This Just In - Kicking off 2007

This is our daughter, during a "Daddy Feeding". You can see that I have to work on my technique a bit, because it is apparent that the majority of the sweet potatoes end up on the bib. I happen to think this is a really cute picture, but I guess we are supposed to making sure Madelyn gets some nutrition out of her feedings, so we'll keep trying I guess...

This is Madelyn and Pop, at their house in Elkhart. It's not often that Dad can actually out-smile someone in a photo, but congratulations kid, he's done it with you.
Ok, so the pictures are completely out of chronological order, but it's not the order that counts, it's that we put in the good pictures and say some stuff about them. This is Alanna, Maya, and Madelyn at their house in Mishawaka.
Pap and Madelyn hanging out on the grandma-couch (Jill's words, not mine :). It appears that she's saying "come get me", but actually she's trying to show Pap how big she is by waving her arms in tight circles. She learned this from watching late night Richard Simmons infomercials with her father. Talk about out of order. This is the fateful feeding, just before the top picture. I tell people she likes sweet potatoes, but maybe I just like giving them to her. She likes to spit them everywhere. Jill has more luck with this. Maybe it's not luck...
Ah - the look of Christmas excitement in the face of your child, it's beautiful. Madelyn was lucky enough to get this "gumball" machine twice, once at the McKee Christmas (shown here), and once at the Carnes Christmas. She likes the gumball machine since it lights up and makes noise. It's fun to watch her discover new sounds and objects.

We can't believe she is going to be 6 months old next Saturday - the time sure does fly by.

Well, thanks for checking in with us - please leave a comment if you have time - it's a fun way for us to see how everyone's doing.

Friday, December 15th

Tonight we went up to the best New York pizza joint in town. It's Giorgio's, and it's located on the circle in downtown Indianapolis. This picture (above) is the Randi, Jill, Madelyn and Rachel walking down Market St. to the pizzeria. Joe and I were in charge of photography, so it looked like the paparazzi was there. I think the girls liked the attention :)
This is the view (looking west down Market St.) of the Indiana Capitol from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis.
Maddie was happy to tour the circle and check out the "World's Tallest Christmas Tree". It was a little cold, but we all had a good time, and of course had to stop off at the South Bend Chocolate Company for a shake before we went back home. I guess it just reminds us of our former home...
Joe and Rachel on their way to see the reindeer outside the Hilbert Circle Theatre (it's where the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performs). Yes, the reindeer are real. They always have two of them on display outside the theatre while their Christmas show is going on.
This is the monument, all lit up. 2 weeks ago we went downtown with our friends to see all the decorations, but some of them had been damaged in a windstorm, and none of the lights were on.

Sunday - December 10th

Today is Sunday, December 10th. We are fully into the holiday spirit now. The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care, and are even being filled with goodies.

The Colts are on TV, but unfortunately they don't look real good today. Jill has made about 300 Christmas cookies, and I have eaten about 30 of them already (that's 10%, but what percent is remaining? What percentage of the remaining cookies have I eaten if I eat another 30?). Sorry about that, I took the GMAT test last weekend, and I now have story problems stuck in my brain.

We haven't posted pictures in a while, which you have no doubt noticed if you check the site often. In the past few weeks our baby has had an ear infection, so we're all fighting to get through that. She has been feeling better lately, though.

These pictures are from last night - we were trying on our Christmas wardrobe. Well, Madelyn was trying on her wardrobe, we were just helping :) I personally like the diaper look, but it will be cold outside, so it's probably not the best fashion choice.


This is Maddie's new favorite pose while on the ground. She has a hold of her feet at all times. She even had her left foot in her mouth yesterday. I had seen pictures of babies doing this, but Maddie hadn't done it yet, so that was pretty cool.








Maddie and Mommy before bathtime. You can see from her expression that Madelyn was kind of skeptical of this whole bath thing...











Check out the enthusiasm. Somebody's excited about getting her picture taken.

You gotta love it.

Thanks for checking in with us.

November 19, 2006 - First Solid Food

Last week Maddie had her 4-month visit with the pediatrician. She measured 13.1 pounds, and 25 inches tall. That put her in the 40th percentile for weight, and the 90th percentile for height. Our kid is tall and skinny :) What could've predicted that? Seriously though, the good part is that she is showing steady growth, and her head circumference is on track as well (75th percentile), so her brain seems to be growing steadily as well. The reason for this post, and for mentioning the Dr. visit, is that she will now start trying "solid" foods. I put that in quotes because infant-formula rice cereal is about as solid as goose poop through a screen door (that one's for you, Dad). It's not exactly Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

Here we are mid-feeding. Notice the "this tastes great" expression she is making. Looks more like some kind of punishment. The Doc said that we're not trying to get her to take many calories this way, it's more to get her used to eating from a spoon. There were some frightened looks, but no crying, so we considered this a success.

Here we are post-feeding, all cleaned up and smiling at Mom from the high-chair. You might be able to see that her hair is starting to come in up top. Can you see it? Ok, so maybe you have to see it in person, but it's really coming out more and more. Really.

