Santa Pics

We took Madelyn to see Santa this week. She did pretty good, no crying but we could not get a smile out of her either. She just stared at the photographer ringing the bells.

Chaz......................and Madelyn

Whenever I pull into the driveway at our house, our youngest cat (Chaz) enjoys greeting me at the door. I actually think he can hear me drive around the corner and he anxiously awaits my arrival. Finally have a pic of him waiting......

I'd also like to mention that he enjoys "meowing" right in front of Madelyn's room when she is asleep.......and he knows exactly what he is doing!



.....and what would a blog be without Madelyn.

Heading to the Big D.....

A couple months ago Bethany had a weekend full of continuing education (which meant that Madelyn and I got to play around in Dallas while Mommy was learning).

Our first stop was a rest stop outside of Huntsville. Madelyn was hungry....so everyone ate lunch and headed down the road. Below is a pic of Madelyn's first "rest stop." BTW, we only made it about 30 miles.......Madelyn had a "blow out" (fortunately all four tires on the 4Runner were ok).


Below is a video of Madelyn's thoughts about her first road trip.


Here's a pic of Madelyn "snacking" as we approach the Dallas city limits.


This was Madelyn's first planned getaway (thanks IKE)....which meant it was also her first time to hang out on a large hotel bed. She had a pretty good time!!!!!


We stayed at the Fairmont Hotel (which was also the hotel that Sarah Palin spoke at while in Dallas (below is a pic of the "protest".....there were two sides of course).


Finally, below are some pics of some places we stopped while in Dallas.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had such a great first Thanksgiving with Madelyn. We spent lunch at my mom's house and dinner at Chris' parents house. Lots of good food. I indulged in all my favorite dishes! Now this may seem obvious but a few days before Thanksgiving I discovered that Madelyn's milk allergy had NOT resolved yet! I was soo upset... I was really hoping that it was over. I knew I had to quit dairy again, but I decided that I would break the rules for the holiday... and it was great!! I was really stressed out about what would happen to all the milk I have saved in the deep freeze if Madelyn never gets over this allergy. But I have since learned that I can donate the milk which brings such peace to my heart to know that it can still be useful. We will see. Here is a few pics from Thanksgiving:

My daddy...the shopper

If Madelyn could talk.....

My Daddy is such the shopper. He got off work early for the Thanksgiving Holiday and took me to the outlet while Mommy was working. We had such a great time. I really love that my Daddy has such great fashion sense. Check out my new PJ's..


I love them..especially the ladybugs on the feet!! Thanks Daddy!!

Don't Try This at Home...

Last night Chris had a great idea (or so he thought) to feed Madelyn in a different way. Lately she has not wanted to eat her night time cereal. Chris thought tonight he would feed her in the bathroom in front of the mirror so she could see herself eat.

Here we are getting ready to try this "idea":



Now, Chris is realizing this is harder than it looks, feeding a wild little child backwards in a mirror:


One more try:


Ok, well Madelyn had more fun getting messy. I think more cereal went all over her and Chris than in her tummy:


Lesson learned: this is not a good idea but it was worth a try!! I love you sweetie crazy ideas and all!!

Been a while.....

Wow how time flies! We have been a busy family lately with Maddy experiencing lots of firsts. I am finally learning to venture out a little with her. Maddy has had her first play date. We were able to meet up with our Sunday School one Tuesday and Maddy loved it. She is learning to be social with other babies. She does seem to be a toy stealer and hair puller (sorry Caroline)!! She also was able to have a day with her friend Dylan (despite the bad weather). We had another round of shots and learned that Maddy is now 24 inches and 14 pounds! I know she is a little one, but I kinda like it that way. No new teeth yet.

Although she may be teething again, the nighttime has become a little difficult. Things were going great, but recently she wakes in the night and screams bloody murder until you pick her up! She is such a good crawler....she now pulls up and is trying to walk. This may sound fun, but in the middle of the night pulling up and trying to climb out of her crib makes her wide awake and hard to get back to sleep!! Maddy and I have been saying a lot of prayers for strength and singing lots of praise songs in the wee hours of the night. I have learned another application of why women say only God's strength got them through. Right now that is the only thing that keeps me in one piece in the night...I am not sure why things were going great and now all of a sudden we are back to rough night times! I am gonna blame teething!!

Some good news, it seems Madelyn may be over the milk allergy. I went 2 months without dairy (another example of God giving me the strength) and this week I started to eat some cheese (and so far so good). I am still eating in moderation to try and test her, but I have compiled a list of the food I want as soon as I am sure she can handle it: cheese enchiladas with queso on top at Gringos, a loaded baked potato, Brownie Batter Blizzard at DQ, lasagna at Johnny Carinos, and cheesecake!! Balancing work and family is going ok, still having its ups and downs but I still feel like that is where God wants me to be.

Maddy got to travel to the country this weekend. She had a great time. I even let her ride on the four wheeler with her daddy (those that know me may be shocked.. I know I was too!!)


Apparently I am a little behind introducing Maddy to new foods, so this week we advanced to Stage 2. We also tried Mum Mum at a friend's house. She loved them! Thanks Kelly!


We have also had our first bruise of which I am sure there are many more to come. She is trying to walk so quickly and her little legs are not sure what to do. She also has no fear and keeps trying over and over falling every time. Poor little thing. It breaks my heart but I know that is part of growing up!

Halloween

Our little Madelyn was a ladybug for her first Halloween. We went over to my mothers and handed out candy. Maddy got to see her cousin Abby and her friend Emma who happened to be a lady bug too!

Quack, Quack, Quack....

Madelyn usually enjoys her evening bath, but tonight she was kicking and splashing all over the place. Her latest "task" is to stand up in the bathtub and make the water splash when she kicks. Crazy kid!

...10 years ago today

As some of you know, I’ve got a pretty good memory when it comes to numbers, dates, stats, etc., so here is a story about a special date….

Around the beginning of the 1998 Fall Semester at Texas A&M, I was hanging out at Cavender’s and a cute little freshman girl caught my eye. I saw that she was with a girl that I've known for a few years. I didn't talk to her that day, but I made sure to introduce myself the next time I saw her. Over the next couple of weeks, we would meet at Hurricane Harry’s and dance a few songs (yes, I was quite the dancer) and chat each night. Well on October 8th, I got up enough nerve to ask this cute girl with an amazing smile and beautiful eyes out on a date the following night. On Saturday, A&M would be hosting the #2 team in the nation (Nebraska Cornhuskers) in football (and if you know Aggie traditions….that meant there would be a Midnight Yell practice on Friday). She agreed to go out with me, so I wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

October 9, 1998…..I called Bethany up to see when she would be ready. She notified me that she only needed to take a shower and get ready. I was thinking that I would be waiting forever before I picked her up. Well a few minutes later, Bethany calls me up and says she is ready. I am shocked. This is awesome……a girl that doesn’t take hours to get ready for a date? YEEEESSSSSS!!! I picked her up at the dorm (she looked beautiful in her jeans and plaid shirt). We go to see the movie “Simon Burch” at the local movie theater. After the movie, we go to Chili’s and have a great conversation while eating. We head to Midnight Yell and have a great time (for those wondering…only a kiss on the cheek when the lights went out.…hey, I’m a gentleman!). I dropped her off at her dorm and thanked her for the wonderful night. I had a feeling that she was different than the other girls.

The next day, the Fightin’ Texas Aggies beat #2 Nebraska 28-21. We meet up at Hurricane Harry’s that evening and spend the night dancing (and making fun of the fact that I had no voice and a sunburned face). Ten years later…..we’ve been married for over five years and have a beautiful six month-old girl!

24 weeks...Ike, Aggieland, and creeping

Lets start off by saying that my sweet lil' baby is 24 weeks old now! That really does not affect me as much as saying my baby is a 1/2 year old!!! Now that makes me tear up...she is growing up sooooooo fast. As Chris alluded to before, we noticed that her two bottom teeth are coming in at the same time. She is teething really well. In fact, I never would have known if it was not for a few cranky bath sessions that made us wonder what is wrong with her. Chris said to check her mouth and there were two sharp little bottom teeth!


We have learned that Maddy takes after Daddy and has a milk allergy so it seems. I had to quit eating all dairy products and that seems to have worked for her. It has been quite a sacrifice for me because I love cheese. Let me tell you Mexican food is not the same without cheese (poor Chris loves Mexican). I cannot even torture myself to make my favorite meal (baked potato), because what is the fun in that without cheese, butter or sour cream?!?!?! It was very stressful for me to cut all this out of my diet, at times I wanted to quit breastfeeding because that would be easier. Deep down I knew it is the best thing for her. There are so many things with hidden dairy products in them. But here we are, and so far so good for me.

Madelyn is learning to sit up now. She started to demand to sit up for baths which was very difficult with a slippery baby. We found a tub that has a back made for infants and then toddlers so she could sit up. She loves it! BTW, nice rubber ducky placement!



We have been planning in our minds what all we are going to need for Madelyn's first big trip to Dallas. Yes, I am a planner and I am making a list of things for us to pack. Well, Ike decided to make a visit and change those plans. After much thought, we decided to listen to the authorities advice and stay in our home since our area of town would not really flood (just receive high winds and rain). I have not been through a hurricane since I was 3..therefore I do not remember much. As the hurricane came closer, I started to get very nervous. It would not have been a big deal if we did not have a baby. I quickly printed the list of items needed, we filled the tubs, collected water in our pitchers, turned down the AC, turned down the freezers, and cleaned up the house. I had this idea that I wanted everything put in its place in case the windows blew. I hated the fact that it was going to arrive at night, I could not see anything. We followed our normal evening routine with Maddy and had her put to bed by 9. I decided we would all sleep in the closet regardless of what happened. I envisioned the windows breaking and me not having enough time to get Maddy and myself into the closet. So we camped out there. Maddy had the best setup out of all of us.


Chris and I made a pallet on the floor. I brought food, water and a litter box into the closet for our cats. We watched the news until we were tired then off to the closet we went. I slept on and off until 2am when the power went out. The wind was howling outside and I could hear the windows rattling. I did not sleep much at all. Maybe it was the maternal instinct of needing to protect my baby or maybe it was Chris sound asleep next to me (which made me a little mad) or maybe my cat trying to eat the closet door down (which after being sedated she tried to beat up my other cat) or maybe listening to the radio talking about how bad things were getting. Needless to say I did not sleep for 24 hours straight. Adrenaline is a powerful thing. The next day we stayed home watching the rest of the storm blow over.

Then began our travels. It got to be late afternoon and as things began to get dark we realized how dark it really was and dealing with a baby in the dark was going to be quite a challenge. We decided to pack her up (not a small task) and head to a friends house with power. The next night we drove to College Station and stayed with some friends for a couple of nights. (Chris had to make a trip back to the house to save the 2 months worth of breastmilk I had saved in the deep freeze. Thanks honey!!!)

Madelyn had her first visit to Texas A&M!


With our power still out (Day 4) I had to return to work, so we stayed at our house one night. Luckily, the cold front made it bearable (but the darkness was still a little scary). My parents received power the next day, so we relocated to their house. Finally, on Day 7 our house received power again!! We were sooo glad to be home. You would think that our neigborhood would be one of the first to have power.....since the staging site for all the electrical companies was right next door at Sam Houston Racepark!

So here we are with electricity......a clean but empty fridge and freezer, and a relocated deep freeze. I am so thankful that through all this Madelyn did so well with the heat, a stressed out mom, and bouncing all around the city. In the middle of all this Miss Maddy is learning to crawl (started this in College Station).


Here are a few other random pics we have taken recently.

Food, food.........and more food!

A couple weeks ago, Madelyn started eating rice cereal right before her evening bath. A few days beforehand (while we were eating dinner), Madelyn started acting like she was eating with us (so we decided it was time to broaden her meal options a little). I'm sure she wanted a bite or two of the steak we were eating, but I am not going to feed our 5-month old child steak for her first "non-milk" meal......she'll expect it for every meal! Madelyn ate every spoonful and was so excited to be sitting in her high chair.


A few days later, Bethany and I decided to introduce vegetables. The options were sweet peas or carrots. I chose carrots....due to the fact that I didn't want to catch a whiff of the sweet peas. Madelyn seemed to enjoy the carrots (and we've enjoyed cleaning up afterward). She has now tried carrots, sweet peas, and peaches. For those wondering....no I did not taste the carrots (or any other baby food). Gross!



...for some reason, Madelyn gets a kick out of having her face cleaned off after eating. She smiles/giggles each time.


...don't mess with Madelyn when she is drinking her milk! You are liable to lose an arm (if she had teeth.....which she is starting to, more on that later)!

The 'Maddy' Hatter......

When Madelyn arrived home from the hospital, her cousin (Abby) and Granddad brought her a little present....a baseball cap. We put it on Madelyn for the first time about a week ago and she didn't have any problems with it. It was a nice addition to her pink outfit.....we've got to accessorize!!!! I guess we'll have to make some room in the hat closet for Madelyn's hats. For those that don't know, I've got a rather large collection of baseball caps. Some people collect shoes, others toy figurines, a few still collect baseball cards....I've got a thing for hats.

...brought back some memories

I'm driving back home tonight after picking up dinner for us. I'm switching stations trying to locate a good song on the radio. Then a song comes on that brings back memories of my days at the roller rink......Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N Roll." I get on the phone with my sister (Penny) and have the song up pretty loud in the background. She starts laughing and puts it on speakerphone so that my niece (Olivia) can hear me sing. Olivia demands that I roll down my windows and turn it up some more (no, I did not follow her advice....can you imagine the looks I'd get driving down the tollway? Geeeeze!).

My sister and I went to a day care for a few years and there were certain days of the week we always looked forward to (swimming, rollerskating, and gymnastics (no, I did not wear tights). Back to Joan Jett, I remember when this song came on at the roller rink I used to skate faster and take the turns a little tighter around the orange cones (what a tough guy!). For what it's worth, I was also pretty good at the Hokey Pokey and Limbo Rock.

It sure was fun back then......skating for a few hours while listening to music, swimming all day, riding my bike over to my best friends house to play Nintendo and shoot a few hoops, playing baseball in the backyard, playing tackle football in the front yard......this list could go on and on (I won't even get started on movies and other songs). Oh well, it was a nice trip down memory lane for a few minutes tonight.

....kickin' it on the quilt

Ever since Madelyn learned how to roll, we decided it would be a good idea to put down a quilt for her to play. I had no idea that a couple weeks after learning how to roll that we would have her flip-floppin' all over the place! Here are a couple pics of Madelyn hanging out.


...as you can see from the picture above, Madelyn is already working on her "Gig 'em" hand sign for the upcoming football season (little over two weeks away.....so exciting!!!!). She's been an Aggie football fan for quite a while....just ask Bethany how excited Madelyn would get when I went to football games while she was pregnant!



For those wondering what the heck is that toy above Madelyn's head. I picked it up one day when I stopped by Babies "R" Us (yes, I don't mind stopping by on the way home). The toy caught my eye....it squeaked, made some noise, was colorful, and easy to hold. Madelyn's loved it from the day I brought it home! BTW, the outfit is from Cindy (a Vet School friend of Bethany's).......she understands the importance of girls not showing too much leg (for those that remember the blog from a few weeks ago).


Alright, some of you are probably wondering what the heck is a pink elephant doing on the blog. This plush pink pachyderm has a pull on the posterior that plays a pleasant poem (yeah, I just did that). Every morning when I go to change Madelyn's diaper, the elephant's tail MUST be pulled. Madelyn will be laying there on the changing table waiting anxiously for the song to start. Once it begins, her eyes light up and she begins to smile. It's a nice way to start of the day!

Granddaddy...

James William Elwell.....known by most as “Billy” or “Elwell”…..I’ve always called him “Granddaddy.” On my third birthday (I believe), he bought a baby blue GMC pickup with a white "camper shell". That old pickup truck carries so many memories. I can still remember the smell of Levi Garrett Chewing Tobacco in the cab and the smell of fishing supplies in the back. Every few weeks, my family would go down to Matagorda, TX to our “riverhouse” and fish under the lights late into the night, wakeup early and fish on the Colorado River or Matagorda Bay, and spend some time down at the beach. I’ve got to tell you, the man loved to fish and was a great fisherman. He knew where to fish and always brought in the most amazing catches. One of my favorite memories is when I must have been around 11 years old (give or take a year or two). We had been out fishing for a while and nobody was really catching anything to write home about. Well, Granddaddy saw my cork bobbing a little and told me to keep an eye on it, but do not start reeling in (when Granddaddy talks fishing….you listen)! Moments later, my cork goes under for good. I spend the next few minutes reeling in a humongous flounder (yes I said humongous....and no, it is not Ariel's friend in 'The Little Mermaid'). I was so proud of my catch…..and there Granddaddy was smiling away.

