Annabelle and Maggie

Annabelle at 1 day old

Maggie at 1 day old

So-the million dollar question...Do Annabelle and Maggie look alike? When I first saw Maggie, thought she looked just like Annabelle. In fact, there were many times I felt like I simply time traveled back to 2007 and was re-living all of the events of Annabelle's birth. But comparing the pictures side by side, I guess they don't look as alike I thought. But, they are both gorgeous!!!! If I can brag a moment :)

Last day at the Hospital

Annabelle had to be woken up this morning, so she wasn't excatly happy to start out the day. This is a little bit of an oddity, as normally she is up and cooing at about 7AM. Today, however, I woke up at about 7:45 and she was not up yet. I got her through the morning routine with a little bit of a struggle, but managed to motivate her ultimately with the thought of going to see mommy and Maggie.

We made sure that today Annabelle and Maggie were in matching outfits. Upon arrival, Annabelle started to play with Maggie right away. They both were really cute together. Maggie was really alert during this play time, which made it all the more fun. :-)



The Witts have been such a help to us. They took Annabelle home yesterday for nite nite, and again today for her nap in their really cool Traverse that they are borrowing for the MommyMadness. Annabelle has been having a ton of fun chatting with Ryland. From what I hear, they are laughing and giggling all the way home. They have been such a help, that I'm asking for everyone to vote for Sherah. :-)

That is all for now. I have a feeling that our next post will be made after we arrive home today.

Annabelle and Maggie Video

Here is the video of Annabelle and Maggie meeting the first time (as promised). Enjoy! :-)

What a wonderful feeling!!!

I hope you all have enjoyed all the hard work my wonderful husband has done with the blog and facebook while I have been relearning how to care for a newborn and recovering from surgery! I
am feeling great and Maggie Rose is doing perfectly! I was in quite a bit of pain early this morning, but then realized i had not had any hard drugs for quite a while-so we resolved that and I have been up and about this morning without any trouble at all.

Maggie slept great last night. I had a REALLY hard time waking her up to eat and staying awake myself while I constantly reminded her she was supposed to be sucking instead of sleeping last night, but I was so glad to learn that in between feedings so slept the whole time. The nurses said that had a baby boom yesterday and had an usually large amount of newborns screaming all around Maggie and she just slept! She was very alert last night in between her 8pm and 10:30pm feeding so I am sure that had a lot to do with it. I will be the happiest mommy ever if this cycle continues for the next few nights!

All in all, I have had a wonderful experience with Maggie-so different from Annabelle and I have enjoyed everything so much! It was the best thing in the entire world last night to have my complete family together. Annabelle was so cute with Maggie and was so snugly with me that I enjoyed those few hours more than most moments in my life. This morning Annabelle and Daddy got up exceptionally early and headed back to the hospital and the Frigolis spent all morning together in my room.

Annabelle was SO EXCITED to see Maggie this morning. She was running around the room asking for her so she and Daddy quickly went to the nursery to get her. I heard her little footsteps coming down the hallway a few minutes later and she came running into the room announcing that Annabelle and Maggie were here. It was a moment I WILL NEVER FORGET!!! She wanted to hold her, then she wanted me to hold her and then she wanted to see her toes and knees and such again. She was great with her! She has left to spend some time napping, but will be back this afternoon.

Our hospital offers the new parents a wonderful lunch of steak and lobster which Italo and I are going to enjoy in a little while so I better run to feed Maggie so we can enjoy our lunch.

By the way-I have a HUGE victory that I want to share with you just because I am so thankful that God heard my prayers and answered them. This is TMI so skip if you don't like knowing about breast feeding. But my bum anatomy has taken a turn and Maggie and I were a good team trying to make things works so I am nursing WITHOUT accessories--which means I will not have to pump until I go back to work!!!! This will be amazing and I am soooo excited to be able to have this experience since I did not with Annabelle. PRAISE GOD!!!

