How can it already be the middle of February?
Abigail Lily - The newest member of our family is doing beautifully at this thing called life. She is a successful baby in all areas. She eats well and at her one month check up had already gained about 3 pounds going from 8.6 lbs to 11.4 lbs. She sleeps well and for long periods of time, just not at the right time - we're still working on that. She's been smiling and laughing in her sleep occassionally, and just a couple of weeks ago started purposefully smiling at her momma. I spend lots of time speaking in high-pitched tones telling her I love her and singing her songs because that seems to be what brings out the grin. She also likes when I go "Oh!" really fast like I am really really surprised at something. It's that irresistable-type smile babies do when they open their mouth and then the most addicting, sweet coo/sigh comes out. And what's even more irresistable is that Abigail has some dimples - one in each little chubby cheek.
Abigail loves taking baths, but hates, hates, hates getting dressed and undressed. She also loves to be held and will most assuredly fall asleep if you carry her around with you around the house. I took her out on a walk with a friend in the baby carrier the other day and she LOVED that. I think her eyes may actually be blue but it's still hard to tell. She is beautiful and sweet and we are having so much fun with her in our lives.
Madeline Olivia - Madeline is an amazing kid and she is doing so well as a big sister. She loves Abigail, constantly trying to kiss her and hold her hand. She loves to sit with her and talk to her. She regularly calls her "sweetheart" and asks if she can hold her. Even at the age of 2 she is a lot of help. I made the decision before Abigail was born to try my best not to turn Madeline into my little errand runner, but she actually gets upset if I don't let her go get Abigail a new outfit or a diaper. She loves to help, and actually I think it is a good thing because it teaches her to serve others and also how important it is to work together as a family.
Madeline has been going to playschool every Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. I drop her off at 8:30 am and pick her up at 11:00. She has never cried. The first day she looked at me a little hesitantly like, "Um, where do you think you are going?" But she went right in and she is the same way every time I take her. She also seems to really like the ladies at the playschool, which makes me feel really good. You can tell a lot by how a child acts around an adult and after only a week of playschool she was running to these ladies.
We've just started back to playgroups here on camp. We quit going for the last few weeks before Abigail was born and of course after she was born because I didn't want to expose her to the outside world just yet. Right now we attend playgroups on Sundays and Wednesdays. I may cut it down to once a week - I am still trying to decide. There are a bunch of other things I would like to do and I really want to get the girls on a regular schedule/routine. I think most of the ladies/kids in our playgroups attend both days so we should still be able to see all our friends.
Nighttime has changed a lot. The end of December introduced us to illness with Madeline and she has had a really hard time letting go of it. It's almost like she is making up for her babyhood (Madeline was never sick as a little baby). She started with an ear infection. They put her on an antibiotic for a week (
that was a lot of fun... trying to get her to take it), but it didn't seem to help. When we took her back for her check-up they said she still had slight redness but it should go away on it's own. She pulled at her ears at night for another week or so and then it was over and onto a new problem... the coughing. One night she had a croupe-like cough, which eventually turned into a regular, deep, gagging cough. At first she had the runny nose, low-grade fever and tired feeling that accompanies a cough. As time has gone on, all those other symptoms have disappeared - except for the cough. She STILL, even today, has at least one cough attack at night. So basically, my little girl has been coughing for two months. Paul and I wonder if maybe it has become a habit or a learned behavior at this point or maybe it's a subconscious emotional thing because of the new baby. When she does cough, it seems like she can't control it. She even tries NOT to cough. It's annoying. The point of this entire paragraph and why I brought it all up is - she has learned some things and changed because of the illness thing...
1. She covers her mouth when she sneezes and coughs and is very good at using tissues now. This is a huge plus in my book.