While in Matagorda, we (me, my sister, and my cousins) used to ride in the back of the truck while “Granddaddy” would drive. We’d go over these hills that made you feel like you were on a roller coaster ride (it was always fun to see who would “lose their stomach”). He loved driving us over those hills.

Right about now, you’re probably thinking, this man likes to fish and make kids lose their stomach…….what a weirdo! Well, this man made a point to come out to many of my baseball games, taught me the right way to play solitaire, counseled me about career decisions, told me that I better “hang on to that girl (Bethany), she’s a keeper” (yes, he often talked in “fishing” terms). The one thing that still gets to me today is that six months prior to Bethany and I getting married, my Granddaddy fell off the ladder in his shop. The doctor said this fall should have killed a man his age….I guess they don’t know my Granddaddy! The fall did some damage, but a month or so later he determined that it wasn’t going to keep him from walking in our wedding! On May 31, 2003, I saw my Granddaddy walk down the aisle (on his own) and watch his grandson marry that “keeper” (even though she is a little short……I’m probably going to get hit for that one).


Last Monday afternoon, I called my sister to shoot the breeze….she tells me that Mom is over at Nanny and Granddaddy’s….and Granddaddy isn’t doing very well (he hasn’t done “well” in a while). Little secret most don’t know about me….I hate hearing bad news about anyone’s health (especially my Granddaddy’s). When I hung up the phone, the country station I was listening to was playing a Kenny Chesney song on the radio…..it brought back memories of an old Kenny Chesney song that I fell in love with before he became “popular” called “Grandpa Told Me So.” The chorus always gets to me a little….

He said life is made for you to live
The best love is the love that you give
There’ll be times when you wanna hold on but you gotta let go
And I live by those words cause grandpa told me so

For over thirty-one years of my time on earth, my Granddaddy has been a strong influence in almost every decision I make. There are so many events in my life that he has been involved in (and I remember almost every one of them like it was yesterday). I know I will never let go of those memories…they are a big reason I am the man I am today.

…..Everytime I see my Granddaddy, his first words are “Whadya say Chris?” I say you’ll never understand the mark you made on this man’s life and I love you more than you will ever know!

16 Weeks......already?!?!?

I really can't believe that Madelyn is already 16 weeks old! I've heard people say they really do grow too fast.......no kidding! It feels like yesterday I was slipping her in the shirt the hospital provided and putting her in that little newborn diaper. These first sixteen weeks have been a blast. Bethany, Madelyn, and I have gone on numerous walks around the neighborhood, taken a few naps together, spent a lot of quality time together (wish there could be more), read many books, and had many more treasured memories.

Everyone talks about losing all of this sleep when a baby arrives. I've got to tell you, Madelyn has actually helped me sleep more! Prior to Madelyn's arrival, I would stay up playing NCAA Football, watch TV, read some useless stuff on the internet, etc.....until midnight or 1am. Nowadays, I am typically in bed by 11pm and get a full nights rest. I will usually have to wake up for the 4am diaper change, but I'm like a NASCAR pit crew with that duty......there really isn't a demand for diaper changers in NASCAR, so I'll keep my day job.

Being able to pick out Madelyn's clothes each morning is such a treat. It's fun coordinating the outfit and making sure she looks pretty for her day at "Gram's". Bethany told me I am not allowed to buy anymore outfits for Madelyn for a little while.......even though she's been impressed with my shopping skills.

I love making animal noises (always have). Over the past few weeks, Madelyn has really started to love the rooster, cat, monkey, and horse noises that I make. It's always great to see her make a big smile when I bust out with one. I imagine Bethany, my sister, and mom are glad that I found somebody to entertain with the noises. I used to leave 'em voicemails with random farm animal noises throughout the day. In the past, my mom got the worst of it.....we had Nextel "walkie talkies", so I would send her a quick "moo call" while she was out. Imagine the looks you get when your purse is "mooing" right in the middle of a grocery store. If you would like a random farm animal call on your voice mail, please let me know (the first one is free).

On a serious note. I knew Bethany was going to be a great mother, but I am amazed everyday by what she does. I know it is not easy going back to work full-time at the Vet Clinic, waking up in the middle of the night to feed, waking up early to feed.....but she does it everday. Thank you for all you do Bethany!


The pic below was a quick shot. As you know, Madelyn learned how to roll this week ( so we put her on a blanket to have some play time). The blanket somehow followed her while she rolled over. When she was done, I called her name, she looked up......and I snagged the pic.

