided I would ask her first. As soon as we walked into her office and she heard Lilly wheezing She asked us to take Lilly to our Pediatrician. We called the Pediatrician and he said to bring her in asap. As soon as we walked into his room, he said she needs to be hospitalized to get breathing treatments Oxygen. Gary and I were devastated. There were a lot of What ifs going on in my head. That if I had taken her to the dr on Monday we wouldn't have to have gone in to the hospital, but Dr Christie said that no matter when we had brought her in he would have sent her to the hospital because its going around and not to scare us but a baby died at one of the Local Hospitals last week because the right precautions weren't taken. Since we don't have medical Aide our Pediatrician sent us to a Govt hospital where children under 6 gets treated for free. (we are so thankful for this) It took a litte bit to get to the pediatric ward because with govt things there are a LOT of steps and hoops you have to go through to get where you need to go, but we finally got to the ward.

Trying to sleep in this strange place.

 Her first couple of breathing treatments were torture for not only her, but me as well. She screamed and I cried. Its this big massive mask with this yucky smelling stuff blowing in her face and she was just frightened. She didn't know what it was or why it was happening.

The nurses turned lights out at 930pm but it was still fairly bright in our room that we shared with to other babies. Lincoln and Philip. Lincoln was 20 months old and had been in hospital 10 days with a fever for no known cause. and Philip was 1 month old with bronchial pneumonia. Lilly's room at home is dark and we rarely turn the lights on at home, so she thought it was daytime all night and barely slept. She and I got about 2 hrs of sleep. We both were exhausted, but the every 2 hr breathing treatments worked well and when the Dr did her rounds at 8 am she said that there was still a slight wheeze but she hopes getting Lilly on an asthma pump will help and then we could go home

Waiting on pharmacy to bring up asthma pump, and Lilly finally sleeping

Going Home

The Dr came back at 12 and said she looked at Lilly's xrays from the day before and her lungs looked better then what she thought (we had a different Dr admit us who originally looked at the xrays) so she said as soon as we get the pump from the pharmacy (they deliver between 12-1) and a nurse shows us how to use it we can go home. The Dr we had (can't remember her name) was a mom of a 6 month old too, so she knows how we were feeling. 

The Hospital, Karl Bremem Hosptial, is a teaching hospital so the Dr we had was doing her residency. but there were lots of young Drs and Nurses working with a Head Dr over them all. It was cool to see

Lilly is now home, she slept 11 hrs last night with only one feed during that time, but she woke up this morning with a terribly blocked nose. It took 30 mins of  off and on of the nose aspirator to get it all out  so she could eat. 

What a way to spend your 6month birthday, on hospital!

6 months

My baby Girl is 6 Months old Tomorrow! Can you believe it! I know I can't.

She has started to roll from back to tummy ( she rolled from tummy to back at 2 weeks old) and is getting up on all fours. I think she will be crawling very soon.

She laughs all the time. 

A happy little girl

Small but Chunky

My little Sweat Pea, Mommy Loves you so much and is so very thankful for you

one of my Favorite Songs that I pray that will be true for all our children

"Planting Trees" by Andrew Peterson

We chose the spot, we dug the hole
We laid the maples in the ground to have and hold
As Autumn falls to Winters sleep
We pray that somehow in the Spring

The roots grow deep

And many years from now
Long after we are gone
These trees will spread their branches out
And bless the dawn

"that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified" Isaiah 61:3b