One more thing-look for an AMAZINGLY cute video of Annabelle and Maggie meeting each other last night. It is so cute!!!

Annabelle and Maggie

They have met finally! I guess it is always a parent's cocern of how one child will react to a brand new sibling. Our case was no exception. I knew Annabelle loved other, smaller children than herself (even though she does steal the toys at times). She has always been rather proper and respectful.

Today was no exception. Annabelle was quick to label Maggie as "baby". We were quick to correct, and let her know that she was Maggie. She paused for a few seconds initially, but then was letting us know all of Maggie's features. "Maggie's Nose, Maggie's lips, Maggie's ears, Maggie's hair, Maggie's eyes" Annabelle said. With that, Annabelle was just as excited as could be with her. From that point, she was running all around the room, but was quick to find Maggie when she started crying. All in all I am very excited and happy about how Annabelle is acting around Maggie.

We later followed up the event by singing Happy Birthday to Maggie. Annabelle was given a cupcake, which is her favorite! Maggie couldn't have any at this piont, but I'm sure she will have a lot of it in 364 days! :-)

Maggie is sleeping

Maggie is just such a little cutie!! :-)

With all the activity here this morning, it is a little tough to get some updates into the blog. I promised pictures in Facebook, and right after there was a ton of activity. Anyways, I'm at a lull now, so I'm able to get a few words typed.

Anyways - just wanted to post a few pictures for now. More updates will come soon. :-)

Spending the night

The hospital staff makes no bones about the fact that Amy and Maggie are the patients, and I am not. With that said, I'm give a recliner that can lean flat and makes itself into a make shift bed.

I was actually dreading the whole stay last night. With Annabelle I spent one night in the hospital, and being woken up every 3 hours made me grumpy when it was actually time to get up. Last night, however, it was a much more pleasent experience. I remember waking up once throughout the night. One of the nurses thought it would be fun to turn on every single light in the room before checking on my wife. Thank goodness she only came once last night. The other nurses that took care of Amy and Maggie were a lot more discrete.

All in all I woke up rested and without aches. So I can't complain this time around.

Maggie out of NICU

Katie blessed us with a visit today. No small task, as it is quite a hike to get to the hospital.

Anyways, at about 7:15 today Maggie was brought into our room. We are excited to share that she is out of NICU and doing very well.

Not much else to share at this time. Amy is still recovering and Maggie is just a vibrant wiggly bundle of joy! :-)

Amy is doing better - and so is Maggie

We fed Maggie at 4:00 today. She is disconnected from the IV, yet still being monitored. The Doctor mentioned that she is all good now, and will move to the nursery at 7 (during the shift change).

We got to feed her, and she is one healthy hungry little girl.

On our way out we were greeted by Annabelle. She unfortunately was not allowed into the NICU, so she has not yet seen her little sister, and with the schedule she has, she probably won't till tomorrow.

Annabelle has been a lot of joy in her own way - and we sure do appreciate the help our family has provided us in taking care of her (you know who you are and we really do appreciate it!).... :-)

I'm sure they will bring Maggie to us for her next feeding, and I am so excited that she will be out of the NICU. Tomorrow Annabelle should meet her new sister- I can hardly wait. :-)

Got the laptops up and running

Finally go the laptop up and running. So I can finally post some pics here in the blog!! :-)

I'll try to go back and edit the privious posts with the addition of pictures.

Anyways - I did visit Maggie at the NICU again. This time without Amy though. Maggie is doing very well. She has really good color to her, and she is breathing very well. The Doctors seem to think she is ready to be moved into the nursery. That is great news, as it means that Maggie can come visit Amy! The update we received is that this may happen this evening. We are very excited about the news as everyone may imagine.

Amy is recovering very well. She is currently resting/sleeping.

Anyways - I'll keep this blog posted as there are developments to share.

Visiting Maggie

I have been trying to post a few pics here, but I cannot seem to get it to work from my phone.

