January

We started off the new year, like every year, with Steven's birthday! This time it was the big 30! Our family got together when we were in Bham for a wee surprise party that included Jim & Nicks BBQ and sweet tea!! Yum!!

I finally gave in and got Steven a PS3 for his birthday. What was I thinking?!! All you wives of "gamers" out there know what I mean!

Steven got his mention...now on to Madelyn. ha! :)

Our little 15 month old just doesn't seem so little!

At her 15 month check up Madelyn weighed 24 lbs. (75%) and was 31.5 inches long (75%)

Now, do not let that sweet face fool you. Madelyn has learned to use that sweet face to her advantage. If she knows she's doing something that will get her in trouble, and I see her, she'll smile so sweetly and wave to me and say "hi!"

Like, let me distract you Mommy with my sweetness so you'll forget what I was doing. (I'll admit, it is pretty cute!)

In the food department: Madelyn showed interest in her utensils and began trying to feed herself. I was proud of her, but also proud of myself for just letting her go for it and not worrying about messes!

Those canines came in so the tooth count is 16. I think she'll get one more set of molars one day and that will be it for baby teeth! wow!

Madleyn loves to play, play, play! I think she was going to the grocery store on this day. Pushing her cart/buggy around is part of her daily routine!



I've mentioned before that Madelyn loves to read books. She'll pick out a book and come to sit in our laps for a reading session. (Mommy and Daddy love it too!)


Something else Madelyn likes is for us to sing to her, particularly the ABC song and the Bumble Bee song. (Neither Steven nor I are good singers, but it doesn't matter to our little lady.)


So far her words have been one syllable, ususally the beginning sound of a word. But one day I heard Madelyn say "heppa" referring to her one of her favorite books about helpers. I was so excited! A two syllable word!

Here is my little helper stirring in her bowl like Mommy does.

Madelyn is a quick learner, and knows what she wants! She knows to put on shoes and open the door to go outside. Cracks me up! (thank goodness for locks!)

Oh, and did I mention ear infection #2? Not fun. Fortunately we've learned the signs and symptoms. But there were a couple of rough nights were none of us slept! Ugh!

Well 2010 was off to its start! January was cold and the winter snow was upon us. More on the snow later.

We stayed inside and had plenty of free entertainment!

1st Birthday

Our "Little Ladybug" turned one at the end of October. So we headed to Bham to celebrate with friends and family.

This summer I took a Wilton cake decorating class and felt empowered to make birthday cupcakes. They didn't look so bad when I made them...


But when I put them out at the party... the colors had begun to bleed so they didn't look too appetizing. :(

Madelyn was content playing with tissue paper for a while!

She loves to talk on her new cell phone!

And her new Teddy is so soft!

But the highlight for Madelyn was the red balloon!!

(We took it home and she played with it for another 2 weeks!)

She didn't mind that the cupcakes didn't look right.

She enjoyed her cupcake indeed!

We had a great day!!

And of course we had one year portraits made:

Madelyn's 12 month checkup went well. She measured 30.5 inches (90%) and weighed 23 pounds (75%). She is a growing girl!! :)

September

At the start of September Madelyn was 10 months old- that's double digits in baby age! She really took off growing and developing; something new everyday so it seemed!
Here are some things we noted about her during this month:
-quick little cruiser; brave enough to let go of things to stand; began stepping from here to there
-began pointing, waving, and making choices (usually about food and books)
-tooth #8 came in, completing the front four
-parenting became tougher! Used the word "no" more times than I can count :)

So what else was going on? We headed to Bham for a quick Labor Day weekend.

Nana, you didn't want these did you?

Loved the piano at Aunt Melissa's house!

Sharing toys with cousin Autumn


Hanging out in the backyard (watching the dogs!)

When we got back home she...

Began taking big girl baths :)

Pushed this around EVERYDAY! (The best $5 I've ever spent!)

Mommy had a birthday helper.

As usual....Into whatever she can find!

January (recap)

We started off the new year by celebrating Steven's birthday.

Oh look, another bday cheesecake (those are popular at our house!)



The first of the month also meant another trip to the pediatrician for Madelyn's 2 month well-baby visit. She was 23.5 inches long (90th percentile) and weighed 11 pounds 14 oucnes (75th percentile.) We couldn't believe how much she'd grown! Her physical changes were apparent, but also this month we notice her little personality developing. She began to smile more and coo and interact with us. Funny how a quick diaper change would end up being 30 mintues of play time!

spending some time relaxing with Daddy

Madelyn is not a big fan of "tummy time." She usually fusses and then....

