WOW!!!

Has it really been 2 months since I wrote on here? Its obvious that my days kind of get away from me! Ayla is now 7 1/2 months old and crawling all over the place. She's so smiley and is starting to wave....its sooo cute! Madilyn started Sunday School and Preschool 2 weeks ago and LOVES them both! She is the only girl along with 5 boys in her Sunday school class. The first day they were learning about "Jesus is King" and they made crowns. Madilyn told me in church that she was "the only princess and the rest were kings." She is also loving Preschool and has already made BFF's with a little girl by the name of Mallory. She goes on Tuesday and Thursdays and of course after the first week, she got sick. I kept her home the following Tuesday and then on Thursday morning Mallory's mom was telling me that Mallory was so concerned about Maddie and kept talking about how Maddie wasnt in school and she hoped she feels better. I thought it was so cute!! Maddie now has strep!! This preschool thing is going to kill me! Ayla also has her first cold.....of course brought home from school by her big sister. We have a lot of stuff coming up so hopefully I'll remember to get back on here and post some pics. We have the Ritley Run tomorrow and then we're having friends over next weekend for a cookout. The week after that we're all getting together at a friends house for the Homecoming parade. I'll also try to make sure I post pics of Madilyn's first day of school too!!!

TEETH!

After many many many weeks of drooling like crazy, Ayla now has 2 teeth. Last saturday (the day before she was 5 months) she woke up with her 2 bottom front teeth. The drooling has not stopped though.....we still go through a dozen bibs a day. She's really been chewing on her fingers, so I have a feeling we'll be seeing some more soon. Ayla has also been diagnosed with Acid reflux...just like her big sister had. We knew she had some acid reflux, but it didnt seem to bother her much, so I didnt want to put her on any meds. But, over time (especially the last week) it has gotten worse and was really bothering her. She's been screaming and crying as you hear the food coming up. I took her to the doctor on Friday, and the doctor diagnosed her with acid reflux and she is now on Zantac. I really hate putting her on meds, but knew I had to do it. Maddie was diagnosed with reflux around 2 months and was on Prevacid until she was a year old. So hopefully Ayla wont need her meds very long either. Dave also has reflux which he has had for many years..........so I blame it all on him! :-)

Finally.......pictures!

Madilyn at her Gymnastics awards ceremony at the end of session. She's doing so well in Gymnastics and absolutly loves it! Come October it will no longer be a "parent/child" class. She will go into the next class where she goes all by herself!!!

Ayla's first time in the pool

Look at those thighs!!!!!

Maya visited this weekend and the girls had a blast in the pool! Maya is such a brave girl and nothing phases her!

Busy weekend

I know I've been really bad with posting pics. We were given a new camera, and I still have not downloaded the software yet. So eventually I will do that and then I will have a TON of pictures to post.
Relay for Life was this weekend (Sat/Sun).....which in itself always makes for a busy weekend. But on top of that, Alissa was home and I had some girlfriends over Saturday night for a little mini-bachelorette party for her. Since 70% of the girls were either pregnant or nursing, it was a very mellow evening. But its always good to catch up with old friends. Jessica Banker was also in town (one of the pregnant girls) and her mom had a surprise baby shower for her on Sunday. After the shower, I had a graduation party to go to.....found out that good friends of ours may be moving closer to home in the near future which is always good to hear. Its not that they live out of state, but they do live on the west side, so we dont get to see them very often. Its odd how children change things. If it were just the 2 of us, a trip to the west side wouldnt seem like such a big deal. But when your packing up kids and trying to coordinate schedules, it just makes it quite difficult. So it will be nice to have them 20 minutes away (which seems to be the plan). I'm so blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life and even more so that our husbands all seem to get along so well!
Another wonderful childhood friend has also been in town for a couple weeks. Her and her family all came over last Tuesday to cook out. Its always so much fun getting us all together.....seems like we've never been apart! We actually had to tear Dave and Christian apart at the end of the night for them to leave. Again...totally blessed to have such great friends!!
Anyway, maybe this next weekend will be less eventfull.....although its 4th of July weekend, so probably not!!! I'm off to bed!

Ayla rolled over!!!

I can't believe that its been over a month since I've blogged! The girls are growing like crazy. Ayla rolled over yesterday......16 weeks old to the day. Funny thing is, Maddie was 16 weeks old exactly when she rolled over too!!! Maddie had her gymnastics awards ceremony yesterday. It was so cute and she had so much fun. I'm hoping to download pics and post them soon! I'll probably have a ton of pics to post when I do!

Way too long!!

Its been SOOOOOO long since I've had a chance to get on here and post some pics of the girls. They are both growing so fast!! Madilyn turned 3 yrs old on Wednesday. We had the family over on Friday and the weather was beautiful!! We were able to be out on the deck and the girls played out in the yard. Man, its been a long winter!!



