Half a year. Wow. Looking back at the Madeline we brought home from the NICU and the Madeline we have now, the difference is astounding. She has done a complete 180. She's gone from a cranky, uncomfortable, heart-wrenching preemie, to a happy, healthy, fun-loving baby. She's a total joy. Here are a few of her "skills" and stats up to this point:
She can roll over both ways (back to tummy and tummy to back)
Can sit unassisted for several seconds at a time
Eats rice cereal and green beans (Just a side note: Not to compare children, but Isabella was so much easier to spoon feed than Maddie. She just sat there and opened her mouth and the process was fairly smooth. Maddie, on the other hand, tries to grab the spoon which makes the feeding messy and difficult - I love her to pieces anyway)
She responds (most of the time) to the sound of her name
She passes objects from one hand to the other
She can pick up small objects (uses a "raking" motion)
She weighs 13 lbs 7 oz (5th percentile)
She's 24" high (3rd percentile)
She has a large head. I know it sounds funny, but her head is in the 37th percentile. She's a little bobble-head doll :)
She's started to "scoot" across the floor. You set her in one spot and less than 30 seconds later she'll end up in another. She's not up on her hands and knees yet, but scoot using her legs and feet.
She's sleeping anywhere between 7 and 10 hours each night (although she'll throw in a 5 or 6 hour stretch every once in a while which is always fun).
She is totally in love with her big sister and the feeling is completely mutual. Watching the two of them together is so heart warming. Isabella is very protective of Madeline and freaks if anyone even touches her. Madeline watches Isabella like she's the only thing in the room. Melts the heart. So far, Isabella is a WAY better big sister than I was (sorry Meagan).
Here are some pics of our precious 1/2 year-old (and some of her equally adorable big sister):
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Girls' Trip to KC
Only a week after our trip to KC/Des Moines, Isabella, Madeline and I headed back to KC for a 8-day visit. David was headed to his annual golf trip, so rather than stay at home alone, we took the opportunity to see family we don't see very often. Other than a trip to the after-hours pediatric clinic on the second to last day for Madeline to have a breathing treatment, the trip was very uneventful (in a good way) and relaxing (more on the clinic visit later). The highlight for Isabella was a "movie night" with me, her Aunt Meagan and cousin Carey. We, with some help from a next door neighbor, watched Finding Nemo, ate popcorn and stayed up late (10:00). (The neighbor bailed me out - thought we'd secured a copy of the movie but were mistaken and fortunately for us, they have two kids and a copy of Nemo). My dad got a new iPhone to replace his archaic dinosaur phone. Isabella kindly taught him how to use it. She's mastered the operation of both mine and David's iPhones (iPads as well), so she was more than happy to share her expertise with her Papa. Hilarious.
Madeline had been coughing a little bit for a couple of days and then started getting congested. By the second to last day, I started to hear a little wheezing, so I made a call to her pediatrician in S.A. She recommended we not wait until we were home the next day, but instead head to a clinic ASAP. Good thing we did. Madeline needed a breathing treatment and was prescribed an inhaler. As it turns out, most of what she had was allergies (we found out a week later).
Here area very few pics from the visit (for some reason I didn't take very many pictures):
Madeline had been coughing a little bit for a couple of days and then started getting congested. By the second to last day, I started to hear a little wheezing, so I made a call to her pediatrician in S.A. She recommended we not wait until we were home the next day, but instead head to a clinic ASAP. Good thing we did. Madeline needed a breathing treatment and was prescribed an inhaler. As it turns out, most of what she had was allergies (we found out a week later).
Here area very few pics from the visit (for some reason I didn't take very many pictures):
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Allison and Chad's Wedding Weekend/Independence Day
Well, it was Independence day for some and for others it was Chad-Losing-His-Independence Day. Joking, of course. On Thursday June 30th, the four of us flew to Kansas City to kick off our "wedding weekend." Our stay in KC was short as the very next day we hopped in the car (two cars to be exact) and headed north on I-35 to Des Moines for the festivities. The drive was relatively short and we only had to stop once to feed Madeline. Not too shabby. Friday night we had dinner and the home of the POB's (parents of the bride), my Uncle Larry and Aunt Judy. We enjoyed BBQ and catching up with family.
Saturday morning we took the girls (although Maddie showed no interest) to the zoo. Isabella got to feed a giraffe! She handled it way better than I thought she would. She loved it. (She still likes to mention every once in a while how silly it was that the giraffe's tongue was purple.) That night was the rehearsal dinner. Isabella had a fantastic time and Madeline was really on her best behavior until the very end of the night.
