On This Road

It's in the mail

2011-08-05T07:00:00.009-05:00

Have you noticed how much the USPS has been in the news lately? Nope? Just Me?
Well, if it's not postage rate increases, it's budget shortfalls and potential shutdowns of local offices.
This makes me sad.
Remember when that was the only - I mean ONLY - way to communicate with friends, family, utility companies, catalogs, medical offices, etc etc etc?? {Ok, maybe we had phones to do SOME of that, but still...}
I. LOVE. MAIL.
I love opening cards. I love sending cards. I love checking the mailbox. I love the idea of a piece of mail traveling slowly across the interstates, highways, city streets, and cul-de-sacs to get to its final destination. And a stamp makes all that happen! Brilliant.
I got a beautiful wedding invitation in the mail a few weeks ago and could. not. wait. to return the RSVP!
I wish people sent cards for more than just Christmas, birthdays, and weddings. {And NO, Hallmark did NOT pay me to say such things.}
And I'm one of those nerds that enjoys looking at the latest stamp designs and trying to make up a reason to send something just so I can happily place stamp on an envelope.
I guess I'm old school or nostalgic or something, but paper, cards, stationery, invitations, are just so fun, unique, and personal in comparison to their electronic counterparts.
I wish I had more time to be able to send a card for every ocassion, big or small, in people's lives. That's the tricky part for me. Finding time.

And because who doesn't love football - less than ONE month until the Sooners take the field for their season opener! The suspense is killing me {kinda like the heat.} And, to go back to our previous topic, can't wait to see this year's ticket design. Boomer!
This one is for my sister, who loves feet... {and for those that wondered how blue nail polish would look on one's toes.} I like how it looks, but it's time for a change.

2011-07-30T10:28:00.001-05:00

Weekends were made for make believe.

The latelys

2011-07-22T15:00:00.005-05:00

Yes, I think I just made up that word. I think it's kind of catchy. Since it's not a word, I'll go ahead and define it for you.

'latelys'
-adverb
plural; used to make up for lost time and list multiple items of late; see also 'lately' {and I like this spelling rather than latelies.}

Anyhow, we've been busy doing a little of this and a little of that. And I've been thinking - this blog has become nearly 100% about our child. Now granted she pretty much rules the roost, but the hubs and I try to maintain some sort of sanity and do things that might be interesting, too. So, I'm going to try and make things a bit more balanced and fascinating. Because that's how I roll.

For those that don't know, we're expecting our second child - due this December. Gender as of today is it's a boy! I'll try and give you some pregnancy updates, but spare some of the yucky details that I don't think anyone cares to read about. And maybe, just maybe, I'll post a belly pic {or two.} I only took a few with Miss M and I imagine it will be more of the same with Baby 2. And I may or may not have purchased this nail polish {only $3!} over a week ago in hopes/feelings/premonitions/etc. that I'll be polishing my nails this color soon. ;)

Miss M has an obsession these days. The rule in our house has always been one video when we get home from 'school' while mommy rests her feet for 10 minutes before making dinner. Well, she's in the princess phase, so I ordered this when it went on sale at Amazon. And...it is her FAVORITE! She knows it's real title, but still asks to watch 'Bay-el' (that's 'Belle' with a rather thick southern accent. {where did THAT come from?!}) We watch it every. single. day. Even hubs and I hear all of the songs in our head while showering, typing on the computer, pulling weeds, trying to fall asleep... I suppose we may need an intervention for her.

At home, our plants are famished. Due to local water rationing, we're down to watering one day per week with sprinklers. Eek!! So, that means hand watering. So far, I think the only victim has been one small azalea bush. I keep watering it in hopes that it will regenerate, but I see a trash can funeral in our future. I try to be a good gardener, but water rationing ain't helpin' me.

More to come soon. I've got a new organizational plan I'm going to try, so hopefully that will encourage more blogging. ;)

(little) Big Fish

2011-07-02T10:29:00.008-05:00

Saturdays are swim class days. Madelyn has a major crush on her swim instructor. He's in the Core of Cadets at A & M!! Really nice and funny guy. By the end of this summer, she'll be swimming independently through the water. Hard to imagine, but Madelyn is determined, very brave and confident. She is the youngest in her class of 3 swimmers, but is already a show off! These are pictures from the first class.

I really thought she might be anxious about me and daddy not being in the water with her, but as usual, she proved me wrong. Such a fearless little girl.

Gearing up

2011-06-15T15:06:00.002-05:00

Trying on her new princess swim ring. And yes, that's Leroy in the background. And no, he's not dead. Just a happy siesta from the horrid heat outside.

Coming Soon...

2011-06-07T16:00:00.003-05:00

After a long hiatus, I think I'm ready for blogging again. Please stay tuned.

Thanksgiving and weirdness

2010-12-21T17:59:00.007-06:00

I forget how many turkeys I've done now in my {short} life. I think this is the 3rd full-size and I've also done one breast. Baking a Thanksgiving turkey gives me this huge sense of accomplishment - much like music, yoga, work, child birth... {I'm still laughing on that last one. Hope you are, too!}
Anyhow, sis, bro-in-law, and us three celebrated Turkey Day together and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. I was fresh off a plane from Boston so I was fearful that I'd forget to buy something. Thankfully, I had a brief day to go shopping and Sis and I ended up with WAY more than we needed. Sis and I baked and cooked and had loads of laughs in the kitchen. I think BIL {that's bro-in-law for those that don't handle acronyms well} is still amazed at just how much butter went into this bird.

The finished product. And yes - she was a very juicy bird.

Is it weird that I like to take pictures of the turkeys I bake? Oh - and please note that the wedding china made an appearance. I think this is only the second or maybe third time we've eaten off of it. {Mental note - must do more entertaining.}

My daughter likes to take pictures with food, too. {Ok - I admit I may have lured her into this, but you all needed to see this turkey from the 'best' angle.}

The best Black Friday purchase = NEW VACUUM. I'm weird. I know. But - I've needed a new vacuum and this baby was the one I wanted. Funny story:

1) It was NOT on sale at Sears.

2) It WAS on sale at Sears.com.

3) I bought it IN STORE at an ONLINE kiosk. Site-to-Store. One word - awesome.

4) Saved about 50%! YAY!

{Please ignore the array of toys in the floor, on the couch, on the coffee table, etc. Mads likes to make sure there are multiple toy options at ALL times.} And I've now met my quota on ALL CAPS. :)

And now that Blogger has decided to randomly double-space my entry. I shall leave you with this quote:

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air."

Little Sooner

2010-12-17T08:48:00.004-06:00

Hello blog land. It's been a while. That's what happens when life gets in the way. ;0)
Madelyn went to her second OU game in November and she really did great, considering kick-off was during her normal nap time. She did fall asleep on me in the stadium, which wore me out trying to hold all of that limp weight. She loved watching The Pride play their pre-game concert on campus corner and getting to see the ponies and Schooner. Not sure that we'll take her again to a game that kicks-off during nap time, but she's definitely becoming quite the Sooner fan!

She was WAY more interested in seeing the ponies than sitting with the Roughneck Queen. Can't say I blame her.

Showing off our #1 fingers! BOOMER!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, everywhere

2010-10-31T21:51:00.016-05:00

We've been to this pumpkin patch every year since Madelyn was born. It's our tradition now.
Some things we like about it:
1) It's FREE! Free Parking. Free rides. Free bounce houses. Free photo ops. Free fun! The only thing you pay for are the pumpkins or snacks.
2) They take canned good donations for a local food pantry.
3) Everyone on the staff is so friendly.
4) We always have a great time, no matter how crowded it is.
5) It's near one of our favorite restaurants (see previous post) and we're making that a tradition, too!

Checking out all of the little pumpkins in the 'pumpkin house.'

"What?! You want me to touch one of these muddy, gross pumpkins?"

That's more like it. What a sweet little expression!

Happy Halloween from all of us!

2010-10-25T12:25:00.002-05:00

Annual Pumpkin Patch and Culver's trip. Gotta love a good ButterBurger. {more pics coming soon.}

2010-10-16T12:09:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning fashion model.

