Wolf's on Safari

Macy is 7 months!

2012-01-25T23:45:00.000-05:00

Happy 7 months, Honey Girl!

You are getting to be such a big girl. You changed so much in the past month. You are becoming a lot more mobile. You have realized that you can roll multiple times in a row to get places. You roll, squirm, and wiggle all over the place. We have to be very careful when you are playing on your mat, as you will make your way clear across the room. You used to roll off of your tummy as soon as we put you on it. Now it’s the opposite, if we lay you on your back, you will roll onto your tummy since you now realize it’s more fun to play that way.

You can sit up unsupported, though most of the time I leave the boppy behind you because eventually you will fall over. The longest I ever timed you was for 12 minutes, but I only timed you once.

You like jumping in your Jumperoo. You love when I read to you and Graham at night. He always makes you laugh. If he’s happy, you’re happy, but if he cries, you cry too.

You’re still a pretty good sleeper, though you wake up to eat more often. Maybe it’s because your food demands are going up, yet you are refusing to eat solids. We introduced solids just over 3 weeks ago and we try every day, yet we can barely get the spoon in your mouth. I have tried many different types of food, different times of day, and even tried letting you feed yourself. You’re just not interested. If I can sneak bites into your mouth, you will swallow it, but you won’t open your mouth for it. You purse your lips together and turn away. You are just very content nursing. Mama loves it too, but I know you need to expand your culinary horizons.

Your hair is starting to come in a bit fuller now, though it is very uneven. I want to get it evened out, but I can’t stand the thought of cutting your baby hairs. It seems your eyes are changing color. Your left eye is darker than the right now. They are both a shade of blue-grey. That is the color of Joel’s eyes, but it’s also the color Graham’s eyes turned before turning brown, so we’ll see. You still don’t have any teeth. I can see the bulges at the gum line of your two bottom teeth, but you don’t seem to be drooling or chewing too much, so maybe it will be a bit yet.

You still have all that delicious baby pudge all over...your hands, feet, legs, tummy...gosh it is so cute!

You are still our happy girl. You brighten our days so much with your smiles and giggles. Your personality is really starting to come out and we love every bit of it!

You are a dream baby! I love you forever and ever.

Love,
Mommy

*Macy turned 7 months on 1/21/12.

The view from here...

2012-01-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T21:10:00.000-05:00

Best Bro and Little Sister...sounds about right! :)

Macy's 6 Month Pictures

2012-01-12T21:59:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, we got Macy's 6 month pictures done with Anima Dolce Photography. We were absolutely thrilled with how they turned out. There are many more, but these are some of our favorites!

And Finally...Christmas Day!

2012-01-10T23:21:00.000-05:00

Late, late, I know! Grab your Christmas (New Years?) cocoa...this is a long post!

Christmas Day was wonderful. We all slept in. Joel was the first one up, then Graham. Graham came in to wake me wearing a Santa hat. Funny thing was Joel said he hadn't mentioned to Graham that he should wake me, or that it was Christmas, but obviously he knew.

So, I got up, fed Macy and we headed dowstairs to see what Santa brought.

Graham got fruit bars, a candy cane, a truck, and colored pencils in his stocking.

Macy got jars of baby food...that she REFUSES to eat...but that's a whole 'nother post!

Macy's 1st Present on her 1st Christmas

It was "Sophie" the giraffe...perfect for little teethers.

She gnawed on it almost the entire time we did presents. It was a hit!

Graham got several board games.

The first of many family games. We played and played with his games over his break. His two favorites are Hi-ho Cherry O and Wheel of Fortune.

Macy loves this toy she got from Santa. I was surprised at how much she was able to do with it. She even picked the whole thing up...wow!

We get the kids an ornament each year. This year Graham got a school bus and Macy got a pair of pick booties. Graham put them on the tree for us.

Macy and Graham exchanged stuffed animals. He got her a polar bear to go with the book Mom and Dad got her for Christmas.

She got him a panda bear to go with his favorite Little Panda book we picked up in San Diego. He gave it to her too. Awww!

Graham's teacher sent home a gift he made at school. It is a calendar with all the art made by Graham. It is the sweetest calendar I have ever seen. There may or may not have been a crying mama in the house! :) He did such a great job. Here is November. Gobble, gobble!

I was pretty spoiled. I got a new camera lens, external flash, camera case, flash card...yep! It was all about photography for me this year!

I got Joel a whole bunch of clothes. He needed a wardrobe refresh. See that stack of boxes on the couch? Yeah...

Our Christmas mess!

Baby in wrapping paper at first Christmas? Classic!

After, playing for a bit. We all had lunch and the kids napped. When they were awake and dressed, we snapped a picture of our two cuties on Christmas Day.

I had one that was perfect, i.e. both kids smiling looking at the camera, but it was blurry. Though this one was not bad for 2nd best!

We headed over to my parent's for Christmas dinner. My whole immediate family was there as well as my aunt and cousins. We had a great time. My parents recently redid their basement and it provided a lot more room. It was great to be able to relax down there away from food and breakables. :) Good food, good times!

Macy enjoying a quiet moment with Daddy before making the rounds!

Love from Aunt Angel

She loves to grab faces! Here she's being gentle...sometimes not so much!

Watch your fur, Chewy!

The kids got plently more presents. They will not lack for things to play with, that's for sure!

Graham loves playing with my mom's snowglobes, so she got him one. Peter Pan flies around inside. He loves it!

Macy conked out on PaPa's shoulder....awww!

Nice hair bow!

Kisses for Aunt Nickey!

Right before we left for the night, my sister snapped a family picture of us. Notice both kids are enthralled with the snowglobe!

Christmas 2011 was wonderful. Best one yet! I say that every year...and mean it. It was really special to be in our home and have our two babies. Really, really special. I am so grateful.

Just as great as the day itself were the days that followed Christmas. Joel was off for a week and a half, and Graham was off for two weeks. We spent days lounging in our PJs, playing with the kids and their new toys. It was so relaxing. We can never relax like that on weekends, always running around trying to catch up on errands, or plan for the week. It was blissful!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-04T21:37:00.002-05:00

On Christmas Eve, we hosted Joel's family for our annual Christmas gathering. Joel's mom and dad pretty much always host, so it was nice to give them a break from hosting and let them be guests. Joel and I host a lot of dinners and parties, but this was our first time hosting a holiday dinner. It turned out pretty well, I think. We served beef brisket, scalloped potatoes, spinach salad, butternut apple soup, roasted veggies, rolls, ginger cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon roasted chick peas, and a cheese, sausage, cracker, grape platter. Joel's mom also brought pork roast and broccoli salad, and his aunt brought a gingerbread trifle for dessert. We had a spread and no one went hungry!! I got a picture of the table, but none of the food...go figure.

The best part of the day was spending time together. I love to see the cousins together because they don't get to spend all that much time together. Joel's brother's family lives on the west side of the state. Though they do come home often, visits always seem too short.

Presents! Oh my goodness...there were so many presents! Graham got a new bike, board games, a new video game system, clothes, a new radio, a blanket, an overnight bag, and more. Macy received lots of clothes, a gorgeous collection of Christmas ornaments, lots of toys, a blanket, and more. A family gift is that in a couple months we're spending a weekend at a hotel with an indoor waterpark with Joel's family. What a fun winter break!

After presents, we enjoyed dessert, then everyone left.

Our family had our book exchange, and then little ones had to get in bed so Santa could come.

And visions of sugar plums danced in their heads...

One more post on Christmas: Christmas Day. :)

Christmas Eve Book Exchange

2012-01-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

Each year on Christmas Eve, we exchange books. Joel and I exchange with each other and also buy a book for each child. Inside the children's books we write a letter. Hopefully, as the years go on, the books and the letters will be a nice collection for our children.

Joel got me Wonderstruck and I got him Ready Player One. We each finished our book. I enjoyed mine, but it was targeted for teens (Joel didn't realize this) so it was a quick read and predictable, but it was still entertaining. Joel loved his. I think it was his favorite of all the books I have bought him. Yay!

This year we got Graham The Spirit of Christmas. Each holiday, he get more and more excited, so it was a very apporpriate book for him. I also loved the illustration of a little boy standing below the Christmas tree. It reminded me of a certain someone.

His Christmas letter:

Graham,
Merry Christmas, sweet boy! This has been a wonderful year for our family. You became a big brother this year with the addition of Macy. You are a good big brother. You like to help by bringing us diapers, or shushing Macy when she cries. Best of all, Macy adores you. I love to watch her admiring you as you play. You are so animated and it fascinates her.

Some of your favorites these days are:

Activity- Practicing writing. You recently learned to write your first and last name, and you get better by the day.

Weekend Fun- Sleepovers at GaGa and Papa’s, bowling, and Jungle Java.

Show- Super Why!

Food- Naked Nuggets.

Game- Smart Cycle.

You started school this year and you are thriving. Your teacher is Mrs. Russell (& Mrs. Jackie). They take such good care of you. You are growing and changing so much and we couldn’t be more proud of you! One thing that has not changed is your kind, gentle heart. You are such a sweet boy. There isn’t a mean bone in that body. You are our pleaser, always trying to do everything right. You are still our snuggler, though it is a sight when you try to curl up on Mommy’s lap with as big as you’re getting.

Preparing for the holiday has been so fun with you this year. Each holiday we can tell you understand more. You know the holidays bring lots of togetherness and fun activities, such as decorating the tree. You enjoyed that so much. This Christmas will be our first in our new home, and as a family of four. It is sure to be special!

We love you, sweet-heart. Merry Christmas!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

This year we got Macy On the Night You Were Born. This first time I ever read this book, it made me cry. I truly believe every baby is so special and makes their imprint on the world. We thought this would be perfect for little Macy.

Her letter (one paragrah is the same from her 6 month letter):

Macy,

Merry Christmas, Little Love! As Christmas draws near, a wonderful year is coming to a close. This year revolved largely around you. The first half of the year was spent anticipating and preparing for your arrival. The second half was spent welcoming you and enjoying you.

This book is so perfect for you this year. The world truly did change as soon as you entered it. You, my darling, are so special. I have heard that with having a second baby, a bit of the newness and specialness wears off. We have not found that to be true at all. In fact, quite the opposite. We have found that having an older child helps us appreciate how peaceful, tender, and precious a little baby is. Your tiny days are so short. Having an older child helps us see what we have to look forward to, but also reminds us to cherish all these special moments. Special moments are abundant. Our favorite is the same month after month; it’s just the way you feel in our arms. You are perfectly squeezable at this age. We also love how your smile lights up your face, blue eyes sparkling, and your cute dimple setting everything off. Last, but not least, your laugh. It may be the sweetest sound ever heard!

You love your big brother. You are so fascinated by him and love to watch him play. He likes to look after you and likes playing with your little feet. This Christmas will be our first in our new home. I can’t wait to hold you on Christmas morning, while we watch your brother open presents. We are so thankful you came into our lives this year, making us a family of four!

We love you, Sweet Pea. Merry Christmas!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Daddy and I each read a book to the little ones, then they played a bit.

Graham loves Macy's feet. He took her socks off to play with her toes. She thinks he is so funny. Love!!

After the little ones went to bed, Santa came. I have a few more posts on Christmas coming up. :)

6 Months Old!

2011-12-27T22:27:00.002-05:00

Macy Girl,

6 months…half a year…it seems like you got all big all of the sudden. Just a few blinks ago, you were this tiny, little newborn with jerky movements. Now when I hold you support yourself, looking all around. It’s amazing how fast babies change. And when does it happen? It seems like you just wake up one day and “Hello Little Miss Personality”…where has that sleepy newborn gone? Not to say that one is better than the other. We are so loving all your smiles and laughs and seeing what little Macy is all about. You are a very happy little girl…a dream baby. You are very content unless you are tired, hungry, or your teeth are bothering you and no one can blame you for any of those reasons! You don’t have any teeth yet, but your doctor said she can see the bumps there right below the surface. Your appointment went very well. Your stats:

          Weight: 15 lbs, 10.5 ozs, 49%
          Length: 25.5 in, 48%
          Head Circumference: 41.8 cm, 40%

You roll over both directions. You are starting to learn to sit up. You sit up with the boppy behind you and play for extended periods of time (30 minutes +). Without the boppy, just a minute or two. You can hold yourself up, but will fall over when you reach for a toy or something. You love playing with all sorts of toys. You are very “grabby” right now, always reaching for something, usually our faces. You love your big brother so much! My favorite time of day is reading to you both before bed. We sit on Graham’s bed together. He tends to get excited and can be pretty animated at times. Well, you just think it is the most hysterical thing in the world. You crack up. It’s amazing that such a little thing like you can have such a loud belly laugh. It shouldn’t surprise me as your brother has always had a hearty laugh as well.

We are just enjoying everything about you right now. I have heard that with having a second baby, a bit of the newness and specialness wears off. We have not found that to be true at all. In fact, quite the opposite. We have found that having an older child helps us appreciate how peaceful, tender, and precious a little baby is. Your tiny days are so short. Having an older child helps us see what we have to look forward to, but also reminds us to cherish all these special moments. Special moments are abundant. Our favorite is the same month after month; it’s just the way you feel in our arms. You are perfectly squeezable at this age. We also love how your smile lights up your face, blue eyes sparkling, and your cute dimple setting everything off.

Happy 6 months, Little Love!

Love,
Mommy

*Macy actually turned 6 months on 12/21.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

2011-12-23T15:04:00.001-05:00

pic by Anima Dolce Photography

Love,

Joel, Candice, Graham & Macy

2011

Santa Baby!

2011-12-20T15:46:00.001-05:00

Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland

2011-12-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, my nephew came over and stayed the night. Being the “Cheer Master” that I am, I of course had a Christmas itinerary planned. Being the 9 year old boy that he is, he wanted to play video games with Joel! So, we did some of both and all were happy. :)

After dinner, we made sugar cookies. Hayden helped mix and cut out cookies. When it came time to do the decorating…well, he decorated 2 and then went and sat on the couch. So, I decorated 2 dozen cookies. Joel found this hilarious! For some crazy reason, he thinks I use my nieces, nephews and own children as an excuse to do activities that are really for my own enjoyment. ;P

Next on the itinerary was decorating the tree. Instead, Joel and Hayden played video games. That was fine by me. I am certainly not going to force him…more fun for me! :)

Sunday morning, we got up and out of the house and were off to Frankenmuth, MI to head to Bronner’s. Bronner’s is the World’s Largest Christmas Store. It is an enormous store of all things Christmas. The place is amazing. If you like Christmas, it’s your place!

The ride over was somewhat of an adventure in itself. Poor Hayden got extremely carsick, resulting in several vomiting episodes…in the car…with all 5 of us. Good times!! At one point we were in a quandary. He was so sick, we contemplated taking him home, but it was 40 minutes to Bronner’s and over an hour to his house, so we pressed on. By the time we got there, it was pouring rain and the place was SO PACKED. Weekend after Thanksgiving...turns out everyone had the same idea. Not that I didn’t think of that, but I don’t think anything could prepare you for just how packed it was. We had to park quite a ways away. As you can imagine, Joel was shooting me the eyes that told me so far he was not enjoying our outing. Ha!

All that being said, it was totally worth it!! As I said the place is huge, and if you have never been there before it is quite impressive.

Hayden couldn’t get over how big it was and just how many different bulbs, ornaments, displays, and trees there were.

We let him pick out several ornaments to take him. Graham loved it too.

We picked out a few ornaments for Macy and Graham and had them personalized.

We had a lot of fun! Well, the kids and I did anyway. On the way home, we encouraged Hayden to take a nap, which he did, so we had no issues with carsickness. Phew!

Deck the Halls...

2011-12-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

We're not really late on decorating. I'm just really late on posting! We started putting up our trees the day after Thanksgiving, like we do every year, and spead the decorating out over the next week or so. We have two trees this year. One a bit more stylish, the other more old-fashioned for the kids. The kids' tree has colored lights, garland, beads, bows, candy canes, bulbs, and tons of different ornaments. Graham helped decorate his tree. He was SO into it. It was so cute to watch him get and ornament and run up to the tree.

The Kids's Tree, fully trimmed.... :)

Joel's ornament from 1985.

The ornament we bought for Graham last Christmas (we buy one each year).

The kids each have their favorite ornament. Macy likes that little basketball, and Graham likes the working "See n' Say" ornament.

Admiring his work!

Kisses under the tree! XOXO

Our other tree is decorated the same as we have been doing for years...white lights, with a gold and brown theme.

We almost had to cut a hole in the ceiling! ;P

This year, Joel picked up these very interesting African ornaments. Love them! <3

A mama and her babe.

Lastly, our mantle. Oh how it warms my heart to see FOUR stockings hung with care!

We have some other decorations around that I forgot to photograph...the railings are decorated with greenery and red bulbs, a wreath on the door, a small decorative tree, little snowmen around, and of course Graham's Christmas art is on display in the playroom. Seeing all the decorations around makes me all warm and fuzzy! I just love Christmastime!

Off I go...a little boy is home sick today and I hear him starting to whimper. Have a great day! Stay healthy...I'm trying to!!

Bookworm!

2011-12-07T17:39:00.000-05:00

You might remember this post where I described the 1st time we realized Graham could spell his name…though he had been spelling it for a while.

Well, he has made quite a bit of progress in this area. A few days after that post, we saw him at the fridge arranging his magnets to spell his name. He did this with no help.

Then this week, we got a note from his teacher that he wrote “G r a” on the easel with no help. Yesterday, his teacher sent home a Santa hat that he colored himself, and on the back he wrote his name…all.by.himself!!

Didn’t he do such a good job?!! I am so proud of him. He has been practicing quite a bit. He works on it at school obviously, and also at home. Joel’s mom picked up this toy for him and I think it helped a lot.

He has been working on his reading skills too. Daddy and Graham started a game a while back where Daddy made flashcards for all Graham’s fake food. Then Joel would hide the food around the house and give Graham a flashcard and he would find the food. Well, Graham recognizes all the names of the food. The game expanded…everything in the house has a label, i.e. couch, chair, table, stairs, door, etc.

Labelling the door.

In all, he must have 50+ sight words. We’re working on teaching him to sound them out too. He tries and can always start the word with the right sound. He’s such a little bookworm!

Christmas Jammies

2011-12-04T22:57:00.000-05:00

San Diego

2011-12-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

I have been such a bad blogger, I know. There are so many projects and extras this time of year. I am loving it all, but when I finish up activities for the night, I don’t usually feel much like typing away. Oh and confession: I am totally engrossed in the show Brothers & Sisters. We have Netflix, so you can watch one episode after another, and that’s what I do…every chance I get…while nursing, sewing a stocking, folding laundry, etc. By the way, no spoilers please; I only just started Season 5.

So, onto the topic of this post…VACATION!! Well, a vacation for Macy & I anyway. Yes, that’s right, at the ripe old age of 4 months, Macy took her 2nd trip, but her 1st flight.

Joel had a work conference at Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, so for the bargain price of a frequent flyer mile “free” flight and a $200 spouse pass, Macy and I had a very inexpensive vacation. Graham stayed home. Grandma came to stay with him at home to keep things normal for him. We all had a good week!

As I mentioned, Joel was there for work. Macy and I spent our days doing fun stuff and met Joel for dinner each night, and several lunches too! We left early Sunday morning. Macy was a peach on the flight. No issues at all. When we got to the resort, we were pretty tired, so we got a carry-out lunch and took a nap. That night, was an opening reception with appetizers which worked out since we had a late lunch. Joel’s sessions started bright an early Monday morning.

On Monday, I did a lot of walking around the resort with Macy, partially to learn my way around, but mostly to enjoy the weather and get some exercise.

As for the weather, it was cooler than I anticipated, 60’s, which was about the same as home. I would have thought California would be warmer than Michigan, but I guess not. By the end of the week, it warmed a bit, but best of all it was very sunny. Anyway, I also used Monday to do a little research and plan our week. Monday night, there was a nice reception at night. Macy slept the whole dinner, so Joel and I actually got to carry on a conversation with other adults. Joel is used to this, but at times for me, it’s a novel concept!

On Tuesday, Joel’s session let out a bit early. The conference organizers plan one shorter day so everyone can actually go out and enjoy the area. Joel, Macy & I went to SeaWorld. It was great. We felt very bad that Graham was not there with us as there were so many attractions we know he would’ve have loved. He hasn’t been to a theme park yet, we plan to take him next summer. I loved the dolphin and whale shows. I actually cried during the whale show. They are massive, yet so graceful! Just beautiful animals.

A sight for sore eyes!

This walrus was so funny. It kept chewing its food, spitting it out, sucking it back in, spitting it back out...over and over. It was the oddest thing. So, of course we thought it would be a good picture!

Whales!

Dolphins!

Tuesday night, we enjoyed a BBQ on the beach with the conference. After we ate, we sat at the bonfire for a while and talked to Joel’s coworkers and other attendees.

Wednesday, Macy and I went to the San Diego Zoo. That zoo was huge! We did A LOT of walking and saw the whole thing. I was so impressed with it. The habitats were really designed to be as natural as possible and it was really beautiful. Though I must say, at times it was a bit sad. Some of these animals, such as the elephants, I got to see in their natural habitat in South Africa. So to see an exhibit, no matter how good, it’s just not the same!

My favorite exhibits were the pandas and gorillas.

Macy stretching her legs at the zoo.

After Joel got out of his sessions, he took a taxi and picked us up from the zoo and we headed to Seaport Village to window shop and had a nice meal with a beautiful view.

Thursday, Macy and I went to La Jolla. It’s an upscale resort town. In true “Candice form,” I shopped all day in this upscale area and spent a grand total of $8. I bought Graham some cool colored pencils for a stocking stuffer, and bought myself two $1 nail-polishes, cuz I’m a big spender like that! After walking around town, I headed to the Cove, a gorgeous beach, and waited for Joel to join us. While I waited, I sat on a bench and nursed Macy (with a cover…no public nudity!) with the most exquisite view and the warmth of the sun on us. It was my favorite moment of the trip, and I will remember it forever. The thankfulness & love...for this beautiful earth & this beautiful girl. I am blessed!!

Once Joel joined us, we ate outside at a Bar & Grill that had live music (so I was a happy camper) and lots of specialty beers on tap (so Joel was a happy camper).

On Friday, Macy and I headed to Mission Bay, where we walked the path around the Bay for a while. Then we rested on the grass…Macy’s 1st time on the grass. Then she did some tummy time on a picnic table taking in another awesome view.

There is so much I love about this picture: the sun, the sky, the ocean, Macy's chubby cheeks, her little tongue out, her belly showing, her ruffly little butt...so precious!

When we got back to the resort, we took Macy to the beach at the resort so she could dip her toes into the ocean for the first time.

The water was cold, so that surprised Macy, but she didn't fuss. A quick dip and dry and then we put her socks right back on. :)

After, we ate at the resort. The next morning, we headed back home…another good flight with a sleepy girl.

The trip was so relaxing. It was wonderful to be able to spend so much one on one time with Macy. We were happy to return home to our boy. He may not have gotten to see the pandas in person, but we brought him back the book, “Little Panda,” from the zoo. He has brought it to me to read EVERY night before bed. I guess it was a good souvenir!

Macy is 5 Months!!

2011-11-23T21:43:00.000-05:00

Macy Rose,

Happy 5 months beautiful girl! This month, your personality has really come out. You laugh out loud, with lots of giggles and tons of smiles in between. Each month, you become more and more content. You seldom have fussy periods. If you ever fuss, we know it’s time for a nap. As for sleep, you still sleep about 12 hours overnight, from 9 to 9. During the day, you take several cat naps (about 15 minutes) and have one or two 45 minute naps. A big change this past month is that you started sleeping in your crib. It was born out of necessity the night you turned 4 months. Daddy had a bad cold and was coughing quite a bit (and quite loudly) so we put you in your room so you could sleep peacefully. The next morning, we left for San Diego, and shared a room for a week. Once we came home, you’ve napped and slept overnight in your room since. The transition was seamless, as I figured it would be since you’ve have been sleeping through the night for so long. You go to sleep easily. I nurse you, and either Daddy or I rock you for a few minutes and lay you down awake. You may or may not fuss for about 5 minutes, but then you drift off and we don’t hear from you again until morning. That’s not to say we don’t sneak in and watch you sleep, angel!

You have really developed an interest in toys. You will scoot all around your mat during tummy time playing with your toys. You love your rings, just like your brother did. They are a big hit for little teething mouths. You haven’t cut any teeth yet, but you seem to be working on it. You roll from tummy to back about once a day, but you don’t seem to remember that skill when you’re tired of tummy time, as you’ll often cry for us to rescue you (i.e. flip you). Part of me is glad you don’t remember it or you’d probably do little tummy time, instead preferring to flip over. You seem quite capable of rolling, judging by how high you can push yourself up, and how you scoot around your mat. You also like when we hold your fingers so you can stand. You bear the weight on your own, we just help with balance. Big girl! You like to sit in your bumbo seat and watch us prepare dinner, or move about the house. Your favorite person to watch is Graham. You just sit and smile at him in all his silliness. He makes us smile too, so we know how you feel.

You are the cutest little thing. Your eyes are still blue. Your hair has lightened quite a bit from birth. So much of it has fallen out and you have a bald spot in back where it’s rubbed off. You still have way more than Graham did at this age.

Every day you bring tears of joy to my eyes! I can’t believe how blessed I am to be your mommy! Even though it has been 5 months, I still can’t help but think that it wasn’t all that long ago when I would lay in bed every night, patting my belly, thinking about my daughter who I would soon meet, and who would undoubtedly make my heart grow with so much love. You have exceeded my every dream! I love you more than I could ever put into words.

Love,
Mommy

Still here...!

2011-11-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

We're in full holiday swing over here! Christmas shopping, picture taking, present wrapping, meal planning, house decorating, stocking sewing...the works! So we are keeping busy.

We have also been getting together with lots of friends...that has been really great!

Macy is 5 months old today!!!

I have so much to catch up on and hopefully I will get to that soon. In the mean time, here are the loves of my life!!!

What a difference a year makes!!

