Recent Pictures of Madeline

I posted these and a few more pictures on Facebook, but I wanted to share them here as well. Diane, you should be happy to see not one, not two,but THREE pictures of me with Madeline! (Notice the strategic placement of the baby in all three. :))She started off slowly, wearing premie clothes for about 3 weeks, but she is getting so big now. She is fitting well into her 0-3 month clothes, and she weighs over 10 pounds. I'm sure this is obvious, but she has SO much hair and it sticks straight up! Auntie Becca tried styling it with some pomade the other day, but it looked pretty much the same. 

Besides being adorable, Madeline is a really good baby. She does not cry a lot, although unfortunately when she does, it is usually late at night. But, she has been sleeping about 6 hours straight, from midnight to six, most nights, so that's been nice. We have taken her many places, and she is usually very good and flexible. She has been to a wedding, a beach bonfire, the mall(several times!), Pasadena visiting her Aunt Becca, Downtown Fullerton movie night, and several bbq's. She seems to like riding in the car, she doesn't mind her car seat,and she loves out newest discovery, which is a sling. I just started using it this week, and we both love it. She can snuggle up and sleep, or look out at the world,and I feel a little more free to use my hands but still have her close to me. And, it doesn't hurt that Becca got it at a boutique in Pasadena and it's very cute. I  will post a picture of it next time. 

I will say that it has been an adjustment for us, especially for me. I have had a few cry sessions, and have gotten mad at Jon (for not having breasts filled with milk so that he could help more) on more than one occasion. I have even been frustrated with Madeline on a few occasions. So, it has not been perfect or easy or fun ALL the time, and I want to be honest about that. But, I can also honestly say that she is the most amazing blessing, and that I can't imagine not having Madeline as our daughter. It is hard work at times, but worth every minute of it. I love her more than I could have possibly imagined. 

Seriously?

When was the last time you saw a BOY in a leopard print car seat with hot pink trim? That's right, at CPK yesterday, Madeline was sitting in her car seat, wearing her pink and brown zip-up outfit, and the manager stopped,smiled, and said, "Aw, how cute! How old is he?". Seriously? He? I gave her a strange look and she looked confused and said, "Is it a boy or a girl?".  I didn't try to hide my irritation. I said, "Girl. SHE is 5 weeks old today." She made some excuse about not noticing the car seat at first, but come on lady! It's not like I'm trying to confuse anyone by having her in a brown car seat wearing yellow and green stripes(which is totally fine if you're into those colors. ) It's not like an episode of Pat on SNL where the clues are deeply hidden and it could really go either way. I mean, the pink is everywhere...there's no mystery here!  I know people make honest mistakes, but there are usually ways to tell. 

For the manager at CPK, and anyone else who has a hard time picking up on the gender clues of babies. here are a few pointers to help. 

You can be fairly certain it's a GIRL if...

-The color scheme portrayed bears any resemblance to that of cotton candy, original flavor bubble gum, Pepto Bismal, or the color you get when you mix red and white together. 

-Flowers are in abundance on the car seat or clothing of the mystery child.

-It looks like an animal such as a zebra, leopard, or tiger was killed to make the child,car seat, or mother look good.

-Fruits such as cherries or strawberries are present on car seat or clothing.

-Ribbons,lace, or bows are seen  in the hair of mystery baby

Or, continue to ignore the clues stated above, and just take a guess. You have a 50/50 chance of being right, and a 50/50 chance of being wrong and irritating a new mom like me. 

Did I Just Say That?

Do you ever say something, and then think to yourself, "Did I just say that?"? I had one of those experiences the other day. 

I was talking to a nice young couple at church who just got engaged. They were telling the story of how he proposed in Yosemite, and I told them a story about how I thought Jon was going to propose in Yosemite, but he didn't.(See bottom for that story.) So, it came up that I have hiked Half Dome, and they were very impressed. Then I told them that I have actually done Half Dome four times, and they were very impressed.  After I said it, I felt worried that it sounded like I was bragging, so I quickly tried to downplay it by saying, " You know how everyone wants to do it? Well, I'm just the person they did it with..."  What??!! Are we still talking about Half Dome?? I broke the awkwardness(I think) by admitting how weird that sounded, and we all laughed(awkwardly). 

If you are wondering about my Yosemite story...it was about a month before we actually got engaged. We had been looking at rings, and I had a feeling it was coming. We had a trip to Yosemite planned, and if you know Jon, then you probably know that Yosemite would be a perfect place for him to propose. So, I tortured myself all weekend, expecting him to get down on one knee at every turn, and practicing the surprised yet joyous expression I would wear as I said "Yes!". 

It didn't happen the first two days, but not to worry, we still had our big Half Dome hike, and what better place to do it...

