The things I go through to entertain my parents. ;o)

Madison's First Thanksgiving

We had a great, and most importantly, LONG holiday weekend! We stayed home this year and Dylan's parents came and spent Thanksgiving day with us. It was a last minute decision on our part and my family had already made the same plans they make every year and assumed we would do the same we do every year, so they couldn't make it.

It was the first time I had ever cleaned and prepared a turkey and I must be honest, I was a little afraid!! But, I braved the task and, for the most part, it was a success. :o) It was actually much easier than I expected - maybe the easiest part of the whole meal!! One thing is for sure...it takes longer to cook than you think! Dylan and I decided to use a couple of Rachel Ray's Thanksgiving recipes for the sides since we are no pros when it comes to cooking holiday meals and then I made one of Dylan's aunt's recipes that I love. We had Rachel Ray's manchego cheese mashed potatoes (good cheese that costs more than a whole turkey!) and orange scented green beans, sweet potatoes with a yummy crunchy topping (Aunt Karen's recipe), rolls and then Dylan's mom made squash casserole, which was great, and brought three pies - pumpkin, pecan and sweet potato. We had a TON of food for just the four of us, but everyone helped a lot with cooking and cleaning so it ended up being a very nice relaxing day and was nice to celebrate at our house this year.

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving day and then some others from the rest of the weekend at home.



Madison in her highchair for the first time and her with Grandpa



Staying warm

Helping mommy with laundry :o)

The whole clan

Madison and Cobber

Bathtime!

Here are a few cute pictures that Genae and Albert took, as well. :o)

Madison and her new friends

Here's the video of Madison being thoroughly entertained by Miranda, Anthony and Matthew. It is a little hard to see, but you can still hear the kids singing, playing the recorder and Madison giggling for them. They were so great with her! She loved all the entertainment!! Thanks for being such great babysitters!

You can also hear Genae in the background talking on the phone, one of her favorite pastimes. ;o) (...love you Genae).

We're back!

Well, we're back in action! Dylan has been a huge help in getting this one set up - spent several evenings transferring info, searching for templates, etc... Such a good (and very proud) daddy! :o)

Lots has happened since the last post - many "firsts" for the three of us. Last weekend, Dylan, his parents and I went to the Houston Dynamo game (MLS), which means we got a babysitter for the first time. I had mixed feelings about going only because we both really value the time we have with Madison on the weekends since we work all week, but was very glad that I did once it was all said and done. We had a great time! I had forgotten how much fun they are! Dynamo won and will now go on to compete for the championship title again (or maybe they have already??), so it was very cool to have been at that game.

Genae and Albert Leal and the kiddos watched Madison for us. Just as expected, they took such great care of her - as if she was their own. Madison had a blast with the kids. Genae's daughter, Miranda, who is eight, absolutely loved getting to help babysit! The boys, Anthony and Matthew, loved playing with her too. Genae is expecting a baby girl in March, so I think that having Madison around that evening got everyone a little more excited about Baby Leal's arrival. :o)

Genae kept me updated with text messages and even recorded a video of the kids playing with Madison - they really had her laughing! I'll post the video as soon as I get it from her. It is too cute!

Another first - Madison got to wear shoes for the first time! She must have thought they were the coolest things ever! As if she isn't already fascinated enough by her feet, put some shoes on her and watch the amazement on her face! Here's a couple of pictures of her trying to figure them out. And yes, she's in the Bumbo seat, but notice it is NOT on a table or counter and we were right next to her, monitoring her every move... ;o)

And finally, Sunday night Madison slept in her crib in her own room for the first time. I had been putting it off and putting it off because I just couldn't bear the thought of her not being close in our room. She is almost too big for the bassinet though so we decided now was a good time to make the transition. For the most part, she doesn't seem at all phased by the change. I, on the other hand, will have some sleep to catch up on as soon as I am comfortable with the fact that she is just fine right across the hall...

