20 Weeks old~

Madalyn got to experience eating celery this week... she seemed to enjoy gumming at it. She is also obsessed with cups.... whenever you have a cup by her she pulls it to her lips and tries to drink from it. It is the cutest thing. Gigi bought her a walker this week, and even though she is a little too short to walk in it now, she likes to play with the toys on top of it and make it sing to her. She also got her own phone today and likes to chew on it! Everything new to her goes right into her mouth. Madalyn has also discovered how fun it is to pull Mommy's hair!

She's LAUGHING!

This afternoon I think I laughed harder than I have in a LONG time. I was on the floor playing with Madalyn and Allie wanted to join in, so she went and got her football. She was running around with it in her mouth trying to get someone to chase her (her favorite game!) Well, Maddie though this was the funniest thing and she took one look at Allie with the football in her mouth and she started giggling, then squealing. It was the most adorable thing. She kept doing it every time Allie came by. Allie loved the attention and kept bring the ball to us which made Maddie laugh even harder, then she started grabbing at Allie's jowls and trying to pet her. I can tell they are going to be great friends. :)

Long overdue update

Whew! Its been almost a month since I posted on here! We have been super busy trying to get the new house ready to move in to, as well as move out of the old one. We are in the new house now... still trying to find things and unpack and sort things out. Even though this house is bigger it actually has LESS storage than the old one, so we have had to get creative with organization and all. But it is coming along.... as much as it can be with us working and having a 4 month old.

Maddie is getting so big! She turned 4 months old last Wednesday and is such a cutie! She is quite a little chatterbox and spend the entire day talking, from the time she gets up until she goes to bed at night. Notice I didnt mention anything about nap time in there.... she has it in her head that she will miss something if she dares fall asleep in the daytime! Sometimes if I am lucky I can lay her on our bed with me and get her to fall asleep, then I have to sneak off the bed without waking her. But that usually only lasts for 20 minutes or so until she wakes back up. We need to get her in a napping routine... but right now it works for her to be up during the day. She is always in bed asleep by 7:30 or 8 and most nights sleeps until 6 or 7 in the morning. So, cant complain there.

She has discovered how much fun toys are... and as of Sunday can roll over on her own. She had done this a few times on our bed or in the crib, but now if she is on her back she rolls herself immediately on to her tummy.... then cries after about 5 minutes because she wants to be on her back. But when you flip her back over.... she rolls to her tummy again. She knows how to roll from her tummy to her back, but she would much rather have mommy or daddy do it. She also loves to laugh.... Shawn has been very successful at making her giggle... and today for the first time I made her laugh by blowing raspberries on her belly. Her giggle made me laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes! She is such a happy baby... always smiling and squealing.... she is such a joy.

This past weekend my parents came up and Maddie saw her Papa Hill for the first time since she was 8 weeks old. They had a great time together.... I was so happy he got to be here to hold her and play with her. She is so much more personable now than she was 8 weeks ago... it is amazing how much she has grown since our wedding, never mind since her birth!

Last Wednesday was her checkup at the doctors (I mean, what better way to spend your 4 month birthday than going to get shots?!) She is 14 pounds, 8 ounces... and 24 1/4 inches. She is right on track to double her birthweight by 6 months, which is the goal for babies. Her doctor said she is absolutely perfect (which we knew!) She loved drooling on him... (she actually likes to drool on everything right now. we change clothes 3 times a day!)

Dr. Benton gave us the go-ahead to try some baby foods when we are ready, so last night we gave her some sweet potatoes. She seemed to like them, though I only gave her a few spoonfulls to let her get the idea of eating off of a spoon. She is also really interested in cups... whenever I am holding her with a cup in the other hand she leans forward and puts her mouth on the lip and tries to drink from it.

Allie and Madalyn are getting to be great friends.... she pulls on Allie's cheeks and pats her on the back whenever she can and Allie loves to lick her face and her feet.

I will update more as I get the time....

Its been awhile....

I havent updated in awhile... mostly because we are super busy at the new house because we have less than 2 weeks until we need to move in. There is still so much to be done! It IS coming along though... slowly but surely I guess. There just seems to be so much to do... but I guess that is the joy of home ownership- alays some project to work on. Shawn loves that! He is especially proud of his yard... it is absolutely gorgeous grass thanks to lots of Weed and Feed.

Miss Madalyn is now 14 weeks old and is growing so much! Now she grabs at everything and tries to get it in her mouth. She holds her head up on her own... and is interested in everything going on around her. She is also teething so she goes between being a happy baby and then being fussy when her teeth are bothering her.

3 Months Old!

Playing with Daddy...


She's laughing at Daddy!


What is that silly doggie doing?


Hanging out with Auntie Amber.


Sunday was Miss Madalyn's three month birthday. She is getting so big! The last two nights she has slept through the night, so we are crossing our fingers that she keeps this up because we LOVE the sleep. Her Daddy taught her to make "fart" noises with her mouth, which she loves to do as well as loves to blow bubbles. (Thanks Shawn!) She has learned to hold her ball on her play gym in her two hands and shake it back and forth... its the funniest thing. We have also put her in her Jumparoo... which she is a little too small for, but she does like to swat at the toys.

