Quote for the Day

"Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life." -Sophocles

Families at Heart

We went to our first Families at Heart event. At the aeromed hanger at the airport, there were some cool rescue vehicles that the kids could get up close and explore including a firetruck, an ambulance, and a helicopter. We got to ride in a vintage fire truck. Ella's also enjoyed sitting in the helicopter seat and fastening the seat belt buckles. For the grand finale, we got to watch one of the helicopters land.

It's a four-point harness! Ella just loves any sort of buckles and likes to fasten them herself.

This is a brand new helicopter that has not yet flown any patients.

Our kitchen remodel - phase two

Tyler's dad, Michael is visiting and the two guys are working on part two of our kitchen remodel. They completely demolished our old kitchen and are turning it into our dining area. Old cabinets-gone! Old plaster walls-gone! Old red and white parkait floor-gone! Old back door-gone! Old kitchen window-gone! What's new? A widened opening from the family room to the dining area, a perfectly leveled sub floor, a new window. What's to come soon? New drywall, new hardwood floor, new light fixtures. Can you believe it? Our last remodeling project and our 105 year old house will be complete!
























Tyler removing layers of old flooring.

























You can actually see down to the basement.




















A view from the outside. Old door-gone!





















The make-shift plastic door to keep out the dust.





















The third pile of junk outside our house.

Can you believe Ella and Maddy are both sleeping right now through all the noise?

My Favorite Smiling Faces

Happy Birthday Marcella

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Madelyn - 2 Months

We visisted the doctor yesterday. Madelyn is doing great and continues to grow at the 50th percentile. She currently measures 22 1/2 inches long and weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz.

Feeding has been a challenge lately as she has been spitting up frequently. Advice taken from the lactation consultant is working wonders. Feedings now just take more time and care.

Babywise is going well. Madelyn always sleeps at least four-hour chunks at night and more often five-hour blocks of time. We have loved the three nights when she slept for 7 hours straight. I hope this is becoming the new norm.

More Pictures

Maddy on her new quilt. Thanks Joe and Marie!




















Maddy dressed as piglet.




















Love the rosy, chubby cheeks!




















Ella enjoys the swing more than Maddy. Really, she wants to be a baby again.




















Look, Mom! I made this when you weren't watching.

























In her exact words, "Ella hold baby fingers."




















Claire, Rachel, and Ella playing with all the cushions and blankets.

Easter Pictures

Ella with her Easter basket.

























Maddy with her Easter surprises from Grammy and Grampa.


















Ella decorating eggs with Grammy.

















































Ella loves candy!


























Bunny ears!

Kitchen Progress

Many of you have been asking how the new kitchen is progressing. Below are a collection of shots over the past several months.

These are the cabinet bases and our paint ideas.




















These are the cabinet doors and custom trim work.
















































Tyler painting the cabinets.






































Finished cabinets.











































Work that's next.

Install that countertop, an acrylic blend that looks like soapstone.
Put up backsplash - white subway tiles.
Install undermount sink and new faucet.

Things that make me smile this week!

When Maddy looks at me and smiles, it melts my heart.

Tyler's new job with Bruce Heys Builders and steady work every day.

Karen and Ginny, their friendship and encouragement in our weekly Bible study.

That Ella wants more babies, specifically two (Helen your babies must have made a big impact on her). Oh, and she prefers boy babies.

The bright sunshine and warmer weather.

A clean house - I finally vacuumed the carpet yesterday.

When I wake up on my own, and not from the baby crying.

That Tyler finally chopped up our Christmas tree and removed it from our yard.

Quiet, both kids napping, me resting in God's love and faithfulness to me.

Baby Wise

Madelyn is now five weeks old. One would think that by this point in time, we would have a normal routine and she would be sleeping most of the night. Ella did. But, Madelyn is not sleeping well at night. She still wakes up to eat every three hours and she has trouble falling back asleep on her own. I've asked myself, what am I doing wrong with this baby? I've turned into a fatigued and weary mom, and I don't like it.

