| Last Updated: Sep 06, 2009 |
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March 18, 2009 - Well... where to start? We are really enjoying 2009! Maddie is as fun as ever. Talking all the time now - and says the funniest things. Bankie, Sasa, Bankie, Sasa - that's her way of saying she's ready for bed (blanket and pacifier - Derrick made up the name 'sasa' for her paci the day we brought her home and it's stuck!) ... she has had her share of time-outs at her little mother's day out for pushing - not that we're proud of it - and for the record she only pushes boys - but what is funny about it is she has a little conscience because randomly she'll say to us "don't push Michael and Owen" ... I bet she says it 10 times a day (don't tell me she doesn't know right from wrong! ha) ... she loves to play outside - chalk and bubbles are her favorite ... she loves animals and loves, loves babies. She continues to surprise us with her little personality!
December 15, 2008 - Well, we really haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I promise. Just extremely busy and so our little Maddie website falls on the list of priorities!
Maddie has grown and changed so much over the last few months... she is almost 19 months old now. She weighed over 26 lbs at her last dr's appointment. She "talks" all the time - says please and thank you, as in "cookie peas" :-)
She is so playful, never meets a stranger, loves anything girly (lipgloss, shoes, all of it), and has such a funny personality. She says 'ho ho ho' every time she sees Santa! She loves the christmas tree and points out the lights every time she walks by it! It's so much fun being her mom and dad - we are certainly blessed and soaking up every moment of this special season.
New pictures to follow soon, I promise!!
Sept. 13 - GREETINGS FROM DESTIN, FL!! I can't believe we're actually here... we talked all summer about wanting to bring Maddie to the beach. We decided to wait until after Labor Day so it wouldn't be as crowded or as hot. We were supposed to leave on the 10th but we decided to postpone the trip a couple of days to see what Hurricane Ike was going to do. Once we saw it would be clear, we packed up and headed out on Friday (Sept 12). We made it here in about 8-1/2 hours, pretty good with a one year old. She did awesome in the car! We're very blessed!
We have a beautiful condo directly on the beach. On the way down, we were talking and realized this is the first vacation (other than our honeymoon) that Derrick and I have taken alone. We usually go with family or friends. He said "wow, I hope we don't get bored with each other" - ha! So far, so good!! So it's just the 3 of us this time. It's also the first time Maddie has ever seen the beach. We're having such a great time and enjoying spending time together as a family.
Today we spent a couple of hours at the pool then came up for lunch and to put Maddie down for a nap. Derrick wanted to watch the UT game so he said he would stay in the condo while Maddie napped - which gave me more than 2 hours at the pool alone with a book... it was FABULOUS! The weather has been beautiful - sunny the whole time. We can't get in the ocean because the storm surges from Ike have caused some major waves but they say all will calm down and be reopened by Sunday. We have had fun though walking on the beach and just hanging out by the pool. What a blessing to have this time with Derrick and Maddie. God is good... I'll post more pictures from the trip soon!
Sept. 8 - Maddie is changing everyday - talking up a storm - saying new words everyday... please, night-night, keys, up, and her new favorite- "no way"! She is so much fun. She smiles all the time, is still the most amazing sleeper (still taking 2 naps and sleeps 12+ hours at night), is super friendly to everyone she sees and thinks her daddy is hilarious!
What joy... and last week was a week of firsts... she started Mother's Day Out on Tuesday. She's going to Fellowship Church in Brentwood on Tuesdays from 9-12. It's about 3 minutes from my office and she'll go to Bobbi's for lunch and a nap after since I'm still working full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We've never left her anywhere but with a couple of friends, our parents and the church nursery. But she was a pro - she walked right in, went over and started playing. She seemed to have so much fun - they did a nature walk, had a bible story, music time, and they have a great indoor playground where the kids play the rest of the time.
Then on Wednesday, she started Kinderdance. When she was 6 months old, I enrolled her in Kindermusik which she and I went to for about 6 months. And she loved it. She would get so excited - smiling the whole time and "chatting" with the other kids. So when I got the brochure for Kinderdance, I decided we would try it instead of re-enrolling in Kindermusik for the fall. They still have all the music, play with instruments, play games but it also teaches an intro to ballet, tap and jazz. Her recital will be in June - the teacher said you'll be amazed at what they can learn and remember at this age. It's only once a week for 45 minutes but I think it's a great chance for her to be around other kids and to be around music. We'll see how it goes!! :-)
August 2 - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! Today, Derrick and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. In some ways it has flown by... in other ways, I truly can't remember not being married. It's an amazing blessing to spend everyday with my best friend. And we both agree that having a loving and strong marriage with God as the center of it is the single greatest gift we can give to Maddie. One of the things I'll never forget that my dad said during our wedding ceremony was "some days you'll wake up madly in love, other days you'll wake up just mad"... ups and downs, better and worse, all of those words in the vows make sense and explain why so many call marriage work. But I can honestly say in the last 5 years there's been more laughter, joy and love than I ever could have imagined.
