February - The Last Half!

Hannah Hannah had her three month check up on Tuesday. I way overestimated what her weight would be, but was not shocked to find out that she weighs 13 pounds 10 ounces. She is 24 inches long now and is fitting very nicely into her "3 month" size clothes. (My guess is she'll be in them another month and then we'll be moving on up!) She is still a great eater and I think is looking forward to her next appointment where we'll be talking about introducing some rice cereal and other mild baby foods. I think she'll be just like her big brother and love to eat all of the new things we try. For now, we'll just keep on breastfeeding and hope that Seth doesn't try and sneak her any more goldfish crackers! (Yes, I caught him trying to put a cracker in her mouth the other day!) Seth Seth is still just as busy as ever. He keeps everyone on their toes when he is around and usually keeps us all laughing a the same time. I is into exploring everything. He likes to see how things work and try to take things apart and put them back together whenever he can. Each day we see a new skill. Just yesterday he was playing with his "toofs" (tools) and was trying to use a screwdriver and screw the right way! One day we think he'll be an engineer, the next a race car driver, and so forth; it all just depends on the funny little things he does each day! On Wednesday, Stacie and I took Seth to have his hair cut. He was beginning to look a little too shaggy...his hair was falling in his eyes! So, I decided it was time to have it cut. I took him to a salon specifically for children. They have lots of toys and books and even have TV's and DVD players at each station. Some of the stations have child sized chairs and the other two were a train engine and a boat. Well, we put Seth in the boat and popped Mickey Mouse Club House into the DVD player. We played with bubbles and he even watched another little boy get his hair cut and thought it was fun. So, imagine out surprise when he fell apart the moment the lady cutting his hair came near him with the clippers. It was AWFUL!!!!! Stacie and I had to basically TRY to hold him still for the girl and do our best not to cry at how upset he was. I have to say though, the girl was amazing! She just kept plugging on through his fits and managed to give him a very nice haircut. As soon as it was over and he had a minute to calm down you never would have guessed he was the same kid as the one who was a complete basket case 5 minutes earlier. I was told that by the third time, boys are usually ok with having their haircut. I know this should be something to look forward to, but for me it is just another few moments of trauma looming in my future! Oh well, I can only hope she is right! Henry and Stephanie (Me!) We're still doing well. The only new thing really is that we are now (as of last night) the proud owners of a new minivan!!!!! We did our research and talked and hemmed and hawed about it for quite some time and decided that we needed to get a bigger car. With all of the things we have for the kids (the double stroller, a travel chair, diaper bags, etc.), plus the kids and us we were just too cramped in our old car. So, once we decided what kind of van we wanted, Henry did more research, found a FANTASTIC deal in Georgia, and brought it to the Dodge dealer here in town to match. Well, after three hours of back and forth negotiating and an upset stomach (mine) we finally came to a deal that was acceptable to us and purchased our new Chrysler Town and Country. It is so nice and big inside and I love it! I have decided that I don't care how the "world" perceives those who drive a minivan because mine is awesome and I love it and I am proud to drive it. I supposed you could say I will drive it pride knowing that the reason I have it is because I have the most beautiful family in the world to drive around in it! So, that's it for the month of February! Enjoy the slide show below!

