We're all about the cute chili peppers

Madeline is a chili pepper, if you can't tell!

And Caleb JUST shot this video. Notice what she does almost every time after she speaks... Hilarious, especially if you watch it over and over!

DC trip

Last weekend we went to Washington, DC - Madeline's first plane ride! Caleb had a work function there (the USA Science and Engineering Festival) and we used frequent flier miles for me to come along. Madeline just rode as a lap child, so she was free. They set up tents all through the national mall, and kids and teens from all over came for the weekend to see the presentations. There were so many organizations there, even some colleges and private high schools!

The tents literally went for several blocks; north, south, west and east.

This was the view from Caleb's tent - right next to the capitol building!

While Caleb was working, Madeline and I went around to some of the Smithsonian museums nearby. We went to the Air and Space Museum, which was pretty neat. They displayed airplanes and space crafts (real and models), and discussed the technology behind them and what we've learned as a result. There was also an exibit displaying how people in previous centuries tried to imagine flight. I thought it was neat, but Madeline wasn't too thrilled:

Anyway, at night we also went walking around the Washington Memorial and the Lincoln Monument. Very cool to see in the dark, but not so great for photos!

Before we left on Monday, we went to the Smithsonian Zoo with Caleb's friend from work, Abhishek. He's from India, and had never been to an American zoo before. For a little bit we walked around with Madeline in the baby carrier, and we stopped outside the giant panda exhibit for a peek - there was a panda RIGHT up next to the glass, laying on his back, just lazily munching some leaves. It was so cute, and yet a lot of people kept turning around to look at Madeline instead! (Here's a pic, though it didn't turn out terribly well)

We had a little hat for her, too, though it was too big for her and kept covering her eyes! All in all, it was a great trip. There and back in four days, some really good weather, good company, and Madeline was a superstar! She did very well on the plane, napped decently while we went to various museums, and slept like a rock at night. I don't think I would have tried it when she was any younger, but at three months old she did superbly well!

P.s. I'll be posting pictures of Madeline in her Halloween costume soon! Stay tuned...

Madeline in action!

Caleb gave me a digital camera two years ago as a wedding present, and it turns out that it also shoots video (although its capacity is much shorter than a regular camcorder). I have two videos to share right now, both from the last week:

In this one, Madeline is in her playful mood and is just as happy as can be! At the beginning you can even see her smile. I'm including this one in particular for those who haven't gotten to meet her (or for whom she was fussy when she did meet you!).


The second video is from last night. It was about bedtime for her and she was definitely getting tired, but she kept holding her arm up! She has a tendency to do that sometimes, but what was particularly funny was that as she would get drowsier, her arm would start to sink, then her eyes would snap open and she'd jerk her arm up. Why was it so important that it be up? Who knows! I had hoped to catch the arm-jerk on video, but no such luck. It's too cute not to post, though:


She seems to have a little bit more personality every day. She's pretty opinionated and stubborn sometimes, but I was expecting that - BOTH Caleb and I were that way as kids! We're still working on napping outside of home (eg. at church!), but we'll get there eventually. You know, a lot of people comment how Madeline looks like me (and we agree), but did you know that she has Caleb's eyes? The other day I took a picture that shows it very well. Sometimes when Caleb smiles, his left eye (or the eye on the right, if you're looking at him) will squint a little more. Well, Madeline's eye does that too! (Except her right eye, or on the left if you're facing her) Check it out!

Wedding bliss

Well, last weekend we drove down to Quincy, IL (about 7 hours from us, plus stops for Madeline) for Caleb's cousin's wedding. It was beautiful, and really nice to see all of the extended family. Madeline met her Great-Grandma, and had a nice visit with her. She even fell asleep in Eunice's arms!

At the wedding, Madeline was one of 6 great-grandbabies born into Caleb's dad's extended family within the last year (the seventh great-grand-baby couldn't make it). I think there are 2 or 3 more who are between 12-18 months! Madeline is the 23rd great-grandchild, and the family isn't done growing.