Last night I pulled out the book, Baby Wise, which is a fabulous sleep reference guide that I used with Ella. I reread the important chapters and fell asleep last night with a new resolve. We can do this! I think I've been unfocused and unstructured the past month. So here is my new plan. I'm writing this more for me than for you, but feel free to hold me accountable or ask me how it's going.

1 - I'm going to focus on making sure Madelyn gets a full feeding at each feeding time, about every 3 hours. No snacking in between meals and no falling asleep while eating. This part should be the easiest for me to do, cause she is really nursing great now.

2 - During the daytime hours, I'm going to keep Maddy awake for 30 minutes after she has eaten. Usually changing her diaper will help her to wake up and stay alert. We can spend this time rocking, visiting friends, tummy time, bathing, family time... you get the picture.

3 - Next, I will try my hardest to always put the baby down for a nap while she is still awake. It's ok if she needs to cry for a few minutes in the process of settling herself to sleep. Even though I want to hold, rock, or feed her at this time, it will only lead to a fussy baby who cannot fall asleep on her own or sleep through the night.

The above, feed-wake-sleep cycle repeats itself. The only thing that changes at night is that you eliminate the awake time. Just feed, change the baby's diaper, and put her back in bed... awake. I really should stop using the bassinet and start using the crib in the nursery. Then I won't wake up at every grunt, sigh, or whine the baby makes.

I'm giving myself three weeks to try this. If I follow these principles, within three weeks the baby should drop her nighttime feedings and begin sleeping seven to eight hours continuously. That would be heavenly! I'll let you know if it works :)

Welcome to the family, Lily!

This weekend I took the girls to Ft. Wayne for the weekend to escape the paint fumes in our house. Tyler has been busy sanding, priming, and painting our new kitchen cabinets. The day before we were going to leave, my sister Michelle had her baby... a week early. What perfect timing so that we could all spend some time together. Below is my sister Michelle and her husband Michael with their baby daughter, Lily Isabelle.


















Cousins Maddie and Lily meet for the first time.

Lily, only a few days old, sleeps through everything.



















Ella still loves babies! She loves to give me the alert if the baby is crying or needs something.

Our Sleeping Beauty

Home for Two Weeks

We've been getting used to having two kids now instead of one... really we have three kids if you count our dog, Gray. Things have been busy around here. The past week Ella decided that she didn't need to take naps anymore. She needed my love and attention ALL the time and was very crabby in the afternoon and evenings. Today, she is finally taking a nap!!! This gives me time to blog. Yeah!

Ella loves her baby sister and likes to hold her, help change her diaper, and give her a nuk nuk. Ella even shares her favorite Duck with baby which is a super sign, since she won't even share Duck with Mom. We have to keep a close watch when Ella and Maddie are in the same room because Ella likes to share her other toys too, like Mr. Potato head and her favorite books... even when baby is sleeping.

Madelyn is getting used to her new home. She doesn't seem to mind when Gray barks at the "strangers" outside, or when Daddy uses his power tools in the addition. She sleeps all the time it seems! When she does awaken, she is hungry and ready to eat. The doctor says she is doing really well. Our tiny baby who measured only in the 9th percentile in the womb is now in the 50th percentile. She is currently 20 1/2 inches long. No, she couldn't have really grown 2 1/2 inches in 2 weeks. She probably was longer than 18 inches when she was born. And her current weight is 7 pounds, 4.5 ounces. Go baby! She's nursing well (finally!!) and can sleep for more than 2 hours in a row.

We've been very blessed with great neighbors and friends who have kept us well fed. Thanks for all the yummy meals! It sure has helped us tremendously. And we have enjoyed your visits. I especially enjoy the adult interaction. It's a long day at home with the two girls. I'm trying to limit our time outside the house because there are so many winter germs going around right now. The doctor wants baby Madelyn to stay away from public places until she is two months old, so she can stay healthy.

First 48 Hour Pictures