Good Morning!

Madeline was a trooper last night! She slept beautifully! We fed and were in bed by 12 p.m., and she was asleep in her crib until about 3:30 a.m. when it was time for another feeding and diaper change. Back to bed around 4 a.m., and she didn't wake up again until 9 a.m. I feel like $1 million bucks!

We are headed to our first visit to the pediatrician today, unfortunately it's not with Uncle Chet, as he is far-far away in Hershey. So we'll be back with updates later, in the mean time Madeline asked that I post some new photos she posed for this morning. Enjoy!

Love this one!

Deep thoughts, by Madeline Grace...She's trying to figure out what outfit to wear!

Content on my changing pad...she's usually screaming!

Enjoying her Crib

Last night was rough, I am not going to lie. We tried the pack-n-play in our bed room and Madeline wanted nothing to do with it, plus she wasn't too keen on the idea of feeding last night either. Those combined made sleeping for everyone a bit impossible. Finally around 3:30 a.m last night, Brad got up with her and went into her bedroom and the two of them rocked away. She spent the next several hours, sleeping in her crib. Who knew? She loved it! Let's just hope this continues. The pack-n-play is now in the living room, oh well.

Here are a few photos of Miss. M enjoying her beautiful crib.

More Photos as per many Requests

Here are some more photos, as per request by Aunt Sarah and Aunt Kristin. They should be in order for the most part.

Dr. Melanie Cherry, our good friend who delivered Madeline, myself, forgive me as I don't look quite so glamorous, and Madeline moments after she joined the world.

Mel and Madeline, our two M&Ms.

First time Daddy and Madeline met.

Grandma Ayres meets Madeline.

Uncle Justin and Grandma Howe, who drove 5 hrs to meet Madeline the night she was born!

Grandpa Howe and Madeline.

Me and my baby girl ... finally!

Daddy and Madeline hanging out in the hospital room.

Getting ready to head home!

The snow, yes snow, we headed out into. It snowed all morning up here!

Hanna and Sadie meet Madeline!

Madeline in her swing. Thank you A. Sarah and U. Mark, she loves it!

Madeline Grace's Birth Story

For all of you who have been asking about how the birth wen and how I am feeling, I figured it might be good if I posted a birth story about how Miss Madeline joined the world, so here it goes!

I know most women hope for an early birth, not too early, but a week or two early is always a welcome "gift." Any pregnant woman that I have ever known has always crossed all fingers and toes in hopes of this, and as most of you know, I was no different. I however, got lucky! Our little girl decided to join the world almost 2 weeks early, 12 days to be exact. It all started like this...

Monday morning, October 27th, my alarm went off as usual, 6:45 a.m., I hit the alarm and "rolled" myself out of bed...literally. Headed to the shower, thought it was a bit odd that I still had my burning back pain this early in the morning (usually it dies down a bit over night), but thought nothing of it. Took my shower, though I did get severely nauseated and almost passed out, still continued to think nothing of it. Took a little more time than usual getting ready, but headed out the door and was in the office by 8:30 a.m., yes a bit late I know, and I even cheated and parked outside of my building. Anyone who works with me knows this is a big "no-no," the parking nazi's were out in full effect, but I figured this morning was worthy of a $10-15 ticket.

Got into work and started work on the ever-so-coveted Football Letter. I mean it was the FBL after the big PSU Ohio State win (undefeated, yeah!) and our readers get a bit worked up when it's not out by lunch time. Anyway, started feeling contractions the whole time I was working on this, they weren't too painful, but they were getting consistent. So, I started timing them. By the time the first draft of the FBL was routing, the contractions were anywhere from 2 min. to 6 min. apart, but again, not too painful. Still not feeling well I decided I would eat half of a sick day, and headed out the door around 11:20 a.m.

I arrived at home and decided that if these contractions continue for one more hour, I would call the doctor's office. Twelve-thirty came around and the contractions lingered, so I called....and waited, and waited. Meanwhile, my contractions had doubled in intensity and pain. Finally about an hour later got a call back from the office. The nurse politely pooh-poohed my cramps/contractions and said, "Hmmmm, let me check your chart and I'll discuss this with your doctor." Nice right? So I wait another hour or so and they finally give me a call back to let me know "yes, the doctor wants you to go to the hospital." Finally!

