An Eventful Evening

1. Big poopy diaper x2 - one wasn't enough, dear child? Nothing like hearing a big poo immediately after changing a poo diaper!

2. Dog pee on dog bed - seriously? Why would you pee where you lay? Worse thing is that we can't figure out which one did it!

3. Messy kitty litter - poor Laurin

4. Cat vomit - actually cat hairball. On the rug.

5. Baby vomit - on Laurin's arm.

6. 1 & 2 happened simultaneously. 3 & 4 happens simultaneously.

7. Laurin trips slams leg into corner of coffee table trying turn off a light.

8. Laurin trips over baby bouncer - which is right next to coffer table.

9. Look makes up the word Horridious - Um.. Horrendous and hideous together?

Dear Mike of dirty jobs,

My job is the dirtiest job.

Love,
Melissa

The mommy, dog owner, cat owner and homeowner.

New title.

I've decided that I need a creative title.. and a new URL title.

mthienes.blogspot.com is NOT working for me anymore...

This is where your suggestion and creativity come into play.....

Thanks bunches.

Toodles.

Infancy

My baby turned 3 months old on Tuesday the 20th!

WE ARE NO LONGER IN THE NEWBORN STAGE (except in clothing)!

You now the saying, "It's not polite to stare!"? Well, when it comes to babies it totally polite to stare! So cute and chubby! Always wearing the cutest things!

I catch myself staring at Sophia. Especially while she's sleeping. And eating. And playing. Well, pretty much all the time! I know that I say this all the time, but she is growing up so fast. It is starting to get hard to remember how small she was when she was born, how she acted, how she cried. Babies are just such amazing creatures. They adapt and learn so wonderfully.

At this age Sophia is doing lots of new things. She laughed for the first time! It only happened twice but it was ah.mazing! Once I heard it the first time, my heart stopped and I had to hold back tears. She has been ssooooooooooooo close the last couple of weeks. I know that I looked like someone who belonged in the looney bin trying to get her to do it again! She is also grasping new things and becoming interested in toys. Her favorite thing to do right now -other than stand- is to sit. She's always trying to sit up straight, I can't wait until she really can sit on her own!

She is also growing! I wish I could tell you exactly how long she was and how much she weighs but due to and insurance situation she hasn't had her appointment yet. I'm guess at least 10 pounds though! (Disclaimer.. I am not in any way accurate in any form of weight guessing!) She is almost out of newborn size clothes! :(

She is by far the most amazing thing in my life. I can barely remember what life was like before her.

I can't quite remember if those pictures were actually taken when she was 3 days old... but we'll pretend they were! :)

This is how I found her sleeping the other night.. we were supposed to be making cupcakes together!

Update on PawPaw.

My PawPaw is still alive in the hospital. I was told by my mother yesterday that he was in a coma and the doctor(s) needed to okay to look at his lungs via oral scope. It has been a miracle that he has survived this long! He had to be revived three times on the way to the hospital. He has internal bleeding, which includes his esophagus. Several of his organs are starting to fail and only part of his heart is working.

Life is such a thing to be valued. However, at what point is it okay to let someone go? To -literally- pull the plug? The doctors say that he will most likely end up in a vegetative state. But there still seems to be hope - why else would they be wanting to assess the damage of his internal bleeding? The big question is: What would he want? I know that I personal would never want to live in a vegetative state - there is no quality in life. When did we as humans decide that it is okay to decide who lives and who dies? I use this in reference to life support. For some, maybe even most, people this truly may be life saving; but what about those who become vegetative? Love can be such a wonderful thing, but can we also be blinded by a false hope?

PawPaw seems to be holding on. Clinging to life with such strength. This grasp is blurring the lines. If he is holding on so tight, then should we be doing the same?

Please don't think I am distraught over this. And I know that that sentence may sound cold. I love my PawPaw, but as I stated in my last post about him, I didn't know him very well and he has not done wonderful things in his life. This situation really has me thinking about a lot of things...

YouTube

That's Right!!! We now have a YouTube channel! It is mostly to show off my adorable daughter! I won't be posting them directly on here, so check in often if you would like!

Enjoy!

Yup. Still Here. It has been hard to find time to write. May days are spent endlessly entertaining and enjoying that little human being in my life. And... unless I want to be blogging at midnight - no thank you - I don't get around to doing it very often.

I got unsettling news this evening. My grandfather aka my PawPaw is on his deathbed. I won't go into details, but there is great doubt that he will make it through the night. Unfortunately, he lives in Florida with the rest of my mother's family lives. No chances to say goodbye.

The last time I saw my PawPaw was about 3 years ago when I had the wonderful opportunity to attend my cousin's wedding. He looked frail. Fragile and thin like a toothpick. Truly a man that has seen a lot in his day; and trust me he has.

Truth is I don't really know my PawPaw. In my entire life, I can only recollect one occasion where we spent any time together, just the two of us. I was 20 - yes, 5 years ago. This moment wasn't precious or sacred. It was me sitting on his lap while he told me stories of when he was younger. And if you know my PawPaw, you know that he was a bad man when he was younger.. stabbing, shooting, beating, alcoholic, jail time bad. Even with his past - and his crazy stories - there was a tenderness that he had when he talked to me and to my brother and sister. This tenderness is how I know my PawPaw, not by the stories that my mom tells of the way he was when she was a child. When he was evil.

I'm not sure I know how to mourn him. Death has been knocking on his doorstep for at least a decade - and I don't mean that with humor. We found out some years ago that he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to alcoholism and was only given 6 months to live. Again, this was some years ago. Since then there have been multiple hospital visits. Truly it was only a matter of time.