2010-10-01T16:49:00.001-05:00

Ready for a weekend of football.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2010-09-22T17:00:00.006-05:00

About a month ago we finally got up the nerve to take M for her first real haircut. She had a home bang trim twice, but nothing else. Well, it was occasionally taking on the appearance of a mullet. Yes, we live in Texas. And that probably seems like it should be ok for this part of the country. But I couldn't take it any longer. Not to mention I was stumped on how to "style" her hair. So off to Cool Cuts we went.

So, this is the before shot. She was pretty excited. Even though the child in the seat behind her had BOTH parents holding him and he was still kicking and screaming.

She never cried. Not even one tear. {And I didn't either.} Having her own personal TV with Dora playing probably helped. This was when the stylist was trying to make bangs for M. She literally had bangs coming all the way from the back of her head prior to this haircut.

The after shot. Still a little wet and probably too much hair goop, but MUCH better.

Yay for first haircut! The hair on top is pulled back to try and encourage it to lay the "correct" way - these are the things they don't tell you about little girls and their hair! I mean, don't we all just come out of the womb with bangs and correctly styled hair? :)

{These are the bangs that were laying/growing forward and should really be part of the rest of her hair.}

Best swim vest ever.

2010-08-22T14:08:00.008-05:00

Most people use "floaties," "wings," or "life jackets." Around here - we've discovered the greatness that is "Puddle Jumpers."

It helps her stay in an upright position and floating and still achieve a feeling of independence. And it's super cute!

And even though she's taking swim lessons (her last class was Saturday) Miss M has even MORE confidence in the water thanks to this wonderful invention. Sometimes she likes to wear her puddle jumper - other times she doesn't. {And the best part? She bought this with her birthday money from Great-Grandmother in WV. Thanks so much for the birthday money, GGBK!}

Two

2010-08-18T15:53:00.022-05:00

The table decorations and fun cupcakes we made. M had some great party helpers this year - thanks to everyone!

This girl could live on juice - especially if Big Bird is on the box. And no, she's not dressed in only a hawaiian lei. But she REALLY liked wearing several at a time!

Playing a fun beachball game. Yep - we made it up on the fly. One creative family! {And I found the beachballs on sale for 50% off! We already had the large beach towel.}

Opening presents. She was definitely excited about her party moreso this year than last year. She would say "Oh boy! Oh boy!" over and over again. Her voice is the sweetest. :)

Telling her about her presents. She was very excited about all of the gifts and so were her friends! They were all so cute and sweet. {Side note: it appears I am growing a balloon string out of my nose. Hehehehehe!}

We're horrible about remembering to take pictures, and thus - this is probably the only and best picture of momma & M on her birthday. Dang balloon ribbon. {I guess this means I need to hone my Photoshop skills.}

M & her "boyfriend." He was the only guest she cared about being at her party. And she's looking forward to his party, too! They used to go to daycare together and are only a month apart in age. Two little sweeties!

Everyone's favorite gift - M's new play kitchen. The boys were showing her how to use all of her gadgets and knobs. So funny!

{Another side note: Blogger and I are not getting along right now. It's not playing nice with spacing out my pictures the way I would like it to. Grrrrrrr.....}

Who swims like a little fish?

2010-07-29T09:47:00.006-05:00

I know all of you blog addicts are anxiously awaiting someone's 2nd birthday pics, but we're still playing "catch up" around here, so you'll have to wait a little longer. :)

After loads of researching and collecting opinions, we're doing swim lessons with Emler Swim School this summer. These photos are from her second class (once a week for 11 weeks!) She's now going underwater for 5 seconds and the goal by the last class is underwater for 10 seconds. She loves her class and her teacher. She acts very confident - maybe a little TOO confident - everytime she's in the pool. We're very pleased with how it's going and love our little fish!

Waving 'hi' to Daddy on the sidelines.

Working with the barbell floaties. These are her favorite!

Rockin' the pigtails!

The 'bye-bye song' - complete with a jump to Mommy.

Seven Falls - Colorado

2010-07-21T15:54:00.008-05:00

We took a trip to Colorado two weeks ago and really enjoyed the chance to get away and just be a couple. Our first day (after the flight) was spent at Seven Falls. Here's a taste of the incredible beauty. Yes - we climbed up and down that crazy "staircase" on the left side of this picture. 225 steps each way. Oh dear....

This was at the top of the stairs. Don't remember the name of this particular waterfall. They all had silly names.

Sunlight dancing in the leaves.

A pretty chilled out couple if you ask me. {Not a great photo, but you take what you get when someone else uses your fancy camera.}

New bed

2010-06-29T09:15:00.006-05:00

Ok - it's not really a new bed. Just a new rail.
M moved up to a "big girl bed" exactly one month ago. We fully anticipated a brutal transition, so we made the switch over Memorial Day weekend. Well, it's been nothing but easy and seemingly no big deal. As you can see, she was pretty excited and it seems as though she really loves the fact that she can take her "fan club" (i.e. Minnie, Big Bird, Buddy Bear, etc.) in and out with the greatest of ease. We did have one nap incident where she was trying to play instead of sleep, but quickly reinforced that it was "nap time, which means it's time for sleeping and not playing." She's definitely not a baby anymore. A fact which blows my mind...

22 months (a little late...)

2010-06-20T21:00:00.004-05:00

If you know me, you know that June is the busiest month work-wise, so I'm trying desperately to catch up.
On May 24, Madelyn and I went outside to just plain have fun in the sprinkler {and water our trees.} As you can see, she loved every second of it. So much that I don't think she cared how wet her little feet, leggings and dress ended up. She even started paying so much attention to the camera that she fell face first into the sprinkler. I think it just shocked her more than anything. She's growing so fast and is such a sweet, little lady.

Look who's....

2010-05-21T18:40:00.010-05:00

...sitting at the table in a booster seat now!

The first meal in the booster seat was dramatic, but she immediately took to it for snacks and coloring time!

MayFest

2010-05-12T13:42:00.006-05:00

Fort Worth has an annual event called MayFest that is really geared towards families and has some local artists and crafters along with the usual carnival foods and games. This was our first year to attend {last year was cancelled thanks to Mr. H1N1.} It's known for bad weather, too, but we lucked out - the rain held out and we enjoyed a fun stroll around the Trinity River area! Madelyn is a little young still for a lot of the activities, but without a doubt, she loved the baby farm animals and riding the ponies.

So many colors

2010-04-11T14:35:00.011-05:00

Ready...

Set...

Go!
Hooray for Easter Eggs!

Catching Up

2010-03-21T21:01:00.012-05:00

Why, hello blog readers! {All 5 or 6 of you...} Long time, no blog, right?
Well, it's been one of those months. The days and nights are packed, we're exhausted, and the last thing I think about is blogging. So sorry to leave you hangin'.

Auntie Em came to visit last month. Madelyn always turns into quite the show-off when Auntie Em is here. She LOVES her! We went to the park and had lots of fun, because the weather was beautiful! {Side note: it snowed AGAIN here yesterday. What?! Isn't that why I moved southward, so I didn't have to deal with this fluffy white stuff?}

Fly away beautiful baby.

Playing with stickers - her latest craze.

Saying goodbye. Two cute ladies!

C is for Cookie, L is for Love

2010-02-28T21:31:00.007-06:00

When it snowed right before Valentine's Day, Madelyn and I were home alone while Jonathan was out working. So, since she and I were getting a little tired of sitting around the house, and I'm not afraid of driving in snow (thanks to having lived in the upper Midwest) we headed to the local grocery store for a few things - namely COOKIE DOUGH!

I had some sprinkles left from last year {do those things expire???} We decided to make some yummy cookies for all of us to munch on before we went out of town for the weekend.

She got the hang of it pretty fast. She pressed the tops in the sprinkles and I rolled the edges in the same sprinkle mixture.

A close-up of our hard work...

She and I really had so much fun. There's nothing quite like a little "Mommy and Me" time. {Do you see the snow in the windows back there?}

The finished product. She was super-excited to see them come out of the oven. And they were sooooo tasty! We'll have to do more baking together!

Snow Day

2010-02-11T19:18:00.011-06:00

Who would have thought that a forecast two days ago that predicted 1-3 inches of snow would bring 7+ inches? In TEXAS?! And, in case you're wondering...it's STILL snowing outside right now!

My favorite - BIG, fluffy flakes!

Madelyn wasn't quite sure what to think. You would figure she's an expert in snow now with all that we've had down here this winter, but she still looks so confused.

