The news is officially out.....

Macie is going to be a big sister!!!!

March 1st, 2010 is the estimated due date for now.

We couldn't be more thrilled, and are looking forward to our new addition!

This is kind of hard to see, but her dress says "Big Sister in Training. Macie"

Some of the reactions we got to the dress (didn't quite go as planned):

"Oh, that's cute.....who bought that for her?"

"So cute, Big Sister in Training" (then just walks away)

"I don't get it, are you trying".

I realized we should have just gotten a shirt that said "I'm going to be a big sister". Guess since Macie is only 10 months old, it kinda threw people off that we are pregnant again so soon. Understandable!

They will be 18 months apart. I am a little scared, but I think it is a good "gap".

There's not much to see here, it was very early. Our last appointment was Tuesday and the little bean was at least 2x larger and moving around like crazy!!! Heart rate was 180 bpm.

We couldn't keep this a secret much longer as my belly is growing at an amazingly fast rate. Right now I look like I did with Macie at about 16ish weeks. It's crazy!!! All is well so far, BP is good, no weight gain. Not much to report so far.

10 Months

My Sweet Baby Macie,

Today you are 10 months old. Double digits??? How did that happen? This past month has been so exciting, and a very busy one for you. You are now crawling like a pro and nothing gets in your way.

Things you have learned: Independence, removing your diaper yourself, crawling at warp speeds to get into things that you know you shouldn't be getting into, clapping (and you are so proud of yourself), saying "uh oh", saying "hey dada, mama, papa", the mid-diapering "sneak away" maneuver, and standing (We have yet to witness this, but you did it at Grandma and Papa's house the other day).

I'm not sure that we were prepared for any of the above, but you sure are keeping us on our toes. I still watch you in amazement every single day. You are just such a little sponge and you try to imitate everything that we do, it's so adorable.

Now, about the whole bottle/sippy cup thing. Can you PLEASE just feed yourself? I know you can do it, I have seen it. Don't get me wrong, I cherish the times in the morning when you first get up and I give you your bottle. You are so cuddly and sleepy, it melts my heart when we lock eyes and I talk softly to you, and you get that little sparkle in your eyes. It's the times in between the first and last feedings that I just wish you would grab a hold of the bottle yourself. I know I am asking a lot- I don't want you to be so independent so fast, yet I am asking you to feed yourself- it's confusing I am sure. You do feed yourself solid foods and you want NOTHING to do with any of us feeding it to you. You love cheese, fruit, bread, yogurt, and your tried Dippin' Dots the other day at the zoo (that was a time I truly regret not having my camera on hand).

It's just been the most amazing 10 months of our lives. You have such a great disposition, you're funny, adorable, smart and the best thing that has ever happened to us.

I love you dearly!

Mommy

9 Month Pictures

Here are Macie's 9 month pictures. Kim does such an amazing job! It was a little more challenging this time since Macie is constantly on the move, it's near impossible to get her to sit still. Even the ones of her in motion turned out so good. Thanks again Kim, we love the pictures.

I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, but these pictures don't look as great as they do off the CD that Kim gave us. Errrr. They are incredible pictures and I am ruining them!!!
Ok, I figured out that if you just click on the pictures you can view them and they look much better.

First time in a big pool

We went to Wisconsin this past weekend to visit Kim, Mike, David and Dean. They have a pool at their house so I went out and bought an inflatable boat/raft for Macie. Of course I also had to get her a new swimsuit and hat too. She LOVED the big pool and didn't want to get out!

Kim was also kind enough to do Macie's 9 month pictures while we were there- thanks Auntie Kim! I will put those in the next post.

Macie's First 4th of July

I am playing catch up with the posts. Summers are so busy and there just isn't time to sit inside and blog.

Macie had her first 4th of July this year, and despite the weather she really had a great time.

My parents have a BBQ every year for the 4th since it's also my brother's b-day (the big 4-0 this year). We started out by going to our Hometown parade which is just blocks from their house. I grew up going to this parade every year so it was really cool to be able to bring Macie this year and experience some of my childhood memories. Macie sat so good through the entire parade and just watched everything go by. After the parade we walked back to my P's and hung out and ate. I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few from the day.

