Thankful for so much

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

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"

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

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.