Friday

Well, Lizzy gets here in a few hours and we are pretty excited around here. It's been a week of cold weather (it even snowed in Maryland) and getting ready to have Liz here. Tonight Maddie is going to Dog School with her Grammy to watch the Doggy Halloween Costume party :) I think she'll get a kick out of it and hopefully it gets her in the mood to wear her Lady Bug costume tomorrow. When it arrived in the mail, I asked her to try it on, she said "no" and I pretty much wrestled her into it so that I could check if it fit. It fits really well so I have my fingers crossed that she'll wear it gladly tomorrow night. Gabe said "good luck making her wear the hat part." (It's the antennas)

The only other news around here is that my car got broken into 2 nights ago :( Whoever did it, didn't break anything; they must know what they're doing because there was no sign of how they got in. They basically went through my glove box and put all the stuff on the ground in my car (they left the tampons alone :). They went through my garbage thing in there and pretty much everything else, but nothing was missing so I consider myself lucky. I was saying to Gabe that it figures the night both of our kids actually sleep through the night without waking up, is the night someone breaks into my car right in front of our house. Normally, we're up at least 2 times a night but on that particular night even our 7 week old slept in until 6:30am!!! She's such a good baby and Maddie has been sleeping pretty well again too. So, tomorrow we'll trick-or-treat and then just hang out on Saturday. Hope you have a good weekend and Happy Halloween!

Weekend

It was a really great weekend for us! Gabe surprised me last week by telling me that months ago he had planned a one night get away for us. We were gone for a little less than 24 hours and in that time we drove to Richmond, I went to the spa for some pampering, we went out to a fabulous dinner and went to an amazing concert. We saw the Trey Anastasio Band (lead guy from Phish) play and I'm even surprised to say this, but I really enjoyed myself. We ran into an old friend there and had a blast-Sober. It was pretty special to be in one of Gabe's old environments and to watch him have such a blast as a sober person. Great memories. Grace went and stayed with her Grammy and Poppi and Maddie stayed here at home with her Auntie Patrice. Both girls did really well and we were so thankful for the small break. It brought us back with a renewed energy for them :) Today we took Maddie and Gracie to get some pumpkins for Halloween. Lizzy gets here this week to visit and to trick-or-treat with Maddie, so we thought we needed to be festive. After driving for a few hours to Richmond and back, Gabe and I weren't interested in driving any more to go get pumpkins. So, we went to this really cute church that had pumpkins for sale. Maddie loved it and Grace slept through it (what else is new?:) Enjoy the pic's!

Hospital

Saturday was a nightmare! Actually, it all started Friday evening when I watched as Maddie's breathing became worse and worse and her breathing more labored and rapid. I started to Neb her, but it wasn't helping. I called the dr. in the middle of the night and debated taking her to the ER, but figured I could just take her to the pediatrician in a few hours. So, I waited, all the while freaking out (mostly in my head) about Maddie's breathing and the fact that she could barely take in air. We went to the pediatrician at 9am and by the time they'd tried 3 different breathing treatments and a course of oral steroids, they sent us to the hospital. They said she could be better monitored there and could get a chest x-ray. So, Gabe stayed with Grace at home and I took Maddie to the pediatric ER in Fairfax. There they gave her several breathing treatments, monitored her oxygen levels, tested her for the virus RSV (which it turns out is what she has) and did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. After 6 hours, we were allowed to go home and she had started breathing much better, but not normal in any way. She was seen again yesterday to make sure she was on the mend, and she is, but she can only talk a little before she starts coughing horribly and we are still doing Neb treatments every 4 hours for the next 2 days. It was a long, tough weekend, but we are doing better. Grace seems to be stuffed up now and not sleeping as comfortably as she has been, but hopefully her lungs will stay strong and not be affected how Maddie's were. Today we are laying low and trying to just get better. Hope your weekend was less eventful :)

Update

Maddie & Aibha playing in the park together
10-10-08
I'm sorry that I can't blog as much right now. Being a mom to a newborn and a 2 year old takes a serious amount of attention-and that's how blogging gets put on the back burner. I have lots to write about, just not lots of time. I'm sure as Grace gets a bit older, it may be easier to find time to blog. A quick update is that we are doing well. Maddie had her 2 year old check up today and we all got our flu shots; not Gracie-she's too young this year. We went and had pancakes after because Maddie was so brave (and we were starving :) Maddie and I just got back from playing at the park with Aibha, Siobhan and Aisling. We may not see them again until January!!! They are off to Ireland on Wednesday for a looooooooong time and we are definitely going to miss them. I've been seeing how fast weeks go by (Grace will be 6 weeks already on Monday!), and hopefully that's the case with our friends being gone. January will be here before we know it :) I need to mention here that I just had a long break from typing this post (dinner, Target run, babies to bed, etc.) and realized that Siobhan has already posted a comment similar to what I've blogged above :) So, it'll just be me and the girls for a few months without our little friends. Hopefully busy and not too lonely. Can't wait to hear about the flight with 2 little ones; it'll prep me for March :)

Quick Post

Just wanted to say that both girls are napping right now at the same time and so it seems I should blog and then go catch up on all the Project Runway's that I have TIVO'd :) It was a busy, awesome, at times stressful, memorable weekend and I have LOTS of pic's to post... hopefully I can get to that tonight. Hope your weekend was wonderful too.

Maddie's Birthday Celebration Part 1

Here's a link to see the pictures from Maddie's birthday celebration tonight at her Grandparent's house. We had a blast and by the end she was saying "more presents please?" Very cute :)
Click here to see the pictures.

Madeline's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Madeline Elisabeth!

Wow! I cannot believe she's 2 today... I was up with Grace at 4:30am and I thought to myself that 2 years ago and 2 hours before, Maddie had been born and my whole life changed. She's been such a blessing to me; there are barely words to describe my complete adoration for her. She's a loving, kind, funny little girl and without her I'd be totally different. I love the independence she's gained in the past 2 years, not to mention the amount of words :) She's a beautiful girl on the inside and out and that is ALL I ever wished for when I wished for her.

More Pictures...

Go Redskins!

Funny Face

Tired Mommy & baby

Tired Daddy & baby

Maddie today before we left for school :)

Just wanted to say that we're doing really well. Maddie is loving going to school and Grace is allowing us to get just enough sleep at night. We sleep in shifts, but at least we sleep! We are in planning mode for Maddie's 2nd birthday which is here next week! And we are getting ready for the girls' dedication ceremony which is next weekend. Lots to celebrate around the Mejias house :) I'm trying to take it easier than I have been; my midwife told me to yesterday. It seems that even though I feel great, I've been doing a bit too much too soon and I need to slow down. Hard to do with a newborn and a 2 year old, but I'm trying. Thank God I have a helpful hubby :) Speaking of Gabe, I'm so proud of him and really in awe. Today he celebrates 6 months sober!!! Actually, we celebrate 6 months. We've come to learn it's a family thing and I think we've done/are doing a lot of hard work. Gabe's sobriety is a miracle and to be able to see an actual miracle is a true blessing. It's a great day all around.