California or Bust!

Well, it's about time for me to go to bed because I'm getting up at 3am! Our flight leaves at 6:30am out of Dulles and I want to leave plenty of time. This time tomorrow night, I'll be in CA. So excited, but nervous about flying with Ms. Squirmy Pants. Think of me early in the morning as I'm making my way across the country. And if you pray, pray for us :) I'll blog and hopefully post pic's of our trip as it's happening. See ya in 10 days VA...

Clothes, Books and Rocking Horses-Oh My...

Hello,
Maddie had her birthday party on Saturday and I think I've finally recovered :) It was A LOT of work-but Gabe and I really wanted to make it special-even though she'll never remember it! WE had about 20 people here in our small living room, but it was a blast. Maddie was napping as people were arriving, but she woke in time for her daddy's excellent BBQ chicken and baked mac & cheese (made from scratch). I made her 2 butterfly cakes (1 of which is still in the kitchen). I forgot to take a picture of the one we all ate, so the picture you see is of the 2nd cake. They turned out really well-I was determined. We opened presents and Maddie got a lot of warm clothes (we really needed), some toys, a book and a very special rocking horse named Velvet from her Aunt Janie and Aunt Patrice. She likes to pet his mane and she likes to ride him, but she needs help because her feet can't touch the ground yet! Tucker was pretty interested in Velvet too...I think he thinks we got another dog :) We tried to put her party hat on her, but she really hates to wear things on her head. Also, other people took pic's because I was so busy, so the pictures I have are few. Alexa is supposed to send me the ones she got online soon and then I'll post those.
We leave for California in 4 days and I'm excited, but also a bit nervous for the flight. We leave really early in the morning, so I'm hoping she feels tired and can rest. She has her new car seat now (thanks Nonni) and she'll be able to ride facing forward on the plane, so hopefully I can keep her occupied :) Gabe will meet us there about 6 days after we leave and then fly back home with us on the 29th. Just in time for Halloween. Maddie's costume came in the mail the other day and it's so cute. She's going to be a pumpkin (but the costume is a silky material) and it's really nice. I'm excited for her to dress up. I think that night we will be trick-or-treating with Siobhan, Aibha and Greg. Aibha will be a ladybug this year. I'm sure we'll have lot's of pictures from that.
So, we have a busy week ahead of us. Lot's to do to get ready to leave and I even want to try and fit in a pumpkin patch excursion :)

Big Scare :(

Hello All,
I'll start by telling you that Maddie is fine, but yesterday we did have a big scare. Gabe's Mom, Sandy, and I took Maddie to her 1 year appointment for a check-up and shots. Well, I already knew it would be a hard day because it's really hard to see and hear your baby cry (especially when they cry like that). The check-up was great. Maddie is now 18lbs 9oz, and 28" long. She's still in the 10th percentile (she's miniature). But, she's met every milestone and has even exceeded some, so the doctor was pleased. At her 1 year appt. she is supposed to have her finger pricked for the first time to look at her blood. That was pretty terrible. She flipped out and hated the woman who was doing it. So, the visit was over and we left and went on with our day.
Maddie and I were shopping for her new car seat when I got the call. It was the doctor from the morning saying that the number for Maddie's white blood cell count was really low and she needed us to come back so they could take her blood again and re-check it. Okay, "breathe" I thought. I seriously had a moment where it felt like a dream/nightmare; "this isn't happening." I asked her what "low white blood cells could mean", and she said "the first thing is to retest, and if that produces the same results then we need to find out why her bone marrow isn't making enough white blood cells." I told the doctor I would rush there with Maddie and I called Gabe to leave work and meet me.
The drive to the doctor was unlike anything I've ever felt. The worst ran through my head-"does she have cancer? is it because I've heated her bottles in the microwave? how will I be able to handle this?" I started to cry and pray "please let her be okay...she needs to be okay...please let her be okay...she has to be okay..." I felt like I was going to throw up and to be honest have NEVER been so scared in my whole life. She's so healthy and watching her get shots that morning had been incredibly stressful; I couldn't imagine watching a child go through any kind of medical treatment for a disease.
Maddie and I got to the doctor's quickly and they saw us right away. The doctor kept saying she was sorry to worry me and that Maddie seems so healthy, so it's probably nothing, but we need to retest to be sure. So, off we went to get her finger pricked again. That was a nightmare. As soon as Maddie saw the woman who pricked her finger earlier, she started to scream. She already knew what was going to happen. They took the blood and Maddie and I waited in the waiting room for the results and for Gabe. Gabe got there, and we waited for 15 minutes while Maddie played with another baby who shared her birthday. We made small talk with other parents, but I couldn't get my mind off of the results we were waiting for. I continued to pray in my head "she has to be okay..."
The doctor came out of the lab room and she gave us the thumbs up! "thank you, Lord," was my first thought. She came and told us that the number was totally normal and that it must have been a lab problem (like her blood clotted too soon in the tube before it was tested). She said the number is exactly what it should be and there's no need to retest in the future or follow up with anything. She's completely healthy.
I think facing that yesterday should remind us of several realities. I think we all take our health and the health of our children for granted, that life is truly fragile, and that the outcome of things is out of our hands. I'm so thankful today that she is a healthy little girl.

