Rainbow Babies

I recieved a WONDERFUL email tonight from Shannon Barnes, director of Agape'Care Cradle. Agape'Care Cradle is the organization that helped us with funeral arrangements and so much more after the death of our oldest daughter, Babe B. Not too long after Babe B.'s death, we were asked to do an interview for a local TV program called, "It's All Good." The idea was to spread the word about Agape'Care and what they are doing to help families who have to endure the loss of a child. Agape'Care is a one of a kind service that is only located here in Wichita. We were only three weeks out from losing Babe B., but we agreed to the interview because we felt that Shannon and the Agape'Care volunteers helped us SO much, it was the least we could do! There were 3 other families that were interviewed that day. One of those was the family of my good friend, Cheri. As you know, Cheri recently delivered a healthy baby girl, Olivia Faith. Tonight I received the best news. All of the families interviewed for that program have now had a "Rainbow Baby," or a baby after the loss of another. One of the other mother's made us aware of this term that is used in certain circles. Here is a quote that she made. I find it to be so profound and want to share it with the world:

"Rainbow babies: In some circles, babies born to families after the loss of a child are referred to as 'Rainbow Babies.' The idea is that the baby is like a rainbow after a storm.'Rainbow Babies' convey the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope...."

Andrea Sanmiguel

My Rainbow Baby,Jesstine, is such a blessing and joy! When I think of rainbows, I am reminded of the rainbow that God sent to Noah after the great flood in Genesis.

"(12) And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: (13) I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between you and me and the earth......" Genesis 9:12-13

God made a "promise" that he would never again flood the entire earth. Now, I know that the rainbow in the case of "rainbow babies" is not necessarily a promise that it will never happen to one of us again. I do know that we have an even greater promise from God. A promise that through the death of His son, we have a home in Glory someday where we will see all those who have gone on before us. I have had a picture in my head of what it will be like to finally see my daughter's smile with the light of Heaven shining on her face!

This is all ironic because today's sermon today was about promises or covenants. I know after reading these words I will never look at a rainbow the same way again! AND I am proud to think of my Jesstine as a "Rainbow Baby."

In Him,

Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

10 Months Old!

Well, we have reached the 10 month mark! Jesstine is growing oh so fast! Not only that but, she is mobile!!!! She seems to have been doing a few things within the last day or two that seemed to take her forever to figure out. She is now crawling on her hands and knees. She only started to REALLY do that yesterday. She has also started to pull herself up to her knees to get to things. She can sit up from a crawling position (to Grandmom's delight), but you have to catch her doing it. She turns pages in her books (of which her favorites are either Elmo or the touch and feel books). She is just getting so big. We are still working on trying more and more finger foods. Last night my mom came over to eat some steak with us and then watch Jesstine while we went to a movie. Jesstine sat at the table with us and had some zucchini. She ate it up! So we gave her some mashed potatoes and she LOVED that! You can tell in the pictures below that most of it ended up on her face instead of in her mouth! She had a rough night last night with us gone. I think she is finally old enough to KNOW that Mommy and Daddy are gone. She cried and wouldn't take her bottle at bedtime. She didn't go to sleep until 9:15 (she is usually out at 7:45 if not just a little afterward). She woke up several times during the night and fussed for a few minutes then went back to sleep. She was up ready to go at 7. She has been pretty cranky today. Anyhow, on to the pictures! Here are just a few from the last day or two, plus the important 10 month picture!

This is a mashed potato face! She has been experimenting with silverware also. It usually ends up on the floor not too long after she gets them, but she likes to hold on to something while she is eating.
Here she is on her knees with one of her favorite toys. Any new mom's out there: this is the BEST toy for kids 6 months and older! It is an Incrediblock. You can either get a used one at a consignment store or on ebay or you can go online to www.fisherprice.com and get one. I think they are only available around Christmas time though.

