First Thanksgiving

Before (notice the football in the background)

During (that's what happens when she gets up at 4:30 AM!!)
After. Much better now (until Mommy put the bad lotion on me!)

See what I mean about the hair? It just grew in all of a sudden. YAY!

This is new

Yesterday my mom and I were sitting at a coffeeshop which will remain nameless. A woman came in to get her coffee just as I was pulling of Madeleine's hat.

"Wow, she has way more hair that my daughter."

Nope, we have never once heard that comment before. She has gotten quite a big more hair it seems just in the last few weeks.

The day we've been waiting for - finally, my kid has some hair!!!
Now, what to do with it for her Christmas pictures tomorrow.....???

New Sweater

I finally finished it and it fits perfectly!

She keeps doing that with her tongue. Maybe she's finally getting some teeth?

We stayed here

Good to know.

The Three Old Priests

My Aunt Lisa is a home healthcare worker. She goes to people's homes who need help with all kinds of different things and helps them and gives their families a break. As much as I'm not a fan of Matthew Kelly, he says that "finding your genius" should be a goal in life. My Aunt has definitely done this. All the people she helps absolutely love her, and she is amazing at what she does. Not many people could do what she does - I know I couldn't. Anyway, she takes care of three old priests at the monastery where we stayed and my mom, Aunt Pat, and Madeleine and I got to meet them. One was Father Tom. He just turned 100 years old and he's been at St. Bernard's since he was 15. He was a monk first and then a priest. He takes care of all the archives and he knows everything about that place. He's known all but one of the Abbots, and he knew Father Joseph, the priest who built the Ave Maria grotto. He was really happy to meet us, and gave us all a blessing in Latin. Then we went to meet Father Ignatius. He couldn't see, and Madeleine was so quiet that he didn't know she was there. I asked him to pray for her and he touched her leg and gave her a blessing. He said he would pray for me too! The third priest promised to pray for her too. Now she has three holy priests praying for her.

When we left, Lisa promised to bring them all a slice of pumpkin pie in the morning, and that made their day. We got to walk around part of the monastery, including the library. We saw a really old music book that was made of sheepskin and was hand written by the monks about 100 years ago, as well as a beautiful, hand embroidered vestment.

I loved visiting the priests and seeing the monastery. I hope that Madeleine grows up with a love of priests and sisters, and of course our faith as well!

We're Back!

And we had a great time.

Madeleine is quite the little traveller - I'm not exaggerating when I say that she did not cry ONE TIME on either the trip there or back. And it was a good 9 hours of travel time each way. I could not believe it. She was perfect. We left early, she slept, we stopped for breakfast, she played and took her morning nap, we stopped for lunch, she played and took her afternoon nap and then we were there.

We had a great time seeing all of our relatives. Mom is the oldest of 8 and all but one of them were there. We missed you Uncle Ray and Aunt Cindy! We stayed at a monastery, which was really nice after Mom traded rooms with us. She got the suite with two rooms, a refrigerator and a sink, and a TV. At first we got the room with a small bed, no TV, no chairs, and no space in the bathroom. After we spent a little time at Aunt Christy's house on Wednesday, we decided to make a few trips over to St. Bernard's to bring the food to the dining room. After the first trip, I decided to stay while they made their second trip, since Madeleine had been in the car so much already. They said they were just going to get a load and come right back. They were gone for FOUR HOURS!!! They left me there to fend for myself, no food, no drink, and NO TV. Madeleine and I walked around the hall and dining room for about two hours, I fed her dinner, and then we decided to "break into" Aunt Pat's room to watch TV and sit on some comfortable furniture. Madeleine immediately fell asleep and I held her for about another two hours while I waited for Mom to come back and bring me some food. Then Mom graciously traded rooms with us so that I wouldn't have to go to bed at 7:30 when Madeleine went to bed. (We did bring a monitor, but the dining room was too far away for it to work, so we stayed in our room after she went to bed.)

The next day, Madeleine decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by waking up for the day at 4:30AM! So even though she took two naps (I did too!) she was just exhausted by dinnertime. She would not eat her sweet potatoes, her puffs, or her peas. She did enjoy the "cookie" -really a teething biscuit. She enjoyed it so much that we had to stick her in the sink afterwards. Our computer is still down at home so I'll get some pictures up soon. She did pretty well with the family - but she didn't really go to anyone except my Uncle Bobby. He is my favorite Uncle too :) My Uncle Leo took Bobby on a golf trip with some of his policeman friends and one of them said that Bobby is one of the ten nicest guys he's ever met in his life. It's true.

Of course, the Colts were playing on Thursday night. Ken made me call down there last week to inquire if they had the NFL network. They did not. So some of my uncles and cousins decided to take it upon themselves to set up a satellite dish so they could get all the football games on the big screen in the dining room. They worked on it all morning. I don't know how they did it and I'm not sure I want to know. My cousin Jennifer was in the room across from mine and she very nicely stayed in her room with her kids and the monitor so I could watch the game. We won, too! Two of my cousins left around 9pm to go sit outside Best Buy to get some of the Black Friday deals. All night long. In the freezing cold. They are crazy. But not as crazy as some people who got there at 1pm. They were 75th in line.

I enjoyed eating the turkey, ham, bread and cranberry sauce. That's it. I couldn't have the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes, the corn pudding, the green bean casserole, the cheesecake or the pumpkin pie because they all had dairy in them. And in another quest for the Mother of the Year award, after her bath I put some lotion on her that had buttermilk in it. On Friday she had the worst rash I have ever seen. It looked like she'd been burned all over. Surprisingly, it did not seem to bother her one bit. I will be more careful next time.

On Friday, we got to go to Our Lady of the Angels. I've been before but I just love it. Their shrine is just incredible. We got to go downstairs to see the little chapel where some of the sisters are buried, including Mother Angelica's mother, Sister David, and her best friend, Sister Raphael. I just finished her biography by Raymond Arroyo not too long ago. We got to go see the Christmas room, which is a creche built into a cave. Madeleine loved looking at the manger scene, the stained glass windows, and the candles. Unfortunately the gift shop was closed! We'll just have to go back soon.

