Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Heavier blankets...

So Mady had daycare again yesterday. It wasn't as bad for ME as it was on monday. I didn't cry this time, so that's a good thing. And of course, she was an angel. But the daycare is kinda getting on my nerves a bit. When Frank picked her up on monday, they told him to pretty much tell me to put a bottle in her diaper bag for them. Now, i don't want them feeding her because she eats right before she goes, and she doesn't eat again until Frank picks her up because her next meal is at 5pm. Well, i thought, i won't argue, i'll just put the bottle in there and i'll make sure to tell them NOT to feed her. Ok, so that went ok...then Frank picks her up yesterday and they ask him if he would like to take her home in their blanket, since she was already wrapped in it. I think they were trying to tell us that the blanket that she's already wrapped in isn't warm enough. Personally, i think it was plenty warm to get from the warm building to the warm car, which was litterally 5 steps away, and then into the house. I'm not sure if i should be offended, like they're calling me a bad mom or what. I don't think there was anything wrong with her blanket! Frank told me to not worry about it, and to just pack the heavier blanket, and that it's not a big deal. Easier said than done.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I guess it wasn't so bad...

Yesterday was my first day back at work since having Madylinn. I had a list of things to try to get done in the morning before i left. I never realized how much i had to do until i had to try to cram it all into a morning! I managed to get everything done though, and i fed Mady one last time before i left. I dropped her off, and i could only stay a little bit...when i left i started crying. I'm not really sure why. I knew she was only going to be there for 3 hours, and i knew they were very capable of taking really good care of her, and she was safe and all, but i still felt like i was abandoning her. She was really good for them though, as i knew she would be. I just don't know how working mothers do it, especially the ones that work the same shift as the father and have to leave their babies there from 7am to 5pm...i couldn't do that. Thank god my job is the way it is.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Go Red!



Our weekend was fairly uneventful. I used to hate to say that, it made me feel so boring and like i wasted days. Now having Mady, uneventful is the best thing in a way.




Friday was probably our most eventful day of the whole weekend. We hit an important milestone...Mady's first smile. It was her first REAL smile too, not just a gassy fake one. I was checking my email with Mady on my lap, and i was making faces at her like usual (she likes to watch me make faces and then try to make them back). She was making noises, and then there it was! A big grin just for mommy. Of course i didn't believe that it happened for real, so i had to try to do it again to see if it was real, and there it was again! So i had to rush for the camera at that point and hope that she would do it again, at least one more time, so i could prove it to everyone that i wasn't just seeing things. And sure enough, she did it a few more times, so i got some nice pics of her first REAL smile :)




Also on Friday, Frank's dad and step mom came over to watch Madylinn for a few hours while we went down to the Mount Carmel football game. It was really really cold out, so she had to stay home. There was a point at the game where i wished i was home with her in the warmth. But it was nice to be out with other adults, having adult conversations, not talking about poop, and still know that Mady wasn't far away and she was very well taken care of.




Saturday was pretty boring. We did our grocery shopping today so we wouldn't have to rush around on Sunday trying to get that AND everything else done. Mady enjoys grocery shopping. She pretty much sleeps the whole time.


Sunday was a regular sunday for us as well. We went to church, ate lunch and then watched football all day. Frank's mom and Marv came over for a bit to see Madylinn. She slept most of the day, which is rare for her, but at least she was happy. I think she might be catching a cold, she has a bit of a stuffy nose. I'm not sure if i should call the doctor or just ride it out a bit and see if it goes away.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

A few days late...

Better and better...

Last night was a bath night for Mady. For a while there she absolutely hated baths! At first it was because they were sponge baths, since she couldn't be in the tub with her umbilical stump. Then, when we finally got her in the tub, she hated it because she was pretty much suspended over the water and was just being splashed, so i think she was cold. So the past 2 baths, i made an executive decision...i decided to take her off the newborn sling thing and put her right in her baby tub. Of course, i hold her up so she doesn't fall in the tub and drown, but she sits pretty well on her own. She has really taken to this. She doesn't cry near as much, only when we lift her a bit out of the tub to wash her back or the back of her hair. She just kinda sits there...i'm trying to teach her to splash around, but i think that's a ways away yet. At least we've cleared the "screaming your guts out until you are red in the face and can't breath" hurdle.

