My Hero

My family has been in town for a few days now. My brother, Tom and my nephew, Tommy drove up from Alabama to see the new baby. My sister, Emily joined them. The 3 of us haven't been together since my fathers funeral in 2008 so its been quite nice to have my family around me again.

On Tuesday night, Tom and Alex were sitting in the living room watching a movie when my brother heard a popping/crackling noise in the foyer. He's a trained electrician and a volunteer firefighter, so naturally he got up to investigate. Recognizing the sound,  he opened up the electrical socket and revealed the electrical shortage/fire that was just beginning. They immediately shut off the breaker.

If he hadn't been here, we would have never heard the popping noise. We would have been sound asleep on the other side of the house. If we would have been awake, we would have never heard the noise or would have dismissed it altogether as a part of the movie we would have been watching. The end result would have been the same..my entire family could have died from a dangerous electrical fire within the walls of the house that is supposed to protect us. My Uncle Alan died in 2007 from the exact same kind of fire. Not only did he catch the problem in time, but the next day he fixed the wiring for us and checked all the other boxes to make sure they were up to code. 

Once again I am amazed at how God takes care of us. He protected us by placing Tom in our physical presence at the exact moment we needed him the most. There are not enough words to express my gratitude and love for my brother. Tom often drives me crazy but I sure am grateful that God chose to bless and protect us through him.

Our New Addition

Introducing

Daniel Alexander Pavlovich

Born May 24, 2015

at 11:33 am

6 pounds 7 ounces

18 inches long

9 Months Old!

9 months ago today, I had a tiny newborn. Now I have a crawler full of personality and curiosity.

 She's still has her serious moments but they are peppered with laughter and smiles.

Grace can pull herself up into a standing position now and always wants to see what I am doing.

Grace has totally mastered her walker on and off the kitchen flooring. I really need to get a picture of her in it. Anyway, Davey can find no refuge from where Grace now that she can fake walk and crawls so quickly after him. He really is a 135 pound chicken. Most of the time you can find him hiding in plain sight on top of our bed. She still likes to sleep with Mom and Dad and would probably prefer to be carried around on a royal cushion if it meant she was next to me. No matter. It gives me a reason to douse her in a million mommy kisses.

8 Months Old!

Where has the time gone?

Grace can now sit up by herself. 

She loves to chase Davey down the hallway in her walker. She officially has 5 teeth with the 6th one trying to make its appearance.

And her favorite treat seems to be paper. Not that it's what we give her. Or feed her for that matter. She's just that darn fast when paper products are near. When we go to church she grabs the program with lightning fast speed, shoves it in her mouth, and takes a big baby bite. She must think its funny because she smiles and then locks down her jaw. Alex and I tag team the kid as we pry open her face and rescue the paper sample from her taste buds. Tissue paper was a big favorite on Christmas day. I'm thinking that maybe we should have named her Billie instead. Of course, I'm kidding. But seriously, I can't imagine paper tasting that good.

On December 21, Grace and I woke up at the usual 6:45 am. I placed her on the living room floor on her tummy like I always do. She immediately flipped over to her back and then pulled herself up into a sitting position. That was a neat trick, I thought, but then for the next 45 minutes she rolled around to different areas of the living room that was of interest and then sat up to check things out. She's been doing it ever since.

We're closer than ever to having her sleep throughout the entire night. She's at about the 7 hour mark depending on the day. She truly sleeps the longest when she sleeps in our bed right in between Alex and I. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's warm? Or that she can feel us both next to her? Or that the pacifier (we call it a Soothie) retrieval system (aka Mom grabbing it and putting it in her mouth) is much faster than in the crib? I'm thinking perhaps all of the above. I read a blog comment the other day where this mom was talking about co-sleeping. She said she didn't co-sleep as some political, hippie kind of philosophy. She said she co-sleeps because she doesn't want to get up at dark o'clock to find a pacifier. Yep. That would be me.

Well, New Year's is right around the corner. I hope that 2013 leaves you in good health and that 2014 finds you safe and loved. Happy New Year!

Taking Christmas Pictures is a Serious Business

This is the picture that I chose for our Christmas card this year.

This is the picture I WANTED to use for our Christmas card this year.

Or maybe it was this one...

Or this one...

Or maybe this one...

Either way, Grace was not in the mood at all to take pictures that day. I managed to get some half-hearted smiles out of her. I tried singing and crunching water bottles and making funny noises. Nope. Apparently she's smarter than that. This kid can be down-right serious when she wants to be. She doesn't fall for no ordinary shenanigans. You'd better be talented in whatever tom-foolery you're about to present if you want a genuine smile to happen. 

Tomorrow is Christmas day and our Christmas wish to you is that your day is filled with joy, happiness, peace, and love. Ooh.... and lots of presents! :)

Merry Christmas!