Over the past three weeks we have had a lot of fun things going on. First, Madelyn had her 2nd birthday. We didn't do anything big or have a big party with being in a new town but safe to say she had a great day and was spoiled rotten. We started the day with a trip to Dunkin Donuts, Madelyn of course picked the pink frosted and sprinkled donut or as she kept calling it "cake" ha! She opened tons of presents from all her family and friends and loved blowing out her two candles and eating her cake!
The day after Madelyn's birthday Aunt Sue, Kerra and Elly flew in for almost a week. Although with having a two year old and 2 month old we weren't able to get out as much as we use to, we still managed to have a great week and Madelyn was in heaven having her Aunts here:) Thankfully Madelyn, Gabe and I all flew back to Iowa with them and even with all the extra hands it was one exhausting trip home. We were able to spend 12 days in Iowa and Derek came for the end. I swear it doesn't matter if we go home for 1 week or 5 we are never ready to leave. The week was filled with swimming at Aunt Sues pool, seeing friends and family, and of course eating lots of Happy Joes and Hungry Hobo!
While in Iowa Gabe had his 2 month milestone. Crazy what a difference 1 to 2 months makes and how much they change each month. Right now he smiles at us like crazy and loves to try and mimic when you coo at him. We don't remember Madelyn smiling this often and even when he went for his 2 month check-up the nurse struggled to give him his shots because right before he was smiling away at her. At his appointment this week he was already 13.4lbs and was 23 1/2 inches long, a growing boy! He has started to roll from his back to his side, I don't know what we will do once this boy is mobile, lol!
As for Madelyn she never ceases to amaze us with what she has learned. Her recent accomplishments are learning to spell her name, singing the entire alphabet song, and now using the potty!!! Just over a month ago we tried to potty train her and just about went insane with it so we quit. Randomly a few days ago she told Derek she wanted to potty and hasn't stopped since. She has had a few accidents but for the most part uses the potty all day. I guess it just needed to be on her terms and like they say don't force it until they are ready!
Here are a lot of pictures because as always I am behind:)
Birthday Breakfast
Out for Aunt Sue's birthday lunch
Gabe and Aunt Elly
Storytime and craft at the Library
Gabe's 1st plane ride Madelyns 7th!
Ashley and I have been friends for 30 years and now our babies are 2 days apart!
My whole world!
Nana and Mads date day, shopping and "Donalds"
Swimming in Grandpas "pool" aka a cold hot tub, lol!
A few weekends ago we were so lucky to not only have Derek's dad here to take photos but our good friend Dana. They drove all the way from NC to spend the weekend with us and while here took pictures of Gabe! She took beautiful pictures we had share some of them:) Such talented photographers and we were so lucky to have both talents capture beautiful pictures that weekend!
As of Saturday Mr. Gabe was 6 weeks old! It is crazy how much he has changed in the past few weeks. Even family who FaceTime have noticed the change, he has filled out and isn't so "newborn" looking anymore. We love the chubby cheeks! He continues to be such a good baby who is so laid back. The only time he doesn't mess around is when the boy wants some milk, you don't get to 11 lbs at your 5 week appt without being a milk drinker, lol! The poor baby also has had thrush and had to go on a compound paste for a bad diaper and yeast rash. Anyone who knows everything we have been through with Madelyn with her sensitive skin knows how much we are praying he isn't going to follow the same path! One of the best things though is he has been an EXCELLENT sleeper! Most nights he goes to sleep around 9:00pm and sleeps at least until 2:00am and even as much as 5:00am a few nights! He as become very alert and really likes when we lay with him so he can stare at you. We couldn't be more in love with his little boy!
Everyone keeps asking how Madelyn is doing. Knock on wood she continues to surprise us. She has been wonderful and a big helper. Of course her "help" isn't usually help but she sure tries. She loves to hold him, feed him, put his pacie in (even if he doesn't want it she will keep trying, ha) and when in his swing and he cries she always runs to tun on his music and put a blanket on him! Nothing warms your heart more than seeing the two of them interacting together:)
Madelyn, Gabe and I have been staying busy during the week. We are so lucky to have a neighborhood family our age who have a 3 year old and 15 month old. It has been great to have the play buddies to hang out with often. Through them we have meet a few other families for play dates for Mads. We also have been going to story time at the Library each week. Last week we signed Madelyn up for Preschool in the fall, where she will go two mornings a week. When we went to register, she went right in to the classroom pulled out a chair and sat down. I guess she is ready lol! She keeps saying "go back to school!"
This week we are so excited that Aunt Sue, Elly and Kerra are coming! Then next Wednesday, Madelyn, Gabriel and I will fly back to Iowa with them to spend almost 2 weeks there!! We can't wait! Of course an even bigger date is tomorrow.... Miss Madelyn will be TWO! How can that be, where has time gone? Hard to believe two years ago I was past my due date and miserable wondering when our baby girl was going to come! Two years later I feel so blessed to have this amazing family!
Of Course Madelyn wanted in on the fun:)
Gabe was not very cooperative for his one month pictures!
It's hard to believe Gabriel is already almost 4 weeks old. We thought time went fast with Madelyn but I think it goes even faster with number two! The days are crazy and of course the work load has certainly increased, however, we were very lucky to have some great guests that have joined us to offer a helping hand. My dad came out to visit a few days before Gabriel. The best part of dad being here was the fact that Madelyn was able to spend some great one on one time with him. The weather was gorgeous so they spent a lot of time playing outside which was heaven for Madelyn! Madelyn also helped Grandpa plant some flowers, and leave it to our diva to find the only pink think at Lowes and get Grandpa to get her a pink Minnie watering can, haha! Dad was so helpful and not sure what we would have done without him!
