Blessings

Being a mom is tough work, there is no doubt about that. But there are moments when you sit and look at your child and wonder, "what did I do so right that made me deserve this angel?" I've been having those moments a lot lately. I don't think I'll ever know. But I'm so thankful to have this little munchkin in my life.

About ten minutes ago she was playing in bed next to me. She was talking and tossing her baby around. Suddenly she laid down beside me and gave me a big kiss. Then she rolled over and kept playing. Little moments like that make it all worth while.

Snapshots of the past few days:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Madi and I have so many things to be thankful for. First off, family. Without the support of our family, we would be no where. Everywhere we turn there is a loving face and that means so much. We always joke about how it's so sad that Madi has no one to love her because everywhere we go, there's someone who thinks the world of her. I wish I could show my family how much they mean to me or repay them in some way.

Second, I'm thankful for Madi. I'm always staring at her in utter amazement, asking myself what on earth I did to deserve her. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. She teaches me everyday what unconditional love is. I see my entire world in her twinkly little eyes. It's true that you don't know what love is until you have a child. I'm a firm believer in that cliche now. She is my heart and soul. I'm so blessed.

I hope this thanksgiving was full of love, laughter, family and lots of food. Ours definitely was. I didn't get to take many pictures (at all) but I did snap this one in the car on the way to my grandma's. :)

10 things that make Madi smile

(in no order, of course) :)
1) Her "babies." She has many many stuffed animals that she likes to carry around the house. "Winston," which is a Terry Fator puppet and also a baby doll that her Mimi got her, are the most popular ones. Not to mention "doll."

2) The outdoors. She would be happy if she could spend all day every day outside exploring.

3) Madi loves puppies! She giggles and squeals at the sight of them. Nothing makes her happier!

4) Family. She lights up when she sees her Nonna and Papaw, can't wait to talk to Bubba when he walks in, gives kisses to "Uncle PupPup" as soon as she sees him, reaches for Mimi immediately, and the list goes on and on. 





5) Her beloved pacifier, which we call her "sucker." So she now says "shuh-sha" when she wants it.

6) Her cousin Kylie. Even at the mention of her name, she gets excited. When Kylie is around, you will almost always find Madi right behind her, following in everything she does.

7) Music. She dances in the car to everything from Lady Gaga to Lloyd (haha!) The picture is of her singing in the bathtub.

8) Her snacks. When papaw comes home, she points to the snack bowl and they have crackers together. When she goes to Granny and Pawpaw's house, she points to the bag of cookies sitting on the counter.

9) When Papaw rocks her to sleep. In the afternoon, Papaw asks Madi if she wants him to rock, she goes and gets her baby and her blanket and then heads to his lap.

10) Exploring! Madi never sits still unless she's sleeping. She's always got to be busy exploring the environment she's in, which I would take over a chill baby any day!













I'd settle for a slowdown

I know that I say this all the time, but I really am having a hard time with the whole growing up thing. Madi does things that I didn't think would come for awhile. For example, in the car, she'll say "mama mama mama mama...." over and over and over and over until I look back and acknowledge her. I remember doing that to my mom when I was what, like 8? She's almost 15 months old and she does it for her own amusement. I can't stop laughing when she does it. Her sweet little face and her twinkly eyes, looking up at me saying, "Mama" with this huge grin on her face. I can't get enough. I wouldn't mind pausing for a little while though. This is all happening so fast.

Here are some blurbs from her journal this month :) and of course a few pictures. (we'll never have a shortage of those!)

15 Month

• You and Bubba are best buds now. You wrestle, sweet talk to each other (which I have to admit, seeing a 6'4" 240lb guy talk baby talk to a 15 month old is something to see, but so sweet). You get so excited when he comes in the door. The first thing he does is look for you and talk to you before he even talks to the rest of us. You touch foreheads together too. That's yours and his greeting to each other.
• Papaw taught you that his tractor says "boom boom" so now when you see anything that moves, you point to it and say "boooom booooom!" and get excited.
• You used to not eat hardly at all (unless it was some type of cookie or contained cheese), but those days, I'm happy to say, seem to be over. You eat constantly. I bought you a grilled cheese and tator tots at Sonic the other day and you ate the ENTIRE thing. You even wanted to eat the crust. I was so happy! At school, your daily reports used to say that you would only eat your snacks. Now, it says you eat everything. So relieved!
• When you want something, you point to it and say "this!" but your version of that word sounds more like "dis!" :) and when you find something that you want to show me, you bring it to me and put it in front of my face, point to it with the other hand and yell "dis!" in this big girly voice like you're so proud. :)
• You're becoming pretty dependent on blankets and stuffed animals now. Which is strange because months ago, you hated both. But in the car, you have to be covered up and have a baby in your hand, just like when you get sleepy. It sweet, you carry Nonna's old babydoll around the house (by the leg, most of the time), and you love your PupPup and give him big hugs when I give him to you. :)