When Two Cains Become Three... then FOUR!

Sweet Levi

2012-02-12T09:40:00.002-05:00

Lots has been going on the realm of sickness this last two weeks. I feel like I haven't left home much. Exactly 2 weeks ago Madilyn came home from church, and took a nap. When she woke up, she had a fever of 102. She was perfectly fine that morning, and it was really sudden. She had that fever until the following Thursday. With the fever came a "cold". I tried SO hard to keep her away from Levi, but it's really hard when you are home along all day with 2 kids. If you keep them separate, one is always neglected. Needless to say, Levi ended up getting the cold. Thankfully he did not get the fever/virus portion. He started coughing maybe the week after Madilyn got sick, so we avoided it for a few days. His cough got progressively worse. Thursday night (2/9) he started to sound like he was wheezing. I didn't know if it was just his little nose whistling from being stuffed up or what, so I put him to bed. That whole day (Thursday) and through that night I was running the humidifier, and it didn't seem to be doing much. Friday morning he woke up and there was definite wheezing. He had a hard time eating, kept having to take breaks to try to breath, etc. It was kinda scary! I called the doctor, and she told me to come in right away. After being there for over an hour, they finally told me he has bronchiolitis. Not sure how a cold developed into that, but in my sweet baby, it's easier for them to get it. Due to this, he has to have "breathing treatments" as they called it every 4 hours, every day, until he's better. That could be another week or more. I am allowed to let him go longer over night, but so far, he's only gone 5 hours at night... ugh! I feel like he's 2 weeks old again! This also means, once he's had bronchiolitis, every time he has a cold, he could develop wheezing, and I will have to do these treatments again. I was able to bring the machine home, we get to keep it. So that's a bit reassuring that we don't have to make a trip to the doctor's office every 4 hours!!! It's a little purple dinosaur with tubes coming out of it! :) It comes in a little case that looks like a castle. HA! They said if this reaction comes every time he has a cold for the next year, they may check for asthma. Hoping that's not the case!
While we were at the doctor, she looked at his skin and notice "full body eczema". She asked me what I have been doing for it. I told her everything from tiny amounts of cortizone to aquaphor to soap free body wash etc. She then proceeds to say she thinks it may be a dairy or soy allergy when it becomes whole body eczema. Never even thought of that! I then thought about how gassy this child has been since he was born, and how much he spits up at times, and that I have to use mylicon just about every time I feed him... SO... she told me to cut all cow's milk products out of my diet (bread, cheese, everything) and all soy products. I quickly agreed, willing to do anything for my sweet pea, and anything to be able to continue to nurse him. (Nursing is so rewarding, as well as inexpensive. I have heard how expensive dairy-free formula is!) I then went home and saw how pretty much everything in our house either has soy or cow's milk in it! AAAH! LOL! It will definitely help my quest to lose this extra weight I've packed on since having Madilyn! I am bound and determined to continue to nurse Levi though, so dairy/soy free it is! Totally worth it. AND, the positive thing is, the very next morning I noticed a difference in his skin. Couldn't believe it! My doctor is awesome! Madilyn had horrible eczema when she was little, and I was just told by her previous doc: cream, cream and more cream. She did eventually outgrow it, but this seems like a more realistic reasoning than just having sensitive skin. Anywho, we're getting better here, just hanging out at the house. Can't wait for this bout of yuckiness to leave our house so we can get out and about again!

~missing the outside world and lots of adult conversation!

Here's some pics:

this picture is at the doctor's office when he's having his 1st breathing treatment. He's so cute! Madilyn is so funny in this picture! :)

a picture documenting his rash all over his tummy, ad eczema on his face (the pink). Didn't get legs/arms/feet/hands, but I got the general idea.

The following morning, no eczema on his cheeks...

Levi is 3 months old!!! :)

2012-01-19T10:31:00.001-05:00

I like to put up the past pictures so that you can see how he's changed and grown! :) He's getting such a sweet personality. He LOVES Madilyn, he will be watching her with this huge smile on his face. She is so sweet to him too. She just loves on him constantly.

He is currently going thru a growth spurt, and, if allowed, would probably eat every hour. I have been feeding him every 1 1/2 to 2 hours today, and yesterday. Whew! I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the day!!! He is around 13 pounds, but doesn't have another appt till he is 4 months old. He coos and smiles at his mommy, and I sure love it! He hasn't giggled yet, but he's gotten close a couple of times. He is a sweetheart, and lights up our home!! He's a great sleeper too! Once he has finished eating, finally... he sleeps from around 9:30 or 10 at night until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. I do put him down around 7 or 7:30, and then "dream feed" at the 9:30 or 10 feed... but technically he is done eating at the last feeding. He takes 3-4 naps during the day, but he'd rather be up to be quite honest. He's so funny. I want him so badly to take an hour to 1 1/2 hour nap, but he likes 30 to 45 min naps, then he wants to eat, and be up looking around and cooing and smiling. He's such a sweet and happy baby. If his tummy is full, and diaper is clean, he's a happy camper! Always!

He does have the same skin issues as Madilyn, but thankfully I know how to handle it, so it shouldn't get near as bad as hers did. He's got a very dry scaly head, it's pretty cute actually... but I just get him all "greased up" and he's good. HA!

Well, that's it for now, I promised Madilyn I would make her hair pretty and paint her fingernails, so gotta go!!

God bless!

Levi's 1st Christmas, and family New Year!!!

2012-01-03T14:49:00.003-05:00

We had a small family Christmas this year. We knew we were going to be going up to a mountain home that my parents had rented for our Christmas present over New Years Eve, so we just had the 4 of us on actual Christmas Day morning. It was peaceful... VERY quiet, and actually really nice! We had our traditional ham and cheese english muffin sandwich (started by John's family when he was a kid) while we read the Christmas story and explained to Madilyn what Christmas was about and why we were celebrating. After breakfast and the story, we opened presents. It was really fun! The night before, Christmas Eve, we went to my parents house for our tradition of FONDUE!!! :) LOVED it! We also had a birthday party/cake for Jesus, to help Madilyn know the true reason we were celebrating. We wanted to keep the focus on Him.

Christmas afternoon we started a new tradition: Chili! We went to my mom's house, had chili with them and a friend from church who joined us. It was wonderfully relaxing. Perfect for Christmas.

Then... on Thursday after Christmas we packed up and headed to Old Fort, NC... about 30 minutes outside of Asheville. My parents rented a house that was big enough for our family of 4, my sister's family of 4, my parents, my brother, and my cousin from MN to come along! It was a perfect and memorable time!!

Levi getting ready for the trip! He actually slept the whole ride! PRAISE GOD!

Madi is ready to go!

The view out the back of the house

My sweet cousin Shari holding Levi

Peek-a-boo!

Madilyn holding her favorite present of Christmas: "Sally" from Cars 2 from her Uncle Mark

Sally and Lightening McQueen

John helping Preston (my nephew) open the gift from us...

Buzz Lightyear Walkie-Talkies!!! :)

Madi opening a gift from Uncle Mark

Shari and I (and Julie and Brooks) at the falls in Old Fort, NC

The girls (and Dad...ha)

The whole group (minus Shari taking the picture)

Levi on the hike

My sweet boy :)

The falls... in the summer, I guess kids come down and play in the shallow water beneath the falls... looks so fun!

Lake George, so peaceful!

John and my brother Mark took advantage of the closeness to a local brewery and stopped by

they said it was awesome!

Me, Madi and Levi stayed in the car... Levi took up some driving lessons

the living room and the view... I got to sit here and relax! :)

Sparklers on New Years Eve!

Madi, Preston and Brooks

Brooks with Julie

Papa, Ryan and Preston

Gingerbread house time!

Grama, Madi and Preston

Shari, Preston, Grama and Madilyn

Finished product... notice the one tree w/a bite out of it... that is results of Madilyns need to learn self control... ;)

Grama giving Levi a little bath. :)

John and I on a walk together

in front of the falls

falls

the house we stayed in, it was beautiful!

smores at Lake George

Levi stayed in the car, it was a bit too windy

YUM!

Madi eating smores

share with me daddy! :)

Papa and baby Levi

Madi's cute pose

Seriously, she's so cute isn't she?

Madilyn and her buddy Preston

The 4 cousins... and Brooksie kept moving... we tried to get them all looking!

a little better! Preston, Levi, Madi and Brooks

Levi moved... oh well!

Grama and the Cain grandchildren

So, that about sums it up! We had an amazing time! I loved using my new camera too! I got a new tiny little point and shoot camera with 16 mega-pixels, so I got some really good pictures! I was ecstatic! I have had the same little camera since about 2004, so it was fun fun!

God bless!

Levi is 2 months old!

2011-12-19T14:08:00.001-05:00

Yes, yes... My little man is 2 months old! I love comparing the two pictures above... he's really filling out in his face, and look at where his little feet reach to as compared to the previous picture! :) My sweet sweet boy!

He is such a joy, my days are filled with so many smiles because of my two little children! LOVE, that's how I would describe it.

Levi is now sleeping between 7 to 8 hours at night, and makes a very happy mommy. He is on about a 3 to 3 1/2 hour schedule during the day. He is a good eater! He also gives mommy tons of smiles and coos during the day. When Madilyn comes into the room, he looks for her and smiles at her. She can get some pretty BIG smiles out of him! She is such a nurturer too. She just loves on him, and when he fusses, she tries to console him and make him smile. She's such a sweet big sister! She does keep me busy though! As soon as I sit down to feed him she has to go to the bathroom, or needs a snack, or something pertinent. The other day (thank GOD John was home!) JUST as I sat down to feed Levi, she decided she wanted to go back downstairs... and on the 3rd to the bottom step she slipped and fell the rest of the way down. We have wooden stairs, with wood floors at the bottom, and since we moved in it's been my biggest fear that she would fall down the stairs when I wouldn't be there to quickly do something about it. I heard her fall and cry and I screamed for John... luckily he was there and had already responded... poor Levi, he did not understand what was going on, and I scared him pretty good! :( Luckily it was just a large bump on her head and a couple bruises... so glad it was towards the bottom of the stairs, and not the whole way!

I have found with Levi that I am such a softy! I hold him and console him WAY more than I did with Madilyn. I am a bit more relaxed with things also. I think that's what happens with your second child... you are a bit more mellow. He's such a snuggler too... and that bottom lip, man, what's a mommy supposed to do when he sticks it out looking all pitiful??!! ;)

Well, I am making my freezer meals today... hope it will last for the next month!

God bless!!

6 weeks

2011-12-01T16:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, 11/30/11, Levi was 6 weeks old! He's really filling out, and becoming such a cute and sweet baby! He's starting to smile and coo at his mommy, which TOTALLY makes my ENTIRE day!!! :) Right now he's sleeping in a bassinet in our room, and so I have a changing pad on our bathroom counter. When I set him on the pad, he turns and looks in the mirror and just smiles and coos at me in the mirror. *melt*!
So, we had his 6 week appt. today at the doctors, and I showed up completely expecting for it to be a quick visit and to come back @ 8 weeks for his shots... nope... he got his shots today! I was completely unprepared! Emotionally and physically (as in, I forgot to bring/give him tylenol before the visit). I cried as he got his shots... poor thing! He has some skin issues, like Madilyn did. I hope it doesn't get bad like hers did! He has horrible cradle cap, a rash on the lower part of his face, and an awful diaper rash that I can't get rid of. I have tried so many different creams, it's insane. The doctor gave me a couple of other ideas to try... so hopefully they work!
Levi was 10 lbs and 6 oz., 22 1/4" long, and his head was 15 1/4 " around. He was all within 65 to 75th percentile. I looked it up, and Madilyn was 10 lbs 8oz at her 8 week appt., so he's a bit ahead of her. :)
He's a bit fussy today, and isn't eating quite normally... and he's definitely more sleepy than usual! we'll have to take it easy for the next 24 hours for the poor little guy.
Well... that's it for now!

new quote:

2011-11-25T14:12:00.001-05:00

Don't think I've put this on here yet, but I want to document it:

Me: It sure does!
Madi: Sure is does!

:)

1 Month Old!!

2011-11-21T13:26:00.001-05:00

So... Levi was 1 month old on Saturday, November 19th. People say, enjoy each moment because time flies! That is so true! I don't know where the last month went! My days are filled with diapers, spit up, nursing a baby, feeding and chasing after a 2 yr old... and then I fall into bed... oh... and there's a husband in there somewhere! :)
Levi is a wonderful baby, he truly is. I thought Madilyn was easy... no, I think she was a high maintenance baby compared to this little man. Madilyn was hard to nurse... I was crying by about 2 weeks (and before then too) and had to be encouraged daily, sometimes hourly to stick it out just to at least 3 or 4 weeks to give it a chance. (I made it 13 months!!) Levi, from the very first time, has been easy. He latches on no problem, eats like a champ, and pulls of when he's done. HA! SOOO different. Just reinforces the statement that every child is different. He is a good sleeper... I am starting a bit of a schedule with him, that he almost does on his own. He eats about every 3 hours during the day (sometimes less if he's extra hungry ;) ), and then he'll do a 5-6 hour stretch at night (from 9p to 3a) once. The only thing that's hard is that he is SO gassy, no matter what I eat. I could eat chicken and water, and he'd be gassy. I have to give him mylicon or gripe water during each feeding, and it can still take me 10 minutes to get a good burp out of him.
He is so snuggly and sweet... he just nestles in and loves to be swaddled and cuddled. He also seems to really love Madilyn. He turns towards her when she's talking to him, and puts up with a lot of her snuggles and constant kisses. I was worried that there would be jealousy, but it's truly non-existent. It's different to her I guess, it's her brother. She constantly is trying to kiss him, shush him when he's fussing, covering him up if he's "cold"... she's very tender and nurturing.
My house is a disaster, and I don't get a ton done during the week when it's just me here, but that's ok... it will get better. John has been wonderful on the weekend, and he lets me have "me time" and helps me get stuff done. Sadly he gets home around 6:45 or 7 at night during the week, so we don't have too much family time during the week... so we take full advantage on the weekend.
I can tell Madilyn is 2 1/2... I am getting an earful. John and I were talking about her yesterday. Madilyn has 3 modes: whispering, yelling, and sleeping. Seriously! She's just non-stop. It's truly precious... I just have to remind myself of that sometimes. :) I hear a lot of her opinions too: "No, Madi not want wear that", "Madi wuv that shirt", "Madi not like those pants, Madi want wear pink ones", "No, Madi not listen, Madi need time out...". Seriously (even the last one!). She's learning how to whine every sentence... and how much it annoys mommy, she will never comprehend! She has very strong opinions that she is learning to properly express. We need to remind her several (thousand) times a day that when we love someone we talk to them nicely and lovingly. She's exhausting, but I love every ounce of her.
Well, gotta go put my little girl down for her nap!

A poem to describe...

2011-10-31T21:06:00.005-04:00

Here is a little poem I found that accurately describes the lesson I have recently learned... ;)

Changing a baby girl is not all glitz and glory.
Changing a baby boy is an even bigger horror story.
You hold his feet in one hand, and the diaper with the other,
The whole time praying "Please don't pee on your mother".

6 days old!

2011-10-25T18:50:00.001-04:00

Well... my sweet baby Levi is 6 days old today. As of tomorrow he will be 1 week old.... I can't believe it's been that long! How on earth did that happen so quickly without me putting anything on here?! Here's what happened last week:
Wednesday morning, October 19th, 2011, John and I woke up at about 4am. I was full of nerves! Having already had a c-section previously, I knew exactly what to expect. For some reason that made me more nervous. Knowing exactly what is to come, gives you knowledge of exactly what to be nervous about. ;) We left our house around 4:45am to have our baby! (Madilyn had spent the night at Papa and Grama's house so we wouldn't have to bring her over so early in the morning, and so they could bring her to the hospital after he was born.) We got to the hospital, parked and walked into the "Birthplace" at Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital. It took a while for us to get settled in waiting for the nurses, etc... but then we got into the pre-op room, I got in my hospital gown with my "cute" red hospital socks, and hooked up to my IV and the monitors. I was precisely 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant with Levi. At around 7:20 they had me walk into the operating room and sit on the table so that I could have my spinal. They then quickly had me lay down and started to prepare. John then was able to come into the room, and sat beside me. Within 20 minutes he was born! Levi Hudson Cain came into our world at 7:40am on 10/19/11... I am getting choked up and teary remembering his first cry, and just feeling so full of joy I could hardly breathe! They let me hold him (with some help) for a couple of minutes, and then John went with the nurses so he could get cleaned up. Madi and my parents were able to be there and see him come through to the nursery and watch his first bath while I was being "stitched up" in the operating room. We got a video and some cute pictures of the first time Madilyn saw him. I am gonna have to upload a couple of videos, because it's really precious. Man... I am getting all teary eyed! :) It's just such a happy time! I was wheeled out of the operating room a little after 8a and brought to recovery. Shortly later Levi was able to join me. John and Levi and I were able to have some time together, and then I was able to nurse him for the first time. He took to it quickly and very well! We got to our hospital room around 10:30 (I think) and we got to see Madilyn and she got to see Levi up close for the first time. She was talking about how he came out of mommy now, and that he was "so cute" and "so little". She's so sweet and gentle with him, it really is quite adorable. Levi does have some jaundice, but has been such a champion eater that he has no need for a billi-light or anything else, we just have to keep him fed and take him outside a bit.
He is the completion of our family, and I feel so full...I thank God for our blessings, and just feel like my "cup is over flowing". He is such a sweet boy, and a great sleeper and eater. He seriously gets cuter by the minute, and I fall more in love with him each and every moment.
I am healing well from my c-section, and seem to be getting around better than I did after having Madilyn. I am taking it easy, and my wonderful mom and husband have been pampering me and making sure I am getting plenty of rest. My mom has been coming over every morning and helping me take care of Madilyn and stuff around the house. It's been so awesome!
I will have to upload some videos of his birth, and of Madilyn seeing Levi for the first time... until then, here's a couple of pictures:

Our first full family picture

A sleepy smile

Madilyn holding Levi for the first time in the hospital

Preston, Levi's big cousin, holding Levi for the first time, and Madilyn protectively watching over him.

