my laundry helper

From Jenn: Makaela tried to help me with the laundry. Again, I am amazed at how many of my mannerisms she picks up...right down to my laundry habits.

Makaela's new advancement

From Jenn: Tonight, Matt and I were both putting Makaela to bed and since she has become very adamant on her wishes she had me reading her books and Matt positioned in the chair for her lullabye music. I had asked her to "Count the seals on the page" and normally, she doesn't count from 1- if we say 1, she says 2- so it's be has been a bit of an issue getting her to count from 1, but tonight she counted, 1-2-3 and then did it again. Honestly, when Matt and I looked at eachother, you would have thought we just discovered the next Einstein...needless to say, we were glad to know she has the first few #s down (especially 1)

Church temper tantrum

From Jenn: Today Makaela and I went to 5pm mass. She doesn't mind going to church so much because she can say her "Amens", shake hands with people and eat (snacking keeps her quiet). Today she was very bouncy- we had a few incidents where I caught her before she fell and one time when I wasn't quick enough. She bumped her face on the chair when she was bouncing back up. I finally calmed her down and then we headed up for communion. She was having fun making eyes at all the people we passed and feeling all grown up standing in line like everyone else, however, once we got up to the eucharistic minister, her demeanor changed abruptly. She watched the man in front of us get the communion and she promptly walked up and put her hand out, expecting to get communion too. The nice old man smiled at her and patted her on the head and she tried to back out of as if to say, "Oh no you don't buddy, I know what I'm here for". Then I got communion and started to walk away when I realized that Makaela wasn't next to me- she was still in front of the minister pouting, arm up, waiting for her communion. When I went back to get her, she threw down her arms in a huff and started whining- very loudly I might add. It was like she was thinking, "here I am trying to fit in and be a good Catholic and these big people won't let me". I couldn't help it, I just started giggling. I thought I was being ridiculous until I overheard and saw people pointing her out and laughing too. Guess my girl is too big for her britches- 2 going on 22.

From Matt: So Makaela and I got to spend some quality time together this week as she was sick with the croup. It has been a good time bonding with a sick toddler when all she says is "Einstein" and "no".
Einstein is her favorite DVD to watch and as she is a toddler, her favorite word is still "no".
We went to the park a couple of times, went to the pool when she wasn't contagious and went to Chuckie Cheeses which she loves...actually we went because I like it but that is neither here nor there...so after I got done riding all the rides and playing all the games I fed Makaela and we came back home to...that's right, watching more baby einstein. She seems to be doing better today, her cough isn't quite as rough and she seems to be breathing a lot better than Tuesday.

the croup

Poor Makaela woke up last night coughing like a seal. She was burning up and totally miserable. It was 4am, so I took her back to bed with Matt and myself so we could monitor her breathing. Luckily Matt was able to get a doctor's appt for her and we found out she has the croup. The coughing fits have interferred somewhat with her ability to hold her bladder right now (which of course makes her upset), but she has been such a little trooper. She is so cuddly right now and attached to Matt's hip when he is around. Hopefully she will get better soon.

happy bday grandma

From Jenn: my mom had to leave right before her birthday, so Kaela, Matt and I decided to take her out to Dixie's prior to her flight back to NY. No trip to Hawaii would be complete without getting sung to. We had a nice time with my mom- nice to have her here to distract us from the miscarriage and it was great to have Makaela get some bonding time with her grandma. We are so happy she could be around for Makaela's 2nd bday. Ahh, my two Virgos...

Itsy bitsy spider

Makaela put on a little performance for my mom and myself in the pool today. She is singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and trying to do the hand movements, but needed a bit of help. Look for the "Wipe the spider out" line in the song. She is definitely a bit expressive during this line.

Makaela's turns 2!

We had such a great time at Makaela's 2nd birthday party. We decorated sippy cups, had a bouncy house, made Elmo cookies, and even had a visit from Elmo. Everything was Elmo themed- even down to her Elmo bday shirt and tutu. The weather was great and all our friends came out to celebrate. Makaela was so excited to see Elmo- she ended up going to bed repeating the phrase "Elmo dance, Elmo dance". She had spun Elmo around so much, he got dizzy during the party. It is such a blessing to see her getting older and becoming such a little lady.

Our sad news

Just to give everyone an update, I ended up having a miscarriage. We had known for a few weeks that the pregnancy was not progressing at a rate doctors hoped it would, but we kept hoping for the best. It's been a surreal experience. Just a few weeks ago we were celebrating expecting a new baby, pulling out maternity clothes and searching for names and now, everything has to go back like it was before we ever took that pregnancy test. It's almost like the past few weeks haven't existed...or that they shouldn't have existed. It's difficult to go backwards when it is our human nature to move forward. And while we reveled in the celebration of Makaela's 2nd birthday, the irony of celebrating the life of one child and grieving over the loss of another was tough. Our friends and family have been more of a support than we have ever realized and we are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. Most of all, I feel so lucky to have Matt in my life because he is such a rock- so many people focus on the mother's role in a miscarriage, but forget that the father goes through just as much, if not more. He has sat through every doctor's appt, dealt with my emotional ups and downs and has beared this burden as well. I can only hope that Makaela (and any future children) inherit his sense of committment, compassion and perserverence.