Fun Christmas Activites

So we have done so much fun stuff so far in December. We went to the tree lighting party for the city of Wentzville a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty neat. There were some kids singing Christmas songs and then the turned the lights on on the official tree for the city. Then they had a parade down the main road that led to the fire station where they had free hot chocolate and the kids got to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. It was pretty cold, but Kendyl had so much fun. She really enjoyed this angel that was in the parade, it was huge and she talked over a PA system and Kendyl just loved every minute of it. Unfortunately she is still afraid of Santa so she got her picture taken with Mrs. Clause. :)

Kendyl and I went to see the Princess and the Frog on opening weekend. She just loves movies and really enjoys going to the theater to see them. She sat there through the whole movie and was mesmerized. I thought she might be a little scared of the Voodoo guy, but she didn't even notice. They showed a preview for the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie and we are both looking forward to that. I think we are going the week after Christmas with our friends!

This week Kendyl also had her Happy Birthday Jesus party at school. She was in charge of bringing the Twinkies. They decorated them with icing and sprinkles and made them into cakes for Jesus' birthday party! She brought home a gift for me and her daddy. It was a homemade ornament with a picture of her in it. I just love all the little projects they make at school!

Kendyl told me the other day that we picked the best sister for her. It just makes me so happy that she likes her sister so much. I know they are going to have their fair share of disagreements, but I hope they have a great friendship too.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. It is so hard to believe that at this time last year I had just found out I was pregnant and now I have a four month old!




We went to my husband's family for breakfast and my family for dinner. Kendyl had so much fun playing with her cousins and Mady was all smiles for everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Four Months

Well, our little angel is four months old! I can't believe how fast this is going and how big she is getting. She is just the happiest, most laid back baby in the world! She has been given a nickname as of the last couple weeks. She is now Mady Lou and she just lights up when you call her. So this is how Mady is these days...

• You are still a great sleeper. You go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30. You put yourself to sleep and sleep all night.
  
• You are now in 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.
  
• You like your rice cereal but you prefer it in your bottle. You get to frustrated trying to eat it off the spoon.
  
  
• You roll over from your back to your tummy and your tummy to your back.







• You are starting to enjoy your tummy time and you look so big when you hold your head up!





• You have officially found your voice and you love to try to talk to us.
  
  
• You have to face out when we hold you. You get mad if you can't see what's going on.







• Your sister still loves you to pieces. She has to hold you at least once a day and she just loves kissing your soft hair!

I am so thankful to have such a good happy baby and I just love watching your sister with you. It is great to see the love written all over her face!

Some Milestones

I just want to make note of some firsts for Mady.

You first rolled from your tummy to your back on October 30. You did it twice that night but you haven't done it since. Lucky for me I got it on video. Its a shame I can't figure out how to put that anywhere.

You are so close to being able to roll from your back to your tummy but you just can't get your last arm out of the way.

You laughed for the first time November 2. Your aunt Diane was tickling your thighs and you laughed at her.

You rolled from your back to your tummy for the first time November 8.

Halloween

So we had such a fun Halloween weekend!

We started our weekend with pumpkin carving Friday night.

Kendyl was not too sure about actually touching the inside of the pumpkin, but she still enjoyed the finished product.

Saturday we had some of our family over for taco soup and trick or treating. Kendyl was a fairy and Mady was a pink monster. Kendyl really enjoyed trick or treating even though it was a little chilly.

Three Months

So this one is a little more timely :). Mady turned three months old on Saturday! I was on a girl's weekend with my sister so I wasn't home to take her pictures, so I had to do it Sunday.

So, what is Mady up to these days? Well...

• You sleep through the night more nights than you don't.
  
  


• You weigh 10 lbs 9 oz, so you have officially doubled your birth weight.
  
  


• You are 21 1/2 inches long, so that means you are in the 25 % for height and weight.
  
  


• You smile a lot and it seems like you might be trying to laugh






• You tried rice cereal for the first time and you weren't too sure about it, you struggle to eat it off a spoon but have no problems sucking it down in your bottle








• You are getting close to outgrowing your 0-3 months close even though you just started to fit in them!
  
  


• You love your big sister and try to watch her constantly






• You make us all so happy and we couldn't imagine life without you!
  

We love you baby girl!

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we took the girls to the pumpkin patch. Kendyl loved it. Mady slept the whole time.

When we first got there we went for a hayride. Kendyl was a little unsure about it because there were so many people that she didn't know, but overall she liked it.

After the hayride she went to play in the corn. That sounds weird, but they had corn kernels instead of sand for kids to play in. This was Kendyl's favorite thing to play in last year too.

After a little play time we moved on to the pony rides. This actually almost turned into a meltdown because Kendyl did not want a man to be the one walking the pony.

They had a kiddie train type thing. If you look closely you can see Kendyl in the very last car. She had to be as far away from the man driving the tractor as possible. Her fear of men is something else and it frustrates her dad to no end. I am just hoping she outgrows it soon.

