New Beginnings

I will not dare attempt to script the events of our Easter weekend, mostly because they are too painful to relive, but I want to acknowledge some pretty amazing allies on our side that helped us through this awful ordeal. These are not in any particular order so please don't read this as a prioritization.

Frank: My brother was the first on the scene in our desperate need for help, he didn't even flinch when I said we needed him. He came straight to the ER at Baylor Grapevine, picked up Jacob and took care of him for the rest of the day/night until reinforcements (Nanny, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa) could arrive. I had no idea that his friends had planned a birthday party for him that night which he subsequently missed. I can't tell you what relief it brought to us knowing that Jacob was in good hands so we could concentrate on our baby girl.

Nurse Amy: When I arrived at the Baylor Grapevine ER in a panic, she looked me straight in my tear filled eyes and said this, in the most calming, quiet voice a woman could have: "I already told your husband this, but babies are super resilient. I've seen babies fall from 3rd story windows and be just fine. She never lost consciousness and has been crying consistently. She's moving her arms and legs on her own. These are all wonderful signs. We have the towels around her neck just to protect her neck and head until we get the results of the cat scan. Now, I need you to be strong. If you cry, then I cry, and we can't have that because we need to help this little girl get better. Now go console your baby." Amy's quiet strength and authority helped us get through that day. I'm sure most nurses are trained in this manner, but she outdid herself in my opinion. Baylor Grapevine Hospital is lucky to have her.

Nanny/Papa/Grandma/Grandpa: They all hopped in the car at a moments notice and drove all night long to be here with us. They helped take care of Jacob and give him the Easter that he deserved (opening his Easter basket, hunting for candy filled eggs around the house) even though we weren't there to celebrate with him. They paid for meals, cleaned the house and provided endless shoulders to cry on. Thank you, our dear parents, for being the rocks we knew we could count on.

Jaemie: When Maddie was airlifted to Cooks Childrens in Fort Worth, Mark stayed on the helicopter with her and I drove to Fort Worth. It was a good 30 minutes away. Still not knowing the outcome of what was already the most trying day of my life, I called Jaemie. Even though most of the conversation was me blubbering on the other line, I felt immensely better after talking to her and hearing her words of encouragement and support.

Nurse Jamie: In the ICU at Cooks Childrens, Jamie was our nurse and she also had a 6 month old baby girl at home who was just 6 days older than Maddie. Her compassion and concern were felt throughout and she took great care of us while we were there. When Maddie had to have her skeletal x-ray done and we couldn't be in the room, Jamie advised us to go get a coffee and that she would take great care of her while she was in there. It was really for our protection as the babies usually don't like to be twisted every which way (especially after a bad fall) and she knew that we would be able to hear her crying even out in the hall. Going to get coffee, and a break for 15 minutes, allowed us to pause and pray. And cry.

Dr. Honeycutt, Neurosurgeon: Giving us the best possible news on Easter morning. The 2nd cat scan showed that the bleeding on her brain had stopped therefore she was out of danger. He assured us that she would be fine and that her skull fracture would heal in time without any intervention. Praise GOD.

There are also countless people to thank for their prayers, concern and support. Julie/Tom, thank you for your sweet messages, flowers and words of encouragement. McCaffreys, for the beautiful flowers and kind card. Our brothers and sisters - Eric, Amy, Sean, John, Misty, Brandi - for the phone calls, emails and text messages and mostly your prayers! Mark's teammate, Rhonda, for the abundance of Easter goodies. Mark's Red River Team -- for the largest bouquet of Edible Arrangements I've ever seen and the adorable teddy bears! And to all of our friends that knew, thank you for your prayers, constant calls to check in and emails of love and support.

I know this blog entry might come as a surprise to some of you. The only thing that matters now is that Maddie, Jake, Mark and I are at home, happy and healthy once again. It kind of feels like a new beginning, in a way. But it also feels like we've barely skipped a beat. We will forever thank the Lord for that.

