Ultrasounds and Bloodtests, but not the fun kind

I have heard that serious ailments can increase your popularity, so in an attempt to "one up" Emily K. I decided to go ahead and get some gallstones. Yes that's right, gallstones. And....I even get to have surgery! Woohoo! Way better than just a broken arm and a cast :).

But seriously, this week has been an interesting one. It started Sunday night when I was having really bad upper abdominal pains. I'd had the same kind a few times in the past month or two but these ones were awful. I couldn't sleep, couldn't lay down. Finally, the "attack" went away at about 2:30am and I got to sleep around 3:15am or so. Fortunately Molly slept until almost 7:30. During the time I was awake in the middle of the night I started doing some google searches and found that the symptoms really sounded like gallstones. Little did I know gallbladder issues run in the family, which my mom told me the next morning. So off to the doctor I went and was immediately sent for bloodwork and an ultrasound. The u/s confirmed the gallstones but they also wanted me to go for an MRI to check out my liver, which they thought might be fatty. Which is even worst than gallstones because it could mean no more wine...yikes! Fortunately the tests came back and the liver seems fine, I have to go in 6 months to get another MRI to double check that everything is ok but for now no worries. The MRI did confirm several gallstones so I am going forward with my appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday. Now the doctor hasn't officially said that I'm getting surgery, but that I needed to meet with a surgeon.......I'm putting 2 and 2 together.....

This has put a slight damper on my big plans for becoming a wine tasting consultant. Similar to Pampered Chef, but you get to buy wine. Way better than pots and pans if you ask me. You'll be hearing more about that soon...and for those of you who might not be able to drink wine right now...well...we'll save you a glass :).

So that's it from here. Molly is getting close to walking. She's now doing "one handed" and is getting quite fast, especially if she sees Tigger. Last weekend I said I'd give her 2 weeks, so we'll see where she is next Saturday.

Slow recovery from vacation

Why is it so much work to come home from vacation? So much unpacking, sorting, laundry....we are almost there. Finally. It hasn't helped that Molly hasn't been 100% in the health department. Hmmm...where to start...

Last Monday we headed north to camping with Molly's cousins. We had a great time. Molly did pretty well camping, until she started with runny nose and then a fever. She still slept ok until about 3 am when she'd wake up and want to sleep with us. We still had fun though, we went up the Gondola at Wildcat:





Hiking up Sabbaday Falls:





And general goofiness around the campfire:






She also went swimming with all of her cousins:


I have so more pictures to share, but Molly is awake from her nap so I'll have to get to them later.

An easy way to update my blog

I realized yesterday that people are always taking pictures of Molly at our meetups, and of course I never remember to bring my camera. So why not just share those ones?


Today we went to a beach in Guilford, it was really nice. Molly immediately took over Isabelle's chair. We didn't get her a chair this year but think she'll be ready for one soon enough!



Molly is supposed to be napping right now but is crying in her crib. Yesterday, she also refused to nap in the afternoon but she really needs to or she will be---make that IS---miserable. Hmmm...quiet.....yesterday I let it slide since she napped until 3 pm, today it was only 2 pm so more sleep is required...we'll see if she stays quiet...nope....


I also started an Amazon.com Wish List for Molly for her birthday and Christmas (link is on the left.) I figured it would help me organize what things I think we'd like to get her, and when other people ask I can refer them to the list or at least look at it. It also helps me when I see things at other people's houses I can add them and not forget them 2 months from now. If anyone has any suggestions for the list, let me know :).

Long Day

Today was a very long day. I started with a dentist appointment at 8:30 am, yuck. It wasn't so bad, I hadn't been in a long time so I went for a cleaning 2 weeks ago and had to do 2 follow-up appointments to replace a few of my old fillings. I am one of those rare people that prefers no novicane (sp?) but it always makes my entire face numb, and sometimes even my ear. So if it isnt' too bad, I go without and I survived. I also figured if I could give birth without any drugs, I could get a tooth drilled. Breathing techniques work well at the dentist too.


So after getting home from the dentist, I fed Molly breakfast and then she napped. I got a few things done around here then off to Target and a playdate. The playdate was so much fun. We had probably 30 people there, it was great. The only bad thing was Tahnee's dog stole my sandwich while getting Molly's stroller so she could eat lunch :( because she can not sit still long enough to eat a cracker without being tied down. So instead of sticking to my diet like I planned, I ate chips (fat free at least) and some grapes. I guess it could have been worse. Molly had so much fun playing in the sprinkler.