2011-11-12T14:26:00.001-05:00

A year ago, Joel had a conference for work in Captiva Island, FL. I joined him for the trip. You may remember a few months ago when I told the story about how on the last night of the trip I found out I was pregnant with Macy. This year Macy and I attended the conference with Joel...only this year it was in San Diego and this year, Macy was outside of my belly..

What a wonderful difference a year makes!

Last year....

This year!

Last year...

This year!

More pics from our trip to San Diego coming up...!

Trick Or Treat!!

2011-11-09T22:25:00.013-05:00

Graham had soooo much fun Trick-Or-Treating this year! He really got into it! We took him up and down a couple streets. Macy and I needed to come home so she could eat and I could hand out candy. Graham didn't want to stop! He had enough candy (most of which that he couldn't eat due to his allergies), so Joel put him in the wagon and walked around the neighborhood checking out the costumes and talking to neighbors.

Onto the pics:

He carried his candy pail himself, even when it got heavy from all the goodies!

Macy came along too, and of course she was a big hit with the other moms!

Graham was literally running from house to house. We had to keep a hand on him!

He would go right on up and say Trick Or Treat (the best way he could) and he would say thanks too...right after trying to help himself to extra handfuls of candy out of the bowl!

He was fine walking right on up, didn't even need mom to hold his hand.

He wasn't even intimidated by the big kids.

Eating some of his goodies...Skittles!!

Halloween was so fun this year. Graham was into all of the festivities...the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, 2 Halloween parties, and Trick-or-Treating. When he has fun, we have fun! We live vicariously through our chldren, so we had a fantastic Halloween. I am excited for the upcoming holidays!

Class Halloween Party

2011-11-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to attend Graham's class Halloween party on Halloween. It was so much fun! I love when I get the chance to come into classroom with him and see him interact with his friends and treachers. Needless to say, school is a very big part of his life. For the most part, I do not get to see him in this environment, so it's nice to get a glimpse.

Graham's class has 4 students, but 2 of them were absent.

Graham singing and doing the motions to "Pumkin Patch" with his teacher.

He LOVES this song and it's so cute to see him doing all the motions.

He gets pretty proud of himself too!

After the kids sang their song, they walked in the School Halloween Parade around the school.

Here comes Harry Potter!

When he spotted me among the sea of parents, he stopped and tried to come to me. His teacher had to pull him back in line and keep him moving along.

Back to the room for a treat!

After cupcakes, the kids practiced Trick-or-Treating.

They each got to take turns handing out the treats they brought for the class, while the other Trick-or-Treated.

Then the teacher read a Halloween story.

The story also had body movements that went with each part.

Graham REALLY got into it! He got so excited, at one point he even fell out of his chair. It was hysterical. He caught himself and didn't fall to the ground. He got right back into his chair and continuued with the story.

It was a great party and we all had fun!

John's 40th Birthday Halloween Party!

2011-11-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

Our good friend, John, turned 40 this year, so we surprised him with a party. We told him we were having a Halloween party, which was true, we just didn't tell him it was in his honor!

We had a lot of fun with the food and decorations!

Entry Way

We had a table in the Entry Way with a picture of John, as well as voting chest for the best costume!

We had an area set up in the Play Room where the kids could decorate Trick-or-Treat bags.

Fall Mantle. The frames have pictures of Graham in his Halloween costumes from years' past.

The food was also decoration, as you will see.

Pumpkin Patch- Rice Crispie Treats w/ Tootsie Roll Stems on Oreo Cookie "Dirt"

Mexican Layer Dip w/Sour Cream Spider Web

Jack-O-Lantern Carrots and Hummus

Mini Pumpkin Pies...Joel's Favorite!

Birthday Cake!

We also had punch, lil Smokies, Caramel Corn, Kettle Corn, and Halloween Candy.

Party People in the house!!! Graham had such a fun time playing with all the kids who came! It is great to see him becoming so much more social as he gets older. He played and played and played! He was sad to see all his friends go!

I loved seeing all the costumes!!

Ava loved making treat bags...I think she made 3!!

Macy's Owl hat kept sliding down, so I took it off. I guess she doesn't really look dressed up, but she's still cute!

This was John trying to figure out who was behind the mask. It was Eddie...who won the contest for best costume of the night!

Loved their cheer...it was from SNL!

Macy was so content with Ali. :)

Wayne State buddies!

Surprise!! John was so surprised! I had to explain to him that this was a party FOR HIM!!

Time for cake...and singing!

Graham says, "That's a lot of candles!!" ;P

Happy birthday John!!! We love you!

Halloween posts still up...Class Party and Trick-or-Treating!

Hogwarts is in session!!

2011-11-01T23:22:00.000-04:00

Hedwig has never been cuter...

Though maybe Hedwig wasn't going for cute...

Good thing....

Because seriously? She could not compete with Macy!!

Graham as Harry...

His best spell-casting gaze.

He's a proud wizard!

He's an adorable wizard!

He's a clean wizard, taking time out to use his Nimbus 2000 to sweep the floor!

Harry and his sidekick, Hedwig...

Graham and his sidekick, Macy!

Joel seriously cracks me up with that hair!

Okay, so my Hermione hair is kinda out of control as well!

Ron, Harry & Hermione

So, how did we do??

We had a lot of fun dressing up this year! Hope you all did too!! I have enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures on facebook and blogs. There are more Halloween posts to come. Hopefully I will get that wrapped up this week. :)

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T16:35:00.000-04:00

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Hedwig & Ron Weasley

More pictures to come...

Macy thinks Daddy is so funny!

2011-10-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-28T13:37:00.000-04:00

Graham loved pumpking carving this year. He was very into every step- drawing the designs, gutting the pumpkings, carving, toasting seeds, and putting the lights in the Jack-O-Lanterns. It was the most fun I have ever had carving pumpkins. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Drawing the designs before carving.

Grahaam supervising the carving.

Ewww....pumpkin innards! He didn't love that! He found a solution you'll see in the next pic.

A spoon! He's so civilized!

We had so much fun!!

Graham liked taking the pieces in and out like a puzzle.

Ready to try pumpkin seeds for the 1st time!

He liked them! I wasn't sure he would, but he ate them up! At first he looked at me like I was crazy, "Um Mom, I thought we just had to remove these from the pumpkin and put them in the garbage bowl..."

Macy was there too! Graham can't keep his eyes off his Jack-O-Lanterns!!

Jack-O-Lanterns: A Wolf, "Blue" from Blues Clues, and a Black Widow Spider

Graham was involved in each step over the course of a few hours. He was so interested the entire time. Boy does he have a long attention span!! To date this Halloween has been his favorite holiday ever. We had a Halloween Party that I haven't blogged about yet. He had a lot of fun at that too. We still have a few more fun events....his school Halloween Party and of course Trick-or-Treating!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T11:19:00.001-04:00

Behind the scenes at one of Macy's monthly photo shoots!

G-R-A-H-A-M-W-O-L-F

2011-10-25T13:57:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Joel was playing with Magna Doodle when he asked Graham how to spell his name. Do you know what our boy did? Well, you probably figured out that he did, indeed, spell his name. Needless to say, we clapped and cheered and were so proud of him.

I asked his teacher about it, and she says, "Oh yeah, he does that daily. He's been doing it since the start of the year." Okaaaaaay...I guess we're the last to know! :)

If we ask him his name, he replies, "My name Graham Wolf (My mame Gayah Wolf)," and he can spell it straight through. What a smart cookie!!

Graham working a letters puzzle with his teacher.

Enjoying the weather!

2011-10-24T17:18:00.000-04:00

The weather is Michigan is getting cooler and cooler every day! When we have a nice day where the temperature is perfectly crisp, the sun is out, and it's not raining, we take advantage of it. Fortunately we had a few of those days last week.

We go for walks. Joel pulls Graham in the wagon and I wear Macy in the wrap. Graham loves reading the addresses on the house, and Macy loves to peek out, taking it all in.

Usually before we head out for our walk, Graham rides his tricycle for a bit. He is pretty good at it, but he loses interest pretty quickly when I am not cheering him on. This particular day, he rode about 5 houses down and back.

I also like to take picyures of my cuties outside on nice days. Fall=football, right? Well, here are my cuties as a football player and cheerleader.

Graham using his 'outdoor voice.' This picture makes me laugh!

Graham loves Macy's feet? Who doesn't love baby feet, right?

This is my favorite from the shoot, Macy looks like she is doing a little cheer!

Daddy always makes Macy laugh! :)

My favorite people!!

How are you enjoying Fall besides the quintessential Halloween festivtiies?

Macy is 4 Months Old!!

2011-10-21T23:36:00.000-04:00

My Baby Love,

You are 4 whole months old today! Your latest stats:

Weight: 13 lbs, 11 ozs ~ 51%
Height: 24 in ~ 47%
Head Circumference: 40.4 cm ~ 30%

You are getting big, outgrowing clothes all the time. Each time I pack up one of your outfits, I feel a twinge of sadness. I found this very hard when your brother was a baby too. Each outgrown outfit is a reminder of how short your baby days are. My sadness is short-lived and replaced with gratefulness that you are healthy and growing. We are blessed for sure!

Thanks Peters Family for the hair bow!

You look so much like your brother to me. When I look at pictures of him it feels like I am looking at pictures of you. You smile just like him. I love it because, not only do I find Graham to be adorable, but I also get to relive his baby days. You both are/were wonderful little babies.

Graham- 4 Months

In just 4 months, it feels like you have always been a part of our family. You are the sweetest girl and we love you so much. You are still a happy girl with a smile so bright and the most adorable little dimples. Your eyes light up your face! They are still blue.

Your hair is still brown and hasn’t fallen out, besides the little bald spot on the back of your head where hair has rubbed off in a perfectly straight line. Your hair is so soft, silky, and fuzzy. I love the way it feels when you nuzzle my neck. Your skin is so soft. It feels so good to touch you and hold. I wish there were a way to capture a feeling, similar to how you can capture an image with a photograph. I wish I could capture in a little jar how it feels to hold you as an infant in my arms any time I wish, even as you grow up. Alas, that is not the way it works, so I must do my best to soak it up now while I can. Fortunately we have plenty of time to do that. With your brother at school during the day, we have lots of one-on-one time to snuggle and play, just like he and I did!

You go to bed at around 9 at night and you sleep until about 9 in the morning…that’s right, 12 hours straight.

You still sleep in the Pack ‘n Play in our room. You haven’t so much as napped in your crib. It’s getting to be about the time when we should transition you to your own room. Until recently, it seemed we didn’t disturb you while you slept. Lately you have been stirring more as we move about. Also, as you pick up weight, the crib mattress will probably be more comfortable for you. Down the hall seems so far away!

Once you are up for the day, you are up! Since you sleep so much at night, you only take a few very short cat naps during the day, catching 15 minutes of sleep here and there.

Thanks Peters Family for this hair bow too!

Occasionally you will nap longer if you fall asleep while nursing and I let you stay there. The second I try to move, you wake of course, so sometimes I just stay for a while. The laundry can wait…I am cuddling with my girl! Nursing has been such a precious and beautiful bonding time for us. I am so thankful it has worked out so well for us.

As for play time, you actually enjoy tummy time now. You will play with toys while on your tummy and you can scoot yourself around your mat a bit trying to reach for toys. You love to lay on your tummy and watch your brother play.

If you look closely in this picture, you can see Graham's hand on the right, blurry.

You also lay on your back on your activity mat batting at toys. Your favorite toy is the chicken on your bouncy seat. You are very alert and very active. You are laughing now. Last month you had a little laugh, it almost sounded like you were saying, “Ha-ha.” Now you are laughing louder and there are adorable accompanying squeals. No one can make you laugh like Daddy. I try, but Daddy is just so funny. It amazes me how at such a young age you have realized Mommy is nourishment, comfort, and snuggles and Daddy is playtime and fun, though he isn’t stingy with the snuggles either!

Happy 4 months sweet angel girl! I am so glad you are here. Sometimes I still think back to my pregnancy, not such a long time ago, and I am so amazed that you are here and such an integral part of our family. The miracle of life truly is a miracle! We love you, Macy!

Thanks Aunt Jan for the hair bow!

Love,
Mommy

Mamarazzi- Pumpkin Pictures of My Pumpkins

2011-10-13T23:09:00.002-04:00

I wasn't satisfied with the pictures we took at the pumpkin patch, so we did the next natural step and plopped the kids gown in the middle of our garden and put pumpkins around them! :) It's all about the results, and the results are cute, cute, cute!

My favorite!

Macy's adorable hair bow was made by Joel's aunt and her adorable socks are from GaGa and Papa! Thanks!!

Such a good big brother!

Singles

As I was going through the photos, I noticed the kids had the same expression and body language in a number of photos. It was uncanny! Check it out!

This picture cracks me up! You can see how they felt about the photo shoot when we first started. They both warmed up, obviously!

Their expressions aren't the same here, but their body language is.

Looks like they're both clapping here.

Happy Fall!!

Apple Orchard

2011-10-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

A Fall tradition, we took the kids to the Apple Orchard & Cider Mill. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun!

Graham enjoyed watching the cider being made.

I had the best view. Every time I would look down at Macy, this is the expression she would give me. It does not get any better than this! Seriously!!

Graham is 3 apples high this year (not measured in ft, by the way).

