Since the moment I found out I was pregnant with Lexi --- long long ago :), I joined a 'mommy board' for expectant first time mothers. That was January 2002. Can you belive our group is still together?! We will celebrate six years this January. Although many of us don't post as much as we used to, we commit to quarterly updates. I thought I would post the one I shared with them this week here as well :)
Wow - it's been fun reading updates from everyone! It's great to see that everyone is doing well - and can you believe our kiddos that brought us all together will be turning FIVE this fall ..... and .... who would have thought that this group would still be together ... I was unsure ... but here we are! Perhaps not as often as we were in the start - but updates are good too!! It's funny how we all depended on each other so much the first year as mommies. Many have their second and third child ... the journey continues for everyone in a different light ... but one thing still remains .. the need for friends and that's what brings us all back from time to time!! :)
We're doing well. We are celebrating our fourth summer in Maine. I never thought I would use the word 'celebrate' :) - but I have grown to love it here - it took me a little over two years - almost three - but this is home.
Lexi is doing great. She misses the Kindergarten cut-off by one week. That's fine with me. I'm all for letting her enjoy another year of preschool - which we LOVE - at the University. She is so so so much fun :). She loves to draw, is working on her writing, and has started to show interest in reading. I have this little desire to 'help' with that over the summer ... but I've squelched it .... it's summer for goodness sake ... and she's four. Reading will come when the time is right ... it's natural .. why push it. We're having fun growing a garden this year - veggies and flowers. She is excellent with Cate. She is loving and nurturing, a big sister to the very chore. Lexi will return to Preschool in the fall and on to Kindergarten in '08. We're considering her schooling options. Living in a community of 1300,our choices seem a tad limited, but they have a terrific elementary school - and a WONDERFUL prep school near by that we have in our sites for both she and Cate when they enter 8th grade. Shhhhhh..... homeschooling has even crossed my mind - briefly - what I really long for is a Waldorf school or solid charter school in the area, but we live in a truly rural area - the closest Waldorf, is 80 miles on the coast :) - and the charter's aren't as prevalent as they were in Minneapolis. We have another year to consider our options. I'm loving having my still preschooler home!
Cate is a pure joy. who would ever know two girls could be so different! She is 19 mos - she will be two in November. She loves her sister ... imitating her sister ... copying her sister ... did I mention she adores Lexi?! :) She is a very independent little girl.... sleeps well on her own ... keeps herself busy ... but at the same time, loves to hold hands, give kisses, and share a little one on one time. She serenades us all with 'EE eye EE eye OOOOOO' right now. She is beginning to know her animal sounds. She's a quiet one on the most part ... if we could only get that paci out of her sweet little mouth :). All in time I say. Cate is a quiet observer. Her eyes are the window to her soul. I've never seen such deep expressions on a toddler in my life. She loves music .. and I'm somewhat convinced we have a diva in the making. The nine months I spent pregnant with Cate were one of the most stressful times in my life. I shared during that time that prenatal testing showed we had a 1:60 chance that she had down syndrome. It wasn't the fact that she may have, it was not knowing, and the what ifs ... etc etc. That was a journey I'll never forget. It's shadowed however, by the big, bright little girl who graced our lives. I'm so thankful for my Miss Cate.
I always knew I wanted children. After we had Lexi, I wasn't sure if I ever wanted another - whew. I also realized that while I was learning how to be a new mommy, I was learning how to be that mommy in a new state - far away from family and friends. What a stressful time! I knew that Lexi deserved a sibling, even if I wasn't entirely ready to have a go at another round - I often say I felt like I had PTS - post traumatic stress syndrome :) - seriously - but as time went by, along came Cate and I'm so glad she did. We thought about adding number three - and as much as I love being pregnant, and the whole birth experience, and our kiddos, both Jay and I feel that a party of four is just right for us. So, we aren't pursuing #3 - HOWEVER - should #3 surprise us, we would welcome it with open arms ... however, we're not tempting fate :) if you know what I mean. Right now, we all balance each other out ... and it's a good feeling
Jay's job is going well. Our house is coming along - still in transition, but feeling more like us. Maine summers are therapeutic ... they should be after the winters we have! We're exploring more and more - enjoying the fact that Cate is easier to get out and about with. Basically we're enjoying life and our family very much. We live a good life, hectic and crazy at times, but always in the hands of God. I couldn't ask for anything more.