Then we went to a few little shops in downtown Cullman - mostly baby stores because those are the most fun! Madeleine got some new shoes which look adorable on her. She has quite a bit of growing room too. She has recently outgrown all her shoes. Plus they were 30% off. The rest of the stores were way too pricey for me, but I got lots of good ideas of things that I could make. We also found a coffee shop so I got my iced soy chai fix.

We drove home Saturday, then spent Sunday doing laundry, grocery shopping, and getting our newly painted room ready for our Christmas decorations. If you've made it this far, I'm impressed! I hope you all had a great holiday too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I will probably not have access to a computer after today, so I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year around this time, I thought of several things I was thankful for. I looked over the list and it's all the same, except now I'm even more grateful for my beautiful, healthy baby, and my wonderful husband and family. And also my great job, which allows me to bring her with me. We are truly blessed.

And this year I'll be enjoying a 5 day weekend!

Have a great week everyone, we'll be back next week with pictures and lots of stories from the Alabama side of the family - they always supply plenty of those :)

Weekend update

I can't wait until we get our computer set back up so I can show some pictures of our newly painted room! It looks SO much better now that the paneling is painted. Much less 70's and so much brighter in there.

Good things that happened this weekend:

-The Colts won!

-I finished a new sweater for Madeleine. It fits her perfectly and looks really cute. Again, I need the computer back up so I can post pictures.

-We got our usual Barnes and Nobles and Borders dates on Saturday and Sunday morning, and M. took good naps so we could read.

-We made it to 8am mass on Saturday AND Sunday. Madeleine has decided that she likes to chatter during mass. On Sunday we sat in front of the Nuns. She kept chattering and making her raspberry sounds and looking at them. They kept giggling the whole time - it was hilarious. At the sign of peace they said, "Well, she's a little charismatic, isn't she?" We also got to go to Confession on Saturday and did not even have to wait in line very long.

-The 3 kids in front of us could not keep from staring at Madeleine the whole time. They kept pointing her out to their mom and saying how cute she was. Of course she was smiling and laughing at them. After mass, the little girl came over and gave her a big hug. It was so cute - it was like she just couldn't help but give her a hug. Then I took her in the bathroom to change her. When we got in, there was a mom waiting by the sinks for her little girl. She came out and saw Madeleine on the changing table. She went over to wash her hands and whispered very loudly, "Mom! That's the cutest baby girl I ever saw!"

-We must have worn the poor kid out yesterday because last night she slept from 6:30pm to 4:30pm - the longest stretch ever. Then she ate and went back to sleep until 6:45 or so.



We're getting ready for our drive down to Alabama on Wednesday. Mom, Madeleine and I are going down on Wednesday, and Ken, my dad, my brother and my sister in law are coming on Thursday b/c they have to work on Wednesday. We're thinking of leaving around 4:30 am. Madeleine usually wakes up around 4 to nurse, so I figured I'd get up and take a shower and get the car packed, then nurse her, change her diaper and put her in the car. Maybe she'll sleep til her usual time of 6:30 or 7:00 that way. What do you think, is that a good idea? Or should we leave when she wakes up around 6:30 or 7:00?

I'm thinking I won't have internet access down there, since we're staying at a monastery. But it should be beautiful - it's supposed to be 70 and sunny the whole time. Here on Thanksgiving it's supposed to be a high of 37 and snowy.

Anyway, you'd think we were going to be gone for a month with all the stuff we're taking. We need a pack and play, a stroller, a booster seat, and we're going to try to fit an exersaucer in too. Plus Mom is bringing all the paper cups, plates, bowls, napkins and silverware. For every meal. Have I mentioned is the oldest of 8 kids, and they all have LOTS of kids. I think almost everyone is coming, too. Should be a great time. Then of course, all of our suitcases, all her baby food, diapers, etc. (I'm not attempting cloth diapers on this trip - who knows if we'll have access to a washing machine.) We're taking the back row of seats out of the van, that's for sure.

I really hope she does ok on this long drive. The longest we've attempted before this was about 5 hours. She did fine, although she was a little fussy on the way home. We came back the next day though so that was a lot of car time in two days. This time it's about an 8 hour trip and we're staying till Saturday. I expect it will take a lot longer than 8 hours this time though.

Any tips for all this would be greatly appreciated! Also, Madeleine is kind of scared around big crowds, especially if "strangers" try to hold her. I hope she does ok! Plus, her two bottom teeth look like they're going to pop through any second.

I think the plan on Friday is to go visit Our Lady Of The Angels. And also maybe do some Christmas shopping.... although isn't that the worst day ever to go shopping? I think so.

Adventures in high fructose corn syrup

So, I've been really careful about not feeding the kid anything unhealthy. We make most of her food ourselves, we steam it and puree it. She only gets water to drink (well, and Mama's milk.) Apparently, she knows this and decided she wanted to try something new. I walked into the pantry at work holding her, to get Ava an afternoon snack. "I've been waiting for this," she thought. Madeleine sees the Lite Aunt Jemima Syrup - you know, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweetners and maple "flavoring." Now this kid who has never had a bottle and can hardly drink out of a sippy cup grabs the bottle, puts it in her mouth, and starts guzzling the stuff like she's a college freshman downing a cold one. I took it away from her and I can't be sure, but I swore I saw a little smirk. God help us.

Hand me downs

I was thinking more about this after the fridge post. I was making a list in my head of all our hand me downs in the house. There are a LOT of them! Here's a list, incomplete I'm sure.

2 high chairs
3 exersaucers
1 booster seat
3 strollers (one with a carseat, a double stroller, and a lightweight stroller)
2 cribs (we use one for Ava)
almost ALL of Madeleine's clothes and toys
1 recliner
A couch and a loveseat
Our kitchen table and chairs
baby swing
bouncy seat
a pack and play that she sleeps in here at work
Ken's desk upstairs
Our bedroom set
our new dishwasher that is not installed yet
Daybed that used to be my bed in the guest room
Piano

Do we have the best friends or what?? The rest of the stuff in our house that we actually bought mostly came from garage sales. I am especially fond of our Anakin Skywalker couches (we bought it from the kid who played him - well his mom actually.)