So, I call Brad and let him know to get home (He was in Altoona for a surgery), and then call our friend and doctor Melanie Cherry to let her know that we were given the all clear to head to the hospital, and she said she would meet us there. About one hour later, 3:00 p.m., Brad and I arrived at Mount Nittany Medical Center and headed up to Labor and Delivery. The on-call doctor checked me out and I was indeed another cm dilated since my last apt. on Thursday. So now we were up to 3 cm. He called Mel to let her know, and Mel asked him to go ahead and break my water, I was finally a keeper! No more false alarms!

Okay, so here is when things to speed up, so here we go. Once they broke my water, the contractions intensified, obviously. So the anesthelsiologist came up and by 4 p.m. I had my epidural. I was in heaven, HEAVEN I tell you. Once I got the epi., and since Mel had arrived it was time for another check of my progress, and in this one hour I was already at 5 cm! NICE! So Brad decided to run out and grab some dinner for he and Mel....don't worry, I wasn't really hungry. Brad was gone no more than an hour or so (He had run home and let our other two babies out to go potty). While he was gone I had already dilated to 7 cm. I called him and told him, that he might want to get back here soon! Brad arrived and by the time dinner was finished I was at 9 cm, and within another 30 minutes I was ready to push. So yes, by 7:03 p.m. I was pushing! AH! And after about an hour of pushing, our little Madeline was born at 8:01 p.m.! Start to finish about 5 hrs. :)

She came out with one or two little cries and was quite content from the get-go. Not much more than a peep was heard out of her the rest of the night. My mom arrived about 20 minutes after the delivery and was able to join us for a glass of celebratory champagne! We toasted to the quick and easy labor, our fabulous friend and doctor, Melanie Cherry, and of course to our beautiful, brand new baby girl. All was right with the world.

So that's it, there is Miss. Madeline's story. A bit long I know, but I know if I didn't do it now, I would forget all of the details. She has been a pleasure so far, sleeping the days away, and finally starting to feed quite well. We are all clear to head home today, and I can't wait to get her in her own litt clothes and bed! Thanks for all of the well-wishes from everyone, and my apologies to everyone I haven't had a chance to get back to.

We love visitors, and Madeline is eager to meet everyone, so if you are in the area, feel free to stop by our house, the door is always open.

A Few Photos of Miss. Madeline

Madeline Grace Johnson has Arrived!

Madeline Grace Johnson decided to make her arrival into the world yesterday, a little shy of 2 weeks early!

Our little pumpkin was born October 27, at 8:01 p.m., 7lbs 5.5 oz, and 19.5 inches long. I have to say she is the most beautiful little girl in the world, but then again and I a bit biased. We can't wait for her to meet everyone.

Photos to follow soon.

38 Weeks 2 Day

Oh my! That's all that I have to say, hopefully this baby will be here soon!

9 Month Lion Shrine

Okay, so technically, I guess this is about two weeks late, but hey, better than nothing. Here we are with our 9 month photo at the shrine. Next time we do this photo we'll have our little one with us :)

38 Week Apt. Update

Today we had our 38 Week appointment, and lucky us, it was with our friend Dr. Melanie Cherry! It's always nice to have a doctor you can actually relate to on a friendship level. Anyway, everything seems to be going well, my blood pressure is fine, 100/60, the baby's heart rate is also fine, and we have made some progress :) yay!

I am now about 2 cm. dilated, 100% effaced, and baby is at about a -2 station. So we are definitely getting this show on the road. Basically I could go any day now, or as usual, I could stay like this for a week or two. Anyway progress is always good, it's better than none at all!

Hopefully this baby will be here before we know it!

I Love my Husband

The other day Brad and I stopped by our friend's store, Brad wanted a new pair of jeans, and it was such a gorgeous day, I decided to tag along. Of course he got an awesome pair of jeans...all the while I am sitting there, big as a house, thinking of when I will be able to wear these "normal" clothes again. I've been talking about my plan to get a new pair of jeans once I have Miss. M, and once I shed the baby weight for sometime now...just one of my many things planned.

