Baby #2: Anatomy Scan on Nov 19th

Hello-

We had our anatomy scan of Baby #2 on Nov 19th! It is a GIRL!!!!!!!! Right now she is about 13 ounces. Madilyn will have a baby sister, we are thrilled, blessed and excited. Madilyn was asleep for most of anatomy scan because she fell aslepe in stroller right after school, which is when our appointment was. We do have to go back on Dec 2 because they couldn't get all views of heart due to position she was in (Common occurrence), but this means we get another chance to see the baby!!! I have been feeling a lot of movements and they are getting stronger. Steve has felt some too. I feel a lot of movement after eating, maybe all the digestion noises?

More later,
Abelsons

Things we notice about Madi...

-Very invested in what she does, she is very well focused and has a large attention span when she is doing what she likes
-Doesn't love transitions because she doesn't like to stop what she is doing
- Very observant and is actively listening, even when it looks like she is busy with something else
- Picks up on what we say and how we say things and can transfer it to her words, example... "I will do this and then go potty, good -plan?"
- Very loving, loves to hug and kiss and is very cuddly. Just melts into our arms'
- Loves to kiss thru poles on the bed, our special ritual at night and she will aks for it if we don't initiate it
-Loves to read aloud while we read and she incorporates what she hears from us into her story
- Knows books by their covers
- Good at letting is know what she wants, assertive
-Fits in well playing with girls and boys, can be tough, can be girly
-Likes to do things "by myself"
-Doesn't hold emotions or ideas to herself, she will let us know what she is thinking/feeling, even if she cannot articulate it
- No matter her bedtime or how tired she may be, she is still a 5AM riser
-She is good at keeping busy and initiating games "Want to play blocks with me?"
-Likes to count items
- Can remember a lot of songs


We will keep adding to the list,
Abelsons

Baby Abelson #2, week 17 (month 5)

On 10-23-10 I began feeling "quickening" small butterfly/popcorn/airy feeling of movement in my belly. It was pretty consistent for a while, and now I feel it sporadically, especially if sitting still and having all other distractions cease.

It is very exciting, because it really makes pregnancy feel real, since I am not really showing at all yet.

Without us prompting or even telling her about the baby, Madi came up to me and said "you have a baby in your belly" days later she asked to feel my belly and see it. She is very perceptive, because we weren't going to tell her anything yet.

More later,
Abelsons

Updates 10.21.10

Today I have a second round of bloodwork for the sequential screening. November 8th we have a monthly check-up. On November 19th we have an anatomy scan of all vital organs of Baby Abelson #2, and, if baby cooperates, we can find out sex!!!!!!! I am at the end of week 16.

Madi has been thriving at and loving her new school. Teachers who come in contact with her-in the hallway, when classes combine, at the after school program (led by teachers from the school, etc) all come to me with stories of how friendly she is, how she dialogues what she is doing in a way uncommon for her age, concentration, how she holds a book, that she is the only one to consistently ask to play the keyboard each morning, how musical she is, what she says, etc. One teacher even showed me a video from her iphone and we get daily logs showing pictures and little snipets of what they did that day.

Madi is very verbal, knows exactly what she wants, and often tells us her plan "I am going to go potty then we can do blocks"... things like that. She is getting very good at going to the potty and telling us when she has to go. She only will go typically if she initiates it, she doesn't like us to ask her to go. She doesn't like wearing a diaper at night and says "it is not cozy" or "it isn't comfortable". We can often see her at night changing her toys' diapers and telling them they "only have to wear it at night and when we wake in the morning we can take it off" (mirroring what we say to her). She has been waking up and saying "I am not tired anymore, I am wet, I have to go potty" or something of the nature.

She is very sweet and gives compliments to people "I like your belt" etc, but also has been starting to say when she doesn't like someone "based on something she doesn't like about their facial expression or outfit (bright blue tights for example).

More later,
Abelsons

Madilyn October 2010

Madilyn is at new school and loving it. She has transitioned well and loves her teachers. When we are on the block of the school she squeals "There it is, there it is." She has a tendency to wander into other classrooms and then it is difficult to get her out. She is a very vocal child, so she will let us know exactly how she feels in a very loud, high voice "No, I am doing something" "I am not done yet" "No, I don't want to go" or the newest "I don't have to" etc. She is very strong-willed and knows how to get what she wants. While we admire that she has a mind of her own, sometimes we just need to be the parents and direct her as to what to do...not an easy task -and sometimes leaves us feeling like failures :)

She amazes us with her memory, remembering obscure facts from weeks or months ago, ones we were sure she had forgotten. When we ask her a question that she doesn't know right away we can see her wheels turning as she thinks and searches her brain for the answer.

Potty training, started on her own accord, is still going very well and did not change or regress at all due to starting new school and routines.

More Later,

Abelsons

New Nursery School

Madilyn has been at her new school for 3 days. They have a separation period so she has not yet been here a full day, the first day Papa Abelson was in the room with her, the second day he stayed in for 15 minutes, and today, the 3rd day, Madi;s sitter David stayed for 15 minutes and was able to leave the school. Her teachers say she is a trip and that she has an ear for music, which we have known. She loves her teachers and is very comfortable with them, one of which is a musician as well so he always is playing his keyboard and Madilyn loves that. Music is a big passion for her.

