So, when I had my shower in Bradenton, Chris's mom got MaryCate her very first antique. I am totally into it...but I am not into letting it sit in her room or the garage, I actually love to use this thing. It is a very old wooden buggy and she LOVES it. I can only use it at duskish time, because during the day it is too sunny and provides no shade. She loves to lay in the buggy and look all around. I use it to walk down to Publix and usually pick up a few things for dinner. The Publix workers love when I come in!! I am limited though since I can only fit so much in there with her. I wish we could take it to WI and use the sled part, but Chris claims it's just not practical to pack---whatever!! See the fun pictures below!


Look how much this girl loves her momma

Here I am pushing it along

Here she is carying all my groceries and my wallet

Seriously MaryCate

OK---so I got up this morning and I am so pumped for my day. Young Life has this great benefit where we are able to get massages covered at 70%, so Chris and I are totally into it...I was getting one today he is on schedule for tomorrow. I wake up, get ready and Chris and I get MC ready. He takes her to the office and I am off to my appointment. The massage was great and I am feeling all relaxed. I go to pick up MC. While I am at the Young LIfe office I have Chris help me test out the baby bjorn because I am pumped to use it. We had not used it up until now because of the oxygen, it was just too hard to coordinate. We put her in and she seems to love it. I think to myself --- this is great, I will plop her in this and get the rest of my Christmas shopping done this afternoon. So I feed her, make sure she burps proportionately and we are off. I get to the outdoor mall and get her all strapped in. I am totally feeling like a hip mom and loving it. I walk into the first store and exactly what I want to get for my brother is on sale---I continue thinking, does is get ANY BETTER? Then it starts....MaryCate coughs a little, and I am starting to panic because I know what comes next. For those of you that do not know MaryCate has a bit of reflux. It doesn't only occur when she is eating, it can happen at any given moment. So I throw down my item and quickly walk outside. As soon as I get outside, no joke the girl pukes DOWN my shirt....not on my shirt, straight up down it. I am wearing a collared shirt and she puked right in the opening down it. At this point I am no longer the cool hip mom I thought I was...I smell like baby barf and my daughter is simply laughing. I make my way to the car...mind you as I am walking I hear a family go ---"oh what a cute baby" and I am thinking if you only knew....since it went down my shirt almost no one around could tell what happened. We are now home and I am busy washing my shirt, her clothes and the Bjorn----I think I will wait a while to do that again and who knows if I'll ever get to that Christmas shopping!! See picture below of the hippest mom on the block!

OH Happy Day

At last the day has come. Our doctor visit went great and MaryCate is officially off the oxygen. No tubes!! I am not sure if she is more happy to be free of the tube in her nose, or if mom is more happy to be free from carrying all those cylinders around every day!! It is surely a happy day. We have been busy this week making sure we have all our ducks in a row for our trip to WI. Lots of calls to doctors to make sure she has what she needs. Now that MC is 6 months she can get her flu shot so we will get that taken care of next week and be ready for the cold. Just thought I would share the good news, as you can see from the pictures above, MaryCate is just as thrilled as we are! We are off to an OT appointment.

BIG DAY ........

This is what MaryCate learns in OT---how to hold her rattle!!


SO tomorrow is a VERY BIG day for MaryCate. We go to the pulmonoligist and so long as all goes as planned she will come off of her canula and no longer require oxygen. I am sure MaryCate cannot wait to get that thing out of her nose but you have no idea how thrilled mommy will be to get rid of all the tanks and tubes. I cannot wait to use the sling and baby bjorn--although I could use them before it was not easy. I will keep you posted and we will hopefully begin to post loads of no tube pictures!!!

Miles of smiles

OK---seriously, MaryCate is all smiles these days. Anytime I talk or even just look at her she will just start laughing, it is AWESOME. I am loving it. I sometimes think it is unbelievable how good she is and how much she smiles, it does not take much at all. I hope this continues, and I hope we can get some good pictures while she is in this stage.

In other news, I am obsessed with washing and sanitizing my hands, to make sure she does not get sick. Tonight I realized what a toll it has been taking on my hands, they are so cracked and dried out it is rediculous. I think tonight I will sleep with lots of lotion and the special gloves to try and recapture the moisture-----enjoy the smiles!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.....

