9 Months Old!

It's hard to believe, but our little Madelyn is 9 months old already! She is growing up so fast, and accomplishing new tasks on a daily basis. Her personality is really shining through lately; she is so happy and easygoing. She's had a rough couple of months: 2 surgeries, a UTI, unexplained fevers, sleep troubles, traveling to different time zones, and teething, but she still has such a wonderful smile and a sunny disposition.
She is babbling and using her voice all of the time. She shrieks in delight frequently, and she has a contagious belly-laugh when something funny happens, like mama swatting at a fly or Taylor dancing in front of her!
She is right on track with all of her cognitive and fine motor milestones. She can play peek-a-boo, knows her own name, picks up small items, and can feed herself foods like pieces of fruit or rice puffs. She is also very clingy to mommy lately, and cries every time I leave the room!
She is slightly behind with her gross motor skills. She can't pull herself up, crawl, get on her knees, or stand holding on to furniture. She is working hard on it though! She loves having someone pull her up, and hold on to her while she stands. She has another appointment with her pediatrician in 4 weeks to check up on her progress.
She is eating a lot of table food now. She loves all fruits and vegetables, and has tried yogurt, cheese, bread, eggs, rice, juice, and whole wheat noodles. 

Madelyn likes...
Being social, dancing (while sitting) to music, cuddling, playing with her toys, car rides, playing "so big!", jumping in her jumperoo, eating, bath time, sucking her thumb, car rides, playing with her sister, watching her sister do anything (especially dancing!), standing up with assistance, teething rings, screaming, babbling, playing peek-a-boo
Madelyn dislikes...
When mommy leaves the room, getting her nails clipped, being overtired, getting dressed, trying to get toys that are out of her reach

Madelyn's Latest Stats:
Weight: 17lbs (28%)
Height: 28 inches (76%)
Shoe Size: 2
Diaper Size: 3
Clothing Size: 9 Months

On July 1st, Maddy had surgery again to remove the stent put into place during her first surgery. She is officially on the road to recovery from her hydronephrosis! We will go in 4 weeks to visit Dr. Smith, her urologist, to have an ultrasound done on her kidneys and bladder.

Happy Fourth of July!

So Big!

Belly-laughing with her sister!

Kisses from her sister!

Our smiley girl!

Loving bath time!

Sisters!

She loves the water!

Surgery Success and Taylor's First Sleepover!

Maddy's Surgery
Well, we once again have some wonderful news - Maddy's surgery was completely successful! Dr. Smith and his team successfully removed the part of her ureter that was abnormally narrow. Dr. Smith said that the part of her ureter that he removed was as small as the head of a pin. Her kidney and renal pelvis should now start going down to a normal size, and we shouldn't have to worry about any infections anymore!
The surgery took about 6 hours, which was the longest 6 hours of our lives. Maddy did SO well with it. Dr. Smith said that Maddy was adorable, sucking her thumb on her way to the recovery room. She was very uncomfortable that first day, but the amazing staff at CDH took good care of her, and kept her adequately medicated. She has 4 incisions total, 3 being from the surgery itself, and another being from the drain that they had put in place. We were able to go home on Saturday evening.
Maddy has been doing great at home. She has been having some trouble sleeping, both during naps and bedtime, but her pediatrician said that this is completely normal, and that it will take some time to reestablish routines. Her pain level is fine - as I am typing, she is bouncing around in her jumperoo with no problems at all! We will go back on Thursday to have her incisions looked at, and for Dr. Smith to check her progress. We are hoping to have an ultrasound done to see how normal her kidney and renal pelvis will look!

Ready to go in for surgery! (Tongue sticking out - my new thing!)

Hanging out with daddy in my gown

Loving the IV pole!

A couple of hours after surgery, and I'm still the happiest baby ever!

Taylor's First Sleepover!
Because Maddy's surgery was early Friday morning, our good friend Erica had Taylor sleep over on Thursday night, which was her first "friend" sleepover! She was so excited, she kept counting down the days! She and Gianna had so much fun together! 

All packed and ready to go!

So excited!

Silly faces!

After their bath

Cozy and ready to sleep!

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! 

Our Hilarious Taylor!

Taylor has been cracking us up lately with the things that she says and does. She is so vocal and, being a 3 year old, says anything that is on her mind! For the past couple of months, I've been quickly typing in the things that she says on my phone, and I've accumulated quite a bit of interesting quotes to share!

This is how she came into our room one morning: completely naked except for her princess dress up clothes. Note her trademark sock gloves.

