Milestones

Daniel Micah's Development

(mostly for my personal record since I'm always forgetting these beautiful milestones)

Birth weight: 9lb. 7oz

Birth height: 20 inches

Birth head cm: 14.5cm

4-day weight: 8lb 12 oz 21 inches

2-week weight: 10lb 2oz 22 inches (15cm head)

1-month weight: skipped appointment

2-month weight: 13lb 25 inches (18cm head)

- Started laughing

- very strong lil guy

3-month weight: 13lb 14oz

- Began reaching /grasping for his toys and people

- pulled his teachers scarf off her

- began talking..talking and more gibber gabber

4-month weight: 15lb 2oz 25 inches

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5-month weight:

- first plane ride to California

- met grandpa, aunties and lots of family

6-month weight:

- getting around everywhere on the floor

7-months:

- said "mama"

8-months: 18lb 2oz 30 inches
 -
9-months:
- Standing up
10-months:
- first tooth: one single tooth on the bottom :)
- on all 4's crawling
11-months:
- all over the place, walking around while holding on
- 2nd tooth (a chipped one next tot he other on the bottom)

mommy of 2

It's almost midnight and another long week just passed. David and I are finishing up our last semesters at WVU, looking for jobs, I'm working and we're caring for our two little boys. Everyday I am in awe of how much responsibility God has granted us. Daniel just turned 3months old and Josiah is 29 months and now fully POTTY Trained! I can't believe how fast time if flying and how big both my boys are getting. Some of the experiences we recently had as a family include:

- Visiting and riding Thomas the Train at A Day Out With Thomas event at the Strasburg Railroad near Lancaster, PA.

- Going to the Preston County Buchwheat Festival 3 weeks ago in which Josiah got to go into one of those clown, fun houses for the first time. My sister Paula. brother Gabriel and nephew Jacob and niece Jaylene were with us (visiting from California for their dad, my brother's birthday in his remembrance) and they all wanted to go into the fun house. Josiah having been hanging out with them the whole night also wanted to go but we weren't sure if he would meet the height requirement of 36''. Excitingly, at his 24-2 year old well check up he measured 36 inches so I proudly announced that he was tall enough. It was so exciting as my sister stood him up against the height red line and we all clapped with praise watching him stand at least 2 inches above the red line. He didn't really know what was going on but got excited. They all went through the fun house and had a fun time trying to get through the window maze. On their way out, the slide from the 2nd floor was wet so they reversed to come back out through the window maze. Josiah was laughing, smiling and having a ball when my sister allowed him to try to get out of the maze first.....in front of the whole family (as we watched from the outside) we witnessed Josiah excitingly hurry through the maze until....BAMMMM! He ran right into one of the windows..nose first!! My poor baby...we comforted him and he ended up saying the house was FUNNN! :)

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Potty Training

I havn't been a mother for very long (2 years, 4 months and 9 days to be exact), but in my time of motherhood, I think that my least favorite part is......................potty training. Now, Josiah is actually doing very well and David and I are so grateful that we were able to start training him early (around 18 months) and he was in pull-ups by 22 months. However ------------- it is so frustrating to know that our son can definitely go to the potty by himself, and ask to go to the Potty if he needs help but after doing so well for days...just decides to go in his Pull-UP. I hate the clean-up, I hate having to wash clothes that have been pee'd on and worse, having to take him constant showers (actually, David does most of that and absolutely hates it). So, I guess I"m just venting here but truly, we are so proud of our boy and glad he is doing so well. he is actually a role model for going potty by himself in his class at school and the teachers are always telling us how good he is about going, and well, how sweet he is and what a good listener he is..and all that which makes us feel tremendousely blessed...that all our training sessions at home, and discipline, prayer and attempt at consistency is actually working to some degree...but regardless, maybe we have high expectations of our son but everytime he does have a potty accident, we are disappointed. We are frustrated. We are even, angry. Why angry? Because he knows better. He has been trained, he has been encouraged, he has proven himself and to us that he is ABLE..and yet, he messes up and not only does he have accidents (because truly, they are not always "accidents"), he has "on purposes" and he has "I just didn't feel like stopping what I was doing's". As I write this, I recall how I can be like Josiah with God, my heavenly Father. I know I am able, I have proven to myself and others that I am capable, i know better and yet, I purposely go against my training and what I know to be progress in my life and have "I just didn't feel like stopping what I was doing's". So, as much as I get frustrated with Josiah's potty training, and as much as I hate cleaning up nasty, smelly pee'd on sheets, clothes and undergarments, I will continue to love, support, encourage and cheer for my little man, because he is my son and because I am proud of him just for being who he is, and because I LOVE HIM.

