Christmas Part II

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful trip up to CT and returned home late last night. The drive was stressful with traffic, but overall it wasn't too bad. It took us 9 hours on our way up and 10 hours on our way home. Madelyn did really well in the car considering she was strapped in her car seat for 9 - 10 hours at a time!

When we arrived last Tuesday, there was a ton of snow still on the ground. On Christmas Eve, it rained all day so Madelyn did not have a chance to play in the snow. By Christmas Day, most of it had melted. On the other hand, Fenway had a awesome time running around in the snow with his buddies, Echo and Molly.

On Christmas Eve, Madelyn really started walking a lot. By the end of the trip she was walking everywhere. We are very excited, but it has been a little different at our house since we've been home.

Our Christmas did have some ups and downs this year. On Friday, Bill's Mom informed us that she has breast cancer and is having surgery on Monday (yesterday). The good news is that the lump is really small and they were able to get everything out during surgery. The cancer did not spread into her lymph nodes so she only has to have radiation for a month. We were so relieved when we found out this good news yesterday afternoon. Please keep Michele in your prayers as she finishes her cancer treatments this month.

Overall, we had a great Christmas and enjoyed seeing our family and friends in CT. We are looking forward to 2009 and wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!

Fenway playing on the pool in the snow. He was the only one who enjoyed playing in the snow this year!Our family on Christmas Eve!

Madelyn loved the little Chatter Elmo that Santa put in her stocking. She is obsessed with Elmo and never stops saying "Momo!"

Madelyn and her cousin Jack played really well together and were fascinated by the "Elmo Live" that Jack got for Christmas from Aunt Erin!

Madelyn spending time with Grandma!

I am finally walking!!

Christmas Part I

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family on Sunday and had a wonderful time. Madelyn really enjoyed all the good food prepared by Nana and Pop, the presents, and loved hanging out with her new cousin. She was so busy playing with all her new toys and eating dessert, she had no idea it was hours past her bedtime. We are busy packing tonight because we are headed up to CT tomorrow for Christmas Part II.

Here are some pictures from last night:

Madelyn enjoying some appetizers with Nana and Uncle Sam.Madelyn hanging out with her cousin Cora before dinner!
Madelyn loved opening her gifts and played with each one as she opened them. She especially liked all the bows, ribbon, and gift bags.
Madelyn's new winter hat from Jean Darnes and has already packed it in her suitcase for CT!

Pop, Nana, and Madelyn in front of the tree!
Aunt Amy and Baby Cora who is 17 days old.

On the go!

We have had a busy week getting ready for Christmas and our trip to CT next week. Bill has been traveling a ton so Madelyn and I have been very busy with errands and all there is to do to get ready for our trip. Bill is coming home tomorrow and we are so excited about having him home for a couple of weeks before busy season starts again! We have a fun weekend planned getting together with friends on Friday and Saturday evening and on Sunday we are celebrating Christmas with my family.

Here are a couple of cute pictures I took this week. The first picture is of Madelyn before she went to her playgroup holiday party on Tuesday. She loves walking with her walker and has started taking her sippy cup of water with her as she walks along. She was all dressed up in her Christmas outfit and new Christmas bow of course. It's a little big for her head, but I think it's still cute!

The second picture is of Madelyn and her friend Jacob. I baby-sat for our good friends last night and Madelyn had a blast playing with Jacob and Judah. She loved sitting on Jacob's lap while they watched Sesame Street.

Getting ready to go to the playgroup Christmas party!

Angelina and Brad once again! Looks like they are getting a little closer as they get older!

Christmas Pajama Party

We had a busy weekend getting together with friends and preparing for Christmas! Last night, we had some friends over to celebrate the holidays and the kids had a little sleepover. Here is picture of them right before bed. There were 2 babies missing (Adeline and Cora), but they had not arrived and were too little anyway to join in the fun:) Yesterday, we also went over to Amy and Sam's house and got a cute shot of Nana and Pop with their granddaughters. I thought they looked so cute in their matching outfits!

Also, we've had a big week because Madelyn took some steps for the first time! It has only been about 3 - 4 steps, but it looks like she'll be walking very soon! We'll keep you all updated!

Madelyn and her boyfriends, again (Madelyn, Jacob, Judah, and Lee)!!!

Nana and Pop with Cora (8 days old) and Madelyn (13 months)!

Our new little neice!

We've had a very exciting week in our family. On Thursday, Aunt Amy and Uncle Sam welcomed a beautiful redheaded little girl named Cora Hillyer. Cora weighted 8 lbs 1 oz and is 20.5 inches long. Amy and Cora came home from the hospital this afternoon and everything is going smoothly so far!

Madelyn met her new little cousin in the hospital on Friday. She loved looking at the new baby and kept pointing at her. I think she got a little jealous when her Nana was holding baby Cora. She is very excited about her new cousin and can't wait until Cora is big enough to play! They will be exactly 1 year apart in age.

Uncle Sam and Aunt Amy rignt after Cora was born. Cora sleeping quietly while we all chatted during the visit!

Nana with her two little grandaughters!

Our little Turkey

We had a great but busy Thanksgiving weekend. We started off hosting Thanksgiving at our house on Thursday with about 10 people. On Friday, we did yardwork the entire day and got the leaves cleaned up and yard ready for the winter (Bill hopes we have finally cut grass for the last time!). On Saturday and Sunday, we decorated for Christmas, ran errands, and relaxed. We had a great weekend spending time as a family!

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving:

Madelyn all ready for Thanksgiving Day!Madelyn spent most of the day walking (with help of course) and loved her new "Silly Turkey" book from Nana and Pop!