Happy 40th Birthday Uncle Mark!

Dear Uncle Mark-

Happy Birthday- you're old!!!! Hope you have a great Birthday!!!

Macie's 9 Month Appointment

Weight- 21 lbs. (90% percentile)- My little chunky monkey. I of course asked if we should be concerned about her weight and he said "not at all, she's perfect"....tell me something I don't know Doc!!!

Height- 28 1/4 inches (68th percentile)

Head- 18 3/8 inches (95th percentile) She's staying even in head measurement so no need for concern anymore.

Dr. says she's right on track with speech, motor skills, development.

Poor baby had a hemoglobin check (anemia) and they had to stick her finger- she was NOT happy about that. She finally calmed down from that and then the nurse came in and stuck her again for her Hepatitis shot. She's not anemic and she lived to tell about the shots!!!

Happy Third Anniversary!

Phil-

Happy Third Anniversary. You have made the last three years of my life wonderful. You are an amazing husband and father.

I Love You,

Michelle

And she's off.......

I have been such a slacker lately with the posts. Macie is so busy now which means I am busy!!!

She is officially crawling now. Before it was kind of scooting, and she was confused how to do it since she really is trying to figure out how to bypass crawling and just walk. There is something wrong with my camera right now so I am unable to get a video of it, but I do have some pictures of her that are pretty darn cute!

I think I can, I think I can....

Already up to no good!!!

The mischievous look.

She LOVES when Daddy stacks her blocks so she can knock them down.

Happy First Father's Day!

Phil-

Macie and I want to wish you a very happy first Father's Day. You are the best husband and Daddy we could ever ask for.

9 Months

My Sweet Macie Face,

You are going to be 9 months old tomorrow and I think I am in denial! You have officially graced us with your presence for a bit longer than you were in my tummy. I said it before and I will say it again- the almost 9 months that I carried you seemed like 9 years and it's because your Daddy and I were so anxious to meet you and study you! The nine months that you have been on the outside have gone so fast in comparison. We still study you, it never gets old! I know every roll, every crevice, every mark, every hair and every cute feature on your adorable little body. You change on a daily basis and I often find myself just starring at you in amazement that you can actually get cuter everyday.

This last month has been very busy for you. You finally said "Mama" for the first time. I definitely don't hear it as often as "Dada", but you do muster one out occasionally just to appease me. It works. You got two more teeth this past month too. You got the two top middle ones, and seems they are giving you a bit of a hard time. You are a bit more cranky than normal, but nothing some Tylenol and a teether can't fix. OK.....Backyardigans works too. If Mommy and Daddy can't entertain you enough to keep your mind off the pain, we resort to Pablo and you are all smiles as soon as he starts singing and dancing.

I thought for sure you would be crawling by the time I wrote this letter. You are so close and you get so frustrated. Daddy even gets down on the floor to show you how it's done. You do watch him and study his moves, but just can't quite get it. I would not be at all surprised if you just started walking and never crawled. You get up on your hands and your tiptoes and you try to kick one of your legs up.

You had your first and second overnight trips with both sets of Grandparents, and all in the same week. You're Daddy surprised me with an overnight trip, and then that weekend we went to Matt and Jessica's wedding. We missed you terribly, but knew you were in great hands.

You sure had a busy month and this is only the beginning of what's to come this summer.

I still start everyday with your beautiful smile, and it is a daily reminder of just how sweet and cute you are, and your Daddy and I are the luckiest parents on earth.

I love you my sweet face,

Mommy

Congratulations to Matt and Jessica

Matt and Jessica got hitched this past weekend. We went to Michigan for the wedding and they had an outdoor ceremony at a place called Castle Farms. It was really beautiful, and the weather was perfect. We had a great hotel room that overlooked the lake we're just sad we didn't get to enjoy it a little more.

We had a blast at the wedding and Jessica looked beautiful. Matt looked very handsome too!

Thanks for the great time!