That's how we roll.........

Madelyn learned how to roll today! Now we can't stop her! Maddy smiles when she rolls over like she is soooo proud of herself. Unfortunately I did not see the first roll, I was in the kitchen for a brief moment. I came back to play with her and this is what I found.....


See her little arm, she is trying to get it out from under her.


Here she looks a little stunned at what she just accomplished.


...and finally now that she figured this out, she has rolled over 4 times today. Check her out!!

Maddy's new noise

I finally caught on video her new laugh. She loves to hear herself make these noises. She is hard to catch on video because once she sees the camera she stops and stares. If you look close you can make out her dimples! (not sure where she got those from, neither of us has dimples) Enjoy!!

...Madelyn in the mornin'

Over the past few days Madelyn has decided to "kick back and relax" while her diaper is being changed in the morning (by Chris for those keeping score). The first time I saw Madelyn put her hands behind her head during the diaper change I thought she was just doing a little stretching......well we are now on 4 days straight of this unique little "stretch". We'll "chat" about what was on SportsCenter before we went to sleep, some of the stories on ABC news at 4am, and other random topics. We've got a pretty good system down. I change her diaper, chat with her a while, and put on her outfit. I tell Madelyn that she is showing too much leg in the onesie, but she tells me that is how all the girls are wearing them nowadays. Kids these days!

Finally, Bethany and I ordered Pei Wei a week or so ago. When I pulled out my fortune cookie, Bethany had a nice laugh. See fortune cookie below....



....maybe someday Bethany will laugh at my jokes. I'm glad Madelyn likes 'em!

...the number "31"

My 31st birthday was today. I really enjoyed my "30th year"...Bethany and I celebrated our 5th year of marriage, our beautiful daughter Madelyn was born, spent a week in Washington DC, A&M beat tu in football (and I was on the field to see it!), got to see the Red Sox and Yankees play the Astros at Minute Maid Park. There are too many things to mention, it was a great year (besides the #30 is cool, Nolan Ryan wore it when he played for the California Angels). Who doesn't like Nolan Ryan? Probably Dave Winfield and Robin Ventura, but that's another story!

For some reason today, Baskin-Robbins kept going through my head (and I haven't eaten there in probably 15 years). For those that don't know, I associate numbers with almost everything. Interesting tidbit about Bethany.....she hates ice cream (unless it is soft serve from Gringo's or in a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen). What kind of Texan doesn't eat Blue Bell Ice Cream, right? When I picked up dinner tonight (Jason's Deli for those wondering), I pulled in the parking lot and guess what I saw? Baskin-Robbins.....I had a little smile. I didn't purchase any ice cream (starting to really watch what I eat).

Alright, back to my birthday. My Mom and sister, Penny G (no relation to the soprano saxophone player....I just like calling her that and playing his music in the background when I talk to her) thought it would be fun to send me a cookie bouquet from Cookies by Design (pictured above). When I went downstairs to the plaza level to pick up my delivery, I was hoping that it wasn't flowers (I could see all the guys at work making fun of me for getting flowers delivered on my birthday). Everyone at work loved the cookies and thought it was a pretty sweet gift. For lunch, I went with some friends from work to Christian's Tailgate......one of the best burgers in Houston!

When I arrived at home, I mowed the yard and waited for my lovely wife and daughter to arrive. Overall, it was a pretty darn good day (I don't mind working on my birthday). For those impressed with my mowing skills, I am not available for hire (..and yes I will be trimming the bushes in the next few days).

13 weeks

So I am a little behind on my blogging. My dear Madelyn has reached the 3 month mark!! I cannot believe it. You mommies know how fast time flies with these little ones. Madelyn has taught me so much about the important things in life and many things about myself I would have never thought possible.

1. I can eat a full course meal in 5 minutes.....then rock her around until she is happy without getting sick!
2. I can actually be awakened by the tiniest little noise made by her.
3. I only thought I knew the definition of multitasking...which now is soothing Madelyn (maybe even feeding her), cook dinner, and have the dishes and laundry going.
4. I have become a morning person. I was sure when I was pregnant that even a baby would never change me, I used to hate getting up in the mornings. I mean you would have to drag me out of bed or at least let me turn the alarm off 5 times. Now I fly out of bed.
5. Entertainment is different now. It is actually fun to stay at home all weekend and chill, after all we have a little one here that needs to be entertained.
6. Driving is another story. I admit I used to be one of those that thought 10 miles over the speed limit is no big deal. Now the speed limit somtimes seems a little fast!
7. I have learned that a little dust and some unfolded clothes on the couch are no big deal.
8. The best thing I have learned is that I do have that thing they call "maternal instinct" and it is wonderful. Motherhood is awesome.

