9 Months Old!

9 months old!

 8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Josiah,

It's amazing to look back at the photos of you as a tiny baby. How fast it's gone!

You are growing into such a big boy.

-You sit up quite well (albeit still tip over when you forget to concentrate on being upright), and you've started to crawl. Most of the time, that lands you backwards from wherever you start (and stuck under a couch or chair, quite frequently), but just the past couple days you have maneuvered a few steps forward!

- You are enjoying your first experience of Cheerios and starting to drink out of a sippy cup.

First Cheerios...

- You eat cereal 3 times a day and still pretty much nurse at the same times as you have for the past 8 months (10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm, 3am). This makes for a sleepy mommy, but we are so excited for the upcoming move to a 3-bedroom space so that you won't need to be moved in the middle of the night ... and thus (we hope) will just snooze all the way through.

- You are a gregarious little fellow, generally offering smiles to anyone who pays attention to you. You really light up our days with your smiles, little mister.

- You love things that crinkle or have little ribbons. Everything goes in your mouth. You have very good fine-motor skills (like picking up a third of a Cheerio from your tray!). I have a feeling you will be eating many tiny things off the floor, so it's a good motivator for cleaning...

- You enjoy going for walks in the stroller (with your arms and legs sticking straight out the whole way, because you're so excited!).

- You're a good little car-rider, even for the long trek to Iowa. And even though you are so tall you're stretching the seams in your 12-month clothes, it seems to be all in your legs (we still have your car seat straps in the middle slot!).

- You love jump, jump, jumping!

We love you and pray for God's protection on you in the year ahead, and His hand to shelter, strengthen, and keep you as you continue growing as a fine little boy.

Big kisses to you, sweetie,
Momma

Christmas Moments in MN

Merry Christmas!

Our "Advent envelopes"

Putting up the Nativity

Celebrating with Mr. Kevin and Ms. Sue

Christmas Eve service at the South Site, with Grammy and Grandad

Christmas morning playing at the playground!

Of course, that doesn't even show the fun we had with Grammy and Grandad, the time with Pop-Pop, or the Katterson Christmas gathering. But special times to remember they all were!

Surgery Update

Hi there.

I am not supposed to make any big decisions nor operate heavy equipment. And while taking the very nice pain meds they sent me home with, I cannot be in charge of the children.

But aside from those great disappointments, I am doing very well right now (with one slight hiccup I'll mention at the end).

I'll back up the story a bit. Last night was a pretty decent night of sleep, and I woke up right at midnight to take my last sip of water before fasting for surgery. This morning went smoothly, kinda.

I gave the child instructions to my parents, took my shower with antiseptic soap, and fed little Josiah one last time (and he gave me such nice snuggles and little happy chatterings at the end which made it hard to leave). As instructed, I left all jewelry, valuables, and glasses at home. That one kinda turned out poorly since we drove to the wrong building (but I didn't have glasses to tell that). Ben dropped me off at the door and I wandered around squinting, and failing to find anything that looked like surgery check-in, I asked a nice lady at Imaging, and was re-directed to the correct facility.

So by the time we got to the right place, I was about 10 min late. They whisked me in and were through the pre-op matters in barely a half hour and took me away!

I woke up feeling mighty sleepy a few hours later, and ate some applesauce with my pain meds, then got clothes on, went potty and was ready to head out the door not long after that.

I'm feeling so much better than I ever expected! I fed Josiah before his afternoon snooze, lay down myself for a nice rest, and have had a peaceful and mostly comfortable time of it since then.

My answers to prayer include:

- Anesthesiologist said I could feed Josiah right away (woohoo! That little boy doesn't take a bottle...)
- Smooth surgery, and the cyst didn't pop
- They didn't have to remove the ovary
- No big pain in recovery
- No nausea in recovery (doc said I'm in the "high risk group")
- Pain meds don't make me dizzy
- Boys are having a whee of a time with Grammy and Grandad and Daddy taking care of them

Praise God!

The one little extra prayer request right now is that apparently some little flap of skin at the very back of my throat got caught or gouged somehow when they removed the tube. It feels like there's something small stuck there that hasn't gotten swallowed down, and my throat hurts when I eat. The doctor I spoke with said he would talk to the anesthesiologists at the hospital and one of them may call me, but otherwise I'm just kinda eating soft things and waiting. It will probably heal on its own, but it would sure be nice if it started feeling better sometime soon (and didn't prove to be a choking hazard).

Thank you, thank you to all who prayed. The Lord has done "far more abundantly beyond" all we asked or thought.

Ultrasound, CT Scan, Surgery

When I was pregnant with Josiah, they found a simple cyst (i.e. fluid-filled, no biggie) during an ultrasound. They kept tabs on it through the pregnancy, just for fun I guess, since they didn't really need to do anything with it.

At my post-partum check-up, the doc wanted me to get an ultrasound just to make sure it had resolved itself. The scheduler wasn't in, so I was supposed to call. Make a phone call? You know how that goes.

Five months later, I figured it was time. So I made the call, and headed in on a Tuesday morning (right before my birthday) to cross that off my list.