Pictures from last night's celebration...

Hello All, sorry no video from last night because we used our video camera instead and I think that's too long to upload, but I can take a look later. We went to Sandy and Carlos' last night for dinner, presents, a bath, and cake. It was fun. She liked looking at the candle when it was lit, and then she went straight for those raspberries; in fact, she ate them all! She liked them better than the cake itself :) What can I say, she loves fruit... We are getting ready right now to go to the Pediatrician's office for her shots :( It's scheduled around the time she get's tired, so I'm hoping she falls asleep on the ride home and wakes up happy so that we can go to Open Gym and see Aibha and Siobhan. We have lots to do to get ready for her party on Saturday, so I'm sure that will fill our next 2 days. Have a great Thursday!

Madeline is 1 Today

Maddie & Mommy 6:00am (just woke up!)

Good Morning to Everyone! Well, it's finally here. Maddie turned 1 this morning at 2:16am. Wow, how fast a year has flown by. I have to admit that last night I was SUPER emotional about today. I remember being in the hospital like it was yesterday and I'm sure I'll say that every time she has a birthday, even when she's turning 30 :) I was crying last night because I was feeling like she's no longer a baby-sort of like grieving her babyhood. I called my mom and she reminded me that even though Maddie is 1 now, she still needs me for a lot and has a lot of growing up to do. But, it's that whole blink of an eye thing that keeps getting me. We are only here for such a short time in the grand scheme of things. It's hard to see it fly by so quickly because it reminds me that as she gets older, I too am getting older. I mean, I have wanted to be a mom ALL my life, and the fact that I'm living that right now is wonderful, amazing, hard at times, etc. I guess I'm feeling like her and I were made for each other and what happens when she's grown up? I know, I know, you're thinking, "Sarah, she's only 1; get a grip." Well, here she is. This little person I had a part in creating. It's pretty amazing to have her in our lives and it's also hard to remember a life without her. I really believe that she is the best thing that's ever happened to me; without a doubt. She fills my days, makes me laugh, brightens my world, reduces me to tears and pushes my buttons.
For those of you that love her, thank you. Thank you for caring about her-I couldn't ask for anything more.
Happy 1st Birthday, Madeline Elisabeth...It's going to be a great year.

The Weekend is here...

Good Friday Morning to you! I'm here at the computer while Maddie is upstairs trying to fall asleep for her morning nap-wait, there's silence :) I think she fell asleep (yeah). We had a busy week. We've taken walks, been to Target (a million times), went to the grocery store, played at Gymboree twice, walked around the mall with Siobhan and Aibha, picked up my wedding ring (so pretty and now the wedding band is soldered to the engagement ring-much better), talked on the phone to Grammy Sandy in the hospital, went to doctor and discovered I have strep-throat, had sofa and chair steam cleaned, and many other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. In case you're reading this and don't know, Gabe's mom, Sandy, had knee replacement surgery on Wednesday and she gets out of the hospital today (finger's crossed). It went well, and she's there recovering, but they have her on a lot of drugs, so she's feeling pretty out of it. Gabe's been going to see her each day, but because I have strep and the baby isn't 12 years old (rules at the hospital) we aren't allowed to go see her. We plan to see her at the house tomorrow and keep her company for a while. Gabe's been really busy at work. Early mornings and later evenings than we're used to. Tomorrow he'll work and I need to figure out a cake recipe for Maddie's b-day next week. Cannot believe she's almost one. I'm going to save the sappy stuff for her actual day, but I've been going over it in my head. Sunday, Gabe is off to the Redskins game with his buddy Alex. Maddie and I are on our own. We are probably going to see Alexa and Ella once we decide what we want to do together. So, not much going on for us. We'll be around. There's only 5 days til' her birthday, and only 14 days til' we're back in California!!!!

