Kaylin's Gone to Preschool!

It is so hard to believe, but my dear, sweet, baby-girl Kaylin is getting all grown up and is already off to preschool! It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do when we dropped her off at school. I cried all day while she was gone. I cried before we dropped her off, then after we dropped her off. Then I cried when I got home and sat in her empty room while Brayden slept. That was normally "our" time together - to go ride her bike or play Candy Land or have a tea party. Then I cried as Brayden and I sat and had lunch together for the first time without Kaylin. It was such a quiet lunch! (As those of you who know Kaylin well know that when she is around, it ain't quiet!) Then it was finally time to go and pick her up from school - hallelujah! This was last Wednesday, 8/26. It got a little better on Thursday and then a little better on Friday, and now this week I think I have begun to accept that she is not a baby anymore and that she is where she needs to be - because she LOVES it! For those who don't know, she attends Casner Christian Academy in Austin and is known school-wide because her Gram teaches the 4 year olds there! It's a wonderful place for her to be.

Brayden is doing awesome, and thank goodness I still have him home with me or I don't know what I would do with myself! He reminds me so much of Kaylin when she was a baby. He is just so determined and active, and all he wants to do is hold my fingers to stand up....ALL THE TIME!! Kaylin did the exact same thing. He seems to be a more jovial baby, though. He giggles so much and is the most ticklish little baby I have seen. Just tickling his back gets him into a giggling fit! It's so much fun and just brings a huge smile to my face no matter what is going on. He is still a poop-machine, as he has been since his NICU days. He literally poops 5 or more times a day! That's kind of wearing me out, but it sure is better than living constipated like his sister all the live long day! He eats 3 huge meals a day and still nurses once in the a.m. But considering he turns 9 months old tomorrow (!) and has 2 teeth now, I am pretty much winding that down b/c I have to be honest, he uses those teeth now and it HURTS! I have just been so blessed to be able to nurse him since I didn't get to with Kaylin. Thank you, Lord, for that!

So, all in all things are going pretty well for our family. Brayden has his 9 month checkup tomorrow so I will update again after that with his weight, height, etc. He has come such a long way, it's just so hard to believe he is already 9 months old! Kaylin doesn't go back to the cardiologist until next month (I am anxious about that as always) and has become such a big girl that we can now give her her heart med as a pill to swallow instead of paying out the wazoo for the compounded liquid! Way to go Kaylin! At the suggestion of another CHD parent, we practiced with mini-M&Ms and it worked. Now we can buy the $4/month Rx instead of the $65/month one - every little bit of savings helps these days!

That's it for now. I need to go get Brayden who is up from his nap. By the way, I am still a consultant for Thirty-One gifts and we just came out with a new catalog in August so check it out at www.mythirtyone.com/nancyb - there are some really adorable new purses, totes and bags! Hope everyone had a great summer!