Kailey and Madilyn posing after eating cake


Ayla at 10 weeks old.



We then had all the kids to Gymboree and they all seemed to have a blast! My mom took Maddie to Gymboree and told her to pick out her birthday outfit..........and she did! She looks so cute! We were so excited that Alissa, Bryan and Maya were able to come into town to celebrate.
Congrats to them on their upcoming wedding.....CANT WAIT!! We are so excited for them!


They brought some of Maya's clothes for Ayla to borrow. We immediatly had to put on this SUPER CUTE outfit!

Please keep us in your prayers.....

We received some bad news on Wednesday......Dave lost his job. Yesterday and today he has been working non-stop to re-tailor his resume and get it ready to send out. I was scheduled to go back to work today, and I had a very busy day. So we definatly had to make a lot of adjustments these last few days. Please keep us in your prayers and keep your eyes and ears open for any possible job leads. He's willing to do just about anything, even if its not related to his degree. He's just hopeful that he'll find a job in the near future. I know that in the end this will be a blessing. He was working 15 hr days (salary employee) and never being able to spend time with the girls or me. He's even been working the last few weekends. Hopefully he'll be able to find something that will allow a little more family time. I believe so much in the power of prayer, so I ask all of you to please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time! THANK YOU!

So far behind!!!

So I know that I'm really behind with posting, but things have been really crazy! The pics I'm putting up now were taken a little over 2 weeks ago. The first is when Ayla's cord fell off. Ayla had her 1 month check up this past Thursday. She was 50% in height and weight, weighing in at 9 lbs 3 oz...which is two and a half pounds from the weight she left the hospital. SOOOO unlike Madilyn. She was always 5 or 10% in weight and 90% in height. Anyway, the doctor told me that Ayla has colic and a little acid reflux. However, she seemed to think that if I MADE Ayla go at least 2 hrs between feedings that the colic and reflux would lessen. At that point Ayla was nursing every hour to hour and a half. She told me I needed to let her cry until it was feeding time again (at least 2 hrs). HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO LET MY ONE MONTH OLD CRY IT OUT? She told me that it didnt matter how old she was. And as far as her sleeping habbits, she said I should swaddle her tight, turn on some white noise, shut the door and let her cry for at least 20 min. AGAIN.....how could I do that to a one month old? I left that doctors appt very upset and cried most of the evening. But I thought, I had to at least try it. I was still on 4, one hour increments of sleep and I had finally hit a wall. I thought 20 min was too much so I would try for 10. Sure enough, there was some truth to what the doctor said. She cried for 5 min., was quite for 5, cried for 5 more and then fell fast asleep. As far as eating that night.... She went 2 hrs between feedings, then 3 hrs and then 2 hrs each increment after that. Only once did I have to listen to her cry for 20 minutes. SHe was such a happier baby the next day and I couldnt beleive it!! Apparently babies with Colic are uncomfortable so then they nurse because it sooths them. but then, they ate again, which causes more discofort because its so frequent. Its a vicious cycle. So making her go at least 2 hrs between feedings is definatly helping. Its not easy to listen to her cry when she wants to eat after an hour and a half (which isnt all the time anymore) but I know its definatly making her feel better to wait. I think it has helped her acid reflux b/c I dont hear much coming up anymore. Friday night was not as easy as Thursday night, but then last night was easier. So hopefully we're making some progress.

HELP!!!

Has anyone had a child that hates everything? I guess they say you never get 2 easy children. When we brought Madilyn home from the hospital she slept in her crib from the first night, loved her swing and her bouncer seat. Ayla hates her crib, hates the bouncer and hates her swing. WHAT DO I DO? She is happy and will sleep as long as someone is holding her but screams bloody murder otherwise. So I've been sleeping in the recliner with her either in my arms (supported by the boppy) or on my chest. I cant continue to do this! I dont want her to get in the habit of doing this, and once I go back to work (in 4 more weeks) I'm going to actually need to get some sleep....instead of 4 hours each night. If she were older I'd let her cry it out a little, but she's just too young for that. Anyone have any advice for me??

new pics

Sorry, not a lot of time to write. Things have been CRAZY!! Ayla is eating every 45 min and I am breastfeeding, so things have been difficult to say the least. I still havent had much sleep and I'm starting to notice it. Here are some recent pics.....

Ayla Charlotte Mealy

We came home on Valentines day and Madilyn was so excited to have "matching" dresses!

Ayla arrived on Thursday February 12th at 3:28 am. She weighed in at 7 lbs 2.5 oz and was 19 inches long. I had a 7.5 hr labor and pushed for 10 min. Unfortunatly my epidural had worn off b/c I progressed so fast (going from 5cm to 10 cm in 1.5 hrs) so from 2am on I felt every intense (pitocin induced) contraction there was! Ayla looks so much like Madilyn did when she was born. Madilyn is very much in love with her little sister and so far has only had a couple little minutes of jealosy........to be expected!