Bathtime (Click play to watch)

Short Video

Only 8 days til' she's ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chilli, Cookies and Cornbread

Good Morning,
It's Monday and Maddie has decided to sleep in a bit (Yeah). It's 7:22am and not a peep, yet... Saturday was nice. Gabe was gone the whole day (sad)-he had to work and then to dog show and then back to work to bathe the show dog, and then home. Maddie and I got up early and went to the Farmer's Market in Old Town. We bought one large tomato, two apples, a loaf of sandwich bread, a mini blueberry bread, and a basket of brussel sprouts. I know, none of the items seem to go together, but that's sort of how the farmer's market is. Plus, it was fun to see how the selections have changed now that it's supposedly fall here. I say supposedly because even though the calendar says it's fall, sometimes the temperature says summer. Anyways, Maddie and I came home and hung out and then went on a nice long walk in the afternoon. It was a nice day. On Sunday, I woke up early and went to church. It was a good service and once again I was thankful that I could get there. I say that because often on Sundays, something will come up that will make it impossible for me to get to church-dog show, out of town, etc. I decided later in the day to make chili. I made it in the slow cooker and also made some cornbread to go along with it. Then I still had time and Maddie was napping and Gabe wasn't home, so I decided to make Halloween sugar cookies-and then decorate them with frosting and sprinkles. We took the food over to Gabe's parents house and fed everyone and they were saying that I had been "very domestic" that day. I said, "yeah, that and I was trying to fill my day..." Have a great week!

Dog Show

Today was a fun day. Gabe is showing a new bitch (dog lingo) named El Sea (get it, she's a Portuguese Water Dog), and Maddie, Aibha, Siobhan and I went to watch. The drive was a little longer than I had anticipated and in the middle of nowhere. But it was beautiful. It's always amazing to me that you can drive about 30 miles outside of DC and totally be in the country-we're talking few homes, lots of beautiful land, fences for miles-kind of country. It was great. Siobhan, the girls and I showed up just in time to see Gabe in the ring and win the puppy class with El Sea. Before you get too excited, he won because he was the only one in the ring, but I'm sure he also won because of his handling skills :) He didn't win "best of breed" so he was done pretty quickly. He had to head back to work and Siobhan, the girls and I stayed for a little while and walked around and looked at some of the other dogs that were being shown. Then we headed back to Alexandria. The girls were tired and a little cranky at that point, but they did well and Maddie was sound asleep for her nap when we pulled up at home. Gabe has dog shows for the rest of the weekend and depending on how I feel, Maddie and I may brave going out there one more time. We'll see. We don't have any other real plans for the weekend-hopefully just some time together and time to relax. We'll see...

How Many...

times a day can this child get hurt???? I will say that it's tough on the Mom when the baby becomes a walker because they get hurt sooooooooooooooooo much more often! Maddie had a big fall yesterday and now has a bump/bruise/scrape on the top of her forehead. I was scared after she fell, so I called the doctor and they told me to just watch her-but she's been fine since it happened, so no worries. Phew! Today we are going to see Siobhan and Aibha at Open Gym at Gymboree. That will be fun because the girl's haven't seen eachother in a couple of weeks and neither have the moms :) The pictures I've put up are just of Maddie and the past week or so. I can't believe her birthday is so close. Yesterday we went and got stuff for her party in Virginia. It should be fun and maybe Maddie's older friends, Ella & Aibha, can show her how to blow out a candle! Oh, and tonight, The Office, is back on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's an hour long (9-10pm) and I'm really excited. Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy are back on tonight too...very busy TV watching schedule :)

still just 2 teeth

Mad and Tuck...

doing what they do best...

she climbs on him and he doesn't care!

Favorite morning pasttime (tossing newspapers around)

Tuesday

Hello,
This morning was really cute with Maddie. She just LOVES the dogs and it's fun to watch. She likes to take the pillows off the couch and put them on the ground and pretend to go "nigh-nigh" on them. The dogs were laying right next to her and Tucker was licking her head and Zora was licking her foot :) It made her pause from all her movement and smile. Very cute to watch. I'm really noticing how she's becoming so much more like a kid than a baby. She'll be 1 very soon and her personality (comedian) is shining through. I can see the ways she's getting smarter too. Like, my flip-flops were off yesterday and she went and picked them up, brought them over to me and tried to put them on my feet. It's that whole thing where she understands but she can't talk yet. She says "Dada" all the time and says it to Gabe, but also to the dogs, garbage can, paper, etc. She says "nigh-nigh" when tired, but that can get confused with "num-num" which she says when she's hungry for food (not a bottle). She's learned to clap and loves to do it when music comes on. As her mom, I find the way she thinks and learns to be so interesting-probably more than most of you reading this, but I wanted to chronicle it so that I can remember it. When you're having a baby everyone tells you that it "will fly by" and I'm finding that to be so true. I'm really nostalgic lately for what last year at this time was like. I was VERY pregnant and so excited to meet her and so sick of being pregnant. But, a year later, I miss those feelings...

