Maddy - 7 Months Old!

Madelyn is now 7 months old, and she has become such a curious, active baby! She has FINALLY rolled from her back to her tummy, and loves rolling around on the floor. It has made napping and sleeping very difficult - she rolls onto her tummy and then wakes up crying! I'm sure she will get used to it eventually. She can also sit with very little support now.
She LOVES being in her jumperoo. She could stay there all day if we let her! She jumps around like crazy and squeals with delight.
She puts everything in her mouth, and will grab at everything around her. She loves practicing standing with mommy's help.
She still doesn't have any teeth, but she is definitely teething. Her cheeks have been bright red and she has been drooling like crazy. I'm sure it will happen any day now!
She has tried a variety of pureed foods: bananas, apples, peaches, avocado, mango, papaya, sweet potatoes, spinach, raspberries, pears, prunes, carrots, peas, green beans, rice, oatmeal, lentils, butternut squash, blueberries, and broccoli. She loves all of them, although I would say she seems to prefer the fruits over the veggies!
She is such a happy, friendly baby. She smiles at everyone, but has started to prefer mommy a little bit more. She makes a lot of sounds, such as "mama", "baba", and "nana". She also loves blowing raspberries and sticking out her tongue!
She and Taylor get along wonderfully! They adore each other. Maddy's face lights up when she sees her sister, and Taylor can't stop kissing and hugging her. Taylor makes sure to kiss Maddy goodnight every night.
We are looking forward to a fun summer watching our little munchkin grow and explore! 

Just a little sleepy at dinner!

Rolled over in my crib - not very happy about it!

Happy at dinner time!

Hanging out with daddy and big sister Taylor

Loving the jumperoo!

Sisters! Taylor dressed Maddy up once again!

Celebrating Bapa's birthday!

Stronger Than Cancer!

We got a phone call tonight from Sam's oncologist, and it's official... Sam is in remission!!! He had a CT scan done of his chest, abdomen, spine, and pelvis and they all came back clear! We are ecstatic!

It's been almost 1 full year of being on this frightening roller coaster ride. We have a few more wrinkles and gray hairs, but have been given a wonderful gift: we have been shown such amazing generosity, support, and love. Our bond has been strengthened with each other, with our children, our family, and friends. It will be hard not to spend every minute worrying about what might happen next, but we are determined to stay positive and make sure that every day is filled with love and happiness; life is too fragile not to.

Sam will have his next CT scan done mid-July. Until then, it's time to celebrate Sam being CANCER FREE once again!! 

6 Months Old & Easter

Madelyn
Our little munchkin is 6 months old already! She is still the most easygoing baby I've ever known. She is on a great schedule now. She wakes up around 6:45am, naps at around 9:00am and 1:00pm, sometimes naps for 30 minutes in the evening, and is in bed by around 7:00pm. She takes a 6 oz. bottle (or I nurse her) 4 times per day, and eats a breakfast, lunch, and dinner of baby food. She has tried oatmeal, rice cereal, peas, carrots, prunes, pears, avocado, banana, sweet potatoes, green beans, and butternut squash. She likes most of them, except peas. She makes the most disgusted face when you try to feed them to her!
She can roll from her tummy to her back, but has only rolled from her back to her tummy once.  She has begun babbling, which I love listening to. She has said "mama", even though I know it doesn't really mean anything (I'm still going to count it though, since Taylor said "dada" first!). She is still a little behind with sitting up, but we are practicing and she is getting better and better every day!

Here are her current stats:
Height: 26 inches
Weight: 16 lb. 9 oz.
Head Circumference: 90th percentile (I don't remember the measurement!)
Clothing size: 9 months
Diaper size: 3

Madelyn likes...
Being social and smiling at everyone, her exersaucer, her jumperoo, practicing standing up, sucking her thumb, putting everything in her mouth, music, anything that her sister does, eating, being tickled, silly noises, cooing, going for stroller rides, sleeping, "talking" with anyone.

Madelyn dislikes...
Teething, sudden loud noises, being overtired, wearing socks, having dirty/wet diapers, tummy time, being sick... that's pretty much it!

Health Update:
Maddy had a high fever last week, so we brought her in to the doctor's office, where they took a urine sample and determined that she had a UTI. This is very common with kids that have hydronephrosis. She is on antibiotics, but she needs to be far removed from her infection before they will perform her surgery. So her surgery date has been changed to May 17th.
After speaking with the doctor, I now feel like I know a lot more about what the surgery will entail. She has a part of her ureter that is more narrow than it needs to be. So they are going to remove that small part of the ureter, and fuse the rest of her ureter back together. They will put a stent in to make sure that it forms properly, but they will remove the stent in early July.
We are very anxious to get the surgery done, but we are glad that Dr. Smith has taken all precautions and feel very comfortable with his decision to postpone the surgery.

Easter!
Easter was very fun this year (despite Maddy being so uncomfortable with her UTI). Sam was feeling healthy, so we really were able to enjoy ourselves during this holiday. On Good Friday, we went as a family to the Stations of the Cross at Holy Family, which Taylor loved because of her fascination with Jesus. Then we went out for sushi. On Holy Saturday, we went to the Easter festival at Grace Bible Church, where Taylor met the Easter bunny, made a craft, had her hand painted (she didn't want anything on her face), and participated in a lot of fun games. Then, we went to Grandma Partynski's house and had a great time with my side of the family. Unfortunately, Maddy ended up in the ER that night due to some constipation issues... we have her on prunes now so we hope to avoid that problem again!
On Easter Sunday, the kids were thrilled (well, Taylor was!) to find their Easter baskets on the table filled with fun things: "Tangled" underwear, sunscreen, princess sunglasses, a yo-yo, some baby food, a summer outfit for Maddy, and "Tangled" socks. Yes, the Easter bunny was very practical this year!
We then went to the Pavelka's Easter celebration, which was a blast! Taylor loved going to the park with Grandma G, Uncle Gus, and her cousins.
Overall, it was a wonderful holiday, made even better by the fact that Sam was healthy, and that we got to celebrate that with so many of our family members, on both sides. We are truly blessed.

*** I have way more pics to share, but Sam's computer is being not-so-friendly tonight. More to come!