24 ... 25 ... and lots of FRIENDS & FAMILY!

I used to think a day late was bad...sorry Grey...this is your 24 week and 25 week blogs together! :)  And a little recap of the first half of September.  September?!  Crazy.  These past two weeks have been a blur.  A wonderful blur, but a blur nonetheless!  Grey has grown up so much these past two weeks that even Daddy noticed all her changes.  She has also experienced many firsts that I will try to remember!

Trudging through two weeks of photos kind of frightens me.  Now I know why I don't let my blogging get behind like this; maybe this post will be limited on photos!  No fear though - we certainly have photos of these past two weeks, they just won't be blogged.

At 24 weeks:

• My favorite:  You met your awesome Uncle Joel, sweet Aunt Charity and precious cousin Hannah for the first time last Thursday (your 24th week birthday)!  You were pretty enamored by Hannah and definitely made it clear to her that you don't know what a personal bubble is during their entire stay.  ;)  There are some pretty cute photos of you reaching for Hannah and her giving you the "please leave me alone face".  I know you two will be such sweet friends growing up!  Cousins are such gifts!  
• You also proved you didn't have any personal space issues when you met your friend Zane your 24th week.  :)  You rolled all the way across the floor to get to him every time we would set you both down.  You LOVE babies, even if your love for them isn't quite as reciprocated.  ;) 
• All the company staying over meant you were a little off your normal schedule, but I think you enjoyed getting to sleep with us while we had the Kohlbachers and Rockeys visit!  We heard no complaints out of you when you were able to snuggle with Daddy in our bed. 
• You teethed a lot this week; complete with drooling and little fevers!  Teething has yet to produce teeth, but they've GOT to be right around the corner, right?
• You have been "happy screaming" a lot.  It cracks us up, and makes me wonder if our voices are too loud?  Where do you get this?
• You are taking formula mixed in your bottles.  This is a big step!  You like to show us how strong-willed you are when it comes to your tastes about breastmilk vs. formula. ;)

At 25 weeks:

• My favorite: You are an official "SITTER"!  Yay for you, sweet girl!  All of a sudden in the last couple of days you have been strong enough to not tumble over!  Daddy didn't believe it, so last night he gently pushed you on all sides to see if you could remain sitting.  And YES you did! :)
• My least favorite: You have your first "cold/sickness".  :( :(  With sickly little guests for two weeks, your body finally succumbed to a cold.  We took you to the doctor yesterday to make sure it wasn't anything more serious than just a cold (yes, I am that mom, who takes her daughter to the doctor for sniffles).  It is just a cold, but it is incredibly sad to hear and see you miserably congested.
• You seem to have a special bond with all toddlers, but especially little boys.  I believe this is a gift from God to my heart.  You always laugh with and reach for 2 year-old boys, so you LOVED your cousin time with Cohen this past weekend.  You and him spent a good 30 minutes  giggling together at lunchtime and share a beautiful bond.  I love it!!  
• You have become obsessed with Henri.  She has not become obsessed with you.  Oh to see you discover animal behavior soon. lol
• Your first "self-inflicted" injury occurred today:  I set you down on a comforter in the middle of the living room floor so that I could do some dishes.  You roll even quicker than I thought, and by the time I placed my hands in the sink I heard a loud "bang/thump" - and you drawing in your breath to let out a huge scream.  You had rolled off the comforter and right into a coffee table leg within 1 minute of me setting you down.  I felt awful!  So sorry precious girl! :'(
• Speaking of injuries, you have also experienced your first diaper rash ever this week.  It was short-lived (thank goodness), and we are blaming it on trying carrots for the first time.
• You are beyond blessed to get two REAL PROFESSIONAL photo shoots this week!  Shuffield Photography (we have yet to come up with a name for you to call Tisha and JJ, although you say "Nana" a lot, and I am sure you mean Tisha by it) was incredibly generous to take our family photos with Joel and Charys' families this weekend!  Aunt Charity with Rockey Photography also snapped some adorable photos of you while she babysat you on Monday!  Check this cutie patootie out: 

I am very excited to see all the photos from the Shuffields and Charity.  This past week of having Joel's family fly in from California was so very special.  Having my sister and brother's families here, all together, was a blessing indeed.  Holden and Grey have amazing cousins, and I hope that Grey will be close to them her whole life.  Grey and Hannah were both under the weather during the Shuffield's photo shoot, but since Tisha and Jimmy Jim are the BEST at what they do, I have no doubts that they captured a few great ones in spite of how out of sorts the babies were. (By "out of sorts" I mean Grey had her biggest breakdown to date!) ;)  It was a dream of mine to get our three families together for a photo shoot after these past ten years...

We are trying to get back into the swing of 'normal' life today.  The laundry stack has finally disappeared, bathrooms and bedrooms are cleaned, and we are working on battling this nasty cold. :(  The weather is rainy and perfect for extra snuggles.  These past two weeks were filled to the brim with friends, Ugandan visits, family, long talks over coffee and delicious food, making new and remembering old memories, lots of laughs, our first MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry of the year (I am stoked that this awesome ministry exists in Snyder!), birthday parties, etc etc etc.  I should probably blog all the photos, but that will have to be for another day.  My little [25 week old] love is needing me.  God is so good.  SO GOOD.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand - when I awake, I am still with you.  Psalm 139:16-18