There was one day/night (prior to the ice storm) when the temperature dropped below zero! That night Steven and I were like, "I dare you to go outside in your PJs!" (we did!)

Madelyn loves to ride around in her carrier. It is quite convenient!

My college roommate, Shelley, flew up from Bham for a visit. We didn't do anything too exciting, but hung out around the house and caught up, relived old times, etc. She is so sweet and such fun!

By now you're all aware that the last week of January we had Ice Storm '09 here in KY. It was a day of snow, then ice, then more snow.

(last time I checked trees weren't supposed to bend like that!)

Then on Wednesday (the day after the mess) our power went out. We hadn't experienced an outage since we lived here, so we thought is was no big deal. That night the three of us cuddled on the couch under a blanket. Steven and I just talked and reminisced...it was a good time!

Thursday morning we woke up and were still without power. Steven headed to work and Madelyn and I stayed home.

We just knew the power would come back on at any time. It did not! Once it was below 50 degrees in the house we had to leave. We stayed in a hotel that night and Friday morning Madelyn and I headed to Birmingham for the weekend. Don't you know that when I called Steven to tell him we made it, he said the power had just come back on! Go figure.

After all that drama, I was rethinking the events of the week. My, how I could have handled it differently! I had a rotten attitude the minute our power went out. I was inconvenienced. I was mad that I couldn't do the things I wanted to do. Did I stop to be thankful for anything? No. How horrible! I should have been thankful for so many things, but my selfishness got in the way. My family and I were safe, we had a roof over our heads, food to eat, and (eventually) a warm place to go. We were even able to get one of the last generators at Home Depot. Our power was restored after 3 days while some people were without for over a week. The Lord takes care of us in times of need (and forgives us when we mess up) and for that I am grateful!!

Miss Madelyn seemed to change a lot during the month of January. It is so fun to see her grow each day, to see what new sound she'll make or new facial expression she'll show us!

(Ok, I'm making progress on catching up....)

So as for September

Now let me take some time to catch you up on September so far...


Labor Day weekend- We made a trip down to Birmingham to visit family. It was nice to be back in Alabama and see everyone! A highlight of the weekend was celebrating Steven's grandfather's 90th birthday...what a milestone!


Steven and his grandparents (soon our girl's great-grandparents!)

They'll probably be mad for me posting this, but it cracks me up! This is how it usually goes when trying to take a picture with my side of the family...chaos!

Baby Update- This month Steven and I have made a few trips to the hospital for some parenting classes. We learned oh so much about breastfeeding, basic baby care, and infant CPR. We still have a class or two to go, and we hope to be futher enlightened on all kinds of parenting stuff. Lately people have been asking, "Are you ready?" referring to the baby's arrival and becoming a parent. Doesn't everyone know that the answer is and will always be "No!" (ha ha!) Really though, we are super excited about our family growing and becoming a mommy and daddy to our little girl!

Baby Shower- This past weekend we made another trip to Birmingham (our last until Christmas) for a baby shower hosted by my sweetest, dearest friends. It was a quick trip, but we enjoyed every minute of seeing family and friends. We are so thankful for everyone's love and support!!

hostesses: Cathy (Leah's wonderful mom), Leah (bestest friend), Shelley (funnest college rommie), Melissa (sweet sister-in-law)

Beautiful table and yummy food!

soon-to-be- mother with soon-to-be-grandmothers

Mommy and Daddy-to-be!

Birthdays- My side of the family was fortunate to have everyone get together this weekend for an early celebration of my mom's- let's just say "milestone birthday!" We went to The Club on Red Mountain for dinner and enjoyed the evening together.

Happy Birthday to Mom!

The Stanford Clan (Steven behind the camera!)

Dad & Mom

Holly, Drew, Bethany, & Alison

Our growing family: Steven, Alison, and Baby Hyde

And yesterday Steven and I celebrated my birthday with my very own cheesecake! (I guess I'll share it with him, after all, he is my baby's daddy!) Lately when it comes to food I love, I get a little protective. It's like "People step away- I'm a pregnant woman with my own cheesecake...I have a fork and I'm not afraid to use it!" (ha ha!)




Until next time...