Spring is Here?!

Oh how we've missed sunshine. We have been enjoying Spokane parks, playing outside, and just taking walks. The kids are all sleeping so well lately! :)

10-Months

Really? Almost a year? Already? Where are my babies? Luckily they are very snuggly so I'm still getting my loves...for now.

What are the girls up to at 10 months?

Katie- A real go-getter, as long as mama is nearby. She likes to sing. She plays the recorder by putting it to her mouth and humming. Adorable. She is just starting to climb. Everything. I find her on chairs now...I'm in so much trouble. While she has taken steps, she now refuses to even stand unless we ignore her. She is an excellent cruiser though. She loves to laugh. If you fake laugh at her, she'll fake laugh back at you. So funny.

Molly- The girl with the temper. Generally happy, but cross that girl and she will let you know. She has a squeal and screech that will bring you to a halt. I'm learning to ignore some of it, but I still run many a times just to see that she dropped her shoe. Speaking of shoes, she has a shoe fetish. She has some maroon Mary Janes that she is in love with and will bring them to me if we are getting ready to leave. She is constantly saying "dada" and "no no no no no" but no "mama" yet. She is extremely sturdy if standing. She will stand and sign "all done" and cry because she doesn't know how to get down. So cute! She now has 1 tooth through and another one on the way. 3 seconds ago, I stopped and gave both girls some frozen pees to gnaw on because their gums hurt so badly. Poor kiddos.

Both girls love to be outside. They love to swing and be in the wagon but are just as thrilled to be let loose on dirt or grass and play with the boys.

Can you believe it will be their first birthday in 2 months? I can't.

I Said That Outloud????

Yes I did. I actually looked at Dan this morning and said, "I don't know the last time Molly pooped." You might think I'm mortified at the fact that we were discussing the poop schedule of our child. In fact, I am mortified by what has transpired today because I uttered those words out loud.

It began simply. I dressed the girls in the most adorable outfits. A onesie, with leggings over, with a skirt over, and a t-shirt. Many many layers. Only to realize 15 minutes later that Molly had pooped all the way up her back and on to her neck. A pain, but no big deal. Until I got Molly naked, completely bathed with wipes to see Katie doing her darn-dest to get into the poopy diaper. Priorities take place and I swoop the diaper and quickly get it to the garbage only to return to Molly peeing on the floor. Seriously? Quickly she is again wiped up and placed in a diaper. The moment isn't over though. The odor lingers and as I check my hands I realize it's Katie. She's pooped. All the way up her back and into her hair, there-by taking out her entire outfit as well. A quick change and that girl is ready to go. I'd like to say it's over, but it's not. Mere hours later as I read books to the girls on the floor of the living room, I realize my jeans are wet. Why? Katie has once again pooped out her onesie, up to her neck, and down her legs on to my pants. Another diaper change and hopefully we are through it for now.

The cute outfits? In the sanitize portion of the washing cycle right now. I did manage to grab a few shots for their 10-month post though! I have learned. Keep your mouth shut!

Bad Blogger....Bad

I looked at the pictures on my camera today and realized I've been a bad blogger. It's been so nice outside, who has enough time to blog? And I've recently attempted to shut the computer and enjoy life, so blogging has been more on the back burner.

Life is quite good right now. The girls are just getting old enough to have some crafting experiences (Molly likes to write her name, Katie refuses to write her name and instead puts on Broadway musicals).

We spend hours outside. The girls like to swing and ride in the wagon and basically crawl around the dirt and get filthy. The boys are enjoying baseball, golf, soccer, bike riding, and mud.

Although not walking, the girls get closer every day. Molly can free-stand forever. In fact she stands there and signs 'all done' and cries because she can't figure out how to sit down. Katie will either immediately try to step or just crumble to the floor in protest. Cruising on furniture is fast and easy now though.

I, Amber, promise to be better at the blog as it documents the lives of these little people and gives them something to look back on. I will also continue to love on them all day long as they are growing so unbelievably quickly.

Saying Goodbye

The last two weeks have been difficult at the Domrese household. Dan and I have been searching for the right way to deal with the loss of a friend. We met Quincy and his wife Jane, and daughter Jayna when I was doing my classes to convert to Catholicism. We were a tight group with a lot of small kids and bonded fast. Quincy lost his battle to cancer two weeks ago and left Dan and I searching emotionally for how to deal with the loss of someone so young. The boys are trying to grasp their friend losing a "daddy." Friday night we went to the funeral vigil. We took all kids so the boys could say good-bye and gain a little understanding of the process. The boys asked tons and tons of questions on the way. We went through how when you die every single part of the body is no longer working. And I mean they wanted to check every single little part, down to the belly button. They wanted to know about heaven and God. They wanted information on the body and decomposition. It was a lot of information and discussion for two little boys. At the vigil, little Jayna lost it. She was led out by a family friend to the back. Thomas was immediately upset and I led him back. We played with her a little and soon all kids were better.