Madison and Yara

How fun! I took the camera to Primrose yesterday and was able to get some pictures of Yara and Madison aka "The Twins". :o) Since I have talked about the girls before, I thought it would be neat if I posted some pictures of the two of them. I think we (Roxanne - Yara's mom, the babies' teachers, and myself) have all pretty much decided that the girls are friends, whether they know it or not. The teachers will talk to the girls about "their friend" when one of them arrives at daycare or leaves before the other - it is too cute!

Of course they both always look cute, but Yara had the most adorable outfit on yesterday and Madison was in blue, which she hasn't worn before but looks pretty in, so the photo session turned out great!

Here's one with Yara on her tummy on the mat - what a big girl! Yara is about 10 weeks older than Madison. Madison isn't quite that strong yet plus she had just eaten so I didn't want to move her around too much for pictures.

...and the girls together.

Just Because...

I'm posting these pictures just because I think they are too cute! From this weekend...Madison early in the morning, proving that schedules are great (on weekdays and before time changes) ;o) and her in the mirror. I put her on her tummy in front of the mirror thinking that it might encourage her to keep her head up and stay on her tummy a little longer. She did tolerate it a little bit longer, but it still isn't her favorite thing.

Our Little Artist

At least once a week at daycare, the babies will do an art project. If you are like I was when I first heard about this, you are probably wondering how in the world a 3 month old does an art project. :o) The idea behind it is to let them feel the paint when they stick their hands and feet in it, see all the colors on the page, etc. It really is a neat idea and, if nothing else, their mommies and daddies love it when they pick their baby up and she has a new painting or drawing in her bag. We've started a collection. Here's a few of her recent "pieces". :o) White baby footprints make ghosts; orange, yellow and brown handprints (smears) make pretty fall leaves on the tree; black handprints make Halloween bat wings and fingerprints make spiders' bodies; red scribbles to color the apples.

Three Months...and a Little Sassy

Madison is 3 months old today! It's crazy how fast the past three months has flown by! She is really starting to show so much more of her personality. We love watching all of her new facial expressions, how she reacts to both of our lovely singing voices ;o) and Dylan's goofy....well, just his goofy self! She loves every minute of it! She is also getting so much stronger. She will still try and roll over when laying on her side, but if on her back, she's not too interested in getting on her tummy. Her new thing is trying to sit up. If she is propped up with a pillow on our bed or next to us on the couch, she pulls herself forward until she is almost sitting up by herself. We are really going to have to be careful to watch her every single minute now because I'm sure it won't be long before she will be trying to roll off of things.

Last night was a big night for us! I had read somewhere (I know, some of you are probably thinking, "What a surprise!") that once babies are about 12 lbs they should be able to sleep through the night without a middle of the night feeding. Well, Madison was 12 lbs last time we went to the doctor (about two weeks ago) and we've still been waking up around 2 a.m. for a feeding each night. The article also said that if your baby continues to wake up to eat, it may just be out of habit and not that they are truly hungry. I know it's not a science and that it totally depends on the baby, but thought maybe I would try a little something different last night.

I fed Madison at around 8:30 p.m. and she went to sleep shortly after. She woke up at some point in the middle of the night (I assume it was around 2ish, but didn't look), so I gave her her pacifier and covered her back up. I decided that if she went right back to sleep, it probably was just out of habit that she is waking up, but if she showed any sign of hunger still I would feed her. She didn't move another muscle or make another peep until 5 a.m.! So...I was actually feeling pretty well rested this morning. I fed her at 5 a.m. and she went right back to sleep again. We eventually woke her up to get her ready for daycare - she was still a little sleepy, but in a great mood.

Here's a few pics from this morning - our sassy little girl on her 3 month birthday. :o)

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pictures of Madison's first Halloween - her with the pumpkins, our carved pumpkins and her in her Halloween gear. She got to wear her cute little witch outfit to Primrose and even got to take her Halloween blanket that Grandma made. She was a trooper Halloween night - didn't fuss too much about having to put on the costume for a couple of pics. :o) Though she slept through most of the trick-or-treaters, we were able to get a few happy pictures when she was awake.