Summer

It is starting to get hot here in Texas. Today the high is 102 degrees and it doesn't look like it is going to cool down anytime soon. So we have been spending a lot of time at the pool. Madilyn loves the water, it completely wears her out, and it is a nice way to cool down. It also helps that our apartment complex has 8 pools so we can go whenever we want. I think she would spend all day in the water if we let her.

Our sunbathing beauty exhausted after swimming

She wanted nothing to do with her tube at first, but now she just splashes and laughs the whole time she's in it.

6 Months

Well you may have thought I forgot about this blog, but I didn't. I guess I'm just not very good at it yet. I'll try to fill you in a little on what we have been up to lately. Madilyn is 6 months old now. I can't believe it. It's so fun to see her learn new things everyday and see her personality really start showing. She's definitely a lot more like me than her dad. She's stubborn like me. She keeps trying to suck her thumb and I'm trying not to let her, but she's persistent. She tries to suck on her toes which is even worse. She laughs and smiles at just about everyone she sees. She likes to say ba ba ba and ma ma ma all the time. We've taken her swimming a couple of times and she seems to like it more each time. We have to do something to keep cool this summer. Texas gets hot! She loves standing up in her walker and playing with her toys. Here's a few pictures of her lately:

Madilyn riding a horse by herself (Don't worry I'm kneeling down beside her holding on)

Madilyn in the middle of the Fort Worth Water GardensShe loves playing with bubblesShe liked her first taste of squash but nothing else we've tried since then.

Birthdays are...

Birthdays are scary if you ask Madilyn. Not so scary if you ask me. I don't know how much she likes birthdays considering her reaction. She was fascinated by the candles on my birthday pie (yes I always have a strawberry birthday pie instead of cake) until I started to blow them out. I'm not sure if she was scared by the candles or the fact that both Josh and I were laughing so hard, because I couldn't get them all blown out in one breath. We've been trying to get a picture of her sticking her lip out when she's sad and we came kind of close with these.

I shouldn't be smiling in this picture but it was so funny the way she looked at me, stuck her lip out, and then started crying.She luckily only cried for just a minute and then was back being happy again.I enjoyed a day of being spoiled by Josh. I got to sleep in, have breakfast in bed, and I didn't even have to change any dirty diapers. We went out to dinner the night before at Buca di Beppo. It was delicious! To make things even better they gave us huge pieces of yummy red velvet cake and a $10 gift card to come back another time. It was a great birthday! Here's some happy pictures of Madilyn since the others were so sad.

Back to Real Life

Well I had to go back to real life today. No more vacation from everyday chores. No more family to take Madilyn while I took a quick nap or actually ate a meal instead of inhaling it. I've spent the last 2 1/2 weeks in Utah. Josh was lucky enough to join us for a week and a half but had to head back to work. We blessed Madilyn while we were there and were able to see family and friends. My sister came out with her two cute kids and Madilyn finally met her cousins! We had a blast while we were there. The house was never quiet with 2 babies and a 3 year old but we all had a good time. Some highlights from the trip include: Madilyn being blessed, hanging out with family, going out to eat numerous times at all the restaurants I crave when I'm not there, playing in the snow, snowmobiling (my trip was pretty quick considering I had a baby to feed, but thanks dad for taking me and mom for watching Madilyn in the car at the top of the mountain), and just laughing and enjoying time with family! I was pretty spoiled having all the help with Madilyn from my family while I was there.

We flew home yesterday. The day started off with a huge snowstorm. We passed 12 slideoffs in about a 10 minute stretch on the freeway. Luckily we made it to the airport safe and on time. I was a little nervous flying with Madilyn all alone, especially since she started with a cold the day before. She was perfect on the flight there and barely made a peep. The flight home was a different story. The first flight she was great, but she cried almost the entire second flight. Not just a little wimper either. It was the blood curdling, turning red/purple in the face, tears flowing, choking on your own saliva kind of cry. I tried everything to make her stop but nothing was working. The flight attendant finally told me I could walk her up and down the aisle while the seatbelt sign was still on. So I walked her while trying to avoid any disapproving looks from my fellow passengers. After we landed, the lady in front of me told me she was praying for my baby to be touched by God during the flight (she was probably praying she'd be quiet but I was up for any help/prayers at that point). We finally landed and I'm hoping the next time we fly I'm not alone! Things are much better now. Josh took me out for a delicious dinner at a new restaurant and Madilyn is snuggled up with me ready for bed. Here's a few pictures from the trip:

Elliot reached out to hold Madilyn's hand

Cute cousins in matching dresses from Uncle Jeff.

Madilyn in the dress my sister, Elliot, and I were all blessed in.

My parents with us.
Josh's parents with us.

Lately

We haven't been blogging much lately since we've been trying to get pictures of this...

And after a full day of making this cutie smile we do a little bit of this...

Update

Madilyn had her one month checkup on Friday. At her 2 week appointment she weighed 9 lbs 2 ounces so when the nurse went to weigh her I thought she'd be about 10 lbs. I was wrong. She's now 10 lbs 8 ounces. I almost couldn't believe it. In 4 weeks she gained 2 1/2 lbs. She definately likes to eat and rarely goes more than 2 hours without a meal. Needless to say sleeping is rare around our house. Besides eating, Madilyn likes taking baths, riding in the car, taking naps with daddy, and staying up late at night. As the picture shows she's not really sure if she likes her bouncy seat yet, but I'm hoping that will change. In other news, yesterday it was 84 degrees here. I thought it was crazy, but I gave in and turned the AC on in January.

I'm One Month old

Here I am in my little bed waiting for Santa to come. I even hung the stockings all by myself. I tried to see Santa by staying up all night and not letting anyone else sleep. I was spoiled with presents from all of my grandma's, grandpa's, aunt's, uncle's and cousins.

During the past month, I had a lot of visitors:

Grandpa came and held me for a few days.

Grandma showed up the day I was born and stayed and held me for a long time. Grandma was a life saver by cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and even changing my diapers and just about anything else that needed to be done. It helped Mom and Dad get some much needed sleep.

Even my Uncle Jeff came into town for a few days to see how I was holding up. He went to a Mav's game with Dad, but Dad the whole time thought it was a Star's game.

Grandma and Grandpa Hall came for Christmas to see me too. Here they are with my cousin Claire. They held me when they weren't passing a cold that was going around.

Here I am on Christmas Eve with Mom and Dad. We went over to my cousins house for dinner. This is my dress I got from Uncle Jeff.

Here I am in my towel after I soiled my diaper and clothes. This was after my first real bath on the day that I turned a month old.