A little Cisel New Year!

As 2009 comes to a close, it allows us to reflect and to give thanks on a year full of blessings.  We simply couldn't have asked for a better year.  How God blessed us for sure!  We just look at our little Bianca and see His grace at its finest.  Thank you, Lord, for our family, our health, and our happiness.    

Derek's parents were here Tuesday to Friday.  We had Christmas dinner Tuesday night and opened presents after.  What nice things!  Here's a little Cisel Christmas:

Everyone sure seemed to have good presents.

Daddy Derek and Baby B were all smiles!

Derek's parents reading one of their gifts from us....

Priceless expression!  We got them a luau reservation for their Hawaii trip this spring!

Derek's jeans.  1 for 4 (Susan, you understand this!)

Nana gives a mean bottle!

ChRiSTmAs!!!

What a week!  We have been so blessed to have such a wonderful holiday spent with family.  My parents were here for Christmas, Derek's grandparents stopped by the day after on their way to Florida, and Derek's parents will be here for New Years.  We also have a couple of friends stopping by.  On the day after Christmas, my friend from high school and Derek's coworker, Zach Waite, stopped by on his way to Florida.  We had a nice dinner out.  Tomorrow, Derek's high school buddy, Jeff Ekena, and his wife will be stopping by and staying the night on their way to Florida.  Crazy busy with all the visitors, but we LOVE it!

Christmas was pretty low-key.  We had a nice Christmas Eve dinner and then went to 7:30pm mass.  Bianca was such a good girl for everything.  She continues to sleep through the night with just an early morning (5:30am) feeding.  We are so happy!  She is sure getting big.  One thing she also likes - sucking her thumb.  This has gotten to be quite a habit for her.  

Bianca got some nice toys for Christmas....and so did mommy and daddy!  It was the best Christmas so far for us- we had the greatest gift of all- our daughter.  

One big, Clark Griswold Christmas

Happy holidays everyone!!!  We have had a great day so far today.  My parents took an earlier flight to Atlanta and were here by 9am.  We just got back from our neighbors' house.  Our neighbor, Harper, had invited us over to use their Christmas tree for pictures since we didn't put one up this year.  What a sweet thing to do!!!  We - of course - took her up on her offer and ran over as soon as we could! Her little guy is 3 weeks younger than Bianca. Check out the fam: 

Winter in Atlanta

Today Derek and I took Bianca on a walk.  That's right, a walk.  It's December 22nd and we are able to take a newborn baby out on a walk without worrying about her freezing!  Derek and I are managed to adjust to southern winters pretty well!  I can't believe this is Derek's 3rd and my 2nd winter in the south with no snow.  My friends here find it unreal that I am used to negative wind chills!  Well, today it was a beautiful day with the temperature almost reaching 60........

Shots away

Bianca had her 2-month appointment yesterday.  We got the final news - no belly problems!  Her belly button is finally starting to heal.  The ultrasound came back negative.  Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  We are so blessed.  I was so scared for Bianca.  It's instances like this that make ya realize how lucky and blessed we really are.  I can't imagine how families of St. Jude deal with having a sick child.  You don't know worry until you have children - that's for sure.

~Bianca's stats at 2 months of age~

Weight: 11.1 lbs, 55%

Height: 23.5", 87%

Head: 38.4cm, 40%

Looks like we have a little peanut on our hands!  She also got her first round of immunizations.  There were 4 shots!  Isn't that crazy?!  I was feeling so bad for her.  It gave me a greater appreciation for work and when I administer injections on little kids (how their parents must feel).  I had no idea I would feel so terrible.  Bianca screamed bloody murder and real tears were shed:(  When we got home she continued to cry and fuss all night.  I gave her Tylenol to help her pain, and it really seemed to work.  Poor baby!

Oh Christmas Tree...

What is humorous is that we don't actually have a Christmas tree.  Our townhome is just too crowded with all of Bianca's things (swing, pack & play, toys, etc) to put a tree up.

I talked to my cousin, Meaghan, who asked me to put some pics up on the website of our decorations.  I didn't really go all out with the decorations this year, but instead just a few items....

~I wanted to put a wreath in place of the church painting, but haven't found one I liked.~

~I baked cookies all day today - more of that to follow!~

~It was tradition in the Schaub house to wait to put baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas Day~

bouncy time!!!