We did buy these things new:

Washer and dryer
TV and shelf
Mattress and baby mattress
Madeleine's dresser/changing table

We are very blessed! Now if I ever hear any of our kids complaining about hand me downs.... they're in trouble :)

Tagged by Heather - 8 random things about me

1. My ultimate dream in life is to be a stay at home mom. A really good one.

2. I really like that my birthday falls right around Christmas. My mom always went out of her way to make it special, and I just love the whole month of December. And, since it's so close to Christmas, I hardly ever have had to work on my birthday. Of course, for the past several years, I've spent the day cooking and cleaning. But I don't mind. See number 1.

3. I'd rather go on a mission trip to Tijuana than go on a relaxing vacation.

4. I really miss dairy products. When I can have them again, I'm going to have Ritters Frozen Custard, a toasted bagel with cream cheese, Mom's creamy potato soup, and an iced chai from Starbucks. Not to mention parmesean cheese on my pasta.... ooh I better stop thinking about these things!

5. I'd like to adopt several children.

6. When I was little, I really enjoyed playing outside with my friends. We'd go build forts in the woods, play kickball, basketball, baseball, tag, etc with all the neighborhood kids. I really hope Madeleine likes to do that stuff too.

7. I really like cloth diapering and making baby food. I know, I'm weird.

8. I think my baby is the most beautiful, sweetest, most adorable baby that ever lived :) But you knew that.

I tag Heather back for 8 more random things! :)

And anyone else who wants to play.

We have great friends

Last week, the vegetable drawer in the bottom of our refridgerator decided to break in such a way to invoke major frustration and a few obscenities every time someone tried to open it. (We eat a LOT of veggies in our house!) We really wanted to get a new fridge, but that is pretty much on the bottom of our priority list*. And we think our fridge was the original one with the house - built in 1968.

*On a side note, the TOP of our priority list is a new stove, and that is what Ken and I are getting each other for Christmas. I'm sure the stove is the original one. One of the burners blew up, it runs really hot so everything gets burned, and the outside handle gets REALLY hot. I don't want Madeleine burning herself on that.

Anyway, so on Friday, Ava's mom called and said that her parents were getting a new fridge and wanted to GIVE. US. THEIR. OLD. ONE!

So we got it! It's SO nice - much bigger, side by side, filtered water and ice through the door, and a ton more room. It even has a little door that opens so we can get our soy milk, etc out without opening the fridge. It really is the nicest thing we have in our house. Ken and I were so excited. We are very blessed!

AND, we're getting some more home improvement as we speak. We have a room in our house that is really supposed to be a living room. It has a fireplace that doesn't work, it's really long and narrow, and we just have our computer, a couch, and the baby changing station in it. The walls are 60s wood paneling. We have someone who said they will prime and paint it for $50!! So it's getting primed today. She's going to come back and paint in a few weeks so we'll have to choose the color. It's going to brighten that room up so much. I can't wait. We're going to use a much smaller computer desk, so we'll be able to fit a couch and loveseat in there and use that room a lot more than we do right now. I also think that room will be really easy to babyproof, so we can put some toys and make it kind of a play room. It's right off the kitchen so maybe when Madeleine can play, I can get some stuff done. Right?

I was going to post pictures but we had to unplug our computer at home, and I'm at work. I'll get on that later (although I forgot to take a "before" picture of the paneling room). We kind of want to forget what that looked like anyway :)

Happy Birthday Ava!

Yesterday was Ava's 2nd birthday. I started working for her family when she was 7 weeks old, and ever since I have spent 9 hours a day with her! She is one of the funniest kids I've ever met. She definitely has her moods but most of the time she is really happy. She LOVES Madeleine and my mom, who she calls Grandma. I don't think I am as uptight about certain things as a lot of first time parents because I just went through everything with her - she really broke me in!
Celebrating at Don Pablos (Grace had a half day of school.) Mom and I got her that Elmo CD in front of her - Elmo sings her name about 100 times in that CD! She Loved it - when we got in the car for the second time that day she said "Ava ABC!" Which of course meant, Ava CD. :)
Someone partied a little TOO hard!

Happy Birthday, Little Stinker! We love you!

Daylight Savings Time

Is killing me.

Someone around here thinks it's perfectly fine to fall asleep at 6:30pm and wake up at 5:45AM!!! (And in case you're wondering, no, she did not sleep straight through all that time. She was up at 11:30 and 3:30.)

In other news, Greg Ballard won the election for the Mayor of Indianapolis! Yeah, go Republicans!

Mom, Ava, Madeleine and I went to Costco and the mall this morning. Costco has some good stuff. I'm going to have to do some of my Christmas shopping there. I got Madeleine two fall/winter outfits from Von Maur. They have really cute clothes and the sales racks are awesome. (Also, the bathroom or "Women's Lounge" is the best in the mall. They have couches, padded changing tables with wipes, toys for the kids, etc.) And don't worry Ken, I didn't spend too much and I got her an outfit you will LOVE.

10,000 visitors

Welcome to my blog everyone! I did not know my life was that interesting :)

8 months old!

Madeleine got really "grabby" this month! She grabs everything - my food, drinks, cell phone, books, pretty much anything I'm holding or within arms reach. And everything goes straight into her mouth. She doesn't have any teeth yet! Just a few days ago she started to get up on her hands and knees and "rock." We better get out the baby proofing supplies!

This month she is going to have her first Thanksgiving in Alabama. Mom's mom and several brothers and sisters live there, and everyone who doesn't live there is coming. She's been to Alabama once before. We're driving this time though. We're staying at a beautiful monastery. But I'll tell you more about that after it happens :)

I can't believe she's 8 months old already! She gets more beautiful and more fun every day.

DARN!

I guess I'm out 10 bucks.

Good day

Ken's at a wedding, Madeleine is down for her afternoon nap, and I just got this book and an iced soy chai.

I'm going to go read a little and clean a little. Then we're going to Mom's for the Colts game and beef stew!

Ken and I have a little bet on the game, just to make it interesting. I can't believe it, but he's betting AGAINST his beloved Colts. So, if the Patriots win, I am buying him a $10 gift card. If the Colts win, he's buying me a $10 gift card. And we have to use our own allowance. Go Colts!!!

Litany of the Saints

Pray for us!

My little Pumpkin

Two pumpkins in a double stroller
Hey, it's Grandma!
Where did Mommy put me?! These flowers are way more interesting than that camera!
Mmmmm, this leaf tastes delicious!