These pictures were taken today. I can't stop looking at them!

Where did Angela go?

Something strange is happening here. I think some highly domesticated woman from 1952 has taken over my body and is making me embark on craft projects. This is not me folks. If you know me, you know this. But something is in the Dallas water -- or I'm possessed by that lady from 1952. It started with Maddie's wall letters and then now it's moved on to Maddie's clothes. I want to sew them, and applique them, and hem them and tie ribbons on them. I took a sewing class for crying out loud (and bought a sewing machine!) Okay, so, maybe having a girl has triggered this domestication in me. Whatever it is, I am not so sure I am ready to hand over my old self, to this new self. Either way, this blog is going be my outlet for displaying my projects. Showcasing them, if you will, so that I can prove to my kids someday that yes, mommy was domesticated at some point in her life. Be careful, you might blink and as soon as you read this post, I will have moved on to another household hobby that completely defies all purposes that I once thought I had in life! I'm possessed I tell you.

As I was stitching this applique on Maddie's onesie last night, I asked Mark: "What in the world is going on? What missing gene in my body have I all of a sudden tapped into?" His response? "I don't know. But I like it." Well, there you have it folks. If it doesn't disturb the hubby, then I guess it's okay.

Maddie's new onesie:

Easter Fun

I'm blogging a bit out of order, but I couldn't resist posting Maddie's stats yesterday, along with her adorable pictures. What I neglected to mention was that Jacob was with us during that photo shoot and even a trained professional can't get a decent picture of them together (so now I don't feel so incapable!) As always though, we got some adorable pictures of Jacob alone because I think he is one of the most photogenic little boys I've ever seen. I say this with a caveat -- there is one particular photo that was taken on Tuesday that scares the living daylights out of me every time I see it. When I look at it, I half expect Jacob to jump out of the picture and go postal, Linda Blair/Exorcist style. Seriously. Take a look.

If you don't find this picture frightening, I don't know who you are



Aside from this photo above (which I think they should have never included in the "keep" file), he did do a great job modeling for our photographer.









And, just for laughs, here are the pictures of the 2 of them together which I also think they never should have kept in the "keep" file.







If Jacob were looking up in this photo, it would be priceless. I love Maddie's expression. This was a keeper, because I think it perfectly captures the love he has for her.



Tuesday was a busy day. Jacob had his swim class, then our photo shoot, then my Mom's League had its Easter Party at a local park that afternoon. Jacob is an expert at hunting for Easter eggs now. His most heartbreaking comment of the day? "Is Owen going to hunt for Easter eggs with me?" I was shocked to hear him bring up Owen. His memory has certainly faded, but he remembers all too well that Owen went hunting for Easter eggs with us last year in San Mateo. It nearly ripped my heart right out of my chest.

Still, we had a great time at the hunt.

6 Months

I think I blinked and time just fast forwarded 6 months. Honestly, I barely remember ever being pregnant with Maddie. Is this the 2nd child syndrome? I can't stop time but I sure as heck am going to try to capture every moment that I can on camera.

Maddie turned 6 months old yesterday and she had her 6 month appointment today. She weighed in at 18 lbs. 3 oz. (88%) and 27 inches (90%). (Interestingly, a woman at the ball fields last weekend in Houston said Maddie looked "small" for 6 months. Seriously? I think this woman had her baby facts confused.) The Doctor was very pleased with Maddie's growth and progress, especially how well she handled having RSV a couple of months ago. She said that most babies have lingering effects for months. Maddie's lasted a couple of weeks and she's been fine ever since! Thank Goodness!! Even though Maddie has been drooling more than a teenage boy in a Girls Gone Wild Video, there are no signs of teeth. This shocks me because I seriously can't figure out where all this saliva is coming from. I also can't figure out how she is still spitting up what seems like gallons after every feeding. Doc also said this can happen up until 12 months so I might as well get used to the countless wardrobe changes (for Maddie and myself) and chalk it up to her being a "happy spitter." Doc also said that Maddie should be sleeping through her 3/4 am feeding now and not getting up at all in the night. I question this still (although I never, ever thought I'd be one of those moms getting up in the middle of the night after 6 months) but Maddie really seems to need that feeding. She said to try and bump up the solids intake (we're only doing once a day right now), especially before bedtime and see if this helps. My fingers are crossed but I'm not counting on it!