Madelyn's first experience getting a Christmas tree. We just went to the lot at Tom Leonard's. Maybe next year we'll cut one down!

She loves looking at the lights and has been very good about not messing with the tree. We hesitated about putting it in the family room, but she has not messed with it so far!

New Pictures!

We took Madelyn to get her 1 year pictures today. After a couple of crying fits when they tried to sit her on a stool (notice the tear in picture #2), we ended up getting some good shots! Here are a couple that we wanted to share:

Happy 1st Birthday Madelyn!

On Sunday, we celebrated Madelyn's first birthday. Grandma and Grandpa came down from CT for a long weekend and we had a family party on Sunday afternoon. Madelyn had a great time at her party. She loved opening her presents and wouldn't get out of the wagon she got from Nana and Pop. She wasn't so sure about her cake at first, but she figured it out by the end and really liked the icing. She is very girly and hardly got any icing on her beautiful pink dress!

On Monday, we had a small party with our bunko playgroup. The kids played, sang happy birthday, and ate cupcakes as a snack. Madelyn loved her cupcake and at the whole thing in one sitting!

Today, Madelyn went to her 1 year appointment with Dr. Goradia. She weighted 18 lbs 15oz. (15th percentile) and is 28 inches long (17th percentile). We are hoping that she is 20 pounds by Christmas so she can finally get into her forward facing car seat!

It has been the best year of our life and has been amazing watching Madelyn grow up and change so quickly. Here are some pictures from Madelyn's birthday weekend:

One year ago, Madelyn weighted 6 lbs and was 19.25 inches long!

Our little sweet pea at 1 year old and almost 19 lbs!Not so sure about the birthday cake made by Mommy!

Madelyn with Mommy, Nana and Pop!

Madelyn with Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa!

The queen riding in her wagon from Nana and Pop!Sitting in the rocker given to her by Grandma and Grandpa!
The bunko playgroup (John Grayson, Judah, Jacob, Cristian, Madelyn, Ben, and Xavier). Madelyn realized that she was the only girl!
Adeline did not make the picture because she was sleeping. Adeline and Madelyn are the only girls in the playgroup. Madelyn can't wait until she has partner in crime against the boys!
Madelyn figured it out this time with the cupcake!

Trick or Treat in CT

For those of you who don't know, we have spent the last 5 days in CT for Grandma Haslam's funeral. As a result, Madelyn spent her first Halloween in CT with Cousin Jack. They had a great time trick or treating together as Sweet Pea and Jack the Bear. We went to about 8 houses which was plenty for the little ones. Jack and Madelyn actually got along great and exchanged several kisses during our trip. Madelyn was exhausted after her night of Trick or Treating and Jack was bouncing off the walls from all of the sugar! It was a fun evening!

Jack the Bear and Sweet Pea exchanging a kiss before heading out for their first Halloween!

Jack the Bear and Madelyn the Sweet Pea!

All ready to go....thank goodness it was a mild Fall night in CT!Madelyn held by daddy while trick or treating with uncle Mark and cousins Jack, Laura, Chelsea & Jack
Exhausted little Sweet Pea after a long night of trick or treating!

Our little Sweet Pea

We had a very busy weekend filled with a birthday party and baby showers. We started the weekend with Tyler Dehaven's 1st birthday party at the Children's Museum. It was Madelyn's first visit to the Children's Museum and she really enjoyed crawling around on everything. They had a Halloween theme so the kids wore their costumes. Below is a picture of Madelyn in her sweet pea costume. She looked so cute!

Yesterday afternoon, we had a baby shower for our friend's Julie and Adrian and today we threw a shower for my sister, Amy, who is due in December. The shower went really well and everyone had a great time. We are so excited about the arrival of baby girl Nolan in just a couple of months!

Please keep Bill's Grandma Haslam in your thoughts and prayers. She has been sick and was admitted to hospice on Friday evening.

Mommy, do I really have to wear this costume?

Madelyn and her friend Tyler, the birthday boy!

Madelyn loved crawling through the little tunnel!
Amy at 33 weeks!

First Haircut

Madelyn had a "mini" haircut today. I guess we can call it her first haircut, but it wasn't much of a cut. Her bangs have gotten very long over her eyes, and we finally cut off the rat tail that was growing down her back. She was a very good girl and sat very still while Crystal cut her hair. If you haven't noticed, her hair is the exact same color as mine. I looks like Daddy had two redheads!

The last picture is of Madelyn walking behind her cool new car. We wanted to save it for her birthday, but we couldn't wait! She is really starting to cruise and push toys while walking behind them. This toy is perfect for her and she loves her new ride!

11 months old!

Madelyn turned 11 months old last week and we are starting to gear up for the big 1st birthday! She is coming right along and is really starting to say words, pull up, and cruise. She even tried to stand on her own a little this weekend, but it only lasted a couple of seconds. Her favorite word is "Ba Ba" which she calls our dog Fenway. Fenway's nickname is Buddy so Madelyn picked up on that name instead of Fenway. She also says Bye Bye, Mama, Da Da, and we think she said book this evening. She has also started dancing whenever she hears music. She is quite the little dancer and giving her Mommy and Daddy some competition!

Madelyn is really starting to eat a lot of table food. She loves pumpkin muffins, lasagna, macaroni and cheese, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, and cantaloupe. She is trying new foods every day, but she still loves her baby food, especially sweet potatoes!

Madelyn got her flu shot last week and she weighed 18 pounds at the appointment. We are working hard to put two more pounds on her so she can get in her new car seat at a year. It's looking like she will be facing backwards for at least a couple more months. She won't be very happy about that!

Here's a picture of Madelyn practicing walking with Daddy: