Bye Bye!

Each morning, Maddie and I usually go out on the front porch when Cody is leaving for work.  We watch him pull out of the driveway, and he usually stops in front of the house,  rolls the window down, and tells us bye.  We'll say, "Bye bye, Daddy!" and I help Maddie wave bye bye to him.  This morning, Maddie gave both of us a surprise!  Before he was even down the driveway, she puts her little arm up and opens her palm, waving bye bye on her own.  She did it again when he stopped in front of the house.  It was so sweet! 

God's Amazing Creation

I don't know how anyone can look at a baby and not believe in God.  What little miracles they are!  While I was pregant, I was so amazed at how a little human was growing inside of me...a little human that would respond to my voice or to my touch with little (and sometimes big) kicks.  And I couldn't get over how well our bodies could accomodate these little babies, providing space and nutrients so they can grow strong and healthy. 

As Maddie grows, I continue to be amazed at God's creation everyday.  Right now, my mind can't get wrapped around how a 7 1/2 month old can understand so much.  Maddie may not be able to communicate with the "correct" words, but it is obvious that she understands so much and is communicating in her own little way.  Her gestures, facial expressions, and verbalizations are developing so quickly...and they say so much!  You can tell when she is happy, scared, mad, thoughtful, bored, tired, relaxed, content, surprised...and even when she thinks you are being crazy!

Here is a list of the words/phrases that Maddie can understand:

• Are you hungry? 
• Do you want to eat?
• All done! (We are trying to teach her baby sign language for this one...sometimes she'll do her own little version.)
• Are you sleepy? 
• Do you want to take a nap?
• Do you want to go night night?
• Do you want some water?  (She sometimes reaches for our cups so she can have a drink.)
• Do you want a drink? 
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Hershey (She even knows the sound of his paws on the hardwood floors and get's excited and turns her head to look for him every time!)
• Maddie/Madelyn
• Let's change your diaper.
• Sit up
• Lay down
• Stand
• Come here!
• Mommy's gonna getcha!  (Not sure if she understands the words or just my hand motions on this one...I say this with my hands in the air right before I tickle her!)
• Turn the page.

I'm sure she understands so much more than we even know!  How can she be so smart at only 7 1/2 months?  The only answer...she's one of God's amazing creations!

I love this baby!

Big smile!

You can see her little teeth peeking out from her smile in this one!

It's a *Double* Celebration!

Yesterday was a special day for our family--in a double way!  Not only was it Cody's first Father's Day, Cody and I also celebrated our 6th anniversary!  Thankfully Cody has some wonderful friends at work who don't mind to work the ENTIRE weekend for him so he could take off! 

On Saturday, some of our friends from church babysat Maddie for us so we could go out to eat lunch for our anniversary.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants--Chili's!  It is hard for me to leave Maddie with anyone, but it was so nice just to have some time for the two of us. 

We forgot to take our camera inside Chili's, so we took a pic when we got back in the car!

I gave Cody a piece of art I made.  I got the idea from Etsy, but my version was much cheaper...and I think more sentimental since I made it!  I typed our vows and printed those on a piece of cardstock, which became the background for the picture.  I was able to find an outline of a tree online, which I used to paint the tree onto a piece of cream colored vellum.  I added two heart stickers with our initials, hanging from the tree with ribbon. 

Hand-made with love!

Cody brought me flowers and my favorite chocolates (Lindt dark chocolate truffles) when he came home from work on Friday!  The flowers look beautiful on our kitchen table!

Beautiful pink flowers!

On Sunday, we just enjoyed spending the day together as a family.  I made Cody a special Father's Day breakfast.  He requested an omelet with peppers and onions (which turned out to be scrambled eggs with peppers and onions because I, apparently, cannot make an omelet!), toast, bacon, and coffee.

Yum!  Yum!

A good start to the day!

For Father's Day, I gave Cody some Carolina Panthers fold-up chairs--something he's been wanting for a while.  Maddie gave Daddy a picture frame with three pictures of her holding letters to spell out "DAD".  He loved it!  I think he is going to take it to work and hang it up in his office.  This was another Pinterest idea. 

Maddie loves her Daddy!

We took a walk through the Greenville Greenway.  We all love being outside, and it was such a beautiful day!  The trail we were walking on led us to the park.  Maddie loved being able to swing for a little while.  I think she smiled the entire time.  It shouldn't be surprising though, given how much she likes to sleep in her swing at home.

Father's Day morning--even her jammies show how much she loves Daddy!

Daddy and Madelyn

Fun in the swing

Whee!

All smiles!

Such a big girl!

After our walk, we took Cody out to eat for Father's Day.  After much deliberation, he decided he wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse.  We couldn't have had a more wonderful day together as a family celebrating two very special events.  Cody, you are an amazing husband and daddy!  I am so blessed to be your wife!  Happy 6th Anniversary, and Happy 1st Father's Day!  I love you!