Madeleine had a good first Halloween. We went to the Barnes and Nobles Halloween story hour, and the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Halloween parade - all the Kindergartners, first and second graders dressed up and paraded around the school. We got to see Grace in her Dorothy costume. Then we went trick or treating to Grandma and Grandpa's house - and she got a little Leapfrog toy that counts to ten. I ate WAY too much candy.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Near horrible disaster

Yesterday we went to 8am mass, as usual. Madeleine was being a little "talkative" so we sat in the back. She was really good, just a little loud. Anyway, Ken and I were supposed to hand out bags for Brown Bag Sunday after mass, so before Communion I put her in her sling. At our Church, the back row starts the communion procession and the first row is last. So, we were pretty close to the front of the line. I walked up and received the host on my tongue, then went over to receive the cup. It was VERY full. As soon as I took it in my hand, Madeleine made a grab. I held it up very quickly (but carefully) and just handed it back to the Eucharistic Minister. Wow. Visions of the Blood of Christ all over the floor. We might have had to switch parishes. I think I'll stick with the Body of Christ for a while!

Otherwise, we had a great weekend. Good naps, our usual Barnes and Nobles dates, beautiful fall weather, visit from Lori (my best friend from college), and the Colts won!

Nice compliment

Last night we went out with Chris and Sarah for sushi. (In case anyone was worried about my poor little nursing, possibly allergic baby, I did not have any shellfish or raw fish, I had delicious fillet mignon teriyaki!)

Anyway, we were sitting at the table waiting for our food to come. Madeleine was sitting in a high chair for the very first time. (She didn't do so well - kept sliding to one side or the other, but it was ok.) I was feeding her peas and brown rice, giving her toys, etc. Of course then I had to nurse her but I used the hooter hider! An older couple kept looking over and smiling at her. They left about an hour later, passed by us, and the man said, "You have a beautiful baby." I started to say "Thank you," when he said, "You're a good mama." That made my day.

One year ago today

My dad had triple bypass surgery at the age of 52. (He says it was today because it's Friday and the surgery was on Friday, but actually it was Oct 27!) I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was about 5 months pregnant. He had been having a little discomfort in his chest, and went for a stress test. They sent him for a catheterization and we found out he had 3 almost complete blockages. He was in surgery less than a week later.

That day, we all took the day off work to go wait in the waiting room. We had to be there at 6am, and I believe the surgery was at 7am. They took him back and got him all prepped. We all went in to give him a kiss before he went in. It was very emotional for everyone! We were all really nervous. They gave Mom a little cell phone and said the doctor would call from the OR several times during the procedure and let us know how it was going. So we camped out. After Dad went in, I decided to go make a Starbucks run for everyone. It was right down the street. I came back, and Mom was giggling about something. I thought she was overtired and over emotional. But then she kept giggling. I heard some commotion coming from the next little waiting area. I looked over, and saw three women doing the YMCA. At first, I thought, "What are these people doing?!" I looked closer, and saw that it was my Grandma and my two favorite Aunts (Mom's Mom and sisters.) They had driven 9 hours just to wait with us all day in the waiting room. I jumped up and gave them big hugs and they all had to rub my belly. :)

So we waited. They made it so much better. Before they came we were all pretty much just staring at the floor. When they came, we had so much to talk about. They were excited about the baby and all tried to get me to tell them the name. (I didn't!) We played cards and sudoku, and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the cafeteria. The day was so much more fun because of them. I just couldn't believe they would drive all that way just to sit with us in the waiting room. We also had several other visits from family and friends, and that made the time pass quickly. They called every hour to update Mom and every time they told her what they were doing and that Dad was doing well. Finally we got the call that he was out of surgery and doing well! We got to go see him. He had a ventilator and was hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires. It was pretty scary to see him like that. He looked miserable, and I asked him if the ventilator was the worst part right then and he nodded. They came to take that out less than a half hour later. After that he looked much better.
We got to see him several more times that day, and each time he looked better. He was even talking to us and showed us his scars!

He did GREAT with recovery. All the nurses said he was their "Star Patient." (Probably because he looked like the youngest person on the floor by about 20 or 30 years!) He got moved to a regular room the next day, and was home in less than a week. He took 12 weeks off work to recover. He had to go to therapy and start eating a very healthy diet.

Now, a year later, he is doing extremely well. I think he feels better than he's felt in years. He made a total recovery. We are so blessed that we found out about the blockages when we did, because he could have easily had a heart attack.

So, if you get a chance today, say a prayer of Thanksgiving for Dad's health. I know I will. We are very thankful for him!!

Fall hike and Babywearing

She is going to be a nature fan. She LOVES hiking in the woods and love being in her wrap! The weather was perfect and the leaves were beautiful.

Does this diaper make my butt look big?

or: Adventures in night time cloth diapering.

We've been cloth diapering for almost 6 months now, but I had never tried it at night.

We used a Snug to fit supreme over a prefold folded in thirds, and two doublers. Over all that was a wool cover that I knitted from Malabrigo Yarn. It's SOOO soft. You'd think wool would be scratchy on a baby, but it's not. It's really soft. And surprisingly, wool does all kinds of good things. Who knew?

Wool is Cool.

More benefits of wool.

Well, it actually worked! All the cotton was wet in the morning but the wool (and her sheets) were perfectly dry! I couldn't believe it myself. Maybe I'll try it again sometime.

Music Meme

I've been tagged by Bren from Stranger in a Stranger Land.

What song is in your head?

"Growing we do it every day. We're growing when we're sleeping, and even when we play and as we grow a little older we can do more things because I'm growing and so are you."

Ava watches too much Barney.

What is the newest album in your collection?

Radiance, Sarah Bauer's new album. It's GREAT - you should all check it out.

What is the top album on your wish list?

Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan. I had one last year but now I can't find it. I think I'm going to buy it for this season I loved it so much last year.

What is the most recent live music event you have attended?

Sarah Bauer's CD release party a few weeks ago - it was lots of fun and they sounded fantastic.

What is the top live music event on your wish list?

I'd love to go see U2 or Elton John, but I'd also like to go to mass at St. John Cantius!

What are the top three albums currently in rotation at your house?

Baby Mozart, Baby Beethoven, Baby Bach and Baby Vivaldi. (Ok that was four, but we listen to all of them!)

I tag:

Brenda, Ma Beck, Heather, Lifehopes and Floridawife. :)

You won't believe it.

I can't even believe it.

She slept. From 7:30pm to 6am!!!!!

That has NEVER happened before!

Thanks Ma Beck and Michelle for the homeopathic suggestions. We tried some last night. I don't know if that is what did it but I'm sure it helped.

Of course, I was up at 3am and didn't go back to sleep until 4:30 because I thought for sure she'd be up any minute. But she wasn't. Thank God for a good night's sleep!!!

This is new....

For the past two days, my normally content, agreeable baby has turned into a raging lunatic whenever I dare to even THINK about strapping her in her carseat. She screams, arches her back, and slides all the way down until it's impossible to strap her in. Who knew she was that strong? Of course when I finally hold her down, get her in, and give her a toy, she is fine. What is up with that?! Today she also did it when I put her in the high chair and on the changing table! She throws herself backwards like a two year old throwing a fit. I told my Mom about it, and she didn't even believe me until she saw the whole spectacle at Bible Study this morning. Please tell me this is just a phase. Good thing she's so darn cute....

A little insight into my exciting life

Last week I ordered two things. Pants for me from J Crew (none of my pants fit anymore! All too big! YEAH!!) Kind of like these but on a better sale. And also some new diapers for Madeleine. Yesterday I saw a package on our front porch. I looked, and was a tad disappointed that it was the pants and not the diapers :)

A whole bunch of kids

That's what I always said I want. That's what I still want. I have said that I want 10 kids for as long as I can remember. (I think I told Ken that on our first date! And he wasn't even too scared!)

I was thinking about this topic because I read these great posts.

Well-meaning people (even some family members) have always told me that once I have a kid and see how hard it is, I would only want one or two. Well, I feel just the opposite. Every day Ken and I talk about how she is the most beautiful, sweet baby in the whole world! (We're not biased or anything!) I have been blessed with a great kid, but a kid who does not like to sleep. I have been totally sleep deprived for 8 months now, and I still feel like I am open to life. I trust that God will take care of us and won't give us more than we can handle. Even though we're always worried about money. Even though I have to work. We are open to life. I can't imagine having children and then saying to someone, "Oh you won't want anymore." I think it must have been all the pressure from society that made them think that way.

Yesterday we went to a Mothers for Children group at church, and the topic was the Church's teaching on NFP and contraception. It wasn't too much new information for me. The priest said that sterilization and contraception were intrinsically evil, and that there was never a reason to use them. Some women must not have known that. They were asking the poor priest questions like "What happens if the doctor says I shouldn't have any more kids?" Some women were even crying when the priest did not give them the answers they wanted. It was a little weird. They wanted the priest to say that it was ok for their husband to have a vasectomy in this situation. He did not say that, and they were upset. They wanted their families to be complete, some after only 2 or 3 kids.

There are many great families at our church who have been open to life, and God has blessed them abundantly! (I like to hang out with these moms and get some good advice!)

I remember how hard it was to be pregnant. I remember throwing up in the shower every single day, and still having to be at work by 8 am. I remember how bad my back and hips ached for months. But I also remember how amazing it was to feel her kicking inside of me, how great it was to go to sleep and feel her moving around, always being with her. I remember how much fun it was to get her room ready. I remember the pain of childbirth, but the absolute joy I felt when I saw her face for the first time, and holding her on my chest and kissing her head all night. I remember how much pain I was in after she was born, and how hard it was to nurse sometimes. I also know what it's like to want to have a child and not be able to conceive. I am not going to take my fertility for granted. None of the hardships cause me to think that I don't want more. Having her makes me want more kids. I am so excited to see her grow, give her brothers and sisters and see their relationships develop. She is the greatest blessing that God has ever given me, and I am open to as many blessings as He wants to give us. We will be generous with Him. I hope He is generous with us :)

A little light

At the end of the tunnel.

Ok so 3 of the last 4 nights she has only woken up once and slept in her crib all night. YEAH! Also she's been taking better naps. Yesterday and today I put her down for her naps awake, and she put herself to sleep. Yesterday she slept for 2 hours! Today she's been asleep for about an hour so far.

Last night she was fussing a little at 5:30 and I went in to peek at her. She had her eyes closed, and she was sucking her thumb and holding her little lovey up to her face. She put herself back to sleep!

So I'm going to try to only feed her once/night. We're also going to increase the solid foods to three meals per day. I'm also going to try to keep her in her own crib all night. Then maybe I can get some sleep!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Maybe I spoiled her a little early on. I figure if she ever wants a baby brother or sister she is going to have to learn how to sleep! :) I can't imagine having older kids and having to rock/nurse babies to sleep all the time. You just wouldn't get that much quiet time.

Sleep

It is a precious commodity these days - very hard to come by.

Saturday night she slept until 3:30 am in her crib, woke up to nurse, then back to sleep until 7:30 (and we made it to 8am mass, where she was an absolute angel.) I thought maybe she was turning a corner.

Last night however.... She was up at least every two hours. After the first few times I got up, I put her in bed with me. That did not help. She tossed and turned, cried, nursed for a few seconds, fussed, turned sideways and kicked me all night. AAAHHHH!

I'm going to try to increase her solid food as she seems to be pretty hungry. (The kid is a good eater. Surprisingly, she LOVES peas and zucchini. Go figure.) A friend suggested trying some formula during the day. I don't mind nursing during the DAY... 10 times at night is wearing me a little thin. Especially because we both have to be up, ready, and at work at 8am.

Any suggestions? Is it ok to let her cry for just a few minutes? I put her in the pack and play for her nap after lunch, she cried for less than 5 minutes, and she's been sleeping for 1 hour and 45 minutes so far (that is UNHEARD OF.) Should I let her cry herself back to sleep at night when I know she is not hungry? I would like for her to stay in her crib all night so I wouldn't wake up in the morning exhausted and aching from head to toe from all the squirming, kicking, fussing, and moving her back to her side of the bed 100 times. I know she is capable of only waking up once in the night, which would be fine with me, as she's done it lots of times. (Just not lately and not consistently.)

