Alex and Abraham, Part 3

Alex is, as Victoria would say, "growing, growing growing! Into the sky!"

You can see Part 1 and Part 2 in these earlier blog posts ... 

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16 

Week 17

I don't know why we took this one without Abraham.
But he sure is cute!

Week 18

V Pics

She loves playing with her dollhouse! And apparently she also has some crackers in her mouth.

Those lovely eyes ... with Hannah in the background

"I have dollars!"

Mother's Day

This year was my first Mother's Day with two kids!

It was a very memorable day. My first snuggles came from Alex -- simply because he woke up for a nighttime feeding in the wee hours of the morning.

I got to go back to sleep after that, and Matt got up with Victoria a few hours later. They let Mommy sleep until 8:30! When Matt finally told Victoria she could come wake Mommy up, she was sooo excited. She practically danced her way into the bedroom with two cards in her hand: "I got these for you!" Hearing her say "Happy Mother's Day" was so precious -- I almost wish I could have recorded it. It was clear she had practiced it with Daddy.

Matt made us all breakfast, and I opened my cards. Matt gave me a very sweet card and promised me a photo necklace of my baby boy to match the one I have of Victoria.

The second card was from the kids and I am smiling remembering Victoria as I opened their card -- she was so excited she couldn't sit still. Once I opened the envelope flap I could tell why -- on the front cover was COOKIE MONSTER! I never would have guessed they made a Mother's Day card with Cookie Monster on it, but it was the perfect card for them to give me in so many ways. She even helped Daddy write a "V" and "A" on the inside.

We then went to visit my parents for awhile ... and took this photo of three generations.

We had to get home in time for lunch and a nap before swimming lessons. From there, I told Matt I wanted to head to Canal Park. We put the kids in strollers, walked along the Lakewalk and out to the lighthouse, and went to Cold Stone for ice cream.

In so many ways, it was a perfect day.

Look what I found

Victoria loves this Thomas the Tank Engine app on my iPad and phone. There is a book she can read and a video clip and a puzzle and pages she can paint. Her favorite thing is to paint the entire screen one color - then switch to a different color and do it over. 

Well, apparently there is a way to save these as pictures, because tonight I was looking through all my photos, and look what I found! Made me chuckle in the middle of the night. 

More progress

This week we got Alex's 9th set of casts taken off. All the daycare kids (and Lou and Dave and Autumn as well!) had signed them. We are saving these casts as a memento of the last few months.

(On a side note, Toria is still convinced all babies have casts. She sees babies in books and talks about their casts. The other day she said that when she was a baby she had casts too.)

This was the first time we had seen his feet after his tenotomy. Wow, they look great! They are pointing straight forward and the only indication of his procedure a couple weeks ago are pin-point size marks above his heels.

Check out how the below picture compares to the two previous photos in this blog post.

From Alex's standpoint, his feet are just plain weird! He spent most of the time in the doctor's office staring at his feet, craning his head for a better look. I'm sure they look very different than the casts he is used to.

The doctor and orthotist agreed that his feet look great and his treatment is going according to plan. The orthotist took a series of measurements of each foot and will order special braces for him to wear after the final casts come off. The date is set for May 30 ... after which the whole Moses family will celebrate!

Almost-Wordless Wednesday

Morning at our house ...

waiting for Mommy to get ready

love this outfit ... bunnies and polka dots and pumpkins,

 pink and purple and orange. What a girl!

A letter to my children about love

Victoria and Alex,

I am so proud of our state today ... Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

When you are older and reading this letter, this probably won't seem like a big deal to you. But if anyone had told me when I was growing up that this would be a reality, I wouldn't have believed them.

Being gay wasn't quite accepted then. Sure, there was the occasional family member or friend who had a "roommate," and my parents were always accepting even if they didn't verbalize it to us. But in school, it was something to create rumors about. In church, it was taught as evil.

I've always been a big believer in things like fairness and the golden rule. It always seemed so UNfair to tell someone they couldn't marry the person they loved. Still, it wasn't until I got to the working world that I really got to know gay people. I was fortunate enough to work in some pretty cool places where everyone was accepted. Once I developed friendships with people who were gay, gay rights took on a whole new meaning. It became personal. I could go into long stories about all the fabulous people I have met along the way, and what I have learned about them ... and all the ways I discovered they were just like me. But that's not the point of this letter.

Over the past couple years, as the gay marriage debate has raged across the state, I have been thinking about you two, my wonderful children. I knew the minute you were born that nothing would change my love for you. And that more than anything, I want you both to be who you are. Having a healthy, loving relationship is vastly more important than whether that person is a man or woman. When you find that person who loves you for who you are, who realizes just how awesome you are and cherishes you the way you deserve -- I will love that person too, no matter what sex they are.

I believe one of the most important things we can do on this planet is to love each other. In the midst of hatred, wars, disease -- love and joy define who we are. Marriage equality just helps make the world a more loving, more just place, not one defined by boundaries and discrimination.

Today, I am celebrating with people across the state who can now marry their partners. I am celebrating equal rights for all. And most of all, I am celebrating that together we just made the world a better place for the two of you.

I love you,

Mom

Wordless Wednesday: synchronized puppies

Baptism

A couple weeks ago, Alex was baptized at our church. There was another baby being baptized the same day, so both families came to the front. We were asked to bring water from a place special to us. We chose to bring water from our house, the White Pine River. Victoria came up with Daddy to help him pour the water in:

Pastor Kathy does such a beautiful baptism service. Her love for children shines through.

Alex let out a high pitched squeal when the water touched his forehead and Kathy chuckled and said, "let out a joyful noise!"

Afterwards, we sang the hymn we had chosen, "In the Garden." Not only is it the same hymn sung at Victoria's baptism, but it was also perfect for the special Earth Day church service. (A couple side notes about the church service: the music was awesome! And the sermon was given by my former college professor -- very special for me).

After fussing for a little bit, Alex finally succumbed to sleepiness and napped the rest of the church service.

Unbelievably, he stayed sleeping through all our photos. Here he is with his godmother, Auntie Karen, and godfather, Uncle Adam:

Since these type of events tend to necessitate many pictures with different permutations of the same people ... here is a photo with Mom and Dad added in:

The kiddos with Auntie Karen and Cousin Madi:

Add in Granny Gail:

And Daddy ...

"The Godfather" with Megan:

Adam also wanted a picture with both his godchildren:

Grandma and Grandpa:

Four generations! The kids, me, my mom, and my grandma.

The Moses family ... still with a sleeping Alex.

When Victoria was baptized, everyone came to our house afterwards. I served lunch and we had cake. It was nice, but also a little stressful to whip everything on the table. This time I opted for something much more relaxing for Mommy ... reservations at Chester Creek Cafe, one of our favorite restaurants and just a few blocks from the church.

Granny Gail, Adam, Megan, my mom, Toria, me, Uncle Ron with Alex, Teresa, Grandma and Bob, my dad, Karen, Madi, and Chris. Not pictured: Matt's dad and my uncle Roger. And of course Mr. Photographer -- Matt. Am I missing anyone?

We had ordered a delicious cake from a local bakery. Numm! Just looking at this picture makes me wish I had some more cake.

Toria loves her Uncle Adam!

And Auntie Karen loves her little godson:

Toria also loves blueberry pancakes.

My mom and I, the cake cutter/server.

Awww, tired guy! Uncle Ron worked some magic getting him to nap in his car seat.

Matt's family was staying with us, so back at home we took a few more pictures with them: