Giving Thanks for 2 Months (and more)

On this Thanksgiving morning, I am sitting in the early morning quiet (I need to put the turkey in the oven in 30 minutes - no sense going back to bed) thinking of all the things we have to be grateful for this year.

Most of all, we are grateful for our little family. Mike and I continued to grow as a couple throughout our pregnancy experience and have truly enjoyed being a team in this parenting gig. We are grateful for our sweet girl, who has had so much to deal with in her short life, but continues to excel and shower us with giggles and smiles. We are thankful for our sweet puppy, who has been fairly accepting of the new addition and the wood floors that we sprung on him.

And we are extremely thankful for our extended family and friends, who have stood by us through all the ups and downs this year. It's truly a day of thanks for us!

In other news, Fiona is TWO months old already. We can hardly believe how fast it is going. Here are a few of the things that Fiona thinks at two months:

• Spit bubbles are wicked cool. If you blow them all the time, you can get some pretty good slime on your chin before Mom or Dad get to the burp cloth.
• Hands are also extremely cool. You can put the entire one in your mouth. It's almost as good as a pacifier.
• Smiles are fun. Mom and Dad go crazy over them.
• Jingle Bells is the best song EVER. It makes me laugh every time.
• The Bumbo chair is pretty fun. It's almost like sitting up. Still hard to hold my head up for too long, but I'm learning!
• This sleeping through the night thing could work. And it makes Mom so happy when I do it.
• Rolling over from tummy to back is old news (although Mommy has yet to get it on video ... I'm very very sneaky). I'm trying to roll from back to tummy now - but that's hard work.
• I can follow Mom and Dad across the room. I like being able to see them more.

I go back to work on Monday. For Fiona, that means ... GRANDMA! It's going to be a good month of December for her as she is spoiled by Grandmas, aunties, and maybe even cousins, before daycare starts in January.

And last but not least, here are the latest pictures of our girl:

Water Baby

Not only did Fiona get baptized last weekend, she also went swimming for the first time. Uncle TJ, Auntie Laura, and cousin Spencer were nice enough to invite us to their hotel pool area where Fiona dipped her feet in the kiddie pool, contemplated the froggy slide, and hung out with Dad while Mom took a few minutes in the hot tub.

As expected, she loved the pool and had a blast kicking and splashing (it was like a big bath tub)!

Child of God

We took our first road trip as a family of four (actually five because Auntie Emmy came too) this last weekend. We headed to GR where Fiona was baptized at my family church by the same pastor who married Mike and me. It was a very special day!

We did manage to pick the weekend with the first snow storm of the season to hold this joyous event, so unfortunately Grandma and Grandpa Nash were snowed in and couldn't make it. We missed them very much, but know they were there in spirit.

Fiona did great during the service and only had a few little cries during the baptism. She did manage to have the biggest diaper blowout in her short life at the end of church, so she attended her reception in pajamas instead of her pretty white and pink dress.

Here is the video of the baptism ceremony for anyone who is interested, but especially for G&G Nash! As you can see in the video, we are extremely proud of our precious child of God!

Doctor Appointments Suck, But Our Girl Rocks!

Fiona is 7 weeks old already! We can't believe how quickly the time has gone.

Since she came home, we have had what seems like an endless stream of doctor appointments and tests. The great news is that Fiona has passed every test with flying colors.

She has had several head ultrasounds to make sure her shunt is working well (it is), and has also had renal ultrasounds to ensure she is emptying her bladder and that her kidneys are healthy (a common complication with spina bifida). So far, so good with the renal health.

Chiari malformation (the brain sitting a little farther back in the head) is standard with spina bifida as well, so we did a couple test to make sure no nerves at the base of the brain are being compromised. The barium swallow went well and the overnight pneumocardiogram (breathing/sleep apnea) test showed a healthy girl.

We don't enjoy the battery of appointments, but never tire of hearing that she is doing well. And are grateful that talented doctors are watching out for her so that if there is an issue, we can address it quickly.

Here is a picture of our beautiful Fiona that has nothing to do with doctors, but shows how much she rocks tummy time!

The Little Bug Smiles

Mike and I call Fiona "bug" - it started at the hospital and has continued.

I took this video while we were playing yesterday. I should have let it record a little longer as she started "talking" as soon as I stopped it. But you can see some good smiles and she shows off her kicking. You can also see her rocking hunting outfit in honor of Daddy this weekend (deer season opener).

6 Week Scorecard

As all members of the Vanneste family are settling into our new routines, here are the top five things we have learned in the first 6 weeks of Fiona's life and who is winning (because with me, everything is a competition):

1. Knowing how to roll over at the tender age of 5 weeks is both exciting and frustrating. Fiona gets mad during tummy time when she is trying to flip over and it isn't working. And when she does manage to roll over but wasn't really trying, that makes her REALLY mad.

Winner: Undetermined

2. There are very few rules for puppies in our house. Two of the big ones are "don't lick your butt" and "no licking on the bed" - Yogi has decided to defy both of these in the last few days by licking his butt on the bed, which means I spend a lot of time yelling at him and he spends a lot of time pouting in his kennel.

Winner: So far, Yogi.

3. Whistling is cool. Fiona LOVES when Dad whistles for her. She even makes a whistle face to imitate how Mike looks when he is whistling. She can't make any noise yet (like Mom, she can't whistle), but really likes the face.

Winner: Daddy

4. It is apparently unfair that Mom interrupts eating to make Fiona burp. She is quite the stickler on this particular point of the eating routine.

Winner: Mommy (with occasional tantrums from Fiona)

5. Mommy thinks babies should go to bed by 9:00. Fiona thinks bedtime is somewhere between midnight and 2 AM.

Winner: Fiona (with occasional tantrums from Mommy)

We can't believe how much has changed in the last 6 weeks and how great it is to have this little girl in our lives. We have our struggles, but it is totally worth it! Every time she smiles at us, we are reminded of the great blessing we have been given.