Thanksgiving or maybe just Zoo

Turns out I have been slacking on the picture taking lately. I had high hopes of getting some pictures on Thanksgiving since for the first time in a long time we had someone else to take pictures of us, but that did not happen. Just imagine us all looking super cute and put together. I did remember to take pictures when we went to the zoo the day before Thanksgiving.

The biggest attraction seemed to be the giraffes. I loved getting to pet the giraffes instead of just staring at them behind cages. I wish that they had this option with some of the other animals, like the adorable gorillas or ginormous hippos. But I am sure there is a bigger liability with animals that do a bit more than outstretch their necks and lick crackers out of people's hands.

We did get one family photo, thanks Becca! We were keeping warm inside the hippo, penguin, and reptile exhibit. It was a bit colder than I had expected and my choice of sandals was probably not the brightest.

Madison was wiped out after have two screaming fits in the car and looking at everything at the zoo. She did not move for thirty minutes straight.

Madison also has a new trick of blowing bubbles. I captured the face she makes mid-blow. We think it is hilarious.

Just another picture of Will being super dad and carrying Madison around for me.



It was really great to have friends from out of town here. I realized again how hard it is for me to get out of the house with the baby. I get overwhelmed with trying to balance the outing with her nap, feeding schedule. It is nice to have people here who encourage me to get out. Even though doing things with a baby is a lot more difficult, I am always thankful that we got to experience one more thing with Madison.

I was so incredibly thankful for everything God has given me this year. It is hard to believe that last Thanksgiving the idea of Madison was just being introduced to our family. So glad that she gets to celebrate the holidays outside my tummy this year.

week catch all

We had another play date this week. I really love having some place to be during the week besides just staying inside and cleaning. I mean, play groups are mostly for the moms, but a part of me thinks Madison really enjoys herself also. The baby girl Madison is laying next to in the bottom pictures is the one who was born two days before Madison. I tried to catch them holding hands, but I was not fast enough.



1. Will had a statistic event to attend on Tuesday so I had evening duties with Madison. We just danced to the oldie music channel and she fell asleep on my chest. I tried to get a picture but of course she woke up.

2. More mommy and daughter play time. I have been putting her on her belly as much as possible because she has created a bald spot in the back of her head from sleeping at night.

3. Saturday morning Will and I attempted to do some yoga together. About half way through, Madison woke up. Luckily, she really enjoys watching us move around and sat happily in her chair.

4. Aspen decided she needed to assist Will in is forward folding triangle.

5. Aspen and Madison decided to join me in my ending stretches, silly girls.

6. We are all bundled up to take an evening walk. Madison is wearing her adorable Patagonia jacket.

We are having Will's friend, wife, and five year old come and stay with us this week. It will be a full house, but should be a lot of fun. So, I am busy sucking up all of Aspen's hair and scrubbing our floors. I am not really looking forward to doing any sort of cooking, but the company will be nice.

a girl and her dog

It is really neat to see Madison really take notice of Aspen. They often have stare offs and seem to mutually enjoy each others company. Madison is officially a part of Aspen's pack. I decided to slowly start warming Aspen up to the pulling and tugging that will be taking place soon. Aspen seemed a bit uncomfortable and the cuddle session abruptly ended when Aspen jumped straight up and Madison landed flat on the ground.

Four Months

- She has still not learned how wonderful sleep is or much better of a mommy it makes me. One week, she will fall asleep on her own and go back to sleep if she wakes up. The next week, she will scream for over an hour when I try a little bit of "crying it out." Every day its a gamble, and we still go to bed with hopeful expectations, that tonight is the night she will only wake up once.

- She loves to be around people and other babies. She makes sure her voice is known above every other noise and is extremely content to look at everything around her. We left her for the first time in the nursery at church and she just sat happily while all the other kids screamed around her.

- She is trying diligently to suck her thumb. But that dang pointer finger keeps going right up her nose, she can not figure out how to correct that issue. She only tries to suck her left thumb. Is this the first sign we will have a lefty?

- She is reaching and grabbing now. This should make our life even more interesting. Pulling Aspen's hair, pulling cups off tables, ripping lips right off our faces, all will be future occurrences.

Four month check up is today. That means shots. But I will be prepared this time with Tylenol and appointment at a time when Will can attend.


Now, for the outtakes.