4 years later

I posted this on my facebook wall earlier today

‎4 years ago today, I was somewhere in Missouri en route to West Virginia for what

was supposed to be a 1-year ministry commitment -- turns out, that ministry

was marriage and a family :) Truly, we can make our plans but it is the

Lord who determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9

I am in awe that it will be four years tomorrow already that I can call myself a Mountaineer. I recall purposing to move out to assist my parents who were church planting pastors of Praise Chapel in Terra Alta, WV. They had a vision of a establishing a community center and with a background in human services, grant-writing and non-profit work, I agreed that I would take a year off from Grad School and help them. Little did I know that only 3 days after arriving, a young man by the name of David whom I had been in a long-distance courting relationship with would propose and I would end up applying for graduate school at West Virginia University (about an hour away from my parents and the church).

I did write that grant for funding and had begun lots of preparation work however, none of the 20 grants we applied for gave us funding and not many doors had opened. My mother however did establish a learning center called In His Steps which because a type of community center as it served the community in so many ways. God's light was able to shine out of that place through the love my mom and the teachers showed the children, were able to pray for parents day -in and out as hardships often arose, parents of the children were drawn to God by the love shared in the center and some even came to know God, I helped plan several events at the center including annual Harvest Fairs on Halloween night and provided case management services to clients in the building.

Anyways, my parents moved away and the church and center closed..but seeds were planted, LOTS of seeds had been planted.

Four years later, I am married, graduated with an MSW (Masters in Social Work), bore two beautiful sons, Josiah (2 years), Daniel (2 months) and anticipated a second graduation in December with a MPA (Masters in Public Administration). I can proudly say that David's life has also changed and he is also getting ready to graduate in December with a Bachelors in Criminology and Investigations.

Daniel's development

Daniel's sleep schedule is changing again which means....another GROWTH SPURT!! Thus far, he has been to the Doctors' 3 times: at his post-delivery check-up (4 days old), at a (2-week) wellness checkup and (2 month) check-up. We skipped his 1-month check-up since he was devleoping and eating great, at the top of his weight per age and because we decided on a different immunization schedule foregoing the 1-month old recommended shots. So, just for my records and for those mama' who care to know, here were my big boy's stats:

at Birth: July 16, 2011 9lb 7 oz. 20 inches 14cm circumfrence

4-days July 20, 2011 8lb 12 oz 21 inches 14.5cm (his lowest weight)

2-weeks 10lb. 5 oz 22 inches 15. cm

2-mos Sept. 13lb 25 inches 18 cm

Introducing the newest Abreu

It's been along time acomin' but here it goes.

Daniel Micah Abreu is here!

He arrived after along night of manually trying to manipulate labor without the use of drugs. Needless to say, the little guy just was not coming. I was dilated at 7cm. my water was broken and contractions went from 3 minutes apart to 12! At about 4:30 in the morning after arriving at the hospital at 7pm the night before, we were tired and I just wanted nothing more than to hold my baby boy in my arms. So we induced using pitocin and at 6:46am, without any pain medications, relying solely on God's peace and still believing for a Supernatural Childbirth, a healthy 9lb.7oz boy arrived! No rips, NO PAIN (discomfort and frustration yes, but I can honestly say No pain), NO meds! We praise God for out beautiful, big bundle of joy!