She did pretty well on the trip. She was able to nap a little better this time (as compared to two weeks ago when we went to WI), and again did well in the car. Swaddling is the way to go! Before we left, we spent a few hours with Caleb's mom's family, although we didn't get any pictures. Madeline met her great-grandfather, which means she's now met all of her great-grandparents!

She's now 2 months (9 weeks!), and had her well-baby check-up yesterday. She's 10 lbs 2 oz, and 21.5". My big girl! She's around 20-30 percentile in height, weight, and head size, which means she's growing nicely. (For those who aren't familiar with percentiles, it means that she is longer than 20% of babies her age, for example. What they watch is that she doesn't drop significantly, and that her percentiles match up; i.e. she's not 90% in height and 15% in weight)

She's smiling a lot now, which is so rewarding. The reflux seems to be under control, too (praise God!). Here's a picture of Madeline sleeping (taken today). It's funny - if you didn't know her, you'd think she didn't WANT to be swaddled when she sleeps! (But she does, believe me!)

 I'll leave you with two more pictures. We have a lot of frogs and toads in our area, which is why we see a lot of them in our yard, on our deck, and in the pool. Well, the other night Caleb made a startling discovery - there was a frog on the sliding doors leading to the deck! Too crazy. Enjoy!

INCREDIBLE video

I wanted to share something that I saw, although it has nothing to do with Madeline (not directly, anyway). I literally got chills while watching this! God is GREAT!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA

More on Madeline to come later...

Rubber Ducky, you're the one...

Remember that song from Sesame Street? Ernie sings it in the tub to his rubber duck, it's so cute... Anyway!

We've been giving Madeline baths in a special baby tub (from Caleb's sister Valerie - thank you!!!), and she does pretty well. She still slides down and flops from side to side, so it's definitely a two person job, but she doesn't fuss at all. Here's a picture from her first bath! I love my little water baby!

Her reflux is still an issue. The doctor recently increased her medication and we'll be watching to see if it helps. If not, they'll try a different medicine. We have friends at church whose little baby also struggled with reflux, and he was put on Zantac (just like Madeline) but they found that another medication (Prilosec maybe?) worked better. It's such a blessing to be able to talk to her (the mom) about what's going on and get tips and support.

We're getting ready to go down to IL for Caleb's cousin's wedding this coming weekend. It's about a 7 hour drive (without the necessary stops for baby), but we're not too worried about that part of the trip anymore. Madeline did pretty well last weekend, as long as she was swaddled. The tough part was not napping well during the day! Let's hope we have better luck this time.

Madeline continues to surprise us with smiles (none caught on camera yet), and it's just the sweetest thing! Earlier today she even seemed to be playing a game with Caleb. We were trying to get her to go to sleep and her pacifier helps with that a lot. Caleb was putting it in her mouth, and she would suck for a moment before letting it drop. After a few attempts to put it back in, she started smiling as it dropped and would watch Caleb put it back in! You can imagine the mischevious look on her face. It was hilarious, the little toot!

Meeting family

Pictures from our visit to WI! Unfortunately, Madeline didn't quite cooperate enough to get pictures with Great-Grandma Emily and Great-Grandpa Jerry, but we'll try again next time!

Baby News!

I'll cut to the chase first: Here's MADELINE!!!!

Madeline Noelle was born Thursday, July 22 at 7:28pm. She's 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches, and is just so darling!!

To fill in the background story, I've been working full time at my nanny job these last few weeks (since the beginning of July, really). Last Friday was my last day, and during last week our church had VBS (Vacation Bible School) directed by none other than Caleb. That meant that all of last week, I was working 8 to 5:30, racing to the church for a quick dinner at 6, then helping out (registration and the "store") at VBS, and finally making it home by 9:30. Yes, quite exhausting! But VBS went so well. We had 52 kids come through (more than last year!), and the kids raised almost $220 for their kids-missions-project. We are just so pleased with how things turned out. We're still working on getting copies of pictures, but it was a great success.