The famous "guilty" picture... she cut off a piece of her own hair while pretending to be Rapunzel. Luckily, she cut off about 2 inches in the front so it just looks like she grew out some bangs!

 Quotes and Conversations:

-"Hey Dada, I like your eyeballs!"
-"I smelled the candle too hard and it stopped. It was an accident." (She blows out of her nose instead of in to smell things!)
-"Hey mama, I think that maybe I should turn into a donkey."
-"Mommy, when you get smaller and smaller and I get bigger and bigger, I will take you shopping and put you in the shopping cart so we can buy a warm popcorn maker." (instead of the hot popcorn maker that she isn't allowed to touch)
-"When I turn into an airplane, I will have wings and I will fly to Baltimore."
-"This is the hardest thing I will ever have to do." (reach for a candle)
-"Ohhhh mama, this room is gorgeous!" (the utility room in the basement)
-"Hey mom, I tried to put my underwear on my nose but it wouldn't stay. Isn't that terrible?"
-"Mom, when I get bigger and bigger, I would like to touch that popcorn maker. And also, a butt."
-"I hope that there are no mean kings at Maddy's doctor appointment."
-"Hi mom! I'm Diego and I have saliva!"
-"Great, now I can go fall in love with my baby sister."
-"Here mom, I will close the gate so that no mean puppies come up to our bedrooms."
-"Hey mommy, you are a stinky guy. You better go take a shower."
-"Here mom, I will hold on to your shirt so that it won't fall off."

-(smoke detector beeps once)
Taylor: "What was that?"
Me: "Oh just the smoke detector."
T: It only beeped once! That was weird. (shouts) Hey smoke detector! What was that all about? (pause) Oh, he said he was just checking on us! Thanks, smoke detector!

-T: "Hey mommy, did Jesus make the snow?"
M: "Well, Jesus did help."
T: "Wow! That was so nice of him! Thanks Jesus! I really like that guy!"

-T: "Dada, will you please unbuckle my pants?"
D: "Why??"
T: "Because I ate too much."

-T: (crying) "Mommy, Gianna hurt me!"
Me and Erica: "What happened? What did she do?"
T: "She broke my heart."

5 Months Old, Valentine's Day, and Updates!

I have a feeling that most of my blog posts for the next 3 months are going to have the following themes: about 2-3 weeks behind, multiple updates at one time, as many pictures as possible thrown in, and slightly rushed! Such is life for a working mom! Anyway, here are some Pavelka updates: 

5 Months Old! 
Madelyn is 5 months old now! She is truly the happiest baby ever. She is constantly smiling and is extremely social. She is very close to rolling from her back to her tummy - she just needs to figure out how what to do with her arms! But she does get around - she has been waking up on the opposite side of the crib, or completely flipped around from how I placed her. She loves standing while holding our fingers, and sits up with assistance. She also laughs and giggles often, which we love! When she gets really happy, she kicks her feet frantically. She loves music and playing with mommy's hair, and watching her sister do anything! She sleeps through the night, still getting up around 3am for a quick feeding. Maddy has tried rice cereal and oatmeal, and we are going to try some veggies very soon! She is such a fun, easy-going, delightful baby! 
Her hydronephrosis is still in check, and the surgery date is still scheduled for April 9th. Dr. Smith continues to assure me that it is a procedure that babies do very well with. 

Eating cereal!

I love cuddling with my daddy!

Good morning, mommy!

I've learned to move around... this was the opposite way that mommy put me down for my nap!

Princess Madelyn! The first of many times that Taylor will play dress up with her little sister!

 
Valentine's Day
For Valentine's Day, we made a valentine-themed treasure hunt for Taylor, which was super fun. We laid out several paper hearts that had something that we love about her written on each one. At the end of the hunt was a Repunzel backpack filled with Repunzel items (thank you, Walgreens clearance section!). She has been obsessed with the movie "Tangled" and so she was very excited when she reached the end of the hunt! 

Excited and surprised!

Reading some of her hearts

"Snow" Much Fun!We were so excited to finally get some snow... well, Taylor was at least! She finally got to build her first snowman with her friend Evelyn! 

...And this is what spending the day in the snow will do!

 


Other Updates
Sam has begun chemo again, and is doing fairly well. He is done with round one, so 25%! May 13th is the estimated end date. We can't wait!
Finally, I know I have said it before, but I am so behind on phone calls, emails, texts, etc., especially now that I'm back to work, so thank you for your patience! I promise I will get back to everyone!
Thank you again to everyone for your continued support. We would not have been able to get through this without you.