Calvin, 10 Months

You did not want to be laying down for these pictures, but couldn't remember how to roll over,
so you just laid there screaming! 

Bubba,
How can you be ten months old already?! 

• You have a huge appetite - we've started feeding you food more regularly throughout the day and you are all about it! I swear sometimes you eat more than Anna does.
• You've learned to clap when we say "yay"
• You wave for "bye-bye", ni-night", and "hi"
• You started pulling up on furniture, my legs when I'm standing...pretty much everything
• 2 pacis at bedtime for the last couple months - one to hold, one for your mouth
• You scream randomly, in a very angry way and we haven't figured out why
• Still very attached to mommy
• Learning how to bounce up and down when we say "dance"
• Your top tooth finally has cut through your gums, I'm sure we'll be able to see it over the next few weeks. That tooth took forever! The one right next to it isn't too far behind, either.
• You had your first ear infection, cough, and round of antibiotics. Thankfully you loved taking them for the most part and would say "mmm" every time. 
• You weighed 17lbs 3oz when I took you to the doctor when you were sick. That's up 6 ounces about two weeks after your nine month appointment. :-)
• You hum to yourself the entire time you're eating in your highchair
• Some days you seem so old! It's exciting to watch you grow and interact more :)

Colleen, The Writer

Hi all! It's Colleen, the writer and creator of this blog. When I created this blog back in 2011 I intended for it to be about my life with Cystic Fibrosis. As the years progressed, I've added in personal touches about my growing family, and now I feel like my kids have taken over my blog! But in a way, that's life! My kids and my family are my life, and CF is just a part of it.

I suppose I should update a little bit about myself lately. I'm an exhausted mom and teacher, but loving life. This summer I changed jobs, now working in a rural, small-town school district which is a complete change from the large urban district I was in for the last six years. I'm also teaching fifth grade now which is a lot different from third grade, but it's been fun. I have great partners and coworkers and only twenty students in my class this year.

Along with a new job, came new health insurance -- for someone with a chronic illness, it's quite a pain. Moving to a much smaller district, too, meant that my benefits were more expensive and covered a little less, but it's worth it because my job is less stressful. I've had to switch all of my prescriptions over to a different pharmacy, but thankfully I'm back now with Foundation Care and they are wonderful. **No more Express Scripts or Accredo!**

And if having a preschooler, a nursing infant, and a new job aren't enough on my plate, I'm also finishing up my Master's degree in Teaching and Learning with an emphasis in science. I am one project away from finishing this semester, and one research class away from graduating in May!! My plan is to continue on to receive my +32, which means 32 credit hours beyond a Master's degree (and a big bump in pay).

CF-wise, I've been doing alright. My overall lung function is now in the high 70s and I think a lot of that has to do with how exhausted I've been over the last year. Adding another child into the mix, especially one who's a total boob-man all night long, has been way more exhausting than I would have thought. But man, he sure is cute! I am hoping that once he hits a year old he'll start sleeping better, which means that I can start sleeping more, but we'll see. Honestly, I haven't been the most complaint with my treatments this fall, so that hasn't been the best either. I'm trying to get myself back on track though. I've also had several episodes of hemoptysis over the last six months and I'm not sure why. My plan is to do a three week course of Cipro as soon as I'm done breastfeeding, hopefully to kick out all of this extra crap in my lungs. Overall, I'm not feeling 100%, but I'm not feeling terrible either, just kind of "meh" for now. The winter is always tricky with school and germs, but I'm going to try my best to stay healthy as always.

Hopefully you've been enjoying all of my posts about my sweet kiddos. I'll try to do better about adding more about CF on here, but I just don't like to give my CF any extra attention - it's not what defines me.