This is just a close up I took of her after I got the 10 month picture out of the way. You can kind of see a little bow on her head. I have FINALLY found a way to keep bows in her hair! She got too smart for headbands. They are handmade from a site called etsy and are constructed using a baby snap clip! They are SUPER cute! Most of the time they stay in even in the smallest amount of hair and as long as they aren't to heavy. She has a bigger white one that falls out pretty easily.

And last but certainly not least, the 10 month picture. Believe it or not this was the first picture that I took. She got too wiggly after that!

As always we hope that all of you are well! Stay tuned for more pictures! She does something new everyday it seems like! Hopefully we can catch some of it on camera for your viewing pleasure. Happy Father's day to all you daddy's out there!

In Him,

Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine Hutchins

Lions and Cousins and Swimming Oh my!

It has been a busy few days in the Hutchins' household. Jesstine has been reaching a few milestones. If they aren't milestones, they are skills that stand out in our mind as things to remember. On Wednesday of this week, my Sister-in-law and nephews came up from Tulsa to spend a few days. We had a blast! Jesstine loved being around her cousins! Her and Ian have a special affectation for each other! She thinks Noah is funny too! The week was filled with a lot of joy for our little girl. She did a lot of swimming/water play! It started with her first swimming lesson on Tuesday and then we were in the water everyday since then except for Wednesday. It has been fun! We also discovered that she likes the swing! Luckily we have a playground in our housing development. The first time we tried it (a few months ago) she seemed overwhelmed. Now she giggles like crazy! Here is our week in pictures below! There are also a couple of videos. They were taken on my phone so the quality isn't great. I guess you gotta work with what you have right? Here you go:

Although this isn't much of a milestone, it is certainly a sign of things to come for our little girl. She is still crawling mostly on her belly, but having Charis around a couple of weekends ago was good exposure for her! She is beginning to pull herself up on a lot of things around the house!

This is something I was told she should be doing two months ago! I know it is different with every kid. She would attempt it earlier but it ended up looking more like a victory pose or something with her hands held together high above her head! Now we can say that she really claps! (Notice her waving to Aunt Jenni as she passes that way)

On Thursday when Jenni, Noah and Ian were here we went to the zoo! It is always a little dicey with kids this age. You never know what they are going to take an interest in or not. Jesstine is at this stage where everything in the animal kingdom is either a cat ("tat") or a dog ("daww"). The zoo was mostly made up of dogs for her (including this lion). I was able to get some great pictures of the lions! This was right after he finished taking his bath (I also have a picture of him with his tongue hanging out. Anakin would approve!)

Jesstine in her zoo finest! She was actually wearing a giraffe outfit Grandmom picked up for her before she was born. The hat is one of the WONDERFUL Gymboree hand me downs from the Hanson's. We really appreciate all of the clothes they have given us! This hat got a lot of use this week (notice it is in some later pictures).

Here is Jesstine's buddy Ian (the little boy not the Orangutan)! He is snuggling up to this hairy ape! We were amazed at how close the Orangutans and Gorillas came up to the glass. It gave us a great look and some great photo opportunities.

Here is Ian loving on Jesstine! Notice she doesn't mind a bit! She actually relishes the attention!

This is kind of an early birthday present for Jesstine from her Grandmom. Grandmom already has a big spring horse that she got for the boys last Christmas. She found this one online and couldn't pass it up! If you will look at an earlier post where I compare pictures of Jesstine and her Daddy, you will notice that he TOO had a horse like this as a little boy! I am hoping she will get some great use out of it! Compare the look on her face with that picture as well!

Here is only a snippet of the swimming that we have done this week. It is also my chance to brag. There were two other little babies at swimming lessons. Jesstine was the second oldest by mere weeks. She was probably the most advanced swimmer (such as it is at this age). The swimming instructor commented on how babies generally kick their legs together until about 10 months when they start kicking independently. Jesstine is so happy in the water! She is already kicking her legs independently. I have mentioned how she even sticks her face in with no cajoling! This week was no exception! Jenni taught us a way to put her under without her swallowing so much of the pool! Too bad you can't do that in these little pools. This was shortly before she swallowed some water and coughed so much she threw up in the pool! Poor girl! As you can tell she still had fun!

