A Year In Review: Month 4 to Month 5

December 18 - January 18

Month 4 to Month 5

This month started out like any other. We are still excelling at moving, loving play time and sleeping pretty great at night! A new thing we started this month was taking day naps in her crib! 

Before we would let her nap in the swing, or nap in our arms, and I felt like she was ready for this transition! We got her to sleep how we do now, we rocked her and then put her down! It was a work in progress this month, but she will get used to it! 

Another big milestone is the very first Christmas! We were so so lucky this year! Grammy and Grandpa, Aunt Bailee, Uncle Ben and Kayla came to spend Christmas with us! It was truly special! I am not attached to my Mom in some crazy insane way. I don't talk to her everyday on the phone (I hate talking on the phone), but we FaceTime about once a week or so.   One thing is true though, I love and miss her like crazy when I don't get to see her! We get each other. We think alike and have the same sense of humor! Last time she and Bailee left after Madison was born, I walked upstairs to the guest room and took in the fact that they were gone and balled my eyes out. They recently just left from a long summer visit and I am tearing up just thinking about it. 

So when I get to see and spend time with my family, know that is makes my world and to have them for Madison's first Christmas is even better! 

That morning, we helped her open a few presents and boy let me tell you! That Santa did so good, she is STILL playing with some of those gifts!  

Best gift ever!

Opening presents is exhausting....

Another present Santa brought was a jumper! We placed her in and oh man! 

She had fun!  

Madison was also baptized this month! Aaron's whole family and my family were present for that as well and again, it meant so much that everyone was there! We had several friends come and witness that sweet girl be cleaned from sin! I handmade her baptism gown from my wedding dress.

 Every girl likes to think that her daughter will one day wear her wedding dress like some great heirloom, but I knew that was never going to be the case for my dress! So instead, I will continue to chop it up and use it during special times, like her baptism, I will probably use some for her first communion dress and hopefully she will want a part of it for her own wedding someday! What made this baptism even more special is that Madison was baptized in the church where Aaron and I met. No matter where life takes us, that small chapel will always hold a special place in our hearts! 

The time came to say goodbye to my family, but was so thankful for the time they could spend here. Especially Uncle Ben.  

He took off time from work and school to come hang out and celebrate with you, Madison!  You are so lucky to have an uncle like him! It was great to play board games too! 

After Christmas, we came to face with the ugly ugly FIRST COLD!  Can I please tell you how horrible it was! The first day it was just a runny nose, then came a cough. Then came the constant sore throat and cough and congestion and more snotty noses! It was full blown yuck! The first really horrible night, Aaron and I stayed with her in her room taking turns holding her, taking her temperature, giving some Tylenol, feeding her to be sure she was hydrated! We slept with her in our arms propped up so she could drain properly and let's face it, what baby doesn't just simply sleep better knowing mom and dad are there?! She made it through that night like a champ. We went through some saline spray and I got to hold a baby down to be suctioned with the bulb syringe! By the way, it's true... The hospital ones are the best! I'm stealing more next time! After about a week of really bad cold symptoms and another week of some remnants, she made it out and was our sweet, funny Madison again!  There are no pictures of this for obvious reasons. Towards then end of this month she is starting to sit up! What a big girl we have!

A Year In Review: Month 3 to Month 4

November 18 - December 18

Month 3 to Month 4

This little one is three months old now! We are already 1/4th of the way there! This month, she is excelling at moving! She is starting to roll over and is getting really good at holding her head all the way up with tummy time! 

Her first time rolling over on her own!

Getting up off that chest like a pro!

This month is her first Thanksgiving Day! I was fortunate enough to have off from work, so Aaron and I could both be there for our little family! 

She wore a sweet onesie that said "Gobble Til You Wobble"! At dinner we were able to give her a little taste of some sweet potatoes! She seemed to like it! Afterwards we relaxed and watched some football! She took a nap on Cousin Luke! 

She is truly a joy! 

The next big thing was St. Nicholas Day! This is a day that we celebrate in our family and get small gifts in our stockings!  

It's like a little taste of Christmas! I had to work that morning, so we all got up early with Madison to help her open some gifts that St. Nick had brought her. I then received my own gift and was put on call! 

I was able to spend the morning eating breakfast and playing with my sweet girl! What a blessing! I was truly thankful!

A Year In Review: Month 2 to Month 3

October 18 - November 18

Months 2 to Month 3

She is officially two months old now and this was the first time where maybe Aaron and I didn't fully agree or maybe weren't sure about a parenting decision. I was ready to have my room back at night. I was tired of being afraid that if I rolled over, the creaking of the bed would wake up the baby I just put to sleep! I was ready to be able to get up and pee without being afraid as well! So I had decided it was time for Madison to sleep in her own crib at night!  Eek! Aaron wasn't so sure, but was extremely supportive! She did so great! At this point she was going 4, maybe 6 hours at a time with sleep. Once in a while she would bless and scare us by sleeping the entire night! 