Levi all swaddled up

My sweet boy all "milk drunk" ;)

sweet face... :)

Mommy getting to meet Levi for the first time, and give him a kiss... this picture puts tears in my eyes!

Videos to come shortly... :)

6 days...

2011-10-13T10:36:00.001-04:00

Had my VERY LAST OB appointment this morning... seems like a milestone or something! :) 6 days until I get to meet my sweet little boy, and I am sooo excited! I have a lot to prepare, and a lot to clean... but I am getting so excited! I can't wait to hear his sweet cry! Sigh... *tear*

10 days to go!

2011-10-09T09:13:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe that there are 10 days until Levi makes his entrance... but then, when I think about how uncomfortable I am on a regular basis... that still seems a bit long... ;)
I am trying to finish up preparing, it's just slow going with my waddling and all! I am getting my freezer meals shopped for, and then thrown into our deep freeze... I have his room ready (FINALLY), and the pack and play/swing/bouncy seat out downstairs... I've got the essentials... now I just gotta wash his clothes and pack them and my stuff for the hospital. Most likely I'll do it the weekend before... that's just how I roll! ;) HA! It only took me till I was what, 36 weeks to get his room done? But hey, at least it was done before he came!
We got new mattresses yesterday! To understand why this is news worthy, I must explain:
John got one of the very first sleep number beds from his parents when he was 15 or 16. Nice right? Well... that's the same mattress we've been sleeping on. It's ok, but not for me. I've been wanting a different mattress since we got married 5 years ago (Our anniversary is coming up on 10/21/11!). So... we FINALLY got one! YAY! I slept so good last night! Our old mattress, which actually is still in great shape, was moved to our downstairs office, so it can now also be a guest room. I had no idea the office was that big, but seriously, it fits with room around it an everything! So... family, we are ready for you to visit for the holidays!!!
Madilyn has been extra clingy lately. I've talked to a couple of my friends who have recently had a second child and they said a few weeks before the 2nd one comes a long, they see the preparations, and know a change is coming... they don't quite know how to handle it. Madilyn has been very attached to mommy and Grama. I have really been eating it up as much as I can, and probably going out of my way to "assist" this needy-ness of mommy... but it's ok. Soon, she won't be able to be held for about 6 weeks, and I'll have a baby attached to me, and this snuggling late into the night will have totally been worth it!
Keep us in your prayers as we enter this home stretch! Pray that I'll have energy to get this house together, and the meals together, and myself together! :) I am so excited to meet my little boy, and so nervous still about having a boy at the same time! I love that I'll see balance. I'll get to experience the daintiness of a girl, and the rough and tumble world of a boy. My life feels... full... amazing and blessed! God is really so good. Thank goodness he doesn't give us what we deserve, but blesses us instead! I feel abundantly blessed today!!!
Can't wait to post pictures of my sweet man, 10 days and counting!!! :)

Our home... finally posting pics... lol...

2011-09-26T15:49:00.001-04:00

Ok, for those of my friends who have visited our place in the 5 MONTHS we have now lived here...(which I cannot believe!) you can ignore this post. I have promised our out of state family pictures of the house for 5 months now, and finally went around and took pictures. Due to the fact that I just decided I am going to do it, and not wait for my house to be perfect, and I am just gonna take pictures and you'll see it as it is. :)
SO, I finally am posting pictures of our gift from God, our little inheritance from John's granddad... something we never could have gotten on our own. This house is from God. We feel very blessed and constantly thankful. It's still surreal to be honest! God is good, soooo good! :)

directly in the front door to the right, our living room

living room

from dining room looking to the front of the house, the living room

from living room looking into dining room, and back porch is out the back door

dining room (and Madilyn's toys)

looking into kitchen from dining room

kitchen

down hallway from kitchen to the front door (bathroom is on the right just past the garbage can)

by kitchen table looking into the laundry room

looking from corner back towards the hallway in kitchen

from living room looking into messy office ;)

yup, messy office

from office towards front door

from office, up main stairs

from front door

from back porch looking to our garage

in our garage, still a mess from the recent garage sale we had

John's soon to be work out area in 1/2 of the garage

looking up the stairs to the room above the garage

looking back towards the stairs, we hope to put a bathroom where that "alcove" is in the back of the pic

from top of stairs looking into the room

from corner looking back @ the stairs

looking from corner to where I want to put a bathroom

downstairs full bathroom just off the kitchen

Levi's room... still a work in progress obviously

Levi's closet

from the corner of his room looking out to the stairs

from top of stairs (in front of our room) looking to Madilyn's room (left) and Levi's room (closed door)

Madilyn's little messy room ;)

from the corner of her room looking out

looking into Madilyn's bathroom

again, her bathroom

our room, ignore the 30+ pillows that prevent the bed from being made properly... I need them ;)

different angle

that's the closet in the corner

our bathroom... slightly messy

another angle...

And that's that! Now, I don't have to think about getting pictures up anymore... pretty good getting our place MOSTLY together... hopefully we'll get it completely together in the next couple months. We'll see!!

Cute videos

2011-08-30T10:10:00.003-04:00

Here's a couple of fun videos, hopefully they come out ok since they are from my phone, but they just show a bit of Madilyn's cute blossoming personality!

Madilyn loves this specific song on the CD, but this video makes me laugh because she looks down @ her shirt and notices a "boogie" and starts saying "eeew"... lol, makes me laugh every time! :)

Here's what I hear every morning, and after every nap over the monitor when Madilyn wakes up... I love it, and it always makes me smile! :)

Sweet little Poem

2011-08-06T17:12:00.002-04:00

Daily I look at my sweet little girl, and am astounded how quickly time flies. When did she lose her little baby look, and become a little girl? When did she start talking to much, and become so independent? With a second baby coming, I want to slow time down and just enjoy every second. I forget to spend precious second with her as I have so much to do in preparation of Levi coming, or guests coming, or just keeping up our house... and I saw this poem on my friend's status on her facebook page... and I took it as a little reminder that... every once in a while I need to just sit down and enjoy the precious gift of a child that God has given me. I still need to keep up my home, and get things done, but remember to enjoy my sweet baby before she moves out and goes to college! :) Here's the poem:

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep

28 wks: Officially the 3rd trimester!!

2011-08-03T14:03:00.002-04:00

Ok... to blog more about pregnancy....

I am in the 3rd trimester! Woohoo!

How on earth did this happen so quickly? I even officially am going from 1 visit every 4 weeks, to 1 visit every 2 weeks. I am hoping it will help this pregnancy go by even quicker. I have been having a LOT of pelvic and hip pain. I know it's normal, but it doesn't make it any less uncomfortable.

I also have been having Braxton Hicks daily! I never had them with Madilyn, and I get about 5-10 per day now... quite interesting how different pregnancies can be!

Stats @ my 28 week appt:

weight - good! I am right on track, doing good! :)

measurements - he is right where he needs to be, squirming around and making mommy uncomfortable!

Heart-rate - I was talking... so I didn't hear the rate, but it was perfect! :)

Blood pressure - doing good! And no swelling yet for this mommy!

So, overall, doing good!

I do need a LOT more sleep, I feel like I could use like a 3 hour nap every day... and that's just not gonna happen... but it's all good! I take advantage when I can and get a little nap in when possible.

Ok... and really truly, I will post pictures of the house. I just keep forgetting... :) I will... soon! lol!

2011-07-21T09:22:00.002-04:00

It's small print, so I'll translate:

""A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes and slept in the most perfect darkness. One for ever time you had the hiccups. One for every dream you dreamed within me.

It isn't very pretty anymore. Some may even think it's ugly. That's OK. It was your home. It's where I first grew to love you, where I lay my hand as I dreamed about who you were and who you would be. It held you until my arms could, and for that I will always find something beautiful in it."

Makes me cry happy tears. No... this is not my stomach, but the saying is correct... it's beautiful! I worry about stretch marks as I rub my already marked belly, from my first pregnancy, with cream. When I see a picture like this and read a poem of such love... it makes me remember, every line is worth it! Each line has a purpose... it is all from love. I love this sweet baby Levi growing inside of me more than I ever could have imagined... and he's not even here! I will be grateful for each mark, because those marks mean I was blessed with the ability to carry a child... to feel him growing and moving inside of me. Thank you GOD! God is amazing, I am so glad he chose women to be able to carry these babies inside of us, and for us to personally feel the miracle. I feel blessed today! :)

Alright, this pregnant and happily tearful woman is signing off!

God bless! :)

What's up lately? Not too much!

2011-07-06T12:08:00.008-04:00

Since my last post... not too much has happened....

Let's see...

Madilyn:

She has gotten cuter, of course! Here's some cute things she says or does:

* "Hi guys!", "See you later guys", "Love you guys" to me and her daddy

* "Hmm... let's see, what Madi want..." - when she is shopping with me, looking in her closet for what to wear, or looking in the pantry @ meal time.

* "nuggle?" - when she wants mommy or daddy to snuggle with her at nap or bed time

* "Madi love (insert item here)" - she has started to express her love to different people or animals, so sweet!

* Last night when I went into her bedroom to tuck her in, I lay in bed with her, with my head on my hand, laying on my side, propping myself up... she scooted in really close facing me and attempted to do the same... :) So precious!

* She constantly is singing... anywhere, anytime... as loud as possible! :)

* She is starting to pretend, talking with her stuffed animals, talking on her pretend phones, making me soup in her little "kitchen", etc.

* When she falls, or trips, or whatever, she gets up and says "Madi ok!" to reassure mommy that's she's ok.

* She loves stuffed animals more than baby dolls... WAY more... she will throw her baby dolls on the floor (quite roughly) to make room for her animals. It cracks me up. We'll have to work on this before baby brother comes!

* We purchased a baby doll that is a boy to start to practice being gentle. Mommy carries it around a bit, so she'll be used to mommy's arms being full of a baby, and we practice holding ever so gently... etc. Hopefully it will help the transition when baby brother comes along! She sure tries to be gentle with that doll, but only that doll.... :)

* She likes to help mommy in the kitchen. She can be so whiny sometimes... the key for me lately when I am trying to get stuff done in the kitchen is to put her on the step stool and give her something to "cook" or help with. She loves to help mommy "cook" or help with dishes... usually a mess follows, but I don't mind. She's so happy helping!

Mommy:

* Up finally from pre-pregnancy weight. I have gained a total of 2.5 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight.

* Officially 24 weeks pregnant as of 7/4/11

* We decided on a name!!! His name will be Levi Hudson

* He is so different already from Madilyn! I can't wait to hold him and get to know his sweet personality!

* Already uncomfortable, and feel bigger than I did @ this point with Madilyn. My shirts are getting smaller much more quickly also.... We'll see what happens! :)

Family:

We went on a couple of road trips recently! A couple of weeks ago we went and visited John's granddad for the first time since we have been married. I had never met him, and neither had Madilyn. He lives in Mobile, AL... and it was a bit over an 8 hour drive in the car. Madilyn did AMAZING! I was so worried about the long trip! I loaded up on activities and snacks, and we stopped every couple of hours (more for pregnant mommy than for Madi!) and she did so great! She wasn't so sure about great granddad, but definitely showed off a lot of her sweet personality to him. She also got to see her Uncle Stephen (John's brother) again, and really warmed up to him quickly. He drove up from Ft. Meyers, FL to see us. It was so fun to see both of them! We were definitely exhausted by the time we got back though!

Madilyn in the car playing w/one of her toys on the way to Alabama

Madilyn w/her Uncle Stephen reading "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" :)

For the 4th of July, we went to Helen, GA with my parents and brother, Mark. We stayed in a cabin way out in the woods from Thursday to Monday (the 4th) and it was SOOOO relaxing! We drove out to some waterfalls in the Amicalola Falls park, went to Dahlonega, GA (36 miles from our cabin) to see the town that John used to visit when he was younger. We even ate at the Smith House, which John last ate at when he was about 15! It was so much fun! The cabin had a hot tub, which we kept the heat at about bath water temp so Madilyn could use it. She called it her swimming pool and loved floating around in it! :) We did a little bit of shopping, a lot of snacking... and a whole ton of relaxing! John got some good "guy time" in with my dad and brother. They went tubing, and wi-fi hunting, and ice cream eating and video gaming.... ;) It was just a great trip overall. We got back in the afternoon on the 4th and crashed... we all slept until about 5:30pm! HA! I thought Madilyn would be afraid of fireworks, so really didn't plan on going and seeing any. Around 8:30pm we got her ready for bed, and just for kicks took her outside and saw a few going off by the neighbors... she LOVED it! Wasn't scared at all! So, now I feel like a bad mommy for not planning on letting her enjoy one of the fun parts of the 4th of July! So we quick got in the car (while it was sprinkling and lightening...) and drove up to the elementary school that was nearest the shopping center where I knew fireworks were being put off. We didn't want to go to the shopping center since I knew it was getting close to time for them to go off, and it was already QUITE crowded, and I didn't want to get stuck in traffic. We parked @ the school with about 4 other cars, and saw the fireworks just over the tree line. It was perfect! We only stayed for about 10-15 minutes since they didn't start till about 9:15pm, but Madilyn got to see some pretty fireworks, then saw more on our way home from almost every direction! She was so excited! She went to bed talking about the fireworks.... so sweet!

Well... that's about it for now! Here's some pictures from the last couple of months:

Downtown Helen, GA @ night when John and I were on our date night

The Cabbage Patch "Hospital" that was in Cleveland, GA near our cabin

Front of the Cabbage Patch "hospital" where the CPK are "born". :)

A nurse helping a Cabbage Patch baby be "born"...

Madilyn looking @ Elmo and Grover instead of Babies...

Holding a purple squirrel instead of a baby... ;)

Holding a squirrel & sitting on a dog instead of playing w/babies... ;)

There was a baby in this stroller, till she threw it on the floor for her purple squirrel... lol!

The cabbage patch doll you see on the floor was in that chair, till she threw it on the floor and I had to set it up so it didn't look so pitiful...

With stuffed animals and hugging a giraffe @ the baby doll hospital... ;)

with another stuffed animal... yes, you're getting the point right... what cabbage patch dolls? Look @ the stuffed animals they have here!!! LOL!

A hug for the stuffed animal! :)

Sitting in the cabbage chair @ the entrance

I look away for a second, and she climbs onto a table and starts laying out blankets for her bear "Georgia"... lol!

Watching "somefing" at the cabin

The Amicalola Falls

Daddy and Madi @ the falls

John in deep thought over his wonderful food @ The Smith House restaurant in Dahlonega, GA

Madi being cute in my lap.... made me smile! :)

Hope you enjoyed my rather LONG post! :) So much for a short post!! :)

God bless!

Madilyn's 2 yr well-visit

2011-06-12T18:11:00.002-04:00

Well, I FINALLY picked a new pediatrician on this end of town and took Madilyn in for her 2 year well visit... about a month and a half late, but hey... I did it! :)

She is officially 24 lbs. and they say she's 32 1/2'' tall... she seems a little hunched when the nurse measured her though because she was scared of whatever was measuring her... I think she's a tiny bit taller, but it's all good.

I asked the doctor if I should be concerned that she's only 24 lbs @ 2years old, and she said definitely not because she's perfectly proportioned. She's between 15 and 25% in all of her measurements, so it's just that she's petite! I always was as a little girl too, so she gets it from me! :) I think I was only slightly concerned because her 1 year old cousin is 23lbs... but he's gonna be a big guy! :) I was told she's advanced (of course she is....in my opinion...slighly biased) in her verbal skills, she showed the nurse how she can show you on her fingers how old she is and also told him. She sang him her ABC's and a couple of other songs quite loudly... :) She perfectly demonstrated her climbing skills on the tables and stools for the nurse and running skills by running around the room. She checked out perfectly! I was also thankful she was potty trained because we had to get a urine sample... can't imagine how that would have gone w/out the potty training... wring it from a diaper? Sit on the toilet till she tinkles? Not sure! She made it easy on her momma! THEN came the finger prick. She had not met the doctor yet at this point... a different nurse came in, I told her precisely what was going to happen (didn't want to lie!) and she got her finger pricked, watched the whole collecting process (crying the whole time) and then got a pink sparkly bandaid. She was furious... by the time the doctor came in she was about inconsolable. She just clung to me and didn't want the doctor to touch her, even though I reassured her that the doctor was not going to poke her, just check her heart and tummy. The doctor asked her her name, how old she was, etc... Madilyn just looked at her with a curiously angry look and shouted "NO!"... I told her to be polite, but told the doctor that she wasn't going to be cooperating after that finger prick... oh well! At least the nurse got to see her happy cute self before the crabby part came out! So, she was perfectly healthy in every way (no shots at this visit, yay!) and she got to have tacos at Moes with mommy and her Uncle Mark as a treat, which she was quite happy about! We even got to see our friends Chase, Jacob and Luke there with their mommy and daddy! :) She did pretty good overall!

I went to my 20 week appointment like I mentioned in the previous post... our little man is growing perfectly. We have a couple names in mind... working them out. I should have known it was a boy with how different this pregnancy has gone, but I guess I was in denial. With this pregnancy I have been soooo sick. I still get nauseas at times, I am sore so much earlier than I was with Madilyn, I am still 1/2 pound under my starting weight... and at this point with Madilyn I had gained over 10 pounds! He stays really low in my pelvis, rarely moving out to help mommy be a bit more comfortable... he doesn't move as much as Madilyn does, but when he does I definitely am aware. It's like he's more purposeful about it. I am not as hungry all the time as I was with Madilyn either. I constantly felt starving and could eat large meals. With him I get a little hungry, eat a little and then can't quite finish my meal. I eat probably 5 or 6 small meals a day. I also have way more food aversions. Things just look or smell gross. For example: I have ALWAYS loved peanut butter, I could sit down with a jar and a spoon and be completely content... now, just the smell grosses me out. Can't go near it. It's getting a bit better to where I can make Madilyn a PB&J w/out gagging... but it was bad! I am getting excited to meet him! I can't wait to find out the differences between little boys and girls, and just sit and enjoy watching him grow. It will be fun to see how Madilyn interacts with him also. I can't wait to see her be nurturing and sweet (hopefully!) and all motherly to him.

