Announcement: He is a DADDY!!! :-D

Just a quick note to my avid readers:

Today we were getting our Sunday lunch on the table and realized we had forgotten a couple of things. Marcio and I hurried over to grab stuff from the fridge and stove. As I straightened up from leaning into the fridge, my head cracked into the door frame. Before I could even think of a reaction, I heard my sweet husband’s voice full of concern, “Oh, Honey! Did you bonk-a bonk-a???” I looked over at him and then the two of us started laughing. Bless him! He is a daddy! And a good one, too. :-D

Ginger

Church Today

We were asked last week to speak in church today (Marcio and I). We have lived in this house for two years and this has been our ward for around a year, so they asked me to introduce our family. I have a tendency to be long winded, so I pulled out a snippet from my journal that I wrote for my kids and read that (I may or may not include this in a future post b/c it is kind of cute).

Well… we were asked to speak on the atonement and what it means to us, or something like that. I worked all week to try and write something, but I couldn’t get anything down. Finally, this morning, I gave up and left it in the Lord’s hands, taking only a few notes with me. By the time I was standing in front of the congregation, I felt like I would throw up. I have never felt that way before speaking in my life. I finally started speaking and threw it all out there. I felt better as I spoke and hoped that it came out with some sort of coherency for the congregation to follow. Then I finished and sat down. That is when I really felt better. A lot of people told me that I did a really good job. Then Marcio told me on the way home that it was really good until the end and then it kind of fizzled out. LOL! Well, maybe they won’t ask me again for a while.

Ginger

Family Photo Previews

Please go to Modern Expressions Photoblog for a preview of our family pictures.

These pictures were taken on Friday, July 3rd in the evening. When we first got there the kids were just waking up and very unhappy. We had to coax and cajole them just to stop crying. Then we started the session for some of the more serious shots. Later they warmed up enough that they were actually smiling. By the end of the shoot they had enjoyed tearing the roses apart and running around kicking a soccer ball and being rather pleasant about the whole thing. I can’t wait to get my whole packet later so I can share how everything turned out.

Please let me know what your favorite shots from this group are.

:-D

Ginger

The Parable of Momentum

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a lot of things in my life. And I have a tendency to start linking everything I see or hear to whatever is taking a center roll in my life at the moment. Lately, for instance, I have been thinking a lot about inertia and gravity and how you can’t turn a 747 on a dime.

I think this is an important set of concepts that my mind has never really grasped before. I wonder how often we look at a commercial airplane on the runway and realize that it can’t just leave the ground without a little momentum. Gravity pulls and claws at the mass and tries to hold it down. Do you think we could have convinced anybody 200 years or more ago that something that size could leave the ground and stay airborne for hours? It is absolutely amazing how adding enough momentum can do wonders toward advancing us heavenward.

I have heard that the hardest part of reaching the moon or orbiting the planet is breaking Earth’s gravity. Large pieces of gear strapped to every shuttle NASA launches falls off before it ever makes it to space because its only purpose is to push that shuttle forward, adding momentum to the ascension every second it burns fuel. It is amazing to watch and staggering to think about and presumably difficult to execute.

I guess what I’m getting at are the gravitational pulls that hold down the hearts and minds of mankind, such as habit and ease; trial and temptation, etc. Sometimes we look at what we are facing in life and bemoan the fact that it seems like we have been asked to single handedly move a mountain to the other side of the world, one tablespoonful at time. But when we really examine that mountain we can see that it is a fully operational airplane that just needs a little push to get it started and a lot of fuel to continue its momentum. The most difficult part of the whole journey is getting that plane off of the runway in one piece without backing off or pulling back on the throttle.

I once had a seminary teacher who encouraged us to begin a habit of reading The Book of Mormon daily by telling us that we could get full credit by reading at least 15 seconds a day and at least 15 minutes in a week at the same time (you do the math). I had never before mastered myself enough to make a daily habit of scripture reading because I felt I had to read at least 30 minutes to make it worth my time, but that 30 minutes seemed too difficult to get going. Really all I needed was to get my feet wet every day to build up my momentum.

I hope you understand where I am going with this idea. I have been thinking about it for so long that it feels good just to get it written.

Ginger

Scriptures:

Alma 37:6 (The Book of Mormon)

Luke 1:37 (King James New Testament)

I thought I would include this video in case you had ten minutes to view something truly spectacular. Enjoy!

