Pleasantly Surprised

We just spent a week, me and the kids, visiting with my family. When we got home, I was pleasantly surprised to see the things Mike had done around the house while we were gone. He vacuumed, which is ALWAYS appreciated :) He also bought a giant tv, which I wasn't so excited about... but in the process he rearranged the furniture in the living room, giving us more floor space. And it is a really nice bonus that we can watch the Olympics on tv, instead of just seeing tiny video clips online. But the best thing my husband did while we were gone: hang pictures on the walls! Our previously bare walls are now so nice-looking! I LOVE it! I had two huge boxes full of picture frames sitting in a corner of the living room and was overwhelmed at the idea of hanging them up. The task was just too daunting for me. Plus I'm not so great with a hammer, and was likely to whack my thumb or mistakenly make a giant hole in the wall where a nail should go. He even created "themes": family pics in the living room, landscapes in the guest room, a nautical/beach theme upstairs in the hallway, duckies in the kids' bathroom, and wedding portraits in our room. He arranged everything so nicely. Good job, honey, thank you.

Six months old!

Happy Six Months Old, Pretty Girl!
You are such a special, precious gift from God.
We are so excited and blessed to be your parents.
We Love You SO Much, baby.... and we can't wait to see you learn and grow even more in the months and years to come!

Krissy's picture game

Krissy's Picture Challenge: Choose your Top 5 pictures of baby's first year.
It was pretty simple for me to choose, because of the limitations I had: The pictures we have saved on our hard drive only go back to when Hannah was about six months old, so I only had 6 months of Hannah pictures to sift through, PLUS Aliah is not quite six months old yet, so basically I took my favorite picture from each month, minus February, when she was really sick... same with the both-girls-together pics. ENJOY!


Hannah's second time holding Aliah, when she was about 24 hours old. She is still such a proud big sister!


January 2009, when Aliah was about 2 weeks old.Hannah's favorite thing to do in the morning is to lay in bed with her baby sister. It's been six months and she STILL asks to do this every morning when she first wakes up!


So sweet. Hannah, 4 years old, Aliah, 2 months old. They are wearing matching outfits, which have since grown too small, but Hannah would ask to wear those ridiculously loud clothes allllll the time!


My happy girls! Aliah, five months old.


This week. Hannah feeding Aliah her first taste of baby food!

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Top Five Pictures of Aliah:


one day old

About 3 weeks old

Two months old - a week or two after her RSV ICU stay.

Three months old

Five months old - I *LOVE* this picture!!!

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Hannah's first time in a real, outdoor swing. I think she was screaming with terror, not happiness!

Hannah around 5 months old?


Hannah at nine months old


Hannah at ten months old. This was the first time that she walked while holding onto something. She spent the better part of an hour pushing that laundry basket all around the room!


Hannah at 12 months old, with her Daddy :)

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Beautiful weather. Fun times.

Yesterday it was really beautiful outside. We ate a picnic lunch in the backyard, read a pile of books outside on the swing, and Hannah decorated our front porch with chalk (too bad I didnt get a picture of that!) We left all the windows open last night... and when we woke up this morning, it was 55 degrees inside the house. It felt SO COLD!

Yesterday we climbed into the attic, Hannah and I, to unearth her spring and summer clothes. But first I made her put away everything that said 3t on it. This was not a very popular idea, and I was labelled "mean mom" because of it! Hannah threw a fit about putting away certain items, especially those that were purple and/or pink. The fact that we have about 87 new dresses sized 4-5t pacified her somewhat. And she had fun trying on some bigger shoes (I have GOT to get rid of those little sparkly princess shoes when she's not looking!). Unfortunately she refused to try on any of the clothes (except for a yellow "I Love Nemo" tank top), so I have no idea whick, if any, of the shorts or pants will actually fit her.

A happy moment - Aliah slept for six hours straight last night! Too bad for me, I was nervous that she'd wake up any second, so it took me a long time to relax and go to sleep. I slept about four hours. Oh well.

Here are my two favorite girls - check out Aliah's chubby cheeks!

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Funny quote from Hannah: She just said "Aliah, stop that! Crying will not make you happy!" Hahaha!

Nice weather

The weather is BEAUTIFUL today!!!
I made Hannah run around outside for most of the afternoon.