Well, that's it for now! Thanks for reading, and God bless!!

New blog name?

2011-06-07T18:21:00.002-04:00

I guess I'm gonna have to change our blog name... just not the web address... it's 3 Cains becoming 4! :)

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and got wonderful news! #1, the baby is perfect... 10 fingers and 10 toes and beautifully growing with no abnormalities... squirming and kicking the whole time. And.... we are going to have a BOY! For some reason I was so shocked! Not sure why, that's what they predicted at 12 weeks, but I was just so sure I was going to have another girl. I don't even know what I am going to do with a cute little rowdy boy, but I look forward to it! We now have to decide on a name... we have like 4 that we like... at least there's only 2 middle names to pick from! LOL!

Well... that's about it for now. I'll have to post some pictures of the ultrasound in a bit.

God bless!

Better post before May is over!

2011-05-27T10:54:00.008-04:00

Ok, it's been like a month, so I thought I'd better go ahead and post a few things before more stuff happens and I forget! I am quite forgetful lately! It's so crazy, I will be in the middle of a sentence and completely forget what I was talking about. I was talking to John yesterday and I guess I stopped mid-sentence... he asked me to finish and I had no idea what he was talking about! hahaha! Pregnancy brain I guess! I have to put every day tasks and reminders on my phone that alert me throughout the day or I will forget even the littlest things.

I am 18 weeks, will be 19 weeks pregnant this coming Monday! I cannot believe this pregnancy is almost half over! I feel like I just found out I was pregnant. Thankfully I am feeling so much better. My energy is still only partially there, and I can only do so much, and then it's just like my body says "ok, I'm done... so you better sit or lay down or I will just do it for you". :) I have been feeling the baby move quite a bit, and John has even felt it a couple of times! I asked Madilyn if she wanted to feel the baby move in mommy's tummy, and she looked at me like I was an alien... like "what on earth are you talking about?". HA! Maybe I'll see what happens when I am further along and the baby kicks her while she is in my lap... we'll see how she looks at me then! HA! ;) We will be finding out the sex of the baby on June 7th, and I am so ecstatic. I begged them to tell me @ 18 weeks because my mom's birthday was this past Monday, precisely when I turned 18 weeks... well, needless to say, they didn't agree to it. So, I will be bringing my mom and sweet husband to the appointment. Madi will have to stay with a friend since the last time she came to an ultrasound, she was hysterically crying the whole time telling the lady to stop touching mommy's tummy... so, since this one will take a while, I decided she wasn't going to be able to come... We have names picked out, tentatively... I may change my mind another 2 or 3 times like I have over the past month. But we'll see! :) Ok....

Here's some pictures to catch up on the last month and a half with the Cains:

Madilyn and I were waiting for daddy to get off work, so we had a treat... a cake "pop" and a vanilla bean frap... yummy! :)

playing play-do at the kitchen table... Madilyn loves play-do, especially when it's pink!

Mommy and Madi swimming... she got a puddle jumper, but she's still too little for it, so mommy still helps a lot.

Madilyn with her Larry and Bob that mommy and daddy got her for her birthday... she totes them around just about everywhere now... so cute! :)

Grama and Papa on a walk with us, and Madi doing her favorite thing "hold hands" with them... :) She's so sweet!!!

Madilyn playing in the sprinkler on the back patio in her pink princess swimsuit. She has three, but this one is her favorite!

Her first birthday party at Cici's with Grama, Papa, mommy, daddy and Uncle. She wore her hat and had her favorite food : PIZZA! :)

Party #2 @ San Jose's after church with our family, and the all important cousin Preston! :)

3rd and final party with her friends: Daddy and his friend decided to join in on the fun on the see-saw

baby Luke Smoak had fun too! :)

Had to ride the chipmunk!

Run, run, running in the back

playing with her friends Jacob and Chase in her "little" house

The birthday snacks and the yummy birthday cupcakes my mom made for Madilyn. She got pink cupcakes for her 2nd birthday, she was so excited. They were pink inside, with sprinkles on top! Her dream cake! :)

Madilyn trying to get the other little girl Piper to come into her house... she wasn't successful. Piper was smart and realized the house was already a bit crowded...

Just a random sweet picture

This is what happens when you allow her to have a snack in the car. I don't even remember what it was, but this is the result!

"Ky Ky" as she calls Kyle, his mommy and baby sister came to visit the other week... Halle even got a ride in the shopping cart! Mommy protectively walked alongside... :) You never know with those boys and their sisters!!

Madilyn's easter egg hunt, had to take a break to eat some candy!

"What are you doing? It's mine, stop eyeing it, you can't have it!"

Are there more eggs mommy?

Stealing a bite from daddy of her first taste of a "peep"

Needs to open another egg!

Sweet girl in her dress and hat!

Having a tea party on the back screened in porch :)

Madilyn on her birthday present from Uncle Mark, and wearing the present from Auntie Julie and Uncle Ry-Ry... :)

Being too quick and showing mommy how she can "climb" up on anything! HA!

Her current favorite evening activity: Run, run, running in the grass with daddy!

And last, but not least, a pregnancy shot of me at about 17 weeks. I'll have to try to get more as I go! :)

Sorry so long! I didn't realize how behind I was! My next post will be the house pictures. I just gotta hang up the rest of the pictures. Hopefully I'll do it soon! :)

God bless!

Lyme Disease Awareness Month!

2011-04-26T13:51:00.002-04:00

Ok... I will get to posting pictures of Easter and Madilyn's "egg hunt" and our new home (once we have couches and a kitchen table), but today I want to focus on something quite close to my heart.

Within the last year my aunt was diagnosed with Lyme's disease after a very long struggle with an "unknown" disease and issues so great they thought she may have a brain tumor, or MS. All along it was Lyme's Disease. The month of May is Lyme Disease awareness month. I know it's not quite May, but I wanted to post this now before I forgot. Down here in the south, ticks are not quite as prevalent as in the northeast and midwest, but they are still here! It's spring, it's warm and they are out there!

Here's some unknown facts:

1). You are more than 10 times more likely to get Lyme Disease than West Nile Virus. Ticks are everywhere and you are most likely to be bitten in your own yard.

2). Lyme Disease has surpassed AIDS as the #1 infectious disease in the U.S.

3). Testing for Lyme Disease is UNRELIABLE. To be tested correctly you must have your blood tested through a tick borne specialty labe such as Igenex Lab in Palo Alto.

4). The average primary Md knows NOTHING about Lyme Disease even though they believe they do.

5). Lyme Disease, if not caught right after the bite can become chronic with multiple systemic (body-wide) symptoms that is extremely hard to treat and patients only hope is long term antibiotics, sometimes YEARS and hope for remission.

6). You know someone with Lyme Disease and they likely don't know it. It is the "great imitator" If you know someone with pain, back problems, knee problems, Fibro, anxiety, migraines - you know someone with Lyme. There are 100 symptoms of Lyme Disease.

7). Only Lyme literate Md's treat Lyme Disease effectively, not found in your local phone book either. Contact The Lyme Disease Association for more information Lyme doctor referral.

8). Lyme Disease enters the central nervous system almost immediately and even if "cured" you can relapse many years later.

9). The symptoms of LD are so devastating it can be completely disabling with symptoms similar to Parkinsons, Alzheimer's, MS or minor as migraines and insomnia and may be the cause of these diseases!

10). Lyme Disease may be responsible for all psychiatric illness and the number one cause of LD death is suicide.

11). Lyme Disease can kill.

These are not all necessarily approved and noted by doctors, but something to think about! The best Lyme disease treatment is still controversial! My aunt went to one of the best hospitals in the country and was told she had psychiatric problems... when she was tested properly (almost 2 years later), she was informed she had Lyme's disease. It goes unnoticed and improperly diagnosed SO often!

For more information you can go to my aunt's blog mylifeinthelymelight.blogspot.com and she has links and videos for more information.

The more people are educated, the more we can spread the word and hopefully there will be more accurate ways to test and diagnose in the future... hopefully the near future!

Thanks for listening! :)

We close on Thursday!

2011-04-11T13:59:00.003-04:00

AAAAAAH!

I really think I am still in denial, cuz seriously... I don't think I'm as excited as I should be! I can't believe we are going to have this house!

Anyways, we get to close on Thursday at 3pm! I have my 12 week ultrasound the same day @ 10:50am, so please be praying everything goes well! We will be cleaning on Friday, and officially moving our stuff in on Saturday! Whew! SO excited! :)

I was giving Madilyn a bath the other night... seems like I had her take one every night... I was feeling so rotten the past couple of weeks that the only way I could contain her was in the bathtub ;)... so she got at least 1 a day... sometimes 2! lol! Hey, she was clean! With her eczema she hasn't had a bath that often in a while! Anywho... her hair is really starting to get long, so I took the "cliche" soap in the hair picture...

I had a hard time getting her to sit still in order to take the picture, but I got it! :)

Thanks for your prayers! We can't wait to be homeowners again!!!

Monday's Inspection

2011-04-06T09:30:00.002-04:00

So,

On Monday we had our home inspection and the termite inspection and everything went WONDERFUL! We got a signature from the bank saying the house will not be sold to anyone else, and our agreement is good.... so we are just waiting on the lawyers to tell us exactly when they can get the paperwork together. It will be no later than the 14th of April. AAHH! I just can't wait to be in my own home again, and this one is gonna be wonderful! ;)

:)

2011-03-30T09:40:00.002-04:00

Ok.... so, the bank countered back to us last night, and they countered $3,000 more than our offer was. We then decided... they are willing to pay our closing costs, and close when WE want, AND we get all of the appliances including the refrigerator... SO............. We are officially accepting their counter offer this morning! WOOHOO!!! :)

We will be homeowners again very soon! We hope to close by April 8th, so we will have to see if the lawyers can get their act together to get all of that drawn up for us by then. We shall see! :)

Until then, this is a sneak peek of part of my new kitchen! :)

:) LOVE IT!

Nothing yet... but here's something fun!

2011-03-29T13:05:00.003-04:00

So, obviously we didn't hear anything about the house yesterday, otherwise I definitely would have posted something. I am patiently waiting today, and am hoping we will hear at the latest by tomorrow evening. I'll make sure I update! :)

Here's a fun pic:

This is baby Cain #2!! I am 10 weeks 1 day, and the baby's heartbeat was perfect and the baby is measuring about 3 days ahead, so... PERFECT! We got to hear the beautiful hearbeat, and seriously, my heart will be on cloud nine for DAYS! :) I LOVE this baby already! :)

Such a big difference!

2011-03-28T08:55:00.003-04:00

Ok,

#1: Our realtor is sooo different than our previous one, which is a total blessing! She's been great!

#2: We put an offer on the house mentioned in the previous blog on Thursday

#3: Friday the bank countered

#4: Friday we countered back to the bank

#5: We should know today if we have the house or not! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

I'll keep updating! :)

ok... the strike will have to be over... :)

2011-03-24T12:06:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I was a little upset when I posted the last post... if you couldn't tell. ;)

So, since that post we have fired our realtor, hired a new one, and then went to a 3rd realtor... in the matter of about 2 days! :) We found out a LOT about the house we had been waiting since December 28th about that our first realtor NEVER told us... basically it's moot. We aren't getting the house. The bank ignored us, and the listing realtor did what he could, but the owners don't want to pay anything in, and if we got the house for what we wanted they would have to. So that's that. MOVING ON! Our current realtor took us out on Monday and we found a PERFECT home! I am so ecstatic. I really didn't think I'd find anything that I liked better than the one we were waiting on. It's only been on the market for 5 days, so we are moving quickly to try and get it. It's in Harborside at Lake Carolina. It doesn't have a big yard (which I am SOO happy about, I am NOT a yard person... I don't like to "dig around" in dirt and putz in the grass... not me). BUT, it's close to the Lake Carolina pool, park and large green area w/a gazebo that we can use anytime. It has a detached garage with a large room above it, which I LOVE. It has tons of room, and just what we need. Man, I am beyond excited! :) Here's some pictures:

This is a picture of the detached garage. You get up to the room from inside of the large 2 car garage. :)

Front of the house... I am already envisioning a porch swing and rocking chairs! :)

Back of the house taken by the detached garage. Notice the cute screened in porch! :)

I am hoping we will get into the house by Madilyn's birthday.... yes, I said birthday. Madilyn will be 2 on April 17th! I cannot believe that time has flown by so quickly. We are pregnant with baby Cain #2, due October 24th, so time seems to be just passing in the blink of an eye. This second baby and Madilyn will be almost exactly 2 1/2 years apart. Madilyn is just turning into such a precious little girl. And I do mean "little". She's just so petite. She's only barely 23 lbs. and still in 18 month clothing. She can say 3-4 word sentences, and she talks ALL THE TIME! :) I love it. Sometimes I don't understand what she's saying or asking for, but I ask her to show me and she's pretty good at directing me to what she wants or needs. She's pretty quick too. Since we are currently living with my parents because our house sold quickly and we didn't have one to move into... she finds that if mommy says no, she attempts to ask daddy, Grama and Papa... sometimes repeatedly. The bad thing is when one of the other 3 didn't hear when mommy said "no"... yeah, then she gets her way... oops! :) She likes to "run run like Elmo", and "brush" her hair... she does a lot of things "like Elmo". It's so precious. She's also adding new words to her vocabulary daily. I will look at John and be like, "I know she has never said that word before... when did that happen?". She's been so helpful and getting better at cleaning up when she's done w/toys (with a bit of prompting, and singing the clean up song)... She's fully potty trained, and is very good at telling us when she has to go. We still have diapers on her @ night and nap... she's still so little, I just knew that to expect for more than during the day was a little much. She's doing wonderfully though, I am so proud of her! She is also trying so hard to dress herself, but she definitely has un-dressing herself down pat! We had a houseful of guests this last week... and she decided she had to go potty... so she stood in the middle of the living room, in front of everyone and took off her pants and panties and was walking towards the bathroom(before I realized what was going on... she is quick!)... I was like "Oh Madi, we do that IN the bathroom!... lol! We're working on modesty... definitely not part of her thought process!

She also ADORES her older cousin. He turned 3 on March 4th, and Madilyn just thinks he hung the moon. It's so sweet. She follows him everywhere and giggles at anything he does. She also always asks to hold his hand. He tolerates her pretty well, but sometimes after a long day of an incessant shadow, he gets a bit fed up. One day in particular, he looked at her and said, "Madi, I just need some freakin' space!".... at least he spoke up! It shocked all of us adults so much that we all laughed... but Preston was quite serious, he felt he had had enough of Madilyn trying to sit in his lap and hold his hand! :) They do love each other though, pretty precious!

Well, that's all the time I have for now, I'll start getting better about updating. Here's some latest pictures of my sweet girl:

Madi helping her uncle wash his car... with her ever present favorite "Baby Pig", or Piglet

Madi and her Papa at the zoo

a quick preview of a picture we got at Portrait Innovations. This is a "phone" picture of the actual print, so not the best quality... but you get the gist of my precious girl! :)

Madi and Preston holding hands :)

A cute one of Madilyn... ;)

Signing off for now... thanks for reading! :)

Boycott....

2011-03-14T12:02:00.001-04:00

Yes, I have been boycotting my blog... and I will continue to do so until I have GOOD news about this house. It may be today... or soon... but until then... you will hear nothing else. I am on STRIKE!!! ;)

sigh...again...

2011-02-11T09:10:00.002-05:00

Ok... I haven't been on here in forever... Never posted Christmas pics, New Years pics... etc. We have had so much family here in the last few weeks that when I am not @ my parents house visiting them, John and I are barely home long enough to say "hi" to each other and fall into bed!

But, since the only thing I have time for is a short update on the house, I will do so.

The listing realtor emailed our realtor and told us that the bank had approved the short sale... but the mortgage insurance (I guess they had PMI) did NOT approve the short sale. So NOW... the short sale approval is switching hands because it's going to now be labeled a standard short sale instead of a "Pre-approved" short sale. This means that we will be waiting another 30-45 days until we hear.... REALLY!? If I didn't love this house so much, and see that it had everything that I wanted... I would be moving on. So, we might not even know until mid-march... ugh! This stinks! Oh well... I have prayed many times for the Lord to teach me patience... He's dishing out the big guns on this lesson!!! :)

Well.. that's it for now. When my wonderful parade of family visitors stops next week, I may actually catch up on blogging... we'll see!

God Bless!

still waiting...

2011-01-04T08:31:00.003-05:00

Yup, still waiting! :) I am trying so hard to be patient to hear back. I have heard that the realtors are saying 30 days max... which means at the lastest by mid January. Hopefully that means we can close by Jan. 25th as is listed in the original offer.... things are lining up, and it feels so different from all of the other offers that we have put in, like this is the house for us. Things behind the scenes are falling into place. I am really praying that it will smoothly continue to work out in God's will. Please continue to pray for us! Thanks for all of your past prayers, and questions, we soo appreciate it!

....sigh...

2010-12-09T09:52:00.003-05:00

Yes, we are moving, but WHEN and WHERE?! :)

Here's our latest option:

It has actually been on the market a VERY long time, off and on. It's a beautiful home... and actually just so happens to be about 8 houses down from my parents!!! We have walked by this home so many times talking about how pretty it is... but sooo close to my parents... John seemed to think it was a GREAT idea, and thought it would be fun! It seems I had to look in every other neighborhood before finally giving in and looking @ this house. It's a short sale, so I am praying that the reason that this house hasn't sold is so that God could save it for us, and put it within our price range so we could live close to my parents... it's a BEAUTIFUL home! There are a couple of things that I know we will eventually change, but seriously, it's PERFECT!

