Interactions with brother.

As Sofia held Isaiah:

"Hi, buddy.  This is Sofia.   Remember me.  I'm your big sister.  I'm going to help you grow up. You're so cute."

As Selah held Isaiah:


Mommy:  "Selah, let Isaiah know who is holding him."


Selah:  "No, we already met."

Isaiah Sheckler

Happy Birthday, Kevin!!!!

I think he likes his birthday present.
We love you!!!!

Our Family of Five!!!

May 24, 2010

Daddy

Mommy

Sofia

Selah

Isaiah

Isaiah, you have two amazing big sisters.  They are full of love, energy, and passion.  No doubt you will be hugged, kissed, squeezed, and cherished. 

Welcome to our crazy Shecklers household.

We love you!!!

Introducing...

Isaiah Lee Sheckler

May 24, 2010

2:14 p.m.

8 lbs 15 oz

21 1/2 inches

Family of four.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Our family of four.

Daddy

Mommy

Sofia

Selah

We thought before putting the girls to bed we would take one last picture of our family of four.  

Tomorrow morning daddy will take mommy to the hospital.

What is it?

A beach ball?

A basketball?

NO!!!! It's baby brother!

Waiting...but not for long.

Our son will most likely join us this coming Monday, May 24th.  Yeah, we talked to God and that's what He said. :)

Now, the truth:

After my appointment on the 7th, the doctor was pretty sure I would go into labour that weekend.  When I showed up for my appointment on the 14th she was very surprised to see me.  She told me she had sent my paperwork over to the hospital letting them know that I most likely would show up that weekend. 

Last Saturday night, I actually began to experience contractions.  They came about every hour from 7 p.m. on then around 4:30 a.m. began to come in intervals of 20 minutes.  At 6:30 a.m. they stopped cold.  Actually, I had a couple more Sunday a.m. (very far apart) but nothing.  This week was quiet.  False labour.

At today's appointment I had another ultrasound.   The results showed our son is healthy, good sized, moving, and breathing well.  His main problem might be the amniotic fluids protecting him.  The ultrasound showed that my amniotic fluids are high.  The density of the fluids may actually be keeping the baby from being able to drop.   

So, unless baby brother comes on his own this weekend, I have been scheduled for an induction Monday morning.  The doctor said she took into account the levels of fluid, the size of the baby, my age, the number of pregancies, and past health issues.  They hope they will also be able to keep me from having a c-section.

The wait for baby brother is almost over.   We've been waiting and waiting.  Some days more patiently than others.  It is exciting!!!!

School of Sisterhood

Whenever Sofia is asked how old she is and responds with being 5 yrs old the next question is usually about school.  Well, Sofia has only attended one school and that is the school of the Sheckler household.  Now mind you this is not Home Schooling.   Let me explain.

Sofia turned five in November.  If we were living in CA (which is where she was born), this past Fall she would have begun Kindergarten.  Here in IL the deadline is September 1 therefore she was not eligible  to attend. 

Honestly as a momma I wasn't too excited about this.  Sofia LOVES learning and I pridefully knew that she could handle the academics.  So I checked into Christian schools to see if they were lenient on the deadline (they're not) and even entertained the idea of home schooling so she could begin her formal education.  But needless to say, God got to me last summer.  

God revealed to me the beauty of Sofia and Selah's sisterhood.  He allowed me to see that this year was going to be a special year for them as sisters (little did I know that I would become pregnant in the Fall with their baby brother who is soon to arrive).  And I was reminded that their relationship as sisters will most likely be THE longest relationship they ever have.

This past "school" year has been one of lots of learning.  Selah turned two in September which brought more meaning to the way the girls play and live life together.   Here are some of the things they have/are learned/ing:

Love one another

Treat others as you would have them treat you

Share

Say you're sorry

Forgive

How to push each others buttons

How to make the other laugh

How to fight (not so sure they had to learn this)

How to compete fairly

Family matters

Christ-centered relationships matter

It's been an amazing, wonderful, exciting, precious, no-regrets year in the SCHOOL OF SISTERHOOD.

