Fun Day!

Today was a fun day. After hand bell practice this morning, I took Madison to our church playground with several other moms and their children. It was a gorgeous day today. Perfect weather...not too hot, not too cold. I watched the other kids play in the dirt, load pea gravel into their shirts, throw tantrums, and get hurt. Whew! I'm glad she's only a baby right now. But what I really dread the most...is the day when she gets "dirty." I have always hated to get dirty and sweat. Surely Madison will too. (Several of the moms who were at the playground read my blog, and they are probably thinking..."your day will come." :)

Madison is still sick. She still sounds hoarse when she cries and she still has a runny nose. I hope she gets to feeling better really soon!

This afternoon Madison and I went on our 2 mile run. This week I am supposed to run 2 miles a day, every day, except for Sunday to train for the half marathon. Madison did so good in the stroller. She didn't fuss. Maybe because it was so beautiful outside.

Madison was playing with the bunny today. She was so cute. I would say, "get your bunny," and she would reach and grab it.

She also had a lot of fun playing with her spoon.

Mother's Day Out starts back up for the fall tomorrow. My plan is to clean house...because Tuesday is my cleaning day!

Corn on the Cob

Madison LOVES to suck on corn cobs. We eat the corn off of the cob and then let her go to town! She sucks the juice out... then drops the cob and you have to pick it back for her. It keeps her busy while we eat supper though, so we don't complain. Madison is still sick...poor baby. Her voice is even hoarse when she cries. I'm hoping she will start feeling better tomorrow. Her medicine doesn't seem to be working as fast as I'd like. Keep her in your prayers.

Shots, Sneezes, & a Runny Nose!

Doesn't Madison look adorable in this pink & brown outfit? She has only had two pink & brown outfits so far, and seriously needs some more! These colors are too cute on her. Her Aunt Sheila gave her this outfit for Christmas this past year, and she just now fits in it... Madison got her 6 month shots Friday morning...no fun! She has had a fever off and on since Friday afternoon. On top of that, she came down with a cold on Thursday. The doc said it was probably allergies, so she is taking some allegra. I hate to see her feel bad, and hope she gets well soon.

Isn't this the most beautiful baby, ever?

If this little face doesn't just melt your heart, I don't know what will. Madison's eyes have been watery today. She hasn't smiled much today and has been very whiney! I can only take so much of that. I hate to say it, but she takes after her mother. I guess we both don't deal with pain well.

Photo shoot with Daddy- what a handsome Daddy he is!

There is a marathon/half-marathon coming up in Little Rock in March. Our church is having a deal where you can get on a training program for it. You get a running schedule for the week, and then every Saturday run with the church group. Gabe and I are both planning on training for it. Gabe is going to try to train for the marathon.(26 miles) I'm going to try to train for the half-marathon. (13 miles) Right now, I can't even imagine myself being able to run more then 5 miles. I have run a 5k before, but nothing beyond that. I mainly just want to get in shape! You'll st have to wait and see if I actually make the half-marathon!

First Bite!

Madison got this running stroller for Daddy on his birthday and she loves it so much! They were only able to take about three runs before ending up with a flat tire! Since the tire is now fixed, Madison and I decided to take a morning stroll this morning around the neighborhood. The weather has been cool and brisk the past couple of mornings, so I wore pants thinking I would get cold. Boy, was I wrong. I won't be wearing pants to walk anytime soon! Doesn't Madison look thrilled? She was actually a little fussy on today's stroll.
After our stroll, we headed to the church for a meeting. Madison stayed in the nursery with some of the other girls' kids that I was meeting with. During our meeting I heard Madison cry pretty loudly for a while. She doesn't usually cry like that unless something is really wrong. I just let the nursery ladies handle it since I was in the middle of the meeting, but afterwards I found out that a 10 month old baby had bit her on the forhead. The skin didn't break, but there is a big red mark. Madison is okay, but the funny thing is...the same thing happend to me in my church nursery when I was a baby. Like mother, like daughter!

First Wave Bye-Bye

So, today we had a first. Madison, today you waved bye-bye for the first time. I was feeding you tonight and you started waving your hand. I would wave at you and you would start waving back. It was the most precious thing ever. Even Daddy saw you do it.

I know it will be any day now that you start crawling. You are getting so close.
Don't get in too big of a hurry to grow up! I love you sweet baby girl!

