Christmas

We were super excited this year to help Aly learn about the birth of baby Jesus, enjoy the legend of Santa and share in the giving and receiving of gifts.

CELEBRATING JESUS:

One cute thing that I wanted to share from one of our discussions was this:

"Are you excited that tomorrow is baby Jesus' birthday?"

"Yah, but he can't talk yet."

"How old do you think baby Jesus is going to be?"

"Three, just like me!"

Obviously these are hard things for young ones to grasp, but I thought her responses were very practical to the things she is currently learning about (brother not being able to talk and turning three her upcoming birthday).

LEGEND OF SANTA:

Well, Aly was a little less sure about Santa this year. After trying to get a picture of her and Braden on his lap (which ended up being mine), we decided to type a letter and take it to him. (She even told me what to put on Braden's list.) So, we did that, she shared it with Mrs. Clause (who she loved) and then walked up and handed it to him. Maybe she'll be better next year!?

Here's a picture of part of our Christmas decor.

We painted a tray (Aly and I) for Santa's cookies. We made cookies and Aly put out 5 of them with milk for Santa. We decided that explained why he was so big! All the kids leaving him lots of good cookies!

Here's the kids Christmas morning. (Look to both sides of Aly to see some of the ornaments that she made at preschool.)

Santa's gone! He even ate all the cookies and drank all of the milk!

GIVING & RECEIVING GIFTS:

She enjoyed looking for and picking out things for others including pajamas for Grammy and a toy firetruck for Daddy. She also wasn't shy about expressing what she wanted on her list as we shopped. She enjoyed adding tape and "stickers" (labels) to the presents as we got them ready. Lastly, like everyone, smiled big as she unwrapped the gifts from others. We want to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness!

Bath Time Fun!

First in...Braden. He is finally starting to be okay with baths as long as he is 1/2 covered in WARM water! (Here you can see his umbilical hernia.)

Out goes Braden, in goes Aly. Yes, I did decide to use one of those cute robe sets. They are cute, but we never take the time to use them....so I took a picture to prove usage!

Here's a picture of Aly's art work in the bathtub. She currently has been into drawing faces. Remember, she's only 2 1/2! Look carefully for the "eyes", "nose", "smile", "hair" and "ears"!

Lastly, Aly painted Mommy's toenails and made them pretty!

And...her hair finally ALL fits in a ponytail! She thinks that she's a BIG GIRL now!

Braden's 1 month Dr. Apt.

At his one month appointment, Braden was in the 50th percentile for everything...height (22 in), weight (10.5 lbs) and head size. He's doing great and growing fast! We are watching some eating/reflux/gas issues but are trying to make some eating adjustments to see if we can make things better for him. So far, he seems a little happier! We also found out that he has an umbilical hernia (see bath blog picture). We are hoping it doesn't get too big (can be finger tip to plum size) and goes away on its own (as late as 5 years old). They are just going to watch it at this point because 90% go away on their own. We'll keep you updated!

Winter Wonderland

Well, we were snowed in last weekend with approximately 6-8 inches of snow with 1/2 inch of ice in the middle. We got the first half of the snow Saturday morning, followed by ice and rain and then the remainder of the snow. Needless to say the streets were a mess and several schools (including ours) were on two hour delays at the beginning of the week. (For my Phoenix family we were having highs in the mid 20's with 30+ mph winds, making the wind chills barely in the double digits! - So no complaining about your "cold" 60 degree weather!)

Aly got her boots on and thought she wanted to go outside until Matt opened the door and she said "It's too cold!" So, we spent the weekend inside by the fire! Aly and I also made a gingerbread house....

While decorating, Aly discovered that she really liked the gumdrops!
I'm not sure what all she "tasted", but Daddy caught her looking like this...

The final product...

(Note: Aly did the sidewalk by herself after I said I thought it needed one. She also added the gumdrops along the back, they are flowers!)

Matt or Meghan???

Okay, some of you have been asking the question,
who do you think he looks like?

So, here are our 1 month pictures....now you decide!

They watch everything...

