Busy Busy Wednesday

Well we had a very busy day today! Madelyn and I had lunch with friends and then I went to work for a little bit. She slept in her car seat while I got caught up on e-mails and when she woke up there were plenty of people that wanted to hold and entertain her :) After I was finished working we went to Jim's work and Madelyn met all of his co-workers. Tonight we went to Eric and Mary Andrews house to celebrate the March/April birthdays. We enjoyed pizza and ice cream cake and had a great time. Madelyn was really eyeing up the ice cream cake :)

On another note, Madelyn had her nails clipped for the first time today. They have needed to be be clipped since the day she was born and Jim and I were both to nervous to do it. So today at lunch my girlfriend Jess did it and she did a great job! She is already a Mom and was not nervous about it at all. If anyone wonders why I couldn't do it, ask my little sister Kelsey :) I think she is still scarred from me trimming her nails when she was a baby!

Madelyn is feeling better :)

The doctor called this morning to check on Madelyn and she is definitely feeling better! YEAH :) All of her blood and urine tests came back clear and although she did run a low grade fever all weekend she is feeling better.

We have had alot of bad weather and ALOT of rain! Not to mention the person that lives directly behind us had a very large tree fall and by the grace of god it fell at an angle (/ to be exact) and went into the neighbors yard directly beside us. We don't have any damage and fortunately it didn't hit the neighbors house but they have major fence and yard damage. We will post some pics later.

Tonight Madelyn enjoyed a video call with her Grandma & Grandpa Connelly and some fun time with her Daddy. They love to listen to music and dance and it really looks like she tries to imitate him. Tonight I got a quick a video of them.

Happy Birthday Aunt Kathy and Cousin Antonio

Today is Aunt Kathy's birthday and tomorrow is cousin Antonio's 3rd birthday. Madelyn made b-day video's for both of them. We had trouble sending Antonio his video through e-mail so we decided to post it here for him to view. Happy Birthday to both!

Our little girl is sick for the first time :(

Last night Madelyn started running a temperature. It was 100.1 so we called the pediatrician and they had us take her to Children's Mercy hospital. When we got there they took us to a private room since Madelyn is an infant and they didn't want her around all the sick children. They checked her out and monitored her fever. Once it went down they sent us home and told us to monitor it hourly and to make an appointment with our pediatrician today. Of course right before we were discharged the doctor came in to look her over and take her temperature one last time and Madelyn started pooping. Well she doen't go that often so when she does it is quite an ordeal and takes a long time. The doctor waited around for a while but after three diapers and all the wipes we had she decided to come back :) It added an additional 45 minutes to our hospital stay............what great timing she had :)

This morning her fever was 100 so we went to the pediatrician today at 2:00. Dr. Farrel looked her over, took her temperature and decided to do blood work and urine tests. It broke my heart when they took blood and used a catheter to get urine out of her. Thank goodness Jim was there because she has never cried so hard. So far everything has come back good and they think she has virus. Her throat is pretty red and there is a virus going around that consists of sore throat, sores in the mouth/throat and fever. Dr. Farrel wants us to continue monitoring her temperature but is pretty sure that she has this virus that has been going around our community. She said it just needs to run its course. If her fever hits 100.4 we have a # to call the doctor over the weekend. We were pretty upset about her being sick but the pediatrician calmed our nerves!

Madelyn Loves her Bears (friends)

Madelyn spends a lot of time in her pack-n-play and it has a mobile with bears on it. She has loved these bears since the day she came home from the hospital. She will lay there and kick, smile and talk to them! We call the bears her friends :) Here are some pictures of her playing with her friends.

Daddy goes to Yankee Stadium

Jim went to the new Yankee stadium on Saturday with my Dad, brother and cousin Tommy. They had a great time even though Chen Ming Wang ruined the game in the 2nd inning and it was a blowout. They got to the stadium around 11:00 a.m. for the 4:00 p.m. game. They enjoyed touring the new stadium. They ate lunch in the Hard Rock Cafe located in Yankee stadium and enjoyed a few drinks at the Mohegan Sun bar located in center field.

Great Grandparents

Madelyn had the privledge of meeting all of her great grandparents from my side. She met my Dad's mother Rose (Nanie) Pillets, she met my mother's father Gene (Granddad) Hogan and she also met Karen's mother and father Angela (Nana) and Len (Poppy) Zawacki. I am so blessed to still have my grandparents and for Madelyn to be able to meet them.

