p90x - I hate it, but I love it

After (these are not exaggerations!):

78 workouts,

100 hours, 

2500 pullups, 

5000 pushups, 

26,000 crunches, 

too many squats, lunges, jumps, and kicks to count, 

at least 15 "do we have to workout today" by Lauren,

15 pounds & 2 pant sizes lost by Ryan,

13 pounds lost by Lauren,

WE ARE FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!!!  It took us 110 days to finish the 90 day program.  Wow - I really can't believe that we are actually done!!  It was so fun to do these workouts together....I think we both really kept the other on track. We feel great and like we are in the best shape of our lives.  We can't wait to get started again in January...well, actually, we can!  We'll enjoy the break and be ready to BRING IT come 2010.

Happy 40th Lance!

Lance Brown, Vandy football chaplain, mentor to Ryan during his college years, and the guy who married us, celebrated his 40th birthday this weekend!  His wife Aimee served up her famous desserts and that was all it took to get Ryan there!  Thanks Lance for your impact in our lives!

The first of many football games!

Madison went to her first football game on Friday night!  They don't make a CPA cheerleading uniform any smaller than a 4T so we had a makeshift cheerleading outfit with a purple & white striped onesie, purple skirt, and purple bow!  She was precious!!!!  She loves her daddy so much...she just lights up when he gives her attention and smiles at her.  We had fun cheering for him in the stands until she got pooped around 8pm.  She slept in her sling like a little papoose!  

It was a tough loss, 28-27.  I'm sure she'll be able to witness her fair share of wins in the future!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  DADDY!

Her new pose

She's got 3 frequent poses these days - one is laying on her back with her hands folded behind her head.  Ryan calls it her centerfold pose.  The second is sucking her thumb on one hand with the other hand covering her eyes.  The third is biting her lower lip.  I was able to catch 2 of the 3:

She's all girl...

So, I've told many of you that if Madison Claire turns out to be a tomboy, it will be a huge parenting challenge for me.  Well - it's looking like we are grooming her early to be all girl!  Cheryl (Nana) took Madison to a facial seminar and jewelry party last week and then Annie & I took her shoe shopping.  It's all in a days work :)

Congratulations, Sarah!

We celebrated tonight with our good friends the Clayton's!  Sarah graduated this summer from the University of Tennessee dental school - WOO HOO!  If you need a good dentist in town, let us know!  Congratulations, Sarah!

Smiley

So....my dad was called Smiley growing up because he used to get in trouble in school because he would smile so much - especially when someone would do something wrong...so the teachers would think it was him.  

I'm convinced that this must run in the family because our sweet angel can't stop smiling.  She even smiles with her eyes...all you America's Next Top Model fans, Tyra would be proud!

Check her out:

SOOOOOO Cute!

Beach Bound

Nanny Annie, Madison Claire & myself packed up and headed down to Destin for a few days for a nice beach getaway!  We went to see the Bradshaws & Stiernagles so they could see Madison and we could get a break.  Madison made the trip down there like a champ - she was so easy!!  We got there late on Wednesday night and were able to stay at the condo until Saturday morning.  We had a great time laying out by the pool, shopping, visiting with our friends and spending time with Madison Claire.  Ellie was precious and made me look forward to Madison being that age.  I'm sure they will be fast friends as they get older! 

Thank you to the Bradshaws/Stiernagles for letting us crash their vacay - I miss you guys already!  Thank you to Annie too for being willing to go down to the beach with me. I never would have made the trip on my own and was so glad to have her help!!

Until next time Destin...

Prayers for my Aunt Debbie

My Aunt Debbie wasn't feeling great when she was here so when she got back to Atlanta she went to the Emergency room with stomach pains and they found a mass in her pancreas.  We were all really concerned but trusting in God's sovereignty.  After some more tests, scans and a biopsy, they found that she has pancreatic cancer.  It is in the early stages and hasn't spread which is great news because it is usually a "silent" killer.  She has surgery scheduled for this Wednesday and may need some chemo afterwards depending on what type of cancer it is.  We are still waiting for the pathology report for those details.

Once again, I am reminded of how I hate cancer and how it can come out of nowhere.  I am also reminded of God's goodness to us - it is a miracle that they were able to find the cancer so early.  They say that her stomach pains were not related to the pancreas but it was those pains that led the doctors to do the MRI which showed the tumor in the pancreas.  Praise the Lord!

Please keep my Aunt Debbie in your prayers.  Please also pray for my family as it just feels like everyone close to us is suffering.  My Aunt Lynn has breast cancer, my Papa Howard is still in the hospital, my Aunt Debbie has pancreatic cancer and we just lost the Morgans, my Mama Lambdin, and my moms good friend Marilyn.  It's almost too much...but we are trusting in the Lord and his faithfulness to us.

Visit with Mom, Sarah, Aunt Debbie & Jaime

We had a fun visit with mom, Sarah, Aunt Debbie & Jaime.  They came up for a quick trip so Jaime could see Madison.  We met for dinner at Pei Wei that evening and on the way home Madison just completely lost it!  She hasn't cried like that since she has been born and I was totally freaked out.  She was completely inconsolable.  We pulled over on the side of the road so I could get her out of the car and hold her to see if she would calm down - BIG mistake!!  She calmed down a little bit but then it got horrible again and I had to put her back in the car seat to get home.  Note to self - next time just make it home!!!

