9 months

Maddox had his Nine month check up today. When Dr. Murphy came in and looked at his measurements he said "Well your nine month old weighs in about the same as a healthy one year old". My favorite part was when he left after checking Maddox over he said that he bet we felt like we had a one year old on our hands. He obviously noticed Maddox's busyness, strength and determination. Maddox did do a really great job of letting Dr. Murphy check him over. He was so curious the whole time just watching Dr. Murphy. He didn't love the shot and getting blood drawn so much but he only cried for a minute and we are so blessed that he has really never had a bad reaction or side affect from hist shots.

So much has changed since last time we saw him at Maddox's six month appointment. He has learned so much, he is doing so many more things, he is pulling up, grabbing things with his hands, crawling, responding to his name, he has figured out how to get your attention when he wants something, he is talking and saying things like Dah Dah, Dah and then he makes the same noises that his little Caterpillar dump truck makes, THHHHTTT, THHHHT ,and he blows raspberries. He Screams oh boy does he scream, he rarely cries but he will definitely scream to get your attention when he wants it. He is eating great. He loves food and has really not turned his nose up to anything I have made him. That has been such a fun thing for me to do for him is make all of the food that he eats. I feel like he will be much more receptive to different foods, tastes and flavors because we have done this for him and given him the experience of a variety of great organic foods. He has learned to associate things and that has been fun to watch. Like when we get near the car, he clings on to me for dear life b/c he hates getting into his car seat. We certainly don't have the kind of child who loves to ride around in the car. He really hates it. When we walk in his room at night and turn the light off he reaches out for his bed because he knows its night time. He loves to suck his thumb and when he is really tired or upset he sucks his thumb with the left hand and rubs the side of his throat and chest with his right hand. Its so cute but definitely a sign that its time. Maddox weighed in at 21 lbs 6 ounces and was 29 inches long. He is growing. He is amazing. He is so much fun. He is forever My little (relentless, tough and sometimes brutally rough) precious Monster. He is above all so very loved!

Crawling around and moving fast!

He wanted to turn the truck over and look at the whole thing.

He had to check it out top to bottom!

Gregs best friend Travis was in town from Toronto and I love this pic of these two guys!
Eating some yummy while Mom cooks dinner.

This is Maddoxs first (and only) babysitter Kady. She is WONDERFUL! Maddox loves her and she is such a joy to have around. We were so uneasy about leaving Maddox with a babysitter for a while but feel so blessed to have found Kady who made us feel comfortable right away. It was one of the first times that I could feel my motherly instincts kick in and know it. On one hand it was tough to leave him with someone new but on the other hand I knew after being around Kady that we had found someone that we trusted and that we were comfortable leaving our little guy with. Kady goes to TCU and we're glad that she will be around for at least another year or so. Thanks Kady for being so wonderful and taking such great care of our little man.

Maddox learning to love the grass!

Playing with Daddy's practice golf balls.

Pulling up on EVERYTHING!

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter celebrated with wonderful family and friends. Maddox woke up bright and early and we all laid in our bed together and played. Then a fabulous church service where we celebrated the real reason for the day. After church we headed to my parents house for a cook out and Easter egg hunt. Maddox loved the excitement of the day. Although I know he does not understand what this day really means it sure was fun to celebrate it with him.

Gregs best friend Travis and his girlfriend Manju were in town from Toronto so it was great to celebrate with them.

I love my Pa!

Look at all this loot!

Lizzies Hunting and searching for those eggs!

Diva Emma!

Maddie is such a big girl.

All the cousins!

Our first Family Easter!

These are a few of his favorite things....

A Beautiful weekend...family fun...Dante the Dog & OH MY...the love of that Caterpillar Tractor...

These are a few of Maddox's new favorite things!

Dante is Maddox's part time pet (we watch him for our neighbor Alexis as often as possible while she works).
Throw me Pa! Throw me!

Yeah!!!!

I love my PA!

OK so I don't really love the leaves Mom...

can we please try this again when there is green plush grass!

Helping Daddy clean out Moms car.

Playing a little baseball and basketball at the same time!

Here I go!

So we walked out for a quick moment and came back to find Maddox had pulled himself up into the back of the dump truck. Greg ran over quickly to supervise

while I got the camera of course.

Again...a love of the tractor!

On a late afternoon walk!

Trying to let go with one hand at a time before he realizes that he's just not quite ready for that yet!

Look what I found...my big yellow tractor!

We love you our sweet happy boy. You make life....WONDERFUL!

