Christmas Cards

You may or may not have noticed that I failed to send out Christmas cards in 2009, but it's been eating at me all year. Sure I could list every excuse in the book (kid, work, pregnancy, etc.), but really, that's no good since everyone else could use a number of the same excuses.

But this year is going to be different, because Shutterfly is making it easy. I'm thrilled to be able to show off my two beautiful babies -- who are 2.5 years and 7 months already (how'd that happen?!) -- in holiday photo cards.

I always enjoy reading yearly updates included with Christmas cards, but it's not something I'd necessarily do, especially considering that's what this blog is for. But one of my favorite Shutterfly holiday cards this year is the story card -- which comes in 5x7 flat stationery or a 5x7 folded greeting card -- particularly the "Our Ornaments" card.

Here's another of my favorite designs, since I've been feeling lately like I have one of each kind of child in my house; I'll let you make assumptions as to the word that describes which one.

For my many friends out there who don't celebrate Christmas, Shutterfly has Hanukkah cards abound. I think this one is especially cute:

But Shutterfly isn't just about printing photos and making holiday cards. Last year one of my uncles created a wall calendar, complete with the birthdays and anniversaries of everyone in the extended family, and it was a huge hit.

Another gift idea is a photo mug. Surely Grandma or Grandpa would like to show off their beautiful grandchildren with one of these, right?

If that hasn't already convinced you, Shutterfly is currently running a promotion for 50 free holiday cards; blog about it and earn yours. Click here for more information, and Happy Holidays!

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. :)

Maddie's mystery illness

So here we are again. I realize it's been a whole month since my last update. Yes, I suck.

This summer is flying by. FLYING. I was worried that my days home with two kids would drag by, but they fly, too. We keep relatively busy, but I'm only now finding that we're getting into a bit of a routine, which is nice. Hopefully that will continue to develop as Macy gets older and naps/sleep/wake up times become more regular.

The main reason for today's update is to talk about Maddie's mystery illness. She woke up this morning with a 103-degree temperature, no other symptoms of sickness. This is the THIRD time in four weeks that a mystery fever of at least 103 has shown up. So I called the doctor, and they wanted to see her.

Her ears were perfect. She has no rashes, runny nose, cough, etc. She seems fine, except for the fever. They tested for strep throat. Negative. They did a urine sample (thank goodness she's potty trained, or they would have had to place a catheter), and we're awaiting the results of a UTI test. I won't go into too much detail and jump the gun, but if it's none of those things and the mystery fevers keep popping up, our doctor (who squeezed us in to see us, even though she didn't have any appointments available today!) said then they'll start looking for "weird stuff." I took that to mean more serious or unusual illness. So let's hope we don't have to worry about that.

In happier news, Macy is doing great. On Monday we moved her to her own room, her own crib. That night she woke up three times, but for the past three nights she's only been up once a night!! I guess she just wanted her own space. She's a rolling machine and has been for about a week or two now. She grabs at/holds and inspects toys with such a curious look on her face, and she sucks on her thumb and hands nonstop. She is SO smiley, and I enjoy my one-on-one time with her when Maddie is napping (as I do with Maddie when Macy is napping).

A busy weekend and a trip to Olbrich

Saturday was my niece Miranda's confirmation party in Kewaskum. Maddie and Macy had their picture taken with all their cousins on the Schaefer side and My and Buppa Schaefer. It was a windy day, and Maddie got stung by a bee, but it was a good time nonetheless.


Yesterday Kenny and Norma came to visit for Father's Day. Matt and I were able to get another coat of paint on the basement bedroom, and the girls had fun playing with their grandparents. We grilled rib eye and t-bone for lunch and ate out on the deck while Maddie napped and Macy chilled in her swing.


Last night was a great night! Macy decided to sleep from about 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. She slept from 8:30 until 4:30 the night before, so things are looking up in the sleep department. That set us up for a great day!

