Pray for Papa

Please pray for my Papa Howard. He had surgery last Friday and was unresponsive on Sunday. They have moved him to the ICU at Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga. He is now responsive but can't talk because he has been on a ventilator. They did a tracheotomy today and he can mouth words to you but is very weak and tired and has a long recovery ahead of him. Please pray for his healing and for God to lift his spirits and give him strength. He is aware of what is going on around him and very frustrated with the slow recovery. We were able to see him today at the hospital. I love my papa so very much and he has always been so strong - really a rock in our family so it was heartbreaking to see him so weak. I told him that Madison was at his house and that we had been praying for him. He mouthed "she is a pretty girl" and had tears streaming down his face. I told him about our trip to the pool with her and how she liked the water when it was warm but not when it was cold. I also told him that I loved him and he mouthed back "I love you too". I told him to keep resting so that he could get better and he mouthed "all I do is rest". I think he is frustrated that he can't do anything right now because is is so sound mentally. Please pray first for his recovery and then for patience for him during the recovery as I know it is difficult for him. Please pray for my grandmother - for strength as she supports him during this time. Pray also for my dad and his brother and sister and really for all of us in his family.

Update as of 5/31: My mom and dad took a picture of my Papa holding Madison to the hospital and the nurses let them hang it up on the pole by his bed where he can see it while lying down. They said it made him smile :)

She slept through the night - again!

Last night we put her down at 10pm and she didn't wake up until 6:30am!!!!!! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!

Trip to Atlanta

Well, we just got back from a week-long trip to Atlanta. It was our first road trip as a family and overall it went really smoothly. We stopped on our way down to visit with my extended family at the hospital in Chattanooga and hoped we would be able to see my Papa Howard but he was still getting an MRI so we headed onto Atlanta. We were really interested to see how Madison Claire would do being in a different house, different crib, etc. but she did great! Monday we hung out with Meredith, Sarah & Ryan at the house. Of course they were going crazy over little Madison! Sarah & Ryan hadn't seen her since she was 2 weeks old and she has just changed so much since then!! My parents got home on Monday night and they were smitten with Madison all week too. I think she is officially spoiled because someone was holding her pretty much every minute that she was awake.

We had a great week visiting with everyone and introducing Madison to Joanie, Vicki, all of the teachers at Sarah's school, everyone at Christie's shower, Aunt Betsy, and the Fetz family. We had some great meals at Jim N' Nicks, Chilis, On the Border, and some good home cooking by mom. On Wednesday night, Ryan and I went out just the 2 of us to Atlantic Seafood Company and then visited with my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dave who just moved to Atlanta. Still on his organic kick, my food snob husband fell in love with the HUGE new whole foods over by their place. He even said he would move to Atlanta just for that Whole Foods! My response - okay, let's do it!

Other random memories from the week - Ryan and I continued our P90X workouts in Atlanta. He is such an encourager for me...when I don't want to do it, he pushes me to get it done. My parents took one of the night feedings every night which was a real treat for me. Our last night there they took both night feedings and I think it was the first time in 8.5 weeks where I really, truly slept the entire night without waking up once. One morning I woke up to dad frantically searching for the wipes in her nursery...so cute!

Madison had a few firsts this week that mom wanted me to make sure to remember. She had her first driving lesson with Daddy in the parking garage at Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga, first time ever in a highchair (only for pictures of course!), first trip to Chick-fil-A (why this is significant, I still don't know!) and first trip to the swimming pool at Sarah's apartment complex. The trip to the pool was great fun - she didn't like the water because it was ice cold and the poor little thing was pooped after about 30 minutes (see pictures below) but it was still a great day! She also had her first taste of vitamins and didn't like them one bit - there was no sweetener in the stuff and it smelled nasty! She started to swallow the dropper and then made the biggest frowning "yucky" face you've ever seen. When I went to finish off the dropper she literally gagged and wouldn't swallow it! No more vitamins for Miss Madison Claire!

We are now back home and Madison misses everyone so much! I know they miss her too!

She slept through the night!

Mark the day - May 23rd - as the first time Madison Claire slept through the night! We put her down at 8:30pm and I woke up at 5:15am and realized that she hadn't woken me up before then! She woke up at 5:30am and then went back to sleep until around 8:30am. I was SO excited!!! Way to go Madison Claire!!

Newborn Pictures

Here are the much anticipated pictures from Madison's first official photo shoot! Cyndi did an AMAZING job as usual. Check out her website for more information on her photography at http://web.me.com/bellalovephotography/Bella_Love_Photography/Bella_Love_Photography.html

THANK YOU, CYNDI!!!

Schools out for summer!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She definitely smiles - and talks!

