Thursday, December 17

Rocking around the Christmas tree

Have you ever seen the little Santa that plays Rocking Around the Christmas Tree and dances? Bradley loves it, and it has always been one of my favorites.  We’ve been thoroughly enjoying this Christmas season and just life in general. There is so much to be thankful for; God continues to bless our family in many ways. This Christmas is particularly special to us as last year we were too consumed with all that was going on, in our life, to really enjoy the season. So, this year we’ve enjoyed every little moment probably as much as a child does. All the shopping is finished and everything wrapped; the house is decorated; and we’ve gone on a lot of drives to see Christmas lights. We’re still hoping to have a chance to go to Saluda Shoals sometime over the next week. The Christmas tree lights are on whenever we’re at home, and I love to have Christmas music playing as well. The boys especially love the Christmas music and often dance to the music. Yes, Austin does pretty well keeping the beat. It’s adorable! We’ve been to a couple of Christmas parties too.

We’ve been busy organizing the house to make room for Cameron. Some might say I’m nesting, but I’ve always liked to organize. And, I’ve spoiled Chris by keeping such an orderly house. We’ve turned our spare bedroom into a bonus room that hosts a multitude of things. It is upstairs, so we have some of the kid’s toys, my scrapbooking and picture items, Chris’ game system, and some other odds and ends you expect to find in a bonus room. We are ready to paint Cameron’s room after getting it cleaned out and have her crib. We have to have 2 cribs with our youngest children so close together! :-o We’ve painted some other rooms too. We have been in our house for 2 years this month, but life has been too crazy to personalize it. Life is still a little crazy, but it’s a good crazy now. So, we’re slowly going room by room and finishing things.

Cameron is over 25 weeks gestation now, so my restrictions must be working. She is growing well and moves all the time. Girls seem to move so much more than boys in utero. I have developed gestational diabetes again as expected. For now, I’m not on insulin and controlling it well with just my diet. However, it’s early and this will probably change as she and the placenta grow. I check my sugar 4 times a day and have certain ranges that it must stay in. If it doesn’t, then I have to call my doctor and he’ll start me on either an oral medication or insulin. We’re still hoping she’ll make it to 36/37 weeks when the doctor will take her via c-section to avoid further complications. So far so good!

Austin is doing well. He is pulling up and slowly cruising along the furniture and his toys. He is also doing an army crawl. Austin enjoys dancing; he bounces right along to the beat of the music. And, he has been playing peek-a-boo too. He uses his arm and only covers half of his face, but it’s precious. He still enjoys saying “Dada,” and even called his name the other night when he couldn’t open a toy. Austin has biweekly appointments with his EI, sessions once a week with his PT, and sees the speech therapist once a month just to make sure he is on the right track with his feeding issues. We also are getting Synagis once a month to help in case he was to develop RSV. Synagis doesn’t prevent RSV, but helps it not be so bad on children with lung issues. Austin goes tomorrow for his 12 month well check, so we’ll see then how big he much he has grown lately. We’ve been planning his 1st birthday party; it will be after the holidays. I know it’s late, but it makes sense for our family and with Austin being such an early preemie. He’ll be old enough to hopefully enjoy cake and ice cream!

Bradley is doing well too. Tomorrow is his last day of preschool before Christmas break which makes him happy since he still prefers staying home. They had a small program, during school, last week for just parents. My little star shined with the songs and motions; we were very impressed as he did everything with no stage fright! We enjoyed homemade cookies decorated by Bradley afterwards. Bradley is ready for Christmas, but NOT Santa. He has never liked Santa which we don’t really mind and think it will actually help teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Bradley does enjoy Christmas decorations especially the lights though. He helped us take some toys to donate to Toys for Tots and handled that very well. There was no fussing or tears as he seemed to understand it was for other children that might not get other presents. Bradley will be 4 in March and is talking about his birthday a lot these days. We think we’ll celebrate it in February hopefully before Cameron arrives. He tells people that Cameron is coming for his birthday!

We’re just trucking along, enjoying the ride, and making the most of each day. Life is fairly simple, and we are enjoying it so much. We’re looking forward to Christmas at home with our children. God is so good, and we continue to be amazed by His plan. We pray that everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season!


Daddy & Bradley decorating the tree



Austin waving hello



Austin smiles for the camera on his own now



Bradley relaxing in his new bean bag



Wicker Family on Thanksgiving



Brothers on Thanksgiving



 Bradley on Thanksgiving



Clemson Boys



Austin knows he's cute!