Crafton Family Update

I know after the lengthy post I just posted, you are all wondering about the beautiful family I mentioned. Seth Seth is GREAT! He has been so much fun from the day he was born but he is just more fun every day. He is beginning to speak in sentences. He puts words together without hearing me put them together. A common phrase in our house is "Here we come!" and just Thursday Seth was standing at the window looking out and Henry happened to pull into the driveway at the same time. Seth turned around, ran to the front door and said "Here comes Daddy!" It was so sweet. He is such a bright kid. He amazes us every day with is smarts. He has such a sweet heart also. He loves his little sister to pieces and kisses and holds her all the time. Hannah Hannah is almost three months old and we keep asking ourselves, where has the time gone? I feel like I was cheated in a way because I spent the first 8 weeks of Hannah's life worrying about surgery and Hannah bottle feeding and how would the kids do without us for 4 days and so much more that I didn't take the time to memorize her growth and development as I did when Seth was a newborn. Don't get me wrong, I can tell you anything you need or want to know, I just feel like she's grown and changed so much that I might have missed something. Anyhow, Hannah has found her hands. She is very much a pacifier sucker but when it isn't in her mouth her hands are. Hannah also seems to be a bit of a Mommy's girl, which is only fair because Seth is a total Daddy's boy! All I have to do is grin at her a little and I get the biggest smiles. Those smiles melt my heart and the hearts of anyone around. She is trying to talk and trying to laugh all the time now, she just hasn't figured it out yet. Well, truthfully, I think she has figured it out she just doesn't separate the sounds so she always sounds like she is laugh/talking at the same time. Henry and Me What can I say about Henry except that he is the most devoted husband and father in the whole world. He is constantly working his tail off to support our family and still manages to spend a ton of time with us. Out of exhaustion I sometimes accuse him of not spending enough time with us, but that is the selfish part of me talking. We would not be where we are today if not for his hard work and dedication to us. I am so thankful for everything he does for our family and love he shows to us each day. All in all he is doing wonderful. He has a renewed hope for getting healthy and losing weight as do I. We are going to begin the process of changing our lifestyles...eating habits, exercising habits and the like. He has a new workout buddy in the neighborhood who he'll be working out with and playing some flag football with and I have a tremendous group of ladies who I have begun walking with, one of which will be my training partner. I have decided that I am going to do my best to run the 26.2 with Donna NAtional Breast Cancer Marathon next year and my good friend Jennifer is going to be my training partner. We hope to begin our training in a few weeks after I am completely healed from my surgery. I am so excited about this. I know it is a lofty goal for someone who admittedly has never really exercised in her life, but I have decided that I want to be a good steward of that which God has given me, including my body! I hope to lose a considerable amount of weight at the same time. I now understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle. With only one kidney left I really need to be more conscientious about what I eat and how much I weigh. I don't plan on becoming a fitness freak (no offense to anyone who might take offense) I just want to set a good example for my kids. So, expect to see updates every so often about my training and how it is going and please feel free to leave me an encouraging word every now and then as I am sure I will need them! So, with the updates done for now, I'll post a couple of pictures from the first half of this month.