I will just skip to the point now. Picture us, having just reached the top, lying on a massive rock, sun shining brightly, birds chirping, you get the idea...perfect right? Then Jon looked over at me. My heart stopped. This was it. "Oh! I almost forgot," he said. " There's something I've been saving just for this moment..." He reached into his pocket. This is it. With the word yes on the tip of my tongue, Jon pulled half of a Powerbar out of his pocket with a huge grin. Of course. A Powerbar. He had been saving it. I knew that. 

I did wind up telling him that I had thought he was going to propose, and he felt badly. Believe it or not, he was not even trying to tease me, but honestly was just excited to have half of a Powerbar left. 

He proposed about a month later, and it was worth the wait. 

Funny Stuff

I'm sorry if I am way behind in the blog world and this is old news, but Becca recently read me some entries from the funniest blog, and I have been reading it for the past hour. I also saw that Lisa has a link to it on her site, so like I said, this could be old news. But if you haven't, you should take a look at stuffchristianslike.net. I think it's hilarious! Let me know what you think!

Question

How do you guys have such cool looking blogs? I'd like to find a different background but don't know how. Any advice?

Shaken Up

So, I was sitting at the computer this morning, reading blogs actually, when the shaking began. The dogs started barking and running in circles, a glass votive fell and broke, the building swayed, and I ran to get Madeline who was asleep in her cradle. I have felt many earthquakes living in CA for the past 13 years, but this was by far the strongest I have ever felt. It was actually hard to run to her because everything was moving so much. I don't remember consciously thinking to go get Madeline. But, the second that I realized what was happening, the only thing that mattered was getting to her. I grabbed her and ran outside, calling the dogs to come with me. (Jon later informed me that I should not go outside, but under a table if it happens again. Funny, because we actually practice earthquake drills at school, and the kids all get under their desks. But in that moment, it didn't even occur to me. Oops.) Once the 20 minutes of shaking had passed(ok, it was like 8 seconds, but it felt MUCH longer) the fear hit and I thought my legs were going to give out on me. I was afraid to go back inside. I just stood there holding Madeline,who had slept through the excitement, and told her everything was ok. Within minutes, my sweet husband came rushing through the door. Since he works on campus, he  was able to get there quickly. He hugged the two of us, and then I cried. I guess I was more shaken up(no pun intended)than I had even realized. 

For those of you who felt it, this may be more dramatic than your own experience, or it may not be. I am not sure what it would have been like if I was alone at home. But, having my precious three week old baby sleeping peacefully in the next room, and feeling like the building was about to collapse on top of us at any moment, was definitely traumatic! I am very thankful that it was not worse, and I won't complain if I never feel another earthquake. 

On a lighter note, I got my hair done today. I  love getting my hair done. Right now I am definitely in an awkward post-baby stage, body-wise. Still wearing maternity jeans and sporting a mushy gut and huge boobs. Sigh. But hey, if I can't lose 20 pounds quickly, at least I can be a great shade of blonde! :)

Madeline's First Photoshoot

Here is a link to some  pictures we had taken of Madeline... the photographer put a few on her blog. (http://sfphoto.wordpress.com)

Good News!!!

I promised an update on Becca, and I had no idea what an amazing update it would be! The doctor called yesterday to report that whatever was in Becca's brain..the lesion/tumor/aneurysm/stroke...is GONE. In the words of the doctor, it has "taken care of itself." Or, in other words, God answered  our prayers and healed my sister. I know it seems a little crazy, but they went from being almost sure that she had a tumor and would need surgery, to saying that it was some sort of aneurism that would probably need surgery to repair, to saying that her brain is completely normal.Whatever was there is now gone, and she does not need surgery, treatment,or even medication. Wow!

I'm looking back on the past month and a half, and remembering SO many prayers I prayed, asking God to  do just this. Asking him that it not be life threatening, then asking that she not need brain surgery, and even daring to ask that he remove  the lesion completely.  And, although I asked and believed that he could do all of these things, I  am still in a bit of shock that he did. I know that there may be medical explanations for what happened, or there may not be. We will never know exactly what happened. But, medical explanation or not, God healed my sister, and I am thankful. 

Thank you again for your prayers. Please remember to thank and praise God for this amazing answer!!!

Pictures of Madeline

Here are some pictures of Madeline from this last week...per Jen's request. Is it just me, or is she getting cuter every day??

I don't know if you can tell, but her facial expressions are great!!I could watch her all day!

