Friday, August 29, 2008

Palin as VP

Boy, Matt's wishing this morning that he bet some money on this one -- He was calling Sarah Palin as the VP pick month's ago!! Great political intuition, honey!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Can I Have A Hug?

Walking to Daddy to give him a hug --



Check out that hair getting longer --

Monday, August 25, 2008

Boise Pictures

I finally got my pictures from our Boise vacation uploaded to Picasa!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Farewell Hallmark

Well so much for buying Hallmark greeting cards anymore!! Ick!

Hallmark Greeting Cards has announced it will begin selling same-sex wedding cards, even though same-sex marriage is legal in only two states.

An Accomplishment

Yesterday my mom and sister came up to help keep an eye on Madison so I could overhaul her clothing -- box up the stuff that was too small, get out the next box of clothes her size, and sort through new clothes that had been given to me over the past couple months. I'd gotten behind and was starting to get piles all over her room! I think I put away about 3/4 of the clothes I had out for her. It was amazing how I could look at a piece of clothing and think "Oh this will still fit her", but then when I held it up to her, her legs were several inches too long for the outfit! I was like - 'Hey! When did you grow?!' It great to get that task accomplished and have her clothes organized once again.



In other news, we're all feeling much better. Madison is in a much more chipper mood and her spots are nearly gone. Yesterday she just had a slight rash left on her legs. Today I can still see it but it's more faint. By tomorrow I expect it will all be cleared up. I still have my doubts that any of her fussiness had to do with teething... She really never had any other teething symptoms. And, well, she doesn't have any more teeth breaking through yet either! So maybe all the crankiness was related to the fever/roseola and just the process of getting back to feeling normal.

Matt is doing better after having a big allergy attack this past weekend. He took a long walk with his friend Andy through the fields at my parents' place and came home a congested, sneezing mess. He's still fighting some symptoms - not sure if it's all allergies or if he has a touch of something else - but he's still better overall.

I'm also feeling better as my first trimester nears its end -- I'm around 12 weeks. My stomach still lurches at times, but overall I'm feeling less ill, am able to eat more & cook more, and have had more energy. Praise the Lord! Weird as it sounds, it's a great feeling to wake up and think, "I feel like cleaning the bathroom today!" Go figure.

Please continue to pray for Matt as he studies for his final psychology exam to conclude his degree. His test is scheduled for Sept 6 at 8 AM. Please pray he passes so the degree will finally be done!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

New Wheels

Due to our growing family, we knew that before March, we'd need to get a bigger vehicle. Our sedan is so small it literally will not fit a 2nd carseat in the back if we wanted to. We've been keeping our eye out for minivans - though we have plenty of time before baby #2 comes along, so we weren't really in a hurry. Matt happened across a 2001 Montana in the classifieds last week though which sounded like a good deal. We went to check it out and ended up buying it that day! We really love the van - it's in beautiful condition, drives smoothly and is really roomy. The one problem is the a/c is not working - so we have to get that looked at and are hoping it will be an easy fix, though we're expecting it to be pricey. When I had my Pontiac before it had issues with the a/c that plagued me for years. I'm praying that's not the case with the van! But we had prayed the right vehicle would come along and we really feel this was the one. So we're greatly enjoying spreading out a bit more when we drive -- though it is amazing how as soon as we have all that extra cargo space, we fill it up with stuff!!

Roseola

Well apparently my diagnosis that Madison's fever and rash were from teething was incorrect. This morning she woke up with her rash having spread up her chest and onto her face. Since this is Day 5 of her not feeling good (she had fever Fri-Sun and rash starting yesterday) and she still wasn't showing signs of improvement, I decided to take her to the doctor to be on the safe side. I'm glad I did - it was good to find out what she had and not just be stuck wondering about this mystery rash. I was told Roseola is very common (though to be honest I can't ever remember hearing about it before) and it simply runs it's course - few days of fever, few days of rash. There's no treatment; it just comes then goes. So it was good to know it was nothing serious -- but boy it sure looks serious! Poor little Madison -- the rash has already spread even more than in the picture. The doctor also said Madison's fussiness really isn't connected to the Roseola -- that that could be connected to the teething.