When we got home, I fed her and rocked her and she finally calmed down.  We think she was uncomfortable and hurting from her shots the previous day.  She hadn't been running a fever and seemed fine so I stopped giving her Tylenol around noon that day since it had been 24 hours.  I'm wondering if it just wore off & she was really hurting.  Poor thing!!!  Luckily my Aunt Debbie was a nurse so I felt comfortable with her assessment of the situation! 

We had a great time visiting with everyone - but especially Jaime who is pregnant with a little girl and due in late November.  She was SO cute pregnant and it totally made me miss being pregnant!  I was able to send her home with a whole container full of cute little girl clothes for Grace Elizabeth.  We can't wait to meet her!!!  

Everyone loved Madison Claire and couldn't believe hoe much she had grown!

Madison's 4 month appointment

Madison had her 4 month appointment with Dr. Heil.  He couldn't believe how strong she was and thought she was very engaging!  Here are her stats:

Height - 25 inches - 72%

Weight - 13.6 - 40%

Head Circumference - 40.6cm - 36%

Our little shrimpy is still showing a trend of dropping in weight, so he recommended we give her one tablespoon of rice cereal once a day to help her out with some extra calories.  He also said that my milk supply is better than average (around 6 oz. a feeding) so it must mean she has a fast metabolism.  Let's hope that stays with her throughout the rest of her life!

She was so funny when it came time for her shots.  The first one they give is the Rotavirus which is in a liquid form that they swallow.  She must have remembered that after that one came the ones that hurt so she just started crying and crying as soon as she had to start swallowing the Rotavirus - what a smart cookie!!  She cried more than last time with the shots but was happy once I picked her up. 

So this tees up the rice cereal video...enjoy!

Madison Claire eats Rice Cereal

I'll post more later with an actual update on what's been going on with us lately but here is the video of her first encounter with rice cereal for mom & dad!  Enjoy!

Howard Family Reunion

Madison Claire and I went to Chattanooga this past weekend for a Howard family gathering. We were able to see my immediate and extended family in Chattanooga. Ryan had football that morning so he wasn't able to go. I was a little nervous about making the trip with Madison by myself but she was amazing and definitely gave me more confidence to do trips just the 2 of us moving forward. There were several highlights of the trip:

*Madison showed off her new trick of rolling over to Mom, Dad, Sarah, Ryan & Patrick

*Madison had fun jumping in the door jumper

*Madison was able to meet two of her second cousins for the first time - Max & Elijah! Max is 2 weeks older than Madison and was just a doll...check out all of his hair!! Elijah was just adorable and made me so excited for Madison to be that age (he'll be 2 in October). We can't wait to see them again!

*I had a great time visiting with their moms, my cousins, Elizabeth & Shelley. Special thanks to Elizabeth for taking the cute pictures of Madison - especially my favorite one of her smiling with her gummies!!

*We had a great meal thanks to my Mama Howard - the corn was the best!

*We took Madison & Max to visit my Papa Howard in the rehabilitation hospital where he is. They are too young to go in and see him and we would be too afraid they would get sick but my papa so wanted to see them and we really wanted to make that happen. We ended up pulling my uncle Russ's truck outside of his room and Russ held Madison and Sarah held Max while Shelley and I were inside. They looked like they were in a parade! It was hard to see them though so we had my uncle Russ hold them each above his head so they were right in the window for my papa to see. It was hilarious!! Check out the video:

My papa seemed to be doing better and was able to move his hands and feet. He still has a long recovery ahead of him so please continue to keep him in your prayers. We look forward to having him be at home for the next family gathering!

How cute is this?

I mean seriously...could she be any cuter? She looks like a little DOLL!!

Kate's visit

Kate came to town the weekend before last for a visit with us. It was a special treat to have her here to see Madison Claire and spend time with us...especially because things have been frustrating with work lately...it was great to be reminded of one of the best perks of working at Stockamp over the past 7 years - and that is walking away with a lifelong friend!

Kate couldn't believe how much Madison had changed from the last time she was here. As usual, Kate came bearing gifts of the cutest clothes for Madison Claire! She took one look at her closet and said, "okay, I have to stop!" because she was shocked at how many clothes our little punkin has! Madison looked ADORABLE in her new little outfits from Auntie Kate and they have quickly become two of my favorites on her! She is sporting them here:

We went to CPA the first night to watch the end of the first ever Iron Man competition. Ryan created this as a way to get the guys excited about working out through the summer so we went to support him. It was Madison's first trip into CPA stadium...I'm sure there will be many more to come!

Kate treated Ryan and I to dinner at Bonefish for our anniversary on Saturday night! We went to dinner and then saw Harry Potter. It was great fun! Oh - and did I mention that Kate brought a pressie for me too? It's a beautiful ABS dress so I wore it that night. THANKS KATE for a great weekend!!