around here these days

First, thanks to all of you who let us know you're praying for Adam. We don't have the biopsy results back yet, but he has a nice long line of stitches in his back (as long as my pinkie!). We'll let you know when we get the results.

Yesterday, in between changing the bandaids on it, Sam came up and asked him about his "owie", saying, "What happened, Daddy? Did you get a bonk?" Adam explained about the doctor taking the spots out. And Sam started patting him, almost not touching him, hands just hovering over his arm, being as careful as any little two year old boy could be. And, using his trying-very-hard-to-be-grown-up voice, said, "Oh, Daddy. You're my daddy. You're my special daddy."

Okay, it choked me up.

Yesterday I got sick, and Adam stayed home to take care of me and the kids. I'm so grateful he is able to do that when we need it. I'm feeling better today, but still a little woozy. I'm not sure if it was flu or just a really bad migraine (you know, the "if I'm very, very, very still in a very dark and quiet room I might not throw up" sort of migraine).

I'm working hard on getting the first fifteen pages of my novel ready to enter in a contest (woo!). That's happened because God graciously decided to drop a mentor into my life, and with her encouragement, I'm beginning to see the next steps for me as a writer. It's very exciting, and very exhausting, because finding time to write means getting up early. On the days the twins only wake up to nurse once, that's easy. When it's more than once, it's a lot harder. (We're waiting till the anniversary of their due date to nightwean - I figure if Brie and Sam got a full year of night-waking, so should they. Theirs is just an adjusted full year.)

Because I was sick yesterday, Jane and Kate didn't get to their doctor's apppointment. It's rescheduled, so we'll find out later about the end of RSV season. My guess is we have another month, at least, to go.

Jane and Kate go through periods of looking more and less alike, and right now they look very, very different. It's hard to figure out what it is. Part of it is the shape of their faces: Jane's is much rounder. Part of it is the hair: Kate's is longer and darker. Part of it is size: Kate still has a few pounds on her sister. But a lot of it, I think, is just them.

When Jane knows she's doing something she shouldn't (tipped off by Adam or I coming to investigate with a warning, "Jaaa-aaane . . .") she raspberries with her tongue (to show there's nothing that shouldn't be in her mouth, honest, Mom) and hightails it away, head-down, crawling as fast as she can. It's hilarious.

After a week or so of Katie walking everywhere (I knew she was a real toddler when she started walking to me when she was crying - even when distressed, she walks instead of crawls), Jane's decided this walking thing isn't so bad after all, and is toddling all over the place too.

Both girls are teething their molars . . . droooooool. We're getting more language: Dad, Mom, Brie, cracker, yummy, amen. I'm not sure if they have a sound for Sam, but I might just be having trouble hearing it, since the "s" at the beginning is sure to be something else in baby-speak.

Oh, and "no". They've got that one down pat. Jane even says it when she's doing something she shouldn't. "Nnnnnna-O!" she yells gleefully, as she reaches for the forbidden object, "NNNNNa-O!"

Kate has a cute habit of flopping backwards on everything she can find that's soft enough to flop on. She stands against the couch, throws herself backward on it and griiiiiiins. So cute.

Brigid's doing "crafts" now. The last one she did was a princess. She drew and cut out a face, crown, body, arms and feet, then taped them all together. Pretty cool. She and I are also reading a chapter book together now ("Betsy-Tacy") and I love it! This is something like my ideal image of motherhood: getting to curl up on the couch and share my favorite books with my children. :)

btw, if you see Sam anytime soon, and he looks a little closely-shorn, just know that it wasn't my idea. He discovered that scissors do, indeed, cut hair. What you see now is my attempt to even it out a bit. So sad. He has such lovely thick hair (I think he, out of all the kids, got his hair from my side of the family - why is it always the boys? it's like my brother getting the long eyelashes) and it was at such a cute little-boy length, and now it is very, very short. Oh well. Hair grows.

right. I should got get that second cup of coffee now. love to you all! -Jess