This Monday evening, Caleb's sister Rebecca and her family came to visit. This is the sister who lives in China, and her two kids were our ring bearer and flower girl in the wedding. They stayed with us through Wednesday morning, and we had great fun seeing them. The kids had LOADS of energy, and it was just great to see them - we hadn't seen them for a year and a half (xmas of '08)!

On Monday morning, I saw my doctor and was told I was already 2 cm dialated. Monday night I started getting regular contractions. I've been experiencing sporadic contractions (both Braxton Hicks contractions and just very mild regular ones) for several months, but the ones on Monday were steady - just not close enough to warrent a hospital visit. What this meant is that, starting Monday night, I wasn't able to get any sleep! When contractions are 10-15 minutes apart (or even 25-30 on Tuesday night), there's no sleeping! Anyway, Wednesday night the contractions started coming a lot faster, so at 4:30 Thursday morning Caleb and I rolled into the hospital. By 10am the contractions were right ontop of one another, I hadn't dialated any more, and I was in full back labor! An epidural and SEVERAL hours later, Madeline was born at 7:28pm. She came out with a cone head, too!

She is just the sweetest baby though - didn't even cry when she was born, just kind of cooed, gurgled, and watched everyone as they cleaned her off.

She is just so perfect, we feel incredibly blessed. God is great! Anyway, we'll be in the hospital for two days, so we'll get to go home on Saturday. Caleb is so ecstatic to be a dad; we can't wait to have her all to ourselves!

Growing bellies

Here's a belly pic! This is me (& Thumper) at 7 months pregnant. :)

I'll write more later. For now, enjoy!

Has it been that long? Oops...

I didn't intend to go over a month without writing in the blog, it just happened! Of course, we went to Hawaii back at the end of March and had a wonderful time. It was gorgeous, and relaxing to boot, which is just what the doctor ordered. From the moment we arrived we just felt everything stressful melt away. Here are a few highlights:

A common view along any coast.

We went to the Volcanic National Park - behind Caleb is the active volcano! Just spewing steam though.

We saw a number of sea turtles, even had one swim next to us!

We saw so many beautiful waterfalls and forests!

We went to a luau the last night; yummy food, great entertainment, and good clean fun!

We had Easter at our house, so my mom, Sarah, Dennis, and Mary came for supper. We also played a game of Bible Trivia and had some good laughs. It was beautiful weather, too - nicer than we normally have for April. Thanks, Lord! :)

As I write this I am 29 weeks pregnant (30 next Monday!!). My back and rib pain has been a real problem for the last month or so, but its started to get better lately. My physical therapist can work wonders - she's been able to help me a lot. It was getting incapacitating for a bit there! I still am having some pain, but I'm at least able to function, go to work, etc. And sit down long enough to write my blog. :)

Thumper is developing very well. He/she is about 16" from head to toe and a good 2.5 lbs. Baby has started opening his/her eyes again and can see light through the womb! He/she can recognize my voice and Caleb's! The kicks are so strong sometimes, it really feels like baby is turning my guts into mush. You can also watch my belly and see it move as baby shifts! Very fun.

At this point, everything has developed and baby is just growing and adding layers of fat. If Thumper were to be born right now, the lungs are developed enough that, with help, survival is about 90% and there would be little chance of long term disabilities. Not that the baby is coming early, though! Just interesting to know. My belly is finally big enough now that people aren't privately wondering if I'm pregnant - now they feel comfortable asking when I'm due. Everyone still tells me that I don't look 6 1/2 months pregnant, but oh well! Maybe my next goal for the blog will be a belly picture...

Picture Time!!

Here's Thumper!!!

You can see the baby's face (its left hand is near the face, so that's why there's gray around the mouth), as well as the spine (white bumps along its back), heart (black void within the chest), and umbilical chord (a tiny blip on top of the lower abdomen. Amazing, huh?

Below is another picture of Thumper, still in profile but a little closer. In this shot the left arm is more in the way of the face so I altered it (photo on the bottom) so you could better see the face. I also pointed out the spine, which is just incredible that you can see all of that!

At times the technician looked at the heart from different angles and several times she watched the four chambers of the heart beating! I think that was Caleb's favorite part because he kept saying "Cool!" when she'd show it.