Today is such a rainy day.   It's like cats and dogs outside!  Bianca had another good night - asleep by 8:30pm and up at 4am for a feeding, then back to sleep, and up at 7am for the day.  I am feeling pretty spoiled having an 8-week-old breast fed baby already sleeping through the night!  She's been doing this for over a week now - actually probably since she was 6 weeks old!  I seriously think the book we follow, Babywise, is a Godsend!  People at work had recommended this book to me.  I purchased it this summer and read it several times before Bianca even arrived.  Now I reference it several times a week.  It is truly AMAZING!!!

I forgot to post our Christmas card:

Since it has been so crummy outside, B and I have been playing inside all day - no morning trips to the store.  But today I thought we needed to "spice up" our morning routine, so I got out the bouncy that Aunt Abbey had bought Bianca.  It said it was meant for babies who could hold their head up with no assistance.  Bianca has been doing this for a couple of weeks and this last week has really had great motor control.  So, I assembled it and no time Baby B was a bouncing monkey thereafter!  Here's some pics:

This is so much fun!!!!

But I'm starting to get sleepy.....

and sleepier....

Ok, I'm done!  Put me in my crib for a nap please!

After this pic, I picked Bianca up and she immediately put her head on my shoulder.  She was asleep in a matter of seconds.  She's in her crib now, asleep for nap #2 for the day!  What a good baby!

Ultrasound

We went this morning to the ultrasound. Children's Hospital of Atlanta (Scottish Rite) is a well-run, beautiful hospital. Everyone there is so nice and friendly. It is different from what I am used to as a children's hospital (I previously worked at St. Francis in Peoria - The Children's Hospital of Illinois) - they actually ONLY treat children. There are no adult patients at this children's hospital. It is not-for-profit and functions mostly from donations. I can honestly say I would not think twice about donating to this place and I plan to do so.

Anyways, Baby B did awesome. I was a little worried when they said to "make sure her bladder is full." What?! She's 8 weeks old! Anyways, I fed her when we got to the waiting room. When she was called back to the room, she showed a VERY FULL bladder on the screen, just as they had requested! The tech said if she screamed we could give her a bottle to help her hold still - which made me nervous because I had not prepared a bottle. Even so, Bianca held perfectly still and didn't cry at all. The tech was amazed at how good of a baby she was....of course! She looked so cute in her little Christmas outfit she wore.

The tech said she was looking for any openings in her abdomen that might be holding free fluid or air. I asked when we would know the results and she said it usually takes a few days. However, if the radiologist were to see something when we were there, Bianca's doctor would be called right away. So, she completed the scan, went to talk to the radiologist about the pictures, and then came back. When she came back, she said, "You are good to go.....and I'm not going to be calling your doctor today!" Now, that's an unofficial report, but I took it as VERY good news!

We will keep you posted if we hear anything. Baby Bianca has her 2-month check-up on Monday so I'm sure we will get the full report at that time. Derek and I are looking forward to enjoying an uneventful weekend!

The First Cousin Visit!

What a great couple of days we have had! Bianca's cousin (Sidney) came to visit with my brother (Matt) and sister-in-law (Wendy). Sidney had her first experience in a plane and did VERY well. It was so great to see my little Goddaughter and to play with her. She has a big birthday next week.....2 YEARS OLD! My how time gets away. Derek had not seen her for 1 year! I can't believe how tall she is, how long her eyelashes are, and how smart she is! There are a million other things about her we miss. We really wish we lived closer to family, especially when we realize how much we miss with the kids getting older.

Anyways, we had a great time! We visited the Georgia Aquarium. The penguins were Sidney's favorite. She got to touch a sting ray and see whale sharks. Miss Bianca stayed home for a day with daddy while we all went out and explored. Bianca has been doing very well - the last 2 or 3 nights she has slept from 8pm-4am! We are very happy about that!

To keep you updated on Bianca's belly - we will be going to the Children's Hospital of Atlanta on Thursday for an ultrasound of her abdomen and pelvis. Then we will be seeing a surgeon. We will keep you all posted on details. Please remember us in your prayers!

Sidney and mommy on the plane - she was so good!

Uncle Matt holding Bianca for the first time.

Sidney loves the playground....look at those eyes!

...Chasing her daddy is so much fun!

She was so excited to go to the aquarium!!!

...and to touch the sting rays - she got splashed!

Scary sharks!!!

Aunt Liz loved talking about all the fish and Sidney knew all their colors.
...the penguins were so funny!

Who knew we would get to see Santa, too!

Look out....big fish!

Awww.....look at the cousins!

2 cute little girls! We can't wait until they are both old enough to play!