Madelyn meets my Dad and Uncle Connor!

We met my Dad and brother in New Jersey during our trip. This was there first time meeting Madelyn. It was really cute to see my brother with her. He really adored her! My Dad really liked her as well and got her a little Yankee shirt from the new Yankee stadium

Madelyn's Big Trip Back East

On Thursday, April 16th we flew to Baltimore for my sisters bridal shower and for Jim to go to Yankee stadium with my Dad and brother. Madelyn did great on the plane and didn't make a peep. Lots of people stopped as they walked by to ask how old she was and she loved the attention :) She was pinned with little wings which was really neat, Jim and I didn't realize they still did that.

Once we got to Baltimore, my family (Mom, Kathy and Bob) suprised us at baggage claim. It was great to have a quick visit with them before we headed up to Philadelphia. Jim and Bob went to go get the rental car while we visited and talked about the massive amounts of luggage we had. We loaded up the car and were on our way to Philly where we stayed with our good friends Sarah and Vince. They have a beautiful house in Philadelphia! On Friday we repacked everything and went to New Jersey to see my grandmother. We spent two nights there. On Saturday Jim and clan headed to NYC and all the girls (Karen, Kelsey, Nanie, Nana, Aunt Linda and Lauren) headed to Columbia, Maryland for the bridal shower. Madelyn was passed around between all my aunts at the shower and was the center of attention. I told her she was stealing Aunt Kathy's thunder :) It was a long drive and long day but Madelyn did great and we only had to stop one time for a diaper change. Saturday night we all met back in New Jersey and Jim had a great day in New York but really missed the baby. Sunday we repacked everything and went back to Philadelphia to spend a little more time with Sarah and Vince. We went out to a nice dinner and the guys took the baby back home while Sarah and I visited over a couple of drinks! We had a blast. Monday we packed everything up for the last time and headed back down to Baltimore to see my Grandfather and catch our flight. At the airport Kathy and Bob met us for a quick dinner. Madelyn did great on the flight home but was happy to be home. When she saw her bears that are on the mobile of her pack and play she was very excited.

All in all it was a great trip and Madelyn got to meet most of her east coast family!

4 Week/1 Month Doctor Visit

Last Wednesday Madelyn had her 1 month doctors visit. She weighed 9 lb 1 oz and was 22 inches long. She is in the 50% for weight and 95% for height. She had to have her belly button zapped again but this should be the last time. Unless we have a problem we don't go back to the doctor until she is 2 months and at that time she will have some of her shots. She always does so well at the doctor and the doctor said that she was impressed with the fact that Madelyn has never cried during one of her visits or while having her belly button zapped. She told us to increase Madelyn to 4 oz a feeding. When we left I was a little sad, I have gotten used to going to see Dr. Ferrel once a week. :)

At 1 month Madelyn has changed so much! She is staying awake for long periods of time and is so alert and aware of her surroundings. She is holding her head well and will follow things with her eyes. She has started smiling which we love! She eats every 4-5 hours and sleeps very well at night. She usually goes to bed between 10:30-11:00 and gets up at around 3:30-4:00 and then gets up for the day around 9:00. She is an extremely content baby and only cries during baths and when she has been in her car seat to long. We know we are so lucky and blessed and love each day with her.

First Day Alone!

On Monday, April 13th Madelyn and I had are first day home alone. It was kind of strange not having help and I missed all of our company. We spent the day just hanging out in our pj's and it was a lot of fun. Madelyn really enjoys her swing, boppy pillow and playmat. She really gets excited when Jim gets home from work.

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday we went to church and Madelyn did great. We were a little nervous because they sat us in the third row smack dab in the middle but Madelyn was quite the whole time. After church we went downtown and met cousin Mary for Easter brunch at the Hyatt. After brunch we came home, took a quick nap, prepared dessert and then left for Easter dinner at Eric & Mary Andrews house. We enjoyed Easter dinner with there family and had lots of YUMMY food and conversation. It was a very busy day but a lot of fun.

Meeting silly Uncle Kevin and Mommy & Daddy date night!

On Saturday, April 11th we met Uncle Kevin, Erin and Kelly downtown for dinner. They were in town to see Phantom of the Opera. We had a really nice visit! After dinner, my Mom took Madelyn home and Jim and I had a date at the Royals game. We met up with cousin Mary and some of her friends. We had a great time, I had my first beer and the Yankees won! We were home by 10:00 p.m. because we really missed the baby but it was good for us to get out!