Braden was laying on a blanket in his room, seemingly happy because Aly was entertaining him. I thought it just might be a good window to take some pictures, so I went to get some of my things (camera, stand, backdrop, props, etc).

Meanwhile, as I was starting to set things up, the phone rang. After talking for a few minutes, I turned around and found Aly putting her princess camera on my stand and...

trying to get him to smile for a picture!

How cute it was! It was evident that she watches everything that I do. Needless to say I got a few cute pictures out of it. Here's one of our handsome guy!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

The Maple elves want to wish you a Merry Christmas! Turn your volume up and enjoy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1238284358

(Note: If you have trouble viewing, right click and 'Open in New Window')

3 Weeks Old

Braden is 3 weeks old and doing well. His bilirubin levels are continuing to drop and he is finally gaining weight! Because of the jaundice, he was sleeping a lot and not awake much to eat, therefore not gaining weight like they would've liked. After going for his "weight check visit" this last week, he was cleared - he had finally passed his birth weight! He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and had already grown 3/4 in. The doctor said that he looked great!

During this last week, Braden has started spending more time awake throughout the day. Sometimes it's only for an hour here and there and sometimes it's for a couple hours in a row. Wouldn't you know that Aly and I went out shopping yesturday and left him with Daddy and he stayed awake the whole 5 1/2 hours while we were gone! Needless to say, Daddy didn't get much done around the house. (Now he understands!)

Friends Christmas

Well, here's the "friends"! Four of the guys grew up together in Kokomo before meeting the other two at Purdue. They've become great friends and married some great looking women!

(Dave, Matt, Joe, Jason, Matt, Tim) (Melissa, Meghan, Jamie, Susan, Kelley, Melinda)

Then, they created these cute looking kids!

Yes, there are 11 of them all under the age of 3!

(That's two per couple, with one couple expecting one in March. So, next year they'll be atleast 12!.....and NO I'm NOT hinting anything, the Maples are DONE!)

Evan, Graham, Elliot, Lilly, Alyson, Braden

Neil, Jacob, Ethan, Lucas

(Samantha not pictured)

We got together for our annual Christmas exchange and had a great time! The kids had a lot of fun playing together and got along great (minus a few altercations - to be expected). There were even a few adults who had a great time playing with the kids! :) Thanks to the Clarks for hosting...good food and a great time together!

Sibling Love

Wherever Braden is, Sissy isn't far! She just loves holding him and being near his side.

This particular morning, Aly woke up and wanted to hold him while she sat on the couch and watched Dora & Diego! (Little does he know that he'll have to like them as well!)

Here is a picture of one afternoon where she hung out by his side long enough that she ended up taking her nap there too!

Getting Ready for Christmas

After returning to the family room, Matt found Aly sitting in the chair looking at a toy catalog that had come in the mail. She is sure in to making her "list" this year! I can't tell you how many times we've been in a store and I've heard a little voice say "I want this on my list!" (left)

(right) She got her first "nightgown" and thinks that she is big stuff! Here is a picture of her posing with her dress-up princess shoes on. What a ham!

Aly really enjoyed picking out the tree and helping Daddy decorate it this year. I sat back, held Braden, listened to the Christmas music, watched the fire burn, enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and watched them work on it together. It truely was a beautiful memory in the making. They did a great job!

Home!

We were so glad to come home after spending 7 out of 9 days in the hospital (due to me being hospitalized the weekend before)! When we left the hospital, Braden was sleeping a lot, not eating as often as they would've liked and had a bilirubin level that was a little high (11.2). We were able to come home, but we were to check back a few days later. When we went 2 days later, his bilirubin level had increased greatly to 17. So, they sent us home with a biliblanket (a phototherpy blanket) to help him reduce his level.

He laid in the sun, connected to this blanket for 2 days before being tested again. His level had then dropped t0 14.3 and a few days later to 11.7. Thankfully, he got to get off the blanket! It was a big pain! The cord was barely long enough to hold him, so he spent most of the time in the crib, being fed a bottle from afar. It was nice to be able to hold him again without being connected to a machine! Since his levels were dropping, we were also done going to the hospital every few days for them to prick his poor little heel to collect a vile of blood :(