Caio's Ballet Recital a Bust :-(

Caio's Ballet Class

I feel so bad. Tonight I was going to try and get some cute video to share with y'all of my boy on stage. He was excited too. Only problem???? He got sick and is laying on the couch playing Little Big Planet with a washcloth on his little forehead. :-( Makes me sad for OH so many reasons.
Jordan was sick yesterday with the same thing (fever, little bit of stomach discomfort). But I was holding out hope that it would miss Caio altogether, or at least wait until after the big performance tonight. Even while he was burning up on the couch he was asking if he could go dance on the stage again tonight. I felt so bad telling him that he couldn't, but I knew that I would be a better mom by making him miss this one. I had to call all of the relatives to let them know not to come after all.
This picture was taken last night after his final dress rehearsal. He was in one ballet class and one tumbling class. His tumbling outfit was a black t-shirt and black shorts and they were dancing to the Monster's Inc. theme music. That was Caio's favorite dance. The ballet class (above) was dancing to the Chinese music from the Nutcracker. I know I will have more pictures of these things from the dress rehearsal later. Hope to post back soon.
Ginger

Picture Updates

I just went back and realized that it has been months and months since I shared pictures. I wanted to hurry and give you an overview of the past few months in photos that you may not have seen.

Halloween with my dragon and baby pumpkin.

Just being cute.

Caio on his way to his birthday party.

The next few pictures are of Caio’s actual birthday (about two weeks before the birthday party). We went to temple square because Caio loves Christmas lights so much. A funny side story: we went through the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that night and had the kids in two umbrella strollers. We were just about to go home and I almost had a head on collision with Caio’s stroller and a man. When I looked up I realized it was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He and his wife and their security detail nodded and rushed on out. Marcio and I stood stunned for about half a minute or more and started giggling. Anyway, on to the pictures:

Outside the General Conference Building

Inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. (There was a children’s display near the genealogy area that the kids loved).

A stranger took our picture in front of some of the lights. This is how it turned out. :-D

Caio and Jordan in front of the lights.

The birthday boy! (Random Facts: I made that hat. :-D I made one for Marcio too. These hats were my first crocheting project ever).

For Jordan’s birthday we went swimming as a family because she loves water, but we didn’t get any pictures of that. Here are the January pictures that we did get:

Marcio sliced his finger open while doing dishes one morning. I was getting the kids ready to get in the car so we could drop him off at work. Then a glass bowl slipped and broke and the next thing we knew we were on the way to the doctor’s office to stitch him up.

He got three stitches. The doctor told me to go ahead and take the stitches out myself after about 10 days. This was the picture we took after two were gone. We decided (based on the doctor’s instructions) to leave the last stitch in for another couple of days before taking it out.

Well… I have run out of time for now, but I will be coming back to update you on our Dance Dance Revolution pictures as well as February and March.

Ginger

Favorite Quote of the Day!!!

“Guns don’t cause problems any more than pencils cause misspelled words.”

I don’t know the name of the guy who said this. I heard it while listening to the Glenn Beck program this morning. He had a guest from some radio station in Huston, Texas. All I can say is, I think this is my new favorite gun quote. ;-D

Ginger

Beautiful Sick Baby

With rosy cheek and droopy eye

She hears her mamma’s lullaby.

And snuggled safe to Mamma’s chest

She breaths;

She sighs;

At last she rests.

There is something very rewarding and satisfyingly maternal finding myself at the end of a long day of being thrown up on every half hour to an hour and nursing a very sick baby back to health. She has been a very good baby, and Caio has been a very good big brother and “big boy.” He really is my “Super Helper” in so many ways. Sure he got into tons of stuff, but isn’t that one of the many wonderful things about being three years old?

Anyway. Poor Jordan threw up all over Marcio late last night without really much warning at all (poor Marcio, too :-D). She got a bath and Marcio got changed and I hopped on the internet to inform my friends that I would not be hosting playgroup tomorrow (today) after all. Then I found out that she must have gotten it from one of the other children from that group, because quite a few of the kids have been going through this exact bug. I wasn’t upset at all, actually. Rather, I was relieved to know what to expect and to know where she got it from and what the incubation period is that I am looking at for Caio and the rest of the family. I guess we are probably staying at home as much as possible for the next few days.

