Where have I been !!!!

Well, I'm back from my 3 month hiatus of blogging. I'm hoping to get caught up this week. This past January my doctor discovered that I was dilated to 1 1/2 centimeters and my cervix was soft. Because of this lovely discovery at 22 weeks into my pregnancy I needed to have a procedure done called a serclage. I was also put on complete bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I'm 6 weeks in and doing surprisingly well. We were able to hire a full time nanny who takes care of Madisen, me and the house. My mom comes every Saturday to take over while Dustin is at work. She's able to finish off the laundry and have play time with Madisen. Sunday's are dedicated to Daddy. He makes use banana waffles and we have a breakfast picnic in bed. As a family we're adjusting well to all the new changes in our routine but looking forward to the arrival of the new baby and getting back to "normal" life.

Madisen's New Milestone

Madisen has been taking a few steps here and there over the past few days. This is the most steps she has ever taken. She thinks long and hard about how she's going to transition from standing to walking. I especially love the part when she is walking towards me, stops and crosses her arms. Madisen is one cute kid. We're so proud of her.

Surprise !!!!

Yes it's true.....
We will soon be a family of 4.
I went to the doctor on Monday thinking I was 4-5 weeks along and I was very wrong. I'm 8 weeks along. We were able to see and listen to the heartbeat. I'm due May 19th so that makes 2 under 2, yahoo can't wait. This time around it will be a scheduled C-Section so no guessing when the new little one will enter the world. I've been very very sick (it must be a boy) and can't wait for this part to be over with. According to the Chinese birth chart it's going to be a boy and I'm up for the challenge. Dusty is very excited and keeping his fingers crossed. I'm sure Madisen is excited, she just doesn't know it yet :)

My Little, Big Birthday Girl

On Saturday, August 30th we celebrated Madisens 1st birthday. We invited mostly family and a few close friends, which ended up being around 50 people. Madisen was so cute with all of her guests. She was letting everyone hold her and loved being around all the other little kids. My mom made her a special monkey cake that she wasn't too sure about at first. Once she new that it was going to be fun to get messy with cake and it tasted good she had a blast. Madisen was so excited to finally be able to eat sugar since the closest thing to it that she has ever had would be her all natural organic apple juice. :) Her party colors were pink and orange (as you can see by her other birthday cake) We had a super cute turtle pinata that was filled with way to much candy. All the little kids were given their own pink and orange buckets filled with party goodies. Daddy made hamburgers for everyone and mommy made a yummy lemon piccata pasta. We had lots of yummy side dishes and TONS of food left over. We decided to open gifts after most of the people went home and Madisen had a blast going through everything. She was given lots of great learning toys and big girl size clothes that she will fit into soon. We sent a note with the invitation asking people to bring an item for her time capsule that she will open on her 16th birthday. I love that people made it so personal. Some wrote her letters, or gave information about this year and it's events. It will be fun to show her everything only 15 years to go. I just hope it goes by slowly.

On Madisen's actual birthday, August 31st we spent the day with Grandpa D and Grandma C. We ate leftovers and put a few of her toys together. This lion was given to her by Grandma C (pictured) and she absolutely loves it. It's a walker and a ride on toy. Madisen has learned to pull herself up on it and take a few steps. It was a great birthday weekend and I can't believe my little girl is a big 1 year old. This first year has flown by and Madisen has been the best blessing. I love you miss buns.

Old Friends

A few weeks back I was reconnected with an old friend from high school through Classmates.com. We were inseparable from the time we met in 9Th grade until a few years into college. Our lives took different paths and we lost touch. Through the years I wondered what my old friend Kristi was doing and if she was happy. While searching classmates one day for another friend I came across Kristi's sister Genie. I sent her a note asking how everyone was doing and she answered the next day. I was so excited. She left me Kristi's phone number and I of course called her immediately. We talked for hours, catching up on our lives. We discovered that we had our babies 6 days apart, she having a boy and me of course having a girl. She was planning a trip out to California (she now lives in Kentucky with her husband) on August 20Th and was going to be having a 1st Birthday party for her son Tyler on the 23rd. We were so excited to see each other on that day. Madisen and Tyler had a great time playing with each other and it was like old times for us with the laughing and joking. Kristi ended up staying an extra week with her mom down south and was able to come and celebrate Madisen's 1st birthday with us. We had a great visit and this time we will definitely keep in touch.

M.I.A

Yes I've been MIA for quite sometime, so today I'm gluing myself to the computer and getting myself caught up on my BLOGS.

Vacation? Nope, just like home with a different view

Well, we're back from our Idaho trip and had a great time with the family. My new camera decided that it didn't want to work on this vacation, which is why I bought a new camera in the first place. Let me rewind back to April of this year. We were in Jamaica on vacation with beautiful scenery and my camera decided that on day 2 it was tired of taking pictures and just wanted to be left alone for the rest of the trip. So now 2 vacations in a row with 2 different cameras and both didn't want to work. It pretty much stinks because I love to take pictures and share them (especially of my little 'happy time' Madisen) I was able to take pictures on the 2ND day and that was it. Madisen liked wearing the life jacket and feel asleep in it every time. Dusty took Madisen in the lake once because it was way to cold for her and she pretty much cried the second her toe touched the water (as you can see in the picture she was trying to do everything not to go in by bending her legs back). Most of the time we just played on the grass with all the other kids.