But a lot of the time I was chasing her around because she is on the go non stop.



She also enjoyed the swing!



And still smiles pretty for the camera.



After the playdate, Molly fell asleep in the car. We were home just long enough for me to get the floors mopped and she woke up and refused to nap anymore. That was at 3 pm. So by 7 pm she was exhausted, I am exhausted. From 3 to 4 pm she basically cried because she was still tired. Then she got better but then I had to change her diaper, more crying. You get the picture. Speaking of diapers, we had to borrow one from a friend because apparently we went through all the ones in my bag (no idea when) but we tried a Luvs, not so bad. She said she switched because her son was getting diaper rashes from the Cruisers, and this was the first time in I don't know how long that Molly wasn't a little bit red somewhere. I may buy a package to check them out, they are way cheaper than Cruisers, so if they work that would be great.


John finally got her to bed, but it wasn't easy. I swear she knows when I either say or type something about her going to bed rather easily, I always knock on wood and say we are very lucky, but she just likes to mix things up.

Sunflower Maze

Today we went to the Sunflower Maze at Lyman Orchards. It was alot of fun. The bees weren't too bad, they were more annoying at lunch! I really don't like yellow jacket season, one of the worst parts of the end of summer. Well, Molly apparently woke up, so here are the photos.

Molly & Me in the maze

The Sunflowers

Molly, Me, Jenn H. & Haley

2 in one day!

I have to say that I am very jealous of my friends who have had time to figure out how to put pictures up much better than me. Mine always just come out in one big bunch at the top. Doesn't matter if I cut and paste or anything...I'll have to work on that. Can you believe two posts in one day? Crazy I know :).

So what have we been up to. Well, as I mentioned, Molly is a little maniac. Crawling, cruising, you name it. She's into everything. And she is soooo fast. I don't know how her little body goes as fast as it does. We went to her 9 month (!!!!) doctor visit on Wednesday and she weighs 16 pounds 10 ounces, and is 27.5 inches. That puts her at about 15% for weight, and 50% for length. She went down a little in the weight department, doctor didn't seem concerned though since she is doing very well developmentally. I guess I should just keep feeding her those carbs she loves so much. The girl can't get enough cookies and crackers.

We're still having fun with our meetup group, and looking forward to Vicky and Jenn H. to join us at some events soon. I honestly don't know what else has kept me so busy, but it seems like I'm going non-stop.

Tonight we are going to dinner at a German restaurant with John's parents, uncles and Dan, Dawn, Avery & Sadie. Molly is staying at home with my mom so we have the night off. We're also going to the movies before we go to dinner to see The Bourne Ultimatum. John LOVES those movies and they say this is the best of the three.

Hmm, what else. I've been looking at daycares. I think I'm going back to work in January just for session, I'm going to talk to the bosses more about it in September, but that is the plan.

That's it from here for now. Let me see if I can figure out how to put a picture at the bottom. Woohoo I did it! Cutting and pasting didn't used to work...maybe the upgraded or something. These are some more photos from the beach:

Here is a picture of Molly giving her cousin Michael kisses.

And another photo on the beach

Still here

Ok, thought I'd have a couple minutes to post but Molly has decided to leave the computer room....now you know why I haven't posted much recently! She's on the go....that's what we do, we chase Molly around and attempt to keep the house in order.

Here are a few pics though.

Back from the Beach

Wow, what a crazy two weeks! Sorry I haven't posted, we've been at the beach in Old Lyme for the usual festitivies. It was a lot of fun, first time Melissa and I spent the whole week together down there since we were young. Of course I wasn't at Little Beach til the sun came up like she was, but still had lots of fun.

Well enough about me. Sure, vacation was fun but not nearly as thrilling and exciting as the news we received the night before we left. I know a few of you have heard the news, but figured I'd do a quick recap. On Monday, July 2 we were sitting at home waiting for Grammie and Poppy to stop by because it was Grammie's birthday and they also had the car in the picture below for Molly. Thanks Sadie and Avery for letting Molly borrow it!

Just as the car pulled up, the phone rang and it was the Hannan's. John talked to them for a bit inside then came out and handed the phone to me. I thought it was just to confirm some details about going to the casino later in the week while we were at the beach, but they had some much better news to share. They had been selected for adoption!!!! *starting to get teary again* AND....the birth mother was already past her due date!!! They would likely have a baby in the next few days. So the next couple of days were sooooo long. I can't even imagine how it was for them. But for us, we got a couple phone calls and text messages to let us know things were going along ok but slowly. Jen K. and I talked more than a few times, begging John and Steve to call to see what was going on but they just kept saying we needed to give them time. Ugh!!! They tried to induce the birth mother late Tuesday night but it wasn't working. Finally, at 9:21 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2007 Brian and Jenn were able to welcome their new little girl into the world, Haley Lauren Hannan. John and I can't be more happy for them, and Molly can't wait to play with her new bff. It still seems so unreal, but seeing Haley and how beautiful she is makes it real.