Ive been a bit of a slacker as far as posting lately... we have been swamped working at the house. Moving day is coming quickly.... and we still have so much to do! Today Amber came and babysat Miss Maddie so we could get some work done. I painted her bathroom, and tonight Shawn laid the tile on the floor. All of the tile work is done except for a few pieces along the wall which will require some cutting.

Happy 4th of July!

Here she is all decked out in red, white, and blue!

Madalyn 12 Weeks

June 25th pictures

Here she is practicing her TUMMY TIME!

The world looks different from this angle!

Mommy sure takes a lot of pictures

Have keys, will travel....

but where would I like to go???

Sunday Evening Barbeque

Its become somewhat of a summer tradition for Shawn and I to have barbeques every so often. We invite all of our friends over and have them bring something to share... and usually is is spur of the moment which makes it even better because there is minimal planning involved. So this evening we had several of our friends over to hang out and grill. Unfortunately it rained and we had to move the party inside but we still had a great time and it was a nice way to play catch up with our friends that we hadnt seen in a long time. Madalyn got to enjoy some of the earlier festivities, and when it came time for bed she was exhausted but did not want to sleep! I just now have gotten her to bed!

11 Weeks old

She's going for a walk in the "big girl" part of her stroller. She loves being able to look forward and see where we are going.


She was talking to Mommy here.... Im not quite sure what she was saying but she sure was happy about sharing it!


What a happy baby! Its so hard to catch a real smile on camera, but I think I got pretty close this time.


I think I could take a million pictures of her sleeping... she looks so peaceful during her little naps. What an angel.


She's sitting up here, with some help from Mommy. What a big girl!

Today Madalyn is 11 weeks old. I cant believe how fast she is growing up! She has learned to wiggle around in her crib and can completely turn herself around while she is sleeping. She wants so badly to be mobile! Right now she is laying on her quilt on the living room floor and she is absolutely fascinated with her feet and keeps trying to scoot around on the blanket while on her back. If we put her on her tummy then she immediately draws her legs underneath her and lifts herself up trying to crawl. Right now though we are glad she can stay where she is... our house isnt quite childproofed!

We are still in the rental house, getting ready to pack and make the big move one street over. There is so much work to be done at the other house though... Shawn is putting in really long days over there when I am off. Our bathrooms still arent finished (something about him getting bored with that project and moving on to something else for a little while.) We really need to enclose our laundry room, which he is working on as we speak. It needs to be secure so we can put our washer and dryer in it, as well as have a secure place to store his tools. Right now they are all in the house, so once those have a "home" we will have space to move our furniture in. But from the looks of things the laundry room will be HUGE... and all enclosed and insulated so eventually we can run air conditioner out there and include that in the square footage we advertise for the house. There will be room enough for a small workshop area, plus our deep freezer and storage for all of our Sams shopping trips.

Needless to say I am getting excited (and yes, a little bit stressed!) about moving into OUR home...

Madalyn 10 Weeks

Here she is during "tummy time!" Madalyn always likes to look around and see new things.


Allie loves to look baby toes!


Taking a cat nap on her Boppy... what an angel.


Talking to her Puppy.


Trying to get her puppy to sing to her

Well Madalyn is 10 weeks old as of Sunday. She got to spend Fathers Day with Daddy and the Swanson family because I had to work. I think her and Daddy have settled into a good routine on the days that I go to work... it seems to involve a lot of playtime! She has gotten much better at taking a bottle and he is able to get her to take a pacifier from him. Tonight not only did she take a pacifier from me in her crib but all I had to do was get it near her mouth and she pushed it her and held it there with her hand all by herself!

Madalyn is pretty much holding her head up on her own... and she constantly pulls herself to a standing position on my lap and looks around. She is so animated. She loves talking to her toys.

This week Gigi sent her some toys in the mail. One is a Laugh and Play puppy that both her and Allie are infatuated by. She manages to bump the buttons to make it sing when she is moving her arms and legs around and then she coos at it while it sings. She loves to talk and carry on conversations with me and her toys... it is so adorable.

Work is well though it has been an adjustment getting used to working and coming home and having to be a Mom instead of climbing into bed and sleeping all day. Luckily Madalyn loves to snuggle in bed and has been able to afford me small naps during the day.

The house is coming along... Shawn completed some beautiful built in shelves in Madalyn's bathroom. It was a great use of normally unused space. We are getting down to crunch time... we have about 6 more weeks until our lease is up here. All of the plumbing is done for the time being, which is good. Shawn is in the process of finishing up Maddie's bathroom hopefully this week, then on to the kitchen!

Playing on the playmat

Here is a video I took of Maddie this morning playing on her playmat.