My mom and I have decided that if God blesses us with this place, we will make sure to respect each other's boundaries, and that it will be an amazing blessing! I am telling... I really believe God was saving this house for us! It's one of those things where you feel a nudge, but you keep saying... "no, that can't be the one... right?"... you know?

So... we are putting an offer in today, and then we will PRAY!!! Please pray with me, that if this is truly the house God has had in mind for us this whole time, that it will go quickly, and smoothly.

Thanks, and God Bless!!! :)

We Are MOVING!!!!

2010-11-15T09:24:00.002-05:00

Well... we WILL be moving! :)

Let me give you some background. Ok, if any of you know me, you know that I have been wanting to move to Northeast Columbia for over a year. John and I bought our current house in November '07 about a year after we got married. We both worked near Lexington, it was just the two of us, and a 1150 sq ft home was perfect! We love the neighborhood, neighbors, it's near a school, etc. But then, both of our jobs moved to northeast Columbia... we had a baby... John's pay got cut (2x!), I reduced my hours, etc. So, we cut back... we went down to one car, we cut our cable, eat out less, shop w/coupons or at Aldi, we make sacrifices to make our life financially a little less stressful. Now, I went to John saying, can we please sell our house and move to northeast Columbia, near our jobs, near my mom (who watches Madi while I work) and near everything else we do? Having only 1 car, I am in the car driving for about 2 1/2 hours a day, and it's getting pretty old. He said ok, lets try. This was about a year ago... We were told no, basically in all turns. From God, from mortgage companies, etc... it wasn't gonna happen. So, resentfully, I gave up. I was upset... I admit it, I wanted to move! But I had to quietly trust God that he knew what was best.

So, earlier this year I wanted to try to move again. I asked John, he checked on a few things and we even went and spoke with a financial advisor... and he said, it wouldn't be the best decision right now. AAGGH, I was so mad!! I was like, are you SURE?! Man... looking back I was just so persistant! HA! So... I finally prayed and said, "Lord, give me a content heart. Make me see your will and your path for us. Help me appreciate what you have already given me, and be thankful for the quiet time in the car, and the beautiful home we currently have." So... that was it. God gave me peace, and I was learning to be content. I knew if we had to, I could live in our current place for as long as I needed to. It's a great home, just not in the place I wanted it to be. About 1 month after I thanked God and became content with our current situation, thanking HIM for what HE has provided (with HIS help) John's granddad called us. He said, "I'd like to give you your inheritance, but I want it to be physical, not in cash... so I'd like to buy you a house...". WHAT?!?! He was so nonchalant about it! I guess him being 89 and not knowing if he'll live another 11 or 15 years or not, he wants to make sure his grandson gets his inheritance, but also wants to help us out now. It's like God was making us wait so that we could see just how great and powerful HE is. So we could see how HE can provide in our greatest time of need, if only we'll wait and see. SO... we are on the hunt for a house! The first house we fell in love with, they didn't accept our offer... :( BUT, that just means there is something better that GOD is saving for us. If ever in my life, I believe that NOW! We put a bid in on a second house yesterday, we'll see what happens! Please pray for us that we will be wise, and search for God's will, be respectful of John's granddad, and find a great home that we can live in for a VERY long time!

2 Corinthians 12:9 .... to God be the Glory! PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!

John and my trip to Asheville

2010-10-26T15:18:00.008-04:00

Last weekend we went on our annual marriage retreat. We had the privilege of going to Ridgecrest Fesitval of Marriages in Ridgecrest, NC. It's about 17 miles out of Asheville, and the campus is so gorgeous! Also, it just happened to be after our 4 year anniversary (Thurs. Oct 21st was our anniversary) So, we got to celebrate our anniversary in Asheville, which is where we had our honeymoon, so we got to see a few of the things we did on our honeymoon.

First off... my husband has a way of making me laugh so hard, that it brings tears to my eyes. Like, he has the funniest way of saying things, and I don't know how he comes up with some things. I made an absolute fool of myself when we were checking in for our retreat. While we were in line, John was being his usual goof of a self and saying that he was going to say to the teller when she asked us what our last name was, "Cain"... and if she asked, and how is it spelled, he was going to say "J-E-S-S-I-C-A". Then he went on to say that if she looked at him in question, he'd say "yes, that's Cain with two s'". So he was joking around about it and we were laughing and I was telling him he better not.... So, we finally get up to the girl @ the counter where we check in and get our paperwork for the weekend and she asks us our last name... well, because of our previous conversation, I just start laughing! And not just a light laugh, like really hard.... like, John has to say our last name because I said it so quietly because I was laughing so hard. Then... she proceeds to ask how to spell it! So, I start laughing so hard I am crying! This girl is looking at me like I am crazy! She's probably thinking that we are trying to sneak in under someone else's name and I just can't lie, or something. Then she kind of smiles, and I am still laughing so hard that I can't explain why I am acting so strangely. Finally, I am able to catch enough breath to say to her "my husband was going to say we spelled Cain j-e-s-s-i-c-a"... and that's all I got out. Oh man! She just looked at me with a smile, and we walked out laughing, with the 40 or so couples behind us in line just staring as we walked out of the building trying to figure out if we are crazy, or if the lady behind the counter is the funniest stand up comedian in the world.... I still smile when I think about it... seriously, where did he come up with that. "Yes, Cain, J-E-S-S-I-C-A... I mean really!?

Ok, so anyways, we had a great time getting away. We needed to just have some time together w/out a potty training toddler, and to be able to sleep in and just relax! They had some great classes that we thoroughly enjoyed @ the retreat, and we got to hear Greg and Erin Smalley speak. It was just perfect!

Then, Saturday night was date night and John surprised me and took me to a really nice restaurant for our anniversary. Haven't been spoiled with that fancy of a meal in quite some time, it was so nice! I am already looking forward to our retreat next year! Pretty sure that after my parents finish doing this for the first 7 years of our marriage, we will continue it.

We also went to Sky Top apple orchard on our way home and loaded up on some yummy treats. I'll be making a ton of stuff with apple in it here for the next week or so.

Here's some pictures:

Me and my sweet man

The little square in the downtown Asheville area... pretty trees huh?

There are a lot of musicians playing on the street in Asheville, these guys were really good! Then we noticed the one on the left was playing w/a saw!!

At our favorite coffee shop in Asheville, World Coffee

Tiramisu @ World Coffee... mmmmmm.....

In the Grove Park Arcade mall there was a guy doing a glass blowing demonstration

It was soooo cool!

This is the Italian restaurant John and I ate at on our honeymoon... I guess it was booked completely full while we were there this last weekend... too bad, it was yummy food!

Random vintage Rolls Royce limo... cool huh?

Where John took me for our anniversary

Lamb....sooooo good!

Crab cakes... also SOOO good!!!

Posana was a great restaurant

completely stuffed full of awesome food! :)

View leaving Ridgecrest

Bye Ridgecrest, hope to see you next year!

Went back into Asheville one last time Sunday before heading home so we could get lunch... and saw this guy running down the street dressed as a nun.... I've heard Asheville is random, but wow....

Cool coffee shop, we were gonna go there, but then we saw "cash only"... we only had debit and there wasn't an ATM to be found... too bad!

cute name huh? :)

one of our FAVORITE restaurants, Salsa's, in Asheville... we had lunch there on Sunday, we always try to eat there at least 1x while we are in Asheville. John got a grilled chicken empanada... it was soo yummy!

I got a slow-cooked pork quesadilla... mmmmm!

John ecstatic about his Mexican/Caribbean food

obviously, I am too!

There was a full moon Saturday night... tried to catch it and it didn't quite work...

On our way up the mile long rode up to Sky Top Orchard

Pretty views huh?

More views...

still warm apple cider doughnuts... SOOO Good!

entrance to the orchard

the bees makin' the honey

more bees...mind you, I am allergic (thankfully not deathly) to these, had chills the entire time I was taking these pictures...

Just couldn't get enough of those pretty fall colored, tree covered mountains!

John enjoying one of those Apple Cider doughnuts... they were heavenly!

And this was my view when I came out from putting dinner away last night. John and Madi watching "Elmo" together on the floor while John scratched Madi's back. If he stopped she'd say "more, more!"

Sooo sweet!!!

Till my next post...

Madilyn is 18 months old!

2010-10-26T13:51:00.005-04:00

On October 17th, Madilyn turned 18 months old... my sweet baby! There are a few new things to report!

#1 : We turned her car seat around in the car... so she is officially forward facing. We were going to wait the extended recommendation, but car rides were beginning to be miserable... she needed to see, and I had to be able to see what was going on to help her. So... much better car rides come from turning her around... so happy we decided to do it.

#2: Madilyn can say so many new things! Most recently, she says moon, star and sky. The only problem is that she gets all upset when she can't see the moon or stars in the sky during the day, and can't figure out why mommy can't make them appear for her... if only I were that powerful!

#3: She is being potty trained. After much debate, and talking to 2 doctors about persistent rashes and trying every option under the sun... we decided to potty train! I was sooo dreading it, and probably would have waited until she went to Wal-Mart, purchased a potty and trained herself! J/K, but it's going so much better than I hoped. She hasn't had any accidents w/the #1... but #2 we are still struggling with, she's still scared of doing #2 on the potty, but she's getting better day by day. I am so proud of her!!!

#4: She is trying to dress herself! :) She can successfully take OFF her clothing... (Sooooo not the best thing for mommy), and she can almost get her pants back on after going potty. She can take her shoes off, and almost get them back on! She's getting so big!

#5: She tries to sing, and it is soo precious! She like, moves her head back and forth, with her mouth opening and closing, and hardly any sound coming out... it cracks me up, but it's just so precious! She tries to pick out words she knows, and will say that, then just continue to open and close her mouth while bopping her head back and forth. I am smiling just typing it!!!

#6: She loves to dance, but lately is consists of spinning until she falls down. A while ago we went to the Italian Festival downtown, and they had this great live music... but she wouldn't dance like normal, she just wanted to spin around. The problem with that is that we were outside on the asphalt, and if she fell, it would have been painful. So, I told her to stop spinning and just dance, she screamed and sat on the ground having a little fit... needless to say we had to leave a little earlier than we planned... :)

#7: She can't jump... but she tries so hard! She thinks her cousin, Preston (who's 13 months older than her) is just about the coolest thing in the whole world. He'll jump, and she'll try to imitate him... it looks like the cutest thing, he's jumping and she looks like she's galloping across the room. :) Love it!!!

#8: She is good @ helping mommy and daddy pray for meals and at bed time. She will even prompt us to pray before we eat, like... um, aren't we supposed to pray first? :) She'll fold her hands and squint her eyes. So sweet!

#9: She loves to pretend to go "nigh night". She'll lay on the floor w/her blanket and her lovie, or stuffed animal, and close her eyes. Then, she'll say, "mommy, daddy nigh night". So then we get on the floor and go "nigh night" also. She just giggles and thinks it soo fun! HA! The only problem is explaining to her that I can't pretend to go nigh night when I am driving... :)

#10: Her 12 mo pants are finally getting a little bit short. Most of her 18 month pants are way too big in the waist though, especially since she is now sans diaper... but we're trying to figure out what to do. It was so funny the other day though when I had her @ work with me and she ran across the room to get papa, and by the time she got there her whole tushie was exposed! I'm gonna have to tailor her pants!!! We don't want that happening in public!

Well, that's what I can think of for now. She has her 18 mo tomorrow so I'll have to post her stats... maybe she finally made 22 lbs! We'll see!!

See how excited she is to be hanging out w/big cousin Preston? :)

I'm big too Preston!

Look mommy, I can dress myself (and put a shirt on as pants!) hahahaha!

Likes to read while going potty...

Mom... I am trying to have some privacy here...

The cool water table @ The Discovery Place in Charlotte

Daddy and Madi playing @ The Discovery Place

Madilyn and her Uncle Stephen the weekend she got to meet him for the first time

Madilyn just hammin' it up

Madilyn's new cousin, Brooks

Madi @ Monkey Joe's

Madi and "Cle" (for Uncle) in the bounce house @ Monkey Joe's

She was trying to tell me something very serious here...

Woooo, she loved the slides!

Madi in her pack & play w/MOST of her stuffed animals....

17 months, and almost 18 months!

2010-10-06T11:27:00.002-04:00

Every time I think about updating this blog, I don't have my camera anywhere near me! I'll have to make another post of mostly pictures when I do. We also need to get our family pictures done for this year, so I'll have to post some as soon as we take the time to get outside and dress nicely. That takes effort.... :)

So.... I am trying to think about things that are new. One thing is, we are trying to get Madilyn to say "thank-you", and she finally did! YAY! New word, and we are on our way to her attempting to be polite. She'll say "please", but not without prompting... yet... so we are working on it! She says "Elmo", ALL THE TIME. I swear, I think she'd watch Elmo all of the hours that she is awake if we allowed it. She also would only eat fruit and popsicles. Although, I discovered that she likes frozen peas... lol! They spilled the other day, and she started eating them.... and they soften so quickly and they are so small, I don't mind.. and she's getting her veggies, so it's all good! She's gotten quite finicky about her eating lately too, so I take what I can get.

We have had so much trouble with Madilyn's skin, it's crazy! I finally had to just bring her to a dermatologist (which I mentioned before)... but now we are having trouble w/her skin in the diaper area... so as per the suggestion of her pediatrician, we are going to give potty training a go! :) We'll see how it goes. I have tried just about everything else from cloth diapers to creams and "naked time" to get rid of her "boo boos" on her bottom, and it didn't work, so here goes! We tried last night just the "introduction phase" of the potties, and she's definitely curious, but skeptical and a little bit cautious of those plastic seats with holes in them... ha! She did let her stuffed animals "go potty" on them, and she got an m&m for sitting on the potty w/out a diaper for a few minutes, and even got to read a book while sitting on her potty, ABOUT going potty. I even found an Elmo (her favorite topic of discussion) movie about potty training, so we watched that yesterday. I am going to take a reward approach, and then get serious about it when we have a weekend at home when we can really buckle down and spend a whole weekend with her on it. I am furiously reading any book I can on early potty training in the mean time. Pray for me and John... and to think of it, Madilyn! :) I am stressed out about it, and I need to cut it out, because it shouldn't be a stressful thing, but a bonding time for mommy and Madi. That's how I am going to look at it from now on.... with a bit of prayer intermixed! :)

I am seeing a bit more of "first born" tendencies coming out in Madilyn. It's so sweet, and I can't wait to learn more about her. I am a middle child, so I will have to work to understand her, but I definitely don't mind. She is so opinionated. She likes what she likes, and you can't persuade her any other way. If I try to distract her from something she wants (and she is not supposed to have) it just doesn't work. She knows what she wants, and that's it! So... she usually goes with nothing, and I have to give her a time-out to let her know that flailing about and tantrums won't be tolerated... I thought this happened around age 2... not 17 months. HAHA! I guess she wanted to show mommy what she was all about a little early. She's definitely starting to test me too, she wants to know her limits, and she's definitely learning them! I am reading about how to direct her persistent personality so that she will thrive. I know that she will use it for great things one day. She is very independent and energetic and so very very persistent. I can see her being something great one day, she will succeed in whatever she chooses to do.

Well, I had to update the blog a bit so I didn't get so behind, but her 18 month post will be coming soon, and I will do my best to get pictures with that one, she's growing up so much, and her hair is getting so long... where did my tiny baby go? Although, she is 17 months and just now fitting into a size 4 shoe, so she is still "little", but you know what I mean. :)

Catching Up!

2010-09-02T07:47:00.011-04:00

Ok... So, I will catch up in picture form! :) Madilyn will be 17 months on September 17th... so I want to make sure that I don't have months worth of pictures to post by then... I will be able to post current due to the fact that I will catch up now. Here's the last couple of months in pictures:

We had our caregroup get together @ the bowling alley... we had so much fun! Even Madilyn and the other kids did a little bowling!

Here's Daddy and his little girl @ the bowling alley

Mommy and Madi

First attempt @ bowling w/a baby in the arms.... not such great results... :)

So, we tried a different approach, that Madilyn and all the kids actually liked!

We have discovered Madilyn LOVES Cracker Barrell.... below is part of the reason why.... :)

Here's a picture of the 3 cousins! Madilyn, Preston and little baby Brooks. This was the best one out of about... 10! :)

Madilyn likes to walk around in Preston's shoes when he visits...

They are just a tiny bit big....

Madilyn also gave Preston a short lesson in piano... they are beginning to become quite the duo!

Completely Gratuitous: Nap Hair... my favorite!

A few weeks ago a few of us parents went to Bouncerific and had a great time! Here's proof:

Madilyn was NOT ready to leave... but the owners kinda were ready to head home for the night....

Come on Madi, let's go home....

Madilyn's Grandma got her a kitchen set... and let's say, Madilyn is definitely learning how to pretend. Her favorite things though are taking stuff out, and putting it "ba" (back) over and over again.

This is RIGHT after she woke up, she wanted to play w/her kitchen set ASAP

Then we played with Madi's friend Caleb while his mommy had an appointment... and Madilyn was trying her best to learn how to share! :)

"No Caleb, this is MY step..."

"What are you doing with my toys? I will stand and watch you to make sure I approve..."

Every once in a while we pick up a Little Ceasars pizza for dinner on the way home from work, and Madilyn usually cannot handle that smell without being able to take a few bites... so, I get to sit next to her and watch her eat a piece of pizza... so, I entertained myself and wet her cute little hair a bit... she thought it was so funny! I then handed her the water bottle... and she soaked herself! So, hence the picture sans clothing....

