Things I have been doing lately

Wow

I have been one busy girl.

Between church, kids, friends and family... I'm not sure how I have time to breathe, let alone blog..

So I have recently come into a lot of responsibility at my church. In addition to running the art gallery and leading worship, I have now become the youth leader. I have also been playing worship music at the Addictions and Rehab Centre where my friend Nathan is the chaplain. I really love being this busy doing things that I love. I can't wait to have more to report with this - it's just still so new!

The girls are doing swimmingly!  Sonia, although she has a wicked cold at the moment, is a bright and exuberant little bean! SO funny... loves being the centre of attention. She has been really.... REALLY into Bubble Guppies...like... really. Kalyn (Kiki) is now 7 months old. Today, however, she was wearing 12-18m clothes.. she is a BIG baby. And, besides being a small amount behind in her fine motor skills, is as healthy as...well...a Skrypetz. (aka a woman in my family....we never ever die.)

Dave is still out of work.. which makes it about 10 weeks now..
BUT we are getting EI now...soooo.... that means we can eat and pay rent... YAY!

I have been also trying to spend as much time with my close friends since they are such a source of support and calm for me. This includes our cell group through church and going to Duncan when we can.

Besides that.. nothing is really new or interesting..

Oh.. I'm blonde. That's fun.

But I am going to do better at this blogging thing..

I promise.

Little Kiki Face

So.. 

...sigh...

...this kid will be the death of me...

(...if her sister doesn't get to me first...)

I took Kiki into the Esquimalt Health Unit today for vaccines

(for her AND I...owie)

and while we were there we took the Ages and Stages Questionaire for 6 months.

We took the 4 month one at the neurologist in the beginning of January and she did.. okay. There was some concern for her fine motor skills, but overall didn't need a lot of observation...

...today was an epic fail...

She is much lower on the scale than before. Although she hasn't actually REGRESSED she hasn't really gotten any further in her development. 

We have an Early Intervention Team coming to help at some point... 

...yippee..

Good news though.. she is now 15lbs14oz... putting her in the 99.9th percentile for weight.. 

BIG. BABY.

(Keep beast baby in your prayers though... her development is quite lacking...)

I haven't posted since November...

I really didn't do so well at blogging in the last little...long...while.

...December...

Christmas at the Blenkin's!

Dave was working at Futureshop so we basically never ever saw him. He did get Christmas Day off

(Kalyn's FIRST CHRISTMAS!)

which we spent with Baba, Papa, Auntie Bear (Jackie) and Unkie Kyle.

...January...

New Year's with Natalie

Busy busy month..

I don't really remember it.. 

I do remember that Kiki had a neurologist appointment and doesn't have to have an MRI until she's TWO! (If she even needs one!) 

...February...

Cute girls night out.

I looked back at my calendar for February and felt a little overwhelmed. 

HOLY FULLNESS BATMAN!

I picked up TWO volunteer positions at the church! Both leading worship and coordinating an art gallery that will be opening up on SUNDAY!

(At the GRAND RE-OPENING OF HIGH POINT'S SANCTUARY!)

(email me at barb@pointful.ca for more details!)

My pretty girls.

So that brings us basically up to date.. 

Sonia...two and a half...and a pile of attitude

..i promise to be better at this..

Kalyn...5 months old...our little cuddle bug

A little venting is good for the soul...

I am so tired. 

I thought it was because yesterday was a 'everything goes wrong' kind of day, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. As I told my mum that I was pretty sure I was just exhausted from the previous day, she suggested that maybe I was tired from the last year.

A year ago, my uncle was sick with very aggressive cancer. He passed on Christmas Eve of 2010. I got pregnant with Kalyn within days of his funeral.

My pregnancy with Kalyn was not an easy one. Besides the face that I had a little 2 year old to chase around, I was having a lot of back pain and cramping. 

When I was 20 weeks pregnant the doctor found what's called an arachnoid cyst in her cerebellum. We still aren't sure yet what damage it may have done, if any. Because of this, I had monthly ultrasounds to monitor it with a pediatric neurologist. 

At 28 weeks pregnant I began cramping a lot. We thought it was Braxton Hicks, but after a while we ended up meeting the midwife at the hospital as a precaution. Turns out it wasn't Braxton Hicks and I was put on light bed rest. Obviously I didn't do a good job of it because I was admitted to hospital at 31 weeks for premature labour. 

I was in the hospital for three weeks. Although it was nice to get away and sleep and be taken care of, it was really stressful knowing that Sonia was being passed around from person to person so Dave could go to work. However I am really thankful for everyone who helped us out during that time. We couldn't have made it without you.

I was discharged at 34 weeks on strict bedrest. 

Kalyn was born at 38 weeks. 

When she was born we saw that she had another cyst, this time on her eye. Thankfully that one went away, but now she seems to have a lazy eye... we'll have to see in the next month if it corrects itself or if further measures will have to be taken. 

Now I have my girls. Now I have TWO girls.... now I have Sonia plus one more.. sigh. 

I'm exhausted.

Sonia is a go-go-go kind of girl and I really have barely had the energy to keep up with her alone, let alone keep up with her AND Kalyn.. 

Now we have appointments ALL OVER for K and her cyst. GP near by, pediatrician in Mill Bay, Pediatric Neurologist at the hospital.... 

We were at the pediatrician yesterday.  Although Kalyn is looking good weight wise, she doesn't have the muscle tone that she would have liked to see. She can't yet hold her head up and she doesn't follow with her eyes most of the time. This is most likely related to her cyst.

 Now, we are going to be having appointments with the pediatric neurologist sooner rather than later to book her MRI and also appointments with an 'Early Intervention Team' to help us help Kalyn with her development. 

So driving home from  the appointment when my mum suggested I was tired from the whole year....yeah.

I think I am.