Madylinn also likes to stare at the ceiling fan in the computer room, or at least in that area. I'm not sure what she sees, but i know she isn't just staring randomly. Yesterday i noticed her staring when i was standing by the rocker, so i decided to test my theory and see if it was coincidence or what. I started walking toward the dining room, and she stayed staring at the ceiling fan, like there was something (or someone) there. I'm convinced it's not just random, and she's looking at someone or something that is there. I keep telling her it's her guardian angle, and to tell them she loves them. She just coos when i say that. It's really cute to see!

She has also taken to her swing. Sometimes she really just wants to be in my arms and she won't take no for an answer, but sometimes she will relax in her swing for about 15-30min. It's very refreshing, as i can get dressed or eat lunch in that time and i don't have to be holding her. I just have to have the rock on a higher level. She just looks around and stares. I have to make sure she's strapped in all the time though, she is definately a wiggler. Everyone watch out when she learns to crawl...which i don't think will be much longer with the way she moves and groves.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A real snow...

Yesterday was the first day that it really snowed here. There was actual snow accumulated on the ground, and it was pretty slick. Thank goodness Mady and I were done running around and were home by then. Frank, on the other hand, was on his way home from work. The way he tells it, he greatly underestimated the slickness of the roads. He saw an accident and wondered to himself "why did they wreck?", and then just beyond that, he hit a patch of ice and slid a bit. Then he was most of the way home and he saw a much worse accident where the people were still stuck in the car when he went past, which made him very nervous. Well, he was about 1 mile from home, at the top of the mountain, and he hit some ice and spun sideways into the other lane. Thank god there was no traffic coming the other way, and thank god he got control before he started down the hill again or he would have been in trouble. Needless to say, we weren't allowed to leave the house all night.
On another note, Frank is feeling a bit better. Gotta keep taking the meds.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

He's a "strep"ing young man...

Well, Frank went to the doctor yesterday, and he has a mild case of strep throat. The doctor gave him a prescrition, but told him he didn't have to take it. Of course, i told him he did. This way it will go away as soon as possible. The good news of all of this is that the doctor said the chance's of Mady getting it were slim unless he gets saliva in her mouth, which isn't likely.

Yesterday i took Ecko for a run. I was going to go for a long run by myself, but Frank insisted i take Ecko so he only had 1 baby to take care of while i was gone. So we ran our usual 4 mile run, and at about mile 2 1/2, i decided to add 2 more miles in the other woods. Well, we weren't 100 meters up the dirt road when out pops a huge doe and runs across the path. She got to the edge of the path, stopped and turned around and ran back across the path with another doe. Well, this thrilled Ecko to pieces! He started running after them, when out pops a huge buck with huge antlers! He almost stepped on Ecko, he was that close to him, but he took off after the does, and of course so did Ecko. Luckily for me, he came back when i called him a few times. What did he really think he was going to do with those deer, lick them till they played with him?!

Monday, November 17, 2008

A whiny weekend for all...

This weekend, overall, was whiny and somewhat miserable for us all.

Friday night i had my football game. It was the district finals. This is the third year in a row that we've been there, fighting for 1st place and a state playoff birth. This is the third year in a row we've come up short and been eliminated from the state playoffs with a second place finish. It was a hard fight, we just didn't have it in the end.

Saturday, we went to pick up the boat from the winterization place. We decided, since we were going out that way, to call Frank's dad and step mom and go out for lunch with them. We went to Quaker Steak and Lube, and Mady was really good. Then we stopped at Lowe's, and Frank started to feel "off". By the time we got the boat dropped off and we got home, Frank wasn't feeling well at all. We got changed and went to my Aunt's for game night, and Frank was feeling miserable. He had a sore throat and a slight fever. He felt good after a few beers, but by 10pm he was asleep on the couch with Mady.

Sunday, Frank didn't feel any better, so he stayed home from church. I tried to keep Madylinn away from him as much as i could, just in case he was contagious. That meant i had to do EVERYTHING, and all with a baby. I made Frank breakfast, got dressed, started the laundry, went to church, did some more laundry, went grocery shopping, made lunch, finished the laundry, made dinner, did the dishes, made his lunch for monday, remade the bed with new sheets, gave the baby a bath, got a shower and watched a bit of football...all with the baby. And that was a challenge, believe me. When i was going for groceries, Frank told me not to come home with my food because he would be hungry for it and couldn't eat it...i didn't think it would be a big deal. Well, i got to WalMart and was going to eat subway, but it was super crowded, so i decided to get the groceries first and eat afterwards. Well, as i was shopping, i came to realize that Mady wasn't happy when we stopped moving. So everytime we stopped (especially in the check out line), she would scream. Needless to say, i paid for the groceries and left so she would stop crying. I drove to Burger King to get something to eat, and i had to drive around until i was done eating because i couldn't take the food home because of Frank, and i couldn't sit and eat it anywhere because Mady would cry. Thank god by the end of the night, Mady was ready for bed, because i was exhausted enough for the both of us.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Many checks...

Yesterday, Mady and I got ready early and went out to the high school for the day. I had to be there for the winter physicals, and since everyone else works during the day, i took her with me. She napped only about half the way down, and spent the other half of the trip babbling to herself. Then she was awake most of the time at the school. She, of course, was a huge hit with the people who haven't seen her yet. That's my girl, the star of the show! We spent about 4 hours at the school, and then we came home. She, again, slept only about half the way and spent the other half of the trip babbling to herself. She is definately going to be a talker, just like her mommy. While i was at the school, i finally remembered to get my mail out of my mailbox...which means i finally remembered to bring home the papers i needed to fill out to put Mady on my insurance. Which reminds me of the other thing, we finally got her social security number in the mail. Now she is completely official, with a birth certificate and soc!

Being at the school yesterday made me a bit sad though. Don't get me wrong, i'm totally excited to go back to work because i miss the coaches and the kids and they all miss me and can't wait till i get back...but i hate the thought of leaving Mady. I know, she's at a professional daycare, and it's only for 3 hours a day (which will be good for her, learning to be around other people and babies and kids, etc), and i know they know what they are doing there and she will be totally safe and all, but it still kills me. It kinda makes me wish for a bad winter, so i have lots of snow days to spend at home with her. I know we'll have to make those days up, but if it's bad enough they won't have to make them up until spring, and my days are short in the spring so i won't mind. I wish i lived in Canada, they get 1 year paid maternity leave. That's gotta be the best ever, count me in!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Babble...

Mady has started a new thing...she likes to babble. You know what i mean, that baby talk that is just a bunch of "Oohs" and "Aahs" and "Goo-Goos", etc. She totally entertains herself for hours with that talk. I really think she likes the sound of her own voice. And she has also started talking to herself when she wakes up at night. Before, she would wake up during the night and just lay there and stare at things until she fell back asleep. Now i know when she wakes up because she starts babbling to herself, which ultimately wakes me up. It's very cute and all, don't get me wrong, i love it...just not at 1:15am. I can only imagine what it's going to be like when she can actually talk!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A day out...

Yesterday, my mom, Mady and I went to the mall together. I had to pick Frank's ring up from getting fixed, and i wanted to look around a bit, since i don't get there that often anymore. We stopped at Target and Kohl's first to look around a bit, then we went for lunch. Mady was pretty sleepy all day, which was good, because then she didn't cry in public. Then we walked around the mall for a few hours, which was really nice. It was a really fun day, and it was so nice to be out.

And a side note that probably won't make much sense to everyone, but they had mittens at Target, and they let me buy them! Finally!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

1 month

Yesterday was Mady's 1 month birthday. I can't believe it's been a whole month already. Time really does fly by, it's kinda sad. She has learned to do so many things already, and i can still remember looking at her for the very first time. Now she can recognize a few voices, she can follow things with her eyes, she can babble, she can hold her head up pretty darn well, she can push up with her legs, and she can wiggle around.


Mady had her 1 month doctor's appointment yesterday too. I must admit, i was very excited to go...i was dying to know how much bigger she got and how much she weighed. I also had some general questions i wanted to ask the doctor. Well, as i suspected, she grew quite a bit. She is now 21 1/2 inches long (which means she can fit into a few of her newborn outfits, lol), and she is a whopping 7pounds 15ounces. She gained 12 ounces in 3 weeks. I'm not sure if that's good or if that's a lot. She's perfectly healthy, so i guess that's all that matters.


Here is Mady's 1 month picture. I am going to take this exact picture every month, so we can all see how much she is growing in comparison to the Tigger. I figure that's the best way to be able to notice it. Don't mind my hand, i had to hold her back against Tigger, she was slipping off the chair.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Just another weekend...

This past weekend wasn't all that exciting, and that's not always a bad thing anymore. Friday we went to town to pay bills, and we took a long walk. Then Frank called and said he wanted to go out with his boss after work, so Mady and i spent a fairly quiet night together at home.

Then Saturday i had my football game...well, not MINE per say, but my boys, Line Mountain. We left really early in the morning because we had to drive all the way up to Canton. And for those of you who don't know where that is, it's about a 2-2 1/2 hour drive from Line Mountain. We won, thank god, and it made the trip tolerable. I didn't get home until later that night, so Frank had Mady all day long. It was good father-daughter bonding time for them. Now my boys play Southern Columbia for the District 4 A title, on Friday night at 7pm @ Southern.

Then Sunday was pretty boring as well. We went to church and then we spent about 2 hours walking around WalMart. I don't even know what we were looking at or doing there for so long, but before i knew it it was getting late. We also took Mady to Pizza Hut for the first time. She'll grow to love it as much as we do, lol.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Hoo Hum...

Yesterday wasn't all that exciting of a day. We didn't do anything special. We went for a long walk, and that's about all. Sounds great, i know...that's my life now. Mady has started a new morning tradition. She likes to wake up at 7am and cry for about 15min, and then go back to bed. She cries just long enough to make sure i'm officially awake and can't go back to bed, then she goes back to bed herself and i'm up for the day. It's been 4 days now that she's doing this. I think she thinks it's funny. Ha ha ha :)

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Mady's first double...

Yesterday, for the first time since she was born, Mady pooped twice in one day! I know i know, it really isn't all that great of news to be sharing, and it's not that exciting to anyone else, but to me it was really big. For a while there, she was pooping every other day, and then we started getting one a day...and now, to have two in one day, it's a big improvement. Oh the things a new mother will brag about, lol.

I also got my haircut yesterday. I rescheduled my appointment from in the morning to in the afternoon so i could leave Mady at home and not have to take her with me. It was nice to get away for 2 hours, but it was even nicer to come home to her. I always love going to the hairdresser though, we always have a good time. We talked yesterday about her new engagement and about her upcoming wedding. It was so fun! She already picked out her dress, and it's so pretty! Weddings are so exciting...and then comes baby!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A big first...

Yesterday was Mady's first time voting. Well, she didn't actually vote herself, but she did go with me while i voted. I could tell she wanted to vote herself, but she'll have to wait a few years for that. But i let her tell me her opinions, and i took those into consideration.
We also took her paperwork down to the daycare yesterday, so she's officially registered and can start in about 2 1/2 weeks...when she's 6 weeks old.
We gave her another bath last night as well. She's getting better with them, but she still doesn't like them very much. I thought once her bellybutton fell off and she could get into her "big girl tub", that things would get better...but it didn't really, only a little bit. Maybe it's because she's not totally covered in water and she's still getting chilly, i don't know. She cries less, thats for sure, but she's still crying and not having a good time. Maybe when she can hold her head up on her own and we can get into the ACTUAL big tub, things will get better. Wishful thinking.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Monday, what a day...

Yesterday was Mady's day all the way. She woke up at about 830am, and that was pretty much it for most of the day. She was wide awake. She took about a 10min nap around 11:00am, and then she took about a 45min-1hour nap when we went for a walk, and that was it until 7pm when it was Daddy's nap time, then they took naps together in the chair. I don't know if you know it or not, but it's really hard to get things done with a baby in your arms. That's pretty much why i just sit and stare at her most of the day. Then, when i wake her up at 815pm so she will sleep at night, and she cries, Frank tells me i'm not really a good parent because i have her spoiled to where she HAS to be held. I don't think she HAS to be held, i just like to hold her while i can, because one day she won't want anything to do with us and we will miss these days. He doesn't quite understand that just yet, but one day he will. I think he just gets cranky that he can't lay in the chair and sleep until bed time like he used to. Oh well, i guess he'll have to get over that pretty quick.

Monday, November 3, 2008

A busy weekend...

Well, we had a busy weekend this past weekend. It was Mady's first Halloween and it was her Baptism. On friday, i dressed Mady in her costume and took her "Trick or treating"...which this year means i took her to see people within a walking distance of me during the day. Then on saturday i had to work at a basketball tournament at the school, so Frank brought her down for everyone to see. She was the most popular thing there! She got lots of "Ooohhs" and "Aaahhss" and "She's such a beautiful baby"...thank you, i know, lol! Then on sunday we had her baptism. We had to share with someone else, which made me a bit unhappy, but our baby was so much cuter, so it was ok. Then we had family over afterwards for a little party. It was really nice. There is a flood of pictures below, so be prepared.


Isn't she the cutest tiger?!


Grrr...


Don't wake the sleeping Tiger


Our little Christian family


Our parents, Father Frank and Madylinn


Mady with her godparents
Madylinn in her pretty dress

Picture of the week...

Picture of the week...