day 24

While I was pregnant, Luke and I had SO many conversations about how once Madelyn arrived our life would "never be the same again". There were so many things about our life pre-Madelyn that I was SURE were going to change. While our life definitely will never be the same again, there are some things that aren't exactly as I thought they would be. Madelyn is such a sweet girl. I don't want to say that she is an easy baby...unless you consider needing to spend 15 out of the first 24 days of your life in the hospital easy...but she is a really good baby. I anticipated chaos once we came home from the hospital. I guess I should have anticipated chaos while we were at the hospital. Madelyn is so mellow. She loves to cuddle. Despite her reflux, rarely cries. She lets us know when she is hungry or needs to be changed, but other than that when she is awake she is happy...when she is eating she is happy...and when she is asleep she is happy. Our days at home (well not OUR home as we have not been able to return there yet from the flooding-but away from the hospital at least) have been slow paced and as I have said before, rather uneventful! It's been peaceful and relaxed. A far cry from the uncontrollable tears (hers and mine) and moments of frustration that I anticipated. Isn't it funny how we think we prepare ourselves for "the worst" and then in the face of reality "the worst" we prepared ourselves for didn't even come close to being "the worst". *I realize that was probably a run on sentence and that this whole paragraph will quite possibly make no sense to anyone but me, so I will move on now*

Today we watched the OU vs. TX game. Madelyn learned a new word today...turnover.Despite their youngest fan cheering them on with her mommy and daddy the Sooners couldn't pull it off...Madelyn didn't seem to care. Life went on as usual for her after the game. Eat, sleep, poop...repeat.
Madelyn loves sleeping in her daddy's arms! She couldn't stay awake for the whole game, but she cheered in her sleep.
Just in case you were wondering...our photo shoot of our family of 3 proudly sporting our Sooner gear with smiles on our faces came while OU was ahead. We aren't the "it ruins your day when your team loses" type so we probably would have been smiling just as big after the game. I just needed to clarify for those of you who might be the "it ruins your day when your team loses" type.

Madelyn has been doing really well. Her LOUD apnea monitor has gone off several times but all seem to be false alarms. We were told that would happen. She is still eating really well. She loves to have her clothes changed...we know this because she makes a mess of them just so she can have a new outfit put on. She had a bath tonight and seemed to love the water. She did not however like being cold. Her reflux medicine must taste pretty bad because she makes these little crinkled nose faces every time I give it to her. It's so sad watching her deal with the reflux, but she is a tough little one and handles it so well. Thank you for continuing to pray for her. Your prayers are felt in the most intimate way.

Today my oldest niece had a soccer game. Last season (her first season to play) I coached her little team. They are pretty much the cutest little girls you have ever seen. Emily scored a goal today and it made me miss being her coach and running around on the field with all the little Ladybugs! There is nothing funnier than watching little ones try to figure out which direction they are supposed to go...I miss it for sure. Way to go Emmy!

This video is from the first time we came home from the hospital. There isn't really any sound to listen for but I thought it was super cute. It's from the first time Emily held Madelyn. Check out the smile on that proud cousin's face...


*Kathryn