Now since Daniel arrived 9 days past the due date and his size was of concern not to mention the fact that he had not engaged in the pelvic cavity yet (his head wasn't in position), he was sideways and arrived "sunny-side up" (with his face turned up). Apparently, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck as well ( I didn't know until my sister told me half an hour after birth) but all I remember is my sister had one leg, my hubby had the other and our midwife Gail Nurse and friend Clare video-taping were screaming "PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!" Our nurse then practically got on top of my belly using her hands to help push the baby down. I remember pushing through 2 contractions (about 4-6 Looooononnnnnnng pushes) and I remember pushing for my life, with everything in me. Then, feeling my son kicking inside of me and his arms waving around (it was the most amazing, intense and emotional feeling I had ever experienced..perhaps more then the birth of Josiah, our 2 year old)...then hearing his cry as our midwife placed him on my chest...tears overflowed, my baby boy was here.

Abreu family Update

To our family and friends,

As I was getting ready to send out recent photographs of the family and Josiah, I realized that a little update was probably warranted. Here's what I sent out in paper format along with Josiah's 2-year birthday photos and family photos:

I am so grateful for social media such as facebook and of course other modern-day technology such as the cell-phone to keep in touch with family and friends, however I know that a lot of times, our schedules don’t allow for a proper greeting and/or update on family life. I thought I’d go back a few years ago to letter-writing and just share a bit of what’s been going on lately with my family and I, especially for those far away from us J

First, David and I will be celebrating our 3-year anniversary this month on June 7^th and boy, can we look back and see how our lives have changed…

David: As most of you are aware, David decided to go back to school to finish up his Bachelor’s degree two years ago. Well, he is still persevering and doing great. After a major-change last semester he has been motivated to take an extra full-time load to meet his deadline goal. I am so proud of him that he has made Dean’s List the past few semesters and is on track to graduate this December of 2011 with a BA in Criminology and Investigations! This summer, he is busy taking full-time coursework (before baby arrives) as well as interning at the Mon. County Courthouse with the Victims program. He is still in prayer about the future career God has and all that lies ahead.

Josiah: We just celebrated Josiah’s 2^nd birthday on May 17^th and were blessed to have a couple gatherings with friends from his day-care and our neighborhood as well as a little party in Lancaster, PA with my family who relocated there from West Virginia last year. It is difficult not having family close to us but Josiah is doing very well and is surrounded by a great group of people here that we can consider family. He is currently doing great with potty-training and if it were up to me, can be fully trained by next month (my goal was to be rid of diapers by the time his little brother arrives). His vocabulary is increasing by the day, he enjoys singing, telling stories, absolutely LOVES reading and his new thing is playing outside with the older neighborhood boys.

Baby Abreu #2: We have yet to decide on a name though believe we can have one by the time we’re forced to decide at the hospital J He is due to arrive on July 7^th which makes me about 36 weeks and counting! We are blessed that the pregnancy has been going as perfectly as can be, he is very active, moves and kicks perhaps more than Josiah used to. We are believing for his birth to be “supernatural” no-pain meds, without complications and easy as can be. Hey, everything is possible through Christ right!

Carmen: After finishing the Spring semester in early May, I’ve been working part-time at WVU on a special project while David is at his internship although I finish this week so will have about a month off at home with Josiah before our new bundle of joy arrives. I’ll graduate as well this December with David, (on the same day as him too) with a Masters in Public Administration as part of the dual-Masters degree program with Social Work that I completed last Spring. This fall, I plan to continue my position at WVU working with new students at-risk of dropping-out while completing my coursework. Depending on which doors open up for David, I’m open to being a stay-at home mom while following David in wherever his career make take him though plan to eventually utilize my training at least part-time in a social services or higher education field.

Well there goes my “brief” update J We hope to hear about your lives and will try to keep you posted on what’s next for the Abreu family after December. We’re looking forward to a busy next few months especially with our new Abreu addition arriving soon. As always, we covet your prayers as we prayerfully await to see what God has in store for us in 2012.

Love Always,

The Abreu Family (David, Carmen, Josiah and #2 Abreu)

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9

Family day at the park and an unwelcomed interruption...