This is another toy that Grandmom got for Jesstine! Grandmom finds the coolest things! We were unsure about it and because it hooks up to the hose, it puts out cold water. She still had a blast as you can tell!

And finally the joy of swinging! She was so happy in that swing!



In this picture we discovered that she thought it was hilarious when she thought she was kicking us so hard we fell backwards. I used to do this with kids I babysat. They all think it is hilarious! I guess it is funny to think that someone is pretending you are hurting them and falling backwards. Or maybe it is the sound that comes as her feet make contact. In any case, if you can strain your ears enough to hear her above the wind, it is the cutest sound! My co-worker Terri is always looking for a new clip of a baby laughing really hard. Well here you go! (Again, sorry for the poor quality. It looks great until it uploads to another application. Then it gets blocky and garbled!)

Well, we hope you have all had a good week! Oh, and here is a shout out to our friends Tracy and Cheri! Congrats on the birth of little Olivia Faith! We are so happy for you. May God bless her with good health and a long life in her mommy and daddy's arms! (In case you don't remember, Tracy and Cheri have experienced two losses in the past two years. Olivia is their first child together to make it past the viability stage!)

May God bless all of you! Until next time when we post Jesstine's 10 month pictures!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine Hutchins

Memorial Day

Whew! What a weekend! It was a whirlwind! Our weekend started early because we were getting ready for it ALL week long! It was a lot of fun...well, most of it. Here is the run down and a few pictures to match!



Stephen had Friday off, so we took the opportunity to decorate Babe B.'s grave before the weekend got really busy for us. It is always a bittersweet moment for me. For me growing up, memorial day was always a day to remember my grandparents and great grandparents. Never did I imagine that I would be decorating the grave of my own child. Yet, I want to honor her. I want to share a moment with her because that is all I got with her while she was alive. So, each year we have decided to honor her with a new set of flowers in her urn to last year round. Then we set up some real flowers. We always choose a lily because that was the flower that someone sent to us while we were up in the hospital. It reminds me of her. A professional photographer took pictures for us in the hospital and incorporated a bright pink daisy. So daisies have become a part of this years memory for us. We even got a flower (purple daisy) for Jesstine to give to her big sister! When we were picking up the real flowers at the floral department in Dillon's, the ladies liked Jesstine so much, they gave her a purple balloon. She was overjoyed! Seeing the joy on her face reminded me that all kids like balloons! So, we put the balloon out there for Babe B. as well! Here are the pictures of how we honored our Babe B. We love you to the moon and back Babe B.

In case you can't tell, there is a purple ribbon that says Daughter.

On Sunday, Jesstine and I went to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. We hopped in my mom's van with my sister and her youngest son. Stephen led singing at church and came home after communion so he could start fixing some grub and set up tables and chairs. We had my mom's side of the family over for lunch. There were Brauts, HUGE hot dogs, and hamburgers. It was a lot of work, but it was fun! Here are some of the photos!

(Clock wise from L to R): Ashley (cousin-in-law), Phil (dad), Stacey (cousin), and Wes (uncle)

Lexi, my niece, (bottom R) found a friend to at least talk to!

Stephen and Conrad (nephew) kicking the soccer ball around.

The three newest members of our family enjoying some time in the grass (L to R): Charis (my niece), Luke (my nephew) and Jesstine. These three are going to be trouble one of these days!

A couple of goobers sitting under the umbrella on the deck. (L to R): Robin (family friend), Jesstine, and Ilonda (my mom).

This house was the big hit of the day! Even the big kids enjoyed it! Corbin (nephew), Greg (brother) and Charis.