Lord, thank you for relationships.  Thank you for the relationship that Sofia and Selah have.  May they always treasure it.  

Late Night Family Night

Last  night we didn't get  home from church until almost 9 p.m.   Usually we get home and put the girls straight to bed.  Instead, we had a spur  of the moment late night family night.

I'm thinking it was the coolness of the day and the fact that the rain and thunderstorms had begun that put daddy in the mood for pancakes.  Because as soon as we got home he started making them.  So why not keep the girls up a little longer?  The pancakes were yummy and it was fun just hanging out.  

And you know what?  The girls slept in this morning.  Selah didn't wake up until 9:15 and Sofia didn't wake until 10:00 a..m.  A full belly of pancakes must have helped.

My ragamuffins.

Yes, these are my adorable ragamuffins. I let them dress themselves each morning. Some days they pick out some really cute outfits and other days....they look like this.

Sofia LOVES pink so this particular day she had pink in every article of clothing even down to her pink shoes.

Selah, well, as you can see the shirt was inside out and the pants didn't make it onto her body. The streak on her face was Nutella.

And needless to say, we need to work on their hairbrushing skills.

Week 36

Baby brother continues to grow, and grow, and grow.  We are so thankful for his health but momma can't lie, she is getting anxious about his size but at the same time is ready to hold and cuddle this handsome dude.

Check out his foot.  Isn't it adorable?

But check out his cheeks.  These are cheeks that just want to be squeezed!!!!

These pics are from this week's check-up.  Baby brother is now approximately weighing in at 7lbs 9oz and is in the 83%.  If he waits until his due date, he could be 10lbs.

Momma's doctor, however, isn't sure he will wait until May 30.  She thinks he even has a chance to come out by next weekend. He is in position, mommy began experiecing some contractions today, and dialation has begun. 

As you can see by the picture of momma, this wouldn't be so bad.:)

20/20

This past week Sofia had an eye exam.  We are preparing for Kindergarten.

Prior to going Sofia kept telling me that she didn't have good eye sight simply because she wants to wear glasses.  Of course, it didn't help that while waiting for the dr. she spotted these really cute pink glasses.  But she promised me she wouldn't lie to the dr. about what she could see.

The test results:  20/20.

It helped that this competitive 5 yr old got to show off all the letters and numbers she knows while answering the dr.'s questions.  She even surprised her momma with her knowledge of recognizing certain numbers...like 76, 49, 62.  Who taught her that sutff?

Friday Family Fun

We do appreciate so much our family time on Fridays. 

 They are great days  to do activities without the weekend crowds.  

Yesterday we headed into the city.  Thanks to a gift from some dear friends in California, we were able to take the girls to the Shedd Aquarium.
It was a wonderful time of viewing God's creation of water creatures.  Wow!!!!  God is so creative.
His creations are colourful, unique and amazing.
Have you ever thought about how many different types of rock fishes there are?
Did you know that dolphins sleep with only one eye closed so they only rest half their brain?

Check out these frogs found in the Amazon!

The girls enjoyed the hands on exhibits such as this one where they were able to touch a starfish.

This exhibit allowed for them to play and act like penguins.  Here they are collecting the eggs.  In the foreground you can see a penguin suit that Sofia wore for awhile. 

Come what MAY!!!!

Yesterday I overheard Sofia telling her Aunt Kelli on the phone that May has lots and lots of things happening.  And she is correct.

Let's see...

Daddy starts baseball (actually church softball)
She turns 5 1/2 on May 6 (those half years are very important at this age)
Daddy's birthday is May 27
She is going to be a flower girl in Miss Sarah's wedding
Gramma is coming to visit

AND BABY BROTHER IS GOING TO BE BORN!!!

Yes, we pray baby brother will be born in May.  His actual due date is May 30 sooooooo he could be born in June. 

But why wait?