Life as we know it

September has flown by here at the Cissell household! I didn't even know Labor Day had passed (honestly!) so apparently I haven't been present for September. September means Fall time in our home! Our favorite season :) It's so much easier to do stuff with the girls, because it's not too hot, or too cold yet! We love Fall! Our sweet Ivie Mae is experiencing her first Fall :) She has quite a bit of body fat, so the temperature drops haven't affected her much! She turned 6 months yesterday. For a second I wanted to sob and feel sorry for myself that I no longer have a tiny baby anymore, but she is so much fun right now and the sweetest, so no need to feel sad ;) I can tell for the first time that she was born early. She isn't quiet doing what other six month olds are doing, but me of all people knows to not compare! She is working on sitting, but tumbles forward Everytime, she has found her tootsies, she is still sleeping solid in her crib every night, she is sc...

Today when we woke up, I was quite excited to take part in A PT session with my Zoie today! We took the past three weeks off, because of sickness, and the four naps a day we were taking, so today, we were ready to hit it hard! We did some sitting, kneeling, standing in our stander, standing with leg braces, and rocking on hands and knees. Lots to squeeze into one hour. To be honest, Zoie hasn't used her stander since we moved. As we put her in it, we noticed her head was about four inches above the head support, her legs didn't need strapped in because she was standing fine without them, and the waist strap was now at hips. All wonderful problems to have! We will just need to work on adjusting it a bit since Zoie has apparently grown a ton over the summer! It was neat to see what a little/big person she looked like in it. It was also pretty neat to undo a few straps and see her still weight bare. I do my best at playing with Zoie, at teaching her, working with her hands, stand...

It occurred to me that having a baby the second time around was going to be different as I was talking to our family pediatrician for one of Zoie's well exams before Ivie was thought of. It would be different because each child has their own plan that God has already designed for them. Some are here to teach us something, some are here to test our patience, some are here to change us, some are here to bring us sleepless nights, while others are here because we need to learn to be giving and what it means to give up our selfishness. I feel like I have been blessed with all of the above, with both of my mini's. When Zoie was going through her baby stage, it was our normal. Whatever she did, or didn't do, well, that's what we got used to. She was able to hold her head up at a month, she was petite and stayed in NB clothes through 3 months, she hated breast feeding starting at 4 months, then hated her bottle, she never learned to sit on her own until recently, she smiled a...

I have been meaning to do a blog for weeks, but something about moving and having two peanuts has distracted me ;) sheesh, where to start? So much new stuff is happening! Out family got moved and we are somewhat settled. I feel like living in a home is an ongoing project of "to do's." I think there are about 400 thinks I would love to do, but they can all wait. We love our new home. I have discovered having hard wood floors will leave your knees, feet, and back aching by the end of the day, but as long as Zoie can cruise in her walker I figure my pain is worth it. Maybe I need to invest in slippers :) Derik and I just celebrated four years of marriage together. Fastest four years I would say. I never thought we would be where we are four years ago, a few homes, two beautiful girls, and about 100 years more wise and mature here we stand! I love that man :) he makes me proud. Speaking of my handsome husband, he is part of an event or group this year for CF called Colorad...

I'm sure everyone thinks I am one of "those" people who share too much on Facebook, when we are in the hospital, when we have family pictures, Derik got a promotion! Okay at least I can make fun of myself ;) By me sharing, and letting people into our world, we have support, we have more love, and we have come across some very humble and caring people who will forever have an impact on our small little world. One gal I came across is Cheryl. Derik was actually connected to her family by mutual friends, I saw her post something about Cystic Fibrosis one day and decided to "friend" her. Through our Facebook friendship, I learned a pot about her. She too has grown to know the girls and sent Zoie a cute "65 roses" necklace. Today we got to meet Cheryl. Both girls and I went and spent some time with her and her mama, and I tell you, I have never met a "stranger" who opened up her heart, showed love for Zoie, and was so sweet. Cheryl had a daughte...

You really never know what a mom does until you are one. Derik and I are always having the conversation of, "I'm so glad you love to work," and "I'm so glad you like staying home." We balance each other in that way, he is career driven, and I'm family driven. It's a nice combo. His new job is going wonderfully! He even told me it was his favorite position thus far (it better be because I'm not moving out of state anytime soon) ;) And our home life, well it's just as wonderful, just crazy... By crazy I mean each day is so different and you don't know what you're going to get. I think we tend to create some of the craziness oursves, by filling up our weekends with friends and family, but that's how we create memories, so we will take the crazy. For some reason Mondays are always a bit more crazy. Maybe it's the "daddy went back to work" feeling, or the "we have so much to get done this week" feeling, but...

Someone posted this article on my Facebook page. As I sat and read it, I knew all too much what this family was talking about. As we work on getting Zoie on the waiting list for the medical marijuana minus the THC, all you can do is be patient, trust God and pray. Although this boy has a little more severe diagnosis, this is what we go through on a weekly basis believe it or not. I wouldn't be able to sit down and write this, so here is a snippet of what happens in the life of an epileptic. http://www.5280.com/healthandwellness/magazine/2014/04/tangled-web?page=full