VGCDC

Everyday Madison goes to Virginia Gallian Child Development Center - Yes, that is a mouth full so for this post it is VGCDC! It's Denton ISD's daycare for teacher kids. It's actually a great little place and we are very pleased with the people there. Madison is happy to be dropped off each morning and is seen playing happily every afternoon when I go pick her up. They are always doing cute little things that make you stop and say, "awww."
This past week was no exception.
They obviously are not going to take these babies to the pumpkin patch, so this week they brought the pumpkin patch to the kids. They brought in the haybales and the pumpkins and let the kids climb and explore. Then they let Madison pick out her very own pumpkin. I have to laugh at the fact that she did in deed pick out the largest one in the "patch." They then finger painted these pumpkins in class and we now have a very lovely blueish colored pumpkin as our fall center piece.

Yesterday they had dress up day for all the kids to wear their Halloween costumes to school. Madison went as a ladybug. We sent extra clothes for her to change into and when I went to pick her up, I was so surprised to still see her wearing her ladybug costume. They said she didn't mind it at all. She had worn it ALL day. She still had the hood part on. It was halarious to walk in and see her happily chewing on her toys in full ladybug gear. We wore it home and they were right - she didn't mind it at all! :-)

Below is a photo of Madison's class all dressed up. Her teachers, who are alot of fun, are in full cosutme as well, in case you were wondering. ~ ha~

What a Voyage it is...

Whoa. Life really is a moving target. I can not believe how fast our life is moving and how quickly Madison is growing up. Of course, it is all very exciting, but i still find myself very emotional about three days a week that I am a working mom and that Madison is a daycare baby. I so badly want to be home with her and just watch her every move. Every day is new and it seems that as she is getting older the more quickly she is learning. At 9 months she only wants to feed herself. She eats more than I thought was possible for a baby. Her favorite foods at the moment are steamed carrots, sliced bananas, and sweet potato chunks. Just this week she decided that she no longer liked avocados and she started (purposefully, I do believe) feeding them to the dog. Needless to say, Chloe has a new hang out spot during dinner time. She can stand by herself but has not formerly taken a real step forward yet. Give her a toy that rolls and she is all over the place. Last week we discovered that she can climb the couch, the fire place, in the dishwasher and officially up the stairs. Yes, I'd say she is busy. Her favorite time of day is either in the outside swing or in the bathtub.

At 9 months some things haven't changed~
She still puts everything in her mouth. All she wanted to do in this photo session was eat the "9 month" sticker. She kept ripping it off and then eating it. I did get one photo that I will use for the scrapbook and chalked all the others up to Madison being 9 months!

The one below is the one I'll keep. She is obsessed with q-tips. She loves the box. She loves to dump them all out. She loves to eat them. Finally, I bribed her with two q-tips to get her to stop eating the sticker. It worked!

No doubt that 8 months was a blur. I barely made the cut off to get these taken. These were much easier due to the fact that we were outside. Madison loves being outside. She loves the sun in her face and the grass in her toes and hands.

In case any of you are wondering, yes she continues to be the happiest baby that I have ever seen. She rarely gets fussy. She laughs at everything. She still sleeps from 8:00-8:00 with not waking up. She wakes up happy and waits for someone to go get her from her nursery. She is beyond patient with us. Needless to say, we are in love with this little lady. We are blessed. I couldn't imagine our lives any differently. Life is good.

Let's Blog Baby!

Well the "summer of Madison" is officially over. We did not travel at all and I have to say that it was one of my very best summer's ever! I stayed at home and Madison and I entertained each other just by playing together every day. We pool hopped and just hung out.
With summer being over that means that school is back in full swing. Every thing now has now sped up about 10 notches, We are in this fast and furious mode which means that we do not have much time for anything, especially to blog, but I wanted to throw some cutie pie pictures out there for you to see.

We are very blessed to know people who use a camera for a profession. Those people just so happened to lend us their talents for free and we hit the mother load on cutie pootie photos. The hard part was and still is choosing my favorites to frame, hang, post, etc.

Okay, here the credit goes to Tru Identity Designs
Photographer: Stefani Peterson AKA: Aunt Stefani
Location: Mama and Papa's backyard

Above: The rocking horse belonged to Jason when he was little and was used for his one year photos.
Below: This well is a plant stand, so although Madison is tall, she's not as huge as you may think!

Above: We were unsuccessful getting Madison to look at teh camera in this shot. She picked and ate every flower and piece of grass in her reach!

Robert Payne Photography:
Photographer: Robert Payne

Location: In studio, Lewisville, Texas

Above: I love that face! She was so curious about those beads!

Below: The tub was fun!

A great big thank you goes out to Stefani and Robert. We have a house full of Madison!! These photos are a great reminder of "The Summer of Madison." xoxo

Madison is 6 months old!

Tonight was one of those nights that I could have held Madison forever. She and I had the perfect day today. Just fun and calm filled with giggles and snuggles. When rocking her to sleep tonight I just kept rocking long after I could have laid her down. I just looked at her with adoration. She is the sweetest thing that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it is still amazing to me that I get the honor of being her mommy. I am so overwhelmed at how fast this really all goes. Everyone says that, but now I know what they mean. I feel so lucky that I have been able to be home this summer to witness her sitting up, crawling, and now standing up a little bit. I really do look at her sometimes in amazement that she is mine and that God chose me to her mommy. Tonight I said a little extra prayer of thanksgiving and prayed that I may do right by her, raising her to be the Godly woman that He intended. We have a big job ahead of us, so yes, I do think that I'll rock her a little longer.

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Madison has been 6 months now for 9 days. She is in the 98th percentile for height and 93rd precentile for weight. She is an incredibly happy baby.

Here are a few highlights of Madison at 6 months old!

Having some fun at the pool!

Happy 4th of July!

Madison had a play date with her Aunt Stefani and she took this beautiful photo.

Yes, she really is this happy all the time! And we are happy to continue to love on this precious angel!

A busy, busy 5 month old!

Madison is on her way to being 6 months old, which means that the fifth month is coming to an end. It really is amazing how big she is ~ 99th percentile people! People are often thinking she should be doing more because they think she is older. If you ask me , she is doing plenty! This month has been busy, busy!
She has been up on her knees rocking back and forth for about two weeks now and last night she made her first forward motion using her knees! I know that once she gets going there will be no stopping her! I become more amazed with the human brain every day. What she has learned in the matter of 5 short months is amazing. Life is truly amazing.

The five month photos were hilarious to try to capture. She had no interest in sitting still and letting me snap a few. She was rolling and turning so fast before the camera had time to click!

okay, so this month has been fun and full of first.

Her first real food was sweet potatoes. She wasn't a huge fan of this! I have decided to try to make her baby food so that she is eating pure, organic food. That process was interesting all in itself, but in the end I think it is worth it.

We took a small day trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. We went with some friends and a total of 4 kids. I knew before going that she was way to young to go there to benefit from it, but we still went. I was so surprised how she acted like she knew what was going on. She loved the fish. She kicked, laughed, giggled, and squealed with delight when watching the large aquarium tanks!

(oh no -- my picture just got deleted and I don't know how to get it back!! grrrr....)

Ok- so then we have been swimming A LOT at Jason's sister's house. It's close and quiet and a perfect way to spend the morning. Madison is so friendly, that she has even made friends with the dog. Good thing since it's really his pool and he is kind enough to let us invade his space!

We have ventured out and used the shopping cart for the first time. In the past, she would either stay in the car seat, or I'd use the stroller. Since I was by myself and I had to figure this all out using the shopping cart seat, I went to TJ Maxx first where I could ease into using the smaller shopping carts. I am sure that sounds silly, but really every "first" has turned out to be some kind of adventure and this proved to be true here as well. She loved her new view of the world and was grabbing at all the clothes as we walked by. In a matter of .25 seconds she had price tags in her mouth! Hilarious!

My sister, who I love dearly lives in Saint Louis, so when Aunt Rachel comes to visit it is a real treat!! I mean doesn't she look excited to see her?!

So when Rachel came in, so did my parents and my nephew and we all went to eat at On the Border. So our new big adventure of course, was putting Madison in the highchair at the restaurant and keeping her entertained while the rest of us ate. She did great!

So, yes. 5 months has been a busy, busy time and I know it's only going to start moving more quickly. On your mark, get set, Go! 6 months here we come!!

Happy Summer!!

Another school year has come to a close. Summer time is always such a needed, exciting, relaxing time, but this year is even more so knowing that I get to spend my time at home playing with Madison this summer. Yes, I do realize that this will be the first summer that I am up at 7:00 am and not 11:00, but it will be well worth it!

We kicked off summer with a trip for Madison to meet her great grandparents, Mamo and Papo (Jason's grandparents). Mamo has been sewing, sewing, sewing since Madison has been born, so we dressed her up and head out for the day. These pictures are so special and I know we will forever be glad that we have them.

Above: Madison with Mamo
Below: Madison with Papo


As soon as school was out we hit the pool at Madison's Mama and Papa's house (Jason's parents). It took her a little bit to get use to the temperature of the water, but as soon as she did she was happy as can be. She was even happier when we took off her bathing suit! :-)
She laid back and kicked and kicked the whole afternoon. We set up some shade for her and she was a happy baby! Needless to say, she was zonked and slept great that night!


I am sure this summer will be busy and exhausting, but I am also guessing it will be great fun! Happy, Happy Summer!! :-)

4 months!

