A Few Notes - Happy December!

It's here...Christmas week!


Wow! I am so excited about this week! We have been having so much fun this year, creating new Christmas traditions, and reviving our families traditions with Aristana. She's totally up on how Christmas works, both religious and secular. What's even better, is that I have found a renewed faith over the past six months, and am personally feeling so completely surrounded by God's love! I have not felt stressed out once by the culmination of birthday/Christmas/Baby preparations this month. Know why? Because none of that stress matters! I have gained a much clearer understanding of God's plan for me, and the true appreciation of Jesus having died for my sins. I don't deserve the amazing gifts in my life, but can tell you that I never take them for granted! I can live in peace, through good and bad, knowing that I don't control the situation. Thank you Lord!

Bellevue Fire Department Kids' Christmas Party



This was our third year participating in the Bellevue Fire Department's Kids' Christmas party. Again, with Aristana's age, it was so cute. She was so nervous about Santa coming, and could not contain her emotions when he walked in the room. She started with a cute giggle, which quickly led into a non-stop nervous giggle. Her body couldn't stop moving, and she would run a few feet, and run back to Mike. She'd dig her head in his lap and just laugh. Then she'd look at Santa again, and do it all over again.





They provide a gift for each child, so Santa called her name to come up by him.
Oh. My. Gosh. It was HILARIOUS! It took about a minute to get her up there, because she was so excited and couldn't stop running around. I took her up there, and she sat on his lap. She giggled the whole time, still with the nervous laugh, and even had Santa laughing after a short time. After she received her gift, we went back to our table, and she completely decompressed. Once that adrenalin wore off, she was pooped... in a matter of a minute.



After that, she had to check out all the engines, police cars, and utility vehicles at the department. She's such a boy (okay, in a cute red dress). She has a thing for Tracy, the female police officer on the Bellevue department, so maybe she'll follow in her footsteps someday. As of now though, she still wants to "fix railroad tracks" when she grows up.



Moving on...
I had another doctors appointment yesterday, for a non-stress test for baby. She again, did a great job, and passed with flying colors. I however, got my iron results back, and my levels continue to drop. It is due to my gastric bypass. I am eating a ton of iron, but my body isn't absorbing it, and baby is taking everything she needs (which is very good). The result? I'm soooo exhausted, and have an uncontrollable desire to chew ice...all the time (PICA). For those of you not familiar with PICA, it could be worse. I could crave dirt, metal, or duct tape or something like that. I'll stick with the ice. Unfortunately, my doctor and my OB (the doctor's wife) are gone until the first week of January, out of the country. My other OB is out this week for Christmas. I have a nutritionist that is working with the on-call doctor, and suggesting options that I know my OBs didn't want to pursue. It's just a bit confusing and frustrating. A week from now, I'll have had my next ultrasound, and hopefully some more answers. I just need some patience.

Catching Up... to a busy month!

Here's an update of some of the events that have gone on since I wrote in October...

AUTUMN IN WISCONSIN...
As much as I truly feel like I'm not a true Wisconsinite, considering my disdain for the cold weather, I absolutely love the other three seasons. Aristana loved playing in the leaves this year, and helping Dad outside with yard work.


ARISTANA IS THREE YEARS OLD!

Aristana turned three years old on December 3rd. This birthday was so hyped up, considering it was the beginning of a whirlwind of changes and craziness for our family. Aristana's birthday, then her party, St. Nick, Baby shower, prepare for Christmas, a bunch of holiday celebrations, New Years, then Baby... Plus, now Aristana is old enough to get excited about these things.

We started off the morning with a birthday muffin with candles, some signs and balloons. She loved it. ...probably not so much my singing to her, but the celebration.

Grandma Kriss came to town, and the three of us went to Build-A-Bear, where she picked out an adorable puppy, named "Silly." She picked out a Milwaukee Brewers outfit, cell phone, and firefighters outfit to go with.

After lunch at Grazies, we came home, napped, and by the time she woke up, Dad was home. We ended the evening with some custard at Zestys. A perfect day!

THE OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY

Like we did last year, we celebrated Aristana's birthday at The GuestHouse Inn, in Bellevue, with a pool party for all of her little buddies. She loves to swim, and with the weather, our options for a birthday party are limited. Maybe next year the kids will have the attention spans to do something else, but for now we took the safe route.

She got to choose her cake from Festival Foods, and decided right away on Thomas the Tank. She was so excited to pick it up the day before, and stared at it every chance she got. It helped that it tasted awesome too!

We had about 25 people there throughout the day, which was really nice. The kids get to hang out and have fun, and we get to catch up with our friends. It really was a win-win. Aristana was loaded up on sugar, and loved her gifts of Hot Wheels, big rigs, trains, semis and her other boy items. Ironically, she did get a Barbie, which she has really taken to. We're all weirded out by this, considering she normally wouldn't touch anything "girly."

It was a fantastic day, and we all pretty much passed out when we got home.

That evening, St. Nick came. However, with all the birthday excitement, and the upcoming baby shower, St. Nick was kind of a flash in the pan this year. Sorry Nick...next year will be your year.

THE BABY SHOWER

My mom threw a beautiful baby shower for me, on December 6th. There were about 12 guests. Aside from Sarah K and my Mother-In-Law, everyone else was from Lia Sophia. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful ladies! The decorations were beautiful, and we really had a nice time.