This week Madison is talking up a storm!!! She will focus on you and follow objects as they move and if she gets your gaze she will smile and talk your ear off....just like her mom! It is so much fun to interact with her. Ryan and I are having a blast. Everytime I see her it brings a smile to my face - praise the Lord!

P90X

Well...Ryan and I have joined the P90X revolution! I have considered purchasing the workout system several times before but finally got the push I needed to pull the trigger after talking to a friend from church who has done it and loves it. Basically it is a home workout system of DVDs that mixes cardio & strength workouts. It requires an hour a day, 6 days a week, for 90 days. We are excited to get started and looking forward to good results! Patrick wants me to publish our "before" pictures but I'm not sure I'm ready to go there! I think they are for my eyes only. He tried to be nice and say - it will just make your "after" look that much better - HA! We'll keep you updated!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Saturday, May 16th was Ryan's big 3-0!!! We had such a fun day. Madison woke him up in the morning with her special gifts - a bib that says my heart belongs to daddy, her own card that she scribbled in, and a pink soccer ball for him to play with her. As for my gift, I had the brilliant idea to get him Apple TV only to find out when I went to get it that we don't have the connectivity at our house for it to work - BUMMER! So he ended up with a yoga mat & yoga blocks from me. We went to Pancake Pantry for breakfast and chilled out at the house during the afternoon. That night, mom kept Madison and Ryan and I went to see Star Trek at the movies and then to P.F. Changs for dinner.

On Sunday, we met the McSwains at our favorite sushi place, Fuji for lunch - what a treat! All in all a great weekend for a FABULOUS husband and father. I am blessed beyond words and seeing Ryan with Madison has made me fall in love with him even deeper than I thought I could. He is such a great dad and I know that Madison will grow up with a great relationship with him just like I have with my dad. Dad's are so important to their daughters and I am so thankful that Madison has Ryan!! Happy Birthday my love!!!

No longer beach bound...

Well, our much anticipated trip to the beach with mom was officially a no-go after the weather predicted rain all week! Mom came to Nashville instead and we had such a fun week! We took a trip down to Birmingham and got to spend some time with Meredith, her boyfriend Ben, Patrick, and Dad! Madison was a champ on her first official road trip! She slept most of the way there and back - way to go, Madison! According to Ryan, mom is officially Madison's linguistics coach as she spent all week working with her on using her voice. She is trying to get her to say, "I want to go with grandma". In all seriousness, mom did get Madison coo-ing much more than she was before. She can make noises that sound like "I", "goo", "gir", "who", etc. Thanks mom for all of your help!

CPA loves Madison Claire

We introduced Madison Claire to the faculty at CPA in her first official party complete with her very own cake! A special thank-you to Christie Bowen at CPA for organizing. She received a basket of books from the various teachers and we can't wait for her to be old enough to read them! Of course everyone was smitten with her...they thought she was beautiful and very advanced because of how well she is focusing & holding up her head. One of the best parts of the day was when Ryan went to burp her and she spit up ALL over him...all down his nice shirt, tie, pants, and even on his shoes! The female teachers got such a kick out of that! We look forward to many more fun days with the CPA family to come...

She Smiles...well, sort of!

I took this picture today and caught her in a mid-smile! She has started smiling with her eyes open and it is so cute!! We still don't think she is responding to something we do - at least not consistently - but it is so precious! Madison will be 6 weeks old tomorrow - so hard to believe!! I love my sweet husband and happy parents = happy baby!

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was FANTASTIC!! Ryan surprised me on Saturday night with a sweet card & a BEAUTIFUL bracelet. He had them hidden underneath my pillow when I went to get into bed. He picked out the bracelet on his own - the stones are her birthstone - *SO* sweet and thoughtful! He really did GREAT!! On Sunday, Madison slept until 4am (I think as a special mothers day gift to me!) and I snuggled up with her in the morning when Ryan brought her down to me. We went to church and then to our favorite sushi place for lunch. Lauren was with us and it was great fun. I felt very special and loved. As I've said a million times before, I love my sweet husband to death and feel blessed beyond measure with his love! I also love my sweet baby and pray that God will give me guidance & wisdom as I am a mother to her now & in the years to come.

Visit with Lauren & Heidi

We had a great weekend visit with Lauren & Heidi! Heidi is celebrating the big "30" this Friday so we celebrated together just the girls on Saturday night. Ryan kept Madison Claire while we went to Pei Wei for dinner, saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and hit Whole Foods for some Gelato to cap off the evening! I am so thankful that God led me to GACS where I could meet Lauren & Heidi and that we have remained such good friends. Even though we don't see each other often, we are always able to pick up where we left off. I pray that Madison Claire will have friends like them when she is in high school!!