Wow - it's been fun reading updates from everyone! It's great to see that everyone is doing well - and can you believe our kiddos that brought us all together will be turning FIVE this fall ..... and .... who would have thought that this group would still be together ... I was unsure ... but here we are! Perhaps not as often as we were in the start - but updates are good too!! It's funny how we all depended on each other so much the first year as mommies. Many have their second and third child ... the journey continues for everyone in a different light ... but one thing still remains .. the need for friends and that's what brings us all back from time to time!! :)
We're doing well. We are celebrating our fourth summer in Maine. I never thought I would use the word 'celebrate' :) - but I have grown to love it here - it took me a little over two years - almost three - but this is home.
Lexi is doing great. She misses the Kindergarten cut-off by one week. That's fine with me. I'm all for letting her enjoy another year of preschool - which we LOVE - at the University. She is so so so much fun :). She loves to draw, is working on her writing, and has started to show interest in reading. I have this little desire to 'help' with that over the summer ... but I've squelched it .... it's summer for goodness sake ... and she's four. Reading will come when the time is right ... it's natural .. why push it. We're having fun growing a garden this year - veggies and flowers. She is excellent with Cate. She is loving and nurturing, a big sister to the very chore. Lexi will return to Preschool in the fall and on to Kindergarten in '08. We're considering her schooling options. Living in a community of 1300,our choices seem a tad limited, but they have a terrific elementary school - and a WONDERFUL prep school near by that we have in our sites for both she and Cate when they enter 8th grade. Shhhhhh..... homeschooling has even crossed my mind - briefly - what I really long for is a Waldorf school or solid charter school in the area, but we live in a truly rural area - the closest Waldorf, is 80 miles on the coast :) - and the charter's aren't as prevalent as they were in Minneapolis. We have another year to consider our options. I'm loving having my still preschooler home!
Cate is a pure joy. who would ever know two girls could be so different! She is 19 mos - she will be two in November. She loves her sister ... imitating her sister ... copying her sister ... did I mention she adores Lexi?! :) She is a very independent little girl.... sleeps well on her own ... keeps herself busy ... but at the same time, loves to hold hands, give kisses, and share a little one on one time. She serenades us all with 'EE eye EE eye OOOOOO' right now. She is beginning to know her animal sounds. She's a quiet one on the most part ... if we could only get that paci out of her sweet little mouth :). All in time I say. Cate is a quiet observer. Her eyes are the window to her soul. I've never seen such deep expressions on a toddler in my life. She loves music .. and I'm somewhat convinced we have a diva in the making. The nine months I spent pregnant with Cate were one of the most stressful times in my life. I shared during that time that prenatal testing showed we had a 1:60 chance that she had down syndrome. It wasn't the fact that she may have, it was not knowing, and the what ifs ... etc etc. That was a journey I'll never forget. It's shadowed however, by the big, bright little girl who graced our lives. I'm so thankful for my Miss Cate.
I always knew I wanted children. After we had Lexi, I wasn't sure if I ever wanted another - whew. I also realized that while I was learning how to be a new mommy, I was learning how to be that mommy in a new state - far away from family and friends. What a stressful time! I knew that Lexi deserved a sibling, even if I wasn't entirely ready to have a go at another round - I often say I felt like I had PTS - post traumatic stress syndrome :) - seriously - but as time went by, along came Cate and I'm so glad she did. We thought about adding number three - and as much as I love being pregnant, and the whole birth experience, and our kiddos, both Jay and I feel that a party of four is just right for us. So, we aren't pursuing #3 - HOWEVER - should #3 surprise us, we would welcome it with open arms ... however, we're not tempting fate :) if you know what I mean. Right now, we all balance each other out ... and it's a good feeling
Jay's job is going well. Our house is coming along - still in transition, but feeling more like us. Maine summers are therapeutic ... they should be after the winters we have! We're exploring more and more - enjoying the fact that Cate is easier to get out and about with. Basically we're enjoying life and our family very much. We live a good life, hectic and crazy at times, but always in the hands of God. I couldn't ask for anything more.
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