As for the rest of last night, Marcio took the spotlight as the best dad and husband the world has ever seen! I think he took more turns at holding her and comforting her than I did and he definitely got thrown up on a lot more than I did. It sounds horrible, but because she isn’t feeling well all she wants to do is nurse, so its mostly like baby spit up in large quantities. And today when she has been awake she has been darling. Just before she fell asleep the last time she asked me (by doing the hand actions) to sing “Popcorn on the Apricot Tree” to her one more time with her hand participation. The funny thing is, I couldn’t be happier as a mom than I am right now. I love watching both of my kids grow. I know she will be better and that all of the laundry and bedding and carpets are all cleanable (and she has made good use of a lot of all of it :-D). I am just happy that God loves me enough to let me hold her and to be her (and Caio’s) mom.

What a pleasant sort of nothing day!

Ginger

Happy Love Day ;-D

You may be wondering what I am doing on here posting this instead of celebrating “Love Day” myself? Or you may not be? Either way, I figured I would get on here since I am inclined to think a lot on the topics of love and marriage and (yes, sadly enough) even divorce lately—well, and my love-kins is making me a surprise dinner and has asked me to occupy myself alone until the unveiling :-D. So, here comes my ramblings:

Five years ago tonight my gentleman friend took me around to visit parents (his and mine) to let them in on our little secret (namely that we had every intention of tying our own proverbial knot) that we had been keeping for a couple of weeks (because neither of us wanted to be blushing when we said the word “fiancé” in front of strangers or not-so-much strangers ;-D). Most people who know us seem to think he popped the question on Valentine’s Day which is just cute to me. One way or the other, five years and two kids later, here I am, happier than I could have ever imagined and more in love than I ever thought I would know how to be. I just wish I could help everyone be as happy as we are.

I have been listening to music for a video I am making for my BIL’s upcoming wedding. Today I started reading “Covenant Hearts” by Bruce C. Hafen for a book club I belong to. Tonight I dropped my kids off to “hang out” with my parents (in other words “free babysitting *thanks Mom & Dad*). And, frankly, all of this has me thinking more and more about my own marriage and my thoughts on all of this stuff in general. So, to tie it all together (or not):

I am so grateful to my parents. I am happy to see two flawed humans who bungle around and struggle through their imperfections, but who have never EVER given up! That may sound like a backhanded compliment or something, but in my eyes it is anything but that. I shy away from false praise and phony, sugar coated description and I celebrate seeing the whole messy picture and appreciating the good in context. I think it is far more inspirational to know that a person has made the right choice and done good when they are just as human as I am (in other words, when it is a decision and not just a lucky coincidence). My parents give me hope for my own future and the future of my own marriage just by making theirs work through good times and bad. They help me know and see that love isn’t always just a feeling and it isn’t about what you get from another person (or spouse), but it is a decision and an action that you bring to it and do for the other person even when the going gets tough. How often I have heard people describe their desires for a couple to divorce. It has become so acceptable in our society that it just breaks my heart! I cannot abide it. Especially when covenants have been made in the house of God. I think if we could really understand just how much more is in store for us after enduring the hard stuff we would have a better understanding about why Satan gloats over those broken hearts and trampled covenants. I think if we could have the tiniest glimpse into heaven to see our Celestial Father and His plan and desire for us, we would walk through fire before entering into a covenant lightly or before breaking our covenants (no matter how good a reason we feel we have). I know I am long-winded, so I will simply say that tonight I learned more about enduring love by seeing my mother prepare a simple surprise for my dad of one of his favorite deserts than I could have learned by sitting through a thousand sermons on the subject. I want my children to catch me making my marriage work. I want to give them that hope and encouragement that some things CAN and DO last forever.

Today I am grateful for those who never give up on marriage. I am grateful for intact families and un-broken covenants. I am grateful because (as I am learning through reading this book) it is so important for society as a whole and for every child individually. Most of all, I am grateful to my wonderful husband, Marcio. I will never quit or give up. I promise. Eu te amo com todo meu coracao. Soh voce pode entender a minha alma. Obrigada por cinco anos bonitos e maravilhosos. Vamos ter sempre e sempre praticar esse “amor coisa.”

Ginger

Not to Put Too Fine a Point On It…

I just thought this was pretty funny. Very subtle humor to point out some pretty poignant truths. I guess I will let you see for yourselves and draw your own conclusions.