My mom watches Madilyn while I am at work. She has a set of miniature tea pots and cups... and we have discovered that Madilyn LOVES having pretend tea parties! She's sooo cute!
Here is Madilyn's "How to have a tea Party" etiquette lesson:

Ok, pay attention guys.... this is important!

You pour the tea INTO the cup.... you won't always make it, but it's important to at least try.

Then you sip out of the cup... it's good to get most of it into your mouth. I wear a bib as a backup to make sure my clothing stays dry... it USUALLY works.

Every once in a while, you have to check if you are out of tea, it's not fun to run out!

After it's refilled, you replace the lid, and start over at point A! It's so much fun!

By Y'all, see you real soon!

16 months...

2010-08-23T11:04:00.003-04:00

So... as of August 17 (yes, almost a week ago, I am so behind!) Madilyn is officially 16 months old. Only 2 more months until I can say she's 1 and a HALF! :) HA! She's growing up too quickly! My mom got her a baby doll and I pulled out some baby clothes for the baby doll... I couldn't believe how small Madilyn was... it reminds me of how quickly time goes. I was thinking about how last year @ this time, she was a mommy milk drinking, constantly held, many naps a day little baby... and NOW, she's a : let me down, do it myself, 1 nap a day big girl! I can't believe how much my little girl does on her own now. She can get on (w/occasional help) and off of our couch! How crazy is that! She can go up and down stairs on her own, but I stand there like a hovering helicopter the entire time... :). She eats most meals on her own now, and she can maneuver a fork and spoon quite well! We always have to make sure the table and floor get fed some of her food though... she likes to share! :) She has a little play kitchen in her room now that her Grama got her, and she likes to use her little "step stool" that I put there for her to reach the microwave and phone to put them "back". I found out that she doesn't need it because she's only 1... Caleb came over and he was plenty tall to reach everything. So.. I guess Madilyn is just a little short! :) I love it! I have found that she is quite particular about things too. When she puts things back in her play kitchen, it has to be put just "so" or she gets upset. Things have to be straight and standing up. Some mornings I give her a waffle for breakfast to eat in the car on the way to Grama's house, and I fold it in half... well, if it tears, or comes unfolded, she will NOT eat it until I fix it. She's pretty funny like that. My mom is cluing me into first-born tendencies, because it's quite unfamiliar to me, but I am learning! She tries to put her shoes on by herself, but she hasn't quite gotten that down. She sure can take them off like a champ though! :)

She has learned a few new words! She can say: giraffe, monkey, love you (sometimes), uncle, "Ry-Ry" for her other uncle Ryan, cat, back, bed, eye, couch, down, up, mouth, more, no, yes, uh-huh (for yes), milk, drink, hi, hat... she's building her vocabulary daily! She can also say what certain animals "say"... like when we ask her what each animal says, she will say "meow" for a cat, "moo" for a cow, "oo-ooo" for a monkey, "roar" for a tiger, "baa" for a sheep, "grr" for a lion... there are a couple more, but I can't think of them at the moment.

She is currently working on a total of 5 teeth... 3 molars, and 2 eye teeth. She's been happy overall, but I do give her motrin only at night, otherwise she wakes up about every 2 hours... and she is not 3 days old, so I am refusing to deal with that...so, motrin it is, and she sleeps great!

I will have to post some pictures soon of our recent adventures... we've done some fun things the past month since my last post! Hopefully I'll remember in the next day or two.

God Bless!

15 Months! (and more news...)

2010-07-19T10:29:00.006-04:00

Madilyn turned 15 months on Saturday! I can't believe it!!! I feel like I've been really behind in blogging lately, but I will get better!
Since my last blog a few things have happened...
On Thursday, Madilyn woke up with a low grade fever... I gave her some motrin and called the dr. because she had been exposed to strep and hand/foot/mouth, and had been in the nursery, etc. over the last couple of weeks, and I was concerned. The dr. said to wait and see if her temp gets over 102... well, I gave her motrin throughout the day, and then around 3:30 laid her down for her nap. By 6:15p she still hadn't gotten up, and I wanted her to go to bed well that night, so I went in and woke her up (Motrin was starting to wear off around this time) and she felt SOOO warm. I took her temp and it said 102 (under the arm)... so I gave her more meds and took her clothes off and gave her some water. She was so flushed, I was wondering if the thermometer
was right, she just felt so warm. Well, I needed to run to the store quick, so John said he'd feed her dinner. I stepped outside to leave, and my neighbor, Marilyn, from across the street asked if she could go with me to pick some stuff up. I said sure.. (she shouldn't be driving, she's on all sorts of medications, is in her 70's, and has had trouble with falling lately). She said she needed to get her wig and would be right back out... :) I stood there waiting for a bit, and then stepped back inside to tell John I hadn't left yet, but I was taking Marilyn w/me to the store. As I stepped back in John started yelling that something was wrong and to "come here NOW"... I walked over to the table and Madilyn was slumped over in her high chair with her eyes open, but looking up to the right and "water" was coming out of the side of her mouth. I guess she had tipped her head back to take a drink... kind of glitched, and then just slumped to the side. I now know it was a febrile seizure. It was not the kind called a "tonic-clonic", meaning she just went limp, instead of convulsing. It was terrifying. She didn't respond to anything, she just laid there, then her lips started turning blue... I panicked, and Johns started the car, he got in the back (since I was crying uncontrollably, and I couldn't figure out how to buckle her in the carseat), and I drove to the hospital (honking with my flashers on, going WAY over the speed limit) and pulled into the ER and John ran in and I parked. I don't know all of the details of how she was doing on the way to the hospital, and don't remember, but I know she was making scary sounds... (I now know that next time, I can just walk the 1/2 block to the fire station by my house, and they have first responders there 24/7 and will call an ambulance, instead of me endangering our lives to get to the ER... I wasn't thinking straight though... :( ) By the time I walked in, she was in the first room in the ER vomiting, but actually crying and responding... I was SO relieved! Her temp was 104.5 ON motrin. (What had happened, was while taking a nap, when the motrin started to wear off, her fever spiked very rapidly, which caused the seizure.) So, we were admitted, and she was given tylenol (which she vomited up 20 minutes later). Since she couldn't keep anything down to reduce her fever, she was given an i.v.. Then, they ran a battery of tests, inserted a cath (just to get a urine sample), took blood, etc. She was just SCREAMING every time a nurse came in. They gave her anti-nausea medicine in her i.v., so she was finally able to keep tylenol down, thank GOD! They gave her a dose of a very strong antibiotic, just in case the fever was caused by something bacterial. Around 1:30 a.m. after Madilyn had been woken up so many times by getting a rectal temp taken, poked and prodded I had had enough. She wouldn't go to sleep as long as we were there since she started screaming any time a nurse or doctor walked in. Her temp was normal, and they gave us instructions and let us go home. I have not slept well since that night, just waking up in the night to go check on her... etc. I was so scared that something would happen in the night and I wouldn't know it. She had been on a motrin/tylenol regiment where we switched off every 4 hours since about 9:45p on Thursday. Last night I gave her a dose of Motrin @ 11 p, and then nothing else till morning... and I was sooo scared, but she was just fine. Judging by how she's acting, most likely she doesn't need anything, but I am still a little too skittish. ;) I'll get over it, but it's gonna take me a while. She's happy and giggling and running around again, my sweet happy baby... but I am still so scared that she'll get another virus and I won't keep on it and something will happen, but I have to trust in our Mighty Lord that He will protect her and us. I know he will, it's just so scary to let go of something like this. I mean, she's my baby, you know? How do you ever completely let go of control of your child? I mean, yes, she is in the Lord's hands, but we are humans, and sometimes God allows things, so I am struggling right now. God is bigger than me and my fears though!
On a more positive note! My sweet girl has been doing new things!
She says balloon, no no no, bath, ball, bubble, boo boo (learned this one @ the hospital :( ), please, yes, and she responds with an affirmative uh-huh (implying yes) when she wants something or if you ask her a question. It's so cute!
She LOVES baths, and asks for one every night, sometimes morning and night.
She LOVES to brush her teeth, and if I would let her, she would carry her tooth brush around all day and just suck on it and brush it back and forth! LOL! Last night I told her that she couldn't stand on the couch... She looked at me, and stood up! So, I told her no, and put her in a time out... she CRIED and ran to daddy, took his hand and led him over to the couch as if to say, "will you let me stand on it daddy?". Oh man, it starts early!!!! Luckily we have a deal already where we ask what the other says and we go with that. We are a team... but the whole standing on the couch thing is an obvious one. :)
Here's some pictures as of late... I finally found my camera! YAY! I found it with my mom's lost camera (lol) in the stroller @ her house in her garage. We must have been @ the zoo, or on a walk or something where we both felt we needed our camera. At least now we both have ours back! Thanks for your prayers for Madilyn, they were definitely needed, felt and appreciated!

Above is Madilyn standing on the floor during our flight to MN a couple months ago...

Her new friend Emma. Emma's mom and I are friends from 6th grade. We visited them because Michelle (Emma's mom) had her baby while we were there.

This is visiting my aunt & uncle in MN, and Madilyn got to go on her first boat ride! She loved it at first, then got mad that she couldn't take off the life jacket! :)

This is MN for you... the above picture is the same day as the boating pic above that. Swimming in the day, sweat shirts at night (until July). Madilyn had a blast in the pool!

This is my mom's sister and her kids ( my cousins) during our trip to the Mall of America! Madilyn didn't know what to think of all of the rides!

The three cousins taking a stroll in the Nickelodeon Universe in the MOA

Poor Ethan, I tried to get Madilyn to look, but she was too enthralled w/the roller coaster going by... :)

This is during our recent trip to Riverbanks Zoo. Madilyn has learned to smile when I say "say cheese" for the camera! :)

Madilyn felt she was old enough to wander away from me to look @ the monkeys. She learned to say "ooo ooo ooo" for what monkey's say during this trip! :)

My cute little bug! :)

So, that's it for now! I'll give more updates after I take her to her 15 month appt later this week.

First Pony Tails!

2010-06-22T17:28:00.003-04:00

HAHAHAHA!! I love it! I took this picture on my phone, so no, no camera yet, but I had to share this cuteness!!!!

I can't find my camera!

2010-06-22T09:25:00.002-04:00

Well... I don't know what I am gonna do! I can't find my camera! I was going to post pictures of our MN trip (there are quite a few cute ones!), and my new nephew etc... and I can't find my camera anywhere... I had better find it soon!!!!! So, instead of posting cute pictures of my sweet little Madi poo, I am gonna post new things about my sweet girl - similar to some friends blogs. Here's 10 new things that she has been doing lately:

1: She finally started saying "Papa" to my dad. He is of course just in HEAVEN! :)

2: She has gotten a bit "sassy"! She has needed a few time outs lately to say the least!

3: She loves to close doors, and then of course she gets stuck in the room and starts screaming, especially when she gets stuck in our dark closet... luckily we have a small enough home that I can hear here when I am trying to find my missing girl! She's so quick!

4: She has learned how to stomp! HA! She's loves the song "If you're happy and you know it" and she will stomp on cue.

5: She loves "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and will "sign" the itsy bitsy part of the song to get me to sing it.

6: She can say : Gorilla, papa, dog, truck, dada, mama, hi, tiger (and says "roar roar" for what does a tiger say...), says uh huh when I ask her if she wants something - it's her "yes", kitty cat, no-no, she tried saying drink last night.... so her vocabulary is growing! YAY!

7: She has learned how to take her clothes (if loose fitting) and diaper off... and prefers to be naked... we have to watch her!!!

8: She is currently getting 4 molars... her poor gums are so swollen... :(

9: She is over her first yucky sickness. She had a fever basically from Tuesday last week until Saturday afternoon... she developed a rash on Friday afternoon which lasted until yesterday (Monday) and her ear infection is currently being treated... it was a ROUGH week, but we made it!

10: She is learning her parts of the body quite well! If I ask her she will point to the following: head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, belly button, tongue, toes, and tummy. She's doing pretty good!

Well, there's probably more new things, but those are the few I can think of. I will continue to look for my camera, hoping I didn't leave it somewhere... and try to post some new cute pics soon. And, to all of you with cute pictures @ the top of your blog... HELP! I want to know how to do that! John says he knows how, but he doesn't have a ton of time lately to help me design a picture for my blog... lol!

It's Been a While!

2010-06-16T19:10:00.003-04:00

Ok, since my last blog... a lot has happened! Madilyn will turn 14 months tomorrow.... Madilyn and I went to visit friends and family in MN, my sister had a baby, Madilyn went up to NC without me when my mom went up to help out my sister and came back 1 1/2 days later sick... :( This is her first big "illness" since she was born. She's had a fever over 102 (without tylenol) for over 24 hours now... I hope that this is a short-lived thing like the nurse said when I called her in a panic yesterday, I don't like my sweet baby feeling sick. I have found that since picking up 5 more hours at work to get some more stuff done, my time @ home and for blogging has become short. I don't even have time for facebook games lately! :) John also got a great idea to save money, and cancelled our cable! lol! Seriously, he totally did, as an experiment... I am going through withdrawals! We have a built in antenna on our tv, so we have like... 6 channels... I haven't had that few channels since.... I can't remember to be honest with you. HA! We watch a lot of HULU hooked up to our TV... and it's not as bad as I originally thought, and we are definitely spending more time together as a couple and as a family instead of watching the tv... but it seems extreme. Thankfully it's an experiment and will hopefully not last forever.

I have quite a few pictures from the aforementioned events that have happened in the past 2 or so months that I will have to post once I find my camera.... just had to post something since it's been so long!

Mother's Day/First trip to the beach!

2010-05-10T10:27:00.007-04:00

For Mother's day this year John decided we should get out of town. My brother decided that sounded like a great idea, so we were able to find a condo on good ol' priceline.com for a great price that had 2 rooms and since we split the cost it was quite inexpensive! We had soo much fun! We just stayed one night but tried to spend as much time there as possible. Especially since it was Madilyn's first time at the beach and all, we wanted to make sure she got the full experience! It was so nice and relaxing. The hotel had like 4 or 5 kiddie pools and hot tubs and was right on the beach, so it was perfect! Here's some pictures:

Here's Madilyn noticing a cute little boy with a t-shirt that says "chick magnet"...

I guess she thought the t-shirt was literal... he wasn't too thrilled about the kiss, but she sure liked him! :)

I thought she'd be scared of the waves and sand... NOPE, as you can see by her face, she loved every second of it and I had to keep her from running into the ocean!

She loved to sit and play in the sand!

Here she's building a sandcastle with her uncle Mark

Family Pic, sadly, the best one... Madilyn wasn't cooperating (she wanted to get down and go in the water again)... oh well!

Taking her bucket to the ocean to gather some water... :)

Lovin' the ocean!

Ok, I SWEAR this is a smile, she LOVED the footsprayers that people washed their feet off with. She FOUGHT me to get in there and just stood and played, it was so cute!

See? She LOVED it!!! HAHAHA!

Washin' the hands I guess....

So, as you can tell, we had a ton of fun on the beach!!
Here's a picture of Madilyn showing how much fun she had:

As you can tell, it was SO much fun, she couldn't keep her eyes open after about 2 minutes in the car on the way home! So precious!
And, as a bonus, the last picture for this post is a place that I saw on the way out... now I don't consider myself a "fat man", but the name is kinda intriguing to the point I might want to go in there next time... so their marketing scheme in naming their place seems to have worked on me! HA!
Oh, and Madilyn has a couple of new words now! She can say pizza, gorilla and tiger... and says them quite a bit! She started saying "pizza" when we were at the hotel in Myrtle Beach this last weekend and we ordered Godfather's pizza... which I haven't had since I lived in MN!!! I LOVE their pizza! She wanted a bite so bad, and I had already fed her dinner, but she wanted some anyways! So I told her that it was mommy's pizza... so she said "pizza" and made the sign for please. It was so cute... she got to have quite a few bites of mommy's pizza! :) Gorilla and Tiger come from her birthday present from John's dad... he got her "your baby can read" and we watch it once or twice a day, and there's books and all sorts of stuff. The stage that she's on (there are a few different stages that you change to as your child learns to read) has a lot about zoo animals, and so gorilla and tiger are repeated a few times... and... she just starts saying it. But for some reason, she will say gorilla, and not grandma for my mom. HA! Oh well!!!
Thank you to my sweet husband and my adorable daughter for taking me to Myrtle Beach for mother's day, it was the best present ever! It will be hard to top!

First Freckle!

2010-05-10T10:21:00.002-04:00

Ok, so those of you who know John and I... know that both of us are covered with what my mom calls "angel kisses", but what most others call freckles. :) Madilyn got her first angel kiss! I don't know when, but I noticed it recently. It is QUITE cute, and on her arm. I am not sure how she did seeing as how I lather her with so much sunscreen every time we go anywhere outside for more than 2 minutes... but it's cute nevertheless. Here's a picture!

Madilyn is 1!!!!!