2. She
wants to sleep in her OWN BED now. We started having her sleep in her room (with Paul) when it all started because we didn't want Abigail getting sick at such a young age. Every night now she gives me kisses and hugs and tells me she is sleeping in her room and I need to sleep in mine. Then she looks at Paul and says, "come on Dad." That is the only stipulation - he has to go with her and STAY all night or the deal's off. In the meantime, I get my bed to myself - NOT a horrible thing at all. I would like Paul there with me, so that is what we are working on now... getting him back.
Madeline is doing well with potty training. She pees in the morning and when she takes a bath. She pees when we change her clothes and before bed. And recently, she has been telling me BEFORE she poops that she has to poop. Now, this doesn't mean she wants to poop in the potty, but she knows what she is doing and it is just a matter of time before she will decide she is done with diapers. That's how it has always been with her... when she makes the decision it's time.
We're working hard on helping Madeline learn her ABCs. I cut out the entire alphabet and taped the letters to our wall in the hallway. Sometimes, when we walk down the hall, we sing the alphabet and point to the wall. Sometimes she is not interested in doing it, but I try to make it fun. If it looks like
I am having so much fun it's ridiculous, she wants to do it to. We also bought the
Leapfrog Letter Factory movie and we watch it at least once a day. I even walk around the house singing the little song they sing for each letter...very catchy. The movie is good because it teaches the letter and the sound the letter makes,
and it actually keeps her attention.
Me & Paul - Paul, my gallant conquistador, is the hardest working man I know. He's also very sexy and he smells really really ridiculously good. He doesn't even wear collogne. The month he was on "vacation" here at home he took such wonderful care of us. He made us dinner all the time, made sure Madeline was happy, changed diapers, cleaned, went grocery shopping... it never ends. Honestly, he does all this stuff all the time even when he is not on vacation and he did it before his vacation. I need to be better to him. His needs are simple. I really need to take better care of him.
When he has a chance, he tries to get to the gym. His plan is to wake up at 5am. He actually makes it a lot of the time, but sometimes, when the nights are rough (Madeline has a couple cough attacks for example) and he doesn't get the sleep he needs, he might not make it that day. He loves exercising when he can do it, and it's an inspiration to me.
I just got the 6 week "okay" from my OB doctor yesterday. This means I can actually start exercising if I want to. I have been walking every once in a while, but nothing that actually makes a difference. And with the portion sizes I usually eat (of foods that are not so good for human beings) the little walking I have been doing doesn't do much. This sweet baby had a different effect on my body than my first pregnancy. After Madeline I immediately lost all my pregnancy weight and then some. I looked
really good after I had her. With The Abster? I don't know that I have ever seen so much blubbery jiggle before in my life. I saw a picture of myself on the couch with the girls the other day and I could not believe how wide my thighs were. I am one of
those ladies. The ones with the pretty smile, the wide thighs and the big ass. I wonder at times if I have any muscle at all. We now have Abigail trained to take a bottle of pumped breastmilk so truthfully, I have no excuse not to get out to the gym or attend an exercise class.
Other than being tired all the time (we're working on it) I feel pretty great. I love having two girls, but it can be stressful. I am learning that I am not really the patient person I thought I was and I need to work on it. Madeline gives us a workout in patience everyday. She is constantly ignoring our demands and not doing what we say. She actually goes out of her way to do the opposite of what we say at times. She is in time out a lot. She is a really great little kid though and we have so much fun with her.
We don't really get out much. We've been a bit secluded since we arrived here and we hope to get out and meet more people this year and get more involved in the plethora of available activities here on camp. I guess it's just the phase of life we are in right now. Having a newborn and a two year old sort of limits what you can do. There is so much we
want to do. We're really looking forward to travelling when our time finally comes (this year it begins). We're also realizing and focusing on the fact that although we are meeting nice people here and gaining some good friends, our main purpose for coming here was to better ourselves and our family. We need to take better care of ourselves... of each other. And unlike most people in the world, we actually have the opportunity to do it! I would feel like an ungrateful, horrible person if I didn't take advantage of this opportunity.
We are truly blessed and life pretty much rocks to the core. *Smiles*
