One Month Old

...stats will be coming in a few weeks (the holidays made scheduling well checks a tad more difficult than normal).

Tis the Season

Give Me Back My Computer!

Most people would assume that my posts have not been as frequent due to having a newborn, an almost 3 year old and the upcoming holidays. However, this is only partially the reason. The main reason I'm having difficulties posting is that every time I pull out the computer, it is commandeered by Tilda who will then spends hours (if allowed) playing on the Disney website. It is amazing how she can navigate between all the different games and characters! I have to find various distractions if I need to spend any time on the computer during the day. Hopefully Santa will provide lots of new distractions as I am running out.

Catchin Up with Pics

Here's some pics I didn't have time to post over the past few weeks.

Two Weeks Old Already

Thus far, Miranda's first two weeks have been pretty uneventful (thankfully). She does what all newborns do - eat, sleep & poop. Overall she is very a happy baby who loves to be held. And last week when we went for her 1 week appointment she weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz!

Mother Hen

I have affectionately nick-named Matilda mother hen, as she is constantly looking out for her little sister. Matilda refers to Miranda as "my baby." She thanks me for feeding and changing Miranda and lets me know when she thinks Miranda needs to eat. Matilda even started crying just because Miranda was crying & she couldn't help her little sister! Overall, Matt & I very impressed with how well she has handled the change to big sister, we're just hoping it lasts!

Meet Miranda Mae

Miranda Mae arrived on Monday, November 15th at 6:15 pm.

Name Origin: Miranda - we just liked it

Mae - middle name of both of Jen's grandmothers

Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz

Length: 20.4 inches

The whole family is doing well and slowly adjusting to have a newborn back in the house!

D Day

Unless baby decides to change his/her mind tonight, the plan is for me to be induced tomorrow morning (which is not a day too soon). I think we're all very happy to know that baby will be here tomorrow (whether or not she/he wants to be!).

It Doesn't Hurt

Or so Matilda tells me when we talk about the baby coming. She knowingly nods her head and tells me matter-of-factly that having the baby doesn't hurt. She's actually pretty darn convincing, but unfortunately I know for a fact that she's dead wrong! We're hoping that sooner, rather than later, we'll have a picture with the baby (not my belly) next to the bear!

Still Waiting

The newest member of our family has yet to make his/her appearance, although Matt & I are definitely ready for baby (we think. It's more like we're ready to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop). We had our second false alarm on Friday morning, but were sent home from the hospital with the knowledge that I was having weak, far apart contractions and no baby that day. Honestly, since none of this season's Michigan games have sent me into labor, I'm pretty sure I'll need to be medically induced! Not too much is new with Matilda. She's a happy little camper because mom lets her watch a little too much TV these days and she gets to wear her crown & pretty shoes around the house. She still isn't too excited to sleep in her big her girl bed. This worked to our advantage when both Matt & I were sick, as he slept in the big girl bed in an attempt for both of us to get some kind of sleep. I'm pretty sure he never dreamed that he would be sleeping on princess sheets!

Halloween Tricks Again

So this year I was the lucky one who got to be sick on Halloween! On top of being almost 39 weeks pregnant, I am blessed with head cold. Poor Matt has had to deal with one unhappy pregnant woman these past few days (and has done a wonderful job of it!).

Matilda (or mermaid princess Ariel) throughly enjoyed Halloween. Once again she enjoyed handing out candy more than actually trick or treating. She would tell the kids who came to our door "trick or treat" and "Happy Halloween." (I think she's a little confused about who gets to say trick or treat).

Practice Makes Perfect

Last Friday we had what should be our last ultrasound to make sure baby is not breech. Thank goodness baby is head down & we do not need to worry about that. The real cool part of the ultrasound was watching baby take practice breathes! We could actually see baby's lung cavity expand & contract. I'm really starting to hope that it is a sign that baby's ready to greet the world, because I am getting more uncomfortable & tired by the minute (not that having a newborn is going to help at all with the tiredness).

Matilda is doing well. We finally got most of her big girl room together over the weekend. She got to pick out her sheets for her big girl bed, so of course they are covered with princesses. However, Tilda has yet to sleep in her big girl bed, seems the sheets have already lost their novelty!

Disclaimer

Although we may occasionally refer to Matilda as our little princess and allow her to play with her princesses & watch princess movies, we DO NOT condone sleeping with a crown on, which is how we found Matilda the other night when we went to check on her.