-Ginger

Beautiful Baby Girl

Jordan makes my heart melt. She is so cute and cuddly, and she is definitely a girl! She talks so much while she plays and giggles. She has been walking really well for a while and has started saying more and more real words.

When someone gives her something she wants she says “Dah-doo,” which sounds like when Caio says “Thank you,” so we think that is what she is trying to say. She also shakes her little head “no” to tons of things (even sometimes when she means yes).

My funny story of the day is that while we were driving to my mom’s house today, she began saying very clearly, “Hi, Daddy! HI, DADDY! Hiiii! Daddy” until Marcio finally responded, “Hi Jordan!” Then she giggled and giggled (one of her favorite games since Dec or Nov has been to sit still and whisper “Daddy! Daddy! Daaaaadddyy!” as quietly as she can until Marcio responds—she giggles endlessly for that one too). Before we left the house we had been talking about something else and Caio heard Marcio say “soup and water” and Caio busted up laughing and repeating it, so while we were driving Marcio brought that up again and said, “Who wants soup and water for Christmas dinner anyway?” to which Jordan piped up, “I DO!” We got a really good chuckle out of that one. The funny thing is, she just likes making that noise (“I do”) and she usually doesn’t really seem to think it means anything.

While we were at my mom’s and dad’s house, Caio got grumpy at one point and started covering his eyes. Jordan saw this and began to giggle, thinking that he was playing a game of peek-a-boo. She immediately covered her ear with her right hand and took it off while exclaiming “I DO!” (a.k.a. peek-a-boo). She got such a good response from the adults in the room that she continued to cover both ears and remove her hands, exclaiming “I DO!” after each round. Caio actually got into it too and stopped sulking to think his sister was so cute.

I get excited watching them both grow up so much!

Later I did her hair up with two pigtails and everyone decided that she looked just like “Boo” from Monsters Inc. LoL! I will have to get a pic of it later to put on here. She didn’t seem to like it, but I am desperate to get her long hair out of her eyes.

I know this is my brag spot for Jordan, but I can’t help plugging Caio at this point. The other day he was explaining to me that he is a big boy. I agreed whole-heartedly. Then he told me that Daddy is also a big boy. “Sure,” I responded. Then he asked, “Mom? You a little girl?” I thought a minute and responded, “No… I am a grown-up woman.” He got really upset by that and insisted that I agree with him that I am indeed a little girl. Finally I said, “Fine, I will let you call me a little girl.” This made him feel a lot better. Then he began going over everyone on his list again. Caio is a big boy? Yes. And Daddy is a big boy? Yes. And Mommy is a little girl? Sure. “And Mommy, Jordan is a… a big girl?” I looked over at her banging her baby doll with a blanket while singing, “Dah-dah-dah-dah-dah!” and I said, “No. Jordan is a baby.” LoL! I wasn’t about to be outranked by a 13-month-old!

Anyway. It feels like 2 or 3 AM (even though it isn’t) and I have 9 AM church. I think I will catch up with y’all later!

Ginger

Caio Says the Cutest Things!

Tonight during dinner, Caio dropped his fork on the floor. He gasped, “Oh, NO!! Mom! I lost my spoon!” Then he planted his hands on his cheeks and stared forlorn at his unfinnished food and moaned, “Now I’ll never eat my dinner!” Marcio and I could hardly contain our chuckles. Marcio told him to go get a clean one and he jumped up and put the dirty one in the dishes and retrieved a clean one from the drawer (all of which made him very happy).

One day he realized that Jordan was getting into something and he called out, “Oh, no, Mom! Jordan is getting into something!” “I’ll come and get her,” I sighed. “Don’t worry!” he commanded with full confidence, “Caio will save the day!!” I had never heard him say that before, but off he ran and pulled her out and shut the door to the room. He came back to inform me that he had saved the day and that he is my “super helper.” This has been a wonderful discovery, because there are many times that I have been able to remind him that I need a super helper (like when he is making huge messes and I need him to help pick up :-D).

A little over a week ago, he came up to me while I was getting Jordan ready for bed and announced, “Mom, Caio got hurt; needs see the doctor!” I smiled inside but put on a serious face for my baby boy while I looked at his stubbed toe. I didn’t think he liked his last doctor’s visit very much, but I think that after he saw me rush Marcio to get stitches in his hand recently that he just figures that is where you go when you get hurt. He requests a doctor visit frequently. The other thing he asks for are popsicles. He hit his mouth pretty hard within a day or two of this conversation and was crying pretty loudly. I rushed to grab a popsicle and had him eat it in the kitchen. Now he believes popsicles cure everything from a bonk on the head to a rug burn on his knee. LOL! He keeps me smiling.