Mom and Kathy came from Baltimore!!!

On Saturday, April 4th my Mom flew in from Baltimore for 9 days. She was a huge help and we really appreciated her visit. She helped with the night time feedings which was AWESOME and one night she kept Madelyn all evening. I felt like a whole new person after 8 hours of sleep. Also, while she was here I scheduled my appointments so that she could help out. I had a hair appointment and my follow-up visit since having my c-section. We also had Madelyn's follow-up visit to have her belly button re-checked. She had to have it zapped again with silver nitrate.

Kathy flew in on Monday, April 6th and stayed until Thursday evening. All of us girls had so much fun with Madelyn. Kathy and Mom went shopping one afternoon and came home with lots of stuff for Madelyn. We played dress up that afternoon with all of her new stuff. We voted and our favorite was the swimsuit and shades Aunt Kathy got her. Jim came home from work in the middle of our fashion show and didn't appreciate it as much as we did.

Madelyn was spoiled by the Bartlesville Koster girls :)

On Friday, April 3rd we went to Aunt Mary and Uncle Randy's house for dinner and to visit with the Bartlesville Kosters. We had a great dinner and the girls really enjoyed playing with Madelyn. Uncle Tim and Aunt Mary had some funny arguments about who Madelyn liked better :) Since it was a Friday during Lent we had shrimp and homemade Macaroni & Cheese. It was delicious. Dennis and the boys came over to visit as well. Haley was having a b-day party with a lot of girls so they decided to make a dash for it :) Truman (who is 4) really enjoyed the baby but everytime she made a noise he thought she needed medicine. We also celebrated Mike's 60th b-day early!

Two Week Check-up

On April fools day Madelyn had her 2 week doctor's appointment. Ann went with us and we had a good appointment. Madelyn weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 21.25 inches long. The doctor cleaned her belly button really well and when we got home from the doctor it fell off. It wasn't supposed to fall off so I called the doctor and they had us come right back in. The doctor zapped it with silver nitrate and sent us on our way. We had to go back the next week to have it re-checked.

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Connelly

Jim's mom and dad returned for our second week home from the hospital (March 29th-April 4th). They were here to help me while Jim went back to work. It was so nice having them here and they were such a big help. Ann watched the baby each morning so that I could rest and they cooked wonderful dinners each night. We definately got spoiled and were very sad when there visit was over.

Yeah....the Boston crew came!

On Saturday, March 28th my Mom (Karen) and sister Kelsey flew in for a visit. It was so nice of them to fly out and we really enjoyed there company. They suprised us with the visit and it was a WONDERFUL suprise. It was the first time Karen had seen our house so that was nice as well. We had a great visit and they really enjoyed meeting Madelyn. Kelsey is still in school and Karen has work so it was a short visit and they left on Monday. We were sad to see them go. While they were here Madelyn experienced her first snow on Saturday, March 28th. We got about 6 inches! Jim and Karen shoveled on Sunday morning. Karen took us to Costco and we stocked up and on Sunday evening she grilled steaks for us and Jim's mom and dad. We had a great dinner and visit.

Our First Big Outing!

On Tuesday, March 24th we had our first big outing. We went to my work for a meeting that I had in the morning, we went to Madelyn's first doctor's appointment and then we went to the grocery store. We were gone for about 5 hours and it was succesful. Madelyn did great and she got a clean bill of health at the doctor. We really like our pediatrician. She sat down with us and answered all of our questions and just really made us feel good about parenting. The next appointment was the following week for her 2 week check-up.

Since the first outing, Madelyn has been out and about on a regular basis. We have been shopping, out to eat, church, to friends and family's houses, my work on a weekly basis, her doctor's appointments and my doctor's appointments. We have had a lot of fun and she does great.

First Bath

Our first bath was on Monday, March 23rd and Madelyn did not like it! It was just a sponge bath but she screamed and pooped in the tub. It was very funny and Daddy caught it all on tape :) Since then baths have gotten a little better but she still doesn't like them. On Wednesday, April 8th Madelyn had her first big girl bath! We started to give her the bath in the kitchen when we realized the tub had a problem. We quickly realized this after I filled it up with water and it was pouring on to the floor. We finished that bath in the bathroom tub and purchased a new baby bathtub the next day.