Our stockings hanging above the fireplace---I am not sure how but MaryCate's is quite a bit larger than ours...I am sure she will have no problem with this


Our Christmas tree all set up and decorated perfectly


...In hopes that St. Nick would come, and he sure did!!
So when Chris and I first got married St. Nick was a bit of a contraversy, Chris had never heard of it. I was not sure where it came from but I knew we celebrated and I wanted to continue. I think when he realized he might get some fun presents he was in, but he hates getting presents before X-mas so he tried to argue against it. To make it a bit easier on him, we did regular gifts from St. Nick---I get a x-mas cd, and he gets boxers!! My sister-in-law tried to tell me this year that since we had kids, no St. Nick for us---to that I said NO WAY. So he did indeed come, even to MaryCate. I got not only Faith Hill's new Christmas CD but peppermint oreos as well---I must have been extra good this year. MaryCate got diapers, formula and a warm outfit for Wisconsin, and Chris got boxers of course, as well as some gum, kitkats, and grape juice, which are all his favorites.

We also started a new tradition. For those of you that do not know me that well, I am WAY into traditions. Chris actually gets nervous every time he does something that we are going to have to do it again at the same time next year. Anyhow we decided to make oatmeal in the crockpot on the night St. Nick comes.....it made the house smell great and made for a really fun treat while we were opening up our stockings!!

Dr.'s Dr.'s and more Dr.'s

Can anyone really resist those cheeks!

MaryCate loves her Grandma's



So obviously the life a preemie is filled with doctors. More times than not this is a great thing. She gets weighed a lot, which I love and they are all watching her every move to make sure she is growing and developing in so many areas and on so many levels. I feel so safe.
But it gets really complicated when they all tell you to do something different. One will say keeping her in the car seat is good because it keeps her form arching her back and will help with development, while another says keep her out of it because it does not help with the reflux. One says feed her on demand and do not give her more than she wants, while another says make sure she is getting 25-30 oz every day even if that means feeding every 2 hours---and then another says do not feed every 2 hours because that is not long enough for the stomach to empty. So what do I do?? I give up and go with my gut----they always say momma knows best right!!

Team Dinners

So I think I mentioned that we had the entire basketball team over for spaghetti 2 days after we moved in. If that wasn't bad enough, last week====the week of Thanksgiving, on Monday Chris remembered that there was another home game on Tuesday...you gotta be kidding me. I about died but we quickly joined forces and whipped up a meal once again for 14 players and a few of the coaches. Needless to say I have taken it upon myself to get the schedule and now I KNOW when I can expect them again. I included some shots of the team here at the house. It really is a blast to have them here, they are all so polite and love to see MaryCate.
Here are 1/2 the guys eating in the family room

And here are the other 1/2 the guys eating around the dining room table

This is Josh, who mind you measures in at 6'11". It is so fun to put him next to MaryCate---I just am always reminding them, you can look but do not touch, unless you are fully sanatized, thank you very much

Sleeping Beauty

MaryCate loves to hang out in her robe after her daily bath----so here she is just lounging around!




So if I haven't said it before, I believe based on what I hear from other moms, MaryCate is a pretty easy baby. She eats, plays and sleeps, poops on occasion. Anyhow her newest trick is sleeping for long periods of time----most mothers dream come true....and for a while it was for me. Yesterday MaryCate had her 6 month appointment. She is up to 10 lbs 7oz and measuring just fine for her adjusted age of 2 1/2 months. Her shots did not go as well as they had in the past. I think while in the NICU she was so used to getting pricked it was no big deal, but yesterday oh man it was a big deal. I think I almost made the nurse cry. Anyway I knew I would have to talk to the Dr. about her sleeping, literally like 6-8 hours a night, and so last week I decided to track how much she was eating. Some days she will go with only eating 12-14 oz and the Dr. wants her eating 20-30 (which I am not sure I understand because they all she is gaining weight fine)...so basically that means I need to wake her up to feed her....are you serious??? I have a baby that sleeps through the night and I can't even enjoy it?? Well needless to say I am going to do everything I can to get the oz in during the day --- biggest problem is she pukes when she gets too much at a time, so I am feeding her less but more often. It is like a puzzle trying to figure it out but well worth it if it means I get to sleep 8 hours!!!

Rewind---just a few more pics from Thanksgiving

Here is the crew we had for dinner---notice the cute couple in the back, this is Sam, one of Chris's college leaders who lives in California so he did not go home for Thanksgiving

So this is my Turkey platter, which I have always LOVED. I have the platter, the bowl and a gravy boat that all match. I really had never considered the irony of it......a dancing Turkey----until Sam, the vegetarian pointed it out. I got a kick out of it and continue to love the platter, despite how bad we felt for the bird

Our favorite little Turkey

She's goin it!!

