8 months

I distinctly recall getting ready for Christmas last year while being pregnant thinking, "Next year at this time we'll have a little baby crawling around." Time always seems to go fast, but having Aubrey this past year has seemed to speed up time even more. Both Luke and Claire have always made us laugh with their unique little quirks, but Aubrey has taken that to a whole new level. In other news, we are in DEEP trouble when she is a teenager. 

Top 5 Things To Remember About This Age

1. Sassy Pants - Some kids are quiet....others are shy - Aubrey is neither of those things. Clearly the third child, she knows she has to fight for attention. She has no problem doing that.

2. Sleep - Don't be messing with this kid's sleep. She wants her fish aquarium on, her star blanket smashed into her hand/against her face, paci in her mouth. As soon as she is happy, she sticks her feet straight into the air and flops onto her side not to be heard from for the next 3-10 hours (depending if it is naptime or bedtime).

3. Food - If you want to keep all 10 of your fingers, do not get in the way of Aubrey's puff supply. She is serious about those things.

4.  Path of Terror - Despite her little T-Rex arms and round belly, she has mastered crawling. Suddenly, nothing is safe. Claire and Luke have got to toughen up because Aubrey's favorite target is typically whatever they are playing with. If they are at school, then she occupies her time by pulling cords, finding electrical outlets, or trying to catch the dogs. No one is safe.

5. Laid Back - When Luke was a baby, I never thought another Godinez baby would ever come close to how laid back he was. Wrong! She may be a little spitfire with her preferences, but Aubrey loves a good adventure. She has been on five trips, loves to ride in the car, and is content to ride around in the shopping cart/stroller for an afternoon. That is much appreciated because Claire's tolerance for any of those activities is exactly zero. 

Bottom line:  We're in for a wild ride with this one.  When she is a teenager, I'll bookmark this post to remind us how excited we used to be about her sassiness.

Perceptions

When Patrick and I are in the car together, I am in constant fear of impending death because I am convinced he is going to slam into the car in front of me. He always calmly and lovingly explains that we are nowhere near slamming into the car in front of me. Clearly, I need to again visit the eye doctor to check my depth perception. So, I often wonder - are we really not all seeing things the same way, or is it just me?

Not only does the debate over my eyesight leave me with questions, it is also my perception of reality that leaves me questioning if life is as "boring" as I often tell my friends and family when they call to check in.

Last week, I was over in Shreveport for a quick work trip with Squish, my Executive Assistant. I came back home to a fun weekend of date night, Christmas decorating, a Christmas party, running my half marathon, and after my celebratory nachos in the bathtub (because I'm classy like that), Patrick boarded a plane for a week in Vegas.

The kiddos had their 12 therapy appointments, and worked chugged along as usual. It's Thursday, and I'm at over 300 e-mails for the week - steady and standard. But somewhere in there, we're throwing in getting our Bossier house rented (yay), fighting with insurance on some of Claire's coverage (boo), two Christmas parties, and a Billy Joel concert. I don't feel like this is crazy or the least bit hectic because to us, it's just a normal week. There is plenty of time for chatting on the phone, watching Hallmark Christmas movies, and snuggling with the midgets. Any parent and/or working adult can relate to the usual daily grind.

Tonight, Claire's nurse cancelled her shift because she is sick, and the respite care office was trying to find a last-minute sub. The new placement nurse called to find out more about Claire, and I explained that she was pretty low acuity - no g-tube or trach, but non-verbal, limited use of limbs, in a wheelchair, uses diapers, in a cast for scoliosis, etc. She stopped me mid-sentence, and said, "That is NOT low acuity. You have just convinced yourself because she isn't hooked up to machines! She still needs a care-giver for all of her needs."

Oh.

So, maybe I my perceptions are a bit off. Maybe "boring" isn't the right word for us, or "low acuity" isn't the right way to describe Claire. All I know is whatever the heck we want to define this as, it is pretty dang fun....even if I have no depth perception.