Ash Wednesday

This morning I was in the bathroom getting dressed, and Daniel ran in to tell me that Finn McMissile (one of his cars) got ashes on his forehead. Then he ran out. He ran back in a few minutes later and told me that Professor Z (another car) got ashes on his forehead and that they were pretending they were at church. Various cars continued to get ashes.....

We have been talking about Ash Wednesday the last few days, and Daniel has a pretty active imagination, so I assumed all his cars were sitting in their pretend church, receiving their pretend ashes. I was surprised when I came out to find that his cars were actually receiving real ashes on their foreheads - from the fireplace. Not as much fun for Mommy when it's not pretend ashes!

Update on Catherine

Catherine had her first appointment with the pediatric cardiologist in Fort Worth on Tuesday. Everything went well. There wasn't really anything we didn't already know, so that was good news. We got to be present for the echocardiogram, which was cool to see. It's amazing to see your daughter's heart pumping in real time! The hole in her heart is "small-ish," per the doctor, at 5 mm. There's a flap of tissue near the hole that helps close things off a little, so functionally, it acts more like a 2 mm hole. That seems incredibly tiny, but I suppose her heart isn't all that big. We will have our next appointment on March 23rd, but this time we'll get to go to the Abilene clinic versus driving all the way to Fort Worth. Phew! They'll do another echo at that time, and we'll just keep hoping that that hole closes! Dr. Kuo also ordered labwork as Catherine continues to be a little jaundiced. Her bilirubin levels were elevated, but not to the point that something needs to be done. We'll just keep watching our little oompa-loompa!

Catherine has started to be awake more often. She's definitely more alert and has definitely grown since birth. She weighed in at 8 lb., 5 oz. at her appointment! She has started having more trouble sleeping - much preferring to sleep on David or me versus her crib. Imagine that! She's started giving little smiles, but they're typically aimed at the lights or mirrors versus our faces. They're still pretty hard to come by.

Catherine's Baptism

Catherine was baptized on February 12th. Her godparents are my sister, Pam, and her husband, Josh. We were lucky enough to have many family and friends in attendance. Just for the record - Abuelo & Abuela, Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Josh, Aunt Pam, & Bryson, Uncle Luis, Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi, Javier Fierro, Adolfo, Pita, Sara, Adolfo E., & Elsa Diaz, and Jeff & Diane Elliott. It made us feel very loved!

It was a very nice baptism. Catherine wore the baptismal gown that I wore as a baby, and she looked like a doll! She didn't cry during any part of the sacrament - not even when that incredibly cold water hit her head. It was a fun weekend, and I wish we could have spent more time with everyone here. Thanks for coming!

South Pole Sighting

Daniel: Mommy, what kind of bird was that?
Me: I don't know. I didn't see it.
Daniel: It had a white tummy.
Me: I don't know what kind of bird that might have been.
Daniel (in an excited and completely sincere voice): I bet it was a penguin! Penguins have white tummies!

Career Change

Yesterday Daniel and I were talking about astronauts.

Me: You have to go to school for a long time to be an astronaut.
Daniel: A long, long, time?
Me: Yeah, but then you get to go in rocket ships.
Daniel: Yeah, I want to be an astronaut when I get big!

A few minutes passed, and then:

Daniel: Mommy, I don't know if I like school for a long, long time. I don't think I want to be an astronaut anymore.
Me: No?
Daniel: No. I want to be a truck driver!

At least he'll still get to travel!

Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

I thought Catherine had thrush the other day because I had seen some white stuff on her tongue. I was trying to get a better look in her mouth when Daniel asked what I was doing. I explained that I was trying to figure out if Catherine had an infection. Daniel pulled my hands away from her and wouldn't let me look in her mouth. He said, "No. No, she's not sick. Remember? She got that candle blessing at church the other day so she can't be sick!"

I remembered that we had all received the St. Blaise blessing of the throats last weekend after mass. Now Daniel's counting on us not ever getting sick again!

On a positive note - it doesn't look like thrush, so I guess Daniel was right. :)