Happy Halloween

Mermaid Princesses and a Gumball Machine!

11 Months... and More!

This little gal turned 11 months old!!  Already!

I hate to admit, I didn't really think much about it until it was time for bed.  

It was a bit of a hectic day!  So we took a few pictures before bed 

and then took a couple the next day.

(Mr. Monkey doesn't stand a chance anymore!)

She currently is sleeping through the night (finalllllly!!).

  

She still nurses about 5x a day, but I plan to slowly back 

off once she turns 1 and we introduce her to milk products.  

Her favorite thing is a little white blanket with a bunny head... 

also known as "Mr. Bunny".  We even have a special Mr. Bunny Song 

that we sing when we're looking for him among the 

toys before bed and nap times.  If you start singing it, she

will drop what she is doing and go look for Mr. Bunny!

Ha!

(She loves looking out the window!)

She loves real food (as opposed to pureed baby food) and likes a 

variety of fruits, veggies, meats and grains.  Bananas are probably her favorite! 

Audra has always been a clingy baby... and it seems like she is 

even more so lately.  I have to admit, it's draining!  

Hoping it's just a phase!

She gives hugs, if you ask.  

But only to baby dolls at this point!

Still working on "kisses".

She says, "Night, Night" and "Dinah" and likes to wave Hi!

Hard to believe she'll be 1 in less than a month!

Invitations are out for her birthday party.

We only do a small party with some immediate family and friends

(who are like family to us) due to our house being so small!

I'll share more about it after it happens!

On another note (I think I say that in almost every post! Ha!):

We were told that there were no other treatment options for my Father in Law's cancer. 

 However, one of his doctors sent his file to a doctor at the 

Cleveland Clinic and they were able to perform Neuro Surgery this past week.  

They believe it was successful, however he may have another surgery in the future.  

At this point he is going to be working on relearning how to walk 

(the tumors they "zapped" were on the part of the brain that control his leg function).  

We are hopeful that he will learn quickly and get back home soon!

Have a great weekend!

Recapping!

Ummm... whoops.  It's been over a month since I last posted.  

I know I'm not consistent, but even THAT surprised me!  

A lot has been going on.  I guess blogging has been put on the back burner a bit.

So, for a quick recap of the past month.... let me start with....

Audra is now 10 months old!!  She is walking, running and trying to 

keep up with her sisters around every turn!  She babbles incoherently, 

however she repeats the same things and it makes me wonder if she 

really IS trying to say something!  Who knows!  

She started getting all 4 top teeth over the past week and a half or so!  

It has NOT been a pleasant experience for her.  They say it's not true 

that babies get runny noses when they teethe.... but she has literally had a 

runny nose the whole time.  And the rest of us have not gotten sick.  Sooooo... I 

have no clue.  All I know is that I hope she cuts the last 2 pretty soon.  She has been 

quite the cranky pants!  HOWEVER, I am SOOO thankful that she has been 

sleeping through the night for the past week and a half or so also!  This past 

week has been the first time in over a year (the last couple months of my 

pregnancy were not pleasant) that I have gotten 8 hours of sleep without multiple 

interruptions.  I can't tell you how nice that is!  Granted, I am sleeping on an air 

mattress in the living room (Cory claimed the couch!), but I'LL TAKE IT!  

It seems as if Audra wakes up and wants me more when she knows 

I'm in the room.  "Mamamamamamamaaaa!" was a constant at 

11PM, 1AM, 3AM, 5AM and so on.  Not anymore!  Of course, it could 

just be that I don't hear her now!  Ha!

(Not a fan of the crunchy leaves!)

In other "news"... if you have followed along with my posts about 

my Father-in-Law's battle with cancer, I have an update.  Unfortunately, 

it's not a good update.  He had a scan this past Monday that showed three 

of the tumors on his brain that they've been watching are starting to re-grow.  

His last scan was clear in May.  He says that he's not ready to give up yet!  

However, they've exhausted all treatment options up to this point.  We are hopeful 

that perhaps he can get into some sort of clinical trial, so Cory is researching to see 

if he would qualify for any in the near future.  I must say though, we have been 

blessed.  When he was first diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2011, we were 

told that he had 6 months to live.  Here we are 4.5 years later.  It's been a rough road.  

A REALLY rough road, especially for him, my Mother-in-Law and Cory.  But 

through it all, my Father-in-Law has gotten to see two more granddaughters be 

born and bring joy to our lives.  That is so much more than a lot of cancer 

patients can say... and I know that he does not take it for granted!  We would 

appreciate your prayers in his continued battle.  He's not done yet!  

On a side note... his mother (Cory's gram) passed away yesterday morning.  

Prayers for peace and comfort would also be appreciated as we have her 

Memorial and Burial over the next several days.

Eloise and Dinah are doing well!  They enjoy playing... and playing... and playing.  

Eloise has been doing well with her schooling.  We've gotten into a rhythm 

and it's been fun at times, trying at times and even a learning experience for me!

(Sitting on our neighbor's tractor!)

We went to a Fall Festival last weekend for a couple of hours and 

the girls enjoyed seeing friends and family.  I snapped this picture of 

them as "pumpkin heads".  (Maybe you remember me painting it a 

couple years ago...?  Fun!).  

Poor Audra didn't enjoy her first Fall Festival due to teething and a runny nose!

 

 

In closing, though I'm sure I could go on and on and on about life, 

I would just like to say that I have been dealing with some health issues myself.  

I have some tests coming up and would appreciate prayers of peace and 

encouragement... not only for myself but for Cory, who inevitably 

worries about me!