My heart aches for my mother. My heart aches for my aunts and uncles. My heart aches for the bitterness in my grandmother's heart - she refused to call 911 when he couldn't breathe, and has yet to visit him in the hospital. I wish I could be there to console my family. I wish my mother could be there. I wish I knew my PawPaw more as that tender fragile man and less as a young evil monster. However, regardless of what things he has done - he is my grandfather and with that comes love and forgiveness. I'm sorry that he will never meet my daughter and I hope that when she is learning about this man, she learns about how is was in the good days. I hope that he can be someone she would have loved to meet...

PawPaw & Nanny at my cousin's wedding - 2008

Order of appearance: Aunt Anne, Mom, Nanny, Uncle Randy, PawPaw, Aunt Judy and Aunt Charlotte
Thanksgiving 2006

"It is not length of life, but depth of life." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humbled Moments & Thank You's

Peace.

Sophia turned 6 weeks on Monday. She has grown up SO much! I look back at the day we brought her home. She was so tiny in our arms. So precious. Dainty. Breakable. Now she is smiling up a storm. She loves to look around especially at light fixtures! I look at her with mixed emotions. I'm excited that she is growing up, one more step to being able to giggle and walk. One more step to drawing and being excited to go to the zoo or the beach. One more step to playing dress up and reading books. I'm also sad that she is growing up. One more step from being my precious, dainty and breakable newborn. One more step from being content to just look into my eyes. One more step from needing me to rock her to sleep every time. It is true that they grow up too fast and that we will miss these moments. I already do. But... I can't wait to play dress up!

The day we brought her home. She barely fit into the car seat!

6 Weeks old.

Full of Smiles!

Full of Energy!

Yesterday I was writing some "Thank You" notes to my Grandmother's friends. A couple of them made Sophia blankets and a couple of them gave her outfits. These wonderful ladies I've only met once. And even though I don't know them very well, they were gracious enough to make or buy Sophia something. They are not related to Sophia yet they have shown her love like they would their own great granddaughter. What a humbling experience. We have gotten so much love from friends and family. We are truly blessed. It is just a reminder at how wonderful the world can be (despite what the news depicts).

Thank you to everyone in our lives. Thank you for welcoming our beautiful daughter into a gracious and loving world. I have been humbled by your kindness. Thank you.

Thank you Sunshine for allowing me to finally wear my summer clothes!
Thank you LilyPadz for allowing me to wear a strapless dress!
&& Thank you YouTube for showing me how to cut my own bangs!

                                                   :)

Thank you Grandma for making me delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies!! Mmmm...

Adventures in Mommyhood....

The last month, well technically 5 weeks and 1 day, have flown by. Each day runs into the next. Each day a repeat of the one before it. Normally this would drive me crazy, but I don't have time for that. It's been A.MAZING.

Sophia nurses (normally) every 3 hours. This has caused me to be a multitasking CHAMPION! I have even amazed myself! :) This is also the reason that my days run into each other. If it wasn't for the calendar on our wall and our tv guide, I would never know the date or what day it was!

As much as I love hanging out with Sophia and being her meal ticket, I now understand why mom's savor their alone time so much! I soak in every moment I get! Luckily Laurin is very understanding of this. I get to soak in my hot bath with a good book while he lays with her until she falls asleep "for the night." Granted my alone time is anywhere between 10pm and midnight, it doesn't matter. I NEED THAT TIME!

You know how kids do the darnedest things? Well.... my little one farts.. A LOT! She spends several hours in the early morning GRUNTING LOUDLY in her sleep! It definitely makes sleeping next to her hard! Then comes the gas explosions! Little farts, big farts, short farts, long farts! Absolutely RIDICULOUS! I hope we get out of this phase soon, it is starting to get hard to determine whether or not she is farting, pooping, sleep grunting or awake grunting! Consistency child - PLEASE!

Milestones so far:

Lifts head on own while on tummy - minutes after birth! In fact she was nice enough to sneeze in my face! That is how we met!

Rolls from tummy to back - day 3 or 4. I can't quite remember. She's such a wiggle worm that it didn't take long for her to figure it out. She still doesn't do it all the time.

Smile: her first REAL smile - as in NOT the gas or sleepy smile - was on July 19 (one day short of 1 month).

Laugh: I think that happened today! She was drifting off to sleep while on my lap. It caught me off guard so I can't be completely sure!

After the last post I promised more pictures... so without further adieu....

 

Memorial Day at the Thienes house!

2 days before The Big Show! 

Yay for epidurals! 

What else are we going to do in the wee hours of the morn?

The moment I'll never forget!

No wonder they sleep together so well!

Great Grandma Janie & Baby

Great Grandpa George & Baby

Finally Home.

Thank You Cousin Selena for my cute bows!

In her bouncy seat. She loves the vacuum.

Yay! She actually looks a little Asian like her mommy!

Uncle Stevie, finally holding Sophia!

Auntie Ashley and Sophia on Ashley's birthday

Grandpa holding Sophia

Bath Time!

Crazy Bath Hair!

I call this "The Thinker"

Shopping!

One of my Favs!

Daddy & Sophia Time!......

BEST FACE EVER!

Daddy feeding Sophia

WE TOOK A SPONTANEOUS TRIP TO THE BEACH...

AND OUR NURSERY!

(Still needs the wall paper border, bookshelf, shelves and pictures)

Crib!

I even added bees to go with our Pooh theme

The Wall hanging that TOOK FOREVER!

Picture Courtesy of Kim Wisely