A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Scimeca and Mary for coming to our house for the weekend to watch Macie while we were gone. We really appreciate it!

The new Mr. and Mrs. Weldon

The view from our room

Congratulations to the Nixons

We found out this weekend that they are expecting their first child!

Congratulations John and Kari, we are so happy for you.

They are due sometime in early December.

Congratulations to the Kaisers

Katie and Colin welcomed their first child on Friday, June 12rh.

Ashton John Kaiser

8lbs. 9oz.

21 inches long

Congratulations, we can not wait to meet him.

My 36th (ugh) Birthday!!!

For some reason I am having a really hard time with being 36. I was fine with 35, 36 is just CLOSER to 40......I guess it gets me thinking about how old I will be when Macie graduates High School and College. I wonder if I still have it "in me" to have another. I would love to but MY GOD, I am 36 and can my body handle another "difficult" pregnancy? Anyway, I do think about these things and they bother me more as I approach 40. I know many women have children at, or after 40, but it's just something that's on my mind lately.
Sorry, got off track there for a moment.
My absolutely amazing husband surprised me with a mini getaway on my birthday. He booked us a room at the Blue Chip Hotel and Spa in Indiana. We dropped Macie off at my parents (even under the circumstances, and much to my hesitation- not hesitant about leaving Macie there) for the night and headed to Indiana. The room was beautiful and we had a really great time. We had a very nice dinner, some drinks and we did a bit of gambling. I am a penny slots kinda girl and was not having the best luck so decided to give Blackjack a try. Much to my surprise I did very well!! Phil not so much.
I have ZERO pictures from the night out and I am really upset with myself for not getting any. It isn't really the kind of place that you carry a camera around and I am not really sure if they even let you. BUT, we had a great time!
Thank you Phil. It was so thoughtful of you to plan that. I love you so much!
Thank you Mom for watching Macie. I know she loved the one on one time that she got with you. Dad, sorry you didn't get to hang out with Macie. We are so glad you are out of the hospital and feeling a little better. Thank you both for allowing us a night out.
This was, by the way, our first time leaving Macie overnight anywhere. I know, she's almost 9 months! We did just fine and that's a good thing since we will be 6 hours away from her this weekend!!!
Thank you again!!!
XOXO

Ta Da.........

The reverse psychology worked, Macie said "Mama" for the first time today (sniff sniff). She has no clue yet that I am actually "Mama", but it's still cute to hear it!

You will have to endure this lengthy video and my obnoxious and annoying voice if you want to hear her actually say it. It's around a minute and a half before she actually says it- handy to know if you want to fast forward.

The Quest for "Mama"

Me: Macie, say "Mama"

Macie: Baaaaa Bo!

Me: No Macie, say "Maaaaaa Ma"

Macie: Dada

Me: Ok Macie, one more time (I lie) "Maaaa Ma"

Macie: La La

Me: Oh forget it.....close enough

Maybe if I say "Macie, say Baaa Bo La La" she'll say "Mama"........reverse psychology. I'll be back.

Humoring Daddy

Macie is very serious when she is watching Backyardigans. You just know not to stand in front of her, talk to her, change her, etc. when she is watching it. Here is a video of Daddy trying to have a conversation with Macie while she's VERY much into her show!!! She's definitely giving him the brush off/the courtesy glance.

Great Day

It was BEAUTIFUL out today and we took full advantage of it. We went for a long walk this morning, then we gathered up a bunch of things for Macie and brought them outside. She played outside most of the day and got to splash around in the pool for a bit. We even brought the pack and play outside thinking she might sleep in it, but she wasn't having it.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Macie and Daddy relaxing after a long day....too cute.

Some more cute pictures

We went to Susie and Nelson's last night to hang out and had a very nice time. Thanks again for dinner and for cutting my ratty hair!!! Macie had a great time with Jaden. He read her Goodnight Moon before she went to bed. He knows EVERY single word and it was so cute. I tried to get a video of it, but it turned out dark and I was too late....Jaden had read it once already by the the time I got the camera out and he wanted to "Rock" so I missed the opportunity.