A Few Cute Pictures

Thought everyone would enjoy some new pictures! We went to Chicago last weekend, but much to everyone's surprise, we didn't take that many pictures! We went up on Friday night and stayed in Schaumburg. In the morning we went to Lou Mitchell's (one of Chicago's best breakfast places). We got there early (or at least what we thought would be early) and there was already a line out the door. Luckily it moved quickly. While you wait in line they bring you fresh, homemade doughnut holes!

All three of us had our breakfast at Lou Mitchell's, but Maddie decided to have her lunch break at Water Tower Place.

The rest of these are random pictures, but still cute!

She will put anything in her mouth!

Who can resist that smile??

Maddie in her robe after her bath.

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was Maddie's first Halloween. She did her part in greeting the neighborhood kids at the door. We ventured out to say hello to the Dees family across the street (future babysitters, we hope!) as well as Justin next door. By that time she had fallen asleep. That's okay...no sugar for her this year!
We gave her high chair a try and she liked sitting with us while we ate!

This is a pair of Halloween jammies that Roberta got her way back in March. They fit perfectly!!
The girl loves her candy!

October 21, 2006

Maddie stole her Mommy's candy. She's got a good grip on that thing, but we thought it may be a little early to let her eat it. She'd probably be up for a week straight with that sugar injection, but the good part is that she doesn't have any teeth to ruin.
Breakfast Club is a great tradition at Purdue. You see, the kiddies get up early and go to have some drinks, but the best part is the outfits. It's an understood tradition that costumes are necessary. Here we have the best costume I've seen to date. A.C. Slater. He had the Jeri Curl, the cutoff Bayside jersey, and of course stone-washed jeans.
Way to represent.
Rachel showed Gran what a good little builder she is. Future Purdue engineer? Keep an open mind Gormongs...:)
Boiler Up! The girls were ready to cheer on the Boilermakers, but apparently it didn't work. Jill and I went up to West Lafayette, and the game was pretty ugly...
Maddie and Pap on the couch together. She got to spend some serious quality time with everyone.

Just hangin' out with the kiddies.

Pictures from Shannon - Ann Arbor - September 9th

Back in September we went up to Ann Arbor to go to Jason and Meredith's wedding. I just got these pictures from Shannon (he was having some camera issues), so I'm posting them now. Here's Shannon and Amie at the reception...

Here's the family-unit.She's not exactly flower-girl material yet, but Maddie still had a good time (we think?). I really like the above picture of our family, since it's pretty unusual that we're all dressed up at the same time. Usually it's a Purdue t-shirt and a onesie, although I think I'm growing out of my onesie...
Here's a nice picture of the newlyweds. It was a great time, and we all had fun. Unfortunately the outdoor wedding was a bit interesting as the sprinklers in the Union's courtyard came on about 10 minutes before Meredith came down the aisle. Luckily they got the water turned off and the ceremony went off without a hitch.

What have we been doing???

It seems like each day brings new craziness! We have tried to stay on top of this thing, but it has been difficult. I figured I would put some pictures on to kind of update you all on what we have been up to. Unfortunately, it hasn't been too much!

Maddie and I went to have lunch with Daddy on Tuesday. This is her in her carseat. I had just asked her if she was ready to go see Daddy. I guess she was! She has been in a really good mood (and so have Chuck and I) because she has been sleeping almost 10 hours at night! She goes down between 10 and 11 and is up about 8! It certainly makes for very happy parents!

Last weekend Pop and Grandma came for a visit. We spent Saturday morning at the Indiana Fall Boat and RV show. Maddie loved it so much that she slept the entire time! After that, it was home to watch Purdue lose to Notre Dame (but hey, they are still 4-1). Maddie was finally able to wear her Purdue shirt. It was a little big, but that's okay, it is the spirit that counts! Boiler Up!

Tummy Time

Each day Maddie spends some time on her tummy. She is now rolling over from her stomach to her back. By looking at this picture, you would think she really enjoys tummy time!!


Maddie got a new swing today. Now she has one that can travel with her. She seems to really like it!

Our Growing Girl

I don't know if she's ready for me to say that she "loves" bath time, but I feel comfortable saying that she "tolerates" it...she's not really laughing it up just yet, but she seems to like getting wet in the warm water. I guess we should enjoy this time while she doesn't try to splash around and make a mess?
We recently went up to South Bend to see Pop, because he was in the hospital having bypass surgery, and while in town we had a chance to see cousin Zack's football game at Grissom Middle School (Jill's alma mater, she has a letter jacket from her days as a Guardsman - Guardsperson?), anyway the picture above was is Madelyn in her carseat at the game while cousin Brenna helps to feed the baby.
After the game we went over to Uncle Chris and Aunt Brandi's house, and Maddie got to spend some time with cousins Zack and Kayla.
We went up to Jason Mallory's wedding in Ann Arbor, Michigan (on the U of M campus). After the wedding we went over to Grand Rapids and Maddie got to meet Grandpa for the first time. She's about the same size as a Gargantuan, but so far has cost us a lot more :)

A cute picture!

I know that we need to update this blog like yesterday! Chuck is a tough act to follow, so I don't feel confident enough in my writing to post pictures. However, I couldn't resist this picture from Jason and Meredith's wedding last weekend. Hard to believe she is 2 months old!


We will put more pictures on here soon!!