Bellly Stiches

That's right, last week at 34 weeks pregnant I needed to get 3 stitches in my belly! I went to the dermatologist who wanted to remove 3 moles, and of course one was right on my belly (I affectionately referred to it as my Mickey Mouse mole because that's what it looked like). I guess we should have taken the pic last week rather than this week, because my sensitive skin seems to be reacting to both the stitches and the band-aids. Hopefully the stitches won't be in for much longer.

I Need Chocolate Milk

These are usually the first words out of Matilda's mouth every morning as she stumbles into the kitchen after waking up. I'm guessing this means she'll be in a world of trouble once she's old enough for coffee! Although I have to admit I have recently started to join her in a morning cup of chocolate milk and it is a pretty yummy substitute for coffee.

Woollybear Festival

I'm sure many of those who are not from NE Ohio are wondering what the heck is a Woollybear Festival?! Well, it is a celebration of woollybears of course! They are wondrous orange and black caterpillar creatures...other than that, I really don't know anything about them. I do know that there was a crazy amount of people at this annual event to celebrate woollybears and our local celebrity/hero/weatherman Dick Goddard. Matilda seemed to thoroughly enjoy the parade and waving at everyone as they passed by, however she didn't seem to love her woollybear very much, thus he was pinned to the back of Tilda's sweatshirt.

Racin

Matilda really enjoyed her 2nd Race for the Cure, especially since she got to be a part of her own team this time. I was really happy that we did the short walk, as about half-way through I was about ready to kick Mattie out of her stroller and have Matt push me. This is mostly because baby seems to have moved into my lungs lately, making breathing a tad difficult. Matilda also enjoyed watching the 2nd Michigan game of the season. Matt & I have decided that if that game didn't send me into preterm, nothing will!

Daddy Fixed It

Well we finally got my computer fixed and not a moment too soon as we have had lots of excitement the past few weeks! Matilda is all geared up for football season, as you can see in the picture, and is working on learning "Hail to the victors!" Matilda also got a chance to practice being a big sister when she went with me to visit Baby Christopher. I was surprised at how "helpful" she was and that she didn't act a bit jealous. I wonder how long that will last when she becomes a real big sister! And finally, Matilda got her ears pierced! Overall the piercing went fine. Of course there was crying afterwards, but that was quickly stopped with a sucker. She became more interested in her green tongue from the sucker than her blue flower earrings. However, the cleaning of the piercings has not gone very well. She screams like I am trying to remove her brains through the piercings every time I clean them (which is three times a day!)! Maybe I need to give her a sucker every time I clean her ears. And I apologize for the layout of this post, not sure why it's so funky, but I'm too tired to try & fix it.

3 Hour Blood Test & 2 Hour Nap

So of course I failed my first glucose test last week and had to return for the fun & exciting 3 hour test. I was dreading this test not only because I would have to be stuck with a needle 4 times, but also because waiting rooms are not that much fun & spending 3 hours in one is not at the top of my fun things to do on the weekend list. However, the wonderful lady who drew my blood must have taken pity on me because while doing my one hour blood draw she mentioned she could find a spot for me to lay down and rest. I was all for it! So, she set me up in exam room (it's amazing how comfy those tables can be when your legs aren't in the stir-ups) and even covered me up with a surgical gown (she couldn't find a blanket). She then returned for the 2 hour blood draw with all her supplies so all I had to do was offer up a vein to be stuck and the same thing happened for the 3 hour blood draw. I would have to say this was the best lab/blood draw experience ever as I think I actually did fall asleep. And another bonus, the 3 hour test came back normal. :)

2 1/2 Years Old (A Little Late)

Moving Slow and Growing Fast

So one reason, out of many, that I have not posted in a while is that my computer has been acting up and moving very, very slow. Admittedly, it's not the only one that's moving slow these days as I seem to be moving slower every day, especially when it's hot & humid. I mean really, how did the summer I am pregnant end up being one of the hottest in history?! These pictures of Matilda remind of how fast she is growing. I'm sure before long she will be putting on real make up and talking (or texting) on a real phone, but not if her father has anything to say about it!

Miracle in Michigan

Ok, so maybe miracle is too strong of a word, but Matilda's behavior on our 3rd annual trip to visit the great grandparents in Michigan was nothing short of astounding to Matt & me. She was well behaved in the car (thank goodness for portable DVD players! I don't know how our parents were crazy enough to go on long trips with us kids without them.), went to bed with little fuss, slept in till 8 and 7 am (don't think she's done that in over a year), ate well, enjoyed a museum, and was just overall a very good girl. We weren't sure if she was even our child on this trip, but of course we're not complaining because her good behavior made the trip that much more enjoyable! Too bad we had to come back to my car breaking down (again) and attempting to finish remodeling the basement bathroom!