Doctors like to have an u/s (ultrasound) done around 20 weeks for a number of reasons. It's a good time to see the baby's gender, if mom and dad want (it's going to be a surprise to us though!). It's also valuable for verifying the due date - mine hasn't changed (they said there was only a 3 day margin of error, and they don't change the due date unless it's more than 10 days). One of the biggest reasons, though, is that they can make sure baby is developing well. On Tuesday they spent most of the 30 minutes counting body parts and measuring the anatomy very carefully. We counted two legs, to arms, ten fingers and toes, a heart with four chambers, kidneys, liver, etc - everything was there! They also make sure the proportions are correct (e.g. a shortened this or lengthened that can mean complications like Down Syndrome, etc) and that the spine is well aligned (no spina bifida). Thumper passed with flying colors, and their computer analysis put the baby at about 11 ounces - right where it should be. Boy did that kid squirm though - which I already knew it was an active baby! The whole time it kept flexing its arms and legs, brushing its face and turning its head. Every time I visit the doctor's office Thumper has wiggled around during the exam, so I wasn't surprised to see such an active baby! It's always a good sign, though.

Speaking of moving, I have been able to feel the baby for a couple weeks now. At first it was just at night when I was laying still in bed, but lately I've even felt movement during the day. Very fun! Sometimes Thumper will respond if I push back - that is, I feel a kick or movement and will gently press my fingers there, and Thumper will kick back again! Yay, the games with baby have begun.

Well, while I keep having people tell me that I'm barely showing for being almost 5 months pregnant, I have noticed a difference in my body's shape. I also have been dealing with back pain due to the shifting of my center of gravity. If you will recall, about 8 years ago I was hit by a car while riding my bike and I injured my knee, ribs, and spine. I went through physical therapy and was pain free after that, aside from knee problems if I stood or walked for too long. Well, the back pain returned, and my doctor told me it'd only get worse. She said that any time you have a back injury, it will reappear during pregnancy. Fortunately, there is a solution: more PT (physical therapy)! I went for my first session today and really like the girl who's helping me. She specializes in pregnant women and has already given me some good stretches and exercises to start managing the problem better. Plus, she gave me a good massage this afternoon to help ease the tension (for a few days at least!). Yay!

We are a few days away from our babymoon and are getting very excited. Sarah will be taking the kitties so we won't have to worry about them feeling lonely (plus Sarah will have a lot of fun with them, so it's a plus for everyone involved). The weather here is getting really pleasant, but we're still looking forward to relaxing, as well as all the things we'll see! Hopefully we'll be able to post a few pictures here to highlight our trip.

Warmer weather just might be around the corner...

I really do mean to post here more often, I guess time really gets away from me still! I'm 18 weeks now and the nausea FINALLY seems to have disappeared! Yay, thank you Lord! That also means that I have a (little) bit more energy now, for which I am also thankful. I have also scanned in the picture of the first ultrasound of Thumper, back when I was 6 weeks:

The black bean-shape is the womb, and the little white dot is Thumper! Caleb and I even saw a white flicker inside the dot - the heartbeat! It was amazing. Anyway, at the time Thumper was only the size of a grain of rice (all of these food analogies bother Caleb a little, lol). Now, at 18 weeks, the baby is almost 7 oz and roughly 5 1/2 inches from head to rump (note: not head to feet!). In two weeks I'll be 20 weeks along and will be due for another ultrasound. At that point, Thumper will be as big as a banana (head to butt, again)! Amazing... How can anyone experience the miracle of a pregnancy and not be overwhelmed by the presence of God?

Well, the weather seems to be warming up lately. I still think it'll be another month before all of the snow is melted, especially the gigantic mound the snow plows pushed onto our yard. A few weeks ago I was amazed at how much snow we had so I took some pictures (below). It may not look like a ton of snow, but that part of the deck is somewhat sheltered from the wind, etc, so it was deeper elsewhere! I half expected the (GLASS) table to break under the weight... It didn't though, Mom! No worries!