After the train she got her face painted. She decided she wanted to look like a kitty cat. It was pretty cute and she kept it on all day!

Kendyl and her daddy shared a funnel cake and then we moved on to looking at pumpkins. I am not sure how I forgot, but I did not get a picture of Kendyl with the pumpkin she picked. I think my defense will be that I had to hold Mady so Daddy could carry the big heavy pumpkin!

Fish Fry

So we went to the farm for the annual fish fry. None of us actually eat fish, but it is fun to spend time with my dad and his family. There is always a lot of laughs and Kendyl loves to see her cousins. My dad catches all the fish he cooks so I usually at least try it, but not this year. I am really trying to get in better shape and since I don't really like fish I didn't see any reason to add the extra fat and calories. My stepmom made some mostaccioli that was so good and my aunt and uncle brought potatoes for homemade potato chips (I did try some of those and they were awesome!). Other than that there were a bunch of desserts, most of which I passed on, but I did have some brownies that were amazing.

Part of the fun of the fish fry is riding four wheelers and shooting skeet. I didn't do either of them this year, but I have in the past and it is always fun. Kendyl rode the four wheeler with my sister and absolutely loved every minute of it!

Better Late than Never

Guess who's 2 months old?!?

So here's a little about what Mady has been up to.

• You slept through the night for the first time at 6 weeks. Now it is almost becoming regular. I am so happy to have a good sleeper, expecially since Kendyl still wakes up most nights!





• You wore your first 0-3 month outfit this week. You are still so small, but I can't believe how much bigger you have gotten.
• You love your swing. You like to watch the birds sing and you will "yell" at us if we don't turn on the music.
• You aren't too sure about your Bumbo seat yet, but we are working on it.
• You did not have any problems adjusting to spending your days with Aunt Jessica and you have started to be happier in the evening. I guess you were just stir crazy and wanted out of the house.
• If you are in your car seat, you have to be moving. If you are awake in the car and we have to stop for a red you light, you cry until we start to move again.
• You love to watch Kendyl, and she loves to have you watch her. She likes to cuddle with you and insists on giving you lots of hugs and kisses. Hopefully she will always like you as much as she does right now!

Its hard to believe you have only been here 2 months because I can't remember life without you!

Where does the time go?

So I have been back to work for awhile now and I can't seem to find time to do anything. I made a point to take a picture of Mady on her two month birthday, but I have not even taken the time to get the picture off the camera! So hopefully I will be writing that post soon, hopefully before its time for the three month post!

On a completely different note I have decided to start running. I did my first 5K a couple weeks ago and I have another one Saturday morning. I am not very good and I can't run very far or very fast, but I had to start somewhere and I am determined to be able to run one all the way through. I will keep you posted!

Funny Story

So after I dropped Kendyl off for her first day of preschool I got to go home and read the rules of the preschool. I felt like a horrible mother when I discovered I sent her in the completely wrong outfit. My delicate little flower loves to wear dresses and flip flops and they are both of the list of don'ts for preschool. I had to break the news to her that she was going to have to wear tennis shoes and shorts to school. She wasn't very happy about it.

So I got her all dressed and ready for the second day of preschool. While we were eating lunch I told her she looked super cute and asked her if she felt super cute. No lie, her response was, "I don't feel super cute in these tennis shoes!" What can I say, she is such a diva!

Smiling

So, the day after Kendyl started preschool (September 2 for the record), Mady smiled on purpose for the first time. Now of course I couldn't get it on camera, but I really tried to recreate it. Those pictures are the best I could do. The first one is really just to get a picture of her in the I love Mommy onesie!

Preschool

Kendyl got to start preschool on Tuesday! I have been wanting to get her into a preschool for awhile but I haven't been able to get it all coordinated since I want her in preschool close to home and I don't work anywhere near here, but it all worked out this past week!

My sister in law told me last week that she could keep Kendyl on the days she has preschool if I could get her in so I started working on it. It didn't look like it was going to happen because there were no openings for her age at the school I wanted her in. Well all that changed Tuesday morning when the director called to let me know they had a last minute opening! Luckily I was home on maternity leave so I could drop everything and get her registered that morning and Kendyl was able to start on the first day with everyone else.

She was so excited to go to school. She has been telling me for months that she wants to go to school so I am so glad this all worked out.

Here she is getting ready to get registered...

And here she is getting ready to go in the school...

And here she is waiting to go in her classroom...

She loved preschool and had a great first week. She was actually really excited to have homework to work on, but I am sure that will change over time. :)

One Month

Guess who's one month old?!?!?!

So here is a little about Mady's first month here:

• You are so tiny! You were 6 lbs 8 oz at your last doctor's appointment.
• You are still in newborn diapers and I think you are going to be there awhile.
• You barely fit into your newborn clothes and some outfits are still too big; I am beginning to think you aren't going to fit in your 0-3 months clothes before it starts getting cold!
• You are starting to get on a good schedule. You eat every 3 hours during the day, but longer at night. You have gone as much as 7 hours at night but 5 is more of the average.
• You smile while you are sleeping but you haven't done it while you are awake yet. Daddy even heard you laugh while you are sleeping yesterday!
• You are so laid back! You hardly ever cry, only when you are hungry or we are changing your diaper, and all it takes to comfort you is to be held.
  

