Could I be more blessed?

I was somewhere (I don't exactly remember where) recently, and I was carrying Macy in my arms. Maddie was dawdling around behind us a bit, like usual. An older woman looked at Macy and said something along the lines of, "Oh, she is so beautiful!" Then Maddie caught up to us, and the lady said, "Oh my gosh! Is this one yours, too? She's gorgeous. You are so blessed." I smiled and said, "Yes I am."

And I am.

Maddie has been SUCH a good girl lately. I know I complained about some rough patches before Macy arrived and for a month or two after, but things have been great for the past month or two. For being 2, she sure does well. She's amazingly patient when I'm feeding Macy or trying to get her down for a nap. She listens (most of the time) when I ask her to do something. She loves on her baby sister and doesn't ever try to harm her in any way. She helps put away her laundry, and she's just great all around. I love that kid so much.

Then there's Macy. She's so sweet. The little girl smiles at the drop of a hat, and it's not just a little smile -- it's from ear-to-ear and with a wide open mouth. Her hair stands straight up at the crown, and everyone we meet comments on it. Personally, I love it. She's 4 months old now, and she weighed 16 pounds, 11 ounces (97th percentile) and was 25.4 inches long (86th percentile) at her doctor visit. Maddie was barely 14 pounds when she was 4.5 months! Her sleep still isn't the greatest, but it seems to be getting a little better lately. It's OK with me for now, though, because I know this won't last forever. So I get up a couple times a night and snuggle with my sweet baby.

Life is good, and here is proof:


Yes, that onesie does say "I love Santa" on it. Now that she's no longer swaddled, Macy sleeps in long-sleeved onesies and a sleep sack/bag, and this was the last clean one. Funny thing is Christmas was almost five months away when the picture was taken, and it's getting too small on Macy already; Maddie wore it at Christmastime, obviously.

And here are a few more:


I think it's about time to retire the swing.

Diagnosis

OK, so there really isn't one.

It seems as though Maddie's latest mystery fever -- which spiked at 105 last Saturday night and didn't go down with Tylenol -- was random. A few of the other neighborhood kids had fevers with no symptoms, too, and Matt ended up getting it (go figure; he's always sick). The doctor believes that her three high fevers in a month's time were just coincidence.

In order to come to that conclusion, Maddie had her blood drawn once and gave two urine samples. After the first urinalysis, the doctor noticed some things that could suggest diabetes, so she recommended the blood draw. Maddie was a trooper, and though she cried, she didn't fight it. "My" (what she calls Grandma Schaefer) was along, and she sat on her lap during the draw. Macy, my sympathetic crier, shed a few tears as well.

So we learned that Maddie is anemic. We bought her a new daily multivitamin with iron, so hopefully that helps. She's kind of disappointed she can't eat her gummy vitamins anymore; I could only find Flintstones vitamins with iron. But she knows the doctor said we have to take a new vitamin, and she seemed to like the Flintstones well enough despite the texture change. She'll have to have her blood drawn again in a few months to see if her iron levels are within the normal range.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and well wishes when Maddie wasn't feeling well and I was a bit nervous about it. :)