Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Here are some photos of my littlest Valentines ~

Emma getting ready to give Hannah a V-Day kiss (By the way, check out Emma's eye lashes!)

Hannah Sue's 1st Valentines

Emma, sporting her new shirt from Uncle Joe and Aunt Jill, who came to visit us this weekend

Emma in her Cupcake shirt, on her way to the Valentine party at daycare

Emma's goodie bag and Valentine's from friends at daycare

These are the Valentine's Emma took to give her classmates

An Interview with Mandy

I'm getting addicted to surveys/games, etc. So, this one is where you are given 5 interview-type questions from another blogger to answer and post. If you play along, I get to pick 5 questions for you! Here we go...

1. If you had to pick one personality trait to pass on to your children from both you and your husband, what would it be? Are there any personality traits that you would most definitely not want to pass on?
This is tough. A trait from Kevin is pretty easy- he is a peace-keeper and I hope that trait passes on to our girls. He is so gifted at seeing the Greater Need of a situation. He encourages others to let things go, to reconcile and is able to swallow his own frustrations for the sake of relationships. I'm amazed at his even temperment and ability to forgive. I pray this is something he continues to demonstrate and teach our girls. If I had to pick something I hope he doesn't pass on to our girls, I would have to say driving agression/frustration. Not quite to the level I would say Road Rage but it's close. (Love you, honey :)
From myself, I hope that our girls gain my sense of compassion. From a young age I have always been able to feel great empathy and compassion for those around me. One those I know are hurting, I hurt with them. When there is a joy, I rejoice with them. In our current culture, I think it's often too easy to become very egocentric and have little regard for our fellow man and I hope I'm able to show my girls it's important to share in life's trials and blessings with each other. I hope I do NOT pass on my procrasination to the girls. Dude, it's bad. Example, my c-section was scheduled for Jan 26th; I only delivered 4 days early and my hospital bag was not packed. Sad, I know.

2. Out of all the books you have read, which book has had the strongest impact on you and why?
Other than the Bible for its obvious reasons I would have to say Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I think he makes a very raw, very honest look at the struggles Christians face such as losing enthusiasm, "betrayal" by other Christians, the mundane doldrums, etc and how we can address and deal with it. As he explored all of his short-comings and frustrations and times of discouragement on his walk with Christ, I felt like it was a manuscript for my own faith journey. In the end, he realizes, as does the reader, that while we may not always "feel" consistent and faithful, God is.

3. If you had to change careers, what would you do instead and why?
This is going to sound so boring but I would love to do a job where all I did was data-entry or crunch numbers. No phones ringing, no customers/patients to deal with, no interaction with the public. Give me a task to do with instructions and then leave me alone to do it. My job requires me to spend alot of time dealing with patients and talking on the phone. I hate the phone so much that I sometimes take it as a personal attack when it rings. Hmph, I love my job but sometimes I think it would be so nice to not have to see or talk to anyone. :)

4. If you had to choose the best meal ever, from appetizer down to dessert, what would it consist of?
Alright, this is going to be so non-sophisticated or fancy. First, a blooming onion from Outback. Then, a house salad from Pasta House. This would be followed by the jambalaya from Brew Co and ended with creme brulee from Nonna's. Mmmm. Oh, and I would have ice water with no lemon and sweet tea. :)

5. As a parent, and considering the world we live in, which things make you excited for their future? Apprehensive?
It is easier for me to start with things that make me apprehensive. It makes me so sad when I see how sexualized and image-driven our current culture is, especially for girls. It seems to get worse with each decade and doesn't show any sign of slowing down. I fear the day when one of my children come home wondering if she's pretty enough, skinny enough, fancy enough. Or if she feels that she must give of herself to a boy to gain his love and affections. I'd like to naively think we don't have to worry about this until the teen years but I know that's not true.

That being said, I'm excited that Emma and Hannah can potentially have every opportunity afforded to them. They can participate in athletics, academics and the arts. They can pursue any collegiate field they want or they can choose to be a homemaker. Mostly, I'm just excited to see God's plan for their lives and how He uses them.

