A New View at 3 Months

In the blink of an eye, Madelyn is 3 months old. Wow! is all I have to say about that. It's been fast and furious.

I have started to think that Madelyn is tired of going from swing to bouncy seat to play mat to mommy's lap. It's time for something new. I was going through clothes in her closet this morning and looked up to see the Bumbo. I thought, okay let's just try this and see what happens.




It was a big hit with this little grinner! She was able to see the world from a new point of view. She has had the strongest neck since birth and just sat there like she had done it a million times.

Hearing all my crazy voices to get smiles for the camera, Karlee came to see what was going on. Of course the jealous one had to get in the picture too!



I put Madelyn in her crib to run downstairs to bring up some laundry. She immediately started crying and then it just stopped. I ran back upstairs to see this precious sight.



Karlee said, "It's okay mommy. I'm taking care of her." What a great big sister. She had pulled a chair from the play room into the nursery and given Madelyn a toy. Madelyn was grinning and happy as she could be. I'm just glad it was a toy she couldn't swallow and choke on.



I then realized that I had not taken a single picture of Madelyn in her crib or nursery. I guess it's because she is still sleeping in the cradle in our room and only naps in her room on occasion. When she starts sleeping in her crib will be a joyous occasion though. That would mean she is sleeping through the night. I'm starting to wonder if that time will ever come!

The Big 3!

Karlee turned 3 on Tuesday. I just can't believe it. This has been the fastest but most fun 3 years of my life. I just can't put into words how I feel about Karlee. She is such a joy and the most precious, kind-hearted child in the world (in my opinion!). I had no idea how much love you could truly have for someone until she was born. Don't get me wrong, I love Chip with all my heart but love for a child is just different. I feel like it was yesterday that I was pouring tears holding and kissing her for the first time.



I cried some on Tuesday too. The thought of how fast time has flown and looking at Madelyn knowing the same thing is happening with her. I'm just trying to savor every moment with both my girls.

Madelyn and I woke Karlee before school by singing Happy Birthday as we opened her door. She sat up and said "it's my birthday! We get to have a party with animals again!" I had to break the sad news that we weren't having another animal party that day. We headed downstairs and Karlee helped make chocolate chip pancakes. She was excited to tell me she was 3!



I took cupcakes to school at snack time and all the kids sang Happy Birthday. It was so cute! There are several kids out with strep, which Karlee now has. This is the second year in a row she has gotten strep on her birthday. That is not a good birthday present, trust me.



Chip cooked an amazing birthday dinner for us, my parents, his parents, Mawmaw, Adam, and Erin. We followed it with cake and ice cream and the most important thing to Karlee, presents! We actually had to open presents before eating cake. The cupcakes did me in for baking for a while so we had red velvet cheesecake from Gourmet Tiger!




Karlee was spoiled by everyone. But I have to say, the gift from Grandmomma and Grandaddy is going back to their house to be played with there. There are enough instruments to start a family rock band: Adam on drums, Karlee on harmonica, and Madelyn on maracas!






It was a special day for my sweet angel. Karlee, you are the light of our lives. Mommy, Daddy, and Madelyn love you so much. Happy Birthday!

Petting Zoo Party Fun

We had Karlee's birthday party at Pat Starr's farm on Saturday. Karlee was so excited about her animal party and talked about it all week. It was a beautiful day but down right COLD!

Karlee met Charlie the donkey when we arrived and took off to show Granna and Granpa all the other animals while Chip and I got things set up. She knew her way around the farm pretty well because we had taken her there the previous Monday to check everything out. I put out the cupcakes that I had spent the entire day Friday making (never will I do these again!!). As soon as I did, the pet deer, Bucky, came sniffing around. I had to make sure no other loose animals were lurking around to eat my hard work!





Karlee's friends started showing up and it was clear the party was going to be a lot of fun. Kids were running everywhere to see all the animals that were tied to trees and fences. Miniature horses, goats, donkeys, and the deer were just out to be played with. A horse was available for riding to the ones that wanted to. Karlee would have stayed on the horse all day had I let her!





We loaded up on a hay ride and went to the other side of the farm to feed the cows.




When we pulled back to the side where all the animals were, the camel and llamas were waiting for us. The camel is what Karlee had been ready to see again all week. His name is Travis and is the sweetest thing. All of the kids enjoyed feeding him. Hudson was the first to sit on him and then it was a merry go round of putting kids on and taking kids off. Hudson was the only kid to let Travis stand!







Once the kids had moved on to play with other animals, the real entertainment of the party started! Pat Starr had talked Chip into riding the camel. Pat was experimenting to see if the camel could hold an adult. Just sitting on the standing camel turned into opening the gate and letting the camel walk around the pasture with Chip on his back. The poor camel was literally screaming to get Chip to get off his back. It was hilarious!






Pat brought out some baby goats for everyone to hold and play with. They were so cute. I thought about asking Chip if we could bring one home, but then, that would just be another mouth I would have to feed. I'll just settle with playing with them on the farm!





After settling down from laughter, we cleaned hands and sang happy birthday. The kiddos picked a pig or chick cupcake and enjoyed talking to each other about the animals. Karlee had to sit by Hugh Harris to eat. This is her boyfriend from school (as she says)! Her teachers say they are inseparable in class.