She walked around. Laughed at me while I shoveled the driveway. Slipped and fell a couple of times. But she got right back up and kept going.

I made her a snowball. She thought this was the greatest thing EVER.

She examined it carefully. Never licked it. Just protected it as if it were very fragile.

She carried it everywhere and when it came time to go inside, left it amongst the piles of shoveled snow and waved goodbye.

Holding court

2010-02-08T11:56:00.003-06:00

Madelyn loves to talk to all of her friends these days. It's a secret language that only they know. This weeknd she was found sitting in the corner of her crib talking away to Big Bird. Which was nice, because it meant we got to sleep an extra hour. Still not sure how long she was at it. She also likes stickers. We have some valentine heart stickers and she wanted to put them all over Domo. And, when I wasn't looking and trying to take pictures - she stuck one on my booty. You can't make this stuff up!

Just an ordinary Sunday

2010-01-31T14:28:00.007-06:00

Sorry it's been so long blog friends. It's hard to blog when your insides are revolting. And, we've got a new, fancy camera which means learning new software, shooting techniques, and I've decided to host all of our pictures on photobucket.
Today has been a pretty good day thus far. My stomach is feeling pretty good and Madelyn has been such a happy little girl today.

She loves to run around in circles. Giggling the whole time!

And her latest trick? Attempting a summersault. But... she falls sideways and... giggles!

Oh, and the other members of the family have made it to the blog. Check out their pictures on the right ------------->

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T20:24:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year! We had a lot of fun here at our house - just staying in, being a family, shakin' our booties (See video...), and watching a movie to help us stay up late. Madelyn went to bed at her usual time while Jonathan and I stayed up for a champagne toast at midnight. {Oh and I'm experimenting with uploading images via Photobucket. Fingers-crossed that the quality is better.}

THE Bookshelf

2010-01-03T14:15:00.006-06:00

One of Madelyn's favorite gifts this Christmas is a bookshelf built by Uncle Outlaw. Completely. Handmade. Handpainted. It's BEAUTIFUL!

She's really needed a bookshelf and I couldn't find a cheap one that I liked and was sturdy. Her books used to just be piled up in a corner. Now, they're on her bookshelf. Or at least most of the time they are...

More Christmas in OK

2010-01-03T14:02:00.007-06:00

Somehow, I only took one picture on Christmas Day. Must mean that we were busy...

It's a cute picture of Auntie Em, Madelyn and Big Bird!

We braved the roads and weather to go shopping the day after Christmas. Surprisingly the stores weren't bad at all. I think that people were still stuck in shelters and trying to get home to their families. We got a few good deals (I never buy Christmas cards full price - wait til after Christmas. There are usually tons of great ones left and at 50% off!) and somehow managed to go out and get back home in one piece.

Madelyn has a love/hate relationship with these shoes and I think her face in this one completely captures her sentiments.

Jonathan and I even snuck away to watch "Sherlock Holmes" with some of the fam. What an exciting movie and tasty popcorn.

We also went to Van's Pig Stand on our last night in OK for a celebratory dinner for Jonathan. It's his FAVORITE BBQ. It was also Madelyn's inaugural visit to such a fine eating establishment. (If you've been there, you know what I mean...)

Christmas Eve

2009-12-31T19:53:00.011-06:00

So, all our plans for Christmas Eve went out the window with the Oklahoma Blizzard of 2009. It was snowing so hard and the wind was pretty fierce. After it was all over, OKC saw 14.1" of snow! Worst. Snowstorm. In Oklahoma. EVER!
All the churches cancelled their Christmas Eve services, so we all stayed snuggly inside.
But that didn't mean Madelyn didn't wear her Christmas Eve dress. We had a fun little mini-fashion show! She huffed and puffed because she'd been in her pj's all day, but once the dress went on, she was workin' it for the camera like a supermodel!

Check out all of the snow in the window...

My favorite, by far!

As is tradition in our house, we open one gift on Christmas Eve. Here's Madelyn in action...

Pre-Christmas Eve

2009-12-31T19:08:00.005-06:00

Yummy mexican dinner at Auntie Em & Uncle Outlaw's. If you didn't know, Madelyn's middle name was almost "Queso." Sort of kidding...

We opened a few presents, too.

An OU hat from Grandma D.

And, one of her favorite Christmas gifts, a phone. She's still practicing saying, "Hello!"

Scrolling through her rolodex.

Time flies and so do little girls

2009-12-20T20:45:00.008-06:00

The days have zipped right along here.

Madelyn helped decorate for Christmas.She also went flying and hit her teeth on our headboard. There's even a mark left on the headboard! She cried and cried a lot. But didn't bleed nor lose any teeth. We may have lucked out on this little accident. Fingers-crossed that it doesn't become infected.

Madelyn had her last music class for the semester...

Even Mommy & Daddy enjoyed a night away for a company Christmas party in downtown!
And a big congratulations to Daddy for passing his Professional Engineering Exam! Woohoo!!

Buh, buh, buh, Benny and the Jets...

2009-11-27T19:02:00.001-06:00

Even "Elton Claus" made an appearance today! :)

Highway to the .... Danger Zone!

2009-11-24T10:09:00.001-06:00

Jonathan is super jealous that I ate lunch here...

SoCal

2009-11-22T17:42:00.001-06:00

I'm in San Diego. Here are some highlights...

What a wig

2009-11-14T12:20:00.001-06:00

Our very own 80's rocker.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-10T21:21:00.006-06:00

This year was Madelyn's first time to Trick or Treat. She did great and quickly learned the routine. Now, any office with candy dishes seems like an opportunity to trick or treat!

This house had full size candy bars! This girl knew exactly what to do - one for her and one for mommy! That's my girl!

Pumpkins

2009-10-29T20:11:00.006-05:00

Madelyn and I picked out some very pretty pumpkins and mums this year. Yesterday when we got home, I let her have some fun exploring the front yard. She loves the little pumpkins. And she loves her Halloween shirt from Nana.

Her hair is pretty wild and crazy these days. It needs to get just a little bit longer and then maybe I can pull it into a little ponytail.

Trying to pick up two at a time!

Showing Daddy how strong she is!

I have no idea what these two were up to, but I HAD to get a picture. Just plain silly.

Healing Nicely!

2009-10-16T20:45:00.008-05:00

Well, sorry to keep all of you avid blog readers waiting...

Surgery went great! She went in at 8:20am, released about 9:00am, home with McDonald's pancakes by 9:45am, walking around and playing like normal by 10:30am. Probably the yuckiest part was the drainage that came out of her ears. I didn't take any pictures. Didn't figure that was something ANYONE wanted to see. She goes back in about 10 days to make sure everything still looks good in those ears and that all the fluid/sticky earwax is gone.

This was taken the morning after. I'll let you decide if she looks like she's in any pain/discomfort...

She's "talking" more when she reads. {Who cares if the book is upside down - I think it means she's going to be one creative little girl.}

And she's walking at least 90% of the time now. It took her a few days to get used to the new feeling in her head - it would tip backwards periodically - perhaps due to less weight up there? She's wearing her first nightgown - a gift from mommy & daddy for being SO brave.

Later that day Madelyn and I went to Michael's for the Great Pumpkin Event. It was kind of disappointing - not enough paint and glitter - but we still made a pretty cute {craft} pumpkin.

"M" for Madelyn & Mommy!

Tomorrow Madelyn and I are headed to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. I think it's the best one in the Fort Worth metroplex. We took her last year, so maybe this will become tradition.

Oh - and we'll be watching OU/Texas. Hoping for a GREAT game and victory!

My brave girl

2009-10-09T07:11:00.002-05:00

The waiting begins.

Fall Days

2009-10-03T16:28:00.013-05:00

Fall is here. I planned all week to take Madelyn to the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday. Gorgeous weather. I even was the thrifty mommy and figured out that if I purchased my ticket at the grocery store, it was $1.50 cheaper! It made me feel pretty cool. I don't know why, but I guess it felt like I could add one more "mommy patch" to my vest. Or sash. I think I like the idea of a sash better than a vest. I also earned another "mommy patch" on Saturday, but we'll get to that...

