A Look at Our Week...

EDIT: Our sneak peak ultrasound is today, not tomorrow. Oops!

* This past weekend, my mom, sister, and I took Madison along for her 1st long road trip...outside of Dallas. We spent about 6.5 hours in the car. It depends on who you ask, but the ride in the car was okay, but not great. Madison usually took a one hour nap in the car when it was time, but fussed in the car as well. We drove to Abilene (another 3 hours) to visit my mom's other sister and Madison did quite well on that trip. I do have to say that I'm a little worried about our trip to Gulf Shores this July. I think I have conviced Gabe that it will be in our best interest to drive through the night. We had a good time visiting with my cousins on our trip. Above are several of them. My mom has better pics, so I'll have to post more soon.
I watched one of Madison's playmates, Bennett, earlier this week. He taught Madison how to "ride" her ride toys, and not just push them. Gabe pushed them both around for a bit.

It must have been fun, because even MADISON smiled!

I love this little spaghetti strap denim dress...borrowed from a church friend.

If you look closely you can see her third tooth that has come in to the far right. She also has two others that have poked through the skin on top and two more on two that are about to break the skin. She can chomp goldfish and teddy grahams quite fast now!

I took this pic of Madison before we went to bed one night because I though it was cute of her with her feet on her puppy. She used to be a stomach sleeper and still is some, but it seems we usually find her sprawed out on her back before we head to bed. CONKED OUT!

Madison pushing her Ragedy Ann doll.

*My sister, Melissa, celebrated a birthday this week. Let's see, I guess she is now 23??? She played a mean April Fool's prank on her husband yesterday. She came by my house with a pregnancy test and wanted me to "pee on the stick." She took the test home and layed it in her bathroom for her husband to see when he got home from work. Let's just say the prank worked! I thought it was pretty mean, but she got him good!

*TODAY, a friend of ours is going to do another ultrasound for us. The last time we checked this little baby was bottoms down and would not open up his/her legs. We'll see if we can get a peak this afternoon. Our lips are sealed though. Our scheduled ultrasound with Millard Henry Clinic is this coming Wednesday so we will spill the beans to everyone then. I can't wait to find out if this little baby is a boy or girl. I'm so torn. I've been convinced it's a boy, but then it could be a girl just because I think it's a boy. Oh, I just can't wait!

18 Weeks and Counting!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 18 weeks
Size of Baby: 5 1/2 inches long, almost 7 ounces, the size of a bell pepper!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 4 pounds
Maternity Clothes: Yep!
Movement: I had my hand on my stomach and actually felt baby kick me twice. So neat! I tried to let Gabe feel, but of course, it didn't happen again.
Food Cravings: Oh, you know me, I just eat anything and everything and lots of it!
What I miss: My regular body. Trying to exercise more regularly. So far, so good this week.
Symptoms: Nothing really! I had a little more nausea with this pregnancy than my last, but that ended after my 1st trimester. Feeling pretty good!
What I am looking forward to: Our ultrasound on Wed, April 7th! I cannot wait to find out if this little baby is a boy or girl. I say it's a boy!

Everything is Bigger in Texas!

Madison and I will be leaving soon with my Mom and sister for Dallas, TX. Above is a picture of my mom's three sisters. We will be going to visit two of them and their families. This will be Madison's first long ride in the car. The longest trip we have taken so far has been Fort Smith, so I'm curious to see how the ride goes. I think she will do okay since she will be facing the front in her carseat and will have three chatty gals to look at and listen to. I'll also be bringing her DVD player along...just in case. It will be nap time about the time we leave so I really have high hopes for this journey! ;)

Oh, and just for the record, Madison slept through the night AGAIN last night. That makes 5 nights straight! Can you tell how excited I am about this? It's so great to sleep all night again...a whole year later!

4 days and counting...

We are soo proud of Madison. She has slept through the night for 4 nights straight now. I'm beginning to think she may just have this down. It's a good thing too, because tomorrow afternoon we are leaving for a mini trip to Dallas with my Mom and sister to visit my aunt's family. I almost hated to go since we're in the process of "training" Madison to sleep all night, but I feel like she may just do pretty well while we're gone. The last thing you want is a crying baby in the middle of the night at someone else's house! I also have been reading about these teething tablets. Madison is cutting several teeth right now, and has been a little crankier lately. These tablets are supposed to ease the pain and help them sleep better. Soo, I invested in some today and will probably drop a tablet or two into her last bottle right before bedtime each night that we are in TX.

Speaking of accomplishments, as of today Madison is drinking all whole milk from her bottle! Yay! The switch really was not hard at all. I think we did it in about a week and a half!

Yesterday, Madison had her 1-year old doctor's appointment. Yes, I know that she is now 13 months, but she had an ear infection on the day of her "first" 1-year old appointment, so we had to reschedule. The doc said everything looked good. She weighs about 20.5 lbs. I didn't get her height or percentiles. I guess you have to ask those things, because they have never told me. I thought she may have an ear infection since she's been rubbing her ears a lot , but the doc said no! It sounds like we are in the clear for now...

