Surviving!! (And feeling grateful...)

(a quote I really like today.)

It has been an interesting 9 days, adjusting to two kids. Not so much difficult, as just interesting. We have been blessed with two little angels, seriously. Emma got the nasty cold that I had, and has two molars that are halfway in and really sore. Found out today that Madelyn has an eye infection. Oh yeah, and Madelyn gets bumped and poked a LOT by her very loving and well-meaning sister. They both have every right to be a little grumpy. But do you know how many times I have been up in the night with Emma in the last 9 days? 0! And Madelyn? A maximum of two times a night, never for longer than 45 minutes from the time I wake up, change her, feed her and put her back down! She has already done a couple of 6-hour stints at night just because she loves me. :) Wednesday morning both girls slept in until 10 AM!

I have recovered this time far faster and better than I remember with Emma. We have been spoiled rotten by our ward, our families and friends. We had 10 meals brought to us in 6 days! Jared's family took Emma for 4 days, my mom came and stayed with us for a few days. Siblings have driven over 100 miles just to come meet and hold Madelyn for a an hour. I have had multiple offers for free baby-sitting. Last night I cashed in my massage that Jared got me for Christmas. Thanks, Jared! (And thanks to my friend Candice who did the massage.) Speaking of Jared, YOU ARE AMAZING! You handle this house full of emotional women exceptionally!;) Yesterday and today I had both kids on my own for the first time all day. Except for when I took Madelyn to her check-up and my friend watched Emma for me. Nursing has gone much better this time, too. At this point in Emma's life, I was pretty sure I was the worst mom in the world and that I was starving her to death. Maddie weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. at her check-up today. She is in the 95th percentile for height at 21 inches and 50th for weight.

I guess I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks to everyone for being so great! And to take a minute to make note that I'm surviving! (Just in case I have a hard day coming up- this will remind me how good I have it!)

Wide Eyed

She has already changed SO much!

SURPRISE!!!

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 10:52 a.m., 7 lbs. 5 oz., 20.5 inches...
MADELYN JO DANIELS!!
(she has really long feet!)


(this was their first moment together- Emma couldn't stop smiling!)

38 Weeks

So I thought I better give everyone a quick update since we are only a couple of weeks away from our due date! I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by!

I had an appointment this morning and found out that I am dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced. The baby is head down and in position. How crazy, huh? So this baby could very well come today, or wait a couple more weeks. Wish there was a magic 8 ball that could tell me when, but we get to enjoy the suspense some more. :)

Anyway, I'm feeling great and we are just excited to meet our new addition!

One small step for Emma...

Actually, she has been taking lots of little steps all the time, but now she is really walking- when she feels like it. Every time we pull out the camera to record her or try to trick her into walking, she crawls... so this was just by chance that we got this video.

Figuring things out

I love that Emma's hair is growing, I really do. But sometimes I'm just not sure what to do with it! She hasn't left headbands in for months, and has recently discovered the barretts on the side and pops them into her mouth. We do the ponytail on top of the head if anything. Any suggestions? I also wanted to share a picture of how awesome her hair looks AFTER the hair elastic is taken out of her hair- cute, huh?

The other thing I have been trying to figure out is meals for Emma. If anyone has some good, kid-friendly meal ideas, please share! I also know that I should be encouraging her to learn to eat with a spoon and drink out of a cup more on her own, but sometimes I'm too lazy since it is SO messy. The other day Jared handed her the spoon and the rest of the yogurt and we just let her go to town. WOW. I think she got a little bit in her mouth when she licked her fingers. Maybe. So if anyone has some tricks or tips to help with that, they would be much appreciated, too!

St. Patrick's Day

We had a lot of fun with St. Patrick's Day this year- especially since Brady and Olivia were here! We had green waffles, green eggs, green pears, green kool-aid, green peeps and bacon. Um, yeah, I was just craving bacon, so I threw that in. :)