So I had grand plans to leave the house at 8am so that we could get there when the Arboretum opened {1 hour away.} But Madelyn and I don't get ready very quickly when it's just the two of us. So, we got on the road at 9am. I got my Starbucks fix on the way and a few minutes later I heard Madelyn let out a huge cough from the back seat. I don't know why, but I didn't turn around to check on her then. The occasional cough is normal for me and her - a.k.a. "McRae mucus." For some reason, out of the blue, I turned my head to see what she was up to back there - and I saw every parent's worst nightmare and my next "mommy patch." Wait for it... I know the suspense is killing you....

Puke! In the car! On a cute fall outfit! Nowhere near home! Ticket purchased! Very stinky! Hoping for extra clothes in the diaper bag! She's putting her fingers in it! GROSS!!

Well, I got off the interstate, stripped her down, wiped her down, wiped the car seat down, and put it all in a ziploc bag. Still didn't really help the smell, but we continued down the road towards Dallas.

The Arboretum was beautiful. The weather was perfect. Lots of fun. I hope to go again before it gets too cold and everything dies off. If you've never been, you must go - very kid friendly and worth every penny. Whoever saw soooo many different varieties of pumpkins and gourds?!

I was still able to get some cute pictures - even though the cute outfit got ruined and we went to backup daycare outfit. Oh well... I think the smiles and beautiful backdrops make up for the lack of cute clothes.

Checkin' out the pumpkin.

Checkin' out a boy - seriously. I could not get her to smile at me, only this little boy in the hay "cut out" next to her.

She picked this seat out herself.

Mommy & Madelyn - Dallas Arboretum - October '09

Pretty girl. Pretty flower.

Madelyn will have her tubes put in her ears on Friday morning. Please be in prayer with us that everything will go smoothly and that she'll recover quickly. We have a great and well-respected doctor and pray that He will guide his hands. We'll update you all once we can after she's recovered and we've made it home.

The Look

2009-09-28T13:05:00.002-05:00

Madelyn is known for her facial expressions. I got this one on Saturday because she wanted more ice cream and cake.

First iPhone Post

2009-09-25T21:04:00.001-05:00

Trying to do my first mobile blog post now that iPhone finally has MMS.
Madelyn helped me sort the mail today!

Odds and Ends

2009-09-13T20:59:00.014-05:00

Sorry it's been a while.
What's new? Ear infection #7 I think. I don't know. Maybe #8? I lost count. No matter how hard you try - they'll always find a way to catch something.
Antibiotics. Ibuprofen. Humidifier. We know the drill.
However, we've had some fun over the past few weeks before this new infection hit.
We went to the pool a few weekends ago. Before all this rain and cooler weather started.
She chills in her starfish like a professional now.

Madelyn and Daddy played in the Dora Ball Pit. :)

We all went to Chuckee Cheese for a friend's birthday party. It was pretty crowded, but we still found some games and rides for Madelyn to enjoy.
Honing her Skeeball skills early!

Riding a giant motorized rocking horse. Please notice her tickets in her left hand. She would not let go of those things for anything!

Trying her hand at Whack-A-Mole.

And on our first "girls only morning" with Daddy in class, we had fun!

More Chicago - Yay for Parks!

2009-08-25T21:03:00.017-05:00

One thing I've noticed around here is a huge lack of parks in comparison to the Chicagoland area. They're everywhere up there. But - I suppose the weather's much more mild. Afterall, who really wants to go down a slide or swing in 100+ degree temperatures. Not me certainly. Maybe that's why you see so many pools and water parks down here...

Madelyn hasn't been on too many swings. I hope you get the sense of how completely happy and delirious she was in this one.

R & M. They're the same age {R is actually 2 weeks older.} We've decided they'll be lifelong pals. Just wish we lived closer to one another.

Going down one of the slides. I personally can't wait til she can do this herself - slides aren't made for mommies and daddies. {Should have tried to get a picture of Daddy & Madelyn on the twisty slide - funny stuff!}

Madelyn & Big Bird cruising in the HHR. Still not sure what HHR stands for or how Chevy came up with it... It was an interesting car.

Where we've been...

2009-08-19T20:54:00.013-05:00

Yes, it's been over two weeks since our last post. But trust me when I say this, it's been a little crazy around here. We've been sick, we've been traveling, we've been tired, one of us has been teething, one of us got three fillings... New daycare. New toys. New books (for all of us in one way or another.)
Madelyn has some new fashions from her birthday:She already knows how to pose for the camera. Kathy Ireland look out! {And thanks Auntie C!}

In preparation for our trip, we had lots of laundry to do. This is someone's idea of helping...

Our first day in Chicago we went to a Schaumburg Flyers baseball game. We all sat out in the lawn section and I'm pretty sure it was somewhere between 65 and 70 degrees that night. BEAUTIFUL! Madelyn hung on til about 9, and we headed home for the night.

Thursday was a day in Evanston {Go 'Cats!} and the North Shore.

And what trip to the North Shore would be complete without some Portillo's Chocolate Cake?!

Ice cream before dinner

2009-08-04T20:14:00.005-05:00

Around this house, we like our Blue Bell. Truthfully, I'm looking forward to the day when we go visit the creamery in Brenham. I'm pretty sure I might be their biggest fan {although I might like all of their flavors if they would just eliminate the whole fruit-in-ice-cream thing.} Anyway...

Madelyn's last day at her very first daycare *sniff, sniff* was on Friday. This is huge because the most wonderful three women took care of her for over 9 months! We're missing them already, but are hopeful that this new place will be great and help her make some friends close to home. So, to celebrate her last day and because I can never say no to ice cream, we had some ice cream {with sprinkles!!} BEFORE dinner. I know - I'm setting a terrible example, creating a monster, etc, etc... You can punish us both because we loved every minute of it!

Check-up

2009-07-29T16:00:00.011-05:00

Madelyn went for her 1 year check up (and shots.) For those keeping track, she weighed 23 lbs. 11 ozs. and was 30 1/2". She's really growing up so fast! She received 4 immunizations (2 in each thigh.) She cried. And screamed. But survived. I had grand plans to take her to get ice cream afterwards, but apparently it's silly to think that ice cream places open before 11am. Don't other people eat ice cream whenever they want?

Oh well. We'll have to go another day when I'm off work.

We decided to go ahead and turn Madelyn's car seat to face forward. We're really enjoying getting to interact with her now. This is her on Sunday going for her inaugural forward-facing ride in the car!

Madelyn got a special package in the mail today. Uncle Ryan sent Madelyn a Domo!! You know you're jealous. I'll have to admit that I was afraid that she might be scared when she saw Domo, but she just smiled!

Girls just wanna have fun

2009-07-28T20:52:00.012-05:00

We had a fun party. I didn't get a chance to capture too many photos, so I'll have to rely on the photos of others to slowly trickle in. Here are some that I managed to capture...

Madelyn got an Anywhere Chair from us. She LOVES it! She likes to read her books in it and watch Baby Einstein videos. She also likes to......Stand up in her chair! What a daredevil!

Madelyn had a small smash cake and everyone else had a GIANT cake.

This is what happens if you try and give Madelyn cake. Mind you it took her a while to get comfortable with the cake, but once she did...

Even Daddy face-planted in the cake!

Don't take that girl's cake from her!!

Sweetness

2009-07-24T15:37:00.003-05:00

Happy first birthday to our sweet girl!

In the groove

2009-07-22T20:42:00.008-05:00

Madelyn and I had our last Music Together class last Friday. She was having a "teething day" but still managed to enjoy herself towards the end of class. It's amazing to watch her "come alive" when she hears the songs. She's definitely a people watcher though. Even when I sing the songs to her at home, she becomes very attentive. It's sad to see her class come to an end when she was really in her groove. We're looking into a fall class, but we might not get our favorite teachers. Change is good, right?

Warming up.

Jammin'!

Two for One Tuesday

2009-07-14T20:49:00.011-05:00

So we've been busy. Planning a party. Sprucing up the house. Swimming. Working. Catching our dog covered in fire ants. You know - living life. And when life gets busy, the blog gets neglected. Never fear, there are plenty of great things to share. So, here's two for one tuesday.

Madelyn is channeling the "dark side" these days - maybe it's her way of dealing with teething. Watch this and tell me she doesn't sound like a certain character dressed in black, voiced by James Earl Jones {not sure if he actually made the breathing noises, but I think you'll get it when you see/hear it.}

Call us crazy, but we did our family/Madelyn's 1 year photo shoot tonight. Outside. Yes, in 100+ degree weather. But, we live in Texas and should be prepared, right? Well, we all sweated but I think our photographer got some awesome shots. Madelyn was all smiles and never cried. Could be the full tummy of Chick-Fil-A. That, and she's a camera hog.