On another happy note, he has successfully made magic on his royal throne twice. The first time was a bit of a pleasant shock at home (when I wasn’t even near the bathroom or expecting it—Marcio and I went pretty crazy--he informed me as soon as he was done washing his hands that he was now a big boy and wanted to wear underpants). The other time was in the middle of story time at the library a few days later. He came and told me he needed to go to the potty and then he actually used it. He is still working on it, but it is encouraging to see that he wants it and is leading the charge to get it in check.

Jordan is doing majorly cute things all the time, too. And I will get on soon to expound upon some of that. Suffice it to say that I love being a mom!

Ginger

AMAZING GIVEAWAY!!!

Lucky you!The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.
The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!
Good luck!

"It's Not Working!"

So, Friday night we went to a production my friend and her husband were performing in. About two-thirds of the way in, Caio asked if he could go to the bathroom and use the toilet. I wasn't sure if he was serious because he has never really been able to make any magic on the mini throne at home, but I wasn't going to tempt fate by refusing his untimely request. So the two of us trudged off to the bathroom and when I took his diaper off, it was surprisingly dry and clean. He jumped on the toilet and got all ready and then smiled up at me.
"Want to hear my poop sounds, Mommy?" he asked.
"Sure!" I responded. I thought it was funny and cute, but I wanted to see what he would do.
"Get ready, hear my poop sounds!" Then he looked like he was focusing. I have to admit that I think I was way more excited than he was. I couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be our first celebratory Mommy/Caio potty dance? I was poised to cheer and wave my arms and make people in the hall wonder what was wrong with the crazy lady in the bathroom. We both sat there in silence until he looked up and asked, "Did I make a poop sound?"
"Not yet," I admitted, "But you can try again if you want." I could tell that he was dissapointed but my enthusiasm renewed his spirits.
"Okay," he smiled and focused again. He looked into the toilet after a minute and despaired, "It's not working!!!" I kept myself from laughing but continued to try to be encouraging, just in case he really did need to use the bathroom.
"It's okay," I soothed, "do you want to try some more?"
"Yes!" he said. He got serious one last time and really tried to make something happen. This time when he finished trying he looked pretty deflated. He looked up at me a little sadder and said in a smaller voice, "Maybe if Daddy help me do it."
I told him it was okay and that I was sure that next time he would make it work. We went back to our seat where he asked Marcio to have a try helping him go. I guess he only tried once with his dad before giving up for good. It was cute and funny and sad all at the same time. He really wants to do it (he asked again this morning and tried with no luck) and I want to help, but neither of us have done a good job of figuring out how to make it work. I am trying not to be pushy with it, though, because I don't want to cause anxiety over this. I just know how much he wants it (all of his friends are out of diapers by now--good peer pressure) and I would love to see him succede (for multiple reasons *every day* if you know what I mean ;-D).
Anyway. I am sure one of these days it will work. I hope!
Ginger

My New Music Find—Enjoy!!!

My sister came to stay for a week with her family. While she was here she wanted to show me this music video on you tube. The name of this song is “The Show” by Lenka. (It didn’t embed into my blog, so you probably will need to click on the darkened screen to view this video… or click here) I really, really LOVE it and it has helped me be happier, so I hope you will enjoy it too.

“I want my money back!”

“Just enjoy the show!”

LOL!

Ginger

Picasa Content

Hooray! CPSC Might be catching on...

At least, I hope they are catching on! I found this link to the L.A. Times through the link that Marcio left in his comment on my last post. I found it enlightening and encouraging to think that our voices were heard.
Thank you to all of you who did something about this!
Ginger

Help!

I know I have been worried about some of the problems with toys and other goods coming from China lately, and I definitely would like something done about it, but I think the US legislature is about to make a serious mistake to try and over-correct this problem. As of February 10th they are planning on making it illegal to sell something second-hand or homemade without spending a prohibitive amount of money. There are some grassroots movements to try to stop this outrageous problem. This blog has many links and ideas. Please, please, please check it out! We can make a difference!

