FFF - Unique Kind of Love and I Am Blessed ...

(ABOVE: Charlotte and Jaden - Sisters!)
(ABOVE: Jaden holding on to her Baby Sister)

(ABOVE: Jaden and Charlotte)

Happy FFF Everyone ... thought I would post using today's theme ... Unique - a Unique Kind of Love ... that is what I see when I look at my two girls ... the Love the have for each other will just continue to grow ... I love being a mom!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Is my Baby#1 really SEVEN Years Old already? How and when did that all happen? Yesterday I had the day off to spend with Jaden – alone. It didn’t matter that we were both off together because she had a routine dentist appointment as well as her 7 year check-up. Nope – we were both very happy to be home with each other. I have to say (patting self on back now) that Jason and I managed to raise a pretty remarkable little girl … who, based on her stats at the doctor, isn’t so little anymore. She is a true gem in our lives – one we’ve had all to ourselves for the past 6 years and 9 months … she makes me laugh every day and when she laughs you can’t help but smile. In fact alls you have to do is look at her big cheeks and toothless smiles in order to smile. She is just a great kid.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yesterday we dropped Charlotte off at daycare and then headed to the dentist for her 10:30 appointment. She did wonderful – as always – and walked out of the office with yet another CAVITY FREE visit under her belt. Her teeth look wonderful the dentist said – aside from some overcrowding where her adult teeth are growing in he had no concerns. He did give us a referral to an orthodontist near our house for a consultation but other than that all was well. Jason and I decided to take her in for a consult but to wait until next year to do anything drastic such as an expander or something along those lines … she is only 7 and has 12 more baby teeth to lose before she can even get braces put on … one step at a time. After the dentist appointment Jaden and I went to McDonald’s to have some burgers, apple dippers (a coffee for mom) and to play in the PlayPlace (which is so icky by the way! Can you say sanitizing wipes?) We hung out there for about an hour and then headed home. In between the dentist and the doctor we decided to go visit our neighbors Amy, Steve, Christina and Jenna … Amy is pregnant with Baby#3 and isn’t due until May – but is home on bedrest dilated to 2cm already … we went to visit so the girls could play and I could visit with Amy … she also graciously let me borrow a Bumbo Chair, a Boppy Pillow and LOTS of baby toys for Charlotte – THANKS AMY! After about an hour and a half across the street Jaden and I headed to the pediatrician’s office for her 7 years stats. Can you guess what her stats were? I was pretty close on her weight – I guessed 75 pounds and she weighted 75.8. That put her where she has been virtually her entire life – the 97th percentile. Her height came in at 50” – which put her at the 80th percentile … the doctor was shocked at how much she’s grown and slimmed down … he was also very happy to hear about her new found love for swimming! She also got her ears, nose, throat and spine checked. All was well … then came the news that she would need to get a Chicken Pox Vaccine Booster shot as well as a hepatitis shot … she wasn’t thrilled but I held her hand and no tears were shed … she did great! After that we picked up Charlotte and headed home to make dinner for Jason … we ended the night on the couch watching American Idol – Jaden LOVES Adam – I had a glass of wine – Jason had a beer – Jaden had a Capri Sun and Charlotte was happy playing with her new toys … LIFE IS GOOD at our house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I wanted to write that last sentence for a specific reason … you see Charlotte has slept through the night on multiple occasions – usually for multiple days in a row … a mommy gets used to the change I think. Well for the past week Charlotte has had a hard time falling asleep in her crib at night – she wants to be rocked to sleep and then moved, ever so slowly, to her crib. This – based on past experience with Jaden – will not turn out well in 2 years form now. So I have been laying her down and letting her cry for a bit before checking on her … I admit – I was annoyed that she all of a sudden wasn’t falling asleep on her own – not to mention waking up every 4 hours to eat … then last night it dawned on me … it was 1:45 this morning and Charlotte was chugging 4 ounces of formula while I rocked her in my arms. The room was dark with just a sliver of light coming in from the hallway – enough to see the perfect outline of her perfect face. It was then that I began to cry – I realized how selfish I was for being ‘annoyed’ that my baby wanted to eat … wanted to be held by her mommy, wanted to be rocked in my arms … it was then that I realized how truly Blessed I Am … Blessed that I have a healthy baby in my arms, blessed that I have a healthy baby to ‘annoy’ me in the middle of the night, blessed that I have a house with a rocking chair in it to rock her in, blessed that I have a daughter so ENAMORED with the fact that she is a Big Sister, Blessed that I have a wonderful husband that feels bad that he doesn’t hear the baby cry in the middle of the night, Blessed that I have a family that loves each other so very much, Blessed to have been the one chosen to be the mom of such beautiful little people and Blessed that they are well … there is so much in life to be concerned about and getting up in the middle of the night should not even make the list … so my rant I supposed, is all about perspective … things that seem so significant in the here and now sometimes turn out to be insignificant in the bigger picture … My Life Is Good – I Am Blessed – And I Love My Girls more than life itself … I will take sleepless nights, days, weeks and months if it means I have them to wake up for!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So Have a Wonderful Day Everyone! Please continue to pray for Sweet Stellan

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Love ~ The Clark Family of Four ~ Rebekah, Jason, Jaden and Charlotte