She's slowing transitioning to cow's milk. I don't know if it's the taste, the temperature, her massive teething episode, or all of the above, but she's been a bit leery of the change. We've tried mixing it with formula, different cups, you name it. My good friend Karen came up with Strawberry Nesquik. I just put a little bit {not full strength - VERY diluted} and that did the trick tonight. She guzzled it down.

What a full belly of milk gets you - a delirious look while you ride on your new rocking horse - thanks Grandma D!

Walking - sort of...

2009-07-04T14:01:00.009-05:00

She's a pro at taking this back and forth across the living room. Shouldn't be long now before she walks! Happy Independence Day, from our home to yours!

Summer Goals

2009-07-01T10:34:00.005-05:00

I have lots of goals this summer.
Educate myself on html {improve the blog.} Work on Madelyn's scrapbook {only one page completed - so sad.} Hang some curtains in our house {out of 13 windows, 7 do not have curtains - not too horrible I suppose.} Finish reading the book I started 3 weeks ago {Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo - also wrote Empire Falls.} Practice some real flute music {perhaps an audition in my future?} Organize both offices {home and work.} Fill in Madelyn's First Year Calendar {you don't even want to know how little of it I've actually done - thank goodness for this blog and photographic documentation.} I could go on and on really.
For now, I'm focusing on html and the blog. It's crazy and tricky. Wish me luck!

Daddy and Teeth

2009-06-26T08:19:00.011-05:00

Father's Day was pretty low key around here. Auntie Em and Uncle Outlaw headed back to OK and we had gone out to dinner the night before (Uno Pizza - yum!) Plus, I had to get ready to head to campus to listen to some band camp auditions. Anyway, here are some pics with Daddy. He's such a good one, too!

This was Jonathan's idea - he piled all of her buddies on him and even put frog lovie on his head. Silly Daddy!

Reading the book Madelyn got Daddy for Father's Day at bedtime. She's a bookworm!

So, apparently I'm behind on brushing Madelyn's teeth. According to several books, you're supposed to start as soon as they have teeth. Well, she's working on her fifth one. She has all four central incisors and her first lower left lateral incisor is peaking through the gum. So, we've started brushing her teeth at night. Apparently you're supposed to brush twice a day! Since we've just started, we'll slowly work up to twice a day. She does fine with it. The bottom teeth are the hardest because she tucks her chin and her tongue gets in the way. Hard to believe how fast she's growing up!

Ravioli Face

2009-06-09T20:05:00.006-05:00

I realize I haven't posted enough pics of Madelyn in all her eating glory. Well, now that she pretty much will eat anything, here's some pics of her dinner this evening.

Thank goodness it's a bath night!

Keys

2009-06-08T17:37:00.007-05:00

I think every baby likes real keys at some point. Madelyn really enjoys anything that she can make noise with now. Maybe it's her new music class. Whatever the reason, she's a big fan.

Can I drive? I promise I won't go too fast.

Silly Daddy wearing Mommy's sunglasses.

Water Baby

2009-06-06T19:58:00.010-05:00

We went to our neighborhood pool this morning to try out Madelyn's first swimsuit and float. She loved it! The water was freezing but she never acted like it bothered her! Jonathan and I were the cold ones. She'll be headed to Schlitterbahn before we know it.

Pre-pool. Showin' off her swimsuit.

HEYYYYY!

She had the pool all to herself!

A couple of swimsuit models. ;)

Standing Tall

2009-05-31T20:07:00.008-05:00

I'm listening to Madelyn fight sleep right now and trying to post quickly so I can go in 5 minutes and soothe her. She's been drooling pretty heavily again and had a slight fever yesterday, so I think new teeth are eminent.

These pictures are from her 10 month "birthday." As you can see, she's exploring everything these days. She's even pulling herself up to stand like a pro now.

Her new "duck tub." She loves it. It even quacks when you squeeze it's beak.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

2009-05-24T20:12:00.020-05:00

We were in Denver this last week, so sorry it's been a while since the last post. We all rode just about every form of transportation while we were on our way there.

This is Madelyn waiting in the airport in Dallas. There was a group of elderly women going to Denver for a "girls week" and they loved talking to her and making faces at her.

We opted to let her "lap ride" and really hoped that there would be empty seats. Sadly, this picture is of the only time she had her own seat: Dallas to OKC. We rode Southwest and they were really great, but apparently also doing very well as an airline. 3 of our 4 legs were 100% capacity! She was too excited most of the time to even think about sleeping on the plane. I think the most she ever slept was around 20 minutes.
We landed in Denver, took the terminal train to get our luggage, then a bus to get our rental car. So, outside of riding a bike, she saw every form of transportation that day.We headed straight to the Denver Zoo. Denver was experiencing some record-setting heat while we were there, so we didn't stay long.

Here's Jonathan and Madelyn checking out the monkey island.

Her favorite - the giraffes! Lots of giraffes, even a baby giraffe. However, as you may be able to see, she's sweating and her sunscreen was running into her eyes. We managed to prevent her first sunburn though! The hat's a little big, but I figured she could grow into it. It was that, or a dorky one with a chin strap. Ever the fashionista, Madelyn opted for the big one.

Next it was on to the Hard Rock Denver on 16th Street. The temperature had dropped a little, so we ate outside. Madelyn tried her first chicken fingers, which were pretty spicy. They even had apple juice. I guess I'm still surprised sometimes at how family-friendly restaurants can be if you know what to ask for and how to make it work for your child.

I was at an Understanding Copyright Conference most of the time, so we didn't have much free time together or to venture out into the wilderness. We agreed that we'd hav eto go back when Madelyn can walk more and hike around and see the great outdoors! It was still beautiful to see the mountains around us.

We did go to the Denver Aquarium, which was neat because nearly all of the tanks went all the way to the floor, so Madelyn could see VERY well. It was pretty ok as far as Aquariums go, but overpriced for the size of the place. This is Madelyn checking out the Barracudas!

They did have a pretty amazing shark exhibit and had a fairly large pool of dozens of sting rays - all shapes and sizes. You could just walk right up and touch the sting rays! Madelyn got to touch one briefly, but I think she mostly liked watching me touch them.
About the most difficult thing was adjusting to the altitude and time change. Madelyn's now an expert plane passenger and was very good (no medicine required!)

Mother's Day

2009-05-14T20:38:00.006-05:00

We had a good weekend until Madelyn's stomach virus arrived. This was before her fever got too high...

We went out to dinner the night before and Jonathan got breakfast for us on Sunday! It was a nice relaxing weekend with just the three of us.
She's doing better now - just a lingering rash. Colorado here we come!

Wrestlemania

2009-05-07T20:03:00.012-05:00

So, Turkey has camel wrestling.

Here at our house - it's cat wrestling! I think Madelyn won this round.

Anticipation

2009-05-06T20:39:00.001-05:00

You know you've been waiting for this video. And I told you it was coming. So, here it is.

TA DAH!!!

She's been pretty sick - you name it, she's got it. Except Swine Flu, that is. It's amazing what a different and EVEN happier little girl she is when she's feeling better. I'm just glad that the doctor gave us something this time that seems to really be helping her get over this persistent congestion. I'm afraid she's inherited my mucus gene. Although a nebulizer is no fun for a 9 month old. She has much better and more exciting things to be doing - playing with her maracas, wrestling the cats (I'll post that video tomorrow) and crawling all over the place looking for things she's not meant to play with. All the world is her playground now.

As for us, we're both staying pretty busy with work. We're working on the yard and flower beds and starting to think about improvements to both the interior and exterior of the house.

Oh, and I have an iPhone now. I think Jonathan would say I'm addicted, but I'd just say I'm loving the advances in technology and convenience. In case you want to know, there's pretty much an iPhone app for ANYTHING. My favorite: the AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner. It's starting to get me excited about cooking. Baking I can do and love (if I have the time.) Cooking - never been that exciting to me. Thanks to Dinner Spinner, I made Toasted Ravioli on Monday night. Yummy!

Go Speedracer!

2009-05-04T20:21:00.001-05:00

Uncle Ryan and Chris ran in the OKC Half-Marathon. They both finished under 2 hours. We all got up before the sun and cheered on the runners.

Madelyn's race shirt

Uncle Ry-Ry at Mile 7 - complete with a new mini-Mohawk.

Chris at Mile 9

Her new favorite vantage point.

Changing all the time

2009-04-20T20:08:00.002-05:00

So, I'm going for a record: two posts in a row with video! She's changing a lot these days and I'm trying to get better about having the video camera close by. Unfortunately, she knows what's up when I have it out, so she can get distracted by it at times.

This is her new favorite thing to do - clap! She will do it anytime, anywhere!

She went to the doctor today for a follow-up visit. Her ear infection is definitely gone, but she's got some persistent congestion. So, we got a prescription antihistamine+decongestant (most OTC decongestants aren't approved for infants) to try and prevent another ear infection. We'll see if it knocks it out. I think she takes after my side of the family on the mucus/allergy issues!

Good laughs

2009-04-17T20:38:00.001-05:00

This is from about 3 weeks ago. I'm getting better at uploading videos. New software discovery. Yay!

Peter Cottontail

2009-04-12T20:59:00.001-05:00

So, it was a busy weekend for us. I had Friday off so, Madelyn and I had fun shopping up in Southlake and around Fort Worth.
Saturday we went to church for an Easter Eggstravaganza. Madelyn got some help from Daddy on hunting for her first Easter eggs.

The Easter Bunny visited the Queen household and brought a little something for everyone - except the cats and dogs. (Why would a rabbit bring gifts for those that might try to eat him??)

We hunted eggs in the living room because it was pouring rain outside. She found some "puffs" and "yogurt melts" inside of her eggs!

Then it was off to church. We kept her with us during the service today and she was a bit restless, but everytime there was music, she was quiet and waving at everyone. She's a big fan of waving to everyone and everything now.

Then a quick photoshoot in her Easter dress...

And then it was time for Easter lunch! We had a Honeybaked Ham (worth EVERY penny,) green beans, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, and brown-n-serve rolls (JQ's favorite.) Madelyn tried everything except the gravy.

We had a fun Easter weekend and it's a shame it had to end.

True Texan

2009-04-04T20:17:00.001-05:00

So, here in Texas, I suppose it's a rite of passage to photograph yourself with the Bluebonnets when they're in bloom. For those that don't know, the Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. Don't pick 'em or mow 'em - you'll get in BIG trouble. I've been trying to scout a good, safe place (i.e. not directly next to the interstate) to take a picture of Madelyn. I finally found a great one! It was very sunny today and warm so we had great weather and the Bluebonnets were out in full force. Thanks Lady Bird Johnson!

Buzzing

2009-04-04T13:54:00.002-05:00

This is one of Madelyn's new hobbies. She'll do it anywhere and we can't help but laugh when she's content to do it for several minutes. In fact, I went to Ulta with her and she was doing this in her stroller all around the store. I think people kind of wondered what the heck she was doing.
Ahh...the simple things in life...
(This video is from a week ago - sorry, it takes me a while to upload videos. On average it's a 7 minute process just for blogger to get it posted. And I'm not very patient. argh....)

8 months and still growing

2009-03-24T21:41:00.003-05:00

Not crawling yet, but trying oh so hard!

It's official - she's our sweetie.

Trip to the Zoo

2009-03-22T09:54:00.001-05:00

Auntie Em & Uncle Outlaw came to visit this weekend. We decided to brave the Spring Break crowds on Saturday and take Madelyn on her first trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo. We got there as soon as the zoo opened and it really wasn't too bad. We didn't have to park miles away and we started at the back of the zoo first and worked our way forward. This way she could experience all of the "close-up" exhibits without too many kids around. Things did get crowded after lunch and we were glad to have arrived as soon as the park opened that morning. The weather was great and we all had a great time!

Checking out some lizards.

Madelyn and I had the whole carousel to ourselves. She loved riding and watching the other horses go up and down around her.

Checking out the Gorillas.

With Uncle Joe and Aunt Emily by the giraffes. Can you believe the zoo has 7 giraffes?!

We had a great time and Madelyn loved getting to see her Aunt and Uncle!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

2009-03-17T20:46:00.001-05:00

So, Madelyn got a new shirt yesterday in the mail from Grandma Dolly and we had to wear it today. The not so good news - Madelyn participated in snack time for the first time today at daycare. Evidence: All over her shirt collar!

I know I've posted that she has her first tooth. We finally got a fairly good shot of the new tooth. It only took Jonathan holding her mouth open and me taking the picture. It felt more like a dental exam than a photo shoot.

Madelyn and Gracie have a very special bond. I swear Gracie was never this affectionate with even me! She will intentionally lay next to Madelyn just so she gets rubbed and cuddled. Here's how it played out this evening.

Lately

2009-03-09T19:58:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since our last post. Lots of new things going on around here. Grandad and Nana came to visit. We had a good time and Jonathan and I got to go see our first movie since Madelyn was born - "Slumdog Millionaire." Highly recommend it!

This was before we all went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel - a Queen family tradition! Madelyn even tried some pancake. She wasn't real thrilled with it, but she did pretty good in the restaurant.

She has her first tooth (it's on the bottom left.) I'm still trying to get a good picture of it, but she's constantly covering it with her tongue.

She caught a cold, then a brief stomach virus, followed by an ear infection in both ears. We're professionals now at dispensing antibiotic and she's great about taking it. At the doctor's visit last Wednesday she weighed in at 18 lbs. 14.5 ozs. They didn't measure her length, but she's almost outgrown her infant carrier. We'll be purchasing a "real" car seat within the week.

She also feeds herself fingerfoods now. This consists mostly of puffs, yogurt melts, and cheerios. We haven't tried anything else yet, but it's exciting to see her developing so quickly in this area.

Now that she's feeling better, we took advantage of it to take some pictures.

She almost looks cross-eyed in this one. You can't read her shirt, but it says, "Mommy's Lucky Charm." Do you see Gracie in this picture??

A close up...

My favorite. Enough said.

Photo shoot

2009-02-17T20:10:00.001-06:00

So, Madelyn and I were just hanging out while Jonathan went on an ice cream run. (Have I ever mentioned how AWESOME he is???)
Anyway, we decided to have an impromptu photo shoot. Here are some of my favorites...

Have I mentioned that she pretty much LOVES to stick her tongue out in all her pictures now??

A bit blurry, but we were both giggling...

Now that's more like it...

Fashionista

2009-02-16T19:46:00.002-06:00

We were in San Antonio for Valentine's Day weekend and had lots of fun. Madelyn didn't get to see the Alamo (too windy and chilly) but she did find her way to the San Marcos Outlet Mall.
Here are her new sunglasses that she picked out. Jonathan says she looks like Elton John. Michael Kors eat your heart out!!

And because I keep forgetting to post a picture of her bath seat, here's one. It took me forever to find a bath seat like this. Apparently the old yellow kind that would just suction cup to the bottom of the tub aren't safe. This is one crazy contraption, but she loves it because it means she can play with her bath toys in the big tub!

Super Bowl

2009-02-04T20:08:00.001-06:00

So, we took it pretty easy this past weekend. Spring is always busy for me at work and this year is no exception. So, we made some chili & cheese dip, chili, and ate lots of chips. Not so healthy, but definitely tasty and perfect Super Bowl food! Madelyn's a TV and sports junky, so she even watched some of it with us. Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Stats

2009-01-27T09:59:00.002-06:00

Yesterday's visit to the doctor was fairly uneventful, apart from the 4 shots and one oral vaccine. She did great and I got a lot of questions answered. She's had a cough/runny nose for about 2 months straight and the doctor reassured me that this was normal for this time of year. The doc checked to make sure there wasn't any sign of infection in her nose, lungs and airways and she looked great apart from the runny nose. She is drooling a LOT more and we think teeth are on the horizon, especially with the way she has been sleeping the past few nights.

She weighed in at 18 lbs. and was 27" long. She's still in the 90th percentile for both categories and the doctor was impressed with how well she is sitting by herself. We also got the green light to start some new foods, including Cheerios! Yay!

Here are some pics of her "battle wounds." I LOVE the fact that they put pink camo bandaids on her every time. So cute...