I told my best friend, Jenny, the night Derrick and I met that I would marry him. And 7 years later... I did. With that, every dream I had of what marriage should be like came true. I love my husband more today than I did when we stood at that beautiful altar in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church Sevierville at 4 p.m. on August 2, 2003. He still makes me laugh everyday; I still get excited to see him at the end of the day; he has a calmness that balances out my um, not so calm, personality; raising our daughter together is the greatest gift in the entire world; our favorite date is still ordering pizza, renting a movie and snuggling up on the couch; he's a wonderful provider for our family; he's shown me through his actions what real unconditional love is all about; he's a Godly man who loves the Lord and I still.... after 12 years together, have no clue what I've done to deserve him!
I love you Derrick... happy anniversary. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for choosing me to be your bride!
July 21 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN & NONNA! We think it's so neat that my mom and our sweet nephew Sean share the same birthday... they are two of the most precious people in our lives. So mom and Sean, happy birthday to you! We are unbelievably thankful for you both and love you so very much....
In other news... SHE'S OFF!!!! Our baby is walking - really walking....all of the sudden she has taken off and isn't crawling anymore - at all. I love it - she looks so cute the way she wobbles around. But I do understand why my mom said with Wendy, my sister, they practiced her walking all the time - with me, they pushed me down when I would try to stand up! I get it now - she's into everything! But it's hilarious and fun and we wouldn't change it for the world....
Other fun things... she says 'Amen' when we say her prayers at night, she holds the phone or anything that resembles a phone to ear and "Hewo" for hello, she loves brushing her teeth and hair, she loves mexican food, while she loves it - she is very careful and cautious in her baby pool, and she LOVES music - any sort of music, but especially Johnny Cash (thanks to Papa who sings Folsom Prison Blues to her) and Nickleback (her daddy's favorite band) which she "dances" to.
Everyday I thank God for the healthy and happy baby we've been blessed with. She's so funny and makes us laugh all the time. She's a blessing I don't deserve but couldn't live without!!
June 25 - The Make-A-Wish picnic is finally here! The committee I help with at work has been planning this for months. We were able to have all of the catering and picnic expenses (event the adorable pink chairs and tablecloths) donated by local businesses. We made signs and banners, organized the food and drinks, a musician, gifts, etc. and raised almost half of the $4500 for Cadee's trip (my boss, Dan and his wife Bobbi personally donated the remainder of the money). The family was amazing - all of them were so sweet and unbelievably appreciative. And Cadee was a doll! The presentation went great. Dan called Cadee up and asked "What was the wish you wanted? Disney World? Well guess what Cadee your wish is coming true!" I swear there were tears all over the parking lot - and not just because it was 95 degrees! :-) It really was so sweet. The family leaves Sunday for their 8 day trip... what a blessing to be a part of something so great. Another reason I'm so thankful for my job and the company I work for... And Maddie and Derrick came to the picnic to donate the $600 Maddie raised at her birthday parties! We are very blessed - to be able to help others, to have a healthy little girl of our own, to have met this wonderful family, to work for someone who values things like this and sees their importance, and to have friends and family like you who donated on Maddie's behalf!!!
May 24 - What a special day! We celebrated Maddie's birthday in East TN with our families today. We had an incredible party at my parent's house with Derrick's parents, his brother & sister-in-law and our two adorable nephews. My sister and brother-in-law came from NC, my grandparents (Maddie's great grandparents) and two aunts - Risa and Cathy - all from the AL gulf coast, and several of our closest friends (Jerry & Linda Hyder, David & Dixie Rodgers, Bo & Carrie Hoover, Justin & Helen Woolsey) came to celebrate with us. We had a great meal, watched Maddie eat her "smash cake" and open her precious gifts (we also raised several hundred dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation). Then Maddie and Sean cooled off in the baby pool - it was a beautiful day outside so we all had a chance to enjoy the nice weather. We're very blessed to be surrounded by such great people and Maddie had a blast celebrating with everyone!!