I was given so many great gifts, and truly appreciate every one of them! We gave away most everything up to 12 months, so we were hurting in the preparedness aspect of this pregnancy. The shower gifts definitely helped us out a lot!

A BIG thank you to my mom for setting that up!

PREPARING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

When Mike and I were child free, we used to bake Christmas cookies for our friends/family. It seems that time flies, and we weren't able to keep up that tradition once Aristana came into our lives. However, this year, Aristana and I put on our Packer aprons, and did the baking while Dad was at work.

This was Aristana's project. She choose the recipes, helped with all the baking, and decorated the sugar cookies. Many times, the ingredients would end up outside the bowl, on the counter...and the sugar cookies were buried in sprinkles, ready to send anyone into a diabetic shock. These may not be the best tasting or most beautiful cookies, but you will never eat a treat with so much love and work put into it. I was extremely surprised by her attention span. She had fun picking out who to give them to, as well.

Hopefully, I'll write more often again, so I don't have to write a novel to catch up. Then again, with this time of year, and the baby around the corner, you may not hear from me for awhile... If that's the case, I wish you all a very blessed holiday! Don't forget to take the time to reflect on our Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. Take a moment to look back at all the good in your life, and give thanks and praise to the one who gave it all to you.

Blessings...
Maggie

It’s just like riding a bike…

"It's Just Like Riding a Bike"

Okay, it’s a cliché… and at this rate, I don’t know if I could figure out how to ride a bike either. I have stared from afar for the past few months, at the “What to Expect the First Year” book, sitting on my dresser. I picked it up once in a while, not paying too much attention to the contents. I think I just picked it up when I would get my little spurts of excitement.

Mike and I both made the realization that we don’t remember much about raising a baby. I remember how to change a diaper, since Aristana is still too stubborn to potty train. I remember that sleep is not something we’ll get much of for a long time. I remember that for the first um, maybe six weeks, that we’re supposed to pick up the baby every time she cries. I know we have to feed her, but how much, how often? I remember half of everything we have to do. If I remember quantity, I forgot timing. If I know how to do something, I forgot how much or how often. I remember that eventually she’ll eat real food, at that I used a steamer and food processor at one point in Aristana’s baby days… but wow, we are just going with the fact that Aristana is here, she’s healthy, so we must have figured it out the first time.

As we were going to sleep last night, Mike and I had an argument about the quantity and frequency of feedings. We ended up having to turn on the light, and grab the book, so we could resolve the issue, and go to sleep. It’s so funny though, that we’ve been doing the parenting thing for three years, and seem so clueless. I guess we’ll need to start reading more, very soon!

With all that being said, we are so excited that in no time we’ll be holding our brand new baby. Wow, even though the pregnancy this time around was not as full of newness as the first time, I don’t think you can ever lose the sincere awe and joy that come with seeing a baby, made from you and your spouse, filled with hope for the future, and beaming with the pure love of God. We are truly blessed!

Is it really that time of year already?

Okay, so it just seems that a couple weeks ago, the mild air was still here, and thoughts of holding a new baby were still on the back burner, seeming ages away. I have been attending weekly doctor appointments faithfully, still not feeling under pressure. But, here we are, December 15th already… WOW!

We’ve almost finished Christmas shopping, only having to help out Santa with choosing Aristana’s gifts at this point. The Christmas cookies are made and delivered, and the decorations have been up for awhile. Now that the “hustle-and-bustle” of the holiday season preparations are complete, the inevitable realization has finally set in… WE’RE HAVING A BABY! WE’RE HAVING A BABY VERY SOON! HOLY CR*P! (I censored that last word, just because we’re so against Aristana saying it, that I feel guilty even spelling it out)

For about a month now, I have been told that I am measuring two weeks ahead of schedule. Two ultrasounds ago, we were told that baby is two and a half weeks ahead of the game, in weight. My latest ultrasound, last week, shows she’s three full weeks ahead, and already 5lbs, 9ounces! Do you remember all of the issues I have had trying to gain weight this entire pregnancy? Yeah, apparently she’s not bothered by it, because she’s sucking every ounce of food from me.

With that being said, I am getting weekly Non-Stress Tests for the baby, to make sure Baby Blue Lightning is healthy, and better off being in me, than out.

Yesterday, she passed her test with flying colors, and won the “Best baby of the day” award. Awww… such a proud mom I am! I have not gained any weight in the past week however. Again, I guess I am not so worried about it… I’m convinced she has food reserves, and is just hibernating at this point. She must have one heck of a placenta!

Our next step is another ultrasound on December 28th. If she continues the rapid growth, they will perform an amniocentesis to see how her lungs have developed. If the lungs are good to go, they will induce labor much sooner than my due date. Considering I have anemia, it would be better at that point for her to be in the real world, than inside, dealing with my issues… ha, so many comments
On a side note, Mike just received a summons for jury duty the first week of January. Great timing. I have always held disrespect for those who receive the summons and immediately try to come up with an excuse to get out of their civil obligation. Now I’m sitting here going, um… do we play it by ear? Do we jump on the “get out of it” train?

I have so much more to say, but I think I’ll do some separate entries. I’m too prone to rambling already.

Again, a side note… Best wishes and prayers go out to Andrew and Julie (& Baby Bruiser), and Scott & Wendy (also toting a huge baby girl), for a safe delivery and comfort and joy through the Christmas season! Congratulations also to Sarah and Jim! Even though you are still early on, we are soooooooo excited for you two!