Madelyn's Half-Birthday

2009-01-25T13:36:00.001-06:00

She got a phone for her half birthday from us. She loves her Baby Legs, Auntie Em!

I think she wishes she had a camera of her own. "Hey, mom, what's that thing? Can I put it in my mouth?"

Ready for her close-up! Complete with drool on her chin...

Not quite crawling yet.

6 months

2009-01-24T21:57:00.001-06:00

Beautiful girl. Then and Now.

July 24, 2008 - 11:17pm

January 24, 2009 - 6:02pm

Where has the time gone?

For Uncle Ryan

2009-01-17T18:09:00.001-06:00

Madelyn loves her penguin now that she can sit up better. We're working on it with her along with her daycare teachers. She's pretty close. She can sit by herself for a little while, but as soon as her focus changes, she tips over.

What a week!

2009-01-17T11:21:00.001-06:00

So, not many posts this week. Madelyn has had some bad reactions to her antibiotic and (knock on wood) is over them. I figured you didn't want to see any pictures of us covered in puke, so I decided to wait until things settled down. I guess I didn't know babies could puke so much. Thankfully, she doesn't ever get upset when she does it and I think she almost thinks it has its advantages since it means she gets a bath. Usually if anyone is upset by the puking, it's me. It's a shocking sight, not to mention I have that worry that she won't stay hydrated. However, she's fine and we're enjoying a three day weekend. Too bad Jonathan has to work on Monday.

In the process of washing the bed linens today, these three were hanging out watching me in the bathroom:

We're trying to get all of the animals used to Madelyn so that when crawling starts, they won't have too negative of a reaction to it. Gracie always likes Madelyn.

Laughing

2009-01-04T17:23:00.001-06:00

This is a test. I'm having a bit of difficulty figuring out this new video camera and the software that comes with it. I'm usually pretty tech and computer savvy, but apparently this thing is teaching me a thing or two.

Christmas Day

2009-01-01T17:40:00.000-06:00

So, I'm a little behind in posting these. I'll keep the blog minimal and let you enjoy the photos. I'm working on posting some new video from our new video camera. Stay tuned!

Madelyn with her jumpy. Santa and Mrs. Claus said they had a tough time putting it together!

After a brief morning nap, she was ready to play. I love going in to get her up. She always smiles like this.

She had played so much and slept so little that she fell asleep sitting next to Jonathan. It was pretty sweet.

Our Christmas meal. Pretty simple, although I neglected to take a photo of the peanut butter and chocolate fudge I made. Thanks Grandmother for the Christmas dishes!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T12:31:00.001-06:00

So, I'll probably post twice or more today. We've been taking lots of pictures.

We went to Christmas Eve service yesterday and they did baby dedication. Madelyn was dedicated and we chose the following verse for her:

Psalms 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.”

Madelyn means "tower" and Anne means "grace & mercy."

Thanks Meaghan for taking such great pictures of us!

Madelyn opened one gift for Christmas Eve. She opened a gift from Great Grandmommy Betty. What a cute bear! The bear met the approval of Madelyn because within moments, it was in her mouth.

Madelyn ate lots of pears and rice cereal. She even ate some pears by themselves. She had her usual "night cap" at 7pm and was off to bed and asleep about 7:45pm. Jonathan and I opened one present from each other and watched Prancer. We were in bed by 11pm. Somehow I don't think we'll always get to go to bed that early in future years.

Fun at home

2008-12-23T21:11:00.002-06:00

So, one of the HUGE blessings of working at a private university is the amount of holiday time you get off. Plus, I took an extra two days so that Madelyn and I could enjoy two whole weeks together. It's been interesting to see/experience how different she is as a baby. The last time I stayed home several days in a row with her by myself was while I was on maternity leave. She's a completely more mature and easily entertained baby now. Not as needy, which has its advantages and disadvantages. She loves to play and is trying her hardest to figure out how to crawl. She picks up things and has started every parent's favorite game of "Drop-the-toy." She's eating a lot now. She drinks 32 ozs. a day still and eats a pretty large sized dinner of pears mixed with rice cereal. She didn't like the pears by themselves, so we tried a little cocktail.

Here's what we did on Sunday afternoon:

I'm awake. She's not. I love Sunday naps! I also love her socks on the floor by the couch. So tiny.

I think I've mentioned this before, but Madelyn has figured out the camera. So, I have to be quick and get it primed and ready where she can't see it. I managed to get this shot of her yesterday when we were playing. She was having a great time!

Trying to pose with her head on her hand. And because I never take enough pictures of Madelyn and Daddy, here's a pretty cute one from this evening. I can't believe she'll be 5 months old tomorrow!

Some good words

2008-12-18T10:02:00.001-06:00

A Christmas song that has really been striking a chord in me lately is, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Mercyme has a really great version of it on their "Christmas Sessions" album. Here are the words to inspire you - by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear them
I can hear them
I can hear them

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear You
I can hear You
I can hear You
I could still hear You
The world can hear You

One sick family

2008-12-13T20:54:00.002-06:00

So we all went to the doctor together today. I have bronchitis. Just call me "Itis" now, cuz I've had just about every "-itis" that's going around the block right now. Or the daycare for that matter...
Jonathan was pretty much feeling better when we went, we just wanted to make sure his persistent cough wasn't anything to worry about. Madelyn seems ok apart from the runny nose and occasional cough. We're experts at the bulb syringe and saline nose drops, which is about all you can do for a baby her age. Does anyone ever wonder why you can't find the hospital style syringe in stores? I've looked everywhere. Needless to say, I'm glad I "stole" ours from her hospital bassinet. They wouldn't let me leave with her hospital blanket though. I swear - not like anyone would notice or care. I'm not bitter. I'm just sayin'...
Madelyn has mastered rolling over - tummy to back and back to tummy. In fact, she went back and forth a couple times last night. She's also become a big fan of her rice cereal. She eats it all! And knows how to open her mouth and attempt to say "ahhh." It's weird to watch babies figure things out on their own. You don't even have to teach them. It's like they just suddenly figure it out. This baffles me and amazes me everyday.
Here are some recent photos. Thanks Shelby for the cute dress, although I don't think it will fit much longer!

Playing in her jungle gym. Her favorite place to play right now.

She loves to "stand."

Ready to Open

2008-12-09T20:03:00.001-06:00

We sat down to take our family photo for baby dedication and Madelyn became very interested in the Christmas tree and gifts. So, after taking a cute photo of her in front of the tree, here's what she decided to do...

I'd say she's ready for Christmas! What do you think?

Go Sooners!

2008-12-08T19:52:00.000-06:00

This may be the shortest blog posting ever....

BOOMER!

SOONER!

For those that want to know what we're up to, just more of the same. Madelyn's eating her rice cereal much better. She actually opens her mouth now and gets excited about eating.
For the most part, we're starting to feel better around here. I've pretty much been sick for at least the past 6 weeks with various ailments, so it's nice to be feeling close to 100% again. Jonathan is fighting a cold. Madelyn is teething more and more everyday, although right now (knock on wood) it's not changing her mood.

Thankful for so much

2008-12-01T19:55:00.001-06:00

It was a pretty eventful few days off from work and daycare around our house.
She worked more on trying to roll over from her back to her tummy.

This is usually about as far as she gets. She just can't seem to get that left shoulder out of her way. Jonathan's working on it though with her every night.

Thanksgiving morning brought lots of fun - rice cereal!

This is the before...

And, my favorite - the after!! We tried some more the next day with her a little more reclined and she took to it much better. But, the one hazard that no one warned me about - constipation. We're taking a few days off and we'll try again with it even more diluted.

I did manage to make a pretty nice Thanksgiving meal with a little help from the professionals:

Here's us with the turkey:

We're so thankful for our family and the sweet baby girl that God brought into our lives. It's hard to believe that one year ago we found out we were expecting quite the miracle. I can still remember being completed shocked when the nurse called to tell me the news. We were completely surprised and delighted in how God had his own timeframe in mind. Who knows what the next year will bring, but for now, we're thankful!

A week of progress

2008-11-20T20:19:00.002-06:00

So far this week has been all over the place. Madelyn rolled over from her stomach to her back on Tuesday night. Yay! She had been so close to rolling from her back to her stomach that we'd kind of been focusing on that. Just goes to show you that kids will do what kids want to do. She hasn't done it since then, but she's definitely raising up more on her arms when she's on her tummy. She's still determined to roll from her back to her tummy, but her shoulders keep getting in her way, so she seems content to make it on to her side.