So on Saturday, July 7th we headed home to gather all of Molly's goods (swing, bouncer, bassinet) and a bunch of newly washed clothes so Bri and Jenn would be as prepared as possible to become parents. As far as I can tell, they are doing an amazing job. Yesterday we had a baby shower, and this little girl looks like she is going be well taken care of by parents, friends and family!

So that is the news and here are a few photos. And a couple of Molly from the beach. More to come.

Wow it's hot

It's days like these that I always used to say that I didn't mind going to work because then I'd be in air conditioning....still not a bad option but going to the beach is also a good one :). I'm so happy we joined Owenego. Even though we have the pool, it's just so much cooler at the shore. We went there for about 3 hours today. Molly had a good time walking around in the water. At first she got alittle nervous with the waves, but soon enough she wanted to walk in deeper. There were a ton of people with their kids there today, I even met a few moms that John and crew used to play with down there when he was little. Guess we're all growing up!

As for the pool, it is open but not quite swimable yet. We're hoping one more round of chemicals clears it up and we'll be swimming by the weekend.

Molly changed so much in the past few weeks. She can pull herself up rather quickly, and even starting cruising a bit last night. Mostly on the couch, and she can kind of get herself around her play table. It's fun watching her learn all these new things, while I quickly move things out of her way. Baby proofing has begun in a big way...

Ok, it's hot and I'm going to find a fan.

Fun outdoors

Today we went to cousin Sadie's 3rd birthday party! Molly has so much fun playing with all their toys. It was like going to an amusement park. She was asleep in about 3 minutes when we got in the car, but was all thrown off when we got home. I think she's finally asleep though, hopefully for the night. Just wanted to share a few photos, I actually sent a few of them out as well but you bloggers get a few bonus pics. I love the one of her in the car, and she was so cute the other day going through her basket of toys. As many times as I put them back in she'll empty everyone last one out. Minutes of fun :).

Enjoy the beautiful weather, it's going to get HOT HOT HOT next week!

Dear Stephen and Emily,

I am so sorry for not updating my blog more often. Little Miss Molly has me running all over the place! She is learning to crawl, and likes me to help her walk all over the house. Her favorite thing to do is chase after Tigger the cat. Every once in a while, he actually lets her pet him and then she gets really excited! She also likes to play with her Little People Airplane, I think she is going to be a world traveler when she grows up.

Molly spent her first night away on Sunday with Grandma, just like you guys! Did you have fun? Molly did. She was a little sad in the morning when Schmitty wasn't there to get her out of bed and I wasn't there to feed her, but when she realized she could still play with Grandma and Grandpa for a little bit more, it was ok. Last night she had a little trouble going to bed because she was a little confused and wanted to spend more time with me and Schmitty, but once she got settled in everything was fine. I'm sure you guys were excited to be back home with Mom and Dad yesterday too.

Schmitty and I had a great time with your mom and dad and Brian and Jenn at Mike and Anne's wedding on Sunday! I'm sure your dad was a little sad he couldn't spend the whole day with you on Father's Day, but you'll get to make up for it I'm sure. It was a lot of fun for them all to see old friends and family, and for me to meet a lot of people I only hear stories about.

I hope you guys like these pictures, Molly has been having lots of fun eating all sorts of things like cookies and prunes. Yum.

We look forward to seeing you guys on Sunday at Owenego! Let's hope it doesn't rain. Talk to you later!

