getting to know me

My name is Tiffany. I am a 22 year old wife, mother, friend, teacher, taxi driver, chef, short order cook, maid, and a thousand other titles that just don't come to mind right now as I sit here holding a sleeping baby - blissed out on boob milk - watching Dancing With the Stars. This is our nightly routine. After putting our other three blessings to bed, I sit here on the laptop until my eyes just cannot be held open any longer.


On to introductions:

Donald - my sweet, sweet, well-meaning husband. He is a 27 year old aspiring photographer who works full time with his grandfather's company as an A/C mechanic. He loves me dearly but we are still like any couple and have our own issues.


Raymond - my adorable, high spirited, clingy, whiny, loving, alligator addicted son. He turned 5 on April 12th. He is our first, which means he was our "tester child". We had absolutely NO idea what we were doing when he was born so he's been through some things that we never would even think about doing to our other children. We both have issues because of this but I think he's doing a lot better after having changed our ways. We became "attached" at a later part of his short 5 years and are on our road to healing and complete attachment.


Arianna - our preemie. She is our girly girl. She is a princess and knows it. She loves to dress up and play sweet. She's our "Little Mommy". This little girl was born at 35 weeks and came into this world lifeless and not breathing at 4 lb 7 oz. After a quick resuscitation and a week in the NICU, she is now right (at 3 years old) on track with everything other than speech. We are having a time with her speech and after what looked like she was going to begin speaking in full sentences, she has regressed some and we are now looking into speech therapy again. She is a delight and a joy. She's her daddy's girl but when asked who is her favorite, she throws her arms out and says "everybody" but in her own little language that we have become knowledgeable in. She is the reason we began looking into attachment parenting - because she was so tiny and we just didn't think most of what the doctor was telling us could possibly be good for this little 4 lb baby.


Alexander - our "wild child". He has been a handful since I was pregnant with him. He never slows down. He turned 2 on May 10 (8 days after his sister turned 3). He is the most cuddly baby you will ever see. He's crazy and he knows how to push your buttons, but then turns around and gives this look that melts your heart and you just can't help but fall in love - over and over again. He was our first homebirth baby. He had been ahead in everything and just never stops showing how smart he is. His vocabulary is beginning to skyrocket. He's a runner. The second you open the door, he is gone. He thinks it's the funniest thing on earth - but it's made life a little difficult for us. He's curious and loves to get into things. This curiousity will serve him well one day, but today it's a pain.


Nathaniel - Nate is our baby. Our newest little arrival. He was born on January 29th. He was our first unassisted birth and man, was that *the* single best experience in my entire life. I can't imagine doing it any other way now and wish I would have been more confident with my previous children. He is a light. He so very indepedent, it's scary! He has been a lot like Alex in the development department. He has been mobile for months. He's a cuddly baby also and absolutely HATES to see anyone else in my lap. He's connected at the breast a lot of the day and almost all of the night. Sometimes it drives me insane and other times it's the best feeling in the world.


So, that's the roundup. Pictures will follow... my computer is being a pain in the butt right now and won't let me do it upload them without shutting Internet Explorer down!