7

= the number of consecutive hours Madison slept last night

She did wake up a few times, but she went right back to sleep. I am just soooo proud of her!!!!

How Far We've Come!

Here is our sweet girl, only 3 days old. Daddy's shoe looks so big!

Posing with Daddy's shoe again....she's grown so much!

While we are making sure Madison is growing, Matt and I are trying to lose weight. Matt has lost 15 pounds and has pretty much reached his goal weight. I've lost 12 pounds. I'm 5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I still have quite a way to go to reach my goal, though. 21 pounds to be exact! I'll get there though! I'm proud of us!

Recently...

There are always so many things that I want to blog about...probably almost something daily. Yet, I rarely find the time to do so. Looks like this will be another "catch up" post!

On Saturday, June 20th we had Madison's ears pierced at the mall in Barboursville. I was a nervous wreck and almost backed out several times. She barely even cried though. Our baby girl really is a toughie! And she looks so adorable!

We celebrated Matt's first Father's Day on the 21st at Outback. Here are some pictures from the big day:

This past Saturday, Madi and I headed to Outback for Aimee's Bridal Shower Dinner. We were there over 2 hours and Madi decided that she needed to be awake for the whole thing. She was such a good girl though...mainly all smiles! She only cried briefly just a few times.

After our trip to Outback, Madison and I met Daddy at home and headed to Williamstown for the night!

Madison is doing great! She loves looking up at things...the fans, the bears above her swing, her mobile, the canopy on her carseat. She also "talks" to these things, especially the bears and the fans. She is fascinated by them! She also starting "really" smiling on the 26th! I love her sweet smiles...completely melt my heart. She's starting sleeping a little longer through the night, and we're working on trying to get her to bed earlier. (She had decided that 11 PM was her bedtime!) I really think Madison is a morning baby. I often call her my morning glory, as she's the happiest little baby early in the morning (lately at 4:30 am). Her smiles and squeals make it so much easier on both of us to get up! haha!

Matt and I are stopping by her daycare on Thursday for another visit and to introduce Madison to her caregivers. I know that daycare will be so good for her! But I have to admit that I'm having a hard time (a really hard time) dealing with the fact that her first day is just around the corner.

We are heading to the lake on Friday and will return home on Wednesday. I am so excited! I love our lake trips! We have a portrait session scheduled for Thursday, and Aimee's wedding is on Friday. I'm so happy about my week off! That week will also be Madison's last full week of Daddy Daycare (only that week it will be Mommy and Daddy Daycare). The following week Madison will attend daycare 2 or 3 days for a few hours each day. The next week, she'll be there full time. The time has just passed too quickly...

What the Pediatrician Didn't Say...

Madison had her 2 month checkup yesterday. She now weighs 9 pounds, 10.5 ounces and is 22.5 inches long. I'm just amazed by how much she's growing! She gained about 2 pounds and grew about 1.5 inches in a month!

A 3rd year med student examined her first. It was a little awkward and a lot funny, but there's no way I could accurately portray it in this blog. At one point, Matt thought there had to be hidden cameras somewhere. I have to admit...if we were famous, I would have wondered if we were being Punk'd. But if you're interested, I'll be happy to share the story in person. Just ask!

After our weird beginning, Madison's pediatrician came in to see her. I really do just love her! I am very impressed by her knowledge and skills as a doctor, but it is her desire to nurture and her love of children that remind me that Madison is definitely seeing the right pediatrician. At one point during her exam, she just picked Madi up and cuddled her and talked to her. You can definitely tell she's a Momma!

Dr. Darnell is very thorough. I love this. She explained to us that the nurses would be coming in to give Madison her shots. She said we should go ahead and dress her, because it would be easier to do it then rather than after the shots. She told us she was having 2 nurses come in, so that the process would take less time. She explained each vaccination and each disease/illness the the vaccination should prevent. She told us that the DTP vaccination is the one that could be hard on Madi...that it could make her more sleepy than usual or possibly more restless than usual...that the injection site would be very tender for up to 4 days or so...and that we may be able to see or feel a knot near the injection site for up to 2 weeks. She stressed that we should give Madison Tylenol every 4 to 6 hours until tonight or as long as she seems to need it.

Madison was such a trooper during her shots. She whimpered a few times and the let out about 3 loud cries. And then she was done...

She was just soooo sleepy...
She slept for about 5 and a half hours after her shots. At times, it seemed like she was trying so hard to wake and just couldn't.

And the injection site did seem very sore....we've been so careful not to touch it.

And it is red and swollen....

So are you wondering what the pediatrician didn't tell us? She didn't tell us that we would have our first sleepless night with Madi. The crying started at about 8 pm. When I say crying, it's a pretty big understatement. Madison was pretty much wailing...and it broke my heart. Matt and I took turns holding Madison and trying to comfort her. We never even went to bed...just took turns between the couch and the recliner. Madison slept some, but she cried out a lot in her sleep. And almost every time she moved her little legs, she would grimace and start to wake. I just hope our sweet baby girl is feeling all better soon!

Let's just say the Smiths are thankful for vaccinations, but we hate shots!!!

Busy Bees

Matt has still been extremely busy trying to get everything ready to start the LPN Program. He usually has a few items on his "to-do" list every single week...either running here or running there...sometimes running here and there. haha! Good thing he has his own little sidekick to keep him company.

Peggy and Jennifer came down this past Thursday to watch Madison for us on Friday while Matt went to an orientation for the LPN Program. Then when I got home, we all headed to Man for the weekend. My momma watched Madi for us at night, so that Matt and I could rest! It was great. On Saturday, we visited my Gramma and Aunt Patty and Uncle Charles. Madison was not herself at all on Saturday. She wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep and fussed when she wasn't sleeping. She didn't eat well at all either. I think I heard her cry more on Saturday than all the other times added together. But by Sunday, she was her normal sweet, funny self again.

Today, Madi and Daddy are out and about once again. And tomorrow Madison sees the doctor again...and she has to have her first S-H-O-T-S. And I have no idea why I'm nervous!

Pictures!

Two

Sweet Madison,

You are two months old today. Sometimes it feels as if you are changing and growing every single day. The time is flying by! Really, it feels like just yesterday I was admiring my growing belly, wondering how much bigger I would get, day-dreaming about what you would look like, and anticipating your arrival.

And now that I know what life is like with you, life without you seems so long ago. You fit into our family so perfectly, and you have brought us such immense joy.

You have given us a few smiles, but it's still something you're getting the hang of. When we do get them, though, our hearts completely melt. Your dimples are adorable! Surprisingly, your eyes are still blue. They are usually a blue-gray color, pretty much the same exact color as your Uncle Matt's.

You are starting to vocalize a little more. You make one noise (almost like an excited shriek/coo) that makes me giggle every time. Your cry sounds different too, but it still crushes us...and Daddy and I still do everything we can to make it stop. And thank you, sweet girl, for being so easily comforted. You might be just a little spoiled though. You absolutely love to be held...and you get so mad when Daddy tries to lay you down during the day. I don't think he minds though...he loves you so very much.

Happy 2 months! You, little lady, have stolen our hearts, wrapped them tightly around your little finger, and let us know in no certain terms that we may never, ever have them back.