If you would like to play along here are the directions:1. Leave me a comment & your e-mail address saying, "Interview me." If you dare.2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (You get to choose the questions.)
The first five 'askers' get the interview!

Hannah vs Emma

It's interesting for us to see the differences that are emerging already between Hannah and Emma when she was first born. Appearance wise, they look so similar. Hannah has a little more hair and it's darker but their facial features are spot on.

Emma, 1 week old vs. Hannah, 1 week old

Their tempermants and preferences are turning out to be complete opposites, though.

Size:

Emma was a petite baby and is still low on the growth curve for size. She was 5lb 14 oz when born and was slow to put on weight, although she was very healthy and "normal." At her 2 month well baby check, she was a little over 8 pounds.

Hannah was born about a pound heavier at 6 lb 9 oz. She went for her 2 week check today. The goal for 2 weeks is to be back at birth weight; she's that plus a pound! 7lb 9 oz! She's already about to pass where Emma was at 2 months!

Sleep:

Emma could only sleep when she was tightly swaddled with a cap on her head until she was about 2 months old. My parents used to laugh and say she was going to go to Kindergarten swaddled and nicknamed her Swaddle-Butt.

Hannah has hated being swaddled from the day she was born. She doesn't like being wrapped in a blanket and would rather stretch her limbs out when sleeping. She doesn't like caps either.

Emma sleeping vs. Hannah sleeping

Eating:

Emma was a grazer. She would casually nurse or bottle feed for 20-30 minutes and never eat enough to be full. This led to her wanting to eat every 1-2 hours for the first two months. Finally, around 2 months, she would start taking about 3 oz at a time and would go 3-4 hours between feedings.

Hannah eats quickly, in about 5-10 minutes and is already eating 3 oz per feeding and going 3-4 hours in between. Perhaps this is why she's about to pass her big sister up on stats...

Diaper Diaries:

Poor Emma could never, um, go "potty" as often as she should. It wasn't that she was constipated, she just never felt the stimulus that she had to go and so we had to help stimulate her to make her. Gosh, I think this went on from birth until she was about 6 months old.

Hannah fills her diaper about every hour. Enough said.

But, both girls are precious and sweet. I keep realizing that I've been assuming they would be the same but they're not. I think that's awesome, though. We'll see if the trend continues as they grow older.

Today's letter is "B"

My SIL Mae is playing a fun game on her blog. She was "assigned" a letter from another blogger and had to come up with a list of 10 things she loves that begins with that letter. She has assigned me the letter B. If you want to play, comment me and I'll pass on another letter to you!

(I'm feeling kinda lazy so forgive me for not uploading pics with mine. Also, this is in no particular order)

1) Burgers. My palatte is very un-sophisticated. I would take a yummy burger and fries over steak any day. And, I'm sad to admit, I love fast-food burgers. I know they are so bad for me but they're so tasty. My fav is probably the Big Mac. Ahh, I should probably try to steer clear of them for a while though since I'm not really digging the whole "post-second-baby-body."

2) Babies. Granted, I love my own 2 babies best (with friends and family's babies coming in after that) But, I have always loved babies. I can't resist their little gummy grins and soft skin. I've often said that one of my favorite smells in the whole world is a baby's breath. I love how dependent they are on us, how trusting they are and how non-judgemental. I have a horrible singing voice but Emma will still snuggle into me at night when I sing You Are My Sunshine to her. There are days when I think it would be so fun to work in a daycare and hold babies all day. (Then I remember that there is usually lots of pooping and puking and decide I'm doing well enough to take care of my own)

3) Boyfriends. Well, just 1 actually. My wonderful husband Kevin was also my first "real" boyfriend in high school. Now I know that all husbands start out as a boyfriend, but not all of them are 16 and play on the soccer team. Although we had lots of drama in our highschool dating years, I love being able to look back at the early days and have memories of him at that stage in our lives. Working on homework, going to games, and rushing home for curfew and some of my most cherished moments with him. Ugh, I'm so glad we grew up though :)

4) Breakfast. Breakfast food is probably my favorite. We rarely eat anything for breakfast beyond a cereal bar or instant oatmeal, but when we go out for breakfast I'm in heaven. I have this horrible habit of wanting to eat all of my favorites during such fantastic occassions and I over-order and over-eat. This usually leads to me feeling crummy and needing a nap. In case you're wondering, my favorites are biscuits & gravy, sausage, pancakes and hashbrowns.

