White House Blessings: Everything from sickness, standing, and surprises to walking, weaning, and work

I glanced at the title of my last post before starting this one, and I chuckled. My mind immediately thought... if that one was titled "Fun Times," this past month should be titled, "Not So Fun Times." Ha. October presented us with some challenges, but it was also a month of growth in the midst of it all.

Kaylee has especially experienced growth. There for a while it seemed like she was in this season where not a lot was changing, but "times are a changin'"! As you can infer from the title... she is walking! It has been such a fun new thing to experience as a family. She still knows her speed is in the crawl but we all get excited when she focuses really hard and takes a few steps. It was an all of a sudden thing. She had been standing more and more, especially when she wasn't realizing it (like while getting dressed and when everyone was giving her attention at Bible Study). But, as soon as she realized it, she would lower herself to the ground. Not walking or standing, for her, was mostly a lack of confidence and a little bit of fear. So, a couple nights ago, she was standing and I exchanged my hand and gave her a bobby pin. It just took that little thing to focus on and hold instead of my hand. From there, she looked up and started to walk. Over and over, she repeatedly took 3-4 steps before falling with bobby pin in hand. Since then, she has started walking distances of 4-10 feet. She's fairly stable and it is just so cute to see the gleam in her eyes when she realizes she can now do something that she couldn't just a few days ago.

Another exciting thing that I wanted to jot down is the fact that Kaylee is now weaned. This actually happened two months ago at 15 months, but I had forgotten to make note of it. It was a fairly long process that taught me patience as well. Ultimately, I am thankful I was able to nurse her as long as I did, and I'm glad I did it, but it has been nice to move on from that stage. Beginning at about 10 months, we slowly started trying and sometimes succeeding at dropping a feeding. We somewhat quickly went from 4 down to 3 and then, by 13 months, we were down to 2 feedings, and after some work, it was just one... but try as we might, we couldn't shake the early morning feeding. Thankfully, after many failed attempts and a couple more months, Brandon had some time off work, where he was able to be the one to get up in the morning with Kaylee instead of me... and that's all it took! It was like this long process of trying to figure things out and then it happened... kind of like her walking. As my friends had said, try and if it doesn't work, keep nursing. She'll let you know when she is ready.

Kaylee has also started saying "hi" and "bye" a lot. In fact, she is very intent on giving people a loud, purposeful farewell when they leave the room, complete with a wave. She just loves to babble, dance, and smile. Kaylee has also learned new things, like how to throw and stack blocks, and has managed to cut two molars as well. She's been enjoying her interactions with others, in person and via technology, and boy, is she such a joy to us.

Brandon and I are thankful for such a blessing, but as we were warned, kids can distract a marriage. Not to say she is the only cause or even the greatest cause, but with all that is going on, it doesn't necessarily make it easier to throw her in the mix. Towards the end of September, Brandon and I began to realize that we needed to deliberately work on our marriage. Without necessarily realizing it, we had been drifting in that arena, and we wanted to make progress towards strengthening that relationship instead of settling. Brandon is not only is a very hard worker when it comes to his job in the Air Force, but he also will work hard and fight valiantly for the things he cares about, and thankfully, one of those things is his wife. Let's just say, looking back on this past month and these past four years, I am amazed at the love, patience, and kindness that he has shown me and Kaylee. It's not easy, but he continues to strive to be who God calls him to be.

One way Brandon showed his love for me was by planning, not one, but TWO surprise trips for me. (This was a big act of love, because typically I search and search for all the best hotel deals and plan the activities and food and do most of the packing, which can be stressful). So, to go on a trip that is already all planned out was wonderful.

Anyway, the first was down to southern Alaska. We spent two night at an extremely nice and relaxing resort. From there, we made our way down to Seward, to enjoy a little more time as a family away from home. Along the way, we saw some beautiful snow-capped peaks and rushing waterfalls, too. Unfortunately, Kaylee came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease (they've had an outbreak here in Alaska), which left her not feeling so swell. By the end of our trip, she was back to normal though. All in all, it was good just to get away and spend time together, working toward a growing marriage. We got to do some fun things too; we went swimming, hiking, visited the Sea Life center and wildlife conservation, and ate lots of tasty food.

While we were on that trip, Brandon pulled out yet another surprise, telling me I had a ticket booked for Colorado the following week. So... when we got home, I didn't even unpack my bags. I rearranged a little and threw in some more diapers and food for Kaylee, but we were ready to hit the road, and then the air, for a visit with family and friends in beautiful Colorado... This is where (enter stage right) a little bump in the road comes in. After the bags were ready, I started to feel quite tired and achy. I decided to rest for a while and, within two hours, I had a 102 fever. This 102 fever started 24 hours before my flight, and even with tylenol, did not drop below 101 for 48 hours. Note: If you remember above... I mentioned Kaylee having hand, foot, and mouth disease... yep... I got it too. It's a virus (like chickenpox) that normally affects children, but let me tell you, it can be wicked if it gets a hold of an adult. Needless to say, I did not make it on the airplane... in fact, I didn't even make it out of bed unassisted for a few days. Between the horrible chills, the intense migraines, an awful sore throat, extreme nausea and dizziness, accompanied by aching joint pain, I was one sick mama. To be honest, I wonder if I had multiple things going on. Who knows? It's been a slow recovery, but I am feeling much better now. Unfortunately, several weeks prior, during the first part of October, I also finally caught the upper respiratory bug that was going around, so October has kind of meant sickness for me. Let's hope I got all the bugs out of the way for a while.

In the midst of all this, we also had to say goodbye to very dear friends here in Anderson. Some of our closest neighbors, in proximity and relationally speaking, had to move. Sadly enough, they were the only other family with kids under age 10 and actually, they were some of the first people we met back in May. In such a short time, we have journeyed through a lot together. Some of my favorite moments were when I would here a little knock on my door, only to open it to three little smiling faces coming over for a visit. The mother of this bunch is also a sweet friend and one whom I have learned much from. It's difficult to face changes, but it is something we have learned to embrace with our current path in life. Even though this family will be missed, they definitely won't be forgotten.

Kaylee and Brandon have been troopers through it all. With all the above going on plus being stretched thin at work, Brandon managed to take care of the needs of our family. On top of that, he finished replacing our old barn doors with a new automatic garage door and got our two vehicles winterized. The wood stove is blazing almost 24 hours a day, now that the snow has come to stay and the temperatures are averaging around 20 degrees. I, myself, have learned a good bit through the month of October but I have A LOT to delve deeper into. Even though it wasn't the best month in the books, I have to say, I was amazed at all the loving and tangible blessings sent our way from those near and far. Ultimately, I am glad it is November. It's definitely already presented itself with much to be thankful for!

Photos from our trip