Every Boy's Dream

Today, all the men in the house took themselves off to the CAT museum here in town. And they were there a looooong time! Not surprising, when you see what's on display there:

My brother, Steve, showing just how enormous those machines are!

Jack "driving"

Daddy and Jacko hanging out in an excavator

He's still talking about the "simoowator"!!

With Grandpa

Christmas Eve

We went to church for a lovely Christmas Eve service. The kids were in with us and boy, do I pity the poor people in the row behind us. I was studiously avoiding eye contact. Unfortunately, they own a children's boutique in town, where we ran into them a few days later and they recognized my saintly children. Ahem. Luckily, Sophie's oxygen had distracted them from any disruptive behavior!

What I did hear of the service, in between shusshing, handing out snacks, and potty trips, was a wonderful preparation for celebrating the birth of our Savior. Singing carols with my children this Christmas will always remain a treasured memory for me.

The pastor called all the children down to the stage for a story which Jack thought was great fun. As soon as we got down there, in full view of a 2000 member church, he hunkered down by the electrical board and tried to unplug everything hooked up there. This included the four giant Christmas trees on the stage. Glad those were plugged in good and tight! Once I'd established some boundaries for him, he sat pretty quietly and tried to make friends with the other little boys nearby. Ah, two year olds!

 We made it home amid snow flurries and after getting all the littlies into bed, us big people enjoyed a drink! Was I glad when that rolled around!

Sophie got into the mince pies after church

The Jones Family Jr.: Steve, Rachel, and the lovely Miss Wyn

The Jones Family Sr.: Nana and Grandpa with Wyn and Sophie

Attempting a photo shoot with the girls

And Sophie is done!

Me and my girl

Jack was NOT happy to be photographed

AH! Drinks all round! Cheers to holidays with family!

Baba's Trip

We've had a really special two weeks with Andre's mom and grandfather here. The kids have LOVED all the attention and I've loved all the help and company :)

Mama helped so much with the kiddos! Thank you Mama!

Sophie can say "Baba" and "Deada" for each of them

All dressed up for Sophie's party

Jack baking with Baba (Mama cooked so much for us too!)

We made gingerbread cookies for our oxygen delivery man :)

Sophia ADORES Deada and gets so excited to see him sitting there on the couch. She reserves her biggest smiles for him!

Saying goodbye this morning when they left

So thankful for this special time with Mama and Deada. They have been such a blessing to us all!

She's ONE!

Today our baby girl turned a year old. CANNOT believe it! In some ways it's seemed a long year (her health issues) and in others it's just gone by so fast. She is still so small that I think we don't expect as much of her and so each new milestone is so wonderful and surprising! Not that she is really behind other babies her age, it's just surprising when such a small person tries to walk or say words!

STATS 
Weight: 15 lbs
Height: 28 inches
Words: Dada, Ja, Nana, Baba, Deada, dog, ta (for please)
Can do: wave, point to herself, wipe her tray, stand alone, "brush" her hair, splash in the bath, climb stairs

Examining her necklace from Mommy & Daddy

HEALTH
She is doing well on the oxygen 24/7 and we are all getting used to her "O's" being an everyday reality. She is very good about not pulling the tubes out and has started to put the cannula in by herself if it comes out, as well as pull on her tubing it she gets stuck. So cute. We saw her pulm., GI doc, and pediatrician this week and all said that although she hasn't gained very well, she seems pretty healthy otherwise. The pulm., said she is presenting more and more like a typical NEHI kid, with the way she breathes and how her lungs sound. We still don't know if she will be on O2 for one year or ten, it all depends on her lungs. Apart from a mild stomach bug in November, she has remained very healthy this winter, for which we are so thankful! We have noticed that her O2 sats are all low again when she sleeps so are hoping to put her flow up as she can tolerate it to help her out.

Opening her present from Jack

PERSONALITY
Sophie is turning out to be a pretty lively little thing and has a great sense of fun. She loves to be chased and played with and thinks her big brother is fabulous. Jack loves to go into her bedroom when she wakes up and talk to her and he has taken to calling her "Miss Madam". Hilarious! She still ADORES music and sways or bounces as soon as she hears any type of tune. She now requests songs by swaying and making an "ooooo" sound! She's still a bit wary of strangers but is getting braver about making friends. She is much more aware of doctor's offices now and is NOT a happy camper about our visits, poor thing. Don't blame her! Bathtime is still her favorite time of the day and she could happily stay in there for ages. I have to be careful with her though as she gets cold very easily and has a very hard time warming herself up again...too little fat on those bones!

So thankful for this little girl, who has been the sunshine in our year. She is my dream come true and we are a better family for having her in it. Love you Sophie Joy!

Standing Girl!