Becca Update

Most of you know that my sister Becca has been going through some serious medical stuff this month. It all started over a month ago while she was subbing. She texted me saying that she was having trouble writing--weird! My parents wound up taking her to the hospital later that day. She was having a hard time using her hands at all, and her speech was very slow. In fact, at one point, she couldn't talk at all. That weekend was a series of tests: CAT scans and MRI's. She was discharged that Monday. We were told that these was a lesion on her brain, and that it was most likely a non-cancerous brain tumor.  The other likely possibility was that she had had a stroke. They needed to wait a month to determine which it was. So, the past month has been spent waiting, praying, and TRYING not to worry. This week we found out that she does not have a brain tumor. After two more tests, they have determined that she either had a brain aneurysm or an AVM.( This is a kind of stroke caused by a defect in veins formed during infancy. They can, but don't always, rupture eventually.) So, either way, something ruptured and caused bleeding in her brain, which caused swelling, which caused the symptoms that sent her to the hospital. We were actually relieved to get this news. Obviously these are both serious things, but the fact that it already happened, and Becca is ok and suffered no permanent damage is really amazing. It is crazy to think what could have happened. It is also a relief to know more of what is going on after battling the"what if''s" every night when I went to sleep this past month. It's hard not to think about worst case scenarios when you don't know anything for certain. She is having another test tomorrow which will hopefully determine exactly what happened,and what they need to do about it. She may need to have some kind of surgery to clean up or repair the damage. She really hopes that she won't.  I will definitely write another update when we know more. Thank you so much for the prayers that you have said for Becca, me, and my family this past month. I truly appreciate it. It has been hard, but I am thankful to know that so many people care and are there for us. 

Home with Madeline

It is Sunday afternoon, and we are home with the new love of our lives, Madeline Grace. I can't really put into words how I

 am feeling in this short space, so I'll just give a brief overview of the past few days. We went to the hospital Thursday morning for my scheduled c-section at 8:00. It was a very strange feeling, checking in, knowing that in hours we would be holding our baby. I was VERY nervous for the c-section. I talked to Sarah Towne shortly before going in, because she has had four c-sections and feels that they were very easy. She was extremely comforting, and told me that the insertion of the IV is the worst and most painful part. That part was already done, so I was glad to hear that! Well, long story short, my c-section took about twice as long as normal, and I hated every minute of it. Sorry for any of  you who may be needing to have one anytime soon. I'm sure yours will be great! :) But for me, lying awake, feeling my insides being tugged around, seeing my blood spray onto the sheet in front of me, (oh yeah, and onto my forehead!), was a bit worse than the IV being inserted. (Love you, sarah!!) 

Apparently, it took them quite a while to get her out because she was still very high, since I had not labored at all. So, they needed to use some sort of tool they call a vacuum, and the one they were using was faulty! After trying to use it for about 10 minutes with no success, they opened a new box up, took out the new vacuum, and she came out on the  first try. Weird huh? All I can say is, I have  had so many people tell me that a c-section is no big deal, so I must have a very low tolerance for being cut open while awake! I am very impressed with my friends who have handled the experience with a lot more courage. 

Once she was here, of course, none of that mattered. To me, Madeline is the most beautiful, sweet baby in the world. I can not believe she has been growing inside of me all this time. I know that I worried that I  would know what to do with her, but "they" were right. Even when I don't know what I am doing, taking care of her feels like the most natural thing in the world, because she is mine. I could have never imagined what it would be like, and I still can't really get my head around it. I don't exactly feel like a mom yet, I just feel like the most blessed person in the world to be given this amazing gift. I feel a love for her, and connection to her, that is  strong, unique, and indescribable. I am in awe that I could love her this much already. 

So, we are home from the hospital. I only had to stay until Sat., which was nice. I  was ready to come home. I am still a little sore and taking pain killers, but it's not too bad at all. I am trying to figure out the breast feeding thing. We are getting the hang of it, I think. I am sad that I  still look pregnant. Jon said, "Yeah, but only 6 months pregnant." Thanks babe. He means well. And, unfortunately, he's right. 

I am tired, but not too tired. I feel like my life is in a weird state of limbo, where all that really matters is Madeline...and getting back into my normal clothes. :)

Nine Days

My c-section is scheduled for next Thursday, July 3rd. It is so crazy to me that in a little more than a week, I'm going to be a mom. In nine days, I am going to hold my daughter Madeline in my arms, and be forever changed. People are asking me if I'm ready-if we're ready- and honestly, I want to laugh. Is that possible? How do you  get ready for one of the biggest(if not THE biggest) things that can happen in your life? I am definitely excited, but right now, I feel more nervous, scared, apprehensive, etc. They say that the intuition kicks in when it's your own child, and you just know what to do. I hope "they" are right. I am counting on it!  There are so many unknowns right now about the future and what to expect. I AM scared, but it's a good fear, like when we went skydiving. As terrified as I was, If I hadn't jumped out of that plane, I would have missed out on one of the most amazing and breath-taking moments of my life. These last few days before becoming a parent, I feel a little like I did in that  plane. I knew it was too late to back down, but I didn't know if I was ready to make the jump. And just like then, I know now, that once I've made the jump, once they hand me my daughter and I look into her eyes, it will all be worth it. 

Hello Blog World

This is my first official blog. Diane, I hope you are happy. More to come folks...more to come.