8 Months...WOW....8 Months!

I have not posted since a month ago. No excuse other than this has been the busiest month of my life! Craziest month of my life and most fun month of my life. It is so exciting to think that this is only the eight month mark and that we have many more months and years to celebrate in the future. Maddox has changed more in the past month than in any other month. He is crawling all over the place...pulling up on anything he can reach...babbling non-stop dahh, dahh, dahh, dahh, dahh...he is eating anything we put in front of him and tries to eat things that we don't necessarily want him too...He is expressing his feelings and showing his emotions more and more everyday. He loves to be with his cousins and is now to a point where he can interact with them and play with some of the toys they play with. We are enjoying every moment with our little monster. He is amazing and our life is quite simply wonderful.

8 Months Already
Pizza Night with My Cousins. Madeleine (6 Years old) & Emma & Lizzie (21 months)

He melts our heart with his sincere smiles!

Maddox goes to UCC Weekday School on Thursday mornings for 3 hours. They had school pics taken a few weeks ago and this little grin was a hit! His very first School Pictures (I took a picture of the picture with my phone so its not good quality but I had to share)!

Yes, he looks like a Sumo wrestler but this was him trying to go from sitting in the chair to standing up. I got the pic just at the right time.

Just hanging out in the car with his cap on. If you put a hat on him he never takes it off!

Alexis brought Maddox back this Vanderbilt ball when she went back for a class reunion. He loves to chase it around....and he loves his Alexis!

Maddox & Mommy

Maddox had a special visit from Aunt Aweesha in March. A special surprise all around!

Big Cousin Madeleine had her first Soccer game this weekend so we all bundled up and went to watch her play. Maddox loved hanging out with "his girls" Lizzie & Emma!

Happy Baby

Maddy snuck over to the sidelines to sneak a kiss from her cousin Maddox. Actually, she was running down the field kicking the ball in the middle of the game and she happened to glance up and see that we were there. She keeps running and kicking while she yells out in complete and utter joy "My cousin Maddox is here to watch me play my game"....and then she kept running and kicking. Oh the joy of watching 6 year olds play sports....love it!

And of course he has to deal with me taking him shopping and trying anything in sight on him. I thought these shades were very him...Daddy didn't agree.

He sits in a high chair at restaurants. Such a big boy!

We heard him stirring this morning and looked on the video monitor to see what was going on and he was not in view of the camera. Greg and I both shot out of bed and ran into his room without speaking a word and this is what we found. Time to lower the bed I guess! He has figured out how to pull himself up on the bed!

Maddox loves this chair. If we ever walk away (which is not easy to do for more than 30 seconds at a time anymore) we usually come back to find him crawling into this chair!

We do put clothes on our child. It seems likes so many of these pics are of him in the buff or without pants. I have to admit I love seeing his little chunky legs crawling around the house so yes sometimes and yes often he can be found sans pants!

Rough housing with Daddy!

Our time out in the snow was only long enough to snap a pic. Maddox loved it but he was a little sick when we got the beautiful weather so we didn't let him out in it for long.

This was one of my most favorite moments this month. The sweet sound of my little guys laughter brings so much joy to my life!

7 Months!

On February 2nd Maddox turned Seven months. It is truly incredible all that happens in such a short period of time. Every single day is new and exciting. He is getting so BIG and more than that he is really strong. I decided yesterday that it is more his strong will and relentlessness that makes him seem and feel so physically strong. He is quick and will knock something over or grab something quicker than the thought enters my head that maybe I should move it. Its like he is one step ahead of me sometimes. Sneaky little guy. He has started making lots of new noises in the past few weeks. He is an excellent sleeper. Still taking two naps a day and sleeps seven to seven a night. We are blessed! He sits up and plays with his toys and he quickly rolls over to his tummy so he can get up on his hands and knees. He rocks back and forth and back and forth and seems like he really wants to move but just hasn't quite figured it out. His latest thing is that he does not like just being on his hands and knees he wants to be on his hands and tip toes. We are thinking he may bear crawl before knee crawl. It is really funny to watch. He is a great eater and it seems like he always wants more. Between him and his Dad it will be interesting to see how I will keep groceries in this house in the years to come. I can repeat everything I have said so far with each months updates about how amazing this experience has been because just when I think it cant get any better it does. We are enjoying our little guy and really having a blast with him. The thing I think we both agree that we love the most is that he is constantly smiling. Of course he has his moments but truly 99% of the time he is just a smiley little boy. He is happy and reminds us every moment of all we have to be happy about and grateful for. We love you little man.