Still enjoying the house! Haley (cousin) and Maddy (cousin).
After everyone was pretty much gone, the house was still a big hit! Here are the three stooges. Can you tell they are related? Corbin, Jesstine and Luke.

Jesstine decided she was going to help with the clean up. Daddy vacuumed while she took care of the cord! What a good helper!

We hope you all had a great holiday weekend. It was very busy for us, but we took time out to remember the reason why we celebrate Memorial day. There are soldiers fighting for our freedom every day! Take time to honor them as well as those of our family who have gone on before us. Also remember God's promise that we will have an eternal home with him in glory and we will see our loved ones again!

God Bless!

Stephen, Lacie and Jesstine

P.S. A big thanks to my sister-in-law (or sister-in-love as she likes to put it) for the house! We have so much fun with it! It is always the first toy Jesstine goes to when I set her out to play!

NEWS FLASH!!!

I think Elmo has officially won the heart of my daughter! We were at the store tonight ordering flowers for Babe B.'s grave. (We always do real flowers on Memorial Day for her.) I spotted what I have been looking for at each store I go to with toys! I found an Elmo plush doll that is just Jesstine's size. I picked it up to show her and she held it through the store and every once in a while I heard a "No No" or "NelNo" from her. I thought nothing of it. I just thought she was jabbering and as usual she sounded like she was making a word but probably wasn't. Then tonight we were getting her ready for her bath. I stood her up on the changing table and she looked at her stack of diapers (which have Sesame Street characters on them) and said "Nono." I am thinking she is trying to make the sound Elmo and it is sounding like "Nono." I know you are thinking that it can't possibly be true. She is only 9 months old right? Well, she does say "cat" or rather whispers it. She knows what cats are and will look right at one and say cat. It sounds more like "tat" but it is the same each time. I am almost positive that Elmo is what she is saying. I am also pretty sure it isn't No. I don't use no twice together like that. I usually say "no" then something in between. A common one right now is, "No biting Mommy! No!" Our girl is growing up and is really obsessed with Elmo! It is so much fun!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

9 Months!

Well, Jesstine has reached the 9 month mark. She actually started wearing the 12 month (which is for 9-12 months in case you didn't know) clothing a couple weeks ago, or would have if it was warm enough yet! I will be glad when she warms up so she can start wearing clothes that fit her!!! We are also into size 4 diapers! She has started to have to use an overnight diaper too because of leaks. I guess you can say she is full of it!

She is such a cutie! The other day I saw her asleep in her crib and realized just how big she is getting! She now takes up nearly 2/3 of the bed. Before it seemed like she took up maybe half or a little less! You never know what position she is going to be in! 9 times out of 10 she ends up on her belly, just like Mommy! We went to her 9 month Well Baby exam today. It came at the perfect time because she has really been extra irritable lately. She will cry for no reason and I don't mean just a fuss. She will actually cry with tears! That is unusual for her! In any case, the doctor kept glowing about how beautiful she was! She is a big girl too! Her head now measures 17.5" (60th percentile). Her weight is 20 lbs. (75th percentile) and her height is 28" (also 75th percentile). She is very proportional! I always thought she looked like she had short legs compared to the rest of her body. Now they look long like the rest of her body!

As you will see in the pictures for this month a few things have changed. First, I can't find hair bows for her. She has gotten too smart and takes the headbands off. Yet, she hasn't got enough hair for clips in her hair! I have ordered some snap clip hair bows that we will be trying out soon. I ordered them from an online store called etsy. If you have not ever been there, you should check it out. It is a shop that is made up of sellers that sell handmade items. You can get boutique like items for sometimes a lot less! Just check it out at http://www.etsy.com/! The second change is the quality of picture. I have mentioned in the past that I got the idea to take a monthly picture in the same chair each time from my SIL, Jenny. I seem to recall her reaching this point in her pictures as well. Jesstine LOVES posing for the camera, but her attention span and posing duration have become a lot shorter lately! Most of the shots I got of her this time are of her slumped down because she is squirmy.