May 23 - Maddie's 12 month check-up... our baby girl is now 29" long and 22 lbs, 5 ozs. She's almost exactly 50th percentile in both height and weight. (She can now have eggs, whole milk, and fish. Her appetite is still a source of amusement to us and everyone who watches her eat!) She had 3 shots - she did great with the first one, didn't even cry but the 2nd was AWFUL! I've never seen her that upset - it was pitiful and of course, I cried along with her. She screamed straight through the 3rd and I couldn't have picked her up any faster!!
May 21 - It's 12:01 a.m. so it's officially "Maddie Beth's" 1st Birthday.
It's funny the mixed emotions I have... first, I'm so excited to celebrate this milestone with my husband. He's such an amazing father and this is such a sweet time for us to share with Maddie. I'm also feeling a sense of pride - as I think of Derrick and I a year and a day ago, with no experience or clue about parenthood - I'm extremely proud of the parenting skills we've learned and just the fact that we've made it through the first year with each of us in one piece is a miracle in and of itself! At the same time, I know without a doubt that it is merely due to God's grace and mercy! I'm feeling overwhelmed with joy - Madelyn is everything I'd ever dreamed and hoped for and then some. She seriously fills our lives with more laughter and happiness than we ever imagined. I'm feeling sad at how quickly the time has gone. At one of my showers, our friends Carrie and Brett gave us a book called "Let Me Hold You Longer" - it talks about the fact that we watch and document every first but don't notice the lasts - the last line of the book says "God, let me hold on longer to every precious last" - I know the days of bottles, rocking, and most of the baby stage will soon be precious lasts so as much as I love the new things she's doing and I'm looking forward to all of the wonderful things ahead, it's still moving on from this sweet chapter in her life so it's bittersweet.
Mostly though, with all of the emotions I'm feeling on this special day - more than anything I'm thankful. Thankful that God chose Madelyn for us and us for Madelyn. Thankful for the wisdom God has loaned to us in figuring things out as we go. Thankful for a healthy baby, which we do not take for granted for a second. Thankful for her growth and development. Thankful for her incredible personality - her sweet nature and sense of humor! Finally, you've heard "it takes a village" - we're very thankful for the sweet friends and family that are our "village"!
I remember lying awake almost all night last year at this time - thinking about meeting our baby for the first time, dreaming of what she would look like and how we would react to seeing her the first time. I remember the alarm going off at 3:30 a.m. and jumping up, wide awake and filled with the most excitement I'd ever felt. I remember, camcorder in hand, walking through the hospital to labor and delivery at 4:45 a.m. and giggling nonstop. I remember at 9:15 when the nurse came in to explain there would be no epidural and the feeling of panic I felt! I remember at 9:30 a.m. when they told us I was dilated to a 9 and we'd have our baby within the hour. I remember the very second they laid Maddie on my chest at 10:05 a.m. and all I remember saying is 'Thank You, Jesus' over and over again because I knew without a doubt that nothing but Jesus had a hand in planning her life and bringing her into ours. Today will be full of reflections and joy as we think over the precious sequence of events on Maddie's birthday. What a year it's been - full of funny and special moments, full of awe and excitement, full of fear in making sure everything is perfect for her. It's truly flown by - but I can honestly say we've cherished every second...
Madelyn Elizabeth, you are the most wonderful thing that has happened to your daddy and I. We love you with all our hearts and are so proud of you and the precious person you are. We are excited to see how the Lord will use your life to help and impact others. You have made our days brighter and our lives more meaningful. You are such a special little girl and we can't wait to share in another year of your life. Happy birthday precious girl - We Love You!
May 4 - What a beautiful weekend! We had such a nice weekend - no place to be, just the three of us spending a weekend at home. We took advantage and caught up on some much needed yard work, and had the chance to attend JazzFest in Murfreesboro on the square. I was so excited to take Maddie - she really LOVES music and I knew she would get a kick out of the live jazz bands so we spread out a blanket and had a "picnic" while we listened. She danced and started showing off all of her new tricks to the crowd around us. She's blowing kisses now, waving, making a "woof" sound when she sees a dog (and there were lots of dogs there which she also loved), she shakes her head up and down when you say yes, and wags her finger up and down when you say no, and that doesn't even include all of the many funny faces she's started making. Besides the jazz music, they have face painting, a petting zoo, all sorts of inflatables, dressed up characters, etc. This year Maddie was content to watch it all! The weather was amazing this weekend so we had lots of outside time which she loves too. Only 2-1/2 weeks until her first birthday - hard to believe!
March 24 - Maddie is 10 months old now... over the last month, she's tried lots of new foods and loves them all. She's crawling more and more. She loves when people talk to her in public - and puts on quite a show for them. We went on our first overnight trip away from her - she stayed with her grandparents and did GREAT. We missed her like crazy but it was such a sweet time for Derrick and I to spend some time together. She had a very special 1st Easter. She looked beautiful decked out in her Easter dress, new white dress shoes, pearls, hat and purse. Too funny! She enjoyed lots of Easter baskets (4 in all!). Everyday we thank God for allowing us to have Maddie in our lives. I understand now why it's said that children are a gift from God...
February 21 - HAPPY 9 MONTHS Madelyn! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone... Everyone says "the time will fly by" but it's hard to understand until you experience it for yourself. Tonight I sat in the rocker in the nursery with lullabies on and rocked Maddie to sleep - something I rarely do (we usually lay her down and let her fall asleep on her own, which is recommended and I think what she prefers anyway) but the time is going so quickly and I won't have the chance to rock her like this much longer. She smiled at me, played with my earring and my hair, brushed my face and I melted - it's seriously heaven for me to have those quiet moments with her. She's so precious to us and has mine and her daddy's hearts WRAPPED UP! Her eyes got very heavy and finally she wore down and fell sound asleep - I watched her sleep for the longest time, she was so peaceful and I thought about how I was feeling 9 months ago at the same time. So I finally lay her gently in her crib, turn around to leave and as I glance back before shutting the door I see Maddie standing and smiling in her crib!! :-) SO her! Her peditrician would be glad to hear - even after all of that - she still fell asleep on her own tonight!
We went for her 9 month check-up this week. She's 19 lbs 6 ozs and 27 inches long. I can't believe it - a long way from 6 lbs, 1 oz and 18.5" when she was born! We're so blessed by what a healthy girl she is - it's something we don't take for granted for a second and thank God for daily.
February 1 - My how life is changing!! Maddie started officially crawling about 3 weeks ago. And boy has she taken off! And this past week she started trying to pull up. She's also "talking" constantly (wonder where she gets that!!) ... she's such a happy girl. Although her full-on tantrums during feeding time are really something to see. It's so hard not to laugh at her! She's so serious - all business. And you don't have a moment to spare when you start or the arms start waving, feet kicking, fists in a bunch, whining, back arching - no joke. The kid is 8 months old and is already demanding (again, wonder where she gets that!?).
She really is the sweetest thing - Derrick and I talk constantly about how lucky we are to have her in our lives. We had no clue something so small would pack our lives so full of joy!
January 24 - Tonight, our new nephew Samuel made his debut at 7:21 pm. He was 7 lbs, 5 ozs and 20 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair and big brother Sean did great!!
We knew they'd chosen the name Samuel throughout the pregnancy but we didn't know they'd decided to add Dwayne, Derrick's middle name, to our nephew's full name. It was so sweet and very touching that they did this and you could literally see Derrick swell with pride when Stan announced baby Samuel's full name to the family. Like Sean, Samuel has 4 names - Samuel Inman (Sharon's maiden name) Dwayne Greene.
Sharon was a trooper and looked beautiful all day! Stan was calm and a great coach for Sharon. We're so proud of our families and this was truly one of the sweetest days of our lives! On the way home we talked about how neat it is to have a lesson in God's timing impact us on such a personal level. Stan and Sharon, Sean and Samuel - we love you so much and are so blessed by each of you! Watching God build your family through your faithfulness has blessed so many and we're so proud of the way you give Him the glory for it at every opportunity. What great memories lie ahead...
By the way, Maddie did great hanging out at the hospital all day and was able to meet her new cousin about 30 minutes after he was born! When they brought Sean in to meet his new brother, he pointed and said "Madd" - his name for Maddie! It was so cute! I know they will be more like brothers to her and their age differences (10 months to the day between Sean and Maddie, and almost exactly 8 months between Maddie and Samuel) will make the bond even stronger.
December 15 - Well, yesterday was Maddie's first official sick visit to the doctor. She has the croup - not sure how and no fever but just an awful cough. I feel so bad for her! They gave her medicine (a steroid) to take for 3 days so that should take care of it. For being almost 7 months, other than cutting teeth (she was pretty miserable), we're extremely blessed that this is the first sickness she's had.
