Thanksgiving

Where did we go for Thanksgiving?

You guessed it...Birmingham! Actually, we were there for an entire week! Steven and I attended a wedding the Saturday before, and we sure weren't going to drive back and forth two times in one week. So a week in the Ham it was. How wonderful to get to visit family and friends.

We had a blast, especially on Thanksgiving Day. Here are some pics to fill you in on the fun!

We don't let Madelyn watch TV, but the Macy's parade is an exception (and a tradition.) She loved it!

For lunch we headed to my grandparents house to meet with aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I was soooo excited about all of the yummy food we'd be eating that day. And I couldn't wait for Madelyn to dig into our family favorites for the first time!
(fyi: in the south everything is served as a casserole! sweet potato, squash, broccoli/cheese, dressing...)

Sadly, she wasn't interested in eating; too much excitement I guess. Little Girl did not know what she was missing out on in the kitchen! (I think I ate the food off her tray so it wasn't wasted!)
She'd rather be....

and...

...and once she explored the house, outside she went!

the Fab Four: Bethany, Drew, Holly, me

sweet pic of Steven and me ;)

love the candid one!

The Stanford clan

This year sweet Autumn's 1st birthday was on Thanksgiving Day. Precious!

She loved her cake (that matched her dress by the way.)

From there we headed over to Jay and Melissa's house to celebrate the day with the Hyde side of the family.

Cooking it up in the kitchen (no, she's not a lunch lady!)

the hostess with the mostess!

Melissa worked hard on her pretty table :)

Another first for the day:

we don't feed Madelyn sweets, but yet another exception...she loved pumpkin pie!

Our time in Birmingham was wonderful! Everyone enjoyed seeing Madelyn (and Steven and me too I suppose!) After being gone about 9 days, the three of us were glad to be back home. And Miss Madelyn was right back where she left off...

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!

July

Here's a quick post about what we did during the month of July!

On the way back from our beach trip we stopped in Bham for the weekend of the 4th. It was a super quick trip, but we mananged to squeeze in some face time with family. Here are a few pics...

Maw Maw Stanford must have the magic touch! Madelyn does not go to sleep on anyone!

Hanging out with Maw Maw and Paw Paw Burrell.

The Girls!

The girls and their Paw Paw. :)

I mentioned that Madelyn started crawling around the time we were at the beach. So when we got back to our house it seemed like we brought back another baby... a mobile baby! We quickly realized that we had to baby-proof everywhere! And she's off....

Within a week or so of crawling, Madelyn started straightening her legs as if to stand up! She got a new view of her feet and thought it was funny!

This cracked us up... One day Madelyn decided to get into her toy basket (which was a first) and she proceeded to take out ALL of the toys, but didn't play with them. Just took them out.

About the middle of the month I made a discovery. When I went in to get Madelyn up one day, I noticed that the crib rail was scratched up. I figured it was from my belt buckle when leaning over, except I don't ever wear a belt.

Sure enough...

It wasn't my belt at all; it was little teeth!! That girl was standing up in her crib!! And chewing on the rail!

And ever since then she has been crawling all over the place and pulling up on anything and everything! It all happened so fast! :(

We were glad to have Steven's parents up for a few days. They had tons of fun playing with Madelyn and she was loving all the attention. (She's not waving, just crazy timing with a wild arm!)

And we went on a date!!!

This was our quick family pic before taking Steven to the airport. He was in CA for the last week of the month. Those are long weeks (but only happen a couple of times a year.) And we missed him like crazy! I sent him a pic of Madelyn everyday so he got to see his little girl! :)

Madelyn and I did our thing for a few days while he was gone. Then we were so excited to have my mom, sister, and niece up for a visit. Crazy times! (I'll give "the girls" their own post.)

Also, at the end of the month Madelyn turned 9 months old! I'll post her portraits later. :)

July was the month of Madelyn on the move! It all happened so fast!! Our lives will never be the same. :)

June

The month started off with Steven in CA for a week. We weren't alone for too long though! My brother and youngest sister came up for a visit. I loved spending time with them! Madelyn loved having playmates (and an audience for her recently learned tantrums- just 2 so far!)



She started to get the hang of balancing and learned to sit up when we put her down! (A sitting baby makes things easier for Mommy!)

This month Madelyn started playing with a sippy cup. I say "playing" because that's what this teething girl likes to do- chew on the straw. But once she figured out how to suck through the straw she loved it! We like to take water breaks throughout the day. :)

We would catch Madelyn rocking back and forth on all fours in her crib and sometimes on the floor. Not crawling...her preferred method of movement was no longer rolling, but creeping! She kind of looked like a seal at times pushing and pulling herself with her hands while little legs and feet trailed behind. She's getting closer to being mobile!

In mid June, Aunt Shelley and Uncle Hans stopped by for a visit on their way to/from Bham. They had not seen Madelyn since Thanksgiving, so she sure appeared to be a big girl! Madelyn loved playing with them!

FYI: We love purple! ...

On June 14 we celebrated Steven's first Father's Day. He is such a great dad! Many of you know Steven as "Mr. Tough Guy," but not around his baby girl. He is patient and kind with little Madelyn and loves her so much. She smiles so big when he enters the room; she sure loves her daddy!

Towards the end of the month Madelyn learned to sit herself up. I figured this out when I went in her room during naptime one day...oh my!

Here's how I learned to sit up in my crib!

1. start out on all fours...

2. hit the splits...

3. walk hands back and push up...

4. sit up! (and play instead of sleep!)

Teething!! Going in to June Madelyn had her two bottom teeth. At the start of the month she cut two on top and by the middle of the month she cut another! So the June count is 5!

We ended the month of June with a trip to the beach! Much more on that later! :)