More progress....

Todays appt: 3.5 cm 80% effaced.

Almost there!!!

I received a call from my doctor yesterday wanting to know if I could come in Wed. evening to start my induction instead of Thursday morning. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Of Course I can! The earlier the better! I felt like asking......is today good for you? I would have gladly moved it up a couple days! So, I have an appt today at 2:00 and then we will go in tomorrow at 7pm for the induction. It cant come fast enough!! Madilyn is so excited to be having a sleepover at Mumma and Paappa's house and to come to the hospital to meet her little sister. Although, I had a dream last night that it was a boy!!! Only God knows. I guess we'll all find out shortly! Please keep us in your prayers!

3cm & 75% effaced!

So we went to the doctor yesterday and she tells me that I am still about 3 cm but I am now 75% effaced. WHY HASN'T THIS BABY FALLEN OUT YET?!?!!? She scheduled me to be induced next Thursday Feb 12th, if I dont go into labor before that. She really seems to think I will. BUT again, we've been saying that for the last 2 weeks!!!! This little girl is just as stubborn as her big sister........which I know is a trait they get from their dad!!! :-) :-)
We also had our hospital tour last night. I kept hoping that my water would break while we were there. How convienient would that be?!?!?! The maternity wing at Lake West is really nice! It's very comparable to St. Vincent in Toledo which is where I delivered Madilyn. It was nice to get a look around and see where everything was. I'm realizing that this time around we're doing a lot of things more last minute and not so much freakishly running around making sure we've done everything we need to do. Im guessing thats how everything is the second time around.....we'll see. Everyone tells me how much more laid back you tend to be, which I can already see happening.
All I really feel right now is ANXIOUS for this little girl to make an appearance so I can feel "normal" (relativly speaking, of course) again. I want to be able to dry between my toes after a shower and not be so uncomfortable when I put my socks and shoes on. I SWEAR that I will always treasure being able to do those "small things" for the rest of my life!!! :-)

3 cm and 60%

Went to the doc yesterday and found out that I've had a little progress in the last week. Maybe all that bouncing on the exercise ball really did help after all! :-) Maybe I should do that ALL DAY LONG! Jamie and I went to the mall last night to walk....hoping to walk out the baby! We walked for about 1 1/2 hrs and I did have some contractions, but nothing worth calling the doctor for. I'm definatly having some contractions today too. HOPEFULLY SOON!!!!

Did I really do it????

Oh my gosh! Check out my next post! I think I finally figured out how to post pictures correctly and get the captions with the right pictures!!! Ok, Ok....so I'm blog challenged! SO WHAT! :-) I finally did it!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally....Christmas Pictures!

Christmas Eve. Madilyn is all ready for church! Another outfit in which she says she looks very "distinquished!"


Christmas morning!



Showing off her new gymnastics leotard and princess slippers. The day after Christmas, this is all she wanted to wear!

Christmas with Aunty A, Uncle B and Maya.

Chuck E Cheese with Miss Kristi. I think Kristi may have had a little bit more fun than Maddie!

Gianna Lanzi's birthday party at Playground World.

2 cm dilated and 60% effaced!

Yep, thats right!!! I went to the doc today, really ready to hear some good news....and I got it! Things have been really rough for me lately, so I was dying to hear some positive news! I'm just trying not to get my hopes up, but I am praying for some fast progression! With (technically) 4 weeks to go, I ended up with the flu last week and cannot remember the last time I was THAT sick!!! It really did me in and at that point started feeling like I just want this pregnancy to be over with and to meet our little one! Pregnancy is just so much more difficult when your chasing after a toddler. I remember the days when I was pregnant with Madilyn. If I just needed to relax and put my feet up, I could. I could do things as I felt able to. Not so much with the 2nd. As my doctor said......It really makes you wonder how people have more than 2! That statement has never rang more true than it does right now at this stage in the game!
I know I'm really really behind with updating this blog. I still havent posted pictures from Christmas, but I swear I will soon! Things have just been really busy and really crazy. Madilyn is still in gymnastics and absolutly loving it! SHe is so talkative and blows our minds every day with the things that come out of her mouth. She put on a hat the other day and asked me "How do I look mommy?" So I told her that she looked very pretty. She quickly corrected me and said, "No, mommy, I look distinguished." WHAT!?!?!??! She makes my heart melt and she can quickly put things in perspective when she comes up to hug me out of the blue and says "I love you so much mommy." Kids are just a true blessing!!!!!!!! (I just need to remember that as I'm getting frustrated with the end of this pregnancy!!!) :-)