My Kids (April-October 2007)

October 30, 2007
The kids keep on growing. It's really hard to break down months into a paragraph or two. Lacy has been blogging and provides some really funny stories. Joseph amuses us all the time with his endless energy and the stuff that he says. When he is finished eating he says "I feel much better." When we as him if he wants a particular food he sometimes says "No thank you." When he falls down playing soccer he gets up and says "I'm 'kay, I'm kay." He also says "Run Daddy! Run!" Sometimes I get home from work and asks, "Come play soccer with me Daddy!" It is a lot of fun.
Millie had her six month appointment today. She is over 27 inches, over 17 lbs and as sweet a little baby as I've ever seen. She laughs a lot, smiles even more and is sleeping every well most nights. It's dramatically easier in that department than it was with Joseph.
August 18, 2007
I can't believe this much time has passed since I've written here. A lot has happened. Joseph moved to a big bed and due to some special provisions is now sleeping very well at night. For about a week Millie has slept through the night. This is unreal for us, because Joseph took more than a year to sleep through the night, and it took a lot of work to get him there.
Millie is absolutely delightful. She smiles all the time, is getting so strong. She also laughs, likes to be on her stomach and has started sucking her thumb. At least for the time being it is adorable.
Joseph is growing up, in every way. Check out Lacy's blog for some great pictures- http://lacylowry.blogspot.com.

July 9, 2007
We have been in Marco Island enjoying the beach since the 1st. It has been a lot of fun to have Joseph at the beach with his cousins Nicole, Michelle, & Tison. We do the beach in shifts, as Millie is too small for our lovely summer weather. We built (and Joseph has destroyed) many sand castles. This morning Lacy is out with Joseph. He has settled into a nice little routine. Out around nine or ten, back for lunch, nap and then back out between 3 and 4. He loves to "fwim in da water." For him that means sitting on the steps, blowing bubbles, and screaming whenever I take him for a lap around the shallows. He is getting progressively more comfortable with the water, and with 21 days to go I think he may quit screaming before we leave.
Millie is as sweet as can be. She has an extremely mild temperament and smiles all the time. She is sleeping very well at night, last night from 10 to 5. Since we arrived at the beach Joseph has been sleeping on a full-size air mattress in our room. It has been an interesting challenge for him to transition from a crib. He has done fairly well, but it does make me miss the confines of the crib. 5:30 am has been my wake-up for the last few days.

June 23, 2007
Millie continues to grow. I'd forgotten how rapid the changes are when they are this small. She coos (sp?) all the time, and really likes to be spoken to. She shows a lot of interest in Joseph and he continues to be very sweet with her.
He learns new words every day. Did I already say he could count to ten? He can, and is quite enthusiastic about it. Then again, he's enthusiastic about everything.

June 11, 2007
We've had a very busy and very fun couple of weeks. Matt and Amber Nielsen were with us for the last week and we had a lot of fun. They have a five month old boy and it was great to have them around. I've put some pictures from the week in the photos section as well as up above. The big baby in the photo with Millie is Matt & Amber's son Carter. He was born to be a linebacker. The little girl in the picture with Joseph is Sahara Eichelberger. Her dad and I met freshman year at BYU, and they are here in Gainesville so he can attend law school.
Millie smiles all the time. She is really active, which is fun to see, but also reminds us of her brother, who doesn't know how to take a break. He is fun, but crazy. But I think crazy is a good thing for 22 month olds to be. He is doing this funny thing these days where he puts his index finger up to his mouth and says "Hmmm...I know!" and then he tells me what he knows. It is really cute. He's learning so much, so fast. He likes to sing along with the lullabyes, which is also fun.
Something funny- the other day I was changing Joseph's diaper outside of Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Que. He proceeded to pee in his own face! I felt bad for him, and quickly covered the source of urine, but couldn't help but laugh.

May 25, 2007
Millie is now 4 weeks old! The time is flying by. She has started smiling a little bit, and I definitely think it is more than gas. This past week we had some great pictures taken by our friend and photographer Lisa Emmerich. She also had her second child in April. Her oldest, Sasha, is just a day younger than Joseph. Millie is sleeping better, and her strength also seems to be increasing as she is also squirmier. She is at least 10lbs 8oz. That was her measurement last Friday at her 3 week appointment. I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoy having a little girl.
Joseph loves music. And jumping. I think his favorite toy would be a trampoline that makes music as he jumps. He is a very good brother and although he misses having Lacy's full attention, I think he is adjusting well (for now). He got to play with his cousins Nicole, Michelle, and Tison yesterday, and that makes him as happy as anything else. He is also enjoying his increasing footspeed, as running away after the bath is a new fun trick.

May 6, 2007
This has been a very nice time for our family. I have spent most of it at home, and we were glad to have the company of Lacy's mother. I'll start with Millie.
She is a great little girl, who eats and sleeps well and just seems to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen. To our eyes she looks like a little girl and gets prettier every day. She is very strong, and every time she is awake and uprights she lifts her head up. She also seems to try and focus hard on faces. She responds well to our voices and is fun to watch.
Joseph has adjusted well to Millie's joining our family. He kisses her goodnight and gets excited sometimes when she appears from a nap. His vocabulary is really growing. Its hard to remember the time when he couldn't tell us when he was hungry or thirsty, or when he wants to get down from his high chair. He has some new habits. At bedtime he sometimes like to take one of his favorite books to bed. A few times when I have put him in his crib he looks up at me and says "Bye."
He still loves The Wiggles and Backyardigans. His absolute favorite activity is jumping up and down. He has gotten quite good at it, and especially enjoys playing at the gymnasium near our house, where they have free play on Friday mornings. He is as much fun as a dad could hope for. Life is good for the Lowry's.

April 26, 2007
Today is an eventful day for our family. At about 2 am, Lacy woke up with contractions and what she believed to be her water breaking. The pattern was similar to what transpired the day of Joseph's birth. We got to the hospital, but not without some excitement (which you will have to ask me about) and learned that she was not as far along in the process as we expected. This caused some frustration and anxiety, but Lacy possesses impressive fortitude and before too long, but not before intense contractions, Lacy began to push. Just thirty minutes later she gave birth to Camilla Jane Lowry. Millie weighed 9 lbs 14 oz, and many of the hospital staff were rightfully impressed by Lacy's all-natural delivery.
To me the birth of a child is beyond miraculous. From a detached perspective, it fascinates me how a complete, functioning human is formed over a period of months within the womb of a woman. From a personal perspective, it is one of the most moving emotional and spiritual experiences that you can have. I don't even have to elaborate on the way that my experience in the birth of my children has differed from Lacy's, but I know that the tremendous relief I felt was amazing to me. I cannot express in words what it is like. I see divinity in it, and I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for the well-being of my wife and daughter.
When Joseph was born in 2005 and diagnosed with a severe heart defect (you can read about it here) it was a complete shock. Lacy had experienced a worry-free pregnancy and we were stunned that anything could have gone wrong. We were fortunate in that instance that his outcome was so positive (something I must also ascribe to a divine blessing). I didn't realize how that had affected me until today. When Millie was being examined I kept waiting for bad news. Its almost the opposite this time around. There isn't anything wrong with this little girl and we couldn't be happier.
My mother offered to watch Joseph during this time and it is a tremendous help. I really miss him, but it is great for Lacy to actually be able to relax and spend time getting to know Camilla. We love our little girl.