So, the other day, Brad got home from picking up his pants from being hemmed and he walked in the door with two gorgeously wrapped gifts....for me!?!?! Gifts from our friend's store (Envy)! At first I am thinking, but I can't wear anything from there...Sigh. Then, I open the gifts. My wonderful husband got me a gift certificate to buy myself a new pair of jeans post-baby, and an awesome pajama set for me to wear after I have the baby as well. I absolutely love the PJs, (new Ed Hardy wear), and I can't wait until I can go shopping for my jeans.

I have one of the most thoughtful husbands in the world. Thanks baby...I love everything!

Fall is Definitely Here

The leaves on the trees have all changed to their gorgeous colors of burnt reds, bright yellows and warm oranges, and the temperature this morning was a brisk 30 degrees! AH! I can't believe it was 30 degrees when I woke up this morning!?!? Granted I didn't wake up until 6:45 a.m. so I am sure it was well below 30 degrees earlier. But there was plenty of frost on the grass, or pumpkin if you want to be festive, and Ms. Hanna has already been sporting her favorite sweater!

I love the fall, it's my favorite time of year, well that and then Christmas. Anyone who knows me or my family, knows that we are nuts when it comes to the holidays. Not that we go crazy, but we just really, REALLY enjoy them. A. Sarah and U. Mark even have a countdown to when they can officially start listening to the holiday music! LOL! This year will be especially fun once Miss. M arrives. I can only imagine the chaos.

Anyway, all is well with Brad and I. We had a great Friday night with some friends over, everyone hung out outside on our patio and enjoyed the cooler temps., which were pretty nice thanks to our chimnea, our patio heater, and a couple of warm blankets. We also found out that our friends are also expecting a little one! YAY, the more babies the merrier!

On Saturday, we watched Penn State finally defeat Michigan, after 9 years of losing to them, and it was FAN-TAS-TIC!!! Let's hope they can rally again this coming weekend against the Ohio State Buckeyes...Blagh. It's an 8 p.m. game in Buckeye land, so tune in! We're hoping for National Champions! Let's Go P-S-U!

37 Week Apt.

Today I had my 37 Week appointment. I have to say, it was pretty uneventful, which is fine by me. Everything is still looking great! I am still measuring on time, blood pressure, and baby's heart rate is all good, however I have made no progress. I am not really too disappointed, because I fully expect to go to at least full-term if not past that. So I wasn't expecting any progress.

I do however feel like crap today. Horrible cramps and stabbing back pains all the way from my lower back on up. Ahhhh the final weeks of pregnancy, or as the doctor I saw today said "the pregnancy glow is gone." Yeah, thanks buddy....seriously I don't think there ever was a "pregnancy glow" to this whole thing....well maybe the baby will luck out and have the glow....blagh.

Colyer Lake

Saturday morning Brad and I decided to take the girls to Colyer Lake. It's only about a 10-15 minute drive from our house, and they love it! We haven't been there all summer, and Saturday was too gorgeous to keep Sadie and Hanna in the house. We got there around 10 a.m. and the scenery was amazing! All of the trees have started to change their colors, and the temperature was perfect, right around 60 degrees. I was so happy that I brought my camera, I caught some amazing pictures of the girls. I went a bit camera happy and took about 60 photos, but managed to pair them down to about 10 for our blog.

Needless to say, Hanna and Sadie were happy girls, tired, but happy.

36 Week Doctor's Visit

On Friday morning, I had my 36 Week check up. Everything seems to be going as planned. My belly is measuring as it should, and I am about 1 cm dilated, and 50% effaced (Sorry might be TMI for some people). Let's hope that the progress keeps up! Hopefully at my next visit, which is this Thursday, we'll have even better news! Yay! Maybe I will get this baby out early after all...don't worry, I am not holding my breath. Mentally I am prepared to go 2 weeks late.

Oh and we are slacking in the belly photos, so we'll have to get back on track this week. Sorry!

What I was...What I am

I was on my blog this morning, and I decided to look at some of my old belly photos. Boy was that a mistake. Even at almost 12 weeks I still had a nice toned stomach and tight butt, and to think that I thought I could stand to tone up even more. Blagh. What was I thinking? So, I decided to do a nice comparison of my 12 week belly and my 35 week belly. My-oh-my how things have changed, and I still have 4 weeks or so to go. Craziness!!!!

12 Week Belly and 35 Week Belly.

One month to go...

Today marks it. Exactly one month from today is my due date! Yeah!