Thanks,

Ginger

No Place Like the ICU For the Holidays

So… since last I wrote:

Halloween was great. We did the ward trunk or treat with Caio dressed up as a dragon and Jordan dressed up as a pumpkin. I will post pics later. Thanksgiving was at my house and I did all the cooking. Everything tasted wonderful and this also turned out great. Then came the day after Thanksgiving and the trip to the ER—Black Friday indeed.

My mom became ill Thanksgiving night and got worse and worse over the next 24 hours. Friday night we took her to the ER and they said that she would need to be operated on. Without going into too many details, she has had problems with hernias since she was in the hospital following my birth and she was told that because she was a poor candidate for surgery she would have to wait until it was an emergency situation to take care of any of it. Well… this was her emergency situation.

The following Monday she went under the knife for a four hour procedure. When it was over she was in the ICU for over a week. She stayed in the hospital until about a week before Christmas and then she was moved to a Care Center for rehabilitation across the street from the hospital. We hoped she would be able to come home for Christmas, but she wasn’t strong enough. I prayed she would be home for New Year’s Eve, and she stayed in for that too.

My mom is doing much better now, but she is still in the care center/nursing home until further notice. She is getting stronger and looking healthier each day. I can’t wait for her to come home. I visit her as often as I can, but it isn’t really quite the same.

In the meantime we did manage to celebrate Caio’s, Marcio’s and Jordan’s birthdays, Christmas and New Year’s Eve and we threw a birthday party at the church house in there to boot. The last couple of months have been pretty intense and interesting to put it mildly, but I hope to get in and give a few more details (with pics) about as much of it as possible over the next few days.

Ginger

Blah, Blah, Bleck

Today was one of those sick days. We have actually been kind of dealing with it for a few days, but last night and today we hit a low... by we I mean the whole family... and by low I mean down for the count. I think there is a rule somewhere that says two parents in the same household are not allowed to be sick at the same time and to the same severity, especially if the kids are sick too. If that rule doesn't exist, it should. If there is a rule like that, we broke it anyway, so I guess it really doesn't matter.
Last night I was worse off than Marcio, so I got to sleep more and he helped put on movies and keep the kids out of trouble. Today I thought I was better, so I went off to church and substituted the Relief Society lesson about standing fast through the storms of life (how fitting) and got back to help out. I wasn't home for long when I realized that I was still sick, but I knew Marcio was worse off today, so I took my turn picking up the slack. Neither of us were up to much so we put in movies and held sick kids. We drank lots of liquids and ate a little toast.
At one point I went downstairs to contribute to a family thing for Marcio's family and Marcio and the kids followed me. Marcio got on his laptop and I typed away on my computer. *click, click, click* Suddenly, we heard both of the kids break out into histerical laughter. We looked back and realized that they were in the closet in the office. They just kept laughing and laughing and we couldn't figure out what could be so funny in that closet. Marcio looked at me and said, "I have to see what is so funny." I agreed, so we snuck over and drew the sliding door back ever so slightly. When we peaked in we saw that they had already completely emptied a box of Kleenex tissues and thought it was extremely funny. LOL. There wasn't much either of us felt up to doing at that point, so we just quietly shut the door and let them finish having their fun. Caio can get Jordan to laugh harder and for longer than anyone else can. I am so happy to see him being such a good big brother already.
I am hoping that Marcio can work part of tomorrow at home. He is determined to go in for at least the morning. I am just very worried about his health right now. I can't wait for everyone to get better and for everything to get back to normal.
Ginger

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan

I was right there and I still don't know how my baby girl fell off of my bed when I was going to feed her the other day. She slammed right into the door frame of the closet and got the biggest ugliest goose-egg either of my kids have ever had. Marcio and I felt so bad for her as we cleaned up the blood and tried to put a cold pack on it (she ended up winning that fight in the end). But I had to take pictures and share her pain.The other thing I took pictures of earlier in the same day is Jordan's favorite place to hang out. She loves to climb onto the table in our living room and just sit there all the time. Caio will normally bring her toys and entertain her and when she wants to get down he will usually help her off (she can do it on her own, but she still gets nervous about it). She has also been experimenting with walking, but she isn't there quite yet. She has gotten so big, so fast--I just don't know where all of the last nine and a half months have gone.

The other thing I love about Jordan is how well she and Caio get along all of the time. They play so well together and love each other so much. I could never want anything more. I feel so much joy in my heart for both of them.












Ginger

P.S. I guess I will put some more pictures of her right here.... Just because :-D!!! -GKS