Love,

Jen, Schmitty & Molly

So much so fast

Molly is growing and learning so fast right now. Every day it's something new. I am going to try to take some video of her tomorrow to share. On Tuesday she learned how to get back into the sitting position from her belly. That has made such a difference in her ability to get places. She's been pushing up on to her toes, can push backwards and even tries to pull up on to us or the furniture. Two minutes alone and she finds her way over to something she isn't supposed to be near. I'm not really sure how she gets there, but she does. It's funny because if I'm in the room with her, she only seems to go backwards, but alone she manages to get where she wants to go. She'll be pulling up soon enough, right now she tries but doesn't have the balance or the strength to get all the way up so that's resulted in a couple of bumped heads, but nothing too bad. Needless to say, this has kept me pretty busy. The pack-n-play is out full time now so I can put her in it when I need to shower, or even go to the bathroom at this point. I thought I had enough time to go with her in the middle of her rug in the bedroom and when I came out she was almost to the bookshelf. Amazing. Our little girl is growing up so fast! And she is definitely the happiest baby on the block, she's just so friendly and smiley. I stole some pics from my friend Vicky's blog to share, Molly and Becca are almost starting to have fun together. When Molly was first born Becca seemed so much older and bigger, but Molly is definitely catching up and 18 months will be nothing pretty soon. Add little Richie to the mix who is only 6 months younger than Molly (but will likely outweigh her before we know it!) , a few more months and we'll really be in trouble.

We have a TOOTH!

Sorry no picture yet, it's still not out far enough yet but I can feel it with my fingers. It's a front lower tooth, seems like the right side. That's our big news :). She hasn't been too fussy, but did toss and turn a bit last night and woke a little earlier than usual. She's cried a little bit today but not bad if I'm holding her and giving her full attention, which isn't that different from usual. Molly loves to be the center of attention. As soon as I can get a pic I'll post it! For now you'll get an old photo I never got around to posting.

Summer is here!

Wow, what beautiful weather we are having. So nice! We are headed to the beach today, but have to stop to get an umbrella on the way. And maybe some sand toys too. It would be great if the water fountain is turned on, but not sure if it will be yet. Molly is getting so big, her legs barely fit through the bumbo anymore! Anyway, just wanted to pop on and post some pictures, they've been in demand. The last was taken by a friend at our playgroup.

Happy weekend

I'm going to start scaring you with the number of posts I do :)! We had a lovely weekend, great weather and it is supposed to get even better this week.

This week is going to be an exciting one! Vicky is going to welcome her new little boy into the world. I am so excited! I think I'm even more excited now that I really understand what motherhood is all about and how special it is. How lucky that she will have both a daughter and a son.

We had a fun weekend. Saturday we went down to Westport for a bit to get John a new wedding ring. He lost it in our travels to South Carolina. It was a little big for him, and it had fallen off more than once but we never got around to getting it fitted. He bought a ring 2 sizes smaller than the one he had before so hopefully this one stays where it belongs! Then we went over to Steve and Jen's house and had a "Bri and Jenn Are Away in Paris" party. Ok, didn't have quite the effect as the "Steve is Away in Ireland" party, but still fun. Molly had a blast playing with Stephen T and Emily. She just loves big kids and can't wait to be running around with them. It was very sweet to see them entertain her, and actually seemed to enjoy it!

Today we went down to visit Grandma (my mom) because we will be away for Mother's Day. We visited for a little bit at the house, their new house is beautiful! Then we went down to Greenwich Point where my mom and Michael were part of a presentation on shellfish and other things. We went for a long walk around the Point, really beautiful park. I brought my camera to take pictures, but left it in the car and then forgot to take it out so now I have no camera. Hopefully I can get it on Wednesday when I go pick up John's ring.

John fixed the sink, yeah! We have a new faucet, it looks so nice. So in between my walking event in the morning, grocery shopping, and going to our meetup at the beach tomorrow maybe I'll actually get the kitchen in order again.

How big will she be....

I really wish this was something we could predict with some certainty, but we can't. Molly and I met a friend from our meetup group out at the Westbrook outlets today and had a lot of fun. We did a few laps to get some exercise and then started shopping. The Children's Place had some really great deals if I knew what size to buy her for next winter. I'm assuming 12 months would be good, but I think their 12 months was 18-22 lbs, so might she need 18 months by Christmas and beyond? It seems so big, but according to their sizes she'll be in 12 months in 3 more pounds...that's like the same size as Carter's 9 months...crazy. So I ended up just getting her one turtleneck onesie and a pair of red socks for $2.98. Then on to Carter's, where I got a few more onesie/pant sets, our favorites. Finally, onto Osh Kosh where we found the CUTEST pajamas. She's modeling the bottoms here...again, she's wearing 12 months!!! They are a little but they didn't make 9 months, and 6 months she'd be out of too soon.

So my big question, do they make summer sleeper sacks? Like non fleecey ones? Maybe I'll have to check Babies R Us. I think I might remember Halo having one, but I wanted to wait to see what size she'd be in the summer.

Again, trying to attempt to post more this month. I can't believe I only posted once between 5 and 6 months! Such a slacker.

6 months old!

