the lovell crew

Wow! So it has been like, forever since I’ve updated the blog. It’s not that we’ve been extra busy, in fact, December has been quite the opposite. This year, John & I decided very intentionally that we would scale down our holiday commitments. Normally, our holiday season is jam-packed with Christmas parties, events, plays, family travels, etc., and at the end of the season we are left trying to just catch our breath and wonder, “wow, that flew by fast!”

We have, however, been busy bees around the house. All the decorations are ready, my Christmas shopping is DONE (first time EVER this early!), and my newfound addiction to Pinterest has led to a new craft with the girls each weekend.

Faith is super excited about the tree, the presents, all our holiday baking & crafting, and most of all so far….Christmas lights. She loves them. Every time we’re out & it’s dark, she begs  asks to go look at the Christmas lights. She loves them all, but her favorite ones are the “rainbow lights” (i.e., colored Christmas lights). We are planning a special weekend trip with her soon, hopefully to one of our larger surrounding cities to see lots of lights!

Zoe has been progressing leaps and bounds lately. She has discovered mobility! Mainly in the form of rolling to get herself where she needs & wants to go, but crawling is in the works. Over the past couple months, her sitting balance has steadily improved, and I am happy to report I can now sit her down in one spot, and odds are, she’ll stay there This is huge for us, as we have been working hard-core (no pun intended!) on her core muscles.

Just this week she’s started trying to get up on all fours & rock.

We still have a long road ahead of us, but she is an amazingly determined child & I am so excited to get a front row seat to all that she’s gonna do! Also, lately, the child has been a bottomless pit. Literally. Meats, pastas, fruits, cereals, you name it, she’s ate it. Everything she can get her tiny hands on is going straight to her mouth, and we’ve made several extra trips to the grocery lately because between both girls you’d think we were feeding a small army. I love it

This year has by far been my favorite holiday season. The girls are at such a fun age, and it seems they are learning, saying, & doing new things every day. Sometimes I just want to freeze time and hang on to these moments while I can…

Aren’t they sweet?

Every year at Thanksgiving we make a very LONG trip to our hometown in eastern Kentucky. We always have a great time, but I dread the drive, for the simple fact that it takes over six hours of driving time. Add in a couple kiddos, and there is potential there for nothing but sheer misery on the road!

This year, we prepared ourselves. I took an entire week off (which I usually don’t do & end up regretting it!) and we gave ourselves plenty of time to get here & back. We loaded up, trying to pack lightly because we’d also be hauling back a vehicle full of new Christmas gifts for the girls from their mamaw & papaw. I debated on whether or not to bring Zoe’s stander; she is in it twice a day for an hour each, and although it’s not huge by any means, it’s just bulky. In the end, we brought it. Surprisingly though, we had room to spare in the back.

Our trip down was uneventful & quick actually. We made carefully timed stops, had only one bathroom accident (Faith) only because we were in a super long stretch of highway with absolutely NO exits to be found, sang lots of fun songs & watched a few Christmas movies.

It was a great week! I loved having so much downtime to spend with the girls & our family. We had no agendas, no plans, nothing. Just hanging out, eating (a LOT), playing & opening gifts. We spend Christmas at our own home, so we do a little early gift exchange at our Thanksgiving trip.

Faith received a GIANT dollhouse with about a million parts. The details on the pieces are amazing. Her dollhouse family even has its very own laptop, cell phone, & minivan with real honking horn & a radio that works. A big change from when I had MY dollhouse as a child. She is in dollhouse heaven.  Thankfully John managed to fit it all back in the car so we can haul it all home.

Zoe got some super cute toys–ball popper, wooden puzzles, shape sorters, lots of things to encourage crawling & hand/eye coordination. She spent much of her Thanksgiving holiday playing in the floor with Faith, myself, and all our other family, and calling repeatedly for “mama,” which I think will soon replace “dada” as her favorite word She has surprised me with her puzzle skills, although we haven’t even left for home yet & we’ve already lost a piece She was a master gift opener though…

Both of the girls loved all the good food…Zoe’s favorite was macaroni salad (& Pizza Hut cheesesticks but I don’t think that really counts as Thanksgiving food–another day, another time), and Faith’s favorite food was the sugar cookies with tiny turkeys on them she got to make with mamaw.