Thoughts of the Thankful

So many of my friends use their blogs as a place for family updates and their own personal musings. So far, I have only used mine for family updates...kid updates really, but now I think I am going to use it for myself also. As you all know I had my right kidney removed January 25th. Since then we found out that the tumor on/in my kidney was cancerous. It is a funny thing, that word...cancer. It is a word that strikes so much fear into the heart of men (and women) and yet, I was not afraid. I have shared the following with many of my family/friends, but I feel the need to share it with my blog readers now. I knew I had cancer. I am not saying this because I found out in July that I had a mass on my kidney, I am saying it because I knew for a long time, years even, that I would one day find out there was cancer in my body. How did I know this, don't ask me. It was just a feeling. Each time I would get "the feeling" I would coincidentally have to have some sort of bloodwork done, be it for a physical or during my pregnancy, and nothing would show up. When nothing showed up I still had "the feeling" but I'd put it aside because I just figured it would show up in bloodwork. When nothing abnormal ever showed up I just figured I was being a pessimist and put the thought out of my mind for a time. Then one day, after I had had Seth I began to have a pain in my right side. After talking to my family about it we decided it must be gall stones because we have a history of gall bladder problems in my family. I mentioned the pain to my doctor in December 2006 and then never had the scan done. Then, I found out I was pregnant with Hannah and since I was still having the pain I mentioned it to my OB. I went to have the scan done and that is when I found out about the mass. When I mentioned the pain to both of my Urologists they said that I should be having no pain in my kidney, that the mass was not big enough, didn't appear to be odstructing anything. They told me flat out that they could not explain my pain. After the exams and discussions about surgery the pain went away, until I had doubts about having surgery. As soon as I'd have doubts about having the surgery I'd have the pain again and as the surgery date got closer and my doubts grew stronger, so did the pain. Finally, I told myself that I had to have the surgery because I have a family that needs me and if the mass turned out to be cancer I needed to get it out of my body. So, when my test results came back a few days after surgery I was not at all shocked that it was cancer. Thankfully, I also found out that the cancer was not an aggressive form of cancer and it was a low grade cancer...both extremely great things to hear. It meant that with the kidney and tumor removed, my chances of it recurring or spreading are slim to nil. There will be no follow-up therapy, only follow-up CT Scans for the next several years to confirm that the cancer has not come back. So, why was I not afraid? I was not afraid because I knew that I and my health are in God's hands and I knew that He would keep my safe and healthy. For so long now I have been hiding my faith. No, not from a lot of people...close friends, family, fellow believers, but I have been hiding it from the world. I don't want to do this anymore. I am not going to do it anymore. Does it mean that I am going to shove my faith down your throat, absolutely not. That is not what I am called to do. I will be open about my faith from now on, that is all. I have so many friends who are very open about their faith and I admire them so much for that. They are not afraid to wear their faith on their sleeve for all the world to see and I have resolved to be like them every day of my life from here forward. I want to share my faith in Christ with others because it is only through Christ that I came through my diagnosis and surgery virtually unscathed. Sure, I have scars on my belly now, but what are a few scars in return for good health? I thank God every day for the blesings He has given me, my husband, my children, my family and my enornous group of friends. I pray that God would grant you all the desires of your hearts, if those desires be His will, for it is His will, not ours that will be done in our lives. We could ask ourselves why seemingly awful things happen to good people. Why would a family lose their father? Why do parents and children disagree and lose touch with one another? Why would a beautiful young woman be diagnosed with a dibilitating disease like RA? Why would another young woman be diagnosed with kidney cancer, something predominantly found only in men in their late 40s to early 50s? Why is it that so many people are seeing hard times right now, be it at home or at work? We can ask all of these questions and then some and feel like we have never received an answer. I think we are given the answer every day , we just need to seek it out. I think the only answer to all of these questions that makes sense is the God wants all of us to have a closer relationship with Him and through all of these adversities, yearns for us to cling to Him. That is what I did. I clung to my Saviour in my most trying time. I still cling to Him. I am amazed by the faith that several of my friends have shown over the past several years. It is through their faith that I have begun to strengthen my own. I have been following several of my friends blogs and through their blogs and through personal conversation with them I have found great faith in them. A faith that I strive for and yearn to have. I feel like I have great faith, but when it comes to expressing my faith I clam up. I wish I could speak as eloquently about my faith as they do, but for now I will just leave it as I have said it so far. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am thankful to have all of you who love and care about me and my family. Thank you for your support. And to those of you whose situations I mentioned...without naming names, thank you for being amazing examples of great faith to me.

January 2008

Following is an update in pictures. Please see below if you are looking for Hannah's growth stats. All of the pictures included in the slideshow are pictures from the month of January. I chose 36 of the best pictures from about 300 taken this month! Enjoy!