We went to see Maggie at the NICU a few minutes ago, and she is doing very well. Her color has improved quite a bit and she is not working as hard to breath right now. At this point she will probably be there overnight as a precaution.

Maggie is here!!!!!! :-)

She is 7lbs 12oz and 19in. She is in NICU due to some breathing issues but we do not think it is anything serious.

It is happenning!

Being moved

Amy has been moved to be prepped for the procedure. Looks like things will happen fairly quickly once she is all set.

At the hospital

It is 6:40 AM. We have made it to the hospital and Amy is all hooked to the IV. We are all ready to go. Just waiting on the doctors at this point.

Here We Go.....

It is a weird feeling to know that tomorrow is the day I will greet my newest baby. Everything happened so quickly and unexpectedly with Annabelle that I did not have time to process anything until many weeks-or really months after she was born. In many ways, I do not really even truly think of my time with Annabelle in womb as the same baby as the one I hold now. It seems like two different experiences that have never gotten mixed up together in my mind.
I guess not seeing your newborn baby for so long after you deliver will do that do you, but none the less, that is how I feel. Everything has been so different with this pregnancy and I am sure that the two babies I will hold in my arms tomorrow will be very different as well. But, I can't wait to experience this journey and have all of my questions answered...What will Maggie look like? Is Maggie really going to be a girl? Is she going to have any complications? Am I going to have any complications? How will Annabelle react? Am I going to be able to physically handle the demands of a newborn? How will I ever have enough love to show to my precious husband and to 2 children?

As I write this, I have so many questions and only one answer---GOD WILL PROVIDE ALL!!!! He will provide the answers to my curiosity, the physical needs, the emotional needs and the understanding of it all (maybe not here on earth, but the understanding will come one day). I am just praying that I will be PRESENT for everything that happens. I have a very bad tendency to separate the events that are occurring from the emotions of what is occurring and I never experience an event in its whole as a result. So-whatever happens tomorrow morning at 7:30am, I know that God will provide and He will also allow me to fully experience all that he is providing! I am sure I will write more soon and Italo will be snapping pictures lefts and right! Talk to you all soon!

The Famous Moon Boots!

Not sure how many of you have heard about Italo and I's early dating stories, but one day we meet at Starbucks for coffee and PART of his ensemble were these sneakers! If only you could have seen the rest of the outfit-but it did not take long for him to hear my true feelings about those shoes! He loves to get them out and wear them for projects around the house. Luckily that is the only place he wears them, but I was really laughing yesterday when they showed up for him to mow the lawn. He was very excited to show them off for the pictures---notice they zip up and have a handy red lining in them to keep the foot extra safe and secure :)

OH my silly husband! I love you!!!!!!

SNC00047.3g2

Annabelle trying out her new shoes.

Seriouisly-what is the big deal about having patience?

Since a was a VERY little girl when people would ask me about a trait that I did not like about myself, I would ALWAYS say-I have no patience. I get frustrated by slow processes, slow thinking, slow actions, slow people, slow movies and anything else you can think of that is not 100% efficient. As a result, I thrive in finding ways to make all chores and tasks done as quickly as possible. I think before I act, most of the time, but I also only give myself so long to think before I do something. But, for some reason-God has been trying to teach me patience OVER and OVER again. Right now it is dealing with HOURS of contractions EVERY day for a week with absolutely NO PROGRESS into labor. What is the point? I would have been fine to wait patiently for my scheduled c-section and not go through all of this pain. So-why do I need to have all of these contractions and not be able to do anything about them. With Annabelle's pregnancy, I was more than content to wait until things progressed but then the Drs kept telling me it would be ANY DAY because I was dilating (never felt a single contraction with her)--so I started to get inpatient. Now, the opposite is happening, I am having contractions and NO DILATION. Ridiculous!

Over the years there have been so many things that have happened in my life that I would say are teaching me patience-from jobs to relationships etc. etc. etc. I think about what all this is supposed to be good for and I can't think of the answer. I mean-really if we live with an eternal perspective, why do we need patience in heaven. We will have all the answers in moments and will not have to struggle with wanting something we can't have or even being frustrated. So-what is the reason that God cares if I have patience now....really....what is the big deal about having patience? And more importantly-when can I just finally stop struggling with everything that does not go as I think it will go.

I am so tired from not sleeping and am not in the mood for a life lesson right now! Frustration leads to impatience once again......story of my life :(

Easter!

Annabelle has an awesome book about an Easter Basket that she got last year for Easter. So this year I decided to try to recreate the colors in the basket so we could read it while she looked at the new treasures. Each item in the basket represents a part of the Easter story:

-The green is representing the palms that lay upon the ground for Jesus' arrival on Palm Sunday.

-The purple is representing the wine that Jesus and his disciples drank at the last Supper.

-The red is the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross-PRAISE HIS NAME!

-The Brown represents the dark place that was His grave.

-The white represents the bright Angel who said "HE IS RISEN".

-The yellow is like the bright sun that reminds us of this Easter and all that our Lord has done!

Annabelle's favorite was the white bunny that hops everywhere and the yellow bunny that is really bubbles! She has grown to LOVE bubbles!

We had a great morning eating breakfast and playing with the items in the easter basket. We then got dressed in her pretty easter dress and drove 45 minutes to church---just to get turned away from the service---we were the next to the last car to make it into the parking lot :( So we drove 45 minutes back home and waited until it was time to go to my grandparents house for Easter lunch. Annabelle was happy because I broke down and gave her a paci and blankie on the way home---9 months pregnant and a SCREAMING toddler don't go well for me so I decided it was an Easter treat! I wish she would decide that she can tolerate the car for more than 2 minutes without fussing-but after 2 yrs of this-I have all but given up on that dream!

We had a wonderful Easter lunch with the family at my grandparents house. Annabelle was entertained by lots of folks while we tried to play a game of Catan. The good news is that we have more family members hooked on the game-the bad news is that I lost the game! O well, it was worth it to have more people to play with!

I then spent the evening having contradations and thinking I was really going to get an Easter baby after all-but after 3 hrs, I decided it was just a tease and went to sleep. 10 more days of contradactions for nothing is going to get really old---Come on Maggie---Let me know you want to meet me as bad as I want to meet you!!!!!!

Annabelle' 2nd Birthday!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Annabelle's 2nd Birthday! We started the morning off by getting some pictures taken. Since I am 2 weeks away from delivering Maggie, we decided to get some "maternity" pics with me and Annabelle as well as her birthday pictures! They will not be ready until April 22nd so you will have to wait to see them, but they turned out really cute!

Then we went to meet Daddy for lunch, but this time Annabelle was OVER hungry and OVER tired so I can't say that the lunch was enjoyed by all-but Annabelle did LOVE seeing her Daddy in the middle of the day!

Shortly after Annabelle woke up from her nap, her birthday party quests starting to arrive and we had a WONDERFUL evening celebrating our little 2 yr old with family and friends! I made a couple of different kinds of pasta and then we had some cupcakes that all the kids seemed to really enjoy! I realized later-I never really got to eat the food or the cupcakes so I hope they were good :)

After eating, we opened presents....OH MY GOODNESS---this was a chore! I was Exhausted by the end of the experience but Annabelle seemed to have a great time discovering new treasures! It has been sooooooo fun the last few days watching her play with new toys! It is so neat to see what comes out of her personality when a new toy is given to her. She is pretty intense about figuring things out at first and then she starts to play and imagine. I love watching her. She has so many new spring clothes and Pjs and awesome "big girl" toys! THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping get her stocked for fun in the coming months!

She was so tired by the time she finally got to go to bed-but we had a great day celebrating her life and all that God has blessed us with in our lives! SO GRATEFUL for all that the gifts he bestows on us!