Sunday morning David, Isabella, Madeline, my Dad and I went to the botanical gardens up the street from our hotel. Isabella enjoyed seeing all the different types of flowers. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite for lunch and went back to start getting ready for the wedding. Isabella LOVES to primp. She kept looking at herself in the mirror and doing little twirls to see her dress float back and forth. As we've learned over the last 5 months, it is best not to dress Madeline until the very last possible second. We decided to get her dressed at the hotel where the wedding was taking place. Murphy's Law, as we were walking in to the hotel (in the rain),the dress fell on the wet ground and smelled like wet dog. We did what any concerned parent would do with no back up outfit: we wiped it with anti-bac wipes and doused it with perfume. It masked the smell enough to make the dress wearable. Disaster averted. After family pictures, we dropped off Isabella and Madeline with the baby sitters who were hired to watch the kids during the ceremony. We weren't sure how Isabella would handle the separation, but much to our delight, they turned on the movie Tangled and she hardly noticed we left. The ceremony was beautiful and afterwards we went back to get the girls for the reception. Madeline lasted about 20 minutes and we took back to the baby sitters where she slept the ENTIRE time. Isabella danced pretty much the reception in its entirety. She made a friend (the daughter of one of the groomsmen) and they danced together for a good portion of the night. It was adorable. Isabella had a fantastic time (and when we got home, we had to "get married" at least 20 times so we could dance).
Monday morning we went to the brunch and then headed back to Kansas City to continue the festivities with a 4th of July celebration at my Aunt Julie and Uncle John's house. Isabella got to watch fireworks and for the first time in her existence, stayed awake for the entire display. Thankfully we were in KC for the holiday because had we been at home, there would have been no fireworks. (The drought forced a state-wide ban on fireworks for the holiday weekend.) Saying she loved the fireworks would be a gross understatement. She loved them so much that she continues to watch the video I recorded that night to this day.
Overall, we had a great trip and it was so nice to see so much of my family. The girls were fantastic travelers and we couldn't be prouder.
Here are some pictures (and videos to be added soon) of the weekend:
Saturday morning we took the girls (although Maddie showed no interest) to the zoo. Isabella got to feed a giraffe! She handled it way better than I thought she would. She loved it. (She still likes to mention every once in a while how silly it was that the giraffe's tongue was purple.) That night was the rehearsal dinner. Isabella had a fantastic time and Madeline was really on her best behavior until the very end of the night.
Sunday morning David, Isabella, Madeline, my Dad and I went to the botanical gardens up the street from our hotel. Isabella enjoyed seeing all the different types of flowers. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite for lunch and went back to start getting ready for the wedding. Isabella LOVES to primp. She kept looking at herself in the mirror and doing little twirls to see her dress float back and forth. As we've learned over the last 5 months, it is best not to dress Madeline until the very last possible second. We decided to get her dressed at the hotel where the wedding was taking place. Murphy's Law, as we were walking in to the hotel (in the rain),the dress fell on the wet ground and smelled like wet dog. We did what any concerned parent would do with no back up outfit: we wiped it with anti-bac wipes and doused it with perfume. It masked the smell enough to make the dress wearable. Disaster averted. After family pictures, we dropped off Isabella and Madeline with the baby sitters who were hired to watch the kids during the ceremony. We weren't sure how Isabella would handle the separation, but much to our delight, they turned on the movie Tangled and she hardly noticed we left. The ceremony was beautiful and afterwards we went back to get the girls for the reception. Madeline lasted about 20 minutes and we took back to the baby sitters where she slept the ENTIRE time. Isabella danced pretty much the reception in its entirety. She made a friend (the daughter of one of the groomsmen) and they danced together for a good portion of the night. It was adorable. Isabella had a fantastic time (and when we got home, we had to "get married" at least 20 times so we could dance).
Monday morning we went to the brunch and then headed back to Kansas City to continue the festivities with a 4th of July celebration at my Aunt Julie and Uncle John's house. Isabella got to watch fireworks and for the first time in her existence, stayed awake for the entire display. Thankfully we were in KC for the holiday because had we been at home, there would have been no fireworks. (The drought forced a state-wide ban on fireworks for the holiday weekend.) Saying she loved the fireworks would be a gross understatement. She loved them so much that she continues to watch the video I recorded that night to this day.
Overall, we had a great trip and it was so nice to see so much of my family. The girls were fantastic travelers and we couldn't be prouder.
Here are some pictures (and videos to be added soon) of the weekend:
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