Thomas Dilworth said, "Mrs. Allyson, let's do this again!" Music to my ears. I was so glad the kids enjoyed the petting zoo farm even though it was so cold. The only thing I would have changed was had someone else take the pictures for me. It was hard to capture everything and everyone because there were so many cute moments (and I didn't change my camera settings for outdoor sunny day pics). I will definitely have to plan a play date out there when the weather warms up more. Before we left, Grandaddy helped Karlee catch a duck and feed Bucky and Charlie before they were put back in the barn.

Nap Time Reading

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hello Miss Bear

Madelyn loves her bear lovie. She has started rubbing the silk blanket bottom and coos like crazy when she's holding it. She makes the sweetest sounds when she gets excited!

Fun at the Circus

Saturday afternoon Karlee and I headed to Columbus to see the circus. We went to the pre-show for a little while and Karlee got to test out the motorcycle. This is one of the guys that rode the motorcycle in a steel cage upside down!



Chip made it in time to see the show after his fishing tournament. I'm glad because when the elephants came out, Karlee jumped down and wanted to go touch them (we had floor seats). She kept saying "three dumbos, three dumbos!" One of her favorite movies is Dumbo. I was just waiting for her to ask when they were going to fly but she didn't.



Most of the pictures I took are blurry because we couldn't use flash during the show. Karlee did pretty well during the entire 2 hour show but got a little restless towards the end. She didn't have a nap and it definitely showed toward the end! She wouldn't let me take a picture of her at all.

What do you think?

I think they have some of the same features, especially the eyes. I just wonder what color hair Madelyn will have. It has a hint of red in the sunlight.

Karlee 10 weeks

Madelyn 11 weeks

Checkup Time

Yesterday was checkup time at the doctor for Madelyn and Karlee. I scheduled Madelyn's 2 month late and Karlee's 3 year early so I only had to make one trip to the pediatrician during flu season (I hope!). I had warned Karlee all day that Madelyn was going to get shots and she may cry. I told her the shots didn't hurt but Madelyn would be scared. She would cry since she can't talk. I really didn't want Karlee to be traumatized!

The talk must have worked because when Madelyn started to cry after the first shot, Karlee leaned over and kissed her head. She said, "It's okay. I'm here." Tears welled up in my eyes but I didn't want to cry in front of Karlee too. She is such a sweet big sister.

Here are the stats:

Madelyn 11 lbs 11 ounces (50th percentile), 22 inches long (10th percentile)

Karlee 25 lbs 8 ounces (3rd percentile), 35 3/4 inches tall (25th percentile)

Here are their actions:

Madelyn: She eats about every 3-4 hours day and night, about 3-4 ounces each feeding. She still doesn't take a bottle from me at all but is getting better with Chip. It's hard to know what amount of milk to put in the bottle since she only wants to eat from me. She is definitely a mommy's girl. She just doesn't calm down for Chip easily when he tries to take her off my hands for a while. Madelyn is pretty much a happy baby. She usually only cries when she's hungry or when she's fighting sleep at night. She does not sleep well, only about 3-4 hours at a time (even at night) and sometimes only naps in the morning and doesn't go to sleep again until bedtime (usually between 9:30-10:00). I am exhausted all the time. She loves to coo and smile. She has laughed several times when I really get the baby talk going. The changing pad on my bathroom counter is by far her favorite place to be. We literally stayed in there an hour one day and she put on a show for me with all the "talking". Madelyn obviously loves her sister already because her eyes follow Karlee everywhere. As soon as Madelyn hears Karlee's voice, the eyes start going back and forth looking for her. It's so sweet. She has moved out of most newborn clothes and is wearing 3 month. She has started holding small rattles and loves to have something in her hand to rub when trying to suck her thumb. She has almost mastered getting the thumb in her mouth when she wants it. It's always the right hand thumb. She is a big fan of tummy time for about 3.2 seconds. She prefers to be sitting up straight in my lap or propped in the boppy. She wants to see what's going on at all times.





Karlee: She is a pretty good eater, even though the scale may not show it. I'm just glad she is finally on the weight chart. The negative percentile at age 2 really had me worried. She loves dipping food in "dip dip." The latest dip she loves is honey mustard. If we put that on her plate, she will dip everything and usually cleans her plate (or gets really close). Karlee wants to help do everything, which makes doing anything around the house take twice as long. She is my child that sleeps well. She still takes a 3 hour nap every afternoon (at least at my house, grandmomma's house is a different story!). She goes to sleep at night easy after we read 3 or 4 books and stays asleep all night. She calls me when she wakes up to come get her. Since being in her big girl bed, she has never gotten out by herself and come out of her room. She is potty trained fully and pretty much off the little potty and only uses the big potty. She was sleeping in pullups but now is in panties and has only wet the bed once. Karlee is an outdoor girl. She will probably play sports because she loves doing anything with a ball. Her imagination just amazes me. Pretend play is a big part of the day at our house. She also loves puzzles. We can sit for hours and put together 30-50 piece puzzles. Karlee actually does most of the work. It's a great way to match colors and shapes. She can count to twenty (when she's in a good mood) and knows all of her colors. She knows most of the letters of the alphabet but not which order quite yet. We are working on the ABC song. She loves singing and music. We listen to "I'm in the Lord's Army" about 1 million times a day and she sings all the words and does all the hand motions. Her teacher says she really loves music class every week. Her vocabulary is extensive. She can carry on conversations with anyone and you NEVER know what she is going to say. The conversations in the car are my favorite!





Life is great right now. I'm enjoying every minute of being a mommy of two (sleep or no sleep!).