5) Back rubs. Do I really need to say more?

6) Buying stuff. Ok, so this is a little stretch for starting with B but I can't help it. I love to shop and I'm really starting to love online shopping.

7) Books. I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. The last several years, I go through spurts of reading several books back-to-back and then taking a break for a few months. I've always read fiction until the last two years; I've started really getting into Christian literature. Some of my current fav authors are Rob Bell, Donald Miller, John Ortberg, Max Lucado and Lee Stroble.

8) Brain-teasers. I have several puzzle books full of brain-teasers, logic puzzles, word puzzles, etc. When I feel bored, I'll bust them out and be nerdy for an hour or two. It's not so much about exercising the brain, I just think they're kinda fun. Kevin thinks I'm weird.

9) Baked goods. Mmmmm, I love cake, cupcakes, pie, cookies, candy, etc. I never used to be in to sweets, but since my first pregnancy I've had an insane sweet-tooth. Again, not doing so much good with those burgers for my post-babies-body. My best defense is to not let any of the stuff be in the house. Of course, that requires self-restraint in the grocery store...Oh, well, you can't win them all :)

10) Buddies. I'm blessed with many great friends (including my awesome in-laws). A girl can never have too many shoes or too many best buds.

A trip to the ER...

Yesterday was an eventful day for us; we spent the afternoon in the ER. Ugh. I woke up Sunday morning with a little bit of a headache. It felt like a sinus headache so I took some ibuprofen and a Sudafed. We went to church and spent the rest of the afternoon at home. By evening, my headache was getting worse and worse. Kevin decided to check my blood pressure and it was running around 150/100- not good. Since it was the middle of the night at this point and both girls were sleeping, we decided to try to tough it out and see if things got better by morning. Well, they did but by 11AM it was building back up again. I really didn't feel like I could tolerate the pain anymore and was a bit worried about my blood pressure so we headed in to the ER (where Kevin works). Long story short, they gave me some meds to bring my blood pressure down, ran some tests to make sure I wasn't developing pre-eclampsia post-partum (I'm not, thank goodness), and gave me several different meds to relieve the pain. Finally, around 4 pm, I was completely drugged up and pain free. I'm so thankful that the pain has not returned!!

Kevin was so supportive and really took care of me and the girls for 2 days. I know that he hasn't had much sleep the past week and he's been working. I don't know what we would do without him!

Emma was very proud to wear a Big Sister shirt to church on Sunday. This was the first opportunity for a lot of our friends at church to meet Hannah and congratulate Emma on her new status. Hannah slept the whole time we were there :)

She's still been a pretty easy baby for the most part. She will have at least one 4 hour sleep session at night and sleeps most of the day. She's eating about 3 oz every 2-4 hours.

Thanks, again, to everyone who's been sending prayers and warm wishes our way. We're excited for everyone to get a chance to meet our new little angel and hope all is well with you!

Snowed-In

There's been a lot of ice and a bit of snow fall in the last few days. The roads have been pretty icky (I hear) and folks have spent a lot of time with their ice scrapers trying to get into their cars. I've never been so glad to be at home with nowhere to go! ha

Hannah is doing awesome and fits in with our little family just perfect. She's continuing to nurse well and is a great sleeper. I've actually managed to get 5-7 hours of sleep at night and feel pretty rested during the day. Emma is really taking to her role as a big sister. She likes to come give Hannah kisses and pat her head. I'm so thankful that Emma hasn't shown any signs of resentment or jealosy of her little sissy. She's still our happy, lovey girl.

I was really excited to get a package in the mail I had ordered a few weeks ago. I ordered some "Big Sister/Little Sister" shirts for the girls off of Etsy and they are soooo cute. It will probably be a month or two before Hannah will fit into hers but I think they'll be great for having some fun pictures taken.