Well Madison is now 4 1/2 months old and time is seriously just flying by! Everyday is a new adventure and a time to show off what new thing Madison has learned! She is busy scooting all over the place and seeing her little booty up in the air is so stinkin' cute! She's rolling everywhere and is making forward progress, although it's not a real crawl yet. And even though it's not a real crawl, she's managing to get herself all over the living room! She went from hating "tummy time" to loving it and now it's what she prefers.

So we went to the doctor yesterday for our well check-up and Madison is 27 inches long - that is 2 feet 3 inches and in the 99% percentile. Which I had to ask about. So this means that she is taller than 99% of babies her age. HA! She is 92% for weight at 16 pounds and 8 ounces!! I'm telling you that she is tall! All we can guess is that maybe she gets that from my dad's side, because it is not from Jason and I.

She is as darling as ever and still happy as usual. I am pretty sure we do have the perfect baby, which I guess people don't want to hear, but it's true!! She is letting us ease into this parent thing and I think we are starting to get the hang of it!

Madison's First Easter!

We spent Madison's first Easter at Holly Lake Ranch with my parents (Madison's Nana and Grandpa). It was a super weekend to celebrate all the blessings in our lives. Of course the dressing up was fun as usual, and watching Madison try to figure the "Easter Basket" thing out was hilarious. My mom just laughed and laughed at everything Madison did. She especially got a kick out of Madison's long legs and those little white shoes! Madison absolutley loves to be outside, so these pictures came out pretty easy for us!

3 Months!

Considering that Madison will be 4 months in 3 days, I figured I better quickly update this Blog! I have loved this 3 month mark. So much is happening! Madison is so expressive and talkative! Actually, she is quite loud. She laughs and plays and screams and it's all so adorable! She's busy, busy rolling over and putting that precious little booty of hers in the air! Everything is just moving way too fast! We hit big milestones and I am so excited for her and then I just feel sad and think, "No! slow down..." I just know this little baby won't be a little baby for long!

We Started Daycare!

Today was Madison's second day of daycare and I have to say that it it way better and easier than I expected it to be. Madison has been happy at both drop off and pick up. Miss Jessica and Mrs. Sarah have been fantastic. I do have to say that I am impressed at how two people can so perfectly manage a room full of babies! My mom has been praying that if someone can't get to Madison right away that her angels will show up and play with her and keep her company until a person can get to her. Now if that is not a super image to make you smile, I don't know what it. So while I am at work, Madison is playing with her angels! Mrs. Sarah sent this picture from daycare yesterday to show me what Madison was up to and she looks just as happy as usual!

Two Months!!

Well, well, time does fly when you are having fun. Madison is 2 1/2 months now. That's pretty wild to me. We had her 2 month check up and she had to have 4 shots; three in her legs and one orally. I can definitely see where that makes parents nervous. It was a instant scream and you could see the pain on her face. It didn't last too long though. She weighs 11 pounds 11 ounces and is 23 inches long. Her length is posing a small problem with clothes these days. If the outfit has feet in it - forget it! Her sweet little legs are too long!

I am back at work. I really believe that staying home to have a baby was truly a resting period compared to teaching kindergarten. Going back was tough, my kids were hard to get back on track, but we'll make it. Madison's grandma's were here to help while I went back. Jason's mom took a week and then my mom took a week. What a blessing it was to have them here and to let me go to bed early during the week. Plus, it made going back pretty easy knowing that Madison was safe and sound at the house each day.

Sadly, Madison starts daycare next week. I cry every time I think about this. I never thought I wanted to be a stay at home mom and now I'd do about anything to be able to stay home and love on her all day. We are going to the Denton ISD daycare. We went last Friday to stock her cubby and meet her teachers. They were nice, but I have such an anxiety sending her to daycare. While we were in the room 5 babies were there, each of them crying off and on. Madison of course slept through it, I cried just at the sound and then cried all the way home. We do believe that if we have to do daycare that we are at the right facility for the time being. I do know that it's going to be a hard 11 weeks until summer!

Okay on to happier things ~~ Here's Madison's sweet little face! :-)

Madison is one Month!

Madison is One -- One month that is! It has went so fast! I can hardly believe that my time at home with Madison has went so quickly and that I will be heading back to work so soon.
I was asked before Madison was born if I was going to put her in these big ole bows, AKA: Brain Squeezers, and I did not think that I would. I am very serious about raising a girl that is much more in our society than "a pretty girl" so I initially said, "no." Then I put one on her head and they are so darn cute, I guess I will - just for a little bit! :-)

First Bath!

It's funny how a baby that doesn't really do anything but lay around is so entertaining! We waited and waited for her unbilical cord to fall off so we could get her into the tub! She was a little fussy at first and then as soon as she was placed in the warm water, she was very content. She loved just laying in her bath towel so we left her there for bit - long enough to start taking these sweet photos!