The Sevy's: April 2013

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sisterly Love

An older sister is a friend and defender - a listener, conspirator, a counsellor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too. ~Pam Brown

Having a big sister is one of the best blessings in life. We laugh, fight, cry, and love all at the same time. My sister is truly my best friend. My sister is exactly five years older than me. When I was really little she absolutely adored me, I was her sidekick. Then she got to be in her "teens" and I was so annoying for following her and her friends around. Then I got to be a teen and I would steal her clothes, makeup, and perfume (heck I still do that, I am wearing her sweatshirt right now! Isn't that what big sisters are for??). We are each others only siblings. My parents sometimes wish they had more children especially since I decided to leave the nest so young, but can I tell you a secret...I love just having one big sister! She is the best ever. She would do anything for me. She is always there for me when I need a friend or a therapist.

My Big Sister is the best because:

She makes the best lunch date
She is a great shopping partner
She makes an excellent Zumba dance partner
She is the best auntie ever and loves my sweet babe as if she were her own
She thinks I am funny and always laughs at me
She has gone through so much but is the strongest gal I know
She always listens to me
She knows when something is wrong even when she can't see my face
She can always make me smile

There are so many reasons why I love my sister and these are just a few. Today the Big Sis called and said lets meet for lunch. So Miss Madeline and I got ourselves ready and went and met up with her. We had a delicious lunch followed by an even better shopping trip to target! It is days like today that the thought of moving away makes me want to crawl up into a tiny ball and cry.

Love you Nicole! Thanks for being the best sister!

Monday, April 15, 2013

4 Months Old

Yesterday Madeline turned 4 months old. I can't believe I have a 4 month old baby. It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital and she was so tiny and new. I love everything about this girl! It amazes me everyday how much my love for her grows. I just can't get enough of her! I feel so lucky that she is mine forever! Her little firecracker of a personality is coming out more and more each day and I just love it!

Here are some things that Madeline does at 4 months:

She loves to play! She is the happiest when she is laying on her "gym" baby Eisenstein mat. She loves to grab the toys and links hanging above her. She gets so excited and kicks her legs when she makes the music go off.
She loves to grab her toys and hold them.
She laughs and giggles! It is the cutest sound ever.
We have started taking her on walks now that the weather is a little nicer, we can't tell if she likes them or hates them. She has the same blank expression on her face the whole time.
She sleeps all night! We are very lucky!
She has major attachment issues. She loves me and her dad and won't go to anyone else unless she can see us.
She loves to be at home, she has tantrums if we leave the house.
She loves to put her toys, burp cloths, and hands in her mouth.
She is trying so hard to roll over, she hasn't mastered it yet but hopefully soon.
She hates tummy time, she will cry and cry until someone rolls her over.
She loves bath time, she has learned how to kick her legs and splash all over!
She loves to babble and scream. She is so loud!
She loves to be swaddled!
She loves her bedtime routine. She nurses, gets swaddled, has her vitamins, say our prayers, kiss her goodnight, turn her mobile on and leave her lamp on until the mobile is done. Once we turn her lamp off, BAM she is asleep within 30 seconds!
She smiles all the time but as soon as you try to capture it with a photograph she gives you a straight face!

We are in love with this beautiful little girl! We feel like the luckiest parents in the world! We love you Madeline, Thank you for making our lives so complete!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Testing, testing, oh and some more testing...