Graham loves pony rides, this one not being an exception, though it was rather short!

Pumpkin pictures with our pumpkins!!

Onto the apples picking! Graham loves picking apples. This year we only picked a few instead of a bag, since we prefer organic apples. Next year, we're going to go to an organic orchard.

Crunch!! (You better believe we washed that sucker before we let him do this!)

More pumpkin pictures with our pumpkins!!

Like most children, Graham always picks the biggest pumpkin he lays eyes on!!

Too bad the big pumpkin already rotted! We were looking forward to carving it and making seeds. Fortunately we have a few others, so we're looking forward to that. Graham also loves to paint a pumpkin, so we'll be doing that as well.

I love Fall in Michigan!!

A Hairy Situation

2011-10-07T00:13:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, I got my hair chopped off. It was for two good causes.

1. I felt completely drab and need a change.
2. I donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I made a hair donation to them in Dec 2009 as well.

This is my before pic (though it was taken about a month before my cut).

After! Not only did I cut 8+ inches off, I got highlights for the 1st time ever!

The pic above shows off my hair better, but this one is cuter, so I posted both. :)

This pic was taken last weekend. My hair has already grown out quite a bit. It grows really fast!

For good measure, I am throwing in a few pictures of Graham. I was having a little fun playing with my little man's long hair. He was having fun too!

Par-tay!

2011-10-03T23:48:00.001-04:00

Wow, it has been a while since I posted. All is great, we are just keeping very busy around here. Normal life of course, and lots of fun extras!

Holiday season has already started!

Last weekend we had two parties. Joel's parent's celebrated their 40th anniversary (isn't that awesome?!!) with a surprise party thrown by their close friends.

Macy all gussied up in her fancy party dress! (compliments of Joel's manager)

We made them a very special gift! 40 Memories From 40 Years It was a collection of memories over the years, from when Joel and his brother were kids, all the way until the most recent with Macy joining the 'Wolf Pack.' We had so much fun making it, and they had a lot of laughs, and maybe even a few tears reading it.

On Sunday we celebrated, Joel's niece's 1st birthday!

We had a wonderful weekend...and the house is a shambles to prove it!! Thankfully I made some headway on that today. Now we are busy preparing for a Halloween Party we are having this weekend!

Like I said, holiday season is upon us. Good times! :)

Happy 3 Months Miss Macy!

2011-09-21T11:28:00.001-04:00

Macy,

Happy 3 months Little Love! That’s just one of the many nicknames we have for you. We also call you Macy (obviously), Macy Rose, Miss Macy, pumpkin, and beautiful. Beautiful you are! Oh my goodness, you are so gorgeous…exquisite! To my surprise and delight, your hair hasn’t fallen out, it has stayed dark, and your eyes are still bright blue. I hope none of this changes, as you are so beautiful and perfect as you are, though I am pretty sure I would think this regardless. Mommy loves to dress you up in frilly things and take pictures of you. Lucky for me, you don’t mind photo shoots. In your eyes, it’s just Mommy cooing all over you trying to get smiles.

Macy 3 mos

Graham 3 mos

You are generous with your smiles. Your smile is so bright and warm, it turns me into a pile of mush. You haven’t started laughing yet, though it sounds like you might soon. You are a very chatty girl. It started right around 2 months. Sometimes you will coo and babble on for a half hour with full-on expressions. I think you’re going to be our little chatterbox!

You are still rolling tummy to back daily. You are so strong. You push yourself up very high now and can hold yourself like that for 20 minutes or more! You don’t seem to mind tummy time nearly as much now that you are stronger. You are using your hands a lot more these days as well. It is so fun to watch you grow and change. Speaking of growing, you are wearing size 3-6 mos clothing and size 2 diapers, and you have the most adorable, roly poly thighs I have ever seen!

You are a great sleeper, sleeping longer and longer through the night. Last night you slept for 10 hours…wow! Usually it’s more like 8 or 9. Fantastic!

You are such an easy baby and a true delight! My favorite time with you is our nursing sessions. Our favorite position to nurse in is laying down facing each other, so cuddly and intimate. You look right into my eyes and you wrap your hand around my finger. Often you fall asleep, and then I’ll read with you snuggled against my body. What a great feeling!

I feel so blessed to be your mama! I love you sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy

My Little Look-Alikes!

2011-09-08T21:40:00.000-04:00

I took this picture of Macy the other night. It reminded me of a picture I took of Graham around the same age. When I looked up the picture of Graham, I couldn't believe how much they look alike. See for yourself:

Macy

Graham

To me they have the same nose, same smile (complete with tongue forward and dimple on the same side), same chin. Even their eyes are very similar, except Macy's are a bit rounder. What do you think? Do you see it?

Either way, they are both happy babies!!! :) :)

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-09-07T22:31:00.000-04:00

Joel grilled up some BBQ chicken breast that I incorporated into several meals throughout the week. I highly recommend this. It really cuts down on the time and effort required to get dinner on the table during the week!

This is what we ate the week before last. Recipes, if used, are linked with moifications in parentheses.

Monday
BBQ Chicken
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Tuesday
Chicken Tikka Marsala (I skipped the entire chicken process and just used the BBQ chicken breasts. I added ginger to the sauce and used half and half and a bit of milk in place of heavy cream. I doubled the sauce and served the dish over brown rice.) Recipe was very good and easy.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Wednesday
Pork Chop Skillet (I used chili ready tomatoes, which gave a Tex-Mex flavor to the dish.) Meal was delicious, but the serving size was very small. I think the recipe should have been doubled to serve 4. Very easy one-skillet dish.

Thursday
Quesadillas (We had a make your own quesadilla bar set-up with tortillas, cheese, grilled peppers, onions, and BBQ chicken. Toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole.) Yummy meal, but very fattening, so it won't be part of our regular rotation.

Friday
Chicken Sausages

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (Instead of 2 kinds of beans, I just used 1 can of black beans. Instead of cheese throughout, I used shredded taco cheese on top after I took Graham's pepper out of the crock pot. I left out the olives.) Recipe was yummy and easy. We used it as a side dish with the sausages.

Saturday
Summer Corn Chowder (I used peppers under the line item where a choice is given. I used rice milk instead of regular due to Graham's allergies.) Recipe was decent though it was more of a soup than a chowder. We had a big lunch, so we ate the soup alone, but I would've served it with bread or a salad, or both.

I hope you find some cooking inspiration here. Any good recipes you've tried lately?? Do share!

Graham's 1st Day of School!

2011-09-06T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today Graham headed back to school. As you can see, he was excited to go! He woke up bright-eyed and busy-tailed. That was a relief since it took him a while to fall asleep Monday night, so I figured he'd be tired. I'm pretty sure he remembered the routine and was excited to go. He happily dressed and ate his breakfast. Joel said he was pretty excited to get on the bus too.

He has a new driver this year. She seems very nice. He has the same teacher as last year since his class is for pre-schoolers aged 3-5. Since he rides the bus, I didn't get to hear how his day went. Each day, a sheet gets sent home describing what the class did. It sounded like it was a fun day, but I didn't hear specifics on Graham. I am picking him up from school tomorrow, so I will get to talk to his teacher then. He will be continuing his therapies after school for a while, so it will be a busy few months for him!

I am glad Graham is back in school with his friends and learning so much, but I must admit I'm sad that he'll be out of the house so much. A certain mommy cried during dinner Monday night. I bet I'm not the only one, right mamas?? In June, I didn't know how I was going to keep Graham entertained all day AND take care of a new baby, but we managed. Okay, we did more than manage. We had a lot of fun. I sure missed Graham today and I thought about him all day. On the bright side, at least I can start giving my mile-long "To Do List" some attention and most importantly Macy will get some one-on-one time with her mama. Graham and I enjoyed that for several years, and Macy and I will too! We are still blessed with our evenings and weekends together as a family, so we will have to make them count!

Happy 2 Months Macy Rose!!

2011-08-28T17:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Macy,

Happy 2 Months Little Love!! I cannot believe how much you have changed. Before I go into that, let me post your 1 month stats. Your well visit was a few days after your 1 month letter, so I didn’t post them:

1 Month
Weight: 9 lbs, 5oz, 25-50%
Length: 20.5 in, 10-25%
Head Circumference: 36.8 cm, 25-50%

I have to admit I was a little surprised. I knew you were getting big because you were outgrowing clothing at a rapid pace, but you gained 50% of your body weight in 1 month, going from the 5th percentile to the 50th. Wow! Needless to say, nursing is going well.

At 2 months you stayed on the same growth curve:

Weight: 10 lbs, 15oz, 50%
Length: 21.75 in, 25%
Head Circumference: 38 cm, 25-50%

You are wearing 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers. Graham's 2 month picture:

Dr. Zoy thought you looked great at both appointments. After gushing over your beauty, she commented on how strong you are. You were showing off by picking up your head and looking all around. You started pushing off of your shoulder. I told her how you have been rolling from your tummy to your back since you were 5 weeks old. At first, I thought it was a fluke, but you do it all the time. You still don’t like tummy time, but we do it anyway. We do many variations- you on our chests, on your playmat, on the couch while I sit on the ground making eye contact, or even while I swing you.

Your routine right now: Our day really begins when your brother gets up and we all go downstairs. After that, it’s a mix of nursing, cuddling, sleeping, bouncy seat, tummy time, and tagging along to therapy appointments. I let you set the schedule. If you want to eat, you eat. If you’re wide-eyed, I hold you and talk to you- your absolute favorite! If you’re fussy, it’s nap time. During the day you eat every 2-3 hours. If necessary, I will wake you to feed you to ensure you get your meals in so we can all sleep at night. You tend to eat frequently in the evening from 6-8pm, as it seems I am feeding you hourly. Then I nurse you around 9:30 at night, and you sleep in your swing for a bit before we transfer you to your Pack ‘n Play (in our room). I “sleep nurse” you before I go to bed around midnight. You hardly wake for this session. You wake up about 6 hours later, then I nurse you and you sleep in your swing until Graham gets up and we do it again. We are happy with our routine.

This month you changed from a newborn into a baby. While you are still completely dependent on us, obviously, you are so much stronger and more alert. Your temperament also changed this month. Around 7 weeks you started sleeping for longer stretches during the day, and at night. Around that same time, you became more content. I am not sure if you are more content because you are sleeping more, or if whatever was keeping you up was causing the fussiness. Who knows?? We will take it. Mama can actually put you down sometimes (even though I never want to) and you will still be content.

This month also brought smiles, and lots of them! It is still hard to say when your first official smile was because you have been smiling since birth. I have never seen such a smiley newborn. I will say that the first time I was positive you were smiling AT ME was right around 4.5 weeks. We were at Graham’s Physical Therapy appointment in the lobby. We were in the glider and you were up on my shoulder, I was talking to you, and you responded back with a smile that was undeniable. You smile all the time now. You love to have your diaper changed. You give out the biggest smiles when you’re on the changing table. You love to look right into our eyes while we talk to you and your little face lights up and you give us that toothless grin. Your brother was just like this, in fact he still is. He smiles with his whole being. I love that about my two babies! When you smile, to me it is like a chorus of angels is singing, it makes me that happy. I just think you are the most beautiful thing in the world!! I always say you are so sparkly!

At just over a week old, your cord fell off, but your belly button hadn’t healed yet. That took until about 5 weeks. Once your belly button was healed we can see you have an “innie,” unlike your brother.

Your hair has lightened a lot. When you were born, it was very dark, in the next few days it lightened a shade or two. Now, I can see golden highlights and roots. I suspect you’ll be a blondie for a while like Graham, though his hair is darkening now. However it turns out, you’ll be beautiful!

I can’t tell you how often I look at you and am brought to tears by your beauty and my gratitude for being your mama. I am so taken with you! I always ask you, “Can I keep you?” I think what I really mean is, “Can I keep you like this?” While I am looking forward to seeing the person you will become one day, I wish I could bottle this time up. The time where that all I have to do is give you my undivided attention and talk to you and you will think I’m pretty great and look up at me with those baby blues and coo…melt my heart. I know it is impossible to pause time, since it hasn’t worked yet, so instead I take as many mental pictures as I can (and tons of digital ones as well) and hope I can capture some of this. Our favorites are: the way you nuzzle in the crooks of our necks. Your little hairs tickle our cheeks and your breathing speeds up. You are so warm and feel so good. Our other favorite is obviously your beautiful smiles, especially after a bath. While I dry you off and lotion you, you are so smiley. After, I love your hair slicked to the side and how good you smell. You’re always so happy and so cuddly.

Happy 2 months Macy Rose! You are our little slice of heaven. We love you forever!!

Love,
Mommy

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-08-20T19:34:00.000-04:00

Here's what we ate last week! :)

Sunday Joel grilled up a bunch of BBQ Chicken Breast that I incorporated into a few meals. This is such a timesaver and works out great.

Sunday
BBQ Chicken Breast
Cucumber Salad- equal parts cucumber, tomato, red onion, greek dressing diluted with water
Baked Sweet Potatoes

Monday
BBQ Chicken Salad Wraps- 3 cups of bbq chicken, 1/2 a can of corn, a couple tbspns each of mayo, miracle whip, and bbq sauce, 1/4 cup red onion diced finely, 1/2 cup of chopped celery, spritz of lemon juice- mix everything and refrigerate overnight, serve in whole wheat wraps w/ lettuce and tomato.

