Lifelong Student

Aren't there worse things in life to be than a lifelong student? I found my "calling" in life about a year before Madeline was born, and after working so hard toward a marketing degree decided that I really wanted to be a nurse. So I started on a few pre-req's and then got pregnant so had to put it all on hold. Well, now that we are somewhat settled, I am back at it. Hoping to finish school for the last time here in San Angelo. With that said, working, being a mommy, and a full load this semester may make for less blogging. I really am going to try to keep up, but now you know why you may not hear about every sneeze and hiccup...just every other! ;) Seriously, though, nursing is no joke. I'm exhausted and feel like my brain is fried and it's only the second week of Anatomy. Who found it necessary to rename all the body parts, regions, etc? Anyway, this semester is BIG because I officially apply for the program in January and I am already so nervous about getting in. And then what do I do if I get in? Or if I don't? These thoughts have been weighing very heavily on me the past couple of months...so I am taking it one day, one assignment at a time. So caffeine and my anatomy book are going to be my best friends for the next 3 1/2 months! :)

8 Months

My Sweet Madeline,

You are 8 Months Old Today!!! You weigh about 17lbs -- you've been sick and lost your appetite so you haven't gained much weight this month. You wear size 3 shoe and size 6-9 month clothes. I had to move you to size 12month pajamas because you are so long! Lucky girl!

You had your very first trip to the beach and you LOVED it! :) You also went on a plane for the first time. You slept through every flight almost the whole time.

You are going to hate me one day for this, but you love to be naked! You get very excited the second your clothes come off, and you hate putting more clothes on...kind of ironic seeing as how you have SO many clothes!



You have just started making this face and really cheesing for the camera! You start smiling and blinking your eyes when we get the camera out! You are so funny!

No surprise here but your still love your bath. I think it is your favorite part of your day!

You love to play and be played with. You are pretty independent, but when you want me, you come find me! You really love peek-a-boo and patty cake!



You love the pantry, especially the dog's food and water bowl. You're not too picky though -- you'll play with anything you can get your hands on in there! :)



You are constantly at war with your bouncy seat. You pull up on it, shake it, stand on top of it, but sometimes this happens...the bouncy wins from time to time!



This is your new favorite seated position -- you sit like a little frog! So cute!



You still eat about the same amount and like the same foods. You have been sick the past week and teething this month so your appetite hasn't been all that great -- a first for you! You drink about 4-5 bottles a day now. You love your bottle, but have pretty much given up your pacifier on your own. You don't even use it at night anymore.

You make the funniest faces. You also really watch our faces now to try to figure out what we're saying or what noises we're making! I can't tell you how many times a day you make me laugh with your facial expressions!

You had your first sleepover...almost. The intention was there but Jaylei, Brynn, and Ayden couldn't fall asleep so they went to their house. You still had a blast with them and they didn't leave until long after you were asleep!

You love being hung upside down, tossed in the air, swung around, etc. You are so fun!

New this month is dancing! You LOVE to dance. You dance with us, but mostly you dance on your own at your leap frog table. You also like to head bang which has given you a couple of bruises! :)

I figured you deserved a picture of your triumph over your bouncy seat!

You have been going through what I call hyper hour at night. You flail your arms up and down while bouncing up and down and yelling. You are SO hyper at night and Daddy and I just crack up at you! You have so much energy and are so fun to watch!

You got your first tooth!!! It is just poking above your gums and is so cute! Although, teething is no fun for you...or me and Daddy!

You are into everything...literally! You try to climb on anything you can, and I find you in this basket about once a day now! You took the air freshener out of the wall behind you. You broke one yesterday in the hallway and the hall smelled awesome all day! You are nonstop busy, busy, busy! You are still cruising and thinking about walking but you haven't taken the plunge...yet. You are pushing things around so I am pretty sure you are close!

I can't believe it has been 8 months since I got to see your sweet face for the first time. I prayed and prayed for you...I just wanted a healthy baby girl and God gave me so much more than I could have ever imagined. You are the light of my life. I love seeing your smiling face every morning and kissing your sweet cheeks before bed each night. I am so thankful for you. Everyone says when you have a baby, it's like your heart is outside your body for the rest of your life. That's exactly how I feel about you. I love you more than I could ever tell you! 

It Happened...

Madeline discovered the dog bowls last week ! She didn't eat any dog food but she loves to splash in their water and mix their food into their water bowl!

Houston...

We have a TOOTH!

Madeline has been making this funny face for the past week. I didn't think a whole lot of it and just laughed every time I looked at her. She was doing it nonstop. Well, it makes sense to me now that she was probably "biting" her upper lip with her new found tooth that was coming in!

We were standing in line to get snow cones tonight and Madeline yawned. I happend to be looking at her when she did it and there is the tiniest tooth poking out of her bottom gum! Every time she has had a bad day over the past couple of months, I have waited to see a tooth and never have. I finally gave up on the idea that she was teething and there it is today! I scared the entire line at the snow cone stand with my "Oh my gosh" out burst when I saw it, and had to apologize. I almost gave Stephanie a heart attack. These things are just so exciting to a new mom! :) haha

The face!

Rub A Dub Dub

I can't accurately describe how much Madeline LOVES the bathtub. She literally will stay in there until her skin is all wrinkly and the water is cold! She loves to splash and now she likes to try to stand up and get out of her bathtub into the big unknown, undiscovered bathtub! I turned the shower on the other day to see what she would think and she cried! Anyway, we snapped these pics at bathtime the other night...all of which she will hate us for someday later in life!

Vacation Wrap Up

I am tired of blogging about vacation but since it was our first one as a family, I wanted to be thorough. The last thing to remember is the trip there and back...the trip there started out a little hectic but was anti-climactic. Now that we live in a small town with a tiny airport, there isn't quite as much pressure when we are going to the airport. However, there are still rules about when you can check-in...or should I say CAN'T check-in! I tried to tell my sweet husband this but he insisted we didn't need to be to the airport before 6:45 for a 7:30am flight. We all know I am constantly 15 minutes behind (on a good day) so we got to the airport around 7 the day we left and were told, "You're late...VERY late!" haha They let us on anyway but the stern man behind the counter gave us a little lecture on how airports run! We had good flights to Dallas and then to Tampa. My parents greeted us when we landed. Mom and I went to Starbucks while Dad and Terry went to rent the car. Before we knew it my brother and SIL were there and we were off to the beach!

All week I dreaded going home. I am the crier in the family. Always have been. As a kid, I would cry every time we left my grandparents house, and as an adult I have definitely shed my share of tears leaving family. I seem to get better as I get older but being with my brother and SIL all week and the rest of my family for the first time with Madeline, I knew it was going to be a sob fest when we left. Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:05am and I thought it was 10:35am  until I checked my email on the way to the airport. Oops! Well, we were a little over halfway to the airport and Lukey began puking in the backseat. He had yogurt for breakfast and my SIL thought she was going to be sick too. She was trying to clean him up the best she could while trying not to get sick. We stopped for gas and she got to clean him up a little more and get the yucky stuff out of the car. We were cutting it very close by this time. Then we get to the airport about 50 minutes before our flight. I go to pick Madeline up and she had a massive, explosive diaper. All over her, the car seat and now me! Awesome! Thankfully, the guy at the counter checked us in, took our bags (thanks to my dad for tipping him, always helps their attitude), and printed our boarding passes without even seeing me. Nothing makes a good-bye less sad than a little vomit and poop! haha It is SO much fun traveling with babies! So anyway, my good-bye was much more hurried and much less sad than I anticipated! Our flight from Dallas to San Angelo was horrific. Terry thought he was going to be sick and I was literally in tears as I waited for our plane to fall out of the sky. It was a little turbulent to say the least! But, we made it home in one piece around 4:30pm. Not long after we got home, I realized I left my wallet on the plane -- another fun time tracking it down. Thankfully, a nice man at our local airport tracked it down in Dallas (the plane we were on had already taken off back to Dallas with my wallet on it) and got it back to us with everything still in it! Thank the Lord for small miracles! Anyway, here is my sweet angel on her very first plane ride!

My Cara

I met Cara about 7 years ago not long after we moved to Maryland. We became fast friends, and have seen each other through some heartbreaking life happenings. She was by my side (literally) the entire time Terry was in Iraq. She was my gym buddy, shopping buddy, wine buddy, all around best friend. She was there during my first miscarriage. She cried when she told me she was pregnant after my last. She was one of the best friends you could ever ask for and then this happened...



She married my brother and became my sister-in-law!!!



Our lives have changed SO much over the years. I am so thankful for our friendship! I can only hope that this will be us one day...(minus Arnold!)

Romantic Date Night

There is this Chinese buffet in Englewood called Great Wall, and there have been only a handful of times in our marriage where I have seen Terry happier than he is at Great Wall! He loves nothing more than all the Chinese food you can handle for less than $10! So when my family offered to let us and my brother and SIL go out while they baby sat, we went to none other than Great Wall! We also went to see Transformers 3...my brother's choice. I know you're thinking it can't get anymore romantic, but we did stop at the dollar store before the movie to stock up on candy! Of course I would knock my box of whoppers over during the movie and they rolled everywhere! Thankfully, it was dark and hard to see anything but we got a good laugh out of it. My parents, sister, and granny all babysat! I think Madeline gave them a run for their money at one point but we sure appreciated being able to go out together! I didn't take any pictures of us but my mom took some of the babysitting adventure! I hope I didn't stir up any jealous feelings in anyone talking about our very romantic double date! :)

My niece, Baleigh  feeding Madeline

Lukey dinner time

They took Lukey down to the beach while Madeline napped

Bath time!!!

Apparently Madeline threw a heck of a fit and Papaw was the only one who could calm her down

My sister doing double duty

Family

Back to vacation posting...I am almost done I promise!

Granny and Madeline

My Uncle shaking his booty for the camera! He is crazy!

The whole gang

The cousins and their kiddos

My Granny got to meet Madeline for the first time when were in Florida. She is the only great grandparent Madeline has on my side of the family, and she was beside herself to meet Madeline. Everyone called me "little Dot" when I was growing up because I favored my granny so much! There was something so sweet about watching her hold my baby girl. I love my Granny so much!



While we were in Florida, my Uncle Tony and part of his family drove up to spend a day with us at the beach. It is always nice when we get to see them because we all live so far apart now. My cousin Jonathan and his wife and two kids came too. I hadn't seen him in over 10 years -- how sad is that? I got to meet his wife and kids and they are lovely! My Uncle Tony and Aunt Marie were such a big part of my life growing up, and have faithfully prayed for Terry and me so it was so exciting for me to see them meet Madeline.