When Madeline was born she failed her hearing test, they told us not to worry that it is very common for babies to fail this hearing test due to just being born and possibly having a lot of fluid in their ears. They decided to test her again before we left the hospital because at that point most babies pass. Madeline unfortunately failed this test again. We made another appointment for her ears to be check again in 3 weeks. 3 weeks later still not passing her test. Alan and I really started to get concerned, could our precious little baby not hear?? As new parents we started thinking the worse and prepared ourselves for maybe a difficult long road ahead. We went back 2 weeks later to have an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) hearing test. Depending on the child this test can take up to hours..lucky for us Madeline was still so tiny and all she wanted to do was sleep. After the test we got better news, she could in fact hear. There were certain pitches that she didn't respond to in both her hears but the Audiologist was confident that she just had fluid in her hears and would possibly need tubes. We then made an appt. with an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor. After seeing him he determined that there was no fluid in her ears that he could see and wanted another hearing test. She failed again. All of the women in my family (mom, sister, me, and Madi) have these holes in our ears the are know as "preauricular pits" my sister also had these holes in her neck as well and Madeline was born with one. After looking at the holes the doctor thought she could have BOR syndrome This is a serious syndrome that affects your ears, throat, and kidneys. He immediately order her an ultrasound for her kidneys. Have you ever watched your baby get an ultrasound?? It is absolutely horrifying! At this point I am in tears and completely freaking out. After the radiologist read her Ultrasound he told us he thought everything looked normal. We felt a little better at this point. The doctor decided he wanted to do another ABR. We schedule that appointment and decided we would remain calm until we knew more. Last week I received a call from the ENT saying her Kidneys were slightly small for her age and they wanted BLOOD work to make sure they were functioning properly. Once again I am in complete panic mode! I took her to get her blood drawn and guess what....She didn't even flinch or cry!! Those sweetie drops (sugar water) are a miracle! Her blood work all came back normal and everything seemed fine! Yesterday was ABR test. I had to keep her awake all morning until her appointment so she would sleep through the testing. That was six straight hours with no nap!! She did pretty good until the long car ride. Alan had to sit in the back and entertain her to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep. She was so delirious by the time we got to the doctor she was giggling hysterically. It was so sad but so cute at the same time. The Audiologist got her all hooked up and then I nursed her until she passed out!

She was so tired but she did so great!!

all hooked up and ready to be tested

After her test the Audiologist told us that her hearing is perfectly normal in her right ear and there was only one high pitch in her left hear that wasn't normal. These were significant improvements from her last test. She still however will not pass the basic hearing test. The Audiologist thinks maybe she could still have thin fluid that they can't see and that she seems perfectly fine for now! We do however have one more appointment left. We are meeting with the ENT and a genetics Dr. for an assessment to go over all the results, hopefully we will continue to get good news from here on out! Poor Madeline but she has been such a trooper, she has already showed how strong and brave she is. We just love and adore her!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Date Night

Let me just begin by saying I love surprises and I love my husband for always surprising me! This last Thursday Alan surprised me with a fabulous date. This was not just any date, this was our first date night since sweet little Madeline was born. Yes you read it right our First date night in over 3 months. Now don't get me wrong, we have gone "out" we have been to a few Jazz games, dinner with friends, and dinner with our families but we have not been out just the two of us on a real date! I was ecstatic when Alan called me on Thursday afternoon and said he had a surprise for me, he arranged a babysitter and told me to be ready to leave at 5:15. I was super excited to go out with him but also sad to be leaving the babe behind. When he arrived home he had a bouquet of flowers for me!! What girl doesn't love getting flowers for no reason!!

We had a fabulous dinner at the Olive Garden and then went to see a movie! Before Madeline arrived you could always find us at a movie on the weekend so we were in desperate need to see some of the great new flicks that had just come out. We saw G.I. Joe, I thought it was a great movie! We really enjoyed it! We had a great night together! It was so fun to spend some time together and talk about the big adventures we have coming up in our future. We had a fantastic time and it was such a wonderful feeling to come home and see Miss Madeline sleeping soundly in her crib, give her sweet good night kisses and thinking just how dang lucky we are to have such a wonderful little family!

Thanks babe for a great date night! You are the best hubby and I am the luckiest girl!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Weekend

We had a fabulous Easter weekend! It was Madeline's first Easter and she was very spoiled by everyone! We spent the weekend with our families dying Easter eggs, going on egg hunts, and the traditional Cash Hungarian Easter Celebration. It was a busy weekend but so fun!

Enjoy some pictures from our weekend: