On rainbow babies and the weekend

Today is January 29th.  It marks four years since we suffered our miscarriage.  I think back upon that time and find that the memories from that day (those days) are still so vivid (in 2009, I wrote about them in detail here).  Though I knew our first baby for such a short while, they have never been forgotten.  Today I have tangible proof of God's faithfulness and mercies.  Some people refer to their first earthly baby after they experienced a miscarriage or infant loss as their rainbow baby.  Just as a rainbow appears after the rain, so have these rainbow babies blessed their Mommies and Daddies and proven God's love and promises for them.  Claire is my perfect rainbow baby and I cannot imagine my life without her. 

She loves to play with her "paper dolls" and she, remarkably, will play independently with them for quite some time.  

On Friday I finally took her to the Pediatrician after she complained about a stomach ache for almost two weeks straight.  Her appetite had lessened and she was waking up multiple times a night screaming about her tummy ache.  She did NOT want to go to the doctor.  She said, "I don't have to go to the doctor. Brody is crying for me. Can you hear him? Brody said he wants Claire so I have to go see him so I can't go to the doctor. Do you hear me, Mom? Brody said he can make me feel better, so I go see him, I don't have to see the doctor." She is too funny!

This afternoon I left for a few hours to visit my friend's new baby.  When I came home, Claire ran to me from the porch with her arms extended while shouting, "Mommy, I love you and I missed you!!  I love you and I missed you!". 

 A couple nights ago when I was rocking Claire before bed, she said, "Mom, I miss you when at work."

She is always making us laugh.  She grabbed her towel when I was folding laundry this evening, grabbed her shades, and pretended to fly like a butterfly (her towel is a butterfly). 

Later, she threw on her coat (and she wasn't wearing a shirt underneath because I was trying to put on her jammies), scarf, hat, necklace, and boots and pretended that she was coming in the door from "work".  

Besides the children being sick (and therefore being demanding, fussy, and stealers of sleep), we had a very nice weekend.  I recently re-joined Lifetime Fitness and enjoyed starting Saturday with a good workout. That evening, the Ketcher family came over for a playdate and fondue dinner.  Everleigh and Claire get along great. 

Baby Briggs is an adorable chunky munk.  

Mmmm....love fondue at home. We had a great time eating, drinking wine, chatting, and playing with the Ketchers.  It was a little chaotic with four small children but it was nice to have dinner with another couple who "gets" how that is and just goes with the flow.  

Today we celebrated Brody's second birthday!!  It seems like he was just born yesterday and I remember the day so clearly (how Bethanie and Barry came to our house the morning of their induction to drop off their doggie, how I left work early so I could take Claire from Annie, how Josh and I ate dinner at Jimmy Johns while Bethanie was in the final hour of labor..).  What a blessing Brody is in our lives!  The bond he and Claire have is beyond words. 

After the party I went to Pam's house to meet her new baby, Brady. It was great to hear how life as a mother is treating her, and spend time with Sarah and Amy too.  He is a keeper! 

And finally, a couple pictures of my silly sweetheart.  Max is at a super fun age.  He gives the best hugs  (if you're sitting, squatting, kneeling, etc on the ground, he will come over to you and give you a big hug).  When I come home from work, he waddles as fast as his little legs will let him and says, "Mommy! Mommy!  Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!".  He makes my heart overflow. 

(Max has bruises on his cheeks, snot from his nose, and drool from his mouth.  Such is the face of a 14 month old).  

Stay tuned for the top 10 things Claire has said during the middle of night that have made me want to scream "JUST GO TO SLEEP!!!".