Do I look like I am having a blast stuffing this thing or what??

Mary Cate watching the Macy's parade with her Mema and Grandad

We got our tree!!

As you can tell from the picture above, we went today to get our Christmas Tree. We are leaving Fort myers on the 19th of December to go to Bradenton for Christmas on the 21st and then head up to the Frozen Tundra of WI for a month, so we thought we should get it as early as possible so we can enjoy the time here at our new house. Hope you enjoy the pictures of Mary Cate's outfit we put her in to do the shopping----I am a little self-concious with her in this outfit because I think she looks somewhat boyish, but still so freaking cute!!!

Mary Cate's Thanksgiving Day outfint, sorry I have yet to figure out how to rotate the picture and get it to post correctly

So every year we brine our turkey for 24 hours before we cook it---we think it makes it so delish, anyhow it usually is quite an involved process trying to figure out how to make sure the turkey is totally covered in the brine. The first year we tied it up with an ace bandage and placed it in a bucket. Here is a picture of what we did this year---we used a hair bow to tie it and then paint cans to hold it up.

More of the house

This is our bathroom and I am really into it, but it is not really baby conducive and I love me a good bath

This is one of our favorite things about the house, a great outdoor living space (notice the ping pong table and see post below)

This is where we will have our Thanksgiving Day feast and many basketball team dinners


All is well and we are slowly getting more settled as we prepare to have the Mustaine's for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Mary Cate has been such a trooper throughout this process ---- I feel like I have totally neglected her as a mom and I am so looking forward to next week when we can just hang out---especially on the back porch, which is my favorite place in the house. When we first moved in, Chris invited the basketball team to come over after practice one day (not for dinner, although he has done that twice, but to help with the unpacking) and the head coach says to him, "this is a great place for a ping pong table and I just happen to have a spare one would you like to borrow it?" Chris promptly says yes and then tells him to go get it quick before I can contest. Luckily it is such a large space I can still really enjoy the area as well!! More later

Home Sweet Home

The front of the house

The Living room, taken from the rocker I feed Mary Care in

The Family Room---notice Grandma Mary with coffee in hand, she needed lots of that with all the hard work she was doing

This is our Kitchen

I have so much to tell and so much to show, but in an effort to keep you coming back, and keep one particular aunt of mine who claims to be a blog stalker, entertained I am going to post a number of times over the next few days. I am thrilled to finally have internet and phone at the house and we LOVE our neighborhood. I wish I would have taken before pictures of the house because it has come such a long way. We had so much help and really appreciated the last minute trip Grandma Mary made, there is no way we could have done it all without her. We are in---and the pictures above will give you an idea of where we are living!! More to come soon!!---Mary Cate needed to eat and I only got some of the pictures up, I will get the rest up later!

Reunited and it feels so good

The title says it all---sing it with me---Re-united and it feels so good, that is right it feels very, very good. On May 16th Chris and I left Lynchburg, VA for WI. At the time I am pretty sure I had laundry in the dryer and a load of dishes in my dishwasher. My plan was to be back in 4 days and finish packing up our apartment for the big move to Fort Myers....who knew it would not be until November 18th 6 months later a freakin 1/2 year later I would finally see my things again. It has been great to open the boxes and begin unpacking. Some of the fun things we found were the outfits we bought the day we found out we were pregnant---one for a boy and one for a girl---to come home in form the hospital, the original baby book I bought for Mary Cate...needless to say that will come in handy the next time around, but best of all the gift cards from my baby shower in VA---those will certainly come in handy now.

I am taking a break right now because it has been an unruly day----my husband in his infinite wisdom thought it would be great to have the Fort Myers Basketball team over for dinner before their first game---no joke, we moved in on Tuesday and today I hosted 20 high school boys for spaghetti---needless to say the house was not immaculate nor put together but we had a blast and they seem like a sweet group of guys. Chris is at the game now and I am cleaning and organizing.

