Wordless Wednesday

I thought this picture was good for a Wordless Wednesday post, but then I realized that in order to get the full meaning out of the pic, I had to explain it! Below is a pic of Grant sleeping in his crib with his favorite little lamb. When we first moved him into his crib, he was not happy at all- he wanted back in his cozy bassinet. After trying everything, we decided to put a special lamb lovey in the crib with him hoping it would provide comfort. This lamb lovey was originally a gift to Brooke and Alexcyn from my mom - she had bought one for each of the girls. When Alexcyn was in the NICU, I had J pick up a few things from home so she would have cozy things in the incubator with her- her lamb lovey was one of those things. When it came time to pack up the girls closet this summer, I came across the other lamb that was meant for Brooke. Instead of putting it in the box with all of the other things we had for the girls, I kept it out and decided that I would give it to Grant as a special gift from his big sisters.

He obviously knew just how special it was...

because he held on tightly to this lamb and went right to sleep.

4 Months

I turned 4 months old this week! My mom and dad can hardly believe what a little man I am turning into! This was a busy month for our family as mommy and daddy celebrated their 6th anniversary by going to Chicago and leaving me alone for the first time with my mom mom and my pop pop. I had a ton of fun with them because they spoiled me rotten! I also got baptised this month and I went on my first vacation up north!

This is what else I have been up to...

*I am eating 4.5- 5 ounces every 2-4 hours. Dr S says that I get to try cereal for the first time this month--- yum-o!

*I still can't figure out what I am doing when it comes to sleep. Some nights I sleep from 10 -8 straight, other nights I wake up at 3 and other nights I wake up at 2 and 5! My mommy and daddy keep telling me they really wish I would sleep through the night, but I like to keep them on their toes!!!

* I LOVE to sleep with something under my arms.

* I went on my first ski trip up north this week. Unfortunately, I just stayed inside the condo because it was too cold outside for me, but it was still fun to have a change of scenery for a few days.

*I went swimming for the first time while I was up north. I wasn't sure what was going on so I held on to mommy really tight!

*At my 4 month appt this week I weighed 13 lbs 15 oz- they said that was the 75th%, but my mom is not so sure that is right. I am 24 1/2 inches long which is in the 35%- when my dad heard that, his dreams of me being a basketball player went right out the window!

*I started hanging out in my jumperoo this month and I love it! I am still not so excited about the Bumbo so I just hang out in the jumperoo most of the time. I just wish my feet hit the ground so I could actually jump!

*I am all over the place when it comes to clothes! I have a tiny waist so I am in 3 month pants and the only jeans that stay up are my 0-3 month ones! All the rest of my clothes are around the 3, 3-6 month size.

*I still haven't rolled over yet. I like to lay on my tummy and kick and wobble back and forth, but no rollover action here!!!

*I am currently in size 1/2 diapers but will be moving up soon since my mom ordered a months worth of size 2 thinking I would be bigger than I am!

*I smile, laugh and talk a lot now! Usually I like to stop right away when mommy takes out her camera, but I thought I owed her a few smiling pictures after making her get up twice the night before!

Grant Weston

Birthdays

Monday was my birthday and Grant's 4 month birthday! (Did you know that J, G and I were all born on the 1st of a month- pretty cool huh?) Last year I was laying on the beach in Acapulco sipping on a mango margarita and this year I was up north skiing and sipping on a hot chocolate! Not exactly the tropical vacation I usually take on my birthday and anniversary weekend, but it was still a ton of fun and the most important part is that I had this little guy to hold on to!





It truly is amazing to me how much has changed since G entered our lives. The last few years I have just hated celebrating my birthday. They were a constant reminder that yet another year had passed and I was still waiting for my birthday wish from the previous year to come true. That is why when it came time to blow out my birthday candles this year, I hesitated .... my wish had finally come true and I just didn't know what to wish for anymore! Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of things I want! Specifically, I wanted my arms to be full with a smiling baby boy and two beautiful girls, but I know better than to wish for something I know isn't physically possible. So for now, I am wishing that those of you still waiting for your wishes to come true will be lucky enough to find yourselves suddenly wish-less this year!

Presents

I LOVE getting presents!!! Seriously, who doesn't??? That is why I was so excited when Living Without Sophia and Ellie started 25 Days of Giveaways this holiday season for moms who had lost babies. Everyday for 25+ days a different blogger hosted a giveaway and all you had to do was comment on the blog of the day and you were entered to win. The items varied from a homemade blanket with your angels name on it, to a necklace from My Forever Child, to a Snow Babies Christmas ornament purchased from Target. It really was a fun thing to get involved in and a great diversion for those that were struggling through the holiday season without their little ones. I was the lucky winner of a Embrace headband and towel set. The momma I won these from used these in the Pilates classes she started taking after losing her quadruplets. I was also lucky enough to receive 2 name plaques that Katy from In Hannahs Honor made for Brooke and Alexcyn. What a wonderful surprise this was for me, especially because I was not the winner of her giveaway! Katy was so moved by all the stories of the contestants, she actually made us all gifts! I was so excited when this beautiful package came in the mail this week.

I am just humbled and amazed at the generosity of this woman I don't even know! Thanks Katy for making my day with these special gifts to remember our daughters.

United in grief, we find love and strength.

For those of you who do not know, Carly from Love Reign Over Me has created an International Babylost Mother's Day. It will be held the first Sunday of May each year. This year it will be held on Sunday May 2nd. This day recognizes that all women who have lost a child are still mothers.

As Carly says, on this special day in May we come together to celebrate our connection, our children, and our hope for the future. International Babylost Mother's Day is a day for love, peace, remembrance, and recognition. Click here to view the IBMD fan page that Carly created. You can also check out the various flowers to pass on to other moms.

(Thanks to Jill at Footprints on our Hearts for this post!)

Baptism

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap that which is planted.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

A time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Ecclesiastes 3: 1

There have been many times over the last few years that I have thought of the day we would baptise our children. When we had the girls, I was so thankful that our pastor was able to come to the hospital and baptise Alexcyn before she passed away. But, I was extremely sad because that is not the way it was supposed to be. At that point in our lives, we had been dealing with infertility for years and had dreamed of the day we would finally be holding our babies in our arms as their lives were promised to God. When Alexcyn was baptised, she was in the NICU. We were only able to hold her hands.

After we lost the girls, I couldn't handle baptisms. I signed up to get our church bulletin online so I would know in advance when baptisms were going to take place. I would stay in bed and skip church those days. It was just too much of a reminder of the day I was still waiting to have with Brooke and Alexcyn.

So, needless to say when it came time to think about Grant being baptised, I was thrilled and excited that it was finally our turn to stand up in front of our family and friends and promise our baby's life and love to God!

Pastor Frank was the one that baptised Alexcyn and he and his wife prayed for us and stood by us as we went through all of our struggles so it was very special that he was also the one that baptised Grant.

Tears came to our eyes as he spoke briefly spoke about this verse... A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. We have spent so much time weeping and mourning and yesterday was a day to celebrate. It was a day to DANCE!

Grant was wrapped in a special blanket knit by his great grandma B.

And he wore beautiful blue booties given to him by his mom mom.

Marvelous Monday...

I know that most people don't think of Mondays as being marvelous. Trust me, there were many years that I agreed! But, now that I am working a part time schedule, I get to wake up and spend every Monday with this amazing boy and that makes for a Marvelous Monday in my world!