Ethan

We've had some great Ethan moments lately. Last weekend was his baby dedication, a very special day for him as well as us. For us, it's a time to formally ask for help in raising Ethan to love and serve God. He is God's child, and we want to remember our purpose in the time that we have with him.
This weekend, Ethan started walking! He has taken a step here and there, but now it's a few steps in a row. He still definitely prefers crawling, but that won't last too long.
Ethan also had his first drink of cow's milk. He really liked it; it's the first time I've seen him try to drink from his sippee cup independently. We'll see how it settles with his system. 8)

Valentine's Day

I realized that Bob's and my last "normal" date was Valentine's Day 2009. I was in considerable pain but managed to enjoy the steak at Texas Roadhouse. How far we've come since a year ago! We had a good Valentine's Day 2010 - even danced! It was very hard for me to shift my weight on and off my "bad hip", but it was well worth the effort. I look forward to dancing easily again, and it will come.

This was the first time I went out without something covering my head. It felt very strange, and a bit daring, but I soon forgot I was sporting a short 'do. I definitely was happy to have my Lyndsey "baby earrings" to spruce things up. I'm getting a styling "trim" this week and am really looking forward to it. As Grampa used to say, "It's touching my ears" (implying that it's time for a trim).

Hayden has arrived!

Many of you have probably already heard, but Hayden Daniel Covill has finally arrived! He was born at 11:52 on Feb. 3 at a nice 7.5 pounds. We are so excited that this long-awaited gift from God has finally come!!! The kids couldn't see him (except through a window) due to the hospital rules, but I got to hold him! He even opened his eyes and looked at me!

Anderson was acting a bit odd about seeing Hayden, but I later realized that he didn't know what to make of my (and others in the family) being so wound up over Hayden's arrival. My Mom, ever the wise one, suggested that maybe he was feeling a bit jealous or displaced or something. So, we started talking about what his and Hayden's relationship might be like - whether Hayden will laugh histerically at him like Ethan does. This seemed to help matters. We have yet to spend any time with Hayden as a family since Ethan was very sick last week, so we'll see how the kids react to that. I will also try to tone it down a bit. 8)

By the way, Ethan is a lot better now. He still has a yucky cough, but the antibiotics seem to be helping. The dr. thought that maybe he was trying to come down with pneumonia. The nebulizer also helped significantly. I'm so glad that the high fevers are gone (his temp. peaked at 105.7 on Thursday...so scary but definitely a time to remember that he is God's child)! He's still a bit tired but acting MUCH more like himself. And so far, none of the rest of us seem to be getting sick.

Christmas Photo

Here is one of my favorite photos from this Christmas. It was so great to spend time with Dan as it had been a whole year since we last saw him. This was also the first time that he met Ethan. I just loved watching him play with the kids; they think he's GREAT! It's funny because we had a waiter at Friendly's (back in November) named Dan. We went back to Friendly's this week, and Anderson remembered him (mentioned it as he saw Dan across the room). It's because he had associated him with Uncle Dan. Awww! (Lyndsey kept wanting to call him "Uncle Dan" because in her mind, there is no other Dan except her uncle. This guy must have the same exact name too!)

I am also very pleased to notice that I look very different now from when this photo was taken. Woohoo! I have eyelashes and eyebrows!! My hair is also a lot longer. I'm actually getting ready to book my first haircut (actually a hair "shape"). I actually wake up with bed head, and get hat head, now! My nails are still a wreck though. I'm getting close to where my toenails will have completely grown out the "chemo toe nail". I hadn't realized how gross they looked because Aunt Carol (and Beth Anne) did such a good job keeping those nails painted! God provided in even the small things.

January

We've been trying to slow it down but not so successfully. With appts. every day Mon.-Fri., life feels very busy. God has blessed us with a babysitter that comes 3 days/week to feed the kids lunch and put them down for naps while I'm at the Wellness Program. Mom still comes 1 day/week, which is the day when I try to schedule all the random appts. and have physical therapy. She also catches me up on cleaning and such. It's exciting to see that lately she's not having to do as much. Although she always finds stuff to do, it's nice that she can be "Grammie" more too, doing crafts and playing. My other day of p.t. is in early evening so Bob is home with the kids. I am making great progress physically, gaining strength daily. I still have quite a way to go, but it's still very encouraging.

Lyndsey has kept me laughing. She was playing Grammie. She told me that her dolls were her grandchildren, but she calls them "Grand". What a hoot! Another time, Lyndsey and I were talking in the van on the way to Bible study this morning. Lyndsey asked me why we have cold, warm, and hot water in our homes. I asked her why she thinks we do. This question was a bit much for her, so I decided to break it down. "What do we use cold water for?" I asked. (I was thinking she might say "to drink" or "to brush our teeth".) Her response, "To wash with when we pee in our undies". HA! HA! HA! (For those of you who might have forgotten, Lyndsey's peeing in her undies was way out of hand, so her consequence was a cold bum washing to clean her up. She had figured out that if she turned on the water, it wasn't so bad since she could make it just cool. Well, I one-upped her [this time] and would run the water on cold to make sure that it was frigid. This deterred her and she's doing much better. Apparently, it made an impression!) If you're curious about her other answers, they were "to wash things" for the hot water and "fix things" [like wetting hair to comb it] for the warm water. Here's a photo of what I found 1 day - she had taken my baby carrier from where it was packed and utilized it for her big baby doll. Of course, 1 baby is never enough so she had the other one slung over her shoulder. The glasses are crazy ones she got from Anderson's teacher. (Lyndsey has made a friend.)

Christmas

Oh what a great Christmas that we had!!!!! It was wonderful celebrating our Savior's birth together as a family. Lyndsey seemed to have a greater level of understanding as she could really appreciate Jesus being a baby. I found her playing Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus with her dolls. It was really precious.

We were able to go to Pittsburg! It was wonderful - being with the whole family (Dan was home from CO). We saw many cousins and their families, which was great! Below is a photo of me, Ryan, and Jen. We actually got to hang out with them and their families (and parents!) twice over Christmas break. What a treat!

I've also attached some photos of our Christmas at home. Lyndsey got a microphone for Christmas (what were we thinking!). She has been playing church ever since.

Ethan received a big truck that he really liked. He wasn't into opening presents much this year, but he certainly liked being on the floor with the family. He's crawling around and very fast! We had a nice day with Bob's parents and brother and his family as well. It was great seeing how much Aidan has changed and watching him interact with the kids.

What was my favorite Christmas present besides being with family? Bob bought me a piece of "baby jewelry"...a beautiful aquamarine pendant on a rose gold chain. It's very unique, and I really like it.

December

We did surprisingly well in December, in spite of all the extra preparations for Christmas. I had a lot of fun shopping for gifts to buy for loved ones (thanks to Mom and Diane C.!), both because I was able to be "out" and also to be able to give back. We tried not to book too much with the kids, to have the season be a bit more laid back. It's always tough, and I'm not sure if we succeeded or not. Bob and the kids got sick (hard cold), but once again, God spared me from it. My physical stamina is very low, but I'm seeing progress. I'm continually amazed at some of the things I can do. One fun event this month was going to Anderson's classroom to make gingerbread houses. I helped the kids, and Lyndsey was able to also make her own gingerbread house. Fun was had by all! Here's a photo of Anderson eating his house.