Mom's Favorite Job

There really is 'nothing more awesome than being a mom' (~ M. Hooley)!  Taking care of Stella and Claire challenges me nearly every day, I'm tired (ALL the time!), and I definitely feel like some of my friendships have taken the back seat lately but I am so very grateful for my girls!  Thanks to everyone for the Mother's Day wishes - and a special thank you to my sister Mary Jane for spoiling me today with a delicious meal and beautiful flowers!  We are sending prayers out for Mom Todd today.  We miss you very much and hope you and Trey are keeping each other company.

This week we struggled a little bit through Stella having pink eye.  Thank goodness that's over!  Not only has Claire mastered crawling this week but she's starting to sit up on her own too!  Some fun pics:

Swinging @ the playground

Go Buckeyes!

My new outfit from Grammie

Playing Dress Up

Pretty Hawaiian dress sent from the Perrin's

I'm a big girl!

We have a Crawler (sort of)!

Claire has figured out how to move around and get where she wants to go despite not having perfected crawling.  She has progressively been putting her arm and leg movements together into an actual crawl but even when she's not practicing great technique she's on the move!

Stella is good but she's been a bit under the weather.  Her puffy eyes and need for a little extra sleep these past few days haven't kept her down though!

This weekend we left both of our girls overnight for the first time.  Thank you Grammie and Pa for being with them so we could go out of town for a wedding.  We had lots of fun with some of Randy's College friends and sleeping in until 8:30 this morning was a real treat!

Another Week Older

Playing outside a few weeks back.

Time seems to pass so quickly and it seems there's never enough time in the day.  A smile on Stella's face or Claire's little giggle are completely worth putting off a load of laundry though! 

Pretty in Pink!

Stella being silly at lunch time.

Stella loves being a big sister!

Playing with chalk.

Happy Girls!

Both girls are doing great!  Claire-Bear is doing well with spoon feedings, and Stella is working on using her manners and learning how to use the potty.  We continue to be in awe of them as they grow and learn and change each week.  Our family is gearing up for a busy busy month full of track officiating, coaching golf, two weddings and masters commencement.  We'll do our best to capture some kodak moments and keep everyone updated though! 

Spring Break

Between finishing up graduate school and all that's been happening over the past few weeks we decided not to travel over break this year.  Fortunately we've been able to visit with family recently so we only missed out on the getting away part of traveling!  It was nice having a quiet week at home and spending time with our girls.  They sure do love each other!

Cousins, Cousins & More Cousins

We've spent lots and lots of time with family over the past two weeks which has been especially fun because Stella and Claire have been able to play with all their cousins!   Last weekend the Perrin's visited from Hawaii.  Their trip felt so short but it was wonderful to see them all and watch the girls play together.  Haley wanted to be really helpful with Claire, and Claire just loves the older kids so the two of them had an instant connection!  We were fortunate that the Hooley's (minus Uncle Dan) also made it home for a couple of days.  Having six little girls running around together was hectic and crowded but worth every second!

Stella and Skye learned to share...(pretty well)

Haley loved to help out with "baby Claire"

 

Easter weekend was busy but fun!  On Saturday we went to Aunt Heather's to hang with some of the Gilson crew, and then Sunday spent time at Aunt Mary Jane & Uncle Neil's with Grammie & Pa.

Grammie decorated Trey's tree.

Stella and Gia "exploring"

The girls in their matching Easter dresses.

Both of the girls are doing great.  Stella had a follow-up doctors appointment last week and they are keeping her on an inhaled steroid once per day for another month.  She's no longer sick but this treatment will hopefully continue to ward off asthma and ensure she continues to have healthy lungs.  We fed Claire cereal for the first time on Friday night.  She did a great job using a spoon!  She is growing so fast, 6 months sure have flown!

"I'm not so sure about this..."

"Mmmm...not too bad!!"

Stella and her "baby duck" at Aunt MJs

A Tribute to Mom/Grandma

This entry is dedicated to our Mom and Grandma, who passed away this past Monday.  Her heart overflowed with love for her children and she was so very proud to be a grandma.  Mom/Grandma: we love you and you will be deeply missed.

Pictures of our girls!