Well, we are off to see the big E tonight! There is a parents as teachers family night tonight and Elmo is supposed to make an appearance!

Here is the one I think is the best.

9 month picture

Squirm position 1.

Squirm position 2.

Okay, so we saw Elmo tonight. It was very cute. When I had Jesstine standing back a little way from him, she would smile and laugh. When she sat on his laugh she froze. I guess there is something wrong about an adult sized three year-old monster. Of course I forgot the camera. So as a consolation picture, I have included a picture of our soccer girl! We bought this onesie a for Babe B. a few weeks before she died. We thought we could make it less boyish, but even pink Adidas soccer shoes, pink socks and Adidas soccer ball. Put her in coach!

As always, we hope you are all doing well!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine Hutchins

P.S. Sorry about the formatting. I guess with blogspot there is no way around it!

Elmo

Okay, I know I have mentioned several times about how much my lovely little girl likes.....er....LOVES Elmo! Well, I have decided that I have no choice other than to have an Elmo party for her first birthday! Here are a few stories to let you know just how much she loves Elmo.

Okay, so lately when I talk on the phone, Jesstine is non-stop smiles and laughs. I guess that is how she thinks Mommy is on the phone! Well, she uses this same laugh in response to anything and all things Elmo! The only difference is that she does it for much longer!!! I was searching for a jacket for her because she has already out grown all of her 6-9 month jackets. (She is 8 1/2 months). I always peruse the clothing to see if there is anything that I think Jesstine can't live without (or rather I can't live without her wearing). I found a cute little shirt that is REALLY girly with horizontal pink and red stripes. On the front is Elmo's face and underneath his face the shirt says, "I Love Elmo!" I thought this was so cute. At the time she was staying with my mother-in-law. I was so excited about my find, when I went to pick her up, I had to show it off. When I showed it to Jesstine, she hugged it, kissed it, and did her cute little laugh over and over. Needless to say, as soon as it was washed she was wearing it.

I have been searching for a bath faucet cover. As you can tell from the last post, she has discovered the faucet and almost hits it when she splashes! I went to Target first because I knew they at one time carried a really cute duck in a Hawaiian print swim suit and surf board. Perfect for her bathroom decor. I of course had to look at the clothes, toys, and anything else that was appealing! I had Jesstine with me this time. We found some Elmo socks in the $1 bins. She of course loved them! I looked for an Elmo plush doll, but didn't find one. So we went to the book section. Didn't find any books worth investigating. Right next to the books is the movie section. We looked at the available Elmo videos. I noticed that most of them were around $10. Then I noticed one was only $5. I thought that was inexpensive enough. I showed it to Jesstine. She was ecstatic. She held that video up like it was her most prized possession. She showed it to anyone and everyone who would look her way! She didn't want to let it go so I could pay for it. The entire time, she did her little laugh.

My mom really tried hard when I was little not to allow us to like just one character. She very seldom encouraged such a thing. Mainly for money reasons, but also because she wanted us to be well rounded. I am having trouble resisting Jesstine's little laugh when she sees Elmo things! It is just too cute! I know I have to stop it at some point. She is so little right now and she will like so many things I am sure! How long can this last? Can't I just give in now and tone it down later when she has all of the Elmo things she could possibly own? At least Elmo is something she will like for at few more years right? Well, for now I am trying to meet some middle ground. I haven't bought TOO much Elmo for her yet, and I think I will know when to say no. The biggest thing is not showing her any of it!!! Then I will buy it for sure!!!

Until next post, *singing* "That's Jesstine's Elmo World!"

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

P.S. Here are a few pictures of "Her Elmoness" from today! They aren't great because they were taken from my phone, but they still show her in her happiest clothes!

Doesn't that face just say it all?! (Her face not Elmo's!)

These are the $1 socks I found! Check out those shoes! I think her daddy likes them as much or better even than she does! (They are adidas soccer shoes!)