Madilyn has been saying some very funny things, she also has big ideas and can answer questions we ask while we are reading stories...

Steve bought some tissue, Madilyn said "I will put this in the bathroom for you so you can have it" Grandma Margo was in NY and used all the pegs for a design she was making. Madi walked over and asked "Oh, there's none left for me?"

More later,
Abelsons

New Blog?

Perhaps we will need a new blog, with a new name because....MADILYN IS GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!!!!!!!!

We are due APril 4, 2011.

Doctor appointment today: Saw baby on screen, 8 cm long. We could see the heart flickering on the screen! We could tell where the head is, compared to very first sonogram of Baby Abelson #2 where we could only see the sac!!!

More updates to come on Baby Abelson #2...

In the meantime, Madilyn is busy potty training herself. She decided one day she didn't want to wear a diaper, we had underwear ready to go. Of course, a few accidents, par for the course, but overall she has done a great job. Steve has been home with her this week while she has been training. We let her lead the way. We didn't push or force her to be trained as we think it is her body and she needs to be in control of it. Of course, we had her potty out in case she wanted it, and she did sometimes, but she really decided on Monday August 30th that she was ready, and now would rather use our seat anyway!

More later,
Abelsons

Minnesota 8.21-8.27

Hello family and friends...

We just got back from a week in Mn for my sister, Naomi's wedding. It was a busy week with family events and a bachelorette party...we had the best time. The bride and groom could not have looked happier at their gorgeous outdoor wedding near a pond at Centennial Lakes!!!! Madi and her cousin Maya were flower girls, I have to say they actually walked down the aisle and dropped petals at the rehearsal but at the real event they walked down, Madi walked up to Steve's mic and stood there and then ran back down the aisle, Maya following her.

Madi, once in Mn, and then again today in Ny put herself down for a nap!!

She has been talking up a storm and walks up to people and asks their name.

More later,
Abelsons

Steve has been out of town. Madi and I have been holding down the fort.

One evening Madi couldn't find george, he wasnt in her bed, so she called to me from her room that she needed George. I brought him in and she asked for kiss, kissed me 5 times (her new thing is to kiss multiple times in a row, then as I was leaving she said "thanks" with a smile.

She has been waking up in the 5 o'clock hour again. Every morning she has an excuse for me to get her "I pooped" so I went in, then she tells me she only had gas. "I'm wet", "I want a kiss" "I want to give you a kiss" "I dropped my book" "Open the door". It is quite comical, although seeing 5:06 am on the clock is not so comical.

The other day Madi and I were having dinner together, I was cutting a piece of watermelon for her, a piece flew onto her leg, we both started laughing. It is so fun that she gets when things are funny now.

I was sitting on the edge of the chair one day, and she told me to be careful because I was on the edge.

After swimming she saw the showers, she told me I couldn't go in because "you have clothes on, take clothes off first, then you can go in". What's funny is that I never asked to go in!

She didn't want me to clap while she was singing, so she showed me how to hold my hands instead.

More later,

Alissa

So..She's 3!!

Well, we have often heard of the "terrific twos" and the "terrible threes" now we wouldn't say anything is terrible, but we will say she definitely has perfected the art of assertion. Our question is...doesn't she get tired of going against the tide on everything we ask/say?

While we know why she is doing what she is doing, more or less for independence or because there is really something going on that is bothering her, and while we can find a solution a lot of the time by finding the root of the issue, ignoring if she is just playing the Drama Queen card, or staying with her as she let's all her emotions out, it can be very difficult when a very strong 3 year old challenges all you ever ask of her and with such strength.

We knew this would come, it is only "normal" and of course we hear all of our friends relaying the same stories.

What we keep thinking about is that all the other frustrations we had have passed, and now we are on to a new matter, or two!! So this too will pass. For example, every time we passed an Italian Ice stand she would wail and want some, or a fruit stand, same issue. Now she is over that and is on to stopping and sitting down in the middle of the street as we are crossing, standing against a wall as we are walking to the bus (especially if we are in a rush), saying "no" to changing her pull-up and brushing teeth in the morning, jumps/skips stairs as she walks down the stairway.

(Now that I write this, I realize, maybe she is telling us she doesn't want to be changed anymore and is ready for "real" underwear. Up to this point she doesn't ask to use the potty. We ask her if she would like to go, and sometimes she does, other time she says "no". But we have not pushed her since we feel she will do it when she is ready and that eventually everyone gets potty trained. But, perhaps this is her way of saying she is ready and doesn't want us to have to change her anymore?!?)

She does some very sweet things; every time I sneeze she blesses me, in a story that we read a boy has a stomach ache and she kisses his stomach and asks if he is better after she does so, I tripped and she patted my back and asked if I was ok, she hands friends or kids at park toys she has, asks Nala and us if we had a good day, etc.

It never ceases to amaze us that she knows how to push buttons, which buttons and when. She knows if I am upset with her what will make me laugh, she knows when we need her to do something due to time constraints what to say and what to do to get a reaction.

My goal is to find a better way lead her to what we want her to do. I can imagine being told what to do all the time can be very annoying for kids. When we really listen to what we say, we give a lot of directives, so maybe rephrasing will help.

Here's to trying to weather the 3 year storm...
The Abelsons