Madison Crawling...and Trying to Walk!

Well, I know it's been a while, but what can I say time gets away from you when you work full time and have a baby. Around the beginning of April much to our surprise, Madison started crawling at about 5 1/2 to 6 months old. Since then, she has really taken off! She is into EVERYTHING and we had to end up baby-proofing one room and just trying to keep her there! She is awesome, though! The smiles, laugh-out-loud moments, ma-ma's and da-da's make everything we do worth it and are so awesome! There is nothing like it for sure.

Madison loved her first Easter! We went to Angie's house for an Easter Egg Hunt with her cousins, Taylor and Kaylin. Kaylin was so nice to share her eggs with her baby cousin! Madison will be right in the mix with them next year, though.

She is already beginning to try to walk...at only 7 1/2 months old! We are expecting an early walker for sure. She already walks along furniture and while you're holding her hands and walking with her. So, stay tuned for more developments on the walking front. :)

Keep Jonathan and I in your prayers for job situations! Love to all!

So...it's been a while. We 've been super busy, but I really want to try to keep up with this so here goes...

Madi is doing awesome! (Pic is her with her buddy Tanner - she's making her "old man face") She will be 5 months old on Saturday! I can't believe it's been that long! It really does feel like just yesterday that I was - as Jonathan says- as big as a bus! (Yes, he actually said that) She is discovering new things every day and we are enjoying every minute of it. She now rolls over all over the place, front to back, back to front, repeat...She laughs out loud - awesome!!! She eats cereal and fruits and veggies and she shows much appreciation for this...mmmmmmm... Hopefully our little Madi cakes will be crawling soon but for now she makes her way around pretty darn well, often to the astonishment of her parents. We put her on the tummy time mat, 2 minutes later she's on the other side of the room through a series of army crawls and rolls - quite interesting to watch, actually.

On the fitness front, Jonathan has been getting up before the roosters to work out before work every morning and doing very well with it. I have been going to Zumba (dance aerobics on speed). It is really fun and exhausting, but mostly I'm just still trying to figure out how to make my feet move as fast as the instructor (we call her the energizer bunny on speed). I wish I looked like her! Maybe someday...

I have a busy two months ahead of me. I am going to school to get my teaching certificate! I am really excited about it and will be getting my certification to teach 4th-8th grade, although I am hoping to get a job teaching 4th or 5th grade. Everyone keep me in your prayers for passing my Texes (content exam) on April 1st and getting a job! Until then, class starts Saturday!

Bye for now! Love to all!!! Another pic for the road...

A Very Merry Christmas and Madi's First Professional Pics

Well, it's been a while since I've posted and a lot has happened so I will try to keep it short and sweet. I went back to work at the end of November, only 6 weeks after Madi's birth. :( It was very hard to go back, but I am doing better with it now. Madi is growing up so fast and I feel like I am missing out on some things, but hopefully one day I will be able to cut back or stay home. Only time will tell...For now, I am just enjoying the time I get with her and making every moment count. She is truly a great baby and she has really blessed us beyond words.

Madi has recently started smiling which is the best feeling ever! We love playing with her and trying to make her smile...and knowing it's not just gas, she is actually responding to us, it's awesome!!!

Christmas - On Christmas eve we went to Jonathan's parents house and opened a few of our presents and visited with them. They gave us a new digital video camera, so expect videos on here if I can figure it out! :) Then we went to my sister, Angie's house to spend time with them on Christmas Day. Madi slept most of the day, but I opened her presents for her and she really cleaned up! Everyone got her lots of fun toys and cute clothes! She had lots of fun once she finally woke up! Then, it was back to Jonathan's parents' house to finish up Christmas with them and his brother, Jordan and his girlfriend Jessica. Madi got some fun presents from them too - lots of toys! She will have lots of fun exploring all of them in the months to come! Thanks everyone!

Professional Pictures - We took Madi to Portrait Innovations today for her first professional pics. She was actually awake the whole time and in a good mood, so all in all a good first experience. She refused to smile and instead gave the lady some stern looks. But, the pictures still turned out really cute...I'm including my favorite one here.

I better get to sleep, gotta sleep while she is, you know... I will post again soon and keep you up-to-date on her new developments.

Madison rolled over!

I think my baby is a genius! Of course I am a bit partial, but she is. She first rolled over from her stomach to her back at only 3 weeks and 4 days old. Who does that? She is going to be smarter than me soon. For anyone who wants to tell me that their baby did it sooner, just let me have my moment and let me think she is brilliant. :) Grandma caught it on camera today so you can see for yourself.

Welcome Madison Grace!

We welcomed Madison Grace into the world on October 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs 6.6 oz. (much to her Mommy's relief) and measured 19.5 inches long.

An ultrasound the day before her birth measured her at 9 lbs 5 oz. give or take a pound! Needless to say I was very happy with the 1 pound less rather than more! When I first went to the hospital, Madison had given me quite a scare because I hadn't felt her move all day. My mom met me at the hospital (she is an antepartum nurse) and hooked me up to the monitors where we found her heartbeat and breathed a big sigh or relief. But, when she was kind of "non-reactive" (heart rate not really doing what they like to see) they decided to do an ultrasound to make sure she was still getting everything she needed from me. And when that ultrasound showed she could be quite a bit larger than she should be my wonderful doctor, Dr. Klein, let me make the decision to induce that night.

I was in labor for over 18 hours before she finally made her appearance, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was the greatest moment in my life. My husband, Jonathan was there to hold my hand every step of the way along with my Mom, sister Danielle (who actually caught her when she came out) and my Dad. Aside from some complications with me (I lost a lot of blood and my b/p dropped dangerously low) right after she was born, everything went really well. We are so very happy and could not wish for more. We love her soooo much!

Our Family

I thought I should start something like this so everyone can keep up with Madison and all the new things she is doing. Please feel free to comment or let me know if you want new pics at any time.

First of all, we decided to start a family around this time last year. We just didn't expect it to happen so fast! But, we were thrilled to find out we were pregnant after only two months of trying! We found out on February 16th and we went to the doctor for our first ultrasound at the end of February. We were sooo happy when we saw her heartbeat for the first time. I cannot even describe the joy that moment brought to my life.

The next several months were filled with more joy as we began to feel her move and I grew and grew and grew! We finally welcomed our baby girl into this world in October and our world would NEVER be the same again! From that moment, we knew what love really means.