As David and I were discussing whether to go to the park today, thoughts of frustration and anger came over us as we thought about our last visit to the park. It was last Saturday, when we decided to venture out (now that springtime weather was beginning to creep in) and take Josiah to our favorite park so that he can finally run around and play. Needless to say, we had just got to the playground area and were walking hand in hand up the ramp and through the playground equipment re-introducing Josiah to the different slides, tic-tac-toe games, climbing equipment and all that good stuff. We could tell he was a little nervous as he watched alot of older kids playing tag, running around and feeling very comfortable with the playground. We finally settled on a steering wheel that "imaginatively speaking" can steer the playground :)

Josiah was loving the wheel, smiling and laughing as he turned it around and around...I had my camera with me and was just about to snap a kodak moment shot when this older little boy (looked about 5 or 6) ran passed me and pushed his way between David and Josiah, shoving them both to get to the steering wheel Josiah was playing with. He shoved Josiah out of the way stating in an angry voice "HEY, THIS IS MY STEERING WHEEL!" Needless to say, We were all shocked! David and I looked at eachother in amazement-I mean, the nerve this kid had to approach and shove not just a 1-year old but his parents too! David immediately then told the little boy something along the lines of "excuse me, that was not very nice. Our son was playing with that steering wheel and it is not yours, it belongs to the playground and anybody can play with it so you need to step back because he was here first". The kid just stared at my husband and kept on turning the wheel, ignoring what was just said. I was feeling a bit nervous, for both the kid and my husband who is a justice-seeker! Again, David and I looked at eachother in more disbelief then we glanced over at Josiah who was just kinda standing there stunned (poor baby). This kid was clearly not going anywhere so after I processed in my head what to do next (after I looked around for any parents that might be looking, hoping they were watching their son and looking our way - but didn't find any). I finally decided to use my rushed parenting/conflict management training and try my turn with the kid. I knelt down a bit to his level and proceeded to talk in a calm voice saying something along the lines of "well that was not very nice of you to come and steer the wheel when someone else was playing with it, can you please step back now and let him continue playing since you had your turn already"..again, the kid ignored what was said, didn't even look at me and kept turning the wheel. Finally, David took Josiah's hand and told the boy that he was not being nice at all and told Josiah that he didn't need to play with kids that aren't nice and that we will go play with something else.

We walked away and although we enjoyed a wonderful family day after that incident, the thought of that kid and whether our reaction could have been better kept coming back to mind. I mean, how dare that kid..right? Where were his parents? Is the kid just modeling behavior he observes himself? Or is this just how 5/6 year old boys act when they're playing? Will our son grow up to model such behavior too? As David and I thought more about it, we thought about our childhoods and reflected on bullying/teasing that occurred to us, or that we witnessed. Did we stand up for ourselves when people teased us? or did we just take it? Recently, one of my closest friends shared with me that one of her daughters teachers expressed their delight with her daughter stating that she is a friend to all, and often stands up for those that are getting made fun of in class. I was so blessed to hear this and to know that there are kids that stand up for justice, that speak on behalf of kids that might have been teased to the point that they don't feel confident in themselves to say something to their bully. How I would love to hear that one day from my son's teacher, that Josiah is a well-mannered young man who is kind to all, a peacemaker and a justice seeker! - one who befriends everybody and isn't afraid to stand up to bully's! With school bullying especially making headlines all over these days, I know that it is rampant across our nations schools, communities, within families and yes, even churches! I know that Josiah will most likely encounter bullies, be bullied or maybe even bully - whether knowingly or unknowingly and I just hope and pray that as parents, David and I do all we can to teach him right from wrong in a way that it never leaves him. I can't help but think how scary it is to raise children these days with so many crazy things going on...I guess as parents, all we can do is do our best and allow God to do the rest. I mean, what else can we possibly do?

We ended up going back to the park, the same park, the same playground and of course, my eyes were on the lookout for that little kid - and being the optimistic that I am, I couldn't help but think that this kid can't be that much of a menace - i'm sure he is a sweet kid and probably a really good little boy that has manners, that is polite, that shares with his siblings and friends and perhaps we just happened to meet him at his worst... we all have our worst right? Well, thankfully, we didn't see him and Josiah got to play with the steering wheel again..this time without any interruption :) and I finally got my kodak moment...