"I'll be sitting on my own soon..."

It's warm enough to wear dresses now!

"Watching basketball with my daddy"

"I'm having a turn with this puzzle while Stella takes a nap!"

Toby came over to watch a movie and Stella was soooo excited!

Hanging out in the garage

"It's hot out - I need to rest with mom and have a drink!"

"I'm a big girl and don't need your help dad!"

Passing Days

We so very much look forward to weekends when we get to spend quality time with our girls.  If only they didn't pass so quickly...

Thank you to Michelle White for helping us expose Stella to the world of Art - she really enjoys painting!

Stella has practically transformed into a little lady right before our eyes and it feels like we somehow missed it!  We simply can't believe some of the things she does and says.  At gymnastics this weekend she fully participated in all of the activities for the first time and it was as if she's always been doing that.  She's taken a liking to (and seems to prefer over Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) Little Einstein's and pats and sings along.  She tries to have conversations with Claire-Bear regularly.  As her pediatrician has said 'she's a character'!

Claire brings a smile to everyone around her.  She is generally in a happy mood and has such a big smile.  She's almost 13 lbs. and is starting to sleep longer stretches at night which is nice for us!

Saturday was such a fun day for us.  After Gymnastics we spent the afternoon at Grammie & Pa's house.  Grammie watched the girls so we could watch Larries basketball, and afterward we all headed to the Spicy Iguana for dinner.  It was a good day!  Sunday was nice too, we relaxed around the house, took naps, and played outside a bit.  It seems like warm weather is headed our way which we are excited about!

Happy Girls

Both our girls are growing so quickly!  Claire is doing a great job learning how to hold toys and bring them to her mouth, and Stella has become such a big girl.  Stella is feeling much better but has to take an inhaled steroid twice per day for the next month.  We are sad to see her requiring this kind of care but trust that her pediatrician hasn't decided this lightly.  We want to make sure she stays strong and healthy!

Stella looking pretty in her new hat from Katy, Joey, & Toby!

Claire-Bear holding on!

Our family is passionate about many charities, one being the American Cancer Society.  We will be participating in SUNY Potsdam's Relay For Life event in a few weeks.  This year we are celebrating Randy, our #1 Survivor - his survival story is an incredible testament to modern medicine!  We will also be remembering Ryan Reardon, a special kid we met at the Ronald McDonald House who also suffered from Neuroblastoma.  Ryan's journey ended this past September but he lives on through the love of his wonderful family and all of the people he impacted through his cheerful attitude and optimistic smile.  For just $5 you can honor or remember a loved one too through a luminaria. On the evening of Relay the glow from these special bags will brighten the walking track.  We hope you can join us in supporting this worthy cause.  Feel free to visit our Relay page:

Todd's 2012 Relay For Life Page

On the Mend

This week Stella gave us quite a scare as she battled some respiratory issues.  She didn't feel well over the weekend and by Sunday night she was laboring to breathe some.  We thought about taking her to the ER but took her to see her pediatrician instead on Monday.  He prescribed her a steroid and albuterol treatments and asked to see her the next morning.  On Tuesday when her symptoms hadn't changed and even seemed a little worse we were frightened.  We took her to the hospital for a chest x-ray which was a bit traumatic.  Stella didn't want to cooperate so they had to strap her into a seat.  Because it was already difficult for her to breathe it was sad to see her so scared and upset.  The technicians were great though.  After a few albuterol treatments Stella began to hold the mask herself.  She doesn't seem to mind taking the medicine at all now.  We took her back to the doctor on Wednesday, and again on Friday.  She has finally started to sound better and is much more active.  We'll take her back again this Tuesday but it seems like she's on the up and up - thank god!  We knew that because of her prematurity Stella could have trouble if she caught a cold but after making it through her first winter healthy we weren't prepared for this scare.   Hopefully this will be an isolated issue and she won't have many more problems like this.

Claire is such a happy baby.  She is growing and changing so fast.  Since she has mastered rolling over she is now working on grasping and holding things.  Stella loves to play around her and as protective as we try to be Claire usually doesn't mind her big  sister at all, often times she just laughs!  We've done our best to keep Stella at a distance from Claire this past week.  So far Claire doesn't seem to be coming down with a cold so hopefully she will stay healthy this time.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and well wishes this week!