Thank you, again, to everyone for your love and prayers. We are doing awesome and can't wait for all of you to meet sweet Hannah. Check back often for updates.

We're home

Wow, what an amazing 4 days! We brought sweet Hannah home from the hospital yesterday and we are all doing amazing. Hannah is finally nursing well (she was pretty lazy the first few days and didn't seem to think nutrition was important! haha) I am still sore but feeling better by the hour. Last night, we actually got quite a bit of sleep and I have felt pretty energized today and only took 1 nap. Lets cross our fingers that the same will transpire tonight.

I'll post more updates as I have time. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support. We love you all! ~Kev, Mandy, Emma and Hannah~

A walk in the park.......

So I think this is officially my second post on here; the first was due to similar circumstances..... I apologize for the delay but we would like to introduce everyone to Hannah Sue Costello, born 1-22-09 at 9:56 pm. She weighed 6lbs. 9oz. and was 19 1/2 in. For those keeping track that is a little early but everyone is doing well.

Thursday started out like any normal day except with a projected high in the 60's which is not too bad for January, and while I was sleeping from working last night Mandy took Emma for a walk in the park and some swing time.

After that they came home, Emma took a nap and Mandy went to her last pre-baby OB appointment. While there her B/P was up a little and the Dr. thought it best to keep her and deliver her that night. Survey says........

All in all things went very well. Mandy tolerated the c-section well, and it was pretty quiet throughout the L&D world, so there was plenty of help and no need to rush (unlike last time). Here are some PICS of the event-

I'll try and get all the pics up on Picasa and what not but for now these will work. Your thoughts and prayers have meant everything to us during this time and we ask that you continue to keep us in your thoughts, especially me as I am now outnumbered 3:1 on the homefront! Love to all

Getting so close

I really can't believe we only have 4 days left as a family of three! This pregnancy has went by so fast and I'm getting anxious to meet our new baby girl.

I'm so glad that I took this week off. Practically, I had some last minute errands and stuff to do at home to get ready. (I still need to pack my bag, though- eeek!) But I think having some peaceful days before the chaos is doing my soul some good. I've spent a lot of time in prayer and Bible reading. I've taken a nap every day (such a treat)! I've spent some awesome 1 on 1 time with Emma. And, I've just had some quiet time to reflect and be thankful. Things definately haven't always went the way we've wanted them to but we really are so blessed beyond anything we deserve. I am truly thankful for and humbled by my amazing husband. I can't even put appropriate words on a Blog to describe the blessing he is to us but I hope he knows we love him and wouldn't trade him in for the world :) We have an amazing, supportive family who lifts us up and loves us unconditionally. And, our church family has also been incredible with encouraging words, prayers and friendship.

So, I'll keep you updated and will try to be sure and get a parting belly-shot picture before the big day. We love ya'll and are so thankful for you!!

1 Week! ...and counting

I am so excited to know that by this time next week our sweet baby girl will be here. I can't wait to see her little face and kiss her little toes. I have a fair bit going on this coming week and am hoping it will help pass the time quickly.

Friday was my last day of work and the start of my maternity leave. I kicked off the "break" on Saturday by getting a pedicure and my hair done. Some fabulous folks at work got me a gift certificate for the pedi and it felt so relaxing. I found myself thinking, "I should get one of these every week!" Kevin may disagree... But, I'm glad that I will have some fabulous toes while lying in a hospital bed!

Sunday I went to church in the morning and attended a meeting for the church nursery. Then, that night we went back to church for a free viewing of Fireproof. If you haven't seen this movie, you must! It is such a great film about having a God-centered marriage, forgiveness, grace, overcoming problems, etc. It really touched Kev and I and I'm sure we'll watch it again.

Today, Kev and I had lunch with some awesome friends, David and Carrie. Their daughter Erin is about 5 1/2 months older than Emma and Hannah will be about 5 1/2 months older than their second baby!! We're so excited that they are expecting again and can't wait to meet Baby Lee in July. :)

Tomorrow will be full of cleaning, some errands and hopefully a nap. My sister-in-law Mae and baby Isabelle are coming to stay with us on Wednesday and will be here through Hannah's birth. We haven't got to see Isabelle since Thanksgiving and can't wait to kiss her and see how big she's gotten!