This is also the month where I went back to work. My goodness it was hard! I constantly worried and keeping up with breast feeding was hard, but we made it work! 

This month, she met her Mawmaw and PawPaw, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Isaac from Texas! I was so excited for her to meet them! They even took over for a while, while I went to a doctor's appointment! That was a great day! 

With Christmas coming up, I really wanted to have Christmas cards this year, so one day, Madison and mommy had a Christmas photo shoot. 

She wasn't entertained, but I managed to get a few good shots!  

As you can see, this was Madison's first Halloween! 

She had a homemade outfit dressed like Minnie Mouse! Daddy had to work, but he definitely needed to see her in the cuteness! So we took her to daddy's store and showed off a little! She was the most adorable Minnie out there! Then we went over to Nana and PawPaw's house to pass out candy! It was fun to see all the cute costumes and the millions of Elsa's from Frozen out there! The weather was perfect, not too cold, but chilly enough to know it was fall! What a fun month!

Halloween is hard work!

A Year In Review: 1 Month to 2 Months

September 18-October 18

1 Month to 2 Months

After figuring out a couple of things about this sweet girl, we became comfortable with playtimes and really enjoying each day and the gifts it would bring! 

My favorite time of the day was play time! We purchased a play mat with activity gym and we had a blast! I remember putting her under the gym and saw her eyeballs get huge! It was stimulation overload! We would work on some tummy time, which was NOT her favorite. 

Then we would roll over and work on grasping for toys, experiencing different textures, and toward the end of her first month, we had time sitting up in the bumbo! 

I loved handing her different toys to hold and making her elephant's ears crinkle in front of her! Play time maybe lasted 15 to 20 minutes, but it was such a fun time for me! 

Also, as we near to two months old, Madison is starting to push up with her arms while on that belly! She is giving tons of real smiles and loves spending time with daddy watching football! 

We even dressed her up for some ECU Pirate games!  

The beginning of October, daddy cut the grass and we spent some time out on the blanket in the evening! Being outside was so wonderful! 

As far as eating and sleeping, we are getting better! Madison had some acid reflux, but was determined to eat! We discovered a Rock N Play that I swear by! She started sleeping in that at night because of her reflux and it made a world of difference! She started sleeping longer and was less fussy! They should hand those out at the hospital! 

We've reached 2 months!

A Year In Review! Madison's 1st Month

The time has come! I cannot even believe it has been an entire year! I remember Madison being in newborn diapers and looking at her 12 month old clothes hanging in her closet thinking, "there is no way she is going to be that big!" I obviously had no idea how fast it was going to happen either! It is absolutely astounding to me how fast she has developed and how much that brain of hers can learn!  We have learned a thing or two as well! I am proud of how Aaron and I have handled parenthood this far. We have tackled every battle together, helped each other when we are at weak points, and supported each other through the greatest triumphs and smallest battles! We are admittedly more laid back as first time parents, but have managed so far to bring up our little one as a well rounded little girl with some structure and some silliness as well! 

This blog is our year in review! It will be a long one and I'm sure I will have some laughs and tears while typing it! Let's begin!

August 18-September 18

Birth through 1 Month

I look back at the pictures and think, man, what a blur! This is the time that I forget about... The waking every hour, the diaper changes, the constant breastfeeding! But I also remember the times I yearn to get back! The constant snuggling! Babies smell delicious and they are mushy and pink! I miss the naps we could steal away together with her in my arms. I miss waking up in the morning with her snoozing on my chest from the night before! I miss her just gazing at me and myself wondering what it was she was thinking about! 

This month was full of gas smiles, goofy faces, snoozes, and exploring/figuring out what this world is all about! 

This month, Madison met her cousins for the first time! They all love you so much Madison! 

This month, we made it out for our friend's baby blessing too! This was my favorite! It was the first time we spent all day outside the house and I think we rocked it! It sounds strange to say and it was strange thinking it after we had arrived home, but it made me feel human again. I felt like I was confined to my house with Madison and we were allowed a trip out maybe once or twice a week. I was scared of her crying in public and what if I wasn't able to get her to take a bottle or pacifier?! So this trip also instilled some confidence in me! I could take her out and problem solve if she was upset! It was a wonderful learning experience and ego boost! She did so well! 

That first month, I feel like, was one big learning experience, but we made it through! One thing Aaron and I know for sure is that we are falling in love with this precious and amazing baby every single day!