We're really enjoying every moment of this Christmas season. Derrick is looking forward to helping take down Christmas this year! Ha! I wanted to go all out and "... but it's Maddie's first Christmas" seemed to help my case. He'd do anything for her! Obvious by our 3 Christmas trees!! Sure does take on a whole new meaning for Derrick and I this year.
We went with our friends - Sam, April & 14 mo. old Grace, Cuyler, Christa & 6 week old Alyssa, and Dave, Angela and 10 week old Porter - for a big Christmas outing last Saturday. We had dinner, had a gift exchange then loaded up for Opryland hotel to see the lights. It only took about 30 minutes to get from the interstate exit to a parking space!! There was a moment of "what were we thinking??" but it was such a great trip and it's becoming such a fun tradition we all look forward to (we did this last year with only one baby in tow- 4 seems to make a difference). We looked so funny with our 4 strollers ... Maddie seemed to love the lights. Let's be honest, as much as a 6 month old can!! There was so much to see and she loves being around the chaos I think - have you met our family?! No idea why that would be the case! We stopped for coffee, had a chance to visit, and walked around for about 2 hours. It was a great night!
November 30 - Can you believe we had Maddie's 6 month appointment today? Where has the time gone? Our little girl weighed in at 16 lbs, 5 ozs and 25 inches long. She's in the 45th percentile - right at average for both. We had such an amazing thanksgiving. We soaked in every second of Maddie's 1st thanksgiving. She didn't seem to really notice! But she did love the time spent with family. She met my cousins, Rachael & Brad for the first time. They're so special to me and I'm so proud of how all of my cousins have turned out. They're all more like siblings and we have the BEST time together. We had WII tournaments, went to Dollywood (Derrick and my uncle Wayne kept Maddie at home - it was cold and football was on, not sure which is the real reason!), we got to see Derrick's sister Denise and her kids Breanne and Jesse (who also met Maddie for the first time) and her newest cousin Zeke (who is 10 weeks now).
We went to see Santa Tuesday night. Maddie, as you can see from her picture did great with him. She was all smiles and in the best mood... UNTIL... he talked to her. Oops. She turned to look at him and saw that beard when she heard his very deep voice and her face turned inside out! It was pitiful - she was literally trying to jump off his lap. Bless her heart! I felt awful!! Nothing a few minutes of mommy time didn't fix and it made for quite a memory for Derrick and I!
Baby's first Christmas... here we come!
November 4 - What a great weekend. Maddie is growing like crazy - almost out of her 3-6 month clothes. It just kills me to pack up the little outfits that I remember thinking "this will never fit her - she's so tiny" - and she's already outgrown them!
She is so much fun though - each stage is amazing and I always say it's my favorite so far. Honestly, I have truly enjoyed every single second and I'm not wishing for the next stage - I'm enjoying each day and treasuring the time because as everyone has told me from the day we found out we were pregnant, "It goes by so fast!"
We went to east TN and got to visit the grandparents, Stan, Sharon & Sean this weekend. We had such a great time. We went to the Black Bear Jamboree on Friday night - dinner and a christmas show (yes, it's already christmas in the smokies!)... Maddie LOVED the music and dancers. We were laughing out loud, watching her hop to the music. It was so funny! We also got to do some shopping and have dinner with Derrick's family. It was such a relaxing weekend and it was so nice to see the sweet people at FBC Sevierville on Sunday. They have been so kind to us and LOVE seeing Maddie, which blesses our hearts! And I think the pastor enjoys her being there too (even if I did have to walk out in the middle of his sermon because she was starting to "talk" out loud and I didn't want her interrupting her granddaddy!! ha)
October 7 - My how she is changing! Her little personality continues to change and come through more each day. She's so funny- she smiles all the time and makes the cutest noises. She gets SO excited and SO impatient (not sure where that's from!! ha) when she sees her bottle or the baby spoon. She loves her organic baby food! She's had peas, applesauce and bananas (if you know me well, you know what a sacrifice it was for me to feed her baby bananas - yuck!!) but she loves all of it and literally says "mmmm" with every bite! It's hilarious.
September 26 - Today was Madelyn's 4 month appointment! It's amazing for us to think she's already 4 months old... she is now 13 lbs, 9 ozs and 24.5 inches long(45th percentile for her height and weight). She is amazing. She's still sleeping great, she has the sweetest smile and makes such funny sounds now. She is an absolute joy!!
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