Newborn Pics!

I have been meaning to post these for forever, but having a wee little one around causes many things to get put on the back burner, surprising huh? ;) Anyhow, I had her newborn pictures done by, Rebecca Carroll, the same lady who did my pregnancy pictures. And yet again, she did an AMAZING job!! I can't wait to find another excuse to have pictures done by her!

Here is a glimpse at her talent, and I must say, Maddie makes some GORGEOUS pictures!!! (Biased, I know!)

Aren't they just beautiful?! I got her diaper cover on Etsy from Sherbet Baby and her bows at Hobby Lobby! We are truly blessed!

Our First Road Trip!!!

My oldest stepsister, Brandy, got married on June 25th in Noble, Oklahoma and since we weren't going to miss it for the world, this meant a road trip with a newborn! Maddie was not even a month old at that point, so packing took for-ev-er! Thank you to Lisa and Janet for coming over to hold Maddie while I packed, it was a HUGE help!!

Here we are ready for our first road trip:

Maddie did very well!! We made it all the way to the Texas/OK border before she woke up and decided she was hungry. Unfortunately, it was just in time for a long stretch of nothingness combined with construction, a 55 mph speed limit, and stuck behind a semi- not such good timing! She had to cry for a little bit, but then we found a Sonic where she enjoyed a nice foot-long coney, I mean milk. After she ate, we put her back in her car seat and she fell back asleep all the way to Pop and Gram's house! It made for a fantastic start of our mini-vaca!

Maddie got to spend the first part of her trip meeting her OK family and soaked up every bit of love they poured out on her! I don't think she once touched a surface other than laps unless she was being changed...spoiled already! ;)

Here was Maddie in her overalls! She was ready for the farm, until she fell asleep that is!

Here she is lovin' on GG and Pop:

After spending the day in her overalls, she had to get dressed up and ready for the wedding. Brandy was beautiful, as was the wedding! We had a wonderful time and were so happy we were able to go. Here are some snapshots from the wedding...notice how many Aunts she has!!! Love being in a big family!

The ride home was just as nice as the ride up there, thanks to Maddie's wonderful ability to sleep in the car. We can't wait to go back!!!

One Month Old!

Oh my goodness, Madison! I can't believe you are already a month old! Our lives have already changed significantly, yet I can't imagine life without you! I never thought I could be happier or love someone so much so fast!! You have taken over, and we love every bit of it.

According to my at-home measurements, you weight in at around 9 pounds and are a whopping 22 inches long! You've grown 2 1/2 inches in a month! Somehow I have a feeling you're going to be tall like your mommy and daddy. Now I understand why you seem to be a bottomless pit, constantly wanting more milk!! You've earned the nickname "baby bird" by the way you are searching for food once you decide you're hungry. It's quite funny, though somehow I don't think you agree.

You are getting so strong too! You have surprised us all with how good you are at holding your head up and looking around. You've really started focusing on us and other things. I love when you just stare at me, like you're telling me how much you love me...it makes my heart melt! The other day you even did a little forearm push-up at tummy time. Before we know it you'll be running around the house, but let's hold off on that a little while so I can get some extra baby time in, ok?

So about this sleeping thing you have going on. For about the first 2 weeks, I was lucky to get you to sleep 2 hours straight day or night. I thank God for adrenaline or I don't think I'd be able to remember much of the last month. You completely had your days and nights switched. I tried taking you out a lot during the day, but you would just sleep through the outting. I'll tell you what, as long as your cries don't mean "I'm hungry," you stop immediately once that car gets going (that was our saving grace on our road trip to Oklahoma). Still though, it seems you've decided you'll swith them when you're good and ready. (Somehow I feel like we're getting a glimpse into your teenage years- yikes!) A lot of your sleep problems are due to your reflux and gassiness. Even with your medicine, we can tell you suffer from it a lot, but I promise- you'll grow out of it soon. One way we can get you to sleep a lot is if you are on mommy or daddy's chest- then you can sleep forever! You must love us or something! :)

I love this little half smile, even if it is completely due to gas and pooping. You do it so much, so you are either super gassy (which you are) or a very happy baby, so maybe it's a combination of both! Speaking of laughing, even within your first week of life, while you sleep you sometimes get the biggest open-mouthed smile and let out the cutest giggle! It cracks us up!! We imagine you dreaming of a land with flowing waterfalls of milk or something. I don't think anything else makes you that happy, besides us of course (though I still think we are currently second to milk).

We love you more than words can say, Maddie!! God bessed us abundantly, and I can't wait for the coming days to see what adventures you take us on!

XOXO
Mommy