And Plié and Relevé

Aunt Hope is already starting in on dance lessons for when Miss."M" arrives! I got home from work yesterday and in the mail was this cute onesie/tutu from Aunt Hope. She always said she was going to be the person to buy my little girl her first tutu, and she didn't disappoint! This is the cutest thing ever! This cute purple tutu/onesie has her name spelled on it in pink crystals, and to top it all off the "a" even has a crown above it. Too cute!

Thank you so much for our adorable gift Aunt Hope! As soon as Madeline is big enough to wear it, we'll be taking pictures and sending them out!

...and plié and relevé...I can just see it now!

Wine and Cheese please!

...Well maybe not the wine, at least not for me. This weekend was a bit crazy, starting with the visit to the hospital on Thursday night, and then our child birth classes on Saturday, and many unfinished tasks we had yet to complete. We were supposed to have our second day of child birth classes on Sunday, but the class was so bad, Brad and I couldn't bare going back—seriously, it was that bad. So, Brad and I woke up on Sunday, nice and early and headed out to run a few errands. While we were out we picked out some great cheese and crackers. It was such a gorgeous fall day that we decided to have wine and cheese day on our patio. The weather was a crisp 50 degrees or so, just enough chill and sunshine to allow us to get comfy in our sweats, turn the chimnea on and bundle up under a blanket.

We spent most of the afternoon enjoying our great cheeses, (wine for Brad and hot apple cider for me), our puppies, and the great weather. So much better than child preparation classes, wouldn't you say?

Our nice little set up out back.

My beverage of choice.

Hanna cozying up by the fire.

Happy Sadie.

35 Weeks

Here we are at 35 weeks. Only 5 more to go....give or take a few. :)

35 Doctor's Apt. (and follow up from the hospital)

Today was our 35 Week doctor's apt. Because of everything that went down last night, we had several more things to look into at today's apt.

I told the doctor that I was feeling fine, but still having some of the same contractions as yesterday. So, after doing the usual measurements, and getting another internal (Still only 1 cm dilated - Whew!) they decided to hook me back up to the machines to check the baby's heart rate and my contractions again.

After about 30 minutes or so, it was determined that the baby was doing great, and yes I was still having contractions. They weren't bad enough to admit me back to the hospital, thank goodness, and said I could go home as long as I relaxed and that I had to take some more terbutaline. Blagh.

So here I am at home, I took them medicine at 11 a.m. and I still feel like I am on crack. This stuff is horrible...Oh well, if it works, it works. If I have any more contractions I am to call the office and continue to take the medicine every 4 hours.

I am sure that with my luck, and all of these early contractions, I will end up going 2 weeks late. But let's hope not. On a brighter note, all of these contractions finally got our butts in gear to order the stroller and pack an overnight bag for the hospital. Ha!

Trip to Labor and Delivery...

Yesterday afternoon, I realized that I hadn't felt our little one moving around quite as much as she usually does. On top of it, I had been having cramping all week, and yesterday they seemd a bit more intense and frequent. So, I texted Melanie, our good friend and also one of my OBGYNs. I let her know what was going on and asked her if I was just being "paranoid." Melanie immediately called me back and said for me to come into the hospital and she was calling Labor and Delivery and letting them know that I was on my way.

I left work around 4:45 p.m. and Brad and I arrived at the medical center around 5 p.m. By 5:15 I was hooked up to the machines and they were watching both the babies heart rate and my contractions. Yes, apparently the cramps I was feeling were indeed contractions. The baby looked great, and of course as soon as she was being monitored she started moving around again. Whew! The contractions however were a diffrent story. They weren't speeding up, but they weren't slowing down either and they were "a bit more than they want to see at 35 weeks." The nurses also did an internal and found that I am about 1 cm dilated already. Which wasn't too much of a concern since I could have been like this for the past several weeks. In the end they decided it would be best for me to get a shot of Terabutalin, a drug that relaxes your muscles, which would hopefully stop or slow my contractions. It also makes you feel like you drank about 10 Red Bulls....Ugh. Not fun.

An hour or so after the shot they decided it had worked enough to let me go home, esp. since I had a doctor's apt. already scheduled for the next day. So around 8:30 p.m. Brad and I left the hospital and were on our way home. Thank goodness b/c I don't even have a hospital bag packed yet (it is on my list of things to do this weekend).