The Best of 2010

For the past few years I have doodled a word in my pocket calendar on January 1st. On January 1, 201o I doodled “blessed”. I had only a faint idea of how true that would be for us.

My 2010 best list (in [mostly] chronological order):

• The birth of our precious Raelyn Grace
• Maternity leave & lots of visitors
• Finalization day
• Raelyn’s dedication at our church
• Mark’s parents retiring to the Indy area
• Watching Raelyn develop bonds with her cousins
• Our first Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
• Our NYC vacation and attending the US Open
• My early “retirement”
• Learning Raelyn will become a big sister in 2011

My favorite blog post from 2010 is hands down Raelyn’s Birth Story.

2010 was our best year yet! We’re pretty sure 2011 will be just as good, if not better. :)

p.s. For anyone wondering, in 2009 I doodled “hope”. I’ll leave you wondering what my 2011 doodle is. ;)

Chef In Training

I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. Cooking, cleaning, baking, cleaning, rinse and repeat.

And now I have a young daughter who loves to join me in these activities! Sometimes Raelyn tries to help me load (or unload while I load) the dishwasher. Other times she just enjoys playing while I work. And there are many times when she wants to hang on my legs and I just give up on the kitchen work.

Cooking is a great joy of mine and I pray it will bring joy to my children as well.

Raelyn’s First Christmas

Christmas Eve we celebrated with Mark’s side of the family. We began with appetizers, moved on to the reading of the true Christmas story, opened presents, and finished with dinner and dessert. Throw in some playtime with the new toys and we had a full evening!

Raelyn enjoying her new kitchen with a little help from Mommy.

You have to admit that this is the face of a girl who is  happy with her new dress up tutu, beads, headband, and slippers! As soon as Rachelle opened this package she hurriedly put it all on. Rachelle took some time away from her new toys to show Raelyn the ropes with her first Little People toy.

Christmas morning Raelyn (and we did too) slept in until 8am! I prepared our Christmas breakfast of monkey bread, hash browns, and scrambled eggs while she and Mark played in her room. Raelyn enjoyed her first bites of monkey bread. But really, who wouldn’t love biscuits soaked in butter, sugar, and cinnamon?  :)

She loves her new block train and rocking giraffe! She keeps going to the giraffe’s nose and patting it like it’s her pet. So cute!

We left Indy around noon and drove up to Lowell (actually Cedar Lake) to spend the afternoon with my side of the family. Raelyn especially enjoyed playing with her older cousins. Both Frankie and Avery are so sweet to her and spent some time being silly making her laugh and laugh.

All in all, I’d say Raelyn thoroughly enjoyed her first Christmas celebrations!

Christmas Card 2010

For those of you we may have missed, we hope you had a Blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year!

Gift Tag Story Christmas 5x7 folded card

Create modern Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

A well-planned, yet unexpected gift

We got this little gift back in October. We knew a week or so before based on several blood tests but taking this home test helped it sink in a little bit.

After all the disappointments we've had, I didn't let myself get too excited about this pregnancy at first. But since I've seen a heartbeat on ultrasound 3 times, I have let myself believe it's true. I'm 14 weeks 2 days today and due on June 20, 2011.

Here are a couple ultrasound pictures from my 12 week appointment:

 

Everyone knows that we've been through a lot to get here, but I know there are women who have had to go through just as much as I have and still have not been able to start the family that they so dearly want.  We are tremendously blessed!

We’re so excited to finally share our news with all of you!

Deck the Halls

We put our Christmas tree up a week after Thanksgiving but I thought it more appropriate to show you the week of Christmas. (That and we’ve had a few kinks with our lights this year.) ;)

I love that most of our ornaments have meaning to us. When we first married we began a tradition of giving one other an ornament  each year. Mark receives Santa ornaments and I receive Snowmen ornaments. We’ve slacked off recently, but love what we do have!

And of course, there is this special ornament that we brought home from Switzerland and it says so much.

This year, we bought new Christmas stockings to hang. We’ve waited a long time to have family stockings and the names on these really tell the story of our 2010.