My oh my, where have the last 6 months gone? I know I say this every month, but seriously. It's going by too fast. We had our 6 month check up today, Molly is up to 15 lb 4 oz and is 25 3/4 inches! She's growing like a weed! She's up to the 50th percentile for length (or is it height now??) and still hovering between 25 and 50 on the weight, but gaining. She really is growing up so fast and learning so many new things.

We had an amazing time in Hilton Head Island, SC last week. The weather was absolutely perfect! They, much like us, haven't had the warmest spring. Not that it has been cold by our standards, but cool by theirs. Up until last week it was still down in the 60's and 70's. Just our luck they finally had a week in the low 80's. Perfect beach weather, not to hot but not to cold. It was a bit warmer when we sat by the pool, which Molly loved. She had a great time splashing around after her initial shock. She didn't cry, just lifted her legs and made this funny little noise which sounded half cry half laugh. It was pretty cute. And her favorite part was probably having a back seat buddy the whole week. Aunt Melissa came down with us, so as if Molly isn't spoiled enough by us, she had 3 people to give her constant attention all week. What more could a 6 month old ask for?

Now we're back home and still trying to get all settled in. I'm almost done, but now the kitchen sink is broken so the kitchen is slowly becoming a disaster since we are washing dishes in the bathroom. It's always something...

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

This weather is absolutely horrible! It is cold and rainy, and it looks like we have lakefront property. The river is so high, possibly the highest it has ever been. Molly and I stayed in all day yesterday, she took a 3 hour nap which was wonderful! I'd love it if we were able to get on that kind of schedule. My problem is that I am always on the go, so very rarely do we get two days in a row of being home like that. But if she is going to start napping regularly, we're going to have to alter our schedules. Not that I mind, one of the reasons we go out is so that we don't get bored with each other. If she's sleeping, I will have "me" time to read, clean, etc.

Only 6 more days until we leave for Hilton Head, which sounds so lovely right now. It's so much better to go on vacation when you've had horrible weather, isn't it? Right now it looks like it should be in the upper 70's, low 80's down there. Ahhh. Can't wait to just sit at the beach and relax.

On Saturday, I might up with the college girls for lunch at On the Border, tasty margaritia! Excellent idea, Amy :)! It was so good to see everyone. I sometimes feel bad that we aren't able to see each other more when I am always out and about with my playgroups. Hopefully once Vicky's baby comes she will be able to come to more events. And I hope Amy finds a group that is active up in her area!

Well, I need to get some stuff done around here before heading to a playgroup at Gymboree. We were supposed to go walking, but I canceled those plans.

5 months old!

Molly turned 5 months old on Saturday! She's so big...can't you tell :)?? How funny is this picture? She looks so tiny. She really is getting big though, everything around her is just even bigger. We packed up the bouncer seat for good though. She really doesn't like it all that much, and I figured it would stop us from putting her in it anymore.

Other big news is that Molly had a taste of her first cereal a few weeks ago. She loves it! The pediatrician told us at the 4 month visit not to start until 6 months unless it seemed like she was starving (??), so I called the pediatrician at 4 1/2 months to see if I could give her some since she had started waking up to eat during the night, which she hadn't done since about 5 or 6 weeks thinking maybe that is a sign of starvation since I'm not really familiar with those symptoms. They reluctantly said ok to cereal but said to go slow. So I waited another week and her sleep patterns went back to normal. But then she started grabbing food out of our hands and definitely has good enough head control so I said why not give it a try. We did two weeks of rice cereal and now just started oatmeal, which I think she likes a lot better.

That's it from here. Still busy with our meetup groups. We are having lots of fun with our new friends. I've even gone out for Martinis & Manicures, which was great. Maybe I'll plan a birthday celebration there with the girls...hmmm...could be fun :).

Busy days

We have been very busy lately. I can barely believe spring is here and our little girl is almost 5 months old! The time goes by so fast. We have been busy going for walks around the block. Molly went on her first big girl walk, facing forward in the carriage! At first she wasn't quite sure about it but once we started moving she was fine. We also went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New Haven. Doesn't she make a great Red Sox fan?

We have also been busy going to Gymboree and a variety of events with others moms I've met on meetup.com. It's a lot of fun, and finally feel like I'm meeting more people around here with babies around Molly's age.

Oh, we also got a new dryer. It works so well! I can actually get all the laundry done in one day! And I am getting over an upper respiratory infection, yuck. But this is really the first time I have been sick all winter. Molly just looks at me all confused when I cough.

Just about time to watch Grey's Anatomy, hoping Molly will stay sleeping.....