why wasn't i invited?

madeleine's hair had the ultimate party on friday. she had an e.e.g.* and when she came out of the sedation, her hair was quite the sight. it took me a minute to figure out why it looked like that, but i quickly remembered that she had had all sorts of electrodes hooked up to her head and they had to mark and gel the spots where they were connected.

when i walked out to the waiting room with madeleine to leave, my mom (who was watching diane while i was taking care of madeleine) thought that madeleine had thrown up in her hair because of the anesthesia or something. i got (actually, madeleine got) all sorts of strange looks from the other people waiting in the waiting room.

my mom snapped some pictures right there with her iphone:

and when i got home, i snapped some more:

madeleine wasn't too happy about me taking pictures, but she'll thank me later.







and when randy came home, he had to take some pictures too.

despite the fact that the e.e.g. was no fun to go through, we at least got a good laugh out of madeleine's hair. bruce actually thought that i had styled it that way.

* i realize that it's not really fair for me to casually mention that my daughter got an e.e.g., so here's a brief explanation. when she was being really emotional after diane's arrival, she had some minor seizure-like episodes. my pediatrician ordered an m.r.i. and e.e.g. just to check and make sure it was nothing serious, but neither he nor i are concerned. she hasn't had any since she's been doing better emotionally. i haven't met with the doctor to review the tests yet, but i the m.r.i. was over a week ago and i haven't heard from the doctor, so it can't be anything too serious. she's doing just fine, these were just precautions.

floor time

madeleine loves to get down on the floor with diane and play with her.

i think they shall be good friends.

my mother-in-law, my hero

we just had a wonderful visit from randy's mom. she hasn't been able to come and see diane yet because she's been out of town and extremely ill, but she finally made it down to visit this last week. i cannot express how grateful i have been for her help. it came at a much needed time. she did my dishes all week and took the girls all the time so that i could get extra rest, among other things. and all of this, despite the fact that she is still in recovery mode from being sick for over a month.

madeleine already misses you, jeanie, and asked for you this morning. but no one will miss you as much as me. thank you for your love and service. can't wait until our next visit!

my view over breakfast

have i mentioned how spoiled we are at my grandparent's house? well, we are. and this is my amazing view of mt. timpanogos outside my kitchen window that i get to see while i eat and cook and do dishes.

oh, and this is my view of some other mountain peaks (names unknown to me), out my other kitchen window. not too shabby.

my two girls

well, my prediction was correct. not nearly as many pictures of diane as a baby as there were with madeleine. but i have taken some. and she is adorable, pictures or not.

big yawn.

this one is pretty cute herself. she's been striking these poses lately that make her look way older than i am okay with. she's going to be a teenager before i know it. so, i put her in pigtails and snuggle her close (thankfully, she loves to snuggle too) and soak in every minute of her toddlerhood. even when she is being an ornery, independent little thing. which is more and more often lately.

how to breastfeed a caterpillar

madeleine has become very concerned about when diane is hungry and as soon as diane starts to cry, she insists that i feed her. usually, about half way through me feeding diane, madeleine insists that she is also hungry.

madeleine has decided to try to do some nursing of her own. i don't know if she selected the caterpillar because he is the hungry caterpillar or if it was just the closest stuffed animal around, but i hurried and caught it on video. she has done this a few times before yesterday, with other stuffed animals as well. i was not feeding diane at the time, so she came up with this completely on her own. good to see that her motherly instincts are already kicking in.

happy 30th anniversary

valentine's day is a special day in my family, not only for traditional reasons, but because it is also my parents' (and my sister and brother-in-law's) anniversary. this year, my parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

my parents have as near a perfect relationship as i have ever seen and their marriage has served as an example to me throughout my life of what i wanted in a marriage. i have never doubted that my parents love each other. they never belittle each other or speak ill of the other person. they are always loving in word and in action. they always praise the other person's strengths and made sure to point out those strengths to us as their children. they are always affectionate and frequently express their love for each other. because of my father's example, i knew how i should be treated in my own relationships and never sold myself short. i knew that i deserved to be adored by my husband. because of my mom's example, i knew how to love and serve my husband while still retaining my own individuality and dignity.

happy 30th, mom and dad. thanks for loving each other.

welcome back

i missed my sweet, happy, little girl. glad to have you back.

what's in a name?

i realized that amidst all my posts/announcements about diane, i failed to mention the significance of her name. it's a little late, but...

diane stearns peck was named for both of our mothers. diane is my mom's first name and stearns is randy's mom's middle name, which she also passed on to randy as a middle name and randy now gets to pass down to his daughter. we love both of our mothers and hope that diane appreciates and remembers the wonderful examples of these two women when she thinks about her name.

my funny valentine

i decided that for valentines day this year, i wanted to make sugar cookies and decorate them with madeleine. she loves to help me in the kitchen and i love to eat cookies. a perfect combination. i invited a couple friends over to join me, too.

madeleine and i made the cookies last night and she enjoyed helping for most of that process. this morning though, she decided to take a two hour nap at 8:30am and woke up just as we had started the cookie baking/decorating process. she wasn't too happy at first and i hoped that it would wear off as she woke up, but she never really got into the activity. mostly, she just played with toys while we decorated cookies. oh well. i tried (a big step for me and holidays) and i got to hang out with my friends. and eat cookies.

the happy guest of honor:

mom trying to force a picture:



mom stealing the binkie to try to force a less sad looking picture. didn't work:



megan and robynn decorating:



sorry megan, but you made the face...











and now... a quiz. which of these cookies did debby decorate?

a.


b.


c.


d.


e.

if you guessed anything other than d., i think that you were just trying to humor me. shame on you, i'm not even there to hear you guess. and if you guessed b., who do you think dan is?

if you think my cookies look like they do because a two-year old was helping me, think again. she only helped with two of the cookies. and you can't even guess which ones, can you? i know i can't tell. maybe sometime i'll put a little more effort into cookie decorating. but why go to the trouble when you're just going to eat it?

but don't i have talented friends and a talented sister?

pictures of my girls

here are a few pictures of the girls. diane right after a bath:

family snuggle time:

madeleine has had a bit of a rough time adjusting to her new life circumstances. she has been incredibly clingy and pretty fussy over the last week. i am trying my best to be understanding and patient. fortunately, diane doesn't require too much attention right, so i've been able to focus on madeleine as much as possible.

i was taking some pictures of diane while madeleine was sitting there and i didn't want madeleine to feel like diane was getting all of the attention, so i took a few of madeleine. they are indicative of how the week has gone. she looks exhausted because she is. she has not been sleeping well. i'm pretty sure that my newborn is supposed to be the one keeping me up at night, not my two-year old.

she has been doing better today and hopefully we are on the up and up.

fortunately, with as much as she has been having a hard time with diane's arrival, madeleine has not taken it out on diane at all. she is very sweet with her and loves "baby diane." she helps me take care of her as much as possible and loves to dote on her little sister. hopefully that behavior continues.