So that's the diagnosis - Thanks for praying! Keep her in your prayers as she gets over this - hopefully both the rash and fussiness will pass quickly.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Visitor From Afar

After being away from Nebraska for 6 months, we were blessed to see a familiar Nebraska face this weekend. Matt's good friend Andy had travels that brought him to our area of New York. He spent the weekend with us at my parents' place and got a taste of life on the Finger Lakes -- boating, tubing, cooking out and taking walks in the beautiful wooded countryside. Matt especially enjoyed the time catching up face to face. It's so hard to have friends far far away!




In other news, keep little Madison in your prayers. She's in full blown teething mode with fever, rash & fussiness. It's so hard to know what to do for the poor little thing at times. She didn't have a fever today (after having one off & on for the past 3 days), but she was super fussy all day long - never really seemed content & happy. We don't know this little girl!! The little girl we're used to is very happy go lucky. Please pray this phase passes quickly & she'll feel better soon!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Kuhl Campaign Office Opens

We went to the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the Kuhl campaign office in Pittsford this evening.

Matt & Madison with Matt's boss, Rep. Randy Kuhl




Here's a short clip of Randy speaking to the crowd --

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Here We Go Again!

With Madison turning one year old, we've already been getting the questions... 'So when is the next one coming?' Well after all, we're already in baby mode - the crib is set up, the diapers are stacked high... might as well keep going right?!

So here's the BIG NEWS... #2 is on the way!! We are expecting again, looking at an arrival date of early March '09. We're excited, though it's hard to wrap our minds around the idea of 'the baby' and not be referring to Madison. I'm sure when he/she arrives, we'll adjust very quickly! I had several weeks of throwing up (which I never did while pregnant with Madison) but lately am just overall tired and yucky feeling.

To those of you who had an early heads up to this little bit of news... I had an ultrasound yesterday and there is only ONE baby in there. ;-) I had a doctor's appointment a couple weeks ago at which they thought I was either a month farther along than presumed or there were twins. I personally just felt this doctor didn't know what she was talking about -- and PHEW I was right! Three little ones under 2 years old sounded like more than I could handle!

Another couple months still before we can find out gender. We'll keep you posted with any new news. Please keep us/me in prayer as the pregnancy goes on.

Miss Giggles

Madison likes to be chased and also likes to be startled (as in, she likes it when you jump out at her & make her jump).

Friday, August 8, 2008

At The Zoo

While visiting the zoo, Madison's favorite things were the lemurs and the meerkats. She would get very excited and point and talk to them. Here you see her point to the meerkat then follow it back & forth with her eyes.

Boise Visit

We made it back from Boise without any problem. One of our connecting flights was a bit delayed but it was our 3rd and final flight of the day, so it didn't cause us to miss any connections. It's so hard to believe we've been on vacation and it's over already! Time does fly. Our visit in Boise was a lot of fun. It was a nice mix of visiting with Matt's family, getting to do some sightseeing, and relaxing. Madison adjusted well for being in a new place, and she really seemed to enjoy playing with her cousins.

I'll post a few pictures below and the rest (hopefully with captions) on Picasa.
The fan club of cousins upon meeting Madison for the first time --


Cousin Abby feeding Madison and holding Trace --

Grammy feeding Madison her birthday ice cream cone --


Visiting the Morrison Knudsen Nature Center --


I guess I must have been taking most of the pictures since this was the only picture I ended up in!


Visiting the Old State Pen, built in 1870 --


At the Boise Zoo --
Beautiful scenic views --

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Introducing TEETH!

The teeth have arrived!! Finally! We're still in Boise and Aunt Jennifer discovered a couple little sharp objects in the bottom of Madison's mouth just this morning. (Sarah - Isn't that funny that she's following Lauren's tooth-timing almost exactly?!) I'll try and get a picture when Madison gets her tongue out of the way for long enough.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Idaho Update

Just a quick post with a hello from Idaho. Our flight out here was mostly uneventful, though long. We made all of our connections and for being such a long day, Madison did extremely well. She even napped in my arms for 2 hours on the plane (which of course meant my arms fell asleep). We've had a nice visit with Matt's family. We've seen some of the sights in Boise, gone to a waterpark and have plans to do some museums or the zoo over the next couple days. We fly back to NY on Wednesday morning. Whew, this vacation is going fast!!