Andrew One Year

The day before Halloween. These past few weeks have been so good. It seems that 12 months was the magic age for Andrew.. he has turned a corner and is sleeping through most of the night, is **so** close to standing on his own, can weight shift, crawl, eat more solid foods, and is smiling responsively all the time. I am so grateful for these things. He was at a point, for months and months, that was unsustainable for us. Waking up with him 2-5x a night, every night, was just too much. It was so hard to play and smile with him and get no response. So hard to wonder if he was thinking anything at all, processing anything at all. Andrew's diagnosis of Williams Syndrome has been such a comfort. It is wonderful to know that he will continue to progress. He brings us immeasurable peace. I cannot express enough the joy I have knowing that one day Andrew will be made whole, and we will stand together as a family forever. I have realized over the short time I've spent with him that he is the strongest person I know. We are lucky to have such an example in our family.

I could not imagine a better brother, play mate, and best friend for Andrew than Liam. Liam is my first baby, the song in my heart. He is wise beyond his four years, and is a  great teacher for us. My heart bursts every time I hear “Mom, can I kiss baby Andrew?” Today he was holding his brother’s hands, helping him stand. The bond these two little men will share is stronger than any I have ever known. I poignantly remember a conversation I had with Liam the week before we received Andrews diagnosis. He said “Mom, if anyone tries to hurt baby Andrew, I will just punch them in the face!” Of course I agreed. Even in their wee years, my boys are living up to their names. Liam means Protector, and any close to us know that Liam could not fit this description more closely. Andrew means Strong Man, and as I mentioned earlier, I know no one stronger than this pure, fierce little spirit. I am so proud of these two. 

Attempt No.1

Failed attempt No.1.

BUT I'm not going to give up. I will keep trying to blog in the near-future.

The impending doom of seminar took away my enthusiasm for blogging. Somehow explaining my conclusions from primary literature to professors and students over 40 minutes about ADHD seems, I don't know, intimidating? So since I've been neurotically reviewing evidence tables and creating my presentation, blogging just didn't make the schedule.

After next Tuesday (4:05pm to be exact) I will be on to bigger and better things. Like more presentations.

On a happier note, I have a small amount of leisure time right now with which I've taken the liberty to write for my blog. Jason is working on the other computer, and Liam is blessedly sleeping.

Last week was Spring Break 2012- we went to St. George to soak up the 70 degree sun. The pools were amazing. Liam had a blast. We had fun. Pics are to come.

Last Saturday we celebrated St. Patricks Day. This is a tradition I have started with Jason. Every year dinner consists of corned beef with veggies, beer bread, apple beer, and mint brownies. If we're lucky, we watch the Secret of Roan Inish- an enchanting movie about the Irish lore of selkies (we missed out this year). We had our brothers and sisters over for Cranium, which led to some fabulous memories.

I am getting excited for Easter. I can't wait to dye eggs with Liam (even though he hates eating them). Easter is one of my very favorite holidays. I love to celebrate the Savior and Resurrection and hope that we have through them. I love that it is during Spring, a time when the world feels refreshed. I love hearing the birds chirping in the mornings, seeing new buds and sprouts, and feeling that summer is *almost* here. I am also excited for General Conference. My sisters are lucky enough to spend Conference in Spain and I'm excited to hear about their experience with it there.

I am also excited for the upcoming summer for a different reason- I have a new church calling.... Can anybody guess?

Cub Scouts.

Complete with uniform.

Oh yes, I am exuberant about this- I really am. I never realized how much fun little boys are until we had Liam, and now I am in love. I can't wait to tie knots, learn CPR for the millionth time, learn new sports, give 'rounds' of applause, and visit Camp Tracy. I will be able to pass all of this valuable knowledge to Liam :)

Hopefully Jason gets called as my partner. Wish me luck!

"UP"

Hey guys!

So, if I even have any readers left (doubtful), I want to let you know that it is my goal to post everyday in March. My friend Brittany has been doing a challenge during February from the FatMumSlim blog. I would like to follow suit and challenge myself to do this in March. It is pretty cool- she lists a new word for everyday, and the blogger is challenged to post a picture of the subject or relating to the subject. I am excited! It will be a great chance to improve my photography skills as well as focus on making blogging a habit (even though fyi blogging as a habit is NOT that important to me at this point in life :)). So... here we go! New pic to come tomorrow! (Wish me luck, I seriously need motivation to do this!)

March List:

Did this week even happen?

Man, this week has been killer... it went by so fast that it feels like it didn't even happen.

I had a therapeutics test on Tues... my friend awesomely said that it was the only HIV test she hopes to test positively on LOL (I hope I do too). Today was a hectic day- we had to work up cases on Crohn's Disease AND pancreatitis. It was a joy. Even though I complain about my busyness and classes, I actually LOVE learning about diseases and treatment and drugs and am so excited to be a pharmacist. So soon- 1 1/2 years sans residency! Anyway, the reason for this post is I thought I would post today to jot down a few of Liam's recent happenings, if only to remember them for my journal.

Liam is my love. I absolutely love little boys. I hope our next baby is a boy so Liam will have a little buddy and we can buy them a bunkbed and they can be best friends. Like I have mentioned, he learning to walk! I love it, and he loves it. He gets so excited when he walks, especially when Jason sees him- I can tell he wants his Daddy to be proud :) He 'talks' a lot more now, whispering and babbling and screeching dadadadadadadadada (it's the only word he can say right now!) He loves to stick out his tongue. He is still fascinated with faces and likes to pull noses, grab for eyes, and yank out hair. He loves being held by Mommy. He is learning to blow and sometimes will sigh really loudly. He still loves peekaboo. He likes to watch and listen to me whistle (he thinks its funny and laughs). He is getting really good at laughing, especially when we tickle him. He is a very independent eater, and is developing a little stubborn streak (haha). He is very smart- he knows how to turn the TV on and off and realizes that that's what happens. He LOVES books. Probably his favorite toy/interesting thing right now. He still doesn't have any teeth! I am glad because I love his little gummy smile :)

Well, that's just a little about him! He is a little doll. We are getting family pictures next week and I will post them when I have them.