Fruit Salad- 2 cups each of strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and red grapes, tossed with one tbspn of honey, spritz of lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp of poppy seeds.

Tuesday
Chicken Fajitas- 3 bbq chicken breasts cut into strips, 1 red onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper- cut peppers and onion into strips, saute until softened, add chicken until warmed through, spritz with lemon juice. Serve in flour tortillas with your favorite toppings. Ours are guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and salsa.

Chips & Guacamole- 2 ripe avocados, 1 tomato, 1/4 finely chopped cup red onion, spritz of lemon juice, Ortega guacamole seasoning packet.

Wednesday
At Joel's parent's

Thursday
Breakfast Tacos- 4 eggs scrambled with 1/2 of a red pepper (soften pepper before adding eggs), 5 slices turkey bacon, pepperjack cheese, 1/2 can of black beans heated with 1/4 cup salsa, 5 taco size flour tortillas. Heat tortillas on burner, fill with layer of each: egg & pepper mixture, black bean mixture, chopped slice of turkey bacon, and pepperjack cheese.

Cantaloupe

Friday
Beef Burgers
Fresh Green Beans, pan sauteed
Lipton Stroganoff Pasta Side

Everything was really good! I am not sure I would repeat the dressing on the fruit salad. It wasn't necessary. It wasn't bad, but I don't think it added anything. Hope you get some inspiration! :)

Graham is 3 1/2!!

2011-08-19T23:54:00.000-04:00

To my favorite boy,

3 and a ½. Wow! You are getting sooo big! I even have the stats to prove it:

Height: 41 in, 90-95%
Weight: 36 lbs, 50-75%

Besides your stature, you’re getting big in many other ways. You are becoming more independent all the time. You make a lot more choices in what we do, what you eat. You do more things for yourself, such as being potty trained for more than 4 mos now and helping dress yourself. We are so proud of you!

Your temperament is the same as always. You are our sweet boy. You listen pretty well, as well as any 3 yr old I have seen. You try to please us and seem sad when you don’t. If we scold you or are disappointed you will say, “Uh-oh” and hang your head. It melts our heart and we can’t help but forgive you instantly (not like we wouldn’t have anyway).

You are a great big brother, sweet to Macy just like you are to us! You are very interested in your little sister. You follow me when I am caring for her and you try to help. You’ll pat her butt when she cries, or hand me a wipe when I am changing her diaper. You have never shown any jealousy towards her despite our close relationship and now having to share your mama.

Right now it is summer so your routine is waking up between 8:30 and 9:30 am. We put you to bed around 9 pm, though it’s 10:15 now and you’re still in your room talking to Mr. Frog. By the way, you love Mr. Frog (maybe one day you’ll come up with a more creative name for him than Mom and Dad did). You give him the biggest hugs when it’s time to lay down. You don’t stay in your bed long. You get out and sleep on the floor. You’re still our “crime scene sleeper,” that is when you finally fall asleep it looks like a crime scene! You don’t always think you need a nap, but your mama knows better, so every day you spend 1.5 hours in your room for down time, about half the time you fall asleep.

You have Physical Therapy on Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour and a half. Your therapist is Staci, with Kathy assisting. Believe it or not, you love it. Your favorite is when they hook you up in “the cage” to practice jumping. You can now jump on your own, just barely clearing the ground, but clearing it nonetheless. We can see that you are getting much stronger. You are running faster and longer distances. I am so impressed at how hard you work.

You have Speech Therapy on Tuesday and Thursdays for 45 minutes with Olga. She is the first Speech Therapist you have really worked hard for and she is getting a lot out of you. Many have noticed that your pronunciation has improved a lot. The biggest accomplishment is that you are now combining words!!! I cannot tell you how excited we are for this milestone. It has seemed you were on the cusp of this for 2 years and now you are finally doing it. When you first started doing it your mama cried tears of joy and gratitude!! You have had many 2 word phrases for some time, but you were not combining separate phrases yourself. You have done it on occasion, but not with any regularity. The first I noticed it recently was at the Chromosome 18 Conference. We were lying in bed and you were jibber jabbering like you always do, but then I noticed It wasn’t gibberish. Your pronunciation wasn’t perfect so it took me a minute to notice you were saying, “Push arrow, push arrow.” At the conference you loved pushing the arrow on the elevator, as well as the buttons for the floors. No one taught you this phrase, you just said it. I was pleasantly surprised. Then the next morning as we were checking out you were standing at the doors waving saying, “Hi car!” Then I pointed to the elevator and asked you if it was going up or down, you replied, “Go up.” At the point I knew we were onto something. Your first 3 word sentence was, “Get off me!” taught to you by Daddy. He will lay on you until you say it, now you have added a please to the end. Of course now you say it at other times too, like when we try to dress you or put you to bed. Then we question if we should have taught you that. You have added many other phrases to your repertoire. The other day you said, “Get ON me,” and climbed into my lap for some cuddles. How sweet is that??

You have swim class on Tuesday and Thursday nights with Daddy. The classes are a half hour and go fast. Daddy says you are kicking much better and now you’re working on paddling.

Things you love: your Smart Cycle bike, sleepovers at Gaga and Papa's, yogurt (dairy free), going outside, books, letters and numbers.

You are our favorite boy and we love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Adjusted

2011-08-14T22:25:00.001-04:00

At this point, I think it is fair to say that I have adjusted to being a mom of 2. I probably have been for a few weeks now, but it just occurred to me the other day. I think I realized it because the week before last Joel was in the office every day and I still survived. As you may know, Joel often works from home. For the most part, I pretend he’s not home, but I still have that crutch that if there is a toddler meltdown + newborn pooptastrophe, I can call on him to help if he can. This particular week, no crutch, and I made it to all 5 of Graham’s appointments with a little girl in tow, the house was clean, I gave Graham lots of attention, and I had dinner on the table most nights. I think we are getting somewhere!

Some areas there was little to no adjustment. Since Macy has been born I have stayed right on top of the cleaning (even laundry!) so I am proud of that. Of course we have made it to all Graham’s appointments. He has therapy nearly every day. Each time I get out the door on time with two kids, manage to keep Macy content for 1.5 hrs during Graham's therapy, wrangle them back home, and get lunches on the table, I feel a sense of accomplishment. A lot of weeks, Joel’s mom takes Graham to a session or two, so that is really helpful. That’s when I get caught up on insurance phone calls, or give Macy that special one on one time that every new baby deserves.

Other areas did require an adjustment. I have gotten a better handle on these in the last few weeks, such as quality time with Graham and meal planning. For the first few weeks it was about meeting needs: kids needed to be fed, clean, dressed, potty breaks, not crying, etc. However, I wasn’t able to give each child individual attention like I wanted. Often Macy was crying in her bouncy seat while I was taking Graham potty, or Graham was watching Sesame Street while I was feeding the baby. 3 episodes of Sesame Street in a row…sure, why not? Survival mode. Since the start, we have made it a point to take Graham to do something fun outside every day- swim class, the splash pad, a walk, the park…etc. I am just referring to our days at home. While Elmo is still a good friend of ours, I have been able to carve out a lot more time for Graham. Not juggling a book and a newborn at the same time, but real one-on-one time, like doing a couple puzzles or working on speech. I think a big part of this is because Macy’s schedule has become more predictable and she is taking longer naps during the day allowing that time with Graham.

As I mentioned meal planning has improved. Joel has often taken the lead in the cooking, largely in part because he does the shopping. He tends to be a ‘buy what’s on sale and make a meal out of it’ kind of cook and I am more of a ‘think of what sounds good and find a recipe’ kind of cook. He usually comes home from shopping with all these meals in mind and often is the one to execute them. Our biggest stress lately has been dinner time. Joel and I need one meal, Graham needs another, and Macy another, so it is hectic. We realized we need to de-stress this time of day by having a better plan, instead of the 6 pm question of, “So…..what’s for dinner??!” Anyway, I prepared a meal plan and it worked out so much better! Since I had a plan I was able to get a lot done ahead of time. I could brown meat, or cut veggies at lunch time, so it would be ready so I could whip dinner up faster later. Plus, I was excited to make all the meals I had planned. It was fun! Since we had such a yummy week of meals, I will post them under a separate cover.

As a parent I understand that once we have one thing figured out, something else changes, but I am happy with how we're managing. I hope we keep up this momentum!!

Weekly Meal Plan... :P

2011-08-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

A lot of the blogs I read post their weekly meal plan. I love reading these as it is nice to get new ideas, so I thought I’d join in. No promises on doing this weekly. Most of the blogs post ahead of time, I am doing the opposite. I am posting what we had last week. That way I can tell you if it was good. :)

Usually I think of what I want to make and then I find a recipe that best matches what I am thinking of, then I make modifications. Mostly the recipe helps me figure out serving sizes, or how long to cook stuff. Where I used a recipe as a guide, I will post it and my modifications.

On Saturday night, Joel grilled a bunch of pesto marinated chicken breast that I planned meals around.

Saturday
Pesto Chicken Breast
Roasted Red Skin Potatoes
Grilled Zucchini

Sunday- At Joel’s parents (grilled chicken, lots of veggies, and pie)

Monday
Chicken Pesto Pizza (Boboli crust, marinara, chicken, red pepper, red onion, mozzarella, feta chunks)
Spinach Salad (baby spinach, bacon, feta chunks, red onion, red pepper, ranch dressing)

Tuesday
Chicken Pasta Bake (recipe had the following changes: pesto chicken, added can of diced tomato, used 3 cups frozen broccoli, added sauteed baby spinach, added garlic, left out the cheddar chz)

Wednesday
Taco Bake (recipe had the following changes: used ground turkey, added can of corn and 8 oz salsa, used 14 ozs pasta, and extra taco seasoning)

Thursday
Chicken Burgers (from Costco)
Spinach Salad (baby spinach, bacon, feta chunks, red onion, red pepper, ranch dressing)

Friday
Chicken Wraps (baked chicken tenders, bacon, pepper jack chz, onion, lettuce, tortilla)
Sweet Potato Fries
Zucchini

Saturday
Pasta w/ Asparagus & Sausage (recipe had the following changes: used chicken andouille sausage, added 2 tbsp of pesto sauce)

Everything was delicious! I would recommend every meal and would not change a thing in the way they were each prepared. Have a great week!

Sweet Siblings

2011-08-13T20:37:00.002-04:00

It has been very precious to watch Graham and Macy’s relationship develop. Obviously the relationship is still in its infancy, mostly one-sided with Graham doting on Macy. At this stage their relationship is best described as sweet.

Graham has loved Macy for some time now. Even when I was pregnant he was always rubbing my belling and saying 'baby.' It seems to me that he understands the transition. He no longer rubs my belly since I have explained to him that the baby is here now. Every once in a while, he shows that he remembers when she was in my tummy. Just the other day we were in Macy’s nursery and Graham was rocking in the glider, then he came up to me and started rubbing my belly and said, “Baby Mamy.” (‘May-mee’ is how he says Macy.)

He has never shown the least bit of jealousy in regards to his little sister. He is understanding when I need to feed or change her. He likes to help. When I change her diaper he will rub her feet, or hand me a baby wipe.

He doesn’t like when she cries; he gets concerned for her. He will come grab my hand and pull me over to her. Sometimes he employs his own methods of soothing- he will bring her a toy, her pacifier, or he’ll rub her feet. Today during tummy time I was rubbing and patting her back, when I stopped for a second he started doing it. He was so gentle, using just the right amount of pressure.

I have a feeling a lot of good times and a lot of love is in store for these two!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T09:02:00.001-04:00

Macy's Newborn Shoot

2011-08-03T21:16:00.007-04:00

Macy's newborn shoot was done by Anima Dolce Photography when she was 6 days old. Enjoy!!

The first 4 pictures were used for her birth announcements. The first one was used on the front. The next three on the back, along with her birth information.

My other favs:

She has changed so much already. ::sigh::

I don't see how she could possibly be any more beautiful! At 6 days old, or today.

Feliz Cumpleanos Papa!!

2011-08-01T18:02:00.003-04:00

On the way home from Indianapolis for the Chromosome 18 Conference, we went to my parents for my dad's surprise 70th birthday party, or should I say fiesta? Since my dad is mexican we had a fiesta for him.

My mom made a delicious spread of enchiladas, tostadas, refried bean, spanish rice, fruit, and all the mexican fixin's. Sooooo yummy!

We all showed some love for our favorite mustached septuagenarian. Everyone in this picture has a mustache.

Even Macy!! (Don't worry, not attached.)

No fiesta is complete without a pinata. I always loved pinatas as a kid. We often had them at family get togethers. So fun!

The pinata was pretty tough so my sister had an aluminum bat. It was so heavy she had to help Graham, but he took a few swipes. :)

Then he let the pros take over.

The birthday boy took a few swings as well.

In the end my sister Nickey ended up smashing it.

Last, but not least, cake!

Okay, so we didn't have 70 candles on the cake, but there were a lot, so he had a few helpers! All the kids at the party helped him, including Graham.