Sleeping Beauty

Madison has slept through the night the past THREE nights!

PRAISE THE LORD!

13 Months & Pregnancy Highlights

EDIT: 17 week pregnancy pic added!

Happy 13 Months, Madison!


Madison turned 13 months on Saturday. Gabe went fishing at the Little Red with some friends for the weekend, so I asked my parents if they'd keep Madison on Saturday while I went to LR shopping for some maternity clothes. We took a few, fast, & furious pics in the front yard before we left. As you can tell, Madison is contantly on the go. She's a busy little bee. Since her tubes, she really likes to love and be held. She liked that before, but she constantly holds her arms to me and says mama. She wants to be held and hugged. I guess I should enjoy it now while she wants me.

Her strong-willed personality had kicked in by this point and she was determined to get out of that stroller no matter what. She still is not fond of the stroller. Wait, she simply doesn't like to be confined in any matter!

Madison quit saying mama for a while, but is back at it! She has a bottom tooth coming in, as well as 4 top teeth that will be breaking the skin soon. You can see the while through her gums. She is still eating baby food, since she only has 4 1/2 teeth. We are currently in the process of trying to wean from formula and switch to whole milk. She is drinking 75% whole milk and 25% formula in her bottles right now. Almost there! She is a full-time walker. She crawls occassionaly, but not much. The past 2 nights she has slept through the night, Praise the Lord! She is a happy baby and fun to be with! She really enjoys time with her grandparents and with other babies/kids.

Pregnancy Highlights!

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of baby: 5 ounces, 5 inches long, the size of a turnip!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 or 4 pounds

Maternity Clothes: My jeans are starting to get a little tight and my regular tops just make my stomach look fat, so...I've starting wearing maternity clothes. I went on a huge spree on Saturday and got loaded up for the summer. The only problem is that I am WHITE and need a tan. I'm planning on laying out in the backyard during Madison's naptimes once it gets warmer. Hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!
Gender: We had an ultrasound on Thursday, but this baby was bottoms down and WOULD NOT open up its legs. So...our next ultrasound is in about 2 1/2 weeks on April 4th. Can't wait to find out!

Movement: Have felt a few butterflies, but nothing major. I got some weird sharp pains every now and then that feel like kicks or someone is pushing my belly, but I'm not sure what that is all about.

Food Cravings: Oh, you know me, I just eat anything and everything and lots of it!
What I miss: My regular body. I'm not even that big yet, but I was in good shape when I was training for the half-marathon and was able to run long-distance, and I do miss it. I just can't do what I used to could do. I already feel totally different than I did back in the day!

Symptoms: Nothing really! I had a little more nausea with this pregnancy than my last, but that ended after my 1st trimester. Feeling pretty good!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little baby! It may sound crazy, but I'm so ready for this little baby to be here. I see newborns at church and I miss having a baby that tiny. I hardly even remember Madison being so small. It's crazy how the memory of them being so small almost erases from your memory. I'm also looking forward to getting in shape again and loosing the baby weight!

Grandma took some cute pics of Madison from Saturday. Pics to come soon!

March MOMs Meeting

So, I've shared before that we have a group at church called MOMs. (Mothers of Miracles) It is modeled after MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers). We meet the 3rd Friday of each month and consistently have about 30 moms who attend. I thought our meeting today went great and was so much fun.

Evelyn Denton, a member of our church, shared new spring and summer decor with us along with decorating tips and a devotional. Chrissy shared helpful hints on spring cleaning. Melissa & Bethany led us in a potted tulip craft. We wrapped twine around the pot and planted our flower. They turned out super cute. And last, but most definately not least, we enjoyed a bread bowl full of potato soup, a salad, and strawberry shortcake. I can't think of a better way to spend a gorgeous Friday...can you?

Gabe and I (okay, pretty much, I) have been "training" Madison to sleep through the night. She usually wakes around 3:30am for a bottle and then quickly goes back to bed, but since she is one now we've decided it's way past time for her start sleeping through the night.

So, first I tried to just rock her back to sleep when she woke up in the middle of the night. Nope, didn't work. She was used to taking a bottle and wanted one. I decided that the next night I would not even go into her room, I would just let her cry herself back to sleep. She woke up at 5:45am and cried for about 45 mintues and then finally went back to sleep. Of course, this is torture for Gabe and I. I mean, who really wants to just lay in bed awake waiting for their baby to quit crying. The next night, she slept through the night. I knew it wasn't set in stone yet, though. The night, she woke up again crying at 5:45am and only cried 25 mintues before going back to sleep. Last night, she slept through the night. So, you can see we are making progress. If she does wake up, it's usually around 4-5:45 and she's learned to go back to sleep and sleep until a decent hour. About every other night, she sleeps through the night. Yay! I'm actually beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...somewhere...way down there.