It was an awesome week, & we made a lot of great memories. I loved seeing my sweet babies underneath my mother-in-law’s GIANT Christmas tree. I have no clue how she manages to get this thing decorated but it is GORGEOUS!!

I cannot believe what a difference a year makes. Just take a look for yourself…

The day Zoe was born…

Celebrating (well, sleeping thru) her first Halloween…

Throwing her first temper tantrums…

Merry first Christmas!!

Getting pretty attached to big sis

First pair of specs…

First AFOs…

Meeting my uncle for the first time…

While rockin’ a super cute outfit of course!

We had a lot of tea parties…

Getting stronger…

And cuter…both of ‘em!

And stronger….(well, let’s be honest-the cuteness never ends!)

Eating cake!

Making headlines…

And surprising us all!!

It’s been an awesome first year! I have seen our entire family, all four of us, grow so much. I am so thankful for such a great first year…and so excited about the journey ahead. No, it’s not all rainbows & sunshine, but we have learned and are still learning, that’s okay.

This year was probably one of my favorite Christmases. After this bittersweet year we’ve had, some of my most cherished memories from Christmas 2010 involve hanging around the house with my husband & precious babies, all snuggled in, with this amazing snowstorm we had.

I remember staying up late, wrapping gifts while John got the privilege of putting this fun mess together…(which eventually became a kitchen!)

I remember watching these kiddos on the couch at Mamaw’s house wondering when exactly did Faith grow to be a “big girl?”

Had a few meltdowns along the way…

I remember having lots of extra time to play with this sweet thing…(who kept scratching her face because her nails grow faster than you’d believe )

I remember sitting in the rocker on Christmas Eve, everyone else asleep, holding Zoe & looking out the window watching the snow fall silently in the streetlight, thanking our great God who used a totally unexpected turn of events this year to give us more blessings than we ever could’ve imagined.

My heart was very full this Christmas for my sweet family.

What a year!

It’s been a crazy month at the Lovells! Probably one of the busiest Christmas seasons I can remember. And I don’t really like that much; I like to enjoy  the season at a slow & steady pace. Here’s our month so far…

• Zoe is doing fantastic! She’s now over 10 pounds, smiling & becoming more interactive every day. Her newest feat is attempting to pull herself to sit up when she holds onto our fingers. We are getting physical/developmental therapy every week, & of course it becomes a daily thing also with the amount of playing we do at our house.
• Faith learns new things every day. At this point, I really have NO clue how much the kid knows. Just a couple days ago she was playing in the bathtub, & she began counting to ten in Spanish! We attribute her obsession with Dora the Explorer to this new skill. She’s almost mastered her ABC’s, & can count to twenty! Call me biased, but I think she’s a pretty talented 20 month old!
• John & I are starting to once again function like a well-oiled machine. We know exactly who does which girl’s bath, what time is bedtime, and we have learned to make a “game plan” to tackle the craziness that involves evenings with two small girls. Thankfully, Zoe has fallen right into routine along with Faith & we’re usually able to get them both to bed together. In the same room We usually end up with a little free time in the evenings, which means we get some time without babies. To breathe. Or more typically, sleep.
• Our newest adventure is tackling the long drive to eastern Kentucky to visit family in Pike County. We made it here without any major meltdowns thanks to Dora DVDs & lots of stops to fill up babies’ bellies. My hope is the trip back goes just as smoothly

That’s it for now. Even with all the chaos & craziness that is the Christmas season sometimes, I’m very mindful of just how much our family has to be thankful for this year. Our Lord has graciously blessed both our daughters this year & we continue to watch humbly & he slowly adds to our family’s story.

Merry Christmas from the Lovell family!

It’s been a big (and busy!) week! Zoe’s first Thanksgiving…although she slept through it and didn’t get to enjoy the yummy food . We’ve been busy preparing for Christmas at our house AND I finally convinced John to brave the Black Friday crowd and go see Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows for date night .

I have however, managed to somehow find a few extra moments to snap some photos of my favorite moments this week.

Faith checking out the Christmas tree (last year she was oblivious to the Christmas season!)

Of course, she just had to touch it!

