My Life as a Mama with CF

Hi everyone! So we've been pretty busy in the Librande/Hodsdon household lately. Here are some pictures to catch you up with what's been going on! So this is at the pumpkin patch... :) Alida and Grandma outside the pumpkin patch :) Alida was VERY unhappy when I tried to put her in the ergo. Grandma did a little photo shoot with Li Li :) This is after carving pumpkins... Can you guess who did which one? (I'll give you a hint one was mine, one was Adam's and one was my Dad's) Alida loves falling asleep on Grandpa's lap! Alida with Aunt Kendra and David Alida is now 6 months old, can you believe it?! Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and the stores are already decorated for Christmas; time needs to slow down a little! We miss you all so much and we hope to see you soon!!! Love, The Librande Family

Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't get this post up on Monday, we had a little bit of a delay getting pictures up! We hope that everyone is doing well! Here's a little bit of what's been going on in the Oregon Librande household.... Alida had her first taste of peas! She didn't seem too pleased at first and spit most of them out, but for a first new food type experience, I would say that it went pretty well! :) We have since moved on to carrots which she seems to like MUCH better. (We put one of Adam's T-Shirts on her because it tends to be a VERY messy mealtime) When we came home one day, Grandma Hodsdon surprised us with a new high chair! Yay! Alida seems to enjoy sitting at the table with everyone :) If you didn't know, Alida LOVES books! Every time we pick one up to read to her she starts smiling and kicking her little feet and talking up a storm! Here's some pictures of Adam and Alida playing and enjoying some reading time... (On another ...

So far October has been an enjoyable fall month with some new "firsts" for the family. Alida had her first introduction to solid food! Yummy rice cereal! I'm not sure how much she actually swallowed, but here's a picture so that you all can get the general idea... We also went to the pumpkin patch!Unfortunately the patch that we went to (which we went to last year) was going to charge us to pick the pumpkins plus for the weight of each pumpkin (which they didn't do last year)! So we didn't actually make it into  the pumpkin patch, but instead stopped by a local fruit stand and got pumpkins from there (for 4 cents less per pound, mind you). Here's a picture just before leaving for the patch... Another first for the family is that it was cousin Patrick's 1st birthday! Yay Patrick! We wish we could have joined you, buddy! And here are some more pictures from this last week :) Our little wiggle worm! We love you all and...

Now for the long awaited pictures that I promised long ago.... Alida saying "Hi!" to the camera! (at least that's what it sounded like...) She still hasn't quite figured out how to use the bouncer, but she does enjoy looking at the toys :) As you can see, Dada has a way of putting Alida to sleep...zzzzzz Adam and Alida having a very serious conversation! Our happy little girl! :) I'm really going to work on posting at least once a week, so check back next Monday around this time! We love you all and miss you! Love, The Librande Family

Hi all! Sorry I haven't posted in weeks, things have been a little crazy in the Hodsdon/Librande household these past couple of weeks. First off Grandpa had surgery on his heel to remove a bone spur, so he's been home for about 2 weeks now! Alida's gotten to know her Grandpa better than ever and I've got to admit, it's been pretty nice having some company around the house. Adam and I worked at the Oktoberfest one Saturday for the Salem Right to Life booth (St. Michael the Archangel's). Our shift just flew by! Person after person came by hoping to get one of Adam's GIANT ice cream cones, or one of the world famous cinnamon rolls that St. Michael's sells year after year. I was thankful that the time went by so quickly because that was the longest that I have been away from our little girl, and I was definitely starting to miss her. Alida had her 4 month appointment, and she did so great! She is up to 14 lbs. 11 oz and 24.5 inches; it's amazing how ...

Hello all! So as some of you know, part of my having Cystic Fibrosis (CF) means that I need to do different nebulizers at least twice a day (3 times currently) for a minimum of 30 minutes each session. Sitting down and breathing for about an hour each day might sound relaxing, however with a 4 month old it can be anything but. The mornings usually go quite well, I'm able to lay Alida down on her giggle garden play mat and she usually stays content playing with her rings and smiling at mama. The evenings, however, are a completely  different story. You would think that having three extra people around in the evenings to hold Alida if need be would make doing evening nebulizers even easier, but for what ever reason Alida turns into a mama's girl at night as soon as I start my nebs and no amount of holding, swinging, or singing seems to be able to calm her down (except for grandma every now and again). Well, last night grandma and grandpa went to bed early, so Adam was left with t...

Well, it looks like the rainy season is finally upon us here in Oregon. We had our first rain storm yesterday, which was accompanied by booming thunder and flashing lightning! Alida and I had walked to Mass from the park earlier that day, and we got back to the car just minutes before the first rain drops started falling (phew!). It was actually pretty refreshing to have a good rain come down and we don't usually get thunder and lightning so that was kind of an extra bonus! Alida slept through the exciting parts of the storm (no surprise there!) while the dogs tried jumping in my lap and huddled at my feet, sticking to me like glue. After Adam arrived home from work he had to run down our loooooong driveway to pick up a package that the mailman had left. When he stepped back inside it looked like he had just jumped into the shower with all of his clothes on; he was soaked to the bone! Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun with the big storm, but we are certainly hoping that the ...

Hello all! Sorry it has taken me forever and a day to put up a new post, I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle my time with a newborn. Between feeding, playtime, and changing diapers I'm lucky to find the time to eat, sleep, and do my nebulizers, let alone write! This last weekend was quite an eventful Labor Day weekend. On Saturday we (Adam, Alida, and I) met up with some of my old high school friends and headed east to a wedding of another high school friend (Kelly) in Estacada. We stopped for pizza at a local pizza place in Estacada (Hitchin' Post Pizza, I think it was called...), which had surprisingly delicious pizza, and were able to spend some time catching up with each other before the wedding. Kelly's wedding was beautiful and, as always, it was a great reminder of the marriage vows that Adam and I made on our wedding day. Alida behaved wonderfully at the wedding! She didn't fuss at all (which is quite unusual for her in the evenings, given that ...

As many of you know, Adam and I are proud new parents of our baby girl, Alida, who is now 3.5 months old! More and more we are seeing awesome changes in her everyday. Just recently she started taking to tummy time like a pro, lifting her head high in the sky to view the world around her. Those little baby doll hands of hers have begun grabbing everything within arms reach and the discovery of her ears has forced us to keep a vigilant eye on her hearing aide, which has ended up as a new toy to suck on more than once. It's truly amazing how fast time flies by! Oh, and did I mention that she loves to smile? :) As far as other changes in the family goes, for those of you who don't know, Adam has started his job as a phlebotomist and is really enjoying it! Thank you all for your prayers, I don't know where we would be without them! Until next time, vaya con dios! Love, The Librande Family

Hi everyone! Today is day #1 of my blog postings! After some convincing from my husband and secret admiration of my sister-in-law's blog, I've decided to start one up to keep our family and friends updated on our life here in the great north west. I should hopefully have pictures up soon (and more to say), so keep your eyes peeled!                                                                  Love, The Librandes