Claire's Baptism

Claire and her god parents, Katy and Joey!

This morning we were surrounded by our church family, relatives, and friends for Claire's baptism.  We all gathered for food and fellowship afterward in honor of our sweet baby.  A special thanks go out to Claire's God Parents - Katy and Joey, to Pastor Harold, the party planners at church, and everyone who provided support for our family today.  It was truly a special day!

Party Favors

Assorted Soaps





Beautiful Cake made my Claire's Aunt Mary Jane
(Many thanks!)





 The Hooley's made the trip from Ohio so being with family this weekend was lots of fun.  Stella has caught a terrible cold so she wasn't really herself but she sure does love her cousins and found a little bit of energy to play with them the best she could.

This week Claire learned how to roll over.  We simply cannot believe how fast she is growing!  This week she'll see her pediatrician for her 4-month visit.

Another Busy Weekend

Napping after the Winter Festival Parade

Since we haven't been to many of daddy's games we all went on Friday night.  It was Senior night so it was a good game to go to and we were able to sleep in a little bit longer on Saturday - not too much though because Stell-Belle had gymnastics.  Afterward we all went for a walk down the street to watch the Tri-Town Winter Carnival Parade.  It was COLD but something fun to do close by.  Today we went to Kalub's birthday party where Stella had lots of fun.  We never would have guessed Stella would have a social calendar so soon!

Stell-Belle & Claire-Bear ready for another birthday party!

Party Weekend

  We had such an eventful weekend full of lots of fun with our girls! After spending another Friday night at Grammie and Pa's Stella and Mommy went to Gymnastics Saturday morning. Then we all headed to Nick Winston's birthday party which was lots of fun. Stella got to jump around in a bounce house, watch Nick open presents (which was a good learning lesson for her), and take a swing at the pinata. Needless to say she was a tired girl by the end of the day!

Stella enjoying the bounce house!

On Sunday we headed over to the Britton's for the Super Bowl. This was an especially fun game for Daddy because he loves the NY Giants but Stella wasn't interested in celebrating any touchdowns - she was having too much fun playing with Gigi! Claire-Bear is such a happy girl and went along with our weekend plans undisturbed. It was such a treat seeing her with baby Cambria, who is just about three-months older. With any luck they will get along as well as Stella and Gianna do!

Stella and Gianna; thirsty after playing hard!

Claire and Cambria, being happy!

Snuggle time with Grammie!

Snow Days & 'Nastics!'

This week bad weather changed our plans slightly but the girls were able to spend an extra day at home with their dad which can't be beat!  Friday we spent the night at Grammie and Pa's house.  Stella always loves spending time with them!  On Saturday Stella tried out 'nastics' for the first time.  She wouldn't participate for the first 20 minutes but after that she got into it and loved it so much she got upset because she had to wait her turn.  We are excited about how much she will benefit from this program and because she has started with a parent-tot class it is something fun we get to do together!  Claire is growing and we can tell she is really starting to take things in during her wakeful periods, especially what her lively sister is up to!

Dull Winter Days

It was a quiet week so we don't have much to share.  Both girls are doing great.  Mom and Dad got to have a 'date night' this weekend and had dinner out with friends.  Stella is being challenged by what it means to share, and Claire is starting to sleep 7-8 hour stretches at night.  Check back next week for a more exciting update - this week we will start to plan Claire's baptism, will spend the night at Grammie and Pa's, and Stella will attend her first Gymnastics class!

Fun at Home

We've had some extra time together this week as a family due to snow days, plus Mom was home on Wednesday with the girls.  We also were able to keep the girls home this weekend so all this one-on-one time with them has been really fun.  We did have the BMC/St. Lawrence Central Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Festival on Saturday but Grammie and Pa came over for a few hours to play with the girls so Mom could go help out.  Both girls are growing and changing and fulfilling our lives in more ways than we ever could have imagined!

Claire having tummy time!

Stella loves to have chips for a snack.

Our happy girl!

On Sunday, the New York Giants won their playoff game.  During our football dinner, Daddy taught Stella something about football...