Home from Las Vegas

Okay, so we landed late last night and picked the baby up and came home and crashed. But, the highlight of our trip to Vegas is in the above video. Yesterday, on our final day in Vegas I wanted to go play my Wheel of Fortune slot machine over at the Venetian. Well, I played for a couple rounds and then we decided to get some breakfast. When we were done, the machine called to me. I went back and put $10 in. I played for a while and all of the sudden, I hit the jackpot!!! I won 1800 quarters or $450!!! It was awesome. Gabe and I were so happy and we left so that we didn't blow our winnings. Best trip ever!!! In Vegas, we also went to dinner at Tom Collichio's restaurant (the guy from TopChef) called Craftsteak, where I had the best lobster ever. We went to see Penn & Teller's magic show and took pic's with them and got autographs after the show. We went to the trade show for pet stuff (the main reason we went to Vegas) and we gambled. As we were leaving the hotel (The Wynn-which I HIGHLY recommend) John O'Hurley (Elaine's boss on Seinfeld) passed us as we waited for our bags in the foyer of the Wynn's Tower Suites! So much fun. We just had a really good time and while I really missed Maddie, it was a nice break. Today, we are back to the grind :)

Video & Recap of our weekend

Gabe and I were away on Saturday and Saturday night. We went to a beautiful wedding about an hour away and Maddie stayed with Sandy and Carlos. She did great-which is good, because we leave at 4:30am tomorrow morning for Vegas and they will be watching her again. We are headed there for a trade show and to have some fun. I'm writing this while trying to upload a new short video of Maddie from this morning. I spent a lot of time on Friday trying to upload a much longer video, but it took forever and then timed out! Frustrating. So, Siobhan, I'm trying :) Today, I have a lot to do. Laundry, take a walk (it FINALLY feels like Fall here :), play, clean, get the house ready for our house-sitters, pack, etc.
Back to the wedding. It was really amazing. Gabe's good friend since high school got married at her Dad's 300+ acre estate in Easton, MD. It was awesome. It was the first Jewish wedding I've ever attended, and I really enjoyed the ceremony. There was great food, a cocktail hour that included a sushi bar as well as passed hors d'oeuvres, then onto the reception. There were white flip flops available for every woman to wear instead of their heels (Thank God), a candy bar where you could choose any candy to take home with you, a live band that were sooooo good and lots of dancing. We had a blast.
Yeah, the video worked!! I have another one of her eating that I may try to put up too!

Wednesday 9-12-07

Hello All,
Well, I remember this day last year very well. I was 9 months pregnant and driving to visit Alexa and her new baby Ella when I got the call. My brother Dan and his wife Jen had a baby boy and named him Logan. I remember crying tears of happiness on the drive (very emotional when preggers) and just being so happy for them to have had a healthy little boy. It felt exciting and reminded me once again, that many women I know had had babies and in less than a month I would too. So, happy 1st birthday to my nephew Logan John!!! Today, Maddie, Gabe and I are going to the memorial service for their family friend who passed away over the weekend. Then it's home to do laundry while Maddie naps and hopefully finish the movie I started yesterday called "Desk Set." Lizzy loves classic movies and I always want to watch them, but I want to know ahead of time if they will be good. Well, she made me an extensive list and I've started ordering them through Netflix and I'm halfway through my first one. Lizzy, so far I LOVE it. Good choice. That's all for now. We're getting ready around here to leave Maddie on Saturday for the night (we are going to a wedding an hour away and staying there) and then we come home for 2 days and leave her again (we're going to Vegas for a trade show from next Tues-Thurs) so there seems to be a lot to do to get ready. I'm not so happy to be leaving her-in fact I'm sad, but I keep telling myself she won't remember this. Plus, it should all be very fun. Enjoy your day...