Brother and Sister

This is a slide show I created with pictures of Seth holding Hannah. It amazes me to see how different they are from one picture to the next. These are in order by date from the first time Seth held Hannah to the most recent time he asked to hold her. Following is an email I sent out yesterday. I am posting it here more for my sake than anything else. Hello All! I am writing to you from the comfort of my parent's home! I have had many calls and emails asking about the surgery/recovery/test results, etc. and thought it was about time to let you all know how I am doing. The surgery on Friday went very well. It was a bit shorter than expected and very successful. Recovery has been quite a process. Having never had surgery before I was not sure what to expect. I quickly learned that my recovery depended solely upon me! I was on morphine for about 36 hours. The doctors expected me to be on it for a bit longer but, after seeing my kids for the first time in 2 days on Saturday I felt a renewed strength. I took myself off of the morphine and took my first walk on Saturday evening. I continued to progress from there and had walked the halls 3 times before I saw my doctor on Monday morning and had already been on a diet of solid foods for 24 hours. When my doctor came in he gave us the good news that I would be going home after breakfast! So, I have been home since early Monday morning and I feel better and better each day. I won't lie and say I am feeling no pain...I certainly am, but the pain is manageable. If I didn't have two of the most wonderful kids in the entire world, I don't think I would have the motivation to heal so quickly. I did hear from the doctor on Tuesday. He called to give me the pathology report of the tumor. It was in fact cancerous but, the GREAT news is that is was a non-aggressive cancer and a low grade tumor. All the markers showed that the tumor was completely encapsulated and had not infiltrated any part of the kidney or surrounding areas. According to my doctor, I will not need any chemo or radiation therapy. I will have some follow-up but I am not sure what it will be yet. The doctor said he will explain it to me on Monday when I go in to have the staples removed. All in all I am feeling wonderful. The surgery went well and recovery is coming along fine! All I can say is thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. They were all answered and have been much appreciated! We did have Hannah's two month check up right before my surgery. She got 4 shots and did not like them one bit. Unlike Seth, she doesn't seem to handle her shots very well at all. She spent about an hour crying in pain after the first round of Tylenol wore off. It was so sad and made me so very upset for her that I almost cried right along with her. Her discomfort lasted for about 24 hours and then she was back to normal. She is growing like a weed, though! She weighed in at 12 pounds 2 ounces and was 23 inches long. She's quite the little girl now. She is awake more during the day and is very smiley most of the time. She is trying her best to talk to us. She coos and coos whenever anyone talks to her and has even sounded like she is on the verge of a giggle a few times. She is very interested in lights, the fan, the dogs and especially her big brother! He does get a little rough but, she doesn't care. Hannah is also very strong, just like Seth was and still is. She likes to sit up to look around and tries to stand whenever her feet hit a solid surface. She has been exploring her hands and we've even caught her with her thumb in her mouth a few times. We are quick to replace the thumb with her pacifier. As cute as a thumb sucker is, take from a 9 year veteran that it is EXTREMELY hard to get a thumb sucker to stop sucking their thumb. Since she likes the pacifier and it is easy to throw away when it is time, we'll just keep encouraging that! Seth is getting smarted with each and every day and his vocabulary increases two fold every day! He is now beginning to form sentences and is able to identify the dogs and cats by name rather than just puppy or kitty. He even came up with his own name for my sister's Toy Australian Shepherd, Logan. He calls him Puppy-Kitty! Logan is so small that Seth thought he was a cat and used to always call him kitty. Now he knows the difference but instead of calling him Logan, he is Puppy-Kitty! Seth has always had a mind of his own but you can see it developing more with every glance. He is quite sure of everything he wants or does not want and is very quick to tell you one way or the other. His new favorite is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He is constantly asking to watch "Nuh-Nouf". We try not to let him watch it more than twice a day but there are days that Mickey Mouse is the only thing that keeps him from being too cranky and we give in. Who wants to listen to a whiney 18 month old when you know the answer?!?!?!? He is becoming very independent and likes to feed himself now. It is quite messy, but if Seth is happy and eating well, we are quite happy. He's got to learn sometime anyway, so there's no time like the present! One final note, I am going to be making some changes to the websites - basically I'm trying to find a way to merge them so that I only have to update one family site. When I have it figured out and completed I'll let you all know. For now, I'll attach a couple of pictures to this email. I hope you all are doing well and I truly appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers! With love, Stephanie, Henry, Seth and Hannah