She is such an angel except for this ONE THING. I guess nobody is perfect....

Happy Fall!

Finally we have fall weather here!

This morning Mom and I drove to Anderson to visit Grandma and Grandpa and our new cousin Isaac, who was just born on the 10th! He is beautiful and has WAY more hair than Madeleine! We were just slightly jealous :)

Grandpa is not doing well at all. He is very weak, and can't see anymore. He never leaves his room at the assisted living place - Grandma goes down to the cafeteria and brings his meals to him. We went to see Grandpa and he got to touch Madeleine. He said he couldn't see her but he was sure she was a good baby. Mom told him that she has beautiful big blue eyes and that everyone comments on them when they see her. I told Grandpa she had blue eyes like him, and he smiled. Then I said, "Come to think of it, her hair looks pretty much exactly like yours too!" He got a huge smile on his face and said, "Well, if she turns out like me, that'd be all right." I was happy she made him smile - we don't see that much. We visited with Grandma a little and gave her some of M's new 6 month pictures, which she immediately hung up on her bulletin board. Madeleine even let Grandma hold her for a minute!

Then we went to Heather's housewarming party - her house looks SO great! It was perfect fall sweater weather too! I made her sweater, but I can't tell you how many people asked what "his" name was today - do you see all the pink in that sweater?! She also had pink shoes on! Does she look THAT much like a boy?!

Why do I buy her toys?

Hm, should I go for the fun, colorful toys or the boring beige remote control?

This looks the most interesting..
Success!!
It's just what I always wanted, Mom!

Things I learned last week

Taking care of a sick baby.

1. NEVER wear any nice clothes (you or the baby.)

2. You will do more laundry than you've ever thought possible.

3. If you ask REALLY nicely, the best mom ever will come over and help you clean your house :)

4. Even though you are sad the baby is sick, you'll be just a tad grateful for 3 unexpected days off.

5. Taking your baby to the ER is NOT fun, and you wish it all was happening to you, not her.

6. Forget about changing sheets in the middle of the night, just sleep on towels and change them.

7. Disposable diapers are worthless in certain situations - it's better to use the cloth, which keeps things contained, even though you have to do a lot more laundry.

8. Taking a baby's temperature is much easier if you give her something that she's normally not allowed to play with - such as the phone.

9. You might as well just give up any shred of hope you're ever going to get a good night's sleep.

10. 3 days of holding, rocking, nursing and kissing is just what you both needed to feel better.

Happy Respect Life Sunday!

That's Madeleine's Godsister Mia... she was conked out :)

7 month video

You get a video too!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

7 month pictures

I forgot to take pictures when she was in her cute outfit - so this is her onesie that she wore to bed! I'm SO glad that our computer is fixed now. Thanks Ken! I can't wait to catch up with everyone. Feels like I've been gone forever :) As you can see, she has recovered nicely from her illness.



7 months old already? Where does the time go?

Quick update

Sorry everyone! I did something to our computer and now I can't get online. Madeleine is doing great and in fact she's 7 months old today! I'll post a 7 month picture when Ken fixes the computer :)

What we're doing

Her: Eating, sleeping, and pooping. The last thing much more frequently than usual.

Me: Laundry Laundry and more Laundry, and using Lysol on everything in the house.

We went to the doctor this morning and he said he couldn't believe that the ER doctor had given her Zofran, and that there hasn't been any studies showing if it's safe for children to take. That made me feel really good. He said never give it to her again. And he also said that ER docs just want to get you out of there fast. That is just GREAT.

She seems to be doing better today. More energy and back to herself (except for the excessive amounts of poop.) She's nursing better, drinking pedialyte, smiling a lot more, and no fever. The doc said to go ahead and take tomorrow off though, just so the other kids don't get it.

Home from the ER
Not feeling quite herself
But still the cutest baby EVER :)

Second trip to the ER

Yep.

She was really lethargic all day, then spiked a fever. I called the nurse and she suggested taking her in again. This time the doctor was MUCH more helpful (different doctor.) He said it's most likely a viral infection and that we were doing a good job keeping her hydrated. He said the Zofran probably caused her lethargy today, and suggested that we only give her 1/2 of the dose only if she throws up again. He said really try to keep her hydrated and give her some pedialyte. He said that it's horribly contagious, so it looks like I'll be taking a few days off - I don't want the girls to get it.

She is SO exhausted and was really scared when they were taking all her vitals and giving her an exam. It was sad.

First trip to the ER

Madeleine was up ALL night throwing up - she would sleep for an hour and then wake herself up gagging, poor thing! When she didn't have a wet diaper this morning I called her doctor's office and spoke to a nurse, who told me that we needed to take her to the ER for IV fluids. Luckily, she didn't end up needing an IV - they gave her some Zofran, a tablet that just dissolved in her mouth, then she was able to nurse and keep it down. They let us take her home and she's been pretty much sleeping all day. Poor thing! I hope she feels better soon! Say a little prayer for her if you get a chance :)

And Thank You

She only woke up once or twice! I'm feeling very refreshed :)

Maybe I'll even be able to make a coherent contribution to the Bible Study discussion this morning.

Please

Let this kid sleep tonight. I've never met a kid who sleeps this little. She takes about two twenty minute naps a day - what is up with that? And she's been getting up every two hours at night. Anyone make Tylenol PM for babies?

GREAT NEWS!

I'm going to have a nephew! My brother and his wife had their ultrasound today, and they said 100% it's a boy! (Just what every dad would like to hear, right?)

I'm so excited, I can't wait to go shopping (for yarn, probably!) He'll be here in late February so he'll need a few little handmade sweaters by his Aunt Beth for sure.

Ken's Solo

He approved!

Sarah and Chris wrote the song (it's a crowd favorite), and Ken wrote the solo!
Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Nails on a Chalkboard

We just got back from Mass. It was in a big amphitheater. I really tried hard to just pay attention and I had to keep reminding myself that it was still Mass and the Eucharist! First I saw a lady with a name tag that said Sister Tess. Good thing she had a name tag because with her white capris with flamingos on them and pink shirt, who could tell?! She was sitting behind me and said the responses with all inclusive language, like ".... for the praise and glory of God's name, for our good and the good of all God's church." Then the communion meditation song was THE WORST I have heard. The first line was "Share healing" and it just got worse from there. It was the most watered down crap I have ever HEARD at Mass. I guess I'm very blessed not to have to deal with any of this stuff at our church. (Sorry I used the word "crap," Mom. I can hear your "disappointed click" from here! But it was necessary in this case!)

Sorry, just had to vent! We're all going to bed now :)

We decided to come!

She did GREAT on the drive this morning. We went to the concert and I got a great video of Ken playing guitar. He said he has to approve it before I post it on here, but I think I'll post it anyway. You want to hear him, right?!

It is REALLY hot here. We spent most of the concert trying to find some shade. We're going into St. Louis for dinner tonight with a few other band members.

Madeleine is taking a nap on the hotel bed and I'm enjoying free Wi-fi.
We'll be back home tomorrow with pictures and videos!

Should I stay or should I go?

Ken's going this weekend to play a gig with Sarah. It's in Belleville, IL, which is just outside of St. Louis at The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. We can either leave tonight after work and get there really late or tomorrow morning EARLY.

Should we go with him? We wouldn't get back until late on Sunday evening. I think Madeleine's getting a little cold too. I would like to go see the Shrine. But I would also like a nice relaxing weekend with my baby at home. We were going to get her 6 month pictures taken tomorrow. Hmmm... decisions. What do you think?

Up all night AGAIN

But this time it wasn't ALL Madeleine's fault. Sure, she was up at 11pm, 2am, 4:30am, and 6am. But I was up anyway. See, I watched a show that I don't watch TOO often (I'm not thrilled with her anti-marriage viewpoints.) However, this particular show my mom told me to tape and watch. Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete were talking about their sons with autism. It was really really scary, especially because they are both convinced that vaccines gave their children autism. Also, the CDC used to say that vaccines didn't cause it, but now they have changed their statement and they say they don't know if vaccines cause it. They're doing more tests.

Vaccines have worried me from day 1. I've asked her doctor about them every time (she's had 3 rounds of shots.) He's reassured me that the benefits far outweigh the risks. She hasn't had the MMR shot yet - that is the one they call the "autism shot."

Then I read this post from A thorn in the pew.

Can I in good conscience allow my child to have these shots while they're undergoing testing like this? Should I wait until she is older? Autism rates are up to 1 in every 150 children. Something's happening here and I'm worried about it.

Uh Oh

Madeleine is trying to get up on her knees. Better start babyproofing!

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week - I get to work from home! Ava comes over to my house all day because they have a housekeeper that comes on Thursdays. I get laundry done, cleaning, etc. Never thought I'd be excited about THAT. But we have an extra crib for Ava upstairs, and Madeleine gets to sleep in her own bed instead of in the pack and play.

And since it's almost 90 all week, we might have one more day of swimming....

Ava says lots of words, but today she shocked me! We were taking a walk and I asked her to tell me how many bikes she saw. Then she counted to 10 - by herself!! She's paying attention to everything.....

The Jehovahs are out

The Witnesses are around the neighborhood. I invited one of them in and accepted their reading materials. We had a nice discussion and she wants to come back next week.

She told me they are totally anti-war, and they refuse to vote for anyone. They don't take stock in any human being because they are going to die along with their ideals, they just promote God's Kingdom. I told her that I thought doing nothing isn't helping anyone.

I am SO out of practice with my apologetics. Anyone have any suggestions of books, CDs or websites I can go to so I will be prepared next week?

Game Day

At Grandma and Grandpa's house. Thanks Angi for the great jersey!! (Of course, she had to wear the blue bow in her "hair" so people wouldn't think she was a boy!)

Go Colts!!!

Dirty Jobs

We watched Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel last night. All I could think was:

That's nothing, Mike.

Pray for this kid

A good blog friend of mine has GREAT NEWS!!! Go take a look at the little lima bean and then say a prayer for their family.

I remember when I first saw Madeleine at 5 weeks. It was unreal. Then at 8 weeks we could see her heartbeat. And it's unbelievable how she grew from that little black speck on the ultrasound machine to this beautiful, amazing, perfect little person. What a gift they all are.

Tired

I went to bed very hopeful last night. After all, I kept her up almost 2 hours past her bedtime (we went out for sushi with a friend who's been out of town all week.) I thought for SURE she'd have a good nights sleep.
Oh no. I went to bed at 10, she was up at 1. She would not go back to sleep. Finally at 2:00 I decided to change her diaper. She chose that exact moment (after I got the diaper off) to poop. Of course we had no wipes upstairs. I had to call Ken to get me a washcloth while I was trying to catch it in the old diaper (a tad unsuccessfully.) After all that, she was wide awake. Finally I laid her down in our bed and moved her back to the crib when she fell asleep around 3. The she woke up again to eat at 4:30 and came in our bed for the rest of the night. Now she's asleep upstairs and we need to be at work in 15 minutes. ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Tagged!

By Diana. What 5 Saints would I like to invite for dinner?

I think I need some good parenting tips. So I will invite:

St. Anne and let's not forget St. Joachim
St. Monica
St. Gianna
Pope John Paul the Great
and Mother Teresa.

In fact, they can all come for breakfast and stay the whole day! I need lots of advice :)

It finally happened!!

She slept from 7:30pm - 5am!

PRAISE GOD!!!

(of course, I didn't sleep through the night - I was up wondering why SHE wasn't up!)

Today I learned

That if I'm in the Panera bathroom changing the baby into her jammies because we're going to be out later than usual and I want to be able to just take her out of her carseat and put her in her crib when we get home, and someone makes a loud noise with the towel dispenser and the baby screams her head off, my husband will run into the ladies room to make sure she's ok.

I didn't know he was that kind of guy :) Good for you, Ken.

We were at a retreat and she slept through about two hours of Adoration. Once I heard a speaker say that even if you don't "feel" anything in adoration, there are effects, like if you are on the beach on a cloudy day. You don't feel like you're getting a tan, but you find out later you did. So she got a little "Son tan" today, even though she slept through it.

Thanks for all the co-sleeping comments. We did do that earlier in her life. I actually resort to this every night between 3-5am, depending on how many times she has woken up by then. I just can't get any good sleep with her in the bed. No matter where I put her, she rolls over and buries her face in my shirt, and somehow I end up on the very edge of the bed (or stuck in the middle between her and Ken, and he doesn't have any room.) Also if she is in the middle, I put her head up between our two pillows because I'm worried that someone will pull the comforter over her head. We only have a queen bed. When we slept in the hotel, she slept with me and it was fine, but with three people in the bed it gets pretty crowded. How do you guys do it?

6 month stats

15 lbs 13 oz
27 inches

I asked the doc when she was going to start sleeping through the night. He said to read this book by Dr. Ferber. Anyone have any suggestions? If it's letting her cry herself to sleep every night, I don't want to do it.

And you see what my husband is doing to my baby already.
Yesterday was her first Colts game on the outside. (She slept through it!)
Of course she had lots of Colts games on the inside last year.

Mother Teresa

I wish I could have met her. Twice in my life I missed meeting her by less than a week. The first time was in 1995. On our trip to Rome, we stopped for the day at Mother Teresa's home for the dying. We served lunch, gave the people scapulars and rosaries, and had Mass with them. Mother Teresa was coming to that house a few days after we left Rome. We were all SO disappointed we'd miss her but it was still a positive experience - especially the Mass. The second time was in 2000 at the convent in Mexico I went to every year. Madre Maria and Father John were good friends with Mother Teresa, in fact, she helped Madre found that order - the Missionaries of the Cross. She had visited the convent the week before we were there one year. She sat at the fountain in the courtyard and admired the goldfish. So I got to sit in the same spot she did, but we still really missed meeting her.

One time in Mexico we got to go to an ordination for several priests in the Missionaries of Charity. All the Sisters there knew Mother Teresa, and they gave us holy cards with her picture and a little piece of her sari. Also the last year I went, 2005, we got to celebrate Mass with them. I asked them to pray that we would be able to have a baby. They got really excited and said that was Mother Teresa's specialty! They promised to pray, and gave me a medal. You know what happened!

Clarification

Mom did not enjoy the pictures in the last post with that "filthy" blanket. She said she couldn't believe I'd put her on a blanket with all that cat hair - and then post a picture of it! I just wanted to clarify for anyone who wants to know, I double checked, the blanket is clean. There is no cat hair on it, it just pills a little in the washing machine and dryer. It is pretty old - I got it on my first trip to Mexico in 1996 (and I talked the guy down to $7 I think!), and it went back with me every year after that. It was on all my beds in college. It was on the high chair because the real cover was in the wash. So it doesn't look the greatest, but I promise, it is clean!

Happy Half Birthday to Me!

Today Mommy told me that I am six months old, and I've been here for half a year. But I don't know what she is talking about. Haven't I been here forever?

I had a great month. Yesterday I learned how to sit up all by myself! I practiced again today, but I accidently fell over and hit my head on the couch. I didn't cry, though. I am SO good at rolling now - I can get anywhere I want to go just by rolling! I especially love to practice my rolling skills when Mommy's trying to change my diaper!


Last week, Mommy and Daddy did something really funny. They put me in this thing called a "high chair" and fed me stuff called bananas and cereal. I didn't like it so much but they kept giving it to me! But last night, they gave me sweet potatoes, and I loved that! I hope they give me more of that tonight.
I also learned how to sit up in a regular stroller, so I can see what is going on now. I used to have to sit in my carseat in the stroller, and I couldn't see much. I love my new perspective!
I love to grab things. Everything Mommy or Daddy is holding, I try to grab. Everything looks interesting and I just have to put it in my mouth! I love playing with toys.

I really like to call to my Mommy two or three times in the middle of the night. Mommy comes and gets me and we sit in a rocking chair in my room. I eat and go back to sleep. Sometimes Mommy falls asleep sitting up too! When Mommy tells other people about this, she says, "Something's gotta give soon." I don't know what this means, but I love it when she comes and holds me in the middle of the night! I don't see myself stopping this anytime soon.

Mommy and Daddy like to take me to church a lot. They say that Jesus is there. My favorite part is when we all walk up to the front. A priest always blesses me. Sometimes after Mass, a Sister comes and talks to us and holds me. Sometimes I let her, and sometimes I don't. I usually like Mommy to hold me. I let Daddy and Grandma hold me, but no one else. I cry and Mommy takes me back, and that's just the way I like it!

Mommy is always trying to make me take these things called "naps." I don't like them. I try not to take them at all. She says she's lucky if she gets a few 20 minute naps out of me during the day. There's just too much fun stuff going on and I don't want to miss anything! Mommy says she needs one of these naps.

I have all new clothes that say 6-9 months on them. Mommy says she can't believe how fast I'm growing.

Daddy plays guitar for me sometimes. I really like to listen to him. I hear that I get to go hear him play with Sarah Bauer for a retreat this weekend. Mommy says she might take me up on stage in a sling because Sarah wants her to sing! I would love that - I love it when Mommy wears me in a sling. Maybe I'll try to sing into the microphone too. I also get to meet some new people this weekend. I'm especially excited about meeting Mary, who introduced my mom and dad. Without her I probably wouldn't be here!

I also want to say happy birthday to my Aunt Lori! We love you!

Mommy calls me her little Angel. Daddy says I'm the most beautiful girl in the whole world. They both say I'm the best baby who ever lived!
I'd say I'm having a pretty good life so far.

Highlights of the weekend

We went on our first hike! I strapped her on and we went hiking in a local park. The trails are not bad at all, and the weather was perfect. We saw a beautiful little creek, lots of flowers and plants, and got some good fresh air. I got quite the workout carrying this kid around too! Any guesses on how much she weighs? We go for her six month checkup on Friday. She was 14 lbs 2 oz at her 4 month. I am guessing she is over 16 now.

Madeleine really enjoyed it - she kicked and waved her arms the whole time. We are going to have to do this more often.
Does her hair look red in this picture?
We also hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's house, went swimming and had a cookout. They have an exersaucer with different toys than ours - she was excited!

We got some good house and garage cleaning done, I mowed the lawn, Ken organized the shed, and I hung up all the 9 month clothes on one side of her closet, and the 12 month stuff on the other. We also bought a baby food cookbook and a food steamer. Sweet potatoes are on the menu for this week!