Tracey, Sarah and Josh Come to Visit

Tracey and her kids flew in from New York to visit Jim and Natalie. Last time we saw each other at Jen's funeral "baby Sarah" was really a baby and Tracey was just about to become pregnant with Josh. Sarah just loved little Madison. She wanted to kiss and hug her like crazy. Madi was a little caught off guard because she hasn't had the privilege of an older sibling. I took these videos of Sarah and Josh playing and the photos below are of the day we all spent together.

Little Sarah the Cutie!

Here's lookin at you kid!

Tummy Time

Who needs a taxi?

Sarah rides Nat's tricycle. She kept running into my chair and continuing to pedal. So funny!

Older Cousin Nat shows the little ones how to play

Natalie's very first bite of Tiramasu

Tracey juggles Josh and Sarah - she is the world's best Mommy!

Beauty and the Beast

Jump Up Jump Up and Get Down

PS I nearly died laughing when Josh ran into the couch

Ryan Finishes Grad School

We thought this day would never come! In the eight years we have been together, there has only been one year when Ryan and I were both out of school. It has been so challenging for both of us to have Madison two month's before Ryan finished school. Juggling work, school, and baby was insane and we always joked that Ryan was doing a lot but none of it well. Actually, he did great and all of the hard work has paid off with an MBA and a beautiful daughter to show for it! The night Ryan finished school I surprised him by decorating the house and having a bottle of champagne ready to celebrate when he walked in the door. I really feel so lucky to have a husband to spend my time with now!

We belong in a zoo

My favorite little Natalie came to visit us while Jim had to work. I just love being around her. She is such a good older cousin to Madison and I have no doubts that Madi is going to adore her more and more as she gets older. She got here really early in the morning so Uncle Ryan watched cartoons with her until Madi and I rolled out of bed at 8 am. From there we went to breakfast which was a ton of fun and then the ladies went to the zoo. Natalie pushed the stroller pretty much the entire time and played "baby races" (when Madison was out of the stroller in her bjorn with me), letting the stroller roll downhill and then running to catch up with it. The zoo is set up so you have to go through basically every aviary if you have a stroller and can't take the stairs. So we made a game of running through them dodging the birds so we wouldn't get tagged with bird poop. It was such a fun day. When we got home we all had dinner together outside and did what we always do with Natalie - best, worst, funniest, scariest, etc part of the day - where we all go around and talk about our days together. I guess it's kind of tradition with us and Nat at this point.




Madi and her older cousin Nat

Nat smiles but Madi is a lit-tle confused

Madi wears her animal print hat in honor of the zoo

Natalie loves to take care of Madi - she's a natural

We waited FOREVER to climb up on the polar bear statue for a photo op. Too bad the guy who took the picture didn't get the polar bear in the photo. Bummer!

Nat poses with a zebra

Where oh where has my little dog gone?

OK so I got my face painted too... I couldn't resist.

The ladies
Nat and I really do belong in a zoo!

Kissin' Cousins

Well after Madi's immunization shots she had a pretty rough time. Ran a fever, spit up bile, ended up in the ER (everything is totally fine - just a bug), and was just a cranky baby overall for the next week and a half or so. Of course, that was right when Kelli came back for a visit so she got a good dose of Madison's high maintenance side (hmmm no idea who she gets that from...). Kelli cooked for friends of ours and I spent the entire time upstairs calming the baby. Madi actually snapped out of it right before Kelli left - go figure! Anyway, while Kel was here we visited with Tim, Sarah and little Wesley who might be the cutest (and funniest) baby ever. I am in love with the faces he makes. The third photo below is my FAVORITE! He's a great baby - always good natured whenever I see him. Madi, on the other hand, always puts on her best attitude for Tim and Sarah whenever we get to see them.

Cousins Madi and Wes

Tim and Sarah hold Madi

Cousin Wesley the wise guy "shooting" the camera. So funny!!

Kelli and Cousin Wes meet

Tim works his magic on a cranky Madi...

But after a few days of being around screaming Madi, Kelli knows the trick of holding her on her stomach when she's fussy

Madi sports her sweatsuit and sleeps off the crankiness (finally) ;)

Sleep Training

Madison is starting to learn to fall asleep on her own both day and night. Yesterday she took her first nap in her crib.