And my dear Madelyn thank you so much for all the joy you have brought into our lives. We have been experienced so many things in these fast 13 weeks. We cannot imagine our lives without you. The way you smile at us being silly and your new laugh we just cannot get enough of. Now you are turning on your side and trying to roll over. Mommy has tried several times to help you learn to move the arm that is pinned under you...you will get it soon baby! You are also grasping toys and even switching hands a few times. What a joy you are!!

New pics of our little one...

Happy First Father's Day

We had a great time celebrating Chris' first father's day. I had a picture collage made for him with pictures of Madelyn for his desk at work. Now for those of you that know Chris you know he enjoys shopping and I admit he has really good taste. So much so that it is hard for me to shop for him. This father's day story is hilarious, but soooo Chris.

I knew that he wanted to get a pair of shoes (of which I could never pick out) so Madelyn (I) wrote in his card that he could pick out a pair of shoes for her since she "did not have a credit card yet." Chris opened his first gift and loved it. Then he said hold on I will be right back.... and this was what happened next...

Thats right folks Chris had already fulfilled his Father's day wish at the Clarks shoe sale. I was laughing so hard. He did not tell me had gone shopping until now. So Madelyn did a great job with her purchases!!

He got a brown pair and a black pair. And don't forget the accessories..


After all the festivities it was time for Madelyn to eat and as a couple in our Sunday school class says she became "milk drunk."

Thanks Chris for being such a wonderful father to our baby girl! She is so blessed!

8 Week Pediatric Visit

Who would have thought that I give shots for a living, but when it came to my new baby girl I could not stand it!?!?

This past week Madelyn had her 8 week check up. This is the visit where more vaccines are given and I knew this going into the visit. I worried myself sick over it the entire week before (in fact I teared up a few timees). I wished that children could be distracted the same way my patients can be with lots of...

On the way to the office that morning Chris drove us (thank goodness) and I sat in the back seat trying not to lose it. Can I blame such emotion on postpartum still??? In the office I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach and was not sure if I could make it without vomiting.

Madelyn is now 9 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches. I could not believe she had not gone over 10 pounds yet! Although it did make me feel better for still squeezing her into newborn diapers...after all the bag says 10 pounds! (I could not let it go that she is graduating to size 1!) The doctor came in a verified that all her developmental stages are going good and then he started to talk about the shots and why they give them. I zoned out and started to tear up. All I could think about is my sweet precious little girl has no idea what is about to happen...if only I could tell her so she will know that it will be alright and we only do this because we love her. I tuned back into the Dr when he said that some moms like to step outside and before he could finish I replied "oh I definitely will be." My heart was heavy handing her over to Chris to hold her down for this trauma. I left the room and started to cry. I headed as far away from the room as possible. I went to the front of the office and the staff was like are you ok?? God must have known what a basket case I would have been if I actually heard her cry because at that moment a mother with her screaming child in a stroller came by and drowned out my child. The nurse came and got me and I found her cradled in her dad's arms, I felt better since she had already stopped crying. Well...that was until I looked at the table and saw a little bit of her blood! I started to cry, poor Chris had to hold us both while we cried again. Finally, I pulled myself together (after all she had survived) and we left. A couple things I learned that morning: my dear husband who hates needles was able to brave them for my sake (thanks honey!) and I would hate to be a pediatric nurse.

Here is my dear Madelyn with her sparkly band aids (that did not make it any better for mommy!!)


She passed out on the way home..


And slept so soundly all day long (even without her swaddle)....

I had to wake her up to feed her and then she went back to sleep. She did run a fever, so we hit up the Tylenol a few times that day. I was at her beck and call all day long, poor thing. She is doing great though, and I am glad that ordeal is over for a couple months!!

BTW we used the last newborn diaper today... I promise I will not buy anymore!

Happy Anniversary!!!

