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!