Goodbye, July! Can't say I'll miss ya...

This month has been challenging.... I'm extra ready to get away from life and take a break with my two favorite people. Unfortunately, our vacation isn't until September and right now another whole month feels like a freaking eternity! Gahhhh!!!!

We decided last month to put our house up for sale, so we've been working on cleaning, staging and finishing up the repairs. And honestly, as much as I love this house, I'm reallllly starting to hate it... if that makes any sense....  haha! I can't remember the last time we had a weekend that was not filled with house projects and chores. Ryan is burnt out on fixing and updating things. And I'm burnt out on attempting to help while trying to keep a baby entertained. Thankfully, the realtor is coming this week to give us instructions on listing and to assess our home. We're hoping that it sells in a timely manner so we can focus on being a family and spending the weekends together going on adventures, or relaxing, or anything else really.....

***Side note: Check out what Ryan did with the weird bump left in our kitchen from when we took out the old stove. 

Made a pot rack out of scrap material - 

now it looks like its supposed to be that way!

Before:                                                                                          After:

Madilyn has had it rough lately as well. She got her 6 months shots and her first 2 teeth all in the same week! She's reverted back to waking up for a feeding at least once a night, waking up and needing help getting back to sleep once or twice as well. We've tried to give her rice cereal to keep her full through the night, but her sensitive tummy doesn't agree with it. So now we are dealing with a cranky/tired baby working through digestive issues. Its been a long, hard month of being a momma....

On a more positive note, the month is almost over and we're moving on to bigger and brighter things. We've still had plenty of sweet moments with our girl even though this last month has been full of little struggles. We're thankful even on the hard days because she makes life better in every way. Here's the proof:

Cheeeeeese!!!

Look mom, I'm trying to crawl!

 

 I give up....

Check out my two front teeth!

 Beauty queen:

 

Annnnddd this is what happens when you leave her with dad for 5 minutes. She gets a peter pan hat made of newspaper...

Yeah, I'd make this face too if someone forced me to wear a paper hat that made me look like a little boy...

Enjoying the summer weather on the back deck: 

Summertime and the livin' is easy...

Life here is good. May was a busy month for us and I just realized I didn't take the time to post anything! Time for an update :)

 We were happy to have my parents close by last month, they were able to spend sometime in the area with their new 5th wheel. My sister Rachel also came out for a long weekend, then Ryan and I celebrated our anniversary by blowing $20 on penny slots at the CDA casino... LOL. We had a good time!

We've been working on finishing odds and ends around the house as we are preparing to put it on the market. We think that selling the house after all the updates we've made would be a smart financial decision, hoping that after all is said and done, we will be able to pay off student loans. Even as I type, Ryan is installing new light fixtures in the upstairs bedrooms. He works so hard to provide for Madilyn and I... We're two lucky girls!

I'm still at home taking care of my sweet babe. I spend my days taking care of her and the household chores and everything else that comes with being a stay at home mom. Obviously the most consuming job of my life, but I love it so it doesn't feel like work! And its definitely getting easier the older she gets :) Like today, she decided for the first time ever that she was going to fall asleep on her playmat - didn't get fussy when she was tired, didn't need to be rocked or held - just fell asleep right there on the floor, TWICE. Its a MIRACLE:

Maddie is growing so much and changing every day. Anytime she learns something new, Ryan likes to say she is "advanced" or a "child prodigy"... ha! He's a proud daddy. Shes started eating a few types of baby food, is babbling all the time, really playing with her toys, SPITTING ON PURPOSE, loves bathtime, chewing/licking everything in sight and can almost get her pacifier back in her mouth by herself! She getting stronger and very stable so I wouldn't be surprised if she is sitting within the next month or so. She also has become so against naps, shes taken to punching herself in the head/face in order to stay awake. 

She's full on Crazy.

As for upcoming events... we don't have much  planned for Summer, but I saw this article recently: http://www.theluxuryspot.com/five-facts-about-flathead-lake-montana/ 

And now I'm hoping we can make it over to Montana for a weekend trip!

I suppose thats all that is new with us for now... So here's the latest...

My pretty girl: 

Family picture day at Farragut State Park.... We call this one "Power to the people!!!" hahaa

 Silly girl:

She got a stroller... and she LOVES it! The look on her face is priceless:

Helping Grandpa Joe do some work:

SELFIE:

Crazy eyes:

Mommy and Maddie:

 

April Showers...

I'm baaaaaccckkkkk!!! Ha! Its been awhile, the last month has been keeping us pretty busy! The weather is getting nicer each day (thank God!), we are filling our time taking care of our little one and trying to survive ;) Hopefully soon we'll be able to play outside in the sunshine. 

First Easter! My pretty girl:

Ryan's project this summer is to get our yard looking nice and he's off to a good start! Last weekend we went to Home Depot to pick up some flowers to fill in our front flower bed. He ripped out the dying/crusty-brown hedge and replaced it with some good looking plants. It will take some time to fill out but I think it looks so much better already:

 

Not much is new with me... just busy being a mom! I feel so busy yet all I pretty much do is hang out with my babe.... lol... Its exhausting. Seriously. But when people ask me whats new, I really don't think they're wanting to know how many diapers I've changed....