More updates will follow. Thanks to everyone who's been praying for and supporting us!

So Blessed

This week has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. Partially, I'm sure, because I'm hormonal and uncomfortable and literally days away from delivery. But, it's also been stressful trying to tie up loose ends at work, get a new person trained and also deal with the logistics of some of my "management" duties.

At the end of the day on Tuesday, I was ready to throw in the towel. There were some administrative issues being discussed and worked on and I was getting really frustrated and feeling overwhelmed because it felt like noone understand my view on things. I was really doubting my role as a manager and whether I was cut out for it. Needless to say, I had a little pity party for myself Tuesday night and was really bummed.

Yesterday I came to work and the day started like any other. Right before lunch, though, one of my staff called me and suspiciously told me to not make any lunch plans and to come down to the clinic at noon. When I went down, all my staff were there as well as the providers I work with and some others- they had decorated and thrown me a surprise baby shower! There was pizza and a cake, tons of cute decorations, and loads of gifts for sweet Hannah. It was so unexpected. As we all sat and visited over lunch, I felt so blessed.

Not just because we were given gifts (that is a huge blessing) but because I had people who cared about and supported me. These folk that just the day before I was doubting whether I served them well or did a good job, affirmed for me that I'm doing alright! It really uplifted me and kicked my butt out of my pity party. I'm so thankful for my job and all the people there.

Out of Character?

I'm not a big fan of kids' clothes with cartoon characters on them. It's not that I don't think they're cute or fun, it's just not my thing. So, I've purposely avoided buying Emma hardly anything that has a character on it. When she's a toddler and begs for Elmo pajamas or Dora tennis shoes, I'll totallly comply. It's only a short period of time that I can completely control her fashion preferences :)

Lately, though, I have kinda fell in love with the Disney Princess stuff. They're not characters that Emma recognizes. She sorta knows who Mickey and Whinnie the Pooh are and she like the Imagination Movers. But, I know there will be a day in the near future when she'll be like every other little girl (including myself) and fall in love with all the Disney movies and princesses. In preparation for this special day, I bought Emma a Disney Princess nightgown. I love it. It's soft and minky with a sheer overlay. I think she likes it too. What little girl doesn't like to pretent she's a princess? So, I'd like to present Princess Emma, all ready for night-night.

1st Dentist Appointment

Yesterday, I took Emma to her very first dentist appointment. I've been meaning to get her in since she turned 1 but it just didn't work out until now. I'm pretty lucky that my work also runs a state-of-the-art dental clinic, complete with pediatric specialists. Kevin and I go there for our dental care and now, so does Emma.

At this age, they primarily check that their baby teeth are coming in as they should, there's no decay present, and educate parents on oral hygiene. The dentist said they'll probably try to get her first set of x-rays around age 2 and start doing in-depth cleanings around 2 1/2 to 3.

Although I was excited to finally get her in, Emma was not happy. I must admit, she did better than I thought she would. She got really scared as soon as we walked back to the dental chair, before anyone touched her. I think part of it was because it was a new environment but there's also such a distinct smell in dental offices- something she had never smelled before. She calmed down a little bit when the hygienest let her pick out a new toothbrush. She chose a red one with Darby and Buster on it (from Whinnie the Pooh).

Thankfully, the dentist said her teeth look very healthy and clean. She has 12 teeth and is in the process of cutting her two upper canines. She goes back in 6 months for a check-up.

On another note, I'm really glad it's Friday. We have some errands to run this weekend, a few last minute things before the baby comes. Also, I'm going to a birthday dinner tomorrow night for my dear frined Jenell. Hope you all have a great weekend!

As Promised

Prego Mandy on Christmas morning

Emma making some eggs and vegetable medley with her new frying pan

The little movie star in her fancy new coat from U. Dave and A. Cort

Just woke up and ready to dive under the tree

All bundled up and ready to go out on a chilly day

Too long!

