Summer Recap!!

Wow, it's hard to believe that we've been back into the school year for two weeks already. We had such a great summer; it really was the perfect amount of fun, relaxation, and family time that we needed after the year that we had. We want to sincerely thank some very special people who's amazing generosity made these trips possible; you know who you are, and we hope that you know how grateful we are.
We were on the go so much, that I did not have a lot of time to sit down and blog about it all! So here is our vacation in a condensed nutshell!

San Diego
We had a blast in San Diego, and enjoyed our time visiting with wonderful family. We stayed in Mission Beach, where we enjoyed the amusement park, beaches, and great day spa! We spent a day in beautiful La Jolla, and another day at Legoland Amusement Park! Here are some pics:

Picnic on the beach!

Taylor's first time in the ocean! Our favorite quote: "Why does this ocean move?!"

Girls being silly at Belmont Park in Mission Beach

Family Pic!

Posing at Legoland

Florida
5 days after being home from San Diego, we took off to Florida! We spent some time on the Atlantic side in Indian Harbour Beach, and some time on the Gulf side in Bradenton (near Sarasota). Taylor was a little apprehensive around the water (thanks to Sam dropping her in the ocean on the first day! Way to go, hun!). But we still really enjoyed our time at the beaches and pools. We could have stayed forever!

Beautiful Beach!

Maddy loved the water!

Maddy trying out the sand!

Having a snack in the cabana!

Maddy, Taylor, and Sophia getting some shade

Grown-up night out with Erica & German!

Date night - dinner and then a sunset walk along Siesta Key

Beautiful sunset

Best buds!

Spending a rainy day at the dog track!

Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
Sam and Taylor took a trip up with the Pavelka clan to Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, to visit Uncle Wayne and Aunt Lou! Maddy and I stayed back - she had just had surgery days before, and was having a difficult time recovering. The daddy-daughter trip was successful, and they enjoyed their bonding time together!

Taylor with her cousin, Haley, and Grandma Gloria

On the boat with Uncle Gus

Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Our 2nd annual trip to Sheboygan with the Forst clan was wonderful! A computer glitch at the resort landed us in the presidential suite, which was amazing! We will most likely never stay in something so luxurious again, and enjoyed every minute there!

The whole Forst clan, enjoying the beach!

Family pic!

View from our balcony!

We spent so much time traveling that the rest of the summer flew by. We still had time to visit with family and friends, hang out with our neighbors, and celebrate a dear friend's wedding. It was definitely a summer that we will remember!

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!