7 Months

Madelyn turned 7 months old on Tuesday.  It is amazing how much she grows and changes everyday.  We are so proud to be her parents!  Here is what she is up to now:

• wearing 6-9 month clothing
• wearing size 2 diapers
• She is sitting independently.  She only occassionally gets off balance and topples over when she is looking up (like if we are standing up right in front of her).
• She is crawling and getting into everything! 
• She is working on trying to pull herself up.  She can do it if she is holding onto our fingers, but she has yet to do it on her own with something else.  (Update since Tuesday:  She pulled herself up for the first time yesterday!)
• She knows how to go from crawling to sitting and back to crawling.
• Favorite toys:  picnic basket, tea pot, piano, Lulu in a Tutu, anything to chew on
• Madelyn has 1 tooth {her bottom left} that has already come in, and another tooth that is sure to make an appearance any day now {bottom right}  (Update since Tuesday:  Her bottom right tooth came in yesterday.)
• Maddie will nurse about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  She is eating two solid meals--breakfast and lunch--in addition to nursing.  So far, she has tried:  rice cereal, green beans, squash, carrots, peas, bananas and sweet potatoes.  She has also tried apple juice, which she wanted nothing to do with.  Her favorites are rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes.
• She loves water.  She has learned how to use a sippy cup, although she is not very efficient.  She prefers to drink out of a big cup with our help.  She definitely drinks more when using the cup, but more also ends up all over her. 
• She goes to sleep at night listening to waves on her Sleep Sheep and being "bopped." 
• Her sleep habits at nighttime have just recently started to get better again.  She is sleeping for much longer periods, only waking up once or twice a night, and nursing only once around 4 am - 5 am.  She usually goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. and gets up around 6:30 a.m.
• Madelyn naps about 3-4 times per day, usually lasting about 30 minutes - a little over an hour.  Her first nap is always in her swing, and lasts about 30 minutes on the dot.  The next two naps are in her crib and are usually longer.  She has done so well transitioning from the swing to her crib for her naps. 
• Her favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus," "I'm Bringing Home a Babybee Bumblebee," and "I'm a Little Teapot." 
• When we talk to Daddy on the phone while he is at work, his picture comes up on my phone.  Maddie loves to look at his picture and usually smiles and coos.  It's so sweet!
• She is becoming much more talkative.  She loves to talk when we are in the grocery store going through the aisles or in the car.  Many people comment on how talkative she is.
• She loves being outside.  She enjoys rocking in the rocking chairs on the front porch, walking around the yard and looking at plants, going for a walk in the Moby wrap, swimming, or going for a jog in the stroller.
• Maddie loves Hershey.  He can make her giggle just by walking towards her.  She'll try to crawl after him, but he is much too fast for her.
• She doesn't go back to the doctor until she is 9 months old.

Sweet baby girl

Her fingers are always in her mouth

Proving that she can crawl...don't worry, Daddy was close by!

Teeny Tears

Recently, I've been working on my biggest sewing project yet.  I'm very much a beginner sewer; I've only sewn a couple outfits for Maddie, which definitely had some mistakes.  For the past couple weeks, I've been working on making precious, teeny tiny bereavement diapers for stillborn babies and babies who pass away in the NICU.  These diapers are being made in memory of Ryan Gabriel Hepler, the son of our friends (and previous neighbors) Mark and Elizabeth Hepler.  (You can read about their story on Elizabeth's blog, Dancing in the Rain.)  The diapers are being given to local hospitals through the Teeny Tears organization.

The diapers come in two sizes.  The small ones fit babies as small as 18 weeks, and the large (although they are still very small) ones can fit babies up to 32 weeks.  These are some of the ones I've made so far:

small size

large size

blanket

Elizabeth has a goal of sending 600 diapers each year to local hospitals.  I've made a very small dent in that number having completed around 30 so far, with about 20 more cut out ready to be sewn, and additional fabric to work with.  Elizabeth held a Diaper Drive on Saturday, in which several members of the community came together to help her reach her goal.  They completed around 140 diapers!  Additional friends and family are also working at home to help her complete the goal.  Please join me in praying for this family and this project!

Swimming

We took Maddie swimming for the 1st time a few weeks ago at our neighbor's pool.  She wasn't so sure about it at first, but quickly warmed up to it.   She had a good time splashing around!  The weather has either been rainy or just a little cool for swimming, so we haven't been back yet...but I do foresee a lot of pool time in our future this summer!

Maddie and Mommy

Madelyn and Daddy

Miss Fashionista

Getting her feet wet

Ooohh!

She wasn't too sure about being in the float

Relaxing with Mommy

Blueberry Picking Time

There is a blueberry farm right beside of the strawberry farm where we went a few weeks ago.  I have been wanting to go pick blueberries for several years now, but I can never remember to actually go once they are in season!  This year, I remembered!  Cody had the day off on Memorial Day, so we went to pick blueberries as a family.  We got a little over a pound of blueberries and a carrot and cucumber for a salad for only $2.50!  I made a yummy honey-lime fruit salad with some of the blueberries, and I'll probably make a blueberry cobbler too.  They have peaches in July, so now if I can only remember to go back when the time comes!

Daddy and Maddie picking blueberries

Having fun!

Look at those blueberries, Maddie!

Mommy picking blueberries

The homemade handy-dandy blueberry bucket