I've been trying to plan a get together with my former co-worker, Ali, for weeks now. The stinkin' weather keeps getting in our way, though, so today we decided to make it work no matter what. We planned to go to the zoo, but of course it was supposed to rain again, so we met at Olbrich Gardens instead. That way we could walk around inside if it was raining and outside if it wasn't. Luckily we were able to get in a nice walk around the grounds and even had a picnic lunch.


Maddie had fun with Ali's boys, Tyler and Alec (almost 5 and almost 3, respectively). All three of them were well behaved. We didn't even have any tantrums!!


Ali informed me that my former boss is giving up the magazine, and it will only be published through the end of the year. What happens after that is up to the WSGA (Wisconsin State Golf Association). She only works there two days a week, so of course she's worried about not having a job and being able to find a new one with the flexibility she has now. I would be, too. I just wish he'd have decided to stop publishing sooner ... then I could have collected unemployment! ;-)

After we left Olbrich, I had to stop at JoAnn Fabrics to pick up a few things. Maddie picked out a wind chime and some new stickers. And of course, that's where we had our daily tantrum, which included crawling around like a baby on the dirty store floor. Lovely. I resorted to bribery and bought her a $1 foam monkey face, which she's in love with. I think we'll incorporate it into the construction of a potty sticker chart.

OK, I've been on here long enough. Both girls need to get ready for bed, so I better get on it.

Has it really been two months?

Wow!

Have I really only posted one entry since Macy was born? I've found that my computer time is seriously limited now that I'm staying home with two children, and when I do have a free minute, I have real things to do. Even right now, as I try to sit here and type while Macy naps (on our bed -- something that doesn't happen often because she likes to be held), Maddie is all over me. Actually, that's the real reason I don't update. Every time I get on the computer, she wants to watch videos of herself!

Macy is going to be 10 weeks old on Monday. I took her in for her 2-month visit on Monday, and the kid is 13 pounds, 12 ounces and 23 1/4 inches long -- the 98th and 82nd percentiles, respectively. She is a lot bigger than Maddie was. In fact, at her 1-month visit, Macy weighed what Maddie did at her 2-month visit. I'm very surprised she's gained so much weight, because she nurses quickly and not all that frequently. I guess she's efficient!

Maddie has adjusted pretty well to having a little sister. She's pretty good to Macy most of the time. We have some really big news ... SHE'S POTTY TRAINED! She went and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer for a few days, and during that time she started going on the potty and staying pretty dry. So when she came home, Matt and I did a three-day potty training bootcamp, and by the fourth day she didn't have any accidents. She's been potty trained for almost two weeks now. The first three days were exhausting for us, but they were worth it!

Macy has been sleeping in our bed for nearly two hours now -- and she'd been sleeping in my arms for an hour and a half before that -- so I think I need to go check on her. Hopefully I'll be back soon with more updates and photos, but you can check Facebook if you're anxious. ;-)

Macy Alexandra LaPlante

I can't believe it's taken me over a week to get here to announce the arrival of Macy Alexandra LaPlante!

Most of you reading this already know anyway, but our beautiful little girl arrived at 12:08 a.m. on Monday, April 12. She was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. For being born at 41w3d, I thought she'd be a bit bigger! She has a head full of dark hair, which I hope doesn't fall out.

Here is a picture from shortly after her birth:


As some of you know, I had a c-section with Maddie due to breech presentation and low fluid levels, and I was quite bummed (to say the least) about being forced into that situation. I desperately wanted to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time around, and I spent a lot of time researching and preparing for it. My wish came true, and I gave birth to Macy -- without an epidural -- three hours after we arrived at the hospital.

Our first week has flown by. We celebrated Maddie's second birthday on Saturday, April 17. Matt is off work until next Monday, and I'm already dreading his return. It's been nice staying in bed until Macy and I are ready to get up; I'm not looking forward to having to get up when Maddie wakes up!

I would like to thank all of our family and friends who have dropped off gifts, made us meals or simply came to visit. It is much appreciated!