TNTC

TNTC in biology class stood for "Too Numerous To Count" - and referred to when you grow bacteria in a petri dish and there are so many colonies that you can't count how many there are.

I feel like there are so many things to write about today I don't know where to begin! Let me just try to recap each one briefly so as to not write a complete novel (and still have at least 45 minutes of my two daughters' joint nap two hours to take a nap of my own!).

Last Friday night we went to Family Friday at Natalie & Tom's house. Took both girls to see everyone, and had a great time. Of course, we arrived late as Alex didn't get home till 5:30 and trying to get two kids ready takes much longer than one. And we should have left at 8, but then Magdalena was hungry (nursed), Lucia pooped (diaper change), and Lena followed suit (diaper change #2)! I was probably the most exhausted at the end, and apologies to everyone if I seemed a little snippy! But overall it was great to get out and see folks. Here is the lone photo I took of Annie holding Magdalena - thank GOODNESS for friends who love babies!

From 10 October 2009

Saturday we all went to the Farmer's Market as a family - very cute! It was fun to have Lena in the Bjorn and walk with Lucia between Alex and me holding hands. Our little family! Unfortunately we did not get a pic of the whole fam, but Alex caught me holding Magdalena in the Bjorn:

From 10 October 2009

We returned home just in time for the thunderstorm and rain to come pouring down. Dada, Lucia and I watched the cool thunderstorm from the living room while Lena napped:

From 10 October 2009

Around midday, my cousin Jordan and her roommate came up from OSU to visit. Jordan is going to be Magdalena's Godmother. She was great with the baby, and I am so proud of her being here for the family amidst her busy college life.

From 10 October 2009

Then towards early evening, my Uncle John drove my Avo (mother's mother) up from Eugene to visit (well, ostensibly they were going to dinner in Portland, but stopped in for a visit). Avo has 6 kids of her own (she had 7 but one died in his infancy)- so she really knows her babies! Magdalena seemed very content to be held by Avo, and Lucia is always happy to see her too.

From 10 October 2009

On Sunday morning we went to Church as a family - somehow made the 8 am Mass! I can't even describe how CUTE Lucia looked in her little schoolgirl denim jumper dress with the white shirt underneath. She had adorable brown patent leather Mary Jane's on too (which unfortunately made loud noises as she kicked them against the pew!). And I again held Magdalena in the Bjorn:

From 10 October 2009

From 10 October 2009

Sunday afternoon, two of my three best college friends (the other being in LA), Julie (expecting her first baby, Miles, on November 25) and Amber (expecting 95% sure girl second baby on April 7) came over to visit. Amber brought her son Jacoby, who is almost 18 months old. Lucia and Jacoby enjoyed playing "near each other" and watching our across the street neighbor using his chainsaw, while we girls caught up.
Julie holding Magdalena:

From 10 October 2009

Kids Love Power Tools:

From 10 October 2009

Before conking out that night, Big Sister Lucia helped soothe Baby Sister Magdalena:

From 10 October 2009

And Magdalena stayed up a bit longer to practice sticking her tongue out for Mama (I swear she did it! Just didn't really catch it in time...!)

From 10 October 2009

Monday was a quiet day - Alex went to work, and Lucia and Magdalena stayed home with me and Ama. Yesterday we had to get the girls passport photos taken. Well, Lucia has a passport from last year (looks nothing like her now!), but needs Visa photos for our move to China. And Magdalena needed everything. So we dressed the kiddos up and headed down to Kinkos. Lucia was a bit miffed for some reason, but here is a relatively decent family photo:

From 10 October 2009

Also last night, the 20th, we celebrated Ama's birthday! Lucia sang Happy Birthday to Ama about 10 times and kept saying "Happy Birthday Ama!" Lucia helped make Ama's birthday cake and frosting, and we all ate dinner and sang together. Here is a picture of Dada with his girls to show for it all:

From 10 October 2009

Finally, this morning Alex and I took Magdalena to the Craniofacial Clinic at OHSU to check out her forehead. It's not horribly noticeable yet, but the right side of Lena's forehead is flattened and the left sticks out a bit to the point where it affects the opening of her left eye. We are concerned about the vision development, as well as the aesthetics of this and worried that she may have Craniosynostosis, which means that one or more of her skull plates have prematurely fused. In Lena's case, it would be the Coronal shown in the image below.
The worst case scenario if this is untreated is that her brain will not have enough room to grow, and the pressure of the brain growing against the skull will cause brain damage. There is no way this is going to happen to Magdalena, though. We think the whole thing may just be due to her pressing against my pelvic bone for so long in labor, and if it doesn't correct itself we will get a CT scan when she is 3-4 months old, which will show whether it is synostosis. In that case, Magdalena will have corrective surgery (i.e. break the plates apart) when she is 8-9 months old, before it will become an issue for her developing brain.

Oh, and one more funny thing - when Alex and I took Magdalena to the doctor, Ama & Apa took Lucia to the library (too wet for the park). Apparently Lucia said "Let's go to the P-A-R-K!" spelling out Park! So much for our ability to disguise that from her any more!!! It's like when you spell walk to a dog so s/he won't start freaking out too early. Now we will have to come up with a code word for park!!!

So those are the updates from this past 5 days! Lots going on, and now it's time for a nap.