 Or if I've received my mandatory spitting-up-on for the day ;)

 Wait... This week I did celebrate my 26th birthday by chopping off all my hair! I guess that counts, right? It was enough to donate to locks of love and I am loving the new look. I would snap a quick selfie and insert it here, but I would not be doing myself any favors.

Lets just say I haven't managed to squeeze a shower in today due to my "busy schedule" ;)

Another month, another milestone! 

Maddie can roll over BOTH ways now and is already teething at 3 months! 

Apparently, she is a superbaby. 

Or a "Child Prodigy" as her Grandpa Joe likes to say... 

hahahaa

We also made made our first trip since baby to see family and friends in Oregon. Traveling with a baby is stressful but it was well worth it. Madilyn was able to meet her Uncle Joseph, Great Grandma & Grandpa and many family friends that were all excited to see her. The trip started off with a flight to Portland - I was so worried about this part, but she did great! No crying! Amazing....

 

Our first stop was Salem, OR, to spend the night at my grandparent's house. My brother Joseph was able to come down from Portland as well to meet his niece. It was a good night! Unfortunately, Maddie was a little cranky and verrrry tired from traveling:

 

So tired she couldn't even stay awake long enough to burp after her night time bottle:

 How sweet is this? Here's my Grandpa holding me back in 1988 and now holding Maddie .... We didn't even mean to replicate the picture... I just love it.

 

Then we moved on, down to my hometown of Canyonville, OR, to spend some time with my Parents and attend my best friend's wedding reception. On our last day, we spent the afternoon at the Galesville Lake for a BBQ. We had lots of fun!

It is my hope that she will always feel at home with both sides of her family. 

And I know one thing for sure.

Madilyn Harper is so very, very much loved. 

No matter the distance.

 Or the time between visits. 

This will never change.

Now, we are back home and life is back to normal. 

Ok fine, now for the good part...

The last month's worth of pictures from my phone.

If you insist....

Heehee  ;)

I love this so much it hurts:

But wait, theres more! 

Hope you enjoyed our update!

See you next month :)

Life as we know it...

Its March! Maddie is almost 8 weeks old and doing so well. She is starting to smile socially now and its been fun watching her work out her facial expressions. She is usually the most smiley and happy when she is waking up from a nap, a trait she does not get from her mom...

She has slept through the night multiple times now!!! Although, last night she reverted back to 3 feedings - not sure why. Boo.

She also knows who her mom and dad are; I've noticed that she can pick out my voice amidst others and will stare at me when I'm talking. She also gets so happy when Ryan comes home from work and she usually greets him with a couple goofy looking grins :)

We are attempting to take her out of the house now. I have done very little just me and Maddie outside, so I look forward to the weekends when Ryan is off work and we can try to all go out together. However, our outings usually just consist of quick coffee or errand runs.... Which are always soooo EXCITING, let me tell ya ;)  But hey, baby steps. The last thing I want to do is end up in a grocery store half way through my list with a screaming baby and no one there to help me. I'm sure it will happen eventually but I'd first like to build up my tolerance! haha

Speaking of tolerating baby-screaming, 2 month vaccines are happening next week and I'm dreading it. Ryan is going to come with us to hold her down, as I'm sure I will be too busy blubbering uncontrollably... LOL! Looking forward to that ;)

Also, we decided that it will be best for me to stay home full time to take care of Madilyn for a while. So I won't be going back to work this month, but I think its for the best. We can't imagine handing her over to a day care at this point, it makes me feel sick to my stomach to even think about it. I'm not sure how long I'll be at home, we'll just take it one day at a time for now. All I know is that being a good momma is the most important job I'll ever have. Period. I'm excited that spending time with my sweet babe can be my primary focus!

Here's the newest bunch of pictures off my phone... I think I may need some more memory soon! Enjoy :)

Just keep swimming...

Wow! How has it only been four weeks? It feels like at least twice that, probably due to the lack of sleep Ryan and I are getting... but I must say, the days do seem to go by fast when your changing a diaper or making a bottle every two seconds... Haha! Don't get me wrong, I knew newborns were tough - but it is one thing to imagine getting up 4-5 times a night and another thing to actually live it. So this is kinda how I feel right now:

 

Parenthood has definitely been an up and down experience so far. The first few days home, our little one just didn't know what to make of this new world so she decided it would best to fuss as often as possible. Thankfully the next week got much easier, just in time for my family to leave and Ryan to go back to work. The first 2 days I was completely on my own went great! And then this happened:

  

SOMEONE (not naming names) decided to turn into CRAZY person for the rest of the week. Thankfully, my lovely sister in law came running when I called her and she could only hear wailing on the other end of the phone. We determined that my poor baby is having some tummy troubles, she maybe developing some colicy-type issues. So we've tried just about everything you can try in this situation - switching formulas, different bottles, medicine drops, warm rice packs, tummy rubs - unfortunately nothing has seemed to make a consistent difference and so we are still trying to figure out the best way to cope. 

However, we still do have a few good, calmer portions of the day when the screaming dies down to a dull roar ;) Here are some pics from our better moments:

She already knows the importance of physical fitness! Here she is practicing her Tai Chi... Haha

 

Those CHEEKS:

Giving kisses, pretending she didn't just spend the last hour screaming her head off:

Who? Me?? I'm an angel!!!

So for now, we'll just keep swimming, just keep swimming.....