We have officially booked our "babymoon," taking advantage of our frequent flier miles and the fact that this will be one of the last times we can take a vacation without kids. We're pretty excited and looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.

Not much else to report, perhaps more later. For now, I need to finish making the brownies - Caleb's birthday is tomorrow and I made some cream cheese brownies for him to take into work! Yum, and of course we'll enjoy some ourselves. ;)

15 weeks!!

Well, we had a lot of fun this weekend with Patrick & Rose. They're friends we had back in TX (Patrick was Caleb's best man, and the other grad student under Dr. Lloyd back at UT) but have since moved to NJ. I knew we missed having them around, I just didn't realize how much I missed them! It was great to see them again, and hopefully we can get together again sometime. They mentioned that if we ever want to go on a cruise, we should talk to them and maybe we can all go together... Fun stuff!

I am 15 weeks now and just saw the doctor again today. It was just a routine check up and they took some blood to run a few tests, but I did get to hear Thumper again! Last time, when they listened to the heartbeat at 10 weeks, Thumper's heartbeat was about 160 (beats per minute). Today it was 142, which is well within normal - they said anywhere from 120-160 is good, and that it's not surprising that the heart is calming down a bit now that things have developed more. Anyway, it was funny because every time the nurse found the heartbeat, Thumper would move away! We've got a wiggler! Caleb laughed and said he's picturing chasing a giggling toddler down the hall. Very fun indeed.

At this point, Thumper is about the size of an apple - 4 inches from head to butt - and about 2 1/2 oz. Hair folicles are developing and the baby is starting to breathe the amniotic fluid (exercising those lungs!). The skin is still very translucent (as it will be for a while still) and the ears are ALMOST to where they belong. Oh, and the baby can see, although its eyes are fused shut until just before birth. At this point, if you shine a light on my belly, they say baby will move away from it and turn its head.

Nausea and fatigue are still constant companions, but are still manageable. A friend also introduced me to Preggie Pop Drops (also Preggie Pops) which are hard candies and suckers that are supposed to help with morning sickness. It helps take the edge off a bad afternoon, but they're hard to find - only specialty pregnancy places carry them! I did find some more today, so now I'll just have to ration myself. *winks* Anyway, that's about all I can think that's new... Here are a few shots from this weekend, for your enjoyment:

Patrick & Caleb, shoveling the driveway

We took them to the Mall of America where we grabbed lunch

at the Rainforest Cafe! Their first time there...

Just catching up

Well, I've been hearing (and reading) a lot about the benefit of good fitness during pregnancy - that it helps significantly with a smoother labor and faster recovery, etc - but have been frustrated because a lot of the suggestions aren't practical! Yes, I'm sure swimming is good, but it's winter in Minnesota! Same with walking, because it's just too cold to stay outside for longer than a few mintues, and let's face it - walking inside the house isn't very interesting. I considered some sort of prenatal fitness class, but they're all too expensive. Some can be $40-50 just for one session! No thanks... Anyway, I started looking into videos, starting with ones offered at the library. It seemed to work out (no pun intended), and then I found "Prenatal Fitness" DVD from Parent's Magazine. I haven't tried it yet but have read some good responses to it and am looking forward to trying it later today! Here's to a fit Mama ;)

Well, I don't have any good pictures of the 13week fetus, I'm now officially in the second trimester! Yay! Now if only the nausea would go away... I'm back to Unisom daily and have found that not being nauseous all the time gives me a little bit more energy back. My next trip to the OBGYN is at 15 weeks, but she'll just be doing blood tests to check on Thumper's health. At 20 weeks I get an ultrasound! Very excited for that.

In other areas, things are going well. Caleb had his yearly review from his boss and it went REALLY well. They're extremely happy with Caleb (who wouldn't be?) and talked about WHEN he is promoted, not IF! He also was told that they believe he would make a good scientist, which is the area he wants to go into. Basically, from where he is now, he has a few options of the direction he can go in. The one he likes is the scientist, who would primarily do research and experiments. I can't remember what the other direction(s) is/are, but the point is that Dow WANTS him to go in the direction he likes, and even talked about him choosing a mentor - one of two guys who have a job that Caleb would LOVE to do someday. There are still frustrations at work, but overall it's great.