2010-04-20T18:50:00.009-04:00

On Saturday, April 17th @ 7:43am my sweet little girl turned 1! YAY! She is just growing up too quick!
Here are her stats from her 1 year well visit:
Weight: 18 lbs 4 oz. - 10th percentile. I was nervous about her weight, but the Dr. said that it was very normal for that to happen after they start walking and just start switching to table food only. She said she'd be just fine and will gain more by 15 months. So, it eased my mind!
Height: 29" - 50th percentile
Head: 18 1/4" - 75th to 90th percentile

Some things that are new this month:
2 new teeth, so now she's up to 6! 3 on top and 3 on the bottom, and I think I see another one coming through on the bottom. She started shaking her head no... she is a full fledged walker (She just is everywhere and into everything!), she has tried to stand up in the middle of the room w/out pulling up on anything, hasn't succeeded yet, but she tried...we brushed her teeth, had her 1st hotdog & her first snow cone @ Funday Sunday @ church (and LOVED them!), we went on a bike ride, and she got pulled behind in her trailer/stroller that I got "her" for her birthday... and we have done it a few times, she loves it!, said ball, went on Zyrtec and her eczema got sooo much better and her constant runny nose went away, had and got over her first ear infection, down to 1 nursing a day (in the morning) and switched to whole milk (with smoothie mixed in, otherwise she doesn't like it yet... I am working on it!), LOVES strawberries and watermelon, had her first birthday party! (I think that's it for now....)
Her first Birthday party was a great success! She had 4 of her church buddies come for her party, turned out they were all boys! HA! (really, they are the kids of mommy and daddy's friends, but it counts nonetheless)... She tried cake for the first time, she liked the frosting, but didn't really get into the cake. After that she just wanted water and strawberries. She actually helped open gifts until a big ball from her Uncle Mark was brought out... then it was over for all the kids... BALL! :) They had a fun time! Then, we all went over to the park across the street from our neighborhood to get some of the sugar "burned" off. By the time everyone left and I laid Madilyn down for her afternoon nap, she was out in about 3 minutes. She had had so much fun, it just wore her out! So cute!!! Thanks to everyone who helped make her day so special!
Here are some pictures of her birthday party. I took her to Portrait Innovations today and I will try to post some of those soon.

Here's Madilyn in her original birthday dress, we had to change it though... a bit short and I didn't have the bloomers that I wanted to put underneath... they were dirty!

The other birthday dress from Grama... cute huh?

A smirk from the Birthday girl w/her "I'm 1" tiara from Grama

Bein' cute

So you can see how short the dress was, but it was so pretty! It was from my aunt, my cousin had worn it when she was 1, so I had to get pictures!The cake! I made it out of twinkies and cupcakes! I did a dog cuz it's Madilyn's favorite word and animal...

Madilyn's face AFTER having her first little bit of cake

Madilyn playing with her friend Jacob

Having her first taste of a carbonated drink... funny face huh?

Her "smash cake" called a cupcake critter... a dog! cute huh?

Kids playin', notice Madilyn has the ball

Madilyn and mommy

Madilyn and Daddy

Mmmmmm.... caaaakkkkkeeee

have you guys tried the cake? it's pretty good!

Madilyn's first pair of flip-flops courtesy of Auntie Julie and Uncle Ryan... so cute!

The center of the party... the BALL!

Nathanial running away from the ball, maybe Madilyn was trying to throw it at him?

picture of the kids

Another pic of kids

So, as you can see, she had fun!!! I'll be posting her pics that we did today soon!

My poor baby!

2010-04-08T13:33:00.003-04:00

I must start off by saying, I had NO IDEA how exhausted I would be once Madilyn became a sturdy walker. She is everywhere and into everything... all before her first birthday!
Ok, now, I must say that although she is sturdier than she was, and no longer need to hold my hand or a toy to roam around, she trips A LOT! I know that is very common for new toddlers, but it still makes me nervous. Before Madilyn was walking I saw those toddler helmets on amazon.com that you can use when your child first starts walking, and I thought, how silly, is it that serious. To me, YES, I have considered it! I know it will get better, but man, she sure does fall a lot, and hard! I feel so horrible! She has a bruise on her forehead from the corner of the dishwasher, by her eye from the washer/dryer, above the eye from our kitchen stools... and the list goes on. Today, my mom (who watches her while I am at work) called and told me that while they were at the book store, she fell and hit her cheek on a bookshelf and now has a nice sized bruise on her cheek. MAN! My poor baby! I hate when she gets hurt, even if it is partially because of her absolute need to try to run and maintain full independence on all of her decisions on where she wants to go. It's so hard not to hover and be a "helicopter parent" as my pediatrician calls me :) ..... I want her to get more study and better at walking, but it's hard to see her fall and get those yucky bruises!
Also, my daughter is in the process of getting her 5th and 6th tooth, fighting her allergies to this horrible yellow disgusting pollen (can you tell I have allergies too?). The poor thing, she's got bruises all over her face with snot running down her nose like her nose is a faucet and her gums all swollen from all the teeth she's getting. It's a surprise she smiles at me! HA! Who ever said being a toddler was easy?! lol!
Well, her 1 year well visit is coming up, and her birthday is on the 17th!!!! I'll make sure to get plenty of pictures then! Until then, here's my favorite latest photo:Shows her personality huh? :)

11 months on March 17th!

2010-03-20T10:19:00.002-04:00

When Madilyn turned 11 months on... what was it, Wednesday, I completely forgot! Poor thing, she shouldn't worry though, I will DEFINITELY not forget her 1 yr birthday though.
So, throughout this last month she has had a few firsts!
1. Madilyn can take up to 20 steps on her own!
2. Madilyn can stand on her own, and squat to pick something up
3. She says a few words : truck, dog, kitty kitty, daddy, mommy, papa, grandma, and a few other words we still don't know what she's trying to say :).
4. She's learned more signs. She knows drink, more, please, eat, drink, hungry, all done, up, down, and milk.
5. She dances!!! She loves music and will dance to just about anything.
6. Her hair is getting so long. (I will post an 11 month picture soon). I try to keep bows in her hair as much as possible when she doesn't pull it out, otherwise her hair is in her eyes.
7. She had her first ear infection :(... and I think she has allergies, but she's still happy a majority of the time! :)
8. She has preferences to which book she wants me to read her at bedtime and during the day. She mostly likes one with dogs in them!!!
There may be more firsts this month, but at the moment, I can't quite think of them!
I have decided that for her first birthday, since she has a recent obsession with dogs, we are going to do Pink Poodles! We're just gonna have a little party @ home with family, but I wanted to have some sort of theme for the cake. I found the cutest picture of a cake that's in the shape of a poodle and when Madilyn saw it she said "dog" for like the next 1o minutes. I decided then and there that it was the cake I had to make!
She's getting a little bit better about drinking milk... she'll take sips gradually. I have been making smoothies, and so she will drink those a bit more readily. I also found a way to get her to eat cheese.... the spreadable cheese by laughing cow... she LOVES it! She even licks her fingers when it gets on them! She also has been obsessed with any kind of fruit lately. She is definitely not allergic to strawberries, I know for sure based on how often she has been eating them lately and shoving them into her mouth as fast as I can get pieces of it onto her tray. Some foods she likes one day and not the next so it can be hit or miss. We just try to fit in all of the food groups and enough calories and dairy.
Well, that's it for now, I will post pictures as soon as I take some this weekend.

It's official...

2010-03-15T21:18:00.001-04:00

So, Madilyn has her very first ear infection... :( I was so sad! The last couple of days she's been really stuffed up from teething and possibly allergies. So, yesterday I noticed that she kept putting her finger in her ear and tipping her head to her shoulder on one specific side. I called the Dr. this morning so she had me come in... yep, ear infection in her left ear. Poor baby! We have the medicine, and strangely enough, her stuffiness is getting better also, hmmm.. maybe it's just a coincidence. She was pretty fussy for most of the day, and then tonight she went to bed great and is sleeping beautifully! YAY! I am glad the medicine seems to be working quickly! This will hopefully blow over quickly! :) (Dr. Mac also said that she is definitely getting more teeth, definitely part of the culprit... poor babies having to go through all of this, huh?)

New things

2010-03-12T09:43:00.002-05:00

I just thought it was so cute, I had to say this... Madilyn has started to try to say a couple of things. She does some signing... she signs for more, drink, eat/food, all done, please, and up. We are working on more. BUT, she has started saying "truck" and "dog". It's hilarious because they kind of sound the same. She was trying to say "duck" this morning! When a semi truck passed us on the road this morning, she pointed out the window and said "truck"! Then yesterday at Publix there was a dog in a car, and she pointed and said "dog". She seemed so proud of herself that I knew what she was talking about too! They start properly with a d or a t, but they all kind of end with a gravelly, mucousy sounding "kgh" sound... it's pretty funny! I don't know how else to describe it! It's so cute! She also says "mama" and "dada" and "papa" (for Grandpa/Papa) and yesterday she said grandma... but it was more like "momaw". She sure is trying!!! She's getting big!

video link... Madilyn walking!

2010-03-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

10 Months...

2010-03-03T13:02:00.002-05:00

Ok.... so, I do realize that Madilyn has been 10 months old since February 17th, and it is now March and I still have not posted anything. My little girl has kept me QUITE busy lately!! I don't have any pictures or videos of her taking steps saved on this computer, but I will do my very best to post some soon. She is scootin' around pretty well! She can take 4-5 steps on her own here and there. She will do it on her own w/out prompting sometimes too! She has her push walker toy that she takes all around the house. She seems so proud that she can turn it and go any direction and in any room that she wants. She likes to run it into walls, pull it back and then run into another wall or furniture... etc. She is so quick now! I turn around and she's on the other side of our house in our bedroom... how did she get there so quickly?
Her new favorite thing is digging through my purse. I didn't know she would become so enthralled with purses so young, but she LOVES pulling EVERYTHING out and then chewing on paper. Yes, my child loves paper... she loves crinkling it, chewing on it (and then choking on it), throwing it on the floor in piles, etc. She loves it when we bring the mail in and mistakenly put it on the entry way bench... soon it's strewn all over the entry way with her sitting in the middle of it with a huge smile on her face and the corner of the envelope in her mouth. She's entertained so easily, but makes such a mess!! HA!
She's eating more and more table food, and really prefers it to baby food of any kind. I am still feeding her baby cereal for 1 meal a day to make sure she's getting enough vitamins and iron, but other than that, I nurse her 3 times per day and she has 2 meals of regular table food and 1 meal of baby cereal with fruit and a veggie. I am trying really hard to get her to like whole milk, but she's just not a fan. I may have to try a different sippy cup, because when she drinks it and it's not the normal water that comes out, she pushes the cup away and wants nothing to do with it. We may have to have a water cup, and a milk cup so she'll know what to expect when she starts drinking from it.
We have gotten a new toy!!! I go to Kendall's Closet in Blythewood quite frequently to look for some cute clothes or toys... this is a kids consignment store, so I get used things that look like new for AMAZING prices!! I got a ton of Doug&Melissa puzzles for Madilyn for Christmas for less than half of what they would have been, and they looked like they had never been used. ANYWAYS, I got a bike trailer!!! It seats 2 kids and hooks to the back of a bike, or can be used as a stroller. It's so awesome, I can't wait for it to get warm enough for us to go bike riding on the river walk. Madilyn just loves the outdoors so much, I know she'll love it! We tried it out as a stroller the other night, and she really enjoyed it. It will be great for the fair too, because it has like a mesh/screen that goes over the front/top so it will keep bees and all of the bugs out so I won't be paranoid! :) I think we have to get Madilyn a helmet, but probably just if we are going to ride it in neighborhoods near cars... It's gonna be a fun summer! It's funny though, if Madilyn is fussy or restless @ all, I just take her in her stroller (bundle her up in the winter) and we go for a walk and she's just happy and content. She just LOVES being outside. When we are on a walk she is so quiet! She's NEVER quiet, but on a walk she is just quiet and takes it all in. It's so cute!
I am not sure how much she weighs this month, I haven't gotten her to stand still on the scale long enough. She is in 9-12 month clothes, and some 12 mo stuff fits her if I roll up the pants a bit. She's just growing faster than I ever thought babies did. I am realizing what people say when they tell me to enjoy every moment because she will be out of that stage before I know it. That's so true! I am trying to cherish every moment I have with her and not wish for the next stage, but love the one she's in.
That's it for now! I'll try to get a video/picture on later so you'll see her new skill of taking some steps!!

She took steps!!!!

2010-02-16T17:51:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I will post more tomorrow since Madilyn will officially be 10 months old tomorrow, but she has taken her first steps on her own without her walking toy! It was only 4 steps in a row... but she did it about 10 separate times! Now though, she is on strike and has decided that she doesn't feel like doing it on command anymore... :) But... I am excited and somewhat sad, that means that she will be a walker probably within a month or so! AAAHHH, my baby is getting so big!
Anyways, I will post more tomorrow about my sweet girl, and hopefully have a video of some steps... we'll see!!!

9 months!

2010-01-23T12:41:00.003-05:00

My little baby girl is 9 months old (on Jan 17th)! She has been out in the world almost as long as she was inside of the womb! She was born at exactly 40 weeks, so that "birthday" is coming soon. Strange to think I was pregnant so long!!! We had our 9 month appt on Wednesday, and I am so glad we had it on that day. She woke up at a normal time, but was SOOOO fussy. She REFUSED to take a morning nap, except for in the car on the way to our 9:30 am Dr. appt, and the office is about 10 minutes away. So, first nap: 10 min. We get home, have lunch.... afternoon nap : 30 min, with mommy rocking her in her carseat the ENTIRE time!! I do give her that she was very very stuffy, and it's always hard to sleep when you are so stuffed up, but that was a long day. If Dr. Mac hadn't assured me that her ears, etc. were all good, I would have brought her to the doctor. Today is back to normal, so maybe she was just testing the waters on Thursday, not sure!
Anyways... Madilyn's stats:
17 lbs even : 25% , same as before, so right on track
27 1/2" long, 50-75%, also same as before and doing great!
46cm around on her head, don't remember the percentage, but she said it looked great!
Luckily we didn't have any shots at this appt. I have decided to wait on the MMR and the Hep. vaccination since I don't feel as though she needs them yet, so since we are waiting till she's school age to get those, she didn't have to endure any painful and yucky shots this time! Thank goodness too, I can't imagine what she would have been like if she HAD the shots! LOL!
This month Madilyn has done quite a few new things! She is crawling! YAY! She's into everything... she pulls up on anything she can get her hands on, whether or not it's sturdy. She is much more mobile. She jabbers a lot, and is saying "mama, dada, bob (... yeah...lol), lala, etc... " none of the words really seem to have any meaning, but she likes to make noise, a LOT of noise!! She has been eating lots of fun stuff. We have grilled cheese, soup, very tender chicken, lunch meat, cheese, mandarin oranges, mac & cheese, canned veggies, gnaw on apples, yogurt, cottage cheese, the list goes on and on! We are going to continue to have baby cereal at least 1x per day until she's about 2, but I am going to phase it out for the other meals and move more and more towards table food. We will start introducing cow's milk as a beverage soon too, so that the switch won't be such a shock. She's in a pretty good schedule now though, and it won't be too much of a change when she gets a little older. Right now she wakes up between 6 and 7 and nurses. If I am home with her she has breakfast by 7 or 7:30 a, if I work she has breakfast around 8 at her grama's house. Her first morning nap is usually 8am and lasts for about 2 hrs. She wakes up, I nurse her and then by 11 or 11:30 she has lunch. Nap at 12 or 12:30 and lasts about 2 hrs. Wake up, nurse and then plays with mommy and daddy. 6 or 6:30 I nurse her and then she has dinner and is in bed by 7 or 7:30, depending on the day. Right now I still "dream feed" her around 10p, but I will be dropping that soon, seeing as how she isn't very interested lately, and she's such a good sleeper.
She will be moving to a different class in her nursery soon, seeing as how she is crawling all over the place and probably all over the other kids in her class, so she'll get to move into a class with other crawlers to play with. I am sure she'll have tons of fun!! It's hard though when you get to know the nursery workers and see them every Sunday for 7 months... but it will be good. She's growing up!!
Madilyn is also starting to learn the meaning of "no". She is constantly in our fireplace, I say no and move her, and she goes right back! I found her with a fireplace rock in her mouth too, crazy girl! I freaked out, glad I saw her!!! She drops everything off her highchair tray, so now we don't set things on there for her, we give it to her one at a time. The other day I said no and she smiled at me and I had to turn away to keep from laughing, it was so hard!! HA!
Well, she's a joy, and I love every moment of being her mommy. We have so much fun and I am trying my best to enjoy each stage. She started walking behind her walking toy all on her own yesterday and it made me want to tell her to slow down, that I wasn't ready for that yet! I can't believe my sweet baby is growing up! Wow... well, enjoy these pictures!!!
What?

Aren't I cool? I can stand behind my walking toy all by myself!!

HAHAHAHAHA!

This is Madilyn's "I am so funny" smile. ha!!

"Hi mom, why so many pictures? I am trying to play and you are in my way..." :)

Christmas!!!

2009-12-30T15:43:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am finally getting around to posting some pictures and all that good stuff.
We had an awesome Christmas! We stayed in town this year, and it was very nice and low-key. My parents had John, Madilyn and I over and we did our traditional fondue... which was so much fun! I look forward to it every year. My sister and her husband came down from NC on Christmas Eve (after we were in bed) and Madilyn opened 1 gift on Christmas Eve before going to bed, and it was a baby doll from her Grama and Papa. She LOVED it, it was so cute. She kept kissing it over and over again. So sweet! Then, Christmas morning my brother got off of work and headed over (he was on night shift) and we all opened gifts. John's family has a tradition of having english muffins with ham, cheese and mayo on it. So, I made that... and then for the rest of the family I attempted to make Eggs Benedict, since it's pretty close in it's ingredients. Well... lets just say that was interesting. Next year I will get an egg poacher, and I will try a little bit harder to find a jar of hollandaise sauce. It didn't turn out quite as good as I was hoping, but everyone was a good sport and gobbled it up. :) We spent some great family time the whole weekend, and went to the lights at the zoo. It was so fun to be with family and remember the true reason for the season. I am looking forward to sharing the Bible reading of the story of Jesus' birth with Madilyn when she gets older.
Here's some pictures to enjoy!

I thought this picture was too cute. She is eating her first animal cracker from Grama that she got in her stocking

Here Madilyn is helping us with the tree stand... :)
Here is Madilyn opening her very first Christmas gift on Christmas Eve... she just talked and talked to that baby doll

and gave it kisses
ok, this picture should be at the top, but it's her opening the gift...