Zoe ignores the tree this year, but she does notice the toys on her Baby Einstein gym…she even got to wear the Thanksgiving jumper Faith wore to her first Thanksgiving dinner. Still a little big (it’s a 6 month size!) but it did the trick

But that picture that steals my heart every time is of both my girls together. Since Zoe was born, Faith hadn’t had much opportunity to really hold Zoe yet. She is crazy about her, calls her “Zo-Zo,” loves to pet her head and bring her pacifiers. Zoe is growing & healed up nicely from surgery, so we decided it was time to let big sister take over. I absolutely love the look on Zoe’s face in this pic…

That’s our week in review…feeling especially thankful this week as I remember all the amazing things God continues to do in my life.

Christmas has arrived at the Lovell house! We decided this weekend it was time. Yes, I know. Thanksgiving hasn’t arrived yet, but that’s okay. We’ll incorporate them both. John & I are both in the Christmas spirit. The sounds of Pandora’s Christmas music fill the house. My gingerbread men are beginning to take over. I have the girls’ Christmas pajamas washed & ready.

With two kids (plus a TON of other engagements going on!) decorating this year is a multi-step process. Yesterday we got the boxes out of the attic. Today I started putting things out. The tree comes after that

We’re having a very busy but productive weekend! Come Monday we have Zoe’s first Spina bifida clinic at Vanderbilt. I can’t deny that I’m a bit nervous about it. She’s doing so well, & I always fear the possibility of hearing news I don’t want. I want two steps forward, not one step back.

Still learning to live one day at a time. Sort of like Christmas decorating.

One step, one box at a time. Too much at once is nothing but overwhelming chaos.

Its been a great couple of weeks here at the Lovell house! Zoe is settled in, Faith has turned into an awesome big sister, and John & I have finally gotten into somewhat of a groove with managing two kids. So far, here’s the latest on Zoe…

• As Zoe has recovered from her back surgery, we’ve been able to stop cathing her. She’s making plenty (trust me when I say PLENTY ) of wet diapers on her own. When we go to our first Spina Bifida Clinic at Vanderbilt, we’ll learn more about her bladder function and whether we need to resume cathing.
• We’ve gotten Zoe started in physical therapy. Since spina bifida almost always causes at least some lower extremity weakness/paralysis, we want to be aggressive with therapy to help give Zoe as much opportunity as possible. Currently she has great movement down to her ankles. She will be getting weekly PT as well as additional PT through Early Intervention. Basically, it’s like extra playtime for her
• Faith is going to be in our church’s annual children’s Christmas program! This is her first “event” & I can’t wait! Momma will be in the front row with her camera! Her one-year old class will be singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” & “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.
• Faith & Zoe are now roomies! John & I had been taking shifts with Zoe, to make sure each of us is guaranteed some uninterrupted sleep. Zoe, however, is an awesome sleeper, so last night we put both girls together for the first time. It went great! Let’s hope they keep it up!
• The four of us also attended our first Spina Bifida Playgroup this past weekend. These playgroups are hosted by the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky and are held all across the state routinely. This was the first one in our area, and we had several families attend from surrounding counties as well as one expecting couple from Nashville. It’s a great opportunity to meet other parents & kids with spina bifida, share information & resources, & have a great time! Faith LOVED it, and I’m assuming Zoe did too…she slept through most of it!

That’s about it for life at the Lovells’ currently! We have our first Spina Bifida Clinic in one week, so we’d appreciate prayers for Zoe (and us!) as it will be a long day seeing a lot of people getting a ton of information. Oh,& Christmas is about to begin at our house too! This year I am pumped about celebrating with our new family of four, so I’m currently trying to persuade John to bust out the Christmas decorations a little earlier! We’ll see who wins

John & I were caught a little unprepared this year for Halloween. We hadn’t expected to be home with Zoe so soon, or that we’d be able to do dress-up and trick or treat. Thankfully, we were home & Zoe is doing great, so we decided to improvise & make the girls’ costumes. I think it worked out great!

This outfit is actually mine from when I was a baby. Funny how nursing seems to run in the family, starting from babyhood

Zoe wore my nurse’s outfit to our church’s fall festival. We sort of put Faith’s together from a dress & accessories we had at home. She was so proud of it….doesn’t she look cute?

Zoe was too young to trick-or-treat of course. But you know we had to dress her up! She made a cute little pumpkin!

So thankful we got to experience our first Halloween together at home as a family!

Here was our first photo as a family of three…exactly one year ago today:

Fast forward one year, here is our little family (photo courtesy of Laurie Keen Photography):

Amazing how things change in one year!!!