5 years ago....May 31, 2003


I love looking back at those pictures and thinking about how happy we were to finally be married. I also think about how we had no idea what a wonderful future was in store for us. These past five years have been full of memories. We have experienced many milestones together. Our first 2 years of marriage we managed a long distance relationship so I could finish school. We then moved to Houston and bought our first house. We have traveled from the beaches of Mexico to the slopes of Colorado; toured Washington D.C. and floated the Frio. We were blessed to find a Sunday school class that has strengthened our marriage and has given us many friends to rely on. Now, our newest milestone....Madelyn. Chris and I look at her in awe of what a lovely baby girl we made.


Today....May 31, 2008


We decided to have my grandmother watch Maddy while we went out. We got dressed up and went to a nice steakhouse. After the meal,we called to check in on Maddy and she was doing great. We took advantage of our night out and went to see Baby Mama. It was funny, and humor we can appreciate more nowadays.

We cannot wait to see what God has in store next!!!

Madelyn's Social Debut

A couple weekends ago Madelyn made her social debut. The above picture is the outfit she wore. A friend of mine from high school was getting married so we decided to brave the event with our newborn in tow. I have to admit things did go pretty good for a newborn. Naturally, she was hungry and started fussing right when the bridal party started walking down the aisle. I panicked because I did not want my child to be the one screaming while the bridal procession is going on. I grabbed the bottle and put it in her mouth quickly. It worked, she was instantly quiet. The bottle was still pretty cold but she drank it (later on I started to worry about all the bad things that may happen to her for drinking cold milk...none of which happened). I searched for the nearest exit since the bride was about to walk down the aisle. This was a small church, there was one exit at the front leading to the outside but I thought to myself what if it is locked, I will make even more of a scene. Luckily, Madelyn was quiet long enough to allow the bride to get to the front and then Chris took her out to feed her. The rest of the evening went fine and with all that activity Madelyn slept really well that night! I think she slept like 7-8 hours. So her first "real" outing was a success. Below are some updated pictures! You can never take enough!

Madelyn in the Morning

Ok ya'll I have been trying for a couple weeks to figure out how to post video clips. I finally did it!! I was so excited to catch Madelyn smiling and talking I wanted to share it with everyone. Now that I have this skill added to my blogging abilities expect a bunch more!! Enjoy!!

Live and learn

It has been a couple weeks since my last post, things have changed with our little Madelyn. She has now started to be awake more and wanting to interact. This has decreased my time to check email and blog. She is doing great, almost weighing in at 10 pounds. I think we are about done stretching her into the newborn onesies that we do not want to actually let go of yet! We also are about to consider moving up to size one diapers! She is getting so big! I know, I know many babies are born this big, but I sure enjoy the fact that she is soooo small.

Next week brings a whole new set of learning experiences as I go back to work. I am sad to leave her, but also looking forward to getting back to a somewhat routine life. I love my job and know that God gave me the gift to be able to help people and their animals. This is the only comfort that allows me to go back to my job and know I am doing the right thing.

We did have one episode this week where Madelyn got very congested and started spitting up a lot. So far she rarely spits up so this was quite different! She woke up Friday morning and did not want to eat. Being a new mom....I panicked, cried, called my mother, and called the doctor's office. The nurse told me it was likely all mucous and to get a humidifier, aspirate her nose/throat, and elevate the bed. Of course I knew mucous makes the tummy upset, but when your little baby is not acting right everything I knew went out the window! I am happy to report that today (Saturday) seems like a much better day. She is not as ''mucousy." I am not even sure if that is a word, but it is my blog and I can make these things up, you moms know what I mean. What a bad mom, I should have known they sell those humidifiers and humidity level monitors for a reason. Live and learn. We are headed to a wedding today with Maddy so we will see how that goes!

Here are some updated pictures of our little princess. Now these first two are what she does when I try to take a cute picture! The slower shutter speed of a digital makes me miss the smile and the flash catches this pic. Big eyes!!




Below are pictures of another learning experience where I thought she would do her five-hour "nap" after her midnight feeding. So I stayed up and got stuff done around the house until midnight. I went to wake her up to eat (so I could then go to bed and sleep 5 hours). Boy was I wrong! She started her five hour nap after the 9pm feeding. We tried unswaddling her, putting her on the bed and these are the pics. She was not about to be woken up, needless to say I only got 2 hours after these pics!! Live and learn!





....and then some more pics of the past couple weeks! Enjoy.