Happy birthday Dad!! I hope you had a great day! We love you!

2011 Chromosome 18 Conference

2011-07-31T00:07:00.000-04:00

July 20-24, our family had the opportunity to attend the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society’s Annual Conference. This year the conference was held in Indianapolis, IN.

I could do a whole post on how the shenanigans of travelling with TWO young children. The packing was crazy. Graham needed his usual clothes and toys. On top of it all of his medications, supplements, and a week’s worth of food (too many allergies to order off a menu). Fortunately, our room had a mini fridge. For a little lady, Macy sure needed a lot of stuff- clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, burp cloths, car seat, Pack n’ Play, travel swing (super compact), breast pump, boppy, and on and on. Then of course, Joel and I needed a few things for us too. Good grief!

We left on Wednesday morning. The kids were really good. We thought Macy might cry the whole way, but she didn’t. Graham was content with books and DVD’s. We did have a lot of stops though, mostly for Macy. Lots of feeding sessions and dirty diapers. So, what should have been a 5.5 hr drive ended up taking about 7.5 hrs.

Our sleeping arrangements were somewhat precarious. We were all in the same hotel room of course. Graham had his own bed, we had the other, and Macy was in the Pack n’ Play next to our bed. Graham thought it was the best thing ever that he could get out of bed and wander around the room. He does this at home too. He gets out of bed and wanders around his room usually falling asleep on the floor since he has a baby gate on his door. It was a bit different at the hotel since there was a lot more to get into and we weren’t about to let him sleep on the floor! So, it took us until at least midnight to get him to sleep every night. Then of course Macy would wake around 3 to eat. By morning, Joel and I felt like zombies. One main recurring theme we heard over and over from people was, “You guys are so BRAVE to be travelling with a newborn and a toddler. By the end of the weekend, we came to think brave = crazy. Haha

Okay, so that’s enough of that, now onto the conference!!

For a year and a half, I have been communicating with many families via a Yahoo group set up for parents and/or affected individuals as well as facebook. Some of these moms I talk/write to several times a week! As you can imagine, meeting was long overdue. It’s amazing how well you can feel like you know someone without having met them in person. However, upon meeting them in person I feel as close to them as I do some people I have been friends with for year. There is an underlying understanding between all of us parents that would be impossible for others to understand without having the same experiences. That in itself makes me feel closer to these moms. Joel felt the same way. He hadn’t been communicating with other families nearly as much, yet felt a strong connection with these families after meeting and sharing our experiences. Besides connecting as parents, it was also great to link Graham up with these other kids, who we have been talking about for so long. Not surprisingly, we tend to gravitate towards those experiencing the same ages and stages as our little ones. So, here are some of the 3-5 year olds.

Besides the sharing and connecting, it was a conference obviously, so during the days there were sessions. There were 3 tracks to the conference, one for affected young adults, one for parents of little ones, and one for parents of young adults. There were some common sessions as well. The session we found most interesting was that on the research. The Research Society researches everything from how missing certain genes affect individuals, to treatments, to how siblings are affected emotionally and on and on. We also got other useful information on therapies or activities that may be helpful to work through some of Graham’s challenges, especially speech.

You can see how we spent the sessions with Miss Macy.

Graham was in the childcare organized for the conference. He was in the 3-4 yr old room. Nancy was assigned to him. She was in her 60’s and had a really soft and sweet way about her. Graham got on just peachy with her. I wish I had gotten a picture. Anyway, the childcare was great. At the end of the conference I got a bag of all the artwork they did, one day there was a magic show, daily nap time, and one of the volunteers even came in and played guitar. Fun!

In the evenings we headed out to dinner with the other families.

Two of the beautiful mamas I have formed such great connections with, Alisha in the middle and Maria on the right.

Thanks to Mary on the 2nd night who held Macy so I could eat dinner.

Mary and Jeff’s son, Jonah is 5 and is similar in a lot of ways to Graham. Mary and Jeff also have a little girl who is 4 mos old who was also at the conference. So, Mary and I spent a lot of time in the back of sessions comforting our little girls, or poolside while our boys swam with their daddies.

On the last night there was a dinner and a banquet.

Another wonderful family. Logan loves letters and numbers just like Graham.

Alisha was one of the 1st moms I started talking to after Graham's diagnosis. Graham and Emarie are only 2 mos apart. Alisha has been such a great friend to me over the last year and a half. We talk all the time. It was so great to finally meet her.

And of course, I was thrilled to finally get my hands on gorgeous Emarie!

You should have seen Graham cutting a rug!!

Both of our children were loved and doted on so much during this weekend. Here is Alisha with Macy. I was forewarned before the conference that she would be stealing a little time with Macy. By the way, practically all of Macy's headbands we own are compliments of Alisha & family. Thanks!!!

I love this picture of these two beauties!

Here is Graham getting some love from Julia. Julia has 18q- like Graham. She is one of the most loving people I have ever met. She is a baby fanatic, and while she didn't hold Macy this time around, Graham received some love! :)

It was a great conference. We are so glad we went. Thanks to the organizers and the all of the wonderful families we met!!

Wordless Wednesday- Toddlers and Their Super Picture Foiling Capabilities

2011-07-27T19:49:00.002-04:00

1 Month!!

2011-07-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

You are 1 month old! It feels like I just had you a week ago, yet it also feels like I have known you forever. You have taken your place in our family. You are small, but mighty…not to be ignored. But how could we…as cute as you are?!

Your 1 Month Picture:

Graham's 1 Month Picture:

Our favorite outtake! :)

People flock to us everywhere we go, gushing about how gorgeous you are. We never have to tell anyone you are a girl, even when you’re dressed gender neutral. You are such a beauty! You haven’t lost any hair yet, and that definitely adds to your adorableness. I love to dress you up and put bows in your hair.

You are still so tiny, yet in some ways you have lost a bit of that newborn look. Your cheeks are filling out, and so are your thighs. I guess we are doing good work with the nursing! We love your baby fat! We got to the doctor next week to check on you. I can’t wait to hear how you’re growing.

Small but perfectly formed!

You are still in newborn clothes and diapers, but not for too much longer. You eat every 2-3 hours, a bit longer at night. You are a fussy girl- not a fan of tummy time, your exercise mat, the pacifier, or even the swing. Mostly you just like to be held and doted on. Nothing wrong with that! Lately you have been sleeping on your side unswaddled. You like to put your fists under your chin….just like you did in utero! It’s amazing really. Mama had MANY ultrasounds and in every one, your fists were under your chin, and still the same. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise then. It’s so amazing to think back on my pregnancy and realize it was YOU in there!

Although you don’t like tummy time, we still do it in short sessions throughout the day. Your favorite way is on mommy’s chest. You push your little butt up and kick your feet. If we put a hand at your feet, you can move a couple inches. You are picking your head up and turning it from side to side while on your tummy. The other day you were pushing off on one side it almost looked like you were going to roll over! You’re strong when you’re mad!! You have been smiling since birth, and even laughing in your sleep. We’re starting to get little half smiles in reaction to us looking at or talking to you. I am not sure whether you’ve had you “official 1st smile” yet. Joel says yes, I am not sure. I guess since I keep the baby book, I make the call! ;P

Your brother adores you. Every morning, as soon as he wakes up he says, “Baby!” and makes a beeline for our bedroom to peek in the bassinet. When you cry, he rubs your feet, gives you a kiss, or brings me your pacifier. He will ask for you at bedtime to be sure he has kissed you goodnight, the same way he does with Mommy and Daddy. It’s obvious in his eyes you’re part of the family.

We have been waiting so long for you and are so glad you are here, our perfect girl! Happy 1 month Macy Rose!!

Love,
Mommy

Time flies with 2 kids!!

2011-07-15T13:41:00.007-04:00

I can’t believe Macy is over 3 weeks now! Time flies! Life is definitely a lot more hectic and full with two little ones. Time is so precious these days. It seems we are busy every second, so I am going to try to capture our first few weeks as fast as I can. Forgive me if this post is not the most well-written!

I will do a birth story later. For now, I will just summarize and say I was induced. My labor was very similar to my labor with Graham. I was in labor about 3 hours and ended up going without pain meds. Yay! 3 minutes of pushing this time. Not too shabby! Our time in the hospital also went off without a hitch. We had lots of visitors. Macy began nursing like a champ right away. We have had no issues with that whatsoever. She’s still a little pro. Graham had difficulty with this so it was a relief that she hasn’t!

We came home from the hospital on Thursday and Graham came home as well. He had a fun week at Grandma and Grandpa's and we are so thankful for that!!

In the beginning it was a little crazy. Graham was acting up...mostly just not listening and not remembering to use the potty. So, that was fun. ;P Graham usually has an adjustment period when he’s been away from home for a while, so that’s all it was I think. Also, he would get really stressed when Macy cried. He is sensitive. He doesn’t like it when children are upset, so his little sister was no exception.

My 12 year old niece came over the Sunday after Macy’s birth to help out with Graham. That was great. Graham got so much attention, while still being at home.

So we were able to meld together as a family. She left on Friday. By then, we were starting to get into a good rhythm as a family unit. Graham seems much more well-adjusted now. When she cries now, it doesn’t seem to stress him out as much. He will just say, “Shh,” or he’ll give her a kiss or her pacifier. His latest is to go over and rub her feet when she starts crying. I guess a boy is never too young to learn ladies like their feet rubbed! Graham has never shown the least bit of jealousy towards his sister. However, I have noticed when Graham sees my lap empty, he will climb in and get some hugs. He did this when he was younger, but not as much lately. So, I love that he is cuddly again, though he is quite large to be climbing on my lap. You can see in the next pics that as soon as I put Macy down, Graham was ready to take her place. Awww!

Having two kids has been quite an adjustment! Now instead of taking turns, we’re both occupied all the time. There is the reality that sometimes Graham and/or Macy have to wait a few minutes to get their needs met. Neither is very patient. Sometimes they are both crying at the same time while Joel and I are scrambling to please our children. We just look at each other and laugh. When I am on my own, it is especially tricky to juggle two. When Graham was a newborn, I could set him down places, and/or leave the room for a minute. I can’t leave Macy unattended ever. Obviously Graham doesn’t understand what a newborn can and can’t do. So, Macy comes everywhere with me! Then there is trying to get out of the house with 2 kiddos. Macy always poops herself, or Graham needs to use the potty. Oi vey! It has also been pretty challenging to take Macy to Graham’s appointments with me. As you can imagine, a crying newborn is distracting in a therapy session, but then if I try to leave the room Graham gets upset. I am working on getting Graham used to me hanging in the lobby while he’s in his session. We’ll get there! Everything is an adjustment. None of this has been surprising to me!

As for Macy’s temperament- no surprise it has changed over the weeks. When we first brought her home, she was super easy. She would eat every 3 hours like clockwork, but then go right back to sleep. Hey, having a newborn is easy! ;P That lasted about a week or so. Her wakeful periods are getting longer all the time. She is a bit of a fusser. She is quiet when nursing and sleeping. Other than that, if she’s awake, there’s a good chance she is fussing. She wants to be held every second.

Sometimes, she cries even when she’s fed, changed, and being held. She’s not a fan of the bouncy seat, her exercise mat, tummy time, or a pacifier. She does like the swing, but it puts her to sleep. I wish I could find an activity that she would enjoy while being awake. Graham was content to look around and take in the sights, but not Miss Macy. I hope I don’t make it sound bad. She is just figuring out this world and in doing so changing all the time. We just take it day by day. She is starting to sleep for longer stretches. Last night she nursed at 11.30pm, 3.30 am, and 7 am. Not too bad! She is usually up for about an hour each time, from diaper change, to feeding, to diaper change, to swaddle, and back down. Daddy is awesome at those hard to get out burpies that can be frustrating at 3.30 am!

Macy is such a beautiful little baby. Joel and I are so in love with her. She is such a blessing and a wonderful addition to our family. It feels like we waited so long for her to get here, and now she is! Our lives and hearts are as full as full can be due to the arrival our little Sweet Pea.

As I posted previously, earlier pics are in this album on facebook. It is a public album so you don’t need an account or to be my “friend” to view. Here are some more recent pictures, from earliest to most recent:

5 Questions Friday!!

2011-07-14T22:35:00.002-04:00

1. If you knew your best friend's spouse was cheating on her or him, would you tell her (him)?

Without question, of course I would!! It would not be a fun conversation, but I would. The question said "best-friend." If it were a random acquaintance, or even a friend I'm not super close to, I would give it a lot of thought, but would most likely stay out of it.

2. Soda in a can or a bottle?

Bottle, for sure.

3. What do you wash first, hair or body?

Hair.

4. What advice would you give to any new mama?

You tell me!! haha

I guess I would say Enjoy these fleeting moments, for the little ones grow up so fast! Cliche, but true!

5. What is your best hangover remedy?

Advil and lots and lots and LOTS of water!

Baby update coming SOON...promise!!

7 Years!!

2011-07-05T17:19:00.002-04:00

Today is my and Joel's 7th wedding anniversary!

I will never forget that day in Mexico. It was sunny. It was beautiful. We were surrounded by our closest loved ones. It was perfect. I married my best-friend, my true love!