Today at the funeral (we took the girls, but left the boys with Dan's parents) Jayna was again upset. Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching a two-year old cry at her daddy's funeral. Dan and I just teared up and hugged the girls closer, wanting to draw Jayna and Jane in as well. It's hard to say good-bye. It's hard to think we are old enough to lose a friend, a peer, a special person in this world. The poem in the program leads us to where we will go from here:

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on his tombstone

from the beginning....to the end.

He noted that first came the date of his birth

and spoke of the following date with tears

but he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

that he spent alive on earth.

And now onl those who loved him

know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own:

the cars...

the house...

the cash...

What matters is how we live and love...

and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;

are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

to consider what's true and real

and always try to understand

the way other people feel

and be less quick to anger

and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives

like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other wish respect

and more often wear a smile

remembering that this little dash

might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read...

with your life's actions to rehash

would you be proud of the things they say

about how you spent your dash?

-Sue Ellis

First Steps

Wowza! Can my babies be growing up? While showing grandma Nancy Katie's spectacular standing abilities this evening, Katie decided to show off even more and took her first step! Not only that, but after a while she was taking two steps to walk between us! Molly is also extremely sturdy on her feet and loves to stand there all proud of herself. She will take one step but immediately sit down upon realizing she is moving forward. What happened to my babies?

Pictures coming soon!

The Worst Moment Yet as a Parent

It began so innocently. Dan took the day off to get his car worked on so we all met up with his sister at Five Mile Pizza to let the kids run and play. What fun! Then it happened. Katie started crawling up the stairs to the ball pit. I ran and caught her in plenty of time. Feeling fun, I started her low on the ground and with great acceleration took her to the sky for some flying time. Except something else got in the way. Joshua's head. He had snuck up behind me and right when I turned with Katie at full speed, their heads connected. Even now, 7 hours later, I can still hear that thunk. I can still feel the reverberations that went through Katie's body. It was the most alarming sound ever. Joshua was immediately on the ground crying. I put Katie to my chest and ran outside with her in the rain thinking the rain would soothe her (and I needed to be outside if I was going to burst into tears). Luckily Katie only cried for a few minutes and I held it together, but it was so scary. She was happy minutes later and crawled around. I was alarmed enough to call not only our pediatrician, but also my brother AND his wife to get advice. (*Joshua, by the way, totally 100% fine by now). They said to not let her sleep. They said the #1 sign of head trauma is excessive sleepiness and crankiness. Unfortunately Katie is down to one nap a day (she does this every few days and happened to be on that schedule today). So I was told to make her skip ALL naps and watch for crankiness? Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Luckily she only slept for 30 minutes instead of her usual long nap, and was fine until she crashed for bedtime. I called my brother again this evening to describe the bruises appearing on her forehead (all normal he assures me).

It would appear for now that everything is fine. I think I will probably freak out for days to come and keep watching both kids. It was the single most horrible moment since having all four kids. I cannot describe the sound of their heads connecting or the horror felt at that moment.

I sign off now knowing that tomorrow must be better, as I can't feel any more guilty than this. :(

The Good Life

I'm livin' it. The good life. My house? Filled with the good life. We finally hit that corner and are back on track. I might not be getting any more sleep (in fact I think I'm getting less), but everyone in the household is in a good groove. Favorite moments?

Katie and Molly are now cruising along furniture. They find themselves hilarious and are so proud of their accomplishments. They chase the boys around nonstop and it delights me to see them all playing together. Katie has created this fake laugh that makes me giggle. Molly scrunches her face and looks at me so happy and it melts my heart. We read books, sing songs, eat snacks, play cars. Life is good.

The boys are just loving preschool. They've made some great friends and love their teacher. We spend our days playing computer games, playing cars (making ramps), riding bikes, swinging, playing ball, and doing crafts. Thomas is full of energy and a growing vocabulary. He loves mama snuggles, but loves to rough house with daddy more. Joshua is a busy little kid with tons of energy and amazing dance moves. He loves jokes and changes them to fit a situation (sometimes making them not as funny but creative). The boys just finished swim lessons and are moving up to the next level. Go boys!

Gosh life is great. I just can't complain. I'm trying to remember every moment. Rock the babies a little more. Smell the baby smell. Listen to their baby voices and see those moments of pure love and adoration. See the true joy in learning. Watch the excitement in the boys' eyes and see them love the next adventure of the day.

This, my friends, is the good life.