Bummer

Ok, so I'm quite bummed that this didn't come out 2 months ago before I quit Nissan. I feel even worse for all the employees who took the buyout last year, since it wasn't even close to this offer. I'm sure Nissan will see a lot of law suits over it. Oh well. There's more important things than $100,000, such as the beautiful, perfect little girl we've been blessed with.

25 weeks old

Maddie had her first kiss tonight from little Brady. It was so cute. Jenn was holding Maddie and Jenn's mom was holding Brady. Brady wanted to hug Maddie so they brought the two kiddos together. Both of them reached out and kissed each other. I'm sure it was accidental but it was still precious. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera tonight so I don't have a picture of it but here are some other pictures from the week.



The following picture is my favorite! Jon actually captured the smile I love so much!




I was making dinner in the kitchen one night this week. Maddie was on the floor on her mat and I noticed how quiet she was. She was staring at JoJo who was lying next to her and in one hand she had a handful of his skin. Hey, if it keeps her happy I let him stay there so I could finish our meal. I guess I have a new babysitter during the day.




Speaking of babysitters, we had our first babysitter last night. Up to this point we've only left her 3 times, and each time was with one of our friends. Last night we had a GI dinner so a 16 year old who was recommended to me by a friend came over. I tried to arrange Maddie's sleep schedule during the day in order for her to go to bed earlier than usual. She took a long morning nap but her afternoon nap wasn't as long as I would have liked. We had to leave at 6 so I wanted to put her to bed then so the babysitter didn't have to. It worked out just fine. She was exhausted since she had to stay up from 2:15 till 6 (usually she only stays up for 2 hours at a time) but she went to bed without any problems. She woke up a couple of times but went right back to sleep. It definitely was an easy $10 an hour for the sitter, but I'm just glad everything went so well.

Sweet Potatoes

We switched Maddie to sweet potatoes. She definitely appreciated the change.

Silly conquest

I have to brag about what Jon and I accomplished on this very uneventful Sunday. We finished an entire crossword puzzle. I finished the first 2/3 by myself then Jon finished the rest because I was officially stumped. I have never even finished half a crossword before so I was excited.

Love those Peas!

We fed Maddie some more peas last night. Her first spoonful was hilarious, I really wish we had it on video. Maddie loves putting everything in her mouth, so when I presented her with the spoon loaded with peas she excitedly chomped down on the entire spoonful not realizing the peas were there. She then froze with the spoon in her mouth, as if thinking "ok, didn't expect that." It was really cute. I think she actually swallowed some of the peas so we're going to try and feed her solid food once a day.

Jogging stroller.

Maddie and I went running the past two mornings. We ran around the 0.8 mile loop at Granny White Park. The first day she didn't really like it so we only made it two laps, which I didn't mind cutting the run short because I had no idea what a workout it would be. I think I had her strapped in too tight so she was uncomfortable. The next day I loosened the straps and threw some toys in with her and I didn't hear a peep the whole time. We ran three laps and it seriously took everything out of me. My arms and legs were definitely burning. I have to push down on the stroller to turn it so that was a workout for my arms and since I can't use the momentum of my arms pumping my legs got quite a workout as well. I barely had the strength and energy to make the left hand turn back to the car after the run. Anyways, it's great to know I have the option to exercise with her. Both days she woke up before 7 so we got out early when it was still cool. It just dawned on me yesterday that it's already the middle of July, which means August is around the corner. I'm dreading August based on how miserable it was last year so don't think the jogging stroller will get much use until the fall.

This was after the run. She looks quite relaxed.

Maddie and I playing with her blocks.

"You know mom, it's a lot easier without this yellow thing."

"Whoa dad, don't let go!"

OOOLALA, we dressed so pretty this week in little french outfits from Grandma.

Beautiful blue eyes! Note the drool on her chin. I really think I felt a tooth coming through tonight.

More Scrapbook pages

Here are some more pages. The only ones I created from scratch are of my dad and Jon visiting. I found a wonderful program with tons of designs and all I have to do is drop the pictures in place. I love it! I can choose the background paper, embellishment level, and titles. The only problem is they only have one design in a square format.

23 weeks old

Maddie is showing more personality lately. She's had some mild tantrums. If she's not happy in her excersaucer she'll throw her self back, wail, and raise her arms. She also gives kisses now. I don't think they're kisses so much as just sucking on my cheek, but she'll put both her arms around my neck to pull me close and then put her mouth to my cheek. It's so precious. I can't stop laughing when she does it, which makes her laugh.

I bought Maddie some blocks this week. When I first showed them to her I placed her on her stomach and dumped them out of the of box. She started cracking up. It was so cute. She couldn't stop laughing. She then rolled to her back and each time she looked at the blocks she'd start laughing again. I got my camera hoping to capture it on tape but I think she got used to them and didn't think they were funny anymore.

Sleeping with her new bedtime friend.

Practicing sitting. She sat for a few seconds by herself.

Spikey baby.

Outfit from grandma.

Playing with the bucket the blocks came in.