Tonight we are headed out to a local outdoor mall where Joel and I will eat take-out while sitting on a park bench watching our 3 yr old splash in fountains, with a newborn girl in a stroller next to us. How perfect is that?? This is the life I tell you!

This is exactly how I envisioned our anniversary last October. Let me tell you a story. After all, there is no better time to tell of how you learned you were pregnant than when your newborn is 2 weeks old!

Last October we decided we were going to start trying for a baby. It was a pretty hectic month. One of my best-friends got married that month and I was in the wedding. Also, we took a trip to Captiva Island, FL. Anyway, by the time Jamie's wedding rolled around I did not think I was pregnant. I was not late yet, but I didn't think our timing was very great and I was feeling like my cycle would start soon. I took a pregnancy test the day before her wedding and it was negative.

The day after her wedding, Sunday, we left for FL. We were running late for the airport and had no time to pick up a test, so still thinking I wasn't pregnant I just planned to wait it out. A couple days into our trip, still nothing. Now I was late. I was going crazy, full of excitement, but not wanting to get my hopes up. I was keeping it all in, not wanting to get Joel's hopes up either. One eensy weensey problem- no stores anywhere near our resort carried pregnancy tests and we didn't have a car. Finally I had an epiphany and asked one of the store if there were able to get items from the main land and bring them back. They said yes, it would cost me $1 and take 3 hours. Why didn't I think of it sooner?? By now it was Thursday, the last night of our trip. I got the call that the test was in and I hiked to the store and got it. I seriously did so much walking that day.

I took the test...you know the result...here was my reaction!

I was literally screaming, by myself, in our hotel bathroom. I could not believe we got pregnant on the 1st month of trying again!

It was our last night of vacation and Joel and I planned an evening out alone together as every other night we ate with his co-workers. We walked the beach to get to the restaurant. As we walked I was telling him how nice it was to get away with him and I wondered when our next trip together would be. I said, "We usually go somewhere for our anniversary, but I don't think we will be able to this year." He of course asked why. I said, "Because we will have a newborn at home!"

He just looked and me and this big smile spread across his face and he asked me, "Are you pregnant??!!" I said yes, and then we had a moment. Then we took a picture of our moment. Seriously, how happy do we look??

Then we took my first belly pics. :)

We had a wonderful dinner with fun, exciting conversation about all things BABY!! And of course, preggy needs dessert...key lime pie!

So here we are at our anniversary, no vacation. Just a night out with my family!

Who could ask for more?!

10 years of love, 7 years of marriage, 8 homes, 2 babies, and countless memories!!

I love you forever Joel!! Happy anniversary!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T10:08:00.000-04:00

Album of Macy Posted...Finally!

2011-06-26T12:33:00.002-04:00

I can see people checking the blog and I'm pretty sure I know why..."Pics woman!!" Am I right?

I just posted an album of Macy on Facebook and the privacy setting is so all can see it. Enjoy!

I hope some time I get some time to post an update on how things went and how they're going. For now I will just say labor & delivery went exactly as I hoped and Macy is a dream baby! We're ding great!!

Introducing Macy Rose!

2011-06-21T22:45:00.002-04:00

Macy Rose Wolf
June 21, 2011
6:12 pm
6lbs, 1 oz
19 in

We're doing well and will update again after we go home! Thank you all for your well wishes!

39 Weeks...and last pregnancy update!

2011-06-20T22:10:00.001-04:00

As most of you know, I have an induction set for tomorrow morning. We're so very excited to meet our little darling. I am not too nervous, as I am trying not to think about things too much. Labor sounds better than staying pregnant at this point. I am uncomfortable and having a lot of pressure. Yesterday every time I walked or moved I had a contraction. We ended up sending Graham to GaGa and PaPa's last night instead of tonight because we really needed to relax. I cried when I gave him his "one more kiss" (which I ended up doing 10x) because I know next time I see him he'll be sharing his mommy. This will be great for him I know, but it's still sentimental!

After Graham left, I really tried to relax. I did not want to go into labor. On one hand, it would be nice so I wouldn't have to be induced, but on the other my doctor would not have been available to deliver me today and my best-friend who is going to be in the delivery room with us wouldn't have been able to come either. So, I was hoping to hold out at least for tonight so they would both be available. I'm quite certain I would be going into labor within a few days anyway given the way I've been feeling. Last Friday at my 39 week appointment I had made more progress towards labor. The baby looked good, NST good. My belly was measuring on track. :)

Below is my last belly pic with Graham at 39 wks. I was induced 2 days later.

I think I look a lot bigger this time around! I am measuring 2 wks ahead of where I measured with Graham. I am carrying lower this time for sure. I don't think I ever "dropped" with Graham. So, I think that's part of it too. With Graham I gained 30 lbs, this time about 32, though I started 10 lbs lighter. Graham was 5 lbs, 14 ozs, so we'll see where she comes in at.

I hope I am as blessed this time in regards to labor. With Graham I was only in labor about 3 hours and it wasn't too bad. I ended up going without an epidural. However, every labor is different, so we'll see how this one goes.

That's all I really want is a healthy baby and mama, just like all of us mamas want. Please send us prayers, good vibes...all that stuff.

Family of 4 coming right up!!

Father's Day!

2011-06-20T16:58:00.000-04:00

When it comes to Joel as a father, I wish I could put it into words. He is simply the best. This has been true from the start, no doubt, but he has definitely stepped it up this pregnancy. In the first trimester, I could barely get through the day. So, when he got home from work, he took over Graham's care completely. He still gives me a lot of those nights where I am free to just relax or do baby stuff until it's time to do Graham's bedtime routine. However, this doesn't even begin to describe how hands-on and loving Joel is. It is a sad fact that many fathers find it even harder than mothers to deal with and care for children with special needs. Joel is always there to listen to me vent and he is very concientious about Graham's allergies, and helping with therapy, and just how we raise Graham in general and what kind of impact it will have on his development. I couldn't do it without him!! I consider Graham and I very blessed. Needless to say, our new baby is also very lucky that she's about to be born to the best daddy there ever was!! :)

For Father's Day, Joel requested "Game Night" with his best-friend. So, on Saturday instead of date night, he met his friend online for gaming. I hope they had fun because it might be a little while... ;P Date night is tonight since Graham is at GaGa and PaPa's. :)

Graham and Mommy made Daddy a card. Also, I got Joel some dark chocolate from Godiva and I only realized when I went to write this post that I never even gave it to him. That's pregnancy brain for ya!! I guess he'll have a nice surprise when he gets home. :)

Graham made Daddy a present at school as well.

The front says, "I love my dad." I'm pretty sure he had help!!

It's a poem about daddies, and it has Graham's footprints.

Big feet!

The poem :

Walk A Little Slower
Walk a little slower, Daddy,
Said a little child so small.
I'm following in your footsteps
And I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they are hard to see;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.

Joel loved it! Anyway, Joel, you're the best. We love you so much and hope you had a great day!!

And of course, even though I didn't do a special post, we certainly didn't forget about the other great fathers in our lives. Dad and Jim, you are both amazing dads and papas!!! Love you!

Nursery Tour!

2011-06-19T00:20:00.002-04:00

For background on the nursery, see my first post "Nursery Progress." I will repeat some of it as relevant, but mostly I'm just posting pics. :)

View from the doorway:

Graham made this butterfly in school and I thought it was so cute, so I put it in a 12x12 scrapbook page frame and up on the wall. The colors in this picture aren't exact, but you get the point.

Two more views from the doorway:

The glider (gift from Joel's parents, Babies R Us), dresser (Ikea), and toy box we had from Graham's nursery. The toy box was from when Joel was a boy. The curtains were from Lowes.

The poms were from PomLove on Etsy. We fluffed them ourselves. Joel even helped!

Two decorations that are in the process of being made belong in the corner in the above picture. On the wall to the left of the poms, or to the right of the glider, will be a shelf my dad is making. Here is the inspiration picture I found online. It will be 2ft wide x 3ft tall. You may remember the bookshelf and toy box my dad made Graham. He is very good with his hands!!

To the left of the glider will be this cross-stitch my sister is making. Instead of "Wild Things" on top will be her name. My sister made an adorable cross-stitch for Graham nursery as well, so I am excited to see this one!

View from the opposite corner of the room (the toy box):

Her name will be hung above the closet.

The crib is is from Babysdream. It is formeldehyde/lead/toxic free. It took forever to get, but we love it!!

The bedding is Baby Boom from Walmart. The bedding inspired the wall color. Originally I wanted to paint the nursery a baby pink. Then I fell in love with this bedding and decided to match the wall color to the aqua dots. Otherwise I felt the room would have too much pink. The wall color is Blue Bauble from Sherwin Williams (no VOC coating).

View from closet:

This picture was taken during my maternity shoot from Anima Dolce Photography.

These next two items inspired the entire nursery!! I picked them both up in flea market in Cape Town, South Africa. Each item was around $5. Can't beat that, huh? They are both such unique items and I just loved them. Even at the time I was thinking "nursery items!!"

I did all the design myself, and Joel did quite a lot of the work. It was a team effort and we're both really pleased with how it turned out!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!!

2011-06-17T17:05:00.003-04:00

I was sitting in the living room and Graham walks in with a ball under his shirt rubbing his belly. So, I did what I do best and took some belly pics.

How many weeks do you think he is??

Less than 1 week!!

2011-06-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

That’s right, in less than one week our baby girl will be born!!! I can’t believe it. In some ways it feels like I have been pregnant forever, but at the same time it’s surreal to think she will be in our arms in a few days.

I guess I’ll pick up where I left off in the last update. At 35 weeks, I had a growth ultrasound and the baby was estimated to be 5 lbs, 2 ozs. So, my monitoring got reduced to weekly NST’s and doctor’s appts with a follow-up growth ultrasound in 2 wks. The NST’s and appts all went great. I had my follow-up ultrasound at 37 wks.

37 Weeks

Sweet Pea was estimated to weigh 5 lbs, 8 ozs. 6 ozs in 2 wks isn’t exactly packing on the pounds, so the little missus dropped from the 14th percentile to the 6th. However, babies grow in spurts and it seems Sweet Pea is on a 3 wk growth cycle. Her ultrasounds show more growth when they’re conducted every 3 wks, instead of every 2. She seems to jump around from 5th to 15th%. To be on the conservative side, my monitoring was increased to twice weekly NST’s, once weekly doctor’s appts with an ultrasound. All of her testing has been great! They will not be conducting another growth ultrasound on her. By the time it would be time to do that, we will be delivering her. My induction date has been set for next Tuesday, 6/21. I will be in my final week of the pregnancy and my doctor definitely doesn’t want me to go overdue. So, there you have it. We will be meeting her in less than a week.

I’m not overly worried about her. Her growth has been slow but steady and all of her testing has been great. Besides this pregnancy is almost over, so what is the point in worrying? We will know soon enough if all is well and I believe it is!

This last week is flying by as I have been so busy. Graham’s last day of school was last Friday, Monday Graham was in surgery to get his ear tubes replaced, Tuesday I had my NST and ultrasound, today Graham had an evaluation for Physical Therapy, tomorrow Graham has an evaluation for Speech Therapy, and Friday I have my doctor’s appt and NST. I don’t have time to have this baby. j/k But truthfully, it will be nice to have it scheduled if she decides to stay put for a few more days.

As I said, it’s definitely surreal that this pregnancy is almost over. It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in a matter of days I will have 2 children. 90% of the time I cannot wait to meet her and have both my babies at home. 5% of the time, I am like OMG how am I going to take care of a newborn and Graham. What did we get ourselves into?! 3% of the time, I am nervous about labor & delivery and hoping everything goes well …healthy baby, no c-section, no nursing complications…just hoping all goes according to plan. 2% of the time, I love my family just the way it is and I want to bottle up these last few days and keep them forever. So, that’s my emotional readiness status. I’m an Engi-nerd, I have to break it down into numbers!!

Tonight Graham was having trouble falling asleep and wanted mama, so I rocked him and sang to him until he was off to Dream Land. I laid there and reflected on the last 3+ years we have had together. They have been so special. I am so thankful for that time with him. We have become so close, especially in Africa. There was less family and friends and Joel worked a lot so it was me and my Grahamie all the time!! Perfect! I have to remember to give my little girl the same love nd attention that Graham has relished. At the same time, I want to make special time for Graham and I still. Such is the life of a mom of two I suppose!

As for our preparedness, I would say we are there. We are done with the nursery, crib included! Finally! There are a few things left to hang, but we don’t have the items yet, so we will have to wait. They are decorations my dad and sister are making. The car seat is installed. My labor & delivery bag is packed. Graham’s bag for GaGa and PaPa’s is packed. All the cameras are emptied and batteries charged, with chargers packed. Clothes washed and put away, diapers and wipes stocked, bottles and pacifiers washed (just in case). Am I missing anything??

I will post some pictures of the nursery soon, but for now here are a few more belly pictures and pictures from my birthday.

For my birthday, we went to dinner at Black Finn in Royal Oak. We went there last year on my birthday and Joel sent them a very nice thank you for the excellent service. In return for that letter, they sent us a $50 gift card. So we finally got around to using it...one year later. I had the fillet and garlic mashed potatoes. Joel had salmon and double veggies. Yum!!

