Every year I say I'm going to do this, I'm going to start a blog where I can keep up with the doings of our family. Every year I manage to NOT get it done. This year is the year!
So much is going on with the Millers right now - we're in the midst of a long-distance move, we (finally) sold our house, Jay started a new job, we had a new baby.....it's hard not to be stressed out sometimes. And though we cannot see it right now, we do know there is a great plan ahead.
Most of you know that Jay started his new job back in October. In Indiana. Yeah, Indiana. I am still here in SC with the kiddos and we are anxiously trying to find a house up north so we can all reunite once and for all. We've been close twice but each time something has happened that shut down our options. So, we continue to wait. Rather impatiently on my part. Part of me was so excited for this move/new job because it meant we would all finally be together as a family like a family should be - not dealing with a crappy night-shift job that took all of Jay's time and energy, not having him missing out on extra-curricular things because he needed to sleep during the day to be at work that night, not being so exhausted because he'd just worked a 72-hour week, etc. I was most excited because it meant he wouldn't miss out on Levi's babyhood. He missed so much of Ruthie's because of his job and that time is irreplaceable. Levi is almost four months old and the clock is already ticking way too fast.
Ruthie is doing okay - very much missing her daddy every single minute of the day, but still her happy-go-lucky little self. She makes up songs about how she wants to be tall like Daddy and doesn't want to be little, etc, and it's really cute. She is in constant motion from the time her feet hit the floor to the time she falls asleep, and loves to be jumping, falling, and crashing into things at every opportunity. Her eating is going pretty well - she likes a wide variety of foods and is usually willing to try at least one bite of something new. She is funny and witty and loves to be outside. Without going into too much detail, she will be having another visit with the developmental pediatrician in the next month or so, hopefully. She has not been there since I fired the dev ped because he was useless canceled her future appointments about two years ago. Long story. However, some things are showing up that need to be addressed sooner rather than later, and since she's starting kindergarten this fall, we're hoping they will be able to fit her in quickly.
Always a die-hard Daddy's girl!
She'll still snuggle with Momma once in awhile, though.
Levi will be four months old next week. I'm still not sure how that happened. It seems like every day he does something new, and usually something that it took months for Ruthie to do. We do not take it for granted and in some ways I think it makes us appreciate it even more, because we've seen how much work it took for her to do it, and his abilities have come so "naturally," so to speak. He has rolled over twice - from belly to back, and now refuses to do it again. ;) He eats like a horse and I am SO thankful for his healthy appetite. He sleeps 12-13 hours a night now and eats about five times during the day. He is very happy and starting to laugh out loud. He gets so excited when I walk by him, wanting to be picked up. (Of course, I oblige!) He has an appointment next week to be evaluated for his slight torticollis and for what I am 100% sure is plagiocephaly. (Nothing scary - just "flat head" syndrome.) I'm pretty sure he will need a helmet to correct it, as it's pretty obvious from the back. ;(
You can see how his left ear is lower and further back than the right ear, and it's not so obvious in the picture, but he has a pretty flat spot on the right side. His torticollis, while mild, has caused him to keep his head mostly to that side, causing the flat spot. It's pretty common in babies, but his "damage" had already been done by the time he started sleeping on his belly, so it will probably need a Doc band (helmet) to correct it.
He has grown SO MUCH in just a few short months!
As I previously mentioned, the house-hunt has become such a chore. I knew it would take more than a snap of the fingers but I really did not expect it to be THIS difficult. Right now we're looking at probably March before any more decent houses go on the market, which puts the kids and me here until at least then. Something great could come available before then, but I've learned the hard way not to hold my breath for anything. We were so excited about one house in particular, only to learn the sellers weren't exactly honest in their sellers report. I'm glad we found out before we put an offer on it.
Please pray with us that we can find a house soon. It is so difficult to be apart like this, especially for a little girl who doesn't understand why it is this way. We've been telling her for months that we were going to live in Indiana and have a new house.....but we haven't been able to follow through on it and she just doesn't understand. Pray, too, for the evals both kids have coming up. I know without a doubt what Levi's will entail and what the outcome will be (not a big deal at all, just something that needs to be dealt with before his skull bones fuse at 18 months.) Ruthie's will probably be a lot more in depth and I really don't know what the outcome will be. I know what we're praying for specifically, but I'm not sure what my heart says the answer will be.
One blog down, hopefully many more to come! Oh, and I couldn't just sign off without some adorable pictures of these beautiful children!