Our big night out

Madison and I went to Karen and Cam's for a BBQ and some bottles. She had a bottle of milk and I had a bottle of beer or two. We actually stay until almost midnight and Madison slept in her carseat in the middle of the party for the last couple hours. During the time she was awake, she met Sydney, one of Karen's dogs. Syd loved Madison, sniffed her up and down and then eventually laid down at her feet. Auntie Jamie and Madison got to spend time together too.

Uncle Aaron makes faces at Madi while Aunt Jaymie holds her

Grandpa Jack cuddles a sleeping Madison

Grandpa and Grandma Banda spend time with Madison

Grandma Nancy loves her Granddaughter!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Debbie feed Madison

Jaymie spends time with Mr. Wonderful

Jaymie and Jessica celebrate Jaymie's shower

Grandma Nancy's friend Michelle holds Madi

The Banda Boys (Ryan, Steve, Jack and Aaron)

Madi and Auntie Jaymie

Bandas Bandas Everywhere!

This weekend was a blast for Ryan, Madison and me. Jaymie's bridal shower was on Saturday so we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Banda's house to celebrate. There Madi was able to meet her Uncle Aaron and Aunt Jaymie, her Uncle Steve and Aunt Debbie, and Jaymie's sister Jess too. She also spent some quality time with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jack. The shower was really nice and we ended up staying until almost 11 pm because we had so much fun visiting with the family. Madison was a little cranky in the beginning but settled down after an hour or so. Jaymie was amazing with her - held her for a few hours - even through her cranky spells. None of us have any doubt that she's going to be a great mom!

Nancy and Debbie helped us figure out that even though Madison is growing like a weed (almost 12 pounds now), her hunger isn't always totally satisfied which is why she gets so cranky sometimes. Ryan and I also started giving her big bottles and she's taking them down - 7 ounces at a time. So, last night we tried supplementing her with formula before bed for the first time. Since we figured this out on Saturday, she's been such a happy baby and is smiling at us all the time.

We also figured out who Madison looks like. No doubt about it. Nancy pulled out pictures of Ryan as a baby and they look EXACTLY like Madison. It isn't just that they resemble each other - his pictures actually look like pictures of her. I wish I had an electronic photo of Ryan so I could put them side by side on the blog. It's pretty amazing! I guess we'll just have to cross our fingers that she doesn't end up with his five o'clock shadow!

Madison enjoys her outfit from Aunt Pat

I put Madison in this outfit tonight and she got so excited and started smiling at me. I had to share it!

Madi Spends Time with Dad

Poor Ryan got his head cut off because I was taking a picture of her smiling in her sleep. She's done this for weeks but now she is all smiles when awake too! Her whole face lights up these days and it's impossible not to smile back or laugh when she is clearly so entertained by something. I am LOVING being her mom at this point. Don't get me wrong - I've loved her from the first moment but she's becoming more and more enjoyable every day!

Madison Takes a Breather and Grows Up Too!

Well, we've been on the road like crazy so for the last couple days we've laid low. I figured Madison would like some quiet time at home with mom rather than being shoved in her car seat again. So, yesterday and today we've hung out mostly upstairs - playing, sleeping, singing, and watching TV. Of course, yesterday we had a lot of loud time rather than quiet time. She was pretty fussy for two hours in the morning and three or four hours in the afternoon. So, we also spent a lot of time downstairs dancing to my old Counting Crows CD - the ENTIRE CD - yesterday afternoon. She just loves to dance so no matter how unhappy she is, that always seems to work. I'm just waiting for the neighbors to eventually catch a glimpse of how ridiculous we look but oh well! Here are a couple photos of our mellow week so far ;)

Madison also started sleeping in her crib this week - sort of her choice rather than ours. I put her in the bassinet on Sunday night and she wasn't having it. When I laid her down in her crib with the mobile going, she went right to sleep. So, for the last three nights she has been sleeping in there. In fact, in the last week she has grown out of her newborn diapers and some of her clothes, and now has her own room. My little girl is growing up.