Well, I will post more later, but for now this will have to be it. Madilyn woke up from her nap, and she desperately wants to help with typing... here's a quick note from her...
erd
fc fc g v8gbnm cn SA A KHAxlkmwio ej

8 months!!

2009-12-22T09:28:00.003-05:00

Yes, it has been a while... it seems I only am getting on here about 1x per month! Oh well... at least I am trying...! :)
Madilyn Belle turned 8 months old on December 17th, 2009, and she is growin, growin! I am not sure how much she weighs, but she's growing as she should be. She's in some 9 month clothing, but mostly still 6-9 month clothing. She is still in size 2 diapers (but I don't think for much longer) and size 2 shoes. She's a petite little thing, and I love it! She's definitely very girly and sweet. She is not yet crawling forwards, but she is scooting backwards. She is pulling up on EVERYTHING also. I found her standing up in her crib for the first time the other day after her nap. I was so shocked! I also walked into the nursery a couple of Sundays ago and there she was standing up holding on to a toy and barefoot! (She constantly is pulling off her socks!) She is too funny! I keep thinking that she will crawl, but she gets in the position, rocks back and forth, and then rolls to her back. Then, she will proceed to roll across the room to whatever it was that she wants to get to. lol! Her 3rd tooth is FINALLY breaking through, I can see it right under the skin and just know it will pop through at any moment. It has been coming for, um, what... over a month?! I brought her into the doctor last month and she told me she was teething and even pointed out the swollen gums... but just NOW the tooth is coming through. Luckily just last night was when she really started to be crabby about it. She refused to eat dinner and was very very clingy to mommy. I didn't mind a little extra Madi time though :).
I have a TON of pictures to put on here, but I can't remember where my card is at the moment, so I will have to post them later. I have us getting our first REAL Christmas tree, and Madilyn seeing it for the first time. John setting it up...etc. It's quite humorous really, he was SO excited. Madilyn just wanted to suck on the ornaments, but she is really liking all of the lights and Christmas decorations around the house. Our neighbor, whom we call "Miss Marilyn" came over last night with a dancing santa and Madilyn went crazy for that. She was squealing and kicking her legs, soo cute! That's one thing about Madilyn though, she sure does squeal. I am not sure if she's singing, listening to her voice, or just talking. Sometimes it gets so high that I really truly think that dogs might think it's a dog whistle. It has actually hurt my ears... lol! I am not kidding! She makes me laugh so hard sometimes! She will probably start talking early, but for now, it's squealing. She says "dadada" a lot, and "nananana", we have yet to say "mamama"... oh well, she will eventually. I am thinking that she is starting to know that John is "dada", because yesterday morning I asked where "dada" was, and she looked for him, and smiled when she saw him. SO... I think she's starting to know what we are called.
For Thanksgiving John's dad came into town, and it was so much fun. Sadly, we didn't bring the camera with us, and when we did, the battery was dead! We only have 1 picture from the whole time he was here, and it's on John's cell phone. We are pitiful! I made the entire meal for the first time, and of course, had my wonderful husband's help in the kitchen. We pulled it off though. I wouldn't say it turned out perfect, but it was pretty good for our first time doing the whole meal! Our stuffing was... well, terrible... lol! I put WAY too much bread, and not enough liquid, so it tasted like flavored bread crumbs... HA! The green bean casserole, I thought you were supposed to use frozen beans, and it's supposed to be canned. SO... the beans were still a bit crunchy when I put them on the table. The sweet potato casserole... my hand got bumped when I put the vanilla extract in it, so lets just say it definitely had the aroma of vanilla to it... oh man. I was pretty proud of the turkey though, it looked and tasted awesome. All of the food was hot and ready at the same time (which is quite a feat with one oven I found out!) and we had a great meal. Madilyn slept through the whole thing :). She'll be awake for it next year. The next day we took John's dad to Charleston and spend the day there and then went to the James Island lights. It was so much fun! Madilyn slept through a majority of the lights, but we got her out to roast marshmallows and warm up by the fire. I let her taste some graham cracker, which she thorougly enjoyed.
Christmas is going to be a nice quiet Christmas. Christmas Eve we will go to the candlelight service at our church, then that night we will be doing our family tradition at my parents house (who live in Columbia also) and having FONDUE!! YUM! Then Christmas morning we'll wake up and wait for my sister and her family and my brother to show up... and we'll have gift opening and then... just relax! Nice huh? I sure am looking forward to it.
Well, I will be posting pictures soon, I just wanted to make sure to get this up. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

7 months... it's been a while!

2009-11-17T10:40:00.002-05:00

Madilyn is 7 months old today... she is getting so big! She seems to think so too! :) She is trying to be so independent, and really is getting a mind of her own lately! When she is done nursing she will take her arm out from behind me, and put it up near my shoulder and push herself up. She's really wanting to do everything on her own now, it's so cute! She prefers to feed herself now, so in between her bites I have to sneak in spoonfulls of cereal since she still needs that to keep her tummy full. She loves green beans (canned), peas, carrots, "puffs", cheerios, mandarin oranges, oatmeal, avocado, sucking on apples and pears, chewing on celery... the list goes on... If I have food in front of me, she strains to see what I have because she wants to try it too! :) She's a good eater! I am still nursing her 5 times per day, yesterday she was on an eating frenzy and I nursed her 6 times plus 3 solids meals. She must have been extra hungry yesterday! She sleeps through the night. Her last night time feeding is at 7pm and then she wakes up around 6 or 6:30 am. She's sitting on her own, and doesn't topple over as much... barely any more at all. She cries when she's on her tummy and she can't reach what she wants. She can scoot, but not well enough to get to what she wants. We're gonna have to work on that, because right now her cry seems so pitiful, I go to help her. I'll have to keep working on the crawling so she can get to her toys. I haven't weighed her since her 6 month appointment, so I'll have to get on the scale with her to see how much she weighs. She's outgrown most 3-6 month clothing and is in 6 month, or 6-9 month clothing. She still falls asleep in the car so easily, almost anywhere we go, if it's more than a 10 or 15 minute ride, she's out! Even if she just got up from her nap, so I try not to put her in the car unless it's around nap time, or she'll be all messed up and won't know what's going on! :)

Well, that's about it for now, I'll have to tell a couple of the cute stories about her that I have when I have a little more time to blog. For now, here is one of her 6 1/2 month pictures.

6 months!!!!

2009-10-23T14:51:00.002-04:00

I should have posted this sooner, but we just went to the doctor on Wednesday for Madilyn's 6 month appointment, so now I have her "stats". :)
Madilyn turned 1/2 of a year old on October 17th... she's growing up so quickly! I say that every month, but I just can't believe it! Here are a few of her new things going on:
She is 15 lbs exactly! That is in the 25th percentile
She is 26 1/2 inches long, which is the 75th percentile. (where'd she get that?)
Her head is 17" around, which is 50-75th percentile.

She is sitting up on her own better and better each day completely unsupported! She has started kind of "lunging" for things from her sitting position and ending up on her tummy all frustrated, and wanting to move forward so badly. She just ends up either on her back, or going in a circle... poor thing!! :)
She's still sleeping through the night. She goes to bed between 8 and 8:30p depending on when she woke up that morning, and whether or not she took good naps... :) She then will sleep until somewhere between 6am and 7am. She's a good sleeper!
She also went with me to the library for the first time the other day! We had a great time, and she LOVED all of the books. We spend some good time looking at all of the board books that they have for babies, and then we looked for books for mommy. I will say one thing, I will never go back to the library w/out 2 things... a stroller or my drivers license. The reason I didn't have my driver's license was because it was in her diaper bag from when we were at the fair, and I of COURSE left that one at home... AND I didn't have a Lexington County library card yet. So, we disturbed all of the library patrons and workers with my darling daughters high pitched, excited squeals for 45 minutes... just to walk out of the library empty handed. Oh well... I'll have to try again another time and will be better prepared! :)
That's about it for now... I will be posting some cute pictures that I took for her 6 month birthday very soon.

Seriously?!

2009-10-14T13:12:00.003-04:00

Ok... so, I am wondering what other mommy has experienced this... So, I had to go to my yearly appointment for my checkup at the doctor. My mom was out of town, and John was at work, so I thought, I can definitely do this by myself, I go shopping by myself with Madi, why not this? Right? So I got to the doctor's office with plenty of time to nurse Madilyn in the car before we went in so she wouldn't be fussy while I was in there. Well, that didn't work, because she so expertly exploded out of her diaper, up the front of her outfit... etc. So, it took me almost the whole time I had allotted for nursing just to clean her up! I was standing at the back of the car with her in the trunk wiping her up and trying to keep the dirty wipes and diaper away from her busy little hands... it was a MESS!!! People gave me some strange looks, but seriously, where else could I change her diaper but in the trunk, lol? She's too long to change her on either side of the car seat, she keeps bumping her little head and cries... SO, I finally get done cleaning her up and had to put her in a way less cute outfit and head into the doctor's office with diaper bag, purse and toy. I can't carry Madilyn in her infant carseat anymore, it's just too much. So, I get in, sign in and sit down playing with my sweet girl... suddenly I think.... where am I going to set her while I am being examined? Will I hold her, put her on the floor, have the nurse hold her... what?! Shoot! What am I gonna do? Suddenly I remember, the BUMBO!!! YAY! Bumbo to the rescue! I tell the receptionist that I have to run out to the car quick, but I'll be back. I gather up my "luggage" (lol) and traipse out to the elevator, go up one floor to the garage, get the bumbo out of the car, go back into the building, elevator down one level and get back in and sit down with the beloved bumbo, and the nurse comes out calling my name just as I sit down... So I get BACK up, gather all of my belongings and almost knock out the nurse trying to get thru the door! HA! First they take my blood pressure in a lab room, so I sit down and put Madi on the floor in her bumbo. I guess I put her too close to the chair, because while the cuff was squeezing the life out of my arm, she was licking the leg of the chair! I couldn't grab her either! Oh man, so as soon as they were done, I moved the chair back from her and they did the rest of their questioning etc. Then, I was able to find out (oh joy) how much I weigh, and then put into my room to put my lovely paper clothing on. I was trying to figure out the best place to put my sweet munchkin. Not in the center of the room, people might trip over her, not by the chair, now realizing she likes to lick them... so, I put her in the corner. Then, the nurse comes in and says... oh how cute! Is she in a time out??? HA! Seriously? It was so funny! Then, the receptionist came in hearing how cute my sweet girl was, and took a picture of her in her bumbo: playing with the crinkly package of wipes, sitting in the corner; all the while I am on the table in my paper clothing... so weird! People just don't seem to notice you are in the room when you have your little one with you! It's still making me laugh! So, then Madilyn starts to get hungry, I KNEW I should have tried to nurse her, but I didn't want to miss my appt, oh well! Luckily my Dr. came in and I was out of there quickly, but man... that was an adventure! Has anyone else had such an interesting time trying to just go to the doctor... man, what if it had been the dentist?!
Anyways, I just had to share my story, it was funny, and I know all the moms and dads out there could somehow relate and share a laugh.
Have a good day!

Sitting up, baby dedication and more...

2009-10-04T15:18:00.003-04:00

So... the latest... Madilyn is sitting up all on her own! She still tumbles just a little bit here and there, so I put the boppy behind her, but she will sit there and play. She likes her independence so much that unless she's sleeping, she does not really like to lay back anymore, she wants to sit! She will strain to sit up on her own until I pull her up. Oh, the day when she can do it on her own, I will be in trouble! :)
Madilyn is moving up in the foods she has eaten world! :) She has eaten squash, bananas (she seems to be sensitive to these, so we may not do bananas again for a while) sweet peas, sweet potatoes, apples and pears. She loves all of it too! It's so cute! One of my friends gives her little one avocado and I have read what a good food it is. I may be mashing some up for Madilyn since I read it's ok for 4-6 month olds... we'll have to see what the doctor says. She also loved gnawing on carrots and celery and we put apple pieces into this mesh thing she can hold so I don't have to worry about her getting chunks of apple out and choking on it. She really loves chewing on that and getting all that apple flavor out!!
Also, lately... I am beginning to think that Madilyn just might be teething. I have been saying that for the last week or two, but I am beginning to think I am right. Today at church she had a couple of, shall we say, "blowouts". It is such a blessing to have such sweet great people working in the nursery that changed her, and put clean clothes on her... but man, I guess it was an interesting task that Madilyn found quite funny! She also is chewing on anything she can get her hands on... drool is quite abundant, and I keep thinking I can see something in her gums on the bottom... but then I think it's my imagination. Plus, this little cutie pie, has been having trouble with naps... these are all signs... lets just hope that the ultimate sign... a little tooth... comes poking out soon, or we may be having to go to the doctor a little before her next well visit.
On Saturday October 3rd we had a baby dedication with a few of our friends from Sunday school! It was so nice! Adam Beam's dad is a pastor and he dedicated the 4 babies that day. It was so nice to make that commitment to raise Madilyn in a Godly home and to be a good example for her. But it was also nice that the friends and family were also brought into the commitment. It was a very neat ceremony. Then, we all had a picnic and there was some really yummy food!! We may still go through the dedication ceremony with Shandon (our church) next Spring since my parents and grandparents couldn't make it on Saturday, but I am glad that we were able to while Madilyn was still young.
Well, that's about it for now!! Here's some pictures of Madilyn showing how she can sit up on her own, and also of the dedication and some other fun things. Enjoy!!!A family picture... Madilyn wasn't sure she wanted to look at the camer, she was being just a little bit stubborn, but you can see her in her cute dress that Grama picked out before she destroyed it with sweet potatoes at lunch time. I thought her bib would cover the dress enough... but she got to it with her little hands!! :)

Mommy and her little sweet pea

Here I am trying to get her ready, and she is chewing on a hanger...

It's like she's saying "what is this?!", it was her first time sitting in grass, she's so cute!

Here's my favorite picture. You can see how well she's sitting up, and she's got her heart melting smile... LOVE IT!

Some cute stuff

2009-09-21T14:34:00.004-04:00

I took some pictures at home for Madilyn's 5 month "photo shoot". I started doing the photoshop thing and re-touching and it took me WAY longer than I thought! Man, I don't remember everything from college in my graphics arts class... I have to re-acquaint myself! SO, here's the 3 pictures that I did finish, and then there's a video of Madilyn showing her MAD talents!! :)

I got her to look up at the light, doesn't she look precious?

In her Gamecocks "cheerleader" outfit that Grandma got her.

My sweet girl, isn't she sweet? She was giggling at me here...

Here she is showing how good she's getting at rolling over! She kept doing it over and over last night, it was so cute! It was like she realized she could do it on her own and just wanted to keep showing us!!! She's so funny!

5 Months!!!!

2009-09-18T10:35:00.002-04:00

So yesterday, my little peanut Madilyn turned 5 months old, I can't believe it?! How does time fly by so fast??? I am planning on taking her "5 month" pictures tonight, so I will make sure to post those later.
She is developing so quickly to me, but she's just amazing in all ways to me! :)
She has been getting so good at rolling from her back to her tummy, especially when she has a toy to reach for. She has been trying many different foods too! She has had so far: apples, pears, prunes and squash. She did so well with her first veggie, but I am nervous to start with the green vegetables, I don't want it to come back up. We'll have to see how it goes. I might try sweet peas next week. She is really getting better at working on her abs too. She tries to sit up if I have her leaning back, which I am so glad about. Before about 2 weeks ago she never really tried to sit up and I was thinking.. "I have a lazy baby!"!! HA! Not really, but I was glad to see her try to sit up, and she's starting to get her balance with sitting up too, not too long and she may be doing it on her own!!! She's not such a fan of the idea of crawling. I put her on her tummy and she pushes herself up with her arms, but as far as bringing her legs up under her, no... she doesn't like that. She wants them straight out behind her. I am sure it's too early for her to be really thinking about crawling anyways, I just think it's cute she wants to keep her legs behind her. :) Really, everything she does is cute, ya know?
Well, I will try to post her pictures later, I just had to get her 5 month posting up, I can't believe she's growing so fast right in front of my eyes!!!
We are going to try to make the Greek Festival downtown this weekend, might be fun!!! I'll hopefully get some pictures there if it doesn't rain the whole time...

Moe's

2009-09-11T16:23:00.004-04:00

I have to say that John's favorite food is anything Mexican... he LOVES it!! The only Mexican food that I really like in SC is probably Moe's or Qdoba, more a "fresh-mex" I guess you could say. So, anyways, we were at Moe's the other day and have discovered that Madi may be following in her daddy's footsteps!!! :) Here's some pictures!

Here is Madilyn trying so hard to get that burrito to her mouth... I think she thinks it looks quite tasty!!! :)

Here is the damage of her trying to get it into her mouth... poor John, he had to try to cover that with tinfoil to eat it...

A closer picture of the damage.

It's like she's looking at his mouth and saying... is that where that burrito went?? And now, "Daddy, are you listening to me? I wanted that burrito!!"

So, we had some fun at Moe's, we do love that place!!!! And, it seems, Madilyn does too! HA!

My cute little girl!

2009-09-10T18:19:00.003-04:00

So, we have had a lot of fun the past few weeks! We tried out that new Drew Park splash pad that's downtown off of Harden, and it was pretty fun! I am glad it was free because honestly, Madilyn was only slightly amused... :) We dipped her toes in it, and her hands, and then she was done. Her cousin Preston had a blast though, as most little boys, he LOVES water!!
Madilyn is getting so much better at rolling from her tummy to her back! When I help her roll to her tummy from her back she wants to see me, and rolls right back over to her back again! She does that to my mom while she's watching her during the day quite often! Madilyn has also been trying lots of fun new foods! She has cereal 2x a day, and we mix in some fruits or veggies. She has tried apples (LOVES them!!), squash and now pears. I am not sure if apples or pears are her favorite, but she actually liked the squash, she kept opening her mouth for more!!! SO cute!
She's giggling at the funniest things lately. If she's in a funny mood, she'll just giggle at anything, I love it!
She's also really getting to know her routine. For some reason, the thing that I love is when I lay her down for a nap, or for the night, she looks for her music in her crib to turn on, then she curls up on her side clutching her blanket and sucking on her fingers and goes to sleep... how sweet!!!
The main reason I had to write today is because I got a really cute video of Madilyn that I had to share... enjoy!!!

