This Moment

Just a moment from our week, one that I want to treasure always...What special moment did you have this week?

The Emma Tunic

I'm the slowest knitter in the whole world. Have I ever mentioned that? The idea of knitting a sweater befuddles me. I could never find the time! I'd never get it done! So when I vowed to take on the Emma tunic for Maura, I was dead set on getting it done.



I started about a month ago. Then, the other day, I realized that if I didn't kick it into high gear, she might very well grow out of it before I got it on her!



Of course, there is no trying on in a piece like this while it's on the needles...so I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Maura would indeed be wearing it longer than I expected! It's actually a tad big on her!



I always try to learn a new skill as I try new knitting projects, or at least try to take on new concepts...as a beginning knitter that I am. In this case, I had to add the yoke, which meant casting on at the end of rows, and also using place holders and increases and decreases. While these sound like simple knitting tasks, they were quite a challenge for me! None the less, I feel like I came through them just fine! Don't you agree?

A Fall Beach Moment

Just a moment from our week...one to remember always and savor. I hope your week was just as nice as ours!

NICU Friends

35 days...

That's how long we spent in the NICU. You'd think that in that 35 days we'd have made more friends. But we didn't.

Perhaps it's because when you are there...in the NICU...you are spending your time with your own baby, and after all, who has time for other people in the NICU? I mean, really...that's the ONLY reason you are there in the first place..to love your baby...and even when the social worker comes around weekly to tell you about the mom scrapbooking group, you turn the other way and do what you do every day, that is, snuggle with your baby because we go home to our families at the end of the day and life continues onward.

This makes the NICU a potentially very lonely place, you know?

We made one friend while we were at CHOP. One. And she came in our last days at CHOP. 35 long days, and only in the last week or so did we make a friend...her son left the NICU just days before Maura headed home. The funny thing about T and Maura is that they are both gestationally exactly the same age.

Well here we are, going on October, and we are still friends. Sure, you'd think that we all just want to put the whole NICU experience behind us, but this...this is different. We were meant to be friends....we were meant to find each other...we have something very special in common.

This picture is from a few weeks ago, but we did go see Stephanie and T today in Philadelphia. It was lovely. It's also a lovely reminder that our two children have come so far from where they were back in early June.

For the Pickin'

Every year we head to the orchards for our apples...and every year, it seems like we get there a bit late and all the good apples are gone! This year that was not to be the case! With Maura's Christening coming up, we knew we'd be busy and we didn't want to miss out on apples as we missed strawberries this year because of our whole NICU debacle...so we took to the fields the other day to head to the orchard!



It was a cloudy day, but by no means did that hamper our fun. The orchards were empty and quiet, and the trees were pretty much ours! It was wonderful!



Patrick was very excited as we've been reading a lot of books about apples lately in our autumn book bin. He couldn't wait to pick (and eat!) the apples!



It was nice to have the fresh smell of apple sauce simmering in the house afterwards as well!

A Big Brother Moment

Just a moment from our week! A Moment to savor always and forever. What was your special moment this week! Please share it!

Goodbye Summer...I'll miss you!

This morning, Patrick and I took Maura for a walk. We saw the train, we walked through town, and we stopped at Beanwood for a cookie. It was muggy out. I knew the rain was coming, so I wanted to get some good outside time in before it hit. It was still summer.

This evening, the air was crisp. The winds blew. I knew summer had left us behind...just like that! I'm sad to see her go, but perhaps now I can properly welcome in fall..because as Patrick told me this morning, he wants to "take out Halloween" - his way of saying it's time to decorate!

Bouncer Baby

I sit and watch her play on her bouncer. She inherited it from Patrick, though it's made its rounds among no less than 2 other babies. I remember seeing his early smiles as he watched the bears move. For Maura, it's different. Watching her fascinates me because I see her make those connections in her head. She smiles at the bears and coos at them. Once in a while, she'll hit one. I watch her as if she's thinking, did I do that?



For a baby who has had so many hurdles to cross, she sure makes the best of it. She's as happy as a clam and just coming into her own. She's catching up, in her own time.

Board Games

I know, I shouldn't rush it. These are the days I've been waiting for! Patrick has a new favorite hobby: board games!



He's really only learning them now. He received several games for his birthday, and then our friend Debbie gave us a few more that were perfect for him! We've spent hours lately just sitting at our dining room table playing games with him!




He's so engaged in them. And of course, he likes to win. I'm trying to go easy on him and so is Joe, so that he learns how to play fairly and by the rules, which he doesn't always get. We've changed some of the rules to make it easier for him to understand in some of them, but he gets it!

A Moment with the Chickens

Just a moment from our week, one to remember always...to savor and enjoy! I hope you are all drying out after all the rain this last week! Here's to a sunny weekend!

Niny's House

Everytime we head up there, it's like a message to slow down in life. Sitting on the porch or near the fire and the chickens gobble by...the crackle of every log...the conversations that take place...it's all a peaceful reminder that life often goes too fast.











This is how we watched our summer come to an end....a party, in the woods. It was a glorious way to see the summer out. Now I feel like I can thoroughly welcome in fall!

Escaping for a Night

Epilepsy doesn't get us down around here! We're headed to a lovely little place up in the Poconos, with our tent and our kids to spent the night with some beloved cousins in the woods, swimming, and eating, and being with maybe some knitting thrown in...See you next week!

A Headlifting Moment

Just a moment from our week! A Milestone to remember! Maura's on the upswing! Thanks for thinking of her this week! We begin the count again, day 3 seizure free!

Late Summer

Where has the summer gone? With two kids, it seems to go ever faster than before. I feel like the summer just began, and it's now September 1st! I feel like it was just days ago that I was spending my time in the NICU, eating lunch at Potbelly, and soaking up the first of summer's rays.

While I obviously am glad to be home from the NICU, I'm sad that summer is over. There is never enough time to swim, to go to the beach, to camp, to play outside...and some of those days are coming to an end!



Sure, we'll do other things. But it's change that I loathe. While I love fall, I hate the transition into it. Saying goodbye to all things summer is always hard for us. Reading all of your blogs doesn't make it any easier as I see that some of your summers have already come to an end!

Here's to welcoming change. Hopefully it will be easier than I think!