(I affectionately call this picture "Thunder Thighs.")

She also had her first accident report at daycare this week. One of the "older" babies had a toy near her on the playmat and the toy fell out of the child's hands and hit Madelyn on her right temple. She doesn't have a bruise or anything, but she does have a slight pin prick size scab where she must have bled a little bit. I was a little worried, especially since I was home sick that day and I wasn't the one to pick her up. Jonathan said she was fine and ready to go home and see how mommy was feeling.

(I'm not sure what I like better in this picture - her expression or the large amount of drool on her shirt.)

We're headed to Norman this weekend. It's our last football weekend, which is good and bad. Good because it's tough traveling with an infant. I used to be able to pack in about 10 minutes. Now it has turned into at least an hour. I guess it's bad cuz the season is almost over. Go Sooners!

(Hanging out on a Saturday, watching football!)

Pregnant "Man"

2008-11-17T15:41:00.000-06:00

Is anyone else on this planet disturbed to their core when they hear about this? I guess I'm really shaken by it laregly because I gave birth recently and the fact that she is referred to as a man seems a bit inaccurate. In my opinion, if you have a uterus, you should still be considered a woman. And if you can still give birth naturally, you're definitely a woman. One other thing that I guess bothers me is the fact that no breasts=a man in this woman's eyes. I really feel for all of my ladies who've had mastectomies from breast cancer - not by choice, but because they wanted to continue to live the life God made for them. I'm worried. And a little perplexed.

Squeaks and Squeals

2008-11-16T20:14:00.000-06:00

So, Madelyn is really starting to exercise her vocal chords. She's mastered the art of sounding in pain, even when she's not. We even heard a few "screams." She's also started laughing a bit more. No hearty laughs yet, but we're working on finding her sweet spots!
We're not sure if it's because it's the weekend and she wants to savor every waking moment with us, but she hasn't napped very well at all today. We (cats and dog included) were looking forward to our usual Sunday afternoon nap. Instead, she only took a few 20-30 minute naps and consequently became inconsolable around 6pm tonight when she was completely exhausted and cranky. Needless to say, tummy time wasn't very productive today, other than the fact that she enjoyed squaking and squealing at the camera along with her reflection in a mirror. We're still trying to master rolling over. She gets really close and then just gives up, mostly because of lack of upper body strength it seems.

We're gearing up for Thanksgiving. The turkey has been purchased and I'm going over all of my recipes to make sure I have everything I need. It's also going to be a fun holiday because we're going to start Madelyn on rice cereal and have her picture taken with Santa. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures to post after that weekend.

Is tomorrow really Monday?

2008-11-09T20:28:00.001-06:00

So, it was a pretty fun weekend for us. Friday we watched our first movie in a LONG time after Madelyn went to bed. She's started wanting to go to bed earlier, which gives us more time to ourselves and that's also usually when we tidy up around the house. She worked on some "tummy time" that night with Jonathan while I cooked. We're pretty sure it was the longest she had ever played on the floor. It was a good night!

Saturday we got up and went to Fort Worth to go to the mall to work on Christmas shopping, Target for groceries and such, and Lowes for yard stuff. Madelyn did great and only got a little fussy if we were stagnant for too long. Of course we made it back home to watch the Sooners win, the 'Cats lose, and the LSU tigers give up a really close game!

Yeah, in this house, we like our football.

All she's missing in this picture is a bag of potato chips. Look at that "milk-belly!"

My two roommates. How did I get so lucky?!

Home Alone

2008-11-05T19:03:00.001-06:00

So Jonathan left for an engineering conference (aka dork convention) on Monday after work. Which means Madelyn and I have been on our own since then. I guess I was more worried about taking care of the 500 things in the morning that make things so hectic at times. Boy was I wrong. Mornings - not so bad. Evenings, especially Tuesday, were a bear! Monday night I thought to myself, "ok, I can do this! She's being great." Well, Tuesday she made me eat my words. For one reason or another she would not stop being fussy or crying. She didn't nap very much at daycare that day. So that was problem #1. Problem #2 was that she got hungry approximately 1.25 hours before she normally does. I was not prepared and figured it had to be anything but that. She wailed. I finally gave in and fed her at 7:15. She took her bath pretty well and fussed a little while I was rocking her. Needless to say, she wore herself out. I didn't hear her stir until 4am. It's definitely been a lesson learned in how important it is to have a teammate in this game called parenting!

We had our usual Wednesday night pizza (no yoga though.) I took these of her trying to sit in her Bébé Pod. I love the fact that she sits to one side and that Gracie thought we were there to rub her tummy.

Trying to smile while focusing on sitting!

Halloween and such

2008-11-03T21:18:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a long while since I've posted anything. I've mostly been trying to get this whole blogging thing figured out and try and find time (!) to post and update. My goal is to try and post at least a few times a week to let you know what's going on with us and to add some pics of little Mady.

So, Madelyn was a black cat for halloween. You can't really get the full effect of her costume in this photo, so I might take a post-halloween posed shot where you can see her in all her feline glory - tail and all! She didn't mind the costume too much. It's velvet, so more than anything it made her hot! She didn't go out trick-or-treating this year. We're gonna save that for next year when she's a bit more mobile!

This little outfit (shirt and socks) was given to us by some of my coworkers. I've tried several times to get her picture in it, but somehow she always manages to end up not wearing it when I go to pick her up from daycare (i.e. blowout!) My favorite thing about this outfit is how her belly has a tendency to peek out. I think she was sucking it in for this shot! :)

Tuesday Madelyn's great-grandparents from West Virginia came to visit. She was pretty tired and a little cranky, but did manage to crack a few smiles and sit on the table while we ate our gourmet meal of pizza and cheese bread. Somehow I managed to only get pictures of her with one set of great-grandparents. I'm sure I'll be getting some from someone of the others. It was very neat and special that she got to see them. We're very lucky to have so many people that love and care about us and our new little one!

Time flies

2008-08-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

Wow! Has it really been three weeks already?! She's growing like a weed - or a whale. At her two week check-up last week she weighed in at 9 lbs. 1 0z! I think she's going to take after me - I looked like I had rubber bands strapped around all of my arms and legs when I was little. So, she's eating well and certainly not starving. I definitely need to start taking more pictures before she gets to be too big, too quickly! I've already noticed her hands and fingers are getting bigger and longer respectively.

She had her first photoshoot today with one of our friends from church, Nicole. It was an experience! For a rather calm and tranquil baby, I figured she would be very relaxed. Nope! She was mad and very uncooperative. Thankfully Nicole was very patient. As was I. I got peed, pooped, and puked on. As I'm writing this, I'm on shirt and pants #3! "Ahh, the joys of motherhood," Jonathan always reminds me... We should be able to view the pictures in a week or two after Nicole and her hubby get settled in their new town. We're going to miss them!

Nana and Grandad Queen will be visiting Madelyn this weekend. No real exciting plans because it's supposed to rain most of the weekend and Madelyn's pretty much entertaining all by herself.

One week

2008-07-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

One week ago today we were preparing for Kristen's scheduled induction and welcoming Madelyn into our lives. It's hard to believe how quickly the time passes...

Madelyn Anne Queen arrived at 11:17pm on July 24, 2008. She arrived on her Great-Grandad Fred Queen's 75th birthday - just barely! After 2 hours of pushing, Kristen was relieved to see that indeed it was a girl and that she was and is absolutely beautiful. And we're not biased at all! She weighed 8 lbs. 5.8 ozs. and 21 inches long. Quite a big girl!

We're rapidly adjusting to life as a family of three. Madelyn sleeps VERY well and has taken to breastfeeding like a pro - despite some initial difficulties and slight frustrations on both the part of mom and baby. Jonathan is an expert diaper changer and can't seem to give her enough kisses. It's hard not to kiss her - she's like a magnet for love.

Kristen is recovering well. She's down 20 of the 30 lbs. she gained and is starting to get around more - although she's not allowed to drive herself anywhere for the next week.

Jonathan goes back to work tomorrow and we'll see how he does without seeing Madelyn for several hours. And we'll see how much trouble the girls can get into while he's away!