Happy 18 Months Maddie!

We have been having so much fun with Maddie lately. She has always been fun, but she is really talking a lot and noticing everything! We have to be careful what we do and say because she will mimic us. Today we went to the park to play and take some pictures. She had a great time exploring.

Catch Up on Postings....

This summer we have been very busy. We have had some good times, but we also had a couple of scary things happen. Adam had to have emergency back surgery and my dad had to have a stint put in one of the artery's of his heart. Both are doing well now, but they gave us quite a scare.
I'll try to keep this short, it is kinda complicated. Adam has been having trouble with his Sciatic nerve all summer (since May). We were in Keller visiting by parents for my dad's 60th birthday the first weekend in August and Adam experienced a shooting pain from his back all the way down his leg. He was putting his shoes on at the time and he fell the the floor. He could not get up or move without excruciating pain. So, he laid on the floor resting for about 4 hours and still could not get up due to the pain. We had no choice but to call an Ambulance, we had to do something and we could not get him up and into the car. He was admitted into the hospital that night and had an MRI the next day. They discovered a herniated disc in his lower back (L5S1). They kept pumping him full of steroids and pain medication, but he was still in so much pain. They did not want to do surgery on him in Grapevine since we lived in Houston, but there was NO WAY I was going to drive him 5 hours in the car in the amount of pain he was in. Finally, the doctors decided that the pain meds and steroids were not helping and so they scheduled surgery. He had not been unable to sit up or even move for 3 days. He had a micro disc-ectomy to remove the herniation. The doctor said that he had a pretty bad herniation and they removed a big 'chunk.' After the surgery he was able to sit up!!
While all of this was going on my mom and dad had to drive to Houston because my dad had an appointment to get a heart catheterizing with his doctor. He had been instructed to not do anything to cause stress, ha. The heart catheterizing found that he had a 95% blockage in one of the main arteries of his heart and needed a stint put in. Between Adam and my dad both having major things going on my mom and I were nervous wrecks, but we made it through. A week later they were able to successfully do the stint and my dad is doing well! He had to have the surgery on his 60th birthday! What a way to spend your birthday!
It is so ironic that we were staying in my parents house while my parents were staying at our house. When it rains it pours! Adam's mom "Honey" came up to watch Maddie while Adam was in the hospital. We are so thankful that everyone is ok now. God is so good! We are so thankful that we had wonderful doctors.
Everyone is on the mend now and life is starting to return to normal.

Happy Birthday Dad "J-Pa"

Happy Birthday J-Pa!!

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday this year!! It is a good thing that we decided to celebrate it early given he had to have surgery on his actual birthday.

Gymboree!

While in Keller we checked out the local Gymboree. Maddie had a good time exploring all of the activities. She was intrigued by the other kids.

First Haircut...just a trim

Maddie had her first haircut! She tends to have my hair, which can be WILD if not tamed! We went to Cool Cuts for Kids and had them trim it up and she got some bangs so her hair would not be in her face all the time.

The Before

Watching Dora (the only cartoon she knows)

Showing off her new haircut with Margarita (the lady that cut her hair)

Too tired to even eat my Cheerios. We went to lunch with Mimi, got a haircut and

went shoe shopping. It was a fun day!!

Pointe West Galveston Texas

Maddie LOVED the ocean and she had so much fun spending time with her cousins. This was her first time to see the ocean and 'swim' in it. She loved splashing in the shallow water and walking around in it. She also liked shoveling sand into the bucket.

She wanted to go 'night night' in the ocean

Bathing beauties Maddie and her cousin M

Maddie and her cousin S hanging out at the pool

Having and tea party before heading out to the beach. Cousin S, Maddie and cousin Z.

Luggage Carts....

Maddie likes the luggage carts when we travel. I think this will have to be a picture tradition.

San Antonio, Texas 11 months old

Springfield, Illinois 16 months

July 4th Weekend

For July 4th we went to Illinois and Indiana to visit Maddie's Great Grandparents, Great Aunt and Uncle and my cousin and her family. We had a great time catching up! The great grandparents were so happy to see her. She had changed a lot since they had seen her last. We made an attempt to get a picture of all three great grandkids together, but that was easier said than done.

Maddie, Adria and Mitchell

Great Grandma GaVette and Great Papa GaVette with Maddie,

Adria and Mitchell

Cousin Jennifer, Aunt Jan, Great Grandma Dorothy, Maddie, Gretchen

and Cousin Jessica in Illinois

New Orleans road trip and 15 months old!

Over the long Memorial Day weekend we went to New Orleans. We drove and met my parents there. It was HOT, but we had a nice time!! We ate a lot of Cajun food and found out a lot about the history of the city by taking a bus tour. The tour also took us to areas of town that were devastated by Katrina. Mimi and J-Pa babysat while Adam and I went out to dinner for our 7 year anniversary (at a place with real tablecloths) and then out on the town.

Pictures in Jackson Square

Maddie turned 15 months old last weekend! She is growing so fast. She loves to walk around and she is really good at it. She is a happy girl most of the time. She is not a very picky eater and will eat pretty much everything that you give her. Her 15 month appointment was yesterday and she weighs 21 pounds 14.5 oz and is 31.5 inches tall. She is long and lean.

She is a big talker too! We have to watch what we say because she has repeated a few things. She can woof like a dog and meow like a cat, it is so cute!

Long time no post....

We have been pretty busy, but we don't have many pictures to post. Maddie is VERY mobile

now and won't stand still or sit still for a picture.

In April Maddie's Cousin S turned 2! Cousin M is pulling the 2 little ones, cousin S and Maddie in the wagon. I don't know who was having the most fun.

Maddie in the bounce house. She was having a good time 'bouncing.'

Texas Bluebonnets

Last weekend we found some Bluebonnets just outside of Hempstead. We had to climb a fence, but it was worth it!
Also....Maddie is WALKING!! She will walk across the room to see you. Her preferred mode of transportation is still crawling.

Kemah, Texas

The Saturday before Easter Adam, Madelyn and I went to Kemah. It is a short drive from Houston. The weather was perfect (except for the ozone watch)! Maddie liked having so many things to look at. She was constantly pointing and saying 'Dat,' which means 'that.'

"Dat"

Adam rode the 'Drop Zone' while we watched.

Madelyn 13 Months!

First Easter Egg Hunt

Madelyn had a fun time hunting for Easter Eggs with her cousins this past weekend. She stood on her own for nearly a minute a couple of times. She is not walking, but very close. More pictures to come!

What have we been up to??

Wow! A LOT has happened since I last blogged. We have been so busy. There has been a baby shower for a dear friend of mine, a weekend in San Antonio to visit friends, a work conference in Washington DC and most importantly Maddie turned 1!! I will be working on a series of posts with pictures!

1 Year Photo Shoot

For Maddie's birthday my parents (Mimi and J-pa) got her a session with a photographer. Kym Jackson in McKinney, TX took these pictures and they turned out really well. Also, she gave us a CD with all the images on it. Mimi and J-pa took her to the photo shoot while I was working, so they were there to handle her by themselves. They said she did well except during the wardrobe changes :-) Here are some of my favorites.

This was my rocking horse that a family friend made for me when I was a child.