In other fun news Grandma Mary came in to help out and she has been working around the clock since she flew in. Last but not least Mary Cate finally has a nursery. I am so excited and although it is not totally finished we are on our way and it should be done within a week or so. We are still sleeping at the barn and just working around the clock here at the rental so we are ready to host the Mustaine's for Thanksgiving next week!! When the house is in order I will post some pictures, we have had fun decorating and live in a really neat part of Fort Myers in what I think is a really cute house!! More to come

Shout out to the Rinks

Just a few pictures to post....one with Auntie Trista who has been here helping us so much, one with MC's Godparents---Andy and Jodi Wells and last but certainly not least one of me in front of one of my favorite coffee shops in town, if only Grandma Nita had the internet to see me now~~~~

Low Key week

Not a whole lot new around here this week. We have been having some cooler weather which mommy loves!! I am going to the oxygen doctor next week so we will see if I have made any progress and if I can come one step closer to getting rid of this thing in my nose. I am looking forward to moving in a week or so (I will get my own room and mommy is so excited to decorate it) and am ready for my first Thanksgiving. Mommy is going to cook and Grandad and Mema are coming down from Bradenton along with Auntie Trista and Auntie Ruthie(who I haven't met yet, but I hear great things about. She was in the Army with Auntie Trista.) I have been enjoying time wiht Auntie Trista, she comes to town often and lets mommy and daddy go out for dinner or lunch. She also helps clean around the house and even goes grocery shopping for mommy sometimes, she has been a HUGE help!! The pictures above are of me with the neighbor girl and in my sweater that Dr. Anna, my neonatologist from Wisconsin, knit for me.....we LOVE to wear it when it gets cold here. I will post more soon just wanted to get some pictures up for grandma Mary to see!!

Halloween and more pictures

My Halloween Costume


Tummy Time


Hanging out with Daddy


I am getting so BIG

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone. We are currently sitting at Chris's office on a Friday night and Chris is watching something online while I have been busy ordering Christmas presents online and now blogging---can you say WILD on a Friday night. Earlier we went to the house we are going to be renting and handed out candy to the trick or treaters in the neighborhood. Mary Cate dressed up as a reindeer and I will post pictures soon---but let me just say she looked adorable.
The excitement in our house is that MC is finally growing out of her preemie clothes and at almost 5 months just now fitting into newborn and 0-3 month clothes. She seems to be getting chubbier and chubbier cheeks which we are completely fine with!! We go to the Dr. on Monday and will get a weight check but last we knew she was a bit over 8 lbs. Auntie Trista has been in and out of town lending a hand when she can and this has been a huge help. We are about to get super busy as we look to move into the rental hopefully the week before Thanksgiving. I will get some recent pictures up soon, hope this finds you all well!!
By the way---my younger brother Timmy dressed up as MaryCate for Halloween tonight----if I can get a picture I will be sure to post that as well, it is a sight for sore eyes to see Uncle Ditty in a onesie.

Fun in Fort Myers

This is FL--trying to go all fall, what you can't tell is that it is 89 degrees and humid as all get out

This is a great family picture---can you say Christmas card 08

Can you see the excitement on her face

Look at how thrilled she is to be there

Hanging out in one of my fun new toys

MC in some fun PJ's getting ready for bed
All is well here in HOT FL---yes I am missing the fall so much already, but I guess it is time I get used to this. We decided to embrace fall as much as we could this week and took MaryCate to the local pumpkin patch. Unfortunately she had been awake the entire day so by the time dad got home and we took off ---well the pictures say it all. I am not sure who had more fun, but judging by the pictures I think you can tell that mom and dad were WAY into it and MC could have been in her pack and play and had just as much fun. Chris and I have a tradition where we carve our pumpkins and then ask the trick or treaters to judge whose is best----we got one for Mary Cate this year, and Auntie Trista is going to give her a hand ----we’ll let you know who wins----I have yet to get a W, but I am hoping with all the time I have at home I may be able to conjure something pretty creative up this year, we’ll see. (we were a bit worried about getting trick or treaters where we live but we are going to use the rental home I mention below and give out candy there next Friday!!)

The update on our house is that we decided to take our offer off the table and rent for 6-12 months. The house needed some work and at this point we felt like that would only add stress---which we feel like we have had enough of over the past 4 months. So, we found an adorable little rental in a neighborhood we LOVE. The woman is still doing some work on it, but will be done soon. It has a lot of really nice upgrades and she is even going to let me decorate a nursery for MC. We are hoping to get in within the next 3 weeks at which point I will be reunited with all of my things I left when I went to WI on May 15th----including pants that are not elastic at the top----can you tell I am thrilled!!! Enjoy the pictures and we will take some pictures next week and update soon. This is my Saturday time away so I am off to Marshalls, TJ Max and my favorite---SUPER TARGET!