The Waddell Family: Life

It seems the older you get, the faster time seems to pass. I have been noticing this more lately for a number of reasons. First of all, I am very fortunate in that all of my grandparents are still living. I am less fortunate in that my Mamaw B (B is for Bramlett...contrary to what the Quarles girls always thought, I do not have a Mamaw A and a Mamaw B :)) has Alzheimer's disease. While she is still living, she hasn't known who I am for several years now. After Cora was born, she was still with it enough to realize that there was an adorable baby there looking at her, although I don't think she ever understood who she was. One thing you should know about Mamaw B, she LOVES babies! It was so special to get to see them interact when Cora was a little baby. She didn't understand Cora was her great-granddaughter, but Cora still brought a smile to her face and seemingly joy to her heart. Fast forward almost 3 years. I took Micah to see Mamaw B at the nursing home this past weekend. While I did manage to get Mamaw to look at him, I don't know that she ever really saw him. I know if she could think through all the clutter in her brain right now, she would just love him. That's hard. I have such great admiration for my Papaw who goes to visit her every day. The way he loves her, even when she no longer seems to be there, is inspiring. I hope to love my husband that well.

Other life events: my Grandpa (mom's side) is also having some dementia, my great-aunt just died, my other great-uncle is being put on meds for Parkinson's disease (though a diagnosis has not officially been made), and Grandpa's sister is in poor health. When all of these things begin happening, you start to realize how much time has passed and how quickly things can change.

On a lighter note, Cora has also been reminding me how fast time is passing. The girl cannot wait to be 3 years old. She tells people - strangers - that she is going to be 3 soon. Every day she mentions it, hoping that maybe today is the day. Then I realize that in just over two months, my baby girl IS going to be 3 years old! How did this happen already? That precious, tiny 5 lb 8 oz baby that I can still remember cradling in my arms is no longer a baby. She is a little girl, though still precious...most of the time. :) She carries on full conversations with people, she loves imaginative play, she still loves to read, loves to draw, and LOVES to play with playdoh. She has quite an impressive list of songs she loves to sing, and thanks to the show "Little Einstein's," she knows the following musical terms: adagio, allegro, presto, ritardando, accelerando, diminuendo, and crescendo. She even uses them correctly most of the time. She is also learning more about God and Jesus. She frequently asks me to tell her what a song is about when it comes on in the car. Because we listen to a lot of contemporary Christian music, we talk a lot about the attributes of God and how Jesus came to earth to rescue us. Just the other day, she asked me what a song was about and I was explaining that it was talking about how God has always been there and that he is in control of everything. She asked me what God's mom was doing. I tried to explain that God didn't have a mom and that he had just always been there. Cora laughed at said, "Yes he does! It's Mary!!" I was very surprised to see that she understood the connection between God and Jesus at the age of two (okay...almost 3...). Jeremy and I joked that she has 2/3 of the trinity down - now just to get her to understand the holy spirit!

Micah celebrated his 4 month birthday on June 28th. I cannot believe he is 4 months old already. He is also growing and doing great! At his 4-month appointment, he was 17 lbs, 9 oz and 25.25 inches tall. He was in the 90th percentile across the board again. Dr. Good said that he looked great. He is actually already hitting a lot of 6-month milestones! He is getting to be a little less fussy. He still has his moments, but they seem to be less frequent. We're hoping the he is outgrowing his colic. Most of the time, he is a very sweet, happy little boy. He smiles a lot and has the sweetest little chuckle! He was sticking out his tongue the other day during lunch, and his big sister thought that was the funniest thing. :) He also will try to buzz his lips. Sometimes he does really well with it. He'll watch you and try to mimic what you are doing. It is precious to watch. I'll have to try and get a video of it to share.

Here are a few recent pics: