Fall is Here!

Fall is officially here, and what would fall be without some pumpkin picking!! We went with our besties Kristin and Jason and their 3 month old son, Ryan. It was quite an adventure finding the "perfect pumpkins" but we all left happy with our pumpkin families.

I want this pumpkin, Daddy!

Madison and Ryan relaxing in the pumpkin cart

Every day Madison surprises me more and more with her new abilities. She is eating solids 3 times a day now, her faves are sweet potatoes, peas, banana orange medley and pear strawberry banana w/granola. She used to be a super messy eater however she has gotten so much better in the last week or so and now most of the food makes it into her mouth. She has just started drinking apple juice as well so her formula intake seems to be less and less every feeding. Madison is also becoming a lot more mobile. She is able to lay on her belly and push her butt up in the air and pull herself with her arms, she is quite the little inchworm! I had video of this but somehow it got lost in the camera, I will try and video it again to show everyone.

Remember Me With Love...

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day. I found this poem/letter that the Share Group mailed out to me and it struck quite a cord with me.

I have taught you about love in a way nothing else possibly could. Don't waste this lesson. Use the love you still possess to give to others. Comfort others who've had a loss; do it in my memory. And beside that, a little bit of me lives on in each person you touch. You have the power to make my legacy one I would be proud of.

Light a candle, buy a rose, and perform an "act of kindness". Simple things. But then, our love is so great; no rememberance could ever be large enough to show how much you love me. For true love has no boundaries.

Contemplate the many gifts I've left, and how I've affected your life in a good way. I've shown you how precious life is and have given you a greater appreciation of it. I've let you discover how strong you really are. I hope my short time here has made you discover what's really important. Has it made you a better person? I hope so!

Your faith has been tested and, hopefully, strenghtened. I hope your heart is filled with peace. Most of all, know that our love is eternal!

If you think of me today I'll be rejoicing from above to know you have remembered me!

Doctor's Appointment

Maddie had her 6 month check-up today and oh what an appointment it was! I think her doctor had 2 new assistants because they both seemed a little frazzled by 10am.
Maddie's weight height and head circumference were checked. She weighs 18lbs 3oz, she is 27 inches long and her HC was 17 1/4.
So the doctor comes in and says "let's see where she falls on the growth chart" I joked and said, "well she gained 2lbs in a month, i'm pretty sure she is off the chart at this point."(Maddie is usually in the 90th to begin with). So she says it is 15th for weight *insert wide eyes here* and I said there is NO WAY and continued with other crazy percentiles. I reinterated that there was no way that Madison could be 15th percentile for weight and the doctor agreed that there must have been a mistake somewhere...so I said to her "maybe they got entered into another little girl's chart because at first the assistant thought she was doing "Brianna's" measurements and I told her that it was Madison not Brianna and the girl was like oh ok. Sure enough the doctor looked and her assistant entered it into the wrong chart. The doctor apologized and went to get the right information. Came back a minute later and Madison is in the 89% for weight, 87% for height and 93% for HC.
So we continue with the check up and I asked her some questions about Maddie's eating habits and such. Now Maddie has been eating solids 1 time a day. She said that Madison can eat solids 3 times a day!!! I swear our pedi has some vested interest in Maddie becoming world's biggest baby or something LOL...i mean the girl gained 2lbs in a month eating just 1 time a day. But I agree with her that the more solids she eats the less bottles she will eat and hopefully will cut out the night feeds because as of right now she is eating 5 times a day, however 2 of the times are at night because she falls asleep before she can get her "bedtime bottle". The doc also thinks that she can probably move up to stage 2 foods...clearly we have been holding Maddie back lol.
Madison also got 3 vaccines and she took it like such a champ, first was an oral vaccine, then 2 shots and she didn't even cry until she started to get the bandaid :)
We also need to start calling her Madison more often. I don't mind the nickname Maddie, however she looks when someone says "Maddie" however when we call her Madison she doesn't recognize that we are talking to her, so we have to make a more conscious effort to call her Madison.

6 months old

So Madison has turned 6 months old over the weekend, where has the time gone??
Some of Madison's favorite things are:
1. smiling at random strangers (this helped big time on the flight home from Rome, because she was doing her shriek talking where she isn't upset, she is just screeching, for some of the flight,which i'm sure for some passengers wasn't so cute/funny)
2. her Rainforest Jumperoo
3. eating solids (so far she has tried carrots and sweet potatoes...today she will be trying squash, she likes the sweet potatoes more than the carrots)
4. the "Hotdog Song" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (whenever she hears it she lights up like a christmas tree)
5. anything "daredevil-ish" such as hanging upside down, being thrown from person to person, being thrown in the air.
6. Razzberries, she loves these so much she has learned to do them herself!

Some of Madison's not so favorite things are:
1. being horizontal. When she learned to roll over she never wanted to be on her back, now that she has learned to sit on her own and be held standing that's all she wants to be.
2. Uncle Dave's "elephant noise". The first time he did it she cried i think probably the hardest she has ever cried before. Now he just starts the noise and she starts to whimper.
3. Oatmeal. Ever since getting solids oatmeal is a thing of the past.


On Sunday it was so beautiful out we decided to go out to the park. Madison absolutely LOVED the swings as evidenced by the picture below


We also got Madison's 6 month/fall picture. She really liked the pumpkin ;)

Not a Food Fraidy

At one point I was concerned that Madison would only like to eat formula and we would never graduate to cereals or solids. Clearly by the following photo that is not the case anymore :)




Today is the first day that Madison ate all of her oatmeal and bananas at breakfast and 1/2 container of carrots for dinner and it was the first day she allowed us to feed her the food before the bottle. Usually she is too hungry to bother with food first. Our little girl is growing up way too fast :(

Clearly I'm a terrible updater. I need to get into the habit of writing tiny blogs a few times a week rather than wait for a lot of things to update about at once because then it just snowballs out of control!

First I want to start the update off with a sad note. Today marks Aidan's 2 year angelversary. Some days it feels like just yesterday he was in our arms and some days it feels like a lifetime ago. I recently found a quote that I love... "Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." We have so many precious memories with Aidan, each one more special than the next.

While it is a sad day, it's also a happy day as we are leaving for Europe for 2 weeks. Aidan will be travelling with us. We have a few ideas of where we will leave him...the grand canal in venice, the vatican, etc. We will be sure to post pictures after we return.

Maddie has just turned 5 months going on 5 years....every day she surprise me more and more! Since our last update she has been baptized, went on vacation to Virginia Beach and is about to start her world travels beginning with italy. She has been sleeping through the night since she was about 3 months old, except to wake up for a midnight snack but then goes right back to bed. She is probably one of the happiest babies i've ever met...even when she was sick last week she was constantly smiling! She has started within the last month trying out cereals...just 2 days ago for the first time ever she was actually excited to eat the oatmeal and bananas, usually she would just cry after a few spoonfuls. Madison LOVES to babble and be heard, once she starts talking I think the world might need earplugs because she is going to be talking some ears off...she is definitely an opinionated little girl! For the last few months she has been rolling over from her back to her tummy and since learning this new skill has become a bona fide tummy sleeper, I used to fight it but now I just go with it...it's a lot easier and the doctor said not to worry about it because she has great head/neck control and easily rolls over. Speaking of doctors...Maddie went to the doctor on Saturday and she continues to stay in the 90th percentile for weight and height, 16lbs 3oz and 26 inches. She is up to date on all her immunizations and so far she hasn't had any reactions to them!

For a few months now Maddie has loved to stand while being held, which has now transitioned into standing holding onto furniture. I have a feeling she will completely skip crawling, however we do try and get her to do it as much as possible. Over the last week Madison has begun trying to sit up all by herself. She can hold steady for almost a minute and then starts to wobble. Just last night she sat in a high chair for dinner, I was super impressed by how well she did!

Maddie also has her first baby crush! Our friends Kristin and Jason had a baby boy on July 12th and their son Ryan is just the cutest, the first time they met that they were both awake, Maddie ate Ryan's toes...i guess that is her way of saying I love you :) LOL

Oh well, we have to leave for the airport in about an hour, so I need to wrap this up....pray for us to have a safe trip while in italy! Will post all about our european adventure after we return!

I have only a couple photos to add right now because most of them are on our SD card which is packed in the suitcase in the car already...love to all!! (Mom, I'm sure you didn't think I'd post this before we left for Italy :) )

Madison taking a snooze!

Madison at her baptism, with her Godparents, Brian and Esmeralda

Drooly Julie

so it was a nice sunny day yesterday which is a nice change since I've felt like we moved to Seattle and no one told us, so we decided to head outside and enjoy the sun and get a few cute pictures along the way.

Maddie also has been enjoying lots of tummy time and just starting to figure out that her toys are there to entertain her. We've also moved into the "if i can hold onto it, it will eventually make it's way into my mouth phase" which has quickly moved into the "lick everything i come in contact with phase". it's quite comical actually, but since it's so new i'm sure the comedy will soon wear off LOL.

This weekend is Maddie's baptism. I just found out today that it will be performed by Deacon Joe. I'm excited about this, I love Deacon Joe, and unfortunately he understands our pain all too well as he lost a baby as well. Pray for nice weather on Sunday! Oh and tomorrow is Maddie's first "professional" photo shoot. Mike is super upset about this because he feels that all the pictures he takes are a lot better than professional :) So pray that she cooperates and doesn't fall asleep or get cranky mid-way through LOL.

2 months...

I swear that on our dry erase board it has said for the last two weeks : Update the blog!

I'm not entirely sure how many people even still follow the blog, however for those faithful few I will continue to try and keep updates coming.

So, what is new and exciting in Maddie's world?? Well pretty much everything!

She has been able to hold her head up for weeks, however she is really starting to be able to keep it up for longer periods of time. She LOVES to be on her belly and when she is there she is always kicking her legs trying to propel her body forward. Maddie has also been trying to work on rolling over. She seems to have an easier time rolling from her back to her stomach, which is harder to do, than from her stomach to her back. She will definitely be a tummy sleeper!

Just a couple days ago, Maddie discovered her hands and they have been in her mouth pretty much ever since! Sometimes she even spits the paci out so her hands can go in.

We also got Madison a Bumbo chair. I originally thought they were a waste of money, however she loves to sit in it. I'm not comfortable enough to leave her alone in it yet, but I can see this being helpful in a few months when I need to throw a load of laundry in, since you can buy a table that snaps on top of it, just put some toys on there and voila! instant independent playing.

Maddie also is quite the conversationalist. She enjoys "talking" to us about what she did that day. I've read that to help babies begin to understand words and how conversation works that you should ask them questions, wait for a "response" and then respond back to what she said. Maddie has really taken to this and I've been able to have atleast 5 minute "conversations" with her.

Madison also has a new favorite game: Peek-a-boo! One day she was sitting in her bouncer and I threw a receiving blanket over top of her head, pulled it off and said in a "very happy" voice Peek-a-boo and she just about cracked up! Now she even tries to pull the blanket off to get the "peek-a-boo!" quicker.

Since summer has unofficially began we've had lots of time to play outdoors. Madison has even tried her hand at swimming--unfortunately, she slept through most of it, although I take that as a good sign of her liking it :) She also likes to go for stroller rides around the neighborhood. Tonight we even took her to St. Leo's carnival. There was so much to see and do, she fell asleep right in her snugli about 5 minutes after we got there LOL. We will try again on Saturday.

We also have been trying to get Madison on a loose schedule- although bedtime is always between 8:30 and 9:30, except for when she stays at Grandma's who lets her stay up until 11pm!! During the day she is usually up between 8 and 9 and then will play for a good hour. After that she fights sleep, even though you can see she is tired, and will finally nap for about 30 minutes. Then it's storytime/relaxing with mommy. After lunch, she plays in her crib until she falls asleep. Then its up to either eat or play games, depending on how long the nap lasted. By 6:30-7:00pm she has finally fought sleep long enough and will usually take an hour nap before bedtime routine starts of bath, lotion & pj's, story, eat and cuddle with mommy. I must say that even though she fights sleep all day long, when bedtime comes, she is out for the count! At just 9 weeks old she is sleeping most of the time for 5+ hour stretches.

On Aidan's birthday, May 16th, we had a picnic with friends and family to celebrate life! I can't believe he would have been 2 years old already!! We had a balloon release to send Aidan birthday greetings and it was absolutely beautiful. During the release it was perfectly sunny out, yet still raining! I believe it was Aidan, crying tears of joy from all the love he felt!

Early in the month of May we got an invitation to a banquet to honor families of organ donors. We decided it would be a nice opportunity to take Madison on her first plane trip (since she will be flying out to Europe in a few months) as well as see where her brother spent some of his life. We received a medal from the governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty and his wife, as well as got our photo taken with them. The governor's wife told us how beautiful Madison was when we were up on the stage. We then told her we were here because her brother donated his heart and she got "the look" on her face. The "I'm so sorry, I'm not sure what to say, but that must be heartwrenching" look. I always feel bad for people when we tell them about Aidan. No one really knows what to say, and I understand that. A few years ago, if a person I knew lost their baby, I'd have no clue what to say either.

The next day, we showed Madison some of Minnesota AKA The Mall of America and Stone Arch Bridge, where you can see the new bridge that replaced the one that collapsed while we were out there. While driving around, Mike made the comment, "wow there are only two season out here: Winter and Construction!" and it's the truth, every road we travelled had some sort of construction going on....some of it was the same construction going on 2 years ago!


Anyways, that's pretty much our lives since the last update... hope you enjoy these ramblings and the pictures below.

Maddie in her Tutu

I'm one month old!

Happy Birthday, Aidan!

Family Shot at the Pool

Maddie and Daddy

Taking a Dip!

Maddie and Mommy!

Say What?!

Happy Baby!

Chillin after a bath

Trying out her Bumbo

I like it!

Apologies

I didn't realize how difficult it would be to update everyone as much as I would like to. As tough as it is to have a child in the NICU, you have a lot more time to throw a quick update on the web.

Madison is a complete joy! She has her moments, however Mike and I could not be luckier, Maddie is an angel of a baby. She lets us sleep quite a bit more than I first expected. The only time she gets overly fussy is if she is hungry or has been up too long and is overtired.

My favorite moments of the day are:
1. after Madison has her early morning(between 5 and 6) feed, she never wants to go back to sleep in the cradle, so we bring her into our bed and have Maddie cuddle time and we get a few more hours of sleep.
2. just as Madison is about to fall asleep, sometimes she gets this big goofy grin on her face as she is drifting off...always puts a smile on my face!
3. Maddie is a cuddle bug and she loves to lay on her belly on people, however when she lays on me, she lays on her belly but sideways just like she did in utero.
4. when Madison is being held and she is looking around the room, she gets wide eyed as she is absorbing everything around her.

I promise to try harder to give more frequent updates and add pictures. I plan on adding in the near future "Things I've learned along the road of motherhood" to our blog.

Deadly Drycleaning

So after a party where I decided to clean up nice and wear a suit I put my suit on the dining room table with my SD cards in the pocket. The suit, which was sitting around, my mother assumed needed cleaning and put it in the dryel bag with the SD cards still in the suit pockets. 2 cards survived and 1 didn't quite make it through. So I glued it back together with some duco cement and the 8GB card worked again. Unfortunately, the cement didn't hold it together for very long and I moved on to Super Glue. With our Nikon D90 currently getting warranty repairs and us unable to find our old camera, we bought a Samsung 10Mega Pixel "Mickey Mouse" camera. [Mickey Mouse Camera == any camera that isn't a Digital SLR]. Laura had warned me not to use the cemented / super glued / dryeled SD card but I couldn't resist I wanted the other 2 cards for the DSLR. It worked fine until I tried to remove the card to put the pictures on the Internet for Laura's latest blog post. Some of the pictures we lost because of my mistake of using the decrepit old busted card:

Madison 2nd bath Pictures which included her deciding the best time to pee would be when she was naked en route to the bathtub. Soooo she sprayed her daddy a bit.

Madison holding her head up playing on her activity mat.

Madison looking in the mirror at her cute self.

:-(

Laura is MAD