4 and 17 month Reflections

As I sit cuddlimg little Gilana who has once again been through the ringer with a cold and fever reaching 104 degrees, I am grateful for the precious blessings we have been bestowed in our dear daughters.  Even in sickness, Gigi has a smile to offer us, a sweet hug and a request to be near us.  It is humbling and absolutely beautiful to have this lovely little sprite delighting in her parent's.  I love to hear her calls for Daddy in the morning and her disappointment to discover he is gone to work or church (on a sick day like this one).  She is such a treasure to us!

Then there is little Camelia.  A gentle, fragile spirit who covets her Mama's attentions, dislikes large crowds, boisterous activity, attentions from too many strangers.  She is my little wall flower and seems to aptly fit her name, like the beautiful Camelia bush in our garden, hidden in a corner and barely noticeable but for it's brilliant red blooms.

Our darling just had her 4 month check-up and is now:

Height: 26" 93%

Weight: 17lbs 9.5oz  >97%

Head: 16 3/4" 85%

Our girls are the crowning joy of our home, God's grace to us on constant display.  They are remarkably different from one another in personality and preferences.  Byron and I are so grateful for our gifts in these sweet children.

Cute Snuggles!

The room became eerily quite as I sat working on a quilt.  Knowing this lack of commotion defines trouble where a toddler is concerned, I rushed to the Master bedroom as the last known whereabouts of the Gilly-monster.  What I found there caused me to gasp...

                with delight!

Gilana had climbed up onto the bed and was gently caressing a sleeping Camelia in a sisterly embrace.  I rushed forward to better referee this sweet moment knowing it could turn dangerous at any moment.  It is well known that the Gilly-bean Jabberwocky cannot be fully trusted as she moves with the grace of a frog.  Upon seeing me approaching, Gilana let out a shrieking squeal of delight as she lurched up in preparation to bound upon her beloved sister.  Camelia awoke with a start as I wrangled Gilana from the bed.

Disaster avoided and precious story collected.


Yesterday was also day one of my Camelia sleep-training efforts.  Both naps I laid her down for were successes with only about ten minutes of crying and around 2 hours each of sleeping.  Awesome!!! The evening followed with more dear moments as we took a family hike down to the wash with Sushi, followed by the girls first joint bath.  We love our snuggle-bugs!