 

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas week!

11 months

Raelyn has developed a curiosity for everything! Can you tell in the photo above? Here she was searching for mommy’s face behind the camera. She seems to be searching a lot lately: the cabinets, drawers, baskets, etc.

I want Raelyn to know that the best decision I have made in her short 11 months is the one to leave my job and stay home with her full time. There isn’t anything that makes me happier than to see her smiling face in the morning and to know that I’m getting her ready for a day with me. We have so much fun together!

Raelyn still loves music! Last week, the tv was on and a UPS commercial came on with their “Logistics” song. Oh my, she was so cute bopping along like it was the best tune ever. I guess it “has a good beat”. :) She also claps along to patty cake, patty cake and loves listening to her classical music in the mornings. 

She is a fast mover! Whether crawling or cruising she can move from one place to another at lightening speed. Poor Sheba gets chased around way too often.

Earlier this month, Raelyn had her first baking lesson. She “helped”me make loaves of pumpkin bread. I think she enjoyed the lesson.

 

She probably enjoyed tasting the results more though!

Speaking of eating… Raelyn loves it! She’s no longer interested in purees and usually eats whatever we are eating. A few weeks ago she even ate a whole bowl of tofu at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Sakura! (The waitresses love her there.) We feel so blessed that she is not a picky eater thus far.

It’s hard to believe that in one short month our baby girl will be ONE! Between now and then we have her first Christmas and New Year’s to look forward to and experience.

Raelyn, mommy and daddy love you soooo very much! I hope you never get tired of hearing us tell you.

A daily conversation

This is a conversation that Raelyn and I have multiple times a day.

Raelyn: Da Da

Me: Ma ma

Raelyn: Da-Deeee

Me: Ma-Meeee

Raelyn: Da da da da

Me: Sighs. Oh, I give up.

Christmas Cards & Print Gift Recommendations

Some of you are so on the ball that you send out your cards the day after Thanksgiving. I know who you are because I’ve received those 3 cards. ;)

Have the rest of you ordered, addressed, and mailed your Christmas cards yet? Yeah, me neither. I do have them designed and they are ready for me order.

About a month ago, we received Shutterfly’s “2010 Holiday Cards and Gifts” catalog. I was immediately drawn to their “Story Cards”. There’s just something about being able to quickly tell your year in review in a card to those we may not be so good at keeping in touch with all year long.  Shutterfly also has the flat cards that are popular too.

Oh, you say you already ordered your cards? Good job! Do you have any last minute gifts or stocking stuffers to get? A wonderful gift for a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or just for yourself is a Shutterfly calendar! You can pop in your favorite photos from the year and voila, a gift is made. They have wall calendars and desk calendars.

You want to know about Shutterfly’s print quality? I’ve always been happy with our photos and other items. The colors are spot on and the paper is great quality. After Raelyn’s newborn photo shoot last February, I had small photo books made for the grandparents. It was so easy! I actually hadn’t thought about making books, but after I uploaded the photos Shutterfly sent me an email saying they had put together a book of my photos. SWEET! I went to check it out, made a few tweaks and they were ready to print. LOVE!

Just in case you want to remember how soft and squishy Raelyn was as a newborn:

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

Now off… go finish your Shutterfly cards and/or other gifts!

Baby Stew Recipe

Sometimes what I make for dinner just isn’t appropriate for Raelyn to eat. For example, on Sunday I was in the mood to make nachos for dinner. YUM! Not really baby friendly food though.

I concocted what I’m calling Baby Stew (even though it doesn’t really end up with a broth or gravy).

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef
• Baby Red Potato
• Baby Carrots
• Yellow Onion
• Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

Directions:

Brown the onion and ground beef. Drain and return to pan. Add peeled and diced potatoes & diced carrots. Pour enough chicken broth in to cover. Simmer and cover until veggies are tender.

Pretty simple, yet delicious. I made enough to last a few meals and Raelyn has given it 2 thumbs up each time. For younger babies you could mash it but Raelyn likes to feed herself these days so the diced size was perfect for her little fingers.