Two Months Old

Last Friday Miss Madalyn turned two months old. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by! To celebrate her birthday she unfortunately had to get her shots.... three shots and one oral vaccine for Roto virus. It nearly broke my heart when they stuck her... she screamed! Poor baby. She was pretty good for a few hours afterwards but by 6 at night I couldnt even put her down. She was so miserable... all she wanted was for Mommy to hold her, which I gladly did. At the doctor she was 12 pounds, 4 ounces and 22 inches long. She is right where she should be and everyone there absolutely loved her. She seemed to enjoy laying on the table and having everyone come in and talk to her... she "talked" more at the doctors than I have ever heard her. I think she is going to like being the center of attention.



Yesterday was my first day back at work, which wasnt too bad. I had requested to be assigned to a station while I am breastfeeding, but true to my department's stand on not being helpful at all for females, I am stuck on staffing. Which makes continuing to breastfeed more of a challenge then intially anticipated, but it makes me even more determined to make it work. Basically every morning at 7 am I call to see where I need to be by 8 am. Once there I have to describe to a different crew about breastfeeding and my need to pump and then I need to find a place to pump. Yesterday I was at a slow station so it wasnt much of a challenge, but my pumping was done in the womens bathroom at the station, which I cringe to think of how unsanitary that is but it was that or nothing. Needless to say, I am not happy about my work's lack of caring about breastfeeding but unfortunately I need to work to pay the bills.



It wasnt too hard for me to leave Madalyn, mostly because I was able to leave her sleeping in bed next to her Daddy. I am so greatful that we can work our schedules around each others so we can avoid daycare. I feel so much more comfortable with him watching her. They had a good day yesterday, or from what Shawn told me they did. I dont know if he would have told me if she cried all day because that would make it harder for me to go to work! But he does a great job of entertaining her so I am sure they had lots of fun.





Today while playing on her playmat the TV caught Madalyn's attention. Every time a female came on (I was watching CNN) she would turn towards the TV and coo. So this afternoon I went to Toys R Us and bought her a baby Einsteins DVD of Baby Bach to play for her... so she can learn about colors and music instead of all the horrible things going on in the world.

Tonight when it was time for Maddie to go to bed she was too overtired to be able to unwind and fall asleep. Every time we would lay her in the crib she would start crying hysterically. So finally I took her in to bed and layed down with her, and she immediately stopped crying and snuggled in to me. Being a mother is so wonderful. Moments like those absolutely make me melt. The fact that I have gone from someone who used to constantly be going somewhere and doing something to now thinking the most amazing thing in the world is lying next to my daughter while she sleeps shows me how much that I have grown up. And how blessed that I am to have such an amazing husband and a healthy happy daughter.

Tagged by Liz

-What were you doing 10 years ago?
Summer before senior year - hanging out with friends, swimming practices, thinking about where I would go to college, spending time with Mike.

-What were you doing 1 year ago?
Exactly one year ago I was out at XS with Tabetha, Kevin, Joel and Dalton for Dalton's birthday. Then I went home and called Shawn to bug him (at 2 am!) for not having gone out with us. Ahhh.... those crazy days.

-Five snacks you enjoy:
1. green olives
2. Cheese
3. frozen yogurt
4. cashews
5. chips and salsa

-Five songs that you know all the lyrics:
1. pretty much every Counting Crows song
2. "Remember When" by Jack Johnson (I sing this to Maddie all the time)
3. 3 AM by Matchbox Twenty
4. almost every Sister Hazel song
5. The entire first James Blunt CD
and MANY, MANY MORE

-Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Make sure there is money invested for retirement
2. Quit my job
3. Make sure Madalyn's college education is paid for
4. buy a house in Corolla, NC on the Outer Banks
5. Buy Shawn all of the tools that he wants

-Five bad habits:
1. Lack of motivation sometimes
2. Get frustrated with certain things easily
3. Taking things too seriously
4. Negative thinking (Im working on this one!)
5. Having too high of expectations sometimes

-Five things you like doing:
1. playing with Madalyn
2. sunbathing (I dont get much time for this!)
3. reading Chick Lit
4. sleeping
5. I used to like working out

-Five things you would never wear again:
1. a bikini (Im hoping this isnt true, but thinking it is!)
2. biker shorts
3. SCRUNCHI
4. Hypercolor clothing
5. belly shirts

-Five favorite toys:
1. my camera
2. my computer
3. my cell phone
4. my video camera
5. my photo printer

Tagging other people:
1. Jenna
2. Julie
3. Kim

Madalyn Week 8

It is absolutely amazing to me how big Miss Madalyn has gotten over the past two months. Each day it seems that I get to learn a little bit more about her personality. She always seems so eager to learn new things and every minute that she is awake she is taking in all of her surroundings. She hates to nap during the day for fear she will miss something. The tradeoff to that is that she ends up sleeping for 8 hours at nighttime, only waking up once to be fed around 3 am, then she wakes up for the day at 6:30. I always bring her into bed with me then for some snuggle time, and she will go back to sleep until 10 or 11 sometimes. Her favorite thing is when I sing to her... which I am certainly no singer, but she doesnt seem to mind if I am offtune. Tomorrow is her two month birthday and unfortunately I have to bring her to the doctor to get her shots, which I am certain will break my heart to see her get stuck with needles!