Maddie still isn't rolling from her tummy to her back but she rolls from her back to her tummy, both ways, just fine. I was concerned about this, but the Doctor reassured me that she's just fine, especially since she's rolling the other way. She's also almost mastered sitting up. I can sit her down for 5/10 minutes at a time and she'll play happily with a toy in front of her. She's still only napping 30 minutes at a time, but usually once in the afternoon, you can go in and rock her back to sleep, put her back down and get another hour out of her.

Maddie really is such an amazing little creature. It takes absolutely nothing more than a sweet smile her way to make her face beam and light up with a smile in return. Most people can't resist that cheeky grin and end up stopping in their tracks to comment on 1) her hair 2) her big blue eyes or 3) her big cheeks (in that order). And this is Texas folks, so I hear a lot of comments like "her Daddy is gonna have to clean out his shotgun when she gets older." Honestly. It's scary how many times I've heard it. And it's even scarier that those exact words came out of my extremely hip, beautiful, young pediatrician today. Not joking.

I took Maddie in for her 6 month pictures yesterday. Here's to our 6 month old baby girl.

More of our little people

As promised, here are some more pictures from the last couple of weeks. These were taken yesterday when we got home from Houston. Maddie is getting really good at sitting up on her own, and I think this is how she prefers to be! She's not such a big fan of lying on her back or belly anymore. She wants to be sitting up and watching all the action around her.

This smile just kills me!













On St. Patty's Day, I was trying to get good pictures of the kids together and it was so not working out for me. I think my constant attempts of getting a good picture of them together are going to start haunting me. I may have to leave it up to the professionals.

Doesn't it look like they are looking at each other saying "Why is she doing this to us again?"





I love this one b/c it only takes one look from Jacob to light up Maddie's face



And for fun, Daddy is still great at making Maddie laugh any time of day

So much to say...

...and so little time to write! So I will write in captions, once again.

First of all, please take a look at this picture. If you don't laugh out loud then without a doubt, you are not human.



This was taken today while it was super windy outside. Every time there was a big gust of wind, Maddie made this face and then would break out into a huge smile. Her personality is so incredibly cute. It doesn't take much to light up her face.

On a whim, we went to Houston this past weekend to see Duke play in the NCAA tournament. Grandpa managed to get 4 tickets (Thanks Dad!) so myself, Mark, Frank and John all got to go. Outside of the fact that they did not serve any sort of alcohol at the Reliant Stadium (what are they thinking?!), we had an awesome time. Take a look:





Thank goodness we won because I really didn't want to go home with a grumpy husband!

The weekend before was my girls weekend in Galveston. I had been looking forward to that trip for months and it did not disappoint! I think my favorite part of the whole weekend was just hanging out at the house drinking wine and watching "The Hangover" with my favorite ladies (minus Rach, sniff, sniff). Would you believe I only took 1 stinking picture the whole time we were there? And it was a forced one on our last day at breakfast.



Ahhh, I miss the girls already. Can't wait to start planning the next trip!

When I got back from Galveston, Mark and I jumped in the car and headed down to Dallas for a night's stay at Turtle Mansion. This was given to us by his team members for Christmas and I can't tell you what a wonderful gift it was. We celebrated our 4 year anniversary that night. I always tease him and tell him that the last 4 years have felt like 20 (which isn't necessarily untrue -- ha) but they've been the best years ever. Considering the fact that we've moved 3 times and had 2 kids, and we still like each other, I think that says a lot. :) Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that night, but it was a great one!

I've got lots more pics to post of the kids, but will do so when I'm not falling asleep at the computer. Stay tuned!!