This is your favorite place to sleep. You absolutely love your bouncy seat, but it has to be vibrating! If we turn it off you wake up almost immediately!

We put you in your swing for the first time this weekend. You loved it and went right to sleep. I have a feeling you will be spending quite a bit of time in there. I can remember many nights when Kendyl slept in that very swing!

Your shirt tells eveyone what you like the most, to be hugged. Kendyl has spent many hours lying next to you cuddling and she insists on giving you a kiss and a hug every night before bed. She loves you to pieces and so do me and Daddy! We are so happy that you are finally here and we couldn't imagine our family without you!

Introducing...

She's here! Madelyn Dixie Heitland arrived Friday, July 24, 2009 at 10:10 am. She was 5 lbs 3 oz (just like Kendyl) and measured 18 1/2 inches long.

So far she is a very good baby. She is more laid back than Kendyl was, but she just can't seem to get enough to eat! Once she is full she sleeps for at least 4 hours so that is nice.

We are all adjusting well to being a family of four. Kendyl loves her baby sister and likes to help do everything for her. It is very sweet.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our first days together.

The Countdown is ON!!!

So I have spent the last 6 days couped up in my house on bed rest. To be fair I have had a few outings. I had two doctor's appointments that turned into two hospital visits. I think they were each good for 3 or 4 hours out. We went out to eat a few times and we took Kendyl to Build a Bear.

Now I know if probably seems like Build a Bear would not fall into the bed rest category, but I did it as safely as I could. It has been my plan for quite some time to take her to Build a Bear before her sister came. We were using it as a bribe to keep her in her bed and she came so close so many times that I finally gave up on that and decided to just take her. I cannot begin to tell you how excited she was. She was practically bouncing in her car seat the entire way to the mall.

So once I decided we were for sure going I did a little research. I found out what time the mall opened and where exactly Build a Bear was in that mall. It isn't in the mall we usually go to so I wasn't entirely sure. I made sure we got there just before the mall opened so we could get a close parking spot and be first in line. It all worked out very well and we were in and out in about 20 minutes. I had decided this would be OK because the nurse at the hospital said I was good to cook dinner if I wanted and Build a Bear is way less stressful than that :-).

So let me back up and tell you why I am on bed rest. I went to the doctor last Wednesday. It was my last appointment with the high risk doctor and they were going to check Madelyn's growth and make sure my blood sugar was cooperating. They did an ultrasound and she was 5 lbs 8 oz. That put her in the 15th percentile. They tend to not like babies to be under the 20th percentile so they didn't like that too much. Before they did the ultrasound they took my blood pressure and it was a little high. When you put those together the doctor was none too happy so he sent me home on bed rest until my appointment with my personal doctor the next day.

I fully expected to go to the doctor the next day and everything be fine, like it has been all along, and get sent home to return to work the next day. I was wrong. My blood pressure was a little high when I got there and had gone down slightly during my non stress test, but it was pretty high by the time I was ready to leave. So high that my doctor instructed me to go to the hospital. Joy.

I spent a couple hours getting monitored and my bloodpressure went down so they sent me home on bedrest until my Monday appointment. So yesterday I went back to the doctor. My blood pressure was still high when I got there. They sent me in for my non stress test and my doctor came to see me. The first thing she said is, " We aren't going to make it until next week". I already expected this so it was not a surprise. She told me she wanted to schedule a C section for the next morning. Unfortunately she couldn't find a hospital with any openings so she sent me back over to get monitored. Her reasoning was if my blood pressure didn't go down they could work me earlier than if we just scheduled the surgery. She also said if it went down she was OK with scheduling it later in the week. It went down and my blood work was fine so I was discharged on bed rest and we have scheduled my C section for FRIDAY!!! I do still have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and I suppose there is still a chance Madelyn could come on her own before then, but right now the plan is July 24.

That means I get to meet Madelyn in 3 DAYS!!!

Madelyn's Room

So here are some pictures of Madelyn's room. We are so ready to bring her home to it. I am thinking the reason she didn't come early is because we are actually ready this time!

Here is the view from the door.

Here is a close up of her changing table and the decorations above it and a view of the wall her dresser is on.

Here are a couple of close ups of her bed. I absolutely love her bedding!

We have her name above her bed, just like we did with Kendyl. Her letters are adorable. They have the same polka dots and stripes as her bedding.

This is her closet door. Kendyl got to put the polka dots on and Daddy put the flowers on.

I am still looking for some stuff to go on the walls and pictures frames and other things to tie it all together. You forget about all this stuff when you don't have a baby shower. I am sure we will find it all in time.