After dinner, we used my birthday buy one, get one at Cold Stone. I was so excited to have such a great night out AND hardly spend anything...though Joel told me 100x that we should go anywhere I wanted. Anyway, this next picture is a must considering the copious amounts of ice cream I have consumed this pregnancy!!

On my actual birthday, we spent the afternoon/evening with Joel's parents. We rode around on the boat, had a delicious meal, and of course more ice cream! It's a tough life!

Finally, my 38 week belly picture! Whoa Nelly!!

You wouldn't believe the amount of people who tell me DAILY that I look to be about 6 or 7 months pregnant! I don't think so. If that were true, I'd be very frightened to see what I would look like full term! Hopefully I will have one more set of belly pics from our last weekend as a family of 3!!! :)

Nursery tour up next!

Last Day of School!

2011-06-10T23:30:00.002-04:00

Today was Graham's last day of school. I'm a bit sad for him since I know he did so many wonderful actvities at school and always had friends to play with. I hope I can keep him as entertained and stimulated at home. Then I remembered all the fun we had last summer with pools, sprinklers, zoo trips, trips to the Fair...etc and I started to get excited again. :) Might be harder with a newborn in tow, but we will make it work...we always do!

Now is as good of a time as any to share some pictures from his school year.

Just a few weeks ago, he went on his first ever school field trip. Well, he had gone on others with his Early On Preschool, but this was different. Anyway, we went to the Detroit Zoo. Now Graham is no stranger to the zoo, but this was an especially fun trip. He had all his little friends with him. Also, GaGa came along too. She helped me so much with wagon pulling, and she did all the potty trips...and I didn't go into labor. Win, win! ;P

Graham's friend wanted to hold his hand almost all the time, and Graham wanted to hold my hand, so we had a little train going. I was a lucky lady!

My favorite picture of the day, Graham with his buddies. Is this a framer, or what??

The next few pics are from the school's Spring Concert. Graham's class was up there for two songs. During the first song Body Boogie, Graham didn't do much of anything, but a little clapping.

The second song was I'm a Little Teapot. He participated a bit more, however somehow he lost his position in line, so it was kind of hard to see him. In the first pic, he is doing the "Here is my spout" part. (He's in the back with his arm up.)

In this pic, he is squatting for the "I'm a little teapot, short and stout" part.

I thought he did a great job for being only 3 and his first time on a stage in front of all those people and all those lights. It's hard to tell since Graham is so tall, but all his classmates that came are nearly 2 yrs older than him. His class is for 3-5 year olds. So, most of those kids are off to Kindergarten next year and Graham will stay in Pre-school. GaGa and PaPa were very proud of Graham too.

It was hard for me to send Graham off to school initially. I was used to being with him all the time and I couldn't imagine missing out on so much of his day, so I sent a disposable camera to school with him and asked his teacher to take some pics when she could. She returned it yesterday (of course they're already developed!) and here are a few pics.

Every day a different child is "the leader" during calendar time, where that student puts up the date, day, month, and weather.

A little painting!

This is the Teacher's Aide.

This is Graham's teacher...too bad he looks half asleep. ;P

A few pics from recess!

To my surprise and delight, yesterday in his backpack was a little scrapbook of additional pictures taken over the last few months. That book had pictures of his birthday celebration and the various parties and other fun things they did. I didn't feel like scanning those for this post, but believe me when I say that it looks like he had so much fun!

I have so much admiration and appreciation for teachers. I mean seriously, what an important and exhausting job. My hat's off to them!!

So now that school's out, the summer fun begins. Oh, and the therapy!! :) I have been busy getting his summer schedule set up. I'm very excited about the Physical Therapy program he will be beginning in a few weeks. It seems to be the most intense program he's ever been in. I can't wait to get him going. He will have 2- 1.5 hr sessions weekly for 3 mos. He will also be in Speech Therapy twice weekly for 45 minutes.

Hope everyone's summer if off to a great start!!

Easter 2011 Link

2011-06-08T18:08:00.001-04:00

Well, I promised an Easter post and here it is. Better late than never I say!!

For organization purposes, I put it in April. I'm only 1.5 mos behind! ;P

Happy Birthday Candice!

2011-06-05T00:00:00.002-04:00

Happy 31st Birthday honey!

I know you didn't want anything for your birthday except your car cleaned (planned) and a wonderful dinner with someone handsome and witty (sorry, stuck with me!), but I thought a little public embarrassment and a little pda was in order as well.

First of all, you are the most beautiful preggy woman ever, and for the thousandth time, neither I nor anyone else can tell you are putting on weight and if we did, we would have no idea why. Just wanted to answer that pre-emptively :)

Seriously though you are an awesome momma, both to Graham and our new daughter and we all love you very much. All the parents that read your blog know what a juggling act life becomes with a growing family and you always seem on top of all the details. Lucky thing too because the poor boy would be in big trouble if his father was trying to do it. Something about a teacher's note admonishing me for sending him to school with shoes on the wrong feet (more than once) comes to mind, but let's get back to talking about how awesome you are ....

.....speaking of which, I'm sure the 18q mommas that read your blog can understand that juggling act takes on a whole new level when a child has special needs. As in blindfolded-juggling-of-things-on-fire type difficulty. So yeah, I guess you get promoted to Super Duper Awesome.

You're also super supportive of your hubby and are always there for your extended family, whatever the situation may be, and lately there seem to be a lot of situations. They too are lucky to have you in their lives.

While we are a bit limited on how crazy we can get for your birthday celebration this year due to your weight gain :P, I do hope you find time to relax a little, laugh a little and grow a little.

Graham and I love you very much honey. xoxox

Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society Golf Tournament

2011-06-02T00:20:00.000-04:00

You may recall, for Graham's 3rd birthday we asked our friends and family to consider donating to the Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society in lieu of purchasing Graham a birthday gift. Well, most did both! We ended up pooling all the money we received, along with a donation from us, to sponsor a hole at the Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society's Annual Golf Tournament. This is the main fundraiser for the organization.

Here is a picture of the insert that was in the plaque that was posted at the hole to let all know that the hole was in honor of our Graham! The pictures of Graham are ages 3 mos (bottom left), 1 yr (bottom right), 2 yrs (top left), and 3 yrs (top right).

The tournament raised more than $61,000. We have been so thankful for this orgnanization...from linking us with other families who provide us invaluable advice, support, and friendship to the research on our childrens' conditions. So, thank you to the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society, and thank you to those who contributed to this worthy cause!!

Wordless Wednesday- The View from Here!

2011-06-01T12:42:00.003-04:00

I took this picture from my bed last night. Piles of washed and folded baby clothes waiting to be put away in front of me and a bassinet to my right. She's coming soon!!!

36 weeks!!

2011-05-27T18:13:00.001-04:00

Whoa!! I am 1 week away from being full term (4 weeks from my due date)! This little girl is going to be in our arms in no time. It has been ages since I did a real pregnancy update, besides posting pictures, and so much has happened so I will do my best to fill you in while not babbling on forever.

Last post was Itty Bitty Baby. I described how the baby was a bit on the small side, just under 10th percentile. What this means is 90% of babies at the same gestational age are bigger. Anything under 10%, they watch. This was at 29 weeks. So, my doctor ordered weekly Non-stress tests (NST- where they monitor the baby's heart-rate in response to movement) and doctor’s appointment, and a follow-up ultrasound 3 weeks later. All the appts and NST’s went fine.

At 32 weeks, the follow-up ultrasound revealed that the baby was now on the 5%. So, the baby was growing, however she had dropped percentiles again! Then I was referred to the hospital to meet with the high-risk doctors and confirm the measurements. The doc at the hospital said the same thing: the baby looked perfect she was just small. He said if he were seeing me for the first time he wouldn’t be concerned. The fluid, blood flow, placenta, baby’s heart-rate, movement, and breathing were all perfect. The concern wasn’t so much her size, but just that she was not staying on her growth curve. The new plan was weekly appts with ultrasounds, and twice weekly NST’s. We would check her growth again in 3 weeks. Meanwhile, besides the extra testing, I was put on a very high calorie diet (~3,000 calories/day). I was eating a ton before and gaining plenty of weight, but we were trying to throw everything at this peanut! Sadly, I eat a lot of McDonald’s. It sure is a delicious and easy way to rack up calories, but I feel a bit guilty about it. Joel and I were laughing so hard one day, “If you are what you eat, then this baby is going to be a fry…a small fry!!” LOL

At 35 weeks, the follow-up ultrasound showed the baby at the 14%!! This was great news!! Seems pumpkin finally had a growth spurt. This was my appt last week. Since her tests have all been so great and she growing so well, we reduced the monitoring to once weekly appts with NST’s, and a follow-up ultrasound in 2 weeks. Now that we have been able to follow her growth over a much longer period, say 6 weeks, we can see she’s growing fine. I feel the need to point something out. The baby is small, yes, but she was never that small. Even at her smallest 5%, that is only 1-1.5 wks behind. That being said, my little sugar pie was estimated to weigh 5 lbs, 2 ozs last Monday. Doesn’t sound all that small to me considering she had 4.5 weeks left!

As you can imagine, dealing with all this “wait and see” was stressful, though there was always this part of me that felt it was being blown out of proportion. However, I am glad she hit a growth spurt and am feeling much better about things. Though I don’t think I’ll have that sigh of relief until she’s safe in my arms!

As I mentioned I am 36 weeks now, so in theory we have a month left. Seems pretty unlikely that I’ll make it that far. I am dilated to 2 and 70% effaced for those who know what that means. For those who don’t, it means my body is getting ready. I have also been having more frequent contractions. However, you never know, I could stay like this for a month.

I have been feeling the end of this pregnancy drawing near and have kicked it into high gear. I bought all the final touches for the nursery. We’re going to get as much done as we can this weekend. It’s going to be a while before her nursery is complete unfortunately. I have ordered the pom-poms, but there was a longer lead time than I anticipated (3 wks). Her crib still isn’t in. It was supposed to be in 5/1, but it keeps getting delayed, over and over. It’s frustrating, but I try not to worry about it. After all, she’ll be sleeping in the Pack n Play in our room for a while, but it would be nice to finish things up! I have done a lot of shopping this week to make sure we have everything we’ll need…new nipples for bottles (planning on breastfeeding, but she may need a bottle for milk like Graham did), new pacifiers, baby wash…that kind of stuff. I went through all Graham’s stuff in the basement, brought out gender neutral clothes, brought up baby gear (car seat, swing, bouncer). I bought some more clothes and am getting everything washed up. I’m not sure if I am nesting, or just keenly aware of the calendar!

Now onto this week’s belly pic:

I think I have dropped, can you see it?

I think it’s pretty obvious the little miss has had a growth spurt as my belly is definitely getting bigger! I still always get comments when people ask when I’m due, “Wow, you’re tiny!!” The funny thing is my belly is not measuring tiny at all. In fact I am measuring almost a week ahead by belly measurement! I have gained about 28lbs so far. I’m not really sure where it is though. Most of the clothes I am wearing are not maternity. Even my jeans still fit, so clearly I haven’t gained in my butt and legs. Who knows? That’s all I know is I only have a few more weeks yet and I’m not an elephant and haven’t gotten any stretch marks, so from a vanity perspective, I cannot complain!

For a finale, I will leave you with this picture of our Sweet Pea! The one good thing about being referred to the hospital is the 3D ultrasound. Isn’t this picture awesome? It looks to me like she has very full lips and has some hair already. We will see soon enough!!

5 Question Friday!!

2011-05-27T10:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Friday!! What are you guys up to? This weekend is more of the same from last weekend: PROJECTS!! I have been shopping, shopping, shopping getting the last supplies we need for Sweet Pea and hauling stuff out of the basement, so there's lots to do there. Nesting? Or just very aware of our timing?? We'll see...

1. Do you apologize to your kids?
Yes. I apologize when I accidentally bump into him, I apologize when I snap at him, or whatever the case may be. I love and respect him, so why wouldn't I?

2. What color are your nails right now?
No polish. I have been pretty neurotic about chemicals this pregnancy. I haven't painted my nails once. I did paint my toes once, a few days ago. I was careful to stay off the cuticle.

3. When you were growing up, how difficult was it for you to stay home from school sick? (As in, did you have to vomit or just say "I don't feel good".)
"I don't feel good," in my sick voice did the trick. However, it's not like I did it all the time. However, there were a few sneaks in there...you know when my BFF was sick too. :)

4. When is the last time you bought a new comforter for your bed?
Right before we moved into the new house. Here it is. The colors don't show up that great. It is brown and burgandy, we love it.

5. Favorite website(s)?
Hotmail, Facebook, Blogger, Google, MSNBC, and People are the sites I visit daily.

Wordless Wednesday- The Pregnancy Edition!

2011-05-25T12:29:00.000-04:00

4 Weeks!!

5 Weeks!!

7 Weeks!!

11 Weeks!!

14 Weeks!!

16 Weeks!!

19 Weeks!!

20 Weeks!!

21 Weeks!!

24 Weeks!!

27 Weeks!!

31 Weeks!!

32 Weeks!!

34 Weeks!!

35 Weeks!!

I have a pregnancy update coming up soon and you'll see my 36 week belly picture!!