Visit to see Santa

We went to see Santa today!  I have avoided the Northpark Santa for two years.  I decided this year we'd just go for it!  We went this morning and got a number and then went back after Chris got off work and had the picture taken.  Since we had a number form the morning, we were able to go to the front of the line.  Helped with the wait and made it very easy!  We also saw Santa do story time this morning.  He was great and made Will very at ease with him.  I bet we go back a few more times before the holidays are over!  We just love Northpark!

Smiles

Maddie has been smiling for about a week now, but this is the first time I caught it on camera. I love the open mouth ones, too cute!

Will's 2 Year Old Pictures

Maddie's Newborn Photos

Maddie - 12 days old and Will - 2 years old

We used a wonderful local photographer - Cocoa and Peanut. Check them out at their website -http://www.cocoandpeanut.com/

6 Weeks Old

Maddie is six weeks old!  The last six weeks have been life changing, I can say that for sure!  And we love having her around.  We feel so blessed to be able to experience having a boy and a girl.  There are already differences that are fun to see - one noticeable one is her dainty little fingers.  Will's hands were little boy hands from day one - big!  We've had a few issues with Maddie and eating.  We put her on prevacid for reflux 2 weeks ago and saw a little - but very little - improvement.  So, last week I went off dairy to see if that would improve things.  After 6 days we had not seen any change.  The next suggestion was to take wheat out of my diet as well.  And if I did that it would likely be another week before we knew if that would help. Well living with a very uncomfortable and unhappy baby is not fun.  It breaks my heart to see her so upset.  So...yesterday we switched to formula.  We are starting on hypoallergenic formula to make sure we are covering our basis on food sensitivities.  Whew - it is stinky, stinky stuff.  But she likes it and didn't think twice about downing a 4 oz bottle.  And we can already see a difference!  That is the best part.  Our little girl is alert and actually HAPPY!  She will lay on the couch and smile at us, she will let us hold her without kicking her legs and screaming, and she will actually eat without getting upset.  We are hopeful this is the answer to giving her more comfort.  Time will tell.

We're all excited about Thanksgiving and seeing family.  We love this time of year!  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I'll post more pictures when I can.

1 Month Old

Maddie is 1 month old!  We've been very busy at our house.  Between feedings, entertaining big brother and adjusting to no sleep, our days are full.  Maddie is a sweet baby girl.  Poor thing has some tummy problems.  We are trying reflux medicine and hope that it will help.  She has several very fussy times each day and it breaks my heart.  Maddie weighs 8lbs 4 oz, which is very good weight gain (from the 6lbs she weighed when we brought her home).  She is a good eater and tends to go about 3.5 hrs between meals.  She is sleeping pretty good at night.  She normally wakes up at 2:30 and again at 6.  I normally get her back to sleep and Will is ready to get up.  I am sleep deprived for sure, but I know that will change in time.  Will has been sick for a few weeks now and has a cold as we speak.  We kept him out of school this week and just hope that helps him get better!   Here are a few recent pictures.

Will with his baby doll (thanks to Aunt Carrie) and the boppy.  He must seem mommy like this A LOT!

Sweet baby girl

Maddie's bed.  I haven't posted any nursery pictures and it still isn't really together, but my mom did put the bedding on and we've hung a few things on the wall.  I'll post more once it is complete.   She is sleeping in our room right now, so she really doesn't spend anytime in her room.

Will at 1 month, as a comparison.  He was smaller for sure - just 40 weeks at that point.  

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween here at the house.  We decided to just stay home and trick or treat in the neighborhood.  DeeDee and Papa (my parents) came over to go with us.  We handed out candy at our house and then walked around the neighborhood and Will trick or treated for the first time.  Maddie did too...from a sling attached to mom.  It was a nice night and we all had fun.  We then came back to the house and ordered pizza - Will's favorite!  We hope you had a Happy Halloween too!

Our littlest pumpkin

Our biker dude on his bike - being pushed by DeeDee

Suckers are our favorite!

Boys in search of candy

Another little pumpkin shot