I hope your baby enjoys! And please share any recipes that have been a hit at your house with the kids.

Fun in Leaves

Let’s talk about fall leaves today. Makes sense on December 1 when we have our first snow fall, right? :)

Did you know that leaves fall because the veins that carry fluids in and out of the leaf close up? I’m sure there is more science to it, but basically they fall because of clogged veins.

As you know, we live in an older area with many mature trees. It’s beautiful but also means that we get a lot of leaves in our yard. A LOT. In years past Mark and I have raked, bagged, or composted together. This year, he had to do it on his own.

We took a few minutes to let Raelyn have a little fun in a small pile of leaves on the deck. I do believe that she enjoyed her first romp in the leaves!

10 Months

At 10 months, Raelyn is full of energy and spunk! She is constantly on the move and pulling up on all the furniture. She also has fun playing with her toys. Right now, her favorite is the music table.
She has a special game she loves to play with Daddy. I call it “Laughing Wars.” Usually they play in the car, but sometimes I get to witness it at the dinner table. Mark will laugh really loudly and Raelyn will follow. It’s quite amusing!  Here’s a sample:

This past month, Raelyn has been going to her Grandma Repko’s house instead of to daycare. Grandma Sylvia has stayed with us a few times to take care of Raelyn too. We all really appreciate the Grandmas helping us out and Raelyn LOVES spending time with them! Only a few more weeks and I’ll be home with her full time. :)
Raelyn enjoys reading time and has even started turning the pages of her board books. Amazingly, she usually turns it at just the right time!
Just like every month, I’ll end by saying what a complete joy it is to be Raelyn’s mommy! It just melts my heart when I hear her say “mama”.

Latest Stats

Raelyn had her well visit this morning with Dr. Rob. He was impressed with the healing from her surgery last month. Dr. Rob nicknamed her “Shredder” today because she just wanted to sit on the table and shred the paper she was sitting on. :)

Raelyn’s stats:

Weight: 19 lb 13 oz (57%)

Height: 28 inches (51%)

Head circumference: 17 inches (19%)

She also received her 1st flu shot and will go in next month for the 2nd /final shot. She’s a tough girl and only cried for a few seconds. (Real tears though.)

Here’s a picture from last week of Raelyn playing with her favorite toy. She loves her music table! The first thing she does when she gets home is speedy-crawl over to this thing.

 

Ok, I’ll leave any other updates in her activities for her 10 month post next week. NEXT WEEK!!!! Where did the time go? …

1st Costume

The cutest ladybug we ever did see…

9 Month Photo Shoot

This month we took the opportunity to have some outdoor family photos taken. We met the photographer at the Indianapolis Museum of Art grounds, one of our favorite places.

Of course as we were getting ready, I put on the fall dress I had bought Raelyn especially for these photos and she was swimming in it! Good thing we had a backup dress. The pink sweater she is wearing in some of the photos was actually a dress that I wore as a baby. I thought it would be special to have some photos of Raelyn wearing it.

The photographer had her work cut out for  her. Raelyn was not in the best of moods this particular morning. By the end she was super tired and just DONE.

Here are my favorites that were captured:

   

Apple Orchard

We enjoyed a beautiful fall morning with our friends, the Billmeier’s, at the Anderson Apple Orchard.

We picked a few apples even though we were late for the season. We learned that next year we should head out in September.

  After picking what was left of the Golden Delicious apples, we headed to the concession stand for apple treats. I think between our two families we consumed 2 apple turnovers, 2 containers of apple biscuits with apple butter, 2 caramel apples, 1 apple cobbler, and 4 apple slushies. Wow! Raelyn even enjoyed a little bite of apple biscuit. It was all delicious!

And when we arrived home, I set to work on some homemade applesauce.

 

It’s just not fall without a few tasty apple dishes!

9 Months

Raelyn turned 9 months just a few days after her hospital stay.

