Coming up this month

We have several things coming up this month, some of which I am excited about and some of which I am nervous about.

Chris' brother, Alex, turns 15 on January 14! I really can't believe he's turning 15. When Chris and I met, Alex had just turned 9. Seems like just yesterday! I feel old. He is growing into such a handsome young man. And he's so polite and is so proud to be an uncle to Kylie!

Chris gets a pay raise on January 15! Our monthly housing allowance went up $123 this year, which is great because housing is outrageous in California. He also got a small percentage raise in pay and combined with the increase in housing allowance, he'll get an extra $250 a month or so! Haha, it's not a lot but every bit helps with me not working and us having a baby.

Kylie turns 6 months old on January 21! I'm not sure why but this half-birthday seems so important to me. In my mind, it marks the beginning of her sitting up unassisted, learning to crawl, learning to stand/pull up on things, and learning to walk. I know when she starts crawling I will wish to have back the days when she was immobile but right now, I can't wait until she's more independent! Just in the sense that I won't have to move her to another activity when she gets bored (because she gets bored quickly!) and she can move herself.

I need to schedule Kylie's 6-month check-up with the pediatrician. I haven't talked to a doctor about the syndactyly since Kylie was 1 or 2 months old so I'm going to talk to her new pediatrician about it. Just to get her advice. I'm also going to talk to her about Kylie's ears. I mentioned just once before that Kylie's ears aren't the same size. Her right ear is noticeably bigger (and shaped quite differently) than her left ear. I've read a lot about other parents saying their child's ears were different sizes and shapes and they eventually "corrected" themselves so I'm hoping Kylie's will do the same. I just want to make sure her left ear is growing.

Kylie gets her 6-month pictures on January 23! We did maternity pictures, newborn pictures, and 3-month pictures. It's so cool to have the same photographer do them and see how much Kylie changes. And this time, I just know the shoot will be so much better than the 3-month session, at which she screamed almost the entire time!

Kylie's surgery is January 27! This surgery seems to be coming up quickly and the closer it gets, the more nervous I get. It's such a minor surgery, and I have faith that God will keep His hands around her while she's in surgery but I'm still nervous. I think I'm mostly nervous about not being able to feed her for x amount of hours before the surgery. Kylie is a fiesty little thing and if she wants something, she'll let you know very loudly. Someone is supposed to call me in the next couple of weeks to give me all the details about not feeding her, what time to be at the hospital, where to go, etc. so I'm not exactly sure for how long before the surgery I have to keep her stomach empty. I'm just hoping the time without food goes smoother than I'm imagining!

As long as I get my W-2 from the YMCA soon, Chris and I will be filing our taxes this month! We're planning to use some of the money we get back for a down payment on a new car (after we sell or trade in the car we own now). We need a 4-door car badly and even more, we need a lower car payment. This almost-$500-a-month car payment is killing us. Plus, our insurance will go down a good bit when we no longer have a "sports car."

Totally off subject but I have a prayer request. I don't want to go into detail for privacy reasons but I ask that you pray for my cousin. She lives in Texas and is going through a really rough time right now. She could really use some peace, comfort, and strength.