Happy four months little one! Can not wait to see what all you are going to discover this month. Sleeping through the night, maybe??

our weekend

1. I had this bright idea I would dress Madison up in Hawaii attire and send a picture to my brother to lift his spirits and show how eager Madison is to visit him in Hawaii. Well, I think these two pictures pretty much sum up how it went. Putting a bikini top and fake lei on a wiggling baby is not easy and once again things did not go how I had envisioned them in my mind.

2. Madison has really gotten the hang of grabbing items and pulling them straight to her mouth. Will's cheek is no exception. The funniest part was how she would launch herself forward and make this incredible "aaagghh" noise. I video taped it, but it is probably only hilarious to us.

3. We struggled with getting Madison to nap this weekend. So when we had finally had enough we decided to just bring her out to hang out with us. Little stinker was as happy as a clam (are clams happy??) once we removed her from the crib.

4. My baby has grown so big she is finally able to ride in the carrier the proper way. We went on a fairly long walk with her and she finally fell asleep, once she finished looking around. She refuses to rest her head on my chest, which kind of hurts my feelings, but little one must be looking at whatever is going on.

5. Since her new skill of grabbing and pulling has developed, she loves her burp cloths. She pulls them into her face and rubs them all around, while making ridiculous noises.

we are family

Madison has been taking some pretty awesome afternoon naps (I think it is because the sun is setting so early), which means the "witching" hour is not as bad anymore. I am sure Will appreciates being welcomed home by a smiling family instead of the frazzled mess of a crying baby. So we took the opportunity to have some fun with her yesterday. The last picture is by far our favorite.

I have been attempting to explain to Will my feelings about his time in our life, but I can not seem to find the right words. The best explanation I have is that for the first time ever there is not something to look forward to. What I mean is, in elementary school you must learn to read to go to the next grade, in junior high you have to learn algebra for high school, in high school you have to get excellent grades for college, in college you must keep building that resume to get a job, during an engagement you are counting down until the big day, during pregnancy everything is put on hold in anticipation for the baby, and so on. Now that I am in this place of finally finishing all the must dos, I can just be. It is a very odd thing to suddenly turn off a mentality I have had since I was six years old. I am beginning to think that maybe I should have been living this way all along; only living for today because that is all we really have.

So, impromptu family photo shoots are my way to live just for today with my little family.

thank goodness for grandparents

[don't be alarmed by the unflattering faces, that is just our "Oh my gosh, we are in the car with out the baby," faces]

The only times that we have left Madison alone with anyone has been when we are around our family. I know that at some point we need to venture out and hire a babysitter, but I am just not ready for that yet. The last time we went out was when Madison was one month old and it was when we were in Texas. So we were definitely feeling the need to be out alone.

Luckily, I have a wonderful mother-in-law, and we had the opportunity to get out all three nights she was here. The first night we just walked Aspen alone and stopped to get some Apple Chai tea. The next night we went to the Pub that is across the street from us for appetizers and beers. Then the final night we went out to dinner at a Italian restaurant down town. Madison found her way into the conversation a few times, but it was surprisingly easy to talk about other things besides the little baby we made.

I am still trying to make sure my priority pyramid does not shift from loving God first, my husband second, and children third. I believe, the majority of problems are caused when couples stray from this. It is a tricky balance right now because Madison would literally not survive if I did not give her a certain amount of attention, but finding time away and being intentionally with that time is vital.

Another side effect of having a baby, is that out of town visitors are not that entertained. We were not able to just get in the car and drive all over the mountains because Madison can not stay in the car seat all day, and thrives off her nap schedule. So if you come and visit, you are forewarned, we live fairly uneventful lives now.

We did go to a very nice restaurant on Sunday for brunch. Even though it interrupted Madison's nap, she did wonderfully. We happily ate all we could, buffets are a dangerous thing.

Now we are just resting before our next guests arrive for Thanksgiving.

Play Group

Madison had her first play group on Thursday. It was a refreshing time for me to talk with other moms and give Madison a chance to interact with other babies. There was a five month old (which is the baby featured in the photos fascinated with Madison), a baby two days older than Madison, a two month old, and a two week old. Oh my goodness, seeing Madison next to the two month old and two week old was quite shocking. I still have in my mind that she was just born, but now there are babies younger and smaller than her.

We have been spending some quality time with family the past week. We made a quick trip to Texas to see my mom and now Will's mom and brother are in town. Madison is getting her dose of grandma love.