After dad left my mom flew in for 10 days. Anybody who knows mom knows how awesome and efficient she is at getting things done. She helped get caught up on all the house chores, did lots of cooking and we even ventured out on a few outings with two kids (which was no easy task, ha) Not sure how I would have gotten anything done without her here. Madelyn and her Nana are two peas in a pod and I love seeing them spend time together. The best was we got to spend not only mom's birthday but Mother's Day together with her! It wasn't the most exciting birthday for mom but meant the world to us to celebrate with her!
Next, Derek's parents came in for 5 days! We had a great week and lots of fun memories. While they were here we had lots of pool time (Madelyn playing in her outdoor inflatable pool), a picnic at the park, Madelyn got to go strawberry picking with Nanny and Poppy and of course more great cooking! We loved having them here and it's hard knowing they aren't just 2 hours away anymore! We are very thankful for everything they did for us! The last two days of the week our good friends Dana, Dan and their son Grady came for memorial weekend. It meant a lot to us they drove the long drive and we loved catching up. Madelyn LOVED having a buddy to play with for a few days. Thanks to Derek's parents we also got a night out with Dana and Dan while they babysat.
Many people have said you have to be so sick of company after 3 1/2 weeks of straight company but Derek and I loved nothing more than filling our house with friends and family! After everyone left the quietness of the house made us both sad. We are so thankful for all the helping hands and memories! Gabriel and Madelyn both hope all their grandparents will be back soon! Now that everyone is gone we are excited to start getting adjusted to being a family of 4:)
Updates on the kids:
Gabriel is doing wonderful! He had a check up last week and was already up to 10lbs. We are so blessed to have another great baby. He rarely fusses or cries unless he is hungry or you are changing his diaper. As for sleeping he is till sleeping a lot and most nights goes about 3-4 hours between feedings. We definitely have noticed when he is awake he is starting to enjoy looking around at things especially lights.
Madelyn has surprised us on how well she has done with the addition of Gabe. She of course has had a few jealous moments when she wants to be held if we're holding the baby but for the most part has done really well. Just the other day Gabe was crying while in his swing. Without knowing I was watching, Madelyn walked over and turned on the music on his swing and said "there you go Gabriel" to make him better. She also has impressed us with her talking the past two weeks. She is using 4-5 word sentences all the time now.
We started her in swim lessons a few weeks ago and this past Saturday she swam by herself for the first time (with her back floaty on of course)! We also started back with the potty training again today! We will see how it goes!
We were so excited on May 3rd to finally meet Gabriel Joseph. He was born on 3:44 pm, weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 22 inches long. On Monday, April 28th I went for my weekly appointment and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I of course knew from Madelyn that while in most people this usually meant labor around the corner my body liked to sit like this for awhile and my babies liked to stay put! My doctor decided that if he hadn't come by Saturday, May 3rd they would schedule an induction.
All week, we anxiously did last minute things to get ready for Gabriel's arrival. On Thursday my dad flew in and would stay with Madelyn while we were in the hospital. Saturday morning we woke up early and had to be at the hospital at 8am. By the time we got there, checked in, me all set up, iv's going, etc. my doctor came in around 9:30 and broke my water. The hope was since I was so far dilated she would break my water and that would send my body naturally into labor. So the waiting game began. I started having contractions but they were not regular at all to signal labor beginning. Therefore, after 2 hours my doctor started a small dose of pitocin to help regulate the contractions. Soon after that I received the epidural which of course made everything much easier. The doctor came back in around 12:30 and I had dilated to 5 cm. At first it seemed this labor was taking more time than Madelyn's and we started to wonder if he was going to come on Saturday. About this time the contractions started to really pick up but I still didn't have a lot of pressure or pain. When my doctor came back in at 3:15 she said she was hoping I was at least 7-8 cm but to our surprise she said "Oh my you are fully dilated and he is right there, we need to start pushing!"
After only about 3 pushes they said he was almost out and then the nurse put oxygen on me. I didn't know why but she said breathe to help the baby get air. The doctor had me pushing on each contraction and finally after 10 minutes said "Rachel he is almost out and I just need you to push really hard because his heart rate is dropping." I of course started to panic and a push later he was out. Apparently as I started pushing the cord got wrapped around his neck. Derek said he watched the monitor and his heart rate went from around 120 down to 60. I had no idea and the doctor and Derek stayed so calm to not to freak me out. I realized after this is why they put the oxygen on. Luckily it was such a quick labor and he was out in 12 mins total so they were able to immediately cut the cord and he was fine. He gave us a nice little scare for a minute.
We of course were in love with him and so happy to finally be able to hold him. Madelyn came to the hospital a couple hours later and was very excited to meet him. She wanted to hug and kiss him like crazy. She hasn't shown jealousy towards him but of course we have to watch her like crazy as she is to young to understand things like we can't put the blanket over his face :) I also have tried to give her some Mommy and Madelyn time each day to help.
We came home Monday morning and have been getting adjusted to having two! It was much easier to adjust to the little sleep this round and are very lucky to have a lot of family visiting to help. Last Thursday my dad left and my mom flew in and next week Derek's parents will be coming!
Here are pictures of our adorable Gabriel and his bis sister!!!
Dinner out with Grandpa, the night before Gabe was born!
Here we go!
LOVE this little boy!
One happy Daddy!
First time meeting her brother!
Love this family:)
Uncle Carter came to visit!
Madelyn loves holding her baby brother!
Lots of kisses
Grandpa with Madelyn and Gabe before leaving
Such a cutie!
It's tough being a couple days old!
First outing out as a family of 4, only took about an hour to get packed up! Mads was to excited to look at the camera!
Mother's Day!! So happy we got to have Nana here for it!