Season Opener

Hello All,
Hope you've had a great weekend. Sorry it's taken me so long to blog, but for some reason this week got really busy. Now we can relax. The pic above, is me today, tailgating with Gabe before the Redskins Season Opener. It was fun. I'm trying to hold up the chip I was eating to show you that it's in the shape of Idaho. I thought it was funny. Redskins won in overtime and normally I wouldn't care that much, but I've made a decision to try and not hate football so much. So, to help me not hate it, I'm trying to pay attention to it more. However, due to the +90 degree heat and humidity today, I spent a lot of time indoors in air conditioning. I now have a slight sunburn and feel pretty dehydrated. I tried to drink a bunch of water and only had a couple of beers, but it was way too hot for me. The point is that I spent a lot of time thinking about how hot I was feeling (and what ways I could alleviate that uncomfortable-ness) that I had a hard time understanding a lot of what happened in the game. Gabe understands and has admitted that I'm "kind of" a trooper. Guess that's better than nothing :)
So, looking at the week ahead. A close friend of Gabe's family passed away yesterday morning and so I know we will have his memorial service to attend-just not sure when. We also have to get ready to go out of town to a wedding next weekend-Maddie is staying with Carlos and Sandy overnight, so I need to get a few things ready for that as well. Elisabeth's birthday is tomorrow and Logan's is Wednesday and Jen's is next Sunday! Lot's of September birthday's in my family. I'm finishing up with my physical therapy this week (only 3 more sessions!!!) and then they discharge me until/unless I need more help for my neck. But, that brings to mind that another thing I need to do this week is find out where I can get acupuncture for my neck issue. I'm really interested in trying it out. Lot's of people swear by it. So, that's the week so far. We will also be doing Gymboree and seeing Siobhan and Aibha (our buddies). Sounds pretty full. I promise to blog many more times this week...

Check this out...

Here's Maddie walking this afternoon! Enjoy.

Worth a thousand words....

Sick!

Hello All,
We had a very uneventful Labor day because all 3 of us are SICK! Maddie has been fighting this for a week or so, and now Gabe and I have it. Yesterday was the worst. We were both bed and couch bound, low energy, nauseous, coughing, runny nosed...you get the picture. We were supposed to do a BBQ at Sandy and Carlos' house, but that plan didn't work out. We took lots of Dayquil and then Nyquil to help us feel better today. Gabe went to work and I'm home with the baby, and our plan is to take it easy. Bummed because it's Gymboree today, but we won't go and make everyone else sick too! We may venture out to the grocery store, but that's looking like that's all we'll do today. Sorry there's not much going on for me to blog about. Hope you all had a fun Labor day and I'll write when there's more to say. Oh, and many of you know (either because I've talked to you on the phone or I've seen you in person) but Maddie is walking. She's been walking for about 2 weeks or so-but she's really gotten the hang of it (and chooses it generally over crawling) for the past week. It's really cute because she's small and still looks so much like a baby-I think it surprises people.

Sunday, 9/2/07

Hello,
Well, I'm barely awake. I had the luxury of sleeping in (7:14am) while Gabe got the baby, fed her, walked dogs, fed dogs, unloaded the dishwasher and made coffee!!! Yesterday afternoon we had some friends over for a BBQ and to hang out since we hadn't seen them in a while. Zach, Faith and Alex all came and we had Cherry Cola Ribs and TONS of other food. It was a lot of fun. We found out that Zach and Faith are pregnant and due in March-which was really exciting as they have been trying for a while. It was great news because now maybe we will see more of them. It's hard with a lot of Gabe's friends, because we are the only one's with a child. With my friends it's different-everyone seems to have at least one :) Not sure why; probably girls vs. guys. Many of Gabe's friends aren't even married-so we both understand why we don't see them all that often. Although, Gabe's excited because he and Alex are going golfing when I get home from church. They spent a lot of time yesterday re-gripping Gabe's clubs and now he can't wait to try them out. As for me, I'm off to church, then home with the baby. Later, Sandy will take her and I'm going shopping for a dress for the wedding we're going to in 2 weeks. It's a really fancy wedding (I've heard) and Siobhan lent me a dress (thank you) but Gabe didn't think it was fancy enough-so the hunt is on. It's too hard to shop for and try on dresses with Maddie with me because now that she's a walker, she only will be happy in the stroller if it's moving-otherwise she figures, "let me out! I wanna walk!" She is getting so coordinated at walking and I love her determination. She falls (a lot) but she always gets up again-I hope this will be her take on life :) Happy Labor Day (tomorrow) for those of you that work and those of us who've gone through labor :) :)