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I've made a post. I must admit, I've recently gotten into the Facebook craze and have been posting a lot pics and tidbits on there. I will try to give you a bit of an update and will post some pictures when I'm at home.

On the pregnancy front:
My blood pressure has been holding steady. It's elevated a little above normal but at this point my doctor is just keeping an eye on things. I have a c-section scheduled for January 26th. That's 21 days from today and it is approaching fast! I'm really getting excited and can't wait to meet sweet Hannah. It's surprizing to me how different I'm feeling and thinking about this delivery in comparision with Emma.

• I'm not in a hurry. With Emma, I couldn't wait for her to be here. Obviously, I didn't want her to be born prematurely or have health issues but if I thought she could be born at 30 weeks just perfect, I totaly would have been in :) This time, I'm still anxious but I'm trying to relish our last weeks with Emma as our only baby, get things ready at home, sleep and tie up loose ends at work. I know Hannah will be here in God's perfect timing and I'm content with that.
• I'm not afraid of delivery. Not that I'm a "pro" by any means, but at least I have an idea of what to expect this time. With Emma, I would break into tears anytime I even thought about delivery because I was so fearful of what it would be like, how I would handle it and recover, etc. Even though having a c-section is not ideal, my first experience was a good one and I'm not afraid of the procedure itself or the recovery. I think the hardest pary will be the fact I won't be able to pick up Emma for a while. Love and affection aside, she'll only be 16 months and it's still a necessity in daily activites to lift and carry her some. Hopefully she (and I) will be able to get creative and make it through the first few weeks. Kevin will be around quite a bit and I know he'll be awesome at helping with that sort of thing.
• I'm a little sad. I'm not sad that Emma might feel a little jealousy or that her routine may be jostled. Those things aren't great but I know it's part of being a family and being a sibling. I'm just a little sad that she won't be our only baby anymore. From the beginning, we felt in our heart that we wanted at least two children and for them to be close in age. We still feel this is the right thing for our family and have no regrets. I just wonder what it will be like to have two to focus our attention on. Emma truly has been pure joy in our lives and we feel so blessed to be her Mommy and Daddy.

We are so excited about her upcoming arrival and can't wait to introduce her to all of you! My step-mom will be coming on the 25th and will stay for a week to help take care of Emma while Kev and I are at the hospital and for that we are very thankful!!

On to Emma-

That girl is growing and learning so much every day it's crazy! She's 15 months now and is so smart. Here are a few new "tricks" she's learned:.

• she knows her hair, eyes, nose, ears, tongue, teeth, belly, arms, legs, feet and butt
• she knows the sign motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Wheels on the Bus, If you're Happy and You Know it..., and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
• she says Mama, Dada, Emma, thank you, shoes, eyes, no, yes, bye-bye, bubbles, bath, ball, uh-oh, more, Jack, Baby, kitty, yum-yum, binky, and so many more. She picks up new words every day and we're constantly looking at each other and saying, "Did she just say _____?!"
• The girl can dance! She used to just bounce a little bit when she heard music. Now she has a repretoire of moves. She shakes her hips, stomps her feet, she'll spin in circles, wave her arms, bounce, or any combination. She's got soul but I don't know where she got it!
• She's learning how to help "clean up" She knows where her shoes and books go and will help me put them up. I try making it fun and like a game and so far I've got her fooled :)
• She's starting to pretend play. She is totally a girly-girl. She has a bunch of those plastic rings that interlock together. You know, they ones that make a chain and you can attach other toys to them? Yeah, well she's discovered that they make good bracelets. I don't wear bracelets nor have I ever showed her how to put them on her wrist but she's figured it out. She'll put several on each wrist, put a purse on her arm and wrap an article of clothing around her neck like a boa and strut around the house. It's adorable and she's totally decided to do it all on her own. She's also started babying her babies. She will now wrap a blanket around her kitty and lay him down like he's sleeping. Super cool stuff.

I could go on but you're probably sick of reading! I'll post some pics from Christmas and my ever-growing belly. I promise I'll try to update more often (at least for the next few weeks until I'm in zombie mode) Hope all is well with each of you and that we see you all soon!!