Our Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are now into the whirlwind that is the Christmas season. I thought I should take a minute to reflect on last weekend or I'm afraid I'll completely forget it. We traveled to my in-laws' for the holiday weekend. There were 14 people in the house and it was pretty crazy. You know how it is. In that setting, if you want to be heard, you must yell across the table, so that the person closest to the salad can hear you asking for it. It was pandemonium and lots of fun to catch up with everyone, as well as to see Madelyn and Pierce enjoy their cousins. The cousins were fascinated with Isabel.

Unfortunately, Isabel was not fascinated with her new surroundings during nap times. While she slept great at night (Thank you, Lord!), nap times were a different story, and I was quite stressed at times. It seemed like I spent most of my time listening to her scream, trying to comfort her, realizing that she had fallen asleep in my arms, laying her back down, only to hear her scream once again. It was quite the viscous cycle and I could not reboot her to save my life. It was a fast reminder of how difficult traveling with a tiny baby can be. Additionally, Pierce woke up every night crying. He was disoriented and constantly looking for us.

Having experienced all of that, I find myself being so thankful for a family where people really do love each other and love being around each other.

Here's a picture of the cousins. Notice Isabel's demeanor.



Happy belated Thanksgiving!

PSA

Have you ever heard of a hair tourniquet? Well, we discovered it's power last Monday. As I was changing Isabel's diaper, I noticed that her middle toe on her right foot looked different. As I looked closer, I noticed it was very swollen and slightly purple. It also had a deep indentation around the first knuckle. I looked and looked to see what was causing the indention and all I could see was a small piece of pink fuzz. I called JD and to say I was upset was an understatement. I really thought she might lose her toe. JD encouraged me to find what was causing the problem, but I must say that at that moment I was borderline hysterical and Isabel was borderline hysterical. I could not keep her from kicking me or hold her still while I tried to inspect her toe.

I was finally able to keep her still enough to see two small pieces of blond hair that appeared to be crossed over each other. At that point, I realized that either a hair of mine or Madelyn's was wrapped around the toe. I used nail clippers, tweezers, small scissors, and a few other tools to attempt the hair removal. At some point during this, I looked down and saw a blond hair on my sleeve, near my wrist. I think that was the hair. However, I wasn't sure and JD came home from work (my hero!) to examine the situation.

I called the doctor and spoke with a nurse who claimed this happens quite often and told me just to monitor it over the next few days. Her toe looks much better now, but you can still see the ring around her toe. I didn't take a picture of Isabel's toe, but this is what it looked like except only one toe was involved:

So, if you are a parent of a newborn, check those toes!

2 months old

Once again, I'm wondering how another month has passed and how Isabel is two months old. She went to the doctor today and is doing well. She's still slow to gain weight, so the doctor wants me to give her two bottles/day of high concentration formula. I'm a bit frustrated by this because I feel it is unnecessary, but I will do it. She really is starting to show her personality. She smiles a lot and coos and oohhs when you talk to her. She's even rolled over a few times, but it wasn't intentional and she got really mad when she did it. Her neck control is pretty impressive and she is very stimulated by her surroundings. She is sleeping really well and has settled into a pretty predictable schedule, which will change in the next month, I'm sure. We are all enjoying this additon to our family.

"You wanna mess with me?"

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

Howdy Pardner!

Snuggle time with Ma

She's found her thumb, finger, fist. She's much better at soothing now.

The pigs came to visit

and left Pierce with a case of H1N1. I am pretty convinced that what Madelyn had a couple of weeks ago was also H1N1. Pierce's symptoms were so similar, but much milder, that I dismissed the possibility that he could have it. JD took him to the doctor today because he had had a fever for over 4 days. They tested him and it came back positive. The test does have a 30% false negative rate, so I think it missed Madelyn's case. It really isn't that bad, and he hasn't had a fever all day, so hopefully the worst is over. Please pray that Isabel doesn't get it (or the rest of us either)!

Baby Face

All three sorta looking at the camera

Sisters

Mom, if you don't stop taking these pictures...

I'm gonna be sick!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I was heartbroken yesterday as I watched the Ft. Hood Memorial. Wives, husbands, children, moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends were lost during that horrific shooting. I pray that those they left behind can find peace in this situation, and I am ever more grateful for their service. Thanks to all of my friends, uncles, and father-in-law who have served or are serving our country with honor!

We were treated and tricked

It's been an interesting few days around here. Madelyn takes gymnastics on Saturdays and really enjoys it, so we knew something was amiss when she was practically refusing to participate last Saturday. She told us her throat hurt, but we just assumed she had some congestion and a cold. She seemed fine, and as you can see from the pictures below, participated in Halloween activities. After trick or treating, though, she had a temperature of 102 and didn't show much interest in her candy. Her temperature on Sunday reached 104 and she complained of an ear ache, sore throat, and she threw up. When she got up from her nap, she walked down the stairs, grabbed a pillow, and parked herself in front of the TV. She did not move from that spot until she threw up and had to take a bath. One of her friends, whom she had spent time with at church the previous Sunday, was diagnosed with H1N1, and we were concerned that she might have it. The doctor said no ear infection, no strep, probably not swine flu. Her temperature returned to normal on Monday and she was back to her tricks on Tuesday. Thankfully, no one else has displayed symptoms.