We do have some friends coming to visit next week so we're really looking forward to seeing them! Which reminds me - I need to get back to cleaning the house! Hope everyone out there is having a great weekend.

Fishing continued

Here's the hut we were in:

Here's a view of the inside. Toasty warm!

Here's a shot of the fish I caught - not very big!

I made Caleb take it off the hook, I wouldn't touch it! Eeew!

Ice fishing!

Well, last Saturday I went ice fishing for the first time! Caleb has gone several times in the last year (once or so last winter, and 4-5 times this winter) and has discovered that he really likes it. Last weekend the weather was pretty warm (right around freezing - yay!), plus Caleb's friends/coworkers had rented a hut for the occasion, so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, my camera was dead, but a friend took a few pics and I hope to have them up soon.
It was fun, despite the fact that no one caught anything worth keeping! I caught a fish - according to Caleb, the biggest one of the group - and Caleb caught two or three, but everything was so small we kept throwing them back in. Regardless, anytime someone caught something, there was a big hoopla. All in all, maybe 10 or 12 people came and left while we were there. Not everyone wanted to be in the hut, so there was always just enough room inside for me to stay warm. =) For those who have never gone ice fishing (and I think that's most), you actually DRIVE out onto the lake (the ice is a good two feet or so thick, at least) and you either huddle around a few holes that you drill or you rent a hut. The hut is small but cozy, and insulated with benches along the walls. The one we were in had five holes (or was it six?) drilled in the ice, and the hut has pre-cut holes in the floor (also insulated!) for easy access. There's a little stove in there to provide extra heat and to cook food - like how we had chili! Yum...

Otherwise, things are going pretty well. Caleb is keeping very busy at church, alwasy either in the praise team (he plays bass guitar and sings on occasion) or with the kids in children's church, or like yesterday when he did BOTH! I am the nursery coordinator (or administrator, whatever the title is!) and have been getting lots of positive feedback. We have about 7-8 regular babies, and about 5-6 regular toddlers, plus any who are visiting or checking out our church. We'll be getting a new baby in May, plus mine in August! One of our babies is due to graduate to the toddler room, since she'll be 2 in March. Fun stuff!

Caleb is thoroughly enjoying work. He comes home with lots of ideas and is always excited to go back the next morning. I'm so glad to see that he's starting to get the recognition he deserves, especially from the guys who are higher up. What a blessing! I'm still nannying part time and working a few shifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond (B3 I call it), though it's not ideal. It's important to save money, though, and I want to do my part.

The pregnancy is going pretty well. I have a definite swell below my belly button, but it's not really noticeable to the eye - I just used to be flatter down there than I am now! Clothes are a bit more snug as a result, and I have been LOVING my yoga pants! So comfy... The nausea is still a factor, although not as bad as it was a month ago. I still have to eat something every few hours or I'll get sick, which means that I wake up hungry and nauseous many nights and have to go get a snack. B6 is helpful though, as is 1/2 a tablet of Unisom when it gets bad. Again, I'm so blessed that I found something that helps! (Again, I'm sorry, Mom!)

When we get our scanner hooked up and working, I hope to upload a picture of my 6-week ultrasound. Nothing is recognizable - Thumper was the size of a grain of rice then - but it's still neat! In the meantime, I'm adding another favorite "example picture" of what Thumper looks like now at 12 weeks. It's amazing - all vital organs have developed, reflexes have started and fingers and toes flex independently, the baby even responds when I rub my tummy (though I can't feel it yet) - and Thumper's only the size of a lemon! Wow...

This is one of my favorite 10-week pictures that I've found.  Not an "official" picture, mind you (i.e. not actually our baby), but still very interesting!  Thumper is now starting to grow fingernails and toenails!

Welcome!

We thought we would create a blog to let family and relatives keep in touch and know what's been going on lately. Now that we're pregnant, I hope to find a good pregnancy countdown ticker to post here to share! Bear with me as I learn the world of blogging ;)

-Christina (& Caleb)