Alaskan Roots

Kurt was born and raised in Anchorage, AK, and though we don't live there, we love to visit. We were very excited to be able to bring Madelyn up there this past week to meet her great grandmother, her uncles, aunt, and cousins. The weather was great and we had a really fun time visiting and bringing Maddie up to her Alaskan roots!

Kurt's brother, Kyle and his wife Susanna have two adorable girls, Jasmine (almost 4), Sierra (almost 2). They both loved meeting their little cousin and loved being able to hold her!

We love relaxing at the house, having big family dinners, and just plain laughing with each other. If you know Kurt's sense of humor...being with the entire Biederman family is quite entertaining!
We had a great time hanging out with Kurt's brother Kevin and his girlfriend Colleen.

On the way up to the Biederman's cabin, we stopped at the Alaska State Fair. I realize I didn't get pictures of the huge vegetables, but then the only thing we really did was EAT!! It was really neat to go to the state fair, I don't even know if NJ has a state fair...and even if it does, I've never been!

Here's the fam, recuperating after eating corn on the cob, hot dogs, ice cream, funnel cake, cheese cake wrapped in dough, strawberry shortcake, and cream puffs. Yikes, a little embarrassing to write that all down! And yes, we all did feel a bit ill that evening.

Grandma, Maddie, Susanna, and Sierra soaking up the sun on the dock (yes it does get warm in Alaska!!)

I just couldn't resist! **look at those lips :)

While in Alaska, Mimi(Kurt's Mom) was very helpful by taking Maddie for a couple of hours in the morning, letting Kurt and I catch a little more sleep :)

Here's Maddie enjoying bathtime with Mimi.

All Smiles!!

The last two weeks have been the best and the worst weeks of Maddie's life thus far! When Madelyn was born, the pediatrician that looked at her was concerned about her hips forming correctly. Because of Madelyn being in a breech position in my stomach, there was a little concern when she was born, which apparently is very common with breech babies. At first, it seemed like Maddie's hips were forming well on their own after her first two weeks. Last week, we revisited the Children's Hospital in Seattle for a follow-up ultrasound to see if her hips were continuing to form correctly. The ultrasound found a very slight case of hip dysplasia. The doctor decided to have Madelyn wear a soft harness that would hold her hips at a 90 degree angle to help form the sockets the way that they need to be. This, of course, was hard for me to hear, but I know it's the right thing and it is very minor so Madelyn won't have to wear the harness but a month or two.

So, needless to say, it took some getting used to, for all of us. Long nights of crying, rocking, feeding...basically whatever it took to calm her down. It was a very tiring week for Kurt and I and quite frankly, a very frustrating week.

This week has been a complete change from last week. Maddie is getting used to her harness and things are settling into what seems to be a good schedule. I realize that things always change when you have a baby and I can't be guaranteed a good night EVERY night...but we are very thankful that this week has been so good. Maddie is allowed 2-3 hours out of her harness every day, and you can tell from the following pictures that she really loves her playtime on the floor.

Madelyn is really starting to look around and Kurt and I will do just about anything to see that adorable smile of hers :)

Maddie is really interacting with me more these days, which is so awesome!

Of course she is still a newborn...so when Madelyn is tired, nothing will wake her up!

Busy B's...

The last two weeks have been quite busy for the little B and I. My students often called me Mrs. B and they got to calling Madelyn, while in my stomach, 'little B'...and boy have we been busy. Starting two weeks ago, dear friends, Aunt Audrey and Katelyn flew in for a visit. We had a wonderful time, starting Maddie into a schedule, showing Katelyn around Seattle for the first time, and of course just watching Madelyn! It was a great time.

After the Brown's left, Kurt was gearing up to take the Washington State Bar exam. He certainly didn't need Madelyn and I around to distract him during the test, so we headed up to Bellingham, WA with my good friend Lindsey and her 5-month old daughter, Mia.

Lindsey's parents live up on a lake. With two little ones, it was difficult to get out on the water, but sitting by the water was nearly just as good.

At the end of July, my Dad and Cheri came back to visit us since Madelyn was one month older than when they'd seen her last. Maggie also came to town to meet Maddie; we had a great time showing Maggie around Seattle for the first time. Recently, we started Madelyn taking one bottle a day. She took to the bottle great and that allowed Kurt and I to go on our first date while my Dad, Cheri, and Maggie watched Madelyn for a night.

Maddie is really growing! This little outfit was so big on her at the hospital...

Certainly a newborn with all the sleeping that Maddie still does.

(I just love this little pacifier!!)