4 months!!!!

2009-08-18T13:27:00.004-04:00

So, as of yesterday, August 17th, 2009 Madilyn Belle is 4 months old! I just can't believe how fast time flies! We went to her 4 month checkup today and got all of the stats!:
She is 13 lbs, 2 oz which is btw 25th and 50th percentile
24 1/4" long - 50th percentile
16 1/4" around on her head - 50th percentile
Overall the doctor said she's doing fabulous! She had her shots today also. She cried so much harder with these than she did at her 2 month. I don't know if she's just more aware of the pain, or what the deal was... but she screamed and screamed and just clung to me! It made me cry, I felt so bad. My sweet baby, it's hard when something that they need can cause pain. She got over it after about 5 good minutes of crying, which finally turned into a whimper. I put her in her carseat and gave her that bit of Tylenol and she went to sleep. She's in her crib now finishing up her nap. :) Poor baby...
We just got back Sunday (around midnight... ) from MN! I went up there with Madilyn for my cousin Marie's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding, and I enjoyed being able to be up there to see her get married. We grew up together, and were very close. It was such a sweet ceremony too. John didn't get to come since he had used all of his vacation to be with me when Madilyn was born... so the first airplane ride was up to me... and my parents. (Luckily I was able to get on the same exact flight sitting next to them there and back!!!). My parents were an absolute blessing, I couldn't have done it without them, I packed VERY heavy! :) Madilyn had a lot of firsts while in MN. She had her first plane ride.. (no pictures though, the pilots may not have wanted to hold a poopy fussy baby... she had HAD it by the time we got off); she had her first bit of cereal (in picture below); first time in a swimming pool; and her first time at a wedding! Daddy missed these things, and was so sad, but he got TONS of pictures while we were gone.
We decided to start cereal because all of a sudden she was a little bottomless pit by the end of the night! I just couldn't fill her up. She had also been sleeping through the night, and all of a sudden she's waking up at 4am... so cereal, here we come!!!
We will probably try veggies tonight with daddy, so he can be part of that first. We'll have to take video and more pictures... I am sure there will be some funny faces! :)
Here are some fun pictures to enjoy from our trip to MN, and some of her firsts!
This is her first time in a pool in the hotel in Charlotte the night before we flew out to MN... looks like she thinks it's pretty fun huh?
This is me, Madilyn, Julie (my sister) and Preston (my nephew).
This is Madilyn's first bite of cereal... she actually ate a swallowed it! She did really well, and we didn't get too much on the bib... :)
Madilyn waiting to have her picture taken at the wedding photo place before the ceremony... she liked the umbrella's.
This is Madilyn and Emma (my friend from MN, Michelle's little girl). They are destined to be best friends like their mommies.
Preston and Madilyn... Preston thinks that Madilyn is his... he always says "my baby"... it's so cute!
Julie and I with the gorgeous bride Marie
The Sjolund side of the family (my dad's side) all together... we're just missing John :(
at the rehearsal dinner
Papa Dave with his cute granddaughter... he looks proud doesn't he??? :)
Well, that's it for now! I will try to get pictures of the veggie eating, cuz I have a feeling it might be pretty entertaining.

Time Flies!

2009-08-03T13:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I was talking to John about how quickly time goes, and I realized... August 2nd, 2008 we were in Gatlinburg, TN and I found out I was pregnant that morning at about 5:00am! (Luckily I wasn't up that early yesterday to be thinking that!). Man, from going to hoping against all hopes that I was pregnant, to holding my sweet little Madilyn in my arms, and just soaking up her smiles is so amazing! I remember talking to my grandma the day before, us both crying and talking about how hard it was to have a miscarriage, and us praying that this time I would be pregnant again and that I would be able to hold this baby in my arms. THANK YOU JESUS! You answered our prayers! God is so good!!!! I feel so blessed, it's just beyond words.
Madilyn is still growing like crazy! Some of my favorite pajamas on her no longer fit her, she has become too long. :0( I was so sad! But, I have a new favorite pair, and it's a 3-6 mo pair! I remember thinking that it would be forever before she would fit into such "huge" clothing! HA! Our first airplane trip is coming up in about a week and a half! I am nervous, but pretty excited. My cousin Marie is getting married in MN, and Madilyn and I are flying up there with my parents, and my sister and her husband and Preston. John is going to hold the fort down here in SC. He used his vacation for when Madilyn came, which, in my opinion, was a good use of vacation time! :) It will be so hard to not have him there, but luckily I got on the same flight as the rest of my family, so I will have lots of helping hands.
Madilyn has started to become so easily distracted, and noticing her surroundings. I have had to start feeding her in a quiet, slightly darkened room for her to focus. Otherwise she just looks around, smiles, and takes her sweet time... so cute, but, then it takes a little bit too long in the mornings, and then mommy barely has time to brush her teeth!!! She's so cute! She's getting better at her tummy time, and a couple of weeks ago she rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time! We got it on video, and I will have to try to post it. It was so cute, and of course, I wasn't there to witness it, I was at work. Luckily my mom had her phone and was able to get her to do it again so that she could get it recorded.
Madilyn has also really begun learning to grab things. She's getting my hair, the strings on my shirt, trying to reach for toys (mainly swinging her arms at them), and all sorts of cute things. She's developing so quickly, it's hard to keep track of "firsts".
Well, that's about it for now, I will try to get that video posted. I gotta go check on my sweet pea, her nap is about over.

Catching up!!

2009-07-26T15:29:00.007-04:00

So, it has been a little while... SORRY!!!
This is an update, we will be catching up. Madilyn is 14 weeks today. She turned 3 months old on July 17th while I was in Brunswick, GA with my grandma, Aunt, mom and cousin. We had 4th of July, and also we had John's dad, Paul, come and visit us. He actually just headed home today... It was so fun having him here, and getting to introduce him to Madilyn. We will have to make sure that we get together with him often as Madilyn gets older. We don't want too much time between visits. Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Here Madilyn is very content sitting in her Grandpa Cain's lap with her little Teddy that he gave her from New York (where he's lives).Here Madilyn is checking out her new toy.... it looks like she likes it!
We decided to take Paul to Finlay Park so he could see how pretty it was, and we were thinking about hanging out for a while... but by the time they went up the stairs and back down... we realized 97 degrees is just not the right temp for us to be hanging out at Finlay Park.Here's a picture of the guys at the end of their "hike"...This is Madilyn on her first trip to Finlay Park... the heat put her to sleep, so she slept thru it! :)
Paul holding his grandaughter
She's likin' the teddy!!
The boys, and the little girl that has them wrapped around her finger!

This is the 4th of July, and us letting Madilyn (look like she's) eating corn
Madilyn during her tummy time
Madilyn yawning... but John says she's "singing the national anthem". HA!
Her cute coy look, but John says "This is Madilyn right after she saw a diamond for the first time... and she's plotting"
Madilyn eating her toe.
So all in all we have had a great month since the last update. I am not quite sure how much Madilyn weighs... but I can tell you for sure, she has outgrown some of her 0-3 month clothing, so I know she's definitely growing. She is so precious, and we enjoy every minute of our days with her. I miss her so badly at work, I just want to leave and go hold her. Luckily I only work 4 days during the week, and only 25 hours, so it's bearable.
We have our next appt in August for her 4 month appointment. I will make sure to post updates and more pictures at that time. I will also try to not let it go a month and a half before I post!
That's really all for now...

2 Months!

2009-06-21T19:54:00.003-04:00

Today is John's first Father's Day! Happy Father's Day honey! Today was really great! We let Madilyn stay in the nursery for the first time, and she did wonderful! We got to go to Sunday school and service while she was in the nursery, and they enjoyed having her in there. She was still sleeping when we picked her up. We then went to John's pick for a restaurant "Mucho Margaritas" in Five Points. It was pretty good mexican food... (John's favorite). My parents also came, and thoroughly enjoyed holding and loving on Madilyn.
Last week was our 2 month appointment at the doctors. She weighed 10 lbs, 8 oz! She was 23 inches, so she's growing beautifully! She was happy, cooing, and kicking a majority of the appt... then came the dreaded first shots! :( She was cooing, then all of a sudden she realized it hurt, and just screamed! I cried too, it was so awful! Gladly, it was over very quickly, and we were able to go home and snuggle, and she slept very well!
Today we finally got some pictures of Madilyn smiling!!! We had to share them... Enjoy!!!

Time is flying!

2009-06-04T08:55:00.004-04:00

It has been 6 weeks already! She will actually be 7 weeks tomorrow! I am truly enjoying every moment with her. I thank God every day for such a beautiful and happy baby! She has just started smiling a little, and it's such a gift! It makes our whole day happy, and worth every tough moment. Madilyn is on a pretty good schedule, she "usually" adheres to it! :0) It's flexible when we need to be. Because of the schedule though, she's sleeping between 7 and 8 hours at night, which makes mommy and daddy VERY happy!!! She has a tougher time with her daytime naps, but we are working on them.
Daddy is at work, and his job is going well. We were worried for a while when his company went thru a period of a bunch of lay-offs, but he was one of the survivors... thank you GOD!!! HE is good!
Mommy started back at work this week, a short week, but still back at work. I got to take Madilyn to work with me for part of the days, and then Nana took her home with her. Madilyn did pretty well, and enjoyed her time with her Nana. She's gotta learn how to eat from a bottle a little better, and not suck it down so fast! :0)
Other than that, we are just enjoying our little sweetheart! Madilyn is our entertainment! Who needs TV? lol!
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Here mommy had to show off her cute outfit. She's on her tummy time mat, but I couldn't see the whole outfit, so I had to put her on her back.Here I was trying to catch a smile. When she smiles she moves, and it was so hard! BUT, I thought this was still pretty adorable and I had to share it! :0)This is the end of a smile... :0)
This picture is Madi telling me that she is just plain done with pictures... cute though huh? Lol!

Here Madilyn was watching daddy do the dishes... she's in her favorite jammies... too cute not to take a picture!

Pictures of our sweet baby girl!

2009-05-21T07:47:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pictures for your enjoyment!!!
Here's John and Madilyn on the riverwalk. He's talking to her, and she made this hilarious face, so I had to post it!!!
Mommy and Madilyn on the Riverwalk.
Mommy watching over Madilyn at the zoo. This was when she was 2 weeks old.
Proud daddy pushing Madilyn around at the zoo.
Madilyn taking a snoozer at the zoo.

Madilyn refusing to wake up from her nap, and John pretending to nap with her. :0)

Madilyn trying to decide if she wants to watch TV, or talk on the phone... what to do!?

She's a month old now!

2009-05-18T12:59:00.001-04:00

As of yesterday, May 17th, Madilyn is one month old. I can't believe it's been a month! So crazy!
We went to church with Madilyn for the first time yesterday... it was interesting! :0)
We were going to try for Sunday school, but that didn't happen... lol... she wasn't quite ready to leave when we needed to. Oh well... so we made it to service, and just as we were about to go into church, she had a little "blowout" of her diaper... got all over the cute little outfit that I had her in and on her carseat. Luckily, I listened to my mom and sister and had an extra outfit in the trusty diaper bag. We cleaned her up and changed her and made it for the last song. She did start fussing a little, but luckily nana Sjolund was there to help out and hold her a little so that mommy and daddy could listen to the service.
It was so good to see some people from church again! We will look forward to trying for Sunday school in a couple of weeks.
This weekend we are going to my sister's house up in Kernersville, NC! My grandparents from Tampa, FL are flying up. We are going up for both Memorial Day weekend and for my mom's birthday. It's going to be so much fun!!! I am hoping the 3 hour drive isn't traumatic for me trying to make sure our little pumpkin is happy... hopefully we'll only have to stop once for some eating time. :o)
We also went on a walk on the river walk! She hung out in her stroller and enjoyed the outdoors. I have some pictures, but John will have to help me post them a little later. I can't figure out how to post them from the laptop... I thought I was computer savvy, but I guess not!
I will update more later!!!

Weeks 2-3

2009-05-09T10:27:00.003-04:00

Today officially Madilyn is three weeks. Here are some cute pictures of the last couple of weeks.

This is one of our favorites as she is was only 1 day old and living it up in her pink boppy.

A little blurry but I think she conveys the message she's trying to communicate; "I'm cute."

Little reward for parents.

We will have many more to follow in the next few days as we sort through the thousand of pictures between cameras. Becky and I feel like we are the happiest paparazzi in the US.

The first week

2009-04-27T10:24:00.002-04:00

Madilyn was officially 1 week old on Friday... what a week it has been!! She is doing great, and mommy and daddy are exhausted, but still in awe of our beautiful baby! At her appointment on Thursday, she was up to 7 lbs. 7 oz., so she had gained 6 oz. in 2 1/2 days! We won the baby/mommy feeding award! I certainly felt it though, you feel like you are constantly nursing, but it's all worth it when she gaining the right weight and growing so wonderfully. I just remind myself that it is short-lived and it's completely worth it. All I have to do is look at her sweet face, and I smile... she is so stinkin cute! :0)
We have a wonderful Sunday school class that is bringing us meals, and my parents have also been great. My mom has made my house cleaner than it's been, probably since we moved in! She is truly a blessing, I have not felt stressed out at all since I have gotten home. John and I feel truly blessed and taken care of. We are so thankful for the awesome people that are in our lives.
I don't have pictures to post at the moment, my mom has the card to print out pictures of the cutie pie, but I will post more soon!!!!

First Bath... and update!

2009-04-21T17:42:00.003-04:00

Hey! It's us again... we are getting around to getting back onto the computer, sleep deprived and all. We had Madilyn's first doctor's appointment at her pediatrician, and she is doing WONDERFUL! She said that Madilyn looks wonderful, and has gained weight since going home already! We were very happy for such a great visit.
We also gave her her first bath! (Not an official one, she can't yet because her belly button still has the cord on it)... but we washed her up really good. She didn't particularly enjoy all of it, but it was still pretty cute! Here's some pictures for you!

Here is Madilyn is her little bathtub. I used a washcloth w/warm water so as not to get her too wet... it was a quick bath so she wouldn't get too cold :0)
Here we are washing her hair... I think she liked this part!
After the bath... not lovin' it I think!
Too cute not to post!

Here she is in the towel with a giraffe on it... we couldn't show the giraffe because then you couldn't see her face... lol!
So, that's if for now, we are doing great, and taking naps when we can... she's a night owl! We'll try to keep putting pictures up periodically, so you can see her changing.

Madilyn's life day 3

2009-04-19T18:25:00.003-04:00

Thank you for checking in! It's me, Grama Pam again. I thought I'd post a couple of "day 3" pictures.

The Cain's--family of 3, are doing great! Little Madilyn lost a few ounces, ( at 7 lbs 6 oz) but after a good check up, the doctors have decided she is fine. Becky is learning the "tricks of the trade" in regards to feeding little Madilyn and she is getting cuter every day! (Did you have any doubts that her Grama would think anything less?)

John and Becky are thinking smart, and have had Madilyn go to the newborn nursery between feedings at night. Good thinking, since there is no newborn nursery with a nursing staff at home! However....there will be Grama Pam, and she will be excitedly ready for "night duty"!

Becky is doing remarkably well after surgery, but still needing to take the pain medicines. I know she will follow doctors orders!

Keep John, Becky, and little Madilyn in your prayers!

---Grama Pam

New baby Madilyn and pround Parents

2009-04-18T21:44:00.005-04:00

This is Becky's mom, Grama Pam! I am writing to update everyone on Madilyn's birth! Daddy and Mommy are unable to get internet service at the hospital, so I said I would help out and get some info out about Madilyn Belle Cain's birthday!
Here are the statistics:

Madilyn Belle Cain was born on April 17th at 7:44am

She was born at Baptist Hospital in Columbia, SC

She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long

She has a FULL head of dark hair

She has her daddy's chin and nose, and her mommy's mouth and hair.

Day one was tiring and emotional for all! Madilyn's birth went perfectly, as Dr. Johnson is an excellent doctor, (she is the one in the first picture) and the c-section went as planned. Daddy John was not allowed to cut the cord, as he would have been able to if it were not a c-section. He did get to show off his daughter to Grama Pam, Grampa Dave, and friend Michelle just after her birth! He even got to film and witness her first bath. He comforted her during her first traumatic moments after birth!

It's funny, Becky hardly had any Braxton-Hicks contractions, and at her Wednesday appt., wasn't even remotely dilated. Then, the night before her c-section, she starts having contractions at 2:45am and by the time the c-section was performed, the contractions were 3 minutes apart! I think Madilyn wanted to be born on her due date!

Becky will be in the hosptial until Monday around noon time. John is taking Monday and Tuesday off of work. Grama Pam is available to be "special assistant"! Once Becky gets home and settled, she would welcome your visits, but she would appreciate a phone call first.

John and Becky want you all to know that they have appreciated all of the prayers and special thoughts of love that have been made on their behalf! Madilyn is beautiful and they can't stop smiling! (especially John---he didn't have a c-section!)

Night one went well, as they let the nursery keep her between feedings. John has stayed at the hospital with his "girls" in a special chair that makes into a "make-shift" bed. They actually have a nice sized room at the hospital.

Tomorrow we hope to get a nice picture of the two cousins together! Little Preston didn't know what to think of her on Friday! Uncle Ryan, Auntie Julie and cousin Preston came down on Friday afternoon to celebrate Madilyn's birth. Uncle Mark came to the hospital too and even held her!

I am sure that John and Becky will be back to posting for themselves next week sometime.

Thank you for caring! ---Grama Pam