Today I got portraits taken of both girls! It was fun! We did some individual shots and some together ones. The ones of just Aliah were not so good. I guess she didn't want to smile for strangers, only for me.

This week, I have to make a decision about leading the MOPS group for next school year. I have been praying and thinking about it a lot and Im still not sure what I should do...

One of my MOPS friends had a new baby boy on Wednesday! (She has also suffered through two miscarriages.) Praise God for a healthy baby! :)

Snow Day!

Hannah and I had a lot of fun running around in the snow this morning. We made a snowman family... but it's melted now :(

Aliah's check-up had to be rescheduled for tomorrow. We are guessing that she weighs just over 12 lbs. What's your guess?

Day 8 in the hospital

Hi all. I would have loved to update earlier, but with everything that happened yesterday, I didnt have computer access. Sorry!



So, yesterday afternoon, we were released from the PICU!
THANK YOU GOD! Goodbye, intensive care!
Our room here on the children's recovery floor is much more private, has its own bathroom, and I get to sleep in one of those pull-out couch beds, instead of a rocking chair. I'd say that is a big improvement over last week.

Welcome to Day 8. Aliah is doing well. They are continuing to lower her oxygen level. Right now it is varying between .4 and .2 Ls. She needs more oxygen support when she sleeps. Doctors said that as soon as she's breathing on her own, then we'll get to go HOME for good! I would guess that might happen on Weds, at the earliest. We'll see. The most important thing is that she is continuing to get better, and grow stronger. Im trying to convince her to eat more often, because she still isnt eating as mocu as she used to, and is having some trouble latching on correctly.

My mom left today, shes driving back to Maryland right now. We'll all miss her, Hannah most of all.

Mike & Hannah were visiting us this afternoon. It was the first time that Hannah got to hold her baby sister in the last eight days! She was so excited, and so proud. We were really proud of her too, for wearing the gloves, gown and face mask without omplaining! (Yes, we still have to get all suited up to be in the same room as Aliah. It's a small price to pay for her health.)
I walked out to the car with them, while Aliah was sleeping soundly in her bed (but I felt guilty for leaving her in the hospital while I stepped outside for 10 mins!). Then I felt incredibly sad because Hannah had a huge meltdown and screamed "Dont leave, Mommy! NOOOO! Dont leave me! Come home with me!" in the middle of the parking garage. It was so sad!!! I was in tears as I walked back into the building.
I am really torn between here and home. This ordeal has been hard on all of us.
I want to go home soon. I want to sleep in my own bed.
I know there is an end in sight. and Im so so happy that she's getting better - it's just hard to go through this.

I just realied that Im supposed to have my 6-week postparden check-up in the morning - but Im going to have to rescheulde it - there's just no way that I can leave Aliah here for 3 hours by herself tomorrow. Compound that with the fact that my car is not here at the hospital, and its just not happening.

I'll let you know if anything changes tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Twelve days old.

Baby's first walk. Hannah was so happy to help push the stroller up and down the street!

Close-up of Aliah. Look at those big chubby cheeks! Don't you just want to touch them?!

Proud big sister holding the baby - this is what Hannah wants to do every morning as soon as she wakes up. It is really sweet, how much Hannah loves her baby sister.



I am no longer sick. Thank you God for antibiotics! :)

Aliah is doing well. Last night we woke up every 3 hours to eat, but other than that she slept just fine. Mike, on the other hand, stayed up until 5am for no apparent reason...

Right now Aliah is strapped onto me, sleeping in the Snugli. I love that I have both hands free and can still carry her around! The Snugli is my newest favorite piece of baby gear. Baby Hannah hated all forms of wraps and carriers, but I think this is quite convenient.

My mother misses us so much that she is coming back to visit again this weekend. She is actually coming in order to avoid spending yet another week with my dad's mother. Mike has been saying "My mother-in-law is visiting us in order to avoid her mother-in-law", but when put that way, usually people just don't get it.
Mom just left her house about an hour ago, so she should arrive at our house sometime between dinner and bedtime tonight.

Mike's last day off is January 26th. He goes back to work on the 27th.
That will be a hard adjustment for all of us.

Hannah thinks that today is opposite day. I just asked her to out on her shoes so we can play outside, and instead she put her socks and shoes onto her hands!
Listening and obeying have been huge battles in our house lately.

Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you had a wonderful day, celebrating Jesus' birthday!



We had a nice quiet day at home, just the three of us.
Hannah had a blast opening all her gifts.

She couldn't decide what to play with next!

She also asked me at least a dozen times: "it's Christmastime, why isnt the baby here? When is Baby coming? Soon?" Try explaining a "late" baby to a three-year-old!
Later that night, she asked "Will Baby be here in the morning?"
I told her that I don't know, we just have to wait and see.

Mike did an amazing job of cooking a turkey dinner (which he and Hannah thoroughly enjoyed eating!), as well as stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, sweet potatoes, corn and green beans. I "helped" by staying out of his way, and making a fresh veggie salad (which didnt even get eaten!).
I didn't eat much; my stomach is really squished these days - but I did clean up the kitchen mess for him afterwards. We skipped baking a pie and just ate Christmas cookies for dessert instead... we still have dozens of them all around the house. And how did we get so many candy canes?

After that, we sat around and watched classic Christmas movies, like Frosty and Rudolph and A Christmas Carol. We were just really lazy.
At Hannah's bedtime, we read the story of Jesus' birth from Luke chapter 2. It is a longstanding tradition that I want to continue with my own little family.

Overall I am feeling pretty good, just tired and not sleeping well. Trying to go for long walks and get plenty of exercise, not just sit around on the couch. It is difficult for me to be patient and wait for this baby to come out, but I really am trying!

Can this belly get any bigger? 40 weeks pregnant and counting...

Christmas Eve night. We were so tired! We walked at the park for 2 hours that day!

Pictures of the week.

This morning, Hannah and I went to a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party! It was very kid-friendly. We made crafts, sang Christmas songs, ate cake, and we had fun visiting with our MOPS friends.

Hannah was a bit confused though: "Where IS Baby Jesus? Can we see him? Is he here?" And she also asked "Is he still a baby? How old is Jesus right now?"
It's hard for me to explain these sorts of things to her in ways that she can understand. But she doesn't know how serious and complicated her questions are!

The in-laws will be here in a few minutes.... Have a good weekend!

Here are some pictures from earlier this week:

37 week belly pictures.

Here is me at 37 weeks pregnant:






And here is Hannah!



My mom laughed SO HARD when she saw these pictures!!!



Everything is going well at our house.
One more week until Mike and I are both on maternity/paternity leave... we're just counting down the days! Still need to rearrange some furniture - well, *I* wont be moving any furniture, that's Mike's job, and I will supervise. But for the most part, we are all ready for New Baby to come!

silly pictures

Got some funny pictures of us on Thanksgiving Day.
First, here's Hannah and I, crashed out on the couch after our big meal:




Then there's Hannah the ballerina princess:



Hannah's new shoes:
We bought them this weekend and she cries whenever I make her take them off!


New PJS from Nana:

I know its mean, to flash a camera in front of her face right after she's just fallen asleep - but I couldnt help it, she was just so cute!

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In pregnancy news: Nothing new to report. I am still eating every hour or two, and visiting the bathroom even more often than that. Cramping every night, but nothing special. This baby is going to stay nice and warm in my tummy for a little while longer.

At our Thanksgiving service last week, during our time of sharing, I announced to everyone that I was thankful to be 36 weeks pregnant. Now, Im sort of sorry that I said it, because EVERYONE was asking me at church this morning: "when is your baby coming? How much longer do you have?". As if I have a choice, and I've conveniently planned the birthdate! When you have to answer the same question over and over and over again, it's not so much fun.

Seriously, I feel so very blessed that this baby and I are so HEALTHY! With my first pregnancy, I had severe pre-eclampsia, edema, was bloated like a hot-air balloon, dizziness, double vision - not good. Then there was the horrible nightmare of 2007.... and now, this Miracle Baby. This pregnancy has been so sweet and easy! And I'm not even tired of it yet! :) It really is amazing. I am so thankful for our blessings.

Semi-professional photos

Ok, Im being brave and posting a few of my 35-week pregnancy pictures, taken by a local photography student.


She did a good job - but WARNING - don't look if you are afraid of stretch marks, huge bellies, or naked bodies in general.


Don't worry though, all of the essential parts are covered....