The past month was jam-packed with events and activities. First, Mark and I were on vacation so she had both Grandma’s come and take care of her at our house. We received good reports from both so we believe Raelyn had a great time and probably received just a little bit of spoiling. :)

Also during this month we went to Avery’s 6th birthday party which was quite a treat. She had her party on a horse farm! I’m almost certain Raelyn will never attend a birthday party like this one again. It was one of a kind!

Raelyn is developing such a happy and playful personality! She is always busy, busy, busy and on the go.  We thank the Lord for her everyday!

The Hospital Stay

We’ve had quite a week! Monday was the longest day I may have ever experienced. And I might add that one day at the hospital feels like a week!

Let me back up…

Saturday evening we noticed what looked like a little pimple on Raelyn’s bottom during a routine diaper change. I smeared a little hydrocortisone on it and made a mental note to keep an eye on it.

Sunday we had a busy day and Raelyn happily played and napped normally. During the Colts game she enjoyed crawling around and playing with her toys. At one point in the evening she laid down on the floor and started whining. I picked her up and noticed she seemed really hot. We took her temperature and sure enough it was 101.4. We gave her a dose of Tylenol and some good cuddle time. At bedtime, we saw that the little pimple had turned a deep purple color and was very hard (not to mention PAINFUL for Raelyn).

Monday morning her temperature was gone.  I took Raelyn to her pediatrician where he took a swab of the fluid from the spot and prescribed a strong antibiotic for the infection. We stayed home that day and she did a lot of resting.By late afternoon, her temperature came back and a dose of Tylenol did not bring it down. Mark got home from work and we checked the spot and found swelling from her bottom to her hip and down her right leg. Not only swelling, but everything was bright, bright red. After a quick call to the pediatrician on call we ended up at the ER.

The ER doctor was thorough and contacted a pediatric surgeon to come and check her out too. It was determined that she would be admitted, receive a few rounds of IV antibiotics, and surgery scheduled for the morning to drain the abscess. Diagnosis: abscess with staph infection. 

As Raelyn’s mom, it was heartbreaking to hear her scream each time someone examined her tender area. It was difficult to comfort her as they tried 3 times to put the IV into her tiny veins. No amount of singing or stroking her cheeks seemed to be enough.

Finally around 11pm we were admitted to a pediatric room. Then we had a new round of nurses and doctors checking her vitals and getting her situated. I think it was 1am before we all went to bed for a fitful night of sleep.

Nurses were scurrying around the room around 6am. Raelyn’s fever had gone up again but she couldn’t have any Tylenol because of the surgery. We used cool wash clothes to try to make her more comfortable.

She was wheeled to a staging room in the surgery wing. We waited with her, rocked her, sang to her, and did a little crying as we prayed over her.

The anesthesiologist spoke with us explaining his role in the procedure and the pediatric surgeon spoke with us again too.  He reassured us it would be a quick procedure. Once Raelyn was wheeled away to surgery we sat in the waiting room. The surgeon was right, within a half an hour he was back to chat with us. He explained what he did during the procedure, that he would continue the IV antibiotics, and things we can do at home and daycare to prevent infection.

Something I realized about about pediatric surgeon’s is that they not only need to be good with the little ones but also really good with parents. Dr. Cavett is amazingly skilled with both.

Raelyn spent most of Tuesday in and out of naps and holding her favorite blankie.

Wednesday morning she woke up in good spirits and asked for some reading material. ;)

 

She even ate her favorite breakfast of peach yogurt!

Most of Monday and Tuesday she was not interested in being held and was most comfortable just laying in the crib. Wednesday she was antsy in the crib and was happy to nap in mommy’s lap. She even got a sponge bath and hair washing. All the nurses and doctor’s commented on her curls and “fancy” bow that day.

As the day progressed she continued to show signs of improvement and in the late afternoon she received her walking papers. We were all so happy to be heading home together!

We have a follow up appointment with her surgeon on Monday. He’ll check her recovery progress and will give us an idea of when Raelyn can return to daycare. Her incision needs to be fully healed to prevent new infection.

We’re praising God that Raelyn is A-OK. Give your children extra hugs and kisses tonight and never stop praying over them.