Thursday, January 31, 2008

Some First Smiles

Warming up.....

Getting there.....
There we go!!!


She's so sweet! I just love cuddling with her....running my cheek alongside her hair...especially after a bath, I just can't get enough! It seems like this time around, I have either had more time or really just taken it to enjoy her. I don't remember having as much time with Morgan and it went so much faster than I realized it would, plus I had to go back to work right away, which really stole time from her. I think knowing that this time, I have really focused on enjoying this time when she is so small and still so sweet.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Morgan's Way of Saying Good Morning......

Sounding like a stampede of elephants Morgan makes her way from her bedroom to the family room. Then, just before she reaches the family room she inquires in a very strong and authoritative voice, "Whose out here?"

Monday, January 21, 2008

When Quiet Is Not Good....

The Crime Scene...


The Weapon.....


The Evidence...




The Result...

The Haircut to Fix the Haircut

I guess Morgan was trying out a future occupation in hairdressing. I walked in the family room to find Morgan in the corner behind her table with sissors to a huge chunk of hair. Next to her was already a wad of hair and pieces from her dancing Dora dress. I almost started crying as I was so upset that #1) she would actually do something like this, #2) that she did do it and #3) that I wasn't around to catch her before she did it. Luckily I was able to get her in for a haircut to fix her haircut! She has been smiling more since then and when I ask her why she is so happy she tells me that she likes having bangs now.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

God Forgot to Give Addison Teeth

Last night on the way home from gymnastics, Morgan asked if she could give Addison a goldfish cracker. Of course, I said no and added we don't ever give a baby food, just her bottle. She then asked why and I thought the simpliest way to explain to her without giving her information she wouldn't be able to understand was "well, because she doesn't have any teeth to chew the food." To which she responded, "God forgot to give her teeth."

Monday, January 14, 2008

Re-check of Weight & Heart Murmur

We went in today for her follow-up from last week and she weighed in at 7 lbs 13.8 oz. So this is good, as she has gained enough interium weight. However, she is still only in the 25th percentile. But regardless, good! The heart murmur is still there, but it is not as pronounced as it was last week. Our dr. still decided to go ahead and refer us to a pediatric cardiologist at Children's, out of formality sake. He is pretty confident that we will go and it will just be a waste of our time, but that it is a good idea regardless. I certainly agree! I will keep you posted as to when and what occurs from this. Please continue to pray for God to heal her heart completely and her weight to continue to increase.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Addison's Favorite Sleeping Position

She seems happiest when she can contort herself to this position!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

2 - Week Check

Addison had a two-week check this last Monday. Her weight was still down at 7 lbs. 9 oz. Also, when the Dr. checked her heart, the murmur was still present. Normally we would come back for a one month check but b/c her weight gain was poor and the murmur is still there we are scheduled to come back next Monday for re-checks. Please pray that the murmur is gone and her weight gain is good.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Welcome Addison Claire!


Addison was born December 24, 2007 and shares daddy's birthday! They are 33 yrs apart! She weighed in at 7 lbs 11oz and was 20 1/4" long. Amazingly she looks almost identical to Morgan's birth picture. Although her hair is a little lighter and eyes a little more on the blue side rather than steel. It is almost as if I go back in time when I hold and look at her to when I held Morgan as a baby. Even though their personalities are different.
We had quite an interesting and much different experience from Morgan's arrival. I had woken up at 2 am to go to the bathroom and when I laid back down I started noticing a cramping feeling about every 10 minutes. So around 3 am when it didn't subside, I woke Kyle up and told him about it. He got a shower and some clothes together and we went to the hospital. We got there about 4:40 am. After about an hour and a half of walking and some time later, the resident determined that I was not in labor and sent me home dialated at 4 1/2! From what I understand, typically you get a choice of whether or not you want pitocin at 4 cm but, my guess is that b/c of Christmas, they were short staffed and not equipped to take me on.

We then drove 45 mins home and spent an hour at home before I told Kyle to call the doctor back and ask her what in the world else could this be other than labor. And that I wanted to be induced if they still think it wasn't labor, b/c the pain was unbearable. So 45 mins later at 11 am we arrived back at the hospital. After getting set up they determine that I was in fact in labor! Of course I asked for an epidural right away. Again, b/c of Christmas and being short staff the only anesthesiologist working was with a c-section patient and would come as soon as he was finished. By the time he arrived and started to prep me, I had a contraction and my water broke and the next contraction she was coming! She was born in about 5 -10 mins without any pain relief! Holy cow, I thought that I was going to die! It was fast and slightly scary considering I hadn't planned on not having pain relief. And had I waited too much longer, I would have had the baby in the car on the way.
As aweful as the pain was, I was thankful to God for having had the experience. This is something I never thought I would survive or even planned could happen. I have always had a great deal of respect for those many women like my mom who had their children without any pain relief. I still have the same respect, but now I know it is possible to get through something so unbelievably painful.

B/c the delivery was so fast, Addison had some minor issues. One being a heart murmur that is still present. Although she had an EKG and her heart looks good and the pediatrician thinks it will heal over time. We see our dr. on Monday so I am hoping that the valve will be closed by then.



Morgan has done exceptionally well, with this new transition. The one thing I feared most was her adjustment. But we talked to her about it alot and she has been wonderful with Addison. Quite the little helper too! She is so excited to be a big sister and loves Addison.


We are all doing very well and Addison has had 4 nights in a row of good sleep, waking up only once in the night. I pray that it will continue that way. I have recovered phenomenally well. I think because I didn't have any pain relief the recovery has been so much better. I gained 25 lbs this pregnancy a far cry from my 50+ with Morgan, which I think has helped too. I am currently within 3 lbs of my starting weight. Then my goal is to work on that extra gained with Morgan again. We are enjoying our time off and especially our time and new routine with our two girls!












Getting Ready to Post with New Look!

I thought that if I changed my blog look, I might be more inspired to add updates.... Thanks to Jami for giving me a new place to look for backgrounds, so much to choose from. I liked this one, it seems peaceful. I also added fam pics. For Christmas, Leslie and Matt made our house wireless, so access to the computer is easier. I also got an eye-fi for my camera. I am hoping these two things will help me keep my blog updated and with pics! We'll see!