Refreshed and Energized.

I am proud to announce that after 1 year and 10 months of waking in the middle of the night we now have 3 kiddos who sleep through the night! Hurray!

This means momma gets to sleep! Although now I do not know what to do with this extra time. I go to bed at 10 because for me that is late. I used to go to bed even earlier not knowing what the night would hold.

Now I cannot seem to sleep in. 7 hours later I wake up. What is wrong with me? This is the perfect opportunity to catch up on long lost sleep. Oh well I am waking quite refreshed and energized.

Poor Amelia is sick right now. It makes me just feel awful every time I hear her cough, or see that snotty nose. She is handling it like a trooper though. She does pretty well with the medicine and getting her nose wiped. Aleigh used to throw a fit every time, Amelia is about 50/50.

I am so thankful for 2 healthy girls. They have both been sick once or twice but that is normal.

Amelia is now getting into everything. Yesterday she got into the DVD's and scattered them all over the room. Last night she got into the shoes, socks, hats, hairbows, and diapers and just made a mess in her room. I think it is funny to watch her explore and have fun. A mess is a good thing, it means she is learning something and enjoying herself. Soon she will learn to clean up her messes, but I hope our house will be full of fun and exploration for years and years to come.

I read in a horsemanship magazine how children raised in the great outdoors around all the dirt, and animals actually have a better immune system. Some people seem to think the opposite. Either way I believe the first.

I hope and pray that my girls learn and love to fish, camp, love animals, run in big grassy fields, play in the woods, go on hikes, get their hands dirty and breathe in that wonderful smell of livestock.

I hope and pray that as their mom I can teach these things and give them those opportunities. I really hope that Jake gets this job in Waco, Texas. It is the kind of state that I can see all those wishes come true.

I only wish we could live on a farm, but I am sure there will be plenty close by for the girls to get their share of different animals. If not, there is always the zoo which Jake would be working for. They can spend plenty of time there.

Aleigh, I believe, is on the verge of talking. I hope and pray I am right. She is now babbling way more than she ever has. Yesterday she said "bababy' and pointed to Amelia. This is a huge accomplishment! I have learned that for her babbling back to her and repeating exactly what she said, making it a game is making her do that more often. She is now babbling "aaah eee" not sure if she is trying to say her name. Some other ones are "didi, Dada, mamae, Nana, Nene, yeayea, baba, beh and a big mixture of all sorts of letters really. Might not seem like much but even a month ago all she would ever say was Dada and that was maybe only a few times every couple of days. Hopefully this continues and maybe she will be talking before her 2nd birthday.

She had a Dr. appt right after she turns 2. If she isn't talking by then the Dr. Will probably recommend therapy. He gave us the option at 18 months but seeing how Jake and I both didn't start talking until 2+ we weren't worried, so he said he would check back at age 2.

Hopefully we will find out about this Waco job by the end of the week. I am sure you will all hear soon one way or the other.