Love, Momma

Good Southern Cookin'

Tonight I cooked Gabe's favorite dinner...Fried chicken, purple hull peas, turnip greens, and mashed potatoes and gravy. He also loves fried pork chops. Come to think of it, he likes fried anything. I LOVE to cook...mostly because I LOVE to eat. My mom taught me how to cook most things, but I also spent hours in my Grandma's kitchen watching her cook. Both of my grandmothers are wonderful cooks. To me, a great meal is all about the presentation. I got that from my MeMommie. Not only does her food taste good, but it LOOKS good. She always used pretty dishes at our Christmas dinners and set the table formally. You don't have to have pretty dishes to enjoy a good meal, but isn't it so much fun? I'd like to share one of my favorite recipes with you...Sausage Casserole. I got this recipe from my favorite Aunt Phyllis and make it quite often.

Sausage Casserole

Boil one link of polish sausage. Once sausage is cooked, take out of water and cut into pieces. Reserve 2-3 T. of water that sausage is boiled in, and drain the rest. Dice 1/2 onion & 1/2 bell pepper. Put into skillet and saute on med-low to med in 2-3 T. oil or leftover water from sausage. Add 1-2 tsp. flour in with onions and bell pepper and stir. Add 1 can corn, 1 can petite diced tomatoes. Stir and simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I just joined the hand bell choir at our church and today was our first day of practice! It went pretty well! I talked one of my best friends, Melissa, into joining as well. We both had a good time. Here are a few pics of Madison in my bathroom while I was getting ready for practice this morning. It looks like she's waving to us in this first pic.

One of my best friends, Melissa...AKA my hand bell partner

After hand bell practice, I took Madison to see our church secretaries. I used to work at the church for our minister of music during the summers and grew close to these ladies. They love when I bring Madison by to see them. Below is Pat. She only has grandsons, so holding Madison is a real treat to her!

Madison was pretty tired. She kept laying her head down on every one's shoulder.

Below is Patricia...another secretary that I grew close to.

Madison with Bro. Stephen, our church pastor

He just happened to be standing in the hallway, and wanted to hold her.

What a perfect and special picture!

After we said goodbye to our favorite church secretaries, we headed to Stoby's to meet one of my best friends, Megon, for lunch. Mmm, you've gotta love their SWEET TEA!

And, their cheese dip!

Megon, I had a picture of you and Bennet on here and just deleted it. Ahh-forgive me.

Madison and Mommy at Stoby's

Tummy Time

Baby Push-Up

A lady from church passed this adorable Christmas outfit down to Madison. I can't wait until she can wear it this Christmas!

Fun-filled Weekend

It has been a long, but fun weekend. Friday night we had a few of Madison's "friends" over. Madison has LOTS of church friends. These are just a few of her friends...Beckett, Bennett, and Cale. We have had a baby BOOM at our church this past year. There are about 6-7 girls in our Sunday School class that have had babies in the past year. It was a lot of fun being pregnant together, and now being mommies together. I hope our Sunday School class has more babies on the way in the near future. It is a wonderful blessing having babies at the same time as your fellow christian friends. It's nice to know that your child will be surrounded with friends that are being raised with the same morals.

Madison was actually sitting up some on her own while she was playing with her friends. I think maybe because several of the other babies can sit up quite well.

I tried to flip this picture around, but had no luck. It seems like once you upload a pic to post, you cannot remove it. Anyone have a solution for this problem?

Madison sitting up like a big girl!

Beckett trying to flirt with Madison...

Madison on the day Mommy made her first blog post...Saturday, August 22, 2009.

We went on a family stroll over to Grammy & Papa's, but they weren't at home. So...they came over to our house later on instead.

Madison is trying really hard to figure out this crawling thing. I believe she will be crawling within the next month!

"Are you watching me, Grammy?"

Madison loves squash! We had a lot of trouble getting her to take interest in rice cereal and baby food, up until the past couple of weeks. All of the sudden she has decided that she likes baby food. I feed her baby food at lunch and supper and she typically eats a full small jar. :)

Time for bath time!

Playing with her rubber duckies...(She even has a princess ducky!)

Okay, you may be wondering what Grammy is doing with the blow dryer. My Aunt Phyllis gave me this idea when Madison was only a month old. She said she always blow dried her babies after they took a bath. Well, we tried it, and she LOVES it! Just make sure that you towel dry your baby first, quickly add a diaper, and then blow dry your baby as long as you like.

Madison kicks and squirms just like a little bug on its back when she is getting "dried."

Don't you just love a clean baby?