The ultrasound tech (who always previously gave me pictures of my babies) found the cyst, still present. It looked different than before, not just a black circle, but white stuff there. (But what do I know.)

The doctor took a long time coming in to talk to me. A really long time. Finally I poked my head out to see if it would be a while, because Josiah needed to eat. She said, "Go ahead and nurse him. It will still be a while."

I fed my baby and tried not to feel nervous.

Finally, she came in. She said, "You had a simple cyst before, and this is a complex cyst. " Complex. A mass. Not the words you hope to hear.

She scheduled a CT scan for the next day, and we had about 24-hours of wondering if this was a life-changer ... or just a blip on the screen.

Thankfully, the "cancer blood test" came back negative, and the CT scan said that it's a dermoid cyst.

And so, I'll have surgery this Thursday. Laparoscopic, out-patient. No biggie, Lord willing. But I appreciate your prayers.

What Child Is This?

Dear Victor and Josiah,

After supper tonight, we had a little impromptu "family sing time."

Daddy pulled out the hymnal, and we sang Christmas songs all together, until Dad left us to get Joey changed for bed. Then I just sang to Victor, 4 songs in a row, some Christmas favorites.


Victor, you looked at me with such big eyes, trying to understand the words.You got a big smile during the "Gloooria" during "Angels We Have Heard on High," and then we talked about what those funny words in a different language mean.

We sang my 2nd favorite Christmas hymn, "What Child Is This?" I love the song, with its minor key and haunting words. But I get choked up singing it, which makes it hard for a solo act.

"What does it mean?" you ask after every song. And a good question it is.

My Victor, and my Josiah, this is what it means.

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Jesus came as a little baby, my boys. He was God Himself, but He became a tiny little baby, just like Josiah! And the angels sang big songs out in that chilly night with the shepherds, to praise God for Him. And all the shepherds hurried to visit Jesus, because He was a special, amazing baby. 

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
the cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

Oh, my little sons, this is the most astounding thing of all. That God Himself would be so humble to sleep in a box where donkeys eat and be born in a barn, because nobody gave them a room at the hotel. And what's more, the people wouldn't love and worship Jesus like He deserved, but they would hate Him and kill Him--not because He did bad things, but because we do bad things. And Jesus will cover over our sin with His perfect life, if we will trust Him.

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the Son of Mary.

Victor and Josiah, Jesus deserves every good thing! We want to love Him with all our hearts and show Him that we know He is the best! We want to sing and praise God for Him and love Him better than anything else. We want to tell everybody that Jesus is the best and that God gives forgiveness and new good hearts to anyone who will trust in Him. We have so much joy, my boys, because Jesus came!

What a special season this is, sons, that we remember God's good gift to us.

And how we pray that you will love Him and trust Him all the days of your life.

Hugs and kisses,
Momma

Putting up the Nativity

8 Months Old

Oh, how can it be...

 8 months old!

7 months old

6 months old

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Josiah,

You are 2/3 of a year old! 

News of note from the past month:

•  You "graduated" from wearing your cranio cap and got the "all clear" from torticollis physical therapy.
• You had a month pretty full of colds, so we are really, really thankful to be healthy and sleeping pretty well again.
• We're just starting to skip the 10pm feeding (mostly because we've always moved you from Bed #1 to Bed #2 at that time ... but we're experimenting with different sleeping configurations now).
• You are gobbling down bowlsful of cereal and fruits and veggies each day.
• You sit on your own pretty decently, but you still get tired of it sometimes and just throw yourself backwards (so we don't really trust you without pillows around to break the landing).
• You love peekaboo!
• Your smile is like the sun breaking through clouds ... so bright and so warm!
• Your brother looooves you.
•  You still have just two very perky teeth poking through on the bottom. Very sharp.
• You are still a pretty mellow guy, generous with snuggles and smiles, so long as you're rested.
• You have a great "old man" laugh, which we love.
• You're starting to say "Mamamama" and "bababa" and other very earnest expressions, especially when you're hungry.
• You and Victor have laughing contests sometimes, which cracks everyone up.

We love you and pray for God to continue shaping you into a man after His heart!

Love and smooches,
Mom

Photo outtakes:

Looking kinda melancholy

 In the middle of saying something

 Kind of smiling. But not really.

 Right after the cutest big smile, with Victor's arm sticking out because I'm urging him to please step aside so I can capture this sweet little moment

And now the moment is looking more sour

 Not so sure about all this

 Big, straight-armed yell

 It's the "old man giggle"!

 Looking curiously at Mom's antics to get a smile

 Looking even more quizzical

 A bit glum. And fuzzy.

 Glum. In sharper contrast.

 Big brother comes with some interesting things to eat.

 Victor talking happy to Josiah.

 Very, very interested in this camera case

 It looks delicious.

 It is delicious.

 I'd smile too, Mom, but I'm in the middle of something very important.